Life had become very confusing for the hyperactive party mare. All of her thoughts and her most happiest of moments seemed to revolve around one of her super great friends, which in itself only confused her more. It didn’t make sense! Why would she enjoy spending time with one friend more than all the others?
It shouldn't be this complicated, all of her friends were fantastic ponies. Applejack had her strength and her honesty was always super neat. Plus, she was family—well, her cousin three times removed.
Let's not forget Rainbow Dash, the most daring of ponies. She literally ruled the sky themselves and she was a Wonderbolt! Of course there was also Fluttershy who, sure—could be a scaredy-pony sometimes. But she was one of the kindest ponies you could meet. Heck, she was even able to turn a lord of chaos to the good side. Without even offering him cookies!
Then there was Twilight, who not only brought them all together, she also made them all become heroes. She later became the Princess of Friendship and ruled from an awesome crystal castle that came complete with six thrones. Of course, all those thrones would look pretty empty without all six super-duper friends sitting in them.
But even with all of her friend's amazing feats and talents, none of them plagued her thoughts like the seamstress.
It all seemed to happen over time a little by little. If she could narrow down when all the confusing feelings started, it would be right after Rarity went out of her way to make them all dresses for the Gala. Certainly not one of their finest moments. Of course Rarity handled their absurd design requests like a champ, at the expense of her own reputation as a seamstress.
That by itself made her the most awesomest of awesome friends, but during this whole experience Pinkie saw something in Rarity even more awesome than that.
It was her smile. That smile that lit up her face whenever she made a new outfit for her friends, or found a turquoise shawl that matched too perfectly with her violet sun-hat. It was a mind-blowing smile. It was the best kind of smile. It was like all the streamers at a party going off perfectly at once!
Somehow that one simple and generous smile brought all these new and strange feelings to light.
Pinkie Pie would have normally thought this feeling came from something she ate. But the longer she hung out with Rarity, the stronger the strange feelings grew.
It didn’t help matters that she could see what Rarity truly cared about. Sure, she would go on and on about “shining across Equestria”, but Pinkie Pie knew better. What the fashionista really wanted was to see all the smiling faces of ponies wearing her dresses.
Even as the feelings grew, the icing really took the cake on the day of the fashion show. The entire day showed off how much Rarity really cared for the happiness of others. Not only did she go out of her way to get really rare tickets for her friends, she then spent the whole day trying to flip the frowns of everypony she met!
Now, at one point she kinda lost her way in the middle of the event. Even fashionistas as stunning and hardworking as Rarity could get so absorbed in her work that she loses sight of her friendships, her happiness, and all the important things in her life. But only fashionistas as awesome as Rarity could make the tough decision she had to make when she realized her friendships were at stake. Not only did she give up the possibility of an award, she then almost sacrificed her own time for the happiness of her friends.
That was the moment it all changed. After seeing so many acts of sacrifice and that beautiful smile once more, Pinkie Pie made a promise to herself. She would do anything in her power to see that smile as much as possible.
Even if she couldn't figure out her strange feelings. It didn't stop her from spending as much time as she could with Rarity. More often than not she would be right there in the Carousel Boutique, doing whatever she could to help.
As much as she hated to admit it, there were several mishaps along the way. For example, a party always lifted Pinkie’s spirits, but littering Rarity's shop with streamers and cupcake crumbs was a not a good way to make Rarity smile.
This became a kind of trial-and-error process: what will make Rarity happy? Fortunately, Pinkie had become something of an expert on what made ponies happy, and for everything that didn’t work, she was sure to find at least three that did. Rarity loved it when Pinkie helped around the boutique, doing things like organizing her fabrics or standing still as a gown model, sometimes for hours at a time. She helped Rarity however she could, and as a reward she'd get to see her friend smile. It was the perfect system.
She ended up spending so much time there that Rarity went ahead and taught her how to sew. Which was surprisingly really fun! Soon she and Rarity were an inseparable pair. If Rarity ever had the desperate need for a frown to be turned upside-down, Pinkie would be there for her in a heartbeat. Even after the whole Trenderhoof incident, Pinkie was able to make her smile. Who would have thought the same flour trick she used on the twins would work so well.
Sometimes Pinkie Pie would feel just a bit guilty spending most of her time with Rarity. But the feelings she kept getting felt nice, warm, and sometimes even fuzzy.
Some feelings were filled with pure joy, like seeing her smile after making a great sale. Then there were some meanie thoughts, those that would only come around when other ponies flirted or got to close to the seamstress. That bothered her, but thankfully it didn't happen often and it wasn't enough to stop her from coming over.
So the routine was set. She would show up, help out and spend the rest of the day with her friend. She began to notice that things like going to plays and fabric-shopping—activities that had always bored her—were a lot of fun when Rarity was with her.
Sadly, life got in the way. She worked at Sugar Cube Corner under Mr. and Mrs. Cake, one of the sweetest couples Pinkie had ever known. They kept her busy enough, but when the Hearth’s Warming season rolled around, that’s when her work really kicked into high gear. As pastry orders flooded the Cakes, Pinkie sometimes had to work late into the night, which meant hanging out with Rarity was off the table. Not that it would matter, seeing that Rarity was as swamped in gown orders as Pinkie was in pastry batter.
So it came as a shock to see Rarity’s younger sister, Sweetie Belle, appear one afternoon, delivering an invitation on behalf of her sister. Pinkie Pie wasted no time in taking the invite. Sweetie Belle only giggled and dashed off before Pinkie could even question her.
Shaking her head, she quickly read the letter. It was short and simple. Rarity had requested her presence at the boutique after she closed, which was a bit odd because Rarity had never requested her presence before. She just showed up when she wanted to.
It was a strange letter, but that didn't spoil her excitement. She was not one to pass up an invitation.
She didn’t need to knock. With all the time they spent together, Rarity had given her permission to come and goes as she pleased. Even if the door was locked, she had other ways to get inside if she needed to. Still, she hesitated before opening the door and knocked anyway, feeling that a fancy arrival worked better for the fancy, personal invitation she’d received. After several seconds Rarity still hadn't answered the door, so she let herself in.
She strolled inside, wondering what Rarity could possibly need her help with tonight. To her surprise, the boutique’s showroom was dimly-lit, the only source of light being two candles that rested atop a table in the middle of the room. Rarity was sitting there, waiting for her. Alone.
Pinkie Pie gulped as her eyes meet with Rarity’s. Her face was just light enough for Pinkie to see that smile that made her whole body shake. That simply generous smile.
Not a word was spoken as Rarity beckoned her to sit down. Pinkie’s confusion only grew, somehow the strange lighting and the pretty smell coming from her friend only stirred those strange feelings she’d been having.
Not wanting to make Rarity wait, the party mare took her seat. Once she was adjusted, her whole body shook as Rarity pulled Pinkie’s hoof into her's.
Pinkie Pie’s face turned scarlet, this was something new. Sure they had touched before, being around each other constantly would cause that. But something about holding Rarity’s hoof felt different, it felt warm.
Rarity’s gaze meet Pinkie’s as she spoke, “Darling, I called you here for a very important reason. I must apologize for how much of a fool I’ve been.”
Pinkie Pie went to speak. when a pony was sorry for something, they didn't smile. She couldn't let Rarity lose her smile.
Rarity saw this and raised her hoof to stop her. “It’s nothing you did dear, I just finally figured out why you've never made a move.”
Pinkie’s brow raised as her mind screamed. What could Rarity possibly be talking about? If it was something she hadn't done, she would gladly do it.
Rarity patted her hoof as she smiled “Pinkie darling, I'm apologizing because it's taken way too long for this to happen. Then out of the blue it dawned on me, I realized you might not know what this is.” Rarity's smile never faltered. She had both hooves clasped around Pinkie’s now.
“Pinkie Pie, I want you to be completely honest with me. What do you feel when you're around me? Don't leave out any details.”
All the gears in Pinkie’s head stopped. There had always been many feelings and thoughts buzzing around in her noodle when she was around Rarity. The real question was, why did it matter now? Her feelings were there most frantic when she was around her. There were many things: her heart would flutter when she smiled, every time their fur touched her body would shiver in mirth. Pinkie Pie never voiced them. There was no need.
Even to her these strange feelings were unnatural, and she was used to falling pianos causing her tail to twitch. She’d lived with that inexplicable Pinkie Sense for years, but when Rarity was around, those feelings were different. Raw. That's not even mentioning how the whole world seem to stop when she got to see the smile she had come to adore.
Yes, all these feelings were new and somewhat scary, but to tell the truth she thought they felt wonderful. Like a glorious mix of creeping chills you get on Nightmare Night alongside the excitement of opening a present on Hearth’s Warming. That was it—Nightmare Warming. Being with Rarity was even more fun than her two favorite holidays combined. But how could she explain that to Rarity—that she was scarier than Nightmare Night and more exciting than Hearth’s Warming? That would probably just come out weird.
Distress and worry must have shown, as Rarity sighed and smiled. “I get the impression you might be a tad frightful, darling. To be completely honest it took me a while to come to terms with them myself. So here's an easier question. Are you happy when you're around me?”
There was no hesitation, that had to be this silliest of questions. Pinkie had to make sure that was never in question. To even hint that there wasn't a day that Rarity didn't bring a smile to her face. That would be the worst possible thing!
“Of course I'm happy around you. How could I not be? You’re one of the funnest ponies to be around! There so much about you that makes me feel all warm and nice. I'd have to be some type of monster to not be happy around you and your smile.”
It was Rarity’s turn to blush as she spoke. “That's good to hear darling. So onto my next question: Do you feel this same type of happiness when you're around our other friends?
That made Pinkie’s mind come to a screeching halt. She enjoyed spending time with all of her friends. They each had their own special way of making her smile. But Rarity, if she truly thought about her, the answer was simple.
“I love all our friends, they're all super terrific. But when I’m around you, I feel like I just ate a whole bunch of cupcakes. Which sound really good right now. Plus I only feel really warm and fuzzy when I'm around you. Why is it wrong to feel differently about you?”
Rarity’s blush only intensified as she shook her head, “No, my silly little pony. It's perfectly natural to have these feelings around some pony specific. Now that we've narrowed your feelings down, won't you be a dear and lean in. I want to tell you a secret.”
Pinkie hesitated, but did as she was told. All the feelings she'd been having seemed to rush to the surface as Rarity placed her hooves on her cheeks. Pulling her in close, soon Pinkie Pie was close enough that she could feel Rarity’s breath against her lips
Her worries all but ceased as that smile reappeared on Rarity’s face.
With a shaky breath Rarity spoke, “To tell you the truth, Pinkie dear, I to find myself enjoying your company! Plus I also find your smile beautiful and contagious. So let's cut to the point, if you would let me. I want to show you an even prettier smile.”
If she had any breath left Pinkie Pie would have gasped. Could there be a better smile than the one she adored? She had to know! Without hesitation she quickly nodded her head.
That was all Rarity needed to see. Slowly she closed the tiny distance between the two, gently placing her lips against Pinkie’s.
The moment she felt Rarity’s lips, Pinkie’s world seemed to shatter. The only thing she could do was melt into the kiss. As all her worries seemed to wash away.
Everything made sense, the butterflies in her tummy, all the random feelings of warmth, even the frantic beating of her heart. It was love, somewhere down the line of hanging out, making dresses and even sometimes baking together. Pinkie Pie the most random of ponies, fell in love with the most generous and beautiful of unicorns.
As her realization washed over her, Pinkie’s whole body felt ready to burst with joy, feeling the point of her affections pressed against her lips.
Finally Rarity pulled back and smiled, and that made Pinkie freeze in place. There for the first time in front of her was the most beautiful smile ever!
Rarity giggled at Pinkie's slack jawed look and spoke. “So Pinkie Pie, would you like to be my special somepony for Hearth’s Warming?”
The only answer she received was her own eep. As the party mare launched herself forward taking them both with her. Both couldn't help but smile as the lips met once more.
As Pinkie held her new marefriend only one thought raced through her mind. No matter what happened she would make sure to always see that new smile on Rarity’s face.