Bolted Hearts

Rarity shifted around and found that the bed was impossibly comfortable. She was sure that there was something that needed doing but couldn't bring herself to properly care at the present moment. Her silken sheets had a mixture of warmth and coolness to them that made her gently sway her legs and feet around in an effort to savor the feeling as long as possible.

Naturally this led to her arms moving as well, but as soon as she did so there was a slight disturbance. Her fingers tapped against something beneath the sheets just beside her and it took every ounce of effort in Rarity's mind to not scream, throw the covers up and then bolt for the door. She processed the new information in her tired, possibly sleep-deprived mind before coming to the conclusion that it had to be one of two things.

Either Sweetie Belle had climbed into bed with her or Scootaloo had chosen to sleep beside her. With an ever-increasing sense of worry, it was that moment that Rarity chose to open just one eye in an effort to at least seem calm and collected; or at least not fearful for her life. The sight before her was indeed a pleasant one and she quietly let out a deep sigh of relief, wiping her brow of imaginary sweat as her nerves shifted from a sense of dread into a feeling of giddiness.

It seemed that she had woken up rather early - or late, it was really hard to tell - as the telltale signs of moonlight flooded through her window. The room around her was dimly lit by its light, but most importantly the dastardly intruder was bathed in its light in the most splendid of manners. The familiar pale-orange hue of Scootaloo's skin was dimmed even further, to the point at which it might have been called grey, but the distinct, muffled hum of the magic core within her chest made it much easier to verify that it was indeed her.

This made it ever-so-slightly more awkward when she found that her hand had not yet moved. Drawing it back, she silently praised the night for allowing such a series of clumsy events to go unnoticed by anyone besides herself. She did notice, however, that the spot in which her hand had laid itself was unusually warm. Rarity had spent several days perfecting the synthetic skin that wrapped over Scootaloo's metal plating beneath. It was something Twilight had devised in theory but something Rarity improved upon in practice.

A magic webbing of lace mixed with the conductive metals beneath gave off a realistically warm feeling coming from Scootaloo's body, but the webbing was supposed to prevent overheating due to its cold nature. With a bit of reluctance and only after a round of reassuring her that, no, this was not the same as copping a feel when someone slept, Rarity laid her hand gently against Scootaloo's shoulder to confirm her suspicion.

She wasn't exactly hot, but she was warmer than usual. Rarity came to the conclusion that it had to be the combination of being underneath sheets and being so close to another warm body that caused her metal plating to simply pick up a bit more heat than usual.

The cause for alarm assuaged, another sigh of relief escaped Rarity's lips. So far there have only been minor problems when it came to Scootaloo, and all of them had been hardware issues rather than software issues. It'd be an entirely different ordeal to have to peel back the synthetic weave and plating in order to get at her core in case it needed to be adjusted or even replaced.

"Look at me getting all worked up over Scootaloo being a little warm," Rarity mumbled to herself. She felt a mixed sense of foolishness and pride at being so concerned over her friend, and she allowed herself a small smile in response to her doting.

Rolling onto her back, Rarity realized that all her worrying and theorizing had actually woken her up completely, to the point where she now found herself stuck between two points. On one hand, she could get up and make a good bit of noise preparing herself for the day before her; on the other, she could lay here beside a fine lady that she found herself increasingly aware of. It was now that she worried whether or not blushing could overheat Scootaloo if Rarity got too close, but she dismissed that too as foolishness.

"There's no harm in a bit of cuddling," she reminded herself, remembering a certain night in which she found herself at Twilight's home after a long night of work trying to fix a problem with Scootaloo's processors. She awoke to find her back against something soft, with a dainty purple arm wrapped around her waist comfortingly. Back then she chose not to do anything about it, so why should now be any different? Nothing had even come from that night!

Ignoring the ever-rising heat in her cheeks, Rarity turned back onto her side and tentatively raised a hand beneath the sheets and lowered it onto Scootaloo's hip. It was like a slow-moving and awkward dance that Rarity was performing alone as she tried to shift in the bed in such a way as to not wake her companion. After what seemed to be five or so minutes in Rarity's head, she found herself in the same position at Twilight's, but in reverse.

It was an certainly an interesting position to be in, and Rarity found herself smiling with a peaceful bliss at the situation. There was a certain comfort in simply having someone beside her - or against her, as was this case - in the darkness of her moonlit room. If this is how her nights were going to go, Rarity could certainly get used to having a new friend around the house.

That thought filled her mind and twisted itself around until it made her give another smile, this time wider and warmer than before. Fatigue was creeping its way back into her bones and soon enough she found her eyelids growing heavier. With only the thought of sleeping this feeling away to hold her back, Rarity reluctantly let go and drifted into a gentle sleep.

She had never seen someone fly before. The fact that creatures with such a large and diversified structure could even lift themselves and support flight was an art that Scootaloo had not quite wrapped her head around. Fortunately for her, both Rarity and Twilight had accompanied her to the park in order to watch the stunt performance.

There was another, a yellow pegasus named Fluttershy, that sat beside her and the others as they looked on at the spectacle. Were she not so focused on Rainbow Dash, which is what they referred to the pegasus in the air as, Scootaloo might have noticed that Fluttershy's eyes were entirely trained upon her.

All the while that Scootaloo had been observing Rainbow Dash's flight patterns and tricks, Fluttershy had been silently observing her. Every movement, from the calculating and precise twitches of Scootaloo's eyes to the perfectly-still and tranquil position that she had chosen to sit in. She sat up straight, to the point which one might consider her royalty if they were to observe her stillness. The smallest of factors upon Scootaloo's features perplexed her and fascinated her in both a scientific and curious manner.

Eventually, when Rainbow Dash's flight path took her gaze farther to the left, Scootaloo noticed the watchful eyes of the yellow pegasus were dead-set upon her own personage. She interrupted her studying of Rainbow Dash's methods in order to properly address the woman beside her, having previously regarded her with nothing more than a handshake and simple greeting.

"Hello," she offered, noting that the pegasus recoiled at her voice and look away immediately. Concerned that she had unintentionally offended her, Scootaloo quickly tried to apologize as best she could, as Sweetie Belle had taught her when she had accidentally knocked over a picture frame.

"I didn't mean to stare. I'm sorry," Fluttershy replied meekly, looking up at Scootaloo from her downcast position.

"No apology needed," Scootaloo said with a small shake of her head. "Why did you stare?" She found the pegasus just as fascinating as the pegasus found her, fortunately, and this seemed like an opportunity for learning.

It was Twilight who spoke up in Fluttershy's place, "Fluttershy's a biologist. She studies all manners of creatures in and around Ponyville and writes informative reports directly to Princess Celestia. She's also a bit shy, so don't mind the quiet demeanor."

At this, Fluttershy merely nodded and offered a smile towards Twilight in gratitude. It was quickly returned in kind, with Rarity turning to face Scootaloo with a similar expression. "She's also very helpful when it comes to comforting others," she added as she laid a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder. This seemed to give the yellow pegasus a minor boost in her confidence, as she straightened her back and nodded once again.

"I just know how to listen," she tried to compromise, to which Rarity waved a hand and gave a quick comment about modesty.

"Studying me?" Scootaloo asked curiously as she turned her body to face Fluttershy properly. She now sat on her knees, back straight, and her hands folded in her lap. If anyone mistook her for royalty before, they'd guess she were a princess by now.

"Oh, yes. Your design is very fascinating. I'm not sure if it counts as biology, but maybe it'd count as arcanology. I've studied a small amount of that on my own," she answered with a bit of eagerness in her voice. She scooted slightly closer and raised a hand tentatively. "May I?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow.

One nod and arm-lift later, Scootaloo's hand was taken into Fluttershy's and turned over, palm open. The biologist went to work examining the features and contours of the synthetic skin that Twilight had co-designed with Rarity. She asked various questions on how it was made and most of the explanations flew well over her head, but she listened intently nonetheless.

It was then that a gust of wind found its way across the area that they had chosen to sit at and Scootaloo turned to see the aforementioned blue pegasus landing besides them. "Hey! Were you guys even watching me just now? I pulled off this crazy stunt!"

"I was, Rainbow," Twilight answered nonchalantly, leaning back onto her hands and crossing her legs. Before Rainbow Dash could interrupt her in disbelief she recited, as if from memory, "You did a double-corkscrew loop leading into a dive and ending with a wing-burst."

"And it was awesome wasn't it?!" Rainbow replied without missing a beat, clenching her fists and grinning triumphantly. "Aw man, is this Scootaloo?" she asked almost immediately after, cutting Twilight's next response and the rest of the conversation off.

"Hello," Scootaloo greeted by turning her head over her shoulder and up at Rainbow, leaving her hand to Fluttershy's careful tending.

"Hey!" came the reply, with Rainbow sitting down rather roughly by falling onto her backside with a sigh. "So can she talk like one of us, or has she not learned that much yet?" The question was directed at Twilight rather than Rarity, but it was the latter who spoke up first.

"I assure you she can talk like any one of us, dear. And she is right beside you," she said softly and with a gentle wave of the hand towards Scootaloo.

"I saw you flying," she mentioned, referring to Rainbow's earlier comment that Twilight answered. "You are very good."

"Not just very good! I'm the best! Been training since I got my senses about me and it's all led up to this. Fastest flyer in Equestria and certainly the coolest," she boasted with as much grand presentation as she could possibly muster, earning a roll of the eyes from Rarity and a quiet laugh from Twilight.

"Can you teach me?" Scootaloo asked with the straightest of faces, to which a sudden silence overtook the group. Two were stunned with realizations, one was surprised at her boldness, and another was a bit confused. The latter, Rainbow Dash, rubbed the back of her neck and gave an awkward cough.

"Well ya see, ya kinda need uh.." she tried to word it carefully enough, her eyes searching Scootaloo's back for something akin to a jet pack or some such device, "wings. To fly."

After a moment's consideration of that fact, Scootaloo rephrased her question. "Can you teach me why you fly? The mechanics behind it and the sensations arising from it?"

"You mean you just wanna know what it's like? Yeah, totally!" Rainbow responded enthusiastically, jumping to her feet and holding out her hand to help Scootaloo up. "It's like, first nature to me. Even walking feels weirder than flying to me."

Scootaloo's attention then turned towards Fluttershy, who let go of her hand and said, "All done. Thank you." She could tell the yellow pegasus was holding something back but did not press her against the matter - it seemed to be the incorrect method of doing things if Rarity's demeanor was anything of an example.

Speaking of the white unicorn, Scootaloo then turned and asked for permission from Rarity in order to go along with Rainbow. "It's fine, darling. Just.. Try and stay safe. And Rainbow: if it gets dark before you're done, please take care of her. Or escort her to one of us."

"You got it, Rare. Now come on, Scoots! Lemme teach you all about life up in the clouds," Rainbow replied with a rising giddiness, taking Scootaloo by the hand and pulling her upwards. She then hooked an arm around the android's shoulders and led her off towards who-knows-where whilst chatting.

"Did you.. Did you catch that?" Twilight said, her expression unchanging from the wide-eyed, surprised look she had put on before. "What she said about flying?"

"Yes," was all Rarity replied with, waiting for a few moments to let it sink in fully before sighing and rubbing her face with both hands. "And here I had thought it was all figured out. She wants to fly. Can we even do that?"

"It'd take quite a bit of time to figure out," Twilight said as she stood up and dusted herself off, offering a hand to both Rarity and Fluttershy afterwards. "Why don't you head home and I'll see if Spike and I can't rig something up back home? I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes."

"Thank you Twilight. And thank you, Fluttershy, for being so courteous with her," she added gratefully, hugging them both with equal sincerity. She could already feel a bad night setting in, but that didn't mean she had to be ungrateful for her friends' company.

"It was my pleasure," Fluttershy replied sweetly while offering a smile to boot. She only proved what Rarity had said of her comforting abilities earlier, though Scootaloo could not witness it in the moment.

With that, they parted ways. One with a heavy heart and the others with mixed emotions.

Rarity laid down for the third time this evening, though she wasn't tired. A cold, uneaten meal lay motionless on her desk, neglected from the moment it was picked up. Though she had the entire bed to herself she exclusively laid on the left side with her hands folded atop her chest and her eyes staring upwards at the ceiling.

Even the silk she had spent all morning practically worshiping felt moderately uncomfortable to her right now. It simply didn't hold that same preciousness that it had when Scootaloo was there beside her. She was alone, which meant that she didn't have to hide her thoughts away from anyone. Free to grimace, frown, even groan, Rarity found herself doing all of those and doing it often. But one thought came back to her time and time again.

Tossing and turning beneath the sheets, she finally settled for kicking them clear of her body and laying in the cold air of her room with arms outstretched. She heaved a heavy sigh and closed her eyes in an attempt to calm down, but the revelation that hit her earlier was a bit too strong to ignore.

She admitted it openly, but to nobody but herself, "I'm not angry. I'm jealous."