//------------------------------// // Chapter the Fifth: Heat Now, Cold Later. // Story: Sheer Cold // by James Rednok //------------------------------// Rarity made her way slowly along the pathway through Ponyville. A thick black cloak shielding her from the harsh weather. 'I mean really,' she thought indignantly to herself, 'I know it's winter now, but is a full-blown blizzard really necessary? I simply must write a sharp note to the weather patrol regarding this. Or maybe just have a word with Rainbow Dash at Pinkie Pie's party. This sort of weather is just plain inconsiderate.' She tightened the drawstring around the cloak's neck as she continued trudging through the foot-deep snow towards her query. Taking a turn down one of the back alleys, she spotted her destination through the fierce snowstorm; the familiar warm red glow of it's lantern causing her to glance nervously around her. She hadn't really expected to see anypony out under such conditions, but it never hurt to check. If anypony were to see her visiting such an establishment or consorting with such riff-raff; why, it could be the end of her entire fashion career! Checking her surroundings again, she proceeded forwards towards her destination. 'It's nothing to be ashamed of Rarity, there's nothing wrong with needing a bit of relaxation. You've been under an enormous amount of pressure lately, pressure that the spa just can't relieve; what with that big dress order from Canterlot due in a week, and Sweetie Belle staying for the next two weeks, and Opal being sick you could use a good bit of ... Errr ... stress release.' Ah yes, Opal being sick. If that wasn't one of the most stressful things to put up with. Rarity's cat, Opalescence, wasn't exactly a basket of rainbows personality-wise on a normal basis; but throw a an illness into the mix and she becomes downright unpleasant to be around. Rarity had purposefully told her friends that she herself was the one who was sick. And for one reason. FlutterShy. Rarity had kept this secret from everypony for the express reason of preventing FlutterShy from finding out. Last time she told her friend of her cat being ill; the pegasus had become so worked up, that it was quite a wonder how she managed to form intelligible sentences. But boy, did she ever! What's wrong with her? How did she get like this? How long has she been spouting a fever? What other symptoms have you noticed? What do you mean 'none really'? How could you not notice? Why didn't you come to me sooner? What has she been eating? What has she been drinking? What has she been doing? Where has she been going? Who has she been seeing? What was she doing yesterday at 2 o'clock in the morning exactly? What do you mean you don't know? How dare you not keep hovering over her every single Celestia-darned millisecond of every single Celestia-darned day!? If FlutterShy ever found out that Rarity was keeping a sick Opal a secret from her; why, it wasn't entirely unlikely that she might kick the door down. The normally sweet FlutterShy had been known to get into quite a state over her animals; sometimes, scarily so. Rarity shook such notions out of her head. She need a clear mind in order to relax, and simply didn't need such trivial bothers clouding her mind. 'After all, Opal's never been sick with anything serious before; who's to say this is any different? Probably just all this cold weather.' She had reached the front door of the building and opened it glancing up at the sign as she did so. It read: Ponyville Pleasure Parlor. 'Really,' Rarity thought, 'such a tacky name...' She pushed open the door and stepped inside. The place appeared just as it did upon her last visit. Red velvet curtains adorned the walls and puffy red hoofchairs and chaises were scattered evenly around the room, with a few love seats here and there. The gold and glass tables held decorative ceramic vases with varieties of roses or baby's breath or other similarly colored red or orange flowers. Intricately detailed Persian rugs covered the red carpeted floor, and orange lamps hung from the ceiling. A cherry-maplewood semi-circular desk stood at the far center of the room, behind it stood to ponies, one looking bored and indifferent, the other anxious and excitable. Almost every thing in the room was red or some similar shade thereof. Rarity always found it all incredibly tacky and overwhelming; but in such a quaint, innocent little town like Ponyville; beggars couldn't be choosers when it came to this sort of thing. Striding forward, Rarity removed her cloak's hood and approached the desk. As she crossed the room, she heard bits of the heated conversation from behind the desk; apparently the two hadn't seen her entering, or heard the tinkling of the bell. "... think I'm just a piece of meat!? I may be in the business, but that doesn't mean I don't have feelings when it comes to this sort of stuff." The male pony was saying hotly; he had light brown coat and a slightly darker frizzy brown mane, like that of a lion. He was speaking to a female earth pony who rested her head in her hoof as she leaned on the desk, a look of supreme unconcern painting her face. Her coat was of a deep warm cherry red with her thick peach-colored mane arranged in luxurious waves and half-curls. "And just 'cause I'm a stallion doesn't mean I can't be selective with my clients! I'm not a colt-cuddler! And I'll be darned if I'm forced to ... to ..." he suddenly noticed as the newcomer walked up to the desk. "Oh ... Hi Rarity." "Hello Pride Pallet." she replied brightly. "Oh come now Rarity, you know you're supposed to call me 'Cummeleon'. 'Cause I've got the tongue of a chameleon and the wild side of a lion!" he said, flashing a winning smile and giving a wink. "And that tongue will make you co..." "Pfft..." the unicorn interrupted playfully, "You do realize that a lizard isn't the most attractive animal to name yourself after." "Hey, you'd be surprised at what some ponies in this town are into." His grin faded as he turned back to the other pony. "We'll finish this later; I'm taking the rest of the night off." He returned his gaze to Rarity, "Good night Rarity. Try not to wake me up this time, or the neighbors. Heh heh heh..." Rarity shot him a look as he retreated through a hallway to the left. The pony behind the desk slowly blinked her half-closed eyes before swiveling her gaze to the unicorn before her at the same speed of drying paint; seemingly just taking notice of her new customer that moment. Emitting a heavy sigh, she shifted her weight to the other hoof as she began to speak in an indifferent, torpid drawl. "Oh, hello Rarity. what brings you here this," she glanced out the curtained window at the still-blowing blizzard, "fine, fine evening? Is your cat sick again?" "Hello Amber Lamps." Answered the fashionista, her eyes falling upon her company's cutie mark; a miner's lamp with a soft red glow emanating from it. "Opal is sick again, and Sweetie Belle is staying over for a while, and I've got this huge order of..." "MMM..." the earth pony interrupted, clearly uninterested, "and who may we be looking for today?" "Well," pondered Rarity, "definitely a mare." The madam's sloth-like movements made Rarity yawn as she reached towards a thick book and picked up a quill. "Let's see here ... We've got ... Lemon Hearts?" "No." "Prickles?" "No thank you." "Candied Apple?" "Mm-nmm." "How about Prickly-Pear?" "Didn't you already suggest her?" "No that's Prickles." Amber Lamps sighed inertly. "This is Prickly-Pear. She's a new filly. She took over after Sweet Treat left." "Ah yes, that's right." Rarity said, remembering how Sweet Treat had left the service after she fell in love with Harpy; one of the other workers. "I do hope Bon-Bon and Lyra are doing well together." "She's been well reviewed so far." continued the earth pony as if her customer had never said anything. "She's with a client now, but if you'd like me to set you up..." "Hmm... No thank you." the unicorn answered. "Tonight I think I'd just like my usual." Amber Lamps sighed again for apparently no reason. "Very well then, usual rate of one hundred bits, upfront, not including tip." Rarity was already ready; and pulled the prepared coin purse from her saddle bag and plopped it on the desk. "Go on ahead then. HONEY! YOU'VE GOT A VISITOR!" she called down the hallway to the right. "Thank you, Madam Lamps. And as always; if we could keep this..." "As discreet as possible. Yes, we know the drill." she droned as she reentered her state of near-suspended-animation. Rarity nodded her approval as she made her way down the corridor to the fifth and last room. She pushed the door in slowly, peeking inside as she did. Inside the room sat a yellow earth pony. Rarity's eyes slipped along the supple curves of her body to her flank before resting it on her cutie mark; that of a few sections of honeycomb, with honey dripping from each. She sat in front of a large heart-shaped vanity as she brushed her thick honey-colored mane with a pink brush, humming tunelessly to herself. She stopped when she saw Rarity's reflection in the mirror and smiled. "Rarity! Hi! It's great to see you again!" She got up and met her client. They kissed each other's cheeks in greeting before holding each other at arm's length, allowing themselves to become lost in each other's eyes. "It is so nice to see you again Honey! Or should I say Honey Suckle?" the unicorn asked slyly; prompting her friend to blush and grin sheepishly. "Oh Rarity! Why do you always have to bring that up!? We're friends! You don't have to call me by my professional name! Call me by my real name!" "Alright, Honeycomb." Rarity replied with a wink. "So what's the word?" her friend asked cheerfully. "It's been a while since you came by; even longer since you've asked specifically for me. Is Opal sick again?" "You've guessed it." the white unicorn answered walking passed her friend as she absentmindedly studied all the assorted books, magazines, knick-knacks, and make-up items that littered her friend's vanity, dresser, and bureau. "And I'm assuming you haven't told FlutterShy?" the earth pony asked darkly. "Again, right on the money." Rarity said; turning back to face her friend and speaking quickly; ready to vent her frustrations. "Plus my parents are away in Mannesota, so I've got Sweetie to take care of, and this huge dress order for Hoity Toity in Canterlot, and, and..." "And?" asked her friend with a raised eyebrow. "I'm assuming you haven't talked to her yet?" "Well I ... I ..." stammered Rarity. Honeycomb was one of the few ponies that could make her nervous. "... I ... no..." "No." mused Honeycomb, reflecting on the word. She sighed and lowered her head before speaking again. "Rarity, you know you can't keep those kinds of feelings just bottled up inside. It's just not healthy." "I know. I know!" she cried pleadingly. "But I can't, I just can't! I mean what if she says no?" "Well then life goes on..." answered the yellow earth pony quietly, "I mean, we're still friends." she said, smiling sadly. "I know, but I just couldn't do anything to risk that friendship. What if she gets scared off and doesn't want to see me anymore? That could be downright dangerous for Equestria!" cried the unicorn, nearing hysterics. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Honeycomb placed a reassuring hoof on Rarity's cheek; and waited as the designer finished sniffling enough to look up into her friend's eyes. "Hey now," she said, allowing her eyes to become just a bit more shiny now too, "You still wanted to be friends with me didn't you? And in case you didn't notice..." the golden earth pony took a few steps back and raised her hoofs as she looked around the space impressively with a tone of mock pride, "things turned out just fine for me. And more importantly," she went on, nuzzling herself into the unicorn's shoulder. "things turned out well for me and you." Rarity closed her eyes as she hugged her friend tightly. Honeycomb was always somepony she felt she could confide in; and more often than naught made her feel better as well.The tender moment was ruined somewhat as a great deal of thumping could suddenly be heard from the room next door. Rarity and Honeycomb looked up towards the offending wall as loud neighing and snorting joined the thumping. The hugging friends' gazes met and held for one uneasy second before they began cracking up. "S-sorry about that," chuckled Honeycomb, wiping a tear from her eye as a particularly loud moan from next door was followed by a decrease in the rhythmic thumping. "Filthy Rich and Pineapple ... err ... Prickles, have been going at it again. He sure does earn his name, that colt; he has some nasty fetishes and he tips well. But still, coming to a place such as this with a wife and daughter like that! What a creep!" she said with a shudder. "Double entandre." Rarity giggled. Honeycomb smiled with a wink. Her voice suddenly took on a seductive tone as she laid herself out across the red silk bedclothes. "And now I'll show you how I earn my name. Professional name that is." "Oh Honey Suckle!" said Rarity in a mock tone of being affronted. "You sure do know how to charm a filly!" She stretched onto the large heart-shaped bed and crawled sensually up to the headboard; watching her partner's eyes fill with hunger. She propped herself up with a pillow against the headboard so that she was in a position half way between sitting up and lying down. Once she had settled herself, Honey Suckle made her way slowly and seductively up Rarity's body; coming to a rest once her head met Rarity's neck. She gave her a quick peck before nuzzling into the unicorn and closing her eyes in comfort. "Honey?" Rarity asked tenatively. "Hmm?" the golden pony acknowledged. "Maybe ... maybe just the snuggling is all I need for tonight. You're such a good friend to me; all I really need is your warmth for tonight." Honeycomb opened her eyes and looked at her friend with a small smile. "Sure thing." A few more minutes of warm comfort passed between the two before either of them moved. With a sigh, Honeycomb lifted herself up and positioned herself over her fashionista friend. "Honey? What are you..." "Oh Rarity," the earth pony giggled, quieting the unicorn with a soft press of a hoof to her lips. "I know you don't want anymore for the night. But if I know that, then you must know that I'm more selfish than that." She slowly and delicately dragged her chin down Rarity's stomach; finally resting her head between Rarity's thighs. With a last look up at her heavily breathing friend, she gave a wink and a smile. "And don't worry about tip," she said as tilted down her head and set to work, "tonight's a freebie." Pride Pallet grumbled grumpily as he rolled over in bed. Rarity had woken him up again. Heated up? Not for long...