~✩~ Chapter 1 ~✩~
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~✩~ A Warm Welcome ~✩~
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Twilight carefully adjusted the painting held in her magic grasp before letting go. She couldn't help but feel a little unnerved by the portrait of the pony standing behind her. Despite its simple appearance, something about the way its eyes stared at her made it feel like they were digging into her very being. Trying her best to ignore the feeling, she instead turned her eyes back toward the owner of the new mansion.
“Alright, what's next on the list, Miss Rose?” asked Twilight with a friendly smile.
The mare waved a hoof with a little chuckle. “Oh, no need to be so formal with me, dear. You may call me Scarlet Rose, or simply Scarlet.”
Twilight could only giggle in response. Despite the classic gothic style dress and her dark gray mane done up in a fancy style, the new addition to Ponyville certainly was friendly. “Alright, Scarlet, anything else you need me to take care of?”
Scarlet tapped a white hoof on the floor in thought. “Well, we appear to be all finished up in here. Why don't we go see how your lovely friends are doing in the sitting room?”
Twilight gave one more glance around the bedroom she and Scarlet were currently standing in, one of many in the home she still felt was far too large for a single pony to live in. Her eyes wandered back up to the painting, but pulled away again. At least it fit in with the rest of slightly off-putting decor.
She took a breath and gave Scarlet a renewed smile. “I'm sure with those two working together, they're probably almost done as well.”
“Well, you three kind young mares have been working much faster than I ever could have on my own, so that wouldn't be a surprise,” mused Scarlet who turned to lead the way back through the maze of hallways at a slow canter. “Speaking of which, I must thank you again. I didn't expect such kindness to be shown to a complete stranger like myself. It was easy to write off that pink one's gift of pie yesterday as an outlier.”
Twilight chuckled. “Well, that's kind of a Pinkie Pie thing, but Ponyville is a surprisingly welcoming place, at least when compared to places like Canterlot or Manehattan.”
Twilight kept her attention forward to memorize each turn it took to return to the stairs leading back down to the home's first floor. The home's layout when combined with the dark blacks and purples of the wallpaper made the place feel surprisingly foreboding while the curtains were closed despite the comforting nature of its owner. She tried to hide her discomfort of the dim light and remain polite, but relief came over her once they reached the stairs and the home opened up more.
Peering over the railing, she could spot Rarity and Fluttershy putting the last few adjustments on a set of dark purple curtains. “Well, looks like we were right.”
Scarlet chuckled once more upon entering the sitting room, prompting the two others to turn and look her way. Rarity stepped forward while Fluttershy remained in the air to continue the last few adjustments of the curtain rod.
“Oh, there you are, Miss Rose. We should be all finished up in here, and I must say, I absolutely love your taste in decor. I have always had a soft spot for the gothic look, but so few are able to pull it off so fabulously,” Rarity gushed while wandering the perfectly organized room, seemingly to ensure every last piece was in the proper place.
“Why thank you, dear. I must say you're pretty fabulous yourself for all of this help! It is far and beyond what I would have ever expected when I asked you to design a few things for me,” replied Scarlet in the same refined tone she had been taking the whole afternoon.
Rarity chuckled much the same as the lady of the house. “Well, I will confess we only came to install the curtains for you like you asked, but once Twilight saw how much unpacking you had left to do, she mentioned she would like to help and I just had to agree. If you wish to thank anypony here, it should be her.”
Twilight's cheeks turned a soft shade of pink at the mention of her name. “Well, I figured it would take a long time for just one pony to furnish so many rooms all by herself, and with how stressful moving can be, it would be better if it could be taken care of more efficiently.”
“Well, no matter the reason or the pony, I am very thankful,” insisted Scarlet with a nod of her head.
“Of course, of course. It seems we're all finished up with everything, but is there any last thing you might need our assistance with?” asked Rarity with a polite smile.
Scarlet remained quiet for a moment before turning her eyes to Fluttershy, who nervously shrunk away from her gaze. “There actually is one final thing I need. Could I borrow your friend for just a moment? Having somepony with wings would be very useful, and I wouldn't dare to ask a princess to squeeze into my crawl space.”
Fluttershy shrank back a little bit more, using her mane to hide her face. “Uhm, if it's not too dark, I suppose I can.”
Scarlet brightened from the response, though allowed Fluttershy to approach at a slow pace she was comfortable with. “Wonderful! It's just right this way, my dear. It shouldn't take longer than a few minutes.”
Fluttershy hesitated, but eventually began to follow behind Scarlet without any more words. Twilight watched the pair until they disappeared up the stairs, at which point she turned her head to put her eyes on Rarity. “Scarlet Rose seems friendly, but doesn't this home give you the chills?”
Rarity looked back, a light sense of confusion held in her eyes. “Whatever do you mean, darling? Sure, this home's design and style would belong more in a place like Hollow Shades or some such, but you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. You of all ponies should understand that, Twilight.”
Twilight sighed, rubbing the side of her head with a hoof. “Yes, you're right. It's probably just a little exhaustion getting to me. We've been helping her put things away for five hours now, after all.”
“I am definitely feeling that as well, darling. Would you like to join me when I go to the spa after all of this is over? I'll pay for hooficures,” offered Rarity with a calm smile.
Twilight's eyes lit up a little at the offer. “That sounds wonderful.”
The duo sat in a mostly comfortable silence once their plans were finalized. After what the nearest clock said was fifteen minutes, Scarlet returned with Fluttershy in tow. Fluttershy's mane looked a little ruffled and made Twilight wonder just how tight that crawl space was.
“Alright, that should just about do it. Thank you lovely mares so much again for the assistance. I look forward to getting to know the rest of the townsponies if they're all as kind as you three,” stated Scarlet with one more polite nod of her head.
Twilight offered a smile to her once the door was opened for them. “Well, I'll make sure to put in a good word. For now, we'll be out of your mane.”
Twilight cantered back outside with Rarity close behind. She almost moved down off the front porch, but glanced back when she noticed Fluttershy still standing where she had been. “Fluttershy?”
The mention of her name made Fluttershy snap out of whatever day dream she appeared to be lost in just enough for her to follow. “Oh, sorry.”
“Alright girls, off to the spa! I think we've earned a little pampering after all of that work. I am way too sweaty to continue on with the evening!” commanded Rarity who wasted no time taking the lead back into Ponyville proper.
* * *
“Alright darling, slow steps. Let's get you into bed,” Rarity instructed while she and Twilight helped Fluttershy hobble up the stairs of her cottage.
Fluttershy allowed her head to hang a little lower than normal, needing the support of her two friends just to stay on her hooves. “I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened. I just started feeling really dizzy.”
“I should have known using the steam room after working so hard was a bad idea. It's probably dehydration. We'll get you some water once you're in bed,” offered Twilight while opening the door to Fluttershy's bedroom with her magic.
Fluttershy allowed herself to be laid down in her bed and blankets pulled over her. “Oh, I hope you're right. I want to apologize to Aloe and Lotus for scaring them like that.”
Rarity ran her hoof through Fluttershy's mane. “You already did so at least fifty times, darling. Not to mention, I doubt you're the very first pony to have fainted in the sauna, some ponies overestimate how much they can take.”
“I'm sure you'll be back to top form after a little rest. Which reminds me, I'll be right back with that water,” stated Twilight before turning and cantering out of the room. She could hear simple conversation beginning while moving through the short hallway to the stairs back down. After being in that oversized mansion all afternoon, it was nice to move around a normal home.
Once in the kitchen, she flared up her horn to start searching the cupboards for a glass. Though she had been friends with Fluttershy for a few years by that point, it just began to strike her how little she actually had been in her home for an extended period of time. On her third try, she found the correct cupboard and hovered out one of the the three glasses inside, making a mental note to possibly get Fluttershy some more sometime.
With another flick of her magic, the glass was filled in no time and she started back for the stairs. She had to pause for just a moment when an impatient looking Angel Bunny climbed up onto the nearby counter, giving his little foot a stomp.
Though she knew she couldn't communicate with animals like Fluttershy could, Angel always seemed to at least get the gist of what other ponies were saying to him. “Hey, you're probably hungry, right? I'll get you something to eat in a little bit, okay? Fluttershy's not feeling well right now and I need to get this to her.”
Predictably, Angel made no effort to respond beyond an annoyed expression before climbing back down off the counter. Twilight paid him no more mind and climbed the stairs. Once at the top, she had to stop her rounding of the corner just a hair away from crashing into Rarity.
Rarity glanced back to the open bedroom door. “Oh my, sorry darling. I was just about to come tell you that Fluttershy fell asleep during a lull in the conversation, so make sure to stay quiet.”
Twilight gave a little nod and decided to simply levitate the glass over to the bedside table rather than actually enter inside. She closed the door as quietly as she could after and turned to head back the way she came. “I'm still worried for her, but at least she's getting some rest.”
“Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine. Between her work with all the animals here, everything we've done today and not to mention we did just get back from trudging through that awful desert trying to save those ponies from that Starlight Glimmer, she's probably just exhausted,” assured Rarity as she opened up Fluttershy's refrigerator with a wisp of blue magic to procure a carrot.
Twilight watched Rarity pass the carrot over to Angel who was once again on the counter to get their attention. “You're probably right. She just seemed so much like her usual self earlier that the sudden turn around surprised me.”
“She must have simply just not wanted us to worry. You know how she is.”
Twilight sighed and followed Rarity out of the cottage once everything appeared to be in order. “She doesn't want to feel like she'd be inconveniencing us, but we're her friends and want to help her if she needs it.”
Rarity gave a little nod of agreement. “Precisely, darling. What say you we come back here in a couple hours to check if she's awake again? We can pick up some sweets from Sugarcube Corner and give her a nice little surprise.”
Twilight couldn't help but crack a small smile in place of the worried frown she had been carrying. “That sounds like a wonderful idea. Besides, I was already thinking of coming back to give all of the animals their dinner so she doesn't have to. This way we can both help cheer her up and let her rest.”
“I couldn't have made a better plan myself! Though, I should probably hurry myself over to Sugarcube Corner before it closes if that setting sun is anything to go by. I'll see you back here soon!” Rarity gave Twilight a quick little hug before rushing off.
Twilight watched Rarity until she was out of sight behind the hills. She turned back to give one more look at Fluttershy's cottage before starting down the little cobblestone path herself. “Maybe I could bring a nice book over for her to read. I just wonder what kind of stories she likes.”
Her eyes traced up to the darkening sky as she trotted along, taking note of each star as they appeared the further Celestia dragged the sun down below the horizon. Maybe she should also make a detour to Sweet Apple Acres and ask Applejack if she has any advice on how to help with exhaustion.