It was beautiful. The dress flowed like the wind and sang like the trees. The back tapered off into several different tails and made a general impression of leafs listing in the cool summer breeze. The middle had intricate and subtle lines all through it in seemingly random patterns which all led to the upper back around where the wings would be. There was a piece of silk shaped like a triangle that led from the upper back to the chest partially concealing the front chest. From the bottom front chest, about where the rib cage is, there started several long and thick lines which wrapped themselves together like roots and worked their way up to the neck line.
“Wow,” thought Fluttershy, “Rarity wasn’t kidding, this really does look interesting. I just hope I can do my part.”
“Oh Fluttershy, there you are. I was just putting the finishing touches on the dress. I’ll only be a few minutes more, please have a seat and make yourself comfortable.”
“Easier said than done,” thought Fluttershy. “Um, Rarity? Are there going to be other ponies here, you know, when I’m modeling?”
“Of course not, Fluttershy. I know how nervous you get with this sort of thing. No, I’ll just need to fit the dress to you and get a few pictures of you posing in it, that’s all.”
“Thank you Rarity, that’s really good news.”
“Speaking of good news, I’m ready for you now. Come into the fitting room and we can get things started.”
Pin cushions galore awaited a nervous Fluttershy and it wasn’t so bad. More like a three hour haircut, just wishing to be anywhere else and hoping that Rarity didn’t poke her too many times with the needles. The rest of the day went pretty much as Rarity said. Walking out of the fitting room for the first time was a little uncomfortable as the dress felt too tight in certain places and too loose in others. However, as Fluttershy moved she soon discovered that the dress gradually began to relax and was more comfortable with each step. Rarity led Fluttershy to the main entry room and showed her the small runway she set up for the pictures. Flying up to the stage with confidence, Fluttershy turned her full attention towards Rarity’s directions and cues, letting her capture all of the dresses unique features and style. Finishing of the photo shoot with a few playful poses, both friends laughed as they reminisced on Fluttershy’s experience with Photo Finish.
“That was great Fluttershy, truly wonderful work.”
“Awww… thanks Rarity. I just hope everything works out for you.”
“Thanks again for everything Fluttershy, I’ll let you know when the dress sells so you can come by and collect your share of the bits.”
“Sounds good. Oh, by the way, is our weekly spa day still on?”
“Of course, wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“See you then.”
~~~
After the farewells and good wishes, Rarity turned her attention towards the recently completed dress and took a few moments to marvel at its bold design and beauty. The satisfaction of a job well done came shortly after. After a few moments of reveling in the feeling, Rarity used her magic to remove the dress from the manikin it rested on and carefully placed a hanger in the dress. Satisfied the hanger wouldn’t wrinkle or otherwise distort the dress in any way, Rarity moved towards the front of her boutique to place the dress on one of the many different display mannequins. Suddenly the front door burst open so loudly that it almost gave Rarity a heart attack.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PLAY DATE, YAY!!!” screamed Sweetie Belle at the top of her lungs.
With a face that was on the edge of exploding yet holding back for the sake of Sweetie, Rarity replied, “Oh, my… Sweetie you really startled me. You know, you really ought to be more careful around doors. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“You're right, I’m sorry sis,” said Sweetie in a genuinely sorry yet excited voice. “It’s just that the cutie mark crusaders are having a playdate out in the club house, and I guess I got over excited.”
“Now it’s quite alright to be excited, just try to be a little more considerate of the ponies around you, ok?”
“Sure thing Rarity. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go get ready.”
Before Rarity could respond, Sweetie rushed up the stairs towards her room at such a speed it would have impressed Spitfire. Once there, Sweetie quickly dropped her saddle bags on the floor, not minding that the contents spilled out as well. Trotting to the bathroom Sweetie made mental notes of everything she was going to need for the play date. While brushing her mane and teeth, Sweetie thought she heard somepony calling her name, but decided she must be imagining things. After putting the brushes and toothpaste back, Sweetie Belle made her way back to her room and began gathering the necessary supplies.
“Let’s see, I’ll need some paper, glue, scissors, and the… where is it? OH. I think I found where I left the glitter,” thought Sweetie Belle as she saw the spilled container next to one of her saddle bags.
“Sweetie, did you hear me? How was your day at school?”
Thinking on her hoofs, Sweetie quickly scooped up the glitter onto a piece of paper and guided it back into the container. “Everything was great. Cheerilee taught us all about the different types of ponies and what their responsibilities are.”
“Really, that sounds like really advanced material for such young minds, but I suppose Cheerilee knows what she’s doing. Did anything else interesting hap-” Suddenly the doorbell rang announcing the presence of potential customers. Rarity practically jumped to the front of the store and with the politest voice said “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, how may I help you?” Slightly confused when no pony spoke up, or could be seen for that matter, Rarity blinked and took a sanity check.
“Umm… Is any pony there?”
“Down here, Rarity.”
“Oh, Scootaloo, I didn’t see you there. Please do come in, I assume you are waiting for Sweetie Belle? She mentioned a play date?” Rarity moved towards one of her displays and started sprucing it up while half listening to Scootaloo’s response.
“Yeah, it’s going to be awesome. Rarity?”
Looking up from her work, Rarity turned towards Scootaloo. “Yes…”
“I was wondering if I could get a glass of water? I’m kinda thirsty after riding over here from school.”
“Oh, but of course. Wait right here, I’ll be back in a moment.”
As Rarity moved towards the kitchen Scootaloo looked around the boutique in a half curious, half awestruck way. Wandering the racks and browsing through the various styles Scootaloo could only dream of what it must be like to own clothes. One dress in particular looked simply horrendous and she couldn’t possibly fathom who in their right mind would be proud to own something that looked like that, let alone wear it in public. Rarity must be proud of it though, as it sat on one of the front window display mannequins. Brushing over the poufy and fru fru dresses, Scootaloo glanced at some of the more streamlined athletic clothes that caught her eye. Moving towards that section, Scootaloo wondered how anypony could fit into something so small and tentatively reached out to touch it. Surprised at how thin and slippery the fabric felt, Scootaloo took the garment off the hanger and was again surprised at how much it stretched.
“Huh, what IS this stuff anyway,” thought Scootaloo. Curious, Scootaloo tried on the strange suit and was surprised that it not only hugged her body so tightly that it almost felt like a second skin, but it also seemed to keep her both warm and cool at the same time almost as if it breathed. Scootaloo made her way towards one of the many mirrors and started striking dramatic poses as she imagined what it would feel like to be standing next to Rainbow Dash in the Wonderbolts.
“I see you found something you like,” Rarity said with amusement in her voice.
Scootaloo jumped in surprise, a look of embarrassment on her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… am I in trouble?” A look of dread replacing the earlier surprise.
“Why whatever for?”
“Well, for looking through your clothes. I didn’t get your permission, and I didn’t wait where you told me to.”
“It’s all right dear, you were only looking around after all. No harm done. Here, I brought you some water, and I thought you might be hungry as well so I brought out some food. Sweetie should be down in a minute or two.”
Climbing out of and putting the clothes back where they belonged proved to be a far greater challenge than Scootaloo thought. Just as she was about to ask for help, Rarity appeared with her horn already glowing. “Just hold still, and this should only take a few seconds.”
Nodding in understanding, Scootaloo stopped moving and waited for Rarity to do whatever she was going to do. “So, uh, do I have to do anyth-,” Suddenly Scootaloo was bathed in the bluish glow of Rarity’s magic and was lifted several feet off of the floor and twirled playfully about as Rarity worked to remove the flight suit. In a matter of seconds the flight suit was properly returned to its home and Scootaloo to the ground. Slightly shaken from the experience but not wanting to let on to any weaknesses, Scootaloo gave a confident smile and followed Rarity to the kitchen.
Sipping at her glass of water Scootaloo assessed the delicious dishes before her. “Hey Rarity, can I have one of those daffodil sandwich things?”
“But of course, help yourself to whatever you like. I’ll be right back, I’m just going to go check on Sweetie Belle. Like I said, help yourself.”
As Rarity made her way upstairs she glanced out the front window and could see Applejack, Apple Bloom and Big Mac cleaning and packing up their apple cart. Seeing that the three were almost done packing, Rarity rushed towards Sweetie’s room with a new sense of urgency. “Sweetie, are you ready yet? Scootaloo is waiting downstairs and Apple Bloom is going to be here soon. I saw her cleaning the apple cart and that means th- th- th-”
Seeing the look of shock and borderline insanity instantly come over her sister, Sweetie Belle correctly guessed the reason for Rarity’s sudden mood. “Oh, hey sis. Don’t worry, I have everything under control. I just need a little more time to work out how I’m going to get the glitter out of my mane. But still, don’t I look fabulous?”
“How in Equestria did you manage to cover your entire room with glitter? It doesn’t make sense. NO!!! This is all just a bad dream and soon I’ll wake up and everything will be back to normal.” Watching Rarity pace back and forth with an uneasy look on her face made Sweetie Belle feel like the worst sister of all time. Sweetie waited for the inevitable as she prepared herself for an afternoon of intensive cleaning.
Suddenly Sweetie Belle could hear Scootaloo’s voice from the bottom of the stairs. She couldn’t make out exactly what was being said, but from the tone it sounded important. Excusing herself discretely, Sweetie made her way downstairs to see what was going on. As she neared the end of the staircase, Scootaloo pointed out the window and they both looked and saw that Big Mac, AppleJack, and Apple Bloom were heading towards the Boutique on their way home from the market. Forgetting completely about the glitter, Sweetie Belle rushed outside with Scootaloo following close behind.
“Apple Bloom, Apple Bloom!!!” Cried both fillies in sheer delight at seeing their friend.
“Whoa there Big Mac. Looks like a couple a Apple Bloom's friends wanna have a word with her. Tell you what let’s take five.”
“Eeyup.”
“Well hi there everypony.”
“Oh, hey Applejack, how’s it going?”
“Just dandy Scootaloo. I reckon we’ll need a bigger cart if our apples keep selling this fast. Why Sweetie Belle, don’ you just look all fancied up? How long did it take to get all that glitter in yer mane. Must’a taken at least a few hours?”
“It was actually more like a few seconds. Is it that noticeable?”
“Well, yes.” Upon seeing the look of embarrassment on Sweetie’s face Applejack quickly added “But, uh… it looks nice, and ya just act like it’s suppos’ to be there and I’ma sure everypony won’t mind.”
“Awww, thanks Applejack, you always know what to say.”
“Well shucks, you're welcome. But uh… ya’ll probably wanna talk to Apple Bloom, right?”
Seeing her two best friends trotting over, Apple Bloom jumped out of the cart and joined her friends. After the customary CMC hoof shake, all three of the fillies screamed with excitement at the top of their lungs
“Cutie Mark Crusader Play Date YAY!!!”
As the customary laughing ensued, Rarity snapped back to reality. Putting the mess behind her, she made her way downstairs slowly, carefully taking the time to calm down enough to be presentable in public. Taking one last deep breath, Rarity opened the front door slowly and calmly made her way towards Sweetie Belle.
“Why hiya Rarity, how is everything going for ya?”
“Good afternoon Applejack. Things couldn’t be better. I just finished one of my more ambitious creations. Fluttershy was such an inspiration to the whole process. I simply couldn’t have done it without her. Would you like to see it? It’s right in one of the front display mannequins.”
“Well shoot, I’d love to it’s jus’ that I gotta get back to the farm. Ya may already know, but these here little fillies have some important crusading to do an’ I promised I would help em’ find their cutie marks by showin them some of the more advanced farming stuff. Ya know, like tractors an stuff like that.”
“What? Sweetie Belle never told me about any of that. She said it was going to be a cutie mark crusaders play date.”
“The thing ya got to remember Rares is that eve’thing is a play date at their age. Besides, it’s not work if yer having a good time right?”
“I suppose so, but I’m afraid that Sweetie Belle won’t be able to go.” That last remark instantly silenced the joyous reunion of the CMC. Apple Bloom stepped forward, a look of determination on her face. “Why can’t Sweetie Bell come? It jus’ wouldn’t be the same withou’ her.”
Scootaloo joined Apple Bloom with a look of equal determination and looming disappointment. “It’s just that we have been planning this for a really long time. I would hate to see Sweetie Belle miss out on this. It could be our last chance to earn our cutie marks together.”
“Well, I am sorry about all of that, but Sweetie Belle made a rather large mess of things inside and she needs to learn that sometimes little fillies need to take responsibility for their actions. Now don’t give me that look you three. I’m sorry Sweetie Belle, but you’re going to be spending the rest of the day cleaning the mess you made.”
“OH COME ON!!! Rarity, it was an accident. It’s not like I wanted to cover my room in glitter.”
“Ah, well… guess that explains some things”
“It doesn’t matter if it was an accident or not Sweetie Belle. Your room is covered in glitter and that’s all that matters. Now please go back inside so you can get started cleaning your room.”
“Now hold up there Rares. Ya know she didn’t mean to do it, an’ the way I see it the glitter will still be there tomorrow. What if Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both get their cutie marks in farming and Sweetie Belle didn’t? How would that make her feel?” Seeing a thoughtful look cross Rarity’s mind, Applejack decided to press her point. “Ya see, clean’n the house is important an all, but making memories with yer friends is important too. Now, as long as Sweetie Bell promises to clean extra hard tomorrow it should be ok to let her have her play date with her friends today.”
Sweetie could hardly believe that Applejack made serious progress with Rarity. Looking at AppleJack with a mixture of awe, appreciation, and thanks, she looked back at Rarity and asked her with the most sincere attitude “I’m sorry I made a big mess of things inside. I’ll work really really hard to clean it tomorrow, I promise. Would it be alright if I went to Sweet Apple Acres with my friends to earn my cutie mark in farming?”
“Well… I don’t know… the house is awfully messy.”
“Please sis, I promise to clean it.”
“Rare, ya’ll need to stop stressing the small stuff. Tell ya what sugar cube, why don’ ya come down to the farm. Could be fun watching yer sister get her cutie mark and all.”
Looking back Rarity wasn’t sure if it was Applejack’s logic, the possibility of crushing Sweetie’s dreams, the CMC’s pleading faces, or her own need to just get out of the house for awhile that swayed her decision. Needless to say, Rarity was in for a round of sisterly bonding down at Sweet Apple Acres.