//------------------------------// // Rarity's Expertise // Story: Finding Yourself // by abcd_z //------------------------------// You enter the Carousel Boutique with Twilight. Your first impression of the store is "pink and purple and frilly and lacy". Bolts of purple and pink fabric drape from some of the walls. Many of the drapes are edged with a frilly lace. To your right is a small table surrounded by mirrors, and to your left is a rack of pony clothing hung up on hangers. You also see a mannequin shaped like a pony. The mannequin is wearing a pony outfit. Rarity comes around a corner and greets both of you. "Twilight, darling," she says, "it's so good to see you! And who is this?" she asks, sizing you up. "I'm Cale," you say. "Twilight here is helping me out with a project." You take off your necklace and show it to Rarity. You say, "We have a mystery on out hands and Twilight thought you might be able to help us." Rarity takes ahold of the necklace with her magic. "My goodness, that is a beautiful necklace!" she exclaims. "Where did you get it?" You sheepishly respond, "Actually, we were sort of hoping you could tell us." Rarity draws the necklace close to her face and starts inspecting it. "My, but isn't this a brilliant ruby! Excellent cut, no imperfections, quite a few carats... the setting seems to be some sort of silver-plated metal, and the cord holding it together is a black fabric I don't recognize, held together with a spring-loaded clasp." Rarity gives it back to you. "Unfortunately, that's all I can tell you about it. I don't see an engraver's mark on it, so I can't help you." "I'm sorry, a what?" you ask. "An engraver's mark. When somebody creates a piece of jewelry, it's common practice to leave a tiny mark somewhere on the piece that signifies you were the one who created it. Usually it's the same as your cutie mark, but... I don't see one on here." You put your necklace back on and take the silver wristband off. "What about this?" you ask, holding the wristband out to Rarity. She takes with her magic it and starts inspecting it. "No, I'm sorry," she says eventually. "I don't see any marks on this one either. The only thing I can tell you is that it was probably made from the same material as the necklace. If I had to guess, I'd say they were made by the same person." Rarity looks up at you and shrieks. "Good heavens!" she yells. "Your forelegs! And your stance! What are you?!" You chuckle. "Finally, somebody notices. I'm a human." You take the wristband back and put it back on. "They're called 'arms', not forelegs, and I walk upright because my species descended from... well, let's just say the species most similar to humans is a chimpanzee." "Well goodness, you gave me quite a scare!" Twilight asks, "Rarity, are you okay? It's just Cale. He lost some of his memory and we're trying to figure out what he's doing in Ponyville." Rarity responds, "Yes, yes, I- I'm fine. Just give me a minute to get my breath back. I apologize, I'm sure that was very unladylike of me." Twilight hastens to reassure Rarity. "No, no, it was fine," Twilight says. "You were just... startled." "Yes, well, that's no excuse for my behavior. Cale, as an apology I would to give you one of the shirts I've made." Twilight says, "You don't have to do that." You say, "Actually, I wouldn't mind. I don't exactly have a lot of clothing options here, and if it makes her feel better, I'm not going to stop her." "Quite right," Rarity says. Rarity uses her magic to pull a clothing hanger off the rack and says, "Here, why don't you try this on? The color goes well with your eyes." You look at the clothing she's just presented to you. The arms are too short and the proportions are all wrong. It's a shirt designed for a pony. "Um, Rarity?" you say. "That's not going to fit me." "What? Oh, yes, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. Try this one instead." Rarity puts the clothing hanger back and pulls out another one, also proportioned for a pony. "Rarity," you say, "look at me. I have shoulders that connect my arms with my body. None of these shirts have shoulders." Rarity gets a frantic look in her face. "I'm sure that if you just tried them on, darling..." Instead of responding you walk over to a store mannequin and gesture to it. "This is what your clothing is designed for," you say. "Do you see any differences between me and this mannequin?" Rarity quickly looks between you and the mannequin before responding, "A few, but if the measurements are off I can always make adjustments to it..." "Rarity. How many legs am I standing on? "Why, four, of course. "Rarity, look at me. How many legs am I standing on?" "Four- f-" there's a pause, then, "I don't- I DON'T KNOW!" Rarity starts sobbing. Unsure how to respond to this unexpected turn of events, you stand there awkwardly while Twilight rushes forward to calm Rarity down. You can hear Rarity softly sobbing, "I don't know," over and over. Eventually Rarity calms down enough to talk. "I'm sorry, you must think the worst of me," she says softly, then hiccups. "Yelling at a customer like that." "Rarity," you say, "it happens. We all have our off days. I think, though, that I should probably get going. I have some more research I want to do at the library, and it looks like you could use some rest." Rarity nods. "I think that would be best," she says. You ask Twilight if she'd like to accompany you. "I'd love to," she responds, "but I think I should be there for Rarity right now." Rarity sniffled. "Oh darling, please don't let me keep you from your day." While the two of them are debating whether or not Twilight should go with you, you slip out the door and start walking back towards the library. --------------------------------------------------- Back at the library, Spike greets you at the door. "Where's Twilight?" he asks. "She stayed behind at the Boutique to talk to Rarity." "You guys went to Rarity's Carousel Boutique? Why didn't you invite me?" You shrug. "It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing," you say, "and I didn't realize you'd want to come. Sorry." "So why did you guys go see Rarity?" "I was hoping she could give me some information about the jewelry I'm wearing. She couldn't, though. All she said was that she loved the necklace." "Wow. She said that?" "Yeah." "Could I... could I try it on?" Spike asks. You think about this for a second. You don't see the harm in it. "Sure kid, knock yourself out," you say, removing the necklace and tossing it to Spike. "Just remember: it's my necklace, I want it back, and it is not to leave the house. I may not know why I'm wearing it, but I would not be happy to lose it. Got it?" Spike gulps and nods. Then he says, "I'm gonna see how I look in the mirror." You chuckle as Spike runs up the stairs. Several minutes later, a human boy with green hair runs down the stairs and stops in front of you. He's wearing a purple hoodie and your necklace. "Well?" he asks, with a very familiar voice. "How do I look?"