The meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Cake went off without a hitch. Rarity explained to them how she was going to scope out the perimeter of the Everfree Forest first thing in the morning, then she would make her plan of attack, with Rarity stating confidently that she would have the town’s timberwolf problem eliminated within no more than two days at most.
While the Cakes were kind enough to offer Rarity and Pinkie free lodging at their place, and Rarity was genuinely moved by their offer, she turned them down as she preferred the privacy and peace-of-mind that an inn could provide that simply wouldn’t be available if she were sleeping in someone else’s home.
And so, Rarity and Pinkie Pie made it to the inn, and Rarity finally was able to lay her head down and rest, though she quite quickly realized that she couldn’t sleep.
She just—she needed to check her gear, to make sure everything was in order, or go over the plan in her head one more time to make sure she didn’t miss any details.
She had made a rather lofty promise to deal with the beasts in only two days— or had she? Timberwolves were only a C-Rank monster after all, so two days was probably more time than she needed.
But how could she be sure? Better go over the plan one more ti—
“Rarity?”
“Uh, yes, darling?” Rarity replied nervously to Pinkie’s quiet voice, her cheeks heating up as she briefly indulged the thought that she must have woken Pinkie up.
Pinkie yawned groggily and sat up, looking across the small room at Rarity with a knowing smile on her face.
“Go to sleep, silly.”
“I will,” Rarity said. “I am.”
“You can’t sleep with all those weapons on your bed.”
Rarity looked down at the veritable arsenal lying on her sheet and released a nervous giggle.
“I suppose,” she tugged at the collar of her shirt and prayed that her cheeks weren’t glowing in the dark, “you may be right.”
Rarity breathed in deeply and gently took the weapons off her bed, laying them on the floor or inside the cabinet of the night stand; except for her hand-axe, which always laid right on the stand beside her, so she could grab it at a moment’s notice in case of an emergency.
It wasn’t until she was finished clearing off the bed that she realized Pinkie was still staring at her.
“Darling? Is everything alright?” Rarity sat on the edge of her bed, legs dangling off and anxiously fretting with the hem of her nightshirt. “I’m sorry, I hadn’t meant to wake you.”
“Oh, you didn’t wake me,” Pinkie laughed. “You’re just not the only one having trouble sleeping, is all.”
“Is something that matter?”
Something in Pinkie’s voice raised an alarm inside of Rarity; she didn’t need to ask if something was wrong, she knew that it was, it was just a matter of whether Pinkie wanted to share, and there was no sense in charging at the situation like a rampaging bull.
“N-no, it’s okay,” Pinkie pulled her blanket up to hide her face, “I don’t want to bother you.”
Pinkie pulled the blanket back down, gripping it tightly, and her entire posture seized up like she was trying to retreat into herself. “I’m sorry, saying that probably made things worse, huh?”
Rarity knew exactly what she needed to do. She walked over to Pinkie’s bed and sat on the side of it, gently placing her hand atop Pinkie’s, “You are never a bother, Pinkie Pie dear.”
“I’m not?” Pinkie’s genuinely confused tone threatened to break Rarity’s heart clean in half.
“Of course not,” Rarity traced her thumb across Pinkie’s cheek to wipe away a tear. “Now please, tell me what’s the matter?”
Pinkie Pie sidled up next to Rarity, kicking her feet off the bed and wrapping her arms snuggly around Rarity’s stomach, her cheek smushed up against Rarity’s side.
“I’m worried about Applejack.”
“Applejack?” Rarity said, her ears flicking up. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Nothing,” Pinkie’s shake of her head tickled Rarity’s side and she stifled a laugh by biting her lip and placing her hand atop Pinkie’s head and running her fingers through her curly mane. “It’s what’s wrong with me that’s the problem.”
“Oh, I’m certain nothing’s genuinely wrong with you, sweetheart,” Rarity slid her hand over to Pinkie’s shoulder and pulled the Pinkie in closer to her, gently embracing her with both arms as Pinkie shuffled her legs under her and pressed herself against Rarity for comfort. “So, what is it that you think is ‘wrong’ with you, exactly?”
“Applejack’s really stressed,” Pinkie said, breathing heavily between her words as she tried not to burst into tears, “cuz y’know, our business isn’t doing too great. We thought starting up a shop together would be really fun and smart, cuz she’s amazing at making things and I’m an okay enchantress, but running a business is hard!
“Applejack’s always so stressed all the time cuz she has to make sure we’re making enough money, and we never are, and she needs to make sure everything runs smoothly and everyone’s doing their part, plus she actually makes the things and I just—I dunno what to do!
“I just keep thinking that it’s my fault, cuz none of the other smiths in town like us, because of me! They all say I’m too chatty and that customers don’t want conversation when they come to a smith, they want weapons, and maybe they’re right!”
And there were the waterworks.
Pinkie moaned and wheezed tearfully into Rarity’s chest while Rarity just held her quietly, massaging her shoulders or running her hands through Pinkie’s hair. Rarity had a lot to say, a lot of worries to dispel and arguments to make, but that’s not what Pinkie needed right now; what she needed now was someone to cry on, and Rarity was more than happy to provide the service.
Pinkie took some deep breaths and Rarity held onto her cheeks, Pinkie’s hands trembling atop Rarity’s. One more deep breath, in through the nose… and out through the mouth, and Pinkie was done crying.
“I’m sorr—”
“Don’t apologize to me,” Rarity placed a finger upon Pinkie’s lips. Rarity’s other hand felt a little simmer on Pinkie’s cheek as she nodded her head bashfully. “Now, how much of that stuff you just told me do you honestly think is true?”
“I dunno,” Pinkie shrugged, “some? I know I worry over nothing a lot, and Applejack hasn’t said anything to me about anything, but maybe that’s because she’s mad but she doesn’t want to start a conflict?!”
“I don’t think so, darling,” Rarity smiled and caressed Pinkie’s cheek with her thumb, “you and I both know Applejack can’t keep her feelings to herself, even if she tries to.”
“Yeah,” Pinkie’s little snorting giggle was music to Rarity’s ears, “you’re right. And I know— at least I think—that we’re breaking even, but we aren’t making any money—”
“You’ve only had the shop for about nine months, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity said. “It can take years for a new business to turn a profit—believe me, I know—but that doesn’t mean you’re doing poorly.”
“I know,” Pinkie said distantly, “but opening this shop was a gamble, and I was so sure at the time that it’d be a good idea, but Applejack’s so stressed out and I just want her to be happy.”
“Hey,” Rarity pinched Pinkie’s cheeks before letting her hands fall to her friend’s shoulders.
Pinkie looked up into Rarity’s eyes, the poor dear’s watery eyes pleading for some measure of assurance that everything would be okay.
“It’s okay to be scared,” Rarity said, “but don’t let that fear make you forget that you are surrounded by people that love you and that care about you. Me, your family, the Apple family, especially Applejack. And let me tell you, if you heard half the stories the folks at the Slayer’s Guild tell about you and Applejack, you’d have an ego the size of Mount Everhoof.”
“Wh—really?” Pinkie’s eyes glistened with hope, and Rarity giggled as she placed her forehead against Pinkie’s.
“Really,” Rarity whispered, a gentle smile on her face. “Everyone at the Guild knows that the Apple Pie Smithery is the greatest forge in Equestria, and I’ve never heard anypony say an unkind word about the positively delightful family that runs it.”
Rarity pressed her cheek up against Pinkie’s and glanced side to side, placing a hand at the side of her mouth and whispering, “And just between you and me, I think the family who runs the place are absolute darlings! But don’t tell ‘em I said that!”
Pinkie erupted into a fit of giggles and threw her arms around Rarity again, Rarity hugging Pinkie in return and softly laying her head atop Pinkie’s.
“Thank you, Rarity.”
“It’s my pleasure, sweetheart.”
“I guess what I’m really worried about,” Pinkie sidled away from Rarity and twiddled her fingers, “is that all this extra stress will make Applejack mad at me, that she’ll start hating me over this.”
Rarity opened her mouth to speak but Pinkie quickly raised a finger to cut her off.
“And I know that isn’t gonna happen,” Pinkie said, “but I don’t always know, y’know?”
“I do,” Rarity said coldly, pinching and rubbing her fingers over a bit of her nightshirt.
Rarity breathed in deeply and let out a soft sigh that masked the weight with which she took it, and she took Pinkie’s hand in hers.
“You don’t think,” Pinkie said hesitantly, “that Applejack will hate me?”
“Absolutely not,” Rarity gently caressed Pinkie’s hand.
“I’m still scared,” Pinkie whimpered.
“And that’s okay,” Rarity said. “Do you need a big spoon tonight?”
Pinkie Pie nodded effusively, and Rarity chuckled before planting a tiny kiss on the mare’s forehead and grabbing the blanket off her own bed. It was winter, after all, no sense in letting the extra blanket go to waste.
Pinkie was already sound asleep, her snoring like a tiny saw cutting through a tree branch and it forced Rarity to stifle a laugh to prevent waking the cutie pie up. She gently laid down in the bed behind Pinkie, who instinctively snuggled up into Rarity’s embrace, and neither Rarity nor Pinkie Pie found any trouble sleeping after that.