Chapter 4

Fanning the flames of friendship and antipathy

Part 1: Carousel Boutique

Saturday came, the smell of rain permeating throughout the town. It was Adam’s third day in Ponyville and a day off for both him and his favorite pink friend. He had twenty bits in his pocket earned from the previous work day which he decided to save until he got some more. Nevertheless the promise of good times lingered in the air.

“Yaaay Adaaaam! You arrived to Ponyville just in time for the weekend! Now we get to spend two whole days together! I’m soooo excited!” Pinkie bounced around her friend, being her usual bubbly self.

“Sounds nice! I could use some getaway from the crowds.” Adam took some deep lungfuls of outside air, its aroma being quite soothing .

“Why? Do you have anything in particular in mind for today?” Pinkie asked.

“Kinda. I was hoping we could meet some of our acquaintances so I can get to know ‘em.”

“Who?” A question mark appeared above the mare’s head.

“Your five friends… from the party…”

“Hahah! That’s a funny way to call them!” Pinkie giggled.

“Well, technically I am not friends with any of them as of yet. And some of them like totally hate me.”

“No they don’t!”

“What about Twilight and Rainbow?”

“They’re just being sillyyyy!”

“Anyways that’s why I’d like to visit them where they live. I’d like to get to know your friends better.”

“Gasp! That’s a great idea! Simply brilliant! You’ll lay down your cool lines on them and then… then they’ll have to love you!” Pinkie put her hands on her cheeks in elation.

“Sounds like a plan!” Adam nodded.

“Then what are we waiting for!” Pinkie bounded towards the stairs to the second floors as they were still inside the bakery.

“HOLD IT!” Adam hollered which prompted Pinkie to literally freeze-frame in midjump as if someone had pushed the pause button.

“What?”

“We need to roughly plan this out. Like in which order should we visit each pony and how long a stay per each.”

“Heeheeheeheehee! You sound just like Twilight!” The party mare chortled.

“Really? She does that too?”

“Yeah! She creates lists!”

“I see! Anyways, we don’t need paper, just some mental notes.”

“You talk sciency like Twilight too!”

“Shut up Pinkie!”

***

With the planning stuff settled the twosome made their way towards the first destination, which was at Rarity’s. They were going to stay there for an hour and then it was off to Fluttershy for two hours, drop by Sweet Apple Acres for lunch and finally spend the rest of the afternoon at the library.

“How come we ain’t gonna visit Rainbow?” Pinkie asked while she knocked on the door.

“I kinda happened upon her yesterday. She’s giving me the “cold” treatment.” Adam specified.
“Besides, you told me she lives up on the clouds.”

“Oooh… I knew she was stubborn but she’s never been cold.” The pink mare’s ears lopped down.

‘I kinda feel bad for giving Rainbow that snide comment on my way out of the gym. Maybe I’ll apologize; but some other day. If I do it now, she’ll just rip on me for being a wimp. No! Better wait for us to come to good terms. Maybe I can…’ The human snapped out of his reverie as the door to the boutique opened.

“Aaah, good morning darlings! Come in!” Rarity smiled as she ushered them inside.

“I see you brought your jeans and shorts.” She noted, guiding Adam to one of the standing platforms.

“Totally!” Adam confirmed dropping off a sack right before going up on the platform.

“Mmmhm! Very good! Now let’s get started! First I’m going to need you to be a dear and lose your current clothes; underwear excluded of course.” Rarity stated.

“Heheh, Woah! That was fast! I didn’t know you were so bold miss Rarity.” The human snickered followed by his pink companion.

“Pardon?” The seamstress paused.

“Heeheehee! Hey Rarity, maybe you should let me leave the room first. After all, you both need some privacy if you’re gonna “do it”.” Pinkie joined in, stifling her cackles as best as she could.

“Whaat?... Oh!” The unicorn mare inquired before the joke finally dawned upon her,
“Ooooh! Hmph! Well I never!”

“Hey chill Rarity! We’re just teasing you! Pinkie’s told me you’re a professional.” Adam raised his arms in defense.

“Ah! That’s very nice of you Pinkie!” Rarity brightened up, getting her measuring tape.

“No probs Rares! If you excuse me, I’ll just go behind the dressing room screen.” Pinkie did as she said, Adam mouthing a thank you for her consideration of his privacy.

Removing his t-shirt and bottom, the human stood as straight as a nail, spreading his arms as fitting procedures dictated.

“Oh my! I hadn’t noticed how tall a human you are darling. I’m going to need my extra-large stepping stool for this.” Rarity exclaimed, going through the motions.

The first five minutes of the measuring went uneventfully, the only sounds being the rubbing of measuring tape against skin and Pinkie’s incessant humming of random tunes.

“So Pinkie said you’re a renowned fashion designer. You travel much?” Adam broke the ice.

“Sometimes, when I have to form a new business partnership or need to check up on some of my fashion lines. I mainly go to Canterlot, but I hear there a fashion week coming up in Manehattan in a couple of months and I can’t wait for that time to arrive.”

“What about the models? Know any? What are they like?” Adam continued his query.

“Well only one personally. Fleur-de-lis. She’s the wife of Fancy Pants, a business partner of mine from Canterlot. She does have a rather stunning and slim physique and values good taste.”

“Ooo, ooo! Tell Adam about your stalliiiiion crusheeees!” Pinkie piped up, as energetic as ever.

“Now, now Pinkie. That would be most inappropriate.” Rarity shook her finger in disapproval while working her horn.

“Now that Pinkie brought it up, I totally want to hear about it now.” Adam grinned, his excitement growing.

“No, no, no! Such topics would be… uncouth to share with another stallion.” The seamstress declined.

“Oh come oooooooooooon!” The two friends whined.

“No!”

“Don’t go all lady Buzzkillington on us Rares!” The human jumped from the platform as the unicorn put away the tape.

“L-lady Buzzkillington?” Rarity stuttered, shocked at the accusation of being called a buzz kill.

“We want the cool Rarity!” Pinkie joined in.

“Yeah! We wanna hear about what kind of a taste in stallions does a refined mare such as you have.” Adam tickled the unicorn’s ego, putting on his cool face.

“Well… Alright.” The fashionista reconsidered, taking a seat on her sofa, the human and earth pony sitting on each of her sides.

“I’’ve only had two crushes: one current and one former. The former one was Prince Blueblood, princess Celestia’s adopted nephew…”

“Oh, oh! You met him at the Grand Galloping Gala, the one where we all went!” Pinkie intervened.

“Pinkie, please do not interrupt!” The seamstress reprimanded her friend before continuing,
“So as I was saying, I was quite smitten with this prince as he was…”

And so Rarity reminisced about the night of the Grand Galloping Gala and noted how Blueblood failed to meet her expectations of what a prince should be and instead horribly mistreated her, only thinking of himself. She especially spat on his snobbery and sense of superiority towards her friend Applejack, calling her food “common carnival fare”. He even had the gall to use her as a shield when a cake was flung at them. He was a pompous foal as she put it.

“Ooo, ooo! Now tell us about a more current crush!” Pinkie chimed just as Rarity finished up the story.

“Come now Pinkie. I mean, a mare’s crush is something to be considered private.” The seamstress objected, flushing a bit.

“You already told us about Blue Balls so me thinks you can tell us about the other one.” Adam grinned mischeviously as he and Pinkie pressed their faces against the sides of the unicorn’s.

“Mmmheeheeheehee, snort! Blue Balls! That’s good… Ahem!” Rarity giggled with a cute snort at the notion before recomposing herself.
“Well, there is Trenderhoof, the most famous magazine article writer. He goes from town to town, setting trends, making places famous and he is just, just… the good looking and successful in life stallion I’ve always been looking for. Such style, such pizazz! Not to mention he’s famous.” The mare sighed sitting on an easy chair and cooling herself off with some of her notes.

“I see.” Adam cocked a brow, putting his hand over his mouth in reflection,
‘Seems she has a high class, high social standing, rich and famous theme going on in her crush history.’ He said in his mind.

The human wasn’t really into this type of ladies. Maybe because they brushed off all of the middle and low class dudes and always went for these high and mighty guys. Not his style. But Rarity’s lively diva attitude was a very pleasant trait to have in a friend.

“So um, Rarity. We like know each other for like three days if you include this one and I was wondering if you’d like to be my friend and all. After all, nothing is official yet.” Adam spoke, striving to brush off the awkwardness in his tone.

“Oh of course darling! You needn’t be so formal. I’m willing to give anypony a chance for friendship. After all, I am generous like that.” The fashionista smiled sweetly, fixing her mane as she got up and picked up one of her dresses on the mannequins.
“Anywho, you needn’t worry dear. I’ll be done with your bottom clothing and prepare plenty of new ensembles for all occasions by the end of the day. Plain yet stylish, just the way you like it- AH!” she screamed as she dropped the dress as if it had a rattle snake inside it.

That wasn’t far from the truth as an angry white Persian cat came out of the neck hole of the dress, growling threateningly at its owner. It had in its teeth a golden brooch with a baby blue sapphire engraved in it.

“Oh no, Opal! Mommy needs that to complete her masterpiece! Please be a dear and give it here.” Rarity levitated her cat up to her with the intention of extracting the object gently.
“OW!” she yelled once again as the feline slapped her horn, making her dizzy and therefore dropping Opal on the floor.

“Opal’s running away! LET’S GET ‘EEEEEEEEEEER!” Pinkie let out a battle cry as she and Adam dashed off in pursuit of the runaway cat.

And so they ran after the nasty kitty, climbing on high shelves, trying to corner it, getting their faces scratched like hell, trying to tackle it and laughing all the way. And as Rarity watched Adam and Pinkie chase down her pet cat she couldn’t help but smile.

‘They’re already acting as if they’re childhood friends. Such a sweet sight! Adam acts very nice and appropriately towards anypony in particular he is speaking to. He might just be a good stallion after all.’ The seamstress thought as she beheld the sight.

***

Laughing their asses off after the brooch chase-avanganza was over with, Pinkie and Adam were on the streets again; walking merrily.

“Hahahahaah! Good thing Rarity knew a skin mending spell or else we would’ve given Fluttershy a heart attack with our faces!” Pinkie cackled uncontrollably.

“Hahahaha! Or maybe she would’ve preferred to play tick-tac-toe what with the webbed scratch pattern we received!” Adam joked, making the two guffaw even louder.

“Naaaaah, she’d rather faint. But hey, I just remembered!” The pink mare snapped back into reality as she dug into her mane.

From there she pulled out a pair of brand new bikes and helmets via her trademark Pinkie magic.

“Wooooah Pinks, they’re amazing!” The human ogled the vehicles with wide eyes.

“In fact…” he said as he fished for something in his pocket,
“This gives me an idea!” he pulled out his I-pod, turning it on and looking through his playlists.

“What is it? Are you gonna play a cool human song?” Pinkie peaked over the hacker’s shoulder.

“Mhm! Gonna play it while we ride off to Fluttershy’s!”

“Oh, can you share it with me pleeeeeease! I wanna listen to it too!”

“Well okay! Just so you know, it’s in another language. Oh and can P-pods and I-pods exchange music?”

“Let’s find out!”

Luckily enough, everything was compatible and soon the party mare had the song Adam was referring to on her own listening device.

“Hmmm! Driver’s high… Interestiiiiiing!” Pinkie said as she looked at the title.

“It’s a great song. Perfect for bike riding. I hope you can keep up coz I’ll be busting out my sweet moves.” Adam winked as he put on his helmet and revved up his ride.

“Sweet! Shall we go?”

“Oh, one moment! You got a pair of shades? This song we’re about to ride off on demands that I put on a pair.”

“Sure! Here ya goooo!” The earth pony lady picked her mane again, handing the dude a pair of nice ones.

“Groovy!” the human grinned in a cool way as he slid them on.

Putting one foot on the pedal, the twosome prepared themselves and pressed play on their players before speeding off into the distance.

/Right click open in new tab to listen to the song in the LINK./

After the initial sounds of engines rumbling in their earphones, the initial guitar riffs sent electricity down both the human’s and anthro pony’s spines, their feet pressing down on the pedals. Simply said, the music was invigorating and highly refreshing. And it had a great beat! The sound of a Japanese man came in singing with his calm and cool voice, motivating them to push further with a steady rhythm.

Taking hard turns, they kept speeding up and speeding up, the leader changing quite often. Just then a cart appeared in their way, provoking them to exact some quick action. Pinkie made an impossible spinning jump while Adam skid sideways under the wheels, making the pony at the cart gape with his maw wide open.

Continuing on, they kept zigzagging around several ponies, making the onlookers turn their heads in awe at their skill.

As they rode Pinkie’s heart felt the thrill of a lifetime. The song that was playing in her earphones; it was full of so much positive energy! Looking to her left she spotted a very big smile on Adam’s face. A smile she hadn’t seen before. A new kind of smile! It was bright and expressed sheer happiness. But it wasn’t just that. The human’s eyes also seemed to be glowing with a very particular flame burning inside them.

‘The flame of Adventure!’ The pink pony girl thought as her bike’s tires screeched at another rapid and sharp turn.

Zipping by, the two didn’t even notice the CMC which they passed by, the children eyes filled with confusion and awe. Following them with their eyes, the fillies gasped at the display of greatness as the duo did some crazy turns.

Completely enveloped by the song’s spell, Adam did a wheelie, getting his ride on a solitary wheel and lifting the front as high as he could. Slamming it back down, he did another, the sound in his earphones commanding him to do so.

As they neared Fluttershy’s cottage Pinkie and her human compatriot reached a series of grassy hills which they used to do some incredible jumps and midair tricks. Everything went in slow motion as their adrenaline reached its peak. Barspins, 360s, tail spins, supermans, frontflips and no footed can cans. It was like these BMXs were enchanted and gave their riders incredible mad skills that they would never be able to do on their own. The magic of the moment flowed as brightly as the sun itself.

Passing through a narrow road, Adam and Pinkie were chased by a small doggie. It barked after them happily as it ran, enjoying the experience with these fun bipedal individuals.

Finally, hitting the breaks, the twosome skidded to a halt in front of the shy Pegasus’s abode, taking off their helmets and whipping their hair in place.

Author's Note

The whole Rarity mentioning “fashion week at Manehattan” is a reference to the episode of season 4 “Rarity takes on Manehattan” bit. Since Error H takes place after episode 2 of season 4, I thought I’d reference the Manehattan episode. I’d probably make up some reason for Adam to stay in Ponyville on his own if I ever need to reference the episode again.

Also, I had Rarity share her crushes with Adam and Pinkie because… *motions for you the reader to come closer*… this is going to affect the final part of this four parter. This is crucial in order for Adam to get a clear impression of what kind of stallions Rarity likes. Why is this relevant to the plot? Wait for the next chapters to find out! Trololol!

I hope you enjoyed the last scene! I had the most fun writing it! I just remembered the song out of the anime I used to watch Great Teacher Onizuka! In fact I’m watching it now to remember how the episodes went. It’s grimace-tastic! XD

Last but not least, I was planning to write the next chapter with Fluttershy in advance in order to make up for the Dreafull lack of updates. However I got sick with the summer flu. Trust me kids it turns into sheer torture once you enter your twenties. So in order to stop the long wait, I decided to post this chapter immediately since it has been lying around completed for some time now. Hope you enjoyed it. ;)

Next chapter: Pinkie and Adam find that Fluttershy is not quite herself this morning.