Intimate Details

Intimate Details - Part 7 “Relations”

Rarity slowly began to emerge from consciousness. Through the haze of darkness, she began to see shifting colors and white lights. When her eyes finally fluttered open, everything seemed rather fuzzy, if a little unclear. Before long, though, the details were thrown into relief, and she made sense of where she was.

“Ambulance.” She muttered, raising her hand to her forehead. Something tugged at it painfully, and she blinked at the needle taped to the back of her hand.

“You passed out in the middle of the diner.” The sultry voice was not unfamiliar to Rarity. In fact, she was almost intimately familiar with it. Rolling her head to the side, she spotted Twilight, sitting on the bench beside her in the rocking ambulance. In the lingering haze after passing out, Rarity wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Someone else grabbed her wrist, gently guiding it back down to rest beside her. There were three of them in the ambulance. Rarity, Twilight, and the paramedic. Rarity frowned at the man as he surveyed one of the machines set into the wall of the ambulance. This was a conversation she’s just as soon never have, let alone in the presence of a stranger. Instead, she kept it civil.

“Sweetie Belle?”

“Has been notified and will meet us at the hospital.” Twilight said dismissively. Rarity nodded, and remained silent from then out. She could feel Twilight’s intense gaze burning into the side of her face, staring her down. Rarity kept her own eyes fixed on the rear doors for the ambulance, and tried to ignore her sense of embarrassment and shame. Thankfully enough, Twilight remained silent, giving Rarity an excuse to ignore her.

There was a bustle of activity as they pulled into the hospital, the doors were opened, and technicians began extracting her from the vehicle. She was surrounded on all sides by people chattering in nonsensical medical terms, blabbering on in acronyms and jargon that Rarity didn’t understand. Now and then, a light would be shined in her eye, or someone would turn her head this way or that. The entire ordeal was almost as stressful as the scene back at the diner. Rarity tried to speak up over the constant chatter, to assure them that she was fine and nothing was wrong. Behind them all, she could see Twilight walking with them, talking with several different technicians. Rarity could catch snippets of what she was saying here and there.

“She has high blood pressure,” “Prone to fainting.” “Recurring issue.” Thanks in no small part to Twilight, Rarity was finally taken into a small curtained area with a solitary nurse who busied herself taking blood samples and filling out the necessary forms. As soon as she left, Rarity was then assaulted by an entirely different kind of person.

“Rares!” Sweetie Belle swept through the curtains surrounding them with a shocked expression on her face, looking incredulously at Rarity. “What happened?”

“Everythings fine, Sweetie.” Rarity said, smiling as she took Sweetie Belle’s hand. “It just happened again is all.”

“I thought you had fixed it…?” Sweetie Belle asked, pulling up a chair with the same worried expression on her face.

“Well, I haven’t been able to afford the medication…”

“You should have told me.” Twilight said gruffly, crossing her arms beneath her breasts. Rarity opened her mouth to shoot a scathing retort at her ex, but she was cut off by two more visitors. One, she was overly happy to see. The other made her frown intensely.

“Why is she here?” Rarity said, scowling at Vinyl Scratch.

“Not like I want to be.” Vinyl quipped, looking grumpily down at the floor with her hands stuffed into the pocket of her hoodie.

“So leave.” Rarity pointed with an iv-pricked arm towards the double sliding doors just a short ways away. “There’s the exit.”

“She’s with me.” Octavia said softly, stepping between them. “Well… Not with with me, but she’s here on my account.”

“I fail to see why.” Rarity frowned at the two of them, letting her hand rest back on the narrow bed.

“Same here.” Sweetie Belle muttered, shooting a sideways glare at Vinyl. “The way I hear it, it’s her fault anyways. I think it’d be best if you all waited outside.” Sweetie Belle stood straight and planted her fists on her hips, glaring at the three older women, who were looking back at her with shocked expressions. “Did I stutter? Leave. All of you.”

“Listen, you little bitch-“

“Vinyl!”

“Come on.” Twilight spun on her heel, walking towards the door as fast as she could. Vinyl lurched forward, but a magical field stopped her. Twilight, even with her back turned, managed to pull the cursing DJ with her, and Octavia followed after an apologetic look to Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Rarity groaned and let her head fall back, sighing as she felt Sweetie’s hand slip into her own.

“Don’t worry about them right now.” Her little sister said gently. “You should have told me you couldn’t afford your medication anymore…”

“I can’t bother you with those sorts of things, darling.” Rarity said softly, smiling at her. “Besides, I had it under control… I worked on Octavia’s dress for three days straight with no issue… You’d think if I could handle that, I could handle… Her.” Her smile turned into a frown as she remembered Twilight. She could hear Vinyl screaming, even from the other side of the doors leading into the emergency room.

“Honestly.” Sweetie Belle muttered. “I had better go tell them to piss off.” She stood to leave, and despite Rarity’s complaint, walked off. Suddenly alone, Rarity sighed and let her head fall back once again. She was alone, stranded in the middle of an emergency room, with bustling nurses and others passing her by without a second glance. Nobody even bothered to check her IV until it was beginning to get low. She frowned at the thought of how intense the bill was going to be for this little foray back into the hospitals.

Rarity had a condition that led to frequent fainting spells. They normally happened whenever she was overly stressed or generally just got excited about something. She had gone through them frequently when she was younger, and had almost always written them off as unimportant. Her friends even viewed it as her just being dramatic. But when they began to happen more frequently, Twilight insisted she go see a doctor. It turned out to be high blood pressure, which was easily cured with medication. Everything was fine. Rarity seemed to have kicked the habit, even after leaving Ponyville. However, it looked like the symptoms were back. Rarity might just have to pick up the medication once again.

“Miss Rarity?” The sound of a new voice shook her from her reverie. She smiled up at the newcomer.

“I’m sorry, I was daydreaming.” She looked over the man standing beside her bed with an apologetic look.

“Aah. I figured we had lost you there. It seems your family has given us most of the information we need. This has been a recurring issue? These fainting spells?” The doctor said, flipping a page over on the thick clipboard he held.

“They have been, long ago in the past.” Rarity said, waving the hand that wasn’t pricked with an IV. “I used to take medication, but money became tight and it seemed I had a handle on the problem. I stopped taking them.”

“How long ago was this?” He asked, tucking the clipboard under his arm and leaning in to press his fingers to Rarity’s temples. She could feel the hum of his magic flow through her. It was oddly calming. She sighed and relaxed a little more.

“About four years.”

“Four years with no incident? That’s incredible. Still, I wouldn’t recommend you stop taking prescription medication without a doctor’s consultation first. We’ll send you out of here with a week’s supply, but I strongly recommend you see your doctor about getting back on it. Alternatively, you can try relaxation techniques and other pulse regulation exercises. They’re not a proven solution, but they may help enough to keep the pennies pinched.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Rarity smiled and sat up a little as he pulled his hands away. In the wake of his diagnosis, she felt calm and relaxed once more. “I’ve just been under a lot of stress lately…”

“I can tell.” He said with a soft chuckle, glancing over his shoulder towards the sliding glass doors. “Security had to ask them to leave.”

“I’m sorry,” Rarity groaned, shaking her head a little.

“I take it that’s the stressor you speak of?” His knowing smile was infectious, and made Rarity smile in turn.

“Yes, I’m afraid…”

“Word of advice. From a heartbreaker, not a medical professional…” The doctor leaned in towards her, smiling as he lowered his voice. “It’s never a good thing to juggle two women at once. Let alone three.” And with that, he was gone. Rarity opened her mouth incredulously, but couldn’t catch him. She was left to sit in stunned silence. Did she really look like she was with all three of them? She guessed from an outsider’s view, it could seem that way… Feeling worse for the wear, Rarity was left to wait until another nurse came around with a clipboard and a smile.

“We’ll be letting you go shortly, Miss Rarity. We just need you to sign.”

“Of course.” Rarity knew the procedure. The sheets were almost mirror copies of the hospital in Ponyville’s. She breezed through them and waited a short while longer while the nurse got her prescription. When the IV was removed, she sat up and slowly stretched, testing her fatigued muscles with a soft groan. “Thank you, nurse.” Rarity said softly, smiling at the kind woman. “I can manage.” Her legs bore her weight well enough, and Rarity left with the bag of her personal belongings. Thankfully, they hadn’t stripped her. Small miracles.

Sweetie Belle was the only one waiting for her in the lobby, and she readily sprung up as Rarity emerged. “Rarity!” She rushed forward for a hug, throwing her arms around Rarity’s shoulders. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, Sweetie. I just have to go back on the medication is all. Nothing major.”

“We all were worried about you. Even that DJ. What’s-her-face.”

“Vinyl.” Rarity muttered, frowning at the memory of the rough treatment. Dark thoughts entered her head as she thought about Octavia being with someone so crass and misunderstanding. “I honestly don’t know why she met us at the diner like that… Ugh. Come on, let’s go home.”

“The others left, by the way. That was Octavia, wasn’t it?” Sweetie Belle asked, walking with Rarity out of the hospital and into the parking lot.

“Yeah…” Rarity sighed. “I’m still a little iffy as to how Twilight is involved with the two of them, but it seems she and that Vinyl character are related. I never even knew.” As she slid into the passenger seat, Rarity held two fingers to the bridge of her nose and groaned. “This whole thing is an unmitigated disaster.”

“Let’s just get you home and get some rest, okay?” Sweetie Belle started the car and smoothly pulled out into the night. Rarity agreed all too much.

Rarity scheduled the doctor’s appointment for the following Monday, and was ushered in and out without much hassle. The whole trip took less than two hours. She made it to work before lunch, and thanked Amethyst for holding down the fort.

“How was your weekend?” Amethyst asked. Rarity opened her mouth to share all the details, but managed to stop herself. If Amy found out about her and Octavia, things would end badly for the both of them. Amy didn’t handle gossip very well. It had been a point of contention between the two of them for a long while now.

“Stressful.” Rarity said decidedly, setting the paper bag with her pills down. “You remember the fainting spells I used to have? Well they’re back, so I have to spend the money I just got on these.” She flicked the paper bag, sending it sliding across the counter.

“Blood pressure medication? My mother used to be on this stuff. She used to pass out a lot, too. You want to avoid dairy with these.”

“Dairy?”

“Uh huh. It’ll make you more prone to passing out.”

“Noted.” Rarity slipped up onto the stool behind the front counter with what seemed like the millionth groan in as many days. The whole business with Octavia made her head spin. Twilight and Vinyl’s involvement notwithstanding, her feelings for the sultry cellist alone were confusing enough. When her ex and the DJ got thrown into the mix, Rarity just wanted to go home and sleep for a few days… Or years.

“Anything new with you?” Rarity asked. Amethyst just gave her a nonchalant shrug.

“We started studying advanced telekenisis… I can finally sew like you.” To demonstrate her point, Amethyst lifted two scraps of cloth and a spare needle. Rarity watched as she threaded the needle, tied the knot, and began to sew a standard cross stitch into the two pieces of scrap.

“Not bad.” Rarity said, nodding at her partner’s work. “I’m impressed. I wouldn’t use it on any major projects, but that’s still very good.” Amethyst beamed at the praise, using a quick motion to snap the thread and drop the practice fabric to the side.

“I worked on it all weekend. I won’t be using it on Ms. DeLis’ dress, but for general repairs and whatnot, it comes in handy.” Amethyst gingerly picked up a short stack of folders, waving them with a warm smile. “I’ll get to work on these.”

“Thank you.” Rarity nodded, looking down at the other half. “I’ll finish these out, then I think we might need to do an inventory… Last I checked, we were running low on that fetching blue silk.”

“I think we have another bolt in the back. I’ll check after these.”

“Thanks.” Rarity muttered off-handedly.

Only there was one problem. As she opened the first folder, looking over the details of what should have been an easy commission, Rarity felt completely uninspired. The elegant lines of the cocktail dress seemed to fall flat and lack creativity. Rarity blanched at the sketch before her, closing the folder so fast some of the sheets fluttered out. The next one was the same. And the one after that. Rarity sat with three designs open before her, and each one of them made her dread picking up needle and thread ever again.

Heaving yet another sigh, Rarity resorted to the one thing she knew she could rely on. Grabbing her sketch pad and a set of pencils, she made her way to the small stereo halfway to the back of the store. She turned it on and picked a random track on a pre-loaded CD. Soon enough, classical music flowed from the speakers. Rarity stood in the middle of the floor with her eyes closed, feeling the swell and flow of the music. Normally, she could sketch a dress design in a moment’s notice when she did this. Now, though, with the moving sound of music flowing through her ears and her veins, she couldn’t conjure anything. The pencil hovered uselessly over the page, leaving just a few marks of hesitation on the blank page. Rarity stared at the expanse of white paper blankly, trying her absolute hardest to conjure the vision she knew she held.

Nothing. She couldn’t feel the dress. She couldn’t see the fabric, or the way it fell. Not around the mannequin, not around a potential customer… Not even around Octavia. As she grew more and more frustrated, her hand began to shake. Her knuckles grew white with the effort of holding the pencil so hard.

“Ow.” The pencil snapped in her hand, two halves falling to the floor. Rarity frowned at her finger, and the two large splinters poking out of it. She jammed the stop button on the CD player and went to the bathroom at the back of the store in a huff. After cleaning and dressing the wound, she cleaned up the broken pencil and went to go sit at the front of the store with her head in her hands. She had never felt like this before. She had always been able to envision a dress, and at the very least draw a rough sketch of what she wanted. Right at that moment, though, she felt nothing. Uninspired.

Her phone buzzed on the counter next to her, jingling a happy tune that didn’t match her mood. She wished she knew how to change it, or turn it off. Just the vibration was enough for her. She stared at the screen for a long time, clutching the phone in white-knuckled hands. She recognized the number. Though she didn’t have it saved under a specific name, she knew who it was. At long last, she hit the green button and lifted the phone to her ear.

“Hello, Twilight.”

“We need to talk.” Twilight’s voice was prompt and business-like, as always. “As soon as you possibly can.”

“I don’t think we have anything to talk about, Twilight.” Rarity muttered, resting her head in her hand.

“I think we do. It’s about Sweetie Belle. And your medication. And your business. And many, many things. Please, Rarity. Don’t make me beg.” For as serious as Twilight normally was, she sounded incredibly informal. Rarity sat with her head in her hand for a long while before heaving an exasperated sigh.

“When and where?”

“Right now.”

“Gah!” Rarity jumped as Twilight appeared before her in a flash, clicking her phone closed. Rarity laid a hand over her hammering heart, staring incredulously up at the purple-haired magi.

“Sorry.” Twilight muttered with a blush. “Old habits.”

“You could have just walked in, you know.” Rarity finally steadied her heartbeat. “Honestly.”

“We need to talk.”

“So I hear.” Rarity straightened the front desk a little, trying hard not to look at Twilight.

“Rarity, this is serious.” Twilight reached out to lay her hand on Rarity’s, sending a quick shock of panic and confusion through Rarity. She snatched her hand away, perhaps too quickly. Twilight looked wounded, but she pressed on. “It’s about Octavia, too.”

“Oh?” Now Rarity’s attention was had. She set the stack of folders aside and sat up straight, giving Twilight a slight nod of the head. “Go on.”

“Vinyl Scratch is my cousin.” Twilight began by hanging her head and talking in that slow, dull monotone she seemed to have perfected. “Magi in my family strive for excellence, and there’s a lot of pressure to go to school and get a proper education. Vinyl decided at a young age to pursue music instead. Her parents, my aunt and uncle, were livid. So she ran away. Only recently did I make contact with her again.”

“I fail to see how this relates to-“

“I’m not finished.” Twilight raised a hand, cutting Rarity off. “Vinyl’s background is important.” Rarity glowered, but remained silent as Twilight continued. “She’s changed a lot since she was a young girl. I don’t know what she went through, but it was dark, Rarity. She’s got a lot of anger issues. And it seems to me like she enjoys taking them out on Octavia. Who, for one reason or another, allows her. Even now.”

“Your point?” Rarity asked, arching an eyebrow. She struggled to make the connection still.

“My point is this.” Twilight tapped the counter with her fingers, leaning in closer to Rarity. “You’re involving yourself in something that doesn’t concern you.”

“And you aren’t?” Rarity scowled at Twilight.

“Vinyl’s my cousin. With as much as we’ve been talking the past few years, I know her better than anyone else. Save Octavia, but since she’s the problem, I’m the best candidate to help her. Look, just… Let me handle this, okay? I can’t promise I can get you and Octavia back together, but I can promise you I’ll do what’s best for everyone.”

“Like you did what’s best for us?” Rarity quipped, standing up. Twilight opened her mouth to retort, but this time Rarity cut her off. “You ripped my heart out, Twilight. I’m not too keen to let you do so to another. How about, just this once, you back off and let me handle this one?” Rarity leaned across the counter, which caused Twilight to back away. “Go home, Twilight. I don’t want you here.”

“But I want to be here.” Twilight re-affirmed herself. “Rarity, what happened to us? Where did we go wrong? You and I used to be more than lovers, we were friends. All six of us. Together, we did amazing things with the elements of harmony. Banishing Discord, reforming Nightmare Moon… Tell me you don’t miss that bond?”

“That bond was broken.” Rarity said coldly, crossing her arms as she turned away from Twilight. “Long ago…” The silence between them stretched on for a long while. Rarity could tell she wasn’t the only one who was fighting tears, either. Finally, with a shaky voice, Twilight spoke.

“How did you hurt your hand?”

“… I broke a pencil.” Rarity decided to answer truthfully. She learned it wasn’t very smart to hide secrets from Twilight.

“Doing?”

“Trying to sketch. Ever since the hospital, I can’t write.” Rarity let a single tear leak out, dripping heedlessly onto her crossed arms. There was a pause before Twilight spoke again.

“Try eating pasta. You always drew beautiful designs after eating pasta.”

Rarity spun around, but Twilight was gone. With a choked sob, Rarity collapsed into tears.