"Just keep flapping your wings- Whoa, careful! Remember to keep yourself level, or you'll lose control! Just turn your body a bit more to the right... No, my right! And don't stop flapping!" Rainbow instructed Nero as best she could.
"Christ, you make this look a lot easier than it actually is!" Nero, who was currently using his spectral wings, struggled to keep himself in the air. Before this, Nero had only used his wings to either get some extra height in his jump after an air hike, or to attack enemies while using his Devil Trigger. It had never actually occurred to the young devil hunter to try flying with his wings until this morning, when he saw Rainbow Dash practicing a new trick in the sky. Considering she was the best flyer in Ponyville, he figured she would make a good coach. Now, the two of them were high above Ponyville as Rainbow tried to teach the descendant of Sparda how to fly.
Unfortunately, they weren't making very good progress.
"Easy, easy- WHOA! Careful, watch where you're- ...oh no, LOOK OUT- OOF!" Despite Rainbow's best attempts to guide him, Nero ended up spiraling out of control and crashed into the rainbow speedster. The two of them quickly began losing altitude.
"Oh shit, OH SHIT!" Nero cursed.
"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Rainbow warned to anypony who might be below them. The two of them crashed through the roof of a building, collided with the floor, then tumbled into a group of... mannequins?
"Ugh..." Rainbow Dash grunted in pain as she pushed a couple of the mannequins off herself and stumbled to her hooves. As she did, a few of the mannequins fell apart, having been damaged by the crash. Both she and Nero were draped in cloths and fabric that had previously been draped over the mannequins in question. Now that Nero was able to get a better look of their surroundings, he saw that they had crashed into Rarity's room inside Carousel Boutique. The room was furnished with a bed, more pony-shaped mannequins, shelves filled with fabrics and thread, a workbench with sewing equipment, and other bits and bobs for fashion-designing.
Oh, and Rarity, Twilight, and Applejack were all standing in the middle of the room, staring at Nero and Rainbow in surprise.
"Heh, sorry. I was giving Nero some flying lessons. It... hasn't been going well." Rainbow apologized.
"I'm not paying for that, by the way. Can't afford it." Nero pointed to the hole in the ceiling.
"Hmm..." Rarity stared at the two of them, more specifically Rainbow Dash, as she rubbed her chin, pondering something. After a couple seconds, her face lit up as she gasped. "Ideeeaaaa~! I'll make you an outfit for the Gala too, Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow shared a glance of confusion with Nero. "...Outfit for the what now?"
"I think we're missing some context here." Nero said, though the mention of a 'Gala' struck a chord of familiarity for some reason.
"I'll make one for you, and you, and all of you! Ooh! And of course, Pinkie and Fluttershy, too! Oh, and when I'm done, we can hold our very own fashion show!" Rarity exclaimed.
"What a great idea! If you're sure you can handle it, that is." Twilight said.
"Oh, it'll be a little bit of work, but it'll be a wonderful boost for my business. Plus, fun!" Rarity levitated a few rolls of fabric over to her sewing machine in preparation.
"Oh, I love fun things!" Rainbow chimed in.
"I'm gonna have to pass. Fashion shows aren't really my thing." Nero shrugged off the cloths and fabrics he was still covered in.
"Either way, you still need an outfit for the Gala, darling. I know you don't like dressing up in fancy clothes, but the Gala is such an important event, you couldn't possibly not wear formal attire. Even Applejack will be wearing something nice." Rarity insisted.
"...Sorry, what Gala are we talking about?" Nero asked. Everyone in the room gave him confused looks.
"Uh, the Grand Galloping Gala? Don't you remember? Princess Celestia personally requested that you show up for the event." Twilight tried to jog his memory.
Nero racked his brain for a second before the memory finally came to him. "...Oh, yeah, that thing. Celestia said there were some rich guys who wanted to meet me, right? Well, if they want me to go so badly, then I should at least be allowed to wear what I want."
"Oh, come now, Nero. You should at least put some effort into looking nice. It would be the courteous thing to do." Rarity persisted.
In response, Nero took a quick glance around the room before his gaze fell on a mannequin wearing a fancy suit and tie. He walked over to it and pulled the tie off before loosely tying it around his own neck. "There we go. All set for the Gala."
Rarity looked at him with an unamused, deadpan stare. "...Fine, if you truly insist on not wearing a nice outfit, then I won't push any further. However, I will have to insist you help work as my assistant instead. While I am eager to pursue this task, making six dresses in a short timeframe is a lot of work. It will be a good way for you to work off the debt you owe me."
Nero blanched. "Debt!? I don't owe you any money!"
"On the contrary, you left a rather large hole in my ceiling, and that will cost quite a bit to fully repair. If you can't afford to pay for the damages like you claim, then you will have to work for it." Rarity pointed upwards to the hole in question, "And that's not even mentioning the mannequins you destroyed. You will also have to pay for that tie around your neck if you wish to wear it to the Gala. Considering I'm only asking for a bit of help with my work as repayment, I'd say this is more than a fair deal, wouldn't you?"
Nero was about to argue, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized Rarity made a good point. He broke in by smashing a hole in her roof, destroyed her mannequins, and just took the tie without intending to pay for it. Technically, his actions could be classified as breaking and entering, destruction of property, and theft. Helping her work for a bit was actually a generous punishment, all things considered. "...Yeah, that seems fair." He relented with a sigh.
"Then it's settled. Nero will help me make your dresses, and we'll have a fashion show starring us!" Rarity declared, and the other girls cheered. Rarity wasted no time as she placed a fabric onto her workbench and began snipping away at it with a pair of scissors.
"So, all ya have to do is make a different, stunning, original, amazing outfit for one, two, three, four, five- plus yourself- six ponies!? And lickety split?!" Applejack's eyes went wide after she did a mental head count of how many friends Rarity would be making dresses for.
"Oh-ho-ho-ho, Applejack. You make it sound as if it's going to be hard." Rarity laughed.
"I mean, I don't know much about dress making, but that definitely sounds like it would be hard." Nero added.
"Don't you worry, we'll have these dresses done in no time!" Rarity promised with absolute confidence.
"Well, it sounds like you'll have a lot of work ahead of you, so we'll leave you to it. See you later, you two!" Twilight waved goodbye as she exited the room, followed by Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Soon, Nero and Rarity were the only ponies left in the room.
"Alright then, what's my first task as your new 'assistant'?" Nero turned to the dress maker.
"First, I'd like you to patch up the hole in the roof. It doesn't need to be a professional patch job, but something would be better than nothing. In the meantime, I'll get started on the dresses. Ooh, I can't wait!" Rarity gushed as she turned back to her workbench, putting on a small pair of red cat-eye glasses. Nero let out a sigh as he went to go find something to patch up the hole.
*Meow?*
Nero stopped in his tracks. Was it just his imagination, or did he hear a cat?
*Meow!*
He looked down at his hooves and to his left to find a plump white cat staring up at him. The cat wore a purple bow on top of its head and a garish collar around its neck. "Uh...hi?"
The cat hissed at him in response, glaring at him.
"Uh...is this your cat?" Nero asked Rarity, who looked up from her work when she heard the devil hunter.
"Hm? Oh! Yes, that's Opalescence, the most adorable little kitten! She's an absolute sweetheart, I'm sure the two of you will get along nicely!" Rarity introduced her pet before returning to her work.
Opalescence hissed at Nero again, her glare never wavering.
Nero had a gut feeling they would not get along nicely.
Twenty minutes later, the hole in the ceiling had been haphazardly boarded up with several wooden planks. "Alright, I'd say the hole is officially closed."
Rarity looked up from the workbench when she heard Nero, then turned her gaze upwards toward the ceiling. Seeing the patch job, she gave a satisfied nod. "Excellent! Now we can get on to the real work!" She turned back to her workbench, placing a piece of fabric under the sewing machine.
Y'know, maybe being Rarity's assistant won't be so bad. I should be fine as long as she doesn't start-
...singing.
Nero promptly smacked his head on the workbench and let out a groan as music began playing.
"Thread by thread, stitching it together~!" Rarity sang as she sewed a piece of thread into the fabric. "Twilight's dress, cutting out the pattern snip by snip, making sure the fabric falls nicely, it's a perfect color and so hip~!" Rarity cut a few pieces of fabric out from a long roll of it to use later. "Always got to keep in mind my pacing, making sure the clothes correctly facing, I'm stitching Twilight's dreeeeess~!"
"Yard by yard, fussing on the details~! Jewel neckline, don't you know a stitch in time saves nine~?" Rarity gestured for Nero to grab a few rolls of fabric from the workbench. Unfortunately, Opalescence was laying on top of them and refused to budge. Nero's tried to gently nudge the cat off the rolls, and the cat hissed at him in response, swinging her claws at him. "Make her something perfect to inspire, even though she hates formal attire~! Got to mind those intimate details, even though she's more concerned with sales~! It's Applejack's new dreeeeess~!"
"Dressmaking's easy~! For Pinkie Pie, something pink~! Fluttershy, something breezy~! Blend color and form, do you think it looks cheesy~?" Rarity asked both Nero and Opal as she pointed to the sketches she made for Pinkie and Fluttershy's dresses. Nero gave a nonchalant shrug, while Opalescence just looked bored.
"Something brash, perhaps quite fetching~! Hook and eye, couldn't you just simply die~?" Rarity placed some sort of gold feathered head accessory on the mannequin she was using for Rainbow Dash's dress, then added some rainbow colored fabric. "Making sure it fits for lock and crest, don't forget some magic in the dress~! Even though it rides high on the flank, Rainbow won't look like a tank~! I'm stitching Rainbow's dreeeeess~!"
"Piece by piece, snip by snip~! Croup dock haunch, shoulders hips~! Thread by thread, primmed and pressed, yard by yard, never stressed~! And that's the art of the dreeeeeeeess~!!!"
It had taken a lot of effort, but they managed to finish making the dresses for all six ponies by the next day. While the devil hunter had been roped into working with Rarity on the dresses, he had to admit that it was satisfying to see the finished products. Rarity wasn't a fashion designer for nothing, the dresses looked amazing!
"That's it, keep them closed. Don't look~!" Rarity led Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy into her workspace with their eyes closed, a wide smile on her face. Nero stood off to the side, occasionally sharing a glare with Opalescence.
"...Okay you can look now!" Rarity burst out, barely able to contain her excitement. The girls opened their eyes, each of them gasping in sync as soon as they saw their new dresses. "These are your new outfits!"
Applejack's dress was very cowboy-ish, and had a lot of green and brown colors with a few red accents. A Stetson hat similar to Applejack's own sat on the head of the mannequin, only it had much more fancy and intricate designs, including two apple-shaped patches. The collar had an apple-shaped pin on it, and a pair of fancy green cowboy boots with apple-shaped spurs were worn on the hooves. "What do you think of your 'old duds' now, Applejack? Pretty swanky, are they not?" Rarity chuckled.
Twilight's dress was mainly blue, similar to the night sky, and had several white and pale blue star patterns on it to match. There were also a pair of star shaped earrings on top. "Oh, and Twilight! We made this dress for you, and I designed each outfit theme to perfectly reflect each pony's unique personality!"
Rainbow Dash's dress looked like it was inspired by a Greek goddess. The gold feathered head accessory from before sat on the head of the mannequin, and a silver necklace rested on the neck, with purple decorative grapes dangling from it. Two golden Grecian sandals were worn on the hooves. Finally, the rainbow fabric was lined with a cloud-like trim. "Oh, it took me forever to get the colors right on this one, Rainbow Dash, but I did it! Oh, and it turned out beautiful, don't you think?"
Fluttershy's dress was a forest green color with flowers decorating the hem and a sky-blue butterfly design on the chest. A similar butterfly design was used for the earrings. "And I know you're going to love yours, Fluttershy. It just sings spring!"
Pinkie Pie's dress was, unsurprisingly, pink. It was also decorated with different candy patterns, and had a few spots with blue and white stripes for accents. A small white hat sat on the head with a pink bow attached to it. "And Pinkie Pie, look! Pink! Your favorite! Aren't they all amazing!?" Rarity and Nero looked back at the others, expecting to see looks of joy or wonder upon seeing the amazing designs.
The looks the girls were giving, however, were... not what they expected.
They were all certainly surprised, but they didn't exactly look... happy. They weren't upset or anything, but there wasn't any excitement in their eyes, just plain shock. Rarity gave a few awkward blinks as she began to worry the girls didn't like their new dresses, but she managed to keep the smile on her face.
"Is, uh... is something wrong?" Nero asked.
"H-Huh? Oh, no! They're...uh..." Twilight began, trying to find the words.
"Y-Yeah, they're..." Rainbow attempted to add something, but was having just as much luck as Twilight.
"They sure are, uh... somethin'." Applejack managed to find a word for it, giving a strained smile.
"Yes! Something!" Twilight agreed as she and Rainbow gave smiles that looked just as strained as AJ's.
"I love something! Something is my favorite!" Pinkie added as she also gave an awkward smile.
"It's...nice." Fluttershy was the last to comment, but she wasn't able to force a smile like the others. Instead, she looked pretty downtrodden.
"But what's the matter? Don't you like them?" Rarity was becoming increasingly worried.
"They're very nice!" Twilight insisted.
"And we're plumb grateful 'cause ya worked so hard on 'em." AJ added.
"Mine's just not as cool as I was imagining." Rainbow said. It took her a couple seconds to realize the other girls were glaring at her. "...What? She asked."
After sighing at Rainbow's bluntness, Twilight spoke up again. "I guess what we're all saying is that they're just... not what we had in mind." The other girls around her all agreed, and Rarity looked rather...hurt by this.
Despite being heartbroken by their reactions, Rarity managed to take a deep breath and force a smile back onto her face. "That's okay, not a problem. There's plenty more where that came from! They were only a first pass." She casually waved it off, but Nero could still see she wasn't too ecstatic about the results. "You're my friends, and I want you to be 110% satisfied. Not to worry, we'll redo them!"
"We will!?" Nero blanched from beside her. It had already taken them a lot of work and effort to get these dresses done. Knowing that effort would be a waste wasn't exactly a happy thought.
Plus, if I have to spend more time working here...
Nero paid a glance over to another side of the room, where Opalescence was glaring at him.
...It would mean more time with that demon-cat.
"Oh, Rarity. You don't have to do that. They're fine." Fluttershy said.
"I want them to be better than just 'fine'. I want you to think they're absolutely perfect!" Rarity said as she began removing the dresses from the mannequins.
"Are you sure? I mean, we wouldn't wanna impose." Applejack asked.
"Oh, it's no imposition. Really, I insist!" Rarity chuckled.
"Well, in that case, thank you again, Rarity! You too, Nero!" Twilight thanked them as the five girls left. Once they were all gone, Rarity turned back to the dresses and continued to remove them from the mannequins.
"Well then, let's get back to it, shall we? We're going to have to double time it if we want to get these dresses done in time for the fashion show!" While Rarity managed to make her voice sound like she didn't mind, Nero noticed that she refused to look him in the eye.
"...You sure you're alright, Rarity?" Nero walked up to her, and the fashion designer paused in the middle of removing Rainbow Dash's dress.
A beat passed, then another. Rarity released her grip on the dress, letting it drop to the floor, then lowered her head. "...No, Nero. I'm not alright." She let out a dejected sigh. "I put my best effort into these dresses. I really thought they would love them!"
"...Well, if it's any consolation, I think they're amazing." He picked up the dress and hung it on a nearby dress rack.
Rarity gave him a smile. "Thank you, Nero. Though, as much as I liked these dresses, I meant what I said earlier. I want to make sure they are completely satisfied with their dresses! If they had something different in mind, then we'll make it for them." She gave a confident nod.
"That's the spirit. Now let's get to work." He followed Rarity over to the workbench, both of them preparing themselves for the workload ahead.
Another Day had passed, and both Nero and Rarity were working diligently. They'd finished Fluttershy's dress and were working on the others while they waited for the shy pegasus to show up. It was as they worked that Nero noticed Rarity was starting to look a bit...ragged. Her mane was messy, and he could see the slightest hint of bags in her eyes.
The two of them looked up from their work when they heard a knock on the door. Fluttershy opened the door a crack and poked her head through. "Hello? You wanted to see me, Rarity?"
"Fluttershy! Your new new gown is ready!" Rarity galloped over to Fluttershy and led her to one side of the room with a folding privacy screen. "I completely revised it, and I know you're going to love it!"
Nero brought a few more rolls of fabric to the workbench per Rarity's request, then waited for the two to finish putting on the dress. As he did, he felt his hoof step in something wet and sticky. When he looked down, he grimaced upon seeing a hairball stuck to his hoof. His eyes searched the room before finding Opalescence, who was busy laughing at him. In response, he levitated the hairball off of his hoof and chucked it at the feline. A satisfied smirk made its way onto his face when it hit the cat's face with a wet *splat!*
Eventually, Rarity and Fluttershy came out from behind the privacy screen, with Fluttershy wearing the new dress. It was pretty similar to the original design, but there were a few noticeable changes to it. Rarity had Fluttershy stand in front of a large mirror to let the pegasus get a better look at herself in the dress. "What do you think?" Rarity eagerly awaited her friend's response.
"I...love it." Fluttershy had hesitated with her answer before flashing a nervous smile.
"Oh, you're just saying that." Rarity saw through the fake smile.
"N-No, no, I do. It's... nice."
"'Nice'?" Rarity raised an eyebrow.
"...Nice." Fluttershy repeated.
"If you don't like it, then you should just tell me." Rarity huffed.
"Oh, but I do like it." Fluttershy nodded.
"Like it, or love it?"
"Um...both?" Fluttershy flinched back.
"Which is it?" Rarity insisted as she stepped towards Fluttershy, forcing the shy pegasus to start backing up.
"Uh, please stop asking me this. I-"
"Well just tell me what you really think!"
"Uh, no, that's okay." Fluttershy eventually ran out of room to back up as her flank pressed up against the wall.
"Tell meee!"
"No, i-it's fine."
"Tell me!"
"I-...I like it." Beads of sweat began to form on Fluttershy's forehead.
"Tell me, tell me, tellmetellmetellme!" Rarity stomped her hooves.
"...Alright, since you really wanna know..." Fluttershy inhaled a big, deep breath before finally giving her honest opinion about the dress. "The arm size is tight the middy collar doesn't go with the shawl lapel the hands are clearly machine-stitched the pleats are uneven the fabric looks like toile you used a backstitch here when it clearly called for a topstitch or maybe a traditional blanket stitch and the overdesign is reminiscent of PReT-a-Porter and not true French haute couture."
Rarity and Nero blinked as they stared slack-jawed in awe after hearing Fluttershy's in-depth critique of Rarity's dress, unaware the shy pegasus had such knowledge about fashion.
"...But, uh, you know, um, whatever you wanna do is fine." Fluttershy quickly reverted back to her old meek self.
After Fluttershy had given her surprisingly thorough critique, they each said their goodbyes and Fluttershy left. After hearing what Fluttershy had to say, Rarity got the idea to call in each of the girls individually and ask them what they would prefer their dresses to look like, rather than continue making new dresses and hoping the girls would like them. The girls had been happy to do so, and each provided their own input as to how they wanted their dress to turn out. Now, Nero wasn't a fashion designer by any means, but even he could tell a lot of the suggestions that the girls gave were... questionable.
Twilight pretty much wanted to wear a map of constellations that was 100% accurate to an actual star map. The dress ended up looking extremely tacky and unstylish by the end.
Applejack's ideas seemed to consider function over fashion. The second AJ had recommended galoshes in case it rains, Nero and Rarity could both guess the dress the dress wasn't going to turn out great.
Fluttershy had, at the very least, based her recommendations off of other fashion styles like 'French haute couture', whatever that was. However, she also threw in some other bizarre ideas, like wearing a bird's nest on her head instead of a tiara.
Pinkie's proposals were all ridiculous, but not unexpected from the pink party pony. She wanted to add as many balloons, streamers, and sweets onto the dress as possible.
Rainbow Dash was by far the hardest to work with, since she didn't really add much. Whenever Rarity would ask her what she wanted for her dress, the rainbow speedster would just say she wanted it to be 'cooler', as if that was enough information to go off of. When asked to be more specific, Rainbow just said that the dress needed to be about 20% cooler.
Since when was coolness measured in percentages? I always measured it in ranks, like D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS.
After a full week had passed, they finally managed to get the sorry excuses for dresses finished. Rarity had collapsed to the ground out of exhaustion, looking upon the dresses with disdain. "Nero, Opal, be honest with me... Are they really as hideous as I think they are?"
Nero and Opalescence both gave the dresses one glance before giving Rarity a sympathetic nod.
"I thought so..." Rarity sighed. "Oh, these are the ugliest dresses I've ever made! I just hope the girls will like them..."
Nero paid another glance to the abominations of fashion.
Yeah... hopefully.
Later, the other five girls had gathered in the boutique for Rarity and Nero to show off the... well, Nero wasn't even sure if he should call them dresses. That felt like an insult to dresses.
"Okay. I did exactly what each of you asked for. Now don't hold back, let me know what you really think." Rarity awaited the girls' reaction. Each of them looked over their 'dresses' with smiles on their faces and stars in their eyes. They all gushed at the designs, paying compliments as they did. Meanwhile, Nero could see Opal hissing and batting her paws at the 'dresses'.
"It's exactly what I asked for!" The five girls said in unison.
Rarity and Nero gave a sigh of relief, knowing this meant they were finally finished working on the dresses, though there was a hint of bitter sweetness to it. "Thank you, you two! I imagine this took a lot of hard work." Twilight thanked them.
"Are you as happy with them as we are!? Huh huh HUH!?!" Pinkie, excited and energetic as always, got up in Rarity and Nero's faces.
"W-Well, we're... happy that all of you are happy." Rarity chuckled nervously, sharing subtle glances with Nero. "We're just relieved to finally be done."
"Y-Yeah, what she said." Nero nodded in agreement. "Also, on an unrelated note, uh... is the fashion show still happening, or...?"
"Hm? Oh, yes, I believe it is. Why?" Twilight answered. In the corner of his vision, Nero could see a look of absolute horror making its way onto Rarity's face. With how much focus they'd put on making the 'dresses', Rarity must have forgotten that they would be showing them off in a fashion show. Now, many of Ponyville's residence were going to see them on full display.
Well, at least it can't get any worse-
Just as Nero thought that, the door to the boutique swung open. Everyone turned their attention to the entrance and saw Spike standing in the doorway, practically doubled over and gasping for air. "You are never gonna believe this! You've heard of Hoity Toity?" Spike asked once he'd gotten his breath back.
"Uh, no. Who's he?" Nero asked.
"I'm pretty sure he's a bigwig fashion hotshot in Canterlot. What about him?" Twilight asked Spike.
"Uh huh! He heard about your fashion show! Well, maybe I happened to mention it to him. He's coming here all the way from Canterlot to see your work, Rarity!"
Oh...Oh no.
"H-Hoity Toity? H-He's coming here... to see... t-t-these dresses?" Rarity's eyes were the size of pinpricks.
"Yup! Get ready for all your dreams to come true!" Spike commended her. Rarity's eye began to twitch as the other girls congratulated Rarity, believing that this would be a jumpstart for her career.
If things played out like Nero suspected they would, this would do anything but help her career.
Later that night, the fashion show was about to begin. A stage and catwalk had been setup for the show just outside of Carousel Boutique, and ponies gathered around in excitement, chatting amongst each other as they eagerly waited for the show to begin. Nero stood behind the curtain with Rarity as she peaked out to look at the crowd. The other girls weren't with them, currently getting ready for the show.
Anyone with half a brain could tell that Rarity was nervous. Actually, nervous felt like an understatement. Her anxiety was through the roof right now as she scanned the crowd for one pony in particular. Eventually, Rarity let out a gasp and pointed to the crowd. "Oh! There he is!"
Nero took a peek through the curtains to see who Rarity was talking about and spotted the pony he assumed was 'Hoity Toity'. He was a grey stallion with a white quaffed mane and tail. A pair of purple-tinted sunglasses rested on his muzzle, and a cravat was wrapped around his neck. His cutie mark appeared to be a pale-yellow folding fan. Several ponies in the crowd murmured and whispered upon seeing the celebrity. He walked to the front of the crowd, standing at the base of the catwalk, and clapped his hooves. On cue, another pony brought out a pillow for Hoity to sit on.
Nero looked over at Rarity as she began hyperventilating. "Easy, easy, deep breaths Rarity." He told her. Heeding his words, Rarity continued to breathe in and out until her breath finally became stable again.
"R-Right, right, thank you Nero. I-I just need to c-calm down. I'm sure everything will be fine. Our friends liked their outfits, and so will he."
Ok, that I'm not so sure about. I doubt anyone here is gonna like those outfits.
"Don't worry. If things go south, I've got a plan." Nero gave her a confident smile.
Rarity blinked in surprise. "You do? What do you plan to-" Before Rarity could ask what the devil hunter's backup plan was, the lights quickly dimmed. "AH! What's wrong with the lights!? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE-!?!"
"Relax, Rarity, it just means the show is starting." Nero said.
"O-Oh. Yes, of course, right, good, that's good." She smiled sheepishly as they both took a step back from the curtains. Off to the side, the pony they'd hired for the music started playing some mid-tempo techno music on their DJ mixer. He believed her name was Vinyl Scratch or DJ-Pon3 or something like that. A couple spotlights hanging above the stage turned on, shining down on the catwalk as Spike's voice could be heard echoing through a microphone.
"Since the beginning of time, the elite of Equestria have longed for pony fashions that truly express the essence of their very souls..." Spike spoke dramatically, hyping up the crowd. "Patiently waiting decades, no, centuries for the perfect pony gown. Today at long last, Equestria, your wait... is over!" The curtains on the stage pulled back to reveal Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, all wearing the outfits Rarity had made for them.
Twilight's 'dress' looked more like a large purple blanket that was draped over her body, and had several constellations sewn onto it. Because Twilight had insisted that the constellations stayed accurate to an actual star map, Rarity had been unable to create any sort of pattern out of them, causing them to be randomly speckled all over the dress. On her head, she wore a headband with yellow and aqua green stars dangling from it.
Fluttershy's dress could be described in one word: 'Nature'. The outfit was decorated with flowers and plants, and she even wore a birds' nest on her head instead of a crown. That's not even mentioning the mismatching colors that made the whole thing garish.
Pinkie's dress was very... 'Pinkie'. The dress was littered with bows, streamers, balloons, and other colors that didn't blend well at all. Ironically, there wasn't even a speck of pink on Pinkie's dress. Instead of a crown, she wore a giant cupcake on her head with sprinkles and a cherry on top.
Applejack's dress was more akin to farmhand attire than fashionable wear. A large red ten-gallon hat, Overalls, a toolbelt, a skirt that looked more like a quilt, and galoshes. How AJ even remotely thought that looked like a dress, Nero could never guess.
Rainbow Dash's dress looked more like a suit of armor. She wore a golden helmet and boots with rainbow-colored accents, as well as a red skirt with a decal of a cloud and golden lightning bolt.
The audience's reaction was... well, not entirely unexpected. The crowd let out a collective gasp upon seeing the ghastly outfits, and it wasn't the good kind of gasp. Murmurs and whispers ran through the crowd as everyone gazed upon the 'dresses', unsure of what to make of them. Nero wasn't sure if the girls had noticed the audience's reaction as they strutted down the catwalk with smiles on their faces.
Once the five girls had reached the end of the catwalk and actually started to really pay attention to the crowd's expressions, they began to pick up on the mood. With his enhanced hearing, Nero was able to pick up on their conversation as the girls whispered to each other.
"Why's everypony lookin' at us like that?" AJ asked, turning to Twilight.
Pondering the question herself, Twilight ended up taking another look at the outfit she was currently wearing, and the realization began to dawn on her. "...Oh dear."
"You think we overdid it?" Rainbow Dash whispered.
"Nah." Applejack shrugged before looking down at her own outfit. Specifically, the galoshes on her hooves. "...Okay, maybe a little."
"Oh, those amateurish designs look like a piled-on mishmash of everything but the kitchen sink." Hoity Toity commented from the audience, and the crowd burst out laughing at his joke. Backstage, Rarity and Nero subtly nudged a kitchen sink out of sight, hoping no one had seen it. Hoity Toity continued with his critique, "It's a travesty is what it is. Those outfits are the ugliest thing I've ever seen! Oh, for shame! Who is responsible for subjecting our eyes to these horrors!? Not to mention wasting my valuable time?"
"Ah! Hide me!" Rarity quickly shuffled behind Nero. This was it. Her career was over. As soon as Hoity Toity and everyone else in the audience found it was her who made those hideous dresses, no one would ever come to her shop again! She can imagine the gossip already: 'Hey, did you hear about that mare that runs Carousel Boutique? She makes the most awful dresses! You shouldn't buy from her!' This couldn't possibly get any worse. She was doomed. DOOMED! There was no way out of this. She couldn't hide backstage forever. Hoity Toity had demanded to know who was responsible for those dresses, and he would find out sooner or later. As soon as she walked out onto that stage, it would all be over!
...Except, as she hesitantly took a step forward, somepony raised a hoof in front of her, stopping in her tracks. She looked to her right to see that the hoof belonged to Nero. "Welp, I figured it would come to this. Just stay here, I'll take care of this." He said as he approached the curtains.
"W-What? What are you going to-?"
"Remember that backup plan I mentioned? I'm gonna make sure you don't lose your career over this." With that, the Devil Hunter stepped towards the curtains.
"Well!? We're waiting! I demand to know who is responsible for creating these repulsive outfits!" Hoity Toity stomped a hoof just as Nero pushed aside the curtain and stepped out onto the stage. As soon as everyone could see him, he waved to the crowd.
"Hey there. My name's Nero, and I'm the one who made those god-awful dresses."
Everyone in the audience let out a collective gasp, including the girls standing on the catwalk. However, no one was as surprised as Rarity, who stared at Nero from backstage with wide eyes and a slack jaw.
"What in Equestria convinced you to make something so hideous!?" Hoity asked in a snobbish, demanding tone.
"Eh, I'm the kind of guy who likes to dip my toes- er, hooves into new things." Nero shrugged. "Figured I'd give fashion designing a try out of curiosity. I'm just a rookie when it comes to fashion, and going off the final product, it clearly shows. I guess you could say this was a learning experience for me."
"Wait, wasn't this a fashion show for Carousel Boutique? I thought that meant Rarity was the one who made those dresses?" A pony in the crowd asked.
"Ah, that's just a bit of a misunderstanding." Nero was quick to interject. "I didn't have any stuff like threads, fabrics, sewing machines, or anything I would've needed, but Rarity was generous enough to let me use her workshop to make the dresses. Other than that, it was all me."
"Well, I must say, you should definitely avoid pursuing a career in fashion, or even fashion as a hobby! Those 'dresses' are absolute abominations!" Hoity Toity eyed the dresses as if they were pieces of trash that someone had hocked at him.
"Duly noted. I appreciate the advice from such a big name in the fashion industry. Thanks for sparing your time." Nero gave a polite nod. He could see the audience was a little surprised that Nero wasn't even the slightest bit embarrassed for having made those terrible dresses, but they thankfully didn't question it. Hoity Toity let out a 'hmph!' as he turned on his hoof and stormed off, most likely still upset about having his time wasted like this.
With the fashion show pretty much over, the crowd began to depart. Seeing this, Nero turned around and returned backstage, the other girls following not too far behind him. There, he saw Rarity and Spike, the former of the two still standing there with a look of absolute disbelief. Spike was waving a claw in front of her face, trying to spur her out of her reverie.
"Uh... Rarity? You alright?" Nero raised an eyebrow.
"I-... you-... wha-... why-...HUH!?!" Rarity eventually snapped out of it.
"Well, I figured if everyone thought I made those dresses, your reputation wouldn't take a hit. Obviously, I'm not actually interested in fashion design, so it's not a big deal if I'm labeled for making terrible dresses. This way, your career doesn't go down the drain, and the only one who takes a hit is me, and it's a hit I can take no problem." Nero explained.
Rarity just stared at him, too shocked to find the words. After a bit, Rarity leapt at Nero and wrapped her hooves around him, much to his surprise. "Thank you so much Nero! You have no idea how much this means to me!"
Nero just kinda stood there awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to the sudden hug. He didn't think what he did was that big of a deal, it wasn't like Nero was sacrificing his own career for Rarity's. His expertise was in devil hunting, not fashion. "Uh... don't mention it?"
"Rarity?" Nero and Rarity both turned to see Twilight and the other girls standing behind them, each looking very apologetic. "We're sorry for almost ruining your career. If Nero hadn't stepped in, it would've been a disaster. Those first dresses you designed were perfect, and we should've let you keep the original designs."
"You worked really hard to make our dresses exactly the way we wanted them, and we all just saw how well that turned out." Rainbow continued, paying a glance back to the catwalk.
"We're so super sorry." Pinkie apologized, and the girls all lowered their head in shame.
"We hope you can forgive us." Fluttershy added.
"Oh girls, of course I forgive you! You all being happy with your dresses was much more important to me than making the designs I wanted." Rarity released her grip on Nero and quickly embraced a group hug with the other girls. As always, Nero couldn't help but roll his eyes at how corny these girls always were. Looking down and to his left, He could see Opalescence beside him. The look on the cat's face showed that she had a similar opinion about the girls' corniness.
At least there's something we can see eye to eye on.
"We want to make it up to you, so would it be alright if we helped you finish your own dress? We realized since you were too busy with our dresses, you didn't have time to work on your own." Twilight explained.
"Hm? Oh! Right, I almost forgot about that. Thank you girls, I would very much appreciate the extra help!" Rarity smiled, and they all made their way to the backstage exit. As they did, Twilight walked side by side with Nero and subtly leaned over to him.
"I still feel bad about ruining Rarity's fashion show like this." She whispered to the devil hunter.
"Eh, you don't have to. I stopped her career from going down the drain, didn't I? Problem solved." He whispered back.
"Yes, but this fashion show was also meant to get Hoity Toity's attention and boost Rarity's career. Even if you stopped her career from going downhill, we still took away her big chance."
"I'm guessing you have a plan then?"
"I do." Twilight nodded with a determined smile. "First, we need to help Rarity finish her dress. Then..." Twilight whispered the rest of her plan into Nero's ear as the group made their way back to Carousel Boutique.
It had only taken them a day to finish Rarity's dress, and it was incredibly gorgeous. Rarity felt great satisfaction seeing the finished design and wanted to celebrate with the other girls, but they said there was something they needed to take care of as they went into the changing area of her shop. Obviously, Rarity was very confused and wanted to see what they were up to, but Nero convinced her to stay in the front with him and Spike. She had a feeling they knew what the girls were planning, but when she tried to ask, they dodged her questions, merely saying it was a surprise.
Imagine her shock when the entrance bell to her shop rang and Hoity Toity of all ponies entered almost 10 minutes later. "All right, I haven't got all day. Where are the dresses I was asked to see? My train back to Canterlot leaves in a few hours, and I would rather not miss it." He asked upon entering.
"H-H-H-Hoity Toity!? W-What-?! When-!? Why-!?" Rarity stammered.
"Ah, Hoity Toity. Glad you could spare us your time." Nero casually greeted him, unphased by his arrival.
"You again? Don't tell me you intend to waste more of my time with your awful designs." Hoity huffed.
"Okay, ignoring the blunt insult, this isn't for me. We asked you here to see her designs." Nero pointed to Rarity, who was looking between Nero and Hoity in disbelief. "I've got a feeling you'll like them. Anyway, the girls should be just about ready now. Spike, could you get the lights?"
"You got it!" The baby dragon saluted as he turned off the lights and closed the window curtains, enveloping the Boutique in darkness. After a few seconds, some spotlights flickered on and shined down on the miniature stage that was used to display mannequins for customers, only the mannequins had been removed. Instead, Twilight was standing on the stage, wearing the original dress Rarity had designed for her. The dress was blue, similar to the night sky, and had several white and pale blue star patterns on it to match. Twilight wore a pair of star-shaped earrings to go along with it.
"Why hello..." Hoity Toity lowered his glasses to get a better look at the dress Twilight was wearing. "Oh, this certainly isn't the same designer. This dress clearly has talent put into it."
Nero rolled his eyes at the comment. That definitely wasn't going away anytime soon.
The curtains on the stage closed, hiding Twilight from view. When they opened again, it was Applejack standing on the stage. Just like Twilight, AJ was wearing Rarity's original design. The dress had a lot of green and brown colors with a few red accents and gave off an old western style, and the collar had an apple-shaped pin on it. On top, Applejack wore a Stetson hat with fancy and intricate designs, including two apple-shaped patches. Below, she wore a pair of fancy green cowboy boots with apple-shaped spurs. To add to the look, Applejack had braided her mane and tail.
"Simply magnificent!" Hoity applauded. "And I suddenly have a fierce craving for some Dutch apple pie, candied apples on a stick, apple turnovers, apple cobbler..."
As Hoity Toity ranted, the curtains closed again and Nero leaned over to Rarity. "You might wanna go backstage and start putting your own dress on if you want him to see it." He whispered to her. Rarity blinked a couple times, trying to overcome the shock that had taken over her before processing what he said. She gave him a nod, mouthed a 'thank you!' and rushed over to the changing area.
The curtains opened again, this time revealing Pinkie Pie. Her dress was mostly pink with white and light blue striped accents. It was also decorated with different candy patterns, and a small white hat sat on the head with a pink bow attached to it. "Brilliant!" Hoity cheered. After the curtain closed, he jumped in surprise when a flash of light and a loud roar of thunder erupted from behind the curtain.
The curtains parted yet again to reveal Rainbow Dash, flying a few inches above the stage in her own dress. Fittingly, the dress consisted mainly of rainbow-colored fabrics, and had a cloud-shaped lining along the trim. A gold feathered head accessory rested on her head, and a silver necklace was draped around her neck, with purple decorative grapes dangling from it. Below, she wore two golden Grecian sandals on her hooves. Finally, the end of her mane had been tied into a small ponytail.
That flash of lighting and thunder wasn't part of the plan. Guess Rainbow wanted to add some flare to her intro.
"Oh, spectacular!" Hoity seemed to still be enjoying the show regardless.
Next up was Fluttershy. The curtains opened once more to reveal the shy pegasus in her dress, which was a forest green color and had flowers decorating the hem. A sky-blue butterfly design was on the chest, and a similar butterfly design was used for the earrings. Her mane had been decorated with more flowers, and the ends of her mane had been styled into curls.
"Now this is a fashion show! Oh, these dresses are absolutely amazing!" Hoity turned to face Nero as the curtain closed again. "You said that mare made these dresses, correct? Oh, where did she run off to? Step forward, show yourself!" The fashion critic looked around the room for Rarity, but was unable to find her.
"She's right here." Nero gestured back to the stage. On cue, the curtains opened again. This time, it was Rarity standing on the stage, wearing her own dress. Rarity's dress was a bright maroon color with yellow accents and frills, and she wore glass slippers on each of her hooves. Gold and maroon earrings rested on her ears and a golden tiara with a purple jewel in the center sat on her head. Hoity Toity was amazed and astounded by the beauty of her dress.
"Brava! Brava! Magnifico! Encore!" Hoity clapped his hooves together.
"Oh, thank you! Thank you! OOH! Thank you all so much!!!" Rarity began thanking everyone in the room, looking like she was on the verge of joyful tears. Clearly, their second take on the fashion show had been a success.
"You know, you could learn a thing or two from her." Hoity mentioned to Nero, who just stared back at him with a deadpan expression.
Later, after the second fashion show had concluded, the girls were all chatting amongst each other, admiring their new dresses. Off to the side, Twilight was having Spike write a letter to Celestia about what she and Rarity had learned this week.
"Dear Princess Celestia, this week, my very talented friend Rarity learned that if you try to please everypony, you often times end up pleasing nopony, especially yourself. And I learned this: When somepony offers to do you a favor, like making you a beautiful dress, you shouldn't be overly critical of something generously given to you. In other words, you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth." She chuckled. After finishing the letter, Spike rolled it up and blew green flames onto it, the ashes flying out the window and towards Canterlot.
"Rarity, my congratulations to you on a most impressive fashion debut!" Hoity Toity exclaimed as he approached Rarity. "No offense to your friend, but your dresses were leagues better than his!"
"Ah, yes... about that..." Rarity paid a glance over at Nero, who was currently talking with Rainbow Dash about continuing their flying lessons at some point. Not only had he helped as her assistant, but he also kept encouraging her to keep pushing forward as they both struggled to make the dresses exactly how her friends wanted them. Granted, he had only acted as her assistant as payback for destroying her roof, but he still helped.
On top of that, he took the blame for the awful dresses so that it wouldn't hurt her reputation, and he helped Twilight convince Hoity Toity to come see her original designs. Nero may not have been interested in a fashion career, but it felt wrong to let his name become a laughingstock among the fashion industry after all he did for her. Having made a decision, Rarity turned back to Hoity Toity. "You see, those dresses you saw yesterday weren't made by Nero. They were actually made by me."
Hoity's eyes widened behind his sunglasses. "I beg your pardon!? T-That couldn't possibly be true! Those hideous designs are nothing like the ones I saw today!"
"I'm afraid that's our fault." Rarity and Hoity turned upon hearing Twilight's voice. She'd overheard the conversation and decided to step in. "The dresses you saw today are the ones Rarity had originally made for us. However, we had our own ideas for what we wanted the dresses to look like and asked for them to be made exactly the way we wanted. What you saw last night was the result of that. Nero didn't want to see Rarity's reputation be ruined, so he lied about making the dresses."
"Hmm, I see. I appreciate you two telling me about this. I was going to tell my colleagues about it as a bit of gossip, but after hearing what you've said, that wouldn't be very fair to him." Hoity Toity thanked the mares. "Either way, after seeing your work here today, Rarity, it's clear you have great talent in fashion! Would you do me the great honor of allowing me to feature your couture in my best of the best boutique in Canterlot?"
Rarity's eyes sparkled at the very idea of having her dresses featured in a Canterlot Boutique! And the best of the best Boutique at that! "Why of course! I would be delighted and honored!" Rarity gasped in excitement.
"Splendid! Now, I'll need you to make a dozen of each dress for me by next Tuesday." Hoity said as if it was a completely normal request. Upon hearing said request, Rarity's eye began to twitch and she felt like she was going to faint.
"A-... a dozen of each, you say? I-I see, t-that's...uh...oh..." Rarity found herself unable to keep her balance and fainted on the spot. A few feet away, Nero was still chatting with Rainbow, but his enhanced hearing had allowed him to overhear the entire conversation. He couldn't help but smile after hearing Rarity stand up for him. However, after hearing Hoity's request, he had a feeling Rarity was going to need some help getting all those dresses done on time.
It would seem his time as Rarity's assistant was far from over.