The Mare in the Frou Frou Dress

     Morning went by quickly for Rarity as she spent all day preparing herself for the Winter-Spring Royal Fling. By the end of the day, sometime in the afternoon, Rarity stood outside. She looked exactly like she pictured. Her mane was up how she wanted, looking elegant; a light amount of make-up complimented her face to give her more of a beautiful feel; she kept nice red slippers on that went perfectly with her red frilly frou frou dress that was perfectly kept around her body. Finally, she kept her necklace on, the sapphire inside it making her eyes more appealing to the eye.

     Rarity stood outside near the carriage that was being pulled by two white stallions who were ready to take Rarity. As she looked upon the carriage, she turned around to notice all of her friends standing there to say goodbye.

     “Have fun, Rarity!” Twilight Sparkle called out, waving her hoof in the air and smiling widely. Rarity’s focus was set on Twilight, who appeared to still want to speak. “And who knows? We were thinking of stopping by just to visit you later tonight.” she finished.

     “I would like that very much, Twilight, dear.” Rarity said, smiling and happy to know that her friends would miss her. She looked down, looking at Sweetie Belle who was looking up sadly at Rarity.

     “Why can’t we go?” Sweetie Belle asked, trying to use her cute charm to persuade Rarity to no success.

     “I’m sorry, Sweetie. I just wasn’t able to.” Rarity explained. “However, I do have a special task just for you.”

     “What is it?” Sweetie Belle asked, somehow perking right up with the feel of responsibility.

     “I want you to look after my boutique while Fluttershy watches over you.” Rarity said, leaning in close to Sweetie Belle as if it were a secret assignment. Sweetie Belle nodded happily at Rarity, accepting the task given to her.

     “I’ll do it!” Sweetie Belle confirmed, a happy glare crossing her face. Rarity looked up, watching all of her other friends as they stood in a group. Rarity noticed Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie all standing around with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. After a small moment of exchanging glances, Rarity looked away back at her carriage that was awaiting her and stepped inside the circular red and blue carriage. The stallions rubbed their hooves against the ground, getting ready to leave. As the door to the carriage shut, Rarity poked her head out, waving and exchanging yells of goodbyes to each other.

     Behind her, Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down until Rarity’s carriage was out of sight. She stopped soon after and stood still, lowering her head in a sudden realization that they would now have to find something to do without one of their friends. As she looked down, Twilight Sparkle put a hoof on her shoulder.

     “Don’t worry, Pinkie.” Twilight said. “We’ll stop by later to surprise her.” she finished. Pinkie Pie perked right back up and smiled widely.

     “It’ll be a blast!” Pinkie Pie said as the girls all crowded around each other, looking up towards Canterlot for a moment and then all started to walk away in the same direction together.

     As Rarity brought her head back inside the carriage, she leaned back to enjoy the ride, excited by what may happen. She could meet a prince, or become the star of the dance, or meet somepony who would want to sell her masterful designs! The very thought of either of these made her heart flutter with enjoyment. She knew tonight was going to be great. That very thought couldn’t help but make her giggle in the carriage as she looked out the small open space in the front that gave her a perfect view of Canterlot. It wouldn’t be long now for the pegasus stallions to get to Canterlot as the carriage lifted off into the air.

     Rarity appeared to be getting closer to Canterlot, the size of the city becoming apparent now to her. There was an aroma of cold air that filled the carriage, the high altitude of Canterlot making the air thinner and colder. It was something everypony had to get used to when they visited Canterlot. There was really nothing that could be done about it.

     Finally, the carriage approached its destination. A large royal castle-looking building that was completely white and blue, the banners of Equestria hanging from its walls. The carriage pulled up to the red carpet walkway, and another stallion walked up to the carriage, his eyes closed, and opened the door to allow Rarity to get out. Rarity kept her smile on, peaking first outside the carriage before stepping out. There was a great overwhelming feeling of importance as she took that first step onto the red carpet and the same stallion who opened the door for her bowed to her as she stepped out. She continued to walk along the pathway, noticing beautiful and calming fountains with lights powered by unicorn magic illuminating the waters. Rarity took a look at the big doors that were wide open with only a line of red tape blocking her entrance. She didn’t need to say a word. As soon as the door guard saw her, he unhooked the red strap and allowed Rarity to pass through. She had never felt more like royalty before.

     The inside of the royal dance hall was just as she imagined. There was beautiful classical music being played with official royal conversing occurring throughout. It was hard to make out what anypony was saying as the muffled chatter echoed simultaneously throughout the room. At first, Rarity had no idea what to do. She saw the band up on the stage with the elegant and classy Octavia playing with her band classical band. It put a calming yet official feel throughout the room. Eyeballing the rest of the room, Rarity came across a table of food and a red curtain that covered a room. She was unsure what was inside the room, but she noticed a mare walk inside, one that seemed like she was on a royal mission, and disappear behind the red curtains.

     Rarity’s curiosity was peaked, but she wasn’t convinced to go snooping in a royal occasion just yet. She walked over to the whitewood table and looked at the fine selection of sweets and treats that were spread out across the table. There were slices of cake, slices of pie, and other great sweets such as cupcakes, muffins, and even a punch bowl full of strawberry punch prepared by a special guest who attended the event but was nowhere to be seen. Rumor had it she was a pegasus that won some sort of contest in Ponyville. However, as Rarity returned to try and associate with the more official folk, she tried specifically looking for the anonymous pony who invited her to the event.

     The smell of sweets filled the air as there was an echoing sound of hoofsteps against the shining cement floor, too many for Rarity to figure out who was where. As she looked around, she saw another mare walking towards the same red curtain. This one was a more portly unicorn who appeared as the stereotypical stubborn royal one. As she entered the curtains, Rarity heard a loud smash of glass. She looked around quickly, surprised that nopony was even reacting about the sound.

     In a flash, Rarity dashed at the curtains, running to make sure nopony was hurt. She ran past a few stallions and mares that were conversing and pushed the curtains open, running inside as the curtains fell back in place behind her. She looked around quickly but didn’t get more than a moment to stare before she felt a great power against her head and the sound of smashing glass once more resounding in the air. Falling to the ground, Rarity looked up, seeing the faded image of a light grey stallion looking at her until she closed her eyes, falling unconscious.