The Shortcut

“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.”