Author's Note

Just a heads up to prevent any confusion - for this fic Hearts and Hooves day isn't in February/Winter (Canonically it has to be after winter wrap up/spring due to lack of snow). It's around the same time as the end of the school year so anytime in late spring / early summer.

Chapter 1 - Tuesday

Rarity was just finishing up the hemline on a dress, the final backorder almost completed. With Hearts and Hooves day at the end of the week, the dressmaker was always busy in the run up preparing the outfits for mares and stallions alike. Of course this left her virtually no time to find a special somepony of her own, but having so many friends she knew that if she got bored there would be somepony she could spend the day with.

Or some dragon will likely want to keep me company Rarity thought to herself with a slight smile.

Suddenly, the door to her boutique was flung open and her thoughts were disrupted by the sound of small hooves pounding on the floor and echoing around the showroom. She looked over just in time for her younger Sister, Sweetie Belle, to jump theatrically onto one of the elder unicorns chaise longues. Looking over to where she lay, despite the obvious upset her sister was feeling, Rarity had to try not to laugh as the smaller unicorn was doing a fairly good impersonation of her dramatic whallowings.

Rarity trotted over and knelt down to speak to her sister “Are you okay?”

“My life is over!” Sweetie Belle moaned, some tears falling from her eyes.

Rarity still had to suppress a smile, as nopony acting like this was really in trouble - after all being the mistress of the over-reacting, she knew it was usually just a way of getting the emotions out. “I’m sure your life is over, Sweetie? Why don’t you tell your big sister all about it!”

“Whats the point of anything!” Sweetie Belle sobbed.

Rarity knew how to solve this. She lit her horn, channeling a spell, and a few moments later a big bowl came floating from the kitchen over to her.

“I have ice-cream” Rarity replied in almost a sing song voice.

“I don’t care” Sweetie replied, although Rarity picked up Sweetie was already a little perkier.

“It’s honey-oat flavour, with Sprinkles” Rarity continued with her soft teasing tone.

Sweetie Belle sniffed. “Sprinkles?” she squeaked.

Rarity smiled as Sweetie Belle sat up and looked at her sister with bloodshot eyes. Rarity levitated the bowl over to her, Sweetie Belle thanking her and starting to tuck in right away. “So, why don’t you tell your big sister all about it?”

“But...we made a deal!”

“I'ma sorry Sweetie Belle!” Applebloom looked guiltily at her friend. “I sorta panicked when Diamond Tiara made fun of us for not having somepony to go to the end of term Hearts and Hooves Ball with.”

“Yeah, me too!” Scootaloo added, her wings dropping to her sides.

The earth filly continued “And when Snips and Snails asked us, it didn’t feel right to turn them down!”

“Snips and Snails? You broke a promise to go together over them?” the unicorn squeaked.

Applebloom felt really bad for her friend “You can still come along, it’s not like most of the class are going there seriously or anything!”

“What, and be the only pony there without a date?”

“It’s not a date!” Scootaloo protested.

“Can’t you find…” Applebloom began.

“There’s nopony left!” Sweetie Belle cried “We knew that there was one more filly than colt in the class, and thats why agreed to go together so there wouldn’t be a lone pony without a date.”

“It’s not a date!” Scootaloo protested again “Colts are yucky!”

Sweetie Belle turned on her Pegasus friend “Not so yucky that you wouldn’t abandon me for one! We are supposed to be a trio, work as a team. I can't beleive you would do this!”

“Calm down Sweetie Belle, nopony’s really going to care if we all turn up as a group!” Applebloom replied.

“I’m not going!”

Applebloom gasped, “But Sweetie it’s the end of term ball, you’ve been looking forward to this for weeks!”

“I don’t care!” Sweetie Belle squeaked one last time, before running out of the clubhouse. Scootaloo got up ready to chase after her, but was stopped by a hoof from Applebloom.

“I think we need to give her some thinking time right now.”

Rarity waited for the end of the story, and passed over a box of tissues. “Awww, Sweetie Belle, that does seem rather tragic."

“I know right?” the young filly replied, finding herself somehow now comfortably leaning up against her sister on the sofa.

“But it’s the Hearts and Hooves Ball, the last event before School breaks up for the Summer. You really don’t want to miss that do you?”

“I can’t be the only one there without a date, it’ll be so embarrassing! It’s only a one-off thing anyway”

“I know it’s a new event, but Cheerilee is just trying her best to make things fun for everypony. I’m sure most of the ‘couples’ -” Rarity did a little quotation gesture with her hooves “- aren’t really going as couples, it’s just to add something different to the usual parties!”

“I don’t care, everypony will laugh at me.”

“You can’t miss your end of year school ball, what about the dress I made you?”

Sweetie Belle sniffed and looked up guiltily to her sister “Sorry sis, I know you put a lot of effort into it. But I can’t turn up alone, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon will torment me all night.”

“And theres nopony else?”

“No, there’s nopony left my age in the town to go with.”

The word nopony stuck in Rarity’s head “So, if I could find you a suitable date for the Ball you will go?”

“Huh, but theres nopony else.”

“I have connections, and might be able to find you a partner for the ball”

“If you do, you’d be the best sister ever. Wait, the bestest, bestester...well, even more best than you are now!” Sweetie sort of stumbled in the sentence, causing Rarity to gently hug her.

Around twenty minutes later Rarity knocked on the door of the Friendship Castle, and it was opened by Twilight Sparkle.

“Hello Princess” Rarity began, dropping into a bow.

Twilight rolled her eyes “Rarity, how many times do I have to tell you I don’t mind other ponies addressing me that way, but not my friends, and especially not somepony else on the friendship council!”

“Excuse a pony for liking the fact she has royal connections” Rarity winked as she rose “I won’t embarrass you around the others, but when it’s just us please allow me a little indulgence.”

“Fine, commoner, what do you want?” the alicorn replied, putting on a more grandiose voice.

“Commoner?” Rarity replied with a hint of hurt on her voice.

“Okay then, peasant...”

“Peasant?” Rarity mock skriked.

“Well, it works both ways. Oh, and just be glad I didn’t decide to make Ponyville my demesne, Serf!” Twilight deadpanned, before winking and causing them both to laugh.

Rarity smiled at her friend, who could enjoy a bit of class-based humour without the awkwardness of some of her other friends “Is Spike in?”

Twilight caught her own breath, enjoying the banter herself “No, he’s out doing some shopping at the moment.”

“Good, there’s something I want to discuss with you.”

The pair went inside to a rather comfortably furnished reading room. After Twilight had got them both some tea, that sat down to chat. Rarity filled Twilight in with what had happened and her possible solution. “What do you think?” Rarity finished, taking a sip from a cup.

“Hmmmm, it’s a tough one. On one hoof, I’m sure Spike wouldn't mind. In fact, I think it’ll be good for Spike to get out and meet other ponies, although perhaps he is a year or two too old.”

“Aren’t they about the same age?” Rarity asked.

Twilight sighed “Yes, biologically speaking. But dragons and ponies mature differently, and so he is physically a little behind ponies, but his maturity is probably ahead of your sister...no offence.”

Rarity smiled as Twilight ears drooped “None taken. Afterall, he sometimes can be as mature as us, and then goes and does foolish things I would expect of my sister.”

“Exactly. And also I’m sure he'd want to help out Sweetie Belle or any of the Crusaders. So I don't see any harm except…”

“Except how to ask him, right?” Rarity interrupted.

Twilight was caught off guard “How did you know?”

Rarity sighed “Because thats my conundrum. If we actually ask him, then he might feel pressured into saying yes, either because he might see it as an order from you…”

“Or because of his...friendship...with you?” Twilight filled in the gap.

“Exactly” Rarity slightly blushed “And then Sweetie Belle may still say no.”

Twilight pondered for a moment “Well, we’ll just have to come up with a way that means he makes the decision on his own.”

Rarity had left before Spike had returned, and the unicorn was thankful she hadn’t bumped into him before getting back as that may have ruined the plan. Upon returning to her home, she found Sweetie Belle sat in her room doing her homework. After checking she was okay, and bringing up a snack and a glass of juice, Rarity returned downstairs to finish up her work.

She spent the evening playing and reading with her sister, trying to cheer the filly up. Of course the tears were long gone, but Sweetie Belle was upset at missing the ball. Rarity tried to gently persuade the filly to go on her own, but she was having none if it. She only hoped the plan she had come up with with Twilight would work.