The sun shone through the windows of the library as Twilight Sparkle was gathering books about different species of amphibians. When she heard that the Cutie Mark Crusaders would be working on their "Amphibious Creature Tamer" Cutie Marks, Twilight didn't bother questioning what went through the little filly's heads.
She put the last of the books in her saddlebag and was ready to head on over to Rarity's boutique, when she was stopped by Spike.
"Twilight! You forgot this one!" The small dragon held the book in the air, as he rushed over to Twilight.
"Oh thanks Spike." She looked down at the book, "Oh yes, this one will be great for them to use. 'The Mares Manual to the Marine Toad'." She carefully put the guide in her bags and opened the door, "Alright Spike, I'll be back later. Be sure to finish your chores." Spike saluted Twilight as she walked out of the door.
The bookworm trotted along the dirt roads of Ponyville towards her destination. On the way there, she couldn't help but notice how pleasant the weather was today. The temperature was fine. There was no cloud in sight, and the humidity was of a pleasantly average level. Wow, today really is a wonderful day! I might take use of this excellent weather condition and finish my study out on my balcony after I get back from Rarit-. Her inner ramblings were cut short as she trotted muzzle first into something rather strong. She fell back on her haunches in a daze as she used a hoof to inspect her damaged muzzle.
"Was that a wall?" She thought aloud and grunted.
"Eeeenope, but not to far off it ah'spose." The mysterious obstacle said back to her. Twilight opened her eyes to find out who she walked right into. She was still half dazed so the only detail she could uncover about this pony was that he was male and was red... and big.
"Miss Sparkle? Are y'all okay?" The red farm pony asked with evident concern on his face. He bent down to her and noticed the state she was in, "Shoot, can ah have look at the damage?"
Miss Sparkle. Twilight felt a pang in her chest, located around the heart. She looked into his big green eyes, a sense of security washed over her. She nodded as she slowly took her hoof away from her nose. Big Mac knelt down on one knee to inspect her muzzle for any damage. He lifted his free hoof up and touched her nose and turned her head slightly.
"Looks about normal." He said as he moved his hoof away from her mouth and attempted to help her up. "Now might ah ask... Whah'd ya walk right into me jus' now?"
"I-I was walking to get to The Boutique..." She stammered. Why am I stammering? "A-and I wasn't watching where I was going, then I must of walked right into you." She finished plainly letting out a small chuckle. Big Mac smiled, it was a genuine heart-warming smile... And it worked, she didn't know how it happened but her heart started to pound.
"Fine by me... Jus' make sure y'all are keepin' track of where yer hooves are hitt'n when ya go for a walk." He said as he moved passed her, to get back to his farm. "Y'all might wanna come over later-on so ah kin' have a look at that nose o' yers. Now ah have some work on the farm that ah have to finish up on, shud be done around sundown, until then... Good afternoon Miss Sparkle!"
Miss Sparkle She felt it again, at the mention of her name her heart pounded harder and she began to heat up, but at the same time she was frozen, "O-okay..." She weakly stuttered out. After she was sure he was gone she let out a huge breath she didn't even realize she was holding. "What... W-What was that?" She said to herself as she continued walking. I couldn't think straight, My heart was pounding and the way he'd smile and say my name "Miss Sparkle..." She let out a sigh. "D- Do I have a crush on him?" She concluded.
Twilight walked through the doors of boutique, only to find it completely wrecked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw at first an orange blur, quickly followed by a white blur racing through the store.
“Quick! Sweetie Belle go get the yarn!”
“What color do you want?”
“Blue! I want it to be the same color as Rainbow Dash!”
“You got it Scoots... But wait, I thought we were going to make it the same color as Rarity!”
“Rainbow Dash!”
“Rarity!”
“Girls!” The white unicorn yelled from across the room, Twilight looked around and found Rarity walking down the stairs. She was red with anger. “What did I tell you about using my stuff! Do you know how much this yarn costs?”
“We-were sorry sis.”
“Yeah, really sorry.”
The two fillies looked at Rarity with innocent faces, as she sighed and calmed down, “It-it’s quite alright. I know you girls are looking forward to getting your Cutie Marks and-” She was cut off as she noticed Twilight standing in the doorway of her boutique, “Twilight! Darling come in! How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to see the place get wrecked by a couple of fillies. And speaking of which, here are those books on amphibians you wanted.” She pulled a couple of books out of her saddlebags and placed them on the table. “Here you go!” Twilight looked at the Crusaders and noticed that Apple Bloom wasn’t there, “By the way, where’s Apple Bloom?”
“She said that she wasn’t feeling well. We were making this for her as a get well present.” Scootaloo held up what looked like a blanket with the words ‘Get Well Soon’ stitched into it.
“We were going to give it to her, but now that we have these books, we can learn all we can about amphibians!” The orange filly said emphatically.
“Yeah! Maybe tomorrow we can head down to the swamp and look at some of them!” Sweetie Belle yelled.
Rarity cut into their conversation, “Girls, why don’t you ask Fluttershy to help you?”
“That’s a great idea!” They said in perfect unison. “Cutie Mark Crusaders Amphibious Creature Tamers! Yay!” They, once again, said together as if it were practiced.
The two unicorns giggled and Twilight said, “Well if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going the-” She was cut off by Scootaloo.
“Hey, do you think you could run this over to Sweet Apple Acres real quick?” She held the blanket up again, “Since we have these books, we won’t be able to.”
Twilight nodded and said, “Sure thing, and I think it’s really sweet of you two to make a special gift for your friend.”
Hearing this made the fillies give giant grins, and Twilight could’ve sworn she saw tiny halos appear above their heads.
And with that Twilight grabbed the blanket and set off for Sweet Apple Acres.
Along the way to the farm, Twilight couldn’t stop thinking about Big Macintosh. Anything prior to that day they had been just friends, but when they bumped into each other earlier, she felt something different than friendship.
Do I have a... what is it called... A crush on him? No, no that’s absurd. I’m sure it’s just something that’ll pass.
She arrived at the farm when she spotted Big Mac working in the fields. He quickly noticed her and trotted over to her, giving her a warm smile, and this made her heart melt. What am I doing? He’s my best friends brother! Oh no, I’m starting to blush!
By the time he got to her, her face was as red as his coat, and once again he asked, “Twilight? Are ya ok?”
She gave a sheepish nod and said, “I-I brought this over for Apple Bloom. Her friends had heard that she was sick, so they made her a get well blanket.” She pulled out the blanket from her saddlebags so Big Mac could look at it.
“Well that’s nice of them. If ah were Apple Bloom, ah’d be lucky to have friends like them.” Twilight shyly smiled at his comment.
After a short period of silence, Twilight said, “I’d best be going back home. It’s getting late, and I need to catch up on some reading.”
“Alright Twilight, ah’ll see ya soon.”
“Goodbye Mac.” She said as she was leaving the premises. I hope we’ll see each other soon...
Twilight walked through the door of the Library and found that it was absolutely spotless. The floor was so clean, she could see her reflection in it.
“Spiiiike! I’m back!” She called out to wherever her number one assistant would be.
She could hear his claws skittering across the kitchen floor as he appeared with a chef’s hat on and an apron, “Oh good, just in time for dinner!”
“Oh thanks Spike, I’ll take mine to go. It’s such a nice evening, I might light some candles and read on the balcony tonight.” Spike grabbed a plate and put many different foods on it.
She levitated the plate upstairs and set it on the nightstand, then quickly walked over to find a certain book.
Ah, here it is. Pony Love for the Intellectuals. I’m not one to read this rubbish, but I must know what the hay is going on
She lit some candles on the balcony, grabbed her book and plate, and started reading. She learned about the different types of love, and simple crushes.
So that’s it. I have a crush on Big Macintosh, now what do I do about it? She found another book on crushes and love and opened that book. It was past 10 at night when she started reading this book, and she stayed awake until 12.
She had a restless sleep that night, waking up a couple of times pondering the same thing, Does he even like me back?
Twilight woke up the next day feeling groggy, and noticing the smell of Apple Cinnamon pancakes being made in the kitchen downstairs. She slowly crept out of bed and stumbled her way to the kitchen flopping down on one of the seats.
Spike glanced over to the half-asleep unicorn and said, "Morning Twil- Uh, you ok?"
She rose her head from the table and silently nodded. As she was putting her head back down, Spike slapped a couple of pancakes on the plate in front of the, once again, half-asleep Twilight. At the impact of pancake to plate, she gave a small yelp and jolted out of her half-slumber.
"I guess I'm awake now..." she mumbled to herself. She got back up on her chair and starting eating her pancakes, "Wow Spike, these are amazing! New recipe?"
"Yup! I went over this morning and got the apples straight from the trees. Applejack was kind enough to get them down for me."
"That was nice of her..." A thought popped into her head at that time, "Hey, would you mind if I went out for a bit again? I need to do some research on a new theory I'm working on."
Spike scratched his head, wondering what she could be working on now, "What kind of theory?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Just for a friend."
"Who?" the small dragon asked, still confused.
"You've never met him."
"Uh... Ok. Well, yeah, that would be fine with me. I kinda like working on the chores in an empty house."
Twilight gave him a small smile and took the last bit of her pancakes, "Once again, great pancakes Spike." She walked over to him and patted the back of his head. She walked over, and opened the door and went outside heading again for Rarity's Boutique.
Why didn't I think of this before? Rarity's gone out with tons of guys, I'm sure she can help me with this little crush. She took her time getting there, looking around at the bustling little town. School was out, and all of the little fillies and colts were running around, playing, and having a good time, the shops were open, and Twilight spotted Applejack's apple cart across the plaza. She started walking towards the cart, when the large red stallion showed up next to her, and she quickly turned around, heading towards the Boutique once again.
She arrived at Rarity's, and it was filled with many ponies wanting to buy her fancy dresses, and accessories. She walked through a sea of mares before seeing Rarity, giving advice to what looked like 10 of them swarmed around her.
Twilight was able to get up to her and gently tapped her on the shoulder, "Hold on ma'am, I'll be right with you." She stood behind Rarity for 10 minutes before she turned around and noticed who it was, "Twilight! How good it is to see you darling! Come, let me show you my new line of swim suits!" Twilight was yanked away from where she was standing and was being dragged across the room.
"Rarity, I just need to ask you some questions real quick." She was barely able to mutter out the words, as Rarity still clung to her.
The white unicorn snapped her neck back and pouted, "So, you're not here to see my new clothes?" She sighed, "No matter, what is it you want to ask me?"
"Um, can we speak in private"
"Not now! Look at all these customers!" Twilight looked at Rarity, saddened, "Fine, follow me."
Rarity brought Twilight to her back room and she asked again, "So what do you need? Are you ok?"
"Well, I was hoping you could help me with something."
"What?"
"Well, you've had a lot of experience with dating, and I was hoping that-" She was cut off by an eccentric Rarity.
"Oh, Twilight has a coltfriend! Who is it?"
"No, I don't have a coltfriend, not yet I'm hoping, but I was hoping how you deal with crushes?" Rarity looked at her with a smile.
"So, who is it?"
"Big Macintosh."
The expression on her face was a mixture of happiness and sadness, "Oh.. That's great... Was that a customer asking for me? I better get going then!" She rushed out of the back room, leaving Twilight standing there, confused.
What was that about?
Twilight walked out of the Boutique, still confused about what happened with Rarity, Well there went my plan, who else can I ask? She thought about this, as her stomach grumbled, She looked around at the restaurants, seeing that they were all filled, with a giant line, and the only place with food and no big line being Applejack's apple cart. Big Mac was still there, and her hunger got the best of her.
She trotted towards the cart, getting more nervous as she got closer. Her heart started racing, and could tell that if she started talking, she would start stuttering like she did the day before.
Applejack smiled as Twilight walked up to the cart, "Well howdy there Twi, what can ah git ya?"
"J-just a few a-apples. Thanks." I have got to stop stuttering... She glanced over at Big Mac who gave her a warm smile. At the sight of it, her heart melted, and she could feel her face warming up, Am... Am I blushing? Oh no, Applejack better hurry up! The orange pony brought 5 apples over and placed them in front of Twilight, "Th-these look good. Thank you."
Applejack looked at Twilight, confused, "Twi, are ya ok? Y'all are actin' mighty odd." She just nodded at Applejack, "Alright then. Enjoy yer apples!"
Twilight nodded again and walked away, towards the Library.
She went through the doorway and saw Spike working on putting the books back on the shelves. He quickly noticed her return, "Twilight, you're back! I'm almost done with the books.
Twilight was deep in thought when she finally said, "That's great Spike, finish that up, and you can have the rest of the day off."
Spike had a surprised look on his face, "Really?! Are you sure? I don't mind helping you around the pl-" He was cut off by Twilight.
"No, I'm sure. Everything will be fine." He rushed back to finish the books. Why did Rarity react that way when I said Big Mac's name... Maybe she likes him too? She was still deep in thought as she walked up the stairs and picked her favorite book to read to get everything off her mind.
She got a couple pages into her book when the thoughts about Rarity crept back into her mind. She decided that she would pay her another visit to see why she reacted to oddly. She placed the book down and saw that Spike had already finished and went out looking for something to do. Twilight walked outside, and again headed towards the Boutique.
The sun was going down as she trotted along the streets, seeing that it wasn't as busy as before. She was hoping that Rarity's wasn't as busy either. After a few minutes, she heard the sound of hooves behind her. Feeling paranoid, she slowly turned her head, revealing the large red stallion that makes her heart pound and cheeks get redder than his coat.
"Well howdy Twilight. How're ya doin' today? Ah know we di'nt git much time tah talk earlier, but now we do."
"I-i'm fine. H-how're you?" She stammered.
"Ah'm doin' quite well. Thanks fer askin'" He noticed the way she was looking and asked, "Are ya ok? Y'all were actin' like this earlier." She nodded.
"Y-yeah. Just a little under the weather as all." She gave a nervous chuckle, and he smiled. Her face was getting red, and burning.Not again...
"Well ya'll might want tah get back in bed. Ya will feel much better."
"Th-thanks. I will get right on that." She nervously smiled at him.
"Well ah better get back to th' farm. Got some things ah gotta do before I go tah bed. G'bye Twilight." Upon hearing her name in his southern accent made her speechless.
"Good bye Mac..." She muttered to herself.
Twilight walked through the doors of the boutique and found that it was empty. She called out for Rarity but got no answer. She decided to yell again, "Rarity! I want to talk about earlier!" She heard a faint noise coming from the back room and walked over. She opened the door and found Rarity working on a dress and slowly got over to Rarity.
She looked over her shoulder and yelped at the unannounced Twilight Sparkle, "Twilight, oh you scared me. I suppose you want an explanation on what happened earlier?" Twilight nodded, and Rarity sighed, "Before you arrived here in Ponyville, I had... a relationship with Macintosh." Twilight stared at Rarity with wide eyes, "He was a good colt, very polite, but for some reason, I stopped it. I cannot remember why I did it. The look on his face when I did it made my heart break in two. To this day I regret ever doing it, and now you want to have a relationship with him, and I won't get in the middle of it. Just remember Twilight, don't end it. He was a good colt, and anypony would be lucky to have him."
Twilight was still staring at Rarity as she finished her sentence, "Oh Rarity, I am so sorry." She went over and hugged her fashionista friend.
"It's okay Twilight. It was nice to get that off of my chest. Thank you for understanding." They broke the hug, and Twilight bid farewell to Rarity, and walked out the door.
Twilight entered the tree for hopefully the last time that night. Spike had returned from whatever he was doing, and was getting everything ready for bed. Luna's moon was rising, and Twilight thought it would be good to get to bed early that night. She walked up the stairs, and climbed into her bed getting comfortable when she heard a knock at the door. Curious, she walked back down the stairs, and opened the door. Right in front of her was Rarity, crying.
"Rarity, what happened?!"
"Twilight, I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..." She said through sobs.
"What? What happened?"
"I kissed Macintosh!"
