With a huge splash and a large skid that ended in a loud bang against the door of Carousel Boutique, Rainbow Dash had arrived an hour late to Rarity’s meeting. She wasn’t sure what this sudden meeting was about, as everything had been peaceful all week. And for this month and all it’s chaos, that was something to be commented on.
So when one of Pinkie Pie’s balloons had delivered the small note that Rarity was calling a meeting for everypony in their group to discuss “New Developments” RD was having issues thinking of what the unicorn could have in mind.
I swear, if this is about some new fashion show, or celebrity photographer, I am going to go take a nap. Rainbow grumbled inwardly as she opened the door and stepped through, allowing a good amount of rain to follow her in.
“Rainbow Dash, please! Shut the door, you’re getting everything all wet!” Rarity whined slightly, shuffling her hooves up and down as Twilight grabbed another towel for the drenched pegasus.
“Sorry.” Rarity winced as Rainbow kicked the door shut, before giving the blue mare a small glare, earning a sheepish grin in return.
“H-hey, Twi~!” Rainbow’s protests were slightly muffled as Twilight quickly, and somewhat roughly, dried off her friend.
“Heh heh, sorry Rainbow, but we don’t want Rarity having a kitten.” Twilight chuckled, the somewhat goofy metaphor still stuck in her head from the book she had been reading when her note had arrived.
“Oooh oooh, Rarity’s having a kitten? Should I throw a baby shower?”
“Pinkie, it’s a metaphor.”
“I know that Twi, I just thought it’d be funny for Rarity to have a kitten! I mean, aside from the biological impossibilities and the amount of fourth wall breakage, it’d be really interesting and neato and Opalescent would have a sister!”
A moment’s silence hung in the air, broken by a deadpan “what.” by Applejack. Rainbow Dash snickered.
“Just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie, AJ. So what’s this whole meeting about Rarity?”
“Errrrr… New… Developments. Sooo, anything that’s happened recently that’s a… Personal… development… Heh heh… Ahem.” Rarity offered, eyes shifting and looking unusually nervous.
At this, Applejack, Twilight, Rainbow and Fluttershy turned to each other with raised eyebrows and exchanged confused glances, and therefore didn’t see the magnificent facehoof of Rarity’s that prompted a giggle from Pinkie Pie.
“Well, I suppose we could start with why everypony is suddenly so into Fashion!" Rainbow offered, waving a hoof around at her friends as she spoke, " I mean, Pinkie Pie’s wearing a dress, Twilight’s wearing jewellery, and Fluttershy’s wearing this gaudy hat! It’s… So, out of character for you two.”
“May I mention that you look amazing in that gown Rarity?” Spike said promptly, looking up at his idol with adoration in his eyes.
Rarity offered him a smile and a pat on his head before looking over to Fluttershy at the hat RD had mentioned.
“I hate to say it deary, but RD is actually right-“
“What do you mean by, ‘actually’?!”
“That hat is far too… well, gaudy for you. If you needed a hat for some event or something… Why didn’t you ask me for something better? You know I would love to design something gorgeous for you for no charge at all!”
“Like the dress you’re wearing it really is quite amazing-“
“Spike…”
“Oh, um, yes, I know that Rarity, I just, ummmm.. That is… Didn’t want to bother you..?”
“Oh, but it wouldn’t have been any bother at all Fluttershy! You should know that!” Rarity almost sounded hurt.
“oh, um, yes, I guess so, but uh…” Fluttershy’s voice trailed off and Rarity dropped the matter rather quickly after that.
“And to answer your question Rainbow, the reason why I’m wearing this necklace today is because I lost the pendant Luna gave me and so I’m wearing this to remind myself to look for it. I was in the middle of searching and re-organizing-“
“And re-re-organizing…”
“-My room.” Twilight finished, glaring a little at Spike for the interruption.
“Well, that makes sense, but why is Pinkie Pie all dressed up?”
“It’s a… PARTY DRESS!”
“…Of course it is.” Rainbow deadpanned.
“Ummm, hate to bring this up if it’s just me, but uh…” Spike began, before getting cut off by RD.
“Spike if this about Rarity’s dress, AGAIN-“
“No no, I was just saying- It might just be me, but… Has everypony GROWN a few inches?”
As the girls looked up at each other, and then down at themselves, Spike could be heard muttering that “it just seemed that he was looking up at Rarity a little more than usual.”
“By darn it, I think he’s right. Now that Ah think about it, Ah've been a little more eye-level with Big Mac lately…”
“And I HAVE been hitting my horn on the dress racks more than usual, although I thought Sweetie Bell was the cause of that, to be honest…”
“And I have been using the stepladder less…” Twilight added.
“So have I!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“And I bumped my head on the otter’s den too…’
“So… yeah, I guess we have all grown a few inches.” Rainbow finished, and for a second everypony just looked at each other.
“Actually, now that I look at everypony here… There’s something I’ve noticed.” Twilight started slowly, before looking over at AJ. “This could just me being nit-picky, but… Aren’t you wearing your hat way more forward than normal, Applejack?”
“That is SO nitpicky.” Rainbow retorted, but AJ raised a hoof.
“Nah, she’s right RD, and well…. Hoo boy.” With a sigh, Applejack reach up and took off her hat, revealing the bright horn peeking out from her blond hair.
There was a small gasp around the room, and then Pinkie bounded forward into the middle of the boutique with an excited “Ooh Ooh, me next!”
Jaws slid down another inch as her bright blue saddle dress hit the ground to reveal two bright pink wings. Then with just a brief look at each other, Fluttershy and Rarity took off their hat and dress respectively to show their “New developments”
After a second of being too shocked to speak as she tried to pick her jaw off of the floor, Rainbow Dash broke the room’s silence with a splutter of, “Let me get this straight.
“Pinkie Pie is now a Pegasus, Applejack is now a Unicorn, and Rarity and Fluttershy are now ALICORNS?! Oh, and Twilight and I grow a few inches. I don’t get what’s going on, but I feel cut short.”
Twilight was silent for a second, as something slowly came to mind. As wonderings turned to a realization, she raised a hoof to get RD’s attention before speaking to the group.
“Wait… Do any of you still have your medallions?”
After looking at each other once again, everypony just shakes their head. After grinning knowingly, Twilight continued;
“Alicorns are the perfect balance of all three pony races. The Unicorns, the Pegasi, and the Earth Ponies.-”
“We know that Twilight.” Apple Jack said softly, before getting cut off by Twilight raising her hoof again.
“No, don’t you get it? The medallion gave each of us one more feature of one of the other races! Applejack and Fluttershy got Unicorn, Rarity and Pinkie Pegasus, and… Well, Rainbow Dash and I must have gotten Earth Pony.”
“So, wait, when I got that burst of strength after the medallion disappeared during that disaster in Cloudsdale, that was me gaining 'Earth pony', uh, essence?” Rainbow Dash questioned.
Twilight grinned in response. “Yes! So, Fluttershy and Rarity aren’t so much Alicorns as we’re all… Two-thirds Alicorn… Or would that be half-Alicorn?”
Pinkie started giggling at the confused look on Twilight’s face, as if she was trying to solve a great mystery, over such a silly-sounding question, and in a few seconds everyone started to laugh. Pinkie’s laugh was infectious.
After an agreement to keep each other posted this time around, and to ask Celestia about this at the next opportunity; Everyone continued on with their daily lives, only their family hearing the other half of their growth spurt and, to quote a certain speedster, “sudden interest in Fashion”.
A/N: HOLY CRAP THIS TOOK ME WAY TOO FREAKIN' LONG TO WRITE D: So sorry for the huge wait. As an apology, you will get another chapter later today.
There are SOME bonuses to me writing this out of chronological order.