Built-In Opalescence

by Brass Polish

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sweetie Belle, Opalescence, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mystery, Comedy, Rarity, Other, Fancypants, Random, Slice of Life
Length: 4995

When the Cutie Map sends Rarity to Canterlot, she discovers the consequences of her repeat business and gets a little side-tracked.

When the Cutie Map sends Rarity to Canterlot, she discovers the consequences of her repeat business and gets a little side-tracked.

Published 2016-02-13 22:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-02-13 22:50:01 UTC

1 Stuffing

Freezing winters always brought lots of business for Rarity. Year after year, ponies local and from out of town would go to Carousel Boutique to buy some winter clothes, and Rarity had pieced together thousands of quality coats, scarves, and hats. Her latest one was for her little sister, who’d outgrown her previous coat.

“How come you’re not using pegasus feather stuffing this time?” asked Sweetie Belle as she was being measured.

“Come to find out, it increases static,” replied Rarity. “And in dry winter air, that can cause troub-- Opal! Away from the door!”

Whenever an unfamiliar customer entered the store, Opalescence would treat them like prey.

“I’m awfully sorry,” Rarity dashed to the entrance to shoo her cat away.

“Meh, it’s fine,” shrugged Sun Shower from underneath her staticy beehive of hair.

“You can’t blame her,” chuckled Sweetie Belle.

“Now, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity was getting embarrassed. “I just told you about dry air, didn’t I?”

“Can I get a hat or something?” asked Sun Shower casually.

“Oh, certainly. You can choose from a range of toques on that rack over there, or I could darn you a custom one.”

“Did you just say darn me?” asked Sun Shower.

Opalescence was comparably more chummy with familiar ponies… comparably. She didn’t so much greet familiar faces as give loud warnings as if to say “Oh, great! It’s him again!”

“What’s Opal whining about now?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“I swear, that cat is going to bring down this boutique one day,” groaned Rarity as she shuffled to the window Opalescence was meowing at.

“You’ll still have your Canterlot one,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Oh! Fancy Pants is outside,” Rarity looked out the window. “And his coat is in tatters!”

This wasn’t quite the case. It only had two small rips in it, and it was enough to make Rarity come bursting out of Carousel Boutique. Fancy Pants turned around at the sound of the door slamming open.

“Ah! Good day, Rarity!” he smiled. “I’ve just popped into town for lunch with Mr Filthy.”

“Surely you’ll allow me to repair your mangled coat, sir,” said Rarity. “Or better yet, replace it entirely.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly replace this coat,” Fancy Pants shook his head. “Don’t you remember, Rarity? You tailored this coat for me as a present.”

Rarity blinked and looked at the coat again.

“Oh. Yes, I remember now,” she breathed.

“I couldn’t do away with this lovely gift from you, my dear,” chuckled Fancy Pants. “I believe I shall take you up on your first offer. I’ll drop into your boutique in an hour and you can sew up the rips.”

Rarity re-entered her boutique with a warm feeling despite the low temperature outside. It was gratifying that Fancy Pants wanted to hold onto the coat she made for him.

“I picked a hat,” Sun Shower said, sporting a toque.

“Oh, splendid,” said Rarity. “That’ll be four bits, please.”

“Alright. Guess I can get rid of my old one, now.”

After Sun Shower paid and left, Rarity finished fitting Sweetie Belle for her new winter coat. As promised, Fancy Pants arrived later, and Rarity sewed up the rips in his old coat. While she was at it, an orange feather popped out. She was tempted to suggest that Fancy buy a replacement again, but given that he didn’t seem to have a static problem and that he was unwilling to discard the garment she gifted to him, she held her silence and finished the job.

“Should you ever need a patch job again,” she told Fancy Pants, “I have a boutique in Canterlot as well. I’m there once a week.”

“Thanks muchly,” Fancy Pants paid for the repairs and departed.

Gradually, Rarity began to wonder what was becoming of all the clothing she’d made and sold over the years. To her recollection, the only ones she didn’t enjoy making were the revised Gala dressed for her friends, and the hundred Princess Dresses. She had fond memories of nearly every other product; even the ones that were last minute jobs. And if most of her customers treated their old purchases the way Sun Shower suggested she would treat her old hat, then that meant many of her creations were either collecting dust in a dark closet, or on a filthy landfill. It was a sad thought. The outfits Rarity had made for herself over the years were all on hangers in a well-lit room. She never considered that so few ponies didn’t do the same.

“Sweetie Belle,” Rarity asked one afternoon when her sister returned from school, “might I ask what you did with your old winter coat?”

“Uh, I think I left it in my closet,” replied Sweetie Belle. “Should we get rid of it? My new one’s great.”

Rarity frowned. “I’ll never forget the day I made that coat for you. You were younger and less patient. You had a harder time keeping still than Rainbow Dash.”

Sweetie was surprised to see that this was a fond memory for Rarity, judging by her glazed smile. She remembered her scowling during the entire process.

“I wouldn’t say you should keep it in your regular rotation or anything,” Rarity continued, “but I don’t want it destroyed either.”

They heard Opalescence screeching upstairs.

“Oh, what is that cat whining about now?” groaned Rarity.

She sprinted upstairs, following the sounds of Opal’s insane yelling.

“Sweetie Belle’s room? What could be offending her in there?”

Rarity entered her sister bedroom and was hit in the face by pegasus feathers of many colours. And then she realised that one of her greatest concerns had come to pass. There was a savage-looking Opalescence standing atop Sweetie Belle’s old winter coat, which was shredded beyond recognition. Now it was Rarity’s turn to screech like a maniac.

“What is it?!” cried Sweetie Belle as she skidded into her room.

Rarity roughly magiced Opalescence out the door.

“I should have just taken your coat without your permission!” growled Rarity. “It’s gonna take me days to repair this!”

“Um, do you really think you can fix it?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Rarity knew in her heart that it wasn’t possible. Opalescence’s brutal attack had completely decimated that coat. But by Celestia, she was going to try.

It looked like Opalescence would now be an outdoor cat. Rarity wouldn’t allow her back into the boutique for two days while she was trying in vain to restore Sweetie Belle’s old winter coat to its former glory. She wasn’t bothering to use patches, and she collected every single feather in Sweetie Belle’s room rather than go around collecting new ones. She wanted to retain as much of the original material as possible, the result being that it looked no better stitched together than in tatters on the bedroom floor. Rarity worked on it all day; in fact, when Sweetie Belle returned home from school that day, she was surprised to find the CLOSED sign in the window.

“Rarity, have you not worked today?” she asked, making sure to block the doorway as she entered so the cat couldn’t come back in.

“Oh, I’ve been working alright,” said Rarity.

“I mean have you let any customers in.”

“Uh, no, I took the day off to repair your coat,” admitted Rarity.

“Rarity, I don’t need that coat. My new one’s fine,” said Sweetie.

“Then I’ll just keep it with my out-dated seldom-worn clothes once it’s finished,” replied Rarity.

The next morning, Sweetie Belle clambered down the stairs and was surprised to find Rarity asleep on the floor next to the mannequin the wrecked coat was hanging off of. She was using some of the feathers from the stuffing as a pillow.

“Rarity!”

Rarity jumped up five feet into the air.

“What?! What is it?”

Before Sweetie Belle could voice her concerns, there was a faint buzzing noise.

“Oh! I’m being summoned!” Rarity looked at her glowing cutie mark. “Thanks for waking me, Sweetie.”

Sweetie Belle couldn’t get a word in as Rarity bolted out the front door, scattering feathers all over the place and stepping in Opal’s food dish along the way. She returned twenty minutes later carrying a scroll.

“The Map has called me to Canterlot,” she announced happily. “Seems I’ll have to make my weekly trip to the Boutique early.”

“Well, that’s convenient,” said Sweetie Belle. “You get to go to a classy town again, and you don’t have to get a hotel or anything.”

“Yes, I suppose I am rather fortunate,” grinned Rarity. “Anyway, I believe I promised to bring you along to meet Sassy Saddles one day.”

“Ooh! Great!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“Now then, all I have to do before we leave is hide every garment in the building,” said Rarity. “I don’t want to leave Opal outside the entire time I’m away. … Well, what I mean is I shouldn’t.”

During the train ride to Canterlot, Rarity discussed her plan with Sweetie Belle to leave her with Sassy Saddles and try to locate the friendship problem. Sweetie Belle requested an amendment to this plan. During Twilight Time one day, Twilight told her that she told her Canterlot friend Moondancer about her, and that is she was in town, she should take some magic lessons from her. The sisters decided to play it by ear. There was a delay at the station as the Canterlot weather team office made a miscalculation the previous night and there was more snow than intended all over town.

“I’ll bet your manager’s had a lotta ponies buying winter coats,” said Sweetie Belle along the way to Canterlot Boutique.

“Ah! Good to see you again!” Fancy Pants spotted Rarity down the street and ran to greet her. “I decided I would like to buy a new coat. I take it you’re on your way to your second boutique?”

“Uh, that’s right,” said Rarity. “But… the one you have?”

Sweetie Belle interrupted with an observation. “It’s got a rip. Don’t your posh friends make fun of you for wearing that?”

Rarity nudged her, but Fancy Pants just chuckled.

“I get the odd snidey remark, but nothing malicious. To answer your question, Rarity,” he replied, “there shall always be room in my estate for a generous gift such as this.”

But Rarity didn’t like the idea of the coat being stowed away.

“Do you have any pets?”

While Rarity measured Fancy Pants, Sweetie Belle got acquainted with Sassy.

“So you’re the lovable nuisance I’ve heard so much about.”

“Did she really call me that?”

“Yeah, but she’s still glad she hired you.”

Rarity made a deal with Fancy Pants to showcase his old winter coat as a display model in exchange for the new one.

“It’s a little out-dated, isn’t it?” asked Sassy.

“I think I can make it work again,” replied Rarity. “Once I sew up that fresh cut, it’ll look perfectly presentable.”

“If you say so,” said Sassy. “But might I see your fresh designs before you do that?”

But Rarity was already magicing her sewing gear out of the back room.

“Never mind,” said Sassy. “It can wait.”

“I could show you them,” suggested Sweetie Belle.

Rarity was focused on repairing the hole in the old coat and did not object. As Sweetie Belle walked to the trolley Rarity brought to Canterlot and began to remove the tarpaulin, another customer walked in.

“Hello, Moondancer! Lovely to see you again,” smiled Sassy.

“Hi Sassy,” said Moondancer. “I’d like to buy a new winter jacket. This sweater I bought from here last winter got a bit stretched.”

“Might I interest you in a similar coat to this?” Rarity interjected, pointing to Fancy Pants’ old coat.

Moondancer wasn’t impressed. “It’s a lot bigger than the one I’ve got.”

“Well, obviously I can tailor it to fit you,” said Rarity. “And you can most certainly choose a colour that isn’t so flashy as your current winter apparel.”

“Or maybe you’d like a fresh new design?” Sweetie Belle removed the tarpaulin from the trolley.

“Oh, I like that one,” Moondancer’s face brightened at one of the new jackets.

Rarity glared at Sweetie Bell. “Well, perhaps you weren’t taken with a design like this, but I don’t see anything wrong with the one you’re wearing.”

“You just said it’s got a flashy colour,” Moondancer raised an eyebrow.

Rarity’s eyes were now fixed on Moondancer’s winter sweater. She could well remember the day she made it. She’d set herself a production record when she’d put it together, and she was still quite proud of it; even though she’d beaten it twice since then.

“Surely you don’t agree with me about the colour?” insisted Rarity.

“Well…”

Rarity broke a sweat. “Have you asked any of your friends if they’d like it?”

“I asked Twinkleshine while we were sorting through some things in my basement,” said Moondancer, “and she wasn’t…”

The word basement made Rarity twitch a bit.

“Are you OK, Rarity?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Yes, thank you,” Rarity straightened up. “You want a new sweater? You got it. Take your pick.”

She pointed to the coat Moondancer had her eye on.

“Um, these are just display models,” said Sassy. “You’ll…”

“And I would like to offer you a deal,” Rarity interrupted as Moondancer magiced her pick off the coat hanger. “I’ll trade you rather than charge you.”

“You mean you want this sweater?” asked Moondancer. “Why?”

“Would you rather pay money for your new coat? If you don’t want it the one you have, somepony else might,” said Rarity.

“OK,” shrugged Moondancer. “It’s a deal.”

Sweetie Belle confided in Sassy Saddles about Rarity’s recent concern for all the outfits she’d previously made while Rarity and Moondancer made their trade.

“She doesn’t like thinking about all the clothes she’s made stored away after she makes new ones,” she told her. “She tried to fix my old coat that her cat wrecked. She might as well have tried sewing together strips of toilet paper.”

Moondancer approached her, wearing her new sweater. “You’re Sweetie Belle, right?”

“Yes.”

“Twilight Sparkle told me you take magic lessons with her,” said Moondancer. “I thought perhaps I could teach you some spells as well.”

After a half-hearted OK from Rarity, Sweetie Belle accompanied Moondancer out of the store. Sassy quietly assured her that she’d try and relieve Rarity’s fixation on her past creations. But she would soon find this very challenging.

Author's Note

Inspired by a nightmare I had. The difference between this and that is the level of support for the artist. I wanted this story to end on a high note.

2 A Whole Day Behind

Cayenne ambled in. “Great. The new merch is in.”

She was glad to see that there was some formal wear among the new winter clothes.

“My brother’s birthday’s coming up,” she told Rarity and Sassy. “Need something elegant.”

“Oh surely you can wear one of the gowns you’ve already bought from here,” said Rarity.

“That’s not what I do,” retorted Cayenne. “I never wear the same dress twice.”

“Then what do you do with them all?” demanded Rarity.

“I…”

“Don’t answer that,” Rarity looked away.

“I’m sure it’s nothing bad,” said Sassy. “Surely you don’t throw them away.”

“No,” said Cayenne. “They just kinda…”

“Perhaps you trade them with your sisters?” suggested Sassy.

“I only have a brother. And dresses aren’t his thing.”

“Well, I’ll tell you what,” said Rarity. “If you bring one of your old dresses here and return it, I’ll let you have a new one for free.”

“Tunics and turtlenecks, Rarity!” cried Sassy. “Since when did we adopt a trade system?!”

Cayenne was delighted to agree, and left at once to fetch one of the dresses she’d previously bought. Sassy hoped that she would return her Princess Dress; that might deter Rarity from trading for a new one. But Cayenne came back with a different one, and Rarity gladly accepted it.

When Donut Joe arrived later that day, it was the same story. Rarity got the impression that everything he bought from the boutique before was either collecting dust or mould, so she offered to trade him a new for an old garment. Word soon spread that Rarity wasn’t charging money for new clothes. Sassy was unnerved to see ponies lining up carrying suits, dresses, and other garments that would soon wind up back where they started. And to make matters worse, some ponies were willing to trade for clothing that was brought in that very day. Ponies who missed out on or couldn’t afford particular articles of clothing asked Rarity if they could trade for it, and Rarity approved all of them. It made her even happier that dresses she made a while ago would still be worn. By the end of the day, Canterlot Boutique had well and truly adopted an exchange system, and the only income came from a few customers that morning before Rarity arrived. Sassy was anxiously recording the accounts and trying to think of something to say to make Rarity abandon this unprofitable practise. Nothing she tried during the day had worked. She flipped a page in her account book.

“Hi, Miss Saddles.”

Sassy jumped. She’d never heard of Haycarte’s Method.

“I have a message for Rarity,” said Moondancer. “Her sister’s going to spend the night with me. I better go now. I haven’t gotten enough practise for a long--”

Moondancer’s inky outline faded away.

“Wait!” cried Sassy.

It was no use. Moondancer had disappeared from Sassy’s expense accounts.

“No dress left behind,” Rarity smiled the next morning. “No frock forgotten. No gown discarded. No suit tossed away. A perfect rotation of clothes.”

“If you keep this up, there’ll be no place for this rotation to happen!” cried Sassy. “Rarity, if you don’t start charging money for our merchandise, this boutique will crumble and fall!”

“It’s always profits with you, isn’t it, Sassy?” groaned Rarity.

“One of us has to be thinking about the money,” said Sassy.

“If we take money instead of previously owned dresses, every work of art that I’ve sewn with my own two hooves will rot away forever!”

“You don’t use your hooves, you use your horn,” retorted Sassy. “Rarity, please. You’re always telling me you’re fashion forward, not fashion backward.”

It was no use. Two ponies entered the shop, each holding a dress Rarity recognised.

“I made this one the day Twilight came to Canterlot to rehearse her speech at Princess Celestia’s school!” she beamed. “And this one the day she ran to the alternate world and met her double!”

Sassy Saddles might have started ripping her hair out if Moondancer and Sweetie Belle hadn’t arrived.

“I need your help!” pleaded Sassy. “Rarity’s stopped charging money for dresses. Ponies are returning old dresses in exchange for new ones!”

“Oh, no! I should have known this would happen,” groaned Sweetie Belle.

She ran to Rarity’s side.

“Rarity, have you even started your mission yet?”

“It’s well underway,” replied Rarity happily. “Operation Regular Rotation is a resounding success.”

“What about Operation Find the Friendship Problem in Canterlot?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Rarity gaped. “I forgot!”

“You forgot.”

“My mission! The reason I came early in the first place!”

Moondancer looked around. “Everypony looks pretty happy. Whatever the problem is, you might have helped it with your free--”

Sassy shoved a toque in Moondancer’s mouth.

“I can’t have helped anything,” Rarity frowned. “I’d have felt my cutie mark give me an indication of a job done.”

She looked around at the many familiar clothes in the showroom.

“Come on, Rarity,” said Sweetie Belle. “Let Sassy run the boutique while you do your duty. I’ll come and help you.”

Moondancer spat the toque out. “I’ll come too if you like.”

“Very well,” Rarity nodded.

Moondancer was right. There appeared to be no problems in Canterlot. There certainly were ponies about whose day was brightened by not having to pay for a new dress. As they walked about, they would say hello to strangers. Not one Canterlot resident gave them a nasty reply or completely ignored them. Up and down the streets Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Moondancer walked. It quickly became clear that the problem the Map detected would not be easy to pinpoint, and Rarity was already a day behind. Sweetie Belle and Moondancer became concerned that Rarity might do a runner back to her boutique. They’d been letting her lead the way, but she kept bringing them up and down a particular neighbourhood.

“Why don’t we split up?” suggest Moondancer.

“Sure,” agreed Sweetie Belle.

Rarity nodded and walked away; in the very direction Moondancer and Sweetie Belle suspected she would go; towards Canterlot Boutique.

“I’ll follow her,” Sweetie Belle said to Moondancer.

Sweetie Belle saw Rarity slow down halfway down the street and thought she might turn back around. She hid behind a tree and watched as Rarity turned her head towards one of the houses.

“Am I wrong, or is that house’s roof a tad low sung compared to the others on this street?” Sweetie Belle heard her sister say.

Small details, she thought.

Rarity stood there for a minute before carrying on. Unfortunately, Sweetie Belle had been trying to go unnoticed for so long that she didn’t see Rarity leave the area.

“Oh, no! Where’d she go?”

She tried to follow Rarity’s hoof prints in the snow, which had not changed its state at all since yesterday morning. There were an awful lot of hoof prints on the street, but Sweetie Belle managed to follow Rarity’s trail.

Sure enough, Sweetie Belle found herself nearing Canterlot Boutique. Fortunately, she caught up to Rarity before they reached it.

“Hey Rarity!”

Rarity jolted. “Sweetie Belle! I-I wasn’t going back…!”

“I thought you’d like to know what Moondancer tried to teach me last night,” Sweetie Belle interrupted.

“Oh. I never did ask,” said Rarity.

“She showed me the gem finding spell,” said Sweetie Belle. “She didn’t know it was your specialty, but she thought…”

“My gem finding spell!” exclaimed Rarity. “That’s what that was!”

“Huh?”

“Something about that house caught my attention,” said Rarity. “I thought I felt my horn twinge. Perhaps we ought to investigate further. There might be something to that house.”

Sweetie Belle hadn’t expected this. She lied when she said the spell Moondancer attempted to teach her was the same spell Rarity was gifted with. She merely wanted to distract her. She followed on as Rarity ran back to the street they’d covered the most on their quest for the Canterlot friendship problem.

Sweetie Belle didn’t find the house very interesting compared to the others on that street, but because she was shorter than Rarity, she couldn’t tell as well that there was a distinct dip in the roof.

“Yes! There’s a gemstone buried in that house,” Rarity’s horn glowed as she stepped onto the walkway to the front door. “It’s not just coal. A full-blown jewel.”

“OK, but are you saying you want to go in?” asked Sweetie Belle. “I’ll bet your horn detected gems in lots of houses throughout your life.”

“No, Sweetie,” said Rarity. “My spell doesn’t sense gems hidden in drawers or stowed in chests. It only detects gems buried in dirt, or styrofoam, or tarpaulins, or snow. I’ll wager that that roof gave way and snow fell into the attic and buried a jewel.”

She approached the front door, flanked by Sweetie Belle. She knocked on the door… several times.

“Maybe the ponies who live here went on holiday and some smugglers are using their house to hide stolen goods,” suggested Sweetie Belle as Rarity continued to knock. “And if any of the homeowners’ friends found the loot in their house, they’d think they were thieves.”

“It’s possible,” said Rarity. “But if the homeowners’ friends saw the roof was lopsided, they might have done some investigating themselves, wouldn’t they?”

“I guess so,” agreed Sweetie Belle.

Rarity knocked once more and pressed her ear against the door.

“I hear something in there. Like… someone’s knocking back. If there is somepony in there, they can’t get to the door.”

She tried the door knob. The door wasn’t locked, but it was difficult to open. A paper-thin sheet of ice broke between the door and the jam as Rarity forced her way in.

“Ooh! It’s freezing in here,” she shivered.

“Help!”

“Up there!”

Rarity and Sweetie Belle quickly located the stairs and climbed to the top landing. There were small piles of snow all over the floor. A ladder extended up to a ceiling door. Rarity and Sweetie Belle ascended into the attic.

“Goodness gracious!” exclaimed Rarity.

She had been right. The roof had given way and dumped lots of snow into the attic. And it must have buried a jewel or tow, because this attic was full of gemstones; one of each type attached to a chandelier, which was lying on the floor half-buried. And there was more in this attic that was half-buried; an earth mare pinned beneath a wooden beam lay sprawled and shaking.

With no hesitation and great effort, Rarity and Sweetie Belle managed to dislodge the trapped mare.

“Sweetie Belle, go and fetch a blanket,” said Rarity, still pulling their find clear of the damage. “This poor dear’s frozen stiff.”

Sweetie Belle did so.

“Th-thank you,” shivered the mare. “I’ve b-been s-stuck there f-for two d-days.”

“How dreadful,” said Rarity. “What is your name?”

“D-Driblet.”

“I’m Rarity. And this is my sister Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie Belle returned with a blanket she found on a couch.

“It’s kinda cold,” she said as Rarity wrapped it around Driblet. “Everything in this house is cold.”

Driblet’s smile told her it didn’t matter.

“N-no one would have f-found me for a week if it hadn’t b-been for you t-two,” she groaned.

“Why on earth not?!” cried Rarity.

“I was t-taking my week off f-from work,” shivered Driblet.

“So, I was partially right,” shrugged Sweetie Belle. “You’re on holiday?”

“Uh, huh. If I d-don’t show up at work on S-Sunday, I’m sure they w-would have n-noticed,” Driblet didn’t look entirely certain. “Nop-pony else would have c-come here. I don’t any room-mates, any family, any friends…”

A light went on in Rarity’s head. And one went on on it as well. She still hadn’t found the gemstones buried in the snow, but she wasn’t bothered with them.

“So nopony would have wondered where you disappeared to because you don’t know anypony outside of work?” she asked.

“Uh, huh. I’ll bet th-they haven’t even noticed th-that I l-left work,” Driblet began to sob. “They wouldn’t have th-thought to l-look f-for me.”

“Come. We shall treat you to hot chocolate and sandwiches at the tea shop,” Rarity offered, lifting Driblet to her hooves.

It was a long journey, but at last, the very grateful Driblet had her first meal in over two days.

“I grew up with parents who wanted me to take over the family business, but I didn’t want to. So I left as soon as I turned 18,” she said between mouthfuls. “I like doing things at my own pace. All I wanted was a simple job so I can have room and board, and set money aside for unexpected problems. That way I can enjoy my hobby with no interference.”

“And your hobby’s collecting and cutting gemstones?” said Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah. It’s all I spend my free time doing. So, how did you know I was in trouble?” asked Driblet.

“Well, to be honest, we weren’t entirely sure,” said Rarity. “I was simply sent by the enchanted map in Princess Twilight Sparkle’s castle in Ponyville to find and solve a friendship problem in Ponyville. And I can safely say I’ve found it.”

“I guess you have,” nodded Driblet. “I don’t have any friends, so there’s nopony there to look out for me.”

“And with no one to keep tabs on you, no one can help you if you’re in danger,” said Sweetie Belle.

Something caught Driblet’s eye. Rarity and Sweetie turned their heads.

“Oh. Moondancer.”

Moondancer had heard everything. She was stunned.

“That… that could have been me,” she breathed.

“Bouncing belt loops!” Sassy Saddles exclaimed after Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Moondancer returned to the boutique and told her what they discovered. “You were so concerned about all those clothes you made rotting away in a dark, dirty attic, when all the while there was a pony in town doing just that.”

“Hey, my attic isn’t dirty,” objected Driblet, sporting a new jacket in the showroom. “It’s snowy if anything.”

“No charge,” insisted Rarity.

“Thank you, Rarity,” smiled Driblet. “And don’t worry about my roof, girls. I can easily afford the repairs. If you’d like a gemstone from my collection, take your pick. All of you.”

“That’s nice of you,” said Moondancer. “You’re not like I used to be. I’ll bet your co-workers would have been concerned about you if you didn’t return after your holiday.”

Driblet frowned. “I still doubt it. But I swear I’ll change that. I’ve been keeping quiet around them and ignoring them on the job the whole time I worked there. Well, no more. I am going to give friendship a chance.”

“I’d say you’ve made a good start,” said Rarity, her cutie mark glowing.

“Yay! Your mission’s complete!” beamed Sweetie Belle.

“I couldn’t have managed without you, little sister,” Rarity pulled Sweetie Belle into a hug. “Thanks for reminding me what I had to do. I’m not worried about my old work being forgotten any more. Rescuing Driblet from her attic is far better than any dress. And Sassy, her jacket will be the last giveaway, I promise. I shall start charging money for our merchandise again.”

“Wonderful,” smiled Sassy.

Author's Note

This was the last story of this lot that I wrote a beat sheet for. And I was in a bad mood at the time, so when I came back to it, I laughed my head off.