“Oh darling, you look dashing! Simply wonderful!” exclaimed Rarity with her normal level of pomp and circumstance.
“You think so?” asked Alistair peevishly. “Nothing’s out of order?”
“Of course not my dear, the absolute perfect amount of perfection has been put into your attire. I couldn’t hope to make it any better!”
Alistair stood awkwardly on the ground floor of Carousel Boutique, his recent wardrobe extension being reflected off any available mirror pointed in his direction. His new wardrobe in questions was a cotton long-sleeve green shirt with bright blue jeans arching down to his ankles. On his feet he wore leather work shoes with thick leather laces across the top.
“It looks nice,” he remarked as he looked down at his clothes once again. “It’s a departure from my normal setup, but not too greatly” he smiled to himself. “I wore those things everyday for who knows how long.”
Rarity looked horrified. “The same clothes? Everyday? That’s horrible! One should always have a wardrobe reconstruction or redeployment at least once a year. The fact that you went so long without one…it’s just good we caught you when we did!”
“Well…” he said as he rubbed his neck, “it wasn’t a willing change in clothing, it was sort of--”
“Yes-yes, I know Twilight told me all about what happened.” She grimaced at the thought. “Ooooo, that nasty train wreck, just thinking about it gives me shutters! It’s a miracle you didn’t get hurt.”
He shrugged. “I’m grateful for it. Now…” he looked down at his clothes once more then around the room. “Is this everything?”
“Oh no-no-no-no! There’s much more!” Rarity rushed over to one of her work tables and pulled two large pink paper bags off the top. Bringing them back over, she thrust the packages into his arms.
“This is everything, darling. Mostly extras to what you have on now but I threw in some other items in as well. A little customization never hurt anypony, or, anybody in your case.” She smiled brightly as he looked down at the bags of clothing that’d just been custom made and given to him.
“Wow, Miss Rarity these look fantastic!” he said with modest wonder.
She smiled contently. “I promised Twilight to make you some proper clothes and I did just that! I was happy to help.”
He put down one of the pink bags and extended his hand to shake. “Either way, Miss Rarity, thank you.”
Rarity chuckled. “Please Alistair, no need to be so formal.” She leaned forward and gently wrapped her hooves around him in a hug. Alistair’s mouth dropped open as his cheeks began to blush tomato red at the sudden embrace.
“Now,” said Rarity as she let go, “why don’t you hurry back home and hang up your clothes, you don’t want them to wrinkle.”
Alistair blushed even brighter. “Y-Yes, g-goodbye…Miss Rarity.”
She waved to him as he scurried out the door and into the cold autumn air outside. He immediately was hit with a chilling but still comfortable gust of wind that pushed any nearby leaves into the sky. Taking in a breath of the crisp air he started toward home.
---------------------------
Alistair pushed through the front door with his shoulders, both his arms carrying the pink clothing bags. The cold outside air slammed past him and into the house, immediately cooling things down ten degrees. Setting the bags down by the doormat, he threw the door shut with the tips of his fingers.
After untying his leather shoes, he carried the bags through the front library atrium and set them down right outside his room. His room in question was the downstairs bathroom that’d had the recent addition of a cot and a footlocker to its décor.
He reached into one of the bags and felt around a bit for the item he sought. Pulling the clothing out, he examined it. It was a brown canvas jacket with fancy thread designs along the coat sleeves. He held it up toward the light, further examining the similarities it had to something he no longer wore.
“Alistair!” called a boyish and young voice from behind him. “What’s up?”
He quickly folded the coat as he turned around. “Hey Spike,” he responded to the stubby little dragon standing in the hallway, “nothing much, just got back from picking up the clothes.” He had to arch his head down to look Spike in the eyes, his stature one he’d never seen before.
“At the Carousel Boutique, with Rarity?”
He nodded. “That and the same.”
Spike smiled a dreamy grin. “So you finally met the love of my life,” he sighed happily, “was she as amazing as I told you?”
Alistair blushed. “Uh yeah--she was nice, the clothes were nice, everything was…nice.”
Spike closed his eyes and looked toward the ceiling. “Her beauty is one that cannot be described with mere words. Just looking upon her magnificence can result in even the strongest eyes going blind off the sparkling light that is her mane!”
“I take it you have a thing for her?” chuckled Alistair.
“Well…” said Spike as he looked split on the sentiment. “I could let you in on a little secret, if you’re interested.”
“Lay it on me.”
“Ok,” Spike took a deep breath. “I’m not sure if I’ve ever hinted at it, but…I have a crush on Rarity,” he said in a low whisper. “I don’t want anypony to know so don’t tell a soul, understand?”
Alistair smirked. “I don’t know Spike; I’m pretty bad at keeping secrets. Maybe one of these days I might accidently--”
“Please!” he shouted in desperation. “I’ll be a laughing stock if anypony finds it, please don’t!”
Alistair put his hands up in defense. “Teasing, only teasing. I wouldn’t do something like that on purpose.”
Spike sighed in relief. “Wooh, that’s good” He paused a moment staring at the coat Alistair was holding. “What’s that for?”
Alistair held up the coat. “It’s the autumn jacket Rarity made; I was planning on hanging out with Jam and Commodore later, once I got these bags home.”
“Have fun then,” smiled Spike, suddenly realizing something. “Hey, what about wearing that cloak of yours? It’d probably keep you warmer.”
Alistair shrugged. “I lost the dang thing, I know it’s somewhere around here I just don’t know where. Besides, that thing’s ugly anyway.”
“Suit yourself then, see you later.”
Alistair pulled on the jacket and opened the door without buttoning it up. He waved to Spike and began on his way.
-----------------------------
“Guys!” called Alistair as ran and flailed wildly with his right arm. “Waaaaait!”
Alistair ran as fast as he could toward the now stationary Jam and Commodore. He had trouble seeing them properly from a distance but he could tell that Commodore Blip, the shaggy blue colt, was grinning ear to ear.
“Well, well, well,” he said in joking falsetto, “if it isn’t Mister Alistair, running late yet again.”
Alistair smiled. “Sorry for being late, I’ll be sure to run faster than physically possible next time to save you a few seconds of me not being here.”
Jam-Roly-Poly, the glasses wearing red colt with straight fur happily inhaled. “Ahh, the time we cherish together!”
The three automatically formed a short phalanx of themselves and continued to walk down the road.
“So…” said Alistair, “how’s school going?”
Commodore grumbled. “It’s garbage. My stupid Bio teacher gave me a zero on a assignment so now my grade’s gonna drop.” He sighed. “I can already feel another lecture from my parents coming on.”
“How’d you get the zero?”
“Forgot we had a quiz a few days ago so I bombed the entire thing, didn’t even get the multiple choice ones right.”
Alistair shrugged. “Sounds like it was your own fault, forgetting I mean.”
“Easy for you to say,” scowled Commodore, “you don’t even have to go school. “
“It’s a pretty swell, I know!” said Alistair sarcastically.
“Screw you man, you aren’t up to your eye balls in busy-work with parents breathing down your neck about “your future” and stuff,” he did air-quotes for ‘your future’ to emphasize his point.
Alistair looked hurt from the statement. “Be happy that you have something to do most days, trust me, it’s a gift.”
Commodore nodded, not really agreeing with the sentiment but still understanding it. “What do you do then, when we’re at school?”
“I try to keep busy, reading mostly, but sometimes I help out around the library when I’m needed.”
“You like it?”
“It’s ok most times; Twilight Sparkle doesn’t seem to get much library traffic, even on a busy day, so a lot of “helping out” is me and her assistant sitting around waiting for somepony to come in.”
“Sounds like a nice preparation for the real world.”
“Oh yeah.” He paused for a moment, sticking his hands into his pockets. Grinning, he turned to the two. “So about that adventure…”
“Yes!” exclaimed Commodore with matching enthusiasm. “I was hoping you’d bring it up! We’ve really needed to talk about this in greater depth, considering that this is probably the most important thing ever to happen in this town!”
“Other than the time a god of Chaos quite literally turned it upside down?”
“Well…I was at my grandparent’s house when it happened so that doesn’t count!”
Jam raised his hoof. “I think we should start with the important stuff first.” He turned to Alistair with concern in his eyes. “Are you still okay after what happened on the train?”
Alistair caressed his left shoulder gingerly. “I’m still a little sore in places, but nothing too bad. In terms of worrying though…”
“They never caught those ponies, huh?” confirmed Commodore. “Every single one of them got away?”
Alistair nodded. “Every last one. The Guards asked me some questions after I woke up. I told them everything I knew, but it didn’t seem like they pinned anything past circumstantial though.”
Commodore kicked the ground in frustration. “Dang it! After all they did, after all they put you through, and they’re just able to slither away like nothing happened!? The nerve of them!”
“The Guards are doing everything they can,” reminded Alistair, “all they’ve got is what we told them, which isn’t much as it is.”
Commodore sighed. “I know, I know. Something we can’t change or stop, just like what that Shale mare told you.”
Jam shivered. “Must be creepy, knowing that the ponies who kidnapped you are still at large. And if what that Shale told you is true…”
“Then they’re bigger than the eleven we encountered on the train,” finished Alistair.
“At least we’re ready for them,” remarked Commodore, “if they try to pull something it’ll have to be a bit more direct then their original cloak and dagger technique.”
Alistair looked at him as if green lobsters had suddenly clawed their ways out of his snout. “We? As in, you guys too?”
Commodore grinned happily. “Sure, you don’t think we’d leave this all up to you after jumping in and saving your sorry butt?”
“We want to help,” added Jam with ill seen excitement.
“Are you sure?” asked Alistair nervously. “These guys aren’t messing around, not in the slightest.”
Commodore nodded. “We’re aware, don’t worry. Although we’re not the most intimidating in fight, we proved we can still pull our own weight.”
“Ok,” said Alistair as he threw his hands up in defeat, “don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“We’re not foals,” said Commodore as he rolled his eyes, “and you’re not an adult. We can make decisions for ourselves.”
“Sorry…”
He patted Alistair on the shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry about. I’m just giving you crap. And besides, we’re here!” He gestured to his right were a comfortable looking yellow thatch house stood closely adjacent to other nice looking thatch houses. “My humble abode!”
“Oh man…” moaned Alistair.
Commodore turned to him, his eyes staring strongly. “You’re going inside this time, you promised.”
“I know, it’s just…can I do it some other time? Maybe when it’s a bit warmer or--”
“No! You said today, so we’re hanging out today. Me and Jam skipped hanging out with the rest of our little gang after school just to make this happen.”
Alistair rubbed his forehead slowly. “Alright let’s do this. Let’s waste our time playing a bunch of crappy eastern fighting games, can’t wait.”
“That’s the spirit!” exclaimed Jam.
The three walked up the stoop towards the front door. Commodore reached for the door knob.
“Oh man…” moaned Alistair once more, “your parents, your brother…do I have to do this?”
“Give it chance man, you might just enjoy yourself.”
Holding the door open for them, Alistair and Jam stepped through the doorway as Commodore followed after them, shutting the door behind him.