//------------------------------//
// Arrangements and Afflictions 
// Story: Unfamiliar Patterns 
// by TheVClaw 
//------------------------------//

Rarity was usually seen as the most dainty mare in Ponyville, and somepony that would never be seen actively trying to sweat or wear down her hooves. However, as the citizens of Ponyville went about their daily routines, nopony expected to see the white unicorn run through town like Chrysalis was on her tail.

Running past ponies without giving the slightest notice of anything around her, Rarity was running at top speed toward her Boutique, moving at a pace that even Rainbow Dash would be impressed to see. However, despite how close the mare was to leaving a trail of fire to her home, Rarity's heart still skipped in pure dread as she heard laughter from inside.

Most notably, laughter from her mother.

The door to the Carousel Boutique blew open with the force of a thousand suns as Rarity bolted into her home, looking like she just dealt with Discord on a good day. Her formally flawless purple mane was now badly tangled from her high-speed run, which matched her white fur, which was now matted with sweat.

Panting heavily, Rarity stood at the entrance of her living room with wide-open eyes, staring in horror as she saw who was on her couch. Rarity's mother—a slightly plump unicorn with a pink coat and poofy purple mane—was sitting with the tan pop-pony Sapphire Shores as they looked at photos from Rarity’s days in grade school.

And seeing which page the album was opened to, Rarity almost had a heart-attack as she realized a world-famous singer was looking through her "nudist" phase.

"And this was from another kooky phase from her foalhood, when my little marshmallow would put on lots of fancy clothes, just so she would take them right off in front of compa—"

"Mom…" Gritting her teeth, Rarity's voice came out in a surprisingly cold tone as she addressed her Mother. "… Whyyyyyy?"

"Oh, there you are, Pumpkin!" Not realizing how close her daughter was to strangling her, the jolly mare hopped right off the couch and trotted up to her. Keeping a cheeky smile on her face, the unicorn quickly pulled her daughter in for a tight hug, squeezing her as she kept talking in an upbeat tone.

"It's so nice to see you again! You have to write us more often! You know I don't like it when you're out doing Celestia-knows what, leaving us all worried!"

Despite still feeling furious about her showing Sapphire Shores her baby photos (who was still browsing through them on the couch with a muffled snicker), Rarity's anger faltered a little bit as she felt her mother's warm hug. Knowing she couldn't possibly say anything that bad at the moment because of her Mom’s sweetness—as well as having a celebrity in the room she didn’t want to make uncomfortable—Rarity sighed deeply before she hugged her Mom back. However, Rarity only hugged for about a second before she backed up, managing to give a strong glare to her mother as she spoke.

"Mother, why in Equestria did you have to bring out that photo album?! You know how hard I try to upkeep myself for my clients!"

"Which is why I helped!" Just as quickly as Rarity went back to her upset state, the pink unicorn now had a more stern look on her face as she said, "You should be lucky that your Father and I came by! If we weren't around to entertain this charming young mare…"

Rarity's mother looked back to the pop-star on the couch, who gave a warm smile back to her before she turned back to her daughter.

"... Then she probably would've been bored senseless before you came back home! And where exactly have you been, by the way? Your friends looked worried sick!"

Even though she wished her parents didn’t try to interfere with her life like this, Rarity could still tell that they were merely trying to help her out. Before the mare could explain her predicament—and risk giving her Mom a heart-attack at the mention of a Timberwolf attack—Rarity was interrupted when she heard her Father come in from the kitchen.

"Alrighty, Miss Shores, hope you like OJ!"

Despite the large straw hat covering his horn, the white unicorn with a thick brown moustache was still able to carry a large tray with several glasses of orange juice in his white aura. As the cheerful stallion carefully placed the tray on the coffee table in front of Sapphire Shores, he noticed his daughter at the doorway before a large smile came up on his face.

"There you are, sugar-bumpkin!" Carrying a grin as noticeable as his tacky floral shirt, it was obvious the stallion was happy to see Rarity as he trotted up and hugged her. "I hope you don't mind us raiding your kitchen a little for your client. Sweetie Belle is back there right now getting the cookies rea—"

Before her father could finish his statement, the loud blare of the smoke alarm could be heard from the kitchen before a young filly's voice cried out from inside.

"Daddyyyyy!!! I burnt the ice again!"

"Oh, geez!" said the stallion as he face-hoofed with a smile still on his face. "I swear, that filly needs some more cooking lessons."

Hearing that, Rarity's Mom chimed in as she looked at the stallion with a smirk on her muzzle, "Well, she still has better cooking skills than you, Mister 'Managed to Set Fire to Cereal'!"

The stallion's smile finally went away as he looked back to his wife, glaring slightly as he replied to her little quip, "That only happened once."

"Excuse me,” Rarity said with a worried look as the alarm still went off from the kitchen, "could somepony please make sure my kitchen isn't completely on fire yet?"

Realizing there was now white smoke coming from the kitchen, both unicorns immediately came back to their senses before Rarity's Dad spoke up. "Oh, of course! Actually, we'll both head back there so you can chat with your gal-pal over there."

Despite having the urge to groan at her father's use of the word 'gal-pal', Rarity was still rather grateful as the two trotted back to the kitchen. Before the two could disappear from the space, Sapphire Shores was quick to speak up to them in a happy tone. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Pearl! You too, Magnum!"

The two unicorns gave one last smile back to Sapphire Shores before they went back to the increasingly smoking kitchen. Meanwhile, Rarity snatched the album with her aura away from Sapphire Shores, tossing it aside before she quickly tried to recompose herself.

"Go-good morning, Sapphire Shores!" Hoping to hide her discomfort over her baby photos being shown like that, Rarity forced a smile on her muzzle before she tried to alleviate her situation. "I'm terribly sorry for making you wait like this, and I can assure you, this was an unavoidable circumst—"

"Oh, it's alright, Miss Rarity,” said Sapphire as she put a hoof up to silence the unicorn. Waiting until Rarity closed her muzzle, Sapphire Shores brushed her powder-blue mane back a little before she spoke in an upbeat tone. "Actually, I really enjoyed talking with your folks! It's always nice to actually talk with ponies without them feeling pressured by me or anything."

Seeing how cheerful the mare really looked, Rarity sighed and smiled once more. Despite wanting to have a stern talk with them about using her baby photos like that, Rarity was still glad that her family helped out like this. Remembering that she had a huge returning client in front of her right now, Rarity cleared her throat before she spoke in a more elegant tone.

"Well, now that I'm here, I'm more than happy to assist with whatever you need. So, what is it that you need my expertise on?"

"Well…" With a more excited look on her face, Sapphire Shores stood up from her spot on the couch as she spoke with pride in her booming voice. "I'm sure you've already heard, but I'm just about to start another world-wide tour! And this time, I'm finally going to be doing shows in both Saddle Arabia AND the Gryphon Kingdom for the first time!"

Rarity's eyes widened in surprise at hearing that, knowing how difficult it was to just get passports to either of those places. "Wow, congratulations! I'm sure you'll be a huge hit over there!"

"Oh, I know I will!" said Sapphire in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "And because of that, I need to have a sen-sational look to carry myself! Something that says wild! That says untamed! That says… exotic!"

Hearing that last word, Rarity's ears perked up in excitement as a huge smile came up on her face. Even though she didn't expect it to be made for somepony like Sapphire Shores, Rarity still beamed with enthusiasm as she realized her latest idea could be the perfect look for the pop-star.

"I am so, so happy that you said that,” Rarity said as she tried to keep herself from hopping around the room like Pinkie Pie, "because I happen to have just the thing for…"

Before she could continue her raving, Rarity's eyes widened in shock as went to reach for her saddle bag, realizing in horror that it wasn't there. Looking back to her flank, Rarity looked mortified as she saw that her bag (which contained her sketch book) wasn't on her like she originally thought. Remembering how she practically flew here from the Everfree Forest as soon as she found out what was going on, Rarity tried not to hyperventilate as she realized she didn't have anything to show to her client.

"Ummm…" Afraid of losing one of her most profitable clients because of her own mistake, Rarity began to shake as she slowly turned back to Sapphire Shores with a sorrowful look on her face. "Sa-Sapphire… I… I don't…"

Before the unicorn could finish her statement, the front door quickly opened again as Zecora rushed in, carrying Rarity's saddlebag in her mouth as she trotted over to her.

"Rarity, you forgot your stuff!" said the zebra while the strap was in her mouth. "You shouldn't try to run off rough."

Seeing the saddlebag in front of her, Rarity immediately ran toward the zebra as she lit her horn, pulling it from Zecora's muzzle as she showed the largest grin of gratitude on her muzzle.

"Oh, thank you SO much, Zecora!" Happy to see her sketch book was inside the saddlebag, Rarity quickly lunged forward and hugged the zebra, not caring about the surprised reactions from both her and Sapphire Shores as she continued, "You have no idea how happy I am that you brought me this!"

"Oh, it was… no problem at all,” muttered Zecora as she tried to contemplate how warm the mare's hug was. Breathing heavily, the zebra tried to quickly compose herself as she spoke through Rarity's hug. "I knew its importance was tall."

After giving one last (and surprisingly hard) squeeze while hugging Zecora, Rarity didn't notice the zebra's deep blush when she finally let go, instead focusing her attention on the sketch book inside. With a satisfied smile on her face, Rarity levitated the book out of her bag and flipped it to her latest drawing, looking happy at the end result as she carried it in front of Sapphire Shores.

"As you can see,” began Rarity in a confident tone, not noticing how surprised the pop-star still looked by her sudden affection towards the zebra next to them, "I was inspired by this piece last night while I was out in the Everfree Forest. The very description I had in my head while drawing this was 'exotic,’ which is exactly what you were looking for!"

Looking at the sketch, Sapphire's eyes widened in interest as she scanned the drawing, skewing her head a little before she looked back at the mare. While Rarity kept a smile on her face in an attempt to look less nervous about her most appealing (and only) suggestion, Sapphire looked between her and the zebra behind her, smirking a little before she turned her attention back to the sketch book. Keeping her grin, Sapphire cleared her throat before she spoke triumphantly.

"This… is EXACTLY what I was looking for!"

Despite not wanting to act overly prideful about just a drawing, Rarity still uttered a quick "Yes!" to herself while she tried not to pump her hoof in self-congratulation. Seeing how the unicorn was acting, Zecora didn’t utter a word and excused herself from the space, walking back to the kitchen while Rarity listened to Sapphire.

"In fact,” continued Sapphire as she picked up the sketch book and held it in her hooves, "I can definitely see myself wearing an entire line of costumes like this!"

Even though she still wanted to cheer in delight about Sapphire Shores's approval, Rarity’s smile faltered a little bit at hearing that last part. Remembering how much trouble she went through the last time she made several dresses for this mare, Rarity felt a tad hesitant about doing anything of that sort again. However, the last thing the unicorn wanted to do was deny a job this large, making her swallow her worries a little before she spoke in a more professional tone.

"Oh, well… I think I can manage something like that. Just tell me how many dresses you would need, and how much time would be necessary."

"Oh, honey I'm glad you said that,” said Sapphire as she kept a smirk on her muzzle. "I actually have to start my tour next week, so I need to have five of these made by then."

"F-five?!"

Even though she didn't want to be seen as somepony who wasn't up for this task, Rarity was still shocked that the mare would make a request like that. While it wasn't nearly the largest challenge she'd tackled in her career, making several high-quality garments in less than a week was still quite a tough task to complete.

Not noticing how stunned the unicorn was looking, Sapphire Shores looked around the parlor a little before she noticed a line of mannequins along the shop window, each one wearing a dress of a different color. Looking at them, she smiled before she turned back to Rarity with a more insistent tone.

“And if you could make them in the colors like those dresses over there, that would be fan-tastic!"

Even though she was still slightly speechless about this sudden order thrust upon her, Rarity still took notice of the dresses Sapphire was referring to before nodding back to her. Right as she was about to confirm her agreement with Sapphire Shores, Rarity was interrupted when she heard the door to the kitchen open once more. While Rarity's father Magnum carried a plate of cookies under his aura, his wife Pearl was trotting alongside Zecora as she chatted with the zebra happily.

“And that was how we finally managed to get Rarity to stop wetting the bed!"

"MOM!"

Despite how red the white mare's face suddenly got, it didn’t stop Pearl and Zecora (as well as Sapphire Shores) from laughing as a plate of chocolate chip cookies were brought in. As soon as the plate was lowered onto the coffee table next to the glasses of orange juice, a small, white filly ran out from the kitchen with a huge grin on her face. Expecting the young unicorn to pounce on her like a mountain lion, Rarity anticipated the worst before she heard her sister speak.

"Hey Rare!"

Focused on the cookies in front of her, the pink-and-purple-maned filly only gave a slight notice to Rarity as she ran past her. Although Rarity felt a tad offended that her own sister barely acknowledged her, she had to admit those cookies smelled absolutely delightful. Knowing how hard it could be for a mare her age to think of anything else in the presence of sweets, Rarity let it slide before lighting her horn up. Picking up a smaller cookie from the middle of the plate, Rarity spoke up as she looked at her sister.

"Well, good morning, Sweetie Belle. I take it you had a good time helping out in the kitchen?"

Sweetie Belle turned back to Rarity with a smile on her muzzle, although it was hard to tell because it was already stuffed with at least three cookies. Even though her mouth was overstuffed, the filly still nodded cheerfully as she tried to reply, "Ummmph-hummmph!"

Seeing how much was stuffed in the little unicorn's muzzle, Pearl's face became slightly agitated as she spoke to her in a stern tone of voice. "Now Sweetie, I told you that you could have two cookies! And I know that's more than two, missy!"

"Oh come on, Honey,” said Magnum in a more caring tone as he put a hoof on his wife's shoulder, "she worked really hard to help make those cookies. I think she deserves a little extra."

Despite seeing how happy Sweetie Belle looked as she chewed the cookies—making crumbs drop out onto her sister's immaculately clean carpeting—Pearl still groaned before she turned back to Mangum with a glare in her eyes. "Well, when she loses her appetite before lunch, I'm blaming you."

Not wanting to deal with her parents' bickering, Rarity sighed as she ate her cookie and turned her attention back to Sapphire Shores, who was already enjoying one of the cookies while holding a glass of orange juice in one hoof. After taking a quick sip, the pop-star cleared her throat before she spoke to Rarity.

"Well, Miss Rarity, I take it that you're up for the job?"

Even with the bad memories of Diamond Dogs in her mind, Rarity only thought about Sapphire Shores's proposal for a second before swallowing her cookie and nodding with a smile. "Well, of course, Miss Shores! I'll be sure to get your order complete before your tour."

Just as Sapphire smiled in gratitude, two large Pegasus stallions in sunglasses ran in through the door of the Boutique, noticing Sapphire Shores before they spoke in a bold tone to her.

"Miss Shores! Your five o' clock is needing to reschedule to three today!"

Hearing that, Sapphire Shores's eyes widened before she groaned in frustration. "Uggggh! I thought I told them… oh, never mind!"

Looking disappointed at this news, Sapphire looked back at Rarity's parents with a remorseful tone as she spoke with a shade of guilt in her voice. "I'm really, really sorry, but I gotta make this meeting in Canterlot A.S.A.P!"

Holding up her hoof in understanding, Pearl kept a warm smile on her muzzle as she addressed Sapphire. "Oh, it's alright, Miss Shores! You have a big career, so I know you have big plans."

While Sapphire gave a warm smile to the mare in gratitude, Magnum levitated several of the cookies into a paper bag before floating it to her. "Here you go, Miss Shores,” said the stallion in a kind tone. "Something for the road."

"Oh, thank you so much!" After giving Magnum a quick hug, Sapphire Shores trotted over to the two Pegasus ponies as they made their way out of the Boutique. Before she could head off to Canterlot, the mare looked back to Rarity and clarified their arrangement. "So I'll get those dresses at the end of the week?"

“Well, of course!" said Rarity in a confident tone. "My word is my bond. I promise to have it completed by the time you come back."

Nodding, Sapphire gave a quick “Thank you,” before leaving the Boutique, leaving Rarity rather fulfilled with her morning before she turned back to her family. Before she could help herself to one of the cookies, Pearl kept an impressed smirk on her muzzle as she spoke to Rarity.

"Well, Rarity,” Pearl said cheerfully, "good for you! That Sapphire Shores is such a nice gal. So, what dress are you making for her?"

"Actually,” began Rarity in an excited tone as she looked to her mother happily, "I'm making five dresses for her!"

“Five? Really?" Pearl asked as her face grew a slight shade of worry.

Not noticing her mother's change, Rarity kept her own smile as she continued, “Yes! Although I do admit that this is quite sudden, I don't have many other large orders for this week, so I think I can manage it."

"... Oh." Biting her lip, Pearl looked back to her husband with a worried look on her face. Noticing this, Rarity's smile dropped slightly as she looked at her parents with a disquieted look on her face.

"Why? Is something wrong?"

“... Well…”

Before Pearl could respond, Magnum stepped forward and spoke with Sweetie Belle next to him. "Actually, we were kinda hoping that you would look after Sweetie Belle this week."

"What?!" Rarity looked at her Dad in shock. "I thought she was going with you two to Baltimare!"

"Well, we were,” began the stallion as he rubbed the back of his neck, "but the game was rescheduled to be held in Fillydelphia. And… well… I think you remember the last time we brought her there…"

Hoping to hide her cringe, Rarity closed her eyes and sighed. "Oh, right. You mean that whole… relish incident?"

Magnum only nodded as Sweetie Belle looked away from both of them in guilt. While Zecora stood nearby with a confused look on her face, Rarity and the others didn't need to say anything to remind themselves of that day. Remembering how badly things went, it was nothing short of a miracle that only Sweetie Belle was banned from that stadium for life. Not wanting to go any further with the topic, Rarity cleared her throat before she spoke to both her parents.

"Guys, I'm really, really sorry. You know how much I enjoy having Sweetie Belle around in my free time, but I don't think I can watch her this week." Seeing the upset look on Sweetie Belle's face, Rarity winced as she looked away, keeping her attention on her parents as she spoke in a guilty tone of voice. "I really don't think I can look after Sweetie Belle and finish Sapphire Shores's order at the same time."

Biting her lip, Rarity could tell how upset her parents looked by the way their ears drooped down. Despite wanting to say something against this, both of Rarity's parents knew how important their daughter's career was, which just made them feel even worse as Pearl tried to reason with Rarity about it.

"But… do you think there's any way you could try to look after her this week? I mean, I know you have a big order to fill, but we really don't have anypony else to foalsit her."

Rarity's cringe was apparent as she looked away from her mother, not wanting to face her guilt-inducing stare as she tried to reply, "I really, really don't think I can do that, Mom! I'm sorry, I truly am, but—"

"Ummm… excuse me? Miss Rarity?"

Rarity and her family turned to Zecora, who was standing in a corner of the room. Although she didn’t want to get herself involved in family affairs that weren't her business, the zebra couldn't help but feel bad for Rarity's predicament. After seeing how much the unicorn helped her this morning, Zecora hoped to return the favor.

"I can help with the filly, if you do not mind. It's the least I can do, for you being so kind."

Blinking a few times, Rarity was speechless for a moment as she tried to comprehend Zecora's words. Realizing what she was proposing, Rarity held her hoof up in defiance and tried to speak against Zecora's offer. "Oh, Zecora you shouldn't! You've already been so helpful, and I know you have to work on that medicine an—"

"I assure you, it would be alright,” said the zebra as she spoke with a raised hoof of her own. Keeping an insistent look on her face, Zecora waited until Rarity stopped speaking before she continued, "Besides, I work on that brew at night. While you work on the dresses, I can watch the filly. I won't take no for an answer, so don't be silly."

Before Rarity could say anything to oppose to the zebra's insistent attitude, the unicorn closed her eyes and breathed in. Taking a moment to let this sink in, Rarity bit her lip as she realized how helpful this would be. Even though she really didn't want to impose on Zecora like this, she couldn't deny that this was probably one of the best options for everypony. Looking back at Zecora, Rarity sighed before she responded in a slightly defeated tone.

"I… I guess I could use some help during the day…"

Before Zecora could grin to herself in satisfaction, Pearl carried the biggest smile on her face as she gave a quick hug to the zebra. "Oh, thank you so much for helping out!" After letting go of her, Pearl looked back to her husband as he spoke with a gracious tone to Zecora.

"This is really a big help for us, so we really appreciate it, Miss Zecora."

“Oh, it really is no problem at all,” assured the zebra as she looked to Magnum with a smile. "I like to help with problems big and small."

Seeing how happy her parents looked at Zecora's help, Rarity could only sigh before she spoke with a faint smile on her muzzle. "Well… I guess if everypony is alright with this…"

Looking over to Zecora, Rarity kept her smile as she saw how genuine Zecora was, making her feel better about this before she finished her statement. "Then I'm more than grateful for your assistance. Thank you, Zecora."

As the zebra nodded to Rarity with a warm smile, Pearl turned her attention to Sweetie Belle before speaking. "Now Sweetie, you should go get your things to bring in here, alright?"

Sweetie Belle happily nodded before trotting out of the Boutique with her father close behind, leaving Pearl to head back into the kitchen while Rarity spoke to Zecora.

"I really can't believe you're willing to be this helpful after everything, bu—"

"Please, Rarity, you don't need to explain." Knowing how grateful Rarity was already, Zecora didn't feel the need to hear any more thank-you's. "I don't want to see your work in disdain."

As Rarity closed her muzzle again and smiled, Zecora looked back to the kitchen for a moment, contemplating what to ask before she looked back to the unicorn with a quizzical look on her face.

"So, Rarity, I usually don't want to bring stories out… But what was that relish thing that you guys were talking about?"