Holidays in Canterlot
“Best… Hearth's Warming ever!” Pinkie Pie said, pumping a hoof into the air, before taking a swig of her hot chocolate. “And best cocoa ever. Miss Twilight, you need to show me that recipe before we leave in the morning!”
“Nonsense. It’s a family secret.” Twilight Velvet winked slightly at Pinkie. “But, if you come back over some other time, I’d be sure to whip you up some more.”
“Most definitely!” Pinkie said nodding enthusiastically, which made Twilight let out a small laugh. It was nice to see her friend interacting so warmly with her mother. And Pinkie wasn’t the only one who had helped out today.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash had helped her father pick out a tree. Fluttershy had timidly offered to helped decorate it as soon as the three had gotten it in, and had done so with her mother. There were only two ponies missing from the scene right now: her brother, who was off at work still even on the eve of Hearthswarming had recently been promoted to Captain of the Guard - and while Twilight was deeply proud of him, she still lamented that times had made it so her friends wouldn’t be able to catch Shining when he came home tomorrow. The rest of her friends had chosen to take the earliest train out of Canterlot to get back to their own families after a full day with the Hearths Warming play, which was earlier than Shining would be able to get home. Twilight would have to try and have them meet some other time down the road.
Aside from Shining however…
Rarity was gone too. And that worried Twilight. It wasn’t like Rarity to up and disappear like that. As far as Twilight knew, she had no prior engagement. And she seemed fine throughout the day. But it still worried her. For the past half hour she had been missing.
“Hey, Fluttershy?” Twilight walked over to Fluttershy, who was sitting in a chair after having thoroughly decorated the tree from top to bottom. She too had a mug of hot chocolate delicately sat on one of the chair arms, which she delicately sipped from before replying.
“Yes Twilight?”
“Do you happen to know where Rarity went?” Twilight asked with a frown.
“Rarity?” Fluttershy asked, blinking before putting a hoof to her chin. “She went outside a while back. Why? She hasn’t come back in?” A bit of worry colored her voice, as she moved to get up.
“I’ll go find her, don’t worry,” Twilight said in a hurry to assuage Fluttershy’s worry.
“Are you sure? I can help if needed,” Fluttershy said, tilting her head slightly, still a bit tense.
“No, no. You’re our guest here. I’ll go find her. Just relax,” Twilight reassured her with a confidant smile
“If you’re sure…” Though hesitantly, Fluttershy seemed to get a bit more comfortable in her chair after some consideration. “If you can’t find her, let us know though… she could all be alone in Canterlot at night…”
“I’m sure she’s fine. She couldn’t have gone too far.” Twilight shook her head, before heading past where Applejack and her dad were chatting - with a quick momentarily ‘hello’ to them both - while levitating her pink scarf over to her.
After a mere moment more, Twilight was out the back door and into the slightly crisp frosty air. Snow gently fell from the sky around her. The weather ponies must have planned a white Hearth’s Warming as usual - not a surprise, but it made Twilight smile all the same as she trotted into the garden, looking around, and trying to spot her friend. At first, Twilight spotted no sign of Rarity.
And then, she spotted her - though Twilight couldn’t blame herself for missing her a second ago. Her near white coat blended in with the snow quite well in the dark. Rarity was sitting on a stone bench in the garden - looking out towards the rest of Canterlot, looking quite contemplative.
“Rarity?” Twilight asked, as she trotted over to her friend. For Rarity’s benefit, she didn’t seem to startle at the sudden sound of Twilight’s voice breaking the silence. However, Twilight was sure that she had seen a wince instead.
“Quite fine, darling.” Rarity turned towards Twilight, a smile upon her face as she looked at her. “Just enjoying some time in your family’s garden. It’s quite lovely, even in winter.” With a small gesture, Rarity waved at some of the more viney plants that ran across the fence. Even in the cold, the vines stayed leafy and green while everything withered away and waited for Winter Wrap-Up to roll around again.
“Thank you,” Twilight said, her voice gentle. With a swift movement, Twilight sat onto the bench next to Rarity - making the other mare shift a bit uncomfortably. “But why are you out here instead of inside like everypony else? I was sure you would have wanted to decorate the tree. And if you wanted to see the garden, I don’t think anypony would have had an objection to it.”
Rarity paused, pressing her front hooves together slightly. “Would you believe me if I told you that everything was alright, and you’d leave it at that?”
“Not a chance,” Twilight said, shaking her head firmly. “Rarity… you’re one of my best friends. Please, just tell me what’s wrong.” A pleading note entered her voice in the end as she worriedly looked at Rarity, as if trying to discern what was wrong from sight alone.
“... I expected more.” Rarity said softly, shame washing across her face as her eyes darted away from Twilight’s gaze. And yet, confusion arose in Twilight.
“Expected more?” Twilight echoed, not quite discerning the meaning from that alone.
“I mean… when you told us we would be staying with your parents on Hearth’s Warming Eve, I was ecstatic. Besides the play, which was wonderful, we got to spend the whole trip with you and your family. We all got to learn more about you. And you’re quite the enigma, you know.” A small grin played out across Rarity’s face at that. “You don’t quite participate in talk about your home life as much as you could.”
“I know…” A blush formed on Twilight’s face from embarrassment as she looked away. “It’s just… I don’t find that stuff interesting to talk about. And I never thought you girls would be interested in such stuff also.”
Rarity laughed at that, a small melodious noise. “Please. I know a lot about every one of our other friends’ families. Except perhaps Pinkie Pie, but that’s because she too also didn’t grow in Ponyville. But as I was saying - while drawing up your plans, you mentioned were part of a noble house… and I expected more. And I do believe that makes me quite a silly foolish mare.” The smile that had formed fell apart at these words. “First, because I should not have expected more than you. No offense meant, but in a good way. You are a good mare - better than most of the other snobs in this city I have quite so learned in our last outing out here. I should have expected your family to be the same way.”
Twilight felt a smile rise at her own face at that. Hearing such praise from Rarity… well, it was nice to hear such things from her dear friend. Twilight also wanted to reassure her that was fine - she should have explained more about her own family - but Twilight sensed that Rarity had more to say, so she held her tongue for now.
“And besides that, I should have not been excited for the idea of being a noble family. But instead just excited at the prospect of staying with your family for Hearth’s Warming Eve. Not because of any extravagance or anything else.” Rarity softly smiled for a moment, before her ears flattened against her head and she sighed slightly. “And I am deeply sorry that I even felt that way… it did not feel right for me to stay in there. Once again, I did you wrong. First your birthday and now this. I’m sorry. I truly am.”
“Oh, Rarity…” Twilight reached out, wrapping a hoof around Rarity’s foreleg gently. “That’s fine. I don’t mind at all.”
“But you should. You’re too nice for me, darling.” Rarity didn’t pull away from the touch.
“Nonsense,” Twilight said firmly. “You’re one of my best friends. And you still enjoyed yourself tonight?”
“Of course!” Rarity said hurriedly, nodding her head. “Your home is lovely and your family is too.” Rarity smiled once more. “Your mother’s cookies are quite divine, if I do say so myself.”
“Then come back inside. Enjoy the warmth.” Twilight said, tugging at Rarity’s leg a little. “After we finish our cocoa, we have one last event planned. And I think you’ll enjoy it.”
“Oh? And what’s that?” Rarity raised an eyebrow as she was pulled up from the bench - the smile now firm, and not brittle like before. Twilight was glad about that at least, even if she knew that Rarity’s troubles weren’t probably all gone. But Twilight would work on that in the future. For her friend.
“Just a thing we do every year.” Twilight raised a hoof pointing at the sky. “A hot air balloon ride around Canterlot!”
“In this cold?!” Rarity said, sounding astounded, but her expression revealed mirth beneath. Twilight felt a laugh bubble up from her chest as she walked over to the back door.
“Yep! It’s better than it sounds,” Twilight said, opening the screen door with her magic.
“I suppose I will hold my judgement until then,” Rarity said, a bit teasingly, before going inside.
As Twilight reentered the house, her own chest blossomed with warmth as she saw her friends greet Rarity again. For now, the six of them could have some fun. Later, Twilight would make sure to talk to Rarity again, but… for now, the six of them could enjoy an evening out before all having Hearth’s Warming together with their families. And that was more than Twilight could ever ask for.