In the week following the whole rumor debacle, Blueblood dropped by the Carousel Boutique to claim the suit he'd been promised.

"The craftsmanship really is something," Blueblood said as he looked himself over in the new tuxedo, "it's really only lacking in minute details!"

"Why thank you, I-" The proprietor's smile froze, then went very, very rigid as she forced herself to giggle. "Excuse me, what was that last part?"

"Oh, nothing," he said with a chuckle, "it's just now that I'm actually able to look at one of your designs up close, I can see the tiny, but numerous imperfections, like the inelegant angling of the buttons, or one sleeve of the jacket being just a few millimeters longer than the other. Not to worry, though, nopony can expect Canterlot Quality™ out of a Ponyville establishment."

Teeth clenched and one eye twitching, Rarity managed to hold the smile. "Haha, funny, then, because that might explain why you were sent here. Certainly can't have a Canterlot Quality™ prince who behaves so boorishly, belittling ponies' work and insulting them to their face."

His own fake smile much more rehearsed through many, many high society parties, he chuckled again. "Ohh, I wasn't insulting anypony. If I wished to insult them, I might say that their mane style was fashionable ten years ago, but today makes them look like an out-of-touch tart trying too hard to fit in with the Elite crowd."

Visibly burning with barely-suppressed rage, Rarity stepped closer, her 'civil' smile barely intact. "Oh? That would be amusing, especially if it were to come from a pony who just lets their mane fall anywhere like a ragged mess!"

A nerve struck, so did Blueblood. "Then it is a pity that no such sentiment was expressed by any such pony, for the only thing resembling such a style, for those unversed in mane care-" Rarity flinched as though she'd been slapped, "-would be the very deliberately-styled windswept look, for those who could tell a swept look from an unstyled one when they saw it. Pity such ponies are in such short supply, is it not?"

Breathing heavily, Rarity's eyes narrowed. "You cad."

And they launched at each other, hooves scraping against the other's fur as their lips locked, tongues furiously-

Oh, good grief, Sister...

"What?" Still holding the little white unicorn figures she'd been using for demonstration purposes, Princess Celestia hadn't lost her smile. "Hasn't anything like that happened yet?"

Standing next to the mortified Princess Luna, who tried in vain to cover her flushed face with one hoof, Blueblood answered in a tired deadpan. "No, though I should have known how you would respond to those ridiculous stories."

"You think that is bad," Luna muttered, "try living with her!"

Blueblood smiled a little. "Been there, done that."

Sharing understanding, sympathetic looks, the two giggled, but Celestia silently confirmed that things remained chaste between her nephew and the seamstress. She was still rooting for Trixie, but that didn't make the thought of a dramatic fling any less exciting!

Author's Notes:

In hindsight, I should have published this one first.