Roselight
Creaaaaaaaaaaaaaak...
Th-Thump!
"Rarityyyyyyy!" Twilight. Adorkable. Here. "Sorry I'm late!"
Rarity finished sipping calmly from a cup of tea. She placed it down on a saucer and melodically called out: "Here. In the kitchen, Twilight, darling."
Hoofsteps. Soon, she had arrived. Along with her voice. "Whew! Spike can be such a fussy little infant when he's got the sniffles!" A chair dragged along the tile floor, and soon Rarity felt Twilight's warm breath across the table from her. "If it's not sprinkling the right amount of gold dust into his ruby soup, it's all about fluffing his pillow the right way and having his comics propped up—uncreased—at just the right angle."
"Mmmmm..." Rarity gave a slight nod. "It's a good thing you're so good at caretaking for ailing souls."
"Heeheehee." Twilight's giggles reverberated. "Yeah, well, it's not the same with you, Rarity."
A smug grin. "I would certainly hope not."
"You're not demanding. Delicate? Sure! But not demanding. One would expect no less from the embodiment of generosity."
"And who expected magic to be so humble...?"
"Hehe! Exactly! Oh! Thanks for reminding me!" Twilight scooted closer in her chair, and the air tingled with enchantment. "Let's get this over with."
"Yes." Rarity calmly nodded. "Let's."
She heard Twilight holding her breath. The tips of her mane fluttered, and soon the lavender light kindled to life. The curved lines of the kitchen and the white frame of the kitchen stretched outward, illuminated by Twilight's ethereal soul self. At last, she sighed, her body slumping back slightly as her eyeslits peered in fluctuating brilliance. "There. Can you see well?"
"As good as ever."
"Oh, I'm so glad!" The lavender figure could be seen jubilantly clapping its hooves together. "The wonderful thing about Starswirl's spells is that they almost never lose channel to their leylines! You can re-use them over and over and over and over... well... you get the idea. Heehee..."
"How lucky for us."
"Yes, how lucky for—" Just then, Twilight noticed something. Rarity saw her figure's head tilting slightly, attracted to a white rectangular outline resting atop the table between them. "Oooh! What's this?"
"A book," Rarity said.
"I see that it's a book. What which one?" She reached out for it. "May I?"
"By all means."
The white shape lifted up in the lavender figure's forelimbs. Twilight flipped to the first page. "OooOooOoooh! An Equestrian Glossary of Royal Spells! An absolute classic! Is this part of your personal library, Rarity?"
"No. As a matter of fact, I got it from Cheerilee's library."
"You did?"
"Yes."
"When... how did you check out something from Cheerilee's collection while blind?"
"I didn't. Starlight did it for me."
"Starlight Glimmer?"
"Yes." Rarity nodded. "I sent her to fetch it for me shortly after she came by to drop off the mail."
"Awwww... well, that was really sweet of her."
"There should be a bookmark left in there."
"Hmm? Oh! Yes! There is!"
"Do me a favor, Twilight."
"Yes? What's that?"
"Go to the page marked and read the first spell that's listed."
"Uhmmm... what for?"
"Just humor me, darling."
"Er... very well." More pages flipped. At last, Twilight opened to the part of the book requested. She took a deep breath... but no words came out. All was silent and fidgeting.
"Do be a dear and read what you see for me, Twilight."
"Uh... of course! Sure thing!" Twilight cleared her throat: "Starlight's Glyph of Roselight: A simple synaptic illumination spell—accessible to ponies of Fourth Level Leyline Mastery, involving simple transfiguration of echolocation into optical-neural reception!" She closed the book. Th-Thump! "Isn't that cute? You and Starlight have been studying into the spell I used to help you see! Maybe when you come out of this, you'll learn to cast it yourself! Heehee!"
The laughter was frayed with an edge of nervousness.
Rarity patiently smiled. "Twilight, darling..."
"Yes, Rarity?"
"How long have we been friends?"
"Erm... ever since the return of Nightmare Moon? Sooooo... going on two years, now?"
"Wouldn't you agree that it is awfully rude for us to lie to each other?"
Dead silence. The lavender light dimmed slightly. The white lines framing the kitchen shook.
"Why... whatever d-do you mean, Rarity?"
"Please answer the question, Twilight. Don't you think it would be rude?"
Her friend fidgeted in the chair across from her.
"I... I think... I-I mean, yes! Of course! But... but—"
"Perhaps I should make an admission before you. It's only fitting."
Twilight stammered: "A-admission?"
Rarity took a deep breath. "I lied about the dresses."
"You lied? But... how—?"
"Sapphire Shores isn't going on tour this coming week, Twilight. The 'commission' is a complete and utter fabrication... one that I made deliberately to deceive you."
"To d-deceive me?"
Rarity sighed. "Yes. That's quite right, I'm afraid."
A bout of silence.
"Then... then..." Twilight squirmed. Her curiosity was briefly exceeding her uncertainty. "Who... wh-who are dresses for?"
"For you, darling."
"For m-me?"
"For you to be here," Rarity said, staring her blind face in Twilight's direction. "For you to visit me. To help me. To be close to me." She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what came next. "So that I might hear your adorable voice... your beautifully convoluted speech... and that I might bask in the delightful soup that is the mixture of your intelligence, your kindness, your... radiance."
Twilight's breath had left her, but her soul self flickered ever brighter. Rarity could almost make out the monochromatic edges of the studio in the very next room at this point.
"Every moment I spend with you is a treasure, Twilight Sparkle. Only now—with the whole world around me drowning in oblivion—do I realize how much you outshine all the other things in life that I pretend to enjoy." She swallowed a lump down her throat and murmured: "Ever since the first moment I saw you... tried to dress you up for the Gala." A delicate smile. "I thought I was just treating myself. And—I suppose—I truly was. I still am. Because there's no greater ensemble to be a part of than having you by my side. No finer dressing. So innocent... righteous... and always... always learning. What I wouldn't give to teach you all things I know... to show you all the things that I feel."
"Rarity, why..." Twilight's breaths came out in squeaky bursts. She was trembling so hard that the chair almost gave way beneath her. "I don't know why you're saying all these things—"
"Don't you?"
Silence.
Rarity nodded her head. "Read the words on the page again, Twilight. But this time—darling—tell me what you really see."
The lavender shoulders slumped. Rarity noticed her glowing ears drooping as she opened the book and held it up—trembling—before her pulsating eyeslits. "'Cadenza's Glyph of Roselight: a quick and easy amorous spell of illumination, cast by a pony who... h-harbors passionate emotion f-for the subject being bathed in the magic...'" A heavy gulp. "'...so that his or her world will be illuminated by the fire of love given off b-by the caster's soul essence...'"
Rarity gulped. "Quite poetic for a magical glossary, isn't it?" She hummed. "I thought as much when I first asked Starlight to read off the same page for me hours ago."
Twilight was dreadfully quiet. She placed the book neatly onto the tabletop and folded her hooves in her lap.
Rarity cocked her head to the side. "Now... out with it, dear."
"It's... it's not wh-what you think, Rarity!" Twilight chuckled nervously. "I mean... sure, I-I lied about the name of the spell! But... it was the quickest and most efficient way for you to make those dresses for Sapph—" She winced. "...it was the f-first thing I could think of! And so what if it's my soul-essence lighting up the world for you? I'm your friend, Rarity! Of course I care for you—"
"You didn't read into the history of the spell, Twilight, but Starlight did," Rarity explained. "It was crafted by the Cadenza Dynasty by lovers and for lovers."
"Rarity... I'm telling you! It's only friendly affection! If... if I-I thought about you that way, it would look like a bomb going off in here—"
Rarity's lips curved. "Indeed." She let loose a burst of magic.
Twilight gasped as her chair—scraaaaaaaaaape—was spontaneously dragged across the kitchen. Her body went with it. And soon her lips—
"Mmmmmmmmmmmmm—!"
—were pressed tightly to Rarity's. Lavender on white. An epic meeting of fuzzy proportions. The slitted eyes of the lavender figure practically exploded. The rest of her limbs caught aflame, like a bonfire.
And the world...
Hard white lines ripped their way across the blackness. Rarity could suddenly see the studio in its entirety. Not only that, but she saw the framework of the Carousel Boutique above. She could see through walls, through the white vectors of furniture. She saw the white dots of the grass outside, the gray rooftops of her neighbors' homes, and even the spinning white shape of the Ponyville windmill several blocks away.
And slowly—as the kiss painfully ended—the lines receded... but the burning heat of Twilight's lavender person remained as frothy and flickering as ever. She trembled in her seat, pulsating in Rarity's shadow.
"Hmmm..." Rarity licked her lips, savoring the taste of books and fear. "Looks like Princess Celestia isn't the only alicorn who can raise the sun."
"Rarity..." Twilight was whimpering at this point. "I... I-I don't know what to say—"
"No more pretense, dear," Rarity said. "It's just that simple. I've told you why I lied about the dresses. Is it really so terribly hard for you to return the favor?"
At last... finally... Twilight's shivers stopped. She lingered there... the steadily throbbing heart of the labyrinthine white lines that had come to form Rarity's whole world, and every maze-like corridor led straight into her quiet, foalish voice: "I've never felt beautiful until I met you."
Rarity's eyes instantly teared up. She reveled in the cascade to come.
Likewise, Twilight's words flowed forth: "I wish I could explain it. I wish I could write a book about it. But every time I try to formulate the words... I fail. I've never failed at anything before in my life. And yet... when it comes to you... and j-just talking to you... telling you..." She sniffled, bowing her head towards the etched white plane beneath them. "I was too scared. I still am."
Rarity brushed her cheek dry. "Scared of what, darling?"
"Of... losing everything I've gained from getting here... from getting so close to you. And this past week?" A pair of lavender wings fluttered with a twitch of happiness. "It's been the best week of my life. And... and I-I don't want to jeapordize our friendship just because I want to feel... that closeness a little more. It... it's selfish, Rarity. And you deserve more. You deserve..."
"Shhhhhh..." Rarity placed a hoof over Twilight's lips, and the world stretched out in white lines all around them. "...I deserve the precious little doll that I've always asked for... the same one who deserves to be loved as only I can..."
Twilight shuddered. Rarity couldn't see her tears, but she felt their warm kiss as Twilight tilted her muzzle up. The smile was visible between the syllables of her words. "You... you've r-really felt this way about me all this time...?"
"Is that really so hard to believe, darling?"
"Well, yes! I mean... the odds of two platonic friends harboring unrequited love for one another over the course of so many months is positively astronomical!"
"Twilight..."
"And to have them both actually confess their amorous feelings for one another at the same simultaneous moment is... is... well, I don't have an abacus with me right now so I'm not certain I can drum up a percentage of improbability to the nearest hundredth—"
"Twilight Sparkle."
She jolted in her chair. "Yes, Rarity?" It was breathy.
"Read any romance novels, lately?"
"Erm... n-no?"
Rarity leaned forward, rubbing her nose with the mare. "What say we both shut up and write ourselves a bodice-ripper?"
Twilight tried to protest, but what came out of her muzzle was nothing more than a harmless trilling sound. "Can..." She gulped dryly. "...can I design the table of contents?"
"But of course."
"Heeeeeeeeeeee..." The two mares nuzzled noses.
And the white lines stretched and stretched...
...until they both filled it with burning color.
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Aw crap the competition just got alot steeper here, at the last hour before the deadline.
And out of nowhere, lightning fast, Skirts tapped out a Raritwi fic
What more reason does one need to read a story?
Oh shit boyos, that bar just got raised insanely high.
Well damn. I guess getting some Skirts is worth losing.
Ignores first three links.
Clicks panties link.
You really do write the best ship fics. I can't see anyone else writing a short story like this, And making me believe in the relationship. In that second chapter, it could have gotten very dark. Say, if Twilight was using a spell to make rarity fall in love with her.
in the end I like the direction you took it though. Super sweet, and the mechanic of the spell was really cool and fun to visualize at the end there.
"It's been a good month for microfiber." -skirts probably
ynaut panties
Theatrics aside, this was in fact a lovely story. I've been a bit worn out on mane 6 ships for a while now, but when a story is this high quality that hardly matters.
There's something a touch creepy about this line.
However, this wonderful end visual was worth the time it took to read alone.
Took me a while to see what was going on with the title.
Uhh... the crotch on those panties looks a little wet.
Awwww.
This is lovely, lovely work
Very nice. Also that they both were ingaged in duplicity was amusing.
I never shipped RariTwi... before.
Damn good story. Damn good! Solid characterizatiin, so many cute moments. Starlight's revelation! Really just excellently crafted romance that left me smiling.
8195905 I might need a spoiler explanation, if anyone is willing. I'm not good at pictionary, or whatever.
Edit: I may have just figured it out, but go ahead anyway, whoever has the inclination.
Why do I feel like the outline thing is a reference to the sonic glasses in dw season 10?
I was entertaining the hope that I had at least a smitten of a chance in this competition.
And then I find that Short skirts & explotions have joined...
...goodbye hope. It was fun while you were with me.
Oh, and awesome story by the way. Really awesome, like oh-my-gosh-awesome. Bastard.
8196304
I just got it myself. It spells Monochrome, I'm guessing it's an allusion to Monochromatic, which makes me want to read this story more because I want to know why.
8196304
You know how you can spell "boobies" on a calculator using numbers?
The title spells out "Monochrome" in the same way, likelly an allusion both to rarity's sight and to the usename of she who is running this contest.
Speaking of the contest, despite how great this story is I still think the up and coming writers I've been encouraging and supporting with art have a shot at winning this!
A bodice-ripper, you say? Well, I guess the soundtrack for this ending will be "The Art Of The Undress".
Good luck,. lol
Absolutely outstanding job of visualizing the world the way Rarity was seeing it. Plus you kept it varied and interesting at all times.
8196308
I had the same thought. The writing date and concept just seem so coincidental
Now want to add an edit: This was a brilliant story. That is all.
Cute stuff.
This is a nice story. I like the way Rarity's Roselight sight is described. Cleverly meta in concept.
Oh very well Starlight, you're off the hook. Good job with the flub you silly horse.
8196342
8196322
Wow, was my mind deeper in the gutter than it should have been for this puzzle. Thanks for the breakdown, guys.
Skirts, excellent job on the cover art, even if my dumb ass couldn't puzzle it out.
8197069 You know nothing of her character, yet you dare speak her name in such an ill light?
.... The two are actually completely different if you look at more than their basic character bios, this ain't Moondancer you're on about.
Absolutely adorable and a top notch addition to the rare amount of RariTwi fics. Thanks for writing it Skirts, it was a pleasure to read.
In all seriousness, this was great. Nice work!
Awesome job Skirts!! Touching and clever.
I read this using the High Contrast Dark font. Best font for this fic (and everything else)
That my friends is that. Rarity just became a badass. She became fucking Daredevil!
Tasteful and poignant. Well done.
🤘
Hours later...
Rarity slowly pushed herself up from the divan. Twilight Sparkle mumbled something in her half-asleep daze and slowly, slowly opened her eyes. They stared at each other in a comfortable silence, while outside the sun crept toward the horizon and Ponyville wound its way into the evening.
Twilight cleared her throat. "So, uh..."
"Yes, darling?" Rarity pulled Twilight closer.
"We should, uh, probably tell our friends about this."
"Hm." Rarity leaned her head back against the rest. She could see, faintly, the outlines of the room, much fainter now than earlier in the week. Fainter even than when she had confessed her true feelings to Twilight. No doubt, beneath the bandages, her eyes were close to recovering. Soon they would come off, and the last of Twilight's excuses for spending the days at the Boutique would come to an end. Then, yes, their friends would deserve an explanation. They could hardly keep things a secret after that.
"You're right," Rarity said. "Oh, we should start with Starlight. The poor dear."
"Starlight?" A pause. "Why, uh, why her, of all our friends? I didn't think you two knew each other that well."
"Oh, I got to know her pretty well this morning, when we were reading about Cadenza's Glyph of Roselight."
"I see," Twilight said. "Well, that was very nice of her. And I know I always feel closer to ponies after I spend time researching with them to—"
"Also she's still tied up in the basement."
took me a while to realize that this= ∩∩Θπ ~ Ö ~ ÇHΓΩ/\/\É meant this= monochrome
8198712 He will never reply to anyone. I'd just go ahead with it.
Table of contents? Really?
OK, yeah, no that was a perfect response. Well played
That was great.
GREAT work
Aw, that was so cute!
Huh. I guess RariTwi is a thing I like now.
That was delightful, and a very interesting way to describe the environment.
Thank you for the story
A lovely use of both the medium and a truly limited third-person perspective, to say nothing of the lies the characters tell each other and themselves. This isn't my ship, but I still greatly enjoyed the ride. Thank you for it.
Yaaaaay! Bodice-ri--I mean, uh...yaaay, they got together and stuff!
Adorable and so much fun to read.
I definitely thought the dresses were going to be the answer to the prompt interwoven colors in that they were going to be horrible amalgamation of randomly colored fabrics sewn together.
I mean, they still could be, but obviously not the main use of the prompt.
It's amazing how many people participated in this competition or whatever it is, and even more amazing how many of the stories ended up in the feature box at the same time. There was a point where there were, like, five RariTwi stories in there at once.