"Eleven hundred and sixty-one...eleven hundred and sixty-two...eleven hundred and sixty-three..." Rarity whined out as she continued the brushing, her magic casually moving her brush through her long mane. The brush was a beautiful thing to behold, much like its wielder. Fine lacquered wood, the tail tipped by a single pristine pearl, the thin head covered in only the highest quality bristles. It was a magnificent piece, only the best for Rarity, nothing but the most deluxe of product was allowed to touch her well kept purple mane. Usually her mane was a thing of beauty and elegance, but not after the long day she had had; the hair was matted together, and despite near constant brushing for over three hours she still found twigs and clumps.
"Oh, this is just useless!" Rarity huffed out in frustration, tossing the brush across the room, hearing it clatter to the ground a few metres away. She glared into the mirror at her reflection. To anyone else the mane would have been perfection, but to Rarity there were a thousand imperfections; from a speck of dragon drool that refused to come out, to the clay dust that still clung to her fur, dampened by the drool.
"All this mess and I didn't even get my hooves on that gem..." Rarity let out a quiet little sigh as she traced a hoof down across her throat where the heavy gemstone had hung. "It was such a beautiful colour...and I had such a darling tiara to match."
Rarity leant forwards, placing an elbow on the dresser in front of her, propping her head up on a hoof as she stared into the mirror, other front hoof still hovering at her neck; "What a crass ruffian...doesn't he even know diamonds are a girl's best friend?" She pouted at her reflection, giggling a moment later as it pouted right back at her. "I bet he wouldn't take a gem from his mother...stupid mummy's boy. He left in such a hurry I bet he was running all the way back there with his tail between his legs."
Rarity sniggered to herself before deepening her voice, trying her best to mimic the dragon's voice from earlier, "Oh momma! A mean pony told me off and I ran away!" Rarity let loose a little giggle, covering her mouth with her front right hoof, long purple tail giving a few twitches behind her rump. "And another one kicked me on the nose! And then I stole this gorgeous pony's necklace, even though it matched her eyes and it would have looked divine with her Gala gown and..." Rarity snorted out, ears flat on her head, her voice returning to normal.
"Stupid dragon being...stupid..." Rarity glared at her reflection again, before lowering her chin slightly to sniff at herself. Her perfume had faded, and now she smelt only of sweat and dragon breath, her nose wrinkling up in disgust. "...and smelly. Revolting creatures. I'll have to buy some mouthwash for Spike tomorrow, stop that breath before it takes hold of the poor little dear." Rarity paused before sniffing herself again, poking her tongue out to the side with a quiet, "Ewwwww. I need a bath. Or two."
Rarity pushed herself up onto all fours, tossing her head to the side, letting her mane fall back into place before she lifted her head high; even in her current 'state' she wanted to look good. She trotted quietly from her room, pushing the door open with a quick bump of her nose, stepping out into the dimly lit hallway. Her house wasn't big; the majority of it was taken up by her boutique and workshop. The remainder was a small house for her and her sister, only a bedroom each, a kitchen and a bathroom. It had been her home for years, since she'd tried to break away from her rural family; her differences far too great to stay with them, no space for her to follow her own dreams. It had only been in the last year that Sweetie Belle had joined her in Ponyville, wanting to follow her into the fashion world, but so far the results had been pretty dire. Rarity wouldn't have it any other way though.
Rarity quietly smiled to herself as she reminisced about the first day that Sweetie Belle had appeared at her door, grinning from ear to ear, those little eyes full of wonder and joy. Sweetie Belle was a true bundle of joy and love, she was always under Rarity's hooves but she'd never change that for anything in the world.
The soft sound of splashing suddenly reached Rarity's ears as she approached the bathroom, blinking as her ears perked upwards. A soft humming drifted out from behind the bathroom door, a beautiful little melody that barely rose above a mumble. Rarity recognised the voice as Sweetie Belle's a moment before she slammed her hoof against the door.
"Sweetie Belle! Get out of the bathroom, it's my turn!" Rarity screamed out, voice rising from its usual calm level to a near shrill scream; continuing to hammer loudly on the door with her hoof.
"I can't hear you; I'm too busy soaking..." Sweetie Belle nearly sang back in return, finishing it with a little giggle and an extra loud few splashes of water.
Rarity glared at the door before giving it an extra few kicks, the little nuisance wasn't going to make this easy for her. "Why can't she just go home and live with mum and dad?" Rarity thought to herself with a frown, "Then I can get my bath back."
"Get out!" She screamed out again, slamming a hoof against the door, "Grown ponies get the bath first!"
"Beauty before age!" Sweetie replied in her sing-song manner, and that only made Rarity more annoyed.
"I'm not going to brush your mane tomorrow morning!" Rarity pressed her ear up against the door, holding her breath as she waited, still hearing the occasional splash from inside but Sweetie had fallen silent. Rarity grinned; she was going to take the advantage here. Letting her voice return to its usual calm, polite voice, she continued to speak. "But if you come out now, Sweetie Belle, I'll give your mane a brush before bed tonight too."
Silence gripped the room, even the splashing had stopped for now, and Rarity couldn't help but smirk, it wasn't going to be long until she had Sweetie eating out of her hooves. "And...?"
Rarity blinked twice, long eyelashes fluttering slightly before she replied, "And...? And what?"
"What else do I get if I come out right now? Because this water's really nice...especially with your scented salts in it." Sweetie suddenly giggled from within, splashing around again, making sure to make plenty of noise.
Rarity leant forwards, head banging loudly against the bathroom door, face pressed up against the wood. The scent of her vanilla bath salts reached her nose finally and she let out an annoyed snort. She swallowed back the urge to start shouting again at her bratty little sister. Keeping her calm and polite demeanour, "I'll make you some of that sesame seed toast that you love so much."
"You'll make it?"
Rarity let out a sharp little snort, ears flat on her head before she mumbled out, "Pinkie will make you some of that sesame seed toast that you love so much. Final offer...my little darling."
The familiar sound of water rushing from the bath was heard and the soft clops of hooves against a tiled floor quickly followed, even the sound of a thud as Sweetie clearly slipped on the wet tiles; she always was clumsy. Rarity stepped back from the door and lifted a hoof to brush down her mane again, smoothing out her fur; she couldn't appear dishevelled in front of Sweetie. She returned her hoof to the floor, lifting her head and striking a casual pose a moment before the door swung open.
Sweetie Belle stood in the doorway looking up at her big sister, a noticeable blush across her cheeks, her ears clearly lower than usual for such a cheery pony. Sweetie's white fur was fluffed out in all directions from recently being towel dried. The little filly held a towel in her mouth, head hanging low enough that the towel bunched up on the ground.
"Rarity...could you please help me with my hair...? The towel won't stay on when I do it..." She spoke around the towel, head lowering again slightly. She was clearly ashamed and Rarity knew it, the little pony had always tried to emulate her big sister; from the way she tied her mane up in a towel after her bath to her job as a designer. "If you help...its okay if you don't give me the sesame seed toast tomorrow..."
A tiny smile appeared on Rarity's thin muzzle, lips curling up as she looked down over Sweetie, the filly glanced up at her, head and ears still low. Rarity's magic came to life, tugging the towel from Sweetie's mouth, moving it to wrap it carefully around Sweetie's pink and purple mane. Sweetie beamed up at her, the little darling was extra cute with her mane wrapped up in the thick white towel, her green eyes sparkling in the dim light of the hallway. Rarity offered a large smile back in return even as her magic pulled another towel from across the room, wrapping it around Sweetie's tail as well, the towel still warm from the radiator.
"There you go, darling. And since you asked so nicely...I guess I could treat you to some of that toast." Rarity leant down to kiss Sweetie on the forehead beneath the rise of the little filly's underdeveloped horn. "But only if you get your homework done before I come to brush your hair."
Sweetie beamed again, a wide smile from cheek to cheek, beginning to bounce on the spot, her wrapped tail bouncing in time with her. "Will you use your special brush?"
Rarity watched her little sister as she bounced in place, a fond, caring smile spreading across her face. Sweetie was just like Rarity when she had been young, always striding for perfection, a little ball of energy and joy ready to be released at anytime. Rarity lifted a hoof, setting it on Sweetie's head to stop her bouncing before giving it a rub as she spoke. "Not in your life, squirt." Sweetie's eyes widened suddenly, her lips puffing up as she pouted up at her big sister, lower lip starting to quiver as her eyes began to water. Rarity just gave a warm smile back down towards her sister, using her hoof to ruffle Sweetie's hair before lifting the hoof to inspect the underside casually. "Ohhh please, I practically invented that one, darling." She glanced back to Sweetie from her hoof, offering a smirk, "Homework. Now!"
Rarity didn't even look at Sweetie again, just trotted past her into the bathroom, kicking the door closed behind her and locking it with simply a thought. She went to work immediately, kicking off her pink furred slippers as her magic activated. She turned the taps on, spilling hot water into the oversized tub, dumping a large amount of her lavender scented salt into the already hot water. The strong scent began to fill the air, Rarity taking a few long sniffs of the air nearly immediately, tail flicking around behind her rump. "Mmmm...Goodbye dragon breath. Hello perfection."
Rarity stepped up into her bath tub even as it continued to fill, the elegant pony sliding down to lie on her back in the warm water, head rested on the side of the tub as she stared at the ceiling. The warm, scented water soothed her aching muscles. Rarity barely realised her leg muscles had hurt so much after their long hike. She just lay there and relaxed, mentally shutting off the tap as the tub nearly began to overflow; but even as she relaxed a thought came to her mind.
"That dragon ran off so quickly today, he couldn't have checked every corner for his gems…" She said aloud to herself, splashing her right front hoof against the surface of the water, scooping up some of the bubbles before blowing them away. She watched a few of the bubbles drifting off across the room, a mischievous little smirk suddenly spreading across her face. "There must be something left up there…now who could I get to help me….?"
Her friends were always there for her, a great group that she could never replace, but they certainly did have their extra uses. There was no way Rarity could trot back to the top of the mountain and carry down, hopefully, bags full of left over gems and jewellery. She needed a flier who could do trips for her; and she only knew one flier strong enough to get it done without a problem, but convincing a lazy Pegasus like Rainbow Dash wasn't going to be easy.
"I could acquire Pinkie's hot air balloon…but then I'll need someone to carry the gems while I look after the balloon…" Rarity paused as a naughty idea crept into her head, her mischievous smirk from before returning and spreading even wider. "Sweetie Belle is constantly asking to help out….maybe she can be my pack mule."
The elegant mare let out a quiet little giggle to herself as she folded her forelegs behind her head, just relaxing as she let the water soothe her tired muscles, fighting off the urge to just fall asleep.
"Oh…it is so very hard to stay fabulous in hard times like these…"