Remedial Studies

by Rose Quill

A Quiet Meal

“I’m going to kill you,” Juniper said as she dragged her way into the dining room that night, wings loose and dragging slightly on the crystalline floor.

“I doubt it,” I said, setting a pot of tea down on the table in the center of the room. “You look too tired to kill a fly.”

“Please,” she groaned. “Do not say fly.”

Twilight trotted in, a tray with a few dishes floating along in her raspberry aura. “I see you got a workout.” She set the tray down and sighed in contentment.

“Since you were joining us for dinner, I fixed something with a high protein content. It’s also good for recovering energy and cuts down on the soreness.” Twilight lifted a dish that looked like some sort of vegetable medley with dark brown noodles in it. “And it’s also tasty! I couldn’t help but try some the other day.”

I smiled at Twilight as she continued to expound on the wonders of the dish she had made. Anything that got her fired up like this made me think of how she must have been as a filly, back before she had read half of the books in Canterlot, when everything was practically new to her. I wanted to find a way to bring that sense of joy out every day, no matter how hard.

I shook my head slightly and went over to help Juniper into the low-backed dining chair and wrangle her wings.

“Harmony,” I said to the Pegasus as we started to pass food around. “It hurts just looking at you.”

“It hurts on this end too.”

“It gets easier with time,” Twilight said, arranging flatware at the four settings at the table. I frowned for a moment before speaking.

“Who’s the fourth place for?” Juniper asked, a little slurred with fatigue.

“Starlight’s going to join us tonight.” Twilight replied as she also passed out some napkins.

“Spike’s not joining us?” I asked.

“He’s out with Rarity hunting gems.” The Alicorn paused and nudged a fork a few degrees clockwise before nodding. “They’ll likely be gone til morning. Again.”

“That sounds like a story in the making,” I commented, giving a final nudge to Juniper’s wings, getting them more or less behind her and out of the way. Once finally maneuvering her fully into the chair, I sat at my place next to Twilight just in time for Starlight to trot in and spy the Pegasus.

“Hey, Junie,” the Unicorn whispered, head down slightly. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for not being supportive the other day… your decision just came from nowhere. I should have talked to you about why you wanted to stay instead of just calling it stupid.”

There was no reply from the Pegasus. Well, there was, but it wasn’t anything intelligible. It was, in fact, a soft snore. I glanced over to see her sleeping, head tilted back against the comfortable dining chair.

“Well,” Starlight said. “At least she’s not yelling. I’ll get her to bed then join you two. Give you some time to get any displays of affection out of your system.”

“Better take your time, Glimmy,” I snarked with a smile. I couldn’t help enjoying the sudden blush on my friends face and the shocked look on Twilight’s.

“Oh, I’m going to have a long talk with Trix,” Starlight muttered as she lifted the slumbering Pegasi in her mint green magic and left, pulling the door shut behind her.

“How did you find out about Trixie and Starlight?” Twilight asked, giving me a skewed look.

“Trixie was mumbling in her sleep the other day when you asked me to get her to help with a demonstration for the Crusaders.” I poured a bit of wine in three glasses and set them out. “As frustrating as she can be, I’m glad somepony finally broke her of that whole speaking of herself in the third-pony perspective.”

“Yes,” the princess agreed. “She’s easier to get along with now with Starlight tempering her and giving her some new tricks to work on. OH! I nearly forgot!”

I blinked as my marefriend clapped her hooves excitedly. “Forgot what?” I asked.

“I found out that tonight is a late concert at the auditorium.” She grinned so widely I thought the top of her head might fall off. “I thought maybe we could go take in the show?”

I furrowed my brow and put a hoof up to my chin in a show of thinking it over. “I don’t know, Twi,” I said hesitantly. “A late night concert with my marefriend? What if they play something romantic and you’re overcome with the urge to kiss me or something? I’d be powerless before you.”

Twilight laughed as she began setting servings out on the plates before us. “Like you’d be powerless,” she teased. “You’d probably be more like to kiss me, overtaken by my brilliant mind and thoughtfulness.”

“Don’t forget beauty,” I reminded her. “That has to be a factor, too.”

She blushed furiously, glancing away for a moment. “You really think so?” she whispered, her ears lowered in bashfulness. “I’m not anything special.”

“Oh, I’d have to disagree with you there, Princess.” I turned in my seat to face her directly. “You have a simple charm about you. Sure, Rarity has a glamour about her, but if her routine is anything like the human version, it’s that takes a long time to enact. You seem to just roll out of bed and you’re ready to go with just a brushing. I’m not even that lucky.”

“You don’t take a lot of time on your mane,” she said, her cheeks still pink from the conversation.

“No,” I admitted. “But some mornings, I’m sure that the only reason I get the brush through my mane is part luck. I’ve had some gnarly snags in the past and broken a brush or two.”

Twilight giggled, covering her mouth daintily with a hoof. “I’ve always thought my mane was rather plain. I thought about trying something different off and on.”

“Well, don’t do anything like that punk look,” Starlight said as she entered. “I’m surprised Rarity was able to pull it off.”

“Thank you, no,” Twilight said. “I was actually thinking of something short and flirty, easy to manage.”

“You realize that you might get two of those three, right?” I told her as images of her with pixie cuts and bobs floated up in my mind.

“I’m sure Rarity can keep me up to date on how to care for them.” She gave me a small smile and a wink hidden from Starlight’s view.

I’m not sure why, but my heart started racing. But the warmth I was feeling also had nothing to do with the wine or the spices in the food.