Chapters Humming to herself while sweeping the floor with a broom held in her magic, Rarity trotted around the boutique in search of any perticularily dirty spots. The late-afternoon sunlight poured in through the tall window of the cojointed lounge, bathing her darling Opal in warmth as she rested peacefully on the couch.
Finishing off her closing-time routine, the unicorn considered how to spend the evening. An unusually busy work-day called for a glass of rich wine and richer romance novel. Giggling lightly over the thought of returning to the delicious angst of her most recent read, Rarity put the broom aside to fetch the book upstairs. Sudden knocks interrupted her bouncy steps. Turning toward the door, she wondered who it could possibly be, curiosity growing with every insistant knock.
Opening the door with her magic revealed a pink, oversized dart aiming straight for her. It tumbled into her and Rarity fell onto her back with an un-ladylike grunt.
"Hi Rarity!"
She looked into a pair of wide, blue eyes for all of a second before the weight removed itself from her chest. Sitting up with a groan Rarity saw the rapidly bouncing pony repeatedly move in and out of view in a circular fashion.
"Pinkie Pie..."
"Since I worked SOOO hard this last week on making the new sugar-bomb cupcakes recipe, the Cakes' gave me the day off, and I thought to myself 'Hey, Pinkie Pie-' Hey, whats up?! 'Im spectacular, thanks for asking! So, what do you want to do for your day off?' You know what? I havent spent much time with my favorite, fancy fashionista lately!"
Something told Rarity quite a few batches of those cupcakes that had of course been edible but not quite up to standard had been taste-tasted and "disposed of" by the pink pony.
"Pinkie dear..." Rarity began, smiling hesitantly.
"Oooh, pretty!"
Pinkie raced around the boutique and the conjoined lounge area to satisfy her limited attention-span and hyperactivity which had become a dangerous combination under the influence of too much sugar.
Pearls of sweat started shining above Rarity's brows, smile twitching into a grimace. If Pinkie didnt calm down soon dresses would be knocked over and ruffled beyond repair in the pink whirlwind, Opal's delicate temper could easily flair from stress and cause the cat to tear furniture or god forbid the dresses, or Rarity might just pop a vein over the disorder brought onto her metacilously prepared boutique. Alarms went off in her mind, warning her to act quickly to avoid the kind of disaster Sweetie Belle had wrought in the past.
"PINKIE."
Rarity's screech reached through the whirlwind and the pony could suddenly be seen by the pony eye. Pinkie bounced around the room, humming a tune and looking at this and that, occassionally giggling to herself over some internal joke. "Wow Rarity, I love what youve done with the place!"
The pillows had flown off the couch and laid spread out on the floor, along with some flowers from the big bouquet on the coffee table. The fashion magazines from the same table which had laid in a neat stack were spread out on it as Pinkie had flipped through them in a hurry.
Rarity took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Walking over to the lounge she couldnt spot any tears in the couch nor the mags, and the bouquet was also intact, if ruffled. Nothing a little tidying couldnt fix. She levitated the pillows back onto the couch, the flowers into Pinkie's mouth to busy her, which elicited a delighted hum from the earth pony, and the mags into a stack.
"So, what do you wanna do today?" Pinkie asked through a mouthful of flowers.
Rarity bit her lip, unsure of how to proceed. Her eyes darted over the room, searching for inspiration on how to handle the situation. View sweeping by the entrance to the kitchen brought a good helping of wine to mind, and Pinkie's occupation of course.
Her view suddenly froze on its' way to the next object. An idea came to mind as she remembered how the sisters had agreed to spend the days of familial bonding outside if Sweetie was feeling perticularily energetic or wanted to try creative ideas. Getting messy is important and okay in the right spaces, like in her own inspiration room. Also, if Rarity figured the two friends had anything in common it would be that the flow of enthusiastic creation envigorated the spirit but exhausted energy levels. If Pinkie were to get in the zone for creation she needed her very own inspiratiom room a la Rarity's kitchen. Hopefully Pinkie was even a third as good at cleaning up messes as she was causing them.
"Pinkie darling?"
"Yes bestie?"
"Would you like to loan my kitchen for your day off?"
Pinkie tilted her head as she bounced.
"You could make something for us to snack on for tonight."
"Are we having a party of two?"
"Uhm well, Im free to spend the evening in such lovely company as yours. Though Id like for this party to be a calm and simple affair, after the stressful day Ive been having." She looked hopefully at the vibrating pony, a silent plea in her eyes.
"Oh, oh! We could have a sleepover!"
Pinkie's movements once again sped up in her excitement. Opal wheezed from the couch, getting up and swiping with her paw, sharp claws glinting in the sunlight.
With a high-pitched squeak of panic Rarity ran over to where Pinkie was bouncing up and down, about to implode.
"Yes! Sleepover! But first-" She shoved her friend into the modest kitchen. "Bake!"
Pinkie imploded.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Seated on a pillow, Rarity attempted to tame the black hole that was Pinkie's mane. Whenever one tangle came undone three seemed to take its place, not to mention the little knick-knacks she'd found in there. Pinkie didnt seem to mind Rarity's increasingly rough tugs on her hair, occasionally picking out a sweet from the varied selection in front of her.
"How many batches did you make again?" Rarity guessed there would be enough left-overs to offer Sweetie and her friends afternoon snacks for a couple months.
An assortment of cupcakes, muffins, and pies laid before them in a pile. She didn't think she had the ingredients for quite so much, but then again, Pinkie might have pulled more out of an emergency baking spot right by Rarity's kitchen window.
"Eight, but three of them disappeared in the process. I wonder where they went off to?" The second black hole of Pinkie's stomach the unicorn presumed.
Rarity sighed and levitated the comb away. "I give up, you foul beast. At least you're now less foul than before."
Pinkie's mane maintained its' messy quality, yet had an added volume from the unicorn's fancy hair-products and best untangling efforts. Rarity felt as satisfied by this victory as when Applejack dressed up for the gala, or Rainbow went to the spa after losing a bet with the aformentioned farmpony.
"Ooh! Where'd you buy that?" Pinkie pointed at a pink pillow on the monroe covers of the bed next to them.
"I stitched it myself in fact," Rarity said, bouncing the pink curls with a hoof. "I used excess fabric and stuffing from an old pillow. Im not a one trick-pony of dresses, you know."
Pinkie looked thoughtful, grabbing a strawberry-cupcake from the pile and holding it out to Rarity, who took it in her hooves and nibbled on it. She normally didn't eat sweets for the sake of her figure, but since Pinkie had figured out her weakness for strawberries Rarity allowed the occasional indulgement. That every party had a strawberry-themed sweet had not escaped her notice. Pinkie could be a sly mare.
"Could you make my gala-dress into a costume?"
"A dress already is a costume. You'll have to be more specific dear."
"Like, a mysterious get-up, that hides the pony."
Rarity tapped her chin and hummed. "Like the mare do well-costume?"
"Kinda!" Pinkie ate through the middles of two muffins and framed them with candy drops, holding them in front of her eyes to peek through them. "But less about getting stuff done in it, and more about looking good."
"Oh! Are you planning a masquerade-ball?"
"Sure!"
"Thats quite stylish of you dear. But are you sure it would fit Ponyville's definition of 'fun'?" Anything resembling a party held by high society would in their town surely devolve into another Pinkie-party in a matter of minutes.
"Maybe we could mix stylish and fun into something new? A cupcake doesnt taste like flour and butter, after all."
Rarity wasn't going to question that logic. By Pinkie-standards it was outright reasonable. "Did you want help throwing this event?"
"That would be super, thanks for asking!" Rarity opened her mouth to clear the misunderstanding, then shut it closed. Throwing a masquerade-ball in little Ponyville might actually be fun after all, and if it failed the worst that would happen is that they would get to enjoy another Pinkie-party and every citizen in town would own a costume of hers, free of charge.
The businessmare in her was enthusiastic about the prospect of everyone essentially wearing a sample of her work if only for one night. Even those who normally wouldn't be interested in buying anything from her might just come to appreciate her generously gifted piece of legendary fashion. And want another piece. Generosity and advertising went hoof in hoof, luckily for Rarity.
"Hmm. The opposing elements would have to be purposefully intermingled," Rarity said seriously. "If it is to be a success, we must work closely together every step of the way. No fun must be allowed to outweight the style. Or vice versa of course."
Pinkie clopped her hooves and giggled. "Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!"
"But Pinkie Pie?"
"Yuppers!"
"Whatever are you doing this for?"
Pinkie suddenly looked her square in the eye. "At my third party last week I saw something terrifying! It scared me out of my little pink mind!"
"And that was?" Rarity asked hesitantly.
"Boredom!"
Pinkie-party-fatigue was a common infliction in the quaint town; the recommended course of action was to at a party stay in the background, but not so much that it catches Pinkie's eye and she tries to excite one's actually overexcited spirit, and leave early, but not so early that Pinkie took it to be a rejection of her best fun-efforts. The ponies had learned this delicate dance shortly after Pinkie had arrived in the town. Twilight had gotten some advice and after a couple misshaps gotten it down as well.
"After I made sure I hadnt had a heart attack I asked myself why Cloudkicker was bored. Then I asked Cloudkicker why she was bored, and she said 'I gotta be honest with you Pinkie Pie. The first couple hundred of these from those first few years were cool and all, but since the town has grown and there are more birthdays and other celebrations than ever, well...'" Tears started to build in the corner of her eyes. "sh-she said... 'Im getting bored of them.' There! Thats my shameful secret!"
"Oh dear... Well, an artist musnt settle for good enough and stop developing. Inspiration to try new things for their art is simply a must!"
"Wait a mini-minute." The sheen in Pinkie's eyes took on a sort of glow. "Im an artist?"
"Well..." Pinkie followed the recipies of Sugarcube corner's specialties when she had kitchen duty at work, like Applejack stuck to the Apple-family recipies when baking, but left to her own devices Pinkie would experiment and create new goods. So she wasn't lacking in creativity and in a way her creations were art for the mouth the way Rarity's were art for the eyes. "Metaphorically speaking."
Pinkie gasped, and took Rarity's hooves in her own. "I'm a metaphorical artist! I'm gonna throw the most fun-stylish, inspired, Pinkie-tastic, Rari-licious party ever!"
Rarity laughed in equal surprise and merth, draping her hooves over pink shoulders.
"Rarity?"
The blissfully embracing mares turned to the doorway where a bleary Sweetie Belle yawned into her fetlock. Rarity untangled from the hug and hastily trotted over.
"Sweetie Belle? Whatever are you doing here at this hour?"
Sweetie gave her sister an incredulous look. "Its 9 in the morning. You were supposed to help me with schoolwork today, remember?"
"Oh! My goodness, taming Pinkie's mane took longer than expected. Why dont you stay here while I walk Pinkie to the door?"
Sweetie watched them leave and muttered to herself. "'Taming Pinkie's mane.' Sure you did..." Turning to the inside of the room her eyes widened.
The two ponies trotted and bounced to the boutique's front-door, smiles on their faces.
"I will make brand new costumes for everypony. I trust you will take care of the food and refreshments?"
"Of course! Should we make the decorations and invitations together?"
"That sounds lovely dear. I will get to work on designing the costumes right away!" The hoof she'd raised at the proclimation lowered hesitantly. "Although... I don't know how many that would be. Not to mention that I lack measurements for most ponies in town."
"I think I can help you with that. We can work that out at Sugarcube corner tonight! Bye Rares!" Only a cloud of smoke was left in the wake of Pinkie speeding off.
"See you tonight dearie!"
Trotting back up-stairs Rarity found Sweetie Belle lying on the pile of baked goods, her cheeks stuffed full.
"Sweetie, homework first, sweets after."
"Fine," Sweetie sighed, moving away from the pile and out the door. "I don't like strawberries that much anyway."
Rarity glanced at the pile and found that all the goods indeed had a red tint to them. Sly mare, Rarity thought, levitating the goods with her down the stairs.
Having spent the day helping Sweetie with her homework, and taking a nap and bath, Rarity felt refreshed and ready to start a new project as she walked into Sugarcube corner nearing closing-time. "Hello Mr cake. Is Pinkie available?"
"She's been in her room since she finished her work early today. She's excited today, it seems."
Smiling knowingly Rarity walked up the stairs towards her friend's room. "Oh-ho, Pinkie dear?" she called, knocking twice.
Being pulled inside and pushed down a slide in a matter of seconds Rarity let out a distinctly lady-like squeek.
"Welcome to my super-secret party-planning cave!" Pinkie exclaimed. She flipped through files in a drawer and pulled one out for Rarity.
"Measurements?" Flipping through the contents her eyes widened. Pinkie seemed to somehow have procured the measurements of every citizen in Ponyville. "Pinkie dear... Whatever do you have these for?"
"If I'm making a cake-version of a pony for their birthday of course!"
To save her time and sanity she didn't bother asking how Pinkie had collected this info. "These will be a big help Pinkie Pie. On to the next topic for us to discuss; what color-scheme should we go for?"
"Ooh! Yellow and blue!"
The thought of combining such colors with the frills and skirts of a modern masquerade ball made her cringe. "A masquerade ball is a subtle and elegant event dear. I'm afraid the fun would overtake the style with those colors."
She did however file away this scheme for when she and the girls would arrange Pinkie's next birthday-party. The colors of the bright sky would suit her perfectly, and Rarity would add a subtle cloudy white to compliment.
"What about... black, brown, and dark shades of pink and purple?" she suggested.
"Are you sure we can't have blue?"
"Without yellow a navy blue could work." Black, brown and navy can look good with nearly any color, and certain shades of purple and pink would add vibrant yet subtle life to the party. Images of unevenly cut dresses in violet with black skirts and navy costumes with pink frills materialized in her mind.
"Yay!"
Pinkie would color the decorations and food either based on the pony of honor - which works well because thankfully whatever force of nature decides each pony's colors has good fashion sense - or a couple bright colors. Rarity had frantically informed her what colors do and don't match when Pinkie had combined mustard and seafoam.
"Now, the food must resemble hors d'oeuvre."
"Horse what now?"
"The small bits of food on plates that are circulated by waiters."
"Like at the gala?"
"Precisely."
"Do I cut the baked goods in half? Or get foals' baking equipment for teeny-tiny goods?"
"That's up to you dear. As long as they're bite-sized you can make whatever you want."
Pinkie gasped. "Carameled popcorn! Lemon drops! Chocolate-covered strawberries!"
"Those creative juices have started flowing I see."
"Apple-chips! Chocolate cake-cubes!"
"But who's going to serve the food? Perhaps we could ask one of the girls? It isn't work fit for a hostess after all. Or maybe Spikey-wikey? I could make him a handsome server's suit."
"Apple and cinnamon-cubes!"
Grinning at Pinkie's excitement Rarity interjected, "Darling, what kind of decorations do you have in mind?"
"Hmm." Pinkie tapped her chin. "Something tells me balloons and streamers are a no-go, so some confetti and cloth-banners?"
Tears of pride formed at the corners of Rarity's eyes. She caughed daintily behind a hoof and gave Pinkie a beaming smile. "I think that will be an appropriate amount of fun. I will supply the banners from my collection of fabrics."
Pinkie giggled as she bounced around the unicorn. "All that's left is games and music."
"Octavia and Lyra should be able to supply the music."
"Oh." Pinkie looked sideways with a frown, scratching the ground with a hoof.
"Something wrong, dear?"
"Could we ask Vinyl for help as well?"
"The, uh, dj?"
"Uh-uh. Classic music is no fun." Pinkie smiled sheepishly at Rarity's lifted eyebrows. "No offense."
Rarity smirked. "I suppose such music is too subtle to be enjoyed by lovely Ponyville for an entire evening. I shall ask for Vinyl's assistance as well then. As for games, what do our resident-partier suggest?"
"Apple-cobbling, spider-bullseye, and Big Mac's cart-carrage!"
"Cart-carrage? The one from Nightmare night?"
"The one and only! If we're going for a dark vibe, what's a better fit than stuff from the only celebration we have at night?"
"Good thinking Pinkie! To take inspiration from the time-period that modernized the ball, the Victrottian era of Trottingham was a time of mystery and intrigue inspired by the novels of Agirtha Christie and Sir Concant Doyle. Not to mention the henius crimes commited by Jack the skipper! To follow your line of thinking, the night could entail adventures of murder mysteries and high-society scandals!"
Rarity swooned dramatically, and hearing Pinkie approach by the clop of her hooves, let herself fall. Steady hooves wrapped around her waist. As Rarity opened her eyes and moved her hoof to rest on her forehead, her vision was filled with pink and a smile. "Sounds like fun!" Righting herself, Rarity bounced Pinkie's curls. To her pleasant surprise they were still shiny.
"If the little adventure on the train with the rival-bakers of the Cakes' is anything to go by, you have the imagination to pull an exciting mystery together. You can talk to Twilight about inspiration from those books if you need it; she has no doubt read them."
"Ooh, I can't wait to see the girls in their costumes!"
"I wouldn't be too hasty to reveal myself at the ball if I were you. Part of the fun at such events is the anonimity caused ny the masks." Rarity's smile turned dreamy and her eyes distant. "To not be appraised by one's social standing or reputation, but presentation and charm; it is surely the perfect oppurtunity to find the love of one's life!"
"I hope you'll find it there!"
"Me too, dear. Now, do you remember all your duties?"
"Chopped up confetti, horse devour, and murder!" Pinkie's usual smile took on a sinister vibe because of the words coming out of her mouth.
"And mine are clothes, music and the cloth-banners." Walking over to the cabinets she floated the measurements of every citizen in town behind her. "Then I'll take these and get to work."
"Wait!" Rarity turned to hear her out. "What about invitations?"
"I trust you to have that sorted out by the time we're done setting everything up?"
"Yes m'am!" Saluting her, Pinkie walked over, grabbed Rarity by the shoulders and with a 'yippieee!' took them down the slide but in reverse.
Emitting a strange noise of surprise Rarity reoriented herself before getting off her haunches and walking out the door.
"See you in a week?" Pinkie called down the hallway.
"Yes, see you then darling," Rarity distantly called back. She still hadn't quite figured out what she had gotten herself into.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Pushing the rack of clothes on wheels with her magic Rarity trotted towards Town hall. A month had passed since she and Pinkie had decided to plan a party together. The invitations Pinkie had started making marked the day another month from now to be the day the party is to be held. Today was the milestone of checking on how the progress on all parts of the whole was coming along.
To manage hundreds of costumes as well as her usual orders within the deadline she had made some of them variations of each other. When agreeing to the project with Pinkie Pie she had been so caught up in the excitement and fresh ideas that the sheer amount of work it would entail hadn't even crossed her mind. Rarity was loathe to admit it but her creative juices and enthusiasm were running dry.
Entering the hall she detected the musicians on the stage and Pinkie to the side with her head in one of two boxes. "Who-hoo!" Rarity called in greeting. "Here comes the fashion!"
At her call Pinkie bounced over, and around the unicorn and her work. "Wow, these look fa-bu-lous!" Pinkie sing-songed.
"Thank you dear." She pulled out a couple rolls of lilac and tan fabric in her magic. "Here is the cloth so we can try the decorations."
Grabbing the other box Pinkie manouvered it onto her back. As Rarity looked inside to find hot pink and sapphire confetti she hesitated on what to say next. If the ground and tables were covered in the confetti and the cloth banners hung from the roof there would be two distinct layers of decoration that would clash. She should have known that she'd shoose subtler shades while Pinkie would pick the brightest, most extravagant colors she had available.
"Here; let me put it up!" Grabbing the rolls of cloth in her tail Pinkie pulled out the party cannon, loaded it with confetti and sped around the hall shooting confetti and unceremoniously throwing the cloth banners to hang from the roof's beams.
Rarity adjusted the cloth to resemble actual banners when Pinkie returned with an excited smile. "It looks great!"
Rarity laughed lightly. "To the untrained eye perhaps."
"What do you mean?"
"Pinkie darling, the sapphire and hot pink stand in stark contrast to the lilac and tan."
"Sapphire? Navy is dark blue isn't it? Then what is sapphire?"
"A darker shade of blue than navy."
"So navy's light blue?"
"No, they're both dark shades of blue, yet different degrees of dark."
"Oooh." Pinkie sighed in relief. "I thought I had picked the wrong color for a second. I gotta serve you the treats for sampling! Gimme a minute!" Pinkie ran off and returned her head to the first box.
Rarity bit back an undignified shout for Pinkie to return this instant and sighed while glancing once more at the clashing decour. She turned and approach the hall's stage to take her mind off of it. "How are things coming along?" she asked the musicians hopefully.
"Oh, it's going great," said Vinyl with a flat tone. Lyra scowled at Vinyl who blew a rasberry at Octavia; the Earth pony rolled her eyes in response.
"Do you three have any finished scores to play for me?"
"You want to call them 'tracks' to not agitate the pretend drummer." Lyra rolled her eyes as Octavia shot a smirk in Vinyl's direction. The unicorn responded by arching her neck backwards, pursing her mouth, snapping her tail and walking with high steps towards her table. Octavia blushed and looked away, the scowl giving her a flustered edge.
They sat down by their instruments and after a couple false starts played a piece. Rarity forced her smile to stay in place. The lack of harmony between the musicians was both figurative and literal. Once finished she caughed and clopped her hooves politely.
"Any other... pieces?"
"No."
Rarity hadn't expected that. At this pace they would be repeating two tracks for an entire evening.
"Hrm-hm, care for a bite missy?"
Turning around she saw Pinkie wearing her tuxedo and a moustache, carrying a plate of treats, nose stoically turned up. Levitating a piece of each of the six treats Pinkie had decided to feed the guests Rarity tried one after another, each being more delicous than the last.
"My, my! Pinkie Pie, you have simply outdone yourself!" She was especially pleased with the chocolate-covered strawberry.
"Thanks!" She carried on to the grumpy musicians to offer them treats as a reward for the hard work of putting up with each other.
Watching the four share the food surrounded by the confetti and banners, small smiles slowly appearing on the musicians' faces as a uniformed and energetic Pinkie forced their attention away from each other, Rarity scratched her chin with a backhoof, eyes squinting. A gasp escaped her at the gorgeous dresses materializing in her mind's eye and she galloped over.
"Pinkie?" she asked with barely contained excitement. "I'm afraid I will cut this occasion short; I must go to the boutique and make your dresses at once! Will you clean up here or shall I return later tonight?"
Pinkie waved a hoof. "I'm done making the treats so I'll clean up. You go make those dresses!"
Galloping out Rarity realized Pinkie must have worked just as hard as she if she had finished baking the goods by today, even with the energy the baker had. If Pinkie was as dedicated as all that Rarity told herself she would be no less.
Pinkie hummed to herself as she trotted towards Carousel Boutique. Weeks of preperation and hard work would finally pay off in Town hall that night. She knocked on the door with poorly contained excitement. A couple of frantic door-rapping minutes later Rarity's magic let her in. "Up here, darling."
Trotting through the boutique Pinkie noticed how her hoofsteps almost echoed in the macuiletly cleaned space. It was if somepony had cleaned all day. She set her curiosity aside as she pushed open the fashionista's bedroom-door. "You ready to go host the best party ever?!"
Rarity sat on the floor, her back to the door. At the silence the party-mare stepped further into the room. "Rarity?"
"Pinkie Pie?" The mare turned around and sighed deeply. "I'm afraid I can't be there."
"WHAT." Rarity cringed at her volume.
"It's simply that- that is to say, I-" Her words trailed off, eyes focusing anywhere but at the mare before her. Glancing at Pinkie's display of shock and panic she looked down as tears filled her vision.
Rarity sniffled. "I always knew I'd have to host a party one day; that is simply what you do in high society. I was uncertain I could organize it properly and create a good time for everypony, so when you offered to host one with me I thought I could learn how, with someone I trust and who makes every experience one worth remembering."
"So what's changed your mind?" Rarity had never heard Pinkie's voice come out so small.
"What if it doesn't come together how we expected it to?" Rarity whispered. "What if the clothes I've sent the guests and the mystery you've thrown together don't match for instance? Should we have been more involved in the other's work? On the other hoof, considering the lackluster decorations, less involved from the start? And what of Lyra, Octavia and Vinyl Scratch? What were we thinking?!"
"A successful party is more than the sum of its' fun. They'll notice how much work and fun intention we've put into it and enjoy it for what it is, no matter what exactly it is." Pinkie's eyes softened. "We made it together so we should host it together."
"I only have one chance to get this evening right. I don't know if I can face the potential humiliation if I don't..."
"If you don't go you won't figure out what worked and didn't til next time."
"Next time?"
"Rarity? You would make a fantabulous hostess who could throw legendary parties but how will you throw them if you don't throw this one cause the guests will be disappointed and will never trust you to throw one ever again and you won't ever throw your first party!" Pinkie fell to her knees and sobbed at Rarity's hooves. "PleEeEese come!"
Rarity smiled lightly at Pinkie's dramatics.
"I suppose it makes sense that it would be cancelled if I didn't show up."
"Oh absolutely! I need the style to my fun there cause I wouldn't be able to pull off that balance by myself!"
"We can't have that, now can we?" Rarity said with her usual confidence. Pinkie sighed silently with relief that the Rarity she knew was back. Rarity offered Pinkie a hoof with which the earth pony stood up and they embraced.
"Pinkie Pie? Would you not leave my side for the evening?"
"We could be attached at the hip if you want?" she responded, pulling out some superglue.
"That won't be neccessary."
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Taking a deep breath Rarity stepped into Town hall. Immidietly every eye present turned to her and she forgot how to breathe, the mask feeling too heavy upon her face. In a matter of seconds Pinkie had put a foreleg around her shoulders.
"Please give a warm welcome to the mare responsible for this one of a kind-Pinkie party!" Pinkie spread her left foreleg dramatically outward to the heavens to the crowd's thunderous applouse. Rarity waved and smiled bashfully.
Pinkie tapped her shoulder. Looking Pinkie in the eye the earth pony nodded to the crowd with an expectant and encouraging smile. Rarity had come to associate happiness and safety when witnessing that one constant of the pink pony. Grinning more confidently at the crowd Rarity stood straighter.
"Thank you everypony for coming! As you no doubt can tell a tremendous amount of work has been put into this evening, from both of us. All Pinkie and I wanted to accomplish is to make a special evening for you all. Our friends and our community in Ponyville deserve the best we have to offer, and I hope you will all have an unforgettable evening!"
She finished by spreading her right foreleg upwards and putting her left around Pinkie's shoulders, mirroring the earth pony's earlier pose, the other mare doing the same. Another wave of hoof-stomping responded and Pinkie took a hold of Rarity's hoof to excitedly lead her into the crowd.
Standing by Pinkie as she mingled with some guests Rarity looked around nervously. In the dim light the decorations' clashing shades could hardly be seen. She would be honestly shocked if anyone but she noticed. Letting go of one nagging worry she heartily joined the conversation.
As the two walked around to greet their guests, asking how they were enjoying the evening, and recommend games or nourishments, Rarity realized music was playing. Curiously it didn't sound terrible. Excusing herself to investigate Pinkie did the same, giving her a wink on the way to the stage. Rarity winked back.
"Girls?" Rarity asked the seemingly peaceful musicians who a month ago had given more back-hoofed insults and stares that burned holes through the back of heads than she had ever witnessed in high society. "Whatever happened this last month to create such harmony between the three of you?"
Lyra grinned. "Vinyl and Octavia had some things to get off their chests, that's all. It was smooth sailing from there."
The mentioned mares glanced at each other and then quickly turned back to their instruments, small smiles gracing their features.
Pinkie whispered something in Rarity's ear and the unicorn gasped in shock, staring at her fellow hostess in disbelief. "What?" Pinkie asked innocently. "They totally did!"
Rarity made a mental note to catch up on that perticular piece of gossip, perhaps with Lyra since she seemed the most aware of the situation besides the two mares themselves. Satisfied that the music had been saved regardless of the reason behind it Rarity returned to the guests and Pinkie followed.
The walking and talking beginning to take a toll on her Rarity approached the table of refreshments. Pinkie helped herself to her own creations and Rarity daintily nibbled on her one chocolate-covered strawberry for the evening. Pinkie offered an apple-chip but Rarity shook her head. "Pinkie dear, I must think of my figure."
"Why?"
Rarity blinked rapidly, face blank, racking her brain to remember why she had started her routine of a maximum of one sweet a week. "I have an image to maintain." The excuse sounded bad even to her own ears. With the clothes Rarity designed she could bring out the beauty in everyone, regardless of size.
"I don't get image, but look!" Pinkie sat down next to the unicorn and swept Rarity's legs from under her so she fell onto her rump with a yelp. Next she took Rarity's head between her hooves and angled it to look between them.
"I'm not big right?"
"Well, no..."
"And you're smaller than me, which means you're even less big! But being Pinkie-sized isn't a bad size to be! Is it?"
"Of course not dear. It's just that..." She fiddled with her hooves. "You, Rainbow and Applejack are extremely active, Fluttershy doesn't eat much since she shares her food with her animals and Twilight doesn't seem able to gain weight no matter how much she eats! Do you think I want to be the only one with a fluctuating figure?"
"Me and AJ can eat so much without becoming balloons and floating away because we move around all the time! If you eat this chip I worked so hard to make we can dance after and that way there's no way you'll be bigger than me!"
Watching Pinkie with her ever-optimistic smile Rarity felt one of her own grow. "I'll take you up on that deal."
They ate one apple chip and four chocolate cubes respectively before Pinkie offered Rarity a hoof and lead her to the dance floor. Her smile hadn't left and neither had her co-hostess'.
Holding her firmly, Pinkie guided Rarity across the floor. Looking like she did, smokey black and a mask covering her pink features, Rarity could've sworn she was dancing with a mysterious, dark and handsome gentlecolt. Now that she thought of it, as caught up in the project as she had been Rarity had never questioned why Pinkie wanted to host a masquerade ball of all events different from a pinkie-party in the first place. Looking into the softly smiling eyes of the earth pony before her she thought she understood.
Sly mare, Rarity thought.
Rarity visited Sugarcube corner with or without Sweetie Belle more often than before, no longer denying her love for strawberry-themed treats. Still aspiring to be healthy she more frequently danced, walked Sweetie to school, and ran errands with Spike to maintain her prefered balance.
Pinkie had become more interested in incorperating costumes into her antics and frequently asked Rarity for help to make them together at the Boutique. On these occasions they discussed the color-scheme and cake-decorations of Pinkie's next party, danced, or sang improvised songs together.
Since Fluttershy's birthday was coming up they had agreed to work on it together. Sitting by the table in the baking-room of Sugarcube corner they decorated freshly baked cupcakes. Watching Pinkie work with an ever-present smile on her face caused Rarity to grin so much her cheeks hurt. She had waited for Pinkie to share her feelings ever since their party two months ago but the earth pony had proven to be more shy about it than Rarity had thought she would be. Having realized that she had to be the one to bring it up she had waited for the right oppurtunity.
Looking at her now Rarity knew that Pinkie in her situation would have thrown all caution to the wind as soon as at the party when she had realized the other's feelings. Knowing that, the question of right oppurtunity seemed silly. She closed her eyes dreamily and slowly leaned towards the other mare.
"Rarity?" The unicorn sighed blissfully at Pinkie's soft voice. "What are you doing?"
She froze in her tracks. Pinkie's tone had changed to one of genuine confusion. Rarity pulled her head as far back as she could and caughed into a hoof. "I- uh- that is-" She was silenced by a pink hoof.
"It's okay. I see what's going on." Pinkie frowned lightly. "But since when have you had a crush on me?"
If she had been about to kiss the earth pony Rarity supposed it was true that she had developed a cruch on her friend, yet she indignantly stomped her hoof. "No, no, no! You're the one who has a cruch on me!"
"I do? Huh, who knew." Pinkie's eyes widened. "Can you read hearts? Or tell the future? If so your spell is a little off."
Rarity felt a blush creep across her face. "But- but I- the ball! Whyever would you hold a ball if not to catch my eye?"
"Since we don't go to the spa much together, and you don't like pranking or baking, and I don't like romance novels, gossip or gems, I had to be creative to think of something we could do together cause you're one of my best friends but we don't hang out much just the two of us and I've wanted to do more of that for a while now."
"How would you know I love strawberries if you haven't paid more attention to me than absolutely neccessary?" Rarity proclaimed almost aggressively.
"I know everypony's favorite treat! Comes with the territory of being a party-planner! You remember my super-secret party-cave, right? There's a folder for everypony with info about them including favorite food and treat!"
Rarity closed her eyes and sighed deeply, admiting defeat. "Pinkie Pie? I believe I've made a terrible mistake."
"How's that?" Pinkie asked with seemingly genuine curiosity.
Rarity's eye twitched in frustration. "I have developed a crush on a dear friend based on a misunderstanding!"
"I wouldn't say that's a mistake. If I didn't want to date you, then maybe."
The unicorn was unresponsive for at least a full minute. "What are you saying?"
"We made a pretty good team at the ball and I've had lots of fun hanging out with you more! I don't know if I'll feel the same way if we date but it would be a lot of fun and I see no harm in trying it."
Rarity closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Pinkie Pie?" Her heart pounded in her ears.
"Yes, Rarity?" Pinkie sounded as happy as ever.
Looking the other mare in the eyes, mouth wobbling to remain serious and not break into a smile and failing, Rarity said, "Would you like to go on a date with me?"
"Abso-lutely!" As she jumped into the air confetti exploded from the earth pony and she did cartwheels around the table, shouting, "Me and Rarity are dating now! WHOO!"
Chuckling over her enthusiasm Rarity brought her hooves out in an invitation as she calmed down and Pinkie immidietly went in for the hug. She squeezed tightly and Rarity stroked the earth pony's mane. Though the future was uncertain Rarity felt at peace, because no matter what happened Pinkie Pie would be by her side through it all.
