Rarity stirred awake from her nap with a contented sigh. Rainbow’s lap made for a surprisingly soft pillow, and she almost didn’t want to get up. But a cursory glance at the sky told her it was well into the evening, and she wanted to reunite with Twilight and the others as soon as possible.
“Hey,” Rainbow whispered, gently running her fingers through Rarity’s mane. She had a surprisingly delicate touch that made Rarity coo and purr. “Feelin’ better?”
“A little,” Rarity sighed and sat up, stretching her limbs. “Thanks to you.”
“I’m really glad to hear that,” Rainbow said with a tender smile, before quickly bolting to her hooves with a look of deathly palor. “I’m also glad yer awake, cuz my legs fell asleep like a year ago!”
“I’m sorry,” Rarity giggled as she watched Rainbow kicks her legs awake.
“No problem!” Rainbow scoffed, because of course. Honestly it was silly of Rarity to apologize. Rainbow had her back no matter what, and even if there was nothing else Rarity could be confident in, she was absolutely certain of that.
“How are you feeling?” Rarity asked, taking Rainbow’s hands in hers and looking over Rainbow’s shoulder, so as not to make her uncomfortable with direct eye contact. “I know I’m not the only one who went through… a lot today.”
“I’m exhausted,” Rainbow chuckled. “All I wanna do right now is get Applejack’s arms around me.”
“Ditto, but with Twilight,” Rarity sighed.
“Well then,” Rainbow beamed, “what’re we waitin’ for?”
At this time of the night, it wasn’t difficult to locate the rest of the girls; they were in the inn lounge, eating and drinking together around a large coffee table and sitting in several plush chairs. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike were all there, but Rarity’s eyes went immediately to Twilight Sparkle.
Rarity would make time for Fluttershy of course, and the rest of her friends too for that matter, but after everything she had been through today, she needed Twilight.
Fluttershy was the first to notice the pair approaching, naturally, and she pointed in their direction. The whole room lit up as the three other women and Spike saw Rarity and Rainbow, and affection washed over her heart that the first emotion the girls reacted with was joy, despite the utter travesty of Rarity and Rainbow’s physical conditions.
“Alright,” Applejack said as she stood up, holding her arms open, “who am I huggin’ first?”
“Meeee, bitch!” Rainbow cooed as she ran to Applejack and leapt off the ground into the towering mare’s arms, Applejack holding her tight.
Rarity immediately turned her attention to Twilight, who got up and walked over to Rarity while Rainbow said hi to everyone else.
As Twilight approached, Rarity couldn’t help but notice the exhaustion written all over her face. She may not have looked as physically agonized as Rarity, but it was easy for her marefriend to tell that she had not been having a good day.
“Hey, beautiful,” Rarity attempted to flirt, and it probably would have gone over better if her face wasn’t still stained by smeared makeup and blood.
“Hey,” Twilight said, and then the two spoke in unison.
“You don’t look so good.”
The echo made both women laugh, and Rarity couldn’t wait any longer to put her hands on Twilight’s body, so she gently grabbed the dragon’s shoulders and pulled her in for a tender kiss.
“There’s a lot to talk about,” Rarity sighed, brushing back Twilight’s bangs. It felt good to be home. "A lot can happen in one day."
“Yeah,” Twilight nodded. "A lot can happen."
“But it can wait.”
“Yes.”
“Alright, who’s ready for a welcome home party!” Pinkie clamored, jumping up on the table and screeching enthusiastically.
“I’m sorry, Pinkie, but I’m afraid I’ll need to pass,” Rarity said. “Tonight I just want to get some rest.”
“Yeah, same,” Twilight said, squeezing Rarity’s hand and smiling at her.
“Yo, I’m down for a party though,” Rainbow said, perched atop Applejack’s shoulder.
“Yes!” Pinkie pumped her fists, and then smiled at Twilight and Rarity. “You two get plenty of rest so that you have plenty of energy for parties later, okay?”
“Okay,” Rarity nodded.
“We promise,” Twilight chuckled.
“Pinkie Promise,” Rarity added, tapping her fist up toward her eye, Pinkie nodding effusively in response.
Rarity followed Twilight away from the others toward the stairwell, but a barely audible squeak stopped them in their tracks, and they turned to see Fluttershy had followed them.
“Darling?” Rarity asked, and then felt like an absolute buffoon for forgetting to say hello to her. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, my head’s been—”
“It’s okay,” Fluttershy smiled. “We have plenty of time, and I understand that at the moment you need some time alone with Twilight. I just want you to know that I’m here for you too if you need me.”
“I appreciate that so very much,” Rarity bowed her head and walked over to give Fluttershy a kiss, and she was slightly bowled over by how passionate Fluttershy’s kisses were, Rarity even lifting her hoof off the ground.
“So Twilight,” Fluttershy walked over to Twilight and took her by the hand, grinning coyly, “make sure you treat my girl right, okay?”
“You don’t have to worry about that, Fluttershy,” Twilight chuckled, and she kissed Fluttershy’s lips, much to Rarity’s pleasant surprise.
“Well look at this,” Rarity said, “you two have certainly been busy since I left, haven’t you?”
“No, we haven’t gotten busy,” Twilight said matter-of-factly, “we’ve just kissed a little, that’s all.”
“Twilight I love you so much, you dense nerd,” Rarity rolled her eyes as her heart became awash with affection once again. “Don’t ever change.”
Rarity collapsed into the bed. This felt familiar, this sense of time slipping away like it wasn’t even real. It was just like the first time Rarity had met Rain Shine, and she was slowly starting to be forced to wrestle with the truth about dragons and such.
Twilight lied down next to her, hands folded over her chest. Even exhausted, she was still so cute. Rarity wanted to brush back her bangs, but she couldn’t bear to lift her arms.
“What’s wrong?” Rarity asked instead, wanting to at least understand what was causing the weariness in her lover’s eyes.
“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Twilight muttered, “especially when I can see that you’re struggling with something heavy right now too.”
“Then you know exactly how I feel,” Rarity laughed humorlessly.
“Ah,” Twilight chuckled awkwardly. “I guess we’re both pretty messed up, huh?”
“I’m afraid so,” Rarity sighed and took Twilight’s hand in hers. “You don’t have to tell me anything right now, and I don’t have to tell you, but we both know that when the other is ready, they’ll have a pair of eager ears just waiting for them.”
“That’s right,” Twilight sat up, Rarity groaning as she followed suit. Twilight took Rarity’s hands and gently kissed them. “One of these days we’ll learn how to properly process and communicate our trauma.”
“One day,” Rarity nodded, with a sincere smile on her face. “And when that day comes, we’ll take that step together.”