TimberTwi Tales: First Impressions

by CapNTilfy

Quality Time

A masculine scream joined Twilight and Sunset's, then died down suddenly.

"Wait..." Timber stepped out of the shadows with an ax in his hands. "Twilight?"

"Timber?" Twilight sighed in relief, putting a hand to her chest. "I'm so glad it's just you! Wait, what are you doing out here?"

"With an ax," Sunset added, pointing at Timber.

Timber looked down at his ax, then reached back into the darkness. "I was chopping down firewood," he said as he pulled a cart of logs from where he had stood.

"In the middle of the night?"

"We needed more for tomorrow night's campfire. And if I didn't take care of it tonight, it'd be one more thing Gloriosa would add to her list!" He sighed. "I've got this," he said, mocking her.

Twilight giggled, and Timber's heart felt lighter.

"What about you two? Why are you hanging out in the woods in the middle of the night?"

Twilight racked her brain, struggling to come up with a lie.

"I was sleepwalking," Sunset said with a smile and a roll of her eyes. "Twilight found me and was bringing me back to camp."

Twilight nodded, deciding to just go with it.

"Come on," Timber said. "I'll walk you guys back. I'll protect you from..." He turned quickly with a spooky-looking expression. "Gaea Everfree. Everfree, Everfree!"

"Come on," Sunset said doubtfully. "That's obviously just some spooky story you made up to tell around the campfire."

"Oh, no. It's legit. How else would you explain what happened at the docks? And that weird thing when the earth shook? Come on," Timber said as he extended a hand. "I know a shortcut back to the tents."

Twilight blushed as she took Timber by the hand, and they walked together as Timber took the cart of logs.

"So... feeling better?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, a little."

"Good. Wouldn't want you to not enjoy your time here."

"Oh, I am." Twilight couldn't believe she was actually holding this cute guy's hand! It was warm, reassuring... yet there was something about it that led her to believe he was lacking in confidence. A slight lack of strength. She would have to look into that later, she didn't want to pry any more than she already had the last time they were together. Speaking of which...

"Sunset? Spike?"

"We're right behind you guys," Sunset said from the rear.

"Yeah, don't let us get in the way of your conversation," Spike chimed in.

Twilight couldn't help but smile. It felt great to know people... and a talking dog, for that matter, had her back. She sighed happily.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Timber snapped Twilight back to reality.

Twilight grinned. "You couldn't afford them."

"Ouch," Timber said in mock offense as he put a hand to his chest. "You wound me!"

Twilight giggled, and Timber returned his hand to the cart.

"Timber."

"Yes?"

"You said you graduated from Everton High... did you ever happen to be a part of the Everton Independent Study Program?"

Timber shook his head. "No. I was already busy working here at Camp Everfree." He gestured to the forest around himself. "I already had enough on my plate as it was. Why do you ask?"

Twilight smiled sheepishly. "I... might have had a chance to become part of it, but changed my mind just before transferring."

"Huh."

For a moment, Twilight debated as to whether or not she should tell Timber about Applejack's parents. She knew that common ground was a good place to start a friendship, and from the sound of things, it sounded like he could use more friends. She had decided against it, however, because she felt that that knowledge wasn't hers to divulge.

Timber sighed happily. Holding Twilight's hand was comforting to him, like a presence he didn't know he needed. This felt good. It felt... just so right. He felt some of the stress in his life melt away, and he turned to her with a genuine smile.

Twilight blushed and returned the smile. How many times was heat going to rise to her face this week? She had to think of something more to say. She wanted to at least get to know him better before the end of her week here.

"We're almost there," Timber said, and Twilight's brain began to race. Why was her brain racing? She still had several more days to get to know more about him!

Enjoy this while it lasts, Twilight Sparkle, Midnight taunted from within, causing Twilight to flinch.

This won't last forever. The sudden negative thought caused Timber to flinch.

Twilight and Timber took notice of each other's flinching and gave themselves looks of concern. "Are you okay," they asked each other in unison. The two stopped and stared at each other momentarily.

Twilight bit her lip nervously. Now that Sunset knew about her issues with Midnight Sparkle, Timber was the absolute last person she wanted to know about them! She would tell her other friends later... "I-I'm fine," she said almost shakily. "What about you?"

Timber looked away for a moment. As much as he liked Twilight, he didn't want to burden her with personal problems. Not before getting to know more about her, at least. "I... I'm fine too. Just had a sneeze coming on."

After a moment, Twilight and Timber resumed walking until Sunset caught up with them. "What happened," she asked. "You guys stopped and looked worried all of a sudden."

"It's... nothing," Timber said quietly.

"I'll tell you later, Sunset."

"Oh... okay, then." Sunset started walking back until Timber put a hand on her shoulder.

"No need to go back," Timber said, then pointed an opening in the foliage. All the tents in the main campsite were visible from their standpoint.

Spike joined up with the group. "Hope I didn't worry you guys," he said. "The night's full of animals that could use a good chasing!"

Twilight snorted, then picked Spike up. She smiled at Timber. "Thanks."

"Anytime," Timber said as he threw Twilight a salute, then headed back to chop more firewood.

Twilight, Spike, and Sunset exited the forest.

"So what was that all about," Sunset asked, folding her arms.

Twilight sighed heavily. "Midnight's been taunting me relentlessly in my dreams and in my mind."

Sunset put a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "We'll figure this out tomorrow. Okay?"

Twilight nodded, and the three went into their tent for the night.

Comments

[talefortheages]

Oh no, the ship haters have come back for revenge! I wish people would just read it before deciding whether they actually like it or not. It's pretty easy to tell when someone just hates the ship because they don't bother to leave a review arguing that the story isn't good and instead just leave a measly little thumbs down.

As always, a good chapter! I really do like seeing this from Twilight and Timber's perspective as opposed to Sunset's, like how it was in the movie. Sunset is good too, though. Don't get me wrong there, but Twilight is adorable.

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

Great work as always.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

Twilight smiled sheepishly. "I... might have had a chance to become part of it, but changed my mind just before transferring."

I still question if she still wanted to attend if after the friendship games but since she doesn't in this version I'll take it.

Twilight and Timber took notice of each other's flinching and gave themselves looks of concern. "Are you okay," they asked each other in unison. The two stopped and stared at each other momentarily.

Lol!