Her Collar, Her Love

Morning brought with it a dreamlike stasis that Rarity found both blissful and somewhat unsettling. She could feel her breaths with acute awareness-- the inhalations, deep and cool, expanding her chest into the warmth of her exquisitely soft companion; the exhalations, unhurried and gentle, stirring the downy feathers of her pet’s angelic wings. Even in her half-conscious state, the cause of the focus seemed obvious.

In breath: Fluttershy. Out breath: Fluttershy.

The webbing of Rarity’s dreams glittered with dew drop fancies born from what (could’ve been-- because honestly who kept track of such things aside from studious Twilight Sparkle) hundreds of historical romance novels. Rarity had dreamt of an ivory castle cutting into the skyline over a regal city. The streets were gilded, the city folk honorable and well dressed. Yet, even in that paradise, a darkness lurked. It slithered and darted, strange and serpentine, with eyes of crimson that glared its contempt and curses of chaos on the fine pony folk. But the goodly knights kept the threat at bay… for now. Knights in full armor, their surcoats bright and pristine as they fought for the honor of Rarity’s favor. Proud stallions, each knight. Worthy in pedigree, worthy in appearance, worthy in reputation…

But they paled in comparison to her.

Rarity frowned softly at her bed partner, her eyes blinking away the remnants of sleep. Last night had been passion and heat; here, now, this was reality, and warmth. A friend, a lover, and something special and new. Rarity shifted slightly; was any down comforter ever so, well, comforting?

A soft chuckle escaped Rarity's sleep-dried lips. My little Sun- no. We're outside of a scene. Then she noted with an affectionate curl of her lips, My dear friend's hair is not so constantly miraculous, I see! As gorgeous as Fluttershy remained, her hair wreathing her head in a halo of the early light, her hair was, in fact, wreathing. Tangling, even.

Unfair still. But! Let us groom. Though Rarity's usual morning started with her own l'entretien de sa coiffure, she felt almost sinfully indulgent in this simple, bonding ritual. Her horn glowed, and the light caught her favorite brush. Wickedly delicious memories stirred, flaring still smoldering embers from the night previous, and were put away for the moment. There was a time and place for everything, and in this time, and in this place, the fashionista wanted to solidify their bond with simple sincerity.

Soft strokes to start, to test, then ever-sterner, not as a hint of Lady Rarity, but in appreciation of what poor Fluttershy must go through without magic! Rarity simply couldn't imagine it. Nor could she imagine much more adorable than the snuffles and coos of her still drowsing companion as she nestled into the steady brushwork.

Alas, the morning paradise of lovers is not eternal. Eventually, a bothersome snag elicited a final, cute yelp, and Fluttershy's long lashes quivered as she felt her way to wakefulness. Rarity's lips curled even further to the sides. "Good morning, dear Fluttershy," she said softly.

Heat rose to Fluttershy’s cheeks when her eyes opened in full. She sat up hurriedly, her wings curling out as her spine curved and she peered at her bedmate with mouth pressed thin from the other side of the mattress. This made Rarity pout.

Ever the skittish one, my darling friend.

But within the next instant, Fluttershy’s body eased, her face smoothing to one of relief… then joy. She smiled bashfully, her freshly combed forelock slipping forth. “Good morning, Rarity.” Her blush intensified as she looked down at the comforter. “I’m sorry I acted so startled. I--”

“Was half-awake and forgot you had me for a bedmate?” Rarity added with a half-grin.

Fluttershy giggled softly, her body shivering from her mirth. “Yes.”

Rarity’s smile blossomed fully and she nodded. “I confess to having felt the same. It is something new to get used to, but not unpleasant, I hope?”

The pegasus shook her head eagerly, her eyes going adorably wide. “Oh! No! It’s wonderful!” Her wings rustled on her back and she looked down again, but with a toothy grin on her muzzle. “I quite like it when there’s somepony to wake up next to. But i-it’s like you say. With you… It’s something to get used to. Something pleasant but… new.”

Rarity hummed, her head bobbing with a nod, but her eyes glazed momentarily as her mind latched onto something.

She likes it when there’s somepony to wake up to? Then… Does she mean that--? Rarity flinched and tried to will the blush from her snowy coat. Not only is it unseemly to assume, it is none of my business!

In her haste to leave that thought trail behind, she asked: “Breakfast? Fluttershy? Would you like? Er, I mean--” Rarity gave a stern shake of her head, her eyes widening in horror. “Would you like breakfast, Fluttershy?” she asked quickly and stiffly.

Disgusted with that abhorrent butchery of communication, the unicorn facehoofed. Really, Rarity! We simply must regain some decorum! We are looking quite the fool!

“I’d love some!” Fluttershy gushed.

The enthusiasm in her friend’s voice was enough to encourage Rarity to lower her hoof and look. Fluttershy’s back had straightened, and she was smiling quite broadly. Her radiant smile seemed to light up her face.

Rarity’s face eased to one of happy wonder.

Lo and behold, this wondrous sun, for which all flowers bloom, and every bird sings its glory… she thought with a joyous sigh.

Her eyes fell on the collar around Fluttershy’s neck.

Better yet that this sun was all hers, in the most special way.

Breakfast crepes with cheese and veggies.

Rarity was used to cooking alone (insisted on it, in fact, whenever her eager sister was about) but that fine morning, Fluttershy assisted with the meal, and it was really quite nice. She chopped the peppers and mushrooms with her hooves. Rarity took care of the avocado and cheese with her magic. The meal was quick to prepare, but elegant in its simplicity. One of Rarity’s favorites, and it seemed a charming little thing to introduce to Fluttershy. She felt delighted at the happy squeals her pet emitted upon tasting the food for the first time.

They had chatted amicably as they cooked. Plans for the day: Rarity to resume her design work for Dark Mask; Fluttershy to do her usual care of her animals. An almost odd normality to it all, as though the world had become-- different. When they sat down to eat, the small talk had quieted to pleased murmurs and quietly exchanged smiles.

Halfway through her breakfast, Rarity reluctantly ascertained that yet more matters of substance had to be addressed, loathed as she was to ruin the happy morning.

She carefully set down her fork, at the same time levitating her cloth napkin to her lips. Not that she needed to; always a neat eater, she, but the fastidious habit helped to ease her nerves.

“Fluttershy, darling,” she began, and coughed discreetly. “I wonder if it would be too much trouble to ask for your assistance in setting up a meeting with Discord? So that I may apologize to him properly for my eavesdropping.”

Fluttershy looked up at her with an inquiring blink, clearly startled by the request. “Um. I… I suppose I can do that?”

Rarity frowned. As with so much else Discord, only Fluttershy could handle this. She felt briefly guilty, but knew better than to permit this to fester. “I’m really sorry to ask, my dear. It’s just that Discord does not make himself easy to reach unless he wishes it!”

A sigh. “You’re right.” Fluttershy’s brow furrowed and she hung her head in reluctant acceptance, her lower lip sticking out in the tiniest of pouts. Her wingtip set down her fork with less grace than Rarity’s magic, but she did manage to keep the utensil from clattering on the plate (Like Dashie often did, and usually on purpose, the lout!) “He has trouble opening up to others… but not to me. I’ll talk to him!”

Rarity pursed her lips; determination reinforcing her gentle sternness. “Fluttershy, I absolutely must insist on being the one to apologize to him. It’s harder to have that come across genuinely if someone apologizes on your behalf beforehand!”

Fluttershy slouched in her seat, her anxiety widening her gaze for having been caught out. “But... he’ll want a reason for you two meeting! I don’t know that he’ll agree to it unless he feels he knows what he’s getting into!”

Rarity just managed to stifle a counterproductive sigh. “Darling,” she said with the utmost patience and an honest smile for her adorable dear's squirming. “In all fairness, it is rather hard to get one over on our incorrigible trickster. It really wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if he already was aware of my eavesdropping-- indeed, even as I did it! But knowing Discord and his propensity to act on things only when he can extract the most satisfaction out of them, he is no doubt waiting for my apology, and is gleeful to make me work for it. If he decides to make a game of it and play ignorant, you need only tell him, ‘Rarity wishes to give you something priceless.’”

Her pet batted her eyes, one ear flicking as she looked at her owner in confusion. “You’re going to give him something priceless? What?”

Rarity tittered at her friend’s delightful naïveté. She leaned in and pecked Fluttershy intimately on the cheek, smirking with some heat in her eyes at the telltale stirring of her pet’s wings.

“Trust in me, dearest Fluttershy! Discord may be a trickster, but your Lady has dealt with the most duplicitous of aristocrats. He is not the only one with tricks up his metaphorical sleeve…”

Two days later, Rarity was feeling quite accomplished. Acting on Dark Mask’s appreciative feedback, she had made some rather exciting changes to the designs. For instance, the original harness top she had developed now sported a light and sheer black fabric called organza between the leather straps. It covered more body, but this was supposed to be street fashion after all, despite its kinky inspirations. Still, Dark had insisted that the clothes retain an essential authenticity to them. Not one to shy away from a challenge, of course, Rarity had incorporated a silver ring at the withers and croup that gave it plenty of… functional… uses, as well as a daringly outré pentagram strap design on the chest that better supported a pony’s weight during lateral suspension.

That was just one outfit she had in the now-burgeoning portfolio she was overnighting to Dark Mask. There were just so many more ideas that Rarity had added since her exciting night with Fluttershy, including a few she was eager, nay, needing to see her darling pet try in a private modeling show…

Rarity chuckled contentedly to herself. My precious kitten, you are in for a treat during our next playdate!

Sadly, their agreed upon night was not for another three days. Rarity had marked it with hearts on her calendar and nothing more, but she gazed at the date with an aching excitement. She had such delicious plans… For her pet, naturally, but for herself as well. Being a relative newcomer to this strange new world, Rarity’s list had been a bit shorter than Fluttershy’s, but the fashionista knew it would grow and more negotiation would be in order. For now, she was content to take it slow.

Soon… Soon! she reassured herself, inhaling lightly and correcting her posture. She turned her eyes away from the calendar to resume her sewing with a sigh. There really was no rest for the wicked… least of all industrious businessmare’s like herself.

It was a slow day at the boutique. Not unusual, as it was the middle of the work week (most orders were requested and picked up closer to the weekends) and certainly not undesired. The lull gave her a welcome chance to work on new designs, or do accounting for her various businesses. Rarity was feeling fairly certain that about the most interesting thing to look forward to that day was her monthly spa visit with Twilight Sparkle that evening.

Instead, the front door of her boutique chimed, and Rarity could hear Fluttershy’s tremulous voice calling out for her downstairs. “R-Rarity? Hello?”

Smiling broadly, Rarity hurriedly set aside her sewing and rushed downstairs. Her pretty sub was standing near the door, her ears pinned and her wings pinched tight against her barrel. At the sight of Fluttershy’s anxiety, Rarity’s smile waned, and she closed the distance between them with swift steps to hug the pegasus.

“Darling! What ever is the matter?” Rarity asked with keen eyes, hoping to gain some clues that Shy’s oft-cautious words might not reveal.

Fluttershy tried to smile, but it came across as more of a fixed grimace as she gently pulled away. “I… I talked to Discord.”

Rarity’s eyebrows rose when nothing more was said. She took a moment to gently escort her dear friend and pet inside. Shutting and locking the door with a firm click, she brought Fluttershy over to the sitting pillows that she thought of as her "gossip nook," and settled her down to speak more comfortably. “And?” she prodded lightly.

Fluttershy sat nervously back on her haunch and smoothed her forelock with her hooves. “H-he… he said that he’d be happy to take this ‘priceless offering’... but… b-but only at, um…” She winced and squeaked out, “His home?”

Rarity’s eyes fluttered, and she sat on her pillow with the heaviness of one utterly baffled at the seemingly underwhelming nature of the news. Grinning bemusedly, she said with as much care as she could manage (and it was quite a lot), “Fluttershy, dear. Is this not what we wanted? He agreed to speak to me! That’s wonderful!”

Fluttershy sank lower to the ground with a low moan. “Rarity, you really don’t know what he’s asking!”

Now Rarity’s brow creased. “I don’t? Is he not requesting that I visit him at his abode? It seems perfectly reasonable to me!”

“But it isn’t!”

“And why ever not, darling?”

Fluttershy took a deep, deep breath. In a rush, she blurted, “Because Discord lives in a scary alternate dimension where you can get lost in time and space and never be seen again!” Her eyes turned to great saucers, and she crammed both hooves into her mouth with an eep!

Rarity’s gaze grew similarly.

Fluttershy removed her hooves from her mouth and whispered with an apologetic look, “A-at least, that’s what he said happened to the poor mail pony who was late delivering his invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala last year… Mostly, he says, the worst a pony has to worry about are the flying badgers. And the nightgaunts. And the bottomless pits...”

Rarity’s mouth grew thin as the corners of it turned down in nervous apprehension. “You mean the bottomless pits aren’t how one gets lost in time in space?”

Her sub shook her head, gaze still huge, her body shivering. “Oh goodness, no! If you fall into the pits you just… fall. Forever. Discord says it’s still preferable to being lost in time and space.”

If possible, Rarity’s mouth grew thinner. Horrified, she prodded the concept like a loose tooth, or something unidentified on the floor in Sweetie Belle's room. “And whatever is that like?”

Fluttershy swallowed audibly, her wings shivering against her side. “I’d really rather not say.”

Determined, Rarity reminded herself that she was a fashionista, and that she had, after all, dealt with horrifying and baroque demands in the past. Occasionally, even plaid. She would not be deterred. “And you’ve been to his home,” Rarity pressed. “He invited you, and you went?”

Fluttershy flinched. “Yes?”

Rarity gawked at her. “When in the world was this?”

The pegasus sighed and managed to raise herself back into a sitting position. It looked as though it took every ounce of will in her body, the way her muscles quivered and her coat seemed to pale. “It was before our battle with Tirek. He… ah… still liked to test my dedication. I tried to indulge him if it wasn’t something too far fetched that he was asking for. But… you see, when he asked me to go with him to see his home for the first time, I didn’t realize… I mean… I had no idea--”

Rarity’s expression darkened as her protective instincts flared, and her nervous grimace turned more into a disapproving scowl. Blithely ignoring such trivialities as time, she mentally railed against Discord tormenting her pet! “Ah. He tricked you then.”

Fluttershy’s wings stirred restlessly on her back as she said in a rush, “He’s grown since then! For an immortal he has a lot of fear-- a lot to fear-- and I had to show him that I trusted him. But I think… I think in this case, he just wants to punish you.” The pegasus sighed, a hint of irritation briefly showing through her beatific nervousness. She shrugged, and gently clopped her forehooves together as she gazed downward. “I think you were right in believing Discord knew all along. He’s doing this on purpose. To make it difficult for you.”

Rarity sighed. A thought struck. So, to familiar grounds then: let us imagine a wealthy and politically powerful 'client,' functionally, hermitish and eccentric. Hardly the first since Canterlot-- since Ponyville, come to that. I can deal with such. Screwing up her inner will behind a mask of decorum, Rarity nodded, giving Fluttershy a gentle smile. “Hardly surprising… But! Regardless of his intentions, to retreat now would be to show weakness. No, sometimes the best way to beat somepony is to play along. I shall go to Discord’s home.” The unicorn’s muzzle wrinkled. “Now how am I supposed to get there?”

Fluttershy’s spine curled around the final hurdle, as she said with a tremble, “You see, that’s also part of the problem!” The pegasus gave Rarity a miserable look. “You won’t be able to without me.”

Now Rarity pouted around this distasteful conundrum. “Pish posh! I can’t ask that of you! Not if this place is as unpleasant as you say!” But her gaze narrowed as she thought, No doubt Discord intended for this. I bet he wants to discredit me in front of Fluttershy, the brute!

But... it seemed that her attempts at sparing her precious sub the trying visit only inspired more unlooked for insistence on Fluttershy’s part-- indeed, so strange was the vigor that overtook the pegasus that Rarity found her tongue stilling in her mouth.

“Rarity, I’m afraid I cannot-- no-- will not allow you to go alone!” Fluttershy said with a quickening heat that seemed to radiate from her vibrating form. Her wings fanned, not to aroused stiffness, but dipping forward and curling at the main joint. “Why, if anything were to, to, to happen to you, I just… I don’t think…” but as quickly as it had come, Shy shrank down, chewing on her lip frantically, her mind weighed by the terrible something that she was imagining.

Rarity’s brow creased though her lips curved into a doting smile. She found this protectiveness precious... if a bit inconvenient. After all, it would be rather difficult impressing upon Discord her strength and capabilities as a dominant if her sub felt the need to come along for moral support. Honestly, it almost ruins my even footing! Her head dipped down with resignation at the look of earnest (if terrified) determination on Fluttershy’s face. Ah well… The main point was to apologize, not play mind games. I dare say, getting on even footing with Discord in that arena would be about as likely as the return of cowl-neck tops!

Not that she intended on being an easy target for the irksome draconequus. No, never. Rarity would only roll over for a floral prairie dress-- and that was only in order to put the devilish thing on since it called for a rather unyielding fabric that (Ahem) protested the perfectly healthy and utterly alluring curve of her flanks.

“Very well,” Rarity sighed magnanimously. Then she stilled, as yet another niggling detail begged for rather pertinent answering: “Umm, I don’t suppose he mentioned when he wanted us to visit him?”

Fluttershy cringed, managing only a slight, "Well..."

Rarity’s withers clenched and her tail lashed violently once over the floor. His opening move, completed, I see! “He wants us to go today, doesn’t he?” she deadpanned.

Her friend nodded mutely.

Rarity put a foreleg over her eyes and breathed in deeply through her nostrils.

Happy place! Find thy happy place, Rarity! The Prench Riviera, trimmed with the finest of jewels, your beefy stallion-servant fanning you as you sip on white wine!

This mental image had been her aide and armor to escort her through some of her more teeth grinding hurdles in sibling-parenting, but for some reason it felt off. Consternated, Rarity set her hoof down, digging it into the floor in an attempt to channel her frustration somewhere. Her eyes traveled about the room-- for a pleasing color, or some item to remind of a happy memory. She saw no such thing.

Then the mare jerked when she felt Fluttershy nuzzle her cheek.

“I-it’ll be okay,” Fluttershy murmured, her watery blue eyes somehow capturing Rarity’s surprised gaze with ease. “Discord’s home can be sort of interesting once you get over the lack of a horizon.” She looked to the side. “A-and consistent gravity.”

Rarity could feel the tension ease out of her withers as she felt Fluttershy’s warm breath against her muzzle. Her ears, which she hadn’t realized she’d had pinned against her head, relaxed forward again. The fashionista gave a quiet laugh and pecked her friend’s cheek, relaxing against the delicate pegasus' surprising resilience. “I shall have to take your word for it, then, dearest.” She took a deep breath and said next, “Well! If Discord wishes to see us today, we may as well get it over with! The earlier the better. I’m afraid I have a spa appointment with Twilight Sparkle this evening, and I shan’t be late!”

Fluttershy nodded. “That sounds fine! Believe it or not, Discord isn’t one for long visits either way.”

“Excellent,” Rarity said with a game smile. “Now… You mentioned you knew how to get to Discord’s?”

The pegasus bit her lip, then mumbled with a fresh tremor coursing through her comely body. “Er, yes. Y-you see, it’s just a jump to the left, a-and a step to the right--”