//------------------------------// // Take Five: Secrets // Story: The Princess' Designer // by BlazingFlame //------------------------------// Take Five: Secrets Rarity paced back and forth in her room. She couldn't get what happened out of her head. She looked at the ponnequin near her bed, one she could use as a model of Twilight. Rarity gasped when the ponnequin became an image of Twilight. She was so beautiful…so magnificent. Even if Twilight was a bit of an egghead at times…Rarity found her cute. Rarity quickly rubbed her eyes and looked away. "Oh, Celestia. What have I gotten myself into?" Rarity asked aloud as she looked out her window. The sun had already set and the moon was rising. The stars were so beautiful…they reminded Rarity of Twilight's eyes. They sparkled and shone. They were fabulous and pretty. More thoughts were gathering in Rarity's head as she began blurting them out, leaving room or others to come in. "Oh, what should I do? I know I love Twilight, but that incident made things worse than they already were! Almost every time I am invited to Canterlot something stupid has to happen…even though I've barely been invited. But regardless I need to start what I came here to do…make Twilight's dress…" Rarity looked back and forth, and hoof-palmed her head. "Ugh! The bags are in the street! Stupid ponies. If they hadn't misunderstood me, I wouldn't have been in this mess!" Rarity snorted angrily as she hit a lamp onto the floor. It gave off her reflection, and as she stared into it, her eyes began to well up with tears, and she sniffled. "But they helped me realize something my heart truly desired…" A knock sounded at the door, and Rarity gasped. "I need to hide this shattered glass!" She said hesitantly. She used her magic to throw the pieces under the bed, and she quickly grabbed a brush to fix her mane. Rarity threw that under the bed as well, and sighed sharply. Using her magic again she opened it slightly and gasped. "P-Prince B-Blueblood?" Rarity stuttered as she looked him over. He opened the door all the way and smirked. "Hello, Miss Rarity," Blueblood said with a strangely tender voice. Rarity gulped in the presence of this stallion. She just didn't feel comfortable. Soon she felt sweat form at her forehead. "W-what are you doing here?" She asked. Blueblood used his hoof to move his mane past his ear. He gestured to his left with his eyes. Rarity looked and couldn't believe it. Prince Blueblood had brought all of her stuff! And it was intact as well! "I brought your bags. I was walking in the streets of Canterlot Square when I found them. Nothing had left from them, but I saw the name on each one. Rarity. So I brought it back here remembering Twilight had invited a mare by the exact name," This can't be real. Prince Blueblood brought my stuff back to me? He didn't even touch them! And I can tell if somepony touched my stuff. But I didn't sense it from him. But wait, what am I doing? This is my one chance to ask Blueblood on a date! Do not spoil this, Rarity! "Are you feeling okay, Miss Rarity? Should I bring your bags in for you?" Blueblood asked, almost gingerly. Rarity was so confused. This stupid colt was a jerk before! Now he's changed? He didn't even show the slightest bit of interest last time! Rarity took in a deep breath and sighed, a bright smile on her face. "Yes, darling, just place them over there next to the dresser," Rarity said as she stepped to the side. One by one Prince Blueblood used his magic to place the bags neatly where Rarity had asked. All twenty were next to each other, spaced the perfect amount for opening and closing. "You know. Auntie Celestia wants a dress as well. She's grown tired of it, and has tried every dress she could get her hooves on. I want her to look fabulous for the Grand Galloping Gala. Could you make a dress for her?" "A d-dress? F-for P-Princess C-Celestia?" This night just got fabulous! I've never made a dress for a princess before! Well, I've made the gowns for a wedding, but this is simply fabulous! But I only have a few weeks. How will I perfect both dresses in time? "You look like you're going to feint. Let me get you a couch," Blueblood said as a couch magically appeared behind the swaying Rarity, shocked with amazement and happiness. She fell onto the couch with a sigh. Blueblood looked side to side. "Am I able to come in, ma'am?" He asked. Rarity giggled like a little school filly and got up. "Yes, please! Have a seat!" Rarity said as she got up and patted on the space next to her. Before he sat down, she made half the couch disappear, making him fall to his behind. Blueblood hit his head, and looked to Rarity in shock. "H-hey! What was that for?" He asked nervously. Rarity smirked wildly at him. That was what he got for being such a jerk last time. "You are a jerk! Or were one…but u were still a jerk!" "But I've changed! Wait…do I even know you, besides that you were invited here?" "Yes! You humiliated me and made me feel sorry for myself! You didn't treat me like a lady, and you showed no interest in me! You only showed that you were a filthy, stupid stallion who is a disgrace to his family! You showed me you are nothing but a selfish narcissist who's all about yourself and what you want!" "So you let me fall on my head?" "Yes! Wait…say that again?" Rarity asked. She noticed some sort of weird change in his voice. Blueblood put his hoof over his mouth and cleared his throat. "N-nothing," "No, no. You had a different way of speaking, like, how a mare would speak…almost in a way I would speak," Rarity said as she drew closer. She stared Blueblood down until he realized there was no way out. He sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll tell you my darkest secret…but only if you tell me yours," *** Twilight was hitting her head on the pillow, and covered her face with it as she groaned angrily and muttered to herself. "This just isn't right! One of the biggest nights in Canterlot is coming up, and I'm in love with a mare? But not just any mare! I'm in love with my best friend! Ugh! Why does the bad stuff always gotta happen to me! I know I can resolve some problems, but I can't resolve this one! Ugh!" Twilight put the pillow on the side of her head and looked towards the door, which opened with magic. In walked Cadence, who had a certain look on her face. It was one Twilight never saw before. "Cadence! Oh, thank goodness! I needed somepony close to talk to!" Twilight said as she jumped out of bed, and ran to Cadence with a big hug. Twilight hugged Cadence close and tightly, and began to tremble. "Twilight, what's wrong?" Cadence asked concerned. She had a feeling Twilight felt for Rarity, with the way she ran off before. All Cadence had to hear was the words leave Twilight's mouth. I think I'm in love with Rarity. Spike and Scaly watched from under the bed, waiting for the right moment to escape. Spike was in control at the moment, but Scaly had taken almost full control of Spike's mind. All that was left was most of his memories and all of his feelings. But like a parasite, Scaly slowly fed on this, taking it as his own. Spike may have been the appearance, but Scaly would soon be the mind. Twilight let out a tear that hit Cadence's neck. Twilight broke the embrace and wiped her eyes with her hoof. She looked down, and used her hoof to play with the floor. "I…I don't know if I can tell you it?" She said to her sister-in-law sheepishly. Cadence smiled. "Is there somepony you love?" Cadence asked with her usual tender smile. A soft wind came in from the outside, and the curtains waved. "I don't remember opening the windows," Twilight said as she used her magic to shut them. Spike's claw was deflected off the window, and he fell straight into the small pool Rarity had used before she went in. Spike spit out the water and gasped for air. "I fell like, a hundred hooves. Why wasn't I scared?" Spike asked himself. Scaly growled. "It's because I devoured that feeling from your mind. You no longer know fear, and there will be no problem getting the precious to us," "But the precious is Rarity! You can't devour my guilt! What are you anyway?" "I will devour your guilt soon enough, fool. The precious will be ours soon! And I am but a being that resided in that book. The only thing that fuels me is…jealousy. And it seems as though in the past you learned your lesson, you never used that lesson again. Sparkle can't have the precious!" Scaly hissed. "Well you can…ah, there's nothing for me to do anymore! I hate you, and I will end you…one way or another," Spike said as he shook his head. He dried the spikes on his head and went on his way back into the castle, guarded by armored stallions who moved aside quickly. Twilight sighed as she sat on her bed and kicked her dangling hooves on the mattress. Cadence watched on, anxious to see if she was right. If Twilight truly did have feelings for Rarity. "I…do you promise not to tell anypony?" "I promise," Cadence said as she crossed her heart with her hoof. Twilight sighed, and took a deep breath in. "You're right. I am in love with somepony," Twilight's frown transformed into a bright smile, and she looked into the night sky through the closed windows. Twilight's cheeks were flushed with pink, her eyes sparkling like the stars in the night. "Who is it?" Cadence asked anxiously. Twilight sighed happily this time. "I can't stop thinking about her," Twilight said as she looked back into Cadence's accepting eyes. "Her? As in like, a mare? You're in love with a mare?" "Yes, and don't say anything because I know we need to follow the original laws of Equestria. It's just…I feel she's the one. And our horns touched, and-" "You're only supposed to do that if you truly love a pony!" "I know! It was an accident. And it wasn't a tap, because I know that's nothing. Please don't get upset!" Twilight said as she held her hooves out. Cadence breathed in slowly, and exhaled slowly. "Can I at least know who she is?" "I'm sorry…that I can't tell you yet," "Damn it, Twilight, tell me!" Cadence shouted, almost losing it. Cadence gasped, and covered her mouth with her hoof. She had lost her cool and her patience. There was an awkward silence between the two before Twilight broke eye contact with Cadence. "F-fine. I'm in love with Rarity, the mare who's going to make my dress. My best friend. The one I've defeated chaos with and was the third friend I met. The fabulous, beautiful pony who I invited…for reasons other than the dress. I feel I needed bonding time with her. I've been gone for so long," "You've been gone from Ponyville for a month," Cadence said. Twilight shook her head. "That's enough to make a mare go crazy without her best friends. And…I started thinking about Rarity, I couldn't explain it but my heart went out especially for her. Then after that, my mind began to have crazy thoughts about her. I tried to keep my cool over the past month, but it was so hard! I…I had to have her here. I can't believe I invited her to the Gala. I'm so selfish. I wanted her all to myself," "When did you realize you, err, liked mares?" "I…I guess it kinda started with you," "W-what?" Cadence gasped. She wasn't even expecting to hear that. "You were the best sitter in the world! I always used to look up to you, like Armor, but in a different way. You were always so pretty and knew the right ways to cheer me up. But there were days when I asked myself…do I like my sitter? I guess it was an innocent crush…" "D-do you still feel that way?" "I think you're still pretty, but you belong to my brother. And you don't like mares anyway, so I had to give up the innocent crush if I wanted to realize truly who I liked," Twilight said sadly. Cadence bit her lip and sighed. "You know how I'm always good with making ponies fall in love, right?" "Yeah," "There was a day…when my spell went wrong. It made two colts fall in love with each other, and then two mares. I was a bit grossed out, but I realized there was more to love than just…a colt and a mare. It was hard to see at first, because like every other pony I despised my mistake and-" "Wait! So…this feeling of love between mares and colts for their own gender…it was all a mistake? My feelings for Rarity are fake?" Twilight asked, obviously about to cry, tears welled up in her eyes. "No! As you can see, love exists in every pony, but in a unique way. If you love somepony, you love them. No harm done. But you're feelings for Rarity are real," "So…you're mistake didn't cause…" "It didn't, but I was forced to know that some ponies were secretly in love with their own gender. Some kept it a secret, some be jerks to the opposite gender or are shy around that same gender…as you can see, these feelings come in varied forms and personality types," Cadence finished with a sigh. Twilight smiled. "Thank you, Cadence!" Twilight said as she hugged her. Cadence patted Twilight's back. "By the way…how do you feel about Rainbow Dash?" Cadence asked. Twilight broke the embrace and looked into her sister's eyes strangely. "What?" "I've…I've heard things…" "Spit it out," Twilight said with a giggle. Cadence sighed. "There are mares who are considered 'tomcolts'. They act like boys and are just like them. Sure they may be mares, but they have…most of the perks of what it's like to be a colt," "Are you saying Rainbow Dash likes mares?" "It's…it's just a hunch from a small stereotype. You like mares but you don't have any colt-like characteristics. And Rarity doesn't either, so…go get her, Twilight!" Cadence giggled as she swung her hoof with a smirk. "As in…now?" "Better now than never, I mean…it's all up to you, sweetie," Cadence said. Twilight gingerly looked back and pat the floor nervously with her hoof. "O-okay," Twilight said as she walked past Cadence. Twilight stared down the beautifully sculpted halls of the castle. "Here I come Rarity…it's finally time I told you how I feel,"