To say that Rarity’s house is beautiful would be an understatement, and I’m just talking about the outside. The many windows, the satin curtains that lay on the inside, and the unique carousel-esque design was just the cherry on top. Hey, don’t look at me like that. When you go to art school on your own accord, you learn how to appreciate and spot things like the perfectly sculpted marble details that are on the house.
Although Rigby doesn’t have my eye for art, he seems to be pretty impressed. His eyes are wide as he scans over every visible inch of the building. Applejack merely gives the building a glance as she trots up to the door and pushes her way inside, waving a hoof behind her as a signal that we should follow.
“Rares, ya here?” Applejack calls out. Her voice echoes in the beautifully lit studio. Mannequins with amazingly detailed clothes are scattered throughout the room. I can see a dimmed stage, most likely used for fashion shows, to the left. Although the main theme of the room seemed to be pure white with a hint of blue, the pink and yellow of the stage doesn't clash with it at all; if anything it compliments it.
“I’m in my inspiration parlor, darling! Could you come up, I’ve got my hooves full up here.” Rigby and I look toward a staircase that winds gracefully up to a second floor. Without an answer, Applejack looks to us before she begins climbing the stairs with Rigby and I on her heels.
Er… hooves.
We walk for a few moments down a long stretch of white tile. The eggshell blue walls are homes to portraits, one of them showing the little Unicorn fillY that I’d seen in the picture back at Applejack’s house.
“Hey, Rarity.” Applejack grins and announces her arrival with a greeting. Rigby goes in and takes a quick sweep of the room, his eyes wide.
“What’s up, dude?” I walk faster to catch up with him from where I stood looking at the picture. He shakes his head and smirks.
“This room is like the opposite of downstairs.”
I see what he means as I walk into the room. Downstairs was neat and clean, you could even say sterilized. This room? Cluttered, messy, disorganized. Mannequins and fabric are strewn about haphazardly, ribbons are draped over mirrors, gems lay scattered.
I hear a breathy chuckle come from ahead. “That’s because what you saw downstairs was the shop.” I look up and smile when I see her. She’d looked pretty in the pictures at Applejack’s house, but that wasn’t even comparable to how she looks in the flesh. A glossy white coat, a gracefully curled mane and tail, and big blue eyes that are framed by thick black lashes. Her flank is the home of three bright sapphires. On her nose is a small pair of red glasses.
There’s something weird though. Her horn is glowing a light blue color. And there are floating pieces of fabric everywhere. Rigby seems just as dumbfounded as I am.
Rarity, not noticing our blank stares, rolls her eyes. “This is my studio, where I create and inspire myself! One does not just think of the magnificent designs that you saw down in the shop!” She smirks at us over her glasses. “You may think of this room as a mess, but I see it as possible ideas!”
She turns to us, expecting understanding nods, only to see us staring at her. Well, Rigby’s staring at her. I’m staring at the stuff levitating next to her.
“Is something wrong?” She narrows her eyes and stares at Rigby and I.
“Your things are… floating?” I stutter out. This shouldn’t weird me out after all the things I’ve been through since working at the Park, but this one breaks through for some reason. From the looks on Applejack and Rarity’s faces, this seems to be a normal occurrence. Actually, now that I think about it, could the evil Unicorns use magic? That… ugh, slop they’d made me drink was really sparkly, could it have been magic? Did they ever use magic?
Rarity’s eyes dart around awkwardly before she answers. “Er, yes. Unicorns here make stuff… float.”
Crap. I must look like a total idiot. Okay, I’ve gotta remember these things. Unicorns can do magic, use hooves normally, learn to fly, stop being stupid.
Rarity delicately clears her throat before continuing, letting the levitating objects rest on the floor. “So! Applejack, care to introduce me to your friends?”
Applejack grins. “Sure thing. The tall blue one’s name is Mordecai and the little brown one is Rigby.”
“Am I really that tall?’
“Um, yeah dude.” Rigby scoffs and looks up at me. "You’re pretty high up there, you’re even taller than Skips.”
Huh. I always thought he was just really short.
“Well, it’s nice to meet both of you!” Rarity dips her head to us and smiles. “My name is Rarity, and I own this little place; although I assume you’ve already guessed that. What brings you two gentlemen here? I’ve not seen you in town before.”
“Well, the first horse we ran into here was Rainbow Dash, and she--” Rigby’s interrupted as he looks at Rarity.
“Horse?” Rarity’s mouth falls open.
“Oh no.” Applejack’s ears flatten.
“Horse?”
“Here it comes.” Applejack takes a tiny step back, signaling that I should do the same; which I do.
“We are not horses!” Rarity sticks her nose up haughtily. “Horses are tall and bony creatures! We are graceful!” She closes her eyes and puts a hoof to her chest. “We are civilized! We are ponies!”
Craaaaap.
“Honestly, how could you mistake us for horses! Rainbow Dash is no horse, she is a Pegasus! Horses do not have wings, nor do they have horns!”
Craaaaaaaaap.
“Of all of the worst things I could be called…”
Applejack rolls her eyes.
“This is the.”
“Rares, don’t--”
“Worst.”
“Rarity, please--”
“Possible.”
“Why you over-dramatic--”
“THING.”
“Rarity!” Applejack puts a hoof on the Unicorn’s shoulder. “Calm down, sugarcube. Why don’t you go downstairs and get yourself some water?”
“Yes… water… of course.” Rarity takes a breath and walks out of the room, Applejack hot on her trail. “Water…”
When the girls are gone I glare at Rigby and give him a wing smack on the back of the head.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“Horses? Really? HORSES?”
“Oh, don’t give me that!”
“Dude, they’re not horses!”
Rigby scoffs. “Yeah, I know that now.”
“Dude, do you realize how important it is for us to not act weird? What if they found out we aren’t from here? They could lock us up and do tests on us or something!”
“I doubt they’d do that.”
“Do you really?”
“Yeah.”
I know Rigby isn’t the brightest, but come on. Does he not remember all the times we’ve been tricked by seemingly nice people/Unicorns/giant bearded faces? Sure, Applejack and Rainbow were cool, Rarity didn’t seem so bad, Pinkie was…
“Just apologize to Rarity, okay?”
“Ugh. Okay, okay.”
“Are you okay, Rarity?” I ask as I walk into the kitchen. Rarity’s horn is lit, and in the grasp of her magic is a small, half filled glass of water. Applejack stands next to her.
She takes a sip of the water before smiling at me. “Oh, I’m fine. Thank you for asking, darling.” She clears her throat before turning to look at Rigby and I. “I do apologize for my behavior.” She sticks out her lip in a pouty fashion. “It was very unladylike of me.”
I glance down at Rigby before answering. “Not your fault.”
Rigby gives a small roll of his eyes before speaking. “I’m… sorry I called you all horses.”
Rarity grins at him. “Apology accepted!” She giggles a bit before the smile falls off of her face. She looks at me before giving a small jump of glee. “You know… I’ve been working on some stallion outfit ideas. Due to the lack of stallions in town and my not having any male mannequins, I’ve not been able to make any of them happen. Perhaps you two could help me a bit?”
Is she suggesting what I think?
“Of course, Mordecai is a bit tall and Rigby is a bit short, but I could make it work.”
Yes she is.
“What do you think? Could you model a bit for me? Please?” She sticks her lip out again and looks at us desperately.
i can’t say no.
I really should have said no.
What I meant to be just a 20 minute visit ended up turning into a two hour fashion show.
Rarity grunts as she tightens a strap over my body. “My, your wingspan is bigger than average.”
Yeah, it appears as if everything about me bigger than average. And don’t be getting any weird thoughts. That’s just creepy.
To my left, Rigby stands rigid in a completed black tux. I’ve only seen him dress up a few times, and seeing his new body in a tux is really weird. He almost looks civilized.
“Unfurl your wings for me?”
I do as she says and open my wings, grimacing as the fabric pulls against them. “Ow.”
“Oops! Sorry dear, I’m not used to working with large wings.” Rarity apologizes.
“It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt, it’s just really uncomfortable.” I chuckle.
“Well, I’ll fix that right up.” She lights up her horn again and soon enough I can feel the fabric loosen, allowing me to fully extend my wings. Throughout the whole situation, Rarity’s asked me to open and close my wings at least tens times. While it’s good practice for getting used to them, they’re gonna be really sore later.
“Aaand, done!” Rarity steps back and narrows her eyes before beaming at us. “You two look fabulous! Go on, turn around and look!”
I turn tentatively, not wanting to tear the suit. When I finally see myself, I’m pretty surprised. I mean, I can clean up nice and all, but I’ve never looked like this. Then again, I’ve never been a pony in a tuxedo before.
Rigby looks pleased with the results as well. “Wow, these are great!”
“You really think so? Oh, I was so afraid you wouldn’t like them!” I can see her behind me in the mirror. She puts a hoof to her chin before grinning. “Oh! Why don’t you take them?”
What? “Rarity, we can’t take your suits.” I look back at her.
“Yeah. I thought you wanted to keep them for your other customers.” Rigby frowns.
“Oh, pshaw! I needed you for the dimensions, which I wrote down! See?” She levitates a small notepad and smiles as she presents it to us. “Take them, free of charge! I insist!”
“Oh, you don’t have to--”
“I insist! Please!”
Once again, I can’t say no. I just don’t feel comfortable. I mean, she worked so hard to make them and then she’s just gonna let us take them? For free? But, she insists, and something tells me that when Rarity sets her mind to do something, she makes sure that it’s done.
“Okay.”
“Oh, good!” Rarity smiles and looks at Applejack. “Applejack, don’t they look dashing?”
“You did a mighty fine job there, Rares.” Applejack smiles at us.
“Now, I’ll just take these things off of you.” Rarity says as she lights up her horn.
“Wait,” Rigby grimaces. “You’re gonna take them off of us?”
“Well, yes.” Rarity grins.
“But we’ll be…”
I elbow Rigby. “Dude, we don’t normally wear clothes.” Rigby gives me a confused look. “Right?”
Rigby finally catches on. “Oh yeah! Eh heh heh.”
After undressing us, Rarity folds the clothes neatly and puts them in bags, giving each of us one. “I trust you’ll take good care of them?” she asks with a nervous glint in her eyes.
“Of course.” I assure her.
That seems to be enough, since Rarity immediately brightens. “Anyway, you said that you ran into Rainbow Dash?”
I nod. “Yeah, we did.”
“What’d ya think?” Applejack gives me a curious look.
“Well… she seems to be a bit…headstrong?’
Rarity gives a light chuckle. “Yes, that certainly sounds like her. She’s very headstrong. She can also be a bit offensive. If she ever insults you, just remember that she means well.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I grin.
“We also met Pinkie Pie.” Rigby adds.
Unsurprisingly, both of them look up at this.
Rarity narrows her eyes. “Oh? And what did you think of her?”
“She seems okay. I didn’t get a chance to talk to her.” Rigby laughs. “Not really.”
I nod. “Yeah, she’s throwing us some sort of party.”
“Ah, I suspected.” Rarity says with a smile. “That pony will throw a party at the drop of a hat.”
“She really likes parties, huh?’ Rigby grins at Rarity.
“Yes, but I don’t believe that it’s all about parties. Her special talent is making ponies smile, and she’ll do anything to reach her goal.”
“Really?” I ask. I didn’t know getting someone to smile could be a talent. Then again, clowns and comedians would be kinda useless, so there’s really no reason for me to have said what I just said so I’m gonna shut up now.
“Oh yes! You know, she was once so focused on trying to get us to come to a party that she forgot it was her birthday?”
Applejack scoffs. “Whew boy, I remember that day. The poor girl went crazy trying to figure out why we were bein’ so secretive.”
Wow. This… really changed my perspective on Pinkie Pie. Before, I’d seen her as just a hyperactive pony, but now? After what Rarity and Applejack have been saying, I see her as being selfless and hyperactive.
My thoughts are interrupted when I hear Rarity let out a little sigh. “Applejack, are you sure this is the design you want for Apple Bloom’s dress?”
Rigby and I peek over Rarity’s shoulder to see the paper she’s levitating in front of her. It’s a drawing of a faceless filly, wearing a small dress with apple medallions stamped to it everywhere and ribbons hanging off in all directions. As bad as the fashion is, I have to say that the art itself isn’t bad.
Applejack frowns. “What’s wrong with it?”
“Well, there’s…” Rarity’s eyes scan the paper a thousand times over before she begins to speak. “It’s just so… unorganized and… um.” She looks up at Applejack, whose expression hasn’t changed from being curious.
Applejack’s eyes widen and then she nods. “Oh, I see. You’re right, sugarcube.” She gives a breathy chuckle and waves her hoof dismissively. “You’re the expert here, do what you think is right.”
Oh, okay.” Rarity giggles and sets the paper on a nearby desk. “I’ll get started. And when does she need it by?”
“Next Friday.” Applejack frowns. “Is that enough time for ya?”
“Oh, Applejack! It’s more than enough time!”
As I watch the two talking, I find myself surprised by how well they’re interacting. While Applejack is a rough and tumble farmer, Rarity is dainty and ladylike, however this doesn’t seem to bother them. The way they’re acting towards each other, you’d think they aren’t different at all.
And who knows? Maybe they’re not.
“Dude, where do we go now?” Rigby comes up behind me.
“I don’t know. Isn’t there a treehouse nearby that Rainbow Dash pointed to?”
“Yeah, but she said that some science nerd lives there.”
Applejack, having heard us, looks at Rigby. “Twi’s not a science nerd, she’s just really organized and…” Applejack trails off, as if she’s searching for the right word.
“Studious!” Rarity adds.
“Yeah, that.” Applejack nods.
Ohhhh, she’s one of those kinds of peop--ponies.
“Twilight would definitely welcome a couple of visitors, as long as she isn’t busy with some homework that the Princess gives her.”
Wait, what? Princess? I’m about to ask them about the Princess, but I assume that whoever she is, everyone must know who she is, and asking about her would make me even more peculiar than I already am. So, i keep my mouth shut, silently begging Rigby to do the same. Thankfully, the gears in Rigby’s brain seemed to be chugging hard enough to give him some common sense, because not a word escaped his mouth.
“Just be careful around Spike, he can be very protective over Twilight.” Rarity laughs.
“Spike? Is that a dog?” I didn’t think ponies could have pets, but I’ve been wrong a lot today.
“No-ho-ho.” Applejack shakes her head. “He’s a dragon.”
“A DRAGON?” Rigby yells.
Applejack grimmaces. “Calm down now, Rigby. He’s just little dragon, nothin’ harmful about him. Ya’ll should be okay.”
So ponies can keep dragons as pets. Nice. Just when I think this world is starting to make sense, then BAM.
Oh well. TO TWILIGHT’S TREEHOUSE THINGY!