Silver Lining

By Kitsune

Chapter One

Twilight woke up to absolute silence. She expected it to be quiet, but not this quiet. Spike had gone back to Canterlot to assist Princess Celestia with a class she was teaching about dragons and would be gone for the next two weeks. Owlicious had made a friend and had gone to meet her family, but it was a few days flight, so he would not be back for a while. While Twilight was happy to have some peace and quiet and be able to study with fewer interruptions, she had to admit that she was beginning to feel a little lonely in the library by herself.

However, as she slowly woke up and dragged herself out of bed, she realized that it wasn't just the library that had become so quiet. It was quiet outside as well. She took a look at the clock and saw that it was well into the morning. There should be some noise coming from outside by now. She poked her head out the front door.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing was going on. Nopony was around as far as she could see.

"What is going on?" Twilight thought to herself out loud.

She took a few moments to straighten out her mane and tail, brush her teeth, and grabbed an apple from the kitchen. She then went outside to try to figure out where everypony was… but where to start!

"The market! Of course! There should be somepony there by now!" she thought to herself.

When she reached the market however, nopony was their either. It was then that she heard a shout from way above her head.

"Twilight, what are you doing? Run!"

Looking up, she saw Rainbow Dash yelling at her. "Why?" she yelled back.

She didn't hear or see any danger around her, but she was starting to worry that maybe she did have a reason to be running.

She then saw Fluttershy, flying faster than she had ever seen her fly before, coming from Everfree Forest. Fluttershy stopped next to Rainbow Dash and said something to her that Twilight couldn't hear from that distance. Rainbow Dash pointed down at her and Fluttershy quickly put a hoof to her mouth. Both of them yelled. Well, Rainbow Dash yelled, Fluttershy more or less squeaked.

"Twilight! Run! Now!" and they pointed south. It was then that Twilight heard a low rumble and started to feel the ground shake. She started running in the direction her friends pointed out as fast as she could. She looked up and saw them flying in the same direction. Rainbow Dash came down and flew next to Twilight so she could explain what was going on.

"Why were you still in the town Twilight? We sent word hours ago to evacuate!" said Dash.

"I never got the message! Twilight shouted back. "I just woke up a few minutes ago. What is going on?"

"You know how it's been raining non stop for the past four days over the Everfree Forest? Well, the forest floor started flooding yesterday. Fluttershy went to go check on Zecora to see if she needed any help, and spotted several hydras slowly heading for her house! She got Zecora out just in time, but the hydras started moving this way this morning and now they are at the edge of Ponyville. Fluttershy has been monitoring their movements since last night and was relaying that information to me so I could better inform the Mayor as to a safe evacuation plan. How did you not notice any of that?" asked Dash loudly.

"Well, I spent most of yesterday studying. I heard the noise level pick up a little in the afternoon, but I didn't think anything of it. I wonder why nopony came by the library to tell me." Twilight yelled back.

"Oh, well, nopony thought you weren't home. We thought you went to Canterlot with Spike since we haven't seen you for the past few days." replied Dash.

"Oh. I guess I haven't left the library, have I?" Twilight half said to herself, thinking back. After Spike left, she started studying again, and would only stop to eat or use the restroom. "I really should get out more, huh?"

"I think that would be a good idea Twilight, but we have bigger things to worry about at the moment." Dash pointed out. "We're headed for Sweet Apple Acres. All the ponies have gone there until we can either find a safer place or can return home."

Rainbow Dash headed back up to Fluttershy and both of them stayed directly over Twilight to make sure that she would make it there safely. Sweet Apple Acres was coming up quickly and she saw a hastily erected barricade crossing the path. Applejack and Rarity were standing behind it, waving to her.

"Quickly dear, quickly!" shouted Rarity!

"Move it Twilight! Yer almost there!" yelled Applejack.

Twilight ran around the barricade and stopped next to her friends. She looked up and yelled. "Any sign of them coming this way?"

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looped around to face back towards the town.

"I can see a few hydra heads, looks like they are near the center of town." said Rainbow Dash. "Oh, wait, is that… oh no! Rarity, your shop! It's destroying your shop!"

'What!" cried Rarity, before raising a hoof to her forehead and fainting. Twilight caught her with her magic just before she hit the ground and brought her to rest on a nearby hay bale.

"All th' work she's put into that shop. Poor Rarity. It'll take her..." said Applejack, before being cut off out of nowhere.

"Forever!" shouted Pinkie Pie, popping out of the hay bale that Rarity was now lying on. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she still had a huge smile on her face. "I'm sure we can help her to rebuild it though, so I don't think it will really take forever."

"When? How did? Nevermind." said Applejack, shaking her head. "Pinkie Pie, you're just so random. I thought you were back at da barn with th' other ponies."

"I was, but no one was interested in having a "We just got ran out of town" party. I decided to come find you two instead, but now it's you five instead of you two, which just makes it even better!" said Pinkie Pie.

Rarity started to come around, but once she finally snapped out of it, she started whimpering. "All my work… my clothes, my materials, my shop!" She broke down into a heap of tears. Twilight and Applejack both walked over to try to console their dear friend.

"It's all right Rarity. Your shop can be rebuilt, your clothes remade, your materials replaced. We're just happy to know that you're safe." Twilight said, throwing her foreleg over Rarity's neck in an attempt to console her.

"That's right sugarcube. We'll all pitch in to get you back up and running in no time." said Applejack.

The two Pegasus ponies had come down to join their friends. Rarity looked to see them all smiling at her. She knew she would be ok, with friends like these to support her.

"Thank you… all of you. You have no idea how much that means to me." said Rarity, still fighting back a few tears. *sniff* "You all are such wonderful friends."

"Aw shucks Rarity, you know we're there for ya." said Applejack.

"Wait!" said Twilight. "If you two are down here, who's keeping an eye on the hydras?"

"Oh, yeah, about that." answered Rainbow Dash. "They're leaving town. I guess when they realized that nopony was around, they decided it wasn't worth staying. They were heading back into the forest. I'm gonna go talk the Mayor. I'd like to go take a closer look before giving the all clear."

"I think that's a great idea." said Twilight. Why don't the 6 of us go back first, to make sure that it's safe for the rest of the ponies to return? Dash and Fluttershy can fly ahead of the rest of us to make sure we don't walk into a trap."

"Sounds like a plan!" added Applejack.

"Okie dokie lokie" chirped Pinkie Pie.

"I'll go tell the Mayor what we're planning and will be right back." Rainbow Dash said and took off towards the barn.

"Rarity? Are you going to be ok coming with us? You don't have to if you're not ready. We'd all understand." asked Twilight.

"No no, I'll come. I need to see for myself just how bad things are." Rarity said, followed by a long sigh.

'We've been given the ok from the Mayor. Let's go!" shouted Dash as she shot up into the sky, Fluttershy slowly following.

"Please be careful." whispered Fluttershy as she went to catch up to Rainbow Dash.

As the six of them slowly approached the town, it became clear that Rarity's shop was not the only place to be damaged. Signs were on the grounds, carts crushed, roofs missing, windows broken. It looked like a tornado had just gone through the middle of Ponyville. However, it was clear that Rarity's shop had taken the full brunt of the abuse. Except for a partial wall, there was nothing left standing. Material and clothing were strewn everywhere. It looked like the hydra decided to sit on it and use it as a toilet!

"Woowee, that hydra really didn't like your shop for some reason." Applejack said..

Rarity almost fainted again, but caught herself, leaning against a pile that used to be a cart. Her shop was a total loss. She would have to file a claim with her insurance company, which she knew would take forever. She would be lucky if her shop was rebuilt before the end of the year. She had no idea what she was going to do in the meantime. She flopped to the ground, not caring that she was getting dirty, at a complete loss of what to do. Twilight walked up to her, trying to think of a way to help her poor friend.

"Well Rarity, it looks like you and Sweetie Belle will need a place to stay for a while." said Twilight.

"Sweetie Belle can stay with us at the farm if'n that's ok with you. We have plenty of room and I know Applebloom would love to have her around. Besides, it's best if she gets back to some sorta normal routine as quickly as possible." suggested Applejack.

"And you can stay with me Rarity. The library isn't very far from your shop. You'll be able to watch over the reconstruction without having to go far." said Twilight.

"Oh dear, I wouldn't want to impose." said Rarity.

"I'm inviting you silly, so you're not imposing at all. Really, I insist." replied Twilight.

"Are you sure I wouldn't be in your way?" Rarity asked, her spirits brightening a little.

"I'm sure. I might even be able to make enough space for you to continue working while your new shop is being built. It might not be much though, the library isn't that big." said Twilight.

Rarity grabbed up both Twilight and Applejack and hugged them as tightly as she could. "Oh, thank you soooooo much. I really didn't know what I was going to do. You two are life savers!"

"No problem." Twilight and Applejack choked out in unison, trying to breathe. Rarity really could hug someone to death if she ever tried.

Rainbow dash found them in front of what was left of Rarity's shop and yelled down. "It's clear! The hydras are no where to be seen. I'm gonna go back and let the rest of the town know it's safe to return." With that, she started to head back towards the farm.

"Rainbow Dash, wait!" yelled Applejack. "Can you tell Sweetie Belle to stay there? She gonna stay with us until Rarity's shop is rebuilt."

"Sure thing" shouted Rainbow Dash and she took off.

"Well." said Twilight. "Why don't we go through this mess and see if there is anything that can be salvaged?"

"Ok. There might be something I can still use in there." said Rarity.

Pinkie Pie's head popped out of the remains of Rarity's shop. "How about this?" She tugged a sewing machine out of the pile. "It looks like it may still work."

"Pinkie Pie, that's wonderful!" Rarity cried out. She trotted over to see if it was in fact still functional. "I do believe you're right, although it does need a thorough cleaning."

Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity began sifting through what remained of the shop. Applejack went back to the farm to help Sweetie Belle settle in. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were helping the rest of the town's population clean up and recover. Everypony worked well into the evening, trying to straighten out the mess the hydras left behind. Eventually, it just became to dark to accomplish much, so everyone returned to their homes. Twilight lead Rarity back to the library with as much as they were able to salvage and found some room to store it in the back. After they put that away, Twilight asked Rarity to go to the main part of the library and make herself comfortable. "You can take a shower in a few minutes. I know you really want to clean yourself up right now, but there is something else I think we should do first."

She collected two pieces of paper, a small ink jar and a quill and sat down next to Rarity. "We should write a letter to Sweetie Belle letting her know that everything is ok and why she is staying at Sweet Apple Acres for the time being. Since it's a short distance, I'm pretty sure I can teleport the letter there after you're done. The second letter is to request an appraiser to come and determine what will need to be done to rebuild your shop. The sooner we can get that done, the better."

It never ceased to amaze Rarity just how organized her friend was. "Twilight, I think you've really outdone yourself this time. It would have taken me a few days just to collect my thoughts."

Rarity wrote out a quick letter to Sweetie Belle letting her know what happened and why she was going to need to stay with Applejack for an undetermined amount of time. Twilight sent the letter to Sweet Apple Acres, c/o Applejack, as soon as Rarity finished it.

The letter to the insurance company took a little longer to write as Rarity wanted to be as descriptive as possible of the damages and losses that were incurred. They would wait until tomorrow to mail it.

Twilight let Rarity take a shower first. She knew that Rarity really needed it, not only because she had gotten dirty, but because it would help her to unwind. It would take Rarity at least an hour to clean herself up and to redo her mane and tail. While Rarity was taking a shower, Twilight tried to make a nice warm dinner for the two of them. She would take her own shower later.

'Twilight darling!" Rarity called down from the bathroom. "Do you have any conditioner? I can't seem to find any."

"Really?" Twilight asked, surprised. "I could have sworn I had some in there still." She had been working on making a soup, so she turned the heat down to let it simmer before headed upstairs. "I'll be right up. I think I have a new bottle somewhere."

"Oh, that's ok Twilight. You don't have to go looking for a new bottle. It's not that big of a…" Rarity managed to get out before being cut off.

"Found it!" Twilight said as she pulled the bottle out of a small closet just outside the bathroom. She went to open the door to take it in to Rarity.

Rarity was sitting in the tub, letting the hot water from the shower run down her neck and back. Through the semi clear shower screen, Twilight could see Rarity's silhouette as she was trying to wash some mud out of her tail. Twilight felt her cheeks warm a little as she started to blush. "Why am I blushing?" she thought to herself. "It's just Rarity. You've seen her wet before!"

"Rarity, I'll just leave this bottle near the shower for you." She set the bottle down and quickly left the bathroom.

"Thank you dear!" Rarity cooed as she moved the screen a little and grabbed the bottle. "I just can get my hair to cooperate without it."

"I don't get it." Twilight thought to herself as she headed back down to the kitchen. "Why on earth did I start blushing? I'm glad Rarity was too busy cleaning herself off to notice." She checked on the soup and added a little seasoning before taking it off the stovetop and serving up two bowls.

"Rarity, dinner's ready." Twilight called upstairs. "Don't take to much longer or it'll get cold."

"I'll be right there!" Rarity replied as she turned the water off and grabbed a towel. She came downstairs with the towel wrapped around her head. "It smells delightful dear. What did you make?"

"Oh, it's just a simple soup, some vegetables mixed in with a little timothy and alfalfa. I hope you like it." said Twilight.

Rarity took a small sip and her eyes popped open in surprise. "I had no idea you could make something this delicious!" As hungry as she was, she managed to refrain from gulping down the soup.

"I'm glad you like it." Twilight said and she sat down across from Rarity and started eating herself. "I'm going to take a shower once I'm done with dinner. I haven't straightened out the guest bed yet. If you're tired, you can use mine instead. I can use the guest bed for tonight."

"Oh, nonsense… I won't hear of it!" Rarity exclaimed. "You've done far too much for me already. I am quite awake after that wonderful shower. Just let me know where you keep the sheets and I'll set the bed up myself."

"But I can't let you do that!" Twilight replied, surprised. "What kind of host would I be if I made my guest make her own bed! Please, just wait until I'm done with my shower and I'll do it!"

"If you insist, I guess I can try and restyle my mane while you're showering." Rarity suggested as she took the towel off her head. "What a mess! I can't believe I was out in public looking like this!"

"Rarity, I think you worry a little too much of what other ponies think. You look just fine to me considering what you've gone through today." said Twilight as she got up to put her bowl away. "You look just fine to me even if you hadn't gone through this mess today" she thought to herself. "Wait, what? Where did that come from?" she thought as she looked over at her friend who was slowly brushing her mane back to its normal style. "Why am I thinking about her like this? Rarity's my friend! She is my friend. She's a mare!" Twilight started blushing again.

Rarity just happened to look over at Twilight, noticing that she hadn't moved since taking the bowl over to the sink. Twilight was looking at her, and… was she blushing? "Twilight, are you ok?" she asked.

Realizing she'd been caught, she quickly tried to make up an excuse, blushing even deeper. "Oh, nothing, just… I… um…" Twilight rattled off a little too loudly as she bolted to get Rarity a cup. "What would you like?"

"Um, water?" Rarity said, not sure what was going on in her friend's head.

"Water, sure!" Twilight exclaimed as she quickly filled the cup and put it in front of Rarity. "I'm gonna go take my shower now!"

"A cold shower." she thought, as she raced out of the kitchen, up the stairs and into the bathroom.

Rarity was at a loss for words. Not sure what to think, she finished the rest of her soup and took her bowl over to the sink. She washed both of the bowls, wanting to at least do something for Twilight as she had done so much for her today. Finishing the dishes, she walked into the main room of the library and sat down to finish styling her mane. Satisfied with the results, she looked around at the piles of books left lying around, some left their by Twilight, others knocked off the shelves by the hydras. She proceeded to put as many of the books away as she could manage before Twilight finished her shower.

Twilight had started to take her shower, but now she just stood there, not sure what to think or do. "Rarity probably thinks I've lost it!" she said to herself, shaking her head in her front hooves. She finished her shower and looked at herself in the mirror as she dried off. "Ok Twilight." she said to the mirror. "Take a deep breath and relax. Everything is fine. Rarity doesn't think you've gone mental. Just relax." Feeling a little better, she left the bathroom and proceeded to the linen closet to get the guest bed ready. On the way there, she heard movement downstairs and looked over the railing. Rarity was trying to clean up the library, and doing a pretty good job.

"Rarity, you really don't have to do that. Most of that is my mess anyway." Twilight said, trying to get her friend to relax instead of work.

"I insist Twilight. I want to do something to show how much I appreciate you taking me in on such short notice. Please let me do this for you." Rarity cooed as she proceeded to give Twilight her puppy dog eyes look.

"Thank you Rarity. I do appreciate the help." Twilight said. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself that Rarity had given her the puppy dog eyes look. "Her eyes are pretty though." She froze. "Oh no, not again." she whispered to herself. "No, no, no, no, nonononono!" She bonked herself on the head a few times and went back to making the guest bed. "I've got to stop thinking about Rarity like that!" she thought as she placed a clean pillow on the guest bed.

"Rarity, your bed is ready whenever you are." Twilight said as she peeked over the banister. "I think you've done enough for one day, don't you?"

"I am pretty tired. Maybe I can finish this up for you tomorrow?" Rarity asked with a gentle smile.

"That would be great Rarity. Again, thank you." Twilight said. "I'm gonna go outside for a bit. I just want to get a little fresh air before I call it a night."

"Would you mind if I join you?" Rarity asked.

Twilight heart skipped a beat. Maybe inviting Rarity to stay here wasn't such a good idea. "Um… I… Ok…" Twilight somehow managed to say. With that, Rarity knew there was something going on that Twilight wasn't telling her about. She just wasn't sure whether to push the issue or not.

The two ponies went outside and around to the back of the library. Twilight had a small bench set up there where she liked to sit and watch the stars. It helped her to relax and think sometimes. Tonight was not one of those times. She sat on one end of the bench, visibly shaking, staring at the sky. Rarity sat on the other end. They both watched the starts quietly for a while, but the silence started to feel a little awkward, so Rarity broke spoke up.

"Twilight, you seem to have something on your mind. You know you can talk to me about anything." Rarity said, trying to get Twilight to open up. It was obvious that whatever it was she had been thinking about that evening was driving her nuts.

At the sound of Rarity's voice, Twilight was quickly brought back to reality. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What did you ask? I was kinda off in my own little world there." Twilight replied, trying to hold a convincing smile, but failing miserably.

"I said, you seem to have something on your mind. I'm here for you if you need somepony to talk to you know." Rarity stated, trying not to sound upset at having to repeat herself. "What's wrong?"

So many questions were running through Twilight's head. Do I tell her the truth? How would she take it? Do I even understand why I'm feeling like this? How can I tell her how I'm feeling when I don't even understand it myself? Maybe I should lie? Maybe I should just tell her I'm fine and I'm just tired? She sat for a few minutes trying to decide what to say, started to say something, then stopped and began to think about it all over again.

"I'm sorry Twilight. Obviously it's something you just don't feel comfortable talking about right now. I'm sorry I tried to pry it out of you." Rarity said, somewhat embarrassed that she had put her friend into a corner like that. She got up and started to head back inside. "I'm going to go to bed. Don't stay up to late dear."

Rarity getting up to leave triggered something in Twilight and she finally managed to say something.

"Wait Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed, a little louder than she had wanted too. Rarity stopped and turned around to face her. "You're right. I do have something on my mind, and I want very badly to talk to you about it, but I'm not sure how to start.

Rarity walked back to the bench, and stood in front of Twilight, curiosity written all over her face.

"Go ahead darling, I'm in no hurry to go to bed." Rarity said.

"I'm just not sure that now is the best time to say anything about it, since… well, since you have so much going on right now." Twilight said

"This has something to do with me then?" Rarity asked, her expression changing to one of concern.

"Yes Rarity, it does, which is why I'm not sure if I should say anything right now. I want to, but I don't want to hurt our friendship… and you've already been through so much today." Twilight said.

"Well." Rarity replied, "Despite what happened today, if it has something to do with me, I think I want to hear it. I can't imagine what you could possibly have to say that would make me not want to be your friend anymore."

"Ok." Twilight said, still not sure this was such a good idea. "I know that you noticed me blushing earlier and that obviously had nothing to do with forgetting to give you a drink."

"I sort of figured as much, go on." Rarity said.

"Well, that wasn't the only time I ended up blushing today. And you were always there when I did. The reason I was blushing so much… is because… I was thinking about you." Twilight ended in a whisper, acting more like Fluttershy.

"You were thinking about me, and you started to… oh" Rarity said as the light bulb went off in her head. "You mean?"

Twilight didn't say anything, just nodded.

"I see" said Rarity, trying to wrap her head around what Twilight trying to tell her. "For how long?"

"It just started today, which is why I'm so confused. I just don't know what to think anymore!" Twilight bawled, and she started crying. "I was thinking about how nice you looked in the shower, and how pretty your eyes were when you gave me your puppy dog eyes look, and how pretty you looked even when you thought you were a mess at dinner!"

'Oh sweetie, don't cry!" Rarity said softly as she hugged her friend gently, trying to calm her down, all the while trying to come to gripes with what she wanted to do about the whole situation. "Ok, so this is how I see it. We have two choices. We can either acknowledge how you've been feeling today as the start of something new… and explore it together."

Twilight's head shot up and almost clocked her friend in the neck. "Did I just hear you right? Twilight asked, confused, but not crying anymore.

"Yes dear, you did. Or we can treat the fact that you've been feeling like this today as some fluke, and just go back to being friends." Rarity replied.

Twilight sat stunned for a moment, contemplating the options that had been put before her. Rarity said that their friendship was not in jeopardy at the moment, despite what she had just been told, so she had a safe route out of this mess. On the other hand, she also said she would consider her feelings and be willing to explore the possibility of being together… as a couple… a mare/mare couple! She never thought she'd hear Rarity say that! Her friend was a lot more open minded than she had originally given her credit for. Her train of thought was interrupted when Rarity spoke up again.

"Now, I'm not saying that I've ever thought of you that way before. Actually, I've never thought of any mare that way before for that matter, but you are my friend and your feelings matter to me. I have to admit that I would need to think about this a little more if you do choose to pursue your feelings, as I've never considered dating a mare before. Is that ok?"

Twilight nodded. "I've never thought about dating a mare either, until today, so I need to think about this more as well."

"Well then, how about this? We both have a lot to think about. Why don't we sleep on it and we can bring it up again in the morning over a nice warm breakfast? This time, I'll cook." Rarity said with a warm smile.

"I would like that… thank you Rarity." Twilight said and gave Rarity a small hug.

Both ponies went back inside and settled into their own beds for the night, both with a lot to think about.