Luxury

As soon as your front door closes, you lean into it, collapsing to your knees. A torrent of sweat rolls through your coat as you lay there, panting heavily. You love running, but you never were much of a sprinter; it was always so much more tiring. That didn't stop you from running home as fast as possible, though.

I like her.

Eventually, when your breathing calms, you run a hoof through your mane and let your mind drift; of course, your main thought process is… Lotus and your quick escape from certain embarrassment. If she had found out you that had a steamy dream about her while she was giving you a massage, then you'd probably curl up and die right there.

A shiver makes its way down your spine as you think about brushing past the spa sister during your getaway. The warmth radiating off of her body was absolutely astounding, and even the light, cool sweat you felt in her coat, no doubt due to the incredible humidity of the spa, felt amazing.

The memory of an earlier spa trip comes to the forefront of your mind.

"You really take care of yourself well, Sweets," she says. Her accent is just strong enough to let you know she's not originally from Ponyville, but it’s still easy to understand. You had heard rumors that Princess Celestia was supposed to have the most angelic voice of any pony. Though after hearing Lotus speak, you've no idea how that could even be possible.

You find yourself lightly giggling as she continues, "Stop laughing, I'm serious. I see mares come in here that are so obsessed with being 'in shape' that I feel like I'm trying to massage one of those biology-class skeletons." You remember the inadvertent tickling and resultant bout of laughter as the masseuse shivered at the thought. "But you… You're beautiful."

You turn to face the floor-length mirror that was placed on a wall by your front door. Your eyes run over your body, admiring yourself with a soft smile and taking her compliment to heart. When your eyes finally make their way up to your face, your heart drops a little. When you left, you forgot about the blue and purple flower that had been removed from your mane.

"I hope Lily will forgive me for losing it so quickly," you say, a frown spreading across your face.

Your thoughts jump quickly back to Lotus and the sensation of her hooves as she plucks that same flower from your mane, setting it aside. You close your eyes and relive every moment in your mind. You can feel the warmth of the water as it flows over your head, followed by the cool shampoo being drizzled lightly onto your mane. Ever so slowly, Lotus' hooves push the shampoo deep into your hair, using gentle circular patterns.

You take a deep breath and lazily lay your head against the carpeted floor, as the feeling of warm water once again washes over your head.

***

The loud rapping of a pony knocking at the door, against which you rest, jars you from your once peaceful slumber. Much to your surprise, the morning sun filters through the large window that adorns the front of your house, bathing the entire room in a bright orange glow. You unceremoniously climb to your hooves, realising, as you lean against the door frame, that your legs had fallen asleep when you did. The feeling of being stabbed by thousands of pins and needles quickly spreads through your neglected limbs as you take a step back, allowing room for the door to swing open.

You reach out a hoof and pull the door open just as a powerful yawn overtakes your body, forcing your eyes closed. As you slowly exhale, you reach up and wipe away the resultant moisture. As your eyes slide open, your breath seems to get stuck in your throat.

"Hi, Sweetie," For a moment, you're taken aback by the view before your eyes. "You always look so beautiful like this. So, I thought I'd give it a try this morning. Do you like it?"

Still stunned, you blink a few times and drink in the sight of the smiling blue mare. Her mane is pushed back by a headband, but not the typical one; she's wearing not only your purple headband but also Lily's morning glory in her hair. The combination is surprisingly striking, and the blue and purple flower seems to compliment the spa pony's deep blue eyes as well as it does your own.

"I guess you do," Lotus says, reaching up with her hoof and nudging your mouth closed; your heart jumps at the contact. Afterwards, she plucks the headband and flower from her mane, nearly dropping the morning glory before gently grasping it in her mouth, for better control. Lotus places the headband in your mane by first positioning the ends behind your ears and then rotating body of the object up to the top of your head, effectively corralling your messy morning mane. As she pulls away, her hoof brushes against the soft fur of your ear, sending a shiver through your spine. The entrancing pony leans in slowly, tucking the flower into your mane at the base of the headband, just like Lily did. You can feel her warm breath gently wash over your face, tickling your fur.

"Lotus, I want to ask you something." As you speak, Lotus pulls away, causing the short hairs on your muzzles to brush against one another. The welcome sensation causes heat to spread through your cheeks and each of your words to come out slower and quieter until your voice is no longer audible. When the mare's face comes back into view, something about her expression draws you in. Maybe it's the way her eyes shimmer in this light or her ubiquitous smile. Though, why you're drawn to her isn't important right now. What is important is that your face is now close enough for you to smell the minty scent of her breath and feel its warmth as it rolls over your face.

Lotus' eyes go wide in surprise right as your lips meet, and when you realise what you're doing, you completely freeze up. Your heart races through your chest, and during that moment, it feels like an eternity passes you by before Lotus gathers the wherewithal to recoil. Your heart falls into your stomach, and your gaze drops to the floor.

"Umm… Sweets?"

"I'm sorry, Lotus," you say, already talking a mile a minute. "I don't know what I was thinking. It's just that you're so beautiful and you keep complementing me, and it makes me feel so good about myself." As you quietly ramble, you slowly inch backward, stopping when you bump into the arm of the couch.

"I wanted to ask you out, but when I saw you just now, I couldn’t help myself, and now I've messed that up. So, I hope we can still be friends, but I completely understand if you never want me to come to the spa again."

"Yes."

Prying your eyes off of the beige carpet below your hooves, you look up at Lotus. Surprisingly, she looks just as nervous as you feel.

"Saturday at seven?" you ask, hoping that her acceptance wasn't just a figment of your stressed mind. The blue pony nods furiously and then bolts from your home, much like you did her spa.

The moment she's out of sight, you sit on your haunches and lean against the arm of your couch, grasping your head in your forehooves in an attempt to stop the millions of thoughts running through your mind.

I kissed her.

She ran away.

But she said, yes. Twice.

She ran away.

Her lips were so warm; so soft.

She,

Ran,

Away!

As your thought finishes, you thrust your head backwards into the couch, expecting a soft impact. Instead, your head smashes into one of its main support beams. "Ouch…" you say, rubbing the back of your aching head.

You take a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking just above a whisper. "She said, yes!"

With your spirits momentarily buoyed, you get up and trot into the kitchen. As you enter the room, the way Celestia's sun reflects off of the butter yellow walls momentarily blinds you, causing your, recently acquired, headache to flare. When your vision adjusts to the incredibly bright room, you continue towards your destination, the refrigerator.

As you pass by the sink, you stop to water a small potted tree that sits on the window sill in front of you. It's a rare species that you had purchased from the flower sisters. It looks very similar to a full grown oak tree in miniature scale, but it has one major difference, the leaves are a delicate shade of light pink. It takes you a moment to recall the name of the plant. Arborus Flutterus.

With a smile, and a happy tree, you continue towards the fridge. You take a quill off of the counter, and step up to the calendar that is held in place on the freezer door, right at eye level. Under the date five Neigh, you write 'Date with Lotus at seven.' Afterwards, you draw a large X through yesterday's block and look to today's.

"Have dress made at Carousel Boutique."

***

Wow. This place is… Extravagant. Is this silk on the outside of a building?"

Trotting over, you run a hoof over the fabric next to the door, confirming your earlier speculation. After that revelation, you decide that if you continue examining the exterior of the building, you might just lose your mind.

Unsure if you should knock or not, you lightly push on the front door, and when the door freely swings open, you make your way inside. The interior design seems to be more grounded. The walls are a deep, calming fuchsia with lighter pink accents. Around the outside wall are a number of mannequines clothed in varying styles of dresses and even a few with tuxedos. You don't see Rarity anywhere in the room. So, you decide to examine the mare's wares while you wait for her. One specific dress catches your eye right away. Its colors are quite similar to that of the room around you. Deep fuchsia mixed with lighter shades of pink, and accented by what appears to be golden thread and topaz. Atop the mannequine's head is a simple golden tiara with three dark pink gems adorning its face. The entire ensemble appears to be hoof stitched.

You nearly jump out of your own skin when a powerful, masculine voice speaks from quite close behind you. "Rarity will down in just a moment, miss." You can feel your heart racing a mile a minute as you whirl around to take in the sight of the stallion that snuck up behind you.

Not a stallion.

Something much larger. Something that stands on two legs and towers over you. He smiles – no, not smiles. Bears his teeth, his sharp, pointed teeth – at you. He holds a bottle of Sparkle Cola in his… claws? Yes, they look like that baby dragon's claws.

You're breathing in short, quick pants, now, and as you slowly take a step away from this monster, you flatten your ears and lower your head, trying to look as docile as possible. Seemingly oblivious to your situation, the monster takes a long drink from his Cola before letting out a great, roaring belch. Reacting to the loud sound, you press your eyes shut and tilt your head to the side, slightly. Your flank bumps into something hard, causing you to come to a complete stop as the monster's great roar finishes.

Cracking your eyes open, you see that you've been backed into a large, gnarled tree. One of many in the forest that surrounds you. Your mother had always told you that going into the Everfree Forest was dangerous, and as you stare at the monster in front of you, you now see why.

Its massive body is covered with a thick, orange-brown fur. As it advances towards you on only its hind legs, it bears its large, cat-like teeth and flares the large, sinewy wings that adorn its back. Just as it gets to you, the monster sets itself down on all fours, holding its chitinous tail high overhead. Before you can react, the monster's large stinger is buried in your neck.

The pain spreading throughout your body is nearly overwhelming as the long appendage is pulled away from you. Fire seems to course through your veins and it quickly encompasses your entire being. As one last feeble attempt at survival you scream; or at least, you try to, but you quickly find that your mouth won't open, nor will your hooves do as much as quiver. Thankfully, your breathing continues unhindered.Futilely, you focus all of your effort on the simple act of closing your eyes. Still, your muscles don't respond.

Time seems to go in slow motion when you see the monster's massive paw being swung down at you. You can feel all four of the monster's claw tear into the flesh of your chest, and your vision is stained red when small droplets of liquid splatter across your face. The intense burning sensation throughout your body is dwarfed by the sharp stinging of the massive gashes running down your belly.

Your eyes overflow with tears as the great monster towers over you, once again on its hind legs. The monster leans in, bearing its teeth, but as it gets within hoof-reach of you, its face slams into an invisible wall. Moments later, a magenta sphere envelops you. A veritable flood of tears run down your face as the monster raises its bloodied claw and swings at you again, but the barrier holds strong. You begin to feel lightheaded, and your heart seems to race faster than it's ever done.

A bright magenta pulse of magic draws both the creature's attention and yours. It quickly turns to the side, letting out a powerful roar. A blinding aura of magic fills the air with static and blasts the great creature out of your line of sight. The sound of trees shattering is followed by a muted thud.

As your vision begins to fade you see a stallion gallop up to you. Sweat pours from his multi-hued blue mane and over his alabaster coat. A few stray beams of Celestia's sun reflect off of his brightly shining armor and flow over you, leaving your entire body feeling warm as the darkness consumes you.

"Darling, you're ok," a noblemare's voice coos. "You're safe." You open your eyes, taking in the blurry world around you. The first tangible sensations to reach your mind are the warmth of the liquid in which you currently sit and how closely the aroma of the room around you resembles Cheerileeos. A soft, white hoof presses lightly against your shoulder. You quickly look down to your torso and run a forehoof over the four scars that lie hidden under your coat.

"I'm sorry, Rarity. I can't believe this happened again," you say, weakly.

"Not at all, dear. Come now, get up. I can't have you sitting in a puddle of bodily fluids after such a traumatic event." You shakily climb to your hooves, as instructed, and Rarity levitates a plush-looking, white towel over in a field of blue magic, placing it across your shoulders.

"Please dry yourself off, and follow me." Once again, you do as you're told. The generous mare leads you up a flight of stairs and into a large bathroom, where she flicks the bathtub's tap on. In a just a moment, hot water begins to fill the basin as steam fills the room.

"Now, Darling. Take as much time as you need to get cleaned up and calm down. I'll be downstairs tidying up. Don't even think about coming down until you're feeling better. I simply shan't allow it." With that, the white mare leaves you to yourself, shutting the door as she does so.

***

You felt terrible taking so long in the bath of, for all intents and purposes, a stranger's home, but for what seemed like forever, you had just sat there, vibrating from the fear of reliving that terrible memory. Every so often, a stray tear or two would roll down your face and drip into the bath. Eventually, you calm enough to properly bathe yourself, and before long, you're squeaky clean and as calm as you are going to get. Even still, phantom twinges of pain on your neck and chest have to be chased away by tenderly rubbing them with a hoof. Though, they seem to return as soon as you stop. You dry yourself off with another of the generous mare's towels, and make your way over to the mirror. After you rein in your mane and put your lavender headband back in place, you are very careful to not damage Lily's morning glory when you tuck it behind your ear, once again.

With a deep breath, you make your way downstairs, bracing yourself for the inevitable storm of question that is to come. Upon reentering the boutique proper, you once again find the room empty.

"Rarity?" you call out, noting the piney-lemony scent now flooding the room.

"Mmm… Back here, Darling." You just barely hear her reply echo out of a room in the back. Walking over to the doorway that the sound came from, you see that the seamstress occupies a table in her kitchen, with the butter-yellow pegasus that you saw at the spa and the creature from earlier. You halt at the doorway, unable to make eye contact with the trio.

"Would you care for a cup of tea before we begin, dear?"

"Oh. No, thank you. I've never really enjoyed tea. I prefer hot cocoa, really."

"So be it," Rarity says, rising from her seat with a delicate looking china tea cup wrapped up in the blue aura of her magic. "Shall we get started then?" You nod in response, and wait on the far side of the doorway for the fashionista to join you.

She leads you into what appears to be her workroom. A bookshelf full from top to bottom with thread sits against one wall. Next to it is a rack with what must be nearly a hundred different types and colors of fabric. By the far wall is a set of mannequines with dresses in varying stages of completion. The best description you can use for this room is harmonious chaos.

"Ok, Darling. First, I shall need to take your measurements," she says, levitating a tape measure as she approaches. Surprisingly, Rarity uses a hoofs-on approach, wrapping the yellow measuring tape around her hooves and taking measurements while floating a quill and pad in her magical aura. She lightly hums during the process, but she stops when taking your chest measurement. You felt her hooves graze your scars, lingering a little too long, probably in surprise. The generous mare is visibly taken aback and seems to be fighting a mental battle with herself. Knowing full well what happens next, you preempt her questions.

"As a filly, my mother always warned me about the Everfree, forbidding me to go near it. One day, I decided that she was just trying to keep me away from something really fun, like all foals think their parents do. When I got lost, I quickly learned that wasn't the case. Then, I got cornered by a manticore, pinned up against a tree."

Up until this point, Rarity had continued to measure what you assume to be important points of your anatomy, but when you utter the monster's name she lets out a small gasp. You can feel your heart race just from the thought of it.

"It used its massive tail to sting me right in the neck. It only took a few seconds before I was completely paralyzed. I couldn't even close my eyes. I was completely helpless, forced to sit there and watch as it raised its claw and ripped my body open. Then it leaned in and right as it was about to eat me alive, I was surrounded by a unicorn's forcefield."

Even though you couldn't see her, you knew the fashionista was staring, slack-jawed at you as tears slowly rolled down your cheeks. Everypony did.

"It was a young guardspony, and I'll never forget the blinding magenta of his magical aura as it blasted the manticore through the forest or the way his armor shined, even under the forest's thick canopy. I never got to meet him, though. When I was in the hospital recovering, they told me that he was just a recruit on patrol."

"You know, Darling. I've only ever met a few unicorns with a magenta magical aura, it's quite rare," Rarity says as she walks around in front of you. Oddly, she seems to be trying to hide a devious smirk.

"Let's get back to happier matters, shall we? Did you have the type of dress you wanted, in mind?"

"Not really. Though, I do have a date coming up."

"Perfect!"Rarity blurts, lifting a sketch pad up in her aura. Slowly walking circles around you, the mare's eyes take in every inch of your body. "Now, Darling. If I'm going to make an absolutely fabulous dress for this date, I must know everything! What date is it? Where are you going? What's his name?"

For a moment, the fashionista began to sound like a refined, nosey version of Pinkie Pie.

"Well," you say, after a moment of consideration. "It's our first date, and I'm not quite sure where we’re going. It was sort of a spur of the moment thing, you see." A long silence follows with Rarity clearly expecting more information

"That's not exactly much to work with, dear. Come now, tell me who it is that's asked you out. I would say that I know quite a few ponies around town, and if I do know this mystery stallion, then I might know what he likes to do. You see, that will allow us to narrow down the possible places he might take you. Thus, allowing us to make a better ensemblé and hopefully help woo the lucky colt taking you out." During her long winded explanation, Rarity continued to circle around you, much like the way a predator circles their prey.

You sigh, quietly. "I'm not really sure that she'd like me telling you before we've even gone on our first date."

"Darling, I'm quite sure that whoever this pony is, they would not have chosen to gone on a date with you if they were not comfortable with other ponies knowing about it."

"I'm not so sure about that, though. As soon as we set a date and time, she ran away. Like, fast."

"Oh dear." The fashionista stumbles over her words a little after your revelation. Somehow, you get the idea that she doesn't do that too often. "I dare say that I would be a bit conflicted if that happened to me, as well. Darling, tell me everything, and I'll see if I can help you figure this out."

"But, what if she found out?"

"She won't, dear. It will just be between you and me, I… Pinkie promise" Using a forehoof, Rarity goes through the gestures of the swear, making sure not to poke herself in the eye with her hoof in the process. Forever

Once again, you sigh. Though, this time, in defeat. She is right.

Well, hopefully. Maybe.

After quite a while, you realise that you might have gotten a bit carried away in your explanation because before it was over, you had told Rarity everything related to your infatuation and eventual faux pas. Though, once you started pouring your heart out, the mare's subtle coaxing kept you going until every last one of your secrets had been given away, and if this wasn't her original intention, she never gave any indication.

"Can you imagine how utterly perfect that would have been if she told you how she had loved you all along, and then kissed you back?" Rarity suggests with a wistful edge to her voice.

"Yeah," you say, the disappointment in your own voice obvious.

"Sorry, dear. That was terribly uncouth of me." The unicorn begins levitating various items of her trade around, slipping small pieces of fabric and threads, arranging small gemstones, and furiously scribbling on her sketchpad.

"Give me just a moment, Darling. I've got the perfect idea."

After a few more moments, and an undeniable hurricane of supplies flying about, Rarity calls you over to her work desk. On the desk is a quill and ink sketch of you wearing what seems to be a light, airy dress. Around the sketch is an array of materials, but just as you begin to examine the entire setup, Rarity launches into what you would call a sales pitch, if she didn't insist on this being a gift; by the end, she's almost convinced you that you could woo Princess Celestia if you were wearing the planned dress.

As you open your mouth to approve with the mare's design, you meet her eyes. They remind you of Lotus'. They share the same deep shades of blue, and they share that same look of confidence, but in Rarity's eyes, you can see something else. You see the need for her design to be accepted, liked. Something tells you, it's as deep seated and powerful as the urge you feel to have Lotus reciprocate your feelings. Suddenly, you understand her enthusiasm, and the near endless quest for perfection she's, even by you, known for. One does not simply live in a town with feuding fashion designers without hearing things about both.

Seeing a bead of sweat roll down the fashionista's face, you know you've been lost in thought for far too long. "It looks like it will be amazing, Rarity."

"Wonderful!" All of a sudden, the unicorn begins leading you towards the exit. “I simply must get started now if I’m going to finish this by Saturday. Tata for now, Darling.”

You politely say goodbye before heading home, ready for a rest after a stressful day repeatedly bearing your life somepony no closer than an acquaintance.

As you oftentimes do after arriving at your front door, you lean down and take a long, deep breath, taking in the sweet smell of the bright flowers surrounding your home. You stand there for a little while, letting the calming scent relax your mind. A smile spreads across your face; you've got a date with the most wonderful mare you could ever dream of, and you're going to look stunning in Rarity's dress. After a moment longer, you open the door and walk inside, bubbling with excitement. Nothing is going to stop your date from being the best night ever!