The Formula for Love

by MegaTJ

The Formula of Love

The Formula of Love

The Celestia raised her majestic sun about ten minutes early the next morning, waking Rarity from a rough night's sleep earlier than it would have. The brightening sun was just enough to show through her eyelids and gently coax her awake. She opened her eyes slowly, as if any sudden movements would shatter anymore of her frail body. The first thing she came to focus on was what lay under the needle of her sewing machine. A yawn escaped her mouth as she tried to figure out what and why she had fallen asleep working on. The first clear thought was a brief flashback to Linen's heartbroken face. Everything was instantly clear, jolting her awake and plunging her hooves back onto the sewing machine. It came back to life as she worked continued her working. The thought of putting on a pot of coffee to help her grogginess didn't make it very far in her mind. She was more focused on finishing the garment she had started the second she got back to the boutique the night before.

She thought back to the time when Linen taught her the sewing technique she was using for her project. It brought a smile to her face to remember Linen falling out of his chair while leaning over to pull the fabric under the needle. "What a better way to ensure gravity is still in good order?" he whimsically quipped for a laugh.

"He does have such a well-rounded sense of humor", she sighed, turning the fabric over and cross-stitching it. "If only I had laughed more at his jokes…" She giggled, the thought reminding her of how he laughed. It was so adorable how it sounded like a double hoot of an owl.

The unicorn finished not too long after continuing, having worked through the night with only an hour's sleep. Rarity folded it crisply, then packaged it in the most decorated box she had in the shop, even adding a few more bows and ribbons just in case. That brought her to the second thing she had to get fixed.

Unfortunately, she knew no repairing spells, and was at the mercy of the aid of an outside force to get Linen's glasses back in one piece. She levitated the box containing the shattered spectacles up to her, wondering if they could even be reverted back into their once whole form. The optometry clinic wasn't yet open, and there wasn't another place she could take the glasses. Rarity could only resolve to forcing herself to wait as patiently as she could until the clinic opened. That was at least two hours away which would drag by slower than Rainbow Dash getting up in the morning for weather patrol duty.

Fear of ridicule by her friends kept Rarity inside the Carousel Boutique. There was no doubt that word about what happened at the Blitz had already spread over most of Ponyville by now. Until she got things sorted out with Linen, she couldn't talk to anypony. She sighed, trying not to think about it. Had she been in the mood to eat, she could have passed the time with breakfast, but guilt was proving to be a pretty heavy meal.

The time went by filled with menial tasks Rarity found to keep her mind as far away from Linen as she could. It was an absolute impossibility for her to completely get him out of her mind. After all, he was the first colt to fully come into her heart and make a nice place to settle down. She flinched upon thinking about if that spot was still even there. The rag she was dragging across her bathroom sink stopped moving. She sighed, letting it fall to the bottom of the spotless basin. Her reflection caught her eye.

"Oh, look at you", she said to it, "Heartbreaker. I cannot believe that you…I hurt Linen so deeply…" As her heart began losing the will to beat at a regular pace, Rarity noticed the dry makeup that had run down her face from result of the tears she shed after realizing she wasn't going to find Linen after the Blitz. The rag in the sink wasn't very dirty, so she levitated it up to wipe away the mess.

It took some work, but in a few minutes her face was completely free from all signs of artificial color, leaving her natural white fur behind. A moment of self-inspections ensued. What exactly does Linen find so appealing about my natural beauty? If she was anypony else, Rarity would not have recognized the pony looking back at her through the shiny glass. The lack of her signature eye shadow, mascara, and clear lip gloss was enough to completely change her physical identity. That gave her an idea.

"Linen has not seen me fully barren of cosmetics…Maybe approaching him this way will aid in my mission to apologize…" She looked uncertainly at herself. "And if that would so happen to be the case, then…dare I say…I must be 'all natural'!"

A few minutes later, Rarity emerged from her bathroom, now a new pony. She was so convincing, that even Opal took a sightseeing detour to go look at something that was not in the direction of the new pony in her home. "I must really be sorry", Rarity said to herself. She ran her hoof through her now completely straightened mane. "For nopony else would I ever decimate my mane…or my tail unless it was a dire emergency."

To prevent an inevitable crash, Rarity pulled her mane behind her ears and held it in place with a dark purple headband. Even with the curls taken out, her tail didn't touch the floor, so nothing was needed to keep it up. Her clock read a quarter after seven, telling her that it was time to leave out to start the second part of her planned apology. The small box of busted spectacles floated behind her as she left her home for humid morning of Ponyville.

It was too early in the morning for most of Ponyville to be out and about. Rarity set her mind at ease, that meant there was no pony to stop her on her way. She didn't think about it, but no pony would have even known who she was anyway. The absence of her makeup and the complete change of her mane and tail turned her into a completely different pony. She kept her pace swift, hoping that the less time she spent getting everything ready would increase her chances of receiving a positive outcome.

Rarity reached the optometry clinic faster than she thought she would. The "open" sign welcomed her in, yet she remained frozen just on the outside of the door. "It will be okay, Rarity", she assured herself, "You must only give the pony the glasses, Linen's information, then simply wait." She crossed the threshold with a held breath.

Surprised at how early somepony had shown up, the desk pony waved her to the desk. "May I help you, dear?"

"I, er…yes", Rarity sputtered. Swallowing her nervousness, she continued, "I need a pair of glasses repaired…they are for my friend, who is too busy working at home to bring them himself."

The unicorn bearing the nameplate "Crystal Clear" looked into the box Rarity placed on her desk. "Oh, my…They are absolutely destroyed!"

Rarity recovered from the guilt as quickly as she could, replying with, "He refused to tell me what had happened, only telling me that it was merely an accident."

"I see…" Crystal replied skeptically, "Well, if you want them fixed, I only need the measurements."

"Er…"

"If you can't remember, I can just look up his information."

"Oh, yes, of course", Rarity chuckled fretfully, "His name is Linen Fiber."

"Ah, I thought I recognized this frame!" the blue pony realized, "He came in just two days ago with an appointment for his brother. He's a sweet stallion. I heard that he was hurt real bad at the Blitz last night, though. Poor guy. You're a good friend to help a very near-sight pony like him. You must be much better than that ungrateful mare who broke his heart."

She didn't get a response. If she had looked into Rarity's face, she could see the guilt advertising itself across her frown. "I'll get these fixed right up. Shouldn't take more than few minutes. Feel free to take a seat in the lobby, mmkay, Sweetie?"

"I'll do just that." The seat farthest from the door and windows seemed to be the best place to help keep her identity to herself, so Rarity chose the chair in the far corner of the room. The air was stiffly quiet, adding a new member to the army of stress assaulting her conscious. "Ungrateful mare is right", she said when Crystal Clear disappeared behind the door leading to the workshop. "I couldn't see what was clearly in front of my nose."

There were about sixty other things that Rarity wanted to do than wait alone in the lobby. Most of them involved Linen in some way or another. Her mind wandered around the plains of imagination, playing through scenarios of how she should approach Linen and exactly what he would do in response. Not many of them ended very well, resulting in adrenaline rushes, making it a pain to sit still. She fought the urge to stand up and pace around the room, the last thing she wanted to do was exhibit the impatience she felt.

The room had reached the brightest point from the sun outside by the time the door behind the desk opened. Rarity saw it in the reflection in the glass of the aquarium she was peering through. She shot around to see the blue unicorn levitating a small case in front of her. "Just like new!" she commented, pushing them across the desk. "Linen's insurance covers replacement glasses, so you are free to take them now."

"You have really done it", remarked Rarity in astonishment. The jade green frame of Linen's glasses held brand new lenses in them, ready for use. "Thank you very much. I cannot express my gratitude."

Her savior smiled. "Just get them to Linen before he knocks himself out. I doubt he can see a thing without them."

"Thank you again", Rarity called, stepping out of the office.

That was number two crossed off her list. The only thing to do now was take the two items to Linen's home and beg for forgiveness. It wasn't exactly what she was inclined to do, but Rarity galloped as fast as she could through Ponyville. In the twenty minutes Rarity spent cooped up in the lobby of the optometrist, more ponies had decided to come out and enjoy the beautiful morning. Not many noticed her rush, and the ones who did only thought that some new pony had just bumped into Pinkie Pie.

Nothing slowed the unicorn down, not even a little. She was going to get to Linen if it killed her. Upon making the last step to the porch, it almost did. She didn't pick her hoof up completely and suffered a crash right against Linen's door. To her relief, the packages she levitated with her didn't fall out of the air with her. Even though her hoof had already swelled in the spot she hit, she gave the door she used to stop her crash a few quick knocks.

When she was absolutely sure that five minutes were enough time for him to answer, she knocked again, this time waiting ten minutes. Horror creeped up her spine. If he wasn't home, then that meant he was hiding from her. "But where could he have gone?" she asked her hooves. "Perhaps to the library? He and Twilight are very good friends…"

That's all it took to motivate her to tear off for the library. If Linen was upset to the point of seeking sympathy from a friend, then he was probably looking for anyway to heal his heart, even if it meant replacing her with somepony else. "I hope I'm not too late…"

L

"Here ya go, Cotton", said Spike, sliding a towering pile of pancakes in front of the colt.

"Thanks, Spike!" he cheered, tearing into the flapjacks without the slightest hint of remorse. Scootaloo giggled at his ferociousness while she finished off her orange juice.

The dragon nodded, taking a seat next to them with a big bowl of emeralds. They worked on satisfying their stomachs while Twilight quietly shelved the books leftover from the day before. There weren't many, so she took her time levitating them from her cart to their correct gaps on the wooden cases. Owlowiscious and Peewee flew around aimlessly for morning exercise. All was peaceful, that was, before somepony crashed through the door.

"Twilight!" Rarity cried. "Twilight, oh, Twilight!" She threw herself to the floor in front of the librarian. "You have to help, something terrible has happened."

"I am well aware", Twilight said, ignoring her friend's dramatic entrance.

"You are?"

"Hi, Rarity!" Cotton called from the kitchen.

"Cotton's here? Then is Linen…"

"No."

"I don't understand, why is Cotton here and Linen—"

"Because", Twilight interrupted sharply, "Linen has appointed me as Cotton's godsister. Cotton came here last night after he couldn't find Linen. He went home, but Linen wasn't there. No pony knows where he is."

Rarity stared at Twilight. "D-Disappeared?"

"After last night, I don't blame him", Twilight snapped, "I can't believe you did that to him. You, of all ponies should know how frail a heart can be. There's even a rumor going around that you have driven him to move back to Trottingham."

Twilight watched Rarity blink back tears. "I do know what I did, Twilight. And know that I fully intend to fix the damage I have done."

"Then you should go look for him."

"I haven't the slightest clue as to where to look", Rarity replied, "Would you have any ideas?"

Twilight knew, Rarity could tell that right off the bat. She just didn't know if Twilight was going to tell her. She mulled it over in her head. "I don't know if I should tell you, Linen only goes there when he wants to think…"

"Twilight, please", Rarity begged, "You must! You must, you must!"

"For his sake, I suppose…"

"Where? Where!?"

"The west cliff of Pointy Peak…but I can't guarantee he'll be there."

"That's more than enough for now!" Rarity exclaimed, "Thank you, oh thank you Twilight!"

L

Rarity could no longer move any faster than a slow walk. Her hooves just weren't meant for the punishment of loads of galloping up a mountain. She was only halfway up to her destination, which had shaved off two hours already. Now she was certain that too much time had gone by. There was no possible way she could be forgiven now. "I must still try…" she cried. "I can't live life wondering what could have been."

The mountain suddenly steepened ahead of her, and was mined with a forest of low hanging branches. With the exception of the exhausting climb, there wasn't much to offend Rarity's cleanliness. "Sacrifices must be made, Rarity, especially for love…" In order for her to muscle her way through the low trees, Rarity imagined how upset Linen was. Instant motivation caused a temporary spell of amnesia as she let the twigs and leaves stick into and ruin her mane and tail's sleekness. She climbed higher and higher, putting her mane and tail through more than they had ever gone through.

The hardest part of the climb dissipated into level terrain filled with low growing vegetation. It was an easier trek now, but still a trek lasting another agonizing ten minutes until the fertile soil gave way to the rock of the cliff facing the area Celestia's sun always set. The trees ahead of the nature-covered unicorn thinned out, revealing the silhouette of a pony against the setting sun. Figuring out exactly why getting to the top of Pointy Peak took her until sunset didn't even register as a problem to solve, for she had blasted out into a sprint to the pony sitting very near the edge of the mountain.

Rarity slowed her approach, fearing that if she startled Linen, he might fall over to his doom. She was only six feet away when she couldn't go on any farther. The sight of his tattered mane and tail erased every plan and rehearsal she had intricately thought about since the night before. He sat unmoving, merely looking at the sun sink below the distant horizon. Every so often, he would levitate a rock into a haphazard pile he built beside him. When he collected enough, he dragged his hoof through it, sending every pebble over the edge of the cliff. Rarity watched him repeat the process several times before he sighed deeply.

All of the words she wanted to say got caught in her throat every time she opened her mouth to voice them. Rarity shifted her wait to her left, then immediately wished she hadn't.

Snap!

Her eyes shot down to the broken twig under her left hoof, then to Linen just in time to see his ear still in mid-twitch. She held her breath, but apparently it wasn't enough to completely remove her existence to him.

"Who's there?" he called halfheartedly, "I did hear you…"

"A very sorry unicorn", she replied weakly.

"Rarity?" Linen stood up and turned to face her. He squinted as hard as he could, but only made out a vague outline of a pony in front of him. "So it merely isn't my psyche playing tricks on me…"

"No", she confirmed, "I am the real thing, come to apologize deeply for what I have done to you."

"You have?"

"Yes, you see, I heard that you were going to return to Trottingham…I'm not sure that's the best decision to make…"

"Why do you say that?"

"Well", she went on with a laugh, "Cotton and Scootaloo have grown rather close, and I…I…"

"You…?"

It was no use. Rarity couldn't keep her posture any longer. With a loud wail, she flung herself to his hooves. "Oh, Linen, I'm so very sorry, I-I had the chance to have your heart and I smashed it to pieces with my behavior! Please, I regret everything little thing! I realized straight after that you are the colt of my dreams, Linen! You are everything I never knew I wanted! You are p-perfect!"

Linen watched the sobbing blob of white cry and beg for him to accept her apology. He honestly hadn't expected to even see her, let alone hear her collapse into a pathetic pile of tears for him. At a loss for words, Linen did the only sensible thing he could think of. He brought his hoof to her mane and gently brushed it. The blindness made his hoof clumsy, but it still had some effect. Rarity's sobs and sniffs lessened more every time he returned his hoof to the beginning of her mane.

She stood up the second her crying got under control. She levitated the case she carried with her up the mountain open and extracted the precious cargo inside. "They may cover up your wonderful eyes, but I think you need these."

Linen's vision cleared up the second his glasses were slipped onto his face. The fuzzy blob turned into a pony he didn't recognize as Rarity. She wore no makeup and her straight, frizzy mane and tail were filled with leaves and dust from the climb. He gasped.

"Yes, it is I", Rarity said with a small smile. "I wished for you to see exactly how sorry I am without—"

"Rarity, forgive me", he breathed.

"You have nothing to apologize for, I—"

His second interruption wasn't spoken. When Rarity's mind comprehended what had just happened, Linen broke the kiss. Though he was blushing fiercely, he still managed to say what he wanted. "I…hope it wasn't too horrible. I…have never kissed a pony before…and I couldn't formulate an algorithm for it…"

"It was just as I had imagined", Rarity sighed, "Only better."

The stallion put his hooves around his soulmate in the warmest embrace he could give her. He spotted a giftwrapped box behind her and curiously released her to go have a look. "Rarity, did you bring this along with you too?"

She nodded. "In case your eyeglasses weren't enough. I pieced it back together with a few minor alterations."

Inside, Linen found the vest he made, only now embroidered with math symbols and numbers in gold thread. He levitated it out, completely mind blown over the fact that she had made his vest even better. Not only had she managed to keep its original properties, she gave it additions that didn't at all upset them!

"Do you like it? I worked all night…"

"Rarity, to say that this piece is perfect would be a lie", he stated plainly.

The mare's ears drooped in disappointment. All of that hard work for nothing…

"Because it goes well beyond perfect!" he finished excitedly.

"Oh, Linen, you scoundrel!" she laughed, aiming a hug at his soft neck.

"Indubitably", he chuckled. "Shall we return to the library and collect Cotton for, I suppose, ice cream?"

"Absolutely", Rarity replied, "We can make it a double date by bringing Scootaloo too, if you wish."

He nodded, levitating the box containing his new and improved vest behind them. He led her down the mountain path she wasn't aware was a much safer way to the top. They fell silent for the first few minutes to relish in each other's company. They trotted close enough together for Rarity to lean against the stallion to support her aching hooves. Linen held her weight and let his mind wander off.

"Hoohoohoo!" he laughed after they had reached the bottom.

"What are you finding so funny?"

"I was pondering everything that has happened since last night and have accidentally created a new formula, hoo!"

"And what formula could have you so excited?

"Well", he answered, coming to a stop, "If I were to write it out, I would take one heartbreak, add depression, divide it by guilt, then add a pair of glasses and a vest, and then multiply the result by an apology, I would have love."

Rarity blushed. "The formula of love?"

He nodded. "Precisely."

Comments

[jaceblackfire]

I enjoyed this story very much along with the rest of your stories, they may be short but it works well with them and I am surprised they don't have a better rating, I think thats what it's called.

[MegaTJ]

6096120 That's probably because I had forgotten to translate the text in the early chapters. Hopefully those revisions will bring in more readers.

[jaceblackfire]

6097546 ya, hopefully because that aside all your stories are really good and deserve at least a positive rating.