Chapter 37: Green isn't your Color (Last Edited: 11/13/2022)
September 15, 2020
Ponyville Station
Jack had made record time to the station upon learning Photo Finish was set to leave. He was out of breath, but he had to make things right. "Wait!!!!!!" he called after her as she stepped onto the platform.
Seeing Jack bolting toward her Photo Finish lowered her glasses and signaled her subordinates to get her equipment ready. "To what do I, Photo Finish, owe ze pleasure of speaking to Equestria's rarest creature?!!!" she asked dramatically.
"Give Rarity another chance," Jack panted. "Please."
"Who is this Rarity?" Photo Finish asked.
"Unicorn, white coat, gem cutie mark, kinda prissy," Jack described.
"Ze disheveled tramp who harassed me on ze streets?" Photo Finish asked. "Why should I do that?"
"Whatever you want, I'll do it," Jack panted.
"Hmmm, an offer I can't refuse," Photo Finish mused. "Get ze human ready for a shoot!" she barked at her subordinates.
"What?" Jack asked as Photo Finish's attendants surrounded him with make up brushes.
Carousel Boutique
Jack had been hesitant about visiting Rarity. At the cost of a three-hour-long photo shoot full of outfits and poses that would no doubt be held over his head for the rest of his life, Jack had secured Rarity a try from Photo Finish. Rarity was sure to have been ecstatic at the news. Nonetheless, there was no getting around the fact that he was responsible for her trauma, to begin with. There was no telling how she might react to him. Taking a deep breath, he slowly entered the boutique.
Although still a nervous wreck, it would seem Rarity had at least pulled it together enough to wash her fur and do her mane for the photoshoot. At that time, she frantically fitted a dark glittery dress with a feathered headdress to Fluttershy, who didn't seem the least bit enthusiastic. Twilight and Pinkie stood nearby and appeared to be arguing while Spike…
"Jesus Christ, Spike!" Jack shouted upon noticing the sewing pins sticking out of his back.
"What?" Spike asked.
"Doesn’t that hurt?”
“Oh, these?” Spike asked, pointing to the pins. “Not at all. I can’t feel a thing through my scales. Even if I could, it would be completely worth it to help the most beautiful creature in Equestria,” he explained with a swoon.
“Ok, man,” Jack sighed. “I get that you have a crush on Rarity. It’s so obvious that I’d be surprised if there were a single pony in town who doesn’t know…”
“Told you!” Twilight interrupted, only to receive a glare from Pinkie.
“But this level of simping isn’t healthy,” Jack said, ignoring Twilight’s outburst. “Either tell Rarity how you feel or I wi….” Jack didn’t finish his sentence. After all, he was in no position to make good on his threat.
One look at Rarity was enough to tell she still wasn’t comfortable with him. She’d been nervously glancing at him for the past few minutes.
“I, Photo Finish... have arrived!” shouted the eccentric mare as she and her two assistants burst through the door.
Photo Finish had a light blue coat covered by a black striped dress, while a pair of goggles obscured her eyes.
“W-welcome,” Rarity greeted nervously. “It’s such an h-honor to have you here.”
“We begin...” Photo Finish declared as one of her assistants pulled a massive camera from a suitcase. “Now!”
“Attitude and pizzazz!” Rarity instructed Fluttershy nervously.
As the photoshoot began, Rarity qued for Fluttershy to pose. However, Photo Finish seemed wholly uninterested in the poses and was quite vocal in her disapproval. She did, however, seem interested in the shy posses Fluttershy would make in response to her displeasure.
After a few shots, Photo Finish decided she was done. "Enough!" she shouted, packing her camera and moving toward the exit.
"She hardly took any pictures," Twilight whispered.
"What do you think went wrong?" Jack asked.
"I'm so sorry," Fluttershy lamented as Rarity removed the headdress. "I tried my best."
"Don't be sorry, Fluttershy," Rarity said dismissively. "I'm lucky she even gave me the time of day, considering the state I was in when we set this up."
Photo Finish rushed back inside. "It seems that I, Photo Finish, have found the next fashion star here in Ponyville."
"Really?" Rarity asked in astonishment.
"Yes. Really," Photo Finish answered. "And I, Photo Finish, am going to help her to shine all over Eqvestria. Tomorrow, a photo shoot in ze park," she announced, pausing eccentrically. "I go!"
"Congratulations, Rare," Jack said.
Still uncomfortable being around Jack, Rarity bid farewell to Fluttershy, and it was agreed that the two would meet up the following day to prepare for the shoot.
September 16, 2020
Fluttershy’s Cottage
Normally Jack would have slept in on his days off. At the moment, however, it felt far more important to make up with Rarity. True, he hadn't gotten over it himself, but the crippling weight of regret and self-loathing was something he'd grown used to. He would have good days and bad days, and that's just how things were. But Rarity wasn't accustomed to any such trauma. It simply wouldn't be right to leave things as they were.
“What time is the photoshoot?” Jack asked as he and Fluttershy ate breakfast.
“In about an hour,” Fluttershy answered. “I’ll be leaving as soon as I finish eating.”
“Good luck,” Jack said. A part of him wanted to go with Fluttershy, but he knew that without a plan, he’d only end up making Rarity feel worse.
Fluttershy left soon after, and Jack went to find the one pony who knew Rarity best.
Sugarcube Corner
As Jack walked into the bakery, he found Sweetie Belle was already waiting for him.
“Hey, Sweets,” Jack greeted.
“Hey, Jack,” Sweetie Belle greeted back. “How are you?”
“I’m doing alright,” Jack answered. “Sorry if I’ve been a little… moody lately.”
With a smile, Sweetie Belle said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m just happy you’re feeling better. You looked really sad before.”
“Yeah, I was,” Jack admitted. “If it weren’t for Sakura, I’d probably still be moping.”
Sweetie Belle scowled at the mention of Sakura, although Jack didn’t notice.
“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Your sister,” Jack answered.
“Why,” Sweetie Belle asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“Promise you won’t get mad,” Jack requested, grasping her front hooves in his hands.
“I-I promise,” Sweetie Belle stuttered, blushing from the sudden contact.
“When I was helping Rarity in the gem mines, I did something stupid, and she got hurt,” Jack confessed. “Now, she won’t even look at me. I was wondering if you might have some idea how I could make it up to her?”
“Now that you mention it, she has been acting strange lately,” Sweetie Belle murmured. “I’m not sure what you did, but whenever Rarity gets mad at me, I just apologize, and everything usually works out.”
Outside Fluttershy’s Cottage
“Well, that wasn’t much help,” Jack thought to himself as he walked over the bridge.
He looked down at the stream below and sighed. Staring at his reflection, he wondered how he’d even begin to mend his friendship with Rarity. His train of thought was soon interrupted by his reflection disappearing into a ripple. For whatever reason, he decided to investigate the cause.
Sliding down the bank, Jack found four reptilian heads peering from the water. “Oh, it’s you guys,” he said quietly.
With everything that had happened in the past few months, Jack had almost forgotten about his pets. Grabbing the nearest turtle by the carapace, he brought it up to his face. Back on earth, this would have resulted in a painful bite, but now the turtle just stared knowingly.
“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to listen to me,” Jack asked.
The turtle nodded understandingly. Jack couldn’t understand animals in the way Fluttershy did, but thanks to Equestrian magic, they sure could understand him. Not that the communication barrier had stopped him from talking to the turtles in the past. He’d done so often after Chase passed away. It was Chase who gave them to him after all.
5 Minutes Later
“I mean, it’s not like I can just go up to her and apologize,” Jack said to the turtle in his hand.
The turtle blinked and shook its head.
“You think I should?” Jack asked before feeling a tap on his foot.
Looking down, Jack found the smallest of his turtles had flipped over on its back. He reached to help the turtle only to receive a bite from the one he was holding.
“What was that for?!” Jack shouted in pain.
The turtle pointed downward with its head. As Jack followed its gaze, he saw that the flipped turtle had rotated its shell with its struggling and was now sticking its head out and using it as leverage. Soon enough, it had flipped itself back onto its plastron.
“You wanted me to see that?” Jack asked the turtle in his hand.
The turtle nodded.
“You’re saying I just need to wait for the right moment?”
The turtle nodded again.
“Thanks,” Jack said, smiling and rubbing the red spot by his turtles’ eyes.
Fluttershy’s Cottage
Once Fluttershy returned, she explained how the day had gone. Apparently, Photo Finished had lost interest in Rarity’s work and fired her as a dress designer, choosing instead to keep Fluttershy on as a model.
“I wanted to say no, but Rarity said that I must do this for her,” Fluttershy said sadly. “I’m scheduled to go on stage tomorrow.”
“That can’t be good for, Rare’s moral,” Jack thought.
And indeed, it wasn’t. Fluttershy’s debut was a massive success. Soon she was on tour across Equestria. She landed advertising deals and was pursued by paparazzi wherever she went. Her face was everywhere, from jars of zap apple jam to pegasus-pulled banners, much to Rarity’s chagrin.
September 22, 2020
Ponyville Spa
A week into Fluttershy’s tour, she was scheduled to appear in Ponyville. This mattered little to Sakura Blossom, who had agreed to accompany Twilight and Pinkie Pie to the spa. As Sakura and Twilight headed for the sauna, Pinkie Pie buried herself in a bucket of sponges.
“Furīku,” Sakura thought to herself.
They soon found Rarity in the sauna. She’d been waiting for Fluttershy.
“My hooves are getting positively pruney. I've been waiting here so long,” Rarity complained. “Obviously, Fluttershy's just too busy with her new career to spend time with her best friend.”
“Interesting,” Sakura thought to herself.
“I'm sure she just got tied up,” Twilight reassured.
“Of course, she did,” Rarity spat. “She's a big bright shining star! I wish that star would burn out.”
“This could be useful,” Sakura thought.
Rarity explained how she was jealous of Fluttershy’s success, making Twilight promise not to tell anyone.
Soon after Rarity left, Fluttershy arrived with a similar story.
After making Twilight promise not to tell Rarity, Fluttershy explained, “I don't like being a model. No, I hate being a model. All this attention is awful, just awful. And I'm only doing it because Rarity told me I must. I must! I must!” she sighed. “I must...”
Twilight tried to tell her the truth, but a stern look from Pinkie Pie was enough to remind her of her promise.
Sakura, on the other hand, was forming an idea. “Jack-sama has been having problems with Rarity-san, if I’m not mistaken,” she thought. “I’ve more than gained his trust. Perhaps Oto-san might be pleased if I helped speed his corruption and take out one of the Elements of Harmony in the process.”
After parting ways with Fluttershy, Twilight, Pinkie, and Sakura returned to Sugar Cube Corner, where Twilight discussed her plans to help Fluttershy out of her modeling career, and Sakura plotted how to use this to her advantage.
Ponyville Auditorium
Still unsure as to how or when to approach Rarity, Jack decided to catch Fluttershy’s show. He arrived to find the auditorium packed. Ponies from all over Equestria had gathered to watch Fluttershy perform.
One pony, in particular, caught Jack’s attention. On the other side of the room, in an elegant gown, stood Rarity. She seemed much less nervous than she had when he last saw her, but Jack still wasn’t sure she was ready to talk to him.
Soon it was time for the show to begin.
“Ladies und gentlecolts, I present to you, Fluttershy!” announced Photo Finish.
Fluttershy nervously backed onto the stage as the spotlight showed on her. However, Jack’s attention was elsewhere.
“Is that Twilight?” He thought, seeing the purple unicorn's head popping out from behind the curtains.
Twilight’s horn glowed a sparkly lavender, and Fluttershy began acting erratically. She flew around awkwardly, picked her nose, and started barking like a dog, much to the crowd’s displeasure.
Finally, Fluttershy let out a “He-haw!” and the crowd had enough.
“Get her off the stage!” shouted one mare.
“She's an embarrassment to all things fashion!” shouted another.
“I, Photo Finish, have made a terrible mistake!” Photo Finish lamented.
The crowd unleashed a chorus of boos.
“Bravo! I say bravo!” shouted one pony.
The crowd turned to see who was cheering, only to gasp in horror as a stage light came hurtling down on the pony responsible.
Jack had turned his head at the same time and quickly identified Rarity as the culprit, noticing the stage light just in time to leap into action. With an emerald burst from his palms, he smashed the stage light into dust and rushed to check Rarity for injuries.
“Are you alright?!” Jack asked as he reached her side.
“Y-you saved me,” Rarity gasped, flinching as debris scattered around her.
“You aren’t hurt, are you?” Jack asked.
“I’m f-fine,” Rarity answered.
Jack could see she was shaken. “I’ll just go then. I can see I’m making you uncomfortable. Sorry.”
“No, wait!” Rarity requested as Jack turned to leave. “You’re fine, darling. If anypony should apologize, it’s me. Ever since what happened in the gem mines, I’ve been too scared to even look at you. I-I treated you like a monster when all you did was try to protect me. Sure, you were brutish and terrifying, but that wasn’t your fault, was it.”
“Does that make us friends again?” Jack asked.
“Of course, darling,” Rarity said, hugging Jack.
As Spike and the rest of the Mane Six burst through the crowd to check on their friends, an unhappy filly watched from above.
“Kuso ̄!” Oni-Hime thought as she watched from the rafters. This hadn’t at all gone to plan. “I better retreat before I’m discovered.”
Fluttershy’s Cottage
Needless to say, the show was canceled. Once it was clear no one was hurt, the crowd was allowed to leave, and Fluttershy was whisked away by Photo Finish. When she returned, she explained that her contract had been revoked and she would no longer be modeling.
She apologized to Rarity for not living up to her expectations, but Rarity told her not to worry about it. Once Rarity had explained that she had been jealous the entire time, the two made up and agreed to meet at the spa the next day.
The falling stage light was ruled a freak accident, although the exact cause couldn’t be determined. However, Jack was more worried about something else.
“You can’t keep protecting your friends without Chaos Mode,” Jade Jack whispered. “Today, it was only a stage light, but who knows what will happen next. The longer you resist me, the more danger they’ll be in.”
“Shut up!” Jack mentally screamed. “I know what you did last time I let you take control. I’m never letting you take control again, so why don’t you fuck right on off!?”
“So long as you remain riddled with guilt, I will thrive in here,” Jade Jack replied. “You may resist me now, but you’ll have to give up eventually. I’m not letting that emerald goody-goody help you again!”
Stats
Page generated in 0.014 seconds
Total duration
822 users online
565,607 hits today, 1,872,792 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Hey you traveler, want some goods? No? You can have a review then on the house.