Where the White Tulips Grow
The sun was setting over Ponyville, and the town’s residents were, for the most part, in their houses enjoying their dinner. A gentle wind blew through the trees and, making that relaxing rustling sound that Rarity loved so. She sighed as she walked along to her destination.Rarity usually didn’t enjoy nature, but she couldn’t help but smile as she trotted out towards a little secluded place on the border of the Everfree Forest. The white mare’s eyes lit up as she saw it; a small patch of white tulips, beautiful, untarnished, swaying carelessly in the breeze. She quickened her pace, she didn’t have all evening, after all.
She looked down at the twenty-or-so lovely white tulips growing in a perfect circle and sighed once more. The unicorn gently caressed one with her hoof and smiled appreciatively.
“I felt that a thank you is much overdue.” Rarity said to the small garden, or rather, what lie beneath.
She lay down and sniffed the fragrant flowers, remembering the day she planted her garden clearly.
~*~
It was a day like any other. Rarity was working on a dress which she had slaved over for weeks, but not just any dress, a dress for another mare of fashion, and from Canterlot! One who was much more connected than Rarity, who could make or break her career with a few cursory words. This was quite possibly one of the most exquisite works she had ever made! A beautiful flowing gown, made with the finest red silk available, with a red ribbon around the middle and rubies lined along the collar. She was looking it over to see what all of her hard work had made, and she was quite pleased, although she had a feeling something more should be added. She was contemplating if adding sequins would be too much, when she heard the bell over the door tinkle. She stopped her work and turned to see a mare she had never seen before. The unfamiliar earth pony had a powder blue mane, with bangs covering her amber eyes, a beige coat, and blue saddle bags.
“Welcome to Carousel Boutique. How may I help you?” Rarity asked with a smile.
The other mare responded, “Well, I’ve been looking for something to wear to a big dinner I have tomorrow night. Do you have something nice but affordable?”
“I believe I may have something you are looking for. Please give me one moment.” Rarity said, turning to walk off into the back room.
“Oooooh…” Rarity heard the mare cooing from behind her, “Did you make this dress?”
Rarity turned to see the mare indicating the scarlet masterpiece on her work table.
“Why, yes! I did, but I’m afraid that particular ensemble is not for sale.”
“What a shame. I couldn’t afford it anyway.” The mare chuckled.
Rarity chuckled as well, and departed into her storage room.
She searched for the dress she had in mind, and spotted it in no time. It was a lovely frost blue gown which sparkled mesmerizingly in the light.
Ah Rarity, you are a talent. The unicorn thought, admiring the dress as she levitated it from it’s spot on the rack.
She exited the back room and as she re-entered the main store area asked the customer, “Is this something akin to what you are looking for?”
“Oh yes!” The mare replied enthusiastically “That should be perfect!”
“Wonderful! This one costs only twenty-five bits.”
“Oh great!” The mare exclaimed as she removed the payment from her saddlebags and pushed the bits over to Rarity. Rarity levitated them towards her and counted them quickly.
“Thank you!” Rarity levitated the dress to the mare as she said this. “Do come again!”
The earth pony carefully stuffed the dress in her saddlebag and said cheerfully, “I just might!” The mare turned to leave and as she did, Rarity saw something hanging out of the mare’s bags, fluttering carelessly behind her. A red ribbon, made of a shiny, even silky material…
Rarity’s brain flipped. Is that… Is that my red dress? The red dress I’ve worked so hard on all of these weeks? The red dress that I have poured all of my heart and soul into? The red dress that may be the true start of my career? The unicorn thought in a rush.
Rarity began to panic, she glanced back at her work table, and saw only tools and spare cloth.
“STOP!” She yelled.
Rarity levitated the first thing on her work table to her side. Her scissors. She mustered up all the power she had in her horn and hurled them across the room towards the mare.
Before Rarity had even realized what she had done, the scissors stuck in the beige mare’s neck, and blood dribbled down her left foreleg. She hit the ground before the first drop of blood did, writhing and wheezing. The scissors must have severed her windpipe, thwarting any attempt that may have been made to scream, as well as severing her jugular vein, lucky for the paralyzed pony who had thrown them.
It was not until the mare’s life had slipped away that Rarity moved again, and that was only to slump to the ground in disbelief.
She had just killed a pony.
Her. Rarity the generous, had just stolen a life.
A million thoughts raced in Rarity’s mind, the most prominent of which,
Thank Celestia Sweetie isn’t here.
What have I done? Why did I act so swiftly? It’s only a dress.
And, most importantly,
How will I hide this?
~*~
Rarity slowly rose from her place on the floor, as if rising from the dead.
She made her legs carry her over to the body on the floor.
She opened one saddlebag to retrieve her dress. Her beautiful red dress, to find that the mistake she had made was even more horrible than previously thought.
It wasn’t there.
The unicorn observed that the red ribbon hanging out of the earth pony’s bag was the strap that keeps an umbrella closed, which had come loose from the mare’s red umbrella.
That’s right, it’s supposed to rain later, Rarity thought idly.
Rarity dragged herself to her work table, to see that her dress had simply slid off, and lay under the table. She picked it up and laid it neatly on the table.
She walked back to the corpse, slowly regaining a cool collective state of mind, and pulled the scissors out of the mare’s neck with her magic. She performed a simple spell that she used to clean glue or paint off of her tools, and levitated her now clean scissors to her work station. The blood was still fresh. Cold, like the sauce on leftover spaghetti, but hardly coagulated.
Rarity found herself musing how she could make such a casual reference to spaghetti, when she had a murdered pony at her hooves.
Shock could do strange things to the mind, she supposed...
The pristine white mare also found herself musing that the pooled blood on the floor had turned a beautiful shade of red…
~*~
Rarity had finished getting rid of the blood, and was contemplating what to do with the body.
There wasn’t much contemplation needed, burying her seemed the simplest, safest, and most respectful thing to do. Rarity wrapped a sheet around the body, and left through the back door, grabbing a shovel on the way. She had forgotten she even owned a shovel.
It would be a straight shot through the field behind the boutique to the everfree forest, where she would dig a grave(With her magic of course. No need to ruin her hooficure.), bury the deceased mare, and leave.
~*~
It was an uneventful trot to the remote location just a little ways into the forest, and Rarity’s telekinesis was tired, having drug an adult pony for fifteen minutes straight. It was around six in the afternoon, she guessed, as she had not bothered to look at the clock.
The elegant unicorn began the much dreaded task of digging a grave, letting out a ladylike grunt with every shovel full of dirt she lifted from the earth. After an hour or so, she had dug a satisfactory grave, making sure it was deep enough, and that the walls were somewhat smooth.
Rarity dropped the shovel and stood over the body. She spoke,
“I truly am sorry for this mix up. I hate that I did this to you, but I cannot undo it. I am simply doing what must be done now, however unnecessary my previous actions were.” The unicorn paused.
“I wish I could honor you in a more… Honorable, for lack of a better word, way.”
With this, the white mare nudged the dead mare into the grave, sheet and all. As the body hit the ground, the sheet came apart partially, and Rarity caught a glimpse of the pony’s cutie mark, something she hadn’t bothered to notice before.
A bouquet of white tulips.
Rarity had an idea, and quickly buried the body before rushing off to the market. Perhaps somepony was still selling tulip bulbs.
The rain began to fall gently as Rarity reached town.
~*~
A good three hours later, Rarity was back in her home, checking to make sure her dress was ready. She was sure it was perfect.
She had removed the ribbon so she could dye it, since she had recently acquired new red dye of the most lovely shade she had ever laid eyes upon.
She would have to return to the mare in the Everfree once she delivered this dress. If it weren’t for her, this dress would be imperfect.
Rarity shed a tear of gratitude, and awaited the day when she would return to where the white tulips grow.
