Once you go worm, that's when you'll yearn
Rarity was tentative when she prodded the door open. As soon as her eyes formed images of the library's interior, they went on full alert, scouting everything left to right on the lookout of its resident. The room was bare and empty, the silence lingering around its wooden walls. She liked that. To avoid a confrontation was preferable. It’s not that she hated what Twilight had done with herself, it’s just...
She hated what Twilight had done with herself.
However could she have thought it was a great idea? What baffling, crazy, psychotic thought went through her mind that day? And it was only a week ago.
Of course, realising that she required a tome on fabrics non-accessible to her, Rarity dreaded the day. It took a lot out of her to muster the courage to trot towards the library.
And now, here she was, trying her best to saunter through the palace of literature with every intention of keeping silent. Ironic, considering librarys were kempt and silent. The clops of her hooves tapped lightly against the ground, eliciting the faintest of sounds.
Rarity bit her lower lip as she frantically tossed and turned her head around, her eyes darting and skimming the various bookshelves. Keeping her breathing under control, she almost felt like a rat trapped in a maze. Though, there was a constant shiver, telling her to bolt and run and never turn back.
It was quiet. Too quiet. So quiet, in fact, that all Rarity heard was the drumming of her heart. She praised the silence above all else.
It took several minutes, but after careful stealth tactics, Rarity found the bookcase she longed for. Turning her head back quickly and giving a brief glance, she faced the books again, steeled her resolve and started scanning the contents, one by one. Her hoof trailed across the many pieces of literature she came across, her mouth uttering the title on the spine with each one.
Rarity traversed through many books, though she only wanted one, and none of them were the one. She was starting to lose patience, and she wanted to leave post haste.
She groaned in discontent as her searching turned up fruitless. How hard was it to find a book on fabrics?
“Fabrics 101,” she muttered to herself. “Why is it not here?” she quietly hissed. She raised a hoof to her temple. “Focus, Rarity. You came here to get it, and you cannot leave without it. It took you so long to get here, and you will succeed.”
“Aha!” she proclaimed, finding a book with a discernible Fabric labelled on its cover. She took it out of the shelf with her magic, levitating it in front of her. However, it was not the one she was looking for. She did her best to keep her following growl hushed.
“Hello, Rarity, I didn’t hear you come in,” spoke a shrill voice from... somewhere.
Rarity froze instantaneously. Her ears pricked upon recognising that tone. Her irises shrank, and a cold chill ran through her. She was not alone. And she was with... her.
“H-Hello, Twilight...” she nervously replied, her eyes searching everywhere to find her friend. It wasn't a matter of how Twilight found her out—she was more concerned, and even frightened, on Twilight's precise location.
And then she saw it. A small, cylindrical shaped creature slid out from the back of the bookcase Rarity stood in front of. It was lavender, kind of like Twilight. It wore Twilight’s face and horn, kind of like Twilight. It had Twilight's cutie mark and tail, kind of like Twilight.
It was Twilight. But it was also a worm.
Rarity squinted. Out of everything in Equestria—out of everything in the entire world, Twilight had to go and transform herself into... a worm.
Didn’t she know Rarity hated worms?
For reasons unknown to Rarity, Twilight loved being a worm. Apparently, Twilight took the phrase ‘bookworm’ too far. Pinkie Pie threw a ‘Twilight-Is-Now-A-Bookworm!’ party, but really, nopony knew how to react. Even Applejack held distaste, given her vendetta against the pests that constantly ravaged her apples.
“So, what brings you around?” the worm known as Twilight said. Her voice always carried that shrill characteristic—a distinct after-effect of the transformation.
Rarity braved herself not to scream and run away. Her legs trembled slightly. “I... I was wondering if you knew where Fabrics 101 was. I am in dire need for it to assist in creating my new ensemble. I am experimenting with a new fabric line, and I hear that some rare textiles ones are referenced in Fabrics 101. Alas, I am unfortunate to not own a copy, and I wish to create these ones specifically.”
Twilight beamed, or at least she did from what Rarity could make out. “You’re in luck! I recognist it, and I'm glad to say I have that one.”
Through the reality of the situation—with Twilight being a worm and all, Rarity forged a smile of gratitude. “Oh, you do? Thank you. It would help out so much if I could have it.” She sighed, feeling the burden of many days of trepidation drain from her system.
“No problem,” Twilight said, sliding her way towards the edge of the bookcase. “It hasn’t been added to this bookcase yet though. It’s in the back, where I keep extra storage.”
“Oh, it is?”
Twilight nodded her wormy little head. “Mhmm. I can direct you there if you’d like.”
“You can?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow. “Not to rain on your parade or anything, Twilight, but how is that possible in your... current state?”
“Easy!” Twilight exclaimed, inching a little forward. “I can’t lead you there myself—well I could, but that'd take eons!—but I can direct you there if you take me with you.”
Rarity’s eyes quickly widened to the size of dinner plates. “I-I...” she stammered. Did she... Had she heard that right?
Without any warning, Twilight sprung off the bookshelf she had occupied and landed on Rarity’s head, a few centimeters from her purple mane. Her wonderful, beautiful, untouched mane.
Rarity almost shrieked and panicked as soon as Twilight landed on her. A worm on her head? Instinctively, she wanted to flee the scene and curl up underneath her bed covers, shivering and telling herself it was alright. However, she had prepared for an occasion similar to this, and instead of her natural reaction, she whimpered. Her lips quivered as her eyes rose skyward to try and make out Twilight atop her head.
“Whoa!” Twilight said as she got thrown around in what felt like a flurry from Rarity's head jerk. “Slow down.”
“Sorry...” Rarity said quietly, fighting back the tears that threatened to burst from her eyes. She took a deep breath, and stilled herself.
“You’ve got to head left and go through that door there,” Twilight pointed out after a few seconds. “That'll lead you to the backroom.”
Rarity sighed and did what was instructed, putting the book she had back in the bookshelf first. For the next several minutes, she was anything but euphoric. She tried and tried, but she couldn’t crack a smile—one that showed off happiness, that was. Not with a worm on her head, regardless if it was her best friend.
When Twilight bounced off her head and Rarity finally got what she came for, she was grateful for both predicaments. She inhaled. “Thank you, Twilight.”
“It’s no problem,” Twilight said, inching her way across the bookshelf she had launched herself onto. “Come back soon, okay?”
Rarity clicked her tongue a few times. Her eyes scattered around. “Yeah... about that. Listen, Twilight, I don’t mean to sound vulgar or come across as a naysayer to what you may consider 'exciting', but do you think you could... possibly transform back?”
“What?!” Twilight shook her head. “No way! This is great! Being a worm is better than I ever imagined. I'm surrounded by my books twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Plus, I feel alive and free. When I was a pony, I was constantly cooped up. As a worm, I can freely move around. I couldn't ask for anything better.”
“Yes, Twilight,” Rarity said, “But think about this rationally. We haven’t seen you outside—which doesn’t happen that often, mind you, your figure is a lot different, not to mention your size which could possibly lead to an accident if any of us are uncareful, and you had to give Owlowiscious away because you feared he'd eat you.” She sighed. “And I don’t like worms,” she mumbled under her breath.
“Yes, that is true,” Twilight admitted dejectedly, head hung. “But think of the pros. They outweigh the cons.” She analysed Rarity’s look of concern and frowned. “Okay, Rarity. I’ll... I'll think about it, okay?”
Rarity’s lips curled up slightly. “Thank you, Twilight. Just... really give it a long, hard think.”
“Will do!” Twilight moved forward a bit, grunting as her slender body jolted as if she was having a seizure. “Ungh! I’m trying to hug you, but I have no limbs.”
Rarity squinted. “A... hug?” Her lips wavered at a frightening image her mind conjured up.
“Yeah, don’t make me jump on you now,” Twilight joked with a giggle.
Rarity swallowed what she had and acted rashly. Gingerly, she extended her hoof and gently stroked it along the top of Twilight’s icky head—what she deemed icky, specifically. Mentally, she was cringing. Physically, she tried not to cringe.
Twilight giggled again. “Thanks, Rarity. I’ll see you soon, okay?” Giving what she could muster as a wave with her tail, Twilight slid back behind the books, giving a whole new definition to a 'book worm'.
Rarity checked out her hoof, expecting something slimy to be stuck on it. To her greatest satisfaction, there wasn’t, possibly because Twilight was clean, unlike the rest of those horrible creatures. Twilight was a worm, true, but she at least had the common decency to keep herself immaculate and presentable.
Rarity had no idea how a worm managed to do that.
Exhaling in relief, and with Fabrics 101 in tow with the aid of her magic, Rarity calmly trotted back through the library, ready to head back home and begin her work. As her hooves tapped against the wooden floor at a steady pace, one question kept replaying in her mind.
Out of any possible creature, why did Twilight choose to be a worm?
Author's Note
Blame -TGM- for this story. The word 'bookworm' came up in a chat, and my mind went places.
Gotta love worms.
