Twilight was silent for the rest of the day, desperately trying to stay out of the limelight. Unfortunately, Diamond Tiara had ensured she'd get nothing but attention all day. Every few minutes was a new congratulation, an assurance that she had a vote, and people wanting to meet her.
She was grateful when, at the end of the day, she was able to leave. Her relief was cut off somewhat by Spike giving her a hard time for the photo with Flash.
“You know, I kind of figured you be doing the opposite of this,” he said, with Celestia trying not to laugh.
“I didn’t mean it. We were just talking. Everyone’s taking the photo out of context.” She explained to Spike and Celestia about her conversation with Flash, Rarity finding out the photographer, and everyone congratulating her.
“Well, does that mean you’ve made it clear that it’s going to be platonic?”
At that point, Twilight shuffled nervously. Later, she would laugh at the irony, looking like she had been caught with a hoof in the cookie jar to her own son. “Not exactly... we’re going on a date tonight.”
There was a long moment of silence.
“What?” Spike shouted. Celestia had to lean against the desk as her body shook with suppressed laughter, trying to stop herself from falling out of her chair.
“It’s not my fault! I was trying to let him down gently, but Rarity came in! She said yes for me!”
Celestia managed to regain control of herself. “Well then, looks like you’re stuck with it. Well, go on the date, hope that you realize there’s no chemistry between you, and break it off with him gently. Maybe you’ll find you really have nothing in common..”
“That’s true.”
“But maybe you should still ask him to escort you to the Fall Formal.”
Twilight looked at the principal, shocked at the suggestion. “But... I need to break things off with... you know it can’t work.”
“I know it can’t. But you told me that getting that crown back is important. And I’ve heard how much the students are talking about this even before you told me. Maybe you should ask him to escort you just as a friend.”
“I... I don’t know...”
“Doesn’t he want to get rid of Sunset just as much?”
“Yeah... but...”
Tools, but willing tools...
“...I’ll think about it,” she sighed. She picked up Spike and placed her in her bookbag. “Come on, we have to meet Rarity for a dress fitting.”
“Now you’re talking!” Spike said, wagging his tail. “Uh, meeting Rarity, not the dress thing.”
She ended up meeting Rarity in front of the school. She was sitting in a nice red car, but it seemed to be damaged.
“Oh my gosh, Rarity... what happened to the roof?”
The fashionista started laughing. “You have quite a sense of humor, Twilight,” she said. “Now let’s get going.”
Pinkie and Applejack were leaning against their own cars. Applejack also started snickering at her, but Pinkie was looking at her as if she was trying to figure out a puzzle.
“Uh, yeah, sense of humor,” she said, quickly climbing in. There must just be roofless cars... but what about when it rained? Maybe there was a temporary roof...
Rarity took off, not bothering waiting for the other two. The ride was rather pleasent with the roof down, she had to admit. Still, an air of awkwardness remained. Twilight wanted to try and convince Rarity to give her friends another chance, but couldn’t think of what to say.
Maybe it was best to let them interact a bit. Once they were at the Boutique, things would get better.
This wasn’t better. This wasn’t better at all.
While it was true that they hadn’t snapped each other, being in the same room was awkward at best, and raising the tension at worst.
Rarity started by showing off some sketches of what she had in mind. Applejack and Pinkie looked them over carefully, as if they were convinced that she was going to dump them in the most horrendous dress she could make.
She then took them into a private fitting room. Applejack was first to be fitted. That was no surprise, Rarity wanted Twilight to be the last one out so there would be a mediator. The conversation between them was almost nonexistent, consisting of curt questions from Rarity and equally curt answers from Applejack.
Twilight sighed, and looked down at her backpack. Spike poked his head through the top, getting a good look at the human Rarity. After a few moments he had the same lovesick expression he always had when looking at the pony Rarity.
“Aw, what a cutie,” Pinkie said, picking Spike out of the bag. The dog yipped a bit and whimpered in surprise, but calmed once Pinkie hugged him close. “What’s his name?”
“Spike.”
Pinkie giggled, scratching Spike behind the ear. The dragon looked annoyed at first, but like always found himself giving in.
“Aww, look at him. He’s just a big softie, yes he is, yes he is,” she cooed.
“Yeah, he’s a good dog.”
Applejack, who was looking for anything to stop the awkwardness, took a look at Spike. “Eh, he’s a little too small,” she said. “But he looks alright. Maybe he would be a good playmate for Winona.”
Rarity rolled her eyes. “That dog would probably tear Spike apart.”
“Hey, Winona’s a good dog,” Applejack protested.
“Until you actually try to give her a bath.”
Twilight grimaced. This was going to turn into a fight again. She needed to step in.
And then Pinkie spoke.
“Oh, are you talking about that time you helped Applejack give Winona a bath, and she kept squirming and biting, until she bit onto your shirt and ripped it off before she jumped out of the tub, and you chased after her without thinking, so Big Mac saw your bra?”
Rarity turned three shades of red. Applejack burst out laughing.
“Oh... oh yeah?” Rarity said, turning to the laughing cowgirl with fury. “And I suppose you're going to laugh after what happened at the Freshman Fair? You got all flirty and touchy with Caramel, then you thought you could show off by doing that stupid rope trick. And what happened? You got your legs tangled, and fell right in the mud! People called you ‘piggy-wiggy’ for months!”
Now Applejack turned red. “How dare ya!”
Twilight winced. She needed to fix this. “Girls now, remember what you prom...”
“Oh!” Pinkie jumped in. “Remember that time at the school talent show when I was supposed to do a handstand, but I ate too much beforehand, and I ended up throwing up all over the stage?”
Everyone stopped and looked at her with wide eyes and slacked jaws, any anger forgotten.
“What? Everyone was telling a story, I wanted in.”
There were a few more seconds of silence.
Then, both Rarity and Applejack started to giggle, and those giggles soon descended into full blown laughter.
Twilight was frozen in shock and the second unexpected development in the last few seconds. A third came up when Pinkie burst out laughing.
Twilight looked around at her three friends laughing. Together. For the first time since she had met them, they were truly enjoying something together.
Twilight felt herself laugh. Not out of humor, but a sense of relief. She couldn’t help it. This was working. It was actually working.
She looked at Spike. He had crawled back into Twilight’s backpack to hide his laughter. Even through her relief, she understood. No need to risk the girls seeing him act sentient.
Eventually the girls calmed down, and they all looked at each other.
Suddenly, the room lost its feeling of goodwill, and instead became very awkward.
“Um... let’s get back to work,” Rarity said, going back to measuring Applejack’s suit. The cowgirl only responded with an “Uh-huh.”
Pinkie turned away from the others, looking a deeper shade of pink than usual.
Twilight, taking advantage of the fact that everyone was becoming more interested in their own affairs, began to think. She pulled Spike out of his hiding place and petted him. As he gave a few noises of approval, she looked at her friends.
This was going to work out after all. She just needed to let it settle.
She thought back to the Keeper. She had said that these were not the same ponies she had befriended in Equestria, but she couldn’t help but see the similarities. She knew her friends had an unbreakable bond, and she was seeing it here. Beyond a shadow of a doubt now, she knew they would patch things up. She just needed to let things settle.
“Finished,” Rarity said, stepping back.
Applejack looked at herself in the mirror, even twirling around to get a good look. “Mighty fine work, Rare. Huggin’ my figure good. You haven’t lost yer touch.” It was some of the most stilted compliments Twilight had ever heard.
“Thank you,” Rarity said. “I make it to what I remembered about your tastes. I’m not quite finished yet. Do you still have multiple copies of that hat?” Applejack nodded. “Good. Leave this one with me. I’ll decorate it to match.”
The cowgirl dutifully handed the hat to Rarity, then started to take off the dress.
“Okay, Applejack’s done. Pinkie, you’re next.”
Pinkie nodded and began to remove her street clothes. “It’s a good thing you’re so quick to design these.”
“Well... truth be told, I had these ideas for a while. Since... since before everything happened...”
Applejack paused from undressing to look at Rarity. For a brief moment she looked like she was going to say something, but in the end she simply finished removing her dress and reached for her clothes.
Pinkie, meanwhile, had finished stripping down and put on the base Rarity had prepared. She stood on the stand while Rarity started her work.
“Still finding it as hard as ever to stand still, aren’t you?”
Pinkie gave a subdued groan. Twilight smiled, remembering the Pinkie from her world having some difficulty standing still for her Gala dress. Some things never changed, even across dimensions.
The awkwardness was back, but not as badly as it had been. Applejack, now fully dressed, sat beside Twilight and placed Spike in her lap, scratching his belly.
Finally, Rarity said what broke the tension.
“Pinkie, will you please hold still? I need to get to Twilight in time for her date with Flash.”
Twilight tensed. Well, maybe they wouldn’t make a bit deal out of...
“Wait, seriously? A real date?”
Well, this is going to be fun.
“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” Pinkie jumped up and down. “This is so exciting! Are you going steady? Is he taking you to the Formal? Are you going to get married and buy a house and have two children named Nathaniel and Superfly?”
“Pinkie!” Rarity snapped. “None of that is going to happen if I don’t finish the dress in time! Now hold still!”
Pinkie responded by standing up straight, ramrod stiff, with a determined expression on her face.
As Rarity went back to work, Applejack smiled. “Yer really goin’ through with it? You're either really brave, or really naive on what Sunset will do to you.”
“Well, I have Rarity to thank for that,” Twilight said, not able to keep the resentment out of her voice.
“What? Rare, did you think about what Sunset’s going to do to her?” Applejack demanded.
Rarity stopped for a moment. “I did. And the sad fact is Twilight was in Sunset’s sights the minute she decided to run against her. If she’s going to win, she can’t be afraid to go at it head on.”
Applejack opened her mouth to argue, but to everyone’s surprise, she closed it. “...Yeah, you might have a point. Still, every time we think we’ve seen Sunset at her lowest, she finds a new depth to sink to. You sure we’re ready for that?”
“No. No I don’t think we are. But we have to do something, right?”
Twilight looked at Rarity in stunned silence, barely hearing Applejack’s reluctant agreement. She was starting to see more and more of her Rarity in this new human body. She remembered that first day in Ponyville when she had met the fashionista. Her first impressions had not been positive, seeing her as another in the long line of social climbers, obsessed with frivolous fashion and social climbing.
Then Nightmare Moon had arrived, and the trip though Everfree had opened up a lot about the ponies that insisted on accompanying her. A lot of first impressions had been shattered, but the most amazing had been seeing a pony she had dismissed as self-absorbed slice off her tail to help a sea serpent who was horrified at his looks.
He was seeing it in this Rarity. This girl, who wasn’t even an adult by her world’s standards, was ready to take risks and make sacrifices to do what was right, even if the stakes were far higher than she could imagine.
For a moment, she felt herself smile.
Then, a thought, very much unwanted, entered her mind. What are you getting these kids into?
These were children, albeit ones ready to enter into adulthood, and ones that would be adults in her world. Was she going to harm them? Pull them into something they couldn’t handle?
She thought back to her friends. None of them had ever complained about the changes she had brought into their lives, so she had never thought about it. But where would they be if she hadn’t showed up? Would they be happier?
Rainbow Dash likely loved it. She was a thrill seeker, and one who wanted to be in the Wonderbolts, but the others? Rarity loved fame, but she much preferred her designs and art. Pinkie, however energized, like peace above conflict, and was far from a scrapper. Applejack was content on the farm. And Fluttershy actively hated the limelight, to the point where she seemed to have the supernatural ability to avoid reporters.
Where would they all be now? Would Rarity already have a chain of shops without having to leave her business all the time? Would Fluttershy be happier without eyes on her all the time? Would Pinkie...
“Twilight?”
Twilight jumped a bit, turning to Applejack. “What?”
“Uh, I guess you zoned out. I was askin’ ya what you were going to do if Sunset tried anythin’.”
“Take it as it comes, I guess,” Twilight said. “It will depend on what she does exactly. What pranks has she pulled in the past?”
“Water balloons to the face, having Snips and Snails whip up stink bombs, back when the Diamond Dudes were here, I’m pretty sure she was payin’ them to beat some boys up...”
“If that’s the worse, I think I can handle it.”
“Don’t underestimate her,” Rarity said. “She’s always had another trick up her sleeve. Now come on darling, I’m finished with Pinkie... uh, you can move again, I’m finished.”
Pinkie, who had still been standing as stiff as a board, suddenly slid down into her dress base like a snake, her arms disappearing through the sleeves. She then rolled out from under it in a ball and stood up straight while the dress continued to float in the air like someone was in it.
It said something that Rarity didn’t react beyond slipping a hanger on it.
Twilight started to undress, remembering that Applejack and Pinkie had left their underclothes on. She suddenly felt cold, and was beginning to see why humans would wear clothes with the absence of fur.
As Rarity slipped the base on her, she tried to push her doubts out of her mind. There was a lot to figure out, but she needed to focus on now. Whatever Sunset was up to, it could wait.
Sunset sat with Sonata and Aria at the outdoor cafe, trying to look casual. Across the street at the construction site, Adagio was flirting with the watchman. Thankfully, she could pass for an adult, and she technically was, so her seductive skills were working.
Sunset was sipping her coffee when Sonata said, “Look!”
Sunset saw Snips climbing over the fence, then stopping as Snails passed a backpack to him over said. Even with the plastic lining it, that pack might never be fit to take to school again, but they should have what they came for.
Sunset sent a text to Adagio, then left the money to pay the bill under a napkin dispenser on the table to stop the wind from blowing it away. Waving to the waitress to let her know, she left, taking her companions with her.
A few buildings down, in an alleyway, they found Snips and Snails, looking a little ill but otherwise pleased. Adagio soon joined them.
“So, you got it?”
Grinning, they unzipped the bag. Already the smell was overwhelming. Sunset’s eyes watered and she pinched her nose, but grinned in delight.
“And that’s how it smells sealed,” Snails said. “We checked.”
“Whatever those workers are eating, it came out well for us,” Sunset said as Snips sealed the bag again.
“I hope this is worth it,” Adagio said, looking ill herself.
“Oh, it is. Twilight Sparkle made it personal. Now, let’s head down to that hick’s ranch. I think, for once, I’m going to do something nice for her, and clean out a few stables...”