Diamond in the Flames

The weekend did not find Rarity and Sweetie hanging up decorations and discussing plans for the upcoming festivities.

Instead, the next day, Sweetie had woken up to the doorbell being rung over and over again, a cacophony echoing in her brain as she rolled out of bed. Next to her, Rarity was doing the same, pulling her sleeping mask off as she glared up at the ceiling. "Who in Equestria is making such a racket at this hour? And why has our security not escorted them off the premises yet?"

"Maybe it's one of our friends." Sweetie yawned. "I swear, if Scootaloo's the one outside, I'm going to punch her."

"Rainbow as well," Rarity added, stifling her own yawn. "Though I suppose Rainbow Dash would be flying in through the window instead." The doorbell continued to ring. "One moment!" she called out. Her horn glowed and magic washed over her, pulling her mane into a loose approximation of its usual curls. "Do I look presentable?"

Sweetie eyed her sister critically. "As long as you're not being called up for a photo op, it'll be fine." Rarity always looked beautiful to her, but they both understood that natural beauty wasn't always enough for the press. Not for them, at least.

After Rarity cast the spell on Sweetie as well, the two of them made their way downstairs, pulling the door open to reveal Lace Trim, Rarity assistant, looking incredibly frazzled. Behind her, Sweetie could see their guards holding back a swarm of ponies with cameras.

"Miss Rarity!" Lace Trim exclaimed. "Have you seen the news?" she spared a glance at Sweetie, her expression turning into a glare before the mask of professionalism asserted itself again.

"I have not," Rarity replied. "Whatever is the matter?"

Lace handed over what looked like a tabloid. "Fresh off the presses," she said. "Apparently, they literally stopped the presses to print this instead this morning. We're trying to do damage control now but we need your help, Miss Rarity."

"Come in, then." Rarity closed the door behind Lace as she held up the tabloid so that both she and Sweetie could see it.

Sweetie's blood turned to ice.

Distantly, she was aware that Rarity had dropped the papers to the ground, both their eyes fixated on the photos on the front page.

"So, that explains the open window yesterday," Rarity said faintly. "We should pursue legal action against the photographer, but that will hardly put the cat back in the bag."

Sweetie wanted to say something, anything, but all she could do was stare helplessly at the picture of her and Rarity kissing passionately in bed while their hooves roamed over each other's bodies. It would be impossible to lie their way out of this one.

As always, Rarity took charge of the situation, taking a deep breath as she stood up straight and projected an aura of command about her. "There's no need for Carousel to make a public statement about the private life of a pony," she said, and there was no denying her authority. "That will be the answer we give to anypony who asks. Make sure to also imply that we will be looking into pursuing legal action against any reporter who dares to use this violation of our privacy to slander the company."

Lace Trim nodded. "They also want to know if you'll be making some kind of personal statement as well, whether independently or as the founder and owner of Carousel."

"Tell them I'll think on it." Rarity glanced towards the clock on the wall. "Have a private carriage sent to pick me up in an hour. I have some business to take care of here, and I can hardly appear in the office in such a state." She gestured to her imperfectly-coiffed mane.

"Yes, ma'am. Are there any other messages you want me to send?"

As Rarity and Lace spoke, Sweetie let their voices fade into the background. This was it. The moment they'd both dreaded, but knew in their hearts had probably been inevitable. Sweetie and Rarity loved each other so much that their love was bound to be noticed eventually, and now that it had, once the rush of fear and the desire to vomit had passed, and her heart's rhythm had returned to normal, she felt... light.

So what if this ruined her reputation in the music industry? Sweetie didn't care for the respect of Dime Tune, who owned the largest record company in Equestria but still tried to trick new artists into signing over all the rights to their work. Or the regard of Brass File, the agent who was known for his roaming hooves around young ingenues. Even the other singers who were supposed to be Sweetie's allies were either sharks waiting for her to falter or idiots who wouldn't last the year.

If anything, this was freeing. Having to hide the one good thing in her life hurt so much, and now that it was out in the open, that particular pain was gone.

"I'll make the arrangements, Miss Rarity." As Lace Trim pocketed her notes, Sweetie found that she was smiling.

"Thank you," Rarity said. "And I am sorry for the trouble this has caused."

"It's my job to deal with these kinds of things, ma'am," Lace Trim said coolly. "Though I'll be glad when this is all over." With one final glare towards Sweetie, she made her way back out, towards the growing swarm of reporters.

Rarity's horn glowed, and a fainting couch floated over so that she could collapse onto it. "I am going to need several tubs of ice cream after today," she said, closing her eyes and placing a hoof over her forehead dramatically.

"Sure, that sounds like fun. It's been a while since I've binged a tub of ice cream." Idly, Sweetie wondered how much they still had in the freezer. It was probably time to restock.

Rarity opened one eye to stare at Sweetie. "How are you faring, darling?" she asked, concerned. "Do you need to contact your agent as well?"

Sweetie shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I should do that. He'll probably be coming over soon, though, once he finds out about all of this." There was a tub of vanilla and half a tub of chocolate still. Or maybe it was strawberry rather than vanilla. Did they still have any cookies and cream left?

The frown on Rarity's muzzle deepend, and she reached over to cup Sweetie's face with a hoof. "Are you alright, Sweetie?" she asked. "Are you feeling cold?" Her hoof trailed down to Sweetie's neck. "Your pulse seems normal, at least, but perhaps the shock hasn't properly set in yet?"

Batting the hoof away gently, Sweetie smiled. "No, I get what's going on. And the more I think about it, the more I think that this is the best thing that could've happened to us."

Rarity's eyes narrowed. "How do you mean?" she asked, suspicion creeping into her tone.

"I'm so tired of having to sneak around and pretend like we aren't a couple, Rarity." Sweetie trotted up to the fainting couch and plopped herself on it, nudging Rarity into moving a little in order to make space for her. "And I'm so tired of trying to be the good little filly that tries to be respectable in a world where nopony cares."

"I know it's difficult," Rarity said as she absently wrapped a foreleg around her. "But there are ponies that care."

Sweetie let out a snort. "You know what the others are all like. They've all done such horrible things and gotten away with it. This whole thing, and everything else I've done this year, has made me realize how much I can just do whatever I want. We've both got enough fame and influence that we can ride out any scandal."

"What about our friends?" Rarity asked.

"The ones in Ponyville? They don't know what it's like." Sweetie started peppering kisses along Rarity's neck, nibbling her way up to her chin. "They don't get that it's not worth it. I wasn't happy until I finally did something 'bad' and hooked up with you, and now I've never been happier." Sweetie grinned against Rarity's fur. "And I bet at the end of this, we'll both be able to use all this press coverage to become even more famous and powerful."

With a rough shove, Rarity pushed Sweetie Belle off of the couch. "What has gotten into you, young lady?" she admonished, waggling a hoof imperiously at her. "What happened to the sweet little sister I fell in love with?"

"She's finally realized that she can do whatever she wants, and that there's no point in holding back." Sweetie's grin widened. "C'mon, let's go give the paparazzi out there a show." She reached out towards Rarity with a hoof.

Immediately, Rarity slapped it away. She climbed off the couch and stood before Sweetie, looking every bit the imperious businessmare that she was. "Sweetie, I understand that this is quite a stressful situation we find ourselves in, but you simply must calm down. We shall endure, as we have before, and I promise you that we shall not need to give up who we are to do so."

"But what if I want to give up who I was?" Was she whining? Actually, Sweetie found she didn't care if she was. She had the right to whine after all she'd been through. "What if I could be so much happier if I didn't play nice with other ponies? I already embarrassed Fire Tone once — maybe next time he tries something I'll completely destroy him." Sweetie laughed, and she couldn't tell if it was sweet or bitter. "I've already gotten away with so much this year, nopony will even notice if I go a little bit further."

"It is not a question of what other ponies think." Ugh, was Rarity always this self-righteous? "It's about being true to ourselves, so that we can sleep soundly at night."

"I sleep really well when I'm in bed with you." Maybe she should try another approach. Sweetie made sure to sway her flanks as she trotted over towards Rarity. She lidded her eyes and let her voice drop low and sultry. "Come on, Rarity, we could be so much more if we wanted to. With our connections and influence, nopony would ever want to mess with us, and we could have whatever we want, whenever we want."

"I won't become a monster just because I can." Rarity turned away from Sweetie's attempts to kiss her. "And I won't share my bed with one as well."

Sweetie recoiled as if physically struck. Honestly, she would've preferred if Rarity had done that. "I thought you were always going to take care of me?" she asked, the emotional maelstrom within her spiralling out of control as tears began forming in her eyes. "You promised me you'd stand by me."

"I..." Rarity faltered. "I want to protect you from the evils of this world, Sweetie. But I don't know how to save you from yourself, and I cannot simply stand by idly as you let the darkness destroy the light that shines so brightly in your spirit."

"Fine! I'll find somepony who will, then!" Sweetie stomped off towards the door, refusing to let Rarity see her tears. "After all, I can have anypony I want!"

"Sweetie, please..." Rarity's pleas tugged at Sweetie's heart, but she refused to budge.

"I'm going to show you that I'm right, Rarity," Sweetie promised. "And then you'll regret rejecting me." When she opened the front door, the crowd of reporters were still there. Sweetie smiled grimly at them.

Time to show Rarity that she was serious.

"Hello, everypony," she said pleasantly, letting them all see her tear-stained face. "I know you have a lot of questions, but let me just start by saying that Rarity and I aren't a couple. Apparently, I'm not good enough to be her marefriend."

With that, she walked right past them, ignoring the camera flashes and the cacophony of questions being shouted at her.

"We'll make them all pay, Rarity," Sweetie promised to herself as she flagged down one of their staff to get her a carriage. "And then you'll see that I'm right, and we can be happy together without having to hide anymore."