The Roses
The day that Mom and Dad had brought Sweetie Belle by to the Carousel Boutique (but, that was a lie, Sweetie Belle had shown up the day after and inserted herself into Rarity’s life), Sweetie Belle asked why Rarity always had roses in the Boutique.
Rarity stopped to think for a second, and said, “Do you see there?” She held up a rose, and rotated it to show the thorns. “These thorns will hurt you if you hold the rose wrong, or try to get a rose that is not within reach.” She rotated the rose to show the long, wooden stem. “And, this,” she continued, “takes time and effort to trim, to properly care for the rose bushes, to prepare. All, to finally result in this,” and she showed Sweetie Belle the rose blossom. “This beautiful work of art.”
She turned herself around in the Boutique, showing off her studio to Sweetie Belle. “In the soil of Ponyville, I am somewhat prickly, but with time and effort I bloom with dresses and scarves and a thousand and one other things. I am a garden of fashion, a rose of Ponyville.”
Sweetie Belle smiled, and perhaps on this day, the two of them truly began to understand each other.
After the demon attack, after the interviews, after the talk with Princess Celestia, Rarity came back to the Carousel Boutique and looked around.
Tomorrow, Princess Celestia promised, healers would come and help with the memory modifications that Sweetie Belle and her friends had done on her.
Applejack, Rarity could tell, was still fuming under her hat about everything that had happened to her. Oh, Applejack deserved her anger-for the last two years, the three of them had been lying to everypony else in town. However…
Dreams of conquest, dreams of anger, dreams of vengeance, the Night Shall Never End!
...Rarity took a deep breath. She remembered being the Nightmare. She had been Nightmare Rarity for just long enough for her to know what the depths of anger-and the lust for power-could drive a pony. Ponies organizing, summoning monsters to call forth the Nightmare and gaining such power?
That scared her, more than Rarity would ever admit.
And, to a foal barely three years old, seeing their mother scared? Her burnt body being taken out of the house they lived in?
Any pony had to sympathize with that. Being the Element of Generosity? Icing on the cake.
Rarity looked around, and started to put things away that had fallen off of shelves. She looked at the fabric that had fallen, dresses that needed to be altered.
Her life, in cloth and fabric and form.
She cleaned up her rose garden, removing the weeds that other ponies had scattered in her life. She sympathized with the weeds-they were not there by their choice.
The ponies that had scattered the seeds that had grown the weeds? Summoned the demons? Tried to bring back the Nightmare?
Rarity would prune.
Without mercy.
The first letter from Sweetie Belle came a week later. Rarity was in her Inspiration Room when it appeared in a puff of green smoke. She caught it with her magic and opened it up to messy but legible hoofwriting.
Dear Rarity,
You won’t believe who is teaching me to sing! Meera! You remember when we went to Canterlot last? We were able to get the last open box seats at the opera, and Meera was the top soloist at the Royal Canterlotian Hall and she sang so beautifully!
She was very, very happy with how I did. According to her, I have a great deal of talent as a mezzo-soprano, and we are working through exercises and lots of voice training. It’s hard work, but I’m learning a lot!
Rarity smiled, and put the letter down for a second to work through sketches for an upcoming event. She had three custom dresses to make, and about five days to make them. Two of them were adaptations, a third was going to be all new. But, it was going to be interesting work.
Finished with the drawing and fabric swatches, she returned to Sweetie Belle’s letter.
Apple Bloom has been working with an engineer named Steam Heart down at the Canterlot Steam Works. She comes back to the castle every day, grease on her muzzle and hooves, and a smile on her face. She says that Steam Heart is a taskmaster, and very demanding, but he wants to keep her safe while she’s working there.
Apple Bloom wanted me to ask you-how is Applejack doing? She’s sent two letters by magic post, but hasn’t gotten any replies yet.
Rarity closed her eyes for a second, a deep breath, and she stopped reading the letter, to consider fetlock covers for her customers.
Applejack still hadn’t taken it well. Big Macintosh had come into town and Rairty had found out from him that she was sticking close to the farm, nightmares every night, and anytime somepony mentioned “Apple Bloom,” she started to get very angry. She even snapped at Granny Apple, which worried Big Macintosh.
Once she got her breathing under control, she picked back up the letter again and got to reading.
Scootaloo...Rarity, she’s so happy that she can really fly now. Rainbow Dash was by this week and the two of them were flying all over the place. Scootaloo has endurance issues, but the two of them have been training and exercising like mad.
I hope I can fly like that, soon. Princess Celestia made us promise to be “normal” while she finds out what happened, but I’ve been watching Rainbow Dash and doing the same exercises as well.
Also, I made a friend you might want to meet. Her name is Shining Button and she was the one that made the dress for Duchess Twopenny for last year’s Grand Galloping Gala pre-party that you loved so much. She showed off her scrapbook to me and I think the two of you would get together so well! I told her I’d tell you about her, and I hope the two of you can talk.
I miss you, I miss Ponyville, and I wish you were here.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Sweetie Belle
Rarity smiled softly, and took down with her telekinesis a book from the shelves. She carefully put the letter in the book, closed it, and took a deep, long breath.
More gardening in her Inspiration Room.
More roses to be raised.
Rarity got her second letter from Sweetie Belle five days later, just after two of her clients had left with their dresses. It was a dance, always-client would ask for something. Rarity would politely offer an improvement. Client would want something garish just to show they knowed something. Rarity would smile and agree. Customer would be convinced to do things Rarity’s way by making the customer think it was their idea in the first place. Money would be exchanged, the customer left with a dress, and Rarity had a bag of bits in one hoof and she looked for a dance partner with the other.
The customers had just left, she was thinking about the work on the last custom dress, when the scroll appeared in a puff of smoke. How rude, Rarity thought. Could it smell or seem like anything other than a dragon burp?
This one was thicker than usual, and Rarity could see that the scroll had a photo rolled up inside of it. Hm? she thought, breaking the seal and unrolling the scroll and the photograph.
The photograph was of Sweetie Belle, slightly offset to show her...yes, yes, yes!...Cutie Mark. Her Cutie Mark was so lovely and stylish-a pink heart linked through with a bridging gap symbol, three small and three large stars surrounding the heart. And, it said everything that Sweetie Belle was-a bridge of love, under the stars.
Rarity could almost feel the enthusiasm coming through the note, like a shower of rainbows and love.
Rarity! I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!!!
I wanted to give it a day to make sure it didn’t fall off or get eaten by a dove or something, but I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!!! Meera and I were doing training and I just was absolutely spot-on perfect with the song. When I was done, my flanks felt warm, and I had my Cutie Mark! It means a lot to me, and I know so much of what it means to me.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo threw a Cutie Mark Crusader First Cutie Mark party that night, we got a chance to meet with some of the guards that work the palace. Did you know that one of them, Flash Sentry, knows Twilight Sparkle? Wow!
Anyways, back to school and training tomorrow, and hoping Apple Bloom doesn’t blow herself up again. Have to explain that-her and Steam Heart have been working on this new idea for a steam engine and they had a small explosion in their lab. Nopony was hurt, but they definitely are ready to get back to work-once they put a new roof on the lab.
Scootaloo is zipping around all over Canterlot-and Rainbow Dash keeps saying words like “twenty percent more awesome” around her. I don’t think I’ve seen Scootaloo this happy in years, and I’m glad she’s happy.
Got a photo of my Cutie Mark, hope you tell everypony in town about it that you can, and hope to hear from you soon!
Love,
Sweetie Belle
Rarity smiled, and pulled the book down from the shelves. She found two matching blank pages, put the photo on one, and the letter on the other. With a long, slow breath of joy, she put the book back and started to get ready for the next customer.
In her mind’s eye, an orchid in a hot house had just finally begun to bloom.
“Sweetie Belle sent me a letter,” Rarity said, pinning some fabric onto Applejack as she poised in the Carousel Boutique. The White Elephant Gala was only a few weeks away, and it was the sort of event that everypony that was anypony had to be at. So, that meant the Elements (and especially Princess Twilight Sparkle) had to be there, and Rarity knew she’d be running interference for Fluttershy that night, to help with her shyness.
“Hm,” Applejack commented, without saying anything. Rarity was always disappointed that Applejack didn’t realize just how beautiful she looked. There were ponies that would murder for her form, her style, and her hair. But, something in Applejack rebelled against the fancy, as she called it.
Rarity assumed it had to do with Applejack’s time in Manehattan, before she got her Cutie Mark. Manehattan was not a city for a pony that didn’t have their own self-worth imbedded in bedrock. One only had to see how much Coco Pommel was used by Suri Polomare to know how that worked out! Still, Applejack was her friend, and short of Rarity doing a confidence transplant spell, she wasn’t going to change Applejack.
And, why should she? Applejack was her friend, she’d support her in any way she could, and Applejack did clean up nicely when she put her mind to it.
Rarity just wished she put her mind to it more. The world tended to be an ugly place, like a giant pile of garbage. Having more beautiful things made it worthwhile, like flowers blooming in the muck.
“Oh yes,” Rarity replied, getting some breastbone measurements. The dress she was thinking of needed to fit perfectly here, and good measurements were essential. “Pull yourself in dear,” she asked, and pinned some more fabric onto her body. “She’s gotten her Cutie Mark, and I’m very happy for her. Training with Meera! Last time I was in Canterlot, I had to trade shamelessly on my history as an Element to even get box seats for her opera.”
“Mn,” Applejack nodded. Just like Applejack, to not understand what this meant for Sweetie Belle. Meera was the sort of teacher that any pony would dream of having, and like all things, having her as a friend and mentor meant that Sweetie Belle was a bit more noticeable in the competitive world of opera.
“I swear, Applejack, you’re not listening to me,” Rarity huffed. “Meera, Applejack, Meera! There are maybe only three sopranos her equal, and none her better. And, Sweetie Belle has real talent for singing, which makes me happy for her.”
“Hm,” Applejack nodded again. Applejack was definitely distracted, which wasn’t normal when Rarity was talking about Sweetie Belle. Like parents sharing cleaning tips for what the foal burped up after dinner last night, Applejack would almost always respond about any Sweetie Belle stories and comments with something about Apple Bloom. So, she had to ask.
“Have you heard anything from Apple Bloom,” Rarity asked innocently.
Applejack stiffened up, almost as if she was having a seizure. Rarity was scared for a moment that Applejack might be having serious trouble. Then, through her hooves, she could feel Applejack’s body. She was quivering...in anger.
“Why would I have heard anything from that cuckoo?” Applejack sneered angrily.
“She’s your sister…,” Rarity replied in shock. Did Applejack think that Apple Bloom wanted to hurt her? Why couldn’t Applejack see that the foal that came to her home needed Applejack’s strong shoulders and wanted her approval so much...
SHE AIN’T MY SISTER!” Applejack yelled. “If you wanna believe in your little fantasy of a having a sister, go ahead, but...that...thing ain’t family!”
Applejack tore off the clothing she was wearing. Some of Rarity’s latest works were torn apart like tissue, balled up into a sea urchin of fabric and needles. “Gonna be sick that night, so don’t need to be here anymore.” She tossed the material into a corner. “And, I don’t wanna talk about this ever again. Or we ain’t talking ever again.”
And, to Rarity’s stunned silence, Applejack walked right out of the door of the Carousel Boutique.
Rarity fell off her back legs and watched at Applejack stormed off. Well, she thought, that was rude!
But...how well was Applejack tracking the latest round of events and revelations?
Rarity had to be generous. Honesty, once betrayed, tends to heal very slowly. So, Rarity wasn’t going to pick at that scab for a while. Perhaps it was her fault, for seeing how deep the wound went by poking it with her horn.
Rarity took a deep breath, got back up onto her hooves, and started to clean up the mess. Almost as if she was raking out fallen leaves in her garden.
Twilight Sparkle, once you got her interest, tended to be so predictable.
Her eyes were so wide you could put coffee cups on the pupils, her wings were at full extension, and she had that goofy grin that indicated that either she was having somepony give her the most amazing invisible orgasm or she had discovered something very, very interesting.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Twilight Sparkle pronked around the library, a smile on her face, as Rarity came in.
“Oh, hello, Twilight,” Rarity said, carefully avoiding the prancing Twilight Sparkle. “What did you find out?”
“I just got a letter from Apple Bloom! She needed my help with a math problem,” Twilight Sparkle replied, and she actually giggled. Which was such a unique thing for Twilight Sparkle that Rarity had to enjoy it. “Turns out that while she’s good with differential calculus, n-dimensional manifolds are still new territory for her, and I’m glad that I can help her.”
“Oh?” Rarity had to hear about this.
“Yes, indeed. They made a new friend by the name of Dev Null, and he’s gotten his Cutie Mark, and it’s a sixteen-variable manifold intersecting a spherical cone. Which is utterly fascinating because Dev Null is a pegasus and shouldn’t even be dealing with theoretical thaumaturgy in non-Euclidian environments,” Twilight Sparkle gushed. “So, he got his Cutie Mark standing in his room, doing nothing, and when Apple Bloom and Scootaloo saw it, they just hadto help him and…”
“Twilight, darling,” Rarity interrupted. “How are they helping him?”
“Well, they decided-all of them-to reform the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Instead of going after their Cutie Marks, they’re going to help other ponies with theirs,” Twilight Sparkle replied, happily waving around the letter she got. “So, to get help with their problems, they’re asking me for help!”
Rarity smiled at this. “Are they still trying to find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s Cutie Marks?”
“Oh, no,” Twilight Sparkle replied, sorting through the photos she had gotten from Apple Bloom. “Well, they’re still trying to get Scootaloo’s Cutie Mark, but Apple Bloom got hers two days ago! Here!”
With her telekinesis, Twilight Sparkle held up a photo of a bruised and a bit bedraggled Apple Bloom, but with her new Cutie Mark-a hammer with an apple for a head and a wrench crossed on her flank. It does so look like her, Rarity thought, and, Applejack will be happy that Apple Bloom is an Apple to the core. “Have you told Applejack about Apple Bloom and her Cutie Mark?” Rarity asked.
That definitely deflated Twilight Sparkle’s good feelings. “No, I haven’t seen her for about four days, and I know she got a copy of the photo and Apple Bloom has been asking me how she has been doing. But, the last time we talked about Apple Bloom, she nearly bucked me in the head! I’m starting to get really worried about her, she even snapped at Fluttershy. And, when Pinkie Pie went over to ask about what kind of cake she’d like for her return party, she left in tears.”
Rarity sighed, and considered. “Have you seen her and Big Mac together since?”
“Yes,” Twilight Sparkle considered. “I mean, the two of them-between the times when they feel silly about it, and feel stupid about it, look like they’re very much in love with each other and trying to figure out what they’re doing.”
Rarity thought about this. “If we write a letter to Big Mac, I’ll sign it with you. Applejack...she needs our help.”
“What will we say to Big Macintosh?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“The truth,” Rarity replied.
You had to be honest about your garden. Surprises are nice, but pointless optimism means that a fungus or a rot might get past you and go too far. And, Rarity had some cleaning to do.
As Rarity walked home, she felt a sudden urge to walk through her rose garden.
The sun was setting, and she knew that in a few days the weather ponies were going be dropping a huge rain system on Ponyville. Sadly necessary, the world did not run according to clockwork or schedule, and sometimes you had to let the rain fall when it wanted to. So, she looked around the garden, and for some reason, she stopped at the roses.
She always planted roses, anywhere she could. Some said it was an effort at privacy (there was a reason why she lived on the second floor, and when Sweetie Belle moved in, she invested in soundproofing). Some said she just like roses. Others were less complimentary and said that Rarity needed something that made her look good.
Rarity always ignored the last, but she looked around her rose garden. And, from Elsewhere, she pulled out gardening shears and string. Within a few minutes, she had increased her mulch pile, and...she had bundled whole sets of roses. A little voice in her mind whispered...white roses for innocence and purity, pink roses for grace, burgundy for her unconscious grace and charm, and blue for the mystery that she is.
Rarity looked at the bundle of roses in her telekinesis. White and pink, burgundy and blue. Red and yellow in pairs, wrapped up into four bundles of two and two each. Twenty-four roses floated in front of her, and Rarity had to laugh, a full-bellied laugh and not the “polite” laugh of the aristocracy. “I seem,” she said to nopony in particular, “to have re-created Sweetie Belle in roses.”
And, then she laughed again. Even louder, until the tears came out. Even more, until she fell onto her belly, and cried.
She looked at the bundle of roses again, blew her nose on a hankerchief she had in Elsewhere, and smiled. She knew just the vase to put them in...and, if Sweetie Belle didn’t come back this week, Rarity would find some other way of expressing her thoughts.
But, she did have one thing she could do…
Rarity looked, and found one rose. One perfect, beautiful, red rose. With careful work, she prepared it-cleaned it up, trimmed any leaf that wasn’t perfect, checked each petal for perfection.
She went inside, and pulled out paper, a pen, and a inkwell. Rarity felt her horn glow, and the rose vanished-to reappear when the scroll was opened. She dipped the end of the pen in the inkwell, and began to write.
Dearest Sweetie Belle...
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I want those nachos!
Oh and great chapter btw.
4014504 Thank you, and yes, there will be nachos.
4014509 Your welcome! And Yay! Nachos!
Soda?
You know, I can't wait to see Rarity deal with any APHIDS that manage to get near her roses. I can just see her bashing in a few heads if the Nightmare Cult comes for Sweetie Belle when she's there. Add in Rainbow and Applejack... well I think the villains will find themselves in for a world of pain even before any Alicorns get involved, to say nothing of the Royal Guard.
4016597 Vengeance will be sweet.
And fashionably coordinated.
4015655 I only hope that I can turn those cold chills into fuzzy joy.
4018287 And 20% more awesome????? Or good old country justice, aka Shotgun to the face????
A better chapter than last, at least symbolically. Rarity I think is repressing her feelings a little bit but since she wasn't as deeply damaged as Applejack was, all she needs is a little bit of time to heal. Hers is more like a scab compared to Applejack's deeper cut. The byplay between the letters from Sweetie Belle, and her metaphors on gardening works out nicely. Even if she might have a little bit of mixed feelings on Sweetie, the good news that Sweetie sends combined with Rarity's generosity and happiness in seeing her little sister succeed helps allay that. At least, that's how I'm reading this chapter, anyways.
Legit badass Rarity.