Collars and Cuffs Tailoring

by Melancholy

Melting the Butter in the Pan

Chapter 11

This was the best birthday ever!
Twilight had spent all morning since arriving in Canterlot with Celestia. Pure, unadulterated, uninterrupted time with the princess. It was fantastic! So far they had spent reading time in the library, taken walks in the garden, enjoyed a massive lunch together with Princess Luna and they had just come back from spending a couple of hours in the Castle Spa.
It was a shame that the lavender unicorn would have to share her time when the party started. All the more reason to take advantage of every second until then.

“So what should we do now princess?” Twilight looked up at her mentor, eyes all shining and eager.
Celestia looked down with a soft smile for her student and friend.
“I was thinking we could go and see the dresses Rarity made.” the princess indicated a door down the hall.
“They should have been delivered in there.”
The pair of them wandered into the dressing room and looked at the various boxes, identifying each of them. Celestia was only slightly surprised to note that there was a dress for all six of the girls. There were also three more boxes, ones marked for Celestia, Luna and a last one, marked with an L.
So Rarity worked out who she was making her dress for? Luna clearly hadn’t hidden herself either, or at least, just as badly as Celestia had.

“Shall we try them on, see how they fit?” The princess glanced at the pupil, a grin all over her face. “I’d like to see what she made for you.”

Twilight blushed the colour of the a fresh sunset, “Ah...well....Rarity didn’t make mine. A new friend in Ponyville did.”
This was a surprise for the white Alicorn. “A new friend?” Celestia searched her memory, had Twilight sent a report recently about a new friend? “Well that’s lovely Twilight, what’s she like?”
Despite her dark coat the unicorn had now turned to a colour closer to noon.
“His name is Cuff Links. He’s moved into that empty shop next the joke place. The one Rainbow got that frog from.” Celestia cringed, she hated that memory. “He’s a really nice pony.”
That snapped her back. Twilight had made a colt friend? Her faithful student?
“Um, so you asked this new friend to make your dress for the party? Why not ask Rarity, I’m sure she would have been more than happy to I’m sure.”
Twilight was now shuffling uncomfortably on her hooves.
“Well you see Rarity had this big order so....some of us asked Links to make ours, to save her the trouble....”
This hit Celestia like a freight train. So because she had gone and and made that bet with Luna and charged on down to Rarity’s shop she had ended up driving Twilight to some Stallion?

“Shall we try on our dresses Princess?” Twilight had a little smile on her face as she lifted her dress box with that soft purple glow. “I’d like to see what Rarity made for you.”

“Of course Twilight.” The white Alicorn wasn’t paying attention though. She was imagining Twilight with a Stallion, and she didn’t like what her mind’s eye saw.

-------

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
Links had finally made it to the Castle, the depths of his bottom unplumbed. Instead of facing The Pink however, in the halls of the great castle he was faced with something which seemed so much worse.
The yellow pegasus, friend to Pinkie, Applejack and the others. And friend to Rainbow Dash.
He had come around the corner, and came face to face with the yellow mare. There had been, a moment, where Links had tried to dodge the angry look in the eyes of the pegasus before him, but then she caught him, eyes locked to his with a focus that could cut diamonds. That stare, he couldn’t move, couldn’t shift his eyes from those glaring orbs.

“You’re hurting her.” They were plain simple words, yet they cut like a knife.
Cuff Links knew it was true though. Why did he know those eyes? Those hard, yet caring eyes.
Eyes like that, powerful and heartfelt, soft and special. Ah, Rainbow’s friend Fluttershy, silly of him to forget, he’d been sweet on her once, but it was a coltish crush from long long ago. So this is the mare that kind, shy filly had grown into. He hadn’t seen much of her, they hadn’t been friends directly, but he remembered nevertheless.

“You’re hurting her, and it isn’t fair.” She moved forward slowly, and used a hoof to slide his trousers down a little, exposing the cutie mark hidden underneath. She didn’t even look at it, her eyes never leaving his own, yet his flank burned at her touch nevertheless.
“Why do you hide it, do you hate her that much?” Hate, such a strong word was surprising to hear from the gentle pegasus.
Hate her? No, he didn’t hate her....well, not hate. It just...hurt.
Links glared back, startling the yellow pegasus a little, although her gaze never wavered. He was hurting her. Was it that hard to imagine that he was hurting too?
The level of her gaze still wouldn’t budge, even though he was giving back almost as much as he got. Either way, he couldn’t move till she let him. So they were stuck there, eyes burning into each other.
Suddenly, Fluttershy dropped her gaze, undoing the spell her eyes had cast on all his muscles.
“Talk to me. Can you tell me why you’re hurting? We used to be friends once too.”
Friends, was that what she thought they’d been? It warmed his heart to hear her say it.

Links pointed to a side room and the two walked in for a decade long overdue talk.

Comments

[Chill Mists(Chilly)]

Yes, I've been waiting for Fluttershy to have a bigger part in this story, she's my favourite.

[Melancholy]

558021 YOU READ FAST.
Also I agree, Fluttershy is god tier pony.

[Chill Mists(Chilly)]

558027 I sure do read fast, I have a lot of practice.

[the other sans]

Now that you wrote about it... we never heard about Links cutie mark now did we?

Also... I have a dirty mind when I read that Fluttershy pulled down Links pants

[Melancholy]

560656 You're all such horrid people. Fluttershy is an innocent flower!

[the other sans]

562121Yeah... a flower just waiting to be pollinated. Damn Fluttershy hates me

[Melancholy]

562158 My sharp objects draw hungers.....

[the other sans]

562169 Hang on a minute... do you prefer Fluttershy... or Luna?

[Melancholy]

562270 STOP ASKING HARD QUESTIONS! My brain can't process story ideas and work out complex metaphysical questions like that, so I'm going back to writing.

[dwdw55]

Another great chapter AND THIS GOD DAMN SECRET IS TEARING ME APART TELL US ALREADY none the less the story is great keep up the good work