Ms. Rarity,
Your latest clothing line titled ‘Midnight at the Gala’ has gained the interest of my employer, one Mister Khan. He wishes to set up a meeting with you at your earliest convenience in order to discuss the future of your fashion career. Just provide the date and time and we shall take care of the rest.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Snarly.
“Can you believe it?” Rarity exclaimed. “The Mister Khan wants to meet up with little ol’ me! This is a dream come true!”
“I’ve never heard of Mister Khan,” Twilight Sparkle frowned. “And this is the first time you’ve ever mentioned him. Is he another big-shot fashion designer?” Twilight offered a teasing smile. “If so you had better keep Fluttershy away from him.”
“Oh Twilight, you’re just dreadful!” Rarity laughed. “No, no, no, Mister Khan is,” She paused for a tick. “Well he is the head of…” She frowned, lined forming across her brow. “Well actually, I’ve never heard of him either.”
“So let me get this straight,” Rainbow Dash huffed. “You get some mysterious letter from some stranger asking you to meet up with him to discuss your dresses? Sounds fishy to me.”
“Everything sounds fishy to you,” Twilight commented. “Ever since you began reading Daring Doo and the Mysterious Mystery, you think every pony is out to get you.”
“Hey, you don’t know what they are thinking!” Rainbow Dash muttered. “They could be plotting against me right now and we’d never know it!” She glanced over her shoulder. “They could be anywhere.”
“Who?”
“Them.” Rainbow Dash growled.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Knock it off.” She turned her attention back to Rarity. “Rainbow does have a point, however. This is a rather interesting mystery and I suggest we treat it as such. The first thing we need to figure out is where exactly this letter game from. Did it have a return address?
“Actually, Twilight, it did.” Rarity took the envelope from her workshop table and handed it over to Twilight. “But all it says is Khan Industries.” She frowned. “And what is just as strange is the fact that they made no mention on how I was supposed to get in contact with Mister Khan. You would think that they would have included some kind of information on how I am supposed to respond to this letter.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. Why bother sending a letter without providing any way for you to get in contact with them?”
“I don’t like it,” Rainbow Dash mumbled. “Something doesn’t feel right about this.”
“And you are positive that you have never heard of a Mister Khan in the fashion world? Not even somepony whose name sounds like Khan?”
“Trust me Twilight,” Rarity said while tapping her hoof to her chest. “If there is a pony who does fashion, I have heard of them so when I say that I have never heard of a Khan, it means he has nothing to do with the fashion.”
“Why would someone not associated with fashion be swooning over your dresses than? It doesn’t add up.”
Rarity shrugged. “Honestly, Twilight, I am beginning to think that we are just over analyzing this. For all we know, this could be a Pinkie Pie pulling another one of her pranks. I suggest we just leave it be and forget that this letter ever appeared.” Using her magic, she took the letter and envelope from the table, crinkled them both up, and had them thrown into her waste basket. “No letter, no problem. If Khan wants to get back in touch with me so badly, he will have to do a better job than that.” She nodded her head once. “So there.”
“Well said,” Twilight agreed.
“I still don’t like it,” Dash whispered.
Later that evening, after Twilight and Dash had gone home, Rarity retreated to the comfort of her lavish bedroom. She pulled the sheets off of her bed while using her magic to prepare for herself a warm, comforting bath. As the bucket of water poured itself into her porcelain tub, she fetched the letter from her workroom’s wastebasket. She kept the crinkled sheet of paper floating just above her nose as she lay within the bath water.
“Mrs. Snarly,” she scoffed. “What a horrid name. I am sure she is quite unpleasant.” She found her eyes returning to the name of Mrs. Snarly’s employer; Khan. “Khan,” Rarity whispered. “Khan,” she repeated but this time adding a bit of a purr in her voice. “Now that is one powerful name right there. Short, simple, but it commands one’s attention.” She pursed her lips in thought. “But why haven’t I heard of him before?” Then it hit her. With a start, she sat up in the tub almost splashing some of the water onto her wooden floor. “Wait,” she gasped, eyes wide. “What if he is a sponsor? That makes perfect sense! The secrecy, the refusal to include an address; it all adds up! This Khan must be a pony of incredible wealth and he wants to sponsor me in some big, fancy event! That explains why I have not heard of him; he probably wishes to remain anonymous!” Her heart began to pound with excitement. “Oh my; I wonder how many other ponies he has sponsored over the years. Dozens? Hundreds? He could be the contact I’ve been waiting for!” She summoned a towel and wrapped it around herself as she climbed out of the tub. “I must set up an interview right away, but the question is how?”
She looked back towards the letter. “Just provide a date and time?” She bit her bottom lip. “I wonder...” She fetched a blank sheet of parchment and an ink quill from her desk. The quill danced over the paper as she spoke aloud. “The First of the Month, Noon.” She wrote. She stared at the piece of parchment thinking this to be nothing more than a silly prank, that nothing could possibly come from this but she couldn’t help herself. She wrapped her robe tight around her white frame before stepping out into the chilly night. She placed the letter into her mailbox, lifted the little red flag, then returned to her warmth and comfort of her home. She stayed up for several minutes after that before finally, the blissful abyss of sleep overtook her…
As Rarity slept the night away, a lone figure slinked out of the shadows. Dressed in a tight-fitting dark blue uniform, a large black feline crept towards Rarity’s home. His golden eyes seemed to glow in the shadows and despite how dark it was on this moonless night, he could see every tiny detail as if it were day. Claws extended, he opened Rarity’s mail box to pluck from it her letter. He read what she wrote, dedicating it to memory before ripping it up in little pieces. He threw the pieces high into the air, watching as the wind swept them out of sight.
And as quietly as he appeared, he vanished back into the shadows to tell his employer the good news…