The March of Progress
Rarity watched Twilight with an amused smirk on her face. The librarian was starting intently at the two teacups which Rarity was preparing. In perfect time, each strainer was filled with an identical amount of leaves before said strainers were closed shut and placed in the cups. The second the strainers hit the porcelain, the kettle began to pour water onto the centre of the table.
But before scalding water went everywhere, Rarity's magic partitioned it into two streams which filled the cups, with the strainers agitating themselves to release their flavour. By the time the pour had done, the tea was already at the perfect strength and temperature, owed to a small cooling spell Rarity had applied. But before she set the kettle down, Rarity discreetly added Twilight's requisite two sugars to her brew.
"Wow." Twilight whispered.
"Not seen anyone make tea before dear?" Rarity teased.
"Remarkably, it's a feat I've witnessed once or twice before," Twilight replied with a flat look which made Rarity giggle, "No, I'm more talking about how you did it."
"Oh, come now," Rarity stuttered, furious at the slight blush that appeared on her cheeks, "Anyone with a decent control over their magic could do that. I'm certain you could do it in your sleep, darling."
"No, no I couldn't. I couldn't do that if I sat down and concentrated, and you can do it while holding a conversation." Twilight grinned. If there was one thing Rarity loved about Twilight, though indeed there were many, it was that there was not an ounce of jealousy in her body. She never begrudged anyone their talent. Instead she was always just fascinated to witness skill.
"Well, one gets a lot of practise when working on dresses." Rarity replied dismissively, refusing to let on how much she was enjoying the praise.
"No, unfortunately practise has limits," Twilight began, pausing for a small sip of tea, "My not being able to do what you just did Twilight isn't some factor of practise, it's inescapable fact."
"But you're the element of magic,"
"Sure, it's no secret I'm a talented mage. I can learn spells incredibly quickly and can perform taxing ones without breaking a sweat. But I swear to you, right now, I would never in my life, regardless of practise, be able to do what you just did."
"Why?" Rarity asked.
"It's a consequence of my area of skill. My magic store excels at releasing magic in concentrated single bursts, and so when I release it to perform a spell it results in a comparatively massive level of magic influx at the cost of complexity. As a result I can only really perform single spells."
"But what about the Ursa minor?" Rarity pointed out. She took a sip of her tea and noted with satisfaction that it was, indeed, perfect.
"Those were multiple, unrelated spells on different targets, and therefore still counts as 'single spells'. It's called 'stacking'. To wit, one can make channels from a lake at many separate points. What you just did though, was more akin to making a channel from a lake at one point into a series of intricate streams, tonnes of minor variations on the same spell performed on one target. It's called 'partitioning', or more commonly fine control. I can't do it."
"Have you tried,"
"Rarity, do you think someone like me wouldn't have tried?" Twilight laughed, "You may have noticed that this is not my original tea service. That's because the first time I saw you pour it I was so impressed I tried to do it myself later on, and blew the entire thing up!"
"Oh dear! I hope the water wasn't too hot!" Rarity gasped,
"Yeah, that was a hastily constructed shield spell to say the least," Twilight snorted, while Rarity let out a pretty unladylike laugh of her own.
"But the fact remains, that not only could I not do that, the vast majority of ponies couldn't either. You're a talented unicorn Rarity." Twilight said with a wink.
"Well, I'll leave the magic to you darling," Rarity stuttered, praying Twilight couldn't see how thrilled she was to hear that, "I'm sure you'll be able to think of a workaround and be pouring tea with the best of them in no time."
"It's not... hmm." Twilight faltered immediately, the look on her face could only mean she had gotten a new idea. Rarity smirked. She'd definitely have a lot of research to hear about next week.
"And how did he take it?" Rarity soothed, gently rubbing the soft fur on Twilight's back.
"Oh, he was fine. Excited really. And I am too! It's his time, you know? I just... it's gonna be different without him." Twilight sniffled. A letter for Spike had come through that morning, offering him a chance to study at the prestigious Draarguhm Academy in Canterlot. It was a school exclusively for dragons, set up centuries ago by Celestia as a diplomatic exercise. He'd get to meet dragons his own age, learn about his history as well as a top-notch education in maths, sciences and Equuish. It was a great opportunity for him, one that they were all thrilled for him to have.
But it didn't make it hurt any less.
"I know darling, you're doing so well being brave for him. And me and the girls will be here every step of the way. I... we love you so much."
Twilight cocked her head up, and it was all Rarity could do to stop herself visibly cringing. It was such a stupid slip up to make.
"I'm really lucky to have you," Twilight replied, voice barely a whisper.
And for a small moment, she looked at Rarity with such an inscrutable expression that Rarity allowed herself a measure of hope. They remained staring at one another, neither daring to make any further move.
"Should we... ahem... have our tea?" Rarity asked, praying her smile didn't look as goofy as it felt, and that Twilight couldn't hear her heart thundering away in her chest.
"Uh... yeah, sure."
It wasn't the time, not when she was hurting this much, Rarity knew that. And, being honest, she was pretty devastated herself. Spike was a dear, dear friend. And, while her generosity forbade her from attempting to stop him from going, it would be hard to adjust to a Ponyville without him.
She set out the tea service and poured again. She had to stop herself from smiling like an idiot when Twilight stared, enraptured, at the process. This was especially hard when Twilight muttered 'beautiful', because while Rarity knew this was referring to the magic, it was nice to pretend otherwise.
Yet Rarity was nothing if not someone with a flare for the dramatic. As she poured the kettle, she made the water cavort in ornate swirls and coils. Instead of the strainers merely moving around to mix, she made them dance. Instead of spooning in Twilight's sugar, she pulled it around in a veritable blizzard. Twilight's mouth fell open as she saw the individual grains spin around on their own axes before they settled into her cup.
"You're amazing," Twilight breathed, and Rarity felt her heart sing.
"Oh come now darling, nothing more than a little party trick," Rarity waved dismissively, "I'm sure your research is a lot more incredible."
"Nowhere near," Twilight began, before grinning, "But I might be getting close."
"So, over the last week, I've been looking at the way different areas of magic are performed in the context of RM theory."
"RM Theory? Twilight remember you're talking to a dressmaker here," Rarity pointed out.
"Sorry, getting a little ahead of myself," Twilight giggled, "Resource Management theory is how all magic is performed. So the crucial thing is the store of magic and how said magic is released from that store. Things like horns or antlers or wings are actually quite unimportant, they're just the conduit. So the reason unicorns can't fly isn't actually anything to do with not having wings. The wings provide some lift for pegasi and have a structural effect in aiding flight, but the important thing is how pegasi's magic is released from their store."
"Okay. And that's why you and I are better at different areas of magic?"
"Exactly!" Twilight exclaimed. Rarity loved this, she loved how enthusiastic Twilight got. It was enough to make her lower her inhibitions and prop her head on her hooves, affecting a smitten smile.
"Given the right magic store release mechanism, or MSRM, a unicorn could fly or a pegasus could levitate something. The issue is that neither tribe has those release methods."
"May I interject with my prediction for the end of the research question," Rarity asked, "'But what if they did?',"
"Looks and brains?" Twilight asked teasingly, "See, if a pony could release their magic in anyway whatsoever, they could perform any kind of magic at all."
"That sounds fascinating darling. But if that's the case and, from what I can tell, a well known conclusion from established theory then why hasn't it been attempted before?"
"Because it's impossible," Twilight concluded, plopping down onto her chair and taking a sip of her tea, "In order to do that you'd have to perform magic on your own store of magic which simply cannot be done. You'd need to release magic from the store to allow any spells to take place, so you can't perform magic on the source. It'd be like trying to deliver yourself a message before you'd actually thought of what to write."
"I wouldn't give up hope yet dear," Rarity said with an encouraging smile, "If anyone can do it, you could."
Twilight got up to grab a biscuit from the spread they'd set up. But then, instead of sitting back down on her chair, she took a place next to Rarity on the settee. She looked over at Rarity with a vague smile, and Rarity responded in kind. The moment was like porcelain, and neither dared move for fear of breaking it. Rarity's tummy felt fluttery and her cheeks were hot.
"So... what's on for you for the rest of the day?" Twilight asked, her tone trailing off as if there were more to the question she didn't dare vocalise.
Ask her. Go on, do it. Ask her to dinner tonight, what's the worst that could happen? What's there to be afraid of?
"Oh, nothing much darling. Just finishing off some orders. Yourself?"
"Probably just gonna help Spike get packed up for when he goes. He's told me I don't need to, but... you know."
Of course, she needed to help Spike. Plus Rarity hadn't gotten reservations for a restaurant. It wasn't right tonight. But that was fine. There'd be time later, after all. Both drank their tea quietly.
Rarity clapped her hooves together as the water danced. Twilight had her tongue stuck out and was visibly sweating. Rarity had never seen her look so taxed by a spell before, but she was really doing it. She was manipulating the tea set with a control that, while it was nowhere near what Rarity could accomplish, was still very impressive. Especially for a unicorn who had not weeks prior described the feat as impossible.
"What did I tell you darling? If anyone could do it," Rarity laughed as Twilight took some mock bows, "Care to explain how you broke this magical rule? Only it happens so often I can't seem to keep track."
"Oh hush," Twilight stuck her tongue out, and managed to make the childish gesture seem beautiful, "It seems like everyone working on this problem had taken the same flawed approach. They knew they couldn't begin a spell behind the store, so they rerouted their magic towards their store. It seems like a good idea in theory, but ultimately it leads to nothing. You perform your spell, it affects the store, then the spell ends and you have to start again rendering the whole pursuit pointless. You just end up creating a big closed loop."
She levitated a cup of tea over to Rarity and took her place on the settee next to her. What was once a daring one-off had become the norm for their little visits. Or little dates as Rarity preferred to call them. Twilight was closer than usual. Their cutie marks gently brushed against one another while Twilight sat, and she smelled faintly of freshly washed linen.
"So I gave myself a second store." Twilight concluded.
"You say that like it's trivial,"
"Oh Celestia it wasn't. That's why I looked like I was about to keel over just then. It takes a massive amount of magic but essentially, you perform a spell from your main store into a magically constructed second. As it is a simple construct it's a lot more 'malleable' than your innate one, and as such it can be influenced to release the magic in ways the other cannot. I effectively put a middleman in the system. While my store cannot release magic to give fine control, I can force my construct one to do just that."
"All a bit over my head, I'm afraid darling." Rarity laughed.
"No it isn't."
"Hmm?"
"I said that it isn't over your head at all," Twilight insisted, staring at Rarity intently, "I was watching you then, and you understood every word I said. I don't know why you're always putting yourself down like that, you're one of the most intelligent ponies I know."
There was no way, from this distance, that Twilight wouldn't be aware of Rarity's heart hammering in her chest, but the seamstress only faintly cared. Twilight was so close, it would have been so easy to lean forward and kiss her. She wanted nothing more. Her eyes kept darting down to Twilight's mouth.
"I... uhm... brought some new biscuits today darling. Some chocolate ones from Canterlot."
"Oh?" Twilight whispered, her tone unabashedly nervous. Rarity could feel Twilight's breath tickle her lips.
"Well, you need to keep your strength up... if you're performing these difficult spells. Why don't you have one?" Rarity muttered, quickly interjecting when Twilight went to levitate one, "But! But you don't want to be using too much magic either dear! Why don't you let me..."
Rarity levitated one of the biscuits toward Twilight. Their eye contact didn't break when Twilight opened her mouth and Rarity gently fed her the sweet. It was slightly awkward, but good awkward. Awkward like two ponies who knew what they wanted but not quite how to ask for it. Twilight crunched on it, and her tongue darted out to get the crumbs off her muzzle.
"How is it?"
"Delicious," Twilight replied, her eyes lidded, "So, what are you up to tonight Rarity?"
"Oh! Oh... I don't think I have any plans yet dear." Here we go, "Why?"
"Well, I was just wondering... I mean I found this old cookbook in the library, and there's this lovely looking meal combo I found. It's an aubergine lasanga with a chocolate cake for desert, but all the portions are for two ponies and I'm not a great cook and don't want to have to try and halve it all in case I get it wrong and since you've not got any plans and I've not got any plans aside from cooking from that cookbook I mentioned I was wondering whether you maybe would potentially be interested in staying over for dinner?"
The poor thing looked like she would pass out towards the end of that. She could only stop herself from outright gasping for breath towards the end, but Rarity didn't mind. From this distance, the deep breaths tickled.
"I'd love to darling!" she exclaimed, hoping she didn't sound as embarrassingly excited as she felt. Twilight looked over to the tea service and poured another couple of teas in the same way as before. Rarity gasped in amazement which may have been slightly exaggerated in the service of buttering the unicorn up.
Twilight excused herself for a moment, and Rarity broke out into a massive grin when she heard Twilight laughing in excitement from the kitchen. Rarity allowed herself a little squeal of excitement too, and didn't care that Twilight had probably heard.
The water changed colours, turned from ice to boiling several times in the space of seconds, and wove into patterns Rarity wouldn't have ever been able to imagine before falling into the cup. In the space of a week, Twilight had gone from devoting all her energy to delivering a poor imitation of Rarity's level of control to dwarfing it entirely and holding a conversation at the same time. She wasn't even breaking a sweat.
"Impressed?" Twilight asked smugly, leaving Rarity no option but to give her a wide-eyed, shaky nod, "Once you manage to get a handle on creating and controlling the construct store, the rest is trivial."
"Twilight, this is amazing," Rarity admitted, because it was, even if Twilight's demeanour was a little intimidating today. Twilight smiled at the comment, though it was leagues more self-assured than her usual one. That one came with red cheeks, delicate with humility. Rarity couldn't help but miss it a little. Twilight leant forward and took her cup of water, then took a languid sip.
"Are we not having tea today dear?" Rarity scoffed,
"The deer of the Eastern forests have fascinating sensorial spells, stuff that unicorns have never been able to attempt. The MSRM is totally incompatible with the ones we can access."
"Let me guess, unicorns could never attempt it until now?"
"We'll make a scholar of you yet!" Twilight laughed loudly. It was a far cry from the two of them staring at each other while Twilight told Rarity how intelligent she was, "If you drink your tea, it'll taste like whatever you're craving the most."
Rarity sipped it carefully, and when she looked up she found Twilight staring at her expectantly.
"It... it tastes like champagne darling."
"Well that's good, I have a bottle actually. Fancy another dinner tonight? There's a lot to celebrate after all, and I really enjoyed last time."
Rarity smiled, she couldn't help the butterflies that came up in her stomach. Last week's dinner had been perfect. The poor thing had been so nervous throughout. But nervous and sweet, just like her invitation. At the end of the night, Twilight had leaned in for the smallest, gentlest kiss imaginable. Hearing her talk about it so brazenly now stole away some of it's magic. But even with her slight disquiet at Twilight's change in demeanour, Rarity couldn't help but say yes. She'd say yes to anything Twilight asked. Besides, she had been working hard all week. She deserved a bit of self-confidence for a change.
"That sounds lovely darling!" she replied, and Twilight just smiled. Like she'd never expected Rarity to say anything else.
Rarity stared in utter shock, because Twilight was flying. She hovered in the middle of the library, books arcing around her. She hadn't even noticed Rarity. In front of her was a block of dull grey metal which turned into gold, then to water, then back to its original state.
She delicately cleared her throat, and Twilight turned to her. Rarity actually flinched when they made eye contact. Every trace of the familiar unicorn's gaze had been burned away by a scorching aura of magic. There were only painfully white chasms now. She looked like a monster. She descended gently, and the second she touched the ground everything that had been hovering with her turned into a faint white smoke which quickly dissipated. Twilight broke the spell and Rarity could have cried with relief when her eyes returned to normal.
"Rarity," she drawled, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"It's our tea-" Don't say date. "-Visit, darling. Don't you remember?"
"Oh of course! My apologies, I've been very preoccupied with my work."
"That's okay darling, I nearly forgot myself!" It was a lie. Before now Rarity had actually skipped on a potential client because it was organised at the same time as their tea date, "I've been swamped with orders this week! But thankfully I managed to get them all done."
"I've been mastering more magic. There's nothing which is off limits, given time."
That hurt. A lot. Twilight would always be fascinated by her stories about Rarity's work. Or, at least she always seemed to be. She'd sit and listen to Rarity talk about it for hours, and always say the right things. Now she just talked in an even monotone about her work as she poured their water in her needlessly complex way. It was even more impressive this time around, and Rarity didn't watch a second of it. She watched Twilight, and felt her heart twist when she took her seat on her own chair, far away from their settee.
They each reached forward to take a sip, and Rarity let the liquid rush around her mouth while she tasted it. It tasted exactly the same as it had done last week.
And suddenly Rarity felt Twilight's cutie mark on her's again, and she nearly had a heart attack. Teleportation was not a subtle spell. It produced a loud and bright flash. There was no way Twilight would have been able to perform it without Rarity noticing, and there was certainly no way she'd got up and walked on the library's creaking floor without Rarity noticing either. She simply now occupied the space she hadn't before.
"What does it taste like?" she purred, breath tickling Rarity's ear and making her squirm.
"It's like..." Rarity tried to speak, but she felt dizzy. Twilight was so close, she smelled intoxicating. Rarity's head swam, and there was the noticeable crackle of magic in the air.
"Mine tastes like your lips," Twilight whispered, and Rarity spun to face her in shock, "Haha what's wrong honey? I think we're a little past all that."
"Twilight," Rarity began, forcing herself to keep her voice even and gently pushing Twilight away, "Do you still want to know what my drink tastes like?"
"Sure," Twilight asked, clearly impatient to get back to cuddling up to Rarity's side.
"Okay. It tastes like a gin and tonic,"
"That's great honey," she replied flippantly. When tried to move closer again she found white hooves keeping her away.
"I hate gin and tonics Twilight. We went to a bar once and you ordered us each one. I tried to drink the whole thing and then tipped it into a plantpot when I thought you weren't looking, but you saw... it's one of my favourite memories of you actually." Rarity replied quietly, "My drink actually tastes like our normal tea. It did last week as well."
"I can get you whatever you want to drink honey," Twilight said with obvious notes of frustration. It broke Rarity's heart.
"Twilight, why are you acting like this? What happened to the mare who made me chocolate cake two weeks ago?"
"You mean the mare who couldn't even pour tea properly?" Twilight snapped, shocking Rarity with her sudden change in mood, "The mare who pretended to know about a universe of magic she couldn't even fathom?"
"Try the mare who would listen to me talk about my commissions. Who drank tea with me, not magically flavoured water," said Rarity, nearly on the edge of tears, "Twilight, I think that spell is affecting you. I think you need to stop using it."
"Of course the spell is affecting me Rarity, have you just worked that out?" Twilight sneered, "I'm sorry that it's woken me up. I'm sorry that it's broadened my mind and let me see things you could only dream about. I'm sorry it's made me more intelligent and perceptive than I've ever been before. I'm afraid this is the cost of greatness."
"Listen to yourself Twilight! You never used to want 'greatness', you researched things because you were interested in them. And you certainly never talked to me the way you have done today!"
"And here I was thinking you'd be happy for me." Twilight spat.
"I've always been happy for you Twilight!" Rarity shouted, "Every time you've done something that amazed me I have been so proud of you. But if you're not you anymore, then what's the point?!"
"Oh forgive me for not exactly mourning the mare who couldn't even act on her little crush on you! She nearly died of anxiety when she went in for that pathetic little kiss the first time we had dinner. Don't pretend you didn't like it more when I kissed you, honey,"
And all Rarity could do was gawk in horror at the mare, sat so close to her on the settee she once shared with Twilight. The impostor grinned in that sickening, cocksure way of hers and came close again. This time Rarity didn't hesitate to shove her full force with both hooves.
"Don't you dare call me honey, and don't you dare speak about Twilight that way," she snarled, now unable to stop herself from crying, "When she kissed me after that first dinner, it was one of the best moments of my life. It was sweet and honest and she smelled like lavender, because she'd used the shampoo I bought for her. When you kissed me, you stank of cheap perfume and you stuck your tongue down my throat. I hated it."
And it wasn't the full truth. Rarity hadn't known last week about the effects of the spell. She'd loved hers and Twilight's kiss more than anything, that had been totally honest. But when Twilight, or what she had assumed to be Twilight, took control and kissed her as hard as she had, she'd still seen stars. Now she knew, the thought made her sick.
"Twilight, please, if you're there then stop doing this spell... I love you. I hope you know that." Rarity sobbed.
"Geez Rare, are you being serious?" Twilight replied, like none of this was even slightly important, "Tell you what, when you manage to stop being so hysterical and asking me to give up on the best research of my life, to go back to being someone pathetic, come back around."
Rarity looked into those eyes, and she saw nothing of her Twilight in there. Only this new pony, that terrified and repulsed her.
"You're nothing like her," Rarity spat, before sprinting out of the library in tears.
Rarity didn't really know what she was doing here. It seemed unlikely they'd just pick up where they left off with another tea date. But when she walked into Golden Oaks, she didn't see Twilight hovering or illuminated by some bizarre cornea of magic. Instead she saw her sat on her favourite cushion, curled up with a book. And immediately tears began to pool in Rarity's eyes. Maybe she'd actually gotten through to her? Maybe she'd stopped using that awful spell and things could go back to normal?
She walked up to Twilight and gently called her name. The unicorn's ear flicked, and she turned around. Rarity's stomach dropped when she looked again into the white eyes of a monster, burning with magic she couldn't comprehend.
"Come," said Twilight. She reached out to touch Rarity's hoof, and in an instant they were upstairs. Teleportation had always made Rarity nauseated, but this new magic Twilight was using had no such effect. There was no lurch or disorientation. They were just suddenly there. And to add to the insanity, it had jumped from a sunny afternoon to the middle of the night.
"Twilight," Rarity began, refusing to be cowed by whatever game Twilight was playing, or to acknowledge her horror with what had just happened, "Please come downstairs and sit with me. We need to talk about what happened last week."
"Last week was a long time ago, I have grown much since then." Twilight replied in a voice devoid of emotion, "Watch."
Her horn lit up and she peered out the window at the night sky. Rarity followed her gaze, and watched in abject terror as the stars began to move.
"Each one of them is a sun, just like ours. I could move that too, if I so desired."
"Twilight-"
"Do you want to know why I changed?" Twilight interrupted, "It's because magic effects everything. It's part of us, but much more than our skin and bone. Skin and bone are weak, and without magic they fall and rot. With it, however, they are given the spark of life. You and I were no different, neither are the pegasi or earth ponies or deer or changelings. Even the alicorns aren't nearly as impressive once you know what makes them tick. When you remove the constrains on our magic, as I have, do you know what that makes us?"
"No," Rarity replied, her mouth dry and the word bitter.
"It makes us gods," Twilight said simply, then turned back towards the window.
"If you're really some sort of god," Rarity began, unable to stop her voice from breaking, "Then tell me why she changed."
"There is no she, there is only I, and I used to be like you. All of you are consequences of what you cannot see. You simply see shadows on the wall of the cave. My shadows made me into something you loved, but love is a shadow as well."
"I want her back," Rarity said as slumped to the ground, crying into her hooves.
"Forgive me," Twilight said, now occupying the space by Rarity, "I do not mean to be cruel to you. When you last saw me, I was still learning. I was worse than I started. Still a child but a child with enough knowledge to consider myself better than you. To still desire you and feel contempt for you. I was cruel to you then, and I am sorry for that."
"Is there anything you cannot do?" Rarity asked, and Twilight shook her head, "So can't you go back to the way you were?"
"I could, but I will not. I feel no desire for your skin and bone and meat anymore. I feel no desire for my own for that matter. I will be rid of it very soon."
Rarity felt excavated. She had held out hope since last week that Twilight would go back to normal. In fact, she hadn't really been able to consider the affair as anything other than a tiff between friends. It was now, though, that it finally dawned on her that Twilight was effectively dead. She started to hyperventilate, started to panic. She could barely see through the tears and it hurt so much. More than she thought possible.
"I do not understand why you're crying, but I don't wish for you to feel sad. Does it comfort you, to know that I'm contented this way?" Twilight said, placing a hoof on Rarity's cheek, "I feel no desire for your flesh, but your mind has the potential to be beautiful. I could make you like me, then you would see what I can."
"No," Rarity gasped, recoiling. The idea she'd want to be anything like the thing wearing the most beautiful face she'd ever seen was nearly enough to make her vomit. Twilight made no move to follow Rarity when she pulled away from that hoof. They looked at one another, and Twilight began to smile. It was tiny. A sad, defeatist sort of expression. It was the first thing she'd done that was close to the real Twilight in weeks.
"Do you see then, why I would not go back?"
"Do you want me to come with you?" Rarity asked, and Twilight cocked her head slightly.
"...Yes. But I will not force you."
"So do you still love me then?" Rarity begged through sobs.
"I would explain how I feel towards you, little one, and you could explain how you feel towards me. But I don't think either of us would understand."
Rarity jolted awake. Golden Oaks looked completely normal. The window she had stared through last night was wide open, and throughout the room there was an unnatural breeze. Rarity got to her hooves and walked to the window. Ponyville was unremarkable, ponies wandered around the shops, ate at cafes, totally oblivious to everything that had happened last night. Rarity started to sob as the memories flooded back to her.
"Twilight?!" She called out desperately. She ran out of the room and hurried down the stairs, frantically shouting Twilight's name and getting no response. When she walked into the main room, she didn't know what she hoped to find but it wasn't what was there. Maybe Twilight sitting, ready to have tea. Maybe just a letter from her saying where she'd gone. Some sign that she still had some affection for Rarity.
There was nothing though. It looked identical to how she'd seen it last night. Flashes of a nervous Twilight, furiously blushing and leaning forward for the hastiest chaste kiss in history came into her mind and it felt like she'd been kicked in the chest. Rarity desperately scrubbed tears from her eyes, looking like a child. She stumbled over to the front door and pushed it open, once again not knowing what she expected to find.
It was a beautiful day. The sky was completely cloudless. Cloudless aside from a small trail of white near the horizon. But Rarity needed to rub more tears from her eyes, because Twilight was gone and everything was worse now. When she lowered her hooves, the trail had vanished all together.