Dear Friend

Do you mind me calling you that? Are we friends? I'd go mad without these letters... Anyway, where did I leave off...

"Rare open up!" I called out as I pounded my frozen hoof on Carousel Boutique's front door. After several attempts with no answer I made my way around back and jimmied open a window that looked as if the latch broken. I slipped inside and quietly closed it behind me. In my mind this didn't look too bad, just a friend coming to visit and the front door happened to be locked. They couldn't arrest me just for that, at least I hoped. Suddenly the lock on the front door started to turn and I realized just how bad this did look. Without thinking I dove into one of the changing stalls and ripped the curtains shut. Almost instantaneously the door opened and Rarity pushed her way in saddlebags ladened with groceries. Through a crack between the purple drapes I watched as she put all the food away and disappear from view. I felt like I would have to take a shower after this to wash away all the creepy. I allowed myself to breathe as her hoof steps faded into the distance. Just as I was about to draw back the curtains they were flung wide open by Rarity who was brandishing a cast iron pot and a purple wooden spoon screaming a fierce battle cry.

"Blaze?" she seemed more surprised than angry, "What're you doing here?"

"Oh you know," I fumbled, "just checkin' in on things... Inspecting, drapes," I rubbed the curtain awkwardly.

"Drapes?" she asked.

"How'd you know I was here?" I ignored her question.

"You breathe loud," she said, "kinda sounds like a broken vacuum,"

I guessed that I deserved that reamark.

"Okay Ah don't know why Ah said the drapes thing, I came here to ask you something," I said as she let me out of the stall.

"Wait how'd you get in?" Rare questioned.

"No need to uh, worry about that," I snuck a glance at the window to make sure it was fully shut.

"What could you possibly want?" Rarity glared at me with her icy azure eyes.

"How about you start with telling me what happened back there?" I countered. "You seemed upset,"

Rarity took a deep breath as she prepared to yell at me, but her fiery gaze faltered for a moment and I could see past the wall she had thrown up around herself earlier. I saw not the perfect hair or meticulously brushed coat or even her bubbly personality, but a grimace of pain. A short glimpse that raised more questions than answers. Then, as quickly as it appeared the pain vanished and before me stood a very angry Rarity who was poised to toss me out of the door.

"You're better off not knowing," she turned her back to me.

"Ah doubt that," I said, sitting down beside her. "I understand everypony has their own secrets though,"

"It's not a secret, it just happened a very long time ago," She said as she set down her makeshift weapons.

I settled in and eased back into the large pillow I was sitting on, "Ah've got lots of time,".

Rarity stood made her way to the window, "Not now, maybe one day I will tell you, but not now," she paused at a bookshelf covered in picture frames and photo albums. As she ran her hoof along the shelf it hovered above one in particular, a large blue and white leather bound album with golden leaf accents. "It's a story that I care not to burden you with, and i've gotten past it," Her eyes betrayed the calm of her voice. "I think I have..."

As much as I wanted to know what this whole thing was about, I could see that it was troubling her, so I decided not to pry.

"Have you heard anything about this snow?" I tried to change the subject.

"Not much, although Rainbow Dash mentioned to me the other day that 4 of her weather patrol teams have gone missing," she said gazing through the window at the sky. "These are troubling times,"

"I won't disagree with that," I replied.

"She deserves it you know, Octavia," Rarity traced patterns on the frosted glass, "I would never act that way to another pony unless they truly deserved it,"

"Yeah?" I asked skeptically, "And what's with her calling you the Princess of PonyVille?"

"That's what ponies used to call me, but that was another time, I was much more overindulgent back then" she said ruefully, "and fillyish."

"By over indulgent you mean?" I questioned.

"Is that not self explanatory?" She asked.

"Well, yea, but no, I mean how were you overindulgent?" I countered.

Rarity propped her head up on the window sill, "I was a young mare filled with the thoughts of a filly," Having no idea what she was talking about all I could was nod my head.

"I never grew out of all the fairy tales I was told, Prince Charming coming to sweep me off my hooves and what not," Rarity sighed. I felt bad admitting that it didn't surprise me she thought that way, but I held my tongue.

"Sorta unrealistic don't you think?" I asked.

"What can I say, I'm a sucker for power," she admitted, "which is where me and Octavia have had some... Friction, in the past,"

"The past?" I asked.

"Yes, back when we were still in school," She trotted back over to the book shelf and carefully levitated the blue album to me. Turning to the first page I came across a picture of Rarity and Octavia front legs wrapped wide around each other, standing in front of sign that read Canterlot University "Magica, Amicitia, Perseverantiam".

"In my mind going to school in Canterlot was the only way I could find a suitor that fit my bill of being "prince like", and that is where I met Octavia," She began.

Flipping through the album I came across the a picture of a handsome white unicorn with a blue mane kissing Rare on the cheek. "Who's that?" I asked.

"Prince Blue Blood..." she trailed off, "an ex of mine,"

Finally the pieces where starting to fall into place, the "friction" must have been this loser. Don't ask me how I knew he was one, he just... seemed like a loser.

"He was going to be my Prince Charming, he was going to sweep me off of my hooves just like I was told as a filly," she continued.

"That didn't happen did it?" I asked.

"No, everything was going fine until..." Her voice cracked.

I raised my head, "Until?"

"THAT SUCCUBUS OCTAVIA SEDUCED HIM!" She exploded and knocked an empty vase to the ground. I took a step back in fear as Rarity's once icy looking eyes now burned with a rage I didn't think she was capable of.

"But, you couldn't have expected it to last that long," I readied myself for a thorough lashing.

"What're you trying to say?" She panted heavily.

"I mean, it sounded like you only wanted him because he was a Prince," I said, "maybe he caught on to that,"

"I think it's time for you to leave Mr. Heart," she said slowly after a moment of silence.

My heart faded, "But I'm just trying to-"

"Please, go," Her eyes brimmed with tears.

"Rarity," I put my hoof on her shoulder but she immediately swatted it away.

"You can show yourself out," She brushed past me and stomped up the stairs where I could her the thud of her door slamming shut. With my head bowed I tried to leave but the front door seemed to be padlocked. Not wanting to incite another conflict I awkwardly opened up the window I had entered through and squeezed out into the frigid night air.