Rarity never liked Cheddar Cheese, and today was no exception. To everypony else, he seemed perfectly normal; he had a house in Ponyville, he went outside to take walks, and he shopped for groceries and the like just the same as everypony else.
But for Rarity, he was not like everypony else, and for the life of her she couldn't grasp why.
Seven days before, Cheddar Cheese went out of his way to talk to Rarity, breaking off from his usual path to buy groceries and instead heading to the Carousel Boutique.
He entered the door.
"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is chiq, unique, and magnifique."
He had a very pale orange mane and an off-white coat which blended rather nicely together. Cheddar Cheese greeted Rarity with a warm smile; a smile which Rarity attempted to emulate.
"I'd like to buy a dress for my fillyfriend."
Rarity considered who the fillyfriend might be, maintaining her faux smile all the while.
I was just on my way down to the market when I glanced inside the boutique and saw them talking. When you take care of a little filly, likely to get into all sorts of trouble if you're not keeping an eye on them, it gets pretty easy to tell a fake smile from a sincere one. The one Rarity was wearing was one of the worst I've seen, and I've seen Applejack's.
"Of course, is there anything in particular you had in mind?"
Cheddar smiled and Rarity couldn't help but feel a shiver rub down her spine.
"I want something very noticeable; subtlety is not an option. I want a dress that anypony who sees it won't soon forget."
Rarity floated a sheet of design paper over with her magic and a pencil to make a rough sketch. When it's done she tacked it on her cork board.
"Splendid. I'll need your fillyfriend over to take some measurements. Is there a date you know she's available or will you send her to me to arrange a date ourselves?"
Cheddar shook his head, his orange mane whipping slightly around his face.
"Neither, I'm afraid. She is a very busy mare so she can't come here. I do have all of the measurements you need on hoof, though."
Rarity turned around trying to conceal her disappointment and untacked the design from the board.
"Okay. Let's start with the waist."
{¥}
In the time between seven days from today and three, Rarity had made great strides toward completing the dress Cheddar wanted. In the beginning, she struggled with exactly how noticeable she should make it. Cheddar had said he wanted it to be memorable but she definitely didn't want it to be gaudy.
During the night at six days before today she decided on a very long and streamlined red dress. It would be very light with scarlet trim and it would trail to the floor ever so slightly. At her own admission, after making the design the dressmaking itself is elementary, so she went through it without too much delay.
In the morning of three days before today, Rarity decided that it needed rubies in order to shine like the fire it represented. She departed from her home and trotted down the street on her way to the Ponyville fringe. Before getting very far from her boutique she stopped to say hello to me while I was on my mail route.
I had heard most of what had been going on from idle chit-chat occurring in my various jobs but it was then that I heard more of the personal details about the way Rarity felt about Cheddar Cheese and her personal anxieties with the dress.
Rarity bade me farewell and I returned to my mail route. She trotted on her way to the fringe but stopped when she heard a mare arguing with Applejack. The mare was tall, with a light purple coat and dark blue mane. I saw Rarity go over to Applejack and see what all the fuss was about.
I heard from Applebloom that it was actually about how expensive her apples were and how she was running short on bits. Thinking back to it, I saw that the items in her bag were pretty far from decadent so she couldn't have had many bits to start with.
Rarity used some of the bits she had on hoof to buy a few apples for the strange mare and chastised her for being rude to Applejack. The conversation that followed was roughly this:
"I'm sorry Ms. Applejack. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."
"It's fine. I reckon it don't matter much anyway. Thank ya kindly for apologizin' though."
"But where in Equestria did you come from, dear? I don't believe I've see you around Ponyville before."
The mare's frown deepened.
"No. I'm visiting here for personal reasons."
Rarity opens her mouth to speak but the mare interrupts her.
"Personal reasons I'd rather not talk about."
Rarity's mouth closed with an audible snap. The mare gives a curt bow to Applejack and Rarity and then turned to leave.
"Well aren't you going to at least tell us your name, dear?"
The mare stops, turns her head to the side, shakes her head, and turns it forward again.
"No I'm not. Thank you for the apples."
Applejack grinds her teeth together.
"Now hold up. Ya'll can't do that. Get back here!"
The mare continued trotting away and ignoring Applejack's yells for her return until she was far out of sight. Applejack threw her hat on the ground so hard the dust flew up and almost touched Rarity.
"Well don't that beat all?"
At around that point I had returned to my mail duties but I suppose after that Rarity and Applejack exchanged a few pleasantries and then Rarity went back on her way to the fringe.
Rarity then gathered the rubies she needed, possibly stopping by the Books and Branches Library to borrow Spike, and adorned the dress with them.
Which brings us to yesterday when I saw Cheddar Cheese stop into Rarity's boutique again. Cheddar trotted in wearing the self-assured smile he uses most days and Rarity came trotting down the stairs.
"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is chiq, unique, and magnifique. Ah, Mr. Cheese, what do you need today?"
Cheddar Cheese gave a bow and then stood up. Sweetie Belle stopped writing down ideas for acquiring cutie marks and listened a bit more closely.
"Beautiful and pleasant as always, Ms. Rarity. The dress is all I need for today, thank you."
Sweetie Belle tuned out again after she had an idea for a water polo cutie mark which she assured me would go perfectly multiple times. Sweetie Belle vaguely remembers Rarity revealing the stunning red dress and Cheddar graciously taking it after paying and Cheddar then leaving the boutique.
The last thing I know is from earlier today. I need no ponies to tell what they heard or saw because I saw it myself, and I definitely don't want to meet the pony that heard something.
It was a windy start to the morning and I had just begun on my mail route after my muffin and apple juice breakfast. Celestia was raising the sun and it was just the top of it peeking out over Equestria, spilling out light like it was water.
I had just passed by the street going towards the town square when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I was passing rather quickly so I didn't see it very clearly but with my eyesight I never see anything quite crystal clear.
I was curious and a little ahead of schedule so I scooted backward and looked down the street.
I saw a metal pole sticking out of the ground right in front of the town hall. On it was the mare who was arguing with Applejack. One spike attached her to the pole through her chest, two more through her eyes and on her was the most beautiful, dashing, unforgettable, red dress.
