A Butterfly's Stitch
What was happening? Was she truly lacking the touch for her work? Had she been distant from fashion for so long that she was unable to think of a singular design?
Frustrated, she huffed and let out a self-deprecating sigh. She truly had lost her touch. Being in such a state was beyond her, was something she never considered occurring in the wild, wild world of Equestria, and yet here, in the fanciest home of Ponywille; Carrousel Boutique, the most dignified and prestigious unicorn; Rarity, sat with her muzzle in an assortment of sketches and doodles, that were not even high standard enough for her to wear around Ponywille!
Autumn was never an appealing time for Rarity, it had been filled with pressure for winter, and autumn in itself lacked any sort of creativity. It was bland and emotionless, trying to design winter-wear in such a time had been drawn-out and tedious. As a precaution for such an event, Rarity would design the clothing, months before autumn was even being planned by the Pegasi. Though this had its ups, it had it more downs to it than whatever up it may have had, one of which being; the outdated fashion style. Ponies only buy what is in style at a particular time, and if it is so much as colored a wrong shade then it will not leave the shelves. Rarity, making her clothing early had been suggested to her by Sassy Saddles, but the other unicorn had failed to account for such happenings and now Rarity was stuck paying the cost.
Rarity, herself, had been lacking when it came to creating, she didn't have many, if any, good, original, creations. She had a few but a few just wasn't going to sell. She needed to think winter, what would ponies want at that time? Warm, fluffy clothing, sure but how fluffy would they want it? What if the sleeves are a bit too fluffy, or not enough fluffy? Or what if the fabric she chose to use wasn't warm enough? What fabric was warm and fluffy all at once? Was there even such a thing?
"No!"
Flailing her hooves about, she hit the paper pile on the table with a hushed thud, as the papers all went flying in different corners of the room spreading away from the unicorn, as though she had the plague. What was one to do in such a time? Nopony, she knew, could help with such a crisis, they're not the type to speak fashion, like she could. Why had her fashion backed away from her? Was she truly that uninspiring that day?
She let out an uncouth and un-lady-like groan.
It felt as though, there was an abys in the back of her mind, sucking in all the creativity she had going for her. It felt as though something in the back of her mind, had just broken, had torn itself apart and now it was absorbing any inspiration and motivation she had left for herself. It felt exhausting and tiring to think of such an idea, and even was bonkers to have it linger longer in her mind than just a few seconds but it stayed resilient. She wondered if perhaps, in one of the many worlds Equestria had discovered, this sort of reasoning could have been justified. If such an exquisite place existed then Rarity needed to locate this foreign land as soon as possible. Shouldn’t she have heard of a place where, feeling like every word you utter is merely trashed away at the back of your head to be never used again; is considered normal? If such a place truly did coincide with her world, she sure didn’t know of its existence, what a pity, too.
A thought crossed her mind.
Could her friends help with this?
No. Was the simple and plain answer, was the answer that was highly likely. Applejack, had her farm that day, said she'd be busy for a while, Rarity had wanted to help but her own priorities got in the way. Dash had the weather team scheduling and other none-important weather tasks to finish up. As for Pinkie, she apparently had something to do with the cake twins and the shop itself, so she was busy too, Rarity had offered a hoof but retracted the offer once she realized her own workload had been piling up on her. Besides, it’s not like either of the three, mentioned earlier, were any good when it came to fashion. As for Twilight: she had some princess duties to fill out. And Shy... she had been perfectly free from what Rarity had heard, and she did know a thing or two about fashion and such...
Rarity bounced up from her seat, trotted to her saddle bag and propped it nicely on her back. She then slipped into her autumn boots and banged the door shut on her way out.
Making her way downtown, she noticed nothing out of the blue, except maybe a rainbow blur in the sky, that seemed a bit more.... restless than normal. Trying to call her friend down seemed to have gone unheard by said friend, who blazed away from sight just as fast as she had appeared. Rarity rolled her eyes, her friend really did live up in the clouds, what should she have expected from her?
There was something about the blur that struck Rarity as peculiar yet fascinating. But the thought lingered for less than a second before vanishing from her mind
There it was again. That black abys sucking up any ounce of inspiration she had in her. A rainbow could have been such a brilliant clothing idea, if she could just figure out how to use one in her clothing, now that would be fantastic. The black in her mind was hard at work erasing any sort of prize goal she had her eyes set on, or any remnants of her fashion touch.
Forgetting such a thought for just this mere trot, she raced through town to her friend's home, to see if maybe, just maybe, her friend could help with her fashion crisis.
She has shown she knows more about fashion and clothing than the others
She told herself, over and over again to justify her abrupt exit and quick change of pace.
-=-
Arriving at her friend’s beloved home, she searched the nearby woods and gardens for her timid friend. Realizing that the mare probably wasn’t wandering anywhere outdoors…
“This would have been one of the most inspiring places”
She told herself. This place truly was inspiring, if it weren’t for that blasted abys sucking away her creativity, she could have sworn she saw something gorgeous in the flowers that was worth making a dress over.
She ignored the thought and trotted up to the brown, wooden door, and tapped its hard surface with a white, posh hoof. The door was soon let open by a familiar cream-coated Pegasus mare; her mane seemed to be an unusual sort of mess. Her eyes seemed sagging, and her overall posture didn’t resemble the calm yet shy mare they came to love. Through all this, the timid mare managed a half-hearted smile.
“Oh Rarity! Come in!”
The mare opened the wooden door wider to let the unicorn trot in. The cottage seemed to have remained untouched, all the paintings seemed to be in place, the food bowls and animal huts unmoved and the décor all in one piece, just like how Rarity had expected the mare to be. She had visualized the mare’s neat, pink locks swept to one side of her head, her calm Aqua green eyes filled with care and compassion, her posture frail yet stern, though she had not accounted for the mare herself to have had a rough patch here or there that day as well.
“I see we both aren’t in the best of states.”
The unicorn stated with a mater-a-fact tone, evident both in her speech and her posture. The timid mare eyed the fashionista for just a second before nodding her head cautiously.
“Well, I suppose autumn has never been any of our strong suites”
Shy gave a smile. She motioned for the fashionista to take a seat at the couch. When she was seated, the timid mare trotted away and only returned after about five minutes or so. Along with her, she brought a tray with two cups of tea placed gracefully atop its surface. It wobbled a few times, as the mare placed it on the coffee table sat in front of the posh mare.
“I’m quite sorry if it’s a tad bit hot, I didn’t have the time to cool it down”
“No apologizes needed Shy”
Rarity assured her animal loving friend. The Pegasus took a seat next to the fashionista, and picked her own cup from the tray and held It to her muzzle. The unicorn levitated the cup of tea up to her muzzle and sipped on it as slowly as she could.
“Well, what brings you this far out of town?”
Shy questioned, her eyes laid firmly on the mare beside her. Rarity placed the cup back on the tray and gave her friend a warm smile.
“Well, I need some help with my... newest line. You see I have been finding it quite the trouble to design new clothing for my next ‘Rarity’s Winter Wonderland’ line. I’m not quite sure what caused such an… an occurrence, but it has happened and I would appreciate some assistance?”
She explained, all the while Rarity was speaking Shy had nodded to every bit.
“Well, I would love to be of assistance but I’m not quite sure how”
Rarity nodded to that, and gazed away in ponder. What sort of assistance did she requite? Did she need help sewing? No, she was fully capable of such a thing. Was it designs? Well not completely, no, she just needed inspiration is all. Wait is that what she had come here searching for? Inspiration? If so, why not just go out to ponder the streets, she’s bound to find something worth noting and creating for. Then if not, what was it? If not sewing, designing nor inspiring, what was it that she had come in search of? Was it some relaxation? Well… actually yes. Yes, it was.
“Well, I suppose it has nothing to do with fashion per say, more me. I suppose I came in search of some relaxation?"
Shy tilted her head, a bit perplexed by the statement. Though it didn’t take long for a knowing smile to wither its way onto her muzzle.
“Of course, Rarity, I would love to relax with you, but I, too, am a bit on the busier side these days”
A frown soon stretched itself across the fashionista’s face. She pouted, trying to think of a way to free her friend.
“What is it that you are busy with by chance?”
She asked. Shy shook her head for a second before smiling;
“The animals.”
She stated, earning a cocked eyebrow from the other mare. She giggled at the sight. Rarity watched as her friend showed her most prominent part of character, her cuteness. Rarity couldn’t help but blush at the sight. She truly was like a bunny, fluffy, warm and adorable. Shy had always been like that, always, even Dash had stated that; she, too, had lost to the puppy dog eyes of Fluttershy. That was not the only thing both had in common; complements on their looks. Bot got complemented on the street as they walked by. Rarity had appreciated and loved every second, of course, but Shy hated the attention. No matter how many times Rarity had told her she was just as gorgeous and deserved each complement, Shy would brush them aside like they didn’t exist.
“The animals aren’t the easiest things to take care of. They can create such a fuss if they don’t get fed, it’s not the most exciting thing ever”
The Pegasus claimed, with a distant smile as she watched the little, white bunny carry a hoof-full of carrots to his own part of the cottage. He walked out of sight into the kitchen not long after. Rarity had been following the bunny's actions all the way until his little bunny ears were all they saw through the small opening leading to the kitchen. Shy shot her head as if ready to continue but didn't utter a singular word. She still looked like she was watching the space above or the Canterlot Castle from where she sat at the lime coated couch. Rarity cleared her throat gaining the attention of the other mare sat beside her.
"I see..."
The room remained quiet for another five minutes, the two sat on the couch had their eyes elsewhere, unsure how to continue the conversation.
Rarity bit her lip. What was she doing here? Had she truly come her in search of relaxation? Why had she even uttered those words? They say one only utters words of truth at times of uncertainty. So, had she spoken words of truth? Had she come her searching for peace of mind? The whole reason she had left the comfort of her home was only so that she could visit her closest friend, correct?
A little groan was soon let out the fashion mare. Thinking had revealed to be a little more tiring than it’s let on. Thinking how her designs should have been, how she should do things, how she had too much work to handle. It was all think and no act… alright, she had to cut herself some slack, she had acted on that vim to come see Shy.
"Alright, i-if you want, we could a-always hit the a-spa?"
The shy mare suggested, as a new glow of pink spread across the cream muzzle. Rarity hadn’t notice the sight and merely nodded at the suggestion.
"Yes, I think a relaxing trip at the spa is in order"
The two stood and were both about to trot over to the door ahead of them. The tapping of hooves on the floor started but was soon paused, by the timid mare.
"Rarity"
The mare shot her head back, at the startle.
"I-I love you"
…
…the room regained the quiet atmosphere. Time itself paused for Rarity to give her answer... simple, right?
She had always been a lover for anything romantic, be it casual or not. When it came to her, she adored the idea. She had already announced the fact that she swung both ways. And that she was perfectly in support of other ponies who were, as well. But… when it came to her friends…? She had always seen herself with a big, handsome stallion – even if she might not end up with one in the future - not with one of her closet friends. Not that any were unlikable or anything, it was just that she never had given that any piece of mind.
Did she think of Shy like that? Did she? Is that why she had wanted come here of all places? Is it?!
Romance was supposed to be easy for her! She was supposed to be the mare who knew about this sort of thing!
But now she was the one struggling with her own feelings! Was this how those ponies, who came to her for help in this field, felt?
She opened her mouth to reply but nothing slipped out.
Before anything could slip out, the Pegasus had made the first move. She had planted a passionate and affectionate kiss on the fashionista's cheek. She didn't make it last long but it was long enough. Rarity let out a small gasp and her eyes went wide. Was this truly her shy, timid friend? The friend who could barely utter three words without getting cut off? The friend who was considered the doormat of Ponywille? The friend who never spoke up? The friend who always stayed back in fear? The friend that never acted first, always precautioned?
Yes
Was all that her mind could answer with. This truly was the friend who never acted without a precaution. But then, why had she acted without considering what Rarity was going to say? Had she truly figured Rarity was going to be happy with this? Well, was she? Was she going to accept the affection of one of her closest, and dearest friends? There were only two words to choose from, Yes or No, and she had no clue whether to go with option A or B.
Had she enjoyed the Shy mare’s company, more than the other girls?
Yes.
Had she wanted the comfort of the Pegasus over any other pony in all of existence?
Yes.
Had she enjoyed that small piece of affection from the mare?
No.
She didn’t, she wanted more, something bigger! She wanted something more than a small kiss on the cheek.
She pulled the other mare in for a longer, more passionate and timelier kiss. And not a simple kiss on the cheek, but one so full of love it could only be planted on one other place; lips. Fluttershy didn’t seem to be hesitating to pull right in, with no doubts. No hesitation, none.
Something in Rarity clicked, something refreshing, a sense of renewed strength. A sense of perfection. A sense of… of mending. A sense telling her that she was being renewed, being fixed. The black abys in her mind was stitched back right back to its original state, right back to how it was, full of creativity, strength and most of all love.
That day was a tiring, unfun mess to start off but escalated to the best day of her life!
“Thank you Shy, I really appreciate it”
The fashionista squeaked happily. Her hooves clunk together while she stood next to the gorgeous, white fur coat she had sewed together in the last few days. The fur coats hooves were made out of pure cotton laced neatly on the bottom. The teal velvet cloth the coat itself was made of, made the rest stand out all the more. On the neck was another furry cotton fluff patting, comforting its wearer all the more. The small gemstones placed tightly against the cotton, shone brightly in the autumn sun. The Butterfly designs it was coated in were hoof-made and perfected to the best of her ability. She had to say; this was a master a piece if she’d ever made one. Not only because of its beauty and function, but also because of the place it holds in her heart.
“My pleasure, Rarity, though I don’t see the need to make one for me specially, I can always afford to buy from you”
The timid mare spoke, gazing up at the master piece the mare had come up with this time.
“Oh no, no! I would never make you or the other girls pay for my clothing, especially ones I made particularly for them! You inspired this piece, Sweetheart”
She declared, gaining a happy giggle from the mare of her dreams. It was true; she truly had inspired this piece. It was very true. Rarity had been down in the dumps that day, and had completely run out of ideas, her mind was completely clogged and not to mention the abys-like feeling in her mind. After meeting with Shy, all that had vanished and it seemed as though it was no more. It had completely evaporated into nothing. When she had gotten home, something inspiring hit her, and she quickly got to work, a few days later, her pride and joy was born.
“Well, I appreciate that you went above and beyond for me”
The Shy mare replied with a cheery smile.
The bell chime was soon heard from behind the two, and a customer trotted in. Rarity spotted the unicorn mare behind Shy and zoomed away to assist her.
Things had truly become much better ever since they got together, and both realized their emotions for one another. Both already had three dates, one at a nice parlor in town, another on a mountain top, that one Shy had planned, and the last, the one last night, was at the beach, watching the sunset swish by. Both had enjoyed each and every one of course. Although they did receive awkward glances, or irritated glares, from passers-by, who might have had a thing for them. Neither paid this any piece of mind, though.
“What is that?”
The unicorn customer questioned pointing behind the mare. Rarity shot her head back, a sweet smile creasing her cheeks. She turned her gaze back at the unknowing customer, and smiled warmly;
“Oh that? That’s what I like to call, The Butterfly’s stich, darling”