Disclaimer: CC Cover art and all written material within is intellectual property of user Persianjuliet, and may not be used without consent of the author.
My Little Pony and all related characters are property of Hasbro and Lauren Faust.
Song: Popular by Kristen Chenoweth (from Wicked)
Wide Eyes' New Tunic
“Vivy’s place” was only a block away from Pirouette’s extravagant house, and turned out to be a small clothier’s with a modest and unassuming brick storefront. It gave one a pleasant, charming impression, with the weathered bricks, tangled ivy growing in tendrils up the walls, and curly black metalwork decorating the small bench out front. The curling letters on the small sign over the door read “Vivacity”, and nothing else. The enigmatic sign fired up my curiosity, and I followed willingly as Pirouette led us inside.
Only one light was on, dimly lighting the small shop’s interior. Rows of neatly folded garment rose from floor to ceiling on every wall, and the floor space was cluttered with well-dressed ponnequins. I had to squeeze in awkwardly behind Pirouette as she moved, sure-hoofed, to the back of the shop.
“Hellooo, Vivy!” She called cheerfully. A door opened in the back, and out trotted the smallest mare I had ever seen.
She was mint-green, with a thick, shaggy yellow mane-and-tail-style. She wore a tailor’s vest, stitched to accommodate as many pockets as it possibly could. The pockets overflowed with pincushions, magically blunted needles, measuring tape, and spools of half-unwound thread that hung loosely about her legs and tangled together in a colorful mess. She was middle-aged, but the only lines on her face were laugh lines. I liked her immediately, but she was tiny, as big as- if not smaller than- most short-lived ponies. She beamed at me and hugged Pirouette. The pink mare looked like a swan next to the little sparrow of a tailor. I felt like a turkey.
Pirouette introduced us. “Vivy, this is Low’s cousin Wide Eyes. Wide Eyes, this is Vivacity. She’s the best tailor in Canterlot, I promise you won’t be disappointed. I don’t buy from anypony but her!”
I shook hooves with the diminutive seamstress, smiling. She had an air of competent cheer. Before I could say anything except “Hi”, she was circling me. She examined me from nose to tail, peering closely.
When she spotted my flank, she shot Pirouette an inquisitive glance. The mare shook her head almost imperceptibly, and Vivacity shrugged and went back to looking at me. I fidgeted nervously. Finally, she moved back in front of me, looking up at me with a look of triumph.
“Well, I think I’ve got the perfect thing for you, miss.” Vivacity’s voice was strangely accented, the tones from somewhere I couldn’t place. She noticed that I had noticed, and patted my hoof. “I’m from Shetland, dearie. Fairly far from Canterlot, by all accounts.”
I grinned sheepishly, embarrassed that she had been able to guess what I was thinking so well. The miniature pony moved away, bustling across the crowded shop. She returned immediately, carrying a folded garment inside a field of minty green magic. Unfolding it, she held it up to the light so I could see.
Displayed in the grip of her magic was a red and burnt-orange short tunic. It was embroidered with a pattern of leaves, and the scalloped hems were a tasteful light brown. “The fabric is a light cotton blend, and the sleeves and edging are faux silk,” explained Vivacity. “It’s much cheaper and easier to manufacture silk with magic than to harvest it from silkworms. We do the same with faux leather- as if anypony would ever wear real leather! Ugh. Anyway, what do you think?”
I loved it, and said as much. She ordered me to raise my forelegs and fold my wings, and before I knew it, I was standing in front of a full-length mirror and smiling ear to ear. The muted autumn colors complimented my coat and mane perfectly, and the style was fashionable, yet not too dressy or flashy for a casual date.
“Wonderful!” cheered Pirouette. “I knew you could do it, Vivy.”
The tailor waved the compliment away casually. “Special price for a good customer. Six bits, twelve pence.”
I gaped at the figure she named. I could have bought a whole new outfit for that much! I started to protest to Pirouette that she really didn’t have to pay for it, but she brushed aside my concerns with an airy wave of her hoof.
I felt uncomfortable, letting Pirouette pay for my tunic. I frowned as she hoofed over the bits to a smiling Vivy, and I was still frowning when we left the shop. My family wasn’t poor- not by a long shot- but we definitely weren’t rich. I rarely, if ever, splurged on anything. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, though- I longed to walk out of a high end shop, weighed down with bags and bags of merchandise- but that longing only made me feel guilty about allowing Pirouette to buy me the overpriced (in my eyes, at least) garment.
“Pirouette, I love the tunic. But you really didn’t have to, you know…”
My cousin’s fillyfriend fixed me with a stern look. “See here, Wide Eyes. You’re my coltfriend’s little cousin, which makes you almost family, in my eyes. I don’t let my friends or family down, and ‘m not going to let you go on a date- your first date- without the suitable attire. Got it?”
I nodded dumbly; how could I argue? I still didn’t feel good about the situation, but I knew now that there was nothing I could say or do to change the stubborn mare’s mind. I smiled a little as a thought occurred to me. Well, at least I know that she’s a good match for Low Tide. They suit each other.
We walked back to her house. Common Ground and Low Tide were waiting for us by the door, and both stallions expressed admiration at the new tunic when I slipped it on. I pulled my wings through the slits in the back and twisted my head to admire how the fabric settled.
“The colors really suit you,” Low complimented me as I twirled. “You’re yellow and brown, so the autumn stuff really looks nice.”
I smiled at him, completing my turn. Pirouette chimed in brightly. “Yeah! I could never wear something like that; it would look awful on a pink coat.”
Low chuckled. “I can’t imagine anything looking awful on you.”
The ballerina blushed and waved her hoof at him. “Oh, you.”
I rolled my eyes at Common Ground and pretended to gag. “Oh, yuck.”
I was only teasing, however. I liked the pretty dancer, and I thought they made an adorable pair. They noted my fake distress and decided to tease me further. Low fluttered his eyelashes at Pirouette like a maiden. “Darling dearest, what say we adjourn for now? Let me take you to the boudoir and shower you with kisses.”
Pirouette fake-swooned. “You rugged stallion, you! However did I live without you?”
“It’s a mystery to everypony.” Common Ground deadpanned. I laughed, taken aback by the stallionservant’s unexpected wit. Pirouette grinned and flung a foreleg across the straight-faced butler’s shoulders.
“Oh, that’s right. I harried Common Ground mercilessly from dawn ‘til dusk.”
“Everypony needs a hobby.” offered Low with a grin.
“And may I say that I am over the moon now that Miss Pirouette has found a new one.” parried Common without hesitation.
The three of us laughed, and even the bass-voiced stallionservant cracked a tiny smile.
Common Ground was always faithful to Pirouette, up to the day he died. He was of shorter-lived stock than his mistress, barely passing the lifespan of an earth pony, but even when he officially retired and passed the station on to his children (a mare and a stallion, both of whom took after him in their serious manner and devotion to Pirouette), he could always be found pottering about the kitchens or the garden, doing odd jobs and supervising “his” household. He was a kind-hearted soul, despite his formal ways, and Low found a great friend and ally in him in the years to come. He became like a second father to my cousin, and I only regret that I never knew him better.
The laughter died in my throat when I looked at the clock. My ears went back in panic, and I silenced the others with a shout. “Oh my gosh, you guys! I only have fifteen minutes!”
The mood of the group shifted instantly. Pirouette bore down on me, making tiny adjustments to my mane-and-tail ‘do, fixing my tunic, and generally fussing over me. Common faded away without our noticing (he was an expert at that), and Low ushered me to the door.
“I’ll show you back to the gates.” My cousin offered kindly.
“We’ll be waiting up to hear aaaaaall about it!” added Pirouette.
I waved to the dancer as Low and I took off. We soared until we reached the second traffic layer, where alicorns flew just over the tops of buildings. Following traffic etiquette, we slowed to a galloping pace to match the movements of the other flyers.
It wasn’t crowded, but I had never flown in city traffic before. Nervous, I stuck so close to Low that our wings kept brushing. He shot me an annoyed glance, and I moved away.
There were several layers of flight traffic over the city. The slowest level, and the most-used, was the one we were currently occupying. There were faster lanes above, and above those was a free-flying zone. It was convenient for ponies to take to the air, rather than add to congestion on the street, but at the same time it required some form of organizations to keep ponies from collisions or “traffic jams”.
We moved through the air, our wingbeats falling into a steady rhythm. The gates weren’t far from Pirouette’s estate, and we reached them with minutes to spare. I was drawing looks from more ponies than usual, but it was a pleasant feeling to be looked at for something besides my Cutie Mark problem. I smiled and ruffled my wings a little as we lit down on the roughly cobbled sidewalk.
Low Tide gave me an affectionate hug. “See ya later, Wide Eyes. I hope everything goes okay, but if it doesn’t, just laugh it off. It’s no big deal in the long run.”
I returned the smile. “Thanks, Low.”
He was about to take off once more when something occurred to him. “Hey, you remember the way back to Pirouette’s place, right?”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course. I’m not totally helpless. Go on back to your fillyfriend, I’ll be fine.”
My words were confident, and Low winked and flew away. I watched him disappear into the rolling waves of airborne travelers with a smile on my face, but I wasn’t nearly as confident as I pretended to be. I felt dizzy with anxiety, and a little sick to my stomach. My nerves were so tightly wound that when somepony tapped me on the shoulder, I nearly jumped out of my new tunic.
“Hey, Wide Eyes? Wow, you look great.”
I turned and found myself staring into a pair of brilliant yellow-brown eyes. “Updraft! Hi…”