A Prince Charming of a Different Sorts
Rarity carefully set the delicate fabric onto the filly-sized ponyquin and took a step back. The fabric barely hung on, only stitched together with a few pins. She thought to herself and jotted down a few notes onto her main design sheet. She then made a few adjustments to the garment and stepped back again. She smiled to herself. It was going to be perfect.
It was about a month after the whole changeling disaster had been dealt with. To Rarity, the whole thing felt like a bad dream. Everything had happened so fast, that sometimes it hadn't really seem to sink in. But it had happened. The changelings had taken over Equestria and many ponies had lost their lives. Rarity had been among some of the most fortunate; all of her family had survived.
For the first few days of the aftermath, Rarity had spent it all with her family. After she had freed her parents from their cocoons, she had decided to stay at their house for a few days. Together they had gone to the Everfree Forest to collect Sweetie Belle, and then they had been homebodies for a few days. Then the reality set in, and they emerged into Ponyville and began helping out in any way that they could.
Rarity had donated many old dresses and skirts to those in Ponyville who had lost everything. Her dad helped rebuild some of the houses, a skill Rarity didn't know he had posses, and though her mother's cooking was terrible, she volunteered at a soup kitchen and generally made everypony there feel welcome.
Now, with Ponyville more or less back on its hooves, Rarity was working on a special project for her sister and her friends. Rarity spent as much time with Sweetie Belle as she could. The image of her sweet little sister trapped in the cocoon, reaching out towards her, was one that visited Rarity every night in her nightmares. Because of that, she never liked to let the filly out of her sight.
But Sweetie Belle spent most of her time at Sweet Apple Acres. She had lost a dear friend, Scootaloo, and she needed to be in the company of her other dearest friend, Apple Bloom. Plus, the farming filly had also lost her grandmother, and needed the company of her best friend. So Rarity would walk Sweetie Belle over to Sweet Apple Acres nearly every day. She would wave to Applejack, sometimes ask if she needed any help, but Applejack would usually turn her down. The earth pony wanted some space and Rarity would respect that.
Sweetie Belle had come to Rarity with the idea for the special project shortly after Scootaloo's funeral. Rarity told her that she would love to partake in the project, but she had to wait until Ponyville was more or less back to normal, because the other ponies needed her help first. Sweetie Belle had been understanding and excited about the project.
Sweetie Belle had designed the garments. She had carefully drawn the new little capes and colored them in. Then she had given Rarity the design and told her to take her time with them. They had to be absolutely perfect.
Sweetie Belle's idea had been for a newly designed cape for her CMC club. The capes were to be dedicated to Scootaloo and would be put together in her colors. Sweetie Belle still liked the sparkly golden fabric that she had used for their original CMC cape design, so Rarity kept that for the underside, and the front of the cape was purple, with "Cutie Mark Crusaders" in orange. The logo for their club had been improved by adding wings on either side of it to represent Scootaloo.
Rarity made one final adjustment on the model cape, before she began to sew it together. She still had two more to make after this one; one for Apple Bloom and one for her cousin, Babs Seed.
Just as she was about to do the last stitch, her doorbell rang. She stopped what she was doing and carefully set her glasses on a side table. She made her way to the front door, and was surprised at who she found on the other side.
"H-Hello," said Flam.
Rarity hadn't seen Flam since they had defeated Chrysalis. He had stayed briefly at the feast the princesses had held in Canterlot, and then he had headed off to find his brother and free him from the cocoon. Some nights, he visited her in her dreams, her mind replaying the first time he had saved her from the changelings.
"How are you?" he asked. He fidgeted with this hat in his hooves.
"I'm well, thank you. How are you? How is Flim?" Rarity asked.
"He is much better. Once I freed him from the cocoon, I had to take him back to Canterlot so that one of the alicorn princesses could unscramble him. There were quite a few other unicorns there also waiting to be unscrambled," he explained.
"I'm glad to hear he is alright," Rarity said. She hesitated. "What brings you here?"
"Well," Flam said. He seemed to get suddenly very nervous, "Well, Flim is over talking to your friend Applejack about getting work on their farm. And since we were in Ponyville—and might be staying in Ponyville—I thought I would come by to see you, and... and... and t-thought I might ask if you would like to go out sometime."
As Rarity got ready for her date, her mind was in a haze. She had hesitated slightly when accepting Flam's offer, but if she were honest with herself, she was extremely excited. Her heart had fluttered when she opened the door and he was standing there.
Flam wasn't what she ideally looked for in a stallion. He wasn't buff, and he wasn't rich or fashionable. He didn't come from the royal family. He was sort of scrawny, and usually she didn't go for stallions with mustaches (unless of course it was part of their fashion style). But he had saved her. More than once. And he wasn't the conpony she had originally thought he was when they first met at the cider competition. He was different.
And let's face it. She sort of had feelings for him. And she couldn't just ignore those. So she had to give this a chance, even if he was just an ordinary stallion.
They met at a quaint restaurant in Ponyville. Rarity had put her hair up and put on one of her latest ensembles. It wasn't an extravagant as her usual outfits, but it was elegant and chic. Flam had exchanged his striped vest for a black one, and he had left his hat at home. He pulled out Rarity's chair as they got to the table, and made sure she was seated before he sat down.
They chatted pleasantly through the appetizers. Flam inquired about Sweetie Belle, something which Rarity thought was very sweet. She assured him that she was ok, that except for the loss of one of her best friends, the whole thing just seemed like a bad dream to her. Rarity remembered how Flam offered to help Rarity get Sweetie out of the cocoon. It was just another way that he had saved her through the whole ordeal.
"So, how is working on Sweet Apple Acres?" Rarity asked.
"Well, it's only been a few days," Flam said, "But it's going really well. We just finished building a small house on the property for my brother and I to live in, and we've just finalized a schedule on how the chores and farming will go. I think it's going to work out really well."
"I think that it's so great that you and Flim are helping the Apple family," Rarity said. She smiled. It was just another thing that proved that they weren't the conponies they all originally thought they were.
Flam paid for the meal and offered to walk Rarity home. They walked closely together, the sun setting behind them, their shadows long and tall, mixing in front of them.
As they approached the Carousel Boutique, they started to slow.
"Maybe we can do this again sometime," Flam said quietly. Rarity smiled. She felt her cheeks redden slightly.
"I'd really like that. I had a wonderful time," she said.
And slowly, as Flam leaned in to kiss her goodnight, Rarity closed her eyes and smiled. Sure, he wasn't the prince charming she had always imagined she would end up with. But he was a prince charming of a different sorts. And a prince was still a prince.