Infernals

by Leo Archon

Act One: Secrets

Act One:

Secrets

Applejack hummed a little ditty as she set up her apple cart for the day. Life in Ponyville had hit a quiet spot, which in the farmpony's opinion was all for the good. Between Discord, Twilight's tardiness spazz-out, and the Changeling invasion, to say nothing of all the smaller stuff that had happened, this past year had been full of excitement. Applejack was good and ready for a nice, normal year.

Thus it was that, at first, Applejack and the other ponies at the market barely even flinched as an ear-piercing shriek echoed from Carousel Boutique. Instead, she looked at Carrot Top, who was setting up her own stall nearby. "That's ten bits ya owe me, sugarcube," she said, holding out a hoof.

The carrot farmer sighed, and hoofed over the requested amount. "I could have sworn she'd freak out later this week. That's when Hoity Toity is visiting, isn't it?"

Applejack chuckled. "Carrot Top, she done freaked out over that already. Five times."

Carrot Top shrugged. "I guess. Oh, well, a bet's a bet." She paused a little. "Still, I wonder what caused her to freak out this morning?"

*****

The answer to that question wouldn't become known to the general public for a while. But it was well-known to two white unicorns, both residents of Carousel Boutique. Currently, one was in the bathroom, staring at her reflection, absolutely aghast. The other was in her room, doing her best to not break out into raucous laughter.

"This… this can't be right!" Rarity exclaimed, horrified by what she was seeing. "How could this have happened?!" She dashed over to the shower, and carefully inspected her bottles. "Nothing's out of place, I did everything correctly… so what is going on?!" She paused as she came to one bottle, and noticed that the lid was off-kilter slightly. She hadn't noticed earlier, while taking her morning shower, but now it was obvious to her detail-oriented eyes. She unscrewed the bottle, and allowed just a drop of what was inside to fall on her hoof. Her irises shrank to pinpricks. "Dye remover…?" She narrowed her eyes to fine slits. "SWEETIE BELLE!!!"

Sweetie Belle flinched at the volume in Rarity's shout. Geez, I knew she'd be angry, but I didn't think she'd be this loud about it. She really needs to loosen up. Her train of thought was derailed as she heard furious hoofsteps stomping up the stairs to her room. She debated whether or not to flee, but the choice was taken from her when Rarity flung open the door. The filly decided instead to go for the 'cutely innocent' routine. "Oh, Rarity! Um… did you get a new mane dye? It really suits you!" She batted her eyelashes and offered a big smile.

Unfortunately, Rarity was not to be so easily fooled. "Sweetie Belle. Where are my usual dyes?" she forced out through gritted teeth.

Sweetie, still playing dumb, cocked her head to the side. "Why are you asking me? I think this one looks really good on you! It even matches your coat!"

Indeed, Rarity's locks had become a snow-white, almost identical in hue to her coat. The older unicorn snorted. "Sweetie Belle. I know for a fact that you know this is my natural mane color. I also know that you're the only other pony to have access to my bathroom, and thus the only other pony who could have possibly slipped dye remover into my bottle of purple dye! So, I will ask you again." She stepped closer, glaring at the filly. "What did you do with my real dyes?"

Sweetie Belle nearly caved right then, but she strengthened her resolve. "I might remember what I did… if you agree to do me a favor."

One of Rarity's blue eyes began to twitch. "Are… are you blackmailing me, Sweetie Belle?!" she exclaimed.

The younger unicorn shrugged. "That's such a nasty word. I prefer the term, 'negotiating'. I have something you want, and you can do something I want. Fair's fair."

The fashionista was close to spitting nails, but she forced herself to calm down. "Sweetie Belle, I don't have time for your nonsense. Hoity Toity is visiting later this week, and I must have some ensembles ready for his perusal. I've finished seven of them, but I'd like an even ten, and I can't work knowing that my appearance is so grotesque!"

Sweetie Belle leveled an even stare at her big sister. "Rarity, I don't think you could ever look 'grotesque'. You're over-reacting." She sighed. "Besides, I know you finished the first seven ensembles within a day of getting the notice, but you've been stuck ever since then. I just thought you could loosen up a bit." She gulped. "And… well, I was kind of hoping we could spend some time together before his visit. You've been so busy lately, we haven't had a chance to hang out."

Rarity's anger cooled significantly at this, replaced by a slight feeling of guilt. Here she was, so high strung about a visiting fashion mogul, that she'd nearly been ready to throttle her own sister! She sighed. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. I know I've been a bit… crabby, lately. I've been snappy, irritable, and rude, and you haven't deserved any of it. I do need a break. I promise, once I get my dyes back, I'll 'hang out' with you all day. Goodness knows, we haven't done that since the Sisterhooves Social!" She smiled at the memory.

Sweetie Belle coughed. "Um, about that. I… kinda gave the dyes to Apple Bloom, and told her to go back to Sweet Apple Acres."

Rarity's eye-twitch returned. "You… you expect me to go all the way out to Sweet Apple Acres and all the way back, like this?!" She pulled at her mane. Aside from the white color, it was styled exactly the same way as Rarity always had it, with an ornate curl.

Sweetie Belle blinked. "Well, yeah. I mean, how else are you going to get your dyes back? I told Apple Bloom to hold onto them until you came looking for them."

Rarity was very close to having another breakdown, but was spared by a knocking from downstairs. Gathering her courage, Rarity trotted down from Sweetie Belle's room, the younger unicorn following at a distance. Coming to the front door of the boutique, the seamstress waited for the next round of knocks to finish before calling out, "Yes? Who is it? We're not quite open for business yet…"

"Rarity? It's me, Twilight," came the voice from the other side. "I got those new fashion magazines you wanted to look at, so I thought I'd deliver them myself."

The fashionista snapped to attention upon hearing her friend's voice and bit her lip in anxiety. While she cherished the friendship she shared with Twilight, Rarity could not let her see her mane like this; in her much-neglected natural color. She darted her head around her boutique while coming up with an excuse "U-Um, just a moment, darling! So nice of you to stop by today and give me my magazines!" She called out in mock sincerity.

"Couldn't I just, you know… come in? I'm sure you won't mind since it's just us!" Twilight called from the other side. "Besides, I already knew how much you wanted these magazines! What's keeping you from letting me in?" She asked in confusion.

Rarity grew more flustered as she drew blanks with what laid around in her current room "I'm a little busy at the moment! You sort of caught me at a bad time right now! B-But don't you worry, Twilight, you're free to come in! Let me just-..." She turned to her little sister "Sweetie Belle, could you be a dear and answer the door for me while I'm working?" She added her last word with desparate emphasis.

Sweetie Belle stared at her sister. "You could just answer – " The dark glare in Rarity's eyes caused Sweetie Belle to instantly change her sentence to, "I'll be right there!" She called out, sounding as if she were upstairs. With that, Rarity galloped up the stairs and into her room while Sweetie Belle nonchalantly trotted over to the front door and opened it, revealing Twilight Sparkle levitating a stack of magazines.

Twilight smiled down at Sweetie Belle. "Hello, Sweetie Belle! I'm sorry if I bothered your sister like this. All I wanted was to give her the magazines and maybe talk a little..."

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "Well, you know how my sister is when she's 'in the zone'." She looked away despondently for a moment before she looked back up at Twilight "Anyway, she was in the middle of an order – "

"For Hoity Toity, right?" Twilight interrupted with curiousity. She frowned, looking slightly abashed "I forgot about that. Rarity really knows when to kick it into high gear whenever she has a celebrity for a client!"

Sweetie Belle giggled nervously. "Hehehe, well, what can you do, right?" She grinned widely, trying to put on the best poker face she can muster.

"Where are they? Where are they!? I know I at least kept a spare reserve in case of emergency…"

Both unicorns looked up the stairs, and Twilight broke the ice with an arched eyebrow "Did she run out of gems again?"

Sweetie Belle shifted her eyes at this. "Umm…" She quickly looked back at Twilight with the same wide grin. "Yeah! Never thought it would happen like this of all days!" She spoke with the guise in her voice faltering dramatically.

Twilight blinked at Sweetie Belle's tone. "But didn't she have a huge haul from the last time she went gem hunting with Spike?"

"Her order specifically requested each dress to be super shiny! What's shinier than gems?" Sweetie Belle replied instantly.

Twilight looked up at the stairs. "Oh, is that all? I could let her borrow Spike for the time being whenever she wants to take a break!"

Sweetie Bell kept her grin "I'll let her know that! So I'll just take those magazines and – "

"Oh, this is just disastrous! I'll have to go with Plan B…"

Both Twilight and Sweetie Belle stared at the ceiling in silence, as the sound of hoofsteps graced the stairway. They were then treated to the sight of an alabaster unicorn wearing a black cloak covering her entire body, mane included. She grinned at her lavender friend. "Why hello, Twilight! How can I help you today?"

Twilight gawked at the fashionista's appearance, and craned her head back. "Rarity? Why are you wearing a cloak? Aren't you working today?"

Rarity did not let up in her suspicious tone as she replied "But of course, darling! As for this cloak, I was only, erm…" She looked over to Sweetie Belle mouthing the words 'gems' and quickly turned to Twilight. "Looking for gems! While I searched high and low, I inadvertently wrapped myself in this thing! I only ignored it for the sake of continuing my search! It is such a pain to have my stash used up so quickly!"

Twilight blinked at Rarity before she smiled. "I was just telling your sister that you're free to use Spike to gather more for your dresses. Though, you might want to leave the cloak behind when you go gem hunting. Black material conducts heat. You wouldn't want to get all sweaty, would you?"

Rarity very nearly tore the cloak off at the mention of 'sweat'. It was only her desire to keep her 'condition' hidden from Twilight that prevented her from doing so. "Ahaha, yes, well, I will be sure to do so, Twilight. And thank you for the offer of using Spike. I will be sure to contact him later for my gem hunting."

Twilight nodded, but looked at Rarity curiously. "Still, how did you go through the last set so quickly? You just went gem hunting a couple of days ago."

Rarity chuckled nervously. "W-well, darling, I need my dresses to be at their best for Hoity Toity's perusal! And if that means using my entire stash of gems in the first few days, so be it!" She smiled widely.

Twilight looked skeptical, but shrugged it off. "Well, if you're certain, then I'll leave you to it."

"Yes, please!" Rarity exclaimed. A moment later, she realized that she sounded a bit too eager for Twilight to leave, and backpedaled. "I-I mean that I'm certain you're quite busy doing research for the Princess, or something, and I don't want to take up any more of your time!"

Twilight was now looking very skeptical. "Rarity, are you okay? Is there something wrong?"

"Wrong? Why, whatever do you mean? Nothing's wrong!" Rarity, while a better liar than Applejack, could still be a shining example of how not to act when put on the spot. She started backing away from Twilight, attempting to put some distance between them.

Twilight took her friend's sudden evasiveness as confirmation that something was wrong. "Rarity, I can't help you if I don't know what's going on. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are, Twi – !" Rarity was cut off as the cloak she was wearing got caught on her back hoof, tripping her, and sending her head-over-hooves into the back wall of the main room of the Boutique.

"Rarity!" Twilight dashed over to the alabaster unicorn's side, giving her a hoof. "Are you okay?"

"Ugh… I'm fine, darling," the white unicorn moaned, as she sat up. In doing so, her cloak slipped off, though she was too pain-addled at the moment to care. "Just a little bump, don't worry."

"Uh, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle interrupted. "You dropped your cloak."

"Cloak? What do you – !" Rarity's mind finally caught up with her, and she looked up into Twilight's wide violet eyes. Eyes that were resting on her mane. With a wail of despair, the fashionista fled up the stairs at a speed that would have made Rainbow Dash proud.

*****

Twilight waited for the ringing in her ears to die down, before turning to Sweetie Belle. "I'm assuming that was the actual reason she was acting so strangely?"

"Yeah," the young unicorn said with a nod.

Looking at her with a critical eye, Twilight continued. "And would you happen to be the cause of her change in mane color?"

Sweetie Belle gulped. "I-I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Twilight!"

Twilight sighed. "Sweetie, you're the only other pony who stays here on a consistent basis. Thus, you're the only pony who could have switched out Rarity's mane dyes for a different color."

Sweetie Belle blinked. "Wait, you knew her mane was dyed?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "You'd be surprised at how many nobles in Canterlot hide their true mane colors behind dyes. I'll say this, though, not all of them are as subtle or tasteful as Rarity. I didn't notice until I saw her mane frazzled during that whole fashion fiasco the first time Hoity Toity came to Ponyville. I could barely see her roots."

"Oh." The young unicorn had not been expecting anypony to actually know Rarity's little secret. "She just doesn't like her natural color for some reason."

Twilight blinked. "Wait, that's her natural color?" When Sweetie Belle nodded, she sighed, and headed for the stairs. "Well, just because her mane's a different color, that's no excuse to shut out her friends!" She trotted up to Rarity's room, and knocked on the door. "Rarity? Come out, please. I want to talk."

"Leave me alone, Twilight!" came the wail from within the room. "My life is over, my shame betrayed! How could anypony take me seriously, knowing that I dye my mane?!"

Twilight huffed in exasperation. "Rarity, for the love of Celestia, your mane looks fine! Purple or white, it doesn't matter! Now, if it were brown, or green, I could maybe understand your problem, but it's not! So are you going to let me in, or will I have to get Pinkie Pie to sing outside your door until you go crazy?"

There were a few moments of silence, before the lock clicked on the door. Twilight opened it to see Rarity hiding her head under a pillow. Sighing, Twilight pulled the pillow off with her magic, despite the white unicorn's attempts to keep herself covered. Finally, Rarity let go, allowing her white mane to be seen. "Twilight, why do you even want to see me like this? I'm hideous!"

The lavender unicorn rolled her eyes. "Rarity, I don't think you could look 'hideous' if you tried. And trust me, your dye job is better than most of the nobles in Canterlot."

Rarity blinked, sitting up. "Wait, there are nobles who dye their manes?"

"Mostly the ones who want to look more 'impressive'," Twilight explained. "And believe me when I say that your natural color isn't as embarrassing as some of the ones I've seen."

"But Twilight!" Rarity protested, "Everypony knows my mane is purple! Any deviation from that will raise attention, and not the good kind! I'll be ruined! Hoity Toity would never speak to me again, to say nothing of Sapphire Shores or Fancy Pants!"

"You know Hoity Toity's mane is white, don't you?" the lavender mare asked sardonically. "And I think Fancy Pants wouldn't care less. Remember, he's the one who praised your dress design when all those other nobles belittled it."

"Well… you do have a point," admitted the fashionista, "but still! I don't want everypony laughing at me!" She bowed her head. "Not again…"

"Wait, what?" Twilight was blindsided by this admission from the prim and proper unicorn. "When did everypony laugh at you?"

Rarity sighed. "Ages ago, when I was first in school. Do you understand how rare having a white mane as a filly actually is? I was teased something awful. 'Grannie Rarity', they called me. 'Old mare', 'fossil', I've heard them all and then some. It got so bad that my mother moved us away from our old hometown to Ponyville, and she bought me my dyes to keep the same thing from happening. That was before I got my cutie mark, of course."

Twilight boggled at the idea that Rarity had ever been teased for her appearance. And yet… suddenly, her fixation on appearances made more sense. She had been minorly traumatized as a foal, and the memory stayed with her, even after all this time. Twilight trotted forward, and wrapped Rarity in a hug. "I'm sorry, Rarity. I had no idea this meant so much to you."

Rarity returned the hug with a fair amount of force. "Thank you for understanding, dear," she replied, wiping away some of the wetness in her eyes.

Twilight pulled back. "But I think you're giving Ponyville's ponies too little credit. Remember, not everypony here is concerned with their appearances. I think if you went out, you might get a comment or two, but nopony here would ever say anything malicious."

"You got that right!"

Both unicorns jumped as the door opened wider, revealing a light blue pegasus with a prismatic mane. Behind her were three other ponies; a yellow pegasus, an orange earth pony, and a pink earth pony. Pinkie Pie spoke first. "You can't be all mopey-dopey about something that happened when you were a filly! That's just silly!"

"Yer one o' the biggest names in fashion, and a local celebrity. Ah don't think anypony would say a thing against ya just fer changin' yer mane," Applejack elaborated.

"And you're… very nice," Fluttershy added, in her customary soft voice.

"Point is, even if your mane makes you look older than you are, you can't let it get to you," Rainbow Dash rounded out the eavesdroppers.

There were a few moments of silence, before Rarity bellowed, "SWEETIE BELLE!!!" After a few more moments, the filly in question peeked around the door frame. "Why did you let so many more ponies into my home when I was clearly not in the mood for company?"

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "Pinkie said her Pinkie Sense told her that you needed friends. That was good enough for me."

Rarity sighed, then smiled at her friends. "Thank you, all. But, why do this for me? It's not like any of you can really know how I feel right now."

"Oh, really?" Rainbow Dash asked, flying up to the white unicorn. "Tell me how many other ponies have rainbow-colored hair."

The white unicorn blinked. "Ah… none that I can think of…" she trailed off lamely.

"Exactly," the speedster pegasus said with a nod. "I've heard every single bucking lesbian or gay joke in the book, and a few that weren't in the book at the time. So, trust me, I know how you're feeling."

Rarity looked down, shame-faced. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, Dash."

"Pff, it's old news to me," Rainbow said nonchalantly. "Anyway, we're not here to talk about me, let's talk about you. You're frightened of being teased again. I get that. But, when you have a fear, you can't just let it control you. You have to confront it head-on."

"Like you did with the Rainboom?" Pinkie asked.

"Right, exactly!" Rainbow nodded. "Only, I was kinda distracted at the time. I was focused on saving Rarity." She rubbed a hoof along the back of her head.

"If… if you want, Rarity, I could come with you to where you need to go," Fluttershy offered. "That is, if you don't mind…"

Rarity smiled gently at all of her friends. "Thank you all, so much. It means a lot to me that I can trust you all with this secret." She turned to Fluttershy. "However, dear, I believe I'd like Applejack to accompany me." The farmpony blinked at that, and Rarity elaborated, "Sweetie Belle said she gave my dyes to Apple Bloom."

"Did she, now?" Applejack gave Sweetie Belle a stern look, and the filly wisely decided to leave. "Welp, ah'm on break, so ah can take a quick jaunt to the Acres ta get yer dyes back. Ah'll need ta head back ta the cart right quick, though."

"Of course," Rarity said with a nod, stepping out of her bed. "Well, I suppose there's simply no putting it off any longer." With that, she headed down the stairs, grabbing a pair of saddlebags along the way. She and Applejack trotted up to the front door, and with a deep breath, the fashionista awaited the collective reactions of her fellow residents in Ponyville. Just remember what Rainbow Dash said… I have to confront my fear head-on, even if it means walking past everypony I see… who'll stare right back at my mane… oh my… Rarity was beginning to understand where Fluttershy was coming from with her obviously timid background. She wanted to acknowledge the words of encouragement she received from her friends, but a small part of her was screaming to go back and hide.

Applejack turned to Rarity with a comforting smile. "Are ya ready t' get movin', sugarcube? Doncha worry now! Ah'll be with ya every step o' th' way, an' iffin' anypony does feel like makin' a joke or two, they'll be gettin' a good demonstration of how I buck trees!" She winked at her friend with confidence.

Rarity could not help but return the smile in kind from Applejack's words "Thank you very much, Applejack. Shall we get going?" With her confidence boosted, the two made their way to Sweet Apple Acres through Ponyville.

It was like any other day when they passed by the market square: Customers came and went while the market vendors raked in their funds after selling their wares. Rarity gulped when she was nearing the epicenter with Applejack, and was inwardly relieved nopony noticed her yet.

This changed when Lyra and Bon Bon passed by the pair. Bon Bon did a double-take upon noticing Rarity and gave a low gasp before speaking in a high-pitched Manehattanite accent "Oh my goodness! What is with Rarity's mane?"

Other ponies in range of Bon Bon's outburst began directing their attention towards Rarity and Applejack and held their respective reactions ranging from surprise to intrigue. At every glance she spotted, Rarity began to feel her spirit withering away, gradually regretting to set foot in the heart of Ponyville with her current appearance.

Applejack frowned at this and remained close to her friend in hopes of at least getting her to Sweet Apple Acres and comforting her from there. Soon, the ponies around the two began to murmur to one another, their words growing in volume.

"Would you look at that…"

"This isn't like Rarity at all!"

"I never thought she would resort to this!"

"That mane… it just…"

"It's so… beautiful!"

Rarity thought she was hearing things when she looked around, and noticed the former expressions of surprise and intrigue fade to make way for many impressed smiles as the ponies began complimenting her mane left and right. Maybe Rainbow Dash was right… It's not so bad, is it?

Applejack herself smiled and whispered over at Rarity "Y'see there, partner? Ain't nopony in Ponyville gonna put ya down jus' cuz ya look different!" While she smiled, she inwardly frowned as she looked away, thinking, At least y'all don't have much t' hide yerself…

*****

Applejack trotted up the stairs of her home, mind churning as she thought about the events earlier that day. Apple Bloom had surrendered the dyes immediately upon being asked, much to Rarity's relief. Despite the acceptance of the townsponies, the fashionista was a creature of habit, and was eager to return to her 'normal' mane coloring. Still, she hadn't asked to use the bathroom at Sweet Apple Acres, instead opting to return to the Boutique while still being white-maned. Applejack took this as a good sign, that maybe Rarity would finally learn to bury the hurtful words of the past.

Still, the revelation of a secret that had been kept from her for years reminded her of her own secret, a secret she hadn't shared with anypony. Not even her family knew, at least not the whole story. Slipping into the bathroom, Applejack took a washcloth, and soaked it in warm water. She then brought it up to her face, giving a couple of good, strong wipes to her cheeks. When she was done, she looked in the mirror. Rather than the white freckles she displayed to the public, her cheeks were each adorned with three black whisker-like marks.

"A reminder of who ah used ta be…" she murmured, before rearing up on her hindlegs. She concentrated briefly, and a sigil appeared on her stomach; what appeared to be a spiral, surrounded by wavy lines, in a manner reminiscent of a sun. "And the reason ah can never go back…" She sighed, lost in memories that she now only barely considered her own. So absorbed was she, that she didn't notice the orange eye peeking through the partially-open bathroom door. Nor did she notice the eye retreat, and the owner flee to a room labeled 'Apple Bloom'.

Comments

[SunsetyDays]

Cool. More. One question, though: When they find out AJ used to be a boy, how are they gonna treat her? And that explains why she doesn't like dresses: BECAUSE she used to be a boy!

[Cynderfall]

1603259 Where does it say AJ used to be a boy?

[SunsetyDays]

1603683 ...You're kidding, right? THIS IS A CROSSOVER WITH [REDACTED]. AJ WAS [REDACTED].

[Cynderfall]

1603688 Ahh... Missed that tag.

[SunsetyDays]

1603725 Typical...

[Cynderfall]

1603728 I just dont know what went wrong...

[read all the stories]

Redacted due Leo Archon asking for no spoilers.

After the edit:Ok.

[Leo Archon]

1603688>>1605125 Can you two stop with the spoilers? There might be people who haven't figured it out.

[Fuchsjunge42]

i have to wonder what other secrets the rest of the mane six are hiding. also, why has no-one made a crossover involving [djskls] before now? or or were they not very good?

[ScatMan2001]

Can't wait to see what happens next!
Please write faster.
I'm already growing impatient
ScatMan

[Leo Archon]

1606116 And am I to assume you have problems with either of the crossovers presented thus far? It's your prerogative, but don't auto-dislike because you hate one aspect of the story.

[suijin228]

amazing chapter and idea in general. Now all we need is an explanation for AJ and Rarity. Are they descendants? Reincarnations? and if they are one of the two, will the true naruto and Dante show up? amazing job, keep goin and stay golden^^

[xbox432]

K, I figured AJ out. And based on the header, I think I know who Rarity is. You've done gone and got mah attention.

[Rubel]

Neat.

[Supreme Assassin]

[AvexedAuthor]

Freaky floating eyes be scary as buck

[Chrome Masquerade]

"But Twilight!" Rarity protested, "Everypony knows my mane is purple! Any deviation from that will raise attention, and not the good kind! I'll be ruined! Hoity Toity would never speak to me again, to say nothing of Sapphire Shores or Fancy Pants!"

"You know Hoity Toity's mane is white, don't you?" the lavender mare asked sardonically. "And I think Fancy Pants wouldn't care less. Remember, he's the one who praised your dress design when all those other nobles belittled it."

"Well… you do have a point," admitted the fashionista, "but still! I don't want everypony laughing at me!" She bowed her head. "Not again…"

"Wait, what?" Twilight was blindsided by this admission from the prim and proper unicorn. "When did everypony laugh at you?"

Rarity sighed. "Ages ago, when I was first in school. Do you understand how rare having a white mane as a filly actually is? I was teased something awful. 'Grannie Rarity', they called me. 'Old mare', 'fossil', I've heard them all and then some. It got so bad that my mother moved us away from our old hometown to Ponyville, and she bought me my dyes to keep the same thing from happening. That was before I got my cutie mark, of course."

hmm.... sounds familiar......

1.bp.blogspot.com/-67P3ztZMU_M/VIlSk_YVRgI/AAAAAAAAAKA/R7bCCoRV5R8/s1600/RitzHair_AllWhite.PNG

i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff518/Aquaeus/FinalFantasy-TacticsAdvanced_36.png

lparchive.org/Final-Fantasy-Tactics-Advance/Update%2025/33-capture_06102010_205646.png

Slipping into the bathroom, Applejack took a washcloth, and soaked it in warm water. She then brought it up to her face, giving a couple of good, strong wipes to her cheeks. When she was done, she looked in the mirror. Rather than the white freckles she displayed to the public, her cheeks were each adorned with three black whisker-like marks.

"A reminder of who ah used ta be…" she murmured, before rearing up on her hind legs. She concentrated briefly, and a sigil appeared on her stomach; what appeared to be a spiral, surrounded by wavy lines, in a manner reminiscent of a sun. "And the reason ah can never go back…" She sighed, lost in memories that she now only barely considered her own.

So Rarity is Ritz and Applejack is Naruto?