Rarity had dreamed a wonderful dream, once. She wished, ever since she was a little filly, that she would grow up to become a name worth remembering; that ponies would admire her and her creations and she would be famous all across the land. They would line up at her storefront to just to look at her designs, and she would have riches beyond her wildest imaginations. Most of all, she would be able to support her parents, who had worked day in and day out to give her opportunities, and she would be able to make sure her sister, her darling little sister, would never be in want for anything.

It was a wonderful dream, truly, and for a while, it seemed like it would come true. But then, the war began.

Rarity had never heard of the terrible tyrant of shadows, nor of the glittering empire of gemstones far to the north. All she knew was that the day she was set to finally open her fashion studio, the day she was going to prove that even a grown blank flank like herself was worth something, was the day that her dream had died.

Almost immediately after the official declaration of battle, ponies left and right were being drafted into the military, regardless of age or gender. As long as they weren’t in an essential position in society, as long as they knew how to fight, they would be taken away by the trainful, some never to be seen again. There was no longer a need for fancy tea dresses or wedding tuxedos; there was no longer a need for her.

Until one day, when she received a letter in the mail:

Miss Rarity

37 Wisteria Lane

Ponyville, Equestria

Congratulations! We are proud to inform you that you have been hoof-selected by her Majesties Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to provide a great service to your nation. You are required to report directly to 108 Gardenia Street in Manehattan, Equestria by the end of this calendar month to be enlisted in the war effort. Tardiness will result in a fine. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Suri Polomare

Head of the Division of Textile and Clothing Production

That was how Rarity found herself in a crowd of ponies in front of a rather large but dilapidated factory complex in the city of Manehattan. She had been born in Manehattan, but twenty-plus years was a long time to be away from a place, and she could hardly recognize anything, for how much smog and general misery permeated the air.

She barely had any luggage to her person, for most of her belongings she had liquidated to afford the cost of moving her mother and sister out of the country. Rarity didn’t wish for her family to become even more tangled up in the war than they already were; her father had been an early enlistment in the army. She hadn't heard from him in months…

Rarity was only partly listening to the uniformed pink mare's speech as it washed over the muted gathering huddled around the impromptu stage. “It is a great honor for you all to be chosen,” she insisted, punctuating her sentences by waving her manicured hoof through the air. “The war effort would not be the same without the diligent work of our department!” It was the same language used on the letter Rarity had received, the words all carefully coated in patriotic flavor to conceal the desperation behind the syllables.

Once the pink mare ran out of cards of regulations to read off, the ponies surrounding the area were herded into single-file lines according to the serial code printed on their letters. Tugging her singular suitcase behind her, Rarity made her way to stand in the rapidly growing line for the clothing and textile workers. A blue unicorn stood behind the front counter, her orange hair tied back into a chignon and a practiced, stoic expression upon her face as she assigned lodgings to the waiting ponies. Sweeping her bored eyes over Rarity’s summons letter, the mare robotically shoved a pile of uniforms into Rarity’s unprepared hooves, before rattling off the digits denoting her dorm number.

Just barely latching onto her pile before it slipped through her magic, Rarity shuffled into the barracks as quickly as she could whilst balancing belongings both old and new. 2-L, as it turns out, was a rather small space, crammed with two bunk beds on either side and with a single bedside table and chair shoved between. Metal racks were hanging on the wall above the table as well as flanking the doorway, otherwise, there was no storage space. Rarity supposed it was fitting that everything in Manehattan was as cramped and claustrophobic as the city itself.

Unfortunately for her, all the beds save for the left bottom bunk were already taken by mares of various ages. Probably for the best, however, considering the two ponies on the right were currently arguing over whether the gray pegasus’ gothic preference or the orange earth pony’s garishly colorful fashion was superior, which was not a debate Rarity wished to partake in. Her bunkmate, a cream coated mare with bobbed blue hair, had her back turned toward the squabbling duo, asleep, or at least pretending to be so. Settling down on her hard mattress and shoving her collection of stuff under the metal frame, Rarity decided to follow suit and shifted to face the cracked wall, before shoving her singular pillow over her head to drown out the inane chatter and hopefully find respite in sleep. Celestia knows she would need a lot of it for this job.

It was funny though, Rarity thought, as she slowly drifted off into slumber. She had found herself missing the hustle and bustle of her birthplace all the time while living in Ponyville, but now that she was back all she wished for was to be able to go home, to be able to see her father, her mother, her sister again. And she had always dreamed of being able to make fashionable clothing for the masses to wear, but never in her wildest thoughts was it at this high of a cost. Honestly, it wasn’t fair!

What good were dreams if they only came true in such twisted ways?

Author's Note

What's that? Is that a fic by Crystal that isn't a mediocre one-shot sadfic? It's a Christmas miracle! Okay, maybe it's a little bit sad (and a lot mediocre), but Rarity's a strong gal, she'll get through it!

And don't worry, Ponk will show up SoonTM