//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Riddle Me This // by Zaphod //------------------------------// Meanwhile, on the opposite end of Ponyville, a certain unicorn mare tried her best to distract herself from her predicament. She paced the carpeted floor of her workshop, muttering out loud. “Silly. Ridiculous. What was I thinking?” Rarity knew she was prone to overreacting on occasion, but if any situation called for it then certainly it was this one! “If I wasn’t obvious enough before this whole riddle game, then there’s no doubt that she’ll suspect something now. I might as well have stamped each of those letters with ‘Rarity is attracted to you, darling!’ in bright rainbow ink!” She heard a guffaw from atop her couch, courtesy of Ponyville’s resident apple farmer. Of course Rarity hadn’t forgotten Applejack was visiting. And she certainly wasn’t just about to jump out of her fur. Don’t joke about such nonsense. “Land sakes, Rarity, you’re more wound up than I’ve ever seen ya. I don’t know why you’re so worried in the first place.” She snorted as she hopped off the comforter. “You and I both know that when it comes to romance, Twi’s about as attentive as Granny Smith during one of her naps.” “That’s not a much better thought, you know,” Rarity grumbled. She picked up a stray bolt of cloth with her magic, smoothing and folding the edges meticulously. She tried to keep her voice from shaking as she gave a fragile laugh.“I would almost wish for a rejection more than being kept in the dark forever.” “Hey now.” Applejack laid a comforting hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “Don’t you start talkin’ yourself down. Twilight’s one of your best friends, and that’s a fact. I just think you’re fretting over nothing, sugarcube. I’m sorry for laughing at ya.” Rarity set the fabric down, taking a deep breath through her nose to steady herself. “I know you didn’t mean for it to sound like that, darling. And I do so appreciate you taking the time to talk with me about my feelings.” She leaned in to give Applejack a firm embrace. “It means a lot, and you always know just what to say.” Applejack returned the sentiment with a warm smile. “I want both of you to be happy, sugar. It’s as simple as that. If being together is what makes you happy, then of course I’ll help in any way I can!” “You make it sound so simple.” “Why does it have to be complicated?” Applejack shrugged, taking a step back. “If you fancy her and she’s got a thing for you, then there’s nothing else to it. Now I might have been a little more direct in telling her than with this whole riddle scheme, but what’s done is done.” She smirked, tipping her hat back onto her head. “Ya gotta see it through to the end.” Rarity nodded in agreement. She levitated the nearby saddlebags onto her friend’s back. “I do indeed. I’ll let you get back to your market stand, Applejack. Celestia knows I probably kept you twice as I inteded with my babbling. Sorry for wasting your lunch break.” The earth pony dismissed the thought with a gentle wave of a hoof. “Ain’t nothin’, Rarity. I’ve told you that I’ll always lend an ear to a friend in need.” She made her way to the door, looking over her shoulder before leaving. “If I see Twilight in town, maybe I’ll give her a little nudge to come have a chat with ya.” Rarity waved goodbye, waiting for the door to shut completely before releasing a heavy sigh to the now-empty workshop. It was only after Applejack left that she noticed how silent the Boutique was today; Sweetie Belle and her friends had already left to go play outside, and the shop was closed to let her finish a few straggling last-minute dress orders for tomorrow. And, of course, to let her worry about the Twilight situation without fear of interruption. She found where she had left off in her plans and brought the appropriate fabric to her sewing machine. It wouldn’t reflect well on her business if she didn’t get her orders done, after all. I wonder what Twilight’s up to, Rarity mused as she put on her red rimmed pair of glasses. Pinkie Pie skipped alongside her alicorn friend as the duo departed the clock tower. Normally, the silence between them would have bothered her to no end—when ponies were silent, they weren’t laughing, after all!—but she knew it was a good silence she shared with Twilight today. It had to be! “Um, Pinkie?” There’s no way the pony next to her could be sad, anyway. Not after one of her best friends had sent her on a super fun scavenger hunt! Well, it wasn’t actually a scavenger hunt, but it was still super fun! “Pinkie Pie? Hello?” And if that wasn’t fun enough on its own, Twilight was playing this game with Rarity, her super secret, Pinkie-Pie-swear-on-my-grave-I-won’t-tell-anyone crush! All it would take is to get the two of them to the Hearts and Hooves Day party tomorrow, a drink or two, a subtle bump from an anonymous somepony in the crowd so that Twilight falls into Rarity’s hooves, and as the two gaze into each others’ eyes they realise what they’d been missing this entire time and they’ll smooch and excuse themselves and before you know it they’d be snug as two bugs in a rug! It was brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! “Sometimes, I swear I might as well be talking to a brick wall.” “You do that too?!” Pinkie gasped. “I thought I was the only one! I think I caught Mr. Cake calling me cuckoo one time, but he’s just never tried talking to a wall before.” “I, uh…” Twilight sputtered, at a loss for words. “I don’t think talking to a wall will get me anywhere, least of all to the answer to this riddle.” “You’d be surprised at the things they’ve seen! Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it!” Twilight held her tongue. Not literally of course, but boy would that be something funny to see! Pinkie giggled to herself at the very thought of somepony holding their tongue with their hooves. Twilight had grown quiet again, so Pinkie was about to write it off as another thinky moment, but… at the same time, it didn’t seem quite the same as before. “What is Rarity playing at?” Twilight asked. It was definitely a question, but it sounded more like Twilight was asking herself. “Huh?” Pinkie raised an eyebrow. That didn’t sound like the kind of thinking that helped solve riddles. “What do you mean?” “Well, I was just thinking that this riddle is a little different than the last one,” Twilight replied. She levitated the sheet in front of them, pointing to the first two lines with a hoof. “Last time, the riddle made a cryptic allusion to time and that’s what I went on. This time, though, it’s talking about fame and friendship. I don’t think that gives me any hints about a location.” She paused at the fleeting thought. “And the second line… I don’t even know what to think about that one.” “Well, uh,” Pinkie stumbled for the right words. “Maybe not everything she wrote was about solving the riddle, you know? Looking at things from a different… direction?” “Pinkie Pie, it sounds like you know a little more than you’re letting on.” Twilight spoke clearly, facing her friend full on. “What do you know about this whole riddle business?” “Oh, would you look at the time!” Pinkie snapped her head back toward the clock tower in the distance, squinting as she read the clock’s face. “I have to be back at Sugarcube Corner to handle the lunch shift in three minutes! Gotta go Twilight, good luck on the riddles! See ya!” Oh no, oh no, this was not good! “But I...” Twilight trailed off, watching the poofy pink tail disappear around a corner. “Hmph! It can never just be easy, can it?” She took another look at the sheet of paper in her grasp. The line about love stood out in particular; something about it niggled at the back of her mind. Aside from the rhyme with the first line, it didn’t quite seem to point her toward a destination of any kind. In fact, it almost seemed like a side note to the rest of the stanza’s flow. But what did that mean? Rarity was a certifiably romantic pony and Twilight had been subject to more than one session of her babbling on about a fleeting fancy for a trendy celebrity or a ‘adorable’ little debutante. Nothing ever came of those chats, of course, and Rarity had forgotten about them before the week’s end, so was it too much to say it was just her way of slipping in a romanticized line to fit the tone? Unless, Twilight’s hopeful side murmured in the depths of her mind, she’s hinting about an attraction to you, smarty pants. That’s logical, isn’t it? She blushed lightly, thankful that nopony else was around to see her. Sure, there were a few pieces of evidence to support that particularly uplifting thought, she reasoned. The first letter was friendly enough, though Rarity had made it extra apparent that she would appreciate a visit in the near future. She even noted Twilight’s ‘big, beautiful brain!’ The last line of that riddle had been a reference to a different kind of date, but perhaps Rarity had anticipated her misunderstanding the context to allude to some other line of thought. Then that mention of love in the second riddle... Twilight shook her head, chasing the thoughts away before she got delusional. I could very easily be looking way too far into this. Much as I’d like it to be true, there’s no telling if she meant for it to sound that way. Of course, if it is true, there’s no way I can let this chance slip by like just another of her crushes! That was all the convincing she needed. There was one pony and one pony only who could answer the questions burning in her mind, and Twilight was nothing if not determined for answers. “There’s no sense in going around in circles on my own. I think it’s about time that I take you up on that offer, Rarity.” “Piece by piece, snip by snip,” Rarity lilted under her breath, fluffing the frills of the neckline hanging on the dressform before her. “Hmm hmm haa, da da daa.” She heard the front door burst open, nearly knocking the poor bell above off its hook. A panicked voice rang into her workshop. “Rarity, we’ve got a problem!” She sighed resignedly. At least she had made good progress on her last order. With any luck, she could complete it before sundown. She trotted into the living area with a wide smile. “Pinkie Pie. So good to see you, dear. Whatever is the matter?” “Weeeellll, you remember how you gave that riddle to pass along to Twilight after she solved it? And I Pinkie promised I wouldn’t spill the beans and I would let her figure it out herself?” Rarity nodded, unsure of what her pink friend was trying to imply. Pinkie bit her lip nervously. “I didn’t break my promise, but I still did something wrong because Twilight got all suspicious and asked if I knew anything about the riddles and my cover was blown so I booked it outta there! She’s probably on her way here right now!” Oh. Oh dear. That order might not be done by sundown after all. “Are you sure? She went through those even faster than I anticipated! I thought it would take her all day to work out all three riddles!” “I don’t think she’s finished them all yet, silly!” Pinkie snorted. “I only just gave her my riddle, remember? Mine was number two! Twilight’s just super duper smart, and she put the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle!” Rarity frowned. This wasn’t at all how she pictured the game proceeding. “Then why do you think she’s heading here now? If what you say is true, she hasn’t finished them all so she doesn’t know the reason I set them up!” “She was talking to herself just after I ran away. I hid behind the corner of a building just in case she tried to catch me with her magic! She mentioned something about ‘taking your offer.’” Pinkie bolted over to a window, loosened the latch, and lifted the pane. “Speaking of which, I’ve gotta skedaddle! If Twilight catches me here instead of at work like I said, she’s gonna be super hurt that I was fibbing!” Rarity shooed her out the window. “All right, make haste, dear. I won’t speak a word of your discreet visit.” The earth pony waved goodbye before delightfully hopping down the lane toward Sugarcube Corner. Rarity firmly shut the window before turning to pace the room fretfully. “I suppose I called this on myself, didn’t I? Telling her to visit again and again in the letters, and yet I’m still surprised when she’s on her way over.” She should be happy that Twilight was coming. This was a good thing, right? It was a chance to finally rendezvous with her crush for a while. So why did it feel like an entire apple had just dropped into her stomach? Why did the whole thought of coming clean make her ears bristle and her mouth go dry? She was not ready for the knocking that came at the door. She was not yet ready to have this discussion. The riddles were supposed to buy her enough time to get her thoughts straight, but now everything was topsy-turvy. But what could she do? Her guest was waiting at the door and she was out of time. Deep breaths, Rarity, she told herself. Everything will be… all right. She opened the door.