Earlier that evening, in another part of town...
Long and well after ordinary opening hours, Rarity sat alone in her studio. The curtains were drawn, and the only light in the room came from one single candle. On the table in front of her was a glass of red wine and an envelope. Rarity wasn't old enough to drink, and to be perfectly honest she didn't particularly like the taste either. But in her world, it was required of a lady to drink wine. And if she didn't like it, she had to learn. Besides, her mother had told her it was a descent wine, and if she knew one thing, it was wine. Rarity took the glass and took small sips from in over the course of several minutes. Once in a while she threw a glance at the envelope. On the envelope was written, in Sweetie Belle’s halfway-to-elegant-handwriting: I had to promise Featherweight a date to get this. You're paying. Or else. /Sweetie. Finally she felt that she couldn't wait any longer, and opened it. Seven photographs fell out on the table. She arranged them in a neat pile, then she produced a pen and a paper and put them next to the pile. With everything in order in front of her, she adjusted her glasses, took the first photograph and looked at it.
It was taken at the mall, two days earlier. Sonata was alone, having coffee at Nasty&Expensive She wore a long, blue, sleeveless dress. It was long enough to not reveal anything even though she sat with her legs crossed, but her feet was clearly visible. No socks, and a pair of brown sandals. Rarity wrote "I" on the paper. A bit overdressed for such a casual occasion...but nice. She wears it well.
She put down the first photograph and took a sip of her wine. For a blink of a eye, a grimace was displayed on her face, but she shook it of and took the next photograph. This was Aria and Sonata taking a walk through the park. they were apparently chatting happily, Sonata had her eyes closed and her mouth open in what was probably a giggle. She wore a bordeaux-coloured jacket with pink collars, a pink skirt and leggings in the same colour as the jacket. Featherweight was a bit of a creep, but a good photographer, no one could deny that. Rarity hesitated with the pen over the paper. The jacket and the skirt suited her, and leggings looked good on anyone. But that colour... in the end, she wrote "II", next to the first note.
The next pic was taken at the club where Vinyl Scratch performed. How Featherweight got inside was a mystery, but the picture was of good quality. It was also more daring. Sonata was well aware of the photographer, and posed for him. She leaned slightly forward with her hands teasingly on her hips, showing of her perfectly rounded butt. One of Rarity’s complexes was her -in her opinion- to big derriere, and she envied Sonata for the girls more 'well-balanced' rump.
The purple skirt with a white V-shaped waist suited her well, but the slightly to big blouse that showed her bare shoulders made her look cheap. It impied that she didn't wear a bra, and that was a big no-no in Raritys book. The colors, striped red and purple were okay, but Rarity still wrote "IIII" on her paper. The 'come-hither' look in her eye didn't help, but she couldn't blame the dress for that.
So far, the pictures was worth their price, but it was very unlikely for her to get Sweetie Belle to agree to do this again. Ah well, she thought and took a sip, no problem. Sunset probably has a file on him anyway.
The next picture proved to her that she definitely had a file on him. It was taken in gymclass, and showed Sonata from behind, wearing yoga-pants and a tight t-shirt. The photograph almost drooled over her butt, it seemed. The pants were purple, the t-shirt dark red. Not much to say, gymclass was the antidote to fashion, in Rarity's eyes, and besides she began to feel bad for Sonata. She also felt she had been a bit to harsh judging the last picture and so she wrote a simple "I"
The fifth picture was the dullest one. Sonata wore a white shirt under a blue vest with a dark grey cravat, a dark grey Neighponese schoolgirl-skirt and knee-high stockings in the same color. The vest had white hems, which also were on the pockets. She was sitting on a couch at Sugarcube Corner, with Aria, Rainbow and Pinkie. She laughed, as always, and Rarity had to admit she was pretty kawaii. But that only took her so far, the rest…was boring. And 'boring' is a deadly sin in the fashion world. There were circumstances, yes, but still a solid "III".
Where is this picture taken? Rarity didn’t recognize the background at all. A masquerade perhaps? That would excuse this... bad excuse for trying to bring the 80's back. Purple-ish long sleeved blouse, a pink... jumpsuit, over that a pair of jeans shorts, and as onion on a salmon, pink knee-high boots with plateaus. Not to mention the haircut...
No. Just no. Rarity wrote "IIII " without hesitation. It was tough love, but it would be worth it in the end!
Just one picture left. Rarity was shaking with excitement. Ah, this evening was going to be good...
The seventh picture however, made Rarity choke on her wine. It was taken through a window on the second floor of the Dazzling's house. It showed Sonata in nothing but her underwear. In fact, she was still putting it on. She was singing to herself, and looked immensely happy. She wore a light pink frilly see-through bra with light blue hearts over her nipples. She had panties the same style and color. The blue heart was placed all most right on top of her ladyparts. Rarity shivered. She wore a garter belt in a darker pink nuance and was putting on a pair of lacy pink stockings. There was also small pink hearts spread along the edges of the bra and... probably on the stockings as well. She couldn't really see. Rarity wasn't sure what she was to do. The underwear was hideous and would earn her a solid "IIIII", no matter how happy and satisfied she looked. But this was such an invasion of her privacy that Rarity put down her pen. She was going to bring Sunset and Rainbow...perhaps even Fluttershy to use "the stare"... and have a word with young Featherweight about decency and morale.
Satisfied with her conclusion, she put down the last picture in the envelope. Then she counted the numbers on the paper. A solid fifteen. Rarity smirked, and lifted the glass to her lips, only to find it empty. She frowned at the glass. Such impudence, to be empty when she really needed a drink, if only just for the effect! She was interuppted in her annoyance by a ping from her phone. I'm on my way. Will be over in ten. Hope you are prepared. /Miss Sonata.
Rarity smiled, a small wolf-like grin. Then she undressed, and put on a dark red kimono, and put on a pair of silver high heel sandals. She left the room, only to return with the winebottle. She refilled the glass, and opened a drawer, pulling out a black domino mask. She put it on with eyes closed. When she opened them, the mask had changed her. Her eyes looked even darker than they usually did, and a permanent grin was plastered on her mouth. Finally, she took out a yardstick from a cupboard. She tried it against her hand.
"Nice and hard...perfect for the occacion." She sat down again, put the stick on her lap and the glass in her hand, with her legs suggestively crossed. "You are so welcome, miss Sonata. Miss Rarity is ready for you...we shall have a us a nice little chat about fashion..."