Late in the afternoon, Rarity found herself sitting on a bench in a tiny little wedding hall on the surface level of Hope's Point. She'd dressed her best—that went without saying—in a lovely red cocktail dress that she'd made herself over the past few days, touching up bits and pieces of it here and there so that it would look just perfect. Part of it was her desire to look her best as she always did, but mostly it was so that everypony would know just how important she felt this occasion to be.
There wasn't a lot of room in the hall for guests, but she already knew that this was supposed to be a rather small, private ceremony. This went contrary to every sensibility that Rarity had where weddings were concerned; from even a young age she'd been under the impression that weddings were supposed to be grand affairs with at least a hundred guests, expensive catering, dancing, champagne, and much, much more.
But then Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle's wedding had been rather small too, and they'd only invited close friends and family; she wasn't on the guest list for goodness sake! But even that small ceremony had been larger than this one. Havoc and Cotton had only invited seven guests!
Rainbow and Pinkie sat together on a bench on the opposite side of the aisle from Rarity, dressed in appropriate attire for a wedding. Thank goodness that Cotton had the sense to give them something on such short notice, since Rarity didn't even know they'd been invited until about twenty minutes ago. Suspected, yes. Known, no. But her conversations with Cotton in the past week had given the other mare an idea of what would be suitable for the two.
On the bench in front of them sat Gray Skies, dressed in a handsome uniform—a crisp gray coat with a high collar and all sorts of New Pandemonium livery—that was her "official" uniform for ambassadorial duties. This was perfectly acceptable wedding attire in the same way that a military dress uniform was; Rainbow had made it work exceedingly well at her own wedding, after all. Rarity wished it was a little less intimidating, but then that could just be because it was Gray wearing it.
On the bench in front of Rarity was Cotton's mother, Lavender Blush, a lovely older mare with a coat the color of her namesake and a mane the color of roses. Rarity didn't have much of an opportunity to speak with her before the wedding, just a brief introduction and nothing more. That did remind Rarity, though: she'd never met Coco Pommel's mother, or even heard Coco talk much about her. Well, that was an issue that would be rectified when they all returned home.
Lockwood served as the officiator, a cheeky little surprise that he'd apparently whipped up without telling Havoc or Cotton about it. There was just something that made the whole affair more special and personal when your close friend, the King, officiated your wedding. He looked so handsome in that white tuxedo with the royal livery upon it, like a prince out of a storybook… well, a king, but that was semantics.
Which left the seat on the bench next to Rarity to be occupied by Queen Blackburn herself, who Rarity could admit looked quite fetching in the white dress jacket, which was quite different from the usual functional jackets that she wore; it had a more elegant quality to it, perfectly fitting for most any formal occasion, yet would still be casual enough to wear day-to-day. The green-and-gold scarf she always wore complemented it perfectly.
As to why the queen had chosen specifically to sit next to her, Rarity didn't know and she didn't ask so as not to sound rude, but she rather wished the queen had sat elsewhere. It was bad enough being in the same room with both Lockwood and Blackburn lately, but in this particular situation it was horribly uncomfortable. Every time Blackburn looked her way, Rarity was terrified that she knew. Rarity had to keep her focus elsewhere so as not to give the queen any reason to suspect that anything was amiss.
"Designed your dress yourself," the queen suddenly said to her, gaze still forward. "Also designed the wedding dress." They weren't questions, they were statements, as though she were reciting facts.
"Only parts of the wedding dress, actually," Rarity replied; since the queen didn't turn towards Rarity to speak, Rarity didn't turn towards her either. "Cotton designed most of it herself, I simply helped with the touch-ups and putting it together. As for my dress, yes, I designed and made it myself."
"Hmm. It looks good on you. Breathtaking."
Rarity gulped; there was one of those accursed words again. Blackburn had been clear that Lockwood told her all about their… misunderstanding all those years ago, and no doubt had even told his wife the words that he had used to lead to said misunderstanding. Stunning. Breathtaking. Very flirtatious words to use to compliment a mare, or anypony really, on their appearance.
Blackburn was clearly using those words to remind her of what had happened. Was she taunting her? Trying to make sure that Rarity knew that those words had been meaningless, at least in the way that Rarity desperately wanted? Rarity couldn't tell, but she did know one thing: she wasn't going to let it get to her. Not now, certainly. No, she would eat lightly at dinner after the wedding, then, later tonight, she'd have the palace's room service bring her the biggest tub of rocky road ice cream they could find.
Because this wasn't a traditional sort of wedding, there was a lot less pomp and circumstance about the entire affair. The guests had been given some time to chat amongst themselves and choose their seats while the happy couple got changed into their wedding attire—there was no way Cotton was walking here in her wedding dress.
After that, the couple then came out of their changing rooms and made straight for the altar, though it was clear that there was plenty of time for the guests to take in the… bride's…? To take in Cotton's wedding dress. Rarity had heard that the couple were calling one another "partners", so "bride" might be inappropriate. It was a complex subject.
Rarity had spared no effort—or expense—in helping Cotton fashion her dream wedding gown, a simply gorgeous white ensemble that both accentuated Cotton's lovely figure while also maintaining a sense of mystery and purity. Cotton had even opted for a set of white silk stockings to add a touch of both class and sensuality; she and Havoc were apparently a very physical couple, so it was her way of both looking good now, and looking good later, when they… consummated their marriage.
Rarity could tell from the look in Havoc's eyes that she was resisting the urge to do just that right then and there. Rarity applauded herself—and Cotton, of course—for the ability to instill such a fiery reaction in a pony. But good things came to those who waited, so they say; Havoc and Cotton would surely have a wonderful evening.
Havoc herself had taken the event as seriously as possible and dressed in her own military dress uniform, black and laden with medals, and which had apparently been touched up and given some adjustments to make it more of a suit; since Havoc had apparently "quit" her military career, this seemed like a fitting use of it. Despite Havoc's unorthodox style—that mane cut was much too butch for Rarity's tastes—and the extent of her scarring—the poor dear—she still looked quite dapper.
Since the wedding was already such a personal, intimate affair, it seemed that the couple had already made some arrangements to do things a little differently, because Lockwood did not give any sort of proper speech to the audience present to begin to ceremony, only a small little tidbit at best, and a charmingly casual one at that:
"Well, everypony, we're all gathered here today to witness the marriage of these two lovebirds," he said with a wide smile as he gestured at the happy couple, who stood face-to-face in front of him barely more than a foot apart. "You all know the drill: if you don't think these two should be getting hitched, speak up or shut up."
A little wave of laughter went through the crowd. Yes, Havoc definitely had something to do with this. Rarity wanted to be upset that the introductory speech was so informal and slightly crude, but then that was how Havoc was, and that's what Cotton seemed to love about her. It was perfect, in that case.
"I understand you two have written your own vows?" Lockwood asked.
The couple nodded, and Cotton took Havoc's hoof in hers as she went first:
"I never thought that I'd ever get the chance to say this to anypony before, but… Havoc, I love you more than anything in the whole world. You've accepted me for who I am, you've made me feel like I have a place where I belong, and you've given me so much joy in my life. I can't imagine what my life would be like without you, and so I'm happy to join my life together with yours, forever."
Rarity swooned just a little. That had been probably one of the most romantic things she had ever heard in all her life, and she'd attended plenty of weddings over the years, weddings of all of her friends that had found their special someponies. Someday, somepony would say words like that to her, to let her know how much she meant to them and how much they wanted her in their life.
Someday.
Havoc then cleared her throat and recited her own vows:
"Cotton, I'm here tonight because when you realize that you want to spend the rest of your life with somepony, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. I think I'd miss you even if we never met. Because you don't just marry somepony that you can live with, you marry somepony you cannot live without. I love you. You… complete me."
There was a long pause.
Cotton let out a sigh; she didn't look upset, just stunned. Amazed, even. "Did you seriously just use a bunch of cheesy movie quotes to make your wedding vows?"
"Uh… yeah." Havoc let out a nervous chuckle. "Hey, those are famous lines for a reason. I'm not good at all this mushy stuff, you know that. I just wanted to say that you're special to me, but I couldn't think of a romantical way to say it."
"Then that's all you needed to say, honey."
"Oh. Well, uh… in that case… you're special. To me. And I love you."
Lockwood grinned wide. "That's perfect. Now, I know you said you didn't want traditional wedding earrings, so we'll go ahead and skip that step and get straight to it, shall we? Ahem! By the authority vested in me by, well, me, I now pronounce you partners. You may now kiss."
Havoc and Cotton stepped forward and met in the middle, and they shared a kiss that was both endearingly romantic and yet not as passionate as it probably could have been… but then Rarity supposed that the more passionate kisses the couple typically shared would be inappropriate in the current company.
There was a round of cheers and applause throughout the gathered audience, and the loving couple broke their kiss and shared a loving look at one another now that they were officially wed.
Rarity didn't need to hear anypony tell her that the two mares were in love with one another. She didn't need to listen to vows being exchanged to know it. No, she could tell just by looking at the way the two looked at one another that there was a deep love in their hearts. Oh, what she would give to have a wonderful stallion to hold her hoof and look at her like that…
And for him not to be a married stallion.
Now, Rarity knew that because this was not a typical wedding, she should not therefore expect a typical wedding procedure. There weren't any professional photographers—just Lavender's cheap camera—to capture all of the happy moments, there certainly wasn't a wedding cake anywhere just waiting to be cut and shared, and the dinner arrangements were certainly unorthodox: Cotton had made a reservation at a nearby Baroque restaurant that Havoc liked.
Everypony gathered around to congratulate the happy couple before they would all supposedly be heading off for dinner. Well, almost all of them, it seemed; Rarity hadn't been aware that the royal couple wouldn't be attending dinner with the newlyweds until just now.
"Are you sure you guys don't want to come along?" Havoc asked, looking between Lockwood and Blackburn. "I mean, I know a reservation's a reservation and it's for a certain number of guests, but it's not your fault that we invited more ponies. That's my bad. Mostly my bad."
"Certainly our King and Queen should be able to arrange things at the restaurant so that they'll adjust our reservation?" Cotton asked, tilting her head.
"Oh, I'm sure they would if we asked them to," Lockwood said with a nod and a smile. "But we want you guys to all have fun and enjoy yourselves, and I don't think us being there is gonna make that all that easy. Folks usually give us privacy and such but there'd still be attention going to us rather than you."
"Also distasteful abuse of power," Blackburn said. "Potentially takes seats away from other customers. None would complain, not openly. Disappointment still possible, don't want to upset anypony in that sense. No, will take dinner on our own, planned on enjoying dinner at home. Haven't done so in weeks, sounds appealing."
"Well, if you guys are sure, then hey, thanks for being here and everything," said Havoc, reaching out to shake Lockwood's hoof first, then Blackburn's.
"Oh shoot, this reminds me, the reservation was only for six ponies," Cotton said with a frown, stamping her hoof on the floor. "Even if His and Her Majesty step out so that Rainbow and Pinkie can be there, we're still one over."
"Oh, I'm sure they can accommodate one extra pony," said Lavender, setting her hoof on her daughter's back. "Especially for a wedding dinner like this. Right?"
"I mean, maybe? I don't know. I do know that most places like this don't like it when you change reservations last second like that…"
Rarity frowned, realizing that she was the culprit here, the dreaded seventh guest. "Yes, that sounds about right," she said with a sigh. "Not to mention that it's dreadfully tacky."
"I can sit out too, if you guys want Rarity along," Gray offered.
"Hell no!" Havoc blurted, wrapping her hoof around her big little sister's shoulder, hard as that seemed with their height difference. "Last time we saw each other I was laid out on painkillers in the hospital. I want my sister at my wedding dinner, no exceptions, and that's final. My hoof's down on this one." She looked at Rarity. "Uh… sorry, Rarity…"
"No harm done, dear," Rarity replied. "I understand and agree completely."
"Potential solution: Rarity has dinner with us," Blackburn suggested, looking right at Rarity with a polite yet… dangerous smile. There was just something about it that made Rarity more anxious than usual.
"Oh hey, that sounds like a good idea," agreed Lockwood with a big, friendly smile and a nod. He looked to Rarity as well, "You've been so busy all week with helping Cotton out on her dress that I've hardly seen hide nor hair of you. You oughta come with us, have a nice quiet dinner at the palace."
Rarity gulped. "Oh, no, I couldn't impose on you like that. I'm certain that I can manage just fine on my own in finding dinner accommodations. Perhaps Applejack would like some company—"
"She's at dinner with Flathoof and the family," Gray said simply. "I mean, I'm sure they'd have you, but fair warning that it's kind of a big family affair and you'd probably feel out of place."
"Ah, yes, of course. How could I have forgotten? Hmm. Well, perhaps Fluttershy—"
"Shy's doing dinner with Twi tonight," Rainbow said just as simply. "Twi said something about making friends with a… giant bug or something? I dunno. But you saw how Fluttershy practically jumped at the chance to hear all about it."
"Right, yes, I remember them saying something about that. Uh, well then… perhaps I… ah…" Rarity straightened up. "I mean, it wouldn't be awful for me to go find some dining alone—"
"Rarity, please, you're not imposing on us at all," Lockwood said with a grin, taking her hoof and patting it gently like the horribly charming gentlecolt he was. "You don't have to strain to make something work out. Blackburn and I are extending an invitation because we want you there."
"Yes. We insist," Blackburn said, her lips curling in a small smile that made Rarity feel like some meek prey under the hungry gaze of a predator.
"Yeah, you should totally go with them," Havoc said, clapping Rarity on the shoulder. "Sorry that things are working out like this, but hey, it's not every day somepony gets invited to a private royal dinner with the King and Queen. It's a lot different than getting invited out to a restaurant." With a little nudge, she added, "And Queen Bee's stubborn as hell, too."
Rarity found herself facing a terrible dilemma. She certainly didn't want to be in a room alone with just Lockwood and Blackburn, not after meticulously spending the past several days trying to avoid the two of them either together or as individuals. But from a social appearance perspective, it was incredibly rude to turn down a royal dinner invitation; if it had been made privately, she could've perhaps wriggled her way out of it, but everypony had heard the offer made.
Sure, nopony here would probably care, but Rarity would.
So, with a big, polite smile that she hoped didn't look insincere, Rarity nodded at Blackburn and Lockwood. "Very well, if you're certain that I won't be imposing or intruding or anything like that, I'd love to have dinner with you. Shall I get changed and meet you somewhere?"
Blackburn shook her head. "No, come as you are. Dinner will be in our private chambers, you'll follow us there once we finish here."
"Aha, that certainly sounds wonderful," Rarity said, her anxiety rising further and her voice along with it. "A nice, quiet, private dinner get-together. I can't wait."
"Oh, you won't have to wait," Lockwood said with another charming grin. "We'll head out right now, it won't take more than five minutes to get there, and Gadget'll send word ahead to have the chefs start preparing the food. You're in good hooves Rarity." He emphasized this by patting her hoof tenderly. "Trust me."
*****
Dinner proved itself to be an awkward experience, to say the least. Rarity was never one to scarf her food down like some more uncouth sorts were wont to do, and she didn't even now, but she usually liked to sit and savor her meals like a proper mare with proper social etiquette should. Instead she ate as quickly as was polite to do so, which still felt far too long for her tastes, but she didn't feel that she had any other choice.
No matter her discomfort, she was a lady, not a barbarian.
The food was delicious, of course; Rarity had nothing but compliments for the palace's kitchen staff, having partaken in a lot of room service over the past week while she was working on designs and such in her guest room. She didn't think that anypony could make a better spaghetti aglio e olio, and the tiramisu was to die for, and then there was the wine, and by the stars above had somepony picked out a fine vintage. Lockwood, most likely. Blast him.
But then dinner was over and the dessert had been finished, and since there was still quite a lot of wine left in the bottle, Rarity knew she wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon. This was a proper dinner invitation into another pony's home, not just some get-together at a fine restaurant; rules were different, and she was not about to allow herself to be anything less than a perfect paragon of politeness.
Oh, the conversation was certainly pleasant enough. They talked about the wedding, about how lovely Cotton's dress was, about the humor in Havoc's inability to be sweet and cuddly. Then they talked about how good it was to see everypony all together again, and most particularly addressed how Rarity had forgotten to mention a few particulars about Twilight Sparkle's changes over the years.
"I'll be honest, that is a legitimate 'whoopsie daisy' on my part, as Pinkie might say," Rarity admitted while sipping from her second glass of wine. "I've known Twilight for ten years now, and she's been an alicorn princess for seven of those years. In fact, she ascended only months after we returned from our first adventure here."
"Known her longer as an alicorn, became the 'status quo' from your perspective," Blackburn said with an understanding nod. "A friend dyes their mane a new color, does so for years. You get used to it, become confused when they stop: forgot original mane color." A breath. "Bigger than a dye job, naturally. Apt metaphor nonetheless."
"She usually hates making metaphors," Lockwood whispered to Rarity, purposefully loud enough that Blackburn would hear it too.
Blackburn smirked at him. "Exceptions made to make others comfortable."
"Yes, that makes a certain degree of sense," Rarity muttered, just a little jealous of how the two always seemed to bounce off one another. "I suppose that if Twilight were to suddenly walk in here without her wings, I'd be most alarmed."
Lockwood paused, staring at the door for a moment. Rarity and Blackburn each eyed him curiously, until he shrugged and said, "Sorry, thought for sure she'd walk in right after you said that. And without her wings, of course." With a smile, he added, "I've come to expect things like that to happen nowadays."
Rarity smiled back. "Oh, don't get me started, darling. Back home, that sort of thing tends to happen all the time. Pinkie said it was 'comedic timing' or something to that effect, as if we were all a part of some story."
She left unsaid that there were times that she wondered if that were true, and that she often would lay awake at night wondering if the author of her life's story just had a fascination with making her suffer romantic heartbreak time and time again. Between oafs like Prince Blueblood and misguided individuals like Trenderhoof, she'd often wondered if anypony could make her happy.
Well, with her present company excluded. Unfortunately.
"Incidentally, speaking of Pinkie, I remember you saying that Pinkie and Rainbow's wedding was a pretty small affair too," Lockwood noted. "Was it anything like Havoc's and Cotton's?"
"A little larger, certainly. Besides the rest of our group all being in attendance, Rainbow and Pinkie each invited all of their families, Rainbow invited a few of her Wonderbolt friends and her old friend Gilda, and Pinkie invited the Cakes and her friend Cheese Sandwich." Rarity then giggled. "So no, not too much larger, but certainly louder. I don't suppose either of you are fans of polka? Or party cannons?"
The conversation carried on from there, for what seemed like hours but certainly couldn't have been, since the wine bottle was still very definitely not empty. Rarity found that she rather missed this, talking with Lockwood and Blackburn like good friends. But as she watched the two of them laugh and smile together, she remembered why she'd been trying to keep her distance. She needed to stop this before she ended up more miserable than she was already.
So, after finishing her glass of wine—still only her second because Rarity certainly didn't drink heavily—she set the empty glass down and politely cleared her throat. "Well, darlings, I think it's getting a little late in the evening, don't you? I'm sure you two have a lot of work to do in the morning now that everypony's all together again, and I would feel just awful if I kept you up."
"Aww, you don't have to go yet Rarity," Lockwood said with one of his accursed charming smiles. "Blackburn and I don't have problems with late nights and early mornings. Comes with the territory of royal duties, and it's nothing that a good cup of coffee won't fix."
"Ah, well, still, I wouldn't want to intrude—"
"Can assure you, not intruding," said Blackburn with a nod. "Will not stop you if you want to go, of course; could be considered rude… no, improper. Still, would prefer you stay longer. Barely seen you all week."
"Well, yes, and I simply must apologize for that if I seemed as if I was avoiding you," Rarity said, chastising herself for saying that much; she could play it off, though. "I would have loved to spend more time with both of you, but dear Cotton's wedding dress took precedence, you understand."
"Indeed. Dress was magnificent, professional quality, wouldn't be out of place in a fashion gallery. Knew you were talented, still, impressive." Blackburn then tilted her head and gave Rarity one of those coy grins again. "However, wedding is over. No reason to want to rush off and get away from us."
"I… don't suppose there is, but—"
"Then stay. Please. My husband and I enjoy your company, enjoy your stories."
Something inside Rarity snapped; she'd seen what Blackburn had been doing long before now, and the mare had just played her hoof out in the open enough for Rarity to confront her about it, politeness be damned. "If I might be so bold, Your Majesty, what game are you playing here? Hmm? What are you getting at?"
Blackburn's expression didn't change. "No game here. Expressions of enjoyment were legitimate—"
"Then why are you trying to get a rise out of me? Are you trying to goad me into some sort of reaction? Because it's working."
"Hmm… yes. It is."
Lockwood glanced between the two. "Ladies, please, there's no reason for everypony to get upset—"
Blackburn leaned forward, steepling her hooves. "Very well. A question, Rarity: do you love my husband?"
Rarity clenched her teeth; it took a lot of effort not to look in Lockwood's direction to see what his reaction had been to the question. "This again. I already told you—"
"Correct, already told me. Consider Lockwood a friend, a good friend. Not like a brother, but closer than 'just' a friend. Forgive me, must clarify, did not intend to ask same question again." Blackburn took a breath. "Question this time, not if you love him. Are you in love with him?"
Rarity balked, hardly able to conceive of the fact that a married mare had just asked her, point blank, if she, if Rarity, was in love with her husband. This was the sort of thing that Rarity had never in her wildest dreams had ever imagined would ever be a topic of discussion at any point in time in her entire life. She'd worked so hard to meticulously craft an image of a good-natured, hard-working, morally-upright mare with standards.
If something like this had happened in Canterlot, she'd be a social pariah within the week.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied through her teeth. "I don't know where you got the idea that—"
"Please, no need to lie," Blackburn said simply. "All friends here. Friends are honest with each other, do not hide things. Question was merely a springboard, provides opportunity to express yourself."
Rarity's eyes darted to Lockwood; his eyes were locked with hers, but he was otherwise quiet and calm, so utterly calm that it concerned Rarity greatly. Why wasn't he reacting to this conversation? Surely he didn't appreciate his wife accusing another mare of having feelings for him, right? That was dangerously close to accusing him of having an affair, and he didn't seem the type to allow anypony to besmirch his character.
So why was he so quiet?
"If you truly don't want to answer it, don't," Blackburn continued, her voice still so calm and polite that it was almost frightening. "But I would like to hear the answer. More importantly, you want to say it… and Lockwood needs to hear it."
Rarity's eyes drifted from Lockwood to Blackburn, then back to Lockwood again. Blast him, why was he still looking at her with those soft, kind eyes and yet not saying a word?
"Rarity—"
"Fine!" Rarity snapped, her attention fully on Blackburn now; she'd pushed her too far, and Rarity was done being polite. "Yes! Alright?! I am! I'm in love with him! How could I not be, he's the perfect stallion! You would know, you married him!"
She shook in place a little; she hadn't even realized that she'd risen out of her seat and slammed her hooves on the table. She couldn't believe what she was saying, but the words just kept tumbling out; she couldn't help herself, because once she got started on a project, no matter what it was, she just had to finish it.
"And it's not his good looks that I love, or his charming personality, or his beautiful eyes, or that friendly smile, or all of his money and fame, or all of the connections he has and the things he can get me at a moment's notice. Those are all nice things, certainly, and those are things that made me think I loved other stallions before him. All of that is secondary to how he treats me.
"I've been in many failed relationships. I've dated stallions who have seen me as nothing more than a trophy, a prize, a bragging right! I've dated stallions who only saw me as a fling, something to distract them, to just have some fun! I've dated stallions who wanted nothing more from me than my body, who used me as a sexual conquest and nothing more!
"But him? He treats me like a pony. He treats me with respect! With honest-to-goodness kindness and compassion, so much so that it's been killing me trying to avoid him all week! And he does it without even trying, because he's just so… so damned perfect!" Rarity sat down firmly in her seat now; she could feel her makeup starting to run. "And I can't have him. I finally met the perfect stallion… and I can't have him…"
She expected Blackburn to do something, to say something, anything, but the so-called Iron Queen of Hope's Point just sat there, eyes fixated on her, chin resting on her steepled hooves, utterly and scarily calm. Rarity tried to get something, anything, out of the other mare's expression, to get some reading, but Blackburn was inscrutable.
She was surprised when she felt Lockwood take her hoof in his, heard him let out a little breath. Her eyes left the visage of Blackburn to look at him instead, despite how ill-advised that seemed; basic survival instincts told her never to take her eyes off of a potential threat or predator, and after everything she'd just said to her how could she see Blackburn as anything but?
"I'm glad to hear you say all of that Rarity," Lockwood said softly, looking at the ground for now. "I really am. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear it."
She balked again; what in the hay was going on? "Wh-what?"
"I've had a long time to come to terms with it, to… well, to realize that what I was feeling wasn't anything to be ashamed of. Not like I thought at first." He shook his head, then raised his eyes to meet hers. "I was conflicted about it, you know? Our 'misunderstanding'? When it happened, I felt… guilt. Shame. Even though nothing happened, those thoughts still plagued my mind."
"But nothing happened," Rarity said firmly, not just for his sake, but for hers, for Blackburn's.
"I know, but it almost did. And that's what the guilt was about. The shame. It wasn't that it almost happened… it was that I wanted it to happen."
Rarity's jaw dropped slightly, but she said nothing. Was he serious? Did he just really say that? Right now? Here? In front of his wife? While she, Rarity, was still in the room? Was he trying to have her thrown into a dungeon? Or executed?
"Like I said, it took me years to realize it, to come to terms with what I was feeling. Not just the guilt and the shame because of what I wanted, but the reason why I wanted it. And no, it wasn't the sex." His grip on her hoof tightened, and he looked up to look her in the eyes. "I realized that I had fallen in love with you. And that I still am."
Rarity felt her heart skip… two, no, three beats; this was far too big of a statement for just a single skip. One skip for the rush of joy and elation that came with hearing the pony you loved with all your heart tell you that he felt the same—and she could see it in his eyes that he was absolutely honest about it. One skip for thesheer shock and awe that he'd just come right out and said it. The third skip, though, was out of… anger.
"What are you doing…?" Rarity muttered, her voice cracking; she could feel her tears flowing freely now, and it took a lot of effort not to just completely lose it and start crying like a little filly.
He tilted his head. "Huh?"
"What are you doing to me? Why would you tell me something like that?" Rarity rose up and pushed his hoof away as confusion gave way to rage. "Did you not hear a word I said? I can't have you. You're married, Lockwood, in case you've forgotten!" She pointed firmly at Blackburn, though her eyes were still locked on his. "To her! That is your wife! You have children with her! Two beautiful children! A family! A home!"
"Rarity, I—"
"I don't know what sort of ideas you may have gotten about me from our little misunderstanding, darling, but I am not the sort of mare who… who…" She stamped her hoof on the floor, hard. "I am not a homewrecker! That is not the kind of mare I am! And I will not stand here and let you insinuate—"
To her surprise, it was Blackburn who spoke next, still utterly calm and collected; she even rose up from her seat, slowly enough that she didn't seem like she was remotely angry. She even gently passed Rarity a cloth napkin to wipe her tears with, a bizarrely comforting gesture.
"Believe that there is another misunderstanding, hmm?" the queen said.
Rarity shook her head. "What?"
"Lockwood isn't saying he doesn't love me. Only said that he loves you." Blackburn tapped her own chest, right over her heart. "Loves me too. So hard to believe?"
"I… he… what?" Rarity had never heard anything like this, and it didn't help that Blackburn was so damned calm about it. How could any mare be calm about this?
"Lockwood has a big heart. Always has." Blackburn tilted her head. "Difficult to believe it has room for two mares?"
Rarity balked, and she looked between the husband and wife like they were both crazy. "I… I don't understand. Your husband is claiming that he's in love with me, with another mare, and you're… not upset? Because you say he still loves you too?"
"Correct."
"Whuh. This… this is…" Rarity slumped back down on her seat; her mind was reeling with confusion, and she absently reached for her glass of wine, disappointed that it was empty.
To her… well, amusement she supposed, Blackburn grabbed the wine bottle and poured her another glass without so much as needing to be asked; she must have sensed that Rarity needed something to calm her nerves. It wasn't a full glass, just enough to give her a little something to wet her dry throat, but that was pleasant and soothing enough; Rarity had never downed a glass of wine so fast in her life.
"I think that you think this comes as a shock to Blackburn, this confession of mine," Lockwood said; he wasn't smiling anymore, but he didn't seem angry or upset, just concerned. For who? For her? "It's not. We've… talked about it."
"You have?" Rarity asked. She shook her head, looking to Blackburn again. "And you didn't get upset?"
Blackburn tapped her chin and hummed. "No. At initial misunderstanding, yes—explained this already—but afterwards? No. Came to understand his feelings, understood the struggle and guilt. Helped him through it, helped him get past it all."
"We'd thought that it was over and done with," Lockwood clarified. "I've been… well, not 'over' you, but I've been able to move on from the guilt of loving you, for about two years now. I still looked on our time together fondly, and Blackburn and I both agreed that while it was a good thing for all three of us that nothing happened between us back then… it was okay to have these feelings now.
"And then… you showed up in my life again, and it all came rushing back, and rushing back hard."
Rarity ignored the surely-unintentional innuendo. He had a bad habit of those. It was cute. Damn him.
With a smile, he added, "You're more beautiful than I remember, and that's saying something. And yet you're still the same Rarity that I remember from all those years ago, still the generous, compassionate mare that's willing to give her all to help anypony in need. That's… a big part of why I love you, actually. You remind me a lot of myself."
"And you're not mad?" Rarity asked Blackburn again.
Blackburn snorted and smiled. "You keep asking. No. Have had a long time to come to terms with it, long time for life to reach point where things like this wouldn't make me 'mad'. Recently reminded… life too short to be mad over most things," she said with a melancholy tone.
"Not to mention, understand Lockwood's feelings," she continued, stepping around the table and gently brushing her hoof against Rarity's shoulder. "You are beautiful, intelligent, charming. Your heart is good, kind, pure. As Lockwood said, reminds me a lot of him." At this, she smiled and added, "Approve of the choice."
"Wh-what?"
"Of course, conflicted in some ways," Blackburn said, taking Rarity's other hoof and giving it a gentle pat. "Said you remind me of stepmother, Silver Glow. Different, yes, but same in many ways. Not Oedipal complex; would only apply to father. Hmm… don't think it has a term. Doesn't apply to stepparent anyway."
Rarity shook her head; she was still very much confused. "I don't know what to make of all of this. Are you saying that you… find me—" Her eyes widened and she turned to face Blackburn, the realization feeling like a ton of bricks to the face. "Wait. Those… those weren't taunts. You actually were flirting with me?"
Blackburn grinned. "Slow on the uptake. Also like Lockwood. Very cute."
"I… but…" Rarity's eyes darted between Blackburn and Lockwood; she was utterly lost. "I have no idea what's going on anymore."
"I think you should just tell her already, BB," Lockwood said, his expression a mix of amusement and concern. "You're just going to confuse her further if you don't."
Blackburn nodded and made her way back to her seat. "Must apologize for stressful confrontation. Did not intend for anypony to get angry or hurt, but needed answers. Satisfied with results. So far." She steepled her hooves again and gave Rarity a slightly… mischievous smile. "Rarity, Lockwood and I have a… proposition for you."