//------------------------------// // ...Of All // Story: The Sweetest Gem // by The Rarispy //------------------------------// Dawn of The Final Day -24 Hours Remain- Celestia’s sun rose once more, beginning what for now seemed like another ordinary day. Everyone was having a peaceful awakening in Ponyville, having experienced good, pleasant dreams in their sleep last night. All except for one. “No! No, please! Don’t do this to me! I promise I’ll be a good sister! I promise!” The fashion designer tossed and turned violently in her sleep, her legs pushing Opal right off the bed. The cat bitterly hissed at her owner before retreating to the basket bed she so loathed. “Just stay with me a little longer, we can work this all out! Please, Sweetie Belle! You don’t need to go live with mother and father in Fillydelphia! Just listen to me! Don’t hate me!” She sat up in bed, screaming at the top of her lungs. “NOOOOOOOOOO!” Removing the blindfold over her eyes, Rarity was sweating heavily and her breathing was irregular. She felt her heartbeat and waited a few moments until she felt calm. She turned next to her, where she had a photo of herself and Sweetie Belle. She was playfully nuzzling Sweetie’s mane in the picture, and they were both laughing. Rarity grabbed the picture, held it close to her heart, and started sniffling profusely, trying to hold back a wild stream of tears, with little success. “Sweetie Belle… please don’t leave me.” A short while later, she was standing in front of her mirror. Her mane was still disheveled and she hadn’t even bothered to put on any makeup this morning. “Well, Rarity. That looks like somepony took a rats’ nest, dyed it purple, and stuck it over your head.” She gazed at her messy mane for a few seconds, but then sighed and looked down to the floor. “Oh, what does it even matter? Sweetie Belle hates me now.” A single tear dropped from her right eye and made a splash on the ground. She even punched the mirror in her hurt, barely not throwing a punch strong enough to crack it. “You are such an idiot, Rarity!” she yelled at her reflection. “’Let me write that note for you…’ You should’ve accounted for Spike recognizing your hoofwriting, you foal! You tried to help, but now you’ve just ruined everything…” She smeared her head along the mirror, still trying to hold back tears. “I suppose I’ll have to make my own breakfast this morning, and Sweetie Belle’s too. That is, if she’s even willing to eat anything that I make.” She glumly started to walk down the stairway to the kitchen, still mentally beating herself up. “I’m a terrible sister…” She muttered to herself. “I’m a terrible sister…” came a voice from downstairs. Lifting her head up in sudden intrigue, Rarity hasted up her walking and curiously peeked into the kitchen, and saw something she was not expecting. A stack of hot buttered pancakes greeted her on the kitchen table, complimented with a plate of fried eggs and a tall glass of orange juice. Also on the kitchen table was her sister. She was completely face-down on the table and crying profusely. She would take a second’s break in-between the crying to smack the table with her hoof. Rarity gently walked over and laid a hoof on Sweetie Belle’s back, stroking it. “Sweetie Belle…” “I’m sorry,” she muffled. “What was that?” Sweetie lifted her head up, and started crying into her sister’s neck. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said that you were trying to get Spike to love you instead of me without asking you first! I don’t know what I was thinking! I was just so angry! But then…but then, I heard you crying after I slammed the door, and then I had a really bad dream and…” She sniffled deeply. “I’m so sorry, Rarity. Please don’t kick me out. Please don’t— please don’t hate me.” Rarity was stunned to hear this. She’s… been afraid of the exact same thing that I was. Being abandoned by her own sister… Rarity hugged Sweetie tight. “Sweetums, how could I ever hate you? I wouldn’t kick you out of this house forever no matter what you did. I love you, Sweetie Belle. And love prevails, always and forever.” “I love you too, Rarity.” They both sat down at the table. “So, are you going to eat this breakfast I made for you?” “Of course I am,” Rarity responded. “Sweetie Belle… I should’ve let you written that note.” “No…” Sweetie responded. “I couldn’t write it.” “Why not?” “Because… because I still can’t use magic yet.” “Oh, don’t worry, Sweetie,” Rarity reassured. “That’s perfectly fine. It takes time to learn magic, like getting a Cutie Mark. You’ll be able to use magic in good time.” “Yeah, right,” she dully responded. “Sweetie Belle, can you promise me something?” “What kind of promise?” Sweetie asked, confused. “Promise that you’ll never hate me again? I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified in my life.” She took a bite out of Sweetie’s homemade pancakes. For once, they tasted absolutely delicious. Inside the library, Spike stood at the top of a ladder as he very carefully polished the ocean blue sapphire, still perched atop its shelf. He was wearing a pair of orange, pointed shades now to shield himself from the gem’s blinding glow. “There you go,” he softly cooed to the gem. “No more dust, all nice and clean now.” He smiled as he gazed at the sapphire. The most beautiful gem in the world, and ironically, the one he could never eat. However, seeing the sapphire also brought him sadness, because looking at it reminded him of his double dilemma. “Sweetie Belle…” He then turned around. The dresser he shared with Twilight was open, and on its top shelf lay the bedazzled red bow-tie that Rarity had given him on the night of that centennial meteor shower. “Rarity…” The two items were virtually on opposite sides of the room, forcing Spike to keep looking back and forth between them. He pulled out the two simple notes. Rarity’s anonymous note and the note attached to Sweetie Belle’s flowers. This is it. Pinkie Pie’s casual party is today, and no doubt they’re probably both going to be there. So it needs to be now. I need to choose now. Rarity… or Sweetie Belle? Hmmph. A small chirp sounded, and pulled Spike out of his thoughts. Little Peewee, the baby phoenix that Spike had rescued from a gang of teenage dragons on his quest of self-purpose, flittered into the room, trying desperately to stay in the air. However, just as he reached Spike’s feet, he lost his balance and ended up tumbling to the ground. “Aww, hey, Peewee,” said Spike, allowing the tiny bird to perch on his claw. “Don’t worry, You’ll get the hang of it eventually. Now, back to my problem… who am I going to choose? Rarity, or Sweetie Belle? What do you think?” Peewee was silent for a moment, but then he chirped happily. He gathered all of his strength to fly up, before finally perching down on one of the two objects. “Of course…” said Spike, as he noticed which item Peewee had decided to perch on. A faint smile went across his lips. “Alright, Sweetie Belle. You’ve gotta go all out this time! Because this time, it’s for real.” Inside her bedroom, Sweetie Belle stood on her stool, putting on makeup in front of Rarity’s bedroom mirror. Rarity had helped gloss her hair again this morning, and her hair was done up in beads much like it had a few days ago when Sweetie was planning to charm Spike into requision. Unlike that previous day however, Sweetie was doing this with Rarity’s full knowledge and encouragement, and thus had been given full access to her sister’s vanity and ensemble. The major differences here were that she decided not to wear eyeshadow, or the blue dress. She didn’t find either to be necessary for what was supposedly just a casual party, and Rarity was also intending to have the dress cleaned. This is much easier to do when I don’t have to keep it a secret. I’m… still not sure why she wanted me to make myself look ‘presentable’ for just one of Pinkie’s casual parties. But if I have to, I guess I might as well try to make this as perfect as possible… “Oww!” she yelped, as she plucked her eyelashes. After a whole month of lessons from Rarity, you’d think that doing my appearance wouldn’t be so painful… After she finished plucking, she gazed over to the cherry red lipstick bottle that lay at the edge of the table. Hmm… I’m not going to wear any lipstick tonight, but maybe… She scrunched her eyes shut and began trying to focus once more at using her magic to levitate the lipstick bottle. Once again, she pushed and concentrated as hard as she could, focusing on channeling all the energy in her horn. Just as before, the bottle levitated slightly as a glow surrounded it, and her horn. This time however, she was finally beginning to manipulate it, moving it in the air across the table and slowly off of the table. She opened one eye and smiled with glee at her improvement, but then this breach of concentration immediately halted the process, and the glass bottle shattered upon hitting the ground. “Oh, no…” She murmured. “Well, at least it didn’t—“ And then the lipstick bottle spontaneously combusted. “AAAAGGHHH!” About an hour later, Sweetie was on her way to Sugarcube Corner, as Celestia’s sunset painted Ponyville a mix of orange and purple tints. Little did the filly know that she was being watched from afar. “Well, that’s certainly not too shabby. I wish she had gone all the way with the eyeshadow and lipstick and what-have-you, but that’s still an effective presentation, if I do say so myself.” Rarity was inspecting her younger sister’s appearance through a telescope on the balcony of the Sugarcube Corner’s highest floor. Once she was done judging, she scrambled back down to the first floor and into the kitchen, where Pinkie was still preparing a minimal selection of cupcakes. “Alright. Sweetie Belle’s on her way now, and she’s done her appearance up like I asked her to. Has Spike arrived yet?” “Nope!” Pinkie replied. “At least, I haven’t heard him come in. He might’ve come in without me hearing him, but that’s just silly! Why would anypony walk in without making any noise unless they were sneaking around?” “Right… so, how are the treats coming?” asked Rarity, hastily changing the subject. “Remember not to give the selection too much thought, considering how meager of a turnout we’re expecting…” “Don’t worry, I know! This is nowhere near the amount of cupcakes I usually make!” said Pinkie. “I just have to put them in the oven, and they’ll be in the room with the other snacks!” “Other snacks?” “Yeah! I got carrots, celery, chips, dip, cheese and crackers, and punch! Lots and lots of delicious grape punch!” Rarity rolled her eyes. I warned her not to go overboard with the snacks… “By the way, the Cakes aren’t here, are they?” “Nope! The Cakes are spending the weekend in Fillydelphia and they asked me to watch the Corner for them. I told them to tell your parents that you and Sweetie Belle said hi and that you hope they come down for a visit soon!” “Oh… joy.” Spike was the first to arrive. He stepped through the doors, only to appear stunned when he walked into the main party room of Sugarcube Corner. Blue roses were strung over the walls and balloons adorned both corners of the room. The smaller tables had been cleared to account for a very roomy party. The larger tables had a pink tablecloth draped over them and were adorned with the different varieties of snacks Pinkie had mentioned earlier. Finally, candles were lit all over the room, both to light up the room when as the sky grew darker, and unknowingly to Spike, to provide a subtle romantic atmosphere… There was one thing about this party that stuck out the most though, and that was… how absolutely empty the room was. No one else had shown up for the party yet except for Spike, and Pinkie was still in the kitchen with Rarity. “Um… hello? Where is everypony?” “Hey, Spike!” said Pinkie, bursting through the kitchen doors. “Gosh, you’re here early! Welcome to the party!” “Early?” Spike repeated, confusedly looking at the clock. “I thought the invite said that the party starts at 7:30.” “Well of course it does.” Pinkie leaned in close to Spike’s face with a sly curve of eyebrows. “But didn’t you know, Spike? At a casual party, everypony usually arrives fashionably late.” Sweetie Belle trotted up to the Corner. Before she did however, she decided to do one last checkup of her appearance. “Alright. Mane? Check. Eyebrows? Check. Makeup and blush? Check… I think.” She then chuckled to herself. “Wow, I’m really starting to sound just like my sis…” Sweetie walked through the doors, and was instantly wide-eyed by what she saw, or rather who. There he was, around the center of the room, eating some crackers. Nopony else but him. And he was looking right at her. SPIKE. “The eagle has landed,” Pinkie observed. Where is everypony else? Why is only Spike here? Didn’t Pinkie invite anypony else? What am I going to do now?! I can’t run away now! But there’s nopony else to talk to! I was ready to maybe tell Spike how I felt about him tonight… but not like this! Not so suddenly! How is this happening? Meanwhile, Spike was having his own rush of thoughts. Sweetie Belle? But… where’s Rarity? Shouldn’t she have come with her? Didn’t Pinkie invite both Sweetie Belle and Rarity? Better yet, didn’t Pinkie invite anyone else besides Sweetie Belle? It’s ten minutes past 7:30 now, and still nopony’s arrived but her! How is this happening? Sweetie hesitated to move any closer. She was still shocked to suddenly be in an empty room with Spike, when she was expecting a full-blown party. He’s staring right at me. Oh, I don’t know how to handle this! Although… it’s been so long since I last saw him this close. I almost forgot how cute he looks. He’s just standing there. Munching on that cracker. Like, like such a gentleman. And those sparkly green eyes… Well, she made herself look nice, at least. Nice mane. The awkward silence was broken as Pinkie burst through the doors open. “Hey, Sweetie Belle!” she shouted, dashing over to the startled filly. “Glad you could make it! Say, you didn’t happen to see anypony else heading here on your way over, did you?” “Not… really. At least, I don’t think so.” “Huh, how strange,” she responded, trying to sell a convincing reaction. “I invited all of my closest friends here! Maybe they’re arriving so fashionably late that they’re not going to come until after the party! Then again, a lot of them did say they wouldn’t be able to make it, like Rainbow, and Applejack, and Rarity…” “Hey, where is Rarity?” asked Spike upon hearing her name. Of course you’d want to see her… Sweetie bitterly thought. “Oh, she’s right in the ki—” But then she looked over to see Rarity giving her the throat slide gesture. “I mean… she said that she wasn’t going to be here because of an appointment at the spa! Right, Sweetie?” Sweetie nodded in affirmation. “Right! So…” Much to their startlement and nervousness, she then pushed the two of them closer together by the punch table. “Why don’t you two just stand right there and mingle, until some other guests show up, huh?” She then dashed back into the kitchen with Rarity, leaving Sweetie Belle and Spike alone. They both stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak first. I haven’t talked to Spike since I gave him that sapphire and ran away! Oh, that was so embarrassing! What am I supposed to say? ‘Spike, I love you.’ Yeah, that’ll definitely scare him right out of here! Hey… she plucked her eyelashes just like Rarity would. After a long silence… “…Hi,” Sweetie Belle finally uttered. “Hello.” “H-how… how was Canterlot?” “Oh, it was fine, yeah. It was fine,” Spike answered. “Yeah… um, I got to see some old friends. Hung out with Twilight’s parents. And… went to the sculpture garden.” “Oh, the sculpture garden,” Sweetie responded. “Yeah, we… went there once. For a class field trip.” “Hm, neat.” “So… how’s the sapphire doing? The one I gave you before?” “Huh? Oh, yeah!” Spike replied. “It’s doing fine. You know. I haven’t really… haven’t really eaten it yet. But, I did just polish it this morning, so… yeah.” “Right.” Another awkward silence followed. Sweetie shuffled her hoof on the ground, while Spike leaned back and forth. Finally, Sweetie looked at the punch behind her and began to pour a glass for Spike. “Would you… like some punch?” “Sure,” he said. After he accepted his glass and started drinking, Sweetie poured herself a glass. “Wow. Pinkie sure outdid herself on this punch.” Sweetie took a sip. “Yeah, you’re right. I wonder what kind of grapes she used…” Pinkie Pie groaned. She and Rarity had been watching the whole scene from the window. “This is taking way too long Rarity, and nothing’s happening! They’re just standing there… TALKING! Where’s all the romance and the kissy-kissies?” Rarity tried to calm her. “Pinkie… you’re being too impatient. If you would just keep calm and wait for them to break out of their—” “I knew I should have called in the big guns for this party!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Looks like it’s time for Plan B!” “And… what’s Plan B?” asked Rarity, concerned. Pinkie burst out of the doors and triumphantly locked eyes at the two. “Get ready to shake those hips and bust out your best moves everypony because it’s time to DANCE!” She excitedly slammed a button on the wall labeled “INSTANT DJ PON-3”. A set of turntables and basses quickly appeared out of the floor, with Vinyl Scratch at the helm. “Let’s spin this shizzle!” Loud dubstep dance music started playing, as a disco ball lowered from the ceiling and cast light all over the room. Sweetie Belle looked quite alienated at this entire sight. Oh, no. Please don’t tell me she’s going to… “Hey, you two!” said Pinkie, cutting in between them. “Since you’re the only two guests that arrived, maybe you should share this dance!” They both looked at each other wide-eyed. Is it just me, or did Pinkie plan this whole party as a trap…? “But… I don’t know how to dance!” Sweetie whined. “I can dance pretty good by myself,” mused Spike. “But I’ve never really danced with a pony before.” “Well, it’s easy! You just gotta stand on two legs, hold each other in your arms, and just start slowly moving back and forth!” She forced Sweetie and Spike into the positions as she described them. They shifted awkward glances at each other and started trying to move like Pinkie said. “Oww, my foot!” Spike yelped. “Sorry, I wasn’t— Whoa-whoa!” Sweetie quickly lost her balance and tumbled to the ground, dragging Spike down with her. “Ohh, my leg…” groaned Spike. “I don’t think I can dance anymore…” “Me neither. Oww…” groaned Sweetie as well. Pinkie made a frown of dismay and increasing anxiety. She dashed back into the kitchen, headed upstairs, and started searching through her room, much to Rarity’s astonishment. “Come on! Where is it? Where is it? … AHA!” She came back down with two small glasses containing a bubbling pink liquid. It very strikingly resembled the love potion/poison that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had used on Cheerilee and Big Macintosh on last year’s Hearts and Hooves Day. “Pinkie Pie…” Rarity began. “What are you—“ But Pinkie whizzed out the door before she could finish and set the two glasses down in front of Spike and Sweetie, both struggling to stand back up. “How about some punch?” She asked them with a wide grin on her face, leaning in to theirs a little too close for comfort. “Uhh… no thanks,” replied Sweetie. “I think I’ve had enough punch.” Why does this ‘punch’ look so familiar? “Yeah, me too,” said Spike. “Thanks anyway, Pinkie.” Pinkie’s eye twitched, still keeping a wide grin. Suddenly, she bolted out of Sugarcube Corner completely. After a few seconds, Berryshine’s voice was heard. “AAAHHH! PINKIE PIE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET BACK HERE!” Pinkie hastily ran back in, clutching a green wine bottle. By this point, her mane was becoming quite defrazzled. She sat next to the two of them making a circle, and placed the bottle between them. “Hey, everypony! Who wants to play spin the bottle?” She asked, with a clear hint of unhinging in her voice. Rarity facehoofed from inside the kitchen. Sweetie and Spike both stared at the bottle before both looking up at Pinkie innocently. “Um… how do you play spin the bottle, exactly?” Spike finally asked. Just then, a very enraged Berryshine burst into the confectionery shop. “Aha! There you are!” She grabbed the bottle and hit Pinkie over the head with it. “Steal from my cellar again and I’ll give you the ONE-TWO!” she threatened on her way out. A cartoonish bump appeared on Pinkie’s head. “Okie… dokie… loki…” Sweetie Belle leaned close to her. “Um, Pinkie Pie, are you—“ “THAT’S IT! NO MORE GAMES!” she suddenly yelled. Her messy mane and erratically-shaped pupils were giving her a frighteningly mad appearance. “YOU TWO! KISS! EMBRACE! SPECIAL SOME-WHATEVERS! NOW!” She forcefully pulled their heads in close, only to make the two of them bonk their heads against each other and fall to the floor. “OWW!” “Pinkie Pie, what was that for?” asked Spike, rubbing his head. Pinkie Pie finally slumped to the floor in defeat. “Oh… I give up. Party’s over.” “What?” they both cried. She slumped over towards the kitchen and pushed the “INSTANT DJ PON-3” button again, causing Vinyl, her systems, and the disco ball to retract again. “Just go home. I’m super-duper sorry I wasted your time…” And she walked back into the kitchen, hanging her head down. Rarity rubbed her mane in empathy. Sweetie and Spike gazed at each other once more. Their mutual sympathy for Pinkie Pie and general confusion as to what just happened took precedence over everything else, so they both simultaneously headed for the door, thinking nothing of it. When they opened it however, they were in for quite a sight. It was suddenly raining cats and dogs outside. Gray storm clouds completely covered the night sky as a thick sheet of precipitation trickled down. “Oh, no…” Sweetie bemoaned. “I didn’t know it was going to rain! My house is all the way on the other side of Ponyville! My mane'll be completely soaked by the time I get home.” Rarity handed a frilled purple umbrella to Pinkie Pie. “Here. Give her this.” Pinkie took the umbrella and walked back out, handing it to them. “Here, Sweetie.” “Hey… isn’t that Rarity’s umbrella?” Sweetie observed, pointing at it. “Uh… oh yeah! She let me borrow it once and I forgot to give it back,” Pinkie lied. “Now you can give it back to her when you get home!” Sweetie accepted the umbrella and Pinkie went back into the kitchen, still moping. “It’s still a long walk back,” Sweetie deplored. “I could catch a cold on my way home.” “Yeah, and I don’t have an umbrella to take with me,” said Spike. He thought for a second. “Hey, I have an idea! How about you come and spend the night with me?” “Huh?” “Yeah. Twilight’s not coming back from Canterlot until tomorrow, and the library is much closer to Sugarcube Corner than the Carousel Boutique!” “I…” Sweetie was taken aback by this generous offer. “Well, I— I guess I could. I mean, Rarity said she might not be back until the morning, so I wouldn’t need to ask her permission… SURE!” Spike took the umbrella from her and held it out so that it covered both of their heads as they walked out into the heavy rain outside. Back in the kitchen, Rarity was still consoling Pinkie. “It’s alright, Pinkie Pie. We tried… and we failed.” “Yeah… I guess now they’ll never be together forever.” The two children started to pass by the Ponyville park on the road leading back to Twilight and Spike’s house. Everypony else had gone inside already, so there was nopony else in the park besides the two of them. Sweetie Belle and Spike were keeping silent as they walked underneath the shielding of Rarity’s umbrella. Sweetie was constantly turning away from Spike, because being this close to him was making her blush intensely. But at the same time, she kept fighting temptation and looking back at him again, and becoming entranced. I’ve never seen him this close before. His cheeks, that nose… The way he’s just looking straight ahead. And he’s holding that umbrella for me, like such a gentleman… Oh no, don’t look at me! “Um Sweetie Belle, are you… okay?” asked Spike, when he turned to Sweetie and saw her staring at him. “Huh? What?” She had become lost in his eyes. “I— Nothing. I’m fine. Really. Don’t worry about me.” I wasn’t even thinking about this. It’s going to be so weird spending the night with Spike! But I can’t change my mind now! Ohhhhh… “Hey, Sweetie Belle…” said Spike, tapping her shoulder. “Look at that!” “Huh?” Spike was pointing at a very unusual sight. On top of the highest hill in the park, a single beam of light was filtering down. There was a hole in the clouds directly over the hill, and in that one spot, the rain wasn’t coming down at all. They both gave in to their curiosity and walked over and climbed to the top of the hill, underneath the hole in the cloud. “That is… magical,” said Sweetie. Spike put down his umbrella since they were no longer under the immense wall of rain, and they both looked up into the sky. “That’s just… amazing,” said Spike. Luna’s moon was directly over the hole in the cloud, shining down at the dry spot on the hill. The hole was also large enough that they could clearly see some of the stars. “Hey! I know those constellations!” Sweetie suddenly piped. “Huh?” “Twilight told us about all the constellations the night we went to see that meteor shower, remember?” Then she realized. “Oh… that’s right. You fell asleep during that.” “Yeah,” he begrudgingly responded. “Twilight said that those two constellations are two ponies that were in love long ago, and that one of them used to be Luna’s student. She said that their names were, um… Stevie Tock and Lilac… something?” “Sepia Tock and Lilac Candescence?” Spike corrected, remembering Princess Luna’s story. “Yeah! Hey, how did you know their names?” “Uh, long story.” “But… something’s weird,” she said, looking at the constellations further. “What do you mean?” “Those two constellations are… in a different spot than they are on that other night. Can constellations move like that?” All at once, it became clear to Spike. The stars had been rearranged, and somepony had deliberately made this hole in the clouds, right underneath the shining moon. Slowly, Sweetie began to draw similar conclusions. Why the rain wasn’t touching this, the highest hill in the park, where they were closet to the moon. And why there were constellations of two ponies in love. Spike and Sweetie Belle both turned to each other. Their eyes both glistened. “I have to tell you something!” They both proclaimed at the same time. “What? You go first. No, you. No, you! NO, YOU!” They both grunted in frustration, before finally… “I LOVE YOU!” ... “WHAT?!” “B-but, I thought you loved Rarity!” Sweetie exclaimed, somewhat at a loss for words. “I saw you with that note! And then you thought it was from Rarity! I HEARD YOU!” “I-I only said that because… because I saw the handwriting and thought it was written by her,” Spike stammered. “But the real truth is… ever since you gave me that gem, I’ve been thinking a lot. About who I love more. And just today, I decided..” Sweetie’s eyes welled up with tears. “…that it’s you. I love you, Sweetie Belle.” “Spike…” “But, I don’t understand,” he began. “How long have you—” “Oh, just kiss me now, Spike!” And then their lips both met. It was a simple yet passionate kiss. There wasn’t a lot of tongue action involved, but instead it was a more innocent and basic duck-face lips-touching sort of a kiss. Tears ran down both of their cheeks, all of the angst and longing… was finally gone. Eventually, both of them somehow began levitating a millimeter off of the ground, and Sweetie Belle’s horn started to charge with a very distinct aura of dark blue magic surrounding it. Finally, they went deeper into the kiss and touched noses. And that caused the spark. All at once, a sudden burst of magic energy expelled from Sweetie’s horn, shooting up into the sky. It flew up into the sky above the clouds, and once it finally looked like it was about to touch the moon, it exploded into bright fireworks, that lit up the entire sky around the park. It was purely magical. “Honestly though, this is most peculiar,” said Rarity, looking up at the storm clouds. “Nopony said anything about a rainstorm happening tonight at all. Surely, this wasn’t scheduled…” Rarity and Pinkie Pie were both walking down the road to Twilight’s house, mainly to check and make sure Sweetie Belle and Spike had it there safely. Pinkie Pie adorned her iconic umbrella hat, while Rarity was wearing her umbrella-capped saddle and purple raincoat. “Maybe they decided to make it a surprise,” Pinkie Pie suggested, still sounding a tad mellow. “Surprises usually make me happy.” “I suppose… but a surprise rainstorm? Still seems somewhat out of the blue. One would think they’d let us know ahead of time so we can pull down the loose branches. Of course, it’s not a thunderstorm, so I guess it would’ve been quite frivolous—” “Hey, Rarity, look!” said Pinkie Pie. “We’re just in time for the Equestria Day Festival!” She pointed off in the distance, where the fireworks could be seen erupting from the park. The dazzling lights made the shapes of hearts, blue gemstones, and the two constellations of Sepia and Lilac in the sky. “What in the world…?” she murmured. “Pinkie Pie! Rarity! You’ve got to come see this!” Fluttershy was standing in front of the fence surrounding the park, dressed in her yellow raincoat. She had been watching the spectacle from afar, and took her hat off when the rain stopped pouring over her. “Fluttershy darling, what are you doing here?” asked Rarity, with a face of concern. “You’ll catch a cold being out here for so long in this… rain?” It was only then she noticed that the rain clouds were clear over the park, having been pushed away by Sweetie Belle’s fireworks. Rarity and Pinkie both gazed in amazement, and then huge grins stretched across their faces when they drew their eyes to the epicenter of the light show, and saw a small filly and a baby… no, young dragon floating above the ground, their eyes both glowing white as the sun, and the blue magic continuing to stream from Sweetie’s horn. “How… ironic,” Rarity noted, her eyes sparkling at the sight. “We didn’t even have to do anything. They found the click, all by themselves.” “And all they needed in order to find it was to be by themselves,” Pinkie realized. She turned to Rarity in remorse. “Rarity, I’m sorry. We should’ve let them find the magic on their own, instead of trying to egg them on with a fake party.” Rarity nodded in solemn agreement. “It wouldn’t matter even if I did catch a cold out here,” said Fluttershy, answering Pinkie’s earlier question. “Just seeing this wondrous moment of love is such a magical experience, and gives me hope that one day I’ll finally be able to share my real feelings with—” But then she looked to her left and saw that Rarity was standing right next to her. “EEP!” “Huh?” Sweetie Belle caught wind of Fluttershy’s loud ‘EEP’, and broke away from Spike. This effectively ended her magic burst and the fireworks show, and brought them back down to the ground. “Hey!” she yelled when she saw Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy at the fence. “Oops,” said Fluttershy. “I’m such a loudmouth…” Sweetie quickly ran down the hill and met the three ponies with angry eyes. “Were you guys spying on us? That’s very rude, you know!” Rarity spoke first. “We’re sorry, Sweetie. But honestly, we just came about a few moments ago. Pinkie and I were already on our way to make sure you had gotten home safely, and then…” “…and then we saw the big fireworks show and Fluttershy was here and we just had to come here and see what all the jimmy-jammy-jamboree was all about!” “Fireworks?” Sweetie asked, tilting her head. “What fireworks? Is it Equestria Day already?” The three of them looked at each other and stiffened some giggles. “Wait… how much did you guys hear?” “Just the kiss,” Rarity answered. She then dragged Sweetie close and embraced her. “And I’m so proud of you, Sweetums.” “Aww, thanks!” She looked back at Spike, and then at the trio. “Well… it’s a good thing I already told all you guys about Spike. That would’ve been embarrassing if it were anypony else.” “Why?” asked Pinkie. “What’s so embarrassing about the Equestria Day Festival?” Fluttershy and Rarity both rolled their eyes. “Hey, sis?” said Sweetie. “So I was just wondering, am I allowed to—” “…spend the night at the library?” Rarity finished. “Of course you can. You’re growing up to be a big filly now. Just as long as you both get your sleep.” “We will. I promise.” Rarity gave her sister a gentle kiss on the forehead. As she did this, Fluttershy’s cheeks began to flush red. “Hey Fluttershy, you okay?” asked Pinkie. “Oh, yes, I’m… fine,” she meekly responded. “I think someone’s waiting for you, Sweetie Belle.” Rarity put a hoof on Sweetie’s chest, and gestured her head towards Spike. “Go to him. Oh, and do give him my sincerest apologies that things never worked out between us.” “Thank you, Rarity,” she said quietly, as a happy tear ran down her right cheek. “For everything.” A short while later, Sweetie Belle and Spike were lying on the grass at the top of the hill. The hole in the clouds was starting to shrink again, but Sweetie and Spike had decided to stay in the park for just a few more minutes. They both gazed up at the night sky. At the moon. At the stars, and the constellations of Lilac Candescence and her lover Sepia Tock. And at another celestial body that passed over them. “You know,” Sweetie noted. “I still don’t get where this hole in the cloud ever came from.” “Yeah, now that you mention it. I— Hey look, a shooting star!” said Spike, pointing up at the sky. “Are you going to make a wish?” “Why should I?” Sweetie responded. “Right now, I got everything I could ever want.” Touched by this answer, Spike took Sweetie’s hoof in his hand and they both smiled at each other. And from up in the clouds, peeking out from the edge of the hole to the skies, a certain cyan pegasus was watching the whole scene. “Well… I’m glad I was able help make somepony else happy,” Rainbow Dash mused to herself. But then she froze when she noticed a familiar shadow rushing over her. Spike looked up to see the Princess of the Night, flying in until she was directly in front of the moon. Sweetie Belle was astonished. “Hey, isn’t that…” Princess Luna shot a wink at Spike. Spike winked back, and she flew away leaving a trail of sparkles in her path. They trickled down upon Spike and Sweetie Belle, creating yet another magical scene. They turned to each other, and a final round of tears welled up, as they looked into each other’s eyes and smiled intently, the warmth surging over both of their bodies, their hearts finally whole and complete. “I love you, Spike.” “I love you too, Sweetie Belle.” And that was the sweetest gem of all.