Rarity was furious that Twilight would just disappear into thin air like she did. Rarity wanted to chase the dragon down, to yell at her and scream and ask her so many question—no, demand so many answers from her, but she knew all of that would be meaningless, empty gestures.
Nothing Rarity could say or do could change the fact that, even now, even after she let her rage guide her through her conversation with Twilight, she still loved that monster.
“So,” Applejack said heavily, “what do y’all wanna do?”
“We gotta go to the Crystal Empire!” Pinkie said immediately, pumping her fists.
“Pinkie, are you serious?” Rarity asked incredulously. “How are you not afraid of her?”
“I am afraid of her,” Pinkie admitted, hanging her head like she was ashamed of herself, “but she’s also my— she’s my friend. And I care about her still. Even if she is a big and scary monster—” Pinkie scowled and looked like she was fighting back tears, so Rarity knelt and put her arm around Pinkie. “I miss Fluttershy, and I know she’s a dragon too.”
“That’s right,” Rarity whispered, and it dawned on her that Twilight disappeared into the forest. Could Rarity honestly do battle with two dragons, with only Applejack and Rainbow Dash for support? That was Twilight’s plan all along, wasn’t it?
There was always Celestia though.
Rarity shook her head and inhaled sharply.
“You still want to see Fluttershy?” Rarity asked, Pinkie nodding so effusively it made Rarity smile as she stood back up. “What are your thoughts, Applejack?”
“Obviously I don’t wanna take a trip all the way to the Crystal Empire,” Applejack grumbled, “especially not with Pinkie; it’s dangerous!” Rarity was waiting for Applejack to lament the lost business it would mean for the smithery, but that never seemed to cross Applejack’s mind. “Still though…
“I said I wanted to find out the truth, and I meant it. Apples ain’t liars, and we don’t go back on our word. Could I live with myself if I didn’t see this whole thing through to the end? I don’t think I could, but I also know I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you, or to Pinkie, or to Rainbow Dash on my watch.”
“Hey, I can take care of myself!” Pinkie insisted. “I have been training like my whole life to be… a Slayer.” Pinkie’s melancholy tone was a far cry from the enthusiasm she spoke with before, and it brought a painful pang to Rarity’s heart.
“What about you, Rare?” Applejack asked, and now Rarity suddenly felt very nervous.
“I, uhm,” she cleared her throat and laughed awkwardly, “honestly, shouldn’t we wait for Rainbow Dash to wake up? We do have to explain everything to her and—”
“Nah, I’ve been awake the whole time,” Rainbow said, her eyes darting open as she slumped off of Applejack’s back and onto the platform.
“Why you been pretendin’ to be asleep?” Applejack asked teasingly. “Just like bein’ close to me that much?”
Rainbow chuckled but didn’t actually respond. She looked at Rarity and cocked her head. “C’mere, Rarity. I wanna talk to you real quick.”
Rarity followed Rainbow Dash outside the train station to a little pocket nestled away from their friends or the general crowds of Ponyville, and as Rarity prepared for whatever Rainbow needed to speak to her about, she took stock of Rainbow’s appearance and felt a mountain fall on her shoulders.
Rainbow’s fur was a mess of dried spit and mucus, her eyes were still red from crying, and there were nearly pitch-black bags underneath her eyes. She was wearing her usual confident grin, but even that felt like it was merely plastered onto her face by habit and not by choice.
“I’m sorry, Rainbow,” Rarity said helplessly, though Rainbow just cocked her head.
“Why’re you sorry?”
“This must be a lot for you too,” Rarity couldn’t bear to look Rainbow in the eye as she made her guilt-soaked apology, “Twilight was your friend too, and I know you’re terrified of dragons. You’re my partner, and I should have been there for you to help you get through this, and I wasn’t. And I’m sorry.”
Rainbow looked nervous. She blinked a few times and rubbed the back of her neck, a light groan escaping her lips as her eyes darted away from Rarity.
“Ehhh, don’t, uh, don’t beat yourself up, Rarity,” Rainbow sighed and ran a hand through her mane. “Maybe in a better time or place, you could’ve been there for me, but then again, I could’ve been there for you too, and I wasn’t either. So I think it’s a wash.” Rainbow smiled and held out her hand. “So what d’ya say? Call it even, no hard feelings?”
“Sounds good to me, darling,” Rarity took Rainbow’s hand and returned her smile, feeling that mountain gently slide off her back.
“Okay, with that out of the way,” Rainbow cleared her throat, and Rarity gave a tiny giggle at how quickly Rainbow brushed all the sentimental stuff aside, “tell me honestly, Rarity, what are you thinking? About Twilight’s offer?”
Rarity blanched. She took a step back and felt a little dizzy, but Rainbow grabbed her arm and that brought her back to earth.
She felt… embarrassed. That was the most prominent thing Rarity was feeling; she was embarrassed that she still had feelings for the dragon, that she wasn’t clearheaded enough to make decisions quickly, that people who she cared about were counting on her and she didn’t know what to do.
She took a deep breath and, just as Celestia had taught her to do in situations like this, she followed her instincts.
“I… agree with Applejack,” Rarity said, every word tugging at her heart and having to be dragged painfully out of her mouth. “I don’t know if I could live with myself if I let this go without knowing, for certain, what the truth was. There are so many things about this situation that just don’t make sense, and I—”
Rarity sighed, though it quickly turned from a nervous exhale to a distressed groan of pure, distilled anguish.
“Rainbow Dash, tell me honestly,” Rarity hung her head and played idly with the curls of her hair, her back turned toward Rainbow, “does it make me the most dimwitted, pigheaded pony in the world, that I still have feelings for her? That my heart skipped a beat, seeing her at the train station? That I want nothing more than to just put this whole ugly mess behind us and go back to the way things were?”
“Nah,” Rainbow responded immediately, and Rarity snorted from how quickly her response came. “Honestly, Rarity, that’s the most normal you’ve ever sounded to me.”
Rarity laughed, and wiped tears from her eyes. “I suppose you’re right.”
She almost gasped as she felt Rainbow’s wings wrap around her, quickly followed by Rainbow’s arms as she put her head on Rarity’s shoulder. Rarity took Rainbow’s hand and let her tears fall uncontested, and it felt… comforting, in a way, to be able to cry again.
Rarity heard a weak exhale from behind her, and turned her head to see that Rainbow was fighting back tears of her own, so Rarity turned around and embraced Rainbow in a tender hug, the two mares holding each other tight while they wept for the lives they had to move on from.
“I guess that settles it,” Rarity laughed, wiping tears not only from her own eyes, but from Rainbow’s cheeks as well, “we need to go to the Crystal Empire.”