Donut Joe's shop rang with the laughter and conversation of the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony, their dragon friend, and Princess Celestia. It had been astonishing enough for Donut Joe to have six beautiful, if a bit disheveled looking, mares in his shop, only for him to find out that those very same mares were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony when Princess Celestia herself entered his humble store. He had very nearly passed out when the ruler of Equestria had walked through his doors. Now, for his part, Donut Joe was doing his best not to bother any of his eight prestigious guests. Unless they had directly asked him for something, he stayed back behind the counter, but that didn't stop him from overhearing the many conversations that were taking place. His interest, however, was almost entirely taken up by the conversation that Princess Celestia was having with, in his opinion, the most beautiful of all the Element Bearers.
"I'm very sorry about how my nephew treated you tonight, Rarity," Princess Celestia said sincerely.
"Oh, don't worry about it Princess," Rarity replied, "None of his actions were your fault."
To the white unicorn's surprise, Princess Celestia sighed heavily and lowered her head, almost as if in defeat. "But it is, Rarity. It most certainly is my fault. He is my nephew, yet, no matter how much i try, I cannot teach him what he needs to learn most."
Rarity did not reply immediately as she did not really understand exactly what the Princess of the Sun had meant. After a couple moments of silence spent pondering the alicorn's statement, the fashonista said, "I'm terribly sorry Princess, but I'm afraid that I still fail to comprehend how any of Prince Blueblood's behavior could be your fault."
Princess Celestia gave a small, yet somewhat forlorn, smile, "That's quite alright Rarity. I wouldn't have expected you or anypony else to understand without being given an explanation. But, first, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell me what, in your opinion, is the thing that my dear nephew needs to learn the most?"
Rarity replied almost immediately, "Manners. Definitely manners. He was insufferably rude almost the entire time I was with him. Also, he should be taught how to treat mares and not only think about himself."
Princess Celestia sighed again, “I can most certainly see why you would think that he needs to learn some manners, and, while I don’t disagree with that, I don’t see manners as what he needs to learn the most. Although, I suppose that they do, in a way, tie in to what I myself feel is the most important thing for him to learn.”
“And what might that be?” Rarity inquired politely.
“How poor he truly is,” Princess Celestia replied simply.
Rarity did not say a word for a few seconds before she hesitantly asked, “But, forgive me Princess, but he isn’t poor at all. Isn’t he one of the wealthiest nobleponies in Canterlot?”
“Well, yes, he is probably one of the, if not the wealthiest noble in Canterlot,” Princess Celestia agreed. “However, true wealth should not be measured by the amount of money or property one has, but instead by the quality of the relationships that one has with those closest to oneself.”
“Oh,” Rarity said, “You mean like family and friends? Or even with other ponies outside of immediate family and one’s best friends?”
The Princess of the Sun smiled at the white unicorn, “Well, that would be determined by each individual. Anypony that they feel means a lot to them would fall under the category of a pony who would be extremely close to them. It doesn’t have to be limited to family and friends. In fact, in some cases, I know that family was not even a part of one pony’s individual group of those who were closest to him. Though, usually, if somepony is considered close to another pony, then they would think of themselves as friends, wouldn’t they?”
Rarity nodded, “I would definitely think that they would. Unless of course, the pony in question is somepony that one is wishing to marry. They would be considered much more than friends, even considered much closer than two ponies who were merely friends. Although, there are some friends who could definitely be seen as closer than a married couple, or than two ponies who are soon to be married. Not everypony always wishes to be married anyway. And, married or no, if two ponies feel that they care deeply for each other, what does it matter if they have an official document uniting them by law? After all, if you are close with somepony else, then you would want to spend a lot of time with them, at least, that’s how I see it."
Princess Celestia’s smile widened as she listened to the much younger pony speak, “Indeed Rarity. It doesn’t matter at all what official proof they have, as long as the two ponies in question feel strongly about each other, whether romantically or not. You understand perfectly, and I just wish I could get my nephew to see that. He puts so much stock in those documents and in how much physical wealth he or somepony else has, that he forgets to even consider any other aspects of anypony or of life for that matter.”
Rarity smiled, “It’s alright Princess. Not everypony can understand all that we might wish that they did. As long as you know how you feel about a specific issue, then it doesn’t matter if you cannot teach every other pony that you know your philosophy. I’m afraid that Prince Blueblood is doomed to be nothing but a stuck up snob until he learns even a fraction of what we just discussed.”
Princess Celestia laughed softly, “That is very true Rarity. And, as much as I do love my nephew, I guess I must accept that I cannot guide him through every part of life. He must find his own way, and, until he sees the error of his ways, he will continue driving ponies away.”
Rarity nodded again, “Yes, that is definitely right. And, as much as I might dislike him because of what happened tonight, I do still hope that someday he will realize how lonely he has forced himself to be and that he may change his views eventually.”
“Thank you, Rarity,” the Sun Princess said, “That means a lot to hear you say that, especially so soon after tonight.”
“You’re welcome, Princess. After all, what good would it do me to hold a grudge anyway? Everypony deserves the best possible future they can get, even if they themselves are the obstacle that is standing in their way.”