Rarity walked into the mall and headed to the designated rendezvous spot that she had arranged with the girls she wanted to talk to. Coming up on the large display in the main intersection of the mall she spotted the couple sitting on a bench waiting for her.
“Lyra, Bon-Bon. Hope I haven't kept you waiting for too long.” She greeted them.
“We only just got here. How have you been?” Lyra said, standing to give Rarity a brief hug.
“I'm fine darling. Why don't we walk about a little and browse some of the shops.” She offered.
The three set off to explore the variety of stores in the mall with Rarity helping the other two with some fashion choices.
After some time and a few purchases the trio made their way to the food court for a snack. Sitting around a table with the items they had bought safely stashed underneath they got down to why they had met up.
“So I wanted to talk to you girls about something that came up recently for me. As you two have some experience in it, I felt that you would best be able to advise me.” Rarity stated, her voice filled with trepidation.
“Some romance trouble? Never thought you'd be someone in need of that kind of advice.” Lyra said.
“Yeah, you've always seemed to know what you're talking about when it comes to that. Practically every girl who needs suggestions for a date or help with outfit choice goes to you first.” Bon-Bon agreed.
“My mind is a tad to confused to think straight right now.” Rarity sighed.
“Well, just start at the start. What exactly has you confused?” The minty teen asked.
“To put it simply it's about a girl. I've come to realize I might have feelings for her and it's really jumbling my thoughts.” The purple haired teen confessed.
“A girl huh? Do you think that your internal conflict is related to your sexuality” Bob-Bon offered.
“I don't think so. I, ummm, did some research and I still find mainly guys attractive so it's more of this one girl is an exception.” Rarity explained.
“We're going to need a bit more information.” Lyra stated while taking a drink of her milkshake.
“Well, I've known her for a while, but an incident a couple of days ago shifted how I viewed her. She had asked me to swing by in the morning to wake her up as we had plans later on in the day. What I didn't know was that she has a tendency to sleep in the nude.” Recounted the young fashionista, a blush forming on her cheeks.
“Oh. That can certainly kickstart some things. You should be certain that this isn't just a physical attraction for you.” The other teen said with a firm resolve.
“Well as I previously stated it's only her that I feel an attraction towards in regards to women. We were already good friends and get along quite easily.” Rarity replied.
“Good friends don't always equate to good partners. Though it can be a good start.” Bon-Bon stated.
“I think I don't have much advice to give you. There is someone else who would probably be a better choice. You should talk with Octavia and Vinyl. I will pass along something my parents told me when they met Bon-Bon. We're at the age when we are supposed to be figuring this stuff out. Making mistakes, learning from them, and even seeing what our sexuality is. We are only young once.” Lyra said, nodding her head in an attempt to appear wise.
“Okay darling. If you feel that they would have a better grasp of my situation I'll talk with them.” Rarity said.
They finished their snacks and went back to browsing the mall again.
A couple of days later at school Rarity met up with Octavia and Vinyl. They sat in front of the school enjoying the warm sunny day. Octavia sat next to Vinyl who was listening to music as usual.
"So Lyra gave me a brief summation of your problem. Something with a girl you know caused you to change the way you see her from being a friend to something more. You still like guys only with her being an exception, and you have no idea what to do about any of it." The cellist stated.
"Pretty much." Rarity said.
"I would suggest waiting for a bit, just give your feelings a chance to either set or clear up. These things can get quite confusing when you try to deal with them right after they crop up. It took me weeks to be able to think straight once I realized how I felt about Vinyl." Octavia said, a small smile on her face as she glanced at her DJ paramour.
Vinyl nodded her head, whether to the beat or in agreement is debatable.
"Actually, maybe hearing about us might help you out. When I first met Vinyl I didn't have all that good impression of her. She was blaring out her music and it bothered me since at that point it was just noise to me. Shortly after she scared off a couple of bullies and we became friends.
"We had our differences but got along very well. Then one day I got very sick and she came by after school to check up on me and drop off notes she had taken in class as well as homework. She stuck around for hours and ended up having to eat at my house. I was still sick that weekend, which a concert I was looking forward to was being held on. So Vinyl spent the day with me playing nursemaid. That afternoon I took a nap and when I woke up she had transformed my room into a private concert hall.
"At first I thought she was going to do her DJ thing and play her dubstep techno stuff but instead it was a variety of stuff from my favourite composers. Her actions really stuck with me. It changed how I saw her and threw my feelings into chaos. Once I had everything sorted out I dropped little hints about how I felt.
"One evening I was backstage at one of her shows. She finished her set and the crowd was very much into it and then she came over to me, hugged me and being so caught up in the atmosphere of everything I just kissed her. We spent some time in that spot before gathering up her stuff and heading home." Octavia sighed in happy remembrance and placed her hand over Vinyl's.
Vinyl shifted her hand so their fingers interlaced. One of the male students walked by, drawing a quick glance from both Rarity and Octavia.
"Course I do still find guys attractive, and on occasion another woman. Hard not to check out a girl like yourself who knows how to flaunt what she's got and still be classy, but Vinyl's the one for me."
"I see." Rarity replied, blushing at Octavia's confession. "Giving my feelings some time to sort themselves out does seem like a good idea. Though I should probably have a plan just in case they turn into something more tangible."
"Being direct about your feelings for her is likely the easiest route." Octavia stated.
"I want to be swept off my feet, not do the sweeping." Rarity said.
"Plenty of little tricks you can do to let her figure out your feelings and act on them. Probably best to start out finding out what she wants out of a relationship and if she wants to be romanced or do the romancing." The refined teen remarked.
Vinyl smirked at the conversation the two classy girls were having, nodding or shaking her head at some of the ideas being presented.
Eventually the bell rang signalling them all to head to class.
A couple weeks later the girls all met up at Sunset's apartment for a sleepover. They had moved the couch back, though not before snatching the cushions from it, as well as their host's mattress and all the pillows to build a large lounge for them to lay about on.
Rarity had brought a magazine with her as part of a plan. She wanted to know what Sunset would like in a partner. The magazine talked about such things. Her plan did require them to all start talking about it, though finding an opportunity for such would be difficult on her own.
Though there is a way to do it without any effort on her part. Get Pinkie Pie interested in the topic.
In order to get that to happen, Rarity sat slightly to one side while reading her magazine. Slowly reading through it, hmm'ing at appropriate points. When she got to the part of it she needed to she gave a quiet 'oh' and a small titter at the article.
She wasn't surprised when her periphery was filled with pink.
"Ooooh, what'cha reading Rares?" Pinkie asked.
"Just a lovely little article about what attributes you should look for in a potential suitor." She replied, handing her bubbly friend the magazine.
"I know what I want. A nice guy who knows how to laugh and make others laugh. Who can keep up with me at a party and help me throw the best ones ever." The pink girl started, not stopping as her friends began to tune her out.
"The only way I'd consider someone if they could keep up with my awesomeness and is always there to cheer me on." Rainbow said, jumping up and striking a pose.
Applejack nudged her so she fell back on her butt before saying "Ah'd want an honest man. He has to be willing to help out on the farm, and eventually give me some little apples to raise."
"Oh, um. For me, I'd like someone who knows what they want in life and dedicated to it. Brave, loyal to those they care about and wanting to help out whenever I need it." Fluttershy quietly stated, hiding behind her hair and glancing about the room quickly.
That her eyes kept glancing at a spot occupied by a certain rainbow-coloured hair girl was only noticed by one bouncing pink girl. Though she already knew which of her friends like which other ones.
"I'm waiting for a prince-like person, even just someone who was noble or just high-class, to come-along to romance me before sweeping this fair maiden off her feet." Rarity remarked, pretending to swoon at her potential lover.
The girls all looked over at Sunset, who had been taking in the antics of her friends with mirth.
"It's been a long time since I've given any real thought about dating. Wasn't really that interested in Flash other than using him to boost my own popularity. Still feel a bit bad about that." She started, noting that all her friends were waiting for her to continue.
"They would need to be able to take care of themselves and not totally dependent on me. Be supportive when weirdness creeps up into our lives, and most definitely they have to be caring and intelligent." Sunset finished.
As the girls returned to their previous activities, though with Fluttershy still hiding in her hair stealing the occasional glance at Rainbow. Rarity mentally marked down what Sunset was looking for.
Once they got dinner ready and were sitting around eating the topic of the upcoming friendship games came up.
"Still surprised at how fierce everyone is getting over a supposedly friendly competition. I do get the competitiveness, though I guess the schools back in Equestria worked a bit differently. Although thinking on it, sports aren't as big over there as here so that might be a part of it." Sunset stated.
"Well, as long as we all compete and give it our all we have a chance at winning. I'll easily win any physical contest. However, no sports in Equestria? Kinda makes me feel sorry for them." Rainbow Dash said.
"Didn't say there were no sports. They just don't has the same fanatical following they seem to have over here." Sunset retorted.
The girls kept talking over dinner and when finished got changed into pajamas. They then turned the lights low and watched movies and chatted about other things until they went to bed.