"Twilight?"
The Princess of Friendship looked up from her waffles. "Yes, Spike?"
Across the table, her younger brother-slash-number one assistant shifted uneasily in his seat. "I kind of need to ask you a favor."
Twilight sighed. It was the waffles. They should have tipped her off that Spike wanted something. "I can only lend you a few extra bits right now, Spike..."
"No!" The young dragon practically leapt from his chair at that. "No, it's--" He sighed heavily. "I need your help with Rarity."
And there, Twilight's expression softened. Everypony knew about Spike's long-running crush on Rarity. And everypony knew how hopeless it was. Still. He was her brother. Hopeless as the crush was, she couldn't turn him away from love. Cadence would never forgive her if she did.
The dragon continued, laying out his latest plan. "See, I'm worried that Rarity might not be able to look past my age or that I'm a dragon. But if she can see what's in my heart, I know she can't help but fall in love!" For a moment Spike paused, letting out a wistful sigh. "That's why I need your help, Twilight. I need someone who can profess my love to her without her judging me off what I look like."
Twilight blinked once. Twice. And was still confused. "How is having one of her best friends do it avoiding pre-judgment?"
"Come on Twilight, please! Who else could I ask to do this?" Spike hopped down and scuttled to his sister's side. "You're the only one I can trust! Please?"
She grunted with irritation. "Fiiiiiine. Alright Spike, I'll do it. But I want it on the record that having me do it is a bad idea."
Instantly, the Princess was enveloped by dragon hugs. "Thanks Twilight! You won't regret this, I swear!"
"So I just deliver the flowers." Twilight was unamused.
Spike nodded nervously. "And say the lines. That should be enough to get things started. Don't want to come on too strong to start. Ladies like it when you play it cool." He puffed out his scaly chest in what Twilight assumed was an attempt to look masculine.
She rolled her eyes again. "And what if she thinks they're from me?"
"Just be coy." Spike's advice was distinctly unhelpful. "But if you feel uncomfortable, just give her this." He handed a sealed letter over to Twilight. "Inside explains everything, so don't give it to her unless you really have to. You're not supposed to give it to her until later on."
Twilight sighed deeply. If this wasn't for Spike and his attempts at love....
Trotting up to Carousel Boutique, Twilight reviewed the script Spike had given her in her head. It was so cheesy, but that did seem like the sort of thing Rarity would like. She was the romantic sort after all, and Spike certainly did his research.
She knocked on the Boutique's door, eager to get this over with. Moments dragged by. Twilight shifted from one side to the other uneasily.
The front door opened, releasing Rarity to the world. "Yes? How can I--oh!"
Twilight levitated up the mass of red roses and yellow acacias, shoving them into the fashionista's face. "A bouquet for the Boutique," she loudly recited. Internally, she cringed at how terrible the line was.
"W-what?" Rarity nudged them aside with a hoof. "Twilight? Flowers? Just what is going on here?"
Pressing on, Twilight continued through her rehearsed recital. "Flowers have meanings, Rarity. But I'm sure you knew that. Please find a place for both the blooms and the truth they tell in your home."
A rather confused and stunned Rarity took the flowers into her aura, eyes blinking owlishly at her friend.
Task complete, Twilight turned on her heel and trotted away as fast as she could without looking like she was fleeing.
As she left, Rarity pulled herself from her reverie to look more properly at the flowers. "Hm." She turned them around and around before her eyes. "Red roses for romance, and yellow acacias for... friendship and secret love?" The bouquet moved, letting Rarity glimpse the last bit of Twilight's tail going around a corner. "Oh my."
"I'm not sure you could make this more stereotypical if you tried," Twilight scoffed. "And where did you get wine from?"
Spike shook his head. "Don't ask questions you don't want answers to." He readjusted the basket's contents again - sweet ice wine from the Crystal Empire and a box of fine dark chocolate-coated blackberries. "And I know it's a bit cheesy. Rarity likes cheesy. I did my research!"
Letting out a deep sigh, Twilight couldn't disagree. "I do know how many romance novels she has, yes."
"She'll love it. Trust me, just follow what I told you and everything's going to work." Spike looked to the clock before shoving the basket into Twilight's aura. "You better get going or you'll be late."
The little dragon practically shoved the alicorn out into the night. Twilight once more rolled her eyes at his antics - but she still smiled. Not just at Spike, but at the memory of the day before. The look on Rarity's face had stuck with the Princess since. The surprise, the confused joy and the wondrous disbelief made a heady mix that nested in Twilight's heart. She was the Princess of Friendship, sure - but she had never gotten a reaction like that from one of her friends before.
A little part of Twilight wanted more of that.
But no - no, this was Spike's plan. She would stick to it. Maybe try experiments to replicate that experience later with others.
She shook free of those thoughts right on time and in the right place - below the window of the Carousel Boutique in her namesake twilight. The last of the setting sun to the west framed around the Boutique, making the whole structure shimmer.
Twilight reached down with her aura to pick up the first of the pile of pebbles that Spike had prepared. He had thought of everything. A moment to test the weight and be sure there wasn't too much power behind it - then she threw.
>tink<
>tink<
The second pebble against the window had been enough. It opened, and Rarity appeared.
Twilight's breath caught in her throat. Before this exact moment, she had never understood why Spike felt the way he did about Rarity. From this moment forward, she would never be able to forget.
The setting sun's rays that framed the Boutique shone through the building as well, setting that same golden halo around Rarity's head as she leaned through the window. Her pale fur captured that light in it like a net, making the glow part and parcel to her being. The only part not glowing was her mane - hair, deep as the coming night, curling around and embracing a face that shone like the sun.
And her smile.
Oh, that smile.
There were more emotions in it than Twilight could grasp at once. Happy; smug; eager; and through it all a smoky sensuality that Twilight had never seen in her friend.
She couldn't do more than stare in that moment.
Both hooves leaned against the window sill as Rarity beamed downwards. "Twilight. You have my attention."
Right. Right! Twilight shook her head to clear it again. First things first - she lifted the basket upwards, levitating it to Rarity's waiting hooves. It was taken with a quiet squeal of delight. "Darling, I must say. Excellent taste. I don't suppose I could convince you to share these with me?"
Twilight's heart skipped a beat again. The offer tempted her - she couldn't do it, but the urge was there. She could feel the pull to become lost in the look those blue eyes were giving her.
From just around the corner, Octavia sensed her cue and began to play.
Twilight closed her eyes tightly, hoping that by blocking out Rarity's physical beauty that she could concentrate on the words. And the lines that Spike had given her floated to mind.
"I swear, since seeing Your face,
the whole world is fraud and fantasy.
The garden is bewildered as to what is leaf
or blossom. The distracted birds
can't distinguish the birdseed from the snare.
A house of love with no limits,
a presence more beautiful than Venus or the moon,
a beauty whose image fills the mirror of the heart."*
There. It was out. Her job was mostly done, and Twilight allowed herself to look again.
Her gaze met Rarity's. Those beautiful sapphire eyes were thick with tears and both hooves were clapped over her mouth. And more than that - the sultry look had dissolved into something different.
Twilight understood something new for the second time that night. If that look was what love felt like? Then everything the changelings had done made sense.
These were dangerous thoughts, though. That hit her like a brick. She was helping Spike woo Rarity, not going after Rarity herself. Quickly, she gave a small bow to the sun-lit angel in the window and fled.
Twilight paced. This was the big one, Spike had told her. The finale. Of course, that just made her more nervous. This dumb favor for Spike was nearly complete, and then the truth would come out and Twilight could put it all behind her.
If she wanted to put it all behind her.
That thought made her violently shake her head to clear it. No! No, this was for Spike. This was all Spike's plan, Spike's ideas, Spike's love for Rarity. Twilight was nothing but a courier, slipping love between the two like a changeling gatherer returning to the hive.
So what if Rarity's caring smile made Twilight's heart flutter? So what if her musical laugh gave Twilight wings beyond those of an alicorn's? This was about her and Spike, not her and Twilight. And while a tiny voice in the back of Twilight's head was already setting out a checklist for how to celebrate their fifth anniversary, the rest was staunch: she was doing this for Spike, and even considering stealing Rarity out from under him was horrible.
Even if the temptation was there.
Luna's moon shone down on the garden, full and glimmering. The stars shone bright, once in the sky and once in the water of the fountain beside Twilight. The very slightest breeze coasted by, rustling the leaves of the trees and bushes that surrounded her. And out of the darkness came Rarity.
Alabaster fur gleaming in the moonlight. Dress as deep a navy blue as the sky and glittering with gems that echoed the stars. A perfect coif of violet, letting a seductive eye of blue peek out.
Twilight's heart stopped.
Rarity knew exactly what kind of view she was giving, and strutted over with the confidence of Achilles before the gates of Troy. "Well good evening, darling. Somehow I suspected the note asking me here was from you." She came to a stop just inside of Twilight's personal space, eyelashes batting. "I'm quite glad to see my intuition is correct."
"I--but--I mean---" The most educated alicorn in Equestria stumbled over her words, unable to find any of the right ones. "I, um, uh..."
It just made Rarity laugh more. "Take your time, darling."
Words wouldn't do - at least not Twilight's words. She had to complete this. End this. For Spike. "I.... I'm sorry, Rarity." Tears welled up in her eyes as her heart swung wildly between racing and freezing. "I'm sorry about all of this. I just-- I can't--"
The letter. It was her only salvation. Twilight practically slammed it into Rarity's hooves before stepping away.
Rarity opened the letter. Twilight's breath stopped.
Rarity read the letter. Twilight's heart shredded.
Rarity smiled wider and wider. Twilight's soul crumpled.
Looking up, Rarity cast her eyes to Twilight. "Is it true?"
"All of it," the Princess of Friendzone gloomily confirmed.
Rarity cocked her head to the side. "Darling, I'm not sure you-- actually, I think you should read this." And her cornflower blue aura turned the letter to Twilight.
My dearest Rarity;
If you are reading this, it is because Twilight has panicked. Please forgive her, she's very confused right now.
I know that her heart shares something with mine: love for the most beautiful pony in all of Equestria.
But Twilight would never be able to say it. Even if she knew how to, she would never put that on the shoulders of one of her best friends.
So I tricked her, pretending to have her speak to you for me. I wanted to help her say the things I know she feels in her heart but couldn't speak out loud. She just needed a push to get there.
If you're upset, please don't be mad at Twilight. She thought she was helping me. But I hope you aren't mad and that you feel about her the way she feels about you.
You both deserve to be as happy as you can be.
With love;
Spikey-Wikey
Twilight looked up from the letter. She blinked three times in slow succession. "I-- I don't understand."
A pale alabaster hoof set itself gently against Twilight's cheek. She tilted her head into it instinctively. "Is it true?," Rarity asked again.
The Princess hesitated. And mutely nodded.
"Well. Perhaps then we can discuss it and help you understand. Over a late dinner?" Rarity's smile brightened the moonlit garden.
So did Twilight's as it grew.
The Castle of Friendship was quiet when Spike returned to it - not a long walk from the bushes he had been hiding in and watching the two new lovebirds. It was still quiet as he arrived in the kitchen and made himself a sapphire on rye sandwich.
It got less quiet when his company arrived - gilded horseshoes ringing on the crystal floor. "I know that wasn't easy for you to do, Spike."
"Twilight's happy. Rarity's happy. That makes everything worth it." Spike didn't turn to look. "It wasn't going to work out between Rarity and me anyway. Plus now things with Gabby are gonna be easier!"
A pink wing wrapped around the dragon as Cadence hugged him. "None of that makes it easy to do. When you asked me for advice, I told you that this would be a difficult path. I'm sorry you went through it, even if it's what you chose. If Rarity knew what you were willing to sacrifice for their happiness, I'm sure she'd think you were very brave."
Turning his head, Spike gave his sister-in-law a sad smile. "No. She'd say I was Generous."
Author's Note
* - Rumi (c.1250). Dīvān-e Šams-e Tabrīzī, tarji-band XV, stanzas 15-23. R.A. Nicholson (trans)
When I heard about the RariTwi Bomb, I felt I just had to jump on (and not just because Mono-sempai, notice me!). It's always a fun push to be forced outside my own boundaries and ships.
This particular storyline was born out of a simple line of logic - "If Twilight knows that Spike has a crush on Rarity, how could she date her without feeling terrible about what the relationship does to Spike?" From there, the simple answer was that he fixes them up - and a riff on Cyrano de Bergerac made perfect sense.
