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That awkward moment where your friend walks in on you when you're naked (edited)3,294 words
That difficult moment when you try to convince your friend you're not a pervert3,484 words
That uncomfortable moment when questions lead to misunderstandings4,841 words
That less awkward moment after the misunderstanding has passed2,523 words
That moment of transition2,741 words
That difficult moment late at night when you're alone with your thoughts (edited)2,925 words
Bonus chapter - That unpleasant moment when it's too hot to sleep4,238 words

That difficult moment when you try to convince your friend you're not a pervert

Rarity really wasn't surprised that the library proper was the chosen destination for... whatever it was that was going to happen here. Twilight was most at home amongst her books, even more so in the crystal palace that served as her home. It wasn't a concept that Rarity had any difficulty understanding; it provided her friend with a sense of familiarity, and comfort. For her it was the same with her inspiration room. Yes, it was certainly a haphazard mess, but there was a perfect order about it in her mind, and everything eclectic within had a reason for being.

Her thoughts on the matter came to an end as Twilight came walking back into the room, a tea set in magical tow that was gently set down on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Rarity still couldn't make heads or tails of what she was seeing... and what she was trying not to see. Her friend had not a trace of fur to her, and she was perfectly alright with that. She carried herself as someone who was perfectly content and secure with herself, despite her state of... indecency. She wasn't moving about like she was on display, like she was deliberately flaunting herself, but like it was just a casual, everyday setting. It was a concept that was positively confusing to her.

She tried hard not to stare at her friend as she went about pouring the tea. But Celestia help her, it was so hard not to stare. The contrast with normality was just so shocking, she couldn't fully look away.

Without her fur and feathers serving to bolster her frame, Twilight looked positively skinny; an unhealthy level of skinny. If it weren't for her ribs not being plainly visible, Rarity would've sworn that her friend was malnourished. She didn't want to be rude, but it was almost like looking at one of her ponequins coming to life, and moving about of its own free will. That was the closest comparison she could make.

The absence of Twilight's cutie mark was also disturbing to take into account. One of her most identifiable features, utterly obliterated, with just a faint tracing of its outline left on her flanks to signify that it ever existed and...

She stopped her thoughts right there. Thinking about Twilight's hairless flanks wasn't what she wanted to be doing right now. It was just too creepy.

"Here," Twilight said as she levitated a cup of tea over to her. She eagerly accepted it, sipping at its contents, and finding them to be soothing. That made things a little bit better.

"Thank you, darling," Rarity replied before taking another sip to help steady her nerves.

"It's the least I can do. I guess this is a bit awkward," Twilight replied sheepishly.

"A bit awkward? Twilight, "a bit awkward" is realizing that you've mistakenly worn synthetic fabrics to a formal gathering. This goes well beyond that point," Rarity stated, trying to alternate her point of focus between the cup of tea, and Twilight's eyes, rather than anything else. She sighed at that point. "I'm sorry if I'm coming off as high strung, Twilight, it's just been such a shock to my system. When I came over here to give you Spike's gems, I never expected to find you walking around completely bald," she stated.

Twilight nodded in understanding as she levitated one of the cushions off of the couch, and sat herself down on it. "I can see that making sense. Although I prefer the term "nude" myself. Socially it carries essentially the same meaning, but I just like the sound of it much better," she explained, before taking her own cup of tea.

Rarity maintained her silence, contemplating what to say as she slowly sipped her tea. There was the need to balance both politeness, and friendship, against the desire to know what had possessed her friend to act so strangely. At times like this, she really wished that she was more like one of their other friends, who could so freely get away with being brash at the least little provocation.

"Language preferences aside. Why... why... why any of it? Whatever possessed you to do something like this, Twilight? You're aware of the social connotations involved with deliberate baldness, are you not?!"

Well, so much for tact. She hadn't even meant to fly off like that, it had just happened when she opened her mouth to speak.

"I'm sorry, darling, I really am. I didn't mean to come off as being harsh. I just... I just don't understand this; any of it," she explained.

"It's alright, I understand," Twilight replied, unshaken by Rarity's sudden outburst. She paused as she sipped her tea, before speaking up to address her again. "And yes, I'm well aware of how society views those that deliberately choose to go hairless. Promiscuity, moral degenerates, corruptors of all that's good and decent, etc. I used to think the exact same thing. For a time. Now, not so much," she explained.

"Darling, you're making me more curious than I was previously. What exactly changed your outlook on this subject? Whatever motivated you to become a... a..." Rarity paused, trying to find the proper word.

"Nudist," Twilight replied.

"Yes. That," Rarity stated, thankful to have some idea of how Twilight chose to view herself. Calling her a "baldy" to her face wouldn't have been polite under any circumstances. Despite the shock she'd received, she didn't want to present herself as a rude guest.

"Well... I think it all started during my second trip to the human world, when Sunset Shimmer wrote, asking for help in defeating the sirens that Starswirl banished to their realm. Part of it involved staying there overnight," Twilight began, to which Rarity nodded.

"We spent the night in the palace, just in case you came back and needed our help," she explained.

"Anyway, I had plans to occupy the library there, but the others wouldn't hear of it, and we all spent the night at the house of their world's Pinkie. Everything was going fine, until it came time for changing into pajamas. Human clothing is... a lot different from pony clothing. Lots of features that we'd consider unnecessary. It was frustrating. I was willing to simply do without it, until Sunset Shimmer and the others explained the key importance of clothes in their world. It turns out their world's taboo against nudity is even stronger than ours; they actually wear clothing underneath other clothing," she stated.

"You don't say," Rarity replied, amazed at such a revelation.

"I do say. They helped me understand that it serves a specific purpose that warrants it, but still, it's a lot to get used to," Twilight continued.

"Well that's certainly fascinating to hear, Twilight, but how exactly did that lead you to this whole nudist thing in the first place?" Rarity asked, burning with a curiosity that her tea simply couldn't quench.

"Well that sort of came about sometime later in the evening when Sunset Shimmer and I were talking in the kitchen. She told me that she understood the confusion the cultural difference presented. She also told me that she actually goes nude around her apartment when she's by herself, as it reminds her of home, and helps when she's stressed," Twilight explained, before stopping to take another sip of her tea.

Rarity considered Twilight's words, trying to make sense of how what she'd been told had led to what she'd witnessed. She just couldn't fathom how the two were connected. Surely there had to be more to it than just that.

"I take it there's more to this story than just that?" she eventually asked. She knew that Twilight had a penchant for exploring cultural aspects she deemed interesting. But she highly doubted that interest alone would be enough to motivate the alicorn to shave herself bald.

"A lot more, actually. That wasn't my last trip back to the human world. I've made several since then whenever I've had the opportunity, usually just for a few hours at a time. It's a lot easier when there's no crises that need to be addressed," Twilight explained. Rarity nodded in response, easily able to understand that point. "The time after that, I'd been in contact with Sunset Shimmer through the journal here and there. When I wrote her and told her that I planned on coming back over for a few hours, she wrote me back and invited me to come over to her place, saying she'd appreciate being able to catch up with another Equestrian, and find out how much had changed since she left."

"And you did this while... nude?" Rarity asked, even though she had the feeling that she already knew the answer.

"Well not at first. I mean, when I showed up, I expected her to answer the door nude based on what she'd said the last time we were together. But instead she answered it fully dressed. I thought about bringing it up, but at the time I really wasn't sure if it was a good idea, what with their nudity being the equivalent of our baldness. It actually made me kind of uncomfortable to consider," Twilight explained.

"So what changed?" Rarity asked.

"Sunset Shimmer realized how uncomfortable I was and helped talk me through it. She explained a few things that made sense, and I realized that I was basically being afraid of something because I only possessed a little information about it. Then I realized just how silly I was being when I started piecing things together. And after a while we just sort of... went ahead with it," Twilight explained.

"And..." Rarity paused, unsure if she wanted to actually go through with asking. "How was it?"

"Well at first it was... really strange. Human biology is just so foreign. But we managed to settle into a somewhat comfortable setting. We talked, we read some books, we even got acquainted with their world's equivalent of our arcade games. Eventually it stopped being strange and just seemed... kind of normal actually. It was actually fascinating to experience, and do a compare and contrast with what I'm familiar with," Twilight stated, before downing the rest of her tea.

And now the memories of her experience with "Tetris" were coming back to her. Maybe the next time she went through, she could see about bringing one of those laptop computers back through the portal with her.

"I'm sorry, darling, but I'm still having trouble understanding all of this. How exactly did one afternoon serve to convince you that being bald, er, nude with such ready regularity, isn't an activity that's related to promiscuity and such?" Rarity asked, trying to get a proper hold on what was being said. She was certain Twilight had what she thought was a valid reason for believing such, but she simply couldn't see it herself.

"Well it was more than just one afternoon actually. Sunset Shimmer might have gotten the ball rolling, but it was my own research that helped convince me that it wasn't. During one of my visits, I found a message board on the subject-

"Message board? Like a bulletin board?" Rarity asked.

"Not exactly," Twilight began, trying to think of how to explain the concept of the internet to Rarity so she might understand it. The details weren't really relevant, but she would so need to kick herself if she didn't try to be accurate. "You know how the telegraph works, right?" she asked. Rarity nodded. "It's sort of the same principle, but in this case almost everyone has a telegraph in their home, each of them interconnected like a spider's web, so they're all attached to a central hub of information, allowing everyone to communicate back and forth."

"... I'll take your word for it, darling, simply because I don't wish to get anymore distracted from your current tale than I already have," Rarity stated, briefly wondering if Twilight had brought up such a foreign concept in a deliberate effort to distract her from her tale. "You were saying?"

"Oh. Right," Twilight replied and nodded. She'd address the technical issues some other time. "Anyway. I found a meeting place of individuals who are nudists, since they seemed the best to ask. They were really friendly, answering all of the questions that I had on the subject. They were incredibly helpful as I tried to make sense of everything," she explained as she smiled, remembering the outpouring of support that she'd received.

"And what did they say that led you to... joining the herd as it were?" Rarity asked, waving her free hoof in a small circle as she tried to find the right way of phrasing the question.

"Well... nothing really. I got a lot of questions answered about the topic, but none of it really convinced me that being a nudist was something I wanted to do. But then again I didn't set out to be convinced about that. I just wanted information about why others did it. I thought it was about promiscuity as well, but you'd be surprised at some of the answers I got back, about why other did it, and how they got started doing it," Twilight stated.

"And... what sort of reasons did they give you as to what motivated them to forgo clothing in their daily lives?" Rarity finally asked, torn between curiosity and revulsion at this point in time. But Twilight was still her friend, and she owed her friend support. No matter how uncomfortable it made her to do so.

"Mostly it had to do with how freeing and relaxing it was for them to go without the demands of society within the privacy of their own homes. Some were raised with the concept since birth, and didn't know anything else, while others came to it of their own volition. To them it's just... normal. It's what they know, it's what they enjoy doing," Twilight explained.

Rarity sighed as she laid down on the sofa, using her front hooves to massage her temples.

"I'm sure its quite fascinating from a scholastic standpoint, darling, but could you please explain why you came to the conclusion that this was for you? And how you arrived at said conclusion?" she asked, trying to keep her irritation out of her voice. But so far it was proving to be difficult. "I'm far more interested in your motivations, rather than those of others that I'll likely never meet..."

"Oh," Twilight replied as she realized just how far off topic she was getting. "Well after all of the back and forth discussion about things, I eventually got curious. Ponies don't wear clothing, but for us its socially acceptable not to do so, despite how we'd all be considered nude by human standards. But we don't consider our own lack of clothing to be obscene, because we're covered by fur. What we consider to be obscene is a lack of fur covering. For... pretty much obvious reasons," she paused and looked back at one of her own molted wings.

"Among other things," Rarity mumbled, "so realizing that our fur serves the same social purpose as clothing is what motivated you to try this out?"

"Well I wouldn't say it motivated me, but it certainly made me curious, and a while back on one hot day when I had the opportunity I just... tried it out to see what it was like. There's actually a spell that can disintegrate a pony's fur or feathers, and seeing no reason not to at the time, I just went and did it," Twilight explained.

"Just like that?" Rarity asked as she quirked an eyebrow. It all seemed far too simple to her.

"Well not just like that. I made sure there was a counter-spell that could be used before I ever considered doing it. And I made sure there were no responsibilities I had to see to beforehoof. But once I made sure of that... yeah, pretty much," Twilight replied and gave a shrug.

Rarity loosened up a bit. At least Twilight had exercised due caution before attempting this inane idea. That made her feel a little better, to know that her friend hadn't simply rushed off to shed her fur like some sort of degenerate.

"I take it, based on your explanation, this isn't your first time going furless. So obviously you must've found something appealing about it, that warranted continuing it," Rarity reasoned. "I'm hesitant to ask about the details. But as far as I've come, turning back down would just uncalled for. So... what motivated you to keep up this... practice?" she asked, deciding to forge ahead with her inquiry.

"Well at first it was simple curiosity as to what it would be like. It was... kind of strange really. I never saw what I looked like under my coat before, so I wasn't really prepared for what I saw. I almost cast the counter-spell right then," she stated and giggled at the memory. "But being a scientist, I decided to see it through. Looking back I'm glad I did, as I would've missed out on a significant learning opportunity. And once you get past the awkwardness of realizing that you're walking around with nothing on, it really stops being so strange. Once the excitement wears off it just seems normal. You stop feeling like you're getting away with doing something that you shouldn't, and start feeling more comfortable, both with your own state, and your surroundings."

Rarity knew full well that Twilight's use of the word "you" hadn't been to address her directly, but rather to assist her as she went about explaining her reasoning. Nor was she all that surprised by her friend choosing to paint her journey into the concept of baldness -nudity, she reminded herself- as a sort of scientific experiment; considering everything Twilight had gotten herself into in the past, this would hardly be the most unusual of her experiments.

Regardless of that fact, however, there was still a great deal that she didn't understand. And if she wanted to have any understanding of what motivated her friend, she was going to need to dig deeper still.

But first, she needed more tea. Much to her chagrin, however, the pot was empty when she went to freshen her drink.

"... Could I trouble you for another pot of tea, darling?" she asked.

"It's no trouble at all," Twilight replied as she stood back up from her perch.

"Er..." Rarity paused uneasily, "darling, would it be asking too much for you to..."

"You'd like me to reactivate the illusion spell I was using earlier?" Twilight asked, guessing that it was what Rarity was getting at.

"Would you? Please?" Rarity asked. "I don't want to be rude or anything, seeing as I'm your guest. It's just that-"

"It's fine, really. I don't mind," Twilight replied, before casting the desired spell. In a flash she was looking like her normal self once again. "I'll need your help in the kitchen, however. I can't do any magic multitasking while I maintain the illusion," she explained.

Rarity nodded. That was certainly fair as far as she was concerned. If Twilight was going to make her feel comfortable, the least she could do was assist her if it was needed.

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