Twist kept her face pressed to the window, her glasses threatening to break. Any second now, her aunt Fleur de Lis would come up the short dirt drive. Any second now, she would knock three times on the door. Any second now, she would officially be here.
Any second now...
Knock, knock, knock.
Twist tore down the stairs and down the hallway, stopping right at the door. Throwing it open revealed a tall pink unicorn mare. "Twist, dahling!" Fleur laughed, sweeping her niece into a hug. "Oh, it is so good to see my favorite niece. How long has it been? Bon Bon?" She peered into the kitchen, Twist still clinging to her.
"It's only been a week, Fleur." Bon Bon laughed. "Still nice to see you, though. I have ginger snaps in the oven, we'll have those after dinner if that's alright with you."
"That would be lovely." Fleur smiled one of her beautiful actress smiles. Twist was always the tiniest bit envious of her aunt. How pretty she was, how nice she was to everypony, how nopony made fun of her ever. She then felt sad. What if her aunt didn't like her anymore, because she liked Apple Bloom...like that? Twist didn't know what she'd do if that happened. Aunt Fleur was awesome.
Fleur glanced down at Twist, concern gracing her features. "Are you alright, dearest? You seem a bit down."
Twist glanced up at her aunt, forcing a smile. "No, nothingth's wrong. I'm fine."
Fleur frowned. "Dahling, something's wrong, I've been an actress long enough to tell. You know what, let's go up to your room, and you can tell me all about everything that's happened since I saw you last." She looked to Bon Bon for confirmation, who nodded. The two headed upstairs to Twist's room.
Her room was small and neat, with a dresser, bed, desk, and bookshelf. The works. Twist hopped onto her bed and gestured for her aunt to join her.
"Hey, where'th Uncle Fanthy?" Twist asked.
"He's busy, dearest; he really wanted to come with me and see you. He says hello, by the way." Fleur pulled Twist into a hug almost absently, a shadow of sadness passing over her face. It quickly vanished, however, and her eyes shone with excitement as she turned to her niece.
"So, what's been happening?"
Twist opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, thinking for a moment. She opened it again, only to close it. This repeated for a minute before Fleur broke the silence.
"Twist, you know you can tell me anything."
"IkisthedAppleBloomlasthweekandnowe'rekindofthortofinarelationship!" Twist said in one big breath. "I-I was worried-"
"That I'd be upset with you? That I'd think any differently of you? Twist, dahling, that's simply ridiculous!" Fleur began to mess with Twist's curly red hair in her magic as she spoke. "Some ponies in Canterlot might be that ignorant, but I'm not one of them."
Twist relaxed. "I'm justh...thcared. I'm really, really thcared."
"You have every right to be, dahling." Her aunt said gently. "Discovering one's sexuality is always scary. But you need to look fear in the face, and overcome it. And remember, you'll always have this..."
"Apple Bloom." Twist supplied.
"Apple Bloom, to help you every step of the way." Fleur smiled. Twist hugged her.
"Thank you, Aunt Fleur."
"It's no trouble at all, sweetness." Fleur gave her a small peck on the cheek. "Was there anything else bothering you?"
"Well..." Twist's ears flopped in sadness. "I..."
"Yes?" Fleur asked, her tone soft and sweet.
Twist fidgeted a bit as she spoke. "I'm worried that I'm not good enough for Apple Bloom. She'th pretty, she'th smart, she'th a natural leader, and her acthent's kinda cute." Twist blushed. "While I'm not pretty, nowhere near the thmartetht, and I've got thith dumb lithp."
"Twist, stop that right now." Fleur's purple eyes flickered with intensity. "You're a lovely little girl, cute as a button, you're very smart if your grades are anything to go off of, and your lisp is adorable. And if Apple Bloom returns your feelings, then she thinks you are a suitable partner, and you're both happy. The end. A real lover will care more about the size of your heart than the size of your dress." Fleur pulled Twist into a tight hug. "Remember that."
"I will, Aunt Fleur." Twist said fervently, her eyes closed as she returned the hug. "I will."
"Good." Fleur smiled. "And if this Apple Bloom ends up breaking your heart, then she'll have some explaining to do."
Twist laughed. "She'd never do that. She'th amazthing."
"I'll bet she is." Fleur's smile became softer, the smile of someone who was looking back on a fond memory. "You know, when I met your uncle, I was just like you." She booped her niece gently on the nose. "A lily who had yet to bloom."
"Really?" Twist's eyes went wide with interest.
"Yes indeed, dahing." Fleur brushed aside a lock of her mane as she recalled the tale. "I was at a dance, just sitting there all alone, and Fancy Pants comes and starts a conversation with me. For no reason! It wasn't on a dare, it wasn't because he pitied me, he came and talked to me simply because he wanted to be nice. We talked, and we danced, and then I guess the rest is history. Let that be a lesson to you, Twist. Lilies who think they'll never bloom always become the most beautiful flowers."
"Lilies who think they'll never bloom always become the most beautiful flowers." Twist repeated. She was going to write that down.
"Dinner!" Bon Bon shouted up the stairs.
Fleur turned to Twist. "Better go downstairs."
The two headed down for dinner. They had pasta and greens, one of Twist's favorites, but she barely noticed. She was still mulling over everything that Aunt Fleur had told her. She still wasn't entirely convinced she was pretty, but she would bloom one day. She knew it.
After they said goodbye to Aunt Fleur when she left at nine o' clock, Twist ran up to her room. Tearing out a scrap of paper from her notebook, she took a pink pen and wrote what Aunt Fleur had said in her best flowery script. Taking a piece of tape from her desk, she managed to get the piece of paper to stay on the wall.
"Lilies who think they'll never bloom always become the most beautiful flowers."
Author's Note
You know who never gets any stories? Twist.
You know who needs more stories? Twist.
You know who is on a personal crusade to write those stories? Me.
