Equestria Girls 03: Heart of the Dress

by DragonShadow

Rating: everyone
Tags: Fluttershy (EqG), Rarity (EqG), Equestria Girls, Slice of Life
Length: 5813

Rarity asks her boss to display some of her own dresses in the boutique where she works, but what will she do to make sure her dresses make the cut?

Rarity works in a boutique in the local mall, and she's a good employee, but she's always dreamed of selling her own designs. When she realizes her online store might be a nonstarter, she asks her boss about putting her dresses up for sale, but she has to prove that her dresses are worth putting next to world-famous fashion designers. Now it's up to Rarity just how far she'll go to make that happen.

Published 2013-08-19 12:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-08-19 12:20:02 UTC

Heart of the Dress

Equestria Girls Episode 03: Heart of the Dress

“Stitch by stitch…” Rarity sang softly to herself as her fingers worked with the ease of experience, threading her needle through the fabric of the long, flowing gown that hung from the shoulders of the mannequin before her. “Stitching it together…” The needle weaved in and out of the fabric almost like her fingers were doing a little dance, and the needle was their baton. Years of hard work and practice paid off when the final stitch was sewn, and she daintily cut the end of the thread.

“Perfect!” Rarity leapt to her feet with a proud grin, stepping back to admire her work. “I honestly think this is my finest dress yet!” She whirled to pluck her digital camera from its place on her desk nearby, stepping back to frame the dress just right to snap her picture.

Careful not to fold the dress, she pulled it off of the mannequin, fit it on a hanger, and marcher over to her walk-in closet, pushing the door open and flicking on the light switch. The closet was at least ten feet long and six feet wide, and it looked like every inch of space was taken up with dresses of all colors and styles, each tagged for easy identification.

Rarity’s gaze swept over the dresses with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She’d been making her own dresses for over a year now in the hopes that she would be able to sell them to jumpstart her fashion career, but looking at this collection, she wasn’t sure she’d sold any. She’d always seen dressmaking and fashion design as its own reward, and something she loved to do… but was she really doing so poorly?

After tagging her new dress and finding a tiny space on one of her racks, Rarity walked back out to her bedroom to slide into her computer chair, pushing her dainty half-glasses into position on her nose as she rolled her way up to her desk to log on. Her online store, CarouselBoutique dot com, came up instantly, showing a couple dozen hits in the last twelve hours, but not a single actual order in the last day. Clicking back through the history of the website, her heart sank even further.

The last week, no orders. The last three weeks, no orders. The last three months, no orders. In fact the last order was more than six months ago, and while the customer had left a glowing review on her site, there wasn’t anything after that, or for the three months before that.

Rarity slumped back in her seat, her arms dangling down by her sides, almost in shock. A slick, cold tongue licked at the fingertips of her right hand, and a furred head pushed its way into her palm.

“Oh… Opalescence…” Rarity plucked her thick-furred cat off the floor to bring her into her lap for a soft hug. “Nobody’s bought any of my dresses… I was so busy being an artist and creating I hadn’t even noticed.” The cat growled lightly against her chest.

“I’m afraid perhaps they’re simply not good enough… I mean, I know I still have much to learn about fashion, but it’s not like my prices are unreasonable…” Rarity heaved a sigh, running the fingers of one hand through Opal’s fur, which seemed to calm the cat down, and he began to purr softly under the caress of her fingers.

“Rarity!” Her little sister’s voice chimed cheerfully from the door. “Supper’s ready!”

“Okay Sweetie Belle, I’m coming.” Rarity closed her laptop with one hand and set her glasses down with the other, letting Opal leap from her lap as she stood. “Maybe it’s just not my destiny…” she sighed as she turned to head out towards the kitchen.

___

Oh well, Rarity thought to herself the next afternoon as she walked down the sidewalk with Fluttershy by her side. Even if she wasn’t going to be a world-famous fashion designer, at least she still had these quiet times with her best friend to look toward to. The two of them left the big bad world behind by heading into the shelter of Rarity’s favorite spa, where the twin hostesses, Aloe and Lotus, were already waiting by the front door.

“As punctual as ever, mademoiselle.” Aloe smiled with a gracious bow.

“Qui qui!” Rarity replied with a giggle. “The usual, please!”

“Right this way.” Lotus bowed graciously and turned to lead the two girls into the back.

“Gosh, it’s been far too long since our last spa day together.” Fluttershy smiled wistfully. “I’ve missed coming here with you.”

“Oh I know what you mean! I mean I still come here myself, but it’s simply not the same!” Rarity exclaimed as she and Fluttershy made their way into their separate dressing rooms, where they shed their street clothes in favor of a pair of towels wrapped around their bodies and their hair up in buns as they emerged. “Why the last time we came here was at least two years ago! It’s almost criminal how many spa days we’ve missed! It’s been so long you weren’t nearly as filled out as you are now!”

Fluttershy blushed deeply and pulled her towel a little tighter around her chest. “Oh, um, I guess I wasn’t…”

“Please, come.” Lotus led the two girls into the next room, where the large, luxurious bubble and steam bath was waiting.

A happy sigh escaped Rarity’s throat as she climbed into the warm, soothing waters from the small staircase, letting herself sink in up to her shoulders as a contented smile spread across her lips. “Mmmmhhhh… absolutely wondrous…”

“I agree…” Fluttershy slipped into the water beside her and sank down to her neck. “I can’t think of a better way to let the worries of the world float away.”

“Mmmh.” Rarity moaned her agreement, leaning her head back to stare at the ceiling steadily. After a few more moments she spoke again, “Fluttershy, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, you can ask me anything.”

“Would you say my dresses are… pretty?” Rarity asked softly.

“Goodness, from what you’ve shown me your dresses are absolutely beautiful,” Fluttershy replied immediately. “Why would you even ask that?”

“Well, ever since I started trying to sell them, sales haven’t exactly been spectacular.” Rarity blushed. “In fact I’m not sure I’ve sold more than five since my website went live.”

“Oh Rarity, don’t let that get you down. I’m sure every business takes a while to get off the ground at first. Once everybody sees how amazing and creative your designs are, they won’t be able to get enough of your clothes.”

“It’s been an entire year already. I don’t want to work in the mall forever selling others’ designs, I want to sell my designs!”

“And you will, I promise. You have so much natural talent. I think the problem is that people simply don’t see your clothes.”

“Don’t see them?” Rarity asked curiously.

“Yes, I mean, an online store is nice… but it’s not really the same as seeing a beautiful dress on a mannequin or a model.”

“Well… yes, I can see that…” Rarity groaned. “But there’s no way I could afford to open a store of my own…”

“You work in a fashion boutique now, why don’t you ask your manager if you could put a few of your own designs up?” Fluttershy suggested.

“My designs…?” Rarity’s eyes widened. She was right, perhaps if she could convince her manager to put some of her designs on display it could get some recognition out there for her. Up to now she’d only ever displayed her designs on her website or the occasional yard sale; it could be a very real opportunity for her.

“It couldn’t hurt to ask, at least.” Fluttershy twiddled her thumbs together with a soft smile.

“I think you’re absolutely right!” Rarity squealed with a grin, reaching out to yank her good friend into a tight hug. “Thank you so much!”

“Eep!” Fluttershy gasped and gripped the top of her towel with a deep blush. “Um, y-you’re welcome…”

___

The sound of people scooting up and down the hallways of the Canterlot mall always made Rarity feel strangely at home. There was something about the sight of so many people shopping at once that brought a smile to her face, and she was happy to have found a first job right in the middle of it. Hoity Toity’s Best in the World Boutique was where she’d shopped whenever she could afford it in her formative years, and while she didn’t want to work there forever, she wouldn’t have picked anywhere else for her first job.

With an excited step Rarity made her way into the boutique, past the many racks of flowing gowns and dresses into the back room, where she found her boss sitting in his office, behind a large computer desk.

“Excuse me sir, could I have a word with you?” Rarity asked with a bright smile.

“Rarity!” Hoity Toity exclaimed with a broad smile. “My, I didn’t expect you in today. Isn’t it your day off?”

“Well yes, it is, but I have an idea I simply must share with you!”

Hoity Toity chuckled softly and leaned back in his chair, putting his hands together in front of him. “You have my full attention.”

“Well, you know I fancy myself something of a fashion designer, and I...” Rarity hesitated a moment with a soft blush, but soon pushed onward. She’d come this far, after all. “I was wondering if you would consider putting some of my designs up in the boutique.”

“Oh?” Hoity Toity raised his eyebrow in surprise. “That’s a bold request. This boutique prides itself on carrying only the finest dresses from the finest designers.”

“I feel like I can live up to that standard.” Even Rarity could barely believe what she was saying. That was quite a claim, considering this boutique carried designs from people who were famous across the entire globe.

It seemed Hoity Toity thought so too, from the wry smile that crossed his lips. “I admire your enthusiasm, but do you really believe that?”

Rarity almost surprised herself with her sincerity. “Yes sir, I do. You don’t have to take my word for it, let me show you some of my designs, and you can decide for yourself.”

The wry smile had faded from Hoity Toity’s lips, replaced by a more thoughtful expression. “That confidence is exactly what I would expect… what I would demand from someone who deserves to have their work in my boutique.”

Rarity almost fainted. “You mean…”

“I mean I will allow you to show me what you have to offer. I want picture examples of your dresses on my desk the next time you come into work on Monday, and we can discuss what to do from there. Be in my office by five PM.”

“Oh gosh, thank you sir! I promise I won’t let you down!” Almost giddy with excitement, Rarity whirled to rush out of the office, closing the door behind her and bolting out into the hall full speed. Now she just needed some good shots of the dresses… but putting them on mannequins simply wouldn’t do for this.

___

“You want us to what now?” Rainbow Dash whirled indignantly, the ball tossed by Pinkie Pie bouncing off of the back of her head.

“Model some of my dresses for me?” Rarity asked with a cute smile. “It would mean ever so much to me!”

Rainbow Dash gave her a droll look. “Don’t take this the wrong way… but I’d rather eat one of your dresses.”

“Pfftahahaha!” Sunset Shimmer cackled from where she was sitting on the grass, rapidly turning a Rubik’s Cube between her hands.

The local park was calm and breezy, and the last of the storm clouds that had been hovering for the last few days were drifting past the distant horizon. It was such a nice a nice day that the rest of Rarity’s best friends had gathered outside for a breath of fresh air. Rarity was almost hesitant to ask them to abandon such a gloriously nice day for her sake.

“I know you don’t much like modeling… or dresses… but this is a tremendous opportunity for me, and the more models I have, the more it shows Hoity Toity that there’s an audience for them! Not to mention that would mean one more dress I could show him!”

“Well shoot, I don’t think I can possibly say no to somethin’ like that,” Applejack chimed in. “I’m in.”

“Me too! I’ll try anything that sounds like fun!” Pinkie Pie agreed.

“Oh Rarity, of course I’ll help you.” Fluttershy approached with a calm smile. “I’m just glad you got up the courage to do this.”

“I did, thanks to you.” Rarity gave her best friend a warm smile, then turned back toward Rainbow Dash. “You won’t have to wear it for more than one evening, I intend to do the photo shoot today, and then make my selections to present to my boss tomorrow. Just an hour or two at most.”

“Uuugh…” Rainbow Dash grunted and crossed her arms over her chest. “You make it impossible to say no sometimes.”

“Excellent!” Rarity clapped her hands together as she turned toward the last of her friends. “Sunset Shimmer? Will you help me too?”

Sunset glanced up from her Rubik’s Cube, which was just clicking into place, fully completed. She looked at the cube again, then chucked it over her shoulder as she climbed to her feet with a grunt. “Yeah, sure, I got nothing better to do. Just don’t make it too tight on the torso, alright?”

“I think that can be arranged! Ooohhh, thank you so much girls! Come with me, we haven’t much time!” Rarity whirled to run back towards her house, leading the charge for her friends to follow.

Dress selection was critical, she had to make sure that she not only picked the right dresses, but also the right dress for each of her friends, to show off the very best potential they had. Ooohhh she had to make sure she got it right…

“Now Rainbow Dash…” Rarity marched into her closet with her friends waiting outside. “Obviously you need something form-fitting that won’t restrict your movement, and without looking… lewd.” Rarity walked back out with just such a dress, holding it out to Rainbow Dash with a sparkling grin. “Here! You can change in the closet if you’d like!”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Is it too late to say no?”

“Far too late, darling!” Rarity grinned.

Rainbow Dash took the dress with a grumble and marched past her into the closet, closing the door firmly behind her. One by one Rarity’s friends took their turns changing, and each time Rarity’s heart soared when she saw the results. Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer looked more annoyed than anything, but Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack seemed to genuinely enjoy their dresses, dancing around the room and letting them flow around their legs.

“Oh Rarity, I feel like a princess.” Fluttershy giggled. “I like this so much better than the dresses from the boutique we wore to the Fall Formal.”

“You do!?” Rarity gasped. “That’s wonderful!” Rarity was almost walking on clouds as she plucked her camera off of her desk and whirled back to the door. “Come, we need to find an appropriate setting, quickly, before the sun goes down! I think the park would be perfect!”

“What? We came all the way here just to get dresses and go right back to where we were? Couldn’t you have just brought the dresses to us?” Sunset Shimmer demanded.

“Well sure, if you want to change in public,” Rarity countered.

“Oh yeah… puh, humans…”

“Onward!” Rarity pointed toward the door, then led the way down the winding sidewalks back toward the park just as the sky began to shift from blue to orange. “This is perfect! But we don’t have long! Okay, Rainbow Dash! I want you to go first!”

“Why am I going first for everything!?” Rainbow Dash complained.

“Because you’re number one, clearly.” Rarity grinned.

“Well… yeah, that is true. Okay, let’s do this!” Rainbow Dash leapt in front of the camera.

The camera flashed again and again, almost furiously trying to capture as many shots as she could in the dying light of the evening sun, each of the five girls rotating in and out of the shot, striking poses and trying their best to follow Rarity’s instructions to bring out the flavor of each of the dresses. All too soon though the little light that remained began to fade as the sun drifted down beyond the distant horizon.

Rarity clicked through the images on the camera while the other five girls crowded around her, trying to look over her shoulder.

“Oh goodness, you look so pretty when you’re smiling, Sunset Shimmer…” Fluttershy noted. Sunset Shimmer grumbled in response.

“At least you didn’t make me look too girly,” Rainbow Dash noted, stroking her chin. “Even in a dress I still look awesome.”

“As always, dear Rainbow Dash.” Rarity clicked away from the pictures and turned back towards her friends. “Thanks to you, I think I have enough pictures to put together quite the impressive sample for Hoity Toity. I simply can’t thank you all enough…”

“Aw shoot, you don’t gotta thank us, it’s just what friends do for each other.” Applejack winked.

“But you’ve done so much, I’ll think of a way to pay you all back!” Rarity insisted.

“Ooh! Oh! Party! Party! Pay us back with a party!” Pinkie Pie bounced and waved her hands in the air. “Please let it be a party!”

Rarity giggled. “Perhaps so, darling! A surprise party!”

“Oh good! My favorite kind! Oh wait… awww, Rarity, you just ruined the surprise!” Pinkie Pie groaned.

“Oh goodness me, I’m sorry. No surprise party then.” Rarity smiled.

“Awwwww, I was looking forward to it…” Pinkie Pie groaned again.

Suddenly dozens of tiny black nozzles sprang up from the grass as the sprinklers kicked on, spraying water across the entire park, and immediately soaking the six friends down to the bone.

“Eeep! Oh gosh! Rarity your dresses! They’re ruined!” Fluttershy gasped in horror.

“Oh, that’s quite alright.” Rarity waved it off with one hand. “It’ll take more than a little water to ruin my dresses. I can dry them.”

“It’s a good thing we finished takin’ those pictures when we did,” Applejack noted. “We suddenly don’t look so glamorous anymore.”

“Well we don’t need to be finished quite yet…” Rarity smiled mischievously and lifted her camera again.

“Eeep!” Fluttershy gasped and backed away. “Rarity you wouldn’t! We’re a mess!”

“I came for pictures!” Rarity exclaimed and starts snapping as fast as she could.

“Gah! Ruuuuuun!” Rainbow Dash shouted and took off the other direction, with the five friends all scattering in different directions, pursued through the misted water by a camera-wielding Rarity.

Their laughter lasted long past curfew, with the flash on Rarity’s camera and the strong moonlight being the only things that illuminated the park. Rarity didn’t care, though. It was so good to have friends to rely on, and who reminded her how to have fun.

___

Well, now that motherly scolding was out of the way, Rarity finally made her way back into her bedroom late in the afternoon. She had passed out right after getting home, and spent the first half of the day being scolded by her mother for being out so late. As if she didn’t know how to take care of herself. She may be a lady but that didn’t mean she wasn’t prepared for trouble, should it come for her. Still, she knew her mother was just being a mother, as annoying as it was.

Rarity snatched her camera off of the nightstand where she’d dropped it the night before and approached the laptop on her work desk. Her glasses slid easily onto the bridge of her nose as she plugged the camera into her computer’s USB port to sort through the pictures she’d taken the night before.

There were some good ones among the bunch, but she was disappointed to see that the rushed nature of their shoot had certainly taken its toll.

One by one Rarity began plucking out those usable pictures she found. There were so many good ones of Fluttershy she had to choose her favorite six, but there weren’t quite so many of the others. Pinkie Pie’s short attention span got the best of her in most of the pictures, resulting in an underwhelming but satisfactory six that were actually somewhat artistic. Applejack, despite her discomfort, had given her four, while Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash had given her only one apiece. Rainbow Dash was trying too hard to look cocky while Sunset Shimmer just looked awkward, like a child pretending to be a supermodel. She was still learning how to be personable.

She bit her lip and sat back in her chair. Her deadline was looming, and she had woefully little to show Hoity Toity. She had wanted a full six of each dress, but after selecting only eighteen, she had already reached the shots where she’d begun chasing the girls around the park. She simply didn’t have the shots she needed to show off the dresses. There was no way Hoity Toity would be impressed by a single picture of a dress.

Still, the pictures in the sprinklers brought a smile to her lips. It had been nice letting go of her worries for a little while, and scrolling through the pictures was almost like going back and reliving the experience. Heck, she had to admit to herself, there were some pictures that certainly had an artistic quality to them. Not that she could really use them, her friends looked terrible, and her dresses, when soaking wet, were far more revealing than she was comfortable sharing with anybody.

Not that revealing was always bad, she had to admit. She was trying to impress a very male boss… perhaps a couple of revealing pictures could help sway his opinion. It wasn’t like they were lewd, after all, just a couple of clingy wet dresses on smiling girls with wet skin…

Gah, what was she even thinking? Maybe the pictures weren’t lewd, but would the girls really approve of her using them? Some of them left very little to the imagination, Sunset Shimmer’s dress in particular with all of its white hid almost nothing when soaking wet in the camera’s powerful flash.

Not that anybody would see them besides her and Hoity Toity. They weren’t going to be publicized, just taken to a private meeting with herself and her employer. Her employer who was offering to give her a huge jump into the business she loved so much. Who was going to make her name into something people would recognize, give her something resembling a real career in the fashion industry.

She wrung her hands in front of her. No, no, she couldn’t do this. It didn’t matter how many people saw it or why she was doing it, giving revealing pictures of her best friends to someone without their knowledge was most certainly wrong, wasn’t it? Even if it was for something potentially life-defining… a chance that quite possibly would never come again.

Suddenly a spider. A rubber spider was sitting on the desk right next to her laptop, its long mandibles weighing its poor head down until it looked like a sad spider indeed. Rarity pursed her lips curiously for a moment, then smirked wryly and reached up to remove her glasses, setting them carefully on the desk beside her computer.

After clearing her throat daintily Rarity raised her palms to her cheeks. “Eeeek! A giant spider!”

A pair of quick footsteps approached from behind her, until her baby sister Sweetie Belle leapt out in front of her. “Hah! Got you!” She exclaimed with a proud grin.

“Hah! Got you better!” Rarity leapt from her chair to tackle Sweetie Belle to the ground.

“Ack! Hey! NnnooooAHAHAHAHAHAAH! HAAAAA STOP RAAAAHAHAHAHAA!” Sweetie Belle gasped and laughed uproariously as Rarity held her on the carpet, letting her fingers enact her righteous punishment.

“You keep your little demons away from me! Let this punishment remind you!” Rarity barked sharply, keeping up her relentless assault for several minutes.

“Aaahahahaaa! Rarity! Haaahhhh! Haaahhh!” Sweetie Belle finally began to catch her breath when Rarity’s assault came to an end. “Yyyooouuuuu!”

“You and your minions.” Rarity snatched the spider off of the desk to throw it onto Sweetie Belle’s chest. The younger girl giggled and wrapped her arms around it, still panting for breath after the long session of torture.

Rarity sat up and looked down at her sister, cocking her head slightly. The energetic tussle on the floor with Sweetie Belle’s kicking legs had lifted her dress nearly to her waist, and the dress itself had been tugged upward as if about to come off. It wasn’t a big deal in an unguarded moment between sisters… but it did give Rarity pause. If someone came by now and took a picture of Sweetie Belle like this, to use in some personal scheme to make money… what would she do?

She could admit to herself without jest or hesitation that she would kill them.

“Rarity?” Sweetie Belle finally caught her breath enough to sit up, tugging her dress properly back into place. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, Sweetie Belle.” Rarity smiled. “I’m perfectly fine, I promise. Thank you.” She pulled her baby sister into a tight, almost protective hug.

“Um… you’re welcome?” Sweetie Belle hugged her back despite her confusion.

Rarity knew what she had to do now.

___

Her formal high-heels click-clacked across the tiles of the mall as she made her way towards the high-end boutique. A business suit replaced her usual street wear, but one she made sure still looked good enough to come off as someone who knew a thing or two about fashion. She even wore her glasses, even though she didn’t really need to aside from seeing fine details in her dressmaking or when she got on her computer. Glasses were very much in right now, and who was she to argue with fashion trends?

Double-checking to make sure her envelope was tucked safely under one arm, she walked through the entrance of Hoity Toity’s Best In The World Boutique, waving to one of her co-workers as she passed by. His office was already cracked open, a sign that he was waiting for her. He was a very punctual man, so she strove to do the same. She waited a few minutes until precisely five PM before she pushed the door open and stepped confidently inside.

“Ah, Rarity. Not that there was any doubt you would be on time.” Hoity Toity turned back towards her in his chair with a broad smile. “I trust those are your samples.”

“They are, sir. Feel free to look them over.” Rarity passed him the envelope and took a seat in the chair opposite his, crossing her legs and placing her hands in her lap to wait patiently.

She took it as a positive sign that he was looking at the pictures for quite a while. Flipping from one to the next, really taking in each one as it came. Neither of them spoke until he’d flipped through all eighteen of the printed photographs, setting the last one face down on his desk.

“Not many dresses here, and few pictures of each,” he noted.

“I’m sorry, I was in a hurry. If you would give me more time I could get you more…”

“An artist must be able to operate on a deadline Rarity. The days of lollygagging about until inspiration and convenience converge are long gone.”

“I understand.” Rarity nodded.

“As for the dresses themselves, they show promise… I like the color use, the composition, and the patterns you’ve created are effective… but I see nothing that defines the dresses as your own.” Hoity Toity gathered up the pictures in a pile and slid them back into the envelope. “They are good, but they need a personal touch… a touch I don’t think you’ve discovered quite yet.” He held the envelope out to her with a soft smile. “When you do, your designs will most certainly be welcome in my shop.”

Rarity nodded and took the envelope back with a slight smile. “I understand, thank you for your consideration.”

“You’re very welcome.” Hoity Toity nodded. “I have a little more work to do, please take care of the guests until I’m finished.”

“I always do my best.” Rarity stood with her envelope and took the hint to leave, closing the office door behind her.

Rarity glanced down at her envelope, allowing herself little more than a soft sigh before she tucked it into her jacket and made her way out onto the sales floor.

___

Fluttershy’s cottage was nearly outside the city limits, sitting right on the border between the city of Canterlot and the Everfree Forest. It was a quaint little place, but it didn’t exactly fit with the rest of the city, nor did it seem like it was as sturdy as most modern buildings. It was built of strong wood, but it still just looked like planks of wood fastened together. Fluttershy’s father had built it by hand a few years ago to celebrate her ascension to womanhood and help her become more independent.

Most kids got a car for their sixteenth birthday. Fluttershy got a house.

Rarity knocked on the door and took a step back to wait, unbuttoning the front of her formal jacket as she did. She’d come straight here after work, she really needed a shoulder to lean on, especially since walking up this grassy hill in high heels wasn’t helping her mood any.

The door swung open with the sound and smell of countless animals wafting from inside, even as Fluttershy appeared with a soft smile. “Oh, hello Rarity, is there something I can do for you?”

“I could really use someone to talk to… if you’re not too terribly busy.”

“Oh, I’m never too busy for you.” Fluttershy pulled the door the rest of the way open, letting Rarity enter the chamber of chattering birds.

“I’m sorry if they’re too loud for you, they just got finished eating supper. They’ll settle down soon.” Fluttershy approached one of the birdcages on the near side of the cabin, poking her fingers lightly at the metal. Almost as if on command the birds began to quiet down. “There you go, peace and quiet.”

“You really do have a gift, Fluttershy.” Rarity kicked her heels disdainfully into the corner to step out onto the soft carpet and approach the couch.

Fluttershy sat down on the sofa beside her after a few more moments, folding her legs underneath her. “I just do my best to understand them. Mmm… you don’t look so good, Rarity. Are you okay?”

“As good with people as you are with animals?” Rarity smiled.

“Oh, I wish.” Fluttershy giggled with a blush.

“You’re right though… this hasn’t been the best day. Hoity Toity rejected my proposal. He said my designs lacked a ‘personal touch’.”

“Oh goodness, were the pictures you took not enough?” Fluttershy asked. “I’m sorry… we must not have been very good models…”

“Oh you stop that this instant, you were all great models, and great sports for agreeing to it. It was my fault for rushing it, and I could have chosen better dresses for each of you…” Rarity trailed off, staring down at the carpet with her hands clasped between her legs. “It was my fault I failed.”

Dainty fingers stroked her back with a light touch. “You’ll get there someday Rarity. I have every confidence in you. We all do.”

Rarity couldn’t help a smile. “Thank you, Fluttershy. That really means a lot to me.” Suddenly she smiled wider and snapped her fingers. “Hey, do you want to see something fun?” Rarity reached into her jacket to pull out her digital camera, quickly moving into the picture files to bring up the shots she’d taken in the sprinklers.

“Oh gosh, you were really taking pictures?” Fluttershy blushed deeply. “We must look awful!”

“Not all the time. Some of them are pretty good, actually.” Rarity moved to keep the camera between them, flipping through the pictures so Fluttershy could see.

“Hehe…” Fluttershy giggled through her smile. “Oh, that was so much fun… and you’re right, some of them are really pretty.” Fluttershy reached out a gentle hand to drop the picture on one of herself, a close-up from the waist up as she squeaked with her cheeks in her hands. “I’m glad you took these… n-not that I’d want anyone else to see them, of course.” Her blush returned in full force, this one even deeper than the last.

Rarity stared down at the camera for a couple more moments, then turned her gaze to her friend with an even broader smile. “I would never do that to you, Fluttershy.” She raised an arm to slip it around her friend’s shoulders as her gaze turned back to her camera’s view screen. “Not for anything in the world.”

Next Time
Equestria Girls Episode 04: Nothing but a Number

Author's Note

As usual, special thanks to CarcinoGeneticist for editing and catching mistakes in this episode, as with all the others.

Working in the Equestria Girls universe has presented some unexpected opportunities. Such as dealing with characters who are not only a different species, but also a touch younger than their counterparts, or at least treated as younger by their society. Such is the premise behind this story, of a Rarity who is just trying to get her foot in the door of her chosen career rather than already being successful as she was in the first episode of MLP: FiM.

Fluttershy already living alone in her cottage is a result of my desire to make this universe similar enough to the original that it doesn’t feel alien, while still working to make it feel distinct. Which is something I felt like they TRIED to do in the movie, but simply didn’t have time to make clear. I mean everyone had their staple attributes, Applejack was referred to as a farmgirl, for instance, but since everyone was almost never seen outside of school hallways, it didn’t really come through.

Aaaand I feel like that’s about it for this one. I hope everyone continues to read and enjoy this series for as long as it may last.