Rarity closed the door to Carousel Boutique and locked it with a little sigh. Another long day of serving the ponies of Ponyville was over. These days, most of her income came from Canterlot and Manehattan, where ponies were far more inclined to wear clothing than here in Ponyville, but she still stayed, for her home and her friends were here. And there was an undeniable pleasure to keeping her hoof in and doing the work herself, rather than simply overseeing her employees.
With the door now safely locked, Rarity stretched thoroughly, one limb at a time, doing a small ritual of loosening up and relaxing after a long day. That done she looked at the clock. It was already nearly a quarter past six, which meant she had a mere forty-five minutes to prepare for her date! She began to fly around the boutique, putting things in order. Everything had to be perfect! It just had to be.
When she'd seen the front page stories in all the tabloids this morning, she'd known instantly that Luna would desperately need to relax after the horrible day she must be having. She'd sent the letter inviting her almost instantly, and had needed to pack a great deal of preparation into her lunch break and whatever free moments she had while the boutique was empty of customers. But she hadn't been able to do everything she'd wanted to, there was still so much to be done! What had she been thinking, inviting Princess Luna here? Surely they should have gone out?
She stopped and took a deep breath. "Calm yourself, Rarity. We shall have a marvelous evening in. It's just a matter of prioritizing what gets done. Lovely things for Luna first, perfect decor second." She straightened one last rack of dresses, then dashed up the stairs to her bedroom. First, she donned the outfit that she had prepared. It had been made on something of a whim weeks ago, when the idea passed through her head. A glance in the mirror told her that she looked just as amazing as she had hoped.
Feeling much more cheerful about the coming evening, Rarity hummed as she gathered the other things she'd need for what she had planned. There wasn't actually that much to do; she'd bought the food already, and most of the other items needed were here in her room. It was simply a matter of setting things out so all would be ready for her strong, beautiful love.
It was still a bit odd, to think of Luna as her love. She had spent so many years reading stories and entertaining fantasies about handsome princes, debonair pirate captains, and other dashing stallions. It felt surreal to have fallen for a mare. Yet Luna was as royal, as stylish, and as romantic as any stallion could possibly be. Rarity really wasn't quite certain if she was into mares after all, or if Luna was simply a singular exception. But it didn't really matter, did it? Luna was uniquely amazing in any case, and Rarity could not imagine wanting to be with anypony else.
A tap on the front door brought Rarity flying down the stairs. She paused for a moment to put her mane in place and straighten her outfit, then she took a deep breath and opened the door. Princess Luna stood on the other side, a bouquet of flowers floating in her magic beside her. Rarity paused for just a moment to drink in the sight of her, then bowed low. "Welcome to your palace of enchantment, oh radiant one."
Luna looked Rarity up and down and broke into helpless giggles. "Oh Rarity, my love. You know that's not really what harem fillies wear."
"Come, enter, before the entire town starts weighing in on my absolutely chic and utterly flattering outfit."
Still giggling, Luna entered. Rarity shut the door, then tossed her head and said, "Now what is this, oh radiant and exalted one, about the inaccuracy of my ensemble?" She posed herself in an outrageously provocative stance and winked again at Luna. She was wearing loose, flowing pantaloons in an almost completely transparent material that let her cutie mark peek through the fabric. A gold-trimmed vest covered her shoulders, if "covered" could describe something that was a mere scrap of fabric, and an elaborate veil was currently thrown back over her mane, the better to display the tasseled golden halter attached to it.
"Actual harem garb tended, at least when I traveled among the Saddle Arabians, to be very concealing. The halter is not far off, but I think most mares from the region would have fainted in shock at the rest of it," said Luna with a smile.
"Well, I must admit that historical accuracy was not the first thing on my mind while assembling this little outfit."
"Dare I ask what was?" said Luna playfully.
"Ah, ah, patience, my honored mistress, we shall get to that in time."
Luna could not suppress another round of giggles. "I take it tonight you're to be the slave filly and I'm to be the harem mistress, hmm?"
"Indeed! I but live to serve you tonight. Come, let me show you the delights that lie in store!" Rarity was rather enjoying throwing herself into the somewhat over-the-top persona she had invented. Luna's amusement was rewarding, and Rarity was quite certain that other rewards would be forthcoming as well.
She led Luna upstairs to her bedroom. The princess looked around, taking in the nightstand covered in little bottles of massage oil, the lounging cushions next to the desk that bore an assortment of brushes and other grooming implements, and the large covered tray that sat on the windowsill. "It seems you have indeed prepared myriad delights for your mistress."
"Yes. Here, we begin with brushing. Make yourself comfortable there, my radiant love," she pointed at the pile of lounging cushions, "and I shall make you even more radiant, were it possible."
"First let me..." Luna paused and looked around, then spotted an empty vase atop the dresser. She floated the flowers over to the vase, then obediently went over to the pile of cushions and settled onto one of them comfortably.
"Now, my exalted mistress, we'll begin with a brushing, if that pleases you?"
"It does please me, yes."
Rarity selected a brush and began with Luna's mane. From a distance it didn't appear to be hair, but up close one could see the faintly luminescent strands. Touching them felt slightly tingly, an odd but not unpleasant sensation. Rarity held the brush in her mouth as she worked, just to have an excuse to be that much closer to Luna. She brushed Luna's tail as well, a slightly more delicate operation that involved a certain amount of playful innuendo. Then the hair brush was exchanged for a curry comb, and Rarity brushed out Luna's magnificent midnight blue coat.
"Mmm. That borders on being indecent," said Luna as Rarity brushed over one cutie mark. "If you tempt me too much, you may not get to finish."
"Now, now, now, radiant one, pampering is on the schedule right now. No jumping ahead."
"Ha. And I thought I was the mistress here? You seem to be giving the orders," said Luna, but she relaxed back into her cushion and let Rarity finish brushing her. When Rarity was done and had set the brushes aside, Luna rose. She stretched luxuriously, in a way that rather made Rarity's breath catch. "Very well, keeper of the evening's schedule. What manner of pampering am I to receive next?"
"Next I have a selection of delectable morsels to tease the palate," said Rarity, whisking the cover off of the tray on the windowsill. A half dozen plates filled with bite-sized food portions were revealed. The next several minutes were mostly silent as Luna sampled the various appetizers.
Though when Rarity lifted one bite in her magic and attempted to feed it to Luna, the princess said, "Fie, is that how a proper harem girl goes about serving her mistress? With such a distant and impersonal touch as magic?"
Rarity giggled. "Oh? Would you prefer I do it by hoof?"
"I think I would prefer you to do it thus," said Luna, and picked up a chocolate dipped strawberry in her mouth. She pressed it to Rarity's lips, and Rarity parted them to accept the treat, which swiftly became a chocolate-strawberry flavored kiss. They shared the rest of the light repast Rarity had prepared the same way, with a great many long pauses in the eating and a great deal of laughter.
When the meal was done, Rarity urged Luna over to the bed. "I've put down a waterproof sheet, oh light of my life, so that I can get massage oil all over that gorgeous body of yours and not ruin the bed. So lie down and let me relax you completely."
"I am already feeling very relaxed, but I suppose I have no objection to you putting your hooves all over me." Luna smiled and sprawled out on her stomach on the bed.
Rarity spent the next half hour doing exactly that, kneading scented oils into Luna's coat and massaging her from neck to ankle, including even taking time to preen her wings a little. She was not as expert as a pegasus would have been, but she knew enough to get by and Luna certainly wasn't complaining.
"I am about to become a liquid," said Luna rather drowsily when Rarity finally leaned back on her haunches and surveyed the very relaxed alicorn taking up most of her bed. The bed was large, but like a cat, Luna's careless sprawl meant she took up far more of the bed than she should. "If you do any more, I believe I shall melt into a puddle."
Rarity smiled, a rather smug, self-satisfied expression. "I'm glad my radiant mistress approves."
Luna rolled over and looked up at Rarity. "Your radiant mistress does. And you do make a fairly passable harem slave. But admit it, this was all an excuse for you to dress yourself up."
Rarity laughed at that. "I will admit I adore any excuse to wear clothes. And not just because I look fabulous in them, either."
"No?" Luna arched one eyebrow.
"No." Rarity smiled sweetly. "Do you know what the best thing about wearing clothing is, Luna my love?"
"I do not, but I'm certain that you are about to tell me," said Luna.
"Indeed." Rarity leaned in close and whispered softly in Luna's ear. "The best thing about wearing clothing is that eventuallly one gets to take it all off."
Author's Note
A... call it a sequel can be found right here. 
Also, if you'd like to help me choose the stars of my next cute shipping fluff story, check out my blog here.
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