The Amazing Vanishing Rarity
The Amazing Vanishing Rarity
Rarity sat in her studio, hunched over the sewing machine, her hooves pushing through the fabric she was working with. Her horn-rimmed glasses balanced on the edge of her nose with blue eyes running over her work carefully trying to envision the dress she was making. Her breath was steady with the hum of the machine almost calming. She had to get this project done before the sun set. Twilight Sparkle needed it before she left for Canterlot.
The machine quieted as the fabric floated with blue magic towards a pony mannequin It rested softly on the form, draped down across the back. Rarity adjusted the glasses with a hoof and stared at the dress with curiosity in her eyes. In the light that poured in from the window she could see the shimmer from the fabric. Her head swelled with ideas of what potential it had. The sound of Opalescence and the feeling of fur against her made her smile and turn her attention to the cat. Nuzzling it a bit she then looked back to the fabric.
"What do you think Opal? Do you think I did too much here?" she asked as the cat turned to a ball of yarn that lay nearby and began to paw at it. "Yes, I suppose you're right. The fabric might be a bit too shiny for Twilight. But it could also be just the right amount of shine."
She sighed as the glasses floated from her face and went to rest on the table the sewing machine sat.
"I suppose I'll have to get her and see what she thinks, then."
A knock at the door made her come out of her head and looked towards it. She smiled and trotted to it. She patted her mane, making certain it was in perfect order before opening the door to see a mule coming out from the front of a cart. With a smile, he moved around towards the back of the cart and picked out a package with his teeth. It hung down from a string before it was set down at Rarity's doorstep.
"Package for ya, miss." he said as Rarity hopped around with excitement.
"Oh, thank you! I've been waiting for these since I ordered them!"
Rarity grinned wide as a small bag floated towards her from inside the house and out of the bag came three shiny coins. The coins were then placed in a bag hanging from the cart as the mule bowed a bit.
"Much obliged, miss."
With that the mule got back to the front of the cart and began down the road on his route. Rarity then picked up the package with her magic and brought it back inside. Setting it on a bare table, it glow blue as the string and wrapping her undone followed by the box itself. What then floated out of the box glow brightly with an emerald shine. Rarity's eyes went wide with wonder, her hooves went to her cheeks as though she were trying to keep her smile from coming off of her face.
Other jewels and gems came out of the box but none so bright as the emerald. It almost made Rarity shiver in what she could use the emerald for, so many ideas flooded her head! That's when the idea of the dress she had been making came to mind. A broach! It was perfect! Rarity squealed in delight and thought just how much Twilight would absolutely adore the dress when she was done with it. Why, she didn't need to bring her in on the boring details after all!
"Oh, Opal, isn't it the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" she asked as the cat continued to chase around the yarn.
The emerald was then set down on the table as the box and wrapping were cleared off and set in a corner. The other gems then placed in various boxes with their counterparts, all but the emerald. That remained on the table. Rarity moved to the sewing machine once again, the horn-rimmed glasses resting on her nose once more. A renewed sense of creativity making her feel as though she were going to burst. More fabric floated to her followed by scissors, cutting it into shapes to form a broach proper for the bright fabric that was to be adorned with the brilliant emerald. She began to hum to herself happily before another knock came to the door.
Stopping, she canted her head to one side trying to figure out who could be visiting her. Her friends knew she was going to be busy, though knowing anyone it was most likely Pinkie Pie who could be quite flighty when the time came. Rarity placed the glasses back onto the table and moved towards the door to open it. There in the doorway stood Twilight Sparkle with a smile on her face.
"Hey Rarity, sorry to bother you but I wanted to see how things were coming along," she said as Rarity moved out of the way for her to enter.
"Oh, of course! Do come in, sweetie!" she exclaimed, waving a hoof towards the dress she had been working on. Twilight's eyes widened as she took in the sight, her dress very much to her liking.
"Oh, Rarity, it's so beautiful!" she said as Rarity puffed out her chest in pride.
"Of course it is! Only the best for my friend. But that's not even the greatest part of it all. Look what just came in today!"
Rarity moved to the table where the emerald sat and picked it up with her magic. It sparkled from the blue glow of Rarity's power as Twilight's eyes widened.
"Oh, Rarity, it's absolutely beautiful!"
"Isn't it just? I've got plans for this little gem, too. It'll be the broach for this lovely ensemble I've prepared for your audience tomorrow with the princess. Oh, you will look positively divine tomorrow!"
Twilight giggled a bit as the emerald was set back onto the table.
"I'm sure whatever you do, it'll be great, Rarity."
Rarity beamed at the compliment she'd received from her friend before Twilight turned back to the shop door and began to head out. Rarity followed and opened the door for her.
"I have to get going to prepare a few more things, so I'll leave you to making that dress."
"Oh don't you worry, I'll have it done and deliver it to the library before the end of the day!"
With that Rarity closed the door and turned back to her workshop. A smile formed on her face as she walked back over to the emerald she felt so entranced by. She didn't make it very far, however before there was a knock at the door. Turning back to it, she quirked a brow, wondering if there was something Twilight had forgotten. Moving back to it, she opened the door only to find Applejack standing before her with a saddle bag on her back.
"Oh, Applejack, what brings you by?" she asked with a bright smile.
"Hiya Rarity, sorry fer droppin' by so suddenly, but I got a blanket Granny Smith washed a hole into," she explained as she stepped into the shop, pulling the blanket out from the saddle bag with her teeth. "It belongs to Applebloom an' with nights bein' as cold as they've been, why I'd hate for her to get cold hooves while she slept."
Rarity looked back towards the dress she'd been making then to the blanket and snagged it with her magic.
"Not at all, dearie, why it should only take a moment," she said as she brought her glasses back to her nose and set the fabric down at the sewing machine. Applejack in the mean time looked about the shop and spotted the dress.
"Oh, this the dress ya'll are makin' fer Twilight?" she asked as the hum of the sewing machine began to fill the air.
"Oh yes, it is. She wanted it by tonight which should be no problem at all."
"Tonight? You sure ya'll can handle that Rarity? I can prolly find Fluttershy to help me sewin' up this here blanket. I'd hate to take ya away from important work."
"Not at all, Applejack! It's perfectly fine. I have more than enough time to finish that all up. Besides, I'd hate to think of the possibility of your little sister freezing."
"Well thank ya kindly, Rarity!"
"Anything for a friend, dear, you know that," she said as she finished up the patch on the blanket and folded it up. With that, she placed it back inside the saddle bag and smiled.
"Remind me to give ya'll onea Granny's apple pies next time she makes a bunch fer market!"
"Of course, you know I always enjoy them," Rarity said as they moved to the door. As it opened Applejack stopped suddenly with Rarity looking beyond her. At the door stood Fluttershy who smiled a bit.
"Oh, Rarity, Applejack, I didn't know you were busy, I can come back later," she said meekly, backing up slightly.
"I was just on my way out back to the farm. Got lots of chores need doin'," Applejack said as she trotted out of the store. "See ya'll around!"
Fluttershy moved back into the doorway, Rarity trying to hide the sudden feeling that the interruptions were now causing a bit of strain on her schedule.
"Um, hi Rarity, I was at the spa and well, you didn't show up and, um, I thought today was our weekly get together," she explained giving a slight smile from behind her pink mane. Rarity's eyes widened as she gasped and placed a hoof on her head.
"I cannot believe I forgot!"
"It's okay, there's always tomorrow."
"No, it's simply not okay! Let me get my hat and we'll go right away!" she exclaimed, putting her glasses down on the table and disappearing back into the back. As she began to look through her collection, she thought about the dress that needed making but dismissed it.
"No, I'll have more than enough time. Besides, Twilight will understand if I'm just slightly late in my delivery if it was for my weekly get together with Fluttershy."
It was sometime in the afternoon by the time Rarity trotted back into her shop. She set her hat on a rack near the door and spotted the dress she'd been working on. With a frown, she moved towards the fabric and emerald she'd laid out and huffed. She knew she couldn't abandon Fluttershy, but the deadline was starting to loom again.
She worked at a feverish pace, trying to get everything together. Fabric flew through the air as pieces were cut out, the sewing machine sounded as though it were working over time, straining to finish the project. Time continued to fly by, her horn glowing brightly as she began to set the last few pieces onto the mannequin. A breath of relief escaped, sweat being wiped from her brow. The dress sat ready before she then tilted her head to one side and began to hum to herself a bit. The sun was just starting to sink but it needed to be measured properly to make certain it was correctly lengthened.
"Twilight is more than likely busy with preperations, I couldn't ask her to do it. Although, I'm about the same size as her, it would give me a better idea if anything needed to be trimmed up."
The idea tumbled around in her head before she decided to float the dress off of the mannequin and onto her body. It was then she finally took note that the emerald she'd been showing off all day had a slight glow about it. This made her expression lighten as she looked at herself in the mirror.
"Oh, Rarity, you are an absolute genius! All the measurements are perfect, in fact, they're better than perfect!"
She turned from the mirror to remove the dress but found herself unable to get it back around her neck. Grumbling, she continued to try harder with hooves and magic but nothing would budge. The gem around her neck glow brighter as more and more she struggled to remove the garment. Finally, she gave up and stamped her hooves.
"I made the collar too small! You have got to be kidding me. I'll have to make sure I cut this just right so that it doesn't show up when I stitch it back together," she said as a pair of scissors floated to her she moved her head away from the collar as best she could and brought the two blades of the scissors down on the fabric. What followed next was quite literally a shock to her. Magic flowed right back into her horn causing not only the scissors to drop but also her to be tossed aside.
Rubbing her head, she looked where she had been standing and stared with mouth agape. She couldn't for the life of her figure out what just happened. Nothing made sense to her! Climbing out of the boxes she'd landed on, she walked towards the mirror once again in hopes to find something, some clue as to what was going on. What she saw, or rather didn't see, would be far more shocking than the magic flowing right back into her. Waving her hooves around, she tried to find herself in the mirror, though there was nothing to be seen. The rest of the shop was clearly visible but as for herself, it was almost as though she'd vanished.
That was when the door suddenly burst open. In came Pinkie Pie from the outside, strutting in with a large grin on her face.
"Hi Rarity! I was wondering if you and Opal wanted to come to Sugarcube Corner to hang out with me and Gummy! I was thinking we haven't hung out in a while and-huh?"
She halted suddenly and looked around the shop. Placing her hoof on her chin, she looked around as Pinkie moved around the shop calling Rarity's name. Rarity in the mean time was calling out to Pinkie, trying to get her attention but found that she couldn't. No matter how much she called and yelled it didn't seem like Pinkie could hear her.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Rarity screamed as Pinkie walked back into the main shop area from the back.
"That's weird, maybe she went out somewhere," Pinkie said to herself as she looked around the dim shop. She hadn't taken notice to the fact it was dim, nor had Rarity who'd been far too busy working to take note of just how much light was in her shop. Pinkie looked around again and bit her lower lip.
"Or maybe she's gone."
"No, Pinkie, I'm right here!" Rarity shouted trying to get her attention once more, waving her hooves around. As she did so, the scissors were kicked across the room towards Pinkie, stopping just short of her hooves. Pinkie's expression turned fearful as she leapt towards the door.
"Or she's been taken by a ghost!" with that, Pinkie dashed out the door screaming into town. Rarity's eye twitched before she dashed out the door after her. She galloped as hard as she could to catch up, but Pinkie was far too fast and she wound up stopping at town square out of breath. She looked around to everyone that stood about, at their stalls preparing to leave for the evening. The other ponies didn't seem to take note of her either.
"Everypony! Come on, it's Rarity! Look at me! Please someone look in my direction!"
A brown pony then looked directly towards her and perked up his ears. He trotted towards her as Rarity felt relief wash over her.
"Finally! Somepony can see me, you have no idea just how awful the last few minutes were not being able to see m-" she couldn't finish as the brown pony crashed into her. Falling onto his flank, he blinked and looked around trying to figure out what he ran into. To him, he saw nothing, to Rarity she was a mix of outraged and scared at what just happened. He didn't see her either. She quickly picked herself back up and backed away slowly as the pony began waving around in front of him trying to see what he'd bumped. Taking this opportunity, she dashed off towards the library.
"Twilight will know what to do! She just has to!"
Twilight Sparkle sat quietly in the library reading a book with intense interest. Flipping a page, she continued to wave her eyes over every word on the pages before there was a knock at the door. Perking up, she moved to it and opened it only to see nothing in front of her. Rarity, in the mean time, waved her hooves about trying to get her attention.
"Oh, not you too Twilight!" she shouted as Twilight turned back to the inside of the library and shut the door. Rarity knocked again, Twilight once again opening the door and looking around intently.
"Okay, whoever is doing this, it's a funny prank but I'm busy and I'd rather not sit here all night answering the door!" she cried into the nothingness that was around her. Rarity, however decided to take matters into her own hooves and push past Twilight. Knocking her back, Twilight questioningly looked around trying to figure out just what hit her. She got back up and looked around outside again before suddenly Pinkie came crashing into the library, hugging Twilight had as she could.
"Pinkie! What is all this about!?" she shouted, trying to push the pink pony off of her.
"Twilight, it's terrible! Rarity was taken by a ghost, and now the shop is empty, and there's no sign of her, and there's also a ghost at the shop, and you have to come quick cause something terribly has happened and it's really scary!"
Twilight stared up at her blankly. "Pinkie, there's no such things as ghosts."
"B-But! There are! There were these scissors, and they moved right at me like they were trying to get me! But I ran really fast back to Sugarcube Corner and hid under a blanket for a bit, but then I decided to come see you cause you could probably do something about the ghost!"
"But there are no ghosts! They don't exist."
Pinkie was frozen in terror, squeezing Twilight harder as she stared at the quill that sat next to the book Twilight had been reading float towards a blank paper that also floated. Twilight followed Pinkie's stare and also tensed up watching the whole thing happen. In the mean time, the quill dipped itself into an open ink bottle and began to run along the paper hurridly.
HELP ME
-Rarity
Pinkie and Twilight both went running out the door screaming as Rarity took a look at the paper. Red ink ran slightly from the letters. The sudden frustration caused her to throw the pieces onto the ground and start hitting her head against the wall.
"This is awful! How will I ever become visible again!? Why can nopony even see me!? Why!? WHY!?" she shouted, tears beginning to run down her face. She flopped onto the floor and began rolling around, hooves waving about in the air. That's when she heard the sounds of Pinkie and Twilight again. Laying on the ground, she turned her eyes to the door as they spoke quietly and peaked inside.
"Is it gone?" Pinkie asked as she looked over Twilight's shoulder.
"I have no idea what that was, but something is strange," Twilight began, moving back into the Library, though with some hesitation. "Rarity showed me something interesting earlier, a gem she was going to use on my dress for my meeting with the princess tomorrow. It looked familiar but I wasn't quite sure until I started looking it up in this book. There isn't much information though, all I know is that it's called a "veil emerald"."
"That sounds creepy too..." Pinkie said as she crept back into the library.
"It's said that it was used in ancient ceremonies for certain tribes that lived in the Everfree forest, but that's about it, it doesn't say anything about what it does."
"What if it summons ghosts and Rarity became one?" Pinkie asked, eyes darting around the library as she curled into a ball.
"I don't know what's going on, but it can't be ghosts," Twilight explained moving towards the paper that lay on the ground. It floated towards her and she looked at it closely, tilting her head to one side. Her eyes then moved from the paper to the quill, then to the ink bottle the quill had been dipped. She then moved her eyes back to the paper. That's when it hit her.
"Pinkie, this isn't a ghost! A "veil emerald" must have something to do with disappearing! The veil part of the name makes sense!"
Rarity suddenly stood with a bright smile on her face nodding frantically.
"But how are we gonna know where she is?" Pinkie asked, moving towards Twilight with concern on her face.
Rarity sank again until her eyes fell on the pen. Her eyes widened and she then looked to the inkwell. It floated towards her as Pinkie and Twilight quickly moved back. Rarity had the inkwell floating well above her and looked back at the dress then to the inkwell. Her thoughts scattered to from wanting nothing but to be seen and possibly having this emerald off of her to the dress being ruined horribly by the ink. She then let out a sigh and closed her eyes, the ink bottle still hovering above her.
"Rarity, do it," Twilight said as Rarity perked up, her eyes watered as they met Twilight's. "I know you're wearing the dress you made for me, but I have to know you're here. I want to help you, Rarity. If that means staining that dress then I don't mind at all. I know you put a lot of hard work into it, but that doesn't matter if I can't see you and know you're there."
Rarity's eyes moistened as her friend's words fell upon her ear. The ink bottle quickly turned itself over and ran down into the dress and along her body. It crept slowly into the fabric, feeling it get into her coat as well as her mane. She shivered from the cold feeling it gave her but watched on as both Twilight and Pinkie lit up. Soon the ink was out of the bottle and it was placed back on the floor.
"Well, we can see her, but we need to hear her next!" Pinkie exclaimed as Twilight nodded and moved over towards Rarity. She put a hoof to her chin, watching the ink start to settle before spotting a place the ink was running down that looked like the gem Rarity had shown her.
"Pinkie, I need your help!" Twilight exclaimed and bit down at the collar. Rarity in the mean time gasped, though the two couldn't hear it. Pinkie joined in and the two began to tug at the collar together, the barely visible form of Rarity looking as though she were trying to pull away from them. That was when suddenly both Pinkie and Twilight were sent flying back to the other side of the library. Rarity watched her friends get tossed and just laid down on the ground with a sigh.
"I can't believe this. After everything I'm going to be stuck wearing this gem forever. I couldn't even get the dress ready in time for you Twilight. I'm so sorry."
"Rarity," Twilight spoke staring at her again.
Rarity looked up to her eyes tilting her head to one side. "Oh, it's not as though you can hear me."
"But I can hear you," Twilight said once more, a hoof being placed on Rarity's shoulder in comfort. "I can see you too."
Rarity opened her mouth as though she were going to say something but instead leapt forward and embraced Twilight tightly. Pinkie cheered and jumped around before leaping at the two of them and joining in on the hug.
"Oh, Twilight! Pinkie! You can see me again!"
"Uh huh!" Pinkie exclaimed happily. "And you're not a ghost, which is a bonus if you ask me!"
"Rarity, you know I don't care about some silly dress," Twilight said pulling away from the hug with a smile. "I care about you, you're my friend."
"Yes but your dress is simply ruined now," Rarity said, looking back to the now red and stained dress that hung from her.
"It'll be fine, I still have my outfit from the Gala after all."
Rarity smiled and nodded before placing her head down and pulling the dress off of her head. It slid off without a problem which made her stare down at it puzzlingly.
"Now that's very odd, I couldn't pull the thing off me for the longest time," Rarity said as she poked the dress.
"That is because that particular gem is quite a troublesome one," a voice came from the doorway. Through it stepped Princess Celestia with a smile. The three ponies dropped down to bow to her as she moved towards the dress.
"Princess, what sort of gem is it?" Twilight asked, looking up to her mentor.
"It's a veil emerald as your book says," Celestia began. "Not much is known about them besides the fact they were used to hide things. Old tribes would even put them on their homes to keep invaders away or just to pull a prank on a neighbor. They would be infused with magic and poof, it would mask whatever it touched, unable to be removed before the spell was discharged."
"That explains why I couldn't remove it, I must have charged it with enough magic to activate it while I was fitting it," Rarity said, eyes now on the dress as well.
"I came as soon as I saw Spike and he explained what you were researching, Twilight. But I'm curious as to where this gem came from."
"That was me, your highness," Rarity said, raising her hoof. "It came in a shipment of gems from Fillydelphia, but my guess is they do not check much about the gems other than if they sparkle."
Celestia smiled and nodded. "In that case, I believe I will be taking it to see if we could find ways of avoiding these sorts of gems from making it anywhere else in the kingdom. I would hate to think of anyone else suddenly disappearing because of it. Oh, and Twilight?"
"Yes, your highness?" Twilight responded, perking up.
"Did you want to go ahead and do your report on friendship?"
Twilight looked to Rarity and smiled with a nod. "I do. I learned that a good friend is worth more than anything I could have. That even though having nice things in this world makes you feel good, having nicer friends makes you feel even better."
Celestia looked between Twilight and Rarity and smiled before she nodded and flew off into the night with the dress in tow. The three of them sat around the library before Rarity let out a sigh of relief.
"Well I, for one, am glad I can be seen and heard again," she said, eyes falling to Twilight.
"And I, for one, am glad that you didn't totally disappear and we could get you back," Twilight said, her gaze also coming to meet Rarity's.
"And I'm glad that the ink is red! It shows up really well against your white coat Rarity! Like a new fashion statement!" Pinkie exclaimed pointing to the giant red spot that everyone seemed to have forgotten all about that ran across Rarity's back and down her sides. Rarity looked back at the spot in sudden horror.
"Red is such a terrible colour on me too!" she shouted, looking as though she were actually reeling in terror. "Your highness, wait! Might I borrow that emerald until I can get back to my shop!?"
Rarity bolted out the door along with Pinkie Pie. As the two went off into the night, Twilight simply laughed and shook her head, closing up the book she'd pulled from her shelf. The hour was late and she'd once again had another interesting day in Ponyville.
Author's Note
This isn't my best, but it was a story I did want to do for some time and finally got the moxie up to at least post it. Better ones to come, but I figured this wouldn't be too terrible a place to start.
Also, hopefully there are few mistakes. I ran this past a friend of mine who isn't a fan of the show but was kind enough to look through it and edit it for errors. They found no glaring issues to speak of but one or two errors may have squeaked by. I suppose we shall see.
