//------------------------------//
// Day 3 Part 1: Ministry of Image 
// Story: St Trineighans School for Fillies 
// by SamuelK28 
//------------------------------//

“I hate you so much,” Apple Bloom grumbled as they left the swimming pool. “I look like a poodle!” she whined. 

Sweetie tittered next to her.

“That’s for pushing me into the deep end,” Scootaloo replied, trying desperately to hide the amusement in her voice. 

“Did I not rescue you once I realised you couldn’t swim?” Apple Bloom exclaimed. 

“And did you not ask for some help drying off?” Scootaloo retaliated.

“Touché,” Apple Bloom conceded shaking herself to try and return her coat back to normal. “Anyway, what do you think Ruby and Screwball are up to? They were gone all day helping Rarity.”

After their room had been gutted the night before, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had managed to calm Sweetie down by distracting her with the job of redecorating their dormitory as Rarity took her sister’s sacred plush away for repairs. This had led to not only the entire floor of their dorm being covered in pillows and blankets but also the mysterious disappearance of Ruby and Screwball who hadn’t returned to the dorm all day or been present for either breakfast or their swimming lesson. 

“Who knows? But, if you don’t stop grumbling and start moving, we’ll never find out and also be crucified by Rarity for being late,” Scootaloo responded ruffling Apple Bloom’s mane with a hoof that resulted in it exploding once more into a frizzy abomination. “Oops,” Scootaloo tittered as Sweetie illuminated her horn and Apple Bloom’s entire coat and tail copied her mane. 

Scootaloo and Sweetie stared at one another for a moment, then at Apple Bloom, then at each other again and were about to collapse on the floor laughing when a low ominous growl made them think otherwise and they bolted down the corridor followed by an enraged puff ball of fur. 

“I’m going to tear you two into itty bitty pieces and then eat you,” Apple Bloom roared as she chased after her friends.


*


Scootaloo and Sweetie only just made it into the Textiles classroom before Apple Bloom clattered into them from behind sending all three fillies sprawling in a massive ball of fluff and legs. 

“Huh, what the?” Rarity exclaimed as she awoke with a start in a chair behind her desk. “Oh, is that the time already?” she said to herself with a yawn as she moved her head from side to side in an attempt to get the awful cricks out of it from having used her desk as a rather uncomfortable makeshift pillow. It was as she rose to her hooves that she caught sight of the three squabbling fillies on the other side of her desk. “What in Luna are you three up to down there? And Apple Bloom darling, just what have you done to yourself? You look atrocious.”

Apple Bloom, sitting atop a struggling Sweetie whilst simultaneously restraining Scootaloo in a headlock as she gave her a noogie replied, “Due to the storm Miss Dust took us to the swimming pool instead. This was how I looked after I got out and dried myself. I had just got my coat under control when these two rascals decided to intervene.”

“Hey, all I did was ruffle your mane a bit,” Scootaloo objected. “Sweetie did the rest.”

Meanwhile, Sweetie, realising her struggling was futile and that she was well and truly caught, decided to look up at her sister with the most innocent expression she could muster. It wasn’t fooling anypony. To Sweetie’s surprise though, her sister actually smiled back at her. 

“Thank you to both of you for distracting my sister and cheering her up. Apple Bloom, as punishment I’ll have Sweetie attend to your mane, coat and tail in a moment. For now, please take your seats so that I may begin the lesson,” Rarity said softly. 

Apple Bloom reluctantly released Scootaloo after ensuring her mane was just as messy as her own before lifting herself off Sweetie and helping the unicorn to her hooves. With a succession of giggles, the three went and found their seats. Sweetie and Apple Bloom sat together behind one desk whilst Scootaloo joined Moon Moon behind another, the black Pegasus filly still heavily bandaged from her crash landing the other night. Each of the desks was fitted with a sewing machine and a pile of fabric. 

“All right, first-years, settle down. I’m glad to see everypony here even if two are recuperating after assisting me with a project way past their bedtime,” Rarity stated before pointing a hoof towards a corner of the room where Ruby and Screwball were huddled together fast asleep under a blanket. Next to them was a large lump hidden by another blanket.

Scootaloo and a number of others immediately raised a hoof. 

“No, I will not be revealing what is under the blanket as it has no relevance to today’s lesson,” Rarity answered before anypony could ask the question.

Groans and moans erupted from the students. 

“Unless that is you all behave yourselves and work hard today. Then, and only then, will I be willing to show you at the end of the lesson. Understood?” Rarity continued.

The groans and moans immediately stopped.

“Excellent, now where was I. Ah, yes, I am Miss Belle your Textiles teacher and also your head of year. That means if you have any problems during your time at the school, I am the pony you should come and find to discuss the matter and you will almost always find me here or in the dining hall. Understood?” Rarity repeated. 

The first years all nodded in reply. 

“Fabulous, then let’s get on with the lesson. Now, despite your timetables highlighting this as Textiles class, in actual fact the class is all about helping you understand the importance of image, which isn’t solely about the right dress code for the occasion. Take Apple Bloom as an example here. Imagine she has a revolutionary idea that would take Equestria by storm and managed to get a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, Canterlot’s biggest event of the year. Even if we put the most magnificent and marvellous dress imaginable on her right now, it is likely that most ponies at the gala would turn their noses up at her because of her unkempt mane, coat and tail, no matter how good her idea is. As such, the perfect opportunity to establish new contacts and sources of funding for her idea is ruined. This is why image is so important; first impressions are what will always make or break any deal. Secondly, it isn’t just your image in pony. Self-promotion and the right advertisement are just as important as your image in-pony. But this is something I will talk more to you about when you’re a little older and can understand the complex concepts of the cutthroat business world a little better. For the first two years we here at the school like to keep things simple and as such we will be focusing on your in-pony image, from lessons on developing your skill on a sewing machine and making the perfect clothing, to how to apply makeup and even the way you speak.”

Apple Bloom glowered at Rarity after that last remark but held her tongue. 

If Rarity noticed the stern look she had received from the earth pony filly she didn’t register it. “Tonight, I was going to test how good your sewing and dress making skills are but the appearance of a certain filly has given you all a reprieve and two nights to prepare yourselves as best you can for that one. Instead, tonight’s lesson will be all about giving your desk partner the best makeover possible. You’ll each have forty-five minutes to transform your partner’s appearance and the two ponies who impress me the most will earn themselves five bits each. And before you ask, no, I cannot choose my sister or her partner. Now, you’ll find everything you need in the cupboard over there. Ponies to my left are the models to begin with, ponies to my right are the artists, GO.”


*


“So,” Rarity asked as she began her inspection at Scootaloo and Moon Moon’s desk, “Can you tell me why Moon looks no different?” 

“Well, you didn’t explicitly state what the scenario was that we would be applying ourselves to,” Scootaloo began. 

Rarity already wished she’d never asked.

“I’m sending Moon here on a stealth reconnaissance mission in the dead of night whereby the necessary first impression is that she must not be seen at all costs. As such, her natural black colouring is vital for this and therefore, any makeup becomes obsolete,” Scootaloo blagged.

Moon sniggered. 

Rarity’s hooves met her forehead. She really wished she hadn’t asked. “How about I just call it a pass for effort and clever interpretation and we move on?” she said with a heavy sigh turning her attention to Scootaloo who now sported a mohawk with black highlights that were also present in her tail. The filly also donned black eyeliner and hoof polish along with fake eye lashes, piercings in her right ear and a studded collar round her neck that matched the colour of her mane. “On second thought, how about I just call it a pass for both of you before I have a stroke,” and without another word she swiftly moved onto Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. 

Apple Bloom was less than happy about the amount of makeup Sweetie had applied to her but had nevertheless suffered in silence for her friend’s benefit. As for her attempt, well, she’d at least tried and, dare she say it, had fun learning and discussing about such frivolous things as what was the best shade of hoof polish to complement Sweetie’s fur and mane colour? Back on the farm, with zero friends and lots of work to be done, Apple Bloom had never really had the chance to just act her age and be able to do things a normal filly her age would do.

“Exceptional as always Sweetie. I’m hopeful you’ll make a wonderful makeup artist one day,” Rarity stated, receiving a beaming smile from her sister in reply. “As for you Apple Bloom, I could see this is not an area you seem accustomed to yet you didn’t let pride interfere, were willing to accept the assistance my sister offered and gave it your best effort. A fine one for a first try, too. Well done.”

“Thank you,” Apple Bloom somehow forced out almost lost for words, having expected a lecture on what she had done wrong. 

“You’re welcome,” Rarity replied as she trotted on to see Dinky and Petunia’s efforts and immediately stopped in her tracks. Of course, the necromancer.

Petunia and Dinkie were both covered in fluorescent paint depicting a skeleton over their fur. Rarity immediately recognised the design as that of a Zebrican witch doctor on the Night of Necromancy, one of the biggest nights in the Zebra calendar if Zecora’s tales were true. From Rarity’s recollection of what Luna and Zecora had told her in a discussion over a cup of tea late into the night shortly after she’d become a teacher at the school, Luna admitted that although usually on amicable terms, over the years her and her sister would occasionally fall out about certain things. On this occasion some seven hundred and fifty years ago or so the topic had been dark magic. 

Whereas Luna had argued that if used sensibly by the moral and just such magic could be helpful in certain situations, Celestia had argued that not only could dark magic corrupt even the purest soul but the cost of its use far outweighed the benefits and as such it should be totally outlawed in Equestria. Long story short, Luna had tried to prove her point through a practical demonstration and had not only very nearly doomed Equestria through an infestation of undead and unholy monsters but had also caused herself permanent damage through releasing her dark alter ego Nightmare Moon that she had to this day never been able to fully control despite her best efforts. To Luna’s relief, Celestia had cleaned up the mess she had made and afterwards both the royal sisters had decided to forbid dark magic in Equestria with anyone found even attempting to practice it being sentenced to immediate death and having their remains burned to ash and scattered on the wind to prevent even the slimmest chance of them coming back to life. Luna though had occasionally bent this law over the years for special cases, such as Petunia, who were unfortunate enough to be blessed by Faust with cutie marks in the dark arts. Even so, these students were only given one chance and even the slightest error of judgement or misdemeanour would seem them either permanently imprisoned or worse.

Anyway, seeing as Luna constantly enjoyed playing pranks on Celestia during their younger years and even as they got older, Celestia decided for once she’d get one up on her sister through constantly reminding her of the time she nearly doomed Equestria by covering up the whole debacle as a grand reveal to a new Equestrian holiday, Nightmare Night. It was decreed by Celestia that on this night, once a year, fillies would dress up as monsters and go from door to door collecting sweet treats from their neighbours late into the evening. Celestia had stated it was a holiday designed to boost morale at a time of the year where the nights were drawing in and the weather got colder as winter approached. In reality Celestia had solely created the holiday to embarrass her sister yet seven hundred and fifty years later it was more popular than ever and had also proved a great way for communities to come together and celebrate the beauty of Luna’s night. Unfortunately for the royal sisters not every creature had been fooled by their cover-up and over a number of years of experimentation the zebra’s discovered that because of Luna’s actions the boundary between realms had been seriously weakened on that specific night. Thus, the zebra’s decided to create their own holiday on this night, The Night of Necromancy, where they use necromancy to summon and communicate with deceased family members and loved ones. 

To no real surprise, once word of what the zebra’s were doing reached Celestia and Luna, the already taut relationship between the two kingdoms reached breaking point and all ties between the two were severed. Despite multiple attempts over the years since to reconcile, the relationship between the two kingdoms had only degraded further. As far as Rarity was aware, currently both kingdoms refused to even acknowledge the other existed and most ponies thought zebras were a myth from stories told to scare young foals on Nightmare Night.

“Uhm, Miss Belle, you okay? You’ve kind of been staring at nothing for several minutes,” Dinky inquired.  

Rarity shook her head. “Huh? Oh yes, I’m fine. Might I ask where you found out about the Night of Necromancy?”

“I was exploring the library last night in search of books about necromancy. Sadly, I couldn’t find anything and, as Dinky will tell you, I got quite upset until Principal Moon bumped into us,” Petunia answered for the two fillies. 

“Oh, and what might I ask did Principal Moon do to make you feel better?” Rarity asked with a strained smile.

“She gave me a hug and consoled me for a while until I’d calmed down. Then she explained to me how my magic was misunderstood and sadly seen as highly dangerous by pony kind. What was it she called it again?” Petunia paused trying to remember the name Nightmare Moon had applied to her special talent.

“Dark magic,” Rarity answered for the filly with a heavy sigh. She was really not liking where this was going.

“Yeah, that’s it. Said that for everyponies safety necromancy, along with all other branches of dark magic, had been outlawed for over seven hundred and fifty years which meant that there were no books in Equestria or pony alive that could help me with my special talent,” Petunia said despondently.

Rarity closed her eyes momentarily. “She told you to go find Madam Zecora, didn’t she?”

Petunia nodded her head sheepishly in reply as Rarity slowly opened her eyes once more not wanting to hear or see the answer. “She did and almost as soon as I’d stepped foot into the infirmary and before I’d even had a chance to say one word, Madam Zecora had whisked me off to her office for a talk about my cutie mark and how it relates to necromancy. From there she then told me a brief history of necromancy along with its importance in zebra culture. She’s even offered to tutor me after classes and hopes that I’ll be able to conjure a spirit on Nightmare Night, sorry, The Night of Necromancy,” Petunia finished with barely contained excitement.

Rarity’s right eye twitched. Although she trusted Zecora and knew for certain she would never intentionally put any of the students in any danger, accidents did happen, especially when dark magic was involved. She’d be having a very loud word in a princess’s ear later. The last thing she needed was a malevolent spirit or a horde of rebellious undead trying to murder everypony, especially if the pony responsible was supposed to be under her supervision when out of class. 

“Uhm, Miss Belle, you okay?” Petunia stated, repeating what Dinky had asked earlier. Her excitement had swiftly turned to concern. 

Rarity forced her eye to stop twitching and gave the filly a strained smile. “That’s wonderful darling but you must promise me you will do everything Zecora tells you to and not to practice without either her, myself, Luna or Starlight present. Although she is an extremely talented and experienced enchantress, dark magic is extremely volatile and even the slightest lapse in concentration could lead to an apocalyptic catastrophe!” Rarity explained.

To her surprise she received a giggle in reply before Petunia raised her right foreleg. Underneath the fluorescent paint Rarity could just make out a thin perfectly cut scar. 

“Zecora also went over the dangers with me in a lot of detail and refused to teach me anything unless I agreed to a blood oath. It prevents me from using any magic unless I’m within twenty-five metres of Zecora up until my sixteenth birthday. It feels strange having my magic restricted but I’m slowly getting used to it and is totally worth it if it helps me grow as a necromancer,” Petunia explained, bubbling with excitement once more.

Rarity heaved a huge sigh of relief, of course Zecora would have taken safety precautions. “Well, I’m glad to hear that and I hope overtime you can help change ponies views on the subject. For now though I need to get back to the lesson at hoof. Although I must admit your appearance would certainly cast a lasting first impression on anyone you met, I’m not sure it would be the right type of impression. I understand you want to embrace your special talent but remember, almost everypony else does not. At the very least they’ll run away but more than likely they will attack and attempt to harm, if not kill, you because of what you are. I know it is not what you want to hear but sometimes we have to hide our true selves from others for one reason or another. Understood?”

Tears had slowly formed in Petunia’s eyes as Rarity had explained to the filly the danger her cutie mark and special talent unfortunately and unfairly put her in. Rarity, seeing the distress she had unwittingly caused her student leaned in and wrapped her hooves around Petunia to provide some comfort as she whispered in the filly’s ear.

“That does not though mean you should ever be ashamed of who you are.” 

And with those words of wisdom, she slowly let Petunia go.

“An outstanding effort all the same,” Rarity said, finishing her analysis as she trotted on to Diamond and Silver’s desk. To the mare’s annoyance the two fillies looked absolutely stunning. “Well done to the both of you,” she said through clenched teeth refusing to add a barb no matter how much she wanted to. She was, after all, their teacher and supposed to set a good example and not show any bias. 

“Yeah, I guess makeup would be good at covering up a couple of snakes,” Scootaloo’s voice reverberated round the class to a torrent of sniggers and snickers.

Rarity closed her eyes and took another deep breath. She seemed to be taking a lot of those tonight “Thank you Scootaloo for volunteering. I expect you back here as soon as classes finish to model my latest line of colt and filly wear.”

“What?” Scootaloo replied in exasperation. “But that’s not fair!” she argued. 

Without turning to look at the aggrieved filly Rarity replied, “I don’t know about your other teachers but in my classes young miss outright bullying of other students shall not be tolerated. Now apologise to your classmates.” 

Smug smiles had crossed Diamond’s and Silver’s muzzles. 

“I’d rather drink werewolf piss,” Scootaloo responded coldly. 

“That wasn’t a request,” Rarity said flatly turning to face the stubborn filly.

The formerly jovial tone of the room had dropped like a stone as the two faced off. Slowly Rarity’s hind legs turned to stone but she refused to look away. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, Scootaloo yielded and looked away, releasing Rarity from her magical grip as she did so. 

“Fine,” she grumbled mutinously looking at the floor before raising her head and glowering at Diamond and Silver. “I’m sorry I called you names,” Scootaloo practically spat out of her mouth as if it was poison. 

“Apology accepted,” Diamond replied smugly.

“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it now?” Rarity said to Scootaloo as she moved onto Tempest and Mjӧlna only to pause mid-step. “Diamond, I see you’ll be joining Scootaloo after classes are finished, unless you’d prefer being shown what the so-called chicken you are taunting can do?”

Diamond stopped flapping her forelegs and imitating a chicken in total shock. How had Miss Belle known what she was doing? Her teacher hadn’t looked back at her at all.

“Remember, I was once your age Diamond. I knew exactly what a filly like you was thinking and going to do. You just couldn’t help but gloat after getting one up on your enemy, could you?  As such, what’s your choice? Model or statue?” 

“Model,” Diamond grumbled, pouting in her chair as Scootaloo returned the smug smile from across the room. 

“Now, let me take a look at you…” Rarity paused as she stared at the two abominations before her. “What in Equestria happened to you two?” she exclaimed, now wishing she hadn’t continued her nap as the class got on with the assignment. “Giving each other a black eye certainly wasn’t part of the assignment and you both look like you’ve been dragged through the forest by a timberwolf!”

“She refused to let me apply any makeup,” Mjӧlna argued.

“As did you,” Tempest retorted, sticking out her tongue at her dormmate. 

“So, we both decided to try and assert our dominance over one another and found we are very evenly matched. She isn’t half bad for half a unicorn,” Mjӧlna chuckled.

“As are you for an earth pony,” Tempest chuckled back throwing a foreleg around her friend. “I’d certainly like to see you in action with that hammer of yours sometime.”

For the umpteenth time Rarity let out a sigh before cutting into the debate. “Detention after classes for the both of you. Maybe my sister and I can teach you both a thing or two about applying makeup. And I’m sure the rest of the school will be delighted to see the results at dinner.”

Both fillies faces dropped. “Crap,” they both swore in unison as Rarity moved on to the final two pairs.

Little Strongheart and Spur had at least made a valiant attempt at the assignment even if it was not something they were used to doing. As for Princess and Lily, Rarity stared at the two of them for a moment wondering if they were the same ponies, having to double check their cutie marks to make sure. Both ponies coat and mane colours had changed, their manes and tails had been styled, hooves applied with polish and so on and so forth. What was even more striking though was the fact that they were both now unicorns instead of a Pegasus and an earth pony. And then, all of a sudden, they were back to normal, albeit with makeup still expertly applied. 

“What in Equestria?” Rarity exclaimed, rubbing her temple with confusion.

“Ah shoot. I hate when that happens,” Princess confessed. 

“When what happens?” Rarity enquired with intrigue. 

“Illusion magic is my special talent but I’m still learning to control it for long periods of time,” Princess admitted guiltily.

“So, you thought you’d try and cheat your way to victory?” Rarity said with a disapproving look down at the filly. 

“No, not at all. You said the aim of the assignment was to give the best first impression and that’s what we attempted to do. As you can clearly see, I’m exceptionally good with all kinds of makeup due, in part, to my special talent. The illusion I applied was only to do with coat colour and to make it appear that we were unicorns as it has been heavily documented that despite the unification of the three pony tribes there is still disparity and species bias even to this day,” Princess began to explain like a mare three times her age. 

Rarity suddenly looked a little nervous. She was well aware of what the filly was talking about but it was also not something she was comfortable discussing with fillies so young. It was actually a subject she spent much of the first term discussing with her fifth years along with ways to overcome it. 

“Around three quarters of the wealthiest ponies in Equestria are unicorns who often look down upon the other races and will only support other unicorns to keep the outdated class structure intact. They are also often fickle about which unicorns they support as well. Any with coat and mane colours to brash and bright reminds them of the Pegasi, anything to drab, like browns and dull oranges, reminds them of earth ponies resulting in an unfounded subconscious reaction of fear that that unicorn may have…” Princess went on only to suddenly find a hoof jammed in her mouth. 

“You’ve made your point. Excellent deductions and equally excellent application of makeup. We have our winners. Ten bits to you each,” Rarity conceded with a nervous chuckle levitating the bits over to Princess and Lily in her attempt to buy their silence and prevent a very awkward discussion on speciesism breaking out in the first-years' very first lesson. 

Princess smiled and nodded to inform Rarity she got the subliminal message. Good, Rarity thought turning her attention over towards Diamond who seemed ready to object to Rarity’s overall verdict. 

The alabaster unicorn quickly blurted, “Who wants to see what’s under the blanket?”

Reminding the class about the mysterious lump under the blanket brought a huge roar of anticipation from the class that prevented Diamond from proceeding with her protest.

As Rarity raised a hoof to ask for silence that slowly came, she went on. “I thought that would be your answer. Sweetie darling, would you do the honours?” 

Sweetie looked at her older sister in surprise for a moment before rising from her chair and heading to the mysterious lump, waiting for her sister to give her the signal. 

“Go ahead dear,” Rarity urged before addressing the whole class. “Sewing is a form of art and it is not just dresses and clothing that you can create. Some of you may enjoy sewing but in a different capacity and that is fine to. The school is always on the lookout for Plushmancers. You’d be surprised how profitable the plush market is.”

A squeal from the front of the classroom cut Rarity off. She’d barely turned her head in the direction of her sister before a small pair of hooves were wrapped around her neck. 

A tear formed in Rarity’s eye as she reciprocated the hug. At the front of the classroom was not only Sweetie’s beloved plush good as new but it was now sat atop a giant-sized lying replica as well. The black monstrosity adorned grey scales along its back, had a long-curved horn protruding from its head, a tail and mane that were a blazing blue and red inferno and, what freaked Scootaloo out the most, soulless white eyes that had no iris or pupil. 

“Woah,” Moon commented. “You made that in a day?” 

“I love you too dear,” Rarity whispered into her sister’s ear before turning to address the class once more. “A one and a half metre lying plush like that would usually take at least several months to make and could easily fetch over a thousand bits to the right pony. But then, I am an expert of my craft and had significant assistance.” She pointed at Ruby who was groggily awakening from her slumber next too Screwball. 

“Huh, what’s going on?” Ruby queried, rubbing her bleary eyes not believing the sight in front of her. “Am I still dreaming or has Scootaloo gone goth?”