12. Wallflower Saves the Day
Rarity stirred her drink with a dour expression as she listened to Rainbow ramble on and on. On the night before the Gala, Rainbow and Applejack invited her over to the former’s room for drinks and a big announcement. And it was certainly an announcement.
Rainbow Dash leaned forward and punched, knocking over a cup of beer on her coffee table. “And when I mastered Cadance’s kung fu, she told me that I was the true master of love or something, and she showed me the final ultimate technique, which makes two people married. And now AJ and I are married, and you know, that’s pretty cool.”
Rarity groaned. “Yes, yes, you’ve told me that five times already.” She glanced over to Applejack, who was fast asleep on a couch by this point. “ I’m happy for you two, truly.”
She really was happy for them. And not jealous.
Rainbow took a sip from a bottle—making full use of her recent 21st birthday—then laughed suddenly. “Hey Rarity! You know, if Pinkie called you and Twilight instead, then Cadance would have had you two marry, and that would’ve solved everything!”
She just had to say the quiet part out loud. Rarity lunged forward, grabbed the bottle from Rainbow’s hands, and took a swig herself.
Slow to react to this, and not feeling an urge to care once she did, Rainbow leaned back. “You know, it was totally my plan to have Cadance marry me and AJ. You keep coming up with these plans, but mine are way better. I came up with making Twilight jealous by pretending to be in love with you, and that worked!”
“No, dear, that didn’t work at all, remember?”
Rainbow paused. “Oh yeah.”
Frustrated. Rarity was frustrated at something. It couldn’t be Rainbow. Even in her buzzed state, Rarity could recognize she blundered into this and didn’t mean to get married before her. No, she was frustrated at how difficult all this love business has been. But who was to blame for all this? Herself? Surely not!
Rarity was the type to get nostalgic when she drank. Under normal circumstances, she’d likely be reflecting on all the good times Rainbow and Applejack had together, but the Gala being one day away with nothing Twilight-related to show for her efforts ate at her mind. She reflected on all the misadventures of the past year, and one stood out in her mind most of all.
She shot up. “Betrayal!”
Rainbow shook her head. “Whoa, what?”
Rarity put on her coat and prepared to leave. “I just realized I have unfinished business with a traitor and a crook!”
Rainbow’s voice regained its energy. “Are we going to beat someone up?”
Rarity’s face was flushed with anger and determination, and more than a little drunkenness. “If it comes to that!”
“Awesome! Count me in! Perfect way to end a wedding night!” Rainbow’s face fell. “Well, perfect way given my new wife’s already asleep.”
Rarity put a hand on her shoulder. “You can still snuggle with her.”
Rainbow’s face lit up. “Oh yeah, I can do that.”
They rushed out the door, leaving Applejack snoring into a couch cushion.
Rainbow chuckled upon seeing their quarry. “So, uh, what is this anyway?”
Toby the catoblepas groaned in his stable.
“This is the fiend!” Rarity declared. “He told Fluttershy I like Twilight!”
Rainbow took a swig of her bottle, waited a second to parse this, then said, “Wait, wasn’t that a good thing?”
“Yes, but I told him that in confidence!”
Rainbow took another second to parse that, then laughed. “But why?”
“He looked trustworthy! But he wasn’t!” Rarity pointed at the beast, who insistently looked away. “And he never apologized!”
As Toby twisted away, Rarity leaned to keep sight of his head. Finally, she grabbed it with magic. “Don’t you look away while I’m talking to you! Face your accuser and apologize!”
Rainbow laughed. “Whoa, this is hilarious. Can he even talk, Rarity?”
“Oh yes he can! He was talking to Fluttershy before!”
Rainbow took more time to parse this. “Oh, OK. Wait, nevermind, wasn’t there… oh, yeah, can’t Fluttershy talk to animals? Nevermind, I don’t know where I’m going with this.” She laughed some more.
Rarity opened the stable door and got inside, with Rainbow following after with another swig. “So, uh, that’s like a pig head, so this is a… what’s the word… hedgehog! This is a hedgehog! I knew it!”
Toby groaned as Rarity struggled with his head. “Look at me when you’re talking!”
Finally, the catoblepas had enough and did what she asked.
Their night at the Gala together was more wonderful than Rarity could have possibly imagined. Now they sat together and watched the swans play in the viewing pond.
“Oh Twilight, they’re so beautiful,” Rarity said.
Twilight gently touched Rarity’s chin with the tip of her finger and turned her head to face her own. Step one to unlocking her heart.
“Not as beautiful as you…” Twilight said as she gazed into her eyes. Could it be? Could she have figured out step two? “... Mon petit poney.”
Yes, she did! The random French caused all of Rarity’s feelings to overflow, and tears of joy formed in her eyes. “Twilight! You’re the most amazing girl I’ve ever met. You shine as brightly as a thousand stars. I… I love you!”
Twilight paused. Then she chuckled. Then she pulled her hand away and quickly turned behind her. “Spike! I got her!”
Spike jumped out of the bushes behind Twilight and made a mark on a sheet of paper full of tallies. “And that’s another commoner upstart down.”
“Twilight? Darling? What is all this?” Rarity said as her joyful tears shifted to something far worse.
Twilight laughed. “Honestly, darling? You still haven’t figured it out? I’m a new princess. And I decided the best way to make my mark was to take down the woman that’s beguiled half the nobles of the school.”
“Take down? But-but—”
“You’re a peasant who doesn’t know her place. We deign to let you and your kind study here out of the goodness of our hearts, but we have no desire to truly mingle with you. You had your fun tricking some of the lesser nobility with your feminine wiles, but someone was bound to take you down sooner or later. It was my pleasure to be the one to do it.”
“Trick? No, I haven’t been tricking anyone!”
Rarity’s pleas were drowned out by laughter as other nobles stood up from the bushes. Jet Set. Upper Crust. Photo Finish. Fancy Pants. Even Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie joined in.
Then Princess Celestia herself flew down and laughed boisterously as she put her arm around Twilight. “Good job, my faithful student. I knew you could do it. Drinks are on me, everyone! We're getting smashed! Woo!”
Everyone suddenly had frothy mugs in hand. “Cheers!” they shouted and the mugs crashed together and shattered, flooding the courtyard in beer.
Rarity struggled to stay afloat, but she quickly found she wasn’t drowning in beer, but rather student debt.
“Sorry, Ms. Rarity, but you are no longer eligible for your scholarship, and this applies retroactively,” said the financial aid woman. “You need to pay for the past two years you’ve studied here.”
“Retroactively? But I can’t afford that!” Rarity said.
“Rarity?” said a voice. Rarity turned to see Sweetie Belle, her darling baby sister. “I can’t be seen with you anymore. Applejack offered to take me in so I can escape the shame, so she’ll be my big sister now. You can call me Sweetie Apple now!”
“Sweetie! Sweet child! Please no! That name’s terrible!”
Rarity tried to reach for her but was distracted by a “Mreow” behind her.
“Opal?” Rarity turned with tears in her eyes. Indeed, she saw her sweet innocent furry baby Opalescence sitting in a spotlight surrounded by darkness. “Opal, you aren’t going to leave me too, are you?”
The cat made a displeased groan and turned away from Rarity, slowly plodding into the shadows.
“Opal, no, no! You can’t go!” Rarity bawled as she ran to the cat, but no matter how fast she moved, she couldn’t get closer as her last friend faded from sight. “Opal! Opal!”
She sat in her tears and shouted to the heavens.
Morning light crept into the stable as Rarity woke up among the hay. She groggily looked around her and noticed a patch of rainbow hair on the ground next to her, which she soon realized was attached to a rainbow noblewoman. Pieces connecting in her mind, she spat on the body and shot up. Fire burned in her eyes.
Everyone betrayed her, so the only course ahead of her was revenge.
She pulled some hay out of her hair and gagged.
Alright, first getting cleaned up. Then revenge.
Wallflower relaxed in her chair in the corner of the student council room, having finished her early morning garden work, and flipped through a magazine.
As far back as Wallflower could remember, people ignored her. She could talk to people if she got their attention, but then as soon as they looked away, she faded from their memory. Just some lack of presence that she couldn’t help but feel was superhuman in nature. Except for the fact that it never seemed to work on teachers. Wallflower learned that the hard way when she tried to cheat on an exam in middle school. Of course the only ones who’d consistently notice her were the ones she didn’t want.
Up until Twilight, at least. Twilight’s attempts to reach out to her were certainly patchy at the start—it was hard to ignore how Mudbriar had the exact same title as her—but she was making a clear effort to remember her. And unlike the teachers, Wallflower didn’t mind this at all.
Still, Wallflower had largely gotten used to being unseen. It would have been an issue if Twilight tried to force a connection, but she was giving her space, with moments of acknowledgment to show this wasn’t by accident, and that was good.
There was Pinkie too, but it was hard to see any pattern to what times she noticed her. Plus, that girl was scary.
In any case, the student council was perhaps turning out to be a good place for her after all.
Rarity kicked the door open.
This in and of itself wasn’t unusual, so Wallflower didn’t take note of this. Not until she flipped the coffee table, at least. Wallflower instinctively brought her legs up on the chair and pulled her magazine close, peeking over the top as the student council vice-president screamed and shouted.
“Everybody betrayed me! I’m fed up with this world!” Rarity said as she grabbed a seat cushion and tossed it aside. Walking past Wallflower, she threw her upper body onto Twilight’s desk and swept across it to knock everything to the floor. “Why, Twilight, why?!”
Rarity squatted down and put her arms under Twilight’s desk, then with a yell, turned it over. She then pulled out a letter, dropped it onto the now upward facing part of the desk, and humphed. Then, as quick as she came in, Rarity left, leaving Wallflower scrunched up in her seat.
She waited a full minute before daring to move.
Wallflower thought she had a pretty good handle on what was going on with Rarity and Twilight—they both freely talked about their plans right in front of her, after all—but this definitely threw her for a loop. What in the world could have happened?
Even though she logically knew that Rarity wouldn’t notice her, she still slowly and carefully poked her head out of the council room door, looking both ways. She slid out and pressed herself against the wall, making her way outside the building.
Twilight walked through the campus with a mix of excitement and nervousness—making her what Pinkie would call nervouscited. The Gala was tonight, after all. Everything was in place, which she confirmed five days ago and every day since, and just about the only thing that could be an issue was the catering. As if there could be any problems with experienced caterers like The Tasty Treat and Gustave le Grand! The taste tests went perfectly, and they were the gold standard in Canterlot, so handling demand would not be an issue. Plus they got a popular local DJ.
Still, Twilight could not help but fret. She noticed one of the Gala posters on an outside wall was crooked, so with magic, she adjusted it. Still not right. She adjusted it again, but it just didn’t look right. She stepped back and tilted her head. Was it parallel to the ground? Was the issue that the ground wasn’t quite level? She hummed in concentration.
“Hey there, Twilight!” shouted Applejack.
Broken from her trance, Twilight yelped lightly, and turned to see the council liaison approaching.
“Hi Applejack. I hope you’re ready for the Gala, because I sure—”
Twilight noticed Applejack’s expression, with a big smile that she could only describe as goofy.
The council president smiled and raised an eyebrow. “So, did something good happen?”
Applejack laughed. “You sure could say that. I’d rather keep this a secret until we have a bigger ceremony planned, but I’m sure half the school knows by now. Rainbow and I got married!”
“Oh, yeah, I can see why you’d be happy about—” Twilight then realized what Applejack said. She jumped up with her wings splayed out. “Wait! You and Rainbow? How, when, what?!”
Applejack scratched the back of her head and chuckled. “Yeah, it was pretty out of nowhere for us too, but it just all made sense after that.” Her expression shifted to annoyance as she crossed her arms. “Although, I’m not sure where Rainbow went off to after last night. Is this what it’s going to be like every day?”
Twilight’s head continued spinning. “You’re married!”
Applejack smiled. “Well, I can see this is a lot for you to take in. Come on, let’s get you to the student council room so you can feel more comfy.”
Twilight walked with her in a daze for a while. As they approached the council room’s building, Twilight’s thoughts suddenly solidified and she grabbed Applejack’s arm. “Wait!”
Twilight paused. Was it really right to tell Applejack about Rainbow Dash’s crush on Sassy Saddles? Did that even matter anymore now that they were married? Was this getting too involved in personal affairs?
Applejack blinked. “What is it?”
Before Twilight could answer Applejack’s question, she looked past her and blinked. “Rainbow Dash?”
Both women looked at a bush on the other side of the path, where a tuft of Rainbow hair poked out. Eyebrows raised, they walked toward it.
Applejack put her hands on her hips. “Sugarcube, why are you skulking in a bush like that?”
With a yelp, Rainbow indeed leapt out of the bush. They only got a brief glimpse of her unkempt appearance before she screamed and ran away in a blur, stopping around a corner and peeking one eye out.
Both Twilight and Applejack made confused noises and tilted their heads.
“She seems… jumpy,” Twilight said.
Applejack sighed. “Must’ve done something real crazy last night.” She waved and called out, “Rainbow Dash! If we’re going to be married, then you need to tell me what’s going on instead of hiding.”
Twilight’s face turned red and she froze up as she was suddenly reminded of what they were talking about a moment ago. “Married!”
Applejack approached Rainbow, only for her to once again run away screaming. She called out, “Don’t make me get out my—OK, that’s it, I’m getting out my rope!”
Pulling a fully formed lasso out of a pocket, Applejack swung it overhead and gave chase. Watching this, Twilight touched her chin. “Hmm, this is very strange. If this was me, I could see it being nerves, but I don’t think Rainbow was ever worried about the Gala.” She turned red again. “Could it be marriage anxiety?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone with green hair approaching. She turned and waved. “Hey there, Wallflower!”
Wallflower nodded in reply and approached, not looking directly into Twilight’s eyes. Stopping a few feet away, she put her fingers together. “So, uh, Twilight, you should know there’s kind of a situation back at the council room.”
“Heads up, she’s coming your way!” shouted Applejack.
Twilight looked up to see Rainbow run past her. And right into Wallflower.
The two women collided with mutual grunts and fell to the ground in a pile. Wallflower’s eyes spun as she laid flat on her back, with Rainbow’s weight on her belly. As Rainbow started to get up, Applejack tackled her off the other woman and started roping her up. After watching this for a second, Twilight knelt down to help Wallflower up.
“Aha!” Applejack said as she started roping up her wife. “Got you now! Now you’re going to explain what’s going on!”
To Applejack’s shock, Rainbow cowered in her bindings, with a distraught expression on her face. At this, her tone lightened. “Oh sunshine, what’s the matter?”
“I’m a big failure,” Rainbow said. “I just keep losing at everything, and now you’re going to tell me how disappointed you are in me.”
Applejack knotted her eyebrows. “I’d never do that, Rainbow. Even if you lost some, I don’t know, underground night race last night or whatever, that doesn’t change who you are inside. You’re always going to be a winner, and I say this not just as someone known for her honesty, but as the woman you married.”
Wallflower turned red. “Married?”
Twilight turned red too. “Married.”
Applejack wrapped her arms around Rainbow. After a moment’s hesitation, Rainbow sank her head into Applejack’s shoulder and smiled. A bright and heavenly glow came from the both of them, making Wallflower and Twilight cover their eyes. After some seconds, it faded away, and Rainbow’s expression shifted to wide-eyed confusion.
Rainbow jumped up, her limbs still tied together, and she struggled against her bonds. “Ugh! AJ, why’d you tie me up? What’s going on?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow as she got up. “Rainbow Dash, I get that pouring out your heart and soul might be embarrassing, but no reason to pretend it didn’t happen.”
“That’s not it,” said Twilight as she crossed her arms and furrowed her brows. “That light. I’m pretty sure a curse was dispelled.”
Applejack’s eyes widened. “A curse? Who in the world would be spreading curses here?”
Rainbow’s face twisted. “Curse? Wait, was I a werewolf? Did I become a werewolf and now I can’t even remember that? Lame!”
Twilight shook her head. “No, it was a curse that made you really fearful. I can speculate as to why someone would curse you like that, but I need to know, what’s the last thing you remember?”
Rainbow hummed. “Well, let’s see, after AJ and I got married—”
Both Twilight and Wallflower turned red and exclaimed, “Married!”
Rainbow paused.
“Yeah, they’ve been doing that a lot,” said Applejack.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Anyway, after AJ and I… did that, we were drinking with Rarity in my room. I think I left after that. Did I go home after that? Wait, no, duh, I was already home. So… oh! Yeah, so Rarity wanted to see someone to beat him up or something, and I came with.”
Twilight hummed. “Rarity wanted to beat someone up? Who could that be? I suppose it could be Suri Polomare, since she mentions her a lot. Anyway, continue.”
Rainbow opened her mouth and said, “Uh…”
“So you’re walking with Rarity,” Twilight started. “You keep walking until you reach your destination, which is…?”
“Oh! Yeah, it was a farm—a stable! The one that Fluttershy does animal stuff for the school at.”
“You found someone at the stable?”
“Yeah, we found—oh, yeah, Rarity didn’t want to beat up a person, she wanted to beat up an animal!”
Applejack’s eyebrow raised again. “Glad Fluttershy isn’t here to hear that.”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “So Rarity, after drinking, decided to go all the way to the campus stable to fight an animal there. Is this right?”
Rainbow nodded confidently. “Yup!”
Twilight tilted her head. “Seriously?”
“Look, I don’t know how often you’ve seen Rarity drunk, but she can get really weird when she wants to be.”
“Wait, hold on a second,” said Applejack. “There’s one animal I can think of that Rarity would be angry at. That catoblepas that was messing up the fields!”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh of course! So Rarity wanted to avenge the ruined plants that all the students here worked so hard on! Is that why you two went there?”
Rainbow’s mouth hung open for a moment. “Sure, yeah, that’s why we went there.”
The princess put her hands to her chest and flowers seemed to bloom around her. “They say drinking can expose your deepest self. To think her thoughts would go to her classmates. Such a generous and pure soul.”
Applejack squinted. “The pure soul that wanted to fight an animal.”
Twilight coughed. “Yes, yes, though her heart was in the right place, I can’t approve of her actions. Fluttershy already had him under control, and besides, looking into the eyes of a catoblepas can trigger devastating waking nightmares—oh, of course!” Twilight snapped her fingers. “Rainbow, you were showing symptoms of the catoblepas’ curse! You had a nightmare that you lost a race and were scared that we’d insult you!”
Rainbow scoffed. “Yeah, that’d only happen in a dream.”
Twilight continued, “The only way to break that curse is to be hugged by someone who loves and understands you, which is what happened when Applejack, who is—” Twilight blushed “—your wife, hugged you.”
Rainbow blushed and groaned. “Ugh, no! Why’d I have to get saved in such a mushy way!”
Applejack leaned in. “Wait, so if both you and Rarity were there, then that means Rarity got that curse too!”
Twilight touched her chin as she considered this.
Wallflower raised a hand. “Actually, I was trying to find you because of something I now realize is probably connected to all that.”
Rainbow jumped in her ropes. “Whoa, Wallflower! When did you get here?”
Wallflower rolled her eyes. “You literally just crashed into me.”
Rainbow turned her eyes up concentration. “Oh. Huh.”
“Anyway, we should get back to the student council room. You’ll be able to see what happened for yourself.”
The students nodded and walked to the room. Except for Rainbow, who was still bound up and fell over.
“Whoa nelly!” said Applejack.
“That’s probably the best way to word this,” said Twilight, as she walked through and examined the state of the council room. When she reached her desk, she gathered up the scattered papers with her magic.
“Rarity came in here and started yelling about how everyone betrayed her,” explained Wallflower. “That must be what her nightmare was. But unlike Rainbow, I guess being betrayed just made her want to fight back.”
Applejack nodded. “That girl always did fantasize about getting involved in a big and dramatic revenge story.”
Wallflower pointed to the desk. “She left a note too.”
Twilight put down her papers and took the envelope in hand. Cleanly tearing it open, she pulled out a page. She skimmed over it, then said, “Wait, what?”
“What does it say?” asked Applejack.
“I’ll read it out.” Twilight cleared her throat.
My dear Twilight Sparkle,
Never under the heavens has such TREASON been brought upon a fair innocent maiden! The utter gall of you, princess! To think I believed for a second that you cared about me! It is clear to me that the entire monarchy—nay, the entire aristocracy!—must be purged. You may have laughed before, but soon I, Rarity, shall have the last laugh. In return for the prank you played on me, I shall play a “prank” on the entire school!
Meet me at the dueling plaza forthwith, and wear something red. When I destroy you, I don’t want the blood to ruin your outfit.
If your cowardice wins out and you don’t appear, then your new Gala will be the subject of my wrath.
Best wishes,
Rarity
Applejack blinked. “Well that’s about as dramatic as I expected.”
Twilight had a solemn expression as she put the letter down. “Rarity put as much work into this Gala as any of us. I know she’d feel terrible if she ended up ruining it while in an altered state, so we need to stop her.”
“To break this curse, you need someone who loves and understands Rarity, right? Who’d be good for that?”
Twilight nodded. “I can do it.”
“What?”
Twilight, seemingly just realizing she said that out loud, turned the reddest red she’d been that day and frantically waved her arms. “As the student council president, she is my vice-president, so we understand each other a lot, and what is love anyway? I’m sure the understanding part is more important anyway, and the love part is just being poetic.” She collected herself and coughed. “In any case, Rarity wants me to come alone, so I should at least try.”
Applejack looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. “Well, alright then. I’ll see if I can fetch Sweetie Belle, but are you sure you want to go alone?”
Twilight smirked. “Oh, I’m not going alone. Rarity will think I am, but we have a secret weapon.”
She turned to face Wallflower, and Applejack did the same. Wallflower smiled awkwardly.
The Statue of Celestia Victorious, one of the few remaining depictions of Princess Celestia as a glorious goddess of war, clad in armor and with a stern look on her face, was said to be a dueling ground since the old days of the school. Rarity examined it, wondering what could have driven the princess to dress in such a way, to have ever been forced out of her serene state seen in ancient statues and seen today.
Surely it must have been a betrayal on the level of what Rarity suffered.
“Pardon me, ma’am, can you move aside? We’re supposed to set up a food stall over here.”
Rarity gave a sidelong glance to the man talking to her. He was very large and was holding folded tables under both arms. All around Rarity, people were working to set up the night’s Gala. How absurd, setting up another gala right after the one used to ruin her life. Perhaps that really was the entire purpose of the previous night’s gala, and tonight was the real one meant for everyone besides her. Not bothering to face him, she asked, “What is your name?”
Taken aback, the man answered, “Uh, they call me Troubleshoes, ma’am.”
Rarity turned, dramatically flaring out her long skirt, and stepped toward him. “Well, Mr. Troubleshoes. All I can say to you is, get out of my way.”
With a near imperceptible strike, she knocked him back with her palm. Troubleshoes stumbled back several feet before both tables flew out of his hands and into stands that had already gone up.
“What in the—?!”
“Troubleshoes, no!”
“Jumping Jehorseaphat!”
Stands collapsed, knocking over other workers, and the ones who still stood found themselves in the path of Troubleshoes himself, who tripped and tumbled all around the plaza. In the end, as the dust settled, the only things left standing were Rarity and the statue.
Rarity smiled at the destruction. “Victory is behind me, indeed.”
Twilight and Wallflower ran down the street. While the princess’s breath was even, Wallflower found herself panting and falling behind. Thankfully, Twilight slowed to a walk and Wallflower caught up.
“So,” Twilight started. “While the fact that you can sneak up on Rarity without her noticing is certainly a big part of why I brought you along, there’s another reason. The same reason I didn’t bring Applejack along.”
Still breathing heavily, Wallflower responded, “Because I know about your crush on Rarity, right?”
Twilight shushed her and looked around, though she quickly gave up any pretense of secrecy and said, “Yeah, that’s why. I don’t know how things are going to go, and things could get dicey if hugging Rarity elicits certain, well, emotions from me.”
Wallflower blinked. “Like a lady bo—?”
Twilight turned red. “Like one of those, yes. Anyway, we should figure out our strategy. Rarity is a fairly skilled magic user. I don’t think she’d be a match for me if I went full-bore, but restraining her without hurting her will be a tall order. Plus, if she went through the trouble of challenging me, she has to have some trick up her sleeves. If there are magic canceling devices, she very well might be able to outdo me in martial arts.”
Wallflower stood silently, twisting her face.
Twilight looked into her eyes. “Did you think of something, Wallflower?”
Wallflower stepped back a bit, startled. “Oh, yeah, uh. Sorry, just kind of taken back you actually noticed my expression.”
Twilight smiled. “I understand.”
“Anyway, I was just wondering. I know the student council has access to all kinds of things, but how could Rarity get magic canceling devices? She isn’t even a noble. Did we order any for the Gala?”
Twilight nodded. “The artists of Canterlot Royal Academy have secrets unknown even to Celestia. They often speak in private of ruining Celestia as the ultimate dramatic denouement for their time here, or as a way to take over and then punish some other artist that slighted them. Sometimes, this isn’t just them being theatrical, though. There are tales that over the centuries, particularly dramatic students actually gathered the tools needed to do this and have hidden them across the campus. There’s been nothing to substantiate that there’s more to this than seamstresses spinning yarns, but Rarity in her current state may be the one artist on campus willing to pull the trigger.”
Wallflower blinked. “Whoa. I, uh, didn’t realize artists had that much power.”
Twilight nodded. “That’s why we have to consider every possibility. Like skirts.”
“Skirts?”
“What if she starts doing high kicks and she's wearing a skirt? Should I look away?”
“I would say... not getting hit would be more important.”
Twilight put her hands to her chest. “What—what if she says, ‘I'm wearing a delicate ensemble and I wouldn't want it ruined,’ and I have to fight her in her underwear?!”
Wallflower’s face twisted as she tried to reason out what led to this thought. “So you're worried this is going to be like a... sexy fight?”
Twilight furiously nodded with a concerned look on her face.
“I really don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Twilight nodded, and after a moment, shrugged. “Well, that’s all I can think of right now.”
“What about the plan for magic canceling devices?”
Twilight blinked. “Oh. Oh yeah, that is what we were talking about before.” She leaned against a wall. “In the end, I think it really all comes down to me engaging Rarity and trying not to provoke her, and you sneaking up and knocking her over. Whatever tools Rarity has won’t matter much in that light. Use your best judgment for that, and it’ll work out fine.”
Wallflower looked down. “I… uh… OK.”
Twilight gave her a gentle smile. “Hey, are you feeling nervous?”
She grabbed her arm. “I mean, people generally don’t rely on me for anything. I get my work done, then people forget I was ever involved. Even on the student council, everyone else thinks Mudbriar does all the budget work. Hell, I’m sure Mudbriar thinks he does all the budget work. I could easily do nothing and no one would care, except… now you would care. If I mess this up, you’d know that I’m the reason why the Gala was ruined by a nightmare-cursed Rarity with a crazy plan.”
The princess playfully rolled her eyes. “If worse came to worst, I’d blame the catoblepas, or Rarity for drunkenly deciding to defend Applejack’s honor, or of course myself for failing to cure Rarity in time. You don’t have experience with magic threats like this, so you’d be the last person I blame. But in any case, you shouldn’t doubt yourself. You’re an important and reliable part of the student council, and I’m sure you can find the strength of will to succeed.” She put a finger to her chin. “Actually, is there anyone in particular you look up to?”
Wallflower’s eyes widened. “I, uh…” She reached into her pocket and grabbed a stiff piece of paper inside it. “Yes, though I’d rather not say who.”
Twilight nodded. “That’s fine. When the time comes, think of them, and you’ll pull through. Now, I’m supposed to meet with Rarity soon, so we should probably go.”
Twilight walked ahead. Wallflower watched her for a bit, then took a deep breath, and followed after.
Twilight and Wallflower peeked around the corner at their quarry. She stood in front of the statue of Celestia Victorious with her arms crossed. Around her lay the ruins of food stalls, and the groaning bodies of workers. Several onlookers—mostly students, though some workers were mixed in—gawked at the scene.
“Ah crud,” said Twilight. “I didn’t realize that I’d have to do all this with an audience!”
“Do you think Rarity will put them in danger?” asked Wallflower.
“Uh, maybe. There are all those people on the ground around her. But what I’m more worried about is what people will say when they see me hug Rarity.” She put a hand to her forehead. “Ohh, I was counting on Rarity losing her memory like Rainbow, but all these people aren’t going to lose their memories!”
“You could make it look like a tackle, maybe.”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah, I guess I’ll have to do that. Maybe also make it look like I’m casting a big disenchant spell, even though the hug’s all there is to it. Ah, wait, right, Rarity’s going to glow when she’s cured. That’ll work. Though maybe I should cast my own spell to make sure the light matches the color of my magic. Or do you think that’s too much?”
“I think you’re overthinking it. Just tackle her, and she’ll glow, and that’ll be it.”
Twilight grunted in uneasy affirmation, then said, “I see she has some devices with her. As expected, there’s a magic canceling device set on top of Celestia Victorious,” she said, pointing to a green glow on the statue’s shoulders. “It being that high up will prevent most magical bombardments from being effective, at least without putting people in danger. There’s another device at the base that I don’t recognize, though.” The device in question was a large red box, around knee height.
“Maybe that’s how she plans to ruin the Gala. But that magic canceling thing, wouldn’t that mess up the curse too?”
Twilight shook her head. “You can’t cancel all magic with a single device. Curses in particular can’t be removed like that. Rarity’s device is probably the standard one used to stop human magic. This does mean I should still be able to cure her.” She sighed. “If I can cure her, at least. Catoblepas magic has never been studied much, so we only have anecdotes for how to undo the curse. All the incidents I’ve read about involved people who were in romantic love. While I’m pretty sure Rarity is in love with me, there’s still the distinct possibility that she isn’t, and when I sit there ineffectually hugging here, she’d mock me about how cute I am, and it’d be terrible!”
There was one question that Wallflower knew the answer to, and she knew Twilight knew she knew, yet to this point, Twilight chose to hold off on asking her. Wallflower didn’t understand this at first, but eventually she realized: Twilight was making a sincere attempt at friendship. To ask her that question would make it so their relationship was solely to get information regarding Rarity, and Twilight wasn’t that craven. However, Wallflower realized now was the time to answer it.
Wallflower put her hand on Twilight’s shoulder. The princess looked up in surprise, and Wallflower said, “Twilight, I can say with absolute certainty that Rarity is in love with you.”
Twilight blinked. “Are you sure?”
Wallflower nodded. “You don’t have to doubt it anymore. Both you and Rarity love each other, and she’ll definitely say yes if you ask her out. You could even take her to the Gala after all this!”
Twilight lifted Wallflower’s hand off her shoulder. Rather than the relieved expression Wallflower expected, her face was firm and analytical. “No, I mean, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but can you tell me exactly what led you to believe that? It’s a fine hypothesis, but we need to take an empirical look at your evidence and determine what it actually means.”
Wallflower paused. “I, uh, Twilight… what? You remember that thing about people not realizing I’m in the room? And how that includes Rarity? The entire reason you brought me along now? She talks about her crush on you all the time!”
“Perhaps, but Rarity can do confusing things at times. Like why didn’t Rarity bother to explain she had to take care of Sweetie Belle during spring break during her call with me? She just hung up instead!”
Wallflower was taken aback. “I, uh, admittedly wasn’t there for that, but—”
“Or why did Rarity run away during our first spring break meeting and never come back?”
Wallflower tilted her head. “Well, I wasn’t there for that either, but if this is the thing I’m thinking about, then—”
“Or why did Rarity stare at my legs that one time then say she didn’t like looking at them?”
Wallflower’s face twisted. “When was that, again?”
Twilight pointed. “You were actually there for that one!”
Wallflower rolled her eyes. “OK, fine, I may not remember or have an explanation for every single little detail, but Rarity literally plots ways to get you to confess your love right in front of me!”
Twilight laughed and waved her hand. “Oh, that’s what you were talking about? I knew that already.”
Wallflower paused. “Then why are you—”
“What I don’t agree with is your interpretation that this means Rarity likes me. I mean, she might, but who knows why she’d want me to confess my love.”
“Twilight, she’s constantly talking about how cute and attractive you are. I’m one hundred percent positive she likes you.”
Twilight tapped her chin. “Rarity thinking I’m attractive is certainly a compliment, but she says that of a lot of people, I’m sure. But cute… that could be seen as a negative, couldn’t it? Like a cute naive girl? The sort that’d get tricked by a fake love confession and humiliated in front of the entire school.”
Wallflower blinked. Was she being gaslit? She wanted to somehow convince Twilight that Rarity legitimately liked her, but this discussion was starting to make her doubt her own eyes and ears.
“Anyway, I should probably go to Rarity. You get into the dueling field from another point and keep an eye on her. Even if she doesn’t notice you, she’ll shake you off after a bit when you tackle her, and she’ll probably be able to keep track of you after that, so we only have one shot at this. Use your best judgment to strike when I’m close enough to grab her.”
Wallflower weakly nodded. With a nervous grin, Twilight proceeded ahead. Wallflower walked around the ring formed by spectators, who took particular notice to the student council president emerging.
“Princess Twilight is here!” one spectator said.
“Whoa, this is crazy!” said another.
“Is this a lover’s spat?” asked another.
Wallflower stopped suddenly and snapped her fingers. “Fluttershy! I should’ve mentioned her!” She considered this for a bit. “Nah, Twilight would’ve debated herself out of that too.”
She doubted that the fight would turn out well for Twilight, or for the Gala.
Rarity stood at the base of the statue of Celestia Victorious. At the crowd’s renewed excitement, she looked over her shoulder at the approaching princess. “Ah, so Her Majesty deigns to arrive for her duel. Another moment and I would have activated the device to destroy the Gala you worked so very hard on.”
Twilight looked up at her with a stern expression. “Is that the purpose of that red box?”
Rarity grinned devilishly. “Indeed. With just a snap of my fingers—” she put her fingers together “—this device will activate to turn the streets red.”
Twilight stepped back aghast. “You’re going to kill people? Even with this curse, you couldn’t go that far.”
Rarity stomped. “No, I’m not going to kill people! I meant I’m going to literally turn the streets red.” She puffed her curls with her hands. “It will clash horribly with the decorations and all the guests will be disgusted. I should know, I chose the color scheme myself. That’ll show you for using my efforts to embarrass me, then hold a second Gala without me!”
Twilight’s eyebrows raised. “Second Gala? Is that what your nightmare is about?”
With a grin, Rarity jumped from the statue and landed in the center of the ring, kneeling with one hand on the ground. She got up and took a fighting stance. “The rules are simple. Neither of us can use magic within this area, so we shall fight hand to hand. If I win, or if you leave our dance, then the device will activate and the Gala will be ruined, and I shall take your hair as a souvenir.”
“My hair?” Twilight said with wide eyes.
Rarity nodded. “Indeed, but fret not, your gorgeous and delectable hair shall not go to waste. Perhaps I’ll sew it into a handbag and carry it with me so.”
Twilight tilted her head and wondered how much of this was the nightmare and how much was something Rarity actually would do with hair. “And if I win?”
“If you win…” Her tone turned venomous. “Then congratulations, the power of classism and the monarchy persists and the world keeps turning, leaving you free to ruin the life of another woman.”
Twilight put a hand to her chest. “Rarity, please, you don’t have to do this. I don’t know what nightmare you saw, but none of it was real!”
“I wonder, are you lying, or was it that meaningless and inconsequential to you? Well you shall experience the consequences of betraying me right now!”
Rarity darted forward with startling speed and thrust her palm toward Twilight’s head. The princess just barely twisted her body out of the way, the air pressure from Rarity’s strike slicing off a strand of hair. Another attack came quickly as Rarity spun her hips and upper body and swiped her hand, which Twilight ducked under. However, Rarity’s followup kick struck Twilight’s upper arm and shoulder. With a grunt, Twilight fell back. Her low center of gravity after ducking prevented her from falling over, but as she stood up, she hissed in pain at her shoulder.
Twilight expected this to be difficult, but Rarity wasn’t holding back. She took a breath and removed all thoughts of her shoulder from her mind. As Rarity returned to her initial stance, Twilight took a stance of her own, and they slowly circled around each other. The crowd reacted with a mix of confusion and excitement, eventually settling into cheering for one combatant or the other, though none appeared to be quite clear on what the fight was about.
The princess, to her current disappointment, had never practiced much with magic-free martial arts. She was so naturally overflowing with it that it seemed unlikely that she would run out during the course of normal combat, at least not to the point of being unable to boost the speed of her movements. Rarity was certainly no slouch at incorporating magic into her attacks, but as a, to be frank, normal magic user, she would have had to run out of magic during her practice with some frequency. There was no doubt she had the advantage in this scenario. Normally, at least.
While Rarity needed to defeat Twilight, Twilight merely had to keep her still. For that reason, Twilight had taken a grappling stance. Moreover, there was her secret weapon.
Twilight moved her eyes, trying to catch sight of Wallflower. She saw students among the crowd, and—oh crud, there were some professors now too!—but no sign of the green haired girl yet. The two fighters made a full circuit and finally, she found her… cowering at the base of the statue. Twilight couldn’t help but twist her face at this.
What was Wallflower doing? Keeping her distance wouldn’t help with anything! Sure, she had just seen Rarity launch a flurry of attacks that someone not trained in martial arts could barely perceive, and… OK, yeah, if Twilight was in Wallflower’s position, she’d be hesitant too.
“You’re wide open, louse!”
Rarity again launched forward with a palm thrust, which Twilight stepped back from, and Rarity chose to follow this up with a kick to the head that barely whiffed. Twilight saw an opportunity to attack back, but another thought occupied her mind.
Oh no, it actually happened! thought Twilight. She’s attacking with high kicks while wearing a skirt! And I forgot to look away! Did I see anything? Twilight’s deep analytical mind went into overdrive examining the last second of memory to determine if she saw anything, before she abruptly put that to an end. No! Even if I saw something, I shouldn’t think about it! And like Wallflower said, it’s more important not to get hit.
But then another part of her mind pointed out, What about the crowd?
Twilight’s eyes widened, and she made a decision. As Rarity raised her leg for another attack, Twilight turned around, faced the crowd, and shouted, “Don’t look!”
Rarity’s kick struck true, knocking Twilight to the ground with a thud, the power of the blow launching dust into the air. As she groaned on the ground, her mind came back with the results of its analysis of that brief time she saw up Rarity’s skirt: it turned out she was wearing shorts, so there was no need for concern. As she mentally kicked herself, Rarity planted her foot on her back.
Rarity laughed. “Whatever was all that about? Feeling ashamed all of a sudden? How absurd! Now, any last words for your hair before you never see it again?”
Twilight grunted as Rarity grinded her foot into her back. She felt like the princess in her and Rarity’s play, but that was never the role she was destined to play. She was nowhere near injured enough that she couldn’t get out of her current predicament, but she realized there was no need to. She had succeeded in her goal of keeping Rarity in place. She lifted herself up to her elbows, took in a breath, and yelled, “You shouldn’t doubt yourself! There are things only you can do! Don’t give up!”
Rarity blinked. “A message for the crowd? My, a student council president to the end, I see. Shame you couldn’t spare those kinds of words for me. But if those are truly the last words you wish to have, then I must oblige.”
Rarity pulled back her hand, fingers pressed together for a karate chop.
Wallflower hid behind the statue of Celestia. She knew the entire plan relied on her, but that was easier said than done when the woman she had to get close to was doing crazy martial arts and dashing around.
She wondered when she missed the memo that apparently everyone at the school had to know how to fight. It was easy enough to imagine someone just forgot to tell her.
Wallflower watched Rarity raise her leg high—dang, she could never do that—and as expected from what Twilight asked her before, the princess panicked and got hit. Wallflower released a breath through her teeth. “Yeesh.”
From what Rarity said, the stakes were simply that the Gala would look bad, right? Wallflower had no intention of attending, so what did it matter to her?
The student council wasn’t the first organization that Wallflower worked in. In the past, she spent time in the photography club, helping get her high school yearbook ready. Despite barely any thanks or acknowledgment, she continued diligently doing her work, same as she did in the student council. Why did she do it? She read once that a good person was someone who would keep doing good even if there was no reward involved. Did this make her a good person?
It was strange to think of herself as good. She was just living by her own feelings, like the one she respected most.
Her thoughts nagged at her, asking her if it was worthwhile to help, if it meant a high likelihood of a random punch to the face. Plus, a ruined Gala meant less people around later. Even better, maybe Twilight would learn not to rely on her.
Twilight, the first person in ages she didn’t mind acknowledging her.
“You shouldn’t doubt yourself! There are things only you can do! Don’t give up!”
Wallflower looked up at these words. The plan! Rarity was standing completely still, since she had her target pinned on the ground. It would be so simple to help Twilight right now! But…
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a picture—of the beings she admired most.
Two anthropomorphic hedgehogs were depicted: one blue, the other black with red stripes. The blue one gave a thumbs up with a large gloved hand, and the black one was turned away with his arms crossed, looking back over his shoulder.
“Hey Wallflower,” she imagined the blue one saying, “your friend looks like she really needs your help. You’re gonna just leave her hanging like that?”
Wallflower blinked. “Huh, yeah, I guess we are friends.”
Wallflower imagined the striped hedgehog humphing. “Friendship means nothing to me, but what I can’t accept is giving up on something you started. Are you really willing to be that pathetic?”
Wallflower smiled and shook her head. “I know you like to pretend you don’t care about your friends, when you really care about them more than anyone.”
The blue hedgehog continued, “Well, I think you know what you have to do. Remember, it doesn’t matter now what happens, you’ll never give up the fight!”
The striped hedgehog said, “Let’s get moving!”
Wallflower, with renewed determination, got up and returned the picture to her pocket. She measured the distance between her and Rarity. Running would be too slow. Now was the time to pull out the special technique she’d been mastering for years.
The green-haired girl ducked down, her head between her legs. She then spun in place, faster and faster until she was a blurry green ball. At last, after having built up enough speed, she launched herself forward.
Earth and sky circled around Wallflower’s view, but her focus remained steadfast. Ahead, Rarity held her hand in the air, ready for an attack. She had no chance to respond as Wallflower crashed into her, making her yelp in shock. The student council vice-president blasted off of Twilight, and Wallflower landed close by in a crouch. Her hands fell to the ground and she panted.
Twilight jumped to her feet. “Nice! Amazing job, Wallflower!” she said with a thumbs up as she ran past.
Wallflower’s eyes widened. Holy crap. She actually did it.
“Whoa, did you see that?” someone in the crowd said.
“That woman just came out of nowhere with a crazy spin attack!” someone else said.
Wait… was this…?
“She’s pretty cool!”
“Does Princess Twilight know her? That must mean she’s popular, right?”
People were noticing her! Wallflower’s eyes sparkled… then her stomach twisted.
People were noticing her.
Wallflower got up, dusted herself off, spotted where the crowd was thinnest, then with nary an, “Up, over, and gone!” she dashed out of there.
She’d stick to one friend for now.
Rarity groaned as she got up from the ground. What hit her?
“Hey, wasn’t there someone here? Like with green hair?” someone in the crowd asked.
“Was there? I don’t really remember,” someone else responded.
Before Rarity could ponder this further, something else occupied her mind. To her absolute shock, her ultimate enemy leapt upon her like a wild beast and wrapped her arms around her. Warmth filled her body and her heart beat quickly in response. The princess’s hair tickled Rarity’s neck as she rested her head on her shoulder. Her world engulfed in purple, Rarity’s face turned red.
Heavens, this felt so nice. For a moment, she allowed herself to forget the wrongs this woman had done against her, the irreparable damage she had caused, and sink into the hug.
But only a moment.
Rarity pushed the princess away, and they fell apart onto the ground.
As Rarity took in heavy breaths to recover, Twilight stammered. “What? But? How? Why? Why didn’t that work? It was supposed to work!”
Now this incensed Rarity. “That was supposed to work? Are you telling me that you, Princess Twilight Sparkle, student council president, thought you could fix what you did to me with a hug? Do you even understand why I’m upset?”
Twilight’s face seemed to light up. “Could you tell me?”
“You betrayed my trust, Twilight! I was nervous enough coming to this school. I don’t come from money. I’m not a noble. The only reason I was allowed here was because the school deigned to let some lesser people in. But for a while there, you made me think I was more than a pity project, or something you could laugh behind my back at to make your life feel better in comparison. That I was worthwhile to you. Instead, you didn’t just stop at ridiculing me, you ruined my life.
“At best, you didn’t care what your stunt did to me, and you didn’t realize how precarious my situation actually is. But in a way, that’s even worse, since you, the analytical princess who manages multiple math and magic courses in addition to the student council, didn’t care enough to think about that.” Rarity sighed and sank down. “You truly think nothing of me, don’t you?”
Twilight sat with her hands on her knees, eyes clear and focused on Rarity. She blinked, then got up. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, she walked to the boundary of the arena and stepped outside.
At this, the device at the statue’s base lit up, and with loud chugging sounds, smoke poured out of it. The crowd murmured and backed away further. Then, suddenly, the ground underneath it turned blood red. The coloring quickly extended outward, stopping at the edges of the streets, and flowed further into the campus. Soon, the device settled down and promptly fell apart. With her mouth agape, Rarity got up and looked around as far as she could. Indeed, the streets had all turned crimson—and it was horribly gaudy, clashing with the buildings and all the decorations! The crowd erupted in confusion, and some designers among them fainted.
Despite this, Twilight didn’t seem concerned, examining the streets almost with disinterest.
“Twilight!” Rarity called out, her face coated in confusion. “Why?”
“I realized why my hug didn’t work,” Twilight said, looking at Rarity with bright eyes. “When Applejack broke Rainbow Dash’s curse, she directly addressed her nightmare and provided a hug to comfort her. I was just going through the motions earlier, but I didn’t truly understand what your fear was. Thanks to you, now I do. And I wanted to make a show of faith in you. It’s true that if it was just me and the other student council members, we’d never be able to fix up the Gala by tonight with red streets. But if you led the charge, then I know for a fact we can do it.”
Twilight walked to Rarity, who found that she was frozen in place. She offered no resistance as the princess took her hands and looked into her eyes.
“You matter to me, Rarity. You matter more than anyone else in the world, and I’d never knowingly do anything to hurt you.”
Twilight’s arms went around her. Rarity, the vengeful warrior, destroyer of the aristocracy, and fashionable iconoclast, froze still for a moment. The past moments flowed through her mind, until the warmth was too much, and finally, she sank into the hug. A bright white glow engulfed the two of them, which soon faded away.
Rarity blinked, her head fuzzy. What had happened recently? For some reason, she couldn’t recall.
A lot of people were looking at her for some reason. Many of them were blushing, some had their hands together with sparkling eyes. Strange. There was also all this purple on the left side of her face. She moved her arms slightly, realizing they were brushing against cloth.
Her brain started putting the pieces together.
She then leapt back, her face red, making a noise that approached a quack. “Tw-tw-twilight?! What were we—what were you—” she looked down “—why does the street look so horrid?!”
Twilight smiled. “Come on. Let’s head back to the council room, and I’ll explain everything.”
The crowd murmured, many saying things along the lines of, “Mind control, knew it.”
As Rarity stood there, trying to take in everything, Twilight walked to the magic canceling device and, with some fiddling, turned it off. Then, with the greatest of ease, she lifted that and the broken street-painting device in her magic.
“I recognize those from my fanciful plans to wreak vengeance on the school,” Rarity said with unease. “Don’t tell me I…”
Twilight shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. Luckily for us,” she said, moving the street-painting device between them. “This little thing hasn’t been maintained for a while. Now that I can analyze it, it’s clear that the enchantment placed on the streets is going to wear off well before the Gala starts tonight. Though we still need to strategize how to explain all this, and address the damage that was caused.”
One of the food stall workers stood by the wreckage and gave Rarity a glare. She nervously smiled and waved. “Well, it not being as bad as it could have been is good, at least.”
A woman tied up in rope hopped up to Twilight and Rarity, with a perturbed expression on her face.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash, there you are!” Twilight said. “Come on, we’re heading back to the council room.”
As they passed by her, Rainbow groaned and hopped after them.
“Hold on a second!” one woman exclaimed.
Everyone turned to see Pinkie Pie with her arms crossed and her cheeks puffed up. She stomped her foot.
“I’m the one who shouldn’t start shenanigans? Me?! You know who the shenanigettes are here? You! You’re the shenanigettes!”
Twilight smiled. “You’re right, Pinkie. I’m sorry I called you out specifically.”
Pinkie huffed. “You better be. But it’ll take more than an apology to calm me d—ooo, is that a cream puff?” With wide eyes, she strolled over to a destroyed food stall and picked up a pastry. She blew off the wood dust and ate it whole, then smiled widely with closed eyes. “Aww, I can’t stay mad anymore!”
“But I can!” a new voice said.
The council members looked up to see Fluttershy hovering in the air, with a noticeably peeved expression.
Rainbow grimaced. “I… think this is going to be worse than Pinkie.”
Twilight was able to hold off Fluttershy just long enough to explain to Rarity what exactly happened, but there was no stopping her after that. She gave Rarity and Rainbow a long lecture about how to treat animals, and then brought them to Toby the catoblepas to personally apologize. Only after the beast expressed satisfaction did Fluttershy release them to help out with the Gala. Then Fluttershy remembered she should probably help too and bashfully followed after them.
During this, Twilight and Applejack worked things out with Gustave le Grand’s catering company. They drafted an explanation for the red roads, only to find that many guests who had already arrived assumed it was like a red carpet and thought nothing of it. The student council chose to leave it be. Once Rarity returned to them, they even figured out ways to incorporate the red road enchantment into their Gala plans, so Twilight crafted spells to bolster it.
Despite the eventful morning, things were getting back on track, and the council members all chose to take a break.
“You know,” Rainbow Dash told Rarity, as they laid on separate sofas, “I’ve heard what people have been saying about how the fight ended.”
Rarity waved her leg idly. “Oh? Pray tell.”
“Well, a couple of, uh, really excited girls said it was the most romantic thing they’ve ever seen, with Twilight pouring out her heart to you. She practically said she loved you!”
Rarity sat up. “Really now? Twilight didn’t say anything about that.”
“Yeah, she just said she said she trusted you. But like no one who was there thinks that.”
Rarity laid back down. “Yes, but you do have to consider the fact that so many think we’re already a couple, so you can certainly expect some bias there, and—”
Rainbow waved her hand. “You know what. Never mind.”
And so the Gala approached.
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OH MY GOD THESE TWO ARE HOPELESS
Wallflower...she...she spindashed? I...what?!
10987792
It comes naturally when you fight for your friends