A Crystal Clear Economic Forecast
Thinking back, it had all begun during a slumber party about a week after resolving Fluttershy's misadventure in the park. It was the first one the girls had been able to have with both Twilights, the universe stable enough at that point to accommodate the princess as a unicorn aspect. But that didn't mean that she could spend that much time in a casual setting with her human counterpart without the two of them drowning the room in awkwardness. That was where Pinkie Pie came in; she had been able to keep the momentum going until the two Twilights grew comfortable enough around each other to relax.
Whether that was preferable to the alternative...
"And so I said," said a beaming human Twilight, "'In that frame of reference, the parhelion of Hermes would have processed in the opposite direction!'"
The princess laughed until she fell back onto Fluttershy's mattress. Sunset and Pinkie snickered. Applejack leaned in close to Rarity and whispered, "Wuzzat mean?"
"I haven't the foggiest. I do love our friends, but they can be such..." Rarity tried to find an elegant way of expressing her thoughts and, failing to do so, said, "Such nerds sometimes."
Then Rainbow Dash spoke up. "So, uh, Twilight."
"Yes?" both said, which thankfully lead to giggles rather than awkward silence this time.
Dash rolled her eyes. "Fine, P-Twilight. You're friends with our pony versions, right?"
"From her perspective," said the local Twilight, "We're her friends' human versions."
"I like to think I'm friends with all of you, regardless of species," said the princess, "and that includes you, H-Twilight. I'm even trying to extend that attitude in Equestria. I've reached out to the yaks—"
"Yeah, yeah, horse politics," Dash said with another eyeroll. "What's pony-me like?"
The others paused in their activities and looked over. "My pony self was amazing," said Fluttershy. "She was so wise and confident and beautiful... I don't know how she did it."
"P-Fluttershy loved visiting this world," the princess said with a smile. "She's not exactly the most outgoing pony back home, but she's been gushing about humans since she came back. She... honestly gets along a lot better with creatures who aren't ponies." She paused and frowned. "Which actually explains a lot about her and Discord."
Rarity brought a hand to her lips. "Oh my. How scandalous. Do go on."
"He's... so much older," Fluttershy said, flushing bright red.
"What?" The princess shook her head a moment later. "No, no, ew, no! Nothing like that. I just meant that for a while, she was just about the only creature in the world who could even tolerate him."
That got a relieved sigh. "Oh. Alright then. I did enjoy Mr. Discord's class—"
P-Twilight shuddered. "Don't think I'll ever get used to that idea."
"But romantically..." Fluttershy shook her head. "He could be my grandfather."
"Technically speaking," said H-Twilight, "he kind of is my grandfather after the wedding."
Her counterpart turned to face her so slowly, Rarity could almost hear the squeaking axles. "I'm going to have to come back to that when I'm not silently screaming in horror at the idea."
A sharp whistle brought the Twilights' attention back to Rainbow Dash. "Hey, eggheads. Still waiting on pony-me. I know she's awesome, but how awesome?"
"If she hadn't broken the sound barrier when she was a filly, the world would have been doomed."
Sunset grimaced and put a hand to her stomach. "And it technically was a few times, depending on how you count it."
The princess pouted. "Starlight's making up for that."
"Get back to me when she stops treating mind control as the first solution to her problems." Sunset directed a sharp look at Applejack. "And yes, I recognize the irony of that statement. I dropped the memetic block weeks ago, like I said I would."
Applejack just shrugged. "Wasn't gonna say nothin'." Still, Rarity could see just a hint of tension fade from her expression.
"Dashie?" Pinkie's voice made Rarity turn to her, letting her see the pink girl press her poof against a shellshocked-looking Rainbow Dash. "You okay?"
"Honestly? Kinda starstruck. I thought inspiring all our icons at that soccer game was cool, but I never broke the sound barrier." After a moment, Dash added, "Not yet, anyway."
"That does line up with the pony Rainbow's first rainboom," said P-Twilight. She saw Dash's look of building confusion and added, "The magical phenomenon, not your band. She also got us all our cutie marks in the process."
"Huh. Not a perfect parallel then, given my..." H-Twilight froze. "Wait. Which soccer game?"
"My very first one in freshman year," Dash said proudly, chin up and arms crossed.
"Oh." H-Twilight sprang up from her Sunset-cuddling spot on the floor and began to pace. "Oh my goodness."
The others shared confused looks. "Twilight?" said Sunset.
"In exchange for being his personal protege, Mr. Discord basically made me go to Crystal Prep's first soccer game that year. He called it a vaccination against school spirit. We played the Wondercolts and managed to lose."
Dash crossed her arms. "Really?"
H-Twilight kept going, showing no signs of even hearing her. "Seeing the way you all rallied together, allegedly weak components coming together in a synergistic model whose emergent properties trounced the opposition's technically superior but isolated elements..." Her eyes began to glow, and a hint of light peeked out through her pajama bottoms at her hips. "It made me fully appreciate how there are no foregone conclusions, everything has to be tested and verified and understood and appreciated as part of the whole because everything affects everything else just like how the shockwave from an ancient nova collapsed a dust cloud into our very solar system and, and, and..." The light flared to almost blinding intensity for a moment before her eyes rolled back and an aura of golden light caught her limp body.
P-Twilight watched as Sunset gently set her counterpart on the mattress next to her. "Is... is that normal in this world?"
Rarity shook her head. "Knowing I had found my icon filled me with a warmth down to my soul, but I never passed out."
"None of us did," said Dash. "Rarity's dad drove us to the temple after the game. We all just felt it was time."
"Ain't like that these days, goin' by what Apple Bloom told me, but it still ain't nowhere near that dramatic." Applejack scratched the back of her head. "I reckon that's jus' Twilight. No offense, Princess."
"Um, none taken?" P-Twilight hadn't looked away from her own passed-out face. "I'm still trying to process what just happened."
Sunset gave a lopsided grin as she stroked her girlfriend's hair. "She... kind of accidentally communed with her higher self. Instead of a bit of Magic going down, Twilight went up. Speaking from experience, it'll take a bit for her to remember where she left her physical body after she recognized that friendship epiphany for what it was." After a sigh, she added, "Have I apologized for breaking you girls up lately?"
Pinkie peeked over the edge of the bed and poked H-Twilight, who gave a dopey grin. "Well, if Huhtwilight's still blissed out on the universe, I'll say it: Quarter in the guilt jar."
"Fair."
"Guilt jar?" said P-Twilight.
Sunset rolled her eyes. "I've apologized for what I did before the Fall Formal so often that every time I do it now, I have to put a quarter in the jar."
"We haven't decided what she's saving up for," added Fluttershy, "but we'll think of something."
Applejack gave Rarity a sidelong glance. "We're also thinkin' about a darlin' jar.'"
"Correction: You are thinking about such a thing. It is a harmless verbal tic and I can avoid using it any time I wish, dar—" Rarity all but bit her tongue. "That proves nothing."
"Sure it don't."
"Bold talk from someone who maintains her own affectations after her family has lived in Califoalnia for three generations. I may as well make you start contributing to a Southernism jar."
Applejack just smirked that delightfully insouciant smirk of hers, damn her eyes. "Yer welcome t' try. 'Bout as likely t' happen as a catfish runnin' a marathon."
"You made that up on the spot."
That just made Applejack tilt her hat to an even more smug angle. "Prove it."
It took everything Rarity had not to do something terribly unladylike. She wasn't sure if it was punching or kissing that smirk off of that freckled face, but either way, she didn't want to do it in front of the present company.
As her self-control reached its limit, Pinkie piped up with "What about the other pony us-es?"
It was just the subject change Rarity needed. She flashed a brilliant smile at the princess. "Yes, what of pony Rarity? What fabulosity has she wrought upon your world?"
"Hang on, they're ponies, right?" said Applejack. "An' not like people with horse heads, but no thumbs, fur coats, walkin' on all fours ponies."
"Well, they're still people," said Sunset, "but the rest is accurate." In a golden flash she transformed into a unicorn with the proportions of a plush toy. Fluttershy scooped her up for cuddles without even seeming to register the action. "Thumbs are overrated anyway."
Applejack nodded, a hand on her chin. "Do they even usually wear clothes?"
"Of course they do! Any civilized creature would..." Rarity trailed off as she registered the nervous looks on both Equestrians. And how Sunset wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing in her pony form. "Twilight, Sunset, do you have something to add?"
The princess cleared her throat. "We, uh, don't usually wear clothes."
Rarity just stared at them for a few moments, at least until the edges of her vision went back to normal. "What."
"Well, like Applejack said, most ponies are fine in their coats." Sunset waggled her rump in what might have been an indecent display from something less cute. "Plus, cutie marks have always been right there for everyone to see. Covering your flanks is seen as being ashamed of who you are, if not deliberately hiding your identity."
"But P-Rarity is still an incredible fashionista!" added Twilight. "We certainly have clothing, it's just more of a luxury item."
"Ah." Rarity let herself breathe again. There was hope. "I see. And how is her boutique doing?"
Twilight beamed. "Oh, fantastically! She's actually opened a second one in Canterlot!"
"Nice!" said Sunset.
The others were more confused than impressed. "Aren't we in Canterlot?" said Dash, who'd been consuming a ludicrous quantity of pizza during the earlier conversation.
Sunset shook her head. "Equestria's Canterlot is the capital of the nation, atop a mountain in the center of it." Her adorable little horn lit up, and an illusion of a fairy tale castle writ large appeared in the center of the room. "Ridiculously prestigious."
"And she's scouting out a location in Manehattan as well," added Twilight.
Pinkie hopped up, fists in the air. "Woohoo! Yay Prarity!"
"Three stores... and one in Manehattan..." Rarity didn't understand why she was getting lightheaded. She was breathing. Harmony knew she was breathing.
Applejack's hand on her shoulder helped calm her down. "Easy there. Don't need more folks faintin'."
"Yeah," said Pinkie. "Who sleeps at a slumber party?"
"Gah!" H-Twilight bolted up, her eyes still sparkling with distant stars. She gave a dreamy smile, floated Sunset out of Fluttershy's lap and into her own, and burbled, "I love all of you."
"We love you too, Twi," Sunset said, smiling up at her. "Welcome back."
"Ooh! Ooh! What about me? What about me?" cried Pinkie, going nose to nose with a visibly discomforted P-Twilight.
Sunset rolled her eyes. "Pinkie, you're right there."
"Gasp!" Pinkie didn't gasp. She actually said the word. "How did you know!?"
"For one, now that I'm aware of the tangible, magical bond between my Bearers and me, I can tell there isn't one between the two of us."
"Also," said Fluttershy, "you've been wearing a shirt that says 'I'm the pony Pinkie' and a picture of yourself this whole time."
"Wait, what?" Pinkie looked down and met her own smiling, equine face. She shook her fist at the universe in general. "Laughter powers, you have betrayed me!"
Ironically, everyone laughed at that, the apparently Equestrian Pinkie included. But Rarity sank back into silence a few moments later, still contemplating her own counterpart.
The work room of the Carousel Boutique held little of the glamor of the shop floor. Not none; it was still an establishment run by a Rarity, after all. But the raw materials of fashion lay exposed like Frankenstag's creation mid-assembly.
"No. No. NO!"
And as Rarity tore out yet another unworkable concept out of her sketchpad, she found herself wishing she could exile the lot to the Arctic.
"Honestly, all I ask for in life is one idea. One halfway decent idea." She wasn't sure who she was talking to. Harmony? Sunset? The nameless gods of fashion who, given the world's track record, may well show up for fittings next week? Rarity groaned and leaned back in her chair, her spine making her all too aware of how long she'd spent hunched over her latest failure. "But no, my muse has decided that she'd rather be at the beach. Never mind that I have yet to devise any sort of flattering swimwear that doesn't address the issue of icons peaking out from underneath at the end of August!"
"Uh, Rarity?"
"WHAT!?" A moment's pause made her realize Lily Lace had fallen to her knees. Right. Rarity was the nameless god of fashion herself, wasn't she? To an extent, anyway, enough that the poor sophomores who'd been lending her a hand viewed her with an almost religious awe, especially when she was radiating enough magic to make her hair dance in an unfelt breeze. No doubt her eyes and headgem were glowing a furious amethyst as well.
After a moment to collect herself, Rarity offered a sheepish smile. "I do beg your pardon, Lily. Just a bit of a creative block." Rarity followed the other girl's gaze to see the foot-long force needle pinning the crumpled sketch to the wall. "... More than a bit if I'm being honest."
Lily got her pale pink tresses out of her eyes with hands and magic both as she got to her feet. "Yeah, we all kinda noticed? You're lit'rally shouting loud enough that everyone on the sales floor can hear you."
"Oh." A pit developed in Rarity's stomach. "When you say that, do you mean figuratively literal, or literally literal?"
"There's a diff?"
Inky Rose just poked her head into the room above Lily—"aloft on wings of darkness," as she liked to put it during her rare talkative moods—and gave Rarity a silent, chastising look that Fluttershy would be proud to call her own.
It was certainly enough to elicit a wince. "Ah. Literally literal. I do hope I haven't chased anyone off."
"The tremors didn't help," Inky droned. "Neither did Starstreak blocking the door."
"He what!?" Rarity rushed for the doorway to the storefront.
Lily stayed in her path. "Um, Rarity? Boss lady? Before we get to that, can I be, like, totally honest with you?"
"I should hope so."
"You are lit'rally going to kill someone if you don't get a vacation. Like, a real vacation. Not yelling at a sketchpad in the back room."
Rarity glanced back at the pad in question. The needle construct still hadn't faded away. "I fear you are correct. And I'm not sure how literally correct you will be if I don't take your advice."
"I'm going back out," said Inky. "Save Starstreak."
A worryingly familiar scream came from the far end of the building. Inky left before Rarity could add anything more.
"Okay, so, Rares?"
Rarity was hardly one to demand total deference from a girl scarcely a year younger than her, but there were limits. "Lily, there is only one woman who may call me that, and you are not her."
"Sorry. So, like, what's your deal? You've been kinda off for a few weeks now."
That got a sigh. Rarity had brought on the three sophomores because they were all promising designers, and that meant that sometimes they were more perceptive than she wanted. "My 'deal,' as it were, is that I heard about how much farther along my Equestrian counterpart is in making a name for herself in the fashion world, and I cannot help but compare myself to her. She's already expanded, and she's planning a third store on top of that. In Manehattan!"
And Lily, bless her heart, simply shrugged. "So, like, go see her? Get some tips from another you?"
Rarity gave an indulgent little laugh at that. "Oh, Lily, you precious thing, that..." She knew there was an obvious reason why that wouldn't work. But after a few moments, she found she couldn't actually think of it. "My word, that's brilliant."
"Hey, you're lit'rally made of good ideas." Lily beamed. "Imagine what she's like."
"Give me a bit of time and I won't need to."
Inky drifted in like a dark cloud. "We're going to need the first aid kit again."
"It's in the usual place," Rarity said off-handedly, already composing a text message to Sunset. Yes, prayer was technically an option, but it was ever so gauche, and keeping Sunset in a good mood would improve the odds of her agreeing to this.
In an increasingly frequent moment of serendipity, she vanished from the room in a burst of golden light before she could even send the text.
Rarity's first impression when she blipped back into reality was a wall of sound the likes of which she hadn't heard since the sirens hijacked the Musical Showcase; so many people trying to shout over each other that it all melded together into an incomprehensible mash of noise. Once she blinked the spots out of her eyes, she saw she was in the warm, sun icon-slathered main hall of the local Church of the Divine Bacon Horse. Indeed, she'd come in right next to the pulpit, where Sunset and Pope Ruby Rose stood glancing between her and the near-riot in the pews.
"Well,' she said as she put away her phone, having to half-shout herself to break through the background noise. "This is timely." Sunset gestured, and that noise fell to a dull murmur. "Thank you. I must say, protest signs indoors seem a bit gauche. Dare I ask what's going on?"
"Just a bit of a doctrinal dispute," said Ruby, her shaky grin belying her calm facade. "A relatively minor matter of faith, but what that the congregation feels very passionate about, as you can see."
"They're trying to decide if I'm yellow or orange," Sunset said flatly.
"Is this anything like that Saffron/Scarlet dispute a few months back?"
"No, that was about my cutie— my icon. This is about my skin tone." Sunset rolled her eyes. "Totally different. I called you in since you have the best eye for color of anyone I know and, well..." She looked at her own arm, discomfort spreading across her features. "Now that they've raised the question, I'm actually not sure."
"I see. As I said, this is actually quite fortuitous; I was about to get in touch with you. But for now, Pope Rose, may I?" Rarity nodded towards the pulpit.
Ruby nodded, looking much happier at the prospect. "It's always open to one of the First-Blessed."
"Thank you. Sunset, if you would?" The noise filter dropped and the crowd roared like an approaching tsunami. But Rarity maintained her poise. She tapped the microphone and said, "Could I have your attention, everyone?"
One or two may have glanced in her direction, but most of the horde kept shouting at one another.
Rarity scowled and clapped right next to the microphone. Even Sunset flinched after that. Still, it quieted the masses. "Thank you. Now, I understand this is all over my friend's skin tone, yes?"
A man from the left side of the room stepped forward and cried, "The Glorious Proclaimer is yellow as the light of hope!"
"Heretic!" said another fellow from the right side, who could have been the first speaker's twin. "The Wellspring of Sanity is orange as the fortifying power of forgiveness!"
"Oh, I'll show you forgiveness—"
"Yes, yes, praise Sunset," Rarity said before anyone shed blood over the girl's mercy and munificence. "I am here to tell you are both wrong."
That got quite a few confused murmurs and uncertain looks. Rarity had no doubt that if she weren't a close, personal friend of the congregation's goddess, they'd be united in calling for her blood. She didn't let them dangle for any longer than necessary. "Speaking as someone who has crafted many an outfit to complement the complexion in question, I can say with confidence that Sunset is amber. Which, for those in the group with a less intimate relationship with the color wheel, is almost perfectly between the two choices."
"Of course! Amber!" said a beaming girl. "A symbol of timeless preservation! The perfect balance between the two extremes, as She is in all things! Praise!"
"Praise!" came the response, followed by several dozen attempts at religious horse noises.
"Great," Sunset muttered. "They're back to being a background nuisance."
"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic."
"I can't tell if I'm being sarcastic." Sunset took a deep breath. "You said you needed to get into Equestria?"
"'Need' might be a strong word, but my employees all feel I'm overdue for a vacation. Something to clear my head." Rarity sighed. "And ever since we had the princess over for that slumber party, I can't stop thinking about my pony self and how much further along she's gotten her fashion empire."
Sunset nodded and held out her hands. Her journal manifested in them. "I'll get in touch with her. I'll let you know when the portal opens. Tonight good for you?"
"Make it tomorrow, so I can make some arrangements. And thank you ever so."
"Hey, you've just got to ask." Sunset's smile grew lopsided. "And, you know, make sure we don't overdo it in any given time span."
"So that's a no on a mass pilgrimage to your homeland?" said a pouting Ruby.
"That is a definite no."
Travel to and through the portal was no major issue. Disorienting, yes, but not inconvenient. Rarity didn't even need to adapt to losing her fingers or having an extra pair of legs, as she was technically pony enough to come through unchanged.
She still hadn't expected to emerge in what was clearly Twilight's concept of paradise, between the copious bookshelves and potent magic thrumming against her headgem. The only element missing was a computer with a cooling system that outweighed the rest of it. "My word."
"You get used to it after a while," said Princess Twilight, who struck an admirable balance between regal, approachable, and adorable in her natural form. She sighed. "I do still miss my old place."
"The library in a living tree?" Rarity couldn't help but smile. It was taking everything she had not to scratch the ruler of a foreign nation behind the ears. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you stepped out of a storybook. Though I suppose it's more accurate to say I've stepped into one."
"As far as I'm concerned, you just stepped out of a thaumic fiction novel. Thanks again for helping me connect with my counterpart." Twilight's smile grew into an eager grin, a touch worrisome in its familiarity. "We have some very promising plans for technological exchanges."
Still, Rarity was hardly one to express such trifling concerns to such a gracious hostess. "Pish-tosh. That was largely the Pinkies. Thank you for humoring a girl's silly request."
"As soon as I told P-Rarity you wanted to talk to her, she insisted we make this happen as soon as possible." Twilight bit her lip as she looked over Rarity. "Though I will have to teleport you to the Boutique. We're not ready for humans to be widespread knowledge quite yet."
"I suppose I am something of an exotic visitor from foreign lands. Still, it won't be the first time someone's teleported me in the last twenty-four hours. Whenever you're—" A heliotrope flash flooded Rarity's vision, leaving her blinking spots out of her eyes. "... Ready?"
"Well. I have to say," said a familiar voice, "I know I have a tendency to be beside myself, but this is a bit much."
Rarity's vision cleared. The room was largely the same as the back of her own shop, save for some details like differently shaped mannequins and a more pastel color scheme. Then she turned her attention to the speaker. Her first impression was a squeezable, horse-shaped marshmallow with an impeccably coifed mane and tail. Then she got a good look at her counterpart's eyes and saw the confident, calculating look that had been missing from her own reflection for the past several days. "Ah." She cleared her throat. "I hadn't expected Twilight to be quite that direct. I do hope I'm not intruding."
"Oh, anything but! If I had a tenth-bit for every time I wished I could go back and give my younger self advice..." The mare trailed off, then fixed her human analogue with a hard stare. Rarity felt a sudden pang of sympathy for her friends. "Saddles with tack will never be more than a fleeting trend. Don't bother with them."
A number of questions came to mind, but the most pressing one was obvious. "You... actually wear saddles?"
"Only for a few months every decade," P-Rarity muttered.
"I mean this in the least offensive sense I can, but..." Rarity cleared her throat. "Who's riding you?"
The two stared at one another in mutual incomprehension for a few moments before P-Rarity said, "I suppose I'm going to have to account for more differences between us than just age."
"Rather, yes."
The smile Rarity slapped on to cover up awkwardness looked quite similar on an equine muzzle. "So, before I embarrass myself further, what does bring you to Equestria? I fear I never asked after any of the specifics."
"Well, I heard of your bustling fashion empire."
"Oh, I'd hardly call it an empire," said P-Rarity, encouraging the girl to continue with every flutter of her lashes.
Rarity accommodated her. "Not only do you have a second shop in the capital of the country, you're scouting a location in Manehattan. If yours is anything like mine, you have unquestionably 'made it,' as they say."
"I suppose, yes." A titter broke through the facade of false modesty. "Honestly, just thinking of my personal brand being in Manehattan of all places makes me a little giddy." P-Rarity then proceeded to prance in place.
Rarity barely contained herself at the sight. It certainly helped keep her spirits up as her thoughts turned to herself. "Imagine how I feel. I'm barely holding up one store nestled between a yoga studio and a frozen yogurt shop."
Her analogue stopped and looked at her in... what was probably concern. Not every expression mapped well between their species. "Aren't you still in school?"
"I can manage the workload quite nicely, thank you." Rarity crossed her arms and gave an irritated sniff.
"Darling, I didn't doubt that for a second. It's just that I didn't open the Boutique until after graduation. I must say, you're not the only Rarity here who has reason to admire her counterpart."
That broke Rarity out of the snit as surely as an engraved apology. "You really think so?"
"Absolutely! Even putting aside your achievements in music—I've always been more partial to the guitar than the piano, myself—you're... Well..." P-Rarity's gaze turned to the floor as one hoof pawed at it.
Rarity crouched to get closer to her. "Yes? Anything I can help with?"
That coaxed out a wry grin. "I appreciate the offer, darling, but you definitely cannot. You see, I'm rather embarrassed to admit this, but you've actually had greater success than I in the field of romance."
"Really?" Rarity shifted to a sitting position. One could crouch for only so long. "What about your Applejack?"
P-Rarity hummed at that. "How long have you known yours?"
"Since kindergarten. We were inseparable for years, until Sunset..." Rarity shook her head. No need to dwell in the past. "In any case, we've forgiven her for that."
"I see. On this side of the mirror, we knew of each other for much longer than we really got to know one another. Familiarity without true knowledge bred contempt, and by the time we were forced together to prevent eternal night, our differences were..." P-Rarity hummed to herself. "Well, not irreconcilable, but certainly too much to allow for something like the two of you have. Besides, she and Rainbow Dash always seemed to have more to their rivalry in my eyes."
Rarity nodded. "I suspected the same, but after Sunset drove them apart as well... Well, none of us knew it was her at the time. I imagine it was shame as much as lingering resentment that kept them from making anything more of their relationship." She shrugged. "Or we're reading entirely too much into them."
"Maybe you are, darling," her counterpart said with a sly grin. "Still, it's amazing what little ripples can do. I have to wonder if our worlds will even remotely resemble one another in a generation's time."
"Well, if we increase traffic between them, I imagine a great deal of cultural exchange will take place. But in terms of counterparts..." After a moment of thought, Rarity had to shrug. "I honestly can't say. That sort of thing has always been Twilight and Sunset's wheelhouse, not mine."
P-Rarity nodded. "Indeed. Twilight can go on about the fabric of space and time, and here I am—"
"Wondering about the thread count."
The two shared a giggle, and Rarity felt the familiar, delightful warmth of friendship fill her soul.
A few moments later, she still felt the need to say, "But in all seriousness, how did you get where you are now? Is it really just a matter of time?"
P-Rarity shook her head. "Oh, would that it were that inevitable. If I'm being perfectly honest, I have benefited from quite a few lucky breaks. And Spike's connections in Canterlot didn't hurt either."
It took Rarity a few moments to process that enough to say "I have several questions."
"Well, you have some understanding of what Twilight Sparkle can be like before she meets us. As such, Spike was the one wheeling and dealing with the likes of Hoity Toity."
"Spike. The puppy." Rarity kept trying to picture him hobnobbing with a celebrity of Hoity Toity's magnitude and failing.
"The dragon, darling."
"Ah, yes, right. It's hard to imagine him as anything other than a cuddly little delight who balances nonhuman rights activism and chasing squirrels."
P-Rarity tittered discreetly behind a forehoof. "I really must visit your world some day. Twilight's stories can only tell me so much. Imagine, a whole world where creatures wear clothes all the time, and yet she barely notices the local fashions."
"You're always welcome." After a moment's thought, Rarity added, "Or so I assume. Best to check with Sunset first."
"Of course!" said P-Rarity. "I would never dream of barging into somepony else's universe uninvited."
Rarity opened her mouth. A sound came out. No amount of generosity, with or without the capital letter, could consider the sound words.
"Is something wrong?"
"Just reflecting on what life decisions I made that led me to hear a version of myself say that sentence."
"Ah yes." P-Rarity nodded. "I shan't lie, I have explored a number of brave new frontiers in the Equish language since Twilight came to town."
"I'm sure." Rarity shook her head and recentered herself as best she could. "Any other advice you can give me beyond networking and watching for opportunities?"
"Never take your friends for granted. I doubt you will, especially your Applejack, but they will be the foundation on which you can build an empire." P-Rarity smirked. "When they aren't driving you mad."
"Or vice versa."
That got a grin. "Well, you know how we can be. That goes without saying."
They shared another laugh, one interrupted by the familiar tinkle of the front door opening.
"Ah." P-Rarity looked to the door leading to the shop floor proper, then turned anxious eyes to her counterpart. "I do beg your pardon, darling, but I must ask you to stay in the back. Ponyville's gotten a touch more cosmopolitan since Twilight came to town, but I fear you'll still distract from the merchandise. No offense."
Rarity just tossed her hair and gave a winning smile. "I choose to interpret it as a compliment."
"Wonderful. Never lose that confidence." P-Rarity trotted out, the opening door offering Rarity a brief glance of equine fashions that made her long for uninterrupted hours of study. Everything in the back room was still in progress. The sheer quantity of gems she saw even from that brief glimpse...
She had to see more. She kept the door open a crack and peeked through, contemplating everything she could make out on the visible mannequin. (Ponnequin?)
"Hello!" said P-Rarity. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique, and magnifique."
Rarity couldn't help but smile at that. "Well, she's using the same slogan. That's certainly a promising sign."
A thump from the opposite end of the room made Rarity jump. Her reflexive telekinetic jerk would've slammed the door had it had more than an inch to move. She turned around, just in time for another thump to strike near another door.
Then came a third, more intelligible sound. "Rarity!"
"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity rushed to the door. Her sister or her counterpart's, she knew that distressed tone all too well. "Sweetie, are you— Oh Harmony."
If P-Rarity had been a huggable marshmallow of pony, P-Sweetie Belle was just asking to be the star of adorable cat videos. The greenish-gray slime matting her face and mane barely detracted from the sheer adorability. "Starlight Glimmer tried to show me a spell and now my mane's full of ectoplasm!" To say nothing of how her voice squeaked in her panic, something Rarity's own Sweetie Belle hardly ever did anymore.
"Oh, this is too precious." Rarity shook her head and reminded herself that the little delight was still a thinking being, and one in peril at that. "Come in, darling," she said, stepping out of the way. "We'll see what we can do."
"Oh good, I found the boutique this time." P-Sweetie's darling little eyes might have been glued shut, but those adorable ears still twitched and pivoted like little satellite dishes as she came in. She frowned up at Rarity and said, "Wait, how come you're so high up?"
Rarity gulped. She'd been so enraptured by the little cutie that she hadn't thought of an explanation. "Er, you see..."
"Queen Chrysalis!" P-Sweetie lowered her horn in Rarity's rough direction. "You won't get away with this!"
Rarity had no issues with the Wholesome in principle, but being compared to Chrysalis still threw her off. "I beg your pardon—"
"Beg all you want! I'll show you as much mercy as you showed my sister!" The little horn glowed with a wobbling, convulsing aura.
Rarity didn't need to be Twilight or Sunset to see how that would end. "Sweetie, no!"
What followed could only be properly captured by the word "splort."
As Rarity tried to get the slime out of her eyes, she heard her own voice, the tone somewhere between resigned and impressed. "I left for five minutes."
"Sweetie Belle."
"So I see."
"Rarity?" And there was the familiar sound of a Sweetie Belle who'd realized the error of her ways far too late. "Um... shouldn't you be in a pod?"
P-Rarity sighed. Something involving her horn happened—Rarity had enough experience with sensing magic to recognize that, if not any greater specifics—and soft terrycloth dabbed at the goo covering the human's face. "I had hoped Twilight would handle this little talk."
"Mom already signed that permission slip for Miss Cheerilee."
"No, my dear, the talk about the multiverse." The first thing Rarity could see once she could open her eyes again was her counterpart giving her a wry grin. The second thing she could see made her refocus on the first so she could ignore the blast zone for a little longer. "I don't suppose yours is any better?"
"Well, she's the incarnation of the future, but that doesn't stop her from showing a startling lack of foresight at times." Rarity looked down at her blouse and immediately wished she hadn't. "Does ectoplasm stain?"
"I fear we'll find out soon enough." P-Rarity sighed. "May I offer you a new outfit as an apology?"
"Only if you allow me to return the favor some day."
"I still don't understand what's going on," said Sweetie, who had wiped off most of her own ectoplasm by this point.
"We'll get to that in good time, Sweetie. For now, measurements!" P-Rarity pranced into the shop floor and locked the front door. "Oh, this will be a delight. Though I fear I'll need your assistance, H-Rarity. I do so little work with bipeds."
Rarity smiled despite the circumstances and followed her own lead. "Naturally."
That evening, Rarity emerged from the Wondercolt plinth, Sunset smiling and waiting as though she hadn't moved for most of the day. "Well?"
"It's a lovely place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." Rarity considered her new ensemble. "And sad to say, I may have to take a seam ripper to this lovely piece before I get mugged." She gave a twirl, appreciating the creation for what would likely be the last time. "The pony Rarity has no concept of a world where sapphires are actually worth something. Still, it's nice to see that her gilded statue in my mind still had feet of clay. Or hooves, as it were."
"Sounds like you had quite a time."
Rarity grinned at that. "That's putting mildly. Suffice to say, I went to Equestria with an idol. I left with a friend."
Sunset's smile widened. "Glad to hear it. We'll see about getting you two a pair of entangled journals. Really should've done that with all of you girls to begin with."
Months later...
It was rather unnerving to see the school late at night, or so Rarity thought. The building just didn't look right looking so... empty and void of light or electricity; that it was well after midnight and she was alone didn't help matters. She shivered as a light breeze blew by, surprisingly cool even after the heat of the day, and wrapped her jacket a bit tighter around her. She would rather have been at home, in her nice, comfortable, exquisitely designed bed, but she had something she needed to get done, and this was the only time that Sunset wouldn't notice what she was doing... hopefully.
The base of the school's statue suddenly glowed, and a figure staggered out of it.
She was a pale white unicorn aspect, with a spiky collage of hair in purple, green, and yellow, wearing what looked to be a leather jacket and a pair of shorts that were just shy of being risque. "Well, that was something." The unicorn aspect did her best to stand upright, and looked at Rarity. As the girl opened her mouth, the newcomer cut her off with, "Don't ask. It involved a mix-up with a pair of potions that I'm at least as much to blame for as anypony else."
"Oh, good," Rarity said. "I was afraid I had been seduced into a punk band."
"No, but I think I've managed to start a punk revival in Ponyville." Rarity's Equestrian counterpart chuckled a bit, reminiscing. "Anyway, we've gotten off track here." Reaching into the pocket of her jacket, she pulled out a relatively small bag and held it out. "From what you've told me, gold is more valuable in your world than in Equestria, so this should be enough of a start-up loan."
It was all Rarity could do to not snatch the bag out of her counterpart's hand, instead gently taking it, and gripping it tightly so as not to open it for a peek. "Most likely, yes."
"Good," the transformed Equestrian said with an almost maniacal smirk. "Once you've gotten things set up here, I'll start sending you a few of my designs for you to modify."
"And," Rarity said with a matching smile, "once I've turned a profit, I'll send you a few of mine as well."
"And then, the first multidimensional franchise shall be established—"
"—and the fabulosity shall last FOREVER!"
As one, both Rarities threw their heads back and burst into mad laughter. All that was missing was a flash of lightning and thunder to complete the moment.
Sunset dismissed the scrying window hanging over her bed. "Should I tell them I always keep half an eye on the portal?"
Next to her, Twilight giggled. "That depends. Should one of us tell P-Rarity that the first outfit the portal gives you seems to become your default for all future trips to this universe?"
"I think we'll let her figure that out."
Human Rainbow Dash does seem to inspire all of her friends during her first soccer game in the first EqG comic, and they did play against the Shadowbolts. They are all wearing their cutie marks in the comic... but they're also all using their current models during a story where they're supposed to be freshmen as opposed to looking younger, so you can blame Tony Fleecs for that.
The darling jar comes from the Rarity branch of "Costume Conundrum" and needs to be used in more stories.
The debate over Sunset's skin tone was inspired by real life, wherein I inadvertently created a bit of a brouhaha.
Credit for the term "thaumic fiction" goes to Estee. Likewise tenth-bits.
Much of the post-timeskip section was written by SaintAbsol in the Group Precipitation short "Spreading Trends."
Hope you enjoyed this one. 
There aren't nearly enough human ponidox stories on the site.
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Pope Ruby Rose? The looper?
10409448
Same soul frequency, different circumstances. It's unclear if she existed in this world before Sunset grabbed bits of nearby realities to patch this one, but she's the Bacon Pope (or, more properly, the Carnifex Maximus) by virtue of being the first one to ask Sunset if she could be.
(Doylistically, other folks slipped RWBY into the shorts and I rolled with it.)
Ever amusing in multiple ways, as per usual. As a thought experiment, I'm suddenly wondering which pair of multiverse counterparts are most different from one another in terms of personality.
10409466
As I recall Ruby took the ordination home with her, but it's not as useful as you might think. As a pope of the divine Bacon Horse, Ruby's authority only applies in universes where the Bacon Horse is actually in residence. Thus, Ruby cannot bless a marriage or oversee any other business of the church while she is on Remnant.
Unless of course, if Sunset should happen to visit.
Your portrayal of RariJack gives me the warm fuzzies.
Sweetie Belle goes *splort*.
Now I'm wondering if there are stories featuring the pony costume in the Applejack path.
Sunset's reaction to that was hilarious.
For shame! How can Sunset call herself a good friend and goddess if she won't provide the flash of lighting and thunder for properly dramatic evil overlord moments? For shame!!
Now I'm waiting for P-RariJack to happen. Let's hope they can find happiness together
10409466
Dakkafex or meleefex? Maybe even the legendary Winged Carnifex?
Nice to see Pope Ruby again, it’s been awhile since we’ve seen her. Just curious but did she ever figure out Pinkie has a crush on her? It’s was everywhere for a couple weeks last year and then it was never mentioned again
I kinda thought Pony Rarity was going to be jealous of Human Rarity because of the whole quasi-divinity thing.
Also, nice touch implying that while EQG Applejack is with Rarity, her Pony counterpart probably has feelings for Rainbow Dash. I imagine great confusion if either Applejack were to learn about others partner
How dare you compromise! She is the one true shade of yellow, and I will not be swayed!
Mwahahahaha, you sneaky genius!
This is great! You've done it again 
10409600
I feel I should point out that "Carnifex" happens to be the Latin word for a butcher... and would have had enough of the oomph Games Workshop was going for if they'd left it in English, if we're being honest.
That said, given that it's a sniper rifle scythe and not a machine gun scythe, probably melee.
This kind of thing is why the Infinite Carousel is inevitable. Even if the actual origin of IC is elsewhere.
I’ve been reading too much Cosmere stuff, I keep on thinking of Sunset as the local Shard. Which is why if Rarity is going to hide she needs Aluminum. Of course bringing in the Metallic Arts would be all this world needs. Or Spren for that matter.
Actually come to think of it manifesting Spren might do a lot to ground out the ambient magic. Hmmm...
“I’m the Pony Pinkie” was hilarious. In fact I loved that whole slumber party. Applejack being all “prove it” and Rarity wanting to punch and/or kiss her? Classic.
10409491
Of the ones we've seen both of, Filthy Rich. At least according to the comics.
10409717
Very valid point on it being melee. Now I have to buy one and paint it like her... Someday, I'm far from being made out of money.
With 9e having just come out I felt compelled to make the reference though
10409491 10409746
In-universe? Probably Tempest Shadow. The human never met the Storm King (who's a different bundle of issues in and of himself,) never changed her name, and was living off the grid near the FSA/Caneighda border. Up until Sunset paid her a visit to make sure she wasn't planning any deicides in the near future, anyway.
10409500
... Darn it, now I'm going to have to read through the RWBY Loops just to see if that's actually made it in.
10409508
I don't even ship it that much; I'm just drawing on their canon interactions.
10409583
It's one of those awkward situations where it's unclear whether Starlight caused the problem or minimized the damage.
10409588
Let me get back to you on that, because goodness knows there is plentiful potential there.
10409600
See, that kind of thing would encourage evil overlord moments. Sunset knows better than most that that isn't behavior you want to reinforce.
As for P-Rarijack, the fates do seem insistent on another route for that Applejack... though the ripples of Sunset's ascension are sure to spread through Equestria as much as Earth as time goes on.
Also, Ruby is a pegasus aspect, so she definitely qualifies as a winged Carnifex. And probably makes for one heck of a Distraction Carnifex on top of that.
10409603
I'm not the one sailing the good ship RubyPie. Honestly, I have no idea what's in store there.
Rarity's never been one to long for raw power. ("Inspiration Manifestation" was more a case of raw power forcing itself upon her.) Besides, having the little demigoddess looking up to her adoringly undercuts any envy she may feel.
That particular divergence is quite interesting, one of the less immediately obvious ripple effects caused by Equestrian interference in the human world. Among other things, I wanted to take the opportunity to explore the details behind it.
10409618
You would go against the word of a First-Blessed? Who are you to question the judgement of the Bacon Horse's most trusted advisors?
For the record, I really don't care.
10409620
Inspiration is everywhere. You just have to look for it.
10409728
Yeah, the moment multiple Rarities get together with insufficient oversight from their friends, that's when another multiversal corpo-state starts spinning...
While I haven 't thought about the local magic to Sandersonian levels of detail, I will say that the Equestrian aspects make up the local form of Investiture. They definitely work better than Stormlight or Breath would on this world. Sunset isn't putting up with planet-sweeping doomstorms or people trading souls like baseball cards.
10409829
derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/5/29/640183.jpeg
Ah yes, the yellow/orange debate. There’s nothing more satisfying than informing disputing parties that they’re both wrong.
10409600
Personally, I prefer carnifex of the Polistes variety.
I mean… if the horseshoe fits.
She is unnaturally adorable, isn't she. Easily up there with Shy for sheer "cutie" levels.
That was fun. And the Rarities conspiring across dimensions can only lead to levels of fabulous that no mortal or immortal could ever comprehend.
10409845
No planetwide doomstorms? But why? :p
The analogy holds up far better than I expected it too once I started thinking about it. Pedestria’s problems are very similar to what happened on Sel (Elantris) after the Shards there were killed and broken. So much power just blazing around in a storm and no direction. And since here it was so much easier to access it bled into reality and messed things up something fierce. Sunset Twilight and Discord picked up that power, codified the manner in which it can be expressed to something safer and more controlled, and Sunset is using her Absolute Cosmic Power to fix the damage already done. Pretty typical so far.
Of course, Sunset has been deputizing which is definitely a thing too. Generosity and Honesty and the rest all work as powerful splinters. Discord is his own thing, and infinitely preferable to Odium or someone.
So yeah, it still doesn’t quite hold up. But much more in parallel than I’d expect. Great minds and all that.
...What about Maud? That doesn't sound like Maud at all, despite her, uh, coat covering her mark most of the time.
10409829
Historically? Any member of Sunset's religion that thinks they know wjat she wants more than she does, which is most of them.
This is the most Pinkie Pie thing I have ever read.
10409905
You do realize you're applying standards of normalcy to a member of the Pie family, right?
10409829
Thank Masterweaver.
https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/infinite-time-loops-rwby-loops.332085/page-283#post-28952473
----
Define Ectoplasm? It is it just failed spell residue? Or does it relate to ghosts??
----
Typo:
Peaking > peeking
PRAISE!
10409829
It was either Jaune and Pyrrha's wedding, or Blake and Yang's wedding. Can't remember which.
Even though I was only reading all of that Rarity dialogue*, "hearing" so much of that Atlantic accent began to drive me mad. When I watched the TV show, I never appreciated the presence of a second voice to break up her lines.
That isn't a negative criticism of the story, mind you. Their entire interaction rang true to how the two Raritys would have responded to one another if they had ever gotten the chance to meet in official media. Including the ending, now that you mention it.
* Literally "Rarity dialogue"
If sunset herself doesn't know and she's had to rebuild her body a few times, has she changed colour?
Plus does she tan in the sun? Orange in Summer, Yellow in Winter, Amber at points in-between?
Something tells me, if I want to understand more than half of what I read today, I should probably find time to read Oversaturated from the beginning.
Still, even without context, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the wonderful character interactions. I’ve always loved the idea of pony and human counterparts interacting, Rarity in particular, and you wrote them with such fidelity that I could easily imagine everything, even hearing their voices. Amazing!
10409856
That does tend to be the answer when Starlight's involved...
10409881
Someone's got to cater to the eldritch market. Even non-Euclidean monstrosities that consume existence still want to look fabulous while doing so.
10409893
It's like making things fit into a D&D alignment chart or Magic: the Gathering colors. Making the system work with something that wasn't designed for it won't result in a perfect fit, but it's still fun.
10409905
Aside from 10409972's very salient point, Maud uses her frock as a sort of preemptive dismissal. When you're indifferent at best towards the vast majority of the population, it's easier to dress off-puttingly than have to actually interact with them.
Sassy Saddles, meanwhile, just wanted to reduce her recognition factor as the boutique killer of Canterlot. She's gone through twice as many outfits as she has publicist positions.
10409936
The congregation will happily twist the word of Sunset and associates to fit their preconceived notions, but contradicting it outright is usually seen as poor form. (You know, other than Sunset telling them to stop worshiping her. That's obviously just a test of faith.)
10409970
I consider this a compliment of the highest order.
10410078
Thanks for tracking down the snip. It's always surreal to see people discuss my work without me there to see it.
Ectoplasm is undefined protomatter drawn from the Ethereal Plane (similar to but distinct from where Twilight ended up just before she got her wings.) Ghosts are made of it, but unicorns can also accidentally summon it if certain spell variables are left undefined.
10410121
Sunset could definitely empathize with that particular Dash. At least no one's thought of some ridiculous symbolic weapon for Sunset to drag around. Yet.
10410727
Experiencing St. Germain overload because of a work of written fiction is a strange sort of compliment, but I'll take it. Glad you enjoyed it aside from the Atlantic assault.
10410800
She knows what color she is, but she'd never really thought about what to call it until the congregation brought it up. Her skin turns a richer golden-brown in the summer sun. EqG humanoids call the process "shading" rather than "tanning" since so few of them actually turn a color comparable to leather. (Note that those with literally white skin tones actually gloss, turning brighter to better reflect the UV wavelengths. By the end of summer, Principal Celestia practically acts as a light source even outside of the Oversaturated World.)
10410973
What Shy Did and Divine Labor should cover most of the details of this story, hence why I marked its prequel as what I did. Glad you enjoyed it! There really do need to be more human ponidox stories.
This was delightful! I laughed, I lol'd. I even snorted. WONDERFUL!!!
So far today I've drank an entire pot of peppermint coffee and been listening to Slipknot on repeat.
My head is a strange place but it's the only one I have.
Mysterious Downthumber... You angry 'cause I didn't say something nice? And did a typo report?
Well, I had to work fast to get ahead of FOME ninja-ing me in info-drops. He already had a 3hr head start.
----
Now, for nice things:
Cool having Pinkie Pie actually pronouncing H and P into their names instead of splitting it out like the rest!
...
Ha! oh wait. Wrong copy-paste. Still funny though.
...
Hmm. I guess P-Twilight already wrote it up, but just forget to tell the people.
I wonder who else other than the Norns' counterparts are gonna get that talk.
And if the Norns' canon BFs are also their pony counterparts.
I don't really know much about the Oversaturated World. In fact, that sentence in itself was a fallacy because I knew literally nothing about it before reading this, so a few things were pretty lost on me. But that wasn't enough for me to not enjoy it! I kinda got a hold of some things, though some bits still elude me, but the main thing I came for was the interaction between the two Rarities, and I quite enjoyed it. And I'll echo the earlier commenter in liking how Pinkie mixed the H and P into her friends' names rather than just pronouncing the letter separately. Very Pinkie-like
Maybe I should read more into this universe!
10411022
In that case, Hastur will probably be their first customer. The entity does love its stylish, royal, yellow robes.
10411108
I was going to point out that they're explicitly rags rather than anything a sane king would wear, but people sell jeans with holes already in them so...
Very nice. Though I wonder if they've run into the Infinite Carousel yet? Because they're most definitely Not the first interdimensional business.
Nice story, very wholesome.
*Insert evil/amused laughter here*
Hooooo boy...
Ok, at first I was like: "Not sensing Pinkie's essence? What? Then I was like what was it with the Pope debating about the skin colour of Sunset? Is it one of those head cannons where the Humane 7 is "canonised"?
Reading further and yep, you really did went full homestuck and anime...
Not really my cup of tea TBH but I appreciate the effort on the universe elements, I can tell a lot of good effor went into it.
10426004
The sequel label, AU tag, and link to said universe's group are all there for a reason; this one requires a fair amount of background reading. Starting a continuity-heavy series with what is roughly its fortieth installment won't end well. If you'd like context for what the crap is going on, you may want to begin at the beginning, with Oversaturation.
10426031
I also think that I have read one of the other stories in the series a while back. 
Thanks but no thanks it feels a little to "alternative" for my taste.
Yeah, I kinda thought of that when I noticed that it's a sequel to something.
As for checking it out...
Aside from the comedy, the worldbuilding, and the characterization that you consistently do well despite (or because of?) the sprawling Verse that is the Oversaturated World, the story's actually heartwarming. H-Rarity being jealous of P-Rarity only to realize that not only does she have good advice to give but is also jealous of H-Rarity too (to some extent)... and to see a friendship blossom between the two of them as the ice breaks from idolization to just being themselves: it's thought-provoking.
Thanks for the good story here!
*Nitpick mode on*
Has Rarity been listening to recordings of herself talk a lot? Cause otherwise, I don't think most people would find the sound if their own voice familiar, even before you account for likely different vocal structures. (I assume the portal handles languages.)
Sunset's apparent magic, and the whole temple thing, were a bit out there for me, but the writing was nice