//------------------------------// // A Chat with Rarity // Story: Dear Twilight Sparkle // by Penmore //------------------------------// There was a knock at the door as Rarity put the finishing touches to her latest textile masterpiece. "Coming!" she said as the door rang open. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique where every garment is chic, unique and magnifique." "Hi, Rarity. Sorry, I'm late, I had to talk to Fluttershy about something." "Oh! Hello, Twilight. It's ok darling, I stopped by the library and Spike told me you went to talk to her. Come in and sit while I make some tea for the two of us." "Thank you, Rarity." Twilight put her saddle bags by the door and stepped into the kitchen; taking a seat at the table she waited as Rarity served a tray of biscuits as the tea heated. "Now, before anything, I wanted to have a chat with you." "Oh? What about Rarity?" Twilight asked as she grabbed a biscuit and nibbled on it. There was a silent pause as the dressmaker served herself a biscuit. She took a small bite before putting it back down. She started to talk only to be interrupted by the whistle of the kettle. She got up to turn off the stove and prepare the tea while Twilight waited patiently for her. "Umm... Rarity? What did...." "Twilight. Is what I've heard about you and Applejack true?" "What... did you hear?" Twilight put the biscuit down trying her best not to look Rarity in the eyes. Rarity poured the tea into the cups she'd set and put the kettle back on the stove with her magic as she sat down. "Twilight, please answer the question." she took a sip of the tea after blowing it. "It's true..." Twilight's ears folded back and she stared at her cup. Rarity got up and walked over to Twilight. She stood in front of her and without warning slapped her. Before Twilight could respond to it; she was enveloped in a tight hug. "Thank you, Twilight. Thank you." The hug went on for another minute until they separated and Rarity sat back down. Twilight rubbed her sore cheek; still dumbfounded as to what exactly happened. "I guess I should explain my actions." "Please, I'd like to know why I got slapped." "You see darling, while I'm grateful that you helped A.J; I don't approve on how you went about it. There things you can and can't do when trying to help a friend and your actions weren't the best. You've caused her a lot of pain because of wanting to make things better for her. The slap was for digging at her wounds in such a reckless manner. As for the hug, I've known A.J far longer than the other girls. We've been together as long as I could remember. We didn't get along at first since my family had recently moved here from Canterlot and I wasn't too happy about it." She sipped her tea and poured some more for Twilight. "We didn't get along for a long time since I considered her uncultured and dirty." "Rarity!" "Please darling, just listen. Anyways, there was one day when we were especially heated and that ended in us fighting. We got suspended for two days and when I returned to school A.J was nowhere to be found. I thought that it strange that she took what I said so seriously and miss class. I was asked to give her the work she missed by the teacher due to our fight and him wanting us to get along; so I went to visit her" She turned the cup in her hooves and looked into the liquid it contained with a solemn expression. "Frankly, I was completely against the idea but did it due to the threat of getting in further trouble. When I did arrive at the farm, it wasn't how I expected it to be given how much A.J talked about it. The atmosphere itself was dark and everywhere I looked the ponies working there were silently toiling away with somber expressions on their faces. When I got to the house and gave the papers to Big Mac I took the time to ask if I could talk to A.J and apologize." Twilight kept silent as the story sounded somewhat familiar. She chewed on her biscuit and sipped her tea not wanting to interrupt. "In reality, I just wanted to antagonize her again. Well, I was allowed and went upstairs expecting another fight; only, what I found was A.J crying in her room. It was unnerving to see the same earth pony that held fast against me no matter what I threw at her so small and fragile. I couldn't bring myself to go inside and left; Granny Smith stopped me just as I was leaving the house and thanked me for coming during such a difficult time. It was then I learned of her mother passing." "Rarity..." "I didn't know what to do after hearing something like that. When she finally returned to school she seemed the same but sometimes I would catch her by herself crying. We became friends after we apologized and got to know each other, but... but...." Rarity started to cry as she remembered the past. She hid her face in her hooves and her whole body was shaking. "Do you know how hard it was for me to see her like that all these years?! I couldn't do anything Twilight. I didn't know what to do to comfort her, I've watched her suffer silently for so long and all my efforts just ended in vain. She's too proud and stubborn to ever accept help and I was too ignorant of the situation to know how to help her. Why couldn't I do anything for her Twilight?! Why did she have to carry such a burden by herself for so long?! Am I that untrustworthy?!" She felt hooves wrap around her and cried into Twilight's chest. She cried multiple years worth of tears for being unable to help her friend. She cried for A.J finally trying to move on from her suffering and she cried tears of joy for Twilight helping the farmer through it. "Thank you, darling. I'm sorry you had to see me in such a state." Rarity wiped the remaining tears from her bloodshot eyes. "It's alright, Rarity. I can't begin to imagine how you've been feeling all these years." "Thank you, but I'm alright now." Rarity got up and put away the dishes as her tears stopped. " Come now, I'll show you to where you'll be staying." She walked upstairs with Twilight following close behind with her saddlebags. "The room on the right is mine and the one across from it is the guest room. The bathroom is the last door on the left. Oh, and try not to go on the last door on the right. It's my sister's room, but she won't be here for the week as she's visiting our parents." "Thank you, Rarity. So, uh, is there anything I can help you with during my stay or did you already make plans? Because, if you haven't, I have a book on the do's and don'ts of staying overnight at a friend's house. Chapter thirteen is all about proper etiquette when going on outings." "How nice..." Rarity shrank back a bit as Twilight shoved the book in her face. "I've made some plans for tomorrow onwards. Today, I just wanted to talk to you about A.J. I thought it would have taken me all day to bring it up, so now I don't have much else planned. I guess we can do something from the book today." Twilight smiled and stomped in eagerness at the approval of using the book. It instantly made Rarity regret her decision to let Twilight pick their activity for the day. "You know,this isn't as bad as I thought it would be." Rarity said as she dipped herself into the herbal mixture of the spa's hot spring. "I'm glad you like it. We actually weren't supposed to be here today but with what happened earlier I thought it'd be a good idea. Chapter 20 does say "When faced with a stressful situation try going to the spa to relieve the tension." Twilight said while the cucumbers dropped as she read the passage. "Indeed. Though, I do think we should try this without the use of a book. It feels rather impersonal unless it's something you think of yourself. I'm trying to get to know you better Twilight; not a book." "Sorry, I'm still new to this whole thing." Putting away the book and taking a moment to soak; Twilight wondered what they could possibly do as an activity once done at the spa. "Twilight?" "What? Oh, sorry about that Rarity. I was lost in thought for a moment. Did you say something?" "I asked what you talked to Fluttershy about. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, just merely curious." "Nothing too important. I was just telling her that I might have to delay our week together since my parent's and brother are coming to stay next week." "You have a brother?" "Yes, he's my BBBFF." "..." "Big Brother Best Friend Forever." "Oh, well, that's great dear. I'm glad to hear they're coming. Hopefully, they don't stay longer or at least let you spend that week with Fluttershy." "Why's that Rarity?" "Didn't Fluttershy tell you? She got tickets to the Natural History Museum for the two of you. They're holding a special event since they're getting in some new rare animal exhibits." Rarity levitated the cucumbers off her eyes and looked over at Twilight. "Are you sure she didn't say anything?"