I can only live where there is light, but I die if the light shines on me.
The Sphinx's Riddle
by Monochromatic & Earthsong9405
Most everypony knew what manner of creature Princess Twilight Sparkle was.
The Sphinx king and queen of Saddle Arabia had tried for many years to keep it quiet, keep it hidden, this disgraceful tarnish in their otherwise pristine reputation, but everypony knew their daughter, Princess Twilight Sparkle, was an illegitimate child—and a half-breed, at that.
The product of an affair between the king himself and an equestrian chamber maid.
And now she was to be a ruler of Equestria.
"I don't think I've talked to her for more than a minute."
Princess Rarity of Equestria did not reply to her friend’s remark. She simply continued idly stirring her tea, watching as the droplets of milk within swirled around in a pale haze. It had been six months since her engagement to Twilight had been announced, and one month since the sphinx princess had moved to the castle, and yet Rarity's knowledge on Twilight was as hazy as her tea.
"Is she…" Fluttershy, a flutterpony ambassador and Rarity's best friend, paused for a moment. "Does she still…"
"Avoid me?" Rarity filled in, finally looking up from her tea. "As though I were a plague." She paused, and how hollow it sounded when she corrected herself: "Or, rather, as though she were the plague."
She remembered well the day Twilight had arrived to the castle. She remembered the King and Queen of Saddle Arabia, proud creatures stepping onto the castle's marble steps, six children walking tall and proud behind them, and then her. The beautiful—for she was beautiful, that could not be denied—hybrid walking behind them, gaze lowered, ears flattened and frightened eyes that barely hid her feelings regarding the arrangement.
"Fluttershy, I don't know anything about her! It's ridiculous!" she continued, the frustration of one month starting to soak her words. "She's my wife! Or will be my wife, and the longest conversation we've had was ten minutes long and about the weather. The weather!"
Fluttershy frowned. "Have you tried talking to her? Really talking to her?" she elaborated when Rarity shot her a pointed stare. "I'm sure she'd be less shy if you talked to her first."
The Princess sighed theatrically. "I suppose you're right, but I hardly know what to talk about with her!" She rubbed a hoof against her mouth, furrowing her brow. "Father told me she's very skilled at magic. I never know where she is, she must be off practicing somewhere in the castle."
"Oh, well, I've only ever seen her in the library," Fluttershy said, straightening up. "I… I don't think she has any friends. I did so want to speak to her, but she's so taken by her books. I don't want to interrupt."
"Well!" Rarity got up decisively, pounding a hoof against the floor. "She's already taken—or will be—taken by me, thank you very much, so books can wait! If I am to spend the rest of my life with her, I rather think I'm entitled to some of her time."
Truthfully, despite the effervescence of her claims, Rarity found she didn't quite have the heart to impose herself in such a way on the sphinx Princess. She'd waited until after lunch, and even after her fencing lessons, before finally tasking herself with finding her future wife.
"You're sure she's in the East Wing, Rainbow?"
Trotting besides her, the Princess's faithful kirin bodyguard rolled her eyes. "Princess, that's the sixth time you've asked me that," she noted. "It's like you don't want her to be there."
The Princess stopped, mostly appalled at such a not-entirely true statement. "Rainbow!" she scolded, stamping her hoof against the floor. "That is not true! I'm just..." She faltered and when her guard snorted, a furious blush tainted her cheeks. "It's not!"
"Princess, she's more nervous of you than you're of her," Rainbow said, taking off her helmet and brushing a hoof through her mane. "Actually, I don't blame her. I'd be terrified of you if half the country hated me for marrying you."
Rarity gasped. "Rainbow!"
"Hey, it's true," Rainbow replied, putting her helmet back on. "Princess, we've had to triple the security ever since she came here. Ask me how many ponies want 'our beloved Princess Rarity' to marry 'the mistake' that came out of King's Whathisface playing around? No pony, that's who!"
"Rainbow Dash! I have half a mind to smack you!" Rarity snapped, shoving a hoof in her friend's chestplate. "The circumstances behind her birth don't make her a mistake, and you will take that back this instant!"
"Princess, listen, I'm sure Princess Twilight's a nice pony...thing… sphinx, but—!" And now she shoved a hoof in the Princess's chest, action which would have anypony jailed if it weren't for the fact that they were close friends. "But you're not the one dealing with the dozens of threats that crazy equine purity cult keeps sending, and they sure as Tartarus don't think Princess Twilight's nice! And it doesn't help that she practically spends her time avoiding the guards trying to keep her safe! It's like she doesn't want others to like her!"
Rather than reply and continue entertaining a pointless argument, the Princess contented herself with rolling her eyes and loudly harrumphing, even if… Even if she knew very well that everything Rainbow said was unfortunately true. Just as she remembered the day Twilight arrived to the castle, so did she vividly remember the backlash when the engagement was announced.
Even she was guilty of having been indignant that the King of Saddle Arabia had offered his… less… reputable child to be her wife, and she was even more guilty of having let herself be carried away by the claims that she herself was a saint, a heroine almost at agreeing to such an engagement.
Some nights, when all was quiet, the Princess thought to herself that perhaps she was not as pure and nice as her kingdom thought she was.
"See, I told you. She's always there."
Sitting inside the royal library was a very beautiful if very strange creature known neither as a sphinx nor a pony, but a mix of both. At first glance, one would think of her a winged lavender lion, with a lean, strong jaw and four paws that looked powerful enough to, if not kill, then severely injure anypony she please.
Truthfully, there were only two things that betrayed her as a pure-blooded sphinx. A long, sharp horn—the longest Rarity had ever seen—protruded from her forehead. Long ago, and by that she meant a month ago, the young Equestrian Princess had silently wondered if the thing was sharp enough to kill a pony.
Not that Princess Twilight ever would, but… but she heard the whispers sometimes. She'd heard them in the month after the engagement, talk and gossip and wondering over whether a beast such as she was surely as violent or feral as she seemed.
And yet, there she was, sitting by a table, doing the completely harmless action of reading a book.
Rarity did not know much about her, but father had said Twilight liked astrology, and at the end of the day, such a thing should not be a surprise considering the cutie mark adorning her hindquarters: a lavender star.
The second sign of her shameful heritage—as though ponies were the shameful ones!
Instructing Rainbow Dash to please wait for her outside, she finally stepped into the library and made her way towards her future wife, finally understanding Fluttershy's trepidation at interrupting Twilight. The sphinx seemed completely entranced by her reading: her ears perked up high, a delighted smile on her lips, and a wagging tail all doing a wonderful job at displaying her state of mind quite well.
Twilight was happy, fully lost in her world, and so did that happiness flicker and die the moment she noticed Rarity.
It was jarring, really, and almost painful to see how her entire disposition changed. Though she did not hide the book, she immediately closed it and pushed it away; her ears folded back and pressed against her head; she hunched over, trying to make herself small and take up less space than she no doubt thought she deserved; and, lastly, her bright smile vanished entirely, replaced instead with the frightened stare of somepony who’d been probably constantly told they were a bother.
“Twilight, there you are!” Rarity greeted, trying her best to look past Twilight’s attitude and show the sphinx the warmth Equestria could bring.
“Princess Rarity,” Twilight replied as immediately as she asked, “How can I help you?”
The Princess sat down at the table and offered a nonchalant wave of her hoof. “Oh, nothing much. I’d like to talk to you, is all.”
“Uh, t-talk? Yes, of course,” Twilight said quickly and uncomfortably, sitting up straight. “What about? Is everything all right?” She stopped for a fraction of a second and then added, looking terrified, ”Did I do something wrong?”
“No, no! Goodness, no,” the Princess quickly said. “I was merely hoping to talk, that’s all. We’ve barely spoken since you arrived, and I rather think we’d both benefit from getting to know each other, wouldn’t you agree?”
Twilight fidgeted uncomfortably. “Yes, it would,” she said, her expression betraying her real thoughts on the idea.
An eternal moment of silence followed, both staring at each other expectantly until Rarity finally decided to actually do something about it.
“Sooo,” she began, waving her hoof in a forward circle, “tell me about yourself…?”
Twilight blinked at her, and then mechanically repeated, “My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle, third daughter of King Azar and…” A split second falter. “Queen Aira.”
And that was it. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Err…” Rarity cleared her throat after a moment’s hesitation and laughed awkwardly. “Well, yes, I know that much, but really I was referring to your more, shall we say, personal interests. Tell me about what you like and such.”
“That’s not important,” Twilight replied, saying it with such immediacy Rarity knew it had been trained into her.
Witty and rapid-fire replies were something Rarity personally considered she excelled in, and yet as she was faced with Twilight Sparkle, she for once found herself silenced. She felt awkward; really, quite thoroughly awkward, and she suddenly understood why Fluttershy had avoided disrupting the sphinx.
Thank goodness Rarity didn’t know how to quit.
“Nonsense! It’s vitally important, and not just to me!” she exclaimed, pounding her hoof against the table and then immediately regretting it when Twilight flinched in response. She coughed awkwardly and continued undeterred, “Come now, Princess Twilight, what do you love?”
“Magic,” Twilight said after a moment.
“Magic!” Rarity exclaimed, thrilled at making some kind of progress. She then nodded towards the books on the table. “And books, too! A whole tower of them! Anything else you like?”
“Uhm…” Twilight blinked at Rarity before frowning and staring at the table until her ears lifted with an answer found. “Riddles?”
“Riddles?” Rarity giggled. “Ah, yes, I should have known. Do you know a lot of them?”
Twilight nodded with welcomed enthusiasm, sitting up straighter. “Yes! The Queen and I would exchange one every day at breakfast.”
Rarity smiled warmly. “Well, that sounds terribly endearing, doesn’t it? I wish my mother and I had a little tradition like that.”
Twilight’s warmth vanished immediately. “That would be nice,” she agreed, her soft-spoken statement hitting Rarity like a slap to the face.
“We-Well, tell me, then! Do you have a riddle for me?” Rarity asked, eager to escape the string of faux-pas she was dancing with.
Twilight’s brow furrowed. “You’d like to hear a riddle?” she asked, a bit surprised. “Oh, uh…” She licked her lips, and her gaze was not only fixed on Rarity, but it burned with an intensity she’d never seen in the sphinx before, and the Equestrian Princess felt very much as though she were being thoroughly analyzed.
Finally, she spoke.
“What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?”
Rarity hummed, biting her lip. “Hmmm…”
As she thought, tapping her hoof against the table, she could feel Twilight’s gaze on her. Was… Was she being tested? She glanced up, and so did Twilight quickly glance away and, for the first time, Rarity’s heart skipped a beat.
She then remembered she had somepony to impress, and Rarity coughed, humming loudly and closing her eyes. “Goodness, this is harder than I expected! What comes one in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years…”
“Uhm… Princess Rarity?”
Rarity looked up to the meek looking sphinx. “Oh, er, yes?”
“Would it be all right if I go back to the book?” she asked.
Rarity’s enthusiasm drained away, and again did she feel ill-at-ease.
“Oh! Yes, of course! Go ahead, please,” she said after a moment’s silence, getting up and smiling politely at Twilight because she wasn’t entirely sure what else she could do. “I…” A lump formed in her throat, but she forced herself to speak regardless. “It was nice talking with you.”
And, without waiting for Twilight to reply, she bowed her head and trotted off, a very sour taste in her mouth.
Well then.
Princess Rarity did not think about Twilight Sparkle for the rest of the day.
She wanted to, desperately so for the first time in a while, but every time she did, it was a bitter thought. It haunted her, played with her mind, and the more she tried to avoid it, the more horrifying scenarios of Twilight’s previous lifestyle forced themselves into her mind.
She did not try to solve the riddle.
She would eventually, but that day she decided not to until night passed and morning arrived.
The entire family had gathered for breakfast, as they did every day. Her mother and father, the king and queen of Equestria; her younger sister, Sweetie Belle; herself, and then finally, Princess Twilight Sparkle.
The event went about as it always did. Her father and mother spoke not of political affairs but of their daughters day-to-day, and though she was quiet, Princess Twilight always replied when the king asked about her own day. Princess Twilight was always quiet during breakfast. She would simply sit there, Rarity had noticed, and eat while the others conversed and enjoyed each other’s company.
And yet, for once, Princess Rarity was being quiet too, finally trying to decipher the blasted riddle now that she was confronted with her bethrothed once again.
What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
“Sweetie Belle,” the king laughed, watching as his daughter stuffed herself full of cupcakes. “Those are desserts!”
“But they’re so good!” Sweetie protested with a mouthful of cupcake. “Try one, papa!”
The King laughed, taking one of the pastries in his magic, eating it in a single go, and showing his satisfaction with a lengthy, “mmmmmmmm…”
And Rarity got the answer.
“That’s it!” she gasped, slamming her hoof against the table and staring straight at the startled sphinx. “It’s the letter M!”
Silence fell over the room for a moment, everypony staring at the princess as though she’d lost her mind. Her father questioned Rarity over the importance of the letter M, her mother scolded her for her impropriety and appalling table manners, her sister continued eating cupcakes, and Princess Twilight...
And Princess Twilight, for the first time, even if it was for nothing but a quick moment, smiled brightly at her.
They met again a few hours later, though perhaps that was not the most accurate description. Rarity had never been one to brag about her accomplishments, but she could hardly repress the very smug smile plastered on her face as she walked towards Twilight.
“Well, well, well, Princess Twilight Sparkle!” she exclaimed, sitting on the other side of the table and fluttering her eyelashes at the sphinx. “It seems you have failed at your attempts to stump me, hmmm?”
Princess Twilight regarded Rarity for a moment. “Well, Princess Rarity, it did take you nearly a day,” she said matter-of-factly, and then smiled at Rarity’s gasp.
“Excuse-me! That is entirely irrelevant! Entirely!” she exclaimed indignantly. In fact, so much was her indignation, she decided something had to be done. “And, Princess Twilight, I have a riddle for you! What do you make of that?!”
Twilight sat up straight. “You do?” she asked, her ears perking up. “What is it?”
Rarity smiled, placing both hooves on the table. “I never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will, and yet, I am the confidence of all who live and breathe. What am I?”
“Tomorrow,” Twilight said, and Rarity saw her conceited smile being bested. “That was a nice try, though, Princess.”
Rarity harrumphed. “Well, excuse me! You’re a sphinx! You probably know all the riddles to ever have been devised by ponykind!”
“I probably do,” Twilight replied without an ounce of sarcasm. “Would you like another riddle?” she asked. “I have one I think you’d like.” She cleared her throat without waiting for Rarity to reply and recited, “A king has no sons, no daughters, and no queen. Without an heir, he decides that he will give all of the foals of the kingdom a single seed, and whichever foal has the largest, most beautiful plant will earn the throne.”
“This isn’t going to be easy, is it?” Rarity interrupted, receiving a furtive smile in reply.
“At the end of the contest,” Twilight continued. “All of the children came to the palace with their large and beautiful plants in hoof. After he looked at all of the children's pots, he finally decided that the little filly with an empty pot will be the next Queen. Why did he choose her over all of the other foals with their beautiful plants?”
Rarity sighed. “I hope you know I shan’t be leaving until I figure this out.”
“It’s all right,” Twilight replied. “I can wait until tomorrow night, Princess.”
Rarity’s life was filled with traditions, but in the past week, she’d perhaps found a new tradition she liked more than all the rest. Ever since that day, without fail, Rarity began to stop by the library so as to exchange riddles with her princess, though perhaps it would be more accurate to say Twilight riddled her and she complained until the answer was strongly hinted to her.
“Princess, this isn’t in my job description!”
Lying in the middle of her bed, the Princess looked up and pouted at her bodyguard. “Rainbow! You must!” she insisted. “How will I impress her if I can’t give her a single riddle she has to actually think about! I’ve told her at least fifty this week, and all of them she knew! All of them!”
“Princess, do I look like I know anything about riddles? Those are for eggheads!” Rainbow protested, leaning against the room’s door. “And it took me like fifty years to guess the plants one! Seriously! How does she even expect somepony to guess that all the seeds were fake?!”
Rarity sighed theatrically, smushing a pillow against her face. She honestly didn’t even know why she was so hung-up on impressing Twilight, but she was! She wanted to stump her, and not because of her own pride, but because she wanted to offer her princess a challenge. It had become an addiction, almost, to manage to make the sphinx smile.
Three knocks at the door interrupted her inner dramatics.
“Probably Flutters,” Rainbow Dash said, standing up and opening the door. “Hey, Flutt—Oh, uh…” She backed away, throwing Rarity a quick look. “Uhhhh, Pr-Princess Twilight, hello.”
“Twilight?!” Rarity gasped, practically jumping up in bed. Twilight had come to her?! She crawled out the bed and ran to the door, practically pushing Rainbow Dash away. “Tw-Twilight!” she exclaimed, winded and looking entirely more excited than she ought to be.
Inside the hallway, Princess Twilight Sparkle blinked at her and stepped away, looking around as though she’d finally realized where she was and who she was talking to. “Oh, uh, hello, Princ—“ She stopped and then forcibly said, “Hello, Rarity. I… How are you?”
Twilight! Twilight was talking to her?! Asking about her unprompted?!
“I’m fine! Perfect, delightful, wonderful!” she said, belatedly clearing her throat and taking on a much more appropriate disposition. “I’m quite well, Twilight, thank you. Yourself? What brings this lovely visit?”
Twilight licked her lips. “Uhm…” She drifted off, her eyes flickering towards the very interested Rainbow Dash.
Immediately, Rarity stepped into the hallway. “Rainbow, be a dear and wait inside for me, will you?” she asked.
“What?! But, Prince—Hey!”
After she’d levitated the kirin into the room and closed the door, Rarity turned her attention back to Twilight and smiled. “So! What brings you here, then?”
Twilight’s mouth closed and opened several times, and it was then that Rarity noticed the sphinx looked very uncomfortable, pawing at the floor with her large paws. “Uhm…” She took a deep breath, swallowed and finally asked, “Are you… I… Did I do something wrong?”
Rarity’s excitement died instantly. “Did you do something wrong?” she asked, both perplexed and concerned. “Darling, what makes you think you did anything wrong?”
Twilight looked away. “I… I’m sorry, it’s not very important,” she blurted out suddenly, bowing her head and then making a move to leave. “I’ll see you during dinne—“
Her sentence was cut off, though not by words but by Rarity’s hoof, suddenly pressed against her coat.
“Twilight, stop this now,” Rarity said, not stern but concerned, finding herself staring at a beautiful creature that was very much terrified of her. She moved forwards and gently lifted her hoof to brush back Twilight’s bangs. “Twilight, if you and I are to be wed—“
“Princess, please, it’s no—“
“Twilight,” Rarity interrupted again. “Twilight, you will be my wife, and I have a very vested interest in making you happy, but I cannot do so if you do not communicate with me. Answer me, please. Why do you think you did something wrong?”
Twilight did not reply at first. She simply stared at the unicorn, and for a moment, her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. She swallowed and blinked them away before finally replying.
“I… You didn’t come today…”
“Oh, Twilight,” Rarity said, brushing her hoof against the sphinx’s cheek before putting it down and smiling. “Darling, would you like to know why I did not visit the library today?”
“Yes,” Twilight said. “No. Yes. I don’t know.”
“Twilight,” Rarity said, undeterred. “The only reason I didn’t visit you today is because I spent the entire day desperately trying to find some riddle that might actually challenge you. Don’t want you to be bored of me, now do we?”
Twilight stepped back, appalled. “I-I don’t think you’re boring! I think you’re fascinating!” she exclaimed, before subsequently processing such exclamation and then blushing as furiously as she tried to back out of her statement. “I mean, I think you’re—! Not that I—!” She paused. “I… Would it be all right for me to keep telling you riddles?”
Rarity’s giggled. “Twilight,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “If I may be appallingly cliché, I think it would do you well if I confessed that there’s one riddle I’m desperate to solve.”
“Oh?” Twilight asked, clearly relieved to have veered back to a topic she knew. “What riddle is that?”
“You, darling,” Rarity said, smiling sincerely. “Shall we head to the library? I’d be delighted if you help me with it.”
Author's Note
I don't take commissions, but I also can't say no to the one person who loves RariTwi as much or more than me SO WELP HERE WE ARE
Many thanks to the incredible Earthsong9405 for commissioning me, and for being so wonderful at Bronycon and not freaking out at me FREAKING OUT OVER HER
As always, please let me know if you see any typos (via PM, please!).
