Twilight Sparkle Lost Her Marble

Rarity grunted as she tightened the saddle, and Twilight whined with pain as the stiff material pressed in on her tender flanks.

“Darling, I don’t know why you want to wear something that’s this restrictive when you’re already hurting.” She loosened the lacing slightly, brushing Twilight’s flank on accident as she moved. It sent a shiver down Twilight’s spine. “Saddles are for the kind of pain that keeps one on ones toes… not for prolonging days of suffering.”

“It’ll be too hard for me to get into trouble this way, Rarity.” Twilight looked at her friend from beneath her eyebrow, trying her hardest to look stern. “I can’t get rid of these feelings, so I may as well have fun with them… but I can’t risk a foal and I don’t like mares.”

“There are other things you can do.”

“They don’t help near enough to justify anything. So level with me: Does the saddle work with my dress?”

Rarity bit her lip, looking at it up and down. “A little. But it would work far better if you still had that ridiculous getup from that time you thought there was going to be a disaster to wear underneath.”

Twilight pranced in front of the mirror, watching the soft fabric drape her shapely flank, obscuring the source of her problems. The saddle looked almost right there, but something was missing. Still, the stealth gear. “Why would that help?”

“Because it’d be just a little bit naughty on a pony so dignified.” Rarity grinned.

“Ugh! No!” Twilight stormed away from the mirror, focusing on the heat in her chest instead of elsewhere. “I don’t want to be more attractive! I want to be pretty and nondescript!”

Rarity walked up besides Twilight, her eyes wide with concern. “Twilight, dear, you can’t help being attractive. You’re confident and innocent, smart and foalish, all at once. You’re an intruiging contradiction with a daring manecut. Maybe you should stop trying to hide and just be who you are. You can always say no.”

Twilight turned to face her head, getting so close they knocked horns, sending a shock through her body. “I don’t want to say no!”

Rarity stepped back. “Then don’t.”

“Great! Now you’re mad at me, too!” Twilight went to storm toward the door, telekinetically untying the saddle.

“What?” Rarity ran in her way, bracing herself in front of the doorway. “Who could possibly be mad at you?”

“Rainbow Dash! She was acting weird when she left my house last night!”

Rarity giggled. “Oh, what did you do?”

“... Why don’t you ask her about that.” Twilight looked away, frowning.

“Whatever you did, she seemed extraordinarily happy, Twilight. She told me you inspired her to start her own team to rival the Wonderbolts. Can you believe that? She’s even talking about finding some way to incorporate us land-dwellers into the act!” Rarity sighed, looking up. “Oh, I might even consider the grit and dirt and exertion to keep her this happy.”

“Oh.” Twilight Sparkle drooped. “Here I am all worked up about everything and it’s helping people.”

“Well, there you go! Now let me finish lacing you up, a bit more loosely this time, you can help me zip up my dress.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Rarity, I’m not going to try anything. You’re my friend.”

“Tell that to Rainbow Dash!”

Twilight laughed and braced for the lacing.

It was maddening.

She knew from the moment the first guest arrived—Prince Blueblood, with his Alicorn ancestry and gorgeous face—that she had made a mistake.

Now as the ponies walked past, each one after another, turn after turn, Twilight Sparkle had to do everything in her power not to speak. With nearly each stallion that passed her, images of what she might want him to do danced before her eyes and the pressure built in her body. It had gotten bad enough that she had already once mistaken an urge to use the ladies room for her desire, and only realized the truth with moments to spare.

All the ponies, desirable and not, came past her to greet the Princesses, and some even came to greet her. It was agonizing listening to Soarin’ ask about Applejack and her pies, especially knowing that Sweet Apple Acres had catered some of the evening’s deserts and Applejack was out soaking up the praise herself. She didn’t care for his flimsy excuse to chat. Fancy Pants complimented her dress, and she had no doubt that much was sincere, but she was certain he was older than her father. It didn’t stop her from imagining some rather disturbing scenarios with him. About the only male at the Gala who hadn’t stoked the fires in her was her brother, who seemed oblivious to her situation.

She was just thinking about the rumors that Doctor Whooves had two hearts and what that would mean for his endurance as he discussed common acquaintances with the Princess when something lightly brushed down her flank from hip to tail, shielded from reaching further by the soft silk of her dress. She felt like something inside her might burst, and she gasped, shuddering and stumbling away from its source.

Everyone in the immediate vicinity—thankfully not the entire party—turned to look at her, confused. Most seemed bewildered, though Doctor Whooves wore a knowing smile. The worry in Celestia’s eyes, however, struck at her more than any embarrassment could have.

“Twilight, is something the matter?”

“No, I’m sorry, Princess.” Twilight looked down. “Something brushed my flank just now… and It’s very sore.” She hoped Celestia could forgive the slight lie.

The Princess looked around, her mane waving and shaking as she looked. “I don’t see anything near you,” she commented, her tail swishing side to side.

“Your highness,” Doctor Whooves volunteered. “Your tail.”

Celestia moved it forward and looked at it. “What about.. oh! My tail. I’m so sorry, Twilight. But if your flank is sore, you should remove the saddle.” Celestia looked down, smiling with concern. “Spike can help you take it off, and you can retire to your room for the night.”

Twilight shook her head. “Thank you, Princess, but I’ll be all right. I’ve lived through worse.” She looked up at the Princess, smiling and hoping it reached her eyes.

“Nonsense, Twilight. There’s no need for you to suffer for my sake.” Celestia glanced out over the festivities, the sea of ponies before them. “I’ve managed the Gala by myself for years.”

“I’ve been looking forward to this,” Twilight informed her teacher, trying not to let the whine slip too far into her voice. “I’ll excuse myself to remove the saddle and see how I feel then.”

“Very well.” Celestia turned to the brown earth pony. “Doctor, your tie is askew.”

He nodded. “Right. I shall go fix it. And since the Stallions and Mares rooms are so close… I’ll walk with Twilight Sparkle!” He grinned and sauntered off toward the restrooms. “Allons-y!”

Twilight found herself looking between his back legs as they walked. “Thanks for walking with me,” she sighed. “I just need to get in there and get out, no interruptions…” She trailed off, trying to ignore the mental image that came from her choice of words.

“Anything to help. You’ve seemed very harried about town recently… Derpy was talking about bringing you some muffins.”

Twilight felt her muzzle grow warm with embarrassment. “It’s always busy before the Gala.”

“Of course. Did you need help with that saddle? Could fetch Derpy, or one of your friends.”

“No. I can use magic.” She looked up ahead at the stallion, trying to read his face and make sense of that manic smile he always seemed to wear. What was his game? Had he noticed what every other stallion had?

“Ah right. Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia! Of course you can take yourself out of a saddle. You could probably even put it on in the first place by yourself.”

She blinked.

“Ever practical Twilight Sparkle putting on a saddle…” He stopped in front of the door to the fillies’ bathroom, grinning at her, an intense look in his eye.

The next thing she knew she was on top of him in the entrance to the bathroom, nipping at his neck, and he was backing away, laughing.

“Oh, what a relief! You really are Twilight Sparkle, just in estrus!” He laughed toward the door. “I’ll send Rarity or Spike back to help you with that.” As the door swung closed behind him, he muttered, “So then who is the Auton agent? Must be Pinkie Pie…”

Twilight Sparkle stared at the door for a few moments before she began to weep. Through the sound of her sobs, she noticed the swinging of the bathroom’s inner door, but said nothing.

“Oh, Twilight, what’s wrong?” Before she could protest, a soft muzzle was nuzzling her hair, the smell of grains and vegetables filling her nose.

Twilight squirmed, trying to ignore all the feelings racing through her. “Fluttershy? Aren’t you busy with the bird choir?”

“Oh, it’s late, and our performance is over. But you’re crying… What’s the matter, Twilight?”Fluttershy sat down next to her delicately, her thin dress draping lightly over her shapely flank. Even through her tears, Twilight couldn’t help a slight sense of amusement at her own desperation.

“I can’t do this! I just came onto Doctor Whooves!”

Fluttershy looked up at the ceiling, her blue eyes shining in the dim light of the corridor as she thought. “Oh, that could be bad. I don’t think Derpy would be very happy about it.”

“I don’t know what I was thinking. He was just talking about how weird it was that I wore a saddle and he just seemed so smart and I just threw myself at him!”

Fluttershy looked at her friend, nodding, her hair falling in her face. “Oh, I bet. He is sort of clever, and very handsome. But if you like him maybe you would like Written Script? You know Written Script, right?”

Twilight facehoofed. “I’m not looking for a stallion, Fluttershy! I’m just looking for this all to end.”

The soft-spoken Pegasus gave a soft little sigh. “But it’s only going to end when it’s over.”

“I know that!”

“So if you don’t want to make love to stallions, why spend all this time around them?” Fluttershy’s tone stayed even and steady, soft as ever.

Twilight growled and stood up. “Because the Gala is today and Celestia needs me and I need to focus and I don’t want to be a slave to some animal instinct and,” Twilight shouted before finally ending it in a scream.

Fluttershy cowered for a moment, before asking, “Does that feel better?”

“A little.”

“You know what I do when I get frustrated?”

Twilight panted, looking at her companion from beneath her lowered eyebrows. “No. What do you do when you’re frustrated?”

“Oh, well…” Fluttershy looked down, shuffling her hooves nervously. “I go somewhere quiet and play with my tits.”

Twilight started to say a witty retort, but finding she had none, only a flat “what” escaped her lips.

“I go somewhere quiet and I play with my tits?”

The door to the restroom flew open, the white figure bursting through almost too tall for the doorframe. “Twilight!” the princess gasped. “I heard you scream! Is everything all right?”

Twilight sighed with relief and smiled, glancing at Fluttershy. “Everything’s just fine, Princess. Sorry to bother you.”

Fluttershy smiled back.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m so sorry about what happened tonight at the Gala. I promise it won’t happen again. Next time I’m not up to whatever you need me to do for whatever reason, I’ll keep you informed about it and we can prioritize together. That’s one of the lessons I learned today about friendship: always talk to your friends about their expectations.

The bulk of what I learned today isn’t really a friendship problem, but friendship is the answer to it. Sometimes, you can’t solve your problems, and you can’t run away from them. Sometimes, they’re just there, and you have to wait for them to pass. When that happens… you have to let go of it, and dwell on them as little as possible. Which is easier said than done.

That’s where friends come in.

When friends can’t solve your problems, they can distract you from them, or at least feel better about being stuck with them. When you go to friends for help and they can’t fix things, it’s important not to give up on them and let them try to help, even if you know it won’t solve the root problem. It’s amazing what they can do, and what you can learn from them.

I didn’t just learn how to redirect myself from Fluttershy tonight. I also learned that the Pegasi call chickadees “tits,” apparently. Never thought I would learn vocabulary from her. But going out and spending time with the birds, away from other ponies except for one trusted friend, made a big difference. I don’t know if you saw me, but I was even able to come back inside for a little while and enjoy the party. All I had to do was wait it out, and maybe not get so upset about things not going the way I wanted.

I’m getting another marble inserted tomorrow, and I’m going to do a better job of keeping all my friends informed about my needs and responsibilities. I’m sorry for the trouble.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle