Note to self, Twilight thought. The next time Rarity asks if you can accompany her to the clothing store, decline.
It had been almost two hours ago since her friend Rarity had caught her in the hallway of Canterlot High after school and asked if she was doing anything later that day. Twilight had replied that she wanted to do some studying, which Rarity had apparently interpreted as "nothing." Twilight wasn't really sure how Rarity had managed to convince her to come do some clothes shopping with her at a little store on the corner that had just opened up, but a promise to a friend was a promise to a friend.
I should have brought a book, Twilight thought, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"Twilight?" a voice broke through the fog of boredom. "I said, do you think this goes with my eyes?" Twilight looked up to see Rarity holding a dark green sweater with an orange collar and cuffs.
The honest answer was, "How should I know?" preferably delivered in a very unprincess-like snide tone. Instead she answered, "I think it looks nice." Rarity murmured thoughtfully before moving over to a mirror and holding the sweater up in front of her, examining it from every angle. "This is the same kind of sweater that Trenderfoot wears," she said to herself. "From an objective standpoint, it is rather chic, but still..."
Twilight rolled her eyes again and turned away. Maybe there were some books somewhere else in the store...
Something glimmered in the corner of her eyes. Turning, she saw something that took her breath away. Sitting on a table for display was a pair of high heeled shoes made of bright red silk and adorned with rubies. They shone with an angelic glow, mesmerizing the girl, banishing every thought from her head except one: I must have those shoes.
She strode forward slowly, as if hypnotized. Reaching out with her hands, she picked up one of the red shoes, turning it to admire it. Twilight may not know much about shoemaking, but she could tell that this was a fine piece of craftsmanship, perfectly constructed, not a seam or stitch visible. Taking off her own shoe, she sat down and put on the red shoe. To her delight, she found that it was a perfect fit. She took off her other shoe and tried on the other one, admiring the way the rubies shone when she moved her foot.
"My goodness, darling!" Rarity exclaimed in astonishment, having spotted her friend trying the shoes on. "Wherever did you find those?"
"They were right here," Twilight said, standing up and trying to walk around with the shoes on. The soft interior of the shoes gently caressed her feet, making every step feel like she was walking on clouds.
"There's a tag here," Rarity said, picking up the small piece of printed paper. "It says, 'These shoes will assure that you are the talk of the town, and the center of attention wherever you go. Keep your head, or your feet will never stop moving.'"
"Wonder what that means?" Twilight queried, taking the tag for herself.
"Never mind that, darling," Rarity said, grabbing her hand. "We simply must get you those shoes! They'll look absolutely darling on you in the Fall Formal with the dress I have in mind for you!"
Much to Rarity's surprise, she found herself being dragged by Twilight to the checkout counter. Maybe I'm finally rubbing off on her, she thought happily as she watched Twilight hurriedly purchase the red shoes.
The next day, Twilight wore the shoes to school. To say that they had a noticeable change on the demeanor of the other students towards her was like saying that the sun was a little brighter than the stars.
"Hey, Twilight! Nice shoes!"
"Love those shoes!"
"You gonna wear those to the Fall Formal? Who you gonna ask?"
Walking tall and chuckling to herself, Twilight entered her classroom for her first class, taking her seat next to Sunset.
"Rarity took you clothes shopping, I see," Sunset said, admiring Twilight's shoes.
"Yes, and I found these shoes," Twilight said.
Sunset bit her lip as she examined the red shoes. It did feel good to see her friend becoming more confident in herself, more accepting of attention. But at the same time, she had to admit that something about those shoes felt odd...
"Girls, are you paying attention?"
Both girls jumped at the sound of the teacher's voice, whose stern gaze bored into theirs from the front of the class. "Yes, Mister Fractal," they both said, sitting up straight and focusing on the lesson.
"Those shoes are red-arific, Twilight!" Pinkie said outside at lunch. The seven friends were all gathered in the school courtyard, around the horse statue that acted as the portal to Equestria.
"That's not a word, Pinkie," Rainbow said, bouncing a soccer ball between her knees.
However, Pinkie might have had a point: many of the students passing commented approvingly on her bright red footwear, which Twilight proudly displayed for all to see, contrasting against the green grass.
Hearing the strumming of a guitar nearby, Twilight looked up to see Flash sitting on a bench with some of his band members, playing a gentle song that wafted over to her ears. Inspired to action, she got up and strode over to him. Flash looked up as she approached. "Hey, Twilight."
"Hello, Flash," Twilight said, lifting her ankle to show off her shoes. "Do you like my new shoes?"
"Hey, those are pretty sweet," Flash said, admiring them. His band members all agreed, their eyes glued to the red silk.
"So, I was thinking," Twilight said, hopping up onto the bench and sitting next to him, making ever-so-gentle contact, shoulder to shoulder, feeling him momentarily stiffen in surprise. "Do you have a date for the Fall Formal?"
Flash's face flushed. "Er, no."
"Neither do I," Twilight said. "Would you like to be my date? I think the two of us would make a pretty good pair."
"Sure!" Flash said.
"Great!" Twilight said. "Shall we meet up here at around 7:00?" Flash nodded, stumbling over his reply. Giving him a little smile over her shoulder, she started back towards her friends. Every eye in the courtyard followed her, most with admiration. Her friends' eyes, however, were tinged with suspicion.
"Call me crazy, but Twilight's acting very...un-Twilight-like," Applejack said.
"I think you're right, crazy," Pinkie Pie said, stroking her chin.
"That was awful bold, especially for her," Fluttershy said.
"Dear, when you're wearing a bold fashion accessory, boldness in personality comes naturally," Rarity said.
Almost absentmindedly, Flash began playing another tune on his guitar, a faster-paced tune with a heavy beat. The kind of song that encouraged dancing.
Twilight's stepped slowed, then became more purposeful, moving to the rhythm of Flash's song. Her hands came up, swinging in time to her movements as she sashayed down the courtyard. The red shoes glistened and shimmered in the sunlight while she skipped, bounced, spun and twirled. The crowd around her began to cheer, more and more students adding their voices with each passing moment.
"Now that's not normal," Applejack said, watching her friend's masterful progress with growing confusion. "Remember how she danced at the last Fall Formal?" The other five all gave sounds of agreement.
Flash continued to play, and Twilight continued to dance with greater and greater energy, a crowd gathering around her, their elation growing as Twilight continued her show. But none of them seemed to notice that Twilight's face was growing redder and redder, sweat was pouring down her face and arms, and her face was showing signs of strain, and even fear as she whirled in place.
"Something's wrong," Sunset said. "It's like she can't stop dancing!"
"Why would you want to stop dancing?" Pinkie said, having joined in long ago. "Go, Twilight!"
At that moment, the bell rang to signal the end of break. Flash stopped playing: as soon as the music halted, Twilight stopped dancing, nearly collapsing onto the ground as she panted.
"Twilight, are you okay?" Sunset said, bending over her friend, who was sweating buckets from the exertion. It took a few moments before Twilight had enough breath to speak. "I...I'm all right."
The lie was obvious, even through her panting. Sunset glared down at the shoes. "Twilight, I think you should--"
"No!" Twilight said. "I'm fine, Sunset!" She put on a smile and waved to the crowd of students that were applauding her. "I'm perfectly fine." She strode off with the crowds, accepting the comments of approval. Her bewildered friends stared after her.
In the next weeks leading up to the big dance, the talk of the school was Twilight. While this should not have been a surprise, considering that she had saved the school twice, the actuality was highly unusual. Whereas before she was treated as more or less one of the students, now it seemed that everyone wanted to be her friend. Groups of people followed her to class, former strangers hailed her in the hallways, and she now had a large study group in the library during break.
But the suspicious thing was Twilight was enjoying it. Before, she would prefer to shy away from attention rather than encourage it. But now, she willfully engaged with others, allowed herself to be absorbed into groups. It even came to the point where she was spending less time with her friends. While she didn't suddenly break out into dance again, even Rarity, who had always wished that Twilight would be more social and confident, agreed that something was not right.
And she wore the red shoes. Always. They seemed to be glued to her feet. And even weirder, she got rather touchy whenever anyone, including one of her friends, said something about them that could be construed as not being a compliment, once almost reducing Fluttershy to tears when she snapped at her for saying that the shoes had caused a change that she wasn't sure she was comfortable about. After that, her friends tended to avoid her, and Twilight didn't seem to mind at all; she spent a lot of time with complete strangers, ascending to the head of the school popularity.
Finally, the night of the Fall Formal arrived. Students arrived, either in pairs or small groups, to dance the night away in the school gym. Twilight arrived early for the dance, wearing the dress Twilight had made for her: a scarlet dress with a floaty skirt and a full top with sleeves that gently hugged her curves while allowing full movement. When she entered the school, arm in arm with Flash Sentry, she naturally caused a great stir among the students. She soaked up the attention like a sponge, smiling and laughing at all the compliments.
The party was a rousing success. The DJ played the best local hits, a wide selection of fast and slow songs, the buffet line was well-stocked, and everyone was enjoying themselves. Except for Sunset, who was watching Twilight out of the corner of her eye as she danced with Flash, moving fluidly and easily on two legs.
Maybe I'm being paranoid, she thought, absentmindedly stirring her punch. Maybe the shoes are just shoes and Twilight's making a personality change.
And that's when it happened. The DJ launched into an upbeat song, prompting partners to whirl into energetic dances. Twilight and Flash proved no exception, owning the dance floor with their unrestrained dancing. Twilight swung like a professional, hair bouncing in time to the rhythm as she spun and kicked, outdoing her partner. Flash was quickly left in the dust, staring at Twilight with surprise. Others began to turn to her, cheering her as she danced.
The song came to an end and the DJ announced that she was going to take a short break. The dancers all took advantage of this chance to rest their feet and get some more snacks.
All except Twilight, who continued to dance like a dervish even though there was no music. Her face turned into alarm and her arms began to flail as her feet continued to kick and stomp the ground.
"Twilight, what're you doing?" Flash asked, beginning to pick up on the fact that something was wrong.
"Help!" Twilight shouted breathlessly. "I can't stop!"
Her friends all rushed forward to help, but Twilight's wild dancing, which was growing increasingly frantic, was holding them at bay. "It's the shoes! Get the shoes off!" Twilight shouted. Rainbow and Applejack both started forward to try to grab the shoes, but only got kicked in the face for their trouble.
"I'm sorry!" Twilight shouted, struggling to stop herself, but the shoes continued to dance with her feet inside them. Frightened tears were now leaking from her eyes, mixing with her sweat. "I can't help it! Oh, it's these shoes! I should never have gotten them!"
A thought suddenly occurred to Rarity. She recalled the words on the tag: Keep your head, or your feet will never stop moving.
"Twilight, it's not the shoes, it's you!" she said. "I realize the shoes were fabulous, dear, but you let the popularity make you into something you're not!"
"What do you mean?" Twilight said, doing a one-legged spin.
"Ever since you got those shoes, you've been acting differently," Rarity said. "You've been spending less time with us, becoming more unfriendly, and spending time with a bunch of people who only like you because of those shoes!"
Twilight grunted with effort, still struggling to stop dancing. "You're right, Rarity!" she said. "I don't know how this happened: all the other students just started complimenting my shoes and...and..."
"A pair of shoes does not make a girl, Twilight," Rarity said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Almost instantly, Twilight stopped dancing. "A heart is what makes a girl."
Twilight leaned against her friend, collapsing to her knees and panting. The other girls all gathered around her. "I'm sorry, girls," Twilight said. "I just thought that maybe I could be more liked."
"You're the Princess of Friendship," Sunset said. "Haven't you learned by now that people should like you for you?"
"You're only human, darling," Rarity said. "Well...only pony," she corrected herself, earning laughter from the others.
The rest of the dance was spent in company of close, true friends, talking and laughing. Twilight abstained from the dance floor for the rest of the night, however. Finally, the dance came to an end and the weary crowds left for their homes and beds.
"You know, Rarity," Twilight said to her friend as they left. "I'm thinking that maybe I should return these shoes. I mean, they look nice and all, but...they're not me."
Rarity was silent for several moments before speaking. "You're absolutely
right, darling. You should be you and no one else."
"We wouldn't have it any other way," Twilight smiled.
"No, we most certainly wouldn't."