Behind Closed Doors

To a pony living in a town where ponies have gone missing in the past week, the spa seemed extremely inviting. With its luxurious baths and exquisite facial scrubs, it was a place where even the most stressed out pony could find relaxation and a peace of mind.

…If that pony wasn’t Rainbow Dash, at least.

Rarity gave a deep sigh as she sank deeper into the bath set out for her. As always, it was perfect for her complexion. Not too hot, and most certainly not too cold, but just…right. Really, the pristine unicorn couldn’t understand why that prismatic pegasus needed to throw such a big tantrum over her hooves, but she may have finally found some form of relaxation in the spa.

Well, if she wasn’t the one paying for it, Rainbow Dash seemed quite fine with it. At least, that’s what it LOOKED like whenever their friends would bond over gossip or friendship lessons. Nevertheless, Rarity was glad she was able to eventually find some form of enjoyment from it. All the more ways they could possibly bond, in select degrees.

…It always occurred to her just how different she and Rainbow Dash truly were. And yet, like the rest of them, they could socialize with each other, albeit having contrasting tastes in what is a suitable adjective to describe something, or what is a good activity to pass the day, and other pointless things that lead to arguments…

The unicorn looked up towards the ceiling, her wet purple mane trailing along her neck. If it wasn’t for the Elements of Harmony, would they have given each other the light of day? Would she have been willing to handle Pinkie Pie’s antics? Granted, she knew Pinkie Pie longer, and would often end up helping her in her party-arranging, offering ribbons and trimming wherever she could.

…And there was another contrast. Pinkie Pie’s tastes on how a party should be, versus the Grand Galloping Gala, one of the many formal parties that Rarity enjoyed. And yet, perhaps it had to do with the amount of formality between friends that made Rarity love Pinkie Pie’s parties so much. It was the bond they all seemed to have where they could tell each other everything, unlike a formal party like the Gala, where whatever choice you make would affect how you were seen on the social ladder.

It was quite the competitive society. While she herself had the pleasure of the nobles’ company, she also had to spin a web of lies doing so.

…Looking into her reflection, the unicorn frowned at herself. You could tell your friends almost everything, anyway, if the scars on her left eye had anything to do about it.

…It was taking eyesore in a literal definition.

‘…If they knew…what would they say? What would they do?’ Rarity closed her eyes as she allowed herself to be consumed in the steam filling up the room.

‘…You’re already spinning a lie right now. Everypony just hasn’t noticed yet.’

She’d never let her friends see the scars. That’d just raise too many questions, and she most likely wouldn’t be able to answer any of them. But what if they found out? What if-

The door slid open and closed shut after a moment. “…Hi, Rarity.”

The unicorn blinked as wide sapphire eyes met soft teal marbles. “...F-Fluttershy, darling! What a pleasure seeing you today, uh…we never agreed to meet today, so I wasn’t expecting you, darling…!” She stammered.

Fluttershy smiled, her mane bouncing freely as she tilt her head to the side. “Oh, it’s okay…I just wanted to relax for a time, and I heard you were already here from Aloe. You didn’t exactly ask for anypony to leave you alone…right?”

Rarity nodded as her cheeks flushed. “…Of course, darling, just…do…do come sit beside me, dear. You won’t be relaxing just standing in front of the door like that.”

‘…What if she notices my scars? I usually apply make-up on it, but there’s no make-up in the sauna!’ Her eyes darted from side to side, trying to find some sort of solution, anything to keep Fluttershy from noticing-

…Did Fluttershy cut her mane?

“Oh, um…sure.” The yellow pegasus walked over and let out a moan of pleasure as she allowed herself to sink into the water, her wings fluttering into a comfortable position. Rarity observed the pegasus, noting the tense muscles and ruffled feathers all over her body.

‘…Perhaps she has also seen stress recently.’ The pristine unicorn thought as she also sank deeper into the water, trying to find a more pleasing position.

‘…Should I try some small talk? Maybe she’d be willing to talk to me.’

Fluttershy gave a deep sigh as she turned towards her friend, immediately sitting upright as soon as she relaxed. “Rarity, what happened to your eye? That looks like it hurts!” She exclaimed, forgetting for a second that she can, in fact, project loudly in a room.

…Perhaps too loudly.

“…Oh, well…I…” The unicorn stammered for a second. “Opal wasn’t feeling well on a day you were busy, and I tried to get her into a cat carrier…this was the result of that. I took Opal to the vet, but right now she’s being seen by medical attention.” The unicorn explained.

‘…And now another lie is added to the web. You truly value your friends, Rarity.’

The pegasus nodded in understanding, a look of guilt evident on her face. “…I’m sorry I was busy that day. You could’ve gone blind in one eye.”

“Oh, it’s not your fault, darling. I just simply struggle, trying to take care of my own cat. I fear she doesn’t like me very much.”

‘…And she’ll never like you again, after what you’ve done.’

Rarity shook her head. Perhaps it was time for a subject change. “Whenever did you cut your mane short, darling? It looks marvelous!”

Now it was Fluttershy’s turn to grow defensive. “Oh, um…I just, wanted an image change after a while. Do…do you like it? It’s not…too bold?”

“Indeed, it makes you look bold, but there’s a sense of strength being portrayed with it!” Rarity gushed, causing the pegasus to flush up in embarrassment. It was funny how she tried to hide her face with it, since it was now too short to completely cover up her expression. “Why the sudden change, darling?”

“…I just, wanted to try something new. Sometimes…things happen that help to shape you into…who you are.” Fluttershy mumbled, almost inaudible.

Rarity blinked as she held a perplexed expression. “…What happened, darling? Are you alright?”

“…I’m fine. I’m more worried about how Opal must be doing. How long has she been in the vet now?” Rarity grimaced at the question. Now the conversation was about her problems again.

“Err…two…weeks, now? I think so, anyway…” The unicorn mused, just slightly audible enough for the yellow pegasus to hear her.

Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed. “A cat in a vet for two weeks sounds like a serious matter. Are you sure those doctors are taking care of her properly?”

‘Yes. Tell her. Tell her how you sewed your cat shut from the inside out.’

“Oh, I’m certain they’re doing their job correctly, just…you know how frisky Opal can be. She has a habit of creating delays…” She gave a big smile, anything to ensure her story’s validity.

The pegasus frowned as she gave a deep sigh. “…If you believe they have it handled…then, okay.” She was willing to drop the subject for now, luckily.

“Anyways, you deliberately changed the subject, darling. Are you alright?” Perhaps it was time to find some answers herself.

“Oh, um...you mean me? I’m just fine.” It was suffocating how stubborn she could be.

The unicorn’s eyes narrowed. “…Darling, ‘fine’ doesn’t tell me anything. What happened, dear?”

The yellow pegasus just sat there with an empty expression for what felt like an eternity, the tension in the room rising with the steam, causing sweat to add to the many layers of discomfort. Rarity kept her gaze, waiting to see her best friend’s next move. It was clear to her that perhaps they both had something hidden from each other.

Fluttershy finally slowly shook her head and stood up. “…Excuse me.” With that, the pegasus promptly escorted herself to the door with her eyes shadowed out, quickly opening it and slipping through, and shut it with a sound of finality, leaving the unicorn to her own thoughts.

‘…Whatever she has hiding, she wouldn’t speak to me about it. And here I thought I had a daring secret to keep from the rest of my friends...’ The unicorn gave a deep sigh and promptly forced herself out of the bath, droplets of water running down from her mane, seeping into her coat.

‘I’ve soaked in here long enough, anyway.’

Another pile of books was levitated to the other side of the library as Twilight continued with her studies, constantly putting quill to paper. She had been actively investigating the case since the evening before, ever since the Princess came by to her library and asked her to help find any clues regarding the matter.

Naturally, she was honored to take the case.

According to the demographic charts of Equestria and copies of Equestria Weekly that covered all of the week before, kindly donated to her from Princess Celestia herself, the majority of missing ponies throughout the week seemed to carry some sort of pattern…

Or so she thought, anyway.

The targets seemed to have one thing in common. Or rather, two classes of ponies. In one category, a fair amount of them seemed to be of a high noble class, ponies with a lot of wealth to back them up. In another, it seemed to be ponies that held no special rank, but had loving families they worked themselves for.

…Two very distinct classes, with no connection between them whatsoever. It was frustrating.

What was the benefit in doing all of this? If it was just nobles, she could’ve possibly concluded that the criminal was trying to get more power socially. It was the other category that was creating complications…It made it harder to find the criminal’s motive.

And without that, she couldn’t possibly predict where the criminal would strike next. A place of nobility, or a small house in Ponyville? Which one? Should she take action to prepare for both scenarios?

…Maybe that’s for the best. The lavender unicorn’s eyes narrowed as she closed her studies. If she set up precautions in both areas, they may have a chance at cracking the case sooner.

…If she could just contact Princess Celestia.

“Spike! Spike!” Twilight yelled, her voice bouncing from the top floor down into the kitchen, barely audible by the time it reached its destination.

Nevertheless, the message was received.

“…Yeah, Twilight?” The purple-green baby dragon walked out of the kitchen, pink apron and spatula in his claw. “What do you need?”

Twilight met him at the end of the stairs. “I need you to take a letter for me, to Princess Celestia.”

Putting the spatula to the side, the dragon nodded. “Okay! Your number one assistant is on the job!” From the shelf, he pulled out a blank scroll with a feathered quill, ink at the ready. “Ready when you are, Twilight!”

...Sneaky might as well have been Pinkamina’s middle name. Certainly would’ve fit better than Diane.

The pink earth pony frowned as she gazed upon the fruits of her friend Twilight’s labor from the insides of the library wall, neatly piled on the desk. As much as she REALLY liked Twilight, her smarts were gonna eventually get her killed, be it by the Rainbow Factory or a delicious cupcake.

Scratch that. She’d definitely die Pinkamina’s way. Call it compensation, if you will.

If that information got to Celestia, Dashie would most likely be freaking out and saying that Celestia’s got the advantage, and then nopony gets to have any fun. So, it was up to Pinkamina to make sure that doesn’t happen.

In a swift movement, the pink pony slipped from her hiding spot to underneath the desk full of her friend’s work. Like a wolf, getting ready to pounce on its unsuspecting prey.

‘…If she had nothing to show, than there’d be nothing to report.’ Pinkamina thought to herself as her lips curled into a devilish grin.

Twilight’s voice rang as she turned away from the desk. “Spike! Spike!”

There wasn’t much time. As soon as Twilight started to walk away from the desk, the pink pony slipped the papers into a brown cloth bag without a sound; including the newspapers and the demographic reports Twilight had been given. It wouldn’t stop the lavender pony for good, but she took great pleasure in knowing the frustrations her friend would feel if she knew she had to start over from square one.

…That and maybe Dashie would shut up about possibly being exposed. She always preferred to have the advantage, Pinkamina noticed over the period she worked with her.

Spike came in from the kitchen, wearing his pink apron and a spatula in his claw. “…Yeah, Twilight?”

Pinkamina slipped from the desk back towards her hiding place. Maybe it’d be nice to see her friend’s reaction before she took off first. Dr. Dashie owed her that much.

“What do you need?” Spike continued, waiting for Twilight to respond. That attire must’ve meant he didn’t have much time to waste, or food was gonna burn. Then maybe the house would burn, seeing as it’s a tree. Then they would burn.

Hmm…Crispy Twilight. Not a bad thought, to be honest.

Twilight kept her back to the desk, at the bottom of the stairs. “I need you to take a letter for me, to Princess Celestia.”

‘…Yeowzers, it’s a good thing I took that stuff when I did.’ The pink pony grimaced at the thought and Dashie’s face if that happened. Then she’d never shut up. Then things could’ve gotten dangerous.

“Okay! Your number one assistant is on the job!” Spike reached over and grabbed the quill and scroll, ready to find out just how little he’d be writing. “Ready when you are, Twilight!”

…Time for the comedy gold.

Twilight took a deep breath before walking back upstairs towards the desk. “…Dear Princess Celesti- AHHHHH!!!!!!” Her scream rang throughout the entire library, causing her assistant to wince at the sheer volume.

“What?! What happened, Twilight?!” Spike ran as fast as he could up the stairs to aid his mentor.

“….Gone!!! It’s…what…!?” Twilight stammered as she constantly put her hooves to the desk, hoping that the stolen goods were actually under something else. “Everything…! The demographics, the newspapers, everything…! It’s all gone!”

PinkaDash 1, Twilestia 0. Pinkamina grinned with glee at the outburst.

“Oh my gosh…!” Spike panicked as he tried to calm Twilight down while she was going through a period of hyperventilating. “Twilight, Twilight…!”

“Gone! It’s…it’s…it’s…” The lavender unicorn breathed rapidly, while poor Spike had no idea what to do other than to fan his mentor with the scroll he couldn’t finish writing.

With a nod, Pinkamina slipped from the hiding spot back from the way she came, bag in hoof. With the angle of the window and her stupid hyperventilating, Twilight wouldn’t even know what hit her, because Pinkamina had officially gotten away. With this, they had an advantage, and they could find the criminals before Celestia did.

It was the best idea at that point, anyway.