Butterflies

Butterflies

Twilight Sparkle furrowed her brow as a bead of sweat slid down the right side of her face. She looked up directly into the eyes of her smirking opponent. The glaring sun in the midsummer heat beat down on her back. She had to be careful; with the wrong move she was done for. Settling on her decision, she channeled her magical ability into her horn and began to levitate the porcelain model of Princess Luna. She moved it five spaces to the right and placed it down gently on the board.

“Check.” she stated. A wide grin crossed her face as Rarity’s face drooped down.

“Oh, no” said Rarity. “I guess you saw through it, dear.” Looking at the board, she knew Twilight had her trapped and even saw through Rarity’s own ploy at the same time. She couldn’t win this game anymore.

Twilight giggled. “It was a close game, though, Rare! I really had to struggle. You’ve gotten so good these last few weeks. All that study has paid off.” Twilight didn’t have to embellish any either – she really had improved from almost no knowledge of the game of chess only 2 months ago. She began picking up the pieces with her magic.

Rarity looked around for a second – they were right in the middle of Ponyville, with lots of ponies walking through the town square on their own business. She and Twilight had found a picnic table to play on; they didn’t want to waste such a fine day, for there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. “That’s very kind of you dear, and thank you again for taking the time to teach me so much. When I saw you and your brother playing, it didn’t look like much fun. It looked so complex! All the same, I felt like I was in a bit of a rut, so I wanted to try something new. I daresay the luckless nature of the game took me off-guard. It makes you think much harder about each move.” She hopped off the bench as Twilight finished putting away the pieces and they began to walk toward Twilight’s house.

“Oh, Rarity, there is one thing I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it, dear?”

“Princess Celestia invited me to an event in Canterlot; they’re going to promote a guard to Lieutenant and my brother is doing the honors. She said it’s a formal event, and I should have a nice dress for it. I was hoping you would help me with getting an outfit appropriate for this kind of event – it’s not really something I’m good at, you know.” Twilight and Rarity reached her house and they stopped outside the door.

“Oh Twilight, dear, I would love to help you! I would hate to impose, but I wonder if you might ask Princess Celestia if I might come as well; going to a formal event would be a wonderful time!” Rarity said.

Twilight’s expression changed at that, to one of thoughtfulness. “I’ve already asked, actually. She said that only I could come, and that it was imperative that I come alone. Not even Spike could come.” Twilight blew out a little air as she remembered the letter – it was very clear that not only was no one else in Ponyville invited, but she was almost ordered to come in the message. She wished that at least Rarity could come – these kinds of events were always something she liked. Rarity looked a little disappointed at the message, but understood that Twilight didn’t have any control over the matter.

“Well, it was a considerable favor to ask, dear. Thank you for trying anyway. I’ll begin working on your dress immediately; I know just the thing that would suit you perfectly! I’ll make you a completely new, unique dress that will stun everyone! Come by my house in three days time, all right? I’ll need measurements from you then, but until then I’m booked solid! You…can wait that long, right?”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “That’s fine, Rarity. The event isn’t for two weeks anyway.” She began to imagine exactly what kind of dress Rarity had in mind. “I know you’re wonderful at these kinds of things, but are you sure you can do it in such a short time? A dress you already have made might be better with just some tailoring…” She wasn’t able to finish her thought before Rarity cut her off.

“Twilight Sparkle, you end that talk right now! I will not let you walk in with something off-the-shelf!” Rarity took her front hooves and planted them directly onto Twilight’s shoulders, and brought her face to within an inch of hers. “You will go to this ball, you will have a custom-tailored dress, and you will be the talk of all of Equestria with your beauty!” Rarity was fired up already for Twilight’s new dress.

“OK, OK! Thank you, Rarity. I really appreciate it.” Twilight placed her own hooves around Rarity’s shoulders and hugged her. “You’re a wonderful friend.”

“You are too, dear.” Rarity almost whispered the words before giving Twilight a quick peck on the cheek.

This caught Twilight by surprise. She and Rarity weren’t afraid to show affection for each other, but their friendship was just that – friendship. After a few seconds, they broke their embrace and Rarity left to attend to her business. Twilight went into the house and absorbed the silence inside for a minute. She and Rarity had been spending so much time together, particularly in the last few weeks. ‘You know, she has been working a lot lately.’ Twilight thought to herself. ‘She’s probably just happy to have time to spend with others that isn’t about business – and since it’s been me the entire time, it’s natural that we’ve gotten close.’ Twilight shook her head and dismissed the subject. Rarity certainly wasn’t apologetic or nervous when she left; she’s probably not even thinking about it. Deciding she was over-analyzing the event, she began to roam her house. For once, she found herself with nothing to do.

Twilight walked over to the large bookshelf and looked through the thick volumes. There were books on magic, history, weather, legends, slumber parties – almost anything and everything. She noticed a book toward the end of the bottom row that caught her eye with its simple blue binding and golden text. She removed it from the shelf and read the title on the front. Twilight read aloud, “Butterflies, by Calvin Hoofson.” She frowned. She didn’t remember this book. Was it a book simply on butterflies?

Deciding to give it a shot, Twilight curled up in a comfortable lounge chair and began to read the prologue:

Although Cecile cared for Emma, she wasn’t ready for what her friend was offering. She couldn’t deny it; the kiss they shared changed everything. It wasn’t that she didn’t have feelings too, but it was happening so fast, so suddenly. Emma wanted something more than just friendship. Cecile valued that friendship above all else, and she wouldn’t dream of jeopardizing it. But it wasn’t the same now. It couldn’t ever be the same.

Twilight frowned again; a mare kissing another mare…romantically? She almost couldn’t wrap her head around it. She looked again at the title of the book; ‘Butterflies, by Calvin Hoofson’. Twilight read on:

Emma walked close to Cecile, who was breathing through her mouth now, she was so nervous. Emma placed a hoof on Cecile’s cheek. “Cecile, I don’t want anypony but you. I want to touch you, to kiss you…to be intimate with you.” Emma swallowed hard. Her eyes were wide. She was scared. They both were. Cecile looked toward the floor.

“Emma, I…”

Twilight turned the page.

Chapter One

Twilight swallowed hard. She was thinking about Rarity, and what she said right before the kiss. “You are too, dear.” Her mind told her she was being silly; it was nothing, Rarity was just being herself. But Twilight felt her heart pound like never before. It felt like it was…throbbing.