When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Go Shopping!
“Mmm, yet another wonderful day,” Rarity sighed, stretching as she sat up in her bed. “What could possibly go—OPAL! Off the bed, now! These sheets are silk!” She whipped her eyemask off of her head and shooed her white cat away. Even though her cat couldn’t understand her explanations, Opalescence obeyed with a growl.
“Now then, what should I do this fine Saturday morning?” she thought out loud to herself, slipping out of bed and tucking the sheets back in with her magic. “I don’t have any work to do, so maybe I can use this as my day off? Maybe go to the spa again?” She trotted over to the bathroom attached to her bedroom to get ready for the day. She took out her hair curlers and brushed her hair lightly.
“No, I just went to the spa a few days ago, I shouldn’t waste the money and go again so soon. In fact, I don’t feel particularly motivated to do much of anything today. Maybe I’ll just watch some television with Sweetie Belle.” Rarity paused her talking to herself to thrust a toothbrush into her mouth, brushing quickly yet thoroughly as she simultaneously moistened a washcloth to wash her face. A minute or two later, once all of her daily preparations were complete, she trotted downstairs.
“Sweetie Belle!” she called. “Come now! It’s time to get up!” She calmly waited a few minutes before she heard the heavy footsteps of her sleep-ridden sister slowly and begrudgingly making her way downstairs.
“What’s for breakfast?” she asked wearily, rubbing some sleep out of one eye.
“We don’t have a very large selection,” Rarity informed. “I can whip up some pancakes if need be, but essentially anything we have in the cupboard is on the menu.”
“Do we have cereal?” Sweetie asked. “I want cereal.”
“Why yes, we do happen to have some cereal left! You want some Apple Jacks, right?” Sweetie nodded slowly. Rarity walked over to the pantry, reaching for a box that she soon discovered wasn’t there. She checked a few more cabinets, coming up empty hoofed.
“Ah, it seems we don’t have any left…” she admitted. “Is there anything else I can—”
“Whaaat? But I want my Apple Jaaaacks!” Sweetie whined, stomping her hooves. Rarity sighed, her ears flattening against her head.
“Can’t you survive without it for today? I’ll make you some toast and go to the store to buy you more, alright?” Rarity offered.
“...Fine,” Sweetie agreed, pouting. Rarity smiled a little, then put some bread in the toaster. After a minute or so it popped back up, crisp and darkened. After placing it on a plate and handing it to Sweetie Belle, the unicorn mare grabbed her wallet, placed it in her saddlebag, and left Carousel Boutique for the Ponyville Supermarket.
She made her way to the large store in ample time, none of the lines too long although she definitely wasn’t the only one there. The many neatly categorized aisles were so plentiful that she wasn’t able to hold all of them in her field of vision. With a swish of her perfectly curled tail, Rarity turned and contemplated bringing a shopping cart with her. No, that won’t be necessary. It’s just one box of cereal after all. She scanned the aisle signs to locate the breakfast aisle, only to realize with dismay that it was towards the back of the store. She sighed, gracefully as always, and began her journey through the maze of goods.
The first section of the store held the health and beauty products. Normally she would have stopped here to gaze at the large array of supplies, but she forced herself to press onward. She had only one goal with this visit, and that was to buy a box of Apple Jacks.
Suddenly, something of interest glimmered in her peripheral vision. She allowed herself a turn of her head to investigate, shifting her direction. She trotted closer, and gasped as she recognized the object of her curiosity.
“My Celestia! It’s the brand new highly-sought-after tangle-free manebrush! I’ve read so many articles about it and seen so many ads for it on TV, but now, here it is! Right within my grasp!” Rarity was nearly drooling at the sight of the brush, giggling hysterically. She payed no attention to the other mares that were wandering the same aisle, none of whom had even a fraction of her excitement for the brush.
“Wait!” Rarity said to herself, coming back to her senses. “I came here for a box of Sweetie Belle’s cereal, nothing more!” She lifted her nose up high and walked away from the mass of hair brushes, utilizing all of her self restraint. It didn’t last long though, one of her eyes flicking back to gaze upon the fancy brush. Unable to keep it up any longer, she zipped back and picked up the good from off of the metal hook.
“Although buying a few other things won’t hurt, will it?” she reasoned, floating the brush to her saddlebag with a smile. She turned and continued on her merry way to the back of the store for a box of cereal.
She passed by the toy section and electronics section without a hitch; however, the one part of the store that ended up being her downfall was unexpectedly the home maintenance aisle. She never dirtied herself with home improvement projects and she didn’t have anything that needed fixing, so it was a bit out of the ordinary for someone like her to find interest in the items the section had to offer. She specifically found interest in a set of kitchen sponges, not in the tacky neon yellow that they usually were, but instead in a nice rainbow pattern.
“I do need to clean my shower, now that I think about it…” Rarity mumbled, tapping her hoof against her chin. Enveloping a rainbow sponge in sapphire blue magic, she levitated it over into her saddlebag and placed it snug next to the brush. Satisfied, she left the aisle and continued her venture.
Now there was only one more section to get through before she made it to the food, but it was also the most dangerous when it came to staying on task. Rarity still had to conquer the arts and crafts aisles.
She gulped and pressed forward, trying to keep her focus as far away from the alluring shelves as possible. If she let herself so much as pass a glance at one of the items she would end up gazing and evaluating everything craft related the store had to offer, which would take her a good hour, and then end up buying far more than if she hadn’t wandered down the aisles.
Rarity’s eyes gleamed. The cereal was in sight, and she had kept from lingering. Just a few more aisles before she was safe—
Ever so suddenly, the graceful unicorn smacked not so gracefully into a sale sign jutting out from the aisle next to her that she would have seen if she hadn’t kept her eyes as far away from the crafts as possible. Taking a moment to rub her head, she got back on all fours and looked up to examine the obstacle. All sewing needles 40% off!
“Sewing needles…?” Rarity repeated stupidly, her mind still a bit jumbled from the impact. “40 percent…?” She turned and looked down the aisle, spotting said needles. They looked to be of a very nice quality; they were the kind that she would get to be extra sure that her bigger clients were completely satisfied, and therefore they were a bit on the expensive side when it came to sewing needles. She reached a hoof out to one pack, then yanked it back.
“Hold on a minute,” she said, her ears flattening, “I just bought some of these last weekend; I have more than enough for the time being.” Taking care not to let herself linger in the aisle any longer, knowing full well that she already picked up two more items than she came for, Rarity returned to the home stretch of making it to the breakfast aisle.
Finally the box of Apple Jacks she had sought after for the past twenty minutes was within her grasp. She didn’t feel quite as amazing as she probably should have felt, unceremoniously picking up the package and dropping it into her saddlebag. With a smile, she swished her tail and turned to begin her journey back to the front of the store—and by extension, to the cash registers.
Her venture back went without a hitch, the unicorn never stopping to gawk over something or another; instead she kept her head straight and her eyes fixated on her goal. When she finally did reach the checkout lanes, she paused. Most of them were full, so she would have to wait for a bit. She looked up at the clock. It was 10:30, which meant that Sweetie Belle’s favorite show would be on in half an hour, which also meant that she would only have the television to herself for a measly half an hour. She chose the lane that seemed to have the least amount of time left before it would be her turn.
Once she entered the checkout lane, she realized that the pony in front of her was the schoolteacher Cheerilee. She contemplated asking about Sweetie Belle’s grades in class. Was she doing well? Did she have any missing work? She shook her head. She needed to get through this lane as fast as possible to get back home in time, and that meant that there was absolutely no room for chit chat.
The time it took for the cashier to get all of Cheerilee’s items scanned seemed like an eternity. Rarity glanced back at the clock. It was already 10:35 by the time it was her turn to check out. She brought out her significantly smaller purchase from her bag and placed it on the belt, fixing her hair as her measly three items were scanned. Rarity really wished that this store had an express lane.
After paying, she took her bag in her mouth and left the supermarket with haste. She trotted back home at a quicker pace than usual, but it wasn’t exactly a full gallop. Finally she neared Carousel Boutique and slowed her stride, opening the door for herself with a burst of magic.
She threw the plastic bag on the kitchen counter in a huff and plopped on the couch in a rather unladylike fashion. Sweetie Belle was already sitting on a chair, the television remote in her mouth. She smiled as she watched some morning cartoons.
Well, so much for having the TV to herself...