Twilight walked up to the spa’s hot tub and said, “Rarity, you can’t wallow in there forever.”
“The hell I can’t!” said Rarity, who was neck-deep in the steaming water. “I don’t have photoshoots and paparazzi and affairs with my photographer to worry about after all.”
“You’ve been in there for three hours,” said Twilight. “I’m not sure if it’s healthy to be in a hot tub that long…”
“And who does Fluttershy think she is?!” continued Rarity. “I bet she thinks she’s too busy to hang out with her best friend!”
“Rainbow Dash?” asked Twilight.
“ME!” screeched Rarity, her flailing hooves splashing the warm water. “The one who introduced her to Photo Finish in the first place!”
“I’m sure she’s just busy, Rarity,” said Twilight patiently.
“Oh, of course she’s busy,” seethed Rarity. “It takes a lot of work to destroy another pony’s hopes and dreams after all! Maybe next she’ll kick a puppy! Wouldn’t that be something?!”
“…Jesus…” said a stunned Twilight.
Rarity sighed. “Look, I really do want to be happy for Fluttershy, ok? But I just feel jealous.” She looked at Twilight and said, “Don’t tell her I feel like this. I don’t want to ruin this for her just because I’m like this.”
“Fine,” said Twilight. “I’ll give you my word. Losing a friend’s trust is the fastest way to lose a friend-”
“FOREVER!” yelled Pinkie Pie as she stuck her head out of a bucket of sponges.
Twilight jumped. “Pinkie!” she shrieked. “What are you doing?!”
Pinkie held up a sponge. “Trying to find a sponge. I’ve got a pineapple under the sea that I’m dying to sell to someone.”
Twilight stared at Pinkie for a few seconds. She put her hoof on top of Pinkie’s head and pushed her back down into the sponges.
Rarity flopped out of the hot tub and fell to the floor. “I can’t feel my legs,” she groaned.
Twilight picked her up with magic and put her back on her hooves. “I told you that you were in there too long.”
Rarity’s legs wobbled as she attempted to stay up right. “I know, I know.” She winced as she walked unsteadily towards the door. “I think my legs have fallen asleep…” She walked out of the room, leaving Twilight alone.
Twilight sighed as she hopped into the hot tub. “Finally…” she muttered. “Now I can rel-”
The door on the opposite side of the room opened and Fluttershy flew into the room. “Rarity?” she called. “Are you still here?”
“…ax,” finished Twilight. She sat up in the water and said, “Rarity just left, Fluttershy.”
“Shit,” swore Fluttershy as she landed. “I need to talk to her. Hell, I need to talk to someone.”
“What’s wrong?” asked Twilight.
Fluttershy flew up and looked Twilight in the eye. “You need to promise not to tell Rarity.”
“God, another promise?” groaned Twilight. “I swear I won’t tell Rarity.”
Fluttershy looked around, as if to see if Rarity was still in the room. “I…I don’t like being a model. Strike that, I fucking hate being a model. Cameras everywhere, being watched all the time, all the attention…”
“Well…” said Twilight slowly, “Why don’t you just quit?”
“I CAN’T!” yelled Fluttershy, grabbing Twilight and shaking her. “If I do that, I’ll disappoint Rarity and if I disappoint Rarity, she’ll say something like…” She cleared her throat and spoke in a voice eerily similar to Rarity, “Oh darling, I can’t believe you pussed out and threw away my dream. I’ll hate you forever!” Fluttershy sighed and started speaking with her normal voice again. “Then she’ll probably pull out a gun and shoot me or something.”
Twilight pushed away from Fluttershy and said, “Isn’t that sort of a worst case scenario? Rarity’s not that dramatic.”
Meanwhile, at Carousel Boutique:
Rarity eyed her empty freezer. “Sweetie?” she yelled. “Did you eat my ice cream?!”
“No!” yelled Sweetie Belle from upstairs. “Scootaloo did!”
“Why do you buy the cheap ice cream?” yelled Scootaloo.
“YOU’RE ALL DEAD TO ME!” shrieked Rarity as she slammed the freezer shut.
Back at the spa:
“Fluttershy,” said Twilight, “I’m sure Rarity wouldn’t mind if you quit. As a matter of fact, she was just saying-”
“HEY!” yelled Pinkie as she popped out of the sponges, making the other two ponies jump. She glared at the two of them for a second. Then she smiled and asked, “Do either of you have a big rock? My pink starfish needs it!”
Twilight’s eye twitched. “Um…”
Pinkie held up a starfish wearing green trunks and said, “See? I need a house for this guy.”
“Oh thank god,” said a relieved Twilight. “I-I mean, we don’t have any rocks in here Pinkie. Try checking outside.”
“Ok!” said Pinkie. She glared at Twilight. “Don’t be telling any secrets now. Got it?” She raised her hoof and pounded it into her other one.
“Um…g-got it?” stuttered Twilight.
Pinkie smiled at her. “Good girl! Bye!” She hopped out of the room, leaving Twilight and Fluttershy alone.
“…Fluttershy?” asked Twilight.
“Yes?”
“Go tell Aloe and Lotus that the hot tub needs cleaning.”
Later:
After Twilight apologized to the spa workers, she and Fluttershy decided to walk through town.
“Do you really need the hat and sunglasses?” asked Twilight.
Fluttershy pulled down the brim of her large sunhat and hissed, “Don’t make direct eye contact with me! I don’t want ponies to know who I am.”
“You’ve literally covered nothing but your eyes and the top of your head,” pointed out Twilight. “Everyone can tell it’s you.”
“Hi Twilight!” greeted Daisy as she walked by. “Who’s that mysterious pony with you?”
Fluttershy smirked at Twilight.
“Fine, you win,” said Twilight. The two of them kept walking down the road, with no one bothering them.
“If only there was a way to stop ponies from liking me so much,” said Fluttershy. “If that happened, Photo Finish would have to find a new model.”
“What’s going on between you two anyway?” asked Twilight. “All the articles about you are talking about an affair you’re having with her.”
“Oh, that’s just for publicity,” explained Fluttershy. “She’s actually very professional when the cameras are gone.”
“Really?” asked Twilight.
“Oh yeah,” said Fluttershy. “She makes sure all my outfits are fitted and match each other. She even makes me wear designer underwear…which is a little odd because I’ve never modeled it to anybody but her.”
“Um…” said Twilight.
“Then she’s always rubbing my shoulders and giving me massages,” continued Fluttershy. “She brings wine and champagne that we drink when no one else is around and she’s always inviting me to have sleepovers with her.”
“Sleepovers?” asked Twilight.
“Yeah,” said Fluttershy. “I keep turning her down because I want to check on Angel and the others, but Photo’s always saying how we should sleep in the same bed.”
Twilight stared at Fluttershy. “...Let’s tackle one issue at a time, ok?” she said, breaking an awkward silence. “I think I’ve got an idea to help you out on the whole model thing...”
Later, at Sugarcube Corner:
“And that’s when I’ll use my magic to make Fluttershy do something unattractive! That way, no one will want her to model ever again and we can make sure she gets out of that creepy relationship with Photo Finish!” said Twilight excitedly.
Pinkie stared at her, a tube of frosting in her hooves. “…Why exactly are you telling me this? Wouldn’t it be better if you told Fluttershy?” She walked over to a bunch of cupcakes and began frosting them.
“I did tell Fluttershy,” replied Twilight. She grimaced. “…Kind of. She knows that I’ll use her magic to help her during her next show.” She smiled again. “This is perfect! I help Fluttershy end her career, which will make things right with Rarity, and I won’t have to keep secrets anymore! Speaking of…” She glared at Pinkie. “You better not tell anyone about this, got it?” She lifted her hoof and pounded it.
Pinkie laughed. “Oh, Twilight. That’d be intimidating if I thought you could actually hurt me!”
“I can hurt you!” said Twilight.
Pinkie rolled her eyes and put down the tube of frosting. “Ok then…” She stood in front of Twilight and said, “Hit me.”
“What?” asked Twilight. “I’m not going to-”
“Come on,” insisted Pinkie. “It won’t hurt. Hit me!”
“Pinkie, I-”
“Hit me! I want you to do it!” yelled Pinkie. “Hit me! HIT ME!”
Twilight punched Pinkie in the jaw.
Pinkie’s lip quivered and tears came to her eyes. “Twilight, you monster!” she sobbed.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” yelled Twilight frantically. “I didn’t mean to-”
Pinkie laughed, her tears disappearing. “Just kidding! It didn’t hurt at all! That was like getting hit with a sack of pudding!”
Twilight’s eye twitched as she pulled her arm back and punched Pinkie again.
The next evening:
Ponies gathered around the runway as the filled the room. The spotlight was on the curtain, ready for Fluttershy to strut out in her latest dress. Photo Finish stood by the bottom of the runway, a camera in her hooves and a trail of drool at the side of her mouth.
Backstage, Fluttershy was pacing nervously in her blue and green dress. “Are you sure this is going to work?” she asked.
Twilight smiled as she stood by Fluttershy’s mirror. “Of course it will work! I’ll use my magic to make you do weird, unattractive stuff and they’ll toss you out like yesterday’s garbage!”
“But today’s trash day,” said Fluttershy, confused.
Twilight sighed. “Look…just…just go out on stage already.”
Fluttershy gulped, but nodded her head. She strode out onto the runway and squinted as the spotlights hit her.
Meanwhile, Rarity entered the room, muttering to herself. “Ok, Rarity. You’re here to be a good friend and support Fluttershy. Don’t let your petty jealousy, or the fact that that Scootaloo urchin ate all your ice cream, get in the way of your friendship.” She looked at Fluttershy and smiled. “Besides, look at her. She’s beautiful in that dress. Not to mention that she looks confident, poised, graceful…Did she just faceplant?”
Indeed, Fluttershy appeared to have tripped and smacked her face against the runway. The ponies in the room gasped as she got back up, a trail of blood dripping from her nose.
“Ok,” muttered Rarity, “So she’s tripped. That’s fine. She can walk it off and…what the fuck is she doing?!”
Fluttershy was making random movements on the runway. She went from lying on her belly, to doing the worm, to flipping over and flying upside down.
“Alright,” said Rarity, “so what if she’s picking her nose. Or scratching herself like a dog. Or doing the Dougie. It’s still Fluttershy and you want to support…why in god’s name is she doing armpit farts?”
The crowd starting booing as Fluttershy continued her embarrassing acts.
“Get her off the stage!” yelled a pony.
“She’s an embarrassment to all things fashion!” yelled another.
“Do more armpit farts!” yelled a young colt. “They were funny!”
“Why is she doing this?” asked Rarity. “It’s like she doesn’t want to be a mod-” She froze and thought about what she was about to say. Then she smiled to herself. “Of course.” She started stamping her hooves on the ground. “Bravo! Bravo!”
The ponies around the room blinked.
“Who’s saying that?” asked one pony.
“It’s her!” said another, pointing at Rarity.
“Is…is that the mare that designed Sapphire Shores’ outfits?”
“I think she’s the one who designed the new Hoity Toity line as well!” said another. “Clearly she knows all about fashion!”
“So…are we just going to follow her example like sheep?” asked another pony.
“I take offense to that,” said the lone sheep in the room, “But yes, we are!” She started stamping the ground.
The rest of the room shrugged and started to cheer and stamp their hooves on the ground.
Fluttershy looked around at the cheering ponies and sighed. “We were so close…” she muttered.
Later:
Fluttershy was pacing around her dressing room. “This is awful! They like me now more than ever!”
“We’ll think of something else, Fluttershy,” said Twilight. “Don’t worry.”
“But how can I quit now?” asked Fluttershy. “Now that I know Rarity supports me, I’ll never be able to quit. What can I do?”
“You could start by telling Rarity that you don’t want to be a model,” said a voice.
Fluttershy and Twilight turned around in shock as Rarity walked into the dressing room.
“Can we talk?” asked Rarity.
“O-of course!” said Fluttershy nervously.
The two ponies looked at Twilight expectantly.
“I’m fine with you two talking,” said Twilight.
Rarity cleared her throat and gestured to the door.
“Oh!” said Twilight. “My bad.” She walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Rarity sighed and looked at Fluttershy, “I need to apologize to you, Fluttershy. I’ve been jealous of all the attention you’ve been getting ever since that day in the park.”
“I don’t want this attention, Rarity,” said Fluttershy. “I never did. I…I just didn’t want to let you down.”
“I figured you didn’t when you started doing all those things out there,” said Rarity. “I may have been jealous of you, but I didn’t want you to get laughed off stage. That’s why I started cheering for you. I want you to quit on your own terms rather than being thrown out of the modeling business.”
“Thanks,” said Fluttershy, “But I still need to break the news to-”
“FLOOTERSHY!” yelled Photo Finish, bursting into the room. Twilight, who had been listening at the door, fell face-first into the room. “You were brilliant! Everyone is talking about you now and I already have more photo shoots lined up! This is a great moment in your career! Kiss me!”
“Actually, Photo,” said Fluttershy, “We need to talk.”
The smile on Photo Finish’s face disappeared. “W-what about?” she asked nervously.
“This has been fun,” began Fluttershy, “But I’m just not ready for this kind of life. I’m a simple mare, I don’t want lights and cameras following me everywhere. It’s not you…it’s me.”
“Oh…I…I see,” said Photo, her lip quivering.
“This is hard on both of us,” said Fluttershy. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to see each other again. We can still be friends. Would you like that?”
Photo Finish sniffed. “That would be nice. I’d love to stay friends with you. But I’ll do my best to win you back one day!” She sobbed and ran out of the room.
Fluttershy smiled. “She’ll be okay. She just has to accept that I don’t want to be a model anymore.”
“Dear…” said Rarity slowly, “You did know that Photo Finish was in lo-”
Twilight put her hoof against Rarity’s lips. “Let’s just let her believe what she wants, ok?”