“That doesn’t make a lick of sense, Rarity!”
Applejack trudged alongside the purple unicorn as she made her way through the fabric section of the craft store.
“It doesn’t always have to make sense, darling. I chose that bolt of fabric because I liked it!”
“But there’s another one in the sale bin that’s the exact same colour and a third of the price!”
“Hardly! That one is lavender; this one is amethyst. And there’s the thread count to consider.”
Applejack huffed. “Whatever floats your boat. You wanna waste yer bits on overpriced, useless stuff, you go right ahead!
Rarity’s face flushed red as they proceeded to the cashier, who was definitely casting an unimpressed look at the farmer. And perhaps a sympathetic look at the farmer’s companion.
After paying for the fabric (and leaving an ample tip), they stepped outside into the cool morning air and the bustle of the Ponyville market. Rarity took a deep breath to collect herself, then made a decision she knew she’d regret.
“That’s it. We need to have a talk. My boutique, now.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “There’s nothing to talk about! We’re not gonna see eye to eye on this.”
“We most certainly do have something to talk about!” Rarity said, with a forced cheerfulness barely containing her frustration. “That is, if you still want me to make the banner for the Apple Family Dance next month.”
The farmer knew when she was in a corner, even if she wouldn’t admit it. She simply grunted and started following her friend out of the market.
The door to Carousel Boutique swung open with a louder sound than Applejack was used to. Even the familiar chime of the bell had an edge to it. Rarity cantered over to the other side of the main room and dropped off the bags. The unicorn let out a long sigh and looked up at the ceiling, not facing her friend.
“Applejack, we have a problem. I like spending time with you, but I simply cannot be around you if you’re going to behave like that.”
The orange pony scoffed. “Behave like what? I’m just trying to help you shop smarter!”
Rarity looked back with an icy glare.
“By second-guessing my every decision and insulting my tastes in fashion? For somepony who cares about her friends, you certainly have an odd way of showing it.”
“Ah jus’ don’t think you get where I’m coming from. There ain’t no need to be fancy when simple will get the job done.”
“You don’t think I understand practicality?”
“I don’t think you’ve lived a practical day in your whole life.” Applejack almost immediately regretted those words leaving her mouth.
Rarity’s eye twitched, and the air in the room changed. It hadn’t gotten any colder, but it had lost its warmth.
“Rarity, I- “
“Come with me.”
It was like a switch had been flipped, for both of them. Rarity suddenly had a commanding edge to her voice as she walked up the stairs to her workshop, and Applejack had suddenly lost the nerve to talk back.
This was a side of her friend she had never seen before, and she had no idea what to expect.
“Applejack, I need you to promise you will not repeat a word of this to anypony else, even the girls.”
“Uh, of course. I promise. What’s going on, sugarcube? You’re startin’ to rattle me.”
The unicorn levitated a small chest from the back of the room and laid it down on the workbench. There was a clicking as she manipulated the lock, and the lid flipped open. A single photograph fluttered out.
“Do you know who this is?”
The photo was of a Royal Guard, a unicorn mare wearing the signature golden armour and patrolling a city street. It looked like Canterlot, from what Applejack could see of the buildings.
“Can’t say I do. Friend of yours? She sure has pretty blue…”
Rarity smirked slightly as Applejack looked back and forth between the picture and the unicorn in front of her, with increasing amounts of disbelief.
“No way. You’re pullin’ my leg.”
“I think not!” She huffed. “Do you see the name engraved on the peytral plate?”
Applejack squinted her eyes for a closer look, and there it was, staring her in the face.
Rarity.
“You… you were a guard?”
“Briefly, yes. I went through a period in my life where I wanted something different, like your trip to Manehattan.”
“How come ya never told us?”
“I didn’t want you to think differently of me. This is a part of my life I have put behind me, and I am still the mare you knew this morning.”
“What were you like when you were a guard?”
“I was… different. You would not have recognized me. I spoke with a different accent, I walked with a different gait. I even had a short mane.”
“You, short hair? That’d be the day!” Applejack chuckled, hoping to ease the tension.
Another slight smirk. Close enough. “I’ll have you know I made the best of it! I thought I looked quite charming.”
The earth pony stepped back from the photo, releasing a breath long held. Rarity locked the photo back in the chest and floated it back to its place, safely hidden away behind a bureau.
A gentler expression greeted the farmer now. “I think some tea is in order.”
Applejack wasn’t sure what to think as she laid down on one of Rarity’s couches. She couldn’t unknow this, and yet, the unicorn set about making tea in the exact same way she always had.
Maybe that should have been a clue. From the moment she opened her boutique, Rarity had always been exceptionally disciplined in the little things. Her stiches were uniform even without the machine, her blueprints exacting and thorough.
“You’re awfully quiet, darling.” She sipped on her cup, gazing carefully at the farmer lost in thought.
“It’s just a lot to take in is all.”
“I imagine you must have questions.”
“Ah do, yeah. What made you choose to be a Guard?”
“You know the first bit. I felt stuck. For a while, I even lost the desire to create things. A close friend told me how the Guard had helped them find their direction, so I signed up.”
Rarity gazed down at the floor. “I spent the next year at the Royal Guard Academy. I didn’t want my family and friends back home to worry, so we kept in touch with letters. I always kept them vague enough to ward off suspicion.”
“You didn’t tell them?” Applejack gasped.
The unicorn shook her head. “Not until that adventure was long behind me. Most of them still don’t know.”
She floated a cookie over and chewed it thoughtfully. “I had excelled in training and graduated in just under a year. The top students got to choose their postings, and for me, that meant Canterlot. I had always dreamed of living there. As fate would have it, my first patrols were in the entertainment district.
“Some part of me still enjoyed seeing ponies experiment with fabrics, colours, lights, movement. One day, I met this young mare by the name of Blueberry. Her dream had been to apprentice for a local designer, and she had done it! We got to talking over the next few weeks. She would greet me when my patrol came by and tell me all of the goings on in the fashion world.
“I saw my old self in her. The spark I had been looking for was starting to come back. Soon, I was doodling ideas for designs in the barracks. Unfortunately, I grew very confused and avoided her for the next couple of days. I suppose I was angry at myself. I knew in my heart what I wanted, but I was afraid of upsetting others.”
The unicorn took a deep breath and sighed.
“The Guard, because they had put in so much time and effort to train me, and I had only been on duty for a few weeks. There was nothing compelling me to stay, but it wouldn’t look good.”
“My parents, because I had kept such a big secret from them. I knew they were expecting a filly soon, and that weighed on my mind as well.”
“And truthfully? Myself.” Rarity’s voice wavered as a tear rolled down her cheek. “I’ve always prided myself on being committed. If I wasted all of that training, what did that say about who I was?”
An orange hoof covered her own. Rarity looked up at Applejack with a gentle smile.
“But then, as I was sitting around the barracks, one of the other guards called for me. Apparently, Blueberry had come by, wanting to know if I was alright. She had missed my patrols.
“For the first time in a while, I went outside without my armour on. I took a personal day, and we went to walk around the city. I told her what I had been feeling and asked for her advice. Her potential reaction had been a source of anxiety for me. She knew me as the gallant guard mare, and she would see that I was just a scared pony, figuring it out as I went along.
“I could not have been more wrong. She gave me some very wise advice, and a lot to think about. I knew what I wanted to do, what I needed to do, for my own well-being. And so, the next morning, I did it. I visited my commanding officer and asked to resign. She was very much opposed to the idea, and I understood her reasons.
“We were interrupted by a dispatch from the castle. I had been approved for an honourable discharge, and the Princess herself had signed off. I had no idea she even knew my name, but apparently someone had pleaded my case. I did not waste the opportunity. I turned in my armour, said goodbye to the guards in my unit. They were saddened, but they understood. I told them I would visit whenever I was in town.”
“So that’s when you came back to Ponyville?” The farmer vaguely remembered that day, years ago.
“Yes. That afternoon, I packed up my saddlebags and went to visit Blueberry before leaving the city. She was so happy for me, and I promised to return her kindness someday.”
“That’s sweet of you. Have ya seen her since?”
The smile grew wider. “I surprised her with a dress when we went to Canterlot for the Grand Galloping Gala. She had the most self-satisfied grin the whole time.”
“I can imagine,” Applejack chuckled. “So, what’d you learn from the whole shebang?”
“I wasn’t happy with the guard life. My heart was in fashion and creativity, but thanks to my experience, I now had the confidence and discipline to pursue them intentionally. I’m glad things unfolded the way they did.
“And that’s what I’m hoping you take away from this, Applejack. I’ve found a way of living that makes me happy. When I decide to buy a particular item or make a particular design choice, more often than not it’s about me being able to make that choice. I will deal with the consequences they bring, and I know I can lean on you for help. But it’s important to me that I get to choose.”
“I can understand that,” Applejack nodded. “For what it’s worth, I’m real sorry. Ah got so caught up in my opinion about what you were deciding, I forgot I do care about your feelings.”
“It’s quite alright, darling. I’m glad you can see things a bit differently now.”
“Can I ask you one last thing? Did you ever find out what happened with the Princess?”
“I did, actually! One moment.”
The unicorn got up from the couch and went back up to her workshop. The sound of drawers and knick-knacks echoed down the stairs, soon followed by Rarity, holding a scroll.
“I received this a few weeks after returning to Ponyville.” She unfurled the letter for Applejack to read.
Rarity,
I was saddened to hear of your predicament. Changing one’s path in life is never an easy proposition, and I’ve had to make such choices myself. I hope that you emerge stronger from this, and I wish nothing but the best for you in your future endeavours.
I have included in this package, among other things, your company banner from the Academy. A memento, if you will, of what you have accomplished. Even if it does not represent the pony you are these days, I hope that it will at least serve to remind that you are so much stronger than you think you are.
The day may come when I, and perhaps all of Equestria, may need you. Not the lieutenant who graduated the Academy, but Rarity, whoever that may be. I hope you will help us safeguard that which we hold most dear.
With warmest regards,
HRH Princess Celestia
P.S. Between the two of us, Blueberry is quite the chatterbox, isn’t she?
“Whoa,” Applejack breathed.
“That was my reaction, too.”
“You think she knew? About Twilight and us?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. There are things about the Princesses I will never understand.”
“No doubt.”
Rarity gave her friend a hopeful look. “So, where does this leave us?”
“Well, I can’t promise to agree with every decision you make. Even you gotta admit, you make some weird ones sometimes.”
The seamstress grinned and shook her head.
“But I can promise that ah’ll do it a lot more respectfully, and in private when I can. You deserve that much.”
“I’ll take that. We’re good?”
“We’re good.” The two ponies shared a hug.
“Would you like to finish our shopping?”
“’Course I would! Let’s go.”
The chime of the door was a lot friendlier this time.
Author's Note
Hey, everyone! Thanks for reading!
This is the first of the stories I'm publishing now that I'm in a much healthier place.
I look forward to making many more.
