Over a Cup of Coco

The bay windows of Carousel Boutique  were open on a picture perfect spring afternoon, signs of life filling those breezes in the form of choirs among choirs of birds, more than usual. Rarity assumed Fluttershy was off teaching them a song or two, just like she did every spring, and was given her answer when Fluttershy's own voice echoed through the air.

Her ears perked up as she heard a shuffling at her doorstep. Putting down her design notepad, she hopped off her couch and made her way to the door. She could hear the tentative steps of who she assumed to be Derpy, followed by the creak of the mail slot being opened. A couple letters and a magazine were dropped through, falling with a plop on the doormat.

She gathered the mail items and brought them back with her, laying them back down on the couch in a pile as she took a seat.

"Let's see if I got anything interesting today," she spoke aloud, clear sarcasm at the prospect of more junk.

She sighed loudly at the first two letters, one of them an obvious scam to get ponies to purchase a two week cruise. Rarity had to admit, wherever the boat took them looked simply divine, with white sandy beaches and palm trees as far as the eye could see. Her hooves could use a nice week of relaxation, but the bits need to pay for such a venture was nowhere to be found.

The other letter came in a colorful envelope, with writing that tried desperately to make Rarity an official member of the Jelly of the Month club. The last thing she needed was a monthly supply of jelly to be sitting unused in her fridge somewhere.

"Hmm... perhaps Pinkie might be interested in this," she remarked, scanning through the brochure provided in the envelope. Never in her life did she realize just how many varieties of the fruit preserve spread existed.

Tossing the brochure aside, she noticed one final piece of mail was all that remained. Rarity held up the plain looking envelope, flipping it over to see that it was sealed by a shiny gold sticker. It was a standard and boring looking thing, and she would have tossed it aside if it wasn't for the hoofwriting occupying the upper left corner.

"Is this really...? Oh my Celestia!!"

Rarity knew that penmanship anywhere. It was a near-perfect script, with beautifully bold capital letters, and wispy accented tails at the end of each sentence. Every line was completely horizontal, every margin fit vertical to a tee.

"Rose Petal Bravo!"

Modesty went right out the window as she bolted up off the couch with gusto. Her eyes were wide and sparking in sheer excitement over the context of what just happened.

Rose Petal Bravo was a mare who was currently one of the top designers in Equestria, and to many, arguably the best. The famous mare was also somepony Rarity knew everything about, from the signature stitching pattern she used for every piece of cloth, to the style of buttons which she favored. Some of her own designs were direct influences, thankfully not close enough to warrant questions. The press even coined the letters RPB as an official nickname for the famous and wealthy mare, or official enough that she even answered when ponies referred to her as such.

Rarity danced around the room in celebration, picking up Opalescence and giving the feline a huge hug as she twirled around. Opal merely screeched in fear as her owner dragged her all along the boutique before coming to a halt in the middle of the living room. There she was let back down, and proceeded to walk around in circles herself before her eyes adjusted back to normalcy.

She grabbed the letter yet again, remembering that she had never actually read what it said.

Miss Rarity,

I would introduce myself, but I assume you are familiar with who I am, as well as my line of work. What I will tell       you is that I have been keeping track of a number of amateur designers around Equestria. With my ever advancing age, I am well aware that my company will fall into the hooves of the designers themselves, given that I have no heir,  which is why it is absolutely critical that I make sure I possess the utmost quality of talent available.

Now then, this is where your involvement, should you choose to accept my invite, is requested. I am offering a special program for a select number of participates; call it an internship if you will. What it entails is a six month long period of time beginning sometime in the middle of summer in which you will eat, sleep, and breathe the fashion industry with me on your side to guide you, and serve as a mentor. What I hope is that you and others with time, will become the new faces of the industry, with your  faces and designs plastered all over Equestria for people to see.

To qualm your fears of expenses, I already have living arrangements made for you and others, top notch no less. Food will also be provided, as well as most other basic necessities. Other than a bit of extra money to keep on hand and some personal necessities, the only thing I request you bring is yourself.

Should you wish to embark on this life changing experience with me, just send me back the form given along with this letter. If you choose to decline, please don't think you are causing me any offense. It is perfectly understandable and I will think no less of you.

Best wishes,

RPB

Rose Petal Bravo.

With a dumbfounded look plastered across her face, Rarity sat back down as she attempted to get the gist of the situation. The room felt like it was spinning as she tried to look around, objects becoming nothing more than blurry blends of color. Her face felt flushed, her heartbeat accelerating as she attempted to take in the realization of just how significant this simple piece of paper was. Butterflies filled her midsection with the sensation making her feel like she was floating on a cloud.

It would have been good enough with just a letter from RPB, even if it had nothing but her signature on it. Regardless, she already had a frame picked out for the letter to go in, and a spot on her bedroom wall to match.

The unicorn hopped up and started dancing to an invisible beat, her attention not focused at all on how silly she looked. She felt like a filly on Christmas day, right after opening the biggest and most sought after toy every other filly dreamed of having.

Rarity picked up Opal yet again and squeezed the feline, as if to spread her pure excitement and joy over to her.

"Oh isn't this wonderful Opal! Who knows what kinds of things I'll be able to do with what I learn from Rose Petal?"

She could imagine her name joining the lore of other famous designers, with her clothing and accessories donning the showrooms of the finest fashion establishments. Ponies would look at them in awe as they admired her handiwork and craftsmanship, their own minds imagining how they would look wearing these ensembles. Perhaps there even was a chance she could become a talk of the entire city, attracting the gaze of onlookers when she merely took a stroll along the sidewalks of the hustle and bustle.

"Rarity?"

Some ponies would even go as far as to request her autograph, which she could provide in a fancy signature mirroring the grace of her mentor's.

"Rarity?!"

And during fashion shows, the curtains would open after the models wearing her clothes finished their routine. She would walk out to a thunderous applause, the entire arena of ponies standing up in appreciation of the designer...

"RARITY!?!"

Rarity shot up from the couch like a rocket at her name being shouted so loudly. The unicorn cocked her head at the source of who was calling her name, to find her sister standing a few hooves away. Relieved, she wiped away the small amount sweat that formed on her forehead and around her horn, thankful that it wasn't some other pony who caught her in such a flustered state.

Sweetie Belle stared at Rarity with a look of confusion, her pale green eyes echoing her facial expression. "Um, are you okay? You were sitting here all frozen-like, and you had stars in your eyes."

"I'm fine Sweetie, just don't go around giving me a heart attack like that," Rarity responded, her breath still labored as she tried to calm herself down. "Wait... you were home the whole time?" Rarity questioned, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment over her sister hearing how loud and obnoxious all her celebrating must have been.

"Well yeah, I came home from school a few hours ago remember?"

Rarity tried to rewind her mind back a few hours to when Sweetie would have come home. Strangely though, the mare had no recollection of the event.

"You don't remember do you?" Sweetie asked, rolling her eyes at the ignorance of her sister.

"No... I don't recall that. Sorry Sweetie, you know how wrapped up I can get when I'm working on my designs," Rarity had walked over and given her sister a warm embrace, which was returned by the now content filly. "So apology accepted?" she asked, walking towards the kitchen to grab herself a glass of water.

Sweetie Belle didn't respond, her eyes focused on the couple pieces of paper and opened envelope which sat on the couch. Curious, she strode over and picked up the envelope first, assuming that whatever it was, or whoever sent it, was the reason behind her sister's sudden transformation into a mare as excited as Pinkie Pie during a birthday party. Reading over the sender's information on the envelope, she recognized the name of a mare Rarity continually talked about and idolized.

"Hey Rarity, is this why you were so loud before?" she asked, putting the envelope back down and picking up the letter which she assumed came with it. The filly had difficulties reading the complicating script of this mare, but as her eyes scanned down the page, they widened with awareness of what her sister was truly celebrating about.

"Oh yes! That designer I love so much sent it, and I was... wait, Sweetie, don't read that!"  She lost grip of the glass of water, and it fell out of her hoof. The object smashed loudly into the tile floor, shattering into thousands of tiny glass fragments as the water splashed haphazardly in all directions.

Rarity dashed straight into the room to find Sweetie holding the letter she had read mere minutes ago. She was still reading it, but from the look in her eyes, Rarity was certain that her sister knew exactly what this letter meant.

She had never stopped to think about the ramifications that a six month leave to Manhattan would entail. Surely she would miss her friends just as much as they would her. But there was no issue there, as they would definitely have a mutual understanding of just how significant this opportunity was for her. Same applied to when Rainbow Dash would go to the Wonderbolts, or when Twilight would have to head to Canterlot on her princess duties. Even her boutique wouldn't be a problem, as could be given to another rising designer to use for their own benefit.

Those were her friends. Family however, was a completely different story.

"Are you going to do this?" A frown was prevalent on Sweetie's face, while her lower, yet quieter voice matching her expression.

Rarity could feel her heart being pulled apart by her sister's reaction.  She had no idea how to break the news to her, and there was a really no easy way to do it. One way or another, there was going to be some hurt feelings.

"I'm definitely considering it. I understand, I don't want to leave you either."

"Actually, I want you to go."

Genuinely surprised, Rarity tried to figure out if Sweetie was just saying that to make her feel better. But her sister looked to be completely confident in her mindset, and had even flipped her frown into a smile, if a bit forced. She couldn't help but feel hurt inside by the response however.

"You want me to go? But won't you miss me?" Rarity shook her head, trying to banish the stubborn tears that were leaking from her eyes. Was all we went through trying to get close nothing but a ruse? Does Sweetie even love me as a sister?

She suddenly felt a warmth hugging her and found her sister with her head nuzzled up into her chest. "You overreact too much."

"I don't understand, how could you just let me leave so easily?" Rarity questioned, softly stroking her sister's mane as they remained in their embrace.

Sweetie Belle watched as her sister's hair bounced on the breeze which gently rolled through the shop. She motioned for Rarity let go of her, to which she obliged. Sweetie then took her hooves and put them on both of Rarity's cheeks, bringing her face down so that there was little space between the two of them. A quite taken aback Rarity simply followed where her sister's hooves were taking her.

"Of course I don't want you to leave, silly. But I look at it like this. You helped me, my friends, your friends, and just about everypony that you've met. You need to help yourself sometimes too!"

Rarity doubted what Sweetie would say could be as important as she was making it out to be. Yet, her sister did make a really strong argument, if overly simplistic. "Forgive me for questioning you darling, but isn't that really selfish of me if I were to only help myself?"

"Um... yes? Well not exactly, but in a sense it would be? I don't know." Sweetie could feel herself succumbing to a headache as she attempted to decipher her own thoughts. She shook her head to try and loosen up the knots in her head.

"It wouldn't really be fair if I left you and my friends for six mon..." Rarity's eyes widened as she felt one of Sweetie's hooves being stuck in her mouth.

"Rarity you're doing it again! You've been generous your entire life! Isn't it time you deserved some of your own treatment?"

Rarity rolled her eyes and pointed at her mouth, which still had the presence of a hoof in it. Sweetie Belle cocked her head in response, only to realize that Rarity couldn't answer her question. She removed her hoof with a audible pop, while Rarity immediately ran and rinsed out her mouth in the bathroom.

"First thing, you will never do that again, understand?" Rarity glared as she walked back into the room, still experiencing aftertastes of dirt despite using half a bottle of mouthwash. Her sister simply nodded in response.

"But you do raise an excellent point. I suppose I do deserve to do something for myself. And this opportunity, well let's face it, I won't ever get a chance like this again," she explained, walking around the shop and observing the setting of the place all at once. If she did leave for that long a period of time, she knew within a week or two she'd get homesick. "I'm just unsure about it all. I told you about what happened on the trip to Manehattan that me and the others took right?"

Sweetie nodded. "Yeah, Applejack mentioned how you turned into a real pain in the flank over your designs being stolen."

Rarity knew how honest Applejack was, but never did expect her to be as blunt as she was at that instance. "Well, she was right. I acted like a jerk, just like my old friend had acted towards me."

"Manehattan nearly changed me for the worst in just a few days... Heaven forbid what might happen in six months?!"

It was a worrisome thought which she was reminded of thanks to Sweetie. Manehattan was so much different than Ponyville in terms of things like population, size, culture, and so forth. But perhaps most striking of them all was how the ponies treated one another. Unlike the sense of friendliness she got from everypony in Ponyville, Manehattan was full of independent souls, each one of them out on their own, for their own cause and theirs alone. Everypony worked towards their own goals, even if it meant stepping on the hooves of others, or climbing the proverbial ladder while throwing off ponies in their way.

She was entirely sure that she would never stoop to the level of her friend Suri Polomare. Her skin crawled at the thought of becoming a cruel, heartless, fame-driven robot to the fashion industry. But the possibility of such a change happening lingered at the back of her mind. "Would I even know if I suddenly changed like that?"

Her thoughts were interrupted by a hoof waving annoyingly in front of her face. Thankfully it wasn't in her mouth this time.  "Rarity!? Are you there?"

"Oh I spaced out. Sorry about that Sweetie, now what were you saying?"

Rarity knew that she wasn't good at hiding her emotions, and that Sweetie would notice the downcast tone of her voice. A bit of guilt entered her mind, fearing that her reaction caused Sweetie to experience her own guilt, as judged by the look of concern on her face.

"What is something I said?" Sweetie asked, using a gentler tone of voice. She watched as Rarity went back to the couch and plopped down like a deflated balloon. Her hooves held her head up by the chin, and she sighed deeply as she glanced at Sweetie, and then back down at the floor.

"You did nothing wrong dear. I'm just thinking too much about something, that's all."

"It's about what Applejack said isn't it?" Sweetie swore that Rarity flinched at the mere mention of what her friend had told her that day.

"The city changes ponies Sweetie Belle," Rarity said, twirling the discarded envelope in her hoof, watching as her idols name went around and around. "Ponies like me, the ones who try to be nice and generous to everypony else: they finish last. We make up just a small group. Its all about yourself in the city. If you don't figure that out, you'll get stepped on and squashed from all different directions."

"Well most of the students in my class have their cutie marks, so that makes me, Scoots, and Applebloom in a similar situation right?"

Rarity smiled halfheartedly at her sister's attempt to understand. "Not exactly. You will all have incredible cutie marks to call your own one day."

"I don't understand what you're so worried about then." Sweetie said. She was trying really hard not to show the annoyance on her face.

"I'll make it simpler for you. If I'm in the city for 6 months, who knows what could happen? I don't want to turn into a selfish, cruel, heartless pony like some of the ones in the fashion contest I was in. As much as I think this is quite possibly the best opportunity I have ever been offered in my life, I'm hesitant to accept it if it could change me."

Sweetie Belle remained silent through this all, even after Rarity had finished what she wanted to say. She hated to see her sister worry about things, especially more personal matters, and would always do what she thought would be best to lift her spirits.

Now however, that wasn't her current mindset. Not only was this an issue which would directly affect Rarity, but also an issue which affected her as well. With her sister gone for an extended amount of time, Sweetie knew she would have to move back to live with her mother and father, leaving the crusaders a member down. There was no way she could even imagine breaking the news to Scootaloo and Applebloom, and she wondered if they would continue their group without her.

She mentally slapped herself for being selfish enough to turn Rarity's problems into her own. If it wasn't for that stupid friend of hers, putting thoughts in her head."

Sweetie Belle suddenly felt a surge of thought come to her as she remembered all of Rarity's conversations about what happened over those few days. She knew that there was an assistant who went out of her way to give Rarity the 1st place trophy, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on her name. "Was it Coco... something?"

"Sweetie dear, are you alright? You look positively confused." Rarity questioned, looking at her sister.

"Was her name Coco Puff?" Sweetie blurted out, assuming that name was close enough. The filly watched as Rarity mouthed the name herself, before breaking into a fit of giggles, much to her surprise.

"I'm going to assume you meant Coco Pommel?" She received an enthusiastic nod from Sweetie Belle. "What does she have to do with all this?"

Sweetie became flustered, knowing the idea she had was on the tip of her tongue. "Well, maybe you could talk to her? Ask her about how she's remained so nice, even with all those idiots around her." A flabbergasted look from Rarity greeted her as she finished her sentence.

"Where did you learn such foul language young lady?!"

"Um... you?"

"Oh. Well fine, but never use that language in public okay?" Sweetie simply agreed, not wanting to cause an argument. It was well known by anypony who knew her Rarity could argue for hours upon hours, never letting up or budging in the slightest.

"Your actual idea, however, is fabulous!" Rarity said. "What better way to get a sense of how living in the city is like by talking to somepony who actually calls it home. It also would be nice to see Coco in person again, the only contact I've had with her is some occasional letters we send back and forth. I'm really curious to see how she liked that costume designing position I gave her, and..."

"Rarityyy, please stop. I understand," Sweetie laid on the ground, waving a small white flag she fastened from a tissue and a pencil. "I surrender."

"Oh shush. I said your idea was good, what more do you want from me? Besides I have some packing to do!" Rarity added, gathering up the letter and other papers in a light blue aura, and putting them neatly back into the envelope. She rushed up the stairs in excitement, leaving Sweetie Belle in her wake.

Sweetie walked into the kitchen and noticed the mess. "...So are you going to just leave a pile of wet broken glass in the kitchen!?"