~By Esle Ynopemos~
Rarity loved the daytime. Despite the late hours she sometimes kept, she, like most ponies, was a daylight creature. Feeling the warmth of sunlight on her muzzle, seeing the colorful bustle of daily life in Ponyville, being able to work on her designs without needing to gather fireflies for her lantern, these were all wonderful things. Rarity had no problem with the sun.
But right now, just at this moment, Rarity conceded that perhaps eternal night may not have been such a poor idea after all.
Standing before her, Pinkie Pie wore three things. The first was her smile, which Pinkie never left home without. The bright, beautiful little piece of joy manifested itself tonight in a rarely-seen demure grin, traces of anxiety and anticipation tempering her usual display of passion and exuberance.
The second thing she wore was the dress Rarity had made for her. Red and white silk adorned her body, smoothly following her curves here and flaring out into a wide skirt there and always giving Pinkie plenty of freedom to wiggle about; Rarity knew just how much Pinkie loved to wiggle. The curls of her mane were up in tresses and adorned with gold and silver. From her ears hung a matching pair of amethysts from her family's rock farm, which Rarity had set into earrings for her upon hearing the story of how Pinkie and her sisters had found them.
And the third thing Pinkie wore was the moonlight. The silver sheen cascaded over her, glinting off of her earrings and sparkling in her eyes. It was as though Luna herself poured the soft blue-white light on the mare like a physical thing.
Rarity's breath left her. She was not sure which enhanced Pinkie's beauty more, though against such titans as the moonlight and Pinkie's smile, she imagined her dress would have difficulty competing. The ultimate effect of all three, though, was enough to give Rarity a tingle in her hooves and a lightness in her head.
Pinkie Pie rubbed her foreleg, a nervous giggle on her breath. “Does this look okay, Rarity?”
“Darling,” Rarity gasped, taking Pinkie's hoof in her own, “you look wonderful tonight.”