Intimate Details

Intimate Details - Part 12 “Friendship and Love”

Rarity’s defenses rose even more as she watched Twilight and Vinyl Scratch emerge from behind the princess into Octavia’s flat. Here were the three most intimidating women Rarity knew, standing in front of her, and none of them looked very pleased. At first, she thought Celestia would be smiling. Instead, she looked angry. Her intense frown was all the more intimidating as it was offset by her radiant aura. Rarity took a step back, inadvertently placing herself between the three women and Octavia.

“P-princess Celestia… What are you doing here?” Rarity whimpered. She could feel Octavia tremble behind her. She was clearly distraught at being caught half-naked by their ruler and the two magi responsible for all the stress the past few days. Rarity did her best to cover Octavia, but there was only so much she could do. Celestia didn’t respond to her fearful question, though. She just stood there, watching Rarity and Octavia cower before the little entourage.

“It’s come to my attention that there has been some conflict between the four of you as of late.” Celestia’s tone was gentle, but her intimidating frown was less than kind. Rarity began to tremble herself.

“Y-yes, your highness.” Rarity whimpered.

“Explain.” Seemingly from nowhere, five chairs materialized. Rarity felt compelled to sit, as she watched Celestia lower herself into her own. Twilight and Vinyl mirrored her. “You may go dress, Octavia. I suspect we will be here for a while.” Rarity heard Octavia pad off unevenly, her hands pulling the hem of her shirt down over her exposed panties as best she could. None of the other three appeared even miffed by catching the cellist at less than her best. In fact, only one of them was even looking her way. Vinyl and Twilight were busy inspecting the floor as intently as possible. Now that Rarity looked at them, she noticed they both appeared to want to be anywhere but there. Rarity could hardly blame them. Octavia returned a short minute later, wearing a different T-shirt and loose-fitting jeans. As she sat beside Rarity, Celestia spoke once more.

“Now tell me your side of the story, Rarity. And leave nothing out. I want to know everything that happened between whatever caused you to move to Canterlot and this very moment.” Celestia didn’t appear warm or kind at all in that moment. In fact, she looked to be very angry, and very upset. Rarity swallowed and looked up before beginning her story.

“Twilight and I had been seeing one another for a long while. On our anniversary, she surprised me with tickets to a spa, and a very beautiful necklace. We left immediately. But on the way there, she confessed to seeing Rainbow Dash as well. I… I passed out behind the wheel, and we crashed in the mountains around Trottingham. Both of us were severely injured. But worse than that, I could hardly look at either of them without collapsing, as I had in the car. So once Sweetie Belle finished school and got accepted into the academy, we moved to Canterlot. Partly because I wanted to be there to help support her through her education, but mostly because I wanted to get away from… From all that.” Rarity drew a shuddering breath, her hands shaking a little with the memory of the pain and anguish. Twilight didn’t appear very pleased at the retelling of the story. But Rarity wasn’t quite finished yet.

“I worked as hard as I could to provide for both myself and Sweetie Belle. I paid her tuition, or so I thought, for close to five years. I don’t remember taking one weekend to relax. It was all kind of a blur. I didn’t see Sweetie Belle all that much either, save a stray holiday or two. I made it, though. Paycheck to paycheck I survived. My co-worker, Amethyst, made a commitment to take me out one night, to help me relax. It ended up being a whole ordeal, but I managed to meet Octavia at the club. She had heard of me through the papers, so she gave me her card. I called her the next day, and she came to me with the idea for the dress.”

“I remember that performance well.” Celestia interceded. “That dress was truly stunning, Rarity. Please, continue. I’m sorry for interrupting.”

“Th-thank you.” Rarity blushed, but kept talking. “After the performance, Octavia had me come here, and she played for me… Afterwards, we… Well…” Rarity’s eyes flicked to Vinyl, whose fists appeared to be clenched very tightly. “We… We’ve been more-or-less together since then.”

“You’re not sharing everything, Rarity.” Celestia reached a hand out to rest on Vinyl’s fist. The DJ relaxed, sitting back in her chair with a breath. She appeared to have been clenching them ever since Rarity started talking. “Please. Tell us more.”

“I… I’m not sure what else there is to tell.” Rarity muttered.

“The next time you met Octavia, after that night where she played for you.” Celestia offered. In a flash, Rarity remembered. Her face paled as she looked down at the floor.

“Oh. Okay.” She took a moment to gather her thoughts, sighing as she began. “Octavia invited me back over a short while after that, but… But when I showed up... It just so happens that I arrived when she had a guest… Who I’m assuming was Vinyl.” The DJ nodded, affirming Rarity’s story. “Well… She looked distraught. But I was a little miffed. Rather than be understanding, I just left angrily. Well, Octavia tried to get back to me after that as well. We had lunch at the diner, and when she invited me back that night, I saw them…”

“Saw what?” Celestia folded her arms. Vinyl seemed less angry and more shy in that moment. Rarity swallowed.

“The bruises.”

“Hmm.” Celestia stayed silent for a little while, letting those words sink in. After the awkward silence, she spoke softly. “What happened at the diner last week?”

“We… That is to say Vinyl and I, arranged to meet and discuss some things. Vinyl was determined to keep me away from Octavia, but I didn’t want to let her go… So I stood up to Vinyl, and I… I warned her to stay away from the two of us. I… I may have threatened her. I’m sorry.” Rarity hung her head, feeling the tears of shame come on. But a firm presence lifted her chin, leveling her eyes with the princess’.

“Please keep going.”

“We… When I left, Vinyl attacked me…” Rarity mumbled, looking at the princess. “Twilight stopped her. She made it so Octavia and I could get away. We ran here. Twilight showed up later on, telling us what had happened, and the following morning, she offered to take me back to Ponyville with her. I refused, because I want to stay here with Octavia.” Rarity tore her eyes away from the princess, looking to the sultry cellist sitting to her left. Shyly, she reached her hand out, but her lips spread into a warm smile when Octavia curled their fingers together.

“What of your plans?” Celestia asked. “What do you two plan to do now?”

“Well… Octavia offered to let me move in with her.” Rarity muttered, looking back to Celestia. “I was going to let Sweetie Belle stay at my apartment until the lease is up, after which I’d help her move into a new place. With the money I save on rent, I can help her out still. It’s thanks to Octavia, really…”

“I see.” Celestia sat in her chair with her arms crossed for a while, frowning at both Rarity and Octavia. Rarity could feel the heat of her gaze burn into her face. Even when she hung her head to look at the ground, she still felt the heat on the top of her head. She wanted to go crawl under some blankets somewhere and hide. She wasn’t entirely sure why. She nearly jumped when Celestia stood from her chair.

“Thank you, Rarity. I think we’ll be in touch again soon. Come with me, you two.” Everyone rose from their chairs, which vanished just as soon as they had come to their feet. Vinyl and Twilight turned to follow Celestia, who made her way to the elevator. Octavia and Rarity watched, completely dumbfounded, as Celestia entered the elevator with Twilight and Vinyl in tow. The doors closed, concealing the entourage, leaving Rarity and Octavia behind.

“Did… Did that just happen?” Octavia asked after a long, quiet pause.

“I think so…” Rarity muttered. “Pinch me; I think I’m still dreaming.”

Despite the awkward start, Rarity’s day progressed normally after that. She walked to the boutique, surprised to find that her coat was a little too warm by the time she arrived. Amethyst smiled warmly at her, and the two gossiped about the latest goings-on of Equestrian society for a long while. When they finally got to work, they achieved a lot, and took a short break for lunch. After coming back, they both split off to work on their own projects. Amethyst was working on yet another dress for Fleur, while Rarity handled a few alterations and repairs between finishing out the last commissions they had. For a Friday afternoon, it was very productive, and as Rarity helped Amethyst clean the store one more time before locking up, she was excited for the weekend ahead of them.

Octavia pulled into the parking lot beside the boutique, wearing dark shades and a wide hat to avoid anyone noticing her. Rarity thought she looked even more suspicious than if she had gone without. Still, she wasn’t complaining as she snuck a quick kiss and they pulled off. That weekend, the two of them were determined to move all of Rarity’s clothing. Octavia sped halfway across town to a rental truck company, and caught them just before they closed. Rarity drove the truck to her apartment, and together with Octavia, began hauling loads of her clothes from the massive closet down to the truck. It would take them a few trips to get everything, but Rarity was looking forward to re-organizing her things when she got them all moved into Octavia’s flat.

As they pulled into the garage beneath Octavia’s apartment building, Rarity wasn’t suspecting a thing. The elevator ride up to the top floor was peaceful, but their arrival was less so. Sitting on the couch in Octavia’s living room were the same three women who had greeted them that very morning. Rarity almost dropped the armload of clothes she had.

“Please join us.” Celestia said curtly. Twilight and Vinyl looked even more disgruntled than they had that morning. Vinyl appeared defeated. Twilight was stressed. Octavia and Rarity shared a look before setting their respective loads aside and sitting awkwardly in the two leftover chairs in the living room. Celestia was markedly different from that morning. She smiled warmly at the two of them, and in fact didn’t appear intimidating or angry at all. If anything, she looked happy.

“Is… Everything okay?” Rarity asked. She was nothing short of confused at the situation before her.

“Everything is fine, I assure you. But I think it would be prudent to share the plans we have with the two of you. Just to keep you in the loop, as it were. I’ll let Twilight begin. Twilight?”

“Y-yes, princess.” The purple-haired magi mumbled as she sat up a little more straight. Her cheeks were flushed, but she spoke confidently. “It’s become abundantly clear that my study in the magic of friendship was almost a complete failure. I made many, many mistakes in my past, and I never even confronted them. Rather than tell my friends what had happened, I covered it up, afraid of their judgement. For the past five years I’ve been living a lie, and subjecting them to it as well. What’s worse, I’ve deprived them all a good friend of their own.” Twilight sighed and wiped a hand across her eyes.

“Therefore, I’m going to return to Ponyville, and try to settle things with the other girls. And then I’ll begin studying friendship once again, from square one. Clearly, I messed up the first time. Not only did I betray your trust, but I’ve robbed my other friends, and lied to all of you. I’m just… So sorry that I almost ripped you all apart. I was so blind and foolish that it took this whole scenario just to knock some sense into me… I’m a failure, not just as a friend, but as a student and a magi.” Twilight hung her head, and Rarity watched as several tears seeped from her eyes. Rarity wasn’t exactly moved by her speech, but she did feel kind of sorry for Twilight. In a sympathetic sort of way.

“Twilight will be returning to Ponyville and restarting her study in the magic of friendship. She’ll begin by telling the truth to her friends, so I’m assuming some of them will be seeking your input on the scenario.” Celestia waved a hand to Rarity. “I hope you’ll be okay, dealing with the repercussions of Twilight’s actions.”

“I think I’ll be okay.” Rarity smiled confidently. She glanced at Octavia before nodding to Twilight. “She knows what she’s done, so I don’t think I need to berate her any further.” At her sympathetic expression, Twilight gave her a quick, tear-stained smile. But it appeared as if they weren’t quite finished yet. Celestia turned her gaze to the other woman, smiling faintly at her.

“Vinyl has something to share with you as well. Go ahead, Miss Scratch.” Vinyl perked up a little, but frowned as she slowly leaned forward.

“It’s no big secret I’ve got major anger issues… I’ve nearly hurt or killed the few people I ever cared about. It’s a serious problem for me. I would blame it on aggressive city living and the lifestyle I’ve lived so far, but I think we can all agree it’s just me…” She wiped a hand over her face, frowning down at the coffee table before continuing. “I… Have never learned how to use my magic responsibly. My mother really had an issue with it when I was a kid, so I started out not using it at all. Everyone I went to school with thought I was a human. But when I discovered music, I also discovered how powerful I really was. Which was the problem. I was never taught how to use my power right. So I never learned how to control my emotions, or my magic, whenever something got on my nerves.” She buried her face in her hands, and pulled away shaking a little bit.

“I’m gonna move to Ponyville with Twilight. She’s going to teach me how to use my magic right, without hurting anyone. Maybe out there, away from the city, and away from… You two… I might make peace with myself.” She sighed and leaned back in her seat, looking very defeated and worn. Rarity almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

“I’m hoping these two can teach each other some things.” Celestia took over then, leaning back as well. “Maybe they can heal their wounds and make amends for the things they’ve done. I’ve managed to convince the diner owner that this is recompense for Vinyl’s outburst, and have arranged to have the damage to his diner repaired in full. On a separate note, I have some good news to share with you concerning Sweetie Belle.”

“My sister?” Rarity perked up. “What’s wrong with Sweetie Belle?”

“Nothing, I assure you.” Celestia waved her fears off, smiling kindly. “In fact, everything is going perfectly fine. Twilight has told me of her progress, and I’m convinced she’s a very skilled young magi. I have the council’s support in funding young Sweetie Belle’s education, no matter what path she chooses.” Rarity’s heart hammered as the princess spoke. Celestia smiled as she leaned forward, emphasizing the point. “Sweetie Belle’s tuition is paid for. Not by Twilight or yourself, but by the royal treasury. This will include a housing allowance. A rather generous one, I might add. Additionally, there is no grade or workload requirement. As long as Sweetie Belle continues to learn, she will receive this benefit.”

“I… I’m speechless.” Rarity’s jaw dropped at the news. She really didn’t have anything to say. She was shocked. With Sweetie Belle’s tuition and housing paid, and her saving money on rent, she might actually be able to afford time off again. Maybe even a vacation. As the half-formed plans of spending a week with Octavia in Trottingham began to form in her mind, Celestia continued speaking.

“Twilight and Vinyl will go to Ponyville tomorrow, and confess what they’ve done to their friends. Only when I’m pleased with their progress will they return to Canterlot, and hopefully we can all put this mess behind us.”

“But princess…” Twilight spoke up, albeit quietly. “My friends are Rarity’s friends, too… They miss her terribly, and thanks to my lie, they think she’s still very badly hurt. What do I tell them?”

“You tell them the truth, Twilight.” Celestia said simply. “Confess to them you’ve been lying all this time, and that Rarity is perfectly fine.”

“B… But won’t they be angry with me?”

“Of course they will be. Just as angry with you as Luna and I are. But forgiveness is inherent in all friendships. If you’d have trusted your friends, and told them the truth from the start, all of this likely wouldn’t have happened. In fact, you and Rarity might even still be together. Instead, Twilight, you hid your shame from your friends, for fear of losing them. Your fear was irrational, and has cost you and those you hold dear many long years of potential happiness. If I were you, Twilight, I’d prepare to do some begging. With luck, your friends will forgive you, and you’ll learn something from this. As for Rartiy…” Celestia turned back to the couple before her, smiling warmly.

“I think she’s discovered something a little more important than simple friendship.” Celestia stood, followed shortly by Vinyl and Twilight. “I expect to see great things from you two in the future.” She turned to the elevator lobby, but paused at the door. She looked back to Rarity with a teasing smile. “I also expect a wedding invitation.”

The door closed, leaving Rarity and Octavia alone. There was a long pause before Rarity looked at Octavia.

“W-wedding invitation?”

Octavia smiled sheepishly.