//------------------------------//
// Please 
// Story: All That Glitters 
// by Crystal Wishes 
//------------------------------//

Glittering chandeliers.  Formal tuxedos.  Long evening gowns.  Unlimited cocktails and hors d'oeuvre.  Backhoofed compliments said with a smile and vicious gossip whispered behind hooves.

This was the life Au had always dreamed of.  She had long since achieved Equestria-wide success, leaving the little filly Golden behind.  Now she was the pony everypony longed to be.

"Au, darling," said a mare Au didn't care to recognize, "you simply must pass my regards to your mother.  Her latest tour was absolutely phenomenal."

Au's expression was flawless.  She knew that.  Nothing ever escaped her composure.  On the inside, however, she bucked over the nearest waiter and watched as the champagne flutes went flying, shattering when they hit the ground and making an absolute mess.  It was a satisfying daydream.

She had not gotten to where she was to play messenger mare for her dearest mother.

"I'll be sure to let her know," Au said with a voice as smooth as silk and promptly tossed the mental note in the bin.  "Now, if you'll excuse me, please."  She smiled and strode past the mare.  Perfect poise.  Hooves landing with gliding precision.  Back arched just right.  Head inclined to catch the light in her eyes.  Tail perked to draw attention to her assets.

Through the crowd, she spotted him: her current stallionfriend.  Certainly not the first, and most certainly not the last.  The only thing constant about her companions was how they never stayed.  It was worth it, though; it was worth it just to not be alone.

This one was a fashion critic who had written an article about her father's latest line.  She had been his star interview, and now she was his star.

There he was, standing tall and dashing in his tuxedo, a pair of glasses resting on the end of his snout.  The dark grey color of his coat was contrasted by the light green mane and tail.

And he was particularly contrasted by the mare latched onto his foreleg like a loathsome leech.  Her cute little red pixie-cut mane, her bright blue eyes that couldn't possibly compare to the sapphire of Au's...  Who was she?

Au kept her head held high as she approached them.  "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, Nitpick, darling?"

His ears turned to her before his head did.  "Good evening, Miss Au."

"'Miss' Au?"  She stopped short, arching one brow.

Nitpick didn't acknowledge her, continuing as though she hadn't spoken at all.  "This is my marefriend, Kitten."

His marefriend.

He hadn't even taken the time to break up with her properly.

A strange bitterness gripped her chest as she stood there.  She couldn't speak at first.  If she spoke, her composure would fall.  If her composure fell, she would fall.

And Au would never fall.

"I see."  She offered her hoof to the little doll of a mare.  "Charmed, I'm sure."

"Oh, golly," Kitten said in an annoyingly country accent.  Her nose scrunched up and she gave a snorting giggle.  Deplorable.  "It sure is nice to meet a fellow model!"

"Model?" Au scoffed more than said, her hoof still suspended in the air, waiting.  "You?"

Kitten beamed.  "Yes, ma'am!  Nitty here did a review of a little ol' show I was in down in Appleoosa, an' he brought me here to the big city of Canterlot to get my start!"

"It's a refreshing breath of fresh air," Nitpick said, smiling up at Au, daggers in his eyes.  "A new face in the world of fashion.  Canterlot is so getting tired of seeing the same thing year after year.  Ponies do so hate old news, you know."

Was he calling her old news?  Au felt her hackles raise and she lifted the hoof up to her face to conceal a laugh.  "Oh, I see.  Well, Nitty, be sure to take good care of your kitty."  She leaned in to place a cordial kiss on his cheek that she wished was laced with venom.  "You certainly are an expert at that."

He stiffened and she smirked.  Better than venom, she would ruin his career.  He would never get an interview with her or her father ever again.  Her dad would listen to her.  He always listened to her when it didn't really matter.

"Ciao, darlings."  She turned and walked away from them, the bitterness returning.  That meant she was without a date for the charity banquet for who-even-cared-what.  She couldn't be seen alone.  The very notion was absolutely unthinkable.  Somepony had to fill his place.

Her gaze met that of a stallion she vaguely recognized as a photographer who had been at her last fashion show.  He would do.  Tossing her mane over one shoulder, she strode up to him, ensuring everything was in place.  Stride.  Mane.  Posture.  Sparkle.

"Hello," she practically purred.  "I'm—"

"Oh, please, as if you need to introduce yourself."  He took her hoof before she could even offer it and lifted it to his lips, his brilliant ruby eyes never leaving hers.  "Delighted to meet you."

Au smiled and angled her head just slightly.  "How delighted?"

After a brief pause, he leaned in closer, kissing higher up her foreleg.  "Quite."

"Well, I'm flattered."  She fluttered her long, luscious lashes.  "It's a shame more stallions can't see your point of view."

"Is that so?  That is their loss, then; this point of view is to die for."  He kissed the crook where her foreleg bent, sending a small, pleasant tingle down her spine.

Oh, yes.  He would do nicely.


♕


"Good morning, Miss Au," a soft voice said.  "It's time to wake up."

Au groaned.  Her head throbbed with a deep pain and she ached all over from a night well spent.  Slowly, she cracked open one eye to see a figure leaning over her, and her lips curled into a coy smile.  "Mm, good morning, handsome."

He cleared his throat.  "I'm afraid your... companion from last night has already left, Miss Au."

Of course he had.  They always left.  But, wait—then who was by her bed?  Au's smile fell and she opened the other eye as she lifted her head.  In the dim light of her bedroom, his features were barely recognizable, but once she figured out who it was, she frowned.  "Oh.  Good morning, Dusty."

Dusty Might—her personal valet.  Her stallionservant.  Her errand colt.  Her whatever-she-felt-like-calling-him-that-day.  He was a fit earth pony with a mane that resembled a wet mop sitting atop his head, and a tail to match.  His pale blue coat contrasted with the dark brown mop-mane that covered most of his face.

The stallion looked down at her with drooping lilac eyes.  They always looked so tired.  Did he never sleep, or was he just born with them?  She  dropped her head back onto the pillow and faced away from him.

"I've brought your coffee and breakfast, Miss Au."

Her ear twitched at the sound of a tray being set on the nightstand and she rolled just enough to peer at him out of the corner of one eye.  "I'm not hungry."  Her gaze trailed over his form.  "For breakfast."  She rolled over all the way to face him, pushed herself up, and wrapped her forelegs around his neck.  With her muzzle right by his ear, she whispered, "Why don't you take care of me?"

Dusty didn't flinch, falter, or really react at all; he never did.  "I'm trying to.  Eat your breakfast and I'll read your letters."

Au sighed and pulled away from him with a pout on her lips.  "Don't you find me pretty?"  Her magic pulled the covers back to expose the rest of her form while she stretched out into an alluring pose.  "Gorgeous, even?  How can you always say no to me?"

Without missing a beat, Dusty lifted the stack of envelopes that had been tucked under one foreleg.  "You have two bills, three fan letters, and what seems to be a wedding invitation."

The thoughts of seducing him vanished and she levitated the bagel off its plate.  "A wedding invitation?  Open that one.  See if it's anypony important."

While Dusty opened the envelope, she munched on the bagel and mulled over her wedding checklist.  She'd need a new dress and jewelry, for starters, and a date.  She could not show up to a wedding without a date.  That photographer would make for good leg candy, though she had a feeling that was just an empty fling like all the rest.  He'd be long gone by the time this wedding rolled around.  After all, she didn't even know his name.

"Ah, here we are.  You have been invited to the wedding of Crystal Wishes and Silent Knight on—"

Au's blood ran cold.  Her magic flickered out, dropping the bagel onto the bed, and her eyes widened.  "What?"

Dusty glanced between the invitation and her.  "Which part?"

"No."  She snatched it out of his grasp and stared at the words, reading them over a few times.  Crystal Wishes?  She was getting married?  When she felt a tremble start to overtake her, she quickly snapped, "You're dismissed for the day."

"But—"

She glared up at him.  "I said you're dismissed.  Leave."

With a confused look on his face, Dusty simply nodded, set the rest of the letters on the nightstand, and left the bedroom.  When the door shut behind him, Au dropped her composure.

Her breathing went ragged, a cold sweat overtook her, and her jaw clenched.  Slowly, the invitation started to tear in half as her magic pulled it apart.  Then in quarters.  Then in smaller and smaller pieces, each rip more frantic than the last, until she had shredded it so tiny that all she could do was throw them away.

As the confetti of bad news fell to the floor, Au jumped off the bed and stormed toward the door.  That miserable mare was getting married.  Of course she was!  She had everything else, so why not add a husband to her wonderful little life?

She burst into the main room of her spacious luxury condo and looked around.  It was empty; Dusty had left.  Yes, she had told him to, but he should have known better!  He should have stayed.

Nopony ever stayed.

A quiet sob fell from her lips and she stomped a hoof.  Why was she so upset?  She had everything she had ever wanted!  One wall of the living room was covered in trophies, medals, awards, and framed prints of every magazine cover she had been featured on.  Her beautiful face looked back at her from every angle in gorgeous gowns most mares could only dream of looking at, much less wear.

In the center of it all was a silver globe dotted with red gems.  Two years ago, she had become Miss Equestria.  The trophy that matched her cutie mark belonged to her.  She was the most beautiful mare in the entire kingdom.  Stallions lined up to spend just one—and only one—night with her.  Mares fell at her hooves, begging to be her, even if for only just one day.

She had achieved her lifelong dream, so... why wasn't she happy?

... please.