Demons and Desires
by Monochromatic

Detect my sudden existence on your sonar

You feel the echo

~

Somebody ought to corrupt you on the dance floor

And take you home

Twilight had no choice but to accept when she’d been invited to Blueblood’s party in a private nightclub. Even though she hated everything about him, going to his party was the only way to get him to stop calling her an antisocial bookworm. Assisting to the party also meant spending time with her friends, specifically a certain fashionista. If she was there, Twilight was willing to stomach Blueblood for any amount of time.

Midnight had long since passed, but no one seemed intent on leaving. Multicolored beams of light cut through the darkness, illuminating the couples completely lost in each other's eyes as they danced the hours away. The lone girl looked on from the sidelines, standing in a spot where the music was actually at a decent volume. She who so loved to dance, even if she wasn’t very graceful at it, suddenly found herself… shy. It might be because the rather suggestive song blaring out the speakers needed to be danced with another, and she didn’t have someone to dance with.

Or maybe it was because she couldn’t dance with the person she wanted.

And so she stood by, awkwardly sipping the mixture of alcohol and liquids known only as ‘Pinkie’s Brew’. ‘Don’t drink it too quickly, Twi! Don’t wanna end the party early, right?’ Pinkie had warned her with a teasing smile, and Twilight listened and behaved. If anything, the single most undeniable proof that she was not drunk was the fact that she was standing there, forlorn and stiff, instead of being in the dancefloor with her.

Twilight had seen her about thirty minutes ago.

The unspoken beauty queen of Canterlot University, and Twilight would venture to say perhaps even of the entire country. She had been transfixing to Twilight, watching how she danced with an impossible blend of perfect class and shameless allure. It was as if her every step, every move and every glance was an unabashed flirtation, but no one was daring enough to respond in kind — least of all Twilight. It didn't matter that they were close friends, dancing with Rarity so intimately was something she didn’t dare do, no matter how badly she wanted it.

The beauty had been dancing with a senior in the middle of the dancefloor. Some lucky guy who was too busy being completely enamoured by her to try and keep up. Others around them had moved away to give them space, and though they were still swaying to the beat, they were all glancing towards the same spot.

After all, when Rarity danced, everyone watched.

They watched because her beauty was bewitching, and because she could have anyone she wanted whenever she wanted. She knew it, too, and she reveled in the idea that she held that much power. A power she never abused and had, in Twilight’s opinion, wasted on that awful Blueblood.

All of a sudden, Rarity stopped dancing with the guy. She turned towards where Twilight had been, and their eyes met from across the threshold of music, lights, and dancing. Twilight offered her a hesitant friendly smile, as one as socially awkward as she was prone to do, but Rarity did not return the gesture.

Instead, she bit down on her lip, and if Twilight didn’t know better, she’d have sworn Rarity was giving her the exact same look guys and girls had been giving Rarity herself. It almost felt to Twilight as though Rarity had undressed her with but a smouldering gaze alone. She almost had to look away, but a couple of guys moved in front of the beauty, and she was lost to Twilight’s sight.

And so, Twilight had spent the last thirty minutes wondering if her friend had flirted with her, or if maybe she’d had a bit too much alcohol. Then again, it wasn’t possible that she’d been drunk on Pinkie Brew for a month, since Rarity had been sending little obvious signs for weeks now: stolen glances during class, teasing smiles during study sessions, and hugs that lasted a minute more than what could be considered friendly.

Twilight hoped it wasn’t just wishful thinking.

A million thousand thoughts rushed through her mind. They went by while she watched couples dance so close to each other, and an alarming majority of her thoughts painted pictures of Rarity and her in those same and even more daring positions. They were almost tempting enough for her to go looking for Pinkie and ask for a stronger drink. Maybe a shot of tequila, and a shot of courage while she was at it.

“Ah, Twilight,” said a voice that sent chills down her spine and made her grip her glass a bit tighter. So much for avoiding him.

Withholding a groan, Twilight turned around, smiled and decided to put on an enthusiastic front. Rarity had made peace with him, and since that was the case, so should Twilight. Or, at least, she should pretend she had. “Oh, hi, Blueblood.” It was hard to fake enthusiasm towards someone you hate.

The business major smiled, swishing around the martini he was holding in his hand. “I’m pleased to see you here, Twilight,” he drawled, and Twilight knew he was lying through his whitened teeth. There was a twinkle in his eye, pointing to that martini not being the first and probably not the last he’d had that night. “I barely saw you at parties when Rarity and I…” He paused. “... were still together.”

If Twilight didn’t know better, she might have thought that pause was remorse. “Oh, well, Rector Celestia was a bit more strict with homework last semester,” she replied, taking another sip from her beverage — which, incidentally, was disappearing at an alarming rate since Blueblood’s appearance.

Her reply had obviously pleased Blueblood, nodding his head slightly in approval. “You were so kind to make Rarity go through with those study sessions after our breakup,” he continued, sighing and closing his eyes. “The poor girl. Broken without me, of course.” He turned to Twilight and smiled. “Thank you, Twilight.”

By this point, Twilight was tipsy enough to consider throwing him her drink if she still had any. Instead, she settled on looking him straight in the eye and saying: “I didn’t do it for you, Blueblood,” she replied with an icy voice that would have made Rarity proud.

Despite this, Blueblood smiled. “Ah, still angry at me though Rarity has forgiven me?” He laughed and drank from his martini. “You’re a good friend, Twilight.

“And you were always the friend of Rarity’s I liked best,” he informed, smiling at her in a way she found to be very condescending. What, did he expect her to revel in his unwanted approval? Right. “Being Rector Celestia's personal student. Shame Rarity didn’t have more friends like you, instead of that oddball Pin—”

Aaaaaand that’s where she drew the line.

“Oh my!” she interrupted, looking towards the bar in the distance. She looked inside her cup and placed her free hand over her mouth, scrunching her eyebrows. “I’m almost done with my drink, but I just remembered someone mentioned there wasn’t any vodka anymore! Too ba—”

“Huh... while you certainly have many flaws...I never took you for a heavy drinker," Blueblood interrupted, raising his eyebrow at her. He then smiled thinly and glanced at the bar. "Not to worry. I can assure you this place won't run out of drinks unless they'd like for my family to have them permanently closed before tomorrow morning." He smiled at her and raised his martini glass towards her. "Nothing like having power!"

Twilight couldn't bring herself to smile or laugh as she resisted yet again the urge to roll her eyes and groan. Pretentious jackass, she thought to herself. "Well, in that case, I better go serve mysel—"

"She is a great dancer," he said suddenly, and Twilight didn't have to ask to know who he was talking about. For once, she agreed wholeheartedly with something he'd said. He took another sip of his martini and looked towards the dance floor. "How they all looked at her. Perhaps I shouldn't have let her go so easily."

This time, Twilight was not able to hold her tongue. "She broke up with you, Blueblood," she reminded icily. "Remember?"

Blueblood smiled and shook his head. "Ah, she thinks she did, but it was over long before she even knew. I was just waiting for the right moment to break it to the poor girl, but she did it herself. She wasn't right for me, you know? I think she knew it too." Every word that came out of his mouth, every syllable laced with poisonous contempt, as if he had been so kind with Rarity — forget throwing her drink in his face; Twilight wanted to punch him instead.

"Now, however, she's changed! I must thank you Twilight. Truly, you did wonders with her!" he continued, smiling at her as if helping her friend had been a personal favor to him. "I think I ought to give her a second chance."

"A second chance?!" Twilight snapped, no longer caring to hide her complete disgust for Blueblood. As if Rarity would ever think of going back to him. What, now that she was completely over him and back into her own projects, suddenly she was appealing again? "You give her a second chance?! She's not interested in you, Blueblood!"

“Oh?” he said, offering a sickeningly amused smile. “And I suppose she’s interested in you, then?”

This took Twilight by surprise, and she was furious to see her reddening cheeks tell more than she wanted that jerk to know. “Wh-What’re you talking about?” she stammered, gripping her glass tighter and swallowing hard when he let out an amused snort.

“Oh, come now, Twilight! Don’t play dumb with me. I do hope Celestia taught you to be smarter than that.” He shook his head and smirked at her, as if she was a naive little nuisance. “Don’t think I didn’t notice while I was dating Rarity, not to mention the way you reacted after we broke up. The way you gawked at her like a lovesick puppy; quite embarrassing, to be frank.”

“I— I wasn’t gawking!” Twilight sputtered.

Blueblood snorted. “Ah, undressing her with your eyes then? Pining perhaps? Whichever it was, it certainly made you look pathetic enough.” He took another sip of his drink before continuing. “Admittedly, you are a far better candidate than most of the university, but you shouldn’t get your hopes up. Rarity is interested in someone who can provide stimulating conversation and take her to only the best of places, not someone who’ll help her pass her geography test.

“Better face it, Twilight. You’re far too plain and frankly nerdy to appeal to anybody, least of all someone of Rarity’s calibre. Besides, you can’t hope to win against me.” He stuck his nose in the air and turned towards the bar. “Now, excuse me while I get myself some more refreshments for myself and Rarity.”

Twilight had never been happier to see Blueblood’s back. She balled her hand into a fist and gritted her teeth, doing her absolute best to forget everything that prick had told her. She found, however, after a minute or two, that it was hard to forget. With a sigh, she took the last of her drink and wondered if maybe she should go for more. Her eyes drifted towards the dance floor, unconsciously looking for Rarity, but her search was unsuccessful. Maybe she ought to go find Pinkie or Applejack instead.

“Ah, here you are, darling.”

Twilight felt her heart skip a beat and once more did her grip around her glass tighten. She turned around and found the beauty of the hour walking towards her, lips curved into a soft smile. What really held Twilight’s attention, however, was Rarity’s dress. It was one thing seeing Rarity from afar, and it was another thing entirely being able to look — or gawk, rather — at her up close.

She looked like like a godsend. A literal angel; if angels wore black.

The dress she wore was nothing like Twilight’s uninteresting blue dress.

Rarity’s dress was made of the blackest shades of night and hugged her every curve, leaving little to the imagination. Silk and mesh wrapped around one shoulder, looping around to cover her breasts and descending upon her hips. It left her back very, very open and one shoulder exposed. The silk stopped midway on her thighs and Twilight could see the mesh covering just over the inside into her legs. She quickly snapped her eyes up and got caught into the smoothness of Rarity’s uncovered shoulder, then her neck… her jaw…her lips...

She bit her lip when she imagined the softness of Rarity’s own. She caressed Rarity’s cheeks with her eyes, and finally made contact with Rarity’s own. She noticed her friend’s eyes were twinkling from the alcohol in her system, and she doubted the drink in Rarity’s hand was her first, or even second or third; despite the fact that 'a lady never drank more than she could handle' as Rarity so elegantly put it, she did, on occasion, overindulge.

“I saw my delightful ex boyfriend was talking to you,” Rarity noted, glancing in the direction where Blueblood had disappeared to. Twilight was almost proud of the amount of sarcasm dripping off the adjective Rarity used for him. Rarity threw her a sympathetic smile. “I hope it wasn’t too awful.”

Twilight smiled thinly. “It was delightful.” She couldn’t hold back a sigh and looked away. All of the things Blueblood had said still… stung. She knew he was trying to get under her skin but—

“Well, darling, if he said any delightfully unpleasant things, then I hope you know not to pay attention to anything he says, don’t you?” Rarity said, offering a reassuring smile.

Twilight smiled back and nodded. “I know.” It was impressive how a single reassuring word from Rarity made Blueblood’s claims seem less valid, less truthful. She just had to focus on Rarity, and it would be alright, wouldn’t it? “Besides, I also have delightfully unpleasant things to tell him, too, you know?”

Rarity put her free hand over her mouth to try and muffle her giggling, and Twilight could do naught but smile at the sight.

God, she loved Rarity’s laugh, and she loved being the one who made her laugh. What wouldn’t she give to hear that laugh every day? Cuddling on a couch, watching a silly movie, and whispering silly (and perhaps slightly inappropriate) things into her ears— With a shake of her head, she stopped her mental fantasies from distracting her of the real fantasy standing in front of her.

“I know you don’t really approve of me coming to Blueblood’s parties, but it has been almost a year,” Rarity said, taking a sip of her drink. “And I think we’re all more mature than to hold grudges, are we not?”

Twilight hugged herself with her free arm. “I just…” she drifted off, letting her mind go back to months ago. “I really hate him, Rarity… Really, really, really hate him…”

How Rarity had stopped going to her fashion design workshop because Blueblood had told her she needed to stop that. How he’d constantly criticize her ‘wasting’ her time designing clothes for charity events, and then would turn around and show it off as if he was the generous one. How she had started doing badly in classes after she broke up with him, to the point where Twilight had somehow managed to talk her into agreeing with the idea of nightly study sessions to get back on track. How the first few sessions had ended with Rarity crying into Twilight’s sleeves over that self-entitled jerk.

“I know, darling, but it’s over now,” Rarity said, smiling sympathetically at Twilight before downing her glass and continuing: “It really is. I promise. I just came here today to put an end to this.” She suddenly got closer and lifted Twilight’s chin. “Besides,” she continued quietly, “You being here makes it so much easier.”

Twilight’s cheeks went quite red, words escaped her lips, and she could feel a storm of butterflies in her stomach. When Rarity took back her hand, Twilight cleared her throat and looked towards the dancefloor where drunken couples stumbled about. “So, are you tired of dancing?” she asked.

Rarity let out a haughty laugh, looking at the dance floor as well. “Moi? Don’t be ridiculous! It’s only one in the morning. Ask me that that in four hours, and maybe I’ll consider saying yes.” She chuckled, letting her smile pull at the corners of her eyes. She then turned back to Twilight and raised an eyebrow. “The more important question tonight is... what have you been doing here for the past half hour all by your lonesome.”

“Me? Uhm… You know, just taking a little break,” Twilight stammered, trying to take a sip from her empty glass. “Just waiting for the DJ to put on songs you can dance to without the need for, uhm, somebody else…” Of course, just as she finished her sentence, she immediately regretted it. Smooth, Twilight. Now she’ll think you hate dancing like that. Why don’t you tell Rarity her dress is hideous next?

Her frustration towards herself only increased when Rarity frowned and turned back to the dance floor. She looked at the people dancing in shamelessly intimate ways for the longest time until she said, “Odd. I would have thought you of all people would like to dance with a partner. Especially considering your love of knowledge.”

Before Twilight could question her, Rarity turned to look at her and once again the smouldering gaze from thirty minutes ago had returned. “After all, you can learn so much about someone just by dancing with them.”

“Y-You can?” Twilight asked, losing her nerve when Rarity took a step towards her and nodded.

“Oh yes,” Rarity breathed, circling her, admiring her as if Twilight was one of the mannequins she used for her dresses. “And goodness, do I so love learning that way. You can learn how shy they are, for instance” she continued, closing the distance between them and stopping briefly to trace the edge of Twilight’s arm with her fingertips, “by observing how comfortable they are once you dance closer.”

The brief contact sent a jolt of electricity coursing through Twilight. A catch in her breathing, a quickening of her pulse. Time slowed, and Twilight knew only of Rarity now. No music permeated her bliss, and no lights interrupted her vision.

It had to be the alcohol in Rarity’s system making her act like this. There was no way she would be doing things like that while sober, would she? And if Twilight hadn’t taken that Pinkie Brew, she probably wouldn’t be standing there gawking, either.

“Most of all, you can easily find out how innocent they really are.”

Rarity stopped in front of Twilight and glanced back towards the people dancing. “See that? Being close enough to each other you can feel their breath on your neck?” She turned back to Twilight and lifted her hand to brush away Twilight’s bangs. “So close you can almost feel the eyes of your partner all over your body?”

Her fingertips slowly started going down Twilight’s face, stopping at her cheek without ever breaking eye-contact. “Being so lost in each other you can see their every demon and desire in their eyes?” Her hand descended even more and traced Twilight’s jawline, leaning in ever so slightly, her breath splashing on Twilight’s slightly parted lips. “Every touch so electrically charged that a single kiss in the midst of it all might be lethal? That’s not dancing, darling.”

She bit down on her lip and gently lifted Twilight’s chin again.

“That’s corruption.”

Any words Twilight had to offer had long since settled in her throat. Was this a dream? No, not even the sandman’s sleep could be that cruel, to force her to wake up from that at any moment. For a second, Rarity leaned in even more and Twilight’s eyes widened and closed as she nervously waited for the lethal kiss Rarity had mentioned.

But it never came.

Instead, Rarity pulled away and sighed dreamily. “A shame you don’t want to dance with anyone, Twilight. I’m sure no one here would hesitate to take you home with them.” She winked before turning around and walking off. “Now, where is that Trenderhoof? He still owes me a dance.”

Twilight watched her go, hips swaying in rhythm with the music. For a second, she pictured that guy from before brushing his hands over Rarity’s body. The idea was disgusting.

“W-Wait, Rarity!”

She went quiet after that, embarrassed by her own hasty outburst.

Rarity stopped dead in her tracks and looked back with a sly smile. “Yes~?” she asked, turning her smile innocent while fluttering her eyelashes. Despite her best attempts, she still looked more alluring than the look she was going for. Then again, it was impossible for anybody to look innocent while wearing a dress like that one.

Twilight realised that she may have been staring again, but she was much more interested and excited about the faint blush on Rarity’s cheeks. Does that mean she…

She tried to reply, but the words wouldn’t come to her. Rarity’s earlier descriptions of dancing resonated in her mind, and she found herself blushing crimson at realizing she wanted to ask Rarity to do all of that with her. Rarity waited, waited, waited and for a good minute Twilight still didn’t say a word. It wasn’t until Rarity turned away, apparently ready to leave, that Twilight felt her mood dip considerably.

Good going, Twilight. You’ve managed to screw up again.

“Rarity! Darling~!”

Twilight didn’t know who had called out, but Rarity turned away with a little sad smile. Twilight watched her make her way to the bar where three other girls welcomed her with open arms and fake kisses to the cheek. After that, Twilight found herself moving to the bar as well, if only to get more alcohol. She didn’t want to remember tonight.

As she made her way, she noticed Rarity watching her from the corner of her eye while engaging in trivial conversation with the three girls. The moment Twilight put her hands on the counter, several feet away from Rarity, the latter turned away from the girls and flashed the bartender her most dazzling smile, immediately drawing him to her.

“Drizzle, darling, I think I've had too many Mai Tais. Perhaps I ought to try something new tonight?" She tapped her index finger against her lips, humming as she thought what to order. On the back wall, behind Drizzle Shot, was a large menu listing out the names of over fifty types of drinks. After a minute of looking, Rarity glanced at Twilight, offered her the ghost of a smile, and without breaking eye-contact, asked: "I think number seventeen sounds absolutely delightful."

"A 'Sex on the Beach' coming right up," Drizzle clarified as he started serving peach schnapps, completely unaware of the crimson blush that appeared on Twilight's face at his words.

Rarity simply continued looking at Twilight, taking a step towards her. "Would you like to try it, darling~?" she asked, her smile increasing at Twilight's deepening flush. "Drizzle." She turned towards the bartender. "Be a dear and make that two number seventeens, if you please. One for the pretty lady over there, with the pink streak in her hair."

When the two drinks were made and each had their own, Rarity took another step towards Twilight. She took a long sip of the drink, and when she put the glass down, she made a showing of licking her lips. Twilight watched, mesmerized, so focused on Rarity’s sensuality that she almost missed the smile at the tail end of the little display. There was no doubt, Rarity was waiting for her to try her beverage, so she quickly lifted it to her face to hide the blush that had almost certainly made its home on her cheeks.

“Exciting isn’t it?” Rarity asked when Twilight almost choked on her drink. It was quite a bit stronger than anything she’d had so far, and Twilight imagined she could feel the alcohol rush straight to her brain, impairing her decisionmaking process and generally reducing her overall thinking capacity.

She could do little but nod, trying not to fixate on the way Rarity’s lips moved as she spoke. The more she failed at not looking at them, however, the more she wanted to feel them pressed against her own; to taste the sweet and tangy drink from somewhere other than her glass. “Rarity…”

She hadn’t even realized she’d whispered the name out loud until Rarity took another step closer, lifted her drink and took another slow sip. When she was finished, another step was taken towards Twilight and Rarity put her glass down right next to the other.

“Yes, Twilight?” she asked breathily, her fingers brushing around the rim of Twilight’s glass. For a brief second, the delicate fingertips traveled down the glass and brushed against Twilight’s hand, still gripping the glass as if her life depended on it.

It would be quick, to just lean in and kiss her. Twilight had enough alcohol in her system to feel daring enough to do it, and even if she wasn’t daring enough, a single taste of those lips would make it all worth it. In that moment, she had forgotten about all the people in the night club; all the staring, the whispering, and everything else was gone, gone, gone. All that remained was Rarity and how much she liked her, and how good she looked, and how badly she wanted that lethal kiss mentioned earlier.

“Rarity, dearest! There you are!”

And just like that, to the sound of the single most unpleasant voice in the world, the illusion was shattered into a million fragments. Twilight subconsciously stepped away from Rarity, and she hated herself for it, and hated how deep Blueblood’s words cut. Rarity simply offered a tired smile before, in one swift motion, downing half the remain of her drink and turning around with a beautiful smile.

“Blueblood, darling! Here I am, indeed!” she greeted, smiling at him even though he deserved nothing of the sort, and especially less from her.

Was it wrong for Twilight to be upset at Rarity for still being kind and polite to Blueblood after what he’d done to her? Could she really say she was only ‘looking out’ for her as a ‘good friend should’, or was it really only jealousy blinding her from being rational about it? Then again, with what Blueblood had said, there really wasn’t much to doubt about the nature of his intentions.

Blueblood looked completely different than he did a while ago. His cocky and irritating attitude had all but vanished, and now before them stood the Blueblood who, in a way much like Rarity, could charm whoever he wanted whenever he wanted. The difference, of course, was that Rarity did it to get donations for her charity events, whereas Blueblood did it to get better grades.

“Dearest, I must say you look ravishing tonight,” he drawled, the martini swirling around his glass as he nodded approvingly at Rarity’s outfit. “Your own design, I assume?”

Rarity smiled widely, looking down at her dress. “But of course! I only bring my very best designs to your parties,” she replied, taking another sip of her drink and smiling. Was she flirting with him? Surely not. She wouldn’t… would she?

Blueblood laughed and winked at Rarity. “I should hope so! You are one of my favorite designers,” he continued, unaware of the three girls behind Rarity who were now glaring daggers at her.

Twilight rolled her eyes at his blatant lies, and she found herself upset to see Rarity was still smiling brilliantly at him. Was she actually flattered by him? She couldn’t honestly believe this guy was being serious! After all he had done to her?

The three girls’ glares grew colder still when Blueblood moved his index finger in a circular motion. “Come now, give us a twirl,” he prompted, then took a step back and what followed nearly made Twilight sick.

The absolutely delighted giggle from Rarity; how she immediately twirled around on the spot like a flustered schoolgirl; how she acted the exact same way she had when the two of them were together; how people would call them the fairy tale couple. Twilight forced herself to stare at her drink. Just the thought of them getting back together…

“Twilight, what do you think?”

She looked up to find Rarity looking back expectantly, smiling as she waited for Twilight’s opinion. “I…” Twilight’s eyes wandered down Rarity’s body, and though the sight made her feel a thousand different things, she found that words to express those feelings were hard to come by at that moment. “You, uhm… You look great,” she finished lamely, and winced when Blueblood let out a loud scoff.

“That’s it? Honestly, Twilight, you have no sense of fashion whatsoever. Dearest, you look fabulous, more than fabulous really.” He smiled brightly. “You look marvelous, amazing, a brilliant diamond in the rough backdrop that is this establishment.”

Twilight bit down on her tongue, glaring at Blueblood. That slimey good for nothing...UGH! Even in her mind she couldn’t quite find the words to properly express how much she loathed the way Blueblood slithered through life and still managed to wrap everyone around his fingers like it was nothing.

Nevertheless, Rarity still smiled at Twilight. “I’m glad you like it, darling!” she said sincerely, taking her glass again and leaning back against the counter. “I was hoping you would…” For a fraction of a second, Rarity’s innocent expression flickered to a seductive looking glance, and Twilight could only blush.

She opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of Blueblood loudly clearing his throat caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity, hers included.

“You know, I rather feel like dancing, don’t you?” he asked Rarity, glancing back at the drunken crowd dancing about in the distance. “The night is still young!”

Rarity smiled and took a sip of her drink. “Goodness, I don’t think I’ll ever tire of dancing!” She turned to Twilight and smiled. “What about you, darling? You’ve yet to take a step on the dance floor…” She fluttered her eyelashes and the innocent smile reappeared. “It does make one feel like joining...” She drifted off and glanced at the dancefloor, past the distinctly annoyed looking Blueblood.

Blueblood cleared his throat again and extended his hand towards Rarity. “Rarity, dearest, I think we shou—”

He didn’t finish his sentence before words escaped Twilight’s mouth that hadn’t had the courtesy to stop by her mind first to ask for permission. “Wait!”

It felt like every single eye in the club was aimed at her, and even the music seemed to have slowed. She could feel her heart in the back of her throat but for some reason couldn’t bring herself to swallow it down.

“What do you want, Sparkle?” Blueblood sneered, hand still lifted towards Rarity.

“Rarity promised to dance with me, at least once,” Twilight replied, sounding a lot more confident than she really felt. A big part of her mind rebelled, but was muted, smothered, by the blanket of alcohol.

“Indeed I did!” Rarity immediately and cheerfully exclaimed, shifting every pair of eyes from Twilight to herself in a heartbeat. She smiled at Blueblood. “I am a woman of my word, I’m afraid. Maybe some other time, Blueblood, darling!” Before he could protest, she grabbed Twilight’s hand and dragged her off to the dancefloor without so much as another word, and Twilight, to her own surprise, didn’t resist. Did she really just go along with me? I never... she never... Am I really, finally, going to dance with her?

Every step they took towards the dancefloor seemed to indicate that she would, and yet, on the inside her brief surge of alcohol instilled confidence vanished. I can’t dance in front of all of these people! I’m not... I can’t... Rarity, please, save me from this!

Rarity looked back at her with such a dazzling smile, that she was sure her silent plea had not been heard. Three more steps. Two. One. And then she was there. Or rather, they were, all eyes of the club on them while Rarity started swaying to the beat that apparently hadn’t gone anywhere.

Seeing Rarity dance was one thing, but feeling her dance, was an entirely different thing altogether. Twilight instantly understood what Rarity had meant when she had called it ‘corruption’. Every part of her urged her body to move along with Rarity’s, to shape itself according to the demands of the beautiful succubus that pressed against her like the concept of shame did not exist. It lasted but an instant, and yet felt like an eternity before she woodenly tried to mimic Rarity’s moves, and even that didn’t last long.

“Out of the way, nerd. There’s no way in hell that Rarity promised something like that to the likes of you! Get lost and let me show you how a real couple dances!”

Twilight was only vaguely aware of the voice, but that changed quickly when something grabbed a hold of her shoulder. She was given a rough shove away from Rarity, and before she even saw Blueblood taking her place, several dancers got in the way and ended up pushing her off the dance floor. She only managed to see Rarity throw Blueblood a furious scowl at his rude action.

“Twilight!”

She was barely cognisant of Pinkie calling her, and as much as she wished she could, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from Rarity and Blueblood to look at Pinkie when she reached her. “Hi, Pinkie,” were the somber, hollow words that left her lips.

“What’s the matter?” Pinkie asked, certainly having noticed Twilight’s sour mood. “Why the sad face? Too much Pinkie Brew?”

“It’s nothing,” Twilight replied simply.

Nothing because, just like that, she was once more a girl — a nerd, to be technically correct — standing on the sidelines, while the woman of her dreams danced away with… him.

Rarity grimaced and looked over at Twilight with an apologetic smile while she gently tried to push the very drunk Blueblood away from her. To Twilight, it felt more like Rarity was saying sorry. Sorry because poor little Twilight was too nervous and anxious to even dance for five minutes, and was somehow glad for Blueblood’s interruption, terrible though it was. I should leave, she thought miserably, watching as Blueblood pulled Rarity closer and snaked an arm around her waist. She wanted to ask Pinkie to go with her to the bar for several more drinks, but she found she couldn’t budge.

It was like some sort of sick masochism to stand there and watch them dance, although dancing might have been too charitable a word. Blueblood drunkenly hoisted Rarity around against her will, then suddenly smiled and let his hands slither down, headed directly to… Twilight instinctively balled up her hands into fists, her eyes widening.

No... He’s not going to…

With horror, she watched as his lips curved into a sickeningly satisfied smile when his hand reached Rarity’s derriere and squeezed. While Twilight lacked any fighting experience whatsoever, it didn’t stop her from making a move to walk over and start practicing with Blueblood’s face. Or, she would have if Rarity hadn’t literally beaten her to the punch.

The entire room went silent save for Blueblood’s wheezing as he fell to his knees, clutching the spot on his stomach where Rarity had punched him. Twilight knew her friend had taken self-defense lessons before, but she had never known how strong she was.

The music had stopped for real this time. No doubt because the party’s host was indisposed, and a circle had formed around the two. While everyone seemed to be focused on Blueblood, Twilight and Pinkie were watching their friend. Oh no, Rarity…

“Don’t touch me!” Rarity yelled, drawing all the attention to herself before turning around and rushing out of the room, the clacking of her heels and Blueblood’s wheezing the only sounds in the room.

It felt to Twilight as if time had stopped, and it only started back up again when Pinkie took her by the hand. “Come on!” she said, pulling Twilight away towards the spot where Rarity had run off to. She stopped when Twilight pulled her back. “Twilight! What’re you doing?!”

“I’ll go after her, Pinkie,” Twilight replied, receiving an anguished stare from her friend. “Please, I can handle it. You just stay here, find AJ, and make sure that creep doesn’t go after us when he gets back up.”

That seemed to work for Pinkie. “Oki-doki!” she exclaimed, nodding seriously and turning towards the spot where Blueblood was still wheezing about. Rolling up the sleeves of her dress, she stomped her way over to him. “I’ll make sure that jerk can’t get up. Nobody touches my friends without their permission!”

For about half a second, Twilight worried about what her excitable friend might do to the creep, but then she realised that she couldn’t care less and instead worried about Rarity. She ran towards the entrance, only to find out that it was raining. What was more, Rarity hadn’t had a coat when she came in.

Twilight rushed over to the coat check and grabbed her coat and umbrella. After putting on her coat, she opened the umbrella and ran out. It was dark and cold outside, and the rain made it hard to see anything beyond a few feet. “Rarity!” she called out, walking away from the establishment as quickly as she could. She called a few more times to no avail before biting down on her lip.

Where could she have gone?

Her apartment was on the other side of town, and it wasn’t safe or healthy to walk alone at night, even less so with the rain pouring down like it was. She dug her hand inside her purse, took out her phone and dialed Rarity’s cellphone number from memory. “Rarity, come on,” she whispered after the sixth time that Rarity’s voicemail greeted her.

With a frustrated sigh, she shoved her cell-phone back into her purse and continued her search. Minutes later, she went around the corner of the street and relief washed over her at the sight of Rarity quickly walking in the distance. The relief then left just as soon as it had come, replaced instead with worry.

“Rarity!” she called, running over to her friend, who only looked back for a second before promptly looking away and continuing her angered walk. “What do you think you’re doing?” she scolded gently when she reached her friend, who made no effort to slow her pace.

“Going home,” Rarity replied in a voice colder than the night air. “Isn’t it obvious?” Her soaking hair was pressed against her, her make-up was running down her face, and she was shivering badly. Twilight couldn’t tell if she was shaking because she was cold or furious — probably both. “Is there anything you want, or have you just come to remind me of my misery? Have a laugh at Rarity, I bet. Ha ha ha!”

Yep, she was definitely furious.

“Rarity, I realize you’re upset, and it’s understa—”

“If you came here to lecture me, Twilight,” Rarity hissed, her clacking heels accentuating every word, “Then I suggest you give up now and leave me alone to wallow in my misery.”

Twilight couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. “Rarity, your house is almost two hours away by foot! Don’t be ridiculous.” She grabbed Rarity’s hand and gently said, “Please, Rarity, it’s freezing and you’re not wearing a coat. Let’s take you somewhere warm before you get a cold, or worse, hypothermia.” She didn’t like the idea of Rarity being sick in bed, so she decided she’d still give her some cold medicine just to be sure.

“Hah! You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going back there, Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity scoffed, finally stopping if only to turn around and glare daggers at her friend. “I’d rather—” She looked around and spotted a bench on the side of the street — “sit there and get hypothermia than be anywhere near that despicable scum ever again.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, Rarity, I didn’t mean—” she sighed and pulled on Rarity’s arms a little more insistently. “My apartment is five minutes away. That’s the place I was talking abo— R-Rarity?”

She cut herself off when her friend quietly walked away towards the bench, half dragging Twilight along for the ride until the latter let go of Rarity’s arm. Without a care for ruining her already soaked dress, Rarity sat down, crossed one arm and used the other to cover her face with her hand. She was shivering even harder now that the warmth that walking had provided faded with every raindrop.

Twilight quickly made her way over to her, and gently prompted: “Rarity… Please, you’re going to get sick...” When Rarity made no signs whatsoever of moving, Twilight sighed and sat down besides her on the wet bench so they’d both be under the umbrella. Might as well keep Rarity sheltered from the rain as much as she could. “Alright, then,” she murmured, getting to work on unbuttoning her coat.

“I hate him, Twilight...”

Said a little more softly, Twilight wouldn’t have heard Rarity’s whisper. She looked up from her coat and turned to Rarity. The latter was looking down at her hands folded on her lap, and Twilight saw several teardrops run down from her eyes and fall down onto her hands. It broke Twilight’s heart to see her like that, and it only fueled her seemingly neverending shared hatred of Blueblood.

“I hate him so much,” Rarity continued in a whisper, closing her eyes and balling her hands into fists. “This… This night was supposed to be different. I was going to make it special, and then he… he…” She gritted her teeth and buried her face in her hands. “Oh, how I hate him. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him.”

“Rarity?”

When she looked up from her hands, Twilight smiled at her and invited her to share half of her coat. It didn’t take Rarity even a second to scoot over and bury herself against Twilight. She sniffled a bit when Twilight wrapped her arm around her, making sure to cover Rarity with as much as she could of the unbuttoned coat.

“Should have kicked him,” Rarity muttered, snuggling against Twilight for warmth. “I knew I’d found my stilettos today for a reason...”

“A stiletto kick?” Twilight laughed softly, shaking her head. “I’m sure you’d have been thrilled to sit in court and convince the judge that the stiletto stab wounds on Blueblood aren’t yours, right?”

“Who said I’d plead not guilty?” Rarity replied, before finally treating Twilight to a few choked up but nonetheless precious quiet giggles. She let out a long sigh and looked up. “I’m cold. Is your apartment still available?”

Twilight smiled. “If you’re done with ‘wallowing in your misery’, then yeah,” she said, giggling when Rarity rolled her eyes. She got up and took off her coat, draping it around Rarity’s shoulders. It would be cold for a while, but at least she wasn’t wearing a dress that lacked an entire side of cloth. “Come on,” she said, holding the umbrella over Rarity’s head and waiting for her to get up. “I’ve got a heater, and some warm chocolate milk with your name on it.”

Even cold as she was, Rarity managed to look indignant. “I am not a child, Twilight.”

“Okay, so you don’t want the chocolate milk. I have tea, or coffee, or just something to make you warm.”

Rarity smiled. “I never said I didn’t want the chocolate milk... Just that I’m not a child.”

Much to Twilight’s surprise and pleasure, Rarity then stepped under the umbrella and linked both her arm and hand with Twilight’s. Twilight’s heart fluttered at the contact, and she held on tight to Rarity’s hand as they made their way out of the park and towards the apartment complex in the distance.

Author's Note

In the darkest hour of the night, when there is naught a sound but that of my own unsteady breathing, a voice in the depths of my soul quietly says in an anguished voice: "Maybe I write too much RariTwi..."

And moments later, after the question has settled and the silence returned, when my doubts and insecurities begin to claw at my heart, a second voice within me quietly replies: "There is no such thing as too much goddamn RariTwi, you hack."