//------------------------------// // Return to the Boutique // Story: Burnt Orange Juice // by Mike the Red //------------------------------// We said our good-byes to Twilight and Spike and left for the boutique. I was feeling rather happy after having been cleaned up, not to mention not having to deal with Twilight's particular idiosyncrasies. Truthfully, I still deeply admired the librarian -- it's just that certain aspects of her behavior didn't jibe with my preconceived notions of how she should act. The filly beside me began humming a rather catchy tune, which reminded me of a certain song I heard every so often on the radio from my home world. "You and I must make a pact, We must bring salvation back," I sang, earning a quizzical glance from the filly. "Where did you hear that? I've never heard a song like that before," she opined, flashing me a soft smile. "Whatever it is, it sounds very pretty!" "It's a song I first heard when I was about your age, Sweetie -- and I must admit, to sing it in your voice sounds quite pleasant to my ears. I'm awfully tempted to sing the chorus," I replied, returning the filly's smile with one of my own. "I'd like to hear it," she offered, her grin widening. I responded by singing the chorus, but my voice cracked on the high notes. I saw her grimace a couple of times at my attempt as we continued to trot to the boutique. To show me her singing ability, she sang a different song, one I had never heard before. I was amazed to hear her sing with such beauty. "You have a very lovely singing voice, Sweetie -- if you keep practicing, you'll be really good at that!" I beamed a big smile at her, truly impressed by her voice. "You think so? Maybe I'll even get my cutie mark by doing that!" she chirped, practically bouncing on the tips of her hooves. It amused me to see her in such a state of excitement, which forced me to stifle a giggle. "Maybe -- I dunno. But it can't hurt to keep trying," I noted. "So, are Apple Bloom and Scootaloo coming over for a sleepover?" "I dunno -- we didn't plan anything like that for tonight -- but if you want, we can plan one for tomorrow night! That'll be so much fun!" "I wonder what you three do during your sleepovers," I mused, eliciting a big toothy grin on the filly's face. "Oooh, you're in for a real treat! We do all kinds of fun things! If we have one tomorrow, I want you to join us in having fun!" "Sounds cool -- I just hope I don't make a fool of myself with you girls." "I think you're really cool, Aurora -- you've already shown me how much fun it is to be with you! I can hardly wait for our sleepover! We're gonna have so much fun! Maybe you can even help us get our cutie marks! That would be soooo awesome!" she chirped. "You know it! I'm amazed I got mine so quickly," I mused as I craned my neck around to look at it again. I was struck by the fact that my admiration for Twilight would manifest itself as part of my cutie mark and silently wondered what the future held in store for me. "Well, maybe you can help us get ours the same way you got yours," she offered, flashing me a sly grin. I blushed in embarrassment at her suggestion. "Sweetie Belle, I wasn't -- I -- uhhh..." I stammered as she gave me a quick hug, giggling at my reaction. "You must be really shy -- why do you act like that?" "Umm, I guess I'm still not completely familiar with pony customs -- Twilight told me a few things about them, but -- Sweetie, I'm 50 years old," I declared. "Yeah, but you shouldn't let that stop you from having fun!" she laughed, playfully nudging me in my right side with a forehoof. I tried to tickle her with my right forehoof, causing her to giggle again. "You'd better be careful if you do that -- you don't want a tickle war now, do you?" she asked as she knocked me to the ground and climbed onto me, tickling me mercilessly, her hooves on my sides. "I give! I give!" I exclaimed through my giggles. She continued to tickle me some more, her giggles and laughter matching mine. "C'mon, Sweetie! Stop! Please!" I pleaded loudly. "Okay, Aurora, because you asked me nicely," she replied, though a few more giggles escaped her lips. "You are sooo ticklish!" "I've always been that way -- even as a human," I averred, earning another curious glance from the filly. "What's that like -- being a human? Is it fun?" "Well ... it can be -- but more often than not, it isn't," I replied. "Sometimes it's a real pain, but sometimes it's quite rewarding. It just depends on how you look at things and how you deal with stress," I added, noticing the filly nodding her head. "Sounds kinda like being a grown-up pony if you ask me," she opined before adding, "I'm still curious to know what it's like, though." "Would you like to know what it was like for me when I was your age? What school was like for me?" I asked, offering a warm smile, which widened when I saw her face light up like a Christmas tree. She nodded her head vigorously, causing me to chuckle. I regaled her with some of my childhood experiences, which caused her to ask even more questions. We hadn't gotten very far into it when we arrived at the front door of the boutique. "Hey, sis, we're back," the filly called out upon entering the front door. The sound of hurried hoof-steps reached my ears before the fashionista flashed me a big smile and gave me a big hug. "Aurora, darling, so nice of you to come back! I have some new fashions for you to try on! You're going to positively love them!" she chirped before gathering me up and placing me on her back. "Miss Rarity, don't I have a say in this?" I asked almost meekly as she rushed up the stairs to her work-room. I was astonished by her speed, my mouth practically hanging open as I was then placed on the raised platform, the mare hurriedly but carefully placing a dress on me to check its appearance. "No time for that, darling, I simply must see if these fit you correctly -- I used Sweetie Belle's measurements -- oh. I forgot you were a little bigger than her," Rarity noted with a hint of disappointment in her tone. I viewed my reflection in the three-way mirror, noticing the snug fit, but also the way the dress accentuated the curves of my body. The pastel pink, yellow, and lavender hues were understated, though they also accentuated the beauty of the dress. "Miss Rarity, it feels soft -- and I notice it sets off my curves rather nicely," I commented, drawing a smile of approval. "Darling, I was hoping you'd like it -- but perhaps it needs to be taken out just a little," she offered. "Umm, sis, why not let it stay the way it is? I like it just like that," Sweetie stated. I noticed she was grinning, though I couldn't decipher her mood. I smiled in response. "Aurora, you seem to like the dress -- you wanna keep it like that?" "Well, Sweetie -- it is a little snug -- but I like the way it looks on me. Miss Rarity, why not let it stay like this? I'm probably going to lose some weight while I'm here anyway, so letting it out will end up having it fit too loosely on me if I do lose a few pounds." I turned around to check out what it looked like from behind, causing me to smile a little wider. "Actually, Miss Rarity, I'd prefer it to be this snug on me if you don't mind -- I had no idea it looked this good on me," I noted warmly. "Aurora, darling, it looks a little too tight on you," she replied, using her magic to remove it from me. She took it over to her work table and began fixing it. "Sweetie, why not have Aurora join you in your room? This will take me a little while." She noticed my expression drop as she removed the dress, then gasped upon seeing my cutie mark. "Aurora! I hadn't noticed that earlier! When did you get your cutie mark?" "Well ..." I offered, hesitating to answer directly. Her sister answered the rest of it for me, earning a puzzled look from the fashionista. "Aurora, I hope she didn't cause you too much trouble -- but -- it looks like you have part of Twilight's cutie mark as yours! Did she see it? What does she think about it?" "Well ..." I offered, still trying to formulate an acceptable answer. I blushed, something the mare noticed, which earned an almost sly grin. "You must really like her, I think -- if what you told me earlier is true, I think there might actually be a stallion inside that body you're in," she chortled. "As for your earlier request, I believe I shall allow the dress to remain unchanged. Please, I have a few more I'd like to see you in," she added, her grin widening a little. I groaned in response before offering a half-hearted, "Okay." It turned out that it wasn't just a few, but more like ten dresses she had made, either for her sister or me, I wasn't sure. Each one fit just as snugly as the first and each time I turned around in a slow circle to admire the fit and the color choices, I smiled a little wider. I was beginning to wonder how much longer I could stay in a copy of the filly's body -- the softness of the dresses did feel pretty nice. "I believe that's the last of them, Aurora. Thanks for being so patient and allowing me to try all of them on you!" Rarity chirped. "Sweetie, why not have her join you in your room? I'll make dinner for us." "Sure thing, sis. Aurora, follow me to my room," the filly instructed. I followed her into her room, noticing the pictures she had made that were taped to the walls and admired them. "You're pretty talented as an artist as well, I see," I commented, causing her to blush. "Oh, it's just a hobby of mine -- I'm trying to get better at it and I need more practice." "Do you use your magic to draw these or what?" I asked. "I need more practice using magic -- every time I try to use my magic, it sputters out on me and leaves me with a nasty headache. I use my hooves to draw instead. I remember seeing you use your magic -- how do you do that?" "Twilight gave me a few basic lessons yesterday -- I got to practice for a little while, simple stuff, but once I figured it out a little, she wanted to teach me some other stuff." "Can you teach me how to use magic?" she asked, a big grin on her face. "Sure, we've got a little time, I think," I replied warmly. I tried to remember what Twilight had told me yesterday about using magic and she did her best to focus her attention on levitating objects. I had to advise her to be cautious about how much effort she put into it, noting that using magic required a delicate touch, depending on the item to be lifted. We continued practicing, with her watching me and then copying my example. After about twenty minutes, she had succeeded in focusing her magic correctly and levitated small objects easily. She hugged me tightly to express her happiness at having learned the basics of levitation before her sister opened the door and announced that dinner was ready. "So, what were you two doing in here?" she asked as she had caught us in mid-hug. "Aurora taught me how to use magic!" the filly exclaimed excitedly. "What else did she teach you? I thought you already knew how to use your magic," the fashionista commented. "Aurora helped me improve my skill with magic -- you know how hard it's been for me to even try lifting things -- well, she helped me with that, and that's all we were doing." "Thanks for helping my sister, Aurora -- I hope you can help her with her homework as well." "Of course, Miss Rarity -- I'll do my best," I replied warmly. "I would deeply appreciate it, darling! I hope you like what we're having for dinner," she replied as we trotted downstairs to the kitchen dining area. The food smelled delicious, but I waited for Rarity and Sweetie Belle to sit down first. A setting had been provided for me to Sweetie's left and the sight and smell of the food had my mouth watering. "If it tastes as good as it smells, I'm afraid I might put on more weight," I offered, chuckling softly.