//------------------------------// // The Sale // Story: Song of Stone // by Waxworks //------------------------------// They worked together to open the shop and allowed other ponies in to have a look. Rarity put the crystal outfit on display on a dais for everypony to look at, much to the interest and curiosity of ponies all around. They came by the dozens, buying other clothes in droves, they came to gawp at the crystals, but despite the interest throughout the day in looking at it, nopony wanted to buy it. Nopony even asked for a price. Rarity was devastated. “Oh, come now, Rarity,” Sassy said. “It’s the first day. You can’t expect all the curio-curious ponies to come by on the first day.” “I supposed you’re right. I was just so intent on seeing it sold sooner rather than later. I want ponies to know what it is I do, and I want them to enjoy the sounds as much as I enjoy it.” “Sound?” “You know, like we discussed earlier. The resonance of the crystals.” “Rarity… I don’t think most ponies can even sense it or care about it. I don’t hear anything. The only thing I felt was that dizziness.” Rarity stopped and leaned on the counter. “you really didn’t feel it at all? It was so comforting. It’s there right now, coming from the suit. It’s so… so calming.” Rarity walked out from behind the counter and went to lean on the crystal outfit. She sighed and closed her eyes. “Do you think I should try it on?” Sassy made a face that spoke volumes about how uncomfortable it made her. “I don’t think so, no. You don’t want to sell second-hoof good.” Rarity pulled herself up. “Right as always, salespony Sassy. I can’t in good conscience sell something that’s been pre-worn. I know my measurements are up to snuff, and I know it’ll fit ponies within that range, but oh! How I would love to wear it myself.” “Can’t you make more?” “I could, yes, but I want to ensure that their ‘rarity’ remains rare enough that the price remains unchanged. At least for the first few.” She raised a hoof and swung it in an arc. “Rarity’s crystal couture!” She looked at Sassy. “The rarity will drive the prices up, you know.” “But if you want ponies to enjoy the resonance, as you call it, wouldn’t you want to make more?” “Yes, but not immediately. Not yet.” “Then what are you waiting for?” “I’m waiting for the right moment. Once the first has been bought, then the next will be made, and not before.” “And you think somepony will buy this?” “I’m certain of it. Just wait and see!” Wait they did. In three days Rarity heard word from somepony that a rich pony would be coming by. It was one of the rich ponies in upper Canterlot. They bought it in an instant, without any haggling. Cash instantly, leaving Rarity with a sizable pile of bits. Sassy was amazed, disturbed, and impressed at the pony’s wealth, but mostly amazed at how Rarity didn’t seem to care at all about the bits. She rushed to see the man out of the store with his prize, and at the last second, passed him a tuning fork. He looked at it curiously, and Sassy couldn’t hear what she said, but she wanted desperately to know. The moment she had a second, she asked Rarity what it was all about. “Rarity, what did you give him? It looked like a tuning fork? What was that for?” Sassy asked. “Well, he can’t very well hear anything if there’s nothing to hear, right? You said yourself you didn’t hear anything, so I gave him the fork so that he can make the sound for himself,” Rarity explained. “I… see. That makes sense.” “Yes, and I’ll give one to the next pony, too!” “You mean… you’ll make more crystal suits?” “Of course, darling! That one was such a success, it just makes sense! It will be glorious!” Rarity said, pumping a hoof. “Oh… okay.” “You don’t agree?” “I don’t understand! The suit is so strange and the song so… odd, what purpose does it all serve?” “Fashion, darling?” Rarity’s eyes twinkled, but in them, Sassy was seeing something different. Something… dangerous. Days passed, and Sassy waited to see when Rarity was going to bring out the next suit of crystal armor. She watched her like a hawk as days passed, but she never saw Rarity leave the shop at any time during the day, and every morning she came in she had no new suit of crystal clothes. She almost forgot about it until Rarity went home to Ponyville for several weeks, then came back, bringing with her a new suit. “Sassy, darling! Good news! I’ve succeeded in creating the next outfit in my line of crystal clothes! I call this one; Terrific Topaz!” she declared. True to her statement, the crystals in this outfit were a yellowish color, and they seemed to glow. Sassy approached warily, and saw that the colors in the crystals were smoky, seemingly filled with clouds that churned inside the facts of it. And facets there were, many of them covering the surface of the—honestly ugly—clothes. “Rarity, my dear, I’m… glad you came back to visit, and I’m happy to see you’ve made another suit, but… isn’t it a bit… ugly?” Sassy ventured, with a small, ingratiating smile. “Sassy, of course it’s ugly! It’s supposed to be ugly. Ponies don’t want the perfection of normal clothing like everypony else is wearing, the truly fashionable want to be seen in something that breaks the mold, that challenges the senses! Something that truly makes them think about why they’re wearing clothes in the first place!” “We wear clothing to feel good about putting something on. To stand out.” Rarity whirled on her. “Exactly! And when you put this suit of horrendous crystal clothing on, the pony that wears it will remind everypony and themselves that clothing isn’t made to serve any true function, but its function is to be a reminder that ugliness exists, and we must fight it!” It was a speech, but Sassy wasn’t convinced. That hint of something further behind Rarity’s eyes was still there, and in her wavering pupils Sassy could see that same madness that had haunted her before. It’s wasn’t normal. Rarity was up to something, and Sassy couldn’t figure it out. But she said nothing. She couldn’t say anything. She could only wait while Rarity did her thing and made and sold clothes. She couldn’t know what she could do other than destroy the suit, but then Rarity would just make a new one. She needed to understand. To fully get what Rarity was doing before she could intercede. Rarity sold this suit in a week after bringing it to the shop. Ponies saw it, ponies talked, and although the same pony came back to check up on what Rarity had made, he didn’t want a second one. He said it didn’t “sound” the same. That worried Sassy. That meant there was something to the sounds of the suit, like Rarity said. “The pony that did buy it was rich. He was no Fancy Pants, but he was rich, and he was a unicorn. He even wanted to try it on before he bought it. He went into a dressing room, removed his fine had and silken clothes and marched out wearing the yellow, cloudy crystal clothing. He moved stiffly, but he was so proud of it, like he had done something amazing. Ponies laughed, but when Rarity started espousing the virtues of the outfit to them like she had done to Sassy, they all listened. They nodded, and sales went up. It was a magic Sassy was familiar with. A magic specific to Rarity, it seemed. Sassy just sold clothes and watched as the pony left the shop, carrying a tuning fork and his old clothes in his magic, just as Rarity wanted. Rarity’s eyes glittered. Rarity returned to Ponyville the next day. She was gone for another month, and when she came back it was with another suit. Sassy had asked to be invited to watch, but Rarity hadn’t called upon her. She just marched in, bearing a sapphire suit of clothes that carried within them the chill of a winter’s morning. The clouds in these crystals reminded Sassy of the dark grey of a winter storm, tinged with blue. They were cool to the touch and the storms within wavered in the light. Specks of white even seemed to fall from them from her hoof tapping it, and Sassy watched, transfixed, as they seemed to fall from one crystal to the next, down, down, down the suit to the hooves, where they frustratingly didn’t collect in a pool at the bottom. “This… is amazing, Rarity! The color! The shapes, and the snow! How did you do it?” She stands up and storms over to Rarity. “How does the crystal cave make these? This one is amazing!” “You sing to it, Sassy. I told you. The song determines the make of it, but it is always built to house a unicorn. Each one needs a unicorn to properly function and bring the song out of it. That’s important.” “Why… is that important?” “Oh, Sassy. If you don’t know, I can’t explain it to you,” She adjusted the suit and flipped the closed sign to open. “You just have to wait until you can hear the song properly.” A crowd piled in, eagerly seeking out the dais in the center so they could gush about the new crystal suit. Cameras flashed, ponies squealed, and clothes disappeared off the racks. Several rich ponies came in asking to buy the suit, but Rarity declined them all. In the middle of the melee, Sassy couldn’t fathom why Rarity would deny them the suit since she had wanted so badly to see them gone from the store before, but she didn’t have a chance to ask until much later after the store was closed. “Why didn’t you sell the suit, Rarity. You wanted the others gone so soon, what’s different now?” “Now the song is almost complete. I can’t give this away to anypony. I’m waiting for a very specific pony to come and get it. It’s for him, and it wouldn’t do to let just any other pony have it, you know.” “I… surely don’t know.” “Oh, Sassy…” Rarity looked at her, disappointed. Sassy felt insulted but she wasn’t sure why. None of this was making any sense, but it was making her uncomfortable. She resolved to follow Rarity the next time. The suit sold the very next day. The stallion that Rarity apparently meant to have it came by and paid an outrageous sum for it. It left with him, along with a tuning fork. Rarity left immediately after without a word, leaving Sassy alone. This was her chance! She ignored the cleanup. It was something that could be done early in the morning before opening. She’d just have to arrive early. She slipped away from the shop and followed Rarity at a distance. She was following the same path as before, heading into the cave beneath Canterlot. When Sassy entered, she cast a silence spell on her hooves. The stones rang around her already, but each movement, and the clop of Rarity’s hooves further inside were amplified within. She heard everything, from the beating of her heart to the rushing of her blood, to the tiniest hum of the crystals. She arrived after Rarity, just in time to hear the beginnings of her hum and the ring of a tuning fork. The room Sassy found was far different than before. Instead of an empty cavern filled with crystals on all sides and a small raised section in the middle, what Sassy saw was a gaping hole that shivered and resonated with the ringing in her ears. A creature reached out, placing tiny crystal after tiny crystal into place as it built a suit of crystal clothing for Rarity. Rarity, for her part, sat where she had that first time, leaning back and forth as she hummed along with the ringing sound that filled Sassy’s ears. If she saw the beast, she made no indication. If she knew what she was doing to get her crystal clothing, she gave no sign. Sassy couldn’t stifle a gasp. Rarity turned to look and smirked at her, all while continuing her humming. The beast continued his assembly of the suit of crystal clothing, not making any indication it knew Sassy was there. Sassy just watched, stared, and eventually fell over, unconscious.