Arcanica let out a heavy groan as she nursed a mounting headache. Blossomforth looked over to her boss from where she was setting out a line of new mystery novels. “Something wrong, Miss Hoofcraft? You’re not getting another one of your creative genius headaches again… are you?” She nervously walked over to the unicorn. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s fascinating to see how you get inspiration, just a little…”
“Terrifying, I know.” She rubbed her forehead and slumped against the sales counter. “And it’s not a creative headache. It’s an annoyance one.” She gestured to a beaten-up cardboard box by the door to the back stairs. “I was looking at the dress I was going to wear to the Grand Galloping Gala last night and found out it was a victim of that Parasprite infestation a while back.”
Blossomforth snorted at that. “Come on, if it was in your closet, it couldn’t have been that bad, right?” The unicorn rolled her eyes before levitating it out of the box. It wasn’t an elaborate piece, being a rather simple black gown with a ruffled skirt that would have ended about halfway down her hind legs. The part that would have adorned her barrel was primarily a uniform black with the exception of two strings of white rosettes that wrapped around her forelegs.
At least, that’s what it used to look like. The skirt was now filled with large holes that looked more akin to burn damage than bite marks and half the rosettes were gnawed off or reduced to a clump of strings and cloth. The pegasus inhaled sharply as she saw the damage done to the gown. “Okay, yeah. It is that bad.”
“Exactly. This dress was not cheap when I bought it in Manehatten, and I’m certain it’ll cost quite the hefty sum for Rarity to restore it.” She sighed as she dropped it back in the box and rubbed her eyes. “I’m not even sure if she can restore it, her talents notwithstanding.”
“Well, if she’s your friend, I’m positive she’d be happy to fix it for you!” The white pegasus put a reassuring hoof on her boss’s shoulder. “Isn’t she the Element of Generosity or something like that? I’m certain that she’d happily do anything like that for a friend.”
The unicorn nodded as she thought it over. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right, Blossomforth.” She smiled at her employee and gave her another nod. “I’ll pay her a visit when we close for lunch.”
“Why wait?” asked the pegasus. “You hired me to help cover for you if something comes up, right?” She walked over to the door and opened it. “Just go now. I’ll cover until you get back from Carousel Boutique.”
“Are you sure?” She was a little cautious about this. Blossomforth was right, she did hire her so she could have coverage for when something came up with her friends. At the same time, however, this was the first time she was actually leaving Blossomforth on her own. “I can just wait until lunch.”
“I’ll be fine, Miss Hoofcraft. It’s a slower day than usual, and I know I can handle this.”
“Well, alright.” Grabbing the box, she made her way to the door. “If you say so, Blossomforth.”
“You can trust me, Miss Hoofcraft!” Called the pegasus once she was well on her way.
“My word, Darling, what did you do to this poor dress?!” Arcanica chuckled nervously as her tailor friend looked the garment over in terror. “It looks as though something ate this poor garment.”
“That’s not very far off from what happened,” she told the white unicorn. “I guess a Parasprite or two got to it a couple weeks ago, and well… You can see what happened from there.” She cleared her throat to get the white unicorn’s attention. “Well? Can you salvage it?”
She bit her lip nervously as she looked it over and checked the fabric. “Well, I suppose I can. It’ll take some degree of work to match the fabric in the skirt, and these florets will have to be completely replaced instead of mended. Oh, that’s not to mention any amount of resizing and adjustments to make it fit properly.” As she analyzed the dress, she had a notepad out and was frantically jotting down any related information, be it about the dress or from her personal monologue. “By what time and for what event will you need this, darling.”
“Oh, I’m not in a rush,” she assured the white unicorn. “I just need it before the Grand Galloping Gala.”
“You’re going to the Gala?!” she screamed in shock, startling the red author. “Darling, why didn’t you say so sooner?”
“Um, you never asked?” She took a step back so Rarity wasn’t in her face. “I was invited months ago, but I wasn’t even planning on going until rather recently since it would have revealed my identity to Equestria.”
“Oh Arcanica, darling, I can’t let you wear this to something like the Grand Galloping Gala!” She placed the dress back in its box before grabbing a measuring tape. “I’m already making everypony in our little group a dress for the Gala. I’d be happy to make one for you if you’re going as well, my treat! I promise you, it will be something so marvelous it’ll outshine anything you could buy from Canterlot’s elite designers.”
She pawed the floor nervously as Rarity began taking measurements at different points along her barrel. “Are you sure, Rarity? I mean, if you’re making one for all of us, that means you’ll be making seven dresses. And if we aren’t paying you…”
“Oh perish the thought!” She was quickly jotting down the lengths and circumference of her legs and making a couple of quick sketches. “I’m not the Element of Generosity for nothing, after all. Trust me, I will make you gorgeous!”
Aranica sighed as she realized she wouldn’t be able to convince her friend otherwise. “Alright, Rarity. I’ll trust you on this. Just, don’t go too overboard, alright? I’d hate to get something that could drive you out of business.”
“That’s it, keep them closed.” The six friends were following Rarity’s voice as she led them into her studio. “Don’t look!” The other members of the group managed to line themselves up and face the direction Rarity turned them all in. “Okay, you can look now!” They all opened their eyes and gasped at the six dresses Rarity had on display for them all. “These are your new outfits!”
“What do you think of your ‘old duds’ now, Applejack? Pretty swanky, are they not?” The outfit in question looked like a refined Princess version of how ponies who lived on the range were often depicted. She let out a small giggle at her own sense of accomplishment. “Oh, and Twilight, I made this one for you!” Twilight’s was a royal blue gown adorned with stars and a saddle of baby blue. “I designed each outfit to be themed to perfectly for each pony’s unique personality.”
She continued to a dress with a long flowing rainbow skirt and cloud ornamentation. “Oh, it took me forever to get the colors right on this one, Rainbow Dash, but I did it and it turned out beautiful, don’t you think?”
She gestured to the gown that was adorned in flowers and flowing vines of green fabric. “And I just know you’re going to love yours, Fluttershy! It just sings, ‘Spring!’”
The next dress was very dark in coloration. The skirt was a refined charcoal grey, with a red frill along the hem to resemble a petticoat. The waist was adorned with white ruffled fabric. The barrel of the mannequin was covered with a passionate scarlet bodice decorated with black ribbons that tied the back of the gown together and ended with an elegant black bow. A set of black shoes adorned the hooves of the fill-in, and the head was showing off a small black tiara styled to resemble webs.
“Arcanica, I know roughly how you style your literature, so I worked hard to make your gown just as gothic and stylized as any of your pieces. Quite fitting for the ‘Maiden of Gothic Fiction’ as the press calls you!”
“And Pinkie Pie, look! Pink! You’re favorite!” She stood before all six dresses. “Aren’t they all amazing?”
The six stood there silently, staring at their dresses in shock. At least, that’s why Arcanica was staring. It was certainly much more different than the dress she had originally asked Rarity to fix for her.
“Wow, Rarity,” started Twilight. “They’re…”
“Yeah, they’re…” Rainbow tried picking up where Twilight started.
“They sure are uh… sumthin’.”
“Yes!” exclaimed Twilight. “They certainly are.”
“I love something!” chimed Pinkie. “Something is my favorite!”
Fluttershy made a couple noises, almost expecting the red unicorn to chime in. When she didn’t, Fluttershy just sighed. Arcanica was still in awe of the dress Rarity had designed for her.
“Well what’s the matter, don’t you like them?” Arcanica almost winced at the hurt look on her friend’s face. Based on the disheveled look of her mane, she probably worked all night on the six dresses.
“They’re very nice,” Twilight said rather cautiously.
“And we’re plum grateful you worked so hard on them.”
“Mine’s just not as cool as I was expecting,” complained Rainbow Dash. Getting glares from Twilight and Applejack, she rolled her eyes. “Well she asked.”
“I guess what we’re saying is… they’re just not what we had in mind.” The other four elements all voiced their agreement with Twilight while Arcanica walked over to her dress to look it over. As a writer, she knew the devil was often in the details, and wanted to see if there was any minor imperfection before making any form of judgement; besides trying it on, of course.
“Okay, plenty more where that came from,” Rarity acquiesced. “They’re only a first task, you’re my friends, and I want you to be a hundred and ten percent satisfied. Not to worry, I’ll redo them!”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I want to try mine on first. See how it looks.” The others looked at Arcanica as she gently felt the texture and weight of the skirt on her dress.
“Truly?” Rarity sounded very hopeful at the red unicorn’s decision, most likely hoping she didn’t have to redo at least one entire dress.
“Yeah. I trust you to at least know what kind of clothes will look good on me as a friend.” She watched as Rarity cheerfully removed the gown from the mannequin for her and gently handed it over. “It’s sort of like judging a book. Looking at the cover and skimming is one thing, but actually reading it can speak the truth about it.” Keeping the dress aloft, she followed Rarity’s directions to a room she could change in.
Once in what she assumed was her friend’s bedroom, she began slowly dressing herself, being grateful that she had magic for fastening the ribbon on her back. It was as she fastened it that she realized the bodice of the dress was meant to imitate the corsets from the classical era. It was somewhat tight around her barrel, but that was to be expected with a corset. Once she made sure the skirt and the white frills were laying straight, she stepped into the provided shoes and tried fitting the tiara onto her head.
“Um, Rarity?” she asked through the door.
“Yes, Darling?” came the reply. She opened the door a crack. “Can I come in?” Getting the affirmative from the other unicorn, Rarity entered the room and immediately froze to stare at Arcanica in her dress.
“I am wearing this properly, right?”
She quickly shook her head before moving towards her. “Yes, you are. Of course, the ribbon back here is meant to be tied a little more loosely so the bow lays properly.” Arcanica felt the dress loosen up on her barrel. “Hold your breath, but don’t puff up,” Rarity said gently as she fixed the ribbon and tied it properly. “And there we are!”
Arcanica walked over the full-length mirror Rarity kept in her room. She had been skeptical at first but had to admit Rarity had fulfilled on her promise. “Wow, Rarity. I look incredible.”
“Well of course you do, Arcanica. I worked tirelessly to ensure your dress fit you perfectly.” Using her magic, she shifted the bodice of the dress and fluffed the skirt. “Both literally, and metaphorically.” She stared at Arcanica for a moment before grabbing a brush and a curling iron and quickly fussing with Arcanica’s mane. After a couple minutes of work, she had turned the waves in her friend’s mane into proper curls.
“There we are! Well, as good as we’ll get without any form of cosmetics, that is.” She took a step back before nodding with a proud smile. “Perfect! I certainly decided right on this count.”
Arcanica smiled as she looked at her reflection from a couple different angles. “Yeah. It’s great Rarity.” And it was. The brighter red contrasted nicely with the darker tone of her coat and the darker grey gave the overall dress a much more refined look than the usual blacks she went with. Then the extra splashes of color on the hem and waist helped to break up the dress. If she were to be honest, she looked almost like a vampire in the gown and it fit.
“Shall we show the others?” Rarity opened the door and let her out first, although Arcanica felt it was so she could make sure the dress fit properly as she walked around in it. The others were all amazed when they saw the final product and Arcanica awkwardly struck a pose for them.
“Wowie, Arcanica! You look so…” Pinkie trailed off trying to think of a proper adjective.
“Regal?” supplied Twilight.
“Sure!”
“Um, not ta sound rude, Arcanica, but are ya sure that dress is… you?”
She looked at the orange pony with an eye raised. “What do you mean, Applejack?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “You’re not exactly the most sociable of ponies. I mean, you spent how many years lying about your identity to everypony?” She waved a hoof at the gown. “And yet now you’re wearing something that looks so…”
“So… what, exactly?” She gently took the tiara out of her mane and stepped out of the shoes while Rarity was gently undoing the ribbons going down her back. “If you have something to say, Rainbow, you can say it.”
“Oh well, it’s um… a little too…” Fluttershy blushed as she hid her face behind her mane. “You know, just a little too…”
“Alluring? Seductive?” provided the red unicorn. When the yellow pegasus bashfully nodded, she rolled her eyes. “Look, I know absolutely nothing about fashion or designing dresses. So rather than nitpick if I don’t like something based on my personal views, I’m going to trust Rarity on this one since she’s the expert here.”
The unicorn was practically glowing at her friend’s statements. “And what an excellent decision that was, if I do say so myself.”
Arcanica placed an affectionate hoof on the seamstress’s shoulder. “And I’m grateful for your call on that. But at any rate, isn’t a large part of friendship putting your trust in your friends to know what’s best?”
“But, the dresses are just-”
“Designed by Rarity to fit each of us by her own hooves to make us look as excellent as possible,” cut in the author. “I’d give have a little faith in her work and see for yourselves before passing any judgement on the dresses.” Her magenta eyes were hard as she gave them all as flat a stare as possible. “Like I said earlier, it’s like judging a book by its cover.”
Twilight shrank back in embarrassment as she remembered the friendship lesson where that had been the defining value. “Well, I suppose there’s no harm in at least trying it on before I voice any complaints.” The others all hesitantly agreed with her and began to cautiously take their dresses off their displays and taking them out of the room to try them on.
“Oh, Arcanica I can’t thank you enough for that!” The white unicorn wrapped her forelegs around her friend’s neck and gave her a powerful hug. “I was so terrified I would have to redesign all of those dresses from scrap and lose my original works. Oh, not to mention all of the materials I would have had to go through!”
She let out a small laugh before patting her friend on the head. “No problem, Rarity. I just find it interesting how they weren’t going to trust you with something you’re an expert with.”
“Well, for somepony new to friendship, you’ve certainly gotten that part down pat.” The white unicorn released her friend and put a hoof over her heart. “I’m most grateful for everything you did today, as minor as you may think it is.”
“Hey, Rarity, can you come here, please?”
“Coming, Twilight!” The fashionista went charging out of the room, a large smile on her face at helping her friends with their dresses.
“Alright ladies, everypony ready? Anypony’s dress not sitting properly?” Rarity, dressed as regal as any princess, was doing the fifth round of last-minute checks on her friends’ dresses. Arcanica nervously danced back and forth on her hooves as Rarity checked everything was right with Fluttershy’s gown.
Against all logic, Hoity Toity was visiting Ponyville to check out whether Rarity’s designing skills were up to par with what they offered in Canterlot. This was on top of a fashion show for their gowns that Rarity had conveniently neglected to mention she was holding once she was done with the dresses. “Arcanica, are you alright?” Rarity’s sapphire blue eyes were staring at her in concern.
She gulped to calm her nerves before nodding. “Yeah, I guess. Just a little nervous is all.” She started pacing and breathing deeply. “I get stage fright every so often, and knowing I’ll be modeling my dress for everypony is a little nerve wracking.”
“Oh it’s perfectly fine to be nervous, Darling.” She wrapped her foreleg behind Arcanica’s neck to reassure her that it would be fine. “Just remember that it’s nothing major, you’re just wearing a dress for anypony who bothered to show. No pressure.”
“Hey girls!” called Spike as he walked through the curtain. “You wouldn’t believe the crowd out there! It looks like all of Ponyville showed up out there!”
“All of Ponyville?”
“Alright, everypony, it’s SHOW TIME!” Rarity walked away from her scared friend as she began getting everypony ready for the big debut.
The things I do for friends… she thought nervously as she followed Rarity’s directions. Admittedly, the show went off without a hitch. Her nerves were completely fried as she walked down the runway, but seeing how much everypony loved the dresses Rarity had made was certainly worth it.
“Wow, Miss Hoofcraft! You looked amazing out there!” Arcanica let out a quick yelp at the sudden cheer backstage. Turning around, she saw her assistant standing there with a huge smile on her face. “Rarity sure outdid herself this time around, huh?”
“Well of course I did, Blossomforth.” The designer had her head held high and a radiant smile on her face, the dress rack being dragged behind her with the other six dresses. “Arcanica, if you would kindly place your dress on the rack?” Nodding, Arcanica carefully levitated the dress onto the empty wireframe sitting on the end of the rack. “Thank you. You can go now, Darling.”
When Arcanica went to leave, she found herself in a bone crushing hug from the unicorn. “Thank you again, for getting the others to put their trust in me.”
Arcanica returned the hug with a warm smile. “No problem, Rarity. Happy to help.”
The walk towards Untold Tales was a quiet one, as Blossomforth was simply keeping her boss company before she flew back to her own house. “You know, you seem more open with others these days.” At the confused look, the white pegasus decided to clarify. “Like, back when you called yourself Page Turner, you spent as little time socializing with anypony as possible. Unless it was a Pinkie Party, I never saw you at any events for that long. But ever since you revealed that you were A.T. Hoofcraft…”
“I’ve been much more outgoing?” she asked with a smirk. “Well, your seeming stalking of me aside…”
“Hey!”
“I suppose you have a point. Part of it has to do with no longer hiding a huge secret, but I would say the larger part was having actual friends since I’ve revealed myself.” She looked up at the stars and the shining moon. “Twilight and the others were so welcoming and reassuring when I told them, and they actively try making me feel like I’m part of the group.” She chuckled and shrugged as they reached the store. “I guess it’s only normal for me to try to return the favor.”
“Yeah, I guess it is.” The pegasus sent her a smile before spreading her wings. “Well, see you tomorrow, Miss Hoofcraft.”
“Arcanica.”
“Huh?”
She smiled as she opened the door. “You’re off the clock, Blossomforth. You can call me Arcanica when we’re outside work.” Seeing the elated and overjoyed look on her face, Arcanica rolled her eyes. “Good night, Blossomforth.”
“Good night… Arcanica.”