"why are you the best to me? i know you're the worst for me"
Of all the things that Fluttershy had expected to see in the chaos dimension, a disheveled Rarity standing on Discord's doorstep was not on that list.
Fluttershy had just sat down with a cup of tea in her hooves. Discord had gone off to do something — if she recalled correctly he mentioned "watering his books" — before any real conversation could begin. It left her with not much else to do but observe the constantly changing details of the living room.
It was never the same way twice in a row. Whenever one blinked something would turn upside down, or change color, or disappear and be replaced entirely. The patterns on the wall turned from gradient to gradient in front of Fluttershy's eyes, never an identical group of shades twice. The furniture, save for the mini-couches that were usually occupied, got redesigned with different materials or even morphed into new shapes.
The lava that burst from the miniature volcano occasionally became something else, like clear water or hot air. There were odd times where an object, such as a ball, would pop out and roll right over to one of the couches. That was usually how Discord gave things to Fluttershy.
He was—
Three knocks sounded against the door, and Fluttershy felt the calm atmosphere of the day thus far shatter into a million pieces. Alarm bells went off in her head. Why was there someone else in the chaos dimension? The only pony that had ever been given access was herself. Maybe whoever it was had entered by accident?
Fluttershy shot to her hooves at that thought. If that was the case, then that meant there was an open portal lying around somewhere in Equestria. The amount of dangerous possibilities that brought up was far too high for her to count, and she didn't want to start.
Or maybe it was just Discord, she told herself. It sounded unlikely, but nothing was ever too outlandish for him. She held onto that hope because if it wasn't the truth, something grave had to have happened.
Fluttershy walked on quick hooves. Two scenarios played out in her head — she was either going to give Discord a kind but firm talking-to, or the same to whoever had wandered through the portal to the chaos dimension. One of those was more dreaded than the others.
When she reached the door, she steeled herself. Everything was going to be fine. Whoever was on the other side probably just stumbled in by accident and walked up to the first house they saw. There was nothing to be worried about.
All of that was thrown out the window when she came face to face with Rarity. The mug she had been holding fell, clattering to the floor and smashing into innumerable little pieces.
"Rarity?"
The unicorn's mane was all over the place, sticking out in every which way. There was a slight gash on her left cheek, dripping out small slivers of crimson blood. She either didn't notice it or didn't care. She had that look in her eyes. It told that whatever was going to come out of her mouth next was not to be taken lightly. It appeared in many contexts— when she talked about the future of her business, or when the bubbling anger inside her spilled out, for example —but it always meant that she was going to initiate a serious conversation.
As soon as their eyes met, the look disappeared.
A gasp left Rarity's lips before she could stop it. "Fluttershy! What a..." She faltered for a second, her gaze going to the grass before returning to meet the pegasi's stare. "...pleasant surprise."
"Wh— what are you doing here?" Fluttershy's voice was dripping with a mix of confusion and fear. Her eyes were the size of saucers. "Is there something wr— wrong? Did something bad happen?" Her breathing picked up with each word that nervously tumbled out, the knot in her chest growing tighter.
"I was, um..." Rarity cleared her throat abruptly, hoping to stop the slight shaking in her voice. "I saw there was a portal still open next to your cottage."
"So you just ju— jumped right in?" Fluttershy took a step forward, to which Rarity stepped back.
"I wanted to make sure you were safe."
"From what?"
"From—" The question caught Rarity off-guard. What could she say here? Was now truly the time to confront Fluttershy, right in front of Discord's house? Doing so could open a can of worms that she certainly did not want to deal with, but the more she pushed things aside, the worse they got. Her relationship was on the line here.
It was now or never.
"From Discord." In that moment, everything fell away. The purplish sky that surrounded them began to shatter, cracks forming in the middle that spread in every direction. The swirling apparitions that rested in the atmosphere vanished, swept away by the breeze. A low, almost imperceptible rumbling noise came from the ground. It shook the dirt as it passed through again.
The sky was now completely gone. There was only a hollow black desolation that stretched as far as the eye could see. Vague flickers of objects appeared occasionally, but they were sucked in as soon as they appeared, decomposing in an instant.
The ground shook once more. Little chunks of the earth behind Rarity had begun to break apart and collapse, falling down into the infinitely deep nihility that hung just below. The wind that was previously inaudible was now howling, the only thing filling the silence between the two mares.
"Rarity..." Fluttershy's voice came out strained and quiet, barely audible above the wind.
"I'm worried about you, dear. I don't want you to see you get hurt by him."
"Why would he hurt me?"
"I know you, and I know what he's capable of. He's 'reformed', or so he says, but I still don't like seeing you around him. It's too dangerous."
"I... I appreciate you caring for my s— safety, but I don't... like this." Fluttershy motioned around them. The floating islands that had previously surrounded them had crumbled to pieces, now either flecks of dust hanging in the air or morsels being swept away by the wind. A kaleidoscope of colors and objects flew around in the draft, with small droplets of molten sludge pouring down from inside of it.
More of the ground behind Rarity caved in, becoming ash that flew into the encompassing storm. With each second that passed, further portions fell away, closer to pulling the unicorn down with them.
"What do you mean, 'this'?" Rarity questioned.
A loud fracture reverberated from directly beneath the unicorn, and the instant it came, the terrain she had been standing on collapsed.
"Rarity!"
She felt a familiar feeling— freefall. Her body was featherlike as it plummeted into the abyss. All the air that had left her lungs had found refuge in her head, and she felt like she was nothing more than a leaf blowing in the wind. For a moment she forget where she was, instead imagining herself immersed in an expansive, overflowing bathtub.
The hot water seeped into her fur, easing the tension in her muscles. As she floated, she could feel her nerves calming down. There was nothing else besides her, the water, and a beautiful sunrise in the distance. All of her troubles had slipped away from her mind, leaving her to glide without a care in the world. Everything was alright.
Then a pair of hooves wrapped around her torso and forcefully yanked her out of the bathtub.
A shriek escaped Rarity's parted lips. The sounds of fluttering wings and heavy breaths filled her ears as she was lifted through the air. She looked down into the hollow void, its unending gloom sending a shiver down her spine and into her hooves. She couldn't tear her eyes away from it, even as it grew distant.
"Are— are you ok?" A voice from above asked. It sounded like it was a million miles away, barely registering in Rarity's head.
At the lack of response, Fluttershy looked down. She watched as Rarity stared into the pit, her hooves idly twitching as she reached out. The expression on her face was half dazed, half vacant. Her muzzle hung ajar.
Fluttershy sighed, her breath hitting the top of Rarity's head and ruffling the unicorn's hair slightly. She turned her head and saw a small fragment of light in the distance. It was the only source of color in the now blank dimension, and as she examined it further she noticed the blue aura surrounding it.
"I— I found a portal. I'm getting you out of here."
She flew ahead, weaving between the rocks that were now being flung towards her by the wind. The portal growing ever closer, she pushed herself harder, her wings flapping as fast as they could. They were burning, and a dull pain had formed in her stomach, but she had to get there as fast as she could.
Gravel blew past her, just barely missing her as she moved out of the way. The portal was so close now, she could almost reach it with her hooves.
Her hold on Rarity was loosening.
Panic overtook her mind, and her wings began flapping on overdrive. Her body ached everywhere, but she kept pressing onwards. She was nearly there, and there was no chance that she would give up now. A seething pain shot through her body as the pair crossed through the portal—
—and subsequently fell from the sky.
The two let out a shared scream as they tumbled through the air. Fluttershy pulled Rarity closer and turned her body so that she was on the bottom. If one of them would have to take the impact from this fall, it was going to be her.
They landed in a river, their hold broken as they hit the water. Rarity drifted along, halfway between sinking and floating. Her body moved lethargically, like a weight was tied to it. She could barely lift her hooves enough to swim. Her mind was hazy, hardly able to tell where she was. It was too dark to see more than a few feet ahead of her, so she had to rely on the air bubbles to guide her. The bubbles had begun to slow down.
She heaved herself up with all the strength she could muster, but it barely made a difference. The bubbles were coming even slower now. Terror began to set into her mind. She tried to move, but her body resisted every attempt, like it was tethered to the floor of the river.
Hooves grabbed her from above, pulling her to the surface. She was dragged along limply, her limbs trying their best to drag her down.
When she reached the shore, she immediately took a giant inhalation, relishing in the air that re-entered her lungs. A horrible feeling passed through her, like she had just been crushed under the weight of countless pillars. Her stomach heaved painfully, and she felt a sudden burning in her throat.
Water was retched up out of her throat, mixed with splatters of bile. She gagged and spluttered, her chest tightening as more water was spewed. Her body slumped to the ground as the coughing continued.
"Oh my gosh!" A pony exclaimed.
Rarity mustered the strength to look over, the figure blurred through her tears.
"Are you alright?"
As the pony came closer, and the fuzz in her head began to fade, it became clearer that she was looking at Fluttershy.
"What... happened?" Rarity weakly asked.
"Do you not remember anything?"
"Do forgive me, but I don't appear to be thinking straight right now."
"...You came to— to Discord's dimension." Fluttershy lowered her head, their eye contact broken.
"Oh." A pause. "Right."
"I was having a good time," Fluttershy continued. "Well, I had just gotten there, but I was— I was going to have a good time. And then you showed up." She began to absentmindendly fiddle with her mane, something to keep her hooves busy while she talked. "I— I don't get it. Why, Rarity?"
"I..." Rarity took some time to think. "I was just looking out for you."
"I don't need you to— to look out for me. I don't want you to throw your— yourself into danger for me and—and try to..." Fluttershy's voice fell to a whisper. "...to interfere with my friendships.."
"Interfere with your friendships?"
"You keep talking ab— about how Discord isn't good for me, and how I should stop being friends with him."
"I know, but—"
"But what, Rarity?"
A sigh. "I... I think I might be a little bit jealous of him." The word felt sour in her mouth now, spreading a deep uncomfort throughout her.
"What? Why?"
"I don't know. It's stupid. I just... I see you two together, and I know that you have this, this connection. It's different than ours, and it's just platonic, but you'll always have something that we can never have."
"Wh- what do you mean?"
"You're the only pony he truly likes. The only reason he's somewhat 'nice' now is because of you. You're the one who saved him, so to speak. And..." Rarity trailed off for a moment. "We'll never have something like that. We were just two friends who started dating. No big story, no redemption."
"That doesn't change anything about us, though. We still l— love each other."
"Sometimes I wonder. Would you do it? There are times when I feel like there's not a chance in the world that it would happen. Other times I feel I wouldn't be surprised."
"I wouldn't do that to you. You know that."
"I don't, really. I'm just... scared. That he's better than me, and that he's going to end up taking you from me."
"He's not trying to." Fluttershy's tone hardened. "I don't like that you keep in— insisting that."
"I just— I want to believe you, Fluttershy. I know I should. But I can't. I'll never stop feeling like you prefer others over me. It's part of my nature, I guess."
"...I don't like having you c— constantly doubt yourself."
"Well, you're going to have to get used to it."
The water in the river flowed, burbling and splashing against the shore. The moonlight hit the water, a stream of white stretching out. There were stars hanging in the sky, but they seemed dimmer than normal, almost greyish in their appearance. The night was an inky navy, the darkest Fluttershy had seen since she could remember. It cast an oppressive atmosphere over everything, making the pressure at the base of her head grow until it engulfed her entirely.
"I th— think I'm gonna go home. It— it's late. I should probably check on..." She trailed off. "Goodnight, Rarity."
"Goodnight," came the distant response. Rarity had her eyes set on the river, watching as it gently rippled.
"I... I love you."
"I love you too." Rarity hadn't blinked.
Fluttershy trembled in place, staring at Rarity. She placed a light kiss on the unicorn's cheek and turned to fly away, but not before getting one final look.
Rarity hadn't moved a muscle.
Fluttershy let out a shaky sigh before taking off and flying away into the night.
Rarity turned her head to watch the pegasus leave. She choked back a quiet sob before regaining her composure. Breath in. Breath out. She looked down to the river again, to her slightly distorted reflection.
The reflection contorted as the seconds passed, like she was looking through a broken window. It warped further, becoming a tortured caricature of the unicorn. Her flat expression had morphed into a twisted grin, the sharp teeth reflected in the light of the moon. Her hair was entirely gone, instead having melted into her head and staining parts of it purple. Her eyes had sunken in, now empty green holes. A gaping hole sat in the middle of her chest, syrupy blood pouring out from the wound.
She slammed a hoof down into the water, erasing all traces of the deformity. A hoof was held over her chest as she attempted to quell her newfound difficulty breathing.