“So, what do y’all think Rarity’ll say about mah idea?” Applejack asked as she and Fluttershy trotted down the path to Carousel Boutique.
“Well, it’s not that I think it’s a bad idea, necessarily, not at all. In fact, dresses that are simpler and more durable sounds like something I might be interested in too,” Fluttershy replied. “It’s just…”
“Just what?” Applejack asked.
“I’m just not so sure about us making suggestions to Rarity about fashion. I mean, you remember what happened when we tried telling Rarity what to do for our Gala dresses, don’t you?” Fluttershy said.
“Don’t worry, Ah ain’t tryin’ to do anythin’ like that again. It’s just ever since Rarity had me judge that fashion show of hers Ah’ve been thinkin’ how a lot of those fashion designer-types don’t really seem to get regular ponyfolk like mahself. So, Ah figured Rarity might wanna try her hoof at designin’ fer ponies who’d want somethin’ more practical than fancy. Y’know, to expand her market and stuff.”
“I guess there wouldn’t really be anything wrong with that,” Fluttershy conceded as the pair reached Rarity’s boutique. Stepping inside, the pair found the boutique to be apparently empty, which wasn’t all that odd by itself. Rarity often set aside large blocks of time to either work on new designs or meet one on one with particularly special clients, and indeed voices could be heard coming from upstairs. “It sounds like Rarity’s already with somepony, maybe we should come back later,” Fluttershy said.
“Y’all might be right. Then again, Ah think Ah’ll just have a listen to see if its anypony we know. If Rarity’s got Twilight or Pinkie Pie up there then Ah doubt they’d mind if we poke our heads in too, but if it sounds like she’s got a customer in there then we won’t bother ‘em.”
Finding that she couldn’t think of a good argument against Applejack’s plan, Fluttershy followed her friend to the boutique’s upstairs, where Rarity kept her work/living space. As the pair climbed the stairs, however, the voices coming from Rarity’s bedroom grew increasingly louder and, more concerningly, it sounded as though Rarity was having a rather heated argument.
“I’ve told you before and I will say it once more; Absolutely not!” Rarity said.
“Look, I get why you’d be a little anxious about this, but I’m willing to offer you some serious bits here,” a rough, male voice replied. “We’re both business ponies here, it’d be a real shame if we couldn’t make an arrangement.”
“I don’t care how many bits you’re offering; I won’t be party to something like what you’re describing,” Rarity replied firmly. “My reputation is far more valuable to me than anything you could possibly offer.”
“You say that, but you and I both know your past isn’t nearly as squeaky clean as you like to make it out to be.”
“And what, precisely, do you mean by that?” Rarity asked, an unmistakable edge creeping into her voice.
“Full disclosure, I used to work with Eight Millimeter back in the day, and he told me all sorts of fun stories. Thanks to that, I happen to know how you got the bits to pay for this here dress shop of yours…”
“Get out!” Rarity snarled, the raw anger in her voice catching Applejack and Fluttershy off guard.
“Okay, I get it. Listen, I’m just gonna leave my business card here, and if you change your mind –”
“Get! Out!”
“Alright, alright, I’m leaving already.” Moments later a scruffy-looking stallion in a brown suit jacket hurried out of Rarity’s bedroom and rushed past Applejack and Fluttershy without a word. Once the stallion was out of sight, Applejack cautiously peered into Rarity’s room and saw her friend furiously tearing a business card into confetti.
“Of all the slimy, underhoofed reprobates to walk into my boutique,” Rarity fumed before firing a small beam of magic from her horn to incinerate the card fragments.
“Uh, Rarity, is this a bad time?” Applejack hesitantly asked, causing Rarity to nearly leap into the air in surprise.
“Applejack! What are you doing – how much of that did you overhear?” Rarity asked.
“Well, it sounded like y’all were turnin’ down some sort of business offer from a pony who sounded about as trustworthy as Flim and Flam,” Applejack replied.
“I see, well that’s more or less an accurate assessment,” Rarity said, visibly relaxing at Applejack’s response. “If anything that…stallion might be even less reputable than those swindlers.”
“That’s a might low bar to slither under, but Ah’ll take yer word fer it. There was one thing Ah didn’t quite understand, though. What was he talkin’ about when he said he knew how y’all got the bits to open yer store?” The moment the words left Applejack’s mouth Rarity tensed up once again.
“If you don’t mind, that’s not really a topic that I’d prefer to discuss. Let it suffice to say that, some years ago, I engaged in a few bits of work that I’m not altogether proud to be associated with, and that’s all that I intend to say on the subject. Now then, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”
*********
“- and after that we talked a bit about mah normal-pony clothes idea and that was pretty much it,” Applejack said as she finished relaying the odd encounter to the rest of her friends. “Rarity seemed to like mah idea well enough, but if Ah’m bein’ honest it kinda felt like she had somethin’ else on her mind the whole time.”
“Whatever it was, it probably had something to do with that stallion she was talking with,” Starlight concluded. “I have to admit, this whole situation has made me kind of curious, how did Rarity manage to open her boutique, anyway? It couldn’t have been cheap to get a place like that set up.”
“Beats me,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Rarity already had that place open by the time me and Fluttershy moved here from Cloudsdale.”
“And she had already had her grand opening a few months before I moved in with the Cakes,” Pinkie Pie added.
“Ah guess Ah’m the only one here who was actually livin’ here in Ponyville when Rarity opened her place up. Now, Ah wouldn’t say Rarity and Ah were all that close or nothin’ back then, but up until this mornin’ if y’all’d asked me how Rarity got the bits fer her store Ah’d have guessed honest hard work. Course, if that were the case then Ah doubt Rarity would’ve said she wasn’t proud of it. That mare may not be much fer getting’ her hooves dirty if she can avoid it, but she’s never been the type to look down on hard work neither.”
“Well, maybe it was something embarrassing, like doing magic shows at foal’s birthday parties,” Twilight suggested, earning herself a few stares from her friends.
“That’s an awfully specific guess, Twilight,” Starlight said, causing Twilight to look uncomfortable and shrink back into her seat.
“When I was still living in Canterlot I found a book dealer who had a first edition copy of Starswirl’s Treatise on the Three Tribes and I may have done a few parties as ‘Sparkles the Magic Clown’ to get the bits to afford it. Trixie is to never hear a word of that, by the way,” Twilight added firmly as Rainbow Dash fell out of her chair laughing.
“What’s so bad about that? Birthday clowning is a noble profession and I’m proud to have a friend who was a part of it,” Pinkie Pie said.
“Ah think we might be gettin’ a mite off topic here,” Applejack added. “And besides, the feelin’ Ah got was that whatever it was Rarity did went a bit beyond embarrassin’. Ah mean, y’all should have heard the way Rarity blew up when that stallion brought whatever it was up. She sounded about ready to buck his durn skull in.”
“Also, I’m pretty sure you’d have a hard time making enough bits to open a store like Carousel Boutique by performing at birthday parties,” Starlight added.
“I dunno, depends by what you mean by performing,” Rainbow Dash said with a snicker.
“What do you mean by that?” Pinkie Pie asked
“Ah bet Ah can guess, and Ah’m gonna put a lid on that line of talk right now. Seriously, RD, can’t y’all keep yer mind out of the gutter fer once when we have a talk like this?” Applejack said.
“Hey, you’ve at least gotta admit that doing something like that would explain how Rarity got the bits and why she doesn’t want to talk about it,” Rainbow Dash retorted.
“Okay, so I’m still a little confused, what exactly is Rainbow Dash suggesting?” Starlight asked.
“I’m saying maybe Rarity was shaking her rump for stallions at private parties,” Rainbow Dash said, causing Applejack to bury her face in her hooves. “Or maybe Rarity was going even further, like she was a high-class escort or something. Or porn, maybe she did a porno and that’s how she got the money –”
“Oh for Celestia’s sake!” Twilight cried out. “Rainbow Dash, do you honestly think that Rarity, or all ponies, would have actually allowed herself to be filmed in a porn, of all things?”
“Okay, maybe it is a little farfetched –”
“A little?” The rest of Rainbow Dash’s friends called out in unison, minus Fluttershy who was too busy trying to disappear behind her own mane to comment.
“But you have to admit it does fit weirdly well. That could have paid Rarity a ton of bits and would definitely be something Rarity wouldn’t want to talk about in a million years,” Rainbow Dash said defensively.
Applejack let out a sigh of exasperation. “Alright, fine, Ah’ll give y’all that. Rarity havin’ done some ruttin’ on camera would explain the way she was actin’. But, y’all have to admit that that would be about as likely an explanation as her havin’ gotten the bits workin’ with Doctor Caba-what’s-his-name sellin’ stolen artifacts or somethin’.”
“I guess you’re right, and honestly Rarity having a secret past as one of Doctor Caballeron’s allies sounds way cooler that my porn idea,” Rainbow Dash conceded.
“Well, now that that’s settled maybe we should just drop the subject entirely for the time being,” Twilight said. “Whatever Rarity went through in order to open her store, there’s no way it could have something that ridiculous.”