Princess Celestia reclined on her favorite cushion in her room. She had a letter. Looking at it brought a mixture of emotions. Concern that there might be something wrong. Happiness that Twilight had sent her a letter again. Sadness that it had become such an unusual thing. Regret for the way she’d handled some things. After what had happened at the press conference, she didn’t know how Twilight would react. That was a large part of why she hesitated to open the letter: fear. Was Twilight angry? Did she never want to speak to Celestia again? Was the opposite true? Was the choice Celestia made the right one or not? There was only one way to find out.
Princess Celestia opened the letter.
Princess Celestia,
I have done some research in light of recent events.
It wasn’t the most encouraging opening to a letter Celestia had ever seen, but at least Twilight hadn’t started with ‘I now hold an intense dislike for you, please never speak to me again.’
According to my sources, a galoche should only be performed after romantic intentions have already been established.
Celestia tried to remember where she had heard the word ‘galoche’ before, but couldn’t think of anything. Fortunately, knowing Twilight, she would be sure to define it.
There are also a minimum number of dates which must have taken place prior to a kiss involving tongue such as the one which occurred at the end of the press conference. My sources agree on this much, although they do not agree on precisely how many dates are necessary. According to Dating 101, such a kiss should take place after five dates, while An Egghead’s Guide to Romance (This book was a gift from Rainbow Dash. It is generally an unreliable source, but I include it here because it is in agreement with other sources.) suggests three dates. An obscure griffon study on equine reproduction indicates that the minimum number of social outings is between four and six, while a Zebrican study of pony mating rituals found the number to be between two and four.
Fluttershy suggested a series of books to check for additional information, but I was forced to reject them as source material for two reasons. The first reason being that they are fictional and written for fantasizing and stimulating solitary sexual satisfaction. While this would not be sufficient reason on its own, I quickly determined Fluttershy was the author of the books, and her credibility as an expert in the field has not been established.
From the information obtained from credible sources, I must conclude that there would be a minimum of two or a more ideal four dates between two ponies before a galoche is permitted. In addition, my research clearly shows that romantic intentions must be established prior to such a kiss. While a kiss with lips closed is often used as part of establishing romantic intentions, a verbal or written agreement is necessary for confirmation due to chaste kisses occurring between family and friends on occasion.
While none of my research materials provide information on how to deal with the current situation, they all agree that a minimum number of dates must take place to accompany a galoche. Nothing in them indicates that a kiss of that type occurring before the prerequisite number of social outings would remove the necessity of the dates altogether.
I can only conclude that we must commence dating immediately to prevent the out of order kiss from causing unpredictable but undoubtedly serious damage to our relationship. Consider this a written notice of romantic intentions.
Twilight Sparkle
Celestia read the letter twice, the second time with a smile. The way Twilight turned to research to deal with the situation was very—what was the word?—adorkable. She carefully considered how best to word her reply. She decided complete agreement with Twilight’s methods and conclusions would be ideal. She wrote a letter accepting notice of romantic intentions and praising Twilight’s research into finding a solution to the difficult situation Celestia had gotten them into. She ended the letter suggesting a time and place to have the first of the necessary dates, then closed and sealed the letter, noting on the outside that Spike was not to read it. She sent the letter with a satisfied chuckle.
Celestia turned to the papers still covering her desk. She picked up an article discussing the secret relationship between Celestia and Twilight, which suggested there was no need to hide so they should be honest to the public about it, and she threw it into her fireplace. As it turned out, she wouldn’t need to send it in for publication after all.
Rarity did not want to open the door. She did not want to have the conversation she was about to have. In fact, self-imposed exile was sounding more and more appealing the longer she stood outside her parents’ house. She ignored the odd looks she was getting from her sister, who still didn’t understand why a dream was such a big deal. Before she left the Boutique, explaining the truth to her parents had seemed like such a good idea. If she could explain it to them, she could explain it to anyone. The only problem was she wasn’t so sure she could explain it to them. Or face them at all. Not after the last time she’d talked to them. They were so accepting of her ‘lifestyle’ which she had thought at the time meant a life as a fashionista, not—what would one call someone who is in a physical relationship with three princesses simultaneously? According to bits of conversation she had overheard, she was quite flexible and it had indeed been simultaneous.
It was about that time that Rarity realized she was no longer staring at a door, but instead at the inside of her parents’ house, because Sweetie Belle had gotten tired of standing around and had gone inside. That meant she probably only had a matter of seconds to flee before one or both of her parents saw her. She still had a chance to—
“Well, hello Rarity.”
Too late. She had been spotted.
“Are you going to come inside?” Something in her father’s voice told her that he didn’t want her to. That suited her just fine, because she didn’t want to either. She was about to explain that she had just been walking Sweetie Belle home when her sister felt the need to interject.
“Yep! She’s got something to tell you.”
The grimace on Rarity’s face was a mirror image of the one her father wore. Hesitantly, Magnum stepped aside, and just as hesitantly, Rarity walked into the house. The family gathered in the living room so Rarity could tell them what she had to say. Magnum and Pearl sat protectively on either side of Sweetie Belle, while Rarity stood facing them and feeling like a criminal on trial.
"Mother, Father, you need to know what really happened. The—"
Pearl quickly covered Sweetie Belle's ears, shouting, "No, I don't think we do!"
"We don't need details, Rarity, honest," Magnum added.
Rarity let out an exasperated sigh. "Nothing happened! It was a dream!" She saw her parents prepare to protest again and she pointed to her sister. "Sweetie, tell them what you told me."
Sweetie Belle sat confused, her mother's hooves holding her ears shut. She had no idea what Rarity had just said. Their parents, on the other hoof, had heard exactly what she said.
"Sweetie Belle's got nothin' to do with this," Magnum said, anxiously hoping that was the truth.
Rarity tried not to glare at her sister. Instead she just looked at the oblivious filly. "She has more to do with it than you think."
Pearl took a deep breath, bracing herself to find out just how her little girl was involved in her other little girl's...activities. She removed her hooves from Sweetie Belle's ears.
"Sweetie," Rarity said again, "tell Mother and Father what you told me."
"I went to Rarity's place to get some stuff for the clubhouse," Sweetie Belle said with the tone of a child who had been asked to tell the same story over and over again, which meant she was slightly more impatient than most children as this was only the second time she was telling the story. "While I was there, I heard Rarity and Princess Luna—" She rolled her eyes at the hissing intake of breath from both of her parents. "—talking about a dream Rarity had. Her dream was about Twilight and Celestia sitting on a bed together, which sounds like a nice dream to me. Friends should spend time together. Then Luna left, and Rarity said it would have been bad if Luna found out that Rarity and Luna got on the bed too, and I didn't understand why, so I asked Apple Bloom and Scootaloo about it and we talked about it while we went to the clubhouse."
"So when you say it was a dream," Pearl said slowly. "You mean..."
"That I was asleep and it was a dream," Rarity said through gritted teeth.
"Oh," Magnum said with a confused look oh his face. "So you didn't—"
"No! Nothing happened, it was just a dream, there was nothing!"
Sweetie Belle piped up. "Why is everyone being so serious about a dream? Everyone always tells me not to worry about dreams, but this one was so important that Princess Luna had to come ask about it? Do dreams matter or not?"
There was a knock at the door. Magnum got up to open the door for the unexpected guest.
"Forgive me, but I could not help overhearing," a voice said from outside. "As this is my domain, allow me to answer your questions."
"Uh, please come in, your majesty."
Princess Luna walked into the living room, followed by Magnum, who was stunned by the new arrival. Luna looked at Sweetie Belle. "The dream itself is not important. What is important is why you have the dream. For example, if you have a nightmare, it is because you are afraid. It is then up to you to find out why—" She looked at Rarity. "—and to face your fear." She looked back at Sweetie Belle. "Do you understand?"
"I guess so, but then why is everyone making such a big deal out of Rarity's dream if it isn't really important?"
"They are confused," Luna said with a smile. "They do not realize what is important and what is not. As Princess of the Night, it is my duty to enter dreams to assist those who have nightmares, but no one else need concern themselves with someone else's dreams. Does that make sense to you?"
"They're just being nosy?"
Luna laughed. "Very well put! Yes, they are being nosy."
Sweetie Belle beamed.
“I am glad to have answered your questions, but that is not why I am here.” Princess Luna turned to face Magnum. “Sir, I am here to ask your permission to court your daughter.”
At that moment, with all her family’s eyes on her, Rarity wanted little more than to melt into the floor out of embarrassment.
Unfortunately for Rarity, melting into the floor wasn’t an option, and they continued to stare at her. Princess Luna started to become annoyed at their behavior.
“Pardon me for interrupting your reverie but I am still waiting for an answer to my question.”
Pearl was the first to come to, and she jabbed her hoof into Magnum’s side. He recoiled and shouted in pain and surprise.
“Oh, w-w-well, um, I don’t suppose we have any reason why not,” he said. “Do we?” he quietly asked his wife. She glared at him in reply.
“Right, I was afraid of that,” he muttered, lowering his eyes. “Yes, you—” He took a deep breath. “You have my permission.”
Luna smiled.
“Wait!” Magnum cried.
Luna’s smile disappeared.
“Y-You do mean Rarity, right?”
Luna stared at him incredulously. She considered replying with sarcasm, but realized that could complicate matters significantly if he didn’t catch on, and he probably wouldn’t. “Yes, I mean Rarity.”
“Oh. Good.” The look on Magnum’s face said he thought the current situation was anything but good, but he wasn’t brave enough to say so.
Luna, having obtained the permission she sought, however unwillingly given, turned to Rarity next. “Shall I come visit you at your home tomorrow morning? Perhaps you would like to show me around town? It is rather different here when it is not Nightmare Night.”
Rarity nodded and tried to maintain her composure. “Y-Yes. That sounds lovely.”
Luna bowed her head slightly in farewell. “Until tomorrow.” Repeating the gesture to Rarity’s family, she departed, leaving Rarity alone with her parents and sister once again.
Pearl opened her mouth to speak and Rarity cringed. “That must have been some dream you had.”
Rarity’s family knew the truth, Twilight knew the truth, and Applejack knew the truth, but Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash still believed the rumors. Fluttershy would be easy enough to convince; just tell her the truth, problem solved. Although she was likely to use the rumors as inspiration for her next novel. Sort of funny, since the dream never would have happened and the rumors wouldn’t have started without Fluttershy’s book. Rarity realized that the date she was preparing for wouldn’t have happened if not for Fluttershy. She would have to thank her. Perhaps their tour of Ponyville would take them by Fluttershy’s cottage and she could thank her then. She would have to return the book as well...but not yet.
There was a knock at the door downstairs. Anyone who was familiar with the Boutique knew the door wasn’t locked, certainly not at that time of the day, and it took a second before Rarity realized who it must be. She glanced at the nearest clock to find out how much time before her date, then she remembered they had never set a precise time for it. Panicking slightly, she hurried down to answer the door. As expected, Luna was outside.
Rarity was stunned. Not by Luna’s appearance, which was more or less normal...for her, anyway. Nor was she stunned by the fact that the Princess had indeed come to her home, after all, she had said that she would, and only a tiny part of Rarity thought that she wasn’t telling the truth. No, Rarity was stunned by the sheer number of flowers Luna had brought her. She doubted that there were enough vases in Ponyville to hold them all.
Rarity meant to invite Luna inside. She meant to ask if she wanted anything to drink before they went out. Instead, she said, “That’s a lot of flowers.”
“A long time ago, my sister told me to always bring more flowers for my date than I brought for my last one.”
Rarity looked at the flowers and felt very small and very young. “That’s a lot of dates, then,” she said quietly.
“Oh.” Luna nervously rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “I probably shouldn’t have told you why I brought so many flowers.”
“No, no,” Rarity said, forcing a smile. “It’s good. Honesty is...the best policy. Won’t you come in?”
“Thank you.” Luna entered the Boutique, followed by an entire field worth of flowers. She looked around awkwardly. The last time her date had known about and been prepared for a vast quantity of flowers, but that was a thousand years ago. “Where should I...?”
“I...have absolutely no idea. I haven’t a vase big enough. Or enough vases. Or a swimming pool.”
“There’s always the floor, or the ground outside.”
“Absolutely not! I shan’t put them somewhere so—” Rarity gasped. “Ideeaaa!” she sang, then grabbed the flowers with her own magic and quickly disappeared up the stairs. A moment later, she came back down with a satisfied smile on her face. “There. That will do.”
“Where did you put them?”
Rarity looked at Luna reproachfully. “Now, now, it’s not polite to pry about a lady’s bedroom.”
Luna cocked her head slightly, attempting to determine just where the flowers would be in Rarity’s bedroom.
“Well, shall we?”
Luna was still thinking about Rarity’s bedroom. Her face heated slightly. “Shall we what?”
“I believe you are here for a date?”
Luna felt her face warm a little more. “Yes, forgive me, I was...distracted. Of course we shall.”
Rarity escorted Luna outside. “Now, where to begin our tour? Obviously behind us is Carousel Boutique, my home and business, not that you didn’t know that already.” Rarity laughed nervously.
“Rarity.”
“Over there—” Rarity gestured with a hoof. “—is the library, where Twilight lives, but of course you knew that already, too.” She bit her lip and looked around for something new.
“Rarity.”
“The town square is this way...” She remembered Luna knew about that as well. ”The same place it was when you were here for Nightmare Night...”
“Rarity!”
Rarity stopped her frantic search for town landmarks Luna wouldn’t be familiar with and turned, wide-eyed, to face her date. “Yes, Luna?”
“I don’t need a tour of Ponyville.”
“You don’t?” Rarity asked in a small voice. “But, yesterday...you said...”
Luna chuckled with a grimace. “Yesterday I realized I had just invited myself to your home for our first date, in front of your parents, so I needed to come up with something else quickly.”
Rarity let out a relieved sigh. “Oh, good.”
“Good?”
“I was afraid when you said you didn’t want a tour that what you really meant was you changed your mind and didn’t want our date.”
“Absolutely not. What do you want to do on our date? I don’t need a tour, but if you really want to give me one, I would be happy to walk along every street in town with you.”
“Why don’t we forget the tour and go get something to eat?”
Luna smiled. “That sounds wonderful.”
Rarity and Luna walked side by side through town. For the first time since the dream, Rarity enjoyed the looks and whispers of the townspeople. Her life was going back to—well, not normal, but certainly better than before. She glanced at Luna walking beside her and decided she didn’t want her life to go back to normal. There was somepony else’s life which hadn’t gone back to normal either.
“Pr—uh, Luna?”
Luna looked at Rarity inquisitively.
“What happened after the press conference? From what I heard it seemed like ponies wanted to overthrow Celestia.”
Luna shook her head. “Not anymore. It seems that Sister knows the minds of ponies better than I. I confess, I feared disastrous political consequences when I saw your dream. I thought it was Twilight’s or even my sister’s dream at first. When I discovered that it was yours, I was sure there was nothing to worry about. I don’t know how everyone heard about it.”
Rarity rolled her eyes. “That would be my sister we have to thank for that.”
“Then we should go and thank her!” Luna shouted, causing several startled exclamations from nearby ponies.
Rarity drew a sharp breath. “Let’s not! She was eavesdropping and then talking about what she heard all across town. That’s not really behavior we want to encourage, is it?”
“I see your point. Why then did you say that we have her to thank for it?”
“It’s just an expression. It’s nicer than saying we have her to blame for it.”
“I see. These ‘expressions’ take some getting used to. I am more accustomed to saying what I mean.”
Rarity couldn’t think of a reply, so they walked in silence for another minute until they arrived at a nearby restaurant. It wasn’t Rarity’s favorite, but it was nearby, and she doubted she would be able to concentrate on the food anyway. All eyes in the outdoor dining area were immediately on them, and conversation was replaced by quiet murmuring. Rarity found she didn’t mind so much anymore. She led Luna to an empty table and, after spreading pieces of fabric across the piles of straw which served as a seats, they sat down to wait for a waiter to arrive. They didn’t have to wait long.
The waiter, as usual, was snooty enough to not even open his eyes when he came to the table. That was Rarity’s favorite part about the restaurant. She enjoyed pretending that the server was too lowly to look upon her, not that she’d tell anyone about that. “Have you made your decision?” he asked.
“I am afraid not,” Princess Luna said. “I have never been to this restaurant before so I don’t know what you serve here. Perhaps you have a menu I could peruse?”
Even without opening his eyes, it was clear the waiter rolled them. “Of course, madam. Here you are.” He held out a menu, which Luna accepted. “I will return momentarily to take your orders.”
Luna watched him walk away, and once he was out of earshot, asked Rarity, “Are the servers here always so rude?”
“Rude? Why... I suppose some would see it that way, yes. He’s acting the same way he always does.”
“Why would you frequent an establishment where the staff are so impolite?”
Not wanting to truthfully answer that particular question, Rarity decided that it would be a good time to change the subject. “Oh, the food’s good,” she said dismissively, “but enough about that. You were telling me about what happened after the press conference. You said you were afraid of political consequences, but how did Celestia avert the crisis?”
Luna set the menu on the table, forgotten. “Simply put, she called their bluff. She kissed Twilight Sparkle in front of them and dared them to do something about it. What can they do? Who else can raise the sun?”
Rarity looked off to the side at nothing in particular. “Twilight seemed rather distraught after she got back...”
“From what Sister told me, she is feeling much better now.”
Rarity faced Luna again and leaned forward conspiratorially. “Oh?”
“Yes, I believe those two are going to be spending a lot more time together.”
“Good,” Rarity said with a smug smile.
“Did you—”
“Pardon me for interrupting, but are you ready to place your order?”
“Excuse me,” Luna said with some irritation. “I will—”
“Yes!” Rarity said, cutting her off. “We’ll each have a daffodil and daisy sandwich and we’ll split an order of hay fries.”
The waiter left without saying a word, or opening his eyes.
Luna looked down at the table, the menu still laying on it. “I...Thank you. I had forgotten to look at the menu.”
Rarity smiled. “I noticed. You were too busy looking at me.” She winked when Luna looked back up.
Luna straightened up quickly, nervously fluttering her wings. “What? I-I-I—no, I was—that is to say—”
Rarity held a hoof against her mouth.
“—we were just talking, and I couldn’t read and talk at the same time, and—”
Rarity snorted in a somehow ladylike fashion.
“—I didn’t want to neglect you, so—”
Rarity snorted in a considerably less ladylike fashion.
“—of course I was looking at you, but that didn’t mean I was looking at you—”
Unable to hold it in anymore, Rarity burst out laughing.
“Rarity, are you alright?”
Rarity lost her balance and fell off her pile of straw, howling with laughter. “I can’t believe—” She gasped for breath. “—you’re so embarrassed—” She gasped again. “—to be caught looking at your date!” Rarity stuck her hoof up in the air and it flailed around for a second before she got ahold of the edge of the table to pull herself upright. She took her seat again, wiping mirthful tears from her eyes. “Oh, Celestia, I needed that.” She looked across the table to see that the princess seated there was less than amused. Rarity cleared her throat. “Sorry. Oh, Luna, I needed that?”
Luna gave a half smile. “That’s better.”
“Your food.” The waiter set three plates down on their table. How he was able to carry all that at once, being an earth pony, Rarity wasn’t sure; she suspected waiters had their own kind of magic just to carry too many plates.
Princess Luna examined the three plates and looked at the waiter, whose eyes were still closed. “How much will this cost?”
The waiter huffed impatiently. “If you’ll check the menu, you’ll see that it’s—” He opened his eyes to glare at the customer, but as soon as he saw her, he blanched and swallowed hard. “—completely free, your highness,” he said in a voice two octaves higher than it had been a second earlier. He hurriedly grabbed the menu and bolted inside the building.
Rarity and Luna watched him run, then exchanged a look and a surprised laugh.
“A complimentary meal is enough to improve any day, even one that doesn’t need improvement,” Rarity said.
Luna agreed, and then they ate in relative peace and quiet. There were only thirteen photographers and twenty-seven other ponies who did anything to interrupt their meal as news of their presence at the restaurant spread across town.
When they were finishing their food, Rarity spoke up again. “We should thank Fluttershy.”
“We should? Why?”
“She gave me the book that led to the dream in the first place.”
“I see. Without her, none of this would have happened. You are truly glad for all that has occurred since that dream?”
Rarity tilted her head and looked into Luna’s eyes. “Where am I right now?”
Luna squinted and looked at the buildings around them. “You are at a restaurant in Ponyville." Concerned, she examined Rarity's face. "Are you feeling unwell?”
“That’s not what I meant. What am I doing right now?”
“You are worrying me.” Luna lowered her voice. “Do you become confused often?”
“No! I mean to say that I’m on a date with you, so the unpleasantness of the last few days has all been worth it.”
“Oh.” Luna smiled. “I’m happy to hear it.” She leaned close and whispered, “You are sure you have not suffered any head trauma?”
Rarity and Luna managed to lose the slowly building crowd through alleyways between the restaurant and the edge of town. Of course, it helped that Luna made an alley disappear as soon as they entered it so the crowd ran past without seeing them. Regardless, they made it safely and secretly to Fluttershy’s cottage. Rarity couldn’t quite look at the place the same knowing it wasn’t just the home of an animal caretaker, but also an erotic novelist. She wondered if Luna was aware of it, which led her to wonder what kind of dreams Fluttershy had, and how many of those Luna had seen. She found herself walking closer to Luna as they approached the front door.
Rarity knocked on the door and they waited.
And waited.
Finally, the door opened, just a crack. Just enough to see that Fluttershy was peeking out to see who was there. No sooner did they make eye contact than Fluttershy squeaked and made to shut the door again, but Rarity stopped it with an outstretched hoof.
“I’m sorry for leaving you alone at the spa please don’t hate me I’m sorry!”
“Fluttershy, darling, I don’t hate you. I’m disappointed you wouldn’t tell me what was going on, but I don’t hate you for it. I’m not even angry about it.”
Fluttershy stopped trying to force the door shut. “You—You’re not?”
“Of course not! Consider it forgotten.”
Fluttershy sighed and smiled. “Oh, thank you! I’ve just been so worried ever since then I haven’t even left the house except to take care of my little friends.” She opened the door a little wider. “Oh, Princess Luna. How nice to see y—eep!” Fluttershy’s face turned bright red and she looked back and forth between Rarity and Luna so quickly and so many times Rarity wasn’t sure when she started repeating the word ‘no’ every time.
“Darling, what’s wrong?”
Fluttershy didn’t answer, she simply continued denying or refusing or whatever it was she was saying ‘no’ about. Rarity stepped forward to lay a hoof on Fluttershy’s back in what she hoped would be a calming sort of way. The sudden contact made Fluttershy flinch and extend her wings, one of which tried to tangle itself around Rarity’s leg. Fluttershy screamed.
“Bad touch! Bad touch! Get away from me!”
Two seconds later, Rarity was flat on her back with blood pouring out of her nose and Fluttershy’s front door was closed and locked. Luna stood off to the side with her mouth hanging open. Luna helped to stop the bleeding and Rarity tried to ignore how much of a mess she looked. There was something very wrong with Fluttershy, and they had to find out what. Luna and Rarity checked all the windows on the ground floor to discover them locked, so Luna carried Rarity through the air to check the upstairs windows, where they found one open.
Entering the one open window, they found themselves in Fluttershy’s bedroom. They also found Fluttershy, curled up in her bed, hyperventilating and staring at them with wide eyes. Rarity took a step forward.
“I’m not you!”
“Of course you aren’t, darling. You’re you, and I wouldn’t want you any other way.”
Fluttershy whimpered.
“Fluttershy, what are you so afraid of?”
Fluttershy squeaked, but didn’t say anything loud enough to be understood.
“I told you I’m not angry at you for anything. In fact, we’re here to thank you.”
“Th-Thank me?” Fluttershy’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Why, yes! If you hadn’t lent me that book none of this would have happened!”
Tears gathered in Fluttershy’s eyes. “It’s all my fault! I never should have even written those books! I’ve created a monster!” Fluttershy buried her face into her pillows, muffling her cries. Luna and Rarity exchanged a bewildered glance. Luna shrugged and shook her head in a ‘don’t ask me, she’s your friend’ kind of way.
“I’m afraid you’ve lost me, darling.”
Fluttershy didn’t look up, and Rarity had to strain to hear her muffled reply. “You-You read my book, and then you...and now you and Luna are here to-to-to thank me! I don’t want to be thanked!”
“Honestly, Fluttershy, the way you’re acting one would think you’ve never been thanked before.”
Fluttershy looked up at that. “I haven’t!”
“Now, darling, I know that’s not true. I’ve thanked you before.”
Fluttershy shook her head frantically, much like when she saw Luna earlier. “No! No you haven’t!”
“Of course I have! What about when you watched my sister and her friends so I could work? I thanked you for that!”
“What? No! All you did was say...thanks...” Fluttershy said, comprehension dawning on her. “So you two are here to say thanks?”
“Yes! Without that book we wouldn’t have just had our first date!”
“First date? I thought you two had been together for a while now. Everypony in town was talking about it. They said you two and Twilight and Princess Celestia...”
Rarity laughed. “Oh, Fluttershy, that was just a dream I had. Sweetie Belle heard me talking to Princess Luna about it and then she talked to her friends about it while they walked through town!”
Fluttershy looked at Rarity with newfound hope in her eyes and asked softly, “Then...then you’re not a sex fiend?”
Rarity choked on her own breath and had a coughing fit. “Oh, heavens no,” she rasped when she got the coughing mostly under control.
Luna and Rarity walked along the path leading away from Fluttershy’s cottage. Fluttershy had mostly calmed down after they explained what was really going on, although she had still been rather uncomfortable with them staying in her bedroom after what she thought they were there for, so they left her alone.
“Did all your friends believe the rumors?” Luna asked. “It seems to me that a good friend would have faith that their friend wouldn’t do something so unlike their normal behavior.”
“Honestly?" She kicked at the ground nervously, thinking back at some of her past overly obsessive romantic notions. "I may have given them reason in the past to think this would be something I might possibly do. However, since I didn't, I suppose now there are two other ponies I need to convince of the truth.” A wicked smile spread across Rarity’s face. “And I know just how to do it.”
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were on their way to Carousel Boutique. Rarity had invited them to help with “something special for Princess Celestia” and they both knew what that meant. Pinkie was bouncing higher and faster than usual, and Rainbow was so excited she could hardly fly. Rainbow landed just outside the back door, per Rarity’s instructions, and Pinkie bounced up right beside her. Rainbow noticed Pinkie was carrying something. Rarity didn’t say to bring anything, did she? Swallowing nervousness, Rainbow asked, “What’cha got there, Pinkie?”
“Lube! I keep some stashed all over Ponyville, in case of lube emergency.”
“Oh. Good thinking.”
Rainbow knocked on the door and waited, chewing her lip. Pinkie bounced next to her singing a song about always using lube, but Rainbow was too distracted to pay attention to the words. After way too many verses of Pinkie’s lube song, Rarity answered the door.
“Come in, girls,” she whispered.
Pinkie and Rainbow stepped inside, taking the hint that they should be quiet. Rainbow wondered if Celestia even knew they were coming. She laughed quietly at her little joke. It was a...um...Twilight had told her, but she couldn’t remember. It was one of the ones where one word meant more than one thing. Speaking of Twilight, though, Rainbow could hear her voice from farther in the Boutique. And Celestia said something back. Rainbow strained to hear the other voice she was expecting while Rarity led them in that direction. Pinkie started singing again and Rainbow jabbed her with a hoof and hissed for her to be quiet. Rainbow finally heard Luna’s voice as well, just as they rounded the corner to see three alicorns ready and waiting for them.
But...ready for what? Celestia was standing on one of those pedestal things with mirrors that Rarity used for making dresses, Luna was using a measuring tape on her and reporting measurements to Twilight who was writing them down.
“Okay ladies, the help’s here!” Rarity sang out to the princesses.
Twilight looked up from her notes. “Excellent, girls! Pinkie, grab that bolt of fabric over in the corner, would you? And Rainbow, would you open that window to let some more light in here? We’ve got a dress to make!”
Two jaws metaphorically hit the floor and one bottle of lube literally hit the floor.
The prank had gone spectacularly well; Rarity was able to explain to Rainbow and Pinkie that the whole thing had been a dream—although she didn’t think Pinkie entirely believed her, even with all three princesses backing up her story—and they also made a lovely dress for Princess Celestia to replace the one Luna had ‘accidentally’ thrown off the balcony. Two birds with one stone, to use a cruel expression one should never use around Fluttershy. Everyone had since gone home, and Rarity decided that she could very much enjoy this new life. She could deal with what everyone else thought of her as long as those she cared about knew the truth and the others still ordered her designs. It seemed that was going to be the case; that very day she received a request for a special order.
She carried the letter to her workbench, opened it, and started reading. The client wanted a special outfit for an upcoming event, and had also invited Rarity to attend.
“No tickets, but a password to get in? That’s a bit unusual; it must be very exclusive.” She read on in excitement until she saw the design the client was requesting. Her cheeks reddened. “Oh my.”