//------------------------------// // Dressed for Success // Story: Unexpected Confessions // by Dianwei32 //------------------------------// Unexpected Confessions Chapter Nineteen         Dressed for Success         Rarity awoke slowly, taking time to stretch each of her legs before she even considered getting out of bed. She cracked an eye open and saw the sun peeking around her new blackout curtains. She sighed and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling and sighing. I never feel as rested as I should after a good nap. Her thoughts flashed back to her most recent dream, bringing a smile and a blush to her face. Then again, I suppose I haven’t been having the most peaceful of dreams lately.         She rolled back over onto her stomach again, running a hoof along her silk sheets while her smile quickly vanished. Though, a change of scenery would be nice. While the privacy of her bedroom is appreciated for our... occasional amorous activities, it would be nice to have a walk through a forest or beside a lake for the times we simply talk. Finally resigning herself to getting up, Rarity moved to the edge of the bed and hopped down onto the floor. She trudged into her bathroom and grabbed her favorite brush, floating it up to straighten her bedraggled mane.         If only there was somepony whom I could ask about this. She smirked as the obvious answer sprung to mind. Well, somepony other than Princess Luna. Another rush of color spread across her face as she thought about the lunar princess’ reaction if she ever saw one of her more risqué dreams. However, talking to her couldn’t hurt. Who better than the mare responsible for overseeing the dreams of everypony in Equestria? Her brush froze in mid-air as a thought occurred to her. It may prove... challenging... to speak with Princess Luna, though. She tapped the brush against her chin, running through what would need to be done. I’d have to go to Canterlot, obviously. Hope that she’s not too busy and that I don’t have to wait too long to meet with her, although it could be several days. After all, it’s not like I can just show up and expect her to drop everything to see me. I’m no Twilight. Twilight... She continued her preparatory rituals, deftly applying a touch of eye shadow as she considered the living repository of knowledge that lived down the street. Hmm... I wonder if Twilight could tell me anything about this. I wouldn’t be surprised, given how much she reads. Although, it is a rather niché subject. Twilight might not have a book in stock even if she’s familiar with the subject. At the very least, I could ask for her help in getting permission to check the Royal Archives. Shaking her head, she hopped off of that particular train of thought. Don’t get ahead of yourself, Rarity. The first item on the list is paying Twilight a visit. Satisfied that she now had a plan of action, she finished getting ready, wishing that there were some sounds to break up the oppressive silence of her home other than the brush running through her mane.         Once she had finished making herself presentable, she made her way downstairs and trotted over to the door. Before she could open it, however, a knock came from the other side, followed shortly by an overly cheerful voice.         “Hi Rarity!” Pinkie Pie leaned forward, peering through the window and waving. The unicorn questioned her friend’s impeccable timing, but ultimately resorted to the commonly accepted explanation of ‘It’s Pinkie Pie’ and moved on. She took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh before putting on her best smile.         “Pinkie, dear. What a pleasant surprise.” Rarity greeted the pink pony as she pulled the door open. “I’m sorry, but the Boutique is closed at the moment. What brings you here?”         “Oh, well I just realized that I hadn’t seen you the last two days.” Pinkie sat down, freeing her front hooves to perform elaborate motions alongside her words. “I figured that you were just working super duper hard, like the time you made all of us dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala. Then I was afraid that maybe you thought we had all forgotten about you and didn’t want to be friends anymore, and that you were having a party with a bunch of inanimate objects. But then, I remembered that only I do that and mmph mmn mphmmm—” The rest of her words were cut off by a white hoof pressed against her mouth.         “I know, dear, and I’m terribly sorry. I’ve just been so busy lately.” She turned her smile up a notch and hoped it would be enough to satisfy her friend. “I’ve been working nearly day and night on a rush order from Fancypants up in Canterlot.”         “Canterlot?” Pinkie broke out into a grin that threatened to split her face in half. “Oh my gosh, that’s so super duper exciting! You know what this calls for?” She ducked down, gathering herself for a jump.         “Please not a party, darling.” Rarity lifted a hoof to her mouth to cover a yawn. “I’m afraid that I am simply too exhausted for one today.”         “A par—” Pinkie stopped in mid-jump, as did the explosion of confetti that had spawned behind her. She zipped back to the ground, and the colorful bits of paper inexplicably returned to wherever they had exploded from in the first place. Rarity’s eye twitched before she regained her composure enough to reassert her expression of polite patience that she normally affected around Pinkie. “Okie doki loki. We can have the party tomorrow.” The party pony smiled broadly.         Rarity winced, knowing that any Pinkie Pie party would invariably include Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash as guests. “Tomorrow may not be ideal either. I’m sorry.” She watched as the other mare visibly deflated. “How about this, dear? You can have the party, and I simply won’t be able to attend.”         “Aww... it won’t be a very fun party without the guest of honor.” Pinkie poked at the dirt with a hoof for a moment, then looked up and smiled. “But, if you’re too busy, we’ll just have to have extra fun to make up for it. Maybe I can even bring you a piece of cake. That way you won’t be totally missing out.”         “That sounds lovely, darling. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make a run over to the library.” The unicorn moved to walk past her friend, only to have the pink party pony turn and begin bouncing alongside her.         “Ooh, me too!” Pinkie chirped, rebounding back to her normal exuberace. “I just finished a super interesting book and I know that Twilight wanted it back because it was on loan from the Royal Canterlot Library. It was about—”         Rarity rolled her eyes and tuned the other mare out as they walked, finding herself in no mood to deal with Pinkie’s proclivity to prattle on. She looked around and let her mind wander, subconsciously searching for inspiration for a new design. She spotted a pastel purple flower growing in a roadside garden. Instantly, her mind was off, crafting a flowing dress that hugged its wearer’s curves without being overly suggestive or revealing. Oh, it would look absolutely perfect on Flutter— The thought died in her head, and the dress she had been planning unraveled. A wave of pain and sorrow washed over her, but she carefully kept her expression neutral and kept walking.         “—just then I remembered that I had put the cake batter in the confetti cannons and the confetti in the cake oven, again, but it was too late to do anything. It was a mess, a big, tasty mess.” Pinkie’s endless chatter finally died down as the pair reached the library. She reached out to knock, but the door simply fell open as her hoof hit it, sending a bell above it ringing.         Rarity stepped through the doorway first, her brow furrowed. Odd. The library door never had a bell in the past. Nor did it have a... rather large pile of cushions where the table used to be.          “Good afternoon, how can I— Oh, hello, Pinkie, Rarity.” Twilight was seated in the middle of the mountain of pillows and looked up from the book she was reading, closing it with a  thump. “What can I do for you girls, today?”         “Twilight?” The alabaster mare raised an eyebrow and looked over the heap of cushions, grimacing internally at the clashing colors scattered throughout. “My dear, what is all of... this?” She waved a hoof at the librarian’s throne of pillows.         The lavender unicorn chuckled and smiled sheepishly. “Well, I kind of fell and injured my leg yesterday—” She lifted her foreleg from a cushion, revealing it to be wrapped in a cast. “—Nurse Redheart put me on bedrest for the next three days—” “And you came trudging down the steps less than an hour after she left.” Spike grumbled as he walked by. “I did not!” Twilight replied, rolling her eyes. “It was an hour and a half, and I had you there to help me every step of the way. Plus, I’m plenty comfy down here thanks to the throne of pillows that someone built for me. For the last time, Spike, I’m fine.” Her assistant mumbled something unintelligible and disappeared behind a large stack of books. “Anyway, I was going stir-crazy being cooped up in there and Spike kept coming back upstairs needing help to find books for customers—”         “I only did that once!” The baby dragon’s irritated voice drifted out from behind the books. “But... how?” Rarity craned her neck up to try and see her friend’s injured leg among the pile of pillows. “Whatever happened to your leg, dear?” Twilight winced, looking down at her leg and then off to the side. “I’d... rather not talk about it right now.” She reasserted her professional demeanor. “So, how can I help you two today?”         “I just came by to return a book I borrowed.” Pinkie pulled a thick, black, leather-bound book from her mane and dropped it onto the base of the mountain. Twilight leaned forward, squinting to try and read the title of the book.         “You had my copy of Deep Thinker’s Theoretical Metaphysics?” The librarian pressed her good hoof between her eyes. “Why would you even— No. I don’t even want to know.” She let out a sigh and looked to her other visitor. “What about you, Rarity?”         The fashionista had been too busy staring at the tome Pinkie had pulled from her mane to think about why she had come to the library in the first place. Twilight’s question snapped her back to reality. “Hmm? Oh, yes. I was just wondering if...” She trailed off, belatedly realizing that she hadn’t thought of a good way to phrase her request. “I was curious if you knew anything about... dreams.”         “Yes?” The lavender mare cocked her head to the side and ran a hoof through her mane. “Was there a... specific aspect of dreams you wanted to know about?”         “Well, yes... though I’m not quite sure how to put it.” Rarity pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment before continuing. “What do you know about dream manipulation?”         Twilight stared at her in confusion for a few moments before realization dawned on her face. “Oh, you mean lucid dreaming. There’s actually been a good amount of research done on it. It’s not quite dreamwalking, but nopony other than Princess Luna has had that ability in millenia, if ever. Most of the historical records from back then aren’t as... detailed or as trustworthy as more recent works, so it’s—” She stopped mid-sentence and shook her head. “Sorry.” Tapping her uninjured hoof to her chin, she looked around the library while she ran through a mental list of all the books there, chewing on her lip as she did. “Hmm... I don’t think the library has anything on lucid dreaming.” She shot a furtive glance up to her bedroom door, then down at Rarity, who looked crestfallen. “Although... Spike!”         “Yeah?” The baby dragon poked his head out from behind his stack of books, which was noticeably smaller.         “Can you get my copy of Nighty Night’s Dream Mechanics and Machinations from my personal collection?” Twilight asked, motioning up to her bedroom with a nod of her head. “Oh, and could you put my copy of Theoretical Metaphysics back while you’re at it?”         “Sure thing. It’s not like I was in the middle of re-shelving those books you asked me to or anything.” Spike grumbled to himself and waddled over to grab the book Pinkie had returned before trudging up the staircase. The scrabbling of his claws on the wooden floor faded, stopped for a moment, then grew louder again as he reemerged from the doorway with another book, this one bound in brown leather. He hopped down the stairs and handed it to the white unicorn, sneaking an extra glance at her while she was examining the book.         “I had no idea there was... this much on the subject.” Rarity held the tome in her magical grasp and turned it over.         “Oh, that’s nothing.” Twilight responded, waving a hoof dismissively. “Nighty Night’s works are the gold standard on the subject of lucid dreaming, but there are all kinds of more advanced and in-depth studies on it. Princess Luna has even authored a good number of books about dreams. They’re mainly about how to prevent nightmares, but from there it’s fairly easy to move to actively changing a dream in progress.”         “Well, thank you for the book, darling. I’ll be sure to bring it back as soon as I’m done.” Rarity looked up, laying her borrowed text on her back. “Though, if you don’t mind me asking, why did you need to ask Spike to get it? Wouldn’t it have been easier to use your magic?”         The librarian winced again and brought a hoof up to her head. “Usually yes, but part of why I’m... like this.” She used her hoof to pull back her mane, revealing a hairline fracture a few inches from the base of her horn. “I hurt my horn when I miscalculated a teleportation spell and slammed into a tree. I can’t do any magic until it heals.” She smiled a bit and let her mane fall. “Well, I can do magic, but it hurts and I do my best Sweetie Belle impression, setting anything I grasp on fire.” “Oh, dear.” Rarity shivered at the thought of being unable to do magic. “So, how long will you have have to do this? When will you be up and about again?”         “I have to head to the hospital the day after tomorrow to get my leg looked at. As for my horn, it’ll probably be seven to ten days until it heals.” Twilight replied, shrugging. “In the meantime... I’ve been catching up on my reading.”         “Oh yes, because you did so little of that before.” Rarity countered playfully. The librarian stuck her tongue out for a moment before giggling. “Anyway, as I said, thank you for the book, but I really must be getting back to the boutique. Pinkie, I—” She turned to where the earth pony had been standing, but found only empty air. “Where’d she go?”         “I... don’t know.” Twilight stared at the spot the party pony had stood moments ago. “She was standing right there just a—” The bell above the door sounded again as it closed, and Pinkie could be seen vibrating down the street. “Huh... maybe she felt a doozy coming?         “Well, in any case, I believe I have some reading to do. Thank you again, darling.” The fashionista trotted out the door and pulled it shut behind her, sending the new bell tinkling. She lifted the book from her back and flipped it open to the first page, skimming it as she walked home. Well, it looks like I have some homework for tonight. She flipped through the whole book rapidly, grimacing slightly as she saw nothing but page after page of dense text, broken up only by headings and titles for new chapters. Though, it’s nothing a nice glass of wine won’t help solve.         Rarity arrived back at her home and ducked inside, locking the door again and slipping into the kitchen for a nice glass of marelot before heading upstairs. She pulled back the drapes on her windows and lay down to read her new book with a focus usually reserved for when inspiration struck, stopping only to light a pair of candles on her nightstand when the sun finally set. Several hours later, she laid the book on her nightstand next to a glass of water and her sleeping pills, then nestled down into her bed, letting the implications of what she had just read sink in. I could do anything with this... Anything... A sly smile spread across her face. This night was going to be... how did Rainbow put it? At least twenty percent cooler. *         Rarity opened her eyes and saw the now familiar sight of the ceiling of Rainbow Dash’s room. She ran a hoof over the mattress, marveling at its plushness just as she did every time she visited her dreams. Her hoof travelled a short ways before meeting an obstacle that recoiled when she poked it.         “Hey!” Rainbow’s voice sounded from beside her, barely contained giggles bubbling toward the surface. “Careful, that tickles.” The unicorn turned her head to see her wife lying next to her. She smiled for a moment before rolling over and hopping down onto the floor.         “Rares?” Dash sat up, watching the other mare with a worried look. “What’re you...” The rest of her question died in her throat when Rarity turned and gave her a predatory grin.         Rarity turned back to face the bed, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. She focused, picturing what she wanted in her head as clearly as she could. She felt the floor under her hooves shift and change from cloud to polished marble. One last touch... She shifted her focus, almost afraid to open her eyes and see if it worked.         “Oh, come on!” Rainbow’s outburst echoed slightly, but her agitation was clear. “You can’t possibly be—” She groaned, and a light clip clop echoing through the room suggested that she had started pacing. “Is this some kind of cruel joke?”         Rarity opened her eyes and examined their new surroundings. They were in the suite of the Royal Palace that she had stayed in during the fiasco with Twilight’s birthday. She took a moment to admire the exquisite room before bringing her gaze to Rainbow. The pegasus was hiding on the other side of the bed and blushing fiercely.         “Of course not, love.” She began walking around the bed and over to the flustered mare, drinking in the luscious sight before her. Dash was dressed in a Prench maid outfit with a skirt that barely covered her flank, complete with a pair of black shoes for her hind legs.                  “But this... thing is too short.” Rainbow kept reaching up to pull the skirt down, but it would just snap back up to its original position every time.         “I think it looks stunning, dear.” Rarity reached out and ran a hoof up the back of her lover’s leg, causing the other mare to squirm. Smiling to herself, she sauntered over to the bed and lay down on it. “Now, I think you’ll be needing this.” With a brief glow from her horn, she floated a feather duster over to her wife, who gave her a deadpan ‘are you serious?’ look. She merely smiled until Dash rolled her eyes and took the duster in her mouth, only to drop it as soon as the magical aura disappeared.         Rarity smiled down at the exhausted pegasus, dispelling the magical shackles with a quick wave of her horn, snuggling up next to her wife, and laying her head on the cyan chest next to her. She nuzzled her cheek into the other mare’s neck, eliciting a contented sigh. “So—” She purred. “—did you... enjoy yourself?”         “Wow.” Dash muttered, staring blankly at the ceiling. “That was... wow.” She finally realized her limbs were free and wrapped her forelegs around the unicorn next to her. Deliriously happy giggles bubbled out of her, and she leaned down to nuzzle the top of her lover’s head. The motion caused her skirt to pull at her, reminding her that she was still wearing the maid outfit. “Uh, Rares? You mind?” She pulled at the hem of the skirt.         “I don’t know... I think it looks rather fetching on you.” Rarity ran a hoof down Rainbow’s side, earning a stifled giggle and an exaggerated eye roll. She heaved an overly dramatic sigh. “Very well, if you insist.”  She closed her eyes and focused, giggling to herself as the outfit’s fabric disappeared and gave way to the fur underneath.         Dash wiggled on the bed for a few moments, readjusting to get comfortable again. “No offense, Rares, but could we not do that too often? It’s not the most... awesome feeling.”         “Duly noted, love” Rarity chuckled into a hoof. She closed her eyes and prepared to settle in for some quality cuddling, but the warm knot of tension in her core had returned after her earlier release. Watching Dash squirm on the bed, controlling her pleasure, had rekindled the fiery desire inside her. She idly trailed a hoof down her wife’s side, biting her lip and trying to decide whether she should say anything. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a chuckle at her side.         Rainbow nuzzled into the unicorn’s mane, then pulled back and looked down at her with a lecherous grin. “Somepony’s still a little worked up, eh?” She leaned down and kissed the white ear poking out, nibbling on it afterward. “Well, if you can keep up, I’m down for another round. Just say the word.”         Rarity stretched up and kissed Dash on the muzzle, pulling herself tighter against the other mare’s lithe, athletic form. They lay together for a moment, perfectly melded together. Around them, the scene changed again, and their bed with it. Dash wiggled around in alarm, cracking an eye open to find them laying on a cloud high above Canterlot, the vast blue expanse of sky broken only by the occasional small cloud.         Rarity finally pulled away from the kiss, smiling and opening her eyes to reveal a playful glint. She stood up to stretch her legs, straddling her lover in the process. “Very well, I’m ‘down for another round,’ as you put it, but—” She crouched down, coming just low enough that their chests brushed together. “—you’ll have to catch me first.” She whispered into her wife’s ear before pushing off in a jump, arching her back to dive head-first off the edge of the cloud.         Dash watched the other mare disappear past the cloud, stupefied, before scrambling toward the edge, ready to leap off and catch her. “Rarity!” She cried as she looked down at the sprawling city below them, her eyes searching for and locking onto a rapidly falling white form.         The unicorn in question glanced up, laughed fillyishly, and spread a pair of white wings from her side, banking into a wide arc before pulling up into a hover. She looked up at the cloud she had just leapt from. “Well? Are you going to come and catch me or not?” She called, giggling at the dumbstruck expression on her wife’s face. She waited a moment for the pegasus to recover and dive off of the cloud before turning and flying off as fast as she could.         She let out a giddy squeal of delight as the wind whipped through her mane and tugged at her tail. On an impulse, she pulled up into a loop, catching a glimpse of Dash speeding by below her. She abandoned her loop halfway through, rolling over to right herself and taking off in the opposite direction. She pumped her wings as hard as she could, not caring what the wind was doing to her mane or how so much exertion would work up a sweat. All that mattered was the feeling of pure, unadulterated speed as she tore through the sky.         Rarity heard a laugh carry over the roar of wind in her ears, and she looked back to see Rainbow catching up to her. The alabaster mare folded her new wings and dove straight down, aiming for a cloud below her. At the last moment, she reopened her wings and landed on the cloud. Using her momentum to gather herself, she leapt back up and flapped her wings as hard as she could to gain speed. She angled just below Dash’s rapidly approaching form, rolling to brush a wingtip along the cyan pegasus’ stomach as she passed.         They kept flying for some time, with Rarity narrowly escaping her wife’s grasp and even managing to plant a kiss or two on the other mare’s cheek as they blazed past one another. Eventually, her wings began to tire, and she landed on a nearby cloud, flopping onto her back and breathing heavily. A second later, a chromatic blur landed next to her and Dash fell down, heaving ragged breaths.         “Not bad... for your first... time.” Rainbow managed to get out between gasps for air. She rolled onto her side, resting her head on a hoof. “Pretty darn good, actually.” She added, her breathing already returning to normal.         “I’m so... glad you approve... love.” Rarity panted. She got up on her side and lunged at the other mare, knocking her over and laying on top of her. She nuzzled into her wife’s neck and planted a line of kisses, starting up toward her jawline and then back down.         Dash shivered and let out a moan. After a moment of reveling in the attention, she decided to reciprocate. “T-two can play that—Ah!—game.” She muttered before craning her neck forward to lick and nibble the leading edge of her lover’s wing, but to no effect. She blinked in confusion, then tried again, laying a single slow lick along the white wing then biting on the wing joint. When there was still no noticeable response, she gently pushed the other mare away with a hoof.         “Is something the matter, dear?” Rarity asked, worry clear in her voice as she took a step back and sat down.         “Not really, no.” Rainbow sat up and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof, suddenly feeling bad for distressing her partner and silly for worrying about what was on her mind in the first place. “It’s just that... The thing is...” She sighed and shook her head. “It’s your wings. Doesn’t it feel good when I play with them?”         Rarity extended a wing and looked at it, sighing slightly. “I appreciate the thought darling, I really do, but...” She trailed off and flapped the wing once, still feeling a schoolfillyish rush of excitement that she actually had wings.         Dash cocked her head to the side in confusion, which after a moment was replaced by understanding. “Right... you’ve never had wings, so you don’t know what they feel like, so this isn’t gonna do it for you.” She finished, running a hoof along the leading edge of Rarity’s wing.         The unicorn tried and failed to suppress a chuckle. “No, love, I’m afraid not.” Her mirth vanished as she saw her wife’s eyes fall to her hooves. She reached out and brought her head back up with a hoof. “I guess that means you’ll just have to find other ways to give me that kind of pleasure.” Without waiting for a reaction, she leaned forward and kissed Dash, breathing an internal sigh of relief when the pegasus began kissing her back. She pressed into the contact, slowly moving forward until Rainbow was laying on her back and she was once again standing over her. *         Rarity awoke slowly and groggily, as she did most mornings. She went to stretch her legs, but found herself to be tangled in her sheets. Belatedly, she also realized that her sheets were damp with what she hoped was sweat. Looks like it’s laundry day... again. After disentangling herself from the bed, she trudged into the bathroom and ran a comb through her mane, trying to restore it to some semblance of order. A crash from outside made her trot back into her bedroom and look out one of the windows, where she saw a grey-coated, blonde-maned pegasus mailmare standing next to an overturned fruit cart, apologizing profusely. Ditzy’s early today. She mused before glancing at the clock. Eleven in the morning? Maybe she’s not as early as I thought she was. Glancing back out the window, she saw the flag on her mailbox had been raised, so she headed for the staircase and made her way downstairs. The store bell rang as she pulled the door open, and she flipped the ‘Closed’ sign over to read ‘Open’ instead. Peeking up at the sun to verify the time, she shook her head and walked out to her mailbox, pulling it open with a brief flare of magic and revealing a single lumpy scroll inside. She unfurled it, taking a moment to admire the elegant horn-writing before reading it. My Dearest Rarity, Fleur and I are going to be otherwise engaged for an upcoming Wonderbolts show in Canterlot. We have box seat tickets that are going to go to waste, and we thought you might like to go since you enjoyed yourself so much when we last saw each other. You'll note the spare, feel free to bring a friend... or somepony special, eh? Do drop us a line when you have the chance, we'd love to have you over for dinner sometime. Respectfully yours, Fancypants. P.S. Fleur tells me that she’s dropped another size, which I didn’t think was possible, so we’ll have to have her measurements redone... again.         A pair of tickets emblazoned with the Wonderbolts logo and featuring portraits of Spitfire and Soarin’ were attached to the letter. Rarity pulled them off and lifted them up to get a better look. Platinum level. Right in the middle. Oh Luna, if these seats were any closer you would be a part of the show. A sad smile tugged at her lips as she rolled the tickets and letter back up. I think I know just who could make use of these.