Twilight's Strange New Illness
It was a bright, sunny morning in Ponyville. The birds chirped cheerfully and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Twilight Sparkle was too lost in thought to notice the nice weather as she trotted through the streets of Ponyville, a worried look on her face. She reached the door to Carousel Boutique and opened it. Rarity, busy working on a new outfit, didn't see her come in. Twilight called out, "Rarity, I'm sorry to bother you, but I need your help with a problem I've been having."
Rarity turned her head in surprise. "Twilight, I am always happy to help a friend," she replied. "What is troubling you?"
"Well, I think I might be coming down with a new illness," said Twilight. "It has to be something new, because I've searched through the entire section of medical literature and found nothing that matched my symptoms."
Rarity frowned in worry, then took a few steps back. "It's not contagious, is it? Are you sure you should be traveling around town when you're sick?"
Twilight shook her head and smiled reassuringly. "As far as I can tell, it's not spreading to anypony else," she answered. "And the symptoms are not like any illness I've ever heard of before." Twilight levitated a clipboard with her magic and started reading from it. "I made a list of them. Elevated heart rate, redness in my face, difficulty speaking coherently, difficulty concentrating on what I'm doing," she recited. "The strange thing about these symptoms is that they only happen when I'm near or thinking about Fluttershy. I can't have developed an allergy to her, right?" Twilight asked, brows furrowed in confusion.
Rarity's eyes widened upon hearing that last point of Twilight's list. "Oh my. I think I know why you've been unsuccessful finding information about this in your library, Twilight," she said with a grin. "You should be looking in the romance section."
Twilight looked even more baffled. "What? The romance section? How can I find help for a new disease from there?"
"Well, I don't think what you're dealing with is a disease, darling," said Rarity. "It sounds to me like you have a crush on Fluttershy."
Twilight's jaw dropped. "I, uh, buh..." she managed. She scanned the list of symptoms again and thought back to when they had first appeared. Two weeks ago, Fluttershy had visited the library. She had picked up a book on bats, and hugged Twilight before leaving. Every time she had been around or even thought about Fluttershy since then she'd noticed those odd feelings. Twilight blushed. "I think I'd better get back to the library and do some research on love and romance," Twilight said, half to herself. She hurried outside and down the street. She left so abruptly that she didn't hear Rarity calling after her, "Twilight, come back! I can help you set up the perfect date!"
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Early in the afternoon, Rainbow Dash opened the door to the Ponyville library to see Twilight Sparkle surrounded by a huge mess of books on floor. Twilight was too busy reading at least five books at once to notice her come in, so Rainbow said, "Hey Twilight! I'm looking for some books on the Wonderbolts."
Twilight jerked her head around in surprise. "What? Oh, all the books on the Wonderbolts are on that shelf, I think." Twilight pointed to a shelf on Rainbow's right. She went back to reading her books.
"Whatcha reading, Twilight?" ask Rainbow Dash. She glanced at the titles of the books in front of Twilight. "Romance for Dummies. Dating 101: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Dating (But Were Afraid to Ask)," Rainbow read.
"I have a crush on, um, somepony, but I'm not sure what's the best method of telling her how I feel," replied Twilight. "One book suggests I ask my crush out on a date, another says I should just tell my feelings without asking her out, and a third book says both are equally good strategies. It's all very confusing, especially since I only realized I had a crush on this pony earlier today."
Rainbow smirked. "Her? Who's the lucky mare, Twilight?"
Twilight sighed. "If you promise not to tell anyone-"
"I promise," Rainbow said.
"Or laugh," Twilight finished.
"I'll try not to. Just tell me who she is," said Rainbow impatiently.
Twilight sighed. "Alright, it's Fluttershy. I have a crush on Fluttershy," she muttered.
Rainbow shook her head. "Come on Twilight, you thought I'd laugh at that? I'm your friend," Rainbow said.
"I know, I'm being silly, but I'm worried," Twilight said, pacing. "What if I tell her and she doesn't feel the same way? What if telling Fluttershy about my feelings tears apart our entire group of friends?" Rainbow groaned and put her hoof to her face as Twilight continued. "Okay, maybe that's a little extreme, but-"
"A little?" Rainbow interjected. "I think our friendships are stronger than that, Twilight."
"Okay, so I should focus on the main problem at hoof," Twilight muttered. She turned back to the books in front of her and rubbed her chin with a hoof. "How do I let Fluttershy know I'm interested in her? Would she prefer a more direct approach or..." She carried on talking and flipping through reference guides as Rainbow rolled her eyes and scanned the shelf of Wonderbolts books. Rainbow thought she heard something over the sound of Twilight's rambling. She looked away from the bookshelf and glanced around the room. The library door was open, and a pink-maned, yellow pegasus was standing in the doorway.
"Twilight," Rainbow warned, but Twilight wasn't listening.
"...but if directly asking Fluttershy on a date scares her off, then maybe I should just tell her my feelings, and-" Twilight looked up from her books. "Did you say something, Rainbow?" Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at the open door, and a blushing Fluttershy.
"Oh horseapples," Twilight said, and dropped all the books she was levitating. Fluttershy blushed even more, then grinned sheepishly.
"Twilight, um, I'd be happy to go on a date with you," Fluttershy said. "If that's okay with you, I mean, if you're not too busy or-"
"YES!" Twilight yelled. Fluttershy jumped and fell over at the loud sound. "Hehe, sorry," Twilight muttered, blushing furiously. Fluttershy got up, walked over to Twilight and put a wing over her.
"Well, I think I've found what I was looking for," Rainbow Dash said, taking a book off the shelf and heading for the door. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." She grinned and flew outside, closing the door behind her.
"If you don't mind my asking Twilight, how long have you felt this way toward me?" asked Fluttershy.
"About two weeks I guess, but it took me until today to realize that love was what I was feeling," replied Twilight. She chuckled. "If I hadn't gone to Rarity for help, I still wouldn't have realized it."
"Rarity helped you? Oh, that explains why she told me to go see you in the library when I stopped by her shop earlier," Fluttershy said. "She's the one I confided in when I figured out that I had a crush on you a few months ago. She suggested I visit the library more often until I worked up the courage to ask you out."
Twilight smiled. "Well, it looks like her playing matchmaker with us has paid off. So, I know it's short notice, but would it be okay if we have our date tonight?"
"Oh, that would be wonderful," said Fluttershy, hovering above the floor happily.
