And Lo, The Face of Beauty
'Twas Beauty Kissed the Beast
BY: cleverpun
Rarity stirred in her sleep. Her face rubbed against the hair of her lover. She felt his chest moving up and down, and his powerful breaths pushed her mane down with each release of air.
She nuzzled his chest and the coarse, black fur felt surprisingly smooth on her face. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw the vast expanse of chest spread out before her. It made her feel safe.
She lifted her head up and let out a lengthy yawn. She was too sleepy to make it smaller, and she knew her lover wouldn’t mind the faux pas.
She felt him stir underneath her, and his chest shifted as he lifted his head.
Rarity stretched her neck and made sure her gaze landed on his face when she was done. She smiled. “Was it good for you too?”
King Kong nodded slowly.
Rarity’s smile widened. “I’m glad.” She stood up, stretching her limbs, and then glanced down at the gorilla’s side. Perhaps hindlegs first? Still a large drop, however.
Suddenly she felt her footing slip a little as King shifted his weight. With a massive whoosh of air he brought his hand up to Rarity’s height.
“Oh, merci!” Rarity hopped onto the massive palm and King lowered her to the ground. She leapt off as delicately as possible, and then began walking to her door.
“I suppose you’re hungry after last night?” Rarity said coyly.
King nodded slightly.
Rarity chuckled lightly and Kong followed suit. Rarity heard a few of her windows rattle, but chose to ignore it.
She made it into her kitchen and went straight for the fridge. “Now, I’m afraid I wasn’t expecting company, so I’m a bit short of ingredients,” she called outside. She grabbed a few jars and cans out of the icebox. “You don’t mind grabbing something more substantial in town later, do you?”
She looked to her window and saw King’s eye staring at her. He slowly shook his head.
“Ah, good. So sorry about that, dear. I really should be more prepared for guests. A proper lady should always be prepared to receive guests on short notice, you know.”
A few cups clanked as she pulled them out of her cupboards.
She contemplated her coffee mugs and espresso machine for a brief moment. Just stared at them.
Perhaps I am rather less prepared than I had assumed, she thought to herself. Her frown only lingered for a moment before it grew back into a smile. Nonsense. It’s just a small detail. A small blemish on an otherwise perfect evening.
She flicked the switch on the side of the coffeemaker and shot a small burst of magic at it to get it running. A gurgle burst out of it and Rarity turned to her pantry.
The windows rattled again, then the floor followed suit. Rarity turned to the window and saw King sitting up. She walked over to get a better look, and arrived at the open window just in time to see the ape release a massive, full-body, stretching yawn.
Rarity giggled to herself, throwing a hoof in front of her mouth.
King’s yawn petered off, and he looked down at her, one eyebrow raised slightly.
“Oh, it’s nothing, King. You just have a really cute yawn.”
His eyebrow rose a little. Well, comparatively little.
Rarity turned her head to the side. “Well, you use your whole face you see. And there’s just this great view of every little scrunch and crease.” Rarity felt her face flush slightly. “Just me being silly, I suppose.”
She felt another ground-shaking thud and turned to look at King. He had started yawning again, though his eyes remained fixed on Rarity.
Rarity laughed quite long at that.
The coffee took its time getting ready, but the intervening moments were filled with a comfortable silence, save the periodic thud as King shifted his weight. And at one point he sneezed, and the sounds of birds, dogs, cats, and a dozen other animals tore across town for a very long time. There was even a sort of loud, repetitive, alarming noise some distance off, although Rarity could not imagine what had caused such an obnoxious sound.
Finally the coffee was ready, and Rarity grabbed a dozen cups in her magic and walked outside. King lifted her onto his chest again.
Rarity lifted all but one of the cups up to King’s mouth and poured them in. It was rather anticlimactic: not even a splash.
Rarity put the cups back in her kitchen, and then leaned back and began to sip her own.
Rarity smiled. Aside from the odd sore muscle, it really is quite comfortable up here.
She looked and found King staring at her quietly. She smiled at him and he smiled back. Not a large one, not comparatively, but it was there.
Even sleeping outside, up here I still felt safe, protected. Rarity grinned. Perhaps that’s no surprise, given who I’m laying on. And I always did like the strong, silent type.
But could I spend the rest of my life with him? I mean, yes, last night was amazing. Beyond amazing! But there’s more to it than just that, isn’t there?
He does make me feel safe. And love and protection do go hoof in hoof.
Rarity, ever the romantic, already had her wedding dress made. She had never really thought too hard about the details of marriage beyond that. As she slowly sipped her coffee, both pony and gorilla silently enjoying each others’ company, she found it hard to keep the thoughts at bay.
I suppose we might have to move eventually. Not terribly appropriate to ask one’s husband to sleep outside every night. Rarity took another sip of her drink. And I think I’ll want to hold off on foals for a while. I’m sure he’ll understand. Another sip. After all, after all that time with Sweetie Belle, who wouldn’t be a little tired of children?