Four minutes behind. Rarity picked up the trot of her pace from the train station, wishing to stop and say hello to several ponies she had not talked to in weeks, and there was a tight schedule to keep up at the Boutique.

But she didn’t have quite the same stride as yesteryear. Age was setting in, and it seemed that every month it grew worse. She still carried herself with style and grace of course; the silvery grey fur boa flapping in the wind to match the streak down her mane and tail spoke volumes of that. After a bursting gallop, Rarity began to retire to a lighter trot, thankful she was wearing a thin spring dress instead of her favorite heavy coat. Her horn glowed a faint blue as she used it to look at her pocket watch. Her efforts barely gained 2 minutes.

She forced a calming exhale. It was not the end of the world to be a few minutes late.

Rarity reached the front door of the Boutique and took a moment to check her mane and straighten her fur before stepping in. “Hell-l-lo!”

Yona rampaged towards her boss in utmost delight. “Rarity! Yona glad you here!”

Rarity bit her lip and winced at the anticipatory crumpling of her demeanor but as she closed her eyes, it never came. Yona held out a hoof. Rarity sighed with relief as she reached out her hoof and Yona gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Yona learned to not ‘cramp Rarity’s style’.”

Rarity smiled as she stepped away. “Yes, I can see. And truly, I am very grateful. I’m sorry if I am late for the very special client.”

Yona curled her mouth in confusion and then delightfully held her head up with a nod. “Oh! He not show up yet.”

At that moment the door opened and a light red stallion stepped in.

Rarity waved a hoof in welcome. “Big Mac! You’ve come!”

The response was almost whining in tone and higher-pitched than she expected. “Uh, excuse me?”

She took a moment to realize that either Big Mac lost a great deal of weight, changed into a Pegasus, was of more pale complexion—or this was a different character altogether. She blushed at the mistake. “Oh, goodness, I apologize most sincerely! It’s just that I’m expecting another pony for an appointment, and I’m afraid the shop isn’t open for another hour.”

The stallion sifted his mustache. “Well, yah, the door is open, activity is present, and I didn’t see any hours posted out front.” He barged his way in.

Yona grit her teeth but Rarity shook her head and stepped forward and lowered her eyelids. “Oh, well I’m quite certain that there are many other errands you could attend to?”

“Nope,” he replied moving his hoof through a rack of shirts. “Was going to spend all morning here.”

Rarity stepped up close beside him and gently tapped him flank to flank. She tried to hook her tail over his, but she felt a light stiffness in her hock and abandoned the act. Undeterred, she leaned her head near his neck. “Surely you could come back after my appointment? I would be more than happy to personally assist you in finding accouterments to your taste?” she blinked her eyes rapidly.

The stallion noticed the gesture, glanced over her face partly tucked under the royal purple mane with a silver ray. He rolled his eyes. “Eh, no thanks. I have my own appointments later and I would like to spend my time here.”

Rarity reeled back and swallowed a grunt. It wasn’t that he continued to be pushy. But she couldn’t believe it. The success rate of her persuasion seemed to drop exponentially the past few years. At least, noticeably with the stallions.

She sighed but whipped her mane to the side and approached more sternly. “Well, I am sorry, but this will just not do. I have a client who reserved the Boutique before opening hours, and they are due to arrive any minute.”

He seemed to ignore her.

Rarity puckered her mouth to the side in agitation before brightening her face at the sight of a shirt. She pulled it out and cleared her throat, reaching out her hind leg to show more of it from her short summer dress and angling her flank towards him. “Oh and I bet all the mares would adore you in this new line from my friend Coco Pommel.” She arced her neck back and pretended to inspect the polo. “And if you like, I can see about embellishing this further in a more custom fit? Have to make sure everything can go in—all the right places.”

Again, the stallion took notice. He looked at the shirt a little more intently. “I suppose it’s alright. I will keep looking, thanks.”

Rarity furiously threw the shirt back on the rack and snorted. “I have been nothing but nice to you. Sir, this is my business and I’m afraid you will just have to vacate it until we are open.”

The stallion stepped back and made his way to the door. “Sheesh, beldam! I’m leaving, happy now?”

Yona closed the door behind him. “Does boss Miss Rarity want Yona to make sure he not come back? Uh, Rarity?”

Rarity’s eyes were popped wide open, her irises minuscule in shock. It was a moment of traumatic realization, a thousand mile stare. “H—he, he called me…”

Yona snorted. “He call you mean, nasty, untrue things. Yona make sure he no come back.”

Rarity shed a single tear, feeling it rake down the wrinkle line under her eye. She sniffled and turned her head so the evidence to the impacting remark faced the wall. She pulled out a small cloth and wiped it away. “Well, I suppose one has to wonder if it really is untrue. I have to start facing facts—I’m not quite the regal mare I once was.”

Yona stomped her hoof. “No! Always same. In good way! But Yona also see that Rarity care too much what rude pony say. Rarity taught Yona to not care about what other creatures say, that it not matter! It, uh, beauty on inside make beauty outside.”

“Fine wisdom, I should know,” Rarity turned and did her best to regain her composure. But she couldn’t help but mumble. “Though in truth, my quote on beauty was much easier to say in a different time.”

The door’s bell rang and Rarity stuffed her hurt deep down with other building emotions and prepared a joyful facade. Just as expected, a red stallion appeared, but this time it was Big Mac.

“Hello, come in, come in!”

“Nope.”

He opened the door wider to allow his son, Little Mac to enter. The young colt waved off his dad and spoke with a developing raspy voice. “Dad’s gotta major delivery to make. We uh—kinda had an accident on the way, so sorry we’re late.”

“Eyup.” And with that, Big Mac nodded at Rarity and his son, and walked out.

Rarity was thrilled this was happening, and let out a trill, feeling much better for the moment. “Yes! My handsome, dapper Mac is here for his appointment. Are you excited?”

Little Mac angled his head away and looked around the store. “Honestly?” he chuckled. “Not really. But that’s ok, Miss Rarity. It’s always nice to see you.”

Rarity turned to Yona. “My dear, I think I can take it from here. Why don’t you go take a break until about noon?”

Yona gasped with stars in her eyes and briskly trotted out and Rarity locked the door behind her. “There! Now we can continue without any more unexpected interruptions!” She turned to the punch-colored colt who was looking a bit puzzled at a dazzling marenequin with puffy pants.

He chuckled again. “This one’s got some funny-looking pants.”

“Ah!” Rarity trotted next to him and pressed a hoof along one of the bulging pant legs which looked like it was fixing to burst. “The inflatable trousers are trying to infiltrate the fashion world so strongly, I could not help but carry a few items. It allows the stallion to boldly strut himself like he has to compensate for something.”

Little Mac titled his head. “Compensate for what?”

Rarity pinched her mouth and popped her eyes wide. Oops. “Well, uh—you see, the lack of uh, pulsing strength he may have.”

The colt poked at the pants, watching his hoof bury into the elastic material. “Whenever I look at Mr. Bulk, dad says it’s not about how big you are, but how you do things.”

Rarity chuckled at the irony of crudeness. “Well he’s quite right! Now, should we get started? Getting ready for your first Gala! Are you going with somepony special?”

Little Mac knew the drill and stepped over to the fitting mirrors. “Not really. Mom and Dad are just there to serve drinks.”

Rarity started grabbing a set of youth-sized suits, top hats, and ties. “Pinkie Pie is the lead planner for the event. That means Lil’ Cheese will be there! Will you ask her to dance?”

“I don’t know.”

Rarity put together a bright red bow with a black tux lined with wheat-colored buttons and trim. Little Mac frowned as he stared at the bow, so she swapped it for a silver tie. He glanced up at his mane and back down at the tie disapproving.

“Oh, you’re so adorable when you get picky. So why aren’t you sure about dancing with Lil’ Cheese? Nervous? Don’t know how to dance?”

Mac rubbed his hind legs together. “No, I can dance. No thanks to Mom making me learn how. Just not interested. Besides, her dance form is, uh, well how do I say it? Bouncy.”

Rarity put a collar around his neck and tied a black satin western tie. He looked a little more pleased at this choice and so Rarity wrung a thin bolo tie that corded through a small, red apple. He smiled and looked up at her. “See? I guess I don’t feel like I have to ‘compensate for something’, right?”

Rarity coughed and gagged hard as she tried suppressing a laugh.

“Are you alright, Miss Rarity?”

It took a moment for her to regain composure. “Oh, oh, yes, quite fine.” Without much further incident, Rarity caught on to his tastes and in another dozen minutes, Little Mac was enjoying the dressing up and admiring himself in the mirror as Rarity complimented his taste of formal wear. Another few minutes of fooling around and harmless giggling, everything was all set to tailor. To finish, Rarity was stubbornly combing the bushy part of his mane in attempt to tame it into a neat parting. “Well I suppose we could just hide it all and squish it under this hat!” Rarity used her magic to put a top hat on him so big the tip of his nose barely kept it from sinking to his neck. He laughed and threw it from him.

“But I don’t need anything that big, remember?” He stuck out his tongue.

Rarity pursed her lips and teased. “O—h, well then perhaps this will do.” She placed a pink, mini top hat on him.

He was quick to try shaking it off himself and jumped down. “Well, are we done?”

Rarity magically pulled up her pocket watch. “I’m afraid so, early by nearly forty minutes before the shop opens. I told your dad that I would walk you home after lunch, so you’ve got a lot of time ahead of you. But I think we did a fine job dressing you up all handsome.” She began to carefully remove the suit from her young client and double-check measurements for tailoring.

Little Mac poked at the ground in a mope. “I don’t wanna be bored.”

“Well, you can help carry things up to the room.” She nudged towards a basket full of supplies and materials while she focused her magic on his suit. He shrugged and shifted the basket on his back, not unlike how he helped with carrying apples on the farm. “Truth be told, I’ve missed Spike so much, even after all these years. He was so helpful. It was quite an adjustment.”

After they made it up the stairs, Little Mac set the basket down by the sewing machine and noticed the room was cozy and almost cramped, not realizing Rarity had to convert her old sewing room into storage for her expanding business, moving the sewing to the bedroom. In the organized clutter, he saw something sparkle in the corner and trotted to it.

“Miss Rarity, what’s this?”

Rarity turned her head and giggled as she magically pulled out the bedazzling black formal dress covered in sapphires and black sequins with a steely grey shawl hung on a marenequin. She twirled it around and curtseyed with it as if on a dance floor. “It was a dress I was considering for the Gala.” She admired it a moment before setting it down. “But I don’t think it’ll ever see the Gala.”

“Well, why not?”

“Oh, I don’t have anypony to go with. Besides, the formality of the place, so uptight, it’s grown a little mundane.” She drifted into a dreamscape, remembering all the years of disappointment. “Redundant really. Same story all over. So I don’t have anypony to go with me. The Gala isn’t quite a place to be with no special pony at your side. Though the invitation is always open, of course. Not quite the—comely—mare I used to be.”

“Comely? I dunno, you brush your mane a lot.”

Rarity laughed. “Not talking about a comb. Comely is like, pleasing to the eye, graciously pretty.”

“Ah, but you’re pretty, Miss Rarity! And I guess since I’m already there, you can go with me. I mean, if you would help it not be so boring. Like, you know, I think it’ll be boring, and the way you said it, you think so too.”

“Oh really?” Rarity blinked rapidly at him. “I can’t just go with anypony. If I am to be escorted by a handsome young stallion, he must think highly of me. And I have to make sure I’m worthy. So—how pretty do you really think I am?”

Little Mac laughed, long and hard. Rarity knew he didn’t mean any harm at the laughing, and knew they were both just probably playing along. But she could feel a flutter. He jumped up on the bed. “Really pretty!”

Rarity wrung the back of a front hoof over her forehead and pretended to feel faint. “Oh my, is that all I am? Yes! Woe is me! A dull, dreary, average pretty!”

Little Mac giggled. “Beautiful!”

Rarity smirked as she looked at him from under her hoof. As she swung herself back upright, she “accidentally” misplaced the back of her dress to show a lot of her leg as she turned away. “Would it be enough?”

He gulped as he sat down. “Beautifully pretty?”

It was so easy to command his attention at this point. So easy! Nostalgia flooded her consciousness as she turned around and let the sleeves of her dress hang, letting her luxuriously brushed breast spread through a loosened button. “Is that all?”

He stuttered. “Gorgeous? I’m running out of words, Miss Rarity.”

She leaned forward, causing him to fall on his back as they nearly met nose to nose. She picked up his right front hoof and placed it where the loosening button was on her dress, letting him feel the warmth under her generous chest. He started breathing hard as the button slowly came undone with the strain.

“So, I’m speechlessly gorgeous? Can you prove that’s how you feel?”

Little Mac’s heartbeat jumped in rhythm. He felt strange, tingly, and started quivering. Rarity eased herself on the bed as her legs wrapped around him, parting open her dress. He felt a strong urge to look down. Forbidden lace was there but he quickly averted his gaze back to her face and gulped. She pressed herself to him, letting his hoof nestle under her dress.

He froze.

“Maybe you need a better examination of what you call gorgeous.” Rarity used her magic to slip her dress off so he could behold her figure and the intricate lace of her underthings. As it happened, she noticed from down below that he couldn’t contain himself anymore and she reached down. “I think I can clearly see that perhaps you meant what you said.”

He was still frozen in place.

She leaned down and nibbled on his ear. She rubbed his back and made long, soft, hot breaths directly into his hearing.

He was numb.

Rarity rubbed her chin on top of his mane and began to slide closer, her hips tightly hugging around his. He suddenly felt gross and sick all over.

He shattered.

Before Rarity knew it, he bolted out the bedroom door and was trampling his way down the stairs fighting back tears.

He tripped on the last step and his nose made contact with the floor. He stood back up and was racing to the door, trying to open it but it wouldn’t budge. He thought he felt his nose run so he tried sniffling but it wasn’t helping. Then he realized he was having a nosebleed. Little Mac tried holding up a hoof to his muzzle while fiddling with the door handle with the other. The adrenaline rush and swirling emotion and strange sensations were so overwhelming, he didn’t even stop to realize the door was locked.

Rarity collected her thoughts and was trying to make her way out the bedroom door, tripping on her dress still wrung around the tip of her back leg. “Wait! Sweetie? Mac?”

He was sobbing as he saw her come down the stairs. He turned to buck the door open when she magically seized him. Little Mac tried to object, but the word “no” was terribly muffled under his sinuses.

“Oh, oh dear, you’ve fallen with a nosebleed.” Rarity grabbed a spare cloth from a nearby clearance bin and tried to motherly get control of the bleeding. Little Mac curled up and tried backing away to hide the exposure behind him. Rarity’s attempt to comfort him was all for naught as he felt cornered and utterly defeated, more scared of her magic than anything.

Rarity swore under her breath at first, but then shouted obscenities. She turned away. “Please, please Mac, please. I—I, I, I was caught up in the moment! You seemed so infatuated with me, and well, there’s no excuse.”

She opened the register’s till and showed him a dozen bits. “Here. Take these, and go buy yourself anything you want. I’ll take you to lunch, and you can get anything you want, even ice cream and cookies! Sugarcube Corner? Or we don’t have to, I mean, if you want to go by yourself, I’ll completely understand!” She piled on more gold bits in front of him. He was still shaking. Rarity realized that herself being exposed the way she was probably wasn’t helping, so she pulled a random outfit from a nearby rack and contained the experience but otherwise continued to babble.

The shivering colt made his way to the door and clung to the handle, pleading for it to be open when he realized there was a lock to be undone. A lock, which should protect from the outside world, but was instead trapping him in. Rarity begged him not to go.

“Please, just calm down, and let’s talk about this rationally.”

Truth be told, his throat was so dry and he was sobbing so uncontrollably that he probably couldn’t talk about anything. He fidgeted with handle until he heard a loud click announcing his ability for freedom.

Rarity magically shut the door and locked it. He whimpered as he slid down and banged on the door, sinking his head to the doormat. When he let go, so did she, and Rarity approached him. She turned him around and her hooves held him by the shoulders. “Let’s, just take a deep breath. That’s right. Calm down. Calm down. See? Why don’t we just forget any of this happened, hmm?”

He hit her right hoof with both of his, snatched the lock, kicked back, twisted the door and he was running through the streets of Ponyville.

Twilight’s private meeting room was a whirling ruckus when Applejack saw the mare of her wrath. Chairs tossed and the table cracked in half with Rarity now using it as a rudimentary shield. As another chair flew across the room and shattered on the table, the apple pony intended a bull rush when Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash did their best to restrain her.

Twilight stood in the way and spread open her regal wings. “Applejack, stop.”

“Make me, you royal, purple piece of…”

Rainbow Dash gave her an uppercut punch to the cheek. Not enough to break anything, but enough to hopefully snap her out. Applejack seemed to calm. Pinkie let go. “Thanks, RD.”

Then she lunged forward.

Twilight encapsulated AJ in a bubble shield, but she slammed its inner wall with all her might, just inches away from a petrified Rarity just waiting for the cracks of the glowing shield to crumble and her face to become the likeness of its shattered destruction. But instead, Applejack slowly tired herself out and was moved back to the other side of the room.

Twilight fanned her wings again. “Please! We should know better than to resort to unrestrained violence.” Seeing Applejack devolve to such a level broke her heart, but so did the act of discussion. She briefly second-guessed if it was a good idea to have Rarity present after all.

More out of concern than anger, Pinkie spoke up. “Are the Cake Twins ok after all these years? I’m shook up over this. I have my own foal to look after. Oh, but I don’t want to see Rarity go away forever.”

Twilight bowed her head. “It’s just an isolated incident, Pinkie Pie, I’m sure they’re fine.”

Applejack huffed. “Could be a great, big ol’ lie for all we know!”

Twilight looked sternly at AJ but turned her attention to the others. “I’m sure you all know her side and motivation. And I believe her wholeheartedly.”

Fluttershy whimpered. “That poor, little colt must’ve been so traumatized.”

Applejack stamped a hoof. “Traumatized? TRAUMATIZED? My own nephew didn’t even want to hug me!” her eyes burned with stinging tears. “It was always the very first thing he does when he sees me! It was like, like our thing!” Applejack let the angering water pour down her face. “A-a-a-and now, he don’t want me hugging him, even touching him, and he wanted to be comforted so bad. So bad. And I CAN’T EVEN comfort him, or hold him tight and tell him everything’s goanna be alright.”

Fluttershy brushed her hoof behind another before walked up to Rarity with her large, shimmering green eyes. Fluttershy stared deep into her soul. “I don’t understand. I just—don’t. After all I’ve told you.”

Rainbow Dash gasped. “Oh yeah, it happened to you as a filly.”

Fluttershy took another two steps. “It was the worst time of my life. It ruined everything for me. My life was crippled for years and years, always afraid of everything and everypony. Living around Ponyville right after I got my cutie mark—I was so lonely—and I was scared, but compared to living at home up in Cloudsdale, it was the lesser of two evils. But you knew that. And still did this.”

Rainbow Dash nervously rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, you know I’m not much for words, but when you see all this,” she waved a hoof around the room to each of her friends, “and seeing what Twilight has to do as authority, and her decisions gotta be pretty tough. Seeing Fluttershy betrayed, Applejack understandably really mad, and Pinkie Pie living in fear. As the Element of Loyalty, this tears me up inside.”

Rarity stood to face her friends but stared at the ground. “What I did was—utterly unforgiveable. And there is no excuse. I would say despite the wisdom that came with my age, I threw it away in blind, momentary desperation. It is the single-most regrettable thing I’ve ever done.” She sighed. “I am not ready for any punishment that I deserve, but I know that I have no entitlement to any sort of preparedness anyhow.”

Twilight rested a wing over Rarity’s back. “I know you know this already, but you should have come to us and asked for help, and open up your feelings.”

Rarity’s eyes welled up. “Well, what good is talking about what I was tempted to do? Just by having the crime of the thought cross my mind would have been just as upsetting to you all. Since it came up, it must run deep, and I loathe myself for it. I would like nothing more than to crawl under a rock and die in this moment.”

Applejack snorted. “Good riddance.”

Twilight glared at AJ across the room before turning to Rarity. “It’s clear to me that your guilt seems to be troubling you. I wouldn’t want you to suffer some great, indefinite punishment as that doesn’t solve anything. You have already learned your lesson, but I still feel you need something as a deterrent with an experience that can help you empathize.”

Rarity sat on the floor amidst the debris. “What are you going to do?”

Twilight looked away. “I’m going to banish you to Tartarus.”

The ponies all held their breath.

“For one week. While there, you will be caged, some of the creatures will be allowed to roam free. You won’t know which ones. Some will be very dangerous, some not as much. Maybe some not at all. You will live terrified, scared of them all, monsters that see you as prey. You will sleep only when they give you peace, because they will roar for what they want. Because that is how Little Mac feels. After that, we will keep a close eye on you, but I would hope that from then on, we can forgive and forget everything.”

Rarity took a moment to look at all of her friends, locking eyes in a gaze full of her shame, fear, and guilt. “Do it.”

Author's Note

This was written as a social experiment. Without any real expectations, I am curious to see what kind of reactions this garners from those who read it.