“Wowie!” Pinkie Pie stammered, skipping ahead of her group of friends to stare at the wonderfully florist streets of Canterlot. The city standing atop the high mountains that looked outward at the world below was in full bloom, so to say, as a magnitude of colourful flowers were scattered around every window, planted on every corner, and vined up every streetlamp. Not a single glance was met with undecorated features. Even the patrons and citizens of Canterlot were dazzled up for the occasion, wearing suits with bounties with flowers hanging loosely from the collars and handcuffs, and for the dresses, petal-like skirts. Everyone that walked by the group all looked like wandering gardens as they held their heads up high and trotted down the brick roads. “Everypony looks so pretty! And look at all these flowers!”

Rarity nodded, looking at her own outfit. It almost brought her to blush a bit. Compared to everything she and her friends currently observed, she probably looked way less detailed to the local citizens that waltzed by. “Goodness, I feel a tad underdressed. Rainbow, why didn’t you tell us this was a formal event?”

“I didn’t realize it’d be like… this,” the pegasus said, shrugging her shoulders as her hands dipped into her pocket. “I just heard on the radio was that there would be a Wonderbolt Weekend at the Four Flower Festival in Canterlot this weekend. I never heard anything about getting all gussied up and shit. I’m sure it’s not that a big deal, though. We’re not staying long, just long enough for AJ here to buy her boy toy and then get her rocks rocked, right Applejack?”

The farmpony couldn’t hear her, for at that time, her mind was someplace else. Her eyes were locked on a large, blue banner hanging from two street polls. It was an advertisement for the Flower Fun Fair, listing all the exciting games, rides and events they’d be having closest to the center of town, and the very last bullet was ‘Win a Wonderbolt’ in wavy, colorful letters. Applejack’s cheeks began to burn profusely at the thought of being so close to her secret crush, and only the worst of scenarios would running circles in her head. Celestia forbid she thought of the one good possibility, for how could she when there’s a billion likely catastrophes that could occur? It was like trying to pick up a coal from a fire. The closer she got, the hotter she became, and she couldn’t help herself from being fearful of getting too burnt. Terribly, terribly burnt beyond mental repair. The cowpony turned around and tried to run back towards the train station. Perhaps she could catch a ride back to Ponyville, and be done with this fiasco of a plan.

Of course, she was caught almost instantly by the rosy aura of Twilight’s magical grasps, lifting her up and into the air. She floated up next to the alicorn who gave her a displeased look. “And where do you think you’re going, Applejack?” she asked curiously. “You’re not getting cold feet on us, are you?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow smirked, glaring happily into her friend’s troubled eyes. “You better not be trying to bail on us, AJ. That is... unless you’re too chicken to meet hunk-dunkity Soarin’. If you want, though, I’d be more than happy to take a ride on his love boat in your place!” She laughed with a wink, grabbing Applejack’s arm by the wrist and dragging her out of Twilight’s firm clutches. “Seriously, you’re not allowed to give up now of all times. Not when we’re so close to the goal.”

“I’m n-not chicken!” Applejack frowned, pulling her arm away from Rainbow’s. If there was one thing that could triumph over her occasional fear, it was her southern pride, and a severe inability to be proven wrong, especially by Rainbow’s standards. “I just…” She tried to think of something to say before noticing a small family walking by, dressed in their colourful décor of tantalizing flowers. An imaginary light bulb clicked in her head. “I just agree with Rarity is all, you see?”

“Huh?” the fashionista wondered, looking just as confused as everypony else. “You agree with me... on what now?”

“That we’re nowhere near fancily dressed and whatnot,” the cowpony stated, not even believing the words coming out of her own mouth. Still, if this worked, then it would buy her some preparation time at the very least, and at this point, that’s all she could ask for. While looking around at her colleagues’ disgruntled expressions, she tried her best to explain her obviously false feelings. “Uh, you see, this here looks like a mighty fancy shindig… I don’t think it’d be very proper for us to go into something this ornamental without getting all ruffled and junk. Hehe...”

The rest of her friends were about to speak up in protest, but they would be deafened by the overly delightful screams of Rarity. The mare lunged at Applejack, tackling her to the harsh ground with a hug. “Ah~! Oh, this is a dream come true! You’re finally taking notice of your appearance, and what’s better, you want me to help you start your new wardrobe! Spike, I think it best if you pinch me right now, because I simply must be dreaming!”

“Whoa there, Nelly!” Applejack groaned, trying to shake out of another one of her friend’s tightening holds. “All I said is that… well, we needed to maybe get some better clothes on, and I left my Sunday’s best at home. So—”

“Oh, I know exactly what you meant, dear,” Rarity hummed, whisking her off from the ground and down the street. “And I absolutely agree with you! We should all get new dresses for such a special occasion! Just so happens, I know of the perfect little establishment we can go to!”

Applejack tried to break free, but her friend seemed unusually strong at the moment, and she was barely able to get even an arm free. With her unheld hand, she grabbed onto Twilight’s, trying to anchor herself, but she only managed to drag Twilight along with her. To try and keep herself from getting carried away, Twilight grabbed onto Rainbow out of desperation, whom in turn snatched onto Pinkie Pie, who then grabbed onto Fluttershy for fun. Rarity carried them all like a screaming chain down the street, leaving Spike standing alone in utter confusion.

“What the hell...” the dragon muttered, slouching as he made his lonesome way down the street, following the crying line of girls. “The things I put up with… I’m always getting left behind.”

Spike made slow progress in comparison to the girls who were about halfway down the street and around the corner. Applejack was still trying to break the tether Rarity had managed to somehow string, but no matter how hard she struggled, Rarity wouldn't let go. “Rare, would you please let go of me?! For crying out loud, where are we even going?”

“Right… here!” Rarity beamed, halting right in front of a grand looking store, a white and purple clothing studio that was heavily decorated with several bushels of flowers. “My Canterlot branch should have all the things I’ll need to whip up some last minute dresses for us!”

As she gawked over possible ideas for dresses, the rest of her friends were catching their breaths from being whirled halfway around town. Rainbow was the first one to regain herself. “What…? When did you open up a second store?”

“When did I… I’ve had this store for over a year!” Rarity frowned. “I talk about it all the time.”

“Ah, so I haven’t been caring for over a year as well.”

Rarity rolled her eyes, ignoring her friend’s ignorance. “In any case… I can have us all new dresses made within the hour! Come along, darlings.” She skipped into the boutique, a small ringing noise was made as a cream coloured pony came rushing into the room from the back, her blue bob haircut bounced with each step she took. She was in such a rush that the pony nearly tripped on the carpet, but managed to regain her balance and stumble quirkily to the front desk.

“I’m so sorry if I kept you waiting,” she puffed. “Welcome to the Canterlot Boutique—Miss Rarity!”

“Hello Coco,” Rarity smiled, greeting her long-time friend and employee.

Coco Pommel practically leapt over the desk and approached her boss, bowing in respect. Her eyes sparkled like a night’s starry sky as she gazed at her boss. “What a wonderful surprise, Miss Rarity! If I knew you were coming for an inspection, why, I would have tidied the store up!” Suddenly, she froze up, her face becoming stricken with fear. Her smile went from immense happiness to tragic sadness. “I’m sorry the store’s such a mess...” The cream-coated mare brushed over the sparkling clean interior of the shop. “I-it’s unacceptable, I can feel a micro speck of dust beginning to form over the mannequins, I was slacking off and not dusting every hour like I should be. It’s been… sixty five minutes!” The poor thing broke down in tears at Rarity’s feet. “I deserve to be fired!”

“Oh, honey... No you don’t.”

“Out of a cannon and into the sun!” Coco continued to weep, hugging Rarity’s feet. “It’s all I deserve for disgracing my employer!”

“Now Coco, stop that this instant!” Rarity demanded, picking her up from the ground. “Now, listen to me. You’re not a disgrace, and you’re certainly not a failure. This store is certainly not dirty, and, why, I’d say that it’s cleaner than my own boutique back in Ponyville! So there will be no firing today, from a cannon or otherwise. You just need to calm down a little, Coco. You tend to get so, very wrapped up in the little things.” She laughed a little bit. “Trust me, I know exactly what that’s like.”

Coco wiped a few of her stray tears away from her cheeks. With a few sniffles, she was more or less composed. All that she needed was Rarity’s smile to make her feel better again. It was almost like her grin was the sun, peaking through her dark clouds of worries and restoring her happiness. “Oh thank you, Miss Rarity!” Coco nuzzled herself into Rarity’s chest, hugging her. “You’re such a wonderful and forgiving boss!”

Rarity chuckled nervously, uncomfortable about how close Coco was getting. She patted her on the head before gently pushing her away. “Well, I’m glad that we got that straightened out. Now then, I’ll need you at your top game right now.”

“Yes ma’am!” Coco said, saluting her boss and awaiting her set of orders. “Anything you want!”

“We’re heading to the Four Flower Festival,” Rarity said forwardly, turning around to acknowledge her friends. Even Spike had managed to catch up and join the girls. “But, as you may or may not have noticed, we’re a little out of line, uniform wise. Even I didn’t prepare for such a flowery décor this year. So, you and I must make, design and formally attire my friends six new and mostly unique dresses (and one suit for Spike) before noon, today. Do you think we can do it?”

Coco looked at the store’s clock, seeing that it was almost ten in the morning. “I’m sure that with you by my side, we can get things properly situated within the hour. I know you can do it, because you’re the best there is.”

“You flatter me darling,” Rarity giggled, clapping and leading all her friends to the back room where she had a small parlour set up. “Now, first up should be the mare of the hour!” She grabbed Applejack and threw her into the middle. “Now, Applejack, tell me. What’s your favourite flower?”

“My favourite flower? I don’t know—Hey!” she gasped as Coco began unbuttoning the slightly tattered shirt she wore. “What in the hickory hell are you doing?!”

“She’s undressing you, naturally. We need to make accurate measurements after all,” Rarity said, levitating several rolls of green, yellow, brown and orange rolls of fabric their way. “It’s been so long since I’ve taken your measurements, I need to get things updated. Do try to be professional, let alone mature about all this, Applejack. You’re the one that wanted to get all dressed up for the occasion!”

“Yeah, I’m starting to get second thoughts about it!” The cowpony snapped, pulling her plaid jacket closed. “I mean, I thought that we would just head back home, not…” she stopped mid-sentence. “What am I doing?” Applejack asked herself in her head. Rarity was bending over backwards to help her, even going as far as making a brand new dress on the spot in the hopes it would help her make Soarin’, her crush, fall in love with her. It was so generous, Applejack nearly felt sick about it. No, she had to go through this. With all that her friends were doing for her, how could she possibly be so selfish and just turn her back on them? She gulped her pride down and stood where she was, giving Coco her chance to resume what she was doing. Dresses weren’t her favourite, but maybe this one wouldn’t be so bad. “… Not… Umm, I’m not sure what flower I like the best. There’re lots of nice ones, I guess?”

“We’ll think of something—Idea~!” Rarity chimed. “A sunflower! Oh that’s perfect for you. They’re strong, beautiful, and they grow on farms! It’s like they were created to personify you, don’t you think, Coco?”

“You’re a genius, Miss Rarity,” Coco beamed. “A sunflower sound’s beautiful. Now all we need is for her to undress so I can take the measurements.”

Applejack sighed in defeat. “Fine, I guess it ain’t the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done—oh, horse apple.” The cowpony just remembered one very important detail. While dressing that morning, she had neglected to put on a certain article of clothing. “Umm… Couldn’t I just take my jacket and jeans off, isn’t that enough?”

“Well, I certainly won’t make you take your underwear off, but everything needs to go. Professionalism, darling.”

“No, Rarity…” Applejack mumbled, her cheeks blushing a little. “I mean, I can’t. I’m umm… missing something.”

It took Rarity a few moments to realize what Applejack was saying. “Oh, of course darling. Spikey, could you step outside and watch the front of the shop for a moment? Womanly matters.” Spike nodded and left the room. He knew better than to press anything that had ‘womanly matters’ involved, and his mind would jump to the worst scenarios. Once the door shut behind the dragon, things resumed. “There, all better?”

“A bit, actually,” Applejack mumbled, pulling her jacket off. “But I can undress myself, thank you kindly. I don’t need Coco’s hands all over me.”

She removed her cowboy hat and placed it by her feet as she kicked of her mud stained boots. A little fumbling with her belt, and off that went, too. She slid her jeans down her long, strong legs. They were barely at her ankles, and already, she felt utterly naked, so it was only casual that she took a long time pulling her shirt off, her perky breasts exposed for all her friends to see. At least a few of them looked just as uncomfortable as she was, Fluttershy had covered her eyes the second her pants were down, Pinkie Pie was trying to smother her smile, and even Rainbow had found a magazine to preoccupy herself from all of this. Only Twilight and Rarity seemed unphased. She figured that Rarity was used to this, to the point in which it numbed all possibility of immaturity, but Twilight was still a mystery. Perhaps she was just uncaring. In any case, Coco began rummaging her measuring tape all around Applejack while Rarity traced the floor in circles with several fabric rolls and assorted papers, writing down ideas and sketching out designs.

“Alright, Applejack, you can put your clothes back on now,” she said. “I think I’ve all the measurements that I need from you…” Rarity turned around, looking at the rest of her friends. “So, who wants to be next?”

All the girls twitched nervously in their spots, none of them wanting to be the next pony to be striped down right in front of their friends. They were all trying to avoid eye contact with one another, staring at their feet or fiddling with their manes.

“Oh buck up, ladies,” Applejack groaned. “I had to do it without a bra and have frisky hands over there…” She glanced over to Coco, giving her the stink eye. “So will one of you get up here and just get it over with?!”

With no one else offering, Twilight rolled her eyes and stepped forward, pulling off her sweater. “Fine, I guess I’ll go next.” She folded her piece of coverage and started unbuttoning her blouse to stand on the pedestal.

As she was doing this, Rainbow Dash leaned back on her chair, bobbing right under Fluttershy’s head, grinning as Fluttershy tried to avoid looking at Twilight. “This is so lame, right?” She asked. “So freaking boring it’s not even funny.”

“It’s not so bad…” Fluttershy whispered, blushing a little under her hair. “I mean, it’s a nice thing Rarity’s doing for us.”

“Yeah me neither,” Rainbow yawned, stretching out her arms and teetering into her friend’s lap. She wasn’t really paying attention to what Fluttershy was saying anymore, but to be honest, she hardly paid attention to anything anypony said about anything. “So… are you going to spill what you and Will’s willy do now?”

Fluttershy squeaked a little. “W-would you please stop going there? I thought we were done with all of this.”

“Maybe you were, but I still need to hear what you and Will do!” Rainbow grumbled, giving her friend the best doe eyes she could muster. “C’mon, Shy… I really need this.”

“But you already have a coltfriend.”

Rainbow blinked, pausing a little bit before saying, “Thunderlane’s not my coltfriend…” Fluttershy gave her a look, a curious one at that. It made Rainbow think about her situation for a moment. What was she doing with Thunderlane? They hardly ever hung out… well, except for the sex, and the occasional call to chill, which was also strange now that she thought about it. He was always the one who asked if she ever wanted to just hang out. Surprisingly enough, without expecting sex. So, that brought up a question within herself. “I mean… I don’t think he’s my coltfriend…”

“You don’t... think he is?” Fluttershy hummed questionably. “You two have been on how many dates again?”

“Depends… does sex count as a date?”

“No…”

“Then I guess zip,” Rainbow shrugged. “Why? Do you think that’s weird?”

“Don’t you think it’s the problem with your relationship?” Fluttershy asked. “I mean… it doesn’t really sound like a relationship to me, but if you think it’s a relationship, then I’m still happy for you, Rainbow Dash. I’m sure that you’ll work it out at your own pace, maybe.”

Rainbow stared at the shivering mare above her, confused by her question. “Wait… do you think that I’m doing my relationship wrong or something? Is that what you’re saying? Huh?!” She flipped around on her chair, glaring deeply into Fluttershy’s eyes, her pupils shimmering with annoyance and anger. However, after a few grunts, something rather odd happened, something that Fluttershy had seen only a few times in her life.

A tear dropped from Rainbow’s eye.

She was taken back, shocked and confused from seeing her toughest and most proud friend shed a tear. Rainbow had taken flight crashes, wall slams and occasionally various head injuries, and she never gave so much as a whimper. But to see this, this was too heartbreaking for Fluttershy to take. The timid young mare had to act fast to spare Rainbow’s humility, so she grabbed Rainbow’s arm and whisked her away into one of the changing rooms.

When she was sure that they were safe, the yellow pegasus turned to her friend. “Are you okay, Rainbow?”

“Y-yeah, yeah,” she sniffed, wiping her slightly dampened face. “I just... got some shit in my eye, or something…” She looked up at Fluttershy, her best and oldest friend. Even after all these years, she was still trying to help her with her problems. “Alright, so I may have shed a super little tear, or whatever. It doesn’t mean anything. I’m not some sort of emotionless monster. I just sort of ignore them like a regular pony, so what? I don’t need to explain myself to you, Fluttershy! Goddess, I just wanted to share some juicy details about my life, and here you are thinking I’m in love or something! Well guess what. I’m not. I don’t dream about him at night, and you best believe I don’t have some sort of secret diary where I write my thoughts about him, and I don’t like him like… like that! We’re just fuck buddies, Fluttershy!” She kicked the door of the changing room open and to the podium where Coco was taking the measurements of Twilight. “I’m next, unless you girls have a problem about that! Just make me something cool, alright?!”

Her friends were scared stiff, mainly because Rainbow practically tore off her shirt and jacket in anger, snapping her arms sideways so the very nervous Coco could take her measurements. Fluttershy ran her fingers through her hair nervously as she groaned to herself, trying to fight back her own tears that were beginning to build up in her ducts. The rest of the measurements continued with an eerie and uncomfortable silence, and with little banter to break the tension.

*****

Rarity was true to her word. With hands and magic working together in a tangent faster than lightning, the fashionista managed to make and thoroughly adorn an array of dresses plus one single suit in the time it would take most ponies to cook a measly dinner. Rarity always said she worked best under pressure, and the idea that one of her best friend’s happiness was at stake was quite the motivator. Each of her friends entered one of the changing rooms while Spike took it upon himself to change in the bathroom. Coco waited with antsy excitement for the mares to finish their preparations so she could admire her mentor’s work first hand.

Ever quick, Rainbow was the first to exit her booth. Her dress composed of more plant-like things than flowers, despite Rarity’s protest. Rainbow insisted that her dress would be composed of only the most badass things from the world of botany, as she put it. Therefore, instead of wearing colourful things such as daisies, tulips and tiger lilies, she wore a dress made of carnivorous plants and stringy weeds. A strapless blouse made to look like the jaws of a venus flytrap. The short skirt resembled the curvy bowl of a pitfall trap, and finally, she insisted on being topped with a tiny top hat with a collage of purple bristles trimmed with grey dandelions nestled away on the corner of her head.

“Damn, Rarity,” Rainbow grinned, twirling around in her carnivorous dress. “You really managed to make a dress made of flowers… well, badass!”

“They’re not flowers…” Twilight corrected, coming out of her own booth in her own gown. Her dress was much more formal looking, what with the vines of dark blue star flowers making its way down her arms and forming a fishnet-like illusion, while the rest of her dress was made with the petals of nightshades and moon flowers, as testimony to the cosmos that the tedious student within her loved to study. “They’re actually Dionaea muscipula and other carnivorous plants.”

“Could you repeat that? I don’t speak nerd.”

“It’s not nerd! It’s—“

“FOREVER!” Pinkie screamed at the top of her lungs, hopping out of the dressing room in her feisty apparel of exotic and wavy flower pants. Orange, pink, and even bright shades of vibrant yellow splashed all around her body. A petal tube top of brilliant red rested nicely upon her fairly sized breasts, and one large party hat that somehow held a buffet of quality fruits such as apples, grapes, bananas, pineapples, and watermelons sat rather comfortably on her poofy mane. Her head should have been crushed under the weight, or at least turned lopsided, but this was Pinkie Pie after all. “Sorry about that, but somewhere in this wide world we live in, somepony somewhere just made a Pinkie Promise, and I needed to make sure they understand the rules.”

Twilight gave her a deadpanned stare. “I highly doubt they heard you.”

“Oh, they heard me,” the pink pony winked. “They always do!”

Pinkie and Twilight continued to argue (or in Pinkie’s case laugh and aimlessly agree) about how it was illogical that somepony somewhere could hear her screaming inside a well-insulated boutique. The two were so busy, they didn’t even notice Fluttershy slip carefully out of her own stall as though she’d fall upon setting her foot down on solid ground again. Fluttershy’s dress was by far the easiest of the dresses for Rarity to make, mainly because the butter yellow mare’s very heart and soul was nature and life. To reflect that, her dress was green as fresh grass with yellow flowers budding every which way they possibly could, within reason. From the rim of the dress to the make-up of her sleeves, she seemed one with mother equestria herself. Rarity even went and added a little bird’s nest as a hat for the animal loving dearie, which was dazzled with fresh twigs and flowers hand picked. Coco was very resourceful.

She spotted Rainbow and looked away quickly. Things were still a little heated from earlier, and Fluttershy now knew better than to try and pressher further. So, she simply shuffled next to Coco and sat next to her, hiding her face with her lush hair in silence.

That’s when Rarity made her grand entrance.

Perhaps it was a bit obvious that Rarity would go all out on her own dress. It was something that just couldn’t be helped when one already pretty much knows good and well what they want. Regardless, Rarity came out looking more beautiful than as a freshly bloomed summertime flower. Her dress was based on her floras of purple-white irises and Dragon Perennials, and unique flower resembling Spike’s own signature hues. The design was incorporated down her single sleeved dress that sprouted out at the bottom. She gave a few little twirls as she giggled to herself in a very unladylike manner, but she didn’t care much. New dresses always made her feel giddy. “Ta-da, darlings!” She chimed, giving a little pose. “Magnificent, is it not?”

Coco gave a breathy gasp, covering her mouth slightly, perhaps to keep her from sucking in all the oxygen from the room. She was mesmerized by her mentor’s sheer attractiveness. So much that her cheeks began to swell red. “Y-You look so beautiful…” Something crimson began to drip from her nose. She looked down only to realize she had somehow gotten a nosebleed. “Oh no! Not again!” she cried, trying to cover her face as she made a beeline towards the bathroom.

However, Spike, who had gotten into his rather overly flamboyant and ruffled pink tuxedo, had exited the bathroom just in time to collide with Coco, who after apologizing, locked herself into the bathroom. He was just grateful she didn’t get any of her bodily fluids anywhere on his attire. The dragon was puzzled by this, but soon forgot about it after he caught a glance at his dazzlingly dressed marefriend. “Hey there, beautiful,” he smiled, grabbing Rarity by the hip and swinging her down. “You should dress like this more often.”

“But then I’d never get any work done,” Rarity said, smiling back at him. She gave him a quick little kiss on his snout before resuming, “Besides, we made these dresses for Applejack’s sake.”

“… Where is Applejack, anyways?” The dragon wondered.

“I think she’s still getting changed,” Rarity said, looking back at the final closed stall. “Applejack, dear, are you almost done? We’re all waiting on you!”

“I’ll be just a minute, hold your horses!” the cowpony shouted from beyond the dressing room. She took a deep breath, taking one last look at her outfit and one final thought of her situation. She needed to be brave, despite all of her nerves saying otherwise. Without a second thought, she came strutting through the door with her eyes closed and her fist clenched.

And there was silence.

Her heart started beating heavily, and she peeked through one eye to see why her friends were so flabbergasted. “Well, what? Is it that bad? Cause if it is, we can just throw it out and start again…”

“Applejack,” Rarity said solemnly, taking a few steps backwards. “I know I say this a lot, but trust me when I say… that it would be a crime to destroy this dress!”

Applejack opened the rest of her eyes and caught a look at herself in one of the many mirrors surrounding the store. In the reflection, an orange farm girl turned fairy-tale princess. The front of her dress was like a sunflower, with the bright yellow petals masking her cleavage sparingly, revealing just enough to grab attention while hiding the rest to remain exquisitely tasteful. The bottom dress was long, and contained a masterfully crafted mix of denim, seeds, sunflowers and even brown burlap. Only Rarity could’ve made something like this work. To top it all off, a large droopy sunflower hung lazily from her cowboy hat, shading her face with a light shadow of mystery. Applejack could hardly even believe that it was even her looking this stunning.

She could hardly even form words as her cheeks developed a rosy pigmentation, redder than Pinkie’s tube top even. “I… Why I… I don’t even know what to…”

Rarity smiled. “There’s nothing you need to say, darling. You look absolutely ravishing. Why, if Soarin’ doesn’t fall head over heels for you then I’ll… I’ll eat my hat whole. Whole I say!”

“But you’re not wearing a hat…”

“Then I’ll make one, and then eat it. Whole! Although, I’ll have to use edible material,” Rarity said, mumbling to herself about some edible powder, golden in colour. She clapped her hands together afterwards, looking at the rest of her friends. “Well then, let’s not have any more delays, shall we? Destiny awaits us… Or, more specifically, Applejack” With that, the lead designer of the group led the party out of the store and back to the flower scented streets of Canterlot.

The walk to the actual festival itself was quite short and mostly uneventful. The alleys and ponies were all flourished in varying floras, and most of the city’s patrons were headed in the same direction, following the several signs and differentiated banners that pointed to the opening ceremonies of the Four Flower Festival.

It was then that Applejack began to wonder aloud, “What the hay is this Four Flower Festival anyways?”

Twilight looked curiously at her. “It’s sort of a celebration of new life and new beginnings. A sign that we can all begin again and start fresh with every season, that our actions aren’t ever carved in stone and can always be—“

“It’s about the great Flower Wars!” Pinkie shouted, interrupting Twilight mid-speech. “Over a thousand years ago, there was an uprising of terrible flower ponies who wanted ponies to stop eating any and all plants because that was like murder to them, even though we’re biologically wired to eat flowers since, like, forever, so the ponies waged war after war after bloody war against the flower ponies for decades until they went extinct! And that’s why every year at the anniversary of the Flower Wars, all the ponies wear flowers as sort of a middle finger to the flower ponies. At least, that’s what my sister tells me! And Maud is super smart!”

Every other being stood there in silence, unable to be sure of what to make of Pinkie’s tall tale. The idea that ponies would celebrate something like that was ludicrous at best. Most of them would have opted to just ignore Pinkie and let her have her fantasy, but for a purple unicorn, that idea would not be tolerated. “Are you kidding me? What kind of insane idea is that?! I’ve been going to the Four Flower Festival since I was a little girl, and I can tell you right now, there’s never been any inclination that there was some sort of… What? Flower War? What the heck would a Flower Pony look like, anyways? It sounds like something you just made up!”

“They look like flowers that look like ponies,” Pinkie Pie said in a matter-o-factly voice. “We’ll go to the opening ceremonies if you really want to find out. The signs say that the princesses are doing this year’s eulogy.”

“Glady.” Twilight grunted, marching off into the other direction. “You guys go on ahead, we’ll catch up with you later.”

“Bye!” Pinkie waved. “Good luck getting a Wonderbolt to fall in love with you, Applejack! I really hope that works out!” She hopped along after Twilight, and the two went to settle their disagreement. The others waved goodbye, and then continued down the bustling streets until they reached the edge of a large crowd consisting of finely dressed ponies. Beyond this seemingly endless sea of equines was a large stage where twelve mares and stallions stood in blue and yellow flight uniforms, waving to the applauding crowd. They were the Wonderbolts.

A mare then walked on stage, dressed in a gown of white lilies and roses. She adjusted the microphone a little before calling out in a pleasant tone, “Good afternoon everypony. Thank you all for attending, and welcome to this year’s Wonderbolt Weekend auction!”

Author's Note

As always, thanks to Art Inspired for the great edits!
I also want to apologize for the lack of clop in this chapter, in the end, the poll from last time actually ended in a tie, and since it was too much work to try and do BOTH, I opted to have everyone a little mad at me. So I'm sorry for breaking my promise.

However, in the end it's for the best, this is, after all a Soarinjack story, and we shouldn't distract ourselves too much with side plot, not that side plot isn't bad, but it shouldn't overpower the main objective, which is, to get AJ's rocks rocked! :D

Until the next chapter!

UPDATE: Picture by Pia-chan