The next morning, Rarity woke from her slumber and carried out her usual morning errands; some of them included taking her shower, waking up Sweetie Belle, cooking breakfast for both herself and her younger sibling, cleaning the kitchen, walking Sweetie to school, going shopping for materials, going to the gym for her usual morning workout to keep her body in shape, going home to take her second shower and finally going over her plans for her dress for the Grand Galloping Gala. She wanted to look her best for when she saw her prince. She hummed merrily as she sewed the patches of cloth to her new dress. A smile lit her face as she realized that she would get the opportunity to work in silence, free of all visitations for the day.

*knock knock knock knock knock knock knock*

...Or so she thought. Her smile faded as she found the interruption of her day most unamusing. She tried to ignore the knocking in anticipations that her visitor would get the hint that she was unavailable to take visitors. Her eyes remained fixated on the dress in front of her. Following the diagram, she sewed the thread in a looping motion. As she managed to prod the needle through the last hole of the phase, she heard the door slam wide open followed by the voice of a twangy-southern mare.

"Howdy, Rarity!"

Another voice corrected the mare as the seamstress did all she could to maintain her focus. "Shh... Can't you see Rarity is trying to concentrate?"

"What do ya think she's makin'?" Rarity heard from her left side, growing annoyed that they continued to talk as she worked.

"Looks like a dress." She heard from her right side as she started to feel her temper boil over.

"Well, that makes sense. Since this is a dressmaker's shop and all." Rarity's body shook as she suppressed all of her anger at once, turning around to speak with the two disruptive mares.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Rarity asked, selling her best smile.

"Oh, so very sorry to trouble you, Rarity, but I need a quick favor. Could you please fix the button for me?" As Rarity moved out of the way of the table beside her, Twilight laid a plainly red dress with orange and white stripes. "It's my dress for the Grand Galloping Gala."

Rarity could not believe what she was seeing. Her friend wanted to go to the Gala with a dress that wouldn't even catch the eye of the fashion police. She looked at the simplistic design and how the color clashed with her friend. She shook her head in objection. "Oh, no, no, no! You can't wear this... old thing. You need a glamorous new outfit for the Gala..." Rarity felt another idea come up as she thought about what colors would go well with the lavender mare. Her mind traced out the blueprints for her dress and then her vision unraveled itself before her. "...and I'll make it for you. No problem at all. It will be my pleasure!"

"Oh, that's really sweet of you to offer, Rarity, but I can't let you do that. It would be so much work. This dress is fine." Twilight insisted.

"Twilight Sparkle. I insist on making you a new dress." Rarity scorned Twilight. She knew that the dress was much too plain to wear for an event so big and high-profile as the Gala.

"But-"

"Not another word! I won't take no for an answer." The seamstress said, putting her hoof down.

Twilight realized that her friend was rather persistent on making her a new dress and surrendered to Rarity. "Well, in that case... Thank you for your generosity, Rarity. Knowing your handiwork, I'm sure it will be absolutely beautiful."

Rarity turned her head to the farm pony and gave her a critical stare. "Let me guess, Applejack. You don't want a new gown either."

"Gown? Shoot. I was just gonna wear my old work duds." Applejack answered, gaining concern from the fashionista.

"You can't possibly be serious, Applejack! You absolutely must wear formal attire!"

Applejack took a moment to think as she though about wearing a dress to the Gala. "Hmmmm... Nah."

Rarity didn't have time to argue, as starting one with the stubborn-natured cowpony would result in more time wasted than anything. She settled for a compromise. "What if I just spruce up your... duds for you a little bit?"

Applejack took in a breath of air as she tried to decline, but she remembered that her duds were in a state of disrepair. So it would only make sense to have them restored a bit. "Okay, sure. Why not? Since yer up for it n'all. Just don't make them too... froufrou-y."

"Deal!"

"Look out below!" A third voice screamed from outside of the boutique. The ceiling suddenly collapsed to reveal a rainbow-maned pegasus who fell to the ground with a bounce and fell backwards, landing in a pile of mannequins. Rarity shook her head, knowing that the damage was going to take some more of her free time out of her day. The cyan pegasus rose from the pile of mannequins with a tin bucket on her head, apparently not wearing it on the way in. She chuckled as she lifted the bucket from over her eyes.

"Sorry. New trick. Didn't quite work."

"Hmm..." Rarity droned while she held a hoof on her chin. Her mind started to fill with more ideas on the dresses she could create. Her imagination flew wild with multiple colors. And what better way of accenting her athletic friend with an athletically-themed gown to wear.

"Idea! I'll make you an outfit for the Gala too, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow looked at the other mares as she asked for a hint on what was going on. "Outfit for the what now?"

Rarity's mind ran at a blinding pace as she also imagined the dresses for not only the three mares in the room, but also for the two mares that weren't in attendance. "I'll make one for you and you and all of you. Oh! And of course Pinkie and Fluttershy too. Oh, and when I'm done, we can hold our very own fashion show!"

Twilight smiled at the idea of her fashion-inclined friend offered to make not only a gown for her but for all of the others. Though she had a bit of concern for her ability to make several different designs in a single setting. "What a great idea! If you're sure you can handle it."

"Oh, it'll be a little bit of work, but it will be a wonderful boost for my business. Plus, fun!" Rarity chimed as she started to make her way back to the table with several rolls of fabric.

"Oh, I love fun things!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Then it's settled. We'll have a fashion show starring us." Rarity announced, causing the room to erupt in cheer. As she revved up her sewing machine, the farm mare walked behind her and questioned her on the arduous task.

"So... all ya have ta do is make a different, stunning, original, amazing outfit for... one, two, three, four, five... plus yourself, six ponies? And lickety split?"

"Oh, Applejack. You make it sound as if it's going to be hard."

*Knock Knock Knock*

"Luna... can we talk."

"Sure... what is wrong?"

Luna opens the large blue door to her bedroom, revealing the elder sister that requested her audience. As Celestia entered into the room, Luna closed the door behind her. Celestia waited for the door to close before she spoke. After Luna closed the large door, Celesta took a seat in the opposite side of the room. "It's about the Gala."

Luna sighed as she took a seat beside her sister. "...I knew that you would ask me why I chose not to attend."

"Luna, the ponies will be wanting to see you there. Now I can make arrangements that you can go out of th-"

"Sister, may I ask you something." Luna said while looking down and away from the older sibling.

"You may."

The Princess of the Night drew in a breath of air as her lips separated, creating a tick noise. "What do you think of Blueblood?"

Celestia withheld a gasp as she tried to figure out the reason why her sister would ask her something in relation to the adopted nephew. "Blueblood!? Well... I wouldn't advise an innocent mare to make her acquaintance with him."

"Does he trouble you?" Luna inquired flatly.

"...Yes." Celestia admitted.

"Then why do you keep him around you?" The younger sister asked as she continued to interrogate her elder sibling. Luna watched as her sister turned away from her.

"Luna, it's hard giving up something that you see as your own son. And you know why I especially cannot bring myself to part with him." Celestia said as she broke her visual contact with Luna.

"You love him as more than a son, do you not?" Luna asked.

Celestia turned around and lashed back at the absurd accusation that her younger sister made. "MOTHER NO! I couldn't bring myself to date him either!"

The two sat silent after the larger alacorn's outburst. They continued to not look at each other while the younger one found the courage to speak up to her older sister. "The atrocities he has committed... he cannot be allowed to be punished so lightly."

Celestia knew were this was going and could feel herself on the brink of tears. "I know. But... he-"

"You held no reservations when you banished me to the moon for a millennium." Luna argued.

"I didn't know that the Elements of Harmony would banish you for so long. I only assumed a decade at most." Celestia rebutted as she felt the sadness within her heart overflow into her tears.

"It matters not. You didn't allow your personal feelings to decide whether or not you would fire that beam."

Celestia felt more of the crushing guilt of the one thousand years she spent without her sister. She screamed to her younger sister with tears falling from her face and a painful expression set in her voice. "LUNA, I'M SORRY!"

"I KNOW! Just... listen to me." Luna interrupted before Celestia could go on her rant on how sorry she was when it came to banishing her. She needed her to focus on the matters of the present, being the infamous prince.

"Lulu... I... didn't mean to-"

"That chapter is over. A new one is written. Though I cannot stand to see you at the mercy of a stallion you've taken in as your own."

Luna watched as Celestia stood up from her seat and walk over to the balcony. Her face held an expression that was a mix of sadness and anger. "I was lonely. I had nopony to talk to, to be with. I had nopony to hold on to and to cherish. And neither did he."

"You sound like you love him more than you treat him as your own child." Luna called out to her sister.

"I do not." Celestia denied once more.

Luna ignored the answer her sister gave, as she saw through the facade that she made. But she also knew that the facade had also affected the one who created it. "Yes you do. You've grown so attached to him that you've become blinded by the image of him. Can you not see the wrongs he has committed and the wrongs he is planning to do, even as we speak?"

"He wasn't always like this Lulu. He was kind, gentle, diligent and open-minded. If he can be brought back to that-"

Luna interrupted her sister yet again as she pressed the offensive. "He cannot be saved, sister. His years in power has corrupted him. Look at what he has become."

"I can see that! But I can still see the vulnerable foal that he used to be inside of him."

Luna walked to her sister and stood in front of her, making sure that the elder princess could see her eyes as she gave her real reason on why she chose not to go to the Gala. "...I will not attend the Gala. And my reason for not doing so is not my public speech issue, but rather his attendance sickens me."

"You don't know him, Lulu." Celestia tried to convince her sister that she was merely seeing the superficial qualities of Blueblood's character. But Luna could not be swayed.

"I know this: he has no guilt nor shame. He threw a mare out of the palace yesterday morning as she pleaded for him to love her. He slapped her, he threw stones at her and he called her degrading names. I watched her beg and grovel at his hooves soaked in her own blood and tears as he callously pushed her away. He is no prince and I will not stand in the public eye alongside him."

"Lulu, I know that he's a little mispla-"

"I've seen misplaced, dear sister! And that prince is far from it. He knows what he does. And quite frankly, I am tired of seeing you defend him."

Celestia walked away from her younger sister and made her way to the door. But she stopped short of the handle as she turned her head to look at her sister as she tried to convince her one last time. "...I defended you. For a full one-thousand years. Everypony deserves a fair chance."

Luna scoffed as she rolled her eyes at the show of sentiment to the stallion. Luna decided that she should no longer have a choice in the administration of her adopted nephew. His power and influence had grown entirely too much for her to not make an example of. And with the way she's treating him, she doubted if he had really been punished at all. It was time to play the role of the harsh detective and put her hoof down.

"...If he should do something else demeaning, I will deal with him myself."

"You mustn't."

"And without your power as well, should you forget that we rule this land on equal terms. I do not mean to be imposing, but I will provide punishment when it is deserved."

Celestia knew that Luna was in the right. Somewhere deep down, she didn't want to punish him out of fear that he would grow to resent her. She wanted him to be happy. But in reality, she ended up spoiling him past the point of no return. Yet she still had a disillusioned hope that he would come around, just as she did about Luna forgiving her and living with her.

The ivory alacorn mare silently nodded her head in approval as she opened the door. As she walked into the hallway to carry out her duties, she turned around to speak. "...Luneste, you will one day see what he could be if we can manage to reform him. Please give him one last chance."

Luna shook her head as she magically held the door for her older sister. She stared back at her older sister as she gave her a final word of warning.

"He has one chance with me. Fail, and he will suffer."

"Wow... They're..." A purple unicorn sounded out carefully, trying to speak her mind.

"Yeah, they're..." A cyan pegasus spoke slowly as she tried to not offend her friend.

"They sure are... sumthin'." An orange farm pony hesitated to say as she tried to come up with a word to use in order to appease her friend.

"I love something! Something is my favorite!" A pink pony chimed nervously.

"It's... nice." A yellow pegasus whispered quietly trying to be kind.

Rarity felt her heart sink into her stomach as she heard the lifeless expressions of the other five mares in the room. Behind the fashionista stood five elegant dresses. The first one was Twilight's; a blue gown that sparkled and shimmered in the light with stars accenting the hem of the dress. The second one was an earth-tone denim ensemble that doubled as a gown and a work outfit, which belonged to Applejack. The third one was a pink dress with lots of candy accents that lined the hem of the gown, which belonged to Pinkie Pie. The fourth dress belonged to Rainbow Dash; it had a prismatic scheme that matched her mane and gold leaf accessories that showed off a little athletic flare. The final dress belonged to Fluttershy; she had a elegant green gown with a long train, accented by blue and yellow butterflies.

"What's the matter? Don't you like them?"

Twilight was the first to answer. "They're very nice."

Applejack agreed with her friend and joined her in the compliment. "And we're plum grateful cause ya worked so hard on 'em."

"Mine's just not as cool as I was imagining." Said Rainbow Dash, earning a stern look of disapproval from the others. "What? She asked."

Twilight saw that the cyan pegasus finally managed to break the ice in the conversation. She took a deep breath as she knew that the next words she was to say would end up hurting the generous fashionista's feelings. "I guess what we're all saying is... that they're just not what we had in mind."

The others hummed and nodded in agreement. Rarity on the other hoof knew that her personal dedication of satisfying the customer would drive her to redo the dresses in the image that her friends wished to have. She knew that it would be entirely wrong to them that they would be forced to wear the dresses she made without a second thought. After all, it was their dresses.

"That's okay. Not a problem. There's plenty more where that came from. They were only a first pass. You're my friends and I want you to be 110% satisfied. Not to worry, I'll redo them."

The other mares gasped collectively in shock that Rarity responded in such a fashion. They initially thought that she was going to be completely heartbroken, but instead she was more determined than ever to see that the dresses were to their liking. Ultimately, it made them feel even more guilty than before because now she was going to make a second line of dresses for them.

"Oh, Rarity. You don't have to do that. They're fine." The timid pegasus said in a concerned whisper.

Rarity waived off the suggestion to keep the dresses as they were. "I want them to be better that just fine. I want you to think they're absolutely perfect."

"Are ya sure? Ah mean, we wouldn't wanna impose." Applejack asked as Rarity swallowed the hard fact that her friends disapproved of her hard work.

"Oh, it's no imposition. Really, I insist."

The five mares felt a bit of comfort as they saw that Rarity was so insistent on redoing the gowns in such a short period of time. Realizing that they would probably be called in one by one, they walked out of the room to the downstairs area. Twilight was the last to follow as she showed the seamstress her gratitude."Well, in that case... Thank you again, Rarity."

Rarity laughed nervously as she watched the five other mares leave the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Rarity let out a depressed sigh as she felt like curling herself into a ball. Her hard work was not enough to please her friends and now she had to start all over. This was not going to be easy and it was going to take a lot of fabric in order to get it done. In the ended, if she pressed herself onward in terms of each individual mare, she would get the new gowns finished in time of the fashion show. But at the same time, she wouldn't have enough time to get them to look somewhat decent and orderly to present. And furthermore, she wouldn't have the time to finish off her own dress.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

The ponies gathered around the stage in front of the Carousel Boutique as Rarity and the others remained inside of the boutique. She watched as the mares eagerly trotted to the room to see the fruits of her labor. Though in the seamstress honest opinion, she saw them as rotten fruit; a fruit that she would be eager to dispose of. Rarity's cat, Opal, swiped her claws at the aesthetically-compromised dresses.

"Okay. I did exactly what each of you asked for. Now don't hold back... Let me know what you really think." Rarity said as she watched her friends open their eyes. And much to her expectation, she received praise for the second shot she took in making sure that she satisfied her friends.

"Oh my!" Said Twilight as she gasped at her gown.

"It's... perfect!" Said Fluttershy as she held a hoof over her mouth.

"It's cool!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in seeing her design ideas come to life.

"Why they're the best duds Ah ever did see." Proclaimed Applejack.

"It's the most ponerific, party-tastic, punchiest thing that I ever seen!" Shouted Pinkie Pie as she jumped up and down.

"It's exactly what I asked for!" The five mares declared as they all thanked Rarity for the dresses.

Rarity released a sigh of relief to know that her ordeal had come to an end. She toiled and sewed all day without a moment's rest and then she had to redo the dresses in time enough for the fashion show. She was placed in a sense of comfort knowing that her friends were satisfied with their gowns, despite their questionable appearance.

Twilight walked up to the obviously tired unicorn and showed her appreciation once more. "Thank you, Rarity."

"Are you as happy with them as we are? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Pinkie asked as she jumped in between Twilight and Rarity.

Rarity took a moment to carefully word her answer as she wanted to didn't want to let them know how horrible the design choices of her friends truly were. She also didn't want to offend them in any way. "Well, I'm... happy that all of you are happy. I'm just relieved to finally be done."

The sound a door opening alarmed Rarity as she recovered from the false smile she wore for her friends. As the door opened, a young dragon stood at the door. As he tried to regain his breath from what appeared to be a long run, he delivered some more news in regards to the fashion show that would start in about an hour.

"You are never gonna believe this! You've heard of Hoity Toity?"

Twilight tilted her head as she remembered a few headlines with the name. "The bigwig fashion hotshot in Canterlot?"

"HIM!?" Rarity shouted as she instantly felt her heart skip a beat.

"Uh-huh. He heard about your fashion show. Well, maybe I happened to mention it to him... He's coming here all the way from Canterlot to see your work, Rarity!" Spike announced to the group of mares in the boutique.

"Whoa, Nelly! You could sell a ton o' dresses to this guy. Yer business will be boomin'!" Applejack said to the fashionista.

"Wow!" Twilight said as she realized that this was a monumental opportunity for Rarity.

"That's so cool!" Rainbow Dash shouted, cosigning with Twilight.

"I don't believe it!" Fluttershy whispered as she felt happy for her friend.

Meanwhile, Rarity felt her heart sink from the pit of her stomach to her intestines as she stood in complete horror of the situation. "Hoity Toity? He's coming here? To see THESE dresses?"

"Yep! Get ready for all of your dreams to come true." Spike confirmed, oblivious to what Rarity was going through.

Rarity could have sworn she heard the sound of a glass dropping to the floor as she closed her eyes to asses the situation. Hoity Toity, one of Canterlot's premier fashion icons and a phenom since his preteens, took interest in her work and would be seeing the worst of her creations to date. This was not going to be easy to deal with.

"Okay girls..." Rarity said as she drew in rapid, shallow breaths of air. "Show will be starting in the next fifteen minutes, let's get dressed... And Spike, might I have a word with you?"

As the other mares took to the upstairs rooms to start getting dressed, she ran over to the young drake and scolded him for bringing up the news.

"HOITY TOITY!? Spike, how did you even get the attention of a high-profile member of the Canterlot Elite!?"

"Oh that's easy. I've worked my way around a lot of mail and stuff when I was back at Canterlot. Not to mention that I do sometimes assist the princess in some of her tasks. If her usual assistant Inkwell wasn't around, then I'd be her fill-"

"That doesn't explain anything, Spike. HOW DID HE GET HERE!?" She asked distressed as she walked over to the front door.

"I was getting to that." Said Spike as he clarified his reason for going on like that to the worried designer. "Anyways, I do a lot of favors for the princess. And it helps that Twilight's brother is a member of the royal guard, who once escorted him to a show in Las Pegasus. So I pulled a few strings and I got him to come over."

Rarity felt a blush forming on her cheeks as she thought about the momentous favor that the young drake managed to pull, even though it was rather ill-timed. "Oh Spike... This is..."

"Well, I wanted to see you succeed. After all... beautiful mares do deserve to be successful."

Rarity was flattered by his words, but the reality of her career ending prematurely was too much of a weight to ignore. "Spike... I know that you care-"

"Wow! Looks like we already got a pretty huge turnout." Spike said as he looked at the forming crowd around the stage outside.

"What!?"

Rarity made a dash from the front door of the boutique to the large stage set up outside. Her head poked through the curtain as she thought about having the show start early. If she started the show early, then there would be a chance that she would be able to present the gowns without him being present. But even then, she would be the source of ridicule for much of the town. And it didn't help that the stallion she wanted to avoid had also made an early appearance himself.

"Okay. Relax, Rarity. Your friends like their outfits and so will he." She tried to assure herself, calming herself down so that she could focus on the show. Suddenly, the lights dimmed as the music started to play in the distance. "Aaaah! what's wrong with the lights?!" She remembered that the dimming of the lights could only mean one thing as the music continued to play. "Oh, yes. That means the show's starting. Good."

Rarity bit a hoof as she heard Spike on the sound system, announcing an introduction to her line.

"Since the beginning of time, the elite of Equestria have longed for pony fashions that truly expressed the essence of their very souls. Patiently waiting decades... no, centuries... for the perfect pony gown. Today, at long last, Equestria, your wait is over! Let's hear it for the breathtaking designs of Ponyville's own, Rarity!"

As the spotlights focused to the center of the stage, the five mares walked out to the catwalk in an orderly fashion. The first to be revealed was Twilight, who wore an indigo shall with the celestial bodies and the major constellations acting as obtrusive polka-dots and a crown made of wires and foam stars. The second to walk out was Applejack, who wore a red ten-gallon hat with a green scarf, a blue saddle with blue and orange plaid design wile donning a set of rain boots. Following her was none other than Fluttershy, who wore a green and red sunflower dress and a hat made of straw shaped into a nest that held egg-shaped foam balls. Next in line was Rainbow Dash, who wore a red cape that seemed to clash with the coat of her fur and a odd-shaped rainbow helmet-boot combo. Finally making her way to the catwalk was a duck-faced Pinkie Pie, who wore an offending shade of green and was decked out in balloons and cupcakes. As they all stood on the modeling platform, the began to receive disgusted looks.

"Why's everypony lookin' at us like that?" Applejack asked confusedly, thinking that their outfits were to be the talk of the town. Twilight was the first to carefully examine what she was wearing and how she might have looked in the silly designs that they asked for.

"Uh oh..."

"You think we overdid it?" Rainbow asked the others as she finally saw what the audience was seeing.

"Nah..." Applejack said before she remembered what choice of hoofwear she was sporting with her outfit. "Okay... Maybe a little."

Rarity continued to hide behind the curtains as she heard an outspoken voice ripping the designs from the audience. And she already had an idea on who exactly it was.

"Oh, those amateurish designs look like a piled-on mishmash of everything but the kitchen sink! It's a travesty, it's what it is. Those outfits are the ugliest things I've ever seen, oh for shame. Who is responsible for subjecting our eyes to these horrors? Not to mention wasting my valuable time."

Rarity initially thought about hiding behind her cat, but seeing that it would be more of a silly idea than the design choices she made to please her friends. She even resorted to running inside of her boutique, just to avoid all of the glaring eyes of the crowd. But before she could set herself to leave, Spike ran to the stage and announced her to come out to the stage, unaware of what was going on beyond the curtains.

"Come on out and take a bow, Rarity. You worked really hard for this. Yes! Alright, woohoo! Go, Rarity!" The young drake cheered the fashionista, oblivious to the crowd's reaction. Though it was in good intention, Rarity felt that he was mocking her further by causing her to carry out her walk of shame. As she reached the end of the catwalk, Hoity Toity stepped to the stage and started to speak his mind... in brutal honesty.

"Young lady... what were you thinking? I could have came up with better designs when inebriated and drugged! This is a mix of the bodily exorcism that would come from said drugs and alcohol; a pile of vomit. Do you even know how to color coordinate? From the designs that I see right now, that would be a resounding 'no'. These... miscarriages are nothing more of a waste of fabric, resources, and more so a waste of my time."

The five models stood on the catwalk as they watched their friend Rarity go down in flames. Glorious flames that proceeded to incinerate everything they touched and reached as high as the night sky above the town and reaching as far as to the ends of Equestria. As they watched Rarity take the brutal commentary, their faces fell into sympathetic frowns. It was they who had her redo the already magnificent designs to their poor choice of fashion sense and was now taking all of the heat for it. Not to mention that her career could be very short-lived from this night on.

"I... I'm sorry." Rarity spoke weakly as she tried her best to hold back her tears.

"There is no apology from this atrocious display. I suggest you find another source of income." Hoity said as he practically told the mare to quit her day job and find something else more suitable to her skills. As he walked off of the stage, the other ponies walked away as well. Mumbles and giggles could be heard as they left the six mares standing on the stage. Twilight spoke out to the seemingly broken mare.

"Rarity... we're so s-"

Rarity didn't even give her a chance to finish as she ran for the door and locked it shortly after. Normally she would be heard crying to all the way to the front door, but instead she held her mournful cries to herself until she slammed the door shut. Spike and the other five mares looked at the front door of the boutique as they all questioned their selfish desires and what it ultimately may have cost their friend. Now it seemed that Rarity's business days were numbered, and they were the ones to blame. Fluttershy felt the tears roll freely down her cheeks as she knew exactly what all of this meant to the young fashionista.

"What have we done?"

Three days later...

*knock knock knock*

"Rarity? You okay in there? You haven't come out for days."

"I'm never coming out! I can't show my face in Ponyville ever again! I used to be somepony. I used to be respected. I made dresses. Beautiful, beautiful dresses! But now everypony is laughing at me. I'm nothing but a laughing stock!"

As Rarity answered Pinkie's question, she continued to sob behind the closed door of her bedroom. It took her an entire two and a half days to get to the point of unlocking her front door for any clients to enter. Her five friends stood outside of her room as they all tried to make her feel better.

"You're not a laughing stock, Rarity." Twilight assured.

"She kind of is." Rainbow blurted out. Correction: most of them tried to help.

"Come on out and talk to us." Twilight requested as the others continued to jump on Rainbow Dash for her brashness.

"Leave me alone! I want to be alone! I want to wallow in... whatever it is that ponies are supposed to wallow in! Do ponies wallow in pity? Oh, listen to me, I don't even know what I'm supposed to wallow in! I'M SO PATHETIC!"

While the disgraced fashionista remained in her room to throw herself a pity party, the other five, Spike included, mares discussed their next course of action.

"Now what do we do?" Twilight asked the others.

"Panic?" Fluttershy threw out randomly.

"That's your answer for everything!" Rainbow Dash chided.

"Well we can't jus' leave Rarity like this." Applejack argued.

"She become a crazy cat lady!" Pinkie added.

"Pinkie, she has only one cat." Twilight said to disprove the pink mare's statement.

"Give her time." Pinkie said cautiously.

As the five mares stood around to think about a plan, Spike walked up to a sheet of paper on the ground. As he picked it up, he saw that it was the design blueprints for a dress, signed by Rarity no less. As the gears in his head started to turn, he formulated a plan to get Rarity out of her room and to give her an incentive to continue her work. He knew that the mistakes of the past three days had to be undone somehow, and he knew just the way to erase it all.

"Guys, I have an idea."

"Not now, Spike! We're trying to think of a way to get Rarity to talk to us outside of this room." Twilight said with earnest. Spike rolled his eyes and discounted her statement as he answered her with sarcasm.

"Well gee Twilight, I guess this blueprint for one of her dresses wouldn't be of any use. And while we're at it, let's not place Opal in a tree and have you five bait Rarity into coming outside while I go out and grab Hoity Toity and show him Rarity portfolio of works while you all talk her into doing another fashion show with him in attendance. Nope, doesn't sound like a well-founded plan after all."

Twilight scoffed as she scolded the young dragon for interrupting them once more. "Spike, for pony's sake! We don't have time for your sarca... Wait, what did you say?"

Spike facepalmed as he managed to get the attention of the five mares by the most inconvenient manner. "So now that I finally have your attention..."

Six hours later...
Ponyville Train Station

"Hoity!" Spike yelled out to the shades-donning stallion.

"Oh... Hello Spike. I suppose you'll be bringing me more news of designers that I should be convincing to keep their day jobs."

As the small dragon ran over to the platform, he held a large folder filled with pictures, forking it over to the fashion icon. "There's something that you should look into."

As he grabbed the binder, he looked at the first few pages of the dresses that was worn by various ponies in stage productions. Continuing to flip through the pages of the binder, his jaw dropped in awe over what he was seeing. Every dress and gown that was archived each had an individual flare that did nothing but grabbed his attention from the first page to the last. Finally landing on the last page, he looked to Spike with amazement. "Whose designs are these!? There... marvelous!"

"The same mare that you told to quit onstage."

Hoity Toity blinked in disbelief. Surely the mare that presented the ugly dresses from three days past was not the one who created the works of art that only continued to bless his eyes. Aghast, he flipped through the pages as he looked for the signature of the mare who was responsible. "Surely you jest."

"You wish. Rarity is a very good designer. The only setback of that night was that she allowed her friends to make the design choices for the dresses that they wanted to wear for the Gala. Unfortunately, it didn't come out as well as they had imagined."

Finally seeing that the signature of every photo was credited to her, he conceded to the dragon that it was indeed her. "Understandable. Has she ever tried convincing them that their taste in fashion was rather, well... ill-conceived?"

"Normally she would. But if I know anything about Rarity, she believes that the client is always right, even if they are wrong. Just give her a chance, a clean slate to show you what she can really do."

The fashion-savvy stallion looked at a clock on the other side of the station and noticed that his train was going to come in any moment from now. "I may not have the time at the moment. My train is set to-"

Before he could finish, a mare came on the loud speaker and made an announcement in regards to the train schedule.

"Attention passengers: There has been an incident with the inbound train. The train has been derailed and all travel to Canterlot will be postponed until further notice. Thank you for riding Equestria Rails and we appreciate your patience.

Hoity slapped a hoof to his face as he heard the news of the delay. "OH FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S ROYAL! How the hell did a train get derailed on the way from Appleloosa!? I can't be here all week, I have a show to attend tomorrow in honor of the Grand Galloping Gala."

Spike ran over to the stallion as he pointed out a little known fact. "Just look on the bright side: you'll get to see six outfits that will be worn by ponies in the Grand Galloping Gala, designed by none other than Rarity herself."

"...Keep talking."

"Now this is a fashion show! All of these dresses are absolutely amazing. Who is responsible? Step forward, show yourself!"

Hoity continued his applause as he watched the lights point towards the mare that was once considered the ridicule to all that was fashionable. As she stepped forward in a pink and gold gown that shimmered brightly as the pearls and jewels she accessorized with it caught the colors of the gown. As she approached the end of the runway, he shouted praises of her works.

"Brava! Brava! Magnifico! Encore!"

"Oh, thank you. Thank you! Oh, thank you so much!" Rarity said as she felt herself walking on air. A fashion designer from Canterlot, Hoity Toity no less, has expressed his approval in her designs. And he also managed to give out a standing ovation.

"Rarity, my congratulations to you on a most impressive fashion debut. Would you do me the great honor of allowing me to feature your couture in my Best of the Best Boutique in Canterlot?"

"YES! Oh thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou!" Rarity shouted as she jumped for joy. Her elation for the moment could only be reproduced by Pinkie Pie in a party.

"Now, I'll need you to make a dozen of each dress for me by next Tuesday."

"Okay a dress f- six of each? Next Tuesday?" Rarity asked as she felt her previous walk in the clouds come to a crashing halt with the ground below her. Not only did she had to do a total of thirty dresses, but she also had to balance the Grand Galloping Gala along with the time to create them.

"From the speed you were able to put together this show, I can say that you would easily be able to finish my request with the time allotted. I expect noting but the best from you, my dear."

Despite the difficulty of the task, she accepted the assignment. This was an opportunity to erase the mistakes that was three nights ago with a single fell swoop. She was more than open to the job. "Oh... I suppose I can manage. After all, it is Canterlot where my creations will be displayed."

"Indeed. Just think of the endorsements." Hoity added as he made his way to the front door.

"I will be able to complete the task, only if I am allowed to keep in contact." Rarity said as she followed him to the door, escorting him out.

"Indeed! Perhaps one day, we could collaborate our efforts and show the world what they would truly be missing out on. I can see us going places, my dear!"

"Yes! Now I don't wish to hold you up, you do have a train to catch." Rarity said as she giggled with glee, though Hoity rolled his eyes at the mere mention of the train.

"I'll be delayed a bit on the behalf of rail issues, though my carriage awaits for me outside. It will be a long journey, though it was a most memorable night in the name of fashion. Thank you, Miss Rarity. I wish you all the best"

As the fashion icon waived his goodbye to the rising-star seamstress, Rarity bid him a fond farewell. "I wish you a safe journey as well. I suppose we will meet at the Gala this Saturday."

"Meet we shall. But until then, I bid you adieu."

Author's Note

Parenting 101: If you punish a child for the wrongs they've committed, they will hate you for that moment. But as they get older, they will grow to love you for it.
Celestia, being without child, didn't really know this and it took the wisdom of her own younger sister (who was punished for disobeying orders and abandoning her duties while trying to usurp the throne) to instill that confirmation to her older sister. I thought that I should explain that little scene.

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