A Renowned Reputation

Chapters

Ch. 2 The First Encounter
Ch. 3 On The Road to Manehattan
Ch. 4 A Very Busy Night
Ch. 5 The Lines Begin to Blur
Ch. 6 Hurt
Ch. 7 Behind Two Worlds
Ch. 8 Confrontation
Ch.1 The Deal

Ch. 2 The First Encounter

“Ready?” Shouted Rainbow. “One, two, three!"

Rainbow Dash jumped off the top of the building performing a beautifully executed dive bomb. She shot into the air and disappeared into the sunlight. A small crowd of ponies stood beneath, mesmerized by the skilled pegasi. Ponyville was having another beautiful spring day, and everyone was outside taking the most of the weather. Rarity was walking along the masses trying to clear the way for her large shipment of materials that she had just recently picked up from Manehattan. Her mind was bolting in every which direction, trying to plan the next few months for her developing boutique. She was fresh out of the Manehattan Fashion Institute and ready to face the world. But, the world seemed way to fast. The young filly was overwhelmed with the speed everyone moved. Her mind started racing as she was trying to gain her ground, but she couldn’t. She had to rest.

She was in the midst of Ponyvile, but she was able to escape and reach some “breathing” space on the Ponyville bridge. She peered deeply into the crystal water and the reflection it gave. Admiring the reflection, Rarity began to move her way down to the waterfront. The reflection was beautiful. It was as if she was standing on the edge of the world. Perfect symmetry filled her heart with harmony. It was peaceful here. The harmonious singing of birds caressed the air as Rarity slowly let her vision rise from the water to across the river. A built unicorn made his way through the crowds of ponies, directing his attention towards Rarity’s large carriage of materials. He then saw the filly gazing through him, which greatly flattered him. She had never seen a colt like him before. Tall, strong and well chiseled. His mane was flowing down the back of his neck cascading a beautiful ruby color against a gentle and warm white fur. His tail was that of a certain length that demanded elegance, and suited well with his cutie mark, a simple beamed eighth note. But his eyes, his eyes were the most mesmerizing for Rarity. Never had she looked so deep into someones eyes and seen both strong but gentle nature. This colt was special, and she knew it.

“Excuse me, miss?” the colt said. “I was told that I could find you here.”

“Wha-what?” Rarity said, snapping out of her daze. “What to heavens do you mean?”

“Well, Hooves Storage and Moving told me that there was a new filly in town that needed some help relocating her merchandise,” the colt said gently. “I’m here to offer you my services... that is if you want them.”

“Oh my stars, thank you!” Rarity said in a beaming manner. “The carriage is right up here, Mister...” Rarity was cut off. She looked frantically to find a way to identify the colt. She quickly spotted a name-tag, Mr. Cleft. “Mister Cleft,” she finished.

“Mister Cleft,” the colt laughed. “Please, call me Prestige, Mister Cleft is my father.”

“Well then, Prestige it is!” Rarity said with zest. “I will show you the way to Carousel Boutique.”

Prestige strolled his way over to the carriage that Rarity had been struggling to pull earlier. He latched himself in, and with great ease, pulled the vessel along. He noticed Rarity admiring his raw power, but each time he made eye contact with her, she would turn her head back and slightly blush.

“I’m sorry, where are my manners,” Prestige said, “here I’ve been helping you out, and I never got your name.”

“It’s Rarity,” she giggled.

“Well then, Rarity,” Prestige said, “What brings you to Ponyville? As I understand it, you moved here from Manehattan?”

“I can hardly say I’m from Manehattan. The Manehattan Fashion Institute might as well have been in Ponyville, it was that far out of the city,” Rarity began. “If anything, I would have to tell you that I am originally from Fillydelphia.”

“Fillydelphia, ha!” the big colt laughed. A shocked look came over Rarity.

“Oh,” he said, “no I didn’t mean to make it seem like I was mocking you. I have a cousin that lives there. Needless to say, he’s the black pony of the family.” Prestige continued to laugh.

“Well, it’s good to see someone being entertained with the idea of Fillydelphia,” Rarity said, “I mean, they do make a good cream cheese.”

Prestige gave her a puzzled look. Rarity gave him a wide-grinned smile which caused Prestige to chuckle.

“Cream cheese, really?” She thought to herself. Her cheeks began to blush as she came to terms with her silly remark.

The two of them slowly made their way to Carousel Boutique as Rarity still held back from the rather charming stranger. She never felt such a raw connection to another pony than what she felt with him. There was definitely something to this radiant colt. Rarity started to regain her courage to talk to Prestige again, but moments before she started, they had reached the boutique.

“Well, Ms. Rarity,” Prestige said, “I believe this is your stop.”

“Why, yes.” Rarity stuttered, “yes, it is.”

Prestige helped unload the carriage for Rarity. He knew that the young filly would be very grateful with his help. She had obviously been traveling all day and was tired of all the commotion and stress. He thought he’d give her a helping hand. But it only proved to be more stressful for Rarity. She was trying to keep calm, but Prestige couldn’t seem to understand where to put most of her materials. Yet, she was thankful that the big colt was helping her. She was new to the town, and was beginning to like it already.

“That should be everything,” Prestige said with a satisfied look.

“Yeah...” Rarity said with a slight bit on her lip. She was looking at how unorganized her boutique was. “...That should be everything.”

“I have to be going now, Ma’am,” the colt said, “but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.” He tucked his head into one of the many boxes and scribbled his number onto a piece of paper.

“Actually...” Rarity began. “My sister, Sweetie Belle, shouldn’t be moving in for another month or so... and with me being new and all...” she trailed off.

“You want me to show you around the town and such, right?” Prestige replied.

“Yes!” Rarity said with a sigh of relief.

“Alrighty then,” the colt said. “Give me an hour to go sign out at work, and I’ll come by later, okay?”

“That sounds...” Rarity paused, “perfect.”

Prestige walked towards the front door of the boutique, turned back to look at Rarity, and threw her a big smile. After the tall colt had left, Rarity quickly rushed over to her couch and collapsed in sheer exhaustion. “What a day” she was thinking. There had been a lot of commotion on her travel here, but she finally had made it. And she knew that her day was going to be a little bit brighter with that little hint of ruby.

***

After lying on the couch for a while, her body fully relaxed and allowed her to doze off for a while. In her light sleep, she couldn't stop thinking about the ruby-maned unicorn. All she could keep thinking about was how they first met. The mirroring waters perfectly reflected the sky, almost resembling heaven. Then, in the far distance, where dreams met reality, the strong colt emerged from horizon. He seemed like a god-send, one that she was not worthy to court. Almost at the same time, a loud knocking noise erupted her dream.

She darted her body up off the couch. It was only a dream, she thought.

“I really am getting ahead of myself,” she muttered to herself. “Courting him? Have I lost all sanity? I just met him!” She couldn’t help but chuckle at her dream, but in contrast, it was quite... real to her.

Another loud knocking noise came, it came from the front door.

“Just a minute!” Rarity blurted out. She rushed around the boutique, everything still a mess. “I... just need to freshen up!” She shouted to the door.

“Can I at least come in?” Prestige said muffled through the door. “Or should I just wait out here with the birds?”

Silence followed afterwards. Prestige stood in front of the door, patiently waiting. He could hear Rarity galloping around inside, and he could tell that she was nervous around him. He calmly waited with a slight smirk across his face. His mind raced through everything he wanted to show the ecstatic unicorn. A warm feeling filled Prestige’s body, spreading from the pit of his stomach, all the way up to his cheeks.

Rarity was rushing around inside working with extreme effort to make herself presentable to Prestige. A powerful thudding was ringing in her ears, her body became warm, and a single bead of sweat began to form on the top of her forehead. She felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach, but it was followed by a soothing warm feeling which rushed its way into her face, tingling at the very edge of her ears.

Prestige approached the door to make his way inside, just when Rarity opened it. They both bumped into each other, each giving a slight grunt. Rarity looked up at the built colt to see that he had brushed his mane out, making the ruby hair flow gallantly through the wind. He tossed her a quick smirk, but she dug her head into her shoulder to hide her blushing cheeks. As she turned her head, she revealed a silver-coated butterfly hair clip just above her ear. The sun reflected an iridescent glow, illuminating her face. The flow of her rich purple hair complimented the butterfly, leaving a direct impact upon Prestige. This was something he would remember of Rarity, always.

“Wow...” Prestige simply stated. “You truly look...” he trailed off.

“...Amazing.” He finally finished. There was a pregnant pause as they stared deep into each others eyes. It seemed the world had slowed down, just for them. “Shall we move on?” Prestige said almost at a whisper. Rarity simply nodded. There was no need to talk, everything felt just right.

Throughout the night, Rarity and Prestige finally decided to open up and talk to each other. But Rarity felt more interested in hearing about the unicorn. From what she could gather, Prestige had been in Ponyville no longer than two weeks prior to her arrival. He had originally been from Manehattan, but tried to make a better life out in Ponyville, but things were going slow for him. And hopefully they were going to change, and it looked that way too. Prestige took her to a quaint restaurant overlooking the stream. Princess Celestia had indeed worked hard on tonight’s scenery. The luminous stars and striking moon reflected off the water, covering the world with moonlight. Following dinner, the two unicorns wandered off into the night, not worrying about what lay ahead of them. Because as long as the other was by their side, they feared nothing. Everything was falling into place. They were exactly where they wanted to be.

With each other.

Ch. 3 On The Road to Manehattan

Everything in Carousel Boutique was in a flutter that day. Rarity rushed around her store trying to find her most appropriate attire for the upcoming trip. She would need something for all occasions. She had to be prepared.
“I am going to need cocktail dress,” she muttered to herself, “oh, and not to forget formal dress. Or brunch-wear... or picnic hats... oh my stars, there is simply too much to pack!” She dramatically placed her hoof against her forehead and slumped down on a nearby wicker chair. Her mind was racing around all of the clothes which she kept telling herself she would need. But it wasn’t the clothes that had her attention. It was Prestige. How was Rarity going to be able to be in the same city as him, after how he ended everything with her? But how could she have know that Prestige went back to Manehattan? Where would have he gone? How much has he changed? Would she even bother meeting him? Her head was spinning with questions, and she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to face Manehattan anymore. It was time for Rarity to grow up, she had to move on. Living in the past has only been proven to be more harmful than good.

After what felt like hours of packing, Fluttershy came to the front of the boutique and waited outside for Rarity. She simply had a small flankpack of personal items and accessories with her. Fluttershy timidly approached the door to inform Rarity that she had arrived. After knocking on the door, she opened it up and peering around to hopefully see Rarity. Rarity was lying on the wicker basket with a giant suitcase next to her. She had dozed off. It was humbling to see such a tense pony relaxing. It showed that there was something sensitive to them, but Fluttershy already knew that about Rarity. She was fast asleep.

***
Rarity and Prestige had been seeing each other for over a couple of weeks now. They were on a late-night walk again, enjoying the cool air against their faces. They stopped in the center of town, and waited for a while, but that was fine because everything they did together felt right. Their friendship had been growing more and more, almost erupting. Rarity could feel something more bubbling in her stomach, and it was infatuating, but she couldn’t let it out. She had to let it simmer for a while, it was all new to her.

“Rarity?” Prestige began, “I... want to ask you something.”

She cocked her head up to see Prestige looking deeply into her eyes. His voice dropped into a pause.

“This thought has been brewing in my mind, and I can’t get it out,” Prestige said softly.

“What is it?” Rarity asked.

“It’s you...” he replied.

“M...me?” Rarity said with a sense of shock. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. “What is it?” she asked him nervously.
“We’ve been spending a lot of time with each other...” he started to trail off, “...and I can clearly see that you are looking for something in me.”

“I... I cannot help but express how I feel...” Rarity said. “I’m sorry... if I imposed anything...”

“Imposed?” Prestige said surprised. “My dear, you’ve got it all wrong.”

Rarity cocked head up in confusion.

“I really care about you, Rarity...” Prestige said softly. “I care about you more than anything in the world.”

There was some clamoring which started to disrupt Rarity’s dream. The memory faded pulling Rarity out of her slumber. Her vision shifted from the ruby of Prestige’s mane, to Fluttershy quickly pulling to attention after chasing Opal.

“Oh, I’m so sorry for waking you, Rarity,” Fluttershy stammered, “Opal can be a very difficult cat at times...”

Rarity stared blankly at Fluttershy, still in a daze over her dream. A moment’s confusion rushed over Rarity as she was suffering morning-moment amnesia. After a few seconds she remembered that her and Fluttershy had a train to catch.

“I’m so sorry, my dear,” Rarity apologized. “I must have gotten overwhelmed with packing. You know me, I must have everything!” She chuckled to herself as Fluttershy gave her a humble look. Rarity jumped to attention and grabbed what she could, and shoved it into her suitcase. They had to make up for lost time.

“We can’t keep the train waiting, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, “That wouldn’t be in our best interests.” She smiled through her teeth at Fluttershy. Fluttershy stared right through her. She knew something was bothering Rarity about Manehattan. But, Fluttershy kept quiet and gave Rarity the space she needed... for a while.

***

Rarity and Fluttershy had their own separate compartment from the rest of the train. Sapphire Shores had spent a plenty penny on their compartment, making sure that the two mares had everything they needed, from beverages to salt licks. The top-of-the-line luxury car made it so that the two of the did not need to venture out, leaving everything to relaxation. And it was just right because they had a long ride ahead of them. Fluttershy lightly hovered over to the snack bar and was rummaging through everything to find something delectable that would satisfy her for a while. It seemed wheatgrass tea and celery stock would have to do for now.

Rarity, however, was more focused on the scenery. It seemed they were passing through the desert to get to Manehattan. It was a rather particular route, but it seemed appropriate. The train had to make an exchange at Appleloosa. Her vision was focused outwards. Her mind continued to flutter away, like earlier that morning in the boutique. Prestige flooded over her mind, yet again...

“I... I cannot help but express how I feel...” Rarity said. “I’m sorry... if I imposed anything...”

“Imposed?” Prestige said surprised. “My dear, you’ve got it all wrong.”

Rarity cocked head up in confusion.

“I really care about you, Rarity...” Prestige said softly. “I care about you more than anything in the world.”

Rarity’s expression changed from downcast to radiant. She looked at the colt. The moonlight cast a beautiful light across Prestige’s face, reflecting a hint of ruby onto his white coat. Rarity slowly moved towards Prestige, and she saw he moved closer to her. Under the moonlight, they nuzzled together, not caring of what the other ponies thought of them. They meant the world to each other, and that’s how they wanted it to be. The gurgling of the town’s square fountain was the only noise heard that night. No words were spoken that night, but none were required. They spent the rest of the night together. They were not wandering or searching around like they usually did. They had found each other...

Something in the desert caught Rarity’s eye. It looked like a desert colossus, but the next moment she looked back, it was gone; a mirage. Fluttershy noticed Rarity fidgeting in her seat.

“Sapphire wanted us to be as comfortable as possible,” Fluttershy said. “But... it doesn’t seem like you are.” Rarity looked up to Fluttershy with a hint of distress in her eyes. Fluttershy let out a slight squeal from the intensity of Rarity’s eyes.

“Fluttershy...” Rarity trailed off.

“R-Rarity?” Fluttershy hesitated to ask. “A-are you okay?”

“I was trying not to be obvious, but that seems redundant now...” Rarity whispered. “I really don’t want this to be a problem for me or you... but... I have to share this with someone...”

Fluttershy sat across from Rarity with a very confounded look. But deep down, Fluttershy knew what Rarity had been suffering on for so long.

“The way I’ve been acting... my attitude. It’s because of... him,” Rarity said.

“Prestige?” Fluttershy replied.

“Yes... I thought I had finally gotten over him. But... look how well that’s proven to be...” Rarity said softly.

“But didn’t you leave him?” Fluttershy said confused.

Rarity paused for a moment. How could she have been so foolish to forget. She had an image as a strong mare to protect. She remembered telling everyone in Ponyville that she had kicked Prestige out, that he wasn’t fit enough to be around ponies like them.

“N-no...” Rarity hesitantly said. “That’s not the truth...” she said softly. “There is much to Prestige that I never told you. He wa- we were more than what we wanted ponies to know.”

She could see that she was losing Fluttershy. She had to start over with her. Fluttershy was a great companion, but could be easily confused with too much conflicting information. Rarity finally delved deep into her heart and told her everything that her and Prestige had shared. What they had meant to each other, and how he abandoned her, when everything was finally fitting into place. Rarity spoke for what felt like hours. Fluttershy, as good as a listener as she was, couldn’t help herself when her drowsiness swooped in. She drifted off to sleep, waiting for their voyage to Manehattan to be over. Rarity sighed and made her way over to the chaise lounge. She laid down and closed her eyes.

Before she knew it, the train was pulling into Manehattan. The city noise was enticing, she felt anew. This was her chance at becoming a big shot. A small pony in a big city, ready to make a difference. She tenderly awoke Fluttershy and the two of them made their way off the train. Outside the train station, amongst the crowds of busy ponies, a large carriage was awaiting Rarity and Fluttershy. Two large body guards came out of the carriage to escort Sapphire Shores into the presence of the two mares.

“Welcome Miss Rarity!” Sapphire said with spunk. “I’m glad to see that you and your guest made it out here! Come, come! We have much to see and do!”

Sapphire prompted the two mares into the carriage, departing off to the residence of Sapphire. Rarity was about to begin one of the greatest opportunities of her life. She felt good.

***
No words were spoken that night, but none were required. They spent the rest of the night together. They were not wandering or searching around like they usually did. They had found each other...

Almost no words were spoken that night. As the sun slowly began to creep over the horizon, Prestige looked at a sleeping Rarity, curled up against his side. Her slow breathing was in harmony with his. He couldn’t resist himself anymore. He had to. He leaned in and rubbed his forehead against hers. Her eyes slowly opened to see him gazing deeply into her eyes. Prestige smiled at her, and turned away for a brief moment. When he turned back, he had a necklace around his horn. It was a ruby amulet.

“This is for you... my love,” Prestige whispered. He leaned over her head, letting the amulet drop from his horn to around her neck. She looked down upon the gem to see the premier cut. The ruby matched almost perfectly with his mane. Rarity looked up at him, touched by his affection. She leaned her muzzle against Prestige’s chin. They were both happy.

Ch. 4 A Very Busy Night

The carriage was working its way through downtown Manehattan. Rarity and Fluttershy both stuck their head out of the windows to capture the full vibrancy of the city. In the distance, they could see the Mare of Liberty, overlooking the entire city. Fluttershy was entranced with the beauty of the city. Everything seems so different from what she was used to. The concrete, the skyscrapers, the buzz of the city. Fluttershy liked it. Rarity was more focused on Mane Street. Down there she could see the best designs of the season. Everything from American Pony to Prancing Prada. She had reached her dream, and she was going to make the best of it. But then, something caught her eye. She darted her eyes up to see a billboard that had a unicorn stallion with a red mane posing. Rarity closed her eyes and shook her head to make sure that she wasn’t seeing things. When she looked up though, they had turned the corner and were out of sight of the billboard. Rarity pondered for a few seconds, but then pulled herself together, it was very unlikely that the unicorn was Prestige.

“I swear, honey. If you keep leering out that window you’re gonna give yourself a hernia!” Sapphire said with zest.

“Pardon me, Sapphire. I’m just...” Rarity was looking for her words, “admiring the beauty of such a chic city! I do not understand why I had not moved here sooner!”

“Well be prepared for a blast!” Sapphire said with equal energy. “Tonight we are tearing apart Manehattan. Us three mares will show the Big Apple what we’re capable of!” Sapphire was grinning beyond belief. Rarity looked over at Fluttershy, who threw her a nervous, yet enthusiastic smile. It began to dawn on Rarity that Fluttershy had never been to the city before. Everything was a lot more different than her quiet, suburban upbringing. She gave Fluttershy a comforting look, something that helped ease her anxiety of the night.

The carriage pulled up to a downtown loft around seven or eight, it was difficult to tell the time due to the city lights casting an orange glow across the sky. The mares hopped out of the carriage and proceeded to enter the complex. A doorhoof stood by and helped usher them in. Rarity and Fluttershy walked into a vast and intricate loft. The skyline was beautiful, and as the sun was setting off in the distance, the orange glow of the city, and the ruby shine of the sun made a palette of colors cascade across the heavens.

“Girls! We have a big night planned ahead of us! I need you up and ready in 15 minutes!” Sapphire bellowed. “People to meet, things to do, SO MUCH AT OUR DISPOSAL!” She ended with a harmonious jingle in her voice.

Fluttershy and Rarity looked around again at the amazing room, then flopped onto the couches near the penthouse window. Rarity looked over at Fluttershy, a small bead of sweat had begun to form at the top of Fluttershy’s forehead. She was about to face a new world.

“My dear,” Rarity began to comfort her, “the big city may seem daunting, but it’s nothing to fear. The greatest of possibilities can come from here!”
Fluttershy hovered in response, still very anxious, but she had to conform. They we’re in Manehattan. She shouldn’t let her fear get the best of her. From upstairs, the two mares could hear Sapphire calling them.

“Hurry up, girls! We’re heading out to Le Chez for dinner. Then afterwards... who knows!” Sapphire said with energy.

***

After a slow dinner, Sapphire seemed rather unenthusiastic… for once. She kept checking her watch and making fairly irritated noises. After a while, she simply blurted out,

“Ladies… I think we should call it a night. I am very tired, and I need you two rested for tomorrow.” Sapphire gave Rarity and Fluttershy a stern look. As Sapphire walked away from the two of them, Fluttershy threw Rarity a rather pleased look.

“We sure tore up Manehattan,” she said softly. “I didn’t know partying could be so easy!”

Rarity smirked at Fluttershy for her cute ignorance. She then looked up to see Sapphire walking far ahead of them, having a rather impatient look on her. She didn’t want to keep her client waiting. The three of them ventured quietly back to the penthouse. As they got closer and closer, a low bass thud could be heard throughout the street. Finally when they reached the penthouse building, it was obvious there was a party commencing at someone’s flat. Hopefully it wouldn’t bother Rarity, as she had to start working on Sapphire’s advertising cocktail dress. She had a few ideas running through her mind, but she needed to sleep on them.

The three mares entered the penthouse elevator. They squeezed their way in between several other ponies attempting to get to this party. The elevator had risen several floors, and the bass kept getting louder. As the elevator stopped at Sapphire’s loft, music was seeping out from underneath the doors. Sapphire could be heard giggling from the back of the elevator… then Rarity had caught on. They had been lured out so that Sapphire could get the loft ready.

“You really know how to be devious,” Rarity said in a rather cheeky tone.

“Well, Miss Rarity, where would all the fun be?” Sapphire said in her usual bouncy attitude.

“Wait…” Fluttershy said anxiously, “There’s more?”

Both Rarity and Sapphire chuckled at Fluttershy’s confusion. She had a lot to learn about living the Manehattanite life. The party was packed with socialites, big shots and some of Sapphire’s old friends. Rarity meandered around the party, talking to ponies she admired, and those that she crushed on. The stallions in Manehattan had certain appeal to them that she was very intrigued by. The party was filled with live music, courtesy of Sapphire’s partner the all-famous DJ-Pon3.

“Sapphire,” Rarity exclaimed, “I didn’t know that you were working with DJ-Pon3! Is she going to be needed costume changes? Because I would be more than happy to help with th-“ She got interrupted.

“My dear, I’ve know the DJ for a long time. Back when she was known as Vinyl Scratch. But I wouldn’t worry about her. She doesn’t tend to worry about dressing up and making an appearance.” She then leaned forward and whispered, “which is a little weird for my tastes.” Sapphire winked at her and then gave a deep bellied laugh.

“But don’t you worry about it! Tonight she and her guest will be the entertainment tonight.” Sapphire stated.

“Who’s supposed to be the elusive guest?” Rarity asked.

“His name’s One Trick Pony. You heard of him?” Sapphire returned.

“No... I’m afraid not…” she said with a hint of remorse.

“He’s fairly new to the market, but let me say, the kid’s got talent. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up being a big shot. We’ll see him later tonight.” Sapphire replied.

The party was well furbished, and Fluttershy was finally coming into her own. She had originally hid out by the punchbowl, trying to avoid contact, but after having a couple of cups of punch, she relaxed and began letting loose. Maybe even a little too loose. An Abercombie and Filly model came up to Rarity and warned her that Fluttershy might feel a little sick tomorrow if she keeps up drinking that much punch. Rarity could only remember the first time she cut back, and it made her laugh. A rather mellow, male voice filled the air of the party. It had a great soothing effect, raising the hair on the back of Rarity’s neck. It was comforting, and almost familiar. It took her back to Ponyville, in springtime…

“We’ve been seeing each other for over a month,” Rarity began, “and you still haven’t told me what your cutie mark means.” Rarity said playfully. Prestige and Rarity lay underneath a tree as the sun loomed just above the horizon.

“I’d hope that you’d have some common courtesy to tell me what it means,” she teased him. Prestige smiled at her, then looked down at his flank. He stared at the eighth note and began to collect his words.

“I haven’t really told anypony about my cutie mark, or what it means…” Prestige said. “I’ve never felt comfortable enough to tell anyone.”

They both sat underneath the tree for a while. A heavy pause held in the air as Rarity and Prestige watched the sunset. After about three minutes, Prestige started humming a tune. It started off soft, then began to pick up with bravado. He then began to sing.

“I’ve been searching long,
All across the world a-wide,
And I know that it’d be wrong
That once all was well I would hide.

It seems that love has a way
To pull us through it all
In a way that I won’t stray
To avoid the fall

I am full
I am complete
With you…”

Rarity sat up and looked into Prestige’s eyes. The melody rang through the meadows of Ponyville. The sun had just set, and the air began to cool. But that was okay, because Prestige had opened up to her, opened up to anybody for the first time, about his special talent. He was almost embraced by it.
“That was.... heavenly,” Rarity whispered into the colt’s ear. A big grin shot across his face. She pressed her muzzle against his chin, and listened to him sing for the rest of the night.

“Miss Rarity!” Sapphire shouted from across the room. “Come here and watch this. This stallion’s got lungs on him!”

Rarity came to. Her head was in a spin, she probably had had too much of Sapphire’s punch. She walked over to the kitchen and filled up a glass of water for herself. The DJ put on a soothing trance track, and a male voice came back onto the mic. One Trick Pony definitely had a great voice. She decided to check out this upcoming prodigy. Rarity pushed her way through the crowd, looking for the small stage in which DJ and One Trick were. She was pushing her way up to the front, and that’s when she saw something all too familiar. The ruby-red mane, the build body, the defining unicorn horn, a single eighth note cutie mark. It was Prestige. Rarity stared intensely at the colt. No, he wasn’t a colt anymore, he was a stallion. It was too overwhelming for her. The mix of the punch and the shock became to much, the last thing she remembered were shocked screams and Prestige looking directly at her. Her world went black.

Ch. 5 The Lines Begin to Blur

The sun lifted its heavy body over the horizon. The morning mist slowly began to dissipate, and the morning dew soon began to moisturize the air. Rarity and Prestige were on one of their morning walks. The meadowlarks were singing in the distance. It was perfect for Rarity. After walking to the edge of the Evergreen Forest, they finally returned back to her boutique. Rarity was ecstatic to how well her life had finally turned out. She was beyond happy.

She walked into the kitchen and began to prepare a light lunch for both of them. Something was off with Prestige today, she thought. He had been awfully quiet during the morning walk. Barely making any hit that he was enjoying it.

“Well, the key to any colt’s heart is through his stomach,” she jokingly murmured to herself. She carried a tray with a salad and a teapot. Hopefully this would pick him back up. In the corner of lounge, Rarity saw Prestige skimming through a magazine. She didn’t think much of it at the time, just that he must be having a bad day. Rarity placed the tray in front of him, but he seemed very indifferent to her kindness. He looked at her in the eyes, hesitated to say something, then got up and left the room. That shocked Rarity, but she decided to give him as much space as he needed.

She sat down on the chez-lounge that was next to the coffee table with the magazine. After a few minutes, she decided to flip through the magazine herself. But, then she started to realize that this was not a normal magazine. It was a catalogue, a catalogue of small apartments and lofts.

“…in Manehattan?” she asked herself. “What is he planning?” She sat and thought for a while. Her mind started racing though everything that this could mean.

“Maybe… he’s finding us a place to live in… Oh my stars…” she said astonished. She giddily bounded up to her room and lay down on her bed. All she could do was daydream about what the future could hold for them. What he truly meant to her. She was taken by him.

***
“Rarity?”
“Rarity?”
“Are you okay, sweetie?”

Rarity finally came to her senses now. She was lying on Sapphire’s bed, and she had evacuated the upstairs region of the loft. The music had been lowered, and the crowd was slowly leaving the party.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re alright, hun,” Sapphire said. “You must have had a bit too much to drink. You had me startled like crazy!” Sapphire began to laugh awkwardly.

Rarity sat up and looked around the room. Could that have been Prestige? No… it couldn’t have been… could it? She hung her head low, she was very dizzy.

“Sapphire…” Rarity started, “would you be a dear and get me some water?”

Sapphire nodded and exited the room. Rarity slowly pulled herself to her feet. That was some very powerful punch, she thought to herself. She slowly made her way to the bedroom door, and peered over the railing of the second floor. Fluttershy was curled up on a couch next to the window talking to a rather cute colt. She looked up at Rarity, and threw her a light smile. Fluttershy was having a good night. Her eyes then began to wander around the room to where the DJ was. The music had been set to a playlist rather than live performance, but DJ was over at the kitchen with Sapphire… and so was Prestige.

“NO!” Rarity screamed. Sapphire and DJ turned their heads to see Rarity rush right back into the room. They both darted up to see if she was okay. The DJ slowly crept the door open, and Sapphire walked in.

“Miss Rarity, you need to calm down!” Sapphire blatantly said. “What’s troubling you…”

“T-t-th-the music-c…” Rarity stammered.

“I am SO sorry,” DJ butted in, “sometimes the bass can overpower someponies if they aren’t used to it.”

“No… its not that…” Rarity said, trying to pull herself together. “Its… the other…”

“You mean One Trick?” DJ replied. “I know what you mean, he’s quite some eye candy…”

Rarity dropped her head again. She was almost ashamed to have seen Prestige again. Her heart burned with an emptiness that she hadn’t felt since the day he left. A knocking came from the door, but she kept her head down.

“I’ve brought the water for… the mare…” Prestige said as he saw who needed it. “My… god…” he trailed off.

Rarity pulled her head up. The stallion now stood right in front of her. Everything she loved and feared was standing in front of her, after all these years. She gave him a heartbroken look.

“Rarity…” he exhaled.

The pregnant pause was broken by Sapphire.

“You know this wonderful fashionista?” she blurted out with a grin. No pony replied. Her smile slowly faded as she saw the tension between their stare. There was more to these two then she had previously thought.

Rarity was perched on the edge of the bed, depression flowed through her body. She could barely keep her head held high. After a few seconds that felt like minutes, she stood up.

“How…” she whispered in despise, “how… could… you?” Tears swelled up in her eyes. A knot formed in her throat, and she started to choke on her words. Prestige gave her solemn look, and then ducked his head.

She pushed him aside and trudged out the door. As she walked through the party, many of the guests recognized her and attempted to calm her down. But she wouldn’t have any of it. Shoving guests out of the way, she forced her way out of the loft and into the open. The floor was covered with rain puddles and wet newspaper. Rain was coming down hard now, the streetlights shone a dark orange and illuminated the rain. The cold rain felt like acid on her skin. All she needed to do was keep walking. Escape from the past, a past that she thought would never catch up with her.

The lonely streets of Manehattan paid no remorse to the poor Rarity, but that did not break her. She needed anything to keep her busy. She was frozen to the bones, a million miles from home it felt like. Everything seems cataclysmic. When she hit Seventh Avenue, she was able to indulge herself in something that she could only grasp onto, clothing. The rainy weather rattled the windows, the howl of the wind sounded like a screech from deep within her soul; but those dresses. Those dresses acted as her only support system. She sat down on a bench looking into an Abercombie and Filly store. A beautiful, maroon dress was on display there. It was strikingly familiar to her. It was similar to the Gala dress she made a while back, and it warmed her heart to see something vaguely familiar in a world of confusion. Rarity lay down on the park bench, peering into the store letting her mind wander. The rain had died down by now, and the galling winds had ceased. She was finally at peace, for once during this hectic night. Rarity closed her eyes and fell asleep in downtown Manehattan.

***
Prestige returned back to the boutique around sundown. His eyes were glassy, and his entire body was dirty. Rarity was astonished to notice how disgusting he looked.

“My Lord, where have you been?” she asked worryingly. Prestige store blankly back at her. It looked like he had been crying. His eyes were puffy and barren. He let out a deep sigh and sat down on the couch. Rarity hovered over him staring at him.

“Do you want me to run you a bath?” she asked him softly. He didn’t reply. “I saw the apartment catalogue…” she stated in attempt to lighten the mood. “Vacation plans?”

He jolts his head up and stares deep into her. Prestige had a livid look on him.

“Its nothing!” he shouted. His tone startled Rarity, “LEAVE IT ALONE!” He stood up and started to stare her down. She jumped back in surprise.

“WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?” she yelled. “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WHY ARE YOU SO MESSY?”

A long pause was present. Prestige’s rage started to build and build, but then he saw Rarity. She was trembling. He had never been like this before. His actions were becoming too front.

“I-I’m sorry…” he said in an undertone voice. “I’m… just not myself right now…”

Rarity jumped up to attention and rushed into the kitchen and quickly brewed Prestige a cup of coffee. While in the kitchen, she peered out and saw him shivering on the couch. But, by the time she was done preparing the drink, he had moved his way upstairs.

“Prestige!” she shouted, “Are you okay?”

From upstairs his footsteps stopped. A single phrase was heard from him.

“I’m going to bed…” in the same undertone voice. After a few seconds the footsteps continued, and a loud crash was heard from him flopping on the bed. A loud curse was echoed throughout the boutique, then silence.

Rarity, dazed from what had happened, carried the coffee and went to her study. She sat at her drawing board for about an hour, staring at her designs and drinking the coffee. But she wasn’t really studying her designs. She was worried. Where had he been?

Ch. 6 Hurt

“AHHHHH! MY... HEAD!” Prestige started screaming. “RARITY! RARITY!”

It was the middle of the night. Rarity had fallen asleep in her study again. Prestige had come back home messy and glassy eyed again. It was starting to worry her because he was changing. He was becoming more aggressive and impulsive. One day he came back, and he had a large cut on his ribs. He claimed that he slipped on the riverbank and must have hit a rock. But Rarity knew something wasn’t right anymore. He was always restless in bed, and she couldn’t handle another night of no sleep. Rarity would wait for him to return home, and then sleep in the workshop. It was better that way for now.

“RARITY! PLEASE!” Prestige continued to shout. That final shout woke Rarity up. She was taken by surprise by this. This had never usually happened. Maybe it was her imagination. A loud crash came from the bedroom. Rarity knew that something was seriously wrong. She ran upstairs to see Prestige lying unconscious on the floor. He was sweating and his skin was clammy. His breathing was strained, but consistent. Rarity was becoming spastic. She had no idea what to do with him, other than throw him in a warm bath. The stressful situation was overwhelming for her and knew he needed some form of attention. But, if it was overcoming for her, she couldn’t get Fluttershy to help her. It would be too traumatizing for her. The only other real educated person she could think of was Cheerilee, her sister’s teacher and substitute librarian.

After a stressful hour and a half, Rarity was able to get Cheerilee to come to the boutique.

“Rarity…” she said silently, “why on earth do you need my help at this time?” Cheerilee pranced around boutique, but had a stern look on her face.

“It’s not me, its Prestige,” Rarity replied. Cheerilee stopped prancing. Her face went from stern to worried. “I don’t know what it is, but he woke up screaming, then fainted.” Rarity paused as she choked up over Prestige. “I think he has a fever, he’s burning up, but won’t wake up. I’m really worried about him.”

“Where is he?” she said quickly. Rarity pointed up to the bathroom. Cheerilee nodded her head, and bolted upstairs. Rarity slowly followed. From the bathroom, she could hear Cheerilee sigh, while Prestige made several pained grunts. Rarity watched Prestige thrash back and forth in the tub, and it scared her. She stepped out of the bathroom, and sunk to the floor. Cheerilee followed soon after. She looked into Rarity’s eyes sadly.

“He’s going to be alright. But…” she hesitated, “…but this is something more than just a fever.” Rarity looked up at Cheerilee to see that her expression was now a disappointed stare.

“Rarity, do you know what’s going on in there?” Cheerilee said boldly. Rarity shook her head. “Prestige…” she paused, “…he’s taken something. Something awful…”

***
It was about five in the morning when Rarity started to wake up. She woke up to the sound of talking next to her.

“Ma’am?” the voice said. Rarity peered over her shoulder to see two police officers standing over her. “Ma’am, are you Miss Rarity of Ponyville?” She slowly rose from the bench.

“Yes…” she slowly replied, “is there a problem?”

“Mister Cleft has requested us to escort you back home,” the officer said. His brown complexion accentuated the aviators he was wearing. Rarity could see her reflection in the glasses. Her make-up was smeared and her hair tossed. It had been a rough night.

“No, that’s quite alright,” she retorted, “I’m not going back to Mister Cleft’s house.” She jumped up from the bench and began to turn away.

“What?” said the officer. “No, he gave us strict orders to return you to your place of residence.”

“My…” she paused for a moment. He couldn’t mean Ponyville could he? No, she was not going to give in to his force. “I… live…” Rarity panicked and frantically tried to remember Sapphire Shore’s address. “I live in the Upper Garment District, by Horse Penn Station.” The officer peered over his aviators to look into Rarity’s eyes. He had a slight suspicion of her. Rarity grew the largest smile in order to convince him.

“We need to escort you back to your home. And you know that lying to an officer is considered a crime, Ma’am…” the officer began to say. Rarity took a nervous swallow of air, as sweat began to bead at the back of her neck.

“Well, I’m rather appalled that you do not respect what I say as the truth!” she blurted out in a Manehattanite way. “I am the designer for Sapphire Shores. You have obviously heard of me.” She flicked her matted hair behind her head, revealing her face and smudged make-up.

The officer leaned over to the other and whispered something. He then turned back to look at her again. There was a thickly awkward pause, and Rarity’s anxiety began to grow more and more. Finally they turned around.

“Well, we can obviously see that you are her designer! Look at your sense of style,” the officers mockingly said. Rarity’s dress was wet and discolored. Her hair tangled and obvious old make-up. “To me, Ms. Shores is a new Pony Gaga.” They proceeded to laugh while she gave them a stern look. After a slight pause, the officers agreed to take her back to the Garment district.

Upon returning to Sapphire’s loft, she walked through a completely trashed living room. The snoring of sleeping guests could be heard throughout the loft, while a single movement was heard. Somepony was attempting to clean up, but not to any success. A clamor could be heard from the kitchen, she had to assume it was the same pony cleaning up. Rarity edged her way to the living room where the sound system and the mixing board were located. She slumped down on the couch and tried to fall asleep. Reflecting upon the day’s events, she solemnly stared out the window watching the city waking up. Rustling came from behind the mixing board, which took Rarity by surprise. She slowly lifted herself off and trudged over to see what it was. DJ Pon-3 was fast asleep on the ground. She tried waking the DJ up, yet it failed. The DJ was out cold. Rarity looked around and ended up finding a blanket to cover up the electric artist. Afterwards, she placed her hooves on the turntables and looked at the system. How could somepony play this, she thought to herself. Then she saw the screen monitor, it was still on. She was feeling nosy, and decided to see what was on there. She touched the screen, and the playlist pulled up. It was a promo for the new album DJ Pon-3 was dropping, and a large portion of it was featuring Prestige, One Trick Pony. He finally did it, she thought. He finally was able to make something of his life, at least one of them had. She flipped through the other playlists and started to notice that ever since he had left her, he had been busy. Prestige was living the life he had wanted, or at least thought he wanted. The titles of the tracks were nothing important, or at least irrelevant to Rarity’s interests. It was trivial names; Ponies ‘n Stuff, To Be a Champ, Sabotage. She was about to abandon her quest, until she saw a certain song. It was titled “A Ruby in the Sea of rarity.” She stepped back in awe.

“The Sea of rarity?” she pondered. He couldn’t have written a song about her, could he? And even if Prestige had, would she want to listen to it? He did walk out on her, did he really deserve her time?

A crash came from the kitchen again, snapping Rarity out of her daydream. A murmured voice could be heard cursing them self. Rarity meandered towards the kitchen to figure out what the morning frenzy was all about. She saw a frazzled stallion running back and forth. His ruby mane caught the light of the sun, giving a vibrant shine into Rarity’s eyes. His white coat was covered by a black leather jacket.

“Prestige…” Rarity said. He turned around to see the royal purple unicorn. She stared at him, and he paused everything that he was doing. He had a straw in his mouth, yet she stared right through him. Waiting for him to make his first move. He lowered his head and put the straw down.

“I thought that you had been escorted home.” He blatantly said.

“You do not have the right to force me to leave,” she returned with just as much bitterness. “Besides, I wasn’t the one who hurt you, why should you be in control?”

“Rarity, I-“ he was interrupted.

“Don’t you “Rarity” me! I didn’t come here for you,” she returned violently. “If I had known you were here, I still would have come. I am doing this for me!”

There was a heavy pause between the too of them.

“And that’s exactly why I left,” he replied quietly. She raised her head to see a destroyed Prestige. He kept his head hung low. “Excuse me, I have things to attend to.” The stallion exited the scene, rustling though a satchel that he had brought with him. He pulled a Ziploc bag out of the jacket and threw it into the satchel. Prestige caught eye of Rarity watching him, but did not care about hiding his actions anymore. He caught a look at himself in the mirror and saw a white trail just underneath his nostril. A hard sniff, and a quick wipe of the hoof, and the trail was gone. Prestige then threw a quick smile at himself in the mirror and continued out of the loft. Rarity stood leering at what Prestige was. He hadn’t quit, he couldn’t. Not after what he’s become, a stallion of the masses. Then she thought, what did he mean by “that’s exactly why I left?”

Rarity shrugged off his absurdness and went back to the turntables. She plugged in the headphones and started his track “A Ruby in a Sea of rarity.”

***
Before Prestige had started disappearing unexpectedly, Rarity would always be in charge of what was going on. She always wanted to go on morning walks, have a romantic breakfast overlooking the river, having Prestige model for her male line of clothes. Anything she wanted, he gave it to her. And that’s what he thought she would give him back.

One day, the colts at the moving company were going to go to the racetrack, and they asked if Prestige would join them. He said that he was free that evening. When Rarity found out about his plans, she wouldn’t have it. She had planned a dinner for them at the classiest place in Ponyville. Rarity refused for him to go. The colts tried time and time again to get Prestige to do other things with them; they really enjoyed his company. The problem was that Rarity always had something planned for the two of them. He was starting to become limited with his free time as well. The time he spent practicing his music was filled with him helping Rarity around the shop. Whether it was modeling, construction or repair. He was becoming less of who he was, and more of a shell. He was under complete obedience of Rarity. Prestige felt more and more alienated as the days progressed. So alienated that one day, he needed a break. He had to cave. Only certain things can break a pony’s spirit, especially as one as strong as Prestige’s. He left Manehattan to escape his past. It haunted him, but there was nothing he could do now. He felt more alone in Ponyville than he had there.

“NO!” he thought to himself. “I am stronger than this!” But truly, Prestige was not. He couldn’t focus on the pain anymore. Trying to kill it away, he found the only thing that he took comfort in. That burning sensation, that warm feeling it gave him, that old familiar sting. It wasn’t before long that Prestige was back to old habits. Old, destructive habits, forcing his feelings to disappear.

“I am still right here…” he whispered to himself. But alas the world gave unto him. Losing himself in this blissful moment, euphoria filled him to the brim. But it was short-lived, panic began to fill him. He had ruined everything. What had he become? What was he to do now? He had no control over anything. There was no way to repair him now. Prestige fell unconscious, unaware of where he was.

Several hours later, Prestige woke up in a bank just besides the Evergreen forest. His body looked tattered, and was in need of cleaning up. But he was still in no condition to clean himself up. All he needed to do right now was to return back to Carousel boutique and pass out on the couch. Prestige finally made it back to the boutique, and Rarity was there pressuring him about his whereabouts. He tried to push her aside; he needed to lie down, that’s all he cared about. Her voice became condescending, judgmental and forceful. He began to see Rarity as someone else, a filly of control. A filly that wanted him just to herself, never letting him free. Prestige couldn’t handle it right now.

“I saw the apartment catalogue…” she stated. Her tone finally threw him off the deep end.

“Its nothing!” he shouted. His tone startled Rarity, “LEAVE IT ALONE!” He stood up and started to stare her down. She jumped back in surprise.

“WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?” she yelled. “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WHY ARE YOU SO MESSY?”

A long pause was present. Prestige’s rage started to build and build, but then he saw Rarity. She was trembling. He had never been like this before. His actions were becoming too front.

“I-I’m sorry…” he said in an undertone voice. “I’m… just not myself right now…” He barely made his way up the stairs. It had been a long time since he had done this, and it was throwing him around mentally and physically. He wanted to hide it from her. She deserved better than this from him. But he couldn’t help it, not anymore. His past had run up and caught him. Had he not learned anything from Manehattan? That city was a monster. It would entice you in, but eat you alive, and only leave such a distorted version of yourself, it would barely be recognizable. It all became too overwhelming for him. His knees gave out and he passed out on the bed.

Ch. 7 Behind Two Worlds

The room was filled with an ambient electronic beat. It was rather different from what DJ-Pon3 usually played. It must have been something special that Prestige asked for. Rarity maneuvered over towards the living room couch again to sit and listen to One Trick Pony’s track. Soft vocals humming and cooing filled the air. It was more pop than she expected. At this point, the DJ woke up from behind the turntables and wandered towards the white mare. The artist flopped next to the designer and stared at her. She then opened her mouth, almost struggling to say something.

“So…” DJ started, “you and One Trick…”

Rarity stayed silent except for an awkward cough.

“Wow…” she trailed off. An awkward moment overcame the both of them. The DJ got up and rummaged through the table to find her sunglasses.

“Wait…” the DJ paused, “you’re name is Rarity right?”

“Why yes, dear,” Rarity said through gritted teeth.

“Oh my…” DJ-Pon3 started to say. “Then… this song…”

Rarity softly nodded. She knew where the spastic pony was about to steer the conversation to.

“Excuse me, DJ?” Rarity asked, “what’s this song about. I can’t make out him singing… it… doesn’t sound like… him.”

“I’m sorry, call me Vinyl Scratch,” the blue mare said. “ DJ-Pon3 is my stage name. Besides, I like my original name better.”

“Okay… Vinyl…” she replied with a hinted smile.

“Well, Rarity…” Vinyl started to say, “The reason you can’t tell its him, is because there is a heavy vocal distortion. Strong reverb with some use of a Vocator.” Rarity had a blank expression across her face. She had no idea what the DJ was talking about. “Well, besides that. This song…” Vinyl trailed off.

“This song what, dear?” Rarity replied. Vinyl had a solemn, hesitant look. Finally she mastered to her words.

“One Trick P-… I mean Prestige…” she said faintly, “ Prestige said that this song was based off of his past. For where he came from.”

“Yes? And?” Rarity jumped to attention.

“Its… not exactly the most pleasant song…” Scratch continued. “It’s all about his addiction. His… love… his love addiction.”

“I’m confused, what do you mean?” Rarity asked inquisitively.

“Us musicians… if you want to call us that. Some consider us more of technicians who know how to make sound,” she lightly giggled. Rarity didn’t understand her humor. The smile melted from the DJ’s face. “Us musicians aren’t exactly the best idols. We sometimes do things that… that please us.”

“You mean…” the white mare pointed to her nose. Vinyl nodded her head.

“I’ve been fourteen months clean now,” Scratch replied. “But… I can’t say the same for Prestige. He said it got really bad when he was in Ponyville. He kept blaming it on his ex. That she…” the DJ stopped dead in her tracks. An awkward moment suspended in the air between the two of them.

“That she what?” Rarity came back with.

“She had this… control. He couldn’t “breathe” around her,” Scratch said. “He was trapped, but still deeply loved her. He loved you… and he couldn’t watch you watch him fall from grace.”

Rarity gazed into the distance. Her knees grew weak, forcing her to sit back down. Breathing became heavy, Rarity leaned forward to keep herself conscious and alert to the song.

“Prestige was deeply in love, that he became isolated. He was lost, in a sea of rarity...” the blue musician replied. “Huh… fitting title,” she murmured to herself.

But Rarity wasn’t listening to the DJ. She had to think. Their relationship was very strained. They, nay, she was controlling over him, but why. It couldn’t be from… It was. Her anxiety had originated from the Manehattan Fashion Institute…

***

It was a rough period for Rarity at the Manehattan Fashion Institute. She was always forced to work, never had a free moment. And when she did, it was impossible for her to reach the actual city. She was situated deep in the suburbs of the Broncs. The projects she worked on always had a toll on her. More and more, she could feel herself loosing herself.

“NO!” Rarity shouted. “You do not mix green with purple!” She bolted towards the projects table, where three other students were working.

“This outfit is meant to follow for our fall design. You do not add an earth tone with purple!” the white pony said in frenzy. Her eyes darted around the room, staring down her partners. The young, green filly slowly pulled back from the mannequin, removing the green from the ensemble.

“I’m… I’m… so… sorr-“ the green pony was interrupted by a storming Rarity.

“NO! You just don’t understand! Green is an earth color. Meant for summer or bland outfits,” Rarity scolded. “Purple is a fall color which best illustrates the ensemble. And furthermore is the sign of royalty!”

“Rarity,” the red male unicorn began to speak. “We need to account for our models hide…” he trailed out.

“Stitch!” The white pony turned her head to look at the red unicorn. “I’ve been doing everything in this group, and now you decide to get involved?” She scolded him.

“IT’S NOT MY FAULT THAT YOU’VE OVERPOWERED EVERYONE!” Stitch fought back. Rarity was steaming, and Stitch infuriated. The green filly coughed to break the uncomfortable tension.

“It’s not fair on anyone, Rarity,” Stitch began.

“Leave,” she replied bluntly.

“Fine. Suit yourself,” the red unicorn said. He flipped the projects desk over and walked over to where the green filly was standing, and knocked over the mannequin.

“You don’t want to stay here with her,” he whispered into ear. The green filly rapidly shook her head. She was in a panic over the whole situation.

“We are not going to be held down by your rules, Rarity. Everything isn’t all about you…” Stitch and the green filly left the room. Enraged, Rarity threw materials across the room, breaking chairs and objects. She flung a chair across the room into one of the coffee makers. That coffee maker was able to get them through long nights, but not this night. Where had she gone wrong?

“Who needs them anyways,” she shunned to herself. “It was me, I did all of the work! They did nothing!” But Rarity stopped herself mid-thought. Why had she done everything? It was team effort, yet, she had deemed herself in charge because everything needed to be within what her standards were.

“Oh my stars, what have I done…” she lamented to herself quietly. She stood over the cacophony that once was a workroom. Her stressful environment had changed her. She was no long a filly of free spirit. Rarity’s mind-set had changed, changed to a more efficient, but sometimes detrimental towards relations attitude. The white pony erased all of her conflicting emotions, and continued the fall collection…

***

Prestige had just stormed out of Sapphire’s apartment. He was worked up. Rarity knew how to throw him over the end. She was exactly like he remembered. Even though they were not together anymore, nor had they seen each other for years, she was still able to control his life. Everything around him was finally blissful again, though. His head was slightly weighted, but his body was numb and smooth moving through the crowd again. With his mood like this, he was able to cope with his social status, even though it seems quite egotistic of him. But he was a model for the public now. He wasn’t supposed to have a core anymore…

But what was left of him, he was amazed. Prestige had had a troubling life before he moved to Ponyville. Ponyville was his failed escape from his past. A past that haunts him everyday…

***

“Run! Run! Run! Run!” Prestige yelled to his friends. Him and a couple other colts were dashing through the downtown streets. It was a cold day, many years ago. Back when Prestige was growing up in Manehattan. It was just past midnight, and it was past curfew for the fillies and colts. The colt and his friends were up to no good again. Darting between alleyways, the three colts were able to evade the Manehattan Police Department. One of the friends, a brown earth colt, ran across the street and dove in a bush. He was completely out of sight.

“Oi, Pres, Raider,” the brown colt exclaimed silently, “over here! C’mon!” Prestige looked over at his friend Raider, a lanky black unicorn, and quietly agreed to cross the street.

“On the count of three, Pres,” Raider whispered. Prestige nodded back. “One… two…” Raider jumped up and ran across the street. “THREE!” he shouted as he bolted towards his incognito friend. Prestige, in shock, jumped up and followed him. They laid low for a quarter of an hour in the bush. The police were on to them being out. And the police knew they were up to something.

“AY, watch it Roadie…” Prestige whispered to the brown colt. He reached out and bit into Roadie’s leg and dragged it into the bush. “We don’t want them to catch us, do you?” Roadie shook his head.

“How much longer until we get there?” Raider asked looking at Roadie.

“We wait until the cops are gone,” Roadie began, “before we go to the place, okay?” Raider was hesitant, but compliant. After a long wait, the three colts emerged from their hiding.

“Follow me,” Roadie said. They crept through the night until they came up to a shady apartment complex. Several windows were broken, along with graffiti. They were obviously in a bad part of Manehattan. Showing no hesitation, Roadie walked straight into the building.

“Whoa!” Prestige exclaimed. “What are you doing?” Roadie stopped in his tracks. Without turning back he stated,
“Wait here… I’ll be back.”

Twenty minutes had passed before Roadie came out again. But this time his eyes were glassy and he had a nervous bead of sweat running down his forehead. The brown colt walked straight past his friends, ignoring their words of worry. Roadie turned himself around and saw them. They were taken back at how spaced he seemed. He began to laugh.

“Follow me if you want to have fun,” he said in an alien voice. The colt turned around and started racing into the darkness. Prestige and Raider chased after him, unsure of what his plan was. They skimpily follow behind him, but Roadie was off in his own world. After a while, they finally ended up at a dilapidated playground, an eerie reminder to Prestige about his hard childhood. A broken seesaw, like his mother’s broken love for him, her support for him. A missing swing from the entire set, just like his absent father from all of his friends. Their dads were always there. At this point, Roadie sat down in the center of the playground, on the edge of the sandpit.

“Okay, I got it…” Roadie said. He routed around his pockets and pulled out a small bag of white powder. Both Raider and Prestige looked at the brown colt.

“Are you insane, Roadie?” Raider shouted. “You know how screwed we’d be if the cops came by now?”

“It’s not like we wouldn’t be screwed over if they caught us anyways.” Roadie retorted. “We’re just punks to them. Hell, Pres has been arrested a couple times.”

Prestige pulled back. He did not want to get involved in the conversation. The white colt had been caught on a couple of occasions shoplifting grocery stores. He couldn’t hold it back.

“Keep me out of this, Roadie!” Prestige shouted. His nostrils were flared. “I needed to feed myself! You know I was kicked of the house at that time!”

“Chill out, man,” Roadie replied. “I’m just sayin’. If we’re screwed, might as well go out having fun. Am I right?” Roadie then looked up at the black colt. Raider shook his head, after he turned to Prestige.

“Pres, you don’t have to do this…” Raider said softly. Prestige didn’t respond.

“Fine,” the black colt stated. He hung his head low and disappeared into the darkness. That was the last time Prestige ever saw Raider. The most stable friend he had ever had. He heard that Raider had gotten caught that night breaking curfew. That was his third strike, getting him thrown into Juvencolt Detention, which gave him time to really analyze what he wanted to do with his life. By staying away from Roadie. At no matter what cost.

Prestige watched as Raider left his life. He then returned to Roadie.

“So tell me, how’s the best way to take this?” Prestige asked.

“Oh, don’t even get me started on that, Pres!” Roadie replied.

***
Prestige had been living a lifestyle of destruction for almost two years now. He had dropped out of school and was working ditch jobs here and there, but never a solid job to keep a somewhat of a steady income. He eventually moved in with Roadie in a tiny, destroyed apartment. They were struggling to make ends meat, but enough to get their fix. Every couple of weeks, they would trade off on who needed to head out and buy their next baggie.

“Hey Roadie!” Prestige shouted from the living room. Roadie slowly walked into the living room, trying to avoid the trash that littered the floor. Their addiction was really taking a toll on them. Roadie was nothing but skin and bones now. He had stopped taking care of his appearance, and his mane started to fall out. Prestige wasn’t doing to well himself either. His coat was matted and his mane in tight notes. He smelled horrible.

“What do you want, Pres…” Roadie said.

“I bought last week…” Prestige began, “so, try to-“ he was cut off.

“Try to get some for tonight, yeah I know. I gotta go hustle for work now,” Roadie said. He barely made it towards the door. “I’ll see you later.”

But that was the last time Prestige saw Roadie. Rumor on the street was that after work, he went looking for their next fix. But he ran into the wrong people. But Prestige rather believe his own deduction, that Roadie skipped town. It was at this point he realized his life was truly failing. That next day he checked into Oaks Care Rehabilitation Center. Prestige had to force himself to get clean. A fresh start. It was there that his counselor suggested that he get out of Manehattan. Start anew somewhere else. The great thing about his counselor was that he was able to find a job for Prestige. It didn’t offer him much, but it was far out of Manehattan. A job as a lifter for a moving company, and it offered Prestige a stable income, what he desperately in need for. Prestige agreed, and by the end of the month, he was moving out to Ponyville, to start a new life. A better life.

Ch. 8 Confrontation

**Author’s Note: This story, nay, I should say this piece that I’ve been writing… There has always been something about it. Something special. I have had quite the amount of writing experience in my life; however, this stands out the most for me. I love this work, but at the same time, I hate it. My idea of telling a slice-of-life story has been one of utter failure. But I guess that can be said for every slice-of-life. This piece has taken a toll on me. I have been through situations in my life that have led me to share similar experiences to that of Rarity. In no sense am I admitting to using Prestige as a self-insert. We share no connection, except for him being a creation of my imagination. This parallel with Rarity, however, is what affects me. Everything she feels, I feel. This has turned into a self-criticism of myself, and I need to stop. This will be the final chapter. This chapter will wrap up what I’ve been building up, and conclude this chapter in my life. Closure. I want to thank everyone who has followed along with this story as its been written, I understand it’s been a long and irregular writing process, and if it wasn’t for you’re support, even if it was only one of you, it helped support me finish this. This horrid, ugly, beautiful extension of my life.

It had been a month since the accidental reunion. Prestige and Rarity had managed to keep distance throughout Sapphire’s album production, but with such close proximity, they were bound to meet again. Rarity would not admit to seeing him though, locking herself in her workshop. She needed to complete her task. She needed to complete her dream, and Prestige wasn’t going to get in the way of that. Her isolation took her designs to a complete alternate level. Rarity was experimenting with anything, and everything she could. She had made dresses for all occasions; parties, award ceremonies, casual wear, comfort. Each elicited an emotional response, each different to whoever saw them, their unique shape, the color, and the folds. These dresses were beautiful. They were Rarity. It had not dawned on her, but she wasn’t making dresses for Sapphire anymore, she was making these dresses for herself. Rarity could not stop thinking about Prestige and what he meant. She was stuck between who she was, and who she wanted to be, and this pained her deeply. Her face and attitude was stone-cold, but her soul wreaked of agony.

Fluttershy grew weary of Rarity’s behavior. She had stopped regularly eating and sleeping. Countless nights, Fluttershy would wake up to Rarity not in her bed. Some nights, when she was brave enough, would venture out of their room and look for her. Rarity would be sunk deep within the couch in Sapphire’s living room staring deep into the distance of the Manehattan skyline. On other nights, Fluttershy would encourage Rarity to sleep in the room, but her aims were soon smashed when she found out that Rarity was experiencing night terrors. Rarity would wake up screaming, covered in a clammy sweat, unable to breathe. It couldn’t keep going on, both of them knew this. But Rarity, against her strong will, would not admit that her problems were from Prestige. Fluttershy couldn’t ignore her friend’s anguish anymore. It was time to intervene.

***

Late one evening, Fluttershy, Rarity and Sapphire were planning on concluding the night. It had been a lazy evening, filled with nothing more than light dinner conversation and idle relaxing in the living room. Fluttershy was in the kitchen preparing chamomile tea for all of them, taking as much time as she needed to perfect the beverage.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy muttered.

“What is it?” Rarity returned.

“Oh,” Fluttershy replied, “its nothing really. Its just…”

“Just what?” Rarity interrupted.

“We’re out of sugar for the tea,” she squeaked in a defensive scare.

“Oh…” Rarity trailed off, “…that’s unfortunate…”

“Actually, Rarity,” Fluttershy started to reply, “I was wondering if you could run down to the market and pick some up… I mean, if that’s okay with you?”

Rarity gave Fluttershy a bitter expression, but eventually conceded to her request. She pulled herself up from the couch and slouched around the room until she was ready to leave. Sapphire was watching her the entire time with a cautious eye. She, too, had been picking up on Rarity’s irrational behavior. After a painful five minutes of dragged feet, Rarity finally left the loft to get the sugar. Fluttershy’s plan was starting to unfold. She bound over the marble island table and made her way to Sapphire.

“We need to talk,” she said straightforward.

“If it’s about Rarity, I know what you’re going to ask,” Sapphire replied.

‘Then you know I won’t give up until you can get Prestige over here. They need to talk,” Fluttershy stated.

“You do realize you are playing with fire here, right?” Sapphire questioned.

“Sometimes, it takes a bigger fire to put the other out,” she replied with a smirk on her face.

***

The room was covered by a heavy shade. The only light that was visible crept around the curtains onto a minimalist bedroom. The wallpaper was peeling, and the room was a mess. Leftover orange chicken from the night before was left in a doggie bag on the clothes drawer. Prestige was lying against the frame of his bed, blasting music into his giant headphones. A minor vibration could be felt through the floor as Prestige’s cellphone broke the darkness. The blue aura of the phone caught his eye. He leaned in to answer it and saw it was Sapphire. Hesitating, Prestige answered the phone.

“I think its about time you come over…” the voice over the phone said. Prestige held the phone against his temple and sighed. He knew this day would come; he had been preparing it ever since the day he left.

“I’ll be over soon…” he replied. There was a click, then dial tone.

“It’s time to be the stallion you are, and face the colt that you were,” he muttered to himself.

***

The night had progressed; Fluttershy and Sapphire had made their way to bed, and had full intention on staying there. Their plan had to work. It was the only way to save Rarity. Rarity, meanwhile, was still in the living room, but this time flipping through her sketchpad. Updating and remodeling her dresses, the only thing she cared about.

A sharp knock at the front door caught her attention. Who could be calling at such an hour, she thought to herself. The white unicorn slowly made her way to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw the same familiar ruby – it was Prestige. Rarity cursed under her breath, but then slowly opened the door.

“What is it that you want, Prestige?” She threw at him.

“To talk,” he replied softly. “That is, if you’ll let me.”

She stared at him, all of her past anger filling her body, but she couldn’t let this opportunity slip. Maybe he would open up and make a complete fool of himself, a sweet revenge for all of her suffering. She shuffled to the side of the door and quietly invited him in. He meandered into the loft, and slowly made his way over to the kitchen island table. He pulled up a chair and sat down. Rarity hovered over him in the kitchen.

“Thanks for lettin-,” Prestige was interrupted.

“Let’s get past the niceties and get to the matter at hand, Prestige,” she snapped back at him.

Prestige bore a blank stare. It was all unfolding unlike he had expected. He expected crying, he expected a tantrum, and he expected anything but her being content with the situation.

“Rarity, I…” Prestige hesitated. “When I left… I was in a rough spot. Everything in my life had changed, not once but twice. I left Manehattan because I was afraid of what I was turning into. I was losing everything. And when I got to Ponyville, I didn’t expect I would be just as afraid as I was in Manehattan.”

He caught Rarity’s attention. She had stopped ignoring eye contact and was staring straight into his eyes. The mare could feel his warm sight in her again. It was a familiar comfort that she adored.

“Rarity, I was scared of what we were becoming,” he blurted out.

“What?” She replied confused. “But I thought we had something. We we’re something special!”

“It was more than something. It was amazing…” he said over a slight smile. “I didn’t know what to do. I grew up where no one ever cared about me. My parents didn’t bother, my friends destroyed my life. But you… you saved my life…”

Rarity began to tear up; she had no idea that she meant just as much to him as he had to her. Prestige stood up and began to pace the room in panic. It was too surreal for him. Rarity rushed over to him and caressed him. Prestige started weeping into her shoulder.

“I… never had someone… who cared about me for… me,” he said muffled.

Her heart broke at that. They both collapsed to the kitchen floor in agony and relief. They were lying on the floor, face to face with each other.

“I never meant to hurt you… you saved me…” Prestige whispered.

She smirked at him. A slight giggle erupted, making them more comfortable with each other.

“I missed you so much,” she tenderly said. She leaned in to rub her muzzle against his. They made contact, but Prestige pulled back shortly after.

“I owe you my life… and because of that, I am saving you…” Prestige said as he stood up.

Rarity pulled herself up from the floor. The white mare whipped her tears aside and looked at Prestige.

“You’re tormented soul is no longer yours. It’s a part of mine, too,” she said. “But just like yours, you have mine.”

Prestige cocked his head in her direction. He was lost. The stallion anticipated flames from the young unicorn.

“Let it serve as a beacon, Prestige.” She finished. Rarity was done with talking to Prestige. Something had changed, Rarity was no longer in angst. She turned around and began to head up the stairs to her room. Fluttershy stood in the archway acting oblivious to the situation. Rarity passed the pegasi and grabbed her suitcase.

“Come on, dear,” Rarity said. “I think I about ready to return back home. Back to Ponyville.”

Rarity gave Fluttershy a satisfied smile and continued packing. Fluttershy and Rarity emptied out the room, and moved out to the street. While waiting for a taxi, Rarity noticed she had grabbed the sketchpad. She pulled it out and began to flip through her dresses. They didn’t belong back in Ponyville, they belonged in Manehattan. Rarity turned around to the apartment building and pranced over to the mailboxes. Grabbing a pen, she flipped open the first page of the sketchpad.

I cannot stay in Manehattan any longer.
These dresses are more than just dresses
They can be the embodiment of your soul
Rectifying or frightening.
Take care,
Rarity

She slid the sketchpad into Sapphire’s mailbox without a second thought. Liberating, she thought. Fluttershy called for Rarity, the taxi must have arrived. Upon waltzing outside, the air seemed cleaner.

“Ready, Rarity?” Fluttershy said.

“My dear,” Rarity said, “I have never wanted to be home more than I do now.”

She peered out the window, and took one last look at Sapphire’s apartment. The silhouette of Prestige could be seen. His head was leaning against the window. Things were different now, he watched Rarity leave his life, for the last time. The white mare cocked her head up into the sunlight, and saw a brighter new world.

Prestige had aimed to make an effort to change. Rarity had been expecting some elaborate explanation, which is exactly what she had gotten. However, it wasn’t his justification she was wanting. It was hers to him. She had carried Prestige with her ever since he left Ponyville. But so had Prestige. As feeble and immature his decision was, she had faced closure. Prestige’s grasp on her was broken. She was free. Finally free. Hopefully he would be, too. His imprisonment in his own heart kept him from being happy. But, if he were to unlock that part of his soul again, he would save himself. Their relationship was to act as a beacon of hope for Prestige, a blinking light in a vast sea of darkness. And just beyond the light, you can see the coastline.

Ch.1 The Deal

Today was something different... at least, some what. The day began bright and early following the typical routine Rarity enjoyed so much. At 8:00 she’d get up, and by 8:15 she would have already uncurled her hair from the night before. Everything was about presentation. Everyone knew that. By 8:30 she had already finished all of her morning chores and was out to Sugar Cube Corner to get her morning breakfast, a bagel with a fresh tomato on top followed by a healthy serving of wheat-grass tea. After her slow and relaxing breakfast, she made her way back to the boutique. Plenty of time, she thought, I don’t need to rush just yet, I still have enough time to keep lady-like.

During her walk back to the boutique, something triggered her mind, she kept having memories of that night. That one night where everything changed. She could remember running through Ponyville, desperately hoping to set things right. But she couldn’t, she wasn’t ready then, and she thought to herself that she still wasn’t ready now. She stopped for a moment at the town bridge. She stood there and thought to herself, what if she had been better? Would things have turned out different? She walked up to the banister of the bridge and looked down at the water. She could see through the water, but when Rainbow Dash cleared the skies, the sun showed Rarity’s reflection. She looked down on it and saw that something was missing. Something was missing from her, and she knew it. Rainbow Dash quickly dived down to see a melancholic Rarity staring into the water.

“Feelin’ glum, chum?” Rainbow asked from the sky.

“What?” Rarity replied with a shock. “Oh, I was just... looking to see if my hair was alright.” Rarity gave Rainbow a smile, but Rainbow could that tell that it was easily fake.

“Riiight...” Rainbow said. “Well, usually when I’m feeling down I like to do something that cheers me up... like stunts!” Rainbow shot up into the air and started to perform her loops and dives. Rainbow then began to do an epic dive, but she missed her upturn and flew right into the river.
Rarity gasped and ran to the edge to see if she survived her crash.

“My dear, are you alrigh-” Rarity choked on her words as she peered into the water.

“Geez, chill out, Rarity, its not like it the first time I’ve bailed out before.” Dash snorted. “But, you know, you don’t need to worry so much, it’ll give you wrinkles, or whatever you worry about.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just having... one of those days,” Rarity said quietly.

“Okay, Rarity,” Dash said, “I’ll just leave you alone for a while.” Rainbow pulled herself out of the water and dashed off into the air.

Rarity waited for Rainbow to disappear in the distance. She knew if she explained to Dash why she gasped, it would have been highly awkward. It had nothing to do with Rainbow’s bailout, it was what was in the water. Rarity was staring at a ruby amulet that was somewhat buried in the silt. Using her magic, Rarity was able to pull it out of the water. She stared at it deeply, remembering when she threw the amulet into the river. It was on that dark night, where she lost faith in everything. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to move on. She picked up the ruby amulet and carried it back to the boutique. She hadn’t thought about that night in years, and it was time to forget. She stared deeply into the amulet, getting lost in the iridescence of the ruby, reminding her of that beautiful ruby mane. She meandered her way back to her boutique, forgetting about her schedule... it wasn’t that important... was it? It was 9:00, she would have to pick up her pace.

Rarity had a large shipment that had to be sent out to Sapphire Shores and she did not want to disappoint her faithful customer. After all, it was Sapphire Shores who said that Rarity was to be one of the biggest hits to happen to Equestria this year. But, if only Rarity had had enough time to work on the dresses. It was simply too much for her to handle in one day, but being Rarity, she stubbornly put her head to work. 9:15, a knock came from her door. A slightly startled look came across her face, but only because it broke her concentration. It was obviously Fluttershy returning Opalescence from her weekly grooming.

“Come on in, Fluttershy. I am a little busy, but the front door is unlocked,” Rarity announced across the room. Fluttershy flew her way in with Opalescence in her secure basket. She placed the basket down and went over to meet her friend. Opal, following directly after Rarity’s personality, elegantly hopped out of the basket and made her way over to her pillow in the leisure section of the boutique. There, she fell asleep and began to purr softly.

“Rarity,” Fluttershy started, “I was going to ask you if we’re still going to the spa today...” she began to trail off. “But... you know... if you’re too busy for that...”

“I am sorry, dear,” Rarity interrupted, “but I have to get these dresses done for Ms. Shores as soon as ponyly possible.”

Fluttershy looked around the room, almost as if she was embarrassed to ask such a foolish question. “Well... okay then, I’ll just be on my wa-”

“Nonsense, my dear.” Rarity interrupted again. “Just because I cannot leave the boutique does not mean we cannot spend time with each other. Here,” she handed Fluttershy a dress, “You are about the size of Ms. Shores, I would love it if you would slip into this and help me.” From the look of things, it seems that Rarity had won Fluttershy over again.

It had been a few hours, and the girls where enjoying themselves too much. With Fluttershy’s help, Rarity had managed to finish the dresses up quicker than expected, but because she was afraid Fluttershy might leave, she pretended that she had a few more to make. Both of them were having a great time, and even after a while, the dressmaking became slowly forgotten that day.

“Oh dear!” Rarity burst, “what’s the time?”
Fluttershy looked at her with a sense of shock, and peered out the window to see the clock tower. “It’s about 9:30,” she said softly.

“OH MY! OH NO! THIS IS NOT GOOD!” Rarity started to panic. “Ms. Shores wanted her dresses delivered to her in Manehattan by 8! I don’t know what to do. Oh this is my worst nightmare.”

Fluttershy dug her head into her shoulder, “I’m so sorry, Rarity” she began to whisper, “If it wasn’t for me staying, you wouldn’t have missed your deadline.”
“Don’t talk like that, Fluttershy, it was not your fault. It’s all mine. Quickly help me get these dresses packed. Hopefully we can drop them off without Ms. Shores noticing they’re la-”

A loud knocking came from the front door of the boutique. Before Rarity could rush over and open the door, it popped itself open with Sapphire Shores poking her head in. A quick squeak came from Fluttershy, and Rarity was trying to find her words.

“Sapphire... I mean, Ms Shores... how nice of yo- I mean, I’m sorry tha-, no what I mean to say...” Rarity was tripping up her excuses.

“Calm yourself, dear,” Sapphire said, “When you didn’t show up, I got worried that my little superstar got hurt. I came to see if everything was alright.”

Rarity looked up at Sapphire. To her surprise, Sapphire was grinning at the little mare. She was not upset at all. Sweet relief fell over Rarity.

“Now, let me see your new masterpieces,” Sapphire bellowed out.

“Of course,” Rarity replied in a capricious manner, “Fluttershy, could you be a dear and model these dresses for Ms. Shores?”

Fluttershy quietly accepted Rarity’s request and began to outfit herself in one of Rarity’s more appealing dresses. In the meantime, Rarity and Sapphire moved over to the leisure section of the boutique and began to talk about her plans on her upcoming album.

After an hour of Fluttershy modelling Rarity’s creations, Sapphire requested that the ponies sit down so that she could talk to them. Deep inside Rarity could feel butterflies, for she thought Sapphire had not been interested in her dresses. She was trying to keep her cool, but she began to break a slight sweat.

“Mares, I want to ask you something,” Sapphire began, “I absolutely adore these dresses. But...”
Rarity’s heart dropped, Fluttershy dropped her head between her front legs.

“But...” Sapphire continued “My album is about to be advertised, and well... with all the publicity, I want my number one fashionista there!”
“...WHAT?” Rarity looked up with surprise.

“You heard me correct, sugar. I’m asking you to come with me to Manehattan for some time to help promote my album,” Sapphire stated. “And I’m sure if you help me out, there will be great publicity on your work. So tell me, what do you think?”

Rarity looked dumbfounded over at Fluttershy. “Wait, this is too good to be true!” Rarity squealed.

“I’m so happy for you, Rarity” Fluttershy replied.

“Why are you happy just for her?” Sapphire said. Fluttershy looked up confused. “You’re coming too, I’d hope.”

“Oh my, well, I don’t know. I don’t know if I could leave Angel and the others alone for so long,” Fluttershy replied.

“Nonsense, arrangements will be made, they will be fine,” Sapphire reassured Fluttershy.

“Well fillies, I must be going for now, I hope you’ll consider my proposal.” Sapphire smiled at them and paraded her way out the boutique humming a little tune to herself.

Fluttershy looked over at Rarity, who was frozen with the news.

“Oh my gosh, Manehattan. That is so incredible! Oh, I can’t wait to go to Manehattan. This is so exciting,” Fluttershy stated excitedly. “What do you think, Rarity?”

No reply.

“Rarity?”

Rarity stood there, thinking. Her mouth ajar frozen with a shocked look. Her mind was off elsewhere, back many years ago...

Today was a very special day for Rarity. She was finally where she had wanted to be. Everything was fitting into place. She had just opened up her boutique, and was ready to face the world... even if it was right out of Ponyville. Today was going swell. It was in the early evening when Rarity unveiled her boutique, along with her grand celebration. Pinkie Pie had brought her famous rainbow punch and everyone was having a great time. Especially him, the white colt. Rarity made a quick glance over at him, and he gave her a sweet smile. Her heart fluttered. She began to move her way over to the colt, but she was interrupted by a very inquisitive Bon-Bon about the beautiful amulet that Rarity had around her neck. Rarity looked back up, but to see that he had moved on to somewhere else in the boutique.
“Oh my, he really is a gentlecolt to give you such a precious stone.” Bon-Bon began. “I would try to keep him close, he seems to be the most elusive of ponies.”

Rarity gave her a quick smirk, and proceeded to look for that colt. She saw him heading towards the stairs on his way up.

“You really are a lucky filly you know,” Bon-Bon said.

“Excuse me, Bon-Bon, but I must check on Opalescence, she is not one for loud noises,” Rarity stammered to Bon-Bon. Phew, Rarity thought to herself, and went off to look for that white colt. She went upstairs and into the workshop to see that the balcony doors had been opened. Peering around the corner she noticed that the colt was looming over the edge with a solemn look.

“You alright, darling?” Rarity asked.

“Huh, what?” the colt replied. “Oh, yeah. I’m perfectly fine. Just... lost in my own little world.”

“You’re missing out on the festivities, and you know it’s not very gentlecolt-like to keep a lady waiting...” Rarity began.

“I know, its just, these are all your friends, I just feel lost,” he continued.

“Don’t say that, dear,” Rarity stated, “they all love you. Fluttershy says you’re the best thing to happen since bunnies or whatever they where. And you know how attached she is to them.”

“No, Rarity, I don’t. Could you just leave me alone for some time,” the colt broke out. Rarity was shocked. He had never spoken so rashly to her before. It was probably the best idea to leave him alone for the time being. Flustered, she walked back into the workshop. She stopped, turned around and looked back at the colt. He was now resting his head on the banister of the balcony. From what she could best tell, it sounded like he was crying. She shook herself out of that trance and returned to the party.

It was the middle of the night when Rarity heard a crash. She jumped out of bed and quickly rushed down from her bedroom down to the boutique. She scrambled to turn the lights on, and just before she flicked them on, she heard the sound of the front door closing. She turned the lights on to notice that the white colt’s flank-pack was gone, along with his personal items. She looked around the room to search for clues. And there, resting on the coffee table in the leisure room, was a note. Rarity stood there dumbfounded, slowly making her way over to the table. She lifted the note with her horn magic, and read what it said.

Rare... I’m sorry. I can’t stay anymore. Things are too different for us. I feel like I’m in exile here. I don’t know anypony here, and to me, it seems nopony wants to know me. I miss the adrenaline of the big city. I miss how the city is changing, and always vibrant. I thought I could settle down. But I can’t. Not yet. I love you, Rarity... but it’s not the right time... for both of us.

Rarity, in dread, dropped the note and ran outside to look for the colt. He couldn’t have gotten far, she just heard him leave. She ran around Ponyville for hours, looking, hoping, wishing that the colt hadn’t gone. But the worst of her fears had happened. He had left. He’d gone home. It tore Rarity apart. She kept looking for him. But she couldn’t find him anywhere. She went back to the first place they met, the Ponyville bridge. Hoping that everything could be worked out, she ran to the bridge and could saw the silhouette of the white colt.

“HEY!” she shouted.

The colt turned around to look at Rarity. He simply looked at her and said in the somber tone.

“Its... for the... best,” the colt said.

“YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME! I NEED YOU!” she screamed.

“No... you don’t. Trust me,” the colt said. He then turned away and started to disappear into the twilight fog. First his ruby-red mane began to fade, then his beige flank-pack. But finally, after a painful desertion, the white of his coat began to fade in the distance. Rarity collapsed on the bridge, lacking breath and beginning to panic. She looked down and saw the ruby amulet he gave her. She ripped it off her neck and flung it as far as she could into the river. The quiet plop of the amulet striking the surface echoed in her mind. She broke down in the middle of the bridge and collapsed completely. She stayed there for hours, forbidding herself to move. The morning dew began to form around her as it slowly started to mess up her hair. He was gone. He was truly gone...
but she was free.

“You’re just as excited as I am. Oh how wonderful,” Fluttershy said.

Fluttershy managed to snap Rarity back into reality. But she couldn’t manage to stay in that state for long, because Rarity couldn’t about the deal. She wasn’t thinking about everything that Sapphire Shores had promised. No, she was thinking about him.
He lived in Manehattan.
Prestige.