A small chime rang out as the door to the Carousel Boutique opened and slammed shut. A white unicorn mare with a purple mane shook the snow from her head and winter coat as she hung it on a nearby rack. She set her bags down and breathed an aggravated sigh, her trip back to Ponyville took far, far too long for her liking and the chill in the air made her trek into quite the slog. She flicked and dimmed the lights on and unzipped a pocket of her luggage and pulled out a newspaper, her glare was so intense she threatened to burn it to ashes. She twisted it in her magic to the point it started to rip, she threw it to the ground in a loud huff and after a quick stomp, stormed off to the kitchen. She put her kettle on the stove and patiently waited for the water to come to near boil before taking it off the fire and pouring the water into a mug, the string from her tea bag draped over the side like a lazy foreleg on the rim of a tub.
A few minutes of steeping later and the tea was ready. The mare removed the bag and gazed at the tag, she usually enjoyed reading the inspirational words and proverbs written on the small scrap of paper. “Life will surprise you with a stroke of fortune?” the mare read aloud before tossing the tea bag into the garbage. “What poppycock!” she grumbled as she sipped her tea. She inspected the box. It was her favorite brand of chamomile, she always had it on hoof when she felt overwhelmed and needed something to clear her head, after all, the box promoted itself as ‘the perfect blend for peace and calm.’ It did very little to calm the mare. Just then there was a knock at the door. She debated on whether or not to answer it, she just wanted to be alone with her tea and self-pity.
Another knock rang out and at this point curiosity won out and she set her cup down and trotted to the door. On the other side was a purple dragon. He was taller than the mare by about a foot or two, he had green spikes hidden under his wool knit cap and more spikes running down his back, between a pair of robust wings, all the way to the end of his tail and a pair of strong arms which held a brown paper package. If this were any other day, the mare would be overjoyed to see him, ecstatic even. She enjoyed his company more than any other and always looked forward to their next meeting with a flutter of anticipation. But tonight was different. Tonight the mare was in no mood to deal with anypony, no matter how much of a dear and precious friend they were and his smile that would normally brighten even her cloudiest day now annoyed her to no end.
“Heya Rarity!” He said in a cheery voice. “I heard you just got back to town!”
“Yes, I did Spike,” Rarity replied flatly. “That’s why I answered the door.”
Spike gave a nervous chuckle, “Ehehehe, right. Obviously, that’s why, duh! Um, think I can come inside? It’s kinda chilly out here.”
Rarity stepped to the side and gestured for him to enter. Spike smiled and brushed off any excess snow from his hat, scarf and body before entering the boutique Rarity called home and closed the door. Rarity trotted over to her luggage and started to unpack as Spike followed behind her, fidgeting with the package he held in his claws.
“Hoo boy, it got cold pretty darn fast huh? I mean, we just got our first snow of the season and it’s already freezing outside.”
Rarity didn’t respond and continued to unpack a number of dresses and hung them on a rack. Spike coughed awkwardly as he took the full brunt of Rarity’s cold shoulder.
“Um… so how was the fashion show?”
“I do not wish to speak of it!” Rarity said sharply.
“Wha-? But, you were so excited about it? What happened?” he asked.
Rarity turned away from her task and gave Spike a paralyzing glare. “You want to know what happened?!” Rarity levitated the newspaper to her and began tearing through the pages until she came to the ‘fashion’ section and shoved it into Spike’s face. “This! Is what happened!”
Spike took the paper in his claws and read aloud, “Falling from grace? Powerhouse and trail blazing designer Rarity’s new winter line premiered this week in Manehattan and panned by judges and audiences alike for her lackluster display and creatively dry garments? Rarity, what is this?”
Rarity snatched the paper from Spike and in a matter of seconds was turned into monochromatic confetti. “Isn’t it obvious!? This was the review for my new line in Manehattan! I wanted to astound and amaze everypony with my latest contribution to fashion; instead I was raked across the coals and humiliated in front of hundreds if not thousands! I dare say that I can’t show my face in that city for moons! It was by far, the worst! Possible! Thing!”
Spike placed a comforting claw on Rarity’s shoulder. “Hey, hey, it’s alright,” he said in a calm tone, trying his best to appease the distressed mare. “you did the best you could, you just wanted to try something bold and new. There’ll be other shows in the future, you’ll be sure to knock everypony off their hooves next time.”
Rarity brushed Spike’s claw off and scoffed, “My best!? My best doesn’t leave me feeling like a complete amateur! My best is leaving a mark on the world of fashion and striking everypony in attendance dumb with awe! My best isn’t whatever these disgraceful dresses are!”
“Woah Rarity, calm down!” Spike said in growing concern. “You’re being way too hard on yourself. You can’t expect to make a splash at every show you attend.”
“How can you say that? You of all creatures ought to know just how important it is to make a good impression; you’ve worked with me for a long time Spike and you’re telling me that leaving the competition speechless isn’t imperative to my success!?”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant! All I’m saying it that just because the ponies at this fashion show didn’t like your line, doesn’t mean you can’t knock ‘em dead next time. Plus if it makes you feel better, I think your winter line is really great.”
“Rarity rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, Spike! I know you do. You told me every day we worked on the dresses, every day we weren’t working on the dresses and all throughout…” Just then, Rarity’s jumbled and tempered mind came to a realization. An awful realization, but with the amount of stress she was under, she had no control of blurting it out. “This is all your fault!”
“W-what?”
“Yes! It all makes sense now! You set me up for failure! Always saying things like ‘oh Rarity I think this dress will be your best yet,' 'yes Rarity, the purple velvet does look good,’ ‘no Rarity, I think this looks perfect just the way it is!’ if you were just honest with me and said that my dresses were ugly, abhorrent and blasé, you could’ve saved me a lot of mortification!”
Spike shook his head. “Rarity, I… I didn’t want you to fail! I said those things because I meant them; I really do believe these are some of your best outfits yet! Honest!”
“And it’s that simple mindedness that made me the laughing stock of the Manehattan fashion show! These dresses are completely worthless and it’s all because of you!”
Rarity’s magic yanked all the dresses she hung on the racks and flung them at Spike, knocking him over and burying him under fabric. Rarity’s breathing became deeper and even as her mask of anger broke when she realized what she had done to her favorite dragon.
“Spike, I- I didn’t…”
Spike pulled a dress off his head and Rarity couldn’t look away from his sad and heartbroken face. He turned away and quietly picked himself and the package he was carrying up and dragged his claws to the door. Rarity wanted to stop him, wanted to keep him here and apologize for her outburst, but as Spike exited the shop Rarity could only stand and watch as her heart fell to pieces. She wiped a few stray tears from her eyes and locked the door before turning her attention back to the dresses lying strewn across the boutique floor. She picked up a few garments with her magic and set about to set them back on the rack.
Just then, the bell over her door chimed and in the dim light stood a strange creature. She (at least Rarity could only assume as much from the lighting) stood tall on a pair of bird like legs, her hair had curls of pink, purple and yellow with peacock feathers on the back of her head that matched the feathers of her skirt that trailed behind her. Her neck and face were pink and had a yellow beak and a large puff of yellow fur on her chest. Purple feathers adorned her shoulders, but whether the feathers were a part of her or the purple blouse that hugged the creature’s torso was a mystery. But what stood out the most to Rarity were the pair of ram horns on the side of her head, the leathery bat wings on her back and her arms were fleshy and tan with a pair of silver bangles on each wrist and… what Rarity remembers Twilight calling these things “hands” at some point. Never before has Rarity seen a more puzzling individual since Discord.
While confused by the creature’s appearance, Rarity thought better than to act on her instincts and stay professional. “I’m sorry, but the shop’s closed now ma'am. I could’ve sworn I locked that door, must’ve forgotten.”
The creature flung herself at Rarity’s hooves. “Oh please! You must help me! This is a crisis only you can help me with!”
Rarity was taken aback as her panic rose. “W-what? What’s wrong? Is somepony hurt?”
The stranger waved a hand and a deep purple cloak with a faux fur lined collar and a large silver broach appeared out of thin air. “Please! I’ve torn my favorite cloak and you’re the only one who can fix it!”
Rarity’s panic was replaced with contempt as an un-amused frown graced her features. “Really? You tore your cloak? That’s not much of an emergency and to be honest, I’m in no mood for games.”
The creature gasped, “And you call yourself a seamstress! Here I am, braving the elements to bring my favorite cloak to the one pony in Equestria- nay, the whole world whom can repair it and I’m told it’s not an emergency?”
“Well you made it sound like it was a matter of life or death.”
“It is life or death! It’s cold out there! But if you can’t fix my precious cloak, I suppose this trip was all for naught.” The creature hung her head and started for the door.
Rarity sighed, “Wait, I didn’t mean to sound rude, I apologize. I can’t exactly leave somepony out in the cold with nothing to wear. Here, let me see your cloak.”
The creature happily presented her cloak again as Rarity fished out her red reading glasses to examine the garment.
“Hmm, seems the stitching on the collar is coming undone. Not to worry, shouldn’t be too difficult, I’ll return tout suite.”
A few minutes later, Rarity returned with the cloak in hoof. “Here you go darling, good as new. And may I say that it is an absolutely gorgeous cloak. I dare say I’ve never felt a fabric quite like it before.”
The creature squealed in delight as she draped the cloak over her shoulders and nuzzled the fur collar. “Thank you, thank you so much! You did a beautiful job. How much do I owe you?”
Rarity waved a hoof. “Oh please darling, it was merely a simple touch up. Barely worth a bit.”
The creature wagged one of the digits on her hand. “Absolutely not! You’ve done me a great service and as the Princess of Fortune it is only right that I return the favor in full. Hmm, what to do, what to do?” she rubbed her chin as she became lost in thought.
“Really, there’s no need for-“
“Aha!” the creature slammed the bottom of her fist into her opposite palm as realization struck out of the blue. “I know! A wish!”
Rarity tilted her head. “A what?”
“A wish! I’ll grant you a wish, your hearts deepest desire! So, what will it be? Wealth? Fame? Love?”
Rarity blinked, snorted and then started to laugh, “I-I’m sorry, it’s just, nopony has tried to pay for my services in wishes before, it’s just down right fantastical and silly. It’s on the house, really it is.”
The creature locked her light green eyes onto Rarity’s, as if she were trying to inspect the very edges of Rarity’s light blue irises. “Hmm…”
Rarity backed away with a blush. “Um, is there something… in my eye?”
The creature stood tall and smiled. “Ahh, now that’s a wish, I like that wish very much. Don’t worry Ms. Rarity, when you wake up, your wish will have come true. Sweet dreams and enjoy.” And with a snap of the fingers the strange ‘princess’ vanished.
Rarity decided to leave the unpacking till tomorrow, she was clearly more exhausted than she realized. So after locking the door and double-checking to make sure it stayed locked, Rarity trotted upstairs, removed her make-up and crawled into bed. She just wanted to sleep and forget about this embarrassing, guilt-ridden and bizarre day with the hopes of finding peace in her dreams. Just when she was about to drift off, she shuddered as her thoughts moved to Spike. Her precious, dearest, not so little anymore, dragon. She felt absolutely terrible for how she treated him and decided that the first thing to do tomorrow was to make amends. But what in heaven's name could she say to atone for what she did? For what she said? What was she supposed to do to show how sorry she was?
“Perhaps I should’ve made a wish after all…”