Eventually, the party ended, and I managed to escape unscathed. After having so much excitement that morning, I was looking forward to relaxing the rest of the day, after I helped Rainbow Dash with cloud duty of course. It seemed as though, as Ponyville's newest resident, even though it was only temporary, I was subject to an initiation rite. No, not the Pinkie Party, though that was part of it. No, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had decided that I would be the target for their next prank.

First came a classic, the bucket of water on the doorframe. Well, fortunately for me, (and unfortunately for everyone else involved) I had remembered my manners and allowed Rarity to enter the boutique first, causing her to be the victim of the ill thought trick. While I was surprised at Rarity's state, my shock did not stop me from noticing a pair of blurs, one blue, the other pink, from vacating the area. This is what set me off to their scheme.

After Rarity had gotten cleaned up, she came into the dining room to have a chat.

"Well, that's certainly enough excitement for today. Hopefully the remainder will more relaxing than this morning. What are your plans for today?"

"Well, Dash roped me into cloud duty, which is fine by me, though between the two of us we should be able to clear it up in a couple minutes, then for the rest of the day I'm free. Why?"

"Well, I thought I should thank you for this morning. Before that little, 'interruption', you had asked me what I thought of it. It was simply divine! The food, the atmosphere, the ambiance, the lighting, the company, the music. I began thinking, 'How DID you come up with all that?' And then I realized it's because, well, no offense but, you're foreign. No, I think the right word is 'exotic'. You must have hundreds of ideas, many of which I could find use for." Rarity explained.

'And there it is. At least now I know what she's after. That's what I get for giving her a taste. I don't mind letting her pick my brain though, it can't do any harm.'

"Don't tell anypony, but I've hit a bit of a slump. The fashion industry is very tense. To make it, you always have to be on the cutting edge of what's new, what's now, and, let's face it, that's you. So, I was hoping we could spend the afternoon talking about your culture, in hopes that it'd give me some inspiration."

"Uh. Okay. Sure. I can't really help with fashion though. I'm not very artistic. I guess I could take a look at what you've come up with, but, that's after cloud duty, which I should probably get to." She nodded in understanding as I left.

"About time. Started worrying you weren't gonna show up. Weather schedule calls for overcast today, so we're only clearing out half the clouds. We don't want to warm things up too quickly and start Winter Wrap Up early." Dash said.

"Yeah. About that, why can't you start Winter Wrap Up early? From what I hear, Ponyville is almost always behind schedule. Wouldn't starting it early fix that?" I asked.

"That's what I thought! But apparently all the animals take their sweet time waking up. If they're not out of their dens first, they'll get flooded and drown or something, and we can't wake them up early, they get ticked off. I'm not too sure about the details, since Fluttershy takes care of that."

"Yeah, but couldn't you dig flood channels? Make all the water go straight into the reservoir, which would increase water supply?"

"Except the reservoir is designed to catch runoff that comes from down from Canterlot, by the river. It's higher than the town, which is why there's a dam, and the slow melt is what's used to water the farms for the first month or so while Cloudsdale gets it's water supply back up after using it on the winter snowfall."

"Oh. Oh well. Guess we do things the old fashioned way. So, where do you want me to start?" Looking at the sky above, it was completely blanketed with dark grey clouds, which let a light snow fall on the town below.

"We need to clear out everything above the town, since it has ditches which run to the ponds and stuff, and the water will help thin the ice so it can be scored and broken later, and about half of what is over the farms and forest areas. Since I know how much to leave behind, I'll take them, while you get the town."

"Got it!" With that, Rainbow flew off to go do her portion, while I started clearing out the airspace above town.

"May as well get to work killing clouds."

"What..." *Punch* "...is..." *kick* "...wrong..." *smash* "...with..." *huff* "...this..." *pant* "...cloud?!?!?"

It was a strange one. While all the others broke with ease, this single remaining one refused to burst, no matter how much I hit it. It just bounced back. I began shredding it with my talons, ripping little bits of it off and tossing them away, only for them to float back to the main body and reform. It seemed to be mocking me. Or, rather, SOMEONE was. That someone was a certain pegasus who thought herself to be completely hidden in the clouds a little ways out, yet was betrayed by the vibrancy of her own mane, a lock of which was in view and catching the sunlight from above the grey sky I was busy beating into oblivion.

'It's like a trick candle, except a cloud? Clever, but even trick candles can be doused. I just need to go about this... differently.'

'Oh, this is too good! I think I actually got him with this one. The pail of water was a kind of lame prank. I should have guessed it wouldn't work, what with his paranoia, but this one really takes the cake. No matter how much he bashes that thing, it won't break. It's just like flight school all over again. Good times... huh? What's he doing?'

I watched from afar as he pushed the cloud over to town hall, then perched atop it and stretched his wings out in front, surrounding my little prank. The cloud began to shrink, being crushed in the air pressure that was gathering between his wings, before it was set alight by flame and launched into the sky as a burning streak. It flew high before smoldering out, no trace of the cloud remaining.

"Oh hey Rainbow Dash." He flew over to me, acting like nothing happened. "You all done with your part? No wonder you wanted help, some of these clouds are really... tricky..." His grin was almost sinister.

'Buck, he knows.'

"I'm heading back to Rarity's for lunch," He frowned. "And then I'm going to try and explain my entire culture so she can use it as inspiration for fashion." He let out a sad sigh. "Well, there goes the rest of the day. That's what I get for giving her a taste. They always want more... See you tomorrow, if I get any sleep tonight from all the questions."

That was, odd. I read... okay, I had Twilight read the doctor's report and translate it from egghead, and it said his mood would change quickly. Now that I think about it, he was gone for a lot of Pinkie's party, and when he was there, he seemed kind of mopey. The papers covered the winter guard challenge. He was all cheery then, and that was only a week and a half ago. At least he's not as bad as the time Pinkie thought we forgot her birthday. I wonder what's got his feathers ruffled.

"No, no no no no! Tacky, overbearing, busy, complicated, unsightly. There's feathers everywhere, it sparkles so much it's blinding, this is exactly the kind of thing you'd see on a human runway on one of those awful television shows." I groaned.

"... I don't understand. It has to catch the viewers attention, or it'll never get noticed! It has to be loud! New! Out there!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Okay, let me explain something. Simplicity is elegance. Basic is beautiful. There's a difference between being loud, and just being obnoxious." I pointed out.

"Don't you think I know that! I've been making dresses for years!" She replied.

"Then find balance! Okay, who is the dress for?"

"Princess Luna. She wanted a dress for this year's summer sun celebration."

"Okay, let's go back to the start. Material. Luna has dark coloration. Black, navy blue, and then silver undertones..."

"But that's her usual fare! She needs something new, something to wow all who see her!"

"But then it'll clash! Grey is bland, yellow is too lively, green would just be ugly. Fuschia. Bright enough to stand out, yet classy and goes with her coat. Next, design."

"Loose and flowing." Rarity suggested.

"Good, but impractical. It's not a wedding dress, shorten the body, but give it open sleeves that go half length. Long enough to sway in the breeze, but short enough to stay out of the way and not be the dress's main feature."

She tossed out another paper with a sketch on it, and began scribbling feverishly with the new design. When she finished, she backed away so I could get a good look at it.

"... perfect." We said in unison. "Next, design?"

"I was thinking something floral, to go with the summer theme, and contrast her usual style." She pondered.

"Nah, floral on fuschia won't work, the cloth is already colourful enough, it'd have to be white to make the pattern stand out, which would ruin the entire outfit. She'd wind up looking like Ezio fell into a paint store."

"Who?"

"Never mind. Get rid of the feathers. Luna has her own feathers, so instead of adding, highlight what she already has. Besides, wearing someone else's feathers may be taken as a sign of being romantically involved. Let's see, what else... The fabric is silk so it's smooth and breathes, and is light enough to flow in the wind, but it needs to catch the light."

"Rubies? Sapphires? Emeralds?"

"No, too big, and while emeralds might look good against the colour, it'd take away from the main article, Luna herself. Go with tiny clear crystals, and make a swirl pattern along the sides and down the legs." I suggested.

Rarity gasped. "It's a changing design! At night, it'll illuminate her in the dark, making her look like the night sky. As the sun comes up, it'll shine on the tiny gems and bring attention to her, but once it's risen, instead of shining, the dress will shimmer. It'll grab everpony's attention during the dawn, but afterwards, it'll be easy on the eyes! And since the lines will be drawn to her form, it'll be slimming and show the curves." Much to my surprise, she threw her arms around my neck and hugged me. "Oh it'll be gorgeous! Such pizzaz, and yet classy and sophisticated!"

"Uh... Rarity."

"Oh, I simply MUST get to work straight away!"

"Uh, Rarity...." I struggled to say.

"Oh, and I cannot forget you. You've been such a help."

"RARITY!"

"Yes?" She looked up at me innocently, only to find my face was blue with asphyxiation, even through the feathers.

"You're crushing my windpipe." She immediately released her grip, leaving me gasping for precious oxygen. "Geez, you ponies sure get strong when there's something you're passionate about..." I rubbed my now sore throat. "Since I helped you with the design, does that mean I'm off the hook for the whole 'civilization explanation'? Please say yes."

"Oh, alright. Though I expect Twilight will still demand that from you at some point." She relented. Ahhhh crap. I forgot about that. A while back I promised to help her out with magic. I wound up giving it to Celestia, but she'll probably still rope me into that one... Why do I keep letting these ponies make me do things? "I was meaning to ask however, how do you know so much about dresses?"

"Well... I don't. I don't know anything about dresses, or art in general for that matter. I know what does NOT look good. All I did was let you bounce idea's off me so I could shoot them down. Everything I suggested... well, I was just making it up. Throwing it out there to see if you'd take it or not." Rarity looked at me with an expression that could only be asking 'Are you serious?' With a raised eyebrow and her pouty lips drawn back. "Actually, there is one thing I do know."

"Oh? And what might that be?" She questioned.

"How to make an entrance."

With that phrase spoken, Twilight burst through the door of the boutique, indeed making an entrance of her own, her eyes locked on me.

"I saw what you did over town square, and that reminded me, you promised to help me with my magic!"

'Speak of the devil, and he will appear.'

"Okay, seriously? Now? I just got back from the Pinkie Party, did cloud duty, and got Rarity out of her slump. Can it wait for tomorrow?" She narrowed her eyes. "Please! Have mercy!"

"Alright... tomorrow."

Author's Notes:

First, a chapter about breakfast, then, air bullets are now FLAMING air bullets, and now? Proving the fashion industry is bullshit by pulling a classy design out of my ass. I WOULD have drawn a sketch of Rarity's design for Luna's summer dress, but, like Griffin, I can't art.

"He am right, I are no good at art. You is? You make? Felicitations!"

Also, next chapter is more slice of life, and then after that, I get back to the plot.