//------------------------------//
// Ch. 3 To Forgive 
// Story: What You Know 
// by Closer-To-The-Sun 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 3: To Forgive

After sending her letter to Prince Blueblood, Rarity quickly received a letter back from him a few days later, thanking her and informing her of a few details about the dinner. She was admittedly nervous about the date. Taking a deep breath after reading the letter, she felt something inside her. It was something she felt when she was a little filly, admiring the prince from a far. It was a warm feeling that caused her to smile without her knowledge. However, as she snapped back into the present real world, she remembered of how she was treated by the colt in person at the gala.

Setting the letter down with her magic, she spoke aloud to herself as she walked up to her workroom, "I really shouldn't let that bother me. I mean, for all I know he could have changed completely. He could be quite the gentlecolt."

The white unicorn entered her workroom and resumed working on her client's dresses. As she worked, her mind began to wander quite a bit. She continuously thought of the incident at the gala and how the prince used her as a shield, ruining her dress that she had put so much effort in. 

"Then again," Rarity said bitterly, "he could be just as bad as he was before. Even worse for that matter!"

Stopping in her work, she placed her tools down and trotted to the closet in the room. Using her magic, she opened the doors to reveal a damaged pink, yellow, and purple dress on a ponyquin that had not seen the light of day for quite some time. It was the dress Rarity had worn to the Grand Galloping Gala. She looked at the dress and sighed. She had put in quite a lot of effort into that dress and often would regard it as her finest work.

The purple maned pony used her magic to bring out the ponyquin into the center of her room. Moving her items for her client's order aside, Rarity began frantically working on repairing her dress, feeling that if she could repair the dress that caused her to loath the prince, maybe they could repair their relationship.

--------

Two days later, Rarity was prepping herself for the date. At the Carousel Boutique to help her was her yellow pegasus friend, Fluttershy. The two of them prepped the unicorn for the date. It was just like one of their spa days, as they chatted and enjoyed each other's company.

"So Rarity, what dress will you be wearing for the date?" Fluttershy asked as she was stylizing the unicorn's mane into the curls Rarity's hair is often known for.

"Well," Rarity seemed a little nervous about the question, "I actually repaired a dress for this occasion."

"Repair a dress? Was something wrong with it?" the pegasus was concerned.

Rarity was hesitant, but it was Fluttershy she was talking to, and she was her best friend, "It's actually the dress I wore the gala."

"Your gala dress, but wasn't that the dress that he ruined?"

"Yes, it is true. But I did quite a lot of work on it. I felt that if I could repair for this date, maybe we could start on a fresh slate and start over," Rarity paused to hear what she just said, "Heh, that sounds so dumb when I say it."

Fluttershy shook her head, "Oh no no! I think that's quite a sweet gesture. And I really do hope that the two of you can be on good terms."

The unicorn sighed and then smiled, "I hope so, too."

After Rarity's hair was put into its proper place, the two ponies trotted to the workroom. In the middle of the room on the ponyquin was a pink and yellow dress with streaks of bold purple strands running down the dress from the top to the bottom. There were a few jewels placed strategically upon the dress to draw attention to anypony near by to be able to focus on the pony wearing the dress.

"Oh my…." Fluttershy muttered as she looked at the dress dumbfounded.

"Oh dear, is it too much? I was worried that it might be," Rarity was nervous and frantic, "I didn't want it to be as much as my previous dress and then I thought it might actually be to much. And then I started to do something more simplistic, you know? So I went with only a few jewels and then I-"

"It's beautiful," Fluttershy stared at the dress.

"Really?"

"Yes. The simplicity of the dress along with the reusing of the gala dress is great. And the fact that you limited the number jewels is very good, drawing the pony's eyes to the wearer of the dress." Rarity was stunned as Fluttershy knew exactly what she was aiming for in the remaking of her dress, "Um, that's just my opinion though."

"Well, thank you very much, dahling," Rarity thanked her friend, feeling very happy about Fluttershy's reaction, "Could you help me get it on?"

"Of course," Fluttershy said, assisting her unicorn friend. After a bit of silence, Fluttershy asked a question as she was helping Rarity, "Um, Rarity? I hope I'm not bothering you by asking this, but are you going to forgive Blueblood if he asks for forgiveness?"

Rarity thought about the question before responding, "Well, to be honest Fluttershy, I don't know. I know that he wishes me to forgive him since that's the purpose of this date, but I really don't know. I just feel that….well, can I be honest with you for a second, dear?"

Fluttershy shook her head, "Of course, Rarity."

"Well, I still feel enraged of what he did to me last time with the cake and all, but I must say that him owning up to his mistake is a step in the right direction in my opinion. But also since he actually sent the letter to me, it was like something right out of my school-filly fantasy of a prince coming to sweep me off my hooves. I guess I have a hope about that somewhere inside of me, despite knowing it's highly impractical," the unicorn sighed as she finished getting the dress on her body, adjusting it as needed in front of the mirror, "Some parts of us refuse to grow up, I would assume."

Fluttershy nodded, "Well, no pony is excepting you to do anything tonight, Rarity. Just enjoy yourself, I guess is what I could say….I honestly don't really know what to say…." the pegasus admitted.

Rarity smiled and gave a small hug to Fluttershy, "Fret not, dear. I'm sure things will go fine. And I do thank you very much for watching over Sweetie Belle tonight."

"Oh, it's not a problem at all, I do just hope your date will go well," Fluttershy smiled.

"It will be fine, dear. Just got to keep a level head about this night, is all," Rarity said with a bit of nervousness in her voice.

As the unicorn finished her statement, there was a knock at the door.