IGOR

by mellon collie

I THINK

Rarity stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom, brushing her mane with a comb held in her magic. She had applied the lightest amount of blush to her cheeks and a little more eyeshadow than usual to bring out her eyes. Of course, she had to look the best she possibly could for Fluttershy, even if this was their millionth date. It was second nature at this point.

Once she was done brushing her hair, she examined her appearance. Her yellow dress was a little tighter than expected, though it showed off her figure nicely. The little details she had added earlier in a particularly driven session — cutting the neckline into a V-shape, putting a bow at the waist — were flourishes she felt necessary to make this dress as good as it could be. She was a perfectionist, after all.

Rarity levitated over a bottle of perfume, one scented to smell like dandelions, and lightly sprayed herself with it twice. It was just enough to make her smell nice, but not too much to make it overbearing. She put the bottle back in her cabinet before checking her mane again. This was the third time she had brushed her mane that evening. She kept finding the littlest errors that made her see fit to start over. Fussing over herself was something that came naturally with beauty.

The constant tick, tock, tick, tock of the clock in her room could be faintly heard, until it started chiming. The hour was up already? Had she really been preparing herself in front of the mirror for that long?

Rarity pushed the thought away and left the bathroom, walking over to Sweetie Belle's room. She knocked twice before speaking. "Sweetie Belle, I'm going out tonight."

"Okay, Rarity," was the muffled response she recieved.

With that out of the way, Rarity trotted downstairs and onto the main floor. She stood near the door, tapping her hoof impatiently as she waited for Fluttershy to arrive. She was about to grab her sketchbook when the sound of three knocks made her turn to face the door. It quickly swung open, making Fluttershy jump a bit.

"Hello, Rarity. Were you— were you waiting at the door?" Fluttershy smiled a knowing smile.

Rarity chuckled sheepishly. "I was really excited to see you."

A faint blush appeared on Fluttershy's cheeks. "I was excited to see you too." Her gaze drifted to Rarity's dress. "That dress looks amazing on you."

Rarity looked down at herself and made a show of examining her dress. "Oh, this old thing?" She smiled at Fluttershy. "Thank you. I'll never tire of your endless compliments."

Fluttershy smiled back. "Then I won't stop giving them. But— but now I feel underdressed." She fiddled with a strand of her mane.

"Lucky for you, I have just the solution for that. Come in." Rarity beckoned Fluttershy with a hoof and the two went inside. "Right before you arrived I finished up a dress that I think would look positively gorgeous on you." She levitated a dress over and placed it in front of Fluttershy, waiting for the pegasus to grab it.

Once Fluttershy took it in her hooves, she began to examine it.

"Don't stare at it for too long, dear. It'll look much better when you're wearing it," Rarity flirted, eliciting another blush from Fluttershy.

After a minute of Fluttershy failing miserably at putting on the dress and getting some much needed help from Rarity, the two were standing in front of one of the mirrors. Fluttershy was gawking at the dress.

It fit perfectly, hugging all the right places. The dress hung a bit loose, making it comfortable to move around in, just like Fluttershy liked it. It was covered in small white polka dots that made the light green of the base pop. The skirt flared, and the hem of it was cuffed to show off a little more of the rear legs than normal. It looked like something one would find an elite wearing in Canterlot, what with the golden necklace that went along with it. The necklace complimented her eyes and completed the look. She looked beautiful, a sentiment that Rarity echoed aloud.

"Ooh, I just knew you would look perfect in that dress!" The unicorn pulled her marefriend into a kiss, one which went from soft and delicate to heated and passionate. Rarity pushed her tongue past Fluttershy's teeth, catching the pegasus by surprise but nonetheless putting her in a state of bliss. The moment was ended all too soon as they had to pull away for air. Both of them were flushed, though Fluttershy was clearly the more flustered.

She felt lightheaded where she stood, something that happened whenever things got especially heated between them. The dopey smile on her face made Rarity titter good-humoredly.

"Well, I guess we shall be off now," the unicorn proclaimed. She turned and began to walk to the door, but stopped when she noticed that Fluttershy hadn't move along with her. She cleared her throat, causing Fluttershy's ear to twitch slightly. "Come on, dear, there shall be more where that came from later." That caused the pegasus to turn, which subsequently made the two laugh. The night was setting itself up to be a good one.

Rarity and Fluttershy walked side by side, close enough to feel the warmth radiating off the other but not close enough to touch. Fluttershy's eyes constantly shifted from her marefriend to the other ponies they passed, specifically the couples. Her mind went back to that morning, and her gaze began to move to Rarity's tail.

"Don't think I don't see you looking." Rarity winked, sending a wave of warmth through Fluttershy's body.

"I— I was ju— jus—"

"I was just teasing, Fluttershy." Rarity looked ahead again, but her gaze returned when she heard more stammering.

"Ca— can I, I m— mean, can y— you, can we.." Fluttershy took a breath in to calm herself down. "Can we intertwine our tails?" The words came out as one, barely intelligible at the speed she had spoken.

"Well of course we can. I'm glad you asked." Rarity gave her a kind smile as she wrapped her tail around Fluttershy's, which helped calm the pegasi's nerves.

Fluttershy's face felt like it was on fire, warm perspiration sliding down her face and landing on the ground. Why had she gotten so worked up over this? It was a simple way of showing affection, yet she had broken out in an anxious sweat because of it.

They walked in a comfortable silence, no words needed to be shared between them. The soft hum of birds singing in the distance and the soft tapping of their hooves hitting the ground filled the air. The couple soon made their way to the entrance to Ponyville Café, taking their seats at an outdoors table. They made idle conversation as they scanned the menus before a waiter arrived.

"Good evening! What will you two be having?" The waiter held a notepad and a pencil in their magical grasp.

"I will have a cucumber sandwich with a glass of iced tea, please." Rarity smiled at the waiter.

The waiter nodded and smiled back, quickly scribbling down the order. "And you?" They motioned to Fluttershy.

"I— I'll have the, uh, green salad with so— with some water, please," Fluttershy squeaked out. Even after all this time she still wasn't comfortable doing simple tasks like ordering food. It was so annoying. Sometimes she felt like a helpless foal.

Don't focus on that, you're on a date right now. Just look at Rarity and remember why you're here.

She stared intently into Rarity's eyes, which helped calm her down.

The waiter wrote down the order. "Alright, your drinks shall arrive shortly." They nodded again at the two and went inside.

Rarity turned from the now-absent waiter and saw that Fluttershy was gazing into her eyes, looking like she was in an almost dreamlike state. She lightly chuckled. It seemed that this was becoming more common every day.

Fluttershy always found Rarity's eyes to be the most gorgeous thing about her. Besides her mane, and the rest of her face, and her voice, and the way she moved, and— well, maybe she liked everything about her.

But Rarity's eyes had instantly drawn her attention. Those big, beautiful blue eyes, colored like the sky and more radiant than the sun that resided there. They were like a never-ending ocean, so vast and deep. They said so much about her without having to say anything at all. The twinkle in them shined brighter than a thousand stars, and even if they blinded her one day Fluttershy would never be able to look away.

"Fluttershy?"

"Whuh?" Fluttershy's head lolled a bit, before she became fully alert of her surroundings. A red hue quickly appeared on her cheeks. "I— I'm sorry, I was just—"

"You don't have to apologize for admiring your marefriend." Rarity crossed her hooves and winked. "I don't mind, you know."

Fluttershy simply nodded. The waiter returned, carrying two glasses in their magic. They placed the drinks on the table. "Your food will be ready in a minute." After the couple gave their thanks, the waiter returned indoors.

"Why do you apologize so much anyways?" Fluttershy almost dropped her glass at the question, the she quickly regained her grasp on it. She took a shaky sip of water before answering.

"I.. I don't know. I guess I just— I started doing it a— a lot when I was a foal. It helped keep the— the peace." She took another shaky sip.

"Keep the peace?" Rarity tilted her head, confused.

"Like, if there— if there was a fight, be— between two of my friends, I would take the— I would take the blame."

"But why?"

"Is it okay if we— if we talk about this another time?" Fluttershy looked down at the table.

"Yes," Rarity replied simply. She tucked the thought into the back of her mind. The more she reflected on it, the more she realized just how often Fluttershy really did apologize. It was truly odd. But that was for another time.

She took a drink of her iced tea, gazing around the area. There was only one other table occupied outside, where a trio of ponies sat. The sun had begun it's slow descent in the sky, coating the world in a light orange hue. The clouds had begun to blend together as they evaporated, creating a near-perfect view of the sun.

That would be good for later.

"So, uh, h— how are the other boutiques doing?" Fluttershy quietly asked, attempting to reinvigorate the conversation.

Rarity returned her focus to Fluttershy and took a sip of her iced tea. "They're doing good, from what I've been told. Especially in Manehattan, surprisingly enough. If I had known how lucrative the market was there I would've opened up there years ago!"

Fluttershy smiled. She always enjoyed listening to Rarity to talk about the things she was passionate about. It was like music to her ears whenever the unicorn would ramble about the fashion industry or the latest dress she was working on. She usually tuned out what her marefriend was actually saying, instead content to just focus on the sound of her voice.

Rarity continued on, listing off the several ideas she had for clothing that would "change the world", up until the waiter returned with their food. The waiter placed their food on the table and smiled kindly at them once more. Fluttershy nodded her thanks.

"Thank you." Rarity began to grab her bag of bits out of her pocket — the newest trend in fashion — but the waiter interrupted her.

"You can pay at any time, it's alright," the waiter told her.

"No no, I insist." She placed the bag on the table, the waiter's eyes widening at the size of it.

"That has to be more than double the price of your food!"

"You can keep the change." Rarity pushed the bag to the waiter, whose smile widened as they picked it up in their magic.

"Thank you so much for this." The waiter trotted away, a little more pep in his step than before.

"What brought that on?" Fluttershy asked between bites of her salad.

"Well, I just felt like doing something nice. I'm in a good mood after all." Rarity picked up her sandwich and bit into it.

"..Uh, it— it was very nice of you." Fluttershy smiled, taking a sip of her tea.

"I always forget how delicious the food here is." Rarity was already halfway done her sandwich before Fluttershy had taken a third bite of her salad.

"Yeah, it is really good."

Rarity and Fluttershy had left the café by the time the sun was halfway done descending. The sky was a rich orange, with a hint of light pink to add to the beauty of the scene. Everything they saw was covered in an orange hue, making the world around them even more gorgeous and lively.

The couple were walking through the local park, trying to get to the best spot possible to watch the sunset. They waved to a few ponies as they passed, and they waved back. Some ponies noticed the intertwined tails and gave their support, something which warmed Fluttershy's heart further.

She felt like she was on top of the world. Here she was with her marefriend, the greatest mare she knew, about to watch the most breathtaking thing in the world besides the pony next to her. They had done this before, but every time felt like the first time she had ever done it. It was so—

"—beautiful, isn't it?"

Fluttershy hadn't noticed that she had sat down and snuggled up to Rarity until the words left her lips. The grass felt soft beneath her hooves, made even more pleasant by the pony sitting next to her. She had instinctively put a wing around Rarity as they stared ahead.

"It really is. I'm so glad we got here in time." Rarity leaned a little closer into Fluttershy, the two settling into a comfortable silence.

The sun's fading glow cast an ethereal light on the land, a mix of oranges and yellows and pinks stretching out as far as the eye could see. Everything was caught in a burning ember, like a fire on a bitter winter night. There were so many things that Fluttershy had never noticed before, so many beautiful things that were hidden away until now.

The trees looked brighter, given more life by the bright rays. The flowers bloomed taller, softly blowing in the fields below and standing out against the green backdrops. The tall, looming mountains that lead to Canterlot could be seen in distance, lit up by the setting sun. The sun blazed as it moved towards the ground, filling her with a feeling of comfort that was once unimaginable to her.

Fluttershy turned her head to face Rarity. Somehow, basked in the radiance of the scene before her, the unicorn was more beautiful than the sunset. Fluttershy slowly moved Rarity's head to face her before pulling her into a kiss, filled with more passion and intimacy than ever before.

In front of them, the sun faded into the forthcoming darkness, soon to be replaced by the moon.