The Shortcut

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 3
Author's Notes

Chapter 1

Twilight blinked in confusion at the slowly spinning orb of light in front of her. She had not cast a spell to summon it, nor had she sensed an intervention in the magical plane close by. A few seconds ago, she had been staring out of the window, trying to order her thoughts for the project she was working on. Had she been so lost in them that she had missed its arrival altogether? Or had it only appeared this very second? But how could it be that she wasn't able to sense a magical disturbance such as this?

Squinting, she leaned herself closer towards the apparition. It did not stick to the wall behind it, like it would had it been cast from an external source. Propping herself up on her desk, she carefully reached a hoof out behind the sphere. The bulb remained unchanged, hovering silently up and down, independently, just anchored onto the air.

And then something poked at the edge of her mind.

Jerking backwards, Twilight threw the orb a frightened glance. She knew this feeling: the ability to communicate without words was a known branch in magic, albeit a difficult one which few unicorns mastered, not including herself.

For a moment, she found herself doubting her senses. Pivoting around on the spot, she examined the upper level of her tree home in as much detail as possible. She was, beyond a doubt, awake, as her mind would never be able to fill a dream which this level of detail, adding to the fact that she wouldn't be able to formulate thoughts unhinderedly if she were asleep. Contemplating this fact, Twilight slowly drove her tongue over her lips. Then, deciding to try out the easiest route, she spoke up.

“What are you?”

She had expected the sphere to answer with an emotion at best or nothing at worst, but instead, a crystal clear voice appeared in her head. It sounded strange, unfamiliar, and hard to categorize. The only thing that she could safely say about it was that it appeared to be female.

“I am the effect of a spell cast long ago. I am here to serve you a gift.”

“What kind of a gift?”

“I will grant you a wish.”

“How...” Twilight frowned. A wish? “Who cast you? How does she supply you with energy? Am I talking to the creator or a facet of the spell?”

“My creator is gone. I am an intelligence designed for the purpose of delivering the gift, and I have little information beyond that.”

Taking a few deep breaths, Twilight forced herself to stay calm. At the very least, she didn’t seem to be in danger. The most logical course of action now was to study the phenomenon as best as she could.

One thing she knew already was that it wasn’t simply a hoax. Covering up magical energy was so unfathomably difficult that the mere fact that the spell had gone unnoticed to her meant one of two things: either her understanding of magic was fundamentally flawed, or its creator had been more powerful than any mortal creature in Equestria today.

And if the spell truly sustained itself years after its creator had passed, then that would probably put him or her above the princess, too.

“I can request anything?”

“No.”

“What are the limitations?”

The sphere gave an answer, sending Twilight’s mind wandering, now fully focused on the subject matter.

“Alright...” she said after a while. “What if I wished for... say... canines to adapt the values of harmony the same way ponies do?”

“Declined.” The sphere gave a reason, and Twilight sighed. This certainly changed things. As if it wasn’t bad enough that, in every story where somepony was granted a wish (most of them being fairy tales) the protagonist would always choose something purely for himself. Now, it looked as though she'd be forced to do the same.

“Suppose I really wanted this for some reason,” she said next. “Could I wish for Rarity to discover a passion for singing, so strong that she gives up her current career?”

The answer came as a surprise. So it was possible to mess with other ponies’ ambitions. This was a frightening thought, opening doors which might have been better off closed.

And yet...

Twilight bit her lip, lowering her gaze to the floor. It was a silly thought, a selfish thought...

... but one which she had all the same.

“What if I wish for Fluttershy to fall in love with me?”

The sphere answered, and Twilight closed her eyes. For a moment, she imagined herself doing it. Not telling a word to anypony, just making the wish. Secret, silent, but with wonderful consequences...

Alas, it was a short lived dream. She would not take this wish, and she wouldn’t give into similar temptations either... indeed, it seemed wise to formulate this as golden rule for what would likely be her new project. She would not plant feelings... no, that wasn't the right way to phrase it. She would not alter... no, that wasn't enough. She would not change any of her friends' lives without asking for permission first – yes, that sounded promising.

Now that the door was locked, a sudden weight was taken off her breast, almost as if a part of her had been afraid of herself, afraid that she might not have been able to resist the temptation.

And yet...

“What if I... want myself to change in a way that would make Fluttershy love me... without changing anything about her?”

This time, the answer send a chill down her spine. This was a dangerous road to go down... if she really was going to change parts of herself in order to appeal to Fluttershy, then it had to be minor parts. The core of her personality was precious to her, and it had to stay intact.

Moving back to her seat, Twilight gave the orb a skeptical glance, but it floated backwards as soon as she got closer. Sitting back down, she called upon her magic, archiving her current project and floating a pile of empty parchment out a nearby shelf.

'I won't change the lives of my friends without asking them first' she wrote on the top of the topmost page. Rereading this phrase several times, she tested it for any potential loopholes. When she found none, she called upon her magic to erase the sentence, only to rewrite and underline it meticulously.

So far so good. Now - before approaching the decision itself, the logical course of action would be be to establish the underlying mechanics in as much detail as possible. Tonguing the insides of her mouth in thought, Twilight gradually lowered the quill, turning back towards the sphere.

“Say...”

An hour later, two pieces of paper lay on Twilight's desk. The first one was structurally perfect, written in her nicest looking font, and with not so much as a hint of a spelling or formatting error. It read:

I won't change the lives of my friends without asking them first.

Mechanics:
1. The sphere I communicate with is not alive, and neither is any asset of the spell.
2. The sphere won't show itself to others.
3. The wish must fulfill a 'personal desire'. This just seems to mean anything I really want for myself, regardless of whether or not I’ve thought of it before.
4. It cannot alter the aging process of ponies.
5. It must be a single wish. This means nothing which allows me to make further wishes, and not several wishes packed into one. I also cannot ask for information to base my wish on.
6. It can't be too general, e.g. I can't make myself as athletic as Applejack, just as good in one specific skill, like running.
7. Wishing something for somepony else is possible, but only if I want it enough myself for it to qualify as a 'personal desire'.
8. There is a fixed amount of energy available for the spell. The sphere eats on that energy while I decide, so the time I take for my decision decreases the energy left for the spell proportionally. The full amount equates to roughly 40 months, so this is unlikely to matter. Talking to the sphere will take up additional energy at a negligible rate.

8.1. I won't benefit from the energy it has left after fulfilling my wish, but somepony else might. I didn't get a clear answer on this.

8.2. Raising somepony's intelligence takes up huge amounts of energy, so much that it's unlikely to be worth it.

8.3. Teaching somepony a specific skill usually doesn’t take much, but there seem to be exceptions.
9. Whether or not a wish is feasible can change if my desires change.

The second one was written much more hastily, and at several parts words were crossed out rather than being properly eradicated.

Thoughts:
What do I do? I want Fluttershy. Celestia help me, I want her so much. ~~The sphere said I was chosen because I am a good pony. Doesn't this mean I deserve to follow my heart? This is stupid, I don't believe in that kind of ethic.~~ I hope it's true. It would help me to feel more confident that I'll make the right decision this time.

I'm kind of scared to tell the others about this. Or the princess. But I'll have to... I certainly won’t pretend like nothing has happened. ~~I just hope they'll be okay with it.~~ I know they'll accept it; they're my friends.

I really shouldn’t worry as much. I mean, all of this can only benefit me, right? I think I’m scared of making the wrong choice... but I won't do that. I have plenty of time. I'm not sure why I'm writing this down... I think I need to tell it to someone, so this is like a diary. ~~Who knows when I'll muster up the courage to talk to the others. It may take weeks.~~

I'll talk to my friends tomorrow.

Chapter 2

“You are serious about this, aren't you?”

Twilight nodded, her gaze lowered to the blanket she was kneeling on. They were outside; Twilight had wanted more privacy for this conversation than Sugarcube Corner offered, and the library... it just didn’t feel right to have them all come to her.

“Well, that is... quite remarkable, to say the least. I could think of no shortage of things I would want to wish for, if I could...” Rarity's pupils grew large, her eyes sparkling. “Mmmh... though, I suppose you have quite different ideas.”

“So, what'cha gonna wish for, huh? Super magic powers? Alicorn wings? Or...” She gave a snicker. “How about super reading powers?”

“Making herself into an alicorn would hardly be appropriate, now would it, Rainbow Dash? And she has quite remarkable magical abilities already, I'd say.”

“Wings...” Twilight whispered, for the moment distracted entirely from her preexisting train of thought. Strangely enough, all three of Rainbow's ideas actually sounded like reasonable choices, albeit not quite in the way they were suggested. If she was going to wish for wings, it would certainly be pegasus wings.

“Well, I'm not sure if the last one is possible, but from what I understand, it might be. Just 'magic powers' is too vague, I’d have to specify a skill. Alicorn wings would be possible, but...” She left the sentence unfinished.

“Do you have other ideas, then?”

Twilight shook her head. “Well, some,” she corrected herself momentarily. “But I haven’t made up my mind yet. It only happened yesterday, and I...” She threw Fluttershy a quick glance. “I want to take my time with the decision. It's really important. I... also wanted to tell you that it is possible to wish something for somepony else, so if one of you has something she really wants – like, really wants - then I could get that for you. It only works if I can make myself care enough about it, but if it's important to any one of you, then I'm sure I would...” She paused, blushing.

“Giving up your wish for your friends?” Pinkie rolled herself around from where she was lying it the grass. “That would be sooooo nice of you, Twilight. But... if I take something from you which would make you happy, it means it can't make you happy anymore, and if it can't make you happy anymore, it means you're less happy than you'd be otherwise, and 'less happy' is really similar to 'unhappy', and I can't make one of my friends unhappy. Nuh-uh. I don't want it.”

Rarity opened her mouth to say something, but then stopped. A shadow hushed over her face. Eventually, she bit her lip and lowered her gaze.

“There's something... else.” Twilight's heart cramped together while she spoke, but she forced herself to go on. “I... I probably should've come out with that sooner, but I...” She paused. This was even more difficult than she had imagined. How was she supposed to say it? A painful stitch hit her breast. Was this maybe the wrong way altogether? Should she do something like this in a private conversation? Was she going to embarrass Fluttershy in front of the others? But doing it privately would be even harder. “I'm...” She took a deep breath, her heart beating quickly. “Fluttershy... I'm-”

Rarity gasped. The cup she'd been levitating dropped onto the earth, spilling its content. “You have a crush on Fluttershy? Oh my stars!”

Twilight closed her mouth, internally sighing in relief. Now it was out. Whatever happened next, at least her confession was made.

But then... why was nopony else saying anything? Twilight blinked, her gaze shifting among her friends, careful to avoid a certain pegasus. Oh, apparently they were waiting for a confirmation from her.

“Oh, uhm... yeah, I do. Well, I mean I don't think it's just a crush, I've had it for almost a year, but...”

A silence followed.

”Well, that is... quite unexpected, I must say. Fluttershy, dear, don't you want to respond?”

Twilight forced herself to look at her friend in question. From what she could tell, Fluttershy was just as surprised at the others - and it was rather obvious that she didn't feel the same way about her - but at least she didn't look disgusted.

“I, uhm... I'm n-not sure what to say...”

“You don't have to say anything,” Twilight quickly answered, hoping to get past this subject as quickly as possible. “I'm not bringing it up get an answer for you, I just... you know, with what I just told you...”

Rainbow gasped. “So it's because of your wish. You want to make Fluttershy fall in love with you?”

Silence.

Applejack rolled her eyes. ”Quick thinkin' there, partner.”

“Well, I most certainly hope that was not your intention, Twilight.”

“No, of course not.” Twilight's head felt hot, and she couldn't bring herself to look any of her friends in the eyes. “I won't do anything to any of you without your permission. That was the first thing I decided. I just... I just thought that, if you don’t know everything, I’m not being honest with you. That’s all.”

“But why not?”

Everypony's heads turned to Pinkie Pie.

“What? I mean, the 'asking first' part makes sense, but why shouldn't she make the wish? If Twilight loves Fluttershy, and Fluttershy doesn't love Twilight back, and Twilight has a free wish, then, duh, she needs to wish for Fluttershy to love her back. That way, everypony will be happy!”

“It don't work like that, Pinkie.”

“It doesn't? But Twilight never said that, did she?

“It does,” Twilight replied automatically. “Or, well... it would. I asked about it – the sphere said it would be indistinguishable from falling in love naturally. But... well.”

“But what?”

“Pinkie, dear, you cannot force two ponies together. That's not the natural order of things, not to mention it's unethical.”

“But It wouldn't be forcing them if Fluttershy agrees to it...”

Rarity shook her head. “Unless Fluttershy develops feelings herself, it is forced, even if it doesn't happen against her will.”

“Suresies, so the feeling is forced.” Pinkie shrugged. “Why does it matter? As long as everypony’s happy...”

“Because...” Rarity seemed to fight with her words, taking several seconds before she continued. “Because a mare wants to be in control of her own emotions. If Fluttershy would just fall in love because this... sphere thing made her, then it wouldn't feel right for either her or Twilight.”

At that, a smile hushed over Twilight's face. As much as she would be opposed to manipulation of her own mind, it was still a rather ridiculous claim that doing it to Fluttershy would feel inherently wrong to her. If Fluttershy was happy, and Twilight hadn't done anything without her agreement, then she wouldn't care one bit why Fluttershy returned her affections. Why should she be the one to judge what was or wasn't right for Fluttershy? Of course, if Fluttershy didn’t want it, then Twilight would be the last pony to blame her.

“Okay, but...” Pinkie frowned. “Shouldn't they decide that, rather than you?”

“Oh, most certainly. Twilight, Fluttershy, what do you think?”

Twilight winced. She had not intended to say any of that out loud, but now it seemed like she had to.

“Well... I want Fluttershy to be happy. If... if anything we do would cause her to be unhappy, no matter what, then I'm against it. I...” She bit her lip, but did the honest thing and added, “I wouldn't want it if I was her.”

“Very well.” Rarity seemed to disapprove of her position, but she didn’t comment. “Fluttershy?”

Twilight closed her eyes, preparing herself for the inevitable disappointment. As much as she chided herself for it, she couldn't deny that a part of her had been hoping for this exact possibility all along. If Fluttershy truly wanted to, then she would probably have her wish... and this door was now going to be closed, most likely forever.

But Fluttershy didn't say no.

“I don't know. Sorry. I need time to think about it.”

Rarity's eyes twitched. “My dear, you can't truly be considering-”

“Now, hold on there, Rares. If Fluttershy says she needs time, then I'm pretty dang sure that's not yer business. Ya don't wanna step between her and Twilight, just because yer ideas of how a proper romance is supposed to work doesn't match up, do ya?”

”I... no, of course not. I'm sorry, Twilight. Interfering with your future relationship is most certainly not my place.”

Twilight shook her head. “It's fine. I can totally understand your position – again, I wouldn't want to do it if I was her. But it's her decision, not mine.”

“I still don't see the problem.” Pinkie said, visibly unimpressed by Rarity's arguments. “If it was me, I'd say yes in a gipsy.” She giggled, her serious attitude disappeared, and she plopped back down onto the ground. “But, I guess, Fluttershy can decide for herself.”

“How did you even know she's into mares?” Rainbow asked bluntly.

Rarity coughed. “A blind pony on a cane could see that.”

“What? But we went to flightcamp together, and she never showed interest in me-”

“And just because she dun fancied you,” Applejack said sarcastically, “means she ain't into mares, huh?”

“Uh...” Rainbow's cheeks turned pink. “... yeah, okay, maybe not.”

“As fabulous as your mane might be, Rainbow Dash, I'm afraid you're not the kind of pony Fluttershy would be attracted to.”

“No?” Rainbow's ears drooped. “What kind then?”

“Well...” Rarity threw quick look at Fluttershy, who was hiding her face behind a strand of hair and an adorable blush. “Somepony more... calm.”

“You mean like Twilight?”

“Very subtle of you.” Rarity huffed. “But yes, if you must know it, Twilight could probably be a suitable choice for her – but just because a pony is somepony else's type doesn't make it right to... well, I believe we've been over that now, haven't we?”

“And Twi?”

“What about her?”

“Did ya know she was into mares, too?”

Rarity sighed. “Try to imagine Twilight with a stallion, Rainbow Dash.”

“Okay.”

“Well?”

“... ... ... oh yeah, I see what you mean.”

Twilight giggled, another blush creeping onto her face, but it was one of joyful embarrassment rather than shame. Reaching forward, she grabbed the can Rarity had been occupying thus far, pouring herself a cup.

”I think that's all I wanted to tell you guys... and I’ll send a letter to the princess, too. Just remember to come by the library if you want the wish for something - or even just if you have an idea. I'm open for everything.”

Chapter 4

It was a day later when the next visitor came. Twilight was sitting at her desk yet again, trying to apply the same system Rainbow had asked her about to various options unrelated to Fluttershy. This time, she wasn't able to deny that she was glad about the interruption.

Choosing not to teleport, she instead walked down stairs naturally, her mind still whirling with her many unsolved problems and ideas. Judging solely based on the sound of knocking, she could already tell which one of her friends was outside, provided that it wasn’t an outsider.

It wasn’t. “Hey, Rarity.” Twilight gave her a brief hug.

“And the most wonderful afternoon to you, dear.”

“You wanna come in?”

“Actually...” Rarity smiled. “If you haven't had dinner yet, I'd very much like to take you out. It'll be my treat.”

Twilight hesitated. A part of her had expected this: Rarity was going to apologize for her comment the other day, no matter the fact that Twilight had already assured here it wasn’t a big deal. The prospect of dinner wasn't an unwelcoming one, but she still wondered if it might be better to settle the issue at the spot.

Then again... there were also other reasons why Rarity might want to talk to her.

“Take me out - where?”

“It'll be a surprise. You will like it, I promise.”

“Well, alright then.” Stepping outside, Twilight gently pushed the library door shut and hang in the closed sign. If Rarity was going to take her to some place too fancy for her taste, at least she'd be able to point towards this occasion in case of similar situations in the future. The absence of clothing on Rarity's part, though, was enough to make her hopeful for the opposite.

“Too much adoration seems to be a real problem for the poor mare. Apparently, some of her students have made her... uncomfortable in various attempts to express their gratitude or sympathy. I'm sure you have heard what my dear sister and her friends tried to do the past Hearts and Hooves day..." She cleared her throat. “Well, but Berry Frost told me that this incident isn't even the most extreme thing that happened. Apparently, somepony - I couldn't get her name - refused to go home after school once, and insisted on coming with Cheerilee. Though, I can’t fully guarantee the legitimacy of this story.”

“Hm...” Twilight pensively chewed on the final leaf of her salad. Just like she had hoped, Rarity hadn't lead her to some overly sophisticated place, but instead a friendly and open looking restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere and a permissive acoustic level. Adding to that the excellent quality of her food (and the fact that Rarity had chosen a table outside), and Twilight didn’t know if she had ever been at a nicer place to eat. She hadn't been to many places period, so this might not have been the most unlikely achievement, but it was a pleasant one nonetheless.

“I guess some kids have a closer relationship to their teacher than to their parents. Either because their parents are busy and spend less time with them, or just because they aren’t as nice as Cheerilee is. Or... maybe they’re just more severe.”

“I suppose so.” Rarity smiled, stacking both their plates together on her end of the table. “Well then. As you probably guessed, I didn't just take you out to pass on gossip. I thought quite a lot since you informed us about about the... event yesterday, and I must say that I feel downright ashamed of what I said to Fluttershy. Preventing you two from being happy together is the last thing I want, and I hope you accept this meal as my apology."

Twilight giggled. “I already accepted your apology yesterday, Rarity. But thank you for dinner. This place is great! When you said it'd be a surprise, I was afraid you'd take me someplace more... formal.”

“Well now, taking you somewhere I would like to go would hardly be a good way to apologize, now would it? Although...” Her smile gave way to a more serious expression, and Twilight could clearly feel the shift in atmosphere. “I didn't just bring you here to apologize. There is another thing I'd like to talk to you about, assuming I'm still holding enough of your good will for it to be appropriate.”

“If you want me to make a wish for you, just tell me. I want to do whatever causes the most good, no matter whom it's for.”

“Oh, far off, dear.” Rarity gave a slight chuckle. “If I wanted a favor from you, I think I'd know better by now than to try and make you extra favors before I ask. No, I simply mean to give you some advice, nothing more.”

“Oh.” It was the second time it happened in two days, and Twilight was just as surprised as last time. “Well - yeah, of course.”

“Say, Twilight... I don't pretend to know how Fluttershy will decide - but either way, I'm sure a mare as ordered as yourself has already considered other options - may I hear some?”

“Uhm...” Strangely enough, this question put Twilight more at the spot than everything Rainbow had asked her the day before. “Well... I was thinking a bit about how... well, about what kind of attributes cause somepony to feel affection towards somepony else, and I considered to... you know, maybe make myself change... a little bit? Only if it would be possible without changing anything important, of course.” She blushed. “And I have a bunch of ideas which aren't related to Fluttershy, too."

“I thought so.” Rarity leaned forward slightly, maybe not even noticing it herself. “Twilight, what would you say if I told you that being 'in love' and 'loving somepony' are two different things?”

“Uh...”

“What I mean to say is, if somepony had a crush on somepony else - or even a more permanent affection, such as in your case - then one might say that she is 'in love'. If she is too shy to tell her crush, or, worse yet, her feelings aren't mutual, then this state may last for however long it takes for something to happen. But if those two were to engage in a proper relationship, that would usually cause the initial admiration fade, to dissolve into habit. They would stop being 'in love', so to speak.” Rarity made a break, giving Twilight time to digest her words.

“Now, in order for their relationship to survive, something else has to take form - something far more precious than a simple crush, something which can only be achieved through mutual understanding and deepest sympathy on both sides. Something which, unlike falling in love, also necessitates conquering the everyday. This, and only this, can rightfully be called loving somepony.”

“So..." A knot was forming in her throat. "What you're saying is, even if I make the wish...”

"If successful, it may give you and Fluttershy an easier start. But remember: this would happen under the influence of a mind altering, external source. Even if the feeling itself is indistinguishable from natural affection, the knowledge of what has been done would still remain. Maybe it wouldn't bother her, but what if it does, what if she starts having doubts once the early stages of your relationship have passed? Is that really worth it, worth giving up other wishes for?”

Twilight stared down at the table, saying nothing. She didn't have an answer.

“I am not telling you this to discourage you, Twilight. In fact, I intend to do quite the opposite. See, save for the contact with us five, our dear Fluttershy is living a quite solitary life at the moment-"

“Only because other ponies aren't as kind to her as she would be to them," Twilight exclaimed unexpectedly. "If they were more considerate, she'd also be more social.”

“Well, yes.” Raising an eyebrow, Rarity gave her a curious look. “I didn’t to imply that she is to blame. What I am saying - and I know this for a fact - is that Fluttershy, as is, already likes and respects you, Twilight. And even if she may not return your feelings as of now, it may still be... enough for her. Unlike what most ponies believe, being 'in love' as I called it is not actually a necessity for true love to arise. It can make it easier, and it is certainly more romantic, but it is not required.” At this point, Rarity's voice was changing, becoming kinder, softer, but also more insistent. “Give it a chance, Twilight. One without your deus ex machina sphere. Try it the natural way, and if it doesn't work out, you can still consider spending a wish on it, one way or another.”

“So, basically...” Twilight's ears perked upright when she realized what Rarity was getting at, “... basically, you're saying I should just ask her out?”

“Precisely.”

Twilight opened her mouth, but closed it again without saying anything. A part of her wanted to tell Rarity about her conversation with Rainbow the other day, but another part thought that it would be unfair to do so without having the pegasus' permission in the matter.

“Alright. Thank you, Rarity.”

Chapter 5

She had to ask Fluttershy out.

It was a simple enough plan, and the more thought she spent on it, the more she realized that Rarity had been right. Not because doing it the other way wouldn't work, but simply because of the many great things that her wish could accomplish, things that would go to waste if she spent it on something potentially unnecessary.

But how good stood her chances?

Her thoughts drifted back to their little get-together the other day. Fluttershy hadn't said much, and her only response to Twilight finally coming out of her shell had been 'I don't know what to say'. Which was understandable, but not much to go on. The only real thing Twilight had inferred was that she was into mares, which was hardly a surprise.

A smile stole its way onto her face, but it disappeared as soon as it was noticed, and instead she gave a sigh. She didn't have the courage to ask Fluttershy out, and this realization was as stupid as it was shameful, but it was true all the same. These things took time for her; a few days to get used to the idea would probably do the trick, not to mention that Fluttershy might yet come to visit her, just like Rainbow and Rarity had...

And, after all, why should it hurt to wait a few more days, when she had already 'waited' for over ten months?

The other thing which still stuck in her mind was the sphere. If she was going to go about the Fluttershy thing the old fashioned way, then it might be time to think about alternatives again, which would lead her right back to the planing stage. There was a piece of paper currently filed into a folder standing somewhere close to her, on which she had summarized all non-Fluttershy ideas into a short list of bullet points:

1 A pair of wings

2 Something to help her in learning magic

3 Something to help her for research projects

4 The gift of great empathy, aiding her fundamental desire to help as many ponies as possible

5 The ability to link two ponies' dreams together and consciously interfere

6 Greatly increased magical endurance

7 A spell to teleport over large distances

8 A spell to go 'inside' of a story

9 Knowledge

Twilight did not need to open the folder to recall this list, she had gone over it a dozen times in her mind already. Many of the points, particularly the last one, would require further talking to the sphere to clarify some outlying conditions, and there was no better time to do this than now, but somehow...

She wasn't in the mood for it. The initial excitement upon meeting an artificial intelligence had quickly degenerated to boredom, and the knowledge that it wasn't conscious always left her somewhat dissatisfied after speaking to it.

Finding other things to occupy herself with wasn't usually difficult, but she found herself in a strangely lethargic mood today, restless yet not willing to much beyond thinking about what she didn't want to do. What she really needed was a distraction, but somehow, she also didn't feel like going to see Pinkie or something, even though she knew that she wouldn't be in need of an excuse when choosing to do so.

And thus...

She probably should just do some reading...

A knock made her ears perk upwards. Was it... her? It wasn't a unicorn, yet it was still a gentle sound, too quiet for AJ, or Rainbow, or Pinkie Pie. Twilight could feel her mouth getting dry. She had wanted this visit, but what were the odds for it being right away? She...

... should go and greet her visitor. It would be uncomfortable to explain why she was taking so long when there was no real reason.

A gulp, and she rushed down the staircase, only to find herself halting in front of the entrance. If she asked now and Fluttershy said no... or what if Fluttershy had come to ask her for a wish on her own, and she was about to bring up this issue in the least appropriate situation possible?

With a beating heart, she lit her horn, pulling the door open...

“Hey there. I would like to rent ‘the magic in nature’ by Frostcrawl.” A young stallion stood in the entrance, about her age, with a light blue coat, matching wings, and a white mane. At the lack of an answer from Twilight, he smiled awkwardly. “I, uh...”

“Uhm... right. Yeah. Come in.” It wasn’t anypony she could recall having seen before, but it wasn’t unusual for new faces to visit the library. “I have that book, though I would recommend you ‘Nature’s Ways’ instead,” she said numbly. “It covers a wider area of subjects, but it’s easy to skip the topics that don’t interest you. It’s a much more precise and, uh... well-informed... book.” She shook her head.

“I’m... not sure. My mentor specifically mentioned ‘Magic in Nature,’ so...”

Twilight coughed. “I’m afraid many ponies working in education don’t have a very broad knowledge of different authors. Most of them tend to be too focused on their respective subject. I assume your mentor is not a unicorn?” The stallion nodded, and Twilight continued. “Frostcrawl was a biologist, not a magician. His research is solid, as far as I can tell, but I’m not sure he should have written this particular book, at least not on his own. Unless whatever you need it for is specifically linked to his research, I can almost guarantee you that ‘Nature’s Ways’ is the better alternative... though, if you want, you’re welcome to lend them both.”

“Yeah... that would be good.”

Twilight sighed internally, summoning both books from their collective shelf. “Here you go. Please return them within a month or ask for a renewal if necessary. Enjoy.”

After he was gone, Twilight called upon her magic, rubbing her brow... her eyes squeezed shut.

This was stupid. She was being stupid. Her life didn’t revolve around Fluttershy’s arrival, or the wish for that matter.

It was time to do something else, and not spend another thought on either Fluttershy or the sphere for the rest of the day.

A few hours into the afternoon marked one of the rare points in recent days wherein Twilight had indeed forgotten about the sphere entirely. Some spells were so tricky to get right that she chose to postpone them to whenever she had time to spare, such as today. The problem with this plan was always that, when she finally got back to them, there was still a fairly high chance of failure. A good third of the time, she would give up on it altogether, and today...

When the knock finally came, it took her several seconds to process it. With a frustrated sigh, she closed the book she’d been seeking out for help, only to open the door without giving herself the opportunity to needlessly worry about who might be there.

“Hello, Twilight,” Fluttershy greeted with a shy smile. Twilight bit her lip hard, a sudden rush of adrenaline surging through her body.

“H-hey.”

“I, uhm, I came to tell you that I’m okay with you wishing for... what Rainbow suggested.” Fluttershy’s voice was soft, but firm. “I... I can't make promises though. You can do the wish, and after that I'll feel how I feel. And, uhm, I would like you to ask me before you make your decision final... if that’s okay with you.”

“...” Twilight took a few moments to regain her voice. “Uh... thank you. I don't think I want to do it anymore, but... it means a lot to me that you say this.” Only later did she realize how strange it was that the entire conversation had taken place through the open door.

“Just do what you think is best. I trust you. And...” Fluttershy lowered her gaze, drawing small circles onto the floor. “I also wanted to say that I’m flattered that you really feel this way for me. I would never have expected it.”

“Right. You’re... uh, uhm, welcome.”

Fluttershy nodded, turning to leave.

“H-hey! Fluttershy, wait!”

“Yes?”

“I,m... I-I-I’m...” Twilight gulped. “I’m... ugh, I’m trying to... ask you out.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful.”

“... ... ... it would?”

“Oh, yes.” Fluttershy blushed slightly. “I really want to give us a chance. I, uhm, I can’t make promises, like I said, but I’d like to try. I was hoping you would ask.” A pause. “Uh... where would you like us to go?”

“We don’t have to go ‘out’-out.” Twilight said hastily. “Neither of us probably cares about conventions. Just, uhm... I could come by your cottage... later today? If you don't have any plans for tonight.”

“Oh... no, none at all.”

“Right. Well, I could come at... say, seven? We can just have a quiet evening together... we really don’t need to go to a public place.”

“That would be lovely.” Twilight wasn’t sure, but she at least thought that Fluttershy sounded relieved.

“See you at seven, then. And... thank you. For giving me a chance.”

Despite being largely inept when it came to romance, a big part of Twilight was still convinced that she wasn’t behaving like a typical filly who was going through her first crush, even though that was exactly what she was. So far, she had at least been able to preserve her dignity, which, so she thought, really shouldn’t be a surprise, after all it wasn’t like she had never visited Fluttershy before – in fact, she could recall a very similar scenario from about a year ago, only this time there were no crusaders running around after a sleepover.

Fluttershy had wanted to know how and when Twilight had began to feel something for her, which turned out to be a surprisingly easy to talk about yet thrilling subject, leading into many shared laughs and giggles. After everything was told, the conversation transitioned naturally into one about their mutual loneliness and introversion during their childhoods, which, for Twilight, was not only alleviating to talk about, but also seemed to create a stronger bond between them.

Yes, overall, things were going well, at least as far as she could tell. Besides everything else, the fact that she didn’t have to hide her affections anymore was a huge relief, and while her consistent staring didn’t seem to be lost on Fluttershy, she also didn’t seem to be bothered by it, safe for an occasional blush.

At this point, it also couldn’t escape her that Twilight was anxious about something, even though she had at least been mindful enough to choose a seat into the right direction, making it so she wasn't forced to throw constant looks over her shoulder.

“I, uh...” Twilight bit her lip as Fluttershy finally asked about it. “I might have prepared a... surprise.” She beamed in barely suppressed excitement. “Something really special I wanted to show you. But it has to be at sunset.” Finally having come out, Twilight revealed the crystal she’d been hiding until now. “This is what I’ll need to... capture it.”

“A surprise?” Curiously, Fluttershy leaned forward, examining the article which now lay on the table between them. It’s appearance was rather inconspicuous, less than two inches in size and almost entirely transparent. “Do I... have to do anything when it happens?”

“No, nothing. Just watch.”

“Oh, good.” Fluttershy giggled, sending a pleasant chill down Twilight’s neck. “I can do that.”

“It shouldn’t be long... though I guess it’s silly to just wait for it. Uhm...” Twilight hesitated. “Have you... ever been in a relationship before?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Rainbow has asked me once, but Rarity was right... she’s not...” She paused, hiding the rest of the sentence behind another one of her blushes.

“Dash asked you out? But...” Frowning, Twilight tried to remember that part of their conversation two days ago. “Didn’t... didn’t she say she thought you weren’t into mares?”

“Oh, yes. Well, I wasn’t particularly good at... articulating myself back then. I don’t think I did a good job explaining my reasons when I let her down. Rainbow must have thought it was because of that, and I never said it wasn’t, so... it’s not her fault, really. But you know how she is... it must have made it easier for her.”

“Yeah.” Well, that explained her reaction the other day.

“I don’t think it was a big deal for her,” Fluttershy said, accurately pinning down what Twilight had been thinking. “She’s gotten so much stronger since she’s living in Ponyville.”

A pause.

“You haven’t either, have you?”

Twilight shook her head.

“Were you ever, uhm... interested in somepony?”

“Never,” Twilight said truthfully. “I don’t think it was ever likely to happen. I just didn’t go out enough.”

A musing silence followed, in which both of them stared down at the table, until the pegasus dropped the name Pinkie Pie. For a while, both of them dove into the subject, trading stories and interpretations, until at last, the sunset came.

“It’s starting,” Twilight interrupted herself, hastily picking up the crystal she had up until now forgotten about entirely. Fluttershy didn’t say a word while the sun sank lower, until it was hovering right above the western horizon, where it halted. With a racing heart, Twilight levitated the crystal in an angle so that it caught the final rays of sunlight. Squinting her eyes, she called upon her magic to create a single spark to float in front of it, a miniature bulb of light. For a few seconds, she wasn’t sure if it’d work, then something about the sunlight changed, barely visible to the naked eye, and the crystal began to radiate in a faint blue light.

A wave of relief washed over her. Biting her lip excitedly, she kept the crystal hovering for a few more seconds, its blue aura gradually increasing in intensity, until the sun concluded downfall, disappearing out of sight in a matter of moments. Pleased with the outcome, Twilight took a deep breath, her heartbeat slowly stabilizing.

“Good. That was longer than I hoped... can I clear the stuff from the table?”

“Oh, uhm, sure.”

In a purple glow, Twilight removed the can and plates, neatly putting them onto the ground. “Okay. And now...” She brought the crystal to a hover directly above the table. “... watch.”

She cast a final spell, knowing from Fluttershy’s gasp that it had worked.

From the tip of the crystal, a disc of light was projected onto the tabletop. The light was shifting in color continuously, so that no two points within the shape looked alike. On its circular outline, it gradually went through every last color of the spectrum, and on its inside...

... were more colors. Colors which did not exist in the everyday world.

There was one which was similar to red, sharing its intensity, but lacking the sensations of warmth and heat.

There was one most similar to purple, which immediately awoke in her the feeling of threat and danger, emotions much stronger than what staring at a color would usually be able to raise.

There was one entirely unlike any other color she knew, and if she had to pick one color it was least similar to it'd have to be blue, and yet this one was also cold as ice.

There was one almost exactly like black, only it wasn’t black, it wasn’t what one would see in the absence of light. It was simply a color that was... darker than black.

And then there was one in the center of the shape, surrounded by the other four; and this one was so very strange, so completely different, that it escaped any attempt to be put into words.

She threw a glance toward Fluttershy, who was staring at the sight in awe, her mouth agape, and Twilight could see her eyes fixated on its center. Twilight had tried to recall how it looked many times, tried to remember it from when she had seen it last, but without the slightest hint of success. It was by far the strangest thing she had ever seen, perhaps the only thing which she would never be capable to explain. It was simply different, different from anything and everything else in existence.

Her eyes drifted over to the red-like shape. Many times red was used, so she thought, this color could be used instead. They were so alike, except for the lone fact that it didn't feel warm. And the black one? How could it be that a color was darker than black? If the color was painted on a wall, would that wall appear darker when shining light on it? It seemed illogical, but if it wasn’t the case, then it had to be darker in the absence of light too, which was impossible. Maybe it could simply never exist in a form other than pure light.

And the center... Twilight’s eyes darted back to it, her body shivering. It was so different. It was just... so different.

She squeezed her eyes, but only for a moment, before focusing on the pattern of outer colors once more. They formed what could only be called an artistic design around the center point, one which, although symmetrical, was also keenly difficult to understand. Knowing that the light wouldn’t last for much longer, she nonetheless tried to do just that, to memorize it well enough for her to be able to make a sketch later.

“It’s fading,” Fluttershy murmured. She was right; the light was growing fainter, the hue around the crystal dwindling.

“Yeah.” Twilight abandoned the final seconds altogether, choosing instead to watch her friend and crush. Had she made a mistake? She had wanted to show Fluttershy what she had seen years ago, because it was special, and it was rather evident that Fluttershy wasn’t going to contradict her at that, but was it the right kind of special? The kind of special you should show somepony on your first date? She bit her lip, annoyed yet anxious about the thought. Hadn’t they both agreed that they weren’t going to stick to conventions? Well, technically, only Twilight had said that... but it didn’t matter. The only important thing was whether not Fluttershy had liked it, which was impossible to tell.

“What do you think?” she couldn’t stop herself from asking, as soon as the light had faded entirely.

Fluttershy stared at the spot where the inner color had disappeared for over ten seconds before she answered. “I... I don’t...”

Twilight could see her shivering. Without thinking, she cast a spell to make herself reappear beside the pegasus, cautiously offering an outstretched hoof. To her relief, Fluttershy didn’t back away, but instead leaned forward, allowing Twilight to comfort her.

“I’m glad I could see it,” she said before Twilight had the chance to apologize. “It was just... really scary.”

“Sorry for frightening you.” Twilight bit her lip. It had never been frightening for her, not really, but she now realized that it had been shortsighted not to expect such a reaction. In fact, had she not seen it first at a very young age, then she’d probably be frightened too. It was natural to be scared at the sight of something so out worldly – irrational, but natural, the same way it was natural to be scared of the darkness. “I should have warned you before. I'm... I'm sorry.”

Twilight could feel Fluttershy nodding against her skin, more than she could see it. Having her close like this was staggering, and she felt like she had to hold back to keep herself from doing anything else than holding her. It was almost a relief when Fluttershy drew back, and another relief when she smiled.

“Thank you for showing me. Scary or not, I’m... glad. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”

“Yeah.” Twilight summoned her pillow from across the table, sitting down next to Fluttershy. “I’ve only seen it once myself.”

“What was the color in the middle?”

“Can you remember how it looked like?”

“I...” Fluttershy paused. “Actually, no. I can’t.”

Twilight nodded. “Neither can I. Celestia doesn’t want to tell me anything about it, but I think it’s because it’s so different from our normal world that we can’t associate it with anything and just forget it as soon as we take our eyes off it. Maybe if we looked at it for long enough, it’d be different.”

“I really liked where the green merged with the one at the top left.” That had been the red-like one. “It looked like... like nature.”

“I didn’t pay attention to that one.” Twilight sighed longingly. “I really wish I could see it all again.”

“And you can’t?”

“Well...” Twilight tapped her chin, thinking. “I guess I could? I wanted to save it for something special, and I did, but I probably could request it again if I wanted. Actually... do you think we should show the others?”

“Rarity will really want to see it. I think we should.”

“I guess so,” Twilight said in agreement. Then, playfully lowering her voice: “Do you want to see it again?”

“Oh, yes.” Fluttershy brought a hoof to her muzzle, stifling a giggle. “Yes – please, Twilight. I would love to see it again. Do you think you could... show it to me?”

“Well, if you really want to, who am I to resist?” It were words spoken in jest, but also short-breathed, and to her they seemed all too true. “Though we can’t look at it too often,” she added in a more serious tone, and against what her desire seemed to dictate. “Otherwise it will stop being special.”

“Of course.” Fluttershy leaned forward, giving Twilight another hug. This one was brief, but no less pleasant. “I had a wonderful time today. We should do this more often.”

A wave of relief washed over Twilight – no doubt unnecessarily, as it had been clear already that things were going well, but her paranoid self had needed this final confirmation to be certain.

“Yes,” she said, smiling. “We should.”

Chapter 6

“Colors?” Rarity raised an eyebrow over the piece of fabric she was holding. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“Well – new Colors. Colors which you’ve never seen before. That don’t appear in the normal world.” She smiled. “Celestia must do... err...” Her voice trailed off. ”... something with the sun. I don’t exactly know what it is. But I know what I have to do on my end to make it work. I can project them onto any surface... for a few minutes.”

“I see.” Rarity put the fabric away, taking a step closer with an expectant smile on her face. “Does this happen to be related to our conversation the other day?”

“Is it that obvious?” Twilight giggled. “Yeah, I showed these to Fluttershy when I visited her yesterday.”

“You already did?” Rarity practically beamed with joy, almost as if it had been her, not Twilight, who was coming closer to her crush. “So you followed my advice, I presume? How did it go?”

“I did,” Twilight said. “And it... went well, I think. Fluttershy seemed to like it.”

“Oh dear, that is fabulous.” Unexpectedly, Rarity drew her into an affectionate hug. “I’m so proud of you, Twilight. Who’d have thought that you and Fluttershy would be the first ones out of us six who find your special somepony? And in each other, no less?”

“We’re... not quite there yet,” Twilight said with a chuckle, and a heavy blush on her face. “I, uh... thank you, though. I mean it.”

“Anytime, darling.” Rarity let her go, still smiling widely. “Well then. Do you have any plans moving forward?”

“Not yet,” Twilight answered truthfully. “I was going to invite you to see the color thing... around eight in the library tomorrow, if you want to. The other girls are also coming. Maybe Fluttershy and I will settle on another date then.”

“And I wish you the best for luck for that.” Rarity bowed her head. “Oh, and I’ll certainly be there. Since you chose to show it on such a momentous occasion, I presume it is quite special, is it not?”

“It’s very special,” Twilight confirmed. “It really is. It can also be a bit scary, though.”

“I see. Call me intrigued.” Rarity let a few moments pass, before she cleared her throat and added, “Well, now that you don’t need your wish for Fluttershy anymore, did you make any progress on your big decision?”

Twilight gave a nod. “I think you could say that.”

“Well?”

Twilight giggled. “Do you want to know specifics?”

“I most certainly do. Only if you don’t mind sharing them, of course.”

“It’s okay.” She made a pause, ordering her thoughts. “One idea was being able to communicate with others without talking, just like what the sphere is doing with me. That’s something I could also learn myself, but it would take years of study.”

“Does that mean you could read other ponies’ thoughts?”

Twilight shook her head. “I could learn that too, if I wanted, but I don’t... I don’t think I want that power.”

“Hmmm...” Rarity cast a long look outside the window before she answered. “No, I can see why you wouldn’t.”

“Well, the other thing that keeps coming to mind is what Rainbow said, right after I told you guys.”

“You lost me there, I’m afraid.”

“Wings,” Twilight explained. “Well, Rainbow was talking about Alicorn wings, but I would wish for pegasus wings instead.” She gave a sigh. “But I don’t think I’ll do it. I don’t think Fluttershy would like it.”

This time, Rarity stayed silent, so Twilight continued.

“Next, there’s something with linking several dreams together and consciously interfering, but I’ll have to ask the sphere a few more questions about it.” A pause. “Another idea was to increase my attention span. Problem with that is, I don’t know if it’ll be permanent. Sometimes, the sphere doesn’t give me clear answers.”

Rarity gave a nod.

“I also asked the sphere about entering stories, but it looks like I’d have to limit it to one specific story. I don’t think that’s worth it, but I’m not sure yet.”

“You could enter a story of your choosing?” Rarity gave a dreamy sigh. “Oh dear. Now, I’m afraid jealousy has caught up with me at last.”

“The characters in the story wouldn’t be real,” Twilight remarked. “They would just be projections of the spell.”

“Naturally. Even so – If the choice was mine, there my wish goes.”

“What story would it be?” Twilight asked, now with sincere curiosity.

“I’d rather not say. But... you may ask me another time, if you wish.”

Twilight laughed. “I’ll do that. Uhm... there is one more thing.” She stocked. “Early on, I asked a bunch of questions of to figure out what kind of wish is or isn’t possible, and... it seems like, if I wanted, I could wish for the power to influence other ponies’ emotions around me, just by force of will. Uhm...” Her voice trailed off. “I could use it to comfort ponies, make things easier... help them if they’re sad... you know.”

“But you have your doubts about whether or not it’s right for you to gain that power, I assume?” Rarity asked, accurately pinning down the problem.

“Yeah.” A pause. “What do you think?”

“Me?” Rarity stocked. “I... well, I don’t think I would want this power to be in the hooves of just anypony, but, I suppose, if it is you, I’d be fine with it. However, I worry that you yourself might not be, even if you use it at the best of your judgment.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “I see what you mean. Yeah.” A sigh. “I don’t think I’ll end up choosing that, even though a part of me feels that it’s the most valuable thing of them all. Just imagine, every time somepony is sad, or scared, she could come to me, and I could make her feel better.”

“Honestly, dear, that sounds rather frightening to me. It could spark jealousy and accusations, and a lot of responsibility on your part. In the end, you might regret having this ability in the first place, and the gift may have turned into a curse. I would rather choose something that keeps you on the safe side. Although...” She bowed her head. “I do admire that you are trying to share your blessing with other ponies.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you do that, too?”

Rarity gave a shifty smile. “Perhaps,” she said. “Still.”

A pause. Rarity raised an eyebrow.

“Is that it, already?”

“Uh...” Twilight shrugged. “All the things I’m still considering, yeah.”

“I see. Well.... we’ve been standing here for minutes, and all you’ve done is satisfy my curiosity. Would you like to stay for a cup of tea before you leave?”

Twilight’s first instinct was to decline, but then she thought different of it.

“I would love to.”

Chapter 7

“Twilight?” Fluttershy looked less kempt than at Twilight’s last visit, probably less than Twilight had ever seen her before. Her mane was messy, and several of her feathers were bent into the wrong direction. “I... I didn’t forget a date we had, did I?”

Twilight chuckled. “No. It’s a surprise visit.” They were standing in the cottage entrance, and it was right after sunset. “Rarity told me that this is the best time of the day to pass you up.”

“Oh, uhm.” Fluttershy hesitated. “Feeding made a few problems today. I just finished, a-and...” her voice trailed off.

“I think you look cute.” She knew that Fluttershy knew how honest this little comment was, and her heart made a leap when she reacted with an adorable blush.

“Thank... you. You, uhm, didn’t plan for us to go someplace, did you?”

“At this time? No. But I did bring some food.” She levitated a basket from behind her. “Curtesy of Applejack. You said you only just finished feeding, so I take it you didn’t have dinner yet?”

“Oh.” Fluttershy gave a sigh of relief. “No, I didn’t. Come in.”

“This isn’t going to become a thing, so don’t worry.” Twilight said as she entered and closed the door behind her. “The surprise visits, I mean. I know how much you like your ordered life.”

“Mh... ... you do?”

“Yeah,” Twilight simply said. It followed a silence wherein she waited for Fluttershy to say something else, and when she didn’t, Twilight just smiled and lifted the fabric off of the basket, dropping it onto the floor.

“This looks wonderful.”

“Thanks. I asked Applejack what kind of cake you like best... and when she didn’t know, I asked Pinkie.” Twilight cut a slice with her magic, lifted it up... and floated it towards Fluttershy. She gave a giggle upon the gesture, but obediently opened her mouth, allowing Twilight to feed it to her.

“Sometimes,” Fluttershy said after swallowing the bite, “I do become jealous of yours and Rarity’s magic.”

“Ah, shoot.” Remembering something upon the comment, Twilight internally slapped herself. “I forgot to bring dishes. I’m sorry. Wasn’t intentional, I promise.”

Fluttershy giggled again. “No problem.” She stood up from the floor, walking towards the kitchen. “Nothing I don’t have at home.”

“Still thoughtless of me,” Twilight murmured as Fluttershy returned with a fork and a spoon, but she just shook her head, cutting herself a slice.

“Is there any reason for your visit?” she asked. “Not that I wouldn’t appreciate it either way.”

“Ah... yes, there is. But I can’t tell you.”

“Oh. Another surprise?”

“Yeah, but not a scary one.”

Fluttershy giggled – the fact that this was the third time since her visit wasn’t lost on Twilight, and it brought her a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, something which was magnified tenfold when Fluttershy reached over to give her a hug.

“Thanks for everything, Twilight.”

Twilight’s cheeks burned, but she still managed a smile. “It’s a pleasure.” Then, eager to change the subject, “Pinkie visited me yesterday.”

“Oh. She didn’t ask you for a wish, did she?”

“No. She thought I had been worrying too much lately-”

“Do you think she was right?” Fluttershy uncharacteristically interrupted her.

“She was,” Twilight admitted with a small sigh. “She wanted to do something to distract me. I didn’t feel like playing a board or a card game, but I said that I’d like to test how much she really knows about everypony, so in the end, we spent the evening walking around town while I asked her random questions about ponies passing by.” She made a break, taking another bite. “It was pretty impressive.”

“What kind of questions?”

“Mostly simple facts about their lives. Favorite color, birthday, favorite food, that kind of stuff. Nothing private.”

“Mh...” Fluttershy yawned. “I remember when she threw me my first birthday party. Instead of inviting half the town, it was only her and Rainbow Dash, and we spent a... well...” A soft giggle, leading into another yawn. “Not really a quiet evening, but it was still nice. Back then I didn’t even know how her parties normally look like. But we’ve been friends ever since.”

“So you’ve met her before AJ and Rarity?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Pinkie knew everypony, and everypony knew Pinkie, but the rest of us only became friends because of you. Except for Rainbow Dash and me, of course, and her and Applejack.” Another yawn made her cover her muzzle with a front limb.

“Do you want us to sit onto the couch?”

“Uhm...” Fluttershy hesitated, throwing a look at the basket, which was all but emptied. But then she nodded, allowing Twilight to guide her to the couch at the end of the room. Fluttershy dropped down, immediately sinking into the cushion, and Twilight sat down next to her.

“I have no idea why I’m so tired...”

“No problem,” Twilight murmured, smiling, but with a beating heart. She wanted to hold the pegasus for what was to come, but she didn’t know how much liberty she really had. At first she hesitated, but then, she moved past her constraints. It was worth the risk.

Unseen by Fluttershy, something else flew out of the basket.

It was the quintessential absence of fear and worries that was one of the most precious feelings in the world to Fluttershy, and one that was all too rare in everyday life. But here, in this vast garden of sheer, expansive beauty, nothing was there to bother her, nothing frightening, nothing hasty. A smile on her face, she flew over a collective of green and red bushes with gentle flaps, coming to a soft landing in front of two gorgeous fountains that spread their colorless liquid among the fauna around.

This was a nice place to rest. A nice place to sit and enjoy the calamity of the moment.

The seconds slowly crept by while she sat still, watching her surroundings which gradually shifted upon her lone gaze, from the artistically designed garden, divided into square sections by an array of marvel tile, into a wide and natural meadow, sprinkled with flowers in a wide variety of colors.

Only the two fountains remained, casting their water upwards and around...

Suddenly, the falling liquid was caught in a purple cloud. Rather than falling down, it was kept afloat, hovering in mid air, until it began to slowly circle the fountains...

Turning her head, she could see Twilight standing behind her, a smile on her face. At the same moment, the question of where she was made itself known, immediately shattering the blissful nescience of the entire scenario. The fountains that poured water out of nowhere, the endless meadow of fantastical flowers and grassy soil, it all seemed to flicker for a moment... until it stabilized again.

“I fell asleep?” Fluttershy murmured. “Where...” ...had she been?

And then, “Oh...”

Twilight had been visiting her. It had been their second meeting, or date if she wanted to call it that. Fluttershy bit her lip. How could she have fallen asleep?

She cast the dream-Twilight a nervous look. If dream-Twilight was her mind’s projection of the real Twilight, then maybe she could learn something by talking to her? Even though it was an experiment that was more likely to end with her waking up than anything else... but waking up was something she should probably do anyway.

And it was too good of a chance to pass up.

“Are you mad that I fell asleep?” she asked. Twilight smiled, stepping even closer.

“No,” she said. Then, in a soft whisper, “I’m here, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide. “Twilight?” she asked disbelievingly. “Then... d-does this mean you...?”

Still smiling, Twilight took a final step forward. “I chose this as my wish,” she whispered, answering the unspoken question. “I thought a lot about it, and once I got the idea to surprise you this way, I just couldn’t pass it up. I hope you don’t mind the invasion of your privacy... and that I moved a bit closer after you fell asleep.”

“I...” Fluttershy stocked, overwhelmed by the reality of the moment. “N-no...”

“Look ahead.”

Fluttershy nodded numbly, doing as she was told.

“Now... think of something. I spent a lot of time working on the exact phrasing of the wish, and I made sure that it grants full control to the dreamer. Whatever you want, you can make it.”

Whatever she wanted...

Her heartbeat accelerated when she realized what Twilight was asking her to do. She was fully conscious inside her own dream, and she could do or create whatever she liked. It was something which surely everypony wished for at some point during their childhood.

Fluttershy closed her eyes, waiting... one second, two, three. Then she opened them again. She could hear the soft swashing of water against a shore even before the meadow parted in front of her eyes, giving way to a white beach and an ocean of crystal clear water.

“Predictable, I know,” Fluttershy murmured, with a blush and a coy smile.

“Never mind that. Just make whatever your heart tells you to.”

Fluttershy nodded, smiling again. Before them, but so far away that it was only barely visible against the overhanging fog, a castle arose from the depths of the water. Enormous, distant, majestic, beautiful. Fluttershy hadn’t been sure how well she’d be able to do it, but it looked exactly as she remembered.

“I used to dream of this when I was young,” she said, trembling under a sudden surge of nostalgia. “The castle was something that appeared in my dreams almost every night. And it was always like this, always far away, just barely visible. No matter what I did, I could never get closer.”

Twilight said nothing to that, only staring at the building from afar, until...

“Do you want to go inside?”

“Huh?” Fluttershy turned her head. The smile on Twilight’s face had vanished, replaced by a solemn and difficult to read expression.

“Inside? But I just thought it up. What would we find there?”

“I have no idea. But... you created the castle, and it’s now there. If you leave it as is, then there will be something inside... unless the point has always been that it’s empty, then that something is nothing. I... I considered these kinds of possibilities when I chose the wish. I never thought I’d use it on the first time, but... we can go inside, if you want to. Your choice.”

Fluttershy’s gaze was fixated on one of the castle’s towers, and now, a new sense of excitement dwelt up inside her. She had dreamt of this place countless times in her fillyhood, and countless times had she asked herself what was inside. And now...

“Let’s do it.”

She had to know.

Twilight nodded, then she gave Fluttershy a questioning look. For a few moments, neither of them did anything, until Twilight began to trot forward. The soil under her hooves gave way to sand, and soon after, she made contact with the water. Fluttershy followed, feeling several new emotions overlaying with her excitement as she watched Twilight slowly tread forward into the sea.

She had of course seen her in full before, but this was different. Now, it was only the two of them, and at a place that was a literal product of her imagination. A soft wind blew at Twilight’s mane as she trod further into the water, until she gave up walking and did her first strokes, carrying her towards the distant castle. Fluttershy may have been shy to a fault, and often incapable of expressing her emotions, but she was far from insensible.

Her mouth was dry as she followed, swimming right next to her friend. Twilight briefly turned her head, and Fluttershy could see her blush when their eyes met. Hastily, Twilight turned her eyes back ahead.

“Do I, uhm, have to do anything to reach it? What if it just stays far away, like it always used to?”

The question served mostly to distract herself, but it still seemed to work.

“Imagine that we will reach it,” said Twilight. “Your subconsciousness may want to keep the castle hidden from you, but your conscious decisions will always have the last word, as long as you’re linked to me.” A pause. “Can I... touch your feathers?”

“Uhm... I... sure?”

Twilight turned around. Her mane was now soaking wet, and the way it hung from her head on both sides made her look entirely different from normal. Fluttershy could see her biting her lip before she reached out with a shivering limb, gently stroking her left wing. Then she drew back, shaking her head.

“Sorry. No idea what that was about. Let’s continue?”

“Yeah.”

Twilight turned around, making a few firm strokes as if to bring a bit of distance between herself and Fluttershy, but halting only a few moments later.

“Sorry,” she said again as Fluttershy had caught up with her, turning her head but continuing her strokes forward. “I know it’s not my place, there’s just... something about this place... something about the water...”

“Think nothing of it.” Fluttershy let out a long breath, moving her gaze back ahead. They hadn’t been swimming for long, but distance had no meaning in this place. The castle was close now, and before she had even finished this thought, Twilight took her first steps onto the ground, the ascending hill that led toward the castle’s entrance.

There was no sand here, only soil and grass. Before her, the castle stretched itself into the air, a relict of her memory, a monument of stone and marble.

“Twilight...”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad I can share this with you. And I... I want you to see it first.”

She had not intended to say this until she heard the words coming out of her mouth... but knew them to be true.

“Really?”

“Yes.” Fluttershy now turned around, now facing her friend directly. “I know that you love me, Twilight. I know you haven’t said it yet, but you show it to me in every moment. And I appreciate it more than I can say, and I want nothing more but to love you back, and I... I think I can. I... I think I’m starting to.” She gulped. “I... you gave up the wish that would have given you want you wanted from me... and I know you also did it for me... and for the others. And... and I hope... I think that it won’t matter. I think I’m starting to love you back, Twilight. But... but if it doesn’t work out, if what I’m starting to feel... doesn’t grow... or if it doesn’t stay... I just... I need you to know that I’ll always be there for you. If not as a lover, then as a friend. And this... I... I... I really want to share this with you. Whatever it is, I want you to see it. Please?”

Twilight’s lips had slowly parted while Fluttershy had spoken, and now she could see them quivering. Her words had broken the invisible barrier between them, and now...

“I love you.”

Fluttershy smiled. “I know. Now go inside, will you?”

Twilight nodded. On shaky hooves, she ascended the staircase that led toward the castle’s entrance. It was guarded by a tall and heavy wooden door, but it immediately swung open upon Twilight’s gentle push. Then, she disappeared out of sight.

One second passed, then another... and another.

“What do you see? Is it bad?” She couldn’t hold herself back anymore. She had to know.

“No...” Twilight’s voice lifted the fear off her heart. “No... not bad.”

Flapping her wings, Fluttershy sped towards the entrance, eager to finally see... what had been hidden for so long...

She passed through the door, the castle’s insides now directly in front of her.

“... oh.” The realization, the release of tension, a gulp, and a giggle. “... oh... ...” She laughed, and soon after, Twilight joined.

“Well,” Fluttershy said “I guess that does make sense, in its own way.”

“Yeah.” Twilight snickered, rubbing away a tear from the corner of her eye. “No, it really does. I guess it’s just not what you expected.”

Fluttershy nodded, and then, she turned around and gave Twilight a kiss. Whether it was out of gratitude, sympathy, or just a way to deal with the aftermath of her emotional rollercoaster she didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. At the moment, it was what she wanted to do, no more, no less, and after they parted, she felt no regrets.

“This... this still doesn’t mean that I...” Fluttershy began.

“I know.”

Fluttershy nodded. “And if we do end up together, then this hasn’t been our first kiss. After all, nothing of this is real.”

Twilight smiled. “I’m fine with that.”

“Good.” Fluttershy giggled, then she leaned forward, and Twilight took her into a warm, caring embrace.

“Mhh...” She yawned. It probably wasn’t possible to fall asleep whilst in a dream, but right now, she felt so exhausted that she thought she might aswell.

“... next time, I want to visit one of your dreams...”

Chapter 3

Love.

How did it work, and how was it different from friendship?

Friendship was, at its most basic form, another word to describe the feeling of mutual sympathy between two or more ponies. As such, it wasn't that far away from love; however, it was different in that wasn't restricted the same way love seemed to be, and, perhaps more importantly, in that it didn't usually happen by accident. If both sides were willing to try, friendship was something which had been proven to exist between almost any two creatures, regardless of gender or species, and could reasonably considered to be earned. This wasn't to say that it couldn't also exist without any real effort on either side, but the mechanics of when or why that happened were usually comprehensible, not to mention consistent in a way that made sense, something which could most certainly not be said about love.

And then there were the mysterious influences friendship had shown to have beyond social interaction, influences which seemed to be triggered consistently by forces from the magical plane. The elements were of course the most notable example of this, however there existed many other spells which were partially bound to friendship in one way or another, and for whom its existence was thus a necessity. Truly, even the universe itself seemed to occasionally reward those living the ideals of the ominous friendship, a pattern which historians today acknowledged unanimously, albeit nopony seemed to agree on the 'why'. Twilight had long since developed the theory that not fortune itself was responsible for this phenomenon, but that friendship was merely an anchor to which countless spells in the history of ponydom and perhaps beyond had been bound to, spells whose effects were still noticeable to this day. This was a theory which not only allowed her to fully belief in the world as she understood it, but which, truly, seemed to be backed up considerably by the most recent events.

Regardless of whether or not it was accurate though, fact was that the same did not apply to love. The literature available on magic might have been widely inconsistent in terms of both quality and accuracy, but Twilight could not recall a single reliable source listing a spell which necessitated love in order to function. This raised the immediate question of why, which was something she could only speculate on. If her theory was in fact accurate...

Twilight shook her head, abandoning this train of thought. It wasn't helpful. Rather than what love was, the question which mattered to her was how it worked.

So... how did it work?

As far as she knew - which, unfortunately, wasn't very far at all - love usually didn't occur at once, but built itself up over a span of time, although it could be a short one. Whether or not it required a mutual history she did not know, and everything else seemed to lie beyond explanation. Twilight had never loved somepony before, which, admittedly, might have been due to the fact that she had hardly known other ponies whilst living in Canterlot. Whatever the case, her only reference point was how her feelings for the shy pegasus had evolved, which had been over the course of one or two weeks, and at a point a few months after she had first met her. She had never attempted to do anything about it, so that was really all she had to go on.

More relevant than how it happened, though, was which character traits were essential to trigger somepony's affection. If pony X were to fall in love with pony Y, then it would have to be due to some of Y's characteristics - that was, assuming it was not simply random. Generally speaking, it seemed unlikely that X would develop affections for a third pony - she should name her Z - just because Y and Z had similar personalities, so it stood to reason that the broad personality was not what mattered. Yet... what was it that Rarity had said? Fluttershy would be attracted to somepony 'more calm' that Rainbow Dash? If that was true, it could mean that a certain type of personality - or, rather, a category of personalities filtered by a set of broadly defined attributes - was a necessity, while the truly defining characteristics were the small habits and mannerisms. After all, any one of her friends except Pinkie could probably be categorized as 'more calm' than Dash, but Fluttershy didn't feel attracted to any one of them in particular. Now was this of course the conclusion Twilight wanted to reach, meaning it was important for her to test her line of thought for any potential confirmation bias.

The first assumption was already proving to be problematic upon second glance. What if it weren't Y's mannerisms which made X feel attracted towards her, but Y's actions towards X? Twilight briefly thought back to Fluttershy - had she treated her differently from anypony else? The answer was yes; Fluttershy treated all of her friends differently. And yet... as far as she could tell, Twilight had developed her affection not so much by talking to her as by watching her do stuff. If how Y behaved towards X was really what mattered, then that would be a rather discouraging thought, as changing her general attribute towards Fluttershy would likely be much more difficult than changing some of her less important mannerisms... or, perhaps, not necessarily difficult so much as a larger sacrifice, one that she wasn't willing to make... unless it would be enough to simply show affection herself, though that seemed unlikely. After all, ponies usually fell in love before they-

A knock from downstairs pulled her out of her thoughts. Throwing a glance toward her desk, she archived the single paper lying there, lit her horn and teleported downstairs to greet the visitor.

"Rainbow Dash." Twilight held the door open, pleasantly surprised the sight of her not-calm-enough friend. "What can I do for you?"

“Uhm...” Rainbow extended a wing, rubbing her brow in thought - a rare sight. "We need to, uh, talk. Yup." She gave an awkward smile. "Talk. That's normal, right? Visiting a friend to talk?"

"Sure." Twilight snickered. "Come in. I'll make us tea."

Leading her into the kitchen, Twilight floated two bags of tea into a can, and began to fill it with water. Rainbow stood beside her, chewing on her lip, apparently unsure how to begin.

“So, uh... Twilight? About the, uh, stuff from earlier today...”

“Yeah?”

“I, uh, wanted to ask you something... and it's kind of a weird question, so don't take it the wrong way, okay?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“How much do you like Fluttershy?”

This was certainly not the question she had expected. Mentally shrugging, she cast a spell to create a spark and put the can above the fire before turning around.

“Well, I'm not sure how to answer that. A lot? More than anyone else? I think I'm supposed to say that I just like her in a different way than the rest you guys, but... I'm not sure that's true.”

As a response, Rainbow chewed on her lower lip for several seconds before saying something else. “See, the reason I'm asking is... none of us noticed anything. I had a crush on Rares once, and she knew it almost before I did. But you... you said you had it for long time, and none of us knew a thing.”

“Rainbow... no offense, but don't you think you were simply more... obvious about it than I am?”

“Well, yeah,” Rainbow conceded, apparently without any hurt pride on her part. “Maybe. But 'maybe' isn't good enough. I gotta know for sure.”

Opting not to ask the obvious question, Twilight instead gave her friend's suspicion real thought. Technically, since that she had no comparison, she also had no way of knowing how strong somepony was supposed to feel in order for it to quality as 'love' - if that was in fact what Rainbow was going on about.

“Do you, like, watch her when we're all together? Do you think about her before you fall asleep? Do you-”

“Every day.”

“... imagine her... uh, what?”

“Every day,” Twilight replied calmly, taking the can off the fire and floating it towards the nearest table, along with two cups. “I usually use a spell to put myself asleep, but I always think about her for a while before I do. Sometimes, I even decide not to use the spell and fall asleep naturally instead, so I can think about her for longer. Tea?”

“Thanks.” Rainbow took the cup between her hooves. “And, uh, what kind of stuff ya think about, exactly?”

Twilight chuckled at the barefaced audacity of the question, but she didn't mind answering it. “Usually just her face, sometimes I imagine her sleeping.” She took a nip at her cup. “Sometimes the way she talks, and sometimes how she hides her face when she's being shy about something. You know, when she has that adorable blush of hers.” She gave an unintended giggle.

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Visibly satisfied, Rainbow leaned back on her stool. “Okay, great. That convinces me. In that case...” She put the cup back onto the table. “... you gotta go for her.”

“Huh?”

“Convince her to accept the wish. Make yourself super charming. Go on a friggin' date with her. However you wanna do it. But you two gotta become, y'know, marefriends.”

At that, Twilight blinked several times. ”Why?”

“‘cause Flutters deserves somepony nice. Somepony smart. And she's not gonna get that if we don't do anything. If it weren't for us five, she'd barely talk to anypony. Have you ever seen her go out by herself if she didn't absolutely have to? I'm telling you, if it's not one of us, then she's not gonna get anypony. And that would suck. Like, big time.”

“Rainbow Dash...” Twilight took another sip before continuing, “did you just call me nice and smart?”

“Hey, I'm serious!” Rainbow gave the tabletop a strike which would probably have knocked over her cup had Twilight not lifted it up preemptively. “But... yeah, I guess I did. Come on, everypony knows that.”

Twilight laughed. “Thank you. And don't worry, I got your point, and I promise I'll consider it in the decision making process.”

“Uh... that means you're gonna do it, right?”

“No - it means I'll consider it in the decision making process.”

Rainbow's right eye twitched. “How are you gonna consider it?”

“Well, my standard way to approach difficult decisions is to list all advantages and disadvantages to each option in different colors, usually green and red, and assign them numbers. Then I add both sides up - for each option separately, of course - subtract the red from the green, and whichever option has the highest number in the end, that's what I'll do.”

“Wait, you actually do that?”

“Sure. Only if the decision is important, of course.”

“So, what I said will become, like, a green number, huh?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of a number?”

Twilight smiled. “A big one.”

“How big?”

“Rainbow, the absolute size of these numbers is entirely arbitrary.”

“... huh?”

“Let's say I want to decide whether or not I'll go out for dinner. I wouldn't usually use this method for such a simple decision, but let's say I would. I could assign '5' to 'it costs more bits than, uh... cooking' and '15' to 'it'll take more time than cooking'. Or I could assign '5 million' to 'it costs more bits' and '15 million' to 'it'll take more time'. The result would be the same... of course, I'd have to adjust all other numbers too.” Her smile grew wider. “But whether or not they're all small or all big makes no difference. They're only weighed against each other... so their size only matters relative to each other. If I gave you the value of a single number, it would be meaningless - you see?”

“Yeah, uh, sure. Fine. Whatever.” Rainbow picked up her cup and emptied it in a single draw. “Just make it, like, really friggin’ big compared to the rest or something.”

“I will,” Twilight said, now in a more serious tone. “I'm absolutely going to spend my wish on Fluttershy if I can. There's nothing I want more than to win her over. I'm just not sure if there is a way.”

“Eh. There's always the easy way. I'll talk to Flutters, I'm sure I can get her to see it.”

“I'm... not sure I am comfortable with that.”

“Hey, I was going to talk to her regardless of what you said. She's obviously lonely, and she deserves you, and, hay, you might actually deserve her. I'll talk to her. Alright?”

Twilight hesitated.

“I'm not gonna make it sound like I'm doing it for you. I'm not... well, uh, not primarily. I'm even even gonna mention our conversation.”

“Sure... yeah. She's your oldest friend, after all. You have the right to do what you think is best for her.”

“Exactly.” With a flap of her wings, Rainbow took off from her seat, hovering in mid air. “Uhh... and now I gotta stretch those wings. Really gotta stretch them now. Smell ya later. And, uh, thanks for the, uhm, stuff.”

“No problem,” Twilight said cheerfully, watching her friend as she soared towards the entrance door, pausing just long enough to pull it open, and was out in a blur. Giggling to herself, she took care of Dash's cup, closed the door via magic, and teleported herself, the can, and her own cup upstairs.

Well, that had been that. And now...

Author's Notes

Author's Note

Welcome! There are two things I'd like to say.

One, I want to apologize for the stupidly long break between the last 2 chapters and the rest. I've had this largely finished for a while, and it's not like I wasn't writing at the time, either... I've actually been writing a lot for my standards. Just... not on this story. Needless to say I'm really not happy with it, but that's hardly an excuse, or at least not a good one.

Secondly – I realize that with the way this story turned out, it seems to have the moral of "you can't wish for love, you have to let it happen the natural way." That was absolutely not the intent. In fact, if I had to choose, I'd rather go for the opposite moral. I don't believe there is something supernatural about love, I think it's chemical process that exists because it's been rewarded by evolution, and if you could do magic, I don't see why it couldn't be recreated.

The reason why it didn't happen is just the way this story turned out. I'm of the rare opinion that it is often good not to know where your story is going – it's a foolproof way to avoid contrivances – and that was certainly the case here. When I got a bit in, I thought Rarity would be objected to the idea of inflicting love artificially, so I made her argue against it, and then it just so happened that she had really good points, and I realized that I thought she was right, not on principle, but in this case, and well Twilight thought so too, and in the end it all worked out! Gotta love Rarity.

I guess it also has the implication that a relationship can work out even if one of its members hasn't fallen in love. That's something which I believe is true.

Also, I friggin' love dreams. Dreams are amazing.