Kingdom of Loving: Fear and Loving in the Crystal Empire

Chapter 7: The Other Pony in the Library

The library was in a very similar state to the one she’d left it in, although the desk where Twilight had been sitting before was cleared off, the books that were there sitting on a nearby cart or returned to their proper positions. She felt a small pang of guilt about not doing it herself, being the caretaker at Ponyville’s library, but it had been late and there were quite a lot of books. One of Cadance’s guards - Caramel Cream, in fact - had directed Twilight to ask for a particular pony, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself.

“I’m sorry if this is rude, but, are you okay?” she asked Caramel in the hallway.

The taller mare sighed and brushed her hand through her short, white-and-burgundy rough mane. She put her other hand on her hip.

“Honestly, I thought I was in deep trouble,” she began uncertainly. “Spying? That’s serious treason. I was convinced that I should grab what little I could and fly back to Canterlot immediately. But I’ve known Cadance for a couple years now.

“When she showed up at my quarters I was a mess. I was begging her for her forgiveness and she just took me in her arms. We laid down, talked a little, and she told me she had no reason not to trust me. Ever. Even back when I was probing her for information she told me anything I wanted to know freely. I realized I have no reason not to trust her, so Celestia shouldn’t have any reason, either.”

Twilight tilted her head. “But she doesn’t. Trust Cadance, I mean.”

“Not in the slightest. She orders more spies to the kingdom every year.”

Twilight deliberated on that, chewing the knuckle of one index finger. It was deeply unsettling. “Oh! What did Cadance mean by you two still being on?”

“We have sex,” Caramel replied casually. Twilight looked even more confused by that. “You know, when she finds time between her duties and Shining. It’s just a fling, I know, but I just couldn’t resist bedding her to try and loosen her up a bit. Mm, but that tongue.”

The conversation sort of derailed after that and Twilight was trying to focus less on the lurid grin on CC’s face and instead looked around the library for the pony she was supposed to meet. By her description she sounded fairly distinct, brightly-colored with a burnt amber coat and fiery red-orange mane. She moved to the desk where she had been sitting last night and noticed that all of the books were loaded onto two neat carts for easy transport. With a quick shrug she deposited her bookbag and looked around for any sign of a librarian or front desk. There was nopony else but her, apparently, so she set to wandering the sprawling, two-floored crystal library.

A sound from behind one of the shelves made Twilight’s ear flick. She peeked around the end of it and saw a cart of books. There was a mare there, a unicorn, holding a few of them and levitating a couple simultaneously, her green aura glowing around them while she read other titles. By her brilliant reds and oranges, this was the girl.

“Excuse me, Sunset Shimmer?” Twilight asked.

The unicorn turned and blinked, making a soft hum as she was distracted. Her magical aura faded from her horn and then the books overhead. In that instant she appeared to remember them, but she wasn’t fast enough to stop them from dropping one at a time onto her head. Twilight squeaked in surprise as one, then two, then three books smacked over the poor unicorn’s brilliantly-colored mane.

“Ow,” she griped, putting the other books down to rub the spots where she’d been hit.

“Sorry! I am so sorry!” Twilight stammered as she approached, having to dodge stacks of books on the way.

“No, no, it happens,” Sunset sighed heavily. It sounded more annoyed than resigned.

“I know how it goes when somepony breaks your focus. Oh, um, I’m Twilight. Twilight Sparkle?”

“Shining’s sister,” the orange mare said flatly, looking her over with a quick sweep of her gemlike cyan eyes. She didn’t continue the train of thought and Twilight shifted uncomfortably on her hooves a bit before Sunset turned back to collecting the books she’d dropped.

“Yes, Cadance said you could help me find some books?”

“I am one of the assistant librarians and researchers,” Sunset said a little sarcastically. “Do you know what you’re looking for?”

“Just the topic.”

“And that is?”

Twilight tilted her head slightly as the unicorn once again sounded slightly annoyed by her presence. She apologized for making her drop the books, and this was her job, wasn’t it? Twi knew she could be a bit oblivious to other ponies.

Sunset Shimmer let out a heavy sigh and turned to face Twilight. “Look, I’m sorry for being short. It’s just that I came into the library this morning and found the whole place practically wrecked.”

Twilight’s ears flattened.

“On top of that, I have at least three books missing from the magical theories and two from the historical archives.”

“I…” Twilight began, then she swallowed. Sunset tilted her head but crossed her arms underneath her modest bust expectantly. “I might have had something to do with that.”

“Really?” Sunset prompted, raising a brow sharply.

“In fact my brother and I were in here for several hours looking for information on shapeshifters.” Twilight laughed nervously and tried to look contrite, but her ears just buried themselves under her mane.

“And did you take any books?” the unflinching mare pressed, her tail flicking behind her like the angry fire it resembled.

“Yes?”

“Which ones?”

Twilight’s expression froze, mouth open and her expression locked pleadingly on Sunset’s. She wasn’t budging, but there was no way she could know each of the books that were gone, was there? On reflection, that was a silly question. Twilight lived above a library and she knew the name, catalog number, and shelf position of every book in it. She got bored one night and spent it reorganizing the whole thing.

“Did you take the Crystalis Compendia Magicka?”

“Oh, yes, definitely,” Twi blurted immediately. “I’m just so interested in crystal magic.”

“Well, I need it for a project I’m working on,” Sunset said and dropped her arms to a more relaxed position. Twilight breathed out through her nose sharply and hoped she didn’t catch it.

“I can go get it-”

“Oh no you don’t,” Sunset interrupted. “You’re going to help me put all these books back.”

Twilight looked down at the indicated cart, then she remembered the two or three that were out by the table. That was a lot of books and she was on something of a time table.

“Hey, either you help me, or I go down the list of other titles I didn’t find,” Sunset cooed in a very sweet but threatening sing-song.

Twilight swallowed hard. “So, ah, I guess now’s a good time to mention I live in a library?”

The work wasn’t nearly as bad as Twilight had expected, even though she was unfamiliar with the library and the books and their places. It was the company she was beginning to enjoy more than anything as they went about replacing all the missing tomes while she and Sunset shared stories of their experiences in the Crystal Kingdom and Equestria.

Sunset was actually born in the Crystal Kingdom. Her family had come with Cadance to the north when she left. Apparently, the stories went that the Crystal Empire was in ruins but there were still ponies - Crystal Ponies - that could work unusual crystal magic. They shared their secrets with the refugees from Equestria and helped them craft a new home, literally, right from the range of crystal mountains that separated the kingdom from the arctic north. Then there was Sombra.

Twilight was fascinated by the legend of Cadance’s defeat of Sombra. It was said that she used the power of love to purge his shadow from the land. If that were true, it sounded amazing! To think that she knew the mare in question - it put a strange sort of spin on her view of Cadance and Celestia itself. Sure, she knew Celestia personally, and that meant she knew the living embodiment of Harmony itself. It was something that she rarely truly reflected on, but Cadance was about to become her sister-in-law. What would it be like to be the sister-in-law of a goddess? Besides, there were likely a few ponies still around who witnessed the founding of the Crystal Kingdom! It must have been such a grand event.

“So you’re actually Celestia’s student?” Sunset was saying as she placed a few books on the upper shelves with her magic.

“Yes, out of all the students in Canterlot, she chose to tutor me personally,” Twilight nodded, trying not to let her voice take on too much pride.

“Hmph. My mother doesn’t care much for Celestia. She says she’s a tyrant who doesn’t tolerate any line of thinking but her own.”

Twilight blinked. “That may be a bit harsh,” she said defensively, but if everything she’d learned from the Crystal Kingdom really were the truth, it did sound more and more like the divide in their lands was Celestia’s refusal to accept ponies who were different from her ideas of Harmony.

“My mother claims she banished us because Celestia wouldn’t risk having to share her precious pony kingdom with anypony she deemed impure.” Sunset sounded bitter. It wasn’t personal experience, surely. Sunset was about the same age as Twilight and the migration had taken place a century ago. There was no way she could have been subject to Celestia’s rules, but then again, if her parents or grandparents had been there would likely be rumors passed down through the generations.

“Celestia’s not some arrogant queen, she just wants to protect Equestria. She just wants what’s best-”

“What she says is best,” Sunset snapped, turning on Twilight. She looked as if she was about to say more, but she turned away and began putting books back on the shelf in silence.

Twilight put down the armload of books she was shelving and stepped over to Sunset. The orange unicorn didn’t turn around. “Sunset,” she said quietly.

“Sorry,” came the hushed reply. It sounded too hurt to be genuine.

“No, don’t be,” Twilight insisted as she gently slipped her hand into Sunset’s free one. She squeezed it, getting her attention. Sunset looked curiously uncertain, glancing between the joined hand and the kind smile on Twilight’s muzzle.

“What works for some ponies doesn’t work for everypony. Celestia is just scared it might cause more problems. But I’m hoping after the wedding I can go back and show her there’s nothing here to be afraid of.”

Sunset’s eyes looked soft, almost wet for a moment. “I’m not so sure there isn’t.”

Twilight couldn’t help but notice Sunset’s fingers hadn’t tried to pull away, even though she wouldn’t make eye contact for a long moment. She squeezed them encouragingly.

“Sunset, I can’t promise Celestia will listen. She and Cadance have had this feud going on for longer than I’ve been around. But I can promise you that nothing I’ve seen here is wrong. Nothing done out of love is bad.”

There was an exhale. Twilight wasn’t sure if she started it or Sunset finished it, but both of them were looking at each other, blue eyes to violet ones. They were quiet, but the warmth from being so close felt reassuring, the grip around her delicate hand was steady but careful.

“You sure are a smart purple horse,” Sunset said at long last. Twilight giggled, at a loss for how to respond to that, but she had prepared for something far more emotional.

But nothing would ever prepare her for being kissed.

Sunset’s slender muzzle pressed up against her own at just the right angle to make sure their lips sealed together. A gentle pressure, a little pull, and a squeeze with her hands, and Sunset had managed to give Twilight an exhilarating and heady rush. Her eyes stayed open even though Sunset’s had closed, and while she had no idea what she was going to do with this very sudden and very confusing moment, she quietly wished it wouldn’t end.

It did, and as it passed Sunset took a half-step back, keeping her fingers joined with Twilight’s all the while. Through all the purple fur on her cheeks Twilight was still pink enough to be mistaken for Cadance. She felt hot and weak and excited and oh so elated.

“What does--What does that mean?” Twilight stammered, barely able to get the words out.

“It means we kissed,” Sunset said simply with a broad grin. “Wanna do it again?”

“Uh-huh.” Twilight was more prepared as Sunset stepped back in, and their bodies met just a fraction of a second after their snouts. She had no idea how to do it, how to make it feel as electric and exciting for Sunset as it had felt for her, but she did her best. Her muzzle tilted, her lips parted, even a tiny grace of her tongue in the slick embrace, and Twilight felt like she never wanted to stop. A trembling moan was lost in the sound of their lips tugging and pulling and parting and meeting hotly, and Twilight shivered when Sunset wrapped her arms around her.

There was a sudden but meaningful cough.

Both unicorns jumped visibly. Twilight had to spin around while Sunset simply stepped back, stumbling slightly as a hoof landed on a forgotten book. At the end of the shelves was an older Earth Pony mare who had both arms crossed very tightly under her weighty breasts. Her coat was a pale cream and her brown mane sat in a terse beehive atop the crown of her head. The fact that she wore thick-rimmed glasses just made her glare all the more intimidating and schoolmarmesque.

“Young ladies, I understand you may be quite in love, but this library is a disaster,” she snorted in a stern but motherly tone. Twilight glanced at Sunset, who did not help by giving her the most lopsided grin she had ever seen.

“Have this place cleaned up by lunch or I swear I will have Cadance herself in here!”

Twilight was still reeling from the trip to the library. After they had been discovered by the librarian and scolded, Twi and Sunset continued organizing the books and finished with plenty of time to spare. They had talked mostly about crystal magic and a few things here or there about the plans for the wedding, but for some reason the topic never made it back around to the two of them kissing. It was making Twilight grow ever more anxious about it. Had she been bad at it? Had she embarrassed Sunset by getting her in trouble? Were two mares their age not supposed to be kissing, and in a library of all places? The tension in her gut felt like it was trying to escape by force as they walked listlessly back towards Twilight’s room, presumably on a mission to get the last book that Twilight had borrowed.

Of course, she still hadn’t deduced whether Sunset knew which book that was.

“Oh, and talk about that Mrs. Ryefield, catching us back there? How embarrassing,” Twilight rejoined the conversation after being absent with her thoughts. She tried to sound sympathetic and not like she was on the verge of a very slight panic attack.

“Sheesh, I’m your girlfriend for half an hour and you’re already ashamed of me?” Sunset quipped with her hands behind her back, though her tone was playful.

Twilight stopped in the middle of the hall and she looked at Sunset.

“You’re my girlfriend?” she asked in a way that suggested she was hearing about it for the first time.

“Am I?” Sunset shot back. The two peered at each other questioningly. Twi was tense, her fingers curling around the strap of her bookbag as if it would save her from washing away in the onslaught of fear and uncertainty and excitement. There was a moment where she thought she saw a sliver of pain shoot across Sunset’s muzzle and her blue eyes were searching.

“Yes,” Twilight said to stop the horrible indecision battling in her brain.

“Good,” Sunset nodded. “Because I was worried you were just kissing me back there-”

“No, Sunset, not at all!” Twilight interjected in a very near cry.

“Twi! I’m joking! Geez. Calm it down a bit,” Sunset gestured with both hands for emphasis.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight huffed as she covered her face with one hand. “I’m sorry, I know, I just don’t know how to deal with this.”

“You’re really cute when you’re mortified.”

“Sunset! I’m being serious.”

“So am I. But also about the kissing thing.” Sunset gently pulled Twilight’s hand away from rubbing her temple and leaned in to peck her nose. It was as if it startled the purple unicorn, even though she watched it coming and didn’t move to avoid it at all.

“Nopony has ever wanted to be my - to be with me,” Twilight admitted.

“That I find hard to believe.”

“I mean it. I’ve always worked so hard on my studies, being Celestia’s apprentice, even being charged with Ponyville’s library is a huge responsibility.”

“You have a lot of pressure on you,” Sunset said as she played her fingers around Twilight’s free hand. “I know. I get a lot of stuff from my mom about learning crystal magic.”

“She probably just wants you to be successful,” Twilight offered.

“Yeah…” Sunset trailed, looking away for a moment. Then she snapped back to brightness, smirking at Twilight. “But you’ve got a girlfriend. So I expect you to take time out of your busy schedule to dote on me and pay attention to me.”

“Really?”

“No.” Sunset snickered as Twilight’s ears splayed. She stepped a bit closer and let her fur brush through Twilight’s to calm her down a bit. “I’ll be the one taking care of you.”

Twilight wasn’t sure how this all worked. She was still battling the feeling of uncertainty, not knowing how it came together or how it fit into her life. How would Cadance and Shining Armor react when they saw her with this mare? What would Celestia think? How would she even break this sort of thing to her parents? In all her mental anguish she barely saw Sunset twist a hand out towards one of the crystal walls.

A pulse of magic rippled through the air. Twilight could feel it as well as see it, the green aura wreathing Sunset’s arm from the elbow. Her fingers twirled and beckoned out a piece of the wall’s shimmering perfection like a droplet of wax. It hung in the air for a moment above her palm before its shape lengthened into several points, until it resembled a star.

Twilight’s cutie mark.

“Here,” Sunset said with a little smile. A shimmering strand of crystal laced through a tiny eyelet at the top of the star, forming a necklace. As Twilight drew her mane up with both hands Sunset slid the chain into place and its ends touched at the back of her neck, sealing together seamlessly.

“Wow,” she breathed. It was crystalline, transparent, its many facets bending the light into a multitude of colors. Twilight picked it from where it rested just above her chest and turned it over a few times to watch the rainbow playing out through the pendant.

“So, I promise. I promise I’ll take care of you,” Sunset said and leaned in to kiss Twi’s cheek. She giggled softly at such seriousness and leaned in to her girlfriend’s side.

Twilight shivered and let a happy sigh out. She tipped her head just enough until their horns could just barely brush. There was no way of knowing how long they stood simply rubbing cheeks in the hallway, Twilight occasionally being brave enough to steal a kiss. But when she opened her eyes and looked at the beautiful blue eyes staring lovingly at her.

“I...completely forgot to find that book,” Twilight said, starting to say something completely different, but then she remembered - in all her excitement she’d spaced out on the reason for going to the library in the first place.

Sunset sighed dramatically and took her by the hand. “C’mon, we’d better go now while Mrs. Ryefield is on lunch!” Surprised by her energy, Twilight let the mare pull her along at a hurried trot. It was exhilarating. It was new. It was far better than any book.

Finally, Twilight had the book she was looking for. A History of Magical Creatures was hardly the most comprehensive source on the subject, but it was from Equestria and it might have more information. The hundred year old book still smelled like the crinkled pages of a dictionary, thick and ripe with knowledge, and its paper was still preserved. The soft sheen of the pages being turned put Twilight at casual ease as she flipped through them searchingly.

Sunset had insisted on helping her look, since she knew a bit about magical creatures. They were actually very similar, once Twilight thought about it. Maybe that was why she was so greatly attracted to this energetic, spontaneous, and beautiful mare. They shared interests in magic and philosophy and Equestria, but Twilight was pretty sure the uncharted territory of having a girlfriend was building on her mystery and appeal. It was thrilling to not know something, to have the opportunity to learn, and if she had to be any judge she would say she found an excellent teacher.

It was distracting trying not to think of how they could be laying in bed kissing instead of reading.

“So this creature can imitate the forms of other ponies,” Sunset recounted from the foot of Twilight’s bed, her back resting against it while she sat on the floor, “and it might be somehow feeding off them.”

“Right,” Twilight confirmed. “We didn’t get a look at it ourselves, but the pony who was attacked said it looked just like her girlfriend.”

“Do you think it’s hurting them?”

“I’m not sure. Shining said that there was a rash of dizzy spells, lightheadedness, maybe some fainting, but so far nopony has died.”

“That’s good,” Sunset murmured, propping her knees up to her chest.

“It’s possible that these things don’t actually feed off of anything physical. Magic, maybe?”

“I thought you said the baker was an Earth Pony,” Sunset mentioned as she looked over her shoulder. “There’s more magic in a crystal streetlamp than an Earth Pony.”

Twilight frowned. “You’re right. They wouldn’t be primary targets for a magic-eater.”

“What if they’re vamponies?” The word hung on the air in awkward silence like it was embarrassed to even exist.

“No, we’d see evidence of blood missing,” Twilight dismissed the thought with a shake of her head.

“I was kidding,” Sunset snorted. She pushed herself off the floor and clambered onto the bed, crawling her way to come to rest beside Twilight who was propped up against the headboard, book on her knees.

Twi glanced at the unicorn as she settled in next to her, leaning just enough that the curve of her chest was pressed against an arm. She took in a sharp breath. Sunset was amazing - smart, funny, and for some reason completely into her. It made her feel dizzy and lightheaded herself, but this was definitely not some kind of monster. If she had to guess, she would say this was love.

“Um, I just don’t know,” Twilight said with an awkward shift. “So far the book’s just talking about bogeythings.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re only in the Bs,” Sunset snickered, reaching over to turn the page herself. “I thought you were a fast reader.”

Twilight shifted the book slightly so that Sunset could have better access to it. Normally she was a very fast reader, but she was being constantly distracted with the thought of Sunset curling in against her, hugging up together under these sheets, trying position 46-A from page 161. She flipped, and their eyes scanned. Boggarts. Bugbears. Brownies. None of these things seemed like they would take the shape of a pony or mentioned anything about feeding.

“What’re these?” Sunset asked. Twilight blinked a little heavily. Her eyes were getting weary from looking over so much small writing and so many diagrams, wracking her brain to try to puzzle out what their target could be. She refocused on the page Sunset had stopped on.

“Changeling,” Twilight read aloud, “a polymorphic species of empathic feeders who drain emotions from intelligent creatures, most often targeting ponies.”

This sounded more and more plausible as Twilight read on. The drawing on the page depicted a strange-looking creature somewhere between insectoid and pony. It had a ponylike upper body, but long, spindly legs covered in a smooth black skin, gossamer wings, fangs, and large buglike eyes that made it look disturbingly like a fly crossed with an angler fish.

“Changelings are known to be instinctual feeders, drawn naturally to sources of powerful emotions such as grief, anger, or love,” Twilight said as the text continued, her voice rising with interest. “Utilizing a natural form of a polymorph spell they are able to assume the form of any living creature of similar shape and size, and can mimic voices effectively. Little is known about their society or if they are solitary.”

“Wow, this sounds like your monster,” Sunset noted as she looked over the page.

“Yeah,” Twi breathed. “Changelings. There’s no more, just these two pages.”

“Which means they were poorly understood. So they were thought of as a myth even a hundred years ago.”

“Either that or they were exceptionally rare.”

“A lot of these monsters might have been around at one time, but they died out. Kind of like how dragons used to live all over Equestria, but they migrated to the Dragon Isles ten thousand years ago.”

“Maybe changelings went into hiding or some kind of hibernation,” Twilight mused, settling back against the headboard. “If they feed on emotions, Equestria could have been a very dangerous place. Celestia’s rule made everypony safeguard their emotions and it would have taken a concerted effort to get a powerful one to feed off of. The Crystal Kingdom must be a buffet.”

“Yeah,” Sunset agreed. “I mean, you can’t go anywhere in this place without somepony kissing you in a library.”

Twilight gave Sunset a sideways look and was met with a shameless grin. She returned it, and the two leaned in to exchange a brief smack from their muzzles.

“Wonder what kind of silly pony would do that,” Twi giggled as she sat back. “But this is big news.”

“Big enough to go tell Cadance?”

“Definitely. Do you want to come with me?”

“I actually still need to work on that project.”

“Right,” Twilight said with a sudden realization that she might have been wasting Sunset’s time.

“It’s not a big deal,” Sunset calmed her as if she could sense Twilight’s worries. “It’s not due yet. But I wanted to make sure you were going to be okay.”

“Okay?” Twilight asked. She blinked.

“You know, with all of this. With us,” Sunset elaborated between several pauses.

“Oh! Of course I am, Sunset. I mean, it’s kind of new, and I don’t know if I’m going to be a good girlfriend or a bad one and I’m not sure if I can be everything you need me to be and-”

Sunset giggled and leaned up to hug around Twi’s shoulders.

“You’re such a dork.”

Twilight’s ears folded, but she slipped her arms around Sunset and squeezed her.

“This is kinda new for me too, Twi. Don’t freak out. We’ll work on this, together. I’m not saying I’m gonna be perfect, and maybe you’re not even that into me. But I promised I’d take care of you and that’s what I’m gonna do.”

Twilight looked at Sunset with a mixture of sheer joy and searching puzzlement. She still had no idea why this pony had chosen her, or why anypony would. Just a day ago she was paranoid about other ponies seeing her naked, about seeing other ponies naked, and here she was, alone in her room with this magnificent girl, both of them stark nude, touching and kissing and feeling one another, closer than she’d ever been to another. She let out a happy breath as Sunset got off the bed and made a purposeful show of flicking her tail side to side with the motion of her hips, each stride a measured and effective sway of her pert rear end. Was Twilight just never aware of how good another mare’s butt could look when it was walking away?

“Try not to get into too much trouble, though. I’m just one pony.”

Twilight giggled. “I make no guarantees.”

Sunset laughed and wiggled her fingers before stepping out the door. Twilight looked down at the star-shaped crystal pendant once she was gone. Picking it up again, she turned it over in her fingers and admired it. The first gift a pony had ever given her in an effort to make her feel loved, but it was only symbolic of what she felt she’d really been given - what Sunset was trying to give her.