Standards of Courtship

by Cogneato Switch

Tailored to One's Needs

The view from the second floor of the Carousel Boutique was stunning. All of Ponyville could be seen through the great bay windows, and the setting orange sun in the distance painted Equestria in a bright orange and yellow glow. The light cast long shadows from the mannequins, causing the silhouettes of Rarity’s designs to appear on the floor. The place was an absolute mess, typical of Rarity's inspiration room.

Rarity and Bumbleberry stepped in. The unicorn moved one of the empty mannequins forward and then fitted the Shadowbolt suit onto it.

“I usually work alone,” she said, as she looked around for something Bumbleberry to do. “Most ponies only get in the way and disrupt my creative process.”

“I’ll stay out of your way, I promise!” The enthralled stallion cheered. “I’ll do anything you’d like!”

“Of course you will, darling.” Rarity looked up. “Ah, I know what you can do. See those small windows? I’ve always wanted small curtains around them. Could you put them up for me?”

Bumbleberry looked up at the windows. They were very high off the ground and were difficult to get to. “Do you have a ladder?” he asked.

“No, I don’t.” Rarity said, rummaging through some of fabric. “Here, you can use these for the drapes.” She levitated a small metal rod and two small curtains to his hooves; everything he needed for the task. “Do you think you can do it?” she asked with a smile.

Bumbleberry looked at the equipment, and then up at the windows. The task seemed ridiculous. He looked at Rarity to tell her that he couldn’t do it, but seeing her face gave him those amorous feelings from before. He felt like he would move a mountain if it meant she would think well of him. She smiled at him and he nodded. “Of course, Miss Rarity, anything for you!”

“Splendid!” Rarity cheered. “I have a few more things I want to do before my work is done.” She put on her red cat eye glasses, grabbed a seam-ripper, and started undoing the stitches of Rainbow Dash’s costume.

Bumbleberry looked up again at the windows. Without a ladder, getting up there would be nearly impossible. He could go and look for one, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave Rarity’s side. Instead he looked around the room for something he could stand on. The sewing desk and mannequins were far too short to give him the boost he needed. He thought about turning the fainting couch in the corner on its side, but it’d still be too short. The only things tall enough were the bedposts, and they were attached to the bed. He looked at it and nodded.

“May I move your bed, Miss Rarity?” he asked.

“Yes, of course dear,” she answered somewhat absent-mindedly, not looking up from her work.

He walked around the bed, put his head against it, and pushed. The bed wasn’t budging. He took a brief pause and tried several more times before giving up. He wondered if he could do anything to make it easier to move. Unfortunately, the only thing would be to remove the mattress.

He gave a heavy sigh and started taking the sheets off the bed, folding them onto the fainting couch. The scent of the sheets once again met his senses, but somehow he was able to concentrate on the task at hand and not get distracted. Once everything was moved off, he put his head under the plain mattress and pushed it off the frame. He awkwardly managed to lean it against the wall. Rarity looked up to see him rearrange her furniture, but continued working without a comment.

After all that, he tried once more to move the frame. He pushed as hard as he could. Beads of sweat appeared on his brow, and the frame started to move. Bumbleberry quietly celebrated and slowly pushed the frame so the bedpost was directly under the window.

Next he looked up at the tall bed posts. Climbing to the top was going to be a task on its own. Fortunately he’d left the canopy up. He untied it from the posts so it hung down, giving him something to hang onto.

He took a deep breath before attempting an acrobatic feat. He jumped forward into the bed frame, and clamped his mouth onto one of the canopy walls. He then swung to reach another canopy wall and grab it with his front hooves. He let go with his mouth and was able to swing his back legs around the post under the window. Grabbing the post with his mouth and hooves, he inched his way up until he was precariously balanced at the top, holding onto the post with his hind legs.

That wasn’t so bad. He thought, though he was out of breath. He then looked down. There on the ground was the rod and curtains to be hung. He slapped his forehead as his foolishness.

“Um, Miss Rarity?” he asked quietly. “Could I trouble you to hand me the curtains and rod, please?”

Rarity, levitating a needle and thread and some fabric, looked up at the awkwardly hanging Bumbleberry. She smiled mischieviously directly at him. “I’m sorry, I’m very busy. Was my task too hard?” she taunted him.

He smiled with understanding. She was testing him. Her refusal sent shivers of delight over his body. “Of course not! I can do it, don’t mind me!” He waved and smiled at her. Suddenly he lost his balance and fell off the bedpost with a thud. Rarity watched as he stood back up before getting back to her work.

After a few tries, Bumbleberry managed to get back up the bedpost with the materials in his mouth. Once there, he hammered in the rod with his hooves and hung the curtain. “How’s that, Rarity?” he called down from his perch.

She looked up. “It’s difficult to tell with the bed in the way, could you move it back?” She smiled at him and batted her eyes.

Bumbleberry’s mouth tightened. If she weren’t so beautiful… “Of course, I’ll move it back.” He dropped down from the post and sweat again as he pushed the bed frame back to where it was supposed to be. “How about now?” he asked, out of breath.

Rarity smiled at him again. “I just can’t tell anything if the bed isn’t made. Could you please move the mattress back and put the sheets back on?" Her tone was taunting and her body language teasing.

Bumbleberry shook with excitement. Somehow, her words egged him on. "Right, I'll put it all back."

He carefully moved the mattress back onto the frame and quickly put the sheets and pillows on the bed, stopping only once take in their scent. He then turned to Rarity.

"I'm done," he declared. "What do you think of the curtains?"

Rarity looked up at the curtains thoughtfully, and then back at Bumbleberry. She smiled widely and wiggled her eyebrows mischievously.

"They're perfect!" she cried. She rushed over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Time seemed to stop for Bumbleberry. A kiss from this purple-maned pony was everything he'd wanted. Her lips were soft and gentle. Her fur tickled his face. He could smell the floral wash she'd used that morning. He closed his eyes as he basked in the sensation and committed it to memory.

“Are you alright?” she asked him, concerned. “Did you enjoy the task I gave you, or was it too hard?”

He shook his head. “It was hard, but not too hard. It was perfect.” He smiled at her.

She nodded happily. “Great! As for the curtains, I’ve changed my mind about them.” Using her magic, she plucked the rod and drapes from where Bumbleberry so carefully placed them and brought them back to the ground.

Bumbleberry looked up with mouth agape at where the curtain used to be. Did she really just do that?

Rarity covered her mouth as she started snickering at him. “You… you should see the look on your face.”

He gave Rarity a little frown. Rarity couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Were you planning that the whole time?” Bumbleberry asked incredulously, laughing a little.

The crafty unicorn nodded as they both laughed. “Yes. I didn’t have anything for you to do, so I had you do that.” She looked at Bumbleberry’s astonished face. “Isn’t the act more important than the product anyway?”

Bumbleberry’s eyes looked to his cheek where she had kissed him. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Now, are you up for one more task? I do have something you could help me with, for real this time.”

They smiled at each other.

Comments

[F-22brony]

Great going so far, and no noticeable grammatical errors!
It's definitely worth the read.