You thought you knew what this was...
Placing her face in her palms, Rarity groaned in a very un-Rarity-like fashion. To the appearance of everyone else in the room she looked horrible. Namely, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, whom she called to her home. Her hair was matted and frayed, like it hadn’t been taken good care of. Which, for someone like Rarity, said a lot.
“Dang, Rarity,” chuckled Rainbow Dash, flicking a stray lock of Rarity’s hair that was sticking out at an odd angle, “you look horrible.”
Lifting her head slightly, Rarity revealed her bloodshot eyes. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” she hissed.
Fluttershy, ever the caregiver, gently tried to fix Rarity’s hair with a pink brush that she had procured from her bag. “Rarity, please. Tell us what’s the matter. You called us here and you sounded… well...” Fluttershy trailed off, leaving the obvious unsaid.
Rarity threw her head up and looked to the sky dramatically. “It’s Sunset and Coco! They’re driving me up the wall!” she groaned.
“Oh come on.” Rainbow waved her arm, “What can those two possibly be doing to drive you nuts?”
“I-I don’t even know… Maybe it’s just me but I just…” Rarity sighed and sat her face directly on the table, something that she would normally never do. Fluttershy noticed this, and the reality of the girl’s nervous breakdown became all the more apparent.
Fluttershy calmly ran her hand down Rarity’s back, a gesture that she often used to soothe her animals. “It’s alright, just tell us what’s bothering you.”
Rarity leaned into Fluttershy’s touch, grateful that she had called her here. “Well… it all started yesterday. I had Coco and Sunset meet me here to discuss possible ideas for my new set of band outfits. You know, for our next performance.”
~Yesterday, in the very same room in Rarity’s boutique.~
“Alright girls, this wardrobe is almost complete,” Rarity took a step back, admiring her own creations with a proud look on her face, “Quite the impressive line, if I do say so myself.”
Sunset nodded. “Yeah, it’s looking great, Rarity. But it feels like it could use a little something extra. Something that pulls it all together.”
“Like what, Sunset?” asked Rarity, looking back at her. “What could I possibly use to complete it? I daresay that it borders on perfection already!”
“Well,” muttered Coco, “she may have a point. The one on the far left looks like it might need a little more silk on the hem. And that middle one could use a little more coverage in the, um...” she looked down at the floor, a faint blush lighting up her usually pale cream colored face, “... the front ...you know ...cleavage area.” her words quickly devolved into soft whispers.
Sunset turned towards her as she mumbled her opinion. “Coco, it’s all right,” she assured, “We know what you meant. It’s not like it’s anything dirty or anything.”
Rarity gave the dresses another scrutinizing glare, and sighed, “Oh, darlings, you may just have something there. Oooh, I hate it when this happens! I see my finished project, and once I see one tiny little flaw, I have the irrepressible urge to take it all apart and start from scratch!”
“Oh, no, don’t do that, Rarity,” Coco gently insisted, “All you really need is a little more silk.”
Sunset nodded in agreement. “She’s right. In fact, you could splash up each one with some silk if you really wanted to. It wouldn’t be much trouble at all. And you know we can help you with whatever you need.”
Rarity considered this for a few seconds, taking quick glances from one outfit to the next. Finally, she spoke up. “It’s decided. I believe I have one roll of pure silk upstairs. You wouldn’t mind waiting here for a few minutes while I go scrounge it up, would you, dears?”
“Sure, we’ll be here.”
“Um, okay.”
“Grand!” Rarity smiled. “Be right back!” And she quickly made her way to the staircase and up to the second floor, leaving Sunset and Coco alone together.
Sunset turned to Coco and instantly covered her mouth, struggling to hold back her chuckles. Coco tilted her head in confusion. “What? Why are you laughing?”
Sunset pointed at Coco’s face. “You’re still blushing!”
“What?” gushed Coco. She threw her hands over her face and turned around completely in a desperate attempt to hide herself.
Sunset quickly stifled her own laughter and sat a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Hey, come on. I was just messing with you.”
Coco glanced back around. “That wasn’t funny,” she whispered.
“But you were blushing pretty bad, though,” admitted Sunset. Out of the corner of her eye, Sunset spotted something odd sticking out of one of Rarity’s drawers.
~~~
Upstairs, Rarity casually tossed around various tools, fabrics and pieces of clothing. Several minutes had passed since she entered the room and, to her horror, she was still unable to find what she was looking for. Her frantic searching eventually turned her chaotically organized room into just pure chaos.
“Did I lend it to Prim Hemline?” she wondered, roaming through her upstairs supply closet. “No… I made it a point never to lend out full rolls after Suri Polomare took advantage of my generosity. So where is it?”
Rarity look one last look around her room, dreading the time that she would have to spend reorganizing everything. Luckily, that one last look allowed her to notice something hiding in the corner. Rushing over, she reached behind it and pulled out the long white roll of silk fabric that had been hiding behind the desk.
“Ohhhh, I knew you just had to be somewhere!” she gushed, hugging the roll tightly. Rarity turned around and left her room in a hurry, closing the door tightly behind her. “Girls,” she called out, making her way over to her stairs. “I found the silk! We might be able to—”
“Are you sure this is it? It’s a little long…”
Rarity stopped at the top of the stairs. Something about that sentence didn’t sound right to her ears. Curious, she listened further.
“I-I think so… It is one of Rarity’s after all. Maybe it’s the standard size for someone like her?”
“Someone like me?” thought Rarity. “Whatever could they be talking about down there?”
“Is it? I’ve never used one before.”
“Used what?”
There was a moment of silence before Coco’s response. “W-well. Every girl uses a different one. Mine is rather small and easy to use. I guess that Rarity likes the big ones.”
“My word! Big what’s? Please don’t let them be talking about… that!
Sunset hummed. “Interesting… should we use it?”
“S-Sunset no! We couldn’t! It’s Rarity’s… also…” Rarity had to strain her ears to hear the shy girls next line. “It might not be clean,” she whispered.
“Why wouldn’t it be clean?” asked Sunset.
“Well… it looks old and there might be some blood on it from Rarity’s first time.”
Rarity’s face lit up perfectly. The red from the blood rushing to her face turned her pale face completely pink. “Oh… my… god…”
“Umm, sorry I’m still new to this, but why would there be blood on it?”
“On, no, no, no!” Coco stammered, no doubt blushing herself. “I take it back! I’m sure Rarity cleans it every chance she gets! It’s just… It seems wrong.”
“Well if it’s fine, then let’s just use it already. Rarity’s obviously not coming back for a while. She probably fell asleep up there. I mean, did you see her hair? She obviously didn’t get any sleep last night.”
“Well, I never!”
“A-are you sure? Coco sounded nervous and panicked. “Now? I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Sunset.”
“It’s fine. And if she finds us, we can just tell her the truth. I’m not embarrassed. Someone like Rainbow Dash would be embarrassed. Heck, AJ would probably shrug and keep going. Come on!” Sunset urged.
There were a few moments of silence between them. “All right.”
“Awesome! Now, come over here and take it off for me…”
“Oh, my goodness this is astounding! I suspected that they had feelings for one another, but I never expected that their relationship had developed this far! Perhaps I should— No! I really mustn't. It’s clearly a private affair. I should—
“No, Sunset, you’re sticking it in the wrong spot!”
“Oh, what’s this?!”
“But that’s what you said. Start from the bottom and push it in.”
“But not in that spot, you want the spot above it. Here, I’ll do it for you.”
Rarity heard Sunset give a small yelp of pain immediately afterwards.
“Oh my goodness. Sunset, are you alright? Is that blood?”
Rarity continuously shifted her weight from one foot to the other in a nervous dance. “Please don’t get it on my lush carpet!”
“It’s just a little bit. Keep going!” groaned Sunset.
Coco was clearly panicked. “A little bit? It’s everywhere!”
“Why aren't I stopping them! Why am I still listening!?”
There was a grunt. “Don’t panic. It is my first time using one after all.”
“Well, maybe it was a good idea to use some kind of protection… ”
Rarity’s jaw fell to the floor.
“I just never expected to be doing it here of all places instead of at home,” Sunset let out what sounded like a strained chuckle. “It’s not going in anymore!”
“That’s alright. Pull it back out!” ordered Coco.
“I’m trying! I think it’s stuck somehow.”
“I knew that we shouldn’t have used the big one! Be careful, don’t—”
Over at the top of the stairs Rarity was visibly freaking out. “That’s it!” she mumbled, careful not to be overheard. “I need to step in. I need to stop them. They shouldn’t be doing such… perverse things in my home! But I cannot simply barge in there while they’re—”
Rarity’s attention was forcibly yanked from her thoughts by Sunset’s loud exclamation.
“Hurry up!”
“I’m coming!” Coco squealed in response.
“Finally,” Sunset sighed.
“I’m sorry. I’m always slow, aren't I?”
“No, you were fine. We need to get all of this cleaned up before Rarity comes back and sees the mess we made.”
There was another beat of silence before Coco said, “Even if we clean up, I think that Rarity’s still going to ask questions about what happened. I mean it’s hard not to with all of… well this.”
Sunset hummed, probably in thought. “I guess you’re right. We should tell her when she comes back down. It’ll be good for us too. She could probably even join in someday,” chuckled Sunset.
Rarity, her face having long since become a tomato, simply stared straight at the wall. Her brain was already struggling to process all of this new information. That last line was simply the last straw. “I… I… I don’t even know what to think right now…”
“Anyway,” continued Sunset, “we should get cleaned up. I’m all sweaty and bloody thanks to you.”
“It wasn’t my fault!” Coco defended. “I told you to take it slow. You’re still not used to it after all.” Rarity detected a faint trace of smugness in the girl’s voice.
“Oh what’s this, now? Something else that Coco hasn’t told me?”
“I know, I know,” droned Sunset. Rarity could imagine her rolling her eyes. “Back in Manehatten.”
Rarity gasped. “Coco… already had that kind of experience? I suppose that Manehatten is a place where anything can happen. But that?
The two girls continued their conversation, but the volume slowly became fainter and fainter as they walked out of earshot. Rarity presumed that they were probably going to the washroom near the back of the store. Taking this opportunity, she stealthily made her way down the stairs. Making careful sure that she didn’t step on the squeaky board on the second to last step, she snuck into the room and looked around.
Rarity was surprised to say the least. Aside from a few objects placed haphazardly, the room looked almost exactly the same as when she had left. Remembering a particular fact from a book she had read some time ago, Rarity hesitantly took a few experimental sniffs of the air.
“Still a soothing combination of Jasmine and Lilac,” she observed. “Interesting to know that my scented candles are strong enough to cover it up.” She turned in the direction of where the two girls walked off in and took a deep breath.
“All right, Rarity,” she muttered, composing herself. “Two of your best friends… may have just made love in your living room…” A few seconds passed before Rarity burst out in a frantic dance of disgust, hopping from one foot to the other and yelping at the vulgar images that came to mind. Shivers ran up and down her spine and her face nearly turned green from the thought.
Finally, she got it all out and she calmed once more. “Now that that’s taken care of… How should I go about this?” She hesitantly glanced around her room. “Well, completely replace the carpet for starters. I’ll need to ask them exactly where they did it and replace that as well.”
Faint voices echoed from down the hall, alerting Rarity that they were coming back. She retreated back into her thoughts. “That was fast! I’m not ready! Should I go back upstairs? No, they’d hear me.” In the end she simply took another deep breath, and did a hand motion that her guidance counselor had taught her. She first put a hand to her chest, then she pushed it away while letting out a deep exhale. This symbolized the release of the body’s tension.
She straightened her outfit and hair and took a seat in the chair next to her table. “Alright, then.”
“So then I told Gilda that she could go...,” Sunset trailed off as she entered the room and saw Rarity sitting and waiting for them expectantly. Coco continued to look at her in confusion until she followed her gaze to see the same thing.
“Rarity?” Sunset asked with a surprised look. “Well, you were gone for quite a while. I thought you fell asleep up there.”
“Now, now,” Rarity replied, keeping as calm as possible, “No need to feel bad. I understand.”
“R-really?” Coco muttered, equally surprised, “Y-you mean you...”
“Yes, Coco,” she interrupted. “Darling, no need to be so timid about it. I overheard the whole thing.”
Coco blushed a little in response, “Oh, I see.... Rarity, we're sorry. But things kind of got out of hand and—”
“No, no. As I said, I'm trying to be the kind, understanding and tolerant friend that you all know me to be. Whatever it is you two do together, I wish you well and want nothing but happiness for you. I just wish that you hadn’t done it, ugh, here.”
Sunset looked back at Rarity confusedly. “Oooookay... thanks, but it wasn't really that big of a deal. I mean, Coco's done this before, and she's okay with giving me some pointers when I need them—”
“Stop!” Rarity interrupted, realizing too late that she had yelled it. “I mean... no need to discuss the matter further. Like I said, I'm perfectly fine with what you two do together. Let's just get this work done, okay?”
“But Rarity,” Coco gently insisted, “we've already done it. See, while you were gone, we—”
“Coco, darling, I insist we not discuss it!” she hissed. “Those are private matters!”
“Private?” Sunset asked, frowning. “But you invited us. How is it private all of a sudden?”
“'All of a sudden'? I beg your pardon! I had no idea that such... such... 'activities' would be going on in my boutique!”
“But we did it for you, Rarity,” Coco spoke up, her voice wavering. “It was your idea...”
“WHAT?!” she exclaimed reeling back in offense. “Why, the very idea! How could I condone such things! I wasn't even aware that you two would stoop to such lows!”
Coco fidgeted nervously. “Well, I had to get down low, otherwise Sunset never would have gotten it up—”
“STOP!!” Rarity shrieked throwing her hands to her ears, “Stop this instant!! None of that grotesque nonsense!! To think you would feel free to act so frivolous and... and..... deviant in my boutique without my permission—while I'm still here, no less—but to give me such graphic details right in front of me?! How could you?! It's so very unladylike! Why, the very idea borders on absolute wanton barbarism!”
Sunset stepped in, looking increasingly angry. “Look, Rarity, I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but we were only trying to help you! If that's how you show gratitude to someone you invited over, who did you a favor, then you can keep it!”
“I NEVER ASKED YOU AND COCO TO PERFORM SEXUAL ACTS ON MY BOUTIQUE FLOOR!” screeched Rarity, reaching the end of her patience.
“Well, we were more than happy to—” Sunset froze, and the entire boutique went deadly quiet. Sunset's look of confusion and Coco's blushing both intensified.
After a long, awkward, painful silence, Coco finally dredged up the courage to ask, “....What?”
“You heard me!” Rarity screamed. “Doing such naughty things right here, in my presence, without my permission! As accepting as I am, I can't bear this sort of debauchery any further—”
“WAIT!!” Sunset yelled over her. “What do you think we did?”
“I don't think! I know! Hearing the two of you grunt and moan like animals! Talking of 'how big it is' and 'sticking it in the wrong spot' and 'taking it slow' and...” she shuddered as she spoke the last word, “'coming'.”
There was another pause, less lengthy than the first, that was broken by Sunset's stifled giggles and Coco's blushing overtaking the entirety of her face and neck.
“What?” Rarity said, her indignity remaining, but now mixed with a hint of confusion. “What exactly is so funny?”
Coco buried her face in her hands and visibly shook; whether she was laughing or crying was unclear. Sunset fought back her giggled hard as she approached Rarity. She put a friendly hand on her shoulder, nearly causing Rarity to almost back away instinctively. “Rarity,” Sunset grinned, directing her attention to the now-finished hem of one of the dresses. “We need to have a talk.”
~~
“And as it turns out, all they'd been doing was finishing the dresses for me,” Rarity finished telling the story, “They'd found a spare roll of silk and used my largest needles for the hemming and other such things. Sunset had pricked her finger, the needle had gotten stuck while they were working, and…” Rarity threw her head back onto the table and covered it with her arms, “ooh, you ought to be able to figure it out by now. Now they won’t stop talking about it.”
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy seemed to reflect—and substantially amplify—that same moment in time when Sunset Shimmer and Coco Pommel had reacted to Rarity's implications. Fluttershy was blushing so vividly, she'd almost turned entirely red, and Dash was fighting back laughter with everything she had.
She lost.
Dash collapsed to the floor, rolling and laughing uproariously, while Rarity sat and seethed. “Why thank you for your consideration and sensitivity, Rainbow Dash,” she snapped.
“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy gently admonished. “How could you laugh at Rarity like that? That must have been so embarrassing! So mortifying! Oh, I know if I had been in her place, I couldn't bear standing there, all self-conscious, and humiliated, and mortified, and... and—”
“Fluttershy,” Rarity stood, pressing her fingers to Fluttershy's mouth to stop her. “As much as I appreciate the kind words... they aren't helping much.”
“Oh, well, I... I didn't mean to... I mean, I was only... that is, I was trying to—” Fluttershy's helpless floundering was saved by a knock at the door. “Oh! Umm, I'll just get that for you, i-if that's okay with you....”
Dash had finally slowed her laughter, and was working herself upright; her incessant giggles had made sure she could only prop herself onto all fours. She looked up at Rarity with tears in her eyes. “Ha-ha-ha-hah, R-R-R-Rarity,” she stuttered, speaking through her laughter, “I-I'm s-ha-haah! I'm s-sorry, but.... but that h-had to be th-ppha-ha-ha-haaah! Th-that had to be the f-funniest thing I've ever heard!”
“Ugh! Honestly, Rainbow Dash! Sometimes, you are absolutely impossible!” Rarity huffed, kneeling down to help Dash to her feet. Still weak from her gale of hilarity, Dash stumbled several times as Rarity tried to help her up, but soon, the two ended up on the floor again, with Rarity having stumbled to her knees and Dash having dropped and planted her face into Rarity's lap.
“Oh, Rarity? Guess who's here! It's S—oh,” Fluttershy stopped when she and the guests saw Rarity's position, “Oh, dear.”
Sunset and Coco saw it too. And while they both grinned, Sunset’s was downright malicious. “Is, uh, this a bad time, Rarity?” Sunset asked with a knowing lilt in her tone.
Rarity was awestruck. “Now, don't,” she said, cautioning them. “Don't even try it. This isn't what it looks like! I know you know it isn't!”
Still restraining her snickering, Sunset continued, “Well, I know that! Clearly this is a misunderstanding.”
“Thank you! I cannot begin to think what'd you'd say—”
“Dash is just helping you out with your carpet!” Sunset burst out laughing.
Dash had pulled her face up off of Rarity's skirt by this time, and was now aware of the situation she was now in. Seeing the blush overtake Rarity's face, however, she seemed less inclined to be embarrassed and more inclined to join in the laughter.
“But you know that's not what's going on!” Rarity all but screamed, “Honestly, one little mistake, and I'm branded for life!”
“Hey, we don't need to know about your other kinks, Rarity,” Rainbow Dash added.
“Yeah!” added Sunset. “We know you've already got your mouth— I mean, your hands full right now!”
“Oh, stop!” Rarity insisted, “You're just trying to get under my skin!”
“I think you meant to use the word penetrate there, Rarity” said Sunset.
“Well, someone was penetrating something around here!” Dash cracked, and Rarity continued to frown. “Oh, come on! For someone as prim and proper as you, you sure see sex everywhere you go!”
Sunset chuckled, “Yeah! Any chance you're looking for a 'cunning linguist'?”
“Girls please!” pleaded Fluttershy, “ Stop teasing her.”
“You know, it's not so bad, once you get used to it,” chuckled Coco.
Rainbow Dash crawled over and put her arm around Sunset. “Hey-Ha- Hey, Sunset, did you know Rarity actually has a cat?!”
Sunset's grin nearly doubled in size. “No kidding?! You want some more of that one?”
“No thanks. I ate some before I came. Right now I’m stuffed!” Laughing full on once again, Rainbow Dash and Sunset leaned into one another, supporting each other and keeping them from hitting the floor.
And that was the final straw. Rarity stood up and bolted for the front door, screaming and flailing her arms in frustration the whole way.
There was a brief pause in which Dash, Sunset and Coco glanced at each other awkwardly. Fluttershy looked at all of them with soft indignation. “That was really mean. You didn't have to pick on her like that.”
“Geez, I'm sorry,” Sunset replied, looking genuine for once. “We were just having fun.”
“She'll be back,” Dash assured. “She's gotta come back sometime, it's her house! We'll apologize then. Okay?”
“Still,” Sunset added, glancing at the open door, “I didn't think she'd freak out like that just because of a few jokes.”
Coco blushed, much like she had a week before, but she was clearly smiling this time, “Maybe she just needs to get laid.”
Dash, Fluttershy and Sunset all turned to look at her, dumbstruck.