Fame and Misfortune Addendum
“Certainly she did a fine job setting up the Ponyville Days celebration, but does she really believe it was a success just because of her? Uh, the nerve!!” the male pony said.
Twilight and I looked at each other, hoping that Rarity was eating at home that day. But sure enough, Rarity ran past us crying.
“Oh no, poor Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed. “She overheard all the mean things those ponies were saying. She must be devastated. I’m going after her.”
I saw the couple out of the corner of my eye. They were just chatting away as if nothing had happened. Good thing there were two of us around because as bad as I felt for Rarity, there was no way I could leave the scene without making it very clear where those two cafe ponies went wrong.
“Go ahead,” I told Twilight. “I’m gonna have a chat with these two!”
When Twilight left, I felt pretty confident, still fueled by the anger that was boiling inside me. But with each step I took, the nerves increased as the reality of what I was about to be doing set in.
“For Rarity,” I thought to myself. I had good timing as the ponies were about to leave the cafe as I approached.
“You know, insulting a pony you barely know is one thing. But not even being slightly embarrassed when you found out said pony heard everything is quite another,” I said.
“Who are you?” the female pony asked.
“Starlight Glimmer,” I said, figuring that just the name would jog their memories.
“Oh yes,” the male pony remarked. “You’re Twilight’s pupil. She wrote about you.”
The female pony furrowed her brow at the realization.
“I could say the same things about you,” she said. “Why are you defending that drama queen anyway? You just met her.”
“Because I have a little thing called compassion. Something you two seemed to have lost,” I retorted. “And I haven’t known her as long as Twilight and them, but I’ve known her a couple years now. And sure, Rarity can seem stuck up sometimes. But she has a pure heart. She’s not perfect, but who is?”
The two ponies looked at each other, still unconvinced and seeming bothered that I was wasting their time.
“What do you want us to do, apologize?” the male pony asked.
“Yes, actually. That’s exactly what I want you to do,” I said. “But you missed the opportunity to do that.”
“So what? Are you just telling us off for your own benefit?” the female pony asked.
“Just know that your words have power, okay?” I said. “It’s a cliche saying and you might be thinking ‘but she just learned about friendship a bit ago. Why should I listen to her?’ I wouldn’t blame you. But I care about Rarity. And I don’t want anypony else to feel the way she is feeling right now because of you.”
The two ponies still didn’t seem remorseful about what they did, but they looked at me in shock, which meant I at least got to them in some way.
“Speaking of Rarity, I need to go join her and Twilight.”
And with that, I walked away knowing everything else was out of my control.
At Rarity’s boutique, more chaos was ensuing. Twilight, Rarity and I were trying to hide from the rioters outside.
“I’m popular, Twilight! I’m popular and I don’t like it one bit!” the orange Earth pony exclaimed as she ran out the door. Twilight seemed hesitant to follow Applejack to Sweet Apple Acres when Rarity was still in such a state. But I was again glad that both Twilight and I were there.
“You go ahead. I’ll stay here,” I told Twilight. Though like before, confidence slowly left me after Twilight left. Regardless, I figured if I acted like I knew what I was doing, I would eventually actually know what I was doing. I approached Rarity at her machine.
“Rarity, I want you to stop sewing for a moment and look at me,” I said as calmly as possible. Rarity went on sewing. “You can stress sew to your heart's content after. But just take a moment to look at me.”
Rarity turned around, still shaking and breathing heavily and arrhythmically.
“Alright, we’re going to breathe and count together, okay?” I said. Rarity nodded.
“Inhale 2…3…4…,” I started. “Exhale…2…3…4.”
The breathing grounded Rarity and her anxiety and panic seemed to have gone, but understandably, she didn’t look too much happier about the situation. Sadness had taken the place of all the racing thoughts.
“Those that matter would never believe the things the ponies said at the cafe,” I told her. “You know that, right?”
“But define ‘those that matter,’ Starlight,” Rarity said with a sharpness that made me jump a bit. “Sure, jerks will be jerks, but their opinions can matter. They weren’t the first to say things like that about me. And enough ponies think the same way now, as the drop in business clearly shows. What have I done wrong? Am I too quick to judge ponies at times? Am I too suck up and stubborn for my own good? Am I not worthy of my element of generosity? Am I a terrible pony??”
I would have been a bit angry at Rarity’s outburst, but the circumstances didn’t call for that. And I felt for her even more than I had before. It was always the seemingly confident ponies that were the most insecure on the inside.
“Hey, just the fact you’re asking that says all you need to know,” I assured.
Rarity relaxed and blushed a little, realizing that her outburst was a bit stern. She gave me a soft smile.
"Thank you, Starlight. I really needed to hear that."
Now that Rarity had calmed down, she laughed to herself, pushing her messy mane out of her eyes.
"What's so funny?" I asked with relief that the worst seemed to be over.
"I have no idea where my mirror is in all this mess, but I must be a sight.”
Though Rarity did care about her appearance a lot, she still had a sense of humor.
"You are,” I said, laughing along with her. “Your mascara is all over your face, your eyes are all red and puffy from crying, and your mane and tail are frizzy and tangled. But hey. This is a situation that would get to the best of ponies. And your passion and ability to feel so deeply is what I like about you.”
Rarity laughed again as she looked around her shop.
“I know you’ve already done so much for me, but would you help clean up?” she asked. “I’ll join once I clean myself up a little.”
“Sure,” I said, giving my friend a grin. “Where should I start?”
Author's Note
Rarity’s scenes in Fame and Misfortune were some of the most disturbing in the whole show, weren’t they? In a good way, though. I wanted to give her a hug the whole time. Tabitha St. Germain is incredible and the animation during Rarity’s breakdown was top notch. Also, I think this is gonna be my last fic for a while. Thanks for reading–I’ve had a lot of fun writing these the past couple months!
