>>34550872
>>Rarity starts to levitate her needles around her and pointing right at the unsuspecting mare
ehhhhhh covers more of the aftermath than anything else.  Got kinda drunk before I wrote this and lost track of it.

>>"Do you like my new technique, darling?" simpers Rarity, horn glowing brightly, "I must say, I never imagined that I might find a wellspring of inspiration from Rainbow Dash's..."
>Rarity visibly struggles to find the right word.
>Her face scrunches up, her left ear twitches, and her needles hover lower in a dimmer magical light as her concentration is brought elsewhere.
>>"...acrobatics."
>You smile at Rarity, feeling fond at the sight of her adorable concentration face.
>It happens every time Rarity has trouble remembering a word, or tries to put some abstract concept into words.
>Rarity is kind of unique, and it's something she struggles with.
>You glance over at your date, still grinning, and notice her staring rather pensively at your friend.
>For some reason, you feel a blooming unease in the pit of your stomach.
>Like something is wrong.
>Rarity glances at your friend, and her face lights up.
>>"Oh!  Hello, you must be Butterswirl!"
>Your date freezes in place and takes a slow step backwards.
>"I... sure am, Rarity," she says in a slightly strangled tone, "But I never told you that."
>Rarity stares at Butterswirl, face frozen.
>Butterswirl stares at Rarity.
>One of Rarity's ears twitch, and a bead of sweat makes its way down her forehead.
>>"...do you collect Yu-Gi-Oh cards?"
>You fail to stifle a snort, and Rarity shoots you a brief, confused glance.
>Your date, however, is the embodiment of confusion.
>"Do I coll-no, not really.  Not since I was a little filly."
>Rarity's ears perk up, and a look of joy comes to her face.
>>"Oh, so much has happened since then!  Most of the old cards are worthless, but the new cards are so creative!  The game has so much strategy and-"
>Rarity rambles on about her anime card game, oblivious to Butterswirl's disinterest and growing discomfort.
>You step in after giving her a few seconds to get it out of her system.
"Rarity?"
>>"...and the new magical golem deck is unbeatable, we should play someti-oh!"
>Rarity breaks off and smiles happily up at you.
>>"What can I do for you, m'lord?"
>You ignore your date's exasperated groan.
"We've gotta get going Rarity.  Sorry for cutting your conversation short."
>Rarity wilts visibly, and you feel your heart twinge.
>Date or not, Rarity is still a good friend of yours.
"...but I'm free tomorrow afternoon.  Do you want to play cards then?"
>Rarity immediately perks up like an excited puppy.
>>"Oh, that would be wonderful!  I shall provide the snacks!"
>She begins to rock in-place in excitement, and you give her a wave goodbye; Butterswirl follows, noticeably keeping her pace a little bit quick and forcing you to speed-walk out of there.
>You wait until you're well out of earshot before you turn to your date.
"Follow me, Butterswirl," you say, hefting the picnic basket in your hand, "We're just going to Hoofsdale Park.  It's pretty nice this time of day, and we'll have plenty of room to spread out and enjoy our picnic."
>Butterswirl hums affirmatively (if distractedly) beside you.
>"Anon?" asks Butterswirl after a long silence, "Is Rarity... alright?"
>You just sigh, already tired of this discussion.
>Everyone you introduce to Rarity asks this question, and you always have the same answer for them.
"Rarity isn't exactly the most socially-aware pony, Butterswirl.  She might behave a bit oddly, and she might miss a few social cues, but she's a very nice mare.  She's one of my closest friends."
>Butterswirl looks straight ahead, a look of comprehension slowly blooming on her face.
>"Oh.  Huh."
>After a few more minutes of silent walking, Butterswirl glances up at you inquisitively.
>"Was she... really going to do anything with those needles?"
>Immediately, you open your mouth to defend your friend.
>Of course, she wouldn't have!
>This is Rarity we're talking about!
>The mare who made you a whole outfit free of charge because she thought it was the right thing to do.
>The mare who is so damn happy when you play a foal's card games with her, or sit down and read horse-manga together for an entire afternoon.
>Rarity was the first one here to trust you back when you first showed up in Equestria, and it touched your heart when she was visibly confused as to why somepony in town might think you're capable of hurting anyone.
>>"If you'd spend five minute with Anonymous," she had said to the growing crowd in a tone that brook no argument, "you would know that he's a lovely stallion who's going to make a group of mares very happy someday."
>In fact, you can feel your heart swelling just remembering that day.
>Rarity took you out to lunch and explained, in detail, why she liked some obscure horse-manga that she convinced you to start reading.
>She's such a sweetie, and you're honestly sick of ponies shitting on her for having the pony equivalent of autism.
>"Because she seemed kind of... not really stable."
"Hey," you grouse with a warning tone, "Rarity is perfectly stable.  She's a very nice mare, and I won't sit here an-"
>Butterswirl gapes at you incredulously and flails her fore-legs.
>"Did you not see the needles?!"
>You wave off her concerns, knowing Rarity better than your date does.
"She's eccentric, sure, but she wouldn't hurt a fly."
>Your date is quiet.
>"...and you hang out with her often?"
>You feel your face scrunch up at the sour tone of Butterswirl's voice.
>What sort of question is that?
"Yeah, of course," you say, voice slightly hard, "She's my friend, and I like spending time with my friends."
>The mare raises a hoof up in a placating gesture, slightly arching her back defensively.
>"Okay, okay!  No need to bite my head off!  I just... Maybe I think you're nice, and maybe I'm worried about you."
>Your mood sours as you rapidly lose patience with this mare.
"Maybe," you growl, "It's none of your business who I spend my time with."
>You stare at Butterswirl, frowning something fierce.
>Butterswirl stares up at you, her irritated expression cracking and letting you see reluctant regret underneath.
>Your pace slows a bit, and you can see the park you intended to eat your lunch at getting closer and closer.
>"...I didn't mean it like that.  I just..."
>She sighs explosively, and starts to poke at the picnic basket in your hand.
>"Let's just eat.  There's a spot just over that hill where we can put down our basket."
>You stare at the picnic basket, frowning and thinking hard.
>You know it has a few sandwiches and some special goodies you prepared last night.
>It has some soda in bottles specifically enchanted to stay cool for about 12 hours, and there's a little hidden cupcake for you and Butterswirl to share.
>But you aren't sure you want to share it with her any more.
>Most of the ponies in town who are mean to Rarity due to her... uniqueness are usually assholes.
>Like, BIG BIG assholes.
>The sort of ponies who had made fun of you, back when the newspaper labeled you "The Tamed Monster of Ponyville".
>You glance up at Butterswirl, who is staring up at you expectantly.
>The uneasy feeling from before - the feeling that you're in the wrong place with the wrong person - is stronger than ever.
>This doesn't feel right.
>"Anon?"
>You don't even realize you've stopped in your tracks until you see Butterswirl calling out to you, several paces ahead.
>"Are you coming?"
>That's a good question.
"You know what?"
>You turn around and start walking back over to the boutique, where Rarity is.
>She has a pretty fixed schedule, and you know that right now is almost lunch-time for her.
>If you hurry, you might catch her before she makes something to eat.
"I don't think this is going to work out, Butterswirl."
>"W-Wait, what?"
>You hear the cloppity-cloppity-cloppity of her hooves as she races to catch up with you.
>"What do you mean, it's not going to work out?!  Anonymous, we haven't even started the date yet!"
"Yeah, and I don't think I need to."
>You shoot her a glare over your shoulder, and almost grimace at the ugly expression on her face.
"Rarity is a wonderful mare, and I bet she'll appreciate this lunch more than YOU will."
>The mare looks like she just swallowed a lemon
>"W-Well..." she stammers, struggling to say anything, "Fine!  Go back to your retarded friend, you monkey!"
>OH WHAT
>You stop in an instant and erupt backwards, taking several rough and solid steps towards your former date.
"Excuse me?!"
>The mare, apparently not expecting you to do this, squeaks and falls back on her rump.
"APOLOGIZE!"
>WHAT DID SHE FUCKING CALL RARITY
>"I-I-I-"
"Rarity is one of my best friends!  She's sweet, she's thoughtful, and she wants NOTHING MORE than for the ponies she likes to be happy!  She's a goddamned decent person, and that's more than I can say about you!"
>If you weren't going to share this home-made lunch with Rarity, you would have began throwing sandwiches and desserts at this bitch.
>That doesn't stop you from taking a few more aggressive steps towards this rude fucking horse, though.
"I said, apologize!"
>The mare looks like she's about to have a panic attack.
>She's on her rump, her limbs are askew and trying to gain purchase, and she's looking up at you like she's afraid you're about to eat her.
>[spoiler]And you might have, if the date had gone well; but you were told never to put out on the first date.[/spoiler]
>"SORRY!  SORRY!  SORRY!  SORRY!"
>And just like that, she's scrambling away.
>CLOPPITY CLOPPITY CLOPPITY CLOPpity cloppity cloppity...
>You stand there and watch as the mare gets smaller and smaller, until she eventually turns a corner away in the distance.
>...
"...bitch."
>You turn on your heel and speed-walk back towards Rarity's boutique.
>You are Anon, and you're going to have a goddamned enjoyable lunch with a good FUCKING friend.
----
>You are Rarity.
>You are enjoying a lovely lunch with your very good friend, Anonymous.
>AKA the hoo-man colt who you have a confusing crush on.
>Not that you're confused as to why you have a crush on him!
>Oh, no!
>You could write poetry (with the help of a few books) on why you have romantic feelings for him!
>You could weave a story in fabric and jewel that would impress upon all those who laid eyes on it why he makes your heart pound and your stomach squirm.
>The confusing part is that you're not really good at things like social interaction, and you have no idea how to act on these feelings.
>You want to kiss him, but you know from experience that you're really not good at figuring out when that would be appropriate.
>He might not like it, or you'll pick the wrong time to do it.
>You honestly aren't even sure if he feels the same way for you.
>Ponies are already confusing, but Anonymous is twice as baffling to you.
>But...
>He abandoned his very specifically romantic date in order to have lunch with you, and he even shared a special cupcake he had made special for such an occasion.
>Normally, you'd get upset that your schedule was interrupted.
>But Anonymous is a special friend, and as you bite into your cucumber sandwich, you find that you don't really mind such a sudden and unexpected change.
>"Hey, Rarity?"
"Hmmm?"
>You're brought back out of the maze of your thoughts by Anonymous's voice.
"Yes, darling?"
>Anon smiles at you, and your tummy does flip-flops; and you're overcome by the urge to rub yourself against his face.
>"Do you have any of those Yu-Gi-Oh decks ready?  I'd love to play a few games with you."
>Joy and excitement bubble in your chest, and you can't help the big grin that splits your face.
>Maybe he DOES like you.
"Let's finish up, my dear," you purr, "And we can spend the afternoon dueling."
>Anon smiles and brushes his hand against your forehoof.
>Normally, you don't like it when ponies touch your hooves.
>It feels weird, and it sends uncomfortable tingles up and down your spine.
>But Anon is different, and you don't feel the tingles at all.
>You just feel the warmth of his hand against your fur.