Who is Stars

by ff0000

One Look and That's It

Chapter 2.5, One Look and That’s It, Rarity's Story

Trixie strode over to a white unicorn that was, for the lack of anything better to do, examining herself in the mirror, fixing up her mane and smoothing out her dress. It didn't seem that just standing there was going to get the unicorn's attention, so she yelled, "Rarity!"

"What is it, Trixie?" Rarity responded, but she was still more engaged in looking at her eyelashes.

"You like to be fashionable, if I recall," Trixie said, her words slithering. "You like attention and fame." Then she struck. "Out of everypony, you are the one most likely to call yourself a star!"

"What?" Rarity cried. "Sure, I might want to be a star, but I'm not involved in any of this. I barely even had any contact with the present! And even then, why would I refer to myself as multiple stars?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out, and you're going to tell me."

"I don't know what there is to tell. Alright, I'll admit I might have been a bit jealous of Rainbow Dash for having a present from Princess Celestia while I didn't. I mean, who wouldn't be? I think I deserved one, too. I do make dresses that many elite in Canterlot wear. They even go to the Grand Galloping Gala with my styles."

Trixie raised a hoof to stop the ranting. "Can you start from yesterday morning?"

"Yes, of course." Rarity took a deep breath to regain her normal poise and composure. "Then let's start in the morning, shall we?"

In the morning, the first thing Rarity did was beautify herself. Must get that mane and tail all nice and curled and shiny. Then came a good breakfast to start off the day. The boutique was closed, so she could take the time needed to make something fancy: an omelette with mushrooms, peppers and onions. A few pieces of parsley were sprinkled on, and it was paired with a side of freshly squeezed orange juice.

After breakfast, and properly washing up the dishes, Rarity went back to her room to decide what to wear for the party Pinkie Pie was throwing later that day. There were just so many choices. Maybe a cool, alluring blue would be nice. Or a warming red might fit the mood better. And should it be sleek? Frilly? Poofy?

(Trixie stopped the recollection at that point and asked, "About how long were you picking out an outfit?"

"Five, maybe six hours," Rarity answered. "So as I was saying-"

"Skip that part."

Rarity turned up her nose with a huff. "Fine. Forgive me for trying to impart some style and fashion.)

After laying out a dress onto the bed, Rarity decided to go out for a bit. She wasn't about to just spend all day at home. It did look rather chilly outside, with bleak skies and bare trees. This was definitely an occasion for a scarf. Rarity sifted through her armoire where she found scarves of all tones and styles. She chose one that was simple and worked well while not wearing anything else. It was plush, soft and a deep, crimson hue. Just wrapping it around her neck made her smile.

Perhaps she would go to the library and take a peek at how the party preparations were going. And with the marvelous scarf, there was nothing to fear from a little cold trek.

It seemed like nearly all of her friends were already at Twilight's. The only one not there was Pinkie Pie. They were all gathered around the table in the center of the room, the one with the sculpture of a horse's head. All of their attention was focused on something that Rarity couldn't see.

"Hello, darlings!" Rarity said.

"Hi, Rarity," they all said, though their attention was clearly focused on the thing in the middle.

"What, no one is going to comment on my fashionable scarf?" Apparently so. With a pout, Rarity levitated the scarf over to the table next to her. She craned her neck to see just what was so important. And, in her opinion, it looked pretty important. There was a shiny present wrapped in rainbow paper and brought together with a gold ribbon. It was absolutely gorgeous.

"Fluttershy, what's going on?" Rarity asked.

"It looks as if Rainbow Dash got a present from Princess Celestia."

"What?" The unicorn nearly screamed.

Rainbow Dash thumped herself on the chest. "That's right. Straight from Princess Celestia to me."

"I didn't get anything."

The others echoed Rarity's sentence, though not with as much overblown hurt.

"How glamorous for you." Rarity's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "It's not like any of us did as much as you."

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm so much more awesome," Rainbow Dash said.

"Still, whatever is in there must simply be magnificent!" the unicorn squealed.

"It sure would be nice if we could open it." Rainbow Dash shot a derisive glance towards Twilight.

Twilight extended a wing, blocking off the two of them from the package. "The note said to wait, so we'll wait."

Rarity drew Fluttershy away from the others to just talk with her.

"What's in the present?" Rarity asked. It wasn't in a whisper, but her voice was still low.

"I really don't know. We'll find out whenever Rainbow Dash opens it."

"But that won't be until midnight at the earliest. Don't you want to find out now?"

"Um." Fluttershy's eyes widened in alarm. "Not really."

"I'm sure a little peek wouldn't hurt anyone." The unicorn batted her eyelashes.

"It's probably not a good idea," her pegasus friend said.

"I suppose you're right." But she continued looking at the present far longer than was necessary.

It was then that Pinkie Pie burst in with all her usual fun-loving ways. She wanted to start decorating, so everyone was asked to leave. What the finished space looked like was part of the surprise, after all.

Fluttershy went with Rarity to find something else to do for the rest of the day. The spa was closed, and they didn't want to go to a restaurant while there was a party waiting. Before they got far, however, Rarity let out a light gasp that was carried away by a gust of cold wind. The library wasn't even out of view. Rarity's teeth chattered as she said, "Oh dear, I forgot my scarf. Go on without me Fluttershy, I'll return to Twilight's to get it."

"I'll go with you."

"That's not necessary," she said firmly. "No need to drag you back for something so silly. I'll meet up with you later."

Fluttershy backed down. "Oh, alright."

Rarity hurried back to the library. She only snatched her scarf with magic and then left again, not wanting to fully see what Pinkie was doing.

(Trixie leaned forward until their faces were nearly touching. "Was that all?"

"Of course!" Rarity sharpened her eyes at the affront. "Just what are you insinuating?"

"Nothing, nothing." Trixie’s analytical gaze lingered on Rarity, however. “Continue.”)

The outdoors felt much nicer now that Rarity had her nice, plush scarf again. She could smile warmly even in the frigid, breath-whitening air.

The middle part of the day was filled with mundane things mostly, so it jumped to nighttime, when the party was beginning. Rarity had returned home during the day and changed into her party dress. Sure, it was supposed to be a casual affair, but her sense of style demanded an attire of some sort for a party important enough to get a rhyming name.

"Hello!" Rarity announced. She entered with flair and a flick of the mane.

"Hi!" Pinkie Pie greeted with an immediate cupcake thrust forward on a plate.

"Thank you, dear." Using magic, she floated the cupcake up for a bite.

The party space certainly was Pinkie Pie. It was lively, loud and colorful. There were only seven of them, but it was energetic enough to be a festival. Their party included the works, from fun foods to swinging music to party favors.

Before she could enjoy any of that, Fluttershy had snuck over and whispered, "Rarity".

She had to look around before finding her friend crouching behind. "What is it, Fluttershy."

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course. Whatever could be the matter?"

While the others were dancing to the music and having fun playing games, Fluttershy was able to talk without worrying about being overheard. She was faced towards the table in the center of the room, where Princess Celestia's gift was sitting perfectly still.

"Where did you put it?" Fluttershy asked.

"Put what?"

"It." She tilted her head towards the table.

"What, Princess Celestia's Present?"

Fluttershy waved her arms in a panic. "Shhh. Yes, Princess Celestia's Present."

"I'm afraid I'm not following," Rarity said.

"You can tell me, I won't tell anyone else. I just want to make sure everything is alright."

The unicorn shook her head. Concern had fallen over her face as she gently pressed a hoof against her friend. "I really don't know what you're talking about, darling."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really, really?"

"Really, really."

Fluttershy drooped towards the ground. "Um, okay, if you say so. I'm sorry for bothering you."

Before Rarity could inquire further, Rainbow Dash had came over after seeing the two of them huddled on the outskirts. "Come on, girls, this is a party! Let's shake it!" She pulled Fluttershy away to the center of the action.

"Would care for a dance, my lady?" a voice said, attempting to sound suave.

Rarity smiled at Spike and placed a hoof on his outstretched claw. "I would love to."

They joined the others for a wild night of laughing and fun. Everything was going well late into the evening. Twilight got everyone's attention and had her arm was extended towards a simple, wooden clock. It was hanging on the wall and had a small pendulum swinging underneath. Everyone knew what she meant. It was almost twelve and almost the new year, at least according to library time.

Pinkie was smiling expectantly at the clock, as if come midnight, it would spew out more confetti. "Come on, come on. It's almost time for the new year! In Ten, nine, eight!"

Rarity, Spike and the others all joined in. "Seven! Six! Five! Four!"

"THREE!"

"TWO!"

"ONE!"

But then, a horrid crash shook the walls, and the screech of glass hitting the floor rang out. A great gust of wind blew out all the lanterns in the room, causing darkness to fall over them like a great blanket. Everyone let out gasps of surprise and yelps of pain as they crashed into each other. All the moving brought down more crashing noises as decorations and books tumbled down. Everyone was trying to talk over one another, so no one was understandable.

"Eeee!" Rarity squealed as someone stepped on her dress. A dash to get away only caused both of them to fall into a pile.

A bright glow, coming from Twilight's horn, lit up the room, though it was still rather dim. Shadowy shapes flickered across the walls. A lot of the shelves were messy while much of the decorations have been pulled down. Still from the ground, Rarity added her own light to the mix. The pony that stepped on her was Fluttershy. She extended a hoof to help her friend up.

"What happened?" the trembling pegasus asked.

"Someone broke the window," Rarity pointed out. "Who would do something as barbaric as that?"

The air got cold quite fast with the broken window. Loose streamers fluttered in the wind. All of their tripping around had knocked books off their shelves and popped balloons on the ground. The wonderful room was ruined that quickly. It was a real shame.

Rainbow Dash shouted, "Hey! Alright, who took it?" She was pointing towards the center table where the present was now missing!

They spent part of the night searching for it, but Rarity was only doing so half-heartedly. She was wearing a nice dress and didn't want to perspire all over it. It was a relief once Twilight called for them to stop for the night. They would search in the morning, once there was more than just the light from horns.

("The strange thing is," Rarity said, "that we could have easily relit the lamps. I'm not sure why we didn't.

"That's true," Trixie mumbled. Her face was scrunched up in concentration. "So you didn't have any direct contact with Princess Celestia's present?"

"Not at all. I thought about it for a bit, but, alas," the prissy unicorn pressed a hoof against her forehead and leaned back, "I didn't get one."

"Okay. The Great and Attentive Trixie thanks you for your time."

After giving instructions to wait and not talk to anyone, Trixie walked off. It was time for the next pony's story. There was something about that story that felt off, but there were still other tales to hear.)