Every Mare Needs Her Stallion

by Inquisitor M

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Drama, Rarity, Fluttershy
Length: 7711

A new, confident Fluttershy has a secret, and Rarity isn't above using a few tricks to find out what it is.

After Fluttershy threw a tantrum in Ponyville's marketplace, Rarity invited her over for some good old girly gossip. The Fluttershy that turns up on her doorstep, however, is absolutely not the one she was expecting. Somefilly has a secret and Rarity isn't above using a few tricks to find out what it is.

"I swear, there is stuff going on in this story that is beyond my level of comprehension. Not to mention that calling the characterization merely show-accurate is doing it a disservice—it somehow seems to reach into a tier of super-canonical character clarity. So yes, you will enjoy this."
—R5h, The Royal Guard

Featured in the Royal Canterlot Library.

Cover art: Rarity's Exquisite Makeover Treatment by WillisNinety-Six

Published 2014-02-18 02:10:07 UTC
Last updated 2014-02-18 02:10:07 UTC

Every Mare Needs Her Stallion

Rarity plodded into her inspiration room, a box of assorted cakes in her magical grasp. She halted abruptly, frowned, then launched into an energetic trot: knees high, chin up, huge smile. Her heart ached for Fluttershy’s little tantrum yesterday – it was no surprise she should feel a little distracted – but today was a day she got to play the part of best friend and world-class agony aunt.

Those were good days. Those were some of the best days.

She set the box down on the coffee table and re-perfected the arrangement of cups, plates, and saucers for the umpteenth time. She liked to think that the precision offset the chaotic nature of the room: one showed her dedication and focused attention, the other her openness to whatever deep and sordid topics were waiting to be gossiped about.

Good days indeed.

“Coming!” Rarity’s voice sang out as she crossed the room.

The front door swung open, but the yellow pegasus behind it was not sad, or distressed, or grumpy, and definitely not weighed down by a plethora of secret turmoil itching to be divulged. No, she was smiling – beaming, even. As happy as Rarity could ever remember seeing her.

“Good morning, Rarity!” Fluttershy fanned her wings, but the bright feathers reflecting the mid-morning sun paled in comparison to the shine of her eyes. “It’s such a lovely day and I need to call in on Twilight anyway, so I wondered if we could go shopping rather than stay indoors?”

Her saddlebags were obscured by her dazzling wings, but they were usually only pushed that far back if…

“Did you fly here?” Rarity asked, frowning.

“Yes!”

Rarity chewed her lip; if Fluttershy had been any more pleased with herself, she might burst.

“And you’re smiling.”

“Of course! I…” The beaming stopped. Fluttershy blinked. “Oh. Oh, my! You asked me to come over when I was… You have the tea service out, don’t you?”

Rarity nodded, still frowning.

“Well then of course I’d like to come in for tea first. I bet you’ve been looking forward to thisall morning, haven’t you?” She didn’t wait for an answer and slid gracefully through the doorway. “Would you mind?” She motioned to her saddlebags with her raised wings.

The bags lifted from Fluttershy’s hips, but even indoors, the aura of magic seemed somehow eclipsed by the perpetual glow coming off her friend. Rarity stared in silence, her eyes following the pegasus’s… the pegasus’s… slink across the room.

“How peculiar,” she said quietly.

“Huh?” Fluttershy looked back over her shoulder, her soft, silky mane flowing across her withers and cascading down the other side.

Something wasn’t right. Something was out of place – something other than that Rarity hadn’t budged an inch from the door and was staring at her friend like some slack-jawed yokel.

“Umm, Rarity?”

“Yes!” Rarity shook her head vigorously, set the saddlebags down, and closed the door. “Yes – I mean, nothing.” She pranced alongside Fluttershy with a cheesy grin plastered on her face. “Just wasn’t expecting you to be so—”

Rarity sniffed the air. Leaning slightly towards Fluttershy, she sniffed again. “Is that…?” Finally, she pressed her nose into pegasus’s neck and inhaled deeply, eliciting a soft giggle. “It is! Why Fluttershy, you used the honey and lemon conditioner I gave you last month!”

Fluttershy giggled again – the sound of passing butterflies. “That tickles.”

“Well that certainly explains why you look simply stunning this morning. I do believe I’m a little jealous.”

Another giggle. “Oh, Rarity. You always look so lovely; I just wanted to feel like I was making an effort if we went to the market.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I just happen to know that there is a vanilla slice upstairs that looks so good that I’m afraid I might eat it first if you don’t hurry upstairs and claim it.”

Without another word, Fluttershy strolled ahead and into the kitchen. The earlier slink was gone, but an altogether different something infused the mare’s wanton sashay. That was it: Fluttershy didn’t sashay anywhere. It was as if…

Rarity’s eyes sprang wide open, then narrowed to slits as her grin slowly widened. If a heart-to-heart wasn’t on the cards, some juicy gossip still might be.

“Sit.” Rarity pointed towards a chaise-lounge.

Fluttershy eyed the two-tiered cake stand brimming with an assortment of cream-filled, sugar-coated riots of wondrously unhealthy pleasure. “You have all my fav—”

“Sit.”

Fluttershy’s rump was in her seat in a heartbeat. Her wings clutched tight to her flanks and forehooves tucked into her lap, she wore a look that might have been guilt if her smile hadn’t refused to hide away.

Rarity stretched out on her own chaise-lounge, horn lit as tea and cakes floated to their awaiting receptacles.

“Fluttershy, I do believe you’re being confident,” Rarity said without looking at her friend.

“I… I am? Is that bad?”

“Well of course not, dear. It’s just… unusual.” Inhaling the floral aroma of her tea, Rarity released a long sigh and sunk deeper into her cushions.

“Oh,” Fluttershy replied – as if that was supposed to explain anything.

“Oh? Is that all? Oh?”

Fluttershy lifted her tea. She, too, savoured the aroma slowly before taking a sip. “You’re disappointed,” she said, staring into her cup with a lopsided grin. “I understand. It really meant a lot to me that you asked me over; it felt wonderful to know that you were more concerned with being there for me than blaming me for being a big meany.” She looked straight at Rarity. “You cheered me up, but you didn’t get to fuss over me.”

“Is it that obvious?” Sinking further down, Rarity grimaced and clutched a cushion against her chest, stroking its velvety cover with a hoof.

“I don’t think it’s so bad.” Fluttershy set her cup down and stepped around the table. “Sometimes we just need to know that somepony is on our side – that somepony believes in us – even when they’re not there. And when you have a pony like that—” she leaned forward, almost touching nose to nose before slipping past and planting a long, gentle kiss on Rarity’s cheek “—it’s important to let them know how much they mean to you.”

Somewhere, deep down in her less-than-pristine soul, a voice screamed something at Rarity, but the fierce warmth in her cheeks was a more pressing sensation.

“Fluttershy…” Those two, radiant eyes called to her, so close, so warm, so welcoming, holding her transfixed. Her breathing quickened along with her heartbeat as a rush of blood left her a little light-headed, but a moment later, Fluttershy lunged in, wrapping her in a hug and nuzzling her crest.

She hugged back before even thinking about it. The blood in her face cooled. The beating in her chest slowed. Few things in life felt so right as this.

“I… I really do deserve you, don’t I?”

Fluttershy giggled, soft and muffled. “Yes. And I deserve you, too.”

Hooves squeezed her tighter and Rarity rolled onto her back to better sink into the embrace. Perhaps it was last night’s broken sleep, or perhaps it was a rare moment of respite in the face of her jealousy, but the raw passion of the magnificent mare holding her seeped into her bones and flushed away whatever hidden stress had been weighing her down.

“Rarity?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Can I have my vanilla slice, now?”

“Yes, dear.”

Releasing her grasp, Rarity flopped back against her headrest. Her legs sprawled haphazardly and she closed her eyes as the fading warmth from her cheeks suffused the rest of her body. Fluttershy’s quiet hoof-falls stopped as the other chaise-lounge creaked, followed by the rustle of cake-wrapping and a long, satisfied murmur.

Satisfied: yes, that’s how it felt. She was glowing on the inside, just as Fluttershy had seemed to somehow glow with vitality and confidence. Twilight would probably ask a laundry-list of questions about it and write a report, but this was something better experienced: not a new experience, but a heightened one. This was a Fluttershy who knew exactly what Rarity needed and wasn’t afraid to give it all.

Knew exactly what I needed. In her quieted mind, the distant voice finally became clear. It’s a distraction.

She rolled her head to the side and opened her eyes. Fluttershy lay stretched out on her cushions like living art: the grace and demure beauty was right – aided by an exquisite choice of conditioner, of course – but something about the way she luxuriated was absolutely not Fluttershy. More than merely confident, it was sultry, almost provocative. It was…

Like me.

The one-time catwalk model draped herself across the full length of the chair, licking her cake wrapper clean at one end while dangling one stretched-out leg off the other. In the middle, the lean curves of the mare’s torso merged into a toned thigh lying almost straight out behind her, the other tucked in tightly to support her alluring poise. If Rarity looked half that good in such a posture she’d have cause for much jubilation. Perhaps another mirror by her bed might—

“Rarity?”

Her eyes followed the curves back up to Fluttershy’s blushing face.

“You’re… staring.”

Rarity chuckled as Fluttershy drew her legs in – a much more Fluttershy-like mannerism – and adjusted herself to mimic her friend’s prior pose.

“And who could blame me?” she said, feeling a little flush returning. “I don’t know what caused your little spat yesterday, but something has you looking like a whole new mare, and it looks good.”

Fluttershy curled up even tighter. “You really think so?”

“Oh, yes, darling. I’m already having visions of a whole line of summer attire for you – something a little more daring than usual. Now, no need to be bashful, I’d hate to be the one to stop you enjoying your new-found confidence.”

In short, hesitant movements, Fluttershy pushed her legs out and sank into her cushions again, a little wave of Rarity’s hoof egging her on.

“Isn’t that better? Nopony here but us girls. Speaking of which, this girl is frightfully deprived of gossip and there is thatsmall matter of what did happen yesterday. I know—” she held a hoof out between them “—you don’t have to say a word if you don’t want to, but as your dear friend it is my duty—” she put the back of the hoof to her forehead “—to be here in your time of desperate need.”

Fluttershy giggled and settled against her headrest. “It was nothing, really.”

“Hardly nothing. I heard you ripped Hard Sell’s sale sign off his stall with your teeth and threatened to – how to say this – ‘be unladylike’ with it.”

“Oh. Well. Maybe. I suppose I did. Do you think he’ll be mad?”

“Perhaps. But only if he gets over being surprised – or terrified. You were shouting every bit as loud as that time you chased all those animals into the gala. The question, dearest Fluttershy, is why?”

The question worked. Fluttershy’s gaze fell immediately to her own hoof, which fiddled with a tassel of a cushion. Whatever it was, it wasn’t embarrassment or the usual brand of anxiety – it didn’t take Rarity’s years of friendship to know the mare would be cringing or mewling already if it were.

“I’m sorry.” Fluttershy’s eyes looked up, but her head hung low. “I really don’t want to lie to you – I would just hate that – but I can’t talk about it yet. Please don’t be upset with me.”

Rarity sighed, deeply.

“No. I’m sorry. I’m putting an awful dent in your good cheer. I may be absolutely bursting to know what little secret you’re keeping, but it seems I’m just going to have to wait.”

She rolled off the chaise-lounge and padded across the rug, stopping face to face with Fluttershy – a reversal of their earlier positions. Leaning in, she gave the pegasus a peck on the cheek, but a leg drew her into another hug before she could pull away. Rarity smiled to herself and nibbled her lip; this was the familiar Fluttershy – a little bit of private neediness, just for her.

“I know I can be a nosey old jealous nag,” she said softly, “but I am on your side, and I look forward to having you at my side for a shopping trip around the market? I can show off the most beautiful mare this side of Canterlot, can’t I?”

“Second most beautiful,” Fluttershy replied.

“Lies and nonsense!” Rarity hopped backwards, sinking low and ready to pounce. “Where is she?” She shoved her nose under the low coffee table, rump stuck in the air and tail swishing, then dove behind Fluttershy’s chaise-lounge.

“Behind here? Who is it?” Rearing up, she dangled her hooves over the back of the chair, a deep scowl on her face. “Show me where she is! Nopony, absolutely no-pony, outshines my Fluttershy today!”

Fluttershy giggled and rolled onto her back, looking up into Rarity’s face. “Thank you, but…” Rarity raised an eyebrow. “…do you think… I mean, would you mind… doing something nice with my mane first?”

Rarity gasped. “Why I thought you’d never ask! Stay here; I’ll fetch my things.”

She leapt clean over the chair and darted out of the room, grinning. It wasn’t just distraction, it was manipulation. Fluttershy had manipulated her. Few ponies would understand, but it might just be the most exciting thing to happen since Twilight’s coronation.

On any other day, it would be a prodigious work of art; with no notice and working from memory, it was a work of genius.

At the front, two plats suspended dozens of curls that tumbled down either side of Fluttershy’s face, framing her radiant eyes in bouncing coils of pink. Yellow and purple ribbons wove the top of her hair into ripples, one flowing over another like endless waves, but the bulk of her enormous mane formed the centrepiece: eight loops of hair, five large ones and three smaller ones on the inside, bound, separated and supported by coiling plats that formed a magnificent – if Rarity’s opinion was any judge – pink carnation.

There was never so much praise for her work as bringing a pony to tears.

“So,” Rarity said in a hushed tone, leaning in close as they walked through town, “how does it feel to be a glamorous model again, drawing the amorous attention of your devoted fans?”

“Oh, it’s not like that at all.” Fluttershy didn’t turn her attention from the eyes following her. The subtler changes in her might have gone unnoticed, but the hairstyle was like a neon-pink sign begging for attention. “It is a little scary, but most ponies just seem happy to look. That’s okay.”

“Well then, how about we up the spectacle a little?”

Now Fluttershy looked right at her, that little lopsided grin on her face.

“Rarity, are you testing me?”

“Absolutely! I haven’t had this much fun in an age. Follow me.”

Rarity peeled off towards Rose’s garden and Fluttershy trotted a little to keep up.

“Rarity, Fluttershy.” Rose beamed them a smile. “What’s the occasion? You look absolutely gorgeous! Do you need a bouquet? Is there a special somepony involved?”

“No, dear, I just wanted a half dozen of those small white carnations to finish my masterpiece.”

“Sure! One moment, please.” Rose trotted over to another flowerbed and came back up with a mouthful of carnations, spitting them out on the ground. “Feel free to pick the ones you like. Only the best for a date, right?”

“Oh, no,” Fluttershy said. “It really isn’t anything like that.”

“If you say so, sweetheart.” Rose gave her an overblown wink. “If you say so.”

Rarity tilted her head for a moment. “Can I give you something for them, Rose?”

“Not a chance! Every girl should have all the flowers she needs, right Rarity?”

Rarity nodded and smiled, picked out six carnations, and slid them into place among the wreath-like braids.

She hummed as she worked. It was an interesting proposition, at least – Fluttershy having a special somepony – but it didn’t quite fit. It could certainly boost her self-esteem, and volatile mood swings weren’t out of the question – she only had to think of a certain prince to be sure of that – but it wouldn’t explain their moment in the boutique. Still, a little experimentation couldn’t hurt, could it?

“There,” she said, stepping back and holding out a hoof to present her before Rose.

“Well I’m sure you don't need me to tell you you’ve an eye for colour.”

Rarity put a hoof to her chest and gave a coy chuckle. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just a little finishing touch. Now—” she leaned a little closer “—would you happen to know if Hard Sell is in the market today?”

Sucking in a sharp breath, Rose jerked back. “Oh. Y-yeah. He is.”

“Don’t worry. We’re going to apologise.”

“We are?” Fluttershy said.

“We are.” Rarity gave Rose a last smile and headed for the market place. “Maybe,” she added when Fluttershy caught up. They shared a lopsided grin for a moment.

More ponies stared at the pair as they walked. Some observed from windows, others from gardens or simply walking up and down the streets. By the time they reached the market, ponies were turning up just to get a look. Most of the attention was amiable enough, but one slightly drooling stallion earned himself a fat lip from the mare next to him; though, if she were honest, Rarity wasn’t sure which of them he was staring at, or that she could blame him either way.

Even so, the market square was hardly crowded, since most trade took place in the morning or right before closing. There was no apple stall, thankfully: if Fluttershy was hiding something important, she didn’t need more well-intentioned questions to make things difficult. Besides, if Fluttershy was going to tell anypony, it stood to reason that she should be the one—

Focus, Rarity.

“Just in case you get the urge to do something drastic, I think we should head over to Golden Hour for some photographs, first.”

“I’m not going to get angry, you know.”

Rarity turned half around; there was a tiny waver in Fluttershy’s voice. The pegasus had stopped, now staring at her with wide eyes and a slight droop to the edges of her mouth. It was another little act of neediness: I need you to believe me.

“I’m sorry,” Rarity said, keeping her tone soft and neutral. “But I heard you halfway across Ponyville and I still don’t know why. I understand that you don’t want to talk about it, and I want to respect that – I really do. Please don’t think I’m making light of it, Fluttershy; it’s just difficult to understand. That’s all.”

“I know.” Fluttershy’s face relaxed, a little smile taking to her lips. “It’s just complicated. It won’t happen today. I promise.”

Rarity frowned a moment. “You know, I still wouldn’t blame you if it did.”

“I know,” Fluttershy said again, barely more than a whisper as she trotted back alongside and deftly planted another kiss on Rarity’s cheek.

Perhaps it wasn’t manipulation at all? Now that Fluttershy’s lounging had opened her eyes, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine that such little kisses were a very Rarity sort of trait, just a little overdone.

“Well aren’t I a silly old goose.”

“Huh?”

“I think I was wrong about who’s testing who.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy’s ears folded down. “Maybe.”

“Look at us, though. Anyone would think we were the best of friends with the princess of friendship and had spent a year writing letters to Celestia about it.”

“Umm.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Come on, I still want pictures of the most beautiful mare in Ponyville.”

Golden Hour knew exactly who Fluttershy was the instant he laid eyes on her. He offered to move things from his jaunty little market booth to his private studio the moment he snapped out of whatever daydream had him drooling. Fortunately, Fluttershy seemed comfortable with the difference between professional and lascivious salivation.

The stroll through Ponyville had been barely more than mundane – any nervousness on Fluttershy’s part had been minimal compared to the hoof-biting that went on before some of Rarity’s early fashion shows – and being in a private studio with an eager photographer proved little different. After a few minutes fiddling with lights, Golden Hour started snapping away, giving encouragement and asking for all manner of poses and expressions: coy, thoughtful, summer belle, prancing queen – even flirty. Fluttershy did them all, but not without cost.

“Wait,” Rarity said, holding out a hoof. “Fluttershy? Whatever is the matter?”

The pegasus was breathing just a little hard, and a few lines of stress creased her brow. She took a deep breath in the lull.

“I’m sorry, Rarity. It’s just a bit much.”

An apology. A senseless apology. How very Fluttershy. But then, wasn’t that part of the test, too? Rarity’s track record with being supportive was spotty, and that was putting it mildly.

“Nonsense.” She walked over and parked herself beside Fluttershy. “I think you’re being very courageous, but I must insist on there being pictures of the both of us, too. You wouldn’t want me to look back on today through jealous eyes, would you?”

“Of course.” After a short pause, Fluttershy gasped. “I mean of course not! I mean… You know what I mean.”

Rarity drew her into a hug. “Drinks.”

“Huh?”

“Drinkies!” Golden Hour placed two sodas on the floor by a tripod. “You ladies take a moment while I reload.”

In the minutes of silence that followed, Rarity could feel Fluttershy’s pent-up stress draining away, just as her own had drained away before. Stiff, tight muscles relaxed; hesitance gave way to indulgence; shallow breaths slowed into long, deep ones. She released the hug and lay on the floor, levitating the drinks over to them as Fluttershy lay next to her.

“All better?”

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. It was as if Rarity’s enthusiasm recharged her, but that seemed odd, too. She wasn’t weak, and while Pinkie might claim to have the monopoly on fun, Fluttershy could teach most ponies a thing or two about being happy. In truth, Rarity just hadn’t thought about it that much. Now that she did, it was odd. And now that she thought about that, it was odd that she hadn’t thought about it before.

“Rarity?”

“Sorry, I was thinking. It’s a very strange day, don’t you think?”

Fluttershy drew in a deep breath and sighed. “Try four days.”

Rarity stared. What reply could come after that? She wasn’t supposed to ask about it, and as it was, she may as well have known nothing. Today’s Fluttershy could be nothing to do with it at all; today’s Fluttershy might not even last. Without prompting, the mares fell together, cheek to cheek.

“Are we ready to continue?” Golden Hour said, striding back in with two cameras around his neck.

Rarity put her hooves around her drink and took the straw in her mouth.

Fluttershy did the same.

“Yesh,” they said together.

They were photographed lying down. They were photographed standing up. They were photographed back to back, hoof in hoof, draped over one another, but mostly they were photographed happy.

At the first sign of Fluttershy’s hesitation, Rarity leant in and gave her a long kiss on the cheek. The pegasus blushed and nuzzled against her neck to the sound of more clicking.

“Fantastic!” Golden Hour yelled. “The camera loves that natural glow!”

Nuzzling became snuggling, and snuggling became melting – melting like putty in her—

Oh.

Golden Hour stopped without prompting. Rarity gave him a slight shake of her head, and he crept out of the room.

“Fluttershy?”

The pegasus hummed an affirmative.

“You were right: I’m quite happy making a fuss over you – rather besotted to tell the truth. But, there’s one thing bothering me that I just have to make sure of.”

The brushing of eyelashes against her neck signalled Fluttershy’s attention.

“Perhaps I’m letting my own silly dreams give me ideas, but I can’t help thinking about what Rose said.” She paused, but Fluttershy remained motionless. “I’m not saying that it makes complete sense, but… some of the things you’ve done… the way you’re acting… I have to ask, is it me? I mean I wouldn’t… I’d be flattered if… It wouldn’t change—”

“I was just trying to be more like you,” Fluttershy said softly.

“I know. That’s what got me worried.”

“You don’t want me to be more like you?”

How many times had she told Fluttershy to be more assertive, or confident, or to speak up for herself? Wasn’t that essentially ‘be more like me’?

“It’s what you do all the time,” Fluttershy said. Rarity stiffened, drawing up straighter. “You know, when you want somepony special to like you.”

“I do no such thing! Why, Rarity doesn’t change for anypony.”

Pulling herself away, Fluttershy sat upright in languid movements and gave Rarity a severe frown.

“Wh… But… I suppose—” Rarity grimaced “—maybe I do?”

Fluttershy nodded, her frown mellowing.

“Rarity, most ponies invite me to do things; you’re the only one that invites me to do nothing. You’re the one that invites me just to be. I never really understood that until…”

“Until another somepony came into your life four days ago that you want to like you?”

Fluttershy cringed. “Sort of. It’s—”

“Complicated.” Rarity raised a hoof and started fixing Fluttershy’s slightly mussed curls. “Frankly, I’m offended. Aren’t I good enough for you?”

Fluttershy leaned in and brushed her nose faintly against Rarity’s. “Of course you are.”

“And if you happened to be interested in mares, we’d have the greatest romance in recorded history?”

“Umm.”

“But you don’t see mares like that.”

“No.”

Rarity grinned. “Good, then it’s definitely a stallion we’re talking about.”

“No!”

“It’s not a stallion?”

“No! I mean, it is, but—”

“Aha!” Rarity grabbed Fluttershy’s head between her hooves, pulled it towards her, and laid a big, lip-smacking kiss on her forehead. “This is absolutely fabulous!”

“Rarity, I—” A hoof shot up, pressing on Fluttershy’s mouth.

“Not here. We’ll swing by Twilight’s and head back to the Boutique for a proper gossip. You’ll feel so much better when you get it all off your chest.”

Fluttershy blinked and nodded, hoof still pressed against her mouth.

Before they were even halfway to the library, Fluttershy’s attention drifted off to some fantasy world – populated by a certain stallion, no doubt. Letting the glassy-eyed pegasus catch up, Rarity matched her stride and gave her a slight bump with her hips.

“What? Oh.”

“Yes,” Rarity said with a sly grin. “You were having a daydream.”

After a deep breath and a deeper sigh, Fluttershy smiled. “You were right: it’s going to feel wonderful to get it all out in the open. I really did want to tell you but…”

“You had to make sure I was here to support you, and not just to gossip.”

Fluttershy’s face twitched and twisted all over, barely suppressing the grimace that said everything Rarity needed it to.

“It’s quite all right, Fluttershy. You deserve nothing less than my best behaviour and I’m truly flattered that you came to me at all. I just hope I can be as supportive as you need me to be. It’s all so terribly exciting.”

Both ponies smiled brightly as they walked, until Fluttershy turned in slightly and gave Rarity a playful, full-bodied nudge. They still drew plenty of attention, but the world outside their immediate company didn’t matter much; they’d tested each other and passed magnificently. Maybe the new Fluttershy might hang around for a while after all?

A few minutes of pushing and giggling later, they walked into the library beaming happiness from ear to ear.

“Hey, Rari—woah.” Spike blinked, his eyes peeking over the centre spread of Rockfarming Monthly. His stare flicked back and forth between the two mares until Twilight’s voice sailed out from upstairs.

“Spike? Did you say somethi—woah.” Twilight stood on the balcony, peeking over a copy of Amazing Facts Fortnightly.

“That’s what I said,” Spike said.

Rarity and Fluttershy giggled together as Twilight launched herself over the railing and sailed gently down to the floor on her wings.

“Oh, Twilight!” Fluttershy trotted forwards and gave her a quick hug. “You’re getting so much better!”

“Me? Oh, the flying. Sure. But look at you! You look amazing! What in Equestria is going on?”

Rarity’s smile broadened, a tingling sensation rising up in her chest.

“Oh, well, it’s all sort of complicated,” Fluttershy said, “but I was just feeling so happy that I wanted do something nice, and Rarity’s been practicing for so long now.”

Twilight walked a quick circle around the pegasus, her mouth agape.

“Practicing?”

“Once one has styled a princess,” Rarity said, “one requires a certain je ne sais quoi, in case one is called to do so again. Besides, if one of my close personal friends were to, I don’t know, have something to celebrate, I’d want something even more fabulous, would I not?” Fluttershy frowned at her, but the little smirk undercutting it made the tingle run down her legs. She bounced once on the spot, her eyes gleaming and cheesy grin stretching the muscles in her face.

“Oooookaaay.” Twilight backed up a few steps. “Something tells me I’m missing something.”

“No,” Fluttershy said, but the feeling welled up inside Rarity like a geyser waiting to erupt. She danced on the spot, legs pumping up and down as if the floor were turning to lava, and squeezed her eyes shut as a squeal started escaping her mouth.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Either you ate Pinkie Pie and she’s trying to get out, you haven’t been to the lavatory in about three days, or there’s something you’re not—”

“Fluttershy has a coltfriend!”

Rarity fell back onto all four hooves, slouching and panting heavily.

“Rarity!”

Fluttershy’s sudden scream left a silence filled only with the slight ringing in Rarity’s ears. Spike cowered behind Twilight, and Twilight just stared, head recoiled and the faint light of desperate mental processing in her eyes.

The look was understandable – Rarity imagined she looked much the same. This was sensational news, so why was Fluttershy staring at her, eyes watering and lip quivering? Why did she look like she’d just been betra—

Oh.

“F-f-fluttershy?”

“No!” Fire ignited behind Fluttershy’s eyes and she stamped a hoof, taking a wider stance and baring her teeth. “Don’t you F-f-f-fluttershy me!”

“I-I don’t understand, you said… you said you wanted to get it all o-out in the ope—”

“I wanted to tell you!” she screamed. “You don’t even know what happened yet!”

Given form and released, the fire died in a deluge of tears. Fluttershy backed away, cheeks already soaked and lips pursed as Rarity reached a hoof out, her own mouth flapping uselessly as no words came out.

Batting the hoof away, Fluttershy burst into sobs and galloped out the door.

Rarity sank to her haunches and massaged her bruised hoof. That actually happened. That was real. Twilight stared at her with barely more comprehension than before, save for a slight frown. That made sense. To see Fluttershy so pained, so instantly and deeply wounded, at—

By. Wounded byme.

“Shouldn’t somepony go after her?” Spike said, the words distant and uncertain like the pony he clung to.

Rarity met the cowering dragon’s gaze. He looked small. Scared. Of course he looked scared: one of his best friends had just screamed her lungs out, burst into tears, and run away sobbing, and he likely had no clue as to why. She started towards the door, but Twilight halted her.

“Do you really think you’re the best one to go? Maybe I ought to. Besides—” she stretched out her wings “—I’m faster, now.”

Rarity shook her head. “No. She’ll go home. She always goes home. And it should be me. I have to fix this. I have to do… something.” She stared out the doorway a moment. “Sometimes I wonder if Fluttershy likes animals because they can’t say hurtful things, even if they wanted to.”

“Rarity, go.”

Mouthing a silent ‘thank you’ to Twilight, Rarity trotted briskly out the door and burst into a gallop.

Perhaps a little indecisiveness was a good thing – a little time for Fluttershy to calm down before Rarity tried to apologise. She lingered just outside the garden gate, ears folded down and face an unflinching grimace; for the third time, she reached out a hoof, and for the third time hovered just shy of actually touching.

It’s not like she’d meant it. Fluttershy wanted to be open about it, and Twilight was about as safe as anypony they knew. It was supposed to be the best news ever – a moment of unbridled joy for all concerned – but she couldn’t honestly say she’d thought it through. She hadn’t meant it, but it was her fault. She hadn’t meant it, and she wasn’t sure if that mattered. What mattered is what came next.

The gate opened near-silently, its hinges well oiled. Everything about Fluttershy’s garden was fastidiously attended to. Everything mattered. The details were important – every animal held in high esteem and cared for meticulously.

Rarity crept along the path; she was the one thing out of place in this little sanctuary of harmony. At the threshold to the cottage, she stopped again. Fluttershy would forgive her, that much was certain, but did she deserve it? What good was she as a friend if they were clicking like good food and fine wine, only to find that wine turned to vinegar when opened? Fluttershy was too good for—

“Hello? Who’s there?”

Rarity’s ears pricked up: a stallion’s voice, mature, but a high pitch. No other sound came from inside. No movement, no sobbing or whimpering. No growling or throwing of things, either.

“It’s okay. You can come in.”

The voice was relaxed and welcoming, yet Rarity’s hoof still hesitated before touching the door. She took a step back and opened it in her magic instead, lurking where she wouldn’t be seen. Like dipping a hoof in freezing water, she crept forwards, edging tentatively closer to the point of no return.

A few mice sat on the stairs, their faces drawn with what was probably worry – it was hard to tell on such small creatures. A beaver and an otter huddled on the floor below them, but they seemed more neutral, little more than inquisitive.

Another step, then one more: slowly she advanced on the doorway. Her heart pounded in her ears and her legs trembled. As the threshold approached, she leant forward and peered in with her whole head. The stallion, a spindly, sandy-yellow thing like Carrot Cake, reclined in the corner of Fluttershy’s sofa, the mare herself snuggled against his chest just as she had against Rarity all of an hour ago. There was an ease to it – a sense of homeliness – as if burying her face in her favourite pillow. Her leg snaked around his barrel, and his wrapped around her shoulders, holding her soundly in place.

“So you’d be Rarity?” he said, his voice dropping to soft-but-firm.

The maturity in his tone extended to his eyes. Nothing about him mirrored Fluttershy’s reluctance to divulge the details of the situation; both looked utterly at peace, but in Fluttershy’s case it was indistinguishable from sleeping.

Rarity nodded. She looked him over in detail: definitely much older, eyes the same pale green as his unkempt mop of hair.

“So I’m guessing ’Shy never got around to telling you about me?” he said.

Plodding a few steps into the room, Rarity closed the door behind her. “She was trying. I… Is she asleep?”

“Yes,” he replied while shaking his head and giving Rarity a pointed stare. “I guess I should introduce myself. I’m Skysoar, ’Shy’s dad.”

Rarity gasped – or thought she did. Her body remained statuesque as thoughts tumbled one after another through her mind until one word rose above it all.

Safe. She wanted to feel safe. She wanted to feel as safe with me as she is with him and I blew it.

Her ears folded down again.

“She’s never spoken of you. I had no idea.”

“I know. That’s my fault. Things changed and I wanted to see my little angel again.”

“Your little angel?” Rarity tilted her head. “That’s what she calls…”

Oh.

Her little Angel. The maniacal brute she doted on like he could do no wrong – much the same way she doted on all her animals, come to think of it.

“I’m sorry if this is rather personal,” she said, keeping her voice low, “but, am I to assume you haven’t seen her for some time?”

Skysoar arched his neck and planted a gentle, lingering kiss atop Fluttershy’s still-braided hair. “Too long. I guess you wanna know why?”

Rarity nodded.

“Well, I don’t wanna say much while she’s asleep” – his eyes scanned his daughter as a smirk crept onto his face – “but my little angel was never happy at home. I never understood it, but when she headed off on her own she was the happiest I’d ever seen her, so I left well alone. If getting out of her way was the best thing I could do… Rarity, have you ever fallen out of love with somepony?”

She nibbled at her lip and frowned. “I don’t think so. I suppose I forgot how much I love my little sister for a while. Is that the sort of thing you mean?”

“Were there things that used to be adorable that suddenly became damned irritating?”

Rarity nodded.

“Then yes, that’s exactly what I mean. Rarity, I separated from my wife – from Fluttershy’s mother. Do you understand?”

“I don’t think so.” Rarity put a hoof to her jaw, pursing her lips as she thought. “I suppose you’re saying you fell out of love with her, but I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”

Skysoar hesitated, visibly tightening his embrace on his daughter. “I put up with a ton of bullying when I was a kid – Skysoar the Eyesore, they used to call me – so when I met Parasol, I thought she’d stepped out of my dreams. I said that I couldn’t understand why ’Shy wasn’t happy at home, but now I know. I left my wife and was the happiest I’d been in a long time. She was my wife, and I was blind to her faults. That was a choice I made, but ’Shy didn’t choose us – she chose to leave us. In that, I failed as a father, and part of my little angel hates me for that.”

“No,” Rarity said sharply. “That’s not true. She’s been so happy today, but—”

“Oh it’s true, but I guess hate might not be the right word. She’s got a lot of anger, and I deserve all of it. But I’ll take it all, for her. She’s the most important thing in the world and I’m going to make sure she knows it. I’m a big boy; I can take a few tongue lashings.”

She stared at him, and he stared at Fluttershy. It made sense, of course. Sometimes we just need to know that somepony is on our side, she’d said. It didn’t matter exactly who she was talking about; it’s where her heart was, and she had tried to show it. Confident Fluttershy, unfettered by doubt, had shown her a kind of love and support that cut straight through her insecurities and touched her heart.

“She loves you,” Rarity said softly. “I get it now. If you can keep making her that happy, I think I might become rather fond of you, too. When she wakes up—” she gave Skysoar a wink, but her smile faltered “—tell her I’m so very sorry for being selfish. I only wanted to share what I thought was good news, but I wasn’t listening. Tell her… tell her again that she’s the most important pony in the world. Tell her—” Rarity’s voice cracked. Tears started falling, but she smiled as she sniffled. “Just tell her for me.”

Rarity pushed the door gently open as Skysoar gave her a nod. “Thank you. It means the world to her that you came back. I just know it. Tell her I’ll be waiting in the Boutique if she’d be willing to come and see me.”

“I reckon she will. She’s talked about you a lot.” Abandoning any pretence of letting Fluttershy sleep, he drew her into him and hugged with all the strength in his scrawny legs.

Rarity dashed outside and pushed the door closed behind her, tears still running freely. She pursed her lips and took one last look back at where Fluttershy would be. Maybe a visit home was long overdue for her, as well – no reason Fluttershy should get all the attention, right?

The hallway clock punctuated every second of the lingering silence, refusing to allow the world to stop. Minutes became hours, and hours blurred into a meaningless haze.

Time was inexorable like that.

Her face had dried, in time, but the sheet on her bed still wore the damp stains of memory – a haunting echo of something best left buried. The rest of the room had fared worse. Drawers lay strewn across the floor, their prior contents spread further still. The shards of a shattered mirror glinted in reflected moonlight, the sun having dropped below the horizon some time ago. The stain on the wall where a bottle had shattered filled the air with a thick, cloying scent that stung the eyes. No, the room had not fared well at all.

How long had it been since the sun went away? And how long had Twilight been standing there in the doorway?

“Rarity? Rarity. What in Equestria happened in here?”

Again, thoughts tumbled through her mind faster that she could make sense of. Flashes of anger, memories of smashing things, memories of…

“I… I got a bit angry,” she replied quietly, her voice slightly rasping from strain. “I should clean up.”

She was barely halfway off the bed when Twilight interrupted her. “Let me do that, please?”

Rarity retreated to her warm spot, slowly refolding herself into a huddled package. The air was cold, she noted: the window had been shattered by a hurled hairbrush. The wreckage from her tantrum floated into the air in clumps and dropped into a small metal bin, and every fragment clattered, rattled, or tinkled a lament: ‘What did we do wrong?’ Even the wide spread of feathers from a torn pillow were deftly disposed of as Twilight cleaned systematically from one end of the room to the other.

“I’m sorry.”

If Twilight reacted, Rarity didn’t know: she was already studying the ripped sheet beneath her hooves intensely.

There was no reply, either. Instead, the bed creaked as another weight climbed aboard and lay beside her.

“What happened?”

The anxiety in Twilight’s voice was real enough; the carnage alone had probably been enough to bottle up the question until there was nothing left but to ask. Like so many questions, though, there wasn’t a simple answer – or perhaps there just wasn’t an easy answer.

“Fluttershy’s father turned up.”

“I know. I’ve just been to see her – to see them. That’s why I’m here. She asked me come to tell you that she’s sorry too, and said that she did say what you said she’d said. Did I say that right?”

Rarity looked up to meet Twilight’s eyes, but immediately looked away again as tears rose up again. “He calls her his little angel.”

No reply. But then, there was no reason why Twilight should understand the importance.

“Seeing them reminded me of a big storm that blew through when I was a little filly. I hid under the table from the thunder and lightning and Father – Dad – crawled under there with me and held me until it was over. I think I even fell asleep there.

“After I left Fluttershy’s I went straight over to see them – my parents – but I started thinking about everything that’s happened since then – every reason I don’t see much of them anymore. Right after I got my cutie mark, I started arguing with Mother about anything and everything, and Dad… I realised Dad didn’t understand me at all. I used to think that’s what growing up meant. I opened the Boutique just to prove I could make it on my own, and now…” Tears rolled down her cheeks again.

“Rarity, I’ve met your parents. They adore you. You must know that.”

A smile flickered across Rarity’s lips, her execution falling a long way short of her intent. “Of course, and I love them dearly. But, is it so wrong just to wish they understood me? Fluttershy… for a moment today I felt like she understood me completely. I just wish…” The bed creaked as Twilight fidgeted during the lull. “I wish it was enough. It seems that every time I get a little of something I want I cling to it so hard that I mess everything up. I run my own boutique. I’ve saved a princess …two princesses come to think of it.”

“Three,” Twilight said, “if you count coming with me into the Everfree that first time and everything since then.”

Now Rarity felt a more convincing smile spread across her muzzle. “I had a front row ticket for your coronation, made Cadence’s wedding dress… I have no right to complain, but—”

Her lip trembled, her face scrunched up tight, and the tears came again. “It’s not fair!” she screamed, descending into choking sobs that made the whole bed shudder. A hoof touched her shoulder, but it was like crumbs to a starving mare, good only to remind her of the hunger. She cried, and bawled, and wailed. She had no right to complain. She had a charmed life. But tonight, she would give it all up for one more day of being Daddy’s little princess.

The End