‘Why?’
Was the word lingering on Rarity’s mind as she walked through Ponyville, heading to Pinkie Pie’s home for a reason unknown to her.
“I suppose this is only normal for Pinkie Pie,” she thought amused. “Maybe I should ask more questions,“ her mind mulled over the little detail as she finally reached the home of Pinkie Pie.
Skipping the bakery’s entrance, she headed to the back, where she saw the door leading to the housing section of the building, looking up and noticing Pinkie’s room, as shown by its color stronger than even the bakery's own.
“That pony really likes her pink,” she laughed to herself as she raised her hoof to knock.
Without warning, the door opened ajar, and out came a hoof, dragging the unsuspecting Rarity inside before she could notice what had transpired.
“Huh?” Rarity blinked, noticing she was already in the building. “What…”
“Come on!” out jumped the pink Pie, pushing a still lost Rarity up the stairs.
“Wait, Pinkie!” Rarity cried out, her nose catching the faint smell of candy odor that Pinkie’s room seemed to ooze out constantly. “Oof!” she groaned, instinctively closing her eyes as she entered the room, receiving the full blunt of overbearing sweetness.
“Here we go!”
“Honestly Pinkie, you need to ca-” her attempt at reprimanding her friend was suddenly stopped, noticing a whole living room sofa set resting where Pinkie’s bed used to be. “Um, I like what you did with the place, Pinkie Pie...?"
"Really? I did it all on my own!" she said excitedly, jumping on one of them.
"Yeah, sure, but.... What are the couches here for?"
“Wouldn’t you like to know!” Pinkie replied, staring blankly.
“Yes, yes I would,” Rarity answered flatly.
“Oh, why didn’t you say so?” Pinkie said, jumping behind one of the couches, and instantly jumping back out with her mane tied back in a bun. “You see, I’m here to reunite you with someone you seemed to have forgotten,” she said in a mock attempt at a Twilight voice.
Rarity blinked once, suddenly chuckling to herself. “Whatever do you mean? I don’t have anypony like that!”
“Rarity!” Pinkie said with a disappointed tone. “That’s just mean! You never forget your friends!”
“What?” Rarity said taken aback by her tone. “Stop this foolishness, Pinkie Pie! If anything, I’m still friends with anypony who hasn’t been unpleasant to me! Ruffians do not count here!”
“That’s not what a certain someone behind the curtain thinks!” Pinkie said, pointing at a small curtain just besides Rarity.
“And pray tell, what is behind that curtain?”
“Your friend, obviously! Right Gummy?” she said just as the small alligator appeared, jumping in place and catching a small rope, which raised the curtain and revealed the one behind.
“…” Rarity remained silent, her mind having shut-down momentarily as she processed what she was staring at. “Pinkie?”
“Yeeees?”
“Is that rock what I think it is?” she said flatly, staring at what was clearly one, a big rock at that, choosing to ignore the question of how it got there to begin with.
“It‘s Tom!” Pinkie stated, jumping on the couch placed next to Rarity. “And it’s a boulder, actually! Say hi, Tom!”
“…”
”Tom says hi!”
“Tom…” the memories from Discord’s first return came flooding back, hitting Rarity like a rock to the face. “That analogy isn’t helping!”
“Tom wants to be friends with you again! I mean, you two used to be rock solid!” Pinkie said with a grin, fluttering her eyes at the ever so silent Tom.
“I thought we promised to never speak of this again,” Rarity reminded her.
“Speak of what again?”
“Pinkie Pie! We only were together for a few hours,” Rarity continued, going between emotions as she tried to cope with the absurdity of the situation she had been placed in. “And besides, how do you know Tom wants to be friends with me again!?”
“Her, of course!” Pinkie pointed casually besides Rarity.
Confused, she turned to the side, only to notice a pony sitting on the last couch right by her. “Oh,” she said in understanding, noticing a familiar ‘rocking’ pony. “Maud?”
“Rarity,” Maud replied stoically, getting off the couch and moving besides Tom.
“Alright Maud is here...” Rarity sighed, taking a deep breath and choosing to humor the pair. “Look, just… What exactly does Tom want from me?”
“I’ll ask him,” Maud said, looking up at Tom. “…”
“Um, Maud?”
“Shh!” Pinkie whispered. “She is talking to Tom!”
“… Wha-”
Maud nodded, turning to the pair. “Tom says he wants closure.”
"Pardon?" one of Rarity’s eyes twitched, taking in what Maud was saying. “M-Maud! Honestly! Tom is, er, Tom is just a rock, darling! He can‘t communicate!”
Maud turned to look at Tom again, shaking her head.
“Tom feels offended by your broad generalization, and he wants an apology for that, as well for ending your relationship with him as suddenly as you did back then,” she explained.
“I don’t follow,” she said confused. “And what relationship? I was under Discord’s influence! I didn’t know what I was doing to begin with! We were never a thing!”
“Rarity! That is really mean!” Pinkie said in disbelief. “You can’t pretend that your friendship never happened!”
“I, ah, um,” Rarity mumbled. “Dear Celestia…” she pleaded, unable to deal with the surreal experience she was being put through. “O-okay, look, what do I have to do to please yo- I mean, Tom?”
Maud looked at Tom once again, nodding.
“All Tom wants is to move on, to put the experience behind,” she explained. “Do you understand?”
“Not in the slightest,” Rarity thought in disbelief. “Alright… Tom,” she began, knowing full well what had to be done. “I apologize for what I did, I never meant to treat you like some sort of throwaway item neither then, or now. I suppose I was, er, dazzled by your good looks, and, er, I was blinded by it, so to speak.”
Maud turned to look at Tom, staring at him for a good minute before replying. “Tom accepts your apology,” she said with a small smile.
“I‘m not going to argue, thank goodness!” Rarity sighed in relief, shaking her head. “So are we done now? What’ll happen now? What about Tom?”
“He is going back to the rock sanctuary Maud overlooks!” Pinkie explained, coming up behind Rarity. “He is going to propose to his sweetheart!” she jumped on top of Tom, tapping his head. “Oh, he is embarrassed! That’s adorable!”
“W-what?” Rarity said at a loss to what to say.
“And now Tom can start his own family!” she continued, taking out a notepad. “Ooh, the party is going to be great!”
“What.”
“Boulder will be content that he can be Tom‘s best rock,” Maud said seriously. “I’m am ecstatic to tell him when I return home.”
“I… Excuse me,” unable to take anymore, Rarity simply walked out of the room, going down the stairs, moving throughout the bakery itself, and walking out the door, standing just outside with an expressionless look.
Just to let it all out a mere second later.
“What the ponying Tartarus just happen!?”