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// Acceptance 
// Story: A Day With Friends 
// by MyOpinionIsSuperior 
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Rarity’s horn began to glow a faint blue, the magical aura of her telekinetic spell tucking away at the corners of a pale yellow bedspread. How many times had she done the same, mundane task for her little daughter, she didn’t know. She had lost count when the stubborn little thing turned five, and simply took it upon herself to do it instead. The sheets lay crisp and flat, matching the order of the modest but tastefully decorated bedroom. From the dressers to the toy chest and even the picture frames that lay aligned on the various furnishings, not a single item clashed structurally or by color. Rarity couldn’t help but marvel at it all; despite her futile attempts to domesticate many of Pure Connoisseur’s tendencies, the filly had excellent taste without any assistance from her tasteful mother. Uncanny even, considering she had yet to even properly educate her daughter on the basics of fashion and design. There were however, higher priorities, such as proper manners at the dinner table, refined speech, and of course, making her own bed.

“Connie, dear,” The unicorn began, the slightest hint of scolding in her voice. “How many times must I ask you to make your bed before you finally do it?”

Her daughter sat on the floor, bright green eyes dull in the shadow of her downcast forehead. “Aye can’t make it as nice as you, Mamma. No horn- and ‘sides. Why make my bed when there ain’t no one seein’ it but me?”

Rarity smiled her patient smile, practiced over the years of experience with inquiring children. “It practices good habits. What if somepony new here were to accidently stumble across your bedroom? It wouldn’t make a very good first impression, now would it?”

The pale Earth pony sighed slightly. “Aye guess not Mamma.” She looked up, cheeks blushed slightly. “Why’d ya’ call me up here?”

Her mother sat at the edge of the bed, inviting her to sit with a slight pat on the bedspread. Connie obeyed, gingerly making her way to her own bed and climbing up as if she was a stranger, despite the familiar territory. She leaned her head against her mother’s side, shades of periwinkle drifting across her vision as the strands of hair fled from her pompadour’s hold. Rarity brushed the offending hairs from her daughter’s face, hugging her tightly.

“Darling, what have I told you about asking questions you already know the answer to?”

The filly twitched in surprise, squirming further into Rarity’s embrace. “It ain’t polite or ladylike. Aye’m sorry.”

The pearly unicorn continued to hold her daughter gently, her warm embrace soothing on the filly’s nervous composure. “It’s just us here, sweetheart. What’s bothering you?”

“Aye also thought ya’ said rhee-torical questions were also unladylike.”

Rarity pulled away from her daughter, momentarily surprised by the child’s sudden burst of wit. She was further surprised to see the filly smiling coyly, very aware of her small victory. Connie’s grin shriveled as her mother glared at her like an outfit composed of clashing neon colors. Knowing better than to push the expertise dressmaker any further, she closed her eyes and sighed heavily.

“Why did it have ta’ be him, Mama?”

Rarity’s stern gaze immediately dissolved as the depressing tone of her daughter’s confiding tugged at her heartstrings. She took Connie back into her embrace, stroking the filly’s bluish locks with a gentle touch mastered through her years of motherly pampering.

“Now now,” She cooed soothingly. “There is nothing wrong with it-“

“There’s everything wrong with it, Mama!” Connie shrieked, tearing free from Rarity once again. She flushed, from rage or embarrassment- Rarity wasn’t quite sure, but there was no denying her daughter’s frustration. “Ya’ have any idea how rotten it is ta’… ta’…”

The young filly began to blush a deeper shade of crimson, her cheeks two glowing beets partially obscured by the periwinkle vines of her hair. Rarity grinned with half-lidded eyes that spoke with a certain confidence that only the most experienced socialites had under their belts.

“Have a crush on somepony you don’t want to?” She half-sang, finishing her daughter’s confession and eliciting a deeper frown and blush from the flustered child.

“Mama! It ain’t funny!” Connie whined, pouting dramatically as if the added feature could gain her enough sympathy to stop her mother’s teasing. Her efforts went to waste as Rarity broke into full laughter.

“Oh sweetheart, of course it is!” Rarity said, pausing to laugh again. She stopped as tears began to form in her daughter’s eyes, and with a heavy groan she wrapped a pearly foreleg around her daughter’s pale frame. “Connie, this is a matter of your heart, not your pride. Now I know these feelings began after Capricorn’s new haircut- which I must say looks quite dashing compared to his previous, more… feminine hairstyle. But appearance isn’t the only thing to it, now is it?”

“A-ah don’t know what you’re talkin’ ‘bout,” The filly sniffed, attempting to conceal her sobs as indignity. “The boy’s nothin’ but trouble and the less Ah see him, the better.”

“Oh come now,” Rarity pressed. “I certainly had troubles accepting my feelings for your father during our courtship, but I learned to stop being so silly when I learned to love both the diamond and the rough.”

“Really?” Connie asked suspiciously. “Ya’ had trouble fallin’ fer Daddy? Ain’t nopony more gentlecoltly than him round these parts- ya’ said so yerself!”

“I know that, dear,” She said patiently. The corners of her mouth tugged to form a slight, content smile and her cerulean eyes glazed slightly over as she dove into memories of young, exciting love. “But I was so young and ignorant of what was truly important. While I loved the Apple family dearly for my friendship with Applejack, the thought of marrying an Apple seemed, at the time, so… uncouth.”

“Uncouth?!” The little Earth pony barked. Rarity flinched internally from the sudden change in volume at close quarters, but refused to budge and give her daughter the opportunity to throw a tantrum.

“I said it seemed uncouth,” She repeated sternly- not stern enough to leave the impression of a scolding, but with enough determination to stand her ground without leaving Pure Connoisseur feeling defensive. Rarity was sure not to repeat her mistakes in parenting, and her filly’s extraordinary ability to pick up on the slightest changes in tone meant the dressmaker had to be extra careful when sharing a life lesson. “I was a different pony back then, sweetheart. Not in the sense of who I was or how I viewed myself, but how I viewed others. I was so narrow-minded at one point in my life that I actually disliked Applejack simply because of our differences! However, our friendship grew, and through that I found myself growing as well and become more accepting of the other lifestyles ponies have.”

“What does this haf’ ta’ do with me ‘n Capricorn?” Connie asked suspiciously, not understanding the direction her mother was steering their conversation. Rarity quickly pecked her daughter on the nose with a swift kiss, following Connie’s reactive squeak by blowing a raspberry on her cheek.

“It means, you and Capricorn both still have so much growing up to do,” She said over the giggling of her flustered daughter. “You have a simple crush, darling. Enjoy it for what it is and try not to make yourself miserable by overthinking it, okay?”

Pure Connoisseur breathed steadily, controlling the last of her laughter fits. She smiled and gave Rarity a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Mamma.”