After leaving the spa, it was a rather short walk to Rarity's home. I knew it was her home when Rarity stopped right outside it as she said, "Welcome to Carousel Boutique," as she took on a showing off pose. Her place... was well.. the most gaudy place I ever saw to be honest, and was an even bigger eyesore than Sugarcube Corner. I shivered as I was forced to follow Rarity inside, though I really just wanted to flee and hide in a box until dusk. Once inside, I beheld the horror of a room full of... dresses. Just being here was making the remnants of my masculinity fade away. I was about to take my chances and just flee out the door when it shut behind me before I could even move.
"Now Aether, we can't have you wandering off already, and I heard of your little 'escapade' from Pinkie. Now how about you come over here like a good filly so I can take your measurements?" Rarity said as her horn lit up as various objects floated towards her.
"No, I do not want to wear a dress," I said as I finally decided to resist, sitting my rear on the ground as I crossed my forelegs over my chest.
"Aether, don't be silly, there's nothing wrong with wearing a dress. You are a filly after all."
"You are not going to get me in a dress."
"Aether, stop being so difficult, or I wi—"
"I will ruin any dress you put on me," I stated with fierce determination.
Gasping in shock, Rarity said, "How dare you make such churlish threats, Aether. What would Pinkie Pie do if she heard that kind of talk from you?"
"I do not like dresses, so putting me in a dress would not be fun to me, would Pinkie find me not having fun good?" I countered. Rarity opened her mouth for a second before closing it, finding that my rather simple argument had a good point. Instead, she closed her mouth and lowered her head to where we were staring muzzle to muzzle.
Moments passed before Rarity finally broke the silence when she said, "How about formal occasions, Aether? Would you refuse to wear a dress if we have to meet Princess Celestia or Princess Luna?"
I opened my mouth before finding that Rarity had a good point as well as her muzzle took on a smug smile. Gritting my teeth, I said, "Fine, you win, but I will not wear dress unless that occurred."
"It's good that you saw the light of reason, dear. Now, if you would kindly stand on that platform there so I can take your measurements."
Grumbling, I strode over to the platform she indicated as I stood still, figuring that it would be better just to get this over with than struggle any further. It wasn't long before Rarity wrapped that measuring tape all over my body, as she inspected each inch of my figure... fuck... I just used figure in regards to my body, I am getting more feminine.
"Now, Aether, there is something I want to talk to you about," Rarity said as she continued to look me over.
"What is it," I dryly replied.
"It's about the stuff you've been showing my sister and her friends lately. I fear tha—" Rarity started.
After hearing the same whiny concerns, I decided to stop that now as I interrupted Rarity as I said, "I already talk to Applejack about it, problem is over."
Giving me a crossed frown, Rarity replied, "I don't think it is over yet dear. Regardless of whether you promised to not show the Crusaders that... kind of activity any more, that doesn't mean you won't stop doing it, and as a shining example of what a lady should strive to be, I find it that I have to inform you that you should not do that stuff yourself, even if you are doing it alone."
"Just cause you say I should not do it, it does not mean I will stop," I replied with a roll of my eyes.
"Dear, it is just unsafe for a foal of your age to attempt such things. You may have been lucky so far, but eventually your luck will run out and you could get yourself hurt. What if you were rock climbing and you fell and broke your leg? Or if you were doing that odd stunt of yours and twisted an ankle?"
"One, I would fix my leg. Two, I would just walk it off."
"Dear, you can't just fix a leg like some toy, this is a serious man-"
"I just need some straight sticks and some... green rope-like things," I said offhandedly.
That comment finally got Rarity to pause in her measurements as she looked at me with wide eyes. After a moment had passed, she finally got to will to speak when she said, "Aether... do you know how to set a broken leg?"
"I... do not know what you mean by 'set'... but I guess you meant fix a broken bone in leg. Yes, I know how to fix my leg if it breaks."
"But... how would yo—"
"I told Applejack already I have been on my own for thirteen years. Since I knew the stuff I know, that means I done them many times before, and also hurt myself many times before. So yes, I broke my leg before, so I know I can get hurt, so your... point is already known to me."
Apparently, my little statement had blown all of Rarity's arguments out the window, for she just stood there dumbfounded for a good long while. It wasn't long before I was tempted to just leave the place before Rarity shook her head and gave me a forced smile as she said, "I think I got enough measurements for now, though I do have a few dresses right now that may fit your figure. How about you try them out, I'm sure you'll find one that you would absolutely love."
Fat chance, I thought to myself as I watched Rarity head to one corner of her store before returning with some filly-sized dresses that look that could fit me. I was at first staring at them with an annoyed stare, until my eyes spot something that shocked them to go wide-eyed. She fucking has gems on those dresses‽ I thought as I stared at all the gems on those dresses, for there were enough of them that I could live comfortably for quite a while back where I came from.
"I see that you're liking my dresses more than you thought you would," Rarity said, interrupting my stupor as a smug smile had returned to her muzzle.
"Err... no, it is not the dress... but the gems."
"What do you mean dear?" Rarity asked as confusion replaced her smug expression.
"Umm... the gems should make the dress worth... a lot of bits, right?"
"Well, the gems do make the dresses look more lovely, but they aren't that expensive," Rarity answered, blinking at me as my jaw dropped. Well, shit, if gems aren't that expensive, I could just hoard a ton of them and take them home if I find a way out of this dimension. I would be living the good life if I could just my hands on a single crate of them. Unfortunately, my distraction gave Rarity the perfect opportunity to stuff a dress over my head, and before I knew it, the dress was already in place.
"Why look at that, dear. Don't you look lovely?" Rarity said as she levitated a mirror for me to se—oh shit, that's a lot of pink! There was so much pink on this dress that it reminded me of Pinkie Pie. While I was growing just a bit fond of her, I wasn't in the mood to copy her anytime soon.
"Get this dress off me or I will take it off myself, in a bad way," I said with a growl.
"Now dear, don't be so stu—"
"You have five seconds."
"That's unreaso—"
"Five."
"Now you wa—"
"Four."
"Aether, you bet—"
"Three."
"Don't you dare!"
Giving Rarity a look of absolute seriousness, I simply replied, "Two."
When push come to shove, Rarity saw the light when she finally caved in and removed the dress from me. Afterwards I endured trying on a few more dresses, to which I only proclaimed my open contempt for them, much to Rarity's frustration. Thankfully, she didn't forgot the case with the first dress, taking them off as quickly as she put them on, until we were finally finished as Rarity was sitting down on some cushion while she rubbed her hooves against her forehead.
"What am I going to do with you, Aether," Rarity said, her frustration causing me to smile a bit.
"How about not make me a dress, problem solved."
"Don't you get smart with my young lady. There is nothing wrong with wearing a dress. Even Rainbow Dash and Applejack have dresses made by me, and since Rainbow is... a risk-taking pony like you, maybe you should follow her example and have a dress for yourself as well."
"So you are saying that I should knock ponies into fillies, and send them into cabbage stalls?"
"...That is the most preposterous thing I ev—"
"Rainbow caused me to crash into a cabbage stall."
A moment of silence passed as Rarity looked at me with a befuddled look, much to my amusement as I simply stared back at her. Eventually she bit her lip before she said, "How about I just make you some other clothing... like a scarf or a hat, maybe?"
Tilting my head, I thought about it for a moment before deciding that maybe a compromise would be the best way out of this situation as I said, "Sure, I am okay with a scarf or a hat. But no pink."
"No pink? Bu-"
"It has nothing to do with Pinkie, I... like her and I do care for her since she cares for me. I just do not want to wear pink."
"Oh. Well, each mare to her own tastes then. I will make you a scarf that I am sure that you will find so absolutely fabulous that you will change your mind about getting a dress made by me," Rarity said, as I only rolled my eyes in return.
"Well, since we have come to a... um... 'deal', may I leave now?"
"I suppose you can leave now Aether, but remember to not be a bad influence on my sister, I don't want to see her coming into harm's way."
"...You forgot the stories of their Crusading that you told me?" I asked, bemused that I would bring any more harm to the fillies than what they normally brought upon themselves.
"Just don't give them any more dangerous things to do, then," Rarity answered with a huff, before we finally said our goodbyes as I left her place, glad to be out of the masculinity-killing joint. Sadly, I didn't make it five feet before I heard another familiar voice calling out to me to the right of me.
"Why hello there, Aether. I see that you are done with Rarity today," said Twilight as she approached me judging by the sound of her voice growing louder.
"How did you know abo—" I said as I turned my head towards her, only to stop mid-sentence as I saw the state she was in. Her mane was still frazzled like the last time she talked, but her bloodshot eyes had really dark bags beneath them, and along with the jittery shaking that her body was doing, it indicated that she probably didn't got any sleep since the last time we talked.
"Oh, I went to Pinkie to find out where you were, and after she told me that Rarity was going to look after you today, I decided to come here and see if you two were around But by the looks of things, you seem to be done with whatever plans Rarity had. So how about you come with your dear friend Twilight and we can talk some more about your language?" Twilight said, her left eye twitching a bit, adding more to her... well manic look.
...This will not end well, at all.