Bonus Epilogue]5,909 words

"...Your eyes are like starlight now." [Christmas Eve]

At a quarter to six, Clyde stepped out of his car and shut the door. He walked around the car that was parked in his normal spot and gave the car a small ‘beep’ with a press of his keychain button. He patted the pockets of his jacket and quickly walked inside of Rarity’s home, trying to get out of the extremely cold weather as fast as he could.

Just like the prior year, Rarity invited Clyde to join her family for Christmas Eve dinner again for this one. Clyde always liked being around her family, and thoroughly enjoyed the moments where they invited him to do stuff with them, like the week-long summer vacation to their beach house in July. Even though he wasn’t part of their family, they made him feel like he belonged. It was something he hadn’t experienced in years.

Clyde hung up his jacket near the door entrance and patted down his black sweater in case there was lingering dirt or dust on it. His outfit was similar to last year’s, except instead of wearing khaki pants, he wore his jeans. He tucked his phone in his jeans pocket and walked towards the kitchen, hearing voices from upstairs as he passed the staircase by the doorway. He walked through the curtain and saw Rarity’s father standing by the oven.

“Hey,” called Clyde with a wave.

Magnum turned to him and smiled. “Good to see you, Clyde. How’ve you been?” Magnum wore what he had on last year–a maroon sweater with khaki pants. Clyde knew he wasn’t much into dressing formally, even for a simple family dinner.

“Pretty much the same. The season is underway and we are in the same spot as we were last year.”

Magnum nodded. “That’s good. I haven’t been able to watch a game yet this year.” He gave a humorful yawn. “Sometimes people are just too lazy to get off the couch.”

Clyde chuckled. “Well, none of the games have been close so far, so you aren’t missing much. Tyrone refuses to lose again and Rainbow Dash still is the number one option for when he begins drawing more defenders on him.”

Magnum nodded. “Old Iron Will finally has a good basketball team now. It’s probably the best team he’s coached since my days on the football team.” A female scream emitted from upstairs, in which Clyde assumed Sweetie Belle was running from Rarity who needed to use the bathroom mirror. Magnum shook his head. “Women. They take so long to get ready. Anyways, Rarity told me a few weeks ago you wanted to join the football team during the fall?”

“Well, Coach wanted me and Tyrone to be the corners to help us with agility and routes,” said Clyde. “I thought it would be cool, as I like defense more than offense personally, so I told Rarity about the idea. She quickly defused that idea from happening, however.” Clyde sighed.

Magnum frowned. “What for?”

“She didn’t want me to get hurt so then I couldn’t play the sport I actually was good at. Football is more injury prone than basketball, so she has a point. I think Tyrone and I could have been some awesome cornerbacks, though.” Clyde laughed at the idea in his head of Tyrone returning an interception for a touchdown and doing a little dance to celebrate, even if he knew he was going to get flagged for it.

“That’s too bad you didn’t play,” said Magnum, “I could have easily helped you become a good corner. After all, I was a pretty good quarterback.” He gave a smirk and Clyde knew he was joking around like always. A common inside joke of Rarity’s family that he learned over the year was Magnum always bringing up his high school days as the quarterback of Canterlot High. While the girls got annoyed with it, Clyde thought it was funny. Clyde knew he was a amazing player so he didn’t mind Magnum talking about it all the time.

“Look who’s here!” exclaimed Pearl as she walked into the kitchen. Pearl was dressed in another festive dress that matched Magnum’s maroon sweater in color. The dress wasn’t suited for a gala, but it was perfect for this informal occasion. She walked up to Clyde with a big smile and gave him a friendly hug. “Don’t you look handsome tonight, dear! Rarity will be down soon. You know her.” Clyde fought off his reddened-embarrassed cheeks and nodded. Pearl walked over to the oven and looked at her husband. “Did you check the turkey like I asked?”

“It’s almost done,” said Magnum as he began placing the silverware and plates on the dinner table.

Pearl opened the oven door, and after waving away some hot air, closed it. She turned to Clyde. “Say, this will be the first meal you ate with us since our summer vacation to the beach house!”

“I guess it will be, huh? Ever since school started again, I’ve been busy and unable to just relax.”

“That’s understandable, dear. So has Rarity. However, she tells us that your nightly phone call or web chat with her brightens up her mood!”

Clyde lovingly smiled. “She brightens my mood as well. To be honest, I’m not even sure where I would be now if I never met her. I probably wouldn’t be playing ball for the school and I wouldn’t have as many friends as I do now, too.” He glanced down at the polished kitchen floor with saddened eyes.

“Don’t say that! I’m sure you two would have met eventually.” She walked up to him and placed her hands on his shoulder. He looked at her to see a smile. “Besides, it doesn’t matter now to say stuff like that. What matters is what you two have done together since meeting! I’ve never seen Rarity so happy before ever since she began talking to you, so as her mother, I love having you join us for events like this! Seeing you two together brings a big smile on my face!” Pearl’s large smile caused Clyde to mimic it.

“Thank you,” Clyde nodded. “I had a lot of fun with you guys during the summer.”

“Of course! You’ll always be welcomed to join us for any vacation, especially since Rarity invites you to everything. I’m surprised you didn’t want to go with her to the beach house during August.”

Clyde slightly laughed. “She told me the August trip was going to be an annual thing for her and her friends to hang out at the beach. That’s her time with her friends so I would have felt out of place. I talked to her every night, like we always do, so it didn’t matter to me.”

A small click came from the oven and Pearl turned to it. “Looks like the turkey is about done!” She quickly rushed over to the oven and carefully removed the cooked turkey. She then began scavenging the refrigerator in search of other materials to work on the side dishes.

“Hey, Clyde.” Clyde turned to see Sweetie Belle walk past him and take a seat at the dinner table. Sweetie Belle was the last of Rarity’s family to seem to bond with him. Early on, she didn’t talk to him that much or even attempted to. It wasn’t until after Clyde and Tyrone helped her and her “Crusader” friends win a dodgeball tournament at school that she talked to him as much as her parents did.

“Hey,” replied Clyde warmly. He looked at her attire of a red sweater and black skirt. The sweater was a little big on her, making him think that it was Rarity’s at one point when she was younger.

Sweetie Belle picked up a the glass of water in front of her and gulped it down. She looked at Clyde. “Rarity is still getting dressed. I don’t know why it’s super important for her to get so dressed up for a dinner, but whatever.”

“Well, you know she loves to look marvelous whenever possible,” said Clyde with a smile.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” said Sweetie Belle rolling her eyes. “Try living with her. You’ll never see the bathroom for hours.” Clyde cracked a smile.

“Sweetie Belle, I’m not that bad with the bathroom usage,” a voice cooed from behind. “I just want to look nice for my wonderful boyfriend is all. Besides, Clyde understands and has no problem with it.” Clyde didn’t have any time to turn around, as a pair of arms hugged him from behind. Rarity kissed him quickly on the cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. “Good evening, my love,” she purred.

He turned his head to look at her. “Are you finally done making yourself look even more beautiful?”

Rarity smiled. “Why don’t you tell me how I did?” She let go of him so he could turn around and look at her fully, outfit and all. She wore a tan colored long-sleeved shirt along with a cotton maroon pleated skirt. It was as long as her usual everyday skirt she wore, but to go with a classy theme, she wore straight black tights underneath. Her luscious hair was extra shiny and styled, even more than her already everyday styled hair. Rarity batted her eyelashes and playfully winked.

“Why have me say something you already know? asked Clyde with a smirk. “You will never not be beautiful to me.”

“Because I simply adore you saying it.”

“Rarity, quit flirting with him and come help get the table ready,” ordered Pearl from across the kitchen.

“But, mother,” whined Rarity. She gave a pout, but only Clyde was paying attention to it. “Why can’t Sweetie Belle do it? She’s just sitting there!”

Pearl ignored her plea and showed a slight smile. “Because in a few years, you’ll need to learn how to set a table for your family.”

“You heard her,” teased Clyde.

Rarity shot him an angered look before smiling and walked over to her mother. Clyde took a seat across from Sweetie Belle and sat there waiting. Since Clyde was always treated as the guest, he never was asked to help, even if he asked to lend a hand himself. If the meal was going to be anything like the year prior, he couldn’t wait to eat.

~ ~ ~

Following dinner, and after some hot chocolate, Clyde spent his time on the couch cuddling with Rarity and watching some typical Christmas movie on some TV channel. He never got to see the ending, let alone a majority of the movie, as the both of them fell asleep within a few minutes of it starting.

Eventually, he felt a gentle breath over his face and he slowly opened his eyes. His first sight landed on a pair of sapphire eyes.

“Are you awake, darling?” asked Rarity in a whisper. She looked at the time on her phone’s screen. “It’s a quarter after eleven and I know you told me you wanted to be home by midnight.” She frowned.

“What’s with the frown?”

“I hate seeing you leave is all,” she said with a smile.

Clyde laughed. “I guess it depends if it’s still cold out then. I don’t feel like waiting for the car to start up for a few minutes just to drive home. I’ll check after we finish with our presents to each other.”

“Good!” Rarity beamed before dropping her expression into shock. “Presents! I must have forgotten to bring them downstairs! Will you excuse me for a moment and wait in the shop lobby for me, darling?”

“Of course.”

Rarity quickly kissed his cheek before quietly rushing upstairs. Clyde sat up and looked around the living room. The TV was still on, but mute. Rarity’s parents and sister were not in the room, so Clyde assumed they left the TV on for Rarity and him. He yawned and walked over to the shop section of the home. He flicked on the lights of the room and sat down on the cushioned bench near Rarity’s massive wall of shoes after taking his jacket off the hook by the door.

A few weeks ago, Clyde and Rarity decided that since Christmas Eve was special to them, their exchange of gifts would be that night. Clyde felt terrible last year for not getting her something, even though they weren’t dating. After all, she did gift him a customized basketball sleeve that he continued to wear for every game, practice, and park session. Because the gift was from her heart, it became one of his favorite things he owned.

Clyde smirked as he looked down at his jacket. He patted the pocket, making sure the items were still in place. He couldn’t let a slip up of not giving her a gift again, so he had to make sure this year counted.

Within a couple of minutes, Rarity walked into the shop lobby with a large Christmas present bag in hand and Opal following her. She carefully placed it on the floor beside him and sat down. Her face was lit up with excitement. “So, care to open yours up first?” Opal brushed against his leg and hopped up beside of him, giving a small pur.

He rubbed Opal’s head and before he could answer Rarity, she reached into the bag of presents and pulled out a thin and rectangular present. “You’re quite eager.”

Rarity smiled. “Presents are always fun! Especially since you owe me big time for not getting me something last year!” She giggled watching Clyde turn red.

“Yeah, sorry about that...”

“Clyde, it’s fine. I’m not angry with you.” She handed him her first gift to him and grinned. “Now, enough with that, let’s get to the fun part!”

Clyde smiled and nodded at her before focusing on the wrapped present in front of him. Instead of guessing what it could possibly be, he carefully tore open the corners and ripped away the glimmery and elegant wrapping paper. When he saw the object, a large grin appeared on his face and he gave a laugh.

The thin and rectangular gift was a framed collage that was shaped into a heart. All the pictures within the heart were pictures of Rarity and him throughout their time together. He quickly scanned the heart and recollected many memories he had with her, like their Valentine’s Night snuggle ‘selfie’, the Spring Fling, the beach house visit, the Fall Formal from a few months ago, and other random pictures she took with him over the year. Clyde wasn’t a big fan of getting his picture taken, but he always let her take pictures with him anyway to make her happy so she could put it on her various social media accounts. At least all the pictures were used for a good cause he thought to himself as he looked near the bottom of the frame. It had their names with some romantic quote about love and fairy tales.

“I thought you could use more decoration for your room!” said Rarity excitedly, “I had two of these made. The other is already hanging up near my bed.”

“Have we really taken that many photos together already?” asked Clyde with a bit of humor in his voice.

“Yep! And we still have so many more photos to add to the next collage, too!” Rarity laughed. “I’ll make more every year or so.”

“Fine with me,” grinned Clyde. “My room is pretty bland so I could use some Rarity to make it better. After all, she makes everything better.”

“I love you too,” she cooed, handing him his next present.

Clyde smiled at her before beginning his attack on the wrapping paper. The cubic box was somewhat heavy so he took extra precaution while opening the present. After removing all of the tape on the wrapping paper, he pulled it off to see the newest gaming console that Tyrone got last year. The console was bundled with the newest version of the yearly basketball game. Since it was over a year the console came out, the price had decreased slightly. However, it was still expensive.

“Since I know how much you love playing that basketball game with your friends, I had to get you one!” Rarity beamed. “Plus, this console can do so much more than gaming, but you already know that. I know how girls say boys don’t text while they are playing these games, but there’s an app where you can web chat while playing! Now we can continue our nightly calls to each other!” Rarity smiled away.

Clyde kept his gaze on the box and looked up at Rarity. “I never imagined I would ever get one of these. I hope it didn’t cost you that much.”

Rarity shrugged. “Truth be told, I spent the most this year on you than all of my friends and family combined, but it’s perfectly fine with me. I love you very much so you deserve the best things.” She smiled and leaned at him to hug him tightly.

“Thank you, Rarity,” said Clyde sweetly during their hug. She responded by hugging him tighter.

After Rarity wanted to end their hug, she pulled away from him and slyly smirked. “So, is it time for my gifts?”

Clyde nodded and after a few seconds, burst into a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” she pouted. “You don’t like my presents?”

“What, no! Compared to your gifts, mine are terribly wrapped.”

“Oh.”

“Like, they aren’t even wrapped.”

“Clyde...” Rarity shook her head. “What’s a present without it being wrapped?”

Clyde scratched his head. “In my gifts’ defense, they aren’t big enough to wrap up.”

“I’m teasing,” she giggled. “No matter what they are, I’m still excited!” She looked at him and grinned. Clyde could tell her anticipation was at the highest point. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small envelope. He handed it to her.

“An envelope?” asked Rarity apathetically.

“It’s the ‘wrapping paper,’” laughed Clyde.

Rarity sighed before giving a small grin. “While your attempt was cute, I really need to teach you better ways to present smaller gifts to people without the need of wrapping paper.” She laughed and took the envelope. After opening it, she pulled out a gift card to the mall in Canterlot.

“Since you love so many shops at the mall, I couldn’t pick just one so there’s $100 to whatever store or stores you want to spend it on.”

“Perfect! I’ll probably spend this in one day easily!”

Clyde knew she wasn’t kidding. He pulled out another envelope from his jacket and handed it to her.

“Clyde.”

“Yeah, I know. No more envelopes, but I promise this is the last one.”

Rarity opened the second envelope and found a nicely folded piece of paper inside. She opened it up and quickly read it, trying to figure out what it was. After a scan, she looked up at Clyde confused. “You are taking me on a trip to Manehattan on February 6th, but I’m not really–” She suddenly dropped the order slip and gasped, holding her hand close to her mouth. “Clyde! No! You didn’t!” She picked up the paper off the floor to look at the date again. Once she saw the same date, she dropped it again and lightly screamed in joy. Clyde sat there with a smirk, leaving Rarity to voice her reaction. “I can’t believe this is happening!” Her face turned to him and her large grin easily captivated him.

“I assume you like it?”

“Yes! I love you so much!” She lunged at him and hugged him tightly again, almost knocking him off of the cushioned bench and onto the floor. After she calmed down, she dreamily sighed. “I can’t believe I’m going to Manehattan with the most fabulous boy in the world for Fashion Week!”

“While I couldn’t afford getting you into a public showcase to show off your designs, I thought getting to see other people’s works might help your clothing just as much. I asked your friends and family if they wanted to go as well, but they all had something to do that week or just didn’t want to. Truthfully, I think your parents didn’t want to go because they want to see if I can take care of you for a week without help.”

“Hmm, possibly. However, I have complete faith in you and can’t wait to spend a whole week in Manehattan with my love!” She snuggled into his shoulder. “There are so many things to see and do! I can probably make a collage about our week in Manehattan alone with all the picture opportunities the city holds!”

“Yeah, and thankfully we will only miss a day of school because winter break is around that time.”

“What about basketball?” asked Rarity worriedly. “I don’t want you to miss out on games because of me.”

Clyde flashed her a smile to comfort her. “The playoffs won’t start until the Monday after we get back. Which means our bus will return home on Valentine’s Day, so I guess I need to think of something we can do that day, too.”

“That week will simply be divine!” cooed Rarity, sighing in bliss. She rested her head on his shoulder and hugged his torso. “Thank you for your gifts, darling. You definitely made up for last year.”

“But... I still have another present to give you.”

Rarity instantly shot upright. “Really?” she asked with sparkles in her eyes.

“Unless you want to wait until next year...”

“No!–she coughed–I mean, I would love to receive another present tonight.” She giggled and playfully winked to make him forget his sudden outburst. Clyde gave a smile and stood up, grabbing her hands and leading her towards the large mirror in the room. He turned her towards the mirror and stood behind her. “What are you doing, Clyde?”

“Close your eyes.”

Clyde saw her smile in the mirror before closing her eyes. He took out his last gift and opened the small box containing it. After fooling around with the small chain, he placed the necklace around her neck and carefully clasped it together, making sure not to pinch her skin. He glanced at her through the mirror and smiled.

“Can I open them yet?”

“Now.”

Rarity slowly opened her enchanting eyes. Upon seeing the new item around her neck, she instantly smiled and awed in joy.

The silver necklace held a small heart shaped pendant that shined with its bright luster. Also made of silver, the pendant contained multiple diamond and light blue diamond studs that covered the heart. Rarity seemed to enjoy it as she gently touched it and awed watching the diamonds sparkle.

“I wanted to put my favorite insignia as a pendant, just like how you put your diamonds on my basketball sleeve, but I realized mine isn’t as fashionable as yours, so I decided to go with finding a suitable pendant instead.”

Rarity grinned and leaned backwards, pulling Clyde’s arms around her so he could hug her from behind. Rarity was always a fan of surprise or known hugs from behind, and she did it to Clyde nearly every day. Clyde had no objections for letting her be the one being hugged this time. As his head rested on her shoulder, he heard her hum blissfully. Clyde didn’t dare to speak, but he soon also didn’t have to as Rarity leaned her farther back, turned her head slightly, and kissed at Clyde’s mouth. The two of them kissed in romantic silence for a good minute until Rarity broke out of the hug and turned to face him. Her eyes shone like the stars.

“I couldn’t wish for anyone else to spend Christmas with other than you, Clyde. Your gifts were simply magnificent and made mine look awful.” Her luminous eyes filled with sadness.

“Awful? Except the video game console, all of your other gifts have came from your heart and I can’t ever be disappointed in them. I love you and your creative mind,” said Clyde with a laugh and poking her forehead. “I had to get you wonderful gifts because you deserve them. Christmas Eve last year was one of the best nights I ever had, and it was all because of you.”

Rarity pecked him on the lips again. “It was a good night for me as well. Tonight could have been even better if you didn’t have to leave...” she gave a pout.

“I said I’ll check to see if it was still cold out,” said Clyde with a smirk. He walked over to the door and opened it up. The cold air quickly entered the shop, but Clyde knew it wasn’t too cold to make cars take long to get going. He took a deep breath of the cold December air and shut the door.

“You know,” he said while turning around to face Rarity, “I think it’s still a little too cold for me to leave. My new game console can wait for me to play in the morning.” Rarity’s face lit up again, as if he had another present for her. Clyde wasn’t sure if she knew he was lying or not, but he knew either way she didn’t care.

“Shall I start the movie for us to not watch?” asked Rarity with a sly smile.

Clyde laughed. “Of course.”

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