> Interdisciplinary Collaboration
>  by Undome Tinwe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Emergent Behaviour
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I must admit, this is far nicer than I expected," Rarity commented as she sat on the bench in front of the glass wall that overlooked the ocean. "I can see why you and Sunset enjoy attending these events so much now."

"There's money in this field, and almost everyone here isn't paying for the trip themselves, so the incentive is towards pushing the limit of luxury," Twilight replied with a shrug as she took her seat next to her. "Of course, not every academic conference is in a place this nice. Besides, aren't the trade shows you go to a lot nicer?"

Rarity gestured towards the breathtaking sight in front of her, as waves crashed against the shore in a hypnotic pattern below them. "I've not yet pierced the upper echelons of my own industry, darling, so my visits are to places that are much more... practical."

"Well, in that case, I'm happy you got to share this with us." They were so close that their bodies were nearly touching, and Twilight had to hold back the urge to lean into Rarity.

"I'm delighted as well," Rarity replied. "I must thank you again for inviting me to be a co-author of this paper. I never imagined myself an academic, but the benefits are undeniable, and it does open up some new avenues for networking."

Twilight giggled. "Gonna slip in an advertisement for Carousel while you're up there giving the talk?"

Adopting a faux-serious expression, Rarity replied haughtily. "Why of course, darling. One should never overlook a business opportunity." Her expression sobered into a frown. "And it's not as if I'll have much else to say when in front of such a learned crowd."

This time, Twilight did reach out to place a hand on her shoulder. As a friend, of course. "Hey, having someone there who can explain the fashion parts of the paper is going to be really important. I'm the one who has it the easiest, since I just need to talk about the fundamental principles behind the algorithm. You and Sunset are going to have to actually explain how you formulate the design principles into a computable representation."

"Admittedly, that was an interesting challenge," Rarity murmured. "I'm ever so thankful for Sunset's artistic abilities, or else we would never have been able to bridge that gap."

"Yeah, she's pretty amazing." There wasn't any point in hiding just how smitten Twilight was.

"I must concur." A smile played at Rarity's lips. "Sometimes I find myself jealous at how perfect your love is. Not to mention the fact that you're able to take these romantic vacations completely funded by your school."

"Our relationship isn't perfect," Twilight quickly pointed out. "But yes, it's been a pretty great few years with her. Though, we haven't had too much alone time ever since we started working on this paper."

"My apologies," Rarity replied. "As I said, translating the principles of fashion design into an algorithm turned out to be more challenging than I had predicted. I did not mean to monopolize so much of your beloved's time."

Twilight waved off the apology with a hand. "It's no problem at all, Rarity. I'm glad you two got to spend time together. We've all gotten a lot closer since we started this project." Her heart started beating faster as she said those words, her earlier nervousness creeping up on her again.

"So we have," Rarity said.

"Sunset really enjoyed her time with you," Twilight continued, willing herself to not lose her nerve. "She was telling me how much she appreciated having someone she could connect to in her artistic pursuits, and how much fun she had spending time with you in general." Her heart caught in her throat as she forced out the next words. "She cares about you a lot, you know."

Rarity seemed to sense Twilight's nervousness. "Sunset is a very dear friend to me," she said carefully. "And she loves you very much."

"I know that!" The words came out louder and more sudden than Twilight had intended, and she decided to give up on remaining cool and calm through this, letting the next words spill out in a torrent before she could stop herself. "But she likes you too. Like, really likes you."

At that, Rarity jerked away from Twilight's touch. "Twilight, I would never think of coming between you and—"

"And I really like you too." It was rude to cut her off, but if Twilight didn't get those words out now, she didn't know if she'd ever be able to. The whole world had faded away by now, the lush interior of the conference center becoming little more than a distant memory as all Twilight could see was Rarity and the crashing waves behind her that lapped at them, threatening to pull them under. "I've really enjoyed spending time with you on this paper, and your insights have been really valuable, and you're funny and smart and sweet and really, really pretty."

Rarity said nothing, her eyes widening as her lips parted in shock.

Twilight powered on, knowing that her fate was sealed now. There was no going back from this. "So Sunset and I talked it out, and we agreed that our hearts were both big enough to love more than one person, and we both knew this was going to be a really nice place that maybe might be romantic enough for a confession without being too suspicious, and I wanted to be the one to tell you so that's why Sunset's attending that talk on Attention-Driven Transformer Models alone right now."

"Twilight, I..." Rarity trailed off, a storm of emotions in her expression. "Do you...?"

"Would you like to go out with me and Sunset after this?" Twilight asked, the roaring in her ears drowning out everything except the sound of her own voice and Rarity's. "Like, on a date?"

There was an endless pause as Twilight waited for the response. She'd talked about this with Sunset before, and they would both be okay if Rarity said no, but they really, really wanted her to say yes, and Twilight was more nervous than when she'd been waiting on the acceptance for this conference.

Finally, Rarity smiled, and it was dazzling. "I would love nothing more, darling."

Twilight grinned in response. "Great!" She paused awkwardly. "Do you mind if I hug you, then?"

Rarity laughed, and it was beautiful. "Of course, Twilight. I daresay we'll be doing more than hugging if all goes well tonight." She winked, and Twilight blushed, and Rarity laughed again. "Come here, my dear star."

She held her arms open and Twilight melted into the embrace, allowing herself to be enveloped by the touch and sight and scent of her newest girlfriend. They sat like that for several minutes, not needing any words to convey their feelings.

Then, a familiar voice cut through their moment.

"You told her the good news, huh?"

Despite all that had been agreed on, Rarity and Twilight still broke apart hastily, the flash of guilt on Rarity's expression mirrored in Twilight's heart. They would need to work on that in the future. But what a future it would be!

"If by good news you mean your desires to court me, then she did," Rarity replied first, glancing uncertainly at Sunset. "Otherwise, I fear I may have some apologies to make."

"No, we're cool. Feel free to keep hugging my girlfriend," Sunset said with a smirk. "I don't mind watching."

A flash of confidence sparkled in Rarity's eyes. "You could join us as well, if you wish. After all, as I told Twilight, I expect we'll be doing much more tonight after you attempt to wine and dine me."

And so, Twilight found herself swept up in a hug from both of the women she had come to care so much about. As her heart raced for a completely different reason, she let herself be lost in this perfect union, her mind swimming in dopamine from all the love she felt.

However, all good things had to come to an end, and eventually, they reluctantly let go of one another. "We should probably start heading over to the West Hall," Twilight said breathlessly. "Don't want to be late for our own talk."

"I still cannot believe we won best paper," Rarity murmured as they all stood up and collected their things.

Sunset shrugged. "The math was good and the business opportunities were even better. Computer-generated fashion is going to open up a lot of doors for potential sponsor money, and it's the kind of thing that makes for a good headline in articles."

"Ah, politics and economics," Rarity quipped. "Is there anything that is free of their grasp?"

"I'd say us, but you literally own a business, so I guess that's still an open question," Twilight said.

"Either way, I'm not gonna give up a chance to show off my two amazing girlfriends in front of the whole conference." Sunset reached out one hand towards Twilight and the other towards Rarity. "Ready to go make everyone jealous?"

Rarity nodded as she took the proffered hand. "I'm always ready to take any stage, darling."

Twilight smiled as she did the same. "Lights, camera, action!"

And so, the three lovers turned away from the vast, endless ocean behind them and made their way towards a future that looked brighter and brighter with every passing second.