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THIS STORY FEATURES HEAVY SPOILERS FOR “THE ENCHANTED LIBRARY”.
I. The Library in the Forest
For a thousand years, the ghostly Princess Twilight Sparkle was alone.
For a thousand years, she had nothing but two owls, two candelabras, and a thousand crushing years of endless, spiraling thinking.
This was how it was supposed to be, she thought to herself, staring down a book she’d stared down a million times before. Year after year, this was what she deserved. How it should be.
Wasn’t it?
It was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was—
She closed her book and ended her thoughts.
Someone was in her library.
II. The Princess In The Library
Rarity.
The name burned her lips long after the strange mare was gone, hurried off with one of her books, limping from the injury inflicted on her.
“Hoo?”
Twilight’s eyes flittered towards the black owl beside her, hooting with excitement at the prospect of having a new friend.
“She’s not coming back,” said the princess, belatedly realizing she’d been harsher than intended when her owl frowned.
But it was the truth. To believe otherwise would be to indulge in hopeful fantasies and though she had all the time in the world for many things, fantasies were not one of them.
III. The Questions In The Labyrinth
“Rarity?”
Twilight watched as the mare came to a stop right before the tunnel.
“Yes, Princess?”
Twilight swallowed. “When you offered to look for the others. Whether you meant it or not, I wanted to say… Thank you.”
Rarity smiled at that. “You are most welcome, Princess Twilight.”
And it was something about the smile. Something raw and primal and strange. It was sincere, even after Twilight had accidentally hurt her and been distrusting and rude.
It was too much, so the princess teleported away, uncomfortable by something stirring within which she would spend days trying to figure out.
Rarity.
IV. The Princess Parade
Rarity always returned the books Twilight gave her.
Every single one so far, which was good because Twilight valued having her books back. Her eyes drifted towards her acquaintance, the unicorn busy taking photographs of her library.
“Rarity hasn’t asked for a book yet,” she said to Elara.
“Hoo?”
“She should have one for her trip to Canterlot, shouldn’t she?” she added, because it would be a long trip and Rarity might get bored and having a book meant she had to come back to the library to see Twilight.
And return the book, which was the important part.
Obviously.
V. The Dragon Library
Rarity was supposed to return Sunday and, according to the calendar and clock Rarity had given Twilight, Sunday had ended thirty minutes ago.
She stared into the black void that was the tunnel leading out of her library. Stared, and stared, and stared, waiting in the same position she had the entire damn day.
Two owls sat beside her.
“Hoo?” said one.
She stood up and turned around.
“Hoo!” said the other.
The princess stopped and spoke, and if she cared, her voice might have cracked: “She’s not coming back.”
But she didn’t care.
This was how it should be.
VI. The Broken Promise
Crashing relief.
There was really no other way to describe what she felt when she saw Rarity again, there inside her library. Relief like she hadn’t felt in a very long, long time, and so powerful it frightened her, so viscerally in fact she wanted to push Rarity away to stop these feelings that felt too good, too happy, more than she deserved.
But when Rarity eagerly asked to be taught magic, Twilight couldn’t say no.
And when Rarity casually mentioned she didn’t want to leave yet, well…
Princess Twilight Sparkle couldn’t help but quietly feel the very same way.
VII. The Search For Princess Booky
It was something so simple, yet so strange.
The majority of ponies Twilight had known throughout her life all mostly called her just by her name. This was the normal thing! It was only recently that ponies addressed her with titles like Princess and Your Highness.
So it made sense that when she asked Rarity to drop the formalities, it wouldn’t be strange.
But it was.
“Goodbye, Twilight.”
In Rarity’s giggling lips, Twilight’s name felt… special? No.
It felt… right. Like hearing her very own name for the first time.
Like she was finally allowed to be just that:
Twilight.
VIII. The Last Letter of Fritter Cobbler
Fritter Cobbler never came back.
He promised he would, and she waited, and he never did. Just like the other ponies who’d encountered her library and never returned.
But there was Rarity, scolding Sweetie for scarfing down pies.
There she was, coming back again and again and again, and Twilight would never admit it, but if losing Fritter had been hard, losing Rarity would be…
“I’m afraid,” she later confessed. "Nopony ever came back, no matter how much I wanted. How come you haven't left, too?"
"Well, princess," said Rarity, gently. "Maybe sometimes, good things are simply meant to happen."
IX. The Shadow on the Wall
“Twilight, think about it. If that was really the Spirit, why would he have led her to me and the library? It makes no sense.”
“Rari—”
“Twilight, please, you’re just worrying over nothing.”
“Ugh!” Twilight exclaimed, the conversation repeating over and over in her head as she paced her library floor. Why didn’t Rarity understand the severity of Discord potentially following her?
What if something happened to her? What if that was the reason nopony ever came back, like Fritter and the others? Just the thought of losing her friend and never knowing what happened…
“Ugh! Rarity! Come back already!”
X. The Party Mare and Her Secret
"Okay!" declared Sweetie Belle, starting the next game in her very illicit sleepover. She turned to Twilight. “I’m going to ask you questions, and you answer the first thing that comes to mind, ok?”
“What kind of game is this?”
“It’s a question game,” Scootaloo said. “Duh.”
“...Right.”
Sweetie cleared her throat. “Favorite food?!”
“Pastries.”
“Favorite place?!”
“Canterlot.”
“Favorite princess?”
“Princess Celestia.”
“Best friend ever?!”
“Rarity.”
No sooner had the name left her mouth, Sweetie Belle gasped, indignant.
“Rarity’s your best friend?!”
“No! No,” Twilight blurted out, cheeks red. “She’s not my best friend. She’s just a friend.”
And yet…
XI. The Broken Star
Best friend.
The words floated around Twilight’s mind long after their game.
Rarity wasn’t her best friend. She wasn’t. They’d only been friends for, what, a few months at most? And yet when Sweetie had asked, the answer came out so naturally.
Her standard for friendship had changed. That was it. She hadn’t had friends in… literal centuries, so of course she’d be grateful to just anypony who hopped in. If one took that into account, then, sure, Rarity was her closest friend right now.
But her best friend?
No. Not that.
Best friends, Twilight knew, were not for her.
Right?
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Whelp, this is something I know ill enjoy and didn't know wanted so bad till now.
I'll read this before bed.
Thank you for being you Monochromatic.
I love raritwi and my favorite author monochromatic! what a treat!
11060316
<3<3<3<3<3
11060323
O: !!!!!
I've got some funky fresh news for you, Mono
Everything You Post Is The Best Thing Ever
Or, in other words,
Anything you post is automatically better than something you don't!
...That still sounds weird! The only bad question is the one never asked, and the only bad fic is the one never written or posted? Idk where I'm going with this.
Thank you for the raritwi content though, my crops are WATERED
:D Thanks Mono!
me : *casually re-reading TEK*
my fimfiction notifs : *ping*
me : ugh what now
*checking it and finding out mono write a new raritwi content*
me : *immediately clicks, liked and read it in a go*
me (after reading) : this is masterpiece
More Mono words is always a treat. I shall greatly enjoy this.
Short stories, and especially short-short stories, are their own special challenge. These are fine and worthy, and not everything is required to be the grandest or bestest ever. Just keep doing what you do, and your readers will love you for it.
You don't seem to get that we'd read anything from you, especially if it's RariTwi.
I’m only reading this if you promise you’ll keep your anti-soup propaganda out of it.
I don’t know how it would fit in but I imagine there would be much more blushing.
11060331
Pretty much this, yeah. I can get being under pressure of your own reputation, and yet... We're most definitely not here to judge.
Bullshit. We're plenty happy with your RariTwi shitposting. And fluff. And other stories. Pretty much everything, really.
Stop being mean to yourself
Like a month ago I would of been like like, "yeah raritwi is alright not really my kind if ship."
And me now; post TEL, TEK, and some bodyguard au stuff.
Me now has seen the rarilight. Blessed.
I enjoyed it, much like the rest of your work.
So you're telling me there's a trove of written treasure you're denying us because it's not good enough??! You're evil Mono, nefarious even
Also this is plenty good and cute. Thanks for sharing it
You've set your own bar really high, mono. But it's not the first time. TEL set the bar really high, and TEK pole vaulted right over it. I can believe you're nervous or intimidated. But you don't have to reinvent everything. I'd literally take TEL again. Your writing is really good, and I have faith that whatever you have planned for TEC will be really good too. Good luck.
These are lovely. It's a really cool way to revisit the original feelings that TEL evoked in the readers but from a different angle, so it feels fresh again,
now, if one of those owls was Hooty, she might’ve had a good time.
Is it me, or has there been a lot of Rarilight fanfics lately?
Always good to see more of this world from you. My only pondering is this; why publish as a separate story when The Enchanted Library: Sidestories exists as a previously intended place for stuff like this?
11061187
Aaaaaaa bc I want this to be its own thing in case I ever do add to it!
I certainly enjoyed these little snippets. It's nice to get some glimpses into Twilight's thoughts. Makes you appreciate things even more. Things like what the isolation had done to Twilight, or appreciation that Rarity (was allowed to?) return(ed).
And for the record, don't know if this helps, but I enjoyed every chapter of the Princess Bookie saga so far. It's your story you're writing and it's your story I'm enjoying. So all I'm expecting from you is continue writing your story at the pace you want and/ or can write it for as long as you want to write it. I'm sorry there is all this stress that comes with it for you. I hope you find enough joy to continue writing again. If not, TEL will always be one of my favourite stories on fimfiction and one of my favourite books in my bookcase. Which by now contains several shelves of printed pony fanfiction stories. I certainly wouldn't mind adding the other books in the saga to my collection at any point in the future.
yes
Impressive,from TS's perspective to view her feeling toward the spectacular tailoress. I like this but if possible plz update the TEC
And, happy thanksgiving, mono!
I enjoy your writing in Drabble form as well, as it turns out!
Really interesting to get Twilight's views of events, and also simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. I love how much you can fit into these small segments.
I saw your author's notes, and I just wanted to say, I have absolutely fallen in love with your writing style! The Enchanted Library and its universe have become some of my most favourite stories here in (on?) Fimfiction; heck, I think I read through the entirety of book one in less than three days
Thanks for sharing your stories with us :3
You have no idea how happy I am that you didn't gave up!