//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Special Somepony // Story: Green // by Steel Resolve //------------------------------// Rarity spent the evening quietly, laying out fabric and materials for the labor ahead. After she finished getting everything ready, she sat waiting anxiously for her friend. She just hoped she hadn't managed to cause a rift in their friendship with her foolishness. While she waited, she carefully laid out her best silver, took out her favourite blend, and poured herself a cup of tea. It was good, very calming and soothing. She nibbled lightly on a scone. Rarity looked over the scroll she had been given for the occasion. After some research, she had gotten instructions from Twilight about a spell that would help her with the task. Hoofstitching was common enough amongst earth ponies. They simply gathered the magic in their bodies and focused it on a single point, giving them the grip necessary to manipulate a needle. Their mouths were quite dexterous, of course, but one could hardly expect to sew with one's mouth. Pinkie seemed to be able to use the grip at will. She had demonstrated it on numerous occasions by pulling balls out of trees and an eye-patch out of a chimney. Applejack had also shown no difficulty holding sticks on which to roast marshmallows during Twilight's first sleepover. However, the control required was taxing and because of this, even though they were capable of holding items with a hoof, most earth ponies preferred to use their tails and mouths instead. Much like the cloudwalking spell, earth pony grip was something that could be replicated by unicorn magic. Thankfully the spell version was not nearly as taxing, else it might have been beyond her. Rarity planned to use it on both herself and Fluttershy to ease the difficulty for the pair. Frankly, she was not entirely certain how Fluttershy had managed to aid in the sewing of Rarity's own dress for the Grand Galloping Gala without that ability, though she supposed Twilight might have cast the spell. She had always wondered, though, how did a pegasus come to cultivate such a refined taste in sewing technique? Had she studied under somepony? Or perhaps she avidly perused fashion articles? It was a mystery. Fluttershy arrived about an hour after Rarity had excused herself from the party. She cursed her hot-tempered idiocy yet again. Had she not overreacted, she would have been able to walk Fluttershy back from the party. She had also cut short her attendance at her own celebration, which was unforgivable considering the time and effort Pinkie had put in. Perhaps it was for the best that she had decided against pursuing her feelings. Not only had her runaway emotions caused her to injure herself amidst distraction, but she had also struck one of her closest friends purely as a result of her suspicions. She hugged Fluttershy gently as she arrived. "Thank you for coming, dear. I want to apologize again for my actions earlier. I was afraid my horrid behavior might have offended you. It means so much to have you here, and to have your help on such a demanding project." Fluttershy hugged her back, but not as warmly as she had previously. Shy had seriously considered just going home, as she wasn't sure what to think of Rarity after everything that had gone on. Her friend’s behavior had brought back unpleasant memories... memories of her own actions while under Discord's influence, and more recently under the tutelage of a very charismatic minotaur. "It's no problem, Rarity, but exactly what brought that on? Um, if you don't mind explaining, I mean..." Rarity blushed. She released her friend and motioned for her to sit while she poured a cup of tea for her guest. "I had decided to take Opal for a quick checkup; the poor thing seems so testy of late. When I arrived I... saw the two of you hugging." Fluttershy looked startled. Did she hear what we said? What would that mean? She wasn’t sure if this was good or bad. "Did you hear what we were talking about?" Rarity shook her head. "Not in the slightest! I just saw the two of you... embracing, so I decided that Opal's checkup could wait. I'm afraid I assumed you two were having a... private moment. I jumped to a conclusion I shouldn't have. Then later, when I saw Applejack kiss Rainbow Dash, I jumped to another one." "You thought me and Applejack were..." Fluttershy blushed furiously. Rarity nodded ruefully. "Truth be told, I was more than a little jealous... b-because you're my friend, you see! I do so enjoy spending time with you, and I was afraid she would take you away from me. N-not that I would not be overjoyed to see you find somepony to love, I would be thrilled! I also would never forgive you if you failed to have me make the wedding dress. But then, when I saw her kissing Rainbow... Well, I just decided to march right up and smack that hussy in the face for ever denying you!” The fashionista blanched at her own vehemence. “W-what I mean to say is, I felt that way! Not that Applejack is a hussy... Oh, I am making an absolute fool of myself again." She began to cry a bit in frustration. Fluttershy stood up and gently embraced her friend. "I forgive you, Rarity." It was true. She could see now that Rarity had been trying to save a friend from being hurt. She could also tell that the jealousy Rarity spoke of wasn't because of romantic feelings. "Not that I would not be overjoyed to see you find somepony you love." If only you knew, Rarity. She sighed a bit. At least I didn't have to ruin our friendship by telling you how I felt about you. I do love you, but it would hurt so much to ruin what we have now. Applejack was right; Rarity was a good friend. However, knowing what she did, she saw no point in confessing feelings that weren't returned. She gently stroked her friend’s mane. It felt good, and Fluttershy herself felt better than she had in quite a while. She didn't have to feel tense around her friend anymore. It was true that she was disappointed, of course, but she didn't need Rarity to love her. It was enough they were the closest of friends, and she would always love her regardless of how their relationship took shape. Rarity snuffled into Fluttershy’s mane briefly before pulling back from the embrace. "Darling, I don't mean to pry, but Applejack did mention something. She said you were not in love with her, obviously, but that you do love somepony else. I love you so very dearly, darling... A-as a friend of course! As such I would love to... volunteer to help in any way that might assist you in landing your special somepony. If you'll have my help of course." Fluttershy wanted to laugh, and also to cry. Applejack had been right again. Rarity didn't love her, but instead wanted to help her find somepony to love. Fluttershy held her friend's shoulders and looked her deep in the eyes. "You don't have to do that, Rarity. I'm over it now. I want you to know I love you very much too. I couldn't ask for a better friend." Their tea finished, work began on the order. Rarity cast the grip spell on herself and marveled at how well it worked. Granted, this was not going to be as much fun as using her sewing machine, but there was something very satisfying about hoofing the material every step of the way. It felt more visceral. She decided then and there to hoofstitch much more in the future, just not for large projects, which would be too time consuming. She was going to cast the spell on Fluttershy next, but somehow or other the pegasus had already started. "Fluttershy, dear, h-how are you doing that, exactly?" She watched as her friend threaded a needle by holding the thread with her teeth and bringing the needle up with a single hoof. Fluttershy daintily released the thread after tying it off at one end, doing so with a quick and deft twist of her mouth. "Oh, holding the needle, you mean?" Rarity nodded, stupefied. The needle was firmly attached to her friend’s hoof. Fluttershy held up her hoof, letting Rarity see a small arc of electricity running down the length of her horseshoe. "It's a pegasus magic technique. We're taught it as foals to help us get a hold on metal objects. You focus your magic into lightning energy and it magnetizes the horseshoe." She thought for a moment. "Do you remember the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant?" Rarity nodded again, fascinated. "Yes, of course..." "That's why the pegasus tribes worked with metal armor so much. Cloth would have been lighter to fly in, but they could work metal very easily. Some of our more practiced craftsman of that age could shape it however they chose just by running the right currents through it." Fluttershy demonstrated by holding a hoof over the needle, making it rise and fall from the garment. Rarity watched the needle dance. "So... when you talked about haute couture, it wasn't just something you'd heard about in a fashion magazine, was it?" Fluttershy smiled. "Oh no, my grandmother taught me. I've known how to sew since I was very small." Rarity watched in fascination at the practiced and graceful movements as her friend pieced the garment together. Stop it, Rarity! She is your friend, nothing more. You will stop mooning over her like a lovesick foal! Just because you've learned something new and interesting about her, even if it does make her that little bit more perfect...  They worked in companionable silence until it was dark. As the evening grew late, Rarity looked in satisfaction at their progress: six dresses complete. They would be done in plenty of time. Fluttershy yawned. "I'm sorry, Rarity, I have to go home now. We can work more tomorrow after the spa visit, if that’s okay?" Rarity opened her mouth to reply but instead yawned herself. Giggling a little, she replied, "Yes, I suppose it is late, isn't it?. Come, dear, I will walk you home." The two trotted amiably together to Fluttershy's cottage. Along the way Fluttershy became tired enough to lose her balance, so the rest of the trek was spent with Fluttershy leaning on Rarity's shoulder for balance. Feeling the delicate mare shift against her, Rarity could barely suppress the urge to squeak as her heart began to race. Why must you tempt me so, my love?  Finally reaching the cottage door, Rarity opened it and guided her charge upstairs. She helped Fluttershy into bed, foregoing her preferred method of sliding under the sheets in deference to Fluttershy’s overly-tired state and simply letting the pegasus shuffle under the sheets. Fluttershy looked up at her friend sleepily. "You're such a good friend, Rarity. I wish I could find somepony like you to be with," she murmured before yawning and snuggling further into her covers. Rarity caught her breath, swallowed very slowly and very carefully, then leaned over and kissed her friend gently on the forehead. She whispered just under her breath, “Goodnight, my darling.” She walked home, deep in thought. "Somepony like me... very well! If Fluttershy wants to meet somepony like me, then as Celestia is my witness she shall!” She pondered; how could she accomplish this? Who was sufficiently like her to suit Fluttershy’s needs? Fancy Pants was rather like her in temperament and outlook, but he was taken, for the moment anyway, as he was currently with Fleur de Lis. Thinking further, Rarity also did not like the idea of exposing her friend to the same uncaring crowd that had upset her during her brief modeling career. If she was courted by Fancy Pants, Fluttershy would definitely have to run that particular gauntlet again, and a mare of her tenderness and kindness was far too good for the ponies that circulated in that social stratum. Perhaps one of the sisters who ran the spa? They were certainly elegant and sophisticated without being part of the so-called ‘elite’. The things they can do with their hooves are not to be ignored either, Rarity thought with a grin. She sighed as she reached the front door of the Boutique, temporarily stumped. She had no doubt that she would find the right pony for Fluttershy, it would just take time. After all, her most cherished friend couldn’t be dumped off on somepony unworthy of her like a dress fit only for seconds! Once again, Rarity felt a twinge in her heart at the hopeful notion that she herself could be the one, but entertained the thought only briefly before dismissing it guiltily. She couldn't do that to Fluttershy; she wasn't worthy of a mare such as her any more than the ponies she had just mentally rejected. I just wish I could tell her about my feelings for her in some way without risking our friendship.  Her head snapped bolt upright. I can be the one, in a fashion. An anonymous love letter! Yes! I can tell her how I feel under the cover of being a secret admirer! Perhaps I can find out more about this pony she loves. I could ask her to leave me a response!  Rarity smiled happily at the notion of finally unburdening herself, maybe not directly, but she could at least relate her emotions to Fluttershy in a tangible form now. Wasting no time, she ignited several candles at her writing desk and got out a sheet of paper. Oh, but Fluttershy might recognize my writing...  She briefly considered writing with her mouth, but she was long out of practice. All she would be likely to produce would be an illegible scribble, and that would not work at all. Unfortunately she could not force her own writing to look different when it was being penned by her magic, either. She looked down at her hoof consideringly, then picked up the pen with it experimentally. Her grip spell was still active, and would persist for several more hours yet. She held her hoof to the paper and began to write; the penmanship was shakier than her normal style, but still legible. Marshalling her thoughts, she began to write. "Dear Mare of my Dreams,  You do not know me, and I have only seen you from across a  crowded room. The vision of your beauty captivated me..."  The letter finished, she folded the paper neatly with her magic and slid it into a blank envelope, then lifted it to her lips and sealed her hopes into the letter with a soft kiss. Setting a dollop of wax over the fold, she warmed it with a simple spell, one she normally used to reheat tea if it had gone cold while she worked. Rarity then quickly threw on a few darker pieces of apparel and went back out into the night, sneaking out of the village back to Fluttershy's cottage. She crept up to the door quietly, the envelope clutched to her chest. Looking down at it, she hesitated. There is still time, even now. I could turn around, burn this missive, and forget the whole idea. Smiling, she reached up carefully and pinned the envelope to the door, along with a red rose from her garden. This was far too important to just dismiss. Shining eyes in the darkness blinked as they watched the shadowy figure arrive and leave. Angel grunted with disinterest and went back to sleep. Rarity galloped back home in a rush, her heart feeling unburdened and light once more. She had poured her heart out in that letter. If it failed to inspire her friend back to the path of romance then she was certain nothing could do so. Fluttershy would never know who her anonymous suitor was, but being courted in such a way would surely make her more open to love in general. A lady needed romance in her life, after all, and what greater romance could there be than to be wooed from afar by a dashing paramour? Reaching her workroom once again, she began penning a second letter. Then a third, and a fourth. Perhaps she was not meant to be with Rarity, but Fluttershy would be made aware that she was loved. Then she would find her the perfect pony to be with. She giggled. Fluttershy would be happy, and Rarity would be happy for her. She deserves love; I will find it and make it hers!  She bent to her task until the early hours of the morning before fatigue forced her to retire to her bedroom. Lying back in her bed, Rarity smiled as she thought of the letters ready and waiting to be sent. Fluttershy would hopefully never know the lengths Rarity had gone to in order to secure her friend’s happiness, but she would, and that was enough. She slept deeply that night, and dreamed of her love happily surrounded by letters and red roses.