1. Rarity Wants to Be Asked Out

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A proper day of classes began with tea. The princess and student council president, Twilight Sparkle, and the student council vice president, Rarity, sat on couches on either side of a communal work table on a calm Wednesday morning.

For the princess, her preference was black tea with a small amount of sugar as she looked through her schedule for the day, the week, and the month while she’s at it.

Her coworker, Rarity, sipped at an herbal blend as she looked through a fashion magazine before she got to her council work.

This peace was interrupted by a short purple dragon bursting through the council room’s doors with his cheeks puffed and lips sealed shut. He ran to Twilight and dust burst from his mouth, forming two golden tickets that floated down to his hands.

“Got a delivery for you, Twilight,” said Spike the dragon. “Looks like two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala!”

Twilight thanked Spike, then leaned over and picked up the tickets. At that, Spike quickly gave a nervous glance to Rarity then attempted to sneak out without drawing attention. Rarity looked at him over the rim of her teacup, eyebrow raised slightly.

The princess looked at the tickets front and back as though making sure they weren’t counterfeit. “This is strange. Princess Celestia knows I don’t go to galas, so why would she send me tickets to the biggest gala of them all?”

“Perhaps she assumed you found someone by now,” Rarity suggested. “Especially when you’re running the student council with the most gorgeous girl in Canterlot.”

Twilight smiled. “I can’t imagine she would assume that.”

“Ah, so she realized that if we were together, work would grind to a halt as you spent the day shamelessly flirting with me, and Celestia herself would have to drag us apart.”

“I think I’m more than capable of flirting and doing my work.” Rarity leaned forward with interest, and Twilight quickly added, “This is a professional environment, however, so that would never come up.”

Rarity responded by gasping, putting the back of her hand to her forehead, closing her eyes, and resting her head on the top of the couch. “Alas, I suppose that only leaves the rest of the campus for you to work your magic.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Rarity, you wanted to go to the Gala, right? I suppose I wouldn’t be opposed to going if it was with a friend.”

All too easy. “My, Princess Twilight Sparkle, are you asking me out? I thought that wasn’t allowed in a professional environment.”

Twilight giggled and waved her hand. “No, just as friends.”

Rarity hummed then took a sip of her tea. “How very interesting. You set up this entire scenario to have a friendly outing at the Gala?”

Twilight froze and put on a decidedly more fake looking smile as Rarity placed her tea on the table. “Set up? Whatever do you mean? I was just asking you, you know, off-the-cuff.”

“You were far too sloppy, darling. Spike strolled in here and just happened to receive two Gala tickets right in front of us? You and I both know Spike doesn’t know he’s getting a delivery until it’s coming out of his mouth. You tried so hard to make it look like you only now received those tickets, when I’d have sooner believed that if Spike came in here with the tickets already in hand.”

“I admit, it is a bit unusual that Spike would know to come here before getting the tickets, but claiming conspiracy is a bit—”

Rarity held up a finger. “That’s just one clue, my dear Twilight. No matter how much you try to hide it, there was an undeniable change in your behavior around me recently. Avoiding eye contact, you and Spike getting quiet when I come in. Your not so subtle attempts to figure out what I’d be interested in at the Gala. Through these, I can pinpoint the exact day you got these tickets from Celestia.”

Rarity closed her eyes, turned her head to the side, and lightly flicked her hair, then half opened her eyes. “It was exactly three days ago.”

Twilight’s eyes widened and small points of sweat appeared on her face.

“My, my, for what reason could you possibly wait three days before telling anyone else about these tickets? Any ideas, Princess?”

“Well, uh, maybe I forgot about the tickets and then thought it would be awkward if I brought them up days later, so I wanted to sort of get a do over?”

“Hmm, perhaps someone would do that, but not you. What I think happened is that you received tickets and then proceeded to examine every possible way to use them. Only after days of thinking did you come up with this plan to ask me out as a friend. And I’m sure you have all kinds of ideas to turn this friendly outing into a very romantic date.”

Rarity took a sip of tea, giving Twilight a moment to respond, but right as she opened her mouth, Rarity said, “Folders and folders of ideas. Need we search your room, or are you ready to come clean?” Twilight’s mouth closed.

Rarity placed her tea on the table, crossed her legs, lightly rested her cheek on the knuckles of her right hand, and gave Twilight a smile with half-lidded eyes. “Now, Princess. What were you saying about this being off-the-cuff?”

Sweat rolled down Twilight’s face.

Rarity felt bad for her darling. While it is true she observed Twilight acting oddly and from there figured out what she was up to, she wouldn’t have paid so much attention if it weren't for one thing. She knew exactly when Twilight received the tickets. She was there when Celestia sent them to her.

Even at Canterlot Royal Academy, Sundays were a time of rest for most students. For the student council vice president, however, the Sunday of three days ago marked the culmination of her plans.

“My, what a fantastic job,” Princess Celestia said as she admired a curtain partially covering a window looking out over the campus. “I can’t even tell it was ever torn.”

“Your praise is much appreciated, Your Highness,” said Rarity, tightly gripping a sewing kit to her chest. “I didn’t wish for one of your embroiderers to be bothered for such a small thing.”

Celestia certainly lived up as the ideal of beauty, with her unblemished dark skin and flowing hair the color of an aurora against a blue sky, but more than that, Rarity felt authority and power from her appearance. An aside glance was enough to make Rarity shiver. “You’ve done a lot of these small favors over the past two weeks. All out of generosity?”

“Generosity is in my nature, but I will admit I also have a simple desire to gain your favor.”

“I have no intention of pulling any strings for you, if that’s what you want.”

“I expect no such thing. You remembering my name will suffice.”

“Well in that case, I shall ask for something in return, Rarity. Tell me, is my student doing well in the council?”

Connecting with Princess Celestia was a goal of Rarity, to be sure, but this is what she was really after. After two weeks of effort, Twilight has at last come up in a casual conversation.

“Twilight has been an absolute dream. Our work has gone so smoothly under her that I hardly know what to do with my time.”

“She’s been getting along with everyone?”

“Yes, she’s getting along fabulously. She and Spike are practically inseparable, and I’ve never seen her get into a conflict with the other council members. She’s clever, charming, and well-mannered in a way befitting a princess.”

“How about outside the council?”

“She spends time with Spike of course, and I’ve seen her with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy often. Most of the time I see her, she’s focused on her books and her council work, however.”

Celestia put her finger to her chin and said under her breath, “Not as much progress as I hoped.”

“I admit, I do sense some distance between her and the other students, if that’s what you’re worried about. But she really has opened up since we first started working together. I think she only needs a small push to really blossom.” Rarity paused for a bit. “Oh, that’s right! I recall Twilight mentioning that she never attends any galas. Perhaps if she were to receive tickets to the most exclusive gala of the year, that may just push her to think about her classmates differently.”

Celestia tapped her finger on her cheek, then briefly gave Rarity a glace that she felt bore straight into her mind.

I played my hand too soon, thought Rarity. Surely Celestia of all people would be able to figure out my true intentions now.

Celestia lowered her hand from her face. “I think shaking Twilight out of her normal routine would be helpful. I appreciate your insight, Rarity.”

Rarity released a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

With a wave of her hand, two golden tickets appeared floating in front of Celestia, and with another wave, they dispersed into dust.

“Oh my, you sent Twilight the tickets already?”

“No time like the present. Would you like a ticket for yourself?”

“No, no, no, I couldn’t possibly.”

“Hmm. Well, that’s fine. I imagine you’ll get a ticket from a special someone soon enough. I enjoyed our chat, Rarity, but I have other business to attend to now.”

Rarity wasn’t quite sure what to make of what Celestia said, so she only responded with a quick goodbye and a curtsy.

In the past few weeks, Twilight and Rarity’s interactions had become rather rote. The introduction of Gala tickets served to get Twilight out of her comfort zone, and bolster Rarity’s chances of getting her to admit the feelings she must have for her. Rarity wasn’t precisely sure how Twilight would act, but she was confident her skills at improvising would outpace any plan Twilight could come up with.

Twilight chuckled. “You based much on how I’ve been acting, I see, but you failed to consider how much of it was faked.” A wave of her hand across her face revealed no sweat, and a cool and confident expression. “Your reaction to seeing me nervous, however, has revealed much.”

An obvious bluff. Rarity straightened her back and placed an elbow on the top of the couch. “What an impressive party trick. Were your eyes darting toward my legs when I crossed them part of the act too?”

Twilight blushed. “I did no such thing.”

Rarity found few tricks were more effective with Twilight than wearing a short skirt and thigh high socks. “In any case, I didn’t hear a denial of my theory.”

“That’s because you were right. I did, in fact, receive these tickets three days ago, and I did plan out this performance with Spike so you’d think I received the tickets just now. In truth, I expected you to see through this, but I hoped otherwise. For if you learned why I delayed telling you about the tickets, you would be…” Twilight paused to sip her tea. “... Overdramatic.”

Rarity scoffed as she uncrossed her legs and crossed her arms. “I expected better of you, Ms. Sparkle. I do not get overdramatic. I get precisely as dramatic as warranted.”

Twilight suddenly sprawled out on the couch. “Oh Rarity! Oh my stars and garters! Your respect for me has fallen so much I’m addressed by Ms. instead of Princess! Celestia, take my crown, I’m no longer worthy of it!” Using magic, she levitated to her an unopened carton of ice cream and a spoon and pretended to gobble up ice cream while sobbing. “Sound familiar?” she said playfully.

“Hmph, hardly,” Rarity said as she levitated the ice cream that was so rudely taken back into its icebox. “‘Stars and garters,’ my word.”

Twilight stuck her tongue out in response and—Sweet Celestia, she’s so adorable, Rarity thought. But no! I can’t afford to be distracted by fun conversations and friendly bonding, not when I’m so close to Twilight admitting her romantic intentions.

Rarity politely coughed and got back on topic, returning to her earlier pose with legs crossed. “I appreciate your consideration for me, but you confessing your feelings is simply inevitable, and hardly worth any drama. Now please, go ahead. You put so much work into this, after all.”

“Funny that you keep assuming I wanted to ask you out in particular. The fact of the matter is, I offered the extra ticket to people before you.”

Now this surprised Rarity, but she didn’t show it on her face. There had to be a trick behind this. “Is that so? Who, then?”

“Well, I received the Gala tickets when Mudbriar was in the room, so I offered it to him first.”

Mudbriar, the student council’s accountant. Maybe one of two, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember the other. He would surely corroborate this claim, if only because he seemed incapable of not being technically accurate when he spoke. Twilight could be lying and counting on Rarity’s distaste for talking to him, but she could hold her nose this one time easily enough. Assuming he wanted to attend the Gala, would he have taken the ticket?

As odd as it sounds, he has a girlfriend: Maud Pie, of the prestigious Pie family. Rarity wasn’t too familiar with her, outside of what Maud’s sister and the student council secretary, Pinkie Pie, has bragged, but she knew she didn’t attend previous Galas despite receiving tickets. She didn’t have a boyfriend during previous Galas, though. Twilight is closer to Pinkie than Rarity is, so if Maud was going to this year’s Gala, Twilight would have heard about it before her.

So that’s the trick, then.

“How very interesting. Who was next?” Rarity asked with a self assured smile.

“I ran into Octavia after that.”

She was already going, as a guest performer.

“Then I talked to Moondancer after I taught a lab.”

Twilight and Moondancer were both teaching assistants for magic courses and oversaw the students’ lab work. Rarity investigated Moondancer in the process of better understanding Twilight, and it was safe to assume she wouldn’t want to attend the Gala.

“Then there was Lemon Hearts.”

Already attending. This was all too easy.

“And last before you was Applejack.”

Rarity let out a short laugh. “Well there you have it, all those are people anyone could have figured out wouldn’t have accepted your tic—wait, did you say Applejack?” she said as her posture straightened and she placed both feet on the ground.

Twilight had a sly grin. “Yes I did.”

This made no sense. Applejack most definitely wanted to go to the Gala, and she and Rarity talked about that just yesterday. She intended to open a food stand there that was doomed to failure, and she was too stubborn to be convinced of that by Rarity. Did she change her mind?

That wasn’t the important part. If Twilight offered a ticket to Applejack knowing she would be turned down, then Twilight had to know something about Applejack and the Gala that Rarity didn’t. How did she pull that off?

“That’s quite a surprise,” Rarity said. “I assumed she’d accept a ticket from you. Did she say why not?”

“She already had a ticket.”

“Someone gave Applejack a ticket?”

Rarity frowned. How dare Applejack be asked out before her! This was the Trenderhoof incident all over again.

No, that was the wrong way to look at this. Who in the world would give Applejack a Gala ticket? And at such a convenient time between the last time Rarity talked to her and now?

Twilight and Rarity both knew that Applejack doesn’t lie, so Twilight wouldn’t make this up. Would Twilight have risked losing a ticket by asking Applejack without knowing if she’d take it or not? No, impossible. Not if Twilight wanted to invite Rarity to the Gala. Twilight knew Applejack would turn her down, and she knew this before Rarity did.

There was only one logical conclusion: Twilight had access to an extra ticket and she gave it to Applejack earlier.

Rarity closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. How did Twilight pull that off? She would have to know that Rarity would talk to Applejack after this conversation. Twilight giving Applejack a ticket and then giving her another ticket just so she could say Applejack turned her down was so easily exposed that it was hardly worth considering.

No, there has to be someone else that Twilight asked to give a ticket to Applejack. Who does Twilight know that Applejack would take a ticket from and she wouldn’t immediately connect with Twilight?

Rarity’s eyes opened wide. She couldn’t have. Would she really risk using Pinkie Pie for this? It’s impossible to get that girl to do exactly what you want. Even the most carefully laid plans crumble under her.

Focusing ahead, she saw that Twilight adopted a similar pose to her own earlier, with legs crossed and an expression of smug but extremely sexy confidence. Twilight wore a short black skirt over black tights that emphasized the curves of her thighs. Rarity dreamt of the day when she’d be able to rest her head on Twilight’s lap while she read a book with one hand and ran her fingers through Rarity’s hair with the other and—no, Rarity, you need to stop staring at her legs! I just teased her for doing just that, Rarity thought.

No matter how she looked at it, Pinkie was the only logical choice. Everyone else in the school knows she acts on her own, Twilight is close enough to her to know what she’s doing, and as part of the Pie family, she’d have her own pair of tickets. Given this information, what to do next? She had to prove that Twilight knew Pinkie gave a ticket to Applejack before she personally talked to Applejack, and then—

“Like what you see?” Twilight said.

Oh Celestia, I’m still looking at her legs, aren’t I?

Rarity’s brain devoted most of its energy to the Pinkie Pie problem, with little available to come up with a response.

“No,” Rarity said as she continued staring at Twilight’s legs. Thankfully, Twilight didn’t seem prepared for that answer.

This wasn’t working. Her brain couldn’t handle solving this problem and talking to Twilight. She needed more energy. She needed… sugar!

Rarity took the sugar container on the table and stirred its contents into her tea, creating a solid brown mass, and she downed the entire thing in one shot. Her eyes became wide and she stared straight ahead. Twilight could do nothing but stare back with surprise and discomfort, then awkwardly look away after ten seconds.

With a renewed sense of focus, Rarity reviewed the facts. The key is Pinkie Pie. How did Twilight convince her to give a ticket to Applejack, while guaranteeing Pinkie wouldn’t tell Applejack about Twilight? Or was there any convincing involved in the first place? Could Pinkie have given the ticket to Applejack completely on her own and Twilight chose to approach Applejack for that reason?

“As I’m sure you’ve realized,” Twilight said with confidence, choosing to ignore the past half-minute that Rarity sat in a sugar induced trance. “By offering a ticket to people before you, I’ve demonstrated that I only want to take you to the Gala as a friend. I chose not to tell you this because you weren’t my first, second, or even third choice, and I didn’t want to upset you. So let’s go… as friends.”

You haven’t beaten me yet, Princess, thought Rarity. If she were to give a yes or no here, Twilight would win, but all it takes is a simple, “I’ll think about it,” and then she’ll have time to interview Applejack and Pinkie Pie. This came with risks, as it left time for Twilight to come up with countermeasures, but surely she’ll get her hard evidence, and with the inroads she made here, she’d get it faster than Twilight could act.

Rarity smiled. By the end of the day, Twilight will admit her love. She opened her mouth. “I’ll th—”

The door slammed open and in bounced a light-skinned girl with curly pink hair. “Hey everyone! Guess whose name has two ‘p’s and has tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala!”

Startled from their battle of wits, Twilight looked at the girl for a bit before answering, “Pinkie Pie?”

“Nope! Well, yes, but not fully yes,” Pinkie Pie said. She reached into her hair. “The answer is Pinkie Pie and all her friends!” She pulled out not one or two, but a handful of Gala tickets.

“Darling, where did you,” Rarity started saying, but was cut off when Pinkie gave her a ticket.

“One for you.” She hopped to Twilight. “And one for you.”

Twilight blinked then stared at the three tickets she now had in front of her. One could have almost seen the steam coming out of her head as she calculated what this meant for her plans.

Only Rarity had the mental energy to comprehend what just happened. “Pinkie, dear, why do you have so many tickets?”

Pinkie stopped. “Well, I heard that Applejack really wanted to go to the Gala to open a food stand and I thought, I like food, so I gave her one of my tickets. But then I thought, oh wow, there are so many people in our class who could make the Gala so much more fun! So I went up to Princess Celestia and asked for more tickets.”

This broke Twilight out of the deadlock her brain was stuck in. “Wait, you asked Princess Celestia for what?”

“More tickets,” Pinkie said without shame.

Twilight stood up. “But, but, you can’t just ask Princess Celestia for more tickets!”

“Of course you can! How else would you get more tickets? Come on, Twilight,” she responded, rolling her eyes. “Anyone can just go to Celestia and ask for a ticket, easy peasy.”

Rarity was next to stand up. “Wait, anyone can just ask Celestia for a ticket?” Does that mean I didn’t have to subtly work my way into her good graces over two weeks? Rarity thought.

“Yes indeedy! Not sure why more people don’t, really.”

Perhaps because other people have the awareness to think randomly going up to an immortal princess of Equestria for a favor wouldn’t be received well.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Pinkie said as she hopped over to a green haired girl in a sweater and jeans with tanned skin, who was sitting in a chair on the other side of the room and tending to a potted plant. “A ticket for you too, Wallflower.”

“Uh, thanks,” said Wallflower Blush.

Twilight and Rarity both did a double take.

“Good heavens. Wallflower!” Rarity said. “When did you get here?” So there was indeed a second accountant in the student council, other than Mudbriar. Why did this girl keep slipping her mind?

Wallflower had an annoyed look on her face. “I got here the same time you two did.”

Twilight and Rarity looked at each other, then back at her with mutual embarrassment. “Oh.”

Pinkie scratched her hair and five more tickets fell to the ground. “Well, I need to go deliver a ticket to everyone in our class. All part of being the student council’s secretary party planner, or secreparty for short.”

Twilight hesitated to ask, “By our class, do you mean…?”

“Class of ‘21, silly! Although wait, I’m Class of ‘22, aren’t I? Well, I have tickets for them too. Everyone’s going to love the Gala!”

Twilight slouched back onto her couch. “Huh.”

As Pinkie started skipping out the room, Rarity remembered she had work to do. “Pinkie Pie, stop!” she yelled while pointing.

Pinkie froze mid-skip. “What is it, Rarity?”

“Did Twilight know you gave Applejack a ticket?”

“Duh, of course she did. I told both of you a minute ago!”

“No, I mean yesterday! Or earlier today!”

“How earlier today are we talking?”

“When did you last see Twilight today or yesterday?”

“That’s easy! Just now!”

“No, I mean before now!”

Pinkie winked and gave Rarity finger guns. “One infinitesimal sliver of time before now!”

“No, I mean did you see Twilight today, before you came into the student council room, and if not, did you see her yesterday after you last saw me yesterday, and did the subject of Applejack come up?”

Pinkie thought for a few seconds, then shrugged and made a mumbled, “I don’t know,” sound.

Rarity paused, rubbed her temples, and then sighed. “It doesn’t matter. You move along, dear.”

Pinkie smiled, then resumed skipping out the door and slammed it behind her.

Rarity moved back to her couch and slouched down in a similar manner to her would-be lover.

The three student council members continued sitting there without talking.

The clock ticked.

Eventually, Rarity got up. “Well, I have a class in…” She checked the clock. “Thirty minutes, so I better, uh, get going.” She lifted her Gala ticket in front of her. “And I suppose we’ll see each other at the Gala, friend?”

Twilight lifted up her three tickets and gave a big smile. “Sure, friend.”

When Rarity left, Twilight rolled her head back over the top of her couch and groaned.

“Hey Twilight,” Spike said as he walked into the student council room. “I just got a Gala ticket from Pinkie and—woah, you’ve been busy.”

Twilight was levitating several folders around her, pulling out sheets with images of locations at the Grand Galloping Gala site with prime romantic spots circled, first person accounts of romance at the Gala, and page after page of statistics.

“If I account for the crowd flow, then the best view should actually be three feet to the north,” Twilight said to herself. “But wait, this is near the food tables, and historically people have dropped food around here, so what if someone dropped their food here and everyone started walking around it and no one bothered to clean it up? Then the best spot would be here.”

Spike ducked under a diving folder. “So, guessing things didn’t go quite as planned?”

“Oh, no, it’s fine, it’s fine, I just have to revise all my heavily researched surefire romantic plans to account for two thousand extra people, but it’s fine.” Twilight’s face distorted into a confused grin. “And there’s also the fact that Rarity stared at my legs but then said she didn’t like looking at them but kept staring. What could that mean, Spike? What could that possibly mean?!” Twilight magically shook her folders and paper spilled out of them onto the ground.

“I, uh, think I need more context.”

Before Twilight could explain, the student council room’s wall-mounted mirror lit up behind her, and the face of a dark-skinned woman with sparkling blue hair appeared on it. “Princess Twilight Sparkle,” she said in a loud and commanding voice.

Twilight jumped in surprise and her folders fell to the ground. “Princess Luna! Good to see you.”

“Sorry to startle you. You would do well to learn that if you cover the magic mirror, then it won’t immediately answer my call and it will instead ring to alert you a call is coming.”

Twilight blushed. “Yes, I know how the magic mirror works. So, what are you calling about?”

Luna sighed. “As you might be aware, the Grand Galloping Gala has been… massively overbooked this year.”

Twilight had a nervous smile. “Yes, I’m aware of that.”

“To make things brief before the full report later, we have decided that it would be best to declare all tickets given out to Canterlot Royal Academy students null and void. Instead, there will be a separate event held at the same time as the Grand Galloping Gala, exclusively for students and faculty members. We determined this would be the best way to keep the Gala proper from becoming a fire hazard, and to give you students something to look forward to. You and the rest of the student council will be in charge of this new gala. More details will be forthcoming.”

Twilight’s smile became empty. “Thank you for informing me of this, Princess Luna.”

“You are welcome, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” Luna paused for a few seconds. “Good bye.” The call ended.

Twilight’s eye twitched. Her folders and all her sheets disintegrated in magical fire, and she sat down in the ash.

Spike put his hand on her shoulder. “Look at it this way, Twilight. Now there won’t be more people at the Gala.”

“Personally, I’m glad I don’t have to go anymore,” said Wallflower Blush, still sitting in her chair.

Twilight and Spike both jumped up and screamed. “Wallflower!” Twilight exclaimed. “When did you get here?”

2. Twilight Doesn't Want to Be in Love

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Canterlot Royal Academy was the number one school for government, business, art, and magic, but it didn’t fall short in other areas. It had top of the line sports facilities, such as the tennis grounds, which held six well-maintained grass tennis courts. On a bright Sunday afternoon, the student council reserved three of those courts for some friendly games. This would result in hundreds of thousands of bits worth of property damage.

A woman with dark skin and short rainbow-colored hair stood on the second level of stands, looking down at others standing on a court. Rainbow Dash, age 20, student council sports club liaison, had an excited grin. “Alright, here’s the plan! You four are going to play games until you get one winner, and AJ and I will play until I win, then we’ll see who’s the greatest tennis player in the student council!”

Pinkie Pie, age 19, student council secretary, jumped up to the stands too and raised a hand. “And I’ll commentate!”

“Now hold on a second,” said a tan-skinned woman with long blonde hair in a ponytail, wearing a cowboy hat. Applejack, age 21, student council non-sports club liaison, raised an eyebrow and continued, “Did you just say you’ll win against me?”

“You heard me!” Rainbow declared.

They started towards each other, but Rarity quickly got between them. “Darlings, please. You already set up a match, so figure it out there.”

The two grumbled, but agreed. Satisfied, Rarity walked back to Twilight and the other two student council members. Her hair was in a ponytail that bounced as she walked. She wore a simple white exercise shirt and a short white skirt over black shorts, but even so she looked ready for dinner at a fancy restaurant.

Twilight thought they made an interesting group. Rarity’s elegance didn’t seem like it should fit in with aggressive competitiveness of Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but she nonetheless enjoyed spending time with them, and them with her. Not only that, but it was remarkable that a noble as prideful as Rainbow would be willing to cross class lines to befriend two commoners. Was it because of Rarity?

Twilight rested her racket on her shoulder and adjusted her ponytail. “So Rainbow, you said the sports club budget report would be ready after this. Do you have it with you?”

Rainbow’s face twisted. “Oh, well, uh…”

Twilight narrowed her eyes and tapped on her racket. “Rainbow Dash.”

“Alright fine, I didn’t finish the budget! But I’ll just have Thunderlane give it to you tomorrow.”

Twilight shook her head. “Honestly, Rainbow. We need these budgets so we can figure out how much we need to request for the new school gala. Applejack turned in hers last week!”

“And that’s not the last time I’ll beat you,” Applejack added smugly.

The two other student council members stood quietly. First was Mudbriar, age 21, student council treasurer. He was a man with tan skin, short brown hair, and a stoic expression. The others didn’t get along with him too well—mainly Pinkie, making him one of the few people she disliked—but Twilight found him an intelligent and reliable worker.

Second was Fluttershy, age 20, student council animal liaison. She was a beautiful but timid woman with tan skin and long pink hair. Twilight knew her ever since high school, as her first and only successful attempt at befriending a commoner back then. Her position on the council technically wasn’t official, but they had to take animal problems to her often enough that Twilight decided to give her a title, if only for budget purposes.

As liaisons, Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy were only called in if there were issues with the parties they represented, so it was rare to gather all council members like this.

Oh, but there was an eighth member, wasn’t there? Twilight looked in the stands for a few seconds then found her: Wallflower Blush, age 19, student council treasurer, whose role was double-booked because everyone forgot she was already assigned it. She wore her normal clothes and sat reading a magazine, showing she had no intention to play. Twilight smiled and waved at her. A bit startled, she waved back.

It would be good to befriend her, Twilight felt. She must feel lonely at times. True, there was a tactical reason: she knew about Twilight’s crush on Rarity and perhaps had information about Rarity’s feelings too. However, it would be despicable to befriend her just to take advantage of that. No, she needed to befriend her for one reason: because friendship was important. Perhaps they could talk after she finished her first game.

After some warm ups, it was time to play.

“Good afternoon Canterlot Royal Academy!” Pinkie Pie yelled into a microphone, standing on a seat in the bleachers. “We have three, count ‘em, three matches of the century happening right here, right now! First of all, we have a grudge match between the sports liaison and the non-sports liaison!”

Applejack threw her hat into the stands and swung her racket. Rainbow tossed a tennis ball up and down.

“Next up, we have our purple-icious president vs. the wild and dangerous beast queen!”

Twilight confidently spin her racket while Fluttershy smiled with closed eyes and waved.

“Last but not least we have coughcoughmudbriar vs. RARITY WOOO!”

Mudbriar responded with a, “Mmyes,” while Rarity flipped her ponytail and smiled, sparkles seeming to form around her.

“Applejack and Rainbow will play three games to determine the winner while everyone else plays one, with the winners of each facing off. On your marks, get set, and… serve!” Pinkie then blew an air horn.

Before Twilight could start, she saw Rainbow Dash throw her ball up high. She then launched into the air, blue wings sprouting from her back as she activated her flight magic. Applejack looked on in surprise as Rainbow swung overhead and smashed the ball to the ground too fast for her to react.

Through flight magic, wings of light form at will from the backs of mages. This was an especially common form of magic, though it came at the exclusion of the other forms. The sole exceptions were princesses, who could use all forms of magic.

Oh right, Twilight thought, I have flight magic too, don’t I? The entire princess thing happened so recently and she hadn’t really needed to fly, so it was easy to forget. Plus, she wouldn’t want Rarity to see the way she stumbled around in the air, so she avoided using it around her.

Pinkie stood up in excitement, “Rainbow scores, 15 - Love!” She then put fingers to her lips in a teasing way. “Ooo, Applejack’s in love!”

Ignoring Pinkie, Applejack stomped up to the net as Rainbow floated down. “And what, pray tell, was that?” said Applejack.

“That was you losing,” Rainbow responded with her usual smug confidence. She landed and her wings dissipated into light.

“No, that was you cheatin’! You can’t use your wings in tennis!”

“Someone’s a sore loser. I know for a fact that there ain’t no rule against using wings.”

Mudbriar chose this moment to chime in. “Technically, the rule against using magic includes the use of flight magic.”

“Well no one asked you! In any case, we’re playing by Rainbow rules, and that means flying’s allowed,” Rainbow said as she got close to Applejack, then added, ”So you just have to deal.”

Applejack spat back, “And I say you know you can’t beat me on the ground, so you’re flying away like a little chicken!”

“What’d you say?!” Rainbow was shaking with anger. “And for the record, chickens don’t fly!”

“You come down to the farm and I’ll show you what a chicken’s like!”

“Why I oughta!”

Pinkie cheered on the arguing council members while the other four players stood by watching.

Twilight was the first to speak up. “Should we do something about that? Also, is it just me, or is their argument making less sense as it goes on?”

Rarity sighed. “Just ignore them, dear. I’ve known them for years, and it’s best to let them get it out of their system. We should get through our games while they’re fighting, and maybe they’ll have figured this out by then.”

“If you say so,” Twilight responded before turning to Fluttershy with a smile. “Fluttershy, are you ready to serve?”

Startled, Fluttershy said, “Oh, right, sorry.” She tossed the ball into the air and hit it over the net, sending it crosscourt to Twilight.

Most wouldn’t expect much from Fluttershy, but Twilight was well aware of her uncanny tennis skill. After the first bounce, the ball swerved suddenly, flying past Twilight’s side, but she was ready and hit it back with a lunge. There was no spin on her return, though, and Fluttershy easily hit it back. Twilight found herself running back and forth on her court while Fluttershy barely had to move.

Fluttershy’s Flutter Zone is truly formidable, Twilight thought. No matter where I hit the ball, I somehow just send it where Fluttershy is standing, and I’ll end up exhausted as this game goes on. But it isn’t unbeatable. It will take a lot of effort, but…

Next time Twilight received the ball, she quickly took note of the way her body found most natural to return and twisted in another way, sending the ball at a different angle. She landed awkwardly, sending shockwaves through her leg, but it worked. The ball landed in the corner of Fluttershy’s side, with Fluttershy unable to do anything but stand there and watch.

Pinkie quickly took notice and declared, “We have another point! Twilight scores, 15 - Love! Fluttershy is officially in love!”

Fluttershy picked up the ball and tossed it to Twilight for her to serve. “Oh, uh, Twilight, you’ll understand if I say you aren’t my type, right?” she asked with a smile.

Twilight giggled as she caught the ball. “It’s fine, you aren’t my type either.”

That trick won’t work twice, Twilight thought, her face turning serious. Now that Fluttershy knows she’ll have to move, the game has really begun.

She looked to the third court, where Mudbriar stood with his tennis ball in hand, and Rarity tapped her foot with her arms crossed.

“Just serve, already!” Rarity exclaimed. “What are you waiting for?”

“I am waiting for the right conditions,” Mudbriar said, his face impassive.

“Right conditions would have been before I lost my patience,” she responded with a huff. Noticing Twilight, she turned to her and said, “Can you believe—”

Mudbriar took this moment to serve and Rarity yelped. The ball hit the ground too far for her to return it.

That was a cheap point, Mudbriar, Twilight thought.

However, Twilight found she reached that conclusion too soon. In a blink of an eye, Rarity dashed to hit the ball back. Only her flowing ponytail and skirt served as evidence she wasn’t there all along. Rarity’s return hit Mudbriar’s side of the court and bounced again before he could even lift his arm.

Twilight was in shock. Wh—what was that technique? I’ve never seen anything like it! Did she teleport? But there’s no evidence of a teleportation spell being cast.

Pinkie yelled into her mic, “And Rarity scores! Zero - 15!”

Twilight’s ears perked up. “Wait, Pinkie, you aren’t doing that love joke?”

Pinkie put down the mic and grimaced. “I’m not going to waste that joke on Mudbriar. Come on, Twilight. He’d be all like, ‘Technically, the players are at love, not in love,’ or something.” She regained her smile and winked. “I’ll save that for Rarity’s match with you or Fluttershy.”

I’ll save that for Rarity’s match with you

Ooo, Applejack’s in love

Fluttershy is officially in love

Twilight froze up. If I face Rarity next round, and Rarity gets the first point, then Pinkie will reveal to Rarity that I’m in love with her!

She shook her head. No, that was the wrong conclusion. Rarity would know Pinkie was just saying a joke. But she couldn’t trust herself not to blush or react at all when Pinkie says she’s in love. And then…

Rarity chuckled. “Oh my, darling, that face of yours tells me everything. You really are in love with me, aren’t you?” She covered her mouth and giggled some more, and as the sky darkened, she revealed the smile one gets when a toddler tells them they’re pretty. “How cute.”

How cute

This would be a disaster! Twilight’s love would be exposed for the world and Rarity would think of her as nothing more than a lovesick puppy.

She couldn’t deal with that. She had to lose against Fluttershy and let her deal with Pinkie’s joke.

But then Twilight remembered something told to her once. Love was worth fighting for.

No! She wouldn’t run away from this opportunity. True, Pinkie could expose her love, but it worked the other way too. She just needed to get a point first, and then Pinkie would expose Rarity’s love!

Rarity blushed furiously as she leaned on the net. “What? No, Pinkie, that simply isn’t true! I—I—I have a normal relationship with Twilight, and—”

Twilight walked to Rarity and suavely used a finger to lift her chin. “Oh my, is this how you look in a normal relationship?” She brought their lips close. “As beautiful as you are now, the look you give your lover must be truly divine.”

Rarity’s face turned beet red, and she squirmed with her eyes closed. “D—Darling!” She swooned. “I can’t hide it anymore! The truth is revealed! I am in love with Twilight Sparkle!”

Their lips met and the sky lit with fireworks.

Yes, that’s exactly how it would go! In one scenario, at least. Rarity would probably want to date before they kissed. Plus it was probably best to arrange the fireworks ahead of time.

There was still an obstacle before she could even consider facing Rarity. Fluttershy patiently waited for her serve with serene and cheerful smile on her face, but Twilight could sense the aura of menace around her. The princess broke through her Flutter Zone once, but continuing this game could leave her too exhausted to face Rarity. There was another option, however.

Twilight walked to the net and waved to Fluttershy. Once she got close, Twilight said, “Hey Fluttershy, I really need to play against Rarity in the next match, so can you go easy on me?”

Fluttershy giggled. “Is this another scheme to get Rarity to admit her love?”

“More or less.”

“Then I’d be happy to help.”

Twilight had two friends who knew about her crush on Rarity: Spike and Fluttershy. She was close friends with Pinkie, and Pinkie would no doubt keep a Pinkie Promise. The problem was Pinkie would never be able to hide the fact she had a secret. Every time she saw Twilight and Rarity in a room together, she’d probably get a big grin on her face and start shaking, and when Rarity asked her about it, she’d say, “Nothing RariTwi, I mean RariLight, I mean… Rarity X Twilight.”

Fluttershy, on the other hand, was the perfect confidante. She patiently listened to Twilight gushing about Rarity, quietly supported them, and didn’t make any unpredictable moves.

“Hey!” Pinkie yelled into her mic. “Are you two colluding?!”

Twilight waved. “Oh, no! No collusion here!”

Pinkie smiled and closed her eyes. “Okie dokie!”

She took a quick glance at Rarity. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to pay any mind to their conversation.

Twilight walked back to the serving area and sent the ball to Fluttershy. She swung her racket a full foot over the ball, then shrugged as she whiffed.

“Twilight scores, 30 - Love!” Pinkie announced. “Sheesh Fluttershy, what happened?”

“I thought I saw a bird?” Fluttershy said, half asking Twilight.

“Shame on you, birds! Stop distracting Fluttershy!” Pinkie said, shaking her fists at the sky.

Twilight motioned to Fluttershy to tone it down, and Fluttershy smiled and blushed in response.

Play continued with Fluttershy less obviously throwing the match, and ultimately, Twilight won.

“And that’s game!” Pinkie declared. “Twilight’s the first to complete her match and she’s booking it into the stands, past yours truly, almost trampling over Wallflower, and now she’s keeping a close eye on her competition. Meanwhile, Applejack and Rainbow Dash seem to have abandoned the entire tennis thing and are now competing in push ups!”

“You’ll never beat me, Rainbow!” Applejack declared as her body moved up and down. “You ain’t ever had a real day of work in your life, so your arms are softer than a rain-flooded worm-ridden barrel that’s been pecked up by woodpeckers.”

“Ha, I’ll show you soft! Fluttershy, get an elk or something to sit on me!”

“Oh dear,” said Fluttershy.

Pinkie continued her commentary. “And lastly, Mudbriar and Rarity’s match is at 15 - 40!” She then scratched her head. “Hey Twilight, why’s it 40 instead of 45?”

Keeping an eye on Rarity’s movements, Twilight responded, “It was originally 45, but got changed to 40 at some point. One theory is that people started saying 40 as a shorthand for 45 and that stuck, but others—”

“Awesome! Anyway, Mudbriar scores, 30 - 40.” Pinkie then added conspiratorially, “Or should I say 30 - 45?”

This is so strange, Twilight thought. Rarity is playing, well, alright. But that technique she used at the start of her game is far beyond something an alright player would be capable of. Twilight’s eyes widened. Is it possible she realized I would play against her and is hiding her skill to make sure she gets the first point against me?

Regardless, observing her normal movements during tennis would provide more than enough combat data. Twilight watched Rarity elegantly spring from one side of the court to the other as her ponytail danced behind her. If Twilight thought about it, then of course Rarity would have to exercise often to keep her figure, but seeing her athleticism in action was another thing entirely. She closely observed the way her toned legs propelled her forward, her firm thighs releasing power with each leap, her smooth skin shimmering in the sunlight—

“And that’s game! Rarity wins!” shouted Pinkie.

Twilight realized she was drooling. She quickly wiped it off before anyone noticed.

Right. The combat data she gathered wasn’t much, but it would have to do. Twilight walked down to a court where, to her surprise, Rarity stood ready on the opposite side. “Rarity, you don’t want to rest a bit?” asked Twilight.

Rarity scoffed. “Rest? After what? That warm up game I just had? I’ll have you know I barely exerted myself.” She put her finger to her cheek in thought. “If I had to put a number to it… I used no more than five percent of my power.”

Twilight stepped back. “F—Five percent?!” Of course Twilight assumed Rarity was holding back, but could it possibly be by that much? On observation, Rarity indeed didn’t seem particularly tired. More important than that was the the look Rarity gave her. She wore a slight smile as she glared at her with ferocious intensity.

The princess gritted her teeth and got ready to serve. No matter what, she had to score this point. The rest of the game didn’t matter.

They say the key to achieving victory is visualizing yourself defeating your foe, so she played out her predicted scenario for Rarity’s loss in her head over and over again. No doubt Rarity’s mind too was consumed by thoughts of victory.

Goodness, Twilight really does look amazing in those shorts, thought Rarity as she gazed at her opponent.

It’s so hard to decide whether her legs look better with tights or no tights, but now I’m leaning toward no tights. It would be such a shame to hide that beautiful skin. But on the other hand tights work so well with her curves. No, it’s definitely no tights that are superior.

No, she reminded herself, there was something more important to focus on. For whatever reason, Twilight was heavily invested in beating her at tennis, to the point that she had not so discreetly asked Fluttershy to lose and then tried to examine her playing style. What could she possibly be after? Was she trying to embarrass her with an easy defeat?

Over the years, countless nobles hoped to take the peasant girl down a peg, thinking that’d make her view them as superior and thus worthy of affection. Martial arts, fencing, drinking, and yes, even tennis were the fields of battle, and Rarity never failed to turn their attempts to belittle her back at them. If Twilight was doing this, she needed to nip this bad behavior in the bud right away.

In truth, though she didn’t need to use her special techniques after that first serve, Rarity wasn’t holding back as much against Mudbriar as she made it sound. She certainly used more than five percent of her power, however that applied to tennis. Her absurd claim and a simple glamor spell to hide her sweat served to confuse Twilight. The princess would waste her energy at the start, leaving Rarity an easy win after.

At least, that’s what Rarity thought until she sensed Twilight’s aura.

What is this intimidating feeling I’m sensing from her?

Rarity could sense power pulsating from Twilight as she held the ball, ready to serve. The sun was behind the princess, covering her eyes in shadow. Sweat rolled down Rarity’s cheek.

I thought she would exert herself early on, but this is far too much. Why all this just for the opening serve?

Rarity gritted her teeth, took a stance, and gathered power inside. I don’t know what your game is, Princess, but I won’t roll over so easily.

“And it looks like the next game is about to begin!” shouted Pinkie. “Both Twilight and Rarity are giving off intense auras as they prepare for the serve.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” Rainbow said as she ran to Pinkie. “They’re powering up using magic! How come they get to use magic when I can’t use my wings?”

Applejack walked up to them and looked over the players. “Nah, looks like fighting spirit to me.”

“Uh, hello, there’s glowing light surrounding them. That’s magic.”

Applejack shook her head. “Nope, that there’s fighting spirit, through and through. Mudbriar, thoughts?”

Mudbriar appeared in the stands too and said, “Indeed, one can tell from the colors of their auras that this is fighting spirit, which is not classified under the rules of tennis as magic.”

Applejack nodded her head, and added with much satisfaction, “By the by, you just lost to me at push ups, Rainbow.”

“Agh, seriously?”

Pinkie excitedly hit Rainbow’s back. “Ooh, ooh, look! Rarity’s doing something!”

Rarity spread her arms wide, flapping one arm, then the other. Then she flapped both arms, stood on one leg, then tilted side to side before posing with one leg raised. Her aura took the form of a large waterfowl with its wings spread.

“Could it be? Yes, yes it is!” Pinkie announced. “Rarity is using the Northern Darling Style!”

“What?” replied Rainbow, her face scrunched up in confusion. “Darling Style? Seriously? What does that even mean?”

“Rarity’s aura looks like a duck, so she’s channeling the power of the ducks of the world!” Pinkie gasped. “Fluttershy, are darlings ducks? Has Rarity been calling us ducks all this time?”

Fluttershy squeezed into the group and meekly said, “Uh, no. To both questions. Darlings are just darlings, I’m pretty sure.” She paused. “Also, that’s a swan, not a duck.”

“Thanks Fluttershy! Alas, we may never know what a darling is.”

Mudbriar raised a finger. “Technically—”

“We may never know,” insisted Pinkie.

Twilight could feel the ground shake from the power of Rarity’s Northern Darling Style. There was no doubt: Rarity wanted to score and leave Twilight in love. She couldn’t let that happen.

Twilight tossed her tennis ball up and everything moved in slow motion.

Purple energy flowed from Twilight’s body into the racket and she swung. She closely examined the way Rarity moved. The leg she had raised was falling to the ground, anticipating a serve to her left. In response, Twilight adjusted the angle of her racket, serving to Rarity’s right.

“Take this! Ultimate Technique: Supernova Eruption!” she shouted.

As the racket touched the ball, the purple energy all transferred into the ball and it rocketed past the net.

Pinkie punched Rainbow’s back. “Woah, Twilight just made an incredible serve! I never thought our little princess could be so strong.”

“That’s because she isn’t!” claimed Rainbow. “I could maybe accept the fighting spirit stuff before, but the ball has purple flames! She’s using magic!”

“Now don’t be ridiculous Rainbow,” said Applejack. “Twilight of all people wouldn’t break the rules to—” She squinted to look at the ball. “Oh. Oh that’s definitely magic.”

“Well whatever it is, we have a great game ahead of us!” said Pinkie. “By the way girls, great job on the fast talking!”

Twilight watched as Rarity’s eyes followed the ball flying in the opposite direction she was heading. She could feel herself panting in slow motion. A serve of this power took a lot out of her, and she doubted she could win a prolonged game at this level, but that didn’t matter as long as this first point went through.

To Twilight’s shock, Rarity’s foot slammed into the ground and launched her twirling like an ice skater toward the ball. Could this be the true nature of the Darling Style?

The ball hit the ground just before the baseline, igniting the grass with purple flames.

Rarity landed short of the ball, but rather than stopping, she slid forward with a leg raised as though she were in an ice rink. The ball launched from the ground and Rarity lunged, twirling parallel to the ground. She was now above the ball.

“Northern Darling Style TLC Stance Secret Technique: Rules of Rarity!” she yelled as her racket struck the ball, propelled by her twirling. The purple flames extinguished and the ball frosted over, launching high into the air as Rarity rolled onto the ground.

Twilight almost yelled out her name in concern, but she quickly got up on one knee, her eyes aflame. Could her determination really be that great?

The tennis ball hung in the air, then fell to the ground still in Rarity’s side of the court. Twilight started to relax, but then to her shock, the ball made a sharp angle mid air and shot towards the far corner of Twilight’s side.

“What an amazing hit from Rarity!” Pinkie announced. “I’ve never seen a game like this!”

Rainbow had narrow eyes. “So all that skating around and the ball changing direction is magic and not fighting spirit, right?”

Applejack also had narrow eyes. “Yup, magic.”

The ball took Twilight completely off guard. No, I can’t reach it in time!

This was it. Pinkie would declare her in love, and Rarity would know everything. Twilight gripped her racket and held her eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable. In the brief moments before defeat, Twilight thought of the past.

“That was amazing, Cadance!” Twilight Sparkle, age 10, said as she sat on a bench and swung her legs. “Those two people were arguing and you just made them fall in love!”

Her babysitter smiled as she sat down next to her. Princess Cadance, age 18, had tan skin and long pink, purple, and yellow hair drawn into a ponytail. “Oh no, I didn’t make them fall in love. I just reminded them of what was already there,” she said.

Twilight tilted her head. “They were fighting but they were already in love?”

“Love is a wonderful thing, but you have to work at it just like everything else. Sometimes life gets in the way and people forget to do that, so it becomes harder for them to show love. My magic just lifts the burden a bit, and love handles the rest.”

“So you have to work at love?” Twilight asked. Cadance nodded and Twilight stuck her tongue out in disgust. “Yuck, then I don’t want to be in love ever. Give me a book anyday.”

Cadance giggled. “Well, romantic love isn’t for everyone, but I don’t know, I think you’d be good at it.”

Twilight made another disgusted face and Cadance laughed again. “Love takes all forms, so if romantic love isn’t appealing, how about the love for a friend, or love for Equestria, or even love for your books?”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “You’re equivocating.”

Cadance smiled and rolled her eyes. “I guess I am, but my point is, once you find the thing you love, that love is worth fighting for. Love is what guides all our lives, and it’s what gives us power.”

Twilight’s eyes shot open. Power! Of course! My love will give me power!

Energy erupted from inside Twilight and with renewed focus, she looked at the tennis ball rocketing down. Calculting, she wouldn’t be able to intercept when it hit the ground, but there was another way.

Magic concentrated in her back and two great purple wings sprouted from them, spreading wide. Then, with a flap, she launched into the air.

Pinkie gasped.

Applejack gasped.

Rainbow gasped.

Fluttershy gasped.

Wallflower gasped.

Mudbriar didn’t react.

Rarity gasped.

There was no name for Twilight’s attack. She released a primal cry as purple flames enveloped her racket and she swung as hard as she could. Upon impact, the racket shattered and the ball shot to Rarity’s side of the court, breaking the sound barrier and sending shockwaves through the tennis grounds.

The ball struck the edge of Rarity’s baseline and the ground exploded, magic propelling the ball even further beyond as it broke through the wall, ripped apart streets, and tore into the wooded areas beyond.

Twilight panted as she hovered in the air. She did it. She actually did it. The score was 15-0. Rarity was in love.

“Yes!” Twilight shouted as she fist pumped. She spun around in the air, instinctively guided by her wings, and repeated, “Yesyesyes!” over and over. Finally, she turned to look down at Pinkie, waiting for her announcement with a big toothy smile.

Instead she saw Pinkie with her mouth agape, staring ahead.

Twilight looked where she was looking, and only then did she notice.

Rarity was fine, standing and staring up at her. However, the impact of her ball left a smoking ruin in its wake. The court’s location minimized damage to the campus and there didn’t seem to be any loss of life, but Twilight could see the ball’s path of destruction continue onward into the forest, where distant rumbles and booms indicated trees were being knocked down.

Twilight screamed.

“I can fix this don’t worry guys you don’t have to worry I can—hold on, ball!” With large flaps, Twilight flew toward the forest after the ball, leaving the other student council members behind.

Pinkie closed her mouth. “Uh, well, it looks like this game is over. Let’s call it a day.” She then ran away before anyone could react.

At that, everyone started rushing out. Except for one person.

“Rarity! What are you doing?” Rainbow exclaimed as she doubled back for the straggler.

Rarity stared in the direction Twilight flew. With her eyes shimmering, she said under her breath, “Beautiful.”

Rainbow summoned her wings and picked up Rarity by the shoulders. “Come on, we need to leave before the cops get here!”

Rarity turned to Rainbow with a serious expression. “Rainbow! Wing hug me!”

Rainbow’s face twisted. “Buh-wuh?”

There was madness in Rarity’s eyes. “Do it now! I need to know how it feels!”

In the end, this incident was reported as an experimental spell gone wrong, which wasn’t uncommon at Canterlot Royal Academy, though few reached the level of destruction this had. All repairs were handled by the student responsible, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and once she finished, she was to be banned from the tennis grounds.

“Tennis is way too complicated anyway,” Twilight grumbled as she piled bricks to fix the outer wall of the tennis grounds.

Results of the tennis matches:
Rainbow Dash vs. Applejack: Resolved via push ups. Applejack wins.
Twilight Sparkle vs. Fluttershy: 4-2, Twilight wins.
Mudbriar vs. Rarity: 2-4, Rarity wins.
Twilight Sparkle vs. Rarity: 0-0, game ended early due to damage to the playing area. Both players are in love.

3. Rarity Needs Someone to Talk To

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At Canterlot Royal Academy, people from all fields of study could be found early in the morning tending to their own personal gardens in rich farmland, cultivating their connections to the earth and providing fresh food for the school. Overseeing them all was the student council’s non-sports liaison, Applejack. On this particular day, the student council vice-president accompanied her on her morning rounds, unaware of the dangers awaiting them.

“Honestly Applejack, this isn’t worth debating,” Rarity said as Applejack examined some newly sprouted carrots. “The Apple family owns farms around the country and it provides acres of land for Canterlot Royal Academy to grow fresh food. Acres, plural! Thus, the Apples are a noble family in all but name.”

“It’s just three acres, Rarity,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes. “You can’t even run a half decent family farm with that much.”

“Listen to yourself! Do you know how much land you’re talking about? A house right where we’re standing would be worth a fortune!”

“Farmland pays for itself through its produce, so it ain’t like a house that just sits there.”

“Oh yes, and I suppose any random family could own hundreds of acres all throughout Equestria. Honestly, I don’t know why you’re being so stubborn about this, it isn’t even my main point!”

“Speaking of stubborn,” Applejack said as she glared at Rarity, who was sprawled out on an ornately decorated rug woven in a Saddle Arabian style. “I told you not to bring your drama couches here cuz they mess with the crops and you keep leaving them around.”

Rarity’s face was the picture of innocence. “But this isn’t a drama couch. This is a drama carpet.”

“And are you going to leave those around too?”

Rarity magnanimously declared, “Why, yes.” At Applejack’s groan, she continued, “It’s the least I could do to spruce this place up, darling. There’s just so much brown and dirt and uck.”

“It’s a farm, Rarity!”

Rarity hmphed. “Just the sort of excuse a noble would make.”

“That doesn’t even—anyway, we’re done over here, so are you coming with me to the next place or do I have to drag you on that carpet?”

Rarity was aghast. “You wouldn’t dare ruin this carpet! No, on second thought, you would.” She sighed and got up.

She enjoyed the back and forth their conversations took, but that was exactly the reason why Applejack was the wrong friend to talk to about… certain things of a princess nature. Most of her friends weren’t right for that, really. Lots of fashion friends meant lots of gossip friends. In the end, when Rarity was desperate to talk to someone about that one cute expression Twilight made when reading a book on the construction of aqueducts, her only options were her two non-fashion friends.

If she told Applejack, Rarity knew she’d say, “Tell her the truth!” and then she’d be stubborn and wouldn’t listen to why that was a terrible idea. More than that, she was the absolute worst at keeping secrets. Rainbow, on the other hand, simply didn’t care about her love life, which Rarity found absurd because her romantic escapades were captivating. Regardless, Rainbow Dash by default became her sole confidante regarding Twilight Sparkle.

This made it inconvenient when Rarity wanted to talk to Rainbow about her tennis match with Twilight the other day, and Rainbow insisted that they instead played tennis themselves so Rarity could show off her sick moves, as she put it. She desperately needed to talk to someone, anyone, about Twilight, but alas.

They walked to the next plot of crops as Rarity magically rolled up the carpet. “Anyway, my original point was, Apple Bloom desperately needs to get ballroom dance lessons.”

“And I still don’t think she’d be keen on—oh, hold on,” Applejack said as she pointed out someone ahead.

Pinkie Pie stood in front of a small patch of kumquat trees, wearing a deerstalker hat and puffing on a bubble pipe.

“Howdy, Pinkie Pie!” Applejack said, but surprisingly, she didn’t respond, instead staring intently at the tree’s leaves.

Rarity walked to her in concern and put a hand on her shoulder. “Dear, is there something wrong with your trees?”

Pinkie sighed, blowing a stream of bubbles from her pipe, then faster than Rarity could respond, placed a bowler cap on her head. “The game is afoot. Something’s messing with my kumquats! Look, the leaves are drooping and the kumquats are sad and squishy.”

Applejack took a look. “Root rot, maybe? I’ve been keeping an eye on soil moisture, though.”

Rarity took her cap off and fixed her hair. “Oh look, the trees over there are even worse off.”

Pinkie blinked then looked at the trees further along the path. “Ooo, nice job, assistant!” With gravitas, she skipped along the path with the others walking behind, following the trail of wilted plants.

Soon, Pinkie looked to her left, did a double take, pointed and screamed, then shouted, “Suspicious!”

Among the academics and princesses of Canterlot, it was easy to forget there was a wild and untamed world out there filled with weird and terrible creatures, ready to breach their veil of civilization with a moment’s notice. Rarity gasped when she saw the source of their crop problems.

A hoofed beast stood with black bristling fur, the body of a cape buffalo, and a disproportionately large hog’s head that it seemed incapable of lifting from its downward facing position. It munched on bean plants that had blackened with decay, digging up the roots with its tusks. With every breath, noxious fumes spread from its mouth and overtook the other plants around it, causing them to sag and gray more and more.

“Woah nelly!” Applejack exclaimed, then started rolling up her sleeves. “Alright, you varmint, time to git!”

Rarity quickly grabbed her arm. “Applejack, wait! You aren’t really going to fight that thing, are you? It’s clearly some kind of magical creature.”

Pinkie pulled a book out of her hair and flipped through it. “Aha! Catoblepas, a species of magical creatures with poisonous breath.They’re herbivores and haven’t been known to attack unprovoked, but one glare can give you nightmares so bad you can die! Which makes it a good thing it can barely lift its head. Yeesh, who came up with that idea?”

“Oh my, that does sound dangerous. Applejack, we really must get out of here. We have protocols for this, you know.”

Applejack grumbled, but relented. “Alright, fine. Let’s get Fluttershy or Twilight to deal with it.”

Pinkie hummed and tilted her head side to side. “Fluttershy makes sense because it’s a creature, but Twilight makes sense because it’s magical. Fluttershy, Twilight, Fluttershy… Twilight! I’ll go get Twilight!”

Pinkie zoomed away with a cloud of dust. Rarity called out, “Call Twilight with a magic mirror, you don’t have to run straight to her!” She sighed. “Honestly, that girl makes Rainbow look patient.”

Applejack gave the catoblepas a grim look. It continued eating, uncaring of their presence. “Well, I should close off the farm until we fix this issue here. I know she said it won’t attack people, but I’d really prefer Twilight not have to rescue anyone from it.”

Twilight rescuing someone from the monster. Now there was a thought.

The dread catoblepas torments some poor student with its bulbous head, threatening to give them a nightmare glare at any moment. As it slowly lifts its head, who would show up but Princess Twilight Sparkle, majestically appearing from the sky on great purple wings. With but a wave of her hand, the catoblepas is blown away, and she swoops down to rescue the student, carrying them off in her arms. She looks in the student’s eyes and with a smile says, “I’m sorry I was so late. I didn’t realize how much I truly cared about you until I saw you in danger. You’re the most precious person in the world to me, and I can’t imagine losing you to that monster.”

Then the student touches the princess’s cheek and says, “I know, darling. But there’s nothing left to say, is there? All that’s left is…”

There, among the clouds, the princess and the student kiss.

What a thought indeed.

“Applejack, you go on ahead. I’ll look for the people still here and send them to safety,” Rarity said.

“Are you sure you want to do that, Rarity? It could be dangerous.”

Rarity made a dismissive noise and waved her hand. “I’m more than capable of handling myself. If the monster attacks me, I can just use magic”

Applejack thought for a bit. “Well, I suppose you’re right. Doesn’t look like it’ll be moving much anyway. You take care of yourself, and don’t do anything crazy.”

“Darling, who do you think I am?”

Rarity laid on her carpet with her blouse unbuttoned and her skirt hiked up, her chest heaving as she pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. She loudly moaned, and after the third moan, said, “Someone please save me!” making sure to choke up with the last words. The catoblepas took a few steps then resumed eating, impervious to her cries.

Yes, this was starting to come together, but it still needed some work. As dreadful as the idea was, she’d need to dirty herself to make it look like she was already attacked. She examined her outfit. Well, it’s not like I wear my best clothes to Applejack’s farm, she thought, then used her magic to take some soil and lightly splashed it on. Not enough. Using magic, she tore her blouse at the neckline, further exposing her cleavage. Was this trying too hard? No, it was the opposite. She winced, and tore her skirt.

She took a deep breath, then resumed her original pose and started moaning again.

Rarity had, of course, did as she said and looked for any stragglers in the farm, not wanting to risk some non-princess coming to save her, so there was little time before Twilight would arrive.

Any moment now.

Any moment.

Rarity stopped moaning and looked around.

What in the world was taking her so long?

She tapped her fingers on the carpet. Was this entire thing a bad idea?

No, she just needed to give it more time.

She could use this opportunity for a bit more authenticity. Ah, perhaps some catoblepas hoofprints on the carpet, she thought. Rarity got up and magically moved the carpet closer to the beast. When it started to take a step, Rarity placed the carpet under its hoof, but it groaned and backed away. Frustrated, Rarity moved the carpet to another hoof but it refused to step on it.

“Listen, you absolutely must step on that,” Rarity declared. “It’s vital that I make this look convincing so I’ll be rescued.”

The catoblepas made what Rarity interpreted as a confused grunt.

“You want me to explain? Well…” Rarity looked around, making absolutely sure there was no one around. “The thing is… I have a crush on Twilight Sparkle.”

She could feel a weight lifting from her chest. “I have a crush on Twilight Sparkle!” she exclaimed. It was remarkable how good it felt to talk to someone about it, even if it was a non-sapient poisonous monster.

With new confidence, Rarity put a hand to her hip and continued, “So, the other day, Twilight and I were just casually playing tennis when for no apparent reason she got really into it. She hit the ball so hard that it ruined part of a forest! Terribly sorry if you were caught in that. When that happened, she used her wings for the first time in front of me, and she was beautiful. I call her princess often enough, but it’s like I didn’t truly realize how regal she was until that moment. Still, well, it’s not like I don’t want to be dominated, but there’s a time and place for it.”

The catoblepas’s eyes widened at the sudden escalation.

“People have this strange expectation that they can get me to act submissive in public and I’m sorry that just isn’t how it works. Take Suri Polomare, lovely woman, good with a riding crop, but she’s a hack and a fraud! No, you don’t get to just steal my designs and expect me not to speak out! I recently saw her with another girl, Coco Pommel, and I told poor Coco that it wasn’t worth it just for the sex. It was rather awkward when she said they didn’t have that kind of relationship. Suri was really stealing her designs, though, so that got sorted out at least. Anyway, even before the design stealing, being with Suri didn’t feel right. I think it’s a matter of personality, she’s already quite assertive in public so there wasn’t really a secret intimate side to her I was being shown.

“Wait, I realize now! I like the idea of Twilight as a domme precisely because she isn’t normally like that! The ingredients are all there, with her title and her power, but she isn’t the type to use them, which makes it exciting if she does! So anyway, her trying to overwhelm me in tennis in front of everyone felt like a betrayal, but I don’t think she meant anything by it. As for how we found ourselves in this situation…”

She thought for a bit and looked around. “I’m starting to realize I’ve found myself in a Trenderhoof situation again.” She crossed her arms. “The appeal of being rescued is that it’s a fantasy, and I’ll play it out with Twilight when and only when we’re together. In real life, Rarity isn’t one to need others to rescue her. I let my, well, excitement get the better of me and almost put myself in a risky position with Twilight.”

Rarity levitated her carpet away from the catoblepas. “Thank you very much for listening. I’ll take my leave now. I hope Twilight treats you well.”

She walked away from the beast, then saw in the distance a winged figure in flight. She paused mid-stride.

Rarity sprinted right back to the beast, set her carpet several feet away from it, and ignoring the smell, laid down with her eyes closed and the back of her hand to her forehead. “Ohhh! Please save me!”

The winged figure touched down close by.

“Ohhh!” Rarity peeked open an eye. “Oh, it’s you.”

Fluttershy stood there with a confused frown. Her yellow wings dispersed into magic light. “Sorry, Pinkie told me there was an animal problem?”

Rarity shot to her feet and buttoned up her blouse, then stood aside and motioned to the catoblepas. “Yes, yes, here you go.”

Fluttershy shuffled past Rarity, then stopped and turned to her. “Uh, excuse me, if you don’t mind me asking… why…?”

As Fluttershy paused to determine the best way to word her question, Rarity answered a bit more forcefully than intended, “I was committing to an aesthetic!”

“Oh, OK.” She decided that would suffice as an answer. Fluttershy walked to the catoblepas and pet its head. “Why hello there, sir. What are you doing all by yourself?”

Fluttershy had an uncanny ability to speak in a way animals understood. The catoblepas made several grunts and Fluttershy nodded in response. Then she gasped. “How terrible, Rarity. Toby was separated from his herd and he was starving, so he made his way over here.”

Rarity put her hand to her mouth in concern. “Oh that poor dear. Can you help him?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I can keep him in a special stable until we find his herd.” Toby nudged her. “Oh yes, what is it?”

The catoblepas made noises that Rarity could only describe as a whisper. She raised an eyebrow as he continued. What could he possibly be telling her?

Fluttershy gasped.

He wouldn’t.

Fluttershy’s eyes sparkled and she gained a bright smile.

He did!

Fluttershy put her hands together. “Rarity! You have a crush on Twilight?”

Rarity screeched and pointed accusingly at the beast. “You fiend! You cur! You dastard! I told you that in confidence!” She stomped toward Toby, who backed away. “I bet you weren’t separated from your herd! No, you were kicked out! For being a shameless gossipmonger!”

Undeterred, Fluttershy clasped Rarity’s hand and her eyes shined. Her voice carried more excitement than she ever heard from her. “I understand now! Pinkie mentioned she thought about getting Twilight to help with Toby but changed her mind and got me instead, but you must have thought Twilight was coming here and staged a daring rescue so she could be your prince charming!”

Rarity had to hand it to her, she wrapped her head around all this surprisingly easily.

Fluttershy continued. “Don’t you see, Rarity? This is wonderful, because Twilight—” Fluttershy paused and then spoke carefully, slightly scrunching her face. “I haven’t talked to Twilight about this, but I believe you and Twilight would be a good couple.”

Rarity couldn’t stay angry looking at that face. She sighed. After her outburst, she certainly couldn’t claim ignorance. “I suppose I should tell you plainly. Yes, I am indeed in love with our dear princess.”

“We need to tell Twilight right a—”

“Oh no we won’t!” Rarity declared.

Fluttershy’s face scrunched. “Uh, I think it would be a really good idea for you to tell Twilight.”

“Fluttershy, there are dynamics at play that you can’t even begin to understand. No offense to you dear, but you simply don’t have the dating experience. Entertaining yourself with romance from a distance is one thing, but it’s different here on the battlefield. I need you to promise me that you won’t even hint to Twilight about what you just learned.”

“But Rarity—”

“Pinkie Promise! Actually, on second thought, let’s not get Pinkie involved. A regular promise will do.”

Fluttershy paused then sighed. “Alright. I promise I won’t tell Twilight about your crush, or anything else about what happened here. I want to support you the best I can.”

Rarity smiled. “Thank you, Fluttershy.” As horrible as this seemed at first, she came out of this at a net positive. Having one of Twilight’s close friends on her side would be a huge help, and Fluttershy’s sweet smile washed away the bile she felt from the catoblepas. Rarity walked back onto the path, leaving behind her carpet to liven up the desolated bean plot. “Dear, after you finish managing Toby and I freshen up, let’s meet in Sewing Room C for tea. I have so much I want to talk to you about.

Fluttershy nodded. “Of course. I’d love that.”

Seeming to sense Rarity’s changing mood, Toby took this opportunity to go up to Fluttershy and whisper some more information. Her face turned beet red. “Oh, uh, thank you Toby, but I didn’t need to know that.”

Rarity grumbled.

Per the standards of Canterlot Royal Academy’s dressmakers, there were several rooms set aside for private gossip. In one such room, Fluttershy placed freshly brewed tea in front of Rarity.

Rarity leaned forward onto the table excitedly, almost knocking her teacup over. “So then Twilight kept searching for something to shoo away the ladybug, but all she had were books, and she didn’t want to ruin those, so she instead used magic to move the entire table with the ladybug out the window. And she actually tried to be discreet about it!”

Fluttershy giggled as she sipped her tea.

“When the table was halfway through, the ladybug started walking toward Twilight and I could hear her saying, ‘Nonono,’ so at that point I gallantly came to the rescue. I walked to the desk, cupped the ladybug in my hands, and released it out the window, whereupon it flew away. Twilight looked at me like I was the bravest person in the world, and it was so adorable. I feel giddy just talking about it. Of course, I made sure to wash my hands right after, because who knows where that insect’s been.”

Fluttershy nodded.

Rarity sighed contently. Yes, this was exactly what she needed. Someone who would just listen to her talk about Twilight, and wouldn’t blab about it to the next person who came along. Fluttershy truly was the best confidante a woman could ask for.

Fluttershy gave a kind smile. “Any other stories you want to share?”

Rarity thought. “Well, there is one thing. I talked about this with the catoblepas, but I’d like to do so with you. So you recall that tennis match the other day? The way Twilight played against me made me feel… certain things. You see, it’s not like I don’t want to be dominated, but there’s a time and place for it…”

Fluttershy sat there and listened patiently, hiding her growing regret.

4. Twilight Has a Date to Keep

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Morning in the student council room started normally enough, as Twilight checked her calendar while Pinkie ate her breakfast pastries and Wallflower worked on a spreadsheet. The day was March 20. Aside from signifying that their gala budget presentation was mere days away, there was another reason the day was special: it was the Spring Equinox.

Ah yes, the Spring Equinox, a time that has fallen in significance over the years, but it remained the fourth most romantic day of the year, after Hearts and Hooves Day, Hearth’s Warming, and New Years. Twilight mentally cringed. Three days she completely botched with Rarity. Or rather, three days where she failed to do anything at all, out of fear it was too obvious a time to make a move. Surely Rarity wouldn’t be too suspicious on the fourth most romantic day, though. Many didn’t even realize it was a romantic day!

Twilight mentally went over her plans and was disappointed to realize she still hadn’t settled on anything special to do with Rarity. Why was this so difficult? Get Rarity into a romantic situation and get her to confess her feelings. Simple! But every time Twilight played out a route in her head, she would crash headlong into a leap of logic or a dangerous assumption. She grasped her head.

Then Pinkie started shaking. The two other girls watched as she jumped out of her seat, her leg spasmed, she fluttered her eyes, and then her hair exploded out and reformed. “Woah! Hold your heineys, because my Pinkie Sense says today’s going to be crazy!”

And to make matters worse, here was Pinkie pretending to predict the future again.

Pinkie stood on the work table and moved her fingers in a spooky fashion. “When the day and night approach their balance, the stability of the world is at its weakest. The barriers between dimensions will be torn asunder and reason will turn to madness as normality is redefined. Basically, it’s gonna be weird! But eh, it’ll probably be fine,” she said dismissively as she got back to her seat.

Twilight adjusted her papers and narrowed her eyes. “That’s nice, Pinkie.” She’s had predictions like this for as long as they’ve known each other, but there was no logical reason for them to be accurate, so Twilight chose to ignore them. “Anyway, we really need to finish up our plans for how to handle the dining area in the garden. What do you think, Wallflower?”

The green haired girl was startled at suddenly being addressed. “About the garden?”

“Yes, you visit them often, so I think you’d have a lot of insight on how to handle dinner there.”

“Oh, uh, I actually do have some ideas about that.”

Wallflower rustled through her bag and Pinkie slid over to her to peer in. Twilight smiled. This was working! She was really getting Wallflower to open up. Eventually, this could lead to them becoming friends, but she had to take it slow and feel out what pace she was comfortable with.

Right as she pulled some papers out, the doors slammed open. There stood Rarity, holding a bag to her chest in one hand and holding the other outstretched to present herself. “Good morning, my little duckies. Rarity has arrived.”

Pinkie quacked in response and hopped away from Wallflower to greet Rarity.

Twilight couldn’t help but beam upon seeing her. “Good morning Rarity! Uh, Pinkie, are you… sniffing her?”

Pinkie sniffed Rarity’s arm and then her bag, then reached in and pulled out a sheet of paper. “Aha! An ice cream ad! I knew it.”

Rarity paused. “You smelled the paper? Actually, never mind. Yes, while we’re on the subject, this ice cream shop near my apartment is having a special Spring Equinox event for couples this afternoon. They have crepes and other special snacks. Twilight, why don’t we go there?”

Twilight blinked.

Did Rarity just ask her out? Was it over? Did she just win?

Twilight, this is it! Just point out Rarity asked you out and it’s done!

Instead Twilight’s mouth hung open for a second and then a light wheezing sound came out.

Not seeming to notice this, Rarity added, “Oh, don’t mind the couples part, this is open to family and friends too. Pinkie, perhaps you should bring Maud.”

Pinkie gasped. “That’s a great idea! Ever since Maud started dating Mudbriar, we’ve spent less and less time together, but I’m sure she’ll love to have ice cream with me. Mudbriar told me once that Maud doesn’t actually like ice cream, but what kind of sense does that make? Of course Maud loves ice cream, she has to! But wait, today’s a busy day for all of us, right? I don’t think our schedules match up.”

Rarity put her hand to her cheek. “Oh, true, that could be a problem. Pinkie, you’re the secretary after all, do you have our schedules somewhere?”

Pinkie pulled a paper out of a drawer seemingly at random and placed it on the work table next to the ice cream store’s ad. She and Rarity leaned over to scrutinize the timings.

Rarity sighed. “Alas, it seems like we don’t all overlap after all. Perhaps you and Maud should go around 4, while Twilight and I go right after she wraps up her magic class office hours at 5. I need to head home to deal with Sweetie Belle before then, so Twilight and I will meet up there around 5:20.” She turned to Twilight. “Does that work for you, dear?”

Twilight realized her mouth was still hanging open and quickly shut it. “Oh yes, that sounds great Rarity.”

She gave this response a quick double-check. If she said no, then Rarity would accuse her of being scared by the couple part and joke about her actually having feelings for her. Moreover, saying no would not allow Twilight to proceed with any of her possible plans for the Spring Equinox. Rarity could easily choose to go with Rainbow or Applejack instead, likely leaving her uninterested in spending time with Twilight later. On the other hand, this trip could easily be leveraged into dinner.

Moreover, the time Rarity offered worked out in Twilight’s favor. According to the schedule, she would only barely have time to take the tram to the stop near Rarity’s apartment and walk to the shop. In truth, she was more than able to end office hours early or leave things to Moondancer and spend time scouting the area.

This would work out perfectly.

As Rarity talked more with Twilight and Pinkie, Wallflower walked to Twilight’s desk and placed her garden plans on top. “I’ll just leave this here, then.”

Rarity walked into a dimly lit room, wearing a wide-brimmed hat. She closed the door and started a record player, from which light saxophone music played.

“Ah, I see both of my co-conspirators made it,” Rarity said with an old-timey accent. “Rainbow ‘Legs’ Dash.”

Rainbow had her legs on top of her table. “Yo.”

“And the newbie, Flutter ‘the Bear’.”

Fluttershy seemed a bit confused. “Um, rawr?”

Rarity walked to a projector and slid a transparency on. “We are here to address this dame here.” She turned on the projector and an image of Princess Twilight Sparkle appeared on the projector screen.

Fluttershy clasped her hands together and smiled. “That’s a very nice picture of Twilight.”

Rarity returned to her normal accent. “I know, right? This is from her second post-coronation photoshoot. They did a fabulous job with her hair and makeup here. I actually met the makeup artist, you know? He says—”

“Rarity, the job?” Rainbow interrupted.

“Oh yes, right.” Rarity cleared her throat and returned to her noir accent. “The two of you had parts to play in our heist of the princess’s heart. Legs, I trust you made sure today is bright and sunny?”

Rainbow saluted. “At noon it should be about 80 degress. Then, in the afternoon, it’ll be overcast, so the heat gets trapped in.”

“Good show, Legs. It’s important that Twilight is hot enough that she would want ice cream. Bear, I trust you’ve informed your animals of the plan?”

Fluttershy looked around and then realized who Rarity was addressing. “Oh, yes, all my furry and feathery friends are on standby. But Rarity, are you sure Twilight will still show up even after animals delay her, and after she realizes the ice cream event is actually only for couples and family and not couples, family, and friends?”

Rarity chuckled. “I know the dame like I know my color theory. The heat and animals getting in her way will only increase her desire for this date. Her fight to reach me will ignite her heart, and when we go into the store together and they ask if we’re dating, she’ll have no choice but to say yes. Bear, you’re sure Twilight will end her office hours early?”

Fluttershy nodded. “She’ll definitely want to take a look around the store before the date.”

“Then this will work out perfectly. The earlier she leaves, the longer she’ll have to struggle to see me.”

Twilight rushed into the student council room and ran behind her desk. She pressed a hidden button on the desk and a panel opened in the ground, revealing a box labeled “Emergency Date Kit”, signed “Cadance” with a heart next to it. She glanced through the individualized packages inside and quickly found exactly what she needed.

Aha! “Maybe a first date so you want to look nice but it might not be so not too nice.” You know me too well.

Twilight started unbuttoning her blouse but then paused. “Uh, Wallflower, are you in here?”

Wallflower raised her hand from the work table. “Yeah, I’m right here.”

Twilight blushed. “I’ll just go to the changing room, then.”

Minutes later, Twilight came back to the council room wearing a sleeveless purple dress, high heels, and light makeup. “Wallflower, how do I look?”

Wallflower had a suitably impressed look on her face and gave a thumbs up. “Looks good. The high heels are probably too much, though.”

“You’re right. Flats it is.” She levitated some over and put them on, happy that Cadance provided both options. "But the dress in general looks fine, right?"

Wallflower waves her hand over her striped sweater and jeans. "I'm really not who you should ask about fashion, but I think it looks nice."

Twilight turned to show her the back of the dress. "Rarity won't think I'm trying too hard?"

"No, just go."

"But—"

"Go!"

Twilight slammed her mouth shut and quickly made her way out the door. Then she came back in to store away her previous clothes, then ran back out.

Wallflower shook her head and got back to work.

Twilight got onto the tram and breathed a sigh of relief. However, that turned to panic as she realized she didn't bring her wallet. She desperately pat herself down, hoping against hope she was mistaken. Miraculously, she discovered some cash in a hidden pocket area along with a note.

"Just in case you forgot your wallet - Cadance," signed with a heart.

Twilight felt tears welling up. Cadance knew her too well.

The tram started moving. It would arrive at her stop in eight minutes, leaving her thirty minutes to check out the store and confirm the status of local date spots. She examined the area around Rarity's apartment before, of course, but double checking never hurt.

The tram suddenly stopped, and Twilight grabbed a bar to stop herself from falling over. After a few moments, the driver made an announcement. "We apologize for the sudden stop, but the track is currently blocked by what looks like a bunch of bunnies. We'll wait and see if they get a move on."

Twilight ran to a side window to get a look. It wasn't just a bunch of bunnies, but a flood that spilled over the tracks onto the walking paths. Three girls who Twilight recognized from a gardening club also looked out the window and fainted in a dramatic fashion. Mood, Twilight thought as she checked her watch.

Fluttershy watched her bunny friends at work from a nearby rooftop. The tram conductor got out and unsuccessfully attempted to shoo them away. Soon after, Rainbow Dash touched down next to her.

"Hey Fluttershy," Dash said. "Bunnies doing alright?"

"They aren't used to being out in the open like this, but they have each other, so they can deal with anything," she responded.

"That's… nice. Anyway, has Twilight gotten off yet?"

"No, she's still waiting, but it's only been a few minutes."

"You know, this part of the plan had a big problem from the start. What if Twilight just waits forever?"

"I suppose that's possible," Fluttershy said, putting her hand to her cheek.

"I actually have the perfect solution! Right now, Twilight doesn't have a real reason to hurry. But what if she had to race someone?"

"Race? Why would she race someone?"

"She'd race if she knew losing meant losing Rarity to another girl. See where I'm going with this?"

Fluttershy shook her head.

"I mean I'm going to go up to her window and tell her I'll eat that ice cream with Rarity if she won't. Introduce a jealousy factor!"

Fluttershy tilted her head and hummed.

"With a love rival, especially one as dangerous as me, Twilight will rush out to get to Rarity first. Then I just pop up in front of her every once in a while for motivation. It's the perfect plan!"

"I'm not so sure. Maybe we should talk to Rarity first?"

"It'll be fine, come on."

"Oh, looks like Twilight just teleported out."

"Ugh, I missed my chance. Well fine, next time I catch her dawdling, I'll get her motivated." With that, Rainbow took to the air.

Fluttershy sighed, pulled out a small flute, and blew into it, making a honking sound. She watched as Twilight ran down the street past the bunnies, only to encounter a more dangerous foe.

The geese honked and snapped at Twilight.

What the heck? thought Twilight. That's two different groups of animals acting strangely. Could Pinkie's warning have been right? No, it's just a coincidence.

One goose almost bit her dress, so she put up a magic barrier. Last thing she needed was a ruined dress on top of everything else. I'll get Fluttershy to handle this later. Right now, I need to get past them. Cadance had preparations for everything else, so maybe…

Twilight felt around her dress again and, to her delight, found another hidden pocket. She pulled out a folded paper with "For emergencies" written on it.

Cadance, you're a lifesaver!

She opened the paper and found three packets of condoms taped inside. Above them, Cadance wrote, "Have fun!"

Twilight looked at them with a neutral expression and returned them to her pocket.

Anyway.

It looked like there was no way around this. Twilight narrowed her barrier into a wedge shape and, hoping Fluttershy would forgive her, she sprinted through the flock, knocking them aside. She continued running, looking back to confirm they weren’t giving chase. Twilight dropped her barrier and jogged at a pace she could keep up until she reached the store.

Checking the street ahead, there thankfully weren’t any other animal obstacles, but she did notice people looking toward the sky and then rushing inside. Twilight looked up at the sky too and stopped.

Well that isn’t good.

Seeing her chance, Rainbow flew down to Twilight. “Hey slowpoke, you better speed up, because—”

“Rainbow, thank goodness you’re here!” Twilight said with a relieved smile. “Can you take care of that flying hydra for me?”

Rainbow blinked. “Flying hydra? What? Hydras can’t fly, Twilight, come on.” While saying that, Rainbow turned to look where Twilight was looking and added, “Oh, that’s a flying hydra.”

Floating down from the clouds was a large blue mass that resembled a hot air balloon, from which extended three long writhing necks with chomping lizard heads. It was still far away, but was clearly approaching the street the girls were on.

“It only has three heads, so it shouldn’t be too hard to deal with,” explained Twilight. “Now, I’m very busy, so I’ll leave this to you. Thanks, bye.” She proceeded to run down a side street.

As Rainbow gaped, Fluttershy flew down to her. Rainbow said, “What the hell is this, Fluttershy?” motioning her arms at the entire general area ahead of them.

Fluttershy clasped her hands together. “I really had nothing to do with this, Rainbow.” She paused. “Uh, Rainbow, I’m not really good with hydras, so we can try to get Twilight back here if you think you can’t stop it—or them.” Fluttershy’s face twisted as she tried to remember how to address hydras.

This offer broke Rainbow out of her spell and she had a confident grin. “Ha, you really think I can’t stop this on my own? I’ll have it running with its tail between—with its head between its… heads—oh, you know!”

Rainbow flapped her wings hard and launched toward the monster, leaving Fluttershy alone.

Fluttershy raised her voice slightly so Rainbow could hear. “I’ll just continue with Rarity’s plan, then.”

Twilight wasn’t going down the shortest path to the ice cream store, but Fluttershy could call her hawk friends to follow Twilight anywhere. She pulled out a bird call and used it to make a loud screech.

After some moments, an elk approached Fluttershy. She tilted her head with a confused frown. “Hmm, that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Twilight calculated her route. She was no longer going the shortest route to the ice cream store, but going through Canterlot High School wouldn’t add too much time.

Similar to the university, the high school was a prestigious place of study with significant attendance from the scions of the upper class. It too featured a large campus, although not nearly as large as the Academy’s. According to Twilight’s memories, she’d be able to cut across a sports field and then exit into a marketplace.

She ran to a gate and teleported through it, then ran past the central school building as students performing extracurricular tasks gawked. Eventually, one called out to her. “Princess Twilight, hold on!”

Though not quite stopping, Twilight slowed down once she recognized the voice. Soon after, two girls with tan skin, one with long blue hair and the other with brown hair forming a hoop on either side of her face, ran up to her. Twilight continued jogging, but turned to address them. “Silverstream, Yona, what’s going on?”

It was common for Canterlot High School students to perform lab work at the university, and these two were part of her beginner magic labs. Moreover, Silverstream was royalty—or royalty-adjacent—from Mount Aris, and Yona came here from Yakyakistan on their prince’s recommendation, meaning it was important that Twilight was familiar with them.

Silverstream jogged alongside Twilight, frantically waving her arms up and down. “Princess, I’m so glad you’re here at the high school for some reason! We lost a caveman!” she failed to explain.

Yona also ran with them and grunted. With annoyance in her voice, she said, “Rockhoof isn’t caveman, Rockhoof is legendary warrior!”

“Woah, hold on!” Twilight exclaimed. “What happened?”

Silverstream wildly gesticulated as she explained. “So during a field trip we found this big hairy guy in a chunk of ice and we decided to bring him back here, and then Smolder—you know, the dragon—decided to melt the ice with her fire. Then wouldn’t you know it, the caveman inside started moving like he was never frozen at all and he ran outside and now we can’t find him! It was wild!”

“Rockhoof isn’t caveman!” Yona yelled.

“But he’s a hairy guy in ice, he must be a caveman,” Silverstream said.

Twilight blinked. What the heck is going on today?

“I’ll keep an eye out, but I have something important to do in—”

Twilight checked her watch. Twenty minutes?! What?! How is there so little time left until the date?!

“—Soon!” Twilight sped up, leaving the other two behind.

“Yona and Silverstream will keep looking here, then,” said Yona.

Twilight teleported through another gate.

Alright, the marketplace is just ahead, and—

Twilight crashed into an elk.

She fell to the ground, catching herself with her arms and thus sparing her dress. Looking up, the elk looked at her with what she interpreted as a mildly annoyed expression.

Not entirely surprised by this, Twilight got up and decided to ignore this latest animal problem; the clock was ticking. She ran past the elk and saw several other elks milling about near the market stands and store entrances, along with a mix of people who were running away and those who were doing their best to pretend everything was normal. As she scooted between two elks, a young boy called out to her.

“Princess Twilight, heeelllppp!” he yelled with a Trottingham accent. The boy was short, had light skin, and had a birthmark over one eye.

Twilight was at first surprised a stranger would recognize her, until she remembered her current status. “Yes? What is it?” She braced herself for what he was going to say.

“There’s a weird shirtless man turning people into elks! He already did it to the royal guards!”

The boy pointed to Twilight’s right and indeed, two blocks away, there was a pale-skinned man without a shirt firing waves of magic at a passerby, who proceeded to transform into an elk. Twilight wasn’t sure where to place this in the strangeness rankings for the day. Warlocks up to no good weren’t too unusual, but elks and doing it shirtless were new. Probably below the ancient warrior in ice waking up?

In any case, this wasn’t something she could just ignore. “What’s your name?”

“Pipsqueak, m’lady,” he said with a bow.

“Well Pipsqueak, don’t worry. I’ll deal with him!”

Twilight planted her feet and channeled magic into her hands. The ground shook around her. Twilight pulled her arms to her side, then pushed them out toward the cloudy sky. Light flashed in the clouds, then a lightning bolt struck the shirtless man with a crashing boom.

The boy’s mouth fell.

Twilight waited for the smoke to clear… and the man still stood there. He proceeded to turn more people into elks.

She checked her watch. Well, turning people into elks isn’t that immediate a concern. She sprinted away.

“Princess Twilight! What about the shirtless man?” said Pipsqueak.

“Just keep your distance, I’ll be back later!”

Twilight found her pace had slowed down considerably and she was breathing heavily. She could feel the sweat dripping down her dress and desperately hoped she’d have time to clean up before she met with Rarity. Thankfully, the road ahead seemed clear of elks and obstacles.

Or so she thought until a very large man stomped up to her. He had tan skin, long braided hair, heaps of facial hair, muscles on top of muscles, rugged brown clothes, thick boots, and a shovel tied to his back. He jogged alongside the princess and said with a thick accent, “Pardon me lass, but you seem important. Would you mind explaining what’s going on here? I wake up from a nap and all of a sudden I’m somewhere else and there are all these animals walking around, and I’m terribly confused.”

Twilight’s eyes sparkled. “Oh my gosh, are you really Rockhoof? I have so many questions! Actually wait, can you do something for me first? There’s a warlock back there turning everyone into elks, so could you take care of him?”

“A warlock? Aye, that sounds like something I can do.” Rockhoof pulled out his shovel, turned, and ran toward the shirtless man.

“Oh wow, it’s Rockhoof!” yelled Pipsqueak. Moments later, he yelled, “Oh no, Rockhoof’s an elk now!”

Twilight groaned, but continued running forward.

A girl with insectile wings glided down to Twilight and then flew alongside her. She had dark skin, pink hair, and unusual eyes that were fully green, signifying that she was a changeling. Twilight recognized her as Ocellus, another Canterlot High student who attended her labs. With a meek voice, she said, “Um, Princess Twilight? Sorry to bother you, but have you seen a, uh, caveman anywhere?”

Twilight looked at her. Wait. Wings. I could have been flying this entire time!

Twilight was tempted to slap herself. She gritted her teeth, but managed to say, “Yes. The shirtless guy turned him into an elk.”

“Oh.” Ocellus didn’t say anything for a bit. “Should we… do something about him?”

Twilight got a mad grin. “Ocellus, I got it! You’re a changeling! Why don’t you transform into an elk! If you’re already an elk, then he can’t turn you into an elk, and then you can kick him!”

Ocellus’s face twisted as she thought about this. “Well, I’m not really sure about that, and I was more hoping that you’d do something, but I’ll try.” With a burst of magic flame, she turned into an elk then ran toward the shirtless man.

No time to worry about her, the store was just ahead.

As she got closer, Twilight spun her head to the left and right. There was nothing coming toward her. No elks, no geese. She would actually make it.

She ran for a bit longer and she was there. An oasis among the madness, the building had windows showing couples inside happily eating ice cream. A bit away from the entrance, Twilight stopped, put her hands on her knees, and started panting. Thank Celestia, I’m finally here! She felt the pain in her legs. In retrospect, I’m so glad I didn’t wear heels after all.

Twilight checked her watch. 5:15. Five minutes until Rarity would be here, and given her belief in being fashionably late, she surely had even more time to prepare.

“Thank goodness you’re here, darling. I’ve been waiting forever,” said Rarity from a nearby bench.

Twilight shot up and looked at her hopeful date as she got up and walked toward her with a sly grin. She had changed her dress too, and wore an elegant blue sundress with a white hat and heels. Twilight resisted the urge to fix her hair and dress while Rarity was already looking at her and said, “Rarity? What—” She double checked her watch. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be fashionably late!”

“But I am! Knowing you, you’d be at least twenty minutes early, so I came here ten minutes after that. Thus, I was fashionably late, and you were just late.” Rarity touched Twilight on her nose and Twilight blushed deeply, desperately hoping it would be confused for redness from her running.

“Oh—I—er—makes sense.”

Rarity looked at her with a warm smile. “You look fantastic, dear. It seems like you had quite an ordeal getting here, though. You really must tell me about it inside.”

Twilight tried to think, but failed. “Sure, sounds good.”

The two girls walked side by side into the ice cream store. Rarity addressed the man at the counter. “Yes, hello, we’re here for the Spring Equinox couples event.”

The man sighed. “Sorry, we aren’t taking any more customers for that today.”

Rarity’s eyes widened. “Goodness, why not?”

Her answer came in the form of Pinkie Pie jumping in front of her. “Hey Rarity! Hey Twilight!” Standing next to Pinkie was a girl with purple hair, plain clothes, and a plainer expression: her sister, Maud.

“Pinkie? Did you—no, you didn’t, did you?”

Pinkie nodded her head vigorously and spread her arms out. “Yup, I ate alllll the heart ice cream cakes and alllll the pineapple crepes and alllll the lover sundaes!”

“I didn’t eat anything,” said Maud.

Pinkie pulled a pack of gold star stickers out of her hair and tossed it to the man at the counter. “Here you go, chief! The food was de-lish! Well, council presidents, we’ll just leave you two to it. I’m ready for some early dinner myself. Ooh, that shirtless guy over there has food. Come on, Maud, let’s check it out!”

Pinkie dragged her sister outside by the arm.

Twilight and Rarity stood in silence. After a few seconds, Twilight asked, “Do you just want some ice cream cones?”

Rarity sighed. “Alright, fine.”

Twilight got vanilla bean and Rarity got lavender. As they walked outside, Twilight greedily chomped into her ice cream while Rarity gently licked hers.

“I’m terribly sorry you had to come all this way for good, but fairly standard, ice cream, dear,” Rarity said.

Twilight lifted her face from her cone, exposing an ice cream mustache. “You have nothing to apologize for,” she responded.

Rarity giggled and levitated a napkin to Twilight, who took it and cleaned her face. “Regardless of if you accept my apology, I truly didn’t wish to cause you quite this much grief. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?”

Twilight looked down and bit into her ice cream cone to hide her expression. This is it! The perfect time to discreetly lead Rarity into a date!

Twilight turned back to Rarity. “Well, I think—”

Rarity was an elk.

Twilight looked at her for a while, and looked up at the sky with her arms spread. “Celestia, fine! I’ll deal with the shirtless elk guy already!”

Fresh out of the shower, Twilight plopped onto her bed and released an exasperated sigh. Another romantic day has come and gone in failure, and she had nothing to show for it.

A ringing noise came from a small magic mirror at her bedside. Twilight put on a pair of glasses placed next to it, having taken out her contacts, and magically removed a cloth covering the mirror. Cadance’s name displayed on the mirror screen. Not bothering to fix herself up and instead pressing the side of her head into a pillow while lying down, she waved a finger and answered the call.

Princess Cadance appeared on the screen. She was a tan woman with long pink, purple, and yellow hair that fell past her shoulders and formed a spiral shape at the end. With a warm smile, she said, “Twilight, it’s so good to see you!” Then she sang, “Sunshine, sunshine—”

Twilight mumbled into her pillow, “Ldybgswke.”

“Oof, that bad a day, huh? I called after hearing about everything that happened in Canterlot. A flying hydra, animals gone wild, an elk warlock. That must have ruined your day out.”

“Yeah…”

“I hope your date understood.”

“Yeah…”

“It must have been neat meeting Rockhoof, though.”

“Yeah…”

Wait.

Crap.

Twilight shot up. “I never said I was on a date!”

Cadance blinked. “Oh? Sorry, I just assumed since you were out on the Spring Equinox, you must have been dating. I take it that emergency item didn’t come in handy, then?”

Twilight blushed and looked away. “No, it didn’t, and frankly—”

Twilight’s eyes widened and she looked back at Cadance to see her cover up a giggle. Oh Celestia, she did it again.

“So you did wear one of my date dresses, then. ‘Maybe a first date so you want to look nice but it might not be so not too nice,’ I assume?”

“Y—Yes, but only because I needed a nice dress for a business meeting, nothing more. Is there anything else you want to know?”

Cadance paused and frowned slightly. “Sorry, Twilight, I didn’t mean to delve. Especially when you were already feeling bad.”

Twilight sighed. “No, no, it’s fine. Rough day, that’s all. Lots of running.”

“I understand. I’ll let you rest, then. By the way, you should call your brother sometime. He’s too shy to call you himself.”

Twilight smiled. “Is he there?”

“Yes, but asleep. We had a long day in the Crystal Empire too. This woman was making the ground get up and punch people, long story. I should probably get back to him.” She waved. “Bye!”

Twilight waved back, and Cadance disappeared from the screen.

She released a breath. That was dangerous. Cadance knew her too well.

As princess of love, Cadance had the potential to immediately analyze her relationship with Rarity and confirm her worst fear: they weren’t meant for each other. Twilight would rather live with the hope that they could be together than with the knowledge that they couldn’t, so it was imperative that Cadance never learn about her feelings.

Twilight’s eyelids felt heavy, so she took off her glasses, switched off the lights, and settled under her covers.

Cadance quietly got into bed, but the man sharing it stirred regardless.

“Talking to Twily?” asked Shining Armor.

“Yeah, but she was pretty tired too.”

“Did you tell her about your visit next week?”

Cadance hummed. “No, I think I’ll keep that a surprise.”

5. Rarity Sets the Rules

View Online

On an overcast Friday afternoon, the core members of the student council gathered in the council room. Twilight and Rarity stood in front of a set of posters on stands as Pinkie and Mudbriar sat looking at them.

Twilight twirled a pointer in her hand. “Alright, let’s go over the presentation one more time.” She pointed to a poster giving an overview of the budget for the school’s upcoming gala. “Pinkie, what are the major categories for our budget?”

Pinkie slouched in her chair. “Do I have to? We’re not the ones presenting, you are.”

Twilight closed her eyes and tapped the pointer on her palm. “Pinkie, everyone here should be able to present our budget to Ms. Harshwinny. If any one of us runs into a problem, anyone else should be able to step in. In order to get her to approve our gala budget, we can’t just give good information, we have to show we’re running a tight ship. Harshwinny is definitely going to give a question to you even if you don’t present—especially if you don’t present! So we all need to be ready.”

Rarity smiled. It was endearing how Twilight acted in lecture mode, with her confidence shining through.

Twilight opened her eyes and looked to Rarity with a grin. “Rarity, go over the gala entrance.”

With a flourish, Rarity surrounded herself with sketches pulled from the table and presented an ink drawing of the entrance gate, coated in flowers and banners. She announced, “The first view guests have of the gala will be the picture of elegance. Through the efforts of our weaving club, these banners will represent the academy’s long history, and these flowers will represent the minds blossoming within.”

Pinkie grasped the paper with a smile. “Now these are pretty! I think you’d blow Ms. Harshwinny away just by showing her these.”

Rarity smiled and waved her hand. “Oh Pinkie, you’re making me blush.”

Twilight thought a bit. “She isn’t wrong, you know.”

“Pardon?”

“Rarity, I think you should be the lead presenter instead of me,” Twilight said with a warm smile. She put a hand to her chest. “You did an amazing job with the gala sketches, and I think you’ll really impress Ms. Harshwinny. You can explain our vision better than anyone here. I’ll just provide support.”

Rarity’s heart lifted. Hearing Twilight’s appreciation for her work made her feel better than she could have ever imagined. She closed her eyes and waved her hand. “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly. You’re the council president and a princess, after all, and you’ve been in charge of all the planning. It’s only natural that you present.”

“No, Rarity, I really think you should do this. I’m already a princess, but think of how much you’d benefit from giving Harshwinny a good impression.”

“I appreciate it, darling, but I think you’d benefit from this too using that logic. You’re still a new princess, and impressing Harshwinny would be good for your reputation.”

Twilight frowned a bit. “That is true, but I really think you’d be better at demonstrating how amazing our gala plans are.”

Rarity frowned too. “I insist, darling. You should give this presentation. You have a much better understanding of it.”

“No, really, I insist, you should present.”

Why wouldn’t the princess accept her kindness? “Twilight, really! I insist!”

“Rarity, please!”

Pinkie hopped between them. “Ooh! Ooh! You should have a contest to decide who presents!”

Twilight paused and stroked her chin. “Yes, I suppose a quick contest to determine who’s better at presenting could be used to decide this.”

Rarity hummed. “A way to determine who’s better at presenting? What comes to mind is skill at speaking. Perhaps tongue twisters? Though our problem is that we each want the other person to go.”

“Yes, so it would have to be a contest both of us would want to win. Something that demonstrated skill with muscles associated with speech. Like a kissing contest?”

Rarity froze and looked at Twilight, who had squeezed her mouth shut.

Twilight’s face twisted and she forced a smile. “Just kidding, haha! It’d be funny if we decided things with a kissing contest, right? Right Pinkie?”

Pinkie nodded, “Yeah, that’d be funny!” Her face shifted to confusion. “I guess?”

“See, Pinkie thinks it’s funny!”

“I don’t understand the humor,” Mudbriar said in a deadpan voice.

“Now hold on, Twilight!” Rarity pointed dramatically. “You may have suggested it as a joke, but it’s the perfect solution to our predicament. Which one of us is the better kisser is information that would send shockwaves throughout the school, nay, all of Equestria!”

Twilight blushed. “Would it really?”

Rarity had only dreamed of an opportunity to kiss Twilight without any risk of revealing her love, and after days of preparation for the presentation, she needed this. “Indeed! This is a contest I would never back down from!”

Twilight scratched her cheek and looked away. “Well, I mean, I’m sure you’re a much better kisser than me, so it wouldn’t even be a contest.”

Rarity tsked. “I’m not so sure about that, darling. I have a good eye for this, and I can tell you’re a wonderful kisser.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide and she forced a laugh. “Oh, is that so, then well, we should probably lay out the rules for our kiss then. You know, just for a lark, we don’t actually have to do this, but you know, it’d be interesting to figure out the rules for if we ever did this, which we probably won’t.”

“Yes, we probably won’t actually kiss, but we should figure out the rules anyway.”

“Just in case we decide this with a kiss.”

“Yes, just in case.”

“So first of all, type of kiss. This has to be a full kiss on the lips, right? Since lip quality is part of what we’re figuring out.”

Rarity’s face turned red as she quickly added. “Tongue too! We need tongue to figure out linguistic strength!”

“Linguistic strength, yes, thanks for using the technical term. Yes, we definitely need to measure that during our kiss.”

Twilight used magic to display a board and wrote some rules on it. Rarity made her own adjustments. During this, Pinkie said, “I don’t know how effective a kiss test is, but wouldn’t it make more sense to kiss someone else and have them judge instead of each other?”

Twilight and Rarity looked at her. “I’ll explain later,” said Twilight, before they went back to the board.

“In conclusion, since we’re wearing these clothes during the presentation, that means clothing shouldn’t be removed before or during the kiss, regardless of how they can potentially influence the length and quality of the kiss,” said Twilight as she finished writing on the board.

Alas, Rarity thought, then added out loud, “Well dear, I think we’re really getting somewhere with this.”

“Indeed! I think we have a workable rule set here.”

Rarity clasped her hands together. “Splendid! You know, since we have all these rules already, and we still have to decide who presents…”

A hand clasped Rarity’s shoulder.

Rarity screamed, and then she screamed again. She spun her head and said with relief, “Oh, Wallflower, it’s you.”

By this point the green haired girl had backed away and covered her ears. "Uh, just to let you guys know, everyone already left."

Rarity blinked. "Pardon?"

She and Twilight then looked around. No one else was there, and the presentation documents were gone.

"You two were so into making rules that no one could get a word in," Wallflower continued. "Then Pinkie declared herself the best kisser and left, then Mudbriar just walked out the door after her, and now Pinkie will present any second now."

"What? Pinkie?!" Twilight exclaimed. "Rarity, come on, we need to go now!"

Twilight grabbed Rarity's hand and with a bright flash of magic, they found themselves in a hallway. Startled, Rarity fell to the ground with a thud and groaned. “Twilight, honestly, a warning would have been nice.”

Twilight pulled her up. “Sorry,” she said. “We’re right outside the meeting room. If they haven’t started the presentation, I think we’ll be fine.”

Rarity sighed. “Alas, I’m certain that’s Pinkie Pie’s colorful cadence I hear beyond the door.”

Twilight slowly sank to her knees while groaning. After she moment, she smiled and said, “It’ll be fine, Pinkie can do this. She can do this! Though do you think maybe if we slowly opened the door and crawled in, that Ms. Harshwinny would notice?”

“I think she’d notice, yes.”

Twilight got up and stepped close to Rarity. “But what if we were invisible?! Then maybe we could make Pinkie invisible and mute, and then we could become visible and continue the presentation where she left off, and do it so subtly that Ms. Harshwinny wouldn’t notice!”

Her face was so close that Rarity had to look away. “Dear, I don’t think you’re—”

They heard footsteps.

“—someone’s coming!”

Twilight looked around nervously. “What do we do?”

Rarity held Twilight’s cheeks and looked into her eyes. “Kiss me, darling!”

“What?”

The footsteps got close and both girls squeezed their eyes closed. The stranger stopped. “Twilight, Rarity, good to see you.”

They both opened their eyes and saw the elegant figure of Princess Celestia standing before them.

Twilight shot away from Rarity and both quickly fixed their outfits. Then Twilight said, “Princess Celestia! What are you doing here?”

“I was hoping to check on your presentation, but I’m impressed to see how much faith you have in your fellow council members."

Twilight blinked. “Faith?”

“Faith that the others could handle the presentation without you, showing how well you’ve passed on your knowledge.”

Twilight’s eyes widened and she had an exaggerated grin. “Faith! Yes! That’s why we’re standing out here! Right, Rarity?”

Rarity had a similar expression and nodded her head. “Yes, true, exactly.”

Celestia had a kind smile. “Let’s go in together. We’ll stand to the side so we don’t interrupt them.”

She opened the door and walked in. Rarity and Twilight looked at each other and followed.

“We nailed it!” Pinkie exclaimed as the council members walked out of the room.

“You did a wonderful job, Pinkie,” Rarity said. “You described my concept art even better than I could.”

“Mudbriar, great job answering Ms. Harshwinny’s questions,” said Twilight.

“Mmyes,” said Mudbriar.

“You all did a wonderful job,” Celestia said. “I’m proud of how you managed this group, Twilight.”

Twilight blushed and smiled widely. “I appreciate it.”

Pinkie waved her arms. “Oh, oh, by the way, who was the better kisser?”

Rarity and Twilight froze. They glanced at Celestia, who maintained her regal smile.

In retrospect, pushing for that kissing contest wasn’t the most subtle course of action. Rarity cleared her throat. “Pinkie, surely you realized. That was all a test to encourage you to present by yourselves!”

Twilight blinked. “Yes, that’s what we were doing. I’m glad you were able to catch on, Rarity.”

Pinkie hummed and rubbed her chin. “Really? If you wanted us to present and not you, why didn’t you just ask?”

Twilight’s voice shifted to lecture mode. “Pinkie, think about how you would have acted if I asked you to present. You would have been nervous about not knowing all the material. However, because I placed you in a situation where you had to do it, you were able to rise to the occasion.” She paused for a second. “And you worked with Mudbriar without any problems!”

Pinkie looked at Mudbriar and back at Twilight. “I… guess?”

“Encouraging Pinkie to present and laying the groundwork for a friendship. Not bad, Twilight,” said Celestia.

And not a bad excuse, thought Rarity. She frowned and thought back. Wait, is that an excuse? Come to think of it, I was the one pushing for the kissing contest and I tried to kiss her earlier. I suspected Twilight was interested too, but… perhaps I was the one playing right into her hand.

Rarity watched Twilight talk to Celestia and Pinkie. She was such an innocent-looking girl, but she had to remember there was a keen mind behind it. Touché Princess, touché.

Spike looked up from the couch as the dorm room door opened. Twilight walked in, dropped off her bags, and took off her shoes. “Hey Twilight! How did the presentation go?”

She then made a beeline for the couch and Spike had to get out of the way as she crashed onto it face down. Her face turned so red that steam seemed to come off it. “IalmostkissedRarity, IalmostkissedRarity, IalmostkissedRarity…”

6. Twilight's Greatest Threat Appears

View Online

Like most prestigious academies, midterms week saw a sharp drop in campus activity as many desperately got in some last minute studying. This was true even of the student council, which saw only one attendant on a particular morning.

With spring break in less than a week, Twilight Sparkle worked to make sure everything was wrapped up so they could all enjoy it in peace. As she signed a form, Spike the dragon slipped through the door, munching on some gems.

"Slow day for you too?" Twilight said, looking up.

"Nah," Spike responded with a full mouth, then swallowed. "I have to deliver midterm sheets in a bit, then other midterm stuff after that."

Twilight telekinetically moved a pillow near her desk. "Oh right, I forgot most people don't take their midterms early. I know it's important to finish work early, but I'm honestly a bit jealous."

"That you aren't still taking midterms?" Spike asked incredulously. Twilight shrugged with an embarrassed smile. "Honestly, Sparkle, what are we going to do with you?"

Twilight playfully rolled her eyes as Spike laid on the pillow and continued eating gems. Between bites, he asked, "So, what are you going to do at the lake? I plan on perfecting my cannonballs!"

Ah yes, the family trip to Lake Everfree. Twilight sighed. "Well, I haven't figured out a good way to invite Rarity. I mean, how in the world would it make sense to ask her to meet my parents if we're just acquaintances?"

"Or we could just talk about Rarity again."

"I mean of course inviting everyone is an option, but I know everyone else has plans except Rarity, and Rarity would know I know that, so asking everyone is the same as asking her, and she'd find me out!" Realization struck Twilight's face. "Spike, do you think she left her spring break open to goad me into inviting her?"

"I really can't—hurk!"

Dust burst out of Spike's mouth, forming a letter that floated onto Twilight's desk. Twilight smiled, "Ooh, good aim, Spike." As he gave a thumbs up, Twilight continued. "In any case, bringing Rarity on a family trip probably isn't a good idea, because—"

Twilight looked at the letter. Her eyes widened and her face fell.

"Cadance!” She shook her head. “Oh no! Oh no no no! This is the worst possible thing!"

"What is it? Did a manticore attack Cadance? Did that elk guy come back?"

"No, it's worse! She’s coming here this afternoon!"

Spike waited for more.

He didn't get any. "Uh, did I miss something?"

"Cadance! Princess of Love! My sister-in-law!"

"Yeah, I got that part. Why is that a problem? You aren't busy today, and she can even help you with Rarity."

"Rarity's exactly the problem, Spike! Cadance is the last person I want to know about my crush on Rarity."

Spike waited for elaboration, but Twilight instead started tidying her desk. He moved his hands in a circle. "Because…?"

Twilight rolled her eyes in frustration. "Cadance will know right away if Rarity and I can work as a couple, and if she says we can't work, then that'll be that, and everything will have been for nothing!"

"Twilight, this is the same Cadance that knew you were dating Flash Sentry and didn't interfere at all."

"Yes, but after we broke up, she told me to view it as training for the next romance." She pointed a notebook at Spike. "Clearly she found Flash unthreatening enough for romance training, but I'm out of high school and I’m a princess now and the stakes are higher, so she'll have to tell me!" She waved the notebook around. "Then she'll use her powers to remove my love for Rarity to spare me the pain! It only makes sense!" The notebook flew onto the ground and Twilight immediately turned to search the cabinets.

Spike looked at the stranded notebook for a bit, then narrowed his eyes and said, "You and Cadance really need to talk about this."

Twilight threw him a duster. "Later, Spike! First, we need to get ready."

Spike groaned and dusted the shelves.

Twilight paced around the spotless student council room, double checking her book placement to make sure Cadance wouldn't divine a hidden meaning, as the door opened. “Spike, thank goodness you’re back.”

The dragon beelined for his pillow and fell onto it. “That’s one set of tests delivered.” Finding it uncomfortable, he pulled his bag of gems out from under the pillow. “I need to head back out in an hour, though.”

“That’s fine. Cadance will come any minute, and hopefully I’ll get her in and out before you have to go.”

“I know you want to avoid the Rarity subject with her, but are you sure you want her to go that quickly?”

“It’s fine, she’s only waiting here for her next train anyway, and I’ll see her during the lake trip. Speaking of which, Rarity should be done with her exam in an hour too, so it’s extra important Cadance is gone before then.”

There was a knock at the door and Twilight froze. Twilight turned to Spike and said, “Remember, I have no romantic interest in anyone right now, and Rarity is just a coworker.”

“Got it.”

Twilight opened the door and her sister-in-law stood with a big smile. She wore a white and pink sundress with a floral pattern. “Twilight, Spike! It’s been so long!”

Twilight’s fears melted away and she leapt into a hug, with Spike joining with a hug around her legs. After a few seconds, they separated and jumped in place, singing, “Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake…”

Spike backed away. “I can’t believe you guys still do that.”

The two women giggled as they finished their dance, and Twilight said, “Let’s sit over here. I have tea all set up.”

They sat at the communal work table, Cadance on one end and Twilight and Spike at the other. Twilight poured Cadance a cup of tea.

Cadance asked, “So how are you? I heard the school gala preparations are going well.”

“Yes, everyone on the student council is doing a fantastic job. Do you want me to walk through our ideas?”

“That sounds lovely, but first there’s one thing I’m more curious about.” Cadance stirred her tea with a spoon. “Have anyone in mind for a gala date?”

Twilight poured tea into her own cup with a calm smile. So she’s going into this already, Twilight thought. Still, this is well within expectations.

“No, I’ve been far too caught up in my studies and student council work to give any thought to romance.”

Spike snorted and Twilight telekinetically poked him without changing her expression.

Cadance frowned. “Oh, that’s a shame. I remember how you said you were tired of being a bi girl who only dated boys and wanted to date a hot girl once you got to college. This would have been a good opportunity.”

Twilight was in the middle of moving the teapot to Spike’s cup and almost dropped it as he snickered. Damn, I did say that, didn’t I?

“Some of my guards in the Crystal Empire are pretty cute,” Cadance continued. “I could send one down to dance with you at the gala. If it doesn’t work out, she’s just acting as a guard and no one would be suspicious, but there’s a chance you could hit it off. Plus, she’d be from a lost-until-recently civilization, so I’m sure you’d have a lot to talk about.”

Twilight blushed. “No, no, that’s perfectly fine! It’s only proper that I take a more administrative role during the dance.”

"She already dances like a chaperone, so it fits," Spike quipped.

"My dancing is fine," Twilight said with a pout.

Thankfully, Cadance shifted her attention. “How about you, Spike? I hear there’s another dragon in the high school.”

Spike laid back. “Smolder? She’s cool and all, but right now, I’m a lone dragon flying free. Well, flying free once I grow my wings.”

“Still another few years before that,” added Twilight.

“Speaking of wings, how are you dealing with yours, Twilight?” asked Cadance.

“Honestly, I keep forgetting I have them,” Twilight said sheepishly.

“Trust me, I know how that feels,” Cadance said with a chuckle. “I had wing magic from the start, but after becoming a princess, I forget about it sometimes. I even forgot when that tree was running toward me last week, and Shining had to remind me.”

Twilight leaned forward in interest. “Oh right, you had something weird happen on the Spring Equinox too! What happened?”

Cadance rubbed her chin. “Well, let me start from the beginning.”

Twilight smiled. With the conversation successfully moved away from romance, things would work out perfectly.

“So Shining threw me into the air, and I blasted the wizard back to wherever she came from. Really, Shining didn’t need to throw me, but it makes him happy, so I indulged him.”

“That’s amazing, Cadance!” Twilight said. “What kind of spell did you use?”

“Ohhh, nothing much, just the Sekiha Tenkyoken.”

Twilight gasped. “The ultimate technique of the School of the Undefeated of the East? You mastered it?”

Cadance leaned back with her arms behind her head. “You should know a love-based special attack is nothing to me, Twilight.”

“Nice.” Twilight reached a fist out and Cadance pounded it.

Spike nudged Twilight. She looked at the dragon and he motioned toward the clock. With the diversions Twilight peppered throughout the conversation, it had been about fifty minutes since Cadance arrived. Perfect timing.

“Oh, would you look at the time? Spike has to head out soon, so I imagine it’s the same for you, right?”

Cadance looked at the clock. “I suppose so. Time really flew by, huh? Well, let's get back to this topic at the lake.”

She, Twilight, and Spike got out of their seats. Twilight hugged Cadance and said, “That would be great.”

The door slammed open. With a start, Twilight broke out of the hug and looked behind her guest.

There stood Rarity, pushing a cart with a sewing machine with one arm, and raising the other to present herself. “Good afternoon, darlings!” she said in a singsong voice. “I hope you don’t mind, but I—gack!” Rarity twisted herself and raised a leg and her other arm in shock, staring at Cadance.

Twilight gaped. This was the worst possible situation.

Neither said anything, and Cadance looked back and forth between them. Finally, she walked to Rarity and said, "Ah, you must be Rarity. I'm Cadance, Twilight's sister-in-law."

Rarity carefully returned to a normal stance and adjusted her dress. "Yes, and the Princess of Love. It's nice to meet you." Cadance reached out her hand and Rarity nervously shook it. "Apologies, I was just surprised to see another princess in here."

Twilight put her hands on the table and leaned forward, almost knocking over her tea. "Rarity! You're here already!"

Rarity blinked. "Oh, yes, my exam. Well, not much of a story there, I just finished it quickly, then I decided to come here to get some sewing done." She patted her sewing machine. "And I decided to do that here instead of a sewing room because, well, no reason in particular." Rarity added a hesitant laugh, her eyes darting out the window.

Twilight shot up. "Yes, well, Cadance, it must be getting late for you, so I'll lead you out."

Cadance waved her off. "Nonsense Twilight, I can't leave before talking to your friend."

Rarity smiled. "Friend, yes, that's what I am."

Twilight smiled in an almost natural way. "Well, as long you're quick about it. Just simple pleasantries, so you don't miss your train."

Cadance walked to the communal table. "Come, sit. I'll pour you some tea."

As Rarity shivered her way into her seat, Twilight leapt to Cadance's side. "This doesn't look like you're being quick," she said slightly above a whisper.

Cadance frowned. "Honestly, Twilight, I'm more than capable of keeping to my schedule. You don't have to micromanage me. I'm starting to think…" She shifted to a smile and narrowed her eyes, giving Twilight an aside glance. "I'm starting to think you don't want me to talk to her."

Twilight's eyes widened. "No, that's not—"

She realized she spoke too loud and Rarity was looking at her. There was no way of avoiding this without making Cadance and Rarity suspicious.

Cadance sat opposite of Rarity and crossed her legs. "Well, Rarity, how about we get this out of the way. The Princess of Love sits before you, so do you have any questions about love?"

One side of Twilight thought, Crapcrapcrap, but another side was intensely curious about what Rarity would ask.

Rarity had a sheepish grin. "Yes, well, I've been so busy lately, I haven't given a thought to romance. So I'm afraid I don't have anything to ask."

Cadance hummed. "Very interesting."

Hmm. Odd. Why isn't Rarity taking this opportunity? Maybe she—wait, of course! No matter how skilled Rarity is, it would be impossible for her to use Cadance to expose my feelings without exposing hers. Mutually assured destruction!

But wait, that has to mean Rarity also has feelings for me. Nothing else can explain why she's so nervous here!

Twilight smiled and clenched her fist. A weight lifted from her. Now Cadance being there was entirely a good thing, and she could use Cadance to expose her love.

Rarity suddenly dropped her nervous expression. She leaned back and put the back of her hand to her forehead. "Alas, tis a shame that Canterlot Royal Academy has been denied its greatest beauty, but my free time is what it is and I must prioritize. Now if a lady like yourself were at the school, then, well, I might find myself thinking differently." Rarity moved her hand so that her hair fell over one eye and she gave Cadance a seductive grin.

On one hand, Twilight found this an appealing look for Rarity, but on the other hand, What?!

It was going to be so simple. Rarity would finish her test early and spend some quality time with Twilight while the other student council members were gone. No plans and no grand schemes, outside of making Twilight appreciate her company so she’d miss her more during the upcoming break.

When she saw the Princess of Love in the room, arrow nocked and ready to expose her feelings for Twilight, she was tempted to run away. Sitting across from Cadance, she wondered if it was still too late to do that. If she were Rainbow Dash, she’d knock over the kettle and rush out in the confusion, but alas, she cared about her reputation. Perhaps if she was cagey, she could muddle her way through this.

Then she saw Twilight’s expression and thought about how her actions appeared. Rarity wasn’t one to get nervous around princesses, so this was a bigger sign of her affection than her outright saying she loves Twilight. She knew there was only one way out of this.

If I go down in history as the woman who flagrantly flirted with every princess she met, then so be it, Rarity thought.

Cadance hummed. "Oh my, that sounds like an invitation." She put a finger to her lips. "I can't abandon my subjects, but…" She conspicuously cast her gaze over Rarity's figure. "Perhaps for one night?"

Rarity had to say, she certainly didn’t not find Cadance aesthetically pleasing, and she felt a rush as she reciprocated. Rarity licked her lips. "Then for you, Princess, I'll make it a night worthy of your beauty."

Absolutely scandalized and blushing furiously, Twilight slammed her palms on the table and said, "R—Rarity, are you seriously flirting with my sister-in-law? And Cadance, you're flirting back?!"

This was all worth it for Twilight’s face, at least.

Cadance gave Twilight a smirk and said, "Shining and I have an understanding, so it's fine."

Rarity adopted a similar expression. "Jealous, dear?"

"N—No, I'm—" Twilight paused. "Oh, you're play flirting."

Cadance giggled. "You're right, Twilight. Though I wasn't lying about my understanding with Shining, so…" She put a finger to her lips and looked away. "Maybe," she said wistfully.

"Maybe," responded Rarity in the same manner.

Cadance and Rarity fell into a laughing fit.

Twilight grumbled, "Glad you're getting along."

"I get the feeling I'm not the first royal you flirted with," said Cadance.

Rarity waved a hand. "Oh darling no, I happen to have a lot of experience."

"Anyone I might know?"

Rarity opened her mouth. She said too much. “Well, uh, let me think, who might you know…?”

Her eyes darted to Twilight, who was clearly anticipating her answer, then back to Cadance. Not mentioning how she introduced herself to Twilight would clearly be suspicious for everyone. Talking about that would stray into dangerous territory, but there was no other choice.

Spike sat licking a gemstone. Twilight hid her hands behind her back and with a faint glimmer of light, Spike jolted up. “Oh, right!” He walked to the door and said, "Well, I have to get going now. Those papers won't set fire to themselves."

Cadance got up. "I suppose it's time I left too. It was great meeting you, Rarity."

Saved by the dragon.

"Likewise," Rarity responded with a smile. She got up and shook her hand, confidently this time.

"Bye Twilight, Spike. I'll see you at the lake," Cadance said as she opened the door, then stopped. "Oh, come to think of it. Rarity, why don't you go with us?"

Rarity’s lips twisted, but she was able to force out, "Pardon?"

“We have a beach house near Lake Everfree and it’s incredible there. I think you’d have a lot of fun. Plus, we’ll be able to team up to tease both Sparkle siblings,” she responded with a wink.

Rarity eyes flickered toward Twilight, who stood absolutely still with an unreadable expression. She was aware of Twilight’s family trip, of course, and part of her desperately wanted to swim with Twilight and have moonlit trysts, but this was far too dangerous. Hmm, perhaps that element of danger would make our romantic war game all the more exciting? No, that’s foolish, Rarity. There’s no reason to take a risk like that.

However, Rarity had deliberately left her spring break open to encourage a reaction from Twilight. What reason could she give to turn Cadance down here? Then Rarity felt like slapping her forehead, because there was an easy solution to this.

“That does sound quite pleasant, Cadance. I’ll think about it.”

“Great. You can just tell Twilight if you decide to come, and she’ll tell the rest of the family.” Cadance walked through the door with Spike and waved. “Bye! Talk to you soon.”

Twilight and Rarity waved back as the door closed. Each of them then fell onto a chair hunched over, lungs wheezing.

Twenty minutes later, things were back on track. Twilight was reading a few chapters of a fantasy novel before getting back to work, sitting at her desk with a content smile. Rarity worked at her sewing machine, making impressive progress on a new skirt design, all while softly humming in a way that erased Twilight’s stress from the past hour.

There was a knock.

“That must be Spike,” Twilight said. “Weird, he usually just comes in. I’ll get it.”

Twilight opened the door, and there stood Princess Cadance, looking away, finger curling her hair. “Hi, Twilight,” she said with a blush, eyes only briefly meeting Twilight’s. “Turns out I just barely missed the train after all. Do you mind if I stay here for about two hours?”

Twilight smiled. “No, please, come in.”

AHHHHHHHHHH, Twilight thought.

Cadance walked past her to Twilight’s desk. “Unfortunately, there are some things I was supposed to write on the train, but at this point, it’s probably better for me to write them here and have Spike mail them. Is it alright if I use your desk?”

“Of course, go right ahead.”

Twilight telekinetically moved her book and documents off the desk and onto the communal table. Twilight and Rarity both watched Cadance like she was a venomous cobra as she sat down and took out a blank sheet and pen. She stared at the sheet and tapped the pen on her cheek. Eventually she looked up and said, “Oh, you don’t have to keep quiet on my account. Please act like I’m not even here. I think I’ll get through this more quickly if I hear people talking.”

Twilight and Rarity’s lips both remained sealed shut for another minute.

“Well don’t everyone talk at once.”

Keeping quiet now would only make her more suspicious, but what could we possibly talk about that wouldn’t catch her attention? thought Twilight.

Then Twilight considered the past school year and her previous interactions with Rarity. She thought of the complete lack of forward momentum in their relationship.

It was so obvious! The least romantic thing they could do was what Cadance suggested. Talk normally, like she wasn’t there!

Twilight cleared her throat. “So Rarity, how did your test go?”

Rarity blinked. “My test?" She thought for a moment. "Oh, my test! Yes, well I’m not only the most beautiful student in the school, but the most brilliant, so it was child’s play.”

Good, Rarity had caught on.

“It was for Chemistry III, right? I hear—”

Rarity held up a finger. “Which is to say, I am both brilliant and brilliant,” she added with a haughty laugh. Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile and Rarity responded, “You know you love it.”

“You were too late with the pun, Rarity, so it doesn’t count.” Rarity stuck her tongue out and Twilight smiled. “Like I was saying, I hear the professor for that is pretty tough.”

Rarity waved her hand. “Oh please, Prof. Nephrite is an absolute kitten, as long as you get on her good side. Which is only natural for me as a compound of barium and beryllium.”

“Barium and beryllium?" What could that mean? "Let’s see, B-a-B-e… oh, dammit Rarity!”

Rarity cackled. “You know, many view me as a carbon sample.”

“A carbon sample?”

“Because they want to date me.”

Twilight cringed and Rarity laughed more. “Rarity, don’t tell me you take Chemistry just for the pick up lines.”

“You know, Twilight, if I were to rearrange the periodic table—”

“Don’t say it.”

Rarity paused and then quickly said, “I’d put U and I together.”

“Honestly, Rarity, I’m going to throw this book at you.” Rarity laughed more, and Twilight added, “You know, forget hydrogen.” She pointed finger guns at Rarity. “You’re my number one!”

Rarity started laughing so hard she bent over in her seat and started booing. She threw a ball of string at the Princess of Friendship, who blocked it with her hands while laughing.

There! A perfectly normal non-romantic conversation, like usual. Cadance wouldn’t suspect a thing.

Look at those two lovebirds, Cadance thought as she worked on her speech draft. After some banter, they had drifted back to focusing on their own work, but there was considerably less tension than when she walked in. I suppose they were shy about their relationship, but I’m happy they’re starting to feel more comfortable around me.

Having finished sewing a lovely skirt, Rarity stood and lifted it up, only to release a short and quiet whimper. Twilight immediately shot up to her feet and said, “Rarity, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, dear,” she responded, rubbing her shoulder. “It’s just that after spending some time on all fours as a, well, deer, and I suppose after that tennis match, my shoulders are still a bit sore.”

Twilight sighed in relief. “Well if that’s it, then how about another shoulder rub?”

“Ooh, I’d love that,” Rarity said with a gleeful smile. She moved her chair away from the sewing machine, put the skirt away, and sat down. Twilight gracefully slid behind her and coated her hands in magic. Rarity’s blouse already exposed her shoulders, so her hands made direct skin contact. “Oh thank Celestia, you remembered to warm them up.”

“Like I could forget how you reacted when I didn’t.”

Rarity giggled, and let herself sink into the massage. “Mmm, your hands are divine. I’d ask you to work your magic on me elsewhere, but doing that in front of Cadance would be uncouth.”

“I think she’d be fine with a hair massage.”

“No, not a hair massage, you silly,” Rarity responded with a laugh.

Cadance smiled. They even have cute inside jokes!

They continued talking during the massage, and Cadance thought, I wonder how long they’ve been together? From this, I would think a few months at least. She could feel herself slightly vibrating from the influx of love in the room.

After about five minutes, Twilight stepped away. “All done. Are you feeling better?”

Rarity swung an arm around. “Oh yes, I feel marvelous!” She got up and motioned to the chair. “Come now, it’s your turn.”

“I don’t really have any shoulder pain, though,” Twilight said as she sat down.

“Ah, but you’ve been writing a lot over the past weeks, have you not? I’ll give you a hand massage.” Rarity pulled another chair in front of Twilight and levitated a jar of lotion from one of the shelves, rubbing some onto her hands.

“Alright.” Twilight offered her right hand, palm up. “Though I don’t think it’ll do much—”

Rarity stroked the palm of Twilight’s hand and she responded with a squeak, which made her blush deeply and they both giggled.

Cadance's vibration intensified.

Rarity continued her massage in silence, perhaps both worried about breaking the spell. After a few minutes, she interlocked her fingers with Twilight’s—a method to stretch the fingers—and they stole a quick glance into each other’s eyes. She finished the right hand with a few more strokes, then moved onto the other.

After a few more minutes, Rarity stopped massaging Twilight’s left hand and held it for a few seconds. She looked into Twilight’s eyes and said, “All finished, Your Highness.” She lifted Twilight’s hand and kissed it.

Twilight blushed and giggled. “Rarity, stop!”

Cadance vibrated so hard the desk started shaking.

Rarity stood and flicked her hair with a smile. “Well, I think I made you blush enough for today. It’s about time I made my leave.”

“I’ll see you later, then.”

Rarity pushed the sewing kit out of the room with her new skirt on top, and with one leg lifted back, said, “I’ll miss you forever, darling.”

Twilight waved. “I’ll miss you forever too.”

The door closed, and with a giggle, Twilight got up, twirled, and sat back at the communal table.

“You know, Twilight,” Cadance said, and Twilight looked up at her. “I actually did partially come to check on your romantic life, but it’s clear that I have nothing more to do here.” She gave her a thumbs up. "Good job!"

Twilight smiled and gave a thumbs up back.

Spike walked into the room and saw Twilight standing by herself. “Sorry, things got pretty busy. So how’d it go? I heard Cadance came back after I left.”

Twilight scoffed with a confident smile. “It went perfectly. Turns out Rarity and I just had to act normal, and Cadance didn’t suspect a thing. She even said there was nothing more for her to do here.”

“Wow, so you were able to fool Cadance? That’s amazing!”

“And knowing I can do that means I can definitely get Rarity to reveal her feelings!” Twilight took papers from her desk and gave them to Spike. "Cadance wanted you to send these, by the way."

Spike set the papers ablaze and Twilight thought back on the day’s events. Then she realized with growing horror she might have made a mistake.

“Spike… do friends point finger guns at each other and say they’re their number one?”

Spike thought for a second. “I guess? Sounds more like a boss-subordinate thing, like in that space story you like.”

Twilight sighed in relief. “OK, good. I’m pretty sure I didn’t do anything else suspicious.”

7. Rarity Wanted a Romantic Vacation

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By Thursday afternoon of midterms week, Canterlot Royal Academy’s campus had largely emptied out, leaving only those who still had tests left. Boats, travel, and beaches awaited the elite students, and the sooner the better. The student council president was among this group, and the student council vice-president sat in her room, considering her next course of action. Twilight was leaving for her trip soon, so if Rarity was to join her, she had to tell her now. But was choosing not to go a better option?

The low sun shined onto piles of clothing Rarity had sewn as she considered the possibilities, carelessly yet carefully thrown about the room. Rarity twisted in her chair, closing her eyes and scrunching up her face. She lightly tugged at her collar. Shadows shifted as time passed.

Her eyes shot open. No! She had to go! To do otherwise would be cowardly!

Rarity activated her magic mirror and dialed in the number for Twilight’s house. Ringing came from it as it connected to the other mirror there. She sat leaning forward with her hands clenched in her lap. There was no going back.

Endless moments passed, until finally, an image flickered onto the screen. Rarity took in a quick breath and started saying something, only to stop when she saw the woman at the other end. She strongly resembled the council president, but her face had minor wrinkles and her hair was purple with white stripes. She smiled with her eyes closed and said, “Hello! Who’s this?”

Rarity paused and smiled back. It’s Twilight’s mom! Why?! I’m not prepared!, she screamed internally.

She carefully responded, “Hello, this is student council vice president Rarity. May I talk to Twilight?”

The woman didn’t change her expression. “Yes, this is Twilight.”

There were several seconds of silence.

Why do they have the same name?!

Struggling to keep her smile, she replied, “No, I mean your daughter, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Ah, I see,” responded the older Twilight. She turned to her side and yelled, “Twiggy Twi! A girl’s calling you!”

Gritting her teeth, Rarity heard a male voice from elsewhere in the house say, “Ooh, Twily, a girl’s calling.” Footsteps quickly approached, then the student council president herself appeared partially on screen.

“Honestly, Mom!” Twiggy Twi, or rather the younger Twilight, said. Maintaining her smile, her mother scooted off screen. The student council president sat in front of the mirror with a sigh. “Sorry, Rarity. I hope she didn’t tease you too much.”

Rarity stared. Twilight had her hair up in a ponytail, which Rarity always found appealing. She was dressed far more casually than she’d ever seen her, wearing a black t-shirt with mathematical equations written in white, making this a rare and exclusive sight. And most of all, she wore glasses. Thick-rimmed glasses that made her look nerdy and sweet and adorable and—

My glasses fetish! No! Why did you have to strike now?!

Rarity smiled silently.

Twilight continued. “You must be calling about the trip! Cadance actually already planned things out. Seems like she and my brother want some alone time, so for a lot of the trip, it’ll just be the two of us, going to the beach, visiting the water park, hiking the nature trail, and so on. It’ll be great! And definitely not romantic, if you were worried about that. Oh, but I’m getting ahead of myself. You’re coming right?”

Rarity didn’t change her expression. “No.”

She ended the call.

Twilight watched as the screen blacked out then turned into a normal reflection. She saw her expression remain a smile for a few seconds before her eyes widened. She slammed the table and exclaimed, “What?! Why?!”

Morning light shone onto Rainbow’s face as she came out of her bedroom with a yawn. She walked into her kitchen area and poured herself a bowl of cereal amidst the odd sounds emanating from the other side of the room. Rainbow sat down in a chair, took a bite, chewed, and then asked, “Alright, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Rarity laid on Rainbow’s couch and sobbed into her pillow, dressed in an elegant black sobbing dress. She sobbed and she sobbed, then her hand went underneath the pillow and she pulled out a sock. She gagged and tossed it onto the ground. Sitting up, she said, “Honestly, Rainbow, why can’t you keep your suite clean?”

Rainbow planted her feet on the ground. “But your room’s a mess too!”

Rarity huffed. “My mess is perfectly clean and organized.”

“As if!” Rainbow sighed and crossed her arms, closing her eyes. “Anyway, is that why you came crying to me, or did something actually happen?”

When she opened her eyes, her pillow was gone, replaced by a new ornately decorated one. Rarity pressed her head against it. With tears in her eyes, she declared, “Reality conspired against me! First, when I worked up my courage to call Twilight, her mom answered! And it was the most awkward thing to happen to me since I got that dress order from Sandal Socks! You remember Sandal Socks, right?”

“No.”

“Then Twilight herself answered and she was so cute and adorable and it almost felt forbidden to see her in her casual clothes and I couldn’t stand it and I knew I couldn’t last and I told her I wasn’t going on the trip and now my spring break shall be...” She took a breath. “Twilight free!” Rarity sobbed into the pillow and kicked her legs.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “So you saw her in her pajamas, big deal.”

Rarity looked up with tears rolling down her face. “Rainbow Dash, imagine if you saw Applejack in her night clothes! I’m sure you’d feel the same way.”

Rainbow’s face flushed and she looked away. “What? No! She has nothing to do with this! Why’d you even bring her up? Besides, I’ve seen AJ in her pajamas and I’m fine.”

She looked back to see Rarity sitting up with her legs crossed, leaning forward with a smile. “Oh?”

“Rarity, you got the wrong idea! And—ugh, why am I even explaining this to you? So, are you alright now?”

Rarity started to nod, but then her lips quivered and she lifted the pillow to her face, crying into it once again. She lifted her head and shouted, “I’m such a fool!” before returning to the pillow.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Rarity, you acted exactly like this at the start of winter break, but then you were fine a day later, making new plans to seduce Twilight or whatever. You’ll be fine this time too.”

“But Rainbow! I actually had a chance to go this time, and I failed! I failed, Rainbow, and I feel miserable!”

Rainbow looked around awkwardly as Rarity sobbed. “Rarity, you know I have to get packed for my trip, right? And I have my last midterm soon too.”

Rarity sniffed. “Yes, yes, go ahead. I will lay here as you pack. I will lay here as you open the door and I will lay here as you look back on the husk of a woman you once knew. When you return, my tears will have washed the room, leaving no sign either of us ever existed. It will be so clean and sparkling—SPARKLE!” She pressed the pillow to her face and made unintelligible noises.

Rainbow crossed her arms and tapped her foot, eventually lifting her arms and saying, “Gosh darnit! I can’t leave you like this!” She grabbed Rarity by her elbow. “Come on, I’m gonna change then I’ll cheer you up.”

Rarity’s face immediately shifted to a smile. “Oh my, ‘gosh darnit’? Such language! Getting close to an Apple-ism I would think.”

Rainbow turned away and grumbled.

Rainbow took a spoon of orange ice cream and lifted it toward Rarity. “Come on, open up.”

Rarity head drooped on the ice cream store table, showing no reaction as Rainbow pushed the spoon into her lips.

“Come on! Eat!”

The spoon slipped from her lips and ice cream got on her cheek, with no response.

Rainbow pulled the spoon back and knitted her brows. “Sheesh, this is worse than I thought. Maybe the ice cream isn’t fancy enough?”

She stepped away from the table. The ice cream dripped down Rarity’s cheek, past her lips, onto the table. Minutes later, Rainbow returned and put down a new cup. Rarity’s eyes moved to stare at it.

“Alright, so this is something called ube—oob?—anyway, I didn’t know what it was and it sounds foreign so I got it. It’s also this weird purple color and—”

Rarity sat up straight. “Purple!” She took the ice cream cup in her hands and she shook as tears formed in her eyes. She took big scoops and shoved them into her mouth, simultaneously sobbing and nomming.

Rainbow cringed as she looked around and saw all the other customers staring at the crying woman. Scratching the back of her head, she said, “Well, I guess this is an improvement.”

Rainbow sat with her and awkwardly pecked at the orange ice cream. After a minute, Rarity’s cries dropped off and shifted to quiet nomming.

Rainbow put an elbow on the table. “OK, now do you feel better?”

Rarity carefully nodded. “Yes, I do feel better now. Thank you, Rainbow Dash. You were exactly right before. I just need to get back on my two feet and plan for what to do once Twilight returns from her trip. I’m absolutely positive she’ll be just as devastated without me.”

Rainbow sighed in relief. “That’s great. So, ready to head out?”

Rarity tilted her head and smiled. “Well, I would like some more of this purple yam ice cream first.”

Rainbow stuck her tongue out. “Yuck, is that what that was? Well, you’re the fancy one, so more yam coming up.”

Right as Rainbow stood up, the door slammed open. Everyone in the store turned to stare at the pink-haired girl wearing a pink casual dress. She panted and searched the shop with narrow eyes.

“Who’s crying? Pinkie Pie won’t stand by when there’s a sad kid in an ice cream shop!” declared the student council secretary as she stalked down the tables. She stopped and glared at a woman sitting with her daughter. Sweating, the woman motioned behind her at Rarity.

Pinkie looked past her and found her quarry. She did a double take and loudly gasped while pointing. “Rarity! You’re the sad kid?!”

Rarity laughed lightly. “I was sad a moment ago, but I’m fine now.”

Pinkie grabbed the table and gave a concerned look. “But Rarity, you know you’ll just get sad again when you’re reminded of whatever made you sad! This is just a momentary lack of drama for you!”

“She’s kind of right!” Rainbow blurted out.

Rarity glared as Pinkie continued. “What is it, Rarity? Did your cat get a hairball?”

Rarity waved. “Darling, no. That’s hardly anything to cry about anyway.”

“Did your cat puke on one of your dresses?”

“Oh no, Opal is too well trained for that.”

“Did you call Twilight about going on that lake trip with her, but you first got her mom, which was awkward, and then you talked to Twilight while she was wearing a cute shirt with math all over it and she had her hair up and she had glasses, and you were embarrassed but also a bit turned on, and that made you say no despite really wanting to go because you’re a confused smitten mess?”

One of Rarity’s eyes twitched as she smiled. “Sorry dear, you’re way off.” She turned and shouted, “Where’s my ice cream, Rainbow Dash?!”

Rainbow yelped. She ran away then quickly came back with another cup of ube ice cream, which Rarity immediately assaulted.

Pinkie scratched her chin. “Yeah, that did feel like a stretch. Though why aren’t you going on the lake trip, anyway? Twilight told me that and I was so surprised I went—” Pinkie loudly gasped. “‘But Twilight, there’s so much fun stuff there!’ Seriously, Rarity, there’s so much fun stuff there!”

After swallowing a scoop, Rarity curled a strand of hair with her finger, lightly blushing. “Twilight was talking about me?”

Rainbow elbowed Rarity.

Rarity stammered. “Wha—what I mean to say is, I did want to go, but I got, uh, a last minute call. From my parents, because it turns out they’re going on a trip and need me to take care of my sister, Sweetie Belle.” She paused then put the back of her hand to her forehead. “And that’s why I was sad! Because Sweetie Belle is far too much to handle, especially for the whole break.”

Pinkie frowned. “Aw, you should’ve just told Twilight that. Cadance is a babysitter, so she could have taken care of her!”

Rarity laughed. “Yes, well you say that, but I don’t think Cadance ever had to take care of a child that would give her sushi that turned out to be made with raw chicken. Anyway, you’ve gone with Twilight to the lake before?”

Pinkie nodded with a big smile. “Mmhmm! I think I have a photo album from last year somewhere in here.” She reached a hand into her poofy hair and dug around, sticking a tongue out in exertion. After some seconds of stares from the other two women, she indeed pulled out a small book decorated with stickers.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Seriously Pinkie, you carry that around in your hair?”

Pinkie closed her eyes and smiled. “Of course! It’s always great to have good memories nearby.” She opened the book and glanced inside. “Ah, this is from when we were putting our bags in our room.” She turned the book around to show the other girls.

Rarity giggled upon seeing a photo where Twilight looked at the camera with narrow eyes and an open mouth as she lifted a shirt out of a suitcase. “I can only imagine she’s saying, ‘Pinkie, you don’t have to take a picture of everything.’”

Pinkie nodded. “Exactly right!” She flipped the book back around and turned the page. “Ooh! This is from when we went down to the beach. Our swimsuits were so cute!”

Rainbow’s ear twitched. “Uh, hold on Pinkie, let me take a look at that!”

She ran over and grabbed the book out of Pinkie’s hands. The photos showed Twilight and Pinkie smiling and laughing on a sandy beach. Not only was Twilight indeed wearing a swimsuit—a one-piece, but still showing bare legs—but her hair up was in a ponytail and she wore glasses. This was bad.

Rainbow shook her head. “Pinkie, sorry, but this is, uh, too fun. It’s just going to make Rarity sad she can’t be there.”

Pinkie groaned. “Come on Dashie, let her see the pictures.”

Rainbow heard a low, crazed voice. “Yes, Dashie, show me the pictures.”

Slowly turning, Rainbow saw Rarity. Her eyes were large, her face was flush, and she had a wide smile. She breathed heavily with nostrils flared, steam seeming to come out of them. “Let me see the swimsuit pictures.”

“Oh come on!” Rainbow exclaimed, spreading her arms. “I’m seriously trying to help you here!” She quickly flipped through the book until she found something safe and put it on the table. “Alright, this looks like a good fun level.”

The pictures on this page showed the Twilight family and Pinkie jogging on a trail. In one, a muscular man with blue hair was in front with an eased expression, with Twilight’s mother right behind him. Twilight herself and a skinny man with blue hair had fallen behind and were clearly panting heavily. Pinkie’s smiling face took up the majority of the frame. The other pictures were of a similar nature, the last showing Twilight and the skinny man collapsed on the ground while Pinkie made a silly pose.

Pinkie nodded, “Oh yeah, this was pretty fun.” She frowned. “Not beach fun, but you know.”

Rainbow looked at Rarity and she thankfully returned to a normal expression. With an elbow on the table and her head resting on her hand, she gave a half-interested hum.

Pinkie flipped the page. “This is when we took a boat out to some forbidden cave. It was pretty neat.” There was picture after picture of shadowed creatures, only a claw or tentacle visible in the low light. Twilight was only in some pictures, mostly with a horrified expression. Pinkie made goofy faces in all of them.

Rarity hummed again.

Pinkie flipped the page. “And then we went to a hot spring.”

Rarity didn’t need to see anything. Before Rainbow could react, the student council vice president fell to the ground, blood spurting from her nose.

Pinkie continued, “They had everyone wear swimsuits, which is good because there were a lot of old—oh no, Rarity!”

Rainbow gritted her teeth and helped Rarity back into her seat. With some adjustment, she was back to her previous pose, though her eyes were unfocused and she was clearly lost in another world.

Pinkie’s face sank. “I’m so sorry, Rarity! I didn’t think you’d really be over-funned like that!” She returned the photo album to her hair. “Ugh, if I can’t use fun to cheer you up, I don’t know what to do! I need to get Twilight!”

This broke Rarity out of her trance. She stood and slammed the table. “Pinkie, no! Don’t call Twilight!”

Pinkie was already on her way out, squeezing past murmuring customers. She waved off Rarity and replied, “Okie dokie, not going to call her!”

“Where are you off to, then?” Before the words could reach her, Pinkie was gone.

Rarity and Rainbow stood in silence. Rainbow thought a bit then said, “Well, at least Pinkie didn’t realize you were being totally thirsty.”

Rarity glared and said, “Rainbow Dash, I was not being thirsty, I was being…”

Rainbow waited for her to continue.

Rarity waved her hands. “Anyway, I think we’re quite done with this place for today.”

“Sounds good to me.”

The two women exited the store, only to be met by an unexpected voice.

“Rarity?”

They froze. Standing before them was a purple-haired woman in a yellow dress shirt with a black tie and a knee-length dark blue skirt with black tights. She looked at them with a curious expression.

Rarity gasped and stepped back. “Twilight! What are you doing here?”

Pinkie leapt out from behind Twilight. “I brought her! She was nearby, so I didn’t have to call her.”

“But why were you nearby? What about your family trip?”

Twilight scratched her cheek. “Oh, yeah, well I decided not to go after all.”

Rarity furrowed her brows. “You aren’t going?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, I’m not. After you said you weren’t going, I thought about it, and I realized it’s the wrong time to take a break from Gala preparations. It’ll happen pretty soon after classes resume, so it’s better to stay here.”

Rarity giggled. “Are you sure you weren’t just worried about me?”

With no hesitation, Twilight replied, “Actually, that too.”

Rarity blinked. “Pardon?”

“Rarity, everyone in the student council will be gone during the break, and most of your other friends too from what I understand. And from what Pinkie told me, you were crying about being left to take care of your sister.” Twilight gave a warm smile. “As student council president, it would be the height of irresponsibility to leave you here by yourself.”

Rarity’s cheeks reddened. “Oh. Well, thank you, Twilight. That’s much appreciated.”

Rainbow ran over and slapped Twilight’s back. “Well prez, if you’re staying around, you think you could get that stunt show into the Gala after all?”

Twilight rubbed her back and laughed. “We’ll see.”

Pinkie jumped. “Ooh! And the cake balloon cakes?!”

“I’ll try to figure that out.”

Rarity watched the scene and saw the light dance in Twilight’s hair. She released a content sigh.

Rarity sat in front of her magic mirror. “You heard right, Mother! I want to take care of Sweetie Belle for the next two weeks! No, Mother, I’m not sick. Yes, thank you. Do enjoy your trip.”

She turned off the mirror and groaned. The things she does for love.

8. Rarity Plays to Win

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During their months together, the student council president and vice president both used various methods to force the other to admit their love. Gala tickets, sports, monster attacks, contests.

But, there was one strategy the student council vice president was unable to take full advantage of with so many prying eyes around. One that would ensure her absolute victory: outright seduction.

Rarity knew of her reputation as a flirt, and she knew the student council president knew too. She was famed for her ability to turn anyone into putty with a half-lidded glance and a touch of her finger to her lips. Under normal circumstances, flirting with Twilight would be an obvious sign of interest, but during spring break, Twilight would have no reason to interpret it as anything other than Rarity amusing herself, making a toy out of the only other person around. And if Twilight ended up falling for her as a result, she would have no one to blame but herself.

But Rarity still had to move carefully. Too strong a push and she risked a strong backlash. She needed to start small, and thus…

Rarity wore a sleeveless red dress with a slit in the skirt that went up past her hips, black opera gloves, and red high heels. Her hair was made up in a way such that one eye was covered, and she wore crimson lipstick. She sat in a chair and bent one leg so that it was fully uncovered—and made it impossible to tell if she indeed had anything on under the skirt—and looked to the side with puckered lips.

A camera clicked several times, and then Rarity smiled and got up. “OK, Sweetie, just one more set.”

Rarity’s sister, Sweetie Belle, looked at her with a bored expression as several pictures fell out of the instant camera she held. Sweetie had tan skin like her sister, but her hair was puffy and had two purple tones, both lighter than Rarity’s own hair color. As a middle schooler, she was roughly two heads shorter than her sister. “Can I finally look around town after this?”

“Yes, yes, fine.” Rarity bent over, putting her hands on her knees. “Now just take some pictures here.”

“Here?”

“Closer. No, Sweetie, get closer.”

“Right in your donkeroos?”

Rarity sighed. “Yes, yes, right up in there.”

The camera flashed and Sweetie looked at the picture with narrow eyes as it developed. “I literally can’t even see the dress in this.”

Rarity swiped the photo out of her hands. “Yes, well sometimes the absence of the dress is important to modeling it. And honestly, Sweetie, ‘donkeroos’? Call it a heaving bosom like a civilized lady.”

Sweetie rolled her eyes as Rarity walked behind a changing screen and quickly stepped out in a white casual top and purple pants, with her hair restored to her normal style. With magic, she gathered all her photos into a pile then slotted them into an empty photo album.

Rarity had told Sweetie she needed help with a photoshoot, which was true, but she neglected to mention it was for an audience of one. She would ask Twilight for feedback and sit there with a pure and innocent expression as the album kindled her imagination. Then by watching her eyes, she would keep in mind what excited her most and incorporate that into the upcoming days.

“Now, then, I’m off to my student council work.”

Sweetie huffed. “Rarity! I wanted to spend time with you during spring break, and not just by taking boring pictures. Why are you still doing student council work?”

Rarity sighed dramatically and tossed her hair. “Alas, things have proven more busy than any of us could have expected. I promise that I will spend more time with you later, before the break ends.”

“Pinkie promise?”

Rarity’s eyes widened. “Goodness, you know about that too? Very well, I Pinkie promise. Now, please be a good girl in town. And remember—”

The sisters spoke at the same time, “Stay away from the kitchen.”

Rarity smiled with her eyes closed. “Splendid!”

Twilight sat at her desk, twirling a pen in her fingers. As one would expect from the princess and student council president, her mind was frequently concerned with deep and introspective thoughts. A question of great weight occupied it now.

Now that Rarity and I will be alone for a while, what term of endearment should I use for her?

For months, Twilight was captivated by the way Rarity addressed everyone as “darling” or “dear”, or various other affectionate phrases. She once spent a day or two charting out what circumstances called for what term, but determined that took the magic away from it. This led to an idea, however: Twilight could try out a term of endearment while it’s just her and Rarity, then Rarity would grow used to it, and then become jealous once she started using it on other people. Plus, Twilight just found something exciting about the idea.

Choosing what to use proved to be more difficult than she expected, though. Was it best to just use “darling” too? No, that could be perceived as mocking. Plus, she just couldn’t say it the same way Rarity could. “Baby”? “Sugar”? “Sweetheart”? No, no, those were all too presumptive. “Buddy”? “Dude”? No, those were far too casual, and carried the feeling of completely rejecting a future relationship.

Twilight crossed her legs and sighed. Maybe something more unusual? Some use “duck” and “possum” as affectionate. No, that would just confuse her.

She tapped her cheek with her pen. Perhaps something about her physical appearance? Yes, of course. Rarity is complimented for her looks all the time. Surely Twilight doing the same wouldn’t come off as strange, and wouldn’t give the appearance of any romantic attraction, while not closing it off.

Twilight pumped her fist. Yes, this was the right direction. But now to choose the right one…

Minutes later, the door swung open and the woman in question appeared with one arm spread out, the other holding a book of some kind. “Good morning, darling!”

Twilight smiled and winked. “Hey there, gorgeous.”

Her greeting hung in the air for what felt like several minutes, Rarity staring at her with an unchanging expression. Twilight maintained her smile, not sure what else to do. Rarity stepped back and softly closed the door. The princess then heard something fall to the ground and fast departing footfalls.

Twilight stood up and exclaimed, “What?! Why?!”

Rarity fiddled with her keys and eventually got her room door open. She ran inside, slammed the door behind her, and sank to the ground, breathing heavily with a flushed face.

“She… called me gorgeous... “ she said to herself, her head spinning. Her senses were so overcome by the experience that she didn’t notice the beeping smoke detector, nor the billowing plumes coming from the kitchen.

Sweetie Belle poked her head out of the smoke. “Rarity? You’re back already?”

Rarity sighed. “Yes, well, I just, uh, learned there wasn’t really much to do at school after all.”

Sweetie smiled. “That’s great! Want to go out to town together?”

Rarity smiled back. “Sure. That sounds lovely.”

Twilight sat in a side chair and considered what to do with the book Rarity dropped, rocking it with her wrist. Rarity left it behind and still hadn’t come back for it, so was it a gift? But after the way she was clearly insulted, was it right to even accept it now? Though perhaps the book contained some clue about her reaction.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Twilight opened the book, discovering it was in fact a photo album. The first page featured Rarity wearing a lovely blue dress with a puffy skirt, and she posed in various cute ways, often winking. Twilight turned the page and saw her wearing another dress, this time with yellow stripes.

Ah, she must be modeling her dresses. It makes sense she’d do it herself with everyone out on break. Probably not a gift for me after all, then.

Smiling, Twilight continued flipping through the album, admiring Rarity’s handiwork. She had done a bit of research into dressmaking since she met Rarity, of course, and the skill needed to make these was plainly on display. So focused on the dresses was Twilight that her mind didn’t parse the areas lacking dress at first. This detail slowly creeped up in her thoughts, then she reached the last page and her brain finally caught up with her eyes.

The student council president fell to the ground, blood spurting from her nose.

In the end, both women got something positive out of the day. However, their springtime tryst came to an unceremonious end, as neither Twilight nor Rarity visited the student council room again until classes resumed.

9. Rainbow Clearly Wants to Die

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A new semester began at Canterlot Royal Academy, and as expected from its student council, their first meeting had an energetic start.

The door slammed open as Rainbow Dash skidded to a stop into the council room, leaving marks on the carpet. She bowed and said, “That’s right folks, Rainbow Dash is here on time for the first meeting after break!”

Pinkie rightfully cheered in response while Fluttershy dropped the paper she was holding. Applejack crossed her arms. “That ain’t anything to be proud of, Rainbow, even if this is a first.”

Mudbriar was as impassive as ever and said, “As a note, Rainbow Dash, Twilight has set a new meeting room rule stating that the door can no longer be slammed open.”

Rainbow waved dismissively. “Yeah yeah, it’s not like I even come here that often. That’s more Rarity’s problem. Isn’t that right, Rares?” She looked around, only to see Rarity wasn’t there. “Wait, did I really get here before Rarity?”

Applejack sighed. “Twilight too. I’m as shocked as you are, but Pinkie says she’s busy with magic class office hours. No clue what’s up with Rarity.”

Rainbow threw her arms up. “Oh come on! Neither of them are here to see that I’m on time?!”

Fluttershy sat in a chair and idly kicked her legs. “It is very strange that they wouldn’t be here to at least explain what they did over the break.”

Pinkie rushed to a stack of papers and pointed with both fingers. “They left us all the Gala documents, though.”

Rainbow dashed over to it too. “Wow! With all this, my stunt show has got to be in here!”

She grabbed chunks of paper at random from the stack, spilling several pages onto the ground, but before she could read anything, Mudbriar pulled out a single sheet seemingly at random, skimmed over it, and said, “Technically, there is no listing for a stunt show.”

Rainbow tossed the papers aside and groaned loudly. “What was even the point of them working over the break, then?”

Pinkie said, “Maybe they were having way too much fun together to focus on the Gala!”

Fluttershy jumped up. “Fun? Why would they have had fun together? It’s not like they’re in love or anything!” She slammed her mouth shut as she noticed Rainbow Dash crossing her arms and shaking her head. As the others stared, she slowly sank back to her seat and said nothing else.

“Anyway,” said Applejack. “Neither the student council president nor the vice president are here, so who’s in charge now?”

Rainbow put a foot on a chair and posed. “Obviously, it’s gotta be me!”

Applejack pulled her back. “You and I ain’t even full council members, we’re just liaisons.”

Mudbriar raised a finger. “Technically, the chain of command dictates that the person in charge is the secretary. Meaning we should follow Ms. Pinkie Pie’s directions.”

With wide eyes, everyone turned to Pinkie, who froze with her tongue out, holding a paper with the Gala’s dessert selection close to it. She pressed the paper to her chest and tapped her cheek with her other hand. “Well, in that case—”

Rainbow rushed out the door. “I’ll go find Rarity!”

Rarity sat in the corner of Sewing Room H, for heartache. She wore a black cloak wrapped tightly around her, with a fan directed toward her so she could do this in the spring heat. Melancholy piano music flowed out of the record player and she sighed regretfully.

She thought that staying away from Twilight until classes started would allow things to go back to normal. However, as soon as she stepped onto the campus again and smelled Twilight’s presence, she knew normal simply wasn’t possible.

Was it foolish to keep avoiding Twilight like this? Yes, but there was no way she could stroll into the council room and greet her normally. Not if Twilight greeted her the same way as before.

Just the thought made her blush. She tightened the cloak around her. Through the rolls of cloth, she heard doors opening and slamming close down the hallway. The sounds got closer, until…

The door flew open and there stood Rainbow Dash. “Rarity? Ugh, finally!”

She ran over and pulled Rarity’s arm. Rarity resisted and gripped onto her seat.

“Rarity, come on! With you and Twilight gone, Pinkie’s in charge now, and you remember what happened last time!”

Rarity pulled her arm free and her eyes widened. “Yes, I recall the ‘Pinkie Pie’s on deck and it’s fire she’ll bring’ incident. But wait, did you say Twilight was gone too?”

“Yeah, she’s busy with magic class office hours or something and won’t be coming, so—”

Rarity stood tall and dropped her cloak, revealing a glamorous and glittering red dress and red shoes with long and narrow heels, which Rainbow had to shield her eyes from. All hesitancy gone from her face, she flipped her hair and smiled. “Well in that case, it’s time I made my entrance.”

She took a step forward, but Rainbow grabbed her arm to stop her. “Woah woah woah, hold on a sec. Is that why you were hiding here? You didn’t want to see Twilight?”

Rarity scoffed. “I was not hiding, I was biding my time!” She scrunched her face. “Wait, that sounds villainous. Hold on while I think of a more appropriate way to say it.”

Rainbow looked Rarity in the eyes. “Seriously, Rares. Did something bad happen between you two during the break? You can tell me.”

Rarity blinked, surprised at her friend’s serious tone. “It wasn’t bad, per say, but… well, it’s a bit difficult to say.”

Rainbow put a hand on her shoulder. “You can take your time. I’m here for you.”

Rarity looked away. “You see, on the first day, I walked into the council room, greeting Twilight as normal, and then, out of nowhere, she smiled, then she winked at me, and she said…” Rarity paused. “She said, ‘Hey there, gorgeous.’” Rarity blushed heavily and put her hands to her face. “Oh my, just repeating it is so scandalous.”

Rainbow’s face was blank. “What.”

“And then, of course, I ran away. Not the most graceful way to take a compliment, I admit, but it all worked out. For you see, I returned home to discover that Sweetie Belle was using the kitchen, even though I very specifically told her not to, and she was this close”—she pinched her index finger and thumb—”to burning the place down. Obviously, I couldn’t leave her alone at that point, so I never returned to the council room and we stayed together all break. We had a quite great sister bonding session, if I don’t say so myself. I’ve even decided to make her my plus one to the Gala!” Rarity waved an arm. “We painted the town red, I tell you! Why, on the day after the incident—”

Rainbow grabbed both shoulders and shook her. “Rarity! This is insane!” She stopped and Rarity’s head rocked back and forth until it came to rest. “I was fine with the dumb schemes and confusing contests, but you’re literally hiding from a girl that called you gorgeous! She’s melting your brain!”

Rarity pouted. “You’d understand if you were there when she said…” Her face turned red again. “Well, when she said what I said she said.”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “I’m going to do it.”

Rarity blinked. “Do what?”

“My plan. The one I told you about back during the Crazy Equinox.”

The vice president scrunched her face and then her eyes widened. “You don’t mean…?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yup. I’m going to make Twilight jealous by pretending to be in love with you, and then she’ll have to act. In fact, I’m going to go to her right now and ask for advice on how to ask you out, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Rarity gritted her teeth and leaned forward with furrowed brows. Rainbow had a cool expression with half-lidded eyes and a smirk. They stared at each other. Minutes seemed to pass as they waited for the other to make a move.

Rainbow took a step back.

Rarity pointed accusingly. “Don’t you dare, Rainbow! I’ll take off these heels and pierce them through your lungs if you take another step.”

Both froze in place for another few moments.

Then Rainbow turned around and dashed out the door. She narrowly dodged a shoe that Rarity chucked at her, the heel embedding in the hallway wall.

“Rainbow Dash!” screamed Rarity.

Rainbow Dash ran across the campus lawns, singing to herself.

“Rolling around at the speed of sound, got places to go, gotta follow my Rainbow Dash!”

She ran on the sidewalk, easily making her way around other students, but then she realized.

Wait, where’s Twilight’s magic class?

She stopped in her tracks and looked around. She never made a habit of visiting the egghead part of the school, and had no clue where to start.

Alright, it’s gotta be someplace magic looking.

Turning to her left, she saw a building with castle-like towers. She pointed and clicked her tongue, then ran off.

Rarity rushed down the sidewalk, using magic to skate using high heels. She wore a confident smile. If she was holding office hours now, that meant she was taking Moondancer’s slot for the day. Rainbow was certainly faster than her, but the vice president knew where to go, while Rainbow no doubt had no clue.

It turned out the castle-thing was the history department building, but the lady at the front desk helpfully pointed Rainbow to the magic department.

She rushed into the building and approached the first egghead she could find: a woman with curly pink hair that held a clipboard. The clipboard had the name Twinkleshine on it, not that Rainbow noticed. She yelled, “Hey you! Where’s Twilight’s office?”

Twinkleshine stepped back in surprise. “Uh, second floor, end of the hall with all the offices.”

Rainbow nodded, ran up, and then ran back down with a frown. “She isn’t there! Where is she?”

Twinkleshine opened her mouth. “Ohh, you were looking for Twilight, not her office! Well in that case, I think she’s handling Applied Mathemagical Magics office hours.”

Rainbow jogged in place. “OK, cool, now where is that? Third floor?”

She shook her head while smiling. “Oh my, no! I can see the confusion, but Applied Mathemagical Magics isn’t a magic course, it’s a math course!”

Rainbow froze in place. “What? Why?! It’s literally got magic in the name! Twice!”

“Well you see, once you know what the course involves—”

“Yeah, yeah, got it. So, math department, then?”

Twinkleshine nodded and Rainbow ran away. Her eyes widened. “Oh, but Moondancer’s office is in…” She trailed off as she saw Rainbow was nowhere to be found.

Rarity stood at the doors of the history department building, with Moondancer’s office just down the hall. She was just down the hall.

She pressed her hand against the right door. OK. Now what?

Laying a trap for Rainbow was probably the best option. She’d need to stop Rainbow from trying this ever again. Was breaking her legs too extreme?

Of course, there was the risk of Rainbow getting past the trap. The real best thing to do would be to go talk to Twilight first and warn her about Rainbow’s upcoming misdeeds, but…

Twilight Sparkle looked up from her desk, adjusting her glasses as she moved her hair out of her eyes with a swish. “Hey there, gorgeous.”

Rarity’s face turned red and steam seemed to rise from it. She stood there like that for at least a minute.

Then Rainbow Dash ran to the doors, opened the left one, and flew in with a, “Later, loser!”

Broken from her spell, Rarity’s face shifted to the red of rage. “Rainbow Dash!”

She ran down the hall, but Rainbow reached her goal first. The door to Moondancer’s office stood open and a man with sideswept purple hair was tossed out the room, skidding to a stop on his feet. He looked around, confused, and Rarity lept to a side room before he saw her. She peeked out, but the man lingered in the hall.

Rarity gritted her teeth. You better not screw this up, Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow groaned and put her legs up on the desk. “Seriously, Twilight! Why is the office for the magic class in the math department, in the history department? I couldn’t believe it when I saw that sign in the classroom!”

Twilight moved a tea kettle aside and looked at her with narrow eyes. “This isn’t even my office, so I’d really prefer if you kept your feet on the ground.” She lightly pushed them off with magic, with no resistance from Rainbow. “Now, what is it, Sports Club Liaison Rainbow Dash? I figured I left detailed enough documents for you all at the council room.”

Rainbow leaned forward. “Yeah, about that, what happened to my stunt show? I thought—” She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “No, wait, I have something else to talk to you about. Something that can’t wait.”

The door opened and the man with purple hair poked his head in, expectantly. Twilight held up her hand to tell him to wait.

“What do you need?”

Rainbow slammed the desk. “I need romance advice! From you!”

Twilight blinked. Then she blinked again. “What? Me? Really? You want me to—” with magic, Twilight pushed the man back out the door, to his shock, and sealed the door shut “—yes, well, I’ll be happy to help.” She cleared her throat and brushed her hair back. “Well, first, wow. Just, I never thought someone would come to me for romantic advice. I’m not going to let you down! Though, I have to know, why me and not Rarity?”

Rainbow waved her hand. “Well duh, I can’t ask Rarity, because—”

Wait, hold on! Rainbow thought. Rarity says the best way to get someone to believe something is to make them think it was their own idea. If I just tell Twilight I like Rarity, then she’ll think Rarity put me up to this. Rainbow twisted her lips. Wait, is that why Rarity didn’t want me to do this? Well joke’s on her, despite what she might think, I know how to be subtle.

Rainbow continued with a smirk. “I can’t ask Rarity because what I need is your eggheadedness to balance out my coolness. Fabulousness is no good right now.” She then counted on her fingers to make sure she said “fabulousness” right and nodded.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “O… K? I guess that could make sense for you.” She adjusted her hair and composed herself. “Alright, so what problem are you and Applejack having?”

Rainbow blushed and reeled back. “What?! No! Applejack has nothing to do with this!”

The princess tilted her head. “Hmm. Well alright. I didn’t realize you were in an open relationship.”

Rainbow slammed the table. “There is no relationship! Why would you even think that?!”

Twilight seemed honestly taken aback. “Uh, well, I mean, I saw you resting your head in Applejack’s lap while she ran her fingers through your hair, after one of your races.”

Wait, Applejack did what?! Rainbow thought as her face turned red. “Th-that’s normal for us sporty types, you know! Really gets the muscles relaxed!”

Twilight put a finger to her chin. “What about that picture you carry around of Applejack smashing a watermelon between her thighs?”

Rainbow jumped out of her chair and yelped. She saw that too?! Sweating, she sat back down and said, “Uh, yeah, that. Strength goals, you know. We both gotta push ourselves to stay rivals.”

Twilight looked at her for a moment, and then sighed. “Sorry about the misunderstanding, Rainbow. I thought I had a good eye for romance after spending so much time with Princess Cadance, but I suppose I’m not an expert like her.” She put her hands on the desk. “Though, uh, you should probably clear this up with the rest of the student council too. They all think you two are a couple.”

“Seriously?! You bet I’ll clear this up!”

Twilight smiled. “By getting you hooked up with this other person!”

Rainbow blinked. “Oh right, the, uh, romance problem I came to you with. So… I have a crush.”

Twilight nodded.

“On a girl.”

Twilight nodded.

“I don’t want to say who she is, but uh,” Rainbow rolled her eyes up.

Gotta be subtle, Rainbow Dash.

“She’s, uh, fancy and elegant.”

Twilight nodded. No sign that she figured anything out.

“She has a, uh, accent.”

Twilight nodded. “What kind of accent?”

“It’s, uh, I don’t know, a weird one. Trottingham, I guess?” Rainbow shook her head. “Wait, no, that isn’t right. Look, it’s weird.”

Twilight nodded and wrote it down on a notepad. Still no reaction.

Rainbow, impatient, decided to take a plunge. “Also she makes dresses.”

Twilight once again wrote that down with little reaction.

Rainbow sat in silence, not knowing what else to say. Twilight looked up and raised an eyebrow, and Rainbow hastily said, “OK, so any advice about talking to her?”

Twilight glanced at her mostly empty notepad and briefly stammered. “Well, uh, I don’t have much to go on, but as general advice, I recommend you tell this girl about your feelings clearly. Make sure to do it in a way where she’d be comfortable turning you down, though. Doing it publicly or trying to trick her wouldn’t be right. And if she turns you down, you should take the rejection gracefully. If she acts cruelly to you after you confess, then she was never going to be a good match in the first place.”

She crossed her legs and closed her eyes. “Also, I recommend acting on your feelings as soon as you feel ready. There’s never going to be a perfect time to start a relationship, after all.”

Rainbow smiled weakly. I know someone who could really use this advice.

Twilight leaned forward. “So, how did you two meet?”

Rainbow’s eyes darted around. “Well, uh… we met at...”

Rainbow’s mind was blank. Would telling her how she and Rarity really met be too obvious? And in fact, how did they meet? They just sort of started hanging out at school, and Rainbow couldn’t remember how it actually began.

“We met at…”

Rainbow lunged forward and swiped an arm across Twilight’s desk, knocking over the tea kettle. The princess shot up and gasped as Rainbow ran out the door.

Rarity listened as Twilight yelled out Rainbow Dash’s name and the lady in question knocked over the purple-haired man, who was still standing outside the door. She peeked out of her room and, with trained precision, grabbed Rainbow by her collar as she ran by and pulled her into the room. The door slammed shut.

Rainbow held her hands up as Rarity threatened her with a high heel. “Woah! Hold on, Rares!”

Rarity shook her shoe. “And why exactly should I do that?”

“I pulled it off!” Rainbow tilted her head. “Well, I’m pretty sure I pulled it off. I was super smooth, super subtle. I didn’t say your name at all, but any second now, Twilight’s going to realize on her own that I have a crush on you.”

Rarity laughed mockingly. “Well thank you very much, Rainbow Dash! What, pray tell, did you plan to happen next?”

Rainbow opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Then she closed it and hummed.

Rarity narrowed her eyes. “Are you serious?”

“Hold on! Let me think. Twilight will…”

Rainbow’s eyes drifted to the door’s window, and she saw Twilight run past.

“Twilight’s rushing out the building to confess her love to you first!”

Rarity’s eyes widened and she dropped her shoe. “Good heavens. She is?”

“Yeah! I just saw her! Come on!”

The two ran into the hallway in time to see Twilight exit the building. They followed her outside and saw her turn to the right.

“She’s going to the student council room,” said Rarity, holding a hand to her mouth.

“Well dang, I was right!” said Rainbow. She stammered. “Uh, I mean, exactly as planned.”

They trailed the princess, keeping out of sight.

Meanwhile, the purple-haired man continued to patiently stand outside the office. After a few minutes, he backed up to a wall, looked around, and sank to the ground.

Rainbow and Rarity subtly pressed themselves against a window into the student council room, leaning over some bushes. Twilight was inside, excitedly talking to the other girls while Mudbriar stood there listening too. Pinkie tapped her cheek and wiggled two fingers to represent someone running. Applejack then started talking.

“Well, I think it’s pretty obvious she’s asking about you,” said Rainbow.

“Indeed,” said Rarity.

“So, you gonna talk to her?”

Rarity hummed. “Well, I mean, going to talk to her right now would be a bit too coincidental, don’t you think? Perhaps if I waited until tomorrow, and—”

Rainbow growned, and with a burst of speed, carried Rarity to the student council room entrance, opened the door, and pushed her in. With an “eek”, Rarity stumbled, but landed on two feet, brushed herself off, and stood up straight with a brilliant smile.

However, her smile was easily beaten by the princess’s. Her eyes sparkled as she put her hands together. “Rarity! You’re here!”

Rarity tried her hardest to keep a polite friendly smile and not a madly smitten smile. “Yes, so I am, darling.”

Twilight turned to the others. “Everyone, do you mind stepping out of the room for a bit? I have something important to tell Rarity.”

Rarity’s eyes widened and her heart pounded as the others obliged and stepped outside. As Fluttershy walked past, she smiled and giggled lightly.

“You too, Wallflower,” said Twilight. After a moment, the door closed, and Twilight released a breath. She breathed in again and said, “So. It’s been a bit awkward between us recently.”

“Yes, and I apologize for my part in that,” Rarity replied. “It was merely a case of unfortunate timing that resulted in me running out of the room like that. I had just remembered something regarding my sister.”

A load seemed to have been lifted from Twilight’s shoulders. “Oh, really? I’m happy that’s all that was. Anyway, I have something important to tell you.”

On one hand, Rarity was happy that Twilight didn’t ask for more details. On the other hand, she wasn’t sure she could ever be prepared. She gulped. “Yes, Twilight?”

Twilight stepped toward Rarity and her body filled with tension.

She broke into a big grin. “Rainbow Dash has a crush on Sassy Saddles!”

Rarity blinked. “Pardon?”

“Rainbow Dash came to me for romantic advice regarding a fancy dressmaker girl with something similar to be not quite a Trottingham accent, which can only mean—” she twirled her fingers “—your friend, Sassy! Rainbow was shy about saying how they met, but it’s safe to assume they met through you.”

Rarity forced a smile. “Oh.”

Twilight hopped in place. “This is my first piece of gossip ever! Well, I mean, I’ve always told Fluttershy some of the hottest new scientific breakthroughs that haven’t been published yet, but this is my first romantic gossip!” Twilight squeed.

Rarity’s eyes twitched. “Oh.”

“Now I know what you’re thinking. ‘What about Applejack?’ Well, Rainbow Dash says they aren’t a couple, but what I suspect happened there is that they have an open relationship, but Rainbow thinks we won’t understand that, so…”

Rarity and Rainbow Dash sat on a bench close to the student council room.

“Huh. Well that didn’t work,” said Rainbow Dash.

Rarity grumbled.

Rainbow shrugged. “Well, I tried. And hey, I got you two talking again, didn’t I? That has to count for something.”

Rarity grumbled.

“Look, obviously subtlety isn’t working, so next time, I’ll just ask you out right in front of Twilight! That’ll get a reaction out of her.”

Rarity slowly turned to look at Rainbow Dash.

In the end, one friendship was rekindled. Another was irrevocably broken.

10. Fluttershy Wishes She Didn't Get Involved

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Twilight blinked. “A play?”

Fluttershy nodded with a bright smile, holding a stapled bundle of papers in her arms.

Twilight was still covering for Moondancer’s office hours this week, but after the first day’s surge, students were few and far between, giving the two co-conspirators plenty of privacy in her office.

“Oh yes. The Cub Theater Club are putting on a child-friendly play in the park the week after the Gala, and they thought you and Rarity, as the student council leaders, would be perfect role models for the children if you played the leads. I was in the club for a bit, so they begged me to show this script to you.” She shifted her eyes and hissed, “I thought it was a theater club for actual cubs.”

Twilight frowned as she took the papers and skimmed through them. “I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to helping a play for children, but a week after the Gala is far too soon.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, I understand, but I think you’ll reconsider after you hear what happens in the story. You see, once the evil Shadow Queen is defeated, the captive princess of Unicornia—played by you—is rescued by the heroic knight—played by Rarity—and…” Fluttershy leaned in and whispered, “You kisssss.”

Twilight froze, and then flipped to the last pages of the script, confirming this. She returned to the front page and placed the bundle in her lap. “Incredible. A club I’ve barely interacted with has, completely unprompted, provided an opportunity like this.” Twilight squinted her eyes. “Or, is this one of Rarity’s schemes? What exactly did they tell you, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy put a finger to her lower lip. “Well…”

The red-haired theater club member twirled. “Rarity is the pinnacle of elegance.”

The blue-haired theater club member leapt with her legs split. “Twilight is the pinnacle of sophistication.”

They chanted together while lifting their knees. “Rarilight is key! Rarilight is queen!”

Then they rolled over each other’s backs. “Over and over and over again!” Then pressed their hands together and brought their cheeks close. “We’ll stan Rarilight ‘til the ve-ry end!”

They leapt and cheered.

Cowering, Fluttershy presented them her purse. “All my money’s in here. Please, just go!”

Fluttershy’s mouth twisted. “Well, let’s just say other people are rooting for you and Rarity to get together.”

Twilight drummed her fingers on the script as she considered this. “Oh yes, I heard from Spike that many people view Rarity and I as a power couple, of sorts, and some think we’re even secretly dating already. I never figured out a way to leverage this that wouldn’t be to Rarity’s favor, though. She’s far more capable of directing popular perception; that only makes me more worried about this play.”

Fluttershy’s face sank. “So that’s a no, then?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Well, let’s not get too hasty. It’s true that the timing is awkward, and agreeing to a play where I kiss Rarity would surely make her suspicious if this isn’t already her plan, but this is for the kids, after all.” She flipped through the script again. “Plus, the script seems simple enough. Memorizing my lines will be easy.” She tapped her forehead. “The key here is how Rarity reacts to the script. If she refuses to participate, then I can press her on being too shy to kiss me, and maybe make her jealous depending on the replacement actor. And if…”

Twilight saw Fluttershy sitting there with the smile of a mother listening to their child ramble.

The princess blushed lightly. “Oh, uh, you can go show the script to Rarity now. I’ll just keep figuring this out on my own.”

Rarity hummed as she flipped through the script pages. The student council didn’t have a meeting set for that day, so she and Fluttershy were alone in the council room, sitting across from each other on the couches.

“So the club’s going to provide the outfits,” said Fluttershy, “but I’m sure they’d allow you to modify them as you see fit. After all,” she giggled, “this is going to be your first kiss with Twilight, so I’m sure you’d want both of you to look pretty.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, right, by the way, was this actually your plan?”

Rarity furrowed her brows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, did you manipulate the Cub Theater Club into casting you and Twilight in this play? It does seem like one of your plans.”

Rarity slammed the papers onto the table. “Oh heavens no! I’d never try something as juvenile as this. Nay, this is the work of people outside my sphere of influence.”

Fluttershy tilted her head. “Really? I’m surprised you wouldn’t be involved with a theater club.”

“I’m certainly no stranger to theater—I helped with the Midsummer Theater Revival last year, after all—but I can’t be everywhere at once, dear. Plus, those Rarilight shippers, as they call themselves. They’re a bit, uh, shall we say, intense. Hard to safely manipulate.”

Fluttershy shuddered. “Tell me about it. Anyway, what do you think of the play?”

Rarity finished reading, flipping back to the front, and sighed. “It’s exceedingly simple. To be expected for a child friendly play, I suppose.”

Fluttershy put her hands together and smiled. “About that! I’ve been told that you and Twilight can rewrite your lines however you see fit.”

Rarity smiled back. “Splendid! I actually might just write down some ideas in the margins. Ooh, hold on.” She pushed the script to Fluttershy’s side of the table. “You write, and I’ll draw!”

She took two out two pens and gave one to Fluttershy, and then pulled a sketchpad from her bag and started drawing. The pink-haired girl grinned. “Wow, it looks like you’ve really been bitten by the inspiration bug. Let me guess, you want to better establish Syr Rosethorn and Princess Lavender’s romance.”

“Hmm? Oh yes, that knight character,” Rarity said without looking up. “She bores me. All my focus is on the Shadow Queen right now.”

Fluttershy’s lips pressed together and she stiffened. “Oh. You’re… not going to play Syr Rosethorn?”

Rarity trilled her lips. “That role simply doesn’t give me anything to work with. She has some scenes with side characters, then just comes in at the end to save the day and kiss the princess. It’s positively plebeian. Now, the story of the Shadow Queen and Princess Lavender, that can be expanded!”

Fluttershy’s eyes drifted to the side. “You mean making the romance between them instead? I suppose the Shadow Queen could be redeemed by love, but these are pretty big changes.”

Rarity waved her hand. “Oh no, I’m not planning to change it that much. Just minor adjustments. For example, go back to the very beginning, or rather the second or third page.” Fluttershy did so, and Rarity leaned over and tapped the paper. “The Shadow Queen has a princess held captive, but there’s no sense of danger at all!”

Fluttershy pulled at her hair. “Well, it is for kids…”

Rarity shook her head. “Tut tut, Fluttershy, that’s no excuse for bad storytelling. You need to make the villain menacing for her to be an effective villain.” Rarity returned to her sketch. “Now, to establish the power dynamic, the Queen needs to insult the princess. She’ll call her a naive fool. A failure. A whore!” Rarity pointed at the script. “Write that down.”

Fluttershy jumped a bit, then got to writing. “Um, I don’t think wh—that word—is really appropriate for a play for children.”

“Fine. Use ‘slut’ instead.”

Fluttershy’s face twisted. “Uh…”

Rarity crossed her arms. “Hussy, then.”

Fluttershy’s face twisted more.

Rarity humphed. “Alright, fine, what do you suggest?”

Fluttershy tapped her cheek. “How about ‘loser’? Though maybe that’s too extreme still.”

Rarity looked at her with narrow eyes. “Darling, seriously? There’s no passion in that insult at all!”

Fluttershy smiled while sweating. “Is that what we were going for?”

Rarity looked away and waved her hand dismissively. “We can figure out what works later. More important than what the Queen says, is what she does. As she puts the princess in her cell, she needs to slap her!”

Fluttershy gasped. “A slap?”

Rarity nodded while smiling. “Oh yes! The villain always slaps the helpless damsel! And if we do it for real during the performance, that’ll sell the threat fabulously! Oh, and not just there. A slap every two pages or so should be good.”

Fluttershy forced a smile as she wrote this down. Wow. She really needs to work things out with Twilight. She then asked, “Anything else?”

Rarity hummed. “No, I think that’s a good starting point. You have to get Twilight to agree to this too, right? I’ll see what she has to say. Oh, and by the way—” she tore out a page from her sketchpad and handed it to Fluttershy “—you can include my sketch for the Shadow Queen’s costume.”

The sheet included surprisingly detailed sketches of an extravagant gothic dress worn by a simple outline of a woman. Forgetting her previous trepidation, Fluttershy beamed. “This is gorgeous, Rarity! I’m amazed you drew this so quickly.”

Rarity closed her eyes, smiled, and waved her hand dismissively. “It’s as you said, dear. The inspiration bug bit.”

Fluttershy continued examining the sketches with a warm smile, but then noticed something that shook her perspective of the past conversation. Hesitantly, almost fearing the answer, she asked, “Rarity, these sketches… why do they have straight hair with stripes like Twilight?”

“Because Twilight is playing the Queen, of course,” Rarity said matter-of-factly. Her eyes widened and she put a hand to her mouth. “Oh my, did I not mention that? Well, I thought it was clear that rather than playing the knight, I would be the princess—Rarity, Princess of Unicornia only makes sense, after all—ergo Twilight would be playing the Queen. But now I can see how that context would be lost.”

Fluttershy’s head spun. “But… the slapping…”

“Oh yes, about that. I was thinking that a slap every two pages is a bit repetitive. I—and the audience—would get bored quickly. There needs to be something more.” Rarity’s eyes widened and her pupils shook. “I’ll have Twilight step on me.”

Fluttershy smiled with a cold sweat and jotted that down hesitantly. “Sure, sounds good.”

Rarity started drawing on her sketchpad again. “I need to figure out what shoes would be right for this. High heels? Or maybe barefoot would be better?” Drool formed in the corner of her mouth.

Fluttershy shot up. “Anyway, I should go talk to Twilight about your suggestions. I’ll just… go now.”

She slowly slid to the door, then ran out as Rarity frantically drew.

Fluttershy took a breath before opening the door to Twilight’s office. She had seen this side of Rarity before, but that didn’t make it any less frightening. Twilight would probably accept them shuffling roles, but she’d definitely reject her script changes. Fluttershy realized she'd have to downplay what Rarity’s suggestions actually mean, so Twilight wouldn’t get scared away.

She stepped in with a smile and Twilight looked up with a grin. “You’re back! Did Rarity—” Realizing she came off as too excited, she cleared her throat and said more evenly, “Did Rarity agree to the play?”

Fluttershy sat down with the script in her lap. “Yes. Well, sort of. She wanted to make some changes.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Changes?”

“First of all, Rarity wanted you to play the Shadow Queen, while you played Princess Lavender.”

“That’s interesting—” Twilight stood with wide eyes “—wait, that means no kiss!”

Fluttershy brushed her fingers through her hair. “Yes, that appears to be the case.”

Twilight sat back down and sighed. “I should have figured. Well, since she knows the kiss wasn’t my idea, no harm was done. And it should be easy enough to make my schedule busy enough to excuse myself from the play.” Before Fluttershy could respond, Twilight raised her finger and continued. “It might still be nice to act alongside her, though. What kind of changes did she make?”

Deciding to lead with the obvious positive, Fluttershy pulled out the dress sketches. “First of all, take a look at what Rarity drew.”

With magic, Twilight brought the paper close. “Oh wow, these look gorgeous!” She then smugly added, “As expected from Rarity.”

Fluttershy would have smiled at this, if not for what she saw on the back of the paper. There were more sketches, which itself was a surprise, but more shocking was their nature. Step by step, they depicted Twilight taking off her regal outfit to reveal a… more revealing one.

When did she even have time to draw this? thought Fluttershy. Is it horny energy? Did horny energy do this?!

Noticing Fluttershy gaping, Twilight raised an eyebrow, then turned over the sheet. She immediately turned red and said, “This-this-this-this-this,” in a seemingly endless loop as steam came from her face.

Sensing Twilight’s obvious offense, Fluttershy waved her hands. “You don’t have to use all of Rarity’s requests. She’s just, you know, throwing ideas out. That’s how artists are,” she said quickly. “Nothing you need to take seriously. Just joking around. Same with her script changes.”

Twilight’s ears perked at this and her face returned to a normal color. “Script changes?”

She flipped through the script and her face turned red again.

Fluttershy balled up her hands and put them to her chest. Stuttering, she said, “I told you, they’re just jokes, so you don’t have to take them seriously.”

“No, this is good.”

Fluttershy blinked. “Eh?”

Twilight nodded as she looked through the script. Her expression was calm and analytical. “I was startled at first, but now I can see this is an inventive new take on the story. It’s brilliant, even.”

Fluttershy tilted her head with a confused smile. “Is that so?”

“It’s an exploration of the corruptive capabilities of power. A biting criticism of our current monarchical system.”

“That’s really what you got from that?” Fluttershy said, louder than she intended.

Twilight nodded again. “Yes. I can actually see a lot of the same ideas I’ve been thinking about here.” Her smile reflected a deep relief. “We really are on the same wavelength. You know, this play is actually the perfect way to work through my own concerns about my power as a princess.”

Fluttershy pressed her lips together and nodded. “I suppose that’s good.”

“You know, Fluttershy, it’s legal for royalty to put a collar and leash on anyone they wish.”

Fluttershy slowly forced herself to open her mouth, her mouth resisting every step of the way, smiled perhaps too widely, and said, “Oh! Oh. That’s... interesting, Twilight.”

Twilight nodded with wide eyes while marking the script with pen. “That’s not even the start of it! Did you know I can declare any two people married—just like that—and they’ll be legally married?”

“What? Why?”

Twilight flicked her pen between her fingers. “There’s a lot of history behind that establishing precedence, but the main case I’d point to is when two princes of warring kingdoms fled to Equestria 500 years ago and Celestia declared them married right as the armies approached our borders, and then—well, long story short, that’s why the Holy Hayloft Empire isn’t around anymore.”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Hmm. Not a good way to work that into the story. Ah, yes, maybe I can have the Shadow Queen declare Princess Lavender and Syr Rosethorn married, just so she can capture her and torment her in front of him!”

Straining to respond, Fluttershy said, “Well. Rarity did say Syr Rosethorn needed more to do…”

The princess tapped her chin. “What else? Ooh! Did you know that I’m perfectly within my rights to strike a commoner with any object smaller than a breadbox as long as it remains in my hand and neither it nor my strike is magically enhanced?”

“How specific,” said Fluttershy.

“I was thinking about the most obscene thing I could use with that power.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Uh.”

“I thought of a hairbrush!”

She released a breath. “Oh.”

“I was thinking about how you could strike someone with the back of it”—she swung her arm to demonstrate—”and then turn it around and brush their hair after as a sick form of comfort. It’s disgusting. It’s manipulative. I’m going to do it in the play!”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened again. “Oh.”

Twilight started panting as she wrote. “Phew. I have so much power. It feels good. But it’s fine. It’s all going into the script. I can control the midnight in me through this. Who knew just writing about it could feel so good? What will happen when I play this out?” Her panting started shifting to what sounded like laughter, and her eyes darted back and forth.

At this point, Fluttershy stood up and swiped the script from Twilight. “Yes, well, um. You’ve made a lot of changes already, so I should go show this to Rarity for her feedback.”

Twilight twirled a finger in her hair, almost pouting. “I suppose so. Try to come back soon. I have so many other ideas I want to share with Rarity.”

As Fluttershy hastily walked out of the room, Twilight crossed her legs and impatiently rocked her foot.

Fluttershy came into the student council room to see Rarity wistfully staring out the window with a cup of tea placed on a saucer on the sill. The vice-president looked over her shoulder at the visitor, putting the side of her finger to her lips. “Ah, Fluttershy. Did Twilight get a chance to look at the script?”

“Yes,” said Fluttershy, standing tightly in the doorway. “And she liked what you wrote. She made changes of her own too, but on the way here, I just happened to accidentally drop it in an open fire. Then the ashes fell into the pond. And ducks ate the ashes.” She squeezed her lips shut.

Rarity looked down. “Oh. That’s a shame. Do you remember what feedback she had?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, sorry, I don’t. Incidentally, I do think we’re getting a bit sidetracked from the point of the play.” She smiled diplomatically. “It’s probably better to just follow the original script. And roles.”

Rarity frowned. “I’d rather not.” She stood up away from the windowsill and sat on a couch with a sigh. “Honestly, I’m losing interest in this play entirely.”

Fluttershy put her hands together. “Well, that’s fine too. I’m sure the Cub Theater Club will understand.”

Suddenly, a cloud of dust flew into the room then formed into a book that fell onto the table in front of Rarity. “Hello, what’s this?” she said. Curious, Fluttershy walked over as she opened it up. “It’s a message from Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Oh,” said Fluttershy.

“She says that she thought having you, darling, as our go-between was making things too slow, so she used Spike’s magic breath to develop a magic spell similar to an exchange journal spell she read about. Now, I can just write my changes to the script in this book, and she’ll instantly get them. Ooh, and I can just press my sketches to a page and they’ll just move over to it! How fascinating!”

“Oh.”

Rarity wrote something in the book, and jumped in excitement when new writing appeared in the book below it. “Fluttershy, look at this! Remarkable!”

“Oh.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Honestly, dear, can’t you say something else? Anyway, I’ll tell Twilight you lost the script.” She did so, and Twilight quickly responded. “Fabulous! Twilight has the script and all the changes memorized, so she’ll just recreate it here.”

“Oh—I mean… that’s good.”

Rarity watched as the script appeared on the book pages, then put a hand to her chest and blushed as she read. “My! These additions from Twilight…” Her bosom heaved.

Fluttershy backed toward the door. “Yes, well. I think this is straying away from the Cub Theater Club’s intentions, so I’ll go ahead and tell them you two were busy.”

Rarity kept reading. “Twilight wanted to mention she calls this process Spike-Enabled Exchange of Text, or… ‘seeting’. Uck, what an ugly acronym for this. Perhaps instead of the ‘e’ in ‘exchange’, we use…”

Fluttershy stepped out of the room. “Bye.”

Wallflower slipped past the door as it closed, leaving Rarity alone as she and Twilight wove their own story together.

The Cub Theater Club was surprisingly accepting of Rarity and Twilight being unable to participate. They were clearly too busy to take part in their small production, after all. They even had some backups in mind.

“I wanna be the knight!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

“That’s fine by me,” said Applejack, “but I ain’t gonna be some captured princess. I’d rather be, let’s see, a traveling merchant with such great apples, that the Shadow Queen just has to have them without paying!”

“Why would a knight go out of her way to rescue some random merchant?” said Rainbow.

“Maybe because she’s hard working, and makes great pies!”

“Pies are the worst reason to rescue someone!”

“Maybe you’d think different if you actually tried an Apple Family Apple Pie, Rainbow!”

“No! I don’t wanna!”

“I’ll make you eat my pie, Rainbow!”

Fluttershy cowered in the corner. Why did she have to get involved in all this?

11. Pinkie Can't Cause Any Trouble

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Twilight slapped the calendar. “Alright, everyone! The Gala is only five days away!”

She paced in front of the gathered student council members. “Normally, this would be the point where I tell you all to buckle down and get ready, but I have an amazing announcement for you. Planning, decorations, even our dresses, everything’s ready!” She stopped and smiled at them. “We finally did it!”

Everyone cheered and clapped, some softer than others. Pinkie pumped her arms and shouted, “Woo! Time to party!”

She pulled out her party cannon, only for Twilight to run toward her, waving her arms. “Pinkie, no!”

Pinkie hummed in mild confusion as Twilight put her hand on top of the cannon. “We’re so close to this Gala working, and I don’t want to take any risks. I’m sorry to tell you this, Pinkie, but I don’t want any shenanigans until after the Gala.”

Pinkie laughed. “What? Shenanigans? Me?” She fluttered her lips and waved her hand. “Do you even know me, Twilight?”

Twilight blinked. “Yes. And because I know you, I’d like you to not use your party cannon on campus, at least anywhere near the Gala decorations.”

“What? Twilight, no! You can’t tell me not to use my party cannon!” Pinkie replied, hugging her cannon. “He never caused any shenanigans!”

“Technically,” said Mudbriar, “your party cannon started that fire several months ago, which has officially been classified as a shenanigan.”

Twilight nodded.

Pinkie frowned. “Alright, that’s one shenanigan.”

“Pinkie,” Twilight said, “beyond the party cannon, we’re expecting some high-profile guests, many of whom are arriving in the coming days, so please don’t do anything that could cause a diplomatic incident. Just be careful.” She looked up. “And with that, you’re all dismissed until the day of the Gala!”

“I can’t believe this!” Pinkie said as she rolled her party cannon down the street. “You start one fire, and all of a sudden my best friend doesn’t trust you.”

“It’s such a bummer,” Pinkie imagined the cannon said. “I really want to spread joy uwu.”

Pinkie sighed. “Well, I’m a big girl now.” She balled up a fist and looked up. “If Twilight doesn’t want any shenanigans, then we won’t shenan the first time, let alone again!”

As she walked, she turned her head suddenly and imagined the cannon saying, “owo what’s this?”

In a small park, she saw several fireworks being set up. Smaller firecrackers were laid out in rows, and towers held up much larger explosives with eyecatching and tempting colors. Pinkie’s body was naturally drawn toward them, and before she realized what was happening, she was in the thick of it. Her eyes widening, she froze in place. “OK, Pinkie, just because you’re surrounded by fireworks doesn’t mean you’ll get into any shenanigans. You got a good look already, so it’s time to back away.”

She stepped away slowly, only for a worker to call after her. “Miss! Oh miss!”

Pinkie turned to face the woman, who held a remote control with a big shiny red button. She said, “I have to go do something quickly, and you look trustworthy, so do you mind holding this button for a bit?” She held it up to the student council secretary, who blinked at it. “This button will set off all the fireworks at once, so make sure you don’t press it!”

Pinkie took the remote. “Uhh…”

“Thanks kid!” the worker said. Before Pinkie could make another confused noise, she dashed away. At the end of the block, she turned and yelled, “Oh, and be careful! Any sudden movement could set it off!”

“Gah!” Pinkie exclaimed as the remote slipped and tumbled between her hands. Eventually, she got a solid grasp and exhaled. “Alright, this is fine. Just holding a remote with a pretty pressable button that’ll launch a bunch of way cool fireworks and probably cause chaos, and certainly result in a shenanigan. But you aren’t causing any shenanigans today, because you’re a big girl!”

Pinkie stared at the red button.

The red button stared at Pinkie.

Pinkie’s eyes stared back at themselves through the reflection on the button.

“Sorry for being so late,” the worker said, rushing back with a signed Daring Do book in hand. “Can’t believe I was gone for an hour. Time flies, huh! Glad I trusted you with that remote, miss!”

The student council secretary continued staring at the remote. The worker waited a bit for a response, then carefully pulled it out of her grasp. She looked at Pinkie, still staring at her now-empty hands, grimaced, and walked away.

A minute later, Pinkie finally blinked.

She pulled her party cannon close to her face. “Oh my gosh, that was so scary! Setting off all those fireworks would have been amazing, but it would have been a shenanigan!”

She froze. “Wait, was me standing here for an hour also a shenanigan?! Oh no, we need to get home fast!”

“But don’t you have a class soon umu?” the party cannon said.

“I don’t know!” Pinkie yelled.

Getting behind the cannon, she pushed it while sprinting down the street, creating a smoke cloud behind her. She screamed as she sped past bystanders.

“Hey Pinkie!” Rainbow called out, holding up a Daring Do book. “Guess what I—”

“No time!” Pinkie responded as she left Rainbow in her dust.

A man with a stack of flyers said, “Miss, excuse me! Would you like to join our focus group for—”

“Sorry, not interested!” she yelled as her air pressure blew away the papers.

“Please try our gourmet popcorn samples!” yelled out a woman standing behind a table.

Pinkie proceeded to crash through it without stopping, with all the popcorn landing in her mouth and inside the cannon barrel.

“Swowymmdisisgood!” she said.

Finally, Pinkie arrived at her dorm. Stopping to pull the door open, she pushed her cannon through, only for it to grind to a halt against the frame.

“Oh come on, cannon! When did you get so wide?”

“v_v” the cannon said.

Pinkie stopped when a realization struck her, and she tapped the side of her head. “Oh, duh! In all the excitement, I forgot to put you away!”

The secretary put the cannon behind her and it was gone. She brushed her hands together and, with sagely eyes, said, “Well, now I’ll just seal myself in my room, so I won’t get into a shenanigan again.”

“Hello, Pinkie,” a woman said.

Pinkie jumped and yelped, then turned to see a woman wearing a brown coat, sunglasses, and a headwrap that covered much of her hair. However, to someone that knew her, her beauty and regality was unmistakable. Plus the bits of yellow, pink, and purple hair that were still uncovered.

“Oh, hey Cadance!” Pinkie said with a big smile. “It’s been way too long! Great to see you!” She hugged the princess, but then she pulled away and her expression shifted to suspicion. “Actually wait, why are you meeting me at my dorm without saying you were coming? Is this a shenanigan? Sorry, Twilight said no shenanigans until after the Gala!”

Cadance looked to the side and awkwardly pulled at her gloves. “Well, it’s, uh… actually related to all that. I need your advice about something.” She took a breath. “I’m considering divorcing Shining Armor.”

Pinkie nodded. “Hmm, yeah, I can see why you’d need my—wait what?!” She wildly waved her arms. “You and Shining are—why would you want to leave him?!” She turned and said to herself, “Helping her looks like a shenanigan, but letting Cadance leave him would be an even bigger shenanigan. Sorry Twilight, but this is for your own good.”

Cadance twirled a finger through her hair. “You know how Auntie Celestia invited me and Shining to the Gala?”

Pinkie tapped her chin. “I did not know that, but go on.”

“Well, as guests of honor, we’ll be expected to dance. Otherwise it’ll be perceived as me putting a curse on the event and all of its participants, so say the Old Rules.”

Pinkie smiled with her eyes closed. “Neat!”

“The problem is, when I mess up and ruin the dance, that means I’ll ruin something that Twilight worked so hard on. I’ll bring shame to her and Shining, and I can’t let myself stay with Shining then.” Cadance finally looked at Pinkie in the eye and said, “So what do you suggest? Do you have a divorce greeting card or anything? This isn’t really my area of expertise.”

Pinkie laughed and waved an arm. “Oh Cadance, you’re just afraid of dancing? Come on, I’m sure you’re great! Just give yourself to the beat like Twilight, and you’ll be fine!”

Cadance rubbed an arm. “I’m a, well, bigger problem than Twilight on the dance floor.”

Pinkie fluttered her lips. “How bad could it be? Come on, let’s see your moves!”

The princess looked around. “You mean here?”

Pinkie smirked then stomped her foot twice. A second later, the floor opened up underneath the two and they fell into the darkness.

Cadance screamed for several seconds until she landed on a cushion. Rubbing her butt, she said, “Ugh, actually remembering my wings would have been nice.” She looked up and her eyes widened. “Oh my.”

Pinkie Pie stood in the middle of an unexpectedly expansive room, with a large dance floor lit up by colorful spotlights and glowsticks littered around. Her arms were raised up to show off the room. “Sorry, didn’t clean up after the last party yet.”

She zoomed over to Cadance and, before she could react, pulled her to the dance floor sans coat. Pinkie then leapt to the turntables and started playing upbeat music as Cadance stood and blinked.

“Come on, dance!” said Pinkie, as she wiggled her hips and moved her arms.

After a bit, the princess swayed side to side.

“Feel the music!”

Cadance started moving her arms at this point. “I’m actually fine dancing alone, Pinkie,” she said. “The entire problem is when I dance with other people. It can get pretty dangerous.”

At this, Pinkie suddenly appeared next to her. “Ooh, show me!”

Pinkie backed into Cadance while dancing to the music. The princess rolled her eyes in resignation and danced more energetically. Her eyes closed and her tongue stuck out a bit as she moved wildly.

“That’s it, Cadance! You’re really feeling it—”

Cadance's punch came out of nowhere. Pinkie’s perception slowed as the princess’s fist collided with her cheek. Her expression remained the same as it drove further in and her face distorted. First one eye closed by itself, then the other followed. Despite thinking her skull was pretty solid, it bent around the princess’s fist and the very beginnings of a grunt of pain started. Finally, momentum fully imparted, Pinkie’s face snapped back into shape as her whole body was sent flying. She rolled in the air, bouncing off the ground as she spun, until she finally crashed into a wall, creating a cloud of dust.

Cadance, still with her arm extended, slowly opened her eyes in dread, then gasped. “Pinkie! Are you OK?”

The dust died down and the prone Pinkie gave a thumbs up. “I’m OK!”

Cadance pulled Pinkie up and looked her over. The secretary shook her head to properly mess up her hair, and true to word, she didn’t seem worse for wear. The princess sighed. “When I was younger, I used to attend many school dances. Despite my solo dancing not being all that impressive, I was often approached by potential dance partners. We’d dance a bit, but then… what happened to you happened.” She smirked and narrowed her eyes, “I actually got a nickname from that.”

Flower petals blasted around her as she said, “La baiser venimeux de l'amant.”

Pinkie watched the petals. “Ooh, fancy!”

“It means ‘the lover’s venomous kiss’.” She brushed hair behind her ear. “Which, well, it’s a reference to how I keep punching people I dance with, but as far as nicknames go, I’m pretty proud.”

Pinkie rubbed her chin. “But what about Shining? Didn’t you two dance at the wedding?”

“Well, I just kind of swayed and marched in place. Maybe I started getting into it, but I didn’t send Shining flying, so obviously I didn’t go too crazy, even though it went on for a while. We don’t really dance or go to dances otherwise.”

Pinkie nodded then winked. “Well don’t worry, Cadance. I know just what to do with your punching!”

In Pinkie’s secret chamber, she and Cadance stood in a boxing ring. Pinkie wore a sweatshirt and held up her hands in large punch mitts, designed to catch a fighter’s punches. Cadance wore exercise clothes and bobbed and weaved as she struck the mitts with her gloved fists. After a few jabs, Pinkie swiped a hand, and Cadance quickly ducked.

“Give me an uppercut!” shouted Pinkie as she directed her palms downward.

Channeling energy through her whole body, the princess erupted upwards. She struck the mitts with such force that one came off Pinkie’s hand and flew into the air. Cadance stayed in her uppercut pose as Pinkie cheered.

“You’re doing great, kid!” Pinkie said. “You’ll master the Dempsey Roll in no time!”

Cadance blinked. “Wait, I thought you were going to help me with my dancing. We’re just making my punches stronger!”

Pinkie gasped and put her hands to the side of her head. “Oh no! We are, aren’t we!”

She rang the bell and the boxing ring shot into the ground, leaving her and Cadance behind in the air. They then landed on the dance floor.

“I’m getting used to all this sooner than I expected,” said Cadance.

“OK, fix up your dancing, not your punching. Wow, I was way on the wrong track there. Anyway, let’s start with the basics.” She slid up next to Cadance and put her right foot forward. “Put your right foot in.”

Cadance did so.

“Put your right foot out.”

Cadance did so.

“Put your right foot in.”

Cadance did so.

“And shake it all about!”

Cadance did so. Then kept shaking it. She shook it faster and faster until she rapidly kicked with a flurry of strikes that Pinkie had to dive to avoid.

“Hyakuretsukyaku?!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Cadance stopped and sighed. “It’s like I told you, it’s whenever I’m dancing with someone else. Even something simple like this.”

Pinkie tapped her chin. “Maybe we need to put enough weights on you that you can’t punch anyone.”

“I’ve tried that before, but that just ended up making my punches even stronger. And now we’re here.”

Pinkie tapped her chin harder. “Hmm…”

She tapped her chin even harder. “Hmmmm…”

Then she smiled and shrugged. “Well, nothing else to it. Guess we gotta get you used to the feeling of dancing with someone without hitting them.”

Cadance raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? You aren’t saying you’ll…”

Pinkie nodded. “Yup. I’ll take as long as it needs, or at least until the Gala, but I’ll keep dancing with you until you get this down.” She wagged a finger. “Plus, this means I won’t get into any other shenanigans.”

“You sure? I’ll probably be hitting you a lot.”

“It’s fine. I can take a hit. Plus, I’ll just play some montage music and it’ll go by fast.”

“Well, if you say so.”

Pinkie jumped up to the turntable and put on a disc labeled “Montage Music”. She turned it on, and time distorted.

It starts with
One thing, I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try

In the secret chamber, the music continued playing as Pinkie twirled and then offered a hand to Cadance. The princess took it and twirled herself, closing her eyes. Her leg shot out and clocked Pinkie on the side of her head, sending her into a wall. She opened her eyes and gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.

I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
For all this, there's only one thing you should know

On another day, Pinkie and Cadance stood in a grassy field. They moved slowly and deliberately, as though practicing yoga, up until Cadance slowly lifted Pinkie and deliberately crushed her between her arms and a knee. Coming out of her trance, she gasped as Pinkie fluttered to the ground like a flat piece of paper.

I've put my trust in you!
Pushed as far as I can go!
For all this, there's only one thing you should know!

On yet another day, Pinkie and Cadance danced in a deep indoor pool, wearing snorkels and swimsuits. The water impeded their movements, and for a bit, it seemed like this would work. Regardless, seconds later, Pinkie flew out of the pool with a column of water, and crashed into the ceiling.

I tried so hard and got so far
But in the end, it doesn't even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the end, it doesn't even matter

“Ah crud!” Pinkie said, holding up the disc. “I used the dramatic fight montage AMV music, not the training montage music! I really should label these better.”

Cadance stood on the dance floor and gripped her arm tightly. “The Gala is tomorrow, Pinkie, and I feel like all I’ve done is get better at slapstick.” She tilted her head. “Maybe I should get a greeting card for Shining after all. I don’t want to make it sound like a bad thing that we’re getting divorced. Maybe something like, ‘Congratulations, you’re single!’ Though I mean I guess it wouldn’t be that different for him, since we have an open relationship, and last I checked, he was having fun with Spearhead.”

Pinkie rushed up to her. “Cadance, don’t worry! It won’t come to that! I know we only have a day left, but I have something that’ll definitely work!”

Cadance frowned slightly. “Oh Pinkie, I don’t want to hurt you again. Besides, if Shining is still in an open relationship after our divorce, being his secret lover wouldn’t be terrible, I think.”

“You won’t be hurting me!” said Pinkie. “You’ll be hurting”—she snapped her fingers—”them!”

The trap door in the ceiling sprung open, and two women fell onto the cushion on the floor with a yelp.

“Uh, Pinkie,” said Cadance, “the entire thing about me dancing was supposed to be a secret. Well, I guess everyone that knew me as la baiser venimeux de l'amant already knows, but still.”

Pinkie winked. “Not to worry! I didn’t tell them about that at all!”

The first new arrival got up. “I keep forgetting that’s there,” she said in a southern accent.

“Woah, this place looks different when there isn’t a party,” said the other, who brought out her blue wings as if to say she deliberately chose to fall to the ground, and wasn’t just startled.

Pinkie sprung up to them and said, “Cadance, meet Applejack and Rainbow Dash! Applejack, Rainbow Dash, I’d like you to meet your new training partner, Princess Cadance!”

Cadance waved back with a look of confusion on her face.

Rainbow put a fist in her palm. “So you’re the sensei that Pinkie’s been talking about, huh? You don’t look that tough.”

Applejack responded, “Now hold on, we’ve both seen the kind of damage a princess can do. That kinda attitude will get you knocked out in a second.”

“Speak for yourself. I’ll last way longer than you.”

The two grunted taunts back and forth while stretching, and Cadance took this opportunity to wave Pinkie over. “What are they talking about?”

Pinkie narrowed her eyes and moved her fingers around. “I told them that you’re a karate master that’s going to put them through some intense fight training set to music. I just had to make sure Applejack said she’d be better at it than Rainbow, and that right there got them both on board.”

“But why? I don’t think this will help with my dancing.”

“Well, it might be all the hits to my head, but I managed to piece together something. Way back at the start of this, you said that you didn’t attack Shining Armor when you two danced.”

“Yes, because we were slow dancing at a wedding and I was being careful.”

“But we’ve slow danced with you being careful before, right?” Pinkie spread out her arms. “And you still sent me flying!”

Cadance tapped her chin. “I suppose. There must have been something else different. If it’s true love, then that won’t really help when others ask to dance with me.”

“If I’m right, we’ll get the answer after you dance with Rainbow and AJ for a bit. Don’t worry about hitting them, they’re way tougher than me.” She pumped her fist up. “Plus, their rivalry will push them to new heights!”

The princess tilted her head. “Well, if you say so.”

Pinkie turned to the two fighters. “Alright, girls! Get ready! I want you to get close to Cadance and dance with her. She’ll be attacking you during the dance, so watch out for that! Whoever lasts the longest wins!”

Applejack said, “This is the weirdest competition you’ve ever given us, but that ain’t gonna stop me from winning.”

She and Rainbow both bunched up against Cadance, who awkwardly blinked.

Pinkie started playing energetic electronic music, and shouted, “Cadance, really give it to them!”

As Rainbow and Applejack nodded to the beat, the princess shrugged and started swaying her hips and moving her arms.

“Woah!” Applejack yelled as she blocked a right hook from Cadance with a cross-arm guard and skidded a few feet away, but stayed upright regardless. She shook the struck arm and walked back. “Alright, I guess there is something to this after all.”

Rainbow barely dodged out of the way of Cadance’s knee attack and laughed. “Only an idiot would let herself get hit by—” Rainbow gasped and ducked below a roundhouse kick.

And so it went. The beat grew more intense and Cadance threw out uppercuts, jabs, kicks, and even grabs, but Applejack blocked the attacks that went her way, and Rainbow Dash dodged. Pinkie watched carefully from the disc booth, or at least as carefully as she could while making balloon animals. After a dodge from Rainbow, Cadance’s foot skidded a bit after landing on the floor, and Pinkie’s eye glinted.

Eventually, Rainbow said, “Hey, I know unpredictability is part of all this, but it’s been like three minutes without any attacks. What’s the hold up?”

Still dancing to the beat, the princess’s eyes widened. “Wait, you mean I haven’t been attacking you?”

“I wasn’t going to mention anything,” said Applejack, “but yeah, you haven’t hit me in a long time either.”

“Aha!” Pinkie declared as she jumped up and pointed. “I knew it!” The other women stopped to listen, but Pinkie said, “No, keep dancing.”

Shrugging, they continued dancing to the music while Pinkie paced in front of them, now holding a bubble pipe. “As we all know, Cadance can’t help but randomly attack people close to her while she’s dancing, due to some weird quirk of her martial arts training combined with her princess power.”

“Wait, that’s what’s going on here?” asked Applejack.

Pinkie laughed. “Oh right, I was supposed to hide that part. Whoopsie!” As Cadance rolled her eyes, Pinkie continued, “However, there was one time that Cadance danced without hitting anyone, during her wedding. Or so we thought! Let me propose something: what if Cadance was hitting someone during that dance!”

Cadance gasped. “You don’t mean…?”

“That’s right, princess! Shining Armor was well aware of your dancing history—seriously, how could he not? You have a nickname about it and everything. So he went into that dance with a magic barrier around him, and he was prepared to receive all your attacks.”

Cadance looked up and furrowed her brows. “Really? But we danced for a while, and he was still weak from—”

“From Chrysalis’s attack on the wedding, yes.” Pinkie blew some bubbles from her pipe. “There was another piece to the puzzle, and I just now confirmed it. Princess Cadance, if you dance for long enough without landing a clean blow, your body finally adjusts and you start dancing without attacking people!”

“I, uh…” Cadance looked at the dance partners on either side of her, who both had confused expressions on their faces, but were clearly not subject to random attacks from her. “Huh.”

“Keep dancing, Cadance!” shouted Pinkie as she raised a fist. “Burn this feeling into your soul! The feeling of nonviolent dancing! That’ll prepare you for tomorrow.” She tilted her head and smiled. “But also, you should probably have Shining cast a barrier around your dance partners.”

Cadance nodded. “Thank you, Pinkie. I think I won’t need those divorce greeting cards after all.”

Rainbow and Applejack’s faces twisted in reaction.

Pinkie sighed and relaxed in her DJ chair. “I can’t believe it. Only one day until the Gala, and because I’ve been spending all my time helping Cadance, that means I haven’t been up to any shenanigans. Well, besides this. So no shenanigans that Twilight has to know about!”

The dancing continued for several more minutes, then the music stopped. Everyone was sweating and got off the dance floor to sit in some chairs.

Pinkie jumped down to them. “That was great, everyone!”

“Thank you for everything, Pinkie,” the princess said with a sincere smile.

“It wasn’t really what I expected, but I got a good workout,” said Applejack. “And some sore arms.”

“Yeah, thanks you two,” said Rainbow. “As for me, I got a good workout without getting hit, so I won this contest.”

Applejack sighed. “Sure, I’ll give you that, sugarcube. Dinner’s on me, then.”

Cadance giggled. “So you two are good friends, then?”

“You could say that,” said Rainbow. “But we’re more than that. We’re rivals!”

“Exactly right,” Applejack said, and they fist-bumped.

Cadance got up and smiled with her eyes closed. “In that case, out of gratitude for everything you two have done for me today, I declare you married!”

There was a pause.

Pinkie blinked. “Eh?”

Wedding bells rang in the distance, the sound piercing into the underground chamber. The magic of love flowed into the hearts of Rainbow and Applejack, lifting them into the air and making their eyes sparkle. With the glow of matrimony, even their exercise clothes felt like wedding garb.

“Ehhh?”

With all of her authority as a princess, Cadance said, “You may kiss the bride.”

Rainbow and Applejack gazed at each other, knowing they were going to share a life together. Their lips met, and then met again. Then they fell to the ground kissing.

“Ehhhhhhhhh?”

Cadance finally noticed Pinkie’s wide-eyed expression and blinked innocently. “Oh? Was that not appropriate? Sorry, I’ve been on a rivals-to-lovers kick lately, and I just get excited when I see two people in love.”

After a few seconds, Pinkie shrugged. “Well, at least Twilight can’t blame this on me.”

The newlyweds chose to hold their reception after the Gala, so Applejack’s very large extended family could attend. Even so, the short time remaining until the Gala, and the event itself, was filled with more shenanigans that couldn’t be blamed on the student council secretary—stories for another time. She was disappointed but not surprised that the others couldn’t handle the no-shenanigan ordeal she went through.

However, the fruits of her labor would be realized soon. It was time for the Gala guests of honor to dance.

Princess Cadance stepped out with a flowing pink dress, while Prince Shining Armor wore a purple suit. Pinkie stood alongside Twilight, with the other council members somewhere else in the crowd. The music started and they danced beautifully. Twilight clapped and cheered on her brother and sister-in-law. Pinkie’s keen eyes saw Cadance’s near-imperceptible strikes and how Shining’s magic barrier protected him, making Pinkie bite her lips. However, the attacks quickly died down, and they soon danced perfectly and regally, with no one else seeming to have noticed. But soon was the moment of truth.

Another pair joined the dance, and then they switched partners. Cadance danced with another noble and Pinkie crossed her fingers. Seconds passed, and finally a minute, before the princess switched to yet another partner. Pinkie clapped and cheered, tears of joy pouring out. She nudged Twilight and declared, “That’s my baby out there. I’m so proud of her.”

Twilight slowly nodded and raised an eyebrow. “Did I miss something?”

12. Wallflower Saves the Day

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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.

13. The Gala, Part 1 - Rarity and Twilight Don't Dance With Each Other

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Even in the romantic late spring of Canterlot, when all the kingdom’s elite couples gather for the Gala, the sun must set. The lowering light cast shadows over the city, and on a cleared out road, a man slithered through the darkness. He sat alone in dim light, his wooden carriage shaking from its old wheels. He wore a brown coat and a brown hat that shaded his face, making it imperceptible.

In his lap, he held a black mask. He examined the front, looking over its green eyes and white fangs protruding from its mouth. With a gloved hand, he wiped off a stray bit of dust.

It was time to abandon himself for the night. He placed the mask on his face and his form changed immediately. Gone were his dull clothes, replaced by a black tuxedo, and his hat transformed into a top hat, revealing a mane of white hair and a long beard. No longer in the shadows, his face was bright yet aged and wrinkled.

Minutes later, a knock came from the carriage door. “Lord Gray Bean, we are approaching the Gala,” announced the driver.

The man grunted in approval, then sneered to himself. Little did the driver, nor any of Gray Bean’s staff, realize that the lord had been absent for quite some time now, held in stasis in a warehouse outside the city. No, the man they had been serving for the past weeks was a changeling.

Changelings had been part of Celestia’s kingdom for years, but there were still holdouts. Still those who served the true queen.

Including her top assassin.

Detecting changelings in disguise would be a simple matter for any security at the Gala, but with his mask, he had transformation magic beyond that of any changeling. He was truly undetectable.

He mentally went over the profiles he had memorized, shifting into each person in turn. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Mudbriar, Fluttershy, Rarity. Then finally, his target.

Princess Twilight Sparkle.

He pulled out his mirror and examined his face. A perfect match, as to be expected from such a highly public figure. Her dress and makeup would have to be ascertained on site, but he always had an eye for detail.

Returning to his Gray Bean form, he flicked his wrist and a knife popped into his hand. The mechanism was hidden perfectly under his transformed skin.

His assignment from the queen was as follows: kill Princess Twilight Sparkle in the form of one of her student council members and drive Equestria into chaos. As he interpreted the request, he needed to meet the following additional criteria: (1) perform this murder in public view, (2) have the imitated student council member be close enough that they could be apprehended, (3) ideally, be scanned for changeling magic with a negativie result, and (4) escape undetected.

It would be impossible for anyone else, but for him, it would be simple.

The carriage slowed to a halt and the door opened. He stepped into the warm spring air and was greeted by colorful flowers and detailed woven banners depicting acts of friendship. In-character, he smiled warmly, and his true self smiled too. While the student council members all had their quirks, they were the face of the prestigious Canterlot Royal Academy and the envy of all students. They were kind, virtuous, and friendly, thus making them weak and easy to imitate. Obtaining intel from inside their council room would have been ideal, but he doubted there was much of interest that he couldn’t already glean from public information.

Their appearances and personalities were ingrained in his mind, and his dossiers were up to date as of the previous day.

As Lord Gray Bean’s arrival was announced, he tipped his hat and immediately shook the hand of one of his identity’s acquaintances.

After all, what could change in a day?

Energetic music bounced off the walls in an outdoors dance area. Twilight swayed and clapped as she watched Cadance and Shining dance with various guests, her purple dress swishing around. She cheered when Pinkie Pie jumped into the fray and danced with Cadance. Then her eyes widened when Cadance proceeded to swing her around wildly and fling her into the air. Thankfully, a quick save from Shining’s magic resulted in her landing safely and everyone clapped as though this was intentional.

Twilight tilted her head. Maybe it was? Pinkie was saying odd things a second ago, so maybe she set this up with Cadance earlier.

A woman in a white dress stepped up to Twilight’s side. “Quite a boisterous party. It’s certainly much more interesting than the normal Gala. I’m very impressed.”

Twilight looked up with a smile at her mentor. “Princess Celestia! Thank you, but if you’re going to compliment the energy, then that’s all Pinkie Pie. She’s the party master, after all. Plus Rarity’s vision, and everyone else’s contributions.”

Celestia smiled warmly. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. It’s thanks to your leadership that all those visions could come together in one. You’ve certainly made your mark.”

Celestia winked, and Twilight blushed. The young princess then asked, “By the way, I haven’t seen Princess Luna. Is she enjoying herself?”

Celestia waved her hand. “Oh, Luna was never one for parties, especially not the Gala. I thought she’d like this one since it wouldn’t be as stuffy, but once the music started, she covered her ears and flew away.”

Twilight frowned. “Oh, that’s a shame. Well, there are designated low-volume areas, so hopefully Luna’s in one of them and didn’t leave the party entirely.”

“I’ve never fully understood what goes through my sister’s head, but I’m sure she didn’t.”

From the dancing area, Cadance twirled then stopped in front of the other princesses. “Oh my, Twilight, what are you doing just standing there?” She reached out her hand and narrowed her eyes with a smirk. “Let’s dance.”

Twilight giggled and held her hand. “Are you sure? You know how I dance.”

“Trust me, the dance floor is more than wild enough for you.”

Cadance pulled Twilight in and the students cheered. Approximating the music’s rhythm, Twilight first tapped her feet, then stomped her feet, then lifted her knees and swung her limbs around wildly. Cadance joined in, twisting her hips and performing what Twilight could almost swear were dangerous martial arts punches and kicks. Witnessing this, the cheering from most of the others fell into a chorus of confused grunts, but Pinkie Pie’s cheering alone surpassed everyone else’s before and this proved infectious.

They got close and the two princesses swung each other around. “So Twilight, isn’t there someone else you’d like to dance with right now?” Cadance said conspiratorially.

Twilight blinked. Did she mean Shining? However, her mind was on someone else. She looked around and quickly spotted the woman in question. Rarity stood at the edge of the dance floor, holding a drink in one hand and chatting with a tall woman she recognized as Sassy Saddles. As expected from the student council vice-president, she wore an elegant and eye-catching red dress. Twilight blushed a bit, remembering a certain set of modeling photos that got a strong reaction from her, but this was a different and much more modestly-cut dress.

Twilight looked around, charting a path that would take her to Rarity with minimal conversations. First of all, to not make Cadance suspicious, she’d switch over to Shining. She’d have to spend some time with him, but then she’d dance with Fiddlesticks from the music department, then Bon Bon from security, then Sandbar from the high school, and finally her goal. As she calculated it, there’d be zero reason for suspicion, since as far as anyone watching could tell, her movements would be pure happenstance.

Cadance separated from Twilight, giving her a wink before switching to a student she grabbed at random from the crowd, who took a second to parse who he was with and nearly fell over in shock. Twilight giggled, then put her plan into motion and drifted over to Shining. Twilight made some small talk with him, but soon (from his expression, too soon for Shining, but he’d manage) she moved on to the next person she calculated, Silverstream, then the next. Her eyes glinted. Rarity was in sight.

Just as she twirled away from Sandbar, someone stepped in her path.

“Gya!” the princess cried out as she stumbled to a stop in front of a blank-faced Mudbriar. She collected herself and stood up straight. “Mudbriar, what is it?”

“Pardon, but there’s an issue with the flow of people throughout the campus.”

Twilight peeked over his shoulder at a laughing and smiling Rarity. “What do you mean?”

“You see, I was conversing with my girlfriend, Maud, on the subject of fossil evidence of ancient flora when someone bumped into me and he said, ‘Sorry, I didn’t see you there,’ and I replied, ‘Technically, you likely saw me but your mind didn’t process that information in time,’ and—”

Twilight noticed at this point that Rarity was walking away. “Mudbriar, is this important? Some congestion is only going to be natural, so we don’t need to be too concerned about it.”

Mudbriar blinked. “From my projections, there will be a catastrophic collapse at the garden.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “The garden? Is there really that much activity there?”

“M’yes,” he replied simply.

Twilight looked again and found that Rarity was nowhere in sight. She sighed. “Alright, fine, show me.”

Mudbriar turned and walked sharply toward the garden. “We can see it best from the gazebo.”

Twilight did her best not to slouch but did regardless. She walked after the student council accountant. Ultimately, she still had a job to do here, and besides, dancing with Rarity was quite risky, wasn’t it? It was for the best that she didn’t make that move.

Walking toward the gardens, they passed by smaller groups of people sitting on benches and at tables placed at strategic locations. Twilight was glad they were seeing use, at least. No location was too far from a dining area, and many people had snacks with them, including some desserts. Twilight figured it might be good to grab a snack herself once whatever this problem was got resolved.

But then something caught her eye. Or rather, someone. She had never met this girl, but something about her made her mental processor run in overdrive. She sat with two other girls her age—too young for either the college or the high school, so they must be plus ones. She had puffy hair with two purple tones and wore a dress with a simple elegance that felt very familiar. Suddenly, it clicked into place: this was Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s sister.

A vision popped in her head.

“Rarity!” yelled Sweetie Belle as she tugged Twilight’s dress. “Princess Twilight is so amazing! If you married her, she’d be my sister in law, so can you do it?”

Rarity flushed red. “Oh, well, Sweetie, this is all quite sudden.”

Sweetie’s eyes sparkled. “Please~?”

Rarity giggled. “Well, if you’re insisting so strongly, there’s no way I could say no.”

This was it! This was her chance!

She veered away from Mudbriar, who looked at her with a blank expression. “That isn’t the direction of the problem.”

Twilight turned back to the council member with a determined look on her face, her hair swishing in the wind. “Mudbriar, over the months I’ve led the student council, I’ve been nothing short of amazed by what everyone can do, and that includes you. Celestia always told me not to take on too much myself, but I’ve been hesitant to delegate major problems to you and the others. That changes now.” She put a hand to her chest. “I have every confidence you’ll know what to do. In fact, knowing you, you already know what to do and were just looking for permission, weren’t you?”

Mudbriar raised a finger, “Technically—”

Twilight telekinetically pushed him down the hallway and waved. “Don’t worry, you can handle it! You have my full confidence!”

The princess turned back to Sweetie and the others while Mudbriar stared silently, a cold breeze blowing his short hair. He walked around the corner and disappeared.

Sitting at a table near the dance floor, Rarity cheerfully conversed with some of her underclassmen.

“It’s just nice following along with a long-running fanfic that goes on for years,” said a girl with braided purple hair. “It has a cozy feeling, you know.”

Though Rarity had to admit she wasn’t quite following what the conversation was about. Her mind drifted back to minutes ago, when it seemed like Twilight was approaching her, only for Mudbriar to intercept about some issue with the garden—rather than focusing on her conversation with Sassy, she strained to hear Twilight’s, of course. Even if it was simply a courtesy dance, she was quite peeved she was denied it.

The other girl sitting with them, with long blue hair covered in crystal decorations, fluttered her lips. “But you know what’s really weird about long fanfics? When the later chapters randomly include characters introduced waaaaay after the fic started, and it completely takes you out of it!”

The purple-haired girl laughed. “You know Izzy, I hadn’t thought of that, but yeah, it is weird! Especially when they’re from a sequel.”

Rarity grinned uneasily, trying to find a way to comment.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash skidded to a stop at the table. “Rarity, quick, I need your help!”

“Oh thank Celestia,” Rarity said. Then she stood up and quickly added, “What I mean is, it was a pleasure talking to you girls, but I must attend to… whatever this is.”

The two girls paid them no heed and continued chatting. Though she wanted out, she also didn’t appreciate their lack of interest in her, so she humphed as she left.

“Now Rainbow, what is it you need?”

Rainbow Dash grabbed her hands. “Quick, I have to know! Should I be dancing with Applejack?”

Rarity shook her hands loose. “Well of course, darling! She is your wife, after all.”

Rainbow scratched the back of her head. “Yeah, but we walked together to the dance floor earlier, and then I just went off on my own, and now I realize she probably wanted to dance with me. But if I dance with her now, it’ll look like someone had to tell me to dance with her.”

Rarity put a hand on her shoulder and laughed. “My, someone is overthinking things.”

Rainbow blinked. “I’m overthinking things?!”

“Hey, who’s overthinking things?!” cried out a voice.

Rainbow and Rarity looked toward it only for the source to pop up behind them. Months ago, they would have screamed, but now that they were used to her, their hearts simply skipped a beat.

“Silly Dashy!” Pinkie said with an impervious smile. “Don’t overthink things, just dance!” She shook her hip and waved her arms. “Think of this like your reception and tear up the floor!”

Rainbow puffed out her chest. “You’re right! I’ve been hanging out with Rarity too much. Time to dance with my wife!”

With that, she dashed off, but Pinkie continued grooving. “You too, Rarity! I haven’t seen you dance at all!”

Rarity waved her hand. “Yes, well, I prefer talking during parties. I save my dancing only for the cream of the crop.”

“You mean like royalty?”

Rarity flushed red. “What? Royalty? What are you saying? I’m not interested in royalty! Don’t be ridiculous, you’re being too silly now, Pinkie! Far far too silly!”

“Oh, I just meant that there’s like Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, Prince Shining Armor, all kinds of cream you could dance with just around here.”

Rarity blinked. “Oh, yes, that royalty. I suppose I may as well cut the rug with one of them, as the kids say. I wonder, is it worth getting close with Shining Armor, or would that be too obvious?”

Pinkie tilted her head while still dancing. “Worth it? Obvious?”

Rarity waved her hand. “Nothing, nothing!”

Pinkie bumped her with her hip. “I think today’s shown that I’m not the only silly one around here. Anyway, looks like that prince over there is available.”

Rarity turned around, and she immediately wished she hadn’t. Standing by himself, wind blowing through blonde hair that hid a noxious heart, was a certain Prince Blueblood. Rarity turned back to Pinkie, gritting her teeth. “Pinkie, that’s the absolute worst prince to dance with.”

“Oh, you know him?”

“You know my reputation for wooing noblemen? Well one time I tried my luck with Blueblood, and he turned out to be an absolute peasant of a prince!”

Pinkie scratched her head. “But aren’t you a peas—”

Rarity spread her arms. “He would make me pay for food, he belittled my friends, and he even made me open the door for him!”

“That does sound bad,” Pinkie said with wide eyes. “But he’s also coming this way, so you’ll probably have to dance with him anyway.”

“He’s what?”

“Miss Rarity!” the prince called out. Rarity shivered, then spun around with her attempt at a sincere smile. To her mild relief, Blueblood was smiling himself and didn’t seem like he wanted to make a scene. “Quite a surprise running into you here.”

Rarity laughed and waved her hand. “Well, I am one of the organizers. The bigger surprise is seeing you here.”

“Yes, well the nobility goes where the princesses do. There’s little point in going to the actual Grand Galloping Gala if all of them are here. One would be surprised that they let the paupers stick around after that, however, hence what I said.”

Rarity wasn’t sure if he was trying to specifically insult her or if that was just how he viewed the world.

Pinkie jumped in, smiling but with narrow suspicious eyes. “I’m Pinkie Pie, by the way.”

Blueblood’s face lit up. “Ah yes, the Pies are a fairly well off family. And all of the Pie daughters are available, with the exception of the second-eldest.”

Dropping her smile, Rarity asked, “What are you thinking, you brute?”

Blueblood blinked. “Oh yes, I apologize for thinking out loud. Normally I would ask for a dance from Lady Pie, but I have loftier goals in mind tonight, so with you two being student council members, I have another question for you. Where might I find Princess Twilight Sparkle?”

Rarity instantly realized what he was up to and laughed. “Oh my, don’t tell me you intend to woo Twilight?”

The prince puffed his chest out. “And why not? She’s new royalty, and this is her first major gala as such. It wouldn’t take much to sweep her off her feet, and whoever does so is sure to gain a lot of prestige. I’m certainly a better match than all those other ruffians.”

Rarity keeled over. “You’re serious, aren’t you! You really think that Twilight would give you the time of day and—” she froze “—wait, others?”

As though on cue, the music stopped, the lights on the dance floor dimmed, and a spotlight passed over the people gathered there.

Pinkie scratched her chin. “Huh, I didn’t put a spotlight here.”

After a few seconds of searching, it finally settled on a man standing on the roof of a building. He knelt down, raised one hand to the sky and covered his face with the other, emphasizing his luxurious brown hair. Comments like “Wait, is that…?” and “OMC it is!” peppered the crowd and grew in intensity until he finally uncovered his face. Smirking, he simply said, “Hey.”

The crowd grew wild and three women made a big show of fainting.

Rarity twisted her lips. “Those girls were totally planted.”

Pinkie shook her. “Rarity, look! It’s world-famous pop sensation Feather Bangs! I didn’t know he was performing here! Why didn’t you tell me?”

Rarity’s eyes grew wide. “That’s Feather Bangs? Oh my, what a remarkable guest, then! I wonder why he’d decide to…”

It hit Rarity.

“Oh no, don’t tell me…”

Pulling a microphone out of nowhere, Feather Bangs swished his hair and said, “It’s lovely to see all you folks out here tonight, but there’s one lady in particular I’d like to dedicate this song to. You could say she’s the sparkle of this twilight gathering.” He winked.

Rarity put a hand to her forehead as Pinkie said, “Huh, I wonder who that could be.”

All of a sudden, backup dancers appeared behind Feather Bangs as the music resumed. They moved in beat as Feather Bangs sang, “Oh, oh / Oh, ah-oh.

“When you appeared before me
My heart stopped beating
Stars crossed the sky
To come see what I was seeing
You were the one
That made me believe I could fly
Whoa, whoa, whoa.”

Rarity stared aghast as the crowd went wild. Even Pinkie was grooving in place. However, before she could finish processing it, a guitar riff interrupted the song.

On the opposite building from Feather Bangs stood a man with an electric guitar. Feather’s music halted as the new arrival continued wailing on the guitar, finishing with a long riff. He waved back his spikey blue hair and yelled into a mic, “Good evening, Canterlot!”

“OMC it’s Flash Sentry!” screamed someone in the crowd and people started cheering.

Flash Sentry was the lead performer of Flash Drive, and unlike Feather Bangs, was a student at the school. His bandmates appeared behind him and he continued, “Now, if I’m understanding my pop friend correctly, he’s trying to win over the heart of a certain Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Pinkie oohed. “He’s good. I didn’t get that at all.”

“But you know what?” asked Flash as his bandmates played a sting with their instruments. “Maybe it makes more sense for someone who actually met Twilight to win her heart!” He wailed on his guitar once again.

“He met Twilight?” Rarity asked Pinkie.

Pinkie nodded. “Twilight crashed into him in the hallway once. Pretty sure that’s the only time they met, though.”

Feather Bangs laughed. “Hey now, we may not have met, but our hearts are connected and share the same beat. It goes a little something like this.”

The music resumed on Feather’s side and Flash cried out, “Oh no you don’t!”. Spinning his arms to wind up, he loudly strummed his guitar.

“Everyone hold it!” cried out a voice.

A blast of purple smoke exploded on top of a third building, making everyone stop playing. It dissipated and revealed a woman wearing a purple cape and a large purple hat covered in stars. She dramatically swished it and declared, “The Great and Powerful Trixie is up to the challenge! Whether it be seducing a princess or winning some battle of the bands, or both, Trixie will be the victor! Though Trixie isn’t quite sure which we’re doing first.”

Princess Blueblood scoffed. “Like I said, ruffians. Especially that last one.”

“Hey, what are you—” Trixie said to an unseen person behind her. Two people in security uniforms climbed onto the roof and reached out for her. Trixie jumped over an arm and declared, “You fools! Trixie requires no tickets! Trixie is desired for everything!”

“You may as well tell me where Princess Twilight is,” Blueblood continued, examining his nails. “Surely I’m a better option than any of them.”

A guard grabbed Trixie’s leg and she shrieked. “Unhand me! You can’t treat Trixie this way!”

Rarity heard a playful voice behind her. “Oh my, this is getting quite out of hand, isn’t this?” She turned to find Princess Cadance standing with an amused smile on her face.

Rarity crossed her arms. “Indeed, this is all becoming quite a nuisance.”

“It almost seems like someone should be setting the record straight.”

“Yes, and—” Rarity blinked and Cadance wiggled her eyebrows. “Oh, yes, of course. I am one of the organizers, after all.” She reached out a hand. “Pinkie, dear, please mic me.” As expected, Pinkie pulled a microphone out of her dress and handed it to Rarity.

Rarity looked around. There was a fourth building she could stand on top of, but that would certainly give the wrong impression. Instead, she opted to stay in place and simply ahemed into the mic. The spotlight immediately moved to her, as to be expected.

“OMC she’s a suitor too!” cried someone from the crowd and it soon went wild. Rarity desperately wanted to yell out that that’s not what’s going on, but she knew how counterproductive that would be. She let this continue for a moment longer, then held up a hand. The crowd hushed.

“Pardon me, lady and gentlemen. I would like to point out that you’re disrupting our fine event. Out of courtesy to your fans, we’ll allow you to stay, but I insist that you cease this madness.”

“It’s not madness, girl,” Feather Bangs said as he swayed his hips. “It’s love.”

Rarity scoffed. “I find that hard to believe, when for all your crowing, the object of your affections isn’t even here.”

Feather Bangs and Flash Sentry both blinked, then looked over the crowd. With wide eyes, they looked toward Rarity.

“Uh, could you tell us where she is?” asked Flash.

“Just so you can bother her? I refuse.”

“Pretty please?” asked Feather Bangs. “I know a sugarplum like you is sweet enough to share.”

Rarity fluttered her eyelashes. “Oh my, hitting on me too? Seems like you aren’t satisfied with just a princess.”

Feather turned red. “Oh, uh, that isn’t what I—”

Before Rarity could continue, Rainbow Dash suddenly flew up and grabbed the mic out of her hands. “Rainbow! What are you—”

Rainbow hovered above the crowd. “Hey everyone!” she called out. “Twilight’s somewhere on campus, and whoever finds her first gets to seduce her! Ready? One two three go!”

She swiped her hand down and immediately the suitors left their roofs. Feather Bangs and his entourage boarded a golden rickshaw that one of his bandmates pulled. Flash Sentry jumped down and crowdsurfed off the dance floor. Even Trixie managed to escape the guards with a well timed smoke bomb. Adding to this, several people in the crowd became emboldened by Rainbow’s contest and ran.

Rarity stood gaping as Rainbow handed her the mic. “There, problem solved. Now let’s get back to dancing!”

Rarity glanced around the now sparse dance floor. “Rainbow, darling, is Applejack even here?”

Rainbow paused, then smacked her head. “Oh consarnit!” She zoomed away like the others.

All except Blueblood, who remained standing in place, swirling a glass. “Well, that was something. Oh, and greetings to you, Cousin Cadance.” He bowed.

With narrow eyes, Cadance nodded. “Cousin Blueblood.”

“Anyway, I’m quite sure that you know Princess Twilight’s location while those others don’t. I think it’s clearly in your best interest to lead me to her. Even if one doesn’t think it’s a good idea, one would also think it best to find Princess Twilight to alert her to the situation, and one would think to follow one who thinks this.”

As Pinkie scratched her head at this, Rarity rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, fine. I really don’t think you’ll get what you want if I lead you to her.”

Blueblood clasped his hands together. “Brava! Now, let me just finish my drink and—”

Rarity sprinted away with Pinkie shortly behind her. Cadance gave Blueblood an amused shrug.

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

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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.

13. The Gala, Part 3 - Sweetie Belle Isn't a Horsey

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Fluttershy breathed evenly as she ran down the path that Twilight and Sweetie Belle were on. Rarity, meanwhile, zigzagged from tree to tree, hiding behind them but making sure not to actually let them touch her dress. The animal liaison looked around warily, yet the fact remained that she wasn’t entirely clear what she was looking for.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t tell Twilight about the suitors?” she asked when Rarity paused behind a lamp post.

Rarity scoffed. “Darling, where’s the drama in that?” She scrunched her brows. “Or rather, I suppose we’re trying to prevent drama. In any case, we stopped one of them without Twilight realizing, so I’m confident we can stop the rest.”

Fluttershy continued looking around. “I mean, I can’t imagine all of them will be so obvious. It’s not like they’ll be skulking in the bushes or…”

Rarity gasped dramatically and pointed ahead of them. Creeping up behind Twilight and Sweetie and ducking into bushes was a flamboyant woman in a large hat and cape. “I remember that ridiculous ensemble! That’s Trixie, one of the suitors!”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Er, forget what I said. Anyway, she’s awfully close. Can we reach her before…?”

Rarity launched forward, coating her legs in magic. Unleashing her mastery of the Northern Darling Style, she skated and twirled past guests. Her magic surged more than it ever had before as she closed the distance.

Trixie peeked out of the bushes and then stepped out, brushing herself off and pulling a bouquet of flowers out of her cape. She only had a second to turn around and widen her eyes before Rarity tackled her.

They tumbled off the path into the grass, then onto another path, then into a closed building, creating a huge crash. This was followed by several fireworks erupting from the stage magician’s dress.

Fluttershy ran to the building and put her hands to her mouth. This all caused quite a stir among the people there, which wasn’t alleviated when the two women came out of the building, smoking and stumbling but not seriously harmed.

“Hah, you fool,” said Trixie in an unstable voice. “Trixie can never die!”

Rarity unsteadily fixed her hair. “You should dye, darling, if you want to hide those unsightly grays.”

Somehow, this seemed to anger her more than the violent tackle. “My hair is blue! It’s all shades of blue!”

“It is good to think like that. Focusing too much on graying will just make them go gray faster, after all.”

Trixie put the back of her hand to her mouth and smiled. “Ah, speaking from experience, I see. Trixie has so much to learn from you about being an ugly loser.”

Despite the simplicity of the comeback, it still dug into Rarity and she stepped forward. “You’re already far ahead of me. For instance, there’s that horrid cape of yours.” Rarity grabbed Trixie’s cape, but she pulled away.

“Ugh! You’re the horrid one! And I bet your friend is horrid too!”

Fluttershy squeaked and backed away.

“Keep Fluttershy out of this! And besides, better to have a friend at all than be a lonely loser like you!”

Trixie gasped. “Trixie has friends!”

Fluttershy wanted to interject, asking if Trixie even knew why she was tackled, but she chose not to speak up as the verbal exchange continued.

The changeling assassin sighed as rubbed his eyes under his mask. “That was quite a nuisance,” he said to himself.

He stepped out of the bushes, looking back at the rainbow-haired woman he left behind.

For an annoyingly long time, Rainbow Dash forced him into a dance while disguised as Applejack. When he realized he wasn’t going to be left alone any time soon, he took advantage of Rainbow directing them to a less active part of the campus by smashing her head into a wall. Less active didn’t mean empty, however, and murder in Applejack’s form could make things difficult for his end goal, so he chose to leave her be.

The assassin shook his head. “What in the world would make Rainbow Dash act in such a way?”

It would be best not to use this Applejack disguise again. Well, that would be no big loss. A bigger loss was that drawing Princess Twilight to the garden would be more difficult now, since she surely checked it herself.

There was still another strategy, however. It was risky, but he practiced long and hard to get down this subject’s mannerisms.

And if he pulled it off, it would cause the biggest scandal of them all.

“You know, I’m pretty surprised,” Twilight said as she walked with Sweetie Belle. “That you’d be interested in an experimental art exhibit, I mean.”

Sweetie nodded. “Yeah, my sister hates it. I took her to this one black box experimental theater performance, and she complained the entire time.” She stretched out her arms. “There aren’t supposed to be fancy costumes! That’s the point! It’s stripped down and raw!”

“Well I meant more that you’re pretty young to appreciate all that. You’re quite an intellectual young lady!” Twilight winked.

Sweetie blushed. “Yeah, well, I wish you’d tell that to Rarity.” She paused. “Actually, about Rarity, can I ask… what happened with her earlier today?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh right, Applejack said she’d get you to help with Rarity’s curse. She must have told you what happened.”

“Yeah, and I haven’t really had a chance to talk to her since then.” She furrowed her brows. “So, like, is she OK?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, she’s perfectly fine now. The curse is completely gone.”

“Applejack said you needed someone who loved and understood Rarity. So you found someone else like that?”

Twilight froze, her expression twisting. “Uh huh, yeah,” she said, her voice getting higher. “I broke the curse through our professional respect for each other.”

Sweetie blinked. “What, really? I thought for sure it was that person she keeps taking boob pics for.”

Twilight laughed lightly. “Oh, that definitely isn’t me.”

Sweetie narrowed her eyes. “Well, if you say so. Anyway, I am glad Rarity is alright. She can be really annoying a lot of the time, but she can also be really cool. Plus, you know, she is my sister. Oh, and I probably wouldn’t be at my school with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and the others without her.”

“The three of you are pretty close, huh? Are you sure you’re fine going to the art exhibit without them?”

Sweetie nodded. “Yeah, it’s not like I do everything with them. They wouldn’t get the exhibit.”

Twilight smiled. “What other things do you do without them?”

“Oh, well there’s…” She paused.

The path took them alongside the viewing lake, which several people sat at—notably many couples.

Sweetie blushed. “This is kind of embarrassing to talk about. You can’t tell Apple Bloom and Scootaloo this!”

Twilight smiled partially in support, and partially out of happiness that they were close enough for her to be let in on a secret. “Of course. What is it?”

“Well…”

Before Sweetie Belle could continue, spotlights lit up on the water.

In the middle of the pond was an entire floating stage that Twilight could have sworn wasn’t there a moment ago. A group of men stood on top, but all the lights were focused on a single man with prominently luxurious hair.

The people sitting at the pond began to stir.

“Wait, is that…?”

“OMC it is!”

The man on the stage pulled out a microphone and simply said, “Hey.”

The crowd grew wild and, in the excitement, more people started arriving.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Should I know who that is?”

Sweetie Belle gasped and shrieked, making Twilight cover her ears. “It’s Feather Bangs!” She then proceeded to swear loudly as she jumped up and down in excitement.

Twilight blushed. “Sweetie!” she hissed. “Be polite!”

“But he’s the hottest singer out there! And he’s here!” She shrieked, and Twilight covered her ears again.

“Isn’t he like a popular singer? I thought you were more into indie and experimental art.”

Sweetie’s cheeks puffed. “I can like different things.”

On the stage, Feather Bangs swished his hair and a trio of girls in a paddleboat fainted. He pointed forward and said, “This song goes out to the prettiest princess in the world.”

Twilight crossed her arms and watched passively. It seemed like this Feather Bangs person was pointing in her general direction.

Sweetie Belle definitely knew who he was pointing at, however. She jumped up and down and said, “OMC he’s pointing at me!”

Clearly noticing this reaction, Feather Bangs hesitated. “Uh, to clarify, this goes out to the pretty purple-haired princess standing over there, on the path to our future together.”

Sweetie Belle gasped, putting her hands to her mouth. “My hair’s purple!”

Twilight smiled. She knew musicians would say things like this to make people in the audience feel like they were talking about them, when in reality they were speaking generally, but she didn’t want to break Sweetie’s heart. Still, she was surprised there were that many purple haired girls standing on the path. She looked around and saw one to her right, and she imagined the singer could probably see more where he stood.

“And when I say princess,” he sang, “I mean that lit-er-al-ly.”

The audience cheered. Twilight, on the other hand, rolled her eyes at the way the word “literally” continued being corrupted into meaning the opposite.

Feather Bangs sighed in what Twilight almost thought was exasperation. “You know what, let’s get started, and I’ll open my heart to you, girl.”

The music started and he sang about his love for a powerful and magical purple-haired princess. Twilight wasn’t interested in listening, herself, but Sweetie Belle was clearly invested, so there was no way they could leave. She passed the time analyzing how imagery related to the princesses continued to pervade through modern day love songs.

Rarity pulled at her hair as she watched Feather Bangs’ performance from a distance. “How did we let this happen?!”

Fluttershy rubbed her arms. “Well, you did spend several minutes insulting Trixie until she said she forgot why she was even here and left.”

Rarity waved her hand. “You can hardly blame me for that.”

“And then you had me spray you down with my perfume.”

“Well yes, because I was all sweaty after dealing with that woman, and I threw my perfume bottle at her earlier. In any case, we need to find a way to stop this performance!”

Fluttershy sighed and looked at the show. “He’s already performing in front of everyone. It’d draw a lot of attention to ourselves if we got on the stage.”

Rarity looked around, then snapped her fingers. “Of course! He’s performing on a pond! Fluttershy, you know what else can be found on ponds?”

Fluttershy tilted her head hesitantly. “You mean my duck and goose friends?”

“Precisely! If you ask them to stop the performance, no one will find it strange at all. Especially the goose attacking the stage.”

Fluttershy brushed her foot on the ground. “I generally prefer not to let them tap into their dark nature, but if I must.”

Rarity flipped her hair. “Splendid! Now, it’s for the best that I don’t be seen by Twilight and Sweetie, and I’m sure that this concert will draw in other hoodlums, so I’ll keep an eye out for them.”

Fluttershy nodded and Rarity ran off. Fluttershy closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then honked loudly.

Feather Bangs and his backup dancers swished in tune with the music.

“Can’t hold on much longer
But I will never let go!”

He twirled stage left, and by chance dodged a rocketing duck.

Unimpeded, the singing continued as a goose landed on stage and bit at his pant legs, only for his dance moves to pull him away just in time.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at this. “Uh, is anyone else seeing this?”

She looked at Sweetie Belle, who was still entranced by the song. As far as she could tell, Feather Bangs himself seemed to be completely unaware of the bird attacks, even as more and more climbed onto the stage. The backup dancers were definitely taking notice, though, and backed away.

However, even Feather Bangs couldn’t ignore the massive seal jumping onto the platform and tipping the other side into the air.

Sweating, Feather Bangs brought his mic to his mouth. “Uh, hey there, big fella. You enjoying the music?”

The seal reared its head back and roared loudly. Scrambling away, everyone on the platform fell into the water.

Sweetie gasped. “Oh no! We need to help him!”

Before they could move, they watched as a group of owls lifted Feather Bangs out of the water and into the air. Then they continued past the shore and disappeared behind a building.

Twilight hesitated. “He’s… probably fine. Come on, Sweetie Belle, let’s go see that art exhibit before it’s too late.”

Sweetie hummed. “Alright.”

Rarity glanced around suspiciously. She looked around every corner, peeked behind every bush, and even watched the sky for any more suitors. No one yet. She supposed all the suitors from the initial group were accounted for, but who knew how many got it into their head that they had a chance.

She looked back at the crowd watching the concert, which now diffused—including Twilight and Sweetie Belle walking away. Rarity’s eyes widened. “W-wait!”

She ran forward, only to come to a sudden stop when someone appeared in front of her.

“Woah!” the figure said. When Rarity regained her balance, she realized that it was a young girl with purple hair. She was one of Sweetie’s good friends, Scootaloo, and she was quite fond of Rainbow Dash, as she recalled. And indeed, there was Rainbow Dash… being dragged on the ground by her, unconscious. Scootaloo looked at Rarity, then to Rainbow Dash, then back to Rarity. “It isn’t what it looks like!”

Rarity crossed her arms. “And what, pray tell, is going on?”

She spoke quickly. “I was out looking for Rainbow Dash for Applejack, and I found her lying in some bushes. So I decided to pull her over to Applejack, and now here we are.”

Seemingly roused by the conversation, Rainbow groaned and started getting up. She rubbed her head. “Ugh, what hit me?”

Rarity sighed. “You went to the bar instead of going to see Applejack like you said you would, I imagine.”

Rainbow shook her head. “What are you talking about, Rarity? I definitely danced with Applejack. Oh right! Now I remember!” She parted her hair and revealed a large bump. “Applejack danced really hard and I hit my head against a wall.”

Rarity winced when she looked at the bump. “Ugh, how horrible. We should take you to the guards, they should be able to treat you.”

Scootaloo scratched her head. “Wait, you did dance with Applejack? Then she knocked you out, left you in the bushes, and then went right back to her food stand? And that’s who you married?”

Rainbow looked around. “When you put it like that, it is pretty weird.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Applejack’s at her food stand?”

“Yeah,” said Scootaloo. “And Princess Twilight said she wanted to go dance with Rainbow Dash, but why would she want to do that if she just danced with her? Well, I mean, I guess that isn’t that weird, but why would she need me to look for Rainbow, then? Wait, did she want to frame me for a crime when people saw me with an unconscious Rainbow Dash?!”

Rarity looked around warily. “No, I don’t think that’s it. Is it possible… that one of our changeling guests is causing trouble?”

Scootaloo nodded. “Oh right, that would make sense. So a changeling was disguised as Applejack, Rainbow danced with her, and then when Rainbow hit the wall, they just left.”

Rainbow, still on the ground, wobbled her head. “I guess Applejack was acting kind of weird. Man, if that was a changeling, they could have just said so.”

Rarity rubbed her chin. “Rainbow, did this Applejack approach you for a dance?”

“Oh, nah, I just snatched her off the ground.”

Scootaloo jumped up. “Ooh! I remember now! Applejack wanted Twilight to go to the garden alone with her.” She crossed her arms. “Which, now that we know they were a fake, seems mighty suspicious now.”

Rarity felt her stomach sink. What in the world could all this mean?

Twilight and Sweetie Belle watched an endless waterfall of pure illusion magic flow from the ether and through the holes of a wooden mask. The princess admired the skill required to not only make this illusion, but keep it stabilized for display like this. She glanced at her companion, who tilted her head in contemplation.

“So what do you think?” Twilight asked.

“It definitely looks nice,” Sweetie said. “But the meaning… is pretty basic, isn’t it?”

Twilight had no clue what the art was getting at. “Oh, really? But you know, just because it’s basic doesn’t mean it’s without significance.”

Twilight looked at Sweetie, hoping she wouldn’t have to elaborate. After endless seconds, the girl shrugged and said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

The outdoor art gallery was a designated quiet area of the campus for this event, and as such, guards only let in a few people at a time. There were no other students, as she’d expect when they could visit it any day, but she did spot one of the local lords. Lord Gray Bean, as she recalled. As a princess, she probably take the time to talk to him, but she couldn’t abandon Sweetie, and he didn’t seem like the sort she’d be interested in talking to. Thankfully, he turned a corner without showing any interest in her.

Twilight and Sweetie walked down the path to the next exhibit and the princess looked down nervously. This was all well and good, but she needed more bonding and more information for this to be worthwhile. “So Sweetie, is there anything else you like besides Feather Bangs and experimental art?”

Sweetie hummed. “Well, I mean, I like non-experimental art too. Like, uh…” She looked around, as though making sure no one else could hear them. “So, uh, you know those magic comics? The ones that move on their own?”

“Yes, of course. My assistant, Spike, is a big fan of them.” She quickly added, “And I read them too!”

“And you know that just because something is aimed at kids, doesn’t mean only kids can read it, right?”

Twilight nodded. “Of course! Stories targeted towards children can be wonderfully written and full of imagination, often even more so than works targeted toward adults.”

Sweetie seemed assured hearing this, but her face still twisted as she forced out. “And… have you heard of… My Friendly Horses?”

Sweetie stared at her with expectant eyes, and Twilight smiled back. “Of course! I adore My Friendly Horses!”

Sweetie blinked then leaned forward. “Really? You’re a princess and you like My Friendly Horses?”

“It has loveable characters, great stories, and wonderful lessons. What’s there to not like?”

Sweetie pumped her arms up and down in front of her. “But it’s so kiddy and girly, and young adults shouldn’t be reading it, and anyone who does is a baby. That’s what Diamond Tiara says.”

Diamond Tiara must be a classmate. “Well you can tell Diamond Tiara that the series comes princess approved.” She winked. “So, what characters do you like? I’m a fan of Wind Whistler, myself.”

Sweetie’s eyes sparked. “Ooh, Wind Whistler is a nice choice. A bit low tier for me, but every horse is great!”

Twilight grinned. “So, you have a tier list, then?”

Sweetie grinned back. “Obviously!”

And so they talked for minutes on end, first covering favorite characters and then favorite episodes. They hardly paid attention to the art, or anything around them, until…

“Oh hello there, Council President and my darling sister. Interesting to see you together.”

Broken out of the conversation, Twilight looked up to see Rarity standing before them, arms behind her back and her head tilted with a curious smile.

The princess jumped back in surprise. “R-Rarity! Funny running into you here.” Rarity seeing her with Sweetie Belle was, of course, a possibility, but this entire plan of hers would have looked much less like, well, a plan if Rarity only learned about it afterwards. In any case, hesitating would only make things worse. The best route was to act as though everything was normal and stick to the truth when feasible. On the surface, nothing about how she acted should be strange. “I’ve been showing your sister and her friends around the Gala, though the others have gone off to do other things. She’s been wonderful to talk with.”

Rarity clasped her hands together. “That’s wonderful to hear! May I ask what you were talking about? I overheard something about friendly horses?”

“Oh yes, My Friendly Horses! We were just talking about how much we both like the series.”

Twilight turned to Sweetie Belle for her confirmation, only to find her looking away with her cheeks taut. “Well, I mean, I used to like it when I was a baby. It’s not like I really like it anymore.”

Twilight supposed that Sweetie denying this in front of her older sister wasn’t too strange, but now that left Twilight as the only person there claiming to be a fan. She looked at Rarity, who seemed to just have a curious expression. Could it be that she didn’t know about My Friendly Horses? Well in that case, since she didn’t have preconceived notions, Twilight could explain things the proper way. “Rarity, if you’re wondering, My Friendly Horse is—”

“Hey, whatcha doing?”

Twilight looked to her left to see Pinkie Pie suddenly standing there, leaning in conspiratorially with a big smile. The princess figured she must have become callous, because she somehow completely expected this and didn’t even flinch. Sweetie and Rarity, meanwhile, both jumped back in shock.

“Oh, hello, Pinkie-dear,” Rarity said. “Twilight was just explaining to me this My Friendly Horse business.”

Pinkie stood up straight, her eyes sparkling. “Ooh, My Friendly Horses! Twilight, does that mean you’re a horsey?”

Dread filled Twilight. “Well, uh—”

Rarity raised her finger. “Pardon, but may I ask what you mean by ‘horsey’?”

As Twilight gathered her thoughts on how to best explain this, Pinkie jumped right in. “They’re people that want to marry the horses!”

Both Twilight and Sweetie’s jaws dropped. Why in the world is Pinkie the one explaining this?

Rarity looked back and forth between Pinkie and Twilight, as though trying to determine the best way to react to this information, then finally put her hand to her mouth. “Marrying horses? How disgusting. Surely a princess like you wouldn’t want to do that.”

Twilight waved her arms. “O-of course not!”

Pinkie put her hands together. “Oh, now I get it. Rather than marrying the horses, you want to (bleep) and (bleep) them!”

Twilight’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Pinkie! I don’t know what you said but that can’t be appropriate in front of kids!”

Pinkie tilted her head. “Well, do you?”

“Of course not! No one would want to do that!”

“Y-yeah, no one…” Sweetie Belle said with a shaky voice. Twilight spun to discover Sweetie’s face scrunched up and on the verge of tears.

Twilight smiled uneasily. “Oh, Sweetie Belle, I didn’t mean… I mean, if that’s what you like, then…”

Sweetie Belle dashed away, covering her eyes with her arm and shouting, “I don’t like My Friendly Horses!”

Frozen in place, Twilight reached out with her eye twitching. “S-sweetie…”

Well, there goes that plan.

The assassin stood frozen. How in the world was he supposed to react to this? He assumed Rarity would be a safe disguise, and thought he had a good idea of how a proper student council at an elite school would act. But this… this was just silly.

As Twilight kept watching the fleeing young girl, Pinkie Pie adjusted something in her hair while sticking her tongue out in concentration. “Ah, there’s the problem! Turns out I left my bleepers on! They only work on cynical adults, so I always forget about them.” She spread out her arms. “Like I was saying before, you want to love and appreciate the horses!”

The princess blinked and looked at Pinkie. “Oh. Well yes, I suppose I do. I really need to go after Sweetie Belle” She paused for a second. “And I am not cynical!”

The changeling spoke up. “I’ll go with you.” This would be the natural reaction from Rarity, given the girl who ran away was her sister. Plus, this would bring them closer to the gallery entrance, where they would be seen by more people once he performed his job. It would also offer an easy escape, whereupon he could transform into Gray Bean—someone already known to have entered the gallery—report that Rarity passed him, and then get scanned and cleared by a guard.

Pinkie raised her hand. “I’m going too! Can’t leave a crying kid crying!”

Of course, there was the problem of Pinkie Pie. Of all the council members, she was the most unpredictable, and the one he wanted furthest away from his assassination. At the very least, from his reports, she was easy to distract.

They ran down the path, and all the while, he kept a look for anything that could draw away the interloper. “Pinkie Pie,” he said. “There’s a section branching off there. Could you check if Sweetie is there?”

Pinkie nodded and left in a cloud of dust, but before he could even think of the next step of his plan, she returned nearly in the same place. “Nope, no Sweetie Belle there.”

He furrowed his brow. “Well, she could have dived into those bushes there. Could you be a dear and see?”

Pinkie rushed off to the bushes and, as though they weren’t attached to the ground at all, she lifted them up and peered underneath. She put the bushes back and ran up back alongside the changeling. “Nope, nada. Really neat art, though, I gotta say.”

He grimaced. How in the world was he going to accomplish this? He looked at Twilight Sparkle, her focus ahead and seemingly not noticing Pinkie’s antics. Using magic so close to her was a big risk, but it might be necessary.

As a changeling, and not a queen, he wasn’t capable of anything more than an energy blast. However, the process of releasing energy from one’s hand and propelling it forward need not be so simple. In the hands of a skilled practitioner, it could take any shape and follow any predetermined pattern. And as he recalled, something that Pinkie Pie is especially drawn to is…

Molding magic in a closed hand, he discreetly tossed it into a bush. Following its programming, it rose up from the bush in the form of a bright red balloon. He looked back at Pinkie and confirmed that she was utterly fixated on this odd sight and stopped next to it. After floating there for a second, the balloon then drifted up and away, back down the path behind them, and Pinkie followed, shouting, “Whee!”

He waited one second and then another. He looked back again. Pinkie Pie was nowhere in sight.

“Look, there she is!” said Twilight Sparkle.

They were near the entrance and Sweetie Belle lingered outside, sitting at a table, and there was a small crowd milling about nearby, including a guard standing at their post.

“Princess, hold on for a moment,” said the assassin, coming to a stop, with Twilight following suit. “Before we talk to Sweetie, there’s something we must discuss first.”

Twilight blinked in curiosity. “What is it?”

He stepped in close. Under his disguise, he felt the press of his metal blade against his arm.

Rarity frantically searched the crowds near the pond. This would have been much easier with Rainbow Dash, but she was in no condition to help, and with any luck, Scootaloo had brought her to a guard by this point. After a few moments, she spotted Fluttershy, sitting by herself below a tree.

“Fluttershy!” Rarity called out, making the pink-haired woman turn her head. “Quick, where’s Twilight?”

Fluttershy stood up. “Oh, uh, she went to the art gallery last I saw. The outdoor one near here, I mean.” Her brows creased. “Is something wrong, Rarity?”

Rarity came to a stop and rested her hand against the tree. “I just ran into Rainbow Dash, and it seems like there was a changeling trying to be alone with Twilight.”

Fluttershy gasped. “Oh my! Was it a suitor?”

Rarity hummed. “They were disguised as Applejack and I can’t say I’ve heard any rumors about her and Twilight. It’s entirely possible we’re dealing with something else here. In any case, we must tell Twilight about this.”

A voice came from the other side of the tree. “The art gallery? I see, I see.”

As Fluttershy jumped in surprise, Rarity spun around the tree to discover Prince Blueblood standing on the other side.

Rarity’s eyes widened. “Blueblood! You got out of the garden!”

He tapped his temple. “Yes, that was quite the nefarious trap you two set up for me. I must commend you for that.”

Fluttershy rubbed her elbow. “But I didn’t…”

“There is one thing you failed to consider, however. You see, as little you pretend to care, I am still a prince, and that title demands respect. When I came across a guard in the garden, he was able to confirm that Princess Twilight had left and I had no need to continue searching.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes. “So you’re saying you just asked a guard for help.”

“Indeed, few can command a guard in such a manner! But that’s not where my actions ended. I talked to a guard at the scene of your confrontation with the street magician and realized you two have been wasting a lot of energy fighting suitors, and that inspired a noble idea. I gave all the guards I came across a very simple instruction, to repeat a certain rumor within earshot of guests. And now that I have a location, I merely have to make use of an item confiscated from that belligerent intruder.”

The prince pulled out a sphere covered in purple star-patterned wrinkled paper.

Rarity crossed her arms. “And what exactly do you intend to do?”

Ignoring her, Blueblood pulled out a map with his magic. “So, the nearby art gallery would be… there.” He pulled his arm back and coated it in magic. He pitched the sphere high and, after stopping in mid-air, it rocketed up and then arced down roughly toward the gallery. Then, it exploded in a bright blue firework.

For a few moments, not much happened. A couple murmuring guests walked toward it, with the words, “rumor” and “true” raising up past the chatter. Then a couple more, moving a bit more quickly. Then they heard the rumbling behind them.

Rarity’s eyes widened. “What did you do?!”

Blueblood merely grinned.

13. The Gala, Part 4 - The Night Ends

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The wind blew through Twilight’s hair as an illusion of Rarity stood before her with a smitten smile. Behind that face was a deadly assassin, ready to fulfill his promise to his queen and put an end to the princess, and then all of Equestria.

He took another step closer. “Twilight, my princess. This night, with all its glamor, it’s hard not to… feel things.”

Twilight tilted her head curiously. “Oh?”

He twirled a finger through his illusory hair and blushed lightly. “We’ve worked together for all this time, but seeing you like this, in that lovely dress, and even getting along with my sister, I’ve finally started to realize something.”

He moved one hand up to Twilight’s cheek, and the other subtly approached her torso, aiming for an upward stab through the ribs.

Twilight fluttered her eyelashes. “And that is?”

“I’ve grown quite fond of you, my dear—” he hovered over Twilight’s cheek, ready to grab the back of her head “—and I believe… I love y—”

Before the killer could thrust his knife, Twilight grabbed his wrists like a whip crack and pulled them in front of her. With uncanny strength and an unchanging smile, she squeezed and he could only watch as his hands distorted and snapped, until they finally broke. The changeling could only look down, feeling the pain but being unable to react.

Twilight continued smiling. “Oh my, is that what you’d think Rarity would say? And you were actually doing a decent job until now.”

His eyes widened. His cover was blown. How could this have happened? He pulled his arms, but the princess coated him in magic, making him unable to move.

Twilight hummed. “Well that’s interesting, you aren’t a changeling. I have to say, you really put an impressive amount of effort in this disguise, then. Way more than all of my other suitors.”

The changeling blinked. Suitor?

“But what exactly was your gameplan once you confessed your love disguised as Rarity? Or was it really all for a one-and-done? That’s it, isn’t it? Don’t think I didn’t notice you reaching for my chest.”

Part of him wanted to protest that that wasn’t at all what he was trying to do, but Twilight thinking he was a mere fool would be useful. The princess hadn’t discovered his knife and people watching from a distance wouldn’t know about his disguise. This could still work. He laughed airily in Rarity’s voice. “Well, what can I say? You got me. I don’t suppose you could let go of my hands, please? This hurts quite a bit.”

He moved slowly before out of caution, but as soon as she let go, he’d just go for the attack. She wouldn’t have time to react.

Twilight looked down at his crushed hands, then looked back up. “Alright.”

Magic built up around the assassin, to the point that its purple light blotted out everything else. The princess levitated him off the ground, thus erasing any possible leverage he could have used to attack. Then she spun him, building up speed quickly, and lifted him higher and higher. He clamped his mouth shut, having no idea what to do. Finally, Twilight shot him almost straight up, past the rooftops and far into the sky.

The air got thinner and thinner as he traveled. He saw thick clouds pass in the distance, followed by thin ones endemic to the upper atmosphere, and then suddenly, he was surrounded by empty blackness. All except for the blue sphere below and the bright light he now realized he was heading towards.

It was then that he truly realized how dangerous a princess could be.

Changeling Assassin Amog Nus
Status: Retired

Twilight wiped her forehead while rolling her eyes. “Well that was annoying,” she said under her breath. “These suitors are getting worse and worse.”

She looked to her left at the gawking guests outside the gallery, who quickly discovered much more interesting patches of grass that they shifted their attention to.

Twilight sighed. Worst of all, this all distracted her from the truly important thing: clearing things up with Sweetie Belle. She exited the art gallery, getting a nod from the sweating guard stationed there. She quickly nodded back—making him flinch, but she chose to ignore that—and turned her attention to the girl. She was still at the table she saw earlier, but to her surprise, she was accompanied by none other than Spike the dragon.

Her eyebrow raised, Twilight approached the two. Spike noticed her and waved her over. “Oh, Twilight, good timing! I was helping Sweetie Belle here. Something about Pinkie Pie being weird?”

Twilight smiled in appreciation, then turned to Sweetie. “Yeah, sorry about that. It turns out Pinkie was bleeping some of her words, but only adults could hear it, which led to that whole misunderstanding at the end.”

Spike nodded. “Yeah, that definitely sounds like Pinkie.”

Sweetie’s face showed signs of having cried, but her eyes were all dry now. “So you’re OK with loving and appreciating, uh—” she turned to Spike and then back to Twilight “—those things?”

Twilight clasped her hands together. “Of course!” Her eyes widened. “Oh, and one more thing, that wasn’t actually Rarity back there, but some sicko dressed up as her.”

Sweetie stood up. “Wait, what?”

Twilight was a bit taken aback, but she realized that yes, of course she’d have to explain. “Well you see, when you’re a princess, you often have people come up to you to propose. It’s honestly quite remarkable how brazen they can get. It was bad enough when I was merely an affluent scion of a prominent family, but they became an even bigger nuisance once I became a princess.” Twilight found herself getting into her rant, relaxing her shoulders and wearing a decidedly un-princesslike expression. “I used to give them impossible quests, but even if I tell them to go find a jeweled tree branch from a mythical island, they’ll come back with a branch made from fake gems, and I’m like, really, you’re going to try to win me over with that? So I stopped doing that and now I just send them to the moon.”

Sweetie blinked. “Wow, princesses have it harder than I thought. But, uh, I was wondering more about the fake Rarity. So they were a changeling?”

“Oh, right, of course you’d care more about that part. I thought they weren’t a changeling, but the more I think about it, the more they had to be one. Maybe using a spell I don’t know?” She rubbed her chin. “But more importantly, that means it wasn’t really Rarity that had such a strong negative reaction to My Friendly Horses!”

Sweetie’s eyes widened. “Princess!” She shushed her.

Twilight giggled. “Relax, Spike is a big fan of My Friendly Horses too.”

Spike leaned on the table and pointed at himself with his thumb. “Oh yeah, big horsey over here. My favorite is Sparkler. How about you?”

Sweetie beamed. “Oh, I like Sparkler too! There’s just something weirdly familiar about her.”

Twilight smiled as they continued talking to each other. Spike and Sweetie seemed like they’d get along well. She rubbed her chin as she let that thought percolate and then grinned conspiratorially.

In fact, if she really wanted to win some points with Rarity, there’s no way matching Sweetie with a safe and friendly dragon would be bad.

At a lull in the conversation, Twilight lightly swayed and said, “You know, Sweetie, you and Spike are around the same age.”

Sweetie looked at Spike and then back at Twilight. “Really? He’s kind of short.”

Spike huffed. “Hey, it takes a while for a dragon to grow. We live for hundreds of years and all that.”

Twilight continued. “Since you two are getting along so well, what do you think about hanging out some more later? Spike knows a lot of great places around the city.”

Spike blinked in confusion while Sweetie looked at her with narrow eyes. “Princess Twilight, are you trying to hook us up?”

Twilight giggled. “Oh, is that what this looks like? But you should know, you two really are adorable together.”

Spike scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, uh, actually, I’m more into older women.” Immediately after, he winced upon realizing how lame he sounded.

Twilight couldn’t turn down this opportunity to tease him. She wiggled her eyebrows and said, “Oh, really now! I bet those puffy purple cheeks of yours make all the older ladies swoon.”

She reached over and pulled at Spike’s cheeks, making him blush and pull away. “Hey, cut it out,” he said while giggling. The previous awkwardness having passed, Sweetie laughed too and all three of them enjoyed the moment.

Suddenly, Sweetie’s eyes widened and she looked past Spike. “Oh hey, there’s another Rarity over there!”

Twilight twisted around and saw her running alongside Fluttershy—pretty strong evidence that this was the real deal. As they dashed toward them, Twilight couldn’t help but notice that Rarity was notably disheveled compared to when she last saw her, though seeing her like that had its own appeal. This thought distracted her from considering how she got into that state until—

“Twilight, run!” Rarity cried out.

Twilight merely blinked in response then shifted focus to whatever was behind them. It was hard to parse what it was at first, until it finally hit her: they were being chased by a huge mob.

Twilight’s wings erupted out in shock. “What?!”

Standing at the back of the crowd, Prince Blueblood witnessed a purple light form a barrier that pushed away those at the front. He crossed his arms and raised a finger. “As you may recall, during the start of this entire incident, a group of fools rushing off to court Princess Twilight. This was only a small number of people, but their actions inspired a few others to rush out. They quickly gave up, but this led me to realize, what if I got a few more people to do that?”

Moondancer looked around and then raised her bushy eyebrow. “Uh, why are you telling me this?”

Blueblood humphed. “Well, it’s not like I can talk to any of these other plebs. As an elite Canterlot scion, you’re the only one within my immediate vision worthy of hearing this. Now, may I ask you why you’re part of this crowd?”

Moondancer sighed and waved her hand. “I heard this rumor about Twilight marrying the next person to propose to her when the fireworks go off and I wanted to see if that was true. I can’t imagine it is, but it definitely looks like enough people believe it is.”

Blueblood grew a wide smile and pointed with both hands. “That’s it! I was responsible for that!” After Moondancer raised both eyebrows, he continued. “I informed the guards to spread the rumor that the princess was seeking suitors during the fireworks. You see, a rumor like that would only make the most foolish people act, but their acting will be enough to bolster the rumor and make it evolve. Seeing others act will make more people act, and that will continue reverberating. I see that my initial rumor has evolved quite well.

“Some will join in because they think they’ll succeed, some will participate just for the fun, and some like you will just want to see if it’s true. The very fact that everyone has differing ideas of what’s going on only serves to keep them invested in finding out the truth, and to keep the crowd large and bothersome.” He raised his hands to shoulder height with his palms out and shook his head with his eyes closed. “But in the end, none of them will be up to her standard. By the time I swoop in, she’ll be desperate for someone worthy courting her and will readily accept me!”

Moondancer waited a second to see if the prince was finished. “Woo. OK then.” She slid away. “I think I’m just going to… not be around here then.”

Blueblood chuckled to himself as he continued watching the crowd.

Rarity watched with bewilderment as people pressed themselves against Twilight’s barrier. One man in particular placed both hands against it and rubbed his cheeks. “Good heavens! They’re acting like beasts!”

The council vice-president could feel Fluttershy’s glare, and turned to wave in apology.

Twilight strained to keep her magic up. “So, these people are…?”

Rarity sighed. “All suitors, I’m afraid. I’m not quite sure what he did, but Prince Blueblood is responsible for this.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Ugh, of course he is.”

Fluttershy put her hands together. “So, what do we do? This is scary enough on its own, but we have a baby dragon and a little girl here too.”

Sweetie frowned. “I’m a teen!”

“The best we can do is run,” Twilight said. “I won’t be able to keep my barrier up for that long if we leave, so it’s best if we take to the air. Maybe only a third of that crowd will be able to follow us then.”

“But Princess,” said Sweetie Belle, “can’t you teleport us?”

“It’s too risky, and with this many people, I’ll have to take down the barrier first. Besides, Fluttershy doesn’t like being teleported.”

Fluttershy nodded.

Rarity put her finger on her cheek. “We only have two fliers among us: you and Flutter-dear. How do you plan for us to escape?”

Twilight turned to Fluttershy. “Who do you think you can carry?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, uh, I suppose just Spike and Sweetie Belle.”

Twilight sighed. “I suppose that means I’ll carry Rarity.”

Rarity paused, then said, “Huwuhwuhwah?!”

Twilight grunted as pressure mounted on the barrier. “There isn’t much time, we’ll have to go now!”

At once, Fluttershy bent over to pick up both Spike and Sweetie in either arm. Though in total they weighed less than an adult, the animal liaison showed surprising strength in cradling them in her arms. She spread her wings and, with a grunt, took to the air.

Meanwhile, Rarity stood stock still. Twilight watched Fluttershy depart, then turned back to release a surge of magic that stabilized the barrier. She stepped away from it and then toward Rarity. “Are you ready?”

How could she be ready? How in the world could she be ready?

Not waiting for a response, Twilight held Rarity in her magic, lifted her into the air, and deposited her in her waiting arms.

“Hawahwah,” Rarity said as her breath left her.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, but hearing the magic barrier strain refocused her on the bigger problem. She spread her great purple wings and, with a powerful flap, they lifted off the ground, the princess holding the lady in her arms.

As they flew higher into the air, Rarity found she had trouble breathing. They couldn’t have gone up so high that the air got thinner, could they? She would hate to think this reaction came solely from having Princess Twilight Sparkle hold and carry her. Surely she was stronger than that.

Still, Rarity found her senses going into overdrive as she felt the pressure of Twilight’s arms against her back and her thighs and smelled the princess’s perfume. She heard the flap of her wings and her breathing, and of course couldn’t tear her eyes away from the princess’s lovely visage.

It was getting harder to breathe. Just how high up were they going? Were they leaving the atmosphere? Perhaps carrying her to some place only the princesses could visit, high up in the sky, where no one could see them. Could she do that? Taking her away from the danger and everything painful about their old lives, placing her on a bed in the clouds? Would Twilight do that? Up there, would they just…?

Twilight turned her head around, allowing Rarity to watch her gorgeous hair move for a brief moment before she turned back and spoke in her lovely voice. She said, “It looks like nobody's following us. I guess with so many people, it’s easy for them to lose track.” She then raised her eyebrow. “Uh, are you feeling OK?”

Rarity’s head span. She took shallow breaths and then said, “Hbluhbluhbluhbluh.”

Twilight screamed.

Blueblood cackled as the barrier finally gave out and the crowd of suitors rushed forward. “Yes! Ha ha ha! Yes!” He punched the air.

So focused on his oncoming victory, the prince failed to notice the icy presence behind him.

“What is the meaning of this madness?”

Blueblood froze, his head sinking. Slowly and sputtering, he twisted his body around and found Princess Luna standing behind him, arms crossed and impatiently tapping her fingers against a forearm. Her eyes were narrow and her lips were pressed together. He jumped to fully face her. “A-Auntie Luna! My, it is a pleasure to see you!”

Her expression showed no change. “I had intended to finish off my night here by visiting the art gallery, which I was assured would be quiet and peaceful. Can I assume you’re the reason it isn’t?”

Blueblood’s mouth twisted. “Me? What an absurd notion! No, all these ruffians are here due to a strange rumor regarding Princess Twilight. I actually intended to go rescue her from her plight at this very second.”

Still, Luna’s expression didn’t change. “Oh, so Princess Twilight is in trouble? I suppose we should work together to rescue her, then.”

Blueblood started sweating. “Oh, I mean, Princess Twilight isn’t in trouble, per say, so there is no need for you to involve yourself. Besides, dealing with these people is surely below you. I can take on the burden.”

“Nonsense, ‘tis a simple matter. Observe.”

Luna held out her hand and dark blue magic gathered into a ball in front of it. The ball grew and grew as the air and then the ground itself shook around it. Soon, the ball was larger than Luna herself. At this point, some people at the back of the crowd took notice of the magic and started running away. It was too late. Luna launched the ball forward and it pierced into the center of the crowd, whereupon it expanded and enveloped its entirety. With a flash of dark light, every single person disappeared, leaving the area empty and quiet.

After a moment, Blueblood squeaked. “Oh! Yes, well, that does resolve that matter. Thank you very much Princess Luna.”

Luna simply hummed. She walked to the gallery entrance, accompanied by the prince. There she found a single guard, who nervously bowed and said, “Princess Luna, welcome! I thank you for your assistance with that crowd.”

Luna nodded, then leaned to look around him. “Was Princess Twilight here?”

“Yes, but I believe she left some moments ago.”

Blueblood loudly sighed in relief. “Smashing! All that’s left now is to find the one responsible for this—”

Luna raised her hand and the prince froze. “I thought I would get some amusement out of this game, but I quickly grow bored of it. Farewell.”

Before Blueblood could object, purple light enveloped him and he disappeared. The guard could do nothing more than keep his lips pressed together as the princess sighed then smiled.

“Well, that was fun. Now, can I assume the art gallery is still open?”

The guard nodded then stumbled away to allow access.

There was a soft thud behind Luna as a woman touched down from flight. “My, that was a more direct resolution than I expected.”

Luna looked back over her shoulder. “It’s all that the situation deserved, sister.”

Princess Celestia held her elbow in one hand and touched her cheek with the other. “May I ask, where exactly did you send them?”

Luna shrugged. “The usual place.”

Celestia sighed. “It’s going to be quite a pain getting all of them back down from the moon. Plus several important people were among them. Are you going to help iron all this out?”

Luna looked at the art gallery and then back to Celestia, and pouted.

After staring for moments, Celestia waved her hands. “Fine, fine, I’ll handle it. But you have to be present for any dispute hearings that come out of this.”

Luna rolled her eyes but ultimately nodded. She took another step toward the gallery, but then—

“Hey, wait a minute!” Pinkie Pie came dashing out of the art gallery and came to a sudden stop in front of Luna. She learned over and bounced her upper body. “You sent all those people to the moon?! Do me, do me!”

Luna blinked at the excited girl, then shrugged and lifted her hand. Celestia grabbed her shoulder and shook her head no.

Apple Bloom sighed at the food counter. “Can I go now, sis? It’s been ages since anyone’s been here!”

Applejack looked around. “I suppose it has really emptied out. The Gala must be wrapping up.”

The young girl groaned. “And you made me stay here for all of it! I’m probably not even going to see my friends again tonight!”

“Nonsense, Apple Bloom. In fact, look, your friends are right over there.”

True to her word, Apple Bloom saw Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle heading her way with another person and a small dragon. She immediately beamed and jumped over the stand. “You guys!”

“Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo cried out.

“You won’t believe all the crazy things that happened!” Sweetie Belle said.

As the three girls hugged and Spike stood by awkwardly, Fluttershy walked past them to Applejack. “Hello there. I wouldn’t suppose you still have some snacks? It’s been a rough night.”

Raising an eyebrow, Applejack passed her a few apple crisps, which Fluttershy then nibbled at daintily. “So, what happened?”

Fluttershy touched her cheek. “There’s just been so much.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, did anyone tell you about Rainbow Dash?”

Concern grew on Applejack’s face. “Rainbow Dash? Did she get in trouble?”

“Well, uh, she…”

“She’s feeling awesome!” yelled a voice from up in the air.

Rainbow Dash flew low to the ground, did a loop, and then landed gracefully on the ground. Whereupon she immediately fell over. She then got back up and posed as though that didn’t happen.

While Scootaloo squeed, Applejack wasn’t impressed. “And may I ask why you have a big old bandage around your forehead?”

Rainbow Dash waved her hands. “Oh, this? Yeah, it’s nothing.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes, but then said. “Well, I suppose it can wait.” She turned back to Fluttershy, who managed to clear through all of her food when she wasn’t looking. “So you were looking over the girls? What happened to Twilight?”

Fluttershy hummed, trying to find the best way to word it. “Rarity and Twilight had a dress situation that they’re addressing in the council room.”

“A dress situation, huh? Knowing Rarity, that could take all night. I might have to take Sweetie home.”

Fluttershy smiled. “That would probably be best. I told Rarity I’d take care of that, but I do have to bring Toby back to his pen.” Then she privately frowned. Even after emptying her perfume bottle, she wasn’t sure how Rarity could get out of what she did.

Twilight stepped into the council room, now wearing her outfit from earlier. It was still dirty from all the events of that morning, but it was in a better state than her dress. She frowned as she saw Rarity sitting on the sofa, looking down darkly with her hands balled into fists on her thighs. Rather than wear her outfit from earlier that day, she was in a simple but clean blouse and pants she hadn’t seen before. She supposed it was a good sign that Rarity cared enough to be fashion conscious, but still…

“You don’t have to feel bad, Rarity,” Twilight ventured. “After all, it’s perfectly normal to throw up after being suddenly lifted in the air. Especially under stressful circumstances like that.”

Rarity showed no reaction.

Twilight truly could sympathize. She couldn’t imagine how she’d feel if she was the one who vomited on one her coworkers. She took a look at the two couches facing each other. It would probably be best to show Rarity she was still willing to be physically close to her. As such, the princess sidled up next to her, though making sure she wasn’t too close. This did get a reaction from Rarity, who turned her head and blinked curiously, but then quickly looked away again.

Twilight considered what she should say, but feeling her body sink into the couch, she soon reached her answer of not saying anything. Muscles she didn’t realize were strained relaxed and she felt aches all over. She was surprised at first, but as she thought about it, it only made sense. After all, it was a very long day. The curse situation in the morning, then the last minute Gala preparations, and then everything at the Gala itself. With the knowledge that most of the Gala guests should be gone by now, her body finally had a chance to relax.

The princess rolled her head back and sighed. Her arms relaxed.

And then her hand touched something.

Twilight’s eyes widened. She dared not turn her head to see what she had touched. Thinking logically, she and Rarity were too far apart for her hand to be touching her body or her legs, and her hand was too low for that to be the case. It was definitely human and fleshy, though. And soft. The object felt neither warm nor cold, meaning it was the same temperature as her hand, which was fairly cold by virtue of her being outside for so long. Rarity was in the same situation, so her hand should be at a similar temperature. Was it possible? Rarity’s hands were on her lap before, but they could have easily moved when she wasn’t looking. But no, there had to be other possibilities.

Twilight dared not think about what she’d do if she was, in fact, holding Rarity’s hand.

They sat there for endless moments, neither woman making a move. Twilight desperately hoped for something, anything, to break this impasse.

Pinkie Pie. Of course! Pinkie always had a habit of interfering at moments like this. All she had to do was wait for Pinkie to show up.

Yup, good old Pinkie.

Her ever-reliable friend.

Ages more passed.

Pinkie didn’t show up.

Why hadn’t she shown up?!

Out of frustration, Twilight couldn’t help but fidget her arm, moving it away from… whatever she was touching. Twilight chose to turn at this moment and saw Rarity facing her. “Rari—”

“Twi—”

Both voices came out hoarsely and they reached for their throats.

Her voice was gone. Twilight knew she had done a lot that day, but it didn’t occur to her until now just how much of that involved speaking. Taking such a long break from speaking without doing anything to cool down her vocal cords would certainly result in making her unable to speak for a while. Rarity was clearly in the same situation.

Tea! Soothing tea was what this called for. Twilight moved to get up, but found that her entire lower body refused to cooperate. Her muscles glued her to her seat.

Rarity tilted her head, then smiled and made her hands glow with magic. Twilight watched as Rarity opened a small freezer against the wall and pulled out two cartons of ice cream, followed by two clean spoons from a drawer. She levitated one cartoon and spoon into Twilight’s waiting hands, and took the other pair for herself. She opened it up and winked at the princess. Smiling, Twilight opened hers up and took a bite, the soothing mix of cake batter ice cream and fudge melting down her aching throat.

After some bites, Twilight stole a glance at Rarity’s ice cream. Pistachio with actual pistachios mixed in. That didn’t seem bad either. Then she looked up to see Rarity staring daggers at Twilight’s ice cream. Did she… want some?

Rarity looked at her with pleading eyes. That was a yes.

Smiling, Twilight took a spoonful of her ice cream and held it in front of Rarity. She tilted her head, and then put the entire thing in her mouth. She smiled warmly, her cheeks puffing as she savored the flavor. Twilight couldn’t help but be struck by how cute she was.

Rarity pulled out a chunk of her pistachio ice cream and held it up to Twilight. She hadn’t asked, but she gladly accepted, taking it all in one bite and chewing on the bits of nuts. Rarity giggled, so Twilight imagined she was making a silly expression too.

There was something about this situation that was pecking at the back of Twilight’s mind. Whatever it was, it was important, but it remained at the tip of her tongue.

Twilight blinked and her attention shifted. Right on the corner of Rarity’s lips was a bit of ice cream. It must have gotten there when they exchanged spoons. Twilight waved her hands to get Rarity’s attention then pointed to her own lips, where the ice cream was. Rarity tilted her head, not getting Twilight’s meaning. Twilight continued pointing, whereupon Rarity tentatively lifted her finger and then poked Twilight’s cheek.

Twilight giggled. She supposed there was no helping it. With speech not available, there were only so many ways to tell Rarity about the ice cream. It was probably for the best that she didn’t touch it with her finger. The most efficient way to get rid of the ice cream would be to touch it with her lips, and… well, it was her ice cream, after all…

Twilight leaned toward Rarity. Rarity’s eyes widened and her cheeks flushed red, but rather than move away, she started leaning toward Twilight.

Slowly, oh so slowly, they got closer and closer.

Celestia, Rarity was so pretty.

Their lips approached, and then—

The door slammed open. “Woo, I could really use some ice cream right now!”

At Pinkie Pie’s entrance, Rarity and Twilight suddenly found the energy to jump to the opposite ends of the sofa, looking straight ahead with their hands in their laps.

Pinkie leaned to her side to look at their faces and said, “Oh wow, that looks so good, but I see you two horseys are all hoarse-y, so I really should leave it all to you.” A glint formed in her eye. “Ah, but I see you have some extra on your cheek. Don’t mind if I do!” Extending her unexpectedly long tongue, Pinkie gently licked the ice cream off of Rarity while the vice-president remained stone-faced. Pinkie then rubbed her stomach as though she ate a full meal. “Mm-mm! Face cream from a friend is the best! Well, I’m satisfied. Off to the afterparty!”

As quick as she came, Pinkie left the room. Rarity and Twilight continued sitting for some moments more before the princess finally stood up. “Well, I—” she grasped her throat “—oh, my voice is back. Well, I should probably take Spike home before he wanders into the afterparty. Are you going home too, or are you staying longer? Fluttershy said she’d handle Sweetie, so you don’t have to worry about her.”

Rarity tested her voice, then smiled uneasily. “I believe I will stay a bit longer, yes. Good night, Twilight.”

Twilight walked to the door. “Good night, Rarity.”

Unspoken between them was the shared knowledge of what just happened between them. Not just the indirect kisses from their spoons, but what Pinkie arrived just barely too late to stop. As the two separated, their fingers both reached for the last place they had made contact.

Even if it was for the briefest of moments, their lips had met.

13. The Gala, Part 5 - Rarity and Twilight Under the Starry Sky

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Wallflower Blush stepped into the council room with a sigh. She wore a simple light green dress, but it was getting chilly, so time to switch back to her trusty sweater.

As she reached for her backpack containing her clothes, she noticed Rarity sitting on the couch, blinking curiously at her. “Oh, hello there, Wallflower. I didn’t realize you came to the Gala too.”

Wallflower jumped up. “You saw me?”

Rarity narrowed her eyes in confusion. “Darling, I can see your dress. I didn’t see you at the Gala, but I can put two and two together.”

Wallflower shook her head. “No, I mean—well, never mind. So, uh, yeah, I went to the Gala for a bit, though only when it was already emptying out.”

Rarity giggled lightly. “My, that makes you even more shy than Fluttershy. She stayed around from the start.”

“Well, it’s less about being shy, and more the trample risk.” Rarity tilted her head and Wallflower said, “Never mind. So, I suppose while we’re talking, I should ask, did you have a good Gala?”

Rarity hummed. “Much of it was… quite exhausting to say the least. But I can’t help but feel like… the answer is yes. It was… those quiet moments at the end.” She sighed and rested her cheek on her hand, slouching. “You know, in some ways, I have to admire quiet girls like you.”

Wallflower’s mouth twisted. “I wouldn’t say I’m quiet, it’s just that everyone forgets when I speak. But please, continue.”

“It’s just, life is so much easier when you don’t say much, don’t you think? At times, I feel like all my talking and plotting what to say next just puts me in a greater bind. It almost feels like if people just sat down next to each other without saying anything, we’d be able to erase all conflict from the world!”

“That… doesn’t sound right to me.”

“And why not? Why wouldn’t it save the world?” Rarity’s voice grew soft as her fingers touched her lips. “After all, it was thanks to that that we…”

Wallflower blinked. She considered whether she cared enough to press Rarity on this topic, and decided she didn’t. Still, they needed to talk about something. Her eyes turned to the two ice cream cartons in front of the council vice president. “So, how’s the ice cream?”

“Ice cream?” Rarity looked down, then suddenly shot up. “Ice cream! Of course! We need to finish before it all melts!” She clenched her fist. “Pinkie or no Pinkie, I was making more progress today than I had in months! If sitting quietly is the way to resolve this, then I need to do this now!” She smiled at Wallflower. “Thank you so much, dear! It’s thanks to you that I know what to do!”

“You’re welcome?”

Wallflower simply waved slowly as Rarity gathered the ice cream and rushed out the door.

She groaned. “I swear, if that works when me just telling Twilight didn’t…”

Rarity rushed down the street, her muscles still aching from all the activity earlier, but she had to push through it. Twilight was going back to find Spike, and she was likely going where they last left him. She hoped the princess didn’t make a detour or change her mind. She had to do this now or she’d never be brave enough again.

A wondrous quality of Canterlot was that despite the city’s lights, the stars were still clearly visible. As such, Twilight Sparkle was lit up by diamonds in the sky. Rarity called out to her, and the princess spun around, her long hair flowing in the wind, air glittering around her.

Rarity came to a stop, panting as they stared at each other. Eventually, Twilight’s eyes lowered and Rarity followed her line of vision, seeing the cartons in her hands. Rarity held them out and simply said, “I-Ice cream! Finish!” Rarity chided herself for talking like a caveman. She took hesitant steps forward while the princess continued staring at her with those deep eyes of hers.

Eventually, Rarity got close enough for Twilight to look inside the cartons. The princess frowned lightly. Rarity decided to look inside herself and realized that despite the chilly night, it had all gone liquid. She couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, silly me! Well, I have no reason to keep you.”

Rarity turned to leave, only for Twilight to grab her arm. “Rarity, wait.”

After a moment, to let the tingle across her body subside, Rarity turned back to face her. “Yes?”

Twilight looked at her, not giving an answer.

Rarity knelt down to place the cartons on the ground, then stood back up. Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but then Rarity put her finger on the princess’s lips. “Darling, I have a theory, but to prove it, we have to be completely quiet. Not a word out of either of us. Will you test it with me?”

Twilight blinked, then nodded. Rarity lowered her finger and turned to the side, looking up at the night sky. Expressionless, Twilight followed suit, her eyes shining with the stars.

Accompanied by nothing but the buzz of electric lights, they stood together. A cold breeze blew past, making them unthinkingly huddle closer together. Their hands brushed together, and after a moment’s hesitation, they interlocked. Neither woman dared take their eyes away from the sky.

Soon, they were drawn close enough together that they could feel the other’s hair against their own. They turned to look at each other, their faces oh so close together. If they could speak, they would have excused themselves, and come up with reasons why this didn’t mean what it meant. Not just for the other person, but for themselves.

In the silence of the starry night, there was nothing else they could do.

Tentatively at first, they closed their eyes and leaned in. First their noses touched, and with the slightest adjustments, they pressed in closer and finally their lips met.

After the longest second, they separated by nothing more than an inch. Then they kissed again. This was another short kiss, but it said everything that needed to be said.

They pressed their foreheads together and breathed heavily, their hot breath belying that out of everything that happened that day, this was the most exhausting of them all. Too soon, Rarity pulled away, despite every part of her body telling her to stay. But, still, she was Rarity, and she had to leave an impression.

She stood up straight, swished her hair, and smiled. “See you tomorrow, Princess.” She backed away with her hands behind her back, keeping her smile, before finally turning around and barely stifling giggles as she walked away faster and faster.

Twilight, meanwhile, blinked under the street lights.

Finally, she looked down at the cartons Rarity left behind. “I’ll just, uh, throw these away, then.”

Princess Cadance sat down with her clearly concerned sister-in-law, placing a cup of tea in front of her. She had removed her jewelry for the Gala, but hadn’t gotten around to changing out of her dress.

Twilight continuously ran her fingers through her hair. “Sorry for bothering you so late. I just, well, needed to know something.”

Cadance smiled. “Don’t worry about it, I’m always here for you. Shining was already brewing tea for us anyway. So, what brought you here so late?”

Twilight lightly tugged her hair. “So, uh, let’s imagine I was just standing outside, looking at the stars with a girl, and then we kissed. Does that mean anything?”

Cadance blinked. “You mean with Rarity?”

“Hypothetically, it’d be…” Twilight’s expression shifted, and she looked at Cadance with serious eyes. “Yes, it was Rarity.”

Cadance furrowed her brows. “It… means you’re dating.”

Twilight blinked. “Oh.”

Without a further word, Twilight got up and left the room.

Cadance continued sitting and eventually started rubbing her forehead.

Spike, meanwhile, enjoyed the afterparty unbothered and would end up staying in bed the following day.

Epilogue

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The princess and student council president, Twilight Sparkle, and the student council vice president, Rarity, sat on couches on either side of a communal work table on a calm Wednesday afternoon.

They in turn took sips from their teacups and looked at the person across from them. With the tension between them gone, it was great being able to simply enjoy the other’s company.

Not to say the room was without tension, however, as the sports club liaison leaned across the table, alternating glares at the two. “Alright, so it’s been, what, four weeks since you started dating? How come you’re just looking at each other? You aren’t even sitting together!”

Rarity placed her tea down and frowned. “Rainbow! It’s none of your business how we act as a couple!”

“Well I say it’s been my business ever since you roped me into helping you. I put all that effort into helping you two, and I don’t want you to be too shy to even kiss in public!”

Twilight sipped her tea. “Well first, I want to correct you. As Rarity and I have discussed, we actually started dating at some point close to the start of the year and, this is very important, neither of us remember who asked who out. The Gala merely marked when we decided to go public.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes so hard she nearly fell. “Yeah yeah got it.”

Non-sports club liaison Applejack, sitting elsewhere, let out a chuckle. “Lands sake, look at the ways y’all are twisting the truth for pride.”

Student council secretary Pinkie slid onto the table, with Twilight and Rarity reacting in time to lift their cups. Rainbow, on the other hand, bonked heads with Pinkie and fell back. “It’s even worse than you think, Applejack!” said the council secretary. “They haven’t been dating since the start of the year! Twilight’s been dating Rarity since high school!”

Twilight and Rarity both scrunched up their faces. “Darling, what in the world are you talking about?”

Unheeding, Pinkie continued. “Although, it’s weird, Twilight and Rarity were way more PDA-y back then, like kissing on stage at Rarity’s concerts and everything.”

Twilight’s face twisted until she finally reached a conclusion. “Pinkie… are you thinking about Dirk Thistleweed, that rock band singer I dated for a month in high school? Did… you think Rarity was Dirk this entire time?”

Pinkie’s eyes widened as she swirled her head between Twilight and Rarity. “Oh man, seriously? But they look so much alike! They both had purple hair and… purple hair. I just figured Dirk, you know, found himself.” She settled on Rarity. “Sorry, it must have been so weird with me acting like I already knew you!”

Rarity laughed nervously. “I honestly thought that was how you treated everyone.”

Pinkie smiled. “Oh, it is. So, I guess it wasn’t a problem after all!”

Twilight rubbed her chin. “Wait, so that means… you thought we were already dating all this time.”

Pinkie nodded. “Well yeah! But like you said, you and Rarity have been dating for a while, so I wasn’t wrong!”

Twilight shook her head. It wasn’t worth thinking of the implications. “Anyway, the second thing I was going to say is that just because we aren’t interested in public displays of affection doesn’t mean we’re being shy. It’s more that… I don’t know, I feel kind of satisfied where we are.” She turned to Rarity. “Is it the same with you?”

Rarity hummed. “Yes, it’s true. This is much slower than my other relationships, but I’ve been pretty happy with our pace.”

Close to Applejack, animal liaison Fluttershy demurely raised her hand. “Uh, this may sound like an odd question, but are you still writing that play together?”

Twilight and Rarity both furrowed their brows in thought, then Rarity’s face lit up. “Oh yes! The play! About the captured princess and the evil queen.”

Twilight pointed. “Oh, that! Come to think of it, I haven’t really been interested in working on that for a while.”

Rarity nodded. “Same here.”

Fluttershy rubbed her chin. “Hmm, so all the tension is gone then.”

“What was that, dear?”

Flustered, Fluttershy waved her hands. “Oh! Nothing!”

Pinkie, still on the table, kicked her legs. “Ooo, a play? Can I read it?”

“No!” Fluttershy yelled, launching to her feet. Everyone stared at her. Without explaining herself, Fluttershy slowly sank back down.

Rarity’s face lightened up. “Anyway, more importantly,” she said as she looked at Twilight, “darling, what’s this about you dating a guy version of me?”

Twilight blushed. “What can I say? I didn’t realize it back then, but I clearly had a type.”

Rainbow stood and spread her arms. “Hey, back to my problem! I don’t care how satisfied you are! After all the effort me and Fluttershy put into you two, I don’t want to hear about you still being too shy to actually do anything!”

Fluttershy shifted in her seat. “I mean, I’m fine with whatever they do.”

Student council treasurer Mudbriar fiddled with some papers before him. “I’m fine with the output of my efforts too.”

Student council treasurer two Wallflower rolled her eyes from her chair. “You didn’t do anything.”

Mudbriar turned to her, making her freeze up. “Technically, I played a quite significant role in their romance, such as during our tennis matches when Pinkie Pie refused to use the word ‘love’ when referring to my score, leading Twilight to behave oddly and…”

As he continued rambling, Wallflower covered her ears. “Twilight, please, can you take back whatever you did to make people notice me?”

Twilight giggled. “Sorry, Wallflower, can’t take back friendship!”

Rarity put her hands on the table. “Twilight, please, one story about Dirk! Was he a good kisser?”

Rainbow’s eyes lit up. “I got it! Clearly you two need a kissing demonstration! Applejack, come over here!”

Applejack shrugged. “Well, on one hand, I don’t think we oughta bother them about this, but I ain’t going to turn down a chance to kiss my wife.”

Twilight shook in her seat and whispered, “Married.”

Right in the middle of their council room, Applejack and Rainbow Dash kissed, making a big show of holding each other close and moaning.

Everyone watched a bit before Rarity said, “Alright, you two made your point.”

Applejack and Rainbow continued kissing.

Twilight started sweating. “Uh guys, you do remember why we’re all here, right? Princess Celestia is showing high schoolers around the campus and she’ll bring them here any—”

“What the hell are you doing?!”

It was… Princess Celestia!

The doors were open, revealing the principal along with a full suite of high schoolers, all standing and gawking at the two liaisons kissing.

“Woah, is that what the student council does?” called out Silverstream, poking her head above the crowd.

Ocellus blushed. “This isn’t what I expected.”

Yona, on the other hand, was impervious. “It what Yona expected.”

Rainbow and Applejack were frozen in place. “Uhhh,” they both said.

Celestia collected herself. “Anyway, as you can see, the student council is always hard at work to—oh will you get away from each other, already?” Celestia stomped to them and physically put her hands between them.

As the chaos ensued, Rarity sighed and turned to her girlfriend. “Celestia herself having to drag apart two lovers. You know, that could have been us.”

Twilight grinned warily. “Celestia already had a headache from fending off more interdimensional interlopers. I think I’m fine how we are.”

Rarity smiled. “I agree.”

Canterlot Royal Academy: a prestigious university with an ancient and honorable origin, founded to educate the nobility of Equestria. In recent decades, the school was opened up to the common people, but it remains the primary destination for the elite.

Run by the immortal Princesses Celestia and Luna themselves, the primary focuses of the academy are government, business, art, and of course, magic.

But with the demands of the throne so great, much of the school’s management falls to the most elite of the elite students: the student council.

Spike walked into the room, squeezing past the students. Upon seeing the sight before him, he added, in a faux British accent, “Through bonds of friendship and love, the student council makes the academy a wonderful place for all. And in the end, they found love not through war, but through peace. Or something like that.”

Back in her room after that long day, Twilight sat on her bed. You know, she thought, since Fluttershy mentioned the play, I’m a bit interested in reading through it again.

With a puff of magic, the playbook appeared before her and she started flipping through it. Her easy smile slowly turned to a confused frown, and then her eyes widened and her brows furrowed at just what they had written. What the fuck?

RariTwi: Love is War

by SigmasonicX

Prologue

1. Rarity Wants to Be Asked Out

2. Twilight Doesn't Want to Be in Love

3. Rarity Needs Someone to Talk To

4. Twilight Has a Date to Keep

5. Rarity Sets the Rules

6. Twilight's Greatest Threat Appears

7. Rarity Wanted a Romantic Vacation

8. Rarity Plays to Win

9. Rainbow Clearly Wants to Die

10. Fluttershy Wishes She Didn't Get Involved

11. Pinkie Can't Cause Any Trouble

12. Wallflower Saves the Day

13. The Gala, Part 1 - Rarity and Twilight Don't Dance With Each Other

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

13. The Gala, Part 3 - Sweetie Belle Isn't a Horsey

13. The Gala, Part 4 - The Night Ends

13. The Gala, Part 5 - Rarity and Twilight Under the Starry Sky

Epilogue