A Herd of Ponies and Ungulates

by StatiZkyZ

The Champion of the Tundra and the Fashionista

One must give more credit to Princess Celestia's patience, as Velvet is quite the hoof-full of trouble. Thanks to her... refined tastes, the Princess must relocate where her plan will take place. Originally, the reindeer would've gone to Ponyville, but due to her reluctance of "Valking on a dirt path like some plebeian", she will stay in Canterlot. As much as Velvet is full of herself, she can at least admire the streets of the Equestrian capital.

In turn, the citizens of Canterlot can admire her.

The other champions don't really want attention from the pony masses, or trying anything to attract them in any way. Velvet however, is different. It is in her blood to be the star in a crowd, and that's what she's doing. With the winter sprites she brought from home for this journey carrying her through Canterlot, she caused plenty of eyes to turn towards her. Her sprites have to obey her order of not letting anyone near her, though. Some of them are actively moving to make ponies take a step back.

"You can look at ze floof as long as you vant, but don't touch!" The reindeer brushes her floof with her hoof gently, the part of her that matters.

Even though Velvet is a bit reluctant to go here, at least she enjoys this bit. If it is for Foenum and the world's fate, she would go through anything to save it. This is just some visit to another civilization. Well, any pony outside this city is probably not as civilized for her taste. Princess Celestia did promise her she'll enjoy the company of the pony she's supposed to meet, however, and she hopes it's true.

Her sprites halts in front of a boutique that has... pink colored walls. Seriously, first Oleander’s mane, now this? Is she the only one keeping up with the popular trend of NOT putting pink on everything? There's also the curious matter of why she's sent to a place like this. Clothes in Foenum aren't that common, though she suppose it's a bit like those hats Cashmare sells all the time, or that… clothing Paprika makes, whatever that is. Velvet herself doesn't wear clothes most of the time since a lot of them will just obscure or ruin her floof.

Telling her winter sprites to open the door, a small bell rings to indicate her entrance. The moment she steps in the building, this time on her own hooves, someone greets her immediately.

"Greeting, customer!" A blue unicorn greets from behind a desk. Seems like she mistaken Velvet for just another customer before she realized something. "O-Oh! Foulard and fluffs, miss reindeer! You must be the one to meet the owner!"

Miss reindeer? She has a name! The name that everyone should know! Who even is this… individual? Her coat of light blue is pretty nice, but that vermilion and amber mane isn’t exactly to Velvet’s taste, and do not let her get started on the eyeshadows…

“First of all, I am not a simple customer.” Velvet huffed, turning her head away in a snobbish way. “I’ll have you know zat I am ze champion of the Tundra herself!”

The unicorn, to her credit, does not faze at Velvet’s behavior. This is Canterlot. Ponies who are snobbish and rude aren't rare to come across. Sassy Saddles’ experience of being in business with the equestrian nobles and high class ponies only boosts her immunity further.

“Oh, excuse me, miss…”

“And second, if you’re not ze owner, where are zey?” Velvet continued. “It’s quite rude to give me an appointment, but zey are ze ones who're late!”

“I can assure you, Rarity… The owner is here, she just needed a little bit more time.” Sassy tries her best to make Velvet be patient.

“Hmph. Zey better be here no later zen two minutes.” Velvet scoffed. Two minutes is enough for her to look at whatever outfits this boutique has. Though she doesn’t consider using outfits over her natural beauty, the topic does interest her. Maybe she had spent too much time around Cashmare.

There are a few mannequins on display, showing off various displays of outfits. There’s one with a white long translucent dress, a purple one with a black rose ribbon on the head, and what seems to be a noir inspired coat with a wide hat. Other than the white dress which is slightly not bland, the rest of the outfit is just… bland for Velvet’s tastes.

“I assume zis outfits are made by ze owner as well?” The reindeer is about ready to drop the bomb. Whoever this owner is has a bad eye to choose pink as their boutique’s paint, late for their meeting, has an employee that didn’t even expect her arrival despite how important she is. “If so, zey are… Ze..! Most…!”

“Sassy, is that her?”

The purple curtains that lead to the back rooms, or whatever is behind it, part away to reveal a unicorn with light gray coat that’s almost pure white. Her mane is styled into a wavy shape, bearing a mixed shade of radiant indigo and mulberry. She’s also wearing what seems to be a brown coat with cream… floof on her chest. Now that grabbed Velvet’s attention. As much as she doesn’t want to say it, this unicorn is, without a doubt, the only pony she sees so far to radiate beauty. Of course, the fact that her floof is less than hers helps.

“...knowledgeable pony about fashion.” Velvet’s tone trailed down from being angry to surprise.

Even the way the unicorn walks feels like she knows she’s someone important, a class above the other ponies. Her posture, her gaze, and those azure eyes are alluring. Not alluring as the reindeer, of course.

“Miss Velvet, is it? Welcome to Equestria.” The unicorn said cheerfully, but not without grace. In turn, Velvet stands in front of the mare with her chest out, almost like making sure she knows that her floof is bigger and better, something she almost always does.

“I appreciate ze greeting.” The reindeer rolls her eyes, still a bit upset that this unicorn was late to their meeting. “At least your sight is not as sore as ze other ponies.”

“Why, it’s nice to see someone to have an eye for beauty.” The mare said, though she would not use words like what Velvet just said. “My name is Rarity, miss Velvet. A pleasure to meet you.”

“I see you already know my name too, Rarity.” Velvet smiles, though for some it might look as a smirk instead. “Unlike… that associate of yours.”

Sassy, who’s preparing and measuring some fabrics, jerks her head back slightly hearing that. As snobby as her customer can be, this is very close to “rude” instead of snobby. The unicorn did not say anything, but Rarity knows this isn’t exactly a good situation.

“Oh, miss Velvet, why don’t we… take a walk around this lovely city of Canterlot?” Rarity suggested. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Sassy, keep the store running, please?”

“Of course, Rarity.” Her manager replies with a smile.

Walk around the city? There was a reason her winter sprites carried her! First of all, she’s an important individual in this pony capital, though she always has been someone important… Second, this isn’t exactly Reine, especially the temperature. If she doesn’t really need to walk, she rather not, simply to not get herself too heated. Failing to consider that might result in causing her floof to be ruined. Though, Rarity here is probably the only welcome company for the reindeer’s standards. Might as well choose her rather than risking getting worse ones.

“Enh, I suppose you’re the only one that’s not a sore sight for my eyes. Very well.”

Rarity always enjoys a walk around Canterlot, the high class environment is always welcome to her. Not that she doesn’t like a more rustic place like Ponyville, but to her, everything here is finely designed to just look stunning. From the ponies, buildings, even how food is presented. All of them have their appearance carefully made to look as presentable as they can be. Not to mention that she can meet other ponies she knows from her connections and such.

For Velvet, however, this is more like a chore if anything. Admittedly, Canterlot is on par with Reine in how sophisticated it is, maybe even more grand than the reindeer’s home city. However, she feels like this is all just beating around the bush, she wasn’t even listening at Rarity when she keeps talking about the city or herself. However, she does find some entertainment in letting others know how good she looks. Seems like ponies are a bit easier to please.

As she’s walking, Rarity greets a cream colored earth pony with cyan mane. Something about the color of her hair kinda hurts the reindeer’s eye, but it could be much worse.

“Coco!” Rarity greets the pony, who’s eager to return the unicorn’s embrace. “Fancy meeting you in Canterlot! What are you doing here?”

“Miss Rarity! I’m on a trip to find new materials!” The mare greets Rarity, before her eyes slide to see Velvet. “Oh, are you with this mare? Um, I mean… Individual?”

The individual in question scrunches her nose. A mere individual? That will never be enough to describe her, the Champion of the Tundra!

“I’ll have you know zat I am not a simple inzividual! Please call me Velvet.” The reindeer points her nose high. Already, both Rarity and Coco can feel the atmosphere growing that much uncomfortable.

“S-Sorry, miss Velvet… Ehe he he…” Coco can only offer a nervous smile, trying to lift the mood up to no avail. “Are you an a-acquaintance of miss Rarity?”

“You can say zat.” Velvet isn’t even looking at Coco as she speaks to her. “Now, may you please be a dear and move along? I vant this walk to be done.”

For a second, Rarity’s eyes went wide, as if something struck her. Velvet didn’t realize it, but the white unicorn gives the reindeer a sharp glare. All of this gives Coco the cue to continue with her business.

“O-Okay! I’m on an errand a-anyway! Nice meeting you miss Velvet…! And you too, m-miss Rarity!” The earth pony gives the two ladies a nervous grin, before walking around them to continue on her way. When Velvet looks at her escort again, Rarity is closing her eyes, taking a rather shaky, but focused breath. She seems to be regaining her composure before she speaks.

“Before this walk is done… I have one more spot to show, Velvet.” Rarity smiles at her, but Velvet thinks that the corner of her mouth seems to curve a bit too much. “Shall we?”

Velvet simply nodded, not wanting to waste any more time. She wordlessly follows Rarity as she moves along the main street towards the… gate? The unicorn is actually going to take her away from the city.

“Vait, are we leaving ze city?” Velvet questions. She didn’t expect this…

“Just on the outskirts of Canterlot, darling.” Rarity replied.

A slight uneasiness is felt by the champion. Like almost all of the reindeers, she’s born and raised inside Reine, a walled big city. The last time she stepped out from the city walls, vicious predators attacked her. She and most of the kind does not really go well with anything outside the walls of civilization, as they put it. Though Velvet had experienced life outside probably more than any other reindeer, it still worries her slightly. Rarity did not wait for her as the unicorn went outside. Before she does the same, Velvet turns to her winter sprites that have been silently following her.

“Get me something to drink, and make sure nothing outside soils my appearance!”

Thankfully there’s still a small path outside leading to an area that’s a bit far from the walls of Canterlot. It’s an open grassy field with a cyan tent near some trees with a cart in front of it. However, what catches Velvet’s eye the most is a rather large hole that seems to lead into an underground tunnel.

“Vat is this place?” The reindeer asked. Rarity turns around to face the Champion of the Tundra.

“Showing you something that you cannot see if you’re only using your eyes..” Rarity starts to speak, her tone sounding more serious.

“Vatever does that mean?” Velvet feels like something is afoot, keeping a close eye on Rarity as she takes off her brown coat before putting them somewhere into the tent with her levitation magic.

“I know you’re a champion, so forgive my words, but…” Rarity turns to face Velvet, speaking her mind. “I don’t think Canterlot nobles think highly of themselves as highly as you did to yourself.”

Her tone is calm, but that was certainly a jab. Not that Velvet felt it though. What if she is? Her history proves it all. She’s the daughter of Jarl Stronghoof Hoofstrong, the one who earns the title “Champion of the Tundra” after winning against hundreds of other reindeers, and she saved the world from the predators alongside the other champions! She deserves to be treated in a high regard.

“Enh.” The reindeer waves her hoof in a dismissive manner, looking away. “Vat is your point? I am simply ze best in everyzing. All of Foenum knows that.”

“I don’t know how things work in Foenum, but this is Equestria, darling. The pride that you have in yourself is unheard of! Not even that prince I met in the gala can compare.” Rarity said, chastising the reindeer by poking her chest, including her floof. Velvet wasn’t looking at Rarity, so she didn’t see that coming, surprising her.

“Hooves off!” The reindeer slaps Rarity’s hooves away. Now she got her attention. “How dare you touch my floof without permission!”

“Hmph, I may be a fashionista, but I know the times when appearance isn’t everything! Don’t try to change the subject!”

Rarity and Velvet are now staring at each other's eyes aggressively. It seems even though both females are known to be civilized and lady-like by themselves, this situation throws some of their manners out of the window.

“Vatch your tone ven you talk to ze Champion of ze Tundra! I don’t appreciate that!” Velvet snaps back. Surprisingly, Rarity shows a smirk.

“Champion… then I suppose if you won’t listen to my words alone, perhaps you will listen over a match.” Rarity said, subtly challenging Velvet. “It’s only fair if we settle this in a way that we both do best, won’t you say?”

Both? Hmph, all Velvet sees in front of her is a simple fashionista who, although she definitely has the looks, someone who would never match her in a duel! Well, she’s the one that challenges her, thus, her loss.

“Heh, alzough I agree wholeheartedly, just admitting that I am ze superior one will save us much trouble.” Velvet’s anger got doused down with a new wave of arrogance. “But if you insist…”

On cue, one of the winter sprites that has been following Velvet sprinkles some of the golden oats on her, something that the reindeer must do. Velvet bends her forelegs while she takes a deep breath, forming a sheet of ice from her hooves that starts to spread under her. Showing her expertise on ice magic, the champion whips her head up, making sharp icicles to erupt around her as she points at her upstart challenger.

“En garde!”

As ready as she is to deliver a humiliating defeat on Rarity, Velvet is not without honor. She waited for a cue from Rarity until she’s ready. Curiously, the unicorn levitates a rather long piece of silk, perhaps a scarf. Really? Is that her weapon? A flimsy piece of cloth? She’ll easily cut it along with the fashionista’s hope of ever winning!

“Then, it is on!”

Rarity wraps the silk with her magic and whips it forward like a whip. Velvet, already seeing it coming, dodges pretty easily. The champion’s finesse allows her to keep avoiding Rarity’s weapon almost effortlessly, as if she’s doing a dancing performance. Six attacks from Rarity, and six of them missed.

“I’ll admit, you truly know how to move gracefully.” Rarity commented, rolling the silk with her magic to turn it into a cylindrical shape to swing it, but Velvet simply ducks under it.

“Do you expect anything else? I am perfection incarnate!” Velvet declares. As Rarity misses another attack, her hoof moves in an outward arc, summoning a fist of an ice sculpture to from just under Rarity. Luckily, the unicorn barely dodges the attack by throwing her head back, forcing her to do a backflip to return to her stance.

“I may be a fashionista, darling… but perfection is an impossibility.” Rarity then does a spin, pulling out a prism shaped gem from the ground, much to Velvet’s surprise. As it flew towards her, the reindeer managed to form a barrier of ice, making the gem pierce it halfway, millimeters from Velvet’s nose. So, this pony can fight, eh?

Desummoning her magical barrier and watching the crystal fall to the ground, turns out Rarity can call more gems from underground. Three of them line up by her side before it takes off towards the reindeer’s direction. Velvet leaps to the air to avoid it, creating an icicle that launches at her opponent like a missile. Rarity managed to dodge it easily.

“Zen I vill be ze living proof zat will contradict zose words!” Planting her hoof firmly, a long horizontal pillar of ice shoots parallel to the ground. Rarity took note of the champion’s movements, and jumps over it. However, to her surprise, as Velvet starts spinning, a strong wind seemingly out of nowhere blows the unicorn closer to her opponent. Seeing how Rarity is surprised, Velvet jumps to meet her, her hoof already grabbing the fashionista… Until a sudden flash of light blinds Velvet, allowing Rarity to escape her grab and land on her hooves, around the same time Velvet does the same.

“I do not buy it, dear.” Rarity whips her silk to the side threateningly. “Tell me, have you never lost a fight before?”

That… well, as Velvet ponders about it, she jumps back when she sees Rarity run up to her. When Rarity’s initial right hook misses, Velvet tries to counter attack with a punch, forming pointy icicles next to her hoof, but Rarity ducked under it. As Rarity swings her roll of silk upwards, Velvet dodges it with a flip, at the same time forming a big icicle over her to crash it down. Much to her surprise, Rarity managed to roll to the side in time.

“Hmph, admittedly zat is one zing I dislike, a mark on my records.” Velvet admitted. She remembers how she lost to Arizona in front of a lot of reindeers in Reine… how embarrassing.

“Then you would agree that no one is perfect, darling, not even both of us.” Rarity said. Velvet is a bit torn as she heard that. The usual part of her really wants to prove Rarity wrong at all costs, she is perfect! But… ever since she saved Foenum together with the other champions, deep inside she admits there is a truth to it. It’s not only how she had lost before, what about the strength tests during the Reine tournament before she was chosen champion? She only passed because she exploits the fact that technically there’s no failing the test. They never mentioned the minimum amount of logs she needed to pull on the sleigh.

“I will at least try. Just accepting it like zat sounds like admitting defeat! And zat, is something I’ll never do easily!” Velvet’s horns glows and sparkle, summoning a line of icicles in front of her hooves as it grows towards Rarity.

“That is fine by me!” Rarity counters with a similar move of her own, making sharp crystals to erupt from the ground to clash with Velvet’s ice. The attacks collided and caused a loud shattering noise. Even then it doesn’t stop the fight as icicles fly towards the unicorn, and crystals fly towards the reindeer.

They’re no longer sure of the time, the fight went on forever, and the landscape is living proof of the intense duel. Holes were formed from the ground whenever a crystal flies from underground, and some icicles are impaled all over the ground. Not to mention the tiny fragments of them when they’re used as projectiles, shot down before they can reach their target, or at least try to.

Rarity and Velvet are panting, greatly worn out from their fight. The reindeer’s coat starts to get damp from sweat, the heat getting to her. Rarity’s own mane and coat got pretty messy, especially when the former have frays all over. She's going to need a whole day to fix that.

Yet, through all that, as impressive if not downright miraculously, neither of them ever got hit. Velvet’s graceful moments and her ability to manipulate wind makes it impossible for Rarity to hit her, even her crystals were blown off it’s mark or clashes with an icicle. At the same time, Rarity can twirl out of any attacks that come her way, calling on her gems to shatter any coming projectiles, or using her silk to block physical strikes. It’s at this moment that Velvet questions the point of them fighting. As much as she hates to admit it, she’s not making any progress.

“Truly… you deserve… being called a champion… at least.” Rarity said between her breaths.

“”Hmph, you dare… doubt me?” Velvet straightens her posture. “Zough I admit… you are not a… simple… pony.”

“I suppose… we’re at an impasse... “ Rarity tried to do the same. “Shall we parley… for this time being?”

Velvet is a bit irritated that she can’t win, but technically she never got hit, so it’s a… win for her? If there’s a hollow victory for her, this feels even more hollow.

“A-Agreed.” Velvet looks away. “I am still… ze best, though… you are just… close. Closer than anyone…”

Though Velvet would fight for glory and further cementing her name with her champion title, probably something she picked up from her father, she knows when to stop, something she learned in her journey. The match against Rarity is really indecisive, she’ll only tire herself out if she keeps going. The unicorn seems to come to the same conclusion too.

“I’ll concede… D-Defeating you… isn’t my i-intention anyway.” Rarity said as she levitates a comb to make her mane a little bit more presentable. However, what she just said seems interesting to Velvet.

“Ex… Excuse me?” Velvet raised a brow. “You’re saying… zat was… for nothing?”

“Not really… That would be foolish of me… wouldn’t it?” Rarity said, slowly catching her breath. Hmph, foolish? It does feel that all Rarity’s been doing so far seems to be just beating around the bush, but now that the fight has ended, for some reason the reindeer feels like she understands the unicorn just a bit more.

“I admit, a fight is not what I… prefer as a solution, but at times I had my hoof forced to do it, like when… the Changelings invade.” Rarity said. “Same for you, darling.”

“Vat? Are you saying… I’m zis… changeling?” Velvet questions.

“Oh no, of course not…” Rarity walks closer to the reindeer. “You are much more sophisticated than… those things. Certainly not after conquering Equestria too.”

Conquering Equestria? The reindeer might have that kind of secret desire, to be the head of state that’s greatly admired upon. In turn, she would make her realm to be the most beautiful place to behold. Though, come to think of it, it probably comes with too much work for her to handle.

“It’s just so… you would listen.” Rarity smirks. “I need to gain your… respect first, and a battle is the answer… where both of us… do one of the things we do best.”

“...So both of us know vat… each other is like.” Velvet said, before smiling. “Admirable strategy.”

It’s messy, but it was how she got to know her fellow champions as well. Though she couldn’t care less, some did say she’s just a spoiled girl that doesn’t know how to show respect. The only way anyone can gain her recognition is to best the reindeer in combat, no matter how hard it is for her to admit she has lost back then.

“Hmph, fine. You have gained my interest.” The champion said. “You said you brought me here to show me… something, vat is it?”

Now that Rarity has gained Velvet’s attention, she reveals her original plan. The unicorn levitates two mining helmets for herself and one for the reindeer.

“I was going to show you that what I’ve earned, beauty and my career as a fashionista, does come with a little… dirty work.” The unicorn smirks. “We are going into a mine, filled with gems and crystals, to gather them. I expect it will be quite a challenge for someone that thinks their appearance really matters, even more then how I see mine.”

The unicorn did plan to drag Velvet outside her comfort zone so that she would appreciate getting her hooves dirty. It would've shown the reindeer a lesson, that one have to work hard and dirty to achieve success. However, much to Rarity’s surprise, Velvet signals her sprites to put the helmet on her head.

“Hmph, you zink I’m afraid to go into a cave?” Velvet smirks. It’s true that she’s a bit reluctant to go anywhere without a proper stone path under her hooves, but mines? She has dealt with that plenty of times. Cashmere may be a bit annoying with her request for salt, but Velvet would still give her cousin a helping hoof if she needs it. Plus, they don’t have to enter through a dark portal to reach this one, so it should be safe from predators.

“Well, I’ll be.” Rarity smiles, glad that this is easier than she thought.

“I prefer my floof to be intact and beautiful, but some dust von’t kill me. Zat vill not me ze best miner to ever live.” Velvet said, brushing her floof, much to Rarity’s amusement.

“Then, show me what you can do, Miss best miner.”

Thus, Velvet and Rarity learned to respect each other. The reindeer is definitely surprised that there’s someone out there that can be a match for her other than her fellow champions. Even as prideful and arrogant she is, she knows to take someone seriously if they have the skills to back up their words, this at least she knows.

Still, she wonders if Rarity will allow her to… model for her a bit. How great would it be if Velvet, the Champion of the Tundra from Foenum, have her name widely known across Equestria?

Author's Note:

Gosh, I'm not gonna lie, this is SO hard to make, I'm not sure I wrote this one that well to be honest .

Anyway, I kinda have to cheese to make Velvet not as... immature as she is, or else this all would have went nowhere. She's my favorite out of the champions, but writing her chapter is so hard. Thankfully Rarity feels like a much more mature version of Velvet

Comments

[NinjaMare]

interesting. I knew Velvet would be difficult to deal with, but I didn't think Rarity would go through all that. but in the end, nice chapter. still waiting to see Twilight and Oleander have their turn.

[Comickook]

Excellent job on the exchanges, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up in all the right places. I definitely loved Sassy's (lack of) reaction to Velvet's arrival at the shop as well as Rarity's attempts to maintain a friendly conversation with Velvet. I felt bad for Coco considering she showed up at the wrong moment, but I DO appreciate how it added to how Velvet was rubbing Rarity the wrong way. Glad to see Rarity and Velvet getting in some evenly matched sparring before Velvet agreed to accompany Rarity on a trip into the mines. All in all, really good way of showing both their differences AND their similarities.

VERY certainly looking forward to more of this.

[FleetlordAvatar]

FInally got around to reading this, was not dissappointed.

[StatiZkyZ]

10530536
Well, originally no, but the champions are from a fighting game, so I gotta put something to make it interesting~
I can say that I already got Pinkie's chapter down, just need to finish writing it, which is admittedly a tricky thing to do

[StatiZkyZ]

10530803
You'll have to wait
Unfortunately I can't guarantee when I'll publish it, but it's coming~

[StatiZkyZ]

10576204
Oh, I really hope so too. Unfortunately my dying keyboard slows by writing to an almost complete stop, but I will try my best

[Truthseeker]

You did a good job. Velvet is the one character that I honestly hate, and I do mean hate. She has not a single positive personality trait.

[uis]

Is she the only one keeping up with the popular trend

Yes, she is the only one with mental disorders