By Thursday afternoon of midterms week, Canterlot Royal Academy’s campus had largely emptied out, leaving only those who still had tests left. Boats, travel, and beaches awaited the elite students, and the sooner the better. The student council president was among this group, and the student council vice-president sat in her room, considering her next course of action. Twilight was leaving for her trip soon, so if Rarity was to join her, she had to tell her now. But was choosing not to go a better option?
The low sun shined onto piles of clothing Rarity had sewn as she considered the possibilities, carelessly yet carefully thrown about the room. Rarity twisted in her chair, closing her eyes and scrunching up her face. She lightly tugged at her collar. Shadows shifted as time passed.
Her eyes shot open. No! She had to go! To do otherwise would be cowardly!
Rarity activated her magic mirror and dialed in the number for Twilight’s house. Ringing came from it as it connected to the other mirror there. She sat leaning forward with her hands clenched in her lap. There was no going back.
Endless moments passed, until finally, an image flickered onto the screen. Rarity took in a quick breath and started saying something, only to stop when she saw the woman at the other end. She strongly resembled the council president, but her face had minor wrinkles and her hair was purple with white stripes. She smiled with her eyes closed and said, “Hello! Who’s this?”
Rarity paused and smiled back. It’s Twilight’s mom! Why?! I’m not prepared!, she screamed internally.
She carefully responded, “Hello, this is student council vice president Rarity. May I talk to Twilight?”
The woman didn’t change her expression. “Yes, this is Twilight.”
There were several seconds of silence.
Why do they have the same name?!
Struggling to keep her smile, she replied, “No, I mean your daughter, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Ah, I see,” responded the older Twilight. She turned to her side and yelled, “Twiggy Twi! A girl’s calling you!”
Gritting her teeth, Rarity heard a male voice from elsewhere in the house say, “Ooh, Twily, a girl’s calling.” Footsteps quickly approached, then the student council president herself appeared partially on screen.
“Honestly, Mom!” Twiggy Twi, or rather the younger Twilight, said. Maintaining her smile, her mother scooted off screen. The student council president sat in front of the mirror with a sigh. “Sorry, Rarity. I hope she didn’t tease you too much.”
Rarity stared. Twilight had her hair up in a ponytail, which Rarity always found appealing. She was dressed far more casually than she’d ever seen her, wearing a black t-shirt with mathematical equations written in white, making this a rare and exclusive sight. And most of all, she wore glasses. Thick-rimmed glasses that made her look nerdy and sweet and adorable and—
My glasses fetish! No! Why did you have to strike now?!
Rarity smiled silently.
Twilight continued. “You must be calling about the trip! Cadance actually already planned things out. Seems like she and my brother want some alone time, so for a lot of the trip, it’ll just be the two of us, going to the beach, visiting the water park, hiking the nature trail, and so on. It’ll be great! And definitely not romantic, if you were worried about that. Oh, but I’m getting ahead of myself. You’re coming right?”
Rarity didn’t change her expression. “No.”
She ended the call.
Twilight watched as the screen blacked out then turned into a normal reflection. She saw her expression remain a smile for a few seconds before her eyes widened. She slammed the table and exclaimed, “What?! Why?!”
Morning light shone onto Rainbow’s face as she came out of her bedroom with a yawn. She walked into her kitchen area and poured herself a bowl of cereal amidst the odd sounds emanating from the other side of the room. Rainbow sat down in a chair, took a bite, chewed, and then asked, “Alright, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Rarity laid on Rainbow’s couch and sobbed into her pillow, dressed in an elegant black sobbing dress. She sobbed and she sobbed, then her hand went underneath the pillow and she pulled out a sock. She gagged and tossed it onto the ground. Sitting up, she said, “Honestly, Rainbow, why can’t you keep your suite clean?”
Rainbow planted her feet on the ground. “But your room’s a mess too!”
Rarity huffed. “My mess is perfectly clean and organized.”
“As if!” Rainbow sighed and crossed her arms, closing her eyes. “Anyway, is that why you came crying to me, or did something actually happen?”
When she opened her eyes, her pillow was gone, replaced by a new ornately decorated one. Rarity pressed her head against it. With tears in her eyes, she declared, “Reality conspired against me! First, when I worked up my courage to call Twilight, her mom answered! And it was the most awkward thing to happen to me since I got that dress order from Sandal Socks! You remember Sandal Socks, right?”
“No.”
“Then Twilight herself answered and she was so cute and adorable and it almost felt forbidden to see her in her casual clothes and I couldn’t stand it and I knew I couldn’t last and I told her I wasn’t going on the trip and now my spring break shall be...” She took a breath. “Twilight free!” Rarity sobbed into the pillow and kicked her legs.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “So you saw her in her pajamas, big deal.”
Rarity looked up with tears rolling down her face. “Rainbow Dash, imagine if you saw Applejack in her night clothes! I’m sure you’d feel the same way.”
Rainbow’s face flushed and she looked away. “What? No! She has nothing to do with this! Why’d you even bring her up? Besides, I’ve seen AJ in her pajamas and I’m fine.”
She looked back to see Rarity sitting up with her legs crossed, leaning forward with a smile. “Oh?”
“Rarity, you got the wrong idea! And—ugh, why am I even explaining this to you? So, are you alright now?”
Rarity started to nod, but then her lips quivered and she lifted the pillow to her face, crying into it once again. She lifted her head and shouted, “I’m such a fool!” before returning to the pillow.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Rarity, you acted exactly like this at the start of winter break, but then you were fine a day later, making new plans to seduce Twilight or whatever. You’ll be fine this time too.”
“But Rainbow! I actually had a chance to go this time, and I failed! I failed, Rainbow, and I feel miserable!”
Rainbow looked around awkwardly as Rarity sobbed. “Rarity, you know I have to get packed for my trip, right? And I have my last midterm soon too.”
Rarity sniffed. “Yes, yes, go ahead. I will lay here as you pack. I will lay here as you open the door and I will lay here as you look back on the husk of a woman you once knew. When you return, my tears will have washed the room, leaving no sign either of us ever existed. It will be so clean and sparkling—SPARKLE!” She pressed the pillow to her face and made unintelligible noises.
Rainbow crossed her arms and tapped her foot, eventually lifting her arms and saying, “Gosh darnit! I can’t leave you like this!” She grabbed Rarity by her elbow. “Come on, I’m gonna change then I’ll cheer you up.”
Rarity’s face immediately shifted to a smile. “Oh my, ‘gosh darnit’? Such language! Getting close to an Apple-ism I would think.”
Rainbow turned away and grumbled.
Rainbow took a spoon of orange ice cream and lifted it toward Rarity. “Come on, open up.”
Rarity head drooped on the ice cream store table, showing no reaction as Rainbow pushed the spoon into her lips.
“Come on! Eat!”
The spoon slipped from her lips and ice cream got on her cheek, with no response.
Rainbow pulled the spoon back and knitted her brows. “Sheesh, this is worse than I thought. Maybe the ice cream isn’t fancy enough?”
She stepped away from the table. The ice cream dripped down Rarity’s cheek, past her lips, onto the table. Minutes later, Rainbow returned and put down a new cup. Rarity’s eyes moved to stare at it.
“Alright, so this is something called ube—oob?—anyway, I didn’t know what it was and it sounds foreign so I got it. It’s also this weird purple color and—”
Rarity sat up straight. “Purple!” She took the ice cream cup in her hands and she shook as tears formed in her eyes. She took big scoops and shoved them into her mouth, simultaneously sobbing and nomming.
Rainbow cringed as she looked around and saw all the other customers staring at the crying woman. Scratching the back of her head, she said, “Well, I guess this is an improvement.”
Rainbow sat with her and awkwardly pecked at the orange ice cream. After a minute, Rarity’s cries dropped off and shifted to quiet nomming.
Rainbow put an elbow on the table. “OK, now do you feel better?”
Rarity carefully nodded. “Yes, I do feel better now. Thank you, Rainbow Dash. You were exactly right before. I just need to get back on my two feet and plan for what to do once Twilight returns from her trip. I’m absolutely positive she’ll be just as devastated without me.”
Rainbow sighed in relief. “That’s great. So, ready to head out?”
Rarity tilted her head and smiled. “Well, I would like some more of this purple yam ice cream first.”
Rainbow stuck her tongue out. “Yuck, is that what that was? Well, you’re the fancy one, so more yam coming up.”
Right as Rainbow stood up, the door slammed open. Everyone in the store turned to stare at the pink-haired girl wearing a pink casual dress. She panted and searched the shop with narrow eyes.
“Who’s crying? Pinkie Pie won’t stand by when there’s a sad kid in an ice cream shop!” declared the student council secretary as she stalked down the tables. She stopped and glared at a woman sitting with her daughter. Sweating, the woman motioned behind her at Rarity.
Pinkie looked past her and found her quarry. She did a double take and loudly gasped while pointing. “Rarity! You’re the sad kid?!”
Rarity laughed lightly. “I was sad a moment ago, but I’m fine now.”
Pinkie grabbed the table and gave a concerned look. “But Rarity, you know you’ll just get sad again when you’re reminded of whatever made you sad! This is just a momentary lack of drama for you!”
“She’s kind of right!” Rainbow blurted out.
Rarity glared as Pinkie continued. “What is it, Rarity? Did your cat get a hairball?”
Rarity waved. “Darling, no. That’s hardly anything to cry about anyway.”
“Did your cat puke on one of your dresses?”
“Oh no, Opal is too well trained for that.”
“Did you call Twilight about going on that lake trip with her, but you first got her mom, which was awkward, and then you talked to Twilight while she was wearing a cute shirt with math all over it and she had her hair up and she had glasses, and you were embarrassed but also a bit turned on, and that made you say no despite really wanting to go because you’re a confused smitten mess?”
One of Rarity’s eyes twitched as she smiled. “Sorry dear, you’re way off.” She turned and shouted, “Where’s my ice cream, Rainbow Dash?!”
Rainbow yelped. She ran away then quickly came back with another cup of ube ice cream, which Rarity immediately assaulted.
Pinkie scratched her chin. “Yeah, that did feel like a stretch. Though why aren’t you going on the lake trip, anyway? Twilight told me that and I was so surprised I went—” Pinkie loudly gasped. “‘But Twilight, there’s so much fun stuff there!’ Seriously, Rarity, there’s so much fun stuff there!”
After swallowing a scoop, Rarity curled a strand of hair with her finger, lightly blushing. “Twilight was talking about me?”
Rainbow elbowed Rarity.
Rarity stammered. “Wha—what I mean to say is, I did want to go, but I got, uh, a last minute call. From my parents, because it turns out they’re going on a trip and need me to take care of my sister, Sweetie Belle.” She paused then put the back of her hand to her forehead. “And that’s why I was sad! Because Sweetie Belle is far too much to handle, especially for the whole break.”
Pinkie frowned. “Aw, you should’ve just told Twilight that. Cadance is a babysitter, so she could have taken care of her!”
Rarity laughed. “Yes, well you say that, but I don’t think Cadance ever had to take care of a child that would give her sushi that turned out to be made with raw chicken. Anyway, you’ve gone with Twilight to the lake before?”
Pinkie nodded with a big smile. “Mmhmm! I think I have a photo album from last year somewhere in here.” She reached a hand into her poofy hair and dug around, sticking a tongue out in exertion. After some seconds of stares from the other two women, she indeed pulled out a small book decorated with stickers.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Seriously Pinkie, you carry that around in your hair?”
Pinkie closed her eyes and smiled. “Of course! It’s always great to have good memories nearby.” She opened the book and glanced inside. “Ah, this is from when we were putting our bags in our room.” She turned the book around to show the other girls.
Rarity giggled upon seeing a photo where Twilight looked at the camera with narrow eyes and an open mouth as she lifted a shirt out of a suitcase. “I can only imagine she’s saying, ‘Pinkie, you don’t have to take a picture of everything.’”
Pinkie nodded. “Exactly right!” She flipped the book back around and turned the page. “Ooh! This is from when we went down to the beach. Our swimsuits were so cute!”
Rainbow’s ear twitched. “Uh, hold on Pinkie, let me take a look at that!”
She ran over and grabbed the book out of Pinkie’s hands. The photos showed Twilight and Pinkie smiling and laughing on a sandy beach. Not only was Twilight indeed wearing a swimsuit—a one-piece, but still showing bare legs—but her hair up was in a ponytail and she wore glasses. This was bad.
Rainbow shook her head. “Pinkie, sorry, but this is, uh, too fun. It’s just going to make Rarity sad she can’t be there.”
Pinkie groaned. “Come on Dashie, let her see the pictures.”
Rainbow heard a low, crazed voice. “Yes, Dashie, show me the pictures.”
Slowly turning, Rainbow saw Rarity. Her eyes were large, her face was flush, and she had a wide smile. She breathed heavily with nostrils flared, steam seeming to come out of them. “Let me see the swimsuit pictures.”
“Oh come on!” Rainbow exclaimed, spreading her arms. “I’m seriously trying to help you here!” She quickly flipped through the book until she found something safe and put it on the table. “Alright, this looks like a good fun level.”
The pictures on this page showed the Twilight family and Pinkie jogging on a trail. In one, a muscular man with blue hair was in front with an eased expression, with Twilight’s mother right behind him. Twilight herself and a skinny man with blue hair had fallen behind and were clearly panting heavily. Pinkie’s smiling face took up the majority of the frame. The other pictures were of a similar nature, the last showing Twilight and the skinny man collapsed on the ground while Pinkie made a silly pose.
Pinkie nodded, “Oh yeah, this was pretty fun.” She frowned. “Not beach fun, but you know.”
Rainbow looked at Rarity and she thankfully returned to a normal expression. With an elbow on the table and her head resting on her hand, she gave a half-interested hum.
Pinkie flipped the page. “This is when we took a boat out to some forbidden cave. It was pretty neat.” There was picture after picture of shadowed creatures, only a claw or tentacle visible in the low light. Twilight was only in some pictures, mostly with a horrified expression. Pinkie made goofy faces in all of them.
Rarity hummed again.
Pinkie flipped the page. “And then we went to a hot spring.”
Rarity didn’t need to see anything. Before Rainbow could react, the student council vice president fell to the ground, blood spurting from her nose.
Pinkie continued, “They had everyone wear swimsuits, which is good because there were a lot of old—oh no, Rarity!”
Rainbow gritted her teeth and helped Rarity back into her seat. With some adjustment, she was back to her previous pose, though her eyes were unfocused and she was clearly lost in another world.
Pinkie’s face sank. “I’m so sorry, Rarity! I didn’t think you’d really be over-funned like that!” She returned the photo album to her hair. “Ugh, if I can’t use fun to cheer you up, I don’t know what to do! I need to get Twilight!”
This broke Rarity out of her trance. She stood and slammed the table. “Pinkie, no! Don’t call Twilight!”
Pinkie was already on her way out, squeezing past murmuring customers. She waved off Rarity and replied, “Okie dokie, not going to call her!”
“Where are you off to, then?” Before the words could reach her, Pinkie was gone.
Rarity and Rainbow stood in silence. Rainbow thought a bit then said, “Well, at least Pinkie didn’t realize you were being totally thirsty.”
Rarity glared and said, “Rainbow Dash, I was not being thirsty, I was being…”
Rainbow waited for her to continue.
Rarity waved her hands. “Anyway, I think we’re quite done with this place for today.”
“Sounds good to me.”
The two women exited the store, only to be met by an unexpected voice.
“Rarity?”
They froze. Standing before them was a purple-haired woman in a yellow dress shirt with a black tie and a knee-length dark blue skirt with black tights. She looked at them with a curious expression.
Rarity gasped and stepped back. “Twilight! What are you doing here?”
Pinkie leapt out from behind Twilight. “I brought her! She was nearby, so I didn’t have to call her.”
“But why were you nearby? What about your family trip?”
Twilight scratched her cheek. “Oh, yeah, well I decided not to go after all.”
Rarity furrowed her brows. “You aren’t going?”
Twilight shook her head. “No, I’m not. After you said you weren’t going, I thought about it, and I realized it’s the wrong time to take a break from Gala preparations. It’ll happen pretty soon after classes resume, so it’s better to stay here.”
Rarity giggled. “Are you sure you weren’t just worried about me?”
With no hesitation, Twilight replied, “Actually, that too.”
Rarity blinked. “Pardon?”
“Rarity, everyone in the student council will be gone during the break, and most of your other friends too from what I understand. And from what Pinkie told me, you were crying about being left to take care of your sister.” Twilight gave a warm smile. “As student council president, it would be the height of irresponsibility to leave you here by yourself.”
Rarity’s cheeks reddened. “Oh. Well, thank you, Twilight. That’s much appreciated.”
Rainbow ran over and slapped Twilight’s back. “Well prez, if you’re staying around, you think you could get that stunt show into the Gala after all?”
Twilight rubbed her back and laughed. “We’ll see.”
Pinkie jumped. “Ooh! And the cake balloon cakes?!”
“I’ll try to figure that out.”
Rarity watched the scene and saw the light dance in Twilight’s hair. She released a content sigh.
Rarity sat in front of her magic mirror. “You heard right, Mother! I want to take care of Sweetie Belle for the next two weeks! No, Mother, I’m not sick. Yes, thank you. Do enjoy your trip.”
She turned off the mirror and groaned. The things she does for love.