It was way past noon and Rarity still had not called any of her friends. Furthermore, their calls were always going straight to voicemail whenever they tried to call her. They had become extremely worried about her and decided to go to her house in order to make sure she's okay.

They were all right outside her house by 3:00 pm and the front door was bizarrely not locked. They entered, called her out, and went upstairs towards her bedroom when no answer came. As they got closer to room, however, they were genuinely surprised to hear rock music coming from it. It was a kind of song that plays when a heroic robot who can turn into a truck decimates countless evil robots and faces the ultimate evil robot (who can turn into a gun) in a battle to the death. They knocked on the door really hard and an enthusiastic well-dressed Rarity opened it.

"Well, hello, darlings! I've been waiting for you for ages!"

Sunset replied, "You have? Then, why couldn't we reach you all day? You neither called nor texted, and never answered any of our calls and texts".

Rarity's expression changed from excited to shocked.

"Really?"

She checked her phone for texts and missed calls, and her eyes widened exponentially as she saw them.

"Oh, my! I guess the music too so loud to hear the notifications."

Rainbow Dash asked, "What's with it, anyway? You never listen to music like that".

"You're right, but I heard it in a movie I recently watched with Sweetie Belle and really liked its motivational tone".

Symbiote complained in her head, "I still don't understand why you had to sit through such an awful movie, though".

Rarity replied with her thoughts, "Well, even though I agree that it was a bit unappealing, Sweetie Belle really enjoyed it. It's just one of those compromises you have to make when spending time with your sister".

"Whatever. At least the song was awesome. Good thing I recommended listening to it while working, right?"

"Yes, and I really do appreciate it. Now, please quiet down before they get suspicious".

"No promises."

After he stopped talking, Rarity turned her attention towards the girls.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying? My mind wandered off for a while."

"We were just wonderin' what in tarnation would you be needin' extra motivation for?"

"Why, I'll show it to you, of course."

She turned off the music and pulled the curtains from a nearby corner in the room to reveal a beautiful black dress that came with a diamond encrusted black cape and an equally diamond encrusted shoulder pad. Upon seeing the dress, all of her friends were taken aback by its sheer awesomeness.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Are ya kiddin'?! This is a darn-tootin' masterpiece!"

Twilight agreed, "Wow, Rarity! I can see why you needed the extra motivation to get this done. I'd say it's your best work yet! Right, girls?"

They all nodded in agreement.

"Why, thank you, darlings! Please tell me it's not 6 pm yet."

Pinkie Pie replied, "Nope! There's still one hundred and seventy five minutes left until that."

"YES! That's more than enough time for me to get to the store before it closes and impress Miss Hemline with this ensemble!"

Fluttershy asked, "Uh, I'm sure you'll definitely impress her, but how will you reach the store in this terrible rain?"

"What rain?"

She pulled the curtains from the windows and stared with widened eyes to the horrifying thunderstorm taking place outside.

"Oh, uh, not to worry! I know exactly what to do!"

She grabbed the dress and rushed to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came out while wearing the dress and a several small diamonds on her dress. This got an even bigger reaction from her friends until she grabbed her umbrella and put on her raincoat on top of the dress.

"Okay, now I'm prepared. Wish me luck!"

Rainbow asked, "Uh, are you sure you wanna go now? You can wait until tomorrow and- "

"Nonsense! I want to get over my humiliation as soon as possible and I won't allow some a bit of rain to stand in my way!"

Sunset inquired, "Do you want us to come with you?"

"Thanks, but there's no need for that. I'm more than capable of getting there all by myself."

Twilight replied, "Well, in terms of preparation and equipment, that DOES appear to be true. So, don't let us keep you from it. Good luck!"

The rest of them wished her good luck too.

"Thank you so much, girls! I won't forget to call you when I get the promotion. See you later!"

She quickly went downstairs and exited through the front door.

"So, ready for some cold-served revenge?"

"You mean SWEET revenge? Born ready!"

An evil smile appeared on Rarity's face and she rushed towards the store.

About 15 minutes later, Rarity finally made it and was greeted by a grinning Suri Polomare.

"Well, look who it is! Came to unveil another copycat design?"

"Oh, this is definitely no 'copycat' as you describe, Suri. Now, where's Miss Hemline?"

"She went to the back, but should be here any minute. I suggest you leave before you embarrass yourself further, 'mkay?"

"Sorry, but what I've brought is something she simply must behold!"

"Whatever you say, princess."

Rarity turned away from her and walked towards the inner sections of the store without taking her raincoat off. She found Hemline reorganizing a brand new shoe collection.

"Rarity, may I ask what are you doing here. You do know that it's not your shift today, right?"

"Yes, yes, I know that, Miss Hemline, but I just finished a new design and thought that you ought to see it right now."

"Hmmm, I do hope that what you've is worth my time. If it turns out to be a copy of another of Suri's designs, I 'll have no choice but to terminate your employee status here."

"I completely understand."

"Good. Now, show me your latest creation."

Rarity swiftly took her coat off and showed off her dress to Hemline, whose eyes slightly widened and a small smile appeared on her face. Suri, on the other hand, was left completely speechless by the design's appearance. Rarity paid no attention to her and focused on Hemline's reaction,

"So, I take it you like the design?"

"It seems you have indeed restored your reputation, Rarity. Come back tomorrow and we will discuss your promotion."

Rarity was about to explode from happiness.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!"

She was then approached by Suri.

"Okay, I'll admit. That IS an impressive dress. How long did it take you to make it?"

"About four hours. Why?'

"Four hours? Seriously? That's the same amount of time it took me and my assistant to complete yesterday's design. You couldn't have worked alone on this."

"Well, I did get inspiration from a new friend, but I did all the sewing while listening to motivational rock music."

"Wow! You're good. Maybe even better than me. That's pretty sad, actually."

"Oh, don't be so glum. I'm sure you'll come up with something equally impressive someday. Hey, how about this. Let's meet at Sugarcube Corner after your shift and I'll tell you all there is to know about creating ensembles as bold as this."

"What? You're not mad at me for stealing the spotlight and getting in the way of your promotion anymore?"

"Well, what you did WAS nasty, but I'm sure you had logical reasons for doing it. Besides, if you haven't done so, I might've never gotten the motivation for creating something this spectacular."

Suri thought about this for a moment before answering.

"Alright. Sugarcube Corner at 6 pm. Hope you bring some good advice, 'mkay?"

"You won't be disappointed. See you then!"

They waved each other goodbye and, as Rarity exited the shop, she called both her friends and Sweetie Belle to tell them about the exciting developments.

Three hours later, Rarity and Suri were sitting in a table in Sugarcube Corner, having some dessert before dinner and telling each other about their past experiences as fashion designers. They were even sharing stories regarding their most embarrassing moments and having great laughs whenever they came up. As for desserts, Suri was halfway through an apple pie with vanilla ice cream while Rariy was already done with a chocolate brownie twice the pie's size. Understandably, Suri was amazed by this.

"Gosh! How could you consume that giant brownie that fast and not have a stomach ache?"

"Oh, it's nothing actually. Just this morning, I devoured two scoops of ice cream without having a stomach ache or brain freeze afterwards."

Suri's mouth is left hanging open until Rarity spoke again.

"Yeah, life's pretty great when you have a stomach as strong as mine."

"Jeez! Is there anything you possibly CAN'T do?"

"Well, I can't sneak into a high school and take photos of someone else's dress."

They remained silent for a while, but eventually started laughing again and Rarity checked something in her phone before putting it on a corner next to her.

"Seriously though, how exactly did you manage to do that and what motivated you to do it.

"Didn't you already figure out the first part?"

"Maybe, but I really want to hear your side of the story. Just in case there were a couple of things I missed."

"Oh, okay then. You see, ever since you created that wonderful window display for the visiting Fashion Week style scout, I became obsessed with finding the secret behind your talent. I figured you wouldn't trust someone from Crystal Prep so readily and, instead, decided to spy on your work. I easily navigated through the campus, since everyone was at lunch break at that time, and eventually found your location in less than ten minutes. I wouldn't have get noticed at all if I hadn't forgotten turning off the flash and once you were onto me, I had no choice but to drop your keytar to create a distraction and get out of there. Sorry about that."

"Oh, that's okay, darling. At least you were honest with me about this incident. That's all that matters now."

"Thank you. That means a lot coming from you."

She started blushing until her phone started ringing. As she checked it out, her expression changed to annoyed and she let out a sigh.

"I have to go. My assistant is unable to find the special gold ribbon I prepared for my next ensemble, even though I specifically instructed her that it was located right beside a porcelain kangaroo on my desk. I'll see you tomorrow, 'mkay?"

"Certainly. Oh, before you go, can you tell me a bit about your relationship with your assistant?"

"Well, it's not as good as I hoped it would, unfortunately. I come up with ideas and designs, she does all the sewing, and I have to be around her every day after school in order to make sure she crafts the dresses exactly as I want! She has an annoying habit of forgetting my instructions and going with horrible improvisation. Let me tell you, there were a few instances of me yelling loud enough to smash all the windows around."

"Oh, my! I sure hope your relationship gets better over time."

"You and me both, sister. Well, I gotta go. I hope we do this again soon."

"Me too. Good night!"

As soon as she left, the Symbiote started talking in Rarity's head.

"Did you get all that?"

She took out her phone and played back the recording of her conversation with Suri regarding her spy work and relationship with her assistant.

She whispered, "Every single little detail. I simply can't wait to see the look on her face tomorrow when I show this Miss Hemline!"

"Me neither!"

They both chuckled evilly before Rarity asked for the check, and an older gentlemen with white/gray hair and dark sunglasses brought the bill to her.

"Shame you couldn't get along with that lovely lady. I'd love to read a story where you become friends."

When Rarity gave him a confused look, he raised his hand in innocence.

"Well, 'nuff said."

He took her payment and promptly went to another table.

"Who was that weirdo?"

"I don't know, but I think trying to find that out would be a huge pain in the head for both of us."

"Agreed."

She swiftly exited the bakery and headed home with great expectations for tomorrow.

Author's Note

1. Yes, the song was "The Touch" by Stan Bush.
   
2. Yes, the dress was the same one from "The Other Side".
   
3. Yes, that man was the legendary Stan Lee (RIP).