Previous Chapters Next
Close
Prologue: Where Do I Start?4,263 words
Three Months Prior4,388 words
Stripes and Scratches2,902 words
The Unexpected and Understandings4,604 words
Drawing Out Plans3,819 words
Arrangements and Afflictions4,797 words
Sticky Situation4,653 words
Accidental Circumstances4,955 words
The Errors of Denial5,930 words
Breakthrough5,879 words
What Feels Right (Part 1)6,602 words
What Feels Right (Part 2)4,237 words
Discoveries (Part 1)4,621 words
Discoveries (Part 2)3,171 words
Dreams of a Dragon8,323 words
Sidetracks in Secrecy5,012 words
Wrestling with Excuses7,667 words
Tearing Through the Seams7,687 words
Stitching it Together10,990 words
Finale: Back to the Start12,377 words

The Errors of Denial

Clenching her eyes completely shut, Rarity's head felt like a throbbing orb of fire as she buried her face against the pillow. As the morning light shone in faintly through her curtains, the unicorn still felt it like it was brighter than the surface of the sun, making her groan even more under her blankets. Rarity almost felt like she was going to cry as she realized how severe her headache felt, making her desperately hide from the light as she tried to figure out what the buck she did. Still tasting the faint aroma of champagne and strawberries on her breath, Rarity almost threw up right there as she immediately remembered that blasted bottle.

Because of her heavy drinking from the previous night, Rarity could barely move in her bed without her head burning or her stomach churning. Feeling like her head or her stomach contents were both going to burst (although it was unclear which one would happen first), Rarity considered just staying in bed for the rest of the day, letting her pain take over while she tried to overcome this feeling of near-death. However, since she knew that her parents were planning to come back today to return Opal, the mare groaned even more before she stirred in her bed.

After managing to stumble out of bed and into the bathroom without opening her eyes, Rarity was only able to make five steps in before heaving in the toilet. Luckily, her sickness didn’t last nearly as long as she expected. She managed to clean herself off and look somewhat presentable after a warm shower with much-needed steam. Even though her head was still throbbing, her stomach was at least in a good enough state to hold something down, which made the unicorn sigh before she slowly make her way downstairs to the kitchen.

Rarity's reddened eyes slowly looked around the empty living room as she walked through her Boutique, stopping as she noticed the bottle lying by the couch. Since she knew her severe headache would make her horn almost completely useless at the moment, Rarity kept a tired and angry look on her face as she picked up the bottle with a hoof.

Seeing how there was barely a drop left, the unicorn groaned once more before tossing it in a nearby trash bin. Although she would never even think to drink this early in the morning (even though it was almost noon), the throbbing pain in the unicorn's skull made the idea of a mimosa sound very alluring right now.

Though she had a cheaper bottle of champagne in the cabinet, Rarity avoided it and settled for just a small glass of orange juice, groaning under her breath as she struggled to use her hooves in replacement for her horn. After several minutes of preparation and managing to get a bowl of oats ready, the unicorn almost didn’t notice the note at the kitchen table.

Rarity finally noticed it as she ate her first bite of oats, making her chew slowly as she picked up the paper and read.

Rarity,

I hope you are feeling better today,
But I didn’t want to forego my stay.
I left some pills in a glass by the sink
That will help your head after your big drink.

-Zecora

Looking at the pencil markings on the paper, Rarity noticed that something had been erased after Zecora's signature, like a P.S. or something. However, it was erased too much for her to really make out any type of statement.

Despite feeling uneasy about what Zecora may have wanted to say, Rarity shrugged that thought away and looked to the sink, noticing the glass the zebra wrote about. As she got out of her seat and walked over, Rarity tried to figure out what all she did last night as she picked up the glass with two dark green pills inside. The unicorn quickly swallowed the two pills after downing a full glass of water with it, making her feel much better as her memory began to improve.

By the time she got back to her seat to finish her breakfast, Rarity's head no longer felt like Pinkie Pie was bouncing around in it with steel-toed boots. Instead, her previously throbbing pain was slowly turning to a more gentle numbness as she rested at her table.

However, as the unicorn began to grow less hung over, her mind then became plagued with a new wave of guilt as she remembered how uncouth she acted the previous night. Just as she was about to pick her spoon back up to have another bite of oats, Rarity dropped it as her eyes grew wide, realizing what she did as she covered her mouth with a hoof.

"Ooooohhhhhh… nnnnoooooooo…"

Rarity's memories slowly began to come back to her, making the unicorn sink her head in shame and rest it on the table.

"No, no, no, no nnnnnoooooo…"

Groaning in guilt, Rarity could barely keep herself upright at the table, feeling like she was going to fall off and curl into a fetal position on the floor. Knowing what she did, the unicorn's head hit the table a couple times before she finally spoke to herself.

"I can't believe I… I…

"I called Zecora cute!"

The groan that came from the mare was something most ponies would've thought came from a dying manticore. Resting at the table with a horribly shameful look on her face, Rarity sat silent for several minutes and tried to think. Even though those pills certainly fixed her previously terrible headache, Rarity was still in no shape to think that hard as she moaned in slight pain. Recalling her words—and Zecora's reaction to them—Rarity knew she had to make it up to the zebra the next time she saw her.

"This is baaaaaaaad…" Rarity sat at the table in silence for another moment before she shook her head clear. Knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere moaning about it now, the unicorn ate the rest of her breakfast in peace and tried to avoid thinking about her actions from last night.

By the time she finished her bowl and orange juice, her horn was strong enough to actually pick things up again. Keeping her dirty dishes in her aura, Rarity slowly got out of the table as she spoke to herself.

"Don’t worry, Rarity. You can fix this. She knew you were not in a sound state of mind, so she'll surely understand your little…"

Rarity stopped as she thought of the right word for a second.

"… Misrepresentation. Yeah, that's it. You only said one little word, and it wasn't even that bad."

While she walked over to the sink, Rarity started to feel slightly better as she tried to reassure herself. Slowly growing a smile on her muzzle again, Rarity tried to keep her head up as she kept speaking.

"This will not be a problem at all! All I did was say she's 'cute,’ and that's not a big deal. Of all the things that could've occurred, I should consider myself lucky to just do something like that! I mean, at least I didn't do anything completely outrageous!"

Now with a smug grin of confidence, Rarity started to look much better as she walked through her kitchen. However, due to the hangover pills she took, Rarity's memories still kept coming back to her.

Rarity stopped dead in her tracks when she was less than two feet from the sink, her eyes growing as wide as Frisbees. Rarity's horn immediately stopped holding the bowl and glass, making them drop and shatter on the floor.

Rarity didn't even notice the broken glass under her hooves as she finally recalled what else she did, making her face slowly turn to a look of pure terror. Breathing heavily, the unicorn started shaking in horror as she lifted a hoof, raising it as she slowly touched her lips in dread.

Outside the Carousel Boutique, Rainbow Dash was flying above town as she checked for any wayward clouds in the area. Even though she was over a hundred yards from the Boutique, the Pegasus still heard a loud blood-curdling scream come from the shop.

Looking over to Rarity's place, Rainbow Dash hovered still for a moment, taking a second before she sighed in frustration.

"Uuuuuhhhhh…" Dash muttered, "Rarity ripped another dress again."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zecora shook her head clear as she stood over her cauldron, hoping those energy pills she took would kick in relatively soon. As she placed the rest of the blue gems in the mixture to finish her last needed batch, the Zebra tried to feel grateful that she had something to occupy her troubled mind.

After waking up early and leaving some hangover pills for Rarity, Zecora quickly made her way back to her hut as soon as the sun was up again. And now, after several hours of dedicated brew making, Zecora was starting to run out of batches to make as the day started to turn from morning to afternoon.

Despite her constant working and mental reassurances, the zebra still couldn't get Rarity's kiss out of her head. Remembering every second of the unicorn's drunken kiss on her lips, Zecora was still trying to figure out why the mare would even try something like that. Rarity may have been drunker than a group of mares at a bachelorette party last night, but even Zecora knew that the unicorn wouldn’t do something like that without reason.

Thinking back to Sapphire Shores's comment the previous day, Zecora started to worry whether or not she was onto something. However, before the zebra could think any more about it, a loud barrage of knocks came at the door of her hut.

Zecora walked over to her front door as the loud knocks stopped just as quickly as they began. By the time the zebra opened her door, nopony was there to greet her. Instead, all Zecora was able to see was a flash of white running back through the line of trees out of the Everfree Forest. Before she could think she was imagining things, the smell of cinnamon caught Zecora's senses as she looked down to the ground.

At the base of Zecora's doorstep was a large cardboard box, which was stuffed to the brim with freshly-baked cinnamon rolls. While the pastries stood in front of the confused zebra, it didn't take long before she noticed the note taped to the side of the box. Picking it up, Zecora could tell from the elegant (although still very hastily written) hoofwriting who left this for her.

I'm really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really, REALLY sorry!

Please don’t be mad.

-Rarity

Putting down the note, Zecora sighed and looked back down to the box of pastries. Keeping a slightly embarrassed look on her face, the zebra was unsure how to feel about Rarity's form of apologizing.

"Well…" Zecora said in a slightly sarcastic tone, "She may have remembered, if I have a hunch…"

With the overpowering scent of cinnamon and frosting filling her senses, the zebra's stomach rumbled slightly before she sighed again.

"Oh well," said Zecora in a more optimistic tone, "at least I won't have to make myself lunch."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even with the constant humming of the sewing machine, Rarity was barely able to focus on any of her tasks as she sat in her workshop. It had only been three days since she remembered what she did to Zecora, but it felt like an eternity of embarrassment and despair for the unicorn mare. Despite trying to occupy her mind with various clothing jobs in an attempt to forget that night, all it did was make Rarity constantly mess up her sewing projects. As the mare kept her utmost focus on the seam line to make sure it didn't go off the fabric (again), she didn't hear the front door of her Boutique as it opened.

Walking into Carousel Boutique, Rainbow Dash carried her saddlebag over her back as she looked around. Because of the headphones she had on, Rainbow was unable to hear Rarity upstairs, as her ears were currently being bombarded with the latest single from Sapphire Shores playing from her walkman.

Within the seemingly empty showroom, the cyan mare was surprised at how less organized this space looked. Despite it still looking miles better than her own place, the Pegasus could still tell from the off-center mannequins and fabric lying on the floor that something was off. Figuring Rarity had to be upstairs, Rainbow walked up the steps as she hummed along to the pop-star's song.

By the time she reached the top of the steps, Rainbow Dash didn't realize she was faintly singing along to the song. Keeping along with the lyrics at a slightly off-key range, she barely heard Rarity's sewing machine as she opened the door to her workshop.

"… Hhhmmm, hhhmmm, hhhmmm… I kissed a mare, and I liked it—"

"NOIDIDNOT!!!"

Shooting out of her chair, Rarity's panicked reaction was barely heard by Rainbow Dash as she took off her headphones.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Oh! Ummmm…" Realizing her friend was now in her workspace, Rarity tried to think of a reason as to why she blurted out like that. Quickly breathing in, Rarity recomposed herself before she opened her muzzle. "… Oh, nothing. Nothing at all! How can I help you, Rainbow?"

Despite wanting to know what Rarity had said, Rainbow merely shrugged before she replied, "Well, I was needing you to fix the strap to my bag again."

Rarity groaned as she looked at the bag, noticing a new slash along one of the straps. "Ugh, Rainbow! Didn't I just fix your bag last week because of that very same problem?"

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Dash said in a more irritated tone. "Tank's propellers got too close to the bag again! You know he's still getting used to flying around in that thing!"

"But still," began Rarity in an insistent tone as she levitated the bag off Rainbow's back with her magic, "you could at least try to use duller propellers or something. I'd hate to think how many more times this can happen before your bag can become too damaged to fix."

"Ugh! I told you already, Tank can't stay in the air with the dull blades! I tried it before, and he could barely stay up in my place without falling through the clouds."

Barely paying much attention to the Pegasus's excuse once more, Rarity huffed to herself as she floated the bag over to the sewing machine. As she cleared her station to begin the quick fix, Rainbow Dash looked around the workspace with a slightly concerned look on her face.

"Umm… Rare? Are you… are you feelin' alright?"

"Well… well of course," Rarity said uneasily. Even though she didn't want to lie to her friend, she really didn't want to bring up why she had been feeling so uneasy the past few days. Since she hadn't even tried to speak to Zecora after dropping off the cinnamon rolls, the last thing Rarity wanted to do was bring up her recent drunken escapade to a mare like Rainbow Dash.

Knowing how quickly the Pegasus would mess with her about it if she knew, the unicorn shook away her growing tension and looked back at her. "I'm doing just fine, Rainbow. Why do you ask?"

"Well…" Looking around the workspace, the amount of misplaced fabrics and unorganized tools was starting to become a large indicator something was indeed wrong. Looking back to Rarity, Rainbow Dash kept her slightly worried look as she replied, "It's just that…"

"Just what?" Rarity asked, confused and keeping a skewed eyebrow on the Pegasus.

"It's just… this room is way cleaner than it usually is!"

Surprised at hearing Rainbow Dash's reaction, Rarity's eyes widened as she looked around the room. Finally noticing her workspace, Rarity was slightly shocked to see that her space was indeed much more organized than usual. Instead of a large plethora of cloth and items strewn about the room in "organized chaos,” the room was now only slightly misplaced.

In fact, other than a couple pieces of fabric on the floor and one off-center mannequin in the corner, Rarity's workspace was actually in a better state than her showroom downstairs. Taking a few seconds to let Rainbow's observation sink in, Rarity cleared her throat before she responded.

"Huh… well… maybe I wasn't gaining inspiration from my mess like usual."

"Oh… kaaaayyyyy…" Looking back around the room, Rainbow didn't need to be a mind-reader to tell the unicorn was lying. However, she decided to keep her muzzle shut as Rarity went back to fixing her strap.

After a quick minute to stitch up her bag, Rarity floated it back to the Pegasus before she noticed her face. Seeing how she was looking at her with a skeptical brow, Rarity sighed as she realized Rainbow was catching on to her behavior.

"So…" Even though she knew better than to irritate a pony like Rarity, Rainbow Dash put caution to the wind and tried to press more out of her. "… Did… did something happen a couple days ag—"

"No!" Rarity insisted as she cut her friend off. "Nothing happened, I… I just…" While she didn't want to tell Rainbow about the incident, Rarity knew she had to say something to sate her curiosity. Biting her lip slightly, Rarity looked away for a moment before she thought of something.

"I… I just needed to unwind a little after making all those dresses for Sapphire Shores. Along with getting that done, AND dealing with Sweetie Belle's latest antic…"

Rainbow Dash tried not to snicker as she looked away, already knowing about what that filly did to her cat.

"I… I guess I just needed to do something different."

Thinking about her statement, Rarity cringed inside as she realized how truthful that comment would still be if she told Rainbow about what happened with Zecora. Remembering how she sloppily kissed the zebra on the mouth like some harlot, Rarity hated to think that she did something so unlike her. However, as soon as that memory came up in her mind again, the unicorn quickly tried to avoid it as she shook her head. Even though she didn't want to alert Rainbow Dash of any discomfort, she didn’t want to think about that blasted kiss anymore than she already had.

"But anyway,” Rarity said as she tried to keep her friend from asking anything else about her, "I'm perfectly fine, so there's nothing to worry about."

Hearing Rarity's obviously fake tone of confidence, Rainbow Dash looked around the room again before she replied, "Ummm… you ever think of getting a hobby or something?"

"Oh, Rainbow," began Rarity in a more annoyed tone, "I told you, I'm fine!"

"Yeah, but…" Still looking concerned for her friend, Rainbow turned back to Rarity. "If your inspiration stuff is wearing off right now, maybe you should try doing something new. Like… besides dressmaking."

Rarity groaned a little at the Pegasus's suggestion. "Oh really? What exactly would you suggest I try doing?"

Biting her lip, Rainbow Dash's hooves moved around a little on the floor as she tried to respond. Remembering what she was wanting to talk with the unicorn about, Rainbow looked away for a second before bringing her attention back to Rarity.

"Well… Do you remember my friend Thunderlane?"

Rarity blinked a couple times as she pondered her question, slowly recalling that name. "Umm… You mean one of the Pegasus ponies on your weather team?"

"Yeah," replied Dash. "You remember: grey coat, has a mohawk, his little brother hangs out with Sweetie Belle sometimes?"

"Oh yes, I think I remember," said Rarity with more certainty. Remembering the stallion faintly, Rarity was able to recall where she last met him. "Wasn't he the one who caught me after that whole tornado incident from Lightning Dust?"

Rainbow Dash became a little more upset at hearing that pony's name again. However, she still nodded at Rarity's question. "Yeah, that's the one. Anyway, I was talking with him a few days ago…"

Recalling what he said to her, Rainbow fidgeted a little before she kept talking to Rarity. "He… kinda asked me if… well…"

"Well, what?"

Even though she knew asking would be pretty fruitless towards a pony like Rarity, Rainbow still decided to speak honestly.

"He asked me if… you were available."

Rarity's eyes widened as she looked back at her friend with surprise. "R-really?"

"Yeah," said the Pegasus with a more embarrassed look on her face, "I didn't really say 'yes' or 'no,’ but he was hoping you would go on a date with him."

Standing silent for a moment, Rarity was unsure how to respond to her friend's information. While she may have given the stallion a fairly large hug for saving her at the Wonderbolt Academy, she seriously didn't think that Thunderlane would want to meet her again like that. Looking away from Rainbow sheepishly, Rarity began to shake her head as she spoke in a more doubtful tone.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash, come on! Do you really think I'm the kind of mare to just agree to a date like that? I barely know him!"

"Well, duh," replied Rainbow Dash in a condescending tone, "that's what dates are for! To know ponies better!"

With a new wave of insistence, the Pegasus wanted to keep going as she looked at her friend. Seeing that something was getting to the unicorn, she didn’t want her to just say no. Hoping to convince her, Rainbow spoke with a more hopeful tone. "Rare, I know Thunderlane, and he's actually a pretty cool guy. You just said you wanted to try something new, so why not go out with him?"

Rarity huffed a little and tried to defend herself. "Rainbow, I just don't know if that's a great idea."

"Why not?!" Now looking slightly aggravated, Rainbow kept Rarity in her sights as she continued, "I mean, I know you try to keep yourself 'reserved' or whatever, but do you really want to keep yourself from finding a decent guy because of some dumb standards or whatever?"

"Rainbow, I—"

Rarity quickly cut herself off as she took in her friend's words. Recalling all the things she told Zecora in her drunken state, she was surprised to hear the Pegasus in front of her say something almost identical to her own words. Before she could try to reply, Rainbow spoke up again.

"Like, the only guy I've ever seen you go after was that Blueblood dork, and that didn't go over well at all! Maybe it wouldn't kill you to look at other options once in a while."

Even though she didn't want to confirm Rainbow Dash's suggestion, Rarity knew that she was right. And ever since that disastrous night with Blueblood, Rarity hadn't exactly been open to looking at other ponies. However, before she could accept defeat, Rarity heard Rainbow Dash's voice as she unfortunately decided to kept talking.

"I mean, heck! I haven't seen you look at any stallions at all! Seriously, if it wasn't for Blueblood, I would probably think you wanted to be with a mare or something!"

"Rainbow!" shouted the unicorn as she immediately became more aggravated. Not wanting to give any evidence that Rainbow's last statement had some validity—and consequently give away what she did with Zecora—Rarity held up a hoof to silence her friend as she spoke.

"Just because I have high standards should not mean for you to make any unbiased assumptions!"

"I'm not! I'm seriously not!" assured Rainbow as she held up her hooves. "Whatever floats your boat doesn’t affect me!"

Rarity groaned and looked away, barely phasing Rainbow as she tried to alleviate the situation. "But! You just said you have high standards, right? Maybe that's why you haven't found anypony yet."

Closing her eyes, Rarity sighed as she realized her friend had a valid point. As she slowly turned back to the Pegasus, Rarity waited with a stern look as Rainbow Dash spoke.

"Come on, it's just a date, Rare. Maybe… maybe it would be good for you to do this. Maybe it'd clear your head a little."

Thinking about it, Rarity stayed silent as she weighed her options. If she didn't necessarily feel like going on a date with Thunderlane, what would that really mean? While she wouldn't consider herself to be interested in females by any stretch of the imagination (especially from all the nights she fantasized about Blueblood back in high school), her interaction with Zecora, combined with Rainbow's statement, was seriously starting to worry her.

Did she just not like Thunderlane because he was a stallion? If she said no, would that mean she actually liked Zecora? And if she said yes, would she just be agreeing out of denial?

Biting her lip, Rarity brushed all those thoughts away before she turned back to Rainbow Dash. Seeing the curious look on the Pegasus's face, Rarity breathed in before she sighed. With that stupid drunken kiss on the back of the mind, Rarity knew she couldn't let that control how she thought. That kiss was just a drunken escapade that went way too far, and didn't mean a single thing. And thinking about Rainbow's words, the unicorn knew that her friend was actually giving some decent advice.

"Alright, fine."

"Seriously, I know this sounds kinda nuts, bu—wait, what?" Expecting the unicorn to say something else, Rainbow was pretty surprised when she realized what Rarity just said.

"I… I said yes." Even though her heart felt like it just sunk into her stomach, Rarity kept her composure as she confirmed her statement. Looking at her friend with a forced look of confidence, Rarity took a breath before she opened her muzzle. "I… I will go on a date with Thunderlane."

"Really? I-I mean cool!" Looking both surprised and pleased with Rarity's answer, Rainbow Dash looked at the window nearby before she turned back to her. "You mind if I tell him that?"

"Umm… sure," said the unicorn in a slightly defeated tone of voice. Knowing how her friend was when things went her way, Rarity knew she couldn't back out now.

However, before Rarity could let what she just agreed to sink in, Rainbow Dash walked over to the window and opened it. Before Rarity could ask what she was doing, the Pegasus stuck her head out of the window and screamed outside.

"HEY THUNDERLANE!!! RARITY SAID SHE'LL GO ON A DATE WITH YOU!!!"

Rarity's jaw dropped, looking absolutely shocked that her friend would do something so impersonal like that. Before she could tell her how rude that was, the faint voice of a stallion could be heard from outside.

"Awesome! Thanks, Rainbow!"

As the Pegasus closed the window and turned back toward her friend, her confident smirk slowly turned to a confused stare as she saw how infuriated Rarity looked. Oblivious to how she pretty much informed the whole town of Rarity's new date, Rainbow kept a skewed eyebrow as she spoke.

"What? He was working nearby."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep in the darkness of the evening, much of the Everfree Forest was alive with the countless sounds of the mysterious creatures within the trees. However, none of this jarred Zecora one bit as she tended to her latest potion. As the contents of the cauldron bubbled and gave off a warm purple hue around the hut, the zebra barely noticed the sound of branches outside. Keeping her attention on the brew as she stirred carefully with her spoon, the sounds of twigs brushing against the hut didn't give her the slightest inkling something was off.

Suddenly, the front door to Zecora's hut broke open as five huge Timberwolves bursted inside with murderous looks in their eyes. With their ghastly green stares on the zebra, Zecora stepped back as she saw how their jaws were gnashing at the sight of her.

As she tried to grab her staff, Zecora's eyes widened in terror as she saw it wasn't where she usually put it. Hearing a loud "crack" in front of her, Zecora saw that her trusty staff was broken in half as it was held in the wooden mandibles of the Timberwolf in front of her.

Breathing hard, Zecora realized that she was trapped, with nowhere to turn without a Timberwolf in her way. Before she could try to fight back, the zebra's vision was blinded as a bright white light flashed in the room. In less than in instant, all five Timberwolves were vaporized by more flashes of white light, leaving only several piles of black dust before Zecora saw the source.

With a smile on her face, Rarity stood in the middle of her hut with her horn glowing, still managing to keep an absolutely stunning pose after taking care of Zecora's foes. Blinking a few times in a stunned state, the zebra had no idea how to respond. Noticing the broken staff, Rarity smiled as she lifted it with her magic, fixing it in an instant before floating it back to her. After slowly grabbing her staff back with a hoof, Zecora looked back at the unicorn before her.

Keeping a sultry smirk on her muzzle, Rarity slowly walked over to Zecora, her eyes showing nothing but pure desire. With her heart racing, Zecora tried to step back before she stumbled and fell on her back. Before she could try to get up, Rarity was already standing above her, giving a warm grin as she gently placed a hoof on the zebra's chest.

"Hello, Zecora," said Rarity in a lustful tone, "I wanted to show you how much I cared for you. I wanted to see you since our… last encounter, so I decided to take care of those pesky beasts."

Panting heavily, Zecora stammered a bit before she mustered out a reply. "But, Rarity! What on Earth do you mean? You were drunk that night! Your senses weren't keen!"

"Oh, Zecora," said Rarity in a more sensual tone as her head bent down to the zebra, "we both know that was more than a drunken kiss. I would never do that if I was just drunk… I… I just…"

Rarity's face was now inches from Zecora's, who was still lying on the floor in a paralyzed state.

"I just really wanted to show my appreciation. You've been such a good friend, that I… gave in to what I was really wanting…"

Looking into the unicorn's dark-blue eyes, Zecora was starting to feel hypnotized by her stare. Feeling her hot breath against her fur, Zecora could barely move in inch as she took in Rarity's words.

"I want you, Zecora… I wanted to kiss you that night…and…

"I want to give you a real kiss now."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zecora gasped and shot herself up from her bed. Sweating heavily, the zebra's breathing was quick and heavy as she sat alone in her bedroom. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Zecora sighed deeply with relief, realizing that she was just having a dream. However, Zecora's heart still beat rapidly with her dream still vivid in her mind, as her relief suddenly went away at the realization of what she was dreaming of.

Looking down to her bedding, Zecora could barely think of anything, except why in Equestria she was even having a dream like that in the first place. Even though that kiss certainly messed with her since it happened a few nights ago, she thought she'd gotten past it by now. However, as her breathing slowly began to settle, Zecora's eyes closed in frustration as she realized she was in trouble.

"Oh… oh buck… just my luck."

All the previous days in her hut since that night, one of the most frequent thoughts that went into her mind was in regards to Rarity. Even when she was working on those potions, the zebra could barely focus on anything as she constantly tried to chant the same three words into her head: she was drunk.

Still being able to taste the strong aroma of strawberry champagne on the unicorn's breath, Zecora knew that Rarity was beyond wasted that night. However, she also knew Rarity long enough to know that she would never, ever try something like that for no reason, with or without alcohol.

Falling back onto her bedding, Zecora painfully sighed and tried to calm herself down. Despite knowing she was probably going to get little sleep, Zecora still tried to make herself comfortable while avoiding her thoughts about Rarity. Clenching her eyes shut, Zecora's voice came out in an aggravated and tired tone as she spoke out loud.

"Please stop thinking about that night! It didn't mean anything…"

However, Zecora's mind still kept replaying that moment like it was brand new: Rarity's lustful eyes, the taste of her lips, the way she held her like that…

Turning over to her side, Zecora became more worried as she started to feel warmer at the thought of that unicorn. Even with all the constant reminders that Rarity was drunk, Zecora knew she couldn't stop what she was feeling. Thinking about what she just said, the zebra's eyes opened slightly as she looked out the window.

"… Right?"

2,522 views

227