Twilight felt Rarity’s eyes on her as the Astra Princess brought out the stars for their evening engagement. The moon had already begun its ascent through the sky, shining out over the gleaming gemstone city of Canterlot. With each new swath of stars Twilight moved into place, the light beyond the great Diamond Wall burned a little brighter and allowed both Rarity and Twilight to look out over the city. Months of occasional attacks and three weeks of focused assaults by the shadowkin had not been kind to Canterlot. Many of the city’s ornate spires and domes were broken or outright destroyed. Smoke still rose over several sections of the old entertainment district and the airship docks.

However, there were no longer any lurking shadows in the city below.

After the ceremony celebrating the fall of the shadowkin waygates, the united strength of the Celestial Forces and the allies of the Equestrian Realms had charged out of the repaired Harmony Gate. While none of the shadowlords had been caught, in the ensuing raid nearly a thousand lurking beasts from the broken army had been found and destroyed.

More importantly, they had finally located those lost to the Pox.

Deep beneath what had once been the Royal Treasury—the very place where Twilight and her companions had destroyed the master waygate—the shadowkin had gathered the victims of the Nightmare Pox. Some had been there for months with the Pox eating at their minds, but the ponies of the Equestrian Realms and their allies were strong. Though there had been a scuffle with a maddened dragon and several infected ponies, Shining Armor’s team had secured the captives with no casualties on either side. Amoris Princess Cadance, Radiant Hope and her mother, Countess Amore, had taken a veritable army of healers down into the catacombs that once housed Canterlot’s wealth. Nearly three hours had passed before Cadance, Hope and Amore stepped out with the first of the survivors.

Twilight’s eyes fell upon the hollow tower of the old Royal Treasury, remembering the pride she had felt upon seeing those poor souls returned to sanity. She had shivered when she realized she could have been among their number… and what had almost emerged from that place.

“Considering your enemies?” Rarity asked from behind her. “I can see you staring at that tower, my dear princess.”

“Perhaps,” Twilight replied. Starlight danced between her feathers as she wove more gems in the sky, arranging the constellations to celebrate her brother and the soldiers under his command for their acts yesterday. “I worry about the shadowlords. To retreat so rapidly… I wonder if they were even in the city when the master waygate opened.”

“Who can say?” Rarity commented. “What matters is that you won the day, my dear princess. Yes, I am quite sure this conflict is far from over, but you finally broke their lines. They committed everything they had and you defied them. You stood upon the shore like a rock against the sea, battered but never breaking.”

Twilight glanced behind her to see the virtrung lounging in one of Twilight’s patio chairs, sipping a flute of delicate cider with a little smile.

“You were a big part of that rock.”

“It’s not proper for a lady to boast,” Rarity said with a flutter of her eyelashes.

Twilight shook her head and returned her attention to her beautiful sky, remembering all the little lessons Aunt Luna had taught her over the decades. With a gentle touch, she nudged the stars into position, calling them forth as a warm silver light poured from her horn. It was the only time her magic ever changed color. It matched the patterns on her wings. She found she liked it.

And once, I hated it with every fiber of my being.

She could still remember the cheering. Her eyes wandered to the Royal Promenade below, where Rarity and Twilight had been presented by Mother to the population of Canterlot as the heroes of the day. Twilight had tried to get Starlight and Trixie up there, but they had conveniently vanished right before the ceremony. For all of Trixie and Starlight’s showing off, they always got a little strange around the big events.

Or maybe they just found a convenient bush somewhere and lost track of the time.

Twilight blushed at the thought. She blushed harder when her mind conjured a deer and a different pony in their places. But she at least managed to keep her wings down.

Half the sky was illuminated now, but Twilight could still hear the crowd. And as she heard crystal hoofsteps beside her, she was sure Rarity could hear them as well.

“What do you say, my dear princess?” Rarity asked as she bumped Twilight’s flank with her own. “Still think yourself to be nothing special? To be nothing more than a common pony?”

Twilight wanted to say yes, but the roar of the crowds in her memory drowned out the protest. They had shouted their names. Originally, it had been both of their names, but after Rarity took up the chant and focused it on Twilight… they had all shouted Twilight’s name and her name only. Twilight had gone crimson with embarrassment, but after seeing the proud look on Mother’s face, the gleeful grin of Sunset, the delight of Cadance, her Aunt’s expression of serene contentment and the mischievous glint in Rarity’s eyes… she realized maybe… just maybe… she did actually deserve at least a little of it.

She had done something remarkable yesterday. It was true, she hadn’t been alone. Rarity had been just as much as hero as she was, but Rarity had constantly redirected the praise back to Twilight, no matter how many times Twilight tried to squirm her way out of it.

Twilight smiled up at the sky, making sure the constellations showed the soul marks of Trixie and Starlight as well. She even shifted the color of the stars to make them properly reflect her two brave bodyguards and friends.

“I think they’d like that.”

“They’ll likely never see it,” Twilight said with a shake of her head.

“Oh, I think they will.”

Rarity pointed a hoof down at the Golden Boughs park and the lake where Rarity had first found Twilight. There, two chairs had been set up by the shore. Twilight could just barely make out the blue and lilac colors of the two unicorns. From what Twilight could see, they were just holding one another, staring up at the sky. Twilight smiled. They were good for one another, even if they each tended to get the other into trouble now and again.

“I’m sure they’re enjoying the show.”

Twilight couldn’t really disagree. She continued her work, but the cheers never left her ears. Nor did the simple presence of the doe beside her. Rarity seemed to burn with warmth. It was strange sensation to be so close to her, knowing that they would have no interruptions this evening. They could do anything they wished. They could finally speak without interruption. Twilight could find out everything she wanted to know about the Day Woods. Learn about the virtrung and their customs. About Rarity’s family and friends.

But most importantly, Twilight could finally learn about Rarity.

The doe let out a soft sigh as she rested against the railing and looked up into Twilight’s sky. It was a sigh of pure contentment, something that flowed around them both like an errant breeze.

That’s when Twilight looked over to Rarity and the suspicion that had been nagging at her since she had woken up in the medical ward came to the forefront of her mind. She thought about the confidence she had in facing down the enemy. Yes, part of it was simply to impress the doe. But it wasn’t only that. She had fought to help save her people and to prove that she was worthy of the circlet atop her head.

It may not have been the noblest reason for a charge behind enemy lines, but it wasn’t a horrible one either.

And yet… if this had happened a week ago, Twilight was positive she never would have done something so reckless. A week ago, there had been no great font of courage coming from the sky. In fact, a week ago, there had been little more than abject loneliness and fear as she worked on her stars.

The visions from when Rarity had saved her from the Pox once more came back to her as she put the final touches on starscape above the eastern horizon.

“Gemstones of the night,” Twilight murmured.

“What was that, my dear princess?” Rarity asked.

“You can touch them, can’t you?” Twilight whispered. It wasn’t really a question. “That’s what your mark really means… your ‘gemstones of the night.’”

Rarity seemed to glow at that moment, fulfilled in some strange way by Twilight’s insight. She nodded with a delighted little smile.

“Since that night, I’ve always been able to touch the stars,” Rarity replied with a serene air, as if finally releasing a great secret. “And every night, I found something there. Sometimes, it was the gift of intense focus as I worked with starsilver. Occasionally, it was a burning passion to be the absolute best in anything I did. And once in a while, I ended up staying awake the entire night pouring through every tome on ponies we had. Those were special nights.”

Twilight swallowed. It wasn’t hard to make the connection. “What about the other nights?”

“The rest of the time?” Rarity licked her lips. “I just felt warmth. Or love. Or passion. Or laughter. Or joy. Sometimes confusion or sorrow or pain. But I always felt something. There were also a few other effects. Like a desperate need for validation. Or a rather intense attention to detail… something I can appreciate.”

Twilight smirked just a little.

Rarity smiled wanly. “Perhaps these sound familiar?”

Twilight nodded.

“Tell me, my dear princess… what do you feel when you work on your stars?”

She swallowed again, wondering why the lump in her throat wouldn’t go away.

“Well, usually it’s just a desperate need to get it right.” The alicorn shrugged. “To make Mother, Aunt Luna, Cadance and Sunset proud of me. And my parents of course. Then there’s making sure that the constellations are correct and—”

“My dear princess, you know exactly what I’m asking… and you are deliberately avoiding the answer.”

There was a brief silence as Twilight tried to come up with an answer… but in the end, only the truth would do.

“That’s what I felt inside of me when I was doing it,” Twilight admitted. “But I’ve always had a sense of something else on the other side while I’ve worked with my stars. They inspire me. They give me creativity. They give me the fine control I need to make a constellation just so. And occasionally, after my work, I’ll find myself with the grace and poise to handle nearly anything that comes my way. It rarely lasts. But it’s often there. In fact… the only other time I’d felt anything like that was with you before we teleported to the top of the Diamond Wall.”

Rarity nodded. “I suspected as much. Please understand, my dear princess, I didn’t know until two nights ago that I’d been touching you this entire time.”

Despite herself, Twilight’s wings twitched.

Rarity, of course, noticed.

“No teasing meant this time, darling.” Rarity giggled beside her. “I simply spoke the truth. In fact, even before this mark appeared upon my flank, I always did my best work at night. When I crafted something from starsilver, I would reach out and find the right star. I would call upon just a hint of magic… and it would just flow down into whatever I was working on. After it appeared, that connection grew ten-fold. Be it sword or shield, chestplate or helm, the star-touched pieces would last forever. They never failed… unless an enemy was supremely lucky, as was your assailant yesterday evening.”

“The stars possess a powerful magic,” Twilight admitted, her tail twitching slightly and brushing against one of Rarity’s hindlegs. “Even I—”

“I was never touching the stars,” Rarity chided as she put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “And you know it. I was touching you… your soul… even half a world away.”

For a time, silence descended upon the alicorn mare and the virtrung doe. Twilight had completed her nightly work. Now, they could simply enjoy the glowing gems in the night, basking in the radiance filled the entire world. Slowly and softly, Rarity brushed up against Twilight’s side. The alicorn’s wings attempted to flare up once more, but she managed to keep some semblance of control. Instead, she just shivered. Rarity let out a soft giggle at Twilight's involuntary reaction, which was completely and totally unfair.

But to hear Rarity giggle was good enough.

“You’ve never really had anyone appreciate you for you, have you?” Rarity sighed.

Twilight could feel the doe staring at her, but she couldn’t bear to look her in the face.

“No. I already told you. I’m the weird one with books and an obsession with the stars.”

“It’s not that, darling,” Rarity replied, her voice seemingly sad for some reason Twilight couldn’t comprehend. “It’s just… unfair, really.”

“Unfair?” Twilight blinked. This was not a line of reasoning she had been prepared for. “Why?”

Rarity tapped a crystal hoof on the railing. This hesitation finally got Twilight to look at the stunning doe who was—in defiance of all reason—somehow on her private balcony. With her. Alone.

I never even arranged for her ambassadorial quarters, Twilight realized, flushing. She hadn’t been thinking that far ahead. But Mother, Aunt Luna, Cadance or Sunset should have thought of it. Even Raven, the Seneschal of the Diamond Palace, should have suggested it after tonight’s feast! There was only one possible reason for such an oversight and that was—

Twilight yanked herself away from that line of thought. She had known this doe for only a short time. Such thoughts were unbecoming the Astra Princess—no matter where her mind had wandered over the course of the last two days. But even as the proper part of her balked, a deeper part pointed out that for ten years, they’d been touching the same stars. Feeling one another across the world. They’d never met before, not really.

But maybe… that didn’t matter. Because they had already met innumerable times amidst the stars.

So what if their bodies had never been tog—

Twilight once more yanked herself away from the images that statement conjured. Still, her wings once more wanted to explode. There were days she hated her wings.

“I’m… concerned about something.” Rarity’s words once more brought Twilight back out into the real world. Rarity was blushing as she nibbled on her lip, like she was weighing some great and horrid confession.

“And that is?”

“You may find it rather silly of me, I’m afraid.”

Twilight couldn’t stop herself from giggling. “After all you’ve put me through in the last two days, now you worry that you might appear silly?”

“Well!” Rarity huffed and stomped a hoof on the balcony in a supremely petulant fashion. “There is a difference between acting coy and acting silly.” She hesitated. “I am also afraid you might take this the wrong way.”

Now it was Twilight’s turn to be worried. “Rarity… what are you talking about?”

To Twilight’s surprise, the virtrung took a few steps away from her and released an enormous breath. She sat down on the marble balcony and faced the Astra Princess. The faint hint of jasmine and apple blossoms wafted up from the gardens below.

“I… confess, before this soul mark appeared, I gathered my fair share of suitors,” Rarity mumbled, unable to look Twilight in the eye. “Some of them were quite wonderful. But they never lasted. Yet, I admit that… I got rather used to the attention being lavished upon me.”

“Are you concerned that… I might have a problem with you being with somepony… err… somedeer else?”

“Well, I wasn’t a moment ago,” Rarity groaned. “But I am now.”

“Don’t,” Twilight said simply. It was her turn to lift Rarity’s head with a hoof. “That doesn’t bother me. You’re the first one to ever appreciate me. Even if you do so in a completely shameless way.”

Rarity snorted at that. “Well, I couldn’t help myself. You are far too cute when blushing—yes, just like that!”

Twilight swore to herself that she would find a spell that would grant her some sort of immunity to blushing.

But then Rarity would pout about it until I removed it…

Not worth it.

“But… therein lies my problem, my dear princess,” Rarity said, scuffing a hoof against the marble of the balcony. “I fear that you are responding to my admittedly shameless advances because no other creature has ever approached you in such a manner. Indeed, one of the reasons I tended to be so brazen was due to simple fear.”

“Fear?” Twilight scratched her head. “I’m confused. Why were you afraid?”

Rarity smiled, as if amused by Twilight’s confusion. “You must understand, the only reason I was not ousted from the Day Woods years ago was due to my skill as a starsilver shaper. Yet there were many who still wanted me gone. When I came here and found you…” She swallowed, took a deep breath and plunged onward. “When I found you, I was afraid you might reject me outright. Think my tale ludicrous or some sort of deerkin game. I daresay the reputation the deerkin have for ‘playing’ with the pony races is not undeserved, as your handsome brother pointed out quite succinctly.”

Twilight blinked a few times as Rarity continued.

“So… in a desperate attempt to not be rebuffed, I panicked and went with the most direct route of ingratiating myself to you. And… you’ve seen the result. Please understand that it was not an act and I do find you quite fetching. Nothing I have said has been a lie. And yet… I find that I must ask you a difficult question: are you responding simply because you’ve never had such attention?”

Twilight blinked as the concept hit her like a concussive spell to the head. She flopped to her haunches with a thump. While it was true nopony—nor any other sort of being—had ever shown the slightest bit of interest in her as a mare, that had never been something she’d thought about. She hadn’t cared. The idea of any sort of romantic entanglement had been impossible to imagine. Even now, she still had trouble even making friends. Now that she was presented with another being that was indeed interested—and then some—she found it rather intoxicating. But… there was more to it than that.

“I… can’t answer that honestly,” Twilight admitted. “But… Rarity, answer a question for me?”

“Anything,” Rarity replied without hesitation.

“Are you my friend?”

Rarity seemed taken aback by the question. She paused for several seconds to consider it.

“I admit to being no great master of friendship,” she said slowly. “But… I would like to say yes.. If you’ll have me as one, at least. We do share several common things. Attention to detail, dedication to perfection… and occasionally unhealthy obsession with our work. And that’s putting aside the the fact that I find you positively radiant.” Wings twitched. Rarity smiled. “And while my experience in friendships has dwindled in recent years, I believe commonality is traditionally an element that is usually required.”

Twilight chewed her bottom lip for a short time and spat out the next question.

“And if I decide I’d prefer for us to be nothing more than friends?”

Rarity froze. Twilight hated asking the question. But she needed the truth… even if she didn’t really want it. She probably should have asked this earlier, but here she was.

A few long seconds passed before the doe licked her lips and found her voice again. “Then I shall be disappointed, but I shall respect your wishes and endeavor to be the best friend I can be for you. Though I make no promises to ease up on the flirting.”

Twilight giggled. “I’d be disappointed if you did.”

“There are some things that simply cannot change, my dear princess. Asking me to stop such a delightful act would be like asking this mountain to get up and walk to the sea.”

Time stretched out over the balcony as the subtle sound of the city at night washed over them.

Twilight looked up at the stars. So did Rarity.

Then, she made her decision.

“Then that’s a foundation I can start with,” Twilight stood back up, fixed her wings and nodded. “You already admitted the reason you charged into battle was for my sake and not anypony else’s. You might think that’s bad, but I don’t. I’m… flattered. And that’s putting it mildly. We also both know I did something all too similar trying to impress you. And you supported me in defending my city. Saved my life. Even more… you’re willing to be my friend before moving any further with this… this… thing we have.”

Rarity giggled.

“No, I’m not experienced with anyone telling me I’m attractive. But even if I was… you said it yourself. Every time you touched the stars, you were touching me. And every time I put out the stars, I was feeling you. And we’ve been doing this for a long time, Rarity.”

Twilight approached the doe cautiously and held out a hoof.

“I think that’s a better place to start than most have, don’t you?”

Rarity stared at her hoof for a short eternity before finally nodding and allowing Twilight to pull her up. Then, to Twilight’s surprise—and probably Rarity’s—Twilight grabbed the doe and pulled her into a hug: forehooves, wings and all. Rarity simply melted into it as if she were nothing more than a large minky blanket. Both doe and mare shivered at the contact, simply relishing the newfound realization that they were not alone.

Finally, Twilight opened her eyes… and happened to glance forward toward Sunset’s balcony.

“Twilight?” Rarity asked in reaction to Twilight’s sudden twitch. “Whatever is the matter?”

Rarity pulled away to follow Twilight’s gaze.

“Um…” Rarity said.

Sunset grinned with a grin so wide it could probably be seen from the surface of the moon. Beside her, wrapped within one of Sunset’s great phoenix wings, was a familiar-looking unicorn. Her mane was different. Even her soul mark—though she always insists on calling it a cutie mark—was different. But the most noticeable difference was the glasses.

“Twilight… who is that with your sister?”

“Her name is Twilight Twinkle,” Twilight sighed. “It’s… a very long story.”

“She looks like…”

“Oh yes, I know exactly who she looks like.” Twilight glared at her sister and her sister’s companion. The unicorn tried to hide beneath Sunset’s wing. “Long version or short version?”

Rarity paused for a moment. "I believe I'll take the short version."

“They met after some sort of magical accident sent Sunset through a weird space-time rift. Happened before I became the Astra Princess.”

“Ah.”

“I’ll tell you… it’s made things awkward more than once.”

“I… see.”

“No, you don’t.”

“No, I don’t,” Rarity admitted. “But I have an excellent imagination.”

“Goodnight, Sunset!” Twilight called out.

Sunset winked at both of them, mouthed something that looked vaguely like ‘have fun,’ and retreated into her chambers. Twilight held her breath for a few moments, making sure her big sister wouldn’t make a reappearance at exactly the wrong time, before turning to Rarity once more.

“Sorry about that,” Twilight said with a shrug. “She means well… I think.”

Rarity smiled up at her. “She cares for you a great deal, you know. I can see it in her eyes.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Twilight grumbled. “I just wish she’d keep her muzzle out of my affairs.”

“You know you love the attention,” Rarity concluded with a self-satisfied smirk.

“I do not!” Twilight protested, even as she felt her face glow with warmth.

“Oh, you definitely like the attention,”

“You know, I could speak to Raven to have your private quarters arranged. I never got around to that.”

It was an idle threat. They both knew it. And the fact that it was an idle threat made them both blush as they were forced to acknowledge where they would be spending the evening.

That’s when Twilight decided she didn’t care.

Well, that wasn’t strictly true. She did care. But she was going to do her best not to care. At least for the rest of the night. Despite all logic, all reason, and everything that should have been rational… she did have some rather strong feelings toward this gorgeous flirt of a doe.

So, Twilight turned and looked up at the stars once more. Rarity sidled up to Twilight. The alicorn wrapped one of her enormous lavender and silver wings around the doe. Rarity gasped at the contact and shivered when Twilight delicately ran her feathers across the doe’s soul mark.

“You know…” Rarity said in a slightly shaky voice. “I do happen to know what that particular custom means.”

“Good,” Twilight replied. This time, she was definitely, absolutely, positively not blushing. Because she was totally in control right now. Completely confident. She knew what she was doing. “I’d hoped you would.”

I have no idea what I’m doing. But… this whole thing is crazy, so might as well make it up as I go along!

That’s when the idea came to Twilight. It was another crazy idea,… but it seemed right.

“Help me,” Twilight asked in a breath before she could change her mind.

“Whatever do you mean, my dear princess?” Rarity cocked her head.

“Help me finish the night sky.”

“I was under the impression you had completed it. I think it’s the most beautiful display of stars I’ve ever seen.”

Twilight glanced down at the doe’s soul mark and then glanced at her own.

“No,” Twilight said as conviction filled her. “I missed something.”

Rarity followed Twilight’s gaze. A few seconds passed before the doe’s eyes widened.

“Are you sure?”

“Completely,” Twilight replied.

“But… I don’t know how. I’ve touched them… but never controlled them.”

“I don’t control them, dear.” Twilight said with a laugh.

“Please tell me you didn’t just call me ‘dear.’” Rarity raised an imperious eyebrow at the alicorn princess.

“You’re the one who’s been calling me ‘my dear princess’ ever since we met!” Twilight protested. “I think it’s only fair!”

Rarity sighed. “I happen to know you can be a lot more creative than that.”

“I’ll work on it… if you help me.”

Rarity took a deep breath. Twilight found it rather alluring to see the doe nervous. It was a strange thing. They were both having the most fun when the other was slightly—or in Twilight’s case, extremely—awkward.

“What do I need to do?” Rarity asked.

Twilight smiled. “You have to trust me.”

Rarity looked up into the alicorn’s eyes. “I trusted you before I even met you.”

“And now that you’ve met me?”

“Now… I trust you with all my heart.” Rarity put a hoof on Twilight’s chest. “There’s a phrase in deerkin: ‘fea niasa.’ Most ponies translate it to ‘soulmates.’ But I prefer the traditional translation of ‘old souls:’ souls that remain together throughout time. In our language, it can mean anything from friends to confidantes to family to…” Rarity blushed. “…lovers.”

Rarity didn’t say a word when Twilight’s wings had miniature seizures caused by Twilight forcing one to remain down and the other to remain wrapped around Rarity.

“O-okay.” Twilight swallowed. “Then… just relax. This… might feel a little strange.”

Twilight’s horn ignited. Magenta power shifted quickly into the silver aura of her star magic while Rarity looked on in wonder. Then, gently, Twilight leaned down and touched her horn to Rarity’s head. The doe let out a sharp heated gasp and shuddered in delight as Twilight’s magic wove its way through her body.

Then, all four of the virtrung’s legs began to glow with magic. The patterns didn’t burn with the same blue as Rarity’s eyes. Instead… they were like lines of silver fire. Rarity let out a sound of awestruck wonder as she stared up at the stars.

“I… I can feel them… what… what is this…?” Her voice was husky and full of wonder.

“This… is how Aunt Luna taught me,” Twilight whispered in an almost reverent tone. “This was how she taught me to control my powers and call on them. To ask them to work their magic. She… she warned me it was an…” Twilight coughed. “…intimate experience. I didn’t realize just how… powerful it was.”

“Intimate?” Rarity’s eyes reflected nothing but stars as her crystal hooves shone silver. “You mean…”

“I may have had a tiny crush on her for a week or two after. Don’t worry. It passed. She thought it was… cute.”

Rarity laughed. It sounded like the laugh of the stars themselves. Maybe it was. Magic was strange like that.

“And what about now?” Rarity asked. “Why… give this to me?”

“It… just feels like the right thing to do,” Twilight answered. “Don’t ask me how I know that… I don’t know. But I know I have to do this. They belong to us both now.”

“And we belong to them,” Rarity whispered. “Leaf and Stone, Twilight… I can almost hear them singing. It’s beautiful. I’ve never felt anything so lovely before. It’s like every moment I felt you, magnified a thousand times over.” Her voice hitched as tears ran down her face. “I… I can’t thank you enough…”

“You don’t need to,” Twilight murmured as she tightened her wing around the doe. “Now… ask them.”

“Ask them what?”

“You already know.”

Rarity only hesitated a second. Then she closed her eyes and the light around her legs and hooves became like the light of the moon. Still, Twilight didn’t look away from the stunningly gorgeous doe wielding Twilight’s own magic. She didn’t even see Rarity’s work until Rarity’s eyelids fluttered open and Twilight saw the reflection of the night sky within those great blue eyes of hers.

Finally, Twilight tore her gaze away from the doe and looked up into the sky.

A brilliant magenta star shone over the city, surrounded by five white stars burning like embers in the night. Somehow, Twilight knew that those stars would be there every night for as long as she drew breath.

…and probably long, long after.

Rarity shivered again, almost overcome with the power.

“They’re… they say it’s your turn,” she whispered. “Please, my dear princess, if you would?”

Twilight closed her eyes and focused. It required almost no thought at all. The stars had been waiting for this moment. She could feel their smiles—or the closest thing to smiles—as she brought forth three very special blue stars in the midst of the ones Rarity had brought out.

Then she opened her eyes.

Both mare and doe watched in wonder as the two soul marks suddenly ignited in the night sky. A single shining magenta star surrounded by five white stars. Three blue gemstones. But now, instead of just constellations, they were full images. Both intertwined in the night sky above the great gemstone city of Canterlot.

Twilight wasn’t really sure who kissed who first. After further thought, she realized it didn’t really matter all that much. After even further thought, she decided to stop thinking about it.

All that mattered was the moment. The taste of Rarity’s lips upon her own. The desperate hunger within each of them, clawing its way forward.

Some tiny rational part of her knew that she could very well be completely and madly in love with this doe she had met less than two days ago. That rational part of her balked at such sentimental nonsense, for she was a pony of science and magic, reason and logic, order and precision. But she couldn’t deny that every one of these elements paled in comparison to the passion in this single kiss.

It didn’t take long for that tiny part of Twilight to just accept it as the rest of her mind focused on the gorgeous doe before her.

They broke apart. Twilight saw stars in Rarity’s eyes. She knew Rarity saw stars in Twilight’s eyes.

It was what had bound them together since Twilight’s ascension. It was what had bound them together through Rarity’s trials in her Day Wood.

Rarity’s right. We are old souls.

And nothing could be more beautiful than that.

Rarity came out from under Twilight’s wing and stood before the Astra Princess, breathing heavily. Finally, after several long seconds, the doe threw herself once more into the mare’s embrace. This kiss was just as passionate, but not nearly as desperate. The first kiss had been the dam breaking. This kiss was the flow of the river as it began its eternal journey to the sea. It held the promise of a thousand, thousand more.

But all that could wait. For now… it was just Twilight, Rarity and their stars.

It wouldn’t be until three days later on her throne that Twilight would learn their soul marks burned throughout the night. It would be Rarity that told her the correlation between what they had been doing and when their marks had been the brightest in the sky.

That would be the first time Astra Princess Twilight Sparkle actually lit the carpet on fire as a direct result of her embarrassment.

It wouldn’t be the last.

Author's Notes:

Theme for Diamonds Amidst the Stars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-qh5yZeOCo

I do hope you all have enjoyed yet another journey to another dimension in the vast multiverse in Diamonds Amidst the Stars! Retrospective now available right here!

I know, I know. I have a thing for Alternate Universes. It’s fun. It allows me to have much more control over the landscape of the world, the roles of the individuals in it, the powers they hold and everything else. New villains. A new version of Canterlot (yeah, another). New roles for the Princesses. And an entire new race to play with in creating the deerkin!

And let’s be honest, Rarity as a deer? Yeah, I could have come up with something a bit more canon-based with some sort of magic spell, but this was way more fun. Plus, who better in the Mane 6 to be portrayed as a deer, which are usually painted as the elves of Equestria?

The idea of this was to combine the comedy and banter of Princess Celestia: A Brief History with a bit more of the action and wonder of the new world created in And a Sky Full of Stars. Another story that was almost completely discovery-written.

The original concept for this story was based off a combination of the adorable artwork of Sirzi and the classic FimFic story It’s a Dangerous Business, Going Outside Your Door. Not only that, but Sirzi was kind enough to let me use the concept for this piece. In fact, I was originally going to go with a modified version of Rarity from the following picture, but it just didn’t fit the story.

Instead, we got Jykinturah’s amazing piece, who did it more justice than I could have thought possible. He totally captured the look. I adore that art piece. So special shoutouts to both of these amazing artists. Go check them out!

Next, a very special thank you to Monochromatic for her amazing inspiration for coming up with this piece. I can’t remember which one of us actually came up with the prompt “Interwoven Colours,” (that night is still a bit of a blur), but the fact that she finally buckled down and did it gave me my first chance to write a full-blown shipfic (yes, yes, I know the irony of my first full shipfic being RariTwi instead of SunLight).

And now, maybe finally she’ll let me read The Enchanted Library. (I'm teasing! I'm teasing!)

Another shoutout to MrNumbers for his interpretation of Rarity in The Mare Who Once Lived on the Moon. The idea of Rarity as this sultry, slinky character came a lot from that particular version of everypony’s favorite white unicorn. She was hysterical to read in that story and a huge amount of fun. I just got to dial her up to eleven.

Finally, I had a long list of editors and beta readers for this story. And I’m happy to say that the Wavelengths Editing Team has a new member in the form of Cursori! Cursori is just freaking amazing. He can totally fangirl over writing while saying really helpful and insightful things. To get him on board (as in I stole/borrowed him from Mono) was such a wonderful gift.

EbonQuill: As usual, for keeping my head together and still being willing to tear apart the story at a molecular level to make it everything it could be.
Little Tinker: For being silly, fun, entertaining and strangely deep for this particular story.
Beltorn: For challenging me for the entire original battle sequence, which forced me to change it from at the Harmony Gate to atop the Diamond Wall. I think the final result was much better.
Painted Heart: As usual, finding all the words I forgot and somehow got missed by everyone else.
Monochromatic: For being the actual Patron Saint of RariTwi and being willing to read and totally fangirl over Rarity in this. You have no idea how badly I needed that.

As I said, I’ll be having a full-blown follow-up to this story with more details on the development (including details on what was originally going to be my story for Mono’s Interwoven Colours contest!), editing and creation of this crazy romp through a whole new universe.

I’m really eager to hear your comments about the story as a whole too! Let me know what you think of this version of Rarity and Twilight and this wild world I’ve explored here.

Will we ever come back to the Diamond City of Canterlot? Dunno. It’s not like I enjoy jumping between different universes. But there’s always the possibility.

As for what’s next… well, that’s a surprise! But, I think the next one will be a lot closer to the Equestria we already know and love. It may be part of the Wavelengths Timeline... or it may be something completely different!

But until that happens, I hope you've got a little bit more romance in your life with this story of Rarity and Twilight. I've always enjoyed the ship. And who knows? I might even give you another interpretation of a popular ship soon too!

Until next time, this has been Novel Idea! Have fun out there!