“Are you sure about this?” Rarity let forth a quiet sigh before turning towards Twilight and nodding her affirmation. They stood just inside the Carousel Boutique, though rather than racks upon racks of summer fashion, there were only bare mannequins and two large suitcases. “I see…” she murmured sadly, looking over at her friend’s uncommonly modest amount of luggage. “That’s not very much.”
“No, I suppose it isn’t,” Rarity agreed. “But… that’s rather the point, isn’t it?”
“I guess…” To be honest, Twilight still hadn’t quite managed to comprehend the situation. Rarity had scarce stepped off the train before gathering together her friends and telling them all of her plans to move to Manehatten. They had listened with varying levels of disbelief as Rarity recounted the details of Pinkie’s flight, of her inexplicable shift in temperament and of the ponies that had cared for her in Dodge. From her cowardice to her shameful pride, nothing that had transpired was left untold. It was then that she informed them that she had decided to close the Boutique and spend some time giving back, and while Twilight had every respect for what she intentioned to do, and honestly supported her decision, that didn’t change the fact that within less than a week’s time, she was losing two of her closest friends.
“Please, dear, don’t look so distraught,” Rarity exhorted Twilight with a fragile smile. “It won’t be forever, you know.”
“Do you promise, Rarity?”
“I Pin-” The name caught in her throat, and there followed after a short silence as both ponies stood with heads bowed. Already the general atmosphere of Ponyville had begun to shift since Pinkie had left. Ponies were more likely to be cranky, and more than a few frowns had started to overtake even the cheeriest of muzzles, but there was little that could be done to stop it; Pinkie’s antics and heartful exuberance were irreplaceable, and everypony knew it.
“...I promise,” Rarity said after a time, her hollow tone doing little to bring any sense of comfort to Twilight’s misgivings. “Would you mind walking me to the station?”
“Huh? Oh, sure, I can do that,” came a distracted reply from Twilight. Grabbing one suitcase apiece, they both began their trek to the train station in silence. “No wonder she asked me along,” she thought to herself, noting the foul looks being directed towards the unicorn at her side. “I know that there are many who blame her for the fact that Pinkie’s gone now, but can’t they see that she’s just as hurt by all of this? Being upset at her isn’t going to bring her back, and-”
“Let it go, Twilight.” The mare cringed as she looked over to find herself being regarded with a mixture of understanding and guilt. “It’s only natural that they find someone to blame, and it is true that I played a role in driving Pinkie away. Let them be,” she pleaded gently, “they have every right to be upset.”
“But it wasn’t just you,” Twilight countered, shaking her head. “This isn’t something that just one pony could have caused. Everypony could have done better, and… and us most of all.” There wasn’t much that Rarity could have said to refute the truth of Twilight’s words, so they continued on in silence until they arrived at the station.
Twilight sat by a bench as Rarity purchased her tickets, searching for some word of encouragement or hidden scrap of wisdom that might make the transition that was mere minutes away just a little bit easier to bear. They had discussed, quite fervently, what could be the potential source of Pinkie Pie’s grievances, but the deeper that they had attempted to dig, the more they realized how precious little they had come to know of the mare. Frustration had yielded flaring tempers, and the meeting had come to an unceremonious close as Rainbow Dash bolted from the library. In fact, since that night she had heard and seen little of her friends, and every tick tock of the hands on the clock reminded her that when she left there, it would likely fall on her shoulders to pick up the pieces, and so it was that she found herself at a loss as Rarity took a seat beside her.
“Are you… are you sure you can’t stay for a few more days?” Twilight asked after a few minutes of quiet. “There are plenty of ponies here that you could help. Besides, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are both due in just the next few days, and-”
“Twilight, please… stop.” Twilight’s ears melted as she looked over to find Rarity staring dead ahead with tears brimming in her eyes. “You have no idea how dearly I wish that I could stay, how much I’d love to be part of such a meaningful occasion, but I… I can’t stay.” Her eyes screwed shut as she fought to keep control. “I’ve lived a life of complacency and compromise for so long that it’s the only natural response I have. If I… If I back down for even just one moment, then I could lose sight of what I’m searching for. I can’t… can’t-”
“Shhh, it’s okay, Rarity, it’s okay,” Twilight whispered, slipping a hoof about her shoulders and pulling her close. “I know that you’ll find your center again. I believe in you.”
“That goes fer me too, sugarcube.” Startled, they both turned to see Applejack waddling over, heavily with foal and mere days, possibly hours from birth, and Fluttershy beside her.
“G-Girls?” Rarity stammered, confused to see any of her friends coming to see her off. “What’re you doing here?”
“Well, um, we both thought that, well…” Fluttershy began, pawing at the ground.
“We figured that ya could do with a good sendin’ off,” Applejack interceded. “We’ve all messed up somethin’ fierce, an’ ah ain’t about t’ have you shippin’ out t’ the big city without a proper goodbye.”
“You mean… you aren’t upset?”
“Upset? Darlin’, ah’m pissed t’ high hell,” Applejack snapped back. “But it ain’t just with you, it’s all of us. We all goofed, an’ I ain’t about t’ let you go skulking off thinkin’ that the burden is only yours t’ carry. Just ain’t right. And besides,” she continued, softening her tone as she leaned closer and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Takin’ all the blame would be right selfish, an’ ah know that on the inside,” she said as she prodded the mare’s chest., “You’re better than that. That ain’t who you are.”
“Applejack, I…”
“She’s right, Rarity,” Fluttershy butted in, matching Applejack’s confidence, “so you better not tell her she’s wrong.”
“Darn right.” Seeing the mare’s shoulders begin to tremble, Applejack leaned forward and held Rarity in the tightest embrace that her swollen stomach would allow. “You take care now, ya hear?”
“Thank you…” She squeezed back, smiling in spite of all that had happened. “Both of you, thank for coming… But where is-” Before she could finish the sentence, an extremely localized and unprecedented shower came raining down, drenching Rarity and nopony else.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted, “You get down here and apologize right now!”
“It’s fine, Twilight, really,” Rarity chuckled, shivering as she shook the excess from her coat. “Rainbow Dash has every reason to be upset.”
“Doesn’t mean she needs t’ be an as-”
“Applejack!” Fluttershy cut in, shooting the mare a dirty look. “She’s just upset because she wasn’t able to bring Pinkie back, either. You know that.”
“Ah know, ah know…” Applejack conceded, scuffing at the ground. Always the first to action and last to reason, Rainbow Dash had taken off the night of Rarity’s return to Ponyville to confront Pinkie after hearing about the situation, despite her strict orders not to fly for more than five minutes at a time. Details on what was spoken between the two were still unknown to the group gathered at the station, but Rainbow Dash wasn’t seen for the two days that followed. “Ah hope she doesn’t do anything too rash. She’s too far along t’ be foolhardy, an’ even Storm’s havin’ a hard time keepin’ her in line.”
The somber statement was followed by the whistle of the approaching train engine, and within a few minutes they had gathered around Rarity as she prepared to board. They exchanged their goodbyes and offered her a few parting words of encouragement, but rather than stepping aboard, she reached into one of her cases and withdrew a neatly wrapped package.
“Would you all see that this is delivered to Pinkie?”
“Of course, Rarity,” Twilight said, stepping forward and accepting the parcel into her magic. She wanted to ask what it was, as did everypony else, but they knew that it was none of their business.
“Thank you, Twilight. I-”
“All aboard! Last call for service to Manehatten~!” Rarity could feel her spirit tugging her towards the door, but her heart pulled towards her friends.
“I must be on my way,” Rarity said, summoning what little strength she could muster and holding her head high. It was now or never. “I promise all of you, my dear friends, that I will return when I have found true beauty. For now,” she paused, lifting her gaze towards the endless expanse. It represented opportunity as much as it did uncertainty, but it was where she needed to be. “For now, I look to new horizons.”
“Ah hope ye find a mirror t’ look at soon, sugarcube,” Applejack said with a grin as she sniffed a little. “You’ll come back to us that much sooner.” Rarity looked down at her hoof and the bandage that still covered the jagged cut that lay beneath, and smiled.
“I’d rather avoid mirrors for the time being,” she chuckled softly, holding the hoof to her chest. “They don’t hold the truth that I seek.”
“So, um, what does, Rarity?”
“Well, Fluttershy… I don’t know,” Rarity said, glancing over her shoulder. “But I hope that soon, I will find the answer.” Waving farewell one more time, she boarded the train and made for an unoccupied compartment. She couldn’t say what waited for her in the city, nor could she say whether or not she would really find the answers she was searching for. What she did know is that somewhere, buried within her was the pony that she knew she could be, and that was what kept her eyes forward and her spirit calm as her time in Ponyville, at least for a time, drew to a close.