//------------------------------// // The Third Day // Story: Everypony Knows About the Wet Dream // by Late_To_The_Party //------------------------------// Rarity smiled and mumbled softly in that pleasant state of half-sleep that comes seconds before waking. She snuggled ever so slightly deeper under her blanket and sighed contentedly. She’d had a very busy few weeks; there were so many dresses she had made for an upcoming event in Canterlot that she hadn’t had time for much else. Her social life had become nonexistent. Other than her weekly spa trips with Fluttershy—she’d only skipped two—her only social engagement, as it were, was a surprise visit from Princess Luna three days earlier. The reason for and details of said visit were something she’d prefer to put out of her mind, and of course she would never mention it to anyone. Ever. Fortunately, the Princess of the Night had also promised never to speak of it again, though she did still visit Rarity’s dreams frequently. Of course, the trouble with dreaming of Luna was one could never be entirely sure if it was really her or just one’s own mind. With how some of the dreams turned out, Rarity hoped it was just her own imagination. The alternative was too embarrassing to consider. Those busy few weeks were over. She’d finished the last of the dresses the day before and she was now taking an extra few minutes in bed as a well-deserved reward. Well-deserved though those minutes may have been, a business can’t run if the owner doesn’t get out of bed to open it in the morning, so, with no small measure of reluctance, Rarity left behind the comforting embrace of her bed. Had she known what the day would bring she would have stayed in bed and that would have made for a very dull story indeed, but she didn’t, so she didn’t, and here we are hearing about it. She removed her sleep mask carefully to avoid damaging her coiffure and opened the drawer of her bedside table to place the mask inside, next to the book she’d borrowed from Fluttershy. The book. It wasn’t quite what she’d expected. She’d asked Fluttershy for a book to read shortly before she started on all those orders she had. She knew full well that there wouldn’t be time to socialize, but a mare simply must get away from it all sometimes, especially when under such a stressful workload. A book to read for a few minutes before bed each night would be just the thing she needed to help her sleep. Fluttershy seemed nervous when she said that she had some books that always helped her to relax, and Rarity thought at the time to pass it off as just Fluttershy being Fluttershy. There was a bit of excitement there too, so nervous wasn’t quite the word for it. Anxious would be a more accurate description of Fluttershy’s offer to lend her one of the books. Rarity was delighted to discover based on the cover that the book she would be reading was a romance novel. What’s that saying Twilight’s so fond of? Something about judging a book by first impressions? Ah, yes, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’ Rarity rather learned that lesson the first night when she came upon—er, that is to say—discovered a scene which was quite unlike the normal scenes she read in her own collection of romance novels. She put the book away in her bedside table that night, flushed with what she told herself was only embarrassment, and tried not to think of what Fluttershy had said about the books always helping her to relax. She was aware such books existed, of course, but had always avoided them herself, convinced that a lady didn’t indulge in such crude behavior. After nearly a week of having no escape from her work other than the books she already owned which she had read several times already, she returned to the borrowed book. Ever since the rather unfortunate events that occurred that night, Opalescence always checks to see if Rarity is reading something before entering her room. The trip to the spa two days later was awkward, but fortunately Fluttershy didn’t mention the book. She commented that Rarity looked well rested considering how much work she had to do, and from that point on Rarity ensured the conversation stayed with Fluttershy and her animal friends, which was just about the only topic Fluttershy could talk about for hours on end so long as she didn’t feel that someone else wanted to speak. Rarity had read from the borrowed book every night thereafter until Princess Luna’s visit and it had helped her to relax at the end of each day just as Fluttershy had said it would. Despite how helpful it had been to her, she narrowed her eyes angrily at it and closed the drawer with slightly more force than was necessary. She turned away with a huff, but when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror her expression changed from anger to horror. Spike would have said she looked perfect in every way, but he was hardly a reliable source on that subject. Many others wouldn’t have noticed either, but Rarity paid more attention to such matters and to her the problem stood out more than the Apple family barn in the middle of winter. Or Pinkie Pie just about anywhere, anytime. Her mane had a hair out of place. It was a minor problem, to be sure, but one which she could not leave her room until it had been corrected. To that end, she levitated the nearest hairbrush and set to work. One brushstroke would normally correct a single hair’s stubbornness, but this time it did not. Neither did a second or a third. By the 147th brushstroke she became concerned that there was something seriously wrong. Not only was that hair refusing to lay into its proper place, but three others had joined it in rebellion. This called for more drastic action. It wasn’t yet bad enough that she needed an emergency spa visit, but she would have to move up her hair-washing by several hours. It simply couldn’t wait. A half hour later, Rarity’s mane was drying in curlers as she walked downstairs into the kitchen in search of breakfast. She didn’t plan to have much; despite the hard work of the past few weeks she had put on a couple pounds and needed to trim those away quickly or they’d never leave and she’d end up looking like—she shuddered. A throat cleared behind her. She shrieked and spun around to face the intruder, dropping the bowl she had just removed from a cupboard. “F-Father! Mother!” She stammered as she tried to slow her breathing and remove her heart from her throat. Rarity’s parents were seated at the kitchen table, looking at each other and each gesturing for the other to speak to Rarity. “Is something wrong?” Rarity asked, adequately faking calmness. Her eyes widened. “You’re not going on vacation and leaving Sweetie Belle with me again, are you?” “No!” Rarity flinched at her father’s outburst. “No,” her mother said quietly, almost nervously, with a glare across the table at Magnum. “We’re keeping Sweetie Belle at home with us.” It was not at all unusual for Rarity to be uncomfortable during a visit from her parents, but it was quite odd that they seemed so ill at ease. “Did I keep you waiting down here long?” Rarity asked. “Had I realized you were here I would have come earlier.” Pearl winced and Magnum seemed to freeze in place. “No, no, it’s fine,” Magnum said quickly. “If we’d known you were... busy... we wouldn’t have stopped by.” “Until later!” Pearl said after just enough of a pause to make the addition to the sentence feel very unnatural. “Yes, well,” Rarity said hesitantly. “I do apologize anyway. I had to wash up; you know how it is.” Fashionistas had to care for their own appearance more than most other ponies, after all, being a walking advertisement of their own work they always had to look their best. “Can I get you anything? Something to eat? Drink?” “No, we aren’t going to be here much longer,” Magnum said. “We just wanted to stop by and tell you that we love you,” Pearl said. “And that we understand that you never wanted to be like us.” She seemed like she wanted to say more, but was stumbling over finding the right phrasing. “I, um, thank you,” Rarity said. “I love you two very much, you know that. But your lifestyle...” She looked at her father’s straw hat, then her mother’s bright blue visor, and then barely glanced at her mother’s mane before continuing. “...it just isn’t for me.” “And that’s fine,” Pearl said. “We’re happy as long as you find what makes you happy.” “Thank you,” Rarity said. She forced a smile through her confusion. “I have.” “Good,” Pearl said with a smile. “Isn’t that good, honey?” she asked her husband. Magnum flinched. “Yes! Yes, it’s... good.” He stood up and stepped away from the table, never looking quite at or away from Rarity. “Are you two quite sure you’re alright?” Rarity asked. “Oh, yes, of course, we’re fine,” Pearl said. “We’d better be going now, though. We’ve got some shopping to do and then some things to do around the house.” “Yes, of course,” Rarity said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes while her parents left. She didn’t doubt that the things to do consisted of her father sitting on the pier fishing for hours while her mother sat around inside and ate. It seemed that was how they usually spent their time. She felt a little guilty at her negative opinion of them, especially when she remembered what her father said about ‘not being here much longer’ and wondered if he meant something other than her home. Well, they looked fine, and they insisted they were alright. If something was going on they would tell her about it, right? That didn’t stop her from worrying. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, she soon had something else to worry about. After getting something to eat, she opened the Boutique for business. After only a few minutes of working on some new designs, she heard the bell over the door announce that someone had arrived. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique,” she said, walking to meet the customer. “I’m Rarity, and you are?” “I’m Bon Bon,” the earth pony visitor said, looking around the Boutique. She started walking around closely examining everything in the room. There was something familiar about Bon Bon. Rarity was sure she’d seen her around town on occasion, but it seemed to her that they had actually met sometime before. Bon Bon didn’t appear to share that feeling; she almost seemed to have forgotten Rarity’s presence altogether. Rarity cleared her throat politely. “And how may I help you, Bon Bon? Are you here for a dress? I have a number of styles to choose from.” “Sure, yeah, a dress.” Bon Bon didn’t pause her search of the room. “You know, you don’t seem as well-off as I would expect from somepony in your... position.” “My what?” Rarity asked sharply, annoyed by Bon Bon’s behavior. What right did this pony have to come into her place of business, more than that, her home, and start talking down to her? Bon Bon stopped her search of the room and turned to face Rarity. “I expected more gems,” she said flatly. “Oh, well,” Rarity said, the irritation she had felt quickly disappearing, “if you’re looking for gems, you have come to the right place!” Her horn glowed and a closet door opened, allowing a rack of dresses to roll into the room. She quickly looked through the dresses hanging there and selected one, removing it so Bon Bon could see it clearly. “This style would suit you perfectly! I can make one for you that matches your mane colors, and these here,” she gestured to rows of gemstones, “will be light blue sapphires, just the right color to bring out your eyes! Sure to catch the attention of any stallion—or mare—you might want to impress.” Bon Bon looked at the dress doubtfully. She looked directly at Rarity for the first time since she entered the Boutique. “What do you think?” Rarity asked. Bon Bon shook her head in reply. “That’s fine, of course. I have plenty of other styles to choose from. Perhaps a—” “No,” Bon Bon said, interrupting Rarity’s efforts to find another dress. “I think this was a waste of my time.” Without another word she left the Boutique. “But you didn’t even tell me what you wanted!” Rarity called out after her, but she was gone. “A waste of her time indeed,” Rarity muttered angrily, putting the dresses back on the rack. “What about my time?” She pushed the rack back into the closet. “Who does she think she is, coming in here, disrupting my business, snooping around my shop and then she doesn’t even want to buy anything? What in Equestria did she want if it wasn’t to buy a dress?” Rarity remembered seeing Bon Bon in the shop once before. It was during Fluttershy’s brief stint as a model, when Bon Bon and another pony had burst into the Boutique because they had heard Fluttershy was there. When they found out she wasn’t, Bon Bon had been just as rude as she had been today. But what was she looking for this time? It wasn’t as though she had any famous ponies visiting recently. Not that she knew of, anyway. That is, except for Princess Luna. But that was days ago! That couldn’t be the reason for Bon Bon’s visit. Considering the nature of Princess Luna’s visit, Rarity fervently hoped that it wasn’t the reason for Bon Bon’s. There was only one more visitor that morning, and she behaved even more strangely than Bon Bon had. There was no warning. Rarity was sketching a new design, she turned around to get a new sheet of paper, and when she turned back Pinkie Pie's face was inches away from her own. Something was wrong, but it took a couple seconds of silence before Rarity realized what it was. There was silence. Pinkie Pie wasn’t saying anything. Her mane was its normal curly mess, so it couldn’t have been that bad, but Pinkie was just staring directly into Rarity’s eyes. Waiting. She wasn’t smiling, but neither was she frowning. There were no tears starting to well up in her eyes, but she certainly didn’t look happy. She was just... there. It was one of the most frightening things Rarity had ever seen. To this day, if one were to ask her what frightens her, she would give a small shudder at the thought of Pinkie Pie in that moment, then proceed to say something totally unrelated. After an agonizingly long two minutes, Pinkie Pie blinked once. She narrowed her eyes and kept staring at Rarity, whose cold sweat had already dried. Rarity tried to say something, but her tongue seemed to have dried and stuck to the roof of her mouth, so she was left opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. That was also a good description of how very uncomfortable she was at that moment. Pinkie Pie still made no move to speak—or to do anything else, for that matter—so once Rarity got her mouth under control, she started a conversation she wasn’t so sure she wanted to start, but it had to be better than the current situation. “Good morning, Pinkie Pie,” she said with only a small tremble in her voice. “It’s... good to see you.” Rarity took a moment to silently thank Celestia that she didn’t have the same trouble with lyin—bluffing—that Applejack had. Pinkie didn’t answer. She just stared. If there was any change at all, her eyes may have narrowed a tiny bit further. “Is... is something wrong?” Pinkie nodded slowly, her eyes staring unblinkingly into Rarity’s very soul. “Um...” Rarity swallowed. “W-What is it?” “You,” Pinkie said, pronouncing it more carefully than she had ever pronounced anything before, even ‘pickle barrel kumquat chimicherrychanga,’ which was another experience of Rarity’s she wouldn’t discuss if asked. “You had super-amazing fun and I wasn’t invited!” Pinkie pouted. “I did?” Rarity asked. She searched through her memories of recent events, but couldn’t think of anything that would qualify as ‘super-amazing fun.’ Pinkie didn’t answer, instead continuing to pout quietly. “Well, how about this,” Rarity said, searching for any way out of the uncomfortable position she’d found herself in, “the next time I find myself about to have ‘super-amazing fun’ I will invite you. Does that make you feel better?” Rarity had just enough time to see a smile on Pinkie’s face before her view was blotted out by a curly pink mane and her back threatened to break under the pressure from two hooves wrapped around her. “You’re the best, Rarity!” After a few seconds Pinkie released her death grip and Rarity hacked up a pink hairball in as ladylike a manner as it is possible to hack up a hairball. “You’re welcome, darl—” Rarity blinked and looked around. Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be found. She found herself experiencing mixed emotions about that. On the one hoof, she was confused about what had just happened and was unsure what she had just agreed to. On the other, she was incredibly relieved no one was there to see her hack up a hairball who could attest to just how unladylike it was. After that visit from Pinkie Pie, Rarity decided she needed to get out of the Boutique for a while. She had promised Spike that she would come to the library after she got things finished. He had of course been helpful to her, but his enthusiastic presence became more of a distraction than a help by the end, so she had to ask him to let her finish on her own. The only way to console him was to promise to visit after the dresses were done. This seemed like a perfect time for that trip to the library. She stepped outside, hoping to make it to the library unnoticed. Her hopes were soon crushed when she heard someone land next to her. “Hey Rares. Nice to see you’re back from exile,” Rainbow Dash said. “I was not in exile,” Rarity said patiently. “I was simply quite busy.” “Yeah, I heard. I gotta say, I’m impressed. I mean, I thought you could maybe do one, but three? That’s ambitious.” “I assure you, Rainbow Dash, I did considerably more than three.” Rainbow Dash was speechless for a moment. She silently mouthed ‘wow’ before she could say anything. “You’re gonna be famous for sure.” “Oh, why thank you, darling. It was quite a challenge, I admit, getting them all finished, but I pushed on and in the end everypony was quite satisfied with my work.” Rainbow’s jaw had gone slack and one eye was twitching slightly. A drop of saliva had escaped her mouth and struggled to reach the ground while still hanging onto the corner of her lip. As though remembering where she was, she shook her head and wiped her mouth with her foreleg. “Uh, so, this is gonna sound really weird, and it’s totally cool if you say no, I just have to ask if maybe next time... I could... uh... help?” Rarity shifted her weight uncomfortably, thinking back to the last project which had much of Rainbow Dash’s influence, and how it almost ruined her career. On the other hoof, Rainbow did look quite eager, and it must have taken a lot of courage to admit she had an interest in sewing. “Very well, darling, on one condition. You will do what I tell you and only what I tell you. Do you accept these terms?” “Yes ma’am,” Rainbow said with a grin, nodding her head excitedly. “Thank you! You just let me know when and where, and I’ll be there to do whatever you say.” Rarity smiled. “Good. I’m sure I’ll find plenty of use for you.” Rainbow’s smile grew and she hovered a few inches above the ground. “Do you want me to bring anything? Is there something you want me to practice first?” Rarity’s brow furrowed and she wondered what kind of sewing supplies Rainbow had accumulated so far. “No, I will have all the supplies we’ll need. I’ll just let you know when, and all you will need to bring is yourself.” “This is gonna be so awesome! Thank you!” Rainbow cheered, then flew away. Rarity arrived at the library without further interruption, but she found herself the center of attention the entire time. It wasn't nearly as pleasant an experience as she had expected. Ponies would glance at her and whisper whenever she walked by or, if they were alone, just gawk at her openly. The entire trip was quite disconcerting, and it was a relief when she found herself on the front step of the library until she realized that was attracting even more attention. She raised a hoof and knocked on the door. She listened for one of them to call out asking the guest to enter, or asking the other one to get the door, but she heard only silence from inside the library. She tried to open the door and found it locked. "Twilight? Spike?" she called out. She knocked again. Still inside was silent, unlike outside where a small crowd was forming, talking and whispering to each other. Rarity tried to ignore them at first, but finally she couldn't take it anymore. She spun around to face them, took a deep breath, and swallowed the angry, unladylike phrases which had come to mind. “Pardon me, do any of you know where Twilight is?” Her question met with mixed results. There were a number of catcalls and more than a few laughs. Several ponies gasped and others shook their heads disapprovingly and walked away. One pony stepped forward to answer her. "She's at the big press conference in Canterlot," the young pegasus said, almost shouting to be heard over the crowd. Rarity blinked in surprise. There was a press conference in Canterlot? "Thank you, dear," she said, giving the colt an affectionate smile. She tried to ignore the glares from the crowd. "Do you happen to know when she will be back?" "No, sorry," Rumble said just before his brother reached him to take him home. "Thank you anyway, darling," Rarity called after him. “You’re welcome!” Rumble yelled back. Rarity could hear his brother scold him for talking to her as they walked away. Rarity looked out over the ponies still gathered in front of her. Most she recognized from around town, but there were a few she didn’t know at all. One thing they all had in common at the moment was she was the focus of their attention. Taking advantage of that attention, she decided to address them. “It’s not that I’m not flattered; really, I am, but would one of you please tell me why everypony is focusing on me today, not to mention acting so oddly?” There were a few awkward glances shared among the crowd, but no one spoke up. “I’m still the same Rarity you all know and love—” There was a single, loud laugh from someone in the crowd, but Rarity didn’t see who. “—so I simply don’t understand why everypony is treating me so differently all of a sudden. Is it just because I’ve been so busy—” The laugh again. “—these past few weeks?” There was still no answer, but a few ponies looked around nervously and walked away. “Somepony tell me!” Rarity shouted, stomping a hoof. The crowd dispersed, murmuring quietly. No one would look Rarity in the eye. With a single, inarticulate cry of frustration, Rarity stomped back to the Carousel Boutique. In light of the morning she’d had, she felt completely justified in closing up for the rest of the afternoon. After some lunch, she retired to her inspiration room where there was a book waiting to help her relieve some of the tension which had built up. Rarity got out the book and laid down on the bed, but didn’t open the book at first. She thought back over the past few hours; the day she’d rather just forget. Maybe by tomorrow everyone would be acting normally again. After the last few weeks she wanted things to go back to normal; time enough to work on her own designs, a few special orders, and above all, nopony acting like she’d done something out of the ordinary. Well, out of the ordinary for her, anyway. It would be insulting to call her work ‘ordinary.’ She opened the book and as she started reading, she hoped Luna would watch someone else’s dreams that night. Like maybe everyone else in Ponyville. Surely she could find out what was going on and fix it. That night, Rarity fell asleep convinced that whatever the problem, Luna could fix it.