Chapter 5- The day together, tears in the garden.
Affame d’Amour
Chapter 5- The Day Together, Tears in the Garden.
Twilight Sparkle looked at the rolled-up piece of parchment that had found its way to her bedside table without her knowledge, around it was a collection of make up; of which she had never seen before. With a pained attempt she moved her leg. She coughed out a whimpering neigh and withdrew her limb. She recalled the night before just as the early morning sun peaked its way into the multi-levelled tower that was her room. Every muscle in her body cried out in soreness from exhaustion, but it caused only a moment’s hesitation as she reached out with magic for the parchment. This tiredness was nothing like the raw exhaustion she had felt during her years at the academy before moving to Ponyville where she would be up for days practicing to master her powerful magic. Her lavender glow encompassed the scroll and lifted it to her outstretched hoof (which was peeking out of the heavy blanket that the rest of her body was cocooned in), guiding it to herself she felt its weight and realized that it was several sheets rolled in on themselves.
Pushing it to her horn she focused what little magic she felt was available to herself to open it, the closeness reducing the amount of force she needed to use to unravel the scroll.
Taking a deep breath, she shook the weariness from her clouded mind and looked into the words, which read:
“Dear Ms. Twilight,
I hope this letter finds you recovering well.. I felt it was my duty in this unique case, if not for my own indulgence, that I aid your hoof as it were in an endeavour that I believe you are unaware you are taking. Firstly let me thank you for taking such good care of Fleur for me, it takes a truly special pony to be as caring and generous for a stranger from a different land as you are, and even if she doesn’t display the same level of gratitude as myself Fleur is thinking the same.
I’ve never seen anypony look at her the same way you do…”
Twilight looked away from the letter, wincing a little as she blushed not enjoying that she was wearing her emotions that plainly. Shaking her head to the grating creak of her neck she focused beyond that and turned her attentions back to the letter.
“…though many have come close. Fleur always has had ponies lost in some sort of love trance, it is nothing new for her and if you do not make your intentions known then she will more than likely assume it is more of the same. None of those ponies ever tried to know more about Fleur other than her beauty and that has left her more than a little leery of such suitors interested only in the magnificent form that she appears. Now what separates you from those other ponies, besides motivation I would hope, is opportunity. I have left a similar letter to Fleur with instructions as to what she is to do today the most prominent of which is stay with you and stress her body as little as possible.
Tonight’s walk will be the Stallion Parade and she will not be needed so there is no business reason for her to be removed from your care and do not allow her to try. Focus on getting to know her, and if it is really your intention, being her Friend. I fear that this is something that Fleur needs desperately that I am not able to fill.
Please be sure your feelings are set before following any of my given advice, as I would hate to see Fleur come to any form of emotional harm. She needs some pony that will care for her and more importantly she need s a friend who truly loves her. I hope that you can be all those things for her and, though it may be a little presumptuous of me I have included some light make up which will help disrupt the no doubt awkward silence that will follow…”
The letter went on to instruct Twilight as to how to apply the make-up (after a shower of course), thankfully the bathroom was on the second level and she could take a dip before going to see Fleur. With a soft spoken groan she forced herself up from the bed setting down the three sheet letter and levitating up the makeup. Turning she was about to make her way to the shower when she remembered the instructions on how best to apply the makeup and added the sheet to her levitation grasp. She tried hard not to look down at Fleur asleep on the medical table. Glad that she managed to enter the bathroom without distraction.
#
The sound of the shower kicking in and the water surging its way through the pipes startled Fleur to a sudden, sharp consciousness that she was unused to. There was a soft, almost omniscient beeping that pervaded Fleur’s sense of sound now that she had regained consciousness, finding that she was, once again, wired to things of which she didn’t remember being wired up to. The room at least, this time, was familiar if not comfortable. She was once again inside of Twilight’s room, though she was connected to considerably more equipment then the morning before. Fleur shook her head from side to side in an effort to clear the smog; she remembered seeing Twilight in the booth next to the Princess. Fleur felt her heart skip a beat and the machines around her flared and beeped in response. She recalled the beauty that she had seen the night before when her eyes had fallen upon Twilight all done up and glistening with the soft ambience of snow.
The model shook her head; rationally there was no reason for her to be so fascinated with Twilight. The unicorn was rather plump with a solid figure but nothing unique or overly impressive. She had curves, but they were not accented any more than any other pony who wasn’t trying to stand out. So then why, Fleur asked herself as she looked to the upper level hoping to catch a glimpse of Twilight though the shower still ran, did she still feel this aching connection to Ms. Sparkle. Gradually the fall came back to her mind and she remembered the searing pain, taking a not to casual glance down at her exposed body where a thick purple bruise had formed just beneath her coat almost all the way down her side. Fleur winced at the pain in her side along her ribs.
Slowly she raised her hind leg up over the mark gasping at the pain but finding some comfort in the fact that the wound seemed, though painful, superficial and healing well. The pain was nowhere near as unbearable as Fleur had imagined it would be. Turning away from herself for a moment Fleur looked more closely at her position in Twilight’s bedroom. She was on the same bed as she had been the previous morning; just beside her on a small table was an assortment of water bottles, bandages and what appeared to be dirty rags. Resting against one of the bottles was a tightly wrapped scroll with her name written in Fancy’s artistic penmanship. Focusing her unicorn magic she wrapped the scroll in a soft pink glow which pulled it into the air and laid it beside her on the table. Fleur gave a shake as her muscles twitched painfully. The multi-paged letter unfolded before her as she pushed herself through the pain, all three of the pages flopping down in front of her; littered in Fancy’s articulate script.
“My most darling Fleur,
I hope this letter finds you well and rested. I suppose you will be quite sore. You injured your ribs in your fall and pulled the muscles in your flank quite painfully last night and had you not received such swift and skillful medical help may have damaged your ability to continue on modeling…”
Fleur took a painful swallow, her forelegs shaking a little at those words; modeling had been all her life since Fancy had found her on his tours through foreign lands and she had devoted all of her existence to the art. The idea that she could have lost it all in a moment, seeing those words played out on the page was almost too much for her to take as all of her life was thrown into perspective. She forced her legs to stop their shaking and pushed herself to read on.
“… but you were quite lucky to have such a sturdy and dedicated friend willing to help you. Young Mistress Sparkle carried you off under her own power (an amazing feat I might add) and stayed up by your side all night. Working her magic into your ribs and making sure that the fractures you incurred were fixed before painstakingly lathering a salve into your pulled muscles before promptly passing out herself. I’m rather surprised you managed to make such a dedicated and caring friend in our short time here and I hope this will be a friendship you will grow to cherish all the more.”
Fleur was momentarily grateful for the fact that Twilight was in the shower and there was no one to see the flush on her cheeks, the embarrassment overwhelmed the pain she was in as the full effect of this all came down onto her. Twilight had already helped her once when she was in a state that was not befitting of a mare of her standing and once again Fleur found the young Ms. Sparkle going out of her way to help. Used to intense amount of attention and fuss from a large crowd was one thing but Fleur had never been able to handle the close scrutiny of an individual, not even the designers of her outfits were allowed to be alone with her, focused on her, less she find herself collapsing into anxiety and here was a pony who had given her nothing but care and…love. Shaking her head of such foolish thoughts Fleur tried to distract herself by refocusing on the letter, turning over the first page with her muzzle to start viewing the second.
“Now I know you have a hard time when individual ponies pay too much attention to you and that it will be difficult you to trust Ms. Sparkle and open up to her but please Fleur try. I think this will be a good experience for you and after staying up with the young unicorn all night as she tended to you I can say that she is not someone who will take a friendship with you lightl.. Twilight seems to be somepony who is dedicated to her friends in a way that is so very rare in this day and age so please Fleur…try.”
Fleur looked at the letter and just paused for a moment before turning to the third page, there was a warm feeling inside her; the same feeling that she had felt when she had first met Fancy. He was the first person to ever make a connection to Fleur outside of family and he had always acted like a guardian over her since she was much younger than she was today and this letter just reminded her of every kindness that he had ever allowed her. Fancypants was like a father to Fleur and his kindness was one of the few things throughout her modelling career that had allowed her to continue on the way she had. It hit her then that the same sort of comforting feeling may be the way she felt when she thought of Twilight. That overbearing sense that they just wanted to care for and protect her when she was not able to do it herself. Noticing that a tear had started to roll down her face she lifted a foreleg shakingly to brush the tear aside before turning to the last page.
“Now tonight is the Stallion show and you were planning on spending your day alone in the garden were you not? Perhaps this would be a good time to get to know your new friend, especially since you need to spend the whole day and tomorrow in bed if you are hoping to appear in tomorrow night’s performance. So why not suggest the two of you go for a walk? I’m sure a wheelchair could be made available for a nice stroll… and don’t you go doing anything reckless. We still have a show to do remember.”
Fleur scoffed a bit at his inclination but there were good points in his letter that the fashion mare was unable to deny. She DID feel that being with Twilight was something good, and it was something she felt she would be able to do without much stress… and Fleur had indeed intended to spend the day strolling alone through the Castle grounds…perhaps some company would be just what the doctor ordered. Just as she was about to consider this train of thought more however the silence of the shower pulled her out of her thoughts and onto the fact that Twilight was now making her way down the stairs.
#
Twilight had just finished applying the makeup that Fancypants had left her and making sure that she applied it correctly (his notes were very thorough). She was surprised to find the subtle chances the makeup had made on her. The shadows on her faced seemed too become more acute and the color added to her lips blended perfectly not to look artificial but to make them pop just a bit more. The eyeliner she had assumed would make it look like she had missed out on sleep (not that she hadn’t), but instead Twilight found her eyes being drawn into attention in the mirror as if the light framing was designed to draw the attention away from the makeup itself.
Loath that she was to admit it Twilight would have never been able to figure out the correct shades and techniques required to do such a magnificent performance on her face if it was not for Fancypant’s intervention, the stallion was clearly a genius that Twilight had yet to fully appreciate. It reminded her much of the instructions that Rarity had left for her the night before; the two of them, both Fancy and Rarity seemed to be genuine geniuses of her craft, and Twilight made a mental note to compliment Rarity on her skill when she returned to Ponyville. She took a deep breath and finished her mane. Finally prepared to go down stairs and see if Fleur was up yet.
“One hoof in front of the other…” Twilight muttered to herself as she walked out of the bathroom, it felt as if her heart had lodged itself in her throat. It wasn’t until she reached the first step and her hoof clopped down on the hard surface that she noticed movement. The eyes of Fleur and Twilight met, and in that moment, it felt as if that time had become as solid as stone.
To Twilight it felt as if time had staggered to a grinding halt as she took in Fleur with her eyes. Before her was the model pony, her coat seeming dishevelled and out of place; her mane was tossed and out of place, eyes reddened and wet slightly moist likely from the pain. And through all of this Twilight could not help realise the truth of Fleur’s beauty. Every little imperfection just seemed to accentuate every aspect of the mare before her and showing just how beauty can be perceived as she laid there on that bed frail and weak, a mess by any standard but just as beautiful as she had appeared on the stage with the reflections of diamonds all over her coat and the spotlight highlighting every aspect of her body. It truly did take the young unicorn’s breath away.
Fleur alternatively could see in the early morning sun the outline of Twilight Sparkle as she made her way down the stairs; the healthy curves of her body and the blush on her cheeks accenting a kind of homely beauty that Fleur had never really known. The subtle hints of makeup could be determined to Fleur’s trained eyes as Twilight approached, but the work was that of a masterful hoof not adding too much to be gaudy and not underwhelming the makeup in an effort to keep its effects hidden. As she moved closer to the ground floor and though Fleur was able to understand and reverse engineer the process of her makeup, even though she was able to call to image the mare before her in all of her plainness there was a beauty in this mare before which caught the models breath and made her cheeks burn red beneath her white coat.
“Um…How are you doing…?” Twilight asked, her cheeks alight again with magnificent blush as the introvert attempted to break the staring contest the two were having.
“I’m fine…merci…” Fleur said slowly as she was pulled slowly out of her own stupor her leg’s throbbing pulling her back to the incident which had happened before. “Vraiment, cela signifie beaucoup.” She continued remembering just what was in the letter from Fancy and how Twilight had spent the whole night rigorously helping her get better.
“Quelque chose pour un ami.” Twilight replied her accent rough, eyes cast to the floor not able to meet Fleur’s gaze at the moment; hoping that she was able to get the words correct the construction of sentences still a little shaky for her.
With Twilight looking at the ground unable to meet with Fleur’s she was unable to see the expression the mare held, in fact it was an expression that nopony had ever seen the magnificent mare hold since she was a young filly long before she had found her cutie mark.
“Je ne peux pas vous remercier assez.” Fleur continued keeping her eyes glued to Twilight almost finding a kind of enjoyment at the other mare’s flustered inability to take the gratitude. “Honest.”
Twilight coughed and gently tapped a hoof against the floor trying to think of something, anything to do for at the moment the nerdy little mare was truly at a loss for words. “If….if there is anything else I can help you with today let me know… You need to stay off those legs and let your ribs rest if you’re going to be okay for the rest of the show.” Twilight said finding herself getting back into a medical routine, the pace of it setting her heart to a normal tempo.
“You’ve done so much more than I could ever repay.”
“There’s nothing to repay.”
“Still I feel bad causing so much trouble for you; you must be busy with royal business.”
“No, I’m glad to take a break from my studies to help the Princess with the Fashion Mile, it’s okay, really.”
“There must be something I could do to help you in return.”
Twilight smiled at the polite and common place exchange, it felt like a conversation between friends, one that she had shared several times with the friends she had made since she had moved to Ponyville. “Honestly, Fleur, it’s okay. No bother at all really. I’m happy for the company, though the circumstances could be better.” With this Twilight turned away, adding a subconscious flick of her tail for effect to not only end the debate but to show off how much work she had put into grooming herself that morning. “I’m going to make myself something to eat for breakfast would you like something?” she asked, hoping that Fleur could stomach something substantial.
Fleur considered it for a moment, not only would eating something prepared by Twilight most likely be something more substantial than what she was used to but she would also be stationary for the next twenty-four hours and would be unable to work off anything she gained. At the same time, she was definitely hungry and would need energy to get back on her hooves as fast as possible. Mulling the thought over for another moment before responding Fleur gave her throat a crisp clearing. “Perhaps another sandwich like the other day…would be fine…” she said softly leaning her head back down onto the pillow on the lifted part of the bed once Twilight had responded to her.
Twilight worked hard in the kitchen area. She got herself together a bowl of fruit, lifting everything slowly and cautiously with the magic of her horn. The weight of the familiar appliances and foods feeling heavy under the weight of her pain. It was not beyond her though. Once she had finished cutting her apple into eights and putting it in the bowl with grapes, strawberries, and oranges all resting on a bed of hay, she moved on to making her sandwich for Fleur. Simple hay, this time however Twilight worked in some rich olive oil into the thick loaf bread; she kept the portion of alfalfa there, low enough to not be tasted but enough that it would help the model’s caloric intake.
With measured slowness Twilight closed her lavender eyes and focused her magic. She could sense the telekinetic powers from her horn wrap around the bowl and sandwich that she had wrapped carefully in napkins. It all felt so large and ominous to her and she could feel a bead of sweat on her brow. She had not felt like this in so long, it was like when she was a young filly working her magic so hard to live up to the expectations of her teacher, her parents, and herself. It brought her back into a much younger headspace and raised the rate of her breath. Twilight focused herself and steadied her hoof. It was nothing she couldn’t hoofle. She wasn’t that little filly any more.
“J'ai ajouté un peu d'huile au pain pour le rendre plus facile à mâcher. Si c'est trop, faites le moi savoir.” Twilight began as she walked back. The focus of needing to recall what little ‘fancy’ she could muster while maintaining her magical focus actually seemed to help the pony. It provided a focal point, a distraction from the soreness of her magical ‘muscle’.
Fluer watched as the plump mare walked into the room, eyes extremely focused on the food in front of her. The model was suddenly very aware of how exhausted Twilight must had been if what Fancypants had left in his note was true (and he was not the sort to lie about that). She was glad that Twilight stuttered in her talking as it allowed Fleur to catch what he was saying fully; for she was quite distracted by the adorable look of concentration the mare was wearing on her face.
“Cela ne devrait poser aucun problème, je vous assure.” Fleur replied, stuttering ever so slightly at having to reply in her native tongue. She was fairly positive that at this point Twilight could have brought her anything and she would eat all of it simply out of a desire to ensure that she did not disappoint the mare. The sandwich lowered itself down onto the medical bed next to Fleur and the faded purple aura of Twilight’s magic dissipated. She watched the powerful unicorn lower herself onto a nearby chair, resting the bowl of fruit onto her chest.
“Bien! J'espère que tu peux pardonner mes manières. J'ai très faim.” Twilight said, a look of joy coming onto her face as she released the magical control of the bowl and the sandwich as if a great weight relieved itself from her shoulders.
“No problem.” Fleur stuttered back into Twilight’s native tongue. “Please, don’t let me stop you.” She continued, her sentence trailing off as Twilight dug into the bowl of fruit face first.
It was not that she was eating in a crude or uncivilized manner. But she was not using her magic, instead opting to lean into the bowl and pull at the fruit with her lips. The purple mare went straight for the orange wedge and pulled it into her mouth with a gentle caress of her lips; the rind making a smile where teeth would normally be. Twilight sucked at the fruit admittedly a little noisily, the sound of which echoed throughout the relatively quiet room. The fruit was cold and the citrus flesh was delicious and tart sending shivers down her spine; when she finally finished with that slice of orange he dropped the rind from her mouth and pulled and apple slice into her mouth next. Bitter through it in a solid chomp the green granny smith’s sour juiciness mixed with the tartness of the orange and made her face cringe in delight at the combination.
The whole while Fleur had been mesmerized on the mare, not even sure that she had been staring almost exclusively at her lips the entire time she ate the fruit until Twilight paused in her eating. The model had been captivated the moist wetness of the fruits, the movements of her tongue; so transfixed was she that she stared until Twilight noticed that she was being scrutinized.
Twilight coughed falsely in the back of her throat.
“I-is, is, everything okay?” She stuttered to Fleur her cheeks were flushed a violent magenta at the embarrassment of having eaten so ‘crudely’ while being watched by the model. Twilight could feel the heat on her cheeks radiating throughout her entire body to the point where she was positive that she had to be glowing.
Fleur realized she had been staring and she felt her entire face darken with blood. She nodded fiercely and turned away sharply, ignoring the pain into her side and leaning down to take a bite out of her sandwich. She moved much too quickly though and the sound of her horn bouncing into the railing of the bed rang out throughout the room. There was an awkward pause as Fleur nursed her throbbing horn with her hoof, even more embarrassed then moments before.
The silence lasted for a second before it was broken by raucous laughter. Fleur felt herself wince at the sound, and he skin reddened more. Her initial reaction was to feel an intense hurt that the person she had been warming up to her would mock her so cruelly, it was a knee jerk response and it almost moved her to tears. It took a moment for her to realize that there was no malice in the laughter, her pale eyes shifted over to Twilight.
The studious purple pony had dropped her bowl on the floor, her forehooves were pressed on her sides as if she might burst at any moment; her jaw was wide with laughter and tears could be seen at the edges of her closed eyes. Her whole body convulsed with joy whenever she made that crystal piercing full bodied laugh; she squirmed in her chair as if trying to stay upon it.
Fleur felt the heat of her cheeks more at how foolish she had been. How her instant train of thought had been so wrong. Twilight’s laughter bubbled more as the mare slid in her chai and Fleur could not help but begin to chuckle. What began as light chuckles and bubbling giggles quickly evolved into the loudest laugh Fleur had experienced in a long time. So strong she forgot why she was laughing, why she was sore, or why she had been mad just moments before. Once it took control of her the laughter became for laughter’s sake, and the two mares laughed each other winded until tears ran down their face.
When Fleur finally managed to slow her convulsions minute later she gasped out a set of breathless words. “Mon seigneur, je n'ai pas ri comme ça depuis que j'étais pouliche.” She shivered and flexed her hind legs. All the laughing had left her very sore in the ribs as well.
Twilight cleared a tear from her eye and slid out of her chair to pick up the fruit she had spilled. “You should laugh like that more often, it’s good for you.” She breathlessly added, resting her hoof on the other’s foreleg. For a moment the laughter faded away into memory as the two of them realized they were touching.
Fleur felt the familiar warmth rise up in her cheeks and a shiver ran its way up and down her spine so fast she couldn’t tell if it was coming or going. Twilight hesitated, her hoof moved slightly but didn’t leave the other’s leg as she also shared the spark, as if it had travelled along the limb after running its way through Fleur.
Their two eyes locked, and the silence held. Fleur noticed Twilight take a deep, and hard swallow; the action dragging her eyes down to the others lips. Her lips were suddenly parched dry as she looked at them and she instinctively leaned a little bit closer towards Twilight.
Twilight leaned back up towards Fleur not entirely sure herself what was carrying her towards the model with her pale pink eyes. Just as the silence reached its thickest and the two of them were mere inches apart…
…Fleur’s stomach let out a vicious grumble and she winced back at the hunger. She had not managed to get even a bite of her sandwich and her body was punishing her for the lack of respect. Twilight swallowed hard and pulled back her hoof from the other’s leg.
“You really need to eat!” She exclaimed before picking up the bowl of fruit she had reclaimed and trotting back to the kitchen area to hide the flush on her face and the shortness of her breath. Fleur watched the purple pony run off and felt an ache in the center of her chest (quite a bit higher then the rumbling of her stomach) and let out a heavy sigh.
Fleur turned herself away after watching the mare make her way back to the kitchen and began to eat the sandwich. The richly seasoned bread, moist with the oil was the perfect combination. Even as she took the first bite she felt herself beginning to regain strength. Fleur contemplated for a moment asking Twilight if she could get the recipe sent to the servants who normally took care of her diet, or to Fancy Pants so that he could take care of it, but the thought was short lived as she tore into another bite.
Twilight hurriedly tidied up and got rid of the spoiled fruit, not nearly full she took another apple from her stores and quickly ate the whole thing. Her heart was still pounding in her throat and bouncing in her ears. She took a steadying breath and rested her forehooves on the counter. What had she been about to do? She really had no idea at that point, just being that close to the model and the sensation of touching her had the most intoxicating effect. She calmly went over some math in her head, making a check list of all the things she wanted to do when she got back to Ponyville. The listing helped her calm down and as she was finally starting to reach a normal plateau she remembered the letter that Fancy left her.
“Oh Fleur, I thought perhaps you should get some air today…” She called out from the kitchen, still too flushed to face the white coated unicorn. “Would you be interested in a walk through the private gardens? I have a wheelchair…” She paused for a moment trying to think of the word in Fleur’s native tongue. “Une chaise roulante.” She clarified.
Fleur was just finishing up the sandwich that Twilight had made to her, chewing slowly so the heavy food didn’t trigger any negative reaction with her temperamental stomach. She mused the thought over in her head trying to focus on the food and not how close she had just come to kissing the other mare. She focused on the food as she listened trying to get the image of Twilight out of her head for a moment so she could think clearly. It occurred to her that Fancy Pants may have set something unnecessary up as per his usual schemes and machinations, she was sure that Twilight wouldn’t normally be so skilled in the application of the makeup she was wearing without further instruction. She was suspicious, and just when she was about to refuse, saying she would rather stay inside and rest, she remembered the note that Fancy had left her in more detail.
And she remembered the look on Twilights face when she had leaned up towards her.
Fleur decided in that moment that spending some alone time with Ms. Sparkle out in the gardens wouldn’t be the worst way she could think to spend the day.
“Bien sûr, cela semble être la perfection.” She called back out to Twilight, shifting a bit and making a face. Perfection? She thought to herself, not ‘nice’, or ‘a good way to spend the day’, no it would be perfection. Fleur shuddered out a sigh and shook her mane from side to side feeling It bounce. Today was shaping up to be an odd day for sure.
#
Twilight made her way slowly through the private gardens of the castle in Canterlot. It was one of her favorite little hiding spaces that Princess Celestia had shown her a long time ago shortly after becoming her student. It was a place where the two had come to practice her magic and study in the bright and glorious sun. She pushed the wheelchair slowly giving Fleur time to take everything in as she went. The pair had not said a word to each other since they had left the bedroom in the tower nearly an hour ago. A heavy atmosphere hung between them, thick like honey it dripped into their throats every time one of them went to start a sentence. They would turn to the other prepared to speak and then the light pink eyes and lavender would meet and they’d choke up completely in the moment.
Twilight licked her lips a bit trying to think of something to say to the model as they made their way around a wall of creeping vines and beautiful flowers of dark blues and violets into one of the observation areas. Suddenly Canterlot was before them. The entire city spread out beneath the walls of the high palace before them like a beautiful painting built onto the horizon, the high sun casting everything in radiant light. The waterfall, the river spreading out, even in the distance Ponyville could be barely seen from their perch. It all caught the afternoon sun and radiated warmth that was so familiar to Twilight it was like she had just seen home for the first time in years. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the panoramic view before her, and the sound of Fleur’s gasp reached her ears.
Twilight looked at Fleur and saw the mare’s eyes alight with awestruck wonder. It was a sight she was seeing from a new angle for the first time and it had reached her in a place not too unlike Twilight. Seeing the model react so purely and innocently to the sight kicked Twilight’s mind into gear, and for a moment she reminded herself that Fleur was a pony, not some beautiful majestic creature without fault, but a pony that needed friends and someone to guide them from time to time. She cleared the fog from her head with this momentary reminder and it lasted just long enough for her to find her voice.
“How long have you been with Fancy, Fleur?” Twilight asked. “If it’s something you’re okay talking about.” She added as and afterthought seeing Fleur jump in the chair at the sound of her voice.
Fleur was startled that Twilight had found the power to speak where she had still been starstruck whenever she looked at the mare since they’re moment earlier. The question took her off guard so suddenly when all of her barriers had momentarily faltered, taken in by the sight of Canterlot and the mighty expanse of Equestria before her. Before she could even think about coming up with a way to answer the question discreetly or refuse to answer she was speaking instinctually.
“On m'a découvert quand j'étais un peu plus qu'une pouliche. Cela fait probablement près de dix ans que nous avons commencé à voyager ensemble.” She replied instantly, in her native tongue. When she realized what he had said Fleur flushed and went to repeat herself in Twilight’s native tongue, embarrassed that she had spoken so much of her own tongue so fast to the mare.
But Twilight cut her off.
“Do you get home to see your family often? Do you have siblings?” The purple mare asked without missing beat, not giving Fleur enough time to freeze up.
Fleur stuttered a bit as she tried to rationalize her thoughts, getting cut off as she was about to start translating throwing her through another loop. She found herself answering Twilight again without hesitation.
“J'ai un petit frère et une petite sœur qui sont un peu plus que des bébés maintenant. Je les vois une fois toutes les quelques années, mais je m'assure qu'ils sont pris en charge.” Fleur rambled off, not understanding why she added the last part in. It almost felt as if she had to excuse herself for seeing them so rarely often. She was shaken to be discussing this so candidly with Twilight, she almost never told anyone about her family as they were simple folk from simple stock who kept to themselves and had nothing to do with the limelight that she was normally thrust into. Yet Twilight seemed able to extract as much information from her as she wanted and Fleur, at least not yet, wasn’t ‘anxious’ about it. She felt confused and odd that she would feel so comfortable discussing this with a mare she’s known for a little under a week, yet at the same time her normal anxiety she had when dealing with a pony one seemed to be absent.
No, absent wasn’t the right word, she thought in the moment she had to spare as Twilight busied herself translating what had just been told to her. It was not that her anxiety wasn’t there, it was just not the anxiety that this person wanted to gain an advantage over her with the information or use it or her for their own goals; instead if was an anxiety that this person who she felt would never do these things might not…care for her as much if she learned more about Fleur, and it was a new type of anxious that she had never really encountered before.
Twilight mused this new information over and walked forward towards the railing of the observation station. She lifted herself up onto her hind legs and crossed her forelegs on the railing, resting her head on them as she looked out over her home. Her tail swishes slowly from left to right as she considered all that she had just heard.
“What does your family think about your modeling?” She asked, doing her best to ignore the feeling of Fleur’s eyes boring into her back.
Twilight had finally given Fleur enough time to catch her breath and steady herself. She watched the mare walk forward and lean on the railing the afternoon sun accenting all he curves of her body with playful shadows and light. Fleur swallowed hard as the light went through the mare’s hair causing it to shimmer and sparkle.
Slowly she closed her eyes and focused on the question before answering Twilight, this time in her own tongue.
“I think they are grateful that I can help them out as much as I do. I take care of most of their expenses and it lets them work as little as they need to and still take care of the twins.” She stuttered a bit repeating herself on the words ‘expenses’ and ‘grateful’ a few times as they were harder for her to remember and say correctly. “Though you wouldn’t hear them say that.” She laughed a little feeling a little bit of bitterness coming into her voice. “Any time I go home all they do is fuss over me and every little thing that happened on the road.” She added, pulling her eyes away from Twilight back to the city below.
Twilight kept quiet for a lingering moment as she thought about what Fleur had said, keeping her eyes over the city below. Her thoughts wandered to her brother, Shining, and her parents in Canterlot who she saw so rarely often since moving away. She recalled how excited they were to see her again and how intrusive they could be about the things they wanted to know; but beyond that she recalled how she often longed to be near her brother again, how she became excited to see him again and hound him for all the information about his marriage with Cadence… For a moment she was sure she understood quite fully how Fleur’s family felt about her.
“I think they just miss you a lot.” Twilight mused, more to herself though she said it out loud. “I miss my brother so much sometimes with him living with his wife in the Crystal Kingdom, and my family here in the city when I don’t get to be here often…” She continued looking down at her hooves on the railing. “I can understand how happy they are to see me and I guess that worrying and fussing is their way of trying to let you know that they’re always thinking of you even when you aren’t there.”
Fleur listened to her words and felt a little foolish to herself that she had ever felt that her parent’s enthusiasm for her stories was bothersome. She often longed for them as well, but she knew if she caved to those emotions and started to cut her journeys short she would risk her position as such a predominant model. It would add stress to her family to need to pick up the financial burdens again, especially with children so young. Yet at the same time she knew they would be over the moon to see her more. For the first time she was forced to see it from their perspective, Twilight’s musings pulled her out of the bubble she had built around herself that prevented her from understanding how those close to her might have been viewing her.
She very much missed her family in that moment.
She could feel tears welling up ever so slightly as she leaned back in the wheelchair considering how she felt in that moment.
“Comment traitez-vous quand vous les manquez si chèrement?” Fleur asked holding back her tears and swallowing hard; the image of her little siblings in her mind.
She heard Twilight’s relaxed sigh as her mind went to the answer. Her back relaxed and she leaned forward on the railing a bit more.
“My friends I suppose.” She sighed out into the afternoon sun.
Fleur felt suddenly very lonely and overwhelmed. She rarely felt herself become so open and emotional and it’s over bearing nature was more then she could handle in her current state. She had Fancy, she knew that and he was always there for her but sometimes that wasn’t what she wanted or needed and in those times she had always, always, carried the burden alone and on her shoulders. For the first time since she was a little girl her shoulders didn’t feel strong enough to carry that weight and it started to rain from her eyes in the form of hot tears.
“Ça me semble bien.” She muttered through her tears pulling further away and back into her chair attempting to cover her face in her forelegs. She didn’t see Twilight turn around to look at her, drawn by the shakiness of her voice.
“Oh, Fleur.”
Twilight was there then leaning onto the chair a bit, her forelegs wrapped around Fleur in a tight embrace. Twilight carefully positioned herself so that she wasn’t aggravating Fleur’s wounded body, attempting to take as many precautions as she can. She awkwardly patted the model on the back, rubbing her hoof up and down. She wasn’t skilled with emotions herself, a novice she liked to think, still learning and sending her letters to Celestia. To Twilight emotions and friendship were often the same as a class for magic. It was something to be studied and processed in slow and calculated ways; she often forgot the emotions of other. Yet since seeing Fleur she had felt a strong empathy for the model that had been leading to this moment, Twilight thought to herself.
Fleur needed a friend.
“Let’s head back to the room, Fleur. We can talk on the way.” Twilight said when she squeezed the other closer. She noticed that Fleur smelled lightly of strawberries. “Is that okay?” She didn’t want to move the mare without her consent.
Fleur nodded weakly against her neck, burrowing her face into the purple coat deeply.
“Please…and…if we can…” she breathed against her between the sobs.
Twilight rubbed her back stronger and nuzzled her cheek into Fleur’s mane.
“I’ll make sure that nopony sees us on the way back.” Twilight affirmed as she slowly released the frail model from her grip. Fluer nodded her head soundlessly and buried herself more into the other’s coat for a moment before taking a steadying sigh and pulling back.
Twilight offered her a warm smile and quickly ran a tidying hoof through her mane to make sure that she was as primp and proper as she could, nothing she could do about the tears in the eyes for now, but she knew she could get the other’s mane tidied. Fleur closed her eyes at the feel of another pony moving her hair, a state that she was used to for daily shows; a piece of her daily zen re-entering her mind and allowing her to begin calming down. She breathed deep in that feeling, drank deep of its comfort. It allowed her eyes to roll back into a head for a moment and forget how raw her nerves, and body were in their present shape.
“I have a lot to say to you on the way back, hope you don’t mind.” Twilight said assertively as she pulled back and walked herself around the back of the wheelchair. She was going to be this mare’s friend by the end of the day or she wasn’t Twilight Sparkle.
#
“Incroyable! Un bébé dragon? Vraiment?” Fleur exclaimed as the pair returned to the tower. Twilight had gone the long way around the gardens, taking some good many hours to get them back to ensure that no one came upon Fleur in her weakened state. Along the way she had been filling the model in on all of her wonderous friends and stories of Ponyville and had been talking to her about how the two of them could keep in touch at the end of the Fashion Mile. Fleur had calmed down a lot with Twilight’s overbearing speech, it was hard to follow at times but she worked her way through and when she struggled Twilight translated for her as best as she could. It had felt amazing to open up to someone who for once wasn’t trying to sidle up next to her for their own political game. As the pair had come close to returning to the bedroom Fleur had felt a pit beginning to form in her stomach when she realized that even if they were making a genuine bond it would go the same route of any other person in her life. She and Fancy would leave and she would be alone again soon enough. Fleur had begun to grow morose quickly with that realization until Twilight told her of her special friend.
“Oui! His name is Spike, he can magically send letters to people. Right now, we only ever send them to the Princess but I will talk to her tomorrow before the show and find a way to get them to you.” She said with a happy smile. “She may need to teach you how to send one back, she’s the one familiar with the spell…” Twilight mused as she started pushing the wheelchair up into the bedroom. The sky getting dark behind them.
“Amazing…” Fleur stuttered, the idea that she would have personal access to the Princess, that Twilight would so casually refer to royalty and promise the Princess’s hoof in teaching Fleur a spell left her staggered. Twilight was on a whole different level Fleur decided when her amazement was met with a confused, but gentle smile. “T’is is nothing, just a little overwhelmed.” She waved it off sighing as they made their way back into the room. The sight of the table where she had spent several nights this week upon, it felt lonely and uninviting at the moment.
Twilight wheeled her up beside the bed and set the lock in the chair, preparing to help get the hurt mare up onto the bed.
Fleur bit at her lip a bit and swallowed hard. Deep inside of her she searched for that courage that flooded her almost every time when she stepped out onto the walkway.
“Serait-ce ... d'accord si je reste avec toi? Je ne veux pas être seul.” She whispered low into Twilight’s ear as the mare came forward to help lift her up onto the bed. Fleur watched Twilight freeze at the request and could feel a slow heat rise into the other’s cheek as she flushed a dark magenta. The image of earlier in the morning flooding both of their heads.
Twilight nodded slowly, not letting her eyes meet with Fleur’s.
“You won’t be able to move your way up there on your own.” Twilight said softly still not meeting her eyes. “Puis-je vous soulever?” she asked softly.
Fleur felt her cheeks growing red at the idea of it. She was very aware that she had been lifted by Twilight the night before using her magic after she took her fall; but she had never been conscious of it happening when it was.
She swallowed hard before replying; “Bien sûr.”
Twilight closed her eyes and pushed her horn gently against Fleur’s chest; not noticing the shiver that went down her spine. She breathed deeply; she had barely used her magic all day and the muscle, though sore, did not seem too weak for the task. It didn’t fight her too much as the aura began to spread out over Fleur like it had the night before. It was a much shorter trip and there was a lot less stress going through her mind right now (not that it wasn’t cluttered). She released much of the air she had just taken in as she focused herself.
“Décontractez-vous. S'il vous plaît.” She whispered to Fleur as she took a step back.
Easy for you to say… Fleur thought to herself, shivering from the sense of the other’s powerful magical aura encompassing her body. She sighed and tried to relax her muscles as much as she could, which proved to be extremely difficult once she started to lift off the chair and move under someone else’s power. It was a sensation completely alien and it took all of her focus to not lock up instantly. After a moment she found herself surprisingly comfortable with the sensation though it was bizarre and new to her as she was conscious, her body seemed used to the state from the night before. Gradually Twilight walked Fleur up the stairs to the large, yet simple bed. Its blankets were dishevelled and one of the blankets was teetering on the edge prepared to fall to the floor at a moment’s notice. Fleur smiled at the simple bed, thinking in that moment that it looks delightful. Gently she was laid down onto the bed and the soft give of the mattress caused her little to no discomfort.
She noticed a slight sweat forming on Twilight’s brow and felt immediate regret that she had forced the unicorn to use her magic so much after the night she had experienced previous. Just as she was about to apologize however Twilight opened her eyes and gave an explosive sigh of success. The cool look of confidence and pride at a job well done played on her lips in a cocky half-smile that made Fleur’s tongue lock to the roof of her mouth and her heart skip a beat noticeably.
“Oh no! I didn’t make my bed this morning!” Twilight immediately snapped back to her regular expression and began fretting over the bed. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“It’s okay Twilight.” Fleur said softly, trying to calm the jittery mare down. “Please, just come to bed.”
Twilight froze instantly at the request, Fleur’s thick accent sounding increasingly appealing as she found herself feeling more and more tired from the long day. Twilight sighed and cast a quick glance to Fleur. Their eyes met. She felt herself blush and quickly scuttled onto the bed (being as careful as she could to not harm Fleur) to hide her embarrassment.
Once the two mares were in the bed they settled down next to one another, a blanket pulled up over them slightly to break up the chill of the night.
It was then that an awkward silence fell onto the pair of them. Twilight felt her heart racing as she tried to calm herself down so that she could fall asleep, but every time she closed her eyes she could see how close she was to Fleur’s face earlier that day. She was hyper aware of Fleur’s presence in her bed, the weight of her on the mattress, the heat of her body, the displacement of her breath. All of it seemed to be resonating all around her like a storm.
This silence dragged on for minutes, it was quickly becoming unbearable to Twilight and she was trying to come up with some way that she could break it when a voice cut through the silence.
“Twilight, Je veux te remercier de ne pas m'avoir abandonné. Pour me donner mon espace mais ne pas me laisser juste mon chemin sans question.” Fleur spoke soft and slow, letting Twilight translate what she was saying in real time. She had not taken her eyes off of the mare since she had crawled into the bed beside her. Every little shiver and shake she had made because of Fleur’s presence she had seen and witnessed. The constant flush on her cheeks and the heaviness of her breathing.
Twilight looked as if she was about to reply when Fleur continued speaking.
“Je n'ai jamais réalisé que je pourrais avoir besoin de quelqu'un comme un ami dans ma vie. Je suis tellement content que c'était toi de m'apprendre ça.” Again, she spoke slow and deliberate. As Twilight heard where the sentence was going the blush on her cheeks deepened more; to a shade so dark Fleur could barely see it in the lightless room. The soft glow of the room casting them both in a faint silver.
Twilight gradually opened her eyes as she listened to Fleur, turning ever so slightly to look at her she realized that the white coated mare had been watching her the entire time. She swallowed hard with how close the much taller and regal looking mare was to her.
Fleur moved slightly close to her, looming over Twilight slightly as she did.
Twilight did not move away as she came closer, though in the darkness of the night it was hard for Fleur to notice if she leaned in like she obviously had earlier in the day.
“Twilight…” Fleur whispered softly to the other as she leaned down, her cotton candy pink mane falling over Twilight’s face shielding it from the light of the moon. She pressed her lips to the others and slowly closed her eyes, waiting to see if Twilight kissed her back.
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IT LIVES
IT HAS COME OUT OF ITS 6 YEAR COMA
In regards to paragraph indents, the site implemented those so you can choose how they show up individually for each person on their end with the formatting button. You don't need to handle it anymore as the site lets people basically do what they want with them.
9062951
^^; thank you for your patience haha
9063044
Thanks for letting me know, I just hate looking at the preview and seeing them not indented. bothers me haha
Oh boy, I wonder what Twilight would have to say about Fleur constantly thinking of her as pudgy.
9064166
Probably ever so slightly self conscious and sheepish
Instructions unclear, made out instead.
(To be fair, Fancy implied he saw it coming)
I am really, really glad this story was continued. I avoided rereading it for a long time, since I thought it was dead, but it really would have been a shame if this did not finish. I do enjoy the bonding between the two of them a lot.
Now let's see how much trouble they will have to overcome to become happy together. (Hoping for a really happy ending ofc.)
Also, since there were some comments in regards to Fleur seeing Twi as pudgy, I will hazard a guess that this is mostly from a model's perspective. I'd guess Twi isn't really overweight as much as she is on the upper end of average body weight, since as opposed to some of her friends, like Rainbow or AJ, Twilight spends more time indoors reading instead of working out. (Though I fully support non-model-weight-class people or ponies in more stories, we need that).
9065564
I always like to picture Twilight a -little- heavier, nothing wrong with a bit of chunk. Not like, episode 1 post Apple Family reunion heavy but to Fleur def. Heavy.
I'm glad people still wanted to read the work, hopefully I'll be able to continue the motivation onward to more updates.
9065739
Oh, yeah, she'd have some pudge. It makes her more cuddly. Fleur's gonna find out the benefits soon.
9066327
Well I hope you enjoyed it :) Idk when the next update will be! This was all sparked by a patron on patreon who's been loyally putting up with me for a few months who came from this site :)
9064232
Maybe one will remind the other about the perks of a bit of padding here and there.
I love this story and ship
9082413
Thank you :) I'm happy to hear it.
I just read the whole story and I've really enjoyed it so far and hope to see more chapters in the future. One thing I have been wondering about after hearing her thoughts about Rarity and Fleur is, does she realize she clearly has a thing for elegant white mares or is she firmly in denial about it?
9083032
Update?
Is it just me or is it always the shipping stories with the most uncommon and unique couples that are left forever abandoned?
11600618
.
Not just you it seems