“Well shucks Twilight. Expandin’ the farm has been a dream of mine for a while now, and here you’ve done it in only a few days.”
“Don’t thank me yet, I only got the zoning rights and approval from Celestia. Next we’ll have to start the planning phase.”
“Hey I’m just glad for more acreage on the farm.” Applejack pulled the door of the castle open and said, “I gotta head home and tell Granny. I’ll be back before the party starts though. Thanks again, Twi!”
The door closed behind the earth mare and Twilight went back up the castle stairs. Streamers were strung amongst the ceiling and along the bannister. Balloons were tied to almost everything that they could be tied to, and some things that they probably shouldn’t have been. She climbed the steps, passing all the decorations, and stepped onto the second floor of the castle. The foyer was even more covered in party supplies, glitter and confetti sprinkled across the floor.
As she trotted down the hall a thumping vibration rumbled against one of the doors. Twilight turned the doorknob of the room and opened the door, causing music to blare into the hallway and send painful little knives into her eardrums. With lightning speed, she levitated the arm off the record player, ceasing the piercing music. Her eyebrows twitched, trying to recover from the parade of ringing in her ears. As they did, she gave a little sigh and yelled for the pink, party pony.
Decorations littered the room – much like the hallway preceding. It also included a dance floor, tables of food, and a banner above. It was thanks to Pinkie, the party planner, who was busily strapping more streamers onto the wall. From her ladder, she turned her head for a moment to look at Twilight, a tape dispenser still in her mouth. She rolled down the ladder with grace and bounced over to the irked alicorn. As she opened her mouth to speak, the tape dispenser fell from her lips and landed atop Twilight’s hoof.
“Oops, sorry Twilight,” she said after the alicorn yelped in agony.
Twilight’s face twisted menacingly at the pink pony, pouting her lips in both pain and displeasure. “It’s okay. Are you almost done decorating? I’m sure he’ll be here soon and Rarity should already be on her way. I sent Spike to get her early.”
Pinkie grabbed the tape dispenser in her mouth once more, then lisped a question about Applejack.
“She went back home but she’ll be here before the party. I’ve got some planning to do with Rarity and her and wanted to fill them both in before it starts. I don’t suppose you’ve seen Rainbow?”
The left side of Pinkie’s mouth had tape covering it, but the right side replied, “Nope. I gave her ribbons, streamers, and garland earlier and haven’t seen her since.”
“Well, at least she did some decorating before she vanished,” Twilight murmured. The voices of Spike and Rarity caused her to turn around. She peeked her head out into the hall and greeted the two.
Rarity had already gussied herself up in a short lilac dress and small lavender hat. “Hello darling,” she said as she hugged the alicorn. “Spike tells me there’s something you needed to discuss with me?”
“That’s right,” Twilight replied as she rubbed the dragon’s head. “Spike, if you could, help Pinkie remove the tape from her mouth. I’ve got to talk with Rarity for a bit.”
He happily obliged, saluting the two before rushing over to Pinkie. They both giggled for a moment before walking down the hall. Twilight led the unicorn up to the third floor and into her bedroom, tracking glitter the entire way. She flipped on the light and shifted some papers on her desk, unrolling one of the parchments and displaying it flat on the surface.
Eyeing over the documents, Rarity grinned at the sight. “Oh my, Twilight. So this is what you’ve been planning? This is no small feat.”
“I got the okay from Celestia, so now all we need is to secure where it’s going to be and how to build it.”
Rarity lifted her forelegs up onto the desk, remaining bipedal as she examined the blueprints. “Well I’m glad you wanted to ask my opinion first, because this thing looks dreadful.”
The alicorn let out a laugh and lifted her forelegs onto the desk as well. “I’m hoping you and Applejack can work together to design something that both looks good and is built well. Do you think you can do it?” she asked.
“Of course we can. Applejack may be a bit stubborn-“ Rarity pulled herself away from the desk, knocking a parchment onto the floor “-but she’s very good at what she knows.” She levitated the parchment up from the ground and caught a glimpse of the inside. “I look forward to seeing the…” she trailed off into a pause as she stared at the paper.
Twilight looked over at the frozen unicorn, eventually realizing what she had been looking at. “Oh no!” she screamed as she belly-flopped onto the paper.
“That was a bit excessive, Twilight.”
With a guilty expression, Twilight eased from the ground, making sure to holding the paper out of view. “How much did you see?”
“Well, there was you and a convenient book placed delicately. So, pretty much all of it, darling,” sassed the unicorn in a pleasant tone. “My question is, why do you have a drawing of yourself in such a compromising position? Not that I’m judging.” She fanned herself for a moment, then muttered, “We all have our predilections.”
Groaning in displeasure, Twilight’s eyebrows drew together as she looked down at the drawing. “I found it in Chrysalis’s hive. One of the changeling’s had it taped to his wall. And look.” She raised the bottom of the picture into Rarity’s view, revealing the signature – ‘Flutter S.’.
“Is that who I think it is?” Rarity asked. “Our very own innocent, kind, shy pegasus?”
“I haven’t shown it to her yet to find out if it’s true. I plan to ask her later. Please don’t go questioning her at the party, I don’t want to make a commotion in front of everypony.”
“Oh, of course darling. Mums the word.” Rarity smiled. “Though, if it is her, do you think she’d do one of me?”
The question caused Twilight to recoil, shifting her weight to her back legs in disgust. “W-Why would you want one of yourself?” she asked with a bit of curious vitriol.
A seductively devious grin shot across Rarity’s lips. “It’d be a good gift for a love interest,” she said. “I probably would have given one to Spike, well, before everything collapsed on that whole arrangement.”
Twilight stepped around the unicorn and over to the desk. She levitated open a draw and shoved the drawing in like she was squishing grapes in a barrel. “How are you feeling now that it’s all in the open?” she asked as she closed the drawer. “Spike seems better than ever.”
“I’m fine, of course. I am a bit surprised to hear Applejack fancies him.” She crept to the door, waiting for the alicorn to walk with her. “Though I think he’s made a smart decision to wait, just so he can get over me. I can’t imagine how difficult that is going to be for him.”
Out of view of Rarity, Twilight rolled her eyes as she walked to her side. “I’m sure the wait won’t be too long,” she said. “I am surprised about Applejack as well. Spike’s definitely working that boyish charm of his. It won’t be long before he’s all grown up, and he knows that.” The two made their way down to the second floor and into the hall.
“We all have to spend as much time with him as possible, before that country mare steals him away.” Rarity giggled to herself, a sneer across her face.
Before Twilight could make a sarcastic remark, they heard the deep, dark voice of a stallion echoing from down the staircase. She couldn’t make out what was being said as they were too far away. The two mares jogged at a swift pace over to the railing, attempting to look down past the sets of stairs and into the foyer. The light filled the room, shining in from the open door, only to be closed a second later.
“Anybody home?” yelled the centaur.
“Tirek!” Twilight shouted as she rushed down the steps.
She managed to catch a glimpse of him as she stepped down into the foyer, her heart skipping a beat at the same moment. Skidding to a stop in front of the stallion, she stared up at the slicked back hair, trimmed beard, and the black bowtie around his neck. He looked as if he had found the fountain of youth itself, yet still seemed as skinny as the last day he spent in Tartarus. She had never noticed his physical appeal, but he cleaned up quite nicely and far better than he had when they visited the royal sisters.
“Hello my dear, sweet Twilight Sparkle.” He lowered his hand flat in front of her. She quickly placed her hoof in it, to which he lifted and kissed. “It’s good to see you again.”
Rarity had been slowly trotting down the steps with grace, taking note of the gorgeously fetching centaur that stood with her best friend. “If spending a few weeks in Canterlot turns a ruffian into a handsome rogue, then I need to move there immediately,” she mumbled to herself. “I can only imagine what it could do to a shiny gem like me.”
A high-pitched scream from up the stairs caused all three to flinch. Tirek’s biggest fan had heard him from down the hall and came to welcome him the only way she knew how – by screaming and firing confetti.