For Rarity, working at Carousel Boutique was a dream come true. She had full control over which items were to be showcased, and at what time—all her own creation, of course. She had the opportunity to exercise her creative muse to its full extent, without some stuffy upper management type breathing down her neck.
Ponyville itself was a close-knit community, giving the white unicorn the ability to connect with her customers on a deeper level than would be possible in a larger city. It was absolutely a dream come true—except on days like today. Today was an absolute nightmare, and Rarity had found herself wishing she had gone into any other business; carpentry, for instance, seemed appealing at the moment.
The day had started as normally as any other. She hummed happily as she unlocked the doors, ready to meet her customers with a smile. When the bell above the door rang, signaling the first customer of the day, she turned to greet the mare with her signature catchphrase.
“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic— “
“I need to speak with you immediately about your sister and her friends!”
And that’s when her day began its horrid decline. She was forced to close her shop and supervise as Sweetie Belle and her friends cleaned the walls of a shop that was quite literally on the other side of Ponyville. Apparently, they had been caught fleeing the scene after yelling ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders graffiti artists go!’ That alone would have been enough to pin the crime on them, but mostly it was the fact that they had decided to sign their names next to their art pieces.
So yes, Rarity had to watch as the three fillies cleaned the spray paint—Sweetie Belle sans magic, of course—all the while lecturing them on what would happen should they choose to continue a life of crime. The three little ponies meant no real harm, of course, but the fact remained the same; Rarity had lost precious hours that could have been spent working on orders.
After she considered their chastisement complete, she sent them on their way and returned to open her boutique, only to find an envelope taped to the door. Before she even opened the letter, she knew to whom it belonged, and what it meant. The jewel encrusted envelope could have come from only one pony; Sapphire Shores. As she opened it and began reading, her worst fears were confirmed; she had missed an impromptu visit from the music super star, and the opportunity to have more of her work showcased. Her natural response was to shriek and brood over ice cream, but no; she didn’t have the time to allow herself even that indulgence. She had orders to fill—the ice cream would have to wait.
From then on, it was a series of small annoyances that, when grouped together, made Rarity realize that perhaps she shouldn’t have bothered to get out of bed that morning.
A customer had cancelled an order last minute, which honestly wouldn’t have been a problem, had Rarity not already finished the dresses. Poor Opal had gotten sick—all over Rarity’s sewing machine. Just when she thought it was safe to relax with a glass of wine, she heard a crash as her glass fell to the ground, a direct result of Sweetie Belle and her friends barreling through the door. One look at Rarity’s twitching eye and the fillies were gone, choosing to face the repercussions later.
After cleaning the mess and warily eyeing the stubborn stain, one fact remained abundantly clear; her marefriend had yet to visit her. It was somewhat of a routine. Twilight would finish her studying, meet Rarity at the boutique, and they would walk together to the diner, meeting their friends for their weekly get together. As they walked tail in tail, they would discuss their respective days, discussing even the most mundane event with great fervor. If ever there was a day that Rarity needed to talk, this was it. But where was Twilight?
Yes, the studious mare could be scattered brained at times, but only when she was invested in an incredibly large project, but she hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort to Rarity. Any other time, she would arrive precisely as scheduled, punctuality being of particular importance to her.
She could only assume that Twilight had forgotten to mention that she wouldn’t be coming, and would have to settle for seeing her at the diner. Rarity frowned deeply at the thought of having to wait to see Twilight. She wanted to be comforted, and the well-read mare was surprisingly adept at making Rarity feel loved and appreciated.
The white unicorn glanced at the clock, her frown diminishing a bit when she saw that it was time to close her store and head out. She checked on Opal, who seemed to be fairing much better after expelling everything she had eaten. She put away the dresses she had made, eyed the wine spot with disdain, and then put up the sign that stated Carousel Boutique to be closed.
As she began walking towards the restaurant that she and her friends had deemed as their own, her previous frustrations multiplied as the rain began to fall in steady streams. She could almost laugh at her luck, and perhaps she would have had she not approached her group of friends, finding the booth devoid of one lavender mare.
‘Keep your temper, Rarity. You are a lady, and you will act as such. I’m sure Twilight is just running late.’
“Hello, girls. Marvelous day, isn’t it? Where is she.”
Perhaps it was the near manic tone in which her words were spoken, maybe it was the slight twinge that had developed in her eye, or even the fact that her coiffure was less than perfect, but nopony seemed keen on answering. Her four friends glanced around the table at one another, each of them trying to formulate a response. It was Applejack who decided to speak up, the honest earth pony adjusting her hat nervously as she spoke.
“Hey there, Rarity. You doin’ okay, sugarcube? You’re lookin’ a little—uh- “
“You look terrible.”
Applejack’s head whipped towards Rainbow Dash, fully intent on criticizing the tactless mare—but Dash was right; Rarity did look terrible.
“What she means to say is that you look a little worn out. Long day?”
Rarity sighed while rubbing absentmindedly at her forehead. “You don’t know the half of it. Where is Twilight?”
Pinkie Pie giggled, seemingly unaware of the time bomb that was standing before them.
“She isn’t here, silly. She told us to tell you to meet her at the library.”
All was silent, but everypony felt the tension crackle like the calm before a storm.
“She’s not here.”
Whether it was the fact that her friends couldn’t tell if her statement was rhetorical, or they were simply afraid of what would happen should they answer, all remained the same. The silence had returned, bringing with it the palpable tension.
“She. Isn’t here. So not only did she not inform me that she wouldn’t be meeting me today, she also failed to mention that she’d be at the library instead of the restaurant. The library, which I just passed, getting absolutely soaked in the process. Oh, Twilight Sparkle, I am going to give you a piece of my mind!”
With those words hanging in the air, she stomped off, leaving her four friends to wonder if they’d ever see the purple magic using unicorn again.
“Wow. I would really hate to be the egghead right now.”
Rarity made it to the library in record time, all the while mulling over the numerous ways in which Twilight deserved to be scolded, but she kept returning to the same thought; she hadn’t been there when Rarity needed her.
With that one thought strongly in mind, Rarity burst through the library door. “Twilight Sparkle, I demand to--!”
“Rarity! You’re here! I’m so happy to see you!”
And there she was. The mare that made Rarity’s heart beat faster than anypony before her; the mare whose voice was poetry in motion, whose words could soothe Rarity like a gentle hug. A mare who—wait. She was supposed to angry with her. When Rarity snapped out of her Twilight induced reverie, she finally took in her surroundings, noticing that the library had changed significantly.
There was a table set up in the middle of the room, adorned with a tablecloth of the most brilliant blue. It was set for two, plates and utensils already present, and candles burning, adding to the ambiance.
“Darling, what is all of this?”
Twilight giggled in the way that made Rarity absolutely swoon, and walked forward to meet her marefriend. “It’s dinner. I know how hard you’ve been working lately, and I wanted to do something special for you—er, Rarity, are you okay? We don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to, we can still go out, I just thought---“
Rarity was trying her best not to cry, and failing spectacularly. It could have been from Twilight’s loving gesture, or from the stress of the day melting away, but one fact remained clear; she was one very lucky unicorn.
Twilight leaned forward and nuzzled Rarity softly. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to meet you at the boutique today. I wanted to plan everything accordingly, and I needed the extra time to get things right. How was your day?”
Rarity let out a choked half sob, and leaned deeply into Twilight’s embrace.
“It was absolutely horrendous, darling, but that doesn’t matter; I came here looking for an argument, and with everything that happened today, it would have been easy. But instead I find you, in your absolute perfection, and I’m suddenly struck by the realization that you’re all I need, Twilight.”
Twilight kissed Rarity softly and pulled away to meet her eyes. “I love you, Rarity. You know that. I want to be there for you when you need me. So, how about we eat dinner, and you can tell me all about your day. Sound okay?”
Rarity nodded. “It sounds wonderful, dear. I love you very much Twilight, you know this, yes?”
The twinkle in Twilight’s eye told Rarity all she needed to know.
Dinner was finished and the candles were burning low, their conversation coming to a lull. Twilight rubbed a hoof up and down Rarity’s sides in a comforting gesture, stopping occasionally to kiss her lightly.
“I’m sorry you had such an awful day.”
Rarity shook her head. “No, Twilight, none of that. Everything is perfectly fine now—er, Twilight, love, do you smell that?”
Twilight’s eyes widened comically. “Ponyfeathers! I forgot about the dessert!” She moved to get up, but Rarity stopped her.
“Rarity, if I don’t take it out now, it won’t be salvageable.”
Rarity grabbed Twilight and pulled her back down to the couch upon which she was lying. Twilight gulped at the predatory look reflected in Rarity’s eyes.
“Twilight, forget about the dessert. I can think of something sweet I’d like to eat.”
Author's Note
Hey guys, hope you liked this random one-shot. Much love, everyone.