Rarity woke slowly as little fits and spurts of detail made their way into her muzzy head. She was lying in her bed, sheets pulled up to her chin, and somepony was singing in the downstairs. Her ears twitched and focused in on the sound ... Two ponies, singing a soft duet in familiar yet muffled voices. She finally worked up the resolve to open her crusty eyes and turned to look at her alarm clock... only to find it completely missing. She sat bolt upright and looked around - the curtains were shut tight and glowed with indirect sunlight, her bedroom door was shut tight, and she had no idea what time it was. Rarity scrambled out of her bed, barely remembering to straighten out the sheets as she rushed into the hallway and down the stairs. Today was an important day, one she couldn’t afford to waste with things like sleep. Today was the first day when she didn’t have deadlines hanging over her like a sword of Dam Oakleaves, the first day when she could finally get around to some long-overdue cleaning of the Boutique.
Because as it turned out, making dresses for a Coronation meant a lot of publicity, a lot of notoriety. And it meant a lot of commissions from a lot of important ponies. And of course, Rarity couldn’t turn them down. Because as famous as she was starting to get, she was still a designer living in a place like Ponyville, hardly established as a label the rich would want to buy from. As much as her friends had spoken of her generosity in giving out her time to make these many orders, it wasn’t anything that noble that held back every polite “no” she wanted so desperately to give.
Her reputation was at stake, and every late order, every offer she turned down could only take away from her potential base of customers, leaving her ruined before her career could really take off. Weeks had turned to months had turned to a season and more, her winter days spent hunched over a worktable or frantically going through the available laces in the local fabric store before rush-ordering from Canterlot or Fillydelphia in a total panic. And now, on the first day that her life was her own again, on the first day she could take care of the abysmal mess the backrooms had become, she didn’t know what time it was, and two unidentified singing ponies were in her home.
Rarity rounded the corner into the kitchen and stared. Pinkie and Fluttershy were dusting off the cabinets together, their soft, beautiful voices winding together on some old folk-song Rarity had heard before but couldn’t name. She sighed with relief and jumped slightly at the speed that the other two turned around and met her eyes.
“Did we wake you up?” Fluttershy asked, already developing her usual cringe.
“No, not in the least, darling,” Rarity rasped, heading for the sink. She got herself a quick drink of water to clear out the worst of the phlegm caught in her throat before turning around again to face them. “But what are the two of you doing in here on such a fine day?” Of course, Rarity was just guessing at the weather. She hadn’t seen a schedule in ... longer than she cared to remember, and she hadn’t yet found a window to look through.
“Well,” Pinkie began, “We thought since you’ve been so busy lately you needed your sleep, but we also remembered how important a clean house is to you, so we figured we’d get started and let you rest.” Rarity smiled at their thoughtfulness, but she couldn’t help but worry... the last time another pony had helped clean up....
“Don’t worry, Rarity, we didn’t touch your inspiration room,” Fluttershy soothed. Was Rarity really being that obvious?
“Thank you, girls,” Rarity managed around the knot in her throat. Pinkie and Fluttershy had been nothing short of helpful over all this. All her friends had been supportive, of course, but Pinkie and Fluttershy... Rarity could distinctly remember seven different nights when Fluttershy’s skill with a needle and thread had saved her from being completely overwhelmed, and could vaguely recall at least ten more besides. And Pinkie had come by with fresh-cooked meals and friendly chatter and, it seemed, a tried-and-true babysitter’s skill for dragging her to bed and making her get a good five hours of sleep right when she was about to go off the wall. The two of them would occasionally kidnap her to the spa and put her through the works, all the while keeping her up to date on the regular gossip, just how she liked, even though she could hardly nod in the right places, her head too full of half-made dresses and frantically marked second drafts and all the things she should have been doing to really process the words coming out of their mouths.
But however futile, every gesture they made was thoughtful and entirely necessary. The two of them had done everything they could to make sure she ate and slept at least a little, to make sure she had some friends to cry on whenever she really needed them, when she finally remembered how much of her life she was losing to work and obligation. The two of them would keep Sweetie Belle entertained and out of the way on the weekends she spent over, forgave Rarity when stress and artistic passions caused her to yell and stomp and scream and curse like a madmare. And now, after all they had already done...
TIME LIMIT------
Rarity’s vision became blurry as hot tears prickled in her eyes, as she sank to the ground and began crying in earnest, letting out all the extra emotions and stress in loud wails and heaving sobs. She could feel two sets of warm legs and a comforting pair of wings around her, could hear soft, gentle reassurances at the edge of her hearing, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying, and she couldn’t stop crying. Her emotions were drowning her, crushing her, and it was all she could do to cry until they all finally left, left her panting and thirsty and shaking on the floor.
“You girls are the best friends I could ever ask for,” she blubbered, pulling the two of them into a tight hug. She gulped down the water Fluttershy gave her and finally got a glance at the clock - 3:15 pm. She looked up at the two of them, their expressive eyes showing deep concern, and decided she had to do something for them in return. “Pinkie? Fluttershy? Would you like to have a late lunch?” she asked, getting back on her shaky legs and offering a small little smile. “I think we have...” she trailed off as she realized she had no idea what was in the pantry, that she hadn’t for weeks now. “...Regardless, I think I could whip something up for the three of us.” She put on a winning smile and waited for an answer.
Pinkie looked towards Fluttershy with a voiceless question, and it hit her. The singing, the way they were always together, the extra bounce in Fluttershy’s steps, the unexpected gentleness with which Pinkie sang her to sleep, and now this look... How long had they been together? How much of her friends’ lives had she missed through all this work? Why did her chest feel so tight right now? Some of it was guilt, but the rest... perhaps it was jealousy, although she hadn’t felt that in a long while.
And Fluttershy thought for a while, her face scrunched up adorably in thought. Rarity could feel her smile stretching thinner and thinner with each passing second, and PInkie would look over and see her and know, know what she was really feeling, would see the disgusting jealous mare that she was right now, would see her ugliness and then... And then Fluttershy gave a glorious little smile and nod. “Actually, Rarity, that sounds... nice,” she proclaimed. And all at once that tightness in her chest melted away, and she giddily pranced towards the icebox and rummaged around, and she knew that everything was alright again.
Blue Moon: Ah man, I love those few, few fics I've read that explore Luna's nature as more than 'local plot point a la deus ex machina'. The moon has phases, and it makes sense to me that she's a lot less constant and unchanging than Celestia, yeah? Ah man, I can't even remember the name of the fic I read the idea in, since it's not used much, but you executed it really well. Yet again, although I've probably said this a million times, I'd love to see what happens next. I say that a lot about a good 'maybe' ending, because I'm one of those people who always is driven a little nutso by them. Damned authors and your recognized and valid writing techniques, FINISH STORY NAO OR I KILL YO--Er, right, yeah, I know, half hour stories. Y'know, you said you wanted to do a longer story. 90% of these could totally be developed further, as you already probably know. And uh, just sayin', I sure would think it cool if your muse ever told ya to try it out with like... any one that didn't involve killing off somepony I like. Just sayin'!
Clever title: Love is always a necessity! It is air, it is earth, it is.. Well, yeah, f**k yeah, PONIES SHOULD BE IN LOVE BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME. Er, and stuff. But really, Pinks and Flutters in this one? That /is/ friendship. Seriously. I've had only one or two friends in my life who would do this kind of thing. That's pretty freakin' hamony-element-la-la-whatever-riffic right there. Shine on you crazy diamond. And keep writing.
This review might have been written under the influence of painkillers since my cat bit through my nail when I tried to give her medicine for her liver. But, uh, totally valid still, just probably a bit la-la-what was I typing about ooh shiny
2391283 I'm sorry to hear about your cat and stuff, and I hope the la-la-look-at-the-dancing-shadows goes away. (Painkillers mess with my head hardcore, and I hope you're not too messed up right now, it's never fun)
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I liked the idea of Luna changing every once in a while, with either a partial or total reset. Part of my headcanon on this is that the Nightmare started whispering to her during one of these phase changes and planted the seeds of doubt from an early, early age.
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And taking care of Rarity is something I just plain see Fluttershy and Pinkie doing. The three of them have an ... interesting history, each with their own little neuroses and hidden problems, and I see them (especially after/during the Iron Will thing) taking care of each other during those times. Saving the world together tends to create some very special friendships, and after throwing down Discord, what's a few months of complete insanity among friends?
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I am well aware of how I could finish/ expand many of these stories into something decent, but right now, music is being my jealous girlfriend and spending too much time with me. Add onto that the fact that I joyfully hide behind the 'maybe' ending, and you've got a case of [author probably won't finish anything anytime soon]. I love me some confusing endings, because I'm so used to writing them that I'm not entirely sure if I'd be any good at something extended and complete-feeling. Time will tell, once I start having it again.
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Thanks for leaving your lovely comments even with the pain meds going on. I always love hearing from you, and I hope the finger heals well
(Is your cat your avatar? if so, he/she's cute )
2395320
That part of the episode definitely struck me. It was creepy enough that Celestia used that dark magic, even if only for dramatic effect, but the fact that Twi could so readily use it (with no training or regulation) was actually kinda frightening. If we care to read into it, it does seem to speak volumes about what's lurking deep down in her heart.
2396030 my brain was all "there should be a pie that's the equivalent of the Manhattan Project," and then I was all, "really?" And my brain was all "yeah, Pinkie made it," and then I was all "okay but how would it work?" And then my brain said "weapons of mass DISTRACTION, silly!" And then war-pastries became a thing. Because Equestria is a very silly place when to stop and think about it, really. And Pinkie would be the best Agent of the Crown ever. She knows everypony, she can do weird-ass things and no one would be surprised, and she is the best at pies.
2391817 Eyep! That's Sahna, one of my three, and the one that was sick. She's actually a bit creepy looking compared to the other two, haha, and she's whiny and rude and glares very evilly. I love her to pieces. :)
Can't bend the top joint still so I can't type with it and it looks horrible, but it doesn't hurt anymore, which is great because I hate pain meds.
J'adore!
I was going to say this one brought about Iron Will feels. Lol. But besides a fun dynamic of personalities...I just think it makes sense that Pinkie and Fluttershy would be the ones taking care of Rarity. All the other friends have lives and worlds that they just tend to get lost in. Plus the fact they don't want to feel like a bother, or that they will get in the way. "Rarity will show up eventually."
Though I'm curious about the fact Spike didn't show up and try to help.
I hadn't considered how badly Rarity's popularity as a dressmaker could backfire on her. D: She really is stuck between grinning and bearing it or losing her livelihood (at least amongst the ponies she wants as clients), at least until she gets settled enough that she can start picking and choosing which projects to fill. I wonder if she might have been able to get away with not losing popularity if she had been more selective and made herself harder to get earlier on.
Also, yeah, those are real friends.