1: Sparkle
Twilight Sparkle was confused.
After the successful Hearth's Warming Eve performance, the six elements of Harmony settled down in their hotel room in Canterlot to rest before taking the train back to Ponyville the next day. As they snuggled into their separate beds, Twilight looked around to see if everypony was ready for the lights to be dimmed.
"I'm going to turn off the lights, everypony ready?"
"Sure ah am, sugarcube!"
"I'm quite ready to get my beauty sleep, darling."
"Okay... Goodnight Twilight, goodnight girls...” Fluttershy said softly.
"WHEEEEE!!! I'm so tired I can only talk for ten more seconds! Night night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite! Wait, is that ten seconds already? Just on time!" Pinkie Pie began to snore immediately, although whether the strangely loud snores were genuine or not, the other ponies did not dare to question.
"Rainbow? Oh my, she really can fall asleep really quickly... so, goodnight girls," said Twilight as she turned off the lights with a flick of her magic.
Because Twilight's brain usually whizzed at extremely high speeds during daytime, she needed a bit more time to shut down her thoughts.
What a great day, the performance really was a great success! Though the rehearsals weren't always that fun…
Twilight rolled her eyes as she thought of some bloopers that had happened backstage. There was that time when Pinkie stole everypony's helmet and piled them all on her head; and Rarity wanted me to carry her a gazillion times! Thank Celestia I had that cape on during the real performance... Otherwise I'd have to feel Rarity's bare rump on my back again.
She suddenly felt her body temperature rise a few degrees. Oh, I guess I shouldn't be thinking of that…
She tossed and turned, and finally fell asleep. But another memory, brought up by her musings, came in her dreams to haunt her. The look Rarity had thrown her when she ordered Twilight to 'stoop down'...
------ ------
A few weeks had passed after the six friends arrived back in Ponyville from Canterlot, and Mr. and Mrs. Cake were having a baby. Naturally, they had invited their employee Pinkie Pie and all her friends to the hospital to see the new-born foal.
"Can you believe the new baby is finally here?" Applejack gushed excitedly.
Twilight couldn't wait to see the foal as well. "Cup Cake and Carrot Cake must be so proud!" she said, the same level of adoration in her voice as Applejack’s.
The ponies kept making guesses about the baby until Mr. Cake appeared behind the glass. "Meet our son, Pound Cake." He lifted Pound Cake's blanket for all the ponies to see. "And our daughter, Pumpkin Cake!"
The Cakes had twins! Twilight watched as Pinkie Pie popped up on the other side of the wall and started to sing and celebrate for the babies despite the warning looks of Nurse Redheart.
Pound and Pumpkin were just so adorable! With Pinkie around, they were both sure to grow up as very happy ponies, and Twilight knew that her friend would be just the perfect playmate for them. After all, Pinkie was just like a daughter to the Cakes as well.
Rainbow Dash was talking to Mr. Cake about baby pegasuses, and the bookworm felt she should also give Mr. Cake a pointer on taking care of baby unicorns.
"And be careful around Pumpkin Cake-" She started to advise, but Rarity beat her to finish the rest of her sentence.
"-Baby unicorns get strange magic surges that come and go."
Um.... How did Rarity know exactly what I was going to say? Twilight looked sideways at the fasionista, careful not to let any of her curiosity show on her face. Unbidden recollections of Hearth's Warming Eve resurfaced in her mind.
------ ------
Back in the library, Twilight was getting more and more frustrated, trying to drag up memories that she had not thought much of before; but the more she tugged up, the more confused she got. The first time they had met... Twilight scrunched her nose, trying to remember what had happened during that encounter with the fashionista.
Rarity put lots of outfits on me... then took- no, ripped- them off? No, that's not very strange... it should count as normal? Because she was just trying to find the best look for me, that is her profession, after all... But now that I think of it, it was a bit intruding, since we were total strangers then. But if she hadn't so generously taken me to her place, we might not have become friends…
Unable to glean any more information from this memory, Twilight racked her head for more instances when the white coated unicorn had contacted her too physically for comfort to analyze.
Then there was that time everypony was buttering me up for the extra ticket to the gala... She was practically kissing me, urgh. Twilight's mind almost short circuited when she remembered how Rarity had rubbed her mouth against her face, and how tightly Rarity had pressed her to her chest.
Unable to keep on examining her friend's past behavior on four hooves, Twilight dragged herself up to her bed and flopped down on it.
And during Hearth's Warming Eve... Whenever the other groups were merely high-hooving or chatting, she'd always snuggle right up to me and put her hoof over my shoulder... and I always returned the gesture because I never thought much of it...
Come to think of it, when we were singing the carol at the end, Applejack and Fluttershy had their hooves around each other too, but I remember they had a distance of about three hooves between them, while Rarity and I... were practically glued together!
Feeling weak, Twilight didn't have the strength to think about this anymore. When it came to studying and conducting experiments, she could easily continue until late in the night; but unfortunately, confusing behavior between her and another mare was an exception, and so Twilight decided to call it a night. She pulled the sheets over herself and fell asleep almost immediately.
------ ------
The next morning, Twilight woke up to find that the rays of Celestia's sun were already shining through the windows of the tree library.
"What, have I overslept?" She trotted to the window and peeked out. A quick glance at the angle of the sun told her it was about an hour before noon.
"Who'd have known I could get so worked up thinking of... whatever I was thinking about last night?" she muttered as she shook her head of the remaining sleepiness, trotting down the stairs to get a quick breakfast. Tossing some flower petals together with some toast, she chewed slowly as strength gradually spread through her limbs.
Now that my head is much clearer, I should resolve this confusion so it doesn't nag me in the future... Last night was completely unpractical! The baffling behavior of a mare... no matter how close I may be with her, should be treated as mere theory.
And so Twilight decided to continue organizing her thoughts, but with a more scientific approach. She quickly skimmed the shelves of the library, drawing out books she thought would be useful with her magic.
"Hmmm. This looks interesting." Adding 'The Body Language of Ponies and What They Tell You' to her small pile of books, she plunked herself down and started what she hoped would be a brief research session that would clear her questions away.
------ ------
Already two-thirds of the book pile had been worked through by Twilight – most of them had been unhelpful starting from their table of contents.
"Yeah, this chapter looks just right!" she exclaimed, when she saw 'Private space between friends' listed on the contents list of one volume. Flipping quickly because she didn't want to waste any more time when more important things could be done, she read the passage.
‘While occasional hugging and snuggling is perfectly normal between friends, there may be instances when a simple gesture may mean something more.’
Twilight skimmed through the more unimportant parts.
... ‘For information on romantic relationships originating from friendships, please turn to page 156.’
Excited that she might have found something that could solve her confusion, Twilight continued reading on the indicated chapter. But her excitement quickly died down.
What? This only mentions romantic relationships between a mare and a stallion.
Twilight furrowed her brow. Urgh, waste of time, waste of time! Next book!
------ ------
Two hours had passed and the pile of books had all been reshelved by Twilight, and she felt she could finally come to a temporary conclusion.
Now, summarizing everything I learned from those books, the fact Rarity snuggles me quite a lot is perfectly normal. Although she seldom seems to do so to my other friends, it may be that she just feels more comfortable about touching me. We both are unicorns, after all.
Twilight smiled briefly when she thought of all the generosity her unicorn friend had shown her. Rarity was always eager to make Twilight dresses, and to give her makeovers... Compared with Fluttershy or the other ponies, Twilight was sure she was probably the pony that cared the least about her appearance, despite growing up in Canterlot.
While there may be small indications that she may like me a little bit more than our other friends, that was still no reason for me to get worked up like last night. I admit that sometimes our contact is just too close for comfort, but well, everypony's idea of personal space is a bit different.
Satisfied she had gotten her emotional tangle brushed down, Twilight started setting up apparatus for the chemical experiment she had planned for the day.
I guess I'll just have to pay more attention to what Rarity is doing next time we hang out. I definitely have to observe more, although I know now that my suspicions may be completely untrue.
And so the scientist in Twilight's mind dipped her confusion into ice-cold water, and then stored them away. Little did she know that her new aloofness would possibly cause one of her best friends to suffer.
------ ------
Another three days passed, and Twilight and her friends were having yet another one of their pony pet playdays.
"Okay Owloysius, let's go!" Twilight said to the owl on her back as she opened the library door.
"Who."
"Spike, I know you've never wanted to come, but how about this time? Want to come play with us?"
"No thanks. I'm sure you'll be too busy playing with your pets, pity Rarity already has Opal..." Spike replied in a dreamy but wistful tone.
"But Opal has such a mean temper sometimes; you know that Rarity has her hooves full with her when that happens. Perhaps she could use some... help?" Twilight said.
"Alright, alright! Just this time though, since you insist," Spike tried to remain disgruntled, but the mention of Rarity had captured his interest. The truth was, he knew that Twilight just didn't want him to feel left out when she left with Owloysius. "But just, you don't have to pay much attention to me, I'll be okay."
They walked to the meadow and saw that Applejack, Pinkie, and Fluttershy had already arrived with Winona, Gummy, and Angel.
"Howdy, Spike, glad ta see you could join us today!" said Applejack, trotting up to Twilight, Spike, and Owloysius.
"Twilight wanted me to come, so here I am," replied Spike.
"And Twi' was always saying how ya never wanted to come."
"Well, um, I guess I used some more persuasion on him this time." Twilight glggled, shooting a side glance at the baby dragon.
Spike glared at Twilight, annoyed, and she grinned awkwardly.
Just then, Pinkie Pie came springing over. "Oh! Spike's here! Is he your pet now, too? Is he, Twilight? Ooh I'm so glad, now he can play with our pets every week!"
"No, Pinkie, he's just joining us for this time." Twilight smiled as she looked to the brink of the meadow to see if Rainbow Dash or Rarity had arrived yet. As if on cue, she spotted Rainbow Dash zooming in with Tank from the right, and Rarity trotting closer with Opal from the left.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry we're late girls, but Opal here was a bit... uncooperative today." Rarity pouted, looking at Opalescence's smug face.
"Hey Tank! You've gotta control your tanki-copter better when we go so fast!" Rainbow Dash complained as she and Tank touched down, and headed towards her five friends and their pets.
After chatting for a few minutes, they started the playday, ceasing the conversation to play with their respective pets.
But instead of spending time with her cat, Rarity seemed to have other ideas. She immediately trotted up to Twilight, who was watching as Owloysius flew.
"Oh, Twilight darling, it seems like ages since I've last seen you!" said the elegant unicorn in her expressive, musical voice.
"Hi Rarity! Well, I've been quite busy these few days, and I suppose you were too," Twilight replied in a friendly, calm manner. Wow, she comes right up to me, and here I was worrying about how I could get to observe her behavior more.
She chuckled in her mind, but then berated herself. Twilight Sparkle! How could you think of Rarity as an experiment subject? A scientific approach is what you need, but that does not make emotional detachment to her right!
The two ponies were distracted by a grumpy Opalescence, who tried to catch Rarity's attention by swiping her claws at her owner.
"Oh dear, it seems Opal is bored..." Rarity seemed unhappy for some reason, perhaps the prospective that her conversation with Twilight would have to be cut short, but then she spotted Spike lounging on the grass nearby.
"Spikey Wikey, would you please be a dear and take care of Opal for a while?" said the designer, nudging her cat towards the purple dragon.
"Of course Rarity!" Spike sprang up, clearly willing to do anything at Rarity's bidding, especially when she had uttered the magic nickname.
Twilight watched the scene with some amusement. Clearly Rarity wants to talk to me alone... No, wait, don't jump to conclusions again, you remember where that got you last time!
"As I was saying, Twilight," said Rarity, sidling up to Twilight, "Why don't you come over to my boutique this afternoon? Your mane looks like it needs a good treatment." She paused when Twilight didn't say anything. "Oh, not that I'm saying it's not gorgeous, but even the most beautiful of diamonds need polishing, do they not?"
Twilight Sparkle was touched yet again by the generosity of her friend. True, Rarity cared a lot about her own looks, but she was also equally concerned about the beauty of her friends. But you don't see her wanting to give the others makeovers or hoof-made dresses every other week...
"Of course, I'd love to!" she replied, but then her new clarified mind stopped her. "But come to think of it... I think I have this report I have to finish today."
Rarity immediately looked put down, but still a bit hopeful. "Then tomorrow, perhaps?"
Twilight was about to refuse again, but the look in Rarity's eyes was so sad, she couldn't. There was no harm in getting yet another makeover anyway... " If I get the report finished today, I'd love to visit your place tomorrow."
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Dude, this i great, keep it up!
Based on this it seems like Twilight is the one who is crushing, though she may not realize it. Rarity's behavior is all innocent on its own, especially when you consider that pony's don't care a whit about wearing clothes or not. Twilight, however, is imagining everything as titillating. Seems like she may need to do some more self-reflection here.
Very interesting, I look forward to seeing where this goes. Good job.
Taking innocent gestures and turning them into shipping fuel - Bronies.
I love it XD its also kinda obvious that its probably not Rarity with the crush
Alright, Fine. Twilight shipping is BEST shipping
Cheers
~iraqlobstah
pretty interesting even if this first chapter seems a bit bland to me, looking forward to the next one though
really liked this! from one new author to another: keep this up! we don't have nearly enough rarity shipping
Ooh. Interesting. Keep it comin'!
Oh, Ah kannot wayt fur the next wun!
Hmm int seems to be intrestingg, can't wait to read more of it.
interesting concept...
want
but it seems twilight has the crush...
Thanks to all of you for the feedback!
The main idea of the chapter is Twilight realizes that Rarity perhaps treats her a bit differently (especially when compared to the other ponies). Right now Twilight is simply confused, and all revelations will come later.
Well, I got this idea when I noticed that of the three pairs of sovereigns/advisers in the Hearth's Warming Eve episode, Twilight and Rarity were more 'snuggly ' than the others, and during the final carol, they were the only pair that weren't shuffled. (AJ with Flutter, Pinkie with RD)
Oh no I know that makes my mind sound twisted or something...
S. 2 Ep. 10: Rarity takes time to help Twilight sort out her library and even makes her a dress.
S.2 Ep. 9: Her comment towards Twi. about being the best and she was going to pour herself into making an extremely fancy dress for her.
S.2 Ep. 1: Gave Twi her umbrella.
Ep. 14: Twilight was the first to be offered a dress for the gala (again with the dresses, I know).
Ep. 8: She was the one to suggest that they try and make Twi's sleepover a success.
142364
I mean, she risked her glorious mane! I'll find someway or another to mention more of the points.
I'm so grateful that you took the time to list those moments in the show
I also thought the Rarity giving her umbrella to Twilight scene was so
And to everyone who commented, I thank you again for the feedback and suggestions
Alright, I've read... perhaps three paragraphs, and i'm already liking this story. However, i will say this:
resting for the train
If you'd like to stick with that wording, i respect that, but i think something more like
resting up before the train
may work better. I really don't think they are "resting for the train", they are resting for the ride, are they not?
I'll keep reading when i get back from school.
322603 wow, I'm actually surprised that someone'd read this, it's been a while since I updated
Usually ppl start with my stories that are featured, like Good Morning Twilight, Love the New Hairstyle, it has been featured for two days so it's almost down now 
or A Moonlit Balcony, 
This chapter is really the first thing I've ever wrote! very old work indeed (if january counts as old lol)
322616 I know how that goes, don't worry. But yes, i like it so far! i'll be reading on in just awhile, but honestly, this may be something i need to recommend on dA!
322784 I could toss you the dA link for this story if you need it; tho i'm actually more active here I've uploaded some of my earlier stories there.