Silver Lining
By Karen Kitsune
Chapter One
Twilight found herself in bed staring at the ceiling. She had been trying to fall asleep for hours, but the events of the past week wouldn't allow her mind to stop spinning. A freak storm had formed over the Everfree Forest, catching Ponyville and their weather team by surprise. Despite the best efforts of the weather team, the storm continued to rage for days. The rain had been so heavy that the quiet creek that ran through town had swollen to several times its normal size. Many sections of downtown were now flooded and a large amount of the residents, including several of her friends, had to seek refuge at Sweet Apple Acres, which was on high enough ground to ride out the flood. As close as the library was to the downtown area, she had chosen to stay behind to protect the library as best she could. After spending two days straight helping to shore up the creek, organize the evacuations, and barricading the library, Twilight was happy to have some down time. That had been three days ago, and while she had constantly been having to stop leaks, she had to admit that she was beginning to feel a little lonely.
The storm finally appeared to be letting up. Her ear twitched as she noticed just how quiet it was. Spike was in Canterlot, assisting Princess Celestia with a class she was teaching about dragons. He would be gone for the next two weeks. Owlicious had met another owl and had left to spend time with her family. It was a few days flight, so he would not be back for a while.
She slowly dragged herself out of bed and looked at the clock, seeing that it was well into the morning. She poked her head out the front door. Nopony was around as far as she could see. She went back upstairs and took a few moments to straighten out her mane and tail. She then went back downstairs, and grabbed an apple from the kitchen. She went outside to try to figure out what she could help with next, apple gently clenched between her lips.
The sun slowly started to peek through the clouds as she made her way through town. The apple dropped from her magical grip as she rounded the corner and saw where the Carousel Boutique used to stand. At some point overnight, lightning must have hit the shop, as all that was left was partial framework, thoroughly burnt.
"Oh no. Rarity is going to be devastated."
As she made her way out of town towards the apple farm, she tried to think of the best way to break the news to her dear friend. Approaching the farm, she found hastily stacked hay bales creating a makeshift shelter. Applebloom was the first pony to spot her approach.
"Twilight" she shouted, as she made her way closer.
"Hi, Applebloom. How are you?"
Applebloom skidded to a stop inches away. "I'm doing okay. It's been pretty busy around here, but now that the rain has stopped, everyone is starting to pack up to go home."
"I see. Do you know where I can find Rarity? I really need to talk to her."
"I think she's in the house with Applejack. Is everything alright?"
"Um, yeah, nothing you need to worry about. Thanks, Applebloom."
Applebloom cocked her head to the side for a moment, before shrugging and running off to find her friends. Twilight made her way to the farmhouse. Finding the front door open, she knocked on the door frame. "Hello?"
"In the kitchen sugarcube."
Twilight made her way to the kitchen and found Applejack busy cooking. Rarity was sitting at the table sipping a cup of tea.
"Good morning, darling! How is the library?" Rarity pointed to the seat across from her.
"The library weathered the storm better than I expected." She walked up next to Rarity and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "We need to talk." She gestured to the living room.
"Oh? What's wrong?" Rarity hopped down, her tea hovering behind her as she made her way out of the room. Applejack paused as she noticed them leave the room. She followed as far as the doorway.
Twilight found a quiet corner and motioned for her friend to sit next to her.
"Rarity, I don't know how else to say this, so I'm just going to tell it to you straight. Your shop... well, it's gone."
"What" cried Rarity, before raising a hoof to her forehead and fainting. Twilight caught her just before she hit the ground, bringing her to rest on a nearby pillow.
"All that work she's put into that shop. Poor Rarity. It'll take her..." Applejack jumped as she was cut off out of nowhere.
"Forever” shouted Pinkie Pie, popping out of the kitchen behind Applejack. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she still had a huge smile on her face. I'm sure we can help her to rebuild it though, so I don't think it will really take forever."
"When? How did? Never mind.” Applejack sighed, shaking her head. "Pinkie Pie, you're just so random. I thought you were back at the barn with everypony else."
"I was, but no one was interested in having a 'We just got flushed out of town' party. I decided to come find you two instead, but now it's you three instead of you two, which just makes it even better!" Pinkie Pie started bouncing around the kitchen.
Rarity started to come around. Once she finally snapped out of it, she started whimpering. "All my work! My clothes, my materials, my shop!" She broke down into a heap of tears. Twilight, Pinkie, and Applejack all rushed over to try to console their dear friend.
"It's going to be all right, Rarity. Your shop can be rebuilt, your clothes remade, and your materials replaced. We're all here for you." Twilight placed her foreleg over Rarity's neck, gently stroking her mane to console her.
"That's right, sugarcube. We'll all pitch in to get you back up and running in no time." Applejack gave her a gentle nuzzle.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, trying to find where Pinkie Pie had disappeared to, came in to find their friends huddled together in the living room. Seeing that Rarity was upset, they quickly closed the gap to help console her. Rarity knew she would be okay with friends like these to support her.
"Thank you, all of you. You have no idea how much that means to me." Rarity sniffled, still fighting back a few tears. "You all are such wonderful friends."
"Aw shucks, Rarity, you know we're there for ya." Applejack beamed at her.
"The storm's gone now. I just gave the mayor the all clear, so everypony is starting to head back into town." Rainbow Dash made her way back to the front door. "I need to go make sure my house didn't get pushed to Canterlot after that mess we just dealt with. I'll catch up with you all later. Sorry 'bout your place Rares." She waved and took to the sky.
"I guess we'd better go home too, see what needs to be fixed. I need to make sure my critters are okay." Fluttershy started for the door.
"Rarity, are you going to be okay? You don't have to go if you're not ready. We'd all understand." Twilight gave her a little nuzzle. Applejack nodded.
"No, no, I'll come. I need to see for myself just how bad things are." Rarity let out a long sigh.
As everypony slowly approached the town, it became clear that Rarity's shop was not the only place to be destroyed. Signs were on the ground, carts crushed, roofs missing, and windows broken. A few homes were badly damaged. It looked like a tornado had just gone through the middle of Ponyville. However, it was clear that Rarity's shop had taken the worst of the abuse. Except for a partial burnt wall, there was nothing left standing.
Applejack whistled. "That storm really did a number on yer shop."
Rarity started crying. Her shop was a total loss. She would have to drain all her savings to rebuild and she would be lucky if her shop was rebuilt before the end of the year. She had no idea what she was going to do for income in the meantime and she was not looking forward to having to live with her parents. She flopped to the ground, not caring that she was getting dirty, at a complete loss of what to do. Twilight walked up to her, trying to think of a way to help her poor friend.
"Well, Rarity, it looks like you and Sweetie Belle will need a place to stay for a while. You're both welcome to stay with me if you'd like." Twilight settled down next to her.
Applejack chimed in. "Maybe both of you should stay with us at the farm, no offense Twi. We have plenty of room, and I know Applebloom would love to have Sweetie Belle around. You're gonna have yer hooves full for a while I imagine."
"That makes sense, but I still think Rarity should stay with me. The library is closer to her shop, and it doesn't appear to have sustained any major damage. She'll be able to watch over the reconstruction without having to go far." Twilight looked to Rarity.
It took a moment for Rarity to process everything that had just been said. "I wouldn't want to impose."
"We're both inviting ya silly, so yer not imposing at all! Applejack chuckled.
Rarity turned to face Twilight. "Are you sure I wouldn't be in your way?" Her spirits brightened a little.
"I'm sure. I might even be able to make enough space for you to continue working while your new shop is being built." Twilight gave her a reassuring smile.
Rarity turned to face Applejack. "Can Sweetie Belle stay at the farm without me?"
"Of course, sugar cube! Sweetie Belle's such a sweet filly. It'd be no trouble at all! Might even keep Applebloom outta some trouble." Applejack smiled.
Rarity grabbed Twilight and Applejack, hugging them as tightly as she could. "Oh, thank you so much. I really didn't know what I was going to do. You two are life savers!"
"No problem." Twilight and Applejack choked out in unison, trying to breathe. Rarity really could hug someone to death if she ever tried.
"Why don't we go through this mess? We can see if there is anything that can be salvaged."
"You really think there might be something I can still use in there?" Rarity slowly approached the remains of her shop.
Pinkie Pie's soot covered head popped out of the charred rubble. "How about this?” She tugged a sewing machine out of the pile. "It looks like it may still work."
"Pinkie Pie, that's wonderful!" Rarity rushed over to her. "I do believe you are right, although it does need a thorough cleaning."
Applejack said her goodbyes and made her way back to the farm to get Sweetie Belle settled in. Twilight and Rarity began sifting through what remained of the shop. Pinkie Pie helped for a few hours, before heading over to the bakery to see how bad the damage was. After tending to their own homes, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash helped the rest of the town's population clean up and recover. Everypony worked well into the evening, trying to straighten out the mess.
Eventually, it just became too dark to accomplish anything, forcing everyone to settle in for the evening. Twilight lead Rarity back to the library with as much as they could salvage. Twilight asked Rarity to go to the main part of the library and make herself comfortable. After doing some quick rearranging, she found some room to store it in the basement. "You can take a shower in a few minutes. I know you really want to clean yourself up right now, but there is something else I think we should do first."
She collected two pieces of paper, a small ink jar, and a quill, then sat down next to Rarity. "We should write a letter to Sweetie Belle letting her know that everything is okay, and why she is staying at Sweet Apple Acres for the time being. I'll send the letter directly to Applejack after you're done. We should also start making a list of your losses so we can make sure to replace everything."
It never ceased to amaze Rarity just how organized her friend was. "Twilight, I think you've really outdone yourself this time. It would have taken me a few days just to collect my thoughts."
Rarity wrote out a quick letter to Sweetie Belle letting her know what happened, and why she was going to need to stay with Applejack for an undetermined amount of time. Twilight, after a few moments of concentration, teleported the letter to Sweet Apple Acres, c/o Applejack. They made a quick list of everything Rarity could think of that was lost, deciding to be more detailed tomorrow when they could return to what was left of the shop.
Twilight let Rarity take a shower first. She knew that Rarity really needed it, not only because she had gotten dirty, but because it would help her to unwind. She figured it would take Rarity at least an hour to bathe, and to redo her mane and tail. While Rarity was taking a shower, Twilight tried to make a nice warm dinner for the two of them. She would take her own shower later.
"Twilight, darling!" Rarity poked her head out of the bathroom. "Do you have any conditioner? I can't seem to find any."
"I could have sworn I had some in there still." She had been working on making a soup, so she turned the heat down to let it simmer before heading upstairs. "I think I have a new bottle somewhere."
"Oh, that's okay, Twilight. You don't have to go looking for a new bottle. It's not that big of a"
"Found it!" Twilight pulled the bottle out of a small closet just outside the bathroom. She carried it in to Rarity.
Rarity had gotten back in the tub, letting the hot water from the shower run down her neck and back. Through the semi clear shower screen, Twilight could see Rarity's silhouette as she was trying to wash some mud out of her tail. Twilight felt her cheeks warm a little as she started to blush. 'Why am I blushing? It's just Rarity. You've seen her wet before!'
"Rarity, I... I'll just leave this bottle near the shower for you." She set the bottle down, and quickly left the bathroom.
"Thank you dear!" Rarity cooed as she moved the screen a little, and grabbed the bottle. "I just cannot get my mane to cooperate without it."
'I don't understand.' Twilight closed the door, and headed back down to the kitchen. "Why on earth did I start blushing? I'm glad Rarity was too busy cleaning to notice." She checked on the soup, and added a little seasoning before taking it off the stovetop.
"Rarity, dinner's ready." Twilight started serving and carried it to the table. "Don't take too much longer, or it'll get cold."
"I will be right there!" Rarity turned the water off and grabbed a towel. She came downstairs with the towel wrapped around her head. "It smells delightful dear. What did you make?"
"Oh, it's just a simple soup, some vegetables mixed in with a little timothy and alfalfa. I hope you like it. I'm not exactly famous for my cooking." Twilight watched nervously as Rarity took a seat.
Rarity took a small sip. Her eyes popped open in surprise. "I had no idea you could make something this delicious!" As hungry as she was, she managed to refrain from gulping down the soup.
"I'm glad you like it." Twilight sat down across from Rarity, and started eating. "I'm going to take a shower once I'm done with dinner. I haven't straightened out the guest bed yet. If you're tired, you can use mine instead. I can use the guest bed for tonight."
"Oh, nonsense! I won't hear of it!" Rarity shook her head. "You have done far too much for me already. I am quite awake after that wonderful shower. Just let me know where you keep the sheets. I'll set the bed up myself."
"I can't let you do that!" Twilight dropped her spoon. "What kind of host would I be to make my guest make her own bed? Please, just wait until I'm done with my shower!”
"If you insist, I guess I can try to restyle my mane while you're showering." Rarity took the towel off her head. "What a mess! I cannot believe I was out in public looking like this!"
"Rarity, I think you worry a little too much of what other ponies think. You look just fine to me, considering what you've gone through today." Twilight got up to put her bowl away. 'You look just fine to me even if you hadn't gone through this mess today. Wait, what? Where did that come from?' She looked over to her friend, who was slowly brushing her mane back to its normal style. 'Why am I thinking about her like this? Rarity's my friend! She's my friend. She's a mare!' Twilight started blushing again.
Rarity just happened to look over at Twilight, noticing that she hadn't moved since taking the bowl over to the sink. Twilight was looking at her. 'Is she blushing?' "Twilight, are you okay?"
Realizing she'd been caught, she quickly tried to make up an excuse, blushing even deeper. "Oh, nothing, just, I, um, forgottogetyousomethingtodrink!" Twilight rattled off a little too loudly as she bolted to get Rarity a cup. "What would you like?"
"Um, water?" Rarity cocked her head to the side, wondering what was going on in her friend's head.
"Water, sure!" Twilight quickly filled the cup, and put it in front of Rarity. "I'm gonna go take my shower now!" 'I think maybe a cold shower.' She raced out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and into the bathroom.
Rarity was at a loss for words. Not sure what to think, she finished the rest of her soup, and took her bowl over to the sink. She washed both bowls, wanting to at least do something for Twilight, as she had done so much for her today. Finishing the dishes, she walked into the main room of the library, and sat down to finish styling her mane. Satisfied with the results, she looked around at the piles of books left lying around. She proceeded to put as many of the books away as she could manage before Twilight finished her shower.
Twilight had started to shower, but now just stood there, not sure what to think or do. 'Rarity probably thinks I've lost it!' She shook her head against her front left hoof. She finished her shower, and walked over to the towel rack. She talked to her reflection in the mirror as she dried off. "Okay, Twilight. Take a deep breath. Everything is fine. Rarity doesn't think you've gone mental. Just relax." Feeling a little better, she left the bathroom, and proceeded to the linen closet to get the guest bed ready. On the way there, she heard movement downstairs, and looked over the railing. Rarity was trying to clean up the library, and doing a pretty good job.
"Rarity, what are you doing? You don't have to do that! Most of that is my mess anyway!" Twilight was frustrated that her friend was working instead of relaxing.
"I insist, Twilight. I want to do something for you to show how much I appreciate you taking me in on such short notice. Please let me do this for you." Rarity cooed as she proceeded to give Twilight her puppy dog eyes look.
"Thank you, Rarity. I do appreciate the help." She couldn't help but chuckle to herself that Rarity had given her the puppy dog eyes look. 'Her eyes are pretty though.' She froze. "Oh no, not again.” she whispered. "No, no, no, no, nonononono!" She bonked herself on the head with each 'no', and went back to making the guest bed. "I've got to stop thinking about Rarity like that!" She placed a clean pillow on the guest bed.
"Rarity, your bed is ready whenever you are." Twilight peeked over the banister. "I think you've done enough for one day, don't you?"
"If you insist. Maybe I can finish this up for you tomorrow?" Rarity asked with a gentle smile.
"That would be great, Rarity. Again, thank you." Twilight walked down to the first floor. "I'm gonna go outside for a bit. I need to get a little fresh air before I call it a night."
"Would you mind if I join you?" Rarity moved to follow her.
Twilight's heart skipped a beat. Maybe inviting Rarity to stay here wasn't such a good idea. "Um, I... okay." Twilight ended with a squeak. Rarity knew there was something going on that Twilight wasn't telling her about. She just wasn't sure whether to push the issue or not.
The two ponies went outside, and around to the back of the library. Twilight had a small bench set up where she liked to sit while watching the stars. It usually helped her to relax and think. This was not one of those times. She sat on one end of the bench, visibly shaking, staring at the sky. Rarity sat on the other end. They both watched the stars quietly for a while, but the silence started to feel a little awkward. Rarity broke the silence.
"Twilight, you seem to have something on your mind. You know you can talk to me about anything." Rarity really wanted Twilight to talk to her. It was obvious that whatever it was she had been thinking about that evening was driving her nuts.
At the sound of Rarity's voice, Twilight was quickly brought back to reality. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What did you ask? I was kinda off in my own little world there." Twilight tried to hold a convincing smile, but failed miserably.
"I said you seem to have something on your mind, dear. I'm here for you if you need somepony to talk to." Rarity tried not to sound upset at having to repeat herself. "What's wrong?"
So many questions were running through Twilight's head. 'Do I tell her the truth? How would she take it? Do I even understand why I'm feeling like this? How can I tell her how I'm feeling when I don't even understand it myself? Maybe I should lie? Maybe I should just tell her I'm fine, and I'm just tired?' She sat for a few minutes trying to decide what to say. "I." She started to say something, then stopped, and began to think about it all over again.
"I'm sorry, Twilight. Obviously, it's something you just don't feel comfortable talking about right now. I am sorry I tried to pry it out of you." Rarity was embarrassed that she had put her friend into a corner like that. She got up, and started to head back inside. "I'm going to bed. Don't stay up to late, dear."
Rarity getting up to leave triggered something in Twilight.
"Wait, Rarity!" Rarity turned around to face her. "You're right. I do have something on my mind, and I want very badly to talk to you about it. I'm just not sure how to start."
Rarity walked back to the bench, and stood in front of Twilight, curiosity written all over her face.
"Go ahead, darling. I'm in no hurry to go to bed." Rarity smiled.
"I'm just not sure that now is the best time to say anything about it, since, well, since you have so much going on right now." Twilight rubbed her forelegs together, staring at the ground.
"This has something to do with me then?" Rarity asked, concerned.
"Yes, it does, which is why I'm not sure if I should say anything. I don't want to hurt our friendship and you've already been through so much today." Twilight fidgeted some more.
"Well, despite what happened today, if it has something to do with me, I think I want to hear it. I can't imagine what you could possibly have to say that would make me not want to be your friend anymore." Rarity placed a hoof onto Twilight's fidgeting legs, trying to calm her down. Twilight jumped a little at the contact, but the fidgeting stopped.
"Okay." Twilight still was not sure if this was such a good idea. "I know that you noticed me blushing earlier, and that obviously had nothing to do with forgetting to give you a drink."
"I sort of figured as much," Rarity giggled, "go on."
"Well, that wasn't the only time I ended up blushing today... and you were always there when I did. The reason I was blushing so much... is because... I was thinking about you." Twilight ended in a whisper. She started fidgeting again.
"You were thinking about me, and you started to... oh! Ohhh!" She backed up a few steps as she understood what Twilight was saying. "You mean?"
Twilight didn't say anything, just nodded.
"I see." Rarity was trying to wrap her head around what Twilight had just told her. "For how long?”
"It just started today, which is why I'm so confused. I just don't know what to think anymore!" Twilight started crying. "I was thinking about how nice you looked in the shower. How pretty your eyes were when you gave me your puppy dog eyes look. How pretty you looked even when you thought you were a mess at dinner!"
"Oh sweetie, don't cry!" Rarity rushed forward and hugged her, trying to calm her down. She was trying to come to grips with what she wanted to do about the whole situation. "Okay, so this is how I see it. We have two choices. We can either acknowledge how you've been feeling today as the start of something new and explore it together."
Twilight's head shot up, almost clocking Rarity in the neck. "Did I just hear you right?" Twilight was confused, but not crying anymore.
"Yes dear, you did. Or we can treat the fact that you've been feeling like this today as some fluke, a crush, and just go back to being friends." Rarity waited a moment to let Twilight think.
Twilight sat stunned, contemplating the options that had been put before her. Rarity said that their friendship was not in jeopardy now, despite what she had just been told. She had a safe route out of this mess. On the other hoof, she also said she would consider her feelings, and be willing to explore the possibility of being together, as a couple. She never thought she'd hear Rarity say that! Her friend was a lot more open minded than she had ever given her credit for. Her train of thought was interrupted when Rarity spoke up again.
"Now, I'm not saying that I've ever thought of you that way before, not saying that I don't think your attractive of course. I've never thought of any mare that way before, but you are my friend. A very dear friend. Your feelings matter to me. I must admit that I would need to think about this a little more if you do choose to pursue your feelings. I've never considered dating a mare before. Is that okay?"
Twilight nodded. "I've never thought about dating at all, to be honest. At least, until today that is. I need to think about this some more as well."
"Well then, how about this? We both have a lot to think about. Why don't we sleep on it? We can bring it up again in the morning over a nice warm breakfast. This time, I'll cook." Rarity gave her a warm smile.
"I would like that. Thank you, Rarity." Twilight gave her a small hug.
Both ponies went back inside, and settled into their own beds for the night. They both had a lot to think about.
