//------------------------------// // Late to the party // Story: Short stories about ponies and whatnot // by shutaro //------------------------------// The library was silent for the moment after Rarity’s declaration of love. She had given a little speech about how she could not choose only one of her friends. How she loved all of them for their talents, their personalities, even their little quirks. How being with each of them made her feel more complete and how their group had become more than the sum of its parts. Rarity had used all of her prowess in creating the pendants that now hovered over to each of her friends. Each dropped with a soft ping before the ponies, except for Pinkie Pie’s. The party pony had caught it from the air and eyed the little figure of herself that Rarity had cut from a pink diamond. Rarity smiled at Pinkie’s antics, then her face grew a bit more serious and she addressed the group. “I assume you’ll want to talk about this among yourself. I have said my part and you know that I will give it my all to make this work. You can find me in the boutique when you have made your decisions.” She turned around and walked to the door. She forced her wobbly legs to make one step after the other, her stomach filled with insecurity and her heart heavy with doubt.  She heard Rainbow Dash’s raspy laugh first, then Pinkie Pie chimed in and soon the others too. “Can you believe it?” the cyan pegasus pony cried over her fit of laughter. “That is the best thing I have heard in weeks!” Rarity’s heart sank. They were not taking her serious. They took her great confession of love and turned it into some kind of joke. She sprinted for the door but it was blocked in the glow of Twilight Sparkle’s magic. Tears rose to her eyes. The librarian obviously didn’t even want to think about Rarity’s proposal. She stopped in front of the door, but didn’t turn around. She had tried to prepare for rejection, but now realized that thinking about it helped for nothing to hold back the tears if it really happened. Twilight’s voice cut like a knife through Rarity’s thoughts. “There is something you have to know first, Rarity. You see, we have been hiding something from you.” The librarian took a deep breath. “Two months ago, a week before my birthday, when you were in Canterlot, I confessed my love to Applejack. And she rejected me.” Rarity’s knees buckled. Twilight did not love her back, she loved Applejack. “Yeah, because I was trying to get to Flutters at that time,” the apple farmer said. Rarity turned around, not daring to trust her eyes and ears. “But I had my eyes on Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy added. “But you couldn’t have her, because I had asked her first!” Rainbow Dash crowed with pride, “And she said YES!” Rainbow Dash punched a hoof upwards into the air. Pinkie Pie’s voice had an unusual sombre tone to it as she continued the story. “All those rejections almost knocked the stuffings out of our friendship, but we thought there was nothing we could do and tried to go on as usual. But when we sat on the morning-train to Canterlot to surprise you with Twilight’s birthday party it was a pretty sad thing. Until Flutters said that animals have it all better, because they can live in groups and nopony cares about it.” “Then the scales fell from my eyes! Ponies had lived in groups since time immemorial. Monogamous marriages are the norm today but not even two hundred years ago those were uncommon at best, unheard of even in some parts of Equestria.” Twilight Sparkle smiled like she always did when she could show and share her knowledge. “So before we met you at your suite we met with the princesses and asked about it. Turns out there is neither law nor rule that forces monogamy and so we received the princesses’ blessing. Luna was really happy about it too, I think.” Fluttershy avoided Rarity’s eyes and hid behind her hair, but she concluded the story. “We have tried this arrangement for quite some time now. And even if my feelings for Pinkie were the reason for me to join in, I wouldn’t want to part with any of my lovers today. I have only known you guys for a short time, but you complete my life in a way that is so wonderful, I have no words to describe it.” Even Twilight nodded to that last statement, then she addressed Rarity with a serious face. “I think I speak for all of us when I say sorry for not telling you about it, Rarity. We withheld important information from you and we have caused you a great deal of heartache with that. That is not a way any friend should act. Please forgive us.” Rarity could hardly believe her ears. “Like I could be angry with any of you,” she whispered, then swallowed. “So I take it I should not ask you to join me, but I should ask to join you, right?” The group of five looked at each other, then Pinkie Pie nodded at Twilight Sparkle, pointed to her pendant and asked, “Would you please help me with that, Twily?” The unicorn rolled her eyes at the nickname but the necklace opened and floated around the pink pony’s neck. Applejack asked Twilight for assistance too while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash helped each other. As the last of the group Twilight levitated her pendant up, closed the clasp and smiled as the little figure came to rest around her neck. Rarity could not speak and hardly see through her tears of joy when Pinkie Pie jumped over the table and almost pushed her down in one of her trademark hugs. “Welcome to the herd!”