Diamond in the Flames

Sometimes, the greatest gift you could give someone was to be there for them.

That was why Rarity wasn't particularly bothered that she hadn't gotten Sweetie anything as she made her way back to their apartment. Normally she tried to bring back a trinket of some sort to show that Sweetie had been in her thoughts, and Sweetie did the same. As a result, each of them had amassed a small collection of keepsakes kept zealously guarded in a pair of lockboxes in their homes.

This time, though, Rarity was coming home early, her business having been cut short by a storm blowing into Baltimare and putting a damper on economic activities. Sweetie would undoubtedly be overjoyed to have her back before her scheduled return, and Rarity was also looking forward to being with her beloved again.

As an added bonus, she hadn't seen her sister in any headlines as well. Hopefully, that meant that Sweetie had truly taken her message to heart, and had found some way to entertain herself that wouldn't cause another scandal.

Anticipation welled up inside her as she stepped into the elevator, keying in the code to take her to the top. She was practically dancing on her hooves at the thought of surprising her sister and sweeping her into a passionate embrace, making her swoon and then carrying her to bed so they could make love long into the night.

The elevator dinged, and Rarity nearly dropped the keys as she opened the door to the suite, ready to make her grand entrance. "Hello, darling!" she called out, trotting inside. "I've come to save you from your loneliness!" It wasn't the smoothest of lines, admittedly, but Rarity doubted that Sweetie would mind.

Silence.

"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity made a quick circuit around the apartment. "Are you here?"

Her sister was nowhere to be seen. Rarity shrugged. Ah well, she could always wait here for her to return, and then surprise her. Yes, that would do nicely as well, and give Rarity some time to change into something more... comfortable.

Humming a cheerful tune, Rarity went about putting her things away, before making her way to their bedroom to fetch her lingerie. Something lacy, perhaps, on the more revealing side.

Her eyes caught sight of an envelope on the nightstand. Curious, Rarity picked it up, finding an invitation inside.

Her blood ran cold.

"Oh, Sweetie, no," Rarity whispered to herself, knowing that her pleas were in vain. Of course Sweetie would be at the Cistern, a venue that would present ample opportunity for her little sister to make a spectacle of herself.

Rarity had been to her fair share of parties there in her youth. Nowadays, the drugs peddled there were a little too unpredictable for her tastes, and she was terrified of how Sweetie might act in the presence of them.

The letter fell to the ground as Rarity took off, bracing herself for the worst.

Sometimes, it was useful to be a highly recognizable celebrity.

The bouncer let Rarity into the Cistern immediately, giving her a polite nod of acknowledgement as he allowed her to skip the line of eager clubbers waiting for their turn to get in. Which Rarity was thankful for, since it would have taken time to talk her way inside otherwise. She rushed in and was immediately bombarded by waves of sound as the familiar acoustics of the venue triggered ancient memories.

With practiced ease, she navigated her way through the kaleidoscope of colours and ponies dancing about, her eyes scanning for Sweetie Belle.

It took several minutes, during which she had to manoeuvre her way around a number of incredibly inebriated ponies and turn down multiple glasses of alcoholic beverages that she desperately wished she could partake in. Eventually, though, she saw a familiar curly mane in the sea of ponies, glowing blue under the lighting of the club.

"Sweetie Belle!" she shouted, even though she knew she wouldn't be heard. She waded closer, pushing away ponies until she was finally muzzle-to-muzzle with her sister. "We are leaving now!" she declared.

"Rarity!" Sweetie's eyes were glassy as she stared up at Rarity with wonder. "I love you so much!" At the very least, whatever she was on made her pliable enough that she simply began following her out of the mass of ponies. "Wow, those pills were amazing. We should get some to bring back!"

"We shall not," Rarity said primly, nearly shoving several more ponies to the ground in her haste to get Sweetie away from all of this. "Please tell me you at least know what it is you took."

A puzzled expression formed on Sweetie's face. "I don't remember, but they're great!" she said, her vacuous smile returning.

Rarity finally pushed her way out of the crowd, and she and Sweetie made their way towards the exit. By some miracle, Sweetie didn't do anything regrettable as they stepped through the door and out into the open air, right next to the crowd of ponies waiting their turn to enter.

That was when her luck ran out.

"I love you so much, Rarity!" Sweetie proclaimed her love loud and clear as she swayed side-to-side, clearly putting effort into staying upright. "You're the best marefriend in the world, and I really, really wanna make out with you right now."

And then she lunged forwards, pressing her lips against Rarity's.

Panic flashed through Rarity's mind, paralyzing her as her body responded to the kiss by leaning into it. A moment later, she realized her mistake, and roughly shoved Sweetie away. "Sweetie Belle!" she admonished, keenly aware of all the cameras flashing around them. "What has gotten into you?"

"I just wanna show you just how much I love you." Still oblivious, Sweetie collapsed against Rarity, her eyes still filled with so much love as she stared up distantly at her. "I'm only happy when I'm around you, you know?"

That very worrying confession aside, Rarity had more important matters to deal with, like damage control. "She's very confused right now," Rarity told the crowd, who had abandoned the line to watch this spectacle unfold. "Something in the pills she took just wasn't right." Admitting that she had taken random drugs wasn't the best move, but right now, it was very much the lesser of two evils. "If you'll excuse me, I need to take her home."

She shared a knowing look with the bouncer, who was experienced enough to know what to do. He whispered to one of the other employees there, and a moment later Rarity and Sweetie found themselves escorted towards a private carriage with a driver that they knew would be discreet.

"Can we have sex when we get back?" Sweetie asked, pawing at Rarity with her hooves.

Discretion had its limits, though, and Rarity didn't want to push her luck. "Sweetie, please try to sleep. This isn't like you."

"Are you saying you don't love me anymore?" Tears formed in her eyes as Sweetie's smile faded. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You are still my dearest sister," Rarity promised. "We can talk more about your behaviour when we return home. For now, please rest."

Fortunately, Sweetie seemed content to nuzzle against Rarity in a way that could be interpreted as being purely familial intimacy, and there were no more incidents on their way back. Rarity thanked the driver and led Sweetie back up to the penthouse.

As soon as they entered, Sweetie began kissing Rarity's neck. "I've missed you so much," she said, her voice dropping low and husky. "I need you inside of me right now, Rarity, and I need to taste you too."

"I am not taking advantage of you while you're in this state," Rarity said, bringing her to the bedroom. "We can cuddle on the bed until you tire and can sleep off this high if you wish."

"Aww." Despite her complaints, Sweetie climbed into bed with Rarity, and Rarity allowed herself a few light kisses and some soft stroking of Sweetie's mane as she tried to ignore the way that Sweetie's hooves and mouth were roaming all over her body. She could feel the heat building up between her legs at the treatment, and made a note to take a cold shower the moment Sweetie fell asleep.

Considering Sweetie's fervor, however, that likely wouldn't be for quite a while.

A pained gasp escaped from between Rarity's lips as she felt Sweetie bite her ear. "You like that, right?" Sweetie said, grinning proudly.

Rarity sighed. It was going to be a long night.