Panic! At the Boutique
This is a very nice bathroom.
The thought was meant to sound insane, a statement of madness to reflect just how far the once great Twilight Sparkle had fallen. Rarity was probably well on her way to the nearest airport by now, and Villian Court was still on a collision course with disaster. Granted, it was very polite disaster, and it would likely apologize right after annihilating the band in front of a live audience, but the general outcome would still be the same.
Yes, Twilight had little left to keep her sane, and she had tried to come up with a proper thought to wave the last shreds of her sanity goodbye, but... this wasn’t it. She frowned.
This actually is a very nice bathroom.
It was... cozy, reminding her more of her own bathroom than of something she’d expect even from a fancy restaurant. Sure, the general layout was commercial, with three stalls and several mirrors and sinks... but it felt as if the love for detail that had been evident in the cakes and beverages extended to every facet of this building. Also to every faucet of this building. Eh, get it? Facet? Faucet? Ehhh? “Urgh, I’m making terrible puns, just shoot me...”
“Well, they do say puns are the lowest form of-”
The rest of Pinkie Pie’s sentence was cut off by Twilight’s surprised scream. One moment, Twilight had been alone in the bathroom, cowering in a - very, very clean - corner. The next, Pinkie was standing next to her, casually leaning against the wall. “WHAT’RE YOU-...” She took a moment to gather herself. “What’re you doing here?”
Pinkie frowned deeply at this for several seconds. “I’m pretty sure I work here,” she finally replied, but there was no trace sarcasm in her voice. “At least I think I do. I mean, I’m a co-owner, so... prolly? And I take orders from customers, fulfill them, do a little happy dance and get paid, so-...”
This is my life now, Twilight realized with a start. Alone, unloved, and stuck in a bathroom with an insane pony. A sick part of her mind started composing a properly sad song - Octavia taking it slowly, Trixie’s electric guitar set to a slow wail, Big Macintosh on lunch break, and Twilight herself vocalizing her anguish to their last five or so fans.
“-dared her to do a keg handstand ever again. I mean, what are keg hands, anyway? Are they hands shaped like kegs, or do you have have, like, keg fingers? It just doesn’t make any sense!”
Twilight blinked slowly before daring to look up at Pinkie Pie again. How long have I been gone? “That... er...”
“So anyway.” Pinkie hadn’t waited for Twilight to keep up with the conversation before, and she obviously wasn’t going to do so now. “You and the fancy lady...?”
The unicorn groaned. “Her name is Rarity, and it’s...” She tried to summarize her feelings and the past events in a way that did not make her look like a love-sick idiot. Then she just sighed. “...complicated.”
“Ohhh!” Pinkie cheered for no discernible reason. “I love complicated! Complicated is easy!”
Complicated... is... easy? Twilight tried to make sense of that, but stopped when she sensed a headache coming on. “I... I mean, look, I absolutely appreciate that you’re trying to make me feel better, okay? But what you’re seeing right now is as low as I can fall. The mare I love just nearly got hit by a car while running away from me, my career is about to hit a brick wall, and... I honestly think there is nothing left to lose.”
Pinkie dropped to her haunches and gave her a friendly smile that would have melted the heart of even the most deranged villain. “Don’t be silly! You still have something super important left, and I don’t think you’re in any danger of losing that anytime soon.”
“...like what? Does this place have a loyalty card?” Twilight smiled weakly while Pinkie collapsed into a giggling fit. Her smile turned into an actual laugh when the cafe co-owner pulled just that from her back pocket and handed it to her.
“But no, that’s not what I meant,” Pinkie said while wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. “I meant your friends!”
“Ohhh! Yeah, you’re right, I’m lucky to have them.” At least until they ditch me after the band crashes and burns.
“Yeah! I mean, even while you’re recovering here, they’re already going through your lady’s belongings that she forgot and-”
“They WHAT?” Twilight jumped to her hooves and kicked open the door. ...or at least tried to kick open the door.
“Wow, the power of friendship really gets you going,” Pinkie quipped as if one of her obviously deranged patrons had not just tried to kick her door straight out of its frame. “Also, pull.”
Cursing loudly, Twilight pulled it open. “GUYS!?” No, no, it’s fine, no need to apologize or anything, her calmer side managed to snark before Twilight put it on hold.
Nopony was at their table anymore. Instead, Trixie was sitting at Rarity’s table, with her bandmates forming a loose half circle behind her. And Trixie was slowly flipping through a large notebook that was definitely not hers. “Ah good, you’re back,” she said calmly and adjusted her reading glasses without looking up.
“What are you doing?” Twilight hissed nervously, as if worrying that the police was going to burst in through the windows at any moment.
“Finding out more about-”
“You’re snooping!” She reached for the notebook, but Trixie moved it out of her reach. “Put that down! You’re snooping and that’s a crime and you’re going to go to prison and I’m not going to bail you out!”
Trixie gave her an insufferable grin. “I’ll offer you a deal,” she said, even as the SWAT team was probably readying the breaching charges right outside the door. “I’ll show you one page. Then you will tell me to close the book and I’ll do just that, and we’ll hand over everything Rarity forgot here to Miss Pie.”
Twilight nervously licked her lips. “Fine,” she finally conceded, reasoning that, short of using brute force, this was the fastest way to do the right thing. “I can see what you’re trying to do. But I’ll tell you in advance that-”
Trixie held up the open book for her to see.
“-I’ll... make... you...” Twilight was staring at the page Trixie was showing her. Then she slowly tilted her head. “Is that... me?” There was no reply - her friend was patiently waiting for her brain to parse the image in greater detail. “Is that me... in a wedding dress?” She sat down and reached for the book.
“Ah-ah!” Trixie pulled back a little bit. “This is where you tell me to close the book!”
Twilight wasn’t even looking up. Her eyes were fixated on the hand-drawn sketch of what was unmistakably her - the tattoo on her left upper arm was featured prominently in the from-behind shot - in a wedding dress that likely cost more than a new car. I look... gorgeous. Is this what I could look like if I dressed up? She frowned lightly. Probably not. This is what I could look like if I switched to decaf for a week to take off some of my edge, then spent a day or five at a spa to shine up my fur and smoothen my mane... and then somehow convinced Applejack to break into her family’s bank account to buy me this dress. “Is... are the other pages...” She gestured vaguely, finally managing to establish eye contact again. “I mean...”
“It’s not just you,” Trixie said and mercifully handed her the notebook, “but you’re definitely the focus.”
Twilight slowly flipped through the book, mesmerized by the drawings of her and her friends in a seemingly endless variety of poses, settings and - more importantly - clothes. Trixie had been correct in multiple ways, actually: there were more pictures of Twilight than of the other band members combined, and they tended to be more detailed than the others, which sometimes only hinted at a few identifying characteristics. But they all had one thing in common: perfect, gorgeous clothes. Sometimes subtle, sometimes flashy, but always stylish. “This-...” She stopped to take a deep breath. Then she leaned back and put the book down. No. I need more information. “Tell me a story, Trix.”
Trixie immediately recognized her cue and dropped the smug act. She adjusted her reading glasses and held up a second book. “She’s an aspiring fashion designer, apparently. Operates here in Canterlot out of a place called-” Her eyes flicked to the back of the book she was holding up. “-Carousel Boutique.”
Well, that explains why the clothes are so much more detailed and varied than the models, Twilight thought. Then she glanced at the other book. The cover was matte black, and instead of a title or a picture, there was only a heavily stylized “R” along with a pair of eyes in its top half. A shiver ran down her spine when she recognized Rarity’s piercing gaze - cunning, mysterious, and just the slightest bit judging. “What’s this?” she finally managed to ask.
There was no teasing, grinning or games this time. Instead, Trixie just sighed and handed the book over. “It’s her portfolio. We found a few letters, too. She apparently applied for a job at Jetant.”
“Jetant? The luxury brand founded by that alicorn supermodel from the Crystal Empire? That’s red-carpet, high-society stuff. And she’s good enough to work there?” She stopped smiling when she noticed that Trixie’s expression had somehow turned even more serious. Fearing the worst, she opened the portfolio. The first thing she noticed was the higher quality: better paper, more finished-looking designs... and prettier models. The second thing she noticed was that the designs were far less... inspired than the ones from the sketchbook. Sure, they were amazing and would look great on some unnaturally thin model on a catwalk in Prance... but she had seen Rarity do so much better in her sketches. “Huh,” she muttered and started to flip through the pages. Then, roughly halfway through, things were getting more interesting. The designs still looked top-notch, but somehow... better. More... alive, more youthful. Twilight grimaced - she didn’t like the feeling of not understanding a subject well enough to properly articulate her feelings and intuitions.
Then came the red marks.
“What’s this?” She frowned and traced an ugly red line with her finger. That’s a correction mark, she finally realized. The line ran straight through a skirt, but other than that, the picture remained untouched. The next design wasn’t quite so lucky - it earned itself two marks and a few seemingly random squiggles.
Things got progressively worse from there and a few pages later, a blue pen had decided to join the party. Twilight tilted her head. The red lines were still faulting basically every item on display, but it was the remark, written in blue, that caught her eyes: “Too flashy!”
Why does that phrase sound so familiar...? Twilight frowned. She knew the answer was within reach, but she couldn’t quite grasp it.
She flipped the page, revealing another stunning dress, more red lines, and another blue note: “Too wild!”
Twilight closed the book and covered her mouth in shock. That’s what Rarity had been saying! She opened the book again and stared at the note. She wrote this just now, didn’t she? Closing her eyes, Twilight tried to picture the scene in some fancy office - young Miss Rarity offering her talent to some high-class company, and some hack ruining it all with his red marker, muttering things like, “Overhyped piece of trash!” She opened her eyes again and flipped the page, seeing exactly those words scrawled angrily next to a sketch. She cursed. “Where’s the local office of Jetant located?”
“We’re not setting any offices on fire,” Octavia shot her down immediately. “They’re jerks, but rejecting an applicant is not a crime, and even if it was-”
“Yes, yes, yes, you’re right,” Twilight muttered before giving everything back to Trixie. “But then what are we going to do?”
“Well, we know she works and maybe even lives at this Carousel Boutique, so we could return her property,” Vinyl offered, then quickly held up her hands when the others looked at her. “I know, I know, way too crazy! Should I get my grappling hook and a bunch of matches instead?”
“Very funny,” Twilight snarked, then gave Trixie a nod. “Could you take care of this, please?” She paused when everypony gave her a look of disbelief. “What?”
“Ah think it’d be more fittin’ if you took care o’ things, sugarcube,” Applejack offered.
“Me!?”
“Ah can’t see any other ponies who’re madly in love with her and who would murder for the chance t’ confess said love in an intimate-”
“Would you zip it?” Twilight hissed before looking over her shoulder to see if anypony had heard them.
“Um, they were all here when you caused Rarity to have a public love-meltdown,” Octavia pointed out. “I think they were able to connect the dots by now.”
“Yes, see, that’s the thing. I sent her into a panicky fit and nearly got her killed in a car crash.” Twilight looked from Octavia to Trixie. “You talk to her. I trust you.”
“No, you don’t.”
“No, I don’t, but I trust myself even less in this!” Twilight whined. “You know me, Trix! I suck at smalltalk and socializing and stuff!”
“You’re literally the voice of this band,” Trixie countered and gave her an amused look.
“Yes, and you’re the one who writes all of my lyrics!” Twilight shot back moments before realizing that Trixie was railroading her to a frightening destination.
“Then let me write you the lyrics for this encounter.”
Drat. Twilight nervously licked her lips, trying to formulate a counter-argument that would withstand even the most basic scrutiny. “Th-this is a terrible idea,” she finally pleaded. “This is the kind of plan that is going to end with me being set on fire or receiving a restraining order. And then you can duke it out with Fluttershy without-” The rest of her sentence was lost, along with the air in her lungs, when something crashed into her back and slammed her face-first onto the table. BY THE MAKERS, THE SWAT TEAM ARRIVED TO ARREST US FOR SNOOPING!
“WHATDIDYOUJUSTSAY?”
Twilight frowned and looked around as far as she could with somepony’s full weight on her back. She could see Trixie and Applejack, and neither of them was in handcuffs or similarly under siege. Trixie at least had the decency to look shocked at her predicament while Applejack was completely unfazed. So AJ wasn’t caught off-guard... which means... “Pinkie Pie?” she carefully asked and risked a look straight up and back.
Pinkie, from her position on Twilight’s back, looked straight down at her, her eyes wide as saucers. Almost literally. Somehow. “What. Did. You. Just. Say?”
“Trixie... can duke it out... with... Flutter-”
Pinkie gasped so hard that Twilight briefly worried she’d suck out all the air in the room like some sort of leak on a space station. “OH MY GOSH YOU’RE ACTUALLY GOING TO MEET FLUTTERSHY LIKE FOR REAL FROM UP CLOSE HOW IS THIS EVEN REAL I MEAN APPLEJACK SAID THERE WAS THIS BAND BATTLE COMING UP BUT SHE DIDN’T MENTION THIS AND-” She froze before giving Applejack a deadpan look. “Why did you fail to mention that your little band battle would be against the greatest violinist in Equestria? The one you know I dreamed of meeting for years?”
Applejack smiled widely, obviously happy that she wasn’t the one who was pinned to the table by a hyper-caffeinated, crazy pony. “Eh, y’know, must’ve slipped my mind.”
Pinkie Pie just shot her a dark look before pointing at her eyes and then at Applejack.
“So,” Twilight tested the waters from her position on the table top, “I take it you’re a fan?” She tuned out the way Pinkie practically buzzed on top of her while screaming another rant about how she was indeed a fan. Instead, she exchanged looks with Applejack, who just gave her a pleading nod. I should’ve known that you’d have an ulterior motive for dragging us here. She smiled and nodded as much as she could. You could’ve warned me in advance, though. “So,” she cut in at a random point in Pinkie’s unending stream of consciousness, “would you like to meet her?”
Pinkie pressed her face straight against Twilight’s until their eyeballs were nearly touching. “Whatwasthat?”
“Would you like to meet Fluttershy at the band battle?”
There was a long silence. Finally, Pinkie slowly climbed down and sat down next to her, looking completely dumbfounded. “Would I... like to...” She gestured slowly. “You... you could do that?”
Twilight sat straight up and slipped into her confident stage persona. She gave Pinkie a winning smile. “Well, being one of the bands in said battle, we get a certain contingent of VIP tickets that come with backstage passes.” Pinkie nodded very, very slowly, still looking as if she was sitting next to a ghost. “Now, these officially only grant backstage access to our lounge and dressing room, but I’m sure something could be arranged later on.” Assuming that Fluttershy doesn’t immediately hop into a waiting limousine, cackling like a B-movie villain. “Who knows, maybe we’ll even end up hanging out together for a big after-concert party.”
“That...” Pinkie slowly shook her head in disbelief. “You can’t...” She slowly turned towards Applejack. “She’s lying, isn’t she? This is an actor you hired, right?”
“Nope, she’s the real deal,” Applejack said happily.
“You can’t seriously have friends with backstage passes for a Fluttershy concert.”
Twilight snapped her fingers and held out her hand without even looking. Trixie, who had been following the exchange silently so far, played her part perfectly and placed a ticket in her waiting hand. Pinkie’s head moved slowly, as if in a trance, until she was staring straight at it. Twilight held it up. “It’s yours if you want it.”
Pinkie Pie reached out carefully, as if worrying that the ticket would disintegrate if she made any sudden movements. Then, half an inch away from it, she stopped. “...when is the concert?”
“Saturday evening, next week.”
Pinkie slowly pulled her hand back. “Ah... that...” The barista was looking desperately at the ticket. “I... think...”
“Pinkie Pie,” Applejack hissed, also sensing that something was wrong.
“I’m sorry,” she finally whispered, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, “but I can’t make it.”
Twilight frowned. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear-” She stopped when she saw Applejack shooting her the most withering look she had ever seen. Well, somepony’s invested in this. She cleared her throat. “I mean, why not?”
Pinkie looked down guiltily. “I have to work,” she whispered.
Didn’t AJ mention that Pinkie is a workaholic like me? Let’s test the waters and later chew out AJ for not briefing me properly. “Well, I’m sure we can work something out for another day,” she said, ignoring the way Applejack’s glare gave way to confusion before settling on a strange middle ground. “If Saturday is bad, how does Sunday sound?”
“I have work on Sunday, too,” Pinkie whispered, seemingly shrinking half an inch under the questioning.
“How does Monday sound?”
“Have to work.”
“Tuesday?”
“Work.”
“Wednesday?”
“Work.”
“Thursday?”
“Work.”
“Friday?”
“Work.”
“You work every day?”
“We’re open every day.”
Jackpot. “And you work literally every day, every week, every month, all year, every year?”
Pinkie gave a half-hearted shrug.
“And the owners of this cafe are okay with this?”
“Well, I’m one of them, so... kinda?”
“When was the last time you took a day off?”
Pinkie’s mane was somehow getting frazzled without any outside influence. “You wouldn’t understand! It’s...” The mare gestured vaguely at the tables. “It’s just... so much harder to seat everypony when I’m not around! And the ponies here will be sad if they can’t find a table and if they’re sad, I’ll get sad and then-” She blinked when Twilight placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Today, my friends taught me a few valuable lessons,” the singer said. “And one of them was about losing yourself in your work. It may be tempting to live for your career, especially when you’re good at what you do and enjoy doing it. But that way, you may just lose sight of what’s truly important in life. I didn’t appreciate it right away, but Applejack dragged me here regardless because she knew that I needed to get away from my work. So in that spirit, allow me to do the same for you.” She stepped onto a chair and from there climbed onto the table. “MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION FOR A MOMENT?” It was silly, of course, since they had been the center of attention the entire time. Still, there were rules for a good stage act, and Trixie had taught her all of them. “You all know and love Pinkie Pie here, right?” There was a murmur of agreement, but not much more. Tough crowd, but this admittedly isn’t a hall filled with your adoring fans. She was able to fire up any crowd, given time, but here the big finale was right around the corner, and she needed to gather some momentum fast. Maybe if I-
A stallion towards the back of the room suddenly rose to his hooves.
And rose.
And rose.
Twilight inhaled sharply as she eyed this white-furred, golden-maned mountain of a pony. Goodness, he may be the bulkiest Earth pony ever! Sorry, Big Macintosh, but you just got outclassed. The stallion slowly turned to his right side, then to his left, glaring down at his fellow patrons. This gave Twilight the chance to spot two ridiculously small wings on his back. That is a pegasus? That. Is. A. PEGASUS?
The tank with wings was done staring down the crowd and finally raised his massive arms. “Yeah!”
The sound made Twilight snap out of her shock, and she could sense that the gods of stage performances had just blessed her. “And you love her drinks and her happy attitude that makes you feel right at home, don’t you?”
“Yeah!” the stallion roared. This time, a few more customers joined in. Twilight allowed herself a small smile - it always took just one pony to break the ice.
“Pinkie Pie has worked so hard for all of us every day for the last couple of years-”
“Actually,” Pinkie tried to object, “it’s not even been-”
“-DECADES!” Twilight doubled down as usual. “So I think that she has earned at least one day - just one, short day! - off! Am I right?”
“Yeah!”
By now, most of the crowd had joined in. Twilight, however, wasn’t happy with most of the crowd. “AM I RIGHT?”
“YEAH!” the crowd finally roared as one, and Twilight grinned triumphantly.
“So you’ll keep in mind that there’s going to be less space on Saturday next week because...” She waved the ticket in front of Pinkie Pie’s face. By now, a grin was making its way back to the latter’s face. Holding back a quiet sob while still grinning, she finally accepted it. “...BECAUSE PINKIE PIE IS GOING TO MEET FLUTTERSHY!”
The crowd was cheering wildly, and Twilight was quickly pulled down from her table by Pinkie, who gave her a surprisingly strong hug. “EEEEEEEEEEE! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOUUUUUUUU!”
A strong hand patted her back. “Thanks, sugarcube,” Applejack whispered into the ear that hadn’t gone deaf yet from Pinkie’s incoherent screaming, “ah owe ya big time.”
“And while we’re in the business of making things right, I got another question!” Trixie suddenly shouted. For some reason, she had taken Twilight’s place on the table. “Who here thinks that Twilight should reconcile with that gorgeous and slightly crazy lady from before?”
The crowd’s wild cheers drowned out Twilight’s shouted protests, and she couldn’t even escape from Pinkie Pie and Applejack’s clutches fast enough to kick Trixie off the table in retaliation. Okay, whatever! She can tell these guys whatever she wants. That doesn’t mean that they can make me go!
Roughly ten minutes later, Applejack killed the engine of her van.
“Okay,” Twilight said, trying to keep her voice even, “when I figured that you couldn’t make me go, I evidently didn’t anticipate an actual FOALNAPPING!”
Vinyl formed a loose fist with her right hand and moved it in a circular motion in front of her chest.
It took Twilight a moment to realize what had happened. “Did you actually look up the Equestrian Sign Language sign for ’sorry’ during our trip just to mock me now?”
The not quite mute pony hesitated. “Would I move past your bandmates on your hate ranking if I said yes?”
Instead of answering, Twilight leaned against the lasso that kept her bound to her seat. Vinyl immediately leaned away from her, grinning shyly.
“Don’t worry, Vinyl, she’s jus’ kiddin’ around. Ya could tell by the way she barely struggled when Big Macintosh an’ I dragged her out of the cafe.” Applejack looked over her shoulder and gave them a grin. “Deep down, Twilight’s all about that mushy stuff. So once Trixie is done with those cheat sheets of hers, she’ll be on her merry way, gigglin’ like a filly.”
There was an uncomfortable pause. “If she kills you,” Octavia finally asked, “can I get your van?”
“I’m no lawyer, but barring a last will stating otherwise, I’m pretty sure one of her siblings would inherit it by default,” Trixie chimed in and took off her reading glasses. “But fret not, for the Great and Powerful Trixie has once again penned a masterpiece to enchant the masses!”
“You seriously wrote cue cards for what you imagine to be a romantic encounter?” Twilight asked, her rage giving way to incredulity even as Octavia untied her.
“I may not know Rarity beyond what we gathered so far, but I know you and how to make you work a crowd.” Trixie handed her a single card. It was the size of Twilight’s hand and filled with Trixie’s handwriting. “Sweep her off her hooves.”
“Wait, this is it? A single card?” Twilight accepted it without looking too closely at the text. She chose to go in blind, reasoning that the more she practiced, the less genuine and spontaneous she’d come across.
“Well, I figure you won’t need my help once she invites you in and starts nibbling on your-”
“OKAY, GREAT, LET’S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD, THEN!” Twilight hastily yanked the side door open, grabbed Rarity’s possessions and hopped out of the van, praying that the evening sun had already set enough so that none of her friends had seen her blush. “Stupid friends,” she muttered and took a look around. “Stupid foalnapping. Stupid cue card. Stupid carousel.” She blinked. “Wait, what?” The building on the other side of the street was, at first glance, a giant carousel, complete with mounted figures on its side. Only another glance revealed that it actually was a large, circular building made to look like a carousel.
“Pssst,” Trixie stage-whispered behind her, “I wonder if she can find the Carousel Boutique on her own!”
Twilight just groaned and blindly flipped the ponies behind her the bird as she crossed the road. Classy neighborhood, she tried to distract herself as she approached the front door. Hopefully not classy enough to have some sort of private security force that’ll escort me off the premises.
She suddenly froze, her hand inches away from the doorbell - a familiar voice was coming from right above her: “Oh, why have the gods forsaken meee...” Twilight looked up in alarm, but whatever window was open upstairs was not in her line of sight. “My muse! The light that showed me the way out of the darkness! She inspired me to not just make fashion, but ART! And I...” Rarity once again descended into over-the-top sobbing. “And I REBUFFED HEEER!”
Has this been going on for the last hour or so? Twilight frowned deeply. Okay, so she is apparently even worse off than I am. That... might be a good sign, as terrible as that makes me sound? As long as I don’t lose my cool, I might be able to seize the initiative. She quickly rang the doorbell before any other part of her brain had a chance to point out all the possible pitfalls of her nearly nonexistent plan.
“Oh, be a darling and get the door, please,” Rarity said, her nervous breakdown once again on pause.
Twilight inhaled sharply. She’s not alone. The thought sent her imagination into overdrive. Family? Parents? Ha, right, this is her boutique, so she probably isn’t living with her parents. So that leaves... a friend? Or... maybe... no, no, no! She does not have a romantic partner! That’s laughable! Ha! Ha ha! Ha ha-
The door was opened by the most adorable filly Twilight had ever seen. “Hi there!”
“-haaaa,” Twilight croaked. “Good heavens, she has a daughter,” she whispered to herself and gave the young unicorn with the perfectly white coat a closer look. “Would you look at her!? The resemblance is uncanny! The mare I fell in love with found a partner years ago, married, and had this beautiful daughter! Rarity probably learned how to be an amazing kisser from her loving husband, who quite likely got a secret thrill from having his wife make out with a female rockstar.”
“You’re funny!” the filly chortled. “And Rarity isn’t my mother, silly! She’s my sister!”
“Sister?” Twilight blinked, then started to laugh. “You’re Rarity’s sister? Oh, phew, that’s a-” She paused. “Wait, you answered my question even though I was soliloquizing. Unless I was actually monologuing...” She mentally reviewed the last minute. “I’ve been rambling like a lunatic, haven’t I?”
“It’s fine,” Rarity’s sister replied and shrugged, “I’m used to it. I’ll go and get my sister.”
“That’d be nice, thanks,” Twilight replied with a smile, then allowed herself a weak groan once the door was closed again. I can’t believe I did that! Especially since Rarity made the exact same mistake!
“Hey!” the filly’s voice could be heard upstairs. “There’s somepony at the door for you!”
“No!” Rarity wailed and sobbed for emphasis. “I’m never going to face this cruel world again!”
There was a pause, and Twilight thought she could almost hear the younger sibling’s exasperated sigh. “But you might like her! She said she likes you when she solili-... sololo-... solilo...quied...?”
“Soliloquized,” Rarity corrected her and sighed. “Though if you heard it, it was a monologue. The difference-...” She paused. “Wait. Who taught you that word?”
“She did! I think she’s pretty smart, but she’s still cool! She has, like, all these piercings and some sort of crazy tattoo on her arm and-”
“WHAT?”
The sound of Rarity dashing and then nearly stumbling down the stairs made Twilight cringe, but the fashionista was either blessed with supernatural reflexes or more luck than a single pony deserved. A split-second later, the door was yanked open by a mess of badly unkempt hair and fur, barely held together by a pink robe. A pair of blue eyes gave her a look of awe and horror. Okay, here goes nothing. Twilight knew that she just had one shot at this, and she intended to make it count. Then again, does my conversation with her sister count as one shot? It... doesn’t, does it? Anyway. This is my only-ish shot at this. So. “Good evening-”
“GAHHHHHHHH!” Rarity shrieked, her brain having finally accepted that her sister had not just propped up a highly convincing cardboard cutout of Twilight.
“-Miss-” Twilight blinked when the door was slammed shut right in front of her. “Okay...?” She slowly turned around. On the other side of the road, her friends were holding up large score cards. Twilight wasn’t sure if she should be more bothered by the low scores or by the fact that even after all these years, she didn’t know where or how Trixie stored all of her props. “Thanks, friends,” she muttered and turned to face the door again. “Any second now,” she whispered to herself. “She will come to her senses and-”
“Oh no, no, no, no, no,” Rarity’s voice came from the upper floor again. “It’s her!”
“Who?” her sister asked.
“Her! My muse! My princess! My goddess!”
Looks like I got promoted, Twilight thought and allowed herself a brief smile. I might still be able to make this work.
“She seemed nice.”
“Nice?” Rarity laughed at that. “No, Sweetie, she is much more than just nice. She is the epitome of perfection! She is everything that I am not! The Yin to my Yang! Wild! Determined! Unfazed by the opinions of pretentious, faux connoisseurs!”
“Aware that you left the window open, allowing her to hear all of this?” Sweetie offered.
“Aware that I left the-GAHHH!” The window was slammed shut with enough force that Twilight briefly worried about it shattering.
This could go on all day, the singer thought and sighed. She tried the doorbell again. And again. Just as she was about to consider asking Trixie if she kept a ladder somewhere, she heard somepony approaching the door.
“Y-yes?” Rarity asked, barely keeping her voice from cracking.
Twilight had to admit that it was a bit unnerving how easily Rarity seemed able to switch between a nervous breakdown and an aura of cool professionalism, even if the facade was admittedly paper-thin. She decided to draw her own strength from her larger build and placed her elbow against the doorframe roughly at shoulder height. It allowed her to tower above Rarity, but more importantly, it let her peek at Trixie’s script in her hand without moving her eyes too much. “Good evening, Miss Rarity,” she read the first line and gave the mare of her dreams a smile. “You-”
“Belle.”
“-forgot your-...” She paused. “Pardon?”
Rarity gave her a mildly exasperated look, as if she was disappointed in Twilight’s inability to keep up with one single-word sentence. “It’s ’Miss Belle,’ not ’Miss Rarity.’ Says so right here.” She helpfully pointed at the little sign right above the doorbell.
Twilight blinked. The sign indeed read “Belle,” and she had somehow completely missed it until now. That... has been there the entire time, hasn’t it? She forced a smile, trying to ignore the sinking feeling that the situation was already starting to deviate from Trixie’s script. Okay, calm down! Just improvise and steer the conversation back on track! All you need is one halfway smart line to acknowledge this and then you can move on! “Oh!” She nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense, yes. I... thought that... you had just labeled it... to point out that... that’s the doorbell... in case... you... forget that... I mean...” Did I just accidentally make an idiotic wordplay between ‘Belle’ and ‘doorbell?’ And did I also just imply that she is so stupid that she needs to label her doorbell in case she forgets what the button next to her front door does? “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” She quickly pulled the door shut again and covered her face with her hands.
She spent a full minute in front of the closed door, trying to decide whether or not to call it quits right there. Trixie is going to mock me until the end of days if she ever learns about this.
Part of her felt that there was no going back from a line this idiotic. ...another part of her noticed the slight movement of the curtains in a nearby window of the boutique.
She’s watching! That... means that she’s hoping that I’m still around, right? Twilight swallowed hard. Well, okay, either that, or she’s calling the cops and wants to make sure I’ll still be around when they arrive. She decided to take her chances and grabbed a pen from her pocket. After a quick correction on her cheat sheet, she assumed her leaning position again and rang the doorbell.
This time, she didn’t have to wait long. Rarity opened the door, still looking nervous, but Twilight thought she saw a hint of a smile on her face. “Yes?”
“Good evening, Miss Belle. You forgot your notebook.” Twilight smiled and stole another quick glance at the card in the palm of her hand. “Hold up notebook and say something suave.”
Rarity slowly tilted her head. “...excuse me?”
Twilight’s smile froze. “I... wait, what the-...” She gave the card another look. “OH, GOOD HEAVENS, NO!” She quickly pulled the door shut again and stomped over to the van.
“So, how’d it-...” Trixie’s voice trailed off when she saw Twilight’s openly exasperated glare. “Now what?”
“THE CARD!” Twilight snapped and waved Trixie’s script around furiously. “WHY DID YOU WRITE ACTION CUES ON MY CARD!?”
“Um.” Trixie exchanged looks with the others. “So that you would know what to do?” She paused, then desperately tried not to grin. “Wait, did you actually-”
“NOT. ONE. WORD.” Twilight tossed the card at Trixie and turned back around. “I’m better off doing this by ear!”
“I don’t-...” Trixie started, but the singer ignored her.
“This is what I should’ve been doing the whole time,” she whispered and rang the doorbell yet again. “Just be yourself! That’s the lesson in all those romantic comedies and what-not, right?” She smiled widely when Rarity opened the door... and realized that she had not put a single thought into what she was going to say.
“Yes?” Rarity asked dutifully, undoubtedly feeling as if she was trapped in a time loop that only got dumber with each iteration.
Twilight’s lopsided smile was frozen in place. Oh no. Just... don’t lock up. Be charming! Be stupid! Just say ANYTHING. “Uhhhhhh... ah... hey! Errr... wanna come in?” Okay! Yes! Solid start!
Rarity blinked slowly, then made a show of looking around. “...I’m already inside.”
Riiight. Trixie is going to have a field day with this. “Um! Um. Right!” She desperately tried to move the words around in her head. “Do I wanna come in?”
Both mares tried to parse this.
“Wait!” Twilight exclaimed when Rarity opened her mouth to make a comment. “I mean... I wanna come in!” Okay. That’s at least a normal sentence and makes sense in this context. Well done. It’s pushy and dumb and still makes you look like an idiot, but it is a bit better than the nonsense you said before. She gritted her teeth and started to pull the door shut. “Hold that thought.”
By the time Twilight had stomped back to the van, Trixie was wordlessly holding the card back up. Twilight grabbed it while trying to ignore the guitarist’s insufferable grin.
As she marched back to the house, Twilight took a moment to review the absurdity of the situation. Right. Rarity has by now witnessed HOW MANY botched takes? Why is she even still opening the door at this point? Sadism? Nothing good on TV? She shook her head and rang the doorbell.
Rarity opened the door. Much like Trixie before, she was trying not to grin and dangerously close to failing. However, it wasn’t a playfully cruel expression emphasizing her superiority. It just... made her look cute. Like a gigantic flirt. “Yes?” she asked, barely suppressing a giggle.
She... is amused by this. Twilight realized with a start. This is all ridiculous, surreal banter for her by now. She probably knows I admire her, and she sure seems to fancy me. Now... can I get this done without freaking out? Maybe, but I need to frame this differently in my mind. She took a deep breath. What if... and here’s an absolutely crazy idea... I just talk to her as if she wasn’t the goddess of my world? “Good evening, Miss Belle. You forgot your notebook.” She paused for effect as she held up the notebook, a crooked grin forming on her face. “Something suave,” she husked.
Rarity’s first giggle almost made it out, but she held it back at the last moment, resulting in a snort. She coughed briefly, her own grin widening. “Yes, I’d love to come in.”
Twilight tried to hold back her laughter, but the sum of the silliness of the last couple of minutes was finally catching up with her. Her first laugh was almost dignified, but Rarity’s sheepish giggles were only making things worse. Before she could even think about her dignity, her defenses collapsed and she broke out into full, unbridled laughter. Rarity was not far behind, even though her laughter was still very ladylike and proper.
“So...” Rarity started, but her voice trailed off as she sheepishly tucked a strand of her perfectly styled mane behind her ear.
The motion caught Twilight off-guard. Not so much because it was unexpected - it didn’t surprise her that Rarity would know how to drive her mad with desire with cute gestures like that. Rather, the fact that her mane was perfectly styled was the odd part. “...did you brush your mane between takes?”
“I-...” Rarity froze, her eyes wide. Then she laughed guiltily. “Darling, do you honestly think I would rush upstairs, change into something more presentable, pick up my brush, then run back down and fix my coiffure during the precious pauses between your adorable stammering?”
Twilight frowned. “Nopony said anything about changing into-...” She looked down at the shirt and pants Rarity was wearing. “...weren’t you wearing some sort of bathrobe when-”
Rarity coughed loudly and forced a smile. “Would you like to come in, darling?”
“...I’m not misremembering, am I?” Twilight grinned.
“I’ll take it as a compliment that you’re remembering it so vividly even though it’s such an old design,” Rarity told her, her smile becoming more relaxed. “Would you like me to put it on again?”
Twilight’s mouth went dry. She knew the other mare was teasing her, but her fantasy was still going wild. Say yes, her inner voice egged her on. Tell her you’d like to watch as she- “It’s fine, really,” she quickly said to cut off the part of her that would earn her a well-deserved slap. “You look fine without it on, too.” Twilight’s smile froze when she went over that last sentence again. “Okay, I swear that sounded slightly less dirty before I said it out loud...”
“Oh just come in!” Rarity laughed quietly and mercifully grabbed Twilight’s wrist to pull her inside. When Twilight moved past her, the fashion designer took a last look outside... and frowned. “Why are there several homeless ponies on my neighbor’s sidewalk, and why are they holding up score cards?”
Twilight forced herself not to turn around, even though she was dying to know if the numbers had improved since the last time. “I dunno. Maybe we should call the cops.”
Rarity gave her an amused look before looking back outside. “Those wouldn’t be your fellow band members by any chance, would they?” She slowly tapped her chin. “At least some of them are...”
“I’ll tell them to get lost,” Twilight muttered and grabbed her cellphone. But then she paused. “Unless... you’d like to meet them?” WHAT AM I SAYING THERE? I COULD HAVE HER ALL TO MYSELF! “I mean... unless this is like a first date now and you’d want only the two of us-”
“I think I like you better when you’re less nervous, darling,” Rarity said after placing a finger on Twilight’s lips. Then she rolled her eyes. “Besides, my sister’s here. I’m actually surprised that she’s not already clinging to your arm. So we might as well make it a party.” She mentally went over the conversation again. “Also, let’s first get to know each other before we discuss dating. Infatuation is a nice start - and you’re an amazing kisser - but so far I know dreadfully little about the pony behind the stage act.” She started to pace while Twilight waved at her friends. “Granted, I could’ve asked Rainbow Dash to tell me what she knows, but... that would’ve felt like cheating, do you know what I mean?”
Twilight thought about that for a moment. “It... actually would’ve been interesting to hear her report. I don’t make a big deal about my private life, but she is a huge fan, so I’m genuinely not sure how much she knows.” A pause. “How’d you meet her, anyway? You and her seem to come from rather different backgrounds.”
“Oh, we’re... childhood friends,” Rarity said and waved her hand in a way that told Twilight that there was a funny or embarrassing story behind that statement. “We don’t meet up daily, but we keep in touch.”
“That’s rather sweet, actually. I sadly lost contact with my few friends from way back, buuut now I got these folks!” She gestured at the group that was slowly making its way through the front door. “Guys, say hello to Miss Rarity!”
“Belle,” Trixie corrected her before Rarity had the chance to.
“Right, Belle, my bad, sorr-” Twilight froze in mid-apology. “Wait, you know her last name?”
Trixie blinked. “Of course I do. There’s a sign above her doorbell.”
“Oh... right, yeah.” Sheesh, calm down, Twi. Did you really think that Trixie knowingly kept that information from you? Twilight looked down guiltily. You are a terrible friend!
“Also, her full name was right above her address on her application letter,” Trixie added drily and gave her a horrible grin.
“I KNEW IT!” Twilight snapped. “We’re going to talk about you setting me up for failure later...”
“It’s not a failure if it works out!”
Rarity’s quiet laughter kept Twilight from telling Trixie where she could stuff her little gambit. “Well, I can see now who is the brains of this operation.”
“Wha-...“ Twilight helplessly gestured at Trixie, then at herself, then at Trixie again for good measure. “HER? You think-...” She paused and huffed when she saw Rarity’s mischievous grin.
“Ohhh, she’s playing Twilight like a fiddle,” Vinyl quipped.
“Poor thing never stood a chance,” Octavia agreed.
“Just for the record,” Twilight groaned, “I hate all of you.”
“I can sense a fun evening coming up,” Rarity said and smiled widely. “I don’t think I have enough food in the fridge for a crowd of this size, but I could prepare some tea and then we could have something delivered?”
“That would be delightful, Ma’am,” Big Macintosh said and bowed his head slightly.
“You can wait in the atelier - there are plenty of seats in there. Oh, and if anything pounces you, it’s either my sister or my cat; please be nice to either of them!”
“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh confirmed and shepherded the band through the door Rarity had pointed at before Twilight had a chance to make up an excuse to join her in the kitchen.
The atelier was taking up most of the boutique’s space on the ground floor, but Twilight decided to gawk at it later. Before anypony could react, she grabbed Trixie by the shoulder and and pulled her into a tight hug. “Looking back, I can see why you set me up like that,” she whispered. “You know me very well, and you can predict and manipulate people better than anypony gives you credit for. So I know you thought at least five steps ahead when you included the wrong name and your unmarked action cues on the card. I honestly couldn’t be happier with the outcome, and you have my eternal gratitude for what you did today.”
“Awww, you’re welcome, Twi-”
“But if you pull something like this ever again, I will end you,” Twilight added.
“Ah, wonderful,” Trixie commented drily, “I was starting to worry that Miss Belle had domesticated you already.”
Twilight released her and smirked. “Rarity is a wonderful mare, but I think you overestimate her influence on me.”
Her friends exchanged looks. Finally, Vinyl gave her a sympathetic look over her half-glasses. “You’re already at the stage where you daydream about her and write her name over and over again into your notebook. Take it from somepony who’s been there: you’re totally under her spell.” She gestured at Octavia, who nodded happily.
When Twilight just smiled sheepishly, Trixie groaned. “For the record, I’m not going to write any love ballads for you.”
“Nopony is asking you to do so,” Twilight huffed before adding a quiet, “yet.”
“Aha! I knew it!”
Twilight smirked and sat down on a delicate-looking chair while her friends engaged in the usual banter. Marefriend or no marefriend, I will always have my friends. She caught Applejack’s eye, and the former farmer nodded knowingly. Twilight bowed her head a little bit at her and smiled. And I couldn’t be happier.
Notes, inspiration, credits:
- Naming things is still hard. This time, finding a name for a fashion brand that's simple and not already taken was a unique challenge. While experimenting with a few generators, I got the idea of letting this be a brand run by Cadance, so suddenly there was the added challenge of finding a simple name that was not already taken and that can be connected to her in some way. In the end, I settled on "Jetant," the French word for "throwing." Which probably makes me a bad person, but that balcony scene still cracks me up years later.
- Speaking of being a bad person, I like puns. To make up for that, I decided to include something a good friend of mine keeps quoting whenever she is on the receiving end of one: "Puns are the lowest form of wit." (I disagree with that quote, but again, I'm a bad person.
) - "Belle" being Rarity's last name is an Earthsong headcanon - I'm not sure if I fully subscribe to it in general, but it does open the door to fascinating questions about pony names... and it let this scene flow, so I stuck with it.
- Speaking of the scene at the door, that was actually one of my earliest ideas from around the time chapter one had been done, and almost the entire sequence, from the first ring of the doorbell to them laughing, was drafted in one frantic sitting after all the pieces had suddenly snapped into place (while I had been showering). From there, it was basically just a question of how to get Twilight to Rarity's door.
- Pinkie's workaholic tendencies were originally thought up by Earthsong in her AU notes.
- Title is derived from the band name "Panic! At The Disco" - no deeper meaning beyond "music" and the fact that it sums up the second half of this chapter nicely.
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Like fine wine has this latest chapter aged the tale. The preparation has left it nice and ripe. A colorful visage, succulent taste... Splendid!
Shame shame, Puns are not the lowest form of wit! They're exquisite! But seriously, great chapter.
me at every update:
Personally I would have named this chapter Panic! At The Doorbell
Please tell me Twilight is going to find out Shining Armor is in a relationship with Cadence while on a date with Rarity
That would be just the funniest thing....
loved the new chapter, I look forward to seeing more
Oooooh boy, an update. Guess I'll just re-read the whole thing. I love this story so much.
This was very nice to read. Thumbs up
Don't feel bad, the balcony scene is great.
new chapter yea, also are candace and twilight related some how ie candace is marry to her bother,
I love it, it's fun well written fluff. The story keeps both leads personalities very canon but with different emphasis based on which universe they are in. Twilight can work a crowd and has confidence in public but is still a workaholic that stutters and monologues when interacting with things out of her comfort zone. Rarity really hasn't changed much but I still love the small quirks of her personality that are exclusive to this universe. I can't wait for more.
So very glad this got updated. Probably the only Twilight/Rarity fic I've ever really enjoyed.
Rock Raritwi yay :D
Wonderful update, thank you for sharing!
9473052
Given it is implied who is in charge of Jetant, who just denied Rarity, I suspect there would be furniture thrown.
I'm surprised my neighbours haven't knocked on my door, asking after my wellbeing. These apartments have zero soundproofing. I couldn't breathe, I was laughing so hard, and I must've sounded like I was choking to death or having a seizure. I actually almost blacked out due to oxygen deprivation in the brain. Sometimes I wish I knew how to change how I laugh.
I need more of this story in my life!
Also am I crazy or did you go and tune up a couple things in the first chapter? Nothing stood out when I re-read chapter 2, but I swear some stuff got spiffed up in ch.1.
Either way, can't wait for more!!!
9474281
Thanks for the comment! And I don't remember doing much post-release editing in that chapter - I usually only go back to fix typos or other small fry that doesn't influence the plot. But it's been almost a year since release and I can barely remember what I had for lunch yesterday, so I can't fully rule it out, either.
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I'm currently leaning towards Cadance not having met Shining yet, though I can see the merit of Twilight suddenly having to navigate the minefield of her girlfriend having been epically rejected by his brother's wife/fiancee/girlfriend.
I disagree strongly.
I think that counts as working there, yes.
You would say that.
I friggin love snarky Pinkie.
You are positively paranoid.
Would you be so kind.
No you don't.
What?
You would be amazed.
Ah.
Pinkie, chill, PLEASE.
Bulk Biceps.
Friggin love this pony.
*snicker* I friggin love Trixie, so goddamn much.
Rarity is the only pony who can out Drama Queen Trixie.
Little sister actually.
Yes.
Or both.
I adore this kid.
Oh yeah.
This is fucking fantastic.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
Yes.
Huh, neat.
It's easier for Twilight when she isn't head over heels for you.
You didn't know that you fell.
Hey, Wife Throwing is second only to giant Friendship Rainbow Lasers in terms of saving the world.
It's probably a good deal older than Earthsong's headcanon.
9474439
Minefield? That's a Star Wars esque asteroid field. And each asteroid is explosive.
I don't normally read Anthro MLP stories. But when I do, I read the ones that keep me grinning like an idiot and laughing.
Keep going!
9474439
oh no it be flurry heart who is the model in my mind, she be like teenage 16 or so and model,
i can see shiny and Candace being a normal marry couple, shiny still in army/guard/police force, while Candace just work in the government or is a a talk show host/radio host base on love and relationships or be a couples therapist
this is just so enjoyable.
9474439
Oh, that could be so fucking fun to read.
And I could see the two of them (Cadance and Shining Armor) keeping their relationship quiet for a while because of her celebrity status.
Also, I absolutely loved this chapter! It was totally worth the wait, and I can’t wait to read even more!
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9474439
You know, it occurs to me after my earlier suggestion that things don’t necessarily have to go poorly for Cadance and Rarity during this theoretical dinner date.
I could imagine the two of them sitting on a couch after a couple glasses of wine, and talking about the nerds in their life, comparing notes.
- - -
Rarity took a sip of wine (her third glass for that evening) and smiled at Cadance. “Darling, I could go on and on about how excited my dear Twilight gets about old legends.”
Cadance snorted and grinned in return. “Legends, you say? That’s nothing!” She took a long sip of her own wine, and said, “Let me tell you about Ogres and Obliettes...”
Actually, the rock ballad is a classic that many bands can rotate into their set. It adds versatility to the act, and fans usually like it. Use one in a set, about halfway to two-thirds of the way through the show. Then your finale has more impact.
9474387
Ah, but is Cadance the hiring manager at Jetant? Does she control the process or screen candidates? I always thought her role was MUCH higher up the food chain.
A company like Jetant is going to have dedicated staff for parsing down the hundreds or even thousands of portfolio submissions that make it past the nearly standard resume computer scan.
Further, if it HAD been Cadance, and she was close to canon personality, she wouldn't have just scribbled red lines of error on the designs. She would have provided constructive criticism, and encouraged Rarity to try again. She would have pointed out weaknesses in the designs, sure, but she has a balanced enough personality to point out strengths as well. This is the type of criticism Rarity can take in stride, and not deplete the ice cream stocks of the neighborhood stores over. Maybe,
Also, it sounds like Rarity's submissions, even to Twilight's untrained eye, were not her most inspired work. Rarity should reapply with the designs featuring Twilight and her band members.
I love this story, and I need to quit blethering about things.
9476789
Rarity's submissions got better and more inspired (in Twilight's eyes) further in, but those were the designs that were faulted because the interviewer was apparently more into conservative, play-it-safe pieces.
And Cadance founded Jetant, so she won't be a part of these first-round interviews - she might participate in the second round or whatever, but the initial filtering process is delegated.
9476906
Ah, that clarifies things. Even if Rarity or Twilight miss the disconnect between Cadance and whomever declined Rarity, there's a whole vanful of half-wits who could point out that Cadance had nothing to do with the rejection and probably had no idea Rarity applied.
And this version of Sweetie Bell is no slouch on the uptake, too. I like her.
These keep getting better.
Great to see another chapter! :3
Pile awkwardness on top of awkwardness until the critical mass bursts into flames, then walk through the ashes like a boss. Brilliant plan.
Also, I suppose "Wifetoss" doesn't work well as a fashion brand.
Seriously, hilarious chapter from start to finish. Looking forward to more.
Once in the right mindset puns are some of the best entertainment available. Not only do you get the pun, but the vaguely horrified groans to enjoy. Also I approve of the name. Three guesses on wether or not I’m a bad person, and the first two don’t count.
Marvelous! I absolutely love this!
Panic! At The Disco" - no deeper meaning beyond "music"
Also, Rarity was ranting and forgot to close the god-damned window
I just finished Chapter 4. But speaking of unintended references to real names, Belle is also a title character in "Beauty and the Beast." At least in the version I think has the song in Chapter 1.
...There's even less of a chance anyone did that on purpose. A flowchart of this would have a knot of different-colored arrows pointing between BELLE and BEAUTY, and maybe BELL.
Pair.
10150975
Fixed, thanks.
I was brought here by a certain inter dimensional bar, and am not disappointed. This chapter had me laughing the whole way though!
I laughed at this harder than purely needed.
10413844
Same