She could hear the front door slam as her sister ran out, the sound had echoed throughout the boutique as Rarity just sat in a pence silence, her white coat, which could’ve been mixed up with silk, was now wet with profuse sweat drenching her entirely, she was shaking with shock, eyes widened and her tear ducts swelling as she stared blankly done at the now mangled cloth on the table below her. The threads, which was once finely weaved into the fabrics of what was going to be a new dress design for a client, now tangled into itself, strings stretched and pinched it into a crumpled mess with tangible tears that left it in ruin, it was ruined, all of it, she had thought the name Archambeau was behind her, no letter had appeared in years, why now? Why after she fully had her life together, after the pain and struggles she endured, the beings she had faced with her friends, her name being known across Equestria from her clothing lines, why, of all things did this had to come back around? Metaphorically biting her hind-hooves, an aching pain she hadn’t felt in a long time, what did HE want?
She pushed herself away from the table and stood up off the old wooden chair she sat upon, still shaken from the events that had transpired, she wobbled carefully over to the drow at her bedside, it was white with a golden handle fixed into the middle with a purple diamond right above it, she took the handle in her mouth and pulled it slightly, peering inside. On the inside, sharing the same coloring as the outside, a liter of junk, crumbled papers, pill bottles, and letter stuck out like a sore hoof, her horn ignited, pulling out one of the pill bottles that had rattled a bit in her magical aura, she had gave little thought to if it had expired, her last usage being whenever the last of the letters had arrived so many years ago, the lid twisted and popped off as she took two small green pills and downed them without the use of water to aid them going down. She went back over to her table, pushing her chair in as she sat back down, taking in the senere as she patiently waited for them to work, the pink of the room, every different shade had turned different hues of gray, the floral patterns that had danced around walls seemed faint, and everything had seemed distant to her, all except the table, blueprints filled with random designs of garbs had taken up most of its space with the the now mess of a machine taking the rest, her eyes drifted off to the side, another letter, Sweetie Belle must’ve forgotten to take it with her, her horn glowed as she took it up and examined the crude writing that had spelled out her name, the only name she wants to be ever known by, “Rarity”. The hoof-writing reminded her of Pinkie Pie, then she suddenly recalled Sweetie Belle mentioning something about her during the incident, she tore the top off and was immediately pelted in the face with a poof of confetti, definitely Pinkie, she unfolded the parchment that was hidden inside of the envelope and began to read aloud, calm enough to not have a shaky voice presentable:
“Hiya Rarity!
I know you’ve been reeeeeeeeeally busy lately, I have too! You remember Cheese Sandwich and the kids, a handful I’ll tell you that, just the other day one of them had gotten stuck in the cookie jar at Sugar Cube Corner, I’m pretty sure it was Cheese Sandwich but he could’ve very much so placed one of the little sillies in there and place the blame on them, can you believe that?! I’m rambling, I don’t know how I manage that on a piece of paper, back to what I originally was going to say lol. DJ Pon3 is having a rave just outside of Ponyville tomorrow and I know you could use a break from all the needles and dresses, I know I could use one. Anyways I just wanted to see if you would come and party hardy with me! don’t worry about directions, it shouldn’t be hard to miss! Would love to hang out like the good old days, if you don’t wanna then I completely understand, sticking with schedules is very important, yes indeedee. I hope to see you there if you can!!
With much lovie love!
Pinkamena”
With what happened moments ago and her work essentially on hold, a sabbatical sounded nice, a way to take her mind off of THAT. Not realizing it, the sun had already set, her stomach grumbled as it had yearned for consumption, she hobbled down the stairs as she made her way to the kitchen, the pinks of the walls returning, she felt the effects of the pills, they still worked after all this time, she entered the kitchen and took a look through on of the shabby cabinets that hung over head, the cabinets had chips and crack that the brown paint couldn’t even begin to hide, and a rustic gold knob was builting in, the kitchen had been needing remodeling but she hadn’t found the time to hire someone, crafting and detailing dresses for a numerous occasion had ate up her time, using her magic, she opened the cabinet and looked at the assorted food that had laid before her, a little smirk grew on her face, thinking of her beloved sister but soon faded when she remembered how she acted, she took an apple out and closed the cabinet. She admired the apple meticulously, taking in the sight, no blemishes were found and it was perfectly rounded, an Apple Family Red Delicious, the Apples were always known for their apples, their contribution to homes of ponies had them rubbing elbows with the Rich family, though never being able to relish in the spoils of their labor, money went to the farm when it came down to it, she took a bite, chomping down on it, savoring the flavor as the juices dripped down to her chin, she grabbed a napkin and wiped, seeing how unlady like she was and started to eat it more prim and proper, still allowing herself to take in the crispness of the apple with each crunch.
When she had finished her snack, she tossed the core into the neat near empty white trash bin that had stood on the far left right next to the sink. She traversed back up the stairs and made a right from her bedroom heading towards the bathroom, the clop of her hooves bouncing off the barely luminescent hallway until she finally had reached the entrance, pushing the door open and switch on the light fixture that dangled from the ceiling, the walls and floors were a basic pink with rose pink floral patterns stretching all over, brush pink columns with watermelon pink diamond patterns lined the bathroom a few feet apart from each other, starting at the floor and ending at the very top of the ceiling. An integrated sink with a mixture of basic green and olive color waves cabinets laid along the wall on the left, outstretched, ending near the pink door leading in. The sink was on the far end of the cabinets, pink with a black faucet, pink rimmed with pink knobs on the right and left for hot and cold respectively.
Two sets of cabinets hung overhead of the sink, sharing the green and olive colors with the ones below, they were a foot apart from each other and had a green inverted floral pattern that had swirled towards each other, almost forming a heat. Below the cabinet on the right was a pink tabletop with the leg of it being fuschia, bush pink towelettes with strips of watermelon pink at each end of them sat on top of the table, stacked in a pyramid. A fence pattern, bubblegum pink, had lined the bottom of the walls with the pink of the wall colliding with it, a built in pink shelf on the wall housed numerous amounts of bottles, ranging from shampoos to bubble baths and next to it right below was the bathtub, white interior with a fuschia exterior, pink floral patterns adorning it, like the sink it had a black faucet with a pink rimmed tip and pink knobs on each side representing hot and cold. A taffy pink curtain hung around it, draping down from a green and olive twisted rod above the tub. A fuchsia table stood next to it, holding an assortment of candles. Two bubblegum pink windows were sorted above the tub right next to the built-in shelf and the cabinet right above the sink, it held an oval shape with swirls coming from the top of it with black window panes crossing it.
She walked past a green and olive twisted mirror that had been laying against the first column by the door and the integrated sink cabinet, but stopped and eyed herself. She had gotten slimmer than she originally thought due to the lack of eating, her coat that had been drenched from her profuse sweating earlier had become more coarse, and her mane, once purple and beautifull curled, was now fringed and matted, and her eyes had bags upon bags, contributed to the sleepless hours she had spent recently. Maybe Sweetie Belle had been right, maybe she did overdo it, she has been diving into projects without a second thought to herself and maybe going out with Pinkie tomorrow would truly be a more refreshing experience than any past events that had transpired. She walked over to the shelf and, using her horn, pulled a lavender bottle of bubble bath and a white bottle of a two-in-one shampoo and conditioner bottle and then shuffled on over to the tub.
She set the shampoo bottle down on the table beside the tub and turned the knob left of the faucet, admitting steam as hot water began to fill the tub, pouring the bubble bath in while it did so. As the water level rises, foam bubbles formed and took the entirety of the tub, she switched the knob, turning the faucet out so as to not spill the tub’s contents. She then levitated the shampoo bottle and dispersed it all over herself and began to clean herself. Once she felt her coat return to its silky state, she laid down in the tub, exhaustion finally hitting her like a freight train.
She fought with herself, trying not to let sleep take a win, at least not while she soaked. She closed her eyes for just a second and then widened them, it had appeared she had won, but something felt off, she couldn’t necessarily feel herself, or she could but it was more of a numb sensation that had befell her, maybe exhaustion really took a toll on her. Rarity reached over to the plug of the tub and yanked it to release the water so she could get out, she tried to pull herself up, but her hindquarters wouldn’t move an inch, nor did the water descend down, in fact, it felt as if it was rising more.
Now, with panic growing by the minute, Rarity struggled vigorously to escape, trying everything, even magic to get her out of this predicament with the water overflowing, splashing and pouring onto the floor below, flooding the bathroom. Miraculously, the water had seemingly stopped overflowing and she had stopped moving, water and foamy bubbled continued pouring onto the floor, but with a steady flow that slowly started erupting into a waterfall as air bubbles began to rapidly by her hind-hooves, panic arised in her again as she resumed her attempted escape from her comfinds. The water rippled faster and air bubbles started forming more by the second as something finally JUMPED out with a great splash of water, adding more to the flood. A wet, matted brown furried arm had penetrated through the water, its paws were blackened and razor sharp were its yellowed nails.
Rarity had let out an ear piercing scream as it grabbed her by the mane, forcing her down a dark abyss. She struggled to swim up but couldn’t find the top, air bubbles streaming from her mouth as she did so. She looked down trying to see the creature that had dragged her down, but found nopony there. With a final breath, her eyes closed as she sank further down into the depths, her last thoughts being about Sweetie Belle and how she wished she could tell her the truth, even though it was hard for her.
Regaining consciousness, she jumped out of the water, using her forehooves on the rim of the tub to support her as she coughed up water that had a soapy taste to it. In fear, she looked around the bathroom crazily and then looked down, taking her forehooves as fast she could, feeling for the bottom of the tub. It took her a few seconds to recognize it and once she did, she leaned on the back of the tub and took a breath of relief, it had just been a weird dream.
She quickly drained the tub and got out, taking a towel from the table next to the sink and dried herself off before she started to clean the floors of the bathroom with the new found adrenaline that the dream had sparked. Once she finished, she went to her room and pulled out a quill, bottled ink, a piece of parchment, and an envelope out of the drawer next to her bed, sat down and began to write. She wrote to her client, the one whom she was crafting the dress for, that she wouldn’t be able to finish it, semi-lying about circumstances being brought into her life that she had to deal with, of course she actually wanted to deal with the events that happened prior but in her own time, she wasn’t ready to relive the past just yet, and if the dream from moments ago was an indication, she wanted to take her mind off it for some time.
Rarity stamped the envelope and moved back over to the drawer, pulling out the pill bottle but this time making her way to the kitchen for a cup of water to wash it down. She pulled a glass cup from the cabinet above and switched the faucet of the sink on and back off in rapid succession, popping another two green pills and quickly gulping them down, chasing it with the water. Once she finished, Rarity then took a washcloth that had laid next to the sink and began to clean the rim, she had put the cup back in the cabinet when she was done and retreated back to the bathroom and retrieved a brush from the cabinet that sat above the sink, sat in front of the mirror and started to brush it.
She grimaced at almost every single stroke as the bristles attempted to glide through her purple rats nest of a mane. It took quite some time making sure her mane looked luxurious as it had once before. When finished, she pampered her mane with resolve, feeling satisfied with her work, she had put the brush back in the cabinet and returned to her room, made her bed, and fitted herself from the top, so as to not ruin her efforts. She was sitting up in bed, not yet back to a tiresome state, an eerie feeling tugged on her as if she felt somepony was watching her, the bedroom door slowly crept up, the dark void in the somewhat purified by the light from the bedroom, yet the blackness developing around it still gave a sense of uncertainty, a sounded enclosed, something had crawled in her room.
She lifted the covers over her face like a frightened filly and hoped for whatever it was to go away. She could hear the sounds of a four legged creature crawling closer and closer, her breath heavy, still not wanting to flip the covers off her head, it had stopped for a moment… and suddenly it pounced on the end by her left hind hoof and gave a meow. She threw the covers off her and looked, both relief and displeasure plastored her face and she saw the female house cat, Opalescence, white with a gray tipped tail and gray eyelids, she had a fuschia collar with pink buttons and bubblegum pink dandelion in the center of it with a gem in the middle that, when light hit it, shined like a disco ball, the white long fur perched on top of her head nearly defied gravity had a bubblegum pink bowtie that held it up. She was grooming herself as Rarity began to scold her.
“Opale deary, you almost scared mommy half to death!” She said, an unapproving look filtering her face.
Opale stopped and stared, her yellow eyes caught in Rarity’s before she had finished grooming herself, she walked up and rubbed on Rarity’s forehoof, giving affection and looking for pets in return. Rarity’s expression melted away as she began to pet Opale.
“Aww, I can’t stay mad at you for long, it’s like you love to play silly games darling,” she said as she giggled, rubbing her left forehoof, starting from the top of Opale’s head and ending at her tail in a stimulating motion, the unicorn rinsed and repeated her petting until she scooped Opale up into a hug, Opale of course not being too happy with it, tried to push away before being sat back down next to the white mare. Rarity gave a yawn, tiredness coming back to her after being prolonged. She clanked her hooves together and the light of the room slowly dimmed as she rolled to her side and shut her eyes, sleeping the night away.