Twilight adjusted herself on the couch. A single candle sat on her table, casting strange shadows all around the crystal walls. Spike was safely tucked away for the night. Twilight's horn faintly glowed as she read over the ancient Unicornian script. She still hadn't gotten used to her crystal castle, but with the efforts her friends put in it had begun to feel like home. She had spent all evening receiving shipments from the Canterlot Library and other libraries throughout Equestria and beyond. With enough help, Twilight would finally have rebuilt her library. Perhaps, it would even be restored to its former glory.
The book she was currently reading was a survivor of the original collection. It had been locked away in the basement where Twilight kept her excess books. All twenty of them had survived, only a fraction of what she'd originally had. It was written in the Old Script, a needlessly complex script favored by her ancestors which had fallen out of favor some three centuries after Luna's banishment.
Twilight stared at the script before her, determined to decode it. It was an ancient saga, about the great warrior-mage Sea Rose. Sea Rose had just boarded a ship headed for Flutter Valley where she would face an army of Donkeys intent on resurrecting their dark master, Grogar. Of course, Twilight knew the story. Sea Rose defeated the cult and slew Grogar once and for all. Still, this might be the earliest version of the tale ever recorded.
She smiled as the letters before her finally came together. A sharp knock sounded on the door. Twilight put aside the book and lifted the candle so that it's flickering flame would illuminate the hands of the clock. It was midnight. She'd had no idea it was that late. She stood from the couch. When she opened the door, she was greeted by the sight of Rarity.
She took in the other Unicorn. Something was wrong. That was very clear by Rarity's downcast eyes. Were those tear tracks? Her mane was still immaculately done, but there was something missing. Rarity finally lifted her head. "Might I come inside, Darling?"
"Rarity, is everything alright?"
Rarity forced a smile. "I...I just need to talk. If it's too late..." She turned and Twilight laid a hoof on her shoulder.
"Come inside. Please."
Rarity trudged inside and Twilight lit her horn, casting a spell that lit all the candles in her chandelier. She guided Rarity to the kitchen where she slid a pot out from under the counter and a box of teas out of the drawer, holding both inside of her magic.
Rarity slumped into a chair. "I need something stronger than tea."
Twilight put away the pot and box of teas. She opened another crystal cabinet and pulled out a bottle of bourbon. "Will this do it?"
"Certainly."
Twilight placed two shot glasses on the table and poured the amber liquid into both glasses. She sat and lifted the glass to her lips, taking a light sip. The liquid fire oozed down her throat. Rarity grabbed the shot up and threw her head back, taking the shot in a single gulp.
Twilight poured her another shot while she continued to daintily sip her own. Rarity drained the glass again, grabbed the bottle and poured herself a third shot. Twilight finished her first glass and filled her glass a second time. "How was your trip to Canterlot?"
Rarity lifted up the glass to the light and stared into its contents as if fascinated by it. The liquid sparkled, showing all the shades of brown that composed its colors. She took a delicate sip of it and set it back down. Twilight's question went unanswered. Rarity slouched into the chair, abandoning the poise and dignity that characterized her.
Twilight examined her and realized what was missing. Rarity's dignity was something she carried around as if it were a precious, physical treasure that she had to care for at all times. It was not something she sacrificed or set aside lightly. Twilight could detect no traces of Rarity's dignity in the terrible posture of the mare across from her. Rarity's posture was perfect, regardless of the situation. It didn't matter if she was going to face a cosmic horror or attending a banquet.
Rarity was a lady. Ladies might imbibe, but they did not throw back liquor like Applejack on a Friday night. "Rarity, come on, you're scaring me."
Once more, there was no response. Twilight reached a hoof across the table and laid it on Rarity's shoulder. "Rarity? I'm right here, alright? You can talk to me."
Rarity was still staring into the liquid. Slowly, she sipped it. "Twilight, why..."
Twilight waited.
"Why am I so worthless?"
Twilight blinked. "You're not worthless! Who told you that?"
"No one needed to, Darling. It's just something I realized. Something I figured out over the years." She finished off the bourbon and glared at Twilight as she placed the bottle back in the cabinet. Rarity laid her head on the table. "Stupid. So stupid. You think you could be accepted among your own kind, in the city of your race, and what do you get? Rejected. Something...something must be wrong with me, right?"
"Rarity...please tell me what happened."
Twilight kept her hoof on Rarity's shoulder.
"I note you didn't deny anything was wrong with me."
"I shouldn't have to. Nothing's wrong with you. You're perfect the way you are."
Twilight dodged as Rarity propelled the shot glass across the kitchen where it shattered against the wall. "I don't need the fucking platitudes, Sparkle."
Twilight's mouth worked up and down. Still, she laid her hoof back on Rarity's shoulder. "Alright. I know you're upset. I'm listening."
"Born politician. No wonder you're a princess and I'm not. You deserve it. I don't."
Twilight winced, but she kept the contact, stroking along Rarity's fur. Rarity leaned into the touch. "I'm sorry, Darling." Tears fell from her eyes. "I should just go."
"Don't you dare."
Twilight's magic yanked Rarity back onto the chair. "Something is hurting you. I'm not letting you leave until you tell me what it is."
"At least, let me have another drink?"
"Nothing stronger than tea."
Rarity sighed. "I've had enough tea for a month. You're a noble, right?"
Twilight snorted. "My mother's domain stretches all the way to the borders of my childhood home's kitchen. My father's domain comprises the rest of the house and adjacent land. I think I have a title to the bathroom, but it's written on cardboard so it might not be legally binding. My great-great grandfather used to own the entire neighborhood, but he gambled it away."
Rarity, despite herself, felt her lips twitch up into a grin. She wiped away some of her tears. "But, you're nice. I mean, Fancy Pants is nice and a few others, but most of the nobles I've met..."
"Yeah, I know. Everypony knows. It's a huge problem."
Rarity suddenly found herself enveloped in a hug. Twilight wrapped her forelegs around Rarity and then added her wings. Rarity returned the hug and leaned into her. More tears escaped her eyes and she unabashedly wept into Twilight's chest while Twilight held her and cradled her gently.
At last, Rarity pulled away. "It all started with a banquet I went to on the first day. I wanted to make connections with this fashion designer, Cotton Silk. She took one look at me and...just didn't like me, I guess? Loved my designs, but me? I don't know what went wrong. She hardly spoke to me. I thought to myself, maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe she's just in a bad mood. She was just so cold. I tried to talk and she just turned her back to me. And since she didn't like me, none of the guests liked me. It turns out, some mud got splashed on her during your birthday party. She's held that grudge for years."
Twilight patted her back. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. Things got worse. She's been spreading things about me. At the next party I went to, I met Blueblood. He wouldn't leave me alone. Kept offering to make up for the night at the Gala. He...he...he tried to touch me."
A fresh round of crying burst from her lips. Twilight cradled her as her jaw set in a tight frown. She'd make certain that that prince got his due.
"Things didn't get much worse, but they didn't get any better. At the next few soirees I...I must apologize for this one, Darling. I name dropped and told them about how I was friends with a princess."
Twilight caressed her shaking shoulders. "That's alright, Rarity."
"It really isn't, but thank you for saying so. They flocked to me, of course. Wanted favors. I didn't care, so long as they were flocking to me. But they didn't care about me. Only the favors they thought they could get. I just gave up. I managed to get a few of them to look at my designs, but I started hating them. No, in the end, I despised them. Simpering fools. Snobs, morons. I hate them Twilight. Ladies don't hate, but my goddess, if I don't want to wrap a rope around their necks and just pull!"
A flare of magic from her horn left a jagged, ugly crack in Twilight's table. Twilight didn't let her go.
"Do you want to know what the worst part of all this is, Twilight? There was a time in my life, and it wasn't very long ago, when I wanted to be among them. I wanted them to accept me. I'd have sold my soul for it. That birthday party of yours, I had this beautiful dress planned for you. But I set it aside to go hobnob with a bunch of overgrown, foalish brats. I don't know how you can forgive me for that."
Twilight wiped away her tears. "I forgive you. That's what friends do."
"Tomorrow, I'm dusting off my old designs and making you the dress you deserve."
"You don't have to-"
"I won't hear any argument. You've listened to my drunken ramblings at an hour when decent mares should be in bed. Please, let me do this for you."
"Alright. Alright, Rarity."
"There's...there's something else."
Twilight waited.
"When you first got those wings and that crown, I nearly went insane with jealousy. I wanted so badly to be where you were. To be praised and adored. I'm a terrible friend, aren't I? Just say it, I know the truth."
"No, Rarity, you're not. You want to know something? There's a friend I've always been jealous of. I've been jealous of her for a long time."
"Who, Darling?"
"You. I'm jealous of the way you can just come into a room and command the attention of everypony there. I'm jealous of the way you know the exact right thing to say at the exact right time. I'm jealous of all the connections you make, the way you know all the social cues I still struggle with. I'm jealous of how I know you're going to open up your boutique tomorrow and greet your customers with a smile when, in your place, I'd be sulking down in a basement."
"You're selling yourself short."
"So are you. If those noble are as bad as you say they are-and I know they are-why do you even want to be accepted by them?"
"I don't even know anymore."
Twilight placed both her hooves on Rarity's shoulders. "Listen to me. You have more class than most of the nobles I know. You're noble where it counts, in your heart."
Rarity sniffled. "Thank you, Twilight. You have no idea how much that means to me." She unsteadily stood on nearly shaking legs. "But I've already stayed up far past the proper time for a lady. If you'd excuse me, I should be getting to bed."
"Are you going to be alright?"
Rarity smiled. "Thanks to you I will be."
Her legs gave out and she crumpled. Twilight caught her and lifted her up in her magical aura which Rarity snuggled into. After a trek through the long, dark halls she finally gently laid Rarity onto a bed and covered her in a blanket.
