Soon enough, they arrived at Curtain's home. It wasn't very large, but it was pretty empty. Being a roaming performer, she doesn't keep many items in her home, just a few mementos from her travels and family pictures. There were only 4 main rooms, the living room/office, where Curtain and Casting would discuss Curtain's upcoming performances and other business related things, though Casting often did it in her room as well. There was the bathroom, fairly basic and well organised for two sisters to share. Then there were Curtain's and casting's bedrooms. Casting's was mildly dark and painted with a deep purple, paper littered everywhere from her managing job, whereas Curtain's was much more lively and colourful. The walls in Curtain's room were a light blue, a few shades brighter than Rosemary's mane, and decorated with a few random pieces from her past. There were several notebooks and journals detailing her works, being her comedy skits and her songs, current, old and upcoming. Curtain stopped them outside the door. "So Rosie, I feel like I should warn you, I'm not entirely sure how Casting feels about... us. When I first told her she seemed..." The memories of that day ran through Curtain's mind as she spoke, "hesitant..."

"Hesitant?" she stopped outside the door, looking at the building while talking "I see, I suppose it would be quite the scandal. Or do you mean hesitant because we are..." she looked at her and moved a hoof around in the air. "You know, like that? Is she not too open minded? Because I understand."

Curtain looked at her as if she didn't quite understand what she meant, then her eyes widened as she realised. "What? Oh! No, nothing like that." She thought about telling Rosemary what really made Casting upset, but decided against it. "She's perfectly fine with lesbian love if that's what you're implying. She's just..." Curtain tried to find the right word, "jealous, I guess."

"Ah," she smiled and nodded, "I think I know what you mean. She's probably very protective," she deduced, confident in herself. "Well, I'm sure she will want to see you happy right?"

"Yeah," Curtain said with a smile, "you're probably right. Well, here goes nothing..." Curtain opened the door to her and her sister's home. "Casting? You home?"

Rosemary waited behind and followed close. A rummaging around was heard inside and Casting poked her head out of a room "A-ha! Finally. We have a..." she eyed up Rosemary and her baggage, then stared at Curtain sternly "...change of plans."

Curtain returned a smile with her lips pressed together like her face was saying 'welp', she coughed. "Yeah... we really do. This... is Rosemary and uhh... she needs to stay with us for a time." Curtain looked at her sister with the pony equivalent of puppy dog eyes.

Casting looked at them both, eyed up Rosemary who had a polite smile upon her, then stared at Curtain firmly. She spoke plainly and had none of her sisters perkiness to her "Well, Miss Rosemary is it? Please make yourself comfortable in the living room" she pointed toward it, the youngest mare nodded and carried her baggage with her. She still carried an air of eliteness to her as she trotted past. Casting gave her a strong look as she went into the living room, then grabbed Curtain and dragged her into one of the bedrooms. Curtain's one to be exact.

Curtain went to help Rosemary with her bags but was thrusted by her older sister into her own room. "Woah! Ok first off, thank you for not immediately kicking her out. Second, what do you mean ‘change of plans’?"

Casting pushed the door closed and moved close to Curtain, speaking in a hushed but angry voice "I almost did! What in Equestria are you thinking, you know who she is right? I warned you about messing with that family!"

Curtain had a sudden change of attitude and became very defensive, but also spoke with whispered enthusiasm. "Yes, I do know who she is, she's a wonderful mare who I helped out of an awful situation and encouraged her to be happy." She calmed back down. "Look, I'm sorry for springing this on you, but she just got kicked out by her dad and had nowhere else to go."

"Her father-" she stopped herself and took a long sigh. She looked her young sister over, her face stern and mouth scrunched up. She sighed in despair "I suppose it can't be helped now..." she put a hoof on Curtain’s shoulder and looked at her face to face "Is this really what you want? There won't be any going back."

Curtain turned away as if to look at Rosemary through the door, then looked to the ground and finally back to her sister. She thought about what Casting said for a moment. "...Yes, this is what I want. There's something... special about Rosemary that I've never seen before in a stranger." She looked back to the door. "She's a wonderful mare, and this is the right thing to do."

There was a pang of jealousy that went through Casting and it was obvious in her face. She sighed and rubbed Curtain’s shoulder "Alright. If you're certain about this. If she is too. Then who has the right to stop you? Not me. But... you will have to face up to her parents someday. Her father is very influential. It could ruin your career, you are aware of this?"

A moment of silence passed as Curtain continued looking at the door, though it was more through the door to Rosemary on the other side. She turned back to Casting. "Yes, I'm aware, and I'm willing to accept any punishment that comes my way. But this is the right thing to do... I can feel it." Curtain had a look of confidence and determination as she looked at her older sister.

Once again there was a look of envy in Casting’s eyes. But she nodded and planted a kiss just above Curtain’s horn. Then let go of her and stepped back. "We will work through it, we always do right?"

Curtain made a small sigh of relief. "That we do sis." She then made a small jump and wrapped her forelegs around her sister's back in a hug.
After a few moments, she then stepped back and looked at Casting with some concern. "Is everything alright?"

She sighed and looked down, then back up and spoke more softly. She eyed the door a few times "I guess I thought that things would be different between us after what happened. But you've already run off with some mare, then brought her to our house? Perhaps I had it all wrong... I'm worried things will get awkward."

A few moments went by as Curtain stared at her older sister in relative silence, mouth slightly agape. She finally spoke in a similar volume to Casting's. "I... I had no idea you still felt that way sis. I'm so sorry..." Curtain looked away in shame.

"Well how did you think I felt?" She sighed "look, it doesn't matter. I'll get over it, I guess..." she said distantly and started toward the door.

"Casting, wait!" Curtain shot up and placed a hoof on her sister's shoulder. She then quickly moved her sister's head and enveloped her mouth in a loving kiss.

She was shocked at the sudden movement and made a muffled sound into Curtain’s mouth, which became a soft hmm. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the passion for the brief moment they had.

Curtain moved her head back slowly so the kiss was broken but their heads remained close together. "I love you, Casting. Never forget that."

Casting took a long sigh afterward. She smiled a little and tried to push the jealousy out of her mind. There was a strong warmth between them, a familiar feeling. It was something the older sister didn't want to let go of. But she stepped back anyway. "I know" she replied and gestures to the door "you'd better go make sure your girlfriend is settled" she said plainly, sounding like her old usual self. She had a pleasant look in her eyes, all things considered, but it could've been a front.

Curtain shot back slightly. 'Girlfriend', she had never been able to use that word before, it felt... good, really good. "You're right" she replied, heading towards the door. "Let me know if you need anything."

Casting didn't say anything else, she watched Curtain leave and then closed the door to be with her thoughts.
Rosemary was in the living room, her suitcase on the sofa and she was looking at the various knickknacks the two sisters had collected over the years, not noticing Curtain’s entrance.

Curtain couldn't help but smirk mischievously as Rosemary was none the wiser to her entrance into the room. She slowly creeped up behind her lover, making sure to not make a sound. She brought her head so it was right next to Rosemary's as she looked at the souvenirs from all over Equestria. Then, in a firm and inquisitive voice asked "what'cha doin?"

"Wha!?" She nearly dropped the souvenir she held, juggling with it to keep hold of it. Her heart raced and she snapped around to Curtain "you gave me the fright of my life!"

Curtain chuckled and placed a hoof to her mouth to try not to full on laugh. "I'm sorry" she said through giggles. "It was an opportunity I couldn't help but strike at."

It made her smile and she put the souvenir back. "Well... I suppose so. Your sister seemed quite dramatic, I hope she isn't objecting to me staying here a while?"

"Nah she's fine with it." Curtain threw her hoof in the air to match the emotion with which she spoke, then decided it probably wasn't best to tell Rosemary the truth about what happened there. "Just some business stuff, nothing to worry about. So how do you like the place?" She moved backwards and raised her forelegs in the air in an attempt to present her home. "I call it... 'Casa de la Call'. I know it's not as glamorous as you're used to but hopefully you'll find it just as cosy."

She put a hoof to her mouth and giggled in a delightful way, quite unlike her. "Well, it's certainly cozy alright. Feels very homely" she said as she eyed around the place. "So what happens next?"

"Well!" She exclaimed in her usual cheerful manner, "whatever you'd like to do! We could go explore the town, or we can hang out here if you'd like. What would you like?"

"Hmm... if I'm going to live here a while. I may need to support myself. Not to mention my studies... am I going to need a job?" Her eyes widened at the prospect.

Curtain took a moment to think about it, then inhaled through gritted teeth. "Yeah... possibly. Unfortunately, Casting and I don't make that much and we can only afford luxuries rarely. But that's a problem for another day, let's have some fun while we can!"

"Right... this really is a lifestyle change" she rubbed behind her mane in concern, but looking at Curtain made her relax and smile "let's take a trip around town" she said confidently.

A loving and excited smile grew across Curtain's face. "Yay! Where do you wanna go? We could go get some food, window shopping, I hear there's a new arcade nearby too. It's up to you." Curtain hadn't been this excited to go out since she and Casting went to the magic show. Though she enjoyed sneaking around in Rosemary's manor, she much preferred a casual get together.

"Wow, that all sounds like fun. An arcade? I haven't been to one of those since I was a filly!" She said, sounding pretty excited and got closer. She stared up at Curtain and smiled, putting a hoof on her lover’s chest.

"That's great!" Curtain said with a large smile. "I'll go tell Casting we're heading there." She turned around and moved back towards her room where she assumed Casting still was. Without thinking, she entered.

Casting was sat by her desk and writing something, she turned around at seeing Curtain. "Oh? What's the matter?" She asked in a friendly way.

Curtain gave a look of quick suspicion as she saw how calm her sister was all of a sudden, but pushed that thought from her mind. "Rosie and I were gonna go check out that new arcade that opened nearby, did you wanna come?"

"The arcade?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at her paperwork "I have a lot to get on with... besides, it might get a bit, you know... awkward."

Curtain gave a small huff. "Always the hard worker, huh? Alright sis, we'll be back some time later."

"You know me!" She said oddly cheerfully. Then turned back to her work, something clearly off. She spoke a bit more distantly "have fun on your date..."

Curtain wanted to ask what Casting was so upset about, but she feared that she already knew the answer. She gave a few small noises as if she wanted to say something but the words simply wouldn't come out.

The elder sister tried to go back to work, but couldn't. She looked over at Curtain who was still standing there and mumbling "What is it? You know how I feel. I just want you to be happy, don't worry about me."

It was obvious that Curtain did not believe that her sister was fine, but she decided to let it go, maybe Casting would feel better by the time they got back. "Alright sis, we'll be back later." Curtain began to walk out the room, still unsure as to how to cheer up her sister.

"Alright..." she said, returning to her work in peace. Outside in the hallways, Rosemary who was none the wiser was waiting expectantly and looking cheerful. The sudden and drastic change in her life perhaps not quite settled in yet, or the excitement of the unknown filling her young heart.

As Curtain returned to Rosemary, she gave a few glances towards the room in which Casting was working, still not knowing how to help her and feeling guilty in the process. She was so distracted by Casting that she tripped on the step leading towards the living room, and she fell to the ground with a thud.

"Gah!" Rosemary jumped back and quickly leant down to check on Curtain, worry on her face "are you... alright? Careful!" She said while trying to help her up.

"Y-Yeah" Curtain stammered as she got up. "I-I'm fine, just forgot there was a step there" she chuckled to try and relieve the tension.

Completely unaware of Curtain's awkwardness and the tension between the sisters, Rosemary gave a very naive smile as she helped her lover to her hooves again. Things seemed a lot more simple with just the two of them. The complications with their own home lives faded into the background as they stood there looking at each other for just a moment. Rosemary gave another of her delightful, upper class giggles "You're so silly! Come on" she gestured to the door and took the lead, assuming command as always.

Curtain soon followed after her, still feeling guilt towards her sister but glad that Rosemary seemed much happier than she was before. She was... torn. It felt like Casting was making her choose between Rosemary and her. Though Curtain herself thought that idea was ludicrous, there was a part of her that kept thinking that. She tried her best to just ignore that feeling and enjoy her date with Rosemary.

After a distance the two made it to the arcade. Rosemary was perky through the short trot, more or less oblivious to the tension Curtain had with her sister back at the house. She was in a completely different world to when she was back at home earlier in the day, getting caught and thinking her life ruined. Perhaps it hadn't quite dawned on her yet. For now, she was naively happy.
The arcade was as to be expected and fairly busy at this time. Rosemary rushed up toward the entrance, with the large sign and flashing lights. She kept looking over at things with great excitement "Wow, so loud! So bright! I never could have imagined!"

Curtain bumped Rosemary's side with her own. "Come on, you didn't think an arcade would be loud and bright?" she joked, with a slightly louder voice than usual due to the noise. "Well..." she placed her foreleg over her lover's back, and used her other one to wave through the air as if putting the arcade on display. "What would you like to do? Oh wait, we should get some tokens first." She placed her forelegs back onto the ground and tilted her head towards the token machine. "You ready to have the time of your life?!"

"Tokens?" she looked over at her, confused "I've never been to a place like this before. It makes me feel like a foal again!" she said with a grin and started taking the lead like she usually did. She stopped quickly though, realising she didn't really know what she was looking for. She rubbed her mane and grinned, trying to cover up her awkwardness "I hope it’s fun!"

Curtain smiled and chuckled slightly at Rosemary's utter adorableness, she was so happy that Rosemary was having fun after what happened earlier that day. "Come on, it's over here" she said as she started walking towards the token machine. "They have token machines so that... you know, I'm not sure why they have them. Normal bits won't work with the games here, only these tokens, but they cost bits to get." Curtain looked at Rosemary quizzically. "Hm, oh well" Curtain inserted some bits and begun collecting her tokens.

She followed closely but got distracted staring at a game some young colt was playing. Eventually snapping back to Curtain "oh? Well, maybe it makes pricing easier... I don't know, let's play something! I want to win a prize!" She said with wide, happy eyes. Her post accent making it sound out of place.

The sound of arcade tokens hitting the receptacle was always a welcome sound to Curtain, it filled her with such excitement and eagerness. "That's the spirit!" She yelled to her lover, "what shall we try first? You can pick whichever you choose."

"I want to win a prize" she repeated, like an order and took the lead. She moved ahead of Curtain and inspected the machines, having mixed emotions about them, from confusion to elation. One stood out and she rushed toward it. It was one of the typical crane games full of stuffed animals and she tapped on the glass "Aha! lets win one of those! Surely it can’t be that hard?"

Curtain gave a smile and rolled her eyes as she followed Rosemary towards the crane game. "Rosie, you may have just picked the least fair game in this entire arcade" she joked. "Prepare to lose all your tokens."

"What are you talking about? It can't be that hard... how does it work?" she looked the machine up and down and tapped the buttons, then realising she needed a token "Ah right, so I move the crane and get a new stuffed toy! What a wonderful memory, yes, this game was a great choice. Alright, put in a token."

In response, Curtain tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. "What's the magic word?" she said in a teasing yet playful way.

"Please?" she said while raising an eyebrow, but tapped the button again impatiently.

"Gladly, my dear" Curtain replied as she straightened her head and placed a token inside the claw machine. It suddenly came to life in a cacophony of sounds as the claw moved to its starting position.

Rosemary's eyes widened and her mouth grew into a big childish smile as the machine activated, looking like a kid in a playground. Her ears flicked around and she poised herself "Alright so..." she pressed a button and it moved forward, far too much "Wait, not that way, how do I move it back?" she hit the other button and it nudged to the side, the claw dropped to grab an empty space. She wasn't happy "What is this? I didn’t want it to do that!"

Curtain looked at her with a face that read 'I warned you'. "Hm, maybe I should explain to you how this works before you go all willy nilly".

"Tch" she rolled her eyes and stepped back "Well then, show me how to win at it" she said while pointing at the machine, acting uppity and more like what was expected for somepony like her.

"If you say so, your majesty" she joked, inserting a token into the machine as she did so. "It's pretty straight forward, you hit the button to start the claw moving to the right" she then hit the button, and the claw moved exactly as she described. "Then you hit it once more when it's at the distance you want, and it will start moving backwards" she hit the button, and again it behaved like she described. "Then you hit the button a final time once you feel like it's in the right spot, and it will drop and try to pick up a prize" the button was pressed, and the claw dropped, close to grabbing a toy but not quite getting a gold of it. The claw then retracted empty-handed, and Curtain turned to face Rosemary. "See? it's a real challenge."

Rosemary looked intently and her eyes widened at the near success "Aha! I see! That can't be too hard!" She then rushed up, excited and looked it over carefully. "I want to win that lion" she pointed at the cartoonish lion plushie, one of the larger ones "Come on, lets try it" she said eagerly hitting the buttons.

Even though she knew it would be near impossible to get that lion, she couldn't resist the happiness that Rosemary was experiencing. "Oh, alright" she said as she inserted yet another token, the machine coming to life once more.

"Aha! Right..." Rosemary focused carefully and pressed one of the buttons, making the crane move like Curtain had done. She lined one side up and made an exaggerated sound of surprise. She then concentrated and pressed the other one, moving it just above the lion, her heart racing and her eyes like steel on her prize. With a loud clack, she smashed the button a final time and watched the crane lower, her eyes following its every movement. It landed perfectly above the lion, its claws surrounded it, lifted.... then dropped it. Rosemary was furious and she hit the glass very hard, making the crane wobble around inside as it retracted back to its starting position.
"What was that?! I want to complain to somepony! It must be broken!"

"Woah!" Curtain shouted in shock as Rosemary hit the glass, then placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Careful there, you almost broke the glass. Also, it's not broken Rosie, I told you this game was unfair." She patted her hoof on Rosemary's shoulder in a 'better luck next time' fashion.

Rosemary huffed angrily "it must be rigged, what a cheat! I wanted that lion too" she turned to Curtain and ushered her forward, almost pushing her against the machine "you can win it, right?"

"W-Woah!" Curtain repeated as she was shoved forwards. "I mean... I'll do my best, but don't get your hopes up" she said as yet another token was inserted into the machine. The claw made its way over to the lion, grabbing it by the head and started lifting. But as the claw hit the ceiling on its way back up, the lion jiggled free, falling back into the pile of plushies once more. Curtain pressed her lips together to make a 'welp' expression as she turned to Rosemary.

Rosemary's eyes lit up and she gasped when she saw her prized lion rise up, but then growled when it dropped and huffed. She frowned and looked like a child "Bah! Stupid game. I really wanted that lion too. Let's play something else!" she said and turned away from the machine as if it were already decided.

Curtain turned as well and placed her foreleg over her lover's back. "Where to, my liege?"

"Hmm... what else" she looked around, seeing ponies playing on slot machines and arcade cabinets. Then one caught her eye. A dancing game that two others were using. She rushed on over to watch them.

Rosemary ran off with such force it made Curtain lose her balance momentarily, but she soon followed after her. Curtain very quickly knew what peaked Rosemary's interest, as she herself was also quite attached to it. "Ooo, Trot Trot Revolution! I love this game!" She yelled as she excitedly grabbed Rosemary once more.

Rosemary flinched as Curtain distracted her from looking at the two kids on the game. Though she smiled "how does it work? It looks like a lot of fun! You have to land on the arrows?"

"More or less!" She replied, then pointed at the speakers besides the TV. "You see, a song plays through these speakers..." she moved her hoof towards the dance-pad "and you have to step on the dance-pad in rhythm to the song. You know, like dancing! Kinda..." She then moved her hoof to the screen, "the arrow or arrows you have to step on will show up here, the closer you are to the correct timing, the more points you get!"

Rosemary followed along and nodded "ah, right! I see how it works. WELL! I'll have you know that I did dressage since I was filly and was regional winner once before, so prepare yourself!" She said confidently and touching her chest while bragging. Soon the two kids finished and ran off the machine laughing to each other, Rosemary immediately stepped up and looked around at the arrow pads and the screen.

Curtain followed suit and stood on the adjacent dance-pad, then talked to Rosemary in a similarly bragging fashion. "Well I'll have you know that I actually hold a high score at these machines!" She used the pad to access the high score recordings of the machine, then pointed towards the initials "CCC" currently in 7th place. "So maybe you should prepare yourself instead" she winked.

"Tsh, we shall see" Rosemary waved her off "wait, why is it three Cs?"

"Oh!" She replied with some shock, forgetting how little Rosemary knew about video games. "When your score is high enough, they ask you to enter your initials into the game as a record of your high score, they generally only show the top ten scores though. Though if you were referring to why three C's, it's because that is my full name, 'Curtain Collect Call', after my mother."

Rosemary rubbed her chin "Oh, I see how it works... Curtain Collect Call? That has a ring to it" she grinned. Then tapped on the screen while it was showing the demo. "Alright then, let's start this game!"

Curtain couldn't help but smile at how eager Rosemary was to play quite possibly her favourite arcade game, then inserted some tokens so they could access the song selection. "Since it's your first time playing, would you like an easy one to start with?"

Rosemary immediately moved through the scroll list, she selected one near the bottom that was listed as 'Difficulty: expert" then nodded with a firm grin. Some basic instructions came up and she looked at the pads beneath her hooves that started to light up "Alright, get ready!" The machine blared at them.

Curtain looked over to Rosemary with some worry in her eyes "uhh, you sure you're ready fo-" she was unable to finish her sentence as the song was confirmed and the machine began whirring up. "Well, alright then!" Curtain got herself ready to dance.

Soon the song started and the arrows came down very fast. Rosemary watched it and tried to follow the pattern, but it was soon obvious that she wasn't very good. Her hooves jumped around and she caught a few of them, but missed many more.
"Wait! It's too fast! This is hard!" She yelled in a panic over the song, some popular equestrian dance track.

"I tried to warn you!" Curtain yelled over the music. Although she was able to be very good at this game, she decided it would be best to take it easy on Rosemary, and pretended to slip up occasionally. "Just focus! You can do this!"

Despite obviously trying her best, she didn't really know what she was doing. She'd hit a few of the arrows right and showed some of her earth pony agility but clearly needed more practice. Her score trailing way behind Curtains. By the time the song ended her accuracy was listed as 17%, she panted a bit and was still getting her bearings.

Curtain ended with a 43%. It wasn't her best attempt but she didn't want to crush Rosemary too hard. She looked over to her "Rosemary? You alright?"

Rosemary stared at the screen with a frown, she wiped her mane back and tidied it up a little, one of her posh quirks she often did. "Nothing like dressage..." she mused and looked Curtain over, raising an eyebrow "You want to try that again? That was just a warm up" she said confidently, dismissing the massive score difference between the two.

Curtain gave her a smirk "Well alright, how about I pick an easy song this time?"

"Uh..." Rosemary looked a bit embarrassed "yes, I suppose that would be better..." she said begrudgingly, clearly and unsuccessfully trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Oh, you!" Curtain embraced her with her foreleg in a friendly way "no one can do a song on expert and nail it first try, it took me weeks to get that high score! So don't feel bad."

Rosemary smiled and lightened up a bit, she leaned in and kissed Curtain on the cheek. When she did, she thought she heard a 'click' sound and her ears pricked up. She looked around behind her and saw the ponies all rushing about to various games. She looked a bit suspicious but shrugged.
"Ok then, let’s do an easier one huh? This game is quite fun!"

As Rosemary gave Curtain the kiss on the cheek, she made a playful "Eagh" noise as she scrunched her neck and blushed, she didn't even notice Rosemary's suspicions or the clicking noise. She regained her composure. "I know, right? I've spent way too much money on this machine" she joked, and selected a song with the label "Difficulty: Easy". "Here..." she said to Rosemary "this one is a nice beginners song, ready?"

Rosemary quickly got back into the game. She moved into position as it started, this one a more common Equestrian pop song with a slow rhythm. She watched the arrows come down and planted her hoof down to match it, landing much more this time and not getting nearly as stressed or exhausted. After a while she started grinning madly as she got really into it.

Curtain grinned along with her as she too got into the groove, not wanting to show up Rosemary, but not wanting to let her win either. She danced in a decent rhythm and threw a few poses in the mix for fun.

Rosemary got really into it and worked up a sweat again, not being in the best shape. When the song ended she was panting and grinning. Her score was now at a much nicer 65% accuracy, which she pointed at "Aha! There! Much better!"

Curtain too worked up a sweat, but as she was used to the exercise it was more of a warm up to her. "Ooo! 65 is great for a beginner, congrats!" Curtain herself had a modest 70%. "GG"

"What does that mean?" Rosemary looked confused and tidied her name up again. She looked impressed at her own score and felt more egotistical again "quite a fun game, even if it's nothing like actual dancing. What else can we do here?" She said starting to look around.

"Oh sorry, it seems I'm still getting used to you being a newbie. GG means 'good game', it's something most people say after a competition to remind them all that it's just a game. Now, as to what to do next..." Curtain began looking around too. "Hmm, oh! I have just the thing, this way!" She signalled with her hoof for Rosemary to follow her, then began walking off towards the other side of the arcade.

Curtain looked back to see Rosemary running after her, and slowed down so she could catch up. She then noticed that Rosemary seemed somewhat distant. "Everything alright, Rosie? You look troubled..."

"It's... nothing" Rosemary said after looking around again "nothing" she nodded and moved ahead of Curtain, checking out the various games. She went past some of the more childish ones, but spent a while staring at one full of sweets. Her eyes then went to the section of labelled "adults only" and was full of slots and gambling machines.

"Alright then..." Curtain said, not knowing in the slightest what Rosemary's problem was, but deciding to let it be for now. She followed Rosemary through the arcade, explaining briefly the idea behind each machine she looked at, then noticed she looked towards the 'adults only' section. "Ahh, the casino area, I assume you know what gambling is?"

"Ah yes, this is where you win money" she said confidently and moved forward, going through the rope barrier despite being barely legal to gamble "We should win more tokens!"

Curtain was hesitant to go in, despite technically being old enough. "Uhh, I'm not sure that's a great idea Rosie. Casting said all these machines are usually rigged and it's a waste of time and money."

"What? Like that stupid crane? Tsh." she looked a few of them up and down, eyeing up a slot machine that had a pirate pony on it and promised great deals of booty. "Let’s try this one out!"

Curtain reluctantly followed, slowly walking behind her lover with an unsure look on her face. Eventually she reached the machine that caught Rosemary's attention and, noticing the pirate, couldn't help but joke about it. "Great deals of booty, huh... I've already got all the booty I need right here." She then gave a courteous smack on Rosemary's flank, which somewhat relieved the nervousness she was feeling.

Rosemary flicked up her ears when she was hit, but something other than Curtain caught her attention and she looked around behind them, suspiciously. She shook her head and looked back at the machine "never mind... okay then, how does this work? Hmm. Seems easy, just pull the lever and line up 3 pictures! Put a token in and let's win some."

"I mean... we won't win any, but sure, I'll humour you." Curtain reluctantly inserted a token into the machine, and the images started spinning. "Good luck! You'll need it."

Rosemary stared at the machine intently as it went to action. One reel stopped on a Bar, then another, then a gold coin. Rosemary frowned and tapped it "Huh, nothing?" she hit a few buttons "Bah, it needs another token. Look, it came close! Try it again" she said while hitting a few buttons.

"Gee, someone's excited" Curtain said sarcastically, inserting a second token into the machine. "We don't have too many left, just so you know."

She pulled the lever again and watched carefully. An apple lined up. Then another. Then a third one. Her eyes widened with surprise as the machine made loud celebratory noises and 15 tokens dropped into the tray below. "Hah! See? It works, we did it! Let's win more!" she naively said, picking up one of her winning tokens immediately.

Although Curtain was happy to get extra tokens, she knew all too well that this is how they get you to spend all of your money. "Well, at least we have some house money now, go ahead."

Rosemary smiled and lifted a token up to the slot, then there was an audible click again. Her ears perked up and she snapped her head around, catching sight of some pony by the entrance to the casino area running off. She dropped the token back in the tray and rushed a few steps, stopping and looking around the arcade like a hawk.

Curtain jumped back in surprise as Rosemary rushed away, an audible "woah" escaped from her lips. "Rosie?! What was that? Are you ok?" she frantically asked, seeing her lover act so erratically, seemingly out of nowhere.

"I don't know, but I don't like it..." she said cryptically "I think that's enough gambling. Let's go on something else, or get food" she said, suddenly direct and her happy mood all but vanished. She went to the machine and gathered the tokens.

Curtain looked concerned, but didn't say anything as Rosemary collected the tokens they had gotten. Once she got them all and started to walk away, Curtain spoke. "Yeah I could go for some food too now that you mention it, wanna cash in our tokens and get outta here?"

"Hm... that's a good idea" she said, looking around carefully. She moved in ahead of Curtain toward where you cashed in the tokens, being faster than expected. "At least I won us lunch! But I would have liked that lion."

Curtain did a mild jog trying to catch up to Rosemary, but deciding it best not to ask why she was so concerned all of a sudden. "There's always next time" she said to try and cheer her up.

"Yeah that's true, one day I'll win it!" She smiled and took the bits exchanged for the tokens and counted them up "hmm, alright then. Where to for lunch? I feel like a big sundae."

"Ooo, a sundae gal, huh?" Curtain said with some enthusiasm. "I know just the place, and it's not too far! Follow me." Curtain gave a wave with her hoof as she spoke, then started to walk out of the arcade and towards the cafe.

Rosemary took one last look around, eyeing up the crowds carefully. Then rushed off behind Curtain.

They walked together down the street where fillies were playing and the adults were talking, it was a simply peaceful and lovely experience as they walked to the cafe that Curtain had in mind. Soon enough, they arrived at their destination, and Curtain held the door open for Rosemary. "This place has some of the best sundaes I've ever had, and I've been all over Equestria, mind you."

Rosemary followed close, the calming walk cleared her mind of whatever was bothering her. She went in when the door was held open, like she was very used to it and eyed around the place "oh? Oh right, of course you have" she grinned. The anxiety she showed earlier had gone for now, her ears often perked up when she saw various bits of food.

"Here, take a seat and have a look at the menu" Curtain said as she signalled to a table close to the window, which gave a great view of the street they just walked in from. Curtain took a seat and smiled at Rosemary.

"Oh?" Rosemary moved to the table and sat down. She had a very stiff posture that spoke a lot of her class, or perhaps Saddle Arabian culture. She took the menu and looked through it but just skipped to the dessert section. The pink mare's small amount of chub indicated that she was probably pretty fond of sweets.

"Have a bit if a sweet tooth, I see" Curtain joked, noticing that Rosemary went straight to the dessert section. "I can't blame you, I was absolutely addicted to sugar when I was a filly." Curtain already knew what she wanted, so she didn't feel the need to pick up a menu.

"You could say that..." she said with an embarrassing smile. She moved through the various sundae options and pointed one out, a large and expensive one "that one looks good. I'll get that" she said without a shred of regret.

Curtain's eyes widened as Rosemary just happened to select an item that was way beyond their budget. "Uhh, I don't think we'll be able to afford that, Rosie" she informed with a saddened expression and tone. "Sorry..."

Rosemary had a rare moment of sobriety to her situation. She looked at it and frowned, then sighed "I suppose you're right... Not even with my winnings?" she raised an eyebrow, hopefully.

Curtain reached out her hooves to grab onto one of Rosemary's "I'm really sorry, I know you're used to living a rich pony's life and it must be hard to be amongst the common folk. We just need to be more selective with our purchases, otherwise we wouldn't be able to afford even our rent, I hope you understand..." Curtain said with sadness in her voice.

Rosemary sighed and looked down, she cupped her other hoof over Curtain's and held it "I'm sure my parents will come around..." she said surprisingly, the first time she'd brought it up.

"Y-yeah!" Curtain exclaimed with surprise, but still trying to be supportive "I am too, they just need time to process this." Through the sadness of being poor, Curtain forced a smile at Rosemary.

"It wasn't how I hoped they'd find out" she said and made eye contact again "Perhaps we could-" she stopped when there was a flash from outside, she looked and saw a pony with a camera. Who was hurrying to take another. Rosemary was furious and scowled "So that's who was following..." she said angrily and stood up, only to get photographed again.

Curtain noticed the flash too, and stood up with Rosemary. "Wait, who's that? Why are they taking photos?"

Rosemary moved from the table and as she did, the pony rushed inside. They had a notepad and stopped Rosemary, asking a multitude of questions "Lady L'Stranza who is your friend? Is she more than a friend? Do your parents know? What do you have to say on this matter?" Rosemary swatted the air at them "Leave me be!" but they continued "Please, just a quick comment for the Daily Chronicle. Ponies will want to hear all about this change in the nobility.” Rosemary grew ever more angry "I don't want to talk about it!" the reporter pressed on "Oh? Are you embarrassed about it?"

"Hey!" Curtain shouted at the reporter "she said leave her alone, we're just trying to have some desserts!" Curtain moved over to gently move Rosemary so that Curtain was now between the two ponies. "Whoever you are, she said she doesn't want to talk about it, so please stop."

The pony took a photo of Curtain immediately "Aha! Ma'am are you Lady L'Stranza's girlfriend?! This is breaking gossip! When did you meet? How did you meet? Do the Saddle Arabian families know?" this last question made Rosemary's eyes widen and look a bit terrified.

As Curtain's eyes adjusted after the flash of the camera, she returned to look at the reporter with a scowl. "Hey! We are just trying to talk! Stop taking pictures and leave us alone!"

"No comments at all?" Rosemary stepped forward and spoke sternly "You will leave us be! I don't want my photos reproduced! Leave or I'll have the owner of this establishment throw you out!" the reported blinked, looked around and chuckled nervously "Now... lets not get hasty! I can see you are very busy. Yes. Perhaps an interview another time? No? Heh..." they scuttled out, but quickly ran off when outside. Rosemary glaring the whole time.

The tension in the room was very obvious now and, like always, Curtain tried to break it with a joke. "Talk about an independent woman, you alright?" She turned to face her.

Rosemary eyed her but was very much on edge. Some other patrons had been staring at the scene "I knew someone was following..." she said bitterly.

"It's alright, you can calm down now" Curtain said reassuringly. "Did you know them? Or is this one of those paparazzi I've heard about?"

"I don't know who they are!" she yelled "I'm going to be in all the papers now! Great. Just what I wanted. This was a bad idea... things are going to go very bad..."

"You don't know that" Curtain said as she placed a hoof on Rosemary's shoulder. "You had to know this was going to happen eventually, someone of your stature suddenly going missing? Been seen with a low-class performer? It was bound to happen. That doesn't mean that this is a bad thing though..."

"Of course it's a bad thing!" She said loudly, but noticed they had some stares, so she guided Curtain back to their table and spoke softer. "Of course it's bad. You don't know my mother, when she finds out, then it might be over between us. If she finds out through a tabloid! I dread to even think... " she looked panicked "this was all a bad idea..." she said, sounding upset.

Despite Curtain being nervous about the situation, she did her best to try and calm Rosemary down. "Considering your choices were either us breaking up, or your parents finding out, I think you made the right call. There is nothing they can do that can keep us apart, I promise you."

Rosemary was silent for a while and sighed "It's been such a long day..." she said quietly after quite a pause.

Curtain also kept herself quiet for a time, before finally asking "do you still wanna get a sundae? Or would you rather head back to my place?"

The rich mare paused, she took the menu and looked it over carefully "Let's at least get something?" she offered, but there was clear disdain in her eyes despite the attempted forced smile. Something about the encounter had gotten to her and she was doing what she could to bury it. Perhaps the gravity of the life decisions she'd made today was finally bearing down upon her. It made her seem very lonely and vulnerable.

Curtain couldn't help but feel responsible for all that's happened. Maybe if she just restrained herself and not gone to see Rosemary today, she may not have been found out by Rosemary's father for quite some time. She sighed and stared out the window sadly.

There was an awkward silence. The waiter came over and Rosemary ordered the small, cheapest sundae and didn't say much else. Most ponies in the restaurant went back to their business now that the drama had faded.

At this point, Curtain was so in her own head she didn't even realise the waiter had arrived. She was too caught up in ways she could have prevented this and blaming herself in the process.

Rosemary sat there and ate her sundae in silence, slowly, but dignified. She eyed Curtain a few times and raised an eyebrow. Eventually to break the silent tension she asked "Where would I be sleeping?"

Curtain snapped back to reality with a small tear in her eyes from her space out, she quickly and nonchalantly wiped it away. "O-Oh, I guess you can take my bed and I'll take the couch. My bed is kinda small, so..."

"That could be agreeable. You're really not hungry after all that?" she pushed the remainder of the small sundae toward Curtain, oblivious to her being upset.

"N-No..." Curtain replied as she shook her head slightly "it's all yours" she pushed the sundae back to Rosemary.

"Oh, okay then" she shrugged and took it back. She ate it in silence with her usual dignified manner, seemingly unaware of any tension.

Curtain gave her a weak smile before looking around the cafe, too ashamed to look Rosemary in the eyes.

When the waiter came over, Rosemary dug around in her purse and frowned at just how little she had in there. At least the gambling winnings would cover it. After paying she stood up and motioned to Curtain. "Well, let's get going before more press comes to harass me... hm?"

Curtain looked to Rosemary and gave her a small nod as she stood up. "Well, back home I guess..." she said in a very dejected manner. She tried to hide her sadness as they went back to Curtain's home, though it was incredibly difficult.

Rosemary nodded, got up, and led them out of the restaurant, passing the arcade and all its loud and happy noises. Rosemary felt disconcerted as the mood had drastically changed since they first arrived here, and not in a good way, so she probed. "Is something wrong? You're not as... perky as you were earlier."

With that, Curtain's poorly crafted facade broke. "I-I'm so sorry Rosemary" she began to tear up instantly "it's all my fault this happened. I should've never performed the day we met, never should've snuck into your room, never should've interacted with you. If I hadn't, maybe you'd still be happy in your estate..." At this point, Curtain was on the ground with her head in her fore-hooves. "It's all my fault..." she would repeat to herself.

Rosemary bit her lip. She opened her mouth to talk, but paused. "It's..." she started, but couldn't think of the words to finish. She didn't want to believe Curtain’s words, but something about them gnawed at her. It was true, she'd still be living her comfortable rich lifestyle if it didn't happen. Even if she didn't run off with Curtain earlier this day. Perhaps she'd really rushed into it? She didn't want to admit that. It would also mean she was wrong, Rosemary was never wrong! Or so she told herself. No, things will work out, they always did for her. She reached down and touched Curtain’s shoulder.
"Don't say that. Come on, ponies are looking..."

"It's all my fault... it's all my fault..." Curtain repeated like a broken record, her eyes now streaming with tears, she didn't notice Rosemary's hoof on her shoulder, nor her words.

"What do you mean? My father would've found out eventually... don't act like this" she said cautiously, not really knowing how to comfort her but getting very wary of the eyes looking at them again "We need to get going" she said in her typical authoritarian manner "whatever happened, happened."

Curtain mustered what little strength she had and stood up, wiping away her tears. "Y-You're right, we should head home..." Curtain started walking again, trying desperately not to get anymore attention from passers by, but occasionally giving off a soft sob. Her happiness from earlier today was shattered in mere moments.

After a distance of walking, Rosemary spoke up "look, it's not your fault. I chose to run away didn't I? If anything it's all my fault for putting all this on you. I should be the one feeling guilty... right?" She said, not sure if it would cheer up her companion or not.

"Wrong..." came the reply "I was the one who encouraged you to run away in the first place. If I hadn't... maybe you'd still be happy." Curtain dared not even look a Rosemary, still very much ashamed of herself.

Rosemary tried speaking a few times on the way back to Curtain’s home but couldn't muster up the words to explain her thoughts. She was still very divided and seeing Curtain like this made her realise the seriousness of her decision to run away. Perhaps it really was wishful thinking brought on by naive youth. Maybe her father was letting her do this to teach her a lesson,that she still needs a lot of growing up to do. It really struck at her ego. It was very rare she second guessed anything she did. When they got back to Curtain’s front door, she stared at it for a while "It's been a long day. I think I need to sleep on it. See what tomorrow might bring?"

By the time they reached her home, Curtain had calmed down slightly from her earlier outburst but still was quite upset with herself. She opened the door with gusto. "I'll show you to my room" she said, seemingly ignoring Rosemary's attempt at starting a conversation. She then lead the way without waiting for a reply.

The younger mare rushed in after her, feeling a fair bit safer when inside. Casting Call wasn't in. When they got to the room, before looking around she faced Curtain instead. She spoke with her usual dignified manner "I don't regret the things we've done."

Curtain was unsure how to respond to that. It's not like she regretted it, actually she quite enjoyed the time they spent together, but she couldn't help but feel responsible for the situation Rosemary finds herself in. She made noises as if trying to speak but no words were coming out, before looking away from Rosemary towards the floor, her eyes watering up again.

"Look, they'll understand eventually okay? They have to" she pondered and touched her lips "I'll go talk to them tomorrow. How about that? Just don't cry, please, I don't like it" the last part she said in a way that revealed her high class upbringing and perhaps spoiled nature of always getting her way.

The way Rosemary said that made Curtain chuckle slightly "I think you need to learn how to better cheer someone up" she joked, wiping away her tears once more. "I'm fine Rosie, I'm just worried about you more than anything. I couldn't live with myself if I had caused you to be... abandoned by your parents."

"It won't end that way." Rosemary smiled "everything will work itself out, you'll see. They just need time. I'll go speak to them tomorrow, alright?" She said optimistically.

"I'm the one that's supposed to cheer you up, not the other way around" Curtain said, realising the irony in this situation. "Don't worry about me Rosie, I'm fine, today was... just a really big day. You don't have to go see them if you don't want to."

"It's going to happen eventually" she said heavily "I will sleep on it. I'm very tired" she half smiled and turned toward the bedroom. Even the way she walked made her look exhausted from all the crazy emotions and developments in the day.

Curtain gave her a smile and a nod "fair enough, I'm pretty tired too actually, I'll see you tomorrow then." Curtain then turned and started walking down the hall.

Rosemary waved her off and looked around in Curtain’s room. The silence and seclusion brought forth the gravity of her situation. She was in a strange room, in a strange house with no knowledge if she'd ever go back to her own room. Reality was sudden and heavy and great doubts ran through her mind. Though confident when Curtain was around, she felt very afraid and alone without her. She shook her head violently, she wasn't going to let it get to her. If this was the path she'd chosen, then it had to be done. Tomorrow is always another day.

As Rosemary looked around Curtain's room, she'd notice a few pictures with 4 ponies at various locations. Some of them featured Curtain, Casting and presumably their parents, but she'd also notice that some had a young colt in the place of Curtain, their only similarities being the glasses they wore and their colours.
Curtain arrived at the living room and took a large breath of air as she sat down, exhausted from today's events. She grabbed the blanket that was hanging off the back of the couch and covered herself in it as she lay down. "I hope Rosemary can figure things out with her parents..." she said to herself quietly.

Author's Note

Thank you all so much for reading this! Neither of us had any idea this would last this long. There's likely to be one final chapter coming at some point, so stay tuned!