A Certain Type of Chic

Chapters

Chapter One – Chance Meetings
Chapter Two – Fairest Canterlot
Chapter Three – Hope and Heart
Chapter Four – A Helping Hoof
Chapter Five – Undesirable Desires
Chapter Six – In Memory
Chapter Seven – Closing Doors
Chapter Eight – A Certain Type of Chic

Chapter One – Chance Meetings

Chapter One – Chance Meetings

The dawn broke fair and warm over Ponyville. The quiet of another peaceful night began to dissipate in the midst of a hundred or more brightly coloured birds each chirping her own beautiful melody. Their cheerful chorus was carried to every corner of town on a mild breeze which barely disturbed the flags on the roof of town hall.

As if beckoned from her slumber by the majesty of such a morning, Twilight Sparkle awoke. The many songs of the Ponyville birds were to her mind some of the most comforting and joyous sounds she could recall. They reminded her that she was home. As much as she had been born a Canterlot pony, she felt that it was there in Ponyville she belonged; surrounded by her friends.

In one fluid motion, Twilight leapt from under her sheets and began planning her day. There were books to be studied, magic to be perfected and a baby dragon to be looked after. She drew her sheets up the bed and flattened them carefully with her hooves leaving her bed looking as if it had never been slept in and began to potter around. She levitated some books she intended to read later in to a small pile on her desk and empted some of the luggage she had left lying after her late return from Canterlot the previous night. As she emptied one of her bags, she moved yet another dusty old tome on to her reading pile, carefully placing it on the top.

Barely an hour had passed before she decided she had best wake Spike. If she was to get anything done, she would need his help.

“Good morning, Spike,” she whispered, “time to wake up.”

Spike stirred gently and Twilight smiled fondly as she watched him stretch and rub the sleep from his big, round eyes.

“Morning, Twilight,” Spike yawned, sitting up in his bed.

“We have a big day ahead of us,” said Twilight, “and it wouldn’t do to oversleep. I need you to help me take some notes on the new book I was given by the Princess and I really ought to practise those teleportation spells some more.”

“Yes, ma’am!” responded Spike, no longer looking the slightest bit weary. The little dragon began running around the library opening drawers and cupboards fetching rolls of parchment and quills and ink while Twilight trotted over to her desk.

However she had no sooner opened her book to the first page than there was a small knock at her tree-house door. Twilight cantered out of her study and through the library to answer it. Upon doing so she was greeted by five very familiar faces. In her rush to resume her studies, Twilight had completely forgotten to schedule some time to see her friends. They had obviously not made the same mistake.

“Welcome home, Twilight,” they chorused as one.

Twilight beamed at them, “Hello everypony! Come in, I was just about to start with some reading but I can do that later. I can’t wait to hear about everything I’ve missed!”

The five mares flooded into the library, taking up seats on cushions and the floor and window sills with Rainbow Dash preferring simply to hover in mid air. Twilight took up her position between Rarity and Pinkie Pie, looking expectantly at each of her best friends.

The stories had really mounted up since she had left for Canterlot three days ago. It seemed Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo had been up to their usual high-jinx; they had decided that there were cutie marks to be had in covert information gathering (spying, Twilight thought with a giggle) and had been turning up in the strangest places dressed all in black. Pinkie had made some lollipop cupcakes and chipped a tooth trying to eat them. Applejack and Fluttershy had had to spend a whole day trying to convince a particularly stubborn beaver to move his dam away from Sweet Apple Acres’ south field. Rainbow had been woken up from a nap by a rogue thundercloud which was moving very quickly: she thought it might have escaped from Cloudsdale’s weather factory while one of the colts was on his break. She caught it of course. And Rarity had had, by her own admission, a very uneventful few days. She was glad to have had some time to catch up with her work.

“But darling, you must tell us all about your trip!” Rarity exclaimed, “Canterlot is so much more exciting the boring old Ponyville. Did you find the Princess well? And you’re family?”

So Twilight related the happenings of her trip. She had been to all her favourite haunts from when she was a filly. She had spent a huge amount of time in Canterlot Castle’s library broken up by visits to Doughnut Joe’s, her father’s observatory, her old family home, several cafes and, of course, an audience with Princess Celestia.

“She sends her best wishes for all of you and hopes she can see you all again soon. Between the six of us, she really doesn’t get to see real ponies that often. She gets the airs and graces treatment so often that I think she sometimes wishes she were an ordinary mare,” Twilight finished, looking a little forlorn. She shook her head.

“But Rarity, how could I forget? While I was visiting with my mother, we went to pick up a dress for her from Chic Mode’s Boutique in the fashion district...”

Rarity’s eyes became very large, “Oh, you’re mother must have very refined tastes, Twilight. Chic Mode makes some of the most beautiful – and expensive – dresses in Equestria. Why, I heard she has created designs for both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!”

“Yes, well,” Twilight continued more excitedly than before after this little interjection, “While she was doing some final alterations on my mother’s dress, I was talking to Chic Mode about my fashion designer friend, Rarity, from back home. I told her how lovely your dresses are and what a creative and generous pony you are, but it seems she’s already heard of you! Your dresses for the Gala obviously drew more ponies’ attentions than just Hoity Toity’s.”

Twilight had kept a close eye on Rarity’s expression during her story. Perhaps she had been being cruel by drawing this out for so long. Rarity was leaning in so close to Twilight now that she could practically feel her eyelashes brushing her face as she blinked.

“Anyway, she said that if I could arrange it, she would very much like to meet you in the flesh and have a look at some of your designs!”

This was clearly too much for Rarity to take. She screamed like a schoolfilly and slipped on to her back, her forehoof resting on her brow as she tried to catch her breath. Suddenly she sprang up and began prancing around the room while her friends congratulated her. Twilight could almost see the wheels turning in her friend’s mind about what to show her and how she would present herself.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Twilight!” Rarity screamed.

“It was really nothing,” said Twilight, “We were talking fashion, so naturally I thought of you.”

“It is not ‘nothing’, Twilight,” Rarity insisted, “I don’t know how I can ever repay you. That’s twice now you’ve set up these kinds of opportunities for me. You are the best friend a mare could hope for.”

Twilight felt herself blush and looked at the floor before being scooped up in to a hug by all of her friends. She relaxed in to it. This was, after all, the magic of friendship: being able to do one small thing for somepony to make them feel so appreciated. To think that while she was in Canterlot, she had missed out on this for so long. This was why she felt like Ponyville was where she belonged.

* * * * *

For the week leading up to the meeting with Chic Mode, Twilight must have spent more time talking about colour palettes, the merits of hoof stitching versus machine stitching and the varied shapes of necklines, sleeves and pleats than she had in the rest of her life up to that point. Far from being frustrated by it, however, Twilight was simply happy to see her friend as excited.

The evening before they were due to leave, Twilight decided to visit Rarity at her home to make sure she was ready for an early departure the next day. The pair had booked a hotel for themselves and Spike not far from the fashion district of Canterlot. Rarity had suggested it. It was called the Blanket Stitch and, according to Rarity, a lot of Equestria’s most famous models stayed there when working in Canterlot.

“I’ll be back in an hour or so, Spike. Remember to pack my bit purse and a spare quill,” Twilight called back to the study. And with that she left stepping out in to the balmy evening air.

After a few minutes, she found herself crossing over the bridge that marked the halfway point of her journey. She paused for a moment to look at the sky which had turned a beautiful peachy red in the sunset. In her mind’s eye, Twilight could imagine Luna getting ready to raise the moon. It would be a full moon tomorrow: the night before Rarity’s meeting. How auspicious? If one believed in such things as luck, that was.

At last, she reached her destination, rapping lightly on her friend’s door. Rarity answered as quickly as if she had been waiting the entire day for this moment.

“Twilight, darling, come in! Come straight up to my work room,” Rarity cried, heading off in that direction and allowing Twilight to close the door behind her.

Twilight followed Rarity through the front of her boutique and up a set of stairs. Upon entering the room, she looked around and saw piles of fabric and hats with huge feathers sticking out of them. There were ponyquins with half finished dresses, each with several dozen pins sticking out of hems and darts. Scattered across the floor were a variety of sketchbooks, some open, some closed and some with pages hanging loose. She tried to imagine what it would look like if it were tidy, but failed.

“Please excuse the mess. I’ve simply had no time to clear up. I’ve spent the entire day pouring over my old designs and creating some new ones. I’ve got the best in a pile over there on my table. Would you take a look and tell me what you think? I’ll just go and put a kettle on for a cup of tea. Two lumps of sugar, yes?” Without waiting for a response, Rarity left Twilight to look through her sketches.

There was everything there, from complete ensembles to single items; from hats and scarves to jewellery and bags; from long ball gowns to delicate strapped shoes. Twilight didn’t know exactly what Rarity wanted to hear from her. If she had wanted criticism, Twilight knew not what to say. She was in awe. Every last drawing was perfect to her eyes. She flicked slowly through the pages eventually stopping at one in particular. She admired it for a while before removing it from the pile and surreptitiously placing it to one side.

After a short while, Twilight began to wonder what had happened to Rarity. She looked up to find her levitating two cups of tea on a tray behind her, looking inquisitively at her. Twilight wondered how long the other mare had stood there in silence.

“So? What do you think?” Rarity asked.

“They’re amazing,” Twilight answered in barely more than a whisper, “All of them. I don’t know from where you get your ideas.”

Rarity sat the tray down and looked over Twilight’s shoulder, taking a small sip of tea from one of her delicate cups. Twilight followed her lead. Somehow, Rarity’s tea always tasted so much better than anyone else’s.

“Oh, you are just too kind, Twilight,” she said, putting down her cup and magically picking up the sketch Twilight had set aside. It was a sketch of a classy little black sweater combined with a fuchsia beret and a set of cute little black shoes which started from the ankles and dipped in a curved V-shape as they approached the hooves.

“This is one of my favourites too,” she said musingly as she looked at it.

Twilight smiled at her: “I love the beret. I bet this would look great on you.”

Rarity blushed. Twilight loved how modest she could be at times.

“Thank you. I’ve only ever worn it once. For an art gallery opening. It’s only very occasionally that one gets the chance. I should very much like to have the chance again.” She returned the drawing to the pile.

The rest of the evening was spent discussing plans and finishing packing. The latter task seemed to take a very long time; so long, in fact, that by the time they had finished, it was time for Twilight to leave. Ever the polite hostess, Rarity showed Twilight to the door.

“Well, thanks for a lovely evening, Rarity. It was a pleasure, as always,” Twilight said.

“Not at all, darling, the pleasure was all mine, I’m sure. And once again, thank you ever so much for organising this meeting and agreeing to make the necessary introductions. For that matter, thank you for accompanying me to Canterlot,” Rarity responded.

“It was really no trouble. I’ll see you at the train station tomorrow morning. I had better get home quickly to check on Spike. Good night!” Twilight said.

“Good night, Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity replied, leaning in to envelope her friend in a hug.

Twilight left, walking towards Ponyville. That embrace had seemed to mean something more than just the usual friendly hug. Perhaps it had been Rarity trying once again to convey her gratitude to Twilight. Whatever it had meant, the lavender unicorn felt a special closeness to her friend that evening. Although maybe that was just the quiet optimism she felt for Rarity. With those designs on show, she was bound to impress Chic Mode and that could mean great things for her business. Before she knew it, Twilight had reached the Library. She quietly let herself in and went to her study. Spike was already asleep but had left a candle burning on her desk. Twilight looked out of her window at the smoke rising from a dozen little chimneys in the distance. How wonderful everything seemed that night.

She lifted the candle and walked to her bed, sitting it on a low table before climbing in. She leaned over with another little smile to herself and blew the candle out.

Chapter Two – Fairest Canterlot

Chapter Two – Fairest Canterlot

“Bit purse? Check. Spare quills? Check. We’re ready to go,” said Twilight.

She put on her saddle bags as Spike ticked off the final box of the checklist, rolled up the scroll and set it aside with the quill. The clock on Twilight’s desk let out nine small chimes to let her know it was time to leave. Taking one last look around to make sure everything was tidy, she and Spike left. On their journey to the train station, they talked about what they might do while in Canterlot. There didn’t seem to be much left to be done that they hadn’t already covered on their last visit. Perhaps Rarity would have some ideas. She probably knows Canterlot just as well as I do, Twilight thought.

As they approached the train station, Twilight began to speed up a little and her heart fluttered. She wasn’t normally this excited about going to Canterlot; however this wasn’t a normal visit. The more she thought about it, the more she looked forward to seeing her home town from another pony’s perspective. One who dreamed of being wrapped up in all of its culture. It was sure to be interesting from an intellectual viewpoint at least.

The pair purchased their tickets and stood on the platform to await the arrival of the last member of their party. After about ten minutes, Spike spotted her in the ticket office.

“Looks like she’s packed light,” Twilight observed: “Only two cases more than me.”

Spike hadn’t really heard any of this. He stood with a silly grin on his face, staring in her direction. She had opted to wear nothing but a decorative pale blue hat with an oversized rim and a white flower and meshing. It jaunted prettily to one side so that when she tilted her head the brim was almost level with her shoulder.

Twilight raised her hoof to get her attention: “Rarity! Over here.”

Rarity’s head jerked here and there scanning the crowd; she quickly spotted them and walked in their direction. She had a very elegant gait and set off by the hat, Twilight could see why she would easily fit in with Canterlot’s elite.

“Hello, Twilight, Spike. Shall we?”

The three showed their tickets to the train conductor and boarded, walking through a few carriages before settling in one with squishy green seats. Rarity stowed her luggage beneath two of the seats and sat down at the window. Spike immediately slid in to the seat next to her and Twilight, rolling her eyes, sat opposite.

They discussed the particulars of getting from the train station to the hotel. Rarity delighted them with tales of feather pillows and soft mattresses. That pony really loves a bit of luxury, Twilight thought.

Before long they heard the station master’s call ring out from the platform followed by a shrill whistle. The train shuddered to life and Twilight watched out the window as the scenery began to move. As the train picked up speed, trees turned in to blurs and whole fields rolled past in the blink of an eye. She turned back to Spike and received a brief smile before looking across to Rarity. She addressed her question to her:

“So what shall we do first?”

* * * * *

The journey passed in a haze of conversation and it seemed like no time at all had passed before they were pulling up to Canterlot station. They stepped out on to the platform with their luggage and some unknown force drew their eyes to look up at the splendour of the Equestrian capital. From their vantage point, a vast citadel appeared to rise out of the very ground on which they stood. Light glinted off of its many golden domes and spires. The white rock out of which it had been built seemed to shimmer with a kind of ancient magic. Even before they had entered the city through one of its colossal archways, they could hear the hustle and bustle of its streets.

Rarity took a deep breath and her eyes took on the appearance of saucers. Without warning she dropped her bags and began bouncing in circles around the other two.

“This is going to be ever so much fun,” she shrieked, “We have a whole day together before we even have to think about business.”

“Calm down, Rarity,” Twilight laughed, “first thing’s first: we had better check in to our hotel. We can’t walk around all day with a whole bunch of huge bags across our backs.”

Rarity nodded her head vigorously in assent and the three made their way through the winding streets towards the Blanket Stitch. Along the way, Rarity kept letting out little gasps and giggles. Each time, Spike took this as a cue to express his own admiration for whatever it was that had affected Rarity thusly. After the tenth time, Twilight rolled her eyes behind their backs.

Perhaps it was going to be more difficult than she had anticipated for her to see Canterlot through Rarity’s rose tinted glasses. She seemed to be absolutely enthralled by everything and everypony in it. Twilight, having lived there since she was a filly, knew that a fair number of the nobles were very boorish and obnoxious; nobles in name only as far as she was concerned. This somewhat ruined the fairytale aspect of the city for her.

Before long, they were passing through the fashion district with its many shops selling stunning bolts of fabric in reds and purples and golds and every type of ornamentation imaginable from feathers and flowers to ribbons and brooches. There were also a huge number of boutiques selling everything from dinner jackets and cravats for the discerning gentlecolt to beautiful evening dresses, fancy hats and expensive jewellery so that even the most stylish mare wouldn’t know where to look.

And she didn’t.

Twilight stared at her friend as she cantered from shop window to shop window, exclaiming at everything she saw. Spike stood with her forgotten luggage, unsure of what to do. It seemed to Twilight that she must have looked at every shop on the street in the minute she had stood there. Twilight allowed herself a small smirk before she decided that they had best get on. There would be plenty of time for this later.

“Rarity, come on, we’re here!” Twilight called back to her.

Rarity looked like she had been snapped out of a trance. She took one last look back at the shops and magically lifted her bags. She proceeded with great dignity towards the hotel. Twilight’s smirk turned in to yet another laugh.

“I’m sorry, Twilight, I got quite carried away just then,” Rarity said, tugging at her hat.

“No, I understand,” Twilight giggled, “We’ll come back as soon as we’re done unpacking.”

Rarity beamed at Twilight as they climbed the steps to the hotel doors. It was her passion, after all. She looked like a little filly again when she was perusing the stylish gowns of the Canterlot boutiques.

Ever the gentleman, Spike leapt to open the door for his two marefriends. Twilight stopped dead when she entered the lobby. There were huge ornate pillars holding up a second floor gantry which surrounded the main foyer. The floor was of black and white chequered marble with a thin line of deep red carpet leading to the concierge’s desk and then off both to the left and the right. Behind the desk was a grand staircase with balustrades of polished white wood and the centrepiece: a magnificent hanging chandelier of crystal which threw off light in every direction.

It was nothing compared to Canterlot Castle, however it was far more luxurious than any building in Ponyville.

“Rarity, this is... how can you afford this? You never mentioned any of this on the journey here. It’s just...” she moved her lips trying to think of what it was, but no words came.

“Oh, come now, Twilight. How could I have told you? It would have ruined the surprise. Think of this as a thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” said Rarity, “You deserve nothing but the best and the best is what we shall have.”

Twilight looked in to Rarity’s eyes. She was completely overwhelmed by the munificence of this act. She couldn’t remember anypony ever having given her such an incredible gift. Rarity returned her gaze and Twilight tried to convey wordlessly her appreciation. Rarity smiled and looked away.

They now approached the desk and Rarity gave their names to the concierge. He checked a list he had in front of him then reached under the desk producing two sets of keys: one each for Twilight and Rarity. A bellhop seemed to materialise out of thin air to take their bags. They were led to their room, up the main staircase and along a corridor to the right.

The bellhop stopped indicating their door and Rarity let herself in. Twilight and Spike followed her with the bellhop bringing up the rear. Rarity pointed to where she wanted her bags.

“And will Sir and Mesdames be requiring anything else?” enquired the bellhop in a very upper crust voice.

“No, that will be quite alright, thank you,” Rarity replied using her horn to take a couple of bits from her bag and place them in the concierge’s coat pocket.

“Thank you, madam. We hope you all enjoy your stay,” said the bellhop, leaving the room and closing the door.

After the opulence of the lobby, Twilight had prepared herself for the rooms and she was not disappointed. There were two ample bedrooms off the main sitting area, each with its own four-poster bed, free-standing armoire and dressing table all of which matched the decor which seemed to be reminiscent of French Rococo.

Twilight sat her bags at the foot of her bed and went back to the sitting room to wait while Rarity unpacked the various outfits she had brought with her, looking forward to the day ahead.

* * * * *

Spike had left them to their shopping trip, promising to meet them for dinner after a few hours. He had reasoned that there wouldn’t be any shops selling outfits for dragons. Rarity had promised to make something for him when they got back to Ponyville and he had been happy with that. Twilight suspected that he was simply agreeing to spend some time alone with Rarity – he hated fancy clothes.

So the two ponies were left alone, if one could call it that in such a busy town. True to her word, Twilight allowed herself to be taken by Rarity on a flight of fancy through the fashion district’s exorbitant boutiques and despite herself, she was thoroughly enjoying it. She had mostly watched as Rarity tried on dress after dress, posing like a model on a runway. Twilight invariably nodded her head in approval. It wasn’t like she could do anything else. No matter what she wore, Rarity always looked beautiful.

Soon enough they were back on the street, looking in windows and appreciating the bright sunshine of Celestia’s making. Rarity approached a very small building with white cladding and oversized windows with ponyquins in them.

“This is one of my absolute favourites,” she screamed, pointing at it, “Come on, let’s have a look.”

Twilight stepped forward and pushed open the brass handled door to this newest conquest. She was surprised when she entered. This one was unlike the others in that there weren’t a great many gowns. The outfits on display in here were considerably less occasional than the dresses they had been looking at earlier. Rarity walked ahead of her sorting through rails of sweaters, cardigans and saddles as if she were looking for something in particular.

Twilight wandered around a little, not touching anything. Just glancing at the clothes on the ponyquins dotted here and there. She looked over at where Rarity stood rifling through the outfits, then at the rail in front of her. Tentatively, she reached her hoof out and pushed some of the clothes to the side, making a gap in the middle of the rail so that she could see some more of what was on offer.

She had no idea what she was looking for as she moved the various items aside. There were some very beautiful things there, but nothing felt quite right. She moved along to the next rack, sneaking a glance at Rarity who now had a small pile of clothes across her back and was currently immersed in a hat display. Twilight hurriedly slid clothes to the side hoping to find something soon lest Rarity think she was being too picky.

At last, she found something and slid it off the rail to have a better look. It was a long mint green cape with an ornate silver clasp which would fasten at her neck. It had two layers to it with the under layer being slightly longer and wider, as well as being a few shades lighter. There was a great deal of visible needlework: that on the upper layer being in a thread the same colour as the under layer and vice versa. The length would only just cover the top of her tail and it was tailored such that the fabric would not touch the floor. The clasp was inlaid with several small amethysts that mirrored the colour of her eyes.

“Oh my stars, Twilight, that would look fabulous on you. You must try it on.”

Twilight had been so caught up in examining the cape that she hadn’t noticed Rarity watching her. She blushed and made to put the dress back on the rail but Rarity would not have it.

“Go on now, darling. You’ve been watching me try on dresses all day. At least let me see you in one. I don’t think that could suit anypony better than you,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes.

Twilight looked around. There was no pony else in the shop with them save for the owner and she was busy writing something. She took a deep breath and raised her head then trotted over to the dressing rooms. She leapt inside one and pulled the curtains closed.

She turned to face the mirror. Looking at her reflection, all she could see was a very plain lavender unicorn. OK, her eyes were quite pretty, but this wasn’t for her. This was for stylish young mares with trendy manes and the type of confidence that comes from knowing you’ll always be turning heads. She couldn’t wear this. She was just going to look silly. She turned away again, wishing she had just left the cape where she found it. However for Rarity’s sake, she had to do this. She unfastened the clasp and slid the material across her back, pulling at it so that it sat properly over her tail. She refastened the clasp and before she could lose her nerve, stepped out.

Hearing the curtain move Rarity looked round. Several long seconds passed with Rarity just staring at Twilight, expressionless. Her heart sank. She had known it was too much. She was just plain old Twilight: books and brains. She turned away, screwing her eyes up to hold back any tears.

“Twilight, what’s wrong?” asked Rarity, concerned.

“I look ridiculous is what’s wrong!” Twilight sobbed.

“No, darling, you look absolutely breathtaking,” Rarity whispered.

“Oh, you don’t need to pretend. I just can’t be glamorous like you can,” Twilight said.

“Whatever are you talking about?” Rarity demanded, exasperated.

Twilight heard Rarity drop her pile of clothes. She felt herself being pulled back over to the changing room. Rarity gently lifted Twilight’s head by the chin and pointed at the mirror.

“Have you even seen yourself?” she asked.

Twilight opened her eyes slowly catching her first glimpse of herself since dressing. That couldn’t be her. She looked over her reflection’s shoulder at Rarity who was still staring at her, but no longer with concern. Instead she had a dreamy smile playing on her face. Maybe she wasn’t plain old Twilight after all. She turned and started trotting around the shop, suddenly feeling like she wanted everypony in Equestria to see her

“See? It’s great fun, isn’t it?” Rarity laughed, “Is that why you’ve been avoiding doing this all day? Because you thought you couldn’t look fabulous?”

Twilight looked at her hooves, too embarrassed to admit that that was exactly how she’d felt. She had been enjoying watching Rarity, but she had clearly missed out on a huge part of the experience. Rarity put her foreleg across Twilight’s crest before hugging her firmly.

“Sorry, Rarity,” Twilight said, “I was just being silly.”

“Of course not, darling. But now that you feel better, we must find you some shoes to complete the ensemble,” Rarity said.

The rest of the afternoon passed too quickly for Twilight. They had found some shoes and she had tried them on to see the effect. Then Rarity had tried a few of the outfits she had picked. They had made trips to two more shops and tried on various styles and colours of dresses and hats and shoes. With each costume change, Twilight felt like she could understand better Rarity’s love of fashion and perhaps also her love of Canterlot. Twilight had clearly not experienced everything her home town had to offer. Her day out with Rarity had shown her something special that she would never have known about otherwise.

All too soon, dusk began to fall and they walked along to the cafe Rarity’s had suggested earlier. They met Spike who sat waiting for them at a beautiful candlelit table just off the street. There was a single red rose in a thin vase in the centre of the table. The pair sat down at opposite ends of the table, exhausted.

“So, did you ladies have a good time?” Spike enquired.

“Oh, Spike, it was magnificent,” Rarity answered.

She continued on, telling Spike about their day together. She didn’t skimp on the detail either. Every dress was described down to the last sequin. The only thing she omitted, thankfully, was Twilight’s little episode.

“You should have seen her Spike. She has... the magics!” Rarity said, doing a very good impression of Photo Finish.

They all laughed, but as Spike regaled them with the story of his day spent looking at the gems in the crown jewels, Twilight began to drift away from the conversation. Instead, she found herself looking across the table at Rarity. She was such an amazing pony. She was so generous, so insightful and so much fun. Twilight hadn’t had such a good time with anypony since the evening she had spent with her friends after the Grand Galloping Gala. Rarity was still engrossed in Spike’s story.

To think that some ponies think she’s frivolous. They think of her as the eccentric designer who spends all of her time drawing dresses and sewing and chasing after her silly dream of making it in Canterlot. Just like some ponies think I’m just the bookish librarian who spends all of her time reading and chasing after the silly dream of being the next Star Swirl. Well we’ll show them!

“Twilight, are you alright?” Spike asked.

Twilight snapped out of her reverie. She felt herself flush as Rarity looked at her.

“Yes,” she said quickly, “Just exhausted. I’ve been on my hooves all day after all. Perhaps we should have something to eat. Do they have daisy sandwiches here?”

Why did she suddenly feel so agitated?

“No, but they do make the most wonderful carrot and asparagus soufflé,” Rarity said, “Or I’m sure you would love the house omelette. It is to die for!”

There it was again.

“Oh, well I guess I’ll have the omelette then, since you’re making it sound so good,” Twilight decided.

What was wrong with her?

“You’re going to love it,” Rarity said.

Twilight’s heart raced. This was so strange. She had felt fine all day, yet now she couldn’t concentrate on anything. Maybe she was tired. It wasn’t all that late but she had been busy. That was it. She was tired and hungry. She would eat and they would go back to the room and she would be fine.

Rarity ordered the food and they ate. Twilight barely spoke except to agree with something one of the others had said. By the end of the meal, she had calmed down a little. It was nothing, just a bit too much excitement for one day. Twilight insisted on paying for the meal and they all stood up to leave.

“Well, where shall we go now?” Rarity asked, “The night is young, as they say. We could take a look around the castle grounds. Fluttershy is always talking about how beautiful the flowers are this time of year.”

“You two go on,” Twilight said, “I’m sorry. I do feel a little tired. I’d love to go with you. I hope you understand.”

“Of course we do. You did seem far away at dinner. If there’s anything we can do, please don’t hesitate to ask,” Rarity said, the look of concern back in her eyes.

“Just enjoy yourselves and don’t worry about me,” Twilight insisted, “If I’m awake when you get back, we can talk some more then.”

“OK, Twilight. I hope you feel better,” Spike said, before turning and hurrying off towards the castle.

“We won’t be too long, I promise,” Rarity said.

“I know,” Twilight replied, “Go on!”

Rarity hesitated for a moment before turning to follow Spike. Twilight watched her go until she had caught up to the little dragon, then walked back down the hill a little to the hotel. She trotted once more through the lobby and up the stairs to their room.

She walked through to her bedroom and began pacing nervously. Although she had been exaggerating her tiredness to Rarity and Spike, she now felt very weary. Despite this, she felt like she had to do something: something to calm her down. She opened her saddle bags and removed a quill, ink and some parchment, taking them through to the sitting room and sitting them on the coffee table.

She thought about her day and picked up the quill, then stopped, silently berating herself: of course she couldn’t write to Celestia. She had no way of sending the letter with Spike gone. She stared at the cream paper on the table. She had to write. It was no use trying to get to sleep just yet. She picked up her quill again and placed the tip in her ink, then on the paper. She couldn’t even think of what to write or even, for that matter, who to write to.

She could write to Rarity and apologise for leaving early, but that was nothing she couldn’t say in the morning. She thought about writing to her parents, but again, she had no idea how she would get it to them. She didn’t keep a diary. She stood up again and looked down at the street then up towards the castle, wondering what she was missing out on. Then looking over at the table, she rolled up the paper and went back through to her room, stowing it once more in her bag.

She looked in the other side of the bag, looking for a book to read, but nothing took her fancy. She wished she had brought some more light reading instead of textbooks. She couldn’t concentrate on studying. Frustrated, Twilight threw herself on to her bed and under the duvet extinguishing the gas lamp with her magic. If she couldn’t do anything else, she might as well be comfortable while her mind tormented her. She needn’t have worried though as within a few minutes, her exhaustion caught up with her and she fell asleep.

* * * * *

Twilight woke up to the sound of somepony humming. Light streamed in through the long curtains. She looked over to see Spike fast asleep next to her and closed her eyes again wondering what time it was. She must have been asleep for a very long time. She still felt a little out of sorts, but she pushed this feeling to one side. She needed to at least appear to be herself today. It was important that she be there for Rarity on a day like this.

The humming continued from the sitting room. She decided that if Rarity was awake, she had better be too. She carefully slid out of bed to avoid waking Spike and tip-toed out of the room. As she entered the sitting room, she saw Rarity had spread out her sketches on the same table Twilight had used for her failed letter writing. She also noticed she had been sketching something at that very moment but, as soon as Twilight entered the room, she stopped.

“Good morning, Twilight,” she offered, “Are you feeling any better this morning?”

“Yes, much better. Thank you,” Twilight responded.

“Excellent. I’m sorry if I woke you up with my humming. I’ve been awake for a few hours now and I’ve just been sorting through all of this for later on, though it’s not much later now.” Rarity indicated the mess on the table. She looked excited and terrified in equal measure.

“Oh, Rarity, she’s going to love these, don’t worry,” Twilight told her.

“Yes, well. I mean... But this is a huge business opportunity for me. Chic’s stamp of approval could mean big things for me here. Why if all goes well, by this time next month I could have my couture featured in magazines across Equestria. I may never get a chance like this again,” Rarity said.

“This is one pony. You’ll be fine,” Twilight insisted.

Rarity moved the drawing she had just been sketching to the bottom of a twenty-five strong pile then cleared the rest from the table in to one pocket of a stylish white leather portfolio. The pile, she put in to another pocket and she placed the charcoal she had been sketching with carefully into a compartment filled with art materials. She closed the bag and set it aside.

“There, ready,” she proclaimed, “There are still two hours to go until our meeting. That leaves us enough time to dress and relax a little before we head to the Chic’s boutique.”

“Dress?!” Twilight exclaimed.

She hadn’t thought about it, but of course she would have to wear something to go to this meeting. This pony would be expecting them to make an appearance. But Twilight hadn’t brought anything with her. Just books, paper, ink, quills, money and one scarf in case it got chilly.

“Yes, of course. We must look our best,” Rarity said.

“I’ll be right back!” Twilight didn’t wait for a response. She grabbed her bit purse from her bag and bolted from the room.

Why hadn’t it occurred to her to bring some clothes? She didn’t wear clothes very often, but this was an occasion that would certainly require it. She broke in to a gallop as she left the hotel making straight for the many boutiques she and Rarity had visited yesterday. When she got there, though, she couldn’t think of where to go. She stood rooted to the spot, eyeing all of the beautiful fashions on offer. There were too many choices.

After she had caught her breath, she began thinking more clearly and it occurred to her that there was only really one sensible decision. She made her way towards the white walled shop that had been Rarity’s favourite. To her great relief it was open.

Bursting through the doors, she looked around to see if she could find what she was looking for. The shop keeper looked up, raising one eyebrow: “Ah, hello again. Is your friend not with you today?”

“No,” Twilight answered, “This is an emergency! Do you still have the green cape that I tried on yesterday? And the shoes? I need them.”

“I do! And if I might say, I think they would be a most wonderful choice for you, my dear,” the unicorn behind the counter replied.

She went to fetch them for Twilight who waited, still annoyed with herself for not bringing anything with her to wear. When the owner returned, Twilight paid for the outfit and took it in a paper bag back to the hotel. When she returned to the room, Rarity and Spike were both in relaxing on the couches.

“Oh, there you are, Twilight,” Spike said, taking note of the bags she was levitating in front of her, “Rarity said you left in a hurry, what happened?”

“Oh, it was nothing. I just remembered that I had forgotten to pack any clothes to wear to the meeting with Chic Mode and I had to get something,” she said.

Rarity looked highly excited now: “Ooh, what did you get?”

“You’ll see,” Twilight replied.

It was perfect, she thought. Rarity herself had said so and that meant the world to Twilight.

* * * * *

“Twilight! Rarity! Come on! We have to get going!” Spike’s voice came from the sitting room.

Twilight had just finished brushing her mane and tail and was now making the final adjustments to her ensemble. She had laced the ribbon-like laces from her new green shoes around her forearms and canons so that they crossed over twice before knotting them gently. She looked in the mirror on the inside of the armoire, happy with her appearance and went to join Spike in the sitting room.

Moments later, Rarity stepped out of her room dressed in the outfit Twilight had liked from the sketches she had looked at with her back in Ponyville. The arms of the black sweater clung to Rarity’s slender forelegs, making them look more shapely than usual. Her fuchsia beret once again jaunted at a very attractive angle. Both ponies let out a shriek of joy when they saw one another.

Twilight hadn’t expected this. She looked more beautiful in that ensemble than Twilight had imagined from the pictures. Of course, the pony in the sketches had just been a line drawing with no features. It didn’t have Rarity’s stunningly curled mane or huge bright eyes. It didn’t have her radiant smile or her gently curved muzzle.

“I knew that must have been what you had bought, Twilight,” Rarity said, “You look beyond fabulous darling.”

Twilight blushed: “Thank you. You look amazing too.”

“It was actually you who gave me the idea,” Rarity smiled, “When you picked this outfit from all of the sketches I had drawn, it reminded me how much I loved it.”

Spike cleared his throat and reminding the two unicorns of the reason why they had dressed up in the first place.

“Yes, of course,” Rarity said to Spike, opening the door, “Let's go.”

Chapter Three – Hope and Heart

Chapter Three – Hope and Heart

A soft tinkle resonated from a small bell suspended over the door of one of the most high-end dress shops in all of Canterlot. Its cheery little ring was completely at odds with the absolute gravity of the situation. As the door closed behind Rarity, she gave a little jump. Perhaps she would have bolted had it not been for the presence of her friends. Twilight gave her a small reassuring nod, urging her on.

The trio stepped forward, with Twilight ahead of the others. Although Rarity had been to this shop on a few of her previous trips to Canterlot, she had not yet been formally introduced to its proprietor as a fashion designer and possible business associate. She had merely been a very occasional patron, not worthy of her recollection.

The shop was exactly how both ponies remembered it. There weren’t a great number of rails of clothes like there had been in the shop where Twilight had purchased her cape. It was a lot more like the Carousel boutique. There was a great deal of open floor with ponyquins scattered here and there displaying some of Chic’s bespoke designs. Huge windows allowed light to flood in, illuminating the unspoilt white stone floor. The walls were the same cold white, but were broken up by oversized photographs of famous socialites, Canterlot aristocracy and stunning models wearing a variety of different styles of dress. There were raised podia and glass cases displaying a multitude of bags, shoes, jewellery and assorted fashionable miscellany dotted around the floor.

They continued to look around, waiting for somepony to acknowledge their presence. As if summoned by that thought, there came a strong, throaty voice with a thick francophone accent from a doorway towards the back of the main shop: “Bonjour Mademoiselles! How might I be of assistance?”

The three turned their heads to see that they had been joined by an unusually pretty unicorn. She had a glossy cream coat and a mane of a soft but bright pink which framed her face with tight, perfectly formed and perfectly even ringlet curls. Her tail matched her mane beautifully, the same expertly coiffed curls falling to just above the floor.

“Good morning, Miss Mode. I’m Twilight Sparkle. We had arranged for you to meet my friend? The fashion designer from Ponyville,” Twilight said.

“But of course! I have been looking forward to it greatly. This is she?” Chic asked, her light blue eyes glinting from behind her rimless pince-nez.

Rarity had frozen. She looked positively dazzled. Her eyes were large and glazed over as she looked towards Chic who was tilting her head trying to get a better look at her muted guest. Twilight stood nervously in the lengthening silence. This wasn’t a very good start.

“Yes. Chic Mode, this is Rarity. Rarity, this is Chic Mode,” Twilight interjected, awkwardly trying to force some conversation.

Spike elbowed Rarity’s flank and whispered something in her ear. She took a deep breath and approached the other unicorn.

“It is an absolute pleasure to meet you, Miss Mode,” Rarity said, extending her right hoof.

Chic took it graciously: “Miss Rarity. Charmante. I have been speaking with Hoity Toity since this meeting was arranged. He tells me you have a wonderful eye.”

“Oh, he is too kind, I’m sure,” Rarity blushed.

Chic laughed, looking at both ponies intently through her mirth: “Perhaps he is. But we do not yet know if this is the case. So until then, let us assume that he is not. These outfits: you designed them both yourself, oui?”

There was no mincing of words. Twilight suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She turned to look at Rarity who looked as though she was about to crack from the pressure of the situation.

“No. That is to say, not both. The ensemble you see me wearing is of my own design. Twilight’s is not,” Rarity answered.

Chic walked in a small circle around Rarity, silently critiquing her work. She made a variety of understated gestures and sounds. It was impossible to tell what she thought of what she saw. Rarity stood with her chin raised, waiting. Chic stepped back, her opinion still unclear.

“I trust you have brought other designs with you? Drawings?” Chic asked.

Rarity walked towards one of the emptier looking displays, removing her portfolio bag from over her shoulder. She opened the compartment containing the drawings she had intended to show off and laid them out on upon the tabletop.

“These are some of my best work, though there is of course plenty more if you wish to see it,” Rarity said.

Chic looked at the sketches while Rarity watched over her shoulder. With each new drawing, Rarity would comment on what she had been attempting to convey with her choices of colour or fabric or shape and Chic would nod her head almost imperceptibly and move on to the next one.

Twilight began to shuffle her front legs nervously. When it had been her looking at the sketches, Rarity hadn’t insisted on explaining every last detail. She had mostly just stood and watched. Then again, Twilight was a little more emotive than the pony currently judging her work. Perhaps she was simply trying to draw some kind reaction from Chic.

If that had been her plan, it was about to work. After looking at about half of the sketches, Chic swept them all back in to a neat pile and turned to look at Rarity who, despite her nerves, appeared very pleased with herself. Twilight leaned forward in anticipation, beaming proudly at her friend.

“These are all very pretty, Miss Rarity. I thank you for showing them to me,” Chic said.

The tension seemed to break and Rarity sprung towards Twilight, pulling her in to a quick hug before turning back to Chic: “You like them? Oh I’m so glad you like them, you have no idea how nervous I’ve...”

Chic raised her hoof, cutting Rarity off mid-sentence. Silence fell again.

“As I said, these are all very pretty. Do I like them? Oh là là. I fear that perhaps Hoity Toity was being a little too kind. Do not mistake my meaning. Technically, these designs are of a very high standard. But I cannot feel them. I cannot understand them. Where is the flare? Where is the emotion? Where is the spark? This is what I want.”

Spike’s jaw dropped, Twilight’s smile evaporated and Rarity, who had been pacing and shaking her head, stopped and stood staring at the drawings on the table. Her eyes were very distant, devoid of any visible emotion.

Chic continued: “These are nothing like the dresses I saw in Hoity Toity’s boutique. Maybe you have overextended yourself. I do not know. Perhaps you just haven’t any more like those in you. Perhaps you are simply a one trick pony.”

Twilight bristled. Before she could say anything however, Rarity seemed to have collected her thoughts well enough to speak. She gathered up her drawings, stowing them hastily in her portfolio bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

“I see,” she said, her voice wavering slightly, “Well in that case, it has been a pleasure meeting you and we couldn’t possibly expect to take up any more of your time, valuable as it undoubtedly is. We should leave. Thank you again for meeting with us.”

With that she turned, summoning all of her remaining poise, and trotted quickly towards the door.

“But of course,” replied Chic, who was either completely oblivious to the effect her words had had on everypony else present or just too callous to care. The bell above the door tinkled as Rarity closed it.

Twilight stood for a brief moment, still in shock, before shaking herself back to life.

“Come on, Spike, let’s go!” she said with one last scathing look at their erstwhile hostess before they too walked quickly from the shop.

By the time they had made it back to the street, Rarity was gone. Twilight was seething. A one trick pony? What did she know? Perhaps fame had gone to her head. She obviously had no taste whatsoever if she didn’t love Rarity’s designs. Her attitude had been nothing like it had with her and her mother. Twilight walked in a blind rage towards the Blanket Stitch, hoping that that was where Rarity had gone.

When she entered their rooms, she went straight to Rarity’s bedroom and was dismayed to find it empty. There was no evidence to suggest that Rarity had been there either. Twilight began to worry. She needed to find her friend, but she had no idea where Rarity would go. She collapsed in despair upon the bed.

“Oh, Spike! What are we going to do? Rarity must be distraught. She needs us right now and we can’t be with her until we find out where she’s gone!” Twilight cried.

“Calm down, Twilight, she has to come back at some point. We don’t leave for Ponyville until tomorrow morning and can you imagine her staying out all night? She’ll be fine. We can talk to her when she gets back.”

Bless Spike, his heart was in the right place. He was trying to calm her down and she was grateful for that. Unfortunately, contrary to his assertion, Twilight didn’t know what Rarity would do. Under normal circumstances, Twilight would have agreed that it was unlikely that she would stay out all night, but these weren’t normal circumstances. Twilight looked at Spike through teary eyes. This was all her fault. If only she hadn’t suggested this meeting, none of this would have happened.

“I’m sorry Spike, but I think we need to look for her. I know I wouldn’t want to be alone after what that... what she said to her. You stay here in case she comes back, I’ll try to think of where she might have gone,” Twilight said.

Spike nodded his agreement and Twilight galloped out of the hotel again. Now if only she knew where she was going.

* * * * *

At least a couple of hours had passed since the meeting had ended in unmitigated disaster. Twilight had searched every inch of the fashion district, asking everypony she saw whether they had seen a light grey mare with a purple mane and three sapphires as a cutie mark. No pony had.

After the last shopkeeper had told her the same thing, she decided to look further afield. Where would a pony like Rarity go to be alone? For she was almost certain Rarity would be alone. If it were her, she would have gone to the castle library and although a part of her knew that wasn’t where her friend would be, it was the only idea she had. She looked up at the castle’s imposing walls. It was worth a try. She set off up the hill, weaving her way through the crowd.

Thankfully, it wasn’t a long walk. Barely ten more minutes had passed when Twilight reached the castle walls. She asked a guard whether Rarity had come that way. The guard pointed her towards the gardens. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Of course!

She trotted quickly towards a mass of beautiful hanging trees with their myriad of colourful blossoms, perfectly manicured bushes and bright flowers. As she came closer, she caught glimpses of a few rare birds. They hid themselves from sight, perceiving her loud footsteps to indicate danger. Even so, the grace of their flight was intoxicating to watch.

Just as she had begun to lose herself in the garden’s many wonders, Twilight came past a copse of vast willows and found Rarity standing on a picturesque stone bridge which arched over a slow, whispering stream. Twilight had never seen Rarity look this sad. She simply stared blankly at the water passing below her, occasionally wiping away an errant tear.

Twilight decided against calling on her. Instead she slowly walked towards the bridge. It was only when her hooves made a soft click on the stone that Rarity finally became aware of her presence.

“Twilight? Oh, just let me be alone,” Rarity said, turning away to hide her face. Despite this, she made no effort to leave.

“I can’t do that, Rarity. Not when you’re upset like this. I had to come find you. You have no idea how worried we’ve been... how worried I’ve been. Talk to me, please?” Twilight countered.

“Talk about what?” Rarity asked rhetorically, “About how completely and utterly worthless I am? I’m sorry, Twilight, but I would rather not.”

Twilight’s heart broke. Hearing Rarity talk like this, it was as if someone had stolen a part of her soul; as if some huge part of her world had been shattered. Twilight moved forward so that she stood next to her. Rarity looked at her, her face looking thoroughly dishevelled. Tears were rolling unchecked down her cheeks, leaving long black streaks of mascara on her beautiful coat.

Twilight pulled Rarity’s face to her shoulder and put her foreleg around her. She could feel her convulsing with silent sobs. Twilight held her tightly while she cried. A long while passed like this with neither pony saying another word. Eventually, once she was all cried out, Rarity looked up in to Twilight’s eyes.

“Maybe I’m not supposed to be a fashionista after all.” She looked defeated.

“No!” Twilight screamed, horrified that she could even consider this as a possibility. “Rarity, how can you say that? This is what you’ve dreamed of your entire life. You can’t let that part of yourself die just because one stuck up, horrible pony doesn’t like your work! For what it’s worth, I loved every one of those designs and I’m sure there are plenty of ponies out there who would agree. Think how many ponies you’ve thrilled with your dresses; how hard you’ve worked to get to where you are now and how happy it makes you to see people delight in your art. Do you really want to throw that all away?

“I know it’s hard just now, of course it is, but this must be your destiny. I’m certain of it. The path to achieving your dreams will never be perfectly smooth. You’re bound to hit bumps along the way and it’s how you react to those setbacks that’s important. You can either pick yourself up and dust yourself down or you can decide it’s too hard and quit. The Rarity I know is not a quitter.

“You truly are somepony special, Rarity. You’re worth a million Chic Modes in my opinion. Don’t listen to her. One day you’ll be more famous and more respected than she ever could be because of your passion, your generosity and your strength. But you can’t give up.”

Rarity’s eyes began to shimmer with tears once again.

“You’re right,” she said softly looking at her hooves, “Of course you are. It just hurts so much to have something you’ve worked as hard on for such a long time slighted in such a cavalier manner. But, as you said, I suppose the only thing I can do is redouble my efforts and make sure that it does not happen again.”

With her epiphany, Rarity began looking more like her normal self again. Her chin and tail were raised and her eyes had their sparkle back. She put her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight shuddered at her touch.

“You’re such a wonderful mare, Twilight Sparkle. I’m so glad you came after me. You always seem to have a way of picking me up, no matter how down in the dumps I am. I can’t possibly thank you enough!” Rarity said firmly.

The two unicorns stared in to one another’s eyes for a long moment. Twilight’s heart was beating through her chest, her mind felt once more like it had at dinner the previous evening. This time however, it was nowhere near as clouded. She suddenly knew exactly why she felt like this. She looked down at Rarity’s softly curved muzzle and at her pouted lips, then back in to her eyes.

How sudden was it though? She couldn’t remember when she had begun to feel this way about Rarity. It took her quite by surprise. Twilight had always thought of her as a generous, caring and beautiful mare. Her heart fluttered even more as she considered the prospect of kissing her friend. Their faces were no more than a foot apart. She could do it. But how would Rarity react?

She mentally shook herself and pushed away the urge. No, she thought, this isn’t what she needs right now. Instead, she simply smiled at Rarity and put her hoof over the other mare’s.

“It’s OK, Rarity,” Twilight said warmly, “That’s just what friends do.”

* * * * *

Back at the hotel, the ponies sat with Spike and they talked at length about their trip. Despite the main reason for their journey not having gone to plan, they all agreed that it had been a worthwhile trip. Both Spike and Twilight commiserated with Rarity over her misfortune, but she waved their remarks away, insisting that she would be fine. She still seemed a little hurt by the experience but that was only natural, Twilight reasoned.

Rarity quickly changed the subject to something more cheerful. She told them how she hadn’t enjoyed shopping with any pony more than she had with Twilight the day before. Twilight smiled bashfully. She herself had never really had fun shopping with any pony until yesterday. It was usually just a chore to her: something to be gotten over with as quickly as possible. Perhaps it hadn’t been so much the task she had enjoyed as the pony she was doing it with.

In her mind’s eye, Twilight could picture Rarity stepping out of changing room after changing room always wearing something which showed off some aspect of her appearance that Twilight had never noticed before. Sleeves that accentuated her slender forelegs; collars which seemed to lengthen her neck; voluminous skirts which showed off the curls of her flawless tail and everything set off by her innate, nonchalant beauty.

In fact, Twilight thought, that one afternoon had been a showcase of everything she loved about Rarity. The way she had reacted to being in Canterlot – and in particular the fashion district – had shown off her passion and love of beauty. The way she had surprised Twilight with their opulent lodgings was typical of her charity and generosity. How she had reacted to Twilight’s lack of self-confidence had demonstrated how kind and caring she was. The rest of the shopping trip had shown her playful side. Now that she had acknowledged these feelings for Rarity, everything about her just seemed so invigorating; so novel and exciting.

As these thought’s rolled around in her head, she began to wonder how her being with Rarity would affect her friendships. She was sure everypony would be happy for them. After all, love was just another kind of friendship. The only problem would be if somepony else also had feelings for her.

“Oh, it sounds like I missed out,” Twilight said as Spike and Rarity finished their story about what they had seen in the castle gardens, “I’m so sorry for leaving early. I just had the strangest headache.”

Then it hit her: Spike. How could she not have thought about Spike’s crush on Rarity? Oh, how could she possibly tell him about this? He would surely hate her if she stole Rarity away from him.

“It’s OK, Twilight,” Spike said, “we knew it must have been bad for you to want to hang back.”

Twilight looked at the little dragon. Maybe he would understand. After all, he was a dragon and she was a pony, not to mention the age difference. Twilight knew Rarity had affections for Spike, but not of a romantic sort. She would just have to cross that bridge when – or indeed if – she came to it.

“Thanks for understanding,” Twilight replied.

“Speaking of understanding,” Rarity said, her face glowing as she looked at Twilight, “I’m sure I could think of a few things I’ve learned about friendship today. Maybe we should write to the Princess.”

“OK!” Twilight beamed, “Spike, could you get my quills and paper from my bag?”

Spike sprang through to their bedroom, gathering the required materials before sitting down with the quill poised over the paper.

“OK, Rarity, go ahead,” Twilight said.

“Dear Princess Celestia,” Rarity began, “Today, whilst in Canterlot with my good friend, Twilight Sparkle, I have learned an important lesson about friendship.

“Friends are ponies with whom you share a special bond. At the best of times, they can be the pony who spends their day with you doing the things you love and sharing in your happiness. They can also be the ponies who help you do something you could never do on your own, like meeting a famous fashion designer to move you on in your career.

“But friends are also the ones who are there for you when things don’t quite go as you would have hoped. They remind you of how important you are when you’re feeling low and they put things in to perspective when you start blowing your problems out of proportion.

“Friends are the ponies who understand you best. They know when you need a little help and they know when you need to let off a little steam. True friends will be there for you through the good times, as well as the not so good and that’s what makes them so special.

“Your adoring subject, Rarity.”

Spike finished writing Rarity’s name and rolled the paper in to a scroll, tying a ribbon around it and sending it on its way with a puff of green smoke.

Chapter Four – A Helping Hoof

Chapter Four – A Helping Hoof

A cacophony of sound greeted Twilight, Spike and Rarity as they alighted their train at Ponyville station. There was a loud pop and a multitude of colourful streamers flew in every direction, taken by the breeze in whichever direction it saw fit. A party horn screeched loudly over shouts of “welcome home” and “congratulations” and the trio were engulfed by four excited mares, all vying for their attention.

It was everything Twilight had feared. As much as she loved Pinkie Pie’s abundant optimism, this all seemed a little thoughtless. Throwing a party to celebrate somepony’s success when you had no idea whether they had succeeded or not was typical of her: she was so confident in her friend’s ability that she couldn’t contemplate a scenario where it wouldn’t been rewarded.

Rarity stood sheepishly at the eye of the storm, ducking her head and trying to avoid the swarm of questions buzzing around. Everypony mistook this quiet embarrassment for modesty, continuing to bombard the grey unicorn with praise and yet more questions.

This must have been hard for Rarity to deal with. Twilight could see her trying her very best to tell them what had happened but since the welcome was in her honour, she couldn’t bring herself to ruin it by informing her friends of her failure. Rarity looked over, her eyes imploring Twilight to say something. Twilight plucked up her courage, knowing just how tough this was going to be: “Everypony, listen!”

A gradual hush fell and everypony’s attention centred on her. She glanced at Rarity, who closed her eyes and let her chin fall. Twilight took a deep breath, trying to think of the best way to say what she had to say but no words came to her mind. After this false start, Applejack looked over towards Rarity and understanding crept across her features.

“What’s happened, sugar cube?” she asked Rarity softly, trotting to her side.

Rarity didn’t answer the question. She didn’t even look up, instead opting to poke at a pink streamer with her hoof. She seemed very interested in the way it flopped around lifelessly on the wood of the platform.

Back in Canterlot, Rarity had appeared to have accepted the unfortunate turn of events, but seeing what festivities she would have been privy to had she accomplished what she had meant to looked to have thrust her unresolved emotions back to the fore.

Twilight walked over to Rarity, pulling her in to a soft embrace, whispering in her ear: “It’s OK, Rarity. Pick yourself up and dust your down, remember?”

Rarity looked in to Twilight’s eyes and nodded, straightening herself up and standing tall. She looked at each of the ponies in turn before speaking.

“Thank you so much for the kind reception. I appreciate the thought. Really. This was wonderful. But I’m afraid...” she faltered, taking another deep, steadying breath, “I am afraid I don’t deserve your congratulations. It seems that Miss Mode and I have differing opinions of what constitutes fabulosity. Needless to say, she will not be helping me promote my couture in Canterlot.”

Applejack caught Twilight’s eye, clearly sharing her concern. Everypony else, however, seemed to have fallen for Rarity’s false display of confidence.

“Who needs her anyway?!” Rainbow asked, landing softly at her side, “We all already know you’re the best fashion designer in all of Canterlot, am I right?”

Nopony could argue with that and Twilight watched as the four ponies once again descended upon Rarity in a huge group hug. Rarity glanced momentarily at Twilight before allowing herself to be swept up in the moment. Despite everything, a broad smile crept across her face. That, Twilight reflected, truly was the magic of friendship.

* * * * *

For some things, time is the only healer: for others, time simply allows a seed to grow.

A week or two had passed since her return from Canterlot and Twilight was at home practicing a new spell which would allow her to remove the seeds and stalk from an apple without cutting it. After a few hours however, it became apparent that she simply didn’t have the necessary levels of concentration to master it.

In fact, she hadn’t been able to concentrate properly on anything at all recently. Day after day, she had found her mind wandering to the Carousel Boutique and, more specifically, to Rarity. And more often than not, she had followed it. At first she had been going to keep Rarity company while she was still upset about Chic.

As time had gone on though, Rarity had gotten back to her normal self and Twilight’s visits had become more for her own benefit rather than her friend’s.

Twilight dropped the apple in frustration and trotted off to her bedroom. One more time, she thought. She removed a dress from a large chest at the foot of her bed and clumsily pulled a button loose with her teeth, throwing it in her saddlebags along with the dress itself. That would give her an excuse to be visiting again so soon.

She had begun to feel guilty about her frequent visits, all of which were unplanned and unannounced. Each time, Rarity had appeared happy to see her but she knew that her friend was a busy pony. She had a schedule to keep and clients to appease. This will be the last time, she told herself. She let Spike know she was going out, slung her saddle bags over her back and left.

She cantered purposefully towards the Carousel Boutique, not pausing to speak to anypony and not concentrating on anything but her goal. This time she would say something. This time she would tell Rarity how she felt. The truth

When she arrived, she stared at the door briefly, her heart fluttering. She had been here before with the same trepidation and the same paralysing fear. She began to pace a little in an attempt to quell her nervous energy.

However many times she had considered this scenario, that was how many different outcomes she had envisaged. The imagined Rarity had exhibited the whole gamut of emotions, from ecstasy to revulsion. At times she had swooned and fallen in to Twilight’s arms and at others, she had pushed her away and run screaming.

In the end, she mused, it hardly mattered which Rarity came to be. There was always going to be the uncertainty of what would happen next. Everything would change. Not only her relationship with Rarity, but the dynamics of her friendships with Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow and Pinkie, not to mention Spike. He would be devastated. Unless she simply didn’t tell him. That was always an option. Then there was their roles as the elements of harmony.

An intense struggle raged within her between her fear of rejection and change and her insatiable longing to be Rarity’s very special somepony or more than that, her true love.

And if she didn’t tell Rarity how she felt, what then? Perhaps she was already past the point of no return. Perhaps realising her feelings for Rarity had already irreparably changed the course of their friendship, or indeed her entire life. Things wouldn’t go back to normal if she didn’t do anything because she couldn’t just stop having those feelings.

Ultimately, desire overpowered anxiety and she pushed open the door. She stepped into the beautiful lavender carpeted interior of Rarity’s boutique. Twilight’s eyes darted from pink drape to pink drape searching for her.

Hearing the bell chime above the entrance, Rarity walked down a set of spiral stairs towards the back of the shop. She looked annoyed, as though she had something extremely important to be getting on with.

“Welcome to Carouselle Boutique where everything is chic, unique and magnifique,” she said in her most business-like tone, but upon seeing Twilight, her displeasure was replaced by a dazzling smile: “Why, hello Twilight! It’s so good to see you again.”

“Hi, Rarity. I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Twilight rushed.

“Not at all, darling!” Rarity insisted.

There followed a short silence in which Rarity seemed to be waiting for something. Twilight was too caught up planning her next move to bring them on to the subject she needed them to be on to notice that nothing had been said for almost half a minute.

“What can I do for you?” Rarity asked, breaking the silence.

Twilight cocked her head: “Do for me?”

Did she suspect something was going on? She obviously supposed Twilight had a purpose for being there otherwise she wouldn’t have asked that question. She hadn’t asked anything of the sort last time. She had just assumed it was a friendly visit. Am I being obvious?

“Yes,” Rarity ventured, eying Twilight’s saddle bags pointedly, “Do for you. You haven’t brought something for me to take a look at?”

“Oh yes, of course,” Twilight blurted out, “Button!”

In her reverie, she had completely forgotten that she had prepared a reason for her visit. She used her magic to open the bags and remove her accomplice. She cleared her throat.

“I have this dress and the button fell off.”

Rarity took the dress with her magic and laid it out on a table, examining the other buttons and then the loose threads where the missing button had been. Twilight watched her over her shoulder nervously.

“What did you say happened, again?” Rarity asked.

“The button fell off,” Twilight responded.

“No, no, I mean to say, how did you say it happened?” Rarity pressed.

Why is she asking that? Twilight wondered. Certainly, she hadn’t thought of how to answer.

“Oh, I didn’t say. I don’t know. I was looking through my chest and I found it like this. Perhaps the threads just frayed? It’s quite an old dress,” she answered, thinking on her hooves and forcing a little laugh.

“I see,” Rarity smiled, “Well this shouldn’t take too long. Come and I’ll show you how to fix it. You seem to have some bad luck with buttons.”

Twilight followed Rarity through the shop and back up the stairs to her work room. It was still exactly as it always was: numerous half finished dresses on ponyquins and piles of fabric. The only new additions were dozens, maybe hundreds of balled up sheets of paper lying in or near a small mesh wastepaper basket. Twilight still wondered at how Rarity was able to find anything in this mess. If it were her, she would have everything organised and tidied away at the end of each day.

Rarity went to a drawer and removed a few reels of thread, holding each one against the dress to match the colour. When she found the right shade, she threw the rest back in the drawer and threaded a needle. She laid the dress on a clear table and sat on a work stool, beckoning Twilight to her side.

“So the first thing we do is to remove all of the loose thread,” Rarity removed a clump of split fibres from the space where the button used to be, “One would expect there to be less of it, given that it fell off through wear. In any case, this gives us a neat starting point.”

Twilight panicked. Rarity must have suspected something was wrong with her story. With her eye for detail and especially with it being in her area of expertise, she was bound to have noticed this was a tear and not a worn out length of thread.

That being the case, did she know that this was all just an excuse to spend some time with her? Was she just playing along to keep Twilight happy? Was this entire exercise just a game? Twilight felt a little flicker of hope ignite in her heart.

If Rarity knew that Twilight had gone to such lengths just to create a reason to spend time with her, she would almost certainly have guessed why. And if she knew why and hadn’t tried to escape the situation, that meant she wanted it as much as Twilight did. It would suit her character to be wooed, after all.

No, that would just be too easy, Twilight realised. She probably just thought it was a strange coincidence.

With these thoughts swirling around in her head, Twilight watched as Rarity explained and demonstrated all of the steps necessary to affix a button to a garment. She made it look rather simple. The spell she was casting to move the needle so precisely must have been a lot harder than she let on. When she was finished, Rarity levitated the dress to show it off to Twilight.

“Wow, Rarity, it looks even better than before!” Twilight said, “You’re amazing.”

Rarity bowed her head meekly.

“Oh you’re too kind. I’m sure you could do just as good a job. Here give it a try.”

Without warning, she tore the button off with her teeth and laid the dress back on the table. She patted the work stool with her hoof, smiling mischievously at Twilight.

She knew.

Twilight’s heart thudded against her ribs. This hadn’t been what she’d planned. There was no choice now. There was no backing out. She had convinced herself that this would be her decision. That she could still refuse. That option had been taken from her. It was now or never. All or nothing.

With a small squeak, she lunged forward throwing her arms around the grey unicorn’s neck with reckless abandon. Taking one last look into those beautiful deep blue eyes, she pressed her lips against Rarity’s.

Absolute terror took hold of Twilight the moment she felt Rarity’s soft coat brushing against her own. This was madness. For some reason, she felt as though she had been led to this situation; implanted somewhere she was not meant to be. Now that she was here, she didn’t know what to do or what to think.

In none of her imagined scenarios had Rarity taken so long to respond. Then again, this was nothing like anything she could possibly have imagined. The feelings running around inside her were completely alien.

After what felt like an eternity, Rarity pressed herself against Twilight: her lips, her muzzle, her horn and even her chest were all trying to get as close as they could to her. In this whirlwind of emotion, Twilight briefly she forgot about everything: every fear, every consequence and everypony else apart from the light grey mare in her arms.

The sheer ecstasy coursing through her was a feeling like none she had experienced before. She was suddenly weightless. Her stomach moved around in strange ways, causing her to experience both tension and complete serenity at the same time. Her heart threatened to burst through her chest. This was what she had hoped for from the moment she had first noticed her feelings for Rarity, yet she still felt uneasy.

Something at the back of her mind kept gnawing away at her. This was Rarity after all: the most elegant, the most stylish, the most popular and the most beautiful pony in all of Ponyville. What reason could such a desirable mare possibly have to be kissing plain old bookish Twilight?

She pushed these thoughts from her mind and broke the kiss gently, barely letting their lips part. Unfathomable though it was, Rarity clearly had wanted to kiss her. She had even guided her in to a situation where she would be forced to do it. Maybe I’m over-thinking things, she reasoned.

Continuing to rest her horn against Rarity’s, Twilight stared in to her eyes allowing herself to be swept up in the moment. For all that it hadn’t been what she had expected or imagined, it had still been perfect.

“Twilight Sparkle, you surprise me,” Rarity giggled, affecting an alluring kind of innocence.

“You knew what you were doing,” Twilight said, “You made me do that.”

“Made you?” Rarity laughed, “No. I just gave you a little push, as it were.”

With that she closed her eyes and pulled Twilight in to another embrace. This one felt a lot more relaxed than the last; not as feverish but no less passionate. Twilight could feel Rarity running a gentle hoof through her mane, making her shiver. She hoped that that moment in time could last forever but all to soon it came to an end.

Rarity broke the kiss, looking very proud of herself.

“You can’t imagine how often I’ve dreamt about doing that,” she said, making Twilight blush deeply, “A small town pony from little old Ponyville seduced a regal Canterlot mare. And Princess Celestia’s personal protégée no less.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. She knew it had been too good to be true. Perfect indeed.

“You mean you’ve dreamt of doing that with me? Or just anypony from Canterlot?” she demanded, feeling her elation melt away to nothing.

Her heart felt as though somepony had grasped it and was wringing it dry. She was just another Prince Blueblood to her; desirable because of her birth. Not for her personality, not for her mind and not even for her looks.

Rarity put her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, despite clearly being frightened by her sudden intensity: “What are you talking about, Twilight? Of course I meant with you. I was just saying... it was a compliment.”

Twilight knocked Rarity’s hoof away and turned her back on her erstwhile lover, brushing away a single tear. A compliment? Yes, but a compliment to herself. Congratulations, Rarity, on potentially elevating your own status.

“Oh yes, of course, because I’m Celestia’s protégée; because I know royalty. But anypony with similar connections would do, right? Nothing but the best for Rarity!” Twilight screamed, snorting wildly.

Rarity lifted her hoof across her chest, her eyes filling with tears: “No! That’s not it at all! Why are you saying all of this? I thought, this was what you wanted. What we both wanted.”

“You thought I wanted to be your arm candy?!” Twilight spat.

Rarity fell to the floor, shaking her head weakly in the face of these accusations: “No. I... I... Please, Twilight, you have to understand...”

Twilight had heard enough. Before she lost the will, she galloped from the work room, from the shop and all the way back to the safety of her own home. By the time she reached the front door of the library, her anger had left her. All she felt now was a hollow ache in her chest.

Why did she have to be so shallow? Hot tears burned Twilight’s cheeks as the spilled out of her eyes. She stumbled blindly through the front door and collapsed in a heap shaking convulsively. Her legs could no longer support her weight. Occasional sobs escaped her throat as she lay in a pile of her own self-pity.

“Twilight? What's wrong, Twilight?” She felt a small claw touch her back.

She let out an inarticulate cry and Spike patted her back gently, comfortingly. Half an hour or more passed like this, with Twilight crying softly and Spike doing his best to console her without actually understanding what the problem was. Twilight lay exhausted and tearless when there came a loud knock at the door.

“Twilight?!” Rarity’s muffled voice floated in to the room.

Spike stood up to answer the door.

“I’m not here,” Twilight hissed at the confused dragon and ran to her bedroom, punching the pillows on her bed in to a more comfortable shape.

As she lay on her side staring out of the window, she could hear Spike opening the door and greeting Rarity. Their conversation carried through the walls.

“Is Twilight home? She left... that is to say, I found her saddle bags and I thought she might like them back.”

Twilight held her breath, listening, hoping Spike would do what she had asked. She knew how he got around Rarity. Perhaps now, she could understand why. There was just something about her. She rolled over and glowered at herself in the mirror. No, there was nothing about her. She was callous and proud.

“I’m sorry, Rarity, I haven’t seen her in hours,” he said.

“Oh, that’s quite alright, darling. Will you make sure you give her these? I can’t imagine she would like to find she had lost them. And when she comes back, tell her I stopped by and that I would have quite liked to speak with her,” Rarity said.

“Of course, I will,” Spike responded.

“Thank you, Spike. Have a pleasant evening.”

No sooner was the door was closed than Spike was in her bedroom.

“She wanted me to give you these,” he said, putting the bags down at the foot of her bed, “What happened between you two? And don’t tell me it nothing. First you come galloping in here crying, then Rarity shows up. You run up here and refuse to talk to her when she clearly wants to talk to you. It’s definitely something. Did you guys have a fight?”

Twilight sighed and looked at Spike. She couldn’t just ignore his questions. He was obviously concerned. If she didn’t tell him, he would no doubt hear about it from Rarity. He was so inquisitive, she knew he wouldn’t rest until he knew what was going on.

Still, she couldn’t tell him everything without tainting his friendship with Rarity and as much as she hated her right now, that wasn’t something she wanted to do. Maybe she could skip the details.

“Yes,” she said, “we had a fight. What it was about doesn’t matter. All that matters is that she said something very hurtful to me and I don’t want to see her again.”

Spike looked like he wanted to know more but if he did, he didn’t ask. He simply gave Twilight another hug and left the room.

Chapter Five – Undesirable Desires

Chapter Five – Undesirable Desires

The light of the warm afternoon sun illuminated thousands of tiny particles of dust as they danced around the library’s small study room. Spike watched their procession in a stupor as they looped and spiralled from ceiling to floor. An ornate quill was clutched loosely between his claws over an unfurled scroll while he awaited any dictation that might come.

So it had been for five whole days.

Twilight, in a bid to ignore her heartache, had immersed herself completely in her studies to the detriment of all else in her life. She read and practiced spells from dawn until dusk – and sometimes from dusk until dawn too. She paused only to take on as little nourishment or rest as possible, realising that it was in these unguarded moments that her thoughts would turn away from the logical pursuit of knowledge towards other more capricious occupations.

Its favourite destination was, of course, the last place it ought to have been: dwelling upon things that could never be changed. She was endlessly taunted by the memories of that evening, both the good and the bad.

Twilight coughed a little as she turned a page. Her mind grew hazy from a mixture of exhaustion and the uncomfortable heat of the summer afternoon and soon began to drift back to its usual pastures.

She was once again forced to remember both how frightening and how wonderful it had been to finally act out her desires, tormenting herself with her wishes for what might have been. Even when she relived what had taken place between them, she couldn’t forget any of the reasons she had fallen for Rarity.

She remembered every instance of kindness the pony had shown her, from spending the time to fix her mane the very first time they had met to the gift of a beautiful gala gown she had poured her heart in to. She remembered fondly their adventures, from the time they had encouraged a sleepy dragon to move its nest to their escape from the captivity of the Diamond Dogs. Even her mildly irritating fussing over details seemed endearing.

Yet all of this was soured by the constant reminders of her imperfection. In particular, her boundless self-importance which had allowed her to so readily hurt Twilight when she had been at her most vulnerable.

Twilight snorted, irritated with herself for so easily letting her guard down, before resuming her reading.

A few more minutes passed in silence when there came a very soft tap at her study door. Her concentration had been so deep that she had obviously not heard anypony enter the library. She hadn’t seen anypony since she had leant out a copy of Seeds and Bulbs to a stallion named Caramel. That had been two days ago. Startled, she quickly marked her page and closed her book, trotting to the door to answer the queries of her patron.

“Yes?” she said..

“Oh, um, hello Twilight. I, that is to say we, I mean the girls and I, we were just heading to the park and we were wondering, that is if you’re not too busy, if you and Owlowiscious would care to join us?”

Twilight stared at Fluttershy, who was smiling benignly, her bunny, Angel, sitting on her back. Twilight’s addled brain couldn’t comprehend what the timid pegasus was asking her. Go to the park. With her friends. With Owlowiscious.

Fluttershy looked around nervously before adding: “You know, because it’s been a week since our last pony pet playdate and, I mean, if you’re busy, that’s okay. I can just take Owlowiscious and...”

“Of course!” Twilight shouted, causing Fluttershy to cower in fright, “I’ll be right down.”

The pegasus picked herself up, blushing, turning in midair and flying back towards the library door: “Oh, that’s just marvellous. I’ll go tell everyony you’re coming.”

Twilight had completely forgotten what day it was. She hurriedly made two piles of books, instructing Spike to put the read ones away. She went to her chest and retrieved a worn sunhat which she balanced atop her head and picked out some bird treats from a cupboard by her bed. Some time with her friends would do her the world of good.

“Owlowicious? It’s play time!” she called.

A soft hoot answered her and the little barn owl fluttered through the library, perching upon her rump. She cooed at him before making her way to meet Fluttershy outside.

She closed the door, turning around and in doing so, she immediately realised her mistake.

Everypony was there. Rainbow was flying in place while her tortoise, Tank, flew in little circles around her; Fluttershy was keeping a close eye on Angel as he made repeated attempts to escape towards the park and Gummy was snapping impotently at Pinkie’s mane and tail. However, all of this was a blur. The only thing Twilight saw was the silver coated unicorn arguing with an amused looking Applejack while an excitable puppy chased her cat up a nearby tree.

Twilight froze, her eyes fixed upon Rarity. Her heart fell. She had been excited about seeing the other ponies; so much so that she hadn’t considered the possibility of Rarity being there. It was too late for her to back out now though. Questions would be asked: questions she couldn’t answer and the less of that, the better.

She watched the other unicorn who was stamping her hooves huffily, imploring Applejack to call Winona off . Rarity pointed her hoof at Opalescence, the cat hissing and swiping her claws at the puppy from her temporary sanctuary. Twilight felt a cruel sort of pleasure wash over her as she watched the situation unfold. Rarity deserved to be provoked like this. She grew more and more amused the longer Applejack let it go on.

Yet at the same time she felt the overwhelming urge to rush in and save the day. Applejack always listened to her. If she told her that enough was enough, the whole thing would be over in an instant. She couldn’t stand to see Rarity being goaded in this way. She could put an end to it and Rarity would...

No. She caught herself before she could go too far down this line thought. She couldn’t keep paying so much attention to Rarity. After all, there was more to life than that. She had four other wonderful friends whom she cared deeply about. If Rarity would only apologise, everything could go back to normal. Or almost normal anyway.

She trotted towards Applejack who had lost interest in her game and relented. Rarity turned her chin up at the orange pony, collecting Opal from the tree. Noticing Twilight walking towards them, she gave her a warm smile.

Twilight willed herself to return the smile, but couldn’t. She didn’t feel like smiling. Instead, she gave a perfunctory nod of acknowledgement. Rarity’s smile faltered and her gaze turned from warmth to resignation, before she quickly ran off to catch up with Pinkie and Fluttershy.

Twilight had no idea what to make of this. Perhaps Rarity had thought all that was needed was a brief spell to cool off and everything would be fine. She probably still thought she had done nothing wrong. Typical.

Nothing had been said, but the collective decision seemed to be that they were leaving. Twilight moved in to step beside Applejack who was still looking in Rarity’s direction

“Can’t take a bit of fun...” she laughed, “Howdy, Twilight. Long time, no see. Whacha been doin’?”

“Oh, you know me,” Twilight responded, “I just had so much reading to get through. I don’t think I’ve seen anypony for at least a week.”

The two trotted side by side behind everypony else in quiet companionship. It was a pleasant afternoon and the warmth of the sun coupled with the beautiful chirping of the summer birds was a pleasure Twilight had forgotten during her self-imposed hermitage.

This would be a fun day. She looked ahead to Rarity: she wouldn’t let anything, or anypony, ruin it.

* * * * *

When they had arrived at the park, Twilight lost herself once more in the joy of playing with her friends. She spent a long time watching Rainbow and Owlowicious showing Tank how to hold a straight line before joining Fluttershy as she chased Angel in a spirited game of catch me if you can.

During breaks in their game and despite her best efforts to avoid it, every now and then she would catch herself staring wistfully after Rarity. Occasionally the other pony would notice and throw a glance in her direction. Sometimes it was a smile and others just a long look but each time, Twilight simply couldn’t stop herself from trying to read the expression in her eyes.

There seemed to be a longing there. It felt to Twilight as if she wanted to say something but was holding herself back. There was a strange lack of confidence about her entire demeanour. Sadness and regret there was also but, much to Twilight’s chagrin, no hint of an apology.

Twilight slowly exhausted herself of the bunny chasing game. They had been at it for ten minutes, but Angel was just too quick. Fluttershy’s boundless energy was impressive, but the fruitless pursuit had taken its toll on Twilight. She decided to stand next to Pinkie while she caught her breath.

The pink pony was throwing Gummy in to the air over and over again, shouting ‘whee’ with each toss. It was impossible to tell whether he was enjoying it or not – his face was impassive as ever – but Pinkie insisted he loved it, so who was she to argue?

While she stood watching this odd game, Opalescence approached and began winding herself around Twilight’s forelegs. She smiled at the cat who was being oddly affectionate. She gave her a series of soft pats on the head, causing her to purr softly. She realised that this was the first time the cat had ever been satisfied with anything she had done. Usually Opal was very picky and high maintenance. In any case, she was enjoying her success.

“Oh, there you are Opal! I thought I’d lost you again. You must stop running away like that.”

Rarity appeared out of nowhere, her tail swishing gracefully behind her as she stooped to talk to the cat: “What are you so happy about?”

She clearly hadn’t noticed Twilight at first because when she stood up, she looked surprised to see the lavender pony staring straight back at her. After a short and awkward silence had passed between the two, Rarity decided she had best commence with the pleasantries: “Twilight, darling, how are you?”

It was such a simple question but it set in motion a train of very complex thoughts in Twilight’s head. If truth be told, she didn’t know how she was. At that moment, she was having a great time with her friends and she hadn’t been happier in days.

However, overall she felt terribly conflicted. She would be in high spirits one minute and unspeakably sad the next. And to make it worse, this was all because of the mare asking the question . She couldn’t possibly answer honestly. She pondered her response, turning away from Rarity and watching Pinkie-Pie again. She couldn’t trust herself to look at Rarity for much longer.

“I’m fine. I’ve been awfully busy. Studying and practicing spells. You know, the usual,” Twilight answered after some deliberation.

Pinkie had begun rolling in circles around Gummy, who stood staring, seemingly at a nothing.

“Oh, I see. So that’s why I haven’t seen you in such a long time, is it?” Rarity questioned.

Twilight didn’t answer. She knew that Rarity couldn’t possibly think that this was the case.

“It’s just that you had been coming to see me quite often. Every day since we returned from Canterlot, in fact. And now it’s been five days and this is the first I’ve seen of you,” Rarity continued.

Twilight sustained her silence trying to ignore the bait, though she felt herself becoming frustrated with this charade. It was quite obvious what she was doing. She wanted Twilight to talk about their argument. She obviously thought it would help. Why was she never content just to let things lie?

“It’s been rather too quiet lately. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had plenty of work to occupy myself with. It’s just that I had become accustomed to your company.”

Twilight stared in to the middle distance, actively trying to keep herself calm. She wished Rarity would just stop.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’ve missed you.”

This was more than Twilight could take. She turned round to face Rarity, looking straight in to her eyes. She couldn’t fathom fully what her intentions were or what the objective of this conversation was meant to be. All she knew was that she didn’t want to be a part of it.

“I’ve missed you too, but I don’t want to talk about this right now, okay?!” she shot at the silver unicorn.

Rarity looked pleased but, noticing that Pinkie had stopped what she was doing to watch them, quickly changed the subject.

“I trust Spike returned your saddle bags to you?” she asked.

That was better, Twilight decided. This was more neutral territory: like the weather, but more personal; the kind of thing acquaintances talked about. Though they weren’t acquaintances. They were friends. Or they were supposed to be.

“Yes, he did,” she answered politely, “thank you for returning them.”

Rarity continued looking at Twilight. A few long moments passed, during which Twilight grew increasingly uneasy. It was as if the other pony expected more of an answer than a flat yes or no. But what else was there to be said? Unless she was hoping that by waiting, Twilight would elaborate on why she had left them behind in the first place. If that was the case, she refused to be drawn in.

“Good. You left in such a rush. I simply had to make sure you had them.”

There it was. Twilight felt herself growing irritated. Why couldn’t she drop this? It was just one thinly veiled jibe after another. The only reason she had even asked about the bags was so that she could mention Twilight’s quick departure and try to force her in to talking about it. She then noticed that Pinkie had gone back to playing. That apparent ceasefire had just been for show.

“Then when I arrived at your house, Spike said you hadn’t come back. I was going to return them at another time, but I had thought that – and I know it sounds silly – perhaps you didn’t want to talk to me,” Rarity added.

For some reason, this blatant observation was enough to throw Twilight over the edge. She obviously knew that Twilight hadn’t wanted to speak to her. Otherwise why would she have stopped visiting? She felt herself burst.

“That’s because I didn’t! I didn’t want to talk then and I don’t want to talk now! I already told you! Why do you have to keep pushing this?!” Twilight screamed, pointing an accusatory hoof at Rarity.

“Well maybe you don’t, but I do! You can be so selfish sometimes!”

“Oh, I’m selfish?” Twilight said with a derisory laugh, “No, no, no. You’re the selfish one! You’re the one who only cares about somepony if she has royal connections!”

“That isn’t true!” Rarity replied, “I didn’t say that! You said that and I told you that it simply wasn’t true!”

“Oh for pete’s sake, Rarity, you didn’t have to say anything. Standing there, looking all smug, going on about how you seduced a Canterlot mare?! You may not have said it in as many words, but it was what you meant. Anyone could see that!”

There was stunned silence all around.

The park which had been alive with the sound of barking and tweeting and the excited voices of ponies enjoying some quality time with their friends, was suddenly still. Twilight stood breathing heavily, furious at Rarity. She could feel more than see the four sets of eyes watching them, yet no pony said a word. Not even Rarity herself, who was looking around, as if searching for an escape.

“Well?! You wanted to talk, so talk.” Twilight insisted.

Rarity continued to glance around, looking more and more anxious by the second. Eventually she opened her mouth to speak but appeared to change her mind at the last moment, preferring instead just to glare at Twilight.

“That’s what I thought. You can’t even think of a way to deny it. I can’t believe you. You’re selfish and you’re shallow. I don’t even know what I saw in you in the first place.”

Rarity looked like she was going to yell something back, but again, nothing came. In the end, a quiet sob escaped her throat and she turned, fleeing the scene.

Twilight felt a wave of triumph come over her as she watched Rarity disappear in to the distance. She had won the argument and what was more, she had been right all along. Rarity had only wanted her because of her position.

At that moment, her triumph suddenly felt hollow. Her legs gave out and she collapsed on to the hard, cold ground. This wasn’t what she had wanted. Even in the heat of the argument, some part of her had hoped that Rarity would tell her something, anything to prove her wrong.

She had wanted Rarity to tell her how much she loved her; to tell her why she loved her. She had wanted her to prove that it was for more than just shallow, petty reasons. She had wanted her to tell Twilight that she had taken everything out of context. Yet when she had been given the opportunity, she couldn’t. And that could only mean one thing.

She didn’t love Twilight.

That hurt her more than anything else in the world possibly could. She stared at the grass between her forelegs, feeling sick to her stomach. No tears would come. She had technically already cried over this. Yet somehow, seeing the facts right in front of her, it suddenly felt worse. Perhaps she had still hoped that there could be something between them. That last hope had now been dashed.

As she lay, she felt a hoof land softly on her shoulder.

“Are you alright sugarcube?”

Applejack’s voice was filled with concern. Twilight wasn’t sure what to say. She continued pulling at the grass beneath her feet. She wasn’t alright, and yet admitting it would force her in to talking about it which was what she had been trying to avoid in the first place. She looked up, seeing a set of bright pink eyes looking at her quizzically.

“What was that all about?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight looked around, suddenly expecting to see Fluttershy and Pinkie too. But of course Fluttershy would have gone after Rarity. Pinkie, she couldn’t explain, but that was normal. Even if they weren’t all here, she was grateful that it had been these two who had stayed behind; the two most rational of her friends.

“Now I ain’t never seen anypony lose it like that in all my days. I can’t imagine what she could have done to make you shout like that. All I know is, you look a heap troubled about somethin’” Applejack said.

Twilight suddenly felt ashamed. She had said things to Rarity that were just as horrible as the things Rarity had said to her. Even if they had seemed justified at the time, she wished that she hadn’t said them. She did know what she had seen in Rarity in the first place. She didn’t think she was irretrievably vain or selfish. She had just been angry.

Now, after what she had said, there was little chance of them ever being friends again, let alone something more. She and her petty desires had ruined everything. Why had she kissed Rarity? Why had she even let herself fall for her? She had known all along that it would just complicate things. In the end, it was her own vanity and self-interest as much as Rarity’s that had put all of her friends in this situation.

A heap troubled indeed.

Unbidden, tears began to stream from her eyes. She felt Applejack’s hoof patting her back and she saw Rainbow looking at her with an unusual amount of worry.

“Hey, Twilight, it’ll be okay. We’ve all had fall-outs before. Maybe we can help?” Rainbow offered.

“That’s right, hon’. Why don’t ya tell us what’s wrong and we’ll see if we can’t do somethin’ to cheer you up?” Applejack suggested.

At long last, Twilight relented. These two ponies weren’t trying to accuse her or make her feel bad about herself. As much as she didn’t want to tell them what had happened, she needed to tell someone. So she did. Staring at the ground the whole time and through countless sobs, she related the whole story from Ponyville to Canterlot to the Carousel Boutique to the park.

When she had finished, there was some nervous looks were exchanged between the other two.

“You kissed her!?” Rainbow exclaimed, aghast.

“Rainbow!” Applejack scolded the pegasus, before turning to turning round to look at Twilight, a strange pity in her eyes, “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that what happened, happened and now Twilight is upset.

“Now I’m just wonderin’, Twilight – I mean, I ain’t sayin’ you were wrong and I ain’t sayin’ she was right – but do you think that maybe you took things a little outta context?”

Twilight looked questioningly at the orange pony: “What do you mean ‘out of context’?”

Applejack looked thoughtfully in to the distance: “Well, I know Rarity. And I reckon y’all are right. Sometimes she can be a mite tryin’. She ain’t no angel, but I also know she ain’t one to fool around when it comes to love. She’s a big ol’ romantic at heart and I just don’t see her doin’ somethin’ like kissin’ somepony if she didn’t mean it.

“I reckon y’all might’ve taken her meanin’ wrong. It sounds to me like she was complimentin’ herself. But I think it’s more because, as much as she wants to be somepony, she doesn’t really think she is. An’ maybe she does find your position attractive, but as I see it, she didn’t say it was the only thing.”

Twilight thought about it for what felt like the hundredth time, but she still couldn’t agree with Applejack’s opinion. She hadn’t been there after all. She hadn’t heard how she’d said it. It had just been so out of the blue. It shouldn’t have been the first thought to come in to her head. She wanted to believe what Applejack was saying, but it just felt wrong.

She told Applejack this and she just shrugged.

“Like I said, I ain’t saying you’re wrong but it couldn’t hurt to give her the benefit of the doubt.”

Twilight nodded, still unsure about the advice she was getting. Yes, she loved Rarity, but she knew all too well that she was perfectly capable of hurting her. She knew Applejack meant well. She was just honestly giving her thoughts. Still, it felt to Twilight like she had missed the point. She shivered and looked up at the sky.

They had been there for so long that the sun was starting to set. Gone was the warm air from earlier. The ponies all rounded up their pets and headed off. The short walk back to Ponyville was completed in silence. When they arrived at the library, Applejack announced that she still had a way to go, so she gave Twilight a warm hug and left in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

Rainbow, on the other hand, hung around a little longer.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” she asked.

Twilight smiled brightly at the blue pegasus: “I’ve been fine on my own for the past few days, I’m sure I’ll be okay tonight.”

Rainbow nodded: “Of course, of course. But if you do need me, I’ll be around, okay?”

Twilight thanked Rainbow for her kindness and turned to go back in to the library, but before she got far, she felt a hoof on her flank.

“Wait, wait, wait, before you go, I’ve just gotta to ask: what was it like?” Rainbow asked in a rush.

Twilight cocked her head. Was Rainbow asking what she thought she was asking?

“You mean...?”

“Yeah, I mean when you... you know... kissed her.”

Twilight blushed. It wasn’t right to kiss and tell. She wouldn’t. Still, if she didn’t go in to detail, what would it hurt? She paused to think about it and realised that she could only describe it in one way.

“It was perfect,” she replied quietly.

Rainbow smiled at her and winked: “That’s all I needed to know. Thanks. Goodnight.”

With that she took off towards her cloud home, leaving Twilight alone with her thoughts in the quiet, dusky evening.

Chapter Six – In Memory

Chapter Six – In Memory

Twilight closed the door to her study quietly before crossing the room to stare out the window. The dim flickering light of a solitary candle was the only break in the otherwise complete darkness. The library felt distinctly cavernous that night. There was no sound at all save for the distant echoing murmur of a sleeping baby dragon. The emptiness cried out to be filled and Twilight unwittingly obliged.

She began pacing nervously around the room, feeling more alone than she had in her entire life. The oppressive silence seemed to take on a voice of its own, shouting the words of her answer to Rainbow’s parting question from the depths of the silent room. Eventually she had no choice but to acknowledged them.

It was perfect.

Until that moment, Twilight hadn’t allowed herself to think about the kiss. Every time her mind had returned to the Carousel Boutique she had forced it away from that particular memory. Instead, she had focused on everything that had happened after. She didn’t want to remember the intimacy and the passion with which she had embraced the other pony. She didn’t want to remember the elation she had felt as Rarity had kissed her back. She didn’t want to remember ever having been happy in her arms.

Yet Rainbow’s question felt designed to make her think about these very things. And the more she thought about them, the more she realised that she didn’t want to forget. No matter how much angst she had gone through to get there, it had all been worth it for that one brief moment

Twilight felt herself growing warm as she thought about it.

That first kiss had been the perfect conclusion to the long weeks of yearning. Everything about it felt right: the fact that she had had to abandoned her usual logical thinking; that she had had to completely commit to that one moment in time; the abruptness; the intensity; the burning desire that they had shared. Nothing she could have changed would have made it any better.

This was all too much for her to think about. She had spent so long now listing out Rarity’s faults that perhaps she had forgotten why she had fallen for the unicorn in the first place. Her mind was too busy to make sense of it all on her own.

Returning to her desk, Twilight unfurled a blank scroll. She needed somepony to talk to. She would write to Rainbow Dash and ask her if it wouldn’t be too much trouble for her to come back. Twilight surrounded her quill with a fuchsia aura, lifting it from her inkwell while she considered what to write.

As soon as she put her quill to the paper however, there was a dull click. Twilight bowed her head in defeat. Why now? Of all the times that nib could have snapped, it had to be right at that very moment. She threw the quill across the room. Nothing would go right for her today.

She tore around the room, looking in drawers, in cupboards, on bookshelves, under her bed: nothing. As a last gasp effort, she decided to see if she might have left one of the quills she had taken with her to Canterlot in her saddlebags. Spying them at the foot of her bed, she hastily loosened the fastenings and threw open the left pouch. There was a couple of books, some blank scrolls, a few loose coins and a hair brush, but crucially, no quill.

“Please, please, please,” she begged as she opened the other pouch.

Her heart skipped a beat. Taking a step back, she looked at the contents. There was no quill there either. What there was, folded neatly and placed carefully inside, was a dress she hadn’t seen in almost a week. On top, there lay a scroll which had been tied closed with a length of white ribbon and sealed with purple wax.

She returned to the bag and lifted her dress out along with the scroll, laying them on her bed. The button had been sewn back on to the dress she noticed, admiring the handiwork. If she hadn’t known which of the fastenings it was that had been missing, there would have been no way to tell. Such beautiful stitching and the tone of the threads matched perfectly.

She folded the dress and put it back in the bag, turning her attention to the scroll. She picked it up with her magic. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she broke the seal and untied the ribbon. This had been the last thing she had expected to see. She was both excited and frightened by the prospect of reading it. It was from Rarity, she knew. The binding had been the same as any letter the mare had ever written.

A part of Twilight hoped that it would contain an apology, another hoped for anger and resentment. She stared at the crisp paper for a long moment before deciding that regardless of what it contained, if somepony had taken the time to write to her, it was only polite for her to take the time to read it.

Unfurling the scroll, she immediately recognised the long, elegant strokes of Rarity’s handwriting. Twilight had always prided herself on her penmanship, but she envied Rarity’s. Yet she also noticed a number of unsightly blotches. She traced these absent-mindedly with her hoof before beginning to read.

Dearest Twilight,

I hope that this letter finds its way to you as I am certain that I will not be able to ensure it reaches you myself. I don’t really know what to say to you. I have waited so long for tonight and for that one moment that I can’t understand why what has happened, has happened. All I know is that I would give anything in Equestria to change it.

I know what you think I said but I don’t know why. I can only tell you what I tried to earlier: that I didn’t mean what you think I did. I don’t know if I can prove that to you, I can only try. I love you, Twilight Sparkle, and I need you to see that. I hope that by the next time we meet, you do.

Yours for all time,

Rarity

Twilight read the letter over and over, trying to fathom what it meant. It was by no means an apology. Nor was it filled with anger or resentment. It looked more like Rarity was pleading with her. It was such an out of character thing for her to do that Twilight didn’t know how to react. She stared at the blotches. Were they tearstains? Had Rarity been crying as she wrote this?

She put the letter down, wondering. Much of what Rarity had written was the same as she had said at the park earlier. Somehow, she began to doubt herself. Had she been too quick to dish out accusations? She questioned what the other unicorn could possibly do to show her that what she was saying was true. Surely the letter couldn’t be everything.

She sprang up and trotted over to her bag. Hastily, she threw the dress on to her floor. There had to be something else here. Then she saw it. Nestled at the bottom of the bag was a collection of papers, each one with a single frayed edge. She gasped as she took them from the bag.

Sitting back down on her bed, she began rifling through them. She knew immediately what they were. They all bore Rarity’s unique handwriting and at the top of each page, there was a date. These were pages Rarity had torn from her diary. The earliest date she could find was one that she remembered well and a date that made sense as a starting point.

Dear Diary,

What a wonderful day I’ve had. My decorations have the town hall looking fabulous ahead of tonight’s Summer Sun Celebration. Interior decoration may not be my forte but Mayor Mare insisted I was the only pony for the job. I assure you, I’m quite flattered. I tried to recreate the splendour of Canterlot castle’s famous grand ballroom and it’s not too shabby if you ask me. I hope Princess Celestia notices.

Speaking of the princess and Canterlot, I met the most fascinating pony today: a unicorn mare by the name of Twilight Sparkle. She came upon me in the town hall while I was finishing off my decorations, looking awfully bedraggled. I dread to think what must have happened to her and she didn’t really say, but I took her back here to help her out. She has the most striking midnight blue mane I’ve ever seen with highlights of the most beautiful shades of pink and violet. You wouldn’t have known it at first through all of that frizz, but after a little bit of grooming, it looked magnificent.

Anyway, it turns out she’s from Canterlot! I didn’t get much chance to talk to her about that though. If only I had known sooner, we could have talked about the ponies and the society and the grandeur. She did say something about staying at the library during her visit, however. And did I not hear on the grapevine that Pinkie Pie was having a party there tonight in preparation for tonight’s festivities? I think I should attend. Perhaps I’ll see my new friend there. It’d be great to get to know her a little better. There’s something about her...

Rarity

It was Rarity’s account of a day that would live long in Twilight’s memory. The day she had come to Ponyville; the day she had first faced down the evils of Equestria; the day she had met her six best friends; the day she and Rarity had first met.

It had never occurred to her to talk to anypony about their first impressions of her. Yet here, in black and white, was one of them. Rarity had thought her beautiful and interesting. It wasn’t clear whether that was just because she had found out about her roots or whether it was something deeper. She wanted to believe that it was the latter, but she couldn't be sure just yet. It would, she reasoned, have been very odd indeed for Rarity to have included such damning evidence of the very thing she was arguing against. Twilight found the next entry.

Dear diary,

I’m glad to be home. The weather pegasi apparently scheduled a storm yesterday and I had to take shelter at the library. While I was there Twilight invited me to a sleep over. With Applejack of all ponies. What an absolute farce. That Applejack has no sense of style whatsoever. She doesn’t understand why details matter. Even though I can appreciate why she values getting things done quickly, that is no substitute for getting them done well.

That said, I can only hope that our behaviour towards one another didn’t ruin Twilight’s night. She didn’t seem to notice at first. I think she was too caught up in her checklist. But who can blame her? She was just trying to make sure we all had fun. It’s good to know there’s another pony in Ponyville who understands the merits of organisation and attention to detail, even if she can be a bit neurotic about it at times.

I did manage to enjoy myself in the end though. So all in all, not a wasted night. Twilight was an absolute delight once she had put her book down. She hides that sense of humour away too well. She truly is a wit. Maybe if she learned to relax a little every now and then, more ponies would get to see it. Though some of it might be a little over their heads.

Anyway, on my way home this morning, did I not...

That was as much as had fit on the page. Twilight felt a warmth spreading through her as she read. Rarity thought her to be funny. She hadn’t thought any of her friends appreciated her sense of humour. She may have been wrong about Rarity after all, just as Applejack had said. If Twilight’s status was important to Rarity, it certainly appeared that it was not the only reason she had felt attracted to her.

She read a few more of the pages, becoming more and more optimistic. There was one from the time that they had played Mare-Do-Well in which Rarity applauded Twilight's role in what she deemed to be a clever practical joke. Another had been written on her last birthday after the party in Canterlot. That one was a particularly interesting read. It seemed to confirm the idea that although Rarity was hugely concerned with her standing in society, it was nowhere near as important to her as Twilight had made it out to be.

In fact, each new page seemed to show a new lesson that Rarity had learned, whether that be about the importance of her relationships with her sister, her parents or her friends or just something as simple as a resolution to manage her time a little better.

Twilight had been under the impression that she had known this pony as well or better than anypony else in Equestria, yet it seemed at that moment that she had barely scratched the surface. The layers and depth of Rarity’s personality seemed to blossom forth through her words. They painted a picture contrary to that which had recently formed in Twilight’s mind; a fact of which she was glad.

Of course she could see Rarity's flaws represented too, but even the greatest of ponies has her flaws. Rarity’s however seemed to pale into insignificance next to her virtues, of which there were many. Twilight even found these flaws endearing. She laughed as she read page after page of frustration as an increasingly aggravated Rarity strove to impress her clients. She was the consummate perfectionist. Yet along with this came the industriousness and creativeness that made her stand out as an artist.

In those pages Twilight also found some stories to which she could strongly relate and which repeated on the next page she picked up. She read it to herself under her breath.

Dear diary,

I’ve just finished off the last of the outfits for that client in Fillydelphia. She was so demanding. I don’t know how she expected me to get it all done on time with all of her changes of heart and picky requirements. I’m so glad that’s over. I could barely recognise my original designs in the end. Some ponies just don’t appreciate my art. But there’s no accounting for taste, now is there?

In any case, once I had sent them off, I stopped by the library to see Twilight. I know I said I wouldn’t keep doing this to myself, but I just couldn’t help it. It’s like an addiction. I had to see her. I can’t seem to concentrate on anything until I’ve seen her. I’ve never felt like this about anypony before. I think I’m in love. In fact, I’m certain of it. This is crazy. She’s my friend. What would she think if she found out? And I can’t imagine what would happen if I told anypony else. Not even Fluttershy would be able to keep this one quiet.

I’ll just have to keep this one between us while I decide what to do.

Rarity

Twilight blushed. She remembered feeling exactly the same way. The excitement and apprehension that had consumed ever hour of every day, sapping her focus and reducing her to stealing time alone with the object of her desire just to get through the day. She also recognised the fear of what her friends would think. Even as she told Applejack and Rainbow about everything that had happened between her and Rarity, she had still felt nervous about letting this kind of cat out of the bag.

In the rapturous interest in with which she had been reading, Twilight had barely noticed that she had reached the last of the entries. She picked up the page, her heart in her throat as she read. The date was one which she knew. In fact, it was one that every pony in Equestria would recognise.

Dear diary,

Oh how I love Hearts and Hooves Day! I can’t believe that after all my worry yesterday, I didn’t actually have to spend it alone. What’s more, I got to spend it with the very pony I wanted to. I decided that rather than spend the day wallowing in pity, I would go in to Ponyville.

What a decision that turned out to be. I met Twilight and she suggested that since neither of us had plans, we could spend the day together. We had some lunch and took a turn around the park. She told me stories about growing up in Canterlot. Then we went to the spa and had cornicures before coming back here to relax and have some supper. Twilight was an absolute darling. I don’t remember the last time I had that much fun.

I wish I could gather up the courage to say something to her but I don’t know if she feels the same way. Being around her makes me feel like a little filly again. Somehow, though, I felt like the timing would have been perfect today. It would have been so romantic to have asked her to be my very special somepony on Hearts and Hooves Day.

I could have sworn I caught her staring at me while I was pouring the tea. That was my moment. But alas, my nerves got the better of me again. I’m terrified of what might happen if I told her and she wasn’t interested. What if she felt too awkward to be my friend an more. I don’t know if I could go on living without her.

Maybe it would be best if I didn’t say anything. But that wouldn’t do either. I can’t go for the rest of my life pining over her. I have to know one way or the other. Eventually. The sooner, the better. I can’t risk somepony else stealing her away from me, now can I? This will require some thought.

Rarity

Twilight smiled, remembering that day. She had had fun too. The cornicures had been magnificent and Rarity's tea had been wonderful as usual. She had been watching Rarity as she recalled, but only to see if she had been using any magic to improve the tea. It had been Twilight's best Hearts and Hooves Day ever and now it seemed that it had been Rarity's too.

How strange it was to see Rarity flustered like she was at the end though. Her silence when Twilight had confronted her made a little more sense now. She had expected a bad reaction and was caught by surprise when it hadn’t come. Then, when she had made what Twilight had finally accepted to be a flyaway comment, all Tartaurus had broken loose.

As she put the pages back in her bag, an unwelcome realisation came over her. Having read all of this, she now saw how wrong she was about the other pony. She understood that Rarity’s attraction to her had not been superficial at all. However, in understanding this, she realised twice now she had charged Rarity with being proud, shallow and selfish.

If somepony had levelled those accusation at her, she would probably never want to speak to them again. A solitary tear rolled down her cheek as she chastised herself for so hastily judging Rarity in such a way. It had been she who had acted proudly; she who had been shallow and she who had acted purely in her own self-interest.

For all this, she probably deserved whatever punishment fate handed her. There was every chance that she might have ruined any chance she had had to be happy with Rarity.

She looked at herself in the mirror: “What have I done?”

* * * * *

The opening notes of the morning birds’ cheerful chorus filtered through the library’s windows along with the first weak rays of the rising sun. Whereas that beautiful singing usually felt uplifting to Twilight, this morning their voices were most unwelcome. The lavender unicorn twisted under her sheets for what felt like the thousandth time. Morning had surely taken its time to arrive today. She threw the sheets violently from her bed, but continued to lie on her back staring at the ceiling.

The night had been long and restless. She had initially gone to bed in the hope that sleeping on things would refresh her mind. Yet after hours of tossing and turning, sleep simply would not come. Every time she closed her eyes, she was forced to relive the mistakes she had made with Rarity and the accompanying guilt made it impossible for her to relax.

The longer the night went on like this, the more nervous she became. She felt as if her world was collapsing. On at least four occasions she had jumped out of her bed in a panic and begun pacing in earnest, her mind working more quickly than if she had been taking a test. It was during these brief periods of exceptional mental acuity that she had come up with a plan of action.

She knew that if there was any chance that Rarity was going to accept an apology, it would have to be made soon. The longer she waited, the more likely it was that Rarity would begin to exaggerate the situation. With small things, this wasn’t a problem. When the issues were resolved she would always realise that she had been overreacting. This was no small matter, however, and much like the failed fashion show with Hoity Toity that might have ruined her career but for a stroke of good fortune, Twilight feared that she might descend in to a depression and try to lock herself away from the rest of the world again.

It was for this reason that Twilight had decided to make her way over there early in an attempt to calm things down before they became too much for anypony to handle. Rising from her bed, Twilight began her preparations for what promised to be a very difficult day.

All too soon, she was ready to leave. The fear and trepidation on this occasion were far worse than they had been the last time she had made the journey to the Carousel Boutique. This time she knew that if she failed in her intentions, it wasn’t just likely that things would never be the same again, it was a certainty.

She left at a canter, hoping that what she planned on saying would be enough to convince Rarity of her regret. A part of her felt like this was her last journey; that should she be unsuccessful, she wouldn’t be able to return. Despite all of the evil she had faced up to in her life – Nightmare Moon, the Diamond Dogs, Discord – this felt like the most perilous thing she had ever done.

The bridge across Ponyville’s gently flowing river appeared ahead and beyond, rising ominously over the horizon, was Rarity’s home. As she crossed the bridge, Twilight felt her heart beating heavily and quickly in her chest. There was no turning back now. This was it. The rest of her life now depended on the next words she said.

She stepped in to the shadow of Rarity’s door. The closed sign was still facing. Good, Twilight thought to herself, I don’t want any pony to see this. Every nerve Twilight possessed seemed to be standing to attention. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she raised her right hoof from the ground. Even as she heard the knocking sounds from the door, she was plagued by doubt, unsure of whether she was doing the right thing.

There wasn’t the slightest sound issuing from the house. She panicked. Did Rarity suspect who it was? Was she ignoring it for that reason? Twilight had no idea what else she could do. She had come this far. She had to see this through. She raised her hoof, preparing to knock once more but before she could make contact with door’s surface, it had been moved out of the way.

Twilight swallowed. Her throat had gone completely dry. Words eluded her. There was nothing but the sound of the birds singing and the distant murmur of the passing stream. Thankfully, the other pony broke the silence that seemed to hang uncomfortably between them.

“Twilight?”

Chapter Seven – Closing Doors

Chapter Seven – Closing Doors

Time appeared to stand still as the two unicorns looked at one another across the threshold. Twilight’s plans dissolved. Just seeing the other pony and knowing her, truly understanding what she was, was enough to fill Twilight with the purest desperation. She knew that this was her last chance and she knew that what she had intended on saying wasn’t good enough.

Rarity fixed Twilight with a penetrating stare, her face betraying no hint of emotion. This didn’t bode well with Twilight. She felt very uncomfortable at that moment – more so than she had in her entire life. She looked down at her hooves to avoid the silver unicorn’s gaze before swallowing heavily and taking the plunge.

“Hello, Rarity,” she said cheerily, smiling her most dazzling smile at the other mare.

Rarity didn’t so much as blink.

“I thought I would come by to see how you were doing,” Twilight ploughed on, undeterred.

Nothing.

“So... how are you doing?” she asked, feeling more than a little bit awkward.

Rarity raised her eyebrow: “I’m just fine. Thank you for your concern.”

“Oh, that’s good. I had hoped you would be.”

Even to her own ears, it sounded lame, forced. She had gone about this in completely the wrong way. False smiles were not going to solve this.

More silence.

Twilight looked back at the ground, weighing up her options, but the lengthening silence and the deafening thud of her heart against her ribs were preventing her from bringing anything of her original plans to mind. She fidgeted a little, brushing some imagined dirt from her coat.

Rarity rolled her eyes and moved to close the door, having seemingly grown tired of Twilight’s woeful attempts at reconciliation.

“Well, if that’s all, I have some things I really have to attend to. Thank you for stopping by, Twilight. It was an absolute pleasure.”

Twilight panicked. If that door closed with her outside, it was all over. It would be the end of her first foray in to love. It would be the end of her friendship with Rarity. It would be the end of her studies in Ponyville. It would be the end of everything good that she knew. She could not let that happen. Not now. Not without a fight.

Summoning up every ounce of strength that remained within her, Twilight forced her hoof against the door, preventing it from reaching the jamb.

“No, Rarity, wait!” she cried.

The door opened again presenting a thoroughly unamused Rarity. She glared at Twilight, as though nothing would give her greater pleasure than to slam the door in her face. Twilight had never seen Rarity’s ire directed at her in this way. She cowered under this disapproving gaze.

“Please. I’m sorry. I just want to talk. Will you not talk to me?” Twilight pleaded.

Rarity’s fluttered her eyelids and gave Twilight a simpering smile of the kind that just oozes disbelief. She stepped towards Twilight, jabbing her hoof painfully in to the other pony’s chest.

“You want to talk. You want to talk?!” she shrieked derisively, walking in quick circles around Twilight, “You’ve had more than your fair share of chances to talk! Maybe I don’t want to talk right now, hmm?”

Twilight’s shoulders dropped. She didn’t want a confrontation. That wouldn’t help matters at all. Instead of arguing back, she stood quietly as Rarity continued her tirade.

“It’s been a week now. Any time during that week you could have come over here to talk, but you didn’t. Yesterday afternoon, I tried to talk to you and you said you didn’t want to. I’ve waited and I’ve waited and I’ve waited quite long enough, wouldn't you agree?!.”

Despite her anger, Twilight noticed a tear making its way down Rarity’s cheek as she spoke. That tear betrayed Rarity because it proved that she wanted this quarrel no more than Twilight did. And while that was still the case, there was hope.

So she waited for Rarity to exhaust her anger, until she had finished saying everything she had to say.She understood why the other unicorn was so angry. She knew that she absolutely deserved to be shouted down in this way. It was this very feeling – that the other pony was justified in her anger – that stopped her from feeling sorry for herself. The gray mare stood breathing heavily in front of Twilight, her eyes still filled with an unmistakable malice.

Twilight closed her own eyes and bowed her head in an act of humility, acknowledging everything Rarity had said. She knew she had done the other pony a great injustice. Understanding this, she knew that there was only one thing that she could say and she looked deep in to Rarity’s eyes as she said it.

“I know. I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve for me to act like that and you have no idea how much I regret it. And this? All of this is my fault, I know it is. And I know it would be asking an incredible amount for you to forgive me, but that’s what I came here to do. I’m sorry, Rarity. I’m truly sorry,” Twilight finished in barely a whisper, fighting back tears.

Rarity’s expression was unchanged. Twilight finally let her shoulders fall. She had no fight left in her. The battle was lost but for one final push.

“I... I got your letter,” she told Rarity softly, her tears now flowing freely from her eyes, hardly daring to hope, “Last night. And I just want you to know that I read it and to say... to tell you... I love you Rarity. I would give anything to change all of this. Anything.”

For one fleeting moment, Rarity’s features softened, seemingly against her will. With a quick shake of her mane however, she regained her composure, her eyes filled with hurt now as much as anger.

“How can you come here now and tell me that?!” Rarity demanded, “After all of this, after how you’ve treated me, after how you‘ve insulted me, after how you repeatedly accused me of nothing less than lying about my feelings, do you really expect me to believe that?”

Twilight looked away. She didn’t know what to say. In truth, she hadn’t really expected Rarity to believe it. Her assessment of the situation being accurate, Rarity had every right to doubt what Twilight was saying. After all, if the table had been turned, that’s exactly how Twilight would have felt.

She looked back at Rarity and solemnly shook her head.

“No. I don’t.”

That wasn’t the answer the other pony had expected, if indeed she had expected any answer at all. She looked completely taken aback. The resentment on her face had all but dissipated. She looked like she had no idea what to say.

“I don’t expect you to believe me, and I can’t prove it to you, but I can try,” Twilight intoned, repeating the words of Rarity’s letter back to her.

Both ponies were silent for a moment, allowing Twilight to think of something to say. A warm breeze swept past as she looked deeply in to Rarity’s eyes.

“I like to think that ponies can change,” Twilight began, ”If living here in Ponyville has taught me anything, it’s that. With everything we’ve been through together and everything we’ve learned from one another, I hope you can see that too.”

Rarity found her voice, sounding now more saddened than anything else: “I do, of course I do. What I want to know is how you could possibly think that I only wanted to be with you because were Princess Celestia’s student?”

Twilight had known that this was a question she would have to answer and the prospect frightened her. She had given a lot of thought to it through her sleepless night and she knew why she jumped to that conclusion. It was something she hadn’t wanted to talk about, but now there was nothing else for it. She bowed her head as she spoke, embarrassed by the truth.

“I misjudged you, Rarity. I know that’s no excuse for how I acted, but that’s what happened. I assumed of you what I’d come to expect from everypony else and that was wrong of me. I should have known better but when something has been drummed in to you for so long...”

Twilight paused briefly, not daring to look at the other unicorn. Rarity had, after all, exposed some of her most personal thoughts to Twilight to try to save their friendship. It was her turn. She took a deep breath, knowing that she had to do this. It was the only way.

“I’ve never told anypony this but when I lived in Canterlot, a lot of the ponies at school would continually ask me questions about the princess. That’s all they ever wanted to hear about if they knew of my relationship to her.

“It was the only thing about me they were interested in. They didn’t want to hear about the spells I had learned or my favourite songs or to listen to my jokes or my stories about my family. They didn’t care about my interests or my hobbies. They never wanted to play any games or just talk about anything else. All they wanted to know about was the minutia of what Celestia and I talked about. It’s why I never bothered trying to make any friends there.

“So when I came here, I guess I expected things to be the same. Then I met the five of you and it was never like that. Except with you. At first anyway. But then I found out that you were just in love with Canterlot: the society, the ponies, the history and everything about the place and that it was your dream to be a part of that. I knew then that that you weren’t like those other ponies.

“But first impressions die hard, I’m afraid, and I guess that’s why I jumped to the conclusions I did.

“Then when I read your letter and your diaries, I knew I had made a mistake. I knew that you were nothing like those ponies. I should never have thought anything different. I’m so sorry, Rarity.”

Twilight finished her story with the apology she knew she ultimately had to make. She waited for Rarity to say something, still unwilling to look up. She still felt ashamed of herself for letting her past rule her present, but what was done was done and all she could do now was hope that she hadn’t destroyed a perfectly good friendship because she couldn't forget her past.

What felt like an eternity passed while she waited. Finally, after what may as well have been weeks, months or even years, she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up to see Rarity gazing at her with concerned, perhaps even pity. It wasn’t what she had wanted, but to Twilight, anything other than the anger and fury of earlier was an improvement.

Rarity didn’t hate her.

That thought alone was a comfort. Even if they never became anything more than friends, that would be enough for her now. She still didn’t feel like smiling but she put her own hoof over Rarity’s as a silent mark of gratitude to the other pony.

Rarity smiled weakly in response: “Perhaps you should come inside. I’ll make us some tea. Two lumps of sugar, yes?”

Twilight nodded her assent, following Rarity in to the shop and once they were both inside, closed the door behind them.

* * * * *

The next few weeks passed with a remarkable calm, even by Ponyville standards. The only event of any note was a short spell of heavy rain which disrupted the weeks of beautiful sunny weather that had gone before. Yet even that had only been worth mentioning because it had come and passed so suddenly. Now, the weather was as fine as it had ever been. The stiflingly warm air of yet another glorious afternoon created a detached haze in Twilight’s mind and sent her drifting through another book related daydream.

She closed her novel, having read the last page and absent-mindedly imagined herself in the role of the fictional heroine of her story, one Amethyst Sky. It wasn’t the kind of book she would usually read. In it, a beautiful mare, Amethyst, had been condemned by her family’s wealth and connections to marry somepony she didn’t love. The ending had been so delightfully predictable: the colt of Amethyst’s dreams came charging in and proclaimed his undying love to her. The two had then run off to start a new life together, free from the shackles of her parents outdated views on love.

Twilight sighed. Fluttershy had lent it to her, insisting that it was a masterpiece and whilst Twilight couldn’t agree with this evaluation, she could see why the pegasus liked it so much. With this kind of subject matter, she reflected, no mare was ever more than a warm afternoon or a relaxing bath away from an hour in the arms of her prince.

Yet no matter how real it might seem, it was still nothing more than a daydream.

In reality, she could never hope to be like Amethyst. Her parents weren’t rich, she wasn’t betrothed to some repulsive oick and as time went on, it was seeming less and less likely that the mare of her dreams would come for her.

Relations with Rarity had steadily improved since Twilight had made her apology. They had spent some time together with friends since then – not alone, never alone – and everything seemed to be returning to normal. Much of Twilight was glad that things had turned out okay and that they were able to be friends again. Still, though, she was left feeling bereft.

Twilight’s mind retreated back to that morning at Rarity’s.

Rarity had made the proffered tea and they had drunk it. It was as good as Twilight had ever had. It was Rarity’s tea, after all, something that nopony else could make. Afterwards, they had talked. At first about nothing at all; what does one talk about at a moment like that? Then gradually the conversation had found its way back to the matter at hoof.

Rarity had apologised for having been so quick tempered with Twilight. Twilight had apologised again for overreacting to Rarity’s comment and Rarity had finally accepted. Twilight had enquired where they were to go from there and Rarity had replied that she didn’t know. A long silence had followed this exchange before Twilight thanked Rarity for her hospitality and left.

A tear trailed its way down Twilight’s cheek as she remembered. At the time, she had simply been glad that the other pony was willing to forgive her. It had been consolation enough that they could go back to being friends. Since then however, she had come to realise that she needed more than that. And the worst part of feeling like this was that she could do nothing about it.

Irritated, Twilight swiped at the tear, stood up and began pacing. She had already spent countless hours concocting spurious plans to try to get back in Rarity’s favour. She had considered everything from buying her extravagant and expensive presents to learning a spell which would allow her to make any gemstone shine with a dazzling fire. However it occurred to her that Rarity would most likely see through these gestures and Twilight didn’t want to risk their recovering friendship by forcing the issue.

There was no point in dwelling upon it any further. It would do nothing to help her feel better. What might make her feel better would be seeing one of her friends. She stood, picking up the finished book and putting it in her saddle bags. Fluttershy would be glad to have it back. Slinging her bags over her back, she trotted from the library.

The walk to through Ponyville was pleasant enough. When she arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage, Twilight knocked gently at the door and moments later she was being ushered in to its comfortably decorated interior. She sat down on one of the squashy little armchairs.

“Oh, it’s so nice to see you again, Twilight,” said Fluttershy.

Twilight smiled at her friend and opened her bags to retrieve the novel: “It’s great to see you too. I thought I would come over to return your book. It was a wonderful read.”

“I’m so glad you liked it. It’s one of my favourites,” Fluttershy replied, “I just love the part where Amethyst meets Charming for the first time... it’s so magical.”

Twilight had taken great pleasure in reliving that particular scene one night while she took a bubble bath. She nodded in agreement. They discussed the book in great depth. It was strange to hear Fluttershy talking at such length and so passionately about anything apart from her animals. Twilight largely just sat and listened, enjoying hearing the pegasus’ take on the story and only giving her opinion when it was asked for.

Soon Fluttershy was dreamily recounting the plots of other similar stories she had read, though it seemed to Twilight that she was purposely minding what she said. She then proceeded to show Twilight her collection of romance novels. There were only about a dozen or so crammed in to a small corner of her bookcase but they were all very well worn. Twilight was offered another, but she declined politely. She couldn’t risk another fortnight of pining after what might never be.

The conversation progressed on to more everyday things. Twilight could see what the other pony was doing. She had clearly realised that all this talk about romance and true loves was making Twilight feel bad. Yet despite her best efforts to help, her avoiding the subject wasn’t really helping matters.

It was the same as when Twilight had asked to borrow the book. Fluttershy had been quite unwilling to lend it out in the first place because she had just talked Twilight round from her distress at the Rarity situation and felt that reading something like that would simply make it worse again. She had been right of course.

Now, she was simply trying to avoid talking about it at all. Twilight listened to her go on about a picnic she had had with some of her critter friends, not thinking this evasion to be too unusual. Fluttershy hated confrontation in all of its forms. In addition, Rarity was her best friend so she wouldn’t want to say anything that might get back to her.

Just as Twilight was beginning to relax a little, their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door and Fluttershy flew away to answer it. When she returned, she had her head bowed nervously, almost apologetically. Twilight looked at her questioningly, but the pegasus would not return her gaze.

Moments later though, Twilight understood the meaning of the other pony’s dismay as out from behind her stepped Rarity. The unicorn looked around the room, spotting Twilight and giving her a bright smile.

“Hello, Twilight! Oh this is just perfect. I have some amazing news. I was going to come by and tell you later on, but now I can tell you both at once,” Rarity exclaimed

It wasn’t perfect at all. This was the type of thing Twilight had been hoping to avoid. She had hoped for a thoroughly Rarity free afternoon. Not that she hadn’t wanted to see her, just that she had wanted some time to try to get over her. As it was, she would probably go home feeling worse than she had when she arrived.

A small amount of time passed during which nopony said anything. Fluttershy continued to stand behind Rarity, looking embarrassed which in turn caused Twilight to feel awkward. It was as though the pegasus thought it was her own fault that she hadn’t considered that Rarity might stop by.

Rarity, on the other hand, appeared completely oblivious to the reasons for the silence. She stood, her eyes glittering with excitement as she revelled in the silence she felt that she had created by announcing the good news but not what it was. She loved her dramatics. It was one of those little quirks that endeared her so much to Twilight.

“Well? What’s happened?” Twilight asked, dutifully playing along with Rarity’s theatrics.

“Well,” Rarity began with delight “While I was working on a commission for a client, I received a letter from Saddles and Sequins magazine. As you’re probably aware, they hold a fashion show every year to showcase the best dressmakers in the run up to the Grand Galloping Gala. And this year, they’ve asked me to display some of my work. Not only that, but this year’s event is to take place right here in Ponyville!”

Twilight and Fluttershy galloped over to Rarity to congratulate her. This was some very good news indeed. Twilight knew of the show. It had been held in Canterlot a number of times while she was a filly. Her mother had attended it once, in fact. The biggest names in fashion paraded the very best of their designs every year.

A regular spot in this show could spell big things for Rarity. Twilight tentatively enveloped her in a hug which the other pony returned with gusto, grinning madly. Rarity looked excited fit to burst. She deserved this though. She worked so hard, it was only fair that she was recognised for it.

Twilight released Rarity and the unicorn immediately began bouncing around the room, using Fluttershy’s antimacassars as mock dresses as she acted out her would-be models poses and facial expression. Fluttershy joined in with the charade.

Twilight sat back down, laughing as her two friends shared their joy on this wonderful occasion. It was impossible not to be caught up in it, after all. The only thing that could have made it better was if Rarity was telling her alone. Perhaps they could have shared the joy in quite a different way... Twilight shook the thought out of her head.

No, this was enough.

She eventually gave in to temptation and joined the two ponies in their games, enjoying the simplicity of it all. Yet even as she told herself it was enough, even as she threw herself headlong in to the celebrations, she couldn’t help but watch Rarity with the greatest longing in her heart.

Chapter Eight – A Certain Type of Chic

Chapter Eight – A Certain Type of Chic

“I’m so glad you could all make it,” Rarity proclaimed, looking at the room full of ponies, “This could be the biggest day of my fashion career – nay, my life – and I’m so happy to have it happening here in Ponyville where all of my best friends can watch. You have all supported me through everything and I just wanted to say a huge thank you.”

Twilight beamed at Rarity as she spoke. Her voice was filled with so much passion, it was almost as if she was giving herself a pep talk.

As one of the designers whose work was being exhibited, Rarity had been permitted to invite as many guests as she wanted. Naturally, she had invited her five best friends. And as it was the night before the show, she had decided to invite them all to her house to celebrate the eve of the event along with a number of other ponies from around the town.

Pinkie had really outdone herself this time. Twilight marvelled at the beautiful decorations. There was a cake in the shape of a shoe, balloons shaped like ball gowns and an ice statue carved to look like Rarity herself. This gargantuan effort on the pink pony’s part was awe-inspiring. Yet something about it seemed strangely appropriate. All of this work for just one evening...

When the unicorn stepped down from the pedestal from which she had delivered her speech, she was greeted by the rapturous applause of the dozens of ponies and fell instantly in to the duties of meeting and greeting the crowd. Twilight followed her with her gaze: she was in her element. She had the social grace of a true noblepony, laughing and chatting with everypony she saw.

Before long the party was in full swing and Twilight had completely lost track of Rarity. Not that this phased her. For the moment, she was having so much fun that it hardly mattered what anypony else was doing. She got up to dance with Pinkie who was leading the festivities. It had been so long since she had let her mane down like this. Nothing mattered but for the thrill of the moment.

* * * * *

A whole hour of intense dancing later and Twilight finally collapsed, gasping for air, on one of the prettily upholstered chairs which had been lined up around the perimeter of the room. She pulled at the material of her green cape, straightening out a few wrinkles in the process.

She watched the rest of the crowd dancing for a moment before spotting Rainbow Dash heading towards her. She gave the pegasus an exhausted wave.

“Had enough, Twilight?” Rainbow asked loudly in an attempt to make herself heard over the music.

“I would have danced all night if I could have, but right now my hooves are killing me. I need a bit of a rest,” Twilight answered between deep gulps of air, “But I haven’t seen you up dancing all night. You should join in. It’s fun!”

“Yeah, you were really going at it,” Rainbow teased, struggling to keep the mirth out of her voice.

Twilight ducked her head, embarrassed. She didn’t dance to impress anypony, she just did it because she enjoyed it. Rainbow punched her arm gently to let her know she was just kidding around.

“Anyway, I don’t dance. I have more awesome things to be doing. Like hanging out with all the cool ponies. Like you!” Rainbow finished.

Twilight laughed. The pegasus’ bravado was all for show. Rainbow had grace in the air, but with four hooves on the ground, Twilight knew the other pony was no better a dancer than she was. The difference between them was that Twilight didn’t mind making a fool of herself in front of other ponies, as long as it was in good fun; Rainbow felt that she had a reputation to maintain.

“So what’s going on? You spoken to Rarity yet?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight shook her head. She had been wondering about that. It had been a while since Rarity had started making her way around the crowd. It seemed odd to her that the unicorn hadn’t made it as far as her yet. She realised that she was probably just being paranoid, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Rarity was avoiding her.

Of course that wouldn’t make any sense. They had set aside their differences long ago now and Rarity hadn’t made any effort to avoid her. On the contrary, she had made every effort to make sure she spent as much time with Twilight as everypony else. In fact she had even come round to the library to ask Twilight’s opinion on what she was going to wear to the party a few days earlier and they had spoken many times before that.

Still, something about this didn’t seem right to Twilight.

“Have you?” she asked Rainbow, trying to hide the fact that the answer meant a whole lot more to her than it really should have.

“Nah,” she replied nonchalantly, but she seemed to sense Twilight’s anxiety she, “She’s just busy. She’ll get to us when she gets to us.”

Although the negative response set her mind at ease a little, it wasn’t exactly what she had been hoping for. She was left frustrated by Rainbow’s lack of concern. She wanted somepony to share her curiosity. They were her best friends after all, Rarity should be making time for them.

Or was it just that she felt Rarity should be making time for her?

That would be irrational. Why should Rarity be making more time for her than for Applejack or Pinkie Pie? It wasn’t as if her relationship with Rarity was any different to theirs. Not any more anyway. There was no reason why she should feel like that. Yet here she was, feeling a sense of entitlement to her friend’s time that she couldn’t justify.

Then again, they had kissed. For a short while they had been more than just friends. In her letter and in her diaries she had said she was in love with Twilight. Why shouldn’t she feel entitled to special treatment? You don’t just stop loving somepony. Love isn’t like that.

She hadn’t just stopped loving Rarity when she had thought she was acting like a supercilious braggart. Nor had she stopped loving her when she had appeared so singularly unapologetic about acting in that way. She hadn’t stopped loving Rarity even when it appeared for all the world that Rarity did not love her back.

She hadn’t stopped loving Rarity.

How, then, could it be possible that Rarity had so readily stopped loving her? It couldn’t be possible. Love isn’t like that.

Twilight’s mind raced. She scanned the crowd, looking for the grey unicorn. She saw her standing next to a green stallion wearing a dinner jacket. There was no way Rarity had stopped loving her. If she could just get Rarity to admit that then... then...

“Uh, Twilight? Are you okay?” Rainbow’s voice punctured Twilight’s inner monologue.

“Huh?” she replied, without looking away from Rarity.

“I said, are you alright?” the pegasus repeated, putting her hoof softly on Twilight’s back.

Twilight shook her head vigorously, tearing her eyes away from Rarity’s pretty laughing face to look at Rainbow.

“Yeah, just thinking about something. Excuse me. I’m just going to go to the little fillies room to freshen up. I’ll be right back.”

“Oh. Okay then. I’ll go get us some punch,” Rainbow said enthusiastically.

Twilight smiled and nodded, watching the other pony head off to the refreshments table before standing up herself.

She looked over at Rarity again. The stairs leading to the rest of the house – and the bathroom – were at the opposite end of the room. To get to it, she would have to cross the makeshift dance floor. She didn’t have to walk close to Rarity, but she decided she would. Perhaps she would catch her attention.

Twilight drew herself up, arching her back. She held her shoulders back and thrust her chest forward then began walking, remembering how her mother had taught her to walk: slowly and confidently. She held her chin up, hoping that would lend some of the elegance that Rarity so prized and set it all off by swaying her hips very softly from side to side.

She felt very conspicuous as she made her way across the room. There were certainly a number of ponies watching her as she drew closer to Rarity. She refused to look at the grey mare as she was walking past but despite herself, when she reached the stairs uninterrupted, she couldn’t help but throw a backwards glance in her direction. Rarity hadn’t so much as glanced in her direction.

Twilight relaxed all of the muscles she had been holding in place. What was the use? She turned her back on the room and trotted quickly up the stairs and along to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

This was ridiculous, embarrassing even. She began pacing around the room. If Rarity wasn’t going to notice her even when she was trying to make her notice her, she may as well not bother. It wasn’t like she could go the whole night without talking to Twilight. Maybe Rainbow had been right. She would see her when she saw her. Twilight walked over to a mirror hanging over a sink and saw that she didn’t really have to freshen up at all.

“Get a hold of yourself, Twilight,” she told her reflection scathingly, before sweeping out of the door.

The rooms above the shop were deserted and somewhat eerie with the muffled sound of the festivities carrying up the stairs. As she dawdled on her way back to the stairs, her eyes were drawn to the door of Rarity’s work room and she was gripped by a sudden curiosity.

Nopony had seen the designs Rarity was planning to exhibit. Nopony was supposed to see them until the show. They were bound to be at the very cutting edge of design: a veritable what’s what of modern fashion. Rarity herself had been dropping so many hints about what she had planned. Still, nopony was any the wiser about the specifics.

Yet here Twilight was, alone and whatever Rarity had planned was guaranteed to be behind that door. Nopony would ever know if she had a look. What harm could it do? She glanced surreptitiously around, making sure nopony would catch her. She tried the handle: locked.

That was so typical. Of course Rarity wouldn’t just leave the door open. Not when so much was at stake. Her curiosity unappeased, Twilight turned her tail on the door and stood still. She wasn’t ready to return to the party just yet. There didn’t seem to be much else to do up here though.

She paced around a little more and decided she would have a look inside Rarity’s bedroom for no reason other than that she knew which door that was. Not feeling as guilty about this kind of snooping, she simply trotted over to the door and tried it. This one opened without so much as a creak.

Twilight turned on the light and looked around the large room. It was everything Rarity’s work room was not. It reminded Twilight more of her library: a place for everything and everything in its place. The sheets on the vast four-poster were immaculately made up, not a crease or a wrinkle in sight. The floor was completely clear, all the cupboard doors and drawers were closed neatly. Even her dressing table with its beautiful oval looking glass was completely clutter free; dozens of perfume bottles and various articles of make-up and grooming apparatus were lined up neatly out of the way but still within easy reach.

It was only because of the sheer orderliness of every last thing in the room that Twilight noticed the only thing therein that was not where it ought to be. Sitting atop a beautiful escritoire was a small, nondescript book.

Twilight approached the desk, her curiosity reignited. Of everything in the room, this must have been the last thing Rarity had used. Twilight picked up the book and examined its plain pink cover. It looked extremely worn. The tips of the pages were ruddy and a few of them hung loose as though they had been...

It was as though those pages had been dislodged somehow. As though they had been pulled loose while others were removed completely. Twilight realised now what she held in her hooves. How could Rarity have remembered to lock the door to her work room but have completely forgotten to put away her diary?

She put the book back on the desk, both excited and frightened by the thoughts running through her mind. She could read the most recent entries and find out exactly what Rarity felt for her, if anything. Yet to do so would be a complete invasion of the other pony’s privacy. It wouldn’t be right. Then again, Rarity would never need to know and besides, she had already allowed Twilight to read other pages. She obviously trusted her to know these things and after all, Twilight wasn’t about to tell anypony else what she found out.

This rationalisation seemed reasonable to her. In any case, she really wanted to know what was written on those pages. No, she had to know. A part of her felt guilty about what she was going to do but this was too important. She couldn’t not do this. She reached her hooves towards the diary, holding the ribbon that marked the page as she opened it.

“Twilight? What are you doing in here?”

Twilight slammed the book shut, turning quickly around. Guilt coursed through her as she faced the new arrival.

“Nothing! Nothing at all,” she answered promptly.

Rainbow Dash eyed her suspiciously, then looked over at the bureau spotting the diary which she had clearly seen Twilight close.

“What’s in that book?” she pressed.

“It’s just a notebook,” she said, thinking quickly, “I thought it might have some picture of some of the dresses for the show tomorrow. It doesn’t. Sorry for keeping you waiting. My curiosity got the best of me I suppose. Let’s get back before anypony notices we’re missing.”

Twilight cursed her luck as she made her way back downstairs with Rainbow. Luckily the pegasus had believed her story, but she had missed her opportunity. She would never get the chance to look at that diary again. There was no way she could sneak off unnoticed to look at it and she doubted Rarity would ever be that careless with it again.

Twilight sat back down next to Rainbow, drinking the punch that the pegasus had gotten for her and tried to push the whole thing out of her mind. It wouldn’t have been right to read it anyway. She finished off the punch and turned to Rainbow with a sly look on her face.

“Come on, let’s get up there and dance!”

* * * * *

The crowd in Rarity’s shop was beginning to thin a little, but the party itself was going just as strong. Twilight had had to sit back down again, having finally convinced Rainbow to let her hair down a little. She watched now as Rainbow and Fluttershy spun around one another, nodding their heads in time to the music and laughing.

She became so engrossed in watching the pair that everything else became a blur. It was a surprise to her, then, when somepony sat down next to her and began to speak.

“Twilight! However are you, darling?”

Twilight jumped upon hearing Rarity’s voice. She immediately turned around to face the other pony. This was the moment she had been waiting all night for.

“Hi, Rarity. Great party!” she exclaimed.

Rarity bowed her head and looked away: “It is, isn’t it? I’m honoured that so many ponies turned up to celebrate the occasion with me. Of course, that hasn’t left me with much time to spend with you girls but you know how it is. Duty calls and all that.”

Rarity looked back up, forcing a smile on to her face. Twilight smiled back, noticing that Rarity looked absolutely exhausted. She must have been on her feet since the party started and her fixed smile was starting to wane. Rarity usually enjoyed nothing more than being the centre of attention but something seemed to be troubling her. There was a shadow behind those twinkling blue eyes.

“Are you alright Rarity?” Twilight asked.

“Yes. Quite alright. I’m just... I’m nervous about tomorrow, that’s all,” the other pony replied meekly, allowing her façade to drop.

“What could you possibly have to worry about?” Twilight reassured her, “You’re a wonderful designer and an incredible artist. I know everypony will love whatever it is that you’ve done.”

“It’s not that,” Rarity said, looking cheered by the compliment “I’m confident in my designs. It’s just, well... do you know what I’m up against? Chic Mode is going to be there, isn’t she? I mean, she’s the most popular designer in Canterlot at the minute. She basically makes the trends. What if she’s done something unmatchable? Something nopony can compete with?”

Twilight put her hoof on Rarity’s shoulder, looking deep in to her eyes. It wasn’t like Rarity to be this nervous. Fashion was her life and she had never been anything other than entirely confident in her abilities regarding it. Nopony had ever criticised her designs apart from Chic Mode and her confidence had clearly been knocked by it.

“I honestly don’t think that that will happen,” Twilight responded, “And if it does, then it’ll be okay. There will always be another time. You can’t constantly worry about being in another pony’s shadow. You’re twice the designer she is and by far the better pony. Don’t worry about it. You’ve given this everything you have and your industry and diligence will show, I just know it.”

Rarity gave a weak smile and the two exchanged a warm hug. Rarity was clearly not entirely convinced, yet she seemed to see the wisdom in her friend’s words. Even if she was still worried, she wasn’t going to let it rule her.

“Oh, Twilight. You always have a way of cheering me up!” she laughed, sending a shiver along Twilight’s spine.

As the night wore on, the two unicorns were joined by their friends and the time seemed to fly past in a haze of fun and laughter. It seemed odd to Twilight that they hadn’t spent a night together like this since her last birthday.

The party began to draw to a close as midnight approached. By then the guest were leaving in dribs and drabs as they gradually became too weary to carry on. When even the most tireless revellers were making their way out and saying their farewells to Rarity, Twilight started to grow restless. It was only a matter of time until she too would be expected to leave and she wasn’t ready just yet.

When that time did arrive and only the six of them remained, Twilight had begun to formulate a plan. She needed one if she was going to be able to hang back like she intended to. She wanted to speak with Rarity. On her own if she could manage it. She didn’t know when she had come to this conclusion, but she did know that she had to do this.

After no more than a few minutes, six became five when Applejack became the first to part their company, wishing Rarity luck for the following evening as she left. That was as Twilight had expected. Those two never spent any more time with one another than was absolutely necessary.

As they had talked throughout the evening, Twilight could have sworn she caught Rarity looking at her on at least a couple of occasions. She wasn’t sure. It could just as easily have been wishful thinking on her part but she needed to know, once and for all, if there was any chance of something happening between them. It was no use to go on pining over somepony if nothing would ever come of it.

Next to go was Fluttershy who drifted wearily out the door after arranging a time to meet Rarity at the spa the next day. Rarity insisted that she needed to look and feel her best if she was to be a success at the show. Fluttershy quietly agreed and bid her goodnight. Again, this was what Twilight had anticipated. Fluttershy didn’t do well at parties. She liked the quiet life after all.

Perhaps the incident with the diary had brought home to her just how important this all still was to her or maybe it was that the evening had felt just like any other they six mares had spent together since that Summer Sun Celebration so long ago. Perhaps it was just that so much time had passed without the subject being discussed by anypony, she was beginning to wonder whether everypony had forgotten about it but her.

All she knew for certain was that, whatever the outcome, she had to draw a line under all of this before the night was through.

Rainbow Dash gave a huge yawn, finally announcing that she was exhausted. She gave Rarity a hug and looked pointedly at Twilight over Rarity's shoulder as she did so. She gazed at Twilight and then glanced towards the door but Twilight pretended not to see this. Rainbow thanked Rarity for a good night and, with one last backwards glance at Twilight, closed the door behind her.

If Rarity still had any feelings for her whatsoever, Twilight had to know. Whether she wanted to try for something more right away or not was immaterial. If the opposite was true and Rarity didn’t love her any more... well she didn’t want to think about that, but it would be just as acceptable a response. It was the not knowing that was hurting Twilight the most at this stage and she wouldn’t let herself feel like that anymore.

Now that there was only the three of them left, Twilight had to put her plan in to action. She had suspected that Pinkie Pie would be the last one left and so it had turned out. She looked over at the pink mare and smiled.

“What a fabulous party Pinkie,” she mused, “But I guess we had better get this place tidied up a little.”

Pinkie was always great at parties. She could dance and sing and play and make merry with the best of them but when it came to the end, she was never one for clearing up the mess that everypony else had made. That was usually left to somepony who was better at it. Twilight watched as Pinkie looked around at the pile of balloons and streamers on the floor and at the refreshment table which was littered with paper plates and cups. She was by no means lazy, but tidying up wasn’t something she enjoyed. Not one bit.

“Oh, now come along, Twilight, don’t be silly. I’ll manage it all by myself tomorrow,” came Rarity’s voice, “You two can get going. It’s been a long night and I’m sure you’re both exhausted.”

This, Twilight had not anticipated. She opened her mouth to speak. She had to do something to save the situation. But before she had the chance to say what she had planned on say anything, somepony else did it for her.

“Okie dokie! If you need any help, you know where to find me,” Pinkie said cheerfully, seizing upon the opportunity.

Twilight relaxed. It had worked. Now Pinkie would have to go. She had already stated her intentions. Now all Twilight had to do was...

“Well I insist, Rarity. It’s the very least I can do. You’ve been so busy tonight, I don’t want you to have to do this all on your own. Don’t worry Pinkie, we’ll manage.”

Rarity looked like she was going to protest further but she obviously couldn’t think of way to do it politely, so she didn’t do it at all. Pinkie looked suspiciously at Twilight before putting on her best smile and giving Rarity a hug goodbye.

“Thanks for letting me plan this fantastic party, Rarity. It was great! I’ll see you tomorrow at your big fancy fashion show. I can’t wait to see your dresses. G’night!” she squealed before bouncing excitedly to the door with Rarity.

Once Rarity had seen Pinkie out, she closed the door leaving the two unicorns alone. She turned to face Twilight, looking flustered. She hadn’t been expecting this. Though she might have suspected by now that something was going on.

Now that she was here, Twilight felt a little awkward about the whole thing too, but she had to do this. She had to talk to Rarity. She had to.

“Now, Twilight, darling, thank you for your kind offer. Really. But I assure you it won’t be necessary. I’m sure you mean well, but I’ll manage it on my own tomorrow,” Rarity insisted.

“Rarity, I said I would help and I want to help,” Twilight said, lifting some of the paper cups and plates with her magic.

Rarity sighed and relented following Twilight’s lead. The two worked methodically, slowly returning the shop to its previously uncluttered state. It didn’t take much more than a half hour, but in that time Twilight couldn’t bring herself to say what had to be said. She kept looking over at Rarity as she worked, questioning herself.

As much as she wanted to do this, she was frightened. If this all went wrong and she found out that Rarity no longer had any feelings for her, what would she do? She knew that she would want to continue being the other mare’s friend, but aside from that, she had no idea. She would be shattered by it. It would be like losing a part of herself.

She had gone in to this assuring herself that she was better off knowing, but now she wasn’t so sure. She watched Rarity sweeping some crumbs in to a dustpan and she remembered falling in love with her, kissing her, holding her and fighting with her. She remembered her generosity, her grace, her kindness and her ire. She remembered her letter, her diaries, her understanding and her forgiveness. She remembered everything last thing that had happened between them from the day they had met until that very moment. If she knew that it was all over, most of these memories would be painful ones. Yet she would still hold them and they would still be real to her.

When they had finished, Rarity looked around her shop: “There. Well, that wasn’t nearly as bad as I had thought it would be. Thank you ever so much for your help.”

Twilight muttered her agreement and batted away Rarity’s thanks, though she wasn’t able to appreciate the fruits of their labours in the way that Rarity was. In truth, she wasn’t able to concentrate about much else other than her next few words which she spoke with a forced conviction.

“Rarity?” she said carefully, “what’s going on between us?”

The other pony froze, looking distinctly startled by the bluntness and abruptness of the question. She looked utterly panicked, looking everywhere but at Twilight; pulling at her mane and worrying her dress. Twilight watched this, feeling dreadful, but there had been no other way to say what had to be said. There could be no beating around the bush.

Finally, Rarity gave her response: “I don’t know.”

Twilight stared back at grey mare. She wasn’t quite sure how to take this. What didn’t she know? Whether she still had feelings for her or not? What was going on between them? Had she even understood the question?

“I mean, how do you feel? About me? About us?” she elaborated, trying to glean something a little deeper from her questioning.

“I know what you meant. And I told you, I don’t know,” Rarity answered.

“Have you even thought about it?” Twilight asked indignantly.

How could she not know? It was all Twilight had thought about for weeks and weeks. Her every waking moment seemed to be occupied by it. She knew exactly how she felt. If the tables were turned, she would be able to answer any question the other pony could ask without even having to consider the answer.

“Of course I’ve thought about it,” Rarity intoned.

“And?” Twilight pressed.

“I don’t know!” Rarity yelled, clearly becoming frustrated.

What reason did she have to be frustrated? It wasn’t like Twilight was asking her difficult questions. It wasn’t like expecting an answer was unreasonable. Was she deliberately avoiding answering because she was worried with how Twilight would react to her answer?

“What don’t you know?” Twilight said, tears welling up in her huge violet eyes, “What is there to know? Do you love me or do you not? It’s that simple.”

Rarity through her hooves in to the air: “It’s not that simple, though! Of course I still love you, Twilight. How could that change so easily? You mean the world to me. You mean everything to me. It’s just...”

Rarity trailed off, her annoyance short lived. Twilight felt her heart flutter. Rarity still loved her. That was a good start. That was something. Rarity looked at Twilight as though she was frightened by the words she had just spoken. There was something else though and whatever that something was, it was the reason Rarity didn’t know how she felt. Twilight calmed herself down before asking the question.

“It’s just what?” she enquired softly, crossing the room until she stood directly in front of the other mare.

Rarity looked at the ground and shuffled her hooves: “It’s just that after the last time... What if I say something wrong again – or I do something – and you get angry at me and I don’t know why? Then we’ve been together for months or years and suddenly we’re not because I’ve been completely tactless. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself!

“I hate arguing with you too and it feels like we’ve done nothing but argue since we, you know. Since we kissed that night. Yet we never really argued before it or at least we didn’t argue about anything important. What if we’re jinxed?! I mean we barely lasted three minutes the last time before everything blew up in our faces.

“And what about everypony else? Fluttershy keeps telling me I need to follow my heart and she’s probably right but she’s the only one I’ve really spoken to about any of this. But what if we do try this again and we can’t forgive one another for these arguments or fights or whatever else? Then how can we put ourselves and our friends through all of that? It wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be fair.”

Twilight listened thoughtfully. These were her fears too. Everything Rarity was saying had crossed her mind at some point. There were a great many reasons why their relationship – if it were to become that – might not work. It had often felt to her as if they were doomed from the very beginning.

Yet, this didn’t have to be the case. Especially since she knew now that Rarity felt the same. If she was worried about the same things, they could work to avoid letting their fears transpire. It had to be possible. If these fears were the only things holding them back then it just came down to a leap of faith and a whole lot of trust. Fate would handle the rest.

“I know exactly what you mean. I’ve wondered the same things,” Twilight said, putting her hoof on Rarity cheek and looking deeply in to her eyes, “I can’t promise to you that everything will be perfect all of the time but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a relationship where it is. What I can promise you is that I will try my best not to let things get to me and if I do, I can promise you that we’ll talk.

“As for arguing, well we won’t agree on everything but it would be boring if we did. We just have to try not to blow our disagreements out of proportion. I think we both could handle that, don’t you? And if the worst came to the very worst, I see no reason why it would have to affect our friends. They’ve been great throughout all of this and they haven’t taken anypony’s side.

“But we’ll never know whether this would work or not unless we give it a try. I for one would feel worse not knowing how it would have gone than if it were all to fall flat. We can’t just not do anything because we’re afraid of what might happen if it goes wrong. We’ve got to think about what might happen if it goes right.”

For the duration of Twilight’s reassurances and for a while thereafter, it looked like Rarity was thinking about just that. A silence fell between them in which each mare was left with her own thoughts. For her part, Twilight just hoped that she had said enough. If Rarity still didn’t feel that it was worth the risk, then perhaps this was never meant to be.

Time stood still for both mares as they looked in to one another’s eyes, but at long last Rarity put an end to the silence.

“You’re right,” she smiled warmly, “Of course we should.”

Twilight felt herself shaking. The absolute joy and relief coursing through her was almost uncontainable. Her legs felt as though they would no longer hold her weight. Her heart hammered a thunderous rhythm against her ribs. Her head felt light, as though she might faint. Yet still she had her doubts, she had to make sure.

“Does that mean you want to... that you would like to...” she stuttered.

“Give it another shot? Be your special somepony?” Rarity interrupted.

Twilight nodded dumbly, still feeling as though her limbs might fail her at any moment. She watched as the other pony mused over this, though she didn’t take much time to do so.

“Yes,” Rarity said firmly, her eyes bright and her smile dazzling.

Twilight threw herself at Rarity. Now that all of the obstacles had been removed, she would not be held back for one moment longer. She wrapped her forelegs around the grey mare’s neck and held on for dear life, as though she would never get the chance again.

It had been too long since she had felt Rarity this close to her; too long since she had been able to think about the mare without any sadness or regret; too long since she had felt complete as she did now. Tears swam in her eyes as she grudgingly let her hold on Rarity loosen.

She stepped back to see Rarity had tears in her eyes too. Why had they ever let this go as far as it had? Why had they denied themselves for so long, what their hearts had so obviously and so fervently desired?

As she thought about everything they had been through and everything they had before them, she finally allowed herself to relax – to enjoy the moment. These things were to be savoured and she would never let herself be without this feeling again.

* * * * *

“Don’t be silly, Rarity,” Twilight laughed.

They stood backstage at the town hall, surrounded by racks holding a plethora of beautifully stitched gowns after what had certainly been a memorable evening. All around them, there was the hum and bustle of activity as the dozen or so models who had performed at the event prepared themselves for the next phase of the evening: the meeting and greeting.

Rarity, too, was due to do this but as it stood, she hadn’t yet made an appearance. Twilight had noticed her absence a few minutes after all of the other designers had made their way in to the crowd of stylish and wealthy ponies who made up the crowd. It was at this point that she had gone backstage.

“I am not being silly!” she shrieked theatrically, looking at Twilight with wild eyes.

“Rarity, I’m telling you they all loved your designs. I heard a few of the comments about the second one in particular. You are being silly. Now get out there. You have to,” Twilight insisted.

From her perspective amongst the crowd, Twilight had been able to judge its reaction to the fashion on show and that reaction had been largely positive. Especially when it had come to Rarity’s offerings. Of course, she hadn’t been told beforehand which of the dresses were of her making, but from the beautiful bespoke jewelled ornamentation on each of them, Twilight had been able to make reasonable assumptions.

“You’re sure they liked it? You couldn’t have been mistaken?” Rarity asked nervously.

They were all dresses of the utmost magnificence. There had been a beautiful, long, close fitting baby blue gown with cap sleeves which was adorned with a few dozen dazzling diamonds and sapphires which glinted with a spectacular fire in the bright lights. That one had made one of the ponies near the front swoon.

There had been an asymmetrical mauve number with emeralds which fell loosely across the haunch. The left side of it ran to the very floor of the runway, but the right side rode just high enough that one could see the hind leg of the model from below her quarter. The effect was that when one turned quickly enough, the side on show would change. Some of Rarity’s magic was making that happen no doubt. That one had really caused a stir, some of the ponies present having never seen that type of movement.

The one that had really caught Twilight’s attention, however, was a bottle green dress with the most beautifully shaped skirt which seemed to float weightlessly behind the model who was wearing it. Its gorgeous, stark white embroidery and lining brightened up and drew attention to the sharp lines Rarity had created by layering the folds and pleats. The gemstones on this one were minute but very liberally used with emeralds and diamonds.

Rarity hadn’t seen everypony’s reaction to her work yet, though. So after all of her excitement the night before and after talking about nothing else for weeks on end, Rarity looked like she would rather be anywhere else than at Ponyville town hall meeting her public. She poked her head out from behind a rack of clothes.

Twilight smiled and walked over to her, kissing her softly on the cheek: “I’m sure. Don’t worry. Why don’t we go together?”

Rarity nodded hesitantly before slowly coming out from behind the rail. It was as if she had been trying to hide from her critics. The pair walked to just behind the curtains, in front of which lay a swarm of ponies mingling and sharing their opinions on the various fashions they had seen that evening.

As Twilight pulled back the curtain, Rarity stopped her: “How do I look?”

Twilight turned around to look at her. She looked as she always did. She radiated a beauty unlike anything Twilight had ever seen. Twilight brushed one of her amethyst curls aside with her hoof, revealing one of Rarity’s perfectly formed ears: “You look beautiful,” she whispered gently in to it.

Rarity drew herself up to her full height, looking more confident than she had all evening and kissed Twilight softly on the mouth, trotting past her and out from behind the curtains. Twilight stood for a moment, smiling to herself before following her into whatever waited beyond.