“Pinkie Pie, these lyrics are really forward for me.”

Twilight looked down at the sheet her best friend, and current winggirl, had handed her. Paula Abmule was not an artist she had much familiarity with, outside of a brief fascination with the special effects techniques used in the video with the animated cat, but a read through of the song provided enough context for the plan that had been formed.

“Twi-Twi. Look me in the eye-eyes. Has a single one of your more ‘subtle’ hints gotten through?” Pinkie Pie said, grabbing Twilight’s arms and boring into her mind with her own large “eye-eyes.” Twilight pulled her arms out of her friend’s grasp and crossed them across her chest, puffing her cheeks out and looking to the side for good measure.

“Not that she’s shown. And given the number of attempts it’s statistically even odds that she has been noticing and just isn’t interested and is trying to let this stupid crush of mine run its course. I mean she didn’t even comment on the element I discovered and named after her!!” Twilight threw her arms up to emphasize the ridiculousness of her situation.

“Twi, me and Sunset already told you that was because you named it ‘Pauctiasum’. She doesn’t speak Equin!!” Pinkie threw her own arms up to match her smart-but-not-in-the-way-it-mattered friend, then grabbed her hands and started swinging their arms back and forward.

Not bothering to stop the new motion, Twilight grumbled something about being told not to buy her crush a latin dictionary despite them being on sale and very useful, eliciting a giggle from her winggirl. “Look Twi, I know the whole ‘Talent Show’ idea is a little nerve-wracking, and it’s obvious you can’t just spill your own guts directly. But that’s why I chose this song for you two love flamingos, Paula is basically saying it for you!! And when I made that Pinkie Promise to help you confess to her, I meant it, this is the best path forward!!”

Twilight let out a little sigh, “Plus if she reads the lyrics when I hand them to her there’s a chance she’ll get the meaning right away?”

“Exactly!! She’s a smart girl, like you, though more on the fabric of fabric end than the fabric of spacetime end. Plus, I’m sure she’s had a story like this in one of her romance novels, she’ll recognize the trope for sure!!” Pinkie switched their still swinging arm movements into a crushing trademark Pinkie Pie hug to further assure her friend of their guaranteed success.

Twilight hugged back, though looked at Pinkie a little questioningly, “Do a lot of her books involve inviting someone to do a talent show as a confession of love?” Pinkie shrugged while maintaining the hug, a shr-hug maneuver, and simply said, “How should I know? I’m a cookbooks and Greek Epics kinda gal, nowlet’sgo!!” Twilight was glad she was still in the hug as her legs whipped out underneath her, Pinkie Pie running at the speed of sugar to the classroom they knew Rarity liked to practice her keytaur in.

Rarity deeply enjoyed her time spent playing with the Rainbooms, she really did. But their particular brand of Pop, with occasional punk and rock elements brought in by the lead singer, just wasn’t her favorite. She had always been more of a BABA fan, as well as the Bleatles, though of course they were both different genres entirely. Regardless, this meant she liked to spend the occasional free period not spent practicing with her band (or designing wonderful new dresses) practicing covers of the synth lines in “Waterbuffaloo” or “Take A Chance on Me!” just to get a better feel for them, in case she ever got to do a solo deal. She’d never abandon her friends, of course, but an occasional album not split 7 ways would do wonders for her bank account. She loved giving her designs to her friends for free, especially Twilight who was oh so fun to design for (even if she never recognized the extra time Rarity spent on her outfits in comparison to her other friend’s ones), but she could always use a little extra funding.

That line of thought was slammed shut when the door to her side slammed open, Pinkie Pie style, naturally. The minor annoyance that flashed across her face quickly abated as she noticed her friends, Twilight in particular. She gave them both a dainty wave and asked them to come on in, no it’s fine darling, I was just noodling around.

“Hiya Rarity!! Twi here has something she wanted to ask you!!” Pinkie Pie said with her usual flair, though Rarity could sense something beneath it. Pinkie was always excited of course, but the determination in her eye seemed slightly more than usual. Above the standard line but slightly below having just found a new recipe to try. Her attempt to analyze was ironically cut short by Twilight.

“Pinkie, I can tell her why I’m here myself. I can also stand on my own feet, please.” Pinkie Pie set her friend down, though both were giggling the whole way through. Twilight turned to Rarity and smiled, “So I was thinking!! Since Rainbow and AJ are joining the Talent Show together to figure out who can break the most boards in a minute, and there’s the rule about only one entrant per student, we can’t go up there as the Rainbooms. But I really was hoping to get the chance to perform, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to, y’know, do a performance with me? Oh, and Pinkie Pie of course!!” She said the last part quickly, and Rarity would have noticed the surprise on Pinkie’s face if not for the music sheet being presented taking her attention. The title “State of Attraction” by Paula Abmule was what caught her first.

Very Twilight, picking something like this. I suppose it’s about magnetism or some such force.

What caught her next though was just how complex the accompanying sheet music was.

“Darling, not to belittle your choice, but this seems like every part of the song at once, minus the drums. Did you make this arrangement yourself?”

Twilight grimaced at this slightly, “Well Pinkie Pie helped, but the song is from the 80s, so it’s rather synth-heavy. I thought that would be a good fit for you, given the keytaur and all. We could try some-” Twilight was cut off by a raised finger from Rarity. The Index, to be specific.

“It’s quite alright, darling, I wouldn’t want you to change the performance on my account. I can achieve this with my usual perfection and flair, I shall simply put my all into it. You would do the same for me, after all!” Rarity flashed one of her trademark grins at Twilight, the kind that showed the perfect amount of teeth while emphasizing the lipstick that she’d applied in a way that flattered both. Well okay it wasn’t trademarked yet but she at least had a patent in review.

“That’s great!!” Twilight jumped a little and clapped her hands, “We can practice now if you’d li-” The school bell rang, signaling the end of the only free period they would have together until the day before the show.

“Darling, I’m afraid we shall have to continue this later, one more tardy with Mr Magnet and I fear I won’t be allowed to design costumes for a month. But I shall master this part before we perform, you have my honor!” She packed up her keytaur and curtsied in a ladylike manner before using her diamond shields to make her shoes into rollerblades and skating off, in a manner that was still rather ladylike given the action.

Twilight sighed. “How did it get to the end of the period so fast?” she asked, before looking over at Pinkie, who was eating some vending machine snacks. “Oh yeah, we stopped on the way over.”

“Don’t worry Twi, I’m sure by the time we get to the performance the message will be loud and clear. That said, I don’t remember being part of the group in our game plan. Kinda defeats the point of the mission if she doesn’t think it’s just the two of you togther.” She gestured pointedly at Twilight with the double-berry swirl twist cupcake muffin she had started on.

“Sorry Pinkie, I just couldn’t do it without you. I need some moral support I think. Besides, once she reads those lyrics, your plan is sure to go off without a hitch!!”

Author's Note

Been a little bit since I've written!! The plan for this story is 3 chapters, and I have them rest planned out, I just need to write them. But I really wanted to commit to it, hence uploading the first chapter so I have an audience that I know (or hope) will want to know how it ends. Gotta keep the RariTwi nation strong!! Also even though this is a fic based around a song, I obviously won't be skirting the site rules regarding copywritten lyrics, so I suggest looking up the title song itself, just without the Mule pun in the singer's name, cause there will be some specific references down the line. Also it's just a good song, sound of the summer even.