//------------------------------//
// Vs. Rarity 
// Story: PonyConned 
// by Green Akers 
//------------------------------//

About three hours earlier...

"And voilà!" Rarity stepped back to admire her latest attempt at maximizing a customer's fabulosity. "Très magnifique, if I do say so myself!"

Blossomforth, Rarity's current victim, looked down at the baby-blue, sapphire-studded dress she was wearing. "It's nice, really," she said, "but all I wanted was a scarf!"

"Just a scarf?" Rarity shook her head vigorously. "Heavens no! A simple scarf won't flatter your figure at all!" She scooped up the edge of the dress with her hoof and pressed it next to Blossomforth's face. "Why, just look at how well that color goes with your eyes! I daresay that even Cloud Kicker's wandering eye will linger on you with this!"

"Ugh!" Blossomforth smacked her hoof against her face. "For the hundredth time, Cloud Kicker and I are not—"

Blossomforth was interrupted by the sound of a doorbell ringing. "Just a moment, please!" Rarity said, holding up her hoof for silence. "Duty calls!"

Rarity walked over to the front door and threw it open with a flourish. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique!" she sang. "Where everything is chic, unique, and—good heavens!"

Standing at the door was a young female griffon wearing a sparkling silver gown and matching tiara, and sporting a golden purse around her neck. The ensemble was highlighted by a long sash that stretched from the griffon's left shoulder to her right hip, and was covered in radiant, multi-colored jewels.

"Greetings, madam," the griffon said with a bow. "I am Princess GottaLottaMoolah, heir to the throne of Neighgeria."

Rarity opened her mouth, but her eyes were locked on the griffon's dazzling outfit, and she was too starstruck by the sight to say anything.

The griffon raised a claw and gestured towards the two creatures standing behind her: a tall, white-coated unicorn stallion and a big, burly Diamond Dog, both wearing wooden breastplates and helmets. "My companions and I are traveling this land on official business," the griffon revealed. "We are searching for generous Equestrian citizens to assist us with an important matter of state."

Rarity ignored the griffon and continued admiring the griffon's dress. "My stars!" she said, taking the edge of the dress in her hoof. "This fabric is simply divine! Smooth and soft like silk, yet airy and durable like cotton!"

"Um, well, thank you?" The griffon shot a look of confusion back at her companions.

"And these gems!" Rarity floated a loupe out from her shop using her magic and used it to examine the stones on the griffon's sash. "These colors are amazing! And the way they change in the light, it's...” She stopped for a moment to search for the right word. “Kaleidoscopic!”

“Gosh, uh, thank you again!” the griffon said, her face turning a bit red at the praise. “I, uh, I made it myself.”

“I've only ever found single-colored stones around here,” Rarity said. “Where in the world did you find these amazing jewels?"

"Well, I, uh..." The griffon cast another helpless look back at the stallion behind her.

The stallion sighed and stepped forward. "You like dress?" he asked in broken English with a terrible accent. "Gems come from homeland, long way from here."

"Simply amazing," Rarity cooed as she continued fawning over the dress. "It's too bad these gems aren't native to Equestria. Why, I can already imagine the designs—"

"That why we here," the stallion said. "Many gems in mountains back home. Buried deep. Much work to find them. Need help. Need money."

"Yes, that's right! Money!" the griffon chimed in, breathing a sigh of relief. "These stones are very hard to dig up, because the ground is, well, uh, very hard to dig in! We wish to find these gems and sell them to bring prosperity to our fair land, but we do not have the resources to even start such a project."

"I see." Rarity eyed the griffon and stallion with curiosity. "So you're looking for somepony to fund your ventures?"

The griffon nodded. "Of course, any investors would share in the profits of the sale of these stones. We were thinking perhaps fifteen—"

"Twenty-five," the stallion interrupted, reaching out and kicking the griffon with his back leg.

"Twenty-five percent!" the griffon restated, shooting an annoyed glare at the stallion as she rubbed her sore leg.

"Twenty-five percent, you say?" Rarity looked down and examined the stones on the dress once more. "I must admit, that sounds awfully tempting."

"We expect quite a windfall from these stones," the griffon said. "Why, this dress alone has been valued at nearly fifteen thousand bits!"

"Oh my." Rarity glanced skyward and scratched her chin for a moment as she pondered the idea. "I don't know," she finally admitted. "As much as I'd love to help you, I'm afraid I'm experiencing a bit of a lull in my business right now, and I'm just not sure I can afford this."

"Well, uh, perhaps we could sweeten our offer a bit," the griffon offered. "What if we gave you, say, forty percent of all profits?"

"Your majesty!" the stallion objected in a stern tone. "I not sure we can afford such deal."

"Really?" the griffon asked in surprise. "But I thought—"

The stallion sighed and kicked the griffon with his hind leg again.

"Oh, uh, right." The griffon looked back at Rarity, then raised her claw to her forehead and struck a dramatic pose. "I mean, I know it will not leave us much, but we have no choice. We cannot return home without finding help!"

Rarity gave the pair an apologetic look. "I'm still not sure I—"

"You make dress?" the stallion asked. "We could give you stones to sell. You be, er, I think word is, exclusive supplier?"

"Exclusive, you say?" Rarity's ears perked up at the word. "You mean I could use your gems for my outfits, and be the only shop in Equestria who had them?"

"Yes!" the griffon and stallion said in unison.

A large smile spread across Rarity's face. "My one-of-a-kind outfits could be even more spectacular!" She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "How much money would you need?"

"Let's see." The griffon looked back over at the stallion. "Perhaps seven hundred bits would be enough to get things started."

The stallion shook his head. "Not enough. At least thousand."

Rarity winced at the number. "It's a bit steep," she said, "but I believe I can swing that. Wait here for just a moment."

Rarity walked back into her shop and lifted a picture off of the wall to reveal a safe, completely oblivious to the fact that a crumpled dress and an open window were now all that was left of Blossomforth. "This could be a golden opportunity," she told herself as she entered the combination. "Think of the ensembles you could create! Think of the fashionable ponies you could impress! Think of the up-and-coming designers you could crush beneath your hooves!"

Rarity opened the safe, withdrew the proper number of bits, dropped the money in a cloth sack, and hurried back to the Neighgerian delegation at her front door. "So sorry to keep you waiting," she said as she gave the bag to the griffon. "I trust this will cover your expenses?"

The griffon's eyes lit up as she looked inside the sack. "Yeah, that'll do," she said as she threw the bag over her shoulder.

The stallion muttered something under his breath and kicked the griffon a third time.

"Ow!" The griffon jumped back and shot a death glare at the stallion. "I mean, yes, I believe this will suffice. We shall return to Neighgeria at once to commence our mining operations." The griffon bowed to Rarity. "Thank you for your generosity."

"Oh, don't mention it, really," Rarity said with a smile.

"We get back to you soon," the stallion said as he and the griffon turned to leave. "Four to six weeks."

"That sounds just fine! Safe travels!" Rarity waved as the Neighgerian trio walked away, then returned to her boutique. "I can't wait until I get those gems!" she said to herself. "This is going to be wonderful!"



"Oh, Rarity!" Twilight put her head in her hooves once more. "Neighgerian royalty rackets are the oldest trick in the book!"

"I couldn't help myself!" Rarity moaned. "I'd never seen gems with such color!" She slammed her head down on a nearby desk. "Oh, Twilight! Whatever shall I do?"

"Don't feel bad, sis." Sweetie Belle walked over and reached out to put a leg across Rarity's shoulders, but could only reach halfway up Rarity's leg. "You heard Twilight. They're highly trained professionals."

"Yeah, and they're plum heartless, too!" Apple Bloom added.

Twilight sighed. "We'll just going to have to find these thieves and force them to return what they've stolen," she said. "That's easier said than done, though. If they haven't left town already, they're going to do it soon, before ponies start catching on to their tricks. We'll need to catch up with them fast."

"Yeah, that won't be too hard," a voice remarked from outside Twilight's window.

Everypony turned towards the window, where a cyan pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane hovered outside. "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed as she rushed over to open the window. "Have you been conned by these crooks too?"

"No way!" Scootaloo interrupted. "Rainbow Dash is way to awesome to fall for those dirty tricks!"

"True," Rainbow Dash acknowledged. "Fluttershy, on the other hoof..."