//------------------------------// // Ch. 2 The First Encounter // Story: A Renowned Reputation // by JordanJwoww //------------------------------// “Ready?” Shouted Rainbow. “One, two, three!" Rainbow Dash jumped off the top of the building performing a beautifully executed dive bomb. She shot into the air and disappeared into the sunlight. A small crowd of ponies stood beneath, mesmerized by the skilled pegasi. Ponyville was having another beautiful spring day, and everyone was outside taking the most of the weather. Rarity was walking along the masses trying to clear the way for her large shipment of materials that she had just recently picked up from Manehattan. Her mind was bolting in every which direction, trying to plan the next few months for her developing boutique. She was fresh out of the Manehattan Fashion Institute and ready to face the world. But, the world seemed way to fast. The young filly was overwhelmed with the speed everyone moved. Her mind started racing as she was trying to gain her ground, but she couldn’t. She had to rest. She was in the midst of Ponyvile, but she was able to escape and reach some “breathing” space on the Ponyville bridge. She peered deeply into the crystal water and the reflection it gave. Admiring the reflection, Rarity began to move her way down to the waterfront. The reflection was beautiful. It was as if she was standing on the edge of the world. Perfect symmetry filled her heart with harmony. It was peaceful here. The harmonious singing of birds caressed the air as Rarity slowly let her vision rise from the water to across the river. A built unicorn made his way through the crowds of ponies, directing his attention towards Rarity’s large carriage of materials. He then saw the filly gazing through him, which greatly flattered him. She had never seen a colt like him before. Tall, strong and well chiseled. His mane was flowing down the back of his neck cascading a beautiful ruby color against a gentle and warm white fur. His tail was that of a certain length that demanded elegance, and suited well with his cutie mark, a simple beamed eighth note. But his eyes, his eyes were the most mesmerizing for Rarity. Never had she looked so deep into someones eyes and seen both strong but gentle nature. This colt was special, and she knew it. “Excuse me, miss?” the colt said. “I was told that I could find you here.” “Wha-what?” Rarity said, snapping out of her daze. “What to heavens do you mean?” “Well, Hooves Storage and Moving told me that there was a new filly in town that needed some help relocating her merchandise,” the colt said gently. “I’m here to offer you my services... that is if you want them.” “Oh my stars, thank you!” Rarity said in a beaming manner. “The carriage is right up here, Mister...” Rarity was cut off. She looked frantically to find a way to identify the colt. She quickly spotted a name-tag, Mr. Cleft. “Mister Cleft,” she finished. “Mister Cleft,” the colt laughed. “Please, call me Prestige, Mister Cleft is my father.” “Well then, Prestige it is!” Rarity said with zest. “I will show you the way to Carousel Boutique.” Prestige strolled his way over to the carriage that Rarity had been struggling to pull earlier. He latched himself in, and with great ease, pulled the vessel along. He noticed Rarity admiring his raw power, but each time he made eye contact with her, she would turn her head back and slightly blush. “I’m sorry, where are my manners,” Prestige said, “here I’ve been helping you out, and I never got your name.” “It’s Rarity,” she giggled. “Well then, Rarity,” Prestige said, “What brings you to Ponyville? As I understand it, you moved here from Manehattan?” “I can hardly say I’m from Manehattan. The Manehattan Fashion Institute might as well have been in Ponyville, it was that far out of the city,” Rarity began. “If anything, I would have to tell you that I am originally from Fillydelphia.” “Fillydelphia, ha!” the big colt laughed. A shocked look came over Rarity. “Oh,” he said, “no I didn’t mean to make it seem like I was mocking you. I have a cousin that lives there. Needless to say, he’s the black pony of the family.” Prestige continued to laugh. “Well, it’s good to see someone being entertained with the idea of Fillydelphia,” Rarity said, “I mean, they do make a good cream cheese.” Prestige gave her a puzzled look. Rarity gave him a wide-grinned smile which caused Prestige to chuckle. “Cream cheese, really?” She thought to herself. Her cheeks began to blush as she came to terms with her silly remark. The two of them slowly made their way to Carousel Boutique as Rarity still held back from the rather charming stranger. She never felt such a raw connection to another pony than what she felt with him. There was definitely something to this radiant colt. Rarity started to regain her courage to talk to Prestige again, but moments before she started, they had reached the boutique. “Well, Ms. Rarity,” Prestige said, “I believe this is your stop.” “Why, yes.” Rarity stuttered, “yes, it is.” Prestige helped unload the carriage for Rarity. He knew that the young filly would be very grateful with his help. She had obviously been traveling all day and was tired of all the commotion and stress. He thought he’d give her a helping hand. But it only proved to be more stressful for Rarity. She was trying to keep calm, but Prestige couldn’t seem to understand where to put most of her materials. Yet, she was thankful that the big colt was helping her. She was new to the town, and was beginning to like it already. “That should be everything,” Prestige said with a satisfied look. “Yeah...” Rarity said with a slight bit on her lip. She was looking at how unorganized her boutique was. “...That should be everything.” “I have to be going now, Ma’am,” the colt said, “but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.” He tucked his head into one of the many boxes and scribbled his number onto a piece of paper. “Actually...” Rarity began. “My sister, Sweetie Belle, shouldn’t be moving in for another month or so... and with me being new and all...” she trailed off. “You want me to show you around the town and such, right?” Prestige replied. “Yes!” Rarity said with a sigh of relief. “Alrighty then,” the colt said. “Give me an hour to go sign out at work, and I’ll come by later, okay?” “That sounds...” Rarity paused, “perfect.” Prestige walked towards the front door of the boutique, turned back to look at Rarity, and threw her a big smile. After the tall colt had left, Rarity quickly rushed over to her couch and collapsed in sheer exhaustion. “What a day” she was thinking. There had been a lot of commotion on her travel here, but she finally had made it. And she knew that her day was going to be a little bit brighter with that little hint of ruby. *** After lying on the couch for a while, her body fully relaxed and allowed her to doze off for a while. In her light sleep, she couldn't stop thinking about the ruby-maned unicorn. All she could keep thinking about was how they first met. The mirroring waters perfectly reflected the sky, almost resembling heaven. Then, in the far distance, where dreams met reality, the strong colt emerged from horizon. He seemed like a god-send, one that she was not worthy to court. Almost at the same time, a loud knocking noise erupted her dream. She darted her body up off the couch. It was only a dream, she thought. “I really am getting ahead of myself,” she muttered to herself. “Courting him? Have I lost all sanity? I just met him!” She couldn’t help but chuckle at her dream, but in contrast, it was quite... real to her. Another loud knocking noise came, it came from the front door. “Just a minute!” Rarity blurted out. She rushed around the boutique, everything still a mess. “I... just need to freshen up!” She shouted to the door. “Can I at least come in?” Prestige said muffled through the door. “Or should I just wait out here with the birds?” Silence followed afterwards. Prestige stood in front of the door, patiently waiting. He could hear Rarity galloping around inside, and he could tell that she was nervous around him. He calmly waited with a slight smirk across his face. His mind raced through everything he wanted to show the ecstatic unicorn. A warm feeling filled Prestige’s body, spreading from the pit of his stomach, all the way up to his cheeks. Rarity was rushing around inside working with extreme effort to make herself presentable to Prestige. A powerful thudding was ringing in her ears, her body became warm, and a single bead of sweat began to form on the top of her forehead. She felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach, but it was followed by a soothing warm feeling which rushed its way into her face, tingling at the very edge of her ears. Prestige approached the door to make his way inside, just when Rarity opened it. They both bumped into each other, each giving a slight grunt. Rarity looked up at the built colt to see that he had brushed his mane out, making the ruby hair flow gallantly through the wind. He tossed her a quick smirk, but she dug her head into her shoulder to hide her blushing cheeks. As she turned her head, she revealed a silver-coated butterfly hair clip just above her ear. The sun reflected an iridescent glow, illuminating her face. The flow of her rich purple hair complimented the butterfly, leaving a direct impact upon Prestige. This was something he would remember of Rarity, always. “Wow...” Prestige simply stated. “You truly look...” he trailed off. “...Amazing.” He finally finished. There was a pregnant pause as they stared deep into each others eyes. It seemed the world had slowed down, just for them. “Shall we move on?” Prestige said almost at a whisper. Rarity simply nodded. There was no need to talk, everything felt just right. Throughout the night, Rarity and Prestige finally decided to open up and talk to each other. But Rarity felt more interested in hearing about the unicorn. From what she could gather, Prestige had been in Ponyville no longer than two weeks prior to her arrival. He had originally been from Manehattan, but tried to make a better life out in Ponyville, but things were going slow for him. And hopefully they were going to change, and it looked that way too. Prestige took her to a quaint restaurant overlooking the stream. Princess Celestia had indeed worked hard on tonight’s scenery. The luminous stars and striking moon reflected off the water, covering the world with moonlight. Following dinner, the two unicorns wandered off into the night, not worrying about what lay ahead of them. Because as long as the other was by their side, they feared nothing. Everything was falling into place. They were exactly where they wanted to be. With each other.