It's Never Too Late
Chapter 1: A Beautiful Sunset
Two years had passed since Twilight had left Ponyville at Celestia's behest to take up her royal duties as a princess in Canterlot. For Rarity, Twilight's departure had been especially difficult. The two of them had started dating only a few months before that, and their relationship had ended the day Twilight left. Rarity had been miserable for months afterward, but then one year ago she had received a job offer from a well-known dressmaker in Manehatten. Eager to leave Ponyville and escape the memories of what had once been, she had accepted the offer and moved away.
Now, a year after Rarity left, she was back in Ponyville to visit Sweetie Belle, whom she hadn't seen since she left. One afternoon, as she was sitting in the cafe and having tea, she thought back at what had happened since she had left Ponyville.
Inevitably her thoughts turned to Twilight. The day Twilight left had been one of the hardest days of Rarity's life. Twilight had no choice but go alone, and since that day, the two had not seen each other, nor had any contact at all, for that matter. A tear came to her eye. Rarity had never understood why Twilight had to go alone, or why she even had to go at all. Twilight never told her.
After finishing her tea, she left the cafe and walked through the town. She walked along the same path in the park they had taken that one night, so long ago. She ran back over the events of that night in her mind:
The two of them were walking along the path, side by side, in silence. There was a slight chill in the air, being the end of summer, and the moon shone brightly in the clear sky. Finally Twilight stopped and said, “Rarity, I … I got some news today. Princess Celestia wants me to go to Canterlot to take up my royal duties. I have to leave tomorrow, and I have to do this alone.” There was no emotion in her voice and her expression was neutral. “I'm afraid that we won't be able to continue our relationship.” She waited for Rarity's reply.
“Twilight? Why?” Rarity asked. “Why alone? When will I get to see you?” Tears started running down her face. “Please, Twilight, don't ...”
Twilight cut her off. “I'm sorry, it's what has to be done,” she said, before turning and walking away.
That had been the night when Twilight had broken Rarity's heart. Now Rarity was a famous fashion designer, known throughout Equestria. Of course her work kept her busy, but in spite of the fame and fortune, she still hadn't found happiness. She finished her tea and started on her way to Sweetie Belle's house, where she was staying for the few days that she was here.
…..........................
Twilight was busy with her daily routine in Canterlot. She was bored, as it was the same activities day after day. She had been called to Canterlot those two years ago to help Princess Celestia. Today, for some reason, her thoughts turned back to Ponyville and her friends, whom she hadn't seen since she left. She thought about Rarity every now and then, but today she felt especially depressed. She missed her a lot, and she wished she could go back and do some things differently. The one thing that bothered her, the one thing she had to know was whether or not Rarity would take her back. She just had to know.
After packing enough items for a few days, Twilight took the next train going to Ponyville. A few hours and an uneventful train ride later, she arrived. After she got off at the train station, she took a moment to look around. Ponyville was nearly the same as she had left it. The only difference was that none of her friends were there to meet her, not that she had told anypony she was coming. Twilight decided to go over to the Carousel Boutique and see Rarity. As she neared the shop, her heart started beating faster in anticipation. Upon arriving, she took a moment to calm down and then knocked.
A blue-coated, yellow-maned pony that definitely wasn't Rarity answered the door. “Good afternoon, how may help you today?”
“Good afternoon, is Rarity in?” Hmm. Rarity must have hired some help. I suppose making all those dresses is a lot of work for one pony.
“No, she doesn't own this shop anymore. She sold it to me last year and moved to ... Manehatten, I think.”
Twilight was stunned for a moment. “She m-moved to Manehatten?”
“She got a job offer there, and sold the shop to me. I don't know who offered her the job, but I hope you can find her.”
“Thanks for the help. Have a good day.” As Twilight walked away, she thought to herself, 'If she's moved to Manehatten I'll never find her. Maybe one of the others knows where she lives there. Why wouldn't she tell me, though? I wonder what's happened to the library.' So Twilight decided to go see if it had changed much. On her way over there, walking by the cafe, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. At first she ignored it, but when she looked to see what it was she saw Rarity sitting at one of the outdoor tables, her back turned, sipping a cup of tea. Her heart skipped a beat, and she stopped and stood there, not sure about how she would approach her. Finally she started walking her way over to where Rarity was sitting, fighting back the tears. “Hello, Rarity. It's been awhile hasn't it?”
Rarity almost jumped in surprise when she heard Twilight's voice, but she kept her composure. “Hello, Twilight,” she said, without turning to face Twilight.
Twilight wasn't sure if Rarity was being cold toward her, or if she was just being paranoid. “Um, mind if I sit down?” she asked timidly, uncertain about what was going through Rarity's mind.
“There's nopony stopping you, princess,” Rarity said.
Twilight cringed at the word 'princess', but proceeded to seat herself opposite Rarity, looking into her eyes for the first time in two years. She saw pain, uncertainty, fear, maybe even a little hatred. Twilight got a sinking feeling in her stomach. 'Perhaps I should have just stayed in Canterlot,' she thought to herself. But despite her misgivings, Twilight decided to stick to her plan.
They both sat there in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Twilight spoke up, “Well, Rarity, I guess it's been so long that we don't know where to start. But I'll give it a shot.” Twilight took a deep breath and composed herself. “I'm sorry I left when I did. I know we were just starting our relationship, but I ...”
Rarity interrupted her. “Sorry? Twilight, saying that you're sorry isn't going to make the pain go away. I was in love with you, and you decided to throw it away.”
Twilight hung her head as a tear escaped and ran down her face.
Rarity continued, “Twilight, we've been apart a long time, and I needed you. You left so abruptly, just when we were starting our relationship, and I haven't seen you since then. There were so many times when I cried myself to sleep because I missed you so much.” Rarity's voice trailed off and she hung her head, trying to hide the sadness in her eyes. She then got up from her seat and started walking away.
Twilight struggled to find the right words, “But … I didn't … I … I'm sorry, I'm sorry … I just ...” I broke her heart, and now my life is ruined. Wait. I'm not going to let this happen. This is going to be the only chance I have to set things right, and I will. Twilight got up and galloped off in the direction Rarity had started walking, hoping that it wasn't too late.
She saw Rarity sitting on top of a small hill, looking out over the town. Twilight sat down next to her and said, “Rarity, please listen to what I have to say.”
Rarity turned to look at her, a mixture of sadness and anger in her eyes. “Why?! Why should I listen to anything you have to say? Do you think that you can just waltz back into my life after being gone for two years and expect things to go back to normal? You're just making things worse than they already are. The best thing for you to do is to just go back to Canterlot and leave me alone.”
Twilight started to cry. “No, wait. Please, Rarity, don't let it end like this. I'm sorry I left, if I could go back I would change things ...”
Rarity was now crying too. “Twilight, you broke my heart. Isn't that enough? Just let me move on, it's the best thing that you can do for me right now.”
“Rarity! Just listen to yourself! The Rarity I know wouldn't say that. She'd be willing to at least hear what I have to say, if nothing else.” Twilight paused to make sure that Rarity was listening. “Now, Rarity, I love you. I made a huge mistake when I walked away those two years ago, and for that I'm sorry. I know that being sorry isn't going to fix this, but it's a step in the right direction. I also know that nothing I can do will make up for the pain of the last two years. But please, don't be miserable for the rest of your life. I still love you.” Twilight hesitated for a moment before asking, “Do you still love me?”
Rarity knew that Twilight was right, that she shouldn't be miserable for the rest of her life because of something that happened two years ago. “I don't know what to say. On the one hoof, maybe I should, but …” she hesitated, still thinking about what to say.
Twilight had been debating with herself about the proper moment for this, and she decided that it was now or never. Their future hung in the balance on the outcome of this one gesture. Twilight moved closer to Rarity and pulled her into a hug. Rarity resisted at first, but she relented and let Twilight embrace her.
“Twilight,” she said, breaking their hug and looking into the other mare's eyes, “on that night, two years ago, when you broke up with me and walked away, I lost the most precious thing in my life. You. The one question I have is why. Why did you have to end our relationship? It could have worked.”
“I wasn't sure what to do at the time and I felt like I was under a lot of pressure. I guess I just couldn't handle it and in the end I made the wrong choice. Nopony is perfect, Rarity, but I want to fix this.” Tears began running down her face.
“All you had to do was ask me for help. If you had done that, we could have avoided all this heartache that we went through. But now I … I don't know. What if it doesn't work out?”
“Won't you at least give it a try? I'll understand if you don't want to, but please give us a chance to be what we should have been all along.”
Rarity thought for a moment. She didn't want to say the wrong thing and hurt Twilight, but she also didn't want to jump into anything without thinking it out first. Twilight started to turn away and Rarity knew that it was now or never. If she let Twilight walk away, she would probably never see her again. Would she be able to live with herself if that happened? If nothing else, Twilight at least had the courage to apologize and the desire to work things out between them. Rarity held Twilight's heart in her hooves, just as Twilight had held her's two years ago. In the end, Rarity made the only choice she could. “Wait!” Rarity shouted, putting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder and turning her back to face her. “Twilight, my darling, you're right, I do still love you. I never stopped loving you. You're the pony of my dreams and I could never love another as I do you.” She wiped the tears from her eyes.
As the sun sank below the horizon, the clouds turned various shades of orange, red, and purple. The light slowly faded and the moon began to rise in the sky. “This sunset was just simply gorgeous, wasn't it Twilight?”
For the first time since they had first reunited today, both ponies smiled. Twilight didn't say a word. She shuffled closer to Rarity and gave her a kiss. It was a long, deep, passionate kiss. The kind of kiss shared by two lovers who have been apart for far too long.
“Rarity?”
“Yes, darling?”
“I never want to let you go ever again.”
“I love you Twilight,” Rarity said, gently nuzzling her.
“I love you too.”
The End
