Applejack digs a hole.

Rarity is not feeling like herself. Her experiences with sadness were usually intense and loud, but brief. Not this time. After a chance encounter with a customer, powerful melancholy grips her, unlike anything she has experienced before. She feels empty, hopeless, and miserable.

Then Twilight Sparkle visits.

There are some mentions of suicidal ideations, but no actual suicide or self-harm.

A HUGE thanks to Troublesome Beast for helping me with this one.
Cover art by Sarochan.

Rhys, the local human, is not particularly socialable. Indeed, he spends most of his time in house out towards the edge of Ponyville or else with Twilight working on how he is going to get home. He talks about home a lot.

One night, quite unexpectedly, Rarity finds him outside her door. He is very drunk.

She's annoyed by this, though less annoyed when she discovers the reason why.

Hearth's Warming is never an easy time for Gallus, being the only one without a real family to go home to.

But this year, he just might discover a new friend to spend it with.

Spanish Translation

Rarity and Twilight are dating. Rainbow Dash just asked them both out as a joke.

She didn't expect them both to say yes.

A Christmas present for the incomparable Monochromatic
Editing by Undome Tinwe and Pearple Prose

Applejack thrives on being busy. People need her, and she cannot afford to fall apart. Her feelings are not the priority—she doesn't want them to be.

But when an old love comes calling, Applejack finds herself on the precipice of finally saying what she's always wanted to say...

And hearing what she never wanted to hear.

A single day in AJ's life, and a one-shot spin-off of What They Expect to Give, my mature AU EqG romance drama. Takes place a few months before. You don't need to read the other story to read this, but it does make the context clearer.

Featured on Equestria Daily 1/18/2020

Check out these reviews by PaulAsaran, Scampy, and Cyonix!

Editing provided by Typogliphic.

Art by Lola Dotz. Follow her on FimFiction and DeviantArt.

Contains some self-harm.

My Ko-Fi

After a magical mishap renders Rarity temporarily blind, Twilight Sparkle agrees to help her around the Boutique, utilizing a fancy spell that allows Rarity to see a simple outline of the world around them. It's just a gesture of good friendship; absolutely nothing more.

Nothing more whatsoever.

Who: Monochromatic
When: Interwoven Colours Conest
Where: RariTwiGroup
Why: Panties

A relationship is not always so easy to define, especially when the ponies involved are drawn in different directions. Yet it turns out that sometimes the answer to your problems really do lie in books. Even if you have to write them yourself.

Faced with the implications and changes brought about by Twilight's coronation, Rarity must contend with what it might mean for their relationship. A relationship, you see, that lives and dies by the dozens of books quietly stashed away in the back of her closet. 

One day, she hopes, she'll be able to give them back. 

(Takes place before/during/after the Season 9 finale.)

Cover art by the wonderful lilfunkman/idrawraritwi, and a huge thanks to Swan Song, Cursori, and Carabas for editing.

This story is part of the First and Only Raritwi Bomb! A week's worth of stories and art all centered around Rarity and Twilight. If you liked it, the previous story posted is Rise and Shine by Vasar Huineo and you can find a master list of all Raritwi Bomb content here.

Pinkie Pie preemptively apologizes to Twilight: she's going to ruin their friendship.

Twilight agrees.

Pinkie suits her better as a girlfriend anyway.

This story is a sequel to Six Characters in Search of a Point

Rarity, formerly an artistic and well spoken pony of high class, is currently a medicated mush on her fainting couch. Twilight Sparkle pays her a visit to make sure she's alright.

It gets weird.