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// Dream #7: Pistachio 
// Story: 11 Short Dreams About Equestria 
// by FanficReader920 
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He's never seen so many ponies at once in his life.

Bridleway always seemed like a far off fantasy, especially to someone growing up on Sweet Acorn Orchard. Yet, through some twist of fate so hard that it must have been a pretzel at this point, Pistachio found himself not only smack dab in the middle of Bridleway, but there with his biggest inspiration, Rarity.

Speaking of Rarity, he’d better make sure to not lose her in this crowd.

She hadn't been lying when she said she'd take him to fashion week, and while there was little reason to doubt a pony with a mile-long positive reputation such as her, saying something and actually doing it were two vastly different things.

The duo were making their way to Rarity For You. The veteran fashion designer had offered to put her protégé up for the week, as the shop was not only her place of business, but the third floor of the building served as her residence while she was in Manehattan. Once they entered the boutique, now separated from the rest of the Manehattan population since the store was closed at the moment, Pistachio was unable to hold in his excitement any longer.

"I still can't believe I'm actually here!" he exclaimed.

"I don't blame you," Rarity replied, looking nostalgic. "I remember when I first opened this place, I had the exact same feeling."

As the two made their way upstairs to the residential floor of the building, Pistachio decided he had to take the opportunity of having a private moment with Rarity to pick her brain a little.

However, before he had the chance to ask anything, Rarity had opened the door that led into her residence, and it was exactly like the colt had pictured it. There was a small, cozy kitchen, a hallway that likely led to separate rooms in the apartment, and an entertainment area by a set of two windows that included... a fainting couch.

Sure, there were other normal seating arrangements surrounding it that matched its light reddish color, as well as a dark brown coffee table, but the colt really stopped paying attention to everything else after he saw the fainting couch.

"Do you mind if I...?" Pistachio started to ask.

Rarity seemingly read his mind. "Go right ahead."

Pistachio carefully placed his luggage between the back of the couch and a chair that served as a portion of the dining area of the apartment. Out of the corner of his eye, the colt noticed it wasn't that big of a table, with wood legs painted white and a finely varnished wooden top that preserved the natural grain. However, he had other things on his mind.

The aspiring fashion designer took a step back to brace himself and threw himself onto the fainting couch, letting out a dramatic sigh for good measure. Rarity couldn't help but giggle at the display.

However, the sign of acknowledgement from his fashion idol returned him to the thought he had had a few seconds prior.

"Hey, Rarity?"

"Yes, darling?"

"What was it like getting into the industry?"

That made the white unicorn pause for a second. "Well, that's a bit of a long story, darling."

"Fashion Week doesn't start until tomorrow," Pistachio goaded, pulling off his blue stetson hat and holding it to his chest. "Besides, I'd really like the chance to get to know you. You've always been this larger-than-life figure. I figured I might get the chance to just see you one day, but to meet you and then be here, I don't want to waste it.”

Rarity gave a nostalgic sigh before going to the kitchen and magically grabbing two white tea cups. "What tea do you like, darling?"

"I've never had tea before."

"Earl Grey it is, then."

With tea cups in hand, Rarity and Pastichio set themselves up in the entertainment area of the apartment, the unicorn sitting on the fainting couch with the earth pony sitting on the loveseat across from it.

"So, you want to know about my rise in the fashion world, yes?"

"Yes, please."

"See, I don't know if it'd be best to tell you," the veteran fashionista admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"There is no ‘one size fits all,’ in life and in this industry," she explained. "I'm sure you know that I was first discovered by Hoity Toity."

Pistachio nodded in confirmation.

"And that's just it," Rarity said. "It all depends about the connections and friends you make along the way. You have to forge your own path, and not try to copy those that have come before you."

"If that's the case, then why bring me here?" the colt asked, taking a sip of his tea.

"Well, like I said, if Hoity Toity hadn't come to Ponyville, I wouldn't be where I am now," the unicorn explained. "Before that, I was just like you, an average pony with a dream. When I met you, I saw a younger me, and if there was one thing I wish I had had when I was at your age, it would've been having somepony in the industry stumbling upon me, and encouraging my passion. I brought you here so that you can see the work of my associates, and possibly meet them. Perhaps one day, they'll end up being your Hoity Toity."

"Are you saying that you're not my Hoity Toity?"

"Darling, I'd love to be, but we're not at that point in time yet. Now that we're alone, there is something I have to confess. I told a bit of a half-truth to your parents when I said you had a future in fashion," Rarity admitted.

That caught Pistachio off-guard.

"You're only a quarter of the way there, darling. You have the passion, and I admire that, but you've yet to begin creating your own material yet. Until you can begin doing that and your Hoity Toity finds you, that's when you really have a future."

Then, the colt's mental gears began churning.

"You mean..."

"I'm just trying to give you more of a chance, yes," Rarity confirmed. "The more veteran designers know you and the more inspiration you have, the better the chance you have at one day making it here."

"It's all about networking, isn't it?"

"It's important, that's for sure."

The aspiring fashion designer gave his idol a smile. "Thank you, Rarity."

"Any time, darling."

Many moons had passed since that fateful fashion week, and in that time, Rarity had risen to the highest heights in the fashion world. Some would dare call her a fashion queen, but there were rumblings among insiders about a new face making a name for himself: Pistachio.

Many joked that he was born to be Rarity's successor. The two had very similar humble upbringings: Rarity coming from small-town Ponyville and Pistachio coming from Sweet Acorn Orchard. However, what really sealed it was his rise in the industry.

Many fashion icons say they first remember Pistachio as a young colt at Manehattan's Fashion Week many years before, but it wouldn't be until much later that he had begun making a name for himself.

He had taken a style that Rarity had introduced and brought it to its logical next step. It was really a matter of time before the veteran and the rising star joined forces. Fashion Week had arrived once again, and Rarity and Pistachio were rumored to be unveiling their newest pieces together.

Meanwhile, in the third floor of Rarity For You, two ponies were once again having a conversation over tea.

"I still think you were being too generous about you not being my Hoity Toity," Pistachio chucked. He had never given up the hat that he would always say changed his life forever. However, he had added a light yellow scarf to his signature look.

Nothing too much had changed for Rarity, just a few wrinkles here and there, but despite that, she had aged gracefully.

"I didn't want you getting too sure of yourself," Rarity responded. "Yet, I do remember keeping a close eye on you to make sure I could get you a job at one of my boutiques before anyone else could."

"Working for you while attending Princess Twilight's School of Friendship was an excellent experience, though," Pistachio said. "So, would you say I have a future now?"

"You did the moment you stepped into this apartment all those years ago."

"How many times have I thanked you for that again?" the rising fashionista asked.

"Too many."

"Well, make that too many and one," the stallion responded. "Thank you, Rarity, for everything."

"It was my privilege, darling."



If helping Mane Allgood made Luna think about being a parent, this one made Luna think of taking a page out of her sister's book and taking on a student. Twilight and Cadence seemed to be her sister's pride and joy these days, so perhaps a student of her own might bring her similar feelings.

Oh well, best save mulling that over for later.

The Princess of the Night magically grabbed a hold of a sphere to her immediate right, expanded it into a rectangular shape that allowed her entry, and made her way to the next dream.