There was never a moment when any of Twilight’s friends doubted her intelligence. More often than not, any question that any of them could ask could, and would, be answered by Twilight. She was never content to just be the bank of knowledge of the group, however. Twilight was the type to want to share her knowledge with anyone who would listen, and she made it her business to help others help themselves.
She always had a teacher-like air to her, and she had the uncanny ability to instantaneously dwarf your knowledge without sounding like a know-it-all. Her knowledge didn’t make her better by any stretch, at least in her eyes. Almost as if to prove it, she would ask questions herself, questions that, in turn, have you ask questions. The most common question was also among the most simple, yet answering the question was rare, and said answer was almost always immensely complex.
“Why?” repeated Rarity, for she was sure that she must have misheard.
“Why?” confirmed Twilight. She unlocked the door to her bedroom, kicking off her shoes as she strode to her closet. Rarity, out of an unbreakable habit, lifted Twilight’s shoes and hovered them over to the shoe rack.
“Hm… I… Why do you ask, curiously?” asked Rarity, mostly to buy herself some time to think.
“Well, if you’re gonna meet my parents soon, I think you should be prepared,” said Twilight. As she began to pick through her closet, she heard Rarity lower herself down onto the mattress.
“You think that they would ask me that?” Rarity nervously tugged at her own hair.
“I’d be surprised if they didn’t,” said Twilight. “Daddy is very… selective. If we want to get away with this, we have to make sure you fit his model.”
“Model?”
Twilight sighed. Now blessed with the gift of hindsight, she realized that she really should’ve explained at least some of this to Rarity, and her other friends, for that manner, over the course of the five years they had known each other.
“My father has a very… A very particular idea of what a woman is,” explained Twilight. “As far as he’s concerned, all women should fit a certain model. None of you guys do. You and Fluttershy are probably the closest, but there are some complications there.”
Rarity nodded, though she didn’t quite understand. Still, the very fact that Twilight didn’t come out and say it meant that she wasn’t quite ready to talk about her dad yet. That, or she thought she was being obvious, which was a possibility.
"I don't know, love," said Rarity. "I never thought... Well, that's not true. I... I don't know where to start..."
"Alright, let's make things a bit more simple," said Twilight, shoving her head into her closet in search of clothing. "How about the when? At what point did you realize that you were attracted to me?"
"Why, the very moment I saw you!" Rarity said. Twilight snickered in the closet, and Rarity soon followed. "Oh, I know how terribly cliche that sounded, but it's true. I always thought you were cute, but I never thought to pursue you at first." Twilight stowed that bit of knowledge in her mental notepad. She, of course, knew exactly where Rarity was coming from, having experienced the very same feeling.
"And your sudden desire?" continued Twilight. "It wouldn't have anything to do with my transformation or promotion, would it?"
When Twilight was but a mere unicorn, she was a very different person in terms of physical appearance. She was thin, short, and had a sort of sickly look to her skin. Besides that, she was also very flat in the chest and rear, lacking the "assets" that she so envied in Pinkie and Fluttershy. After her ascension to alicorn, however, that all changed. Being that alicorns adopted the symbolic role of mother to all ponykind, and embodied the traits of all three races, it was fitting that her body changed to reflect that. She became very curvaceous, a proper, womanly form. She gained the toned stomach and arms of a Pegasus, the long, elegant limbs of a unicorn, and the thick, powerful thighs of an Earth pony. There wasn't a mare or stallion across all of Equestria who denied her beauty.
"I supposed that might have, perhaps, coaxed my bravery," admitted Rarity. "But I assure you, I am not so shallow that your looks are the only things I care about!"
"And how do i know that you're interested in me, rather than my position as princess?" asked Twilight, finally emerging from her closet with her arms full of clothes.
"Twilight!" exclaimed Rarity. She was clearly offended, disgusted by the very idea.
"Just playing devil's advocate here," said Twilight. "My father is going to ask, so you need to have an answer ready." Rarity pondered for a moment, staring down at her hooves in thought. Unbeknownst to her, Twilight slowly began to strip.
"I fell for you long before your ascension," said Rarity. "I don't know exactly when, but it was long before that." Though she knew Rarity couldn't see her, Twilight nodded in agreement as she stepped out of her pants.
"Good answer. If you can, try to remember exactly when. Dad's a stickler for details," said Twilight. "He's going to ask you why you're interested. What do you see in me? What makes you think you're good enough, things like that. What are you gonna tell him?"
The answer was simple, yet, it was also impossible to discern. The biggest problem Rarity was having, even bigger than her insane fear of a man she'd never met, was that Twilight was just too amazing. Rarity couldn't properly articulate just what it was that she found so alluring about Twilight without making it seem insignificant. It was hard, if not impossible, to do her justice. She was the quintessential perfect woman, powerful and gentle, ambitious and loving, intelligent and gorgeous. The fact of the matter was that Rarity was dating a demigoddess, a thought which has kept Rarity awake on several nights.
"Before I met you, I used to look at myself and see something that managed to imitate perfection," said Rarity, running her hand through her mane nervously. "Then, you show up, and I realize how truly insignificant I really am. You were Celestia's favorite student. I make dresses for a living! One of us clearly has more potential than the other."
Rarity snickered, both at how foolish she used to be and at the twist of fate that resulted in this conversation. Just yesterday, they were laughing and having a good time with Rarity's family. Today felt more like a drill or a trial, one that Rarity was determined to pass.
"You intimidate me, but I can't get enough," said Rarity. "I find you intoxicating and comforting, but still a bit scary. I want your respect, I want to prove that I'm worthy of you, because I know I'm not. I want to be there for you if you ever need me, I want to be able to carry you through thick and thin. I want to be good enough, but I'm not, so maybe, if I can pretend for long enough... Maybe I will be."
Satisfied with her speech, Rarity suddenly remembered to breathe, and took in a huge breath. There was silence for a few moments, where both women decided to let the other one speak first. Rarity was about to accept this challenge, and turned to get a read on her princess. Before the words could even form in her brain, they were quickly and ruthlessly beaten out by the image before her. Because, while Rarity was speaking, Twilight was still undressing. Rarity, in a flip of luck, just happened to turn right after Twilight removed her bra.
"Uhhhhhhhhhh..." Rarity couldn't muster words for a while. Instead, she produced a sort of whine that persisted for about a minute, only stopping when Rarity realized that she was staring. She had to think, quickly. What was she saying before?
"That was amazing," said Twilight, oblivious to the powerful charm she had put on Rarity. "I... I don't know what to say, honestly. I... Wow."
"Well, those are two reasons why, anyway," said Rarity, still stuck in a sort of glitched state. Twilight finally put two and two together, and then she started to laugh.
"Oh, please don't say that to my dad!" she chuckled. "'Two reasons why, Mr.Light, right there on your daughter's chest'. Not the best thing to say when trying to win this man's blessing."
Then, Rarity's mind rebooted, and she realized what she just said. The next five minutes were spent with Rarity trying, and failing, to properly explain herself. Of course, Twilight found the entire situation to be absolutely hilarious, and she continued to laugh for the entire duration.
After a while, Rarity decided to run down to the kitchen to fetch herself something to drink, and Twilight had her fill of fun. The princess entered her bathroom, drew her bath, and slowly lowered herself into the warm, soothing, bubbly water. She let her stress melt away, taking in a deep breath every now and then, followed by a long exhale. Rarity’s answers were good. They were genuine, they were romantic, and they would be relatable and understandable, even to Twilight’s dad.
Yes, Rarity was ready to meet Twilight Velvet and Night Light. Unfortunately, Twilight was far from it.