//------------------------------// // S1E20 "Green Isn't Your Color" (What If?) // Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If? // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// Fluttershy was waiting patiently at the Ponyville Spa for Rarity. Ever since the two had gotten to know each other they had agreed to hold weekly spa dates where they would get together and discuss various things that were happening in their lives. Rarity came bursting in, she seemed to be excited about something. "Great news Fluttershy." Rarity said. "Tell me all about it while we have the usual." Fluttershy said. Rarity explained to the best of her ability as the two ponies enjoyed the spa though Aloe seemed to not realize Fluttershy wasn't a unciorn until she offered to trim Fluttershy' horn and discoverd she didn't have one. "I was on my way over here when I bumped into none other then Photo Finish." Rarity said. "Ah yes Photo Finish." Fluttershy said. She may not have been as talented as Rarity but she did know a thing or two about fashion and even if you didn't it was hard to not know about somepony like Photo Finish. Photo Finish was an up and coming fashion celebritiy who was always on the look out for the latest fashion trends. It was said that she had something of a sixith sense when it came to fashion. "So anyway Photo Finish took notice of my gaint hat and before long she decided she wanted to do a photo shoot at Carousel Boutique later." Rarity said. "I'm so happy for you Rarity." Fluttershy said "Photo Finish is sure to give you some good publicity." "Indeed." Rarity replied "The only problem I have now is that I'll need someone to model for me. Rainbow Dash is out of the question, I doubt I can convince Applejack, Twilight said she was busy, and Pinkie Pie is well Pinkie Pie. So as much as it pains to say I want you to be the model." "Me?" Fluttershy asked. "Yes." Rarity said "I know I'm asking a lot of you, especially since you helped me out by looking after Sweetie Belle and her friends a few weeks ago but I have no one else left to turn to." "You know I'm shy." Fluttershy said "It's in my name." "I'm aware of that." Rarity said "But please just this once. I'll even agree to owe you a favor." Fluttershy sighed, Rarity could be quite the pleader. "Well if it really means that much to you I'll do it." she said. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Rarity said "I promise I'll try to make it as quick as possible." Fluttershy mearly smiled. But on the inside she couldn't help but get the feeling that something was going to go wrong. (Title Sequence) "Please try to hold still Fluttershy." Rarity said "I have to make sure this dress fits you." "I'm trying." Fluttershy said "How long until Photo Finish gets here?" "She should be here in a few minutes." Rarity said "And I want to make sure everything as perfect as can be when she arrives." Spike meanwhile had been busy helping Rarity in his own way. By serving as a holding rack for her various pins. Rarity made sure to thank Spike for his help although Spike would've gladly helped Rarity even without receiving any sort of acknowledgement. "Thanks for the help Spike." Rarity said "I think I can put the finishing touches on this piece of work. I shouldn't have to use any more pins." Spike slowly backed away, the whole time he was starring at Rarity. "Ooh doesn't that hurt carrying all those pins?" Twilight asked. "Come on Twilight don't tell me you've forgotten how tough dragon scales are." Spike said "I don't feel a thing. Besides there is no amount of pain in the world of Equestria that could keep me from assisting Rarity." "Sounds like you have it bad huh?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Yeah." Spike said "And I guess it's kind of obvious." "Obvious doesn't even begin to describe it Spike." Twilight said teasingly as she noticed Spike was wearing an "I Heart Rarity" t shirt (which she didn't want to know where he'd gotten it from) "It wouldn't surprise me if everypony in town knew." "Even Rarity?" Spike asked. "Even Rarity." Twilight replied. "So why don't you just confess already?" Pinkie Pie said. "I'd love to." Spike said "But everytime I try to work up the courage I begin to wonder 'What if she doesn't love me?' and then I basically get cold feet. It's so embarrassing." "I wouldn't say that." Pinkie Pie said "We all have crushes at some point. I'm sure Rarity was just as nervous with her first crush as you are." Then Pinkie Pie gasped as she realized what she'd just said. "Forget that last statement." Pinkie Pie said but it was too late, Spike and Twilight's curiosity had been sparked. "So Celestia's nephew isn't Rarity's first love intrest?" Twilight asked. "Yeah do you mean to tell me Rarity's had more then one crush?" Spike asked. "I'm not suppose to tell you." Pinkie Pie said "I made a Pinkie Promise to Rarity that I wouldn't tell anyone." "Pinkie Promise?" Twilight and Spike asked. "It goes something like this." Pinkie Pie said "Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye." "O.k," Twilight said, unsure of what to make of both the rhyme and the gestures Pinkie Pie had made. "A Pinkie Promise is never broken." Pinkie Pie said "Although." "Although what?" Twilight asked. "I suppose it techincally wouldn't be breaking the promise if you two swore not to tell anyone." Pinkie Pie thought outloud "Can I trust you two? After all losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend FOREVER!" "I guess." Spike said. "I don't really know." Twilight said "Isn't it wrong to keep secrets?" "Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't." Pinkie Pie said "I'll understand if you don't feel like you can keep it though." "Come on Twilight this doesn't seem like it's that big of a deal." Spike said "And who's ever going to know aside from you, me, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie?" Twilight thought to herself upon hearing this. Spike did bring up a good point but was she really sure she could keep quiet about whatever sort of secret Pinkie Pie wanted her to keep? Eventually though she decided that if Spike was going to know about it would probably be best if she knew about too, just in case. "O.k. I won't tell anyone." Twilight said "So who was Rarity's first love intrest?" Pinkie Pie looked around for a moment to make sure no one could overhear her. Then she explained "Rarity's first love intrest was believe it or not Big Macintosh, Applejack's brother. They even went out on a date once." "So what happened?" Spike asked. "To be honest I don't know Rarity never told me why they drifited apart. It might have something to do with Applejack but that's just a random guess." Pinkie Pie said. "I Photo Finish have arrived!" Photo Finish declared as she entered the boutique. "Now let's not waste any time and get this photo shoot under way!" She instructed the two ponies who had accompanied her to set up cameras. Photo Finish true to her word instantly starting snapping picture after picture. Fluttershy tried her best to pull off various poses but each one was given a resounding "NO!" by Photo Finish. Eventually Photo Finish stopped. She trotted over to Rarity. "You must be Miss Rarity Belle." she said in her thick accent. "Just Rarity or Miss Rarity will do." Rarity said. "Well Miss Rarity." Photo Finish said "I must say I am impressed by what I have seen. I would like you and your pegasus model here to come down to the park later for another photo shoot, we shall make DA MAGICS!" "Oh thank you." Rarity said "I promise my friend and I won't let you down." "See that you don't." Photo Finish said sternly as she left the boutique "I have little patience for those that waste my time." "Well Rarity it looks like you managed to impress Photo Finish." Twilight said. "It certainly seems that way." Rarity said "Of course I have to give credit where credit is due. Fluttershy did a great job modeling the dresses." "Do you really mean it Rarity?" Fluttershy asked. "Of course." Rarity said "Would I ever lie to you?" "Well no." Fluttershy said "But are you sure I can handle another photo shoot at the park?" "I know you aren't looking forward to it." Rarity said "But I'm certain that after this you won't have to model for me again anytime soon. I promise." "O.k." Fluttershy said "I guess one more photo shoot couldn't hurt." Rarity was thrilled to hear this. In fact she was so happy she started bouncing up and down on Spike's tail. She didn't know that this was hurting Spike but surprisingly he didn't seem to mind even as Twilight dragged him away. About two hours later Rarity and Fluttershy made their way down to Ponyville Park. Rarity was eager to show off her work to Photo Finish once again but Fluttershy was a little nervous. "Ah so you've come." Photo Finish said "Well you know the drill show me your best and I'll decide if it's good enough for me." "Yes ma'am." Rarity said. She instantly went over to a special little dressing cart that she had brought with her and dressed Fluttershy. "Are you ready?" Photo Finish asked. "Yes!" Rarity replied happily. "Yes." Fluttershy replied nervously. "Then it is to make DA MAGICS!" Photo Finish shouted. And the photo shoot got underway. Rarity pulled out all the stops to impress Photo Finish and wipped out her most fancy desings. Photo Finish on occassion made a remark such as "That is impressive." or "Very stylish.", if she was impressed she sure didn't seem to show it. Eventually Photo Finish declared "We are done!" Rarity and Fluttershy sighed with relief. "Well?" Rarity asked Photo Finish. "Your designs are rather unusual and you have sparked my intrest." Photo Finish said "I shall gladly inform everyone I know about your designs. However in my excitement I believe I forgot to tell you something, I have actually been looking for a new model to show off the latest designs. And I believe your friend over there might just be it." "You want a model?" Rarity asked "Well as much as it pains to me to say this to you my friend is not intrested. Her name is Fluttershy and as her name implys she is rather shy. I just couldn't ask her to model for you even if she was the last model in all of Equestria." "Ah so her name is Fluttershy." Photo Finish said "An intresting name. Unfortunately I have searched high and low for a new model but all the best ones seem to be taken. Your friend Fluttershy seems to have quite the potential and with my help I can make her shine across all of Equestria." "I'm sorry you can't seem to find a good model." Rarity said "But as Fluttershy's friend I'm afraid the answer is no." "Are you really sure about that?" Photo Finish asked "You say she is your friend but I don't believe you've consulted her about this. What does she think?" "I don't have to consult her to know that she would refuse." Rarity said "Fluttershy isn't my only friend though, maybe I could introduce you to one of my other friends and you could make them your next model." Before Photo Finish had a chance to respond though Fluttershy spoke up "I'll model for you Photo Finish." Rarity gasped upon hearing this "Fluttershy are you out of your mind? You can't possibly expect me to believe you actually like being a model." "I may not like it but you heard what Photo Finish said." Fluttershy replied "She clearly needs a new model and if nopony else is willing to fill that role then I will." "Fluttershy you don't have to do this." Rarity said "We're already going to get what we want out of this photo shoot. I'm going to get some publicity and you won't have to model again." "But I'm the Element of Kindness." Fluttershy said. "That doesn't mean you have a moral obligation to do something you clearly aren't going to like." Rarity said "If Photo Finish can make you as popular as she claims she can then you'll never know a moment's rest. Thousands of ponies will be swarming over you, watching your every move." "I'm sure Photo Finish will be able to find somepony else by that point." Fluttershy said "And I'm sure I can handle the fame until then." "Fluttershy please I'm begging you to reconsider." Rarity said. "My decision is final." Fluttershy said "Don't try to stop me." Rarity sighed, she knew there was no point in arguing with Fluttershy. "Very well if you really want to do this I suppose I won't stop you. I'll try my best to find a suitable replacement for you. Just promise me you won't let all that fame come between us." "Of course not." Fluttershy said. "Well then it seems like we've come to an agreement." Photo Finish said "Now come with me Fluttershy and together we shall spread DA MAGICS across Equestria." Rarity watched them go and sighed to herself. Somehow she had a feeling that Fluttershy's modeling career was going to more of a sucess then Fluttershy might have thought. Rarity returned to Carousel Boutique where Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Spike were waiting as she trusted the three of them to watch over the shop for her. "So how did it go?" Spike asked. "It went pretty good." Rarity said "Photo Finish was impressed and she's going to see to it that the fashion world knows my name." "That sounds great." Pinkie Pie said "Along with the publicity you already got from Hoity Toity and Sapphire Shores the publicity from Photo Finish is sure to give you more customers." "Let's hope so." Rarity said, she still seemed a little uneasy something that Twilight was quick to pick up. "Where's Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. Rarity sighed "Fluttershy is with Photo Finish. She has agreed to be Photo Finish's new model." Pinkie Pie started laughing hysterically. Rarity cast her an angry glare. "Are you serious?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Indeed I am." Rarity said "As much as I wish I was joking I'm not." "But why would Fluttershy do something like that?" Spike asked. "Photo Finish told me that she needed a new model and Fluttershy overheard." Rarity said "I tried to talk her out of it to the best of my ability. I did promise Photo Finish I'd help her spread the word about the fact that she's looking for a new model so hopefully Fluttershy won't have to model for too long." "Is there anything we can do to help?" Twilight asked. "Well the more ponies that advertise Photo Finish is looking for a new model the better the chances of somepony applying." Rarity said "Feel free to spread the word as much as you want." "We'll do our best." Twilight said. "Thank you Twilight I knew I could count on you." Rarity said "I just hope somepony steps up soon." A week went by and unfortunately despite all the combined advertising from Photo Finish, Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie nopony had stepped up to take Fluttershy's place. In the meantime Fluttershy had become a big time fashion celebrity. As Photo Finish said "I merely point and shoot and I capture DA MAGICS.". Everywhere Fluttershy went it seemed like ponies couldn't get enough of her. Several ponies including Applejack began to take notice of how popular Fluttershy was and began using her image to help them sell their various products. Of course Fluttershy tried her best to grin and bear the stress she was under, but alas even the most timid of ponies could only take so much. Heck it took every ounce of her strength just to remain calm. She tried her best to find ways to avoid the crowds and the paparazzi, she even tried going out in disguise. But it seemed like no matter what she tried something would happen to alert ponies to her presence. In the blink of an eye she would be swarmed by ponies taking pictures of her, asking her to sign various things, or simply to ask her questions. Rarity meanwhile began to grow jealous. Photo Finish's advertising had given her more customers then she had ever had before. But it seemed like at least half of those ponies were only coming because they'd heard that Rarity knew Fluttershy. She tried to convince herself that she shouldn't be feeling that way and that she should be happy that her friend was having so much sucess but it didn't help. In fact it only made her jealousy grow. "Fluttershy there you are." Photo Finish said. Photo Finish had set up a temporary studio in Ponyville until she could find a suitable replacement for Fluttershy but as time went by she slowly began to rely on Fluttershy more and more. "I need you for another photo shoot today." "But today is my weekly spa date with Rarity." Fluttershy said "I can't just skip it." "You shouldn't have to." Photo Finish said "This photo shoot shouldn't take long and you should have plenty of time to make it to the spa. I'm sorry but there was no other time that I could schedule it for." Fluttershy sighed, she knew there was no way around this. The sooner she got there the sooner it would be over. "O.k. let's go." she said. "That's the spirit Fluttershy." Photo Finish said. "So is there a reason why you asked to come to the spa with you today Rarity?" Twilight asked "Isn't this usually when you and Fluttershy have your weekly spa dates?" "Yes." Rarity said "But Fluttershy's modeling career has really taken off and I'm worried that she might not make it today. As for why I wanted you to accompany me, well I have something that I want to confess. I'm trying my best not to but I can't help but be jealous of Fluttershy. She's like a star shining across the sky and as much as it pains me to say this I wish that star would just burn out. I know I should be happy for her but I'm not and I just don't have the guts to tell her face to face. Do you think you could keep this secret from her, at least until I can sort out my feelings?" "Well I guess." Twilight said "In fact I'll Pinkie Promise not to tell Fluttershy right now." "Good because a Pinkie Promise is NEVER broken!" Pinkie Pie said as she popped up from the tub of sponges. Twilight seemed to be surprised by this but said nothing. "So are you going to repeat the rhyme or what?" Rarity asked. "What rhyme?" Twilight asked, then she remembered "Oh right. Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my AUGH!" Twilight had forgotten to close her eye before saying the last line and had accidentally poked herself. "Close enough I guess." Pinkie Pie said "I'll be watching you." And with that she disappered. Rarity soaked in the hot tub for a little longer. At last she said "My hooves are getting positively pruney. I guess Fluttershy couldn't be bothered to show up after all. I sure hope somepony comes along to take her place soon." And with that Rarity left. Just after she did so Fluttershy came charging in "Rarity I'm so sorry!" she said "But the photo shoot ran long and then ponies kept trying to pull me aside and take pictures of me and" she stopped when she realized Rarity wasn't soaking in the hot tub. All she saw was Twilight. "Rarity's not here is she?" she asked, she knew the answer but she didn't want to admit it. "Sorry you just missed her." Twilight said "Would you like me to go fetch her? She couldn't have gotten far." "No thanks Twilight." Fluttershy said "I knew this would happen at some point but I stupidly convinced myself to keep going. I am so frustrated I could just scream!" Instead of screaming however she let a soft groan, it was so soft that even if you were standing right next to Fluttershy you'd have a hard time hearing it. "Better?" Twilight asked. "No." Fluttershy said sadly "I only did this because I felt like I was doing the right thing. But now look at what it's cost me. I've potentially lost one of my closest friends. I can't stand being a model anymore." "Then why don't you just quit?" Twilight asked. "I can't do that to Photo Finish after I agreed to help her." Fluttershy said "And there's no way I can tell Rarity because she'd just say I told you so." "Is that what you think?" Twilight asked. "Yes." Fluttershy said "Did you not understand a word I just said?!" "No I heard every word." Twilight said "I just wanted to make sure I didn't misinterpret anything." She then looked around, checking for something. When she was certain it was safe she pulled Fluttershy close. "Do you want to know the truth?" she asked Fluttershy. Fluttershy nodded. "Well the truth is" Twilight began. "FOREVER!" Pinkie Pie shouted, popping up from the sponges again. Twilight and Fluttershy gasped in surprised but quickly recovered. "Uh hold on a minute please." Twilight said to Fluttershy, she stepped out of the tub and took Pinkie Pie somewhere where they could talk in private. "Why did you do that?! I was just about to tell Fluttershy what Rarity really thinks." Twilight said angrily. "You were about to break your Pinkie Promise to Rarity." Pinkie Pie said "A Pinkie Promise is never broken. If you break it you risk losing a friend's trust and losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend, FOREVER! Trust me I speak from experience." "But you saw how upset Fluttershy was." Twilight said "Come on put two and two together. If I don't tell her then she'll continue to be unhappy and Rarity will continue to be jealous. If Fluttershy knows the truth then she'll be able to patch things up Rarity and we can hopefully put this whole ordeal behind us." "I'm sorry Twilight but you Pinkie Promised Rarity you wouldn't tell Fluttershy right now." Pinkie Pie said "Give Rarity time to sort out her feelings and maybe she'll stop being jealous." "But." Twilight said. "No buts!" Pinkie Pie said sternly. Twilight began to think. There had to be some way of getting around the Pinkie Promise. Then she finally realized something, a loophole that she could exploit. "You know Pinkie I Pinkie Promised Rarity that I wouldn't tell Fluttershy right now. But that was a few minutes ago and she never said anything about the future. So techincally I wouldn't be breaking my promise if I told Fluttershy now." Pinkie Pie said nothing, she was speechless. Twilight had found a loophole in her Pinkie Promise. "What's the matter?" Twilight asked "Can't come up with a reason for me not to tell Fluttershy that involves my Pinkie Promise to Rarity?" Pinkie Pie remained speechless. Twilight grew worried. At last Pinkie Pie spoke up "You really are smart, finding a loophole and all. I suppose you techincally wouldn't be breaking your Pinkie Promise if you told Fluttershy. That is assuming she's still here." "Oh she'd better be." Twilight said as she raced back to the hot tub. To her relief Fluttershy was still there. "So are you going to tell me or should I just leave now?" Fluttershy asked. "I'll tell you." Twilight said "The truth is Rarity's jealous of you." "Jealous? Of me?" Fluttershy asked. "Yes." Twilight said "She knows she shouldn't be and she knows it's wrong but she can't help it." "Well I certainly don't want Rarity to be jealous of me but like I said before I can't just quit." Fluttershy said "I promised Photo Finish I'd model for her until somepony could take my place." "It wasn't a Pinke Promise by any chance was it?" Twilight asked. "No." Fluttershy said. "Well that's good." Twilight said "Regardless for now I think you'd better patch things up with Rarity. Make sure to tell her how you really feel. But if she asks I told you nothing." "Thank you Twilight." Fluttershy said. "No problem Fluttershy." Twilight said "I'm always happy to help a friend in need." Following Twilight's advice Fluttershy left the spa and went looking for Rarity. Meanwhile at Carousel Boutique Rarity was mopping around and feeling sorry for herself. Her depressing thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Who could that be?" she thought to herself as she trotted over to the door. When she opened it she was greated, to her surprise by Fluttershy. "Mind if I come in?" Fluttershy asked. When Rarity didn't respond Fluttershy assumed that meant "Yes, I do mind." and proceeded to leave. "Wait Fluttershy!" Rarity said "Please do come in. There's something we need to talk about." Fluttershy came inside and Rarity locked the door, she wanted this conversation to remain private. "Fluttershy I know you probably aren't going to like hearing this but I'm jealous of you." Rarity confessed "I'm jealous of all the attention you've been receiving." "Why should you be jealous of all the fame I'm getting?" Fluttershy asked "Haven't you been getting some fame of your own lately?" "To some extent yes." Rarity said "But it seems like no matter how many customers I get all I hear about is you." "I'm sorry to hear that." Fluttershy said "But the truth is I can barely stand being a model myself. I know I can't just walk out on Photo Finish after I promised to help her but I really just want to be able to quit. But it seems like nopony is willing to replace me." "Well maybe if we made you a little less attractive?" Rarity asked. "What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked. "I have an idea that just might work." Rarity said and she whispered it into Fluttershy's ears. "That's a good idea but are you sure it will work?" Fluttershy asked. "Well we'll soon find out won't we?" Rarity said "But first we'll need to bring Twilight onboard." "So let me see if I understand this." Twilight said to Rarity and Fluttershy the next day. The two of them had found Twilight at Sugarcube Corner, she had just finished helping Pinkie Pie bake some cupcakes. "You want me, to help Rarity make Fluttershy do all sorts of things, that will make it so that nopony within a hundred miles will want her to model for them." "Yes." Rarity and Fluttershy replied. "Then you want me to teleport Rarity when nopony's looking to cover her tracks and ensure that nopony suspects anything." Twilight continued. "Yep." Rarity and Fluttershy replied. "And you're both certain this will work?" Twilight asked. "Well we're not 100 percent sure." Fluttershy said. "But we're about 99 percent sure." Rarity said. "Well I think I can help you." Twilight said "When's your next photo shoot Fluttershy?" "In about two hours at Photo Finish's studio." Fluttershy said. "Then it looks like that's when we'll put our plan into action." Rarity said "And by tomorrow this whole thing will be a fond memory that we'll look back on." "Ah Fluttershy good to see you." Photo Finish said. "I take it that nopony has agreed to replace me as your model right?" Fluttershy asked. As she spoke Twilight and Rarity snuck past the crowds and made their way backstage. They found a spot where they knew nopony could see them and made sure to signal Fluttershy just before they got into position. "Right." Photo Finish said "So I shouldn't have to mention that I'm counting on you." "Oh don't worry about it Photo Finish." Fluttershy said "You've got nothing to worry about." "Good." Photo Finish said "Now get out there and make DA MAGICS." "Yes ma-am." Fluttershy replied. Everything was going according to plan. "Ready Rarity?" Twilight whispered as they looked out at the stage. "Ready." Rarity whispered back. "O.k. let's do it." Twilight whispered and the two unicorns lit up their horns. Fluttershy trotted out onto the stage, she pretended to act like nothing was wrong. The auidence bought it, nopony suspected a thing. Suddenly Fluttershy was surrounded by a purple aura and started sliding down the runaway. The auidence was shocked. Then Fluttershy was surrounded by a light blue aura and began to pick her nose with one of her front hooves. The auidence and Photo Finish were needless to say grossed out. Another purple aura surrounded Fluttershy and she began to shake her head, then she started scratching herself, and then she started to bark like a dog. The auidence and Photo Finish didn't know what to think, Fluttershy had never done this before. Still not one of them assumed something was up. Twilight and Rarity continued to use their magic to make Fluttershy do one unattractive thing after another. Each one continued to produce looks of shock and disgust from the auidence and Photo Finish. "It's working." Rarity whispered. "O.k. time for the grand finale." Twilight whispered "Get ready to teleport Rarity." Twilight cast a spell at Rarity and she disappered in a flash of purple light, with the auidence distracted by Fluttershy's antics no one saw a flash of purple light or saw Rarity emerge from said light. "O.k. Rarity you've done your part. Now you can just sit back and let Twilight finish the job." Rarity thought to herself. But as Twilight continued to make Fluttershy do things that digusted the auidence Rarity started to have second thoughts "My friend made a promise to help Photo Finish. She may not want to be a model anymore but that doesn't mean this is the right thing to do. I probably could've talked her out of this as well. And I call myself her friend." she thought to herself. Then to her surprise as well as the surprise of everyone else she started applauding. "Bravo, bravo." she said, and she started prancing happily. "Who's saying that?" a pony in the auidence asked. "It's that white unicorn over there." another pony pointed out. "What does she know about fashion?" a third pony asked. "I'd say a lot. I mean look at that dress she's wearing." a fourth pony replied. As it turns out Rarity had worn one of her new dresses, she had worn in the hopes of blending in with the crowd but now all eyes were on her and not Fluttershy. "Well if she's wearing something like that then perhaps she knows more about fashion then we do." a fifth pony said. "Hey I remember now." a sixith pony said "That's Rarity the owner of Carousel Boutique." "A shop like that is in the hands of this young mare?" a seventh pony asked. "Yes." an eighth pony said "So if she's applauding this performance then we should too. She knows everything about fashion." "Well I guess that makes sense." a ninth pony said. And the entire auidence burst into thunderous applause. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity all gasped. This wasn't suppose to happen. Twilight tried to the best of her ability to make Fluttershy unattractive but she had already used up a lot of her magic, and despite her best effort the magic she had left failed to stop the applause. "Sorry it didn't work out Fluttershy." Twilight said "I guess Rarity got cold hooves." "That's o.k. Twilight you tried your best." Fluttershy said "I guess it just wasn't enough. Oh I'm so frustrated I could just kick something!" And she did, she kicked a nearby jar though not hard enough to make it tip over and break. "Better?" Twilight asked. "No." Fluttershy sighed, then out of the corner of her eye she Photo Finish approaching "You'd better hide Twilight." Twilight did so and a moment later Photo Finish came into the room "Fluttershy I don't know how you did it but now everypony in town can't get enough of you." Photo Finish said "Stick with me and together we'll go places." Before Fluttershy could respond Rarity came bursting into the room "Fluttershy I'm sorry that this didn't work out but please I'm begging you, walk away. There's more fame out there then you can handle." "But I promised." Fluttershy said. "I know you did Fluttershy." Rarity said "But this is one promise you can't keep. Please you've already seen how much of a strain this put on our friendship. Are you willing to risk it for fame and fortune?" Fluttershy thought long and hard about that. Finally she sighed and said "I guess you're right Rarity. This is a promise that I just can't keep. No matter how hard I try I likely won't be able to maintain our friendship and pursue this modeling career." She then turned to Photo Finish. "Photo Finish I am offically quiting my job as your model. I'm sorry you weren't able to find somepony to take my place but I just can't keep doing this. I'm not cut out to be a model." "I understand." Photo Finish said "It seems like perhaps Ponyville wasn't the best place to look. I appreciate the fact that you have the guts to walk away from something you know you can't do. I guess I shall return to Canterlot. Perhaps it is there that I shall find what I am looking for." Then she turned to Rarity "As for you our deal still stands. I shall make sure to spread your name everywhere I go. And perhaps someday we will meet again. Now then I go." And with that Photo Finish left the building. "You can come out now Twilight." Fluttershy said. "So it looks like the two of you learned a valueable lesson." Twilight said. "Yes." Fluttershy and Rarity said. "Say Rarity what do you say we Pinkie Promise never to let silly things get in the way of our friendship?" Fluttershy asked. "Now that's a promise I know we both can keep." Rarity said. And the two friends repeated the rhyme "Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye." A little later Twilight was busy soaking in the hot tub at the spa. It was Rarity and Fluttershy's way of thanking her for helping them repair their friendship. "Ah good you're here Spike." Twilight said as she noticed Spike starring at Rarity "Take a letter please." "Before I do that can you do me a favor?" Spike asked. "What is it?" Twilight asked. "Can you Pinkie Promise me not to tell Rarity about my crush on her?" Spike asked. Twilight merely giggled "Sorry Spike but I already made Pinkie Pie Pinkie Promise not to accept any Pinkie Promises involving your crush on Rarity. Nice try Spike." Spike groaned but started writing the letter anyway. Dear Princess Celestia, There's nothing wrong with making promises or keeping secrets. The important thing is that you make sure you can keep your promises. You also need to be aware of what secrets you should keep and what ones you shouldn't. Sometimes it's better to keep a secret and sometimes it's not. And you should never let secrets come between you and your friends. Even if sometimes it means saying what's really on your mind. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle P.S. Do you do Pinkie Promises? Because if you do, I've got a very intresting secret to tell you.