“Maybe if I-- No. What if I added some gems-- No, that won’t fix it. Maybe some ribbo-- No, I used that in my last design. What if I--”
Rarity let out a frustrated sigh. “Nothing is working!” She lifted the paper in front of her with her magic before crumbling it into a tight ball, and threw it off somewhere behind her. “I just can’t think of something new.”
She was seated at her work desk, just as she had been for the past three hours. It was a drafting and art table she repurposed to be her fashion desk. It had a wooden board that was large enough to hold not only her design papers, but also her blueprints and forms of request from clients, and had clips she could use to clip them into place. On top of it was an adjustable desk lamp pointed towards the board. She used it for those long nights spent working on a new design, or for when sudden inspiration struck her in the middle of her dreaming and she just had to get it down before she forgot it! The light was a soft glow so it was bright enough to lift up her work area, but not enough to hurt her eye unless she used it for too many hours.
She rubbed her forehead as she felt a headache coming on. Three hours of thinking, sketching, rejecting, and letting out moans of frustration lead to nothing but broken quills, headaches, and her floor littered with balls of papers. She felt drained in not only spirit but also in magic.
She took off her red-rimmed glasses. The strain of using them and working was starting to hurt her eyes. She moved her hooves down and rubbed her back. Instead of using a chair or a couch (like so many ponies assumed she used), she sat on a stool that she had decorated with ribbons and gems. She always used the stool instead of a chair because it was better for one's posture and health. Sitting in a chair allowed for slouching, but a stool forced a pony to sit correctly. Of course, no matter what a pony chose, prolonged sitting would lead to back problems, and sitting for three hours straight with no breaks was no ideal.
“I need a break,” she groaned. She turned in her chair and saw it was still daylight outside, despite the fact she had been sitting there all day. She walked over to the window and looked out into the bright sunny day. There were no clouds about, allowing the sun to shine down on Ponyville and light up everything it touched.
She saw ponies out and about in the marketplace, buying things and chatting with each other. She saw foals running about town, no doubt off to someplace they found fun. If she squinted her eyes, she could see a family off in the distances enjoying a picnic.
Everypony saw off enjoying the day, while she was inside, burning daylight. That simply wouldn’t do. She needed to go out and clear her head, breath in the fresh air, converse with other pon--
A low grumble from her stomach made the young mare blush. “And to get something to eat,” she said.
Cafe Hay was a simple, yet darling little cafe where ponies could sit outside and eat their food. There were also tables inside, but it would be a waste of a day to just sit inside and eat. She needed to be outside and soak up the day, or else her fur would pale and no longer be the vibrant white it was.
She was seated at one of the tables with a daisy and daffodil sandwich laid out before her. Beside it was a glass of sparkling water, and a small plate of hay fries to reward her for all the hard work she had done recently.
She lifted up the glass in her magic and took a dainty sip from the straw. A cool, refreshing liquid felt wonderful against her throat.
“Did you hear what happened to Colgate?”
Her right ear perked up. Without moving her head, she moved her ear towards the source of the voice as she continued to drink her water. If she wasn’t mistaken, the owner of the voice was Cherry Berry.
“No. What happened?” That one no doubt belonged to Berry Punch.
She resisted the urge to sigh as she remembered the last time both of them had shown up in her Boutique. They had just gotten done stomping grapes and decided that was the perfect time to shop for dresses. At first Rarity hadn’t noticed, since their hooves were mostly clean, but when they left she saw small spots of grape jelly on her floor and some of the dresses they had looked at. She had no doubt that instead of cleaning their hooves, they had traveled from wherever they were to her Boutique, thinking the ground would rid their hooves of the jelly, and while it had mostly, it had failed to get some little spots that were no doubt left on their hooves.
It had taken her many washes to get the stains out of those dresses.
Even though that was months ago, the event never left her mind. She still held her breath as she saw them passing her shop, and would only release it when they walked past her door. She knew it was unladylike to hold it against the mares, especially since it had been an accident, but she had worked hard on those dresses. She had almost thrown them out when after three washes, the spot had only dulled instead of removing, but she had persisted until the spot was gone and the dresses looked as they had before.
“I heard that while she was working on a pony’s teeth, Prim Posy ran in and started yelling that Minuttee was sleeping with her boyfriend, Ponet!”
Ahh. Prim Posy and Ponet. They had only been dating for a few months, but there were countless rumors about surrounding them; from Posy being a golddigger to Ponet cheating on her with a new mare every week.
She often saw them together in her Boutique, but only Posy would buy anything while Ponet waited for her to get done. She was always looking for a new outfit to wear around Ponyville, something that Rarity understood. She never paid for the outfits herself, but instead Ponet would be the one to cough up the bits for them.
The way the two spoke to each other was rather...intense, to say the least. Whenever Posy asked Ponet a question about an outfit, she would get mad if his response was lackluster or if he didn’t agree on it. Even when he agreed she seemed to somehow still be angry about something.
Rarity was also certain that whenever he was in the store, she felt eyes on her flank. No matter which way she turned, she could feel them on there. She would have liked to yell at him to stop, but she could never catch him in the act, and without proof there would be no evidence to prove him wrong, even if everypony in Ponyville was sure he was cheating. She got her revenge though by charging him five percent more than other ponies.
Posy always wore simple outfits, which was a flower in her mane and a cloth saddle covering her backside, yet she somehow was able to make even the most simple outfits just as complicated as the most detailed dress. It wasn’t anything Rarity couldn’t handle, but she wished the mare had a better attitude when she asked for the changes, and act like she was a master of fashion while Rarity was a newbie at her calling.
She noticed that when other ponies were in the store, or if she saw them in Ponyville, they acted like a regular, lovey-dovey couple and showered each other in attention and kisses. Once she was passing by an alley when she saw the two arguing about something, thinking nopony was noticing them.
It was these reasons why Rarity didn’t have a hard time believing the rumors to be true.
“She started wrecking up the place,” Cherry continued. “She kicked over that table thing with all the dentist supplies, knocked over some papers, and even stood on the chair to knock the overhead lamp over! Colgate had to restrain her with magic until the guards came.”
“Woah. Who knew that mare had so much anger and power in her,” Berry said. “Was the patient ok?”
“Oh yeah. I mean, Colgate accidentally cut them when Posy scared her by charging in, but they aren’t pressing charges against Colgate. Can’t say the same about Posy.”
“That’ll cost Ponet a pretty big dent in his bits bag.”
“Oh, that’s not all! Since Posey caused some damages, she’ll be expected to pay back everything, and you just know it’ll cost more than a thousand bits.”
“Geez. I hope Ponet has enough for that.”
“Unless he breaks up with her first.”
“Enjoying the gossip?”
Rarity’s eyes widen at the new voice. Her eyes shot up to see a mare she had never seen before standing in front of her. Her coat was as orange as a campfire, and her mane was as golden as the sun itself. She had her mane pulled into a low ponytail that hung to the side--much like her friend Applejack’s--tied by a red mane-tie, while her tail hung freely. The mare’s colors combined with the cool blue of her eyes gave off a sense of warmth and comfort.
She was smiling softly at Rarity, showing off her amusement at catching Rarity in the act.
Instead of blushing and sputtering out excuses like most ponies, Rarity instead lowered her eyelids until her expression changed from surprise to calm and collected. She removed the straw from her mouth and gave the mare her own smile. “I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about, darling.”
“Oh, really?” The mare asked. “Then why have you been staring at your sandwich and drinking from an empty glass for the past five minutes?”
Rarity’s eyes once again widened. Her violet eyes looked to the side and saw that her glass that was once full of sparkling water, now sat bare. “I, um, have a lot on my mind.”
“It’s ok,” the mare spoke softly. “I, of all ponies, can’t judge a pony for enjoying gossip.”
She turned so Rarity could see her cutie mark; two pony masks talking to each other. On any other day, Rarity might have misjudged it for being a cutie mark in theatre, but given the topic of the conversation, it was no doubt a cutie mark for--
“Gossip,” she whispered.
“Correct.” The mare took a seat at the purple mushroom table in front of her. “I can sense gossip a mile away, and I can tell when a pony is eavesdropping on some gossip, no matter how stealthy they are being.” She smirked and gave Rarity a wink.
Rarity could feel her white cheeks turning a light red as shame and embarrassment washed over her. “W-well, I wouldn’t say that I enjoy it. It’s just--”
“--Just that ponies crave a certain amount of drama.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Ponies may say that they hate drama and gossip, yet those same ponies can’t help but stop and listen to a juicy conversation they may overhear, or they may even spread some gossip without realizing it. Of course there are ponies that just love spreading gossip to turn ponies on each other, but the rest of us just enjoy a little bit of drama in our lives, especially when it doesn’t involve us.”
Rarity opened her mouth to object. To insist that she didn’t crave gossip, or enjoy drama, that that was unladylike, but the mare continued to talk.
“As I said, a little bit doesn’t hurt, but someponies become so obsessed with it. They want to hear every piece of gossip they can, to know every little thing about the ponies around them, to hold so many secrets over them. They can never get enough. It’s all they can think about, all they crave. It consumes them and their lives, leaving behind a shell of their former selves. These ponies often go insane, but we’re not like that. We know when to stop, don’t we?”
The mare’s smile, that was once soft and calming, was slowly growing on her face as she spoke. No longer sitting across from Rarity was a mare as warm as the sun, but now sat a predator grinning at its prey, toying with them as it cornered it, knowing there was no escape for it.
She could feel her blood turning cold. What was going on? What this mare was talking about was utter nonsense! Yes, while too much drama could negatively affect a pony’s mental health, there was no way somepony went insane from it. It was poppycock!
She carefully stood up from her seat. She couldn’t show how nervous this mare was making her. That’s all the mare wanted after all; to rattle her nerves for some sick pleasure. She carefully placed the right amount of bits on the table. “Well, it’s been lovely, Ms...”
“Please, call me Gossip Mane.”
‘Well, isn’t that name a bit on the nose,’ she thought to herself. “Ms. Gossip Mane, but I must get back to work. I hope you have a lovely day.” She bowed her head once before turning and walking back in the direction of her home.
“You too, Ms. Rarity.”
Rarity stopped in her tracks. Not once through their conversation had Rarity told the Gossip her name. She had been too distracted by her embarrassment and then by the conversation itself. She felt her stomach start to knot and her breathing slowly increasing. She licked her lips and slowly turned back to the mare. “How did yo--”
Except no pony was seated there anymore.
She hummed as she placed the final piece on her store mannequin; a hat. She took a step back to admire the summer outfit she had created. The gems on it sparkled in the sunlight, gaining the attention of a few passer-bys.
The fresh air and being outside had done the trick. The moment she stepped a hoof in her Boutique, she suddenly gained the idea for the perfect summer outfit. She had rushed up to her room and sketched the idea out. From there it was simple from picking out the right fabric, the right colors, the right gems, and stitching it all together.
Not even the nagging thought of what the mare had said, that was always in the back of her mind, trying to claw its way to the front of her mind, was able to distract her from creating. She had to stay busy because pausing for even a second gave the thought the chance to come to mind.
She didn’t want to think about it. Something about the conversation was just...odd. The way the mare’s warmth grew colder the more she spoke. The look of...safasication when she spoke of ponies going insane. What kind of talk was that anyway? Rarity had never heard of such nonsense before. The idea of ponies going insane from simple gossip was impossible. Why, the very idea of it sounded like something that brute Discord would come up with!
What did that mare even want? To scare her? Was it just some sick joke? See how many ponies she could make uncomfortable before they left? Someponies had nothing better to do it seemed.
Her head turned towards the door when she heard three knocks upon it. She raised an eyebrow. Her Boutique was open, so why would anypony knock? Was it a shy customer that was afraid of making Rarity mad by just walking in? Was it Fluttershy visiting for tea? Or perhaps it was Derpy, the local mailmare. She couldn’t remember getting any mail today, but then again she had spent most of the day inside, busy working, so she could have missed her.
Either way she put on her best helping smile and trotted towards the door. “Coming~” She called out in a singsong voice. Her horn lit up as she opened the door. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chick, unique, and ma--”
She trailed off when she realized there was nopony standing in front of her. She looked around at the ponies that were near her shop, but they weren’t paying her any attention. She didn’t see anypony walking away either.
She let out a frustrated huff. “Looks like I’ve been pranked,” she muttered. She turned around to leave but stopped when she felt something brush against her tail. She turned back around and looked down to see a brown box sitting in front of her door.
She lifted the box closer to her with her magic to examine it. It was a medium-sized box with brown tape on the top and sides to keep it sealed. There was no return address anywhere on the box, but what was written on it made her gasp.
“To: Rarity. From: A secret admirer.”
She let out a gleeful squeal and pranced in place, kicking up small clouds of dirt as she did. She giggled loudly like a school filly and raced back into her Boutique. She rushed past her customers as fast as she could. The force of her wind caused their mane and tails to blow in her direction. A few of her dresses were knocked off, but she didn’t notice.
She ran into the back room where she kept her mannequins and some outfits she planned to put out into the store soon. She giggled madly as she put the box down. “What could it be?” She asked gleefully. “Diamonds? Chocolates? A romantic song written down on paper to express their admiration and love for me? Eeee!”
Despite being one of the most beautiful, sophisticated, and generous mares in Ponyville, she didn’t get many secret admirers. Perhaps it was because she was always rushing off to either an adventure, or off to other cities to help her clients or deliver their outfits. Perhaps they saw how busy she was and didn’t think she would have time for gifts. None of that mattered though, because some brave stallion had the courage to deliver a gift to her.
“I can’t wait any longer!” She tore the tape off with her magic, throwing them to the side in balls to deal with later. She opened the box and looked inside.
Her excited smile slowly fell to a confused frown. “This...doesn’t make any sense.” Instead of finding something one usually gave to the one they admire, something that showed their love and left no doubt in their intention, she instead found something...confusing.
She lifted a radio out of the box. It was a radio one could find at any shop: a wooden base with a large speaker in the middle. Two knobs that could be used to either change the station or to adjust the volume. In between the knobs was a little screen that showed tiny lines and a red marker to show what line it was on. The screen was to show what station the pony was on.
She rotated the radio slowly, looking for any romance hints the pony might have left on the radio, such as a carved heart, and address to meet them at, or even a name, but to her disappointment there was nothing.
It was just a simple radio.
“Well, I never!” She lifted her head and gave a soft ‘hmph’ to show her displeasure. “Toying with a lady’s heart like that. Unthinkable! The nerve of someponies!”
She ceased her magic and let the radio fall back into the box with a thud. She turned her back to it, intending to leave it there, untouched, for the rest of her life, but then an idea struck her. While she enjoyed the peace and quiet of her home (not counting the days when Sweetie and her friends were raising a racas, or when her sweet baby Opal threw one of her famous fits), she figured some music couldn’t hurt. She could play it during her business hours for the ponies shopping, then at night she could listen to it while she was working. Music was a good way to get inspiration.
Besides, it might not have been a love gift, but it was a gift nonetheless. She was the element of generosity, so she didn’t have a right to turn down a gift on the basis that it wasn’t what she wanted. Somepony had taken the time to buy a radio, package it, write her name on it, knock on her home, and leave it for her. Even if it was just some prank, they had still taken the time out of their lives for her. The least she could do was use it.
And who knows, maybe this was a love gift. Maybe the pony was too nervous to send her a more direct gift, so they went with an indirect one. Maybe they would soon visit the shop to see if she accepted the gift or not. Maybe she would be able to tell it was them, and maybe their eyes would meet and they would fall in love at once. Maybe they would date for a few months, and he would propose, and then maybe they would settle down and have a family!
The thought of her possible new future sent her heart racing. Her eyes shined as she quickly grabbed the radio and raced back into the shop. She placed the radio down where she knew everypony would be able to hear it. She looked at the volume to make sure it was at the right level for ponies to hear and not be blasted by loud music. Luckily whoever had sent it to her had already set it to the perfect volume.
She lifted her hoof and reached towards the power button located inside the first knob.
“Excuse me.”
She paused, her hoof an inch away from the knob. She turned and saw a blue mare standing before her, holding a dress in her magic. “Do you have this in a different color?”
Rarity smiled. Her favorite part of her job; helping ponies look the best that they can. It only took a second of looking at the mare before she knew the perfect color to show the mare. The perfect color to help her stand out among other ponies, to show them that she was there and unique.
“Of course, darling. Right this way.” She lead the mare off to another side of the Boutique.
The radio sat where it had been placed, untouched and silent.
Rarity let out a happy noise as she switched her open sign to closed. The sun was just starting to set when she decided to close up shop. The one thing she could count on about Ponyville (besides monsters and strange ponies showing up) was that ponies usually went home when it turned dark unless Pinkie was throwing a party. It would be useless to keep her Boutique open during that time since nopony would come around to buy an outfit.
It could be disappointing at times, but it did allow her the legisurey of having the rest of the day to herself. She was glad today was one of the days where she had gotten a fair amount of customers. She was a few bits richer and her inner desire to make ponies be their best was safisted.
It was still early, but after the confusing, frustrating, and busy day she had drained her in spirit and energy. All she wanted to do was shower, eat, and curl up with a book romance novel. She smiled as she remembered where she had last left off in her book. It had just been getting to the good part when she had been forced to put the book away as sleep called to her. She had been too busy to go back to it, but now she had plenty of ti--
She paused as she passed the radio. Even though she had planned to use it, she never had the chance to. There was always a pony asking for her help, asking about other dresses, and pulling her attention away. Not that she minded, of course. She would just play it tomorrow during her shop hours.
“Until then though,” she said as she lifted the radio up in her magic, “you and I are going to get acquainted.”
She made herself a dinner consisting of steamed carrots, cooked hay, and a sandwich that closely looked like the one she had ordered at the cafe. On the side, she had a cupcake to eat since she hadn’t been able to eat her hayfries earlier. She sat the items down on her kitchen table before taking a seat herself. The wonderful scent of her food made her stomach rumble, waiting in anticipation for a taste.
Since she hadn’t been able to enjoy her lunch (thanks for a certain mare), she had made herself a quick tofu sandwich at home before she went off to work. She knew the importance of having a regular-sized lunch, but she didn’t want to spend time on making something bigger. That would leave her mind with time to think. To think about her. She didn’t want that. She just wanted to put it behind her and never think of it again.
She looked at the radio that sat beside her. Growing up her parents never had a radio. They weren’t really interested in it, and felt having one would take time away from family talk. They never banned Rarity from buying records, thankfully, so long as she didn’t play them too loud or during mealtime, so she had access to music and was able to keep up with her friends and classmates as they discussed the latest song from their favorite popstar.
As a result of this, Rarity never saw the importance of buying a radio. She could still buy her music from a store, and she could get her news from the “Equestrian Daily.” She had lived her life growing up without one, so why should she when she finally moved out? But now that she had one, she didn’t see why she shouldn’t use it.
She pressed the button on the first knob. Her ears twitched at the static that came from it. That wasn’t uncommon with radios; it just meant she wasn’t on the right station. She slowly turned the knob, watching the red marker move in the direction she turned. She moved it until she heard a voice.
“I can’t believe she said that!” A female voice spoke through the device.
“Must be a play,” Rarity said to herself. She picked up her sandwich and took a bite.
“I guess she always was crude,” the voice continued.
As she chewed, she thought how the mare’s voice sounded familiar somehow. Where exactly had she heard it?
“She’ll no doubt lose business if she keeps talking like that.”
“I know!” A second voice chriped.
The second voice made Rarity pause. This time she knew the source of the voice; Amethyst Star. She was always the leader of the animal group during Winter Wrap Up--the same group as Rarity--so there was no mistaking it. They had spoken numerous times, inside and outside of Winter Wrap up, so Rarity thought she knew the mare pretty well, but she had no idea she had a part in a radio play. She didn’t even know there were opening for radio plays, or else Rarity would have tried out for it.
Perhaps tomorrow she could ask Amethyst about it.
“Combine that with her high prices of tomatoes, and soon Roma won’t have a stall anymore,” Amethyst continued.
Rarity almost spat her sandwich out, but luckily she was able to keep her mouth closed. She swallowed the bite and turned to her radio in shock. “Did they just…” She started to say, but trailed off.
She knew of a Roma that owned a tomato stall in the town market in Ponyville. The same mare that had tried to overcharge her friend, Fluttershy, by saying three tomatoes were two bits instead of one, but they couldn’t possibly be talking about the same Roma.
“Can they do that?” She asked. “They can’t possibly use the name of a mare and her business, and spread lies without getting into trouble. Why would they risk such a thing?”
She could see the headlines tomorrow. ‘Play spreads lies about local mare.’ They would surely get shut down for doing this.
She finished her dinner at the same time the play had finished. Most of it had been about Roma with some current news, and other topics mixed in. She had to admit the play had been well written. It sounded just like a real conversation between two ponies! The acting between the two actresses was just as natural. It was almost like somepony was recording two ponies talking inside their home.
She would really need to congratulate Amethyst tomorrow. She had no idea the jeweler pony had such acting skills. Perhaps she should try her hoof at big acting, like in Manehatten or New Pone York. She was sure the mare would be an instant hit!
All of that could wait till tomorrow though. Right now she needed a warm bath and a good read in her book.
She pressed the button on the radio to shut it off just as static started to play, signaling that the station had turned off for the night (she was sure). She placed her dish in the sink to wash in the morning and headed out of the kitchen, turning the lantern off as she went.
She hummed cheerfully, unaware of what tomorrow would bring.
“Oh, Amethyst dear!” Rarity called. She had just left the fabric store when she spotted the purple mare. She walked over to her, her saddlebags pushed almost to the limits with her purchases of fabric, ribbons, and thread she had needed.
Amethyst smiled and waved to her as she drew closer. “Good morning, Rarity. I see you’ve been out shopping.”
“Just stacking up on the essentials, darling.” She replied. “Fabric doesn’t grow on trees after all.”
“Tell me about it,” Amethyst said with an eye roll. “Later I’ll need to dig up some new gems for my shop. I love gems, but I like the process of cleaning, analyzing, and shaping them into jewelry a lot better than I do digging them up.”
“Oh, if you want darling, I could recommend Spike to you. He always helps me on my gem digs. He can dig up a whole cluster of gems without scratching or damaging them.”
“Huh. He’s that dragon that lives with Twilight Sparkle, right?” Rarity nodded, allowing Amethyst to continue, “well, how much does he charge?”
“Oh, just a few gems.” Rarity smiled.
“Well, I’ll definitely think about it. He sounds a lot cheaper than outside workers.” She beamed. “Thanks, Rarity!” She started to walk off, but a quick “wait!” from Rarity made her stop. “Yes?”
“I just wanted to congratulate you on your performance yesterday!” Rarity smiled as bright as she could, her eyes filled with pride. “It was wonderful!”
“Performance?” Colgate frowned. “What performance?”
“You know, darling.” Rarity waved a hoof, dismissing Colgate’s question. “The play yesterday you did on the radio.”
“Play? What are yo--”
“The one about Roma and her stall. I’m a bit worried though. Won’t the company get into trouble for using Roma’s name and business? I mean, it’s slang---” She trailed off when she noticed how wide Colgate’s eyes had gotten.
The once light blue mare’s face had drained into an even lighter shade, almost turning white. Her body shook lighty as her breathing increased.. Rarity could see small drops of sweat trailing down the mare’s face. She looked positively spooked.
Rarity frowned. “Darling? Are you alright?” She reached her hoof out towards Colgate, but she backed away from her.
“H-how did y-you know about that?” Her voice shook as she spoke. Her eyes darted around, much like a wild animal’s that was cornered. “D-did Lemon Heart t-tell you? I told her not to tell anypony!”
‘So the second voice had been Lemon Heart,’ Rarity thought to herself. She was also on the animal team with them during Winter Wrap Up, but her and Rarity had never really spoken much, so it wasn’t unusual that she didn’t recognize her voice.
What was Colgate so upset about? Did she not want ponies to know about her acting? That would be strange since it was broadcasted in Ponyville. Was it something else? “Darling, are you worried about being sued, or not getting other roles? I don’t think you’ll get into trouble. I think it will be on the company’s head for making such a pl--”
“What are you talking about?!” Amethyst snapped, causing Rarity to jerk back in shock. “I was in my house talking to Lemon Heart! Did she tell anypony else? I need to find her!”
She took off running, running faster than Rarity had ever seen her run before. Her eyes traveled down and saw horseshoe dents in the dirt that Colgate had left behind.
‘No play?’ She frowned, her brows scrunching together. ‘That can’t be right...I heard it on the radio.’
Rarity stared at the radio in front of her. It sat in silence, looking as innocent as any old radio, but she had her doubts. After her chat with Amethyst, she had gone to the local newsstand to buy a copy of the “Equestrian Daily.” She had sourced the newspaper over and over, looking for anything related to the play, but she couldn’t find anything.
She knew journal ponies would have scooped up the story and reported it as soon as they could. They wouldn’t wait another day, so it had to be in today’s paper, yet there was nothing.
Amethyst had said she was in her home when Rarity had heard the “play.” Rarity could tell by her tone and body language that she hadn’t been lying to her. Even if it was a play, and Amethyst had been sworn into secrecy, she would have reacted calmer than she had.
It was possible the company might have paid off the newspapers to not report the play, but then Rarity would have heard talk about it in Ponyville. Ponyville ponies might be the nicest ponies anypony could meet (not counting the few rude ones), but they weren’t above gossip. Actually, the town seemed to really enjoy gossip. She supposed that was due to living in such an...underdeveloped town. With hardly any exciting events outside of town get-togethers, monster attacks, or corrupted ponies that show up to take advantage of “backwater ponies”, it was only natural that ponies would gossip to fill the space in their days.
The juicer the better, so there was no way they would have been mute about the subject, yet she didn’t hear a single peep about it during her errand. She had a thought that perhaps she had imagined the whole thing. She had been tired last night, and it was possible she might have just heard about the incident with Roma from a customer, and her tired mind had created the illusion of her hearing it on the radio.
Yes. Very possible. When she would turn the radio on again, all she would hear was music or a commercial for some product she might not have, but that would be it. She would not hear two ponies having a private conversation. She was sure of it.
Yet...she had been staring at the radio for a while now, unable to turn it on and confirm her thoughts. What if she was wrong? What if she turned it on and it was two ponies talking? What if she overheard something she wasn’t supposed to? Like...a robbery, or a group of ponies planning a heist, or even worse a murder! How would she explain that to the local authorities? ‘Oh yes. I overheard this crime because of my radio. You see, when I turn it on, I can hear ponies talking.’ They would call her mad and lock her away!
She forcefully shook her head. “Rarity, you’re being silly,” she said to herself. “There’s nothing strange or magical about this radio. It’s just a normal, regular radio that plays normal, regular music. Now, turn it on.”
She stood there for a moment longer, unmoving. She growled at herself. “If I don’t do this, I’ll never prove myself right. Now, come on!” She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and quickly pushed the button. She froze as she waited. The seconds that passed seemed to drag on for her. Had it been this long the last time she turned it on? Just what was taking so long?!
She almost jumped as a crackle of static came out of it. She instantly released the breath she had been holding, feeling her nerves relax as she did. She smiled to herself. “See? No ponies talking. Just static. I can be so silly sometimes.”
She turned the channel knob until she found a station playing light music. She smiled as she listened. This music would be perfect for her Bouquet! Just as she was wondering if the station only played that kind of music, she heard a strange noise. She frowned.
It was a faint noise, mostly covered up by the music. Her ears moved forward as she leaned her head down towards the radio, straining to hear the noise. Even though it was faint, the noise sounded familiar to her.
Was...was that sipping?
“LEMON HEART!!”
“AHH!!” Rarity screamed and fell back onto the floor. She whined as her ears rang. What was that? She slowly stood up and rubbed her ears. She took a quick glance out into her Boutique, expecting to see somepony there, but nopony was there. She glanced at her door and saw she still had the closed sign-up, just like she had left it.
She frowned. She was alone in the Boutique, so who had shouted? Lemon Heart didn’t live near her, so it couldn’t have been a neighbor.
The music suddenly stopped. “Colgate?” Came a soft, confused voice.
Her blood froze. “No, no, no.” She whispered to herself. She wouldn’t believe it. She had to be dreaming. There was no way in Equestria this was happening. She refused. She refused to believe it. Maybe if she didn’t look at it, it would stop.
“Colgate, what’s wrong?” The voice spoke again, against Rarity’s wishes.
She could feel sweat dripping down her face, despite how cold her body felt.
“You know what’s wrong!” Colgate’s voice rang out. “You told Rarity about our conversation yesterday!”
“What? No, I didn’t. I haven’t even seen Rarity.”
“Then how did she know about us talking about Roma?!”
“I-I don’t know. She knows a lot of things. M-maybe she figured it out, or somepony else--”
“So you did tell somepony?!”
“No!”
Her ears flattened against her head, but it did little to block out their voices. Why was this happening? Why would somepony create something like this? Was it made during the old pony wars, to help spy on enemies? If so, how did somepony get a hold of it, and why give it to her? She had no use for such a thi--
“Ponies may say that they hate drama and gossip, yet those same ponies can’t help but stop and listen to a juicy conversation they may overhear…”
The mare’s words from yesterday suddenly appeared in Rarity’s mind, as if they were waiting for this exact moment. She felt a shiver go down her spine as the image of the mare’s smile appeared in her mind’s eye. Something about it just spooked Rarity to her very soul. It wasn’t only a predatory smile, but an all-knowing smile.
The kind of smile that had already won the game before it started.
She huffed, hoping that would erase the uneasy in her. “That mare might have sent me this gift, but it doesn’t mean I have to use it! I won’t let her win.” She turned and stomped over to the radio.
She stopped right in front of it, but just as she was about to push the button, the sound of crying made her pause.
“How could you say that?!” Lemon Heart shouted. Rarity could hear her gasping through her tears.
Her heart ached at once. She had no idea what had been said for the past few minutes, but it must have been something truly awful.
“It’s true!” Colgate shouted, her voice shaking as if she was crying as well. “I c-can’t be friends with a p-pony t-that tells my secrets! I could lose my job! My business is already the talk of the town because of that crazy mare!”
“No, no, no!” Rarity whispered to herself. “They can’t break up because of this! I didn’t want to ruin a friendship.”
“Colgate, please! I didn’t tell anypony!” Lemon Heart let out a loud wail.
“Believe her, Colgate! She didn’t tell me!” Rarity grabbed the radio and held it tight in her hooves.
“Don’t lie to me! I know you told Rarity! She came up to me this morning talking about it. Did you think telling her it was a play would make it better?! That she wouldn’t figure out the truth?!”
“I-I-I d-don’--” Lemon Heart tried to explain, but her voice just fell into gibberish as she cried more.
“Colgate, please!” Rarity shouted into the radio. She wiped her arm against her face as she felt hot tears fall down her face.
“I thought we were friends, Lemon Heart, but I guess I was wrong.” The echo of hoofsteps came out of the radio.
“N-no!” Lemon Heart choked out.
Rarity openly wept. She could see Lemon heart on the ground, reaching her hoof out towards the retreating Colgate, hoping that would make her turn around, to make her stay, and to make her listen to her, but her heart just hurting more as Colgate continued to leave.
“Goodbye, Lemon Heart,” Colgate’s voice was distant, yet Rarity could still hear the coldness in it.
The sound of a door slamming shut was soon followed by the heartbreaking scream cry of Lemon Heart.
“Colgate! Colgate!!!!” She cried out.
“I’m so sorry!” Rarity shouted. She pulled the radio close to her chest and hugged it as tight as she could, just as if she was hugging Lemon Heart herself.
She cried just as loud and hard as Lemon Heart did.
Author's Note
I wanted to make this a one-shot, but this alone was already 17 pages long, so I decided to make it a chapter story instead.
I feel like I've read a play years ago where a woman had a radio that spied on people's conversations, but I can't remember it and I haven't looked it up.
Thanks to my boyfriend for reading the first chapter and giving me fuel to write the second chapter. I'd also like to thank one of my best friends, BlackIrisBalloon, for helping me figure out a problem that would have put this whole story on hold if I didn't get it figured out.
Celestia’s sun shined down brightly on Ponyvile’s marketplace, giving light to not only the shops and their merchandise, but to the ponies shopping as well. One pony’s white coat shined the brightest out of all of them, but what else did one expect from somepony so fabulous?
Rarity hummed to herself as she trotted through the market. Her saddlebags were stuffed to the seams with faric only found in excoit places. Oh, what a lucky find she had found! It was amazing that a shopkeeper from Ponyville was able to get so many, and selling it for a price that she could afford. How much had it been? For some reason she couldn’t re--
“Oh!” A surprised gasp escaped her when she saw Amethyst standing in the middle of the busy crowd, her back towards Rarity as she looked at something. “Oh, Amethyst dear~” Rarity sang out as she ran over to her. “Darling, I was hoping to run into y--”:
“Why, Rarity?!” Lemon Heart suddenly turned around, causing Rarity to jump back a bit. Tears streamed down her face as she continued to yell, “why did you ruin our friendship?!”
None of the ponies in the market paid them any mind, as if they weren’t there. Nopony flinched as Amethyst screamed at her and cried in the middle of the street.
Rarity frowned. “Amethyst, I-I didn’t mean to.” She spoke softly, afraid that anything she said would upset Lemon Heart further. “It was an accident.” She gulped. The rising guilt in her chest weighing her down even more than the gems stuffed inside her saddlebags.
“An accident?! You spied on me!” The yellow coated mare yelled. “If you hadn’t, none of this would be happening! I would still have my best friend!”
“I didn’t know I was spying on you!” Rarity held her hoof out to Amethyst, but the mare stepped away from it. “I really did think it was play!”
“Are you stupid?!” Amethyst screamed in the empty streets. Steam rose from her face as her tears evaporated the moment they left her eyes, caused by the rising heat from the fire surrounding the world around them. “Why would we be in a play?! Even if we were, why would it be about what happened with Colgate!”
“I DON’T KNOW!” Rarity shouted. They were standing twenty feet a part on opposite sides of the dark, closed off room. The lantern hanging above them swung from side to side, at times illuminating Lemon Heart’s purple coat. “I JUST...I JUST COULDN’T BELIEVE THAT THE RADIO COULD ALLOW ME TO HEAR YOUR CONVERSATION!”
“You’ve ruined my life!” AmethLemon yelled. The two ponies were fused together with Amethyst being the right side, and Lemon Heart being the left. They stood beside Rarity’s kitchen table. On the table right by them was the radio. It crackled and made static noises, but Rarity could hardly hear it. She was more focused on AmethLemon, standing an inch from their faces.
“I-I didn’t--” Rarity started, but a shout from AmethLemon cut her off.
“I don’t want to hear it! You ruined our friendship! It’s all your fault! All your fault!” They repeated the last sentence over and over, getting louder and louder each turn. Spit flew from their mouth and landed on Rarity’s face, but she didn’t care. All she could do was stand there, her body shaking like a leaf, while tears poured down her face.
“All your fault! All your fault!” A deep darkness crawled from somewhere and slowly covered everything around her. Everything it touched disappeared into its inky darkness, no longer existing. She couldn’t say anything as the darkness crawled up AmethLemon, erasing them right before Rarity’s eyes. Despite this though, their voice was still heard, now louder and clearer now that there was nothing to absorb the vibration of their voice.
“All your fault! All your fault!” The voice echoed around her and multiplied, sounding like it was being shouted by a hundred ponies at the same time.
Rarity whimpered as she stumbled back. “I’m sorry!” She cried out, but the voices ignored her and continued to chant at her, growing louder with each second.
:I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, but she couldn’t hear her own voice among the sea of voices.
“ALL YOUR FAULT!”
“Please, stop!”
“ALL YOUR FAULT!”
“Help! Somepony help me!”
“ALL YOUR FAULT!”
She clasped down to the floor. Her body shook as her sobs escaped her lips, coming out more of a scream than a cry. She pressed her hooves against her ears, but the sounds of this dark world continued to move past and straight into her brain.
“ALL YOUR FAULT!”
Her head ached with each new yell, feeling as if it would break open at any moment. In between the yells there was a crackling noise. It started off soft, but soon grew and grew in volume until it matched the volume of the voices.
The scream that came out of Rarity could only be described as blood curling. “MAKE IT STOP!” She cried. “STOP IT! STOP!”
“Stop!”
Her eyes flew open with a jolt. Her vision was a lurred mess of light, but before she could focus and fix it, a sharp pain struck her head. She groaned and shut her eyes. She raised her hoof to rub at her temple, but that did nothing soothe the ache.
What seemed like minutes--but was more likely a few seconds--her brain started to wake up and recognize her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the cold feel of tiles pressed against her fur. A shiver ran over her body, causing her limbs to twitch.
‘Where am I?’ She thought to herself.
Her ears twitched as a familiar sound finally registered in them. The grating sound of static broke through the haze that covered her mind. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes.
Unlike before, her eyes adjusted faster to the environment before. What was once a blurry mess, was now the familiar sight of her kitchen ceiling. She squinted as Celestia’s sunlight lit up her small kitchen, illuminating everything there, something that only happened in the afternoon when the sun was at its highest.
‘I must have forgotten to close the curtains.’ She mused before her situation truly came to her mind. ‘Wait, why am I here? Why aren’t I in my room, in my comfy bed and under my silk sheets?’
She turned her head to the side and saw the radio sitting beside her. She let out a frightful scream and smacked her hoof against it. The radio flew back from her smack and rolled across the floor until it landed under her table. The static continued to pour from the speakers, though now quieter than it had been next to ear.
She scrambled up to her hindquarters, and scooted in the opposite direction from the radio until her back was pressed up against her cabinets, stopping her from going any further. Her heart pounded against her chest, her breath fell from her mouth in heaves, and sweat trickled down her forehead. All from just seeing the radio.
‘Get ahold of yourself, Rarity!’ She scolded herself. ‘It’s just a radio. No need to be afraid of it.’
It wasn’t just a normal radio though. A normal radio would just play music, the local news, or a skit. It wouldn’t broadcast the private conversations of ponies. Something was different about this radio. Something wrong.
Who would make such a thing? And how? The only ponies she could think of would be ones in the military services. Using it to spy on enemy nations, like the changelings. That would make the most sense, but....then why was it sent to her? The package clearly had her name on it. She doubted there was a military pony with the name Rarity, and even if there was, why would it be addressed as being sent from a secret admirer?
‘Unless...that was just to keep enemy spies away from it.’
She gasped. She could see it now: A mare named Rarity was to receive a package that contained a radio that would allow her to hear the secret conversations of Equestria’s dangerous enemies. To make sure no one else got it, an address was not written on it, and it was signed as from being a secret admirer, but there had been a mix up at the postal service, and the package had been sent to Rarity, the fashionista located in Ponyville. The radio had focused on her neighbors and revealed their conversations to her, if she used the dials to focus on the correct locations.
Now the military was no doubt wondering where their package was, and would no doubt be searching all over Equestria for i--
A loud shriek escaped from her mouth. Before she knew what she was doing ,her body was up and her horn was lit up in its familiar light blue aura. She ignored the rising headache from using her magic in her distressed state. She reached out with her magic to grab the radio and lift it off the ground.
She turned and ran out of her kitchen. She didn’t need to think about where she was going, because she already knew. She knew the one place that would keep the radio away from the eyes and ears of other ponies. A place nopony would dare to look.
She threw the door open and threw the radio inside. She slammed the door just as the sounds of boxes falling, and the hard smack of the radio hitting the floor was heard. She didn’t care. She hoped it broke for all she cared.
She glanced up at the white sign she had put on the door. It was similar to the other signs she had put up on the door all those years ago, when she first opened her Boutique. In cursive hornwriting, two purple words were written on the sign; storage supply.
It was a simple sign that let customers know that what was behind the door was not for them, and that only employees were allowed in it. She wasn’t naive though. No, no, no. She knew a simple sign wasn’t enough to keep curious young hooves, and nosey older ponies from trying to get inside. To keep them out would require the next step.
She ran from the door and rushed up the stairs leading to the second floor of her Boutique. She let out an annoyed grunt as her right front hoof slipped on a step, almost causing her to fall down. She quickly forced it back up and continued to run.
She slammed her hooves into her bedroom door with all her strength. It flew open and slammed into her wall, but she paid it no attention. Instead her focus was on the large vanity that sat across from the doorway’s entrance. She didn’t waste a second as she ran over and jerked the drawer in it open. The sudden jerk shook the vanity, and moved what was inside it around. She levitated a key out from the drawer and held it before her eyes.
It was a silver key with two bits at the end. A long body ran from the top of the key to the bottom, where it turned into a diamond shaped handle, making it look exactly like one of the diamonds’ on Rarity’s flank.
The key was part of a three part series she had, with the other two locking other parts of the Boutique. They looked all the same to the average pony, but to the trained eye one could see a difference in each. Only Rarity knew which one went into each lock. It was the perfect thief protection.
She had the other two keys located in different locations, but that didn’t matter right now. All she needed was this key.
She turned and once again ran out of her room, and down the stairs. Her hooves quickly rushed out in front of each other, trying to get her down them as fast as possible. By some miracle she hadn’t tripped and went head first down the stairs, or even stumbled like she did going up them.
She slammed her hooves down on the floor when she neared the door. With timing that the likes of Rainbow Dash could easily pull off, she slid until she stopped in front of the storage room door. She shoved the key into the lock and turned it as fast as she could. The second she heard the click of it locking, her body suddenly became heavy. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor, unable to hold up her weight.
She wasn’t aware until that moment just how hard her breathing had become, shaking her body with each pant she let out. She ached all over as her muscles screamed at her for overusing them, reminding her that she was a fashionista, not an athlete. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, beating a mile a minute. The sound only increased her headache, making it pulse almost as bad as her heart rate.
She groaned and tried to lift her front hoof to press against her head, but a sudden sharp pain halted her movement. She let out a hiss between her clenched teeth. What was that?
She looked down and saw in the middle of her leg had been scrapped, removing a patch of fur and exposing the skin underneath. A thin trail of blood traveled down her leg.
‘How...how had I not noticed this?’ She thought, her mind a bit sluggish from the overwork of her body. She thought back to when she rushed up the stairs like a madmare, and had stumbled. ‘I guess the stairs cut my leg. It’s nothing too bad, so it can wait.’
She closed her eyes and lit up her horn. A sharp pain struck the base of her horn. She could feel her magic almost canceling out. She gritted her teeth and forced the rest of her energy into her horn. She knew it was never advised to push past one's own limits, and she always obeyed that rule, but right now she needed to do this.
She clenched her eyes tighter as she focused on the spell she wanted. It wasn’t a difficult one, but it took a lot of energy and magic to use it. Many unicorns could learn it, but many chose not to. Rarity herself only used it in dire situations. The only unicorn she knew that used it frequently was her friend, Twilight Sparkle, who didn’t seem to tire out from using it. A unicorn’s magic power not only came from practice, but also their cutie marks. Spells that related to the unicorn’s talent took less energy to use than it did for ponies whose talent was something else. So it was no surprise that Twilight--who’s cutie mark was magic itself--had no trouble casting a spell as if it was a low level spell not unlike levitation.
She opened her eyes just as a purple cushion appeared before her in a white flash. It fell onto her front legs with a soft ‘plop.’ The cushion was from her living room sofa.
The aura around her horn fizzled out. Small sparks shot out from her horn, signaling that she was out of magic and that it would take awhile to build back up. She expected this though. She knew it was a huge risk to use a spell of that level in her state, but she also knew that if she had stuck with the levitation spell, the pain in her head would have increased with each passing second. The pain would have worn on her until she gave up. It was better to have one huge pain at once instead of dragging it out after all.
She laid her head down on the cushion. If she was going to be stuck there while her body rested, she might as well be comfortable.
She hadn’t noticed earlier, but now that she was more calm, she could feel the hot sweat that stuck to her body. She could just imagine it clinging to her fur. Not to mention the germs from laying on her floo-
“If I think anymore, I might throw up,” she gagged. She shook her head to get the images out of her mind. “Just relax. All this will be future Rarity’s problem--” she paused “--just like getting the blood stain out of the cushion.”
She let out a sigh, relaxing all the muscles in her aching body. As sleep slowly consumed her, she thought one final thing;
‘I hope future Rarity is a better mare than I.’
Author's Note
This chapter was rewritten 3 times. The first time I already described in my blog post, the second time was due to me logging out of my google account and losing the password and having to make a new one. What's interesting is how different each chapter was: The first chapter was a large timeskip, second one I can't talk about cause it'll happen next chapter, and this one is the aftermath of the last chapter.
Be sure to comment~
