No matter the time, no matter the place, no matter the species, everyone knew what an "I just got back from work" face looked like. And as the ponies of Ponyville watched Jay head on back to his apartment building, that was exactly the face he now bore for himself. Sighing in a long and tired way, the human made his way closer to his new home, grumbling under his breath.

"If the sign doesn't say it's two-for-one...then it's not two-for-one! How many times do I need to tell people that?!"

But, at the very least, a smile soon returned to him. For after a long day at one's job, there was no more pleasant sight than a person's own front door, and the welcoming allure of home. Once in front of said door, he let out another sigh, then reached into his pocket, ready to pull out his key. But, as he did this, his smile faded. He kept his hand in that pocket for a few seconds longer, then tried the pocket on the other side of the jacket. Then, after this, he patted down every other spot on himself in a desperate attempt to find what he was looking for. When this was all done, however, he returned once more to his earlier look of tiredness.

"Ugh! Great! Now I have to go all the way back and..."

"Um, Pardon me, Sir?"

Jay was surprised at the second voice, but he turned, and now looked down to see an alabaster unicorn mare, with a dark purple mane and a pair of saddle-bags upon her back, smiling up to him. Her horn was aglow, and she was levitating a set of keys in front of her, lifting them up to Jay's view.

"I believe you dropped these a few blocks back?"

Immediately, Jay accepted the gift, breathing a sigh of relief as he did so.

"Oh! Thank you! You're a lifesaver, Miss...?"

Sweeping aide some of her hair, the mare gave a little bow of her head to him.

"Rarity. A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Mr Jay."

To that, Jay raised an eyebrow.

"Um...have we met?"

Rarity shook her head.

"We haven't had the pleasure, but I believe you've already encountered one of my dear friends. Rainbow Dash?"

Jay nodded in response.

"Yeah, we met during one of my morning jogs."

A brief laugh escaped Rarity at that.

"She came in to get her Wonderbolt uniform mended, and she happened to mention you."

Then, she stopped and regarded him for a few moments.

"Well, if you don't mind my saying so, Sir, between the jogs and your new job at the tea store, you'll run yourself ragged one of these days."

Jay too laughed, though his was more of a dry chuckle.

"Yeah, certainly feels that way sometimes."

Looking back to his door, he thought for a moment before glancing back to his latest encounter.

"Would you like to come in? I could probably get a pot on for you."

Rarity's smile widened.

"That is most kind of you. If you're offering, I certainly won't say no."

Jay smiled, and he got to the business of unlocking his door at last. Afterwards, both he and Rarity headed up the stairs, and from there, it wasn't long before they found themselves in front of his apartment door, which was also unlocked soon after. Now, they were inside, and Jay removed his jacket and set it upon the coat rack beside the door. Taking a few steps inside, he spoke to his guest, who he could hear walking behind him.

"Make yourself at home."

But, his comment were not, as he'd predicted, met with a "thank you" from Rarity, but rather what sounded like a horrified gasp. Immediately, the human spun in place, trying to see what was going on, only to find the mare looking around with pure terror upon her face.

"What's wrong?!" he asked.

Placing her hoof to her chest, Rarity's eyes darted all over, her voice frantic and panicked.

"It's...it's...it's positively dreadful, darling!"

Looking around, Jay tried to see what could have upset her, and was unable to really see anything that would cause this reaction. So, naturally, he looked to her again.

"What is it?!"

Rarity, at long last, gave him his answer.

"It's...it's your décor, Sir!"

A pause, after which Jay looked to her with some confusion.

"Um...pardon?"

Rarity walked past him, pointing to everything, from the wallpaper, to the furniture, to even the curtains hanging from the nearby window.

"I don't know who thought they could try and push this on you, but the colouring in here is all wrong! Nothing compliments anything else! And who in their right mind would want to inflict this much beige onto somepony?!"

Blinking, Jay looked around.

"Well...now that you mention it...I don't think I really thought about it that much."

Looking back to him, Rarity smiled.

"Well, it's a good thing we met when we did. I cannot even begin to imagine how long you've had to deal with such a terrible arrangement, my dear fellow!"

Jay turned once more to his guest, then shrugged his shoulders.

"You know...it actually doesn't bother me all that much, Miss. Aesthetics were never really my strong-suit."

Rarity let out another small laugh to this.

"You sound so much like Applejack, Mr Jay. But don't you worry, for you have Ponyville's foremost fashionista here to help you!"

Jay raised both hands in a defensive manner to that.

"Oh! You don't need to go out of your way to..."

But, he was halted as Rarity interrupted him.

No! I insist! You're home needs help, and I plan to give it to you!"

Realising that this was probably one of those occasions where he had lost before he'd even begun, Jay let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"Well...since you want to help...I guess it wouldn't hurt."

He turned, looking around all the things that Rarity had been so horrified by earlier.

"I guess...maybe it isn't the prettiest place in the world."

Walking beside him, Rarity gave him an encouraging smile.

"Don't you worry one bit, my fine friend! Between the two of us, your apartment will positively shine!"

Walking around, Rarity paid close attention to every single detail she could get within view.

"First things first, we need some more vibrant colours in here! Some blues, and maybe some greens!"

Jay nodded, then spoke up himself.

"And...um...what about orange? That's my favourite colour."

Rarity looked to him, then pondered that suggestion, looking around before settling her eyes around the fireplace.

"Ah! There we are! Some orange would go perfectly over by a nice warm fire! Helps to create a very inviting glow!"

Jay looked over to his currently-unlit fireplace, nodding as he took those words in.

"Yeah...it would."

Smiling once more, Rarity walked back up to him.

"Leave it to me, Jay! You're in good hooves here!"

Looking to her, to the earnestness and clear desire to give him some help in his home, Jay couldn't resist the urge to give an appreciative smile himself.

"Thank you, Miss Rarity. I guess...we'd better get to work then?"

Rarity was practically beaming at that suggestion, and her horn began to glow once more. Her saddle-bags began to open, and out of them levitated a number of small books and sheets of paper, which Rarity carefully placed upon the table in the centre of the room.

"Now, I think the first thing we need to establish is what kind of curtains we need, because those things are right in the centre of what you and everypony else is going to see when they enter this apartment."

Sitting beside her, Jay let out a small chuckle.

"You like this sort of thing then? Colours and designs and the like?"

Rarity looked to him, a knowing smile creeping onto her face.

"Indeed I do! You may not realise this, but I'm quite something when it comes to making things look good. Come down and visit my boutique, and you'll see!"

Jay considered that.

"Boutique...wait...is that the purple and pink place downtown?"

Rarity nodded, showing clear pride in her expression as she did so.

"The very same! Creating something that truly makes people stand out is an exceptional joy to me. Like Pinkie and her parties, or Applejack and her cooking. Getting it right just feels satisfying in a way that I simply cannot put into words."

Jay thought on that, looking down to the design books that had been laid in front of him.

"I'm glad to hear you enjoy your work."

Rarity turned to him.

"If I may ask...do you enjoy yours?"

Looking back to her, a small smile returned to the human's face, and he gave a short nod.

"I do. It can get a little tiring here and there, but yeah, I'd call it pretty good working for Jasmine."

Rarity smiled wider.

"That is very good to know! Which reminds me, I am in need of some additional tea packets back home. Any recommendations?"

Leaning back into his chair, Jay considered that, briefly looking around, as though someone was listening in on them, before glancing back to her.

"Well...you didn't hear this from me, but we're getting in a new line this week from Vanhoover, and Jasmine says it'll be pretty popular."

Rarity leaned forward, clearly interested.

"Oooh! Do tell!"

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