Vacation for Three Please

by Blues Rider

5: What Happens At Home...

A small drop of oil, no bigger than a single millimetre big, took flight with several brothers and sisters. For a moment the small green drop flew through the air. But gravity is always there to remind the careless of reality. With a sharp turn, the small drop of oil arched it's trajectory towards the ground. But something intercepted it. The oil drop with its brothers and sisters burst onto the large yellow surface dispersing their payload in explosions of smaller oil droplets.

Sunset gasped in shock and pulled her arm swiftly away from the frying pan. "SHIT!" Her instinct kicked in and before she grasped the burning sensation, she had reached for the cold tap and thrust her arm under the cooling stream of water. With her left hand, she turned down the gas for the pan.

The flames beneath the black coated pan gave a final lick at the underside, mocking Sunset before shrinking down below the steel hob top.

"You alright there Sunset?" Applejack called across the room from her bed. Rarity too looked up to check on Sunset, she was sat on the sofa between the kitchen and bed area and she had been silent for a while now, burying her head in a fashion magazine, analysing the styles to keep her mind off of other things.

"I'm fine!" Sunset called back reassuringly, breathing a little heavier than she had been a minute ago. "Just had the heat on too high." She let the cold water sooth her burn. She knew it was a burn, because the cold water felt warm. A minute later, the scene calmed down. Sunset eventually turned the cold tap off once she started to wince at the cold water becoming cold. By this point, the stir fry was sizzling away nicely and the vegetables were softened tenderly.

Sunset pulled four plates out of her sideboard cupboard, and served up four portions of steaming vegetable stir-fry with flat noodles. "All ready!" She announced, picking up her plate and venturing to her dining table located underneath her sleeping floor. She weaved her way between the wooden beams that supported the upper floor and slid her way across the corner-bench seating.

Applejack rolled her way off the bed and tapped Rarity as she passed, sauntering her way to the food. "Ya'll comin' sugar cube?" She asked. Rarity looked up and scanned her surroundings in surprise. She eyed Applejack heading towards the plates of food on Sunset's sideboard.

"Wha'?.. Oh.. Yes, be right there Applejack, one second." She looked down at the article she had been reading and took note of the last paragraph. She tentatively closed the book, before lightly treading her way to the kitchen side.

By the time Rarity had sat down at the table Sunset and Applejack were firmly tucked into dinner.
It was nine O'clock now and it had been a long time since lunch. Considering this was their first day in new bodies, it had been one hell of a day and none of them could wait to tuck into food. Even Rarity was famished, despite her reflective mood. There was only Rainbow missing who had spent a short while now in the bathroom.

A toilet flushed from behind Rarity as she set her plate down, snuggling herself into a chair with the stairs behind her. Sunset sat to her left and Applejack was tucking in opposite her.

"I am still not used to this new 'sitting' thing!" Rainbow complained, brashly opening the bathroom door. Sunset keeled over her noodles in amusement, not expecting the sudden entrance. Rainbow studied the room around her noting that everyone had moved around.

"I'm sorry. It takes me back to when Princess Twilight and I stayed around Pinkie's back when. She stayed up all night writing songs with her mouth - which was impressive by itself - but she didn't think to ask where the toilet was. At four O'clock in the morning she was running around the house and woke everybody up!" Sunset chuckled to herself.

"What's up guys?" Rainbow asked as she made her way over to the table.

"Ya dinner's sittin' on the side over there." Applejack pointed behind her.

"Oh sweet! Thanks Sunset." Rainbow skipped over to the sideboard. She seemed to hop through the air as if she still had wings, but couldn't fly. Or maybe it was just a way to get to the sideboard as quick as possible with the least number of steps. Either way, she returned quickly. But there was a short, awkward silence as Rainbow sat down. The only communication that cut the moment was a concerned look between Sunset and Applejack as they momentarily studied Rarity tentatively tucking into her noodles.

Then the silence was broken by a loud vibration emanating from Sunset's pocket. First a single buzz, then a double; buzz buzz, then a single, then a double. The cycle continued as such until Sunset reached into her pocket, looked at the 'phone', smiled confidingly, said: "Sorry guys, I've got to take this. Applejack may I?" and pressed something on the device to stop it.

Applejack got up from the bench to let Sunset passed. Sunset thanked Applejack silently and gave them all a thankful wave as she walked to the front door. "Hi Rarity...." Was all the group heard before Sunset headed downstairs and outside for privacy.

"So what's up Rare?" Rainbow instantly asked once the door closed, ignoring her noodles.

"Yeah sugar-cube. You've been silent all evening." Applejack concurred.

Rarity looked down and dropped her fork onto her plate. She knew this question had been coming but she had been avoiding searching the answer to it. Her hair dropped down from it's resting place and without hairspray - or manespray - to hold it back it fell right over her face.

"I'm sorry, it's just... This is very different to what I thought it might be..." Rarity replied in the vaguest way. But Applejack was having none of it.

"Naw come on there. We're your friends and we know when you're avoidin' somethin'.

"Yeah, like since you met that other you." Rainbow didn't have enough attention to tip-toe around issues either.

Rarity took a deep breath and gave the shallowest of nods, allowing them into her thoughts. "I don't think I was.. we'll see.. I guess I just didn't expect my counterpart.. I guess, to be so... not different. I suppose I'm surprised the way her life is different." She stumbled through her words as she tried to piece her feelings together.

Applejack and Rainbow both waited patiently for Rarity to indicate she was finished explaining her feelings.

"You know it can get quite lonely running a fashion empire. I meet people all the time at soirees and parties, I have all my staff and you're my friends. But this last year I've felt really isolated from everyone. I run so many different boutiques I'm never staying in one place. I just spent six months setting up a new one, most of that time I didn't have permanent staff and I didn't get to see any of my other boutiques. I've only seen all of you once a month this past year..." She took a break to help gather her emotions.

"Sugar-cube you know we're always around to talk if ya need us."

"Yeah! We're always there for you." Rainbow encouraged.

"I know, I know. And it's wonderful to have you there for me. But I wish. Well I wish there was somepony for me back home, a partner you know?" She said the words tenderly and looked up to make sure they understood what she meant from behind her curtain of purple hair that covered her eyes in a grungy way.

"So you wanna get laid huh?" Rainbow joked. Applejack sided her with a look of disgust.

"Rainbow!" She whisper-yelled, telling her off.

"Whaaat? That's what you're saying. Right Rare?"

Rarity smiled a laughing smile, and pushed her hair back out of her face. She wasn't crying but she was holding her emotions back. "While it's true my sex life has been rather dry lately," Rarity replied proudly mocking herself, "what I am really after, is somepony to ride me on a more regular basis." She felt herself smiling, holding back the laughter. Applejack and Rainbow smiled too.

A sad chuckled formed behind her grin and a tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it off and tried to contain herself, taking deep trembling breaths as she did so. Then she started to weep. A confused combination of sadness and laughter weaved its way through her body. She keeled over to the table and her long purple hair shrouded her face.

"Hey now, hey now." Applejack got up and walked around to Rarity. She placed a comforting arm around Rarity's shoulders. A Sensation Rarity had never felt in a human body and it was calming. "Ya'll find somepony eventually. Trust me."

"Yeah you just gotta get yourself out on the market a bit more, take a bit of time off here and there. Like I do with the Wonderbolts." Rainbow concurred.

The words encouraged her mood, and Applejack's soothing tone calmed her. But this didn't solve her problem. "I'm sorry, it's just. This whole holiday... I'm sorry, I just. I need to go home." She muffled behind her arms. She took a deep, trembling breath.

"Ya'll sure about that?" Applejack asked concerned. Rarity pulled herself up from her slouch. Luckily she hadn't tried on the human mascara or it would be running down her cheeks. She pushed her hair out of her face and hugged Applejack.

"I'm sorry, I just can't do this."

She held Applejack close. She enjoyed her body heat, her intimacy. Then she pulled herself back quickly.

"Well nopony is holding us hostage here. We can go if you want." Rainbow offered.

"Ah'm sure Sunset will understand, bless her." Applejack agreed.

Rarity swallowed, clearing her throat. "Thank you." She said softly. Applejack got up to allow Rarity out of her seat. Without words, Rarity got up and passed her. She gave Rainbow a long hug too, noticing her slender body, the muscular tones beneath the clothes. She pulled away. "I'm sorry." She said a final time before grabbing her designated coat from the rack and heading out the door.

Applejack and Rainbow examined each other's concerned faces.

---

Trixie wandered through the castle halls with no kind of enthusiasm for the evening. It was her job to make sure the castle was tidy because 'Starlight did it last week' she mocked in her thoughts. She levitated a duster to and fro, swishing it in no particular order, or any particular direction. The outcome resulted in certain parts of the castle ending up dustier than they had been.

"Oh and don't forget the basement Twixie. Twilight's friends will be coming back this week Twixie." She moaned. "At least they get a vacation." She muttered with resentment under her breath.
She knew she would snap out of this mood the moment the job was over, but moaning about it helped coax her through the job. It's not that she didn't like the castle when it was clean. She just wanted somepony else to do it. But apparently that was a waste of school funds.

She continued this thought process down the stairs and into the basement library. She started dusting the third bookshelf up, which meant she didn't have to levitate the duster too high or low for her convenience.

BANG!

Trixie turned and decided to pay attention. She studied the bookshelf she had been attending, the thought came that she may have knocked a large one over in her inattentive state. Nothing seemed abnormal. That was bad. That alerted her. She turned to scan the rest of the room, but it turned out she didn't have to. The mirror standing tall as the room's centre-piece started to shimmer. Then the shimmer shone brighter and brighter. The room now illuminated by the thick white light that almost blinded Trixie.

Trixie shielded her eyes from the glare, attempting to process the situation.
Then she realised what was happening and galloped out of the room dropping the duster behind her.

Author's Note:

I have split this chapter into two parts.
Some people prefer to have shorter chapter lengths as it makes it easier to digest each section.
Continued here: Chapter 5.5: Concern