//------------------------------// // Chapter III - Memories & New Choirs. // Story: Germophobe (ON HIATUS) // by Ribgf //------------------------------// Germophobe III. Memories & New Choirs. Rarity finally came back home from her friend Twilight Sparkle, after searching the entire library until deep in the night and finding nothing really dissapointed her. Just facing it seems like the only option then, Rarity shivered at the thought of the future, she certainly did not look forward to the amount of fear that was waiting for her not soon from now. Unless she just didn't face it at all, living like this was hard but doable, for now that is. The mare stood in front of the boutique for a while, just worrying about the things to come until the who-ing of a nearby owl interfered with her thoughts, she shook her head and opened the front door with her horn. Rarity took off the boots and put them gently next to the front door outside in the darkness. She then slowly walked into the boutique and lit the lantern with her magic. The pony sighed deeply, she didn't want to do the usual routine again, but then again, if she didn't, then the anxiety would highly increase, causing her to avoid all sort of things. Rarity reluctantly walked slowly up the stairs with her head hung down to the bathroom again and lit the lantern upstairs. She turned on the shower and waited in front of it until the water was the right temperature. The mare stood there in the cold bathroom, just looking at the water dropping on the floor while being deep in thought yet again. She tried hard to think back at what happened back then to cause this awful phobia, but nothing came up, nothing....Rarity had never known what could have caused it, even back then.  She only remembers the very first time that she felt like this.... _____________________________________ Rarity was deep in sleep, dreaming of all sorts of wonderful things until her alarm clock woke her up from her rest, it was a new day and she had work to do. She spent the beautiful spring morning creating a new dress, taking her time, happily singing all sorts of songs doing the thing she loves most until a hyperactive little white unicorn came bouncing in with a flyer in her mouth, Rarity's little sister Sweetie Belle. "Hey sis! I totally forgot it, but this year's Sister Hooves Social is this afternoon! Can we go again?"  Oh no, not again. Rarity didn't really want to go, but lately she hasn't done much with her little sister.  The mare was in thought with a considering look on her face, her hoof on her white coated chin. "Aww, come on. It'll be fun." Sweetie begged with a sad expression to get Rarity to give in. "Ok, we'll go." The mare said reluctantly, but trying to sound enthousiastic. "YAY!" The filly cried into the air, then bounced around the boutique in happiness "Thank sis." She said after she calmed down a bit. "I just got to finish this beautiful dress, I'll meet you there, well, unless you want to stay." She actually hoped that her sister would leave, but tried to be nice. "No thanks. I got some crusading to do. Bye." She said happily and then trotted off, dissapearing in the crowds of the market outside. Rarity closed the door with her horn and continued with what she was doing, her mind focusing on the dress again.  ---------- Rarity arrived at Sweet Apple Acres to compete in the Sister Hooves Social again with her sister Sweetie Belle. She already saw her standing in the distance next to Applejack and Apple Bloom, Rarity was late, she just wanted to finish the dress first, luckily it turned out just as she wanted, it put her in a even better mood. "Here I am." Rarity said to Sweetie Belle when she was sure that she close enough for it to be comprehendable. Sweetie immediately turned around, a smile on her face. "My apologies for being late." The mare said gently. "It's okay, you're here, that's what matters." Sweetie Belle happily said. Sweetie was just done talking when Granny Smith started to yell some inaudible things in the microphone, well atleast inaudible for Rarity, but it was obvious that the race was about to start.  The ponies walked the starting line in front of the big mudd pool, except for Rarity. When her mind processed that she had to get dirty, an hugh amount of anxiety unlike anything she had ever experienced suddenly shot through her entire body. Why was she so scared to get dirty? Normally it wasn't that bad, but now she just stood there shocked, thinking of what to do. "Come on sis, it's about to start." Sweetie said, standing by the start line a few hooves away from the shocked white coated mare. She recieved no answer and her face turned from a happy to a confused looking one. She observed Rarity and immediately saw the fear in the big blue eyes of her. "What's wrong?" "Three.....Two.....One....." Granny Smith counted, just audible now. Rarity suddenly turned around and ran away as she heard the start sign of the contest behind her.  "Rarity! Where are you going?!" She heard vaguely through the wind that blasted against her ears. Sweetie just stood there at the start line, having not a clue of what was going on. She just stared at the white pony running away to the direction of the village. _________________________________ Rarity was still standing there in front of the shower, reliving the event of a few months ago. Minutes had passed by, the shower still running with nopony under it.  The mare shook her head when her event in her head was over, she felt regret for what she had done that day, but was happy that Sweetie Belle didn't really mind, instead she did keep asking why Rarity ran away like that, but never got an answer from her. The white mare now felt even worse for ignoring her confused little sister like that, maybe the hot shower will cheer her up. She stepped into the falling hot water, It was just the right temperature. Rarity made sure her entire body was wet then grabbed the bottle of soap with her teeth and did her thing. Her mind was coming up with all sorts of bad memories of the past, causing her to get more gloomy every second. She waited as always until she was sure that the soap had removed all the germs on her body and stepped under the falling water again. Once the mare was sure that she was clean, she stepped out of the shower and dryed herself, each towel for a different body part as always. She yet again didn't style her mane and tell. Rarity now did something new, she opened the bottle of mouthwash with her horn and poured some into the glass on the sink. She poured it into her mouth and rinsed her mouth for forty seconds, just barely making it without spitting out it out in disgust and because it was so hot. She then filled the glass with water and rinsed her mouth with that to get rid of the awful taste of the blue liquid. She then spit it out and turned on the faucet afterwards to remove the fluids of spit and moutwash. It didn't feel clean enough for her and got some bleach out of the closet in the bathroom. Rarity poured it onto a cloth and cleaned the entire sink with it, all of it with her horn ofcourse. Satisfied she trew the cloth into the laundry-basket and continued her cleaning ritual by filling the mop cart with soapy-water. Reluctantly she started mopping the entire boutique yet again which took about a hour. She then reminded that Sweetie Belle was here earlier and cleaned the sofa with furniture wash until she was satisfied. The plate with the cups of tea on it was still on the table, they didn't even touch it, because of Rarity's confession. The mare levitated it to the kitchen and was satisfied with her work.  Rarity was exhausted by the long day and walked up stairs to go to bed. She entered the room and lit the lantern hanging from the cealing, now able to see her lonely bed where Opal mostly lay during the day. She missed her. A few weeks back Rarity had reluctantly given Opalescance to Fluttershy, she started to see her as dirty too and just had to give her away for now. Rarity never told the actual reason to Fluttershy, who only asked her once because of her lack of self-consicous. Rarity got into her bed with a gloomy mood, just like always and unlit the lantern with her horn, which only served her for seeing where she was going. Rarity just stared at the ceiling, unable to block out the awful things her mind was coming up non-stop. After what seemed like hours she finally fell asleep in her cozy, warm two pony sized bed.