Last Call

by Monochromatic

Chapters

• ~ Prologue ~
• ~ Chapter One ~
• ~ Chapter Two ~

~ Prologue ~

Nopony had time to look out for others in Canterlot.

This was the unspoken truth, the crushing reality of Equestria's capitol city where one was only worth the other's attention if they were part of the nobility Rarity had become well acquainted with for the past weeks.

Oh, they'd been so wonderful, but now…

Who would have thought Rarity would find herself wishing she was back on the side of those who were unknown, uncared for, and whose mistakes were allowed to be forgotten, rather than highlighted for all to see.

Rarity was sitting in the middle of the Canterlot train station, two cups of tea floating besides her, an unmoving entity amidst the bustling ponies rushing about to catch their daily commute. A savvy player in the game of facades and pretense, Rarity had always been able to hide her every emotion under a mask, even if more often than not she preferred to display them in an overly exaggerated manner. It was more fun, she would say.

Her dramatics, in some ways, were also a much more effective mask, but this time, she settled for the silent suffering, the mask fit for one such as her who'd made a mistake so…

"Rarity!"

Rarity turned around and found Fancy Pants trotting towards her. For a brief moment, before she'd realized who he was, a hopeful smile had broken the mask. Now, the smile, though still there, was no longer hopeful, but sad.

Resigned.

"Ah, Fancy Pants!" she exclaimed, the mask once more in place, a cup of tea lifting itself to her lips and soaking the throat that had been dry for what felt forever. "How good to see you, darling! Going somewhere?" she asked, looking at the trains in the distance.

"Indeed! I have business in Manehattan tomorrow morning," he explained. "I take it you're going home to Ponyville?"

Rarity smiled. "Yes, I am. Home to Ponyville..."

Home.

She winced inwardly at the word and what was associated with it — not just Ponyville no, and not just her friends, but also… her. Funny, wasn't it, how life worked, how the wheels turned, how destiny laid out the plans for everypony to choose, fight against, but ultimately obey.

Two teas floated next to her, perhaps for the last time. A honeybush hazelnut for the mare who had left Canterlot to call Ponyville home, and an earl grey lavender for the mare who would now perhaps leave Ponyville to call Canterlot home.

And yet… home would always be where… she...

"Are you expecting company, Rarity?" he asked upon noticing the two cups, rousing her from reveries and yet inciting others.

Company? Yes, she was expecting company.

Company she'd had for weeks now, and who even now, despite their ghastly fight, still stirred emotions Rarity had just recently discovered but was now constantly plagued with. She let her mind wander to that one night at the marketplace and that… that kiss that now felt like both a blessing and a curse, that both warmed her heart and burned it, that confused her and yet made everything so painfully clear.

"Rarity?" he asked again, once more waking her from her thoughts.

"I… don't know, actually," she admitted, her ears lowering as did the tone of her voice. "I suppose I'm waiting to find out. Waiting for the last call before I board. I..." She faltered. "I do hope she's coming."

The stallion frowned, giving her an odd look. Fancy was just as adept as her at reading ponies, but was he as tactful as she was? "Well, as they say, hope dies last, does it not?" he exclaimed with a bright smile. "And I certainly hope your friend does arrive. It would be dreadful for that delicious smelling tea to go to waste!"

"It won't," she replied.

His answer never came, interrupted by the conductor.

"Last call to Ponyville!" he yelled, and Rarity smiled a thin smile. "Last call!"

"Fancy Pants, darling, care for some tea?" Rarity asked, levitating the honeybush hazelnut tea towards him. "It seems I won't be having company anymore."

~ Chapter One ~

The train station was completely empty, as was to be expected since it was six thirty in the morning. The cold late October wind had unfettered access to the lone platform that comprised the entirety of the train station, chilling the single drowsy unicorn that impatiently awaited the arrival of her train. I should have brought my warmest coat, Rarity thought to herself, adjusting her scarf and the not-so-warm coat she had brought along. She glanced to the side where her many suitcases lay in a pile, before narrowing her eyes and looking into the distance, to no avail hoping to spot a glimpse of her train to Canterlot.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she trotted over to the ticket booth and addressed the half-asleep stallion inside, her lone companion in what felt like an eternal morning. “Excuse me, sir?” she asked, rousing him from his nap. “Do you happen to know if the train will be on time?”

The stallion blinked once, twice and then three times before slowly — painfully slowly, Rarity thought — glancing at the watch on his wrist. “The train should get here just fine, ma’am,” he said, looking back at her and yawning. “Unless there’s an issue with the weather, in which case I’ll be sure to let you know.”

Rarity thanked him before half-heartedly trotting towards a nearby bench and sitting down. She could be sleeping now, wrapped in her deliciously warm covers, but no. No, because she just had to take on the assignment from Princess Celestia, hadn’t she? She wished she knew what in Equestria had possessed her into accepting.

Well… she would be helping in a major charity event, and helping those who were less fortunate is always a good reason to wake up a bit early in the morning. And she would be Canterlot’s Royal Seamstress for a while. And it was Princess Celestia who had personally asked, and it certainly wouldn’t do at all to deny the princess help. She could practically hear Twilight’s horrified gasp at the idea of not helping Celestia. The mental image cheered her up a bit, as well as the reminder that Twilight would also be spending time in Canterlot by Celestia’s request. Maybe they could sneak in a few lunches together, or a quick shopping trip.

Once more, she turned towards the distance and where is that train, for pony’s sake? She glanced at the clock hanging from the station’s ceiling and was dismayed to see there was still almost a quarter of an hour left before the train’s due arrival time. She stood up from the bench and started pacing around, trying to soothe the nerves that had made her arrive far too early. She almost felt like striking up conversation with the stallion so as to distract herself a bit but realized he might fall asleep halfway through. Some company he’ll make for nearly two months, she thought, rubbing her closed eyes and stifling a yawn. At least I only have to do this five times a week until January.

“Coffee, Rarity?”

Rarity blinked several times before opening her eyes and coming face to face with the greatest — if a bit surprising — sight she could have ever hoped for: Twilight Sparkle and two cups of delicious Sugarcube Corner coffee.

“Twilight!” she exclaimed, gratefully taking the cup of coffee being offered to her. “Good morning and thank you, darling!” The bitter liquid tasted like heaven in her mouth, more so considering that Twilight had apparently remember she loved it when it had a hint of almond. “But...what are you doing here?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I thought you knew I was going to be travelling to Canterlot too,” she remarked, shivering from the cold and taking a sip of her own coffee to try and warm up. “Remember I’m supposed to assist the princesses with all the diplomatic issues of the Hearth Warming Festival? Cadance is coming too.”

“No, Twilight, I know that. I meant, why are you taking the train there? And so early, too! I thought you weren’t supposed to get to Canterlot until around midday,” she elaborated, taking off her scarf and wrapping it around the alicorn’s neck. She had considered that Twilight might still be a bit nervous when it came to her royal duties, but being nervous enough to want to arrive almost three hours early was frankly ridiculous…

Then again, this was Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight awkwardly tugged on the scarf she had been given, the line of questioning apparently having taken her by surprise. “Oh, uhm, yes,” she said, displaying all the eloquence of a well-read princess. She paused for a second, furrowing her brow before widening her eyes and shaking her head. “Wait, I mean, no! I want to be there at around ten thirty, actually,” she corrected, nodding once as if asserting her claim. “I wanted to talk with Princess Celestia about some other things, first.”

“I see!”

Honestly, Rarity was surprised Twilight wasn’t going there by chariot, considering it was much faster. It was how Celestia and Luna traveled around, after all, but she didn’t dwell on it too much considering Twilight’s predicament was her advantage. “Well, darling, though I feel sorry you had to wake up at this ungodly hour, I can’t say I’m not delighted at the prospect that I’ll have you to keep me company now,” she teased, flashing Twilight the best smile her body could muster at said ungodly hour — which, as it turns out, must have been a very nice smile considering Twilight almost immediately reciprocated with one of her own.

The sound of distant engines drew their attention, and Rarity was delighted to see the train approaching the station. It came screeching to a halt in front of them, after which the doors opened and the conductor came wobbling out. The senior stallion certainly looked as if he’d seen better days, his blue coat turned almost gray with age, and his uniform so completely worn out, Rarity had to resist the urge to run back home and make him a new one.

He squinted through his glasses to take a better look at the two mares. “Well, I’ll be! There’s actually somepony here,” he murmured, taking a few shaky steps towards Rarity and Twilight. “Here to take the seven am train to Canterlot, ladies?” he asked, extending his hoof. “May I see your tickets?”

Rarity quickly levitated all of her smaller suitcases before turning to Twilight. "Twilight, darling, would you—" She hadn't even finished her sentence before Twilight playfully rolled her eyes and levitated the remaining — and considerably larger — suitcases into the air.  

After they’d both presented their tickets, the conductor stamped them down and returned them. It wasn’t until then that he finally took a better look at one of the travellers. “P-Princess Twilight!” he sputtered, looking much more spry than before. He bowed down to her, and Rarity giggled at Twilight’s flustered blush. “Please, let me take you to some private seating!"

Stepping inside the train, Rarity couldn't help but flutter her eyelashes at Twilight. "My, my, my, Princess Twilight! I should travel more often with V.I.Ps! Do you think we'll get free beverages and food?" she asked, giggling when Twilight rolled her eyes, her blush much more pronounced.

"Just keep drinking your coffee, Rarity."

"Rarity, do you really need all this stuff?"

"All this stuff? Whatever do you mean?"

Sitting inside the private area, Twilight helplessly gestured with her head towards the pile of luggage that occupied the rest of the carriage, and a little of the walkway outside. “It looks like you’ve packed everything in the boutique! I don’t even own this much stuff!”

“Really now, darling,” Rarity replied, patting a suitcase next to her. An action she swiftly refrained from continuing with after the entire mountain of luggage wobbled dangerously. “This is all very important. The basic necessities for a lady such as myself.”

“Well, at least Perfect Stitch will be happy to see you came prepared. Being the royal seamstress and all, she wasn’t so thrilled at the idea of somepony else taking her place. This is the first time she’s agreed to take a vacation in years,” Twilight said, looking away from the pile of suitcases. “If she’s still anything like I remembered her as filly, I hope you’re prepared to show her what you’re made of.”

“Why, Twilight, are you doubting my ability to impress her?” Rarity asked, putting her hoof on her chest. “I’m offended! And here I thought you truly believed in me!”

Twilight playfully rolled her eyes. “I was just warning you. I once made a comment on a dress she made for me as a filly, and next thing you know, I’ve been sitting there for almost two hours listening to her explanation on why I was so ‘atrociously wrong’,” Twilight explained, grimacing at the memory.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Considering what you said about that lovely blue dress we saw the other day, I doubt you were actually paying attention to what she was saying,” she teased, replying to Twilight’s appalled expression with a grin. “In any case, I’m sure we’ll get along fabulously.”

Twilight laughed, shaking her head. “Well, just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“What exactly do you need to talk with Princess Celestia to warrant getting up so early?” Rarity asked, changing the topic before her nerves got the best of her.  "Is it about the Hearth Warming Event?"

"Yes, but… It’s... well... uh...” Twilight sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “It’s hard to explain.”

Rarity giggled again and shook her head. “Goodness, Twilight, you’re terrible at lying. Even Fluttershy has a better pokerface than that.” She had to endure a deep sigh, and had to dig Twilight out from under her own wings before actually getting any sort of response.

“I’m just going to talk to her, okay?”

“Yes, darling, I gathered that—” Rarity stopped talking when she noticed Twilight shaking her head vigorously.

“You don’t understand. It’s not about politics, or ruling, or even dinner etiquette...”

“But..?” Rarity prompted her when she fell silent.

“Just... talking,” Twilight replied with a shrug. “Aside from the five of you and Spike, the princess was my only real friend for years, and she just wanted to... y’know... catch up? We don't just have to talk business, you know?”

Rarity leaned forward carefully, making sure not to unbalance her pile of precious goods any more than was absolutely necessary to give her friend a one-legged hug. “Completely, darling.” After she pulled back she looked out the window, trying to see how far they were from Canterlot. “Although I don’t understand why you would be embarrassed about such a thing. Fluttershy and I talk almost weekly, barring any animal emergency, and I wouldn’t know what to do without her.”

“Well, you and Fluttershy are very close,” Twilight pointed out, drifting off for a moment and looking towards the pile of luggage. “Besides,” she added, having snapped back into reality, “you don’t need to take a train to actually talk to Fluttershy.”

“True,” Rarity said decisively. “Still, it’s a shame going by train isn’t nearly as fast as going by chariot.” She paused briefly. “Actually, I've been wondering... Why did you take the train? I thought every princess went by chariot. Don't you have access to the Princess exclusive chariot you once told me about?”

“Oh! Uhm, it was a bit too last minute to have one brought to Ponyville,” Twilight replied. “And I knew this was your first day going there, so I thought you’d like some company. That's… kinda why I woke up so early, actually. Help with the nerves a bit? Not that I thought you'd be nervous, but—” She stopped herself, smiling sheepishly. "You know what I mean."

“I do, sweetheart, and I’m glad you’re here. I have to admit I was a little nervous,” Rarity confessed, looking out the window again. “Wouldn’t want to disappoint Princess Celestia, after all.”

“You won’t,” Twilight affirmed almost immediately. “Princess Celestia wouldn’t have asked you to do it if she wasn’t sure you’d do an amazing job. Just…” She smiled sneakily at the unicorn. “make sure Perfect Stitch doesn’t notice you’re nervous.”

“Nervous?” Rarity asked, smiling. “Who’s nervous, darling?”

“Rarity, you can’t just stand there forever, you know?” Twilight said, standing inside the gates leading to Canterlot Castle, Rarity’s luggage scattered around her.

“I…” Standing outside the gate, Rarity opened and closed her mouth several times. “I was simply wondering if I should come back tomorrow. I’m sure Perfect Stitch doesn’t need to be replaced right this instant and—”

“Rarity, I thought you said you weren’t nervous. Come on, you’ll be fine,” Twilight continued, levitating Rarity and her luggage into the air, then continuing her path towards the castle.

“B-But, Twilight!” Rarity protested, trying hard to ignore the odd looks the roaming guards were giving them. “I can trot there myself, I’ll have you know!”

“I might have believed that if I hadn’t been forced to levitate you off the train station, too.” She looked at Rarity over her shoulder. “Listen, I was just kidding about Perfect Stitch. She’s not as bad as I made her out to be.”

Rarity gulped down, a bit reassured by Twilight’s statement. “She’s not?”

“Well...” Even from where she was up in the air, Rarity could see the tips of Twilight’s ears swivel, a telltale sign of her discomfort. “She is. Actually.”

“And how is that supposed to help me calm down?!” she all but shrieked. “She’s going to throw me out! I’ll be laughed out of the city!" Before she could start crying however, she was suddenly brought down to nose level with Twilight. Being upside down didn’t do much to help her complexion, nor see the eyes of her alicorn friend, but it never the less shut her up for a moment.

“This is not the time to get all hysterical, Rarity.” Twilight shook her which only made her feel nauseous to boot.

“B-but even her name... she’s perfect, at least when it comes to designing clothes. She must have been doing it for decades! And for royalty no less! And then here I come, just a small-town unicorn with barely six years experience under her horn. I... I can’t!”

Twilight frowned, stopping in her tracks and looking down so as to make eye contact with Rarity. “Rarity,” she said sternly. “You’re the personal designer of Sapphire Shores. You’re the favorite designer of Fancy Pants, and subsequently half of Canterlot. You’ll be fine.” She then resumed her trot, levitating Rarity further up again.

Less than ten minutes later, much to the horror of Twilight’s precious cargo, they had reached the castle doors. Despite the fact that Rarity had crossed those doors several times already, they had never seemed more daunting. Two guards were posted on either side, and after offering Twilight a bow and Rarity a perplexed look, they let the mares in. Rarity found herself grateful that the screeching of the door opening was louder than her own nervous whimpers.

“Right! Here we are,” Twilight exclaimed, placing Rarity on the floor. She looked at the luggage and at her friend. “It’ll be better if you take them now. Perfect Stitch will appreciate the effort, and you’ll know where to put everything in the workshop.” She pointed a hoof towards one of the many hallways leading out of the main hall. “You just have to go straight ahead, then take the first left and… I think it’s the fifth door on the right, if I remember correctly.”

“What about you?” Rarity asked, levitating her luggage. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to go find Celestia,” Twilight replied, nodding towards the large staircase that led to the upper floors. “I wrote to her yesterday night, so she’s expecting me by now. Anyway, I should be done by around three o’clock, so we can meet up by the castle gates at that time and have lunch?” she asked, smiling hopefully. "Or have lunch with what's left of you," she added, grinning at Rarity's scowl.

"Unfortunately, Twilight, my remains won't be able to grace you with their presence since I'll only have a fifteen minute break today. It is my first day, after all."

"Oh, right," Twilight said, looking disappointed. "I kinda wanted to take you to a restaurant near here…"

“There's always next time, darling." Rarity smiled amiably. "In any case, I’ll stop by the library at around eleven tonight, and if you're still awake, I'll be sure to tell you all about how very impressed Perfect Stitch was with me.”

"Wait, what do you mean eleven tonight?"

“I’ll be taking the half past nine train, darling,” Rarity explained. “My working schedule will apparently be from nine thirty in the morning to eight in the evening, with a one hour lunch break."

Twilight grimaced. “That means you’ll have to take the train at seven in the morning every time? Celestia help you, that’s way too early for me,” Twilight admitted. “At least you like trains, don’t you?”

“I do." She winked at her friend and continued, “But sadly, I won’t have such lovely company from now on.” She giggled upon noticing a slight blush on Twilight’s cheeks.  "I assume you'll be taking a chariot home long before I finish, won't you?"

"Yes..." Twilight said slowly, furrowing her brow. After a minute, she looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you get going already?"

“Oh, yes, I better be off!” She then stood there for five minutes, smiling brightly in contrast to Twilight’s slowly fading smile. It wasn’t until the alicorn’s expression had gone completely serious and a hoof was forcibly pointed towards the hallway that Rarity stopped stalling for time. “Alright, I’m going, I’m going!” she said, turning around and ambling off with her luggage.

Once she was inside the hallway and out of Twilight’s sight, she stopped to admire the decor out of genuine interest, and definitely not another attempt to put off her dreaded examination courtesy of a senior mare with decades more experience than herself, and certainly very much set in her possibly old-fashioned ways.

What lovely tapestries, Rarity thought as she let her gaze wander around the hall. The tapestries, depicting the history of Equestria, looked very well preserved, and she wondered if perhaps Celestia had cast a spell on them to keep them that way. Several unlit torches were placed at varying intervals, the generous amount of sunlight filtering through the windows proving to be enough light for the moment.

In fact, the only thing that didn’t blend well was the Twilight bust poking out the end of the hallway, but the same could be said for one of the torches which obviously hadn’t been cleaned in a very long ti— Wait, Twilight bust? The bust frowned at her and stepped into the hallway, revealing her very living properties.

“Rarity…”

Rarity let out a small screech and cantered off before Twilight got too close. “Honestly, what are you?! My nanny?” she exclaimed, reaching the end of the hallway and turning left.

“No, but at this rate, I might as well be!” Twilight called out after her.

Rarity rolled her eyes and counted the doors on her right. When she reached the fifth and found two doors tightly shut, she tried knocking but her forehooves were resolutely stuck on the floor. “Come now, Rarity. Rejection simply means she can’t recognize talent when she sees it,” Rarity whispered to herself. Taking a deep breath and imitating her alicorn friend’s relaxing exercises, she buried all her uncertainty in the deepest part of her psyche, lifted her hoof and knocked three times.

Not even a second later, the doors opened and behind them stood an elderly blue unicorn, her black mane tied in a bun, and a roll of measuring tape hanging from her horn: the dreaded Perfect Stitch. A pair of thin, black glasses perched on the bridge of her nose did little to hide the completely judgemental glint in her narrowed eyes. “Yes, how may I help you?” she asked dryly, and Rarity wondered if this was how she always treated whomever knocked, or if her sour mood was reserved solely for her lucky temporary replacement.

Rarity offered her the single most dazzling smile she could possibly muster. “Ah, hello! You must be Perfect Stitch! My name is Rarity, and I’m…” She faltered, suddenly not sure of how wise it would be to announce herself as ‘your replacement’.

“My temporary replacement,” Perfect Stitch completed, her brow somehow going lower. “I wondered what was taking you so long.” She glanced at the luggages floating behind Rarity and raised an eyebrow. “And those are…?”

Rarity glanced at her suitcases and cleared her throat. “A-Ah, those are just a few things I brought from my workshop back home. I thought I would work faster using the tools I’m already accustomed to rather than using time getting the hang of new ones."

Perfect Stitch regarded her in silence, and Rarity could feel a panic attack coming on. Had it been the right thing to say all that? What if she gave off the impression that she wasn’t skilled enough to adapt to new tools right away? Had she ruined everything before she had even start—

“Very well. It’s nice to see you came prepared, at least,” Perfect Stitch said, looking down from the suitcases and interrupting Rarity’s increasingly catastrophic thoughts. She whirled around and trotted back into her workshop. “I suppose we should get this over with.”

A little reassured by the positive comment on her luggage, Rarity stepped inside and carefully placed her things at the entrance of the room. Similarly to her own workroom in Carousel Boutique, it looked as if though a tornado of creativity had passed through the place. Sketches, fabrics, and ponyquinns were scattered everywhere, Rarity maneuvering around them as she followed Perfect Stitch around.

“While you’ll be here, you’ll have to attend to the tailoring needs of the Princesses and other extremely important ponies.” She turned around, the measuring tape falling off her horn, and pointed a threatening hoof at Rarity. “Everything that is said in this workshop stays in this workshop.” She turned back again and trotted towards her sewing machine. “You’d almost think this is a beauty salon with how much ponies gossip in here.”

Rarity nodded, wondering how bad was it that the idea of being Canterlot’s castle gossip hub for two months thrilled her so much.

“Princess Celestia should have also informed you that you’d be in charge of the costumes for the yearly Hearth's Warming Eve play,” she continued, stopping next to a table and pushing away all the fabrics on it, creating an empty space on the table. “I assume you already started on the designs,” she said, tapping her hoof impatiently on the table. “Let’s have a look, hm?”

“Oh, right, yes!” Rarity stammered, levitating one of the smaller bags and trotting over to the table, coming to a halt at the side opposite of Perfect Stitch. She opened the bag and took out a signed sketchpad Sapphire had once given her, which quite predictably had the pony of pop herself on the cover.

“Ah. Sapphire Shores,” Perfect Stitch commented, watching as Rarity opened the sketchpad and started turning around the pages in search of the costume designs. “My granddaughter loves her music.”

“Does she?” Rarity asked absentmindedly, too distracted trying to find the right page.

“I can’t say the same for myself. Too loud for me,” Perfect Stitch continued. “I do love her outfits, however. Whoever puts them together has quite the taste in fashion.”

Rarity stopped looking through the sketchbook and looked up, smiling. “Really? You think so?” she asked innocently before resuming her search. “You know, it’s interesting you mention that because…”

It was nearly nine o’clock at night by the time Rarity reached the train station. The large station was predictably much busier than the Ponyville one, but one pony caught Rarity's attention amongst the crowd.  She was surprised to find Twilight waiting near the entrance gates. Seeing as the alicorn was worriedly trotting back and forth in a straight line, Rarity couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps the mare’s talk with Celestia hadn’t gone well. This wouldn’t be the first time Twilight lost track of time pacing after a particularly unpleasant experience.

She was about to call out to the alicorn, but remembering their meeting at the beginning of the day, she headed towards the nearby coffee stand instead, careful not to be noticed by Twilight. Once there, she bought two large teas, asking for Twilight's favorite, and then made her way towards the alicorn.

"Tea, Twilight?" she asked, standing a few feet away from her friend.

Twilight stopped her pacing and looked towards her, ears perking up. “Oh, Rarity!” she exclaimed. "Thanks," she added, gratefully accepting the warm cup of tea.

Rarity smiled and took a sip of her tea before asking, “Darling, whatever are you doing here? I thought you’d be home by now!”

Twilight faltered, rubbing the back of her neck. “Oh, um, the talk with Celestia took longer than I thought it would.”

Rarity frowned at this. “Nothing bad, I hope?”

Twilight quickly shook her head. “Oh no, nothing bad! We finished a few hours ago, but since I knew you’d be coming out soon, I thought maybe I should wait for you so we could take the train together,” she explained, smiling brightly. Shortly after, however, the bright smile was replaced with a worried expression. “How did it go with Perfect Stitch, by the way?”

Rarity pawed at the floor, her tail in between her hind legs. “Well…” She drifted off, sighing softly and looking away.

Twilight’s ears dropped. “Oh, Rarity…” she said, putting a supportive hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “You... didn’t get the job?”

“The job?” Rarity whispered, still intently looking away. After a moment, she put a hoof on her chest and turned to Twilight. “Oh Twilight…" she murmured. "Of course I got the job!” she exclaimed, stomping her forehooves excitedly against the floor. “Was there ever any doubt?”

“That’s great, Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed, giggling at Rarity’s contagious glee. “I’m guessing that means Perfect Stitch liked your designs?”

Rarity scoffed. “Liked them? Darling, she loved them! Honestly, who doesn’t love my designs?” she asked, tossing her mane back and letting out a haughty laugh. She then playfully tapped the tip of Twilight’s nose with her hoof. “Tsk, tsk, and you were so worried, you silly filly,” she teased, practically giggling out her words from excitement.

“Me?” Twilight asked, pointing towards herself. “I knew you’d be fine. You were the one who was worried!”

Rarity laughed at the accusation, though her laugh faded after a moment. “Me nervous…”  She looked down at the ground and furrowed her brow, biting down on her lip. "Imagine that."  She had gotten the job, hadn’t she? Why then did she still feel like a filly before her first day of kindergarten?

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked, her hoof finding its place on Rarity’s shoulder again.

"I… I suppose I'm still nervous," Rarity confessed, bowing her head. "Even though she loved the designs, she said that this will still be a very demanding job, and my working hours are much longer than I thought they'd be. I suppose it means Celestia has a lot of faith in my abilities, but admittedly that makes this entire affair seems even more daunting than it already is." When she noticed Twilight looking very concerned, Rarity shook her head and smiled. The least she wanted to do was worry the alicorn. "Not that that will stop me, of course!"

Twilight nodded, smiling widely.

She gestured towards the ticket booth. "Come on, let's buy our ticket before we miss the train."

A little while later, the two mares were seated in the only empty private carriage they'd found. Sitting on opposite sides of each other, they silently stared out the windows and into the night sky, each lost to her thoughts. Rarity glanced over at Twilight, a smile finding its way onto her lips.

Twilight was lost in the rushing scenery, a rather adorable smile on her lips. "It's nice to go back home," she whispered, a funny thought considering Canterlot had been her home for so many years, but now home was a small ordinary town. Rarity was immensely glad of this. She'd lived in Ponyville all her life, but Ponyville would no longer be home if Twilight — or any of her friends — wasn't in it, would it? "I missed it."

"You say that as if we've been gone for weeks!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Well, you will be, almost," Twilight replied, turning towards Rarity. She stifled a yawn and stretched her wings out before returning her gaze to the window. "You'll be away most of the week, won't you? It's weird. I'm so used to seeing you everyday — well, you and the girls, I mean — that it feels weird that you'll be out of Ponyville so much now."

Rarity giggled. "Aww, Twilight! I'll miss you too, darling," she teased, earning an eyeroll from the alicorn.

"Well, I mean, you know," Twilight said, her lips curling into a smirk, "Ponyville just isn't Ponyville without you barging into the library every day in dramatic hysterics over something. Then again, considering I’ll be going three times a week too, I suppose it means I won’t miss them that much.”

Rarity’s indignant reply was overshadowed by her curiosity. “Three times a week? Isn’t that a bit excessive considering the Hearth’s Warming Event isn’t for almost two months?” Again, she wasn’t in a position to complain since she delighted in her friend’s company, but were dignitaries really planning on arriving months in advanced?

Twilight shook her head. “I’m going to be doing other stuff. I still have a lot to learn about royalty and my position as princess, so Princess Celestia wants me to come to the castle often so I can get the hang of my new duties. She wants me to take care of the court for one day, too.”

Rarity giggled. “I’ll be sure to ask for the day off whenever that happens. I don’t think that you trying to deal with the petty problems of Canterlot nobility is something I’d want to miss.” She yawned and took a sip of her tea. "By the way… I wanted to thank you for this morning. It helped a lot to have you there with me and help my nerves. I shall miss you now that you'll be taking the princess exclusive chariot," she sighed theatrically, then grinning at the alicorn. “Fortunately for you, that means you won’t have to deal with my constant stress-induced theatrics twice a day.”

“W-Well, actually, that’s not true,” Twilight quickly blurted out, her cheeks reddening ever so slightly. She went silent, almost as if surprised by her own outburst, before fiddling with her cup and continuing, “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna need the carriages a lot with all the dignitaries coming in and out of the city, so I’ll be taking the train with you for a while.” When she finished, she looked up for a moment before nodding her head. “Yep. No carriages for me.”

"Really?" Rarity asked, unable to suppress her delighted grin. The prospect of having Twilight travel with her every day was certainly a nice one, even if she did feel bad for her friend. "Are you sure? Didn't you say you hate waking up early?"

Twilight waved her off. "It's alright. Besides, if it helps you be less nervous in the mornings, I don't mind waking up early. It might do Spike good to start waking up early, too."

Well then, if Twilight was okay with it…

"Perfect! Then you'll be in charge of the coffee, and I'll buy the tea!"

"Huh?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You'll buy the coffee in the mornings, and I—" She gestured to the teas on the table. "—will buy the tea! We're going to need sustenance if we're to wake up at such ungodly hours, don't you think? And then, at night, we'll have a tea time to relax. It'll be like our own little tea times, discussing our day and all the silly gossip we've gathered from the elite ponies I'll have to work with!"

Twilight snorted. "I thought that whatever is said in that room, stays in that room."

Rarity hummed, taking a sip of her tea. "Well, yes, buuuut..." She fluttered her eyelashes at Twilight and smiled deviously. "Why can't whatever's said in our private carriage, stay in our private carriage as well, hmmm?"

Twilight laughed, looking out the window. "It seems these train rides will be quite interesting, won't they?"

"Oh, darling, I should hope so."

~ Chapter Two ~

Twilight was used to waking up early. It was a habit she’d developed as a filly, when she’d wake up every single morning at the crack of dawn just to watch Princess Celestia raise the sun. Spike found it endlessly annoying. She tried her best to not wake him up, but it sometimes did him good to wake up early, right?

Rarity though, as far as Twilight could see, was definitely not an early bird.

When she got to the train station, Twilight Sparkle found the two other ponies there waging a losing war against the sandpony’s evil clutches. The stallion at the ticket booth was snoring the morning away, drool trailing down his half-open mouth and onto some tickets scattered about. Twilight found herself grateful she’d bought most of her tickets days and even weeks in advance.

Rarity, at least, carried her drowsiness with much more grace. She was sitting on her hindquarters, eyes closed and head slightly dropping forwards. Her ears kept swiveling around, signifying she wasn’t totally asleep, and on her face was the absolute grumpiest frown Twilight had ever seen her friend make. Despite the fact Twilight found the sight to be quite cute, she refrained from making a single sound and quietly trotted towards her friend.

Rarity seemed to be mumbling under her breath, and Twilight got close enough to catch an “ungodly hour” and a “no beauty sleep”, amongst other mumbled complaints. Rather than calling Rarity, Twilight instead took the lid off one of the coffee cups floating besides her, and then carefully levitated it under Rarity’s face, the steamy aroma rising to fill her nose.

Rarity’s frown dissolved into a pleased smile almost immediately. She slowly opened her eyes; blinked one, two, three times; and her magic intermixed with Twilight’s as she brought the cup to her lips and took a drawn-out sip of delicious, caffeinated coffee.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Twilight said, teasingly smiling at her friend.

Rarity hummed in reply. She smiled gratefully at the alicorn, until her eyes went wide and: “Twiiiilight!” she whined theatrically, ears flattening against her head and tugging pitifully at Twilight's scarf. “It’s so early! Everyday I have to wake up at this hour, I can’t even get my proper dose of beauty sleep, and so I look hideous! Hideous, I tell you!” she exclaimed, turning away in shame to hide her perfectly done makeup. “Don’t look at me.”

“Rarity, don’t be ridiculous. You look fine.” Twilight snorted, shaking her head and taking a sip of coffee. Admittedly, Twilight thought Rarity always looked amazing, so perhaps there was some bias involved. “It’s only been a week. It’s not that bad.”

“Hah! Of course you’d say that! You only have to wake up early three times a week!” Rarity scoffed. When Twilight giggled impishly in reply, she harrumphed and turned away. “You know, I used to feel bad about you having to take the train rather than the private carriages, but I daresay my sympathy for your plight has vastly diminished.”

“Well, misery loves company, right?” Twilight offered with an amused smile.

Rarity finally giggled, rolling her eyes. “Ah yes, but what if misery preferred it if her company didn’t look so thrilled at being up at six thirty in the morning, hmm? Have you ever thought about that, miss Twilight Sparkle?”  

Twilight’s reply never came, interrupted instead by the sound of sniffling.

They turned around to find a stallion trotting up the station stairs, a unicorn foal trailing behind him. The stallion, whom Twilight assumed was the father, put down the single suitcase he’d been levitating and then trotted over to the ticketbooth. As he did so, Twilight and Rarity watched the foal take out a small plush doll of a royal guard and place it so its head would be peeking out the saddlebag.

“All right, here’s your ticket,” the stallion said, giving the foal a piece of paper. “Don’t lose it. The conductor will ask for it at some point, so be sure to keep it with your passport and papers, okay? Do you have all the papers you need for Starlington’s?”

Once he’d put the ticket away, the foal nodded. “Y-Yes, Papa…”

“Starlington? Isn’t that one of Canterlot’s boarding schools?” Rarity whispered.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah. It’s the best boarding school in Equestria right after Princess Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns.” Twilight herself had once thought she’d be going there, specifically during the minutes after she’d seemingly failed her entrance exam to Celestia’s school.

“P-Papa, I don’t want to go.” The foal hiccuped, wiping away tears with his hoof. He tugged on his father’s scarf and asked, “C-Can’t you come with me, please?”

The stallion looked down at his son with a pained expression and shook his head. “I’m sorry, honey, I can’t.. Mommy’s feeling sick, and somepony needs to stay with her to take care of her, you know that.” the stallion sighed and tenderly rubbed his son’s head. “I wish I could go with you… but you’ll be fine.”

“That poor darling,” Twilight heard Rarity whisper, and she couldn’t help but agree.

Being Celestia’s private student meant that Twilight had to actually live in the castle, and she’d been initially heartbroken at having to leave home. Admittedly, it had helped a bit that she’d be living with her idol, but she still remembered crying in her mother’s forearms the first day. And the homesick feeling that had accompanied her the first few weeks. It was hard for me and I didn’t even move to a different city, she thought, I can’t imagine what it must be like for somepony as young as he is.

The distant sound of a train whistle caught the attention of the four ponies, and Twilight watched as the train pulled up at the station. The doors opened and the now familiar conductor wobbled out, exchanging greetings with the two mares. Engine Trail, as they had come to know him, looked over at the stallion and foal, who looked as if about to burst into tears.

“Come on, I’ll help you put your suitcase inside,” the stallion said, leading his son into the train, quickly bowing before Twilight when he noticed her.

The foal, rather than bow, simply stared at Twilight, almost as if he’d forgotten his misery for a moment. It returned, however, when his father gently urged him to hurry up.

Once they had gone inside, the conductor turned to Twilight and Rarity so as to lead them to a private compartment he’d secured after finding out Princess Twilight would be a recurring guest. Twilight was grateful for his efforts, but…

“Why, Engine Trail! Look at all of this!” Rarity exclaimed, stepping into the carriage, which had been decorated with what looked like delightfully snug blankets, plush pillows to lie on for sleeping, and several baskets filled with all sorts of expensive looking candies.

“It’s the least we could do,” Engine Trail said, watching attentively as Twilight sat down and curiously prodded at one of the pillows. “This is little compared to what you’ve done for Equestria!”

“Thank you, Engine Trail,” Twilight said sincerely, offering him a warm smile. As much as she wished she’d be treated normally, she had to admit the pillows were very soft and plush, and the blankets looked very enticing.

When the stallion left the compartment, closing the door behind him, Twilight turned around to find her companion making the most of their luxuries. Throwing decor to the wind, Rarity had wrapped herself in one of the blankets and laid her head down on the pillow, her previous weariness dissolving into a state of what looked like pure bliss. She looked oddly cute like that, almost like a kitten.

“Mmmm…” she murmured, and Twilight couldn’t help and think all Rarity needed to do next was to just start purring.

“Well, that didn’t take long.” Twilight laughed, raising an eyebrow at the unicorn.

“Twilight, I’m not about to waste Engine Trail’s kindness, especially when it might be gone on the days you’re not here,” Rarity replied, opening her eyes if only to cheekily flutter her eyelashes at Twilight. “For all we know, the ‘p’ in this V.I.P. treatment stands solely for ‘princess’.”

“I don’t know, Rarity,” Twilight confessed, realizing how different the place looked from the last time they’d been there. “I don’t feel right accepting all this ‘preferential’ treatment. I’m just like everypony else.”

“Twilight, don’t be silly! You more than anypony deserves the absolute best treatment in Equestria, so at least be polite towards Engine Trail by accepting this small gesture, hm?” Rarity levitated one of the spare blankets and unceremoniously dropped it on Twilight with a giggle. “There’s nothing wrong with indulging in the wonderful benefits of being you, darling.”

Twilight giggled, lifting the blanket off her face and putting it on properly. “I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am! You’re so hopeless without me, Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity replied, levitating one of the chocolates from the baskets and snacking on it in a dainty way that only she seemed to be able to pull off. She licked her lips afterwards and looked at Twilight, sighing theatrically. “What would you do if I moved away? Who would teach you the intricately delicate ways of royalty? Heaven knows you’d probably still eat like a piglet.”

“I do not!” Twilight protested, swiftly putting down the large piece of chocolate she was about to scarf down, and reluctantly picking the smallest one. “You weren’t even there when I had lunch with Sweetie and the girls!”

“Thank Celestia for that because from the way she described it...” Rarity replied, before smiling deviously at the flustered alicorn. “Twilight, I’m just teasing,” she said, levitating Twilight’s original piece over to her friend and innocently adding, “I’m sure there are piglets out there with far worse table manners.”

“Pffft…”

Twilight lied down, covering herself with the blanket and watched as Rarity closed her eyes and drifted off. Even if the unicorn had been teasing, Twilight knew she was right. Etiquette had never been Twilight’s forté, and Rarity had always been there to help or offer advice, especially now that Princess Celestia was far away. In a way, with her love of royalty and glamour, etiquette and propriety, Rarity had always been a slice of Canterlot away from Canterlot.

Maybe that was why Twilight had eventually found herself drawn to her as… as more than… With a sigh, she took another piece of chocolate, snuggled into the blanket and closed her eyes, trying to blank her thoughts. Rarity would never…

“Twilight?”

Twilight opened her eyes to find Rarity looking intently at her.

“Yes?”

Rarity looked down at the floor. “I… I’m worried about...” she trailed off, sitting up straight and taking off the blanket. She bit down on her lip, lost in thought, before jumping onto the floor and magicking the door open.

“Wait, where are you going?” Twilight asked, similarly getting up.

“I’ll be back in a minute. I just want to check on something,” Rarity replied, taking one of the spare blankets, a couple of tissues from her saddlebag, and five or six wrapped-candies. “Go back to sleep, darling,” she said, smiling at Twilight before disappearing into the hallway.  

Worried? thought Twilight, still watching the empty hallway. Worried about what? She considered going after Rarity, but decided on waiting first. With a yawn, she lied back down and kept herself entertained by going over her duties for the day. The meeting with Princess Celestia, then going over the guest list for the dignitaries coming over in the following holiday weeks, and if both of them could find the time, lunch with Rarity.

After at least five minutes passed with no sign of the unicorn, Twilight finally decided on getting up to investigate. She got up, refusing to abandon the warm blanket, and trotted into the empty hallway. She passed by several equally empty private rooms until she finally found her target inside an empty public car.

At the very end of the car, Twilight saw Rarity talking to the sole other pony there: the little foal from earlier. He was seated by the window, his plush doll held tightly between his forelegs, and Twilight had gotten there just in time to see Rarity carefully place the blanket over the foal’s shoulders.

“There! Doesn’t that feel much better?” Rarity asked, sitting down so as to not intimidate the foal. She gave him the tissue and continued: “Nothing like a warm blanket and some scrumptious candy to wipe off any sad face!”

“Uh-huh.” The foal nodded, sniffling slightly and wiping his tears away with the tissue.

Aww…

Twilight smiled, taking a few careful steps towards her friend. Even though she should have known that’s what Rarity would be worried about, there was something terribly endearing about watching how good Rarity was with children.

“T-Thanks, Miss.”

“You’re very welcome, dear,” Rarity replied, taking from the table what Twilight recognized as the empty candy-wrappers. “I’ll go back to my carriage and get you a few more sweets.”

“Did… Did Princess Twilight send you?” he asked, neither he nor Rarity having noticed Twilight standing in the same room.

“Twilight? Yes, she did! She’s always thinking of other ponies, and asked me to come here and check up on you,” Rarity replied without missing a beat. “As Princess of Ponyville, she always makes sure to try and brighten the day of any little filly or colt who might be sad. In fact, the only reason she didn’t come herself is so she could bring you even more sweets!”

The foal didn’t reply immediately, clutching his doll closer to his chest. “Sh-She’s not angry at me for moving away?” he asked, starting sniffle again. “I didn’t want to go. She’s my favorite princess…B-but the school...”

“Awww, darling,” Rarity said, voicing exactly what the heart-warmed Twilight was thinking. “I give you my word that Princess Twilight would never be upset at you for something like that.” She leaned in closer and continued in a conspiratory whisper. “In fact, would you like to know a secret? Princess Twilight actually grew up in Canterlot, and she and Princess Celestia are the best of friends.”

“She did?” The young colt gawked at Rarity before repeating his astonished question in a slightly different way. “She is?”

“Yes she is,” Twilight said, stepping forward and revealing her presence to the two of them, a newly teleported basket of candy floating besides her. “She took care of me when I was still a young filly, and I promised her that I would do the same thing for anypony that needed it.”

It was a complete and total fabrication of course; Princess Celestia was more pragmatic than that, but the colt seemed heartened by it. The basket of candies certainly helped too, which he couldn't resist digging into when Twilight placed it on the table in front of him.

"What's your name?" she asked, indulging in yet another chocolate and pointedly ignoring Rarity's whispered warning about calories.

"Spring Comet,” the foal replied, taking another candy and giving Twilight an idea.

She gestured towards the empty seats opposite the foal. "Mind if we sit with you a while? We have so much candy, we can't really eat all of it by ourselves!"

It didn’t take long for Twilight and Rarity to find out much about Spring Comet. It seemed having company helped ease his nerves, and by the time he and Twilight had devoured most of the chocolates, they’d learned almost his entire life story — granted, it wasn’t a very long life story, but he had certainly been excited to tell them all about it. At least, until they got to the present, and with it, the part where he had to go to his new boarding school.

“My mom went there when she was little. She says I have to come two months early so I can get used to the school and the city,” Comet explained, toying with one of the dozen wrappers littered all over the table. “But when she went, she had a friend with her, ‘xcept all my friends are staying in Ponyville.” He sniffed once, rubbing his eyes with his hoof. “And they won’t come to visit until Hearth’s Warming Eve…”

“That’s not entirely true, is it?” Rarity said, taking one of the few remaining candies before the other two did. She pointed at the plush seated on the table. “He’s coming with you, isn’t he? Does he have a name?”

“Rift Design,” Comet replied, seeming to cheer up a bit. “He’s a guard working for Princess Celestia! He’s the best guard she has, but…” He looked conspiratorially to the sides before leaning in to whisper, “he’s a changeling.”

“A changeling?”

“Uh-huh! But he’s a good changeling!” the colt continued. “He turned into a pony so he could help others, ‘cause ponies don’t like changelings, but he still tries really hard to help.” He took the plush and held it tightly against his chest. “I wanna be a royal guard just like him when I grow up.”

“How curious! Usually foals your age—” She looked at Twilight, smiling impishly. “—And some mares all have Daring Do as their hero!”

The colt blinked. “Daring Do?” he asked, a bit surprised when the otherwise composed Princess Twilight Sparkle gasped loudly.

Which was understandable considering the statement, wasn’t it?

“You’ve never heard about Daring Do?” she asked, ignoring Rarity’s whispered ‘please, darling, try not to look so offended’. How could somepony not know about Daring Do?! Those books should be required reading everywhere! The suspense, the action, the drama!

“Nuh-uh…” Comet shook his head before asking a lethal question, “What’s it about?”

Rarity looked towards the window, giggling. "Here we go..."

Unlike Ponyville's own train station, Canterlot Station was brimming with ponies despite the early hours. Some were dozing off, others were pressed to board, but none were more effusive — and certainly not excited — as the Princess and foal stepping onto the station.

"She used a mirror to redirect the freeze spells?!" Comet asked, his terror long forgotten and replaced instead with endless excitement and curiosity over the tale Twilight had been weaving. "Did Daring Do freeze Azuzotle too?!"

"Ahuizotle," Twilight corrected her promptly, before going back to the enthusiasm of a filly let loose in a candy store. "And yes, but not permanently. Though, further assessing the situation she was in, I think it would have been more efficient to use the rebounded spells to freeze the cursed totem, therefore—"

"Heavens, are you still going on about that?" Rarity said, stepping down onto the station. "What's going to be the point of reading them if you already told him every minimal detail, darling?" She took out some sunglasses from her saddlebag and put them on. "At this rate, I'm going to be an expert on Daring Do, and I haven't read them either."

"Yet."

Rarity raised her eyebrows. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that almost sounded threatening. Are you planning on locking me with you in the library until I read them?" She giggled when Twilight rolled her eyes. "You know, that doesn't sound too bad, actually. It could be our own little private book club."

Rarity’s words faded away into silence within moments, but the idea she had planted in Twilight’s mind proved harder to shake. Twilight found herself musing on what it would be like: the two of them lying on a large pillow inside the library, cuddled together, Twilight listening peacefully as Rarity read aloud, discussing all their Daring Do theories, Rarity putting the book down and leaning in to—

“Princess?”

Twilight blinked. “Huh?” she asked, looking down and finding the foal staring back at her with wide eyes. He seemed to look a bit upset, clutching his plush toy to his chest. Twilight realized she’d apparently missed something while she was off daydreaming, and when she looked to Rarity, the unicorn rolled her eyes unhelpfully.

“Comet mentioned he doesn’t know how to get to his school, and I said we’d be delighted to help him get there,” she said, smiling brightly at the foal. She turned to Twilight and fluttered her eyelashes in the way she did when she expected to get what she wanted — which she always did. “Aren’t we, Twilight?”

“Oh, uh, yes,” Twilight said, smiling when Comet’s expression immediately brightened up. “We can take you.”

Relieved by the news, Comet excused himself, promising to get his suitcase ‘super quick’ so they could set off immediately. Once he was out of earshot, Twilight turned to Rarity, raising her eyebrow.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at the castle in twenty minutes?” she asked, distinctly remembering what a stickler Perfect Stitch was for punctuality.

“Mh-hm...”

“...And I’m not sure we can get to Starlington's and then back to the castle in time… Unless you don’t mind Perfect Stitch thinking you’re somewhat unprofessional,” she continued, hoping to help Rarity to realize that upsetting her boss wasn’t the greatest of ideas — especially if she wanted to keep coming to Canterlot, which Twilight very much hoped she would.

“Twilight, I finished all my designs due for today,” Rarity said, finally turning to look at her friend and smiling gratefully. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m sure Perfect Stitch will understand. Seeing just how much she raves on and on about her three-year old grandson, I rather think she’d be mortified at knowing we left the poor child to his own devices.”

“But what about Princess Celestia?” Twilight continued, still very much concerned. “What if she decides to drop by to see your progress?”

Rarity giggled. “Twilight, I know your life revolves around making sure everything and everypony impresses the Princess, but I’m certain she’ll understand our decision.”

Twilight was aghast. “My life doesn’t revolve around that!” she protested, a blush creeping up her face. "It doesn't!" she reasserted when Rarity raised her eyebrow.

Rarity giggled. "You keep telling yourself that, darling."