Two Weeks Earlier
“Ah, ah, ah! Don’t move a muscle Sunset!” Rarity had carefully positioned everything in place for the perfect photo of her picnic date with her girlfriend. She’d even gone so far as to schedule the outing for a day that would have very little wind, and the requisite amount of sunlight to create perfect lighting. Biting the inside of her lip, Rarity ever so gently nudged the camera to make the frame fit according to the all-powerful rule of thirds, or so she called it.
The weather couldn’t have been more pleasant, and what little wind blew carried a refreshing and gentle fragrance of freshly cut grass and blooming flowers, alongside the intoxicating perfume Rarity wore. The picnic blanket set out was the same that lay atop Rarity’s kitchen table, she’d snuck it out of the home for just this occasion. It was as though the day was made in a laboratory to be as pristine as possible.
Rarity had consistently canceled this date for weeks now, sometimes owing to improper weather and sometimes owing to school work or ‘work work’, which is what the tailor had called the times after school when she worked on outfit commissions or as a part-time barista. Finally, they were here sitting in an idyllic patch of grass in Wallflower’s garden, which itself was tucked neatly between the student parking lot and the back exit of Canterlot High School. And there, sat as rigidly as a statue and looking every bit as radiant as one, was Sunset Shimmer who wore a stunning black dress, fashionably ripped leggings, and a polite smile. She’d be stuck in this very pose for twenty minutes.
“Hey Rarity,” Said Sunset, barely moving her mouth to talk, “I think my face is gonna get stuck like this if you don’t take that picture soon.”
“Oh come now,” Rarity smiled as she finally got the framing she was looking for, “I don’t such a thing has ever happened to anyone. It’s an urban legend, dear.” Rarity doubled checked her positioning, and then double-checked her double-checking, before finally pressing the timer on the camera. In just a few moments, it would take twenty photos rapid-fire.
BzzZzZzz
Unbeknownst to either girl sitting at the picnic, a rather peculiar bee had also decided to join the photoshoot. A slightly smaller-than-average bee, with black and gray stripes as opposed to the uniform yellow and black that its traditional brethren had.
“I don’t know…” Sunset maintained her pose as Rarity hurried over to her and sat next to her, folding her and straightening her white dress. At the present moment, they were the embodiment of sapphic affection. “Pinkie Pie told me it happened to her once after Rainbow Dash dared her to.”
“And is her face stuck like that now?” Rarity solidified her poise.
“Touche.” The wind blew through Sunset’s hair with just enough force to push it, but not nearly enough for it to ruin the photograph. “Sometimes she does make the face to mess with us though.”
BzzZzZZZz
Just as the camera’s shutter began to chitter open and close rapidly, the bee moved in for a photo bomb. The first ten pictures left no trace of the bug, but the next five had it in the corner, and the five after that had it front and center. After its successful raid, the bug silently landed atop the camera’s lens.
“Do you think I can stop smiling now?” Sunset asked, her patience starting to wear down.
Rarity placed her hand on Sunset’s chin and turned her head, “As gorgeous as you are when you do, I’d prefer you never did. But yes, I think we’ve gotten all the photos we need for Instagram.” In a single graceful motion, Rarity rose from the blanket and returned behind the camera, neglecting to notice the bug that had perched on it.
“And just in time too,” Sunset wasted no time in reaching into the basket and pulling out a small pink container, packed full of strawberries and cantaloupe, the pair’s favorite. “I don’t think the ice pack could’ve held out any longer.”
“Oh please!” Rarity bemoaned, clicking through the pictures and deliberating on the best one to post later in the day. “I did not take that long. Besides, one cannot and must not rush perfection.”
Sunset popped a strawberry in her mouth and talked as she chewed, “When perfection takes about an hour on a day off, I’m gonna try and rush it a little bit. Babe, you know I think you’re perfect as you are, and I’d challenge anyone to contradict that. If micromanaging was some kind of job, you’d be a millionaire.”
Rarity smirked, “Well, that is the plan. And flattering as that may be, darling— Oh, this one’s very nice— It isn’t like me to settle. Beauty is about boundaries and I—AHHHH!!!!!” On the small display of the camera lies the bee in perfect focus, its frighteningly numerous compound eyes, the dark tufts of hair, and the two writhing antennae. The bee, for its credit, did not flinch as Rarity let out a shriek, as though it were proud of itself.
“Oh my God, what? Are you ok!?” Sunset scrambled to her feet and rushed to Rarity’s side, only to let out the breath she was holding upon seeing the source of the shock. “Is… That it?”
“Whatever do you mean ‘is that it? This insect nearly burst my heart from my chest!” Rarity placed a hand on her chest for emphasis. “Worse! He ruined half of my pictures!”
“And that’s worse than your heart popping out of your chest?” Sunset smirked.
“I feel as though you’re missing the calamity of the situation.”
“I think they’re kinda cute. We could post one of these and say he was a third wheel.” Sunset’s grin grew wider as she nudged her partner in the arm. “Wouldn’t that be funny?”
“Hmph! It could’ve stung either one of us.” Rarity pouted her lips before softening her expression. “Although… I must admit it would be pretty funny.”
“There she is! I knew you were in there somewhere. Now c’mon, let’s eat that fruit before the flies get to it!”
“Only if you agree to be the lookout for that interloper.” Rarity said in a half-sincere, half-joking tone as she took Sunset’s hand and took her place on the checkered blanket. “I’m deathly allergic.”
“Wait, really?” Sunset asked, pulling a particularly ripe piece of melon from the container, bits of rind clinging to its outer edges.
“Well… No.” Rarity’s gaze turned to the ground as her face reddened. “But for as unsightly as a sting can be, I might as well be!”
Sunset giggled and pointed the melon at her, “I’m sure that the bee just flew off. It’s got better things to do like pollinating things and making honey and… Whatever else it is that bees do aside from harassing the most beautiful girl at Canterlot High.”
The bee had, in fact, not flown off. It stood still on the camera lens like a soldier laying in ambush, waiting for their moment to strike.
“I’m glad we’re in agreement, darling.” Rarity said, plucking a bottle of homemade sweet tea from the basket, “I can hardly come for your three-year crown any less equipped than the best.”
Sunset rolled her eyes, thinking of a comeback as she chewed, “Look, I may have won the first three under… Questionable circumstances—”
“Coercion.” Rarity snidely interjected as she took a sip.
“Questionable circumstances!” Sunset cut back in. “But that doesn’t mean that you’re gonna take it from me this year. No matter how pretty you are, or how much effort you put in. I’m still gonna be,” a devious smirk came across her face, “Queen bee.”
“Hm.” Rarity restrained her impulse to meet fire with hotter flames but decided it would be more refined to parry it away. “The vote of the people will decide the best princess, and I believe it is moi.”
“Oooohh you’re so mad!”
The restraints holding in her outburst cracked. “I am not mad! Calm confidence trumps loud uncertainty, darling.” Unbeknownst to Rarity, the bee had made its move. Within an instant, the insect closed the gap between it and its target and cushioned its landing in her luxuriously kept hair. “The amount of effort put into being flawless will pay dividends, I’m certain.”
Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes as she chewed one of the few grapes in the container. “Y’know, there’s a shortcut to being perfect?”
Rarity took a few more gulps of the decadent sweet tea. Applejack had once invited her and Sunset over to her home and served them this very tea made with brown sugar as a substitute, and they’d been hooked ever since. “And just what would that be?”
“Accepting the imperfections, not trying to overcorrect.” Sunset leaned in, getting just inches from her partner’s face. Her eyes moved to each part of Rarity’s complexion, as though admiring every individual part. “Trixie accepts herself, and I don’t think you could name anyone happier.”
Rarity furrowed her brow, as though by bunching them down she could reconcile the contradictions swirling within her. “But Trixie is also a vile goblin woman who smells like spent energy drinks. Happy as she may be, darling, elegant she is not.”
“Chew this slowly.” Sunset reached for the last strawberry in the Tupperware and motioned for Rarity to open her mouth, which she readily obliged. “I think there’s elegance in accepting yourself as you are, and if I’m going to win this year, I’m going to do it as myself. Not some raging she-demon. So would you, as Rarity, if you were to win.”
Rarity opened her mouth to say something, only for Sunset to place a finger to her lips and shake her head very slowly. “I’m saying all this, babe, because I’m worried about you. You're not burning yourself at both ends, you're burning yourself out at every possible end! Your AP classes, the band, your Etsy shop, your part-time job, making time for us, and every free moment you get you spend trying to make it like a movie. At some point, something's gotta give."
Rarity looked into Sunset’s eyes with apprehension and swallowed the vibrantly sweet berry, her gaze nervously flicking between her eyes and her lips. Something in her wanted to kiss her because she was just so close, but a larger part moved to counter what she was saying. "And what if I want to spend all this effort into being as pretty as I can be? There is beauty in the world, dear, but it doesn't always make itself known and it won't show up without patience or work."
Sunset cupped Rarity's face in her hand, and the look in her eyes carried the passion of a storm at sea. "Rarity, I love you, but no one's happy living like this. And if they are, they can't be forever. There's beauty in everything without straining yourself to find it." Rarity shrugged Sunset’s arm away in response. They both wore small smiles at one another, as though they were both telling the other that they understood.
Then Rarity let out a note of amusement through her nose. "This must be how Twilight and Starlight argue with one another. I feel like, oh, what does Rainbow Dash say?"
"An egghead?" Sunset offered, her smile growing warmer.
"An egghead!" Rarity accepted. A breeze picked up and accentuated the moment of silence that stretched on from that word. The inches between the pair felt like miles. "I'm scared that if I don't try this hard, I won't pass. And if I don’t pass then people will see right through me and call me ‘Elusive’ again. And if they see me that way I’m petrified that something bad will happen again.”
"No one's going to do that, in fact, I can guarantee it, y'know why?" Sunset’s voice was an uneven balance of nurturing and cocky, leaning more towards the latter.
Rarity's eyes met the red and white pattern of the blanket they sat on, holding onto her slight smile as she knew what Sunset was about to say. "Why would that be?"
"Well," Sunset started counting on her fingers as she listed off reasons. Wearing that fiery determined look that made Rarity fall head over heels, "For one, because you're fucking hot. You legit pass better than me, and I’m cis. That's just a fact. For two, you're soo hot Rarity, oh my God."
"Uh huh," Rarity covered her mouth and snickered, she was never fully secure with her smile and covered her teeth whenever she laughed. "Care to give an actual reason."
Sunset stuck her tongue out and continued, "For three, no one can do that to you 'cause I'll give 'em one of these!" She mimed herself throwing jabs at a prospective bully. "And one of these!" She threw a quick left hook, and then an uppercut. "Whaddya think of that?"
"I think Dash is a bad influence on you!" Rarity held her chest and let out a long laugh before having to catch her breath, Sunset kept on with her imaginary fight as she did. The tiniest, quietest snort in the whole world slipped from Rarity and caused them both to freeze. "You didn't hear that."
"Oh yes, I did!" Sunset lunged at her girlfriend and pinned her to the ground in one smooth movement. She only needed one hand to pin Rarity to the blanket, which freed the other to sneak down to the most ticklish part of her stomach. As Rarity landed on the ground the bee took flight and opted to stand by on a wildflower close to the corner of the picnic blanket.
"Nooo! Stop!" Rarity beamed, her laughter filling the entire garden. "This is so unfair!"
"Admit I'm right!" Sunset refused to relent, laughing as small snorts escaped Rarity’s nose.
"Never!" Rarity writhed in place, being held firm by her better, barbaric half. Her smile couldn't have been wider, and she couldn't cover it up. "Never you brute!"
"Then I'll have to pull out the secret weapon." Sunset sneered down.
"You can't. You wouldn't!"
"Wouldn't I?" She put her lips to Rarity’s neck and prepared to blow, unleashing the devastating raspberry upon her.
"You'll just have to do it, I refuse to yi-"
PBBBLTTLTLL
"NOO!!"
Sunset drew in a large breath before releasing another.
PBBBLLTTT
"Alright, alright!" Rarity wiggled her legs and feet in place, tears starting to well in her eyes from sheer joy. "Fine you're right!"
"See?" Sunset leaned down and stared into her lover’s eyes. "Was that so hard?"
It was now Rarity’s turn to stick her tongue out. "Simply arduous, now unhand me, fiend!" She bit her lip and looked on pleadingly at her 'captor'.
The bee made its move, quickly zipping from the flower to Rarity's leg and started getting into position.
The stronger of the two girls feigned a gasp, "Fiend? Why, I think I'll keep you right here." Her eyes darted to Rarity’s lips and back to her mesmerizing eyes.
Sunset kissed Rarity with the depth of all the world's oceans, breaking the kiss and running her hand through her hair before kissing her again.
The kiss parted and they looked deep into each other's eyes, as if in that moment they somehow fell further in love with one another.
"Y’know you've got a gorgeous smile?" Sunset asked, nuzzling her hose into Rarity’s.
"I did not, but why don't you tell me more often?" Rarity stole a quick peck from her partner.
And it's at that moment that the bee decided to strike.
The insect positioned itself, rearing its stinger up to the soft, skin barrier of her leg before, without a moment of hesitation, piercing it. Within the same instant that the barb broke her skin, Rarity let out a shrill scream and scrambled out of Sunset’s grip, who readily let her go.
Tears streaked down Rarity's face as if they were only waiting to fall out, taking a black trail of mascara with them as she swiped her hand down to the source of the lancing pain. It was unlike anything she'd experienced before. The pain felt like a burning set of spears burrowing inside her skin and lacerating everything they came into contact with, as though it were replacing her tissue with jagged glass.
Rarity laid eyes on the bug anchored in her calf at the same time that Sunset did, and winced. Rarity knew what she had to do, she'd pulled such wretched and revolting pests, and their equally as vile stingers, from Sweetie Belle and her friends' arms too many times to count. Even still, it meant bringing on more pain than she was already experiencing and also touching a gross bug.
The tailor took a breath in and then heaved it out, repeating the process again and again until the time between her breaths was almost nonexistent. Pain and panic chased each other in her mind, stirring her thoughts into hysteria. For each thought that screamed at her to uproot the bee, another chased it away and declared that she was embarrassing herself by making such a scene. Her eyes shot in every direction except for her attacker as the world started to close in on her and the air that forced itself in and out of her lungs started to sting.
Then a hand touched her shoulder. “Hey, listen to me.” Sunset’s voice was made of stone and pierced through the whirlwind within Rarity’s mind like a harpoon. “I need you to look at me, breathe in slowly, and count to four. Can you do that for me, Rares?”
Rarity squeezed her eyes shut and nodded, her breathing slowing but still very quick.
“Ok, in one, two, three, four,” Sunset spoke calmly as she massaged her partner’s shoulders, “Hold one, two, three, four. And out one, two, three, four, you’re doing great.”
“One more time, in,” The bee squirmed inside Rarity’s leg, scraping its stinger across the wound it created prompting Rarity to start shuddering from the pain. Still, she didn’t let out another scream, only clenching her jaw tightly and continuing to breathe. After a few more repetitions of this, she was still in great pain, but somewhat stable.
“I’m so proud of you, Rares, but I’m gonna ask that you do one more thing for me.”
“Name it.” She responded through gritted teeth, half-expecting what was coming next.
“I need you to look at me, and count to three.” Sunset placed a hand on her lover’s cheek as if gently asking her to open her eyes with the gesture.
Rarity opened her eyes and stared back into Sunset’s, flinching as she began to count. “One.” Sunset moved the hand from the shoulder down to the leg, closing her fingers around the thorax.
“Two—” Before Rarity could count to three, Sunset pulled up with all available might and swiftness her arm could supply. The strength she exerted seemed to be for naught, as the entire bug slipped out of the injury it created with relative ease, and her whole body ended up jerking backward from the excess force. Stranger still, was that the stinger was still intact.
Not that it mattered though, for Sunset reached over to the pink container that held their fruit and flicked the bee inside of it before immediately clicking the lid shut over the top of it.
Sunset glanced back to her partner and opened her mouth to ask how she was holding up before getting her answer without any words. Rarity’s mouth hung ajar, her body was tense and hunched forward, wearing a look of terror, as though every part of her was engaged in a scream except her vocal cords. The pain must’ve been so vast that it stole her voice to express it. “Hey uh, Rarity?”
Only the tailor’s eyes moved to face her partner, and in a voice that sounded part-way disbelief and a squeak, “Three?”
Without sparing a second, Sunset pulled Rarity into a tight hug. “Sorry I did that, it was an old trick Princess Celestia taught me.”
“I can’t fault you for it, I suppose.” Rarity sniffled, her hoarse voice returning to her as the pain ebbed from a fiery needle into a dull throbbing ache. “I was going to ask you to wait before I got to three anyway.”
The two exchanged a giggle before pulling away, still retaining a slight embrace. Sunset wore an inviting smile, “You wanna go back to my place and stay over? After what you’ve been through, I say you need some pizza and an ice pack.”
“That sounds divine dear,” Rarity smiled again, and with the mascara streaking down her face and her cheeks puffing up with irritation, she couldn’t have looked prettier, “after all, it was your job to stand guard for them. I think that much is owed.”
“Oh is that so? I think I’m gonna pick the movie tonight!” Sunset got close to her girlfriend’s face again.
“Fine, but I get to put garlic bread on the order.”
“Deal.”
Sunset reached for Rarity’s hand beneath her but didn’t look away from her eyes. The two shook on the deal. “I love you, Rares.”
“I love you too, Sunset.”
“Just one more thing.” A wicked sneer came across her face.
“Oh, here we go.” Rarity rolled her eyes.
“Still wanna call the bee a third wheel?”