//------------------------------// // Dresses and Dogs Part 2 // Story: What If // by LightningTune //------------------------------// So what if Velvet Silk hates my guts right now? I can manage. She'll get over it, right? Right! Of course she will, Rarity! She's only seven, and fillies her age get over stuff quickly. Pause. Shouldn't I...like, maybe...talk to her...maybe? "Ms. Rarity?" What if she doesn't want to talk to me, and it just makes her even more upset? "Ms. Rarity." But she might just be even more upset if I don't... "Ms. Rarity!" "Hm? Yes, darling?" "Please call me Mister Manager, Ms. Rarity." Rarity couldn't help but wonder who would actually name their foal, "Mister Manager." What did it say on the birth certificate? First Name: Mister, Last Name: Manager? "Ms. Rarity, will you please try to pay attention?" Seriously, what was up with that? Didn't his parents love him enough to at least- "Ms. Rarity if you don't start taking this meeting seriously, I'm afraid I have to-" "Ah! Sorry, sorry! My mind has been elsewhere lately." "Now then, I would like to discuss the funding of the pet fashion show this weekend." "Of course, darling-oh! Er, Mister Manager." "Now, my company's statistics rate," Blah, blah, blah. Numbers. Blah, blarg, funding. Business business numbers business statistics blah. Rarity didn't care. What she did care about what thinking about what to say to her distraught daughter at home. But, finally, Rarity faked through the meeting and somehow got funding for the fashion show. As she was walking out of the building, she passed by a very worried-looking purple unicorn. She was going to say something to her, but she was late. She needed to get home to her precious little filly. She looked at her watch as she walked home. It was six 'o clock, so the recital should've been done by then. Velvet would have walked home and be waiting for her mother in the kitchen. When Rarity got home, she opened the door to find that Velvet wasn't in the kitchen. Or the living room. Or the bathroom, bedrooms, or laundry room. Rarity panicked. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Yes, officer. She's about 3 feet and 5 inches tall. Yes, okay. Appearance? Well, she's got a red coat, and a purple mane. Green eyes, and freckles.", "No, no cutie mark." After a few minutes of talking on the phone, Rarity said goodbye and decided that she should call the school. But unfortunately they had not seen her either. Velvet's teacher said that she saw her leave after the performance to walk home. Rarity thanked her for the information and hung up. How am I going to do this?, Rarity thought. She called the school, she called the police station, she had even called the neighbors. Where was she? Suddenly it dawned on her, Rarity knew where she was. And she was not happy. Not happy at all. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rarity got out of the carriage and tipped the driver. She slowly turned to look at the scene as the driver trotted away. She had always hated the sight of Sweet Apple Acres. Rarity stepped up to the porch, and hesitated before knocking at the oak door. After waiting for what seemed like forever, the door creaked open. "Hello?" Big Mac asked. Rarity tried to keep herself calm and sophisticated, but it was no use. "H-hello, Macintosh." She cringed. "Here to get Velvet?" He asked. They stared at each other, stone-faced [or at least, Big Mac was] until Rarity cleared her throat and answered him. "Y-yes. Yes I am." She let herself in the doorway, "Velvet, darling? It's mommy!" Apple Bloom, who seemed much taller than Rarity remembered, trotted down the stairs and smiled at Rarity. "Hey, Rarity! Wanna see mah new cutie mark?" Apple Bloom asked. Rarity was still trying to process the fact that Apple Bloom was no longer eight years old. It hadn't been that long since they saw each other, right? Apple Bloom turned to the side to show off her cutie mark. It was a paintbrush painting a picture of an apple. "T-that's wonderful, darling. Tell me, have you seen Velvet?" Apple Bloom looked down at her hooves for a second, then up at Big Mac. He nodded his head. "She's hiding up in mah room." She said. Rarity calmly trotted up the stairs, and started past the rooms. She glanced at one boarded-up room. That must have been Apple Bloom's sister's room. Rarity had heard her mention her before, but they had never met. When Rarity came to Apple Bloom's door, she could hear it being locked from the inside. She sighed and knocked on the door. "Velvet, please come out! I'm sorry, do you want to talk about it?" "No, mommy!" She could hear from the other side. "Why, Velvet?" There was a pause. "'Cause I want to stay with daddy forever!" "Velvet, you don't mean that." Rarity said. It sounded as if she was reassuring herself rather than her daughter. "Mommy, I don't lie! Lying's bad! I really love daddy-maybe even more than you!" Velvet Silk answered. That was poor Rarity's breaking point. The entire stress of the day had piled up like a mountain of gasoline-soaked lumber and Velvet's remark was the match. Rarity broke-down into tears. Apple Bloom and Big Mac appeared at the top of the stairs and watched Rarity cry at Apple Bloom's door. Neither of them knew whether to comfort her or not. "Velvet-darling, I'm so, so s-sorry! I try so hard to be a good mother, but I-I just-it's so hard! Please don't hate me! I love you! I really, really do!" Rarity sobbed. After a few moments of Rarity's crying, Velvet slowly opened the door. She looked down at her mother and gave her the biggest hug a seven-year-old filly could. Rarity hugged her daughter back and nuzzled her nose. "Mommy?" "Yes, darling?" Rarity sniffed. "When I said I don't lie, that was a lie. I think I do lie, mommy. I'm sorry for lying." Rarity smiled and looked at Velvet Silk in the eyes. "It's okay, Velvet. You didn't mean it." "I know, mommy." Big Mac approached them and gave a half-hearted smile. "Ah think it's time for y'all to go." Rarity looked at her ex-husband and then at her child. She stood up and left, with Velvet at her side. They called a carriage and began the trip home. When they turned into their street, Velvet Silk suddenly gasped. "What is it, darling?" Rarity asked. "Mommy, look! All the pets!" Sure enough, all the 'fashion show' animals had broken free of the fence that had imprisoned them and were now running around freely. To add insult-to-injury, the volunteer pet show inspectors had decided that right then would be a good time to check on how the show was coming along. When Rarity rushed out of the car, she was greeted by a group of angry ponies, who gave Rarity an angry lecture and a truck-load of cold glares. The show was officially canceled. After the inspectors left and the animals were all taken back to their original place, Rarity and Velvet finally settled down and went to bed. In the middle of the night, Rarity awoke to her door opening and two green eyes poking into her room. "Mommy?" Velvet whispered. "Yes, darling?" Rarity sat up on the edge of the bed, and Velvet hopped up next to her. "What are you going to do now? The pet show's canceled, mommy." "I know, Velvet. I think I might just do something else for a while. You know, I could always try and make some clothes out of the scraps I saved for the pet show." Rarity said. "Really? Do you think I could help?" Velvet asked, staring into her mother's eyes. Rarity started to say no, but then she saw the look of pure hope in her daughter's eyes. She kissed Velvet on her forehead and said, "I think that would be wonderful, Velvet." "Wow! You're serious? Yay! Thanks mommy!" Velvet seemed to ponder something for a moment, and then said, "Mommy, maybe I'll even get my cutie mark! Do you think it'll be like yours?" Rarity smiled, "Maybe it will, darling."