//------------------------------//
// Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles 
// Story: Costume Catastrophe 
// by PrincessEnchanteDream 
//------------------------------//

Hondo Flanks grunted and wiped the sweat away from his brow as he struggled to fix the customer's car.

It was all in a day's work.

Needless to say, it required a lot of patience and concentration to change the car's gears. Hondo was so focused on his work, he didn't notice the golden blue sparks flying around.

Much like Cloudy Quartz, Hondo Flanks had not witnessed the flash of light that hit him, or rather paid it little attention at all. This was because he was in an environment that was quite brightly lit, so the extra bright flash wouldn't bother him very much. He glanced around for something that would not be a cause for concern, as he was about to start up an arc welder. An old car needed some repairs, and as he enjoyed fixing things in his spare time (a hobby that was a distinct contrast from his job managing an advertising agency), he had naturally set aside some time to see if he could get this old rust bucket back to showroom condition.

He lifted the bonnet and peered through the engine, noticing the vast arrays of old parts and mechanical components. Some of these parts would need ordering, as he lacked the capabilities to mend or make them himself.

He was about to turn back when he briefly caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He stopped, suddenly noticing that one of his hands had a glove on it that had a distinct workman's look to it. "That's funny," he said to himself, in his distinctive northeast accent that so many found unintelligible. "I'm pretty certain I wasn't wearing that earlier."

Sure enough, another one appeared on his other hand. "Having said that, they are rather convenient for working on old machinery."

As was the next item he gained. Apart from his boots becoming considerably tougher, his already work worn brown shirt turned grey, with an open collar to add to the look. A cap appeared on his head as well, large and peaked, meaning he either looked like an engine driver or a bus conductor, depending on the context.

His pants shifted to become jeans, hard wearing clothes perfect for an industrial environment such as this, and the look he had was finally completed when he gained a light blue work jacket atop that to protect him from any soot and oil that may come his way.

Hondo Flanks was, admittedly, a little confused at what had just happened, but he got stuck in with his work with a smile. He was in his element, and this enabled him to focus on other things and not think about why his clothes had suddenly and inexplicably changed in the way that they had.

In fact, he was so engrossed that he didn't even hear the knock on the paper thin door that separated the garage from the rest of the house he shared with his wife, Cookie Crumbles. He eventually did, however. "Yes, dear?"

"Rarity and Sweetie Belle are hear to see us!"

"I'll open the garage door!" Hondo replied, and he popped the switch next to him that opened the door. He waited for it to finish rolling open, and then stepped outside to see his daughter standing there. Rarity being dressed rather formally for the occasion.

"Hello my darling!" he said, walking towards Rarity with the intent of giving her a hug.

"Father, it is perchance best you do not," Rarity replied, posh mode still in full swing. "It would be a pity to ruin this dress."

"Oh, true." Hondo discreetly hid his oily gloves behind his back. "So, what brings you here?"

"We wanted to check if the strange clothing curse had affected you, and to see if you were OK," Rarity said. "I see it already has. So that's three of us..."

"No wonder it took so long to get here!" Hondo exclaimed.

"Driving in a long dress is hardly a practical exercise, considering the number of things a skirt can get stuck on," Rarity sighed. "Is mother OK?"

Suddenly, a voice could be heard. "Stay calm, mom! I'll help you through this."

Both father and daughter looked at one another. "There's your answer," they said, in unison.





 Meanwhile....... 

Cookie Crumbles was in her kitchen, making.......well cookies.

She poured some butter into a bowl, added some white sugar and then brown, and stirred the mixture until it was smooth. After that, she cracked precisely two eggs and measured one teaspoon of vanilla essence to add to the mixture. Then, she added in half a tablespoon of baking soda. Finally, she stirred in two cups of flour, one cup of chocolate chips and some walnuts.

Cookie dusted her hands on her apron, and then put spoonful of the mixture into a baking tray, such that she had at least 15 neat little dollops of cookie dough. She placed the tray into the oven and was just about to turn it on, when she heard their doorbell ring.

"Just a minute," called Cookie.

She made her way out of the kitchen and towards their main door. She opened it, and to her surprise, both her daughters were there, dressed in absolutely gorgeous dresses.

"Oh my word!" gasped Cookie. "My babies look so beautiful!"

She reached around their heavy skirts and pulled both Rarity and Sweetie Belle into a hug.

"Mom. I....need.....to......breathe," Sweetie Belle wheezed out.

Cookie Crumbles smiled sheepishly and released them from the hug.

"Excuzez moi, Mother," Rarity said, daintily stepping around Cookie. "I need to take a look at how father is doing."

Cookie pulled Sweetie Belle towards the kitchen.

"Come darling, I just made a new batch of cookies."

Sweetie Belle smiled at her. Then, her eyes widened as she glimpsed a blob of light heading straight for her mother.

"MOM! LOOK OUT FOR-"

But alas, she was too late. The bright ball of magic had already hit Cookie.

Cookie Crumbles looked at her daughter in shock, having just been hit by a flying blob. "What's going on?" she asked. "Is this what happened to you?"

Sweetie Belle reacted almost immediately, gently helping her mother over to one side away from the furniture. "Stay calm, mom! I'll help you through this." She looked around. "Good, nothing for a potential skirt to bump into..."

"Sorry?" Cookie asked, but as she asked that question it was rather answered by itself. The legs of her calf length white pants suddenly began to widen. "Hey! What's this?"

"Ah, that's just the skirt starting to form," Sweetie Belle said quickly. "I may need to stand back to give it space."

Once they had fitted quite tightly onto her legs, but now they spread out wider and wider, slowly moving closer and closer together. Then, when they made contact, they didn't brush against each other but rather seemed to merge into each other, flowing closer and closer into one garment and soon coming as one. The legs slowly began to vanish as they transformed into a skirt, one that only ran to her calves as her pants had once done.

Seeing this, Cookie was suddenly a lot more at ease with herself. "Oh! It's just like Cinderella before the ball! Nothing to really worry about."

The pendant around her neck vanished as the collar of her red shirt began to open up, sliding closer and closer to her shoulders and down her chest until it stopped above her cleavage, forming a nice curve shape around her breasts. The back, mercifully, stayed in place, which made wearing it a lot easier.

The shirt and skirt then turned a cream color, followed by the sleeves growing longer and longer, until they reached her wrists and stopped. "Say! This looks pretty stylish!"

The shirt then merged into her skirt, forming a dress.

"The next bit may a bit hard at first. If you need help-"

"How could walking in this be hard?"

Cookie Crumbles would soon learn she was a fool for tempting fate. Several extra skirts flowed past her legs, which gave the outer skirt greater volume and size. All of these layers then grew to the ground, meaning she could no longer see her feet. "Ah. Walking in this may be more difficu-AAAH! That's cold!"

"That's probably the crinoline," Sweetie Belle said. "It may be either a dome or an A frame."

With a bright flash of light the dress burst outwards, flowing outwards like a river as they expanded across the floor. Bigger and bigger, and faster and faster it grew, until it reached several feet in diameter and then, just as suddenly, stopped growing.

The outer skirt and bodice became covered in flower patterns as a top layer of lace and silk formed on top, interlaced with depictions of flowers and greenery that looked absolutely beautiful. Cookie looked over her dress in wonder.

"I haven't worn anything like this since I was in school!" she said, her initial shock having turned to a response of delight. "And you say Rarity did this?"

Sweetie Belle looked sheepish. "It's kinda my fault. She got mad because I messed about with stuff in her room and made a mess."

Cookie blinked, and she took her daughter into a hug as best they could with the massive volumes of skirt they had to negotiate. "It doesn't matter whose fault it is. All that matters is that we learn from our mistakes and work to put them right. What did you say we were to do, Hondo? HONDO!"

Hondo Flanks suddenly appeared, oil dripping off his gloves. "Hello there. What is it?"

"I thought you said something about doing something."

"I think I can help, mother," Rarity interjected, suddenly appearing and trying to keep her skirt out of the patches of oil and dirt. "Whilst you were indoors, I got a message from Rainbow Dash asking her parents and their friends to go to Canterlot Park. You should probably head there now, Sweetie Belle and I have more people to help."

"You got it!" Cookie grinned. "Wait, Rainbow's parents? Are they also getting fancy clothes?"

Suddenly, there was an incredibly loud voice.

"YAY! WE LOOK LIKE A PRINCE AND PRINCESS!"