Fluttershy finds her way in love with the help of her beloved friend Rarity while getting over Big Mac.
Fluttershy is looking for a new love when Big Mac breaks her heart for the last time, no matter who it comes from. Rarity is fighting her feelings toward Fluttershy because she believes herself to be straight. Big Mac tries to keep Fluttershy to himself even though he's with another mare every night. Time for breaking hearts, false promises, love, and a few surprises including a race thought long gone and new entities...
Rarity studied her new dress design making sure every detail fit in just right. It simply had to be perfect. It was the most important dress in her career. Not everyone gets to work for the Princess of the Night.
“The veil simply won’t do, it would cover her crown. And the color is a tad too dark for the train and it is much too short with not enough stars…”
Rarity suddenly heard the bell to the front door tinkle and called out, “I’ll be out in just a moment!” On her way to the front of Carousel Boutique she noticed it was Fluttershy that had walked in and was currently looking at some of her newest dresses.
“Fluttershy dear, what can I help you with today?” She asked as she walked towards her. When Fluttershy didn’t respond right away she walked around her and noticed she had been crying. “Darling, what’s wrong?”
Fluttershy started whimpering and said in her usual quiet manner, “Big Mac left me again…”
Rarity hugged her dear friend while she wept and when she was finished, Rarity looked her in the eye and asked her what happened.
Fluttershy sniffled and with a tremble in her voice said, “It was simply awful! He was yelling at me again about how close I am with you all and when I said that you’re all my friends, he hit me and said it’s you guys or him… I told him I couldn’t choose and he told me to leave and that we were done…” Trailing off at the end, she began to quietly sob again.
During her retelling, Rarity’s expression got more angry and determined, but hearing Flutters cry it turned to compassion and pain for her dear friend. “Darling, that is simply awful. I cannot stand to see you cry. I know! How about tomorrow we go to the spa and have a nice relaxing day together to get your mind off of that big meanie?”
“I would like that, Rarity. I need to get over him and have a happy day with a great friend.”
Rarity smiled at Fluttershy and asked, “Would you like to stay and watch me work on Princess Luna’s dress? I could use your amazing fashion advice.”
“Okay.”
The next few hours flew by in a blur of ideas, remakes, critiquing, and friendly chit-chat. Sooner than expected, the clock chimed six o’clock and Fluttershy gasped.
“I have to go feed all the animals! I’m so sorry Rarity, but I’ll see you at the spa tomorrow at noon, okay?”
“Alright darling, and thank you for the help on my dress. Be safe going home.”
“Of course Rare.”
Rarity watched Fluttershy leave the boutique and head off towards her cottage and sighed, “Why couldn’t I tell her just how much I care?”
The Next Day
Where could Rare be? It’s almost noon! I hope she didn’t forget about our date… Wait! This isn’t a date, we’re just having a relaxing day together to help me forget… Him… *doorbell tinkles*
“So sorry I’m late dear! I was just putting some final touches on our latest masterpiece. You haven’t been waiting long, have you?” Rarity said in a flurry as she hurried into the door with hair wavy from working too hard.
“No, I haven’t been waiting long and Rare, heehee, you’re still wearing your glasses…” Fluttershy giggled and hid behind her mane as Rarity’s eyes opened wide in embarrassment.
“Oh goodness! How forgetful of me! I just couldn’t bear to be late darling.” She said laughing as she took her glasses off and put them in her saddlebags that Fluttershy hadn’t noticed till then.
After they had checked in, Fluttershy’s curiosity got the better of her and she asked, “So why did you bring your saddlebags to the spa? You’re not going to work while we relax are you?”
Rarity looked up to see how upset that gorgeous pony looked and responded quite enthusiastically with, “Of course not dear! I would never distract myself while relaxing with you.”
A blush suddenly rose to Flutters’ cheeks and Rarity thought she looked adorable and then stopped mid-thought. Adorable?? As a friend of course. I’m a lady. I’m meant to find my Prince one day and live happily ever after. I can’t possibly be feeling more than compassion for her pain. Wanting to make her happy must just be me being a good friend… But what if I do-
“Hey Rare?”
“Yes darling?”
“You’re such an amazing friend for being here for me right now, I don’t know what I would do without you.” Blushing, Fluttershy turned away and quietly followed the spa pony to the massage rooms. Behind her, Rarity was blushing even more than Fluttershy and her mind was racing a mile a minute about what she could possibly mean by that.
After talking about all of their friends and how their work had been going for most of the spa trip, they found themselves in the hot tub. Rarity started thinking about how beautiful Flutters was when she relaxed, and changed her thoughts again as quickly as she could. She started wondering what Fluttershy was thinking about because she looked so distant, like she was so focused on her thoughts that a herd of buffalo could run through and she wouldn’t even notice.
“Would you ladies like any aromas to make your soak more relaxing? We have your favorites ready if you would like them.” Lotus surprised both of them out of their thoughts and Rarity wondered how she hadn’t noticed her walk up to them.
“Flutters, would you like any?” She asked the recovering Fluttershy with a smile.
“Um, no thank you. This is okay for today.”
“Thank you so much Lotus dear, but we’re perfectly fine today. Perhaps we’ll use some next time.” She spoke with a sweet smile and watched Lotus leave before turning to Fluttershy and asking her what was on her mind.
Blushing even redder than before, she said, “Oh it’s nothing, just a silly thought.”
“Darling, none of your thoughts are silly. I promise you can tell me and I won’t laugh. Pinkie Promise.”
“Really?” Fluttershy asked, hopeful.
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Rarity responded while doing the motions.
Over at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie softly whispered, “Forever…”
Back in Ponyville Day Spa, Fluttershy took a deep breath and said, “I think I like you, Rarity.”
“Bartender! Another.” As his third pint for the night slid into his hoof, Big Mac thought about what had happened just yesterday. That stupid Pegasus! She made me hit her for not letting me speak! I can’t believe she hasn’t learned yet what happens when she interrupts me! And then today, instead of coming back and apologizing, she goes out with that bitchy friend of hers! Damn! He took a swig of his Cider and continued his rage filled inner monologue until he saw Rosy Nights walk by and decided tonight he would enjoy her company again.
“Hey Rose! Come here!”
“Why the long face tonight Mac? Another fight with your dumb girlfriend?” Rosy asked with a sexy smirk.
“I left that stupid bitch today, so how about you and me have another great night at your place?” He asked while putting his free hoof around her waist. They had never cared when he was with her, but he always told Rosy all about Fluttershy’s apparent stupidity. This time he had finally gotten tired and he made sure she knew it.
Her face turned pouty as she said, “I can’t tonight handsome, I have to work. I may have a new girl you’d enjoy though…”
“A new girl, huh?” He took another swig of his cider and looked around for any new faces, but couldn’t seem to find any. After searching for a couple minutes, he finally looked back at her with a question in his eyes.
“Starlit! I have someone that wants to meet you!” She hollered towards the back door of the bar. “Oh and before you meet her I have to warn you, she’s not like any pony you’ve ever met before, but I know you’ll enjoy her.” She said with a wink at him as a pony walked towards them through the dark bar. Mac couldn’t get a good look at her until she was close enough to touch and he wasn’t expecting what he saw in front of him.
“Starlit, meet Big Mac. Big Mac, this is Starlit Bite.” Big Mac could only stare at the pony in front of him. She had black fur, her mane and tail were black with neon green stripes in them, and her wings were black and grey, but that isn’t what caught his eye. The first thing he saw was the fangs sticking out of her mouth and then that her wings were bat wings. He couldn’t quit staring.
“Heya Big Mac… I’m guessing I’m the bat pony you’ve ever seen?” He could only nod and stare. “Not surprising, we mostly keep to ourselves. I just recently decided to see what it was like with you other ponies.”
Big Mac finally snapped out of it and took another swig of his drink while he composed himself. “So what would you like to experience?”
“I don’t know, what did you have in mind?” She asked with an innocent smile.
“Well, I’m gonna leave you two to get to know each other and get to work,” Rosy said while slowly walking away, but neither Big Mac nor Starlit noticed.
“I was thinking I could show you more if we were alone… Where are you staying?” Mac asked with a sly grin and only one thought on his mind.
“Right now I just have a room at the local motel until I find a better place to stay.”
“Care to show me? I show you some things about us when we get there.” He finished his cider and inched closer to her.
“Okie dokie! Follow me.” She led him out of the bar and a couple blocks down to the motel. “So what are you gonna show me?” She asked as she closed and locked the door behind them.
When he didn’t answer, she turned around to find him right behind her and walking closer looking her up and down.
“I wanted to show you what it’s like to be with an earth stallion,” he said as he pushed her back up against the wall so she was only on her hind legs. He then looked down and reached a hoof up to touch her and began rubbing.
“I-I was w-wondering what it would be l-like,” she stuttered. “Why don’t we take this to the bed?”
“Lead the way.” He let her down, followed her, and had a great night with a new gal.
When he woke up the next morning, he could hear her in the shower and noticed his neck really hurt. Mac walked over to one of the motel mirrors and noticed several fang marks on his neck. Damn, ouch. Oh well, at least she’s fun and not afraid of everything. What am I gonna do about Miss Shy? I’ll figure it out later, right now I’m still here. Suddenly Starlit appeared in the doorway and said,
“Sorry about that, I kinda got caught up and forgot you don’t have bat pony skin. Are you okay?” She walked forward trying to get a good look at his neck for any permanent damage.
“Ya I’m fine, what’s so different about bat pony skin?” He asked while looking at his neck in the mirror again.
“It’s just thicker than normal pony skin so we can’t hurt each other with our fangs,” she stated matter-of-factly while leaning back against the door frame.
Mac finished inspecting his neck and looked at Starlit and finally took in her cutie mark of a full moon halfway hidden behind dark clouds with fang-sized pieces of the moon showing through the clouds. “That’s an awesome cutie mark, how did you get it?”
She glanced at her flank and said, “Oh, I was bartending back home and decided to do a little something for one of my usual customers that always tipped well. Sometime during the night, it just appeared. And yours?”
“I work on my family’s apple orchard just outside of town.”
“Ah, okay. Well, I have some job interviews today so I’ll see ya round.”
“Kay, bye Starlit,” he nodded as he walked towards her door.
It had been a week since Fluttershy told Rarity how she felt and Rarity couldn’t get it off her mind.
She likes me? It’s too good to be true! No, it just makes this worse. I can’t be with a mare! I’m meant to be with a prince! Maybe Fluttershy could be my princess? *sigh*
Rarity redirected her focus to the dresses she’d been working on for the last few days and hoped the customer loved it. It was the oddest request she had ever received.
She hadn’t had much business recently so she was going out for an early morning stroll around town, but when she opened her front door there had been an envelope sitting on her porch. When she looked at it closer, she saw a sticky note on the front saying it should only be opened inside and it needed to be done by Friday. That was on Monday.
Since then she had working tirelessly on the two dress designs that had been inside. Thankfully, the customer even wrote down the color schemes in detail so she was almost done. Only the final touches remained and it was only nine. The pick-up time on the card inside said 2 o’clock. She was ahead of schedule!
Maybe I should ask Flutters if she wants to take another spa day and we can talk about –
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door, but when she yelled ‘Come in!’ no one did. She put the fabric she had been holding in her magic down on the table and walked to the front of the store to see if she had had forgotten to unlock the door by accident.
That’s curious. I wonder who it could be.
When she opened the door though, there was no one there. She started searching around for who it could’ve been and that’s when she noticed the envelope sitting on her doorstep. Again. She picked it up in her magic and closed the door before opening it.
Dear Rarity,
The dress order I gave you on Monday should be almost complete. I need the pick-up time moved up to 11 and I am having someone pick them up for me. She’s a mute so she will only be coming in, paying, and taking the order. Thank you.
She reread the letter three more times and then put it back in the envelope and sighed. I guess another spa day is out of the question now. I need to finish this order quickly since they’ll be here in less than two hours. I wonder who this strange pony could be?
An hour later, she had completely finished both the dresses and sat drinking tea and patiently waiting on her customer. It’s almost time.
Suddenly there was another knock at her door and then a unicorn mare walked in.
“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique! What can I do for you today?”
The mare simply looked at the two dresses and back at Rarity, then pulled an envelope out of her saddlebags.
“Oh, you’re here to pick up the order? You’re a little early. No matter, they’re all finished and ready for your friend. If you’ll follow me to the counter so we can get them all paid for so you can have them,” she said to the mare with a smile while she turned to walk towards her counter.
The mare paid and then levitated the dresses in her magic as walked right back out of the boutique.
I guess now I’ll take a bath and go see Flutters.
Fluttershy’s Cabin, noon
I think I scared Rare away. I hope she doesn’t hate me.
Fluttershy couldn’t quit worrying and was about to start crying like she had every day since she told her she liked her. All of the sudden she felt a tapping on her leg from Angel.
“I’m okay Angel, I just worry too much.”
Then she heard a knock at her door and opened it to find Pinkie with a garment bag and her ever-present smile.
“Hey Fluttershy! I was wondering if you’d like to go to dinner tonight cause you’ve looked so sad this week and I would love to cheer you up!”
“Sure. So what’s in the bag?” Fluttershy asked with a smile.
“Your dress silly!” She said as she put the garment bag on a hook on the wall. “I had it made especially for you! So I’ll come by to pick you up in a couple of hours, okay? Bye Flutters!”
“Bye Pinkie,” she said with a giggle and closed her door. She started eyeing the bag and decided to look at the dress.
“Oh my gosh, it’s gorgeous!” She squeed. “I guess I should shower so I can get all dressed up for dinner!”
Carousel Boutique, 1:30
Almost ready! Time to pick out the perfect dress to ask her on a date!
As Rarity was searching through her dresses, she spotted the one she had been working on for Princess Luna and had to gasp.
“Ohmygosh! I completely forgot and she’s supposed to pick it up any day now!” The boutique then became a whirlwind of work as fabrics, ribbons, and other needed pieces flew through the air and began assembling themselves onto the dress. Several hours later she plopped onto her feinting couch and caught her breath.
That took less time than expected, but I’m still exhausted. Time for another bath. As she was walking up the stairs she realized she hadn’t gone over to Fluttershy’s cottage to ask her out. It’s too late now. First thing tomorrow I’ll head over there and help her with the animals and take her out to some lunch. She smiled to herself as she turned on the hot water and added lavender scented bubble bath.
Unknown to Rarity, across town Pinkie and Fluttershy were just finishing their date and shared a goodnight kiss outside of Fluttershy’s cottage before Pinkie hopped home, happy she finally built up the courage to ask out the most gorgeous pony she had ever seen and was now happily dating her.
“Time for bed Opal. We have a full day tomorrow and need plenty of rest.” Rarity slipped into bed and spent the night dreaming about going on a date with Fluttershy and kissing her…
The sound of knocking on her front door woke Rarity the next day. Whoever could it be? She wondered as she got up and made herself the beautiful fashionista she was every day and headed downstairs. Halfway down the stairs she heard knocking again.
“I’m coming, darling! Just give me a moment please!”
She unlocked and opened her door to find Princess Luna and her escort outside waiting.
“Oh! Princess…” she said with a curtsy. “I’m so sorry to keep you waiting! May I ask the occasion for this lovely visit?”
“Dear Rarity, must thou be so formal? I was simply wanting to see how much progress thou has made on my gown and to have some morning tea,” Luna said with a chuckle.
Embarrassed, Rarity quickly stood up from her curtsy, “Of course Princess! I actually finished your dress just yesterday and was hoping you would approve!” Rarity gushed as she showed Luna to the back room where she was keeping her dress, “I made it midnight blue to match your royal slippers and crown and I placed some stars to match your beautiful night sky. The train reaches just above the ground with the lace according to the measurements I got for you. I also added a few little extra pieces that are close to how the style was when you ruled 1000 years ago that I thought you might like.”
As she was finishing her description, the dress came into view and Luna gasped, “Oh, Rarity! It is simply divine! You even put thy royal emblem as the catch in the front! The stars are exactly as thy night sky looks in mid-summer! The corset is a wonderful addition I have so missed! It is perfection!” She hugged Rarity tightly with a very undignified squee, “Time for tea so we can discuss how our lives have changed since my last visit?”
“Of course!” Rarity laughed as she untangled herself from the Princess and headed to the kitchen to make their tea, “Chamomile sound good today?”
“It sounds lovely, Rarity!”
As the water was heating up, Rarity glanced around the corner only to see that Luna hadn’t taken her eyes off the dress. She chuckled to herself and went back into the kitchen to finish preparing everything for their tea.
About an hour later, they’re sitting in Rarity’s lounge drinking tea and talking like best friends about their lives.
“So any new love interests, Princess?”
“Me? No, most stallions seem too intimidated by me to ever think to ask me out for a simple drink, let alone a date,” she said with a frown. “How about you? You must have stallions lined up waiting!”
“Well yeah,” she looked away with a blush. “Except I’m not interested in any of them… There’s this mare…”
“A mare! I thought you wanted to marry a royal stallion someday!” Luna gasped, surprise etched across every feature.
“I’m just as surprised as you dear! I tried to tell myself it was nothing, but when Fluttershy told me she…”
“Fluttershy!?!”
“…told me she likes me… I can’t deny it anymore!”
Luna composed herself and asked, “Well, have thou told her yet?”
“I was going to tell her yesterday, but then I got caught up in finishing your beautiful dress, but I plan to go by and tell her today,” Rarity said, and Luna could see how determined and hopeful she was.
Suddenly, Luna remembered a dream she had seen in passing the night before and wondered if she should tell Rarity. If that dream is any indication, Rarity isn’t Fluttershy’s only suitor. But if I tell her and the other mare hasn’t acted on her dreams, then I’m telling her secrets without reason. I must wait and see and hope everything turns out alright.
“Well I wish you luck, Rarity. I must be going to sleep now so that I can watch over the night as is my job. I always enjoy your company and hopefully we can do this again sometime soon,” She said as she leaned down and nuzzled the fashionista.
“Of course, Prin- I mean Luna. I will have Spike send you a letter the next time I am available.”
Rarity watched Luna leave and then rushed upstairs to make herself gorgeous for Fluttershy. Fluttershy’s Cottage, Two hours later
Rarity raised her hoof to knock on the door as she pulled the roses she had picked up on her way out of her saddlebags, but paused as she heard laughter from inside. She was so nervous she put her hoof down. Perhaps I should come later when she doesn’t have company. Instead, her curiosity got the better of her and she placed her ear to the door.
“-love the dress you got me! It was gorgeous! And then dinner was of course delicious! Nothing less from the best restaurant in Ponyville. And then surprising me by coming over this morning and making breakfast! I feel like you’re spoiling me!” she heard Fluttershy saying.
I wonder who that could be. Maybe a sister or her mother?
“What kind of a marefriend would I be if I didn’t silly?” Rarity’s heart shattered as she heard Pinkie say the worst thing she could imagine hearing.
She couldn’t bear to hear any more and letting go of her magic, she took off back to her boutique with tears streaming down her face.
“What was that?” Fluttershy asked, looking at the door curiously.
“Probably just some bunny hopping by,” Pinkie said without breaking her smile.
“Let me make sure it isn’t some poor hurt animal needing help,” Fluttershy said as she trotted to the door. “Oh!”
“What is it Flutters?”
“Roses…” she whispered as she picked them up while looking around for who could have left them.
