Rarity tossed her bags aside and slumped down on the bed in a rather unladylike manner, grateful to finally have some rest from the day of traveling. The white mare writhed around on top of the comforter in ecstasy at the feel of the silk bedding. They graced her coat with their perfectly-made surface, each twist and turn eliciting a content moan as she lied there with her eyes closed.
She’d arrived in Manehattan just over three hours ago, in desperate need of a vacation from her work. In what seemed a cruel twist of fate, Rarity had to ask for directions to her luxurious hotel multiple times, each pony giving conflicting information. After a miserable afternoon of fruitless searching, the exhausted and even further-stressed mare eventually found her hotel, checked in, and promptly crashed on the custom bed, sheets, and other appropriate layers she’d arranged to have in her room ahead of time.
My first day here and already my plans are devastated and I’m too exhausted to do anything else! I was supposed to be meeting Fleur at the art gallery hours ago! They’re probably closed by now… Rarity grumbled as she opened her eyes and turned over on her back to the window in time to see Celestia’s sun touching the horizon.
Hmph… not like the ponies in this city could give decent directions if their lives depended on it! You think they’d know where one of the most illustrious buildings in the city was… Instead, I spend hours with my saddlebag and get covered with sweat on one of the hottest days of the year! Simply repulsive!
Rarity huffed to herself once more, her silent venting helping to ease her frustrations just enough for her to begin to relax again. She turned her face back up to stare at the ceiling, letting her anger melt away as she was reminded of her specially imported bedding. In a rare act that was quite unlike herself, Rarity didn’t care for once that her bag was just lying on the floor and her other packed belongings have yet to be sorted.
With a flick of her magic, the silky-smooth sheets and blankets beneath easily slid out from under her relaxed form, and quickly brought them back down on top of her with perfect precision. With a long, drawn-out sigh of contented pleasure and a slight twitch of her hind leg, Rarity quickly felt herself falling into a much-needed slumber.
I should have just followed the stallion from the hotel who carried my bags here…
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Rarity looked over the edge of the Statue of Harmony with appropriate hesitation. She’d always seen the colossal green monument, but never had a chance to actually get up close to it, let alone go to the top and look down at the ground. Rarity peered over the edge again, the wind at an altitude like that was very strong, and it didn’t help the fact she was acrophobic.
“Well, I think that’s enough sightseeing from up here,” Rarity gulped as she looked at the distant ground, the ponies below barely visible from her nervous gaze. She quickly turned around and made for the stairs that went to the beginning of the tour, happy to be descending back to the ground. Once she reached the bottom and gave a silent thanks for the feel of actual earth under her hooves, she felt the familiar gnawing sensation of hunger.
Feeling around in her saddlebag with her magic, she produced a small map of the Manehattan area she’d be exploring for the next week during her stay. She found a nearby bench and quickly situated herself before opening the small pamphlet.
Much more reliable than word of mouth, for once...
Rarity searched the map for a few minutes, trying to locate a decent cafe for her mid-afternoon tea which had become a daily ritual of the fashionista. After finding a suitable place and relatively confident she’d memorized the route correctly, Rarity stowed the map away in her bag and promptly trotted off across the bridge that connected the small island to the rest of Manehattan. Giving one last look behind to the Statue of Harmony in all its wonder, she set off in search of sustenance.
As fate would have it, Rarity’s map was not secure in her saddlebag and promptly fell out along the way, and as if the universe truly was conspiring against her... she was lost again.
“This is unbelievable! This is supposed to be my vacation!” Rarity quietly hissed to herself as she continued down a city sidewalk. She’d been lost in her thoughts of what her next would days would hold for her, when she didn’t even notice she’d walked into one of the less favorable parts of the city.
After wandering the rundown area for a while, and attracting a few uncomfortable glances from some rough looking stallions, Rarity happened to find a police pony out on patrol.
“Excuse me, good sir?” Rarity asked as she approached the officer. They were in a park in the middle of the district, with little of note anything spectacular in the small recreation area. “I seem to have lost track of where I was going some time ago, might you point me in the right direction?” She finished with a pleading smile.
“Hm, you’re not from around here, clearly,” The officer remarked while slightly pushing his sunglasses up his muzzle. He eyed her for a moment before resuming his trained stance. “You’re gonna want to go that way and keep walking until you reach the theater.” He pointed a hoof off down a street. “Keep going until you reach the theater, the big green one, you know the one I’m talking about?”
“I, um…” Rarity trailed off; trying to recall the building he was referring to. “Yes, my hotel is just down the street from it.”
“Keep walking there and don’t stop.” The officer’s stern voice commanded. “There are some less than ideal characters around here, do you understand?” Rarity quickly nodded her understanding quite clear of what could happen to her in this downtrodden area. “Good. You better get going, it’s already five o'clock and I’d feel a lot happier knowing you were safe in your room before it got dark out here.”
“Yes sir, thank you,” Rarity politely bowed enough to convey her gratitude. The police pony simply nodded and walked off, leaving the unicorn alone as she quickly got into a brisk trot, ready to leave unwelcoming streets that surrounded her.
Rarity was going down the street the office told her to take, constantly keeping an eye on all the ponies around her. She noted some were giving her strange looks, most of them quite unwelcome and unsettling. Not long into her walk, two rather unruly looking earth pony stallions began to approach Rarity from across the street with, with devilish grins on their faces.
Rarity lit her horn and gave them a glare that would make an Ursa-Minor think twice. The two ponies approaching her quickly stopped and turned the other way, afraid of what an angry unicorn could do to them.
I need to get out of here, fast!
Rarity immediately broke into a full run, her mane and tail waving in the breeze created by her frantic speed. In hindsight, running may not have been her brightest moment. While she got away from the uncomfortable gazes around her much quicker, it just gave them all the reason more to stare.
Wishing she’d taken Twilight up on her offer to practice teleportation spells, Rarity continued to sprint towards the safer districts of the city. With her rapidly beating heart being felt in her ears, she didn’t even realize somepony had collided with her until she was already on the ground.
Quickly righting herself and standing to her hooves, her blurred vision showed a green pegasus stallion lying on the sidewalk nearby. She was going to see if he was alright, but he quickly stood up and grabbed a small burlap sack with his teeth.
“Damnit! Watch where you’re going, lady!” The stallion hissed through his teeth as he quickly spread his wings and took to the sky.
“No! He stole my bits! Somepony stop him!”
Rarity turned to see a brown earth pony mare running toward her from down an alley the pegasus likely came from. As the mare came closer Rarity noticed a simple dark brown mane and tail, along with a pair of blue eyes. She stopped in front of Rarity but faced to the side, tracking the stallion with her gaze as he flew away.
“Um, miss?” Rarity spoke and slightly craned her head to get the mare’s attention. “Is everything alright?”
“No!” She cried, turning around to face Rarity. There were fresh tear tracks on her face as she stood there. “That stallion just stole my bits! It was all I had!”
“By Celestia!” Rarity was appalled at the act. “Do you want me to get the police? Surely they could—“
“No, just forget it…” The brown mare interrupted and hung her head low. “I kinda know him anyways… he’s a fast one, probably outside the city by now…” She sighed and turned to walk back down the alley where she’d come from. Rarity watched, mortified as the victimized mare in front of her literally walked with her tail between her legs.
She watched the depressed mare walk to the dead-end of the alley and curl herself up in a box, facing inwards and away from anything outside her cardboard home. Rarity blinked a few times and bit her lip, debating her next course of action.
That poor mare… I wonder if I should—No! You need to leave before anything like that happens to you! A thought snapped from the back of her mind. She felt compelled to help, but also concerned for her own safety. With a long breath, she took a step forward into the alley.
I’ll just see if she’s alright, then I’ll leave…
“Excuse me, are you ok?” Rarity asked in a calm voice as she approached the box that held the mare.
“I’ll be fine…” The unnamed pony cried without even lifting her head around to answer. “Look, if you’re not gonna buy anything, then just leave please.” Her soft voice was clearly strained with trying to hold back more tears.
“’Buy?’ But, whatever are you selling?” Rarity asked, perplexed. The only response she got was the mare’s tail momentarily uncurling from her body and flicking towards a small cardboard sign written with black ink.
Written down were the prices for various ‘services’ the mare offered, and what she charged for each.
“Mares cost five bits extra, it’s nothing personal.” The huddled pony within the box informed.
Rarity’s face was blank with shock, unbelieving the scene in front of her. She looked to the poor mare, curled together on the damp cardboard beneath her and an occasional sniffle being heard. It dawned on Rarity now that the pegasus who took the mare’s bits was a customer, and in return he took the only thing she even had. She felt anger welling up in her, wishing she’d stopped that stallion and taught him a lesson or two.
Rarity gave a quick glance behind her to the alleyway entrance before turning to the mare.
By the heavens above… what this poor soul must have had to endure. I wonder how long she’s even been out on the streets…
You should just leave; she’s been fine so far, just go!
But what if she won’t?
No! What if somepony you know sees her with you? What would they think? Leave before more criminals come and decide to rob you! Rarity’s thoughts screamed back and forth, compelling her to do something and not just stand there. She drew in a long breath and sighed with her eyes closed for a moment.
I can’t leave, not this easily. She needs help and if I don’t do something, then I may as well abandon my place as the Element of Generosity! And if Twilight’s birthday in Canterlot a few years ago taught me anything it was to not let my reputation get in the way of my decisions! She mentally screamed back at the dark thoughts urging her to leave. I would not have been given the element if I could just walk away from something like this. I am helping this mare, and that is final!
“Excuse me,” Rarity cleared her throat and took a step towards the box, noting how it was barely held together as-is. “May I ask how it is you came to be out here?”
“What do you care?” The pony turned her head enough for a teary, blue set of eyes to be momentarily seen. “Look, I’ll forget about the five bit charge for mares since you’re new around here, but please, either buy something or leave.” She finished with a particularly venomous sting on the final word.
Rarity furrowed her brow. This is going to be harder than I thought, but I can’t give up now. While she thought how to proceed with her next course of action, she peeked at the mare’s cutie mark. It was a small patch of dirt with a lush, green sprout coming out.
“I just want to talk,” Rarity took another step toward the box, only a few feet from the opening now.
“If you work for the city or the bank, I’m sorry but I don’t have anything left for you to take.” The mare said without even turning around to meet Rarity’s face.
“I’m afraid you are mistaken, I don’t even live here,” Rarity smirked. She had to take her time with this or her idea wouldn’t work, but she tended to have a way with persuasion,
The mare in the box turned her head around just enough to see the marshmallow unicorn and lifted an eyebrow, suspicious as to what her motive was. She eyed the fashionista for a few tense moments.
Gotcha. Rarity allowed a thin smile to grace her lips, she knew she had the mare’s attention now.
“Could you come with me please?” Rarity asked, hoping this forward approach would pay off.
“No.” The mare’s face returned to her sour state and quickly swept her head around away from the unicorn’s gaze.
Shoot! That certainly backfired, didn’t it? How am I going to… Rarity’s thoughts drifted away as her eyes fell on the crudely-made sign on the ground. She hummed thoughtfully for a few moments. ~Idea!
“Perhaps these would change your mind?” Rarity asked, reaching into her saddlebag and levitating out a few bits. She purposefully let a few clink together so the sound would reach the mare attempting to ignore her. The earth pony’s ears immediately perked up at the sound and she turned around to face Rarity, still lying with her legs tucked together, watching the levitating money with a certain hunger in her eyes.
“I thought this would be more to your language,” Rarity smirked and set the bits on the edge of the cardboard box, settling them all into a perfectly stacked tower.
“Alright.” The mare sighed, but only to hide her glee at the bits in front of her. “What do you want me to do? And I don’t do kissing…”
Rarity blushed for the faintest of moments before composing herself. “Darling, I don’t want that, I want you to come with me and talk, like a regular pony.” She finished with a warm smile.
“What’s the catch?” The mare’s eyes shifted back and forth between the bits in front of her, and Rarity standing there. She certainly wasn’t new to being screwed over at the last minute by what seemed to be a helpful pony.
“Nothing dear,” Rarity smiled again, taking another step forward and offered a hoof to help the mare to her hooves. “Just a nice, civil conversation between two ponies over some coffee. In return, you get twenty bits, and a free hot drink.” She lightly winked and continued holding her hoof out to the mare.
Deciding she had nothing left to lose, the mare turned around and grabbed something from deeper within her makeshift home and brought it forward. She slowly counted and sorted the bits into an old, heavily worn saddlebag with no remarkable features.
“Alright, let’s go.” The mare sighed as she grabbed Rarity’s hoof and got up to her full height in the alley. Rarity smiled and silently turned, leading her unlikely companion out of the cramped space between the tall buildings around them.
“So, may I have your name, darling?” Rarity asked as they came back up to the street.
“Sunny Sprout.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“Enjoying your coffee, Sunny?”
“Yes, it’s very... nice,” Sunny hesitantly replied, still not one-hundred percent sure of what was really going on. She faked a smile to Rarity and took another sip of the hot beverage. In all honesty, it really was delicious, easily the best thing she’d tasted in far too long.
The two mares sat in a secluded corner-booth of a coffee shop not far from Rarity’s hotel. It hadn’t been the exact one the unicorn originally seeked, but it was still a nice enough place. It was getting late out, the sun was still bright, but long shadows stretched across the city as the blazing celestial body slowly fell on the horizon.
Rarity had been all too happy to finally be out of that deplorable, rundown district of the city. Sunny was secretly happy for the change of pace as well, though she’d barely said a word since they left her ‘home’.
“Darling, you can put your saddlebag down off your back, nopony is going to take it,” Rarity lightly teased with a smile.
“I’d rather not...”
“Dear, I promise nothing will happen while I’m here,” Rarity assured and softly touched Sunny’s hoof from across the table.
The brown mare lightly recoiled from the sudden interaction, though Rarity did not seem phased in the slightest. Sunny looked over into the white unicorn’s eyes, pure care being seen in her eyes. With exaggerated reluctance, the homeless mare slowly slid her saddlebags off and set them next to her on the booth, but made sure she still felt them on her sides.
Sunny returned to her coffee and took a light sip, never meeting Rarity’s gaze as she fiddled with her hooves before voicing a question. “So, um... what did you want to talk about?”
“Well, why don’t you start with how you ended up in such an... unfortunate position?” Rarity asked with a slight wave of her hoof while she found the proper words.
“Look, no offense lady, but—”
“Please, call me ‘Rarity’.” The white unicorn politely interrupted with a slight smile.
“Alright, ‘Rarity’... why do you care so much?” Sunny asked with a suspicious furrow of her brow.
“Because, in all good consciousness I cannot walk away from somepony who so desperately needs help.”
“But I don’t need—” Sunny’s words died on her lips as she realized what she was about to say. The mare looked down to her coffee and fidgeted with her hooves. Looking back up to Rarity after a few moments she saw the same, genuine, caring smile she’d had since she found her in that box. “So, what are you going to do to ‘help me’?” Sunny asked with great suspicion.
Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but stopped as something dawned on her.
Wait. What am I going to do to help her? It’s not like I can just—”
And that’s when it hit her.
Rarity looked down to her own beverage, eyes scanning back and forth as her brilliant plan all came together. She looked back up to Sunny barely a moment later, a large smirk plastered on her face.
“Sunny, have you heard of Ponyville before?” Rarity asked.
“Umm yeah, it’s a little town near Canterlot, right?”
“Quite. It’s a nice little place, not near the size as some of the larger cities, but I’m happy there. It's very quiet and easy to just escape from all your problems.” Rarity offered with a smile and a slight wink.
“What are you getting at?” Sunny slowly asked, nearly sure the unicorn in front of her was mad.
“Sunny, I will be quick and blunt about this... I want you to come back to Ponyville with me.”
The homeless mare just blinked in response as her face contorted into the purest definition of confusion. After a few moments to process the ludicrous idea, she smiled.
“I knew this was a dream. There is no way in Tartarus somepony like you would pay me just to drink and talk, and then offer me a stay at their home!” Sunny laughed for her first time in a long time as she banged her hoof on the table. “That colt who took my bits must’ve knocked me out, I knew this was too weird. What kind of rich pony like you would suddenly choose to help a homeless pony like me? She laughed again, sliding her saddlebag back on.
“Now, I’m gonna go see what other crazy stuff my mind is making me think,” Sunny chuckled to herself as she slid out of the booth and turned to leave. “Goodbye, ‘Rarity’, or whoever you are. I think I’ll just call you ‘imagination mare’!” She proclaimed with a hoof thrust to the ceiling. Rarity could only watch as the pony in front of her seemed to have lost all grip on sanity. Sunny turned to leave and waved a hoof over her shoulder.
“Well, was nice meeting you, be sure to— Ow!” Something impacted the mare before she could finish her farewell. She turned just in time to see a spoon clatter to the floor, and a smirk on Rarity’s face as she sat there in the booth. “What did you do that for!?” Sunny fully turned on the fashionista. “That really... hurt?” She looked back down to the spoon on the floor and then to her side where it had lightly struck her.
“You are familiar with the saying, ‘pinch me, I’m dreaming’, are you not?” Rarity chimed, still holding a large grin. Sunny turned back to voice a question but was cut off before she could make her voice heard. “You see darling, I needed some way to make you realize this was in fact, a real situation. True, I might have found a less drastic way of getting your attention that did not require magic, but you were in an awful hurry to leave and I had to stop you somehow,” Rarity explained without missing a beat.
“You’re real?” Sunny could barely speak. She took a hesitant look back at her seat and slowly settled back to her previous place.
“As real as the mane atop your head; which I must say I’ve been simply dying to take a brush to,” Rarity smiled to the disbelieving mare. “Once we get back to the hotel, we can get you cleaned up in no time!” She beamed.
“The, hotel?” Sunny choked on her drink as the words registered in her mind. For a pony of her background, hotels did not hold the most fond of memories.
“Oh, no darling! I didn’t mean like that,” Rarity attempted to soothe the mare. “The train does not leave for Ponyville until the morning, and I cannot have you spend one more night on the streets.”
“I don’t know about this...” Sunny looked down and fiddled with her hooves, nervous.
Rarity bit her lip and thoughtfully hummed to herself for a few moments. “I will make you another deal.” She said as she pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen, setting them on the table between them. “It is a win-win deal for you however you see it.”
“What do you mean?” Sunny’s ears perked slightly, interested in what Rarity was proposing
“I will write you a check for one-hundred bits just to come to the hotel with me for the night,” Rarity stated as she grabbed the small checkbook and pen in her magic, bringing them closer. “It’s very simple, if by tomorrow morning you still feel too nervous about leaving Manehattan, you may keep the check and I will bother you no more,” Rarity paused to let the words sink in. “If you come to Ponyville with me, I will take the check to the bank and deposit it fully into a savings account for you. Either way, you win.”
Sunny stared flabbergasted as Rarity finished her speech and levitated a check into her hooves. She’d learned to spot fake checks before in her life, and the one in front of her eyes was most definitely real. “You... you would do that for me?” She asked, her bottom lip quivering and eyes nearly tearing up.
“Yes,” Rarity nodded and gently took the check in her magic, and levitated it to slip into Sunny’s own saddlebag.
“But, why do this for me? I’m just a whore, a nopony who lost everything and resorts to selling herself just so she can have something to eat...” Sunny looked down to the table, only to have a white hoof gently raise her face back up.
“Sometimes, we all need a bit of generosity,” Rarity finished with her warmest smile. Withdrawing her hoof after a few moments.
“Thank you. I—I don’t know what to say,” Sunny sniffled, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to pour out.
“I don’t want you to say anything, just come with me so you can have a future to be proud of,” Rarity laid her hoof on the mare who was on the verge of crying. “Come on, we should be going before it gets too late.”
Sunny smiled through teary eyes, slowly crying out of happiness for the first time in many years. With one final wipe of her face with a hoof, she slid out of the booth and put on her tattered saddlebag.
“Lead the way.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
The two mares stepped into the room and were shut off from the rest of the world as Rarity shut the door behind them. Wordlessly, she slid her saddlebag off and set it by the door without much care. It’d been a long day and she’d been thoroughly exhausted.
Rarity looked up to Sunny, who’d still been standing by the door, silently looking around but not moving.
“Sunny? Are you alright?” Rarity slowly asked. “You haven’t said a word since we got here.”
“Yeah. Yeah I’m good.” Sunny spat out as she nervously ran one foreleg across the other. “It’s just that I’ve been here before once or twice.”
“Oh I see.” Rarity said. “It wasn’t this very room... was it?” She winced at her own question, fearing the answer of what acts may have been committed on her bed.
“Oh, no. It wasn’t.” Sunny Sprout replied. “But, I think the pony at the lobby desk recognized me... He gave me a really bad look.” She looked down to the carpet. “He must think we’re...” She bit her lip and closed her eyes, trying to dispel the desk pony’s glare from her memory.
“Oh pish,” Rarity waved a hoof dismissively. “It matters not what that stallion thinks, but that you are off the streets and nothing bad will happen to you tonight.” She gave Sunny a friendly wink. Rarity lit her horn as she turned to enter the main room and slowly began to remove her new friend’s worn saddlebag. “Now come on, lets get you in the bath—”
“No!” Sunny shouted and jumped to grab the bag that was floating above her, eventually pulling it down and close to her body. “I can’t leave this. It’s all I have left.” She looked up to a slightly shocked Rarity, caressing her tattered saddlebag.
“I perfectly understand darling. I’ll try to remember next time.”
“Thanks, Miss Rarity.” Sunny tossed the bag over her back and shuffled on her hooves for a few awkward moments. “So, um... about that bath?” she sheepishly grinned and looked around the lavish room for the proper door.
“Certainly dear, help yourself,” Rarity stepped to the side and nodded at the bathroom door. Sunny walked over and opened it, stunned at the sheer size and cleanliness. Everything inside was the purest white she’d ever seen. Sunny paused in the doorway to look at her hooves and coat. She frowned.
“Aren’t you worried I’ll get everything dirty in here? I haven’t properly bathed in an awfully long time...” She looked down to the floor with a deflated expression.
“I insist,” Rarity stepped beside the mare and even laid a hoof on her back. She nudged Sunny inside without pause. “Now fret not about any messes you make. The room is already payed for and if they complain about the ‘mess’, then they can... oh how do the young ones say it these days? Deal with it? Yes, they can deal with it.” Rarity nodded with a smug grin.
“Well, alright.” Sunny stepped over to the tub, easily large enough to fit herself and Rarity with plenty of room to spare. She bit her lip in thought before turning to the fashionista still standing in the doorway. “Are you... I mean are we both—”
“Oh Celestia no, I’ll be waiting outside,” Rarity caught on but instantly regretted her hasty words. She noticed Sunny’s expression turning downcast. “I didn’t mean anything against you! It’s just that a lady always bathes alone. Mine can wait until later, or in the morning.” She gave Sunny her best smile, eliciting a smile in return.
“Thank you, really.” Sunny smiled sadly and looked down to the linoleum for a moment. “This almost feels like a dream.” She looked into the tub, smiling, lost in her thoughts. “...Like some handsome stallion came to rescue me... Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble.” Rarity cocked her head very slightly and cracked a small smile.
“There’s more soaps and shampoos in the basket,” Rarity quickly and gracefully levitated a small basket to the corner of the tub and rested it on the edge. Sunny took a few moments to examine the bottles as she slid her bag off, confused at some of the fancy names of something as simple as soap or shampoo. “Use any of them that strike your fancy. I’ll be waiting in the main room to help you with your mane when you’re done,” Rarity exited the bathroom and shut the door behind herself.
After a few moments she heard the faucet for the bathtub turn on and the rushing sound of water that followed. With a satisfied smile that her plan was working, Rarity practically skipped over to her bag. She unlatched the side and pulled out the brush she took with her everywhere. It was a gift from her younger sister, Sweetie Belle. It was too short and often caught her hair... but she cherished it.
She set the hair brush on the bed and proceeded to relax in front of the large window overlooking the city. She reclined on her haunches as she relaxed her hooves, as well as her mind. She hadn’t had much time to think about the more detailed logistics of her plan for Sunny Sprouts on the walk over, and she desperately needed a silent minute or two to just think. After all, what good is a lady without some time to herself?
“I’m crazy for doing this...” She muttered to herself and tucked her legs under herself on the carpet. The bed was too far from the window for a proper view after all, and looking out on the vast expanse of Manehattan helped her to think.
She’d gotten the mare she’d met not two hours ago back to her motel room and all but guaranteed to follow her to Ponyville... but what then? What would she do then? The guest bedroom would be more than adequate but that was the extent of her plan.
Rarity looked down and frowned, disappointed at herself for once again not thinking an impulsive plan all the way through before acting on it.
Surely she could support herself, Sunny and her sister when she stayed over, but Sunny would need something to help her back on her hooves. Finances were not the issue in this cause, but what for Sunny to do once she had settled in for some time. Rarity continued to stare out the window as her mind raced at her ludicrous plan. In the end, she decided to save the rest of her planning for the morning, when she’d be more rested and in a better position to think.
She’d just stood and lightly stretched before she looked at the alarm clock beside the colossal bed and noticed the time. Rarity allowed a smile at how lost she’d gotten in her thoughts when she realized Sunny had been in the bathroom for over an hour now.
She walked over to the bathroom door and knocked, noting the tub had at least been turned off. She knocked again and received only silence in return.
“Sunny? Sunny Sprout?” Rarity called out. Silence was her reply from within the room. She knocked once more and slowly opened the door. “Sunny, is everything alright in he—”
Her words were cut short as her eyes fell upon the motionless form of the mare in the bathtub. Without a moment’s hesitation Rarity jumped to the side of the tub and tried to assess the condition of her new friend. Sunny was on her back and her head reclined at one end of the tub, her muzzle just above the still steaming water. Rarity was about to go for help, fearing she’d slipped and suffered some sort of head trauma... until she heard a faint snore.
Rarity leaned her head closer and listened carefully, to be sure she wasn’t hearing things. But she was right, Sunny was snoring. She’d fallen asleep in the bathtub.
Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. She shook her head at the sleeping mare and smiled to herself at the peaceful sight. She thought of waking Sunny up, but quickly decided against it, instead opting to let her continue to dream of heroic stallions coming to her rescue.
With practiced skills, Rarity gently lifted the sleeping mare out of the tub with exaggerated slowness and wrapped an extra large towel around her body. Sunny twitched slightly, but otherwise seemed completely unaware she was sleeping in mid-air. Moving a sleeping pony without waking them is a talent she’d picked up over the years when Sweetie Belle’s spurts of energy ended up leaving her crashed everywhere but her bed.
Rarity smiled to herself at being able to lift a full grown mare with such grace, but knew her magic wouldn’t last long in her tired state. With appropriate speed and grace, she levitated Sunny over to the room’s bed and slid her under the covers with the towels still around her.
It was as she turned back to the bathroom to drain the tub and get the lights she realized an issue that hadn’t become known until now.
There was only the one bed.
She gulped as she reentered the main room and looked across to the sleeping form under the covers. Surely she’d just let Sunny have the bed to herself and just spend the night on a sofa... if the room had one. Rarity looked around and only saw the bed, a desk, some small chairs and a table. Nothing else was adequate for sleeping, and she was most certainly not going to sleep on the floor.
She bit her lip and slowly went around to the opposite side of the bed.
Would Sunny think she took advantage of her in the middle of the night? Would she leave and think Rarity was yet another rich pony trying to mess with her?
She bit her lip and hoped for the best as she slid into bed with all the sound of a moth fluttering through the night. She looked over to Sunny who had reflexively positioned her head on a pillow and still wore that same smile from before. Rarity matched Sunny’s expression and allowed herself a few moments to appreciate her work. She’d never gotten used to the wonderful feeling of helping others, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t wanted.
Rarity let out a long yawn and pulled the covers on her side over her neck, relishing in the feel of the silk. She figured there was nothing left for her to do but wait. With a flick of her magic she extinguished all the lights in the room and drew the curtains part way over the window.
Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.