“What the hay?” Applejack asked, looking at the door of the Ponyville library with one eyebrow raised. Like the four other ponies around her, she’d tried the door, and like the other four ponies, she’d found it locked. Which was odd, considering that Twilight Sparkle had specifically asked all five ponies to come to the library tonight, and was even more specific about the time: five minutes ago.
“M-maybe she forgot?” Fluttershy fidgeted, cowering behind her mane as Applejack looked her way.
“That hardly seems likely,” Rarity retorted. “Did you see the look on her face? Whatever she wants to tell us, it must be important.”
“Oh, I hope she shows up soon,” Pinkie Pie pronounced, bouncing up and down while somehow not disturbing the tray of snacks balanced on her head. “The cupcakes are getting homesick!”
The ponies all turned to Pinkie, but it was Rainbow Dash who dared ask. “Homesick?”
Pinkie nodded vigorously, the tray still somehow undisturbed. “A cupcake’s home is in the tummy!” she said. Rainbow Dash just stared, not sure why she’d bothered.
The sound of the door unlocking startled the ponies (except for Pinkie, still basking in the glow of her own logic), and they turned to see a somewhat frazzled Twilight pulling the door open. “Sorry I’m late,” she said. “It took longer than I thought it would to get Spike to sleep. Come in, and keep your voices down, please.”
One by one, the ponies walked into the library, which was dimly lit, and followed Twilight up to the kitchen, where she encouraged them to take a seat. Pinkie set her tray in the middle of the table, and the ponies settled in, turning their attention to Twilight, waiting for her to explain why they were all there.
And waiting.
And waiting.
It was Rainbow Dash who broke the silence. “You gonna talk to us any time soon?” she said, leaning over the table and peering at Twilight, who started and smiled nervously.
“Oh! Right. Yes. Sorry. It’s just …” Twilight trailed off into silence again. The other ponies waited, all eyes on Twilight—except for Pinkie, who had dug into her own tray of snacks and was chewing cheerily. After a moment, Rainbow Dash opened her mouth again, only to be interrupted by Twilight. “Okay. I’ve thought and thought about how to say this, and I haven’t figured out a good way to, but I need to say it, so I hope you’ll all put up with me rambling a bit.”
“Whatever it is you need to tell us, we’re here for you,” Rarity said; given the way Twilight was acting, she suspected the news was both serious and unpleasant. Fluttershy nodded, smiling reassuringly, and Applejack smiled too.
“Honesty’s the best policy,” Applejack agreed. “Just take your time.”
Twilight smiled back, but it was still a nervous smile. “Okay. Um, this isn’t the way this sort of thing normally goes. I mean, this is the sort of thing that’s usually private, and I thought about telling you each separately, but then I’d have to decide which of you to tell first, and I couldn’t make up my mind, so I thought I should tell you all at the same time, only now that you’re all here, it’s all … awkward.” She trailed off, looking from one pony to another, seeing looks ranging from confused to concerned to cheery to chafed.
It was Rainbow Dash, again, who spoke first. “Would you just get on with it already?”
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity scolded. “This is obviously a very sensitive subject, and we should give Twilight Sparkle all the time she needs to tell us properly.”
“Fine,” Rainbow Dash whined, slumping on the table, looking at Twilight, who looked back at her sadly.
“I’m sorry, Dash. It’s just …” She took a deep, cleansing breath, then let it out again. “Well, we’ve all been through a lot together. We rescued Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon, we defeated Discord … but more than that, we’ve learned over and over again about the magic of friendship.” She looked around the table at the other ponies, returning her gaze to Rainbow Dash. “You haven’t just taught me about the importance of loyalty; you’ve been an inspiration with your energy and your determination to not back down, no matter the odds.” Rainbow Dash lifted her head from the table, preening at the praise.
“Applejack,” Twilight continued, going around the table. “You’re hard-working, dependable, and honest … not just telling the truth, but showing me that you don’t have to hide who you really are. I don’t think I’d be brave enough to say this if you weren’t here.” Applejack nodded, but her expression was serious.
“Pinkie Pie … well, what can I say about you?” Pinkie looked up from her second cupcake, eyes wide and curious. “You’re bouncy, you’re happy, and you want to put a smile on everypony’s face. I haven’t always appreciated it, but your laughter has helped me through a lot of scary situations. Thank you.”
“Laughter is my middle name!” Pinkie replied. “Oh wait, no it isn’t. But wouldn’t that be an awesome middle name? Pinkamena ‘Laughter’ Pie. I could get it on business cards! ‘Business cards’ is a boring name, though. I should get fun cards! They could mmf mmbl mmm.”
“Fluttershy,” Twilight said, a hitch of laughter in her voice in spite of herself, as Applejack removed her hoof from Pinkie’s mouth, leaving her to chew on yet another cupcake. “You’re brave too, braver than I think you know. You’ve faced some truly scary things—like the Cutie Mark Crusaders—” Quiet laughter echoed around the table. “—and never let your fear keep you from sharing your kindness with us all.” Fluttershy dipped her head at the praise, but she was smiling too.
Rarity, however, was mirroring Applejack’s solemn expression. “Darling, I do hope you’re not planning to say goodbye!”
Twilight chuckled weakly at that. “It does sort of sound that way, doesn’t it? But no, I’m not dying, and I’m not leaving. I just …” She hesitated. “Applejack taught me that it’s okay to be myself, but you taught me how to share that self with others. Without you, I’d probably still have my nose in a book all day.”
“You still do have your nose in a—ow!” Rainbow Dash glared at Applejack, rubbing her shin.
Twilight continued as if she hadn’t heard the interruption. “You don’t just give; you inspire others to give too. That’s the true spirit of generosity.” Rarity inclined her head graciously as Twilight turned her attention to the group as a whole.
“You’ve all been the best friends a pony could ask for,” she said. “And that’s why …”
Silence. Rainbow Dash moved to open her mouth, glanced over at Applejack again, and closed it. Twilight took a slow, deep breath, held it for a moment, and then spoke.
“… I want to be special friends with all of you.”
Four jaws dropped. Pinkie seemed oblivious.
Rarity was the first to recover. “Oh … oh my! Well, I’m … I’m flattered, but … you’re right, this isn’t how it’s usually done at all.” She fanned herself with a hoof, a blush coming to her cheeks.
“Are you serious?” Rainbow Dash blurted. “You want … with all of us? I don’t even …” She tried to say more, but she couldn’t seem to form the words.
“Now, Twilight, I think of you like family, but I don’t know as I’m ready for … that!” Applejack stammered.
“I think it’d be nice,” came a quiet whisper, and the attention of the table turned to Fluttershy, who flinched but stood her ground. Twilight’s face, which had been gradually falling into despair, formed a small, hopeful smile.
“I know this is a big thing for me to ask,” Twilight said. “You probably need some time to think about it. And I won’t think any less of you if you say no.” She met each pony’s eyes in turn. “But I’ve thought this over, and I’m sure this is what I want. Just … when you’ve decided, let me know, okay?”
The ponies looked at each other, then at Twilight. “I ain’t saying no,” Applejack said, looking down at the table and idly tracing at it with a hoof. “But I gotta do some hard thinking.”
“Oh, Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity offered. “It was very brave of you to admit your feelings like that. I … I do need some time to think it over, but I promise you, I’ll let you know the very instant I’ve decided.”
Rainbow Dash said nothing, but she offered a sheepish smile to Twilight, rubbing the back of her head.
“Well, I think it’s a super splendiforous idea!” Pinkie said, on her hooves without, somehow, having actually stood up. “Let’s do it!” And with that, she zipped over to Twilight’s chair, Twilight’s eyes widening, looking a bit panicked.
“What, here?” Rarity protested.
“What, now?” Rainbow Dash squeaked.
Pinkie lunged at Twilight, knocking her out of her chair. Jaws dropped again.
“… oh my,” Rarity said, fanning herself again. Rainbow Dash had gone rigid with shock. Fluttershy was covering her eyes with her hooves. Only Applejack watched with any sort of aplomb, though seeing two of her friends going at it felt like it would set her cheeks on fire.
After what seemed like forever, Pinkie Pie came up for air. “Woo! That was awesome! We should do that again! Come by my place tomorrow! I’ll get some party hats!” And with that, she bounced out of the room.
The other ponies present looked at each other, then, coming to a silent agreement, filed out of the kitchen one by one, leaving Twilight on the floor, eyes glazed over. Only Fluttershy even tried to say something to Twilight, and in the end she lost her nerve and hurried after the others.
After a moment more, Twilight’s eyes cleared, and she pulled herself back into her chair. Her whole body was quivering, release and relief washing over her, chasing away stress and anxiety. Some analytical part of her mind twittered on about brain chemistry, but she largely ignored it, focused instead on reliving the experience she’d just had.
Then, slowly at first, she smiled, the smile threatening to take over her face. One hoof moved to touch that most intimate of places, still feeling the warmth of Pinkie’s presence.
“My first kiss,” she whispered. “Oh, it was just like in the stories!”