Tales of the Sapphire Carousel: The Chef's Guardian

by Undome Tinwe

Chapter 2

Shimmer Glass managed to avoid being alone with Rainbow Dash for three days.

She couldn't avoid the guard altogether. After all, they worked in the same building and she occasionally popped by the kitchen for a snack. She behaved herself in those times, but Shimmer still made sure to be on the other side of the room when she showed up.

Still, she'd managed to avoid her attention, and whenever she'd seen her cornering one of the girls to tell them she'd "see them after the show for a little fun," she'd quickly rushed past, keeping her eyes averted and trying to ignore the sensation of her skin crawling.

On the third day, Shimmer's shift finished early, and she hurried back to the dorms just as the evening's performance was ending. She could hear the applause from backstage, and she knew she'd have about fifteen minutes before the clients started coming in.

"Hey, Shimmer!" That rough, almost masculine voice froze Shimmer in her tracks. Her breath caught in her throat as she forced herself to turn around and look casual.

Rainbow Dash was running towards her, holding a paper bag in her hands. "You forgot your dinner," she said, extending the bag towards her.

"Oh." Shimmer Glass cursed her forgetfulness. She'd given Rainbow Dash the excuse she needed to get her alone. Careful not to make any physical contact with her trembling hand, she reached out and grabbed the bag. "Thank you, Miss Dash."

"Call me Rainbow." A cocky grin replaced her previous expression as she leaned against the wall in the same pose she'd used to intimidate that other girl three days ago. "We might look like a fancy place, but we're just like any other of the fun places, and we don't need to be all stiff and uptight with each other."

"I— I see." Shimmer knew all too well what those "fun" places could be like. "Thank you, Rainbow."

"That's more like it!" When Rainbow Dash reached an arm out behind her, Shimmer Glass stiffened in fear, but instead of grabbing her, all she did was pat her on the back. "So, how're you settling in around here?"

"I— I'm doing fine." Her voice faltered for a moment as she tried to inch away from the looming guard. "Everyone's been very kind to me." She forced a smile on her face as she took a small step back.

That was a mistake. Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed. "Are you okay?" she asked, and for a moment, Shimmer Glass was confused by what sounded like genuine concern in her voice. "You seem really nervous."

"I— It's nothing." Why couldn't she keep her voice from shaking?

"Is someone bothering you?" The darkness in her tone made Shimmer Glass shiver. "If someone's harassing you, just let me know and I'll take care of them."

"No!" She didn't want to know what the price of her "protection" would be. "No! Everything is fine! Please, just let me go!"

Rainbow Dash reeled back as if struck. "You don't have to be scared of me," she said, understanding lighting up in her eyes. "I'm here to protect you."

Shimmer Glass wanted to invent some kind of excuse, some reason to get away from this brute who was forcing herself on the girls working here. And yet, she saw real hurt in those bright red eyes, and something in her heart told her that not everything was what she thought it was.

Chest pounding madly, she made her decision.

"And what do you want for that protection?" she asked carefully, knowing that she had sealed her fate. If she'd guessed wrong about Rainbow Dash, then... well, it wasn't like she hadn't come to this place expecting to get a different job anyways.

"Umm, the Boss pays me?" Shimmer Glass' spirit lifted at the confusion in Rainbow Dash's voice and expression. "Why do you think I would... oh. Oh." She quickly backed away, holding her hand out between them in a placating gesture. "I don't know what the last place you worked with was like, but I would never..." she trailed off, and her eyes hardened. "And if someone here does try anything funny, you let me know and I'll take care of them, okay?"

She wanted to trust her, but she still couldn't get the image from her first out of her mind. "What about with the girls? The ones who... perform." And did other things, afterwards. "I saw you asking Autumn Haze to see you after the show yesterday."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. "I was talking about our poker night!" she said quickly. "A bunch of us play poker every Thursday." She shook her head. "Okay, I think you got a completely wrong picture of me. They like it when I tell them how hot they are. Lemme show you."

The star performer of the night, Rarity, stepped out from a nearby door, wrapped in a robe that covered up what would likely be mostly bare skin. She wore a confident smile on her face and moved with a grace and elegance that transfixed Shimmer.

"Hey, Rares!" Rainbow Dash called out. "I saw the first part of the show. You make one hell of an entrance, and you got me really worked up. How about a little employee discount for a loyal employee, huh?"

The world froze as Shimmer waited for a response.

Rarity smirked, no hint of unease at all in her eyes as she gave her reply. "Darling, you couldn't afford me even with a discount. You know we charge extra for group sessions, and I'm afraid we can't make exceptions for your ego."

With that, she walked away, leaving behind a stunned Shimmer Glass and a smug Rainbow Dash. "See? They don't mind."

"Oh." Suddenly, Shimmer felt very silly. "So, have you ever...?"

"Not yet," Rainbow replied, "but one of these days I'm sure one of those girls will fall for my charm and we'll have a radical time together." The cheer in her voice dimmed. "So, I know you used to work at a brothel before. That place, were the guards... bad?"

"We didn't have guards at the last place," Shimmer said bluntly, and quickly moved on before Rainbow could say anything and bring back memories. "And the place before that... well, having guards was better than not having them, I guess, but some of them were worse than the johns." She shuddered, her mind going to dark places despite her attempts to hold them back.

"Hey, hey, it's okay now." It was strange how such a rough voice could sound so tender, but Shimmer Glass held on to the sound of Rainbow Dash's voice like a drowning sailor to a life raft. "The Boss wouldn't ever let anything like that happen here, and the other guards are all good people." Rainbow paused before continuing. "And you don't have to worry about me making a pass at you. I wouldn't do that to anyone who didn't want me to."

"Like Rarity?" Shimmer said with a snort, focusing on the present and forcing her breathing to steady.

"Rarity likes it when I tell her how much I wanna pull her into one of the bedrooms and have some fun," Rainbow replied. "Believe me, one day I'll talk her into it. But until then, I won't even touch her unless she lets me."

"I believe you," Shimmer said. She took a deep breath and reached out a hand towards the other woman. "I'm sorry for thinking such awful things about you before. Can you forgive me?"

"Pfft, it's no biggie." Rainbow Dash shook her hand, her firm, powerful grip a comfort rather than a threat to Shimmer now. "It's my bad for forgetting you were new, and that not every place is as awesome as the Sapphire. Hopefully you'll be able to see how great this place is soon."

"I think I might be starting to get it." Shimmer smiled at Rainbow as she pulled her hand back. "Sorry, I need to go back to my son. I'll see you around?"

"Not like we don't live and work in the same place," Rainbow replied. "Pretty sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

"I look forward to it." And somehow, she did. Rainbow Dash seemed fun, and loyal, and unlike any guard she'd known before. She still wasn't completely comfortable with her coming on to the girls, but she could respect that she'd never do anything unless they really wanted to, and the girls here didn't have to be scared of saying no.

Her smile stayed on her face all the way back to the dorms when she went to spend some quality time with her son.

The future looked brighter than it had ever looked before, and she couldn't wait to see what the next day had in store.