//------------------------------// // Dresses. // Story: Love Me... I Mean, If You're Ok With Me // by elmago02 //------------------------------// “Perfect.” Rarity said with a grin. “Then let’s go inside, shall we?” Rarity opened the door with her magic and stood to the side to let Alice enter first. “Thanks for letting me stay, again.” “Don’t mention it, darling, it will be good for both of us. Without Sweetie Belle here, this place just feels so empty. That’s why I got Opal in the first place.” “Opal?” Alice asked. Rarity turned and looked at Alice. “Yes, Opal, my cat.” “You have a cat?” “Oh my, I didn’t showed her to you yesterday?” Alice just shook her head. “I can’t believe I totally forgot to present her to you.” Rarity walked in the direction of the stairs. “Come on, Alice, I believe Opal must be sleeping in my bedroom.” Alice followed swiftly after Rarity. ‘Rarity’s room,’ Alice just wondered why her heart was beating faster. As they walked upstairs, the tip of Rarity’s tail touched Alice snout, making a sweet fragrance fill Alice nostrils. ‘What’s wrong with my heart?’ She shook her head, but the scent of Rarity’s tail just wouldn’t leave her nose. They finally reached Rarity’s room. The unicorn, with her magic, opened the door. “Opal likes to stay the most part of the day here in this room, and because I didn’t gave you the full tour yesterday around the boutique, I suppose there wasn’t a chance for you to meet her.” Rarity got inside the room and started to look after her cat. “Where could she be hiding?” Alice walked inside the room, and looked all the objects that composed the unicorns room. Apart from there being the usual things that should be in a bedroom, like the bed, a night table, a mirror, a wardrobe and others, there were other things like a few sketches of dresses and some ponyquins around the room. Everything was incredible organized and clean, except for a few scraps of clothes that were lying on the ground. Alice walked up to them to pick them up, but before she could do that... “Waaa!” Alice shouted in surprise, backing next to a table, as the she saw the clothes in the floor move. “What’s wrong, Alice?” Rarity asked, looking at Alice that was pointing at the… thing on the floor. “Oh no, Opal!” Rarity used her magic, and from inside the scraps of clothes, emerged a white cat that looked kind of grumpy. “What did you do to my Marc Jacolts scarf?” Rarity walked to the pile of what used to be a very beautiful scarf, still holding Opal with her magic. “Just for that, Momma won’t brush your fur for two days.” Rarity said, at which Opal just seemed indifferent. Rarity let go of Opal. The cat walked up to where Alice was standing and got over the table. She looked at the earth pony for a second before hissing and running to the door, causing a few papers over the table to fall to the floor. “I think Opal doesn’t like me.” Alice said, looking at the cats route of escape. “Don’t worry about that, Darling,” Rarity moved to the table and started lo lift the papers that had fallen to the floor. “She just acts like that with each new pony she meets. It takes time to get in her good side, a lot of…” Rarity trailed off when she picked up one of the papers, “Oh no,” She said barely audible before turning around and leaving the bedroom. “Rarity!” Alice quickly followed after the unicorn down the corridor, in the direction of other room she hadn’t seen the day before. “Oh my! Oh my! I completely forgot about it!” Alice heard Rarity saying as the unicorn entered the new room. Alice got inside as well, but stopped in awe as her eyes digested what was around her. In Rarity’s room, there were a few sketches and ponyquins, but this room, it was filled with ponyquins in a vast variation of dresses, sketches covered the walls, a pair of sewing machines at one corner of the room, and a few shelves filled with bolts of cloths, threads of different colors, boxes full of little ornaments and a vault with so many kinds of jewels. This made Alice remember her little workshop in Canterlot, tons of little statues in the walls, sketches with new ideas for toys, different kinds of wood sampling in one corner of the shop and a few machines that made her work easier. In the middle of this room, stood a ponyquin that was wearing a navy blue cocktail dress with white flowers around the waist and frills at the end of the skirt. Rarity was pacing around this dress. “No, no, no, no.” The unicorn mumbled as she changed the angle from where she looked at the dress. “Rarity, what’s wrong?” She walked up to the center of the room. “Oh!” Rarity said with a bit of surprise, “Alice, I’m sorry, but I won’t be a good host for the rest of the night.” “What’s wrong, Rarity?” Alice asked with a bit of concern. “I totally forgot, Alice,” Rarity brought one hoof to her temple. “That paper, it was an order, I was supposed to finish two matching dresses for tomorrow, but I completely forgot about them. I was too busy with you and the party.” Alice ears folded back, “I’m sorry for keeping you away from your job.” Rarity put a hoof on Alice shoulder, a smile adorning her face. “Darling, you really apologize a lot. I just have to work extra hard this night if I want to make it,” Rarity sighed, “but I don’t know if I will make it on time. I struggled so much yesterday with this dress,” she gestured at the one in the center of the room, “but I just can’t get it right. I have tried but I just can’t get past this… artistic block. I don’t know what-” “Let me help you.” “What?” “I could help you with these, I could help you finish them. It’s the least I could do for… everything.” Alice said quite cheery. “I… I don’t…” Rarity halted as she remembered the way Alice had talked about her dresses last night. She knew Alice had a kind eye for the details, and just with the little statue and the three badges Rarity had seen, she knew that Alice could provide the creativity she was missing at the moment. But she sighed, “Alice, I don’t want to impose on you-” “Please, Rarity, let me help you. I just wish I can be useful, I don’t have experience with this.” She looked directly at the unicorn. Rarity, apart from seeing her reflection in those blue eyes, saw determination. “Very well, darling,” she returned her attention to the dress in the middle of the room. “This dress is almost complete, but… it doesn’t have that little spark, and I’m afraid as it is right now, it won’t be enough to fulfill the clients expectations.” Alice started to move around the dress, not moving her eyes away from it. In her time living in Canterlot, a few of the high class ponies had asked her to make a real size statue of themselves, and fewer times have they asked to make it with a dazzling dress, and each time, she had managed to achieve the clients expectations. That’s the most experience she had ever had with something like this, but it was what she needed. Visualising the ponyquin as if it was one of her works, she could see what Rarity meant with the missing spark. With a grin on her face, she turned back to look at Rarity, “I know what this dress is missing, just lent me a paper and a pencil.” Rarity complied immediately and grabbed the objects with her magic. She gave them to Alice, who started to make a rough sketch of the dress, writing a few annotations in certain parts. When she finished, she showed it to Rarity. Rarity took a moment to see the drawing, another to read the little annotations with the changes that Alice suggested, that while Alice watched a bit nervous. Rarity finally looked up at Alice and gave herself a unlady like facehoof. “You… you didn’t like it? I’m sorry, I don’t really have much experience with this kind of thing.” Alice said quite sadly. “No, darling, that’s not it,” she lifted the paper, “this is magnificent, changing the form of the neck, adjusting the waist and removing the frills from the front. I just can’t believe I didn’t see it before, it will look so much better. It could seem like just some minor details without importance, but when you take it all as a whole, it makes a big difference. Actually, this just gave me a few more ideas to improve it even more, my mind is now saturated with fresh ideas.” Alice smiled happily, she had helped Rarity with her block. “I’m happy that I helped, I think you can take care of what’s left to-” “Wait, darling, I still need your help. Would you mind assisting me making the changes to this dress, and, designing the new dress that’s supposed to match this one.” “Designing a dress from zero? I don’t know if I could. You probably have now better ideas of what to do than whatever I can come u-” Rarity interrupted Alice as she grabbed the cream hoof between her white ones. “You can, Alice. I do have some good ideas, but … I want to see what magnificent creation you might come up with, I just hope I’m not being too… pushy.” Alice looked at her hoof that was being held by Rarity. Her heart was going faster and her muzzle was getting hotter. “I-I… I will try.” Rarity smiled brightly, “then let’s begin.” Both of them started to work in the navy blue dress, but after a moment, Rarity decided to take care of it by herself. Alice was doing a good job, but Rarity wanted to give Alice enough time to come up with a design that most likely would leave her speechless. It didn’t took long for Rarity to make all the adjustments that Alice had indicated in the sketch and a few more of her own ideas. She took a few steps back to look up the result. “This is… is… magnifique!” Rarity made a little dance in delight, then turned to look at her friend. Alice was still drawing, her face wore an expression of complete concentration, kind of ‘cute.’ Rarity sat to the side of the table where Alice was working, a smile on her face, silently watching how the other mare struggled. A few minutes passed before Alice dropped the pencil she had in her mouth. To her eyes, it looked good, but would Rarity like it? She turned her head to look for the unicorn, task that was quickly accomplished. “Oh! Rarity, I-I just finished.” Rarity just smiled as a light glow showed around her horn and the paper Alice was working in. She brought it to eye level and took her time to examine the draw. It was an impressive design, not perfect, but very good for being the first time. “This is amazing, Alice, but if you don’t mind, could I make a few adjustments to it?” Alice nodded and Rarity started to make some adjustments. When she was done, Rarity grabbed the bolts of cloth needed for the dress and a pair of scissors to start working on it, a few improvements were made midway. They worked side by side, Alice helping with whichever way she could and Rarity doing most of the job as she was the one with the experience and the magic. Alice help surely made the job go faster and… more enjoyable. The dress took form, it just needed a few adjustments and add some details. Rarity was about to put the dress in one of her ponyquins when an idea formed in her mind. “Alice, would you mind modeling for me?” “W-what?” “I would like you to put on this dress, that would help me see if there’s something that needs to be fixed.” Alice had her doubts, but all of them seemed to turn into nothing when she locked eyes with the fashionista. “O-Okay, if that helps you.” Rarity smiled as she grabbed the dress with her magic and helped Alice put it on. Alice closed her eyes while the dress set around her. She was quite nervous, this was the first time she had put on a dress, would she look good? Would Rarity think she looked good? Why was the second question more important to her than the first one? With everything in place, Rarity stopped her magic and gave a few steps back. She was surprised of how amazing Alice looked right now. She stood a moment to admire the mare. If Alice looked this good with this dress, how would she look with a finished dress? Or, one designed specifically for her. Rarity caught sight that Alice was shifting uncomfortably under her gaze, so she forced herself to continue with the work. Alice stood still while Rarity worked on the dress. The unicorn being so gentle and careful, Alice felt the soft touches over the fabric, a few of them around her flank, but they were just attempts of Rarity  trying not to poke Alice with the needle. Alice was nervous that Rarity would hear the wild beating of her heart, that turned even wilder when she managed to feel Rarity’s breath against her.. “Just one last stitch here and… Perfect!” A cocktail dress with V neck and a length that completely covered the flank, made of a beautiful light green chiffon, with a few frills around the waist. Rarity took the full picture of the mare in dress. She used her magic to bring a mirror so Alice could see herself, while Alice waited with closed eyes. Slowly, Alice opened one of her eyes. “Rarity, this is incredible!”  She said while Turning around and giggling as she admired her reflection in the mirror. “Amazing,” Rarity just couldn’t stop watching the other mare. It was a pity the show would have to end. She made a mental note to make Alice her own dress, as this one was for a client. She helped the mare out from the dress and put it on one ponyquin. Rarity moved the ponyquin with the new dress next to the first one, admiring her and Alice’s job. She took a deep breath, turned to look at Alice, and hugged her. “You are so amazing. I would be freaking out right now, thinking different ways to apologize with the client. Without your help, I don’t think I would had managed to finish this.” She added a bit more of strenght to the hug. “Thank you.” Alice was surprised at first, ‘I’m amazing?’ This was the first time anypony had said that to her. Her body was rigid, but slowly, she let it enjoy the moment. She placed her own hooves around Rarity’s torso, feeling the soft and warm coat against her own. In that position, Alice nose was just half inch from Rarity’s mane, and with each breath she took, her mind drowned in that sweet scent from earlier. This hug was better than the one at the party, so much affection overflowed from the unicorn right now. Rarity opened her eyes and looked through one of the windows in the room. How curious, the sun was still setting at the horizont, how is that even possi- Wait a second, the sun wasn’t setting, it was rising. “Oh my!” Rarity pulled away from the hug, “I can’t believe we stood awake the whole night, it just felt like a few hours had pass...” She lifted a hoof to cover her mouth as a yawn attempted to escape. “I think we deserve a good nap.” Rarity’s yawn spread like a virus, as Alice got affected by it. “Yes, a nap right now sounds perfect.” “Then go ahead to the guest room, darling. I will just organize a few things before moving to my ro-” a growl from her stomach interrupted her. She smiled sheepishly, “I think I will eat something before heading to bed. What about you, Alice, are you hungry?” No, she wasn’t, after that moment with Rarity, she wouldn’t feel hunger for at least a month. Alice shook her head, “I’m more tired than hungry. I’ll see you later, Rarity.” She walked to the door and made her way to her temporary room. She just closed the curtains and flopped on the bed. ‘She thinks I’m amazing,’ she fell asleep with a smile on her face. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “The time has come. Today, is the day of your test.” The black figure got closer, “you better not disappoint me.” “I won’t, mother.” The little black figure answered. The larger walked away, “then go, everything has been prepared for you. Gather as much love as you can, then come back. And don’t forget. They. Are. Food.” “Yes, mother.” With a little bow, she retreated from the dark room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Catch me if you can, daddy!” The little filly was running through the flowers “Hahaha, you can’t escape from me.” A stallion said as he followed his daughter. The stallion stopped to catch his breath. “Haha, you can’t catch me, daddy.” The little filly said cockily. “I guess you are right, I will need reinforcements.” “Reinforce- Waaa!!” The filly shouted when a pair of hooves grabbed her from behind. The little filly looked up to see a grown mare smiling at her. “Mom! Don’t help daddy!” She said with a frown. “Sorry, sweetie, but you have played enough. Let’s go inside to eat.” The mare talked with a sweet, silky voice. “But I’m not hungry!” “You always say that you are not hungry,” The stallion had got closer to his wife and daughter, “but you always devour it like you have been starving for weeks.” He shared a small laugh with his wife, then nuzzled her and the filly. “Come on, we can play again tomorrow.” The filly smiled. “Yay! I love you dad! I love you mom!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You! What did you do to our daughter?!” The stallion shouted as his wife cried behind him. “Daddy, I… I’m-” Before the black little creature could finish, the stallion had used his magic to knock her back. “Don’t call me Daddy! You are not my daughter! You are a monster!” He stomped his hoof against the floor, a crack appearing on it. “What did you do to her?! Where is she?!” “I… I… I’m sorry.” The black creature ran away. “What did you do to my daughter?!!” The stallion shouted before dropping his head, his jaw clenched and a single tear falling next to where his wife was wailing on the floor. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I don’t want to keep doing this!” The black creature finally found the strength to say it. “I had big plans for you, but you dissapoint me. You are weak! A disgrace to our race! Get out of here and never come back!” The little black creature felt how her link to the hive mind had been severed, she was now on her own. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Help!!!” The creature had its back against a rocky wall. ‘BOOMMM!!!’ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “There’s another one of those monsters!” One of the royal guards shouted. “No! I-I’m not like-” “Shut up! We will show you what you get when you invade our homes and try control us!” Other guard shouted, they were getting closer to the black creature. “NO!” It ran away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You… you were using me.” A white unicorn said. “It’s not like that! I-” “You are a changeling, you are a monster.” “No! Rarity! Please…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Rarity!” Alice eyes shot wide open. As she looked around, she saw that she was in the guest room, her temporary room. She saw the clock on the wall, it read quarter to one. She stood from the bed to see that her whole body was covered in sweat. That dream, it was… it was… A tear popped from her eye and made it’s way to her chin, where it later fell to the floor. Alice saw her saddlebags at one corner of the room. She slowly walked to it and opened them. Inside where her tools, she usually started to work on something when she felt uneasy, but there were moments when that wasn’t enough. She kept searching inside the bag until she found the little wooden box. She took it out and opened it. There were three things inside, a piece of wood with the shape of a fang, a little statuette of herself, her true self, and a picture. She took the picture out of the box. There was a little unicorn filly with light blue coat and golden hair, she was standing between two older unicorns. A mare to the right side, with blue coat and gray mane and a stallion to the left, with brown coat and golden mane. That picture helped her feel better. ‘I’m sorry,’ she took a deep breath, scenes of the dream crossed her mind. ‘Rarity...’ The dream, the thought of the unicorn discovering her identity and calling her a monster, that thought made her heart ache. It hurt more than when she had to leave Canterlot, more than when she had to leave the hive, more than… than any other moment in her life.