What Lies Within

How had she come to be here?  The Everfree forest had long been one of the places she refused to enter unless the need was dire.  The dark trees and dangerous creatures that lurked among them offered no invitation of beckoning.  But the shimmering lake spread out before Rarity, reflecting the pale rays of Luna's moon shining through gaps in the layer of clouds above, bore a stark contrast to the expected horrors of the stories often told of the place she was now lost within.

Among the feelings resounding through her head, "lost" was somehow not among them.  The path she'd hewn through the brush as her legs had carried her desperately forward was easy enough to locate, but its destination was longer an option for the white unicorn; Ponyville ceased to hold its welcoming sway over the mare for the moment.  At first, she decided this fact was due to the copious amounts of dirt and leaves that now coated her body after fleeing through the foliage, but something else in Rarity's mind whispered doubts towards such an obvious conclusion.  Unable to explain why her usual logic suddenly seemed flawed, Rarity ignored the feeling and approached the water's edge to become at least somewhat presentable before returning home.

Failing to notice the peculiar  absence of any terror regarding the filth coating her fur, she paused as her hoof descended into the cool water on the lakeshore.  A warm breeze had begun to send ripples across the glassy surface of the lake, blurring the almost perfect rendition of the world captured in its depths.  Rarity deemed this a blessing because her certainly hideous reflection would not offend her eyes before being washed away by the tides she would soon enter, but something about her obscured image bothered her immensely and  she couldn't help but lean closer to make out the source of her unease.

From what she could tell, her coat was indeed befouled by all manner of mud and dirt, but her mane was miraculously as pristine as ever.  The windblown lake had forced Rarity to bow her head within inches of the surface, but no part of her face had yet disturbed the water.  So...why had her eyes grown so wet?

***

"Rarity, you're lucky that you were so unbelievably convincing until now, because there is no way I'm letting you back down after coming this far."

Rainbow Dash made to put her hoof on the unicorn's shoulder who was attempting to hide her face with her own.  There was still a thick curtain shielding them from view, but Spike's booming voice had begun its crescendo towards the inevitable reveal.  Hoity Toity waited eagerly in the audience as all of Ponyville prepared for what was sure to be another amazing display of fashion from the mare they had trouble believing was not currently living among the Canterlot elite.   Toity was especially troubled by this reality and was fully prepared to whisk the talented fashionista away from this place to fulfill all of her dreams after the show's inevitable success.  His confidence was, however,  was not emulated by the unicorn behind the curtain.

Despite attempting to hide herself from the shame that was sure to come, Rarity sensed Rainbow Dash's intention and shot out her own hoof the halt the pegasus's.  Dash smiled, and then spoke soothingly to the shaking white mare.  "If me not tearing this dress is still so important to you Rarity, then you haven't given up, and I intend to keep it that way during these last few moments where we're still together."  She hadn't meant to phrase the last part of her encouragement that way, but Rarity failed to notice her face redden in the dark shadow of the curtain.

Rainbow had long admired Rarity's talent with fashion, but was too afraid to admit such an embarrassing truth while acting like the cool, aloof pegasus that everypony was so familiar with.  When Rarity first showed the group their dresses for the gala, Rainbow had been blown away at their beauty, but as her friends expressed disappointment, Dash instantly shoved her true feelings of wonder aside so as to not be singled out.  Later that day, while Rarity was attempting to satisfy everypony's specific taste's, Rainbow Dash wanted nothing more than to tell the troubled unicorn that her dress was everything she secretly hoped for.  She wanted to answer her friend's questions with "Every dress you make is flawless to me, so what am I supposed to say?" but instead struggled to think of ways to improve the already perfect outfit.

As Rarity had grown increasingly agitated by the imminent disaster of what would be Hoity Toity's first glimpse of her designs, Dash had nearly fallen apart as her element of loyalty compelled her to come clean with the miserable mare.  She had made a solemn oath that night to put her friends ahead of her pride and insecurity from then on.  Eventually, the others realized what Rainbow had known all along and apologized to Rarity for the grief they caused her.  Dash's apology had been especially difficult because she knew she could have eased her friend's anxiety at least somewhat.  Pure cowardice had held her back, and Rainbow resolved to hide no more.

Rainbow Dash had also been especially happy when Hoity Toity gave Rarity a second chance and was stunned by her original masterpieces.  She felt the guilt lifted off of her shoulders as Rarity's fashion career became Toity's top priority, a fact evident by the showcase being held at the moment specially for Rarity.  Tonight was sure to be her last fashion show in humble old Ponyville, and Dash knew that whatever doubt's the white unicorn allowed to plague herself at the last minute, her faith in her abilities would carry her through, and if not, Rainbow had her back.

And yet, it troubled Rainbow at first as she had felt a strong surge of amazement towards her dress when nopony else seemed to elicit  a similar reaction.  All the others had wished to see their individual personalities more accurately exhibited by their outfits, but Rainbow perceived a beauty in her dress that belittled all else.  She could see Rarity's heart woven into the fabric that had doubtlessly taken many hours to assemble into the stunning dress that Dash could not wait to run through her hooves.  Rarity probably poured so much of herself into all the dresses she had made for her friends that day, but apparently only Rainbow truly recognized this fact.

It wasn't just the dress that so captivated the cyan pegasus's thoughts; everything about Rarity seemed to exhilarate her nearly beyond her control, and hiding these strange feelings became an almost overwhelming task whenever somepony was watching.  When Rarity asked Rainbow  to be the star of what was probably the most important event of her career, Dash had snapped.  All control over herself vanished and her wings, which always grew anxious while in the unicorn's presence, had shot out to their full extent.  Rarity's mouth had fallen open in shock as Rainbow immediately darted into the air a ways and circled back, explaining in what she had hoped was a convincing tone that she could have sworn the Wonderbolts had just flown by when instead  the sun must have fooled her.  Appearing to believe the story, Rarity had then made her request once more and proceeded to eye the pegasus suspiciously as Dash immediately accepted while her wings refused to sit still.

Rarity now held Rainbow's hoof in her own, and she could not bring herself to look up into her friend's eyes with her own tear-filled ones.  The white unicorn had never felt more ashamed in her life as Rainbow genuinely believed everything would be okay.  It was the pegasus's lack of any taste in fashion that had made her the perfect model for this "special" show.  Rarity had also made sure that none of her other friend's saw Rainbow in her "new" dress, which was really just the one she had worn for that disaster of a display Hoity Toity had first witnessed.  She knew that Dash would not question her decision to give the failure of an outfit a second chance with the very pony who had openly criticized it.  In only a few short moments, the cyan pegasus would stride boldly onto the stage and expect the audience to be amazed as they always were by her designs and it would all be over.

Hoity Toity had requested a simple show of Rarity's finest work.  He wanted a brief display consisting of a single model to reaffirm his high opinion of her talent.  Toity had promised her that should she succeed as usual, then he would whisk her away to Canterlot to begin her destined rise to the top of the fashion world by his side.  And yet here she was, choosing to stare at the floor through glassy eyes rather than behold the rainbow mare who hadn't once asked why she hadn't chosen Fluttershy, who didn't think for a second that anypony would laugh at the way she currently looked, and who would never suspect for a single moment that she was selfishly being used by one of her best friends.

The truth was...Rarity  didn't want to amaze the crowd on the other side of the curtain, least of all Hoity Toity, because while she enjoyed making dresses, she couldn't stand the majority of the snobs who judged them.  Rarity had already decided that Ponyville was her true home, and that her friends were the most important things in her life.  This subconscious decision, however, was one she absolutely could not face.  She had lived with a single dream all her life, and her friends had grown to love her as the ambitious unicorn who longed for a higher status in life.  She knew that they all wanted her to be happy, but they had no idea what that happiness was.  Nopony knew her true feelings, so how could she know if anypony would want to?

This internal turmoil drove her to the extreme, causing her to continue hiding the way she felt to the point where she would use and humiliate one of her best friends to selfishly maintain their impression of her.  Still blushing at her accidental show of passion, Rainbow Dash continued to speak while Rarity tried not to listen.  "Just think, Rarity, you've never failed to wow a crowd before.  You know you got this!  If you'd thought for one second before tonight that there was some flaw in your design, then you would have worked tirelessly to fix the mistake."  The white unicorn kept her eyes on the ground as she slowly lost control, tears flowing down her face.  Dash pressed on regardless, knowing that her friend needed to hear this.  "The mere fact that we are here on this stage is proof that there is no chance that what you have created is anything but perfection.  Underneath whatever doubts these are that have you so upset, you know that when I walk through that curtain, all your dreams are going come true."  Rainbow knew she was starting to sound cliche, but she doubted the distraught mare would mind.

Rarity's thoughts were reeling from the unintended blows Dash's words were inflicting.  How could she have such confidence in me.  I know she can hardly tell what good fashion is, but nopony can be this sure of somepony else.  She must be trying to encourage me because she thinks I'm afraid of embarrassment, yet...I've heard Rainbow try to exaggerate many times, and she never carries such weight in her words except when stroking her own ego.  Her tone is one not of flattery, but...admiration?  The unicorn gradually raised her violet eyes to look into the pegasus's magenta ones.  She's not admiring my fashion, she's admiring--.

The confused mare's dawning realization was interrupted by Rainbow Dash's sudden loss of confidence as hesitantly continued speaking.  "This will probably be our last moment alone together for a very long time so...so I want you to remember something while you're becoming the star of Canterlot.  Fancy clothes--yours more than anypony else's--definitely make you look stunning, but I will always remember the way you were around your friends here in Ponyville and...around me.  No dress will ever be more beautiful than the real you, Rarity."

Any hope of maintaining her composure vanished as the bleary-eyed unicorn managed one final coherent thought.  She could care less if my dresses look good...as long as they remind her of me.

Rarity's horn began to glow softly as Rainbow's wings pressed against the confines or her heavy dress.  Dash stepped closer to the unicorn as they stared ,transfixed, into each other's eyes; she spoke in a soft tone that was barely more than a whisper.  Also, while you're out there in the world, I'd like you to always remember me the same way, but...nopony knows the real me, and I want more than anything for you to be the first."

No further sound came from the pegasus's lips, but her mouth remained open slightly as she gently shut her eyes...and began to close the now short distance between the two of them.  Rarity found the tirade of thoughts preventing her from thinking clearly become overwhelmed by a sudden passion for the mare whose lips were mere centimeters away from hers, and coming closer.  She felt her own eyes begin to close, but before they could, she noticed, without understanding at first, that the sliver of light underneath the curtain...was growing in size.