Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up WAKE UP!!
Blue eyes flashed open somewhat violently as the white unicorn slowly began a descent off the edge of her bed and onto the floor. A small whimper of pain escaped her lips but shortly after her internal berating of being careless, she rose up onto her hooves.
That’s got to be the fifth time this has happened this week... I wonder why I keep rolling around in bed so much.
Though she’d kept track of the frequency for that week alone, the Element of Generosity was unaware of the rather drastic extent of her restlessness in sleep. Yes, she’d been waking up a little more cranky than normal and she’d missed work related meetings once or twice, but she shrugged off her loss of beauty sleep as mere work related stress. Making for a slow trot down the stairs, she sniffed the air and caught on the scent of a pleasant brew going on in her house. Naturally, she assumed of just one particular pony having the ease of coming into her residence unannounced and doing as they pleased. She turned the corner into her kitchen and smiled to the pony across the room.
“Ah, Black Tea this time Hoity?”
The regal pony gave a nod to the other as the unicorn settled down at the table, tea still in the midst of brewing.
“Just a little something to help wake you up, I’ve seen you less alert each time I’ve come in to visit.”
Were it anypony else representing Hoity Toity on his behalf, she wouldn’t have believed that to be the genuine thing. But he only dropped in unannounced on her for passing time in the past and it being early in the morning, as well as a weekend, she knew that there was more to this visit than there seemed to be.
“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t putting too much stress on you with this new plan my dear, Photo Finish supposedly has some big project in the works and is launching it in only a few days. I don’t consider her a genuine threat, we are in different lines of work... But I’d be lying if I said this doesn’t seem like another ego inflating event for that pony.”
Rarity was significantly aware of the feud between the two ponies, Photo Finish looking to shake up and constantly change up the game within the industry, but since Rarity’s official debut mere months ago, she’d been laying low.
“It’s not as though I’m actually worried about anything she puts out there, so much as I want to make it clear there’s only one line out there that respects what ponies want rather than telling ponies what they ‘should’ want and Celestia knows that mare thinks her opinion is the only one that matters.”
He scoffed at the thought of taking a pony like her seriously, Rarity casually levitating their tea to the table. A small little sip sent a shiver down the unicorn’s spine, Hoity raising his eyebrow and grinning with delight.
“You’ll have to excuse my amusement, I forgot how entertaining it was to see you all jittery like that. You haven’t shaken like that since the first day on the job!”
Rarity huffed at the other pony in a playful manner, rolling her eyes.
“Well excuuuuuse me for being NERVOUS for working for one of my idols, it’s not like you practically threw the best job offer at me after numerous ponies looked to ‘buy’ my new desi- OH WAIT, that’s EXACTLY what happened!”
A laughter akin to that of old friends catching up broke out between the two ponies, Hoity putting a hoof to his chest to stop himself from losing his more refined looking appearance.
“Well, I did want to make it clear that I wasn’t looking to buy your name, though many did accuse me of that. I knew what the others would have done, they would have made you sign the rights away to your name and continued producing the same trash that they’d peddled to all of Canterlot before. But as I’ve always said-”
Rarity knew what came next.
“Fabulous Fashions of Equestria, where designs are made for the ponies, not for the bits.” She stated non-chalantly as though she were some tired spokesperson. ”Forgive me Hoity darling, I’m not at my peak today...”
“And like I said earlier, it’s why I’m here. You haven’t seemed yourself lately Rarity and if you want me to assign someone else to this job, I can, I wouldn’t want you to do this unless you feel it’s right.”
There was a length of silence between the two, both idly sipping their tea as the unicorn seemed to be confiding her answer. Rarity attempted to put words together, only uttering brief noises and groans, seeming to be at a total loss for words.
Would it really solve any problems? Would her being here really make me feel any better?
With a shake of her head, she finally spoke up.
“No, it’s... It’s alright, I can handle it.” Throwing on a brave face, Rarity nodded with an assuring smile. ”I’ll see to it that when the time comes, FFE is still the top of the line in all of Canterlot and Equestria, no doubt about that.”
Clapping his hooves together, Hoity laughed with joy at his designer’s seemingly renewed enthusiasm.
“Glad to hear it! I can’t wait to see what you have in store!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I must admit, I didn’t think you already had some prototype designs already. Regardless of what you think, they’re all quite fantastic, I can’t wait to see the finished product! I’m sure it will be fantastic as always.”
He ‘always’ knows how to unintentionally put pressure on a pony... At least, I hope he means well.
Standing in the parlor of her home, Hoity turned to give one last comment to Rarity before his departure.
“Now Rarity, if there is ‘anything’ you need, ANYTHING at all, I implore you do NOT hesitate to ask! Price isn’t a concern, if there’s something you think could make you more relaxed on this job, do not hold it in.”
In truth, Rarity was at a loss. It was a rare opportunity, as she knew that Hoity Toity had signed an agreement of an unlisted ‘favor’ to be granted at her request in the original contract. But since she’d begun working for him, there was little to complain about. Her recognition, her position at work, her more easygoing life, Rarity had found herself less demanding and discontent more than ever in her new life.
But one thing, no, one pony had come to mind. One pony who she remembered that she had made many an offer to. One pony who she knew could appreciate and perhaps share in the delight of the luxuries and lifestyles she’d recently adopted. Nervously biting her lip, Rarity gave it her all to force out the one thing she’d been dwelling on for days on end now.
“Actually, there... Is ‘one’ thing. You see, there’s somepo-”
Cut off mid sentence, the door swung open to the presence of two particular unicorns.
“Rarity my dear, it is good to see you here! I wanted to stop in for a moment and see how things were going for you!”
The pony’s eyes lit up with delight, two true friends of hers coming to pull her out of her potentially foolish request.
“Oh Fancypants! Fleur! Please, do come in! Um, Hoity dear, we’ll talk later, is that okay?”
The regal pony knew when to take his leave, not one to pry on his designers personal matters. Fancy and Fleur followed Rarity across the parlor to a more comfortable place to talk, Fleur casually making herself at home.
“I must admit, it never ceases to amaze me what you’ve done with the place! It seems everytime we come, you’ve got some new piece worth admiring.” Fleur chimed, pointing towards the oil painting of Sapphire Shores across the room.
“Yes, Miss Shores brought that by a few days ago, she was making a pit stop on her tour and offered it to me, I couldn’t pass it up since apparently it was from a fan of both of ours. Hard to believe it... I’ve become as popular as some showpony like her.”
There was almost a hint of regret in her voice, the two unicorns curiosity piqued quite quickly.
“If you don’t mind me asking dear, what has got you down?” The pine maned mare pressed the Element of Generosity.” It has been a while since we’ve dropped in, perhaps some positive news would cheer you up? I’m training some new upstart for Photo Finish~!”
“Fleur darling, do you really think it’s appropriate to bring up work with competition?” Fancy rebutted, glaring at her.
“Oh nonsense, Photo paid me upfront, it’s not like there’s anything at stake here.” Batting away Fancy’s prodding hoof, she summoned a pass from her hoofbag. ”In fact, if you’re interested, perhaps you’d like to attend her first show later today?”
Completely at a lost for Fleur’s sudden mysteriousness, she accepted the gift from the other without speaking, but proceeded to question anyways.
“Forgive me for asking Fleur, but is there something about this pony I should know?” Rarity had now found her own interests raised. ”I mean, wouldn’t this if anything be giving FFE an unfair advantage?”
Fleur laughed with amusement at such an accusation. ”Hardly dear, to imply that Photo is anything but a spectacle would be giving her much more credit than she’s worth. It’s purely the following amongst the masses and her fans that she has any success in the first place. Take all those blindly led ponies away and her profits and success aren’t even a drop in the bucket compared to the work you’re doing for Hoity.”
A sly grin ran across Fleur’s face, Fancy quite enjoying seeing his lover’s more playful side.
“Consider it as a gardener tending to the soil before the spring comes, setting the land so it’s ready for seeding as soon as spring comes.” The confused look from the violet maned mare made her ambiguity clear. ”I’m wanting you to be aware of a new presence in the industry, one pony I think you’d be happy to see again.”
Feeling her heart almost jump out of her chest, Rarity’s eyes widened with disbelief.
“Fleur, you couldn’t possibly mean!”
The pony nodded back.
“Rarity, I would not toy so casually with you about such things. I consider you a very dear friend as much as I’ve come to consider her a dear friend as well. It seems perhaps the planets have aligned or some other mystical existence has set things in order. Regardless, you have the ticket, I believe you have a long day ahead of you, do you not?”
A surge of terror washed over Rarity like a cold shower on a winter morning.
“Oh goodness, I need to get my mane done, my hooves cleaned, my coat groomed, I-I-I... I hate to up and rush you off, but would you protest?”
The two knew an enthusiastic freak out from their friend when they saw one, deciding it was for the best to let her be. Fancy was the first to leave, Fleur only stopped by Rarity’s hoof tapping at Fleur’s tail.
“Fleur dear... Thank you. I appreciate you keeping things under wraps. Perhaps I’ll be able to return to my old self if I can get to spend some time seeing her at least.”
“Anything you need Rarity, you know I’m here for you. I wouldn’t turn down a pony in need... Well, within reason.”
And with the mare’s departure, Rarity began gathering her things for the long day ahead of her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three Days Earlier...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“That’s it, one hoof after another... Keep your head straight outward and don’t look to the side. Remember, you’re a living, breathing dress pony. The behavior’s okay, but they’ll want you to smile, to look happy.”
That is, if you’re looking to get out of working with Photo.
“Smile, look happy... I just, it feels weird. I’m ‘not’ happy doing this.”
Fleur and Fluttershy had been at this for at least an hour now and with this being their last session before the show in the upcoming days. They’d gotten her form down, quickly changing clothes, nearly every single thing that required actual practice. At this point, the concern lied in Fluttershy’s still present stage fright.
The girl needs the right motivation, the right goal. Something to make her feel like it doesn’t matter if it’s a hundred or a million ponies watching her.
“Fluttershy, if I remember, a few days ago you told me that you were doing all of this for somepony, right?” Fleur gave a wave for the other pony to follow her backstage, finding a more comfortable place for the two to sit and talk. ”Would you mind telling me who that is?”
Fluttershy had found the straightforward question from the unicorn to throw her for a loop, she wasn’t expecting to really have to let anypony else know just what this was all for.
“I’m... I’m sorry Miss Fleur but I don’t believe that’s any of your business.” The pegasus answered with somewhat of a glare. ”I don’t understand what this has to do with the current problem.”
Fluttershy looked downward, not wanting to make eye contact after the rather blunt response of her own. Fleur on the other hand, had found herself quite intrigued and had no plans to cease prodding at the other.
“Fluttershy my dear, I must admit I appreciate your boldness on that response. But I promise, I’m not looking to do anything beyond help you out.”
Reluctant to make eye contact, Fleur moved closer towards Fluttershy, so close in that that the pegasus could begin to feel the other leaning against her.
“You told me that this pony your doing all of this for is very important, that it was one of the best ways to get her attention.”
“But Miss Fleur, I don’t even know if she’d come to the show.”
“So it IS a mare then!”
Fleur laughed with delight as the pegasus whimpered just a tad, only to find the other pony now laying against her.
“So then, I bet this makes you a tad bit uncomfortable, hmm? Lying on a comfy couch like this with another mare, closer than you’d like.”
Fluttershy finding the other pony awfully close to her, seeming to lean her head in closer towards hers.
“Think of it this way though, if the other mare was the pony laying on you right now, being this close, would it bother you in any way at all?”
Coming back to reality after a flurry of worst case scenarios that could have come about involving her and Fleur, Fluttershy shook her head.
“Right... Because that other pony is someone you don’t fear sharing all of yourself with.”
Slowly backing up and climbing off the couch, Fleur began to pace around the room.
“The pony most important to you is one you don’t fear, one you’d never worry about confiding your sadness or anger in. One pony you can trust who’d never hate or betray you, hmmm?”
It took a moment for Fluttershy to think further to what degree she believed Rarity was right for her, coming back with a simple reply.
“The only thing I fear is her rejection. That after all of this, it won’t matter in the end.”
Fleur raised an eyebrow, uncertain about what the other was implying. Nonetheless, she knew just the right thing to let the other little pony know.
“Even if that does happen in the end, you would have become a better pony. How many ponies out there can say that rather than staring from afar at their one true love, they pursued that passion and made their presence known? That... they didn’t wait too long.”
Her voice trailed off near the end, prompting Fluttershy’s attention towards the unicorn.
“You see dear, rarely does it pay off to sit around and wait. Fancy and I never... really were ‘together’ early on, we just spent a lot of time together. In fact, it really wasn’t until a few years ago we actually started considering ourselves ‘in a relationship’. But when I did first see him it was very much a one sided thing. When I started out, I was kind of in a situation just like yours. Completely new but having to learn the ropes fast since they wanted me working as soon as possible. My first show was setting up to be an absolute disaster, I could see all the other ponies speaking to each other when I was on the runway and they barely took any photos. But... Out in the crowd, I saw Fancy with the brightest smile on his face. I felt so warmed up by his smile that by the second, third and fourth times I walked, I didn’t have a single care for what everyone else.”
Fluttershy was finding it quite hard to hide her interest, actually leaning in to listen to her more closely.
“After the show, he came backstage and said that he thought I did quite well. We got talking for a bit until another mare showed up. They headed out not too long after she got there, I... Kind of felt like there was a strong air of disdain coming off her towards me.”
Fleur leaned back after a long sigh, staring up at the ceiling as she continued.
“A few weeks went by and I... didn’t see him. I’d kept hoping he’d show up, kept my head held high in the hopes he’d be there to smile at me again. It wasn’t until about a month later he finally showed up. I asked where his marefriend was and he told me quite a tale. Apparently, she’d gone and emptied out his main source of income on her own personal business that completely flopped. He also mentioned that his family disowned him after he’d let her have access to their accounts and at this point, he was job hunting for his own work after having to start digging into his savings.”
“Oh my, Miss Fleur, I’m so sorry, I hadn’t imagi-”
Fleur looked at the pegasus as though she’d just spoke in a foreign language.
“Fluttershy, there’s no reason to apologize. I mean, yes it was a very unpleasant point in both of our lives, he’d basically been thrown out on the streets with the inability to maintain the state of living he’d become accommodated to and I was looking into getting back into a line of work that, frankly, I despised. The judging looks, those stares from other ponies as if they’re some supreme authority absolved of any wrongdoings as though they’re some immaculate existence who’s sole purpose in life is to judge others...”
Lost in her brief tirade, Fleur found herself getting somewhat off track and not helping the other pony feel any better.
“Now I’m the one who should be sorry. Let me get to the point. The message here is that you can block out all your fears and worries if you have that one person smiling back at you. Even as those cameras flash and those ponies mutter their harsh words and cruel assumptions of who you are as a pony, it’s that face of the one you love looking onto you with admiration that makes it all the worthwhile.”
Fluttershy nodded, rising off the couch to trot to her side.
“So in a way... Just thinking of it as a show just for that pony, you can pretend in your mind that nopony else is there, right?”
Fleur gave her a firm nod.
“Exactly my dear, if nopony else in the world matters to you, if this pony is the one you’d lay down your life for, share your deepest and darkest secrets with, that should be the only pony in the world that you truly care about the thoughts of.”
Fluttershy smiled with delight. But quickly that changed to a look of concern as the unicorn placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder.
“I think Rarity will be quite pleased to see you on the runway.”
“Yes, I think she wi-”
The timid pony had to pause for a moment as she processed just what the other had said. And had this been the old Fluttershy, there was a good chance she would have darted for the nearest cardboard box to duck and hide. Mustering up every tiny bit of courage she could, she calmed herself, speaking very quietly.
“Miss Fleur... If you don’t mind me asking, how did you know Rarity was the one I was interested in?”
Fleur couldn’t help but giggle for a moment, quite pleased to see the other pony not ‘freak out’ at her revealing of inside knowledge.
“I can’t say I know anything is certain, but she has told me she’d heard rumors of somepony, some pegasus to be specific, wandering around Canterlot. And since Pegasi are far and few between their presence in Canterlot, it doesn’t take long for word to travel about a new face. It wasn’t long before she’d discovered what ponies said her mane color was and where she visited and how she acted. I’d like to warn you in advance by the way, get used to everyone talking about every little thing that goes on around here, many ponies in Canterlot are a little over-concerned with everypony else BUT themselves.”
Fluttershy was already very aware of that, often finding it impossible to attend a small outing to a cafe or shop without somepony coming up and locking her into a 5 minute interrogation of who she was, where she came from and many other questions that were nopony else’s business.
“Regardless, a few days ago Miss Rarity had asked if I’d seen a pink maned pegasus around recently and I told her a little fib. When I tried to get her to tell me why she was asking about you, she acted in the most adorably immature manner. And then, she told me she missed spending time with an old friend of hers. That she felt bad about not having enough time to contact her or trying to visit her at home in Ponyville.”
Deciding it was time for them to get back to work, Fleur motioned for Fluttershy to follow her back out onto the runway. As they walked, Fleur continued advising Fluttershy.
“As I said, I don’t know anything to be certain, but there is clearly concern on Rarity’s part for you Fluttershy. And I don’t want you to do what I did. Call me an unwanted matchmaker my dear, but I will see to it that you two have every opportunity to spend time as much as you can. It might be out of line for me, but if I can try and do for two other ponies what I failed to do myself all those years ago, it will make this ‘training’ of ours more meaningful, if you will...”
There was uncertainty in Fluttershy’s heart, to allow somepony who was somewhat of a stranger in on this personal matter of hers. But the tone of her voice, the experiences she told her... Either Fleur was a masterfully silver tongued pony or just a truly kind hearted mare. And with her mind made up, she finally gave her reply.
“Miss Fleur, do you think there’s a way you could get Rarity to attend the show without her knowing I was involved?”
“I’d expected something like that. You worry about keeping your poise and keeping a smile on and I’ll worry about making sure that special somepony is there to keep you going.”
“Thank you Mi-”
Fleur raised a hoof and shook her head.
“Fluttershy, how about as a means of repaying me, why don’t we forget the formalities. I’ll just call you Fluttershy and likewise, you call me... Lis.”
There was no response from Fluttershy, the pegasus instead preferring to idly swirl her hoof in a circle at the ground.
“Um... Can I... Call you Fleur for now?”
The unicorn gave a sigh of disappointment, but nonetheless smiled to the pegasus.
“One step at a time I suppose.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just... one step...
“Move it already!”
A firm shove for another pony pushed Fluttershy out onto the runway and into the spotlight. Something that even though she’d been training for weeks for, she still wasn’t quite ready yet. Numerous camera’s flashed in a blinding orchestra, nearly blinding Fluttershy had her eyes not been darting across the room, watching each pony talking and staring at her.
What are they saying about me? Oh! That pony’s glaring at me, what am I doing wrong?! Did I not get out here fast enough? Do I have the outfit on backwards? I... I...
Panic was setting in fast and it was only a matter of time before her fears took over and broke the pony down. Fluttershy was starting to shake, sniffling just a bit feeling as though she was on the verge of tears.
I’m just not cut out for this... I can’t do it and I’ll never be able to make Ra-
It hit her in a flash. Her eyes darting left and right looking for the only pony in the world who mattered to her right now. Quickly, she spotted Fleur de Lis and FancyPants. Sitting right beside the two was pony whom her trainer had promised she’d bring.
In what seemed like a moment frozen in time, Fluttershy had seemed to block out every noise and disturbance in the world. All that was before her was the other pony, smiling to her and giving a slight wave of the hoof.
So... She did come after all. I’ll... Have to thank Fleur later.
The very terror dragging her down mere seconds ago seemed to be completely lifted away. Giving a quick shake of her head down to her hooves, Fluttershy stretched out her wings and continued with her walk, smiling softly and keeping her poise perfect. The response from the crowd seemed to pick up with her positive mood, the pegasus noticing the stares of disdain dropping to a non-existent state and the camera flashes increasing in frequency. Finally behind the curtain, Photo had an estatic smile across her face.
“Vunderbah! Zat was fahntasteek Flootahshai! Nao get changed immediately, veere short foh time! Show zem zat glohreeoos Finish vorth zeh Photo!”
“Yes Miss Finish!”
With a hop in her step, Fluttershy headed back to the changing room, knowing it was only a matter of minutes before she was needed back on the runway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I see she is very happy.” The Element of Generosity spoke in defeated tone.
“She was happy to see you dear.” The unicorn beside her placed a hoof on her shoulder, trying her best to reassure her friend.
“I haven’t been a good friend, I can’t imagine that she actually was that happy to see me.”
“You sell yourself too short my dear, she really has been looking forward to seeing you again.”
Rarity had no reason NOT to believe such a statement, but her own guilt fought her attempts to find happiness in seeing her friend again.
All these months, I’d just completely forgotten and ignored her. I never sent her a letter or an invitation or merely dropped in for a visit. And here, she’s uprooted herself from Ponyville just to see me.
But as Fluttershy returned to the runway, they locked eyes again and a comforting warmth washed over the unicorn.
But she’s here and she’s smiling, more than she ever did when she used to work with Photo. Maybe she is just happy to see me.
Jumping slightly in her seat as she came back to reality, she gave a brighter smile than the one before and waved both her hooves at the other pony, getting a slight nod from Fluttershy as she turned to head back stage again. With her friend gone for now, Rarity breathed a sigh of relief, only for the unicorn beside her to be leering quite curiously at her.
“Well well well, that was quite a sight! Something up my dear?”
Rarity was quite perplexed by the other pony’s question, realizing that perhaps she was much louder than she’d believed she was.
“Oh, uh, nothing! Nothing at all!”
“Oh PLEASE dear, do NOT act like that sigh of delight was just something I can pretend didn’t happen. Do you really expect me to believe that there’s nothing between you two? Who was the one who came to me asking if I’d seen some yellow pegasus wandering around Canterlot? Oh wait, even better, who was the pony who’s eyes lit up when I told them I had tic-”
With a stare that was close to rivaling the runway walking pegasus, Rarity gave a very clear ‘back off’ look to her friend.
“Deny all you want my dear Rarity, I see those eyes that you look at her with!”
“Dare I say, those eyes look just like the ones that I remember you looking at me with after I’d had a few glasses of Jura Whiskey the other night!” Even Fancy himself was finding it hard to not tease the ivory-colored pony.
“Fancy, not you too!”
“Oh Rarity, I’m sorry, my beloved here is quite infectious with her behavior! It’s quite hard to resist!”
Both were too caught up in a laughter to notice the dark red tint coating Rarity’s cheeks now as she pouted at them and turned her gaze back to the stage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“...But overall, it vass a great show ghirls! You all did a wunderfahl job und I’m quite pleased vif zeh recepshion! I’ve already had numerous offers for sum contracks vif quite some big names! Enjoy zeh next few days evurypony, you’ve all earned eet!”
With the fashion pony’s speech concluded, Fluttershy found herself free to head out from the dressing rooms to mingle with the audience and press. A few picture poses and autographs later and Fluttershy merged with the crowd, finally able to do as she pleased. It didn’t take her long to locate Fleur and Fancy, but her heart skipped a beat when she saw Rarity up close for the first time in months.
“You did wonderful out there Fluttershy dear... And it’s been too long.” Rarity gave praise to her friend, an almost sad smile across her face, only to be hugged tightly by the pegasus, prompting a small laugh from Fleur.
“I missed you a lot Rarity, the girls at home are great and everything but... The group doesn’t feel the same without you. I miss our spa days...”
“Ah! As do I Fluttershy, but I’ll be honest I’ve just had all my connections sort of handed to me. I have Fleur to thank for that though, she’s done an amazing job directing me to some wonderful places around here.”
Fleur took a slight bow, Fancy magically raising his monocle to his eye.
“Well, if it’s not too much, I’d like to suggest we all go out and enjoy a night on the town! My treat naturally, as a gentleman sho-”
“Vell vell vell, did Hoiteh Toiteh dehside to shend und shpai to my fashion show now?”
Photo Finish made her way into the group of ponies, Rarity raising an eyebrow at Photo Finish, who she believed was staring at her.
“Pardon me Miss Finish, but what are you impl-”
“Oh pleeze, save your krahp for zeh papers, I know your boss sinks zat I’m some kind of zret to heem.”
“Au contraire Miss Finish, he considers you but a blip on the radar.” Fleur chimed in before Rarity could say her piece. ”Hoity is a man of true standards, someone who actually knows what ponies want in this day and age, not what they ‘think’ they want, as you seem to believe.”
“Oh be kvaiyet Fleur de Lis, ahs eef I have any cuncernz vif your ohpeenyun seence you’ve feeneeshed training my client. Flootah! Come now, I’m treating you undt zeh rest of zeh girls out foh a deenuh at my ehshtayt, you shoodent be shpending time vith zis ilk!”
Photo firmly grabbed at Fluttershy’s hoof and began pulling her along, the pegasus looking back at Rarity with a distraught expression. Unable to put together a response, she trotted beside her manager slowly, joining the other dolled up mares, some with a stallion at their side, heading off out a different exit, Photo laughing in delight with the other ponies.
“Pardon my comment my dear, but why on earth did you agree to work with her again?” Fancy prodded his lover for an answer.
“Well, the money was good, I won’t lie... But I stuck with it afterwards because I thought Fluttershy would do best being handled by someone like me. And knowing Photo, she would have passed her off to the next pony for training without a care for the state of her very employee. You know how it is. Rarity dear, do you still feel... up for... dinner?”
Rarity however had no interest in answering. Her head was hanging low as the two prodded her with their hooves.
“Uh Rarity, are you alright?” Fancy poked her in the side, watching her sway back and forth.
Slowly, a soft growl began rumbling out from the purple maned pony, before she shot her head upwards and screamed out in a brief burst of frustration, garnering quite a few stares from other ponies.
“Ah hahahaha, don’t mind her everypony! She’s just uh... Mad that she couldn’t get an autograph from one of the models!” Fleur covered Rarity’s mouth with her hoof, seeing her about to potentially scream an obscenity.
Practically dragging Rarity out of the building, Fleur and Fancy gasped to catch their breath, having fought with a clearly enraged pony.
“That arrogant little! She thinks she OWNS Fluttershy?!”
“Well technically dear, she DOES have her signed to a contract, that’s kind of how things work!” Fleur chimed in with weak laughter, seeing Rarity stomp and huff and puff, trotting in circle of fury.
“OOOOOoooohhhhh this makes me so MAD! I should have known, I should have KNOWN! Hoity told me everything about her, I wanted to think the best and blast it if it wasn’t all 100% true! That MARE is absoLUTELY disgusting!”
Fleur could see that there was a mix of concern and worry buried in that seething hatred emanating from the Element of Generosity, watching as she trotted off away from them.
“Rarity? Raarrrrityyyyy? Please come back dear, we can go have a nice dinner out and we’ll talk this over later!”
“NO! I’m going to deal with this right NOW! Celestia as my witness, that mare will NOT have MY Fluttershy! She doesn’t DESERVE that girl’s kindness and beauty!”
Fancy found himself quite shocked by his friend’s reaction, only to find the mare beside him rolling with laughter.
“Oh Fancy, please tell me you heard that! Listen to that mare all fired up and calling little Fluttershy ‘hers’. That’s absolutely adorable!”
Fancy hadn’t facehoofed as hard as he did just now in ages, Fleur leaning against him to control her laughter.
“Oh dear, that girl really has no clue just how obsessed she truly is with that pegasus. Ah well... Fancy dear, shall we go? It seems it will just be the two of us for tonight.”
Torn between going after his friend and not leaving his mare off to walk the streets at night on her own, he gave up and followed after Fleur. All the while, Rarity had continued stomping down the street, now heading in the direction of her employer’s home. It didn’t take long for her to arrive and with almost no concerns for property damage, she whipped around and kicked the front door in with her back hooves.
“HOITY! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!”
A head peeked out from the corner, sunglasses falling to reveal a terribly frightened earth pony. He slowly trotted out to the enraged equine and spoke very calmly to her.
“Um, Rarity, if you don’t mind my asking, why have you kicked my front door in?”
Somehow, his voice managed to bring Rarity off her rage train and back down to Equestria, realizing the rather ‘dramatic’ show she’d just put on.
“Oh... my... I did that... Didn’t I? Eh hehehe... Right then, I um, Ah! Yes, I wanted to say, I’ll have my new works ready for you in three days.”
Hoity’s eyes lit up with delight as he threw his hooves in the air with glee.
“That’s absolutely WONDERFUL Rarity!”
“BUT! Under ONE condition...”
Hoity shifted his glasses back into position over his eyes, quite intrigued to hear the request the unicorn was about to make, a favor he’d expected long ago for her to ask for. And while it wasn’t exactly the request he was expecting, Rarity had a belief that somehow, someway this old friend of hers would make good on a promise. He was the one pony in Canterlot she had the absolute faith and trust for her well being and happiness.