"What's this?"

-click-

"...oh."

It started off as any normal day. Twilight Sparkle woke up, brushed her teeth, got dressed and presentable for school, and boarded the bus. She had triple checked that all her of homework was completed before pulling into Canterlot High, she had eaten breakfast in the cafeteria, she had met up with her friends and let them engage each other in small talk as she had none of her own to contribute, she had given her full attention to her morning classes. Everything went normally until lunch, when the day officially had diverged from her normal schedule.

"Do you mind if I ask you a favor, darling?"

During a playful debate between Rainbow Dash and Applejack about some sort of sports thing, Twilight had taken a moment to read ahead in her AP calculus textbook so as to get a sneak preview for what the class would be like next week. It took her a moment to register that the question that Rarity had proposed was directed towards herself.

"Me?" she asked, clarifying.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't want to interrupt you during your reading but it is fairly pertinent that this favor be accomplished tonight, else I'll lose out on a particularly large order." The dressmaker placed her fingers on the table in front of her and leaned in, conspirationally whispering. "I'd like to know if you would be able to help me with something internet related after school today, but only if you yourself were able to." she leaned back and examined her fingernails as she continued, this time in a normal voice. "There is a chance that my sister will be able to assist me with this if you are unable to, so please don't feel any sort of obligation."

Twilight nodded. "Of course I'll help you, Rarity," she affirmed, closing the book and slipping it back into her bag. "I enjoy the time I spend with all of you, whether for business or pleasure." She adjusted the sleeves of her jumper that had bunched briefly up before crossing her arms and placing them on the cafeteria table. "So what is it that you'll be wanting my help with?"

"You're such a sweetheart, Twilight!" She beamed and placed her palms together before daintily reaching into her purse for her smartphone, careful so as not to hurt the manicure she had gotten during the weekend. She tapped out the unlock code before swiping through a page of red then orange apps, and so on through the rest of the spectrum until she got to the blue, and pressed one that had a white letter 't' on it. She then turned the screen to allow her friend to see as well.

"I use a blogging platform in my spare time to find inspiration for my designs," she explained as the application began to fully load. "Is this something that you would be able to decode?"

Twilight studied the screen as the features slowly began to come online. So to speak.

"It seems to be a dashboard based short form social networking site." She cracked her knuckles. "I could probably hack into the database by the end of the school day. Doesn't seem too difficult to work with. Not at all a problem!"

"Oh, delightful!" Rarity chirped. "And then perhaps we could get you to take part in it and create an account of your own?" she inquired, batting her eyelashes. "I could always use an extra follower or two."

Twilight shook her head. "I don't get into all of that," she said. "I won't have enough time on my hands to even sleep with all of the scholarship essays I'll have in a few months, let alone try to manage another one of these... facespace things."

"It's not..." Rarity sighed. For as smart as she was, Twilight sure was ignorant about many things. But that's life for most. "Oh, very well then. Your technological expertise is plenty enough assistance regardless." She nodded and gently smiled. "I can drive you to my house after school today and save you the walk."

"I appreciate that, Rarity," Twilight responded, thanking her for the offer. "I can't wait!"

That was technically a lie. She could wait, and wait she did indeed do. Once the afternoon classes had passed, Twilight gathered up her belongings at her locker in preparation to bid farewell to yet another fairly uneventful day at school. When she closed the door, however, she was surprised by the sudden appearance of-

"Pinkie!?"

Thwoompf!

"Surprise!"

Twilight brushed the sudden onset of confetti out from her bangs, behind her glasses, and what she could get to from out of her chest, as a large amount of it had coated her entire head, face, and somehow- confusingly enough- inside of her bra. That wasn't going to be coming out any time soon. She'd have to ask to use Rarity's bathroom. What a nuisance!

The bitter and snarky interrogation on why she'd gotten blasted almost at point blank range with the patent-pending glitter gun was cut off by the sweet angelic giggling of a former devil, and all of a sudden the vitriolic indignation melted away into a gentle flowing river of calm, trickling throughout the entirety of her nervous system. Twilight turned her head slightly and only then noticed the other girl's presence, hidden a little behind a covered cake pan.

Sunset Shimmer. Badass biker chick extraordinaire, living proof that even the worst eggs could have a heart of gold once they'd made a friend or two (or six). A beautiful soul with a shining personality that glowed brighter than her namesake, an amazing talent for music, and a fashion sense that put almost everyone- sans Rarity- in their peer group to shame. And a really nice butt.

...wait, what?

"Happy two-and-a-half-year-iversary of going to school with us!" Pinkie exclaimed, having stashed the glitter gun somewhere or another and holding out a plate with a small cupcake sitting in the middle with a single lit candle at the center.

Has it really been that long? Twilight thought to herself. Yes, it had indeed been six months since it had been two years after the first day Twilight had left Crystal Prep and begun to attend Canterlot High with the girls. Thirty-two whole moons... it still hadn't felt like that much time had elapsed. And yet here she was, the last year of high school, on the fast track to graduation. It still didn't feel real.

"I heard you've got a thing with Rarebear later on," Pinkie continued, still holding the navy blue square paper plate reading 'Celebrate!' seemingly unaware of the staring contest that Twilight was trying to start with Sunset. "So during study hall I went and borrowed the home ec room to make a cupcake since all I made today was the regular size cake since I didn't know that you were gonna be too busy to be able to stick around for a full blown party after school like we did the last time we had a half-a-year-iversary for you and that was a total disaster because I overdid the frosting a little bit and Principal Celestia walked in right as I set off my party cannon and she gave us all detention and made us clean the entire gymnasium but that was really fun because we all did that impromptu karaoke sessie but anyways I can tell I'm kind of getting off track here because I should be talking about this year instead of last year and definitely not next year although now that I'm thinking about it there's not gonna be a next year and now I'm suddenly really sad about that but I'll totally still make you a cake next year and we'll all drive to your college and give it to you and do all the stuff that I wanted to do this year but it's really not that big of a deal because I have parties like this every single day almost but the cake I made today is different than the ones I make normally because I know you're super lactose intolerant so I made this cake with almond milk instead of cow milk so it's chocolate cake with a little bit of a nutty taste and I just really hope you like it!"

By the time she had finished, Twilight had gathered herself, waved at Sunset, taken and eaten the cupcake, relieved Sunset of her burden, placed the cake pan nearby on the ground, given Sunset a hug, then picked the cake pan back up and held it securely in the crook of her arm.

"Thank you Pinkie," she said as she gave a one armed hug to the manic pixie dream girl on account of both of their other arms were otherwise occupied. "I'm sorry that I forgot about the anniversary party. And I really appreciate you remembering my dietary restrictions, and being so thoughtful as to use your study time to do this for me."

"Aww, it's really nothing Twi!" Pinkie rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand. "Baking's easy when you've done it as much as I have. It's worth it to see you guys smile."

Twilight nodded and gave an attempt at a grin that came off as more of a smirk, as the other half of her mouth refused to cooperate. She gripped her sleeve and pulled it up into the palm of her hand, pretending not to notice the brief flash of concern on Sunset's face. She adjusted her backpack and purse, before turning to face Sunset and minding that her gaze didn't wander or stay in one place for too long.

"Is Rainbow going to be fine without me today?" she asked, trying to shift the conversation.

"Yeah, it's Rarity she'll miss," Sunset replied, taking the hint. "Apparently she wrote some new material with keyboard harmonies that we were going to get to after our homework was all done. Since you two are the furthest along academic wise, though, we won't lose too much practice time today anyway."

"Good to hear," Twilight said, careful to keep the slight twinge of envy out of her voice. As much as everyone swore up and down about her being a true part of their group rather than just a parasite that had latched on and been along for the ride, they never really put very much thought into the possibility of adding string parts to their songs so that Twilight could participate. She could play the violin, cello, piano, and a little bit of the harp, and everyone was aware, but that didn't stop Rainbow and the others from always having some reason or another why they couldn't include her in their music.

It really wasn't that much of a problem, honestly. She wasn't upset with them for that since they had been a band for longer than they'd even known she had existed. Well... they suspected that she did, and Pinkie had seen her before, but she wasn't a conscious part of their minds until more recently than that. She just wished that maybe she could be something other than their cheerleader, the girl along for the ride, their studio backup singer on that one song that they never did live. But alas, it was best that she didn't try to integrate into them since she'd have to part ways soon anyways.

"I shouldn't keep Rarity waiting," Twilight continued. "She's on a time crunch but we can talk later, right?"

"Of course," Sunset gently assuaged as she nodded. "I'll text you when we're finished."

Twilight nodded as they exchanged waves, Pinkie enthusiastically waving the reappeared glitter gun rather than her arm as she walked. She felt her eyes pull towards their hips but forced herself to turn away. 'No, Twilight. Bad!' she chided. Quit staring at your friends' backsides, one day they'll notice and get really creeped out.

She shook the notions away and refocused. HTML editing. That's what would be going on today. Specifically converting it all into layman's terms. And maybe also secretly installing adblock on Rarity's web browser, running a malware scanner in the background using the command prompt and hotkeys, and a few other odds and ends that would drive Twilight completely up the wall otherwise. Luckily they were able to exchange their knowledge on tech and fashion, the two things in which the two girls were experts on one but completely lost on the other.

These thoughts distracted her on the way to the Mercedes sitting in the back of the parking lot. Between the dress commissions, cuts from her contributions on the record label, a long history of good credit, a small loan from daddy, and just the slightest batting of the eyelashes in the dealership, Rarity got a really good deal on a decade old model that was still as sleek and shiny as one of the newer models and for less than half the cost. She parked all the way at the back so that any roughneck hooligans on skateboards (*cough* Rainbow Dash *cough*) didn't cause anybody any dings or dents.

Once she approached the car, Twilight noticed Rarity was on her phone, but couldn't tell from the screen what was happening. She went ahead and grabbed the car door, pulling it open and causing Rarity to jump with a shriek and accidentally fling her phone into the windshield. Twilight was startled by the sudden loud noise and nearly dropped the cake.

"Twilight!" she cried, placing a hand on her chest, and closing her eyes. "Darling, I do apologize, I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings." Her face was flushed and her jacket was halfway unzipped despite the low temperature outside.

Twilight slid into her seat, placing her bags by her feet and setting the cake in her lap. "It's okay," she placated, before taking a deep and meditative breath. "I should have tapped the glass first."

She reached out to grab the phone that had slid over onto her side of the dashboard, intending to hand it back to Rarity, but the image on the screen caused her to pause. Rarity took that moment to open her eyes, and her breath hitched as she saw Twilight's face frozen and locked on the screen. A young woman adorned in lacy, revealing lingerie sat on a kitchen island, illuminated by moonlight.

"Th... that's..." she stammered, brain not being of any help whatsoever since it was overwhelmed with a hundred different variations of 'Holy shit she's hot!'

"Darling, I..." Rarity gaped, trying to come up with an explanation. She had none, so instead elected to slowly snake her own hand over to slide it from Twilight's grasp as if her hands were dead fish.

Twilight blinked and shook her head a little, before bringing her eyes up to Rarity's own, which were a bit... fearful? Or maybe just searching. Judging? No, surely not, she was of course very supportive of Twilight and her orientation. Maybe she's just still reeling from the surprise of being jolted back to reality? Yes, that must be it.

"So you're looking to buy some lingerie," Twilight said, putting her hands up placatingly. "I'm not here to judge you, Rarity, you're a responsible woman. Whatever you want to wear for your future man is your business. I was just a bit... surprised, is all." She gave a nervous, awkward, but supportive smile. "It's really pretty though, and I'm sure that you'd look amazing in it."

Rarity's eyes slid to the left, processing, and then she closed her mouth and turned back to Twilight. "Yes, right," she said, hesitantly at first but picking back up to her normal pace and tone. "I thought I'd have a few minutes of privacy to find a nice set to put an order in for. It's the holidays soon, my gift to me, because I can't exactly put something like that on my family's christmas wish list. I didn't intend to make you uncomfortable."

"No no no," Twilight interjected, shaking her hands side to side. 'She bought it!'

"I'm not uncomfortable at all! It was just a bit unexpected." She folded her hands gently in her lap over the cake pan. "I mean, I've seen girls in underwear before. My bathroom mirror, the girls' locker room, and when I've glanced through catalogues wondering whether I should bite the bullet and buy my own pair, but... you know me and how I always rule against buying something I'm not going to use for its intended purpose."

"Darling, wearing sexy underthings for yourself IS one of the intended purposes," Rarity placated. "Feeling confident and empowered in your own skin does wonders for other areas of your life. In fact..." she bit her lip in thought for a moment before shrugging and lifting her shirt a little.

At Twilight's 'eep', she paused for a moment. "I'm actually wearing one of my favorite pieces now," she explained, before pulling her blouse up just enough to reveal the material of the bra she was wearing underneath. "It's a midnight blue silk charmeuse that I oftentimes wear when I'm a bit stressed." she pulled the article back down and straightened it.

"I... didn't know that," Twilight offered, eyes only briefly having left Rarity's own to acknowledge the bra. "I always assumed that things like that were only for the pleasure of our paramours," she explained. "Maybe I should go ahead and get a pair for myself."

Rarity set a comforting hand on Twilight's knee. "And if you ever do want a bit of moral support, or a helpful eye for complimentary palettes, I'm here if you need me." She smiled, tilting her head slightly so she had a better angle to look in her friend's eyes. "All of us are. Although Rainbow may accidentally laugh at you if you ask her considering of your history with each other, Fluttershy might simply die of embarrassment, and I don't think that Applejack would even know where to start, but Pinkie Pie and Sunset would absolutely be ready and willing to jump at the chance to help you. I'm sure even Juniper would if she ever really answered any of us."

Twilight's heart skipped at the mention of Sunset but she nodded and hesitantly placed her own hand atop Rarity's own. "I appreciate that," she said. "And I'm glad you're willing to help me with things like this even though I'm..." she couldn't finish the sentence.

Rarity nodded. "I trust you, Twilight. With my body, my chemistry notes, my computer..." She glanced at the steering wheel. "Anything but my car. No matter whether you love women, men, both, or neither. You're a good person."

'No I'm not.' "Thank you, Rarity. That really means a lot to me."

The two beamed at each other for a moment before they pulled their hands apart and Rarity out her key in the ignition. They both buckled in before Rarity turned on her CD player, making the speakers churn out a thumping, bassy percussive backbeat alongside a funky low piano riff and a man chanting rhythmically.

"Pinkie made me a cake," Twilight said, opening the floor back to small talk. "Biannual party for me attending school here. She made it with almond milk so I can actually eat it, but I'm not going to eat a whole cake. Will you want any?"

Rarity barked a laugh for a moment before she covered her mouth and excused herself. "Maybe I'll have a slice if you're offering, but please don't leave much more than that with me," she playfully begged. "Either I'll eat it and hate myself for the calories, my sister will eat it and be hyperactive for hours, Opal will eat it and get a tummyache, or it would just go bad in the kitchen and Pinkie would be upset that we let a perfectly good cake go uneaten."

Twilight nodded. "I know you don't like to eat too much sugar. Or carbohydrates. Or fats... or calories..." she furled up her lips. "I actually have no idea what you do eat."

A rustling crinkle immediately followed this as Rarity held up a protein bar. "Two of these a day, dried fruit, light jerky, plenty of raw vegetables. Occasionally I'll eat some toast, but never white bread. Whole wheat only. And always butter, never margarine. A glass of red wine in the bath. Oh, don't give me that look, Twilight, you've had more vodka in lemonade than I'll probably ever drink in my lifetime. Breakfast is oatmeal or granola, and sometimes I'll treat myself to a cereal, but not the kinds that are chock full of sugar and high fructose corn syrup." She slipped the bar back into the box inside the center console. "I eat plenty, I'm just very particular about what I will put inside my body."

Twilight nodded. "I'm a bit more lenient than that but I get the feeling. I try to shy away from junk food, but sometimes I just get so invested in my studying that I'll realize it's past midnight and decide to just heat up something in the microwave the next time I'm in the kitchen refilling my coffee."

"I could never do that," Rarity interjected. "I will never go without sleep. Even if just for a few hours when I'm up late with an order. Although some days I will sleep immediately after getting home from school. Two four hour periods of sleep are just as good as eight hours uninterrupted."

"Well, actually Rarity, it's not. REM cycles come in ninety minute interludes. According to many case studies, we need five and in some cases six or seven full cycles for the highest functionality. If you sleep four and four, you're only getting about two complete cycles each."

Rarity was silent for a minute before sighing heavily. "Well, that's the last time I trust clickbait articles."

The conversation continued to migrate until Rarity finally arrived at her home, pulling into the empty driveway.

"And that's why I think that squirrels are cuter than chipmunks," Twilight concluded, before undoing her seatbelt buckle.

Rarity nodded as she unbuckled herself and turned off the radio. "You raise some valid points, darling, but I still disagree on account of the fact that there are no troupes of singing squirrels in dapper little suits." She gathered her purse and various bits before turning the key, silencing the vehicle.

Twilight shrugged. "Fair point," she said, as she gathered her own items... and then encountered a problem. "Rarity?"

"Don't worry," she replied, muffled through the windows but still remaining audible. "I'll help you carry your things," carrying on as she opened the car door and took the cake pan. "I'll be a good host no matter how incorrect you are about the cuteness of rodents."

Twilight replied with an akanbe, pulling on her eyelid and sticking out her tongue while taking Rarity's open hand in her own free one. She released her lid to pick up her own purse and bag. "Thanks, but Fluttershy would agree with me here."

"Wrong, Twilight. Fluttershy would disagree with both of us and say that all rodents are equally as cute. Even..." Rarity said with a shudder. "Rats."

Twilight giggled. "Well, I can agree with you on that, at least." she adjusted the straps on her shoulders before falling into step behind her friend, but immediately began to regret this decision as Rarity's skirt was... very form fitting.

'Don't look down don't look down don't look do- dammit Twilight, you looked down! Idiot!'

Unaware of the inner turmoil going on behind her, Rarity unlocked the front door to her home and stepped into a fairly cramped dining room. "I apologize for the limited maneuverability, darling," she said. "My parents are a bit of... collectors."

The room was full of tacky knick-knacks and antique furniture, stacks of cardboard boxes and plastic bins, and of course the table at the center replete with a gaudy navy cloth adorning it. Twilight looked around and briefly wondered whether Rarity was adopted. Everything smelled musty.

"If you'd like anything to eat, then the kitchen is through that doorway," she continued. "My room is near the back of the house, if you'll follow me."

The pair meandered their way through and around the walls of crap, stuff, and junk alike. Through a pair of double doors, past an overfurnished living room, and down a narrow darkened interior hall they walked. Two of the rooms Rarity showed Twilight, the bathroom and her own bedroom.

"Hello Opal!" the fashionista cooed, rousing the feline from its nap. The cat was displeased with its awakening, evident by her swiping sharp claws at her master's face before hopping off of the bed and sprinting through Twilight's legs out the open door.

"Mama loves you!"

Twilight bit her lip as she surveyed the scene, unfamiliar with her surroundings as she had never been to Rarity's house before, and more than a bit confused at how very un-Rarity the room was.

In the far corner lay a small twin bed with a simple set of white sheets and comforter, underneath which were nearly a dozen pairs of shoes of many styles. Next to it on the wall was a small window that faced right out into the side of her neighbor's house. In the corner before them was a desk with a desktop computer and several shelves, the space of which were cluttered with notebooks, pencils, fabric swatches, various sewing supplies, and two electronic tables. In the final corner were two dressers piled high with different clothes and even more shoes, placed aside a closet full of yet more clothes. The walls were adorned with a few posters- Songbird Serenade among some other R&B, hip hop, and pop artists, but not much else.

The room was only a few meters wide and long.

"Sorry about the mess, Twilight," Rarity apologized, placing her purse and the cake on the bed before removing her shoes, jacket, and blouse, revealing the camisole underneath. "I didn't have time to clean up this morning. If you'd like then you can- are you feeling well, darling?"

Twilight, whose face was now significantly redder than it was before, took a deep breath before replying. "The temperature is a bit high," she lied. "But it's fine."

"I'll open the window, then," Rarity said, striding towards it. "I don't want you roasting or feeling otherwise uncomfortable."

'Then don't take your clothes off, please...'

"Don't go through too much trouble for me," Twilight replied quickly, hoping not to let her true thoughts shine through. "I'm here for you after all, and not vice-versa."

Rarity nodded understandingly. "Of course," she responded, turning back around to find Twilight staring at the wall to her side, not having moved. This time Rarity bit her lip and inhaled as if to speak, faltered as she re-examined what she was about to say, and then pushed through. "Would you like me to put my shirt back on? I wasn't thinking."

"You don't have to!" Twilight cried. "I mean. You can if you want to. But don't feel obligated to do it just because I'm being awkward. I'm sorry." 'Smooth.'

"It's really okay-"

"No, I don't want you to have to do anything differently with me than with any of the other girls just because you have nice collarbones." Beat. "No! That's not what I meant to say! I just mean that... I'm not uncomfortable by anything except the possibility that I could be making you feel uncomfortable if I accidentally stare or something. It's me who has the problem and needs to get a grip on my stupid hormones. It's your house so please just wear what you want and don't worry about me because I'm fine, okay?"

Twilight wiped her eyes of the thin sheen of moisture that had welled up during the unexpected burst of emotion. Needless to say, she was not fine. Remnants of Midnight still lingered, always hovering on the edge of her subconscious, lurking. It had been years, and yet it still interfered at the worst moments. This was supposed to be a good, fun, positive experience with one of her best friends, but her brain was running in a dozen different directions just because Rarity happened to be baring her shoulders.

It literally isn't a problem, it's not at all a big deal: she has seen Rarity and the rest of the girls in their swimsuits before and there wasn't an issue. She had seen Rainbow Dash in her underwear when they were dating and that didn't make things weird between them. She had even accidentally seen Pinkie Pie completely nude in the locker room and things couldn't be any different! But ironically enough, it was seeing her friends in casual clothes that just so happened to emphasize certain body parts over others that was causing a whole wealth of unpleasant and unwanted emotions to bubble over.

Ever since Midnight, life had been hell in the whole... gay department. Back at Crystal Prep, the uniform for girls called for thigh-highs or knee socks underneath short skirts, but it hadn't phased her whatsoever back then. She of course knew where her attractions lied, but didn't pay all that much attention to them. Now, however, if she went back then she would probably literally explode in a rainbow for reasons other than magic. Midnight exacerbated everything: her fears, her doubts, her anxieties... and her capacity for arousal.

It was painful. It physically hurt to see her friends as more than such. It hurt to feel her mind sexually objectifying her friends, for the foreign presence to direct her focus towards their bodies. Fluttershy's legs, Rainbow's abs, Applejack's arms, Pinkie's breasts, Sunset's butt, Rarity's collarbones and shoulders: Midnight had a favorite of all of them, and she made those be the only thing in Twilight's mind while they were present. It hurt so much, the guilt was so much to bear, and when it inevitably got to be too much...

Twilight wept as Midnight taunted her, absentmindedly rubbing her scarred wrists together through the hems of her sleeves, suddenly lost in the pit of despair yet again.

Until...

"Twilight Sparkle."

She opened her eyes to see Rarity standing right in front of her, her hands firmly planted on her own shoulders. She bore holes right into Twilight's eyes with her own and chose her words with great care and precision.

"You're my friend. One of my best friends. In fact, I daresay that aside from Fluttershy, Sunset, and Coco, you are my best friend. You are here out of the goodness of your heart in order to assist me with something of great importance to myself. If to make you more comfortable I need to wear three sweaters and a trench coat, I will do it. I know that it can't be easy for you to love who you love while being around six attractive girls with very few physical boundaries for a large majority of most of your days. I understand this and will do whatever is in my power to make your environment conducive to your happiness.

"I don't want you to feel guilty about being who you are, because that more than any amount of gawking is what will upset me most. Men have drooled over me for years now, said horrible and nasty things, and only cared about my cup size and getting into my pants. You're different, Twi. You don't stare at me, even when you think I'm not looking. You don't make lewd comments. You don't do anything out of sorts. You go out of your way not to make me feel like a walking pair of breasts, and that says more about your character than anything else.

"You respect me for who I am, and you support me through my dreams, and you would drop an entire evening of studying at a moment's notice for a friend. I appreciate you so much, Twilight. I hate to see you beating yourself up over feelings that you can't control." Rarity pulled Twilight in and embraced her, holding tightly enough that they could feel each others' pulse. "And besides that," she said, pulling away. "I actually quite like the confidence boost that comes from you looking at me the way you do, so it really doesn't bother me at all. But I can tell that it bothers you."

Rarity picked the blouse back up from the bed and slipped it back on, buttoning it up as she spoke. "Besides, your focus would be better spent on my computer's hardware, not on mine, wouldn't you agree?"

Twilight laughed through the tears that continued, but no longer from sadness. "It's the software we're working with," she said before sniffling and taking her glasses off to wipe her eyes. "But that was a good one..." she readjusted her spectacles and hesitantly stepped forward. "I'm sorry for being dramatic."

Rarity hugged her again. "No apology necessary darling," she placated. "I'm the one who should apologize for being careless. So let's just both agree that nobody is at fault so we can get on with the blog, okay?"

Twilight nodded in the crook of Rarity's neck. "Okay." and with that she pulled away.

"You're welcome to remove your own sweater, though, if you'd like."

The improved mood evaporated instantaneously.

"It's cold with the window opened." Twilight quickly interjected, putting her hands deeper into their sleeves. "Or at least at a lower temperature than is comfortable to not wear it."

"Should I close the window again then?"

Twilight shook her head. "Not for my sake if you also don't want to. Let's just... get to it so I don't cause any more..." she flapped her hands around a bit, unable to find the proper word. "Problems."

Rarity pursed her lips, crossing her arms and analyzing Twilight's body language. "I won't press the matter further. I appreciate you doing this for me so I'll leave it be, because I know that if there was something serious going on then you would let us all know." She stepped forward and kissed Twilight on the forehead before turning around and turning on the computer.

Her heart froze for a moment before almost having a palpitation catching up. 'Breathe, Twilight. It was only a platonic display of heartfelt concern and affection, calm down.' Her eyes glanced down and quickly back up.

'Does her skirt have to be so short...'

"Alright, it's booting up," Rarity said, lurching Twilight out of her reverie. "I'll let you sit down while I go borrow a chair from the dining room." and with that, she left.

Twilight pulled her sleeves down, glancing at the pink ribbons. Glaring at them. 'Stupid things.' She quickly hid them again, so as to avoid having a THIRD emotional heart-to-heart with Rarity that would only end up causing a big huge rift. It isn't even a problem, she double and triple checked her research on where to cut so as not to cause any permanent lasting damage to any arteries or tendons or anything. It was something that would surely just go away given enough time. Midnight couldn't torment her forever.

...could she?

Twilight sat down at the desk and cracked her knuckles. Now wasn't the time for worrying about what may or may not happen somewhere down the line. Now was the time for helping Rarity.

By now the borderline ancient computer had finished warming up and was ready. Rarity really needed an upgrade; luckily she knew a technical wizard. Twilight logged in, password 'Cestmagnifique', and beheld a photograph of the seven friends from Camp Everfree holding up their newfound geodes. The sight reminded Twilight she was still holding her purse and bag, so she gripped her necklace and carefully levitated her bag over to the bed, but left her purse on the floor.

Twilight scanned the screen looking for an icon for a web browser but found none. She furrowed her brow and sighed before clicking the start menu. And then promptly wanted to throw up.

"This is the worst thing I've ever seen in my entire life."

There was nothing but folders labeled various bits of gibberish organized in seemingly random order. Twilight removed her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. She moused over to the box labeled "My Computer" and decided to do it the old-fashioned way. She went into the C drive and clicked around, finally finding a web browser. Begrudgingly she made a shortcut and a little blue E appeared on the desktop. She double clicked it and waited for it to load.

Rarity had returned with the chair and a bag of reduced-sodium gluten-free pretzel sticks by the time it was finished opening. She offered it to Twilight who merely shook her hand and turning back to the screen. What popped up killed what little appetite she had left anyways.

"... Rarity... why do you have seven different toolbars installed?"

Rarity's response was simply crunching and a confused shrug. Twilight sighed.

This was going to be a long day.

Luckily after cleaning up the workspace and ensuring that the browser worked properly (and a lecture about not clicking every single thing that says "install me!"), the pair were able to get into Rarity's account, create the new blog, and completely tailor it- no pun intended- to their needs. Twilight walked Rarity through everything: uploading the designs, linking to the website she used to the process sales, changing the colors and theme of the blog itself, and even a little bit of beginner's coding. Unfortunately it seemed like that last bit didn't really stick, but it didn't have to since Rarity seemed to have learned pretty much everything else.

They had of course taken a break or two during the several-hours-long endeavor. The cake had gotten demolished, as had the pretzels, and they had also picked from a bag of trail mix: Rarity took the nuts and Twilight took the fruit. By the end, Rarity's blog was complete, and the sun had begun setting. They had decided on the url "sleek-chic-cest-magnifique", and as Twilight hit 'save' one last time, she leaned back in the chair and finally breathed a long sigh of relaxation.

"Thank you so much, Twilight!" Rarity cried, giving her friend a hug. "It looks absolutely gorgeous! I'm sure to rake in sales with this beauty!"

Twilight returned the eager embrace, glad to have made her happy. "It's no problem at all, Rarity," she said, glancing at the completed web page. It did indeed look great. "I had fun doing it, and hanging out with you today."

They were interrupted by Twilight's cell phone buzzing. The duo separated so Twilight could dig in the purse at her feet: notepad, palm pilot, wallet, flash drive, tampons, half empty pack of gum, the unused condom Rainbow had put in there as a joke years ago that Twilight didn't want to get rid of, pack of tissues, another flash drive, the knife that had never been opened once, makeup bag, glasses case... finally she found the device at the very bottom for some reason. Flipping it open, she read the message aloud.

"We aren't going to make it home tonight. Flight got delayed, ugh, frowny face emoticon. Will be home tomorrow though. You can order pizza if you'd like. See you soon, love you." she snapped the phone closed. "Well, mom and dad won't be home, so it looks like I've got an empty house to look forward to."

"Would you like to stay the night?" Rarity inquired. "It wouldn't be any trouble."

"No," Twilight replied. "I have to take Spike out, but I appreciate the offer."

Rarity nodded. "Well that's unfortunate, but I understand."

They sat in companionable silence for a minute before Twilight turned to go back to the home page on the computer. The link she clicked instead brought her to a list of urls. There was the one they had just made at the bottom of the short list. The next one was titled "rare-indeed" with a subheading that read "palettes and designs", and a third one titled "theiofthe-beholder", and its subheading was... interesting, to say the least.

"I'm going to use the restroom, darling. I'll be right back."

Twilight barely registered her saying this as she was busy rereading the subheading wondering at how that just can't possibly be right. After a moment she noticed that the room was empty, and fully processed what had been said. Her eyes were pulled back towards this mysterious chronologically first blog, one that Rarity had never said anything about in her long years of using this website.

"The Pure Beauty of the Female Form: 18+"

Curiosity killed the cat, they say.

"What's this?"

-click-

"...oh."

/x/x/x/

A/N

If you clicked this story expecting a cringe comedy you were sorely mistaken. This is a story about suffering from mental illness and internalized homophobia.