Time has a tendency of sneaking up on you, especially when you lived in a place as magical and perpetually active as Equestria. While concerned with gods of chaos, magic-sucking goat demons, and love curses, it was hard to focus on how many days pass between them. Before you know it, it’s been a week, a month, a year.
Rarity never noticed how much time had passed since she began dating Twilight until she was out fetching the mail one day. She was just returning to the castle with a stack of envelopes when she caught sight of the date; February 17th, three days after Twilight had fallen ill and the two had technically started a romantic relationship, thus making it just past a year the two have been together. Rarity smiled as she entered the castle, wondering what they could do to celebrate.
“Hey, got anything good?” asked Twilight from the bed, as Rarity entered their room.
“Hm… A letter from Cadence, she seems to be wanting to visit,” listed Rarity, flipping through the letters. “Cheerilee, Sugar Belle from The Equal Village… I have a letter from my uncle, he’ll be wanting to meet you… A letter from Ni…. Naomi, my old friend from high school.” Twilight looked at her with disapproval, then held out her hand. “Oh, no, it’s not important. I’d better just throw this away.”
Twilight rolled her eyes, then levitated the letter out of Rarity’s grasp, much to her chagrin. Just as Twilight had suspected, she knew who “Naomi” was, and she wasn’t very happy to see a letter from him. With a heavy sigh, she set the letter down, shaking her head in disgust.
“Um… Do you intend to open it?” asked Rarity. Twilight just shook her head. “Twilight, you may as well read it. I wasn’t going to show it to you at all, but you’ve forced my hand. Just give it a look.”
“Why should I waste my time on that man?” asked Twilight. “Why should I give him the satisfaction?”
“Because he’s your father, and you don’t know what he might say. Give him a chance before you decide he’s not worth it.”
Twilight groaned, then grabbed up the letter. Had it been anyone else who told her to, she’d have ignored them, but Rarity had a way of making Twilight do things she wouldn’t ordinarily do. Twilight ripped open the envelope, pulled out the letter, and read through it quickly. Then, she walked out of the room. She returned a short second later with a butane torch used for barbecue grills. Locking eyes with Rarity as she did so, Twilight flicked on the lighter and brought the flame to the page, letting it burn for a few seconds in her hands before teleporting it to someplace where it could reduce to ash safely.
“Well, what did it say?” asked Rarity grimly.
“Exactly what you’d expect,” said Twilight. “He’s sorry, he was out of line, and he wants me to spend a bit of time in Canterlot with him so that we can sort things out.”
“That sounds great. Why’d you burn it?”
“He didn’t write it. After the whole brouhaha with the changelings, I started to study the handwriting of everyone I know,” said Twilight. “That wasn’t his. If he can’t even take the time to write the letter himself, then he’s clearly not all that sorry.”
Rarity realized that she had made things a bit awkward. Oh, how could she possibly salvage this?
“It’s been awhile since we’ve gone out together,” noted Rarity.
“Aj just had us over for dinner the day before yesterday,” said Twilight.
“I meant just the two of us,” Rarity slid onto the bed, slinking up next to Twilight. “I was thinking, maybe tomorrow, we can have a little picnic?” Rarity kissed her love, who sighed happily.
“Hm… Wait, tomorrow?” Twilight jolted back to reality. “Oh, no, it can’t be tomorrow. I need to head up to Canterlot tonight, remember? For that seminar?”
“Right, don’t know how I managed to forget that,” sighed Rarity, after just a moment of silence. She kissed Twilight again, longer this time. “Rain check?”
“Definitely. As soon as I get back, alright?” promised Twilight. “Will you come with me? I could use the company.”
“You know I would, love, but I have orders piling up at the Boutique,” said Rarity. “I’ve been considering hiring some help…”
Twilight nodded in understanding, even though she doubted how truthful Rarity was being. Similarly, Rarity doubted that Twilight was going to Canterlot for a seminar, mostly because she couldn’t recall Twilight ever mentioning it. Neither of them thought much of it, so neither of them mentioned it, and neither of them further suspected the other. However, both women had similarly ulterior motives, and both were fairly panicked, both at the lie and at the reality.
The next day, after Rarity had properly awoken herself, she put her mind to work, planning on what she’d do and how she’d do it. She wasn’t sure exactly when she decided she’d do it, but it was fairly recently. She was sure from day one that this would be the eventual outcome, but she never knew when she’d know the time was right. Something in her gut, though, told her that it was now the right time. Now, all she needed was a ring.
A ring, as simple as it was in concept, was probably the hardest decision Rarity ever made in her life. It had to be absolutely, positively, 100% perfect, and anything but absolute, positive, 100% perfection was a failure, as far as Rarity was concerned.
Rarity was a fairly successful entrepreneur, who was considering opening up a second location for her her already-profitable Boutique. She had a fair bit of money, and she could most likely afford any conceivable ring out there, within reason. This didn’t stop her from stressing over the slim possibility that Twilight would see any attempt at an engagement ring as cheap, or, even less likely, that she would care.
Some part of Rarity understood that she was being a little bit silly, and that the ring ultimately didn’t matter. Of course, Rarity almost understood when she was being silly, but her mind could not stop stressing the silly things enough to let them go. No, Rarity’s mind demanded perfection, so perfection she would have. But she couldn’t reach said perfection alone. She would need back up. So, as soon as she was out of the shower and had made herself a quick breakfast, she decided that she would go out and get help from her friends, who would most certainly know how to help.
Unfortunately, Fluttershy was currently visiting Discord in his dimension and Applejack was working Braeburn’s orchards. Considering Fluttershy had been gone for two weeks with no sign of returning anytime soon, and Braeburn had managed to break his leg again, it seemed that Rarity would be stuck with the two most unlikely candidates for help.
She decided to visit Pinkie Pie first, just to get it out of the way.
It was a quick jaunt from Twilight’s castle to Sugarcube Corner, and Rarity was there within five minutes. She entered the bakery, instantly charmed by the sweet aromas of the cakes, pies, buns, tarts, and cookies that the Cakes had crafted. The Cakes, or Mrs. Cake, at least, was manning the counter, her husband nowhere to be found. She saw Rarity and smiled widely.
“Well, hello there, stranger,” said Mrs. Cake. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages. How’re you doing, hon?”
“Marvelous, thank you for asking,” replied Rarity. Mrs. Cake had this strange quality about her, this ability to make you feel at home even if it’s your first time stepping in the bakery. “I do apologize for my scarcity lately. After everything that’s happened, I don’t want to leave Twilight for more than a second.”
“So, where’s the princess now?”
“She’s in Canterlot, currently. Magical seminar, I believe,” said Rarity, ignoring the rumbling in her stomach. “I’d have accompanied her, but there are some things I have to attend to here in Ponyville.”
“Of course, of course,” Mrs. Cake didn’t know exactly what Rarity meant, but she had a few ideas. “So, what can I get you, hon?”
“I didn’t actually even come here for treats,” said Rarity. Her stomach shouted in protest. “However… I wouldn’t say no to blueberry scone and a hot cup of earl grey.”
“Done and done. You came for Pinkie, then, right?” asked Mrs. Cake. “Go on ahead, I’ll bring it up to you. Oh, and be prepared, From what I gathered, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie are a bit hungover. I don’t know what that room looks like.”
Rarity thanked Mrs. Cake, both for the snacks and the warning, then headed past the counter, to and up the staircase, all the way to Pinkie’s room. Rarity pushed open the door (Pinkie never locked it, because she thought it was rude) and stepped into the room. Unsurprisingly, but still vaguely offensively, Pinkie’s bedroom was a mess. There were clothes everywhere, littered booze bottles, red SOLO cups, and a wooden barrel that, at some point the day before, probably contained a whole bunch of hard cider. Pinkie Pie seemed to have just woken up, as her hair was a different sort of mess than it usually was. It was just sloppy and tangly, instead of the cute ordered chaos that was normally associated with her. As for Rainbow Dash, she was wide awake, and holding a cup.
“Sup, Rares?” said RD with a grin. She took a sip and offered it to Rarity. “Want some?”
“It’s 10:15 AM,” said Rarity plainly.
“It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right?” RD grinned even wider and, when Rarity still refused the cup, chugged it herself. “I’m just messing with you, it’s cola.”
“What’s up, Rarity? What brings you here so early?” asked Pinkie. “You and Twilight normally snuggle in bed until about noon.”
“How do you know that?” asked Rarity uncomfortably.
“I watch, sometimes,” said Pinkie. The other two looked at her uncomfortably. “What? That’s what friends do.”
“We will talk about this later,” said Rarity. “I don’t mean to offend either of you, but you would not be my first choice to ask for help with this. But, since the others are all gone, you’re my only hope. Will you two help me?”
Rainbow and Pinkie didn’t even have time to be offended. They weren’t just the type to let their friends down, and they would be there to help, come hell or high water. They both snapped to attention, ready to lend a hand and billowing with anticipation.
“I need your help to find a ring.”
And, just like that, they deflated. They should’ve known better. Leave it to Rarity, the mare of a thousand rings, to need help picking jewelry.
“Rarity, you own, like, a bagillion rings!” exclaimed RD. “Why do you need our help to find one? Aren’t you the fashionable one? What good is our help, anyway?”
“Not for me! For Twilight!” Rarity shook her head. “I want to propose when she gets back, and I need a ring to do so.”
Even more quickly than before, Pinkie Pie swelled with joy and excitement. It wasn’t long before she was scooping both of her friends up into a big, spine-mutilating hug.
“Oh, we’re so happy for you!” Pinkie squealed. She gasped, then dropped her friends. “We need to help you find a ring! What are we waiting for, let’s go!”
Before anyone could even attempt to stop her, she was gone, leaving behind a cartoonish silhouette of dust. Meanwhile, Dash clutched her ribs gingerly to make sure there weren’t any fractures, and struggled to regain her breath. When she finally recovered, she placed a hand gently on Rarity’s shoulder.
“Rares, I’m about to say something you’re probably not going to like,” said RD. “And I’m gonna say it, cause you’re my friend. You are not going to propose.”
“I beg your pardon?” asked Rarity.
“You’re not going to do it. Here’s what you’re going to do instead: You’re going to buy a perfect ring, arrange a perfect night, set the mood perfectly, and give yourself the perfect opportunity to pop the question,” said Rainbow, shaking her head disapprovingly. “Because that’s what you’re good at. You can set the scene, but you refuse to play the part.” Rarity looked a RD with confusion. “What I mean is that you have a habit of getting in your own way. Everything will be perfect, but you’ll fuss over some tiny detail and end up bailing on the whole thing, which isn’t fair to Twilight. Or you, when you think on it.”
“I am totally going to propose, Ms. Dash, and I don’t appreciate your lack of faith,” scoffed Rarity. “I promise you that!”
“Willing to wager?”
“What are the stakes?”
Rainbow Dash thought on it for a second.
“Twenty bucks and the loser’s cutest pair of panties?” asked Dash, offering her hand. Rarity shook without really thinking about she had just agreed to, only stopping to consider after the fact.
“Wait, what?! My cutest panties?” yelped Rarity. “But… I-I’m wearing them!”
“And you better hand them over when you don’t propose,” said Dash. “You shook, so the contract is legally binding. If you bail, you will forever be branded as a huge coward, and Applejack would probably lose all respect for you.”
“Alright, fine! If I lose the bet, which I will not, I will give you… my panties. Why do you want them, anyway?!”
Rainbow Dash just laughed. In truth, she didn’t expect Rarity to agree. But, now that she had, Rainbow would be having some fun with her in some way. She grinned widely for as long as she was with Rarity that day, immensely enjoying how hard Rarity was trying to prove her wrong. Rainbow Dash actually didn’t doubt that Rarity would propose. This just made things a whole lot more fun.
As Rainbow, Rarity, and Pinkie were shopping, Twilight Sparkle arrived in Canterlot. She had an appointment, not to participate in any seminar, but to visit an old friend, one whom she’d neglected quite a bit lately. She hoped to do two things, one of which was to pay that friend a good visit to catch up.
The other was to ask for advice.
Twilight walked through the familiar glistening halls of Canterlot Castle, none of her usual excitement when in the castle to be found. Today, she wasn’t here as a filly, or a student, or even as a fellow princess. Today, she was here as a friend, and as a daughter figure.
The guards, obviously, let Twilight go on right through without question. She was thankful for that, seeing as she had no time or place in her heart for unnecessary interactions on this day. She was already a stressed, nervous mess, and she didn’t need anyone throwing her even further off her game.
Twilight soon found her way through the magnificent halls of Canterlot Castle, stopping before to great, ornate doors. On the other side of these doors was the throne room, where Princess Celestia and perhaps Princess Luna would be waiting. Somehow, this thought calmed Twilight, knowing that she was about to get some guidance. With a tired sort of sigh, Twilight pushed open the doors and stepped into the throne room.
“Well, well, well. So you haven’t forgotten where I live, then?” said Princess Celestia with a smile. She was expecting Twilight, so she had decided to dress casually (though Twilight knew that the Princess’ simple white sundress was worth more than her entire wardrobe). The Princess of the Sun could be wearing a sweater, skinny jeans, and goulashes, and still find a way to exude beauty and grace.
“Hello, Princess Celestia,” said Twilight, matching her smile. “You’ll have to forgive me, I don’t know exactly what you mean.” Celestia smiled even wider.
“Oh, well, I had assumed you must have forgotten,” she said. “I can’t think of another reason for you to go so long without finding your way here for a visit. Unless… Unless, of course, you thought that finding the love of your life excused you from seeing your friends?”
“Not at all, Princess,” said Twilight. Celestia gave her a look that the princess was all too familiar with; She was doing it again. “Sorry, I promised to stop with the ‘princess’. It’s just tough, you know? All my life, you’ve been my teacher and my princess. It’s odd to think of you as anything else.”
“Those were the days, weren’t they? When my biggest worry was if you were going to go overboard and learn the entire course early.”
“Oh? And what would your worries be now?”
Celestia didn’t say anything at first. She rose to her hooves and crossed the room in just a few strides. She gestured for the door, and walked with her hand on Twilight’s shoulder out into the hall.
“Twilight, you are aware of my condition, aren’t you?” asked Celestia. “I don’t exactly keep it a secret, but I can’t have children.”
“Yes, I am aware. I think you might’ve told me once, when I was a kid,” said Twilight, nodding as the two walked through the halls. They caught a few looks of admiration that Twilight still wasn’t quite used to. Little did she know, neither was Celestia.
“I had always had some sort of regret for that fact. I’ve always wanted a child, a little girl or boy to teach about the world,” said Celestia. “But I never could have that. Until you came along. I’ve always regarded you as a daughter figure in my life. I remember like it was yesterday, you must’ve been about five or six years old, when we met for the first time. Now look at you.”
Celestia looked up and down the woman that was standing beside her, wondering where the years had gone. What had happened to her scrawny, awkward, big-headed unicorn filly? And where had this drop-dead gorgeous, genius alicorn woman come from?
“You asked me what I worried about,” said Celestia. “I worry about the inevitable. I’m not ashamed to say that I’m afraid, even. I’m afraid of the future. I fear for the day when you realize you don’t have time to humor your old mentor anymore. I fear for the day you grow up.”
Twilight was floored. Here she was worrying about herself, and how she was feeling, that she hardly even considered how Celestia might be taking the whole thing. Twilight never thought anything of it when she was spending the day with Rarity, or snuggling in bed until noon, but she had been severely neglecting one of the people she loved and admired the most. Twilight never thought it possible, but she was hurting the powerful Princess Celestia.
“Princess… I mean… Celestia,” said Twilight. “I’m 27 and getting married, not 98 and dying. I promise, you’ll never stop being a part of my life. I admire and respect you so much, Celestia, that you better believe that I’ll spend as much time as physically possible in your presence.”
“I know, I’m being silly, but-...” Celestia stopped in her tracks. “Wait, what was that? You’re getting married?!”
Whoops.
“Oh, well, uh…” stuttered Twilight.
“How long have you been engaged?! Is the ceremony today? Did you follow your brother’s example?”
Twilight couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“No, no, it’s not like that. If everything goes well, I’ve been engaged for negative 27 hours,” chuckled Twilight. “I want to propose to Rarity tomorrow. It’s actually partly why I came, besides catching up.”
Celestia looked around, realizing that there were a few guards and housekeepers around to have heard her little outburst. Just more fodder for the press. She looked around, spying a vacant bedroom a bit ahead of them.
“Let’s discuss this someplace a bit more private,” said Celestia, pointing for the door. The two alicorn princesses rushed for the door, the elder of which closing it behind them. It was a luxurious bedroom, as to be expected in Canterlot Castle and Twilight flopped onto the bed as soon as she saw it. Celestia smiled, remembering how little Twilight would do the same thing every night before bed, all those years ago. It must’ve been an eternity since Twilight was that small.
“So, I came here to ask you for some guidance,” said Twilight.
“Me? What exactly do you want me to tell you?” asked Celestia. “I’m happy for you. I hope you and Rarity are eternally happy.”
“Celestia, I don’t know if I should. What if she’s not ready? What if she doesn’t want to marry me?” asked Twilight panickedly. “What if I ask her, and she just says no?”
“If I may so ask… Why are you asking me?” asked the Sun Princess uneasily. “I would have thought it’d be more appropriate to ask Cadance about these matters.” Twilight sighed, running a hand through her mane nervously.
“Cadance can’t help me. She says she can’t directly interfere in other relationships past a certain point,” groaned Twilight. “She says my relationship has been past that point for a while. Even if she could help, I’d have asked your opinion. You’ve been guiding me for twenty years and you’ve never once steered me wrong.”
“Well… Even still, don’t you think you should have asked…” Celestia wasn’t sure why she was trying so hard to get out of this. “Perhaps your… your mother would be a better person for you to ask?”
Twilight sighed in slight annoyance, though none of it directed towards Celestia. She was still too upset to even consider speaking to her mother, let alone ask her for advice. And, somehow, Twilight guessed that Celestia knew that already.
“As you’ve no doubt heard, me and my parents aren’t on the greatest of terms,” said Twilight. “Because, as it turns out, I was born into a family of homophobic bigots. I can’t believe you haven’t heard yet, considering how much my dad tries to kiss your ass.” She locked eyes with her former teacher in slight embarrassment. “Erm...Pardon my language.”
“I was hoping that what I heard was nothing more than rumors,” sighed Celestia. “You know how people talk, anything to make life interesting. It saddens me to know that there is such a rift in your family as of now. Family is one of the few things guaranteed in life.”
“I didn’t come to talk about them, if you don’t mind. I’ll save that for another visit. Please, just tell me what to do.”
This was always a hard thing for Celestia to explain to her subjects: Though you may call her a goddess, she is just another person. She is godly, sure, but not a god herself. Her knowledge is limited by her years and, while those outnumber those of her subjects, are limited all the same. This never was, nor will it ever be, an easy thing to answer. Still, part of being a princess was to sound as though you have the answers, even when you have none.
“You want to know if you should marry her. I cannot answer that question,” said Celestia. “That is something that you can only answer yourself. Ask yourself this: Can you possibly imagine a happy life that did not involve Rarity?”
Twilight, always having been a fan of statistics, probabilities, and hypotheticals, had an answer far more scientific than need be. She reasoned that, in the infinite number of alternative universes, there must be a world in which she is perfectly happy without Rarity. However, Twilight got the feeling that that’s not exactly what Celestia meant. So, she tried envisioned every possible version of her own life that doesn’t stray too far from her current one, with the exception of removing Rarity.
She thought of nothing.
“No. I can’t. I need her in my life. I don’t know how I ever lived without her,” said Twilight.
“Do you think it could ever be considered a mistake to swear that you’ll live out the rest of your days together?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Do you think she feels the same?”
Twilight thought on that one a bit before answering. She thought back over the past year, through the twists and turns, the ups and downs. She thought about how sweet Rarity was, how she always attempted to make Twilight feel like a princess. Twilight thought about when she was sick, when they thought it was the end, and Rarity was by her side the entire way. She thought about how Rarity, in tears and with her feelings hurt like they’d never been hurt before, was willing to break her own heart even more so that Twilight could have her family. It all fell together and hit Twilight in the chest, until she felt like she couldn’t breathe.
“Yes,” said Twilight. Celestia smiled widely at her.
“Then I suppose the answer is obvious. There’s a jewelry store just a block up from where you used to live,” said Celestia brightly. “Twilight Sparkle, you are now on a mission to retrieve a perfect engagement ring for your fiance to be, and that store is obligated to sell it to you for as cheap as they can. I’ll send a letter.”
“Princess, that’s really not necessary, but…” Twilight got up and, for the first time in decades, hugged Princess Celestia. “Thank you.” Celestia patted Twilight on the head, feeling her insides melt into goo. Her little Twilight was all grown up now, and there wasn’t a thing to be done about it.
“Oh, that letter wouldn’t be because I don’t think you could afford it,” said Celestia. “I just want to remove all excuses, so you don’t… what’s the phrase? Ah, yes, I remember.” She smirked slyly at Twilight. “Chicken out.”
Twilight was about to protest that she had never chickened out of anything in her entire life, but instantly stopped herself. Celestia, as usual, was probably right; Twilight always had a way of convincing herself that a perfectly sound plan would fall apart due to one small, normally nonexistent flaw or detail. Celestia knew her well enough to know that.
And, just as fate had brought the two together, it had also brought them to a similar destination, with a similar goal. Just as before, the two were both similarly nervous, and gave themselves similar pep talks to convince themselves that they could do it, the other would say yes, and the two would live on in happiness.
They also experienced similar, crippling fear of the apparently nonexistent possibility that the other would refuse.