Chapter 5: Trapped in Fashion
“Muh… Muh… Muh…”
The white coated and purple haired mare stuttered as she beheld the devastation wroth upon her sewing room. Alex slowly picked himself up from the floor and dropped the basket, still covered in threads and sewing equipment. He brushed himself off, leaving only a measuring tape hanging from his hair while staring nervously at the white unicorn with a sheepish look on his face.
“Uhm… Hi…” he stammered. “Sorry..?”
*SHRIEK!*
She screamed at the top of her lungs. Her shriek was enough to nearly puncture his eardrums and literally sent the measuring tape flying. She cantered frantically around the room, gasping each time as she beheld the state it was in.
“GASP! MY FABRICS! MY EQUIPMENT! MY GEMS! MY… *SHRIEK!!!*” She flashed passed Alex and stopped in front of a ruined ponyquin that wore a pink dress. Although it didn’t look much like a pink dress anymore… It didn’t even resemble pink. Seams were torn, threads were loosened and pieces of torn cloth and fabric were hanging everywhere. Beautiful gems and sparkling emeralds had been torn off and littered floor. Some chipped and broken beyond repair.
The white unicorn bit her hoof in utter disbelief. Her face then turned red and she stood there holding her breath while suppressing the rage that was building up inside her. Alex, feeling a bit in mortal danger, slowly tip-toed his way towards the door…
“YOU!”
Her angry shout made him freeze. He trembled as he turned around slowly and he saw the angry gaze in her eyes. He could almost swear that they were on fire. “YOU… YOU RUFFIAN! YOU HOOLIGAN! LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!”
“I… I…”
“My fabulous Débutante is ruined! It was for Fancy Pants’ Evening Gallop Party at Canterlot. It wasn’t even finished! The Party is in two days! Do you have any idea how long it took me to design such a fabulous masterpiece?”
Alex gulped. “Um…”
“Hours of work… utterly RUINED!” she yelled while stepping on a broken ornament which belonged to the dress, making it crumble even more. “It took me weeks to order the items I needed and now it’s all but completely destroyed!” She huffed and angrily trotted to and fro in her rants. “Even with the fastest pegasi I’ll never be able to replace them all in time. Now I have to resort to one of my old dresses, and me promising them something new and original… I’ll never survive the ridicule and those shameful look in their eyes!” She lamented as she hung her head low.
Alex gulped again. “Look… I’m… I’m really sorry…”
“Sorry? You think ‘sorry’ is going to fix my dress in two days? I don’t need ‘sorry’, I need a MIRACLE!” She glared at him. Before she could think of a fitting punishment, she suddenly realized something and cocked her eyebrows. “Pardon me, but who or what are you anyway?”
“I’m… I’m human. My name is Alex. Please, I’m really, REALLY sorry!” he pleaded. “It was all an accident. I didn’t mean to…”
Suddenly, a familiar voice called in from outside. “RARITY? ARE YOU IN? IT’S ME, PINKIE PIE!”
Sweat poured down Alex’s face. He fell to his knees, crawled over and begged the white unicorn. “Please! Help me! I’ll do anything! Just don’t let her find me!” He held tight around her foreleg and whimpered. “PLEASE!”
The bewildered white unicorn just stared at Alex, looking into those pleading, desperate eyes of his. She suddenly smiled compassionately and patted him gently on the head.
“There, there… Don’t fret you poor dear. Just stay calm and little Rarity will handle this.” She whispered something in his ear, winked at him and trotted calmly out of the room, leaving Alex incredibly confused.
*****
Rarity closed the door to her Sewing Room and found Pinkie Pie bouncing up to her.
“Oh good, you’re home!” Pinkie Pie happily exclaimed as she stopped in front of her, still bouncing. “Have you seen Alex?”
“Alex?”
Pinkie stopped bouncing. “Alex! You know, a pony who’s not a pony. Walks on his hind legs, has hands and funny hair? Sounds a bit like you when scared?”
Rarity blinked. “Oh, you mean that ‘thing’ that crashed through the roof of my boutique?”
“Yesiree! Is he here? I want to give him a party he’ll never forget. EVER!” she said the last part in a loud whisper, followed by a somewhat creepy grin.
Rarity, rather puzzled by Pinkie’s behavior, smiled weakly. “Why yes, indeed I have.” She pointed to her sewing room, eyes welling up and her lower lip trembling. “That brute leveled my sewing room, destroyed all my supplies and ruined my fabulous Evening Débutante!” she wailed. She wrapped her hoof around Pinkie Pie for support and led her to the ruined room. She opened the door and gestured out her hoof. “Just look at all the destruction- Huh?”
She paused as she saw a tall object covered in sheets standing in the middle of the ruined room. She let out a tired sigh before returning to her act.
“T-Then that inconsiderate oaf fled out the window and-” she pointed towards the nearest closed window. “-and… closed it behind hi- hi- hi- him!” she chocked.
“Wow! How… considerate?” Pinkie responded somewhat confused.
“After him Pinkie! Avenge my dre- he- he -hess!” she wailed, collapsing on the floor and sobbing like a movie actress with her hoof across her forehead.
“Oki-doki-loki!” Pinkie smiled and bounced out the window with a cheer. “Weeee!”
CRASH!
“My window…” Rarity whimpered as the bouncing pink mare disappeared from view.
Rarity took a deep breath and calmed herself. With the damage to her room, what did one window matter? She then turned and trotted over to the large sheets. She removed the sheets with her horn, revealing Alex, standing there with his hands covering his eyes. She rolled her eyes. When she told him to hide, she didn’t mean 'cover-yourself-up-and-stand-still-in-the-middle-of-the-room' kind of hiding.
Surprisingly though, it worked.
“You can look now darling. She’s gone.”
Alex removed the hands from his eyes and let out a sigh of relief.
“Whew! Thank you so much. I thought I’d never escape her. You really saved my skin Miss..?” Looking at her more closely, Alex realized that she looked awfully familiar.
“You’re quite welcome darling. I’m Rarity by the way, proprietor of Carousel Boutique and one of the most famous fashion designer and seamstresses in all of Ponyville.” She proudly boasted as she grazed her beautiful mane with her hoof.
Alex was for a brief moment quite taken aback by Rarity’s looks; her sparkling, purple mane and tail in fine curls and her white coat emitting a radiant glow of white. On her flank, he noticed she had three jewels. This could possibly mean that she was a pony of exquisite taste and beauty, which played well with her love for fashion and design. He was nearly speechless.
‘If only I was born a horse…’
SLAP!
‘You’re not seriously reconsidering Pinkie’s idea are you??!’ his mind screamed as he slapped himself and shook that disturbing thought out of his mind. For now he was safe from Pinkie Pie, but he had a new problem…
Repaying the favor and paying for the mess.
“Miss Rarity…” He began, trying to sound more like a gentleman. “I know I said I would do anything. But I don’t have any Bits to cover the damages, so if there is anything I can do…”
“As a matter of fact, there is.” Rarity said, cutting him off. “If you would be so kind as to follow me…” She gestured, smiling as she trotted out of the room.
'Even her trot is graceful!' thought Alex as he watched her leave the room. He eyed her carefully, taking in the view of her flowing mane, her dazzling tail, her wonderful post…
SLAP!
‘She’s a pony!!! Get a grip, you idiot!’ his mind yelled as he slapped himself again. Blushing with shame, he quickly pulled himself together and followed her.
Alex followed Rarity to the main workroom. He was quite taken aback by the sheer number of clothes that decorated the shop. A popular singer he knew about would definitely go ‘gaga’ over the fabulous designs Rarity had created. If she was a pony, that is.
The fact that all these clothes were made simply for ponies amazed him, especially seeing how nearly every pony he had encountered thus far had no clothing what so ever. If it hadn’t been for their natural born coats, he would’ve immediately labeled them ‘naked’.
“These are just amazing!” exclaimed Alex, gaining Rarity’s attention. “You made these all by yourself?”
Rarity let out a modest laugh. “Well, I don’t like to brag, but yes. Every fabric you see, stitched and sown to perfection by yours truly, right down to the smallest detail. Course most of these are strictly for social companies and upper class elites. Though I sometimes dabble into the more ‘simpler’ things…”
Alex was impressed. Yet still he couldn’t fathom how a unicorn with hooves would have the ability to sow…
“Let’s see, where is it..? Ah, there it is!” Rarity’s horn glowed with a blue aura and levitated a roll of measuring tape.
'Magic… It was SO obvious.' Alex rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. It did however leave him with the question of how the other ponies, skilled in fashion, made their clothes without magic. Did they really use their hooves in some way, or their mouths?
“Alex dear, would you be so kind..?” Rarity gestured Alex to stand upright and still, while she measured him from his height, to the length of his arms and legs.
“If you want conformation, you can ask Fluttershy…” he joked.
Rarity, lost in her moment of inspiration, just ignored him and rushed over to a rack of clothes and immediately used her horn to summon a suit made for colts. It was a type of tuxedo, black with a bow tie (and a hat). Levitating a pair of scissors and needles with thread, she immediately started cutting and trimming down the suit, humming a cheerful melody. Alex watched with curiosity as she expertly sewed the trimmed pieces together. She was really in the zone.
What would normally have taken hours, she did it practically in less than 10 minutes! After emitting a cheerful yell of accomplishment, she trotted over to Alex.
“Huzzah! Now let’s begin. WARDROBE!” In a flash, a movable screen suddenly appeared and Alex quickly found himself pulled into a hurricane as Rarity wrapped him in her newly designed clothes. As the dust settled, Rarity removed the screen, revealing Alex in his new attire. She levitated a mirror over to him and he gawked at the image.
She had made him a sleek and fitting black tuxedo, with a tie and hat and everything (even a monocle). He was especially grateful that she made matching pants for him. There was a moment he dreaded that would be overlooked, seeing as how many of the male clothes mostly covered the upper half; possibly with the intention to show off their marks.
Missing only a cane, he suddenly felt one slip into his hand with Rarity’s magic, completing the set.
“My, you look smashing, darling!” Rarity exclaimed as she admired him in the mirror. Alex smiled and playfully adjusted his monocle. “Simply dashing for the Evening Gallop Party...”
Alex’s monocle fell as his eyes widened. “The ‘what’ now?”
Alex suddenly felt warm for some reason. It struck him that she had been overly generous to him. TOO generous! The angry mare that glared and yelled at him after he, without much effort, destroyed her work just moments ago suddenly wasn’t there anymore. He now wondered if she had taken his little ‘I’ll do anything’ offer a tad too seriously.
“Excuse me…” he nervously asked, pulling his neck collar. “Did you say ‘Evening Gallop Party’?”
“M-hm.” Rarity uttered as she put away her tools. “I just know we’ll be a smash hit you and I.” She looked at him, and her eyes seemed to sparkle.
“We?!?” Alex started to blush. He didn’t think a mare like her was into that sort of thing…
“Of course, darling. Why, you’re just what I need to raise a few eyebrows at Fancy Pants’ Party. Who cares about some new dress when I show off my new pet to the masses?”
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. “Whew! For a minute I thought- PET?!?” His world shattered like so many broken windows.
Alex quickly realized now what was happening. Rarity knew he wouldn’t be able to pay for the damages to her room and dress. And since he was such rare find, she immediately seized the opportunity to salvage the situation, by making him the center of attention as her new household pet. Showing off such an exotic find to the upper class would most definitely elevate her to popular status, and that would most certainly compensate for the damages.
Yet, the word ‘pet’ is what made him cringe. He could just imagine what would happen. He would arrive in a leash, forced to endure stares and gasps from fancy ponies at the mere sight of him. To add more dread, he would probably be forced to do demeaning tricks just to impress the uptight snob who’d likely throw tit-bits at him for a cheap laugh. Worse still, it wouldn’t be long before ponies like Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy and Shudder! Pinkie Pie was all over him once word got out.
‘Sorry Miss Rarity…’ While Rarity was busy going through her line of clothes she would use for the party, Alex wormed his way out of his tuxedo and silently (yet clumsily) made his way out the boutique while slowly dressing himself in his own clothes. ‘…but I have too much dignity to be your pet.’
“Now let’s see, where did I put it..?” Rarity muttered as she combed through one dress after the other. Eventually she arrived at her greatest pride; the dress she wore at the Galloping Gala. While a bit too fancy for a social meeting like the Gallop Party, she figured she could tweak it down a bit. After all, she figured the ponies present there would barely notice her fashion wear as they would be too busy looking at her two-legged companion.
“Alex, dear… No, no, no! Too uncultivated… Alexander? Yes! That’s a great name!” Rarity lifted her dress with her horn and turned to face Alex. “This dress could go well without the pearls, what do you think…? Alexander?” She glanced down on the floor where Alex stood, finding only his tuxedo in a heap.
It suddenly dawned upon her that Alex was gone. She gasped and hurried to the main entrance of her boutique. She arrived just in time to see Alex as he ran away (or at least tried to), jumping on one leg as he struggled to put his pants on. “Alexander!”
Alex glanced over his shoulder as he heard Rarity call out to him. Wasting no time, he quickly got his pants on and ran as fast as he could.
“Alexander!? Why are you..?” Rarity suddenly realized what she had done. She cursed her thoughtlessness. “Wait! Stop, I didn’t mean to call you a pet! I meant to say my prized pet!”
‘Not helping Rarity!’
She dashed out of her boutique and hurried after him.
*****
Alex ran through the streets, trying to lose the white unicorn that was slowly gaining up on him.
“Alexander! Come back! You said you’d do anything!” Rarity yelled in a pleading voice, earning a few surprised glances from ponies who witnessed the chase. Alex ignored her cries and ran faster.
“Come back!” Rarity yelled.
Quickly rounding a corner, Alex soon found himself back at the marketplace. It was busy as usual. He quickly grabbed some filthy coverings that were lying nearby. He covered himself up, rushed into the crowd and disappeared just as Rarity caught up.
She saw disappear in the crowd upon arrival and immediately rushed in, only to quickly lose sight of him within seconds.
“Now where did he go?” She looked around and saw no sign of Alex anywhere. Everypony went about their business as if nothing was out of the ordinary. “How could he..?”
She knew Alex stood too far out to hide in a crowd of ponies. Alex had to lie low if he wanted to avoid being found out, so she only needed to be patient. She trotted calmly into the marketplace and mingled while she looked for him.
Hiding deeply within his coverings, Alex darted passed one curious pony after another. At one point did he bump into a mint colored one, but quickly moved away before the unicorn got a good look at him. He quickly dived beneath a nearby booth were a Sales Pony selling asparagus was busy serving a rather distinguished-looking pony couple. Alex carefully peered out from beneath the coverings of his hiding place and saw Rarity still looking for him, asking random ponies. He knew it wouldn’t be long before a pony pointed out where he was. He had to trick his way out somehow…
Rarity trotted about the marketplace, asking random ponies if they had seen her precious Alex, with surprisingly little success. With so many ponies around it seemed impossible that he could’ve disappeared so easily. She was about to try asking the Sale Ponies when she saw a distinguished earth pony couple walking towards her.
A blue earth pony stallion with a mustache wearing a clean west along with a tie and hat, and a milk white unicorn mare dressed in a beautiful cyan Southern Belle.
She decided to ask them first.
“Pardon me good Sir and Madam. But have you by any chance seen my pet?” The couple looked at eachother confused. Rarity then stood up on her hind legs and reached one hoof high above her head. “About this size... Rather poor taste in clothes... Hard to miss..?” she smiled hopefully.
The stallion took a moment to think. “Sorry Miss… Can’t say that we have.” said the stallion as he shrugged and looked to his wife. “Honey?”
“No, sorry hon.” the smiling mare replied.
“I see… Sigh! Well, thank you for your time…”
The couple nodded politely and trotted passed her. Rarity shot a long glance at the mare’s dress as she trotted by, being quite taken by it. She could tell it was a Canterlot brand and was amazed how flawless the seams and stitches were. The color was also quite captivating. The mare definitively had a good taste.
‘That’s a lovely dress,’ Rarity thought as she started to trot onward. ‘…though she really needs to do something with that posterior of hers. It’s quite an eye-’
SCREECH!
Rarity suddenly stopped. “Wait just one minute!” She again eyed the mare’s posterior more carefully and found it to be far too big for anypony her size. She rubbed her chin suspiciously. “Mm…”
“Oh Madam! Good Sir? Madam?” The couple stopped as Rarity called out and raced up to them, wondering what she wanted now. “Ahehe… Pardon me Madam, but may I..?” before the mare could answer, Rarity suddenly grabbed the dress with her magic and tore it clean off, finding a crouched down Alex hiding behind the mare.
“I KNEW IT!”
Alex yelped and ran off with Rarity following close behind, dropping the dress in the process.
“Come back here!”
The shocked mare trembled before screaming at the top of her lungs, upset over having been undressed in public and having had an alien creature hiding in her dress. With the ponies distracted by the mare’s scream, Alex quickly fled the marketplace with Rarity still in hot pursuit.
Dodging into a nearby alleyway between two shops, he stopped as he realized it was a dead end. Aside from a couple of trashcans and a barrel, there was nothing that showed any promise of escape as Rarity suddenly arrived and closed in on him.
“I’ve got you now darling!”
Alex suddenly looked at the trashcans again. He then had a brainstorm. A fashionista like Rarity was obviously obsessed with style and glamour. Maybe she had thing for neatness too? He grabbed the nearest trashcan and tipped it over, spewing its contents in front of Rarity.
“Eeew!” Rarity recoiled in disgust. If there was one thing she disliked, it was filth.
Alex smirked, grabbed the second trashcan and poured its content over the last. The smell and sight forced Rarity further away.
“Ew, ew, ew, EW!!!” She used her hoof to shield her nostrils from the foul stench. With the alleyway covered in garbage, her path to Alex was completely cut off.
Alex was safe, but only for a moment. He had to escape the trap he had cornered himself into. The only escape he saw was a downspout leading up to the roof of the nearest shop. Wasting no time he climbed the spout and steadily worked himself up to freedom.
Rarity started to panic. Her new pet was getting away. She switched between Alex and the garbage in front of her several times before nervously biting her hoof. “It’s not worth it…” she muttered to herself while backing up. “I mean, it’s only a party. Nothing special! Just Fancy Pants will be attending. Then there’s the Elite… The Nobles… The celebrities…” Her ears dropped. “Hoity Toity… Photo Finish… Sapphire Shore…” Her pupils shrank.
“Celebrity Gossip!”
Rarity’s eyes narrowed, filled with determination as she started to gallop back into the alley. She gained momentum as she approached the spread of garbage that seemed to stretch for miles. She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes and took a leap of faith.
Everything seemed to slow down as Rarity sailed through the air; her mane and tail gracefully flowing in the wind, her coat seeming to glisten in an otherworldly light as she flew over the sea of garbage with such graze.
As her hoofs touched ground, she let out a yell of cheerful triumph over having jumped the traitorous distance.
“WHOA-HA HAA!”
Alex gawked at her with complete bewilderment. Not only had she crossed his ingenious blockade, she was actually proud of having jumped a distance of 3 feet!
“Well, this has been quite invigorating…” She said, drawing her attention to Alex who was only a few inches from getting away. “…But now it’s time to go home.”
Alex suddenly felt a tingle all over his body. He noticed a faint blue aura beginning to cover him, while an unseen force began to pull him down. Alex wrapped his arms around the downspout and held on tight. Rarity was using her magic to force him down.
Rarity was used to retrieve animals from trees, especially her cat Opal. Retrieving Alex was no different. She knew he would resist, but it was only a matter of time before he let go.
Alex quickly found himself being pulled vertically as Rarity’s magic increased. He felt his arms beginning to slip. As the pull got stronger, he was only hanging by his fingers until he finally pulled the upper half of the pout from its hinges, causing him to finally let go. Alex could do nothing now but watch in defeat as he was slowly lowered down to the smiling white unicorn.
“FOR RARITY’S DRESS!!!”
Both Rarity and Alex looked back up the wall in surprise, and saw Pinkie Pie as she dived towards Alex. Her sudden appearance startled Rarity to the point that it broke her concentration. Alex fell hard to the ground, barely avoiding Pinkie Pie as she zoomed above him, straight at Rarity.
“PINKIE? WHA—GAH!”
“WEEEEE!”
SPLAT!
Alex opened his eyes and could barely contain his laughter at what he saw. Pinkie had crashed into Rarity alright. Sending them both right into the pile of garbage! Pinkie stood up and was surprisingly untouched by the filth.
“Whew! That wasn’t so bad!” Pinkie smiled. Rarity on the other hand, lying beneath Pinkie, was not happy. She had landed on her face. Her beautiful coat completely stained and her hair ruined. She slowly lifted her head from the filth and glowered at Pinkie Pie.
As Alex roared with laughter, he suddenly heard a whisper.
“Psst! Down here!”
Alex heard it coming from a barrel beside him. He could just scarcely make out a pair of eyes that peered out from beneath it.
“Quickly!”
Skeptical, Alex quickly saw this was his best chance to escape. He wasted no time and dove under the barrel. His mysterious savior quickly lowered the barrel just as Pinkie turned her sights back into the alley.
“Now where did he go?” Pinkie rubbed her hoof under chin. She leaped off Rarity, causing her to push her face back down in the trash.
SPLAT!
After quickly searching the alley, Pinkie figured that he must’ve run off while she was distracted. Still, that didn’t get her down. “Oh well, maybe he went this way?” She smiled as she bounced out of the alley, doing hopscotch on Rarity just as she was getting back up.
SPLAT!
“Sorry Rarity!” Pinkie giggled. Humming cheerfully, she bounced down the street. Rarity, with her face in the trash, let out a sad whimper.
*****
Surrounded by darkness, Alex took breather as he was relieved to have escaped both Rarity and Pinkie Pie. From what he could understand, he was in a tunnel beneath the town. Now there was the question of who his mysterious rescuer was…
“That was too close. Are you alright?” the voice asked. It sounded feminine.
Then the dim light of a lantern lit up as Alex could finally see the face of his rescuer. His eyes widened with disbelief. He never thought there could be another.
“You're... You’re human!?!”