Not me, of course! It's some other mare.
“Princess Celestia?”
Celestia lifted her head from the scroll she had been writing, placing her quill back in her ink pot. “Ah, Twilight. Come in.”
Twilight cautiously pushed the door open with her hoof.
“Thank you for meeting me on such short notice, Princess.”
“Of course, Twilight. I’m always happy to see you.” Celestia smiled at her student, scooting over on her mat and gesturing with her wing for Twilight to lay beside her. While many ponies might feel that her sitting mat was not becoming of a princess, the Qilinese mat was as soft as silk and vastly more comfortable than its lumpy surface let on. As Twilight’s eyes flicked across the room, Celestia’s horn glowed, picking up the half-inked scroll and her inkpot and placing them over on her desk.
Twilight flashed the older alicorn a smile before walking over and settling in next to her. “Thank you.” She sighed, smiling as she leaned against Celestia’s side. “You haven’t had me lie here since I was a filly. This really brings back memories.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Celestia chuckled. “Though I fear the true reason for sharing my mat is that there was a bit of a mishap with your old sitting cushion when I sent it out to be cleaned.”
“Oh.” Twilight laughed nervously. “I can go find one if you’d like.”
“Nonsense. It is not as if you have fleas. Well, not anymore.”
Twilight frowned. “I can’t believe Lemon Drops gave those to the entire class. Sometimes I still think I can feel my mane crawling.”
“It happens, sometimes.” The larger alicorn stretched out, relaxing. “It has been too long since we just sat down and talked.”
Twilight smiled slightly. “Not since Rarity opened her boutique here in Canterlot.”
“Judging by the dresses I’ve seen many of the nobles wearing, she must be doing quite well.”
Twilight laughed. “Well, you know Rarity.”
“I do.” Celestia’s lips twitched. “Though she does seem to have a taste for my hoofshoes.”
“Eheheh…” Twilight lifted one hoof to rub at her mane.
Celestia gently touched Twilight’s shoulder with her hoof. “Much as I do enjoy your company, your letter seemed to indicate you had something on your mind.”
“Oh, yes.” Twilight shifted back and forth on the sitting mat, settling into it and carefully schooling her expression. “I have this friend…”
“Is this friend sitting right next to me?” Celestia asked, her eyes sparkling.
“No.” Twilight coughed. “But she asked me to keep her name a secret.”
“I see. And what did this friend want to ask me?” Celestia smiled benevolently.
“Well, you see, my friend has… another friend. And she’s liked this friend for a long time.”
“Oh? Does this friend of yours have a crush?” Celestia allowed a smile to tug at the corners of her mouth.
“Yes. She’s known this friend for a while, and isn’t sure how to, you know, approach them.”
“I see. And does this friend of a friend have a name?”
Twilight grimaced. “I… probably should keep that a secret too.”
“I see. And why does this friend need my advice?”
“Well, you see, it’s kind of…” Twilight lifted one hoof to gesture vaguely in the air. “Complicated.”
“In my experience, matters of the heart are often made more complex than they need to be.”
“Hehe, yeah. I told her the same thing. But… well, I think she might kind of have a point this time.”
Celestia chuckled quietly. “Let me guess: this friend of yours likes another mare.”
“Eheheh, yeah,” Twilight said, shifting awkwardly. “Not me, of course! It’s some other mare.” Twilight waved her hoof quickly.
“Well, I should hope so. It would be rather awkward asking the subject of your affection for advice from me.” Celestia winked.
“Yeah, just a little.” Twilight shook her head, shifting her weight again on the mat. “The problem is, they aren’t really sure if this friend of theirs is interested in mares at all. You know, like that.”
“Well, she could ask her.”
“But isn’t that a little… awkward? I mean, why would you even ask that unless you wanted to ask them out? Might as well just ask them… you know… in the first place?”
Celestia nodded her head. “It is. But that is always a risk you take. In truth, it is likely best for your ‘friend’ to simply be honest with her, and go from there.”
“That’s not the only problem, though. You see, this friend of a friend is pretty well-known here in Canterlot. She’s elegant and she carries herself with a lot of poise and confidence. And, well… my friend, she’s not as well known by comparison. She’s not poised or elegant. She’s actually kind of plain.” Twilight poked at the mat with her hoof.
Celestia smiled gently and draped her wing over Twilight’s back. “Oh, Twilight. I’m sure this friend of yours has nothing to worry about. I’m sure she’s a perfectly lovely mare.”
“Oh, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with her.” Twilight shook her head, even as she nestled into Celestia’s wing. “But she doesn’t have the best manners, and is kind of… rough around the edges in some ways. Not that she’s, you know, terrible, but she’s embarrassed herself at a few parties here and there, and sort of… doesn’t really fit in with the ponies here in Canterlot, you know?” She looked askance up at the older pony, who bobbed her head.
“And your friend is concerned that she will be rejected because she does not enjoy the company of the nobility.”
Twilight shook her head. “Actually… kind of the opposite. I mean, what if she wants to say yes, but doesn’t? Or shouldn’t say yes, but does? That could really hurt their friendship.”
Celestia frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well, for this friend of a friend… public image is kind of a big deal.” Twilight gestured vaguely. “She has to make a lot of public appearances and deal with a lot of important ponies. And having a marefriend who doesn’t fit in might be a problem. I mean, when they’re just friends... everypony has a few strange friends. But if you’re somepony’s marefriend, that sort of means you kind of approve of a lot of their behavior.”
Celestia set her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “It doesn’t quite work like that.”
“Still.” Twilight sighed. “My friend doesn’t really want to cause trouble for her, or make her feel like she has to quit her job, or avoid certain ponies to be with her. And you know, not everypony in Equestria is all that comfortable with two mares being together, even today.” Twilight looked down at her hooves. “And I know it’s silly, but she’s worried that this mare is going to say yes to her, despite all of that. That’s just the sort of pony they are.”
“It just shows your ‘friend’ really cares about that other pony. But nopony worth dating would ever be ashamed of the pony they loved.”
“I know.” Twilight sighed. “It’s just... my friend is worried. The mare she likes is so regal and majestic, and she’s just a kind of drab, plain pony by comparison, even if they’ve both saved Equestria a few times. I mean, it’s not like she thinks she’s unworthy, but…”
Celestia’s breath caught in her throat, but Twilight didn’t seem to notice.
“And what if she says no? I mean, they’re good friends, but what if it makes things awkward between them? They share an awful lot of friends… it’s not like anypony would think they were just hanging out because she liked them, but it might feel that way to the other pony a little bit, you know?”
“Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said firmly, turning her head to look her former student in the eye, even as she tugged the younger alicorn against her side with her wing. “This friend of yours is worried about whether or not to express their feelings openly to the pony they love, yes?”
Twilight nodded her head, tensing slightly.
“Don’t be. Anypony worthy of your, uhm, friend’s love wouldn’t want them to keep something like this a secret on their account. If that ‘friend of a friend’ is a true friend – and I’m sure they are – they would never stop being her friend just because they didn’t feel the same way about her. It would be much better to bring it out in the open and discuss it honestly, rather than try and hide it away and fret over whether or not it will damage their relationship.”
The tension left Twilight’s body and she smiled up at Celestia, leaning over to give her a hug around the shoulders. “Thank you. That’s what I thought, but… they just wanted to be sure.”
Celestia stiffened, then relaxed, lifting one hoof to pat the smaller pony on the back. “You’re welcome, Twilight.”
Twilight blushed as she let go. “Heh. Well, I should probably go and tell my friend to go for it. Maybe have her go get some flowers and some chocolates or something while she’s in Canterlot.” She rubbed her mane before moving to get up.
“Twilight.”
Twilight paused. “Yes, Princess?”
Celestia sighed. “Your… friend… should keep things simple. Going too far might seem presumptuous, and could make things much more awkward than they need to be.”
“Don’t worry, Princess. I’m sure she won’t go overboard. I mean, it isn’t really her style, you know?”
Celestia smiled gently. “I know.”
Twilight rose to her hooves and began walking towards the door. “Thank you for your help, Princess. I’m sure my friend will really appreciate it.”
Celestia blinked. “Are you sure there wasn't anything else you wanted to ask?”
Twilight shook her head. “No. I think you’ve said everything I wanted to know.”
“Alright. Just so long as you’re sure,” Celestia said skeptically.
Twilight smiled and bobbed her head, lighting her horn and slipping out the same way she'd come, before pulling the doors shut behind her.
Celestia stared at the door for several long moments, then down at where Twilight had been sitting on the mat. Reaching over, she slowly ran her hoof over its silken surface, feeling the warmth that continued to cling to the fabric.
She shook her head and sighed. “I hope she doesn’t buy me anything too expensive.”
“Well, that was weird,” Twilight said, glancing back over her shoulder at the great golden doors behind her.
“So what’d she say?”
Twilight started. “Have you been waiting out here the whole time, Applejack?”
Applejack shifted anxiously on her hooves. “Couldn’t let’cha come all this way by yourself.”
Twilight smiled. “Thank you, but you didn’t have to wait.”
“It’s alright. You know how bad I wanted to know.” Applejack glanced away, rubbing her foreleg. “So, uh… go for it?”
Twilight shook her head and straightened up, smiling. “Yes.”
“Yes?”
Twilight nodded.
“Thank Celestia,” Applejack said, the tension leaving her shoulders.
Twilight stepped forward, setting a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “I told you everything would be alright.”
“I know, I just...”
“I know.” Twilight wrapped her hooves around Applejack’s shoulders. “Now, I think you have a pony to go talk to.”
Applejack smiled, returning the hug before returning to her own hooves. “Thanks, Twi. I really appreciate you askin’ the Princess for me.”
“No problem.” Twilight smiled and gave her friend a playful shove. “You could have just asked her yourself, you know; it’s not like she doesn’t pretty much already know who we were talking about after that conversation.”
Applejack shook her head. “Nah. Askin’ the Princess if I should ask out Rarity would’ve been just plain old awkward.”
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It's always for a friend.
derpicdn.net/img/2012/6/29/25757/medium.png
Oh gosh, that plot twist.
Great story!
Woah, this was so cute!
I loved the twist......and then ANOTHER twist! It was awesome!
6869358
Of course it is.
LET ALL WHO READ THIS FIC KNOW I TOTALLY CALLED IT!
WOO!
It was pretty cute. I like that you tried this, although Twilight knows Celestia well enough by now that these (probably) wouldn't be concerns on her mind, and if they were, they would most likely be part of a panic episode, so she wouldn't be so composed. Makes the language a little less ambiguous than it should have been. Once the obvious was out Applejack and Rarity or Rara were the only sensible set left, and Rara has already shown that she's more than willing to throw away social ties to be with Applejack.
Also I knew you were filthy Rarijack trash. That helped.
Beeeesides that, I thought it was pretty cute, and the idea was amusing in and of itself.
Also made me laugh out loud, so props for that.
i half expect it to be trixe or rarity ask luna out
Nice twist!
Oh yes, the twists are quite clever here.
I am actually upset at that twist XD I love this kind of thing...it was still great!
[Claps]
It's about love.
I should have guessed the twist at the end.
Except I completely missed the comedy tag.
Still, I feel really sheepish.
Well, that was fun. I knew it wasn't what it seemed, but trying to suss out the truth was quite enjoyable. Didn't get it though. I figured the first friend was either Rainbow Dash or Pinkie. Don't know what I was thinking. You were writing this.
I saw it coming once Twilight mentioned the bad manners part.
Unfortunately the twist was spoiled when I saw the group additions in my news feed, so I saw it coming a mile away. Still, it was super cute and funny.
Celestia presuming she knows more than she actually does is a fun comedic recipe.
6869459
I would ask if I'm really that predictable, but I don't think I have plausible deniability.
Tia is not going to be happy in a few hours.
Giggles all around. And it's a Rarijack story, hallelujah!
Celestia's attitude at the end gave me the most giggles. Get over yourself, Princess.
I want to come up with a clever metaphor for how the twist fell flat for me, like you twisted so hard it tore itself in half, but... I'm just underwhelmed, so I won't put any more effort into thinking of something clever than the effort that went into the story.
Calling this Twilestia is a bit disingenuous in my mind. Probably from the halfway point, I figured you were aiming for a twist regarding Rarity and Applejack and my prejudice against that ship makes the twist fall so much flatter.
6869360
Thank you! I'm glad you liked it.
6869370
Wait... wrong kind of twist.
6869411
Hopefully Rarity approves as well.
6869566
Well, I knew I'd probably end up disappointing a few people. Can't all be sunshine and rainbows.
I do actually write quite a bit of Twilestia; it is probably my second favorite ship at this point. Hopefully you'll enjoy one of my other stories more.
6869404
Seems at least a few other folks did guess it as well by the midway point.
The worst Rarijack trash. Though in all fairness, I do actually write a fair bit of Twilestia.
Incidentally, those textual hints were entirely intentional. Twilight doesn't know she's in a ship tease, after all. It all makes perfect sense to her! She knows what she's saying. Clearly.
Glad I managed to make you laugh.
LOVE the ending!
I was kinda hoping for Applejack and Rara from the way things were starting off; something a bit more off the beaten path. Could have worked up to the "they've saved Equestria" bit, too.
Oh well, wasn't a bad read overall.
Love it hope to read a sequel were Celestia finaly figers out that Twilight really was talking to a friend and gets all sad about it. That is until she decided to go to Luna and ask for some advice about what to do about it.
I'm of two minds on this.
As someone who enjoys a good twist, I feel pretty
As someone who ships TwiLestia big time, I feel pretty
6869614
Thanks! I'm glad it worked for you. Always happy to know I made someone laugh.
6869601
You mean the one other Twilestia story, Forever and Again and Again? I did like it. I dunno what it is, but the last few shipping stories I've read have just cheated me out of a good ending and left me disappointed and I'm not sure if this is objectively worse than the other examples or if I'm just getting bitter about it.
6869644
Well, you know how we dragons are; it is easy to be of two minds on things when our heads are so large.
If you're really itching for more Twilestia, one of my most popular stories is a Twilestia piece.
I have to admit, I knew I'd disappoint some of my fellow Twilestia fans with the ending, but such is the trouble with bait and switch stories, I suppose. Still, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
6869661
Fair enough. Happens sometimes.
And your comment made me realize that I have written a lot of Twilestia stuff that needs to be edited and posted. I had assumed I'd finished more than that. Clearly not.
Though I suppose I write a lot more friendshipping-type stuff with them. Which also needs to be posted.
*cough* ANYWAY.
Have you read GAPJaxie's Regarding the Need for Sex Education? If you're looking for another Twilestia comedy story, you might enjoy it; it is one of my favorite stories.
6869666
Indeed, indeed.
And are you kidding, I've had that baby liked/faved for months!
Baited.... and switched. I chuckled. Thanks.
6869681
I knew from the start that it really was for a friend, because that's the way to go these days.
I knew the "friend of a friend" was Rarity but I didn't have the right shipping-goggles on so the "friend" caught me off guard, I was thinking Pinkie instead.
Celestia not being as smart as she thinks she is is always something I like to see.
She should listen to her own advice and ask Twilight out herself. I don't really see enough fics where Celestia asks Twilight for dates instead of the other way around.
In fact I can't even think of one such story off the top of my head.
Fun little bite sized fic TD, keep up the good work.
So is celestia going to waiting for Twilight to confess her feelings for her now?
6869491
Not a bit. Nobody who writes as many reviews as you do was going to write a such a cliche straight as an entire story.
6869710
I have to admit, I don't think I've written a single shipfic that actually shipped Pinkie Pie with anyone. Clearly I need to get on top of that, especially now that HoofBitingActionOverload isn't writing ponyfic anymore.
Gotta have someone carry that torch!
I think one of the major barriers to people writing stories about Celestia asking out Twilight is the power differential between them; Twilight sometimes seems to worship the ground that Celestia walks on, and Celestia was Twilight's mentor (and still is, to a great extent), which can lead to the potentially squicky situation where readers feel like Celestia is abusing her power over Twilight, or at the very least doing something morally dubious where Twilight might have trouble saying no.
That's not to say that Celestia would, mind you (indeed, she'd be very squicked by the idea of abusing her power in that way), which is probably why a lot of people avoid Celestia being the person doing the chasing, so as to avoid the whole moral conundrum. Except in the stories where Celestia's feelings about that are at the center of the story. Of course, Celestia's own concerns about it being squicky might well be why she'd wait for Twilight to make the first move. Though Twilight has been Celestia's date to the Gala. Twice.
Speaking of Celestia asking out Twilight, have you read Sapidus3's Plus One? It is a comedic take on the idea of Celestia asking Twilight out.
Glad you liked the story!
6869755
Congrats on the feature!
6869779
Thanks! I'm glad folks have been liking this. Always good to see that I wrote something that people found worth spending their time on.
Cute.
Small thing, right quick:
Shouldn't it be the sitting mat, considering?
6869836
Thanks, glad you liked it!
And gah, thought I'd fixed all of those. Clearly not. Fixed.
I so called it as soon as it went to these sentences.
Surprisingly, I did not think of Celestia when I read that.
I was just like, "Rarity, it's Rarity."
I just knew it was Rainbow Dash or Applejack.
I want a sequel now. Idk why.
6869895
Because everyone wants to see ponies nuzzling.
I wouldn't mind reading the next conversation between Twilight and Celestia; Celestia trying to tease a confession out of Twilight, and Twilight having absolutely no idea what she's talking about, until eventually the other shoe dropped.
6869913 No, I'm pretty sure it's bc I wanna see how Celestia will be when she realizes she's not getting a marefriend.
6869942
She practically promised chocolates!
6869953
I can just imagine all the scenarios where the truth comes out.
Amusing story, I was actually expecting there to be a time break at the end were two weeks pass, and Luna and Twilight going out, with an irritated and huffy Celestia nearby.
Congrats on featured.
6869969
"Oh no, not this again..."
"What?"
"First Moondancer, then Starlight, now you...?"
"What do you mean?"
"You have a crush on me!"
So Applejack is a faggot?