"Are you sure the book hasn’t come in yet?"
"I told you, Rarity," said Twilight as she looked through the list at her desk. "this library only has one copy of Sewing Machine Repairs, and it hasn't been returned today."
Despite how upset she felt about the book not being returned yet (even though it was supposed to be in today), Rarity merely sighed before she looked away. "Oh well. I suppose I can wait another day."
"Don’t worry too much about it," said Twilight as she floated the return list back onto the desk. "I'm sure it'll turn in soon enough. And I'll be sure to let Spike send it over to you when it does."
"Thank you, Twilight," said Rarity with gratitude as she looked back to her with a smile. "I really appreciate that."
"No problem," said the Princess before she walked over to a shelf of books behind her.
While Twilight began levitating her cart of returned books into their proper places on the shelf, Rarity couldn’t help but appreciate her friend's humility. Despite being a Princess of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle still didn’t let that stop her from maintaining the Ponyville Library like nothing ever happened.
Even though she wanted to ask her about it, Rarity already knew that her love for books and learning was the reason. And despite wanting her friend to embrace her Royalty a bit more, she could understand Twilight's mindset. If she became an alicorn herself, Rarity knew she would still love to make dresses in her free time.
"Well, Twilight," began Rarity as she looked around a bit more, "I still have some errands to attend to, so I'll let you finish your librarian duties."
"Alright," replied Twilight as she kept floating books into the shelves, "thanks for stopping by, Rarity."
Rarity nodded to her friend before beginning to make her leave. However, the unicorn was only able to make a few steps before she heard Twilight speak up. "Wait!"
Rarity paused as she looked back to her friend. "Yes, Twilight?"
Twilight floated her last book onto the shelf before she looked back at Rarity. Staring at the unicorn, Twilight kept a curious tone on her face as her eyes narrowed on her. "Is something going on?"
Rarity's heart skipped a beat and she stepped back in surprise. With her eyes widening in uncertainty and slight worry, Rarity mustered a quick smile in an attempt to nullify any visible tensions. "What… what ever do you mean?"
"Well," began Twilight as she spoke in a more logical and academic tone of voice, "I remember the last time you broke your sewing machine, you practically pulled your hair out because you were so stressed about it. But now, you don’t really seem as worried about the repair book not being in."
"Ummm…" Rarity looked away from Twilight's gaze, realizing that the alicorn had a valid point. Even though the fact that her machine broke again was enough to make her fairly fearful about her future orders, Rarity certainly didn’t show as much stress about it now. "Well, I… I can't really get anywhere with my designs if I act flustered about it now, would I? It didn't do any good for me last time, so I know it won't help me if I acted that way again."
Twilight's eyebrows rose at Rarity's statement, looking both surprised and impressed at the unicorn's mature response. "Oh, well… good for you," she said with a smile. "It's nice to see that kind of attitude. Those new treatments at the spa must really be working out for you!"
"Why, yes they have!" Rarity said with a more upbeat tone of voice. "Aloe and Lotus developed this new form of steam therapy for their saunas which is just divine Twilight! You have to try it sometime!"
"You know," said Twilight with a more carefree smile on her muzzle, "I think I might take you up on that."
Rarity gave a quick nod before noticing the time on the grandfather clock at the corner. "Oh… I'm sorry, Twilight, but I have to get back home soon."
Twilight noticed the time as well, seeing that it was getting close to seven. "Oh, alright," said the Princess before turning back to her friend. "I guess I'll see you later. Have a nice night, Rarity."
"You too." With that, Rarity gave her a warm smile before she made her way out of the library.
Though she was rather irritated about not having the repair book she needed, the unicorn certainly didn't feel the need to be as hysterical about as she usually was. In the past few weeks, Rarity realized that she was certainly feeling a lot less stressed in her life.
While she was worried that her friends were taking notice of her new attitude as well, Rarity knew that there wasn't much to worry about. Even though she didn't like being dishonest, she knew that her statement to Twilight wasn't necessarily a lie. The new spa treatments really were amazing, so it wasn't like they didn't help with her new calm demeanor.
However, Rarity didn’t feel the need to mention to her friend how Zecora was helping much, much more.
It had been two weeks since Rarity decided to begin a relationship with Zecora. While they both agreed to keep it a secret, mostly due to neither of them wanting any drama from other ponies, it was clear that the both of them were certainly feeling a lot better about it as the days went by.
Although it was still taking Rarity a while to get used to being with another mare like this, she had to admit that Zecora was more enjoyable than any stallion she ever met. Along with being a really good friend and great conversationalist, the zebra proved to be an amazing match for Rarity when it came to their more private affairs.
And with the combination of being with a great marefriend (or was it zebrafriend?), as well as the taboo of keeping it a secret, Rarity was quite pleased with how nice everything felt for her.
However, as she walked through the streets of Ponyville before the sun could set completely, Rarity's carefree stroll was interrupted when she heard Rainbow Dash call out for her.
"Hey, Rare!" Hearing the Pegasus, Rarity stopped her trot as she looked back, seeing Dash fly over to her with an upset look on her face. "Listen, I need to talk to you."
"Oh, umm… okay." While she was slightly confused, Rarity felt a weight in her chest as Rainbow Dash landed and walked up to her. Seeing the look of displeasure on her face, Rarity had a pretty good idea about what her friend wanted to talk to her about.
"What the hay happened with Thunderlane? I mean, when I asked him about it, he told me that you pretty much blew him off!"
Rarity cringed a little and looked away from Rainbow Dash, not wanting to face Dash’s upset stare. "I… I didn't blow him off, Rainbow! I just—"
"Rare, he was really looking forward to that date! He was really nervous about going out with you, and I didn't want you to mess with him or anything. But then when I heard that you pretty much dumped him—"
"Rainbow Dash," said Rarity in a more stern tone of voice as she turned back to her insistently, "I assure you, I did not want to dump Thunderlane. It was only one date, and…"
Rarity paused and took a moment to breathe. Even though she did feel rather bad about not accepting a second date from Thunderlane—despite how great of a stallion he really was—Rarity knew she had to explain the situation in a more understanding way for Rainbow Dash. Even though she couldn't exactly tell the whole truth as to why she wasn't seeing Thunderlane anymore, Rarity still wanted to make sure her friend didn’t see her as some heart-breaking wench for not seeing her co-worker anymore.
"… And I would be lying if I said that wasn't a great night. Thunderlane was an amazing date, and I really had a great time with him. And I'm sure that he mentioned that to you when I told him that last week."
Rainbow Dash groaned a little as she looked away. Even though she didn't like that Rarity wasn't giving Thunderlane a second chance, she knew that she did talk with him about it. "Y-yeah…. He did say how much you appreciated the date."
"And I wasn't lying," continued Rarity in a tenacious manner. "Thunderlane was nothing but a gentlecolt to me that night, and I want to thank you for setting me up with him."
Not expecting her to say that, Rainbow looked back to her before replying with a skewed eyebrow, "Really?"
"Yes," said the unicorn with a genuine smile, "it was a great night, and I'm glad that you convinced me to do it." Seeing how the Pegasus looked a little better at hearing that, Rarity kept her smile for another moment before continuing. "However… even with how great the date was, I…"
Rarity bit her lip as she thought about her answer. The last thing she wanted to do was lie to one of her friends about why she wouldn’t see Thunderlane anymore; however, she also knew that telling Rainbow Dash about Zecora wouldn't be a great decision either.
Thinking about it, Rarity expected that her friend would either: A) Freak out that her friend was suddenly a lesbian, or; B) laugh her flank off and never let her live it down.
And knowing how the second outcome was probably more likely, Rarity cleared her throat before she spoke semi-honestly.
"I… I honestly don't really think I'm ready for a relationship with a stallion right now. I mean, I have a lot of other responsibilities to tend to, what with my business and all. And because of that, I don't think having a coltfriend is the greatest idea at the moment."
Rarity breathed in and looked at her friend, hoping that her excuse was good enough for her. Rainbow, who was keeping a skeptical stare on her friend for a moment, looked back at Carousel Boutique.
Thinking it over, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes before sighing in defeat. "Uuuuuh… fine. I… I guess that makes sense…"
Rarity softly sighed in relief while the Pegasus wasn't looking directly at her. "I mean…" continued Rainbow Dash in a more understanding—yet still sullen—tone, "I guess you are pretty busy a lot."
"I am," said Rarity insistently, "and while I had a nice time with Thunderlane, I don’t think I'm able to focus on a coltfriend right now."
Rainbow Dash turned back to the unicorn as exhaled and nodded. "Well… okay. I mean, I'm glad you had a nice night with him. And plus, you do look a lot less stressed out after that date, so at least I helped out a little."
Though she knew that Thunderlane wasn't exactly the reason why she was much less stressed, Rarity kept her muzzle shut about it and nodded. "And you did help me out, Rainbow Dash, so thank you very much for that."
Hearing the sincerity in Rarity's statement, the Pegasus finally managed to muster a faint smile. "Yeah, well… you're welcome."
Glad that she was able to change her friend's attitude like that, Rarity gave a quick hug to Rainbow Dash. After Rainbow Dash hugged back a little, Rarity let go before speaking more insistently. "Alright, I think I need to head back home now, so I'll talk to you later, alright?"
Rainbow Dash merely nodded with a light smirk. "Alright. Sure thing, Rare."
Rarity then began to walk back towards her home as she looked back to the Pegasus. "And say hi to Thunderlane to me, okay?"
"You got it," said Rainbow Dash as she began to fly up in the air. "See ya later!"
With that, Rainbow Dash and Rarity went their separate ways, making the unicorn feel a lot better about she handled that situation. With a satisfied smile on her face, Rarity trotted with a new spring in her step as she reached closer to her house.
Before she could levitate out her key to open the door, Rarity saw that the door was already unlocked, making her feel secretly happier as she realized who was already here.
Walking up to her bedroom, Rarity's smile slowly turned to a more sensual smirk as she saw her door wide open. Waking into her darkened bedroom, Rarity was happy to see who was on her bed from the illumination of the bedside lamp.
Zecora, who was carrying a grin as lustful as the unicorn's, was lying on her back as she rested on top of Rarity's lush bedding.
"Why hello, my little mare," said the zebra in a deep tone as her eyes narrowed on her. "Are you glad I'm in your lair?"
"Well…" Rarity kept a cheeky smirk on her muzzle as she hopped onto the bed with her. "Even though I'd rather you wait until I made sure nopony was watching…"
Rarity then crawled up to the zebra before giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "… I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy walking home to this."
"Well, that is very nice to know…" Zecora wrapped a hoof around the back of Rarity's head as she bent in. Gently stroking the unicorn's luscious, purple mane, Zecora took her time as she kissed her deeply.
As Rarity's eyes became half-lidded and began to roll to the back of her head, she was almost thrown off when Zecora released her lips from their warm embrace. "There's plenty more I want to show…"
Feeling half-intoxicated by passion, Rarity could only giggle a little before she began nuzzling the zebra. "Well, aren't you a lot more active than usual!"
"I cannot help it," said Zecora as she nuzzled her back. "This day was a long one. And keeping this secret makes it much more fun."
Hearing that, Rarity pulled back a little a little, making Zecora pause her advances as she looked at her curiously.
"Yeah…" said Rarity as she attempted to speak clearly through her growing libido. "I'm starting to think ponies are getting suspicious."
"Oh, you think so?" asked the zebra. "How do you know?"
"Well…" Despite wanting to talk with Zecora somewhat seriously right now, that didn’t stop her from nuzzling the zebra's neck some more. "Twilight… noticed that I was a lot less stressed lately… Rainbow Dash too…"
No longer able to continue without giving in, Rarity started kissing the side of Zecora's muzzle. The zebra quickly turned her head towards her, making the two begin to kiss intensely for another moment.
Although she wanted to keep going like this all night, the unicorn broke off the kiss again as she tried to speak between deep breaths. "Zecora, am… am I good at keeping secrets?"
Even in her half-open gaze, Zecora was able to quickly nod to the mare before replying, "Well of course you are, my dear… Nopony knows that I'm here…"
Rarity tried to giggle, but it came out more in almost a hiccupped moan before she took Zecora in again. Kissing passionately, Rarity quickly took hold of the zebra, throwing her down on the other end of the bed before she laid on top of her.
With their tongues intertwining in thoughtless ecstasy, Rarity started to take more control as she kept Zecora pinned down on the mattress. With her hooves firmly planted on the zebra's shoulders, Rarity slowly began to pull back from her muzzle, making a faint line of saliva connect between their lips for a moment before breaking apart.
"Now…" Rarity said in a lustful tone as she pulled back and sat on top of Zecora's chest. Keeping her deep stare on the zebra, Rarity breathed in heavily as she tried to speak in a deep moan.
"Zecora… I have a lot planned for the two of us toni—HHHUUUUHHHH!!!!"
Rarity's eyes suddenly changed from a half-lidded gaze on the zebra to a wide-eyed stare in terror on something else.
Looking away from Zecora, Rarity was frozen in fear as she sat on top of the zebra. Noticing how drastically the unicorn changed, Zecora started to grow worried as she noticed where Rarity was looking. Knowing they were on the opposite end of the bed, she knew that from where Rarity was sitting that she was looking directly at the still-open doorway.
Slowly, Zecora tried to turn her head so she could see what Rarity was looking at. Crooking her neck, Zecora was barely able to notice much at first from her angle. However, the first thing the zebra noticed was a book lying near the doorway.
Looking closer, Zecora realized it was the one Rarity said she was planning to get from the library. However, Zecora's focus immediately changed as she saw who was next to it, making her become wide-eyed in shock as well.
Spike, who came by to give Rarity her book, was standing at the doorway of her bedroom in stunned silence. With his mouth hung open as wide as his welling eyes, the dragon wasn't able to make a single sound or movement at that moment.
Instead, the only thing that Spike was able to do was stand still, frozen at the spot while Rarity looked back at him, completely mortified.
"Sp… Spikey…"