//------------------------------// // Secrets // Story: Secrets and Lies, Love and Heartbreak // by DJ Variety //------------------------------// Carousel Boutique, home of Rarity. From the outside the building sat quietly as it always did but its stillness did not accurately reflect the feeling on the inside. Rarity was growing anxious, not from nervousness or excitement but rather curiosity. Time was pushing close to ten meaning Rarity had been up waiting for almost five hours at this point. Normally the fashionista would have only been up a couple hours at max but on this particular day her sleep had been cut short. Before Celestia even had the chance to raise the sun for the day Rarity had been awoken by a constant knocking coming from her bedroom window. At first the knocking had merged with her dream of a chivalrous prince coming to pronounce his love for her. After having slain the dragon and battling Rarity's seven evil ex's he had finally arrived to take her hoof in marriage, despite the bitter hatred their families had for each other. However, as Rarity opened the door to her prince the knocking still remained and grew louder and more impatient. It hadn't taken much longer for the knocking to turn into full on banging. Once Rarity had finally snapped out of her fantasy she had approached the window. Upon opening it she was greeted by a frazzled Rainbow Dash. Initially Rarity was mildly upset and was prepared to give a stern talking to the inconsiderate pegasus before her. Several points of decency had to be addressed; making a loud ruckus, waking some pony up so early, not using the front door. All valid points but before she was even given the chance to begin her lecture Rainbow Dash shoved her hoof into Rarity's mouth. After apologizing for waking her up Rainbow Dash proceeded to give Rarity a letter before blasting away into the pre morning sky while saying that she'd be seeing her soon. Since the morning's events Rarity had read the letter over once or twice and was left completely confused. Hey Rarity, it's Rainbow Dash, I'm gonna visit you today around 10. There is something I want to tell you but you've got to promise you won't tell any pony. Alright, cool, see you soon. Rainbow Dash It wasn't really the contents of the letter itself that left Rarity confused but rather the fact that nothing in it seemed urgent enough to warrant such an early morning delivery. Furthermore, why did Rainbow leave a letter, why not just tell her that she was planning on coming over later that day? And why had Dash looked so shaken? Almost like she was scared or nervous. Whatever the reason Rarity knew it couldn't be too critical, after all they weren't meeting till ten and Rarity was given the letter five hours before then. As time ticked by Rarity was growing more and more impatient. She was just dying to know what the big reveal was going to be. For the briefest of moments Rarity allowed her imagination run wild with what news Rainbow Dash would be bringing to her. Perhaps Rainbow had met a gentlecolt and was looking for dating tips, or maybe she had fallen in love with Rarity herself and was coming to pronounce her love. Had she gotten mixed in with the wrong crowd and was being framed for a murder she didn't commit and had come for Rarity's help at proving her innocence. Several other ridiculous thoughts ran through Rarity's brain before being cut off by the sound of knocking on her front door. "Rainbow Dash, dear, if that's you just come in. I've been waiting for what feels like forever." Rarity yelled out as she trotted towards her door. As Rarity approached the door opened and the before mentioned cyan pony came creeping in, glancing behind her shoulder before closing the door. "I am most interested to hear what it is you have to tell me. Please say you were walking down the road and a pair of shoes fell on your head and you got arrested and now you've got to go dig some holes until you carry me up a mountain to lift your family's curse and find some buried treasure." "Uhh.. What? Rarity, I think you've been spending too much time with Pinkie Pie," said Rainbow Dash very confused. "You seem a little hyper and no offense but rude." "Oh, yes, well," Rarity chuckled, "I have had a lot of coffee since you woke me this morning and my creative juices have been on the fritz of late as it were. I do apologize, would you like something to drink?" asked Rarity as the two made their way towards the living area of Carousel Boutique. "No, I'm okay," replied Rainbow Dash as she took a seat on the couch. "Okay Dash just as we practiced you can do this," she whispered to herself. "I'm sorry what was that?" asked Rarity as she sat herself across from her rainbow maned friend. "Make me feel beautiful!" announced Rainbow Dash. The room fell silent as Rarity stared, mouth open in shock at Dash who wore a face of determination. The determined look in Dash's eyes did not stay however as the silence started to grow awkward. "Please say something Rarity," added Rainbow Dash as a slight hint of panic hit her. "Darling, whatever do you mean?" asked Rarity puzzled. "You are beautiful, have you seen your mane? What has gotten into you, did something happen?" "You misunderstand Rares." Rainbow paused, thinking of how to word her next statement. "I know I'm not ugly or whatever but what I mean is do you think I could... model, for you?" There was another seemingly endless stretch of silence where Rarity stood there stunned. "You want to model?" slowly asked Rarity with doubt in her voice. "Not like in front of ponies but just for you. To be honest, I actually kind of enjoy wearing dresses," said Rainbow as she looked down at the ground clearly embarrassed by the statement she had just made. "There is nothing wrong with wanting to look your best Rainbow Dash. Seriously, every mare likes to look good. It's nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of," responded Rarity, trying to reassure her friend. "We can try on any dress or gown you'd like." "Awesome!' exclaimed Rainbow Dash, "but you've got to promise that this'll stay between the two of use, okay?' "Promise," replied Rarity. "Pinkie promise?" added Dash, to which Rarity just rolled her eyes. "Yes yes Rainbow Dash I Pinkie promise. Flying and cupcakes in the eye and all that," said Rarity. "So shall we get started?" "OH Yeah! This is going to be so awesome," squealed Rainbow Dash to which Rarity smiled and giggled at her friend's crackling voice. Out of all the crazy possibilities that had ran through Rarity's mind earlier about what she'd learn from Rainbow, finding out that her athletic friend enjoyed dressing up was by far the least expected.