Hard Pressed to Impress

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1 Author's Note

Hello to all. Sorry about it being so long in between posts. I'm in the middle of figuring out a career path, and life takes precedent over fan-fiction. I have not forgotten you all though. Such nice comments on my previous two works keep me motivated to spend little bits of time writing. You've all been wonderful readers and i hope i can return to writing more in the near future. For now, enjoy something that took MUCH longer than it was supposed to xD.

Chapter 1

(Timeline position: Two months after the events of Head in the Clouds)

(For timeline info, please visit my homepage)

“Where is it, where is it, WHERE IS IT?!” Rolls of fabric and ribbon were tossed every which way as others were pulled away by a blue magical auras. “No.” One tossed aside. “No.” Another tossed aside. “UGH! Definitely NOT!” One thrown into the waste basket on the opposite side of the room. A special roll of yellow fabric was nestled between many others that heavily clashed with it. The rest were suddenly surrounded by blue magic and all thrown aside. “YESSSSSSS!!!” Rarity stood over it with gleaming eyes behind her red framed glasses. “MINE!” She hoisted it up and sprinted back into the other room.

She zipped up to half a dress she had going on one of her poninequins and eagerly held the color against it. She frowned, moving the dress towards the light and trying again.

“AAAAAUGH!!!!” The roll did a full turn and was flung against the wall. Rarity flopped on floor with a heavy sigh, feeling like she had bit off much more than she could chew. Her workshop in the Carousel Boutique was a mess. Materials were strewn everywhere and nearly every drawer and cabinet lay open. A pile of a week’s worth of mail was becoming a tower next to her door. Sweetie Belle had brought it in every morning, and each day she had to get more stools to reach the top.

Rarity removed her hooves from her head and glanced up at a huge to do list that extended from the middle of the wall, to the floor, and sprawled a few feet out from it. It was titled, “Canterlot Fashion Contest Submission list.” She ran her eyes down from the top and stopped at the third one on the list where the check marks in the “finished” boxes stopped. She groaned again and laid her face against the floor.

As the list suggested, Rarity had received an ad a week prior about a Fashion show being held in Canterlot a month from the day. Entries from designers had to be both sponsored by a well known name in the industry and submitted a week prior to the contest to be considered for entry. Through her recent time in Ponyville she had both met and gained a little bit of recognition from a few famous names, but she had to do some more convincing.

That was the problem at hand. She wanted at least seven or eight dresses to show the ponies she knew, but the pressure to make things perfect was forcing her to go great lengths before determining a project done. A week had already gone by, with only three weeks left before submissions due she had barely made a dent in her goal.

She was already exhausted as well. She hadn’t eaten much and was sacrificing sleep. Her mane had become a nightmare of a mess but she was so groggy that even her appearance eluded her. Twilight tried to come in once to see if Rarity was okay. She had been out of site for days after all. Twilight was subjected to a nervous freak out before being scooted right back out.

The discarded roll of fabric suddenly plopped down beside her. Upon glancing at it, Rarity also saw it beside two pairs of small white hooves.

“Hey, weren’t you looking for this Rarity? It was rolling around right behind you!” Sweetie Belle smiled brightly, under the impression she was helping and ignoring her older sister’s previous scolding. Rarity was just about to lose it completely.

“RRRGH!!!! SWEETIE BELLE, GET OUT!” She rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Sweetie looked very distraught.

“What? But…”

“OUT!!!!!!!!” Rarity screamed. Sweetie frowned, squeaking a few tears out before scampering away.

Immediately after, Rarity felt awful for treating her sister in such a way. She was under pressure, bogged down, and completely caught in her work. To make things even better, nothing was going right. Taking out her anger on Sweetie was the indication that broke her from it all. She would never get this all done if she was emotionally compromised.

She sat up and took a few breaths, making a mental note to apologize to her sister later and possibly make up for it. It was in her best interest to take a break and collect her thoughts. She learned well in the past from Applejack that overworking yourself to the breaking point can be hazardous to oneself and those around you.

She glanced about for anything that could shift her thought process. Her eyes landed on the tower of mail by the door. It would have to do. She was sure most of it was just bills, commissions, or payments. It would be best for her to go through it incase anything important was among them.

Rising from the floor, she slowly walked over to the pile, using her magic to remove the first envelope from the top. However, it brushed against the one below it, causing the whole tower to tip. The floor was quickly plastered with envelopes, extending from the door to Rarity’s hooves. Her eye twitched, but she quickly remembered she was trying to calm down. She opened the one she had in her magic. It was just a bill for a couple of fabric orders. She quickly cast it aside into a folder of bills to pay before returning her focus to the sea of letters before her. She readied to randomly pick another, but as her choice floated up, something caught her eye beneath it. It was an envelope with a special seal on it. “FP” in a logo format she recognized. Her pupils shrank and she quickly dropped the letter she had.

She frantically cast aside all the mail in the way and picked up the letter in question. There was no doubt about it, she knew the seal. The return address also included the name “Fancy Pants”. The envelope was open before she even finished reading his name, a sudden wave of nervousness flowing through her as readily as the magic holding the open letter.

Dear Rarity,

In a week from today I will be visiting Ponyville to meet with some business partners in the evening. Last time I was in town it was strictly for business and there was quite an incident at hand so I had little time to look around. I’ve been eager to learn about your small town since I first met you in Canterlot. I’m arriving in the morning around nine o’clock so I have time to see the town to its fullest and was hoping you could show me around.

Respectfully yours,

Fancy Pants

Rarity stared at the letter briefly. Her mind emptied and felt completely blank as she scanned the words again. Then in an extreme panic she frantically turned the envelope back over to check the date. It was dated exactly one week ago. Her jaw dropped. She looked up at her clock on the wall. It read 9:08am.

A gentle knocking came from the front door. The envelope fell from her hold and she slowly turned her head towards the window. She could see the tail ends of a black suit draped over the flank of a large white stallion. She screamed, but quickly threw her hooves over her mouth to muffle it.

Without missing a beat, she darted into the kitchen, glasses and measuring tape flying off of her. She used her magic to pull a full cup of cold forgotten coffee made earlier towards her, chugged it down, and sprinted up the stairs. The knocking came again as she reached the top, Sweetie Belle was peeking out from her room, eyes slightly wet from recent tears.

“Rarity someone’s at the…”

“I KNOW!!!!!!” Rarity bolted right past her into the bathroom and nearly fainted when she saw how her face and mane looked. She quickly opened up her makeup powder and splashed all of its contents against her face while her magic worked a powder brush, lipstick, and eyelash brush all at the same time.

“Aren’t you gonna answer the door?” Sweetie asked, peeking in from the hallway. Rarity gave no answer and continued to frantically try and make a usually long process take thirty seconds. As soon as the brush went to her mane Sweetie narrowed her eyes and sighed. “I’ll get the door I guess.” Rarity ignored her again as she tried to make her mane agree with her by applying spray and brushing at the same time. She froze. Realizing what Sweetie was about to do.
“WAAAAAAAAAIT!!!!!!!!” She galloped from the bathroom, looking like a cosmetic experiment gone horribly wrong. She tripped on the bottom stair and tumbled to the floor, looking up in time to see Sweetie turn the door knob. Rarity was up and halfway to the door, but it was too late. The door was open and in the doorway stood Fancy Pants himself. He noticed Sweetie Belle first.

“Why hello there little one, you must be Rarity’s little sister.” He politely greeted. Sweetie just stared up at him wide-eyed. Not quite sure what to make of this fancy dressed stranger in the door who seemed to know who she was. His eyes moved past her and caught the disgruntled Rarity, frozen in place.

That was it, she was ruined. She was in a horrific state and appearance was everything around a pony of his importance. If only she hadn’t neglected the mail, if only she didn’t sign up for that stupid contest, if only her damn little sister just minded her own business instead of opening the door for—

“Well, dear me!” Fancy Pants smirked and let out a hearty chuckle, “looks like you fell a little behind schedule getting ready.” Rarity was waiting for his smile to turn into a scowl, but it never did. She thanked her lucky stars that he found it amusing rather than disgusting. She stuttered momentarily, but quickly found her composure.

“Uh heh heh, yes you see I had a slight mishap with the mail and read your letter about, oh, a minute ago.” She ended with a smile so forced it almost hurt. Fancy adjusted his monocle and smiled warmly.

“It’s no trouble my dear, I have the whole day before I’m needed anywhere. Please do take your time,” He turned.

“Wanna wait inside?” Sweetie’s question made Rarity flinch and stiffen again. The boutique was a disaster at the moment.

“Oh what a polite little darling you are. Thank you, but I’d rather not intrude so readily, I’ll just take a short walk around the area, oh say, ten minutes?” He looked back to Rarity who quickly registered his question.

“I’d say—, fifteen to be safe.”

“Very well, fifteen it is.” Fancy checked his pocket watch and walked back down the path.

Sweetie Belle closed the door and went back towards the stairs, ignoring the fuming Rarity that was glaring directly at her. She was lucky Fancy Pants was a bit less stiff than most of the Canterlot ponies she knew, any other and that would have ruined everything for her. She was trying to remember she owed Sweetie an apology, but at the same time she was trying to avoid strangling her.

“Fourteen minutes!” Sweetie belle called in a slightly sarcastic manner from the top of the stairs. Rarity shrieked and sprinted back up to the bathroom.

MLP: FIM
Hard Pressed to Impress
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 1:

Finally ready and wearing the best “modest” hat she could find (large white rim with red feathers), Rarity approached the door exactly fifteen minutes after Fancy Pants had left. He was standing right there as he said, on the dot. She was beyond nervous and still completely caught off guard, but she put on her best smile and stepped out. He turned and acknowledged her as she stepped out, quickly replacing his pocket watch.

“Ah Rarity, as punctual as you stated.”

“I apologize for the hassle. My work has had me around the throat lately.” She waved a hoof to her side in shame. He merely bowed.

“Rubbish, my dear. One’s work can only bring pride. I will never doubt a pony for putting effort into their trade.” He turned towards the town, waiting for Rarity to catch up beside him. “Now then, where shall we go first?”

“Hm—,” Rarity contemplated. Fancy had already met all of her friends, but they were all brief introductions. She wanted to keep image and avoid conflict. Fancy clearly held her in high regard for how important her friends were to her, so she had to keep that going. But at the same time, some of her friends in their element were quite a handful. “Well, Ponyville is quite small, since you’re the guest I’ll let you decide as we go.”

“How courteous, a fine idea!” they made it into town and Rarity’s fears were instantly confirmed, “That seems good to start, it looks like a popular gathering place.” Fancy pointed a hoof towards Sugar Cube Corner. Rarity screamed internally. She was well aware of how Pinkie Pie treated newcomers to Ponyville. She began mentally writing her will as they approached.

Fancy Pants pushed the doors open with Rarity peaking from behind him. She scanned past him and was beyond relieved when Pinkie didn’t seem to be in the front. Ponies were about at the tables and in line at the counter, a few stole looks at Fancy as he strolled in. Some seemed to recognize him but nopony acted on it. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were out front helping customers, so if luck was on their side, Pinkie was busy in the back, and would be until they left.

“What a charming little bakery,” Fancy strolled around, examining the counters and cabinets, “it reminds me of the one my father used to take me to when I was a colt.” Rarity followed close behind as he reminisced. She was ready to cart him out if need be at the first sign of—

“HEYYYYY!!!! YOU’RE A NEW FACE!” Pinkie Pie.

Rarity watched with horror as Pinkie crouched on a table beside Fancy and was nearly face to face with him. Everyone else paid no mind. It was a regular occurrence after all. Fancy Pants was startled briefly, but his composure did not waver and he chuckled.

“Not quite, I believe two of you hid under my hat last time we met.” He smiled and Pinkie flinched.

“Oh, heheh, you were here during THAT.” She smiled hesitantly. Rarity had pulled her hat over her ears. This wasn’t going to end well. She could almost smell it mixing in with the aromas of the bakery.

“But I barely had time to do much, so I’m practically a newcomer.” Fancy continued in a way Rarity was hoping he wouldn’t.

“GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!” Pinkie hopped down and stood awkwardly close to him. Rarity knew what was coming next, Pinkie’s bombardment of questions. Rarity ran over to one of the tables and grabbed the cushion.

“Was that a muffled scream?” Fancy began to turn, but Pinkie forced herself into his attention.

“So where do you live?”

“Belle Maire, Canterlot.”

“Why do you always wear a suit?”

“Appearance is important.”

“Why only half glasses?”

“It’s a monocle, and a look I prefer.”

“How did you get rich?”

“Inheriting a company and improving on it.”

Rarity gasped for air and turned to view the train wreck unfolding. But something was different. Fancy Pants was smiling? Better yet, he wasn’t backing away, didn’t look confused, and didn’t seem to be looking for an escape route. Was he meeting the storm head on? Eyes began to focus on them as the rest of the ponies in the shop realized what was happening. The questions continued for ten minutes and Pinkie began to wear down. Fancy Pants, on the other hand, continued to answer each question instantly, never missing a beat.

After five more minutes the unthinkable happened.

“Okay… that’s all… I wanted… to know…” Pinkie was sprawled out on the floor, sweating and gasping for air.

“Jolly! It was nice to meet you Pinkie Pie.” Everything in the shop had halted as everypony, the Cakes included, stared, mouths agape. Pinkie had just been beaten at her own game. “What a fun pony, that one!” Fancy smiled as he and Rarity exited. Rarity was still trying to register the event.

“I must say Fancy that was incredible!” She complimented. He turned and looked at her confused.

“What was?”

“You withstood Pinkie Pie!” She belted out inadvertently. She cleared her throat and calmed herself. “I mean, no one has ever withstood her so calmly.” She was certainly in awe.

“Oh! Well, I have a good friend and business partner in Cloudsdale who has a daughter just like her. Her name is Surprise, she’s a Wonderbolt. Believe me those two are like a mirror image. All you have to do is hold your ground and they wear out sooner or later.”

Rarity was speechless for two reasons. His knowledgeable experience in matters proved to extend beyond business, but that was just the minor half. She had trouble imagining Pinkie Pie as a pegasus. Who in their right mind would give her wings? The terror would know no end. And a Wonderbolt no less? It seemed that they had Rapidfire repellant in their ranks as well.

Much to her relief, Fancy Pants was still smiling. He was enjoying himself. Fancy was a Canterlot pony, but as she already knew, he was incredibly less stiff than the majority. Where most cringed and backed away, he would stand tall with interest. He didn’t even blink when all of her friends crashed the garden party in Canterlot. Everypony else there looked like they were having heart attacks.

Rarity had already gained his trust back then. If she were to gain his favor it would lift half her burden from—. Rarity had an epiphany. She was trying to gain sponsorship for the fashion show, and quite possibly the most important name was walking right beside her. When she first bumped into Fancy, literally, he was strolling with Fleur-de-lis, Equestia’s reigning top model of the past four years and counting. This was more of an opportunity than she first believed. It was a pity she was taken by surprise. Had she known, the planning would have been immense and she’d be able to show him some of her work. From this angle she was forced to do everything on the fly, and with the discombobulated state of her workshop she had to come up with another way to impress him. For now she would just keep up her manners, she was sure something would come up. Perhaps the one of her other four friends would offer her a chance.

“Ah, I say, is that a library?” Fancy broke her from her inner deliberations. They had walked farther than she thought, and she suddenly was worried that she had missed anything he may have asked or said. “I’m quite interested in scripture and fiction, do you mind if I take a look?”

“Oh by all means,” Rarity motioned to the library, “My friend Twilight actually owns the place, feel free.”

“Even better then!” They moved towards the library. Rarity sighed to herself. Maybe the other THREE friends would help. The library was Twilight’s fortress of knowledge, there was nothing Rarity could work with there.

From inside the library, spike looked around a stack of books he was carrying as knocking sounded from the door.

“Hold on Twilight, I gotta get the door.” He set the books down.

“Uh-huh.” Twilight replied, not even hearing what he said, her nose stuffed in a different book every few seconds. Spike jogged up to the door and opened it. He peeked around as it slowly opened, spotting Rarity first. His eyes immediately lit up.

“Rarity!” He excitedly pushed the door all the way open. “What can I do… for…” His eyes widened and his voice trailed off when he spotted Fancy Pants.

“Hello Spike it’s so nice to see you. This is Fancy Pants, a good friend of mine and a very important pony from Canterlot.” She motioned towards him.

“Oh you flatter me.” Fancy chuckled.

“I’m showing him around Ponyville, do you think Twilight would mind if he took a look around the library?” She waited for Spike to respond, but he kept staring at Fancy Pants. “Spike?” He shook his head and narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Uh, yeah, sure, it’s not like she’ll even know you’re here,” pointed with his thumb over his shoulder at Twilight, who was at a desk covered in books and marking something with a quill.

“Oh my, I’m afraid we won’t be getting much conversation from her. When she’s in her studies nothing breaks her out.” She joked with Fancy.

“To be expected from the owner of a library, knowledge is golden in a place like this. Nice to meet you Sir Spike,” Fancy gave him a bow before entering. Spike eyed him carefully.

“Yeah, sure.”

Fancy began looking around, being careful not to remove anything unless it caught his attention, and making sure to put back everything where he found it. Rarity moved to Twilight.

“Twilight?” she received no response, “Twilight, honestly, you have guests.”

“Oh Rarity? Hi, sorry, really trying to figure something out.” She remained completely focused.

“Twilight I brought a visitor, at least say hello.”

“Hi Rarity.” Again without looking. Rarity growled while looking over her desk. It was covered in books that all seemed to be about astronomy. Underneath them all were multiple star maps. On a separate table was a map that looked recently drawn and mostly incomplete. Rarity was ready to protest again, but—

“Mind if I ask what has you so intrigued?” Fancy Pants walked forward and glanced over Twilight’s work. Everything else was being blocked out, but his interest in her studies broke her focus.

“Oh! Well, I was taking a look at the stars the other day and I decided to look at Equestria star maps that have been collecting dust. I noticed that most of them are based on data over a century old or more. I decided to study the night sky and make a new more accurate astral map to submit to the Canterlot library. But… I’ve hit a snag, and no matter how hard I look I can’t get over it.” She rubbed her hoof on her chin and went back to looking in the books.

“Hm…” Fancy Pants approached her map and gave it a good look over, “what info is off?” Twilight closed her book with a sigh and walked up beside him.

“I studied the star maps that are based on old data and comprised an equation that shows the rate of star shifting Princess Luna conjures in conjunction with Princess Celestia’s sun and the shifting of the seasons.” She paused and used her magic to pull over a black board. It was covered in one large mathematical mess. Rarity’s pupils shrank as she looked over all the numbers and other symbols that made absolutely no sense to her. “It all fits in perfectly, but after studying the position and shifts of today,” she pointed to her map and put her hoof a few inches over from where she marked the recent stars. “According to the equation they should be over here by now, but they are way behind,” she began walking in a circle, “I can’t submit my data to the library if it isn’t 100% accurate! I’ve been going through every book I have on astronomy to try and find anything about anomalies, but even after five hours of hard research I’ve found absolutely nothing!” She finished gasping for breath.

Rarity was holding back calling Twilight a complete nerd, but she looked towards Fancy and he seemed to be contemplating something. He looked over her equation and nodded. He moved to the star maps, looked at each of them, and then the one she was drawing.

“Ah! I see.” He chimed in. Twilight and Rarity both froze and stared. “There’s a little known fact that’s missing from the data,” he approached the blackboard, grabbing a piece of chalk with his magic, “Your equation is perfect, that is if the pattern was constant to date, however,” he erased a small part of the equation, “There was a brief pause in the motion of the stars a millennium ago when Princess Celestia was forced to exile Princess Luna to the moon. There was a one year period where Celestia was figuring out how effectively control both the day and the night without draining herself daily. Because of that—,” he replaced the erased parts of the equations with numbers of smaller values and added a separate equation to shift the rate. “—there was a whole year where the stars stood completely still,” he set the chalk down and trotted over to the map, “With that change, you should find it to all line up perfectly.”

Rarity stood mouth agape while Twilight instantly zipped up to the board and looked it over. After thoroughly analyzing it, she went back to the maps and used a protractor to realign the drawings. She lined up the spot and made a mark with her quill, dropping it when it landed right where she saw the stars last night.

“It… it… WORKS!!!!” Twilight jumped up into the air and clapped her hooves together giddily. “Thank you so much! I have some data to write!” She zipped up the stairs. Fancy Pants nodded and adjusted his monocle.

“Glad I could assist, come Rarity, let’s move on.” He went for the door, Rarity and Spike just stared as he casually exited. “Rarity?” She snapped out of her daze.

“Who did you say he was again?” Spike asked with a slightly jealous tone.

“Someone very important I’m trying to gain the support of, but it’s looking like a tough job so I need to go now bye.” Rarity answered frantically and ran out.

She rejoined him outside, and they continued on their way.

“Fancy Pants, that was, I mean, how did you know all of that information? I’ve never seen anyone outsmart Twilight.” She was met by a slight wave and a shake of the head.

“Oh that wasn’t much. Not many ponies know about the effect of Luna’s brief absence in Equestrian history. It’s generally not considered in scientific related data, it was something I read in a book not too long ago. I had to fix her equation, but beyond that it was her work.”

Rarity left it at that and considered Fancy’s personality a little more. He didn’t take any credit for helping Twilights work. Such a successful business stallion, especially of his success, would generally look for personal gain. Fancy was surprisingly selfless. But beyond that he once again displayed impressive knowledge, this time on more of an intellectual level than a social level. She had to figure something quick, it was beginning to seem like she would have a hell of a time trying to impress such an impressive individual.

--- To Be Continued ---

Chapter 2

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Chapter 3

MLP: FIM
Hard Pressed to Impress
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 3:

Rarity was so lost in her spiraling thoughts that she didn’t realize the familiar winding path they now walked. It was one that she recognized quickly and had seen many times in the past, but never walked and never thought she would, despite her dream to live similar luxury compared to what lay at the end.

They were on a direct course to the Rich Mansion, home of Ponyville’s most successful family. Rarity put together that “Richard” must be a nickname Fancy had for Filthy Rich. She felt slightly giddy to see the inside of the mansion, despite her little sister not being too fond of a certain filly that lived there too (and never shutting up about it).

“I was about to express my wonder that you know Filthy Rich, but then again it doesn’t surprise me at all given your status.” Rarity made small talk with noticeable unease in her voice. She was trying to act natural, something that tends to not actually LOOK natural if you have to try. Fancy was now well aware that something was amiss with his host. The signs were becoming clearer and clearer as the day went on. He kept his concern to himself however because he knew she’d be happy at the end of this whole ordeal.

“I’ve known Richard since I was just a colt. He was a good friend of my late father.” His voice seemed poised to continue, but he paused uncomfortably after mentioning his father. Rarity was shocked. Fancy had clearly let the fact about his father slip by accident and also clearly didn’t want to go into detail. She decided to act like she hadn’t noticed and kept in stride despite having flinched slightly in surprise. Fancy regained his perfect composure very quickly however and continued, “he’s been a valuable part in the growth of all my businesses. The growth of a company can be heavily influenced by the quality of your contacts. Having known Richard for so long made him an easy choice, which also makes luck a very strong factor.”

Rarity could agree with that, she had brief interactions with many very important ponies in the recent past and they were almost all by chance. She was on the radar, but she just needed a little push for a big chance. Fancy was by far the most likely to support her, and again she was lucky because he just showed up at an opportune time. She just HAD to be sure she could convince him she was worth his time and money, which by now she was convinced would be impossible.

Rarity had only ever viewed the Rich mansion from a distance. She knew the building was impressive, but even the front yard was something out of her dreams. The approach was heavily decorated with two large hedges about twenty feet apart. There were two brick pathways, one against each hedge, flanking a wide reflecting pool that extended the entirety of the approach. Every ten feet along the center of the pool was a fountain that had four arching streams that shot forth in an X formation. The hedges themselves were adorned with roses all over, and parallel to every fountain in pool were two marble statues of ponies, one on each side. There were a total of six pairs of statues along the way. The first two were earth ponies, the second two were unicorns, and the third were pegasi, repeating the order once more up to the large, black bar fence surrounding the mansion itself.

Rarity could help but gawk at all of it. Fancy almost seemed to barely take notice, but then again this was probably normal to him. That and she was sure this wasn’t the first time he’d been here. A well-dressed earth pony stood guard just beyond the gates. He looked the two of them over before speaking.

“Do you two have an appointment?” He asked in a stern, gruff tone. Rarity kept her mouth shut tight, feeling slightly intimidated by the guard. As far greeting went, he wasn’t very friendly about it. Fancy however, only smirked and looked right past him, up to a balcony over the front door of the mansion. He took a deep breath,

“LET ME IN YOU FILTHY PONY!!” He yelled, startling both the guard and Rarity. He smiled contently, but the guard didn’t see so amused.

“Sir, I’m afraid I have to ask you to le…”

“Hahaha! I know that voice anywhere!” Filthy Rich’s voice came from the balcony. The guard turned to see Rich smiling down at them, “Let that wise-stallion in, I’ve been expecting him.” He addressed the guard. The guard grunted and nodded, opening the gate and allowing them to proceed.

The entryway to the mansion was a pair of large doors up a flight of five steps. Rarity was already taking account of how much larger the place looked up close and personal, and was hoping she’d be prepared for what interior was like. Despite her efforts, she knew she’d be giddy on the inside to see the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

Rarity had to fight freezing in place when she entered. It was about twenty times better than she initially imagined it. The entrance could almost be described as a red carpet ballroom. There WAS a large carpet (only blue instead of red) that ran from the entrance down a long path within the lobby with stone pillars on each side every ten feet. The pillars did not extend all the way to the high ceiling, they were merely there to decorate and guide the main walkway. The room extended much further on both sides. The carpet continued to a flight of stairs that only went up halfway to the second floor before splitting off left and right and continuing to top. Filthy Rich was already descending the stairs to greet them.

“Fancy! My boy, how are you?” They met at the bottom of the steps, bumped hooves and shared a brief embrace.

“Good as can be Richard! You’re looking well.” They exchanged pleasantries. Rarity felt stiffer than a rock. No matter how many times she had been around important ponies, until she earned that status she would be incredibly nervous around them. The nervousness was doubled in this case.

“Ah miss Rarity! I had no idea you were an acquaintance of Fancy Pants.” Rich suddenly addressed her, making her visibly twitch and perform a one inch hop inadvertently. Her hat slid down over her face, but she quickly pushed it back up without missing a beat.

“Oh, haha, yes! I bumped into Fancy in Canterlot while on business with Princess Celestia.” She strained a smiled, hoping neither would notice the small beads of sweat forming on her brow.

“Oh I can imagine he jumped at the opportunity as soon as you mentioned the princess.” Rich smirked and glanced at Fancy who returned the smirk. “This stallion NEVER misses opportunities. But let’s not stand around down here, the mid-afternoon weather is lovely, I’ll have some refreshments brought to my balcony.” He beckoned them to follow. Rarity stayed close behind as the two engaged in small talk. Unfortunately it seemed like she wouldn’t get to see much of the mansion. The stairs lead to a mezzanine that wrapped all the way around the perimeter of the lobby, right to the balcony that Rich had shouted to them from. The blue carpet continued along the walkways, with large flower arrangements and long curtained windows decorating them. Rich said a few words to a butler before leading them out. The sun was lower in the sky, not quite setting yet, but close enough to give more or an orangish sky. It was a beautiful view forming over the hills and Sweet Apple Acres in the distance.

There was a table set up that had a glass surface with a cast iron frame, shined to a sparkle. The table was empty, but the butler soon returned with a bottle of wine and three small glasses.

Rarity gulped. She was not about to turn down a generous offer from an important pony like Filthy Rich, but as far as her tolerance went, well, let’s just say it DOESN’T go very far. One glass was usually all it took to make her a little “happy”. She already was straining herself to impress Fancy in some way. If she embarrassed herself on top of it all it would be THE WORST. POSSIBLE. THING.

“So Fancy, anything new in your business deals?” Rich’s voice snapped Rarity back to reality.

“Ever since I contracted the new housing project in Saddle Arabia, profits have soared.” Fancy smiled proudly as the butler finished pouring a modest amount of wine in his glass and headed for Rarity. She bit her lip as she watched the red wine swirl into the glass. They were given very small portions, but she was still hesitant.

“You took quick action on that deal. It may have been a tad risky, but I knew you’d pull that through.” Rich carefully took a sip of his wine. It was interesting to see an Earth pony drink from a wine glass. Without magic, he had to tip and balance it on his foreleg, but he made it look easy.

“Oh don’t be so modest Richard, I couldn’t have done it without you. I had no idea there was land up for sale or that there were housing problems in Saddle Arabia. Thanks to your greater knowledge of Equestria-wide news I was able to jump on it.” Fancy chuckled while taking a sip. “Mmm, this is La Mare Rouge pinot noir correct?” Fancy asked, raising an eyebrow. Rich smiled and nodded.

“Good catch, imported all the way from the Griffon Kingdom. A tad costly, but you must leave an impression on your finest guests.” Said Rich confidently.

“Too true.” Fancy agreed, taking another sip. Rarity thought it was over, but Fancy just determined the exact brand of a wine with a single taste. There was nothing. No weaknesses in his armor. No opportunity to jump at. Could she really be in the presence of the perfect pony?

No. It was impossible to be perfect. In fact he had just mentioned how a recent success would have been nothing without the help of Filthy Rich. Fancy even mentioned that he wasn’t quite up to date on events all around Equestria. It was miniscule, barely anything, but it was something. Something that made him appear to be not COMPLETELY perfect. As little as it may have been, it gave her confidence that maybe she could still impress him… somehow.

“Well I’m glad I could help you out. Ah, it really takes me back. Your father and I would have surely crashed and burned without each other’s help.” He reminisced. Rarity stole a glance at Fancy while hovering her glass near her lips. Unlike before, he showed no change in demeanor. Either she just imagined it before or, more likely, Fancy was very good at learning from his slip ups.

“Speaking of you, Richard, I can’t pass up this chance. I’ve been reading about your recent successes. You’ve been here in Ponyville for quite a few years now. I love this town, but admittedly it isn’t that much in terms of big business, how are you turning out these massive profits?” Fancy and Richard continued to talk business.

Rarity finally took a sip of her wine. It was purposely small, but she still winced a bit. The flavor was tart with a bitter aftertaste. However the two effects were perfectly mixed. It was definitely the best wine she had ever tasted, but she was afraid to take more than a few sips. A little liquid confidence, while possibly helpful in her current state, could backfire severely. She wasn’t willing to take that chance.

“The answer is simple Fancy, and you can see it from here.” Rich motioned a hoof off his balcony towards Sweet Apple Acres. “The Apple family’s secret recipe, Zap Apple Jam.” Fancy lifted an eyebrow with interest. Rarity was surprised, wondering how Applejack’s family had to do with Filthy Rich’s success.

“Oh, do go on, I’m curious.” Fancy beckoned. Rarity took a look at Fancy. His demeanor had changed drastically. It had changed from his casual look to a strict analytical one. It didn’t surprise her in the slightest. A pony of his knowledge was surely good at paying attention and absorbing information. Rich continued,

“Since my family first established an estate here in Ponyville, our ancestors have always purchased Zap Apple Jam from the Apple family. It is a very unique product that has been produced by their Ponyville farm for three generations now. I admit to being quite a fan of it myself.” He left the table and walked towards the balcony edge. “However I felt there was more to be gained from this amazing delicacy, so I offered the Apples a proposal. I would take half of their stock and export it to far off places around Equestria. In places as far as the griffin kingdom and Saddle Arabia such a product is worth triple what they sell it for locally. We split the earnings two to one. They get 66% of the profits from my sales, and I keep 33% as compensation for exporting their goods. It has been beneficial for both of us. I do believe Sweet Apple Acres is planning to build some new high end additions to their farm with some of the recent earnings. I myself have enjoyed a good share of the profits, and have found reason to stick around this peaceful location for longer periods of time.” He ended with a smile.

“Clever,” Fancy rubbed his chin, “tell me, how much did last year’s shipment turn out?”

“This year was especially profitable. About nine million bits.” Rich recited with pride.

Rarity was mid sip, and nearly dumped the entire glass into her mouth as he revealed the value. If she did the numbers right in her head, that meant Applejack came away with six million bits. She knew that the farm was expensive to run and most of that would go into maintenance and other expenses, but Applejack had mentioned that they had saved up enough for new buildings. On the other side Filthy Rich mad three million in one business transaction. She had never even made a fraction of that much money total in her entire career thus far. If she had that many bits she could turn Carousel Boutique into a department store. Then she realized that while her thoughts were spinning through it all, she had accidentally drunk the full glass. She looked at the empty glass, mortified. She hoped the alcohol content wasn’t too high, because in a minute or two she was going to feel it.

“My, that IS quite a profit,” Fancy smirked, “I expect no less from my father’s partner in crime.” Rich returned to the table and finished his glass.

“Your father was a wise man Fancy. Most others in our field would have taken one look at Sweet Apple Acres and scoffed. You have to be willing to believe in ponies, and keep an eye out for the little things that have opportunities in them,” Rich turned to Fancy as he finished his glass as well, “Your father was the champion of risk takers, but he never did it blindly. You remember his favorite saying I’m sure.”

“Of course,” Fancy smiled, glancing out towards the sun as it began to set, “The most valuable gems are always where you least expect them.”

Rarity took in the words and thought to herself. Both Fancy and Rich were unlike most ponies of high status. They both followed a firm belief that anypony is capable of success no matter what their status or function. It was both refreshing and inspiring. She went to rest a hoof on the table, but missed and wobbled in her seat. She yelped quietly as she regained her balance. Luckily, Fancy and Rich were to lost in nostalgia to notice, but she was panicking. The alcohol content in that wine was definitely high. She wasn’t drunk, but with her lack of any tolerance to speak of even the small amount was enough to make her feel a little dizzy. Not to mention she accidentally pounded it while her mind was trailing off on the sheer amount of money being handled with ease.

Rarity grimaced at her situation and began drilling herself on how to handle it. She had to focus. She had to concentrate, put thought into what she said before speaking, and most of all, try not to get too happy. She was known for being very giggly and talkative should she get a drink or two. This was NOT how she wanted to be while trying to give her best impression.

“Well, we should be on our way.” Fancy broke Rarity from her worrying as he checked his pocket watch, there’s something else I have to take care of before calling it a night early. I have to catch the morning train back to Canterlot tomorrow.”

“It was good to see you again Fancy, you’re always welcome here. And you too Miss Rarity, any friend of Fancy Pants is a friend of mine.” Rich shook hooves with Fancy as he acknowledged her. She felt like she had just been sitting there and not really a part of their interaction, but this was the one case of the day where she was more of a guest than the host. She felt Rich’s offer generous and one she might take up in the future if/when she felt less intimidated by important ponies. Sweetie Belle might protest, but Rarity wasn’t about to let a personal vendetta of her little sister get in the way of luxury.

---To be Continued---

Chapter 4

MLP: FIM
Hard Pressed to Impress
By: Calm Wind
Chapter 4:

Fancy and Rarity went on their way. Rarity was focusing completely on walking in a straight line while Fancy more or less took control of their path, eager to see as much of Ponyville’s reach as possible. Rarity was so focused not hiding her slight buzz from the wine that she didn’t see exactly where he was leading them.

The sun was going down now and Fancy was enjoying the evening breeze. He kept glancing at Rarity since she had gone quiet, and a stumble or two had not gone unnoticed. He chuckled to himself. All she had to do was politely turn down the wine offer, but she was so nervous about looking the part that she braved it anyway. She was still trying to keep up image even with the wine making it difficult.

One thing Fancy had learned about Rarity on this visit was that no matter what the sequence or cost, Rarity would do whatever it takes to give the best impression to those around her. While some may see this as vanity, Fancy could tell it was for the sake of a positive image. She dressed and pampered herself up, but it ended there. No flaunting or narcissism. Among her friends she might act a little in that direction, but when it came to something important, it was replaced by an air of professionalism. Professionalism backed by a desire to be successful. He would never miss that in a personality, it was something that always stood out. He was sure this trip would be worth what he had in store.

“Now Rarity, there is a matter we must discuss. Specifically to the main reason I made this trip.” Fancy began. Rarity’s concentration snapped and she looked to him briefly. Fancy made ready to converse, but stopped as she began to look around quickly. He examined her face as she began to look worried. “Is something the matter?” He asked as she gasped.

“Oh no! nononononononono.” Rarity quickly turned to him. “I wasn’t paying attention! We should not have come this way!” She quickly explained with clear worry in her voice. Fancy glanced around and took in the environment. They were on a dirt path that ran beside some grassy fields on one side, and on the other some rocky terrain near the base of what led towards some mountains. The area looked slightly dug up with piles of dirt and stones strewn about.

“Whatever is the—” Fancy was stopped short as low growls and snarls sounded from behind the rocks and all over the ground around them, “Oh my, I know that sound.” Rarity was panicking, but Fancy stood his ground, not a single waver in his demeanor as pairs of gold eyes began emerging from behind rocks and from the ground itself. In seconds the two of them were surrounded by a dozen large diamond dogs.

“Well boys, lookie what we have here!” a small dog one spoke up while stepping out from behind a large one, “if it isn’t our stinkin gem pony. Looks like we found another this time too!” The diamond dogs remembered Rarity, but this time they were eyeing Fancy as well, his high worth and status radiated from him. “Looks fancy to me! I bet he’s another one worth snatching!”

Rarity was visibly shaking. Being slightly tipsy was bad enough. By not paying any attention to where they were going she had effectively put her and Fancy in danger. Forget impressing Fancy, how were they going to get out of this one? He felt gentle tap at her shoulder. She glanced at Fancy.

“Don’t worry my dear,” he glanced towards the sun, which was almost completely beyond the horizon, “I’ll handle this.”

“Tie ‘em up and—” The small diamond dog was cut off by Fancy sharply clearing his throat.

“Pardon me sir, you have truly surrounded us and left no avenue of escape. It would be pointless for us to resist.” He calmly addressed them. Rarity was convinced he had snapped and the diamond dogs looked like they weren’t sure how to take it. “However I can’t pass up this chance to stem my curiosity, might I ask a question of you?” The diamond dogs all looked between each other.

“Fine! But make it quick!” The small one spat at Fancy and crossed his arms. Fancy used his magic to remove his monocle and wipe it with a cloth from his suit.

“So I’ve actually read quite a bit about you diamond dogs. There is quite a bit of information on you in fact,” he replaced his monocle, “but something always left me puzzled. You are known for being second to none when it comes to hoarding the most valuable gems to be found, but you aren’t very good at finding them. This is a contradictory fact, yet it is also the truth, it would be much more economical if you were to manufacture ways to help find the gems. Tell me, why haven’t you done that yet?” He finished, his demeanor still unwavering. The diamond dogs stared, visibly confused. One of the large ones leaned over to the small “commander”.

“Hey, what’s ecnomonimal mean?” He was quickly slapped upside the head by the smaller one.

“I’m the one that does the thinking here! I know this one, gimme a sec!”

Fancy smiled to himself as the dogs all began trying to make heads or tails of Fancy’s question. Rarity was confused and still shaking. She nearly squeaked when she suddenly felt herself being lifted off the ground. Fancy used his magic to lift her up slowly.

“Shh, trust me.” He winked at her and placed her on his back. The dogs continued to ponder the question. Fancy glanced at the horizon. The sun was just about to disappear over it. He shut his eyes tight and began counting in his head. The last bit of light began receding.

“AARGH FORGET IT! JUST GET THEM!” The little dog ordered. Then the sun disappeared behind the horizon, shrouding the area in darkness. Fancy opened his eyes and made a break for a small gap between two of the larger dogs. Rarity shrieked and held tightly to her hat. She was convinced that Fancy had completely lost his mind. There was no way the two large dogs wouldn’t stop them. However, they passed right between them without any trouble.

“ARGH! Where are they!?” The small dog yelled. Rarity looked back, and could still see them mostly even with the lack of sunlight, but the dogs looked around frantically as if it were pitch black.

“Over here!” Fancy called back to them, again to Rarity’s alarm. The dogs all turned towards him and gave chase. He kept up his gallop and made for the rocky, dug up terrain. He veered off and moved behind a large upturned boulder. Fancy gave a whistle in their direction, “here boys! I’m over here!” All twelve of the dogs tried to come to an instant halt. They ended up skidding and crashing into each other, the small one got sandwiched painfully in between two of his bruisers.

“ARGH! You idiots! Quit bumbling around!” Two that managed to avoid most of the epic pileup were already heading at Fancy.

“That’s right! Right this way!” He kept jeering. He continued whistling, but moved so he was completely behind the boulder. Rarity jumped as two loud THUMPS were heard. Fancy quickly jumped around it, the two large dogs had charged headfirst into the boulder and were down for the count. “Two down! Ten to go!” Fancy cheerfully chanted. Using his magic he grabbed a coil of rope hanging off one of the dog’s belt and hung it around his neck. He grabbed the coil off the other dog in his teeth. He sprinted back towards the recovering group of dogs and tossed the coil in his teeth up into the air. He quickly used his magic to tie one end of the rope around the waist of the large dog in front of the line, he snaked the length of the rope between their ranks in a zigzag pattern, and the other end to the dog in back. The small light from his magic alerted them, and the group tried to pursue them again, but only the dogs on the ends managed to give chase, the rest tripped up by the rope tied between them.

Fancy whistled again to guide them towards him, and hid behind another boulder. He made whistling noises around one side, then switched to the other and repeated. Rarity dared not question anything he tried, because he seemed to have the situation well in hoof. It didn’t mean she wasn’t terrified though.

The dogs passed by the boulder on opposite sides, Fancy leapt away from the boulder as the rope between them caught on it. The dogs felt the whiplash, and their momentum forced them to fly at each other and crash face to face, knocking each other out with yelps.

“Four down!” Fancy smiled as he saw the group approaching again. They clumsily stayed clustered together. Fancy glanced around and saw three fairly large stones lying about. He used his magic to lift them up and took a good look at his targets. He let all three fly at once. The stones took a perfect trajectory, clonking three dogs precisely on the noggin. “Five, six, seven!”

“GET THEM! GET! THEM!” The smaller dog was FURIOUS. Now he sounded less interested in catching the pair and more interested in beating them to a pulp. Fancy looked around for more options. There was a small forested area nearby.

“Hold on tight miss Rarity!” He politely warned before sprinting as fast as he could towards the forest. He kept his magic activated to bait the dogs towards him. They followed aimlessly, barking and snarling. Intent on not letting a pony get the best of them.

Fancy reached the edge of the forest and flipped the rope around his neck off and to the ground. He let Rarity down from his back and pointed to a nearby tree. Without a word she hid behind it and watched.

Art by: Those Kids in the Corner

Using his magic, Fancy tied one end to the first tree, and grabbed the other end in his teeth. He made a small light with his magic that shone a foot or so away from the tree trunk he stood behind. The remaining dogs charged right at it. Right before they passed the tree, Fancy jumped out and caught them all by the abdomen with the rope. He quickly ran a circle around them and forced them lightly against the tree. With a sharp yank, he forced all of them hard against the trunk, effectively knocking them out. He released the rope and inspected his work, but something was off.

“Three? I thought there were f—” Rarity shrieked as Fancy was suddenly grabbed and thrown into a nearby tree trunk. He grunted painfully as his back struck firmly against it and he fell, the back of his suit ripping with bits stuck to the trunk. He coughed, stunned by the blow. Fancy had missed the fourth bruiser, and was now in a predicament for sure. He struggled to get to his feet, but the dog grabbed him around the neck and forced him back against the trunk.

“HA! You thought you could outwit us, eh fancy pony?” The small one appeared beside them. The big dog punched Fancy in the stomach, hard. Fancy exhaled loudly and gasped for breath. “Not so tough now are ya?”

Rarity watched in horror. She was shaking and frozen in place. It stung even more that Fancy was being beaten, and it was her fault.

“Normally I’d take you back and force you to work, but after humiliating me and the rest of us, I’m not feeling too generous!” He smirked and patted the big dog on the back. “Kill him!”

Rarity’s eyes shot open. Fancy was struck repeatedly in the stomach and face. He kicked and struggled, but he couldn’t free himself nor defend himself. Each blow was hard and numbing, and for once, he had no idea how he was going to get out of it.

“RRRRAAAAAAGGHHHH!!!!!!” Rarity suddenly leapt up and clamped herself to the back of the large dog’s head. Spooked, the dog instantly dropped Fancy and began flailing his arms around, swinging and clawing at Rarity. One of his random swings eventually struck Rarity in the cheek and she was batted right off. She crashed to the ground with a yelp, her hat flying off her head, and she lay cringing on the ground.

Rarity was never one to get into harm’s way. The only time in her life she had suffered a major injury was a while back with the train wreck incident. But there she had lost all feeling in her arms and considered it lucky that she couldn’t feel the pain. Here she had just taken a blow to the cheek and got scraped up on the ground, but pain was foreign to her. She curled up and shuddered on instinct.

The big dog turned to her, but before he could reach her, a large branch, surrounded by Fancy’s magic, struck the dog in the back of the head and knocked him flat. He pulled his face out of the dirt and glared in the direction of Fancy.

Rarity squeaked her eyes open, tears finding their way over her mascara and causing small black smears. They slightly blurred her vision but she could make out Fancy squaring off with the remaining large diamond dog. Fancy’s mane was all messed up, he had a few bruises on his face and a black eye, his suit was all scuffed up and torn in a few places, and his monocle was smashed and bent. He stared down the dog, his eyes alight with anger. He shook off the broken monocle, removed his suit, spat out some blood and cracked his neck.

“It would seem we have to finish this the hard way!” His voice was sharp and devoid of the usual cheer. He set his hooves and readied his magic. By now the moon had risen, letting a glow of twilight illuminate the night. Fancy’s use of the dark was no longer an option. He had to meet this one in combat.

The dog charged headlong at him. Fancy held his ground, daring the dog to stay its course. The dog thrust its claws out towards Fancy’s face. He moved very slightly and subtly, letting the dog’s long arm whisk past his face. Fancy hooked his hoof around the dog’s wrist and placed his body in a position to collide with the dog. With a quick flash of his horn, Fancy’s magic gave the dog a small boost upward. The dog’s momentum carried him up and over Fancy’s body, flinging him into a tree with enough force to split the trunk and topple it completely.

Knowing that was hardly the end of it, Fancy returned to his ready stance. The dog emerged from the pile of split wood with only a few bruises and scratches. Instead of charging, it moved towards Fancy slower with the intention of bringing the fight up close. This particular bruiser proved to be both tougher and smarter than his dimwitted brethren.

Fancy caught on and shifted his stance. To stand slightly askew from his approaching opponent, but kept his magic at the ready. The dog came at him with both arms this time, throwing blows with fists and claws alike. Every attack was aimed at Fancy’s face, but Fancy kept his eyes on the dog’s body, predicting each attack based on the movement of the dog’s shoulders and dodging accordingly. When this strategy worked in Fancy’s favor, the dog started throwing in false steps and feints. Fancy found himself slowly moving backwards as it became harder to predict the movements. Eventually a claw caught the edge of his cheek, leaving a long scratch on his face. Fancy winced, and the instant it took to do so left him open.

Fancy threw up a magic shield to receive the incoming blow, but it was so close to his face that the punched forced it against his face and made him stumble backward against a tree. His eyes shot open and he ducked quickly as the dog’s fist struck and went right through the tree trunk. Fancy tried to roll out of the way, but he chose the direction poorly, rolling to the side of the dog’s free hand. The back of the dog’s free fist swiped out and struck Fancy in the stomach, causing him to tumble roughly in his escape. He coughed violently as he rose to his feet, panting and gasping for air. The dog ripped its arm free from the tree and approached the stunned Fancy.

The dog stood ready to deliver a crushing blow to Fancy’s skull, but Fancy was not as stunned as he showed. The dog had recklessly come within striking distance. Fancy spun around and delivered two hard kicks to the dog’s stomach. The dog wheezed and fell to his knees, the air knocked completely out of his lungs. Fancy followed up with a left and right hook across the dog’s jaw before using his magic to grab the dog by the head and thrust its face into the hard dirt below. Without canceling his magic, Fancy strained himself, lifting the dog free from the dirt and throwing its face into a nearby tree, a large rock, and back into the dirt again before gasping and releasing the hold. The dog lay still, beaten and out cold.

Fancy fell back on his flank, trying to catch his breath. He looked around for the smaller dog, but it had smartly scurried off as soon as his large companion was felled.

“Hmph.” Fancy grunted as his eyes reverted from anger to their normal expression. He sighed and looked around until he saw Rarity curled up, shivering, and staring into space. She knew she was safe and was impressed with Fancy’s ability to defend himself, but she was still scratched up, in pain, and scared. The alcohol had run its course, but she still felt vulnerable. Fancy approached her and sat down beside her.

“Take your time my dear.” He did his best to comfort her but there was clearly no way she’d be comfortable as long as they stayed where they were. Fancy used his magic to pull his mangled suit over to him and pulled out his pocket watch. It was cracked, but the gears were still turning. “Ah!” He reacted to the time, “I’m sorry Rarity, but we must get you back.” He used his magic to hoist her up on his back gently and place her hat back on her head, “I’ll walk until you feel ready to do so, but I promise you’ll feel much better upon returning home.” He started back towards the path, and Rarity complied without a word.

What a horrible way for the day to turn out. It was already by far the most stressful day of Rarity’s life, she spent the whole day having her hopes dashed in terms of impressing him, and to top it all off they were attacked by Diamond Dogs and Fancy was lucky he escaped with only some bruises and a black eye. Now he was carrying her on his back after everything. That was the first thing that had to be fixed.

“I’m fine now Fancy, please let me down.” She suddenly spoke as they traversed the moonlit path back towards Carousel Boutique.

“Are you sure dear? It’s not much further.”

“Please.” She requested sternly. Fancy stopped so she could hop down. He legs buckled briefly, but she found her balance and they continued side by side. She had her senses back mostly now. The shock of it all was fresh on her mind, but it failed to keep her down. She had been curious, despite its most likely adding to how much in awe of Fancy she was, about how he handled the diamond dogs.

“Fancy, how in Equestria did you elude those dogs so well? I thought for sure they had surrounded us.” Her question surprised him, but he smiled.

“I mixture of light and their own stupidity,” he began, “I lied to them about not knowing much of them. I posed to them a question they could not possibly figure out to distract them until the sun went down. I had my eyes closed to adjust to darkness so I’d be able to see clearer once the light was gone. I had double the advantage over them, because living underground over many centuries had made their eyes week but their hearing strong. It made it very easy to guide them into traps.” He explained. It was hard to tell Fancy had just been in a fight by just listening. He was always very quick to recover his demeanor in a very professional manner. “As for when I squared off against the final dog, I guess you now know I’ve had some experience in Judo and self-defense. You can never be too careful.”

Just as she thought, more reasons to be in awe of him. It’s not like it mattered to Rarity anymore anyway. She wasn’t going to get approval after a day like this. She was already thinking of how she was going to scrap the fashion show and get her shop back on track. Her thoughts forced out a grunt of frustration and a heavy sigh.

“How are you feeling?” Fancy asked out of courtesy, but Rarity was feeling anything but courteous. Her demeanor snapped and everything came pouring out.

“AWEFUL!” She yelled pulling off her hat and tossing it to the ground. Fancy stopped two steps ahead of her and turned towards her, surprised. “This has been THE. WORST. DAY. OF. MY. LIFE.” She stomped her hooves over and over again. “I’m bogged down in my work, I make a fool of myself from start to finish in front of a high end visitor, I get us into danger, AND you got hurt! EVERYTHING is going WRONG on a day where it was essential for everything to go RIGHT!” Tears were flowing from her eyes now, smearing her already mascara smeared eyes further. “Sometimes I wonder why I try! I’m just a NORMAL pony in a NORMAL designer shop, making NORMAL clothes that will NEVER catch the attention of anypony besides NORMAL ponies!” Her legs had collapse beneath her and she was now a crying heap on the ground. Fancy stared, blinking, very confused about what was happening right in front of him. She was far from done too. “This has probably been an awful trip for you too!”

“Now I wouldn’t—”

“Fixing problems for my friends, seeing how useless I am to them!”

“That’s not true, Rarity I’ve enjoyed your friends and—”

"Watching me stumble around on one wimpy glass of wine and lead us straight to Diamond Dog territory. You get beat up, and AAAAAUUUGHHHH!!!!!!” She pounded her face on the ground. Fancy quickly stepped forward and stopped her from doing so.

“Rarity please! I—”

“Don’t lie to me, PLEASE! Don’t sugar coat it!” She pleaded. Fancy went silent and thought for a moment before sighing and taking a seat beside her.

“I’m sorry.” He began softly. Calming down himself seemed to get her to do the same. “Fine. Pleasantries and false face aside, this has not been my best trip. I’m serious about enjoying my time with your friends and with Richard, but having to fight for my life hasn’t made this very high on my memorable visit list. But you shouldn’t blame yourself, I could have easily just run away from the dog’s, yet I was over-zealous and let my taste for sport put us in unnecessary danger. Forgive me for that.” The honesty was both refreshing and stinging for Rarity. Fancy had been keeping things from her, but he was doing it so as not to upset her. His confession about the dogs was also refreshing, pointing out a possible flaw of bad timing with over-confidence. With anyone else, picking out a flaw would seem shameful, but with Fancy it made him seem more real and less majestic. He was clearly put off though, and she had no idea if she would ever recover from a debacle this severe.

“HOWEVER,” Fancy said very sharply and clearly, jostling her from her sorrowful thoughts. She glanced at him and saw him smiling. She wasn’t expecting that. “It may have been a strange roller coaster of a day, but it provided a great bonding experience between me and a future partner of mine.”

He looked towards her casually. She was processing and reprocessing what he had just said over and over again. Future partner. Future partner. Future partner. But she hadn’t said anything to him nor even mentioned anything about the fashion show. He reached down and offered her a hoof.

“Come now Rarity, we are almost back to your shop. I’d hate to keep everyone waiting.” He finished with a smile and spoke no further. She stiffly rose and followed him. Her brain was frozen in place. Future partner. Everyone. Future partner. Everyone. What the hell was he talking about and what was going on? Was something planned from the very beginning?

They approached Carousel Boutique and it looked like there was activity inside. Rarity stared anxiously at her home, glancing between it and a smirking Fancy Pants continuously.

“Well don’t just stand there. I believe you have guests to attend to.” He winked at her. She slowly approached the door and pushed it open.

If Rarity’s eyes went any wider than they did, they might have completely covered her face or turned her eyelash extensions into projectiles. Standing in the middle of her workshop: Hoity-Toity, Photo Finish, Sapphire Shores, and Fleur-de-lis. All viewing the few dresses she had finished and surrounding a very nervous and confused Sweetie Belle. Her jaw dropped as she received a small nudge from behind from Fancy. The ponies, minus Hoity-Toity, turned and greeted them as they entered. Fleur-de-lis gasped as she saw Fancy all scuffed up and bruised, quickly moving to assess him.

“Fancy! What in the world happened to—” She was roughly shoved aside by Photo Finish, who looked like she was going to tug her mane right off.

“NO NO NO! Vhat happened to your BEAUTIFUL visage!?” She flailed her hooves about.

“We had a run in with some ruffians on the way back.” Fancy explained with a nervous chuckle.

“I’m glad you made it back!” Sapphire Shores voiced her glee as she turned back to the dresses, “These designs are absolutely SENNNNNNSATIONAL! I had a feeling this place would deliver again!” Fancy nodded and approached Hoity, who was still examining the dresses.

“I’m confident you see something you like my friend?” he asked. Hoity gave Fancy a glance and nodded.

“I must say Fancy, I’m glad you brought up miss Rarity’s shop, I had completely forgotten about it.” Hoity kept his eyes on the dresses, examining Rarity’s hard work. He took no notice to Fancy’s slightly beaten state. Sweetie Belle had made her way around to Rarity, who was still near the doorway. She glanced between her big sister and the crowd of fancy looking strangers. She reached up to close Rarity’s dropped jaw, but as soon as she let go, it fell right back down.

“There is no other pony I’d trust to make unique custom designs. So you agree to the deal?” Fancy asked Hoity.

“I do indeed,” he replied, “these will be perfect for the upcoming show. She has earned my sponsorship for sure.”

“I would love to wear this one RIIIIIIGHT here!” Sapphire Shores kept staring wide eyed at a dress adorned with sapphires.

“I’ve been curious since your visit to Canterlot. Your talent is clear. I would love to wear some of these in the show.” Fleur-de-lis complimented Rarity. Photo Finish rubbed her hooves together behind Fleur.

“Yes, yes, yessssssssssssssssss. You will look PERFECT in these!” She mused to herself.

“Then we all agree.” Fancy stated, “feel free to work it all out between yourselves, I’ll have the contracts ready as well as my end of it all ready within the week.” He finished and turned to Rarity as the four famous ponies conversed amongst themselves. She was still frozen in place. “Come Rarity, we should attend to those scratches.”

Fancy led a still shocked Rarity up the stairs to her room. Upon request, Sweetie retrieved some band-aids and dropped them off before leaving them alone.

“So Rarity,” Fancy began as he applied the band-aids to the few scratches she suffered, “I’m sorry if I sprung this on you quickly, but you were the first person I thought of when it came to the upcoming fashion show. I hope you aren’t too caught off guard.” Rarity blinked and let her head droop.

“Actually, I’ve been working day and night already on the few dresses you saw downstairs. I have a confession to make Fancy, I’ve spent this whole day trying to find ways to impress you. I wanted to ask you at some point about sponsorship for the fashion show. But in the end, you were already working on it and I spent the day making a fool of myself and feeling powerless to catch your attention.” Fancy chuckled in response.

“Rarity, darling, whatever do you mean? You don’t have to impress me. I’ve kept an eye on you ever since your visit to Canterlot.”

“What?” Rarity blinked and looked back up at him. “But, why me? You had all the designers in Canterlot to choose from.”

“Heh,” Fancy smiled, “remember what I said at Richard’s place? ‘The most valuable gems are always where you least expect them.’” He said with a wink of his non-black-eye.

Rarity didn’t know what to say. She was the element of generosity, but no words could express how warm those few words made her feel when directed at her. She had spent the entire day trying so hard to find ways to impress him, and in the end all she had to do was believe in her ability just as Fancy already did.

“I should go down and make sure they don’t tear the place apart looking for more of your work,” Fancy joked. He stopped by the doorway and looked back. “Oh, and by the way, don’t worry about having the required amount of dresses ready for entry. Having more than three endorsements gives you automatic entry. You have five now, and trust me, we’d all rather see what you can make when you take your time and work carefully. Good luck Rarity, it has been quite an experience getting to know you more.” He flashed one more smile before returning downstairs.

Rarity sat still, all patched up, thinking on his words. Five endorsements. That meant a fashion promoter, a top model, a pop star, and a top fashion photographer were all on her side. On top of all that, THE one and only Fancy Pants, Canterlot’s most successful business owner and contractor, also gave her a seal of approval and his sponsorship.

She suddenly smiled giddily to herself as everything sank in. Just when she thought everything went wrong and couldn’t get any worse, it got completely turned around. She fell backwards and kicked her hooves up in the air while laughing hysterically.

“Out of all the things that could happen, this is the BEST. POSSIBLE. THING! WA HA HA!”

-The End-

-storyline to be continued-