• Published 24th Dec 2014
  • 2,740 Views, 258 Comments

Amor Vincit Omnia - BRyeMC



A continuation of the tale following Clyde's fateful meeting with Rarity.

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"Oh, Manehattan, what you do to me..."

Rarity walked outside of the fashion studio and was instantly struck by the crisp winter air of a Friday evening in December. She shivered and threw her scarf around her neck and zipped up her gray jacket that covered her white long-sleeved shirt. After checking her phone of any messages or missed calls, she put her phone in her purple boots since her black leggings had no pockets and walked down the busy streets of Manehattan towards her apartment.

Living in Manehattan was truly a breathtaking experience for her. While the city was huge, the sheer size of it didn’t seem to bother her as she took the same route to Hoity Toity’s and Prim Hemline’s fashion studio where she interned at every weekday since arriving in July. During the early part of her arrival to the city, Rarity would shop or walk around the city on her free days during the weekends. However, as winter approached and more and more designs were needed for her to gain reputation from the famous fashion critics, Rarity spent her time locked away in her apartment while working on her designs. While it was stressful and lonely at times living by herself for so many months, she kept her mind focused on her dream because she didn’t want to let down a certain boy.

After walking a few blocks, Rarity walked into one of the many coffee shops in the city. This shop in particular was along the way to her apartment, so she stopped in nearly every evening to get an iced caramel macchiato. The workers mostly knew her as a regular customer now, and because of her loyalty to that certain coffee shop, the workers gave her a free drink on Fridays. After receiving her free drink, Rarity thanked them, gave a wave, and continued down the crowded streets.

By the time she reached the apartment building, the sun had set and the city’s tall buildings were shrouded in darkness except for the lights coming through the hundreds of windows. Rarity quickly ran inside and headed up the stairwell. She climbed three floors and entered another door to a narrow hallway, stopping at the fifteenth door on the left side. She pulled out her apartment key from her boot and unlocked the door.

Rarity closed the door and pulled off her scarf and gray jacket, throwing them on the small chair by the door. She sat down on the couch and gave a long sigh. “I think sleeping all weekend long would be justifiable. I’m simply exhausted...” She looked around the apartment and sipped on her drink.

The apartment was rather small, but Rarity didn’t mind since it was only her living in it. It had the typical bedroom, kitchen, living room, and bathroom like all apartments and houses had, but she also had an extra room in which she used for her design making. The window in the room had a gorgeous view of the large park that was dead in the middle of the bustling city. Being three floors up, she couldn’t see the whole park, but it was a nice change of scenery compared to streets filled with cars and people. As her eyes found her bedroom door down the small hallway, she noticed the door was slightly cracked and a faint light was shining through.

“I could have sworn I turned the lamp off when I left today...” Rarity set her drink down on the table beside the couch and slowly got up. She pulled out her phone from her boot and turned out the flashlight. Any large city was home of criminals and she nervously gulped as she thought about a robber being in her room, waiting for her to enter so he could attack her. She shook her head and slowly advanced towards her bedroom door. As she approached the door, she gave one last gulp and quickly opened it and flicked on the bedroom lights. “Criminal! Get out of my–”

“SURPRISE!”

Rarity screamed as five colorful girls jumped in front of her from the other side of her bed causing her to drop her phone. She was so in shock that she felt tears in her eyes grow and a sudden happiness overcame her as she realized who they were. "Girls!" She said joyfully as she ran and hugged her longtime friends. After a moment, they all ended the hug and smiled.

"Howdy, Rarity! How've ya been?" Applejack said with a grin.

"Yeah! We haven't seen you in like forever!" complained Rainbow Dash.

"Well, it wasn't forever," giggled Rarity, "but five months sure is a long time." Rarity gave each of them a smile and squinted her eyes. "Wait a minute, how did you girls get in here? Only I have the key."

Four of the girls looked at Pinkie. "Oh! I have a lock picking kit!" said Pinkie laughing.

Rarity blinked. "And why exactly do you have one of those?"

"I dunno," Pinkie replied with a shrug. "Some dude was selling it in a dark alley in Canterlot a few years ago, so I decided to buy it."

The girls blankly stared at her before turning their attention on Rarity. "Well, next time let me know when you come into the city so I don't get scared," sighed Rarity.

"We just wanted to surprise you," spoke Fluttershy softly. "I hope you don't mind..."

"She's right." Sunset walked over and placed an arm around Rarity's shoulders. "Since winter break is here for everyone, we figured we could go visit you for the weekend, unless of course you're busy."

"Busy for you girls?" stated Rarity shocked. "Heavens no! I'll always find time for you! Granted, I was going to catch up on sleep since I've been so busy as of late, but I'd love to catch up and find something we can all do!"

The five other girls grinned.

"However," said Rarity sadly, "could we catch up tomorrow morning? As I said, I really am exhausted and could fall asleep in a heartbeat."

"Yeah, that's cool," said Rainbow already headed out of the doorway. "We'll hang around in the living room."

"I'm truly sorry girls, but please, make yourself at home. There should be be enough food if you want and pillows and blankets. I also have my darling's video game console I bought him for Christmas last year for that TV show and movie app since he didn't want to take it with him."

"Don't sweat it, Rares," spoke Applejack. "We are tired too after that road trip. Never will Ah ever let Pinkie drive again..." She gave a laugh and her and Sunset walked out of the room.

"Come on! We totally had a good time on the way here! That guy totally wanted to race me!" shouted Pinkie as she chased after them.

Rarity gave a smile before frowning, completely unaware that Fluttershy was still in the room. Once she made eye contact with her, Rarity nervously looked away and tried to fake a smile.

"Is everything okay, Rarity?" asked Fluttershy concernedly.

"Don't worry about it, dear. I'm fine. I'm just tired is all."

Fluttershy frowned, but gave a simple nod. "If something's wrong, please don't hesitate to ask for help. I'd hate for you to be troubled and also be lonely living by yourself in this city."

Rarity gave her a real smile this time. While she rarely talked to people outside of their clique, Fluttershy always was the one who knew how to help someone. "I appreciate your offer for help, Fluttershy, but I really am tired. I'll talk to you girls in the morning."

"Goodnight, Rarity," said Fluttershy with a smile. "I hope you sleep well." She walked out of the room and Rarity found herself standing in her room alone like she was used to. She walked over to her bed and picked up her nightgown and pajama pants that she kept neatly folded to sleep in before giving a sigh.

"I hope so too..."


~ ~ ~


A loud crack of thunder erupted from the dark sky and the room was flashed by the bright light. The girl in the bed nervously looked outside the window at the raging storm and eventually to the boy beside her. The boy awoke simultaneously with another flash of lightning and sat up from the bed. The girl tried giving him a hug to comfort him, but she was stopped by the dark glare from the boy's teal eyes. The boy got out of the bed and walked towards the door. The girl began crying as she reached out to call for him, but he ignored her plea and left the room, slamming the door in harmony with the deafening sound of thunder.


~ ~ ~


Rarity jolted awake and quickly sat up in her bed. She stared out her window at the midnight city as her heart was beating rapidly and she felt extremely hot. She felt tears grow in her eyes and she began softly crying to avoid waking up her friends in the other room.

"Stop crying," she whispered to herself sadly and with anger. She rubbed her eyes and tried to think of happy thoughts. Her method of trying to cheer herself up was short lived as she began thinking of happy thoughts that involved her friends and especially him. "If he knew how much you were crying at night being alone, he would do the same. You can't let him down or make him worry. You promised."

Rarity crashed down into her pillow and turned her body to look outside the window. She held her extra pillow closely to her as she tried calming herself down.

Her almost-daily nightmares only started a few weeks ago. She was fine whenever she first moved into her apartment, but as months went by, she began feeling extremely lonely and sad. Mostly because each time she talked to him on the webcam or phone, she wanted him to be physically there with her more and more. She knew what the problem was, but she couldn't do anything about it. He was overseas for a year and she promised she would stay strong to pursue her passion for fashion. All she wanted was to hear someone special praise and encourage her each and everyday. Just like the days in high school. She wanted her "prince" back to love and care for her.

Rarity continued looking out the window and tried counting all the cars speeding down the streets below. She gave up after a few minutes and turned to lay on her back. It didn't take long for the ceiling to turn into a dark void, and soon she fell into a deep state of much-needed and peaceful sleep.


~ ~ ~


"Man, you look terrible," commented Rainbow Dash as Rarity walked towards the small kitchen table the next morning. Rainbow was sitting at the table munching on a stack of pancakes. Pinkie was rummaging through the small refrigerator while Applejack, Sunset, and Fluttershy were sitting on the couch nearby watching TV. The girls all looked at Rarity before returning their attention back to the TV.

Rarity sat down and apathetically stared at Rainbow. "Thank you for your compliment..." Rarity knew she looked like a mess, but in her defense, she just woke up. From looking in the mirror on her dresser as she walked out of the room, she knew her normally styled hair was frizzy and unkempt and her eyes had a tint of pinkness to them due to her crying and lack of sleep from waking up in fear. "I'm getting a shower after I eat."

Rainbow nodded. "I'd recommend one." She dug back into her tower of pancakes.

"Sorry I used your cooking materials, Rarity!" apologized Pinkie happily. "We wanted something to eat so I made us pancakes!"

"That's fine, Pinkie. I rarely cook anyway. I simply don't have time most days."

"I even saved you some!"

Rarity looked over at the counter and gave a smile. After grabbing a plate she sat back down. "I appreciate it, Pinkie. How long were you all up?"

"Since about eight in the morning ," replied Rainbow Dash with a mouth full of pancakes.

Rarity looked at her phone to see it was already past noon. "I'm truly sorry for sleeping in so long. It's just I've been working on this elegant leather and lace ensemble for the upcoming showcase all week and I haven't had much sleep." She wasn't completely lying as the fashion studio she interned at for the year was having a showcase before Christmas came. However, most of her lack of sleep for the past few weeks was her missing someone close to her heart. "You should've woken me up."

"And listen to your whinin' for getting up early?" interrupted Applejack from the couch in the living room. "No thank ya." The girls gave a nod.

"I don't think I would have had enough energy to whine." Rarity looked down at her pancakes and decided to finally eat. She needed all the energy she could get.

After eating, Rarity went to go take a shower, apply her makeup, style her hair, and finally get dressed. It took almost an hour, but her arduous task was eventually completed and she walked into her living room to finally talk to her friends.

"So, what's our plans today?" asked Sunset. "I've never been in Manehattan, so I'm not sure what we could do."

"I'll think of something, but since you are all here, how have you girls been?" Rarity looked at each of them. "Is school or work still going well?"

"Eeyup. The farm is still going strong since Big Mac and I are taking care of it." Applejack nodded proudly.

"I've been helping the Cakes start a delivery service!" shouted Pinkie, "our small Sweet Shoppe is expanding... sweetly!" She gave a snort and a laugh.

"And school for us is doing awesome!" said Rainbow excitedly. "Like we said last night, since winter break is like a month long, we wanted to come see you! But to answer your question, the Wonderbolts Academy is radical. I'm so honored and proud I got accepted into one of the most prestigious schools in the country!"

"My classes have all been basic required topics," said Fluttershy sadly. "My veterinarian classes won't start for another year or two."

"That's like how my school is, Fluttershy," replied Sunset. "Although, since I'm trying to be a teacher, I have to take lots of basic subjects."

"A teacher?" asked Rarity curiously. "I think that is a lovely choice for you!"

Sunset gave a smile. "I liked teaching new students about Canterlot High last year, so I figured teaching was a good occupation for me. I haven't decided what grades I want to teach, but I still have a year to figure out." Rarity gave her a comforting smile.

"Since you are awake now, how is the fashion thing going?" questioned Applejack. "Did ya meet any new friends?"

Rarity frowned and shrugged. "There's one girl whose station is beside mine. Her name is Coco and we help each other when we need assistance, but the rest of the people that I compete against don't really talk to each other. They are all serious about winning."

"Winning?" questioned Rainbow Dash intrigued. "There's a contest?"

Rarity nodded. "In June, Hoity Toity and Prim Hemline will announce the person with the best designs and they will either receive a chance to stay in this city longer for and permanently work in the fashion studio with other famous designers or win a showcase for the spring and fall Fashion Week! That showcase is special because it's yours for a lifetime!"

"Man, no wonder they are all serious," stated Rainbow.

"That's probably why Rarity was tired as well," spoke Sunset. "I bet you really want to win."

"Of course I want to win," said Rarity competitively. "I spent a lot of money on this apartment and time designing back home for a chance like this. I can't let this wonderful opportunity slip by."

The girls smiled at her tremendous will to win and Rarity felt her mind completely calm compared to her thoughts at night. However, it was short lived as Applejack spoke up.

"So, have you heard from him lately?" she asked, not wanting to say his name in case Rarity got upset.

Rarity felt those same saddening thoughts of loneliness enter her mind. "Unfortunately, not lately. He's been busy with traveling since the teams are all over the country. Plus, when he finally gets time to talk in the hotel room, I'm still at the fashion studio so I can't talk." Rarity gave a long sigh and she frowned. "I do check his team's progress on the Internet with what little free time I have occasionally. He's doing rather well over there, but I miss him so much though... Especially since it gets cold and I have no one to cuddle with in this lonely apartment."

The girls frowned with her. Rainbow Dash crossed her arms and jokingly grinned. "I bet you really miss kissing him and the other intimate stuff you two did in private. There's millions of dudes in this city, so I'm sure someone would sleep with you for a night if you really missed that feeling."

Rarity and the rest of the girls' mouths dropped and they all stared at Rainbow. Applejack, Sunset, Pinkie, and Fluttershy nervously looked at each other completely shocked at what Rainbow Dash just said. They slowly looked over at Rarity.

Rarity had the same expression as the other girls at first, but after a few seconds, her mouth closed, her eyebrows slanted downward, and she stood up. "How dare you, Rainbow Dash! Why would you ever imply something like that?! I am not some whore!" The girls in the room looked up at her, seeing hateful tears in her eyes.

Rainbow Dash blinked as she never expected a reaction like that. "Rares, I was just joking-"

"Do you think everything in a relationship is about the physical side?! Do you not understand the other half?!" Rarity's face showed anger, but her tears cried sadness.

The girls nervously looked over at a Rainbow Dash. Even Rainbow herself was now nervous and scared. "I was just–"

"You couldn't possibly understand the situation! How would you feel if the one person you love more than anything else in the world is on the other side of it and you can rarely talk to him because of conflicting schedules?! I worry about him each and every day, hoping he doesn't get hurt or worse, and here you are, my so called friend, calling me degrading names and suggesting I do something intimate with a complete stranger!" Rarity's tears flooded down her face and she crashed down on her couch and bawled with her hands covering her face.

The girls were silent as they didn't know what to do. Applejack crossed her arms and angrily looked at Rainbow Dash. "Way to go, RD. You just had to go that far..."

Rainbow Dash ignored Applejack and got up from her chair and walked over to the bawling Rarity. She sat down beside her and hugged her. "Rarity. I'm sorry. I was just trying to joke around, but you're right. I don't know the situation you have been in since coming to this city. There was no reason for me joking around since I have no idea what your mind is currently feeling. We do know you're a strong-willed girl, however, and you shouldn't be this upset all the time."

Rarity moved her hands away from face and looked at Rainbow's teary smile. "I-I know I shouldn't, but I've been so stressed lately. Every day that goes by I seem to think more and more about him, so I try to work late on my designs to clear my mind, but that just ends up making it worse by not sleeping."

Applejack walked up to the couch and sat down on the other side of Rarity to hug her. "Ah think you just need to have a day or two in complete relaxation. It works for Big Mac and me after long days on the farm."

"Yeah!" shouted Pinkie who ran up to them. "And what perfect timing we came to see you!" She joined the group hug.

"It would be our pleasure to help you, Rarity." Fluttershy sat down beside Rainbow and added to the large group hug.

Sunset looked over at them and smiled and shrugged. She also joined in on the hug.

Rarity felt a smile grow on her face and her tears were drying up as she felt completely smothered by the love from her best friends. Her friends were right in saying worrying about him was causing her unneeded stress, but she couldn't help keep thinking and wondering how he was doing. However, she also knew a few days with the girls should clear her head. "You girls are truly the best."

After a few moments, the girls ended their hug and Fluttershy looked at Rarity. "Do you feel better now?"

"I do," nodded Rarity with a smile. "Although, I must please ask you girls to refrain from talking about him, even though it hurts to say that, if I am to clear my head."

"Sure can do," replied Rainbow with a thumbs up.

"Yup! No more boy talk!" said Pinkie excitedly. Suddenly, her phone vibrated on the small table and she picked it up and beamed a large smile. "Swifty texted me!"

"Wait, what?" asked the girls.

Pinkie looked at them and rubbed her head, giving a sheepish grin. "I guess I forgot to tell you girls that I sort of have a boyfriend. Heh..."

"What?!"

"Pinkie, what the hell!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "You couldn't mention this to us, your best friends?"

"Ah agree." Applejack nodded.

"Yeah, forget the 'no more boy talk' rule. Tell us what happened, Pinkie." Sunset slyly grinned. "I love gossip."

Rarity tapped her finger to her mouth. "So, is this "Swifty" of yours the same Swift that has had a crush on you for so many years, but you always seemed to ignore him?"

Pinkie sighed. "Yeah..."

"Well, how did this relationship start then?"

Pinkie looked around the room at the curious eyes before her. She gave a smile. "It all started when most of you had already left for school back in August. Swift came into the Sweet Shoppe to pick up Scootaloo who was having a milkshake with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle then he saw me at the counter and walked up to it."

"So he just flatly asked you out?" asked Rainbow Dash, "that's boring."

"Right! That would have been boring!" shouted Pinkie.

"Then what happened?!" asked Fluttershy excitedly. The girls looked at her in shock as she nervously laughed and her face got red. "Sorry..."

Pinkie giggled. "Anyway, Swift and I talked a bit. I asked him what he was going to do since we were out of high school. He told me he was headed to law school and I thought that was super cool!"

"Is this love story getting anywhere soon?" inquired Rainbow Dash with a yawn.

"Quiet, Rainbow!" retorted Rarity. "Each person has their own love story to tell. Let Pinkie keep talking." Rarity looked at Pinkie and gave her a smile.

"Thanks, Rarity!" Pinkie coughed into her sleeve to clear her throat. "Before he left, Swift told me he wanted to get something off his chest that he had wanted to tell me for a long time since he would be out of town for a few months until Christmas. He told me he always had a crush on me and even though I seemed oblivious, he always kept his crush because he knew one day he would figure out the perfect way of asking me out because he fell in love with my bubbly personality and he knew it made him feel happy inside hearing me laugh."

"That's adorable!" gushed Rarity. "How did you respond?"

"I felt so sad I ignored him for so many years so I wanted to make it up to him. I told him I would go on as many dates with him for as many years he had a crush on me and I ignored it. Turns out we went on six dates in one week! But long story short, he asked me out on the last date saying the time we spent together was one of his best memories ever." Pinkie have her normal large grin. "So yeah! He's such a sweet guy and I really hate myself for ignoring him for so long!"

"I'm happy for you, Pinkie." Rarity flashed her a smile.

"Yeah, but you could have told us." Rainbow laughed.

"I'm sorry," apologized Pinkie. "I was just too excited on the thought of having someone text you daily saying 'Have a good day!' or 'Morning, beautiful!' Pinkie quickly frowned as she looked at Rarity. "Oh no! I'm sorry, Rarity!"

"It's fine," sighed Rarity with a teary smile. "That feeling of reading those messages is the best when you first wake up. It instantly brightened my morning. Especially Monday mornings."

The other girls felt for the saddened, purple-haired girl, but they knew she could never relinquish thinking about her boyfriend. To break the melancholy aura in the room, Sunset got up from the couch and stretched. "So, what are we going to do today?"

"We could go visit the famous Central Park a few blocks away," suggested Fluttershy. "I bet it looks really amazing in the winter season, too."

"That sounds like a good idea to me." Applejack looked over to Rarity. "What do you say, Rares?"

"I think a relaxing walk through the park would be lovely. After that, we could visit this nice restaurant near there and maybe head to that famous wax museum near Broadway street."

"Wax museum?" asked Pinkie confused, "we get to see lots of bees make all these types of wax?"

"No, Pinkie. It's a museum of wax statues of celebrities and athletes people can take pictures with," explained Rarity. "Some of them look rather realistic. I always wanted to go, but we never got to it when I was here last winter for Fashion Week, and I never wanted to walk that far into the city by myself.

"Sounds awesome. Let's go!" Rainbow Dash put on her jacket and rushed out of the main door of her apartment. After a few seconds, the girls heard the faint sound of footsteps charging down the stairwell.

"She's mighty eager," laughed Applejack. "Ah'll go wait with her outside." She quickly exited the small apartment.

Rarity looked around the room and noticed a feeling of forgetting something overcome her. "My phone! I must have left it in my room!"

"We'll just wait outside, okay?" stated Sunset. Rarity gave them a nod and ran to her bedroom while Sunset, Pinkie, and Fluttershy left the apartment.

Upon reaching her bed, Rarity looked around and couldn't see a sign of her phone anywhere. She looked under the bed, under the pillows, and under the sheets, but the phone was nowhere to be found. She gave a grunt and looked at her dresser. She instantly smiled to see the phone right on the edge of the dresser.

As she walked over to pick up the phone, she stopped to look at the heart-shaped collage on her wall. Looking at all of the pictures on the collage made her heart feel a mix of happiness and sadness. She placed her hand on the frame and closed her eyes, giving a smile at all of the thoughts she had while taking the pictures and organizing them for the two collages.

Her phone soon vibrated on the dresser and she looked down to see a new message from a Rainbow Dash. Thinking it was her yelling at her for taking so long to come outside, she opened it up surprised to see her message was something completely different.

"Hey! Look outside your door and hurry up! Some delivery guy dropped something off for you, but hurry up since it's cold outside!" read Rarity aloud. "What does that suppose to mean?" Rarity quickly made her way to the living room and put on her boots, the gray jacket, and a scarf before heading out the door. As she went to close it, her eyes landed on a giant stuffed bear that was colored white with a rose in one paw and a card in its other.

Rarity looked around the hallway. She walked up to the bear and her mouth dropped when she saw her name on the front of the card in the bear's paw.

"Is this really for me?" she asked excitedly. She quickly smiled and dragged the giant stuffed bear into her apartment. She reached for the card that was tied around the bear's paw. After untying the string, Rarity opened up the card and began reading.

Rarity,

Merry early Christmas! All of your other presents should be at your house for when you get home to visit your family for your annual Christmas dinner. I remember you telling me a few weeks ago that you wanted to snuggle with me, so I got you this bear until I see you again. Sorry I haven't been able to talk to you as much as I would have liked, but the team travels so much and I'm always busy with practice or games. Plus, it doesn't help I'm six hours ahead of you and you are still at the studio when I get to my room. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your presents and I plan to buy you something else from over here that I will give you in person in July. I miss you so much and I can't wait to see you again and love you more than everything else in the world combined.

-C

P.S. - I didn't realize how romantic signing a letter with just the first initial is! I remember you did it for that tux for our first Spring Fling together and I always wanted to do it.

P.P.S. - Tell your friends and family I said "Hello" and "Happy Holidays!"

Rarity closed the card and cried tears of happiness. She hugged the giant bear and smiled, pretending it was him. The bear was very soft and she knew she could easily fall asleep at nights now if she just imagined if the bear was her lover instead. She felt so content that she didn't want to stop hugging it, but she suddenly heard her phone vibrate on the small table beside the couch.

"Oops! I forgot about the girls!" Rarity grabbed her phone and rushed out of the apartment, locking it up before rushing down the stairwell and out the main doors of the building to the lively city streets of Manehattan. Her friends all stared at her with smiles.

"So, was the giant teddy bear from him?" asked Rainbow with a smirk.

"It was," replied Rarity with a large smile and her eyes sparkling with joy. "I think I'll be okay living here until July now, but right now, I need to spend time and relax with my lovely best friends."

The girls cheered and all of them made their way down the streets of the city toward the famous park a few blocks away.

Even though she promised she wouldn't think about him, while walking, Rarity couldn't wait until Christmas and more importantly July. July was always a good month for her in her life, as it was her birthday month and usually the yearly family beach trip that aligned with her birthday in the last week of the month, but now she was getting her true love back. All she had to do was continue her diligent work for her designs and the day of their reunion would soon come and be ever so magical.

Author's Note:

This is the first chapter in both stories where the word "Clyde" does not appear (unless you count this one in the author's notes). However, there are many euphemisms scattered in it that talks about him. Anyway, the next chapter is a big one so make sure you stick around. :D

P.S. - They aren't even my pairing and I still beat a certain user in making "Swifty Pie" happen. :raritywink: