RariTwi: Love is War

by SigmasonicX

13. The Gala, Part 2 - The Crusaders Get Their Way, Until They Don't

Twilight eyed her target’s table. It was hardy yet comfortable, and elegant without drawing attention away from the surrounding decorations. With the night slowly growing darker, magic lights provided a comfortable level of visibility, allowing her target to enjoy easy conversation. Twilight nodded. The preparations she made for the Gala would serve to make her mission all the easier.

The name of her target was Sweetie Belle. She was Rarity’s sister, and thus, it was important to make a good impression. Twilight watched as Sweetie Belle laughed at something her two friends said. Excitement welled up. After all, she was a princess! How could she not impress a little girl?

She took a breath to calm herself and then she slid to the table. “Hi, girls!” she said with a too-large grin.

Sweetie and her friends looked at her with wide eyes until the one with a bow in her hair finally ventured a, “Uh, hello.”

Twilight put her hands together and tilted to the side. “Well, don’t you three look like you’re having a great time! But I’m sure I can make your experience even better!”

The girl with short purple hair awkwardly lifted up a glass. “I guess I could use more juice.”

As soon as she finished her sentence, the glass flashed with light and it was now full of orange juice.

“Woah!” she exclaimed.

“They got real fancy waiters here!” said the girl with the bow.

Twilight shook her head gently. “Oh, I’m not a waiter.”

Sweetie Belle raised her eyebrow. “Then who are you?”

Giggling, Twilight twirled, put a finger to her cheek, and winked. “You can call me onee-san!”

“Eh?”

All the girls stared at her with narrow eyes. They stayed in silence for several seconds.

Twilight waved her hands, sweating. “Just kidding! I’m Twilight Sparkle!”

Sweetie’s eyes sparkled. “Wait, like Princess Twilight Sparkle? That’s amazing!”

“Yup, that’s me,” replied Twilight. Thank you for ignoring what I said.

The girls all shot up.

“I’m Apple Bloom! Can you make me fly?”

“I’m Sweetie Belle! Can you make me a princess?”

“I’m Scootaloo! Can you behead me, but, like, still keep my head alive so I can move both my head and body independently?”

Twilight smiled with ease. “Of course, Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle, if things go right, I’m sure I could arrange for you to become a princess politically. Scootaloo… I’ll have to think about it.”

“That’s not a no, so I’ll take it.”

Twilight gathered magic in her hands. “So, is it just Apple Bloom that wants to fly, or would all of you girls like to try?”

They all excitedly raised their hands. With a smile and a wave, Twilight lifted them into the air. Their eyes all widened as they flopped about and yelled, first out of surprise and then out of excitement. Soon they got used to their weightlessness and made more advanced movements. The girls would pose with their fist forward, or pose coolly like they were in a fashion shoot rather than mid-air, or even flap their arms, and Twilight would move them to account for this.

Though most people were closer to dance areas at this point in the Gala, some still took notice and opted to approach them.

“Princess Twilight!” said one man. “Can you lift me too?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “No.”

As he walked away dejected, the princess looked up at the happy girls. This part of the plan was going well, at least, but drawing too much attention would be a problem. Plus, while having two other girls along for the ride—including one she now realized was Applejack’s sister—would hide her intentions, it would be difficult to get only Sweetie Belle to want her as a sister. It’d be a problem if Apple Bloom wanted that too.

She came up with an idea.

“Hey, would anyone like snacks?”

“Ooh, you mean like princessy expensive ones?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Twilight nodded, though she knew anything they’d have to pay for certainly wasn’t for kids. “Yup, I know all the hidden goodies. Let’s put you down and we can head on over.”

The girls groaned as they were set on the ground.

“There you are, princess!” called out someone behind them. Twilight looked over her shoulder to see Applejack approaching.

At first, Twilight was pleasantly surprised by the serendipity, since then she’d be able to pawn off Apple Bloom to her sister all the sooner. However, this also meant that Applejack wasn’t attending that apple products booth that she subtly snuck into the plans, which meant that she couldn’t suggest that Apple Bloom watch the stand while Applejack checks out the rest of the gala. She’d have to play things by ear.

“Hey there, sis!” said Apple Bloom.

Seemingly taken aback, Applejack replied. “Hey, uh, sis. Glad to see y’all are enjoying yourselves, but we have kind of a situation over at the garden.”

Twilight tilted her head. The garden again. “Oh, I actually just talked to Mudbriar about that a few minutes ago. I’m confident that he can handle any situation that’s going on there.”

She put her hands on her hips. “No offense to Mudbriar, but if you think that, then he really undersold the situation. You and I really need to go over there, and, well, best not to bring the kids. It’s really not, how should I put it, appropriate for ‘em.”

Twilight looked back and forth between the girls and Applejack, raising an eyebrow. On one hand, she did trust Applejack’s judgment, so maybe she did need to go fix… whatever this was. On the other hand, resolving that problem then coming back to find the girls would waste precious time winning Sweetie Belle to her side.

Sensing Twilight’s indecision, Applejack said, “It shouldn’t be too long with you there. Come on, I’ll walk with you.”

Twilight nodded. Ultimately, if whatever her imagination was conjuring was happening in the garden, she’d need to put a stop to it lest it spread to the rest of the party, and that would really ruin her chances with Sweetie and thus Rarity.

But before they could move, a blur snatched Applejack from the ground.

“Finally! There you are!” said Rainbow Dash, carrying Applejack in her arms. “We gotta dance, now!”

Applejack’s face twisted as she looked at the princess. “Wait, no! The garden!”

Twilight waved with a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll go there myself. You have fun with Rainbow.”

As Rainbow flew back to the dance floor, Applejack’s, “Nooooooooo!” faded into the distance.

Apple Bloom waved with an uneasy grin. “Sheesh, you’d almost think they didn’t get married yesterday.”

“They did what?!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

“What, you didn’t know?” Scootaloo asked. “I’d have thought Rarity told you all the gossip.”

Twilight’s ears perked up at this conversation and she dared not interrupt.

Sweetie glanced sidelong. “Oh, she does, whether I want to hear it or not. But I haven’t seen her for a couple days, and my parents dropped me off here.”

“Yeah, that checks out,” said Apple Bloom. “It was literally yesterday, like I said.”

Scootaloo nodded. “I only knew because of my Rainbow Dash Fan Spy Network. Let me tell you, if the reports are accurate, some weird stuff happened this morning.”

Twilight smiled awkwardly. She had no idea Rainbow was dealing with that sort of thing.

“Wait a minute,” Sweetie Belle said. “Apple Bloom, doesn’t that mean Rainbow Dash is your sister now?”

Scootaloo zoomed up to Apple Bloom, who backed up in surprise. Tiny wings of magic sprouted from her back and flapped excitedly. “Oh right! You need to give me the deets!”

“Hold on now! I barely know anything myself, and I don’t think Rainbow Dash has even talked to me yet.”

Scootaloo clenched her fist. “Still, just knowing Rainbow Dash is your sister must be so awesome!”

Apple Bloom grinned uneasily. “Yeah, we’ll see about that.” Seemingly remembering the very important person standing with them, her eyes widened and she said, “Oh right, Princess Twilight! You’re going to check on the garden, right?”

Twilight reeled back a bit. “Uh.” True, that was important, but Applejack would tell Rainbow about the situation, and them plus Mudbriar is surely enough, right? Plus, with no other council members around, there was less need to actually do her duties. That brought back into focus the risk of losing track of Sweetie Belle.

However, before she could weigh the possibilities, Sweetie put her hands to her chest. “Can we come with?”

Scootaloo jumped in. “Oh yeah, Rainbow’s wife made it sound really exciting!”

Exciting was one way to put it. Twilight wondered if bringing kids there was in any way allowable.

The eyes of all three girls sparkled. “Please~”

Twilight sighed. “OK, you girls can come with me. Just let me check if it’s safe before you head in.”

“Yay!” the girls said simultaneously.

It looked like they were heading there together. After all, disappointing Sweetie Belle wasn’t an option.

---

Though Twilight headed directly for the garden, she still tried to make things fun for the girls. Trivia about the buildings and various structures probably wasn’t the best choice, however.

Otherwise, the journey to the garden was so uneventful that it slipped Twilight’s mind that there was a potentially adult situation happening until they were right in the middle of the area.

Twilight looked to the left. There were plants and a single far away couple passively examining them. Twilight looked to the right. There were plants and one person in the distance walking away.

Twilight stood alone with the girls. “I don’t get it.”

“So the problem was that no one was here?” suggested Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom shook her head. “No Sweetie, there are people here, just not a lot of ‘em.”

Before Sweetie could respond, Twilight spoke up. “That’s what she meant, Apple Bloom. There’s no need to be pedantic. In any case, this is a designated quiet area, so there aren’t supposed to be many people here.”

Sweetie pointed. “See, Princess Twilight gets me.”

While Apple Bloom shrugged, Twilight internally added to her score. Every little bit counted. Still, there was the current predicament. “I don’t see Mudbriar anywhere,” she said. “Maybe we should go to the gazebo, since he said we can see the problem from there.”

If the garden was empty, then the area around the gazebo was even more so. Nary a conversation nor rustle of leaves could be heard around there. Not to mention the odd smell. They stepped onto the marble floor and the girls gasped.

So there was a problem after all.

In front of them was a massive beast with black fur and a large hog-like head, spewing out noxious fumes as it munched on veggie dishes. Standing alongside it with nothing but sunshine was Fluttershy. “Oh hello there, Twilight. Who are these little ones?”

Ignoring her question, Twilight simply said, “Fluttershy, you brought the catoblepas here?!”

Fluttershy stroked his rough mane. “Oh of course. He was stressed after everything that happened today, so I wanted to treat him to something special. He wouldn’t enjoy a crowd, of course, so I just showed him around the garden and I’m giving him food from the dining area now.” She smiled. “I’m glad I made sure there was animal-safe food.”

Twilight put her hand to her forehead. “Fluttershy, we’ve known each other for a while, so you have to know that this is dangerous and ridiculous, right?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh, there’s no risk. I’m here, after all, and Toby is a nice catoblepas. If you mean the toxic fumes, then they’re only this bad because he’s eating. Otherwise, it’s nothing that this spray bottle of natural perfumes couldn’t resolve.” She pulled a round bottle with a spray nozzle from behind her back and winked.

Scootaloo hesitantly stepped forward. “Is it safe to pet?”

Fluttershy beamed. “Oh, sure. Just don’t bend down too far, or you might faint from the fumes.”

Twilight didn’t think that sounded safe at all, but that didn’t stop the girls from leaping forward and excitedly gathering around the beast. Watching the visible fumes press against Sweetie Belle’s dress, Twilight summoned magic in her hands and formed a barrier to deflect it. It really wouldn’t do if Rarity got back a smelly sister. “Fluttershy, quick, use your perfume.”

Fluttershy blinked at the urgency in her voice. “Oh, yes, of course.” She gave the girls a quick spritz of the perfume and Twilight could quickly sense the pleasant floral smell canceling out the rotten toxicity.

“Oh wow, that really is effective.” Twilight said. She shook her head. “Anyway, Fluttershy, you haven’t heard any complaints from anyone, or…?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh no, I haven’t. In fact, I haven’t seen much of anyone.”

Twilight hummed. “That means activity here is well within expectations. Did you see Mudbriar and Applejack? They told me there was a problem.”

Fluttershy frowned. “No, I haven’t seen them since this afternoon.”

Twilight scratched her head. “Did they just see the catoblepas and assume there was a problem without talking to you? I’m not sure about Mudbriar, but that doesn’t seem like something Applejack would do. And why did she describe it in such a weird way?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “I honestly can’t say.”

Twilight glanced back at the girls and saw that Scootaloo was trying to lift up Toby’s head while the other girls goaded her. Before Fluttershy noticed, she magically pulled them back to her. “Anyway, if there isn’t a problem here, we’ll just leave you be.”

Fluttershy could do nothing but wave as Twilight carried the girls away.

Toby grunted, and Fluttershy sighed. “Yes, I know, I should have been more assertive about getting those girls’ names. Now I won’t know why they’re with Twilight.”

Fluttershy sat down and calmly observed as Toby continued eating. Minutes passed until…

“You there! Peasant girl!”

Fluttershy shot up. “Eep!”

Standing before her was a man pointing at her with his nose turned up. “Surely you’ve seen Princess Twilight around here. I require her location.”

Fluttershy froze. “Well, uh…”

Thankfully, a familiar face popped up from behind him. “Honestly, how boorish can you be!” Rarity pouted then forced a smile as she looked at Fluttershy. “I apologize, darling. I have no idea how Blueblood got in front of me.”

The man scoffed. “A prince saves his energy for such occasions.”

Rarity pointed accusingly. “And another thing, you just assume my dear friend isn’t a noble? What, do you spend all your time memorizing who is and isn’t?”

Blueblood blinked. “Well yes, of course. Part of being a prince is knowing the proper way to treat everyone, and mistakenly treating a noble like a pauper just wouldn’t do.”

As Rarity steamed, Fluttershy stammered. “Oh, so, this is…?”

Before Rarity could reply, Blueblood answered. “Prince Blueblood, ninth in line to the throne, and beau-expectant of Princess Twilight Sparkle.” He waved his hand. “Now out with it, where might I find her?”

Fluttershy shook. “Well, uh…” She moved her hand toward where she saw Twilight leave, only to see Rarity shaking her head. “I mean, I haven’t seen her, no.”

Blueblood snapped his fingers. “Aha! You say that, but your furtive glance gave you away.” He tapped his head. “You planned to trick me by pointing in the wrong direction, deciding at the last moment to go about a different strategy, but your eyes focused on a different location… right behind me! Nothing fools these princely eyes. Surely I can find the princess hidden somewhere in this garden.”

Fluttershy’s mouth twisted. “Uh…”

He put his hand up. “Say no more! I no longer need your assistance, or yours, Miss Rarity. I shall be off.”

Without a moment’s break, he turned and walked out of the gazebo.

Fluttershy and Rarity looked at each other and the latter shrugged. “That was easier than I expected.”

Fluttershy furrowed her brows. “Rarity, what exactly is going on?”

“Long story short, our dear council president is getting a lot of undesirable attention. It’s wonderful that I ran into you, since I could really use your help.”

“And Toby too?”

Rarity looked at the catoblepas with twisted lips. “Er, best to leave him be. Now, I need to know. Which way did Twilight go?”

---

Sweetie Belle kicked her legs excitedly as she sat and tore a bite out of a fish-shaped taiyaki. “Oh wow, this is great! Princess Twilight really knows her snacks!”

Scootaloo’s face was covered in syrup from the baklavas she shoved into her mouth. Pistachio crumbs spilling out, she said, “You know, isn’t this kind of weird?”

Sweetie tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean the last thing grown ups want us to do is eat a bunch of sweets, yet Princess Twilight is piling them on for us. Were my aunts wrong all this time? Is a princess higher than an aunt?”

“Oh yeah, Rarity would definitely kill me if she saw me eating all this. But doesn’t that just mean Princess Twilight is cool?”

Apple Bloom tsked and shook her head as she tossed a round laddu up and down. “Don’t you girls get it? She’s trying to butter us up.”

Scootaloo spit out what was left in her mouth. “What, you mean like to eat us later?”

“No, you silly! I mean she’s up to some real shady dealings with the other council members.” She narrowed her eyes and smirked conspiratorially. “She thinks by making us happy, she’ll make our sisters happy. And, uh, whatever Rainbow is to Scootaloo. This is just how the adult world works.” She shook her head. “I see it all the time on the farm.”

Sweetie Belle raised her eyebrow. “So, is that a bad thing?”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “The way I see it, if we put in the good word with our sisters, then Twilight will know it’s a good idea to butter us up in the future. Which means more snacks and more flying through the air! Ain’t a bad thing at all. So I say, just go for it.” She tossed her laddu into the air and tried to catch it in her mouth. She missed by a full foot. “I swear, these things are broken.”

“I’m back!”

Twilight stood before them, holding a tray of food and smiling with her eyes closed. “I brought what you asked for, plus some healthier but no less delicious options like these roasted sweet potatoes. They may be veggies, but they’re called sweet for a reason!”

The girls lunged up and grabbed the new snacks, greedily munching on them.

Twilight placed the tray down. Putting her hands together, she tilted her head to the side and maintained her smile. “Is there anything else you girls would like?”

Leaning back, Apple Bloom said, “Oh yeah, these fancy snacks are nice and all, but I’ve got a hankering for some good old apples. Why even make these ball-shaped if they don’t throw in the air right?”

Twilight leaned to the side further and her face shifted to an unamused frown as she noticed half a dozen laddus broken on the ground. “I see.” With a flash of magic, all the food on the ground disappeared and reappeared in the nearest compost bin. She straightened up and her smile returned. “Well sit tight, I’m going to get some apple snacks for you!”

With her mouth full of sweet potato, Apple Bloom gave a thumbs up.

As the princess walked away, Sweetie Belle’s face grew concerned. “I don’t know, Apple Bloom. I feel like we might be pushing things too much.”

“Oh come on, Sweetie. What’s she going to do?”

---

“I need to dispose of Apple Bloom,” Twilight said to herself. Entertaining the girls as a group worked out well enough at the start, but it was clear that she’d need to separate Sweetie Belle from the others to accomplish her goals. From her observations, Apple Bloom was the de facto leader of the group and her mood directed the mood of the others. She’d need to break them up in order to reach the real Sweetie Belle, and she was the best place to start.

But what to do?

Twilight returned to the food stands, and to her surprise, the answer was right in front of her.

“Apple tarts! Apple sweets! Get them right here!” Applejack shouted from behind her food stand.

“Applejack?” Twilight asked, blinking as she approached. “What are you doing here?”

Applejack passed a pie slice to a customer while looking at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “What’dya mean? I’ve been here since basically the start.”

“No, I mean, weren’t you dancing with Rainbow Dash?”

Applejack shrugged. “Well, I tried, but that girl was gone before I could say anything, so I just came here.”

Twilight put her hand on her cheek. “Really? Well, I guess Rainbow does get distracted easily, but that seems weird even for her.” She snapped her fingers. “Oh! And Fluttershy has the garden situation under control, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Applejack’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “Oh, that’s good. What was it, anyway?”

“You didn’t actually know what it was? Was this all just a big game of telephone? Anyway, Fluttershy was just showing the catoblepas around the garden, nothing to worry about.”

Applejack scratched her cheek. “I still feel like I’m missing something, but whatever.”

Twilight looked around. “So, you’re just managing this stand by yourself?”

Applejack shrugged. “There’s Big Mac too, but he has a beau of his own, so I told him to go dance with her.”

An idea struck Twilight. She grinned secretly. “You know, I’m sure once you keep Rainbow Dash in place for a minute, she’ll definitely want to dance with you. Don’t you want to go do that?”

“Well, sure, but I ain’t got anyone to watch the stand.”

Twilight put her hands behind her back and swayed lightly. “I may have just run into someone who can help with that.”

---

“Hey everyone, look what I can do,” Apple Bloom said as she attempted to shove one of every treat at the table into her mouth.

“Whoa!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed as more and more food fit inside.

“Go! Go! Go!” cheered Scootaloo.

“Mmsdljklsdfs,” Apple Bloom responded.

However, their good cheer quickly came to an end as a voice called out, “Apple Bloom! What the hay are you doing?”

Applejack approached quickly with a serious expression on her face, with Princess Twilight following shortly behind, her eyes wide.

Food spilled out of Apple Bloom’s mouth onto the table, making the other girls back away in disgust, and she looked up in shock. “Big sis! I-it ain’t what it looks like!”

Applejack walked to the table with her hands on her hips. “You mean I didn’t just see you spit up a whole lot of food onto a table in the middle of a fancy party?”

Apple Bloom sweated as the other girls looked back and forth between her and her sister. “OK, yeah, I did just do that.”

Twilight smiled uneasily. “Yeah, I’ll just… take care of that.”

With a wave of her hand, the food was gone, but Applejack’s mood remained. She shook her head. “Well, I was gonna ask you to take over the food stand, but it’s clear I gotta keep a closer eye on you. Come on, we’ll run it together.”

Apple Bloom stood up. “What, no! Princess Twilight was the one who brought all this food!”

“Did she tell you to forget your manners? Come on, I’m not gonna hear any complaints.”

Apple Bloom continued whining as Applejack simply picked her up and carried her away. “Nooo! Princess Twilight, you betrayed me!”

Twilight shrugged. “I just ran into her when getting an apple snack for you.”

“You betrayed me!” Apple Bloom insisted. “Sis, whatever deal she offers you, don’t take it!”

Applejack rolled her eyes up. “Sheesh, lately everyone is saying things I don’t understand.”

As Apple Bloom continued struggling, Twilight and the girls could do nothing but wave. Soon, they disappeared behind a food stand.

Sweetie Belle slid over to Scootaloo and whispered, “I guess she isn’t buttering us up after all.”

Scootaloo shrugged. “She’s just being nice, then.” She then spoke more loudly. “Princess Twilight, since a lot of the snacks are gone now, could you get some more? I’m thinking maybe ice cream now.”

Twilight blinked. “Oh sure, though I was just thinking.” She put a finger to her cheek. “Applejack was saying she wanted to go dance with Rainbow Dash, but now she’ll be staying around her food stand for the rest of the Gala, so she won’t be with Rainbow after all. It’s a real shame.”

Scootaloo nodded sagely. “Choosing not to dance with Rainbow Dash when you can is definitely a big sacrifice.”

“I was thinking, wouldn’t it be really nice to find Rainbow for Applejack and bring her over to the food stand? It’d really cheer up both of them.”

“Oh definitely! Are we going to do that? Because I’d love to do that!”

Twilight sat down. “Well, I actually haven’t eaten yet, so I was going to have some food for myself first.”

Scootaloo’s face fell. “What? You can’t just suggest such an awesome idea then say you’re going to eat first! It wouldn’t even take long, since we saw Rainbow not that long ago!”

Out of the aether, Twilight summoned a curry dish on a plate in front of her. “Sorry, but princesses have to eat too.”

Twilight took a bite of rice and curry, chewing slowly as Scootaloo shook impatiently.

“That smells pretty good,” said Sweetie Belle. “Can I have some?”

Twilight smiled brightly. “Of course!” She summoned a clean spoon, which hovered in front of Sweetie.

They didn’t even make it to the next bite before Scootaloo groaned. “Ugh, fine! I’ll go look for her myself!” With speed that Rainbow would be proud of, Scootaloo dashed away from the table.

Twilight watched as she disappeared into the crowd and grinned softly.

---

Rarity and Fluttershy raced past the other partygoers.

“It’s such a shame we had to leave Toby behind,” said Fluttershy. “I think he would have helped a lot in finding Twilight.”

“I… really don’t see how, dear,” replied Rarity. “In any case, can’t you fly up to find her?”

Fluttershy blushed. “Oh, but that would draw too much attention. I wouldn’t want to distract anyone while they’re dancing.”

Before Rarity could reply, Fluttershy’s arm shot forward. “Oh, look! There she is!”

Far in the distance, near the food stands, they could just make out Twilight’s purple hair and dress. Thankfully, she seemed to be quite unbothered and was eating dinner, likely meaning none of the suitors found her yet.

Rarity squinted. There was someone else with her, a young girl. “Wait, is that Sweetie Belle?”

Realization struck Fluttershy’s face. “Oh, your sister? When I saw Twilight in the garden, she and two other girls were with her.”

“Sweetie’s friends, no doubt. I’m sure they’re around here too. But why would Sweetie want to spend time with Twilight?” Rarity gasped. “Do you think Sweetie Belle figured out my interest in Twilight and is making a foolhardy attempt at hooking her up with me?!”

“Is… that something she’d do?”

Rarity tugged at a strand of hair. “I’ve been very careful around her, but she is my sister, after all. If she has half my intelligence, who knows what she could have learned?” She sighed. “But one problem at a time. Do you see any suitors anywhere?”

Fluttershy hummed as she looked around. “Sorry, what should I be looking for?”

Rarity thought about how to sum up the cast of characters she saw. “Just… look out for anyone suspicious.”

“Well I do see someone being carried by a big crowd of people.”

Rarity’s eyes shot to where Fluttershy was looking, and indeed, there was one of the suitors. Flash Sentry left the dance floor by crowd surfing, and all this time later, he was still doing that. Cheering fans lifted and handed him off to the fans in front, then circled around to the front to eventually repeat the process. Flash Sentry himself riffed on his guitar, seemingly commanding the direction of the crowd.

Rarity groaned. “That is indeed one of them. We’ll need to find a way to stop them from spotting Twilight, or else with this many people, there will be quite a commotion.”

Fluttershy put her hands to her mouth. “Oh dear, we have to stop all of them? How are we going to do that?”

Rarity thought for a second, then shrugged. “I hoped to save this option for later, but I don’t think there’s a better place to use it than here.” She took in a breath, and then in a sing-songy voice, called out, “Yoohoo! Pinkie Pie!”

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie was there, as though she was there the entire time. “Hey Rarity! What’s up?”

As Fluttershy jumped back in terror, Rarity simply cleared her throat. “Hello, Pinkie dear. Didn’t you mention earlier about how you wanted to try out your standup routine?”

Pinkie laughed. “Oh no, not my standup routine, my sister’s! She’s great, and it’s such a shame Twilight didn’t think it made sense for the Gala because—”

Rarity held up a hand, “Yes, yes, your sister Maud, now I recall. I just wanted you to know that there’s a big crowd over there doing nothing in particular.”

Pinkie looked at where Rarity pointed and scratched her chin.

Rarity continued, “It seems like the perfect size for a standup audience, and I’m sure they’re looking for that kind of excitement.”

Pinkie hummed. “I don’t know, I’m not really an expert. What do you think, Maud?”

“Seems fine,” said Maud. It was Rarity’s turn to jump back in terror as Pinkie’s sister seemingly materialized out of nowhere. “Mudbriar’s in the crowd already.”

While Rarity couldn’t see Mudbriar, his presence was still felt from the crowd’s sudden drop in energy and cohesion.

“That’s perfect!” Pinkie said. “Let’s go there right now and make this a night they’ll never forget!”

“It definitely won’t be… boring,” Maud said.

Pinkie laughed uproariously. “Oh wow! I really set you up for that one!”

With an intense grunt of effort, Pinkie lifted Maud over her head and then rushed over to the crowd.

“Well, that solves one problem,” Rarity said.

Fluttershy looked back to the table. “Oh, they’re getting up.”

In the distance, Rarity could see Sweetie jumping around Twilight, who then got up and seemed to say something to her. Then they walked away, thankfully in the opposite direction of Maud’s ongoing standup routine.

“We should go tell Twilight about the situation,” Fluttershy said, before turning to Rarity and sighing as she saw her deep in thought. “Oh Rarity, don’t tell me you’re overthinking this too.”

Rarity was looking down with her hand on her chin, but this remark made her look up. “What? Overthinking? Who do you think I am? Rainbow Dash? No, I’m giving this the appropriate amount of thought!”

“Alright, let’s hear it.”

“Well, first of all, note that Sweetie’s friends aren’t going with them, which makes it more likely she’s trying something on her own, like what I suggested earlier. We need to consider what it would look like if I came up to Twilight while Sweetie Belle was talking me up. That could create a situation where I need to give a definitive answer either way about whether I’m interested in Twilight, which isn’t desirable at all at this point.”

Fluttershy looked at the standup show then back at Rarity. “And the suitors?”

“Nothing Twilight should concern herself with. Especially after what she did for me today, she deserves a fun and stress-free Gala. And no need to interfere with Sweetie Belle’s plans either.”

Fluttershy shrugged. “I guess we’re just going to assume that’s what Sweetie is doing, then.”

“We need to follow them from a distance and keep an eye out for other suitors.” Rarity gasped then pointed dramatically. “We’ll be the princess’s royal guards! Come, Fluttershy! We have a job to do!”

Rarity ran after the princess, and Fluttershy scrunched up her face and followed after.

Author's Note:

I hadn't fully divided this story when I published the last chapter, but now I can say it'll be four parts that are roughly this length, then a shorter final part, and then a short epilogue story to end the fic. Those last two will be published together. That means this fic will end in six days from now.

Comments

[Ri2]

JUST KISS ALREADY