A majestic indigo unicorn pegasus stepped forth onto one of her castle's higher outdoor balconies. A microphone was already prepared for her, allowing her voice to travel a great distance while carrying some of the most important words she was to say in quite some time:
"Thank you all for arriving today. Welcome, one and all ponies, to the all-day, all-night festival we affectionately call the Grand Galloping Gala! For those of you attending for the first time: this is the day where those who reside in our fair capital city of Canterlot, as well as a multitude of honored guests, are allowed to take a well-deserved break from the rigors of daily life--and as always, make new friends in the process! Originally created by my sister Celestia, the Grand Galloping Gala is a decades-old tradition... which means this shall be my first attendance as well."
Princess Luna of Equestria allowed herself a slight chuckle at her own joke, and at her own expense. It wasn't quite so long ago that she'd been the feared anti-deity known as Nightmare Moon--yet here she was now, hosting royal parties in front of an audience of hundreds with not a scared face in sight. Not bad for upward mobility, if she did say so herself.
It was time, then, to deliver the final flourish.
"Therefore, as I stand before you, I hereby issue one and only one royal decree this day in my sister's name: that everypony gathered here enjoy themselves to their heart's content--and know that I shall be amongst you, doing the very same. Thank you, and let the merriment commence!"
–––
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
Pony Permutation Project!: Episode 6
"I Wish"
Part 1 of 2
by Bookish Delight, 2010–2011
All characters and referred properties belong to Hasbro.
–––
That was how Princess Luna had opened the ceremonies late that morning, and her subjects had followed her wishes to the letter--Rarity's best friends among them.
It was nighttime at the Gala now. The breeze blew warmly, and the moon was shining high--not that anypony could tell with so many lights about.
Along the expansive main fairgrounds of the castle courtyard, ponies were still socializing, playing, dining, and overall very much enjoying themselves, though now in a far more subdued manner than they had been during the day. Streamers, balloons, lights and other decorations of every size, shape, color, type and luminance were spread everywhere they could be spread--and speaking of spreads, the buffet was massive as well.
Rarity looked at the large clock on the fairgrounds, then at the castle in the distance. There was time enough; what harm would it do to check in on her comrades? She was, after all, the only one of them thus far--well, perhaps except for Twilight Sparkle, she'd have to one day inquire about that--to attend a social event of this magnitude.
It would be quite the lark to see how things turned out for them...
"Five hundred eighty four, five hundred eighty five, five hundred eighty six..."
As Rarity approached Applejack's cart and stand, she noticed two things. The first was that the orange earth pony was lost in concentration. The second was that since the festival lights were glinting off of the large pile of gold coins Applejack was counting, Rarity had to shield her eyes from the glare--no small achievement when dealing with a pony used to the shine of jewelry.
"My word, Applejack," she said with a gasp, "did you perhaps happen to win today's Gala Golden Raffle?"
Applejack didn't look up. "Hah! As if I'd trade places with whoever won that piddly pile o' chump change compared to what I've--wait a sec..." Finally recognizing the voice that had spoken to her, Applejack did look up--and once she saw Rarity, she burst into an ear-to-ear smile. "Rarity! Hiya! Good gravy, darlin', you have no idea just how happy I am right now!"
Rarity nodded. "It certainly looks like you accomplished your goal of turning a profit today."
Applejack gave a little squeal of happiness. "Mission complete, an' then some! I tell you, I've sold enough apple-stuffs today to give our farm a hundred spitshines! Went through the whole stock! And I've got you to thank for it."
Rarity blinked. "Me?"
"Darn tootin', you! Recognize somethin'?"
Applejack stepped out from behind the stand, revealing the outfit that Rarity had made for her shortly before the Gala--a beautiful green denim dress with matching boots, a brown saddle, and apple emblems plastered wherever they could fit. There was even a new apple-themed hat to go with it.
The outfit's maker gasped again. "Oh, Applejack! You wore your gown to business? I wish I'd known of your plans sooner, I would have used even sturdier material! Did you even get to have any fun while you were here?"
"You kiddin'? Just wearin' this thing was fun enough! This dress of yours turned more heads than Pinkie Pie's singing voice! 'Cept in a good way." Her voice dropped to a mischievous whisper. "Had a lot o' colts buying a lot more n' they originally planned, too, if y'all get my drift..."
"Oh, I most certainly do," Rarity said as the two shared a giggle.
"So yeah: I'm real sorry again about underestimatin' your design work. It's amazing. Whole buncha ponies even asked for autographed pictures of me in this!" She gestured towards the gold. "Hence this extra-big pile o' moolah. Some of this belongs to you, by the way. S'only fair. It's your design, and truth be told, I never felt so... so pretty till today." She pointed to Rarity's dress. "Like how you probably feel wearin' that number."
Rarity smiled. "Why, thank you, Applejack! I gather our emotions truly are similar on that front. As for the money, I absolutely couldn't," she said. "I may make the dresses, but it's up to the wearer to make them work. I insist you keep it."
"Y'mean it?" Applejack gasped. "Thanks a bunch, Rarity! Next time I get the urge to call you a beauty-obsessed stick-in-the-mud, I'll think better of it. Probably. Maybe." She winked.
Rarity chuckled. "All I can ask, I suppose. Well, then, I'm glad everything worked out. I'll be off now."
"Bye, Rarity," Applejack said, going back to counting gold coins. "Five-hundred eighty-nine, five hundred seve... wait, that ain't right--awww, dagnabbit, I lost count!"
She hesitated, knowing what she had to do... then smiled and sighed. "Well, could be worse, I guess," she said, dumping the bag she'd been putting her counted gold into. "One... two..."
Rarity continued to walk until she reached the middle of the fairgrounds. Soon after she did, a groan could clearly be heard in the distance.
"Hello?" she called out. "Is somepony in trouble? Whoever it is, answer me!"
The voice called back. "Rarity?"
"Pinkie Pie?" Rarity called back in recognition.
"Rarity! O... over here!"
Rarity followed the voice, and almost tripped over a pink earth pony, who had fallen on her back onto the grass. Her hooves fidgeted in midair.
"Oh my gosh, Pinkie Pie? What happened to you?"
"Rarity! You gotta help me. Can't ... fight this... alone..."
Rarity reached out with her hoof. "Let me help you up!"
"No! Don't move me! If I look at anything but you or the empty sky, it'll only make things worse!"
"Make what worse?" She looked down at Pinkie, whose smile was actually bigger than it was normally. Her eyes were open wider than usual, her tongue lolled to the side... never had happiness looked so scary.
"Party Coma," Pinkie Pie whispered. "It's coming."
"Party Coma?"
Pinkie Pie closed her eyes nodded, then opened her eyes again. "Party Coma is what happens if a party actually manages to be too awesome for Pinkie Pie to handle! I've only had it happen a few times before, so I totally forgot about it! Everything goes pink, and when it's all over, I wake up someplace different! Which would normally be fine, except..." She clutched Rarity's front legs, pulling her closer. "...we're not in Ponyville right now! Who knows where I'd end up?"
She put her head back on the grass, happily groaning again. Rarity sighed, now completely at a loss. "How did this even happen to you?"
"That's the thing," Pinkie said, still making sure to stare straight upwards. "I was actually being careful! When I got here, I almost pinked out from the decorations alone, and I instantly knew I was going to have to to pace myself! So I made sure to sample one and only one piece of food or dessert from the buffet. But the next thing I knew-"
Rarity interrupted. "Pinkie Pie, the Grand Galloping Gala has over one thousand types of confections imported from every region of Equestria."
"...I do remember losing count somewhere around the triple digits."
Rarity shook her head. "Okay, it's clear that this is something you've brought on yourself. I sympathize, I truly do, but if this isn't something potentially life-threatening, then I'm going to have to go."
"No! Don't! Don't leave!" Pinkie Pie clutched at Rarity's legs again. "Can barely... move... so many balloons... so many streamers! Pinkie Pie has... never been so happy... in her entire liiiiiiiife..."
Rarity struggled. It would simply not do for her night to be done in by something as base as delirium! "Pinkie, no! I have to... let go of me, I have to get you some help, I-"
"No you don't. It's okay now."
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie was back on all four legs, smiling normally, breathing normally, and aside from her dress, looking good as new!
"Whew! I'm totally all better now! Thanks, Rarity!"
"What the..." Rarity could do naught but double-take. "Pinkie, I admit I'm used to being somewhat confused by your ways, but-"
"No worries," Pinkie said. "Allow me to explain! Party Coma was about to happen, and there wasn't much I could do to stop it unless I found something to take my mind off of things! Seeing you all confused helped me to do just that!" She giggled. "You're so funny when you're flustered!"
Rarity rolled her eyes. "What wonderful news."
"Yeah, really! But it's all part of my Pinkie Pie Perfect Party Powers! Any party that doesn't put me into the Coma makes me more festive!" She threw up her front hooves and spun around in triumph. "Now I can handle any party as intense as this one! Or, um, milder."
Rarity thought about this. "You know, that almost makes sense. In the weirdest way possible, mind."
"Of course it does! But wow, it's never taken this long for me to recover before! This Gala is amazing! And wearing this dress made it even better!"
"Did it truly?"
"Yeah! You making candy part of my dress theme meant I could mix and match from the buffet and always come out looking totally sweet--literally!" She looked behind herself, a the now grass-stained bottom of her gown. "'Course, that's kind of impossible now since I fell over half an hour ago. Does your shop have a drycleaning service?"
Rarity shook her head, sighed, and trotted off without a word.
"Hey, we should add candy to your dress too! Not that it isn't already awesome... Rarity?... Rarity? Where'd you go? Oh well. Time to go back to high-jumping the streamers! Ooh, and there's still like half the buffet I haven't touched! And (GASP) oh my gosh, the balloons! I need to play volleyball with the balloons! Oh! But first I need to talk to the colt in charge of the Pin-The-Tail-On-The-Pony Tournament to let me do a do-over since that was where I fell down in the first place-"
Rarity forced herself to not hear any of this. She was going to need her sanity to get through tonight, and she preferred for it to not be stolen early.
She was soon out of the fairgrounds, and halfway towards the castle. Upon reaching this area, she could hear boisterous laughing in the skies!
Rarity knew that laugh all too well. She looked up and saw exactly who she expected:
"Rainbow Dash? What are you so happy about, if I may ask?"
Seeing Rarity, Rainbow Dash floated down to a gentle landing. "You absolutely may ask! Guess who's a total shoo-in for the Wonderbolts?"
Rarity recoiled in elated shock--that had been one of the pegasus's biggest dreams! "Oh, Rainbow Dash! Do you really mean it? You've finally been inducted?"
Rainbow Dash looked at the ground. "Weeeelllll..."
Rarity knew that word, too. "Uh oh."
"No, hear me out! So I got to the stadium where they perform every year, right? And I went in there, and I wowed everyone with all the moves I'd been working on!" She floated back up, darted around and somersaulted in midair as re-enactment. "Strut, Flash, Blaze, the whole nine! It was incredible, Rarity! You should've seen it!"
"Sounds good so far. Then what happened?"
Dash hovered at eye level, and sighed. "Well, then I was hauled away by security because I'd technically crashed their show. I've been banned until next year. The nerve of some ponies!"
Up until now, Rarity had done a good job of holding in her laughter--but she was but one pony, and this was officially too much.
Rainbow Dash glared. "Oh! So glad to see my bad luck entertains you!"
"No, no, I don't mean to, it's just... banned on your first visit? I would expect your first impression here to be no less!" Rarity's laughter continued.
Rainbow Dash tossed her mane. "Heh. Well, it's true that most of Equestria just isn't ready for me yet."
"Yes, yes, of course." Eventually Rarity calmed down enough to ask, "Pray, continue."
"Finally. Anyway, as I was flying away, one of the 'Bolts actually came to me and said they liked what they saw! They seemed to be especially impressed that I could do it in a gown. So I guess that's a point in your favor.
She gave me their business card, and said we might be able to talk after they finished their Equestria World Tour."
"How long's that?"
"Good question. Let's see..."
From her pocket, Rainbow Dash removed the latest issue of Speedster's Digest (this month's cover story: "Remembering Firefly"), and flipped it open to the center. "Wonderbolts... Equestria World Tour... huh. About six months." She closed the magazine. "Okay, so, it'll be a wait. But I feel really good about my chances!"
"Well, you know what they say: every little step helps."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"It was meant as one. Well, I'm pleased to hear of your good fortune. And now, I must be off before I'm late."
"For your very important date?" Rainbow Dash giggled.
Rarity sighed melodramatically. "I walked straight into that one, didn't I?"
Rainbow Dash paused before answering with, "You know what, Princess? Knock 'em dead in there. You deserve to."
Rarity held back a mild blush. "Thank you. But I'm hardly the Princess--especially here."
"You're Ponyville's Princess. And really, who's going to challenge you for that title? Just be careful you don't show up Celestia with your fashion sense tonight. Even I can see it's off the scale."
Again, Rarity was just one pony, unable to fight being overwhelmed. Her cheeks flushed full crimson. "Thank you again, Dash."
"Yeah, sure. Now get out of here before I regret all this mushy stuff."
Rarity chuckled. "As you wish, then."
At last, the castle stood before her.
Inside, very soon, would be the Gala Evening Ball--an event where only true socialites and ponies of the utmost decorum would be allowed to mingle.
And the ultimate prize--those who impressed the present royalty the most would be able to dance with said royalty themselves.
There was one member of royalty in particular that Rarity was interested in--and when she got her hooves on him, the rest of her life would be grand and glorious.
It was only a matter of time, now.
Using light from her horn and a nearby window, she checked herself once more. She was wearing one of her most favorite gowns--brand new, one of her best works as a designer, and lovingly stitched together by her best friends.
It was a gorgeous, flowing red, yellow and pink ensemble which covered most of her body while still accentuating it. Much like Pinkie's gown, decorations were symmetrically placed everywhere empty space threatened; except with shiny jewels as opposed to candy pieces. One of those jewels was also used for her necklace.
However, what her other friends hadn't known until today was that she'd imported a quartet of diamond glass horseshoes from the other side of Equestria. They'd set her back quite a bit, but the effect was worth it. Her hooves were sparkling, and that effect traveled quite a bit up the length of the dress itself. She'd gotten the inspiration from designing Twilight's outfit. It was always good to follow the muse wherever it took you.
She was currently, for lack of a better phrase, dressed to impress--so much so that she impressed herself right now.
Tonight was going to be absolutely perfect.
She finished checking herself just in time; bells rang, signaling for those gathered out front to enter in an orderly fashion.
With a confident air, Rarity strutted inside the castle...
–––
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
Pony Permutation Project!: Episode 6
"I Wish"
Part 2 of 2
by Bookish Delight, 2010–2011
All characters and referred properties belong to Hasbro.
–––
...and not thirty minutes after she had entered the ball, Rarity found herself running outside the back exit of Canterlot Castle, into its garden.
She would not cry. She dared not cry. She'd been through worse than this. Not long before this party even began, she'd suffered through the near-destruction of her entire dress-designing career! She absolutely would not shed a single tear over an affair as trite as this!
But dash it all! She wanted to so badly!
So preoccupied was she with the events of minutes prior that she nearly passed Fluttershy without knowing it.
"Rarity?" the yellow pegasus asked, turning her head by half of a circumference as she faced Rarity running towards, then besides, then past herself. "I've never seen you move so fast before. Is something the matter?"
The unicorn skidded to a stop. "Fluttershy!"
Yes, yes! Fluttershy! A pony who would surely listen to her plight! She returned to her side, and draped her front legs around the pegasus in despair. "Oh, Fluttershy, to simply say that something is 'the matter' is a gross understatement! The dilemma I face... it is unprecedented, unheard of! Not to mention utterly humiliating!"
Fluttershy blinked, and replied slowly. "Rarity, part of me can't believe these words are coming out of my mouth but... I think you need to calm down."
Rarity allowed those words to hit her, realized their meaning, and decided to take deep breaths to do just that. "Yes, yes, Fluttershy, you're right, you're absolutely right. I'm terribly sorry. It's just... I've never had to come to grips with something like this before. Never with... with..." She trailed off.
"With what?"
Rarity let go of Fluttershy, standing back on all fours again as she regained her composure and prepared to take things from the top. "Do you remember when we all told Twilight our reasons for wanting to attend this gigantic social event in the first place?"
Fluttershy nodded happily. "Oh, very well! In fact, I'm living mine right now." She pranced around happily, brushing up against various flora and fauna in the process. "Just as I thought, the Princesses are privy to the greatest, most exotic garden ever, with plants of all sizes and colors, and animals I've never seen before in my life! And the best part is, wearing your gown makes me feel like I'm truly one with them-"
"Yes, yes, rest assured I'm very happy for you. But do you remember my purpose here?"
"Hmmmm." Fluttershy's face scrunched momentarily in thought, then lit up in accomplishment. "Oh, yes, I do remember: 'Operation Sneaky Seduction!'" Seeing Rarity's mouth agape, she quickly felt the need to explain herself. "At least, that's what Rainbow Dash called it. I, however, have no idea what she meant by that."
Rarity gritted her teeth inwardly, reminding herself to dye that pegasus's mane and tail monochrome the next time she slept. "Suffice to say there was somepony here I was interested in, yes. I came here to establish a... rapport with him, if you will."
Fluttershy stared at Rarity blankly.
Rarity tried again. "I wished to let him know that I was... you know... available?"
Still the blank stare.
"I liked him, and I wanted him to like me back."
"...OH!" Fluttershy blushed, showing that she finally understood. "So you were driven here by love! That's wonderful! I'm a big fan of love! Rarity, I'm so happy for you! How did it go?"
It was now Rarity's turn to stare at Fluttershy--only hers was less blank and far more forlorn.
"...oh. This must be why you're not happy right now. Oh, Rarity, I'm so sorry. Did he..." Her voice slipped to a whisper. "...did he reject you?"
Rarity shook her head. "Even worse: he completely ignored me!" she yelled to the skies. "For some cheeky fillies on the other side of the room who dared to wear far too much makeup, along with completely garish, uncoordinated, asymmetrical, color-clashing multitudes of gigantic jewels about their necks and flanks, covering a bombardment of truly uninspiring slapdashes of fabric and the most smug smiles you ever saw! Tasteless on all fronts!"
"I..." Try as she might, Fluttershy truly had no words. The worst she had come to any sort of rejection in her life was when she'd once had trouble with coaxing a bear out of his cave during the last Winter Wrap-Up. (True, it might have been earlier than he'd planned to end his hibernation, but only by one day! There'd been no reason for him to be so snooty and snarly and sharp-clawed about it!)
"Then again," Rarity said, "could they know something I don't? Perhaps all six of us were wrong! Perhaps excess truly is the way to go when it comes to matters of the heart!"
Her horn glowed as she used her unicorn magic powers to teleport one of her boutique's mirror's and a selection of shiny baubles directly in front of her. She began mixing and matching new patterns of them onto her dress, switching and shuffling as she tried to find something that didn't make her go blind--either physically or in disgust.
"Good heavens, Fluttershy, what could possibly be wrong with me? I've devoted every day of my life towards modeling myself as a member of high society, and rising to the standards it demands--and when I finally brush up against it... oh! To be stood up so!" Unable to find a new and suitable combination, she stopped where she was, exhaled sharply, and let the jewels fall, along with her head a second later. "Perhaps... perhaps I have been aiming too high after all."
"Um... Rarity?" Fluttershy tapped her shoulder. "I always hate to be a bother when you're feeling sorry for yourself-"
"Quite all right, Fluttershy. What is it?"
"When you ran here from the castle, did you lose one of your shoes?"
Rarity looked down at her front hooves--sure enough, one of them was indeed unshod! "Oh, my! In all the haste, I must have-"
But before Rarity could finally break down into tears, Fluttershy added, "Well, the reason I ask is that I'm wondering if the one he's holding might be it."
"'He?'"
Fluttershy pointed in a direction. Rarity followed that direction... and saw... and saw.. him! Celestia's nephew, here in front of them, absolutely! There was no mistaking that white coat... those perfect eyes... in short, that hunky family resemblance!
And what was this? Was he... yes! He was carrying her missing diamond glass shoe, gracefully returning it to her! Oh, joyous night! Had her fortunes finally turned? She considered fainting--should she faint? No, no! She'd worked too hard to lose consciousness now--the slim chance that it might land her in his embrace was hardly worth the risk!
It was decided, then: conscious she would stay. As Fluttershy walked away to leave the two alone (and to chase a particularly shiny bug floating by), Rarity stepped forward to meet the stallion. "Well, hello there."
"Hello," he replied, in a majestic voice straight out of Rarity's dreams. "I take it this shoe is yours?" He examined it. "It looks to truly be one of a kind... much like its owner."
"Custom made, on both accounts," said Rarity. "Thank you for returning it. But I'm still not speaking to you. You ignored me during the ball proper." She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side in a mock, "Hmph."
The stallion did naught but chuckle. "Are you kidding? I was afraid you would ignore me. You dazzled the rest of the assembled from even my vantage point. Unfortunately, there are always ponies I must dance with each year, lest they become offended. I was hoping that as we danced through the crowd, we would gradually make our way towards each other. But then you disappeared. I was crushed... until about thirty seconds ago." He held out Rarity's shoe once more. "May I?"
Rarity put up her hoof, allowing the shoe to be slipped back upon it. Their eyes met, and looking as deep into them as she could... Rarity gasped as she saw something unexpected, but special nonetheless. She smiled, and closed her eyes, her heart part aflutter, and part at peace.
"What do I call you?" she asked.
"'Charming' will do for tonight," the stallion replied.
"Fitting, if I say so myself."
"I was hoping you'd say that. May I have this dance?"
Rarity conjured a self-playing violin in above them. "You most certainly may."
And dance they did, sharing a slow ballad under the stars. Slow dancing was an entirely different art for ponies than at other speeds. With rapid shifts between four legs or even two in short spurts, fast dancing was not too hard to pick up. Successful slow-dancing, however, required balance training on both two and four legs, as well as a clear and focused mind. Legs were slowly shuffled, hooves were clasped together, intricate paths were drawn on the grass. It was an activity usually left to socialites, as a clear mark of their status.
Fortunately, Rarity had been practicing for years, to the point where she appeared to be even better at the art than Charming himself. To his credit, however, he did manage to keep up for the whole song, with hardly a faltered step in sight.
Eventually the song finished, the violin disappeared, and the two were left silent under the stars once more.
"That was wonderful," Rarity said, her voice a dreamy whisper. "You have no idea how long I've wanted a night just like this. Dancing in the heart of Canterlot with those who share the philosophy of the dignified... how long I've dreamed, how long I've prepared..."
"It warms my heart as well," said Charming, "to see such a happy smile on your face, Rarity. In your position, I've seen one too many pony act vain. Entitled. But you're different. I can see that. Your entire heart is in this." He moved closer, slowly. "I wish to know that heart better."
Rarity did the same, her eyes narrowing to accompany a confident smile. "Oh, I think there'll be ample opportunity for such a thing to happen... Twilight Sparkle."
"Wha-"
That was all 'Charming' was able to utter before Rarity closed the distance, allowing their lips to meet. While Rarity's eyes were blissfully closed, 'Charming's' were as wide as dinner plates--and after exactly five seconds, 'he' was blown back from Ponyville's Princess by way of an invisible force, with a bright flash to accompany it.
When things returned to normal... sure enough, a familiar starry-gowned violet unicorn lay on the ground, clutching her head in dizziness. "Owwww... what hit me?"
"Just as I thought. Come now, Twilight, such a demeanor won't pass on the night of the greatest party in Equestria. Up we go." Rarity held out a hoof, which Twilight Sparkle took in order to right herself...
"Whoa-"
...and then fall into Rarity's grip as she tried to stop the world from spinning.
"Oh, my," Rarity 'tch'ed. "It looks like you've gone and pushed yourself to your limits. And all on my account."
"Definitely feels that way," groaned Twilight, finally getting a handle on things. "You... you said my name earlier. Did that mean-"
"-that I knew all along? Well... not quite. You actually had me when you made your striking entrance, and roughly thirty seconds thereafter. But then you made the mistake of coming a little too close for comfort."
Twilight sat down, and buried her head in her hooves. "Oh, of course! When I walked up to re-shoe you..."
"I saw clean through your disguise. Please don't feel badly, Twilight. You never could have known. You may be one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, but your powers are of a balanced, well-rounded sort. I, however, am a specialist of appearances. For me, seeing through simple glamorization spells is... well, simple."
Twilight shook her head. "That 'simple spell' took me weeks to get to even the level I have it at now."
"And I'm sure it will come in as handy in the future as it did tonight."
"What do you mean, tonight? You said yourself that you saw right through me! I failed."
"'Failed?' Bite your tongue!" Rarity gasped. "You did no such thing!"
She stepped forward, pulled apart Twilight's hooves, and nudged her face upwards so that their eyes met. Rarity shook her head inwardly--she could see the absolute tiniest hint of tears forming at the base of Twilight Sparkle's eyes. She was hardly surprised--Twilight had shown on more than one occasion that one of the things she hated most was for one of her well-laid plans to fail.
Clearly she felt this was one of those times. Rarity was determined to set her straight.
"Look at my face, Twilight. Look at it right now."
Reluctantly, Twilight wiped her eyes, did so, and was shocked to see Rarity beaming with happiness.
"Do you see this smile? Do you remember how it was also there when we danced? It's as genuine now as it was then. You've quite the knack for atmosphere and acting, Sparkle--not to mention dance! Read up on some techniques before tonight, did we?"
Twilight nodded weakly. "I... I did, actually."
"Gosh, you did go all out preparing for this. And I'll have you know that all that preparation combined to create a fantasy most... breathtaking," Rarity said, fanning herself. "Every filly is allowed some imaginative indulgence--and in the end, I truly appreciated what you were trying to do. Any disappointment I might have initially had once I realized what was actually going on was dashed in mere moments!" She held out her hoof, helping Twilight up once again, and still standing close. "And that's why I still kissed you. I figured somepony who would go this far for me deserves one of my kisses more than one who never knew what he could have had."
"Y-yeah, I wondered about that." Twilight sighed. "So you're saying I shouldn't beat myself up about this?"
"I'd save the self-chastisement for a more deserving occasion, yes."
"Then I'll do my best to do just that. I really appreciate it, Rarity. And I'm truly glad I could help you out."
"Then my job is done--as is yours. Still, I must admit I am curious: why go so far for me?"
"It's simple, really." Twilight's analytical voice took over the proceedings--clearly she was now back in her element. "You seemed to be the only one who might have needed it. All of you were talking about your reasons for wanting to go to the Gala, but your reason was the only one who hinged on the whims of somepony else. I didn't think it was right for everypony else to live their dream here while you were left out. Because I had a special reason to be here too--and it was to see all of my friends happy. That's a dream I wouldn't have had even a year ago... because a year ago, I didn't have any friends to wish well."
"Oh, my, I'd almost forgotten that," Rarity said, draping her front legs around Twilight in a heartfelt hug. "No wonder you considered my plight to be a special case."
Twilight nodded, and returned Rarity's embrace as they sat on the grass. "I'm no stranger to rejection, Rarity. If I had my way, it would be something nopony would ever have to face. Least of all you. I look at you, and I see class and refinement combined into a single pony. I see a pony who puts style and grace above all else, and who is very, very beautiful, with or without any fancy makeup or outfits. But most of all, you're a pony who thrives on pride, yet isn't selfish about it. I've always been jealous of that. You turn heads, while I'm still learning not to turn away from them."
Rarity smiled, cuddling Twilight even more firmly. "I could give you some pointers if you wish. Lessons, even."
Twilight giggled. "No, no... I think this is something I have to learn in my own way. Thanks for the offer, though."
"I should be thanking you. For reminding me of what I should already know. And if I may--I truly wish you'd stop being so hard on yourself. The truth of the matter is, I've never known a more cordial 'antisocial.' There's far more hope for you than you think." She let go of Twilight, got back up, took one full step away, and gestured towards her. "May I have this dance?"
Twilight looked on, surprised. "Are you okay with it being me and not Celestia's charming nephew?"
Rarity smiled proudly. "I consider it an asset."
With a blush, Twilight took hold of Rarity's hoof. The violin played, and the two slow-danced again under the stars--putting a perfect end to a perfect night.
High in the air, camouflaged by the sky where her namesake took nightly refuge, a unicorn pegasus--who had taken time out of her rounds to watch recent events unfold--smiled and nodded to herself as she watched the two Ponyville residents shuffle along her garden.
So... the one who has 'never had a friend' also has the greatest potential for friendship. Such delightfully poetic irony... I'm beginning to understand why you were special enough to turn me. Twilight Sparkle, my sister has spoken highly of you on many occasions. Perhaps it's finally time I found out why.
Princess Luna flew back to the castle, plans already forming in her mind.
We will meet soon, my little unicorn. We have much to discuss... and to learn from one another...
