Rarity looked up from where she sat in the room, surrounded by towering books. “Hmmm? Back so soon?” She finished adjusting the hem of Twilight's new dress. “I trust it went well?”

“How could it not?” Twilight remarked, shuffling forward with a slight yawn. “She's Applejack. Honestly... why do I get so worked up over the littlest of things?”

Rarity hummed a breathy chuckle. “Well, if that isn't the question of the century, darling?”

“I just... told her how I felt, and the rest was like apple-scented clockwork.” Twilight sighed. One by one, she lifted the books off the floor and shelved them along the walls of the Palace library. “Three days... I obsessed over this nonsense for three days!” She gnashed her teeth. “What kind of a Princess of Friendship am I if I can't just open up to my closest companions about things?”

“You're the best kind of Princess, Twilight,” Rarity said. “Cautious, considerate, and ever-so-graceful.” She bore an elegant smile as she folded the pretty dress up once more. “You shouldn't hate yourself for the occasional over-exuberant thought process. After all, you have the not-so-enviable task of balancing companionship with Equestria's general well-being. Surely, that can't be an easy task.”

“And you know... in the end... there's nothing quite so terrible about 'y'all,'” Twilight said. She shook her head with a delightful giggle. “Rarity, from now on, I promise not to get so worked up over grammatical flubs ever again.”

“Oh...?”

Twilight crossed her heart. “Pinkie Pie Swear.” She shelved the last of the books, gazing off with a determined smile. “The next time I hear something spoken in an incorrect or obtuse fashion, I'm just going to take a calm breath and... let it be. It's absolutely nothing to second-guess friendship merit over. Don't you agree?”

“Oh, absolutely, darling.” Rarity slid the dress into its ornate box, then tied a ribbon around it. “Irregardless, a certain modicum of decency wouldn't hurt one's vocabulary.” With a delightful sigh, she spun about and smiled at Twilight. “So... your Highness... shall we embark to Sugarcube Corner?”

Twilight stood in place, shaking all over.

“Uhm...” Rarity tilted her head to the side. “...Twilight?”

The alicorn's teeth gritted. Veins popped in her neck while her horn glowed brighter and brighter to the point of sizzling.

“Are... are you quite alright, darling—?”

POWWWWWW! A wave of books, paper, and crystalline debris exploded in the unicorn's general direction.