Chapter 2
Rarity's heart was racing. Her legs were working as fast they could, hair blowing behind her as the wind dried out her eyes. Her breathing came out in short bursts.
Charging down the main road of Ponyville, the white unicorn was weaving in and out of other pastel-colored equines. Her hooves begun to ache as she skidded out of the way of a cabbage cart, continuing her relentless pace onward. Oddly enough, it seemed like time had stopped, no other pony noticing her as she charged onwards to her goal. In fact, it was like none of them even cared that she was tearing through the busiest part of town.
Soon enough, the tree library came into view, and confidence began to fill her heart. ”I can do this! Yes, I can do this!” Dreams of the future began to fill her mind, happy times and loving evenings. Everything was coming together harmoniously.
"FWOMP!"
Out of nowhere, something materialized right in her path, just as she was on top of it. No time to stop, Rarity slammed into it at full speed. The object stood firm, while the unicorn fell backwards, a headache screaming in her temples.
The world was fuzzy, her ears ringing from impact. She felt dizzy and frantic, struggling to make heads or tails of the situation. When she opened her eyes, she could hardly see, the impact impairing her vision and making everything blurry. It looked like a cloud... Or maybe a mound of snow.
She began to hear mumbled voices as a nagging pain formed in her shoulder.
“Ow!” Rarity yelped as she rubbed her shoulder weakly. Voices continued to whisper and hush around her. The world proceeded to get darker and darker as the voices got louder and louder. For a second, she felt like she was deep underwater, in a fluid environment with no direction at all.
Soon enough nothing was visible, the world swallowed in darkness.
“Hey, Rarity, are you awake?”
Rarity rose her head and yawned, feeling as weary and as beat up as she was in her dream. Her head pounded and her shoulder was killing her. Slowly, she looked around her.
Fluttershy was laying down next to her on a spa bed, her hoof reached out worriedly. “You were asleep for the entire massage,” she frowned worriedly, “and you started talking in your sleep and moving sporadically. Are you okay?”
“What?” Rarity froze, “Wait, Fluttershy, what did I say?!” Her voice sounded panicked as she tried to pull herself up, but a lance of pain emanated from her shoulder. With an unladylike gasp, she flopped back onto her stomach, rubbing her shoulder.
“Be careful!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “When Lotus was giving you your massage, you made one of those weird movements and she kinda tweaked your shoulder muscles wrong.” She frowned again. “She could tell by the way your muscles tightened up, and said you'd probably have to rest it for the remainder of the day.”
The fact her shoulder was hurt did not concern her as much. It would go away within a day or two. But the shame from revealing her deepest secret would be intolerable.
“Fine, whatever, just tell me what I said!” Rarity begged frantically. ”If she knew I had my eyes on Twilight...” She shivered.
Fluttershy shrugged. “I don't know, it came out as a jumbled mess.” She giggled, trying to lighten the mood, “Kinda a lot like a little foal.”
The unicorn faked a smile. It still did not alleviate the fact that she was now trying to talk in her sleep. Who knew what one could say, that would otherwise be locked up in their minds?
“Oh, well I guess no real harm was done,” Rarity said, while rotating her shoulder gingerly. Sparks of pain rippled up her neck, reminding her that putting any weight on her left foreleg would be unbearable. “I guess we should head off to the hot tub.” She fidgeted uncomfortably. “Fluttershy, could you be a dear and get a wheelchair for me? I-... I don't think I can walk easily.”
Fluttershy nodded understandably, her tone switching to one she had often used with her animals, “Oh, of course! Don't you worry, I'll be right back!” The pegasus got off her bed and trotted quickly out the door.
The unicorn sighed. ”Fluttershy is simply too nice... Sometimes it honestly feels like she's done too much for me and I've done too little for her.” She put a hoof to her chin, remembering back to all the times the quiet pegasus had helped her out.
”Would even she be put off by the fact I'm interested in Twil-”
Her thoughts were interrupted as the yellow mare entered the room pushing a wheelchair. “Here you go, Rarity!” She smiled and patted the seat assuringly. “I made sure it was extra-comfy.”
"Well, that was quick."
"Thank you, darling!" she responded.
Rarity got up and off the spa bed slowly, making sure not to put weight on her left forehoof as she made her way over and onto the wheelchair.
“Fluttershy, we've been friends for how long now, a few years?” Rarity asked as the pegasus pushed her out of the room and into the hallway towards the hot tub room. “Right?”
“Of course!” Fluttershy replied cheerily. “I can't thank you enough for how you've helped me out of my shell. Why, back when we first met, I could barely open my mouth to anypony! Now, I can walk around Ponyville and at least talk to regular ponies if I have to.” Then she added a bit more quietly, “That doesn't mean I won't be shy about it.”
Rarity opened the door with her magic as her friend pushed her into the room. It had tiled floors along the outside of an in-ground tub filled with bubbling, steaming, and all-too-inviting water. The air was humid and warm, enveloping around her body like a cozy blanket.
“Thanks, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, getting off the chair herself and limping over to the tub. “I've just been going through a lot lately and it feels good to know you're still my best friend.” She turned and smiled at her, before quickly getting in.
Rarity let out a deep sigh, letting the water run over her skin and muscles as she moved to position a jet on her strained and extremely sensitive shoulder. Although it hurt at first, slowly it began to feel better and better as it soothed her tightened muscles.
“I- is something wrong?” Fluttershy asked as she plopped opposite from her into the tub. A worried expression grew across her face.
“Yes,” Rarity admitted slowly, “But don't worry yourself, please. It'll probably just work itself out or something.” She laughed half-heartedly.
Fluttershy looked unconvinced, but didn't press. “Okay, well if you say so.”
Rarity frowned.
Fluttershy frowned.
For minutes, they sat there in an awkward silence. The only sounds that could be heard were the popping of bubbles and the machinery powering the jets in the tub. A soft white light glowed above the two.
”This isn't right,” Rarity debated internally. ”I'm not even telling my best friend how I feel. If I can't tell her, I can't tell anypony."
And still, they sat there in silence. Rarity shifted uncomfortably, giving her beleaguered shoulder a break from the jet. Fluttershy swirled her hoof in the water. A clock ticked on the wall as the hour hand shifted.
“So, what if... Umm, hypothetically speaking,” Rarity began slowly, her expression contorted with concentration. Fluttershy looked at her with a start, her eyes studying the unicorn's face for clues.
”Words are supposed to be easy!” Rarity thought as she tried to come up with what to say. ”Then why does it seem like rocket science to find the correct ones?”
“Well, uh...” She continued, her voice tinged with desparation. “I've been under some stress lately. And...” Once again her mind came up dry.
“Rarity, you know you can tell me, right?” Fluttershy asked. “I can help you.”
“But, this is... Well, different,” Rarity argued. “It's so much about me... I- I don't think anypony else even could help.”
Fluttershy rolled her eyes. “You don't know that until you try. Come on, please! Rarity, it makes me feel awful to see you like this. First, when I met you here, it looked you hadn't slept in days.”
Rarity blinked and rubbed her eyes. They were bloodshot and dried out; purple bags hung underneath them.
“Then, you start thrashing around in your sleep and hurt your shoulder.” Fluttershy's voice started turning a little frantic, and a frantic Fluttershy was, well, unpredictable. “And now, we can't even have a normal day at the spa like we used to!”
The pegasus made her way over to Rarity and put carefully her hooves on the white mare's shoulders. The rare, assertive, serious and use-in-case-of-an-emergency side of Fluttershy was beginning to show. “Rarity, I'm your friend and I know you. And this,” Fluttershy lifted a hoof and pointed it at her friend's face, “Is not Rarity.”
She sat down next to her and gave her a hug. “So please, tell me something. You don't have to say too much, but really, I can't stand seeing you so beat up for the past week.”
As the other mare let go, Rarity was at a loss for words. It was true. All of it was true. Her body was falling into disrepair since the sleepover, and she had done little to correct it.
“What... What if,” The words barely came out of the unicorn's mouth. “What if I changed something about me... Something so fundamental that it changed me as a whole?”
Somewhere, deep within, the words started to flow. “Like, for example, what if I just decided one day to stop designing clothing and went off to do something completely opposite.” She stayed silent for a second, before continuing, “Would you still look at me the same way?”
“No.” Fluttershy responded. Rarity's heart plummeted.
“But, that's because that was the old Rarity. And if the new Rarity wants to be somepony else, then I'd be happy and excited for her.” Fluttershy looked her in the eyes. “Even if you moved half way around the world you'd still be my best friend.”
“R-Really?” Waves of emotion poured over Rarity as she tried fighting back tears.
“Yes,” Fluttershy said warmly. She held her hooves out wide as she saw Rarity's chin tremble.
As the unicorn embraced her, the quiet pegasus reiterated again in a hushed voice, “Yes I would.”
-~-
Rarity shuffled into a more comfortable position as she lounged on a small couch in Fluttershy's cottage.
”I'm a mess,” Rarity lamented. ”How bad of a position do I have to be in, to have the most passive and reserved pony in Equestria literally drag me over to her own home because she's so concerned about me?”
It was true. Once she had stopped crying, Fluttershy insisted they both go back to her house so she could keep an eye on her shoulder. However, they both knew it was so she could keep an eye on Rarity herself.
”It's all because of these damn feelings inside of me! Why must I feel this way?! Why must I feel so conflicted?!" She seethed, her anger borne from confusion and frustration. ”It's all Twilight's fault!” She pounded her right hoof down on the couch. ”If she wasn't so...”
She fought for words to find to express her frustration. Her brain came up empty and her anger faltered. Instead, somewhere else she found the words to fill in the blanks:
”If she wasn't so carefree, acceptive, compassionate, smart and adorable...”
Her muscles began to relax, her mind began to clear the clouds of anger, yet her heart kept beating furiously. She still wanted to be angry, to blame somepony, but she just couldn't.
”If she wasn't so playful, funny, good-natured and absolutely beautiful...”
The last words barely crept out of her throat as she subconsciously finished her musings, “If she wasn't all those things, then I wouldn't feel this way about her.”
”But you do,” a voice said from deep within her.
Rarity whimpered and let her face fall into a throw pillow on the couch. It was all too much. The turmoil, the restless nights, the anxiety attacks... It was impossible to know how long she could go on. In a mere week, she had already turned into a wreck that had eaten little, slept less, and had her shoulder muscles wound tighter than a coltscout knot.
”Could I keep this up, for her?” She asked herself.
Before she could answer, the cottage door creaked open. Rarity turned to see Fluttershy enter with a bag in her mouth.
“Did you find somepony to look after the Carousel Boutique for me?” The unicorn asked as she entered. “Because if not, I couldn't possibly leave it alone! Do you know how many brilliant jewels and expensive fabrics I have in there?”
The pegasus set down the bag and smiled. “I got it all under control. I got somepony to go over right now and keep an eye on it.”
“Who?” Rarity asked, “It wasn't just anypony off the street, right?”
Fluttershy giggled. “Oh, of course not! I ran into Twilight by the market and asked if she could help-”
Rarity got up with a start, grimacing slightly as she remembered to take the weight off her left foreleg. “What?!”
Fluttershy recoiled, giving her friend a look. “Umm... Is that bad? Did I do something wrong?”
The white mare collected herself abashedly and settled back down, her cheeks blushing faintly. “Oh, ah- um, no... Continue on, dear.”
“Anyways... She said she'd be happy to. When she asked why you were gone, I told her you hurt your shoulder and that I was keeping an eye on you for the day.”
“Oh..." Rarity took a second to analyze this new turn of events. "Really? But doesn't she have to still work as the town librarian? Surely that's more important.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Apparently, she decided that Spike could keep an eye on things for a bit so she could help you.”
“B-But Spike's just a baby dragon!” Rarity exclaimed. “She really didn't have to do all this...”
“Relax.,” Her friend said before smiling at her. “She thought you'd say that, and she just told me to tell you that it's really no big deal.”
Fluttershy looked down at the floor and picked up the bag in her mouth, gingerly setting it down next to Rarity. “Oh, and she wanted me to give you this too. Once she found out, she wanted to walk around the market and pick up some things for you.”
Rarity picked up the bag with her magic, giving it a look-over. “Oh wow... I wonder what it could be.”
Fluttershy walked off towards the kitchen. “Why don't you open it up while I make us some tea?”
Rarity simply nodded and opened up the bag. Inside, there was a card and a small package. She took out the card and opened it. It read:
Dear Rarity,
I hope your shoulder gets better soon! I know this letter probably looks horrible and crudely thrown-together, but you can only do so much while walking around town with Fluttershy! Anyways, since I can tell you'll probably get bored while sitting around the house, I decided to get a few things to make you feel better!
Your friend,
Twilight
P.S. When you get home tomorrow, maybe we could have a fun night in at your house! I think it'd be great to keep your mind off of that shoulder for a little longer!
P.P.S Besides, I still owe you a makeover for that brilliant one you gave me at my birthday party last week!
Rarity sat there and stared at the letter for a few seconds, before reading it over again. In all reality, she should have expected something like this from Twilight, but still... A warm, happy feeling overcame her, and she felt like crying again.
”No! I have cried too many times today! If Fluttershy comes in to me blubbering again, then she'll definitely make me tell her!” She turned her eyes towards the unopened package. ”Maybe opening this up will help distract me.”
Using her magic to tear the paper around it, revealing two box-like items. One was a book, good sized and binded with a dark green cover. “L'Amour de Charité” was printed in gold letters on the front.
“A cheesy yet addicting romance novel,” she chuckled, ”How am I not surprised.”
Putting the book aside, she glanced down at the next item. It was a bigger, wider white box.
”Could it be?” Rarity asked herself as she examined the box. She sniffed the edges, then slowly took the top off.
It was! Rarity slowly picked out one of the strawberries, the majority of it covered in beautiful, delicious, luxurious chocolate. Taking a bite, she savored the lighter, sugary-sweet juice from the strawberry alongside the rich and creamy taste of the chocolate. It was heaven.
”Twilight, why do you have to be so amazing?” Rarity took another bite before noticing something on her cheek.
”Really? I'm crying again?” Still, all Rarity could do was smile and giggle, as tears glistened on her face. ”I'm pathetic... Am I really such an emotional wreck that a simple chocolate-covered strawberry can bring me to tears?”
Half a minute later, Fluttershy entered the room to the sound of bubbly giggling. “Umm, Rarity is everything alrig-” She stopped short as she saw Rarity laughing with tears rolling down her face. “Hey, why are you crying again?”
Rarity looked up, and lifted the white box over to her friend with a smile. “Want a strawberry?”
-~-
Fluttershy sipped her tea politely while Rarity talked.
“...and anyways, I think this 'fun night in' will be great! Twilight and I will have such a good time, perhaps it will be just what I need.”
Rarity dug around the box, coming up with a last strawberry. “Would you like the last one?” She asked politely.
Fluttershy waved a hoof dismissively, her stomach aching slightly from eating four earlier. “No thanks.” She tapped her chin in thought for a second, then began again quickly, “Hey, do you mind if I ask you something?”
Rarity looked up from nibbling on the last strawberry, “Of course! Feel free to speak your mind, dear!”
Fluttershy scratched the back of her neck and blushed slightly. “Well... Umm, this may sound a bit weird, but does any of this whole... Uhh...” She tried to find the right word. “Does any of this whole 'changing yourself' problem have to do with Twilight?”
Rarity instantly locked up, dropping her strawberry. "How does she...”
“W-well... H-h-how did you ever come up with that idea?” Rarity asked, trying her best to pass it off casually.
“Rarity, I may be quiet, but I'm not blind or deaf.” She shrugged. “I don't know, it just seemed to all start after her birthday party, and when I just mentioned her after coming back from town, you nearly jumped off the couch.”
Fluttershy pointed at the note. “And now, you're crying, laughing and getting really excited over a letter she sent you...” She put a hoof on Rarity's good shoulder, her injured one now wrapped gently with an ice pack underneath. “Is everything okay between you two?”
Rarity shrunk back at the question. Cold shocks of anxiety and nervousness ran through her.
”What do I do?” She asked herself in a panic. ”Can I really tell Fluttershy? I... I don't want to because...” The truth was, she couldn't find out exactly why, but she just couldn't! ”But, if I can't tell my best friend, then there is no possible way I can tell Twilight...”
Rarity closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Alright Fluttershy, I'll tell you... But you can not tell anypony else, is that clear?”
The yellow pegasus nodded.
“I...” Rarity gulped. So few words, so hard to say them. But now, she had to be strong. She had to be able to take this first step to be able to take the many others she'd need to afterwards.
“I...Well, I think... Or rather I know..." She fumbled with her words, staring down at the ground.
"Yes?" Fluttershy asked softly.
Rarity looked up at her, trying in vain to keep her voice from shaking.
"I'm in love with Twilight.”
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Yay for consecutive free-nights! Thank god I got a break, or else this chapter would have not been finished for a week.
As the story evolves, so does my subconscious view on writing it. I'm sorry if you notice the "feel" of the story is changing a little too quickly, but I'm still trying to mold the correct palette of emotions for this story. Not all the foreseeable events have been planned out, but I'm making my way through them, and as I do, I have to occasionally make adjustments so I can compliment further events.
Enjoy!
And then a Cliffhanger
Well besides the Cliffhanger (i hate thoose
), it was a very good chapter.
1242247
I don't blame you! But, from my perspective, it was the best way to end the chapter without divulging so much info that the next chapter would be lopsided. (If I went any further, it would have interrupted the flow for chapter 3).
CUTE! cant wait for the rest!
Cliff hangers are the only way to end chapters. :P I like how this is going.
The bomb has been dropped. Now for the glorious explosion that cascades into the next chapters.
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Gosh darn Cliffhangers.
chocolate-covered strawberries... kinky
Damn, that took some doing....
If I'm reading Fluttershy right, I'm betting she already had something of an inkling of exactly what Rarity was building up to. I can't really see her finding it a bad thing, but then I might be reading her wrong. 
Regardless, an excellent chapter.
1243375
You bet it's kinky, because it's a foreshadowing device for all the borderline clop I have coming up (that was a joke).
Excellent, your writing style is great, however the cliffhanger is a real killjoy, but this is still great. Keep writing!
1242277
i know that cliffhangers are popular, and most of the time necessary.
Still doesn't mean i have to like them
Dat cliff
Raritwi, Twirity, or whatever it's called has always been one of my favorite ships, and I LOVE the way that this fic is done. Cannot wait for the next chapter! Please finish soon, that cliff hanger is WAY worse than anything I've done.
I'm working on it! I just have to wrap up some music work and some school-related writing before I can pound out the final 2,000 words or so. Expect something by mid-week.
Such strong, emotional upheavals. And it's only the second chapter
So much for me not being able to wait for the next chapter. I'm running behind on readings.
Hahaha love your comment acreuball! that's stating the obvious like a boss. bro-hoof*
To the author: >>>Habanc>>> simply awesome writing skills you have there. Honest your story so far matches every expectation I look forward to in a fimfiction story.
My main focuses that truly draw me in is: 1. the certain types of shippings 2. the realism of the situations and dialoque 3. the delightful amounts of detail 4. the last thing is lately ive really enjoyed great works of art that include the inner thoughts of the main ponies.
Your now in my top 10 favorite authors! Few more stories like this and ill be hooked. Thanks for the story. bro-hoof*
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Just starting reading and loving it. Found an error in Chapter 2: "One was a book, good sized and binded with a dark green cover. " binded → bound
This chapter feels much better. First one was kinda rushed but now Rarity and her dramatics are delightful.