“So, what do I do? Just spin it?”

“Well, yeah, egghead. Just twirl it around and see where it lands.”

Twilight put a hoof up to her face, trying to hide her redding cheeks, “Do I really have to do this, Rainbow? This feels so... Embarrasing.”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “That's part of the fun!” She smiled at the lavender pony, “Besides, it's your birthday, and everypony knows the birthday girl goes first.”

An orange hoof patted Twilight's shoulder. “Don'cha worry none, Twilight. Those two are just a lil' uppity after practicin' so much.” Applejack shot the pair a glare.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash got up with a start, pointing her hoof menacingly. “That was one time!”

“Yeah, well...” Applejack grinned, “Ah have mah doubts.” A gasp of shock could be heard as Fluttershy cowered closer to the ground.

”Typical sleepover...” Rarity giggled to herself. ”We'll be here all night if nopony does something.

“Twilight,” The white unicorn spoke up, turning the mare's gaze to her. “Would you please be a dear and just spin the bottle?”

Twilight's cheeks reddened a bit more. “Oh... Right. Sure Rarity.” Her horn glowed as she quickly gave the glass bottle a spin along the library floor.

”Come on. Come onnn....” Rarity almost tapped her hoof with anticipation as the bottle rotated. It went around the circle twice before starting to slow down. Her eyes grew as the bottle slowly came teetering around towards her. ”Yes, yes! Now stop! Stay right there!

The bottle laid still along the floor, and everypony looked up to see who it pointed at.

“Aww shucks...” Applejack scratched the back of her neck, grinning nervously. “Ah always hate goin' first.”

Rarity's heart drooped as she looked over at the orange earth pony next to her. She dare not let it show, but she felt the green vines of jealousy wrap around her.

“Oh, well that's perfectly fine!” Twilight chattered nervously, “You don't have to! In fact, we can just skip this one and let-”

“No, Twilight, rules are rules!” Pinkie put a hoof over Twilight's mouth, before pushing her over towards Applejack.

Twilight sat in the middle of the room, her view darting from pony to pony, hoping for any sort of help. She gulped nervously, her forelegs wobbling slightly. Her eyes finally met Rarity's, pleading for a way out.

Despite all of her inner emotions, Rarity simply mouthed, “Go on,” and smiled encouragingly.

The other unicorn gave in with a sigh, and turned to Applejack, who had taken her hat off and scooted over towards Twilight. Neither one looked comfortable, but Twilight leaned in quickly and planted a brusque kiss on the earth pony's lips before sheepishly trotting back to her spot. Her face had turned to a new shade of crimson, ears folded back as she tried to avoid everypony's gaze.

”She's just too adorable like that...” Rarity mused as Applejack gave the bottle a spin. ”It's a downright shame she doesn't realize it.”

The bottle pointed towards Rainbow Dash. She and Applejack shared a kiss before the pegasus took her turn.

”I mean, everypony should know when they look good, and Twilight especially.” She continued pondering as the bottle twirled round and round. ”The poor girl could use the confidence boost, especially with her royal trip to Canterlot coming up.”

Twilight had been asked via letter by Princess Celesta herself to give a lecture on the psychological effects of friendship and companionship to the senior class of Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Apparently the Princess wanted to see how much she had learned. The date was still months away, but she had already put herself through a fit.

”Maybe I could just lead her on... Yes! That'd work pretty nice-”

“Rarity!” Rainbow Dash's voice shook her out her thoughts. “Are you okay, or are you just going to stare at the wall all night and keep making weird faces?”

“Oh! I- I'm sorry, Rainbow, I was just thinking about something.” Her eyes scanned everypony's face, all of them giving her a perplexed look. Her coat began to burn up and itch annoyingly with embarrassment. “What's the matter?”

The rainbow-maned mare gave her a wretchedly bad attempt at a flirty gaze, winking. “See the bottle?”

Rarity looked down, cold waves of horror washing over her as she did. It was pointed right at her. Dead-on. Square in the chest.

“Oh...” The white unicorn glanced despairingly to Twilight, perhaps she could find a way to get her out of this, right? Twilight was a smart girl, she'd know what to do!

Instead, she simply motioned her hoof to for Rarity to continue. Rarity sighed. Any other pony and she'd be fine, even Pinkie Pie. But the few rather unfortunate times she'd been stuck with Rainbow, it had been less than stellar. Her breath was simply atrocious, and she had a habit of getting overly passionate with her kisses.

Still, Rarity kept her head high and walked over to her. “Alright, let's make this short.”

“No problem!” Rainbow said before leaning in and kissing her. Rarity slammed her eyes shut, trying to pretend she was with somepony else. The horrendous taste of old pizza and cheap apple cider skimmed her lips.

”I am not here right now, I am not not here ri-”

Not less than a second before she felt Rainbow's lips leaver her own, over as quickly as it began. When she opened her eyes, the pegasus shot her a smirk before hopping back to her seat.

Rarity sighed. It still felt like kissing a garbage can, but at least it was quick. It was worth it for a shot to spin the bottle herself.

Settling back down in her own spot, she used her horn to twirl the glass bottle. Round and round it went, Rarity's gaze unwavering as she followed its path. When it finally stopped, she looked right up to the quickly-reddening face of Fluttershy.

”Can't I just get a break?” She groaned.

-~-

”Well, that went swimmingly,” Rarity sighed as the five other ponies got up from the circle they had been in for the last fifteen minutes. She had to endure two more bouts with Rainbow Dash, plus everypony else as many times. Everypony, that is, except Twilight.

To herself, in secret, Rarity had admitted she had developed a crush on the studious mare. “Developed” is the key word, because it had grew over the course of months since meeting her. Sure, she had noticed that the lavender pony had a underlying attractiveness that she seldom brought out, but that wasn't any sort of deal-breaker nor any first step.

It wasn't until the fashionista had begun to spend time with her, that Twilight's adorably awkward personality had grown on the high-class mare. She was, when there were no “royal duties” on her shoulders, light-hearted and easy to talk to, with a subtle yet enjoyable sense of humor. In addition, whenever Rarity sought help on a topic that didn't exceed her social ineptitude, the mare offered sound advice and also listened well. She seemed to care about her problems and sometimes went above and beyond to help. Oh, and whenever she blushed, an involuntary urge to give her a hug rose in Rarity's heart.

In a single sentence, Twilight was a pony that Rarity had become comfortable around and could depend upon, a pony she could confidently be herself with and not worry about appearing “proper”; being cute was just a bonus.

Yet, she had been reluctant to confide in anypony about this. Not Fluttershy, her best friend, nor her father or mother. She had even been reluctant to admit it to herself. It wasn't until one wintery day, which could have easily been spent indoors enjoying a glass of cabernet sauvignon while creating plans for a new spring dress, that she found herself at Twilight's door, asking to borrow a book she already had. She really had no reason to be there, as it was snowing outdoors, she already owned the book she looked to rent, and a day indoors to relax and pretend to do work would have been a welcome sight after a month of stress from designing a winter fashion line.

At that point, it had become clear that she had gravitated towards the library solely to see the purple pony inside it. For herself, it was impossible to deny, even though she had been trying to for weeks. Rarity, an aspiring fashion designer, with her barn door swinging that way?! It would be a drab on her reputation and ponies would invariably talk behind her back when she walked by. Perhaps, even, she would be overlooked by the influential ponies in Canterlot (the nobility and aristocracy were hardly known for their liberal qualities) because of her attraction to the same gender! These thoughts had kept her up at night on more than one occasion, and yet as much as she tried, she couldn't get Twilight off her mind.

When she got down to the bottom of it, Rarity believed that Twilight had certain qualities that although were polar opposites from her own, in a sense made her feel more complete and secure. The lavender mare was not constantly worrying about how she appeared in public, and she didn't feel the need to uphold a standard of class and civility.

Although, truthfully, the white unicorn did not enjoy acting like a slob or letting her mane fall into a tangled mess, sometimes she would do anything to let the shackles of self-consciousness and insecurity fall to the ground. It would be a dream to be able to laugh from the bottom of her stomach, to speak straight from her heart, or to act on her impulses. Right now, it felt like all her emotions, all her thoughts, all her words and all her actions ran through a filter of superficial standards. It would be a dream to let it go. It would be a dream to just be herself.

And with Twilight, it seemed like it could be true.

-~-

“What's next, Twilight?” Pinkie asked as she stood up, “Is it cookie baking?! Ooh, or is it cake eating?!”

Twilight giggled. “Sorry Pinkie, I would get out the cake for us now, but you ate that all on the way over, remember?”

Pinkie Pie frowned.

“But, that's no big deal.” The magical unicorn smiled at her reassuringly. She took out a scroll and scanned down its contents. “Oh, here we are! Next up, makeovers!”

Rainbow Dash let out an annoyed groan as Rarity shot up off the floor. “Great idea, Twilight!” The unicorn exclaimed. “As a pony with a flare for fashion, I would be honored to give you the perfect slumber party makeover!”

Twilight was taken aback for a second, “A-an honor?” She looked nonplussed. “Rarity, this is just for fun-”

Rarity steered her over to a mirror by the hoof, toting a bag behind her. “Nonsense, my dear! It's your birthday, and you deserve to look your best!” She added in a lower tone, “And besides, would you rather have somepony like Rainbow Dash style your mane for you?”

Twilight's face eased up with a giggle. “Oh, I guess you're right, Rarity.” She sat down in front of the mirror. “Work your magic,” she added with a smile.

Meanwhile, Applejack walked over to Rainbow Dash, who was already watching the two. “Uhh, Rainbow, have ya noticed, uh... Anythin' strange about Rarity? She seemed ta be in a fit earlier, an' right now she got up quicker 'an a dog fer supper.”

“Nah, this is Rarity we're talking about here. Makeup and fashion are her thing, and I'm glad I don't have to do it.” Rainbow took a second to cast her eyes over Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, who had paired up also. “I just don't get it, why do ponies even do this?”

“Aww, it ain't that bad.” Applejack spoke a bit quieter. “Heck, the first sleepover I had with Twilight and Rarity turned out ta be jus' fine.” She doubled back quickly, “Uhh, after a few bumps ah guess.”

The cyan pegasus gave her a gasp of disbelief. “You got a makeover and you enjoyed it?! I thought you were Applejack, queen of bucking apples and getting her hooves dirty, not Applejack, queen of frou-frou dresses and... Uh... Makeup-y stuff.”

Applejack recoiled back. “O' course ah'm not! All ah was sayin' is that it ain't horrible...”

Rainbow smirked. “Admit it, you liked it.”

The orange workpony gave her a leer, and remained quiet.

Elsewhere, Rarity ran a brush through Twilight's mane. “Dear, I really must ask what you put in your hair, it's so soft and plush.”

Twilight shrugged. “Oh, just that shampoo at Bon-Bon's general store. It's nothing really.”

Rarity's eyes widened as she echoed Twilight's words, “Just that shampoo at Bon-Bon's general store...” She laughed. “Oh Twilight, you could do so much better with shampoo and conditioner I buy from the spa! Just think how dazzling you'd look, what luster your mane would have!”

Twilight politely dismissed it with a wave of her hoof. “Oh, that's not really necessary Rarity, I don't think I need it. Besides, isn't that stuff pretty expensive?”

The other unicorn nearly dropped her brush as she applied touches of rouge to Twilight's face. “Not necessary?! Don't mind the cost, I go to the spa enough to get you a generous discount.” She smiled, “But honestly dearie, why should a pony as attractive as you skimp on keeping your hair looking it's best?”

Twilight blushed, looking away. “You- you really think I'm attractive?” The last word seemed foreign to her, scarcely said from her mouth. “Uhh... Well, umm, gee... Thanks Rarity, nopony has told me that before.”

“Nopony's told you what before, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked from across the room, as Fluttershy tried in vain to brush her mane. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both picked up their heads and turned to Twilight.

”No, no, no, no! This is not what I meant by 'leading her on'!” Rarity's mind scrambled. ”But what can I do?! If I just take it back, Twilight will feel just awful... But if I do nothing, maybe somepony will catch on!”

“Haha, nothing Pinkie!” Rarity interrupted awkwardly before Twilight could answer. She turned to the lavender pony and lowered her voice, “Well, uh, I mean... I d-" She took a second to gather her thoughts. "Err, rather, I've heard from somepony or two...”

Twilight beamed, even though her cheeks were still quite red. “Oh, uh, who was it then? I mean, not like I'd talk to them or anything but like I said nopony has told me this before and it would be so nice to find out what kind of pony likes me!” She spat out a jumble of nervous yet energetic words as if her mouth could not move quick enough. “Maybe that pony likes reading books on the magical theorems of Sol Firestar, or likes to attend seminars on the medicinal properties of the flora in the Everfree Forest, or even likes stargazing on the night of Gallerion's Dusk when Halcyon 441 is at its brightest!” She clapped her hooves together in delight at the prospect of it all.

Rarity frowned. ”I'm none of that. Scientific books bore me, I haven't been to a seminar since art school, and I have no clue what or who Halcyon 441 is.” But then her lips started to change to a smile, ”Although, maybe I could learn to be...”

“Well, what if the pony who I heard from wasn't quite like that?” The white unicorn queried. “What if she was more into making stuff with her hooves, paying attention to details, and thinking outside the box? Like, umm, an artist of sorts?” She shuffled anxiously, as she tried to finish up the makeup on Twilight's face.

Twilight tilted her head, tapping a hoof to her chin and pondering the question. “Well, I guess that's still nice. I mean, even I enjoy a piece of fine art or a string concerto...” She suddenly gave Rarity a look. “Did you say 'she'?”

Rarity froze in her tracks. Her brain racked her vocabulary for words yet turned up blank. All sense of reaction and thought of replying slammed to a halt.

“Umm... Uhhh... Well.. Yes,” She admitted. “Yes, she seemed like a sweet girl, dear. I think she just assumed you were... You know, like that.” She remained silent for a second, but continued after inhaling deeply. “However, if you're only into stallions I'll be sure to let her know.”

Twilight gave her a confused look. “What? Why?” She chuckled to herself. “So what if it's a mare or a stallion?”

“So what?!” Rarity mirrored her. “Well, I mean, Twilight... Everypony has their preferences, you know.”

Her crush simply smiled. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I value the fact that somepony finds me attractive more than what gender they are?”

“Oh... Really?”

“Yes.” Twilight still looked embarrassed, her ears folded back as she avoided eye contact. Rarity's legs felt like they turned into jelly. “Like I said before, nopony really... Well, nopony noticed.” She gulped. “I- I didn't even notice.”

It took all of her honed and disciplined self-control to stop Rarity from wrapping up the adorable lavender pony and telling her that she had, in fact, noticed. Every nanometer of muscle in her heart was screaming for her to forgo the fact that other ponies were in the room and just confess to Twilight what she had kept hidden from both herself, and others, for months. For a fraction of a second, she felt like she could really do it.

And yet, at the last moment, something in the depths of her mind held her back, inches from the surface. A primal, instinctive fear that being different was wrong. That being truly herself was wrong.

Instead, Rarity simply smiled and took a step back from Twilight, hiding her inner turmoil through a perfect mask on her face. “There you go, dear. Your makeover is finished. Do you think it's okay?”

Twilight finally gave herself a full look-over and gasped. “Oh, wow... Rarity...” Her mouth hung agape. “This... I... I look great!”

And that she did. She didn't need much work, but what little was done highlighted her subtle beauty and brought out her charm. She looked both the same, and yet positively different. Her eyes shone like polished amethyst, and her mane glistened like it was a sunny day.

The unicorn turned around and gave Rarity a hug. “Thank you so much! Rarity, you're the best!”

“Oh, it's nothing, Twilight.” She sniffled. Her chin quivered. She wanted to break down and cry for being so weak. Too weak to even make her life instantly better at the price of being a little different.

“I'm glad you like it.”

However, no tears came and her eyes remained dry.

-~-

”The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence;
not in silence, but restraint."
- Marianne Moore