Rarity still does run her Boutique, but being a Royal Tailor changed everything. She now is close with Princess Twilight. To her delight, Sweetie Belle is taking a liking to Dinky Hooves, while helping her out with accessories.
I just recently started to write stories directly towards the FiM actively, though I have been writing for years, publishing numerous stories at Mibba and the eventual pony story, as far as to the MLP