“Twilight, I really must insist you stop thanking me,” Celestia said with some amusement to the stressed alicorn following behind as she strolled into Canterlot Castle’s Ballroom. “It is my honor to host your birthday party in the castle.”  

“But Princess...” Twilight watched as Celestia used her magic to open up all the window curtains, allowing the morning light to illuminate the inside of the magnificent room.  

"This isn't the first time we've held a birthday party for you at the castle," Celestia gently reminded.  

"But those were small parties!" Twilight replied. "Practically half of Ponyville and Canterlot are coming for this one!"  

"Twilight," Celestia replied in a soft but firm tone, signaling the end of the conversation was fast approaching. "The size of the party is not what truly matters, but what's being said."  

Twilight bit down on her lip, fiddling with her saddlebag and then finally relented: “Okay, Princess.”  

Though Twilight and the others had arrived the night before, it was already the seventh time she thanked Celestia for her help with the party. Even if it had been Celestia’s desire to host the event, Twilight knew the princess was a very busy pony! She didn’t even want to start thinking of all the diplomatic meetings and decisions Celestia would be putting on hold to make time for the festivities.  

“And since your good friend Pinkie Pie has kindly offered to take care of the preparations, Luna and I will be able to proceed with the usual court procedures,” she continued, turning to look at Twilight with a knowing smile, as if she had read the younger alicorn’s worried mind.  

It was unlikely, of course, because anypony who even remotely knew anything about magic agreed that it required several lifetimes to even learn how to cast mind-reading spells, let alone master them. Only somepony like the princess who wasn’t just exceedingly long lived, but incredibly smart as well could ever manage to... to...  

Oh...  

Just as she realized Celestia’s smile had grown, her conspiratory train of thoughts on Celestia’s hypothetical mind-reading skills were brought to a halt by a scream.  

“It’s PERFECT!”  

The two alicorns turned around and found Pinkie Pie standing at the entrance of the room, jumping up and down as if on an invisible pogostick. The younger alicorn couldn’t help but smile at how Pinkie zoomed from one side to the other, inspecting every nook and cranny of the room while the elder watched everything with a mild bemusement.  

“Ah, good morning, Pinkie Pie! Oh, and Rarity, too!” Celestia said, prompting Twilight to look away from Pinkie and towards the door.  

Indeed, Rarity had just trotted into the room, her mane tied up in a ponytail. As she made her way towards Twilight and Celestia, she took off her black sunglasses and rested them on top of her head.  

“Good morning!” she greeted, bowing to Celestia before smiling at Twilight in that ridiculously cute way that always prompted Twilight to reply with a dorky grin.  

“Are you planning on going into town?” Celestia asked, pointing at the black saddlebag hanging around Rarity.  

“Why, yes! I need to get a few things for my outfit tomorrow. Twilight is coming along, too.” She turned to Twilight and found the alicorn frowning at her. “You didn’t forget, I hope?”  

Twilight shook her head. “Of course I didn’t.”  

No, her frown was not due to having forgotten her outing with Rarity. In fact, scientifically speaking, her attraction to the unicorn generated neurological and biological impulses that made it nearly impossible to forget such an event.  

Her frown was due to Rarity triggering certain unpleasant memories from the previous day’s train ride. One would think Twilight would focus on how she and Rarity held hooves almost the entire trip, but instead she kept replaying the worst part of the trip. It had been such a nice moment too, with Rarity taking the alicorn’s hoof and thanking her for the help, but what had Twilight replied with?  

´I love our friendly get-togethers’.  

Ugh.  

I can’t believe I actually said that to her. Good thing Rarity didn’t feel anything for her, because if she did, Twilight was at least ninety-five percent sure she had ruined everything with that line. Friendly get-togethers. Maybe her hoof ought to have a friendly get-together with her face. Repeatedly.  

Celestia smiled. “Well, I, for one, can’t wait to see what manner of splendid outfit you come up with tomorrow. I always love the ones you design for Twilight. Perhaps I should commission one for myself?”  

Though Celestia directed the compliment at Rarity, Twilight couldn’t help but share in the pride. She took a step back, trying not to smile as she braced herself for Rarity’s impending explosion of delighted squee-ing. She was surprised — and a bit disappointed — when the unicorn instead reacted by simply smiling and bowing.  

“Why, Princess, it would be a tremendous honor!”    

Celestia’s smile widened at that, before finally turning to look at Pinkie, who had moved on to measure the entire room with measuring tape she had apparently produced from thin air.  

"Is there any material you need for the party, Pinkie Pie? I could ask some of the guards to go into town to procure them,” Celestia offered, nodding towards one of the guards standing near the entrance.  

Pinkie shook her head, rolling up her measuring tape and skipping towards the other ponies. “Thanks, Princess, but Rarity already offered to buy what I need!” She stopped next to the unicorn in question and placed a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “Right, Rarity?”  

Rarity blinked at her. “I did?”  

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Well, duh! I asked you this morning when I went to wake you up, and you said yes! Although, you also said you’d be ‘delighted to take my offer to swim in liquid diamonds’ so maybe I should have asked a little later.” Pinkie shrugged. “You still said yes, though!”  

“Pinkie Pie! That hardly counts!” Rarity huffed, stomping her hoof on the floor. “Right, Twilight?”  

“Well...” Twilight looked between a brightly smiling Pinkie Pie and a pleading Rarity, torn between the pressure of the former’s happiness and the latter’s possible annoyance. “You did say yes...”  

“Twilight!”   

Swallowing down any embarrassment, Twilight took the plunge and teased: “Come on Rarity, it’ll be fun! It’s not like party supplies are expensive, right?”  

Though Rarity’s expression went blank for only a split-second, to Twilight it felt like enough time to not only regret what she’d said, but to also re-evaluate all her life choices thus far. Oh Celestia, she’d done it now. Why hadn’t she sided with Rarity? She had basically accused Rarity of being a cheapskate, and she could always have offered Pinkie to buy the party supplies herself. That’s what she got for trying to flirt. Could that even have been considered as flirting?  

Somewhere in Equestria, the author of ‘Flirting 101: A Guide´ was probably rolling over in his grave.  

Once the split-second was over, and to Twilight’s brief horror, Rarity looked genuinely offended. “Don’t be absurd, darling! No party supply is too expensive when it comes to your birthday!” She then turned to Pinkie Pie and smiled. “What do you need?”  

As Pinkie proceeded to reach into her hair and retrieve a rolled-up scroll for Rarity, a considerable relieved Twilight decided to look away until her face wasn’t on fire anymore. Her blush only worsened, however, when she looked to Celestia and found the older alicorn looking back with an amused expression — an amusement that only increased at Twilight’s mortification.  

“I suppose we’ll have to leave right away so Pinkie Pie can get everything set up in time,” Rarity remarked, opening her bag and putting the scroll inside. After saying goodbye to Celestia, she trotted towards the door, putting her sunglasses back on. “Off we go, Twilight!”  

Twilight nodded, saying goodbye to Celestia and Pinkie before following Rarity out the door.  

“Have fun! And good luck with completing your dress, Rarity!” Celestia called out as Twilight closed the door.  

The moment Twilight turned around from the door, she was greeted with a rather odd sight. Rarity was standing quite still, looking from side to side and biting down on her lip.  

“Rarity?” Twilight asked, taking a tentative step towards her friend. “Are you ok—”  

“Twilight, Twilight, Twilight!” Rarity screeched all of a sudden, jumping up and down in circles around the other mare.  

“W-What?” Twilight asked, a little confused by the rather Pinkie-esque way Rarity was acting. Had she missed some sort of grand announcement?  

“Did you hear what the princess said? She LOVES my dresses! Princess Celestia wants me to make her a dress!” she screeched, clapping her hooves with excitement.  

Twilight couldn’t stop herself from giggling. So this was where Rarity’s exhilaration had gone. “Why wouldn’t the princess like your dresses? You really are a great designer, Rarity.” It was a well meant compliment, yet Twilight couldn’t help but feel like she was trying to make up for her earlier mistake.  

Even so, regardless of the intention behind the comment, its ultimate purpose was achieved as Rarity’s elated grin widened. “I know that, darling,” she exclaimed, flipping her hair in an exaggerated motion. “But you can’t blame me for being rather excited that the princess went out of her way to say so!”  

Twilight knew, better than most, how much Celestia’s opinion could mean to somepony, and she was honestly delighted that Celestia didn’t hide how much she liked Twilight’s friends. Maybe that meant she’d approve if Twilight and Rarity started dat…  

“So!” Twilight said, interrupting her own thoughts and the blush that had been creeping its way up her cheeks. “Maybe we should get going before Pinkie decides to add more things to the shopping list?”  

Rarity smiled and nodded. “I think that would be a good idea, yes,” she replied, taking off into the hallway. Still looking forward, she added: “But, honestly, this being Pinkie, it won’t be of much help.”  

“Why?” Twilight asked, smiling as she followed Rarity. “Because Pinkie would find a way to get the message to us even if we were on the other side of the world?”  

Rarity laughed. “Darling, it’s like you can read my mind.”  

The city of Canterlot!  

...wasn’t nearly as interesting to Twilight as one would think. She had spent her entire childhood inside the city walls, and though she could appreciate the culture and architecture on an intellectual level, trotting through the commercial area wasn’t really her cup of tea. Rarity, on the other hoof…  

“Twilight! Come take a look at this!” the unicorn called out, beckoning Twilight to her while looking at the display from the tenth jewelry shop Rarity had stopped to gawk at. “Doesn’t that necklace just look absolutely divine?”  

Twilight rolled her eyes before going over to where Rarity was standing and peering through the glass. Her sight landed on an elegant platinum necklace, inlaid with a ruby lining on the sides, and encrusted with several small amethysts which drew the eye to the stunning centerpiece: A diamond the size of her hoof.  

“Twilight, you know, my birthday is coming up soon,” Rarity began, turning to Twilight and fluttering her eyelashes. “Now, I’m not saying you and the girls should get me that necklace, but…”  

Twilight snorted. “Sure, Rares. We’ll just have Applejack sell Sweet Apple Acres, and maybe we’ll be able to pay one quarter of the price,” she said, tearing her eyes away from the necklace and moving away from the shop. “Come on, let’s go get breakfast. I’m pretty hungry, and I think you like me enough to not let me starve, right?”  

“Oh darling, you have my undying devotion. I will love you ‘till the day I die,” Rarity said, prompting Twilight to immediately stop on the spot.  

Wh...what?   

Heart almost bursting out of her chest, Twilight turned around on the spot, undecided on whether she wanted to squeal in joy, or stammer an awkward ‘I love you too’. The decision was made for her and her mood dipped when she realised that Rarity was talking to the jewelry.  

Oh.  

If there was one thing Twilight was good at, it was self-recrimination. How stupid are you? she asked herself, glaring at the necklace she was now extremely jealous of. You know that she doesn’t like you that way, and yet you actually thought that was meant for you? She sighed sadly and walked on, though deep in her gut a small ember of hope from burned bright as ever. It was only a ninety-nine point five percent chance, right?  

Once the unicorn had finished saying her farewell to the necklace (which, in Twilight’s opinion, wasn’t really all that ‘divine'), she turned away from the shop and trotted past Twilight. “Onwards, then!”  

Thirty minutes (and four shops later) found Twilight and Rarity sitting at a table outside a quaint little café, discussing their plans for the day.  

“My, Pinkie uses a lot for her parties, doesn’t she?” Rarity commented, stirring her coffee as she read over the long list of party supplies. “I think it would be best to start with her things first, so we’ll have more time later for our own things.”  

Twilight took a bite out of her croissant, thinking over places where they could buy confetti and streamers in bulk. Though she was very grateful towards Pinkie for organizing the party, Twilight had to admit she didn’t want to spend all of her alone time with Rarity looking for party supplies. “Maybe we should go to Fiesta Emporium? I wanted to take you to The Folded Bookmark, and it’s right near there.”  

“The Folded Bookmark?” Rarity inquired, rolling up the list and putting it back into her bag.  

Twilight nodded, putting down her croissant and wiping her mouth with a napkin. “Yeah, it’s my favorite store. It has two floors filled with books of all sorts, and these comfy little couches for reading. It was my second favorite place after Princess Celestia’s library,” she explained, smiling at the memories of staying there for hours on end reading. “The owner, Ink Page, is really nice, too.”  

Rarity nodded softly, bringing the cup of coffee to her lips and taking a sip. "I thought you never left the castle," she teased before putting the cup back down and folding her forelegs on the table. “How did you find the place?”  

Twilight blushed a little, staring down at her half-eaten breakfast. “It’s a little silly. I kinda got separated from my mom when we were shopping one day, and I ended up there after two hours of being completely lost.”  

Rarity giggled a little, increasing Twilight’s fluster. She looked up and found the unicorn gazing intently at Twilight, her smile sending butterflies into the alicorn’s stomach.  

“Aww, you must have been terrified. My poor darling,” Rarity said, still giggling in that ridiculously cute fashion.  

Twilight would have liked to correct Rarity by informing her that she hadn’t been afraid and had handled herself pretty darn well, but her desire to do so fizzled out when ‘my poor darling’ hit her ears.  

My poor darling.  

My darling.  

There was something positively chilling about hearing a possessive pronoun precede Rarity’s eternal throwaway term of endearment. It felt as if Twilight had been separated from the rest because yes, they were all darlings, but she was Rarity’s darling. How she wished she lived in a universe where Rarity might one day say those words as an expression of heartfelt love, rather than friendly amusement.  

“How did you get separated?” Rarity asked, snapping Twilight up from her reveries.  

Twilight coughed awkwardly, realizing she had reached the silly part of the story. “I… I kinda got distracted by a poster on a wall for ten minutes or so, and my mom didn’t realize I wasn’t following her anymore,” she admitted, toying with her croissant before taking another bite.  

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “You looked at a poster for ten minutes? Must have been of Princess Celestia, I bet,” she teased, only for her eyes to widen when she found Twilight staring into her cup with an embarrassed blush. “Oh my gosh, Twilight! Really?” she asked, making no attempt to muffle her laughter.  

“It wasn’t just about Celestia!” Twilight stammered, her cheeks bright red as she tried to defend her dignity. “It was an advert for her School for Gifted Unicorns, and I wasn’t just staring at it! I hadn’t gotten accepted yet, so I was just thinking what it would be like.” She looked away. “I told you it was silly…”  

Rarity slowly shook her head. “Silly? I don’t think you’re silly, Twilight.” She put her chin on her hooves, leaned in, and in a tone of voice that Twilight had never heard her use before, sighed: “I think you’re adorable.”  

And then, it happened.  

The moment the words left her lips, Rarity’s cheeks suddenly reddened and her eyes widened, as if she had let slip out something she shouldn’t have. However, just as quick as it came, the blush and slight loss of composure disappeared and were replaced with a perfect façade. “And then what happened?”  

Rarity’s attempt at moving the conversation forward proved to be in vain, for Twilight was already lost in a world of nearly impossible possibilities and burning hope. Why was her heart beating at a thousand miles per hour against her chest?  

Twilight wanted to bury her face in her hooves and try to hide her fluster. Was it possible that Rarity liked her? Sure, they’d never be able to date because Twilight would probably mess up somewhere, plus she couldn’t hurt Spike like that, but she could dream, couldn’t she? It wasn’t entirely unreasonable to take that as a sign of affection, and affection could always grow into something more, right?  

“I… I, uhm, I left the street and kinda wandered about until I… found the bookstore,” Twilight continued, in vain trying to keep her mind focused on the story at hoof.  

Ridiculous, is what it was, how her usually organized thought patterns had been reduced to silly daydreaming just because of Rarity’s remark. She couldn’t help herself, though. Her fervent desire to be with Rarity had forced her brain into feeling as if her chances with the other mare had gone from five percent to ten. Okay, maybe fifteen. Maybe even twenty if she kept tricking Rarity into thinking her social awkwardness was... adorable, apparently?  

"And then the owner helped you find your mother?" Rarity prompted, pushing away the cup of coffee she had emptied while Twilight’s mind had been off visiting Cloudsdale.  

“I got there at around closing time, so it was no bother for her,” Twilight explained. She could practically remember the incident as if it had happened hours ago. The worry and fear of being lost washing away as she stepped through the crystal doors into a heaven built out of books old and new, rare and common, wondrous and fascinating.  

“Well, it sounds like a lovely place, darling,” Rarity finished, getting up from the chair and putting her saddlebag back on. She took a deep breath and levitated Pinkie’s list from out the bag. “So, where is this Fiesta Emporium you mentioned?”  

Twilight got up, suddenly eager to get to the bookshop. She squinted at her surroundings for a bit before finally pointing Rarity in the right direction. “It’s northeast from here,” she said, taking the lead and trying to recognize some of the stores. “It’s right next to Roughcut’s Vintage Jewelry, I think.”  

“Vintage Jewe—”  

“Don’t even think about it.”  

   As she waited for Rarity to finish paying for the plethora of party hats, streamers, balloons and other such things necessary for the party, Twilight distracted herself by counting all the multicolored balloons floating near the ceiling of Fiesta Emporium. Or rather, that’s what she said she was doing to the several foals that had approached her, apparently fascinated by the concept of a Princess shopping in public.  

   By the time Rarity came back, a little foal had already left with an autograph and a stern encouragement to stay in school and read books. Twilight was still looking up at the ceiling, her brow furrowed as she mumbled numbers to herself.  

   “Counting the balloons, are we? How many are they?” asked Rarity, stashing away her wallet into her bag.  

   Still frowning, Twilight looked at Rarity and replied with a rather large number.  

   “Really? How curious, that’s exactly how much I just paid for everyt— Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity rolled her eyes, letting out an exasperated groan. “I can’t believe you! The reason I asked you to wait here was so you didn— put your wallet back this instant!”   

   “But Rarity, you’re spending so much on me, and I don’t feel comfortable with that,” she whined, reluctantly putting her wallet back in its place. Rarity’s expression darkened, and Twilight realized what she’d said and blurted out in a panicked frenzy: “Not that I think you can’t afford it! It’s just that I don’t want you to spend so much money on me! I mean, I would like a present, b-but—  only  because you want to, don’t— not because you have to, of course, if you don’t wa— mmph!”  

   “Twilight, sweetheart,” Rarity calmly said, her hoof placed on Twilight’s mouth. She waited until Twilight had stopped fidgeting against her hoof, then took it back and smiling, said: “I understand your concern, but I want to spend money on you for your birthday. We all do, so stop worrying about it and let’s move on, shall we?”  

   Deciding that yes, it might be better to change topic before she made another faux-pas that might make the Element of Generosity slightly less generous, Twilight nodded and followed her out of the store.    

   The sun shone brightly over the city, and Twilight was relieved to see it was still early in the day. Since it was Friday, the streets were filled with ponies eager to start their weekends after a long week of work. Though she would have once disliked being surrounded by so many ponies, Twilight now found it a welcoming relief since it meant she blended in more — she still wasn’t quite used to being stopped in the middle of the street for an autograph or picture.    

   Rarity always disagreed, however, encouraging foals and shy ponies to approach Twilight. “Darling, think of what it means to them! Besides, you deserve the attention and praise!” she’d say, which was fine and all, but Twilight just really wanted to get to the darned bookshop already. And yet, when she realized they were but a minute away, she found she wasn’t so sure she wanted to go there anymore.    

   The Folded Bookmark, with its seemingly endless bookshelves and constant smell of ink, was just as much a part of Twilight as was Canterlot Castle. She had practically lost count of all the times she had been there as a filly, either after classes with Celestia,  while waiting for her mother to finish shopping or just because she had nothing to do.  

   With every step they took, Twilight listened less and less of what Rarity was saying, and she focused instead on what Rarity would say once they reached the store. She knew Rarity wouldn’t dislike the place, but what if she didn’t, well, like it either?    

   The thought that Rarity might not be as thrilled by the place as Twilight was had never even entered the alicorn’s mind until that very moment. If the unicorn found herself disinterested by The Folded Bookmark, wouldn’t that be the same as rejecting a little part of who Twilight was?  

   She now found she strongly regretted having been so indifferent whenever Rarity dragged her into a jewelry shop.    

   “Ah, isn’t it that place over there?” Rarity asked, stopping and pointing at a shop in the distance.    

   Twilight looked up and was overcome with a rather peculiar mix of dread and delight upon recognizing the façade of The Folded Bookmark. The two story black building was just as she remembered it: Four oval windows, two glass doors with red handles, a worn-out sign with an image of a piece of paper which had its upper-right corner folded and finally, the white spiral clock above the doors.    

   It was the clock, in fact, that had initially caught Twilight’s attention on the day she’d gotten lost. It was broken at the time, and its hands kept turning and turning. Twilight remembered that Ink Page had jokingly asked if Twilight had been hypnotized upon finding the filly staring intently at the clock.    

   So caught was Twilight in the nostalgia, she didn’t realize they had reached the bookshop until she heard the door chimes ring when Rarity opened the doors. Just like with the exterior, the interior of the place was still virtually identical to how Twilight remembered it being. She took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of dry ink and old books, awakening the urge inside her to take a book and spend the rest of the afternoon lost in its pages.  

   There were a few customers already inside the establishment. She watched as one trotted up the wooden spiral staircase that led to the upper floor. After a few minutes of taking in the wonderfully familiar sight, Twilight glanced towards Rarity. To her great discontent, she couldn’t make out any sort of emotion on the mare’s face.    

   Please, please, please like it, she thought, watching as Rarity took a few steps forward, looking around the place with what Twilight hoped was charmed curiosity. Forcing herself to look away, Twilight focused on the hoof-woven saddle-arabian rugs placed on the wooden floor. They certainly did add a cozy charm to the bookstore. Maybe she ought to point it out to Rarity and get a different reaction from her than just observing the place in such a frustratingly dispassionate fashion.  

   No.    

   Twilight didn’t need Rarity’s opinion on the matter. If she hadn’t said anything yet, it meant she hadn’t liked it, and Twilight could handle it. She was a big pony and her self-esteem was not tied to Rarity’s opinion on a bookstore she happened to like. She wasn’t even going to care about the unicorn’s opinion anymore.  

   Intent on keeping her self-made promise, Twilight turned to Rarity so as to suggest they find Ink Page. “So, what do you think of the place?”    

   Drat.  

   Rarity glanced at Twilight momentarily before returning her gaze towards her surroundings. “Well…” She paused for a painfully long time, covering her mouth with one of her hooves. Finally, she turned to Twilight and announced her final judgment: “It reminds me of you.”  

   Twilight stared at Rarity with a blank expression, processing the unicorn’s words.    

   ...It reminded her of Twilight...  

   ...What...    

   ...What the hay did that even mean?  

   It reminds her of me? Was that good? Bad? Medium? What, did she get a feeling of borderline obsessive-compulsiveness and social-awkwardness from the library? How was that even something somepony could feel from looking at a shop?! Not that Twilight thought she was all those things, obviously, because she wasn't.  

   She wasn't!  

   Of course, it was entirely possible Rarity instead felt a sensation of knowledge, curiosity and science from the library, which made Twilight feel considerably better regarding her… odd assessment.    

   She then remembered Rarity’s remark from a few hours ago. Did… did she find the shop ‘adorable’? Twilight could think of many adjectives to use for The Folded Bookmark but adorable wouldn’t really be the first one to come to mind. Then again, Rarity’s mind worked in ways not even Twilight or science could understand.    

   “Darling." Rarity’s lips were curved into an amused smile, probably due to Twilight's baffled expression. "That's a good thing. It's a very charming place, and I can see why you like it."  

   Twilight perked up at this, a small weight lifted off her shoulders. “Come on, I’ll show you around,” she offered, trotting off further into the bookshop. What area should she take Rarity to first? “You know, there’s an entire section on fashion design. They even have books written by the famed brothers Needles and Thread,” she informed, grinning when she heard a delighted squeal behind her.  

   "Needles and Thread?!" Rarity exclaimed, whizzing past Twilight and straight towards the fashion section.  

   "Wrong way! Fashion Design is upstairs to the right," said a third voice, stopping Rarity in her tracks.    

   Twilight turned around and was thrilled to see Ink Page trotting towards them. The blue mare unicorn had aged considerably since the last time Twilight saw her. Her graying black mane was tied up in a bun and a pair of green glasses rested on the bridge of her nose.    

   "Twilight! How nice to see you again! Haven’t seen you since your coronation!"    

   The alicorn nodded, smiling at the elder unicorn. "Hello, Ink Page! I'm back in Canterlot for a few days, so I thought I should visit!" She turned to Rarity, who had made her way back to them. "This is my friend, Rarity."  

   Rarity bowed her head slightly, smiling at Ink Page. "It's very nice to meet you, Miss. This is a very lovely shop you have," she commented, looking around for a moment. "Twilight was telling me all about how you assisted with finding her mother the day she met you."  

   Ink Page chuckled, looking over at Twilight. "Poor little filly trotted in here sniffling and crying for her mommy. Had to give her a nice book so she wouldn't flood the place."    

   Twilight's face turned beet-red at the story, trying her hardest to ignore the giggled "Awww" coming from her friend. "I wasn't that upset," she protested weakly, receiving a pat on the head from Ink Page.  

   "Not after you borrowed Tales From The Bearded Unicorn, you weren't!" Ink Page pointed towards a little red couch further away. "Little thing curled up there and read until I finished closing up. Never seen a book cheer someone up faster."    

   A little embarrassed, Twilight stared down at the previously mentioned fascinating rugs on the floor.  

   "In any case, I'll leave Twilight to show you around, Rarity. Books don't sort themselves!" Ink Page announced, trotting away and disappearing amidst the rows of bookshelves.    

   The moment she was gone, Twilight turned to face a snickering Rarity. "Rarity..." she warned, cheeks still burning up.  

   Rarity smiled at her innocently. "My lips are sealed, Darling." She laughed and trotted off towards the stairs, headed towards the fashion section of the shop.    

   Twilight watched her leave before heading herself to the magic history section. An inerasable smile decorating her face, Twilight couldn't stop herself from thinking how well everything had gone so far. She reached the proper bookcase and took a book at random, tracing her hoof on its inscription before opening it and reading.  

   The book captured Twilight's attention for around fifteen minutes until Rarity joined her, apparently having grown bored of the fashion section. At the unicorn's appearance, Twilight put back the book and turned to Rarity.  

   "Anything you like?" Rarity asked, eyeing the book Twilight had just put away. "'Non-Unicornian Magic: Myth or Reality'."  

   "It's very interesting, but I already have a copy back home," Twilight said. It had been a gift from Celestia after she had once inquired about zebra magic.    

   She looked at the titles of the other books but nothing really stood out. On the other side, Rarity seemed very intrigued by the assortment of books.    

   "Did you see anything you like?" Twilight inquired, searching for a book that Rarity might find interesting.    

   "Not particularly," Rarity confessed, idly taking out a book and flipping through the pages. "Twilight?"  

   "Yes?"  

   Rarity stared at the book before putting it back in its place. "Do you have any French dictionaries?" Rarity asked, taking out another book from the shelf and repeating the same idle process of leafing through its pages.  

   A French dictionary? "I did, but it was destroyed along with the library. Why? Did you want to borrow it?" Twilight asked, thinking what an odd question it was for Rarity to ask. Besides, didn't she have one already? Her grasp of the language was more advanced than Twilight's, after all.    

   "No, I was simply curious. The language section is right next to us," Rarity replied, putting back the book inside the shelf. "Perhaps I should take another look at the ones they have here. Mine is rather outdated."  

   Twilight nodded. "Yeah, I should probably replace mine soon, too.” She made a mental note to one day bring lots of bits and buy all the books Tirek had destroyed. "My French still needs some work."  

   "Ah oui, c'est dommage."  

   Twilight rolled her eyes in a playful manner. "Show-off," she accused, earning a haughty laugh in return. She watched as Rarity trotted off towards the language section, following her once the unicorn had disappeared from sight.    

   If there was one thing Twilight loved about The Folded Bookmark, it was that it had especially rare books. As soon as she joined Rarity, her eyes immediately landed on the complete Equestrian Encyclopedia. Ink Page has all ten volumes?! she thought, immediately reaching for the first volume.    

   "Found something you like, I see," Rarity noted, reading over Twilight's shoulder.    

   “Well, of course! They have the tenth volume of the Equestrian Encyclopedia! Most Encyclopedias only have nine volumes! I heard rumors about there being more, but they’re very rare.” Twilight leaned in conspiratorially. “It’s said that Princess Celestia wrote some of them herself, and that nopony else even remembers it.”    

   "Well, you never know, maybe somepony will give them to you for your birthday?" Rarity suggested, taking another one of the volumes and admiring the cover.  

   "I won't get my hopes up," Twilight replied, sighing. "The first nine volumes aren't too expensive, but the tenth one is so rare, you'd probably have to be Princess Celestia to even be able to afford it."    

   Rarity squinted her eyes and looked at the price tag under the tenth volume, a soft gasp confirming Twilight's statement. "Nevertheless, wouldn't you like the first nine volumes, at least?"  

   "Well… I already have a few copies..."    

   Truth be told, the Equestrian Encyclopedia wasn't all that amazing if it didn't include the infamous missing volumes. Twilight had no less than three copies of the things in her new castle, even after two copies had burned down with the library.  

   "And I guess it can never hurt to have more encyclopedias lying around, but it’s not the same as having those missing tomes.”    

   "Oh, I see."  

   Twilight was going to add that the nine volumes could still be a very important addition to anypony's library but yet another book caught her eye.    

   It was a blue leather-bound book that stood out due to it being considerably bigger than than the others at its sides. The title ´Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopedique Français’ was embroidered in black on the spine of the book, and upon taking it out, Twilight was surprised by how light it was. It looked old and worn-out, too. Was it perhaps a used book?  

   Opening it, Twilight was greeted with the faint smell of… musty perfume? Her earlier suspicions were also confirmed when she looked through the contents of the book and found somepony had made annotations with a pencil. All of a sudden, Twilight felt as if she was holding something very personal. What was the previous owner of the dictionary like, she wondered, trying to imagine how they might look.  

   "What's that?" asked Rarity, waking Twilight from her thoughts. When Twilight carefully handed the book to her, Rarity examined the leather, noting how soft it was. She looked inside and was also intrigued by the book's former owner. "What lovely calligraphy! I wonder who this belonged to? It looks rather old."  

   "Maybe a writer?" Twilight suggested, taking a closer look and pointing at a word. "Look, whenever they underlined a word, they added a little sentence exemplifying it."    

   "Or maybe a poet?" Rarity exclaimed, clearly thrilled by the idea. "Oooooh, just imagine it! A down on his luck poet staying up all night under the light of a candle, writing heartbreaking sonnets for his beloved!"  

   Twilight giggled, taking the book away from Rarity. "I guess we'll never know," she said, closing it and brushing her hoof against the cover. "I wonder how much it costs?" She looked at the bookshelf, but no price tag was to be seen under the spot from where she had taken it. "Huh. I'll go ask Ink Pa—"  

   "No!" Rarity interrupted, taking the book away from Twilight. She blushed for a minute, embarrassed at her outburst. "I mean, let me ask. I was hoping to ask her something about one of the books upstairs, anyway."  

   Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Okay, Rarity..." she said, watching the unicorn quickly trot away.    

   After ten minutes passed in which Rarity had failed to re-appear, Twilight set off to look for her. It was getting late, after all, and they still had to go find whatever Rarity needed so she could fix her dress for the party. She eventually found Rarity talking to Ink Page at the cash register.  

   "Ah, Twilight!" Ink Page called out, smiling sympathetically at the alicorn. "Rarity told me about the dictionary you liked. It's not for sale, unfortunately. My assistant must have shelved it thinking it was."  

   "Oh." Well, that was disappointing. She had grown weirdly fond of the dictionary and its elusive owner in the short time since she had discovered it. "It's okay! I'll come back some other time to get another dictionary, then."  

   "Ink Page, thank you so much for your help, and it was very nice meeting you!" Rarity said, taking a plastic bag from the counter presumably filled with the books she had mentioned to Twilight earlier. "Shall we take off, Twilight? Unless there's anything else you'd like to do here?" she added when Twilight hesitantly looked back towards the inside of the bookshop.  

   Twilight shook her head. "Nope, I'm all done." She glanced towards Ink Page and waved. "I'll come back and visit on Monday before I leave for home, Ink!"  

   "See you then, Twilight!" Ink Page replied before adding: "Oh, and happy birthday!"  

   "Thanks!" called back Twilight before following Rarity out of the shop. I didn’t think she’d remember it was my birthday. "So, what did you buy?" she asked, looking with interest at the shopping bag floating besides Rarity.  

   As soon as Twilight finished talking, Rarity levitated the shopping bag a little closer to her body. "Oh, you know, some fashion books," Rarity replied casually. "Nothing particularly interesting."  

   "Well, if you say so," Twilight said, feeling offended that Rarity would think she wouldn't be interested in books. "What's next? Finding what you need for your dress?"  

   Rarity nodded, leaving her shopping bag on the floor and turning to her saddlebag. "Yes! There's a little shop I'd like to visit. Let me find the address. I put it inside my wallet," she muttered, rummaging through her bag. After a minute or so, she suddenly stopped and looked towards The Folded Bookmark. "Shoot! I left my wallet inside! I'll be right back!"    

   Before Twilight could react, Rarity took off into the store, leaving behind her shopping bag with the 'uninteresting' books. Twilight looked from the bag to the shop to the bag, narrowing her eyes.  

    It… It couldn't hurt to take a quick peek inside, right? Glancing one last time towards the shop to make sure Rarity wasn't coming, Twilight trotted over to the bag and looked inside. Sure enough, there were two books on fashion design, wrapping paper and…  

   Wrapping paper?    

   She leaned down even more so as to get a closer look of the wrapping paper, and her eyes landed on the spine of a blue leather-bound book. Is that…?   

   "Thank you again, Ink Page!"  

   The second she heard Rarity's voice, Twilight jumped away from the bag and stared with interest at the sky because it was particularly blue that day, and a lot of ponies stared at the sky at random times, especially when it was that blue. Meanwhile, her heart was beating at a probably very unhealthy rate, and she was having a very hard time biting down the absolutely ecstatic smile that threatened to appear on her face.    

   That had to be the dictionary! No wonder Ink Page knew it was her birthday; Rarity must have mentioned it to her because she wanted to buy the book as a present for Twilight!    

   "Sorry about that, darling," Rarity said, completely oblivious to the excited inner-screaming contest going on inside Twilight's mind. She finally turned to look at the mare and slightly cocked her head to the side. "What's that smile for?" she asked, her gentle laugh sounding like heaven in Twilight's ears.  

   "Nothing!" Twilight quickly said, blushing lightly. Before she could stop herself, she let her grin widen and admitted: "I'm just really happy I came with you today."  

   Though she looked briefly surprised by Twilight's statement, a slight pink tinge appeared on Rarity's cheeks as she immediately returned Twilight's grin with one of her trademark dazzling smiles that put a stop to the screaming inside Twilight’s mind; if only because it reduced her mental capacity to a mushy mess.    

   “I’m really happy you came too, Twilight.”  

   Making their way towards their next destination, a single thought consumed Twilight’s mind: everything was going along perfectly. Maybe everything was going a little too perfectly, and when things went a little too perfectly, it usually meant disaster was on the way.  

   No, she scolded herself, forcing the thought away. She wasn’t going to let that thought get to her because absolutely nothing would go wrong.  

   Right?  

Next Chapter: 3. Revelations Estimated time remaining: 18 Minutes