Prom and Circumstance

by TheMessenger

Chapter 8

Rarity was one of those individuals who were defined by their career and appearance. Her ambitious drive and dedication to her trade were apparent when considering the history of her business, from its humble beginnings in a small rural town to its expansion into the most competitive and current fashion districts in Equestria. Her considerable creativity was demonstrated by her wares and her very presence in the fashion world; one did not make a name of themselves amongst the likes of Hoity Toity, Photo Finish, and Prim Hemline by being an unimaginative bore after all. Her appreciation toward beauty extended to her own person as demonstrated by the effort and time she spent styling her mane, applying her eyeliner and lashes, and picking out the perfect mix of accessories that best complemented the rest of her outfit.

Ambitious, creative, very very pretty, and for those who either knew her personally or were in the know of her position as the bearer of the Element of Generosity, generous, those were the words often gravitated towards when describing the mare Rarity. Reasonable and rational were not. That’s not to say she wasn’t reasonable or rational, though admittedly she did experience the occasional bout of hysteria, most in her field of work did. It just isn’t all that common to describe another individual in such terms except at a few very specific institutions. Unless otherwise stated, an individual’s logicality is more or less implied, and bringing up the subject would in all likelihood raise more questions than answers.

Rarity would like to think herself as reasonable and rational, despite the aforementioned bouts of hysteria along with her inclination to speak in hyperboles. Was it unreasonable to agree to a date with an old friend who shared her feelings? No. Was it irrational to desire secrecy on the matter to avoid the unwanted strain and stress the gossip surely arising regarding the differences in species, age, and positions in life would have placed our their blossoming relationship? Of course not.

And so it was up to the completely reasonable and rational Rarity to calm the panicked Spike and assure him that their date wasn’t completely ruined and none of what had happened was any of his fault, no matter what that overly emotional part of her brain cried. Dinner had to be canceled due to the Grand Galloping Gala organizing committee’s untimely intrusion and Starlight Glimmer’s unanticipated leave of absence, much to their mutual disappointment, but it was hardly the worst possible thing. Like Rarity assured Spike, there would still be plenty of time to meet up at the theater, catch the show, and enjoy a wonderful evening together.

A perfectly reasonable and rational response, though wishing a plague upon a certain show magician may have been a tad dramatic, however understandable considering the circumstances.

And so the fateful day arrived, beginning not all too much more differently than any typical Saturday would, with the rising of the sun, the song of birds, and Rarity taking her time to make her bed and put away her nightgown. The dragon holding a small bouquet of flowers at her doorstep was a welcomed surprise, as was the short melody he hummed for her to the beat of his guitar strums. It was the least he could do, he tried to explain, given that there wouldn’t be time to pick her up from her house, and she assured that even if that been an issue, he more than made up for it. Then, with a tender kiss on his cheek, Spike reluctantly left, called by the school he was suddenly responsible for. There was still much to be done before the gala organizers arrived; the itinerary needed to be drawn out and ready for presentation and the courtyard had to be cleaned and prepared for their inspection.

Rarity would have offered her assistance, but there was much that had to be done on her end as well before night fell. Books needed keeping, inventories needed reviewing, trends needed predicting, the boutique needed tending, and it felt like forever since she last produced a new design. Success, Rarity reminded herself, could be a fickle thing, especially in the fashion industry, and she couldn’t afford complacency if she wanted to remain relevant in her field.

So the fateful day continued, the hours passing away as Rarity tackled the chores and responsibilities before her. The boutique was opened and readied to receive customers, the orders and requests from her Canterlot and Manehattan locations were reviewed, and Rarity had finished compiling her list of supplies and materials to restock and putting away her freshly cleaned laundry just in time to catch the late noon sun rise to its peak.

She broke for lunch, enjoying a small fruit salad with a fashion magazine on the side. It was an older issue from a commercial publication, directed more toward consumers casually looking for the next trend to follow than the future trendsetters looking for insight and inspiration, and while every dress depicted on its pages was well-made and even beautiful in some cases, nothing caught Rarity’s professional eye. It all felt too safe, the styles already so proven and without risk, their modest market success a guarantee. It all brought to mind her discontinued Princess Dress and the soulless assembly line it spawned. Still, it was nice to be reading something other than a friendship report for once, and her drive to create something bold and new was growing stronger with each second she continued to expose herself to such adequacy.

Her most recent sketchbook flung itself open in her presence. She turned to the last used page to refresh herself on her previous projects and perhaps build upon any old unused designs. The sketches Rarity found surprised her, and it took some time and staring before she recognized the crude bipedal figures on the page and their purpose. Dragons, Rarity discovered, were a little trickier to draw than ponies, with their upper torsos and arms that operated independently from their legs and that vertical backbone that made absolutely no anatomical sense.

How Spike and Smolder were able to walk around as they did without constantly falling flat on their faces was a complete mystery, a mystery Rarity found herself pondering as she considered Smolder’s dress and the challenges the differences in their bodies and hers presented to the dress’s production. The dresses Rarity was familiar with were made for ponies whose horizontal structure gave what articles of clothing they chose to wear plenty of body to brace against the pull of gravity. Not so with dragons or any other biped however, with only the shoulders and maybe their arms to cling to. That meant needing more material around Smolder’s shoulders and longer sleeves in order to shift the bulk of the dress’s weight onto those areas and hold it all in place. Failing to do so would be just begging for a wardrobe malfunction in front of dozens, an embarrassing nightmare for any gala goer.

Next came the midsection, which would be the simplest part, just a connection between the upper and lower parts of the dress like with all her more conventional pieces except with stronger material and extra stitching so to avoid tearing apart under the additional strain and pull. Finally, there was the dress’s bottom. A shorter skirt would be most practical in this situation. Less material meant less weight and strain for the top to compensate. Additionally, a shorter bottom would reduce the amount of motion-restricting fabric Smolder and the only two legs she had to balance on would have to deal with.

Rarity lifted her charcoal pencil off the page and frowned in disgust. The design before her was so top heavy, it reminded her of a mushroom. And the skirt at the bottom was far too small, not even reaching the drawn dragon’s knees. The tail, oh Celestia, and she had forgotten to take the tail in account. With the skirt at its current height and the dragon tail getting in its way, Smolder’s, ahem, posterior would be completely exposed, attracting the sort of attention Rarity doubted Smolder would’ve appreciated.

Shaking her head, she crossed out the current design and begun anew. She tried to picture Spike in his suit. As far as she could recall, there weren’t any special paddings around the shoulders or anything suggesting a manipulation of weight toward the area just below Spike’s neck. The costume Rarity had made Smolder for their play to Princess Celestia also lacked any unique modifications. Granted, a dress was far more complicated than either a jacket and shirt ensemble or the plain magus outfit, but perhaps she was making the weight distribution and balance a far greater issue than it truly was. In any case, it was clear she had gone too far and overcompensated.

So less material on the top, more for the bottom. Rarity again considered Spike and his wardrobe. The aprons he appeared so fond toward were kept in place by a pair of cloth strips, one wrapped wrapped loosely around his neck and the other tied behind his back. Could something like that be applied here? Shoulder straps could possibly work, they’d certainly be more appealing than a hoop of fabric thrown over Smolder’s head and around her neck, but would they be enough to hold up an entire dress? She couldn’t be sure. Rarity returned to her mental dissection of the apron’s design. What if she extended the front to cover the sides and the back of the wearer, then add to the hem to form a skirt? Suddenly, Rarity’s pencil froze. Her eyes widened as they recognized what had been drawn.

A gown, much like the ones she had made for her and her friends for their first Grand Galloping Gala. It was so obvious, why hadn’t she thought of it sooner? Light, easily supported, and not too restrictive, a gown was the perfect option, with an open back for her wings and the skirt down to her ankles to ensure full coverage of her tail. Black would be the safest color, few creatures didn’t look good in black, but the dark color made it harder to appreciate any designs stitched into the cloth. A light blue would work well with the color of Smolder’s scales, as would a subdued shade of pink such as salmon or magenta. And the front, a pattern of yellow topazes would make a perfect decoration across her chest. And from the waist down, what about the outline of a dragon in flight, as powerful and alluring as the wearer herself. And why not do away with the shoulder straps and go for a completely strapless variant by tightening the cloth around the torso and midsection to keep the gown in place?

It was bold and attractive, even on paper, and Rarity felt herself on the brink of salivating at thought of starting such a project. There was still the matter of receiving Smolder’s measurements and approval, but Rarity was confident the dragon would be as pleased as she was with this design.

A loud knock dragged Rarity back to reality, and she suddenly realized just how dry her throat was and how sore her back was. How long had she been in that position working away? It must have been a few hours at least, maybe even longer. It wasn’t unheard of for her to spend an entire day making notes, drawing out the details, and reworking certain features of new designs. A horrible thought came to mind, and she rushed to the closest open window, ignoring the protests from her stiff and tired back.

Still plenty of sunlight about. Rarity released the breath she held. To think she could’ve lost track of time on today of all days. She closed her sketchbook and removed her glasses just as a second knock echoed through the shop. As she made her way to the door, stopping at a mirror along the way to tuck in the stray strand of mane hair and make sure her appearance was presentable, she consider the possible identity of the being outside.

Spike was at the top of the list, probably just checking up on her in anticipation for tonight, maybe to invite her to a late lunch. A third thud at the door suggested otherwise, too impatient for him, or for Fluttershy, the only other member of their tight circle of friends currently present who would have bothered knocking; Applejack and Rainbow Dash would have walked right in once they’ve realized the door was open, and Pinkie Pie, well, no one could predict what Pinkie would’ve done. It could have been an unexpected customer, somepony just looking for a dress to buy, maybe even another one of her students, but the shop was clearly open so why the knocking?

The entrance came into sight just as a fourth knock rang out. “Coming,” Rarity sang out, trying to keep her growing annoyance at her guest’s lack of patience out of her voice. She spent the last few seconds between her and the door practicing her salespony smile, as professional and welcoming as possible, then, once there, opened the door.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique, and magnifique,” Rarity sang as the bell attached to the door rang out. Before her stood a rather nervous dragon constantly looking over her shoulders with a changeling at her side.

“Yes, I’m sure no creatures watching us,” Ocellus was in the middle of assuring before noticing the unicorn in the open doorway. “Oh, good afternoon, Professor Rarity.”

“Ocellus and Smolder, what pleasant surprise,” Rarity greeted. She stepped to the side. “Please, come inside. Ah, this isn’t about schoolwork, is it?”

Ocellus thought for a moment. “Well, while I’m here, there was—“

“It’s about the dress,” Smolder interjected. “You know, the thing we talked about earlier, and I was supposed to come over for measurements and design ideas and stuff.”

“Right, of course.” Rarity paused. “Was that supposed to be today?”

“You just said to come over anytime,” Smolder explained.

“Yes, right. I did say that.”

The slight pursing of Rarity’s lips did not go completely unnoticed. “Is now not a good time?” Ocellus asked.

“Oh, no, of course not. Well, it’s just.” Again, Rarity looked outside. “No, never mind, there’s still plenty of time. In fact, now couldn’t have been better. Smolder, I’ve come up with a design idea I’m dying to show you.”

She led the two inside the foyer and hurried back to her personal workstation for her sketchbook and pencil, a small notebook, a roll of measuring tape, and some fabric samples of various shades of blue or pink. When Rarity returned, she found the both of them on the couch whispering away as they leafed through the shop’s catalogue. “Is everything alright?” Rarity asked, more to get their attention than to gauge their status. “Does any creature need any water?”

Smolder immediately looked up. “No, yeah, we’re fine,” she said, rubbing her arm nervously. She looked to Ocellus who was still looking through the catalogue.

“There’s so many dresses in here,” Ocellus exclaimed, “I don’t know how anyone could decide. Professor Rarity, did you come up with all of these?”

“But of course,” Rarity answered. She allowed herself a prideful smile. “Every last one a Rarity original, and a few are exclusive to this location. Are you considering on buying a dress for the school gala?”

“The prom? Oh no, I’m just here because Smolder asked me to be,” Ocellus said. “But, maybe, do you have any I could try on? After you’re all done with Smolder, I mean.”

“Certainly. Now, to business.” Rarity turned to Smolder and opened her sketchbook. “Now, do understand, right now it’s just a sketch, just so we get an idea on what we like and are looking for before we actually start sewing cloth together only to decide after it’s all done that it’s not at all what we expected and have to scrap the whole thing and start from the beginning.”

“Does that last part happen often?” Smolder asked.

“Often enough,” Rarity said with a sigh. Then, with a clap of her hooves her features brightened, and she placed the book on the coffee table in front of Smolder. “Anyways, here we are, designed specifically with you in mind. Thoughts?”

“Is it supposed to look like a mushroom with a giant X over it? I mean, I’m not the fashion expert here but—“

“On the other page, dear.”

“Oh.”

“And these are the colors I believe would work wonderfully with the color of your scales.” Rarity laid the samples of colored cloth next to the book. As she did so, Rarity stole a glance at her guest, trying to read Smolder’s facial features and body language for some hint of how she felt. What she found, the slight stiffness in the dragon’s arms, the smallest of frowns, the growing silence, left Rarity discouraged. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s nice, I guess.”

That was the worst sort of compliment.

“It’s just, it’s not what I had in mind. I was hoping for something, you know.” Smolder raised a claw to her mouth and coughed. “Cuter.” She gestured Ocellus toward the page.

The changeling shrugged. “I think it’d look nice on you. It reminds me of something one of those pony celebrities like Sapphire Shores would wear, something elegant and powerful and confident.”

“But not.” Again, there was a cough. “Cute.”

“No, not really,” Ocellus agreed.

“Oh, right.” Rarity offered an apologetic smile expressing a small fraction of the embarrassment she was feeling. “You did mention something about that. I’m so sorry, I was so caught up in the moment I completely failed to take that in account.” She turned to the sketchbook’s next clean page. “Is there anything in particular you were expecting?”

“Not really, I’m not great with this kind of stuff.” Smolder rubbed the back of her neck. “I mean, I have this idea of what I want, I’m just having a hard time describing it. Like, I think I was expecting, I don’t know, sleeves.”

“Sleeves?” Rarity repeated, the tip of her pencil hovering right over the paper.

“Yeah, sleeves. Long one, down to my wrist. And also those puffy shoulders and a really big skirt thing.”

“Longer than the previous design?”

“Yeah, and wider.” Smolder held her arms out to demonstrate. “You know, like, uh.” She turned to Ocellus. “Kind of like the dress the Tree of Harmony made me wear when it tested us that one time. You know what I’m talking about, right?”

Rarity raised a hoof to interject. “I’m sorry, the Tree of Harmony made you wear a dress?” she said slowly as she tried to process the image of the majestic, magical tree forcing Smolder into a dress with its roots like a filly would with a doll. “When was this?”

“It was a while ago, during our first year,” Ocellus explained. “I think we promised Cozy Glow we wouldn’t tell anyone, when we thought she was just another student, and it just never came up after that.” She shrugged before returning her attention to Smolder. “Anyways, I don’t think I ever saw you in a dress.”

“You didn’t? But I know some creature saw me in it. I mean, I think someone did.” Smolder frowned before shrugging as well. “Whatever. Anyways, yeah, I want a big puffy skirt.”

“Very well.” Rarity and her pencil paused. “And was there anything specific you wanted in terms of decorations? Any patterns perhaps or special materials? Colors?”

Smolder tapped her chin as she consider the question. “Well for color, um, I was thinking, maybe pink.” She looked over the light red shades in front of her. “But a little brighter than these. And can I get that soft lacy white stuff that goes on the edges of the sleeves?”

“You mean lace trimming?”

“Yeah, that, and also around the collar. And maybe some ribbon bows, with a large red one around my waist that ties up at the front. No wait, at the back, yeah the back, and some smaller bows on the skirt’s bottom, maybe along with some lace trimming, and some around, no, on the shoulders. And, and, uh, I mean.” Slowly, Smolder returned to her seat, leaning as casually as she could appear with her face red and flushed against the couch’s back. “Or whatever. Something like that.”

“Uh huh.” Rarity, setting the pencil aside, sat up and revealed the new design for all in the room to see, to her slight reluctance. Even as she applied her charcoal to paper, she knew the end result would be a messy and overly complicated affair. There was nothing wrong with Smolder’s ideas individually, but as a whole there was just too much going on, and not everything worked well together. It reminded her of a filly’s first imagined bridal dress, a collage of everything pretty with no rhyme or reason to the placement of its pieces, but to Smolder’s credit, she had the awareness to grimace at the design, which was much more than most fillies or five certain mares once upon a time could boast.

“Wow, that’s, uh, wow.”

Rarity smiled knowingly. “It’s not exactly how you pictured it in your head, is it? Don’t worry, it never really does.”

“Maybe the bow should’ve been at the front,” Ocellus offered. “And I don’t think you need both lace and ribbons at the bottom.”

“Maybe, I don’t know.” Smolder folded her arms and looked to Rarity. “What do you think? You’re the expert here.”

The seamstress gathered her thoughts. “Well, it’s a bit busy,” she began. “There’s a workable concept in here somewhere hidden beneath it all, we just need a little focus and refinement. But let’s leave this here for later.” Rarity closes the sketchbook and set it aside, and in its place was the measuring tape. “I’m sure we could all use a quick little break from the whole designing process. We can use this time to refresh and take care of those measurements of yours.”

“Okay.” Smolder got to her feet and stretched. “So what do I need to do?”

“There’s a side room that will afford us some privacy. We’ll take the measurements there,” Rarity explained before turning to her other guest. “Ocellus, will you be needing anything of us while you’re out here?”

“Actually, I was wondering.” Ocellus held up the catalogue she had been perusing. The dress it was opened to was an older creation, with a beautiful gradient of blues for its body decorated with vines and flower buds stretching from the ends of the sleeves upward. The transition to the skirt, made with various shades of green and spots of white silk that reminded one of a leaf still wet with morning dew, was facilitated by a bright belt of satin that gave the impression of a massive water lily.

“Ah, the Water Filly,” Rarity said, her voice light with nostalgia as she was brought back to the day of her Canterlot Carousel’s grand opening and to the hours she spent at the royal water gardens. “It would look rather nice on you.” She walked past the mannequins and returned with two racks packed with dresses. “Ah, here we are,” Rarity declared as she removed that particular dress from the rest and presented it to Ocellus. “The changing room is on the left, and if there’s anything else here that catches your eye, don’t hesitate to try it on.”

“Hey, Professor?” Smolder called out from the room she was directed to. “Is there a light somewhere?”

“Yes, one moment. Goodness, it has gotten dark.” A quick flick of a switch and the foyer was illuminated before Rarity continued on. Again, Rarity hit a light switch, then led Smolder inside the now lit room. “Stand over there, please,” she instructed, pointing to the room’s center. “Back straight, head high.” With her magic, she extended her measuring tape from Smolder’s heel to the top of the dragon’s head.

“Height is,” she muttered as she read the measurement aloud before jotting it down in the small notebook she had taken from her workstation. “Now, how should I, hm, could you stretch out your arms, please?”

“Like this?”

“A little higher, that’s it. Thank you.” The measuring tape wrapped itself around Smolder’s waist, causing her to snort and wiggle. “Oh, sorry. I wasn’t aware you were ticklish.”

“I’m not,” Smolder insisted, though her blush said otherwise. “I’m just, not used to this.”

“Of course. I’ll try to be gentler. Could you raise your arms higher?” Again, the measuring tape moved, this time slowly constricting around Smolder’s chest. “Hold your breath for one second. Very good. You can let it out now. Let’s see, we still—“

The bell at the door rang out, announcing the arrival of new guests. The measuring tape retreated back into a roll. “One moment please,” Rarity called out before turning to Smolder. “I’ll be right back. You can take a seat and relax.”

She returned to the shop’s entrance to find Ocellus bashfully posing in the dress she had chosen in front of a familiar hippogriff and yak cheering and encouraging her on. “Okay, okay, I think that’s enough,” Ocellus giggled. “Oh, Professor Rarity.”

“Welcome girls, to Carousel Boutique,” Rarity greeted. She took a moment to appraise Ocellus and smiled. “You, now you look absolutely fabulous.”

“Th-thank you,” Ocellus said, demonstrating to the world that changelings could indeed blush.

“And what can I do for the two of you?” Rarity asked the newcomers.

Silverstream threw a claw into the air and waved it. “Ooh, ooh! Pick me!”

“Darling, we’re not in class, you don’t have to wait for me to give you permission to speak out. And for that matter, while you’re all here, you can drop the professor title,” Rarity added with a side glance at Ocellus. “When I am in my boutique, Ms. Rarity or just Rarity is fine.”

“Okay. Just Rarity, do you have anything like that we can try on?” Silverstream asked, gesturing to Ocellus and her dress. “It’s so pretty and, and, Yona help me out.”

“Yona also think Ocellus look very nice in dress,” Yona declared after a moment of deliberation.

“And very nice,” Silverstream agreed with a nod. “You should definitely wear that to prom.” She suddenly gasped. “I have the second best idea ever. We should all wear the same dress to prom together!”

The suggestion set Rarity’s teeth on edge. “I, wouldn’t advise that.”

“Really?” Silverstream tilted her head to the side. “Why not?”

“Well, it’s, I suppose it’s, wearing something someone else is wearing at a gala is considered bad form. Why don’t the two of you see if there’s anything else here you might like?” Rarity pointed Silverstream and Yona to the dresses on the racks. “The dressing rooms are over there, to the left, and I have additional ones in the back if you need more options.”

“More options? There’s already so many to choose from.” Silverstream began to browse. “This one? Maybe this one? Oh, I want to just try on every single one.”

“Yona have question for dress making pony professor,” Yona exclaimed. She gestured Rarity closer and lowered her voice. “Yona not sure Yona yak body fit pony size dress.”

“Ah, I see. I do have some larger options that you might find more agreeable.” Rarity hurried to the back of the shop and returned with another rack just in time to see the door open and a earth pony stallion and a grumpy looking griffon step in.

“I’m telling you, I don’t need a suit,” Gallus grumbled. “Really, you don’t need to do this.”

“Come on, you can’t be serious. Hey Professor Rarity,” Sandbar exclaimed, waving. There was something draped over his back. “Tell Gallus he can’t go to the prom without a suit on. That’s like gala one oh one.”

“Well, it is traditional—“

“See, tradition.” Sandbar grinned triumphantly. “Can’t argue with tradition.”

“I break with tradition every second by just being here and breathing the same air you’re breathing,” Gallus argued.

“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Sandbar turned to Rarity and set down the bundle that was on his back. It unraveled to reveal a dark blue jacket and a white collared shirt sewed on the inside, a common ensemble for stallions wanting to present themselves with class and grace but too lazy to put any effort in achieving such and thus easily satisfied with a cheap appearance of such. At least the tie wasn’t a clip-on, Rarity noted.

“I know you make dresses and stuff, and this is probably a pretty weird request,” Sandbar began as Gallus rolled his eyes, “but could you do something to my extra suit for Gallus? He doesn’t have anything to wear for prom, and I don’t think there’s any place in Ponyville that sells suits for griffons.”

“Well, suits are not exactly my forte, but I suppose that’s a simple enough job,” Rarity said as she examined the suit more closely. “Yes, it shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll just need to take some measurements and—“

The door to the side room opened. Smolder’s head stuck out. “Hey, Professor? Are we still—“

All eyes turned to Smolder who at the sight of the sudden crowd retreated back inside and shut the door. “One moment, please, and I’ll be right with you,” Rarity requested before heading toward the side room. As she entered and closed the door behind her, she sighed.

“Alright, Smolder, let‘s continue,” she said, preparing herself for what was looking to be a very busy evening.