Chapters Chapter 1- A night in Canterlot
Affame D’amour.
Chapter 1- A night in Canterlot.
Twilight looked out the right side of the air balloon she was currently flying. Usually such a vehicle would be rendered useless; at the mercy of the winds, but this was no ordinary balloon. It was a special device gifted to her by her Mistress, and Princess: Celestia. It was made of a special substance which could absorb magic easily so it would be easy to control for her; student or not.
At the moment the lavender unicorn was on her way to Canterlot for a very special occasion. Princess Celestia had sent an invitation to Twilight ( by way of Spike, her baby dragon companion) to one of the most popular fashion shows which occurred bi-annually in the upper echelon of Canterlot’s society. “Fashion Mile” a top tier view into the fashion of only the most elite ponies from all over the world. Each day the entire set is dismantled and moved down a mile allowing for a setting change each night for a full week of couture. Now, Twilight did feel a small bit guilty that Celestia had only sent her one ticket, and that it had arrived when she was buys having tea with Rarity so it was impossible to hide it from her. She had of course immediately asked the Princess for a second ticket; unfortunately it was a more private matter between the two being seen in public as Princess and Student.
Most of Twilight’s guilt stemmed from the fact that this made her far happier than it should have. It had been a long time now since she had moved to Ponyville and begun her studies into the magic of friendship; a long time to spent away from her teacher. She could not even begin to hide the joy of spending a week near the Princess (though she knew realistically they would spend very little time together).
Twilight looked over the side of her air balloon down at the mountain side Canterlot; pausing for a moment to take in the beauty of her home. She sighed deeply, it felt comforting for the unicorn to be coming home, but she felt the week apart from her friends would be more than a little difficult (not to mention a week away from her studies!). Rechecking her trajectory she sat back on her haunch and allowed herself a moment of meditation; an art she had been forced to live without in the chaotic swirl that was Ponyville.
An unearthly peace ensnared her soul in a moment of pristine silence; did she really miss the silence so much? She wondered… Life was a great deal more different in Ponyville then her solitary study within Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. There was an unnatural peace about the place; one induced by the magic which flowed so thick through the air.
A deep sigh escaped her lips and she let her eyes open… She would be at the school in just a little over an hour… only an hour more of this magnificent peace before the fashion show would interfere and her life would become nothing but noise and bodies again. Twilight closed her eyes and crossed her forelegs silently… she would use every moment of this peace then before it went away again.
Twilight wished to drink in as much of it as she possibly could before she was once again forced away from quiet meditations.
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The balloon landed directly when Twilight had meant it too; five minutes before the expected time. Better to be early in all things as Twilight had always held a silent mantra; which was her very essence of being. Bowing low Twilight allowed her horn to press against the beautifully cut grass of the Castle’s landing pad; a majestic garden along one of its back walls of meticulously tendered gardens and grass clearings.
Before her was the Princess, Celestia.
“Princess.” Twilight said respectfully keeping her head bowed. In all too obvious awe of her god-like teacher; with her brilliant white coat and wings, magically flowing hair which sparkled like the sky at twilight.
“Oh Twilight, raise your head my faithful student.” Celestia chided in her kindest of voices; a smile erupting from her young student’s lips like it always had before. “Let’s head up to your room.” the Princess said with a watchful smile over her small student, nodding her head towards a young unicorn who had accompanied her to the landing. He nodded and ran up to the balloon’s pit and began loading up all the suitcases on his back (infinitely grateful that there was only three, the last time he had been requested by the Princess was to carry the most ungodly amount of luggage for some prissy white Unicorn).
“Are you sure I brought enough clothes?” Twilight asked as the two began to walk along the beautifully adorned wall. “I’ve never been to a fashion show quite like this before... Rarity took it all under her own wing, you know? She wouldn’t take no for an answer; it was all ‘dress this’ and ‘dress that’. I swear she designed more outfits for me then will be shown at the whole event.” Twilight rambled passionately; as she always did when she caught her stride only pausing when a cheeky chuckle from her mentor interrupted her flow of thoughts.
Blushing she looked down embarrassed at how she had rambled; waiting for her teaches response. “I’m sure you’ve brought more than enough clothes. I personally will be going as is.” Celestia teased; as if she would need to dress up, she was very much as beautiful as the sun. “It must be very nice to have such a caring and loving friend.” she pointed out; reminding her student promptly of her studies into the magic of friendship.
Twilight found herself blushing more, her cheeks almost glowing in the late afternoon sun. Thinking of the beautiful, snow white, Rarity fussing over her like that was extremely satisfying. She gave her Princess a deeply heartfelt nod and a radiant smile that some would say could rival her master’s natural shine.
“Will Princess Luna be joining us for the show?” Twilight asked as the duo came to the spiralling stairs to the upper level entrance to her “tower”. It had been a while since Twilight had seen the younger Princess and she had to admit she was a bit worried.
“No...No I’m afraid not...” Celestia said; her voice changed uncharacteristically. Twilight gave her a worried look. Indeed a shadow passed over that beautiful face which seemed so alien and haunting that it was burned away by the light as quickly as it had come. Twilight silently pondered if it was about the incident last month...there had been a time when there was no moon in the sky... Perhaps the two had a fight and had yet to reconcile. Either way the young student decided that it was not her business until her teacher decided it would be.
“When will we be heading down to the show?” Twilight asked as the door before her parted to the soft lavender glow of her horn’s magic. “So I have time to change and get ready.” she continued to explain; her voice anxious and nervous.
“Well I’ll be going down now to help set it up. You’ll join me for around eight; we’ll welcome all the guests then take our seats in the main booth.” Celestia instructed.
Instructions were good, they were easy to follow; like a lesson plan. It had an almost soothing effect on Twilight; like a long lost drug being reintroduced to her system.
“Yes Ma’am.” she said obediently and went into the room to get prepared as Celestia flew past the luggage pony who had just now reached the bottom of the spiral. It would be a genuinely fun night; of that Twilight was sure.
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Twilight was sure she had never blushed so hard in her entire life. So radiant was her cheeks that they seemed to dim the natural light coming off of Celestia who stood beside her greeting the many guests to the first night of “Fashion Mile”.
Rarity had gone out of her way to leave detailed instructions on which outfit she was to wear each day; how to accessories it, and in some cases how she should walk while wearing certain clothes. Perhaps Twilight had let her go a bit too far...
Tonight was her Gala outfit; Rarity had of course left a rather in-depth note explaining how tacky it would be to be seen in an outfit that had already been worn so she had modified it and included a beautiful tiara which seemed to capture and spread starlight all over her cheeks casting them in a heavenly sparkle.
She was completely unaware of how many ponies she had greeted that night with a polite nod or even a “Thank you for coming!” in a faintly squeaky voice.
There was a gentle caring nudge to her shoulder from Celestia. “You’re doing very good.” she encouraged her student; they had been standing there greeting people in the way of very powerful stage lights that were all too hot. “Let’s go in now.” she instructed and motioned for Twilight to precede her.
The inside of the open topped arena was surprisingly like any other fashion show that Twilight had scene when Fluttershy had become a model, or when Rarity had described them to her. The main difference was that the back and sides near the walkway were open to the background; which tonight was the center courtyard of the Canterlot Castle. It was a beautiful scene really, the marble buildings and flowers all seemed to absorb and reflect the moons light at the stage.
The lights were moving all over the crowd of prestigious Unicorns, Pegasus and Earth ponies with abandon. Twilight sat down in a booth just to the left of the stage next to her Princess. It was an amazingly comfortable seat with a unspeakable view of the stage.
It was then that the lights dimmed. The show was about to begin.
Twilight could hear some Stallion introducing models and lines of clothing but to be honest she heard none of it; now did she hear any of the beautiful music being played by an orchestra in the back corner. All that her senses could take in were the beautiful ponies making their way down the walk way.
Stallion and Mare came one after another; stars sparkled brightly in Twilight’s eyes as she took in all of the beautiful ponies and their outfits. She was not one for fashion but it was absolutely breathtaking the magic that a powerful designer could achieve with an outfit and the right pony.
The show went on for what must have been hours but to Twilight it all seemed to move in slow motion but pass all to quickly in an odd paradox that she couldn’t begin to comprehend.
Just when she thought the show was over the show only just began.
The most beautiful mare that Twilight had ever seen appeared out at the back of the walk from the curtains meant to contain the element of surprise. Her coat was the purest of white; so white in fact that the moon and flowers all cast their reflections upon her making her fur dance and sparkle with different shades: brilliant purples, reds, blues and greens serenaded her underside while the sparkling moonlight pranced across her back. Hair... her hair was the most perfect shade of pink; it dabbled her coat in a reflected rose that would be the most perfect blush. Legs that were long and lanky accented her thin light-weight body and showed all of her magnificent curves flawlessly. Twilight viewed this regal mare as she made her perfect walk to the edge of the path, turning her neck slowly to reveal her “outfit” a un-earthly gemstone hung about her neck cut into the shape of a “Fleur des-lis” which Twilight had noticed was the symbol upon her unmarred flank. With the softest glow of salmon pink her hair parted revealing a chain like crown with a gemstone of the same shape with the same foreign stone; a gem with a purple of the fairest pink.
The walk seemed to last an eternity for Twilight, the unicorn was sure that her heart had stopped in that one moment as she viewed this epitome of ponydom. But the endorphin induced slow-motion drifted away as the beauty turned and walked away; swaying her body more seductively than any mare had a right to.
The cheering was absolute; save one. One pair of hooves was too stunned to be able to show the same cheer and joy. One heart had been pulled so much harder than all the others. Twilight did nothing in that moment but stare; awestruck.
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Rushing from the booth before anypony else had begun to move Twilight was up the aisle and outside quicker then she had ever known herself to move. The models would all be moved out first so as to avoid the adrenaline driven crowd; upper echelon of Canterlot or not they were just as susceptible to the primal urges when faced with such beauty.
Twilight had little idea what she was hoping would happen as she dashed out into the herd of ponies; looking for that one unicorn.
A glimpse of beautiful rose and she was off through one of the many hedged pathways which dotted the courtyard. The occasional view of pure white coat kept her charging on; her breath caught in her chest viciously.
There she was, walking just ahead of Twilight. The unicorn pulled into a small clearing near the edge of the courtyard and paused for a moment to view the beautiful pony.
But something was wrong. The thing, tall mare was shaking almost uncontrollably and though from the angle she was in Twilight could not see her face there was a deep release of steam from her face with each breath as if she was heating up.
“H-hey are you oka---” Twilight started when the beautiful mare collapsed to the ground shaking.
Rushing to her side at full gallop Twilight pressed a leg against her forehead. A fever; she was very hot; putting her ear to her chest Twilight listened for her heart beat.
It was weak and sporadic.
Panic sunk in first, a million questions ran through Twilight’s mind as she tried to figure out what was wrong, what had happened. But then her studies came in. Up close the pony beneath her seemed malnourished and thinner then she had on stage; Twilight could almost see her ribs.
“Probably just exhausted...” Twilight said having done a year or two of intense medical study (which for her was something beyond anything a normal pony could conceive). Using her magic she gingerly lifted the mare onto her back, hoping that she was tall enough to not drag the strange goddess across the dirt as they walked. Twilight knew she had to get her home and plugged up with an IV, maybe run some tests on her to make sure that it was just malnourishment and not something like drugs...
“Well...” Twilight said as she stealthily made her way up the castle carrying the unconscious mare on her back. “It’s been one hay of a night.” she whispered to no one but herself as she magicked her door open. Lifting the other inside, she set her horn a motion, the room filling with her lavender magic.
Chapter 2- A morning in the Tower
Affame d’Amour
Chapter 2- A Morning in the Tower
Fleur stirred from her deep sleep and found that when she tried to lift her fore-hoof to her pounding forehead that it caused a painful tug on her skin. Her lavender eyes opened and were slammed shut by the forceful intruding of a blaring sun. Celestia’s orb mocked the pained mare as if to punish her more than the hammering in her head was already.
A tug of her leg and the forceful gripping against her flesh persisted. This time she forced her eyes open through the pain of the sun too behold her leg. There was an intravenous needle wedged and taped into her skin caused for lack of a better word: Instant Panic.
A million thoughts raced through the model’s mind as she turned her neck with such speed that it caused a whiplash like after effect which immediately caused deep regret to radiate out from her very bones. She was not in her room within the palace (a personal treat that the Princess had offered her for her stay in Canterlot during ‘Fashion Mile’). No this room was much different from her luxurious suite.
For one, the window in the upper right corner of the room was nothing like the massive dual-window that donned a full wall of her suite looking out to the palace grounds, and that was only the start of the problems within this room. There were many machines, none of which the foreign pony could place; the majority of which were hooked up to her in some way or another. Nobs and lights flickered and turned; needles jumped and pulsed all along sheets of paper that seemed to come from some fathomless depth of parchment to form into a pile of what must had been hours of compiled data. Bookshelves lined the walls and created a dusty grimness in the fog of what must have been early morning. Fleur struggled with everything around her: heart racing, eyes going wide the only thought that she felt absolute in was that: she had been foal-napped.
Teeth clamped on the needle, and then violently ripped it from her flesh. The tall mare pushed herself off the bed...table? She had no idea, at the moment there was nothing but panic. Several padded sensors fell off her chest, back, and flank then the alarms went off.
The mechanical screeching set the room alight with noise causing the already panicked mare to literally go into hysterics. She looked about the strange room for some kind of exit in her adrenaline driven flight; finding it not too far from where she had been laying. Making a gallop for it it took Fleur an extra moment to realize the soft purple glow that had encompassed her entire form and lifted her hooves off the ground.
“Whoa whoa whoa!” a soft feminine voice said from behind the frantic unicorn. Magic, yes magic; sadly Fleur had completely forgotten the tool in her need for flight. Another unicorn made her way down from a staircase that was previously hidden in the darkness of the room. She was short, and rather chubby (Fleur noted through the panic; a trained mind is trained well); she had dark hair with a lavender and purple streak, and on her flank was a symbol of a star with stars enveloping it. She looked strangely familiar to Fleur and this allowed, for the moment at least, the panic to subside.
Familiar was safe.
Until proven otherwise.
“Sorry about that.” the mare said setting Fleur down; her cheeks had a deep blush of magenta, a shade that Fleur had only ever seen the most capable fashion pony creates with hours of intensive care and hundreds of bits worth of makeup. “I must have dozed off; are you doing okay? How are your legs? Feeling weak?” Fleur almost interpreted that as a form of threat; as if the unicorn was asking if whatever she had been pumping into the white coated unicorn was taking its effect, but she found that no such doubt could come to mind. There was too much concern in her voice.
“Je vais bien...” Fleur said, her purple eyes still studying the smaller unicorn as the magic surrounding her set her down on the table. “I’m fine.” she clarified to the “foreigner” as she was released. The initial fear of foal-napping had passed and Fleur was confident enough that this other mare meant her no harm... At least long enough to hear out how she came to be in this situation.
Twilight ignored Fleur’s response for the most part, ponies could lie, but cold hard medical science never would. She took minor note of that beautiful voice trying to focus on the leaflets of data and the massive scrolls that dotted the floor of her room (thankful that all of her medical equipment from her days in the academy had continued to work flawlessly).The readings indicated a strong recovery.
“Good, after you collapsed last night I was very worried.”
“Collapse?” Fleur mouthed; whispering the word out-loud. It would have explained how she had ended up in this bizarre situation. She had felt unusually tipsy after the first show; the heat of the lights... and those eyes... everypony judging her... It was all she could do to hold back the bile as the rush of emotions and the heats of those stage-lights assaulted her. Fleur had held her own then but now, in some semblance of privacy the mare found she could not and with a disgusting sound of some living organism being ripped in half she wretched the contents of her stomach onto the floor; it mixing in with the papers of data.
The as of yet nameless mare watched; stared into Fleur in a way that made her want to wretch more form her empty stomach. A hoof placed pressure on her lower back rubbing in a strong, slow circle which though Fleur would hate to admit it was bizarrely soothing.
After a few more minutes of pained retching and pained breathing Fleur found her stomach setting, completely empty. The nameless mare stopped her soothing rubs when the convulsions of the Unicorn beneath her ceased; Fleur felt a deep shame in being so vulnerable. In her line of business it was the adamant will of a strong survivor to never give in or become...weak. Fleur had seen more than her share of model ponies (stallions and mares) give in to their weaknesses, become abused...mistreated...or worse lose their beauty and shape that had been their only claim to fame in their lives.
A fate worse than death...
“You all done?” a voice called her back; the young mare was talking to her. Using her magic the other unicorn lifted up a mop and a pail and began to clean up the mess Fleur had just made. The model looked down from her resting spot and considered helping the other unicorn... eventually deciding against it; there was a level of class that she was expected to show in all situations, no matter what they may be.
“Oui.” She said lifting a leg to wipe away the tears that had been forced down her cheeks by the pain of the vomit escaping her throat. Fleur winced and considered how she must look at the moment; sure that her perfect hair was out of place; eyes reddened by the tears, fur wet with sweat, mouth drenched with the spit from her moment of weakness.
“I’m Twilight Sparkle.” the now named mare said as she levitated the full bucket away and sent the mop out the nearby door; the stench thankfully had not gotten too overpowering (less Fleur would more than likely had retched again). Twilight Sparkle... the name did ring a certain bell... but where had Fleur heard it...? This homely pony must have been someone of some standing for Fleur to even recognize the name, of this she was sure; she had only been exposed to the highest of nobles and the richest of ponies since her arrival in the palace the day before. The Princess! Of course, Fleur recalled it now; the Princess had mentioned something about wanting to introduce Fleur to her protégé: Twilight Sparkle. It seemed to Fleur extremely coincidental that the mare that the Princess had intended for her to meet would be her savior in her time of need.
“Excusez-moi! Ou sont mes manieres?” Fleur began; in times of dealing with those of nobility and high standing there were certain protocols to uphold. “Je m’appelle Fleur de Lis.” she said; lowering her horn in respect for the other mare.
Some manner of meep or whiny escaped Twilight’s lips and she blushed trying furiously to remember the etiquette lessons she had received early on in her acceptance to the academy; attempting to bow in turn, only finding that she had over compensated and the weight of her motion sent her falling to the paper covered floor. The studious unicorn did a full roll in the piles of papers trying to regain some semblance of balance; confused and aggravated gasps escaping her lips as she tumbled head over hoof.
Fleur watched the spectacle of the smaller unicorn with some disdain; confused that a pony so clumsy who seemed to be missing the natural born class of the aristocracy could be in a rank of such high standing as the protégé to the Princess. Though that was just a secondary nuisance to the model pony, Fleur was beginning to recover her strength, and she could feel the power coming back to her limbs. She’d be able to thank Madame Sparkle for her assistance in her time of need and leave sharply to get back for the daily routine she had planned. All in order to get ready for the second night of Fashion Mile, sure by now that there was a search party going all around Canterlot looking for her. As Twilight finally managed to right herself looking extremely untidy and spent, the same magnificent glow about her cheek (though Fleur would never admit it, made the model extremely jealous) Fleur found herself strong enough to stand on her own, able to leave.
“Thank you for your hospitality.” Fleur said her foreign accent thick on her words. Weighing them down, making them sound forced. “Ils doivent penser que je suis absent.” She said noticing Twilight’s confused look, she must not be as learned in other cultures. “I have been gone some time, yes? They must have noticed.” she clarified slowly.
Now Twilight knew that she wasn’t as fluent in what Applejack would adamantly refer to as “Fancy” but she was able to understand the basics of the language. She felt she would have been able to understand what Fleur had said if she had not been talking quite so fast; a common occurrence to those “Fancy” talkers.
“Oh you can’t go yet!” Twilight said pulling her mind away from the clarification and self-questioning which the all too common bane of most intellects. “You must stay for breakfast!” she said remembering how emancipated the beautiful mare before her was; thinking of ways to get as much calories in something small as she could.
Fleur gave a small wince. It had been a long, long time since she had ever been “hungry”. When she was discovered by Fancy-pants she was rather young, and her body become the very center of her existence, and keeping her weight down so that she could maintain a “pony like none other” look had been her only goal. Over time Fleur had found herself completely losing her appetite to the point that she had people (under Fancy-pant’s instruction) to feed her very specific meals at very specific times. Or she may forget to feed herself completely. Fleur had to admit, to herself at least, that this was not the first time she had collapsed randomly. It was always such a nuisance... but usually Fancy-pants or one of her personal entourage was around her to make sure she would be looked after proper. The last time she had been forced to... eat more than what she subconsciously felt she needed to maintain her ideal body shape she had thrown up for hours. Even the thought of that evening brought the retching feeling returning to the back of her neck. It had been at a rather fancy dinner and the guests where all expected to complete their dishes. Just imagining the food Fleur could feel the ounces and pounds creeping back on her form; had the room had better lighting Twilight would have assuredly been able to see the dry sweat forming on Fleur’s brow.
“No, no, no. That is quite impossible.” she explained hastily trying to back out of a situation where she could damage her body’s image. Especially during “Fashion Mile” she had worked too hard to screw it up now, regardless of who she was dealing with. “They will take care of me back at my suite, “Servieurs, oui?”.
Twilight was shaking her head however, thankfully able to understand the choking accent that the other mare had. All of her “s”’s seemed to come out as “z”’s, and Fleur still managed to talk too fast for a normal pony to hear. No, Twilight was not about to let that happen. Fleur was currently her responsibility.
“Je suis desole.” Twilight said raising a fore hoof to Fleur’s right shoulder, pushing her down onto the table. A surprisingly easy task for a pony so physically weak; Twilight became truly terrified for just how weak the other mare was. “When they gave me all this equipment I took an oath to protect and heal those in need.” she said in her most proud of tones. Regular everyday pony or not, Twilight was an accomplished student... for some reason it made her feel more relaxed in Fleur’s presence to mention her accomplishments... trying to bring herself up to Fleur’s level she supposed.
Twilight had never had feelings like she did right now towards another pony. She was sure, logically of course, that it was because of how different and beautiful that Fleur was compared to the ponies that she had seen in all her life. If Twilight were to compare her beauty to any other pony she knew it could only be the Princess. A feat that Twilight had always felt would be unimaginable for any other pony to achieve. It made her feel very small and insignificant in comparison. She was not one of the upper castes; the high echelon was something she was pulled into at the insistence of her beloved teacher.
The gap between her and Fleur felt very massive... almost hopeless and it spawned a sense of...dread? Deep inside of her stomach, as if Spike had put a gemstone inside her food and it had crashed into her with a thud and sat there taking up space.
Applying pressure.
“I can’t just let you go until you’ve had something to eat.” Twilight said going around Fleur and the table to the counter where she would enjoy her meals when she was at the academy. Slowly magicking down an apple for herself she began to get some food for Fleur. “Nothing large... I promise.” Twilight mentioned as an afterthought. Hermit or not, she had spent enough time with Rarity to understand how difficult modeling was for someponies and that weight was something next to divine for them. But that was secondary to her health, that was all Twilight cared about at that moment; taking out a couple of slices of bread and some hay.
Fleur had moved up next to Twilight now sitting down a little ways from her companion. This was definitely not what she was expecting for her first meal in Canterlot. Looking about the room the crystalline unicorn took in all the books and dusty tomes that dotted the walls. While Fleur was looking around the room Twilight snuck some Alfalfa into the sandwich she was making for Fleur, it would help had a large amount of calories to the meal without being overbearing. Hoping that it would help give her the energy to prevent any more collapses.
Fleur looked back from the room to the unicorn magicking a sandwich. She was used to being served, but she very rarely saw the ponies that were busy providing for her. Silently she wondered if they all looked so intense and caring when making her dishes. “So, is this a...ah... bibliotheque?” she asked, attempting to tone down the regality of her voice; gradually coming to the awareness that Twilight may not be used to dealing with ponies of Fleur’s status.
Twilight blushed furiously in response; the blade she was levitating to cut the sandwich slamming down sharply almost cutting the plate in half. She made a small non-committed response and pushed the sandwich down the table to Fleur who looked at it with disdain.
“Pardon?” she asked, unable to hear what Twilight said.
“No, this is my bedroom.” she whispered feeling awkward at the implication (though at the same time glad). It would make her feel silly later on, but at the moment it was an embarrassing fact. Let alone the fact that she normally lived in a library, the fact of which seemed to be escaping her.
“Oh? How quaint,” Fleur said. Looking down at her sandwich, pondering it with every fibre of her being and all the implications it entailed. There was a loud, sucking squelch to the side as Twilight bit into her succulent red apple. Biting back any bile which tried to raise itself into her mouth Fleur focused on the sandwich. Lowering her head, since no utensils were offered, she slowly bit off a piece of the hay based snack. It was good, light enough not to weigh her stomach down enough to make her sick. Though she felt she wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing. Twilight sat beside her, hoofs up on the ledge, the magic wrapped around her horn levitating her apple as she took another bite. Eyes never leaving Fleur.
She noticed that Fleur was having a hard time eating, hoping that the alfalfa’s flavour was not noticeable. After a few moments of silence Twilight had finished her apple and Fleur had half made her way through her sandwich... which was more than Twilight had expected. Though she looked absolutely full Twilight couldn’t help but notice a healthier glow in her cheeks, perhaps she would hunt down Fancy-pants and inform him that small amounts of alfalfa in her food would help her get needed calories.
Fleur blushed a little, Twilight was staring rather intensely. The feeling mixed with the food she had just eaten pushing her close to her limit again. Pushing her food away with her horn she stepped away from the counter feeling a little woozy from the amount of food she had eaten. That simple hay sandwich had tasted more delicious then most of the food that her servants bring her... and she had no idea as to why.
“Thank you for your aid.” Fleur said feeling sick again, just from overeating. Turning away she made her way to the mouth of the tower when a call came from Twilight.
“Would you like me to walk you back?” she sounded close, she must have followed Fleur. The model shook her head and took a step out into the light, it blinding her momentarily.
“No that’s fine. Again thank you, it means a lot to me.” she said without thinking shaking her head confused. It was no more than what she’d expect from any pony in the situation Twilight had been in. “I’ll see you tonight. Au revoir!” she called galloping down the ramp of the tower, legs strong now that she had rested and eaten.
Leaving Twilight there watching the beautiful mare disappear off into the courtyard contemplating the night and the entire situation; regretful that she had not been able to converse with Fleur on any kind of personal level. Even though the beautiful pony was gone Twilight still felt a deep pull on her stomach keeping her from relaxing fully, it was speaking now, gentle words into her subconscious, words that spoke a language that Twilight had never known before.
There would always be tonight.
Chapter 3- A night lit by evening snow
Affame d’Amour
Chapter 3- A Night Lit by Evening Snow
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Twilight Sparkle was eagerly looking into a mirror trying to calm her fluttering heart as she used her unicorn magic to apply her makeup for the evening. A letter had arrived mid-day when she was busy putting away all the medical equipment that she had taken out for Fleur’s visit via carrier pony. The letter had the location of tonight’s show as well as its theme “Snow and Ice”.
Applying a small amount of rosy blush to try and hide the magenta of her cheeks Twilight pushed her magic out to her wardrobe; thankfully taking Rarity’s advice and packing for all manner of occasions. Throwing on her winter cloak that Rarity had made for her Twilight paused for a moment to look herself down in the mirror. She had always considered herself rather homely and plain, never attracting too much attention to herself but even Twilight had to admit that she was looking spectacular today.
The blush on her cheeks mixed with the discolouration caused by her blood in a very unique way that Twilight had never quite experienced before. Her cloak glistened with a small amount of glitter that Rarity had snuck into its inner pocket (a thing that Twilight would have to thank her for later) to give it that “snowy, and sparkly” look all day long.
A hard knock on the door pulled Twilight from her stupor. The courier pony had already delivered the location so she had absolutely no idea who would be knocking on her door so soon before the second night was supposed to begin.
“Come in!” she called, too focused to worry about it as she magiced a brush through her hair trying to get each strand perfect; happy that she had spent so much time around a beautiful fashionesta’s like Rarity.
“Good to see you up and about Twilight Sparkle.” Came the familiar and powerful voice of Princess Celestia, a voice which was most unexpected.
“Princess!” Twilight yelped, dropping her brush and turning in surprise. The Princess was equally surprised to see the young unicorn so done up before her.
“I must say I’m rather pleased to find you up and about.” Celestia said making her way into the room, spreading her wings in the cleared out tower. “After how you ran out on the show last night I was afraid that some of the hors d’oeuvres had not settled well with you.”
Twilight could not meet the Princess’s eyes, she had completely forgotten about her teacher the night before and how she had run out on the fashion show before the after party. No part of her regretted her actions, especially since she was able to ensure that Fleur had made it through the night, but that did not in any way prevent her from feeling guilty.
“Ah…well no nothing like that, I noticed…that…um… one of the models didn’t appear too healthy and I was worried for her wellbeing…. So I took after her to make sure she was umm… safe.” Twilight babbled on almost incoherently, the words seemed to melt together save for the occasional gap. She was trying to be as honest as she could without revealing how she really felt, unaware of how her Teacher would take her new found attraction.
“Oh I see, one of those calls hmmm.” Celestia mused knowingly causing Twilight to look further away her cheeks almost burning off the carefully layered makeup. “Don’t be so embarrassed Twilight.” The Princess chided her student, her tone teasing openly. “We all are struck at some time or another.”
Twilight looked up a little, embarrassed still. “You sure you don’t mind?” she asked quietly, knowing she would be unable to ignore Fleur next time they were to see each other regardless of the situation.
Celestia wrapped a wing around Twilight’s back bringing her in for a close hug. “It’s quite alright; you are at that age…” she chuckled moving them towards the door. “Just remember your social obligations next time that it happens first, alright?” she laughed heartily pushing open the door with her unicorn magic. “Like now we must go or we’ll be late.” Twilight nodded and followed her teacher who chuckled and added knowingly.
“We don’t want to keep Madame Dis Lis waiting do we?”
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Twilight anxiously sat beside the Princess in a luxurious chair the likes of which she had never seen before; the colour of which was the richest black that Twilight had ever seen. The décor was fantastic on this evening, the entire side of the castle on which the stage was backed up was draped in the most gentle of snow which Twilight had ever witnessed the royal weather brigade having spent all of the day altering the local climate to treat such an amazing feat. It was still snowing as everypony took their seats, the kind of light snow which falls only on a day with no wind; the massive stage and rows of seats being lit by floating candles being levitated by scores of unicorns who stood off behind the bleachers.
It was like a scene from a perfect winter wonderland for Twilight who was nestled into her throne looking out over the stage which was being gently painted with the light snow; an occasional earth pony running up it with a small plough to make sure it was not overly slippery. Luna’s moon was brilliant in the sky as it was haunting; with the sudden drop in temperature and the silver thaw all over the castle walls and nearby trees it gave the entire section of the castle the most mythic glow. Twilight was blushing a beautiful pink under her magenta blush for the eyes of many a stallion and many a mare had their eyes on the beautiful apprentice this night, but young Sparkle could barely notice them.
As the candles dimmed magically and lights lining the catwalk flared to brilliant light casting shadows of white in the gloomy forecast which was releasing its snow onto the ground did Twilight take a sharp breath of expectation.
The first model to come out onto the catwalk was a beautiful Pegasus sporting a wintery looking bikini; the brilliant blur fabric was trimmed with a thick white fur; reminiscent of a bear’s. The next, a powerful looking stallion, was wearing a long robe thick with fur and a unique snow flake pattern that made many in the audience swoon. Twilight would admit that the plethora of models being paraded in front of her was impressive, and at times exceptionally beautiful, but it wasn’t Fleur. The one pony that Twilight was waiting for would most likely be last same as before.
Mounting anxiety filled Twilight to the brim as she eagerly watched the fashionesta’s coming out with their models and taking a bow before the special finale. There was a general murmur and applause as the designers and models took their bows followed by a respectful silence as the dull background music, something that had been almost invisible throughout the performance, began to rise in volume.
Then she was there.
Twilight could feel her heart skip a beat when the lights dimmed and focused on a single point, Fleur de Lis. There was a stallion beside her, a massive pony with a brilliant snow mane and frosty blue hair who was garbed in a white flawless tux inlaid with alternating pearls and diamonds, though Twilight could barely notice him. Fleur was, to put it in words that Twilight’s mind could currently comprehend, magnificent. There was not one thing out of place on her as she made her way down the catwalk, the stallion in tow. The untainted white coat covered by a beautiful robe of the milkiest white and trimmed with a royal blur fur that covered most of her long body, her hair done ever so perfectly no strand out of place, resting on Fleur’s forehead was a pristine tiara that sparkled and reflected the glistening moonlight all throughout the snow casting the entire hall in a disco ball effect.
Halfway down the walk there was a dramatic pause and the stallion almost tore the cloak from Fleur’s back revealing the outfit hidden within.
Twilight swooned audibly at what was revealed underneath. An ungodly white saddle was resting on Fleur’s back, littered with diamonds of the purest white and the softest Baby-blue Sapphires that anypony could ever have imagined. Twilight knew at that moment as Fleur continued to walk down the stage the lights bouncing off her gems to cover her marble coat in delicious spots of pure white and blue that this was a pony that she had to be closer to. In that one moment Twilight was completely and open heartedly aware of her raw love for Fleur.
It was at that moment that Fleur stumbled, eyes meeting the star trapped eyes off Twilight with a look of untamed panic as she fell off the vaulted six foot high platform into the crowd bellow.
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Fleur de Lis steadied herself on the other side of the curtain waiting for the moment where the show would truly begin for her. Tonight she would be accompanied by the most stunning of Stallions, wearing the most stunning of outfits and all of this seemed shadowed by the thoughts of the lavender unicorn that had helped her in her time of need. Fleur tried to push Twilight Sparkle from her mind, someone of such a low class, regardless of how they had risen in the political ladders was worth her focus… alas Fleur found she could think of little else though.
Twilight had been exceptionally kind when there was no cause to, something that Fleur found was sadly lacking in all of Equestria. Beyond that she had taken care of her… something that had only ever been done by servants to the stunning mare… not somepony of equal or greater standing, and though Fleur would hate to admit it the sandwich that Twilight had made for her had been one of the most delicious and rejuvenating things she had eaten in a long time. It had completely bounced her back from her anorexic black out and the model found herself feeling stronger then she had in a long time.
The signal went off.
“Push it from your mind, focus…” Fleur thought viciously as she stepped out from the off-stage area, her mind going into the ‘zone’.
Walk forward, keep eyes out on the crowd but don’t see, shut down all the senses but movement and your sense of time, allow the ticking of your inner clock move your body, every tick a well calculate flex of muscles and look for the eyes; for every step an equal un-step. Don’t focus on the crowd, that will only bring you panic; remember the clock focus in on your timing and never miss a beat. Fleur sacrificed her mind to the clockwork that had been drilled into her mind since she had been discovered as a model, throw all emotion outward, never see the response; time, always time. The half-way point of the walk, pose. Allow the stallion to remove the cloak; they’re all looking at you now, no messing up.
Fleur released all of her emotions and moved with the time and grace that had been her birth-right as if it was the easiest thing in the world; the air around her, hot with the light of the lamps would have stifled a normal pony but not Fleur, there was no light.
Until that little twinkle broke into her mind.
There, beside the Princess was Twilight Sparkle and for one moment their eyes met. Fleur took all of Twilight in; her beautifully done hair seemed to glisten with a light glaze of snow, her eyes which had a liner used just gently around them to bring it out in the candle’s soft glow. The blush on her cheeks mixing with a light make-up cover which seemed to glow against her coat, and that cape; a brilliant royal blue with a collar as white as the snow dabbled with three large silver stars made of the finest thread, it seemed to sparkle in the candle light as if there was an aura of Sparkles all around it.
At that moment when Twilight completely invaded her world Fleur felt her heart tug in a way that she had never known the organ to act before. Her timing became upset, she lost all sense of that inner clock, of direction and motion, there was only Twilight and that look of awed epiphany on her face.
Hoof fell on nothing though and broke the dream like trance the two had sunken into as Fleur walked straight towards Twilight and off the side of the raised stage to the unlit blackness bellow.
Chapter 4- Second Night in the ICU
Chapter 4- Second Night in the ICU
Affame d’Amour
Twilight Sparkle, all done up in her finest winter clothing and dabbled with the most exquisite make-up that Rarity had gifted her teleported off of the balcony the instant she saw Fleur’s hoof hit the ice. Appearing on the floor below the instant the ice white mare crashed to the snow dabbled ground Twilight immediately forced out her magic around Fleur’s body, lifting her off the floor.
The bruise from the crash was already forming on the flawless mare’s right side; tainting the white coat with a purple underlay like a creeping virus. A gasp of surprise and concern ran out through the high-class crowd but very few, if any, of the ponies present made a move to get a closer work or assist Twilight in aiding Fleur. Save for two; Fancypants arrived next to Twilight the moment he was able to fight through the rows of seats between his place at the very head of the cat-walk, and Celestia who flew down on her incandescent wings.
“Twilight…Est-ce vous?” Fleur whispered, her lips where shaking and painted a light blue; the cold air amplified now that she was out of the blazing heat of the light which lined the stage to accent the outfits. Twilight nodded furiously in response, too focused on lifting the mare with her magic to vocalize. She felt the intrusive magic of Fancypants and Celestia mix with her own; the aura of magical power encircling fleur becoming a married of royal blue, lavender and pure white.
With a relieved sigh Twilight began to move, the other two ponies in tow carrying Fleur with their combined while focusing on moving as a group through the crowds; richly dressed onlookers watched with passing interest, some bothering to move out of the way as the trio exited the makeshift “studio” which was constructed to look like a steel palace, covered in the conjured snow. On the inside the area resembled a royal court while on the outside it looked more like a frostbitten construction zone with scaffolding laced with silver thaw where straps and pulleys that the construction crew had used in the earliest hours of the morning to create the illusion waiting just on the other side. Pushing that entire ambiance aside Twilight focused all of her attention on getting Fleur back to her room and making sure that she would be okay.
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“Is she going to be okay?” Fancypants asked nervously as he walked around the cleared table in Twilight’s room which was still in “medical” mode from the incident earlier in the morning. Twilight flickered flames into the candles using her magic as she set down Fleur gently, turning back to the princess who for all her glory was looking rather steady and calm. It wouldn’t be until days later in the same room where the three stood right now would Twilight come to realise how much interference Celestia had run for them while they were magicking Fleur away from the show; keeping medical ponies and the mass media away from the scene with her royal visage and reaffirming words.
Something that the ever viligant Princess would continue to do; for once Fleur had been set down on the medical “bed” she turned to her apprentice and offered a gentle smile. “I’ll go keep the hounds at bay, please ensure that our guest is taken care of while she is here.” Celestia said with an all to knowing wink of her eye, and a gentle flap of her large wings. Turning to face the entrance way Celestia made her way out of the library/medical center/ bedroom into the through of newsponies who were flashing their cameras in the direction of the tower hurriedly trying to get that one shot that would help cement their careers.
Twilight smiled at her mentor, thankful for the help in her time of need than turned her attention back to Fleur who was still shivering. Looking up to Fancypants Twilight opened her mouth to speak as she moved an exploratory hoof over the damaged area on Fleur’s side, “Go grab the comforter from my bed, she’s still very cold from the snow.” She ordered, focusing on the tenderness; sending out a probing aura of magic to feel for injury.
One rib, two… small fractures; Twilight could feel the tear in the muscle, tracing it all the way down Fleur’s side to her hind left leg. Running her hoof back along the damaged muscle Twilight paused and probed deeper; hunting for extensive internal damage. Fancypants returned with the blanket; his usually regal features dabbled with sweat, his tight black tux with accented his frame was dirtied and damaged in places that Twilight was sure had never been damaged before.
Reaching over a hoof Twilight grabbed the thick, plush comforter from Fancypants; spreading it gingerly over Fleur tucking her in as much as she could without risking hurting the mare underneath.
“So what’s wrong with her?” Fancypants asked genuine concern in his voice, Twilight had met with Fancypants before at the garden party and was well aware that though he was in the top echelon of pony nobility he had very down to earth notions about friends. He was the kind of stallion who, though sophisticated, wouldn’t mind getting a little mud on his hooves if a dear friend needed him desperately.
“She fractured some of her ribs,” Twilight began going back to a dusty old cupboard which he been un-used since long before she had moved to Ponyville; opening the door with magic and squinting up into the dimly lit confines. It took her a moment to find the right see-through vial with a small white label on it; filled with medical details and other such data as per dosage and proper use. It was a special drug that had been developed several years earlier called “Marephene” designed to help ease the pain of a Mare in labour with children, the smallest of dosages would be useable in this situation. “That’s not that bad.” Twilight explained moving back to Fleur; a medium length needle enveloped in her magic poking through the sterile top of the jar and pulling a small sliver of the powerful drug into its tube. “It will take me an hour or two to magically meld the bones back together along the cracks so they don’t shatter when she moves. The real problem is her muscle; it was torn rather violently, that kind of convalescing takes time. Even if I do have some of the salve in here for it it’ll take a full day, plus.” Twilight murmured slowly sliding the needle into Fleur with her magic, injecting the anesthetic. Sighing Twilight set the needle back in the cupboard alongside the drug vial.
Turning to face Fancypants, Twilight gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m sure she’ll be fine, but it will require a lot of concentration.” Pulling up a chair and climbing into it Twilight took the most meditative and relaxing position she could; crossing her hind legs before her and resting her forehooves on her knees. “If you could go get a few towels and try to keep the sweat out of my eyes.” She instructed; Fancypants nodding enthusiastically, magicking some towels down from on top of the cupboard.
Taking a deep breath and stroking Fleur’s magnificent candy-cane mane Twilight Sparkle steeled herself for the long haul and began the healing magics which he had studied for long before ever leaving Canterlot.
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Fancypants stood alongside Twilight Sparkle for the following four hours, long into the early morning as the lavender unicorn used magics that would be decades beyond his meager talent; a mere manipulation of light to control shadows and effects.
Keeping a watchful eye on her, using the towels in his control to dab away any sweat which was forming upon her brow he was truly taken aback at how hard Twilight was working for a pony that she barely knew.
He was aware that Fleur had spent the previous night in this room as well, having been filled in by his model when she returned earlier in the morning. It was good, in his mind, that Fleur would be near so humble a pony; one that grew up in all the class and glamour as the protégé of the Princess and yet chose to live in the humble town of Ponyville within a library. Hoping some of that humility would rub off on his model, who had spent all her time surrounded by ponies that worshipped the ground she walked on or were so like-minded to her that they chose to ignore her existence or accept her as a challenge; neither of which were healthy forms of relationships.
Fancypants was also, surprisingly thought it was, aware of the fact that Twilight had managed to convince Fleur to eat something substantial; as feat that he had been unsuccessful at since she first debuted as a model. It was stunning to him, watching this essential stranger going so far out of her way to help somepony she barely knew.
Taking Twilight in he fully appreciated the strain this was having on her body; Twilight needed to focus absolutely on Fleur’s inside, slowly probing along the bone which was damaged and pulling it together with the gentlest of touches. There was a light shiver in her hooves from the strain, and he could notice her licking her lips and swallowing deep; it must truly be a strenuous venture.
Fancypants never took his eyes off of Twilight, confident that Fleur was safe in her capable hooves; it was a sense of utter calm and concentration that she was exerting. He had known other ponies to exhibit this kind of aura and was aware of its implications; not entirely sure how they would be received. Fleur had had many suitors in the past but none like Twilight, not to say they weren’t mares, but nopony so absolutely devout and in the moment.
Smiling at her with a wiry grin the older stallion whispered beneath his breath. “You got my vote, kid.”
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Twilight gasped exhausted as she let go of her magic, releasing her spells from Fleur; after four and a half hours of non-stop work the bones had been perfectly healed. She wouldn’t allow herself to stop there though, sliding off from the chair and almost collapsing under her own weight and weak knees Twilight was glad that Fancypants was there to keep her up.
Smiling she offered him a weak explanation. “I have to get the salve on her…” she said; suddenly feeling all of her hard work weighing on her, putting her almost into a spent sleep. Leaning on Fancypants the two made their way over to the cupboard. Rummaging through the vials and bottles Twilight found (with her eyes half closed) an old rust tinted gourd which smelled thick of earth and thyme. Together they stumbled back to Fleur and she began the slow process.
It took Twilight another hour to thoroughly knead the mixture into Fleur’s coat along the torn muscle, feeling a knife plunge into her every time that she saw the beautiful mare wince in pain. Pouring the thick black paste from the rusty looking gourd she slowly lined it all over the torn muscle and massaged it into the skin slowly; it was gruelling physical work that needed to be done in order to guarantee that Fleur would have the quickest recovery, and when it was done Twilight felt well and fully exhausted.
Fancypants gave a chuckle that pulled her away from her half-asleep daze; looking at hour tired and untidy the fashion pony look only helped to remind her how long this night had become. She felt his hoof go into her hair and give her mane a ruffle and then it was as if all the weight was out of her body and she felt herself lifting off the floor; unsure if it was a dream or not.
Fancypants smiled as he levitated the young unicorn to her bed on the second floor of the room; keeping an eye out so as not to stumble on the books strewed about the floor. Some had cooking in them, while others seemed to be French text translations and learning devices which made him chuckle all the more.
This truly was a very special mare.
Setting Twilight in her bed and magically pulling her blanket over her he sighed and leans back, a crack echoing off of his older spine. Turning he went back to the ground level by Fleur, finding a quill (owl feather, he noted) and a small amount of ink he wrote out instructions for both Twilight and Fleur using the magic of his horn and set out to find his own room in the early morning air; wishing both of the mare’s good luck on the morning’s journey.
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Chapter 5- The day together, tears in the garden.
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