Everypony gets stressed sometimes. Everypony has something that helps them relax. The Main 6 are no different! .....Except what helps each of them relax is a little....unconventional.
Rarity let out a tiny sigh as she sat back on her haunches in front of her sewing machine. Gently, she levitated the fabric she had been working on to a nearby mannequin. With a quick flash of magic, the dress was on display. Standing once more, she levitated her box of jewels with her as she moved towards it. Although already magnificent, Rarity wasn’t satisfied with her work. Minutes passed of her placing and switching out gems, until finally she was pleased with it.
As she stepped back to admire the dress, she glanced out the window, surprised to find that Princess Luna had long since raised the moon. Blinking in surprised, she suddenly realized just how tired she actually was. With a yawn and a stretch, she sat down the box, turned off the lights, and drug herself to her bedroom.
On her way, she reflected on her day. It had been...less then wonderful. Between having several rude customers and still not being finished with a massive order, she hadn’t had anytime to rest. And this had left her completely exhausted.
Walking through her bedroom door, there was only one thing she wanted right now.
With a small smile, she walked towards her closet. Using her magic, she levitated a large locked box from the top self, behind her shoes. Placing it on her bed, she reached under her mattress and pulled out a key. She realized that she had perhaps gone a bit far in an attempt to hide this, but there was simply no way in Equestria that she was going to risk Sweetie Belle finding it.
She unlocked the box.
Using her magic once again, she lifted the outfit out of the box. She grinned widely as she unfolded the garment.
She so loved her hoofsie pajamas.
Typically, only young foals wear pajamas like this, but since she was MORE then capable of making her own clothing, she couldn’t help herself. She found them to be so warm and comfortable. It reminded her of a simpler time, one were the stress of a fashionista didn’t plague her. Still, she couldn’t resist adding a bit of flair.
It was made with a magnificent purple fabric, the softest she could find, and had white, sparkling diamond shapes sewn onto the front.
She unzipped it, pulled it over her back hoofs, pulled her tail through the hole in the back, and finally over her front hoofs.
Zipping it up, she climbed into bed.
She felt so warm and safe. Memories flooded back to her from her youth. Simple times, full of laughter and joy, softness and gentleness. A time of lullabies and bedtime stories. She could finally relax as her mind slipped to a place of ease.
She wrapped the blankets tightly around her herself, nuzzling up to them. The world around her seemed so big, but she felt safe being swaddled in the comfort of her pjs.
With heavy eyes, she used her magic to turn the lights off as she slowly drifted to sleep.
————————
The next morning when she woke, she had the all to familiar feeling of disgust at herself.
She wasn’t proud of her little secret. She hated it with a passion. A grown pony, especially one of her stature, shouldn’t be enjoying such foalish things! What if a Canterlot Elitist saw her in sure a garment! Why, she’d be the laughing stock of the fashion industry!
She immediately took off her attire and locked it back inside the box. She should just simply throw it away!
She paused as that thought crossed her mind. The last time she had thrown it away she had just made a new one to replace it. Angry at herself for her lack of control (and the desire to not waste more material), she continued to put it away.
Stomping down the stairs, she made a silent promise to herself to stop acting like a little filly.
Right now, she needed to clear her head. She needed to sit down and eat something.
Wanting to keep herself busy, she decided to go all out and fix herself a nice breakfast. Running around her kitchen, grabbing what she needed, She founding her mind wondering back to her hoofsie pajamas.
Why exactly does she find them so appealing? Well, obviously anything she made was wonderful, but why specifically an outfit such as that? She was more then capable of making herself a lovely night gown, or perhaps even a two piece, but there was something about hoofsie pjs that she loved. Something comforting about them....
Shaking her head, she sat down at her table to eat.
Maybe she could make more and market them. That would be a laugh! She smiled as she imagined the streets of Canterlot, late a night, filled with ponies wearing her silly pjs. Everyone would want one! Even the princesses themselves would ask her to make them each a custom! Oh, for Princess Celestia she would make a splendid, sparkling, white one, with a bright yellow sun. Princess Luna would have a lovely dark shade of blue, with the moon shining brightly on hers. It would be the fashion statement of the centur-
Rarity immediately snapped out of her thoughts. She was being absolutely ridiculous! The idea of anypony wanting such a thing, it was positively stupid!
With a huff, she finished her breakfast and started to clean up. She needed to focus on the order she had and not some silly daydream that CERTAINLY wouldn’t happen.
As she finished up, she heard a knock at her door. Mumbling about how someponies must not understand what a ‘Closed’ sign means, she walked towards the door. Before she even reached it, their was another knock. A much more persistent knock.
“Just a moment!” She called, forcing a fake, cheerful, voice. “We are still closed at the moment, but we open again at-oh!” she opened the door. “Hello, Rainbow Dash! How are you this lovely morning?”
“Uh....hey, Rarity.....I, uh.....I need some help.” She was shifting from hoof to hoof, kicking lightly at the ground.
“Oh? How can I help you, darling?” If Rainbow was this uncomfortable, it must be a big deal.
“Um.....” She was being quiet. “C-could you....maybe...”
At this point Rarity noticed the backpack the pegasus was wearing. She took it off and sat it in front of her.
Everything was fine. It wasn’t broken, she had just looked at it funny. It was just a trick of the light. She was always so careful with it; how would it have been broken in the first place? Yeah. It was perfectly fine! And when she turned back to face it again, she would find that it was just like it always was! In one piece.
It wasn’t.
Rainbow Dash struggled to not let the tears in her eyes fall. She knew this was a dumb thing to get worked up over...but she really couldn’t help it.
She didn’t want her teddy bear to be ripped.
She was well aware that she was to old to have such a thing, and part of her mind said that this would be the perfect chance to finally get rid of it. She didn’t need the stupid thing to help her sleep, or to hug when she felt sad, or to talk to about her day, or-
She slammed her hoofs down on the floor. Her mind flashed back to the day she bought it.
———————
She had just moved out of her parents’ house, and now she felt completely alone in the world.
Although thrilled to be away from the constant smothering from her parents, there was a part of her the missed it. Sure, it was cool being an adult and on your own, and yeah she could do pretty much anything she wanted, but there was still this small part of her that didn’t really feel like an adult. She felt odd. She felt confused. She felt.....small.
She had decided that a walk through Cloudsdale would help her clear her mind. Or at least maybe she could find something to do.
Walking through the city, she had stumbled across a toy store. Normally, she wouldn’t have given it a second glance, but something in the window caught her eye. It was a pale blue teddy bear.
She paused, stepping closer to the window, her eyes locked on the toy. She tilted her head. It looked kind of cute.
Realizing what she was doing, she jerked back, immediately turned away, and kept walking, embarrassed at herself.
As she continued down the street, she tried to figure out why exactly it had caught her eye. It was just some silly foals toy. But something nagged at the back of her mind. There was something familiar about it somehow....
Her old bear!
That’s what it looked like! Her old bear from her childhood that had been lost when her family moved! She had been heartbroken over losing it. Despite her parent attempts at getting her a new one, nothing could have replaced it for her. But now...
She hadn’t even fully realized that she had turned around when she found herself back at the toy store.
Feeling her face turn pink with embarrassment, she walk through the door. Being quick, she simply grabbed the bear and a card that read: “It’s a boy!” (couldn’t risk someone thinking the bear was for her, now could she?) and payed for them.
——————-
She knew it had been dumb, but her bear had made her feel safe. It took her back to a time when she wasn’t always worried about what everypony else thought. Where she didn’t always have to worry about being cool. But now, her bear was laying in front of her, a large rip on its tummy.
‘She must have got caught on something...’ Rainbow thought bitterly, tears threatening to spill over.
She wasn’t any good with sewing or she would be able to fix it....
‘Rarity!’ She thought. ‘Rarity can fix her!’
She paused for a moment. Getting Rarity to fix her obviously meant that she would have to let Rarity in on her secret. Not exactly what she wanted to do....but she wanted her bear fixed!
Having made her decision, her carefully placed her friend in a backpack and made her way to Carousel Boutique.
——————
Rainbow shifted from hoof to hoof uncomfortably as Rarity opened up the backpack and levitated her bear out of it.
When she blinked in surprised, Rainbow braced herself for the teasing of a lifetime. What she wasn’t expecting was Rarity to smile softly at her and usher her into the shop.
“I can have this fixed for you in a jiffy!” Rarity chirped as she levitated a needle and thread over to the bear.
“T-thank you.” Rainbow said quietly, as she peered over Rarity shoulder, watching her work.
“If I may be honest,” Rarity began carefully as she began stitching, “I wouldn’t have assumed you were the type of pony to have a stuffed toy.”
Rainbow’s face burned. “Well...I.....”
“There’s nothing wrong with that, darling.”
She paused, letting those words sink in. “You can’t possibly understand how embarrassing this is. I mean, I’m a pony with a reputation! If anyone else found out about this- hey, what...?”
Rarity had placed the bear back down and turned quickly, walking towards the stairs. “Stay right there.” She commanded.
A moment later, she returned with a locked box and a key.
“Rainbow,” She started, setting the box in front of her and unlocking it, “you are not the only pony that finds comfort in something that’s made for a younger audience.” She took out the garment and handed to her.
Rainbow glanced between the outfit and Rarity before carefully unfolding it. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but adult sized foal pajamas wasn’t it.
“You...wear this?” She asked.
“Yes.” She picked the bear back up. “I find them to be...comforting I suppose. In all honesty, I thought that I was the only pony with a secret like this.” She smiled brightly as she levitated the bear to her friend.
Sitting down the pjs, Rainbow happily pulled her bear into a hug and nuzzled up to her, thrilled that she was fixed.
“Thank you thank you thank you thank you! She means a lot to me!”
Rarity nodded, watching her friend fondly as she put her own little secret away. “Does she have a name?”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, um...” She coughed awkwardly. “Zoom. I call her Zoom.” Before Rarity could say anything else, she continued. “I...I should probably go. You know, so you can open the store.”
“Thank you. Please, stop by anytime.”
Still somewhat embarrassed at herself, but considerably less then at first, she quickly put her bear back into her bag and rushed out the door, calling a ‘thanks again’ over her shoulder.
Since she was already out, she figured she might as well stop and grab some breakfast. And Sugar Cube Corner has the best muffins!
Walking through the threshold, the store had just opened, and she could hear Pinkie in the kitchen. With a smile, she poked her head around the corner to greet her friend.
“Hey, Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie turned around and sat down the tin she had just brought out of the oven. “Hi, Rainbow Dash! You’re up early today!”
“Yeah.” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. “I had some errands to run this morning.” She looked curiously at her friend. “Say, Pinkie Pie, what’s that you’ve got around your shoulders?”