Deciding what to say was the hardest part. Rarity was making progress to Fluttershy's cottage, but had stopped galloping when she realized she had no idea what to say. Scenarios kept playing themselves out in her mind... Treacherous thing that her mind was, they never went well for her.
Good morning, Fluttershy. How are you this morning, dear? I've brought breakfast! I thought we might chat for a bit before we visit the spa, would that be all right?
You see, darling, I have a confession to make. You likely found a letter on your door this morning. I wrote that.
Oh, darling, I am so sorry! You were frightened, thinking you had a stalker?
W-well yes, I suppose it was a bit disingenuous of me to claim to be somepony else—
Oh my sweet, please stop crying!
Please, I meant nothing by it...
Well, I mean yes, I meant everything in it!
N-no, I never meant to toy with your emotions!
She winced, clearing her head. Well, that was an abject failure. There must be some better way...
Good morning, Fluttershy. How are you this morning, dear? I've brought breakfast! I thought we might chat for a bit before we visit the spa, would that be all right?
You see, darling, I have a confession to make. I-I love you. I have for some time.
N-no, I didn't realize you don't like mares that way...
Well, certainly Big Macintosh is a nice pony, but what does he have that I do not?
Oh, well, if that's all, there are... well, devices. Ah, not quite the real thing. Spells, possibly? Although I don't actually think I have the potential to do anything that complex... I could ask Twilight for assistance, I suppose...
She shook herself. She dearly hoped that wasn't the case! Perhaps she could try...
Good morning, Fluttershy. How are you this morning, dear? I've brought breakfast! I thought we might chat for a bit before we visit the spa, would that be all right?
I-I actually have something to confess, but it might be easier to show you—
Oh, darling, please don't back away, it was just a kiss. I would never in my life wish you harm—
Oh. Oh. So you realized it was a kiss, and still reacted as if... I see. Yes. Yes, I suppose I should leave. No, I, uh, don't think I will be bothering you any further. I'm so, so very sor—
SLAM
She wrenched herself from the vision, almost feeling the impact of the door on her muzzle. This mental self torture was getting her nowhere... I will go to her, I will tell her, and I will hope for the best.
Knocking on her door was proving a very difficult task. Fluttershy was her dear, dear friend! She was nothing to be frightened of! Rarity's visions notwithstanding, her lovely pegasus spa buddy was the very epitome of pacifism. So why this fear? She had faced Nightmare Moon and Discord, surely she could face one pink maned pegasus and say three words! Now, knock on the door, march in, and tell her! She knocked, and soon enough heard a flurry of activity from inside. A very harried-looking Fluttershy answered the door. "Oh, hello, Rarity!"
Speak! Say something! You’re staring at her! "Um, g-good morning, darling. I've brought breakfast." Good, now tell her you want to talk to her. "I-I have it here, see?" Say it! "I-I actually have some—some croissants and some tarts..." Hopeless...
Nodding her head in understanding, the graceful mare opened the door to let her in. "I'll make some tea. We can eat together before we go to the spa. Is that what you had in mind?"
Part of it. Now get the words out! "That would be lovely, darling, thank you." Say the words!
The frazzled fashionista sat down on the couch, grateful for a chance to let her frozen mind thaw a bit. She watched Fluttershy walk into the kitchen to make tea, biting her lip in consternation. She would tell her, it was just not coming easily. Rarity nervously scanned the room, as if expecting an attack to come from any point. There was the usual small movements here and there, small birds hopping about in birdhouses, mice scurrying about... Ah, there he was: the troublemaker.
Angel watched the two of them staring stupidly at each other through the door. His pony left for the kitchen, the fussy one sat down on the couch. The air seemed thick with pheromones. Not exactly though, different somehow, but not exactly dissimilar. Some strong smell with emotional ties. And it was coming from the fussy one.
Scent is linked strongly to memory, and this scent was nagging at him. Trying to recall where he had smelled it last, he sniffed the air curiously. The scent was sweet, a little like flowers, but not like the prickly flower from this morning.... That was it, she smelled like the white thing he chucked at his pony!
He looked at her accusingly, and pointed a claw directly at her, threateningly. His pony had gone crazy after getting that, and breakfast had been delayed, unforgivably so. There would be a reckoning. Oh yes, there would be a reckoning.
The rabbit was pointing at her. Why? Had she committed some crime she was not aware of by sitting down? She could not cope with additional stress at this moment. Was it not enough that she was trying to say the hardest thing she'd ever had to say? Must I now deal with the accusing stares of pets as well? "And what, pray tell, is your issue with me?"
The white rabbit stamped a foot in frustration. He began to pantomime. "You... saw... me... walking? No, slowly walking? Oh! Sneaking? I see... Sneaking, up to her... door... and leaving... Oh." It dawned on her, quite quickly. This...
This was intolerable. She would not let this upstart reveal what he knew to her beloved before she had a fair chance to do so herself. She lifted the white rabbit in her magic and brought him to her eye level. "Listen to me very carefully. I have come here to tell her exactly that. I am going to be as polite as possible about this. I know you don't care for me, even though I have never done you any harm. That's fine, I don't require your approval of me, only hers. I will not demand you keep your little mouth shut. I will ask you politely, as one being who cares for her to another. Allow me to tell her in my own way, and in my own time."
She had a sudden thought: She had an item on hoof might help. In fact, she had bought it for this very bunny. "If you accept my proposal, I have a gift for you. I picked up something you might like while I was getting breakfast." She lifted the carrot cake from her saddlebag and showed him. "Do we have a deal, Angel?" She looked the rabbit dead in the eyes. He held her gaze, defiant, and unflinching.
"Rarity, is Angel Bunny bothering you?" The graceful pegasus had finished the tea and was now entering with it, carefully balanced on her front hooves. She set the tea down and glared at her pet. "Angel Bunny, you behave yourself!"
The rabbit looked over to her, about to pantomime furiously in protest. This earned him another threatening look from the unicorn.
"Not at all, dear! I was simply showing your dear pet a treat I had brought him from Sugarcube Corner. He's going to go eat it now. Isn't that right, Angel dear?" Smile and nod for the pretty pony. She raised Angel a bit higher till she could look him in the eyes again, and gave him a penetrating look. The gaze gave him no illusions: there would be consequences should the answer not be in the affirmative.
Looking back and forth from the disapproving gaze of his pony, and the threatening gaze of the unicorn, Angel gave up. He flashed one final look to the unicorn promising retribution at some later date, and smiled and nodded to his pony.
Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. She placed the cake on a plate, and in turn placed the plate in the rabbit's paws. She then set Angel down on the ground.
Angel looked at the plate, briefly considering rebellion. Giving one last look at his pony, he decided against it. Further bad behavior would earn him no good will here. He hopped quietly from the room to eat.
One potential disaster averted. Shall we try two for two? She brought out the croissants and tarts while her host poured tea. The two ate in companionable silence for a time. After a few moments the silence was broken.
"I needed to—"
The words came out of both their mouths in almost perfect synchronicity. They looked at each other, each realizing the other had something to say, but neither one sure what that something might be. Rarity finally found her voice and spoke first: "Please, darling, I can wait. You had something to tell me?"
Nodding, Fluttershy reached for a piece of paper. A very familiar looking one. Rarity's teeth ground just a bit. She should have foreseen this. Of course her shy, reticent friend would want advice about a secret admirer. And who would she ask first but her spa-trip friend and confidant? "Um, I wanted you to look at this. Angel found it on my door this morning, with a red rose." Fluttershy pointed at the rose in her vase. It was hard to tell if she was saving the delicacy for later, or keeping it aside out of worry that it may have been tampered with. Good going, Rarity, phenomenal way to fuel paranoia in both of you. Grand job.
She passed the letter to Rarity, who pretended to scrutinize it. There was no need, of course, she could have recited it in her sleep. Had recited it in her sleep at least once, in fact. She had agonized over every word.
"Please, do not be afraid of my intentions. I would never in my life harm you, or allow you to come to harm."
Really now, Rarity, you couldn't come up with something to write that sounded less creepy? "I promise not to defile your corpse," perhaps? The poor dear must be terrified! She put on a look of true concern for her friend, false only for its timing, not for her concern for her beloved’s feelings. "My dear, are you all right? Did this frighten you in any way?" Please, let me not have scared her with this selfish nonsense.
The timid pegasus shook her head. "N-no, I just wanted your advice."
She looked so cute, wringing her hooves together nervously, telling her friend she had a secret admirer. Rarity would have felt proud helping her right now, were she not the one to have caused the distress in the first place.
You have nothing to feel proud of, you cowardly mare. Not yet. Speak up, it's not too late!
Rarity stared at the offending missive, considering. This had seemed like such a good idea when her words were furiously flying from her quill. She still had a stack of similar letters in her office, locked inside a disused drawer, in the bottom of a small box marked “Beware of the manticore.” "What do I think, hmmm? Well, this pony is clearly very much affected by you, dangerously so."
I know this, because it’s me.
"He, or she, is deeply in love with you. Delirious with it, I should say."
I should know. I wrote it. Have I mentioned I love you, by the way?
"I don't think they are, well, dangerous per se, but they may be delusional, possibly a bit deranged. This bit about wanting to spend the rest of their days making you smile strikes me as particularly crazy. Not the intent, mind you, that all seems nice enough. But who writes that to somepony they don't know?"
Says the pony arguing with herself about confessing to having written the thing. You are just trying to sabotage yourself now, aren't you?
"I don't think I would advise writing back. Let them have their little fantasy. It's hurting nopony."
She heard the words, horrified, yet unable to stop herself from uttering them. It was as if her own self loathing was driving her insane.
You are! Stop it at once! Just tell her. Anything, anything but this. She deserves to know how you feel if nothing else. She is your friend!
"I can't really tell more from this, other than... the name 'Elusive' strikes me as a very shady sort of name. It's likely a nom de plume. Then again, if it's truly their name, how can you trust somepony with a name that screams you can not?"
STOP! Just tell her! You may be ruining everything forever!
"No, just leave well enough alone, my darling. I don't believe they will bother you again."
"Um, okay, if that's what you think Rarity." Her friend said, disappointment sounding heavy in her voice. She certainly hoped her shy friend would recover from the trauma, this had to have been so hard for her. She was glad the pegasus had come to her, because who better than the author to tell her what to do? This was best.
No, it's not, what's best is telling her what you're feeling! Didn't you hear anything Pinkie said? You can be happy either knowing she feels the same, or knowing she doesn't. You will never be anything but miserable if you don't tell her!
She stood up and hugged her friend gently. "Don't worry darling, that letter was written by a lovesick fool. Clearly they had no idea what they were doing at the time. Love drives us all to do irrational things, I suppose. Consider it a compliment, and forget it."
Fine, fine, so you don't want to confess to having written the letter, at least tell her how you feel! You cannot do this! Don't you see? Not telling her is driving us mad! I mean me, me mad!
She released her friend and began clearing the dishes from the table. "Let's clean this up and go to the spa, darling. I feel like I could use a good soak just now."
Oh, go soak your head, you coward! How can you do this to her, to us? Say the words! Say them!
They finished cleaning up in silence, both lost in thought. After finishing, Rarity turned to her friend, about to ask her if she was ready to leave yet. The shy pegasus had a frozen look to her, her face fraught with warring emotions. "Fluttershy, is something the matter darling?"
Now you've done it, you've traumatized the love of your life. How do you feel? Just... say them, three little words. I love you!
She went to say it, but still stumbled. Fluttershy was muttering something under her breath, but try as she might, she couldn’t make it out. The most progress she had made was that the second word was probably “sorry”. How strange. Why would she apologize in a whisper to nopony—And then her train of thought derailed. Her vision was full of yellow and pink, her lips met with those of another. Fluttershy was pressed close, kissing her, forelegs draped around her neck. Rarity froze, and tried to think.