And Perfect Makes Practice?

Twilight Sparkle was having a hard time processing the statement.

“You what?”

From the other side of the room, Rarity looked up from the dress she was working on and found her marefriend staring at her with bewildered eyes.

“I can’t believe Rainbow Dash told you that I was nervous at the idea of asking you out.”

“No, the other thing.”

She blinked once, twice, thrice.

“Oh. That yes, it’s true. I even remember practicing how to ask you out in front of a mirror,” she repeated with all the innocence and nonchalance and ignorance of somepony who’d clearly not registered what she’d just said.

“No, I know that’s what you said,” Twilight replied, putting her book down. Her ears lowered, not from sadness, but from sheer… confusion? Was that the word? Disbelief? What? “You practiced asking me out in front of the mirror?”

“I did!” Rarity replied, her interest piqued. She put her dress down and smiled. “Why are you so surprised?”

“I’m not!… All right, well, I am, but…” The words stumbled out, tripping like she was at this surprisingly surprising revelation. “I guess I just… I wasn’t expecting that from you.”

Rarity tilted her head. “Whyever not, darling?”

“I don’t know! It’s you.”

She laughed, and it was perfect. “What, may I ask, is that supposed to mean?”

“You know what I mean! You’re just…” She faltered, gesturing aimlessly. “Confident?”

“Darling, you say that as if you’ve never seen me be nervous before!”

“I know I have!” Twilight said, and now felt silly with the entire conversation. “I guess…” Her cheeks turned red. “It’s just weird to think you were nervous about asking me out.”

“Aaaaaah…” Rarity leaned back on her couch, a less than innocent smile on her lips. “I see.”

“What?” Twilight asked, knowing very well what that smile entailed. “What do you see?”

“Oh, nothing! Nothing at all, my dear,” Rarity continued, taking her dress and focusing her attention back on it. “Only that you must need glasses if you’ve yet to see what a catch you are, Your Highness.”

Though she rolled her eyes, Twilight couldn’t stop a smitten grin from plastering itself onto her face. The idea that Rarity had ever been nervous about her; it was certainly a heady thought.

“I am a catch,” she whispered, quite proud of herself. She turned to Rarity. “How come you never told me any of this?”

Rarity lifted her glasses over her horn and hummed, clearly deep in thought. “I was worried it might upset you.”

“Upset me?! This is the opposite of upsetting me! I’m upset you didn’t tell me this before, that’s what’s upsetting!”

“Well, now you know,” she replied. “The shocking truth that I, Rarity, was quite the nervous wreck at the idea of asking you out.” She grinned. “Are you satisfied?”

“Yes,” Twilight said, which was a lie since she then asked, “So what exactly made you nervous?”

“Twilight…” She put her glasses back on. “As much as I would love to indulge your desires to be showered with compliments, I really must finish this commission.”

“I wasn’t trying to get you to shower me with compliments!” she lied. “I was just curious!”

Rarity giggled. “I’m sure.”

“…How many times did you practice it?”

“Darling.”

“Sorry, sorry!” Twilight replied, turning back to her book which was very interesting and fascinating, thank you very much.

“You’re a very silly pony, Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity said. She glanced at Twilight for a moment and then back to her dress. “If you must know, I don’t quite remember how many times it was, but I remember it must have been several hours.” She paused. “I couldn’t afford mistakes when it came to you.”

For hours?! Twilight thought, thrilled both by the answer and the fact Rarity wasn’t seeing how awful she was at hiding her delight.

“I see,” she said after clearing her throat and regaining composure. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Any other questions?”

“No, I’m done,” she replied, focusing on her book. She was done. She was a catch, and she didn’t need Rarity to go into extreme detail about it. “I don’t need to know anything more than that.”

“All right, then.”

A few minutes passed, and Rarity spoke up.

“You know,” she continued, “I’d forgotten how nervous I was. I remember having to write down my entire speech. I even wrote four drafts of it, including an entire outline of how I was going to do it.”

“…Really? That’s interesting,” Twilight said, composed. “It might be interesting to read them sometime in the future, but I want to finish my book right now.”

“That sounds like a splendid idea, darling.”

A minute must have gone by.

“So where are they?”

“You’re not going to let me finish my dress unless I tell you, are you?”

“No.”

“Darling, I really don’t want you to be upset.”

“I won’t!” Twilight insisted. Why would she ever be upset about something like that?

Another moment passed, and finally Rarity relented.

“Alright, alright! They’re in the last drawer of my night desk, and for stars’ sake, don’t trip over yourself running to them!”

Twilight returned moments later, snuggling onto the couch and regaling herself with four hoofwritten drafts of Rarity showering her in compliments, and affection, and endless promises of making her happy until their dying days, alongside an outline detailing a dinner date in Canterlot, and a picnic by a lake and a moonlight confession and… and…

And Twilight Sparkle was upset to find she was upset.

“You were right,” she said. “I’m actually upset.”

“I did tell you, didn’t I? I knew that if I told you about any of this, you would compare it to how you confessed to me and say it would have been better if I’d confessed.”

“Of course it would have been better!” Twilight exclaimed, practically jumping off the couch. “It would have been a thousand times better than what I did!”

“I disagree completely,” Rarity replied shortly.

“You disa—Rarity. Do you remember how my confession to you went? Because I remember, and I’m starting to think you don’t remember.”

Rarity looked to her.

“Twilight Sparkle, darling, dearest, sweetheart, to my dying day I shan’t ever forget it. Us, talking by the punch bowl at the gala; me, looking beautiful as I waited for you to finish; you, being adorable as you stammered your way through asking me out; me, tearfully accepting; you, being so shocked you stumbled back onto the table and tipped the entire bowl of punch onto yourself; me, having to search the entire castle after you politely teleported away, punch bowl and all.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, curtly. “You do remember.”

“I do. You were absolutely hopeless, my darling.” She perched her glasses atop her head and fluttered her eyelashes. “And frankly, I’d never been more hopelessly in love.”