//------------------------------// // A mare in a dress // Story: Crystal Camaraderie // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Looking about, Chartreuse wondered about the circumstances that lead up to Chalcedony knowing how to offer directions to the tearoom so well. In her mind, it must have been a task her new friend had repeated a great many times, and was now in practice for it. Straight up Spike Street until you hit Flugelhorn Court, take a right down the row, and when you hit Skarn Street, you took a left. The tearoom had a big sign. It was the older part of town, and was mostly free of tourists, who just weren’t welcome. Canterlot too, had a district where tourists were discouraged, and Chartreuse understood. She gave her blind companion a nudge, which was also accompanied by a warning: “Curb. Watch out.” Chartreuse was pleased to see that Chalcedony didn’t bang a hoof against the curb, which she might have done had there been no warning. The smiling filly seemed surprised by this thoughtful gesture and was careful with her hind hooves as well. “I always trip over those,” Chalcedony said with what seemed like a grateful grin. Chartreuse scowled, not liking the sound of that. “Not on my watch.” “I didn’t even think about the curb being a danger.” Nomination came to a halt, sighed, and then just stood there looking sulky and dejected. “You were nice to me and I almost let you stumble.” Chalcedony turned her head in the direction of Nomination’s voice. She stood there, smiling while batting her eyelashes, appearing to be quite pleased with herself. “Stop being a mope! What do the regulations have to say about being a mope?” “I’m in violation of so many regulations right now,” Nomination whined. Using her magic, Chartreuse grabbed two tender ears and gave a tug to get everypony moving. The whimpers and protests were ignored, and moreover, she didn’t care. There was a goal to achieve and standing about moping wasn’t getting anything done. When Nomination and Chalcedony fell in line behind her, she let go, trusting they would walk on their own. The neighborhood around them was starting to change. The buildings huddled closer together and looked much older. Some were quite austere, as if they weren’t made with comfort in mind. Chartreuse was starting to learn the history of this, all of it, and she knew that Sombra had grown some of the crystalline structures here. A shadow hung over this place. Even though it was bright and cheerful, there was something about the surrounding neighborhood, something ominous and foreboding about the architecture. Using magic, she pulled Chalcedony closer to her, until they were almost touching. The street lamps here looked more like repurposed gibbets, places where cages had once hung. The bright ornamental glass globes did a poor job of hiding them—if that was the case—and Chartreuse was almost certain that it was. “Do you feel it?” Chalcedony asked in a low whisper. “I can see it… some of his magic is still here. It haunts this place. When Princess Cadance has the time and the energy to spare, she comes here and infuses this place with her magic. It’s been a slow process, but bit by bit, she’s scrubbing away the dark magic left behind.” “How horrid.” Chartreuse bumped against Chalcedony and the two fillies stumbled a bit together. “How do ponies live here?” “The Crystal Heart sustains us,” Chalcedony replied, and there was no sign of her ever-present smile upon her muzzle. In fact, she looked a little scared at the moment. “It gives us courage, it fills us with hope, and we stand in defiance of the dark shadow left on this place. I won’t come here at night though, it’s spooky!” “This place is awful—” “You have no idea, Nom.” The trio now walked abreast, with Chalcedony in the middle, and she brushed up against the side of her colt companion. “I was born during Sombra’s rule, right at the end of it, when the Crystal Empire vanished for a thousand years. Like many, I don’t know who my parents are, or if they are even alive. We’re the Unwanted, the reminders of Dread King Sombra’s most terrible rule, a generation of orphans that nobody could bear to look at, because of what we remind others of. It’s hard for us, but we’ve managed.” “I’m really sorry—” “Don’t be, Nom. If you are really sorry, just be my friend, and don’t abandon me.” The smile returned to Chalcedony’s face, bright and beaming. “No pressure!” “Nopony wanted you?” Nomination sounded incredulous. “That seems so heartless!” “Some say it is a curse and others say it is just too painful to remember. Some think the pain of sorting everything out would be too much to bear, and too many of us orphans would find out for certain that we have dead parents. It’s a scab that nopony wants to tear open. All of us, even our nobles, we were all put in shackles and made to serve. At least now we have the Crystal Empress, and she has been good to us.” “Are you like a thousand years old?” Nomination’s ears stood straight up and he took a cautious step aside for fear of retribution. “You don’t talk about a lady’s age!” Chalcedony took a clumsy swipe at the colt and missed. “Those years don’t count. New regulation, we don’t mention a lady’s age.” “Um—” “You’re sorry?” Chalcedony took a moment to rebalance herself and then trotted in time to Chartreuse’s hoofbeats. Her curly pastel green mane bobbed in a fetching way with each step, and coiled curls clung to her ears like a foal to a security blanket or a stuffed animal. “Yeah, I’m sorry.” Nomination smiled, revealing pointed teeth. “You look pretty cute for being a thousand years old though.” The colt’s happiness lasted only for a moment, and then he went back to looking morose. “I mean, you only look cute in a general sense. I mean that in a nice way. I mean, I don’t know what I mean, everything is so confused right now and nothing I say feels right.” The crystal filly let out an unladylike grunt, snorted, and then had this to say: “I’ll let you off the hook for now because you are having a bad day.” She continued to stroll in time with Chartreuse along the sidewalk, her ears pivoting as wagons went rumbling past in the road. “It’s nice to be called cute. My eyes freak out other ponies.” “You’re eyes are a little different.” Nomination too, fell back into step, and again, the three walked abreast of one another. “Maybe some glasses?” “Why should I wear glasses to make others comfortable? I’m the one that has to live with this blindness, not them. I shouldn’t have to cover myself up to make others feel better looking at me.” Chalcedony’s smile remained resolute and her nose pointed straight ahead, though her eyes lacked focus. “I don’t even know what my eyes look like. I can’t see them. Some ponies say they are awful, and other ponies, nice ones, say they aren’t that bad. It’s kinda frustrating. So many ponies say so many different things… I can’t even sort out the truth for myself. It’s awful.” “They’re not that bad, they’re just… different. I’m different too. I guess you can’t see that.” Nomination reached out and poked Chalcedony with his wing, which caused her to giggle and squirm. “I spend a lot of time worrying about what others think of me and how they see me. My mother says that it doesn’t matter, that I was born and bred to serve others, and that what they think of me should be the least of my concerns.” “Nomination, are you a noble?” Chartreuse asked while she glanced at her colt companion out of the corner of her vision. Most of what she saw was Chalcedony’s pearly whites. “No.” Nomination’s voice became a soft, hard to hear whisper. “My parents say that we are slaves to the betterment of society. Our purpose to serve, always and continuously, endlessly and without ceasing, until such a time that an honourable death robs us of our breath and tears away the spirit of life from our bodies.” Hearing this, Chartreuse shrugged. “Sounds like nobility to me…” On Skarn Street, Chartreuse was assailed by an all to familiar voice, and hearing it filled her with joy. With a turn of her head, she saw a familiar face, hailing her, calling out to her, while also rushing over to be with her. The sight made her heart leap up into her throat and she became misty-eyed. “Miss Le Feu! Miss Le Feu! Darling, this is fortunate! I was going to come to the palace later to see if I could visit you! I was hoping to surprise you! Oh, it is so good to see you! Darling, you look smashing!” “Miss Rarity—” “No, no, just Rarity, darling!” Chartreuse was rushed by the marshmallowy mare, both cheeks were kissed, and a cloud of fine perfume wafted around her. Nomination squeaked, Chalcedony sniffed, and Rarity took a step back while flashing a perfect, stunning smile. It took a moment for Chartreuse to recover her senses, but recover them she did, and she could feel her heart pounding in her barrel while she stood staring at her former employer. Rarity was pretty, and the dress she was wearing did funny things to Chartreuse’s imagination. It was one of the Sapphire Shores Signature Series dresses, done in a stunning shade of blue. It grew quite warm, very much so, and she was filled with the need to remove her cloak, because it was getting hot underneath there. For reasons she could not explain, Chartreuse giggled. When she got the giggles out of her system, she took a deep breath, calmed herself, and did her best to look like a professional apprentice. “Rarity, these are my friends, Chalcedony and Nomination.” She turned to look at her companions, both of whom she had met this day, and marveled at the fact that she had called them both her friends. “Both of you, this is Rarity, my former boss.” “Oh, I, we, Sassy and I, we’re both so proud of you!” Rarity gushed, and she invaded Chartreuse’s space once more. “Chalcedony, Nomination, I am quite pleased to meet you!” “Rarity, what brings you to the Crystal Empire?” Chartreuse asked. “Oh, I just bought some property,” the fabulous fashionista replied. “Soon, I plan to open a shop… I might call it Crystal Couture, I don’t know yet. I have options! I have to go and talk with Princess Cadance because she wants to use my shop for apprenticeships so future tailors and seamstresses will get the experience they need from a master of the craft.” Tittering, Rarity lifted up a hoof and began fanning herself. A crowd had begun to gather, gawking and rubbernecking. Turning, Rarity turned her critical eye upon Chalcedony, who was oblivious to the fashionista’s attention. After a few moments of intense study, Rarity clucked her tongue a few times and then cocked her head off to one side. She squinted a little, bit her lower lip, and pulled out a pair of glasses from some hidden pocket so that she might see better. As she slipped them on, she asked, “Chalcedony, darling… have you thought about modeling? Right now, at this point in your life, you have a fine form for it. You have neutral colours that wouldn’t clash with much. You have… splendid curves, darling.” As her friend stood there stammering and spluttering, Chartreuse felt a pang of jealousy, but could not say why. It hurt though, it inflamed her brain, and try as she might, she could not determine the reason as to why she was jealous, just that she was. She cleared her throat and willed the uncomfortable feeling to go away, while wishing she didn’t feel so hot and uncomfortable. “But my eyes,” Chalcedony managed to say, and she stood there blushing and blinking. “Oh, nonsense! Darling, I can make you look so good that nopony would notice your eyes. You have a window, darling, a fabulous, wonderful window. Should you chose to model, and in my opinion, I think you should, you could enjoy a bit of success. Just don’t get any delusions, darling, this window will not stay open forever. You must forgive me for being blunt, but I have a total honesty policy with my clients after a few… unpleasant misunderstandings.” “I think I like just being me.” Chalcedony’s grin now rivaled the sun itself for brilliance, a magnificent sight indeed, and there was something a bit shy about her expression. “I’m flattered, really, but I think it is better if I stay in school and focus on my education.” “That is wise, darling.” Rarity tittered, reached out, and stroked Chalcedony’s cheek. “This is why I wasn’t upset when Chartreuse gave me a notice that she would be taking her leave. Fashion is such a trivial thing, really, it relies upon the whims and whimsy of so many, while only acknowledging the opinions of so few. Chartreuse has all of the right stuff for greatness, and I’d like to think I had a hoof in that.” A smile moved with glacial slowness across Rarity’s muzzle and she turned to look at Chartreuse once more. It made Chartreuse feel hot, flustered, and a bit sweaty. “I consider Chartreuse to be one of my finest projects,” Rarity continued while her white teeth flashed with brilliant, dazzling intensity. “She’s tailor-made for success. It was quite enriching and rewarding to watch her grow from the over-excited filly that she was to what she is now. She is commanding, she is bold, and she knows how to follow a plan for success.” Sweat was running down Chartreuse’s neck now, and while she stared at Rarity’s marvellous face, the muscles on the insides of her thighs began to suffer fitful twitches. Something about those blue eyes made her heart feel fluttery and her pelt continued to moisten in the most uncomfortable of places. “Take what you want, darling!” Rarity breathed out these words, and they made Chartreuse’s ears twitch. “Life is yours for the taking. As for me, I must be going. I have an appointment with Princess Cadance that I am almost late for. I must be going! Best of luck, darling!” Gulping, Chartreuse tugged at the too-tight collar of her cloak and watched while the fabulous mare departed. Her cloak clasp felt as though it was cutting into her neck, she itched, and she was too warm. The muscles in her dock were spasming like mad, and her mouth couldn’t make up its mind if it wanted to water or feel dry. “Goodbye, all of you, it was a real pleasure to meet you!”