178. Glowing Like Embers
Twilight Sparkle…
That was the thought that crossed Rarity’s mind over and over and over again as she rode the train to Canterlot, crying like a little baby the whole way as Pinkie Pie graciously held and supported her. Now Rarity was in the train’s bathroom, re-applying her makeup because she looked like a ghoul.
She didn’t mind it though; such was simply the price she paid for love, she supposed.
And it was true, she loved Twilight Sparkle, even still! And finally recognizing that for the truth that it was made Rarity feel more alive than she had in eons, or at least certainly since The Incident.
Rarity loved Twilight Sparkle, and at this point she was certain that nothing could ever change that.
“Hey, Rarity!” Pinkie chirped, sticking her head into the bathroom. Excellent timing too, as Rarity had just gotten herself to a relatively presentable state. “We’re almost at the station, you ready to jet?”
“I am, darling!” Rarity said proudly, spinning on her hooves and pumping her fists. She had no shortage of energy today, and it was all thanks to Twilight Sparkle.
No, wait… that wasn’t quite right.
When Rarity thought of the people she loved in this world, she thought of all of her friends. Her dear partner Rainbow Dash, lovely and dependable Applejack, endlessly delightful Pinkie Pie, charming and adorable Spike…
…and Fluttershy.
And it was specifically thoughts of Fluttershy that gave Rarity pause; Rarity’s exuberance and cheer during this trek to Canterlot— tears notwithstanding— made sense when she considered Twilight, she was the woman who brought color and purpose back to Rarity’s life, after all.
But Rarity felt those same feelings of warmth and comfort when she thought about Fluttershy. Perhaps not as loud; they were quiet and serene, nestled deep within the crevasses of her heart. But they were still there, glowing like embers.
The truth of the matter was… Rarity lo—
The piercing wail of the train’s horn cut through Rarity’s thoughts like a knife, and she figured she would need to shelve whatever notions or revelations she had been on the cusp of, for now she needed to depart the train and realign her mind to focus on what was important: talking to Princess Luna.
“Gawd, I am excited!” Pinkie cheered as she jumped onto the train station platform, Rarity daintily stepping off the train behind her.
“Oh?” Rarity hummed. “About visiting your mom?”
“Yes!” Pinkie said, bouncing along as the two women departed the station and headed down the bustling streets of Canterlot’s Sun District, Rarity breathing a sigh of relief as she took in the familiar atmosphere and felt like she was home. “But not just that!”
“Oh really?” Rarity said, and she found it was impossible not to smile with Pinkie Pie present. “What else have you on your mind, dear?”
“Well, duh!” Pinkie giggled, Rarity’s smile growing ever wide at that perfectly wonderful sound. “I’m excited about you and Twilight! And you and Fluttershy too! I know you’ve been really busy this week resting up after your whole thing that happened-” Rarity groaned; the less she had to think about the debilitating effects of magic exhaustion, the better “-but I can’t wait to hang out with you and Fluttershy at the same time! Two of my favorite people!”
“And what about you and your two girlfriends, hm?” Rarity said sweetly, and it still boggled Rarity’s mind that Pinkie of all ponies had managed to find herself with two girlfriends. Granted, it was fitting; Pinkie Pie deserved all the love in the world, and then some, but it was still surreal to think of cute and innocent Pinkie with a mare on each arm. “Have the three of you had any splendid times together?”
“No,” Pinkie’s voice sounded uncharacteristically melancholy, and Rarity’s ears perked up in alarm. “I’m not sure what it is, and maybe I’m just imagining it, but I kinda get the feeling like Fluttershy and Applejack might not like each other very much.”
“What makes you say that?” Rarity said curiously. This was news to her; she was under the impression that Applejack and Fluttershy were fond of each other. Applejack certainly had the least resistance to befriending their dragon companions, aside from Pinkie Pie of course, and Fluttershy didn’t seem to hold many grudges against the pony side of their group as far as Rarity could tell.
“I dunno,” Pinkie puffed up her cheeks. “Like I said, maybe I’m just overthinking it. But I’ve been trying to get Fluttershy and Applejack together to do stuff with both of ‘em all week, but one or the other is always too busy. And whenever I bring them up to the other, they always get really mum. A lot of polite nods and ‘mm-hmm’ and not a lot of actually saying anything.”
“Hmm, that does sound conspicuous,” Rarity pondered. “Perhaps they’re going through a rough patch. I’m sure whatever it is, they’ll get through it. They are both adults after all, and they both love you very much, so don’t you ever concern yourself about that!”
“Thank you, Rarity,” Pinkie beamed, “you’re the best!”
“I try,” Rarity nodded proudly, smiling ear to ear as she was feeling quite chuffed with Pinkie’s praise.
“Rarity!”
Rarity’s good feelings would have to be put on hold though, as a familiar deep woman’s voice grated against Rarity’s nerves and forced her to visibly cringe.
“How can I help you,” Rarity bore the politest smile she could muster as she turned to face the woman who spoke as she approached Rarity and Pinkie, “Tempest Shadow?”
“I didn’t expect to see you here in Canterlot,” Tempest said, the giant of a mare crossing her arms and looking down at Rarity as though she were some kind of criminal. Rarity always tried to be polite with Tempest for Celestia’s sake, but Celestia wasn’t here and Rarity had no patience for this. “I’m glad I ran into you though, I wanted to talk to you.”
“Is that so?” Rarity arched an eyebrow, one hand on her hip and the other lazily dangling at her side. “Well I’m afraid I’m much too busy for you right now. I have a meeting due with the Princess.”
“I’m not too busy!” Pinkie chimed in. “You could talk to me!”
“I want you to tell me about what happened in Bitsburgh,” Tempest said, ignoring Pinkie entirely, the little mare puffing up her cheeks and glaring at Tempest, much to the amusement of Rarity. “About the dragon attack that happened there. I heard you were in the area at the time.”
“You heard correctly,” Rarity said; there was no use in denying that much. “Unfortunately however, I wasn’t present for that battle, so I can’t tell you any more than anyone else.”
“I don’t like that answer, Rarity,” Tempest whispered through gritted teeth. “What kind of Slayer doesn’t do enough research about a damn dragon attack that happened right under their nose?”
“Uh, w-w—uhh,” Rarity stuttered. She knew she would have to come up with some kind of excuse to tell Celestia, but she hadn't quite gotten around to it yet, and she had been relying on the fact that Celestia trusted her, a luxury that Tempest Shadow did not afford her.
“Hey, back off!” Pinkie stomped in front of Rarity, puffing up her cheeks and taking a firm power stance between Rarity and Tempest. “You don’t know anything about what we’ve been through or what we’ve been doing, or about what was going on in Bitsburgh, so I don’t wanna hear any of your sass!”
Pinkie’s impassioned defense not only caught Tempest off-guard, but it was like Rarity got her second wind, and she allowed herself one single haughty chuckle.
“Pinkie Pie is right, Tempest Shadow,” Rarity said coolly. “You don’t know anything about what’s going on, and while you can criticize me all you like, I’m afraid I simply have nothing to say to you. I have much more important matters to deal with.”
And with that, Rarity turned on her hooves, only turning back to give a wink to Pinkie Pie, who winked back at her with a bright smile.
Tempest’s outburst couldn’t have happened at a better time, to be honest, since Rarity and Pinkie had nearly reached the point where they needed to part ways regardless. So Rarity was quite happy to leave Tempest Shadow behind her, and proceed with what really mattered.
Finding out where Luna stood in regards to Twilight Sparkle.
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You are SO gay.
Roll credits. *ding!*
I love her confidence.
Oh brilliant.
I do love it when Pinkie gets assertive.
Well, she ain't dead yet, so...
💜💜💜 and thus one more gets on the tentative poly train, not quite knowing what they're doing but giving it their all
oh and of course the train whistle cuts off her thought process
she really is!
much more important matters than dealing with tempest
Was there a reason why they didn't go straight to the Crystal Empire, since there seems to be plenty of trains that lead back to Canterlot?
10188945
twilight doesn't want to go, and honesty neither does anyone else, so they're dragging their feet on purpose