-Canterlot High-

“Is something wrong, Rarity?”

The alabaster woman looked over to her yellow friend, a confused look on her face. She hadn’t realized that she had just zoned out for the last ten minutes, and she certainly didn’t realize that she had a look of sadness on her face. Rarity shook her head, suddenly trying to remember the thing that it was that they were talking about. It had something to do with an outfit for something, she was sure of that, but beyond that her mind was a blank. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, I simply have not been getting as much sleep as I would like lately.”

Even as Fluttershy looked over at her, Rarity tried to give her most convincing smile. It was a good thing that she wasn’t Applejack, or maybe it was because this was Fluttershy she was talking to but her friend just nodded her head sadly. “We can talk about this later if you’d like. I know that you must be really busy with Valentine’s Day.” It was around this point that Rarity’s eyes became blank again. She stopped hearing, once again, what it was that her friend was saying. This time, though, she was completely aware of the fact that she had just zoned out.

What was wrong with her?

“Normally I would try to argue with you, but I’m afraid I’ll have to agree. I simply can’t focus enough. Perhaps I just have to rest for a little, maybe later today we can start again talking about…” The subject was blank in her mind. “That important matter we were discussing.”

Fluttershy looked a little disappointed that Rarity had forgotten, but she quickly put a smile back on her face. “If you’ve forgotten that we were talking about a dress for me, it must be bad. I’ll tell everyone that you needed to go home for a medical emergency, you just take some time to yourself. Sleep deprivation can do horrible things to your health.” At that, Rarity nodded and started to walk away. A couple steps later, she turned toward Fluttershy again.

“Thank you for everything, darling. I hope I can give you the focus you deserve the next time that we meet.” A yawn escaped as she turned back and started to walk toward the school’s exit. Maybe it was exhaustion, maybe it wasn’t much more than that. Rarity turned a corner, her eyes looking around to see the decorations that she had helped Pinkie Pie put up. They were beautiful, really, there was no other way to put it. At the same time, though, there was something about them that just made her feel drained.

They did remind her of the long nights, surely that was it.

As she exited the school, she looked to the statue. It was one of the things that the school adored. There was just something about it, something majestic. Rarity wasn’t sure she could even design something that looked so amazing. She also doubted that she could create something that was, soon, going to be as great to rest on. It had hit her like a brick, but she suddenly felt incredibly tired.

In the end, she was resting next to the same place where her friend-from-another-planet Twilight had come from. She could only hope nothing like that happened again. It wasn’t a bad thing to have some excitement now and again, but something the simple life was just more enjoyable. As her eyes closed, and she started to go to sleep, a smile overcame her face. Maybe today was going to get better after she had a nap.

-Crystal Castle-

There were several reasons why Rarity was here. It had been a long time since she had gone on a vacation, and that was always a good enough reason itself. Another great reason to go there was because of the sheer beauty of the Castle itself. Actually, it wasn’t just the Castle. The entire land was filled with a beauty that she couldn’t even begin to describe. Finally, there was the reason of research. There were designs there that she hadn’t seen before, she just knew it.

Of course, being alone was the final reason. It was also one that she wished she had told the others. That would have helped to make sure that she didn’t get a certain dragon following her, or maybe it wouldn’t have anyway.

Spike had one reason to be there. He wasn’t there to be on vacation, Twilight hadn’t even given him the okay to be there before he had run off. There wasn’t any work that needed to be done there, though Rarity’s request might have changed that at any point. It might have been good to see Shining, they were basically family. All of those were potential reasons for somepony else. No, Spike was there for one very simple reason.

Spike was there for Rarity.

Spike still remembered the things that she said before she left. The things that she said obviously meant that she wanted to be alone. He felt bad forcing himself on her in this way, or more accurately forcing himself into her vacation, but it had to be done. This was going to be the time when he finally went through with something that he had been trying to do for a long time. If he was going to ever tell her what he felt for her, this was going to be the day.

This was why he was following her.

The two of them were soon in a room, one with a mirror that he could have sworn he had seen before. Spike didn’t know what it was, just that it was familiar, but the alabaster mare that he was going to court looked as though she knew exactly what it was. Whatever it was that had led her here, it was likely the mirror. It was a nice mirror, but it didn’t look like anything special. Maybe this was just something that he didn’t understand, that seemed to happen a lot around this place.

Rarity was actually confused when she saw the mirror.

She knew what it was, that wasn’t it. There were two reasons why she was confused. The first reason was because she didn’t think the mirror would be here. Rarity knew that it was a powerful artifact, and the idea of it just sitting where it had been before startled her. It had been a long time since it had last been used, there was some dust on it that showed that, but surely what had happened wouldn’t have been forgotten so quickly.

It was best to just trust the Princesses, though.

The second reason why she was surprised came with the idea that she was there at all. Rarity had just been walking around, at least she thought she was. Her mind was focused on everything that her friends would be doing the next week. All of her friends were going to be celebrating Hearts and Hooves Day. Even Twilight had somepony to call her special somepony. Rarity knew her own would come eventually, she just had to wait.

True love was worth the wait.

The initial shock about the mirror eventually wore off, only to be replaced by a desire. Rarity couldn’t help herself, she just had to wipe the dust off the mirror. A piece of cloth was moved toward the mirror, obvious intent for a quick wipe of the dust, only for the mirror to shimmer and the cloth to disappear. She couldn’t feel the cloth anymore, it simply didn’t exist. Without thinking, she moved over to the mirror and put her hoof through.

A few moments later, she felt something grab her. The only thing she could think to do was try to pull her hoof back as quickly as she could. Spike ran behind her, trying his best to pull to make sure that nothing happened. He would be there to protect her, that much was certain. After he saved her, then he would tell her. This was the perfect opportunity.

-Canterlot High-

Rarity’s eyes shot open as she felt a cloth hit her face. Eyes moved around, there wasn’t anybody around. She stood up, glancing around. There was a chance that somebody was just playing a trick on her. Both of her arms stretched up, the nap had been amazing. She was actually starting to feel better, when suddenly she saw a hand shooting out from statue.

Her first reaction was to grab it, but she quickly felt a sudden pull. The bad thing, though, was that she wasn’t prepared for it. Rarity stumbled, falling through the statue that she had seen Twilight go through.

-Crystal Castle-

With the sudden pull, helped by Spike, Rarity soon went stumbling backward. She felt herself roll over the young drake, which was something she knew she’d have to apologize for later. Her head hit the wall, and her vision went blurry for a few moments. Of course, even blurry vision didn’t stop her from seeing another alabaster mare with her face on the floor. The knock to the head did stop her from doing much at this point, though.

Spike, on the other hand, was perfectly alright. This wasn’t the worst thing that had happened over his life, though Rarity wasn’t quite as light as he had thought. That was something that he knew to not talk about. He opened his eyes to see that his love had hit her head. He didn’t even notice what had been pulled out of the mirror, his focus completely on the mare who had rolled over him.

The two alabaster mares quickly noticed each other, though.

It had been the former human that stood up first, still not sure of what had happened. The idea of the mirror was something that confused her almost as much as the idea of standing on four legs. Of course, she could adapt. She could also just go back into the mirror, pretend this never happened, and then she could go on with her life. Fluttershy was likely worried about her, and she did need a hand with a presentable outfit for …Valentine’s Day.

The other Rarity, the one who had always been an equine, looked at the mirror of herself. She didn’t know what to say, really. Part of her wanted to scream about a changeling, but that didn’t make any sense. She also knew better than to yell or scream, that was not befitting a lady of her station. This was the special mirror, the one that led to the other world. Twilight had told them about their copies, among other things. She still didn’t understand most of it. The only question was what to do now. The two of them were staring at each other.

She knew it was probably best to get her back to her world, and then to tell Cadance what had happened.

At the same time, though, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The more she looked at herself, the more that she started to feel like that would be a terrible idea. Her vision was back to normal, and she turned to look at Spike. Maybe he would be able to give her advice. He was going to follow her anyway, it was best to tap into that outside opinion. “Spike, I-“ She was quickly cut off by a claw on her lips.

“I have something important I have to tell you. I’ve been trying to get up the courage to say it, and if I don’t now then I might never.” Rarity knew what he was going to say, she always knew. At the same time, though, she knew it was rude to interrupt. Part of her wished that he had known that, but there was nothing to be gained from that sort of thought. “From the moment I came to Ponyville, I’ve had a crush on you. It’s not just your beauty, but the way you carry yourself, your endless kindness and generosity. It’s the way that you do anything you can to make it up to somepony who you’ve ever wronged, going above and beyond what is likely needed.”

A breath was taken, and Spike soon continued.

“I know that it started off a crush, and there were times when ponies told me that it wasn’t going to go any further than that. But I can’t think of a single pony that I like seeing more than you, no other whose absence hurts as much, nopony whose opinion means as much … not even Twilight.” Those were the kindest words she had ever heard. Rarity started to tear up, and then she looked away from Spike for a few moments.

At the same time, Spike took a single step back. He was looking right at her, the Rarity he knew and loved. She could see it in his eyes, he was seeking anything from her. His eyes were pleading as he looked at his love. It suddenly hit her, why she had really wanted to come here. She hadn’t wanted to be around her friends during that holiday, even if the business would have been great. Right now, though, she was staring into the eyes of the one that she felt she needed to express her feelings to.

A smile was on her face as she stood up, and unceremoniously walked past Spike. Rarity felt horrible as she did, but she saw him as a good friend. She stopped right in front of the former human, who was staring at her with the same expression that she had. When their lips met, there was one thought that went through both of their minds.

True love really did exist.