Chapter XXII

“You’re healthy as a horse miss Rarity.” Doctor Pelton announced as he entered the examination room. “All of the tests came back fine. What seems to be the issue?” The white unicorn felt a little dismayed that he had not found the cause of her gastrointestinal unrest.

“I’ve been rather nauseous for the past few days.” She explained. The grey-maned doctor smiled.

“Well I can tell you that you’re fine. Only thing I can think of is if maybe you’ve had something very stressful in your life in the past few days, the death of a family member or some such.” She laughed politely.

“Well, it must be something else, my life’s been wonderful for the past few days.” She took off the examination dress she wore and folded it neatly on the paper-covered table. “Thank you for your time doctor. I will let you know if anything changes.” She headed back to her tower to get an early start on Twilight’s commission. She would just get over whatever it was in time.

The fabric was bizarre, almost otherworldly; she dared not make the slightest incision until she knew just what it was made of. She was perusing through her books of smart fabric (she knew no royal dress would be made from dumb or even sufficient fabric), when somepony knocked at her door. She sighed and set her work down. She opened the door. In the bright sunlight stood Audacity. He seemed anxious.

“Hello Audacity, what can I do for you?” She asked politely. He smiled.

“Uh, hi Rarity. I, uh.” He scratched his neck. “Wanted to see if you were doing ok after your fall into The Falls.” She remembered the Pegasus who had saved her.

“Oh! That was you! Thank you so much for saving me, again!” She laughed as she gave him a hug. “Yes yes I’m fine! How did you know I was in trouble?”

“I was, you know, I was out doing a bit of a show for the pony school; they were out looking at constellations. Then I heard that dragon screaming for you and.” He laughed nervously. “You know, went and got you.” She blushed a bit, Audacity was still a terrific stallion, even if he did have terrible taste in mares.

“Well thank you for saving my life again!” She said with a giggle. “Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have jumped into that water, but my fiancé accidently dropped my ring and I wasn’t going to make him buy another.”

“Oh! You’re getting married! Congratulations!” The stallion said in surprise.

“Oh well of course I’ll invite you!” she said quickly. “Maybe you can do a show!”

He nodded.

“Yeah, yeah.” Audacity cleared his throat. “Well, uh, I gotta get going. Glad you’re ok.” He said abruptly.

“Well good seeing you!” She said as he rocketed into the air. She watched the red streak speed off into the blue sky; Audacity was still a great stallion.

She had narrowed the fabric type of the dress down to just two possibilities: Turinistic Shrouding, or Transient-based polyester, by the time Pinkie got home.

“Hey there Pinkamina, what adventures did you have today?” Rarity asked as the pink pony dropped her bags by the door. Pinkie looked over at her, she looked exhausted and didn’t smile.

“Fuck baking.” She declared. Rarity had never heard Pinkie swear intentionally before and the curse sounded peculiar, laced in Pinkie’s squeaky voice. “I spent the whole day going from muffins to the front end, we had a lot of customers coming in to try out pumpkin cupcakes.” She sat down beside Rarity. “Applecrisp called in sick today. So I had to spend the whole fucking day getting yelled at by Mrs. Salukas because I couldn’t do both jobs.” She sighed. “I thought baking was fun, but you guys don’t sing or make cupcakes for the school kids.” She said sadly. “I wish I were back at Sugarcube Corner.”

“I’m sorry Pinkie, I really am. The Lone Star is a nice place, but it’s not anything like Sugarcube Corner. Applecrisp gets sick sometimes, I probably should have told you that.” Rarity explained.

“Why isn’t anything fun anymore?!” Pinkie asked unhappily. “Ever since that stupid Blast everything’s been so stupid and sad!” Rarity sighed.

“I’ll tell you what I tell Dash: we’re all just going through a time of change and we’re just starting to fit into those changes.”

“I don’t want things to change! I liked things the way they were!” Pinkie said, starting to cry. “I want to make fun things to eat, I want to go on an adventure.” She whimpered. “I miss Fluttershy.”

Rarity put an arm around her friend.

“I’m sorry Pinkie.” She said quietly. “I know none of us really talk about her anymore. I think it’s just easiest to handle it that way.”

“I miss her so much!” Pinkie cried. Rarity began to cry as well.

“I do too.”

It was good to cry; the pair wept and sobbed for a time. Pinkie clutched Rarity, and Rarity didn’t mind. She held the pink mare and let her own sorrow out with her. Eventually the tears ran dry and the two sat for a time, resting from the release. Rarity had forgotten how much crying helped things.

“Things have been really fucked up since the Blast.” Rarity said softly. “But I think they’re getting back to normal.”

“I hope so.” Pinkie said, wiping her eyes. “I really hope so.”

Monday came and Rarity got to work on Twilight’s dress. Well, she started on it. For four hours she started on it. She had figured out that it was made of darkweave, an expensive fabric from the Badlands. With this knowledge she knew how to cut and sew it properly. Yet Rarity did nothing. The inspiration didn’t come, and the dress sat before her like a corpse stretched across the wooden autopsy table that was her desk. Finally, she had enough of the stuffy tower and decided to take a walk. The sickness lingered in her stomach and she made a few miserable laps around the town. She remembered Angora and headed over to her little store.

The white pony was at the register, knitting a scarf.

“So what is this, work or style?” Rarity asked, motioning to the scarf. Angora, who had been enraptured in her work, looked up. She wore glasses for her close up work, just like Rarity herself.

“Oh, I’m doing a cotton blended work one for my stallion, he’s in the Pegasus reserves.” Rarity peered in at the stitching. It was obvious Angora had been knitting from a young age. There were no wasted stitches and the entire work was tightly woven.

“Oh, beautiful! Your colt better love this!” Rarity said appreciatively. Angora giggled.

“He does, he loves everything I send him. He said once his rotation is up he’s going to move to Ponyville and help me with the business.”

“Aw, he sounds great.” Rarity loved seeing couples that worked together.

Angora set the scarf down on the counter.

“Can you help me with something?” She asked with a frown.

“Sure! What do you need?” Rarity asked cheerfully.

Angora led her back to her workroom.

“This.” She said, holding up a plain brown cloak. “It’s impossible. Vanity sent me this, he wants me to make it warm and flow with pink shoes. How is that possible?” She asked, giving the garment to Rarity.

“Ohhhh.” Rarity took the cloak and spread it out on the work table. It was impossible, there was no way in hell any thick brown cloak would go with any sort of pink shoes. She looked at it for a moment. An idea came to her.

“Stuffing.” She said, frowning down at the puzzle. “We can run some stuffing down the interior, nothing much, just a nine mil.”

Angora stared at the cloak.

“How will…” Her voice trailed off as she attempted to comprehend Rarity’s plan. “Light stuffing, two tone pastel.” She said as it suddenly dawned on her. Rarity grinned.

“Pop off the zipper, size eight buttons.”

“How are we going to match the buttons?” Rarity put her hoof aside her nose.

“You’ll see.”

The pair got to work on the paradoxical request. They worked for an hour on the cloak, eventually coming to the seemingly impossible buttons. Angora didn’t know that one could bleach buttons with lemon juice.

“No way!” She exclaimed as Rarity sewed the citrusy buttons onto the blue and red cloak. Rarity laughed.

“Yeah, I had a commission from Sotheby’s and the night before I ran out of white buttons and all I had was two lemons.” She chuckled as she sewed the last button in place. “Kept a five hundred bit contract with three bits worth of fruit.” She pulled the last stitch closed and held up the completed cloak. “So, do you think this goes with pink shoes?” She asked sarcastically.

“Yeaaah but…” The younger designer pointed to the red area. “Couldn’t we make that lighter and bring attention to the drawstrings?” Rarity hadn’t noticed that. She looked over the other designer’s idea; it actually made more sense than her own.

“Wow, I, yeah that works really well actually!” The elder unicorn said, impressed by Angora’s insight. They lightened the color and now the cloak was absolutely gorgeous, especially with pink shoes. They had completed Vanity’s impossible task.

It had been fun helping Angora, really fun actually and Rarity felt refreshed by working alongside the young designer.

“So where do you want the dumb fabric?” She asked lifting the heavy and uncompliant roll.

She felt a hoof on her shoulder.

“Here, this is for you.” Angora held out a little sheet of patterns.

There are three things a designer can’t go without. One is a copy of “The Official Compendium of all things In”, the second is any kind of sewing kit, and thirdly, a sheet of their patterns. Patterns, little two by two squares of cloth colored by the designer and used for smart and dumb fabric orders, are what make their personal style. Designers never shared their patterns with one another, lest they be forged and their idea stolen. Rarity remembered her first set of patterns, she had made over three hundred dresses with those four color schemes. There was no reason for Angora to share her patterns with her.

“What?” Rarity asked in surprise. Angora smiled.

“We’re gonna be friends I think. I want you to keep these, so whenever I need to make a custom, I can come to you for ideas.” Rarity bit her lip, Angora trusted her more than Hoity-Toity ever would. She took the little card.

“Thank you, I’ll keep these safe. Let me know if you ever need any help.” Angora gave her a hug.

“I will Rarity.”

Rarity left Esoteria happy and touched; she was ready to tackle Twilight’s commission. Back home, she set the card with her other valuables and then had a seat at her desk.

She picked up a pencil and a clean sheet of drafting paper and prepared to start her design. She turned on the light atop her desk. She turned the light to a better brightness. She opened a window for some air. She sharpened the pencil and again seated herself before the desk. She adjusted the window to her liking. She returned to her seat. She stared at the paper. She threw the pencil across the room and slumped down in the chair.

“Fuck, come on.” She said, putting a hoof to her head. “Make a damn cloak work with shoes but not a simple dress?” A fly buzzed around the room and she watched it for a few minutes. The black comma lazily looped around the gears of the clock and disappeared into the rafters. She looked back at the paper. She needed a break.

It was around five or so when she took her next sabbatical. The wind was pleasantly cool and she watched the leaves bounce across the cobblestone. She could go to the Straw Purchase, there had to be a part of grace that dealt with lack of inspiration! She galloped to the diner. There were no diners inside, thankfully. The young black stallion was behind the counter cleaning a coffee cup out when she slid up to the bar.

“Been awhile!” She said with a grin. Posh looked up.

“Rarity! Good to see you!” He exclaimed. He poked his head back into the kitchen. “Dad! It’s Rarity!” He shouted.

In a moment the elder stallion joined them; he wore a stained “God is my Sous chef” apron.

“Rarity! It’s been some time! How’s it going?” Pish asked, leaning on the bar.

She smiled.

“Engaged, got my old Boutique back, and already have a commission.”

“Sounds wonderful, how did it all work out?” Pish asked. She explained the full story of how it had all worked out, making sure to draw attention to any times that she had given grace.

“And I don’t know when I’m getting married, but I just know it’s going to be great!” She said happily. Posh was grinning broadly.

“Praise God. I know you’ll think it’s just a coincidence, but I hope you can see how just doing your part and letting Him do the rest is really all it takes.”

She shrugged.

“I dunno about God and all, but, well, it’s sure going in the pros section of my thoughts about Him.”

“So, do you need any more grace, or is this purely a social call?” Pish asked jokingly.

“Well, I suppose I need some help with my commission. It’s technically my first one in my new position, and I want it to be perfect.” She frowned. “But for some reason, I can’t seem to get it to work.”

“Go easy on yourself Rarity.” Posh said. “You’re just settling in to where you should be.”

“Well, I’m afraid I’ll screw it up.” She admitted. He shook his head.

“No, you won’t, you’re where you need to be and you’ll get back into the swing of things in your own time. Isn’t that right dad?” Pish seemed to be thinking on something else and it took the elder stallion a moment to notice.

“What? Oh yes. Rarity, you sound like you’re where you need to be. Posh is right, when you’re where you need to be, the ability will come.”

“You’re sure?”

“Completely.” The two said in unison.

She walked home feeling like she had when she had left Angora’s. She could do it, they were right, the ability would come. She was where she needed to be. But what could she add to the dress that would work well? The designer’s block was already creeping back to her and she wasn’t even home yet.

“Rarity! Hey Rarity!” Spike called.

“Future mare of my assistant!” Twilight yelled. Rarity looked back, Spike and Twilight were walking down the street along with the three guards and a small sprig of rainbow tail poking out of the procession.

The unicorn jogged over to the small crowd. Spike ran out and gave her a kiss.

“Sorry about that, Twi’s being annoying.” He said with a roll of his eyes. Twilight giggled.

“I am not! I was trying to get her attention!”

“What are you all doing out?” Rarity asked.

“They’re walking me to the doctor’s.” Dash said from behind her.

Rarity looked back. Dash’s rainbow mane had been cut short and the wispy colors shone with wetness; Rainbow Dash was immaculately clean and bathed in preparation for the surgery. She smiled at Rarity. Something about her smile and the way her violet eyes shone made Rarity utterly sick to her stomach.

The white unicorn coughed, then hacked, then gasped for breath. Crumpling forward, Rarity retched and kicked the ground in nauseated discomfort as she dry heaved. The group halted.

“Rarity, are you ok?!!” Spike asked, kneeing beside her. She nodded and took a deep breath.

“Yeah, just a little something I musta caught when I took that swim.”

“Are you sure? Do you want to see a doctor?” Spike asked in concern. She shook her head.

“Gimme some time, I’ll fight it off.”

They started walking again and Rarity fought to keep her rebellious stomach in line.

“I’m glad I could see you before the operation.” Dash said to Rarity. “I was so busy today with the pre-op stuff that I forgot to stop by!”

Rarity felt as if she might vomit.

“Hey, I’m glad I could see you off, I mean, see you in.” Rarity said, trying to keep herself steady.

“The procedure should take about six hours.” Twilight explained. “Little Antwerp is already looking forward to his new wings.”

“I hope he likes them.” Dash said cheerfully. As they walked down the street, Rarity felt herself beginning to sweat. Her nausea threatened to drop her again and she frantically thought for an excuse to bow out.

“Well, this is us!” Spike said as they reached the little brick office. The procession halted and Rainbow Dash walked to the door.

“Well, uh, I guess this is a see ya later then.” She said in uncertainty.

Twilight smiled and gave the Pegasus a hug.

“I’m proud of you Dash, you’re going to be fine.”

Rainbow Dash looked to Rarity. Those Goddamn eyes. Rarity’s throat closed tightly and she simply nodded. The Pegasus walked back to the unicorn and hugged her tightly.

“Thanks for being my friend.” She whispered. “You’ve helped me come so far.” Rarity felt the tears sting her tightly-shut eyes and she desperately clung to Rainbow Dash. She didn’t want Dash to lose her wings, she didn’t want to let the little Pegasus go.

In a moment, Rainbow Dash released her. She gave her friends one final nod.

“Well, see you on the other side!” She said simply, then opened the door to the clinic.

“Why you must be Rainbow Dash!” Rarity heard the nurse say. The door closed, and it was quiet. They waited for a second, then started back down the street.

“Hey, Rarity, do you want to get some ice cream?” Spike asked playfully. “Twilight brought some back from Cantorlot. It’s really good!”

“All the best marriage and family books say to establish a favorite flavor before the children!” Twilight said jokingly. Rarity didn’t look back for fear they might see the tears.

“N-no.” She stammered. “I have some things I need to get done tonight.” She walked briskly home, the nameless sickness knotting her stomach.

Back in her tower, she felt sick and depressed all at once. She tried to put Rainbow Dash out of her mind. Taking a pencil, she started to scrawl out a wild and senseless design for Twilight’s commission. Rainbow Dash was going to get de-winged, she was going to have her wings cut off. Rarity stabbed the pencil into the desk and swept the paper off in a blind fury. She stood up, she had to do something to take her mind off of the horrible thought of the anesthetized Pegasus. She looked around for a distraction.

“Fuck work, just fuck it!” Pinkie shouted as she threw open the door. Pinkie Pie: The world’s greatest distraction! The pink pony ripped open the fridge, yanked out a bottle of root beer and tore the cap off. She gulped down the frothy soda, spilling some onto herself. “Fuck that stupid fuck Ana!” She cried in frustration.

“What happened?” Rarity asked. “Did she think you stole something?” Pinkie nodded.

“She thought I was going to steal the cookie cutters!” Pinkie threw her hooves into the air in exasperation. “I brought those from Sugarcube Corner!”

“It’s fine Pinkie, she’s a bitch a lot of the time. Just let her-”

“And stupid fucking Applecrisp is still sick! Sonny said he’s gonna fire her cause she’s all outta sick days! Well that doesn’t help me!” Pinkie took another swig of the non-alcoholic soft drink.

“Hang on what?!” Rarity asked in surprise. “Applecrisp’s still out sick?” Pinkie nodded and continued to down her beverage.

“She didn’t even call this morning. Sonny said they had an agreement to no more sick days. Well how am I supposed to run a whole bakery by myself?” Rarity was already donning her coat.

“Yeah I don’t know Pinkie. Listen, I need to go see her, she’s called in sick a lot this past summer and I don’t know why. I’m gonna go see her.”

“Tell her to get her fucking rump back in the fucking kitchen!” Pinkie shouted furiously as Rarity raced down the steps.

The night air was growing icy and Rarity galloped toward the dam. Why the fuck was Applecrisp taking so many sick days? She was sulking no doubt; and while Rarity couldn’t blame Applecrisp for that, it still wasn’t fair for her to skip out of her work. She was going to set Applecrisp straight.

Her anger seemed to temporarily cure the sickness and she forgot all about Rainbow Dash. In a few minutes she reached the dam. Climbing the ladder to the steel box, Rarity clopped her hoof against the grey door. There was no reply. She clopped harder. The rushing of the icy water below was the only response.

“Applecrisp! It’s Rarity!” She shouted at the door. “Can I come in?” A wind blew against her, slicing through her cloak and chilling her to the core. She banged against the door. Applecrisp had better be home. Her arm was growing sore from the repeated striking and she shivered from the icy breeze. The door opened suddenly and Rarity nearly fell into the open doorway.

“The fuck do ya’ll want?” Applecrisp asked in a low voice.

“Can I come in, please, it’s cold out here.” Rarity asked. Applecrisp said nothing, but moved out of the way. Rarity scampered into the room. It was pitch black inside and it took the unicorn a few moments to adjust to the darkness. The acrid smell of alcohol permeated the air. Rarity coughed.

“Applecrisp, what’s going on? Pinkie said you-” Her hoof knocked something over. Rarity heard the tinkle of glass against metal and felt a wetness at her hooves. She looked down and her heart missed a beat. All along the floor stood about twenty or so cider bottles, a rag protruded from each. She looked up. “Applecrisp?” She asked in fear. “What’s going on?” The Apple pony was emotionless, with a slight frown, giving her the look of a cadaver.

“Gonna burn that whore’s orchard t’the ground then burn her too.” Her words sounded like a recital of a suicide note and Rarity held back a scream at the horrible plan before her. “Ah’m done Rarity. Ah’d advahs ya’ll go back home and make that ya’ll were asleep.”

“Applecrisp! You can’t burn Applejack’s orchard down!” Rarity cried.

“Wai the fuck not?!!!” screamed Applecrisp. “Ah ain’t got but a shitty job at a fuckin’ bak’ry. No future, no plans. Applejack was rahght, ah ain’t nuthin’ but swamp trash.” She ground her teeth together and slammed her arm against the control panel, setting off a fireworks display of lights. “Well this trash is gunna take that prideful mare down with her.” She finished blackly.

“Applecrisp no!” Rarity said in terror. “You can’t do that!”

Applecrisp shook her head.

“Ah got nuthin’ Rarity. An’ ah ain’t never gunna have nuthin’.”

“Yes Applecrisp you do!” Rarity walked over to her. “You have me and Thomas and-” Applecrisp threw her back. Rarity stumbled and fell onto a bottle. The flammable liquid spilled out and slicked the floor.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP RARITY!!!” Applecrisp thundered. “YA’LL DON’T KNOW SHIT ABOUT ME!!!” Applecrisp took a few breaths, then slapped at the stream of tears that had begun to run down her face. “Y’don’t know shit about me. My parents are siblin’s, they died when ah was young. All they tole me and Thomas was that nuthin’ good comes outta sin like theirs. Ah spent my whole life huntin’ an’ killin’ an’ thinkin’ ah could be somepony. That ah could be sumthin’ other than sin. Well it ain’t true, ah’m an unnatural nopony who ain’t got nuthin’ t’show for herself. Applejack knows it, an’ my parents knew it. Ah ain’t goin’ back t’Hayseed, ah ain’t goin’ nowhere, ah’m just goin’ out.” She swallowed and wiped at the tears. “Ya’ll best go home ‘fore things get ugly.”

Rarity stood up.

“Listen, Applecrisp, I know how you feel-” Applecrisp snorted.

“No ya don’t Rarity, yer’ life is perfect. Ya’ll ain’t got shit to complain about” Rarity shook her head.

“No it really isn’t. I have a lot of bad days.” Applecrisp laughed cynically.

“Yeah, ah know, whole Gawd damn world knows when Rarity the unicorn is mad or sad or just feelin’ blue. Rarity yer’ whole life is fuckin’ perfect, an’ yer jest a miserable little pony lookin’ fer’ somethin’ to make herself feel bad.”

Rarity took offense to this.

“Hey what the fuck do you know about me?” She asked in outrage. “Don’t tell me-”

“Yer a miserable pony Rarity, yer’ always lookin’ fer some problem t’feel bad over. Ah ain’t once seen ya’ll sad over somthin’ ya’ll didn’t make yerself sad over.” Applecrisp spat.

“I’m so fucking sorry I lost my friends and my life got ruined. I’m sorry I made myself sad over not knowing my purpose and making mistakes like you. I’m really fucking sorry that I can’t be always happy in my ‘perfect little life’. It really shouldn’t have taken me so long to find my purpose, I’ll do better next time.” She retorted.

“Fuck yew Rarity. Yer’ lahf took a coupla months t’heal, ah ain’t got none.” Applecrisp shot back. “Y’got everythin’ y’want an’ y’think cause y’had a bad summer that y’kin lecture me on life. Fuck yew.”

“Hey, my life is far from perfect. I don’t want to be a fashionista or get married or do any of that! I have no fucking clue if I’m even going through with any of it!” She stopped. What had she just said? Did she mean that?

Applecrisp rolled her eyes.

“Oh mah Gawd here we go agin. Here’s sum great advice Rarity: Y’ain’t a fashionista, y’ain’t a housemare, yer four hooves. Four hooves that gotta stahp listinin’ t’whut everypony else says an’ jus’ make a decision about whut y’want. Four hooves that gotta stahp bein’ so fuckin’ conflicted. Ah have no ahdea whut the fuck yer problem is but y’do nuthin’ but question yerself and tell yerself whut y’think is best.”

In that moment, Rarity felt the sickness leave her. Her stomach unknotted and an unexpected sigh rushed from her lungs as the sickness of the past few days suddenly vanished. Applecrisp saw this and shook her head.

“Yer a fucked up pony Rarity. But you kin do a lotta things. Don’t sell yerself short an’ tell yerself whut y’should do. Just do whut y’want.”

Rarity slumped down the floor.

Was that what she had been doing? She wanted to be a fashionista, she had to! It was her gift, her talent! She looked at her flank, four diamonds had nothing to do with fashion. She wanted to run a workshop, she had to! It didn’t make any sense for her not to! She had come so far and things were going so well! This was her new life and she didn’t want it? Wasn’t this moving on from the Blast?

She was slipping back into insanity. Rarity felt lightheaded and reached over and took one of the bottles of cider. Discarding the rag, she took a draught of the fermented liquid.

“God, what the fuck is wrong with me?” She asked lucidly. “I must be insane.” Applecrisp sighed and sat down beside her. Plucking the rag from a bottle, Applecrisp took a sip of cider. “I spend half my time fucking things up and now I’m finally back where I want to be…and I don’t want it? Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with me?” Rarity asked her.

Applecrisp shrugged.

“Ah’m pretty good at tellin’ fucked up ponies, bein’ one myself. Ah’d say y’spend too much time thinkin’ on things.” She surmised.

Rarity pondered this. It was a lie, it was not true. She had spent the whole summer learning to move on, learning to stop being a bad pony. She had finished her recovery and gotten everything back. Why would she feel relieved to admit she didn’t want to go back?

The two sat in silence for a time, surrounded by the improvised incendiary grenades. They both consumed a few bottles of cider, which seemed to calm the moment. Applecrisp spat onto the metal floor and wiped her face.

“Ah dunno, maybe ah oughta go back t’Hayseed. Ponyville ain’t right fer’ me. Yer’ all too hard t’figure.” Applecrisp said staring at her empty cider bottle.

“Yeah, I know.” Rarity said. “This place fucks with me. Maybe I should move to Hayseed with you. Maybe I’ll understand myself there.”

“Aw nao yer’ jus’ talkin’ nonsense cause yer’ overthinkin’ things agin.” Applecrisp looked over at her. “Right nao: Whut d’y’want t’do? Whut does Rarity the four hooves want t’do? Don’t think on the Blast or’ yer’ business or nuthin’. Just do whut y’wanna do.”

Rarity thought for a moment. What did she really want to do?

“Grab your bags, fill them with those.” She said, gesturing to the bottles. Rarity knew exactly what she wanted to do. Applecrisp looked at her in confusion.

“Y’come in here, tahr me out so ah don’t wanna kill my cousin…nao ya’ll want me t’go an’ do it after all?” Rarity shook her head.

“We’ve got a long night ahead.” She said. “And you’re not going to hurt your cousin.”

The two left the control room. The brisk fall air was quickly becoming frigid and the mares walked quickly through the sleepy town. It was about eight when they arrived at Hennessy’s.

“Wait here.” Rarity instructed Applecrisp. She entered the bar, the tart smell of cocktails and beers stung her nose as she strolled into the dim building.

“Rarity, me lucky lass! Y’been gone awhael!” Quinn said cheerfully. She ignored him.

“Rarity?” She looked over at the bar. Audacity stood up from a stool. “I uh, didn’t expect to see you here!” He said in embarrassment. His breath reeked of a lengthy tab and he had obviously not expected her. She pushed him aside as she scanned the room.

Snips sat in the back booth. Rarity saw a couple of Cutie Mark-less fillies on his outstretched arms. She strode over to them.

“He’s been in jail twice for raping colts. He has ED and doesn’t know how to pronounce the word ‘aluminum’. He’s never been out of Ponyville and got his Cutie Mark during his circumcision.” She said to the two young fillies. All three looked up in total surprise. She flicked her head to the mares. “Go.”

“Excuse me?!” Snips demanded. The fillies looked at him.

“I thought you said you got your Cutie Mark killing a fascist.” One said softly. Rarity pointed over to Audacity.

“Go ask that Pegasus over there, he’s Snips’ parole officer.”

“Listen lady, you’re obviously crazy. I fought in two wars.” Snips was a soldier now it seemed. However, Rarity’s attack had worked (or the fillies doubted Snips’ story from the beginning), and the two spooked mares slipped out of their seats to go verify Rarity’s story with the parole officer. “Hey! Angel, Sunbeam!” The green unicorn called ineffectually. The fillies began to ask the uninvolved parole officer about their date’s past. Snips turned to Rarity.

“What is your deal?” He asked her furiously. “Just fuck off!”

“Take back what you said about my friend Rainbow Dash.”

“Oh my God what is with you and wanting to make me take back stuff?!!” He asked in exasperation. “You’re like a school-filly.”

“Take it back, she’s not brain damaged.” She repeated. He snorted.

“I take it back. All of it. I don’t know what I was thinking when I called a Pegasus who lives by herself and doesn’t do anything brain damaged.” A smile slid over his face. “Course you really can’t call her a Pegasus anymore can you? After tonight she’s gonna be-” Rarity kicked the table, forcing the wooden edge into the green stomach of the reclining unicorn. The impact of the blow knocked the wind out of him and he gasped for air. Rarity leaned across the tilted table.

“Say it.” She whispered, pushing the table farther his body. “And I’ll squish you like the cockroach you are. I’ll go to jail for a hundred years to shut your fuckin’ mouth.”

He choked and clawed at the table.

“You’re a psychopath.” He said hoarsely. She released the table and Snips fell onto his side, panting for air.

“Rainbow Dash isn’t brain damaged.” She said to the crumpled unicorn. “She’s a better pony than you will ever be.” Rarity turned and started out of the bar.

Audacity, having assured the two fillies that he was not in any way involved in police work, again got out of his seat and approached Rarity.

“Hey, um, this is kinda weird, I know.” He began. She shoved him back and made for the exit.

“Fuck off.” She said, not taking her eyes off of the exit.

She stopped at the door and looked back. The red Pegasus had turned and ordered another drink. He was reaching for his stein when she took hold of him. Rarity jerked his head toward hers and kissed him. The kiss lasted a moment, with a very surprised Audacity flailing his arms about during the momentary assault. Rarity released him and he fell to the floor in a drunken daze. Without a word, the white unicorn departed.

Applecrisp was standing outside.

“Y’done in there?” She asked quizzically. Rarity nodded, wiping the taste of Audacity from her lips.

“We’re going back to my place, I need you to help me move some things.”

Pinkie Pie was in bed, but as Rarity entered the darkened room, party pony switched a light on.

“Oh hi Rarity! Didja talk to-”

“Go back to bed Pinkie.” Rarity said authoritatively. The slightly spooked pony wordlessly nodded and complacently pulled the covers over her head.

As she emptied her desk, Rarity saw the tiny card of patterns Angora had given her. Without another thought she dropped it into her gigantic volume of accrued patterns and tossed it into a bag. Rarity packed everything up in several duffel bags and hauled it all down to Applecrisp. The blue Apple pony was completely lost at this point.

“Gawd, Rarity, whut the fuck are ya’ll plannin’ on doin’?” She asked in bemusement. Rarity slung two of the bags over her shoulders.

“I’ll let you know when we get there.”

They walked through the quiet town. A few lights were on, but most ponies went to bed early in the fall and nopony was around to witness the two mares shuttling fashion design accoutrements to the little store.

They dumped the bags down in front of the building. Applecrisp looked up at the sign.

“Rarity, ah dunno whut yer’ tryin’ t’teach me here, but ah got it ok? Ah ain’t gunna burn down nuthin’, alrahght?”

Rarity shook her head.

“Oh yes you are.” She scribbled a note onto a sheet of her personal stationary and secured it to the heap of bags. She stepped back and surveyed the pile. Seemingly satisfied with herself, she led Applecrisp to the final destination on their escapade.

It was a long walk and Applecrisp was becoming more and more concerned with the behavior of her friend.

“Look, Rarity, ah’m sorry ok? Ah git mad at Applejack, but mosta the time ah don’t mean t’hurt her. It was wrong a’ me t’threaten t’burn her orchard down. Ah git it dammit!’”

“This isn’t about you or her.” Rarity said, focused on the darkened path before them. Applecrisp was silent as she tried to understand the actions of her friend. “Oh and you were right, Applejack is completely wrong for keeping Granny Smith alive.” Rarity added.

In a few moments they reached their destination. Applecrisp stood behind Rarity.

“Uh, whut are we doin’?” She asked apprehensively. Rarity turned to her.

“Give me a bottle.”

“Whut?!!” Applecrisp asked in shock. “Ah ain’t-” Rarity ripped the bag from her and opened it. “Rarity!!! Gawd almighty, ah said ah was sorry! Y’were right, ah shouldn’ta-”

“Shut up Applecrisp.” Rarity said, lifting one of the bottles from the bag. She pulled a small box of matches from a side pouch and struck match against the cardboard edge. The little wooden stick popped and an orange-yellow flame danced at the tip. “This isn’t about you, it was never about you. You just made sense of the past summer and pretty much the rest of my life. You made me realize there’s a difference between moving on and moving back.” The short match burned down and she held it to the alcohol soaked rag draped from the mouth of the bottle. “I’m done telling myself who I am.” The flame climbed the rag and cast a blue glow over Rarity.

“Rarity, whu-”

“Either help me or run home and make that you were asleep.” Rarity said, looking back at the spooked pony. Applecrisp stared at Rarity. She looked over at the building, then back at Rarity. In the flickering light of the burning rag, Rarity saw a smile come to the face of swamp pony.

“Yer’ done tellin’ yerself whut y’are.” She repeated. Rarity chuckled.

“Now you’re getting it.” Applecrisp pulled a bottle from the bag and ignited the rag.

“Y’sure this is what y’want?” She asked. Rarity shook her head.

“This is just the opposite.”

The first bottle summersaulted in the air, making a brief, flaming O before shattering through the window. There was a whoosh of burning cider and a dull red orange glow radiated through the window. The second bottle, flying straight and steady, followed the path of the first.

“Y’gotta learn to throw ‘em rahght!” Applecrisp laughed. “Takes some practice!” Rarity lit another and lobbed it into the second story window. Applecrisp targeted the balcony. Both bottles shattered on target and the flames began to dance inside the round structure. The glow of the flames illuminated the landscape around them like a giant torch and by the time they had tossed the last bottle, the structure was a blazing, hellish inferno. Applecrisp stared at the scene, the bright yellow and red flames danced against her clear green eyes. Rarity tossed her the empty satchel.

“Come on, we have one more stop.” She said, starting back toward the town.

It was probably around ten when they got back. The post office wouldn’t open for another twelve hours. Rarity folded her dress carefully as she set it in the cardboard box. It was the dress she had made for herself, back when she had put the fashion show on with her friends so very long ago. Applecrisp watched intently as she addressed the package. The white unicorn taped up the box, then dropped it into the mail chute.

“Who’s Brilliance?” Applecrisp asked as they walked away from the post office.

“Somepony I owe a dress to.” Rarity replied.

They were finished. Rarity took a deep breath. The night was frigid, but she didn’t feel it. Her blood raced through her veins and she felt almost feverish. Rarity looked around at the town, she thought about all of the years she had spent in Ponyville.

Applecrisp was shivering and Rarity put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Go home Applecrisp. You’ve done enough.” She said. Applecrisp looked over at her.

“Rarity, did, did ya’ll mean t’do all this when y’came over t’nahght?” Rarity shook her head.

“No, I didn’t. This summer I learned about grace, how to treat my friends, and how to move on from losing everything. Somewhere in there I got the idea that moving on meant living like I used to. It took two jobs, a stomache ache and a speech from an inbred Apple pony to mean to realize; to stop telling myself who I was.” Applecrisp thought for a moment.

“So, whut are y’then?” Rarity looked out at the sleeping town. She smiled.

“I’m just four hooves.”

An earthshaking rumble rattled ground beneath them and they saw fragments of ash and wood drifting into the sky; the fire must have blown the gas main. Rarity knew the police would be along soon.

“Go, now.” She said to Applecrisp.

“Whut about ya’ll?” Applecrisp asked.

“I’m going to go tell them who did it.” Rarity answered.

“Whut?!!”

“Rarity the unicorn burned the Carisol Boutique to the ground because she is not a fashion designer anymore.”