//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: RariTwi: Love is War // by SigmasonicX //------------------------------// Canterlot Royal Academy: a prestigious university with an ancient and honorable origin, founded to educate the nobility of Equestria. In recent decades, the school was opened up to the common people, but it remains the primary destination for the elite. Run by the immortal Princesses Celestia and Luna themselves, the primary focuses of the academy are government, business, art, and of course, magic. But with the demands of the throne so great, much of the school’s management falls to the most elite of the elite students: the student council. Princess Twilight Sparkle, age 20, junior year, stood outside the student council room and brushed her long purple striped hair behind her ear. This revealed the back of her hand, which displayed a star with five smaller stars surrounding it, shining on her dark skin. Even before her coronation a year ago, Twilight was destined for greatness. Her prowess with magic was such that she hatched a dragon egg at the age of 10, and beyond that, her skills at math, government, literature, and possibly all forms of academia were unparalleled. Yet, she was nervous, with her purple eyes glancing back and forth as she gripped her upper arm. Her new role as student council president played a part in this, to be certain; she couldn’t disappoint her mentor, Princess Celestia. The more significant part, however, was the woman she only shared brief moments with during the election process. Her new student council vice president. When Twilight spotted her coming down the hall, she couldn’t help but mess with her hair more, despite the woman clearly being able to see her back. Rarity, age 21, junior year, approached Twilight with such confidence and surety of her place in the school that one would hardly realize she was a commoner. She had tan skin, long purple hair that formed into elegant curls that bounced as she walked, and piercing blue eyes that Twilight feared getting lost in even as she greeted her. “Good morning, Ms. Rarity,” said Twilight, finding she could hide behind general pleasantries. “Good morning to you, Princess,” said Rarity, with a curtsy. “Feel free to address me as just Rarity.” Twilight nodded. “Likewise, please call me Twilight, and you really don’t have to curtsy. We’re equals here, so you shouldn’t treat me like royalty.” Rarity put her finger to her cheek in thought. “In that case, can I call you…” She batted her eyes. “... Darling?” Twilight froze and took a second to respond. “D-Darling?! Uh, I mean, it’s so soon, and…” Rarity giggled. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, dear. It’s simply a term of endearment I use with everyone.” Twilight’s body loosened up and she blushed. “Oh. Well, yes, that’s fine.” Rarity put her hands together and smiled. “Splendid! I must say, our conversation has proven a wonderful rumor I’ve heard about you.” Twilight looked at her with interest. “Oh? What?” Rarity slowly walked toward her, and Twilight found herself looking down to avoid her gaze. “Aside from being smart, elegant, and magical…” Rarity used a finger to lift Twilight’s chin, sending an electric shock through her body, and they looked into each other’s eyes. “You have the most adorable blush.” Twilight’s brain overheated and her face turned red. “Uh-buh-well-huh that’s thank you.” Rarity reacted with nothing more than a smile and pulled her finger away. “It seems we’re the first to arrive.” Three diamond symbols lit up on the back of her hand and the door opened with a wave. “Shall we head in?” Not quite sure what else to do, Twilight resumed pleasantries by thanking Rarity and walking inside. Twilight found Rarity fascinating from the moment she first heard about her. A commoner who worked her way into the school through her own efforts, that freely mingles with all classes. Not to mention how beautiful she was, though Twilight liked to think it was her mental attributes she found more appealing. Dating her was a distant possibility in her mind, but, Twilight thought, if this first interaction meant anything, it’s entirely possible that could happen by the end of the week. What Twilight failed to realize was that Rarity, too, was nervous. Before their conversation, she spent a full minute hiding behind the hallway corner to hype herself up. Meeting true royalty wasn’t an everyday thing for Rarity up to this point, and this was no ordinary royal. Even if she fought back her awe with disdain for how this princess got so much simply by being born to the right family, she couldn’t help but be impressed by all Twilight has accomplished. And it was absolutely unfair that on top of all that, she was dazzling. Rarity feared looking at her lest she be blinded. Rarity had a go to solution for situations like this: go ham. If their first proper conversation was going to bomb anyway, then she needed to explode in a way Twilight would never forget. Well, I just flirted with a princess, thought Rarity. I’d say I made my bed and now I must lie in it, but… I think maybe, just possibly, that went well. Yes, I think that went very well! Rarity stepped into the student council room and closed the door behind her. As Twilight walked to her desk, already covered to papers, and started going over what their job would entail, Rarity gazed at her with half-lidded eyes and a smile. This will be the start of a beautiful relationship. Six months passed. Spike the dragon watched Twilight pace back and forth in her dorm suite bedroom. In his ten years of life with Twilight, this was a common sight for him, but that made it no less annoying. Twilight finally stopped and looked down at the short purple dragon. Her thoughts came flooding out. “Did I do something wrong? We seemed to have so much chemistry at the start, and I thought this would be like burning hydrogen, but no, it’s like I’m trying to start a fusion reaction with iron!” Meanwhile, across the campus, the subject of Twilight’s worry was herself frustrated. Rarity draped herself across a bench in a courtyard where her friend, Rainbow Dash, half-listened to her while bouncing a soccer ball with her knees. “I’ve been flirting with her nonstop, and she hasn’t budged at all!” Rarity shouted to the heavens and also Rainbow. “Has Rarity been flirting with me?” Twilight looked at folders of transcripts of previous conversations, written from memory. “Or is she just play flirting like she does with all her friends? How do I tell the difference?!” Rarity sat up with an expression of great offense. “Honestly, what is that girl thinking? I’ve turned the head of every noble I’ve met and she won’t give me the time of day! Most people would be on their hands and knees begging and pleading for me to even look at them! She’s a princess, of course, but surely I can’t be below her standards.” Twilight sat down on her bed. “The fact that she doesn’t treat me differently for being a princess is part of why I find her so appealing, but that also means I’m on the same playing field as those Rarity has dated before.” Rarity put her hand to her mouth. “And yet… maybe I am below her standards?” Twilight slouched in her seat. “I thought I had a lot to offer, but... maybe I don’t?” At that moment, both made a decision. Rarity stood with vigor and pointed ahead and toward the sky. “There’s something there, no question about it! Twilight Sparkle knows I’m prized by nobles everywhere and that I’m a partner worthy of a princess!” She clenched her outstretched hand and pulled it to her chest. “I’ll tear the heavens asunder if needed, but I’ll get her to admit that Rarity is the one for her!” Twilight looked at her transcripts one last time and stood with regained confidence. “No, the data doesn’t lie! We’ve gotten along too well for there to be no potential for a relationship. I just need to do something to catalyze it!” Spike chose this moment to respond to Twilight. “So that means you’ll ask her out, right?” Twilight blinked. “Oh, uh, no. That would be inadvisable. If I asked her out, and she turned me down, that would be catastrophic for our friendship!” Still mostly paying attention to her soccer ball, Rainbow Dash said to Rarity, “Uh huh. So you’re asking her out?” Rarity laughed. “Oh Rainbow.” She laughed a few seconds more, then suddenly stopped and said, “No.” Twilight and Rarity both said, “I’ll get her to ask me out!” Thus began a battle of wits the likes of which had never been seen at Canterlot Royal Academy.