Chapter 1
Rarity was as she had been for the last five days, locked in her work room. It had been exactly one week since the marriage of Princess Cadence to the now Prince Shining Armor. One week since Rarity found her heart and her mind tearing each other apart over her one of her best friends, Twilight Sparkle, or more appropriately Lady Twilight Sparkle now that her brother was married to a princess.
Could it be called exile if I were to never leave home? Twilight would know. NO, Rarity, you will not think of Twilight: you will not think about the countless times she has saved you; you will not think about how amazingly intelligent she is; you will not think….about that…cute pink...stripe in her mane. Oh, Rarity, you are simply the worst kind of pony. To fall for Twilight only now after she has joined the ranks of nobility, it is insulting to her…and…and to me. Am I really this shallow? I fell for that brute Blueblood, but now that I know him I couldn’t bear to be in the same room with him for more than five minutes. Oh, but Twilight is everything I could ever hope for! She’s brave, knowledgeable, talented, always wanting to help her friends. HER FRIENDS. *HER.** Oh how could I have not thought of this sooner: she’s a mare. Oh, what will she think of me? What will the others think of me? What will my parents think of me? What is wrong with me?!*
It was at this point that a series of knocks interrupted Rarity from her thoughts.
Who could that be? I’ve kept the sign on closed and I’ve filled every order I had before the wedding.
“One moment!” Rarity called as she made her way down to the front door.
“HELLLLLLLO Rarity!” A massive pink wall slammed into Rarity the moment she opened her front door.
“Hello Pinkie,” She replied in a flat and muffled tone through the mass of pink fur that had taken over her vision.
“Let ‘er go, Sugarcube,” Applejack spoke up, pulling the hyper active pink party mare off of the fashionista.
Once the wall of pink was removed Rarity was greeted with the sight of four mares, and one visage of beauty. Damn it Rarity, keep control for five minutes.
“Hi Rarity, we were hoping you would join us for a picnic…um if that’s ok with you," Fluttershy mumbled, her voice slowly diminishing to a level only the other five assembled friends could hear without difficulty.
“Oh, uh I’m sorry everybody I’ve got a huge order I have to finish and I’m still behind after the wedding,” Rarity smiled hoping that none of her friends could tell she was lying.
“OH, come on you’ve been shut up in that boutique damn near a week you need to get out!” Rainbow Dash nearly yelled.
“Calm down Rainbow,” Twilight finally spoke up “If she’s busy, she’s busy. Let’s go, everypony.”
“Yeah, come on everyone I’m sure we can have the picnic some other time,” Applejack said turning to leave.
“Farewell everypony I’ll see you later,” Rarity waved as her friends started to wander off.
“Rarity you know you can talk to us about anything, right?” Twilight asked, giving Rarity a concerned look.
“Whatever do you mean, Twilight?” Rarity asked raising an eye brow. No no no she can’t know. Can she?
“Well, it’s just you’ve been distant lately, apart from today none of us have seen you since the wedding.”
“I’ve…been busy.”
“Rarity…you’ve kept the boutique closed as well.”
“I have…a lot of orders from before the wedding to catch up on,” Rarity said, her eyes drifting to the ground.
“We’re all worried about you. I’m worried about you, Rarity,” Twilight replied looking at her friend with worry in her eyes.
“I’m…I’m ok, Twilight, I’m sure everything will fine in a few days.” Now you’re lying to her. Could you be any worse of a pony?
“Well, you know the offer stands; if you want to talk just stop by the library.”
“Yes of course, Darling, if anything comes up I’ll be sure to come see you.”
“Ok, Rarity…I’ll let you get back to work,” Twilight finished turning to leave.
“Thank you, Twilight.” Tell her how you feel. No you can’t tell her that she’ll see just how shallow you really are.
“Yeah, any time,” Twilight smiled as she left waving good bye to her friend.
Rarity turned and walked back into her boutique. She made her way back up to her work room.
Ok now where was I. Oh yeah, I had just realized that in addition to falling for one of my best friends because she is now part of the nobility, she is a she. How could I not have realized this sooner? Now not only will she hate me, but she will probably think I’m a freak.
It was thoughts like this these that swirled around Rarity’s mind slowly and surely bringing her self-worth to an all-time low.
Twilight Sparkle returned to the library with a heavy heart. She had hoped to get Rarity to admit that something was wrong instead it seemed all she had done was confirm the fact that Rarity was avoiding them.
“AGH, I can’t help Rarity unless she talks to me, but she won’t talk to me unless she stops avoiding us. I’m caught in a loop of uselessness!” Twilight screamed, rubbing her temples hoping to alleviate the headache that was slowly building from the frustration of being unable to help one of her best friends.
“Maybe I should have just admitted how I feel about her. No, how can I tell her about my feelings if I don’t even understand them myself. She’ll probably think I’m some kind of freak if I tell her that I think she’s the most beautiful mare I’ve ever seen; that it still amazes me how much braver she is than anypony gives her credit for; how she’s the only pony I know daring and skilled enough to be a Canterlot fashion trend setter from Ponyvile; how every time I see her my chest feels tight and my heart feels like it’s going to break out of my chest. Maybe some study will help me decide what to do about Rarity and all these thoughts I’ve been having for her.”
Twilight retreated to her kitchen to prepare a small dinner before a long night of studying and worrying.
The sun had set. The animals of Ponyvile had settled in for the night. All the necessary chores of sweet apple acres had been done. The day shift of the Ponyvile weather team had given way to the night shift. And four friends sat around a table at a closed sugar cube corner.
“Ok, so this is about how Twilight and Rarity have both been completely fruity loops recently, right?” Rainbow Dash started opening the meeting.
“Now Rainbow, that’s no way to talk about our friends, even if they ain’t been actin’ quite like themselves recently,” Applejack berated the speedster.
“Well, what would you call it then? Rarity has been locked up in her house since we got back from the wedding, and the past three times I’ve been to the library she’s just been staring out the window at Rarity’s place,” Rainbow rebutted.
“Well that just sounds like Twilight worried about Rarity,” Fluttershy spoke up.
“Yeah, except that two of those times were before the wedding.”
“Oh, that sounds a little odd,” Fluttershy apologized.
“OH, I’VE GOT IT!” Pinkie exclaimed bouncing nearly a foot into the air.
“Got what?” Applejack asked as Pinkie continued to bounce.
“I know what’s up with Twilight and Rarity,” Pinkie answered, stopping her bouncing.
“And?” the other three mares prompted.
“Oh, they totally have the hots for each other!”
Three shocked stares were all the response this statement received.
After several minutes of shocked silence Applejack finally managed a response, “Now Sugarcube, what gives ya that idea?”
“Well I’ve noticed Twilight and Rarity staring at each other when the other wasn’t looking and Rarity always walks Spike back to the library rather than letting him go on his own even thou we all know he would be fine on his own and I bet why Rarity has been all mopey recently is because she didn’t realize her feelings until now and now she thinks that she only loves Twilight because Twi’s royalty now and Twi’s probably freaking out because Rarity’s avoiding her,” Pinky managed to explain in a single breath.
“That… That actually makes sense,” Dash Replied.
“Now while Ah’ve got to agree that that makes sense, we can’t just assume. We’ve gotta be sure,” Applejack cut in.
“But how can we be any more sure than we already are?” Pinkie asked looking thoughtful.
“We would need somepony that Rarity can trust with anything,” Rainbow Dash responded almost mirroring Pinkie’s thoughtful appearance.
“Somepony that’s already got a reason ta talk to Rarity,” Applejack finished joining her two friends in thought.
Three pairs of eyes turned to Fluttershy as the three mares in thought realized that they had the perfect pony to discover the truth of Rarity’s feelings. Fluttershy looked back at the three mares feeling a sense of apprehension at what she knew was coming.
“I can try to get Rarity to go to the spa with me tomorrow.”
It was a bright and sunny day in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash was clearing the sky of some clouds that had rolled in off the Everfree Forest. Applejack was working in the east field of Sweet Apple Acers. Pinkie Pie was making several dozen White and Lavender cupcakes while humming to herself. Rarity was still locked in her work room. Twilight was passed out on her floor surrounded by forty two books, sixteen pamphlets, and three leaflets. Fluttershy was trying her best to knock on Rarity’s door.
Ok, Fluttershy, just knock on the door and ask Rarity to the spa. You’ve been to the spa with Rarity more than a hundred times. You think she’s in love with Twilight, and have to try and get her to admit it. Then you can tell Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. Ok, just get her to the spa and work from there.
Rarity was still in her work room; however, she had finally managed to channel her distress in to work. A set of recently completed designs lay in front of her. While the majority of them were dresses, there were others ranging from simple scarves to elaborate saddlebags. Yet all had a simple reoccurring motif: purple, white, and pink, placed together to bring out the best of all three colors.
Ok. Now that I have some designs I can finally get to work, and I’ve managed to get my mind off of Twilight. Or I did until just now. Its fine, I just have to get back to work.
Rarity walked over to her fabric shelf and began to pick out materials for her first design. It was as she was trying to decide which shade of purple to use that she faintly heard a series of quiet knocks coming from her front door.
“Coming!” Rarity called as she made her way to the front door. “Fluttershy, darling, what brings you here today?” Rarity said after opening the door to find her shy friend on the other side.
“Oh, I was just hoping to get you to come to the spa with me…if that’s ok with you?” Fluttershy replied in her usual quiet way.
“Oh, uh…I was going to work on my new line today.”
“T-that’s ok. I was just hoping you would come today, since you missed our last spa day,” Fluttershy said hiding behind her main.
“I-I’m so sorry I didn’t realize. I’ve just been so busy with… things,” Rarity stated having trouble looking her friend in the eyes.
“Rarity, what’s really going on?” Fluttershy asked while trying to meet her friend’s eyes.
“Whatever do you mean dear?” Rarity responded, still trying to avoid Fluttershy’s eyes. You know exactly what she means.
Finally Fluttershy managed to make eye contact, and said with an almost uncharacteristic force. “I thought we promised not to keep any more secrets from each other. If something’s wrong, I want to help. All of us want to help, but if you keep shutting us out.”
How can you tell her you’re a title obsessed, shallow, worthless pony? How can you keep lying to your friends? How can I risk my friendships by telling them? How can you risk your friendships by not telling them?
“Ok,” Rarity managed after a few moments of silence, “ok, I’ll tell you.”
Twilight found herself wandering through the empty streets of Ponyville late at night. While walks like this normally put Twilight in a relaxed state, something was off. Something Twilight just couldn’t put her hoof on.
“Quiet. It’s just too quiet,” Twilight realized, “even rural towns aren’t this quiet.”
It was too quiet; there were no sounds. Even at night Ponyville was full of sound: the nocturnal animals, ponies closing down there houses for the night, even the noise coming from the open windows of a few late night ponies. Yet right now Ponyville was dead quiet.
“Hello, is anypony there?” Twilight called out hoping for any response to break the silence.
“Of course there’s somepony here,” A familiar yet unfamiliar voice called back in response to Twilight’s question. This did nothing to lessen Twilight’s feeling of unease.
“Who is it?” Twilight called out into the darkness.
“We are insulted Twilight, do you not remember us? Did you not see the signs?” The voice called back.
No, that’s impossible. We defeated the nightmare twice, and Luna rejected it last time, Nightmare Moon can’t be back.
“Oh, Twilight, we are insulted do you not remember us. We had hoped we left more of an impression on you, but at least your intuition is close.” The voice called out answering Twilight’s unspoken thoughts.
“How…how did you know what I was thinking?” Twilight asked the darkness as she made her way to the center of town, hoping the street lights there would reveal the source of the voice that was becoming more and more familiar.
“You still don’t remember? I am the nightmare, your nightmare, everypony’s nightmare. Of course I know your thoughts. I also know your fears, your doubts, the lies you tell yourself, and the lies you tell your friends.” The voice answered as Twilight rounded the corner, seeing the mysterious voice’s owner for the first time.
“No…no you… you can’t be here, we…we stopped you. We…we freed Rarity,” Twilight stammered, her brain trying to make sense of the scene in front of her.
A dark unicorn stood before her. Standing as tall as the princesses, with a pure black coat, and flowing indigo mane was a creature Twilight thought she would not, could not see ever again.
“Nightmare Rarity, how…how?” Twilight asked, still unable to accept what she was seeing.
“You’re surprised, with as much as you’ve been lying to all of us? I’m just surprised the others haven’t joined me yet. Heck, with as much as you’ve been lying to yourself I’m surprised you haven’t joined me yet,” the nightmare said, ignoring Twilight’s question.
“What…what are you talking about?” Twilight questioned the nightmare.
“Ha,” the nightmare laughed coldly “There it is again. Trying to hide the truth, but I know. You’re not as naive as you think. You know the truth, yet you hide and pretend that you need to ‘study’. You clam you want to help me because I’m one of your ‘best friends’, but I know you have your own selfish desires.” The nightmare made her way over to a now stunned Twilight. “You want Rarity, don’t you? You know you do. You want her to be yours; you want her mind, body, and soul.” The nightmare was circling Twilight now dragging her tail under the smaller unicorns chin. Finally she stopped, facing the same direction as Twilight as she brought her muzzle next to Twilight’s ear, and whispered, “But even if you could admit your feelings to yourself, even if you could admit your feelings to her, you’ll never have her. What would a pony like Rarity ever see in you? A simple librarian from a small town? Ha! Every chance you had with her died the minute you decided to stay in Ponyville. You have no hope.”
“AGAA!” Twilight awoke from her nightmare with a start. Ok, don’t panic, don’t panic, the nightmare was beaten for good it can’t come back, and even if it did we-
Knock Knock Knock
“It’s open.” Twilight answered the knock reflexively.
Rainbow Dash entered the library the scene of a very bedraggled looking Twilight standing surrounded by various reading material, “Hey Twi, just wanted to stop and see- whoa, what happed here? It looks like some of the books tried to attack you.”
“Huh… what are you talkin- Oh,” Twilight said as she realized the ring of books surrounding her, “Oh this. I was just doing some research.” Twilight began to levitate the various books back to their spots on the shelves.
“Diagnostic Medicine for Morons by Grey Horse, Pony Physiology by Jump Whinnyson. What do you need these for?” Rainbow asked as she watched some of the books make their way to the shelves.
“Uh…nothing,” Twilight said as she redirected the books to not float in front of Rainbow.
Rainbow walked around the library trying to see the Twilight was hiding. “So what happened? You look like you didn’t sleep at all last night.”
“Well, I kind of had a nightmare last night and I fell asleep on the floor.” Twilight replied looking sheepishly at the ground.
“Must have been pretty bad, I heard that yell from outside,” Rainbow said as she looked though some the bookshelves.
“It was about the nightmare,” Twilight answered the unspoken question.
“Of course it was about the nightmare, but what was the nightmare?” Rainbow asked completely missing the point Twilight was trying to get across.
“No Rainbow The Nightmare,” Twilight said trying to convey what this could mean.
The color drained from Rainbow’s face as she turned to face her friend. “You don’t think that, that thing is back?”
Twilight brought her hoof to her chin and thought for a minute, finally she answered “No, I don’t think so, the last time the nightmare attacked us we all had nightmares not just one of us, and it didn’t actually appear in our dreams like it did in this one, so I don’t think this is the nightmare.”
Rainbow let out the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. “Don’t scare me like that Twi.”
“Sorry, but I’m glad you asked. Until you started worrying about it, I hadn’t actually thought through the evidence that it wasn’t the nightmare. I was actually starting to panic before you got here.” Twilight said to her visibly relaxing friend.
“Hey I wasn’t worrying; I just didn’t want to have to fight that freak for a third time,” Rainbow tried to explain.
“Sure Rainbow,” Twilight deadpanned.
“So if the nightmare was there then was she all threating, and doom and gloom?” Rainbow asked.
“No…no actually she kind of talked to me.” Twilight replied.
“She just talked to you? That doesn’t seem all that scary. What did she talk to you about?” Rainbow asked as she went back to looking through the various book shelves.
“Um…well…she just talked.” Twilight said a slight pink hinting on her cheeks.
“Was it about Rarity?” Rainbow asked off handedly as she pulled a book off of the shelf.
“Huh…wha-what makes you say that?” Twilight stammered her slight blush growing tenfold.
“Oh, well you’ve just been trying to help her with whatever is going on with her. So it would make since that you would have her on the mind. Well I’ve got the Daring Do book I wanted, so see ya later Twi,” Rainbow said showing the book to Twilight and making her way out of the library.
“Something seems off here,” Twilight said to herself.
Rarity sat down across from Fluttershy after getting them both a cup of tea. “I…I think I’m in love with Twilight.”
“Oh my gosh, that’s so wonderful! Have you told her yet?” Fluttershy gasped in excitement.
“NO…no, I can’t tell her. I can’t let her know what a horrible pony I am.”
“Rarity, you’re not a horrible pony. Why would you think that?”
“Because I only love her now that she’s royalty. What kind of pony does that, fall in love with one of her best friends because of their title?” Rarity nearly sobbed.
Fluttershy made her way over to her crying friend, and gently placed a hoof on her back. “Rarity you don’t really believe that, do you?”
“Of course I do, how could I not? I’ve been friends with Twilight for two years now, and now I’ve got these feelings for her and they’ve just come out of nowhere now that she has a title. I thought I was over that stupid dream of finding a prince charming after the grand galloping gala, but now I’ve only moved my selfish thoughts to Twilight.” Rarity sobbed into her forelegs.
“Rarity, that’s nonsense. Love doesn’t just come out of nowhere. It starts with something small and grows. You’ve been friends with Twilight for a long time and now you’re finding that you want something more. There’s nothing selfish about wanting to share something deeper with somepony you care about. Listen, just talk to Twilight about this. You know she’ll want to work through this with you.”
“But it’s not just that. What about the fact that we’re both mares?”
“What about it?”
“Well, what will everypony think?”
“Rarity, nobody in town will care.”
“How do you know?”
“Rarity you’ve helped to save not only the town, but all of Equestria, at least twice. Nopony will care.”
“How can you be sure?”
“You just have to have a little hope.”
Rarity pulled her head up from her hooves to look at her friend. “Do you really think everything would be ok?”
“Of course I do. You have all of us to help you through it.”
“Thank you Fluttershy, this really helped a lot,” Rarity said as she hugged her friend, trying to convey the gratitude she felt for helping her.
The sun had sunk below the horizon, and four friends had gathered in the upper floor of Sugar Cube Corner. Pinkie Pie sat up and looked at her assembled friends. “Ok, so was I right. Can we move on to Plan S?”
“Well, I don’t know about Rarity but Twi is having dreams about Rarity.”
“Ooo, that’s a good sign.” Pinkie said unable to sit still any longer bouncing in place.
“Ah’m sorry, but do any of y’all think maybe a dream is just a dream, an that don’t mean anythin?” Applejack interjected, trying to get her friends to see that they may be reading too much into a few simple events.
“Um...I don’t know about Twilight, but Rarity definitely has feelings for her.” Fluttershy said looking between her friends.
“All right, then as soon as we’re back from our trip we set Plan S into motion.” Pinkie said clapping her hooves together.
“Pinkie, what are ya talking about? We ain’t going on a trip.”
“Oh, of course we are! Yesterday I had an itchy back, fallowed by fluttery eyes, and then a twitchy tail, and that means an upcoming trip. But as soon as we’re back, we set Plan S into motion.”
