//------------------------------// // Each lash in her eye is really white roots. // Story: Outlet. // by Reptilicus //------------------------------// After a few goodbyes and words of encouragement, Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight soon found themselves on a train. It's destination: Canterlot. The Royal City, where Twilight herself had grown up and studied as an envoy to the Princess. It was a beautiful place, nestled next to a proud violet mountain where large waterfalls cascaded onto the rolling hills below. Every building shaped like vases, tops, and and tents. Marble, porcelain, and gold trim for the walls of most homes, with streets made of polished slate, lined with cobblestone walkways and golden staircases, each covered in royal purple pennants that had the yellow sun-shaped stamp that had come to be the symbol of royalty. The taller more elegant striped buildings were dotted with flags, pennants, tapestries, antennas and weather vanes. Each of these used for recording fluctuation in the weather and magic. It was a city of science and progress and for the most part, very VERY wealthy ponies. The upper crust of society. They made up the majority of the population in town, the rest going to members of the castle staff, students, and members of the royal family. Every day was like a stampede, with the various aristocrats rushing out of their homes to do business and be social in the sort of way only those raised in lavish surroundings could. Networking, connections, and general stuffiness were the best way to make friends here. And for someone as sociable and clever as Rarity, it was the perfect sort of place. She knew how to bend these ponies to her will. Twilight had grown up in the city, studying magic and various scientific applications under the tutelage of the Princess herself. She had become fascinated with knowledge and had become a very cold hermit of a pony until a year prior when the Princess had forced her to live in Ponyville. It was a reluctant change for the bookworm, but one she sorely needed. She had no real friends and had never formed a real relationship with anyone outside her family. It was unhealthy for such a young lass to sit in a dusty old library surrounded by grimoires and historical tomes all day. Twilight had never regretted the move. Ever since moving to the small dusty town of Ponyville, her life had changed for the better. She'd learned what it truly meant to have a friend, to love someone you hardly knew, to make a connection with strangers who shared your interests. It had filled her life with a new sort of joy. Even now, simply being sandwiched between Applejack and Rarity on the crowded train, Twilight experienced little else but excitement. While this was little else but a business venture for her companions, it was an adventure for her. One she could share with two of her closest friends. And simultaneously, she'd get to visit her old home and family. Whom she had not seen in quite a while. Applejack tried to grin and seem as excited as her friends, but it was difficult. The few times she had been to Canterlot had left a bad taste in her mouth. Sure the city itself was gorgeous, truly a kingdom befitting of a goddess like Princess Celestia. But the inhabitants were jerks. Stuffy, stuck-up, rude, and generally unable to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, in Applejack's opinion. Every pony in the city, with their top hats and monocles, crowns and tiaras, waistcoats and lapels, corsets and cravats, just seemed to represent everything she disliked about city life. Everything she had disliked about her stay with her Aunt and Uncle Orange in Manehatten. Everything she had, at one time, disliked about her friend Rarity, until she had gotten to know her better. It was this thought that had finally made Applejack agree to come on this trip in the first place. A small part of her hoped that maybe she was wrong. Maybe she'd find something to like about these 'fancy folk' if she hung around them for a while. But she wasn't counting on it. The pony to the right of her was currently gabbing about how much he disliked the sound of birds in the morning. How they interrupted his favorite record he liked to play when he awoke. He was lucky to have birds at all, in Applejack's opinion. And she would have told it to his face as well, but she knew it'd just embarrass Rarity and Twilight and so she kept her mouth shut, and quietly rode the train, a look of frustration and boredom on her orange features. ********************************************************************************************* "Still don't see why I gotta be here, Rare. I mean....I like coffee n' all but this place is kinda...weird." said Applejack, trying to lean away from a tall gangly stallion with a beret who was invested heartily in a board game with a young mare wearing a hijab. She'd never seen two ponies so enthralled with a game before. Whatever the 'Settlers of Catan' was, it was certainly making the two players shout a lot and point angrily at the pieces. "It's also kind of small." Twilight peeped quietly from the large worn couch she was sitting on. A glass hookah sat to her right on top of a pile of art magazines and a few empty mugs that had, at one point, been full of iced coffee. The kind that kept ponies up all night. Opera laced with techno beats was being played quietly over the speakers. "It's not weird. Or small. It is 'indy' thank you very much." Rarity shot back. "This is where budding culture comes from." The three were sitting in a rather snug and smug art house nestled in the lower areas of Canterlot. The Painterly Pony Perch was a sort of all-in-one go-to spot for art aficionados, musicians, and hipsters. Paintings, live music, coffee, cuisine, and more made up the interior. A small well-lit stage harbored a few ponies who felt like reading poetry, singing, or perhaps trying a bit of improv comedy. Everyone inside had clearly come from all walks of life. Ponies, donkeys, deer, zebras, and a single giraffe were crowded into the establishment, each in very different sort of garbs, mingling. In an ironic twist, Applejack fit in more than her two friends, simply because of her oversized hat. Rarity's beautiful coif of curls and striking good looks made her stick out like a sore thumb. Twilight stuck out simply because of how uncomfortable she looked. Wallflower of the year! She turned to see that someone had painted her teacher and mentor Princess Celestia, only now that person had painted her as a tyrant, lording over armies of ponies with a red sinister light on her face. Twilight frowned at the art and it's misrepresentation of her teacher. She made a mental note to seek out whoever made it and tell them off. "I don't think culture is the only thing buddin' here, Sugarcube. If y'all catch my drift." Applejack shot back with a grin. Rarity took a quick sniff of the air. "Oh dear. Well I shall have to inform the owner then, now won't I?" "I think he's the one smoking, Rare." Applejack pointed over at the owner of the art house, who was leaning against the tiki bar with a calm contemplative grin on his face. An old grey goat with his mane done up in several small dreadlocks, each tipped with a small colorful ribbon, including the one in his beard. "I don't like this place, Rarity. It feels......dirty." Twilight grumbled from the couch. "Oh for goodness sake, Twilight and Applejack. Would you two relax? We've only been here an hour and you two have whined incessantly the entire time. There is nothing wrong with a bit of culture. Why we should be very thankful that they allowed us to display Applejack's art in the window and out front for free just to attract customers. Now we get free drinks and food here and you two are just sitting here acting like you're in danger. Just lie back and drink it in." "Drink it in, huh?" Applejack picked up her iced cinammon mochaccino and took a sip. She licked her lips and sat as if in thought before quickly downing the whole thing. "Mmm! That there ain't bad at all. Wouldn't mind waking up to one of those in the mornin'." "There, see?" said Rarity, shooting a small glare in Twilight's direction. "So lemme get this straight here." Applejack began as she swished the ice around the empty glass. "Folks come here to drink, eat, hear music and look at art, right?" "Mmm hmm." Rarity nodded. "Then why do we gotta come all the way here to do it? Shoot, Rare. I got plenty of food and drinks at home. And I can play the violin pretty good. Why not just do this sort of thing back in Ponyville with ponies we know?" "Because the purpose of this whole thing is to try to get ponies to bid on your paintings, Applejack. Ponies with lots of bits who are willing to spend superfluous amounts on paintings that you no longer want. Nobody like that in Ponyville, but here? Oh goodness, yes. Plenty." "Then why are we here?" "Because plenty of very important ponies come here to scout out new talent. You're on display out front, which is pretty prestigious for this place. We're pretty much guaranteed to have a gallery owner waltz by and fall in love with your pieces." "How longs that gonna take?" "Can't be sure, really. It may not even happen today." "You mean we might have to come here again, Rarity?" Twilight asked, as a mare in a sequin gown to her right began to play the national anthem through a golden harmonica. "Yeah I can't see muhself wantin' to spend more time here, Rare. I'm with Twi. I don't like this place." "Applejack you promised you'd at least make an effort to enjoy yourself. So please at least try. Please? For me?" Rarity leaned over and fluttered her long eyelashes sweetly, causing Applejack to blush slightly and frown. "Ugh, fine. I will try." Applejack grunted as she leaned back in her chair and ordered another iced coffee along with an avocado muffin. Rarity leaned back in her cushioned chair listening the chattering around her and the quiet opera over the loudspeakers. Ponies of all walks of life were sitting back in the casual atmosphere discussing a myriad of topics. She loved this sort of atmosphere and soon found herself so relaxed that she was nodding off. Twilight reluctantly found herself in a chess match with a complete stranger which she promptly won several times. Applejack grew bored of mundane activity around her and decided it was time to make her own fun. She cast a mischievous glance at the small lit stage where a pony in a fedora was playing a merry beat on some bongo drums. **************************************************************************************** "Rarity...wake up....WAKE UP!" Twilight shouted directly into her friends delicate ear, causing Rarity's eyes to shoot open. She sat up straight looking around in panic. "What? What ever is going on!?" she turned to see that there was a very elegantly dressed mare to her right. The pony was studying Rarity intently, with an amused grin playing about her features. A red shawl and plaid ascot adorned her thin body, small beads of pearls above each hoof. Very small golden spectacles sat perched on her snout. Small pink buttons sat on the lapels of her purple overcoat. She had achieved a look Rarity often strove towards herself, managing to look fancy and approachable all at once. "Hello, Miss Rarity." the mare began in a very clear voice with a similar accent to Rarity's own. "My name is Belle. Your friend here tells me you are Miss Applejack's manager?" "Well, I uh, well that is.....I'm her old friend, really. I've sort of become her agent, trying to get her some exposure in the art world you see. Networking and such." "Then you are precisely who I need to talk with! I have a little gallery uptown. It's usually more of a vanity gallery but I'm absolutely entranced by the pieces I've seen out front and would love to have a small exhibition for your friend free of charge. Is she present? I'd love to meet the unknown virtuoso of these things!" "She is present....um, somewhere." Rarity realized for the first time since she had awaken that Applejack appeared to be missing. Rarity took a quick glance around, searching, before leaning over to whisper to Twilight. "Where is she?" With a small sheepish grin Twilight pointed a hoof timidly over the back of the couch behind Belle and Rarity. "She's over there. Performing." It was at that moment that Rarity became fully conscious of the atmosphere around herself. Gone was the chattering of various ponies. Instead all the patrons of the art house were all staring past her at the stage located in the back. Their faces ranging from confusion to stifled laughter and horror. The light opera music had stopped and instead there was a crisp sound of......was that....fiddling? Someone was playing slightly off-tune fiddle music onstage. Rarity felt her skin grow cold and her heartbeat speed up. Nervously she turned slowly around to face the stage. Silently praying to Celestia that it wouldn't be Applejack on stage, playing her fiddle. Of course it was. That was just the sort of luck Rarity had when something important needed to get done. Applejack was just finishing up with a rousing pizzicato performance of "Turkey in the Straw" with the sort of gusto only she could manage. Small wisps of smoke flew off the strings of her tiny violin as she furiously played, smiling happily as sweat ran down her freckled orange face. The old goat who owned the art house seemed to be enjoying it, tapping his hooves merrily, his braided fetlocks bouncing about as he danced. When the song ended Applejack tipped her hat. The old goat whistled loudly as the other patrons clapped politely, unsure of what to think of the uncommon performance. Applejack had never received applause of any sort for her music and tipped her hat again, deciding to go on. "Well thank y'all. Hmm what should I play next here....ooh! Oh I know! This one my Grandpappy taught me to play when I was just a lil' filly. It's called 'The Daffodil of Appleloosa'." With a cough and a tweak of the strings, Applejack launched into a slightly more subdued bluegrass song, playing delicately with her eyes closed. A few of the ponies in the bar got up and walked out, unable to take anymore of this southern music. Rarity sat transfixed at what was happening around her, completely and entirely forgetting she had Belle and Twilight on either side of her. "So...that's Miss Applejack?" Belle asked flatly, her face entirely expressionless. Rarity slowly closed her jaw which had been hanging agape for over a minute. She swallowed nervously and smiled at Belle who was watching the stage intently. "Y...yes." "I see." ************************************************************************************* It had begun raining by the time the three friends exited the establishment. The paintings on display were packed back into a large leather portfolio and placed into a small cart that Applejack pulled along. A small blanket had been thrown over it all to keep water from getting onto it. The three companions had donned rain slickers as they trotted down the street. A sort of quiet silence coming from between them. Rarity was staring at the cobblestone ground, an unhappy frown on her face, made even worse by the running mascara from all the rain. Applejack seemed nonplussed, rain was no issue for a pony who spent most of her time outside. She also didn't see what the big deal was. So ONE pony had come forward with an opportunity and apparently left when she saw Applejack playing music on stage. Was it really that big of a deal? Twilight trotted along a few feet from the other two, a nearly invisible force field around her head, gleaming out from her unicorn horn, preventing any rain from getting onto her face and ruining her hairdo. She kept her eyes averted to the road ahead, but couldn't help but glance occasionally at the other two. This whole event seemed to be straining their friendship. Neither pony looked ready to speak to the other yet. Twilight decided to break the ice as best as possible. "This new place sounds nice, Rarity. Maybe it won't be so bad." Twilight smiled as hard as she could within her waterproof magical sphere. "It can't be any worse than the last place we went to!" "It's another downtown independent art coalition, Twilight. Just another meaningless sidestep to our real goal. Just MORE wasted time." "Ponies could still discover Applejack's art there right?" "I don't know. I've never heard of it, which means it's probably awful. And now that it's raining we'll have to ask if they have room INSIDE the building for display. This is assuming of course they even WANT to display anything from the likes of we." "If ya ask me." Applejack began. "Would we really wanna be associated with someone as icy as that Belle gal anyway? I mean shoot, if a little fiddlin' is enough to turn her away, then clearly its a fault of hers and not ours. It ain't our problem." "She's not the one walking through the freezing rain, Applejack." Rarity shot back. "She's also not the one who decided to put on an impromptu viola recital complete with yodeling in the middle of an upper-class socialite bar!" "Rare you said, and I quote, 'please try to enjoy yourself, Applejack!'" Applejack replied, imitating Rarity's accent with a high-pitched falsetto. "And I did. I had a good old time up there. Isn't that what you wanted? Me to stop belly-achin'?" "You could have had a good time without making us look bad." Applejack stopped in the road, glancing at Rarity, a look of treachery in her green eyes. Her lower jaw clenched slightly as she squinted, the rain dripping off her brown stetson. Twilight bit her lip nervously. Maybe breaking the ice hadn't been such a good idea. "So that's what this is all about, huh?" Applejack murmured. "You asked me to come, Rare. I didn't have to!" "I know, I know. I'm sorry." Rarity wheeled around. "I'm just....I'm very stressed out right now." "You think I ain't stressed!?" Applejack shouted. There was a flash of lightning that tore across the sky, exploding with light that gleamed on every wet stone on the street, causing all three ponies to jump in fright. "I can repel rain but not lightning, girls." Twilight squeaked as she took off down the street. "Maybe we can talk about this indoors!" Belle had decided not to house Applejack's art in her gallery. But before she'd left the three alone she had given them a business card. It was for another gallery on the other side of town that was more suited for those with "robust tastes" as she had curtly said to Rarity before leaving the art house. It wasn't much but after half the patrons had left the bar and the three friends had been escorted out, it was pretty much their only option at this point. Being a mare of connections, Rarity was very worried that neither she nor Twilight had ever heard of the 'Bold Bronco Balcony' or any of the artists showcased there. But in times of desperation, Rarity would rather try her luck there then remain in the cold lightning storm that was passing over Canterlot. The three ran down the slippery street, periodic flashes of lightning creating oblong shadows across the environment as they passed between buildings and around carriages, occasionally bumping into other ponies trying to find shelter from the weather. Eventually they saw it, an red building that had at one time been a bell-tower, now with large white flags fluttering violently in the wind from it's roof. Dim orange windows gleamed through the arched loggia of it's walls. A series of windchimes near the doorframe clattered noisily as the three ponies rushed into the building, dripping wet. They sat in the foyer for a moment, shivering. Rarity began magically plucking leaves out of her mane. On a good day her purple locks of hair were curled perfectly, bouncing with each step and gleaming in the sun. When it came to looking gorgeous, she was the talk of the town. But now her hair, in it's rain-slickened state, hung lifelessly from her head nearly reaching the floor as she sat, pulling bits from the stringy mess. Applejack took her stetson off and hung it on the hat rack near the door. "This place is pretty nice, actually." Twilight said quietly, still out of breath as she looked around. "This seems more like an art gallery to me than the last place we were at." "Yes I suppose it does." Rarity replied listlessly, pawing at the long purple ropes of hair that had one time been her perfect hairdo. "I hope they have some space here. How is the art doing, Applejack? I hope it wasn't ruined in the storm." "Nah, it's fine." Applejack replied as she sat on the floor, glad to be under the warm fluorescent lighting. She glanced over at Rarity, who was still trying to get her abundance of hair under control. Rarity's natural mane style would probably have been described from herself as 'uncouth' but Applejack preferred it. It felt a lot more real than the hair-gel coif that usually sat atop her head. "I like yer hair that way, Rarity. Looks nice." "MMmm hmm." Rarity hummed, trying to seem distracted. She liked the compliment but she'd disagree wholeheartedly with the statement about her hair. "Also I'm sorry I got us kicked outta that.....fancy place." "It's fine, really. I shouldn't have blamed it on you. I often forget how different this place is from Ponyville. Makes me appreciate my home much more. And my friends." She finished, giving Applejack an affectionate nudge with a hoof. "I'm the one who should be sorry." "I'd forgotten how many jerks are in this town." Twilight mumbled. "How on earth did I manage to live here for so long?" One of the white doors in the foyer swung open with a magical push as a brown unicorn stepped through it. He had a long curled mustache and a yellow frilly scarf tied to his dark grey neck. He was grey almost all over except down near his haunches where some brown splotches of hair messed with the uniformity of his coat. On his flank was a cutie mark of a camera lens, showing off his special talent. He grinned widely at the three young mares. "Allo, allo, there. Rarity, Twilight, and Applejack the artist I presume?" "Yes, that would be us." Rarity replied, extending a hoof to shake his. "How did you uh......" "Old friend gave me a ring. Said you three might be showing up. I am Marciano Dervish, but you may call me Marco if you wish. I'm the curator of this whole.....eh, thing." He rolled his eyes and tilted his head at the ceiling. "It was just a strict gallery once but now I can't be sure what to call it anymore. Excuse me miss, but aren't you a representative of the Princess herself?" Twilight shook his hoof happily. "Well yes, she trained me personally." "Oh ho ho HO! A celebrity in my house! Well this storm isn't so bad after all, no?" He bent his head and gave Twilight's lavender hoof a small kiss. "The Canterlot Royal family has saved my life many times! Anything you want, I shall provide!" "....Belle told you we were coming?" Rarity was shocked. "One and the same, mademoiselle. Now, since we have the formalities over and done with, let us see this art." "Oh it's uh, here in this wagon." Applejack began trying to pull the blanket off. A small beam of magic fired out from the stallion's horn, removing the blanket, unzipping the portfolio and quickly levitating the squad of paintings into the air in a matter of seconds. "So, these are yours, yes?" he asked glancing at Applejack. "Yup." "Brutal. Honest. Strange. Dirty. Ugly. Yet beautiful all at once. Yes, these are going up. Plus any friend of royalty is a friend of mine. Come! Let us get you warmed up and set up shall we?" With a flick of his curly tail and his yellow scarf the stallion exited one of the doors, follow closely by a parade of hovering paintings and three very amused but confused ponies. At least this somewhat gloomy day was brightening up, for the time being.