I should probably explain what I'm doing in Ponyville in the first place. Or better yet, why I'm still here. The CMC had pointed out a big reason: I don't have a Cutie Mark. I don't have a place in the world. Nothing that I'm partially good at, or that keeps me busy. This wasn't because I wasn't looking for it in my younger age, it's most likely because I didn't really have a childhood. I was orphaned after a terrible accident took my parents from me when I was just a filly, and left me with a blank slate as to who they were, or what they looked like. I've given up searching, as all I have are very faint memories of things they said, such as the 'building character' memory I had on my way to the Apple farm.
The only evidence I've been given over the years were that they were taken by a tall, pony-like creature with no face. I tried hunting him for a while, but there was so little anypony knew about this creature, that I believed I had lost the trail. But it appears it may have found me. Now I was juggling my wish to find my place, and my curiosity to learn the fate of my parents. Now that I tried (and once again failed) to obtain my own needs, it was time to focus on the bigger picture: finding the truth, and perhaps preventing this small town from further falling victim to this mysterious creature. I decided to head back to town, as Twilight may be free to help now. It's been a pretty rough day so far, so any information I could get from either the expansive library she lived in-or her own intelligence-may prove to be very crucial to my current mission. If I couldn't get to Canterlot, then I'll settle for what I can.
First, however, I needed to restock my old gear.
-S-
It was getting dark when I had all of the things I needed. I had to retrieve only small amounts at a time and leave them at my hotel room, as my old saddlebag had gotten a fair-sized hole torn into it during my flight from the Everfree. There must be somewhere in town where I could buy a new one, though I'm going to hate parting with my old one. It was made by a friend of mine who I met during my travels.
I really seem to have an attention problem, as I bumped into a unicorn, making her drop a bunch of bags and boxes she had been holding with her magic.
"Terribly sorry Miss. I guess I wasn't...wait, Rarity?" I hadn't recognized Sweetie Belle's sister until she removed an unspooled ribbon from her face, which must've flown out of one of the bags.
"You should really be watching where you're going, Shadow. I can't have these materials get messy, as they are for a new dress I'm working on." Rarity said as she began casting a bluish glow around some of the misplaced items, picking them up.
I stooped down to pick up a small bag in my mouth.
"Wait! That's-" Rarity yelled as my mouth closed around the pouch.
"Owowowow!" Instantly a needle pierced my gum. I yelped in pain, dropping the bag and clutching my now bleeding mouth.
"Oh, dear. Here, take this to help the bleeding." She hooved me a napkin she had in her saddlebag. I took it gratefully and pressed it against my bleeding gum. "You picked up my pincushion. Are you alright, dearie?"
"Well, it could definitely be better. However, I think you may be the pony I'm looking for. You own the local clothes shop, right?"
She scoffed at me. "I don't own just any old 'clothes' shop. I own a boutique, and pride myself in making only the fanciest of gowns and hats anypony could ask for." She looked me over for a second. "What are you looking for, a new suit, or something more, simple, like a coat?" She glanced at my saddlebag, "or perhaps a new bag? Pardon my saying, but yours seems to be a bit of a wreck."
"Actually, that's exactly what I need. Do you think you have the time to make a new one for me, or that I could at least look at your selection, and see if there is one I might be able to use?" I continued to help her pick up clothing materials (more gingerly this time) with only one hoof, as my other one was still dabbing my mouth.
Rarity smiled. "Of course, although I must discourage you from putting anything else sharp into your mouth, so let me take these bags." She picked up a couple of bags near me, including the one with her pincushion. I picked up the rest, (as i figured may have been the right thing to do, especially for a pony like Rarity), and we headed off in the direction of her boutique.
-S-
Although I'm not the pony talk to when it comes to fashion or decor, I found Rarity's boutique quite the sight, even from the outside in the evening light. I had seen the large, circular roof from pretty much across town, but this as the first time I had stopped to admire the entirety of its architecture. Few places I've heard of could boast that there seemed to be more room on the inside than possible, but walking in the front door, I could see that this was one of those buildings. She had placed many dresses and suits on display around the room of different colors and styles, and one stand in the corner was what I presumed was a work in progress, as there were bits of material and crafting tools around it. In another part of the large room was a platform with mirrors around it, which was the fitting area. Yet she still had a ton of open space in the center of the room, enough for someone to put up a small fashion show or something. All this space, and I haven't even seen the upstairs. Ponyville doesn't cease to amaze me, with all these simple to overlook majesties.
After we put the materials away, Rarity looked over my old satchel.
"My, my, this ratty old thing is practically rags. How it hasn't fallen apart before now is beyond me. I can set you up with a much more fashionable one in a jiffy." Rarity said, and turned to retrieve some cloth.
"Well, if you'd pardon me, Rarity, but I kinda liked the design my old one had. It was custom-made for everything I needed. Couldn't you consider using the same setup?" I asked.
She turned back to me, then glanced at the bag for a moment. "It's a little hard to see the original design clearly, and it seems a little odd shaped," then she sighed, defeated. "Can you show me how it fit on you before?"
I put it on, smoothing out some of the wrinkled bits and holding a torn piece where it should have normally been.
"It has a special wrap-around cut here, as you can kind of see, which allows it to better fit around my wings, making it easier to fly. Most saddlebags I've seen have had the same default design, which just hangs over the back, but sometimes those can slip around during flight, such when I’m doing aerial maneuvers. An old friend of mine from Los Pegasus helped me to develop the design for this one, and I've found it has kind of grown on me. Though if you have a better suggestion for at least the straps, I'm open for it, as these chaffed a little." I said, slowly spinning so that Rarity could see all the angles.
When she seemed content as to what to do, she went over to her sketchpad and started drawing, mumbling to herself every once in a while, but I couldn't catch what she was saying. I tried to look over her shoulder, but was unsuccessful.
After several minutes, she turned around briefly to tell me the bag would be done by noon the next day. I took that as a 'leave me to work' sort of thing, so I thanked her and left. I was tired, and once again it was getting late, so I returned to my hotel to double check my supplies and get some rest. Visiting Twilight would have to wait until tomorrow, when the planning stage would begin.