It was a relatively quiet day in Ponyville. The sun was out, glorious and blazing and most of the pony-folk of the town were out enjoying the sun in their own ways. One of these ponies who was out and about was Fluttershy ans she was on her way to her friend Rarity's boutique near the center of the town. They had planned that today they would go to the spa, as they had done nearly every week for the past few years. Fluttershy enjoyed these trips very much. She would be pampered and cared for, allowing her beauty to shine. She would also be with one of her very best friends, Rarity, whom she had known for a very long time.
When Fluttershy arrived at the boutique, she could hear sounds of crashing and fumbling about coming from inside. However confused, she still knocked on the front door calmly. Rarity did not answer. Fluttershy thought she must not have heard her knock, so, of course, she knocked again. Rarity once again did not answer. Fluttershy became slightly annoyed and knocked on the door much harder and more audible than she had before. The sounds inside ceased, and she could hear hoof steps coming towards the door. To Fluttershy's surprise, the door flew open violently.
"What?!" Rarity screamed. She looked horrid. Her much beloved mane and tail were all knotted and greasy, her coat seemed to be covered in dirt and sweat as well. Fluttershy shrank back in surprise.
"Oh, my dear Fluttershy!," said Rarity "I'm so, so sorry! I did not realize it was you at my door."
"Is everything alright Rarity?" Fluttershy asked.
"Alright? Oh, yes! I'm just a bit flustered, that's all."
"Why are you flustered?"
"I'm preparing for a big project I have planned for some months now. Very, very stressful process."
"Oh..."
An awkward moment of silence occurred as the two ponies met eyes. After a few moments, Rarity broke back into conversation.
"Why are you here again, Fluttershy?" she asked.
"Our trip...to the spa?" Fluttershy was a little annoyed that Rarity had forgotten.
"Spa...spa...oh yes! I'm terribly sorry I forgot! Just give me a few minutes, darling. I must make myself presentable!" Rarity closed the door in Fluttershy's face and retreated up her stairs. Fluttershy wait outside, patiently waiting for her friend. It took no less than five minutes for Rarity to once again make an appearance, this time donning a large pink gardener's hat with a purple ribbon; her hair and mane styled as well.
"There! You must always be fashionable, dear Fluttershy; even on trips to the spa!"
With that, the two friends were off to the town spa for a morning of pampering and relaxation.
Two hours later they returned to Rarity's boutique. The both felt greatly rejuvenated and "shiny" as Fluttershy had said walking out the front door to the spa. Of the two, Rarity seemed more energetic having been relaxed for some time. Fluttershy guessed that the spa was just what Rarity needed to relieve herself of the stress she suffered from earlier that morning.
It worried the yellow pegasus that Rarity would now no longer stop talking about her project. Whenever she tried to change the subject, that stubborn friend of hers would switch it right back. Fluttershy was closing in on becoming angry when Rarity finally said something other than her project.
"Oh today has been great so far!," she exclaimed " A day like this shouldn't end now! Fluttershy darling, would you care to join me for some tea in the boutique?"
"Are you sure? What about your big project?" Fluttershy said, annoyed.
"No bother at all dear! I must spend most of the remainder of the day with one of my best friends!," she said.
"Oh, alright. I will join you."
Rarity held open the front door to the boutique for Fluttershy who walked in. As she did, she heard Rarity mutter something strange.
"...She will bleed..."
"What was that Rarity?" Fluttershy asked.
"What was what darling?"
"You just said something, right?"
"You must be hearing things dear, I said nothing."
"No, you said something about bleeding."
"Bleeding? Rather dark thing for you to say..." Rarity said, acting confused.
"No, you said it, not me!" Fluttershy was once again annoyed.
"Calm yourself dear! Now, take a seat and I'll get the tea going. Oh, and forget about this bleeding nonsense! I said nothing!" Rarity trotted towards her kitchen, seemingly angry with Fluttershy.
Fluttershy sat down anyways, she couldn't be mad at Rarity forever. Maybe she had heard it in her head. It would make sense, Rarity despised talk of blood. She hated it for one reason; it left gross stains on clothes. She decided to leave the matter alone.
Rarity returned, less steamed than she had been, but noticeably still annoyed. She took her place across from Fluttershy at the table where Rarity generally designed clothing, but under the circumstance had been turned into a makeshift tea table.
"Well, we have a little bit until the tea is fully prepared, so let's chat dear!" Any negative emotions within Rarity seemingly vanished with this new mood she donned. Fluttershy was surprised at the sudden change, but never-the-less, she replied.
"Alright Rarity, that sounds nice."
"Any gossip you have heard lately? Anything juicy perhaps? I'm dying for a new, compelling rumor!" Rarity edged closer to Fluttershy.
"...Not that I can think of, sorry." Rarity looked Fluttershy over to try and see any signs of lying (something of which Fluttershy was not very good at), yet she found none.
"Huh...have you been out and about lately?" asked Rarity.
"Yes, I have. Almost everyday I think."
"Interesting..." Rarity stared at the floor. Nothing?
Fluttershy noticed her friend's strange activity and became slightly worried. "Are you alright, Rarity?"
"What?", Rarity quickly snapped back into reality, "Oh...yes dear. I'm fine, just slightly confused I guess."
"You generally never question the fact that I have no gossip..." Rarity could see the concern in Fluttershy's eyes.
"That's right...I guess the stress of my project is coming back..."
"What is the project anyways? It seems overly stressful." Flutteshy still looked very concerned, her voice soothing to Rarity.
"It's a personal project. However, it has come up with many difficult choices which I have never faced before."
"How difficult?" asked Fluttershy.
"Very...at least when it comes to certain things in the project." Rarity looked at Fluttershy as if to display a hint, but the poor pegasus did not catch it.
"I'm very sorry, Rarity. I'd rather not see you suffer like this."
"Thank you for your concern, Fluttershy. However, it just makes the choice all the more difficult."
Fluttershy became confused. What did she mean by this?
"Anyways," said Rarity, "Let us move on to more happier topics. Mind if I ask you a question?"
"Sure Rarity."
"How is your little quest in seeking Big Macintosh going, hmm?" Rarity grew a sly smile on her face.
Fluttershy's cheeks lit on fire and she looked away from Rarity's gaze out of embarrassment. "H-h-how did you find out about that?"
"Darling, I've seen it in your eyes whenever you look at him! Any pony with a brain could see!" Rarity exclaimed. Which might explain why Applejack hasn't noticed.
"Wow...I didn't know it was that obvious." Fluttershy's cheeks had not receded in their crimson color.
"Of course it is. Well, at least to me."
Pheeeeew!
"Oh! That must be the tea. Be right back dear." Rarity once again exited the room and into her kitchen. She returned levitating a tray with two cups, the kettle, and a couple plates. She carefully placed the tray down perfectly onto the makeshift tea table and then returned to her seat.
"Here we are. Now, let's enjoy this tea!"
The two grasped their tea cups, but in different ways. Fluttershy used her front hooves to carefully hold the cup, while Rarity simply used magic to lower and raise her cup to her lips as she needed. They sat and drank without a single word for a seemingly lengthy amount of time. Rarity finished before Fluttershy, so she took the opportunity to speak.
"Well, I should probably get back to my project. It will take awhile, so I better get to it." Rarity began to rise from her chair when Fluttershy responded.
"Well, is there anything I can do?"
"I don't know Fluttershy..." Rarity sounded very wary.
"Please? I can do anything you want me to, I promise."
"Well, there is one thing you can do..." said Rarity, warily.
"What is it?" asked Fluttershy.
"I need...models so I can find the perfect style for my project...which, just in case you didn't know is a dress."
"Another dress?"
"Yes...any problem?"
"No...no...anyways, who should I look for?"
"Applejack, get me Applejack, She will make a fine model! Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Of course! You're my friend, and I'll do anything to help you." Fluttershy smiled at Rarity.
Rarity smiled back in return. "Excellent! Now go!"
Fluttershy quickly finished her tea, said goodbye to Rarity, and left the Boutique. Rarity watched her walk away through one of her windows. When Fluttershy was out of her sight, she turned around from the window and trotted up to her bedroom. Her bedroom was strangely dark and dusty, with a disturbing level of grime on the floor. Rarity didn't seem to care at these sights that would normally throw her into distress. She walked past it all to the furthest, darkest corner of her room. There, in the corner, lay a desk. This desk was constructed out of hard, sturdy dark wood, and it was given to her a year ago. However, this desk had already been in existence for quite some time and it suffered from that. It was swollen with water here and there all over, and it had become slightly twisted from various other events; most likely caused by previous owners.
There was something special about the desk to Rarity. It had housed her plans, her toils, from her project; the new dress for herself. Now, nothing remained in the desk. Any plans or ideas Rarity had she had move them away from the dark desk down to her designated work space. Not everything had made its way down to the work space though, in fact, one thing remained: a checklist. Rarity knew exactly where it was. She opened one of the four drawers built into the desk and pulled out the stained, yellowed paper. Using her magic, she summoned a quill, dipped it in a ink container on the desk, and checked off the top box on the list.
After she had checked off the box, she placed the list back into the same drawer and closed it once more, but not for the last time. She turned around and exited her once lovely bedroom, now defiled by grime and darkness. When she had left the room, she closed the door and locked it. There was no key to this lock, it was a magical lock to which only Rarity could open. Nopony would enter that room without Rarity, and that's exactly why Rarity had used magic.
After all her business had been done, she walked down the hallway towards the stairs. Before she made it all the way, she stopped in front of the guest room and stared at the door. A special little something was in that room, something very dear to Rarity. This item could very well be described as her life force, the one thing that keeps her going in tough situations. This item, or rather being, was her little sister, Sweetie Belle. Inside that room, her little sister was sound asleep, a happy grin on her face and donning a lovely crimson necklace. However, Rarity did not enter the room, fearing she may wake her precious little sister, and with this she continued down the rest of the hallway and descended the staircase.
She found herself once again at the table where she had enjoyed tea with her best friend, Fluttershy. She noticed her cup still had some tea left in it, so she sat down once again to drink. The tea was cold now, and incredibly bitter, but Rarity kept on sipping at the bland liquid.
And so the waiting began...
