The Sinners and the Saints

Hitting the Books

...What?

It was as if the words had hit Rarity, but her brain refused to register what Twilight had meant. She couldn't possibly mean...? No, no, Twilight wouldn’t do that. Rarity knew when somepony wanted that. And her friend would never be that bold...would she? Uncertainty and worry clouded the white unicorn’s head, leaving her standing there before finally giving a shaky answer.

“...What?” And so we come back again, full circle.

Twilight laughed, reminding Rarity vaguely of the wind chime in front of her store on a windy day. “You know, my house! Read some books, tell some stories...it’ll be like our own little sleep-over! Come on, it’ll be fun!” Once again, her mouth was moving, but Rarity could barely keep up.

A sleep-over? It sounded innocent enough...but Rarity had lived long enough to know that sleeping over at some pony’s house didn’t always equate to just talking and reading. Sure, before with Applejack and Twilight had been fine, but what if it was just...the two of them? Alone in the dark, sleeping in the same bed? The doubt gnawed at the back of Rarity’s mind, but, knowing Twilight, it was probably just her being paranoid.

“Why, that sounds just...lovely, Twilight. I would love to.” However, she still couldn't keep the anxiety from creeping into her voice. Luckily, the other mare didn’t pick up on it. Or at least acted like she didn’t.

A smile spanned the gap of Twilight’s face, ear to ear. “Great!” Now, it was her turn to drag her friend behind her, practically skipping all the way to her house. Mouth running at a mile a minute, she kept gushing about all the things they would do together, mixed with a symphony of gasps and exited squeals. Rarity wasn’t really listening other than responding with the occasional “yeah” or “that sounds fun”, but she couldn’t help but find the other girl’s incessant prattling...cute.

There was that word again. Cute. What did it even mean? Sure, it had the same definition as ‘sexy’ or ‘hot’, but what did it really say? Dictionaries were always wrong about this type of thing. Sure, Twilight could always trust in her books and read the lines of symbols fluidly, but what about the spaces in between them? Behind every word there was more words, explaining and defining it. But, what about the things you can’t explain? The connotation? The tone? The feeling? That one word...cute...it rubbed Rarity the wrong way. There was...love behind it.

And love wasn't something she had to spare.

Denial and conflict now rushing to fill where paranoia once was in her head, Rarity continued to fuel the metaphysical battle in her head with disconcerting thoughts. Still, Twilight bubbly charged on ahead anyway, unaware of her friend’s distress, before coming to a sudden halt.

“We’re already here?” Rarity’s asked with surprise, nearly stumbling into her friend with a less than graceful stop. It seemed like it had been mere moments since they had started walking.

Twilight was already disenchanting the seal on the door with her magic. “Yep!” She replied in a single upbeat note, before pushing the door open and stepping inside. She held out a hoof and gestured Rarity inside, closing the door behind the white pony.

She had forgotten how big this place actually was. There were towers of bookshelves every where, filled to the breaking point with volumes and tomes of every shape and size, whilst other books were simply scattered around the floor, albeit neatly in A-Z stacks. In many of the collections, notes and drafts poked out from between the pages, presumably filled with precise information that was accurate to the letter. The place smelled faintly of glue and old binding, like the aroma of a paperback fresh off the presses. Rarity loved that smell. And tucked right in a small cubbyhole behind yet another bookshelf, were stairs leading to the upper floor. Twilight’s bedroom.

“ Well, home sweet home, eh? Sorry for the mess; Spike really hasn't gotten around to cleaning it lately.” Twilight introduced her house as Rarity took in the sights in awe. It was like a whole new place to her.

“Speaking of the little guy, where is he now?” Rarity asked Twilight, wanting to know whether or not they will have any privacy or not. However, she couldn't help hoping that he would be here as a deterrent to do anything...unmentionable. Picking up one of the books with her magic, Rarity looked it over. Floccinaucinihilipilification,eh? Sounded fancy. She liked it.

Twilight thought for a moment, before remembering something. “Oh, he’s out. He’s been really busy lately, or at least so I’m told.” She gave an adorable snort before talking again. “He’s having a sleepover, too, with the Cutie Mark Crusaders in their tree house. So, we have the whole entire house to ourselves for the night!”

Sadly, Rarity didn’t exactly have the same excitement that Twilight did. The entire house? To themselves? The entire night? It didn’t really sound like the best idea to her, considering the entire day she had been trying to convince herself that she wasn’t falling in love with her friend. She had never felt like this with anyone before, she have never felt so much like...herself. And spending the entire night with that same person? Definitely not the best idea.

And her nerves didn’t settle anytime after then either. Not when they did each others hair, Rarity giving Twilight her trademark hairstyle, while Twilight straightened hers into a style just like her own. Not when they told ghost stories, with Twilight clinging onto Rarity in fear. And certainly not when they read that book together.

Because that’s when everything turned upside down.