For Whom The Belle Tolls
Chapter 2
The holidays came and went without a hitch in Ponyville. All Rarity’s friends came to her party at the boutique, happy to spend the time with each other. And true to what the posh pony had said, none of them saw her on the day of Hearths Warming. The other five friends all came to Pinkie’s party, and for hours upon hours they all laughed and partied, feeling a sense of happiness only the pink pony could bring about in them. The top level of Sugar Cube Corner was decorated with a combination of festive décor, and her trademark party items. She made enough baked goods and sweets to have dessert for a month.
But a certain Pegasus left far earlier than the rest. When the party was almost half done, Rainbow Dash announced to everypony that she was feeling a little under the weather, and was going home to let her stomach settle. And while she had eaten enough platters of sweets for several ponies, Applejack couldn’t help but feel her suspicions beginning to bubble up again. Suspicions about where exactly she was going. It wasn’t the first time since she accused Rarity on her walk, and she doubted it would be the last but she pushed the feeling aside and bade her friend farewell as she left. She was done with trying to figure out whether or not her friends were in love, feeling the full force of Rarity’s wrath was enough to make her back off.
The remaining ponies continued to party, and though the room felt a little empty, Applejack enjoyed herself nonetheless. Nopony seemed too deterred about their missing friends, Pinkie’s parties provided more than enough entertainment. She, Twilight and Fluttershy left Sugar Cube Corner in the early hours of the morning, stuffed with cake, and feeling as though they could sleep for a week. Even Pinkie almost looked as though she might be running out of steam by the time the party ended. As the crowd thinned out, with each mare going her separate way, the farm pony found herself stopped for a moment, standing in the middle of the street, staring off into the direction of Rainbow’s house.
Was she really home?
She shook her head. If, she was home, she would have pestered her sick friend for no good reason. And if she wasn’t that would hardly prove anything, Rainbow could sleep comfortably almost anywhere, and it was really quite rare that she did fall asleep in her own house. The light in Pinkie’s bedroom went out, darkening the street, and Pulling Applejack back to her senses. Her hoofsteps echoed through the streets of the little town as she made her way back home for a good night’s rest.
Right around the time all the girls vacated the pink pony’s apartment, Rarity’s eyes snapped open. Her chest was heaving greatly, beads of sweat rolled slowly down her face. She wiped her eyes, unsure if the liquid around them was tears or just more sweat. Even her pillow was soaked. She drew the covers up around her laying body, perfectly warm but still shivering. She ran a hoof through her mane, feeling as it completely ruined her careful styling.
What an awful nightmare!
It was one the white unicorn had been having all too often, each time waking in a horrible state of fear and disorientation. She pulled her hoof back from her mane and let it slide down her face, jumping slightly when her elbow brushed up against something beside her in the bed. Something warm.
She rolled onto her side, her eyes meeting the back of Rainbow’s head. To see her there brought her some much needed serenity after such a horrible night terror. It was good to know she had somepony near, somepony she trusted. Somepony she loved.
As wonderful as her time spent with Rainbow over the past few months was, it seemed as though the longer they were together, the more vivid her dreams became, adding more detail, bringing clarity to the voices she heard. It was the worst when they shared a bed, locking the terrible visions in her head. And worse, they were impossible to forget, for the images in her nightmares were real, memories of her youth, repressed, but finally beginning to break the surface. Despite her rude awakening, her lips pulled back into a rueful smile. How ironic, the pony who seemed to bring on these terrible scenes was the only one who could provide her with the comfort to ignore it. Why should she let such memories haunt her? Rainbow was here now and that was all that mattered.
Rarity realized she had her legs crossed, and with her mind now absent of thought, she noticed how badly she had to use the little fillies’ room. She slid softly from the bed, landing delicately on her hooves. It was difficult to keep hoofsteps quiet especially on the hardwood floor of her room, but she managed and made her way from the room in silence. She continued to watch her step as she left her room, staring down the hallway to the room in which Sweetie was staying the night. It was nice to be with the two fillies she loved on such a wonderful holiday, but they made for quite the obstacle to overcome at night. She felt no fear as she wandered her home in the dark. She knew the halls well, and the monster in her dreams held no sway here.
She returned to her room just as quietly afterwards, nearly having a heart attack when she opened the door to her bedroom. The room was dark, the only illumination coming in through the street lamps outside the window, but the light shining in was more than enough to make out Rainbow’s magenta eyes open wide, locked with her own.
Rarity placed a hoof on her chest, trying to regain her breath from such a start.
“Rainbow!” She half whispered, half gasped. “I’m so sorry, did I wake you?”
“No, no. Well, yes, but I’m a really light sleeper. I don’t think anypony could have been quieter.” She kept her voice low, so as not to wake the filly in the next room. She rolled to her back. “Didn’t mean to scare you.” Her voice was groggy and tired, but considerate.
Despite the cyan mares assurances, Rarity felt awful for waking her, there wasn’t much that made her angry then being awoken unexpectedly.
“My apologies dear, I didn’t mean to.”
“Nah don’t.” She paused, tilting her head to look at Rarity. “You have another nightmare?”
Rarity found herself at a significant pause. How could she know? It wasn’t often the blue pegasus spent the night-although she wished it was-and Rarity never once mentioned those nightmares to anypony. But, though the question surprised her, she saw no reason to lie to Rainbow.
“I… Yes, an awful one, but how-”
“Not the first time you’ve woken me up. When I was here a few days ago you kept mumbling ‘no’ and shaking. I stayed up to make sure you were alright. And earlier tonight you kept talking, and when I tried to move closer to you, you punched me.”
“No I didn’t.” Rarity scoffed in disbelief.
“You did too. I have the bruise to prove it.” She laughed, quietly. It was a funny sound.
Rarity felt truly horrible now, feeling so comfortable next to Rainbow while causing her such distress.
“Oh my goodness darling, I’m so sorry.”
Dash just laughed harder.
“Why are you laughing?” She felt her guilt turn to slight annoyance.
“It’s funny to think about.” She breathed before falling into a pit of quiet hysteria, rolling and shaking her legs. The unicorn was glad to see Rainbow wasn’t taking the disruptions to her sleep too hard. After a few moments she calmed down.
“Sorry,” she whispered, sitting up in the bed while Rarity climbed back in. “Do you want to talk about it? Your bad dreams I mean, not you trying to assault me.”
The white mare shot her a glance, a little upset that she was so jovial about the situation.
“Not particularly no.”
“Aw come on. You can tell me, I’ll take it seriously. I’m no stranger to bad dreams.”
“This one’s different.” Rarity said, keeping her eyes on her covers, unwilling to meet Rainbow’s eye, feeling almost ashamed of the visions she saw in the night.
“I know it is, a strong pony like you shaking? Something is obviously wrong, so let me help.”
Rarity locked eyes with the pony in her bed. Her expression was serious now, and she had no doubt Rainbow was willing to
listen. The unicorn sighed.
“It’s about… then. And him. And what he did to you.”
“Oh Rarity, you’re not still worked up on that are you?” Her tone wasn’t dismissive, but concerned.
“Yes I am! And I for one am shocked that you aren’t. All that time, what you were put through, it was nothing short of awful.” She said, her voice turning to a whispering shout.
“Yeah but I got over it. It was a long time ago, but even back then I never let it get to me.” Rainbow whispered. As they held each other’s gaze, Rarity actually found herself believing what she heard.
“But I can’t help feeling like I could have done something. I know what you were put through, but it was just as painful for me to sit by, watching helplessly.”
“What? What could you have done? Is that the problem, you feel guilty for what happened to me? None of that is on you Rarity, absolutely none of it, please believe me. Never once have I blamed you for what went down back then, please don’t beat yourself up for that. Trust me.” She placed a blue hoof on her shoulder.
“But he wouldn’t have been as hard on me-”
“Rarity please don’t. What happened, happened and I’m past it. If I don’t blame you, you shouldn’t blame yourself.” Rarity was far from feeling alright with what happened, but knowing the pony beside her held no resentment towards her for the tragedies that befell her so long ago, was a huge weight off her mind.
“Thank you Rainbow,” She whispered. “You actually helped a little."
“See, told you, I’m good at this stuff. Helping ponies feel better, it’s what I’m here for. Now come on.” She tossed the covers off of her and slid out of bed, using her wings to ensure her hooves landed softly.
“What, where are we going?”
“Well, it’s pretty obvious that you’re not getting back to sleep, my mind’s too busy to rest, and I have no clue how your coffee maker works.”
With that less than apt explanation she left the room, and Rarity followed her. Rainbow used her wings to lightly glide down the stairs, while Rarity was forced to move slowly, taking each step as soft as she could.
Oh she’s so hopeless. But I love her.
Finally she made it to the bottom of the flight, and allowed herself a bit of noise, being so far from Sweetie’s room. When they met again in the kitchen, Rainbow was already in a seat. She had turned the lights on in the kitchen, and both mares had to squint their eyes to adjust to the light.
“Hey Rarity look.” Dash said, with a bit more volume now that they were downstairs. She pointed a hoof to her chest, where a large purple blotch was forming. She wore a smile but Rarity was mortified.
“Oh my Dash, I am so sorry! That looks very painful.” Her voice was still quiet, the habit now formed in her mind.
“Yeah, you have a pretty wicked swing, you should take up boxing.” She said with a wink. Rarity didn’t feel quite as compelled to apologize seeing as how the pegasus seemed to find her injury comical. Rarity walked past, stopping to give Dash a quick peck on her head, feeling her ratty multicoloured mane brush against her muzzle. Her horn began to brighten and she used her magic to open the cupboard and pull out her coffee machine. As she passed a window, her own reflection caught her eye, though not in a good way. Her hair was in absolute disarray, and she groaned. That couldn’t be fixed, she’d have to rewash her hair and work again from the ground up. Lost in her thoughts, the posh mare neglected to watch her step and walked the coffee maker into the counter with a loud crash. She cringed.
“Woah keep it down Rarity, Sweetie’s still passed out upstairs!” Dash said sarcastically, poking fun at her for all the times she made a similar statement to the pony in the chair. The unicorn stuck her tongue out, making a rather childish face. Rainbow laughed, not used to seeing such a high class mare act so silly. Dash seemed to bring out the filly in her.
“You really do love her don’t you?” Rarity asked.
“Sweetie Belle? Of course, she’s a great little filly.” Her friend paused again. “The way she looks at you… do you think she’ll ever look at me that way?”
Opal appeared out of the shadows and jumped on Rainbow’s lap. Late at night was the only time that cat was friendly, being too tired to swat at anypony. The pegasus scratched her behind the ears.
“In time, I have no doubt.” She said, truly believing it. She poured the ground coffee beans into the filter. “But I feel as though she’s already warming to you. She had a lot of fun tonight.” She recalled to earlier in the evening. Their Hearth Warming was far quieter than the party at Sugar Cube but special nonetheless.
“So did I. Thanks for letting me stick around for the holidays. It was great to spend the time with you two.”
“Of course, you’re always welcome in our home."
The blue mare traced lines into the table with her hoof.
“Do you think it’ll be weird for Scootaloo? I mean, when we tell her, do you think it will affect how she sees Sweetie Belle? I love them both but I’m worried it might make her jealous.”
The suddenness of the question made the unicorn think Rainbow had been pondering the problem for a while. Rarity had never given it much thought.
“Well, it will certainly change how they see each other, but they are such good friends, I doubt it will affect that bond.” A dark brown liquid began to fall from the machine, dripping into the cup and filling the air with the scent of caffeine. Rainbow smiled, obviously relieved to hear that both of her little sisters would still be friends. Rarity used her magic to pull sugar from the shelf and cream from the fridge.
“How do you like your coffee, Dash?”
The multicoloured mare looked up.
“Oh, jeez, I was too distracted, I meant to help you out with that!” She began to stand but a gentle push from Rarity’s magic sat her back into the chair.
“It’s quite alright, I made a cup for myself as well.”
“You’re too good to me.”
“Well, you’re lucky I love you.”
“Two cream, two sugar please and thank you..”
Maybe that brash pegasus was beginning to learn a bit about manners from so much time with the posh unicorn. A cup surrounded in a blue aura hovered over to her, which Rainbow accepted gratefully.
Rarity filled a glass of her own and carried it to the table. Rainbow took a sip of her beverage and let out a sigh of happiness.
“Oh, and I love you too.” Dash said remembering what Rarity expressed to her earlier. Rarity gave a smile at the remark, but her expression quickly turned to horror as she heard a small sound behind her. It was the surprised gasp of a filly. Rarity whirled around in her seat. A pair of peering green eyes stared back at her from around the corner. Realizing she’d been caught, Sweetie Belle stepped slowly into the room. Opal jumped from Rainbows lap and ran off again.
Sweetie Belle’s look was one of confusion and curiosity. Her mane was messy from just hopping out of bed but her eyes were wide awake. She’d obviously heard all the commotion downstairs, and came down to listen in. But this time Rarity knew she couldn’t bust her little sister for snooping.
“You love her?” The filly asked. Rarity bit her hoof. This wasn’t exactly how she had intended for her sister to find out. Oh, where to begin this explanation? Rainbow Dash stepped up, beckoning with her hoof for Sweetie Belle to come closer. Rarity could see it in her eyes; she knew just as well as she did that this was going to be a long and confusing talk for the little filly. But Dash’s face was kind and comforting, as she brought the little unicorn into a hug. For her brash nature and slightly self centered ways, that blue mare made a pretty good sister.
“Yes I do Sweetie. Very much.”