To Never Love But One Mare
Rarity was on her second glass of wine when somepony started knocking on the door.
She would have preferred to drown her sorrows in ice cream, but the particular kind of melancholy she was wallowing in called for something a little more refined. With a dramatic sigh and a wistful glance towards the kitchen, she wiped off the tears staining her cheeks with a hoof and trotted over towards the entrance to Carousel Boutique.
This late at night, it probably wasn't a client who'd come to disturb her. Banishing the despair from her face, she put on the mask of a supportive friend as she reached the door. "One moment please!" she called out, taking a moment to compose herself. Hopefully, she just needed to lend a sympathetic ear to a distraught friend for a few minutes before sending them on their way and returning to her wine. After all, she had just opened the most lovely bottle of Merlot, and it would be a shame for it to go to waste.
Rarity opened the door, and the last pony she wanted to see appeared before her. "Twilight!" she said, beaming as she cursed Fate herself. "This is quite the surprise."
"Hey Rarity." Twilight looked rather the worse for wear, her mane disheveled and her eyes slightly puffed up and red, as if she'd been crying recently. "Sorry for bothering you so late. Mind if I come in?"
"Of course, dear." Rarity stepped aside to allow Twilight entrance into her shop. "I thought you had a date with Princess Luna tonight?" And if Luna had done as Rarity had instructed, then Twilight should not have been seeking refuge in Carousel Boutique. "Did something go wrong?" A flicker of hope arose in her chest before being crushed by a tidal wave of guilt.
"Not exactly?" Twilight trudged into the Boutique, a troubled expression on her face. "It's… complicated."
"Love always is, darling." Rarity quickly swept aside the glass of wine, whisking it off to the kitchen for later consumption. "Shall I put on a pot of tea?"
"Yes, please."
As Rarity heated a kettle of water, her mind raced, trying to figure out why Twilight was here. If all had gone as planned, she should have been with Luna, celebrating in the quiet hours of the night. Something had clearly gone wrong, and Rarity needed to pry that information from Twilight and right things before it was too late. After all, she had given up far too much to let things fall apart now.
The water boiled, and Rarity levitated the teapot back out into the sitting room. Yes, she was going to find out the source of Twilight's distress, and after she helped Twilight through this troubling time, she and Luna could continue to further their relationship. She could see it now, the two of them spending their days side-by-side in loving bliss just as she'd intended. And at night...
The teacups barely trembled when Rarity set them down on the table.
"There we go. It's lavender, your favorite blend." Rarity delicately poured out two cups of the calming brew, taking a moment to inhale its soothing fumes.
"So it is." Twilight stared at her own cup with furrowed brows. "You really know what I like, don't you?"
Of course I do, you precious fool, Rarity wanted to shout, how could you be so blind to what's right in front of you? But that wouldn't do at all, so instead she simply smiled and replied with, "Of course, dear. I pay attention to the preferences of all my friends. For example, if Rainbow Dash were here, I would have offered her some of the cider I have cooling in the fridge."
"I think that one's pretty obvious." Twilight finally took a sip of her own tea. "Still, I appreciate the effort. You're a good friend, Rarity."
Rarity barely suppressed a wince at that. "I certainly try." Another sip. The lavender wasn't as calming as she'd like. "Back to the original point, how was your date with Luna?"
"It started off great." A warm smile lit up Twilight's face, making her look even more beautiful than she had before. "Luna took me to De Savoir for dinner, just like on our first date, and then we spent a lot of time reminiscing about our past dates. We've had a lot of good times together." There was an odd tone to Twilight's voice, a hint of anger or sadness that Rarity couldn't quite identify.
"Yes, you have. The love you and Luna share is something truly marvelous." Every word was the truth, cutting deep into her heart.
"Heh, you'd know, wouldn't you?" Twilight's chuckle held little mirth. "You and Luna spend so much time together. I might actually be jealous if I didn't know you better."
"You have no fears of infidelity on Luna's account," Rarity assured her quickly. "She's much too loyal and in love with you to even think about that." Was that what this was about? Twilight thinking that Luna had been false to her with Rarity? That would've been incredibly ironic, to have Rarity be the instrument of her own undoing.
"Oh, I know. She'd never do something like that to me, no matter how much she cared about you." Twilight lifted a hoof to her mouth. "Sorry, that came out wrong."
"I understand what you mean." Rarity couldn't help but place a comforting hoof on Twilight, even though she knew she would regret the touch. "Luna will always hold your heart in the highest regard, just as you hold hers." And never Rarity's.
"Mhm. And to think, it all started with a love letter from her, out of the blue." A wry smile graced her features. "Then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I'd be swept off my hooves by the written word. You know, I saved every letter she ever wrote to me? They're just so beautiful. You can really feel the emotion in every word." The knife in Rarity's heart twisted.
"I'm certain that every word of those letters was written with utmost sincerity." Rarity knew she should have lied instead of dancing around the truth with her words, but she couldn't help herself.
"I'm sure you're right." There was a strange sadness in Twilight's eyes that Rarity couldn't explain. "Luna's an amazing mare, isn't she?"
"I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a pony in Equestria who disagrees." What was with this peculiar line of questioning? Twilight couldn't possibly be seeking validation for her love.
"Sure, but none of them know her well enough to see the mare beneath the Princess. They don't know her like we do and they couldn't possibly care for her like we do." Rarity resisted the urge to squirm under Twilight's piercing gaze.
"I suppose only we could understand how deserving of love she truly is." Rarity mentally berated herself for the slip of the tongue. She needed to regain control of the conversation so that she could put Twilight's mind at ease and return to her brooding. "Please, Twilight, you're worrying me. What happened between you and Luna?"
Twilight was silent for a moment, a faraway look on her face as she appeared to be deep in thought. Eventually, a spark of fire lit up in her eyes, and when she broke the silence she spoke with a newfound conviction that was backed with steel. "After dinner, she took me to the top of the Canterhorn to stargaze. She organized the stars into this really beautiful pattern of constellations, with Orion right next to the Pleiades. It was really romantic."
"I can imagine." It was all according to plan, and Rarity knew it was what should have happened, but it didn't hurt any less to hear the love in Twilight's voice directed at another pony.
"We spent the next hour talking about random things." Twilight continued her story, ignoring Rarity's words. "Astronomy, literature, castle gossip, et cetera. And then Luna said she had something she needed to tell me."
Rarity's breath caught in her throat. She didn't want to hear this. Even if she'd known this would happen, had planned it from the start, she still didn't want to hear about how Luna was ready to give herself fully to Twilight, to take their love to the next level. Still, she was bound by convention to ask, "what did she have to tell you?"
"When you said that you were certain every word in those letters was sincere, did you mean it?"
Rarity's blood went cold. She knew. Somehow, Twilight had learned of her deception. "Why of course, dear," she replied in a desperate appeal to denial. "You can't possibly think that Luna doesn't love you with all her heart."
"I'm questioning a lot of things I never thought I would right now," Twilight said, her expression a mask of disapproval. "That tends to happen when you find out that your love life was a lie."
"Whatever do you mean, darling?" Rarity couldn't quite keep the hysteria from her voice.
"You can stop pretending now," Twilight said, setting down her cup to focus on Rarity. "Luna told me all about what you did for her. The letters, the date planning, even the big heartwarming speeches. Everything that I thought was her being romantic was actually you coaching her and telling her exactly what to do."
"I –" Rarity's words caught in her throat as she struggled to find the words that would make things right.
"As you can imagine, I'm dealing with a lot of different feelings right now." Rarity turned away from Twilight's gaze in shame, unable to meet those eyes filled with hurt.
"I'm so sorry you had to find out," Rarity finally managed to say, her voice nearly cracking at the end. "We never meant to hurt you."
"Well, you did," Twilight said flatly. Rarity flinched at the words, but Twilight wasn't finished. "I can't believe you were just going to keep lying to me until you manipulated me into marrying Luna. If she hadn't wanted to build our marriage on a lie I might still not have known. What exactly was your long-term plan anyways? Were you just going to keep following Luna around and telling her what to do after we got married?"
"It was never supposed to go this far." The tears had returned, but Rarity fought to keep her voice level. Twilight deserved to hear her side of the story. "She fancied you from the start, since the first moment when you saved her from the darkness. And her desire only grew as she got to know you better. But she was so unsure of herself, and she was at a complete loss as to how to take the first step in courting you. I saw how much she cared about you, and I knew you'd be perfect together, so I gave her a nudge."
Rarity paused to wipe her eyes and clear her vision. "It started out so innocently. I helped her write a letter explaining her feelings for you. Luna cared for you so much even back then, but she'd been away from Equestria for so long and she didn't know what to say." Rarity smiled a small smile as memories washed over her. "The poor dear was beside herself with worry, and I couldn't let nerves stand between her and her love, so I stepped in. After that, it just seemed natural to help her with the next letter, and then to provide some small bit of advice on how to plan a date.
"I just, I couldn't stand by and see your relationship fail for some inane reason like misspoken words or a poor date." Rarity felt her heart stir as she spoke. "You are both wonderful mares, and the love you share is something truly beautiful. I had to do what I could to stoke that flame. I truly didn't mean for it to go this far, but I suppose it's difficult to see how far you've gone until it's too late." The tears were flowing freely, but Rarity sat up straight and stared Twilight right in the eyes, ready to accept whatever judgement the other mare might bestow upon her.
An eternity of silence stretched out between them as Twilight studied Rarity with a troubled look. Finally, after nearly a minute of thought, she spoke. "So that's it?" She asked, her eyes still boring into Rarity's as if she was looking for something. "You thought Luna and I would make a good couple so you helped her win me over?"
"Simply put, yes," Rarity replied. "Please don't think ill of Luna – she only wanted your love."
"Yeah, well, she picked a lousy way to go about getting it," Twilight said with a snort. "Don't worry, Luna and I already talked, and while I'm very disappointed in her, I still love her."
"That's a relief, darling." Rarity felt another stab to the heart, but she kept the relieved smile on her face. "I'm sure you two will be able to work things out without me. I'll leave you two to it, and I'm sorry for meddling in the affairs of your heart." Twilight still loved Luna, and that was all that mattered. In time, she would forgive the other princess for her deception, and their relationship would continue. And then one day, Luna would be able to ask the question that Rarity had planned for her on this night, and Twilight would say yes, and they would live happily ever after while Rarity watched from the shadows, a smile on her face and a hole in her heart.
"There's just one problem with that." Twilight's words brought Rarity out of her dark reverie. "There's a lot of things I love about Luna, but what first drew me to her were her letters to me. The letters you wrote." Twilight held up a hoof to stop Rarity from speaking. "And later on, I loved how she took the time to learn what I liked and to share in my hobbies. I loved how well she seemed to know me, and how every word she said seemed to come from the heart."
Twilight sighed. "And now I find out that a lot of that was you. I feel like the mare I love was just split into two, and I have no idea how to feel about either of them. After all, you were the one who came up with those dates that I loved so much. You were the one who wrote such nice things about me."
Rarity's heart wanted to sing with joy at Twilight's words, but she forced herself to plunge the knife deeper into her own heart. "Do not go there, Twilight. Luna is the mare you love, the one you shared all those wonderful moments with. The one who cares about you and wants only the best for you."
"And you don't care for me? You don't want what's best for me, even at the cost of your own happiness?" Twilight leaned forward as she spoke, pressing her front hooves on the table. "When I asked if the words in those letters were sincere, you said they were. You weren't just talking about Luna meaning them, were you?"
It was all too much. Twilight knew, and Rarity felt like her soul would wither if she continued her false denials. The dam broke, and the truth was unleashed. "Yes!" Rarity cried out, unable to hold back her feelings anymore. "Yes, I meant every word in those letters! I love you, Twilight Sparkle, so much that it hurts to think about sometimes. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
"You say you love me, but you're willing to help Luna win me over?" There was no accusation in Twilight's tone, just curiosity.
"Of course!" Rarity replied, leaning back into her chair. She raised one foreleg dramatically over her head. "Luna was your perfect princess, the match made in the heavens for you. I wasn't going to let my own love stand in the way of something so beautiful."
"So you were willing to give up your love for me because you thought I'd be happier with Luna?"
"Yes," Rarity replied, and there was nothing more to say. Twilight knew how she felt now, and even though everything had gone wrong, Rarity couldn't help but be glad that her secret love knew of her feelings. Now it was up to Twilight to decide. Her own mind warred with itself over what she wanted Twilight to choose, the desire to see her friends happy clashing with her own desire for the lovely Princess of Friendship to take her for her own.
"You know, Luna and I already talked about this," Twilight said, pushing around her teacup with her hoof. "Luna actually suspected that you might have a crush on me, which was why she finally told me about this whole thing you two had going on. She felt like she didn't deserve to be with me, and that it should be you I married instead."
"And that's exactly why you should pick Luna," Rarity said. "She loves you enough to want what's best for you, and to tell you the truth when she thought it mattered most."
"Pot calling the kettle white there, aren't you?" Twilight said with a small smirk. The levity faded in an instant however as her frown returned. "Anyways, like I said, Luna and I talked, and we realized that you probably had feelings for me too. Luna wanted me to choose with the full knowledge of who had done what in the relationship, and I was having a lot of trouble making that decision." The smirk returned. "Luckily, I'm pretty good at lateral thinking. We realized that we weren't just constrained to two options."
"Whatever do you mean, dear?" Rarity truly could not figure out where Twilight was going with this train of thought.
"How do you feel about Luna?" Twilight asked suddenly, the non-sequitur catching Rarity off-guard.
Without time to compose her answer, Rarity simply spoke from the heart. "She's very dear to me, and I've come to know her quite well in our time together. She's a remarkable mare, brilliant and beautiful and possessing of a rapier wit that I quite admire."
"Do you love her too?"
Rarity's brain screeched to a halt. "What?" She asked blankly, staring at Twilight as the words slowly processed filtered through her mind. "I – that's – I mean – I suppose so," she said weakly, a new revelation dawning upon her. It was immediately followed by a dread chill. "You aren't going to propose that Luna court me instead, are you?"
"No, I'm too selfish for that," Twilight replied. "And I'm too selfish to let one of you go. I realized that you might have had feelings for Luna too, and that's what I came here to talk to you about. I needed to confirm my suspicions before I made my offer."
"What offer?" Rarity was still reeling from the realization that she had fallen for a second mare, and as such she didn't have the slightest clue where Twilight was going with this conversation.
"One sec, I think it'll be better if we're both here to explain it to you." Twilight's horn flashed with a soft lavender pulse of light, and a few seconds later there was another knocking on the door. "Do you mind if I let Luna in?"
"Of course," Rarity replied, her mind hazy as she watched Twilight walk over to the door and open it.
Standing in the doorway, Luna looked smaller than usual, her facial expression uncertain and her body language withdrawn. Her eyes darted back and forth between Twilight and Rarity. "Are we to present our proposition now?" she asked Twilight.
"Yeah," Twilight replied, stepping aside to allow Luna to enter the Boutique, "I think it's a good idea."
Luna walked into the Boutique, her eyes focusing on Rarity. "I beg your forgiveness, dear Rarity," she said, her head dipping low in a show of penitence, "but I could no longer continue to deceive Twilight."
Rarity reached out and placed a hoof on Luna's leg, trying not think about how nice her coat felt. "There's nothing to forgive, dear," she said, unable to bear the weight of the other mare's guilt. "I'm the one who should be sorry for encouraging you to lie to Twilight."
"Nay, do not apologize for the aid you have lent me. Your sacrifice honors you, and I am humbled at all you have given up for me. I only regret that I did not divine your true feelings sooner."
"You two can trade apologies later," Twilight said as she joined the pair at the table. "We have more important things to talk about."
"Verily." A fire burned in Luna's eyes as she met Rarity's gaze with her own. "Dearest Rarity, in our time together I have grown most fond of you. I have found you to be a mare of elegance, wit, and virtue, and discovering the depth of your sacrifice has only increased my admiration. I would be honored to be given the opportunity to court you."
"But what about Twilight?" Rarity asked, her heart hammering in her chest. Her heart felt like it was torn in three pieces, with two wanting to be selfish towards different mares and one who insisted on doing the right thing. The strain was making her a little lightheaded, and she instinctively noted the location of her fainting couch in case she needed to swoon. "I don't want you to abandon her for me."
"Yeah, I'm not too hot about that either." The edge of Twilight's lips curved slightly upwards. "You two can be self-sacrificing all you want, but I want to have my cake and eat it too. When Luna was trying to convince me to hook up with you, I realized something."
Twilight's gaze shifted to Rarity, capturing her attention in her brilliant purple eyes. "I love Luna, even despite all this, but now that I know who did all those things for me I can't help but feel something for you too, especially since you were willing to give up your own happiness for mine. I really do appreciate the thought behind it, even if I'm mad at how you went about it."
Rarity opened her mouth to reply, but Twilight kept speaking before she had the chance. "And then I talked to Luna, and I realized that even though she loved me, some part of her was falling for you. And when we realized that you might feel the same way about us, all the pieces clicked into place."
Twilight leaned forward slightly, her voice growing stronger. "Rarity, you've been so generous towards us, giving up the most important part of your soul just to ensure our happiness. Your selflessness has been an inspiration to us both, and now we want to reciprocate that generosity. Luna and I talked it over, and we agreed that our hearts were big enough to love two mares." She reached out to grab Rarity's hoof with her own, joining them together. "Please, let us share our love with you, just as you shared yourself with us."
Rarity's breath caught in her throat as she stared at both Twilight and Luna. "I – I don't know what to say," she managed to stammer, her mind playing back Twilight's words to make sure she heard them properly.
"Say yes, dear Rarity," Luna said, reaching out to grab Rarity's other front hoof. "Grant us the happiness and joy we desire, and that you deserve. Accept our love, please."
For a few seconds, the simply sat in silence, Rarity holding on to both of the mares she had fallen for. The physical touch anchored her to reality, and she grasped onto it like a drowning mare would to a piece of driftwood, fearful of losing herself to the world of fantasy.
Already, she could see it in her mind's eye. Spending her days with two beautiful, wonderful mares who cared for her and whom she cared for, sharing their minds and bodies with each other. Coming home after a long day at work to gossip and share a cup of tea or a bottle of wine with her two lovers. Showing up at the Grand Galloping Gala with not one but two princesses at her side, basking in the jealousy of every other pony in the room.
For once, the selfish and selfless parts of herself were in harmony. "Yes." As she said the word, Rarity felt her heart burst with joy, and she quickly confirmed that her fainting couch was still in the same place. "Yes, of course I accept. How could I refuse such a generous offer?"
The two princesses broke out in smiles so wide that Rarity wondered if the Boutique was large enough to contain them. "That's wonderful," Twilight said. She leaned forward and wrapped her forelegs around Rarity in a crushing hug. A moment later, another pair of forelegs joined them as Luna shared in their physical display of affection. "I'm so happy you said yes."
"Aye, 'tis a most joyous occasion, to be sure," Luna said, her own hug a little less familiar and more hesitant than Twilight's. "I am eager to explore the ways of love with you anew, Rarity."
"As I am with both of you." The hug ended far too soon, and Rarity sank back into her chair. "Oh, the scandal we'll cause among the nobility, a commoner being courted by two royals." Rarity shivered in delight at the prospect of being the object of such juicy gossip.
"Your blood may be common, but your heart is far more noble than that of those fools in Canterlot," Luna said, her head tilting downwards in a show of respect.
"I mean, if you want, I could make you a countess, or even a duchess," Twilight said. "Actually, it might be better if we did that anyways, just to stop any silly objections that might come up. She's definitely earned the title after all the times we saved Equestria, and the two of us have enough authority to bestow any noble title."
"There is wisdom in your words, Twilight," Luna said. "In fact, there is much we need to speak about, as there always is when courting."
"Yes, besides the logistics, I still want the chance to get to know both of you." Twilight fixed them both with a glare. "The real you, this time."
"And I would relish the opportunity to be with you without having to lie about my feelings." As Twilight's expression softened, Rarity felt a whole new world of possibilities unfold before her, and for the first time the future seemed brighter than even her wildest dreams. Clearing away the teacups, Rarity spoke to her two new marefriends. "Would you like something stronger to drink? I've just opened the most lovely bottle of Merlot, and it would be a shame for it to go to waste."
Luna and Twilight nodded, and Rarity trotted over to the kitchen to fetch the bottle, the tub of ice cream in her fridge long forgotten. After all, wine was much more appropriate for this celebration of the triumph of love, and this particular vintage always tasted better when enjoyed in pleasant company.
In the quiet hours of the night, three mares generously shared their hearts with each other, and up in the sky the moon glowed purple and blue with the magic of true love.
