“Oh, I’m just so proud of our little pumpkin!” Hondo ‘Magnum’ Flanks beamed as he waltzed back into the bedroom he shared with his wife of twenty-five years. “I can’t wait to see her all glitzed up and accepting a hot-shot award like this.”

“Neither can I!” chirped back Cookie Crumbles happily, having just finished placing her manedo up into its usual voluminous shape. “Shouldn’t you try on that shirt again before we leave? You don’t necessarily have the same hoofball physique you did fifteen years ago, sweetie.”

“Oh, alright, but I don’t think it’s necessary.” Lighting up his horn, Hondo squeezed himself into his shirt and just barely was able to close the buttons. “See? It’s fine!”

Cookie Crumbles giggled and placed a hoof on his chest. “I don’t think it is, but you do look like a hunk.”

Several loud knocks resounded through the house.

“I’ve got it!” squeaked Sweetie Belle, who could be heard bounding through the hallway and down the stairs to the front door.

She flung the door open and smiled up at Rarity, who was tapping a hoof impatiently on the patio. “Hi Rarity! Congratulations!” Lurching forward, Sweetie Belle wrapped her whole body around Rarity’s left front leg.

Rarity couldn’t help but let the impatient frown fall off her face as she chuckled demurely. “Thank you, Sweetie Belle.”

“You sure have a lot of luggage,” Sweetie Belle commented as she released Rarity and took a step back to observe the dozen bags lying on the wood of the patio.

“But of course! I need all of my make up and at least two or three dozen outfits. I need to pick one that matches my general ‘vibe’ for each event.”

Sweetie Belle narrowed her eyes and tilted her head as she looked back to Rarity. “How did you even get them all here?”

Rarity’s eyes lit up. “Oh! I nearly forgot, dear Spikey-Wikey is here to help us take all of our luggage to the train station.” Rarity took a step to the side, revealing a clearly exhausted Spike clinging to a large, hotel-style luggage cart on the side of the road.

To his credit, he managed to raise a claw to Sweetie Belle in a feeble greeting between gasps of air.

“Speaking of luggage, are you all packed up Sweetie? Our train leaves soon.”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes flared open for a moment and she quickly pursed her lips. “...Yes.”

“Sweetie Belle…”

The younger mare shot up the stairs without another word, prompting an exasperated sigh from Rarity. “I suppose that I can go and just buy anything she forgets once we get to Canterlot. Everypony knows that filly is in need of a new wardrobe anyway.” Turning her head to Spike she called, “Spikey-Wikey, darling, could you watch my things? I’m going inside to say hello to my parents!”

Spike was doubled over one of the side bars of the luggage cart and made a noise which sounded like a half-affirmative groan.

Delicately wiping her hooves on the mat despite the fact that Rarity knew they were spotless, she stepped inside and began climbing the staircase. “Mother? Father? I’m here!”

“Pumpkin!” she could hear her Dad call from the master bedroom. “Come up here sweetie!”

Rarity trotted briskly up the steps and was practically tackled by her parents as she turned the corner into their room.

“I’m so proud a’ ya!” Hondo sniffled as he crushed her in a hug.

Cookie Crumbles kissed both of Rarity’s cheeks three times. “We always knew you’d become Equestria’s best dress designer, you know? Never doubted ya!”

Rarity gently pushed them away and cleared her throat. “Well, yes. All I know is that I’m getting an award; we’re not certain precisely what it is yet. The ‘Best Designer’ award is probably locked down by one of the bigger names, but ‘Most Innovative’ and many of the style-specific awards are still up for grabs, and very prestigious in and of themselves.”

“Whatever you win, it just confirms our little daughter is the star of Equestria!”

“Thank you, father. Do you know what time it is?”

“Oh, it’s about one-thirty,” he said after a brief consultation with the room’s clock.

“Our train leaves in fifteen minutes!?” shrieked Rarity. “Sweetie! Get your things NOW, we have to go!”

Hondo opened the door to his hotel room as soon as he heard the four sharp knocks.

Rarity nosed her way into the room immediately, not bothering to wait for any sort of greeting or invitation. “Come on, ponies, we’ve got to be at the dinner in ten minutes!”

Cookie Crumbles put down her mascara and flashed a teasing smile toward her daughter. “Now now Rarity, this is about the first time in forever that you’ve been ready on time!”

Rarity huffed and turned up her nose. “That’s because I am well aware of the importance of this event! I started getting ready four hours ago, which is why I’m just barely under the wire. Meanwhile, everypony here is still futzing around!”

“I’m all ready to go, pumpkin,” Hondo stated proudly. He even had all the holes on his shirt buttoned.

Rarity whipped her head towards him and narrowed her eyes. “No, you’re not. You need to trim that feather-duster of yours, if not now, then at least before the ceremony tomorrow.” A shimmering blue aura appeared around her horn and she ripped off her father’s tie with a degree of disdain. “As if that weren’t enough, that shade of red looks hideous on you. Try a burnt orange or even a forest green.”

Hondo’s moustache twitched in thought. “I only have that tie and a black one.”

Rarity delicately covered her face with a hoof. “Why do I even bother? I told you that the dinner was business attire and the awards ceremony black tie and not the other way around, did I not?”

“That’s why I brought two ties,” Hondo commented. “And why one of them’s black.”

Rarity ignored him and turned to face her sister and mother. “We need to go, ponies! What on earth is the holdup?”

“Hold your horses, I’m finished now,” Cookie Crumbles replied, sticking one final pin in her mane with a burst of magic.

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity commanded.

“I’m coming!” Sweetie chittered from the other end of the bathroom door. When she opened it to stride outside, Rarity gasped.

“Don’t I look great!?”

“What on earth have you done to your face!?” asked Rarity.

“I just put on some makeup,” Sweetie Belle protested meekly.

“Some? SOME? Mother, can you please clean her up when we get downstairs?” Rarity half asked and half ordered, opening the door. “Come on, everypony! We are not going to be late to this reception!”

Rarity led the train of her family down the ornate hallway of the hotel. The lavish rooms were spaced far apart, and as such a foreboding emptiness seemed to occupy the corridor. Her family members marched behind her blankly like prisoners of war as she began to lecture them.

“I do not need to tell you all how absolutely important this weekend is to me,” Rarity pontificated without looking over her shoulder at them. “I know this isn’t your usual type of soiree, but the nomination notice was quite explicit with regards to an expectation to bring you all along as well. These are high society ponies and they expect our families to be presentable. That means no embarrassing stories from your youth, father. Mother, don’t you dare comment on anypony’s fashion choice or say any sort of sentence ending in ‘bless her heart’.” Rarity tapped the elevator button with her hoof and the doors opened immediately. “And most of all, Sweetie Belle, don’t get into any shenanigans! If any of you don’t know what to say, don’t say anything at all. Understood?”

“You can count on us dear!” her mother hooted with a swing of her hoof as the family positioned itself in the elevator. “We know important this all is to ya and we’re here to support you by making chit-chat with all these tootin’ falootin’ types. You don’t have to worry.”

Rarity stared out the shrinking crack in the elevator as the doors began to close. “If only I could believe that,” she muttered under her breath.

Not twenty minutes later, the reception dinner was in full swing at the swanky Hotel Canterlot's ballroom.

“Oh! And you must be Ms. Rarity’s father! My name is Prim Hemline,” a angular but sensibly dressed mare greeted, extending a hoof.

“Well howd’ya do there Ms. Hemline? Glad to learn you like my Little Pumpkin just as much as I do!” Hondo took her hoof in his and shook it vigorously.

“Of course,” Prim Hemline chuckled. “She’s quite the fashionista. I’ve heard whispers that she may even be in the running for Best Designer. By the way, I love your tie. It clashes and is a rather unconventional choice, but it’s also bold. You’re quite the avant-garde couturier just like your daughter, it seems.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but thank you kindly for your nice tone,” Hondo replied with a broad smile.

Across the room, Cookie Crumbles was speaking to Fancy Pants, one of Canterlot’s most well-known socialites.

“Quite charmed to make your acquaintance, my dear,” Fancy Pants greeted, placing a kiss on her hoof. “Rarity never told me she had such a delightful mother.”

Cookie Crumbles giggled and stuck out her tongue, pulling her hoof away. “Now careful there Mr. Fancy Pants, you’ll make my husband jealous!”

“It’s just the way we do things at the upper echelons of society. All kisses and compliments. I’m married myself, you know. It doesn’t feel good to see stallions close to her in that way, but I understand. And, she understands that I can greet a pretty mare most any way I choose.”

Cookie Crumbles blushed and laughed heartily. “Oh, I like you Fancy Pants,” she told him, giving him a playful push on the shoulder.

“You have another daughter, don’t you?” Fancy Pants asked, adjusting his monocle briefly. “Rarity has mentioned her before, but I’d very much like to see her in person.”

Cookie Crumbles hummed and scanned the room. Ponies wearing big dresses chatted in small groups around tables scattered across the ornate, carpeted ballroom while a small army of tuxedo-wearing servants scuttered about, ferrying trays of drinks and hors d'oeuvres to the distinguished guests. The activity and sheer amount of decoration made spying any single pony difficult, but after a few moments, Cookie Crumbles caught sight of her younger daughter by the food table.

“Oh, there’s Sweetie Belle,” Cookie Crumbles said, extending a hoof towards the filly.

Sweetie Belle glanced around briefly before shrugging and turning her attention back towards the plate of food in her magical aura and stuffing three goat cheese and honey balls into her mouth. “Coulhd haf shworn shomeponie shaid mai nahme,” she commented with little regard for the kinetic trajectory of her crumbs. “Whahtevhr- dis ish great!” Sweetie Belle would be able to simply stay near the table and eat this succulent food all night long. She wouldn’t have to talk to anypony, either, which means that there was absolutely no chance Rarity could get mad at her.

Right?

A flash of sea foam green in the corner of her eye caught Rarity’s attention. A small grin tugging at her lips, she politely excused herself from a conversation with some of the contestants from the fashion show she had won in Manehattan and trotted across the room. “Oh, Coco, darling!”

Rarity’s friend was startled by the greeting and turned around quickly, but smiled as soon as she saw her idol. “Hello Rarity! I didn’t know you were here!”

The duo exchanged a trio of very quick cheek-kisses.

“I was just as surprised as you are to receive the invitation. You’re here too; looks like somepony is receiving the Best Young Designer Award!” sing-songed Rarity.

Coco Pommel blushed a little bit. “W-we don’t know that yet,” she said, pawing the ground with a hoof. “I might get a technical award for my musical theater work, or an honorable mention, or something.”

“Oh please darling, don’t give me that. Everypony knows it’s going to be you. Quite frankly, I’m surprised that I didn’t see you earlier; I had no doubt you’d be here somewhere. Say, where is your family? You brought them along, didn’t you?”

Coco blinked a few times. “O-oh, yes, my Mom and Dad are over in the corner speaking to some of the editors of Couture.” She pointed them out with a hoof, her long, translucent sky blue dress dangling like a waterfall from her leg. “Unfortunately, my brother couldn’t make it. He’s at a big company conference.”

“No plus one?” Rarity asked with a teasing wink.

Coco demurred for a moment. “...I met somepony in Manehattan recently, but I-I don’t think we’re quite at ‘plus one’ stage yet.”

“Miss Pommel, you undersell yourself. You’ll have to tell me all about this new mystery stallion at some point. I’m sure he’s tall, charming, and simply ravishing!”

Coco smiled and shook her head as if to clear that thread of conversation away from herself. “I will, when I have something to tell you. What about your family, Rarity?”

An icy-cold grip seized Rarity’s heart for a moment. “To be completely honest, I had forgotten they were here. I-I’m worried about them…”

Rarity took a moment to glance around the room. Hondo Flanks seemed to be having a relaxed conversation with Prim Hemline, while Cookie Crumbles was chatting the ears off of the ever-patient Fancy Pants. After another moment’s search, she found Sweetie Belle lurking like a predator by the food table. Although her manners left much to be desired, at least she wasn’t actively being a nuisance. “Well, they seem to be doing okay so far,” Rarity mused hopefully. “Perhaps I’m just being a worrywart.”

“From what I’ve heard from you, Rarity, you have great parents. It seems like they love you a lot. I’m sure everything will turn out okay in the end.”

Rarity smiled widely. “You are absolutely right. It may be stressful having them here, but I love them to pieces.”

Coco wrapped a hoof around Rarity and pulled her into a side hug as they observed her family together. “I can tell you’re still worried. Don’t be. They’ve handled themselves well so far, haven’t they?”

“I must say, I’m enjoying all this juicy gossip,” Cookie Crumbles admitted, hiding her mouth behind a hoof. “Tell me another piece.”

“Well, alright,” Fancy Pants acquiesced, adjusting his monocle for the third time in as many minutes. “See that mare in the black and white checkerboard dress? She runs the fashion scene in Las Pegasus. She just tried to start a fashion contest for promising newcomers last month, but her special somepony took the money and ran off with another mare.”

“Oh my,” Cookie gushed, flapping a hoof in her face. “I kind of feel sorry for the poor dear.”

“Don’t. I dated her a number of years before and she almost destroyed my business,” Fancy Pants quipped with a sly grin.

Cookie Crumbles giggled. “Oh I haven’t felt this young in years, ya know? I’ve spent too long on my husband’s fishing trips, practically going crazy out there at the lake! I’ve missed gossip like this. Another, please.”

“Oh, well that mare in the corner hasn’t spoken to her twin sister in over twelve years. Fallout over a particularly strange case of mistaken identity, if I remember correctly.”

Cookie’s eyes lit up. “Oh, and what’s the deal with that pink mare over there in the light green? She’s showin’ a little too much flank, don’t you think?” She elbowed Fancy Pants jovially. “I bet she gets around with the colts, eh?”

The distinguished gentleman frowned deeply and adjusted his monocle with his magic. “That is Fleur. My wife.”

Cookie’s mouth slowly morphed into an ‘o’ shape. “Well, I bet she’s, uh, fun to snuggle up with after a day at work, huh?”

Fancy Pants furrowed his brows and cleared his throat disapprovingly.

“...Bless her heart?”

Across the room, Cookie’s husband was ignorant of his wife’s faux paux.

“Mr. Flanks, you simply must tell me, does Rarity have any suitors in her life?” Prim Hemline asked with a sparkle in her eyes. “I’m simply dying for some gossip on this younger generation of designers, and your daughter is the creme de la creme.”

“Well actually I don’t think she’s got much time for the colts right now,” Hondo replied thoughtfully. “There is a dragon fellow who’s got my stamp of approval, but I’m not sure whether or not sh-”

“Excuse me, sir,” a dry-looking older stallion interrupted. He held a silver plate on which rested a number of delicate glass flutes filled with pale, bubbling liquid.

Prim Hemline gently nabbed a glass with her hoof and took a dainty sip.

After a moment’s contemplation, Hondo decided that following Rarity’s order to not embarrass her was best accomplished by copying the actions of the more refined mare he was conversing with. He picked up a flute in his magical aura and took a hearty swig of the drink, before promptly spewing it out all over Prim Hemline. “Ah, jeez, what the heck is this?”

The now-wet designer forced air from her lips in horror and exasperation. “It’s champagne! What on earth did you think it was?”

“I’m so sorry there ma’am! I thought it was beer!”

“Why on earth would you think that?” Prim Hemline spat back, trying desperately to salvage her rather austere dress with a hoof: an ultimately futile gesture.

“It was the right color and all bubbly! I just assumed that these little glasses were how fancy ponies drank beer!”

Sweetie Belle was watching her father’s fumbling excuse from near the banquet table and took a step towards him before stopping herself and biting her lip. It was very, very important that she follow Rarity’s instructions to the letter; if that meant leaving her father out to dry, so be it. At least she wouldn’t be the one getting yelled at.

Glancing back at the country club-style buffet, she noticed that there was still one more miniature spinach quiche available. Turning her head a few degrees, she then locked eyes with an older stallion at the other end of the tale. They both glanced at the quiche, then back at each other.

Sweetie Belle darted forward towards the delectable treat, but her hoof became firmly wrapped in the tablecloth. The motion of her body cleared the table, spilling hot food and expensive porcelain all over the room.

Rarity ushered her family into their hotel room and slammed the door closed with her back hoof. “I don’t know what anypony here was thinking, but I do know that none of you took the time to recognize how important this evening was to me! I’m a complete laughing stock!”

“We’re sorry, Rarity,” pined Sweetie Belle, her dress covered in sauce as she sat on the floor.

“I don’t want apologies, I want a family that can go an hour without embarrassing me in front of Equestria's most important ponies!” Rarity’s eyes began to water and she wiped them quickly with a hoof in an attempt to steel herself. She opened the door to leave but stuck her head in once more. “I hope you’re happy! Take a long while and think about what you’ve done!”

With another slam of the door, Rarity’s parents and sister found themselves alone, stewing in their own failure.

Cookie Crumbles sighed. “Do you ever think Rarity has outgrown us?”

“You can’t outgrow your family, dear,” Hondo responded quickly. “That’s not how that works.”

“Are you sure? She has been spending more and more time away from Ponyville, you know,” his wife responded, lying down on the bed and placing her hooves over her tummy. “Maybe it’s time to let go. She’s happier with her fashion pals than she is with her family. Sweetie Belle doesn’t need to be babysat anymore, either. Watching your daughter drift away from you as an adult is just natural, I guess. It doesn’t mean we can’t all still have Hearth’s Warming in the same house, y’know?”

Sweetie Belle groaned, still dripping sauce on the carpet. “I’m surprised Rarity brought us along at all, even if she was supposed to.” Her green eyes shimmered in melancholy. “She probably doesn’t want us here anymore. Maybe we should just go home early.”

“Oh no,” Hondo replied, standing up from his position seated on the room's couch. “Our little daughter may not need the family like she used to, but I’ll be a mare’s ankle if I can’t watch my Pumpkin accept a big-shot award in front of hundreds of ponies!”

Cookie got up from the bed and kissed her husband on the top of his muzzle. “I agree, dear. Maybe we should stand at the back of the room, though? That way we can duck out early and she doesn’t have to see us.”

Hondo smiled back forlornly. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best, there.”

The next evening, Rarity’s family snuck through the auditorium doors several minutes after the awards ceremony had begun. Gesturing to a quiet, dark area near the exit, the family of unicorns followed Cookie in opting to take advantage of the standing room, as opposed to taking their reserved seats.

“The award for Best Young Designer goes to…” The hidden unicorns paid close attention as a fairly ditzy-looking but beautiful mare in a gleaming, refractive dress struggled for a few moments to remove a small card from an envelope. “Coco Pommel!”

As the timid couturier waltzed on stage, Hondo leaned over to his family. “Shoot! That was the award that Rarity was fixin’ to get, right?”

“I don’t think so,” Sweetie Belle whispered up to her parents. “That’s Coco, Rarity’s friend. She helped to launch her career, you know.”

“Oh, that’s good. You don’t think we missed her award, do you?” Cookie Crumbles responded.

“I don’t know,” Hondo replied, arching his neck upwards to get a better view of the crowd. “I can’t even see where she’s sitting from here.”

Coco’s short, bashful remarks were drawing to a close by this point. “I want to say thanks to my assistants, my mentors, a-and once more to the Equestrian Academy of Design. I promise that I’ll live up to the confidence placed in me.”

The family stamped on the ground for a few moments before quickly stopping and adopting the other guest’s more dignified, hoof-clopping applause as Coco returned to her seat.

“We have one final general award to give out this evening before we move on to the style and technique-specific awards,” the mistress of ceremonies announced after returning to the podium, obviously struggling to deliver the prose speech which clearly had been written by somepony else. “The ‘Best Designer’ award is given annually to the designer that the Academy feels consistently displays the highest quality work, sets influential trends, and most reinvents the definition of art and couture. The committee would like the audience to know that the discussions around the award were by far the most contentious of any. The committee is nonetheless confident in its final decision, noting that this pony’s name has arisen for two years in a row as a serious contender, and a year before that as an outside bid. The chair says that this decision is thus, ‘long overdue’. The award for Best Designer goes to…”

The mood in the room became exceedingly tense as the plucky pony tried her darndest to open the envelope in her magic grasp, failing repeatedly. The pitiful spectacle went on so long that a few tight laughs from the audience briefly cut through the air of suspense.

After sticking out her tongue and scrunching up her muzzle in effort, the envelope opened and the golden card slid out. “...Rarity.”

The applause started again from the audience. Rarity’s family simply looked to one another for several moments before Hondo flanks opened his mouth to scream in celebration; luckily, Cookie Crumbles foresaw this and closed his mouth with her magic such that only a moderate hum could be heard.

Rarity, for her part, kept a hoof tight to her chest as she walked up onstage, seemingly overwhelmed and surprised. Her dress, a spectrum of cool colors from blue to a dark purple, elegantly trailed behind her as she climbed onto the stage, its sapphires sparkling in the bright lighting. She gently took the award in her magic, placing it on the podium as she took ten seconds to compose herself and clear her throat.

Her speech began with a single, choking sob-laugh, which caused a torrent of sympathetic laughs to ring out from the audience. She tried to begin her comments again. “T-to be honest, when I didn’t win ‘Most Innovative’ I-I was almost certain I had been relegated to a technical award,” Rarity stuttered. “It’s so overwhelming...Receiving the highest award in fashion at such a young age, and when you aren’t expecting it, I...I don’t know what to say, but I’ll try my best.”

Rarity closed her eyes and shook her head before returning to the podium with her head held high. “I’ve always held that the career of a designer is a special thing; more than being a tailor, more than being an artist, and more than being a business owner. It requires hard work, generosity, and most importantly, inspiration. On that note, I have so many ponies I’d like to thank for inspiring my work. The members of the Academy, of course, being tried and true designers, deserve a spot near the top of the list. Princess Twilight Sparkle, her assistant Spike, and my other friends in Ponyville have been involved in both my greatest failures and most brilliant successes, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. I was also honored to help my dear friend Coco Pommel at the start of her career, and nothing filled me with more pride than to see her win the Best Young Designer award. Being a mentor has taught me much about myself, and I eagerly await the joyous occasion of seeing her overtake me in her work, as I am confident will happen soon.”

Rarity scanned the crowd for a moment, as if looking for something. She then sighed vulnerably before speaking again, her voice less confident this time. “There’s one group of ponies that deserve my thanks more than all the others. I must admit, I was so nervous before the ceremony that I sought them out to talk to them, but I couldn’t find them. Hopefully, my family is here now. Mom, Dad, Sweetie Belle? If you’re here, could you join me onstage?”

Some quiet muttering came from the audience as her family stood near the back, stunned into inaction. The waving and quiet cajoling of some ponies nearby eventually forced them down the center aisle and towards the stage.

Rarity’s eyes lit up as she saw her family march blankly up to the stage. When they scaled the side stairs and strode into the lights, the emotions began to show on their faces. Sweetie Belle looked on in wonder at the crowd, in awe of being the center of attention. Under Hondo’s watering eyes, his moustache twitched repeatedly as his smile wavered up and down. Cookie simply covered her mouth with a hoof and stood stone still, taking everything in with unending surprise.

“Now, what to say about my family…” Rarity began, eliciting more chuckles from the crowd. “As some of you may have found out, my family and I can be very different. In particular, I know they don’t feel particularly at home in scenarios such as these, and in a way I feel bad that I pressured them to go. Still, I know Dad wouldn’t have let his ‘Little Pumpkin’ receive an award without him being there, so I suppose this situation was inevitable.”

Another round of laughter shook the crowd as Rarity swallowed and cleared her throat. She looked towards her family, never once acknowledging the crowd. “My parents, Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles, have been supportive of me ever since I chose to become a designer. As a foal, they bought me supplies, sent me to rather expensive special camps during the summer, and never once discouraged me from pursuing my dreams. When I asked for a loan to open up my first boutique in Ponyville, they not only agreed, but gave it as a gift with no expectation of repayment. It was their generosity in doing this that has inspired every act of charity in my life.

“My sister Sweetie Belle has been a constant source of energy and youth during the more stressful periods in my career. While she’s destroyed plenty of my dresses in well-meaning foibles, she has inspired a hundred times as many. The truth is that I’m not nearly as appreciative of her as I should be, and I’m sorry for it. Already she has become a fine young mare with excellent friends, and she’s headed toward a far brighter future than her older sister.”

Rarity bowed her head for a few moments and remained silent. She lifted it soon after to face the crowd again, a broad smile on her lips and a few mascara-laden streaks on her face. “The reason that I make good dresses is because I follow what I like to call the ‘Rules of Rarity’. Each and every dress that I make, I put in TLC: Time, Love, and Couture. Every ounce of love in my dresses finds its ultimate origin in my family.” She turned herself towards her dumbstruck family again, picking up the gold and glass award in her magical grasp. “It’s for that reason that this award really belongs to them.”

The note of finality in Rarity’s last words signaled the end of her speech, and the audience erupted into uproarious applause, some of the dignified crowd even standing to stomp their hooves as Rarity transferred the award to her mother’s magical aura and pulled her family into a group hug.

“B-but why?” Hondo asked Rarity over the roar of the crowd, tears streaming down his cheeks. “We thought you had outgrown needing your family...All we do is embarrass you!”

Rarity pulled away from the hug and wiped the mascara-laden tears off of her face. “Daddy, please, you’ve been embarrassing me my whole life! Besides, things were going okay at first last night; I could tell you were all trying.”

Cookie Crumbles began to cry as well as she looked at the elegant award’s surface. “Th-this is going right on the fireplace mantle next to your Drama Club Designer award and Sweetie’s Equestria Games Opener Ribbon!”

Sweetie looked up with starry eyes at Rarity and lifted her voice above the applause. “We should do something to celebrate!”

“Yeah Pumpkin,” Hondo agreed. “Why don’t we go out to one of those fancy gastropubs, or one of those hipster places where they serve cocktails in mason jars? I’m sure there’s a whole buncha those in Canterlot.”

“I’d love to go celebrate, but I’d prefer something simple. Maybe we could just go get milkshakes, instead?” Rarity suggested. “Preferably those of the frosty, chocolate variety?”

The applause began to die down as Rarity and her family left the stage, hooves still wrapped around each other. Seated in the front row, Fancy Pants waved to Rarity in congratulations as she passed by with her family towards their seats. He leaned over to Prim Hemline, who was seated next to him. “I’d say no matter how one cuts it, that was a genuinely charming acceptance speech.”

Prim Hemline crossed her hooves and tried to scowl, but a smile showed through her facade. “I suppose you’re right.”

Fancy Pants raised an eyebrow. “You do know you still smell like champagne?”

Prim Hemline groaned loudly as the emcee strode up to the podium to continue the program. “Yes. I just had my mane done and couldn’t shower without ruining it.”

“Fleur and I will buy you a drink after the ceremony, if it makes you feel better. How does champagne sound?”

Author's Notes:

I cried writing this and I don't know why. Hope you enjoyed! I'll be at Bronycon this upcoming weekend- expect a new story release after!