Crossing Over the Arcane Hiatus

Chapter 13: At the Boutique

“Sweetie Belle? Are you home?” Rarity called out to her sister as we walked into the boutique. After a few seconds of silence Rarity shrugged and turned on the lights.

“Sorry about the mess.” She apologized, shoving a mannequin out of the way. The place sure is a mess; the main lobby was surrounded with mannequins and most of them were knocked over, several rolls of fabrics laid sprawled out on the floor, and some curtains were torn off their hinges.

“Where is that filly? Sweetie Belle was supposed to be cleaning today!” Rarity shook her head in disappointment, picked up a few rolls of fabric and took them into another room.

“That filly is in for a heap of trouble. In here, Chris.”

I followed Rarity into what appears to be her main workroom.  A few mannequins with completed outfits stood in a corner, but they were the cleanest things about the room. On her main work desk several drawers were pulled out, their contents spilling over and riddling the desktop. There were two sewing machines, one of which had seen better days considering it was wrapped in a ball of thread. Assorted spools of fabric and thread littered the floor and a large table that sat near a window; it’s stained, torn, and wrinkled curtains blocking out the sun. Rarity cleared off the table, simply sliding everything on it onto the floor, and sat her shopping bag and the rolls of fabric she carried in.

“So Chris, how much experience do you have with sewing?”

“I know the basics. I’ve had to repair some of my clothes myself and I’ve stitched together some pillows before amongst other things...”

“That’s wonderful; in which case I don’t have to go into much explanation.” Rarity started taking out supplies from the shopping bag and spread them out on the table.

“I currently have fourteen orders to complete, and I get new ones almost every week so time is of the essence. Since Sweetie Belle is not here, could you assist me in gathering supplies?”

“Sure. What do you need?”

“A pair of scissors, my measuring tape, one spool of lime green nylon threading, one spool of golden nylon threading, a one meter strip of burgundy ribbon, one sheet of navy-blue cotton fabric, one- no I got that here, a pin cushion with roughly thirty pins, and my sewing chest, and my basket of assorted buttons.”

Rarity walked over to the working sewing machine with an empty mannequin in tow and I began the scavenger hunt.

“That is one down, several more to go!” Rarity proclaimed happily, hoisting the completed tuxedo in the air and dressed the outfit on a mannequin. Other than the studded bowtie, the suit looked just like any ordinary blue tuxedo.

“This definitely would have taken at least two hours longer if I didn’t have help. Thank you, Chris. I’m sure you’re wondering about your pay…” Rarity drifted away for a minute before snapping back into reality. “How about twenty percent? Sale price usually depends on the quality of the outfit… so that would be… a hundred bits?”

“The outfit costs a hundred bits?”

“Heavens, no! I’d be paying you twenty percent, so a hundred bits.”

a HUNDRED bits!? Wait… Pinkie Pie sold those cupcakes for twenty and she called them cheap… those were probably worth like five bucks. Applejack sells apples at only three or so bits each, so a pound of apples is worth maybe ten bits. I could buy a pound of apples for about two dollars, so that seems accurate…

“…Chris?”

“What? Oh, nothing. How much do you usually sell your outfits for?”

“Again, it depends on the quality. Admittedly, this one is on the low end of the scale so five hundred bits is a fair price. Some of my higher quality and pristine pieces have sold for thousands of bits. My most lucrative sell was a few years ago actually; a general of the Royal Equestrian Army needed a dress for his wife and I sold him one for well over a hundred thousand bits! Oh and it was simply marvelous! The threads themselves were solid gold, the collar; elegantly designed with emeralds…” Rarity started drifting off into her own little world.

“Rarity, I’m home! What’s for dinner?” A faint voice called out followed by the sound of a door closing.

“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity looked up, coming back into reality. I was sitting on the ground trying to untangle a spool of thread.

“Oh dear, she hasn’t seen you yet has she? Don’t worry though; she is the friendliest filly you will ever meet, though she can be a little overexcited at times. Wait, you probably knew that.”

I looked up and gave her a smile and a slight nod, and Rarity cautiously smiled back.

“Rarity? Where are you?”

“I’m in the workroom Sweetie Belle! There’s a pony… a person here I want you to meet!”

“A ‘person’? What’s a ‘person’?” Sweetie Belle asked as she opened the door into the room, tripping over some boxes that were on the ground. Her curly pink and purple mane would have gone over her eyes had her horn not blocked it. She quickly sat up on her haunches, analyzed her foreleg and shook off some dust from her pure white coat before getting up and going over to Rarity.

“Sorry I’m late, Rarity.” Sweetie Belle looked up to her sister and received a pat on the back from Rarity. “And what’s a ‘person’?”

“That’s a person,” Rarity motioned off to me, “And his name is Chris.”

Sweetie Belle looked over to the other side of the room in confusion, her expression slowly changing as her eyes bulged and her mouth opened in disbelief. Rarity and I both smiled but Sweetie Belle didn’t move as an unbelievably large smile started to form across her face.

“Yes! Applebloom and Scootaloo both owe me a bit!” Sweetie Belle cheered and ran up to me.

“I knew I’d find you first! We’ve been looking all over Ponyville for you!” The little filly was just below waist height, and as I sat on the floor she was just as tall as I am.

“Sweetie Belle…” Rarity tried to get her sister’s attention but to no use. Sweetie Belle was jumping up and down around me in circles asking questions like no tomorrow.

“You’re the human? Why’s your name Chris? Do you have a cutie mark? Where are you from? Why don’t you have a tail? Can you really walk on two legs? Can you talk? Can you write? Do you know Equine? How tall are you? Do you know my sister? Do you know we’re sisters? Have you met Apple Bloom or Scootaloo yet? Can you fly? Can you use magic? Who made your clothes? How long have you been in Ponyville? What are you doing here?”

She probably would have gone on but Rarity used her measuring tape to quickly subdue Sweetie Belle and wrapped her mouth in a gag.

“Sweetie Belle, this is Chris,” Rarity explained, removing the gag. “He will be helping me get these orders done, and so I am going to be making him an apprentice. Also, he’s hurt so please do not pester him.”

The filly just now realized the condition of my leg. “Okay! Hey, can I sign your cast?”

“Sure. What was that you were…?”

“Apple Bloom and Scootaloo? We were having a bet to see who could find you first! And since I’m the first one to find you, they both owe me a bit!”

“Actually, I was going to ask about…”

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity yelled, catching the two of us both by surprise. “A bet? I thought you knew better then to be swayed into gambling!”

“Rarity, it’s not really gambling!”

“You made a bet with your friends,” Rarity scorned. Sweetie Belle sunk backwards and tripped, landing in my lap. “And you were supposed to clean the lobby today!”

“I said I’ll get it done later and it’s not later yet!” Sweetie Belle yelled back locking eyes with her sister.

“Please get off me…”

“Sorry…” The filly snapped out of the conflict long enough to step off me before returning to the staring contest.

“Sweetie Belle, you are not allowed to play with your friends anymore until you help clean up that mess!”

“That’s not fair! I’m not the only one who made that mess! Why don’t you make your new apprentice clean it up?”

“He still doesn’t know where everything goes-“

“Then teach him!”

Rarity got taken back for a second from her assertiveness and angrily returned the favor, “Sweetie Belle, you are grounded until you clean that up!”

Those words stung the poor filly. “Well, can I at least have some help?” Sweetie Belle, defeated, sunk backwards again. During the shouting match, I shuffled across the floor and awkwardly sat things out.

Note to self: do not make Rarity mad. Or anypony mad for that matter.

“You know, that’s not a bad idea.” Rarity pondered for a moment, “Your friends helped make that mess; surely they can help clean it up.”

“Fine…” Sweetie Belle reluctantly backed out of the room, tripping over another box before slamming the door behind her. Rarity sighed and picked up a piece of fabric on the floor and gazed into it. A few seconds later she set it back down and looked to spot where I once was. Confused, she looked around the room until she saw me cowering in a corner.

“I am very sorry about that. Children…”

“Believe me I know how it feels.” I stood up trying to forget what just happened.

“Are you alright? I hope that didn’t frighten you.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m just…I just don’t like fighting. I try to avoid conflict whenever possible.”

Rarity gave a sympathetic smile, “You are so kindhearted. I would be willing to bet you had lots of friends back on your world.”

No, not really…

“Well it is getting late. How about we have some dinner?”

“Hey, what do humans eat?” Sweetie Belle asked, standing beside me. There were no chairs in the boutique’s kitchen so I sat on the floor at the foot of the table. Rarity was putting out napkins and drinks and got us all forks.

“Well he does seem to enjoy garden burgers.” Rarity answered for me. The mention of those things made my stomach churn. I don’t understand how any human could stomach those.

“I don’t think so.” Sweetie Belle smiled at my disgusted look. Rarity acknowledged, trying to hide a small smile.

“Well, we don’t have the necessary ingredients to make one here anyway. So what does everypony want?”

“Oh! Oh! Oh! Can I have some pancakes?”

“Sweetie Belle you had those for breakfast. Plus, we would burn through the pancake mix at this rate. I could make sandwiches; daffodil or daisy?”

“Sorry, but I can’t stomach flowers.”

“Blegh. I had those for lunch!” Sweetie Belle cried out, irking Rarity. “And your sandwiches aren’t all that great either.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” Rarity walked into the kitchen opening the fridge. “Do either of you two have any ideas?”

“Pancakes…” Sweetie Belle mumbled, setting her muzzle down on the tablecloth.

“Do you have any eggs?” I asked.

“Yes, actually I do, even if it’s not technically supper-food. However I suppose it’s better than nothing. I really need to go grocery shopping at some point… Sweetie Belle?”

“Eggs are fine with me,” she perked back up.

“Alright, do you want your eggs scrambled or sunny-side up?” Rarity produced a carton of eggs and set them on the counter.

“Could I have mine in an omelet?” I asked, getting a confused look from Sweetie Belle.

“Ooooo… sounds fancy! Although I’m afraid I don’t know what an ‘omelet’ is.”

“Here, I can show you. All you really need is eggs and shredded cheese so they’re quite simple to make.” I got up and went over into the kitchen and Rarity took out a skillet and put it on the stovetop.

“First you take three eggs, crack them into a bowl, and add some salt and pepper.” Rarity pulled a mixing bowl out of a cabinet and set it on the counter. I took the eggs, cracked them, and started to beat them with a fork. Sweetie Belle ran up to us and jumped up on the counter to get a better view, but Rarity gave her a block of cheese to start grating. The filly looked to her sister with a scowl, and Rarity sighed and started to do it herself. I added the salt and pepper to the mix and continued to stir.

“Wait, do you have any butter?” Sweetie Belle nodded and jumped off the counter to the fridge and returned with a stick of butter.

“Okay, now cut off a small slice and put it in the saucepan. You want to melt it so the eggs don’t stick.” Smiling, Sweetie Belle ran up to the stove and turned on the heat, adding the butter.

“Okay it’s melted!”

“And I just finished with the cheese. Is that enough?” Rarity showed me a small bowl of the freshly grated cheese.

“Yeah that should work for one omelet. Now that the eggs are well stirred, you add them to the frying pan.” I moved over to the stove and Sweetie Belle jumped back up on the counter.

“Need anything?”

“A spatula would be great.”

Sweetie Belle hopped back off the counter once more and ran over to a drawer, returning with a large metal spatula. I poured the egg mix into the pan with Rarity watching intently. The eggs quickly evened out along the bottom and I took the small bowl of cheese.

“Now you add the cheese and let it simmer.” I sprinkled the cheese atop the eggs and let it cook. “You’ll know when it’s done when the eggs are no longer runny on top,” I added.

After a few minutes the omelet was finished. “Now take the spatula, get underneath it, and fold it in half. Serve warm, and you’re done!” I slid the omelet off onto a plate and set the pan back down on the burner.

“Can I try some?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Me too, it looks delicious.”

“Sure, you both can.” Rarity took a small nibble out of one corner while Sweetie Belle took an enormous bite out of the other. “You can add other stuff to an omelet to, either when you add the cheese or now when it’s done cooking; herbs, garnishes, peppers, mea- mushrooms, onions, olives, spinach, just about any vegetable.”

“I admit, it’s actually quite good. I’m surprised I have not heard of this before.”

“Can I have one? With carrots and jelly beans?”

“Jelly beans?” Rarity looked at her sister expecting her to be joking, but Sweetie Belle had the most serious expression thrown across her face. “Eh… no. Please, something healthy Sweetie Belle, you’re growing up.”

“Fine.” Upset, Sweetie Belle jumped off the counter and went back to the table. “I’ll have mine with just carrots then.”

“Alright, one ‘omelet’ coming up!” Rarity giggled, “I’ll make her and myself one. Chris, you can eat… the rest of yours.” Rarity floated what was left of my omelet up to me and I returned to my seat at the table.

“Well, it’s getting late. I should really get back to the library before it gets completely dark,” I said, shoving my empty plate aside. “Thank you for the hospitality Rarity, Sweetie Belle. I guess I’ll stop by tomorrow?”

“What? No no no no, why don’t you stay here?” Rarity nervously spoke from across the table, almost choking on the rest of her omelet.

“What?” Sweetie Belle and I both asked at the same time.

Why does that keep happening? I don’t know what’s more surprising, Rarity’s proposal or that others and I keep saying the same things at the same time. Wait, why am I thinking about this?

Rarity overenthusiastically smiled at me expecting a reply, but I was lost for words.

“Just for tonight?”

She hesitated, “Not necessarily, preferably permanently. Besides, there’d be no telling when I could be overwhelmed with orders! As my apprentice, I might need you at a moment’s notice!”

“Well where will he be sleeping?”

“We have that guest bedroom down the hall. He would stay there.”

“What about my stuff? It’s still over at the library, and Twilight would probably need to know about this.”

“I’ll be sure to take care of it,” Rarity smiled, getting a concerned look from Sweetie Belle.

“Hey Chris! If you’re her apprentice, then you’ll need to learn where everything is! Why don’t you help me clean up tomorrow?” Sweetie Belle asked. I gave her an annoyed stare and she smiled happily.

“That’s not a bad idea. It’d be a very good way to learn what goes where,” Rarity agreed, “But don’t think you’re getting out of it Sweetie Belle. Your friends are helping too; right after school.”

“Chris, I need to go run some errands. We’re short of food and orange wool, so I’ll need to go purchase some more. Twilight will be over anytime now with your belongings, and Sweetie Belle should return from school at about noon with her friends. Hopefully I’ll be back by then. Too-da-loo, and please don’t wreck anything.” And with those words she was off out the door, leaving me all alone in the boutique.

“As if there’s anything that isn’t wrecked already.” I mumbled, standing up a fallen mannequin. I don’t really understand how a building could look so enormous on the inside, yet so disproportionately small from the outside. I guess that’s cartoon physics for you. After a few minutes of wandering the boutique there was a knock on the front door and Twilight let herself in.

“Sweet Celestia, this place is a mess!” Twilight said in disbelief, nudging aside a few boxes that were in her path.

“Hey Twilight.” I turned a corner to greet her.

“Hey Chris! I see you’re still alive.” Twilight responded with a sly smirk. I saw she had my duffel bag, tent, and backpack in tow behind her and she set them on the floor.

“Here’s all your stuff; clothes and everything. So apprenticeship, huh? And for Rarity of all ponies?”

“She can be… assertive… and I’m getting paid, so that’s a plus.

“Well she is the element of generosity after all, even though sometimes she’s just the opposite. Don’t let her take control of you, because she’s done it to ponies before, myself included. Do you even know anything about fashion?”

“Not really. I know the basics when it comes to sewing though, and I’m pretty sure she’ll be teaching me more. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo are supposed to be coming by after school to clean up this mess.”

“Good. I was afraid she was going to drop all this on you. And those fillies can be a hoofful. Don’t let them get into your head.”

“Heh, I’ll try. Hey, did you get that letter?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah! I was going to tell you; it was from the Ponyville Hospital. Sometime soon they want to give you a physical and take blood. It’s just for their records incase anything goes wrong. And that reminds me…” Twilight’s horn began to glow a dull pink and a small vial of red liquid appeared in front of her. She uncorked it and drifted it too me.

“I talked to Zecora. She said that that potion helps assist in regeneration. I figure it could help your leg heal faster, and the faster it heals the sooner you get off Crutchy.” She smiled, trying to hold back a laugh. Irritated by that remark, I took a second to look at the swirling red ooze and took a small sip from the bottle.

“It’s real sweet.” I said before drinking the rest of it.

“Yup, Zecora adds things to her concoctions to make them easier to stomach. Anyway, I got to get going now. Do you think you could stop by at the hospital later today?”

“That could probably work.”

“Alright, I’ll be sure to tell them. See you later!”

“See ya,” I waved goodbye as she left, closing the door behind her.

It’s about nine in the morning, so I got three or so hours to kill before the crusaders get here. I picked up my backpack and the tent and dropped them off in the guest room. Or… I guess it’s my room now. It was a simple room; itself being maybe fifteen feet by fifteen feet, and maybe ten feet high. Right across from the door and in the right corner stood a twin size bed; two very fluffy white pillows, a faded violet bedcover, and white sheets. Oddly there’s no closet, but against the far wall was a wooden dresser, and right above that a window. The window has a really nice view of a tree trunk about thirty feet away, but other than that there was nothing else worth noting. The floor was some sort of hardwood, but the furniture and a red rug took up most of the floor space. There was also a lamp. I don’t know why, but I really like the lamp. Probably because it’s as tall as I am, so I don’t feel like a giant. Since all the ponies are about four feet tall, they don’t usually go anywhere up past the lower part of my breastbone. And fillies are even shorter. Other than the Princesses and some wildlife, I’m probably one of the tallest beings to ever visit Ponyville. I threw my tent and backpack onto the bed, and returned with the duffel bag and reunited it with its friends. Sitting on the bed, I opened them up to make sure I still had everything.

Looks like Twilight put everything back in here. Except for the two novels I gave her. And the dictionary, those pens, and the map. Other than that, everything is where it belongs. She even put the car battery in here.

Dammit! I left the duct tape, knife, and my food and water in the nightstand! She didn’t pack those… damn. I think I left my journal in there too. I hope I did.

“See? I TOLD you he was living here!”

“Sweetie Belle?” I looked around and saw her sticking her head through the open door, along with two other fillies, their mouths agape. Apple Bloom was one of them; a small, pale yellow pony with a brilliant rose mane and a pink bow on the back of her head almost the size of her body. Scootaloo was the other one, an orange pegasus with a fuchsia mane similar in style to Rainbow Dash’s.

“Why is it everypony who first meets me has to have their jaws wide open?” I asked them, not expecting any sort of reply. Sweetie Belle kicked the door completely open, and the three walked into the room, not changing their expressions one bit.

“And what are you three doing out of school so early? Doesn’t class end at about noon-ish?”

“Cherilee let us out early. Something about an indigestion?” Sweetie Belle answered

“Infestation. There were bugs all over the room!” Scootaloo snapped, correcting her friend.

“So ya’re real.” Apple Bloom kept looking me up and down and turned to Scootaloo, “Ha! Told ya Applejack wasn’t lyin’! Applejack doesn’t lie!”

“Whatever. So you’re the human? Somehow I felt you’d be… scarier.”

“…Thanks?”

“He’s actually very nice! And he can cook!” Sweetie Belle shifted towards them, telling her friends every bit of what little knowledge she had about me.

“Calm down, Sweetie Belle. We just got out of school, please don’t give lectures now.” Scootaloo shoved the unicorn filly aside.

“What are you? A chicken?” Sweetie Belle retorted, getting Apple Bloom to laugh.

Heh, all there needs to be now is a reference to Sweetie Belle being a dictionary.

“No! It’s just I don’t want to learn anything now! That’s why there was school!”

“That’s why there is school.” Sweetie Belle smugly smiled, irritating Scootaloo.

“Oh shut up, you dictionary.”

And there it is. Life is complete.

“Hey, what’re ya smilin’ at?” Apple Bloom called me out.

“Eh? I just thinking... But stop fighting, it gets you nowhere.”

“Hrmph. Ya sound just like Applejack when ya say that,” Apple Bloom said, looking away.

“Hey, how’d you break your leg?” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh, I uh… fell out of a tree. A tree that was on fire.”

“What?” The three asked at the same time.

“Long story. Anyways, isn’t there something the three of you are supposed to do?”

“Sign your cast?”

“Oh yeah! I didn’t get to sign yet!”

“Can ah sign too?”

“Sigh… sure. Here’s a pen.” I handed Apple Bloom a pen and she immediately started writing her initials somewhere on the cast.

“What’s a pen?” Sweetie Belle asked me. Apple Bloom had just finished and spat the pen out to Scootaloo, who started feverishly looking for a place to sign.

“Ah don’t know,” The filly answered for me, “That is?”

“A pen is like a quill, but it has a built in supply of ink that doesn’t need to be constantly replaced.”

Scootaloo stopped in the middle of her writing, spat the pen out and studied it closely, shrugged, and finished her signature before giving it to Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom looked like she was trying to get a grasp on the concept I just told her, and took back the pen after Sweetie Belle finished to study it further.

“Anyway… Sweetie Belle? Isn’t there something we were going to do today? The four of us?”

“Huh? Oh yeah…” Sweetie Belle slowly walked over to the door and smartly closed it. “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, we have to clean up that mess in the lobby.”

“WHAT!? No way! Ah told ya it wasn’t mah fault that Winona got in there!”

“And I didn’t do anything! I just… knocked over something. But it was an accident!

“Either way, Rarity said the three of you need to clean it up,” I tried my best intimidating voice, but that didn’t really work.

“Well why should we listen to you? You’re not Rarity!”

“No, but I am her apprentice. Plus, I’m at least twice your size and I’m pretty sure I’m older than any of you.”

The two rebellious fillies stood there in stony silence and looked at each other before they burst out laughing.

“HAHAHA!! You? Rarity’s apprentice? Please, at least come up with something good!” Scootaloo cried out. Apple Bloom was rolling across the floor laughing just as hard.

“It’s true girls. He really is.” Sweetie Belle told them, slightly embarrassed. Her friends immediately stopped laughing, awkwardly glancing back and forth between the two of us.

“Are ya serious?”

“Yes I am! And I’m pretty sure if we don’t clean up, he’ll tell Rarity and we’ll be in a lot of trouble!”

“I’m pretty sure I won’t even need to tell Rarity. All she has to do is walk into the boutique. She’s out shopping right now, and should be getting back in about three hours, give or take.”

“Uh-oh.” Scootaloo stood up and the color drained from her face. “We do not want to upset Rarity. I learned that firsthoof,” she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Alright then. The faster we get this done the faster ah can go home.” Apple Bloom got up and took charge, running out the door. Sweetie Belle jumped after her and reluctantly Scootaloo followed.

“Anypony home? I’m back from the market!” Rarity walked into the boutique with several shopping bags and set them down on the floor. “I see you fillies are cleaning, and good work! I can actually see the floor now,” she added, giggling to herself.

“And I bought something special for everypony…”

“Oh! Is it Apple Juice?”

“Cupcakes?”

“Pancakes?”

“I won’t say. You three will get your surprise when you finish cleaning,” Rarity smiled. The room was considerably cleaner, and for the most part you actually couldn’t see the floor before. I was sitting on the ground watching them put everything away, making mental notes of what goes where.

“It’s funny Rarity, they really picked up the pace after you walked in the door.”

“Shut up…” Scootaloo mumbled under her breath, kicking a spool of thread at me, missing, and hitting Apple Bloom.

“Hey! Watch it!”

“Girls! Quiet down!”

“Sorry Rarity…”

“Well now that you’re here Rarity, you can take charge. I need to get going.”

“Oh? Where?” Rarity asked in curiously.

“Twilight stopped by and told me the hospital would like me to visit soon. Something about a checkup.”

“Oh, that’s fine then. Have a safe trip!”