Everything For a Marriage

It had been a while since me and Rarity had a chance to see each other personally, of course that distance wasn't much of a problem; her place was only a few buildings or so away from my house; a respectable loft near the outskirts of Ponyville, for what it's worth.

Though, as the quite busy and sought-after tailor she was, the mare barely had any free time to spend with someone like me.

Not that I was an undesirable piece of flesh... No. But I think she definitely had better things to do rather than chewing the fat with another human.

'They are always full of questions, after all'

Since the first wave of otherworldly people were allowed to step in Equestria - and note that it was no easy diplomatic task - many things consequently changed in the two worlds. Some major issues such as the magic decay were still seen as a negative consequence of the human presence in Equestria, but other than that, such different dimensions had more in common than it was thought.

Dogs, were a fantastic example.

While a myriad of researchers worked incessantly in order to minimize the anomalies, the passage between dimensions was said to be 'stable enough to deliver living creatures to the other side' It may not sound that safe, but in almost a decade after the first contact event, only two limbs got severed.

I can tell you that at least one of the victims survived.

One of the first things to be counted in favor of the human creatures, was the fact they all had functional hands. Ponies had many positive aspects too, but they all lacked- well, they all lacked fingers.

Unicorns had no apparent reasons to make such a fuss about our alien appendages, but unicorns were also a small percentage of the real pony population without telekinetic skills.

And all of a sudden, Equestria needed humans, and as so the human race needed much of what the pony planet had to offer - although we are not here to talk about interdimenssional commerce, are we?

I guess not.

Back to the topic, two years or so after the first earthlings crossed the portal, I was chosen by the admittance committee to work in the Ponyville urbanization program. As an architect - with hands - I couldn't be happier with such an opportunity to prove myself not only to my own world, but also to the other world.

To my own luck, one of the first Equestrian residents to stumble against me was nopony else but Rarity. Of course I had heard about the six elements or something like that, but I never expected to find one of then living right around the corner. The Carrousel Boutique was a key piece in the renovation program, listed as a Grade III building, which meant I was forced to do the possible and even the impossible to keep it intact during the city urbanization.

Rarity was always so helpful and kind to me during the several months I stayed in front of the project, changing plans here and there, traveling exhaustively to other cities, consulting the princesses almost every single day, and stopping by the afternoon in her place to have a comforting cinnamon tea before heading back to work.

Rarity always had important things to do; sometimes it was a massive amount of dresses to finish, massive amounts of gemstones to cut, and sometimes it was just a massive problem caused by her little sister.

Still, as the curious mare she was, the white unicorn enjoyed talking to me whenever she wanted to know more about Earth, in special the trending characteristics of the fashion industry. Naturally, I wasn't a stylist, but always remembered to bring a Vogue magazine with me every time I visited my home world.

They seemed incredibly boring to me, but Rarity's eyes gleamed with delight as she saw the human models in their exquisite clothes.

As my project progressed, and the roads leading to Ponyville were slowly setting the two of us apart, my visits to Carousel Boutique became scarce. Officially, I still lived around the corner, but the frequent trips to the capital alongside with many other difficult situations, forced me to spend months in hotels rather than in the cozy neighborhood I loved so much.

Though, things were about to change for good, and when I stepped out of that carriage and stood face to face with the doorway to my house, that beating heart of mine was filled with relief and comfort.

I looked around one more time, just to make sure that I wasn't dreaming, and happily said to myself that my job in Equestria was done.
Two years after my arrival, two years of tireless efforts and hard work, two years of human intervention, and the roads leading to Canterlot looked as good as a German Autobahn.

The urbanization program in Ponyville was completed, and the city was now ready to house new and fantastic projects, just like any other modern human city - that without loosing its traditional charm and architecture - which was my main objective here.

And I... Well, I was now a very well paid citizen, free to rest my head, and enjoy the magnificent city I proudly helped to create.

With a slight crack, the doors went open, and wasting no more time, I walked into the place I was quite proud to call home. There was a dusty scent in the air, like when you leave a piece of clothing in a wardrobe for so long, and it absorbs the stillness around it.

It had been a few months since I came home for the last time, but I felt as if it was ages ago when I talked to that particular mare in my living room, as she helped me picking the best suit for my meeting with the princesses.

I sighed, resting a considerably heavy suitcase over a side table. Caressing the walls with my fingertips I finally touched the light switch.
Now properly lit, the apartment revealed itself just like I left it half an year ago. The housekeeper surely did a good job in keeping the spider webs away from my bookshelves, and getting rid of those rotten beefs I forgot in the fridge.

'Poor thing...' I said to myself, knowing that ponies are not quite fond of meat-eating people.

"Welcome back, Mr. Atkins!" Said a smiling yellowish pegasus walking out of the kitchen.

"Oh, hello Sunny, I didn't knew you'd be here today, how's it going?" I greeted her, having a seat in my favorite chair.

"Not much, really, I knew you'd be arriving today, so I just wanted to make sure everything was okay." Her cheeks getting a tone nearer to pink, as she sheepishly stroked her contrasting dark mane. "And also to keep your plants- well... As alive as possible." She added. I looked thorough the window and noticed the chunk of dead vines falling over the exterior walls.

"Oh well... I think I forgot to call that gardener again." I chuckled. "Don't worry though, the plants weren't your responsibility after all." I said, eliciting a relief whisper from the Pegasus.

"Say, why don't you have a seat? You look tired Sunny, I can make some tea for us while you tell me about the neighbor's personal life." I Joked. I knew pretty well that Sunny was very professional, although I loved to play with her, and with ponies in general, considering that sarcasm wasn't a well known technique around these parts.

Though she giggled.

"No need for that Mr. At-"

"Just Peter, please. You don't need to call me 'Mr.' every time you speak." Sunny just rolled her eyes.

"As I was trying to say Peter, I was about to leave, so you don't need to worry about tea, cookies, and formalities." She said with a nod.

"Okay then, I'll keep my stupid cookies and formalities for myself." I chuckled, stretching my neck as I leaned against my armchair. "Anything else I should know? Did the mailmare managed to find my mailbox this time?"

Pacing around the room, touching her chin with the tip of her hoof, something seemed to spark inside Sunny's mind.

"Somepony came looking for you a few days ago..."

I turned my head at hearing that.

"Oh yeah?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. That mare, Rarity." She paused. "She had an invitation of sorts, I said I'd give it to you at your arrival, but she denied." Sunny seemed oddly annoyed at that.

"Weird... Why would she do that?"

"I don't know, Peter. I think she wants you to go there and take whatever it is by yourself." If I didn't knew Sunny, I could swear she had a mischievous smile when she finished that sentence. "Anyway... The rest of your mail is over the counter, I see you next week, Mr. Atkins." She said.

"Ah, and I hope you have a good time in Carousel Boutique." With a cold nod, Sunny made her way to the door, and left before I could say a thing.

A little surprised and at the same time puzzled by her answer, I spent a considerable part of that day thinking about what for heaven's sake Rarity wanted to tell me.

I was tired after commanding hordes of workers for that long, as they probably threw more responsibility on my back than I could comfortably handle.

My mind was exhausted, and I must admit that the mysterious letter wasn't at the top of my priority list, though, I couldn't help but keep wondering.

Out there, all around the city, the old gas lamps bathed the streets in a warm yellowish light. The night was quickly falling over Equestria, and I decided to give it a try, and stop by Rarity's place. I wasn't even sure if she would be there, but even the quick walk around the corner was worth it.

Not a minute after I left home - hopefully for the last time that day - I found myself standing at the entrance to Carousel Boutique.

Ponies' architectural styles always fascinated me, maybe because of the initial shock in seeing so many gemstones and precious materials being used so widely in their buildings, apparently, such things were not as valuable here as they are on Earth.

I'd define Carousel Boutique as a good example of what I tried to define as Equestrian Baroque. There were just so many details to observe; such as the small dragon by the door glaring at me.

"Ah... Hello Spike. Long time no see, huh?" I said, walking towards the little thing, who hadn't grow an inch since the first time we met. Dragons had such a slow aging process, I believe that must have been quite the frustration of his childhood.

"Yeah..." He grumbled, closing the door behind him with an elbow. "You know, I have fingers too." He frowned as I offered a hand to greet him.

"Eh... I see." I replied awkwardly, as Spike ignored me and walked away.

Dragons...

Shrugging, I knocked the boutique's door. It wasn't long until a little mare pushed them open.

"Jesus Christ, you fillies grow fast!" I stated in awe as Rarity's younger version rolled her eyes at me.

"Hello to you too, Peter." Sweetie Belle said, an ironic tone in her voice. "I'm not a little filly anymore, you know?"

"I know, I know..." I giggled. "So, is your sister at home?" I asked, the young unicorn making way for me to come in.

"Yeah, she's upstairs working on her wedding dress or something." As the door closed, three little bells clanged, each one in a different note. "I'm sure she'll be here in a second." She chuckled.

"Wedding dress?" I muttered to myself, paying little attention as Sweetie Belle tried her best to levitate a mannequin- and consequently failing.
A loud thump echoed through the boutique, and in no time, a hurried Rarity came trotting down the stairs.

"Sweetie Belle, what for Celestia's sake were you-" The mare stopped on her tracks, a hoof frozen in mid air, alongside with an expression of shock or something else I couldn't define in her face.

"Ah... Hello?" I said, an unsure smile on my lips.

"Oh my, Peter!" She exclaimed, pushing the fallen mannequin back to its base, and throwing a fatal glare at her sister. "Darling, I'm so sorry, I wasn't expecting to see you today- I couldn't even make us some tea!"

"Don't worry about that, really... I can come back tomorrow if you want-" I waved dismissively.

"No, no, no. You stay!" She said, pushing me to a couch with her magic. "Sweetie Belle, clean up this mess! I'll come back in a minute."
With that, Rarity disappeared again to god knows where. There were rubies scattered all over the floor, which had detached from the mannequin's dress. I crouched to my knees, and started to pick'em up with the little unicorn.

"Thanks..." Sweetie Belle muttered as I handed her a dozen or so of crimson gemstones.

"No problem dear." I said, leaning back on the silky couch.

Years had passed out there in the world, but here in Carousel Boutique, the only apparent changes were in the clotheslines. A new lace here, more sequins there, nothing relevant in my opinion.

Talking about relevance, the boutique's owner teleported back to the living room, seemingly satisfied in seeing the place clean from the previous mess. Rarity carried a white envelope in her mouth, and as she placed it with delicacy in my lap, I could see it was not only a simple envelope, but some kind of sealed letter.

You see, I used to receive a lot of those things when I worked for the princesses, they are magically sealed in a way, that only the addressee is able to open without ruining the letter. Though, I couldn't know for sure why Rarity had one of those.

"I passed by your house a few days ago, I knew you'd be arriving in a few days, but not exactly when." She said, taking a seat by my side, as I curiously inspected the unknown golden seal of the envelope; a peculiar cutie mark resembling some kind of crown with flourishes coming from both sides. "Although your marefriend politely said she'd-"

"Wait what?" I chuckled.

"What's the matter?" Rarity seemed puzzled by my obvious question. At least, it was obvious for me.

"She's not my marefriend- Sunny just keeps the house clean and fix my meals when I'm busy" I said.

"I heard that before." She giggled. "You're a funny man, Peter, why would Sunny lie to me?"

"Wait- She actually said that? I mean... Sunny really said she was my marefriend, when you stopped by my house?" I was shocked, and Rarity couldn't quite get that.

"W-well, it was almost implicit." She shrugged. "As I was saying, she'd keep the envelope for you, but I thought it was better to deliver it personally; it's sealed after all, and you know how we mares can be... Well, quite more curious than usual"

Kinda ignoring her comments, and not wanting to throw Sunny in an uncomfortable situation at the same time, I just decided to open the letter, and read what for fuck's sake was written on it.

Rarity stopped for a second, and observed the expressions in my face as I passed my eyes over all those formally unimportant words, finally stopping at the bottom, and looking back at her, dumbfounded.

"You're marrying Blueblood's cousin?" I said, a little more disgusted than I'd like to transpire. "I mean... It's great, congratulations! But-" I paused, closing the letter and resting it on my lap again. "Silver Crown... Isn't he a count?"

"He is." She seemed happy in stating that. "But he's not like Blueblood, if that's what you're trying to say. That prince is buried in the past, I assure you," She nuzzled my arm.

"I'm just surprised, that's all." I smiled, although my inner expressions manifested the contrary.

Everyone from Blueblood's bloodline was a jerk, and Silver Crown was no exception. I can't say we shared good moments together, though I've stumbled against him in Canterlot a couple of times.

"Peter, I want you to design our wedding ceremony"

"Can't do that" Those words came out almost instantly.

"Oh, come on Peter!" She grabbed my arm with her front hooves, pressing her body against mine as she begged for it."You re-designed an entire town, for Celestia's sake!"

"Dear, I'm an architect, not a decorator." I chuckled, shaking my head at the thought.

"I'd do everything!" She leaned her chest a little too much over my lap, and I kinda backed away awkwardly, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Ah... I'll think about it?" I said, still insecure. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her feelings or something, but the truth is that I wasn't quite prepared for planning unicorn marriages.

I don't need to describe how Rarity reacted when I said that, but I can say for sure that when I stepped into my house for the second time that night, I had more questions in mind than I intended to.

Well, for every invitation a consequence...