Rarity's Hearts and Hooves Daysaster

by Jatheus

The Calamity Intensifies…

The energy boost she had received from lunch was quickly wearing off as Rarity made her way to the other end of Ponyville. The sleepiness threatened once again to overtake the determined unicorn, and she let out a yawn. At this rate, she’d be doing well to be awake for the dance, with or without a date. On the bright side, it occurred to Rarity as she walked that Starlight Glimmer, still being new in town, may not have found a date either. This gave her two more good opportunities to work this out before it was too late.

She had to take a detour around the square surrounding city hall. It was already being prepared for the festivities, and the entire area had been roped off. Large curtains had been set up to prevent anypony from seeing the area ahead of time. From the amount of activity inside, it sounded as if half the pegasi in Ponyville had been mobilized to assist with decorations. Before long, the looming structure of the castle stood before the white unicorn in the two-tone pink scarf and blue sweater. It was a large crystalline structure sweeping up out of the ground like a giant tree with branchlike formations holding the majority of the structure above. Rarity climbed the steps and entered. The faint sound of voices could be heard echoing up the otherwise silent hallway. The stalwart unicorn pressed on, checking each room she came to until she located the Princess of Friendship.

“Hi, Rarity, come in,” Twilight Sparkle greeted from the other side of the dining room.

“Oh, I do hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Rarity apologized as she entered.

“Not at all,” Twilight said cheerfully. “Spike was just a little late preparing lunch, but I’m already finished.”

The baby dragon spoke as he entered from another door that joined the kitchen, “But, don’t forget about dessert!”

“What’s on the menu today, number one assistant?” the purple alicorn asked.

“Double fudge brownies,” Spike replied confidently. “They say you’ll never find a better dessert. The Cakes swear by it.”

Twilight let out a giggle.

“Oh, now that does sound absolutely divine,” Rarity admitted.

“Won’t you have some?” Twilight asked.

Rarity looked to Spike.

The baby dragon seemed to blush a little, “Don’t worry, there’s plenty for you to have some, if you want… Rarity…”

“I’d like that, thank you.”

Spike set down the dessert for the princess and then scurried back into the kitchen where a small crash was heard. The mares shrugged at each other about the sound.

Twilight asked, “Did you finish your big order?”

“Yes, I did. Nothing like the last minute completion of a project,” Rarity let out a fake laugh.

“So, what brings you here?” Twilight asked.

“Nothing much,” Rarity said calmly, “I’m just trying to make certain everypony is ready for tonight.”

“The Hearts and Hooves Social?” Twilight asked.

Spike entered the room and interrupted, “Twilight’s taking me to it. She’s been teaching me to dance,” he added proudly.

Rarity’s fake smile immediately went up as a defense against her true feelings becoming revealed. The baby dragon put a plate with a delicious looking little brownie in front of Rarity.

“That’s just wonderful!” the unicorn exclaimed. Time to go to ‘plan b’. “Was Starlight Glimmer asked to go by a special somepony?”

Twilight looked like she had tasted a bit of heaven when she took a bite of the dessert that Spike had given her.

“No, we had talked about it, and we decided at the last second that it would be best to keep it smaller for her this year,” the princess explained. “She agreed and asked if she could go to the rock farm with Pinkie and Applejack.”

“I see,” Rarity said.

She took a bite of the double fudge brownie. It was in fact one of the most decadent things she had ever tasted. The richness of the chocolate very nearly made her forget all of her cares as it washed over her like a tide of sweetness rolling in… nearly.

Rarity was beginning to realize that this was simply not going to go her way. Also, technically, that hadn’t been ‘plan b’. Her little notebook was ‘plan b’. She had already gone through that, charm, Fluttershy, and now two other possibilities. Strictly speaking, it was now ‘plan f’ that had just failed.

“Well, that’s one less thing to worry about,” Rarity said in a feigned upbeat manner. “Starlight will be in good hooves with the Pies and the Apples.”

“Are you alright?” Twilight Sparkle asked, a look of concern now on her face.

“What?” Rarity pretended to be confused for a moment. “Oh, yes I’m fine, dear. I’m afraid I didn’t sleep at all last night, as I was working on that order.”

She finished her brownie, but even the gloriously magnificent flavor of it wasn’t enough to lift her spirits. It was time for a strategic withdrawal.

“Thank you; that dessert was simply divine. Now, if you would excuse me,” Rarity said as she stood, “I would like to get a nap before tonight. I think the rest would do me good.”

“Anytime; thanks for stopping by,” Twilight said. “That was very thoughtful of you to make sure everypony had plans.”

“Oh, it was nothing,” Rarity said with a fake giggle.

Spike said, “See you later… you know… at the… dance!” He blushed a little.

“Till then!” the dejected unicorn replied with feigned cheer as she left the castle.

All sense of logic and intelligent thought left Rarity. Her vision was beginning to become blurred by tears that were begging to be released. Before she even realized what she was doing, she was heading back to Carousel Boutique at an unrestrained gallop.

Comments

[GrimDrago]

That's kinda sad. Even Spike has a date! (Even if it's as friend with his big sister-type figure)