Winter Chocolate
Winter Chocolate
by Jupiter VII
For once, Twilight couldn’t wait for the clock to strike nine, when she would be able to close the doors of the castle and the library. Any other day, she’d leave the library area open until at least eleven at night – or until the last bookworm finally decided to take their book home with them.
This night, however, was a special night.
It was her third date with her best friend and hopefully soon-to-be-marefriend. Though nothing had happened yet, and she was still trying to come to terms with the fact that something might happen, Twilight was determined to make their third date even better than their last.
Third time’s the charm, right?
Snowflakes drifted onto the ground outside, a soft breeze pushing them towards the window Twilight was watching from. She could see Ponyville’s Hearth’s Warming Eve Market in the distance, the multicolored lights warm and inviting, glowing brightly under the night sky.
That was Twilight’s destination on that important night. A nice trot through the stands, some delicious hot cocoa after, and maybe later some quiet stargazing in some secluded spot. The best part about it was that she hadn’t decided to have the date there, which spared her from the incredibly stressing need to figure out where exactly would her date want to go.
“Princess Twilight?”
Twilight turned away from the window, finding a filly standing next to her with a book inside her small saddlebag.
“Princess, can I take the book home with me, please?” the filly asked, offering a hopeful smile.
“Of course! Come with me!” Twilight said immediately, setting off towards the counter near the main entrance.
She glanced around for any familiar face, but once she’d verified that her date had yet to arrive, she continued on her way. Upon reaching the counter, she quickly trotted behind it and took out a brand new library card, on which she wrote down the filly’s name, the date, the book’s name, and the return date.
“Chapter twenty-three is especially good,” Twilight said, carefully updating the library card inside the book. “Have fun!”
She watched the filly go before looking around at the desk. Several stacks of books had gradually formed during the day, either from ponies returning books or ponies being too lazy to actually put them back in their place. Twilight glanced at the clock on the wall, and seeing that it was only a quarter to nine, decided she might as well put them away.
One by one, she leafed through the pages, updated the cards, and magicked them into their proper places. She'd almost gotten to the end of the second stack when she came across a special book: Predictions and Prophecies.
“Oh, wow, I haven’t seen this in a while,” she whispered, her curiosity overpowering her concerns about her upcoming date.
She opened it up, intent on reading a few pages, but instead found a neatly folded piece of paper. Who left this here? she wondered, looking around for a potential owner before checking the library card. To her surprise, no name was marked down, which meant that whoever forgot the item hadn’t actually checked out the book.
Her curiosity piqued, she put the book down and focused on the paper, unfolding it and finding a somewhat messy yet elegant sketch of herself reading from a window. The style was immediately recognizable, and just as she was about to look back up for the artist, a voice reached her first.
“Oh! There’s the book! I was wondering where I'd left it!”
Twilight looked up, and she felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of Rarity.
“Well,” Twilight said with a smile, carefully folding the drawing again and placing it next to the book. “The library is about to close. Would you like to check it out?”
Rarity furrowed her brow, toying with her scarf. “That depends entirely on one thing, darling.” She looked from the book to Twilight and asked with a mischievous smile, “Can I check you out too?”
Twilight wasn’t sure what exactly made her laugh. Maybe it was just how terrible the pick-up line was, or maybe it was her own brain trying to lighten up because it still felt so… so weird and foreign and thrilling to have Rarity even be saying such things to her.
“Wow,” she finally said, delighting in Rarity’s faux-offense.
“Don’t ‘wow’ me, Twilight. I’ll have you know it was Pinkie’s idea." A sly smile decorated her lips as she leaned in. “Is it working?”
Twilight, who’d read at least fifteen books on flirting and was practically an expert on it, gave her flirtatious reply by letting out a silly giggle and saying, “Uh-huh. Wait! No, I mean, maybe! I mean, uhm—”
Rarity’s laughter silenced her stammering. “I’ll take that a yes, then.” She stepped back, briefly glanced at the clock and then turned back to Twilight. “So, Twilight,” she said, brushing her mane back with a hoof. “Do tell, any plans for tonight? Or are you staying home to read like the bookworm you are?”
Panic was Twilight’s immediate reaction.
“What do you mean?” she asked, ears shooting up and a lump forming in her throat. “We have the… You and I are supposed to go out… That was today, wasn’t it?!” Her calendar suddenly appeared in front of her, which she frantically scanned for the right date. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh—
“Twilight.”
Rarity’s magic pushed the calendar back down, allowing her eyes to meet Twilight’s panicked ones.
“Wh-What?” Twilight asked, fearing the absolute worst.
“You really are adorably terrible at this, aren’t you, darling?” Rarity asked, her voice teasing but endearing. "Never mind. I'll make sure you get better."
Twilight felt herself blush, but not so much out of embarrassment as contentment, excitement, at how Rarity's words hinted to a future. She didn't want to get excited, but the unicorn made it hard not to.
At that, the clock above them chimed nine times, and both mares let out a small unintentional gasp, followed by a nervous smile.
Twilight cleared her throat, stepping from behind the desk and taking a look around. There were still a few ponies lounging about, and now she wished she'd taken the time to shoo them out a bit earlier.
"Everypony, the castle is closing early tonight!" she announced, somewhat sympathizing with the disappointed groans that emerged from a few readers. "If you'd like to check out…" She drifted off, a blush once again arising upon noticing Rarity's cheeky smile. "If you'd like to take a book home with you, please come to the desk now!"
"Well, I'll go wait outside," Rarity announced, eyeing the forming line of five or six ponies. "Be a dear and fill in my library card, will you?"
"Your library card?" Twilight asked. "Wait, you really are taking the book home?"
Rarity smiled, fluttering her eyelashes and trotting off. "Oh, I wasn't talking about that silly library book."
It took a good fifteen minutes, but it was with great relief that Twilight finally ushered out the last of the ponies. When she closed the castle door, she adjusted her scarf and turned around, waiting for the small crowd to disperse and reveal her date.
To her surprise, and her heart's rapid acceleration, Rarity's get-up had changed. She was wearing a long elegant blue scarf, matching boots, matching saddlebag, and in her mane, a matching blue bow. She was so cute, Twilight thought, and it was weird to think that about one of her best friends, but it was true and Twilight wanted to lean in and cuddle her and—
Her train of thought was interrupted by Rarity, who let out three sneezes, nose pink from the cold.
"Bless you," Twilight quickly said, and Rarity wrinkled her nose.
“Goodness, somepony must be talking quite vividly about me,” Rarity noted, adjusting her scarf. “Poor darlings. I suppose I ought to feel bad for them.”
“Feel bad for them?”
Rarity laughed. “Of course. I imagine they must be weeping at the idea that I might not be on the single pony market much longer.”
Snowflakes fell to the ground like a brush on a canvas, painting Ponyville's streets white. This did not deter the residents of the town from trotting off into the night and towards their busy schedules. Foals draped with scarves and bonnets ran through the snow, their quick canter leaving muddy hoofprints across the white paths. Lights of many colors hung from the roofs and windows and decorated poles and signs. They made for a beautiful sight to the princess and seamstress trotting by, their laugh drowned out by the conversations of the ponies around them.
Twilight and Rarity talked about everything and nothing at the same time. Truth be told, Twilight didn't much care for what she was saying; it was like having a conversation on auto-pilot. It was easy to do so, too, and it was perfect since it allowed Twilight to focus on Rarity — focus on her essence and presence, not on the words they were exchanging.
Two trains of thought juggled around in the alicorn's head. One was the conversation about Rainbow Dash's recent exploit as a Wonderbolt, and the other was the idea of… maybe not a life of this, no need to get ahead of herself, but a month of this, or maybe a year, or maybe more.
Idle conversations, the things she had every day, her blanket of comforting familiarity mixed in with the new and different part of being intimate with someone. She'd read in her books — the many books about relationships she had — that relationships crumbled when routine settled in, but with Rarity, it felt like it would be impossible to have a routine. A relationship would completely shift Twilight's safe haven of practiced tasks, and rather than scare her, it felt like she was on the verge of discovering a new side to her life.
"We can only hope this doesn't mean we'll be seeing less of Rainbow," Rarity said, and though Twilight wanted to reply, she sneezed instead.
"Oh dear, it seems we were both unprepared for the weather," Rarity noted, looking up at the sky. She stopped for a moment, just a split second, before brushing up against Twilight and intertwining their tails. "Right! This is much warmer, don't you think?" she asked, her air of nonchalance betrayed by the blush on her face.
Twilight felt her cheeks heat up as well. "Oh, yes, body temperature is always a good way to keep warm," she said, and for a split second, she debated wrapping her wing around Rarity. It was something she'd done before, when Rarity whined about being cold, but this was different. This wasn't a friendly get-together, it was more, and as such every action meant more. In the end, she contented herself with just staying close to the unicorn.
Upon reaching the marketplace, Twilight's senses were immediately bombarded by a wide array of stimuli: the multicolored Hearth’s Warming Eve lights decorating the stands, the dull lull of ponies' excited chatter mixing in with songs sung by street musicians, the smell of hot cocoa and caramelized almonds filling her nose.
"Don't you love Hearth’s Warming Eve markets?" Rarity asked almost breathlessly, stepping to the side when a couple of foals rushed past them, their laughter filling the air. "There’s something about them that gets me so wrapped up in the holiday spirit. Sit near a fireplace, put on holiday music, and drink hot chocolate alongside my special somepony."
Twilight didn't know exactly how to take that. That was only their third date, so attributing herself the title 'Rarity's special somepony' felt wrong, and yet… and yet, the point of dating was to potentially be awarded that title, wasn't it? Was Rarity hinting to things yet to come?
"Shall we go get some?" Rarity asked, gesturing towards the distant hot chocolate stand, where a line of ponies were already waiting for their cup of heaven, tongues hanging out of their mouths in anticipation.
Once they were standing in line, something which Twilight insisted on doing despite the frantic ponies who offered to let her move up the queue, she took a moment to reflect on how everything was going pretty well. They'd made it to the market and they were getting hot cocoa, so those were two things from the checklist done.
"You know," Rarity said, lifting her hoof to brush back Twilight's bangs, "I was thinking on going to Canterlot next week. Coco will be doing the costume design of a play, so I thought I’d offer my support." She then paused and after a moment added, “Might you be interested in joining me, perhaps?”
Twilight could feel her heart skip a beat. Had Rarity just confirmed there'd be another date?
"I’d love to!" she replied, belatedly chastising herself for her enthusiasm. Her books had instructed her to act calm and collected at all times!
Two, three, four ponies went by, and finally it was their turn. They ordered two medium hot chocolates with extra whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, which Twilight insisted on paying for — not that Rarity protested this when a lady always expects to be courted.
Now that they had their beverages, the two friends moved along, and Twilight found it difficult to resist the cocoa scent any longer. Licking her lips, she brought the rim of the cup to her lips and took a long, drawn-out sip.
Mmmmm…
“This is really good,” she declared, distinguishing the light almond flavor that had been added into the mix. It was, in fact, possibly the best hot chocolate she’d ever tasted, though it was entirely possible that her mind was so happy at being with Rarity, it was tricking her into thinking everything was top quality.
She’d have to come back tomorrow and run a second test.
“It certainly smells like it is,” Rarity added, looking up from her drink and towards the alicorn. Her expression shifted, from curious to amused, and a warm smile graced her lips. “Twilight, I must say your new whipped cream mustache is quite becoming of you!”
“My what? Oh! I’m sorry!” she blurted out, a blush rushing up her cheeks. She hadn’t brought a napkin with her, and since she wanted to quickly get rid of her newfound source of embarrassment, she quickly lifted her hoof to—
“Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity all but gasped, her magic aura preventing Twilight’s hoof from reaching its target. “Don’t use your hoof, for goodness’s sake! Honestly, you’re absolutely helpless.”
“No, I’m not!” Twilight protested, cheeks still flushed. “I just… forgot to ask for a napkin.”
“Ah. I see,” Rarity said, her sly smile warning Twilight that she indeed could see Twilight — right through her that was. “Nevertheless, I will not tolerate your barbaric manners.”
Twilight snorted. “Right. I’ll just go get a napk—”
“Wait!” Rarity blurted out, putting her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “I have something better!”
Twilight blinked. “Uhm, okay?” she said, but a quick inspection of Rarity revealed that she was holding nothing even remotely resembling a napkin or similar artifact.
Maybe she had some in her saddlebag?
Rarity didn’t say anything at first, her hoof trailing down Twilight’s shoulder and onto her chest. Twilight stared at her expectantly, and it was this same intent stare that allowed the alicorn to realize Rarity was…
...blushing?
“Rarity?” she asked tentatively. “What’s the better solution?”
“It’s…” Rarity bit down on her lip, her flush ever just a little more pronounced, and she then delicately started to lean in towards Twilight, so much so that Twilight herself felt her cheeks redden at the proximity.
She’s… She’s going to… She’s not going to ki…
She could barely formulate the thought, barely grasp it, barely form a sentence as Rarity leaned in closer and closer, her hoof still pressed on Twilight’s chest, until the unicorn’s horn glowed brightly and a napkin levitated out of the bag, which she somewhat gently rubbed against Twilight’s mouth.
“There! I already had some, see?” Rarity exclaimed. She then discarded the napkin inside a nearby trash can before turning to Twilight, whose sight was still set on her. “What? Why are you looking at me that way?" She raised her eyebrow ever so slightly, a sly smile on her lips. "Whatever were you expecting, darling?"
Twilight shook her head. “Nothing! I was just… Why don’t we go find somewhere to sit?” she suggested, hastening to forget the impression she’d had that Rarity was going to kiss her. It had probably been wishful thinking on her part, and the more she thought about it, the more she was a bit relieved nothing had happened.
It all still felt so new, and it was bizarre in a thrilling way to think about Rarity — her best friend — kissing her. She was still safely nestled in an ambiguous position where they were neither more nor less than best friends, and she was afraid to find out she might not be ready to get rid of the uncertain status of their relationship.
In the distance, Twilight spotted the designated eating area, where families had gathered to rest around wooden picnic tables. There seemed to be one empty table, and though it was right next to some particularly loud foals, she decided that Rarity probably wouldn’t mind.
“There’s an empty table,” she announced, trotting towards it, and later finding it difficult to actually advance when Rarity was stoutly pulling on her scarf.
“Twilight, sweetheart, might I suggest a different spot?”
Twilight blinked. “A different spot? I don’t see why not,” she said, though she would have thought it might have been more efficient to eat at the designated eating spot. Eating somewhere else might make for a mess, wouldn’t it?
Still grasping Twilight’s scarf, Rarity looked around, past the stands and ponies scattered about.
"How about… There!"
Before Twilight could ask where 'there' was, Rarity pulled her away by the scarf, leading her away from the marketplace and towards the adjacent park. There was a bench right near where they came out, which seemed to be Rarity’s designated spot.
Arriving to the bench, Twilight noticed it was soaking wet with melted snow. Initially, she looked to Rarity, expecting the unicorn to change her mind on her seating selection, but instead, she found her date fluttering her eyelashes at her.
"What?"
Rarity smiled politely, gesturing to the bench. "Well, darling, as I'm sure you've noticed, it's wet, but I'd really like to sit there with you..."
Twilight looked back and forth between Rarity and the bench. "Oh. Pfffft," she said, playfully rolling her eyes at the same time as a spark of magic shot out of her horn and cleaned the bench.
"You have magic too, you know," she pointed out, watching as the now pleased Rarity sat down.
"True though that may be," Rarity said, patting the spot besides her, "we both know who's the more skilled at magic here, do we not?"
"That's not true!" Twilight replied in earnest. "I mean, yes, it is, but I spent my entire life studying magic. Your magic, though, is already unusually high for a unicorn without proper training. Though it's probably related to your connection with the Elements of Harmony, which according to my research increased the natural mana of the six of us, so technically speaking it's not really you that's unusually high-skilled, but— but—! That d-doesn't mean you're not incredibly—"
"Twilight?" Rarity softly interrupted, once more patting the spot besides her.
A flustered Twilight immediately followed the implicit order, sitting herself down next to Rarity and focusing on her drink. It wasn't until her third sip that she felt the distinct impression of being watched, and when she glanced to her side, she saw Rarity quietly drinking from her cup, her eyes fixed on Twilight. It wasn’t so much an analytical stare as it was… a quite smitten one, especially so if even Twilight could correctly interpret it as that.
"Uhm, Rarity?" she asked, hoping she wasn’t blushing like she felt she was.
"Hm?" Rarity replied, her penetrating sight still unnerving the alicorn as she lowered her cup of chocolate. "Something wrong?"
"Uhm… You were looking at me, so..." she drifted off, unsure of how she'd even wanted that sentence to end.
"Well, It is customary to look at someone when addressing them," Rarity replied, once more lifting her cup to take a sip.
“No, really? I had no idea!” Twilight said, giggling. "How fascinating!"
"I know! It's fascinating!" Rarity exclaimed, trying and failing quite miserably to not join into the alicorn's laughter.
“And, technically," Twilight said, "you weren’t addressing me. You were just looking at me like… like you…" She drifted off, suddenly finding herself unable of voicing the reality of their situation. Saying it out loud made it real, and Twilight still wasn't sure she was able to cope with real.
"Like I what?" Rarity asked innocently, and Twilight couldn't help but wonder how much of that innocence was genuine. She suspected none of it was, especially since she'd learned by then that Rarity could read her as effortlessly as reading a fashion magazine.
Twilight felt her cheeks redden. "Well, you know… You were looking at me like you... You know!" she exclaimed, gesturing helplessly.
Rarity laughed. "I apologize, Twilight. Though you have become one of my favorite sights, it's rude to stare so I will refrain from looking at you like—" She playfully mimicked Twilight's gesture. "That."
"No! That's not what I meant! I like you looking at me like that," Twilight blurted out, only belatedly processing what had gone through her mouth.
Thankfully, before she could blurt out anything else she'd later regret, Rarity fluttered her eyelashes and spoke up.
"Lucky for you, then, because I can't stop looking at you! And no, before you ask, I did not get that from a novel," she clarified before Twilight could say anything. "Attraction is a series of calculations my brain is making every single second, and whether I want to or not, you and I are constantly analyzing each other so as to better determine certain physical features that would make us good partners for each other." She then leaned in ever so slightly, took a sip of her chocolate, and added with a sly smile, "And heavens, I assume I must be ringing all the right bells because now who's looking at others like a smitten kitten?"
Though Twilight was sure that her gaze towards Rarity was always smitten, there was actually something else fueling the alicorn's affectionate expression.
"Actually, Rarity, I was going to say that your white mustache looks nice on you," Twilight informed, unable to suppress a grin when she saw Rarity's cheeks turn a light shade of pink. "It suits you."
"Darling! Everything suits me," Rarity replied with a harrumph, brushing a hoof through her mane. "Mustaches all the rage now, didn't you know?" She then took her saddlebag and rummaged inside it, furrowing her brow. "Hm, let me find a napkin."
Twilight giggled, endeared by the entire scenario, and subsequently captured Rarity's attention.
"What?" she asked, and for once her innocent blink probably wasn't hiding any ulterior motive. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
For a split-second, Twilight was about to echo Rarity's earlier reply and explain she wasn't looking at Rarity in any special way, but then… then her mind went back the moment where their positions had been switched, and that blissful second where it felt like everything was pointing to Rarity crossing Twilight over the thin line between friendship and romance.
She knew that saying anything would make her lose her nerve, so rather than think up a witty reply, Twilight forced herself into action, wanting to take the step the unicorn had teased her with. Giving herself no time for second thoughts, Twilight leaned in, closing her eyes and pressing her lips against Rarity's, muffling the latter's surprised squeak.
And as fast as it began, so did it end because it turned out that though Twilight could hold her ground against centaurs and Spirits of Chaos, she wasn't able to hold her nerve much when kissing her crush, and best friend, and realizing how soft Rarity's lips were, and how they tasted like chocolate and whipped cream, and how she wanted to keep tasting them over and over.
Twilight didn't immediately look at Rarity after breaking the kiss, instead looking away out of sheer embarrassment. She could feel whipped cream on her lips, and when she finally turned to Rarity, she realized she'd done a pitiful job at taking care of Rarity's mustache.
Rarity, however, seemed to care little for that, instead opting for staring at Twilight with wide-eyes, slowly licking her mouth clean in quite the unladylike gesture, and then regarding Twilight in agonizing silence.
"I didn't have a napkin, so I thou—"
A raised hoof silenced Twilight, and before she could question it, she felt Rarity's lips on hers. Unlike the first kiss, which had been a fast chaste affair, this kiss had absolutely no interest whatsoever in being quick or chaste. Rarity took Twilight's scarf with her hoof, using it to shorten the distance between them as much as she could, while their lips danced against each other, as tasty as it was thrilling.
"I didn't either," Rarity whispered when they finally broke apart, their lips still brushing against each other, her grip still firm on Twilight's scarf.
Twilight honestly felt like laughing, or even pulling back and squeeing in joy, but she told herself there'd be time for that later, and in that moment she allowed herself a content sigh and pressed her forehead against Rarity's.
"So," Rarity said, finally pulling back, "how was that for a third date?"
Twilight giggled, biting down on her lip. "I'll tell you once we get more whipped cream."
FIN