"Hey Rarity!"
"Hmm?" Rarity looked up from her book. Sweetie Belle stood in the kitchen doorway. As she watched, her little sister tilted her head slightly.
"What's that?"
"Oh, this? It's just something that I found at the library," smiled Rarity. Sweetie Belle looked at the cover.
"'Delving the mind'. Huh... is this one of those psyco-thingy books?"
"It's a psychology book, yes," replied Rarity mildly.
"Is it any good? Come to think of it, why are you reading it, anyway? I thought you only read books about fashion and love."
"I..." Rarity hesitated. This was a problem. She couldn't really explain why she was really reading the book. Pinkie Promises were serious business. But on the other hand, her little sister had a point. It was out of her usual tastes, and had no relation whatsoever to fashion that would facilitate a lie about getting inspiration. So how to satisfy Sweetie Belle's curiosity? "I...suppose it just caught my eye. It's good to branch out and learn about new things every once in a while, Sweetie Belle. And it is a good book, thank you."
"Cool!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle. "Hey, can I borrow it when you're done? I could take it to the clubhouse and we could try being psychics!"
"Psychologists, darling," corrected Rarity, smiling a little at the mistake. It was a nice change from all the frowning she had been doing recently. "As for taking it to the clubhouse, I suppose it would be alright, but do please be careful with it- this is a library book, not one of my own."
"Alright!" agreed Sweetie Belle happily.
A few hours of reading later, Rarity relinquished the book to her younger sister with only the slightest of hesitations. She couldn't see any way a typical crusader disaster could unfold from this after all, but on the other hoof stranger things had happened before. The time the crusaders had, on a particularly boring day, found a book on philosophy sprang to mind. Nopony was quite sure what happened in the clubhouse that day, but the fact that all three crusaders had ended up running through the town screaming 'forty-two' at the top of their lungs was rather concerning. It was probably just as well the three had eventually fallen unconscious and lost all recollection of the days events.
In the end, Rarity thought it would be better to satisfy the inevitable, unstoppable curiosity sooner rather than later. After all, what could go wrong?
After giving the psychology book to her sister, Rarity decided to go on a walk through town to clear her head. As she walked, with no clear destination in mind, she pondered Pinkie's recent revelation, as well as the new viewpoint Twilight's books had given her on the matter- which was quite likely more well-balanced. It was still a rather jarring thought to think of these personalities as 'separate' entities, but her own observations had more or less proven that point. As for the psychological implications, well...Pinkie seemed happy enough. Plus, there was the fact that it was Pinkie Pie involved, which rather distorted the definition of normality.
Then there was the issue of this escaped psychologist. By all accounts, he seemed an extremely dangerous individual. She did hope that the Royal Guard would close the matter quickly. Preferably, though a lady such as herself would never admit it, by finding his severely mutilated corpse. Part of her did worry about the Guard's...effectiveness, considering all the national threats they had failed to solve. And that the Elements of Harmony had, come to think of it. Seriously, if it came down to the girls fighting this stallion, Rarity would not be subscribing to the equestrian ideal of 'love and tolerance'. In this case, the Rainbow Dash method of 'beat them up and ask questions later' seemed a nice fit for the situation. She deeply regretted her initial reaction now. It must have hurt Pinkie quite a lot...but then again, Pinkie had hurt her as well...
"Howdy, Rarity!" Rarity looked up at the familiar voice, and found herself standing in Ponyville's marketplace. A few meters away, Applejack was waving from the apple stall. As she trotted over, Applejack began speaking again, a hint of curiosity in her voice. "Are ya alright, Rarity? Ya were lookin' mighty distracted."
"I'm fine, Applejack. I was just thinking about everything that has happened."
"You mean with Pinkie?" asked Applejack. Rarity nodded. Applejack leant back. "Ah'm probably not the best pony to talk to, but Ah reckon Ah've got mah thoughts straight. Wanna talk 'bout it?"
Rarity shook her head. "I'm afraid it's not really something you can help with, Applejack. It's just all this has rather...shaken my world view. You know how I was at first. It's all a matter of getting myself to adjust. Pinkie Pie seems happy enough, and Twilight's books are helping, it's just..." she trailed off.
"Jus' the whole thing gettin to ya? Like, how weird it is, even for Pinkie?"
"More than that. I think...I think part of it is the shock, yes, and how I initially thought about the whole thing plays into it as well, but...It's just that...well, she didn't trust us. Even after all that we've been through together. I think that's what hurts the most about all of this."
Applejack sighed. "Ah know the feelin'. Problem is, Pinkie had a darn good reason for keepin' that secret. After all she's been through, Ah can't rightly fault her for not tellin' us. Sides, our reactions weren't exactly the best."
Rarity winced. "Yes, I know. I feel terrible about that now. I've been trying to make up for it, you know- she...they...oh, whatever the word is, came into my boutique the other day. They wanted three armbands of all things, each a different colour. I think it was to help us tell them apart. It was only a quick job, but I put it top of my priority list."
"Really? Huh. Come to think of it, Ah think Ah saw Pinkie wearin' a pink one earlier."
"Yes, I think that would be the one for Pinkie. Still, I feel that wasn't nearly enough."
"Ah reckon the best thing to do is just apologise fer what you said. Have ya tried that yet?"
"I...er...no, I don't think I have. Things have just been so awkward, you know, an-"
"Quit makin' excuses." interrupted Applejack with a shake of her head. "You're sorry. Jus' say so, an everythin'll turn out for the best. Now, are ya goin' to do that by yerself, or do Ah need to drag ya over there?"
"I...You're right. Thank you, Applejack, I shall go and apologise right now."
"Good." smiled the farmer "It'll be fine. You'll see."
"Speaking from experience?" asked Rarity. Unfortunately, the farmer winced slightly at that question. Rarity sighed at Applejack's hesitation, which was answer enough. "Never mind. I think you'd better come with me anyway, darling."
"Uhh...yeah. Jus' give me a few minutes to close up shop..."
"Well of course I forgive you, Sillies! We're the bestest of friends, right? Right? Why wouldn't I?" Rarity and Applejack, despite the latter's earlier words, both gave a little sigh of relief. The wording had been a little vague due to the public venue- i.e. Sugarcube Corner- But their feelings had been gotten across just fine regardless. Pinkie was beaming and bouncing happily behind the counter, her guard for the day only showing cursory interest. It had become a quickly-learned survival tactic for the military ponies stationed in Ponyville to not pay too much attention to the various antics of their charge. Protection detail or not, they couldn't do their jobs if their minds were trying to comprehend the actions of a reality-warping earth pony.
Pinkie leant in closer over the counter for a moment, and stopped bouncing. "Seriously, girls, thank you. From all three of us" she said, in a much quieter tone. She gave a large smile to the pair, who gladly returned it. Pinkie then snapped back into her original position, but didn't resume bouncing. The guard just looked straight ahead, desperately trying to ignore the fact that, although unseen to Rarity and Applejack, Pinkie had leant over the counter by extending the length of her hind legs to something beyond what simply straightening them could do.
"So, do you want anything to eat?" asked Pinkie, gesturing to the display with a hoof bearing a pink armband. Both declined politely, and the trio chatted mildly for a bit until some new customers came in.
"Well, Ah'd best get back to the stall." said Applejack, excusing herself. "See y'all later, girls!"
"Bye Applejack!" waved Pinkie. "Come back soon!"
"I suppose I'd better get back as well, darling." said Rarity. Pinkie nodded in understanding, but before the fashionista could turn away she gave her a parting hug. Smiling, Rarity quickly reciprocated. After a moment, Rarity felt Pinkie's grip slackening for a moment as her head rested on Rarity's shoulder. Before she could react, the pink pony withdrew.
"Did you just..." Rarity whispered, recognising the signs. The pony opposite winked and waved a hoof, which now sported a yellow armband. Rarity chose not to think about when the two accessories had been exchanged, or where they had come from or gone to.
"See you later, Rarity!" beamed Surprise. Rarity smiled, shook her head a little at the antics of her friends, and said goodbye before leaving the shop.
The poor guard, although being trained to notice alterations to the environment in order to detect traps or changelings, never did notice the armband switching colour. He was too busy trying to rationalise Pinkie stretching over the counter like rubber in order to hug her friend.