Rarity hummed while walking down the spiraling staircase that led from the entrance to her temporary home. The sun slowly began to decline from sight, its now-faint light giving way to a darker setting of this new time in Canterlot. “Oh, this is going to be such a lovely evening.” She giggled as she reached the bottom of the stairway. This was going to be the night that she and her friend Twilight Sparkle would go on their first date.

She turned right and walked down the sidewalk. Rarity looked up to the sky and hummed. ‘I just hope I don’t faint… no, not even that. This may be too quick for Twilight, so I will definitely have to let her know that everything will be alright and that we can go as slow as needed for the first time.’ There was what Rarity had always been aware of. It did feel that all of this had been a bit too fast. But with the amount of luck she had gotten with the setup for this whole date, she thought that Lady Luck must have been on her side. ‘And why not? I’ve been doing so well with this relationship, that the rest of what is to come might just be a cinch to deal with.’

Of course, she just could only hope that everything was this easy. Rarity continued to make her way down the sidewalk until she turned left. She paused and looked both directions before she crossed the street quickly to the other side of the street. She looked to the left and smiled. ‘There it is… The Prancing Pony.’ Rarity walked up to the front entrance and gazed at the building.

It certainly was a fancily structured building: arches flowed over the top of the entrance, and vines had been woven around these decorative parts of the building, while also being delicately strung around sections of the building. To Rarity, it gave off a natural feeling, something that reminded her of Ponyville. ‘Now… to wait for Twilight.’ She walked up to a bench and sat in front of the building, sitting down with a quiet sigh.

Turning to the right of her dress, she stopped to admire what she was wearing. It was an satin ivory silk halter top that extended all the way across her body and covered her tail. The dress was split apart across the middle of her back, but reconnected once it neared her rear. She smiled when she gazed down at the pale azure necklace with a purple diamond in the centerpiece. Rarity glanced up to the earrings and giggled when the light blue flower centerpieces glinted in the light. ‘I do sincerely hope that I will not overwhelm Twilight with how I look.’ She couldn’t help but giggle again; the thought of Twilight’s cheeks aglow with a blush just made it seem more adorable.

“Now… let me just make a quick double check.” Rarity’s horn lit up with her light blue aura, her gaze kept focused on the ground while a small hoofheld mirror floated in front of her. She flicked it open and checked her makeup. “Well then, everything seems to be in order here.” Everything was going well, which made Rarity squee a little. “This is so exciting! I can’t wait to see Twilight.”

Her ears swiveled forward. Rarity gasped at the sound of hoofsteps. “Oh, that could be her coming right now.” She quickly stood up and brushed herself off, standing still afterwards with a smile. Her smile disappeared, and she frowned. “Twilight?” The mare stood in front of her. However, she was not wearing a fancy dress like she had hoped she would. Yet something else was amiss: there was no smile or even the faintest grin on her muzzle, but a frown that seemed to deepen with each passing second.

“Hello there… Rarity.” Twilight glanced to the side, her eyes never making contact with Rarity’s.

Rarity herself stood there, mouth agape while she tried to find the words to say. “Darling… um, I thought you were going to wear something fancy for our first date.”

Twilight looked up, and their eyes finally met one another. She sighed. “Look… I didn’t come here for some date. What’s this all about, Rarity? Why did you leave me this?” She levitated the invitation that Rarity left her after her visit.

Rarity took the invitation in her own magic. “But… Twilight. I-I was hoping that this dinner might help further our relationship, after what I told you.”

“What you told me?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Oh… I guess I was too busy with one of my books to notice what you actually said.” Rarity flinched slightly at this new bit of info. “What did you tell me that was so important for… well, this dinner?”

It all seemed to be falling apart at the seams, Rarity thought. ‘Bu-but if she didn’t hear me before… then she truly still doesn’t know.’ She looked down the ground and closed her eyes. “I… well… you see, I…” The words would not come to her, and she did not know how to say it this time.

“Please… just be honest with me, Rarity,” Twilight pleaded. She walked up to Rarity and held her hoof with her own. “Just… tell me why you did this. Why did you visit me earlier this afternoon?”

A warmth crept upon Rarity’s muzzle at the touch of Twilight’s hoof. She breathed in and exhaled out until she faced Twilight. “I… came over to… declare my feelings for you.”

She felt Twilight’s hoof leave her own, watched the mare she knew as a friend step back and away from Rarity. Her eyes had widened, and a blush had formed on her own muzzle as well. “I… I see…” She turned her gaze to the ground and continued. “I… after your visit and what you left me at my home, I searched for a reason as to why you were acting so weird. In fact… I began to remember all the other times you acted strangely around me: when you gave me that dress for my birthday party, to the evening my party took place, and the two days before today when you asked me about my interests in other ponies.”

“But… Twilight… I wish I could have told you sooner, but the time was never right. I didn’t want to worry you and cause you to have a possible meltdown,” Rarity explained. “I… I only did what I thought was right by--”

“By hiding it from me? But why?” Twilight interrupted Rarity. “I understand now that… you have feelings for me. But why didn’t you just let me know earlier? I mean… sure, I can see that I wouldn’t have taken it so easily then, but you just…” Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry, Rarity… but I just don’t feel the same way.”

Rarity stood there, her mouth slightly agape. “Y-you d-don’t…” The words came out in a tiny squeak. Tears began to trickle down Rarity’s muzzle, ruining her mascara. “B-but I… I…”

Twilight stood there, her eyes fixed on Rarity’s, before she turned away. “I… I need some time to think about this… I’m sorry, Rarity…” She began to walk away, her back turned to her friend.

“But Twilight… I--”

“Please Rarity… I just need some time to think about what you said. About this whole… relationship…” Twilight spoke without looking back.

“B-but--”

“I said no.” Twilight stopped and spoke with a firmer voice. “Just… I need to be alone. Please just… leave me be.” With that, Twilight quickly trotted off and left Rarity where she stood.

As Rarity watched her friend trot away, those tears that had begun to trickle now came down in rivulets. “Twilight…” She whispered her friend’s name in a weak and pathetic voice. Her legs shook, feeling like she could fall down onto the ground at any moment. “W-why… did this h-have to happen… I… I…”

“Excuse me, ma’am.” Rarity froze at the voice of a stallion behind her. “Are you Miss Rarity?”

Rarity didn’t turn to face the stallion. “Yes… and no… I… I am a-afraid that I shall not be… attending to m-my reservation t-tonight. Let somepony else have it....”

He raised an eyebrow before he asked. “Are… you alright, ma’am?”

“No… I just… need to be left alone.” Rarity slowly walked away from the Prancing Pony. She continued to move along at a slow pace, sniffling and crying quietly while she went back up that long sidewalk. She followed the same path she went down and made it to her house after some time. Her sobs of pain began to ascend in volume when she reached the door to her home. Rarity opened the door and closed it behind her.

She stood in the darkness and cried. Her tearful sobs began to get louder still until she cried out. Rarity fell to the ground and just sat there, her heart ached even more than before. Was this was rejection truly felt like: to feel alone, to feel sad, to feel an emptiness that seemed to replace where her heart was? It seemed to be the case, for Rarity had never felt this hurt in her life ever before. ‘I-I just wanted to… s-show Twilight how much I cared… t-that I c-could be the m-mare for her…’

A fresh wave of cries echoed in the room. Rarity shakily stood up and moved over to her bed, curling up into a ball and sobbing into the bed. The darkness of this room began to feel comforting, something Rarity never felt before. Yet she still continued to cry on. All her hard work, from making the dress for Twilight’s birthday party, to this plan that would never see completion, and to her own emotions, felt fruitless at this point. “W-why… w-why… d-does it h-h-have to hurt…”

A quiet meow resonated from her side. Rarity turned to see Opal frowning as she walked up. ‘O-oh Opal… my darling little cat.’ Opal curled up beside Rarity and purred in an attempt to cheer Rarity up. She sniffled again and ran a shaky hoof over Opal’s back, the purr slightly getting a little louder. “T-thank you… d-dear, Opal. I-I’m glad I b-brought you along…”

Rarity laid down again, and her cries finally began to die down a little. Her eyes began to slightly droop as she still sobbed on. It was moments until her eyes finally closed and the darkness of sleep finally returned her to the gentle depths of this caring and lonely world. Everything she had worked for, everything she had planned and hoped for, had been dashed. All of it had crumbled away, and Rarity was left broken, a lonely little gem in the world without her star; her twinkling star in the sky.

Author's Note

Well... it could be worse for Rarity, right?