“Oh, Carrot Top!”
Carrot Top looked up from her back massage. “Hello, Rarity!” she said as the clothier entered the spa. “Good afternoon!”
“Yes, it certainly is!” Rarity lay down on one of the lounge chairs, waving Aloe over to begin her hooficure. “I just had the most exciting customer in my little shop! Did you know that Sapphire Shores is touring the North Everfree province? She actually stopped by and said she wanted to use my outfits in her shows!”
“Rarity, that’s wonderful! Congratulations!”
“I know! Just think – the latest fashions of Carousel Boutique are going to be shown to an audience of thousands!” Rarity put her hoof to her head, making Carrot Top think she would have swooned had she not been lying down already. “Oh, this could really be big for me. I’m so happy I could squeal!” She paused. “But I won’t, of course. That would not be ladylike. Still… after all that work I put into that line, I should do something to reward myself.” She brightened. “Aloe! Today, I want the Deluxe Platinum treatment. Spare no expense!”
Carrot Top smiled at that. “That’s great news—“ She was cut off as Lotus rubbed extra hard on her back, triggering an involuntary gasp of pleasure, “…really great news. You’ve been working on that fashion line for a long time, haven’t you?”
“Over a month.” Rarity sighed as Aloe began to rub her hooves with a warm, oiled cloth, preparing them for a good filing. “I was in Canterlot to scout out the competition, and everything just seemed so… samey. No great new ideas since last year. And I thought, ‘Rarity, you cannot let this be. The ponies of Equestria deserve something new and fresh! Something beautiful!’ So I went straight home, and I worked on it day and night… and it was worth it. My most inspired creations yet, and for a famous music star!”
“Your shop is really taking off,” said Carrot Top.
“It certainly is! I – oh, Aloe, a little more on that hoof, please. Thank you, darling.” Rarity stretched out her hoof a bit further. “But listen to me, prattling on all about myself. How have you been, Carrot Top? Is Golden Harvest Farms doing well?”
“Yes, thank you.” Carrot Top sighed again as Lotus continued to work on her back. “All my equipment’s upgraded, all the fields are growing nicely, and I’ve even got a brand new stand for the town square. It’s the big, bright-orange one.” She paused. “Maybe a little too orange… but I suppose that’s what you get when you let Pinkie help you paint something. And it’s certainly eye-catching.”
Rarity laughed. “She certainly is a hooffull, isn’t she? – Ah, thank you, Aloe. The next hoof, please.” She shifted her legs. “Any plans to expand?”
“There’s not really any market for it,” said Carrot Top. “Ponyville’s got about the same number of ponies day to day, and they eat about the same amount of food. So there’s an upper limit on how much produce the town farmers can sell. And most of them know pretty well what they like, so it’s hard to convince them to buy more carrots and less of something else.”
Rarity frowned. “What about exporting your crops to other towns? I know Sweet Apple Acres does that.”
“The Apples have some specialty products, like the Zap Apples, that only they can grow. That gives them a market all over the country, since nopony else can make what they make. But most small towns around here already have carrot farms, and I don’t grow enough volume to be able to sell to the big cities like Canterlot—“
“Nonsense!” said Rarity. “Honestly, provincial vegetables are all the rage in big cities these days. You could do very well running a weekly farm stall in Manehattan. All you need is a little initial publicity, something to let the ponies of the big city know that you’re out there with delicious carrots for them to buy. If you had that, I’m confident that they’d be eating out of your hooves.”
Carrot Top couldn’t help but giggle at Rarity’s fierce expression, which seemed rather out of place to her in the spa. “I guess I could put out fliers,“ she said. “Or notices in the Canterlot papers. But it seems like a big initial investment.”
“Oh, nopony reads fliers or newspaper ads. What you need is something like a celebrity endorsement, somepony everypony trusts and admires to tell them why they simply must have your carrots.” She brightened. “And I know just the one! Sapphire Shores is coming back to Ponyville in one week to pick up her outfits. We’ll need to discuss accessories and such while she’s here, and I’m sure she’d be amenable to a working dinner as we went over those matters.” She nodded. “Yes. A working meal, provided by an award-winning chef from Ponyville.”
Carrot Top blushed. “Award winning?” She had entered one farming competition before, a big one in Trottingham, but while she’d technically received an honorable placement award, she hadn’t actually won.
“Don’t be so modest, dear. Third place in Trottingham is quite an accomplishment.” Rarity grinned. “If she likes you, I’m sure she’d be willing to tell all her friends about the hot new farmer in Ponyville. She might even have you provide some of the concessions to her nearby shows. If you built a stall in Manehattan or Fillydelphia, or even Canterlot, after that, everypony would flock to it!”
Carrot Top didn’t say anything. She just smiled brightly.
“Splendid! You’ll want to have three or four new dishes ready one week from today, and then you’ll just need to cook them for Sapphire Shores and I. Now, I should probably taste them first, just to make sure they’ll agree with her palette. Perhaps the day before… no, that’s Hearts and Hooves Day, and I’m sure you already have plans. How about two days before?”
Carrot Top nodded. “Five days from now, three or four dishes, at your house. Got it. And then again, two days after that.”
“Perfect,” said Rarity. “Now… Aloe, a round of carrot juice, please. On me. To celebrate!”
***
Carrot Top whistled as she approached Rarity’s house with a saddlebag full of carrots and other ingredients.
Most of her friends had been optimistic about her latest business venture. Only Raindrops had seemed skeptical, telling Carrot Top that Rarity was just using her so that she could treat a famous celebrity to a unique meal and maybe sell some more outfits. Carrot Top didn’t entirely discount the possibility, but as she’d pointed out to Raindrops, she was hoping to sell some carrots too, so it wasn’t like Rarity was doing anything improper. Besides, it would be fun to cook for a celebrity.
Of course, that was for later. This was just the test run, when she would present her dishes to Rarity and learn if they would satisfy the pop star’s palate. But this would be fun too.
Carousel Boutique was decorated for Hearts and Hooves Day, with red and pink hearts crafted from bolts of cloth mounted all over the outer walls. Carrot Top paused for a moment to admire the largest heart, one measuring almost four feet from top to bottom and mounted just above the door. Looking at it closely, Carrot Top saw a few rubies set into it at irregular intervals, which sparkled in the sunlight and seemed to illuminate the heart and make it brighter and more lovely. The farmer thought that it looked as finely and intricately made as Rarity’s outfits.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
Carrot Top turned to see Rarity, who had poked her head out of the door behind her.
“I wanted to let everypony know that, if they want a special outfit for a very special somepony, this is the place to go!” said Rarity. “You should do the same, Carrot Top. A little seasonal advertising never hurt anypony.”
They bantered about business as Carrot Top entered and wiped her feet on the mudroom rug. “You must be very busy, making new clothes for the holiday.”
“Yes, but they’re finally all done.” Rarity gestured at a new suit, which didn’t seem to have any seams. “This is a new dress outfit that Sterling Silver commissioned. I understand that he and his family are going to a formal ball in Canterlot tomorrow. See how the seams are all so small they blend into the fabric?”
“It looks like it was all woven from one piece of cloth,” said Carrot Top. “That’s fantastic.”
Rarity shrugged. “Oh, it’s nothing,” she said, but Carrot Top could tell she was proud nonetheless.
Carrot Top stepped into the kitchen and began to unpack her saddlebags. “So, I’m thinking an appetizer, a soup, a main course, and a dessert. Everything’s carrot based. Do you think she likes carrot cake?”
“She’s been known to eat a slice from time to time,” said Rarity, a twinkle in her eye. “Now, I do have a few other business tasks to take care of, accounting and such. I hope you won’t mind if I—“
“Oh, no problem. I’ll tell you when it’s ready,” said Carrot Top.
She put a carrot on a cutting board and got to work.
***
Carrot Top had personally grown every carrot on the table.
She had planted them, watered them, and fertilized them. She had kept a careful eye on them as they grew, uprooting weeds, digging an irrigation ditch when water had backed up, and putting up umbrellas during an unusually hot week that had threatened to dry out her plants. She had rebuilt one of her fences so that wild animals couldn’t get in and help themselves to her crops, and planted a few sweet-smelling weeds at the very edges of her property to draw off the bugs and other pests that would otherwise infect her vegetables. She had done all this, and much more, until they – at last – had reached maturity and were ready for harvesting.
Each carrot, in short, had been very carefully nurtured to make sure that it was as good as it could be. And Carrot Top was not about to waste any of that potential with a mediocre or slipshod dish.
She carefully chopped a dozen of her best carrots, cutting across the fibers to soften them, and then put the pieces into a sweet-smelling broth in order to prepare her carrot soup. She stirred the broth slowly and continuously, not letting it rest for a moment – for if it did, the fragile, tender vegetables might burn – counting off the strokes and seconds for the dish to be completed. Only when the soup had thickened to a precise consistency did she let go of the ladle to work on other components of her meal, and even then she still picked it back up every minute or so and gave the soup another careful, even stir.
The appetizer required thinly sliced carrots. Rather than simply using a grater, Carrot Top used a trick that she’d picked up from Berry Punch and then refined on her own, taking a thin, scalpel-like knife and almost sculpting the carrots down into perfectly sized shards. They were just the right size, and maintained much more of their texture than the grater would have left them. She carefully coated them with the honey, sweet nuts, and other ingredients, then left them to rest for a while. Every few minutes, she applied a fresh coat of honey, as the appetizer tasted best when the carrots were slowly layered with sweetness.
About halfway through, she had the feeling of being watched. She turned to see Rarity looking at her hooves, staring with an intensity she hadn’t often seen in the fashionista. “Er… can I help you?”
“Oh, don’t mind me. I was just curious.” Rarity paused. “Your cooking technique is very… intricate. I didn’t know that your food would be so complicated.”
“Carrots can be delicate,” said the farmer. “I want to make sure that my dishes don’t fall apart. Besides…” She shrugged. “If I’m making the dish, I want to make it right.”
“Of course,” said Rarity. And she said nothing else as Carrot Top cooked.
***
By the time the food was ready, Rarity’s mouth was watering. “That smells heavenly,” she breathed. “Honestly, Carrot Top, if it tastes half as good as it smells…”
Carrot Top smiled brightly. “ Do you think Sapphire Shores will like these dishes?”
“Absolutely! There’s no doubt in my mind whatsoever.”
Carrot Top served them both, and noted, with a bit of amusement, that Rarity seemed to be struggling against the urge to just start wolfing the food down. Her formal manners won out, if barely, and she began to eat with her usual prim stature.
“What do you think?” asked Carrot Top.
“Your dishes are delicious,” said Rarity. “I didn’t know anypony could make carrots taste this good. I mean, I like carrots, but…”
Carrot Top blushed. “Thanks.”
Rarity ate in silence for a few moments. “You put a lot of care into your dishes,” she said. “I could tell. You were working very hard.” She smiled slightly. “I suppose you worked just as hard to grow the carrots too?”
Carrot Top nodded.
“It must take a lot of time to grow and prepare such delicious carrots.”
Carrot Top shrugged. “I like the work. I take seeds and dirt and water and turn them into something delicious. Whether it’s just raw carrots, or a fancy dish… that’s my career, and my special talent. I don’t mind the time or effort. Even if I have to adapt my farming for each individual carrot, working out different mixes of water and fertilizer and sun, it’s worth the time. It’s just… important to me, that each carrot be the best it can be.”
Rarity inclined her head. “If you don’t mind me asking a somewhat personal question, why is that so important to you?”
“Well…” began Carrot Top. “I mean, I grow carrots. That’s what I do. So I should grow them as well as I possibly can. If I’m going to ask other ponies to eat my carrots, and pay me for them, I need to raise them to the best of my ability. Otherwise, it’s not fair to them. Cooking them well is just an extension of that.” She paused. “Maybe I could get away with less work, since I’m the only carrot vendor in town and anypony who wants carrots needs to buy them from me, but I wouldn’t want to do that. It wouldn’t be right.”
The two were silent for a moment.
“You probably think it’s silly--” began the farmer.
“Not at all,” said Rarity. She ate another few bites of food, still seeming to marvel at the delicious taste produced by the product of simple ingredients and Carrot Top’s cooking prowess. “I feel the same way.”
Carrot Top thought back to the outfits in the showroom. “I can see that.”
“Craft is important.” Rarity’s voice seemed slightly tense, and Carrot Top wondered if she’d perhaps argued about this recently. “I make ponies beautiful. When they go to a formal event, or dress up to meet a friend or loved one, they count on me to look their best. It is my obligation to ensure that every outfit I make is perfectly designed and sewn to make its buyer as fine as I can manage.”
Rarity put down her fork. “That’s why I make all my clothes by hoof. I could probably afford one of those big jacquard looms they use in Manehattan. But you can’t mass-produce clothes and expect them to go with all of your customers. It wouldn’t be fair to them, to force them to accept generic clothing, one-style-fits-all, just so that I can save a little effort.” She paused. “Sometimes I wish I had a loom like that… certainly, I wouldn’t mind being able to spend a little more time reading fashion magazines, or at the spa. But I wouldn’t enjoy those things if I knew I was producing inferior clothing.”
“I can tell,” said Carrot Top, suddenly.
“I beg your pardon?”
“That you put that much care into designing all of your outfits. It’s obvious just from looking at them.” Carrot Top nodded out at the showroom. “Your technique’s amazing, and you’re always coming up with new ideas. And you customize your outfits to fit anypony that buys them, even if that takes time and effort. I can tell that you care passionately about what you do.”
Rarity smiled slightly and gestured at the plate in front of her. “I can tell that you do as well.”
Carrot Top blushed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent. I just like, sometimes, to talk with ponies who value craft as much as I do,” said Rarity.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Carrot Top. “I like that too.”
***
They finished the meal leisurely, discussing the finer points of farming and weaving. Carrot Top had never known that there were so many little details that went into each outfit, but it was fascinating to her to hear Rarity describe them. The fashionista, for her part, seemed genuinely interested when Carrot Top describe the subtle, yet significant, techniques she had learned to make sure that her carrots were as good as they could possibly be.
When it was over, both ponies stood. “That was fantastic,” said Rarity, floating her empty plate to the kitchen sink. “Between you and me, Carrot Top, if you ever get tired of farming, I can guarantee that you would do very well as a chef.”
Carrot Top blushed. “So… you think Sapphire Shores will like my food?”
“Darling, she will love it!” Rarity chuckled. “I absolutely guarantee it.”
Carrot Top nodded and began to pack her saddlebag. “I should get going, then—“
“Nonsense. Carrot Top, you’ve just given me a truly spectacular meal. I simply must do something to repay the favor. My honor demands it.”
Carrot Top blinked. She didn’t need any new clothes. “Thank you, Rarity, but—“
“Oh, I know!” Rarity’s horn glowed, and a full-length mirror floated in front of Carrot Top. “Darling, when was the last time you had your coat and mane properly brushed and styled? Or your tail, for that matter?”
“Well, I went to the spa a few days ago—“
“Yes, yes, but that was just for a massage and bath, was it not? Your coat…” Rarity began looking it over with a trained eye. “Yes, that’s it. I’m going to style your coat, tail, and mane. There won’t be a single snarl or snag in them by the time I’m done.” She began to lead the farmer over to a large cushion on the floor.
“Are you sure?” asked Carrot Top. She worked in the fields all day, tending to and harvesting her crop. She knew that her coat in particular was almost always a mess. She’d tried to clean up before going over to Rarity’s place, out of general courtesy, but she knew she was probably still a stylist’s nightmare.
“Absolutely. After that fine meal you prepared, it’s the very least I could do.” Several brushes, combs, scissors, and bottles of various liquids floated over to Rarity from across the room. “Now, let me know if anything hurts, alright?”
Carrot Top was about to say something, but then she felt a light touch, almost breeze-like, moving over her coat. It seemed to pause for a moment, as if reaching an obstacle, and then Rarity ‘tsked’ and did something with one of her tools. That spot on Carrot Top’s coat twinged for a moment, then relaxed, like a knot had been undone.
“Do I have a lot of snarls?” the farmer asked.
“Some, but no matter,” said Rarity. “I shall remove them if I must go over your body one hair at a time!”
And she continued.
***
It was the best massage Carrot Top had ever received.
Rarity’s touch was subtle but firm, expertly weaving through her hair to find any bits of it that were tangled, knotted, or just not up to snuff. Sometimes she would use a comb to fix the problem, sometimes a brush, sometimes a scissors or a nail file, and every time she did so, Carrot Top felt a bit more relaxed.
By the time Rarity had finished treating Carrot Top’s coat and moved on to her mane, the farmer was in a pleasant haze. When she moved, her coat felt better than it had in years – every hair free and independent, not even a single one tangled in its neighbor. It was a surprisingly clean feeling, like she’d spent a long time in the world’s deepest, most rejuvenating shower.
“Are you sure I can’t take a peak?” she managed. Rarity had blindfolded her shortly after starting the procedure, when she’d caught Carrot Top twisting to try to see a mirror.
“You wouldn’t have let me try those dishes before they were ready, would you?” teased Rarity. She began doing… something… to the base of Carrot Top’s mane that made her sigh contentedly. “You may look when I’m done.”
It was more than a scalp massage, though there was some of that, and it was more than a styling, though that was there too. It was like Rarity was sculpting her mane by taking each hair, untangling it from its neighbors, and moving it to its optimal position. Carrot Top wouldn’t have been surprised if Rarity was working off of a drawing or a model. It was as if the fashionista was turning her mane into a work of art.
After a few very pleasant hours, Rarity finally said, “All done, darling. You won’t even recognize yourself!”
Carrot Top cautiously removed the blindfold and looked in the mirror. A sleek, almost shining, pony looked back at her. Her coat was immaculate, with every single snag and snarl removed, and her mane and tail were styled in some complicated weave that the farmer could only marvel at. She looked beautiful. She felt beautiful.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Rarity, this is fantastic.”
Rarity blushed. “So was the meal.”
Carrot Top looked at her for a moment longer, finding herself regretting that she would need to leave shortly and go home. “I…” she began. “Er, Rarity…”
“Yes?”
Carrot Top turned towards the window. It was dark by this point, and drizzling a cold rain. “This… styling, you gave me. It’d be a shame to just…” She trailed off. “If I go home now, nopony will see it, and it’ll probably get messed up by the rain.”
“That would be a shame,” said Rarity, slowly. “You look beautiful, darling. You should show it off. We shouldn’t let your new styling be squashed under a thick raincoat, or dirtied by rain, before letting all your friends see you.”
They were silent for a moment longer.
“You know,” added Rarity, “If you wanted to stay over, I wouldn’t mind.”
It was Carrot Top’s turn to blush. “I… if it’s not a bother.”
“No trouble at all!” Rarity smiled. “I’ve had a few sleepovers in my time. I don’t snore, and I’m sure you’ll be quite comfortable.”
Carrot Top’s coat felt so good that the farmer figured she could sleep on a rock and still be comfortable, but she didn’t say that. “Sounds good,” she said.
***
Carrot Top woke to birdsong.
They hadn’t made it to the beds, she realized. They had stayed up late, talking craft on the couch, until both of them had drifted off to sleep. It had just seemed like so much effort to go upstairs and get tucked in, and such a shame to break off their conversation even for the length of time required to ascend the stairs. But now Carrot Top was awake, her head resting on Rarity’s (rather soft) tummy, her luxuriously styled mane flowing out around her, and her whole body feeling far too comfortable to move.
It was Hearts and Hooves Day, she realized. The day when the ponies in relationships went out and spent quality time with their Very Special Somepony, and the ponies not in relationships went out and tried to remedy that. Carrot Top herself had been planning on heading over to Berry’s Bar, or maybe the Sugar Cube, to see who else was interested in a date for the day. But now…
Now she wanted nothing more than to remain just as she was. She couldn’t think of a more perfect way to spend the day than that.
“Happy Hearts and Hooves Day,” she murmured, giving Rarity a hug. And then she was drifting back into a comfortable and contented sleep.
Author's Note
Happy Valentine's Day!
Note: The Jacquard loom was invented in 1801, substantially before a lot of other tech that the MLP-verse uses, so I think it's okay to assume that they exist in that 'verse.
