The Fashionista's New Hobby
Ah, such a fabulous town. The rich culture, the beautiful urban scenery, the diverse folk I've come across, it's all been such a delight. Even the air here has it's own distinct flavor. I've had my ups and downs, but I most certainly won't be forgetting the time I've spent in Manehatten. Or the lessons this city has taught me...
*grunt*
“Okie-dokey, miss! That's the last one!”
I turned to smile at the bellhop, impressed by his efficiency. Moving all of my luggage by himself is nothing short of a chore.
“Thank you, good sir. Here is a little something for your troubles.”
I unzipped a pocket on one of my bags and levitated a roughly cut piece of topaz into his lapel. Flashing a smile himself, he trotted back inside with a skip in his step. Now then, where had Spike run off to?
“Spi~ike, it's time to go! Could you be a dear and...hm.”
How strange. It usually only takes him less than a second to be by my side when I call for him, but he's nowhere to be found. Though it was against my better judgment, I ended up looking all around the street out front, but didn't see him anywhere. Could he have left with everypony else to the station already?
(“No, that can't be right...I just saw him inside only a few minutes ago. Could he still be there?”)
I didn't want to simply leave my luggage outside, but the train was going to depart in less than thirty minutes, so there was no time for dilly-dallying. Pushing the doors to the hotel open, I resolved to search the entire ground floor if I had to, though thankfully he was relatively close to the entrance.
“Spiiike, dearie! You should know it's impolite to keep a lady wait-ing! Hurry along and – hm? What's this, then?”
He was standing at the entrance of a rather large atrium hall, apparently watching multitudes of ponies flit about left and right. I saw one of them carrying a long, rectangular sign that read 'panel room 3' on it, while another levitated what looked like an enormous crate full of wires and difficult machinery. Upon further inspection, I found that some were working on moving equipment and supplies, while others were filing in through some of the other doors leading to the check-in counter.
“Oh! Rarity, I-I'm sorry! I know it's time to get going, I'll get your bags!”
I looked to my left to see Spike's flustered face. Waving a hoof in front of me, I said, “No, it's nothing to worry about. That aside, do you know what's going on here? I don't believe I've ever seen so many ponies working their hooves to the bone like this.”
He balled his little claws up and jumped forward, the tone of his voice suddenly becoming eager and vigorous. “Haven't you heard?! This weekend marks the start of the Manehatten Comic-Con! Oh man, I had no IDEA it was gonna be in the same hotel we stayed at!”
“Comic...con?” I found myself tapping a hoof against my mouth. I've never heard of such an event before, but it certainly must be something special for Spike to be so excited. “Well, I'm not really one to read comics...could you explain what goes on at this, uh...Comic-con?”
I watched Spike purse his lips, making a huffy face. “Don't you know?! It's ONLY the biggest, baddest, most important comicbook convention in all of Equestria! Ponies from all over the country, heck, probably the whole WORLD come here! They spend the whole weekend going to panels, shopping in the dealer's room, showing off their cosplays, and just hanging out with other comicbook fans! It's one of the best times of the year!”
“Uh...” I think I only understood about half of that. “Um...yes, well, I think it's about time we got - ”
“WAAAHH!”
*crash*
I unconsciously jumped at the noise, turning around to know what was going on. It seemed as though a mare with a beige coat dropped her belongings all over the place. She even managed to get a large cardboard box over her head. As I stepped over to give her a hoof, I heard a muffled voice say, “Please, help me...”
“Don't worry, I'll lend you a hoof! Spike, could you help gathering up her things, pretty please?”
He gave a nod and started collecting her...'articles' off the floor. What exactly were some of these things, anyway? Some of it looked like armor and weapons, but were clearly made out of either plastic or paper, I couldn't tell which. Perhaps they were movie props? I levitated the box off her head and asked, “Are you okay, dear? That looked like quite the nasty fall.”
She looked back at me with dark brown eyes behind a pair of wire framed glasses that nearly encompassed her entire face. Her mane was tied in a messy ponytail, she was wearing a sweater that looked like it was a size too large for her, and her cutie mark was an open book. She smiled meekly and said, “I'm fine. Really glad you stopped by to help me though.” Standing up and rubbing a hoof behind her head, she continued, “My name's Biblia, but everypony calls me Mousy. Nice to meet you!”
“Rarity, likewise.” I matched her smile and started picking up the rest of her things with my magic. Though I had to stop when I came across something rather peculiar.
(“Oh, my...what is this?!”)
Mixed in with all of the other random objects and things was a dress, and a spectacular one at that. It's primary color was a vibrant crimson, and the slip dress on the inside was snowy white and frilly at the hems. It was shoulder-less, with a very distinct embroidery stitched around the waist. An incredible amount of time and detail was given to this one garment, I'm certain. I set my jaw and swallowed, trying to contain my excitement.
“E-excuse me! I've never seen a design like this before, did you make this?!”
She dropped another strangely shaped object into her box with her mouth before saying, “Mhm. It's my cosplay for Friday and Saturday. Betcha can't guess what it's from!”
There's that word again. Simmering down further, I asked, “I'm sorry, I'm not, uh...what exactly is cosplay, anyway?”
“Oh, you don't know? It's when ponies craft a costume based on characters in literature and fiction. Some of my other roomies are going as stuff everypony knows about, like Captain Equestria and Batmare. But I decided to be different.” She closed her eyes and beamed at me, “Have you ever heard of Mistress Vamde?”
I think there was a drop of sweat going down my brow. I wasn't familiar with anything she was talking about. This was just like when Rainbow Dash starts going on about Daring Do, and it always made me feel so out of place...
“Um, no...I can't say I have...eh heh heh...”
“Oh, that's okay! I don't expect anypony to guess! I'm cosplaying as a character from Prism Heart Sleipnir. It's a comic from overseas that my friend introduced me to, and I've been reading volume after volume every week! It's a really good series!”
Spike ran over after dropping the last few things into her box, his eyes shining just as much as her's. “Hey! I just started reading it! You're right, it's amazing! Didn't you just love it when Mistress Vamde revealed to Sleipnir that their infighting has only been charging the neuron reactor?! And right at the same time, Melvious comes swooping down and – wah!”
Though it was rather uncouth of me, I levitated Spike onto my back without his consent, earning a despondent look from him. As much as I would have loved to continue chatting, the train back to Ponyville wasn't going to wait for us. Primping my mane, I said, “Please forgive my rudeness, but we must be going. If we dawdle any longer, we might not have a way back home until morning.” I flashed her a warm smile, “Really love your dress though. That design, those accents, that functionality! Why, if you told me this was simply a costume, I would have never known!”
She titled her head and smiled sheepishly, “Heh, yeah. I never would have tried making it if my friend didn't insist. Oh hey, you can have this!” She stepped over to her box and pulled a small, yet thick booklet. The cover art featured an evil looking mare wearing the same dress that Biblia owned. As I levitated the book over, she said, “This is the first volume in the series. I own all of em'! You can have it if you want!”
I could have sworn I've heard those exact words somewhere before. “Oh, thank you...”
She nodded once, beaming at me once again. “Just a little thank you for helping me out!”
With that, she hefted her box onto her back and climbed up the stairs to the rooms. A sigh came from my lips, these past few minutes being a lot more tiring than I expected. Well, not physically taxing, but still...I had no idea she could be so passionate about something so silly. Looking back at the cover art, I noticed that her dress resembled this Mistress Vamde's dress down to every single detail. The embroidery, the form, it was all there. To think that a pony with a book for a cutie mark could be so precise is astounding.
“Ohh...”
I heard Spike moan forlornly as we exited the hotel, making me frown a bit. Had I known this 'Comic-Con' was going on the same weekend as fashion week, I probably would have reciprocated...
“Don't you worry, Spikey-wikey. I promise we'll go to the next, uh...Comic-con, okay? And I'll be sure to take care of all the expenses.”
He smiled wryly at my offer. “...thanks, Rarity. You really are the best pony a dragon could ask for.”
“Of course I am! Now then, be a dear and get my bags for me, would you? We've still got a whole city block to cover!”
“Sure thing!” I couldn't help but smile as I watched him heft my luggage over his back. Ah, what would I ever do without you? His grunts became distant as I lost myself in the cover of the comicbook Biblia gave me, the character designs featured making me feel somewhat intimidated. Oh well, it's something to preoccupy myself with on the long train ride back home.
----
- Carousel Boutique, Three Weeks Later
“How do they make this look so easy?! And-and good HEAVENS, what do they work with?! Craft foam, wonderflex, acrylic paint, fiberglass?! What is ANY of this?! Ohh, I'm never going to make it in time for the San Bronco convention, I simply KNOW it...”
It broke off again. That single piece of the ensemble has been the bane of my existence all week. If it didn't literally define the outfit, then I seriously would have considered axing this section altogether but nooo -
*slam*
“Hey Rarity, Twilight asked me to come over and – uh.”
I froze, the allergy mask on my face feeling like a vice. I've been seen.