To Accept Poison

by TheMessenger


Chapter 7


The taste of copper replaced the taste of vomit. Rarity toothbrush had become red with blood. She rinsed her mouth with water, then let the brush soak in the sink's running water, washing it clean before opening a bottle of mint mouthwash. A few rinses of mouthwash later, her mouth finally felt clean. With one last look at her tired reflection, she left the bathroom and returned to bed.

Something crinkled beneath her hoof just as she had entered the bedroom. Rarity picked it up, discovering it to be a wrinkled piece of paper. Something had been written on it, but with dark the room was, she couldn't tell what. Rarity made her way to her nightstand and turned on the lamp. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light, then looked back to the paper in her hoof.

It was a drawing, the paper must have fallen out of her sketchbook. The simple sketch was of a cartoonish dragon in an outlandish zoot suit with a massive wide brimmed hat. She tried to smooth the paper out, and her efforts rewarded her with a dragon that looked a little better than just a doodle. Saving the suit, however, was impossible.

Rarity fell back onto her bed. The drawing fluttered beside her. She turned her head toward it and groaned. Design number eight. Oh, a small part of her wished she had Spike to blame for that abomination of a design, it and its twenty eight brothers, like with her friends' Gala gowns all those years ago. Wishful thinking, Spike's contributions hadn't gotten further than providing measurements, not that he hadn't offered.

She reached back over to her nightstand and grabbed her sketchbook. No, this and the other designs Rarity began to flip through were all the product of her creative mind, and it was evidence, at least to her, to why she would never expand to standard male attire. Jackets that were so long they would've rendered pants pointless if they were on a pony, hats of varying proportions with feathers, flashy buttons that looked gaudy even on paper and without color, only the trousers looked close to acceptable, if a little plain, though they had mostly been a product of Rarity's reluctance in having her drawn dragon naked for even a small moment of time.

The only reason she hadn't torn the pages out and set them aflame was because she could see rather nice dress designs out of these atrocities to fashion. The chaotic mess brought Discord to mind, and she figured that perhaps, if she ever needed to curry favor from the mad spirit, one of these could make a nice gift for him. Being able to recycle old ideas was a hallmark of a successful designer, but at the moment she felt as inexperienced and unqualified as she had been the days before earning her cutie mark. It had already been several days since Spike's measurements, and this was all the work she had to present, just a bunch of unworkable designs. Even if she reduced the lengths of some and threw out the hats for others, nothing would looked good on Spike.

She was about to throw the book away and try to go back to sleep but stopped herself on the next page. There, now that was a proper suit, a jacket a bit broader on the shoulders that still looked comfortable enough to wear naturally while tight enough to hint at the powerful body beneath.

Of course, the sketch here wasn't workable either. She was designing for a dragon, and the drawing was of a stallion. A stallion with warm yet intelligent eyes that betrayed a touch of mystery and a strong smile that promised safety in his hooves. Her dream stallion, pulled out of her dreams and given a body of charcoal.

More stallions followed, all handsome with perfect manes and smiles and suits. Some wore top hats, some wore vests instead of jackets. One or two had mustaches but most were clean shaven. They stood in various poses, flexing in anatomical questionable ways, flaunting themselves before her.

Everything single one was without pants. Rarity felt nothing.

They're just drawings, it'd be silly of me to feel anything toward them.

Then why had she been in such a rush to cover her dragons?

Rarity slammed the book shut. As she set it back on her nightstand, she glanced at her clock. It was that late in the morning already? The urge to sleep having faded, she turned off the lamp and got out of bed. Streams of sunlight, no longer having to compete with the lamp, entered the room through the openings in the curtains. Rarity grabbed a bathrobe and made her way to the bathroom again. The stream of the shower head could be heard from behind the closed door as steam creeped out from beneath.

An hour later and Rarity was downstairs, eating a modest breakfast of toast and cream cheese. The messy, exhausted mare that stared at her through the mirror had vanished, her mane once again perfect and coat smooth and clean. The earlier nausea had passed, for the time being at least.

Her dainty bites and sips suggested none of her previous inner turmoil, but her mind, hidden from view, was racing. A glance at the calendar hanging from her refrigerator fueled her panic as a certain date was drawing close. Spike's birthday was rapidly approaching, and she still had nothing to present, not even a proper design. The thought of going back on her promise and wrapping up a few gems instead crossed Rarity's mind while she ate, and she had considered it much longer than she was comfortable admitting before rejecting it.

"Another day of brainstorming," she said aloud with a sigh. "That won't leave much time for the actual suit." She finished her tea and cleared the table. As Rarity set her plate in the sink, she heard a knock at the front door. She turned off the faucet and made her way to the front of her store. She had no appointments. New customers, perhaps?

Rarity opened the door. Before she knew what she was doing, she had slammed the door shut. Her heart pounded furiously at her chest in an effort to escape, and she required several breaths to calm down. She opened the door and forced a smile. "Spike, what a surprise!"

The dragon gave her an uncertain wave. "Hi?" he said, more a question than a greeting. "Is this a bad time?"

"Bad time? No, of course not!" Rarity hoped her laugh didn't sound too fake. She couldn't tell from the face Spike made. "Why, what would make you think that?"

"Well, you sort of closed the door on me pretty hard." Spike rubbed the tip of his snout and winced.

"Oh, that. Just, you know, surprised to see you so early. I mean, well, it's so early."

"It's ten." Spike frowned. "Hey, are you alright? We missed you yesterday."

"Yesterday?"

"Pancakes?" Spike said. "Applejack's cousins sent us apple maple syrup. We were going to send someone to check up on you, but Sweetie Belle just told us you were busy with something."

"That was yesterday?" Rarity gasped. She groaned and rested her forehead against her hoof. "Yes, I've been busy. Please give Twilight and the rest of our friends my apologies. I must have lost track of time."

"Sound like you've got a lot to do. Anything I can do to help?" Spike asked. "Maybe grabbing fabrics and supplies or cleaning scraps or--"

"No!"

Rarity's scream caused him to take a step back. She coughed. "No, that's quite alright," she said at a more controlled volume. "I don't want to bother you, and I'm sure you've got enough on your plate as it is."

"Today's actually pretty free. I don't mind helping you."

"Yes, but you see, you see, you can't help." She raced for a reason as the confusion in Spike features became disappointment and hurt. "Because, because it's for your birthday! Yes, I've been working on your suit, and I don't want to spoil anything."

"Oh. You know, if it's too much trouble, you don't have to get me anything," Spike said.

"No, I couldn't do that," Rarity argued. "I promised you a suit. How would my reputation survive if word got out that I couldn't deliver?"

"Well, there's got to be some way I can help. I could close my eyes or something." Spike's face fell. "I feel real bad if making a suit's this much work. I mean, geez, is it really keeping you from hanging out with us?"

"No, no, it's not that much more work," she hastily assured. "In, in fact, I'm actually, I was just getting ready, ready to visit, er, Fluttershy! Yes, tea with Fluttershy. I was just about to head off."

"Oh, um, okay. That's good. But if you need any help or just somepony to--"

"Yes, yes, I'll see you later, good bye." Rarity shut the door, then collapsed against it. Her head was beginning to ache and felt much heavier. Visit Fluttershy? What in Equestria drove her to come up with such fabrications?

She knew the answer. Rarity peeked out the window and watched Spike walk back into town. It wasn't a lie, her working on his present, but if he found out just how little progress had been made, well, Rarity wasn't certain she could handle the disappointment.

Or are you just avoiding him? Avoiding him to avoid--

She swung the door back open and began her way to Fluttershy's cottage. She wasn't getting anything done today, not at the rate she had been going. Perhaps a change in scenery would provide some much need inspiration. At the very least, she would be able to relax and refresh herself for a little while before returning to work recharged and renewed.

As she passed through and out of Ponyville proper and entered the more rural section of town, Fluttershy's cottage came into view, just on the edge of the Everfree Forest. An ever odd location for the shy pegasus to call home, considering her fear of the forest, but for lack of a better description, the cottage was nice, much like its owner. A few birds stuck their heads out of their little houses to greet Rarity as she passed, warbling out little songs before retreating once it was obvious the unicorn wasn't carrying treats.

Rarity stopped in front of the cottage's door. She raised a hoof but hesitated. Here she was, completely unannounced and uninvited. If the owner was any other pony, they might have call Rarity out on her rudeness.

"I owe her a deluxe spa package," she muttered to herself as she knocked. The door creaked open. "Hello, Fluttershy dear. Please pardon my--Discord?"

The mash of fur and horns staring at her through the door crack frowned. "Well, you certainly are not the pizza mare. Thirty seconds my foot."

Rarity grimaced as the draconequus reached down and yanked off his leg and shook it in her face. "Er, no, my apologies," she said, gingerly pushing the disconnected leg back down. "Is Fluttershy in?"

There was a loud crack, and Discord disappeared in a puff of smoke. Once the smoke cleared, Rarity discovered a yellow pegasus mare standing in his place, carrying a teapot and wearing a look of confusion. The pegasus's confusion vanished once she noticed the unicorn before her. "Rarity! Welcome, please come in."

"Hello Fluttershy." Rarity followed the pegasus in. "I apologize for coming here unannounced. It's just been very busy lately, and I figured, are you alright?"

Fluttershy stifled a giggle. "I invited you in! Did you notice how assertive I was? Without being mean!"

"Oh, oh!" Rarity smiled, the first genuine one today, if a tad awkward. "How wonderful. You should be proud."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Fluttershy said, her wings folding over to hide her blush. "Is there something I can help you with? I don't know if I can help, but I'd like to try."

"Thank you, dear, but I just needed the company of a friend," Rarity said. Fluttershy smiled and stepped forward. The two mare touched cheeks before embracing. "So Discord is here today? I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"I don't mind," Fluttershy answered. "Discord, do you?" she called out.

Rarity suddenly found herself in front of a lavish tea set. The utensils marched about before her, completely out of time with the singing tuba sitting across from her. "Of course not." She heard Discord's voice above her, but when she looked up, there were only flowers and playing cards. "The more friends, the merrier," she heard Discord sing. "Now, which one was Rarity again? Oh yes, that's right." Rarity shielded herself from the blinding flash, and when she removed her hooves and opened her eyes, she found Discord lying on the table in front of her, smiling crookedly with his chin resting in his mismatched hands. "How's Tom?"

"I have no idea who you're talking about," Rarity replied with a sniff. As Fluttershy took a seat across from Rarity, Discord slithered into his own seat between the two mares.

"Would you like some tea, Rarity?" Fluttershy asked. She held up the teapot, which suddenly leapt out of her hooves.

"Allow me," Discord said. With a flick of his wrist, the pot danced to the cup in front of Rarity. A geyser of tea spewed from its spout and landed right into the tiny cup. Slowly, Rarity lifted the cup and took a cautious sip.

"Quite good, thank you," she said, placing the cup down. She watched Fluttershy nurse her own cup of tea and nibble at a small cookie as Discord enchanted his own cookies, creating a sugar conga line that danced right into his maw. Rarity took a small bite of the cookie on her plate. Sweet, with a buttery taste.

"We missed you yesterday," she heard Fluttershy say. "I hope everything's alright."

"Oh, of course. Just a little busy with work," Rarity responded. She took another sip. "It's been difficult, trying to come up with a good design for a suit that would look good on the dragon whose child I'm carrying while struggling to come to terms with the whole messy affair."

The room became silent. Slowly, Rarity set down her cup. "What was in the tea?" She and Fluttershy turned to Discord.

"Truth serum," he answered with a shrug. "I wanted to know why I wasn't invited for pancakes, though this is quite the development. So, can I congratulate Spike during our next game session, or should he know there's another dragon in your life."

"Discord," Fluttershy scolded, her face twisted in a rare scowl, "that wasn't funny. Rarity, I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I mean, this is so--"

"What? Unthinkable? Despicable?" Rarity began to shake. "Disgusting?"

Fluttershy gasped. "No, why would I say that?"

"Because here I am, a grown mare, suddenly pregnant because of a night of bad judgment with a, a, a minor!" Rarity screamed, urged on by the endless nightmares, the sickness in the mornings, and the constant stress over what she couldn't remember from that night and her attempts to keep it all a secret. "I'm every horror story every parent tells their filly before her first dance brought to life!"

"No, Rarity, I don't think--"

The unicorn pushed herself away from the table and made a mad dash toward the exit, her head low. Instead of crossing the threshold, she collided into solid, something she couldn't pass through but too soft to be the wall. She opened her eyes and after wiping away the moisture threatening to escape them, found herself sitting in a catcher's mitt

"Now, now, I believe Flutters was trying to say something," Discord, wearing a white baseball jersey and a cap, tutted. He snapped his fingers, and Rarity was now sitting on one side of a large lounge couch with Fluttershy on the other side. Another snaps and a roll of toilet paper landed beside Rarity. Rarity glared at Discord for a moment before the toilet paper became a box of tissues. "Don't worry, it's not laced with anything," Discord assured with a roll of his eyes. "Promise. And, ah, I suppose I'm sorry for spiking your drink with honesty juice," he added, sparing a glance at the scowling Fluttershy before chuckling under his breath. "Heh, spiking."

Fluttershy's hard gaze softened as she turned to Rarity. "Rarity, you're my friend. I'd never say such mean things to you."

"Or to anyone, really," Discord muttered.

"Rarity, please, what happened?"

Rarity sighed. There was no point in keeping silent any longer now that Fluttershy knew the outcome. At least with the complete story, she hopeful wouldn't come to any conclusions more scandalous than the truth. The disastrous date in Manehattan, bumping into Spike on the night of her return, the wine, the morning after, Rarity told it all. By the time she had finish, the floor below her hooves was covered with used tissue paper. Rarity felt drained, almost completely dry of energy, but at the same time she felt lighter, as if a massive stone she had been carrying had been suddenly lifted from her back.

"So that's everything," Rarity said wearily. "Still willing to be this mare's friend?"

"Yes, of course," Fluttershy answered immediately. "You made a mistake, drinking so much, but that doesn't make you a bad pony."

"And sleeping with Spike?"

"You, I mean..." Fluttershy blushed. "I don't want to call it a mistake, that sounds mean to Spike, but, well, I mean, you really don't remember--" She covered her face.

"Bumping uglies?" Discord offered. He adjusted the glasses her wore and read aloud from the book he held. "Having hooha? Doing the nasty? Making wahoo? Revving the Harley? You just had--"

"No, I don't remember the actual sex," Rarity answered. She placed her chin against the couch's cushion and sighed. "Just woke up with Spike in my bed, and I've been suffering from morning sickness ever since."

"Are you, um, sure your pregnant?" Fluttershy asked, peeking from behind her feathers. "I mean, did you see a doctor or anything?"

"No doctors," Rarity said with a shake of her head. "It's silly, but right now everything's been like a dream, and I'm afraid how I'll handle everything once a test makes it all real."

"So you don't know if you're actually pregnant?"

Rarity stared at Fluttershy for a moment. "What are you getting at?"

"Well, that night you, um..." Fluttershy gulped. "The night you and Spike had sex wasn't that long ago. I don't think you'd be showing symptoms so soon, right? I mean, it hasn't even been a month."

Rarity opened her mouth. "I, then, the nausea and the stress, was it all just--"

"Hmm, see Fluttershy, that would be true, if we were just dealing with ponies," Discord interjected, raising a talon. "But last time I checked, Spike's not exactly a pony, now is he? And before you ask, no, I don't know how long that icky process takes for dragons. Not that those rules would apply, since Rarity here's no dragon. No precedent here," he said gleefully as he clapped his hands together. "Oh, I'd love to watch the taxonomists try and classify you," he whispered to Rarity's belly before receiving a smack across the nose from her and another smack on his back from Fluttershy. "Er, yes, well then, I suppose congratulations are in order. That is how you ponies do this kind of thing, right?"

"Does Spike know?" Fluttershy asked.

Rarity slowly shook her head. "I haven't told him. I've been trying to avoid discussing that night entirely. Part of me has been hoping that if I pretend nothing's happened, then nothing between us will change and everything will return to normal." She smiled ruefully as her front hoof lowered to her stomach. "It's silly, completely fantastic, I know, but I'm afraid. I don't know how he'll react. I mean, he's still so young. What if he decides he wants nothing to do with me? I, I don't want to lose Spike."

"That doesn't sound like Spike at all. He wouldn't do that," Fluttershy insisted. "He'd never abandon any of us. He's our friend, remember?"

"Yes, I know, I know, but what if this is what ruins our friendship? It certainly won't stay the same."

"But that's not necessarily bad," Fluttershy asserted. "I really think you should tell Spike, and not just about the baby. I think he should know you feel this way."

"I, maybe," Rarity conceded. She blew her nose with a tissue, then smiled at her friend. "I'll try. Thank you Fluttershy, you're a wonderful friend."

Fluttershy draped a wing over the unicorn and drew close. "Oh, I'm nothing special. I just try to be a good listener."

"And you'll keep this all secret?"

"If you want us to." Fluttershy looked up at the draconequus leaning over them. "Right, Discord?"

"What, and not capitalize on this wonderfully juicy piece of gossip?" Discord folded his arms over his chest and pouted

"Discord," Fluttershy began, edge in her tone.

"Fine, fine." Discord threw his arms into the arm. "I promise not to tell. There, or do you need me to cross my heart?" He threw his head back and spat out the beating organ onto the floor. Rarity nearly fainted as the organ bounced next to her leg.

"No, that's fine," Fluttershy said, turning green. "Your word's enough, please put that back."

"Oh, good." Discord picked up the heart and swallowed it while. "Well, I supposed I'd better be going," he said, jumping to his feet. He clapped his hands together, and the couch disappeared, leaving the two mares back in their own seats around the table. "Now, I'm not saying I'm expecting an invite to the baby shower, but..." He coughed and lifted a flashing neon sign that read INVITE ME. "We should do this more often ladies. Toddles!" And with that, the draconequus vanished. The mess floor became clean and the table cleared itself.

Rarity got up from her seat. "I should probably get going as well. I've taken enough of your time already."

"You sure you'll be okay?" Fluttershy asked. "If you need somepony to talk to, I'm here."

"I'll remember that. Thank you for everything."

They embraced, then Rarity left the cottage. She made her way through Ponyville and returned to her boutique, heading straight to her workroom. She opened her sketchbook and once again reviewed her designs for Spike's suit. Once again, Rarity reached the end and found the sketches of handsome stallions.

She stared at the lifeless figures, then, one by one, began to tear the pages out and toss them away, all except one. She found a new stick of charcoal and began a new sketch, glancing every now and then at the old drawing.

All through the night, light could be seen coming from Rarity's workroom. The scratches of charcoal against paper were replaced by the snips of scissors and the hum of a sewing machine.