The Diamond in the Stars

by Distaff Pope

8. Absolutely Frazzled, Darling

I awoke not in increments, but all at once, intensely missing the weight on my chest that had become so familiar these past seven days. Of course it wouldn’t be there, Twilight only needed three hours of sleep, while I needed twice that at the bare minimum – although if I didn’t get my full nine hours, I was liable to be snippy throughout the day. I lifted myself out of her bed (much smaller and less decadent than mine, a shame) and checked her nightstand to scout for remains of her morning project: a copy of Princess Platinum’s will, a text on translating Old Equestrian to Modern Equestrian, and a map with my family’s old estate circled. No points for guessing what she spent her earliest hours working on.

“Twilight,” I yawned, stumbling into her study. We still had a few hours; I could make myself presentable by then. “You really shouldn’t be focusing on my family history; you have your court in…” I glanced at the clock. “Two hours. Have you looked through today’s docket?”

“Checked, double checked, and triple checked. You know, I am a princess, I think I kind of know what I’m doing,” she said, lifting her head up from her book. The Law Code of Hammareabi. Feeling rather draconian today, was she?

“Please tell me you aren’t going to resort to a several-thousand-year old text when you’re making your judgments. I don’t want you to blind ponies on your first day,” I said, sitting next to her. “I know, it might be tempting with some of the nobles, but we really don’t want to start off with the type of reputation that would incur.” Oh, the tabloids would have a field day with that. Actually, depending on which noble she blinded, it might increase her popularity. “Remember, Fancy Pants is just here to pay you homage and greeting. He’ll give you some obscenely decadent gift, wish you a long and prosperous reign, and ask for your assistance with one of his charities. You’ll agree, and–”

“I know what I have to do, Rarity. I’ve read the docket,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes and kissing my cheek. “And thanks for going over it again.”

“Yes, well, if anypony starts going off script, give the signal, and your guards will escort them out. They’ve been prepped, they know who’s allowed through, who isn’t, and what they need to say. The gallery will be stuffed with ponies sympathetic to you – and don’t worry, we’ve rehearsed all this. Today is mostly about ceremony, swearing fealty, that sort of thing. There are a few softball issues about land management and property disputes, but those should be easy for you to sort out.”

“Are you sure you can’t just be sitting next to me for today? We can bring in a little throne for you and everything. Actually, the castle will probably know and just magic a throne next to me.” Yes, the castle was rather disturbingly good at that. We’d gotten back from Canterlot to find the entire castle had rearranged itself. My room had connected itself to her study, a new private kitchen had sprouted, and the guest quarters had grown even larger. Impossibly-large and possibly-sentient castles weren’t nearly as fun as they sounded.

“Unless you want to propose, I’m sure. There are protocols, and only an official princess-consort can have a seat next to a princess. Well, I suppose a prince-consort could too, but that’s hardly relevant to us at the moment,” I said, magically opening a chest sitting in one corner of her study. “Now, Twilight, dear, I’m dreadfully sorry about this, but it’s time we start dressing you up.”

“But we still have–”

“I know, we still have about two hours until court officially starts, but I want to play with your mane a bit.” I kissed her to soften the blow. “I love the librarian look, but I think we should have something a bit more regal for your court.”

Twilight just sighed and nodded.

♦♦♦

An hour and forty minutes later, Twilight looked every inch the princess. The torque I’d designed sat on her chest, amethyst starburst exploding onto a field of gold, and her slippers of the same amethyst shade added an extra inch to her height. Her crown sat just behind her horn, and her mane was…

I nodded at my hoofwork. I had been sorely tempted to go with something elaborate, but that would have clashed with her regalia’s minimalist aesthetic. Instead, I’d opted for what I’d dubbed Librarian Plus. The front was its normal simplistic self, while the back swooped and parted to frame her neck, one side angling to end in a cute upward point, and the other showcasing the lovely stripe in her mane while rounding out the harsh angles of her old mane style.

“How do I look?” Twilight asked, fidgeting in her shoes. She wanted to run a hoof through her mane, I know she did – but fortunately for my hard work, the shoes made that impossible.

“Perfect,” I said, floating the mirror over to her. “Of course, I tend to think that anyways, so I’ll let you be the judge.”

“I look…” Twilight let out a tiny laugh. “I look like a princess.” She twisted herself to get a better look at herself in the mirror. “Wow, I didn’t think I could look this good.”

“You look as good as you normally do,” I said, smiling and leaning up to kiss her cheek. “The only difference is that now you look regal. I promise, once court is done, we’ll put you back into your librarian look.”

She blushed. “Thanks, Rarity. So, what are you going to do today while I’m in court?”

“The usual,” I said, smiling. “Attempt to mollify the nobles who couldn’t get an appointment with you today, offer them seats in the gallery, and try to direct them towards doing something charitable without directly telling them so.” I sighed. “You know, if I recall, I’m supposed to be a dressmaker, not your royal scheduler.”

Twilight sat and leaned into me. “I promise we’ll find somepony else to deal with the nobility. But you’re just so good at it, I don’t know who could ever replace you.”

I laughed and stroked her side. “Hopefully, nopony, but it would be nice to have some assistance now and then. I swear, if I have to listen to somepony blather on about how your refusal to see them is an insult to their pedigree and breeding, I’ll kill somepony”

“Please don’t kill a pony,” Twilight said, tensing. “I could probably issue a royal decree exonerating you for murder, but I don’t think it would go over very well.”

“Well, I suppose I’ll have to not get caught then,” I said as she nestled into me. “I certainly wouldn’t want to tarnish my princess’s reputation.”

“Ooh, could you say those last three words again?” Twilight asked, her ears perking up.

“My princess’s reputation?” I said, unsure where she was going.

“Right, now… just the first two words?”

“My princess,” I said. I felt a thrill of something run up her spine at the words.

“That’s it, I... “ She paused in thought. “Is it okay if I ask you to call me that occasionally? I know it probably makes me sound bratty, wanting to be called a princess, but you’re the first to call me that, and it feels like… those are your words, meant for me alone, and it makes me feel special.”

“As you wish, my princess,” I said. It didn’t roll of the tongue as well as some possible pet names, but if it made Twilight feel happy, I could work it in now and then.

“You’re the only pony who gets to call me that,” Twilight said. I glanced at the clock, we still had time to talk. “It’s just for us. Nopony else.” Well, ponies might refer to her as their princess naturally, but I’d defer to Twilight’s judgment on the matter. She was my princess, after all.

I ran the words over my tongue a few more times. “Oh, no!” Twilight said, bolting up and away from me. I sighed at the loss of contact. “The nickname– title– pet name– pet title? The words, I just realized they could have possible subservient connotations, and I don’t want you to feel like you’re a lesser partner in this relationship, we’re equals.” She trotted in place, glancing from me to the floor.

“Well, I can see your argument,” I said, nodding my head and trying to think of some way to calm Twilight’s worries. Of course, I could tell her that the phrase would only have the connotations we gave it, but she’d keep worrying over potential implications even if she said she agreed. I’d have to out-language her. “But, I’d argue that the use of the word ‘my’ takes away those implications. It implies some level of ownership and intimacy. You’re not just a princess, lording her position over me; you’re my princess, unique and mine alone. It allows for a singular, intimate bond that just the title ‘princess’ wouldn’t.”

The tension melted from her as she sat back down and leaned back into me. “Right, I’m yours.” She laughed a little at the words. “Yours alone. Your princess.” The conversation lulled. “I like the sound of that.”

I smiled and looked at the clock. Time was up. “Me too, Twilight, and we can talk more about who’s whose tonight – but right now, we have a court to get you too. I’ll be in my office all day, so if you need me, just send a guard and I’ll drop everything to be there.” I gave her a quick kiss as she got to her hooves. “But I know you won’t, because you’ll be wonderful. You’ve spent the last month getting ready for today; you could probably hold court in your sleep.”

“Thanks,” she said, smiling as she trotted to the hallway connecting her quarters to her private entrance to her court. “I’ll see you when court’s over?”

“Of course,” I said as she trotted out the door. The second it clicked shut, I was on my way to the office. What did I have to do today? What didn’t have to do today? There was what I’d told Twilight; plus, I needed to finish my dress and make sure everything was ready for our surprise first date tonight. (Well, it would be a surprise for her.)

“Spike,” I said, poking my head into his side office. “Could you write Princess Luna and see if everything’s ready for tonight?”

“Yeah,” he said, pulling out his quill and parchment. “I wish you wouldn’t keep me in the dark about what you’re planning, though.”

“It’s a surprise date, Spike. If I tell you, you might tell Twilight. Maybe not intentionally, but it’s less of a risk this way. I promise, I’ll make it up to you by going gem hunting with you soon,” I said, looking back in my office at the mannequine in the corner and the half-finished dress on it. I needed it to be finished so I could wear it by tonight. Her first date had to be perfect. The dress was a revision of one of my earliest (and slightly horrendous) designs. Its original form was an absolute mess, and wound up making me look more like a Las Pegasus showmare more than anything else – but the color scheme of purple, amethyst, and light blue? That, I could work with. Plus, if the gems were put in just the right spots, they’d make a marvelous representation of the night sky.

Nopony else in my office. Probably all trying to catch a glimpse of Twilight. My Twilight. That should distract them for an hour or so. Plenty of time to work. I pulled the needle and thread from my dress and went to work. The dress was longer than its inspiration. It had to be; a short dress was not what you’d wear on a first date with a princess. Plus, it might be cold where we were going. Layers, then. Ooh! A light-blue and amethyst dress with a purple cloak. That could work.

More fabric floated from out of my desk, and I quickly cut the pieces to size. It had been such a pain sneaking the materials into my office, but I couldn’t work on it in the study, and this way I could get some work done in between work. Amethysts went on the turquoise fabric, and sapphires went on the lavender. The dress was starting to shape up; just a few more hours, and–

Knock. Knock. Knock. My ear twitched. “Come in,” I said, masking my frustration as I turned to my other duties.

“Miss Rarity,” a charcoal-grey stallion in guard armor said, giving a bow. I tsked. How I’d forgotten to design unique armor for Twilight’s guard, I have no idea. Instead, they were forced to use the Solar Guard’s armor. I needed to fix that as soon as I had free time. The gold was fine; maybe I could just change the blue to a royal purple? That could work, and would be a quick, easy modification. “We have a small issue. An interloper was caught in the private quarters, and… we’re not sure what to do with them.”

I blinked. Who was this? Iron Greaves? Yes, that was right, Captain Iron Greaves. “Well, what did you usually do with interlopers back at the Princess Celestia’s castle?”

“We threw them in the dungeon until we could figure out what to do with them, and that’s the problem,” he said.

“Of course,” I said, rubbing my forehead. The castle didn’t have a dungeon – at least, it didn’t at the moment. “Where’s the prisoner now?” Prisoner. I was in charge of figuring out what to do with a prisoner now. This was not in the wheelhouse of skills I’d developed as a dressmaker. There are no prisoners in fashion... although I suppose there are prisoners of fashion. I’d certainly sold more than a few dresses to them.

“In one of the smaller guest quarters. I have two of my men keeping an eye on her, and she’s shackled, but the room isn’t secure,” he said, voice even. Good stallion, he came up with a workable temporary solution before seeing me.

“Alright, come with me,” I said, trotting out of the office. “It’s a shame this castle doesn’t come with a proper dungeon for us to hold intruders,” I said to Captain Greaves, raising my voice so anypony nearby could hear me. I felt a rumble come from several floors below me in answer.

“What was that?” Captain Greaves asked, body tensed, ready for combat. Oh, yes, we hadn’t mentioned the castle’s tendency to rearrange itself during orientation, had we?

“That would be the solution to our problem,” I said, taking the stairs down. It would probably be in the basement, right? Yes, that would be the place for it, and the castle was usually good about giving itself an intelligent layout. “So, do you know what the intruder was doing?”

“We can’t speak officially at this time, but it’s suspected she’s Flash Surprise with the Daily Journal. We’ve confiscated her camera and will be properly interrogating her soon. Will Princess Twilight Sparkle be issuing judgment?” he asked as we reached the ground level.

“She will,” I said, sighing. And she’d want to do it today, which meant we had to modify the docket. I glanced up to where she was holding court. So far, I hadn’t heard anything, so that was something. Only seven more hours to go. “We’ll put it at the end of the day.” We reached the stairs leading down to the cellar. Unlike the grand staircase leading up, these stairs were… shabbier. Thankfully, the castle had the good sense to put them out of the way so visitors weren’t assaulted by them. “Will that be enough time to interrogate her?”

He nodded. “She doesn’t seem hostile, I think she just wanted to out scoop her competitors.”

“Then I suppose that’s good,” I said as we reached the landing. “Do the two guards know their job for tonight?”

“They do, we’re polishing the chariot right now,” he said. There it was, a door that hadn’t been there before. I trotted towards it.

“Wonderful,” I said, opening the door and revealing a corridor full of cells. Well, I certainly hope we don’t need a dungeon this big, but I suppose it’s better to be safe than sorry. Honestly, there were enough cells here for a dozen ponies. “Is this sufficient for you?” I asked, smiling at Captain Greaves. His jaw was on the ground.

“But… how… we checked, this wasn’t here before,” he stammered.

“Yes, well, the castle has a way of rearranging itself when it feels like it. I suppose it realized a proper castle needed a dungeon, so it built itself a dungeon.” I shook my head. “Honestly, I think the castle’s just going through a growth spurt, right now. Twilight’s taking on a lot of new duties, so it has to grow to reflect that.”

“That seems…” Captain Greaves closed his mouth and nodded. “I’ll let the men know that the castle can rearrange itself by its own volition. We wouldn’t want anypony to start an alarm over nothing.” Yes, not mentioning that sooner was something of an oversight on my part.

“Very much appreciated,” I said as we headed back upstairs. “I’m sure if you search the room, you’ll find keys to the cells. My guess would be that they’re in a desk or hanging on a wall somewhere. Is there anything else I can do?”

“No, ma’am. Thank you for the assistance, and I’m sorry for disturbing you,” he said. We climbed the stair leading from the ground level to the main level, and as we neared the top, the door to Twilight’s court room swung open. A gaggle of nobles were marched out by the two members of the guard watching Twilight’s court. And the day just got better.

“What happened?” Captain Greaves said, asking the question for me.

“We… Princess Twilight was hearing the Julep Family’s request for a larger rain allotment, when he –” The guard speaking pointed to a brown pony dressed in a red velvet suit. Oh dear, what decade did he think this was? “– started an altercation, saying that the Princess shouldn’t be wasting her time on such ‘drivel.’ Several nobles loudly agreed, we escorted them out of the room like we were ordered to do, and then we saw you two.”

Captain Greaves looked at me while I tried to ignore the throbbing pain behind my eye socket. “Since you’re here, mind telling us how you want this situation handled? For future reference.” Obviously, I wanted them all locked up for daring to disrupt Twilight’s first court, but… Twilight probably wouldn’t approve. No, I’d handle this situation like she’d want me to.

I narrowed my eyes at the ringleader. Him first. “Take his name, banish him for a year, and I’ll write a letter to Princess Celestia detailing his unbecoming behavior. If he refuses to give his name, banish him for two years and grant one of the other troublemakers an audience with Princess Twilight if they know his name.” A few pairs of eyes lit up at that. Good, that was handled, then. “Take down everypony else’s name and give them a warning. If they cause trouble again, do the same thing to them you did to the ringleader. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really do need to get back to work.”

♦♦♦

Another pony was sitting in my office when I got back. Clearly, my door needed a lock, or a sign saying ‘Please Wait Outside’, or both. I smiled at the young, yellow-maned white mare sitting opposite my spot at the desk. “Hello, how can I help you?”

She smiled at me. Well, that was refreshing. Most of the ponies who came here thought scowling was the best way to win my favor. “Hello… Rarity, is it?” I nodded. “Hello, I’m Alabaster Cream, and I was hoping I could get an appointment with Princess Twilight. If not, that’s okay, but I’d really like it if she’d look over my family’s claim to some land outside Ponyville in Quarry Canyon. I have the documents with me – well, not with me, but they’re in my hotel room. Is it… I’m only in town for a week, would it be possible for me to meet with her before I leave?”

I frowned and went through the calendar in my head. She seemed sincere, was polite, and I didn’t recognize her name from any of the great families. It sounded like the dear actually needed help, and wasn’t just trying to earn prestige. “We might be able to, but why didn’t you bring up this little problem with Princess Celestia?”

“Oh, I want to, I’ve been scheduled to have an appointment with her for the last few years, but my name keeps getting bumped down the list for some reason. I thought maybe, since Quarry Canyon is in Princess Twilight’s demesne, that she might be able to help me,” she said, still smiling as I took my seat.

“Yes, I think I can get you a meeting with her. How does tomorrow at noon work?” I asked.

“Really?” she asked, voice soaring. “You can do it that soon? I thought I’d be shuffled around on some wait list and I wouldn’t be able to get an appointment with the Princess until I was my parents’ age.”

“Well, if you have as strong a claim as you indicate, Princess Twilight would want to help you as soon as possible. Either way, I think we can all agree that the sooner we resolve the situation, the better,” I said. Plus, Twilight had four slots reserved for noble appointments each day, and only about three nobles had impressed me enough to earn an appointment with her so far. Hopefully, that would change soon, but until then, we had the time.

She laughed and gave me a hug. My whole body tensed at her touch as I tried to squirm my way out of her embrace. This was not behavior becoming of a noblemare. “Oh, thank you so much, Miss Rarity. I can’t tell you… My parents will be so happy to hear this. They’ve been dying to build a home there for decades, but could never seem to… Thank you.”

“It’s fine,” I said, giving a small smile to her as the hug ended. “Just doing my job.”

“Well, it means a lot to me,” she said, going back to her seat. “Oh my goodness, what am I going to wear, I need… I need something fancy if I’m going to be meeting with a Princess.” Her eyes fell on my half-finished dress in the corner. “Ooh, who designed that dress for you?”

“I did,” I said. “I’m supposed to be a dressmaker, but I’ve been having less and less time for that lately. Still, Twilight needs somepony to manage the nobility for her, and I’m more than happy to be that mare.” I smiled at her. “If you’d like, I can sell you one of my dresses.”

“No, I couldn’t ask that, you’ve done so much for me already, and I probably couldn’t even afford something so nice, anyways. Still, thank you for offering,” she said. A noble who wasn’t rich and who didn’t have an estate? I didn’t know such things existed.

“I assure you, my rates are very reasonable. Most of my dresses usually sell for between three thousand and five thousand bits, but I might have a few I could part with for a mere thousand bits,” I said, thinking of the dresses I had up in the study. “Just… Come back with a thousand bits, and I’ll have a dress ready for you.”

“Thank you, again,” she said, getting to her hooves. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” The door clicked shut. I gave her enough time to leave the hall, then got to my hooves, trotting back to my – to Twilight’s study, running through the list of dresses I had and matching them with Alabaster’s colors. Yes, there was a nice, simple jade piece that would work with her complexion, and I could part with it for a thousand bits.

“Ah, Rarity, just the mare we’ve been looking for,” a stallion – I racked my brain for his name. Count Genteel Touch? – said. “How fortuitous we see you now.”

I winced. Whatever this was, it almost certainly took precedence over Alabaster’s dress. “Let’s move to my office,” I said, turning around. “I’m sure we can work out an agreeable solution to whatever your problem is.” I checked back at the nobles. None of them were involved in the earlier incident. A whole fifteen minutes earlier. Something told me this day wouldn’t end easily.

“There can be only one agreeable resolution,” Genteel said. “You resigning, and abolishing your position as Twilight’s gatekeeper.” Oh, was that all? Well why didn’t he just say so? I opened the door to my office and ushered them all inside.

“Yes, well, I don’t think that will be happening,” I said, smiling at him. “Especially since Princess Twilight doesn’t have a gatekeeper. I’m just in charge of scheduling appointments.”

“And you’ve been doing a wonderful job denying the nobility access to the Princess. That’s why we all banded together and formed Nobles for Equal Access to Princess Twilight. We will not rest until we are on equal hoofing with the peasantry. It’s intolerable that they have easier access to the Princess than the cream of Equestria,” he said to a chorus of nods. I fought the urge to strangle somepony.

“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way,” I said, giving him my best diplomatic smile. “But Princess Twilight issued a decree on how many nobles she wanted to see each day, and gave me the parameters for selecting them. I’m just an instrument of the Princess’s will.” Some of your compatriots are figuring out how the new game works, why can’t you?

“But one of the major articles of the Equestrian constitution states that, and I quote, ‘No noble may be denied access to the Princess for any reason whatsoever.’ You’re in violation of the law.” Yes, a law that was written when Equestria only had one princess.

“Yes, I can understand your frustration, certainly, but you know as well as I do that that law was written to apply to Princess Celestia. Has your access to her been denied in any way?” I asked. He shook his head. My smile grew. “Then it sounds like we’re not in any violation of the law. Besides that, we’re still allowing nobles in to see Princess Twilight. Lord Fancy Pants had an appointment with her just this morning to discuss a proposed charity with the Princess.” Hint hint.

“But–”

“No ‘buts,’ Count Genteel. Twilight is in charge of her own court. If you disagree with the way she conducts her affairs, you’re more than welcome to retreat back to Canterlot and tell all your friends how the Princess refused to see you. However, I’ll have you know that it’s not actually all that difficult to get the meeting you want. Show some humility, display some interest in helping ponies, and you’ll almost certainly get your appointment.” I’d seen children less petulant than some of these nobles.

He stared at me, I stared back. One of us was going to break, and it certainly wasn’t going to be me. The seconds shifted into minutes, and we both stood firm. He might have been willful, but I was Twilight’s shield from the nobility. Ponies like him would never speak with her. Finally, he glanced away, and movement flooded back into the room. “If that’s all, Count Genteel, I do have work to do. I’m sure you understand.”

“Yes, well… You’ll be hearing from me again,” he said, turning to look at the door.

“Oh, I’m sure I will,” I said, still smiling. “And I hope the next time we speak, things are a bit less tense. I do always welcome productive talks with the nobility.” He trotted to the door, and several of his followers traded uneasy glances with each other. Their confidence in their mighty leader was shaken, and maybe now some of them might listen to reason. It really wasn’t that difficult to get an appointment. They didn’t even have to engage in philanthropic efforts, really; if they were humble and polite, I’d probably give them their appointment. Baby steps, right?

The nobles filed out, several of the laggards looking back at me as they left. My gut told me I’d be hearing from them before the day was out. Once they were gone, I made my way back up to the study.

♦♦♦

Nopony bothered me as I made my way to the study to pick up my dress, but by the time I made it back to the office, several more ponies were waiting outside. Well, at least they hadn’t let themselves in. “Are you here to see me?” I asked. They nodded. “Wonderful, just give me a minute, and I’ll speak to you individually.” Maybe one day, the castle would give me a waiting room so nobles didn’t have to wait in the hallway. Not that I was too terribly distraught, either way.

The ones who’d been in with Count Genteel came in, feigned politeness, and talked about how they wanted Twilight’s ideas on how they could help Equestria. They walked away with an appointment. The ones who didn’t… Well, they’d figure it out sooner or later. I sighed when the last one left and rested my head on the desk just in time for somepony else to knock on the door. “Come in,” I said, sitting upright and putting on my best smile.

Alabaster Cream poked her head in the room, “Oh, I’m sorry, is this a bad time? I just… I had my bits, and was wondering if you still wanted to sell me that dress. If not, that’s completely fine, you’ve already done more than enough for me.”

I shook my head and pulled the box out of my desk. “No, it’s fine, Lady Cream.” I opened the box. “Will this work for your needs?”

Her face lit up. “Oh, it’s lovely. I can’t believe it only costs a thousand bits. Thank you so much.” She reached into her saddlebags and floated out a bag of bits. “Here you go, Miss Rarity. I promise, I’ll tell everypony I know about what a wonderful dressmaker you are.”

“You really don’t have to,” I said, shaking my head. “Although I do appreciate the thought.” She grabbed the box and gingerly fitted it into her saddlebags.

“Oh no, I insist,” she said, smiling at me as she trotted to the door. “I hope it’s okay if I stop by to visit before I leave? Right now, I have to prepare my arguments for tomorrow.”

“Any time, Lady Cream. Speaking with you was an utter delight,” I said, letting out a sigh as the door clicked shut again. And waited. And waited. And waited. No more knocks? Good, then perhaps now, I could do some actual work. I turned and went back my dress. I still had just enough time to finish my dress before court let out. A knock from Spike’s door. Of course.

“What is it?” I asked, turning around to the door, thread and needle still floating in my grip.

“Uhmm… It’s three o’clock. I’m supposed to remind you to go to Gustaf’s at three,” he said, looking at me. Was my mane getting frazzled? It was certainly possible, I hadn’t styled it since– Oh no, I hadn’t styled my mane at all today. I’d been so focused on helping Twilight this morning, that I’d completely forgotten about myself. And then I’d spent the entire day talking with nobles. They probably thought I was a complete mess. It’s fine, Rarity. Everything’s fine. You just need to go style your mane after getting food from Gustaf, and then finish designing your dress. Nothing could be simpler.

“Thank you, Spike,” I said, nodding at him. “If you could just tell any guests that I’m temporarily out of the office...?”

“I got it,” he said. “It’ll be nice to get a break from writing all these letters, anyways,” he said, gesturing to the pile of letters at his tiny little dragon desk. It was so cute and– “Oh, I heard back from Princess Luna, she says everything’s ready for tonight.”

Well, at least the most important thing for Twilight’s date was handled. Now, I just had to make sure the picnic and the chariot ride was ready. And finish the dress. And listen to whatever other demands the nobles wanted to inflict on me today. Oh, and clean myself up.

“I’ll be back as soon as possible,” I said, trotting out the door. “Try not to have too much fun while I’m gone, Spike.”

“Don’t worry,” he shouted back. “I definitely won’t.” I stifled a laugh as the door clicked shut. He’d been such a hard worker the last few weeks. We needed to make it up to him somehow. Maybe the castle could create an underground tunnel connecting the cellar to the nearby gem mines.

♦♦♦

“Hello,” I said as I trotted into Gustaf’s. “I’d like to speak to Gustaf, if that’s alright.”

“And you are?” the griffon maitre d’ said. Really? Yes, it had been a few weeks since I’d been here, but I was with a Princess when I came.

“I’m Rarity,” I said, doing my best to keep my smile up as I ran a hoof through my mane. Oh yes, it was definitely getting stressed. I was definitely getting stressed. “I came here with Princess Twilight the last time she was here.”

The griffon laughed. “Oh, yes, you looked different then, put together.” He raised an eyebrow as I tried not to growl. “Having a lazy day today, then?” Kill. Kill the griffon. I took a calming breath.

“On the contrary, I’m doing my best to get ready for my date with Princess Twilight this evening while also making sure her first court date goes off without a hitch, so if you could please just let me speak to Gustaf, I’d be greatly appreciative,” I said through clenched teeth. The minute I mentioned my date, the smug grin on his beak vanished. Ha!

“He’s in the kitchen,” the griffon said, pointing a claw in the general direction of the kitchen. I nodded my head and gave him my sincerest thanks.

“Ah, Rarity,” Gustaf said as I trotted into the kitchen. “To what do I owe the pleasure? It has been so long since I last saw you, and… isn’t Twilight having her first court today?” He knew good and well she was.

“She is, and that’s part of the reason I’m here. I’m planning a special picnic with the Princess after her court tonight, and I was wondering if you could provide the dinner. It would mean a lot to both of us.”

His eyes lit up. “A picnic for a Princess? Yes, I’d be happy to lend my culinary expertise. There will be no picnic finer in Equestria,” he said, giving a dramatic flourish. Well, that wasn’t going to be true, but there was no need to ruin his little dream. “What dishes will you be having?”

“I’d like it if we could have the same dishes we had the last time we were here and… could you do a couple of those bottles of wine? Nectar of the Stars or something like that?” Definitely fitting, considering my agenda.

“But of course,” he said. “I’ll have one of my unicorn chefs cast a preservative spell on the meal, so it will taste like it just came out of my oven when you take your first bite.” He smiled at me. “You go on back to your castle, I’ll send somepony to deliver the meal when it’s done.” And then every noble at the castle would see that Twilight was ordering private meals from Gustaf. Clever, Gustaf, very clever.

“I very much appreciate it, Gustaf,” I said. “Just… I’m trying to keep this meal a surprise from Twilight, so if you could just have it delivered to my office at the castle, I would be greatly appreciative.”

“Anything for you and the Princess,” he said, giving a small bow and turning to one of the ponies working in the kitchen. “You, fetch the things I need for the portobello steak and the scallions. If I don’t have them in two minutes, you can get out of my kitchen.”

Well, he was a bit abrasive – but then, what artist wasn’t when they were working on a deadline? Speaking of which, I had to have a new line of clothing ready for Hoity Toity in a few weeks. I absolutely needed to start work on that tomorrow. I nodded at Gustaf, satisfied the situation was well in hoof. Mane, chariot, appointments, dress. Four things left. Giving another sigh, I trotted back to the castle as quickly as I could without breaking a sweat. At least the first day of autumn wasn’t too unbearably hot.

Yes, Rarity, everything’s going to be fine. Fine. Fine. You have a couple of hours until court’s over, and then you can take a few hours getting ready. But… No, Twilight will almost certainly want to spend time with you when she’s done to blow off steam, and we can’t deny her that. Just get through today and you won’t have as much to do tomorrow. Maybe you can even sleep in.

I laughed at that idea. Probably not. I rubbed my mane. If Twilight had feelings for me, she could have just told me instead of… Well, we can’t fault Twilight for not being open with her feelings. I reached the castle, and moved to the back where I knew the chariot would be. “Yoo-hoo,” I said to the two pegasi who were just finishing polishing the chariot. “You know your route for this evening?”

The brown one nodded at me. “Yes, ma’am. Scenic route to Canterlot Castle, making a slow loop around Canter Mountain to show off the landscape. We need to be at the castle no later than 10:00.”

“Wonderful,” I said, smiling at him. “I’m going to be coming back in an hour with a picnic basket. Is there any way you can conceal it so Princess Twilight isn’t aware of it?”

“I believe so,” he said, trotting into the purple and gold chariot and opening a compartment at its base. “This big enough?”

“It should be,” I said, nodding my head and getting the compartment’s measurements. About two hooves tall and three hooves wide. A basket containing two bottles of wine and two meals could fit in there easily. The question is… I didn’t have a basket. No no no, I had– I had a basket at the Boutique. “I’ll be back in just a few minutes,” I said before sprinting off.

Sweat wasn’t important. Time was running out, and I needed that basket. Without it, I’d just have a collection of items rolling around in a storage compartment, and if that wine broke… I couldn’t bear to lose such good wine.

I barreled into the Boutique, ignoring the thin layer of dust that had accumulated over everything, grabbed the picnic basket from the storage room with my magic, and sprinted back out of the Boutique. We could clean it later, when we weren’t struggling to get a thousand things done by dinner.

Rarity, Rarity, what are you going to do? I ran through the streets of Ponyville, picnic basket behind me. A thousand things in the fire, and not nearly enough time to give them the attention they deserve, Rarity. You can’t keep all these plates spinning. Great, Rarity, now you’re mixing metaphors. What would Twilight say? Rarity? Rarity?

A dull whump imploded in my chest, and I found myself on my back, a pair of moderate cerise eyes staring down at me. “Hello, Rarity?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I tried calling you, but you just kept running.” She rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry for tackling you.”

A hoof went to the ache on the side of my chest. That was almost certainly going to bruise, but I didn’t think anything was broken. “Well, at least you apologized,” I said as she got off me. “Now, would you mind telling me just what’s so important that you had to tackle me?” I glanced at the picnic basket that crashed next to me. “Actually, don’t. I have so much to do today, that as much as I’d love to listen to whatever it is you want to say, I really need to get going.”

“Great,” Rainbow Dash said as I rolled on to my hooves. “I can run with you. It’s… It’s kind of urgent.”

“Before we go much further, Rainbow Dash, I assure you that I’m completely fine with you and Applejack dating, if that’s what this is about.” I rubbed my forehead and looked at my side. Dust clung to my coat, and there were even a few grass stains. Wonderful. Cleaning just went higher on the priority list, I suppose.

“Yeah, thanks for being so cool about that,” Rainbow Dash said as I took my first steps towards the castle and grabbed the picnic basket with my magic. “I was actually hoping I could talk to you about… romance stuff.” What? Really?! She was going to ask me for relationship advice about Applejack?

I sighed. Why did everypony think I was some sort of relationship expert? Yes, I read a lot of romances, but my actual real life relationships were hardly laudable. “What’s... the problem, Rainbow Dash?” I asked between breaths

“We… We kind of got into a fight, and I was wondering what you did when the two of you had a disagreement,” she asked, easily keeping pace with me.

“We yelled until we couldn’t stand anymore and then we had…” I looked around to see if any foals were around. None. “We had sex until we couldn’t stay awake anymore. The winner of the fight was the last pony to apologize, and the winner of the make-up was the pony who made the other or–”

“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said, cutting me off. “Why did I think asking you was a good idea? Although that last thing… that sounds kind of fun.”

“It was, and…” The castle loomed larger. “Why are you asking about our fights?”

She briefly looked away as we continued our brisk trot. “We kind of had a fight. She wanted me to go to her family reunion with her, but I had Wonderbolt Reserve duty that weekend, so she got upset and said I cared more about the Wonderbolts than spending time with her great uncle whatever. I told her I totally did, and things got… bad.”

I winced. There was that famous Rainbow Dash tact. The dull throbbing that had been building behind my horn all day suddenly had a sharp spike in severity. “Rainbow, beyond the fact that her family is immensely important to her, she wants you to meet her family. Do you understand how important that is for her? In all our years of on-again off-again dating, she never invited me to one of her big family reunions.”

“So… you’re saying I shouldn’t do the Wonderbolts thing?” she asked, tilting her head. “Because I’m pretty sure they’ll kick me out if I don’t go.”

“No, Rainbow Dash, you shouldn’t have to give up your dream for Applejack, she’d hate it if you did. You just need…” I trailed off as we approached the castle’s front door, the throbbing still building. I couldn’t let it get to me now. Still so much left to do... “Spend some time with the Apples, let her know her family is important to you too, and offer to go on a road trip to meet some more of her family after the harvest is over. That seems reasonable, right?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said, nodding her head. “Hey, Rares, how come you didn’t do stuff like that when you were dating her?”

“Because I’m much better at giving good advice than I am at taking it, apparently.” I glanced at the basket. “Here’s hoping that doesn’t prove true for my latest endeavor, though.”

She looked between me and my basket and understanding quickly snuck into her eyes. “Oh, you and Twilight are finally dating? Cool. When did that start? Just wondering, because the rest of us girls kind of had a pool.”

“Can you please ask me later, Rainbow Dash? I only have a few hours left to get everything ready, and I have to finish work, groom myself, and finish a fabulous dress before her court lets out,” I said, blinking my eyes in an attempt to dispel the pain in my head.

“Really?” Rainbow Dash asked, glancing at the sun mockingly low in the sky. “Isn’t that in, like… thirty minutes?”

I screamed and threw the basket at her as she jumped into the air and spread her wings. By the time my basket hit the ground, a prismatic trail led from the castle to the apple orchards. Anything else? Did Equestria have some other nuisance it wanted to throw at me today? Maybe Fluttershy could come to me with her relationship problems, or Pinkie could drag me to some secret surprise party, or Scootaloo could appear with something about – No, that would be worth it, whatever it was. I glared at the world, daring it to throw something else at me. Satisfied when no challenges appeared, I stomped to my office.

“Hello,” a unicorn mare standing next to my office said, a tray floating next to her. “I have–”

I floated my picnic basket right in front of her muzzle. “Put it in the basket, bring it to the guards out back next to the chariot, and I’ll pay you four hundred bits tomorrow, alright?” I said. She took a look at me, nodded, and a second later, she’d vanished, taking my picnic basket with her. Wonderful. Quality service was rare to find these days.

Inside my office, four nobles sat in various states of agitation. “Alright!” I shouted. “Who here wants to rant about what an indignity it is that I’m denying them an audience with Princess Twilight?”

Three hooves shot up. “Wonderful, then allow me to save us all some time and say it won’t happen with that attitude. Now, get out before my very frustrating day becomes your very frustrating day.” The four of them all made for the door, and I grabbed the one who didn’t raise her hoof before she could leave. “You. Do you have a legitimate problem or grievance, or are you just fishing for an audience with the Princess? If it’s the former, talk to me now. If it’s the latter, talk to me tomorrow. If it’s the latter and you say it’s the former, then I can assure you, you will never see Princess Twilight for all the remainder of your days. Which is it?”

“Uhmm… the latter,” she squeaked. I released my grip and she bolted out the door. I slammed it shut and locked it. I shut my eyes and took a series of deep breaths, trying to get the pain in my head to go away. Not tonight. Everything had to be perfect tonight. Satisfied that the pain wasn’t debilitating, I turned to my dress. My dress… Twilight probably wouldn’t care so much if it wasn’t perfect, but I would. Yard by yard, always stressed. If she could have a single complaint about today, I’d failed completely and utterly.

The dress finished, I brought it off the mannequine to try it on and – Oh no, I couldn’t put it on now, I was a mess; my coat was dirty, my mane… I floated a pocket mirror out of my desk to inspect myself, and recoiled. No wonder those nobles fled so quickly. I looked like a nightmare; my mane was frazzled and frayed, my cheeks were flecked with dirt and grass, and… was there a stick sticking out of my tail? I bolted out of my office towards my bathroom.

“Spike!” I yelled as I fled the office. “Under no circumstances are you to allow Twilight into my room, understand?”

He mumbled something as I slammed my door to the office and locked it, magically moving the tumblers. Twilight could unlock it if she set her mind to it, but most likely she’d see it as a sign that my office was currently off limits. I took the stairs up to her private quarters two at a time. I needed a shower. Preferably, a nice long shower where I could scrub every last trace of dirt, sweat, and filth from my body, but we didn’t have time for that. Her court was empty now, and the fact she hadn’t been by to check up on me while I was finishing the design of my dress was a small miracle. I ran through her bedroom and locked myself in the bathroom I’d been using the last few days.

“Rarity, are you in there?” Twilight asked, knocking a minute later as the water heated up.

“I am,” I said in my best sing-song. We were so close, I just had to finish showering, get back to my office, put on my dress, come back up here, and take Twilight on her date. No more interruptions, no more annoyances. I winced. Except for the pain in my head. We could worry about that tomorrow. “Just cleaning up after work. I’ll be out in a bit.” I glanced out the window in her bathroom. The sun burned red in the sky, I had maybe an hour until the stars started coming out. “How long has court been out?”

“A couple of hours. Did you know some paparazzi pony tried to break into the castle today?” she asked.

I nodded for nopony’s benefit as I stepped into the shower. “I think I heard something about that. Can we talk more after I finish cleaning up?”

There was a pause. “Sure, do you think you’ll be long?”

“Under an hour, I promise,” I said. She didn’t like it. She wanted to talk all about her court, and I was more than happy to listen, but we could do that once we left. What else was – “Oh! I’m taking care of dinner, so don’t go sneaking down to the kitchen while I shower, all right, Twilight?”

“Fine, but could you hurry up? My stomach’s starting to growl,” she said.

I smiled, luxuriating in the feel of hot water seeping into my coat. “I’ll move as fast as I can, I promise.”

♦♦♦

An unprecedented thirty-seven minutes later, I stepped out of the bathroom, clean from mane to hoof. An undressed Twilight lounged on the bed, head hanging off the edge and her hooves pointing in the air. It was utterly adorable and I couldn’t help but trot over and give her a quick kiss.

“What was that for?” she asked as the kiss ended. “Not complaining, just curious.”

“Do I really need a reason to kiss my marefriend?” I asked, tilting my head at her. “She’s completely wonderful and adorable, and sometimes, apropos of nothing, I feel like letting her know how much she means to me.”

She smiled, a big lazy smile hanging upside down on her face. “Thanks, and…” she tried to lift her head up to kiss me, but couldn’t quite reach. I humored her and bent back down. The second I did, she wrapped a hoof around the back of my head and drew me closer. My mouth parted, and her tongue tried to wrestle its way around mine. I breathed a contented sigh into her throat. What my princess lacked in experience, she more than made up for in enthusiasm.

Both of us wore the biggest, stupidest smiles on our faces as she lowered her head back down from the kiss. “So, what do you have planned tonight?” she asked. “I’m thinking maybe Gustaf’s would be nice.” She was absolutely right, but not how she imagined.

“Perhaps,” I said, trotting to the door. “Give me about fifteen minutes and then meet me in the back of the castle.”

“Wait, why?” Twilight asked, rolling on to her hooves. “I thought we were going to talk about court today. I have so many stories to tell you.”

“And you’ll get to tell me all of them in due time,” I said as I left the room. “But right now, I have to get ready for your surprise.”

“Surprise?” Twilight said, hopping off the bed. “Rarity, what sur–” The door clicked shut, and I heard Twilight growl with frustration from the other side. The suspense wouldn’t kill her.

♦♦♦

I stood a few hooves in front of the chariot, the two guards already hitched in, garbed in my finery. I looked… Well, tonight was ultimately about Twilight, but she’d appreciate me looking my best, and I certainly looked that way tonight. I smiled as I stood, immaculate and waiting for my marefriend to round the corner.

And waited. How long did it take me to get ready? She wasn’t so upset with me for slamming the door on her that she decided not to come, was she? No, Twilight would never let annoyance overcome her natural curiosity. Yes, she’d come. Probably just distracted by something else. What could distract her? Well, that kiss was – No, she wouldn’t, would she? I’d never seen her do it or allude to it, but then, she had to have at some point, right? Of course, up until a week ago, she hadn’t been kissed before, and tonight was her first date ever, so maybe, but then again, it wasn’t unprecedented for the quiet ones to have the more… vivid imaginations.

Are we really analyzing our marefriend’s sexual habits? You know, if we asked, she’d probably just tell us. I glanced back at the guards. But probably not right now. Decorum, and all. Well, let’s go over what we do know, she did dream of sleeping with us, but that was so far adorably platonic. No, not platonic, but certainly not sexual, just romantic. Something like what I would have dreamed up back when I was younger and pining for my prince. But that does prove she has some romantic fantasies. But what about other types of fantasies? Everypony had them, right?

Why is this so fascinating to me? If she does it, she does it, if not, that’s fine too. Still, it would be at least a little odd if she didn’t, wouldn’t it? A mare has needs...

Twilight finally rounded the corner, and I put those thoughts to bed. A war of expressions warred on Twilight’s face as her mouth opened. Surprise won the day. “Rarity, what’s… what’s going on?”

I smiled and gave her a bow. “Twilight Sparkle, it’s time for your first date.”

“Wait, what?” she asked. “But I haven’t planned anything, and you look so beautiful, while I’m not wearing anything.”

“That’s fine,” I said, turning to the chariot. “Everything’s ready, and you don’t need to do a thing. You worry so much about planning everything, I thought it would be nice if you had a night off.” I trotted up and kissed a cheek. “So, I’ve taken care of everything. Just relax and enjoy yourself.” I nuzzled her cheek. “Hopefully, that won’t be too difficult.”

She smiled as I pulled away and looked at the chariot, tension draining from her face. “No, I think I can manage. What do you have planned?”

I trotted to the back of the chariot and opened the back gate for her. “I thought we could, perhaps, start the evening off with a leisurely flight, and after that…” I grinned. “Well, that’s a surprise.”

Twilight hopped into the back of her chariot, a giddiness in her steps. “I can’t… I can’t believe it, I’m having my first date, and it’s with you.” She twirled around to wrap me in a hug before I could respond. “I can’t tell you how excited I am. This is… Ooh, I’ve had so many dreams about this day! Thank you, Rarity.”

“Well, I hope it lives up to the expectation,” I said, trotting into the chariot and latching the door behind me. “It was a small scramble getting everything ready for this evening, but I think it turned out alright in the end.”

“Really?” Twilight asked, tilting her head as the pegasi pulling the chariot moved forward. “Was today that bad? Oh my goodness, I haven’t even thought to ask how your day was, you must think I’m–”

I kissed her. Kissing had established itself as the fastest way to calm her down once her mind started running away from her. I’d need to reassure her once the kiss ended, but that could wait for a minute, couldn’t it? I savored the sensation of her on my lips and was savored in return.

“It’s fine, Twilight,” I said as the kiss ended and tried not to laugh at the vacant look in Twilight’s eyes. It wasn’t every day I got to see her in such thoughtless contentment, and the look would only last for a few seconds, at best. “My day was all right, a bit hectic in a few places, but nothing out of the ordinary. Tell me about your first day of court.”

She beamed at me, what little glassiness remained in her eyes after our kiss vanishing. “Oh! Right, it was crazy. Well, not crazy, actually, it was pretty much what you trained me to expect, except for the nobles I had to kick out and the paparazzi pony. Apparently, she was caught trying to sneak into my private quarters. Did you know the castle had a prison?”

I smiled and felt the wind whipping against my face and mane. I could tell her, but she didn’t need to worry about all the work I’d done today, not today. Tomorrow, maybe, but today was all about her. “I do seem to recall Captain Greaves mentioning something about that over lunch, yes.” A lunch I hadn’t actually had. My stomach growled at the reminder. That probably wasn’t helping my headache.

“How was that? Are the guard rations okay? We really need to hire a chef for the royal kitchens, and offer fresh food for the guards,” Twilight said. Even on our date, she was still finding things to worry about.

“We can think about that tomorrow,” I said, leaning into her. “Tonight’s all about you, Twilight.”

“Us,” Twilight said, and I could hear the frown in her voice. “It’s about us, not just me. That’s what a relationship is, right? Two ponies sharing everything with each other. That’s what I want with you, at least.”

“Of course,” I said, closing my eyes and nestling into the crook of her neck. Outside of us, the chariot continued its climb. We’d be getting above the clouds soon. “I just thought that since tonight was your first date ever, the focus should be on you.”

She sighed and stroked my mane with one hoof. “Thank you, but it’s not just my first date, it’s our first date, and that’s what makes it so special.” Yes, well she had me there.

“True, but this is your first first date. You’ll only ever get one of those, and it seems a sin to me if it’s anything less than perfect,” I said, smelling her coat. “If it makes you feel better, you can make me the focus of our next date, although I suppose that means there will have to be a second date.”

“I suppose it does,” Twilight said, laughing. “And my first date’s with you, so it can’t be anything but perfect.” A wave of warmth flooded through me. It still amazed me how simple and sincere she could be. I nestled deeper into her as she wrapped a wing over me. Between my dress, coat, and her wing, I wasn’t in any danger of going cold tonight.

“So court wasn’t too terrible? Beyond the one outburst, the nobles weren’t a chore to deal with?” They’d better not have been; if they were, I’d make sure they never saw a princess again.

“They weren’t bad,” she said. I opened my eyes. One saw nothing but purple, and the other saw the stars flying by above us as we made our way over the Equestrian country side. “Fancy Pants was nice; he had this great idea to fund a series of secondary schools in towns across Equestria, so ponies have options available if they want a post-primary education.” I could hear the giddiness in her voice. “Imagine it, Rarity, ponies will be able to learn about the classics for free, soon. They won’t have to be a unicorn or be accepted into Luna’s academy if they want a higher education, they can just get one. Why hasn’t anypony thought of that before?”

“I don’t know,” I said, the pain in my head fading at the sound of her voice. “I wonder how things would have been different for me if I’d gone to school for a few extra years after graduating, instead of just dedicating myself to dressmaking?” I frowned. “I don’t know if I would have taken that offer, though. I was so focused on becoming a fashionista, I ignored anything that got in the way of that goal, sometimes to my detriment.”

She nodded. “It is a bit of a problem,” Twilight said. “Ponies are so focused on their special talent once they discover it that they ignore the rest of their life. I know I did the same thing, but… How can I say ‘no’ to educating ponies?” She couldn’t.

“I’m sure there will be ponies interested in the big cities, and older ponies who’ve mastered their talent could be interested in rounding themselves out,” I said over the sound of the wind.

“Right, adult education,” Twilight said, nodding. “I’ll pass that on to Fancy Pants and see if that will make a better focus for our schools. Thanks, Rarity.”

“Think nothing of it, dear.” I looked up at the night sky. “Aren’t the stars lovely tonight?”

“They are,” Twilight said, pointing a hoof at one constellation. “See that one there, that’s Canis Major.” I shuddered.

“Twilight, if you could go the rest of your life and never mention that particular constellation to me again…”

“Right, sorry,” she said, “I just like pointing it out because Sirius is one of my favorite stars. Did you know it’s the brightest star in the sky?”

“I thought the sun was the brightest star in the sky,” I said, trying to conceal my smile. Plus, I could see at least one other star in the sky that looked brighter than Sirius.

“Fine, Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, although there’s a lot of debate on whether or not the sun is an actual star. Astronomers know they work off the same principle, but their size is so wildly different, plus the sun is the only star we know of that moves. Well, the stars might move too, but they all move together, We’re still working on explaining how the night sky shifts with the seasons,” Twilight said. I suppose that’s what I get for trying to correct her on something. “For a while, we thought the stars were in a fixed sphere around Equus, but recent images from the Pegasus Observatory have confirmed just how insanely huge the universe is and how weird our system is.”

“How so?” I asked. “Assuming there are other worlds like ours out there, that is.”

“Statistically, there have to be, and some stars have smudges on one side that indicate… Well, that’s the thing, we can’t get a really good view on Equus, but it looks like systems with other worlds have the worlds revolve around the sun. Equus is a huge anomaly, and no astronomers have any idea why. Celestia hasn’t said anything on the subject, either.”

I smiled and took a deep breath. Something told me she’d be talking about the night sky for the entirety of our flight.

♦♦♦

An hour of conversation later, we finally landed in Canterlot Castle, where Princess Luna was waiting for us. “Ah, I’m glad you two made it. Are you ready?”

“We are, Princess Luna,” I said, bowing before her. “Although Twilight doesn’t quite–” I stopped and trotted back to the chariot, pulling our basket out of the compartment. “Now we are, although Twilight doesn’t exactly know what we’re ready for.”

Princess Luna smiled, her horn glowing. “Well, I’m sure she’ll love it.” I felt a prickle of magic run down my body, spreading from my muzzle to the rest of me. Next to me, Twilight shivered, feeling the same magic I was. “I’ll be back in a few hours to pick you both up.”

“Wait,” Twilight said as the tingle of magic grew. “Where are we–?”

The world around us crackled and dissolved, and instead of standing in Canterlot Castle, our hooves dug into a fine, powdery white chalk. Up above in the night sky hung a blue and green circle marred by white streaks. “Rarity, are we–?”

I nodded. “We are, Twilight. I thought you might appreciate stargazing for our first date, but then thought that was rather cliche. Well, maybe cliche is the wrong word for it, but I wanted to make stargazing on our first date special. So I packed a meal, made a request of Princess Luna, and here we are.” I opened my picnic basket, and… Yes! We had a blanket. Wonderful, the dear who’d packed our meal had remembered a picnic is nothing without a blanket. Six hundred bits, then. I went about spreading the blanket over the face of the moon. “How many ponies can say they had a picnic on the face of the moon for the first date?” I pulled the food and drink out of the basket as well, setting them down on the blanket. “Especially when Gustaf did the cooking.”

She sniffed at one of the plates as her stomach grumbled. “Did you… did you get one of the portobello steaks?”

“Well, I wouldn’t be much of a marefriend if I didn’t get your favorite meal from Gustaf’s, would I?”

Her forelegs wrapped around me and a flurry of kisses landed on my face. “Thank you, you’re the best marefriend ever.” She stepped back from me and twirled around on one hoof. “I’m here! On the moon! To watch the stars and have dinner my marefriend! I haven’t been here since…”

Her face fell. “Oh. Is being here alright for you? I kind of forgot what happened the last time we were here.”

I shrugged and went about setting up our meals. “If I avoided every place where I regretted doing something, I’d never leave your castle. Besides, Luna assured me the moon is much safer these days.”

“You really have that many regrets?” Twilight asked, popping open her container.

“More than most, I suppose,” I said, looking up at Equus. From here, it looked so small and peaceful. Also, how could it look so bright without the sun shining on it? I looked around. Where was the sun? It had to be somewhere, right? “Twilight, what happened to the sun?”

She looked around. “Huh, so it completely vanishes when Celestia sets it. I always wondered about that.” She shook her head. “We can talk about that later. Right now, we’re talking about you.”

“I don’t know,” I said, uncorking the wine and pouring us two glasses. “Yes, I suppose I do have more regrets than some. Ponyville is full of them, Canterlot and Manehattan have a few between them, and the moon has one big one. It’s not really that big a deal. Everypony has regrets.”

“Not me,” Twilight said, frowning. “There are things that I might not want to do again, but I don’t regret them because they led me here, to this moment, and without any of them, I wouldn’t be here.” She sat next to me and started cutting into her steak. “And right next to you’s a pretty nice place to be.”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” I said, passing her her glass. “Still, you have to regret that time you almost destroyed the town, right?”

“Nope,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “I learned from it, became a better pony, and nopony got really hurt. Besides, based on who I was at the time, I wouldn’t have done anything differently.” She tapped a hoof against the glass as she waited for it to aerate. “Okay, I know one of your big regrets is what happened to Sweetie, and I know you’d do things differently if you could, but that’s only because you know what happened after. At the time, you did what you thought was right.” She took a bite of her dinner.

I chewed on her words while she chewed on her steak. “Yes, maybe I did what I thought was best, but that doesn’t change the fact that what I did was wrong. Sweetie suffered because of my poor decisions. She’s still suffering, I think.”

“Then why aren’t you doing anything?” Twilight asked, tilting her head. “You could go to Manehattan, track her down, and tell her how you feel, right? Maybe she wouldn’t listen, but it’s not like the situation is unfixable. We could go together.” She rubbed her head against me, and I tried not to notice how the smudge of steak on the corner of her lips rubbed off onto my coat. Right, she didn’t know about the letter.

“Because there’s already a plan in place,” I said, looking up at Equus. If I strained my eyes, I could just make out where Manehattan was. “Sweetie, she… According to Scootaloo, she drank an intelligence potion that also allowed her to see the future. Sweetie couldn’t remember what she did under the potion’s effects, but she wrote a letter to Scootaloo and had it delivered to her after they had a fight. It gave Scootaloo a date, time, and location, and told her to be there.” Save me. “It’s hard to trust in a master plan when nothing but ill’s resulted from it so far, but I’m trying to keep my faith up and counting down the days.” One year, two seasons, and thirteen days.

“Oh,” Twilight said, looking at me. I could see her curiosity about how Sweetie became clairvoyant burning behind her eyes, but thankfully, she decided not to ask. “Well, then…”

“I trust Scootaloo, and I think I trust the Sweetie Belle who wrote the letter – but again, it’s hard to keep my faith, sometimes,” I said, taking bites from my salad and sparing her from searching for platitudes. “Now, if I recall, this is supposed to be our first date, and it’s no fun for anyone if I just talk about my problems.”

“But, I want to hear about them,” Twilight said between bites of steak. “I’ve been wanting to hear about them since you came to the castle, but you only ever give me little glimpses of what’s going on inside. This is a date. We’re supposed to be finding out about each other, and there’s this whole side of you you never show to anypony. I want to see it.”

I chewed on my lip and glanced at my wine. Could it properly aerate on the moon? I took a sip. Still divine. “And if that side of me pushes you away?”

Twilight’s lips were against mine, and I leaned back against the blanket. For a second, I thought she’d hop on top of me to continue the kiss, but it ended just before my head could hit the ground. “Rarity, this is you,” Twilight said, gesturing to encompass the picnic blanket. “You’re the mare who’d go crazy to try and give me the perfect first date. I know who you are and who you’re trying to be. Your pain won’t scare me away.”

The three words caught in my throat. Too soon. Or was it? We’d known each other for years. I sighed. “Fine, you want to know all about me? I suppose you deserve it more than anypony.” I leaned up and kissed her cheek. “Tonight, my princess, I’m an open book. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.” Almost everything.

♦♦♦

One meal and two bottles of wine later, we sat and stared up at Equus, Twilight’s head in its new favorite home. “You’re different than you were when we first met,” Twilight said.

“Good different or bad different?” I asked, yawning.

“I think… good different,” Twilight said, breathing into my coat. “Maybe a little bad, but more good.”

“Care to enlighten me on just how I changed?” I asked, licking the last remnants of wine off my lips.

“You just… you are. I used to think you were this kind of silly romantic who just cared about fashion and stuff I didn’t like, but then I got to know you. Maybe you haven’t changed. Maybe I just saw you better. Maybe I stopped seeing the mare I thought you were, and started seeing the crazy beautiful mare you really are.” She laughed in her ramblings. “You know… on the inside. I already knew you were beautiful on the outside.”

I smiled and stroked her mane. “Why, Twilight Sparkle, you do know how to flatter a mare’s ego. Go on.”

She giggled into my coat. “Good, you still have a little bit of that old vanity. Definitely better than you being so harsh on yourself.”

“Ugh, haven’t we talked about that enough, Twilight? Honestly, we can only comb over all my problems for so many hours before it becomes tedious, and I think we’re well past that boundary,” I said, kissing the top of her head just to let her know I wasn’t too terribly upset.

“Sorry,” she said, her ears flattening. “I… Right. Well, I kind of like your vanity, because I think you deserve it. You… I had pretty much everything growing up. My parents gave me every opportunity they could, and I like to think I used them well, but I know I wouldn’t be where I am now without them. But you… You didn’t have any of that, and you still turned into this amazing mare. You’re hard-working, you’re passionate, generous – obviously; you’re way more at home with the nobility than I am... and deep down, even though I know you’re trying not to admit it, I know that romantic heart’s still beating inside of you.”

I laughed. “Twilight, you’re right about a great many things, but I’m rather confident that whatever romantic streak I possessed in my youth has been thoroughly beaten out of me.”

“Nope,” Twilight said, giving her head a little shake without actually bothering to lift it up. “You know how I know?” There was a pause as she fidgeted to make herself more comfortable. “You kissed me. Back in Canterlot, back when you learned I liked you, you just kissed me. Only a romantic would’ve kissed me that night. Those moments when you can just be completely happy, you’re the most beautiful thing ever. It’s like when the sun hits the atmosphere and clouds just right to paint the whole sky.”

“And the rest of the time?” I asked, raising a hoof up to stifle a yawn. It was… probably late on Equus, and a bottle of wine sloshing in my stomach didn’t help matters much.

“Still beautiful,” she said. “But… Like a dandelion.”

“A weed?” I mumbled.

“No, I mean… You know, it’s pretty, but hardy. Some flowers, if you step on them, they’ll die – but a dandelion, they can get trampled, but they’ll keep growing and being beautiful in their way. Sure, your stem might be bent and you might be mashed into the dirt a little, but you’re still growing. That’s beautiful to me,” she said. Her comment sank down into me, and on the precipice of wakefulness and slumber, something shifted.

I yawned and closed my eyes. There were more words in me. Words that needed to be said. Such a long day, but I needed to get them out. She needed to hear them. I needed to hear them. The three words bubbled up like a fountain, giving life to everything around. “Twilight, I…”

Her echo was the last thing I heard.

Author's Note:

Well, we have four more chapters left, but I'm going to hold on publishing them until they're all absolutely in their final draft. Things get kind of intricate, there are a few big changes I need to make, and I don't want to change something that creates a continuity error.

Also, I figure this makes a nice enough stopping point. There are no immediately pressing issues, and Twilight and Rarity are sleeping soundly under the stars and Equestria. Not a bad way to spend your time.

Comments

[Freeze Frame]

So Nightmare Rarity did happen. I was wondering about that.

Ugh. I so hate it when people call the pony planet Equus outside of like a science-fiction fic or a Star Wars crossover. I mean, why would they call it something else than 'the planet', 'our planet' or 'the earth'. It just doesn't really make sense and it gets on my nerves. Sadly, I cannot get angry because I love this story so much.

[Distaff Pope]

6322438 I thought about that, and while Earth would be a more authentic name, I wanted to differentiate our planet and Equus thoroughly. Yes, logically, any sapient race would call their planet something like earth, but... Well, I can't say no to horse puns.

[Tchernobog]

I am positively loving this. Like I said last time, this feels so much more, well, honest ( ) between the two. Much more feeling, rather than just passion, if that makes sense.

[terrycloth]

6322438 When you've got mythology (or science) that lets you go to other worlds, it starts making sense to have a name for your own. Like, Asgard/Midgard/etc. Ponies have Tartarus at the very least, and the Princess knew about interdimensional travel since Star Swirl's time.

(Clearly, though, the planet should be named Discordia, since Discord is the rightful ruler. )

[Distaff Pope]

6324267 Oh yeah, this is an actual emotionally honest relationship, where passion exists, but isn't the driving force. The driving force is mutual support.

[Tchernobog]

6325217 And that makes it so, so much more enjoyable. Sure, I have a bias against RariJack, I won't deny it, but... this, the way you're writing these two? This feels so damn nice.

[Distaff Pope]

6325282 Yup, I much prefer writing mature to immature relationships.

[Tchernobog]

6325427 I'd say it shows!

[Distaff Pope]

6325432 Also, I'm not going to say anything about the fact that it took you eight chapters to favorite this story. (I'm sorry, I hope this emote properly conveys friendly teasing. I'm not very proficient in emote usage.)

[Raul]

I remember, the headache. tsk, tsk, tsk. Is a hospitalization in our near future?

And damn rarity, that's a lot a shit ya did.