Of Maids and Mistresses

After Twilight’s bath, they headed out towards Rarity’s.

“Alright,” Twilight said as they stopped outside of Carousel Boutique, “here’s what I want you to do.”

“Trixie’s listening...”

“Yes, exactly,” Twilight said with a nod. “You listen. Don’t talk unless you really need to. We do not want to upset Rarity, alright?”

Trixie mumbled unintelligibly.

“Good!” Twilight chimed, and she pushed open the door.

Rarity was hard at work, standing in front of her little podium and frowning at her latest design. She spun around as she heard the two other unicorns enter, and a smile lit up her face.

“Twilight, how lovely it is to see you! You really must come by more often, dear,” the fabulous unicorn said as she strode forward, “and I see you’ve brought a.. frie... friend...” Rarity’s right eye started twitching as she pulled Twilight closer, turning her back towards Trixie, whispering urgently: “What is she doing here?”

Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Ehehehe, well, you see we, uh... were kinda hoping you’d... erm, make her... an outfit?” Twilight put on an uncertain smile. “Please?”

Rarity looked back over her shoulder, eyeing Trixie up and down. Trixie was doing her best to ignore the scene in front of her, looking around with interest, as she walked over to one of the outfits on display.

“She made my mane green, Twilight,” Rarity said in a deceptively calm manner. “Green!”

Twilight scratched her head. “I was kind of hoping we could... euhm... get past that... minor incident? No?”

Rarity glared at her coldly.

“Oh come on Rarity, please?” Twilight begged. “I really don’t know who else to turn to with this, and besides, didn’t green manes go in fashion, like, two days later?”

“Well yes, but it was back to normal by then,” Rarity said as she stroked her mane and glanced back at Trixie, who was now carefully feeling up one of the dresses on display, apparently trying to figure out what fabric it was made of. Rarity sighed. “Just tell me what it is the two of you want, Twilight, and I’ll consider it.”

“We need a Canterlot maid outfit for Trixie.”

“WHAT?” Trixie blurted out as she turned towards Twilight. “Trixie does not recall agreeing to this!”

“Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight,” Rarity said as she pointed a hoof at Trixie, “you don’t want this?”

“No!”

Rarity turned back towards Twilight, smiling brightly. “I’ll be absolutely delighted to make her that outfit, dear,” she said as she swept the design she’d been working on off of the podium. “This project wasn’t working out, at any rate.” She frowned sadly, and then turned her head towards Trixie. “Alright dear, please come on up here so that I can take your measurements.”

“You’ll do it? Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” Twilight exclaimed as she clapped her hooves happily, but Trixie shook her head.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie will never wear a common maid’s attire,” she proclaimed as she stamped a hoof down upon the floor. “It is, quite simply, unworthy of her magnificence.”

“Give us a moment please,” Twilight told Rarity, as she took Trixie aside. “Look,” she whispered, “I’ve gotten her to agree, so will you pleeaaassseee just work with me here?” She smiled. “I promise this is for your own good.”

“Trixie is not dressing up like a maid!” the showmare hissed back, as Rarity subtly tried to eavesdrop in on the conversation.

“She is if she doesn’t want to sleep on the couch from now on,” Twilight said. A sly grin spread across her face.

“Y-you wouldn’t,” the blue unicorn stuttered. “You can’t make Trixie sleep on the couch! Trixie needs her beauty sleep, and that thing looked... most uncomfortable.”

“Well then,” Twilight said triumphantly as she nodded towards the stage.

Trixie let out a groan of irritation, before reluctantly walking over to the other side of the room and climbing onto the stage.

“All yours, Rarity,” Twilight said with a wink.

“Excellent, let’s begin then, shall we?” the fashionista said, and within moments Trixie was covered in a cloud of measuring tape, as Rarity took a dozen measurements at once. “Tell me more about the design, Twilight. Frilly, or plain?”

“Plain!” Trixie shouted, but Twilight shook her head.

“Frilly, definitely frilly.”

Rarity’s eyes sparkled. She was getting into the swing of things, but Twilight wasn’t sure if that was because of some kind of artistic vision, or because of Trixie’s palpable reluctance. “Hmmm, modest, or a bit... risqué?”

“Modest!”

“As risqué as you can make it,” Twilight said cheerfully.

Rarity could barely contain her excitement. “And one of those cute maid’s caps?”

Trixie shook her head fiercely, but Twilight just said: “Naturally.”

The white unicorn squee’d and clapped her forehooves excitedly, before rushing off towards her drawing table and making a few quick sketches. She then levitated a mountain of white and black fabrics over to Trixie, and started modelling them against the mare’s coat. Trixie grumbled, but she didn’t move; she really, really didn’t want to sleep on the couch, alone.

“You are going to look positively lovely, my dear,” Rarity assured Trixie as she stored everything away again. “Even someone with your, well, shall we say... less than stellar attitude won’t be able to make this look bad.”

Twilight could see the sweat drip down Trixie’s brow as the showmare did her best to keep her mouth shut, for fear of putting the insults at the tip of her tongue into words. The purple unicorn smiled; Trixie really was trying her best, and what more could she ask for, really?

Rarity walked back towards her drawing table and made some extra notes, writing down all the measurements she had taken, as well as her choice of fabric.

“So, when can we expect it to be done?” Twilight asked as she helped Trixie off of the stage, sneaking in a little kiss behind Rarity’s back.

Rarity tapped a hoof against her chin. “Hmmm, well, usually it’d be a few days... But I’ve simply got to see this... So tomorrow, at noon?”

Trixie groaned, and Twilight’s mouth fell open. “Really? So soon?”

“Well, it isn’t an entirely new design,” the fashionista explained, “and really, who needs sleep anyway?” she let out a laugh that was obviously meant to sound light hearted, but Twilight detected a hint of uncertainty nonetheless.

“Uh well, if you’re sure,” Twilight said as she motioned for Trixie to head outside. The mare seemed about ready to explode with pent-up frustration.

“But of course. Oh, and Twilight?” Rarity asked before Twilight could step out herself. “Why are you hanging around Trixie, anyway?”

“Oh.” Twilight started to blush. “She had no place to stay so I invited her over, and now she’s my... m-marefriend...”

“Ah, your marefriend, I see,” Rarity said distractedly as she turned back towards her sketches, and Twilight slipped outside. The full meaning of the words only dawned on Rarity a full minute later, and her mouth fell open. Twilight wasn’t asexual? And why did they need a maid’s outfit, anyw-

“Oh,” Rarity uttered, as one possible reason presented itself to her, making her blush slightly. Well, she supposed that meant she could go all-out with the risqué element, and it wouldn’t be the first time she made something more suited to the bedroom than the streets. Still, she’d have thought that if one of those two mares was to wear such a costume, it’d have been Twilight...

“It’s always the nerdy ones,” she said with a shrug, and got to work.