//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Suffering for Art // Story: Knight of Equestria - On Distant Shores // by SupraMacPringles //------------------------------// Matt stood outside the widely known Carousal Boutique, mind desperately thinking for an excuse to walk away. He had been standing there for roughly five minutes. A new type of fear was coursing through his veins as he hesitantly went to knock on the door. After eventually finding his way home yesterday, Matt looked forward to relaxing. After his technical roommate had, for some unknown reason, noticed that his clothes were a tad snug, she sent him to what he could only describe as his impending doom. He didn't particularly have anything against the dress-maker supreme who owned the boutique, but he did in fact fear her ability to talk for hours on end. His arm had stopped halfway to the door, almost as if giving him another chance to walk away. He let it drop back to his side. Maybe he could think of something if he gave it more time. Unfortunately the world seemed to be against him. He could hear voices from inside, getting ever closer to the door. "We haven't tried sky diving yet." "How would we even get that high up? None of us can fly." "Can you try to think of somethin' that won't put us in the hospital?" They sounded noticeably younger than anyone he knew and one of them had the same accent as Applejack. Judging from how loud they were getting, he took a few steps back to avoid the swing of the door. It opened seconds later, coming inches away from his face. On the other side were three very small and very confused ponies. One was an all white Unicorn with two-toned hair, another an orange Pegasus with purple hair, and the third an odd light-yellow Earth Pony with red hair, topped with a pink bow. He assumed that they were children despite knowing they looked nothing like foals from his world. The trio let out a unified "Whoa". The one with the bow spoke first. "What in the...?" "I dunno, but it looks awesome!" replied the orange Pegasus. "It looks kind of like a monkey." added the Unicorn. "Sweetie Belle!" said a stern sounding voice from inside the boutique. "Mind your manners!" The small Unicorn, whom he assumed was named Sweetie Belle, hung her head low as the familiar form of Rarity came into view. "I'm dreadfully sorry about that. Have you met my sister and her friends?" He easily put together that the two Unicorns were related after seeing them side by side. "I've... not had the pleasure." he said. The orange one put a hoof on her chest. "The name's Scootaloo." she said. "I'm Applebloom." said the one with the southern accent. The young unicorn perked up, hopping in place. "And I'm Sweetie Belle." "And we're..." began Scootaloo."The Cutie Mark Crusaders!" they shouted in unison at a near deafening level. After recovering from the small sonic disruption that was 'The Cutie Mark Crusaders', he hesitantly replied. "M-Matthew Nabal." "Oh, you're that hue-thingy my big sister was talkin' about." said Applebloom. That confirmed his assumption that she was related to Applejack. "Now now, girls, go about your business. I don't want you scaring away a customer." Surprisingly, the fillies did what they were told and scampered off. Rarity walked deeper into her store as Matt swallowed his fear and stepped inside. "So, what can Rarity do for you today?" she said, turning to face him. "Ah, yes, well..." He let out an undignified scream as he felt multiple sharp objects pierce his back. "Opal!" he heard Rarity shout as he turned his head to face his attacker. To his surprise, seemingly attached to his back was a fluffy white cat. The cat began to glow a blue-ish color before floating off of his back. It was dropped through a doorway as the door shut behind it. "I am so sorry about that. Are you alright?" she said. Considering he didn't feel anything trickling down his back, he assumed the cat hadn't broken skin. "Yeah. I should be fine." "Opal's never just attacked somepony before. Do you not like cats?" "I like them just fine. However..." "I understand. I'll just have to remember to keep her upstairs when you come by." That only begged the question of where 'Opal' was when he was there a few days earlier, but he thought it best to just do what he went there for. "Anyway, do you think you could resize these for me? Nothing major, just a tad... bigger." He was in his black pajamas he had arrived in nearly two weeks ago. Rarity had stitched him together another outfit, but it was just a bit too suffocating to be worn regularly. "Of course, dear. Why didn't you say something before?" "Oh... I, uh, didn't want be a bother." "It's no trouble. You'll have to forgive me; I'm not used to making anything in your shape." "Alright, then. I'll just... sit over here." he said, pointing to a chair near the door. She levitated a pair of red glasses onto her nose and moved the clothes over to a table with a sewing machine on it. They were falling apart, like she somehow began extracting the thread holding them together. She didn't seem to be in a talkative mood today, so Matt hoped things would go a bit faster. He was in the middle of 'Canter in The Sky' and wanted to get back to his relaxation. "So, how've you been, Matt?" she said, delicately starting her work. He sighed. He should've known better. "Pretty decent, all things considered. What about you?" "Oh, just fabulous. I'm preparing my winter line-up to be shipped to Canterlot soon." she said lazily. Aside from him now feeling genuinely bad about bothering her, he took notice that she didn't speak very enthusiastically. "You don't sound too happy about it." he said. She paused for a moment and looked toward the ceiling. "Well... it is an awful lot of work..." she went back to sewing as she continued."But even so, it is my passion, and I'd hate to disappoint all the ponies expecting my designs." He watched her flow from one piece of cloth to the next. The rhythmic sound of the sewing machine filled the now quiet room. Matt didn't want to pursue any conversation, preferring the serene near-silence as he watched her work. She moved fluidly, her years of experience being fairly evident. He had really begun to admire her dedication. A few minutes later and she was finished. "That should do it. Now, if you have any more problems, don't be afraid to stop by." she said, folding the newly re-stitched outfit and floating it over to him. "Thank you." She stopped for a moment, seemingly staring at his face. Before he could question it she spoke her reason. "Have you not been sleeping well, darling? You've got such heavy bags under your eyes..." she said, clearly concerned. "Oh, um... I've just been... reading late. Twilight introduced me to some books that I just can't put down." A bold-faced lie. He didn't need to worry such a busy person like Rarity with his problems. "Oh! That reminds me..." she grabbed a book next to some fabrics on a nearby shelf. "Would you mind taking this back for me? I borrowed it last week and haven't had the time to return it myself." "Of course. I'll be off, then." She cheerfully waved a hoof goodbye and he was on his way. This time, he made sure to remember his way back to the library so he would hopefully make it back without losing his way. He was unaware of the turquoise eyes that followed him every step, until he was out of sight, their owner cursing her cowardice. Back at the library, Spike was having a hard time finding a particular book. He checked where it should've been, before diving into the multiple piles of books around the library. Twilight was searching as well, growing more and more frustrated by the minute. Like most times when she needed guidance, she turned to books for an answer. Not being able to find the only book that could help bothered her. Immensely. Their search was interrupted when the door opened and Matt strolled in. He saw the chaotic state of the library and stopped in his tracks. "... What happened?" he said, obviously confused. "We've been looking for a book all day." said Spike. "And we can't find it anywhere!" Twilight exclaimed. "It's just... gone." she said, abandoning the search and sitting down, eyes cast to the floor. "It wouldn't happen to be this one, would it?" she heard Matt say. She looked up to him and saw the book he was holding in his right hand. Her eyes widened as she got up and trotted over, smiling all the way. "Yes! That's it!" she exclaimed, "Where did you find it?" "Rarity had it. She asked me to return it." Twilight could now faintly recall lending it to her friend last week. She was quite embarrassed that she couldn't remember something so simple, her face turning a light pink. "Oh... right..." The book in question had a dark red cover with golden lettering. She magically snatched it from his hand. "Thanks. Well, we better get this place cleaned up." she said, taking notice of how badly they had disorganized everything. Spike took notice, too. "Ugh, but we just tore it apart. It'll take the rest of the day to re-shelf all these books." he said. "Well then, we'd better get started." she said, dropping the newly retrieved book near her favorite reading spot. Spike let out a large sigh and got to work. Matt figured he should probably help out, too. By night fall, everything was back where it belonged except the small red book Twilight had set aside. She had to read it next chance she could, as there were a few burning questions she needed answered.