//------------------------------//
// Storm 
// Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot 
// by Equimorto 
//------------------------------//

"I had a dream, a few days ago," Rarity said, evidently trying to make some small talk happen while they waited. She knew Fluttershy wasn't in the mood, and she herself wasn't either if she was being honest, but they both knew it would be better than the silence. Stars had they grown to loathe the silence, and the bad news that seemed to be the only thing to ever break it. "It was weird."
"I have weird dreams sometimes," Fluttershy replied half-heartedly. She too spoke mostly to fill the void. "Especially after..." She quietly nodded towards the tips of her wings. "Before that too sometimes though. Hanging around Discord so much, I think." She clicked her tongue. "What was yours about?"
"I'm not sure I could tell you, because I'm not sure I know myself," said Rarity. "I can tell you what happened in it though. I was older, I think, I suppose that makes it a hopeful dream." She shook that out of her head. "I was... I'd done something to my body, or something had been done to my body, but it felt all very willing on my part either way. My cutie mark." She nodded towards it. "It had actual gems planted in my body. Not the only thing of that kind either. I think I had a collar of some kind, or some other golden neck ornament, embedded into my flesh. A few more jewels in some spots, and pieces of clothing sewn into my skin."
Fluttershy looked oddly at Rarity, tilting her head to the side, an uncertain look in her eyes. "That sounds rather grim," she said.
"It does," Rarity said. "And yet I wasn't bothered by it. Quite the contrary, I think. I enjoyed it. It's difficult to remember now exactly what it felt like in a dream, but in some way I think I was proud of it. Like I'd made myself into a work of art."
After some brief silence, Fluttershy said, "I see." She only spoke to have something to hear, but Rarity didn't blame her. "Would you ever consider doing something like that?"
Rarity paused for a second, her mouth half open, her teeth resting on her lower lip. "I've never considered it before. But... I don't know. I don't immediately find myself repulsed by the idea. In somewhat of a morbid way, it fascinates me. I can't say with certainty I would do it, but I can't say I wouldn't either. It's not something I'd probably seek out but the idea is there in my head now."
"Isn't it a little presumptuous? To present your own self as an art piece?" Fluttershy pulled on and looked at a few straightened strands of her mane. Either sweat or nervousness had made it lose part of its curve and almost fall over her eyes.
Rarity looked at Fluttershy. The miscoloured streak in the pink of her mane and the feathers at the tip of her wings. "We all dedicate ourselves to what we find has value, and I think art deserves a certain respect. What is life for without it?" She smirked, playing up her tone a little. "And if the pursuit of our ideals is to take a toll on our own bodies, so be it. I'd never do something like that on a creature other than me."