The DESTINY Exploration

Chapter 9: Samaritan

The night before was the most thrilling I’ve ever experienced; to have such power coursing through my body is humbling. Magic, at least in this world, is a reality, even if it doesn’t make sense to me. Twilight tried her best to explain the nature of the energy I now possess, but no explanation sufficed.

I woke this morning knowing that I had a short time to get ready for whatever is about to come my way. Somehow, the huge events that will play out in the next few months are going to work in my favor. They needed to; Jonah is depending entirely on me to get home safely. My only solution was to simply try hard.

The roosters outside in the town square started to ring their trademark crowing at sunrise. I lifted myself off the guest bed, and made my way downstairs. In the library lobby was the purple dragon, Spike, from a couple days ago; he was preparing a breakfast meal in his cute little chef’s cap.

“Good morning, Spike. Whatcha makin’?”

Spike turned his head to the left to look at me. “Oh, hey there! Just boiling some rubies in this pot!”

I did a double take and then looked in his boiling pot. “…rubies? Why do you eat gems, isn’t that unhealthy for you?”

Spike stared at me, and laughed. “Hahaha! A dragon’s diet is gems. Didn’t they teach ya that in kindergarten?”

“Well, considering I wasn’t raised here or anywhere around here, I guess not.”

Spike then perked up, and handed me a scroll. “Oh, Twilight wanted me to give you this message. She’s out running errands for the day.”

I pulled the tie loose and unfurled the scroll, examining its contents. It was a note engraved with Twilight’s hoof print:

Tom,

Thank you for being such a sound sleeper! Usually, Spike’s snoring keeps me up most of the night, so it’s refreshing to not hear a peep all night for once.

Anyways, I would like you to continue our training by practicing channeling your magic into your horn multiple times. Practice makes perfect, right? Use that friendship with Jonah, kindle it, and set it ablaze. But don’t set my house ablaze; that would be bad. I’ll be back around noon, so when I come back, we’ll evaluate your progress.

Twilight Sparkle

Setting the scroll down, I took my position in the vacant floor in the middle of the library. My hooves were firmly planted on the ground, and I began to channel energy into my horn. Jonah. My body surged with power, and my horn started to glow and build up uncontrollably. The power emanating from it was too intense, and I cut it off, collapsing to the floor and catching my breath.

Man, this magic business is exhausting. I don’t know if I can-

There was a knock on the front door; Spike was busy fixing up his meal, so I decided to answer it. I opened the door, and standing there was a white unicorn with a flowing purple mane that hung at her side. Her cutie mark had three blue diamonds; she seemed antsy for some reason.

She started talking as soon as the door opened. “…Twilight, I need to ask you a- OH! Um, hello there, um, stranger. Why are you-oh, silly me, my manners aren’t what they used to be, uhhh…”

“Hello, my name is Tom.” Finally got the natural greeting down... “Twilight isn’t going to be back until around noon. Can I help you?”

The unicorn continued to stumble in her speech for some odd reason. “Well, um, yes, darling! You can help me, I would like you very much…OH! I mean to say I would like you to help me very much! Uh, my name is Rarity, dear! OH for the love of Celestia…”

Rarity started to flail her hooves in the air, visibly uncomfortable.

“Rarity, what can I do for you?”

She stopped and smiled, calming her nerves. “Well, Tom, there is a fashion expo traveling to Ponyville tomorrow, and I wanted Twilight to be my model for the show. However, I have a deadline. If I don’t start on the designs now, it will be a disaster!”

Oh, crap! Model? As in…runway model? I need to flee before she-

“Tom, would you be willing to wear my designs at the expo tomorrow? I know I’m asking for a great deal of your time, but you’ll simply adore your accouter!”

Twilight had asked me to practice channeling my magic at the library, but one of her friends needed help, too. It was really hard for me to reject her request; heck, maybe I can practice over at her place instead! I heard loud crashes from the kitchen area, and Spike came walking out to check on me.

“Hey, Tom, sorry about the mess- Ra…Rar…Rarity! Rarity…” Spike levitated off the ground, without magic, and began to gaze at Rarity with longing eyes.

“Oh, Spike, darling! Can you let Twilight know that I’m taking her guest to the boutique?”

Spike simply nodded his head and sighed.

“Thank you, dear! Let’s walk to my boutique then, Tom!”

The walk took us past the bakery I had seen multiple times taking the cab into town. It was called Sugar Cube Corner, and dozens of ponies were lined up to snag a couple treats. The window was lined with an incredible assortment of cupcakes, pastries, bread, bagels, brownies; a sweet tooth’s treasure indeed. We wrapped around a corner, and off to the distance in front of us was a small cottage situated across the river, and to our right was Ponyville’s Town Hall and conference center, where all the major events took place.

Rarity pointed directly to it. “That is where Ponyville’s fashion expo is going to be held. There will be countless booths with many of Equestria’s famous clothing brands being showcased. Hopefully, after tomorrow night, mine will be one of them.” She started to clap her hooves together in excitement.

We crossed a bridge and arrived at what appeared to be a carousel. But it was actually an entire building built inside of the carousel.

Rarity motioned me inside. “This is my Carousel Boutique. Isn’t it just gorgeous?!”

The inside was open and vibrant, with dresses aplenty, hanging on life-size mannequins. One of the designs was a blue dress with a set of constellations on the flank, tailed by a thin veil of sky blue fabric. The amount of fabric scattered across the ground in the sewing room was staggering; Rarity called it ‘organized chaos’. I call it ‘a mess’.

“Well, darling, what are your impressions?”

“It’s a mess. But a very exquisite mess.”

She became super giddy, and ran to the room with the sewing machine and scattered fabric, pulling out a large blueprint from one of the shelves. She dusted it off, and it read ‘STALLION DESIGN A: THREE PIECE.'

“I haven’t worn a suit in ages! I never thought I’d say this, but…I’m thoroughly excited!” I scanned the suit, and imagined myself wearing it. I had to get my hands on it!

But something passed through my mind just then. “Rarity, what color is the suit going to be?”

She thought for a moment. “Well, my ensemble was supposed to be a very dark purple…”

“NO.” I channeled my inner fashionista. “Make it gray.”

Rarity gasped, and turned into a violent shade of red. “Whaaat?! Gray?! But purple was…going to be…wait! That’s it. Tom, you stand perfectly still.”

Rarity jumbled through her drawers and began to measure every part of my body: hip to hip, flank to nose, neck thickness, body thickness, leg length, leg thickness, and tail length. Recording all her data down, she shooed me away from the room and closed it off. I could hear her muffled voice from the next room.

“It will be about an hour, darling, before the design is complete! Don’t take one STEP into here!”

I took the opportunity to begin practicing my magic again. Twilight probably wouldn’t appreciate me leaving the house for fancy clothes without at least getting this magic thing down pat.

My thoughts drifted back to Jonah, and the energy built up again.

Now the key is controlling it! Slow down, magic, SLOW DOWN!

The energy started to crawl instead of rush to my horn.

Yes! I have control. Ugh…holy cow, this is taxing…

The hardest part of all of this was releasing that energy without blowing everything up. Luckily, Twilight informed me earlier of a couple ways to accomplish this:

“You must either cut off the magic entirely, or cast it at an object of your choice, remembering to instruct the magic how to manipulate it. Different spells require different levels of energy to pull off.”

I panned around the room swiftly, trying to find an object that I could manipulate and not distress the fashion designer in the other room. I saw a pitcher of sweet tea and a glass of ice sitting on the counter in the kitchen. My mind focused entirely on trying to pour the tea into the cup. My horn flashed, and an aura appeared around the pitcher as it began to slide off the table.

No! STOP.

The pitcher stopped in mid-air, levitating about two inches off the ground. I slowly lifted it above the counter top, and began to tilt the pitcher above the cup.

Yes, yes! It’s working! I-

The door to the boutique propped open, and I saw Twilight walk into the room. My focus shifted, and I dropped the pitcher on the counter. Tea splattered everywhere as the pitcher tumbled to the floor, carrying along with it the cup. It shattered, with glass scattered all over the floor.

“Tom! What were you doing?!”

I stuttered, trying to explain the mess. “I-I…I was trying to pour some tea with my magic, and then you walked in, and I lost concentration! I’m sorry!”

“You were using levitation on the tea? But that’s…you shouldn’t have the ability to do that yet. That’s amazing.” She cleared her throat, and composed herself. “But you lost your concentration, too. So it isn’t all good, but you’re getting there.”

Twilight glanced at the locked doors in front of us. “Is Rarity in there? I need to speak with her.”

“Rarity told me to not take a step into this room. She’s making me a three-piece suit right now for the fashion conference tomorrow.”

Twilight tripped, and stared right at me. “The fashion conference? Did she ask you to volunteer as a model?”

“Uhh…yes?”

Twilight smacked her hoof on her face. “Tom, do you understand what you’re doing? Every major fashion designer will be there to observe the new designs for the season. They harp on anyone that submits sub-par designs, and big events like this are Rarity’s weakness, trust me! You’ll get laughed at!”

From the other room, I felt a strange disturbance. Then a scream. “WHAT WAS THAT, TWILIGHT?! I’LL DESTROY YOU.”

“Rarity, that’s not what I meant! I’m saying that-“

“I don’t CARE what you meant, I will shine at this convention, and you will watch as my fashion hits the world stage for the first time!”

Twilight breathed a heavy sign. “Okay, Rarity, whatever you say. Are you done yet?”

Rarity opened the doors, and glared at Twilight. Then she turned to me, smiling, and motioned me inside. All of us stood in the room, curious as to where to find the suit she had made. A drape was cast over the mannequin that wore my new suit; it was taken from the stand and revealed the sharpest dress wear I had ever seen!

“Oh my God, Rarity, this is amazing!”

Then Twilight chimed in. “Yes, this is one of your best ever!”

Rarity blushed wildly at the praise. “Wow, I…thank you both. I had a couple more designs I wanted to showcase tomorrow. Twilight, would you be willing to stay with Tom, and help me?”

The next day was exhausting, to say the least. Twilight and I remained at the boutique the entire previous day, trying on dozens of different designs stitched together by Rarity. Apparently, I was the only stallion in her boutique in a year that had the opportunity to try on her ensembles.

Today, we were setting up Rarity’s booth at the convention. Because she wasn’t a big name in the fashion world, her booth stood in the far corners of the show floor, relatively out of sight of many of the spectators at the gathering. She had a couple of her signature dresses, including the blue, starry dress I had seen in the boutique earlier. Added to those were two suits, neither of which looked as fierce as the one she made for me yesterday.

Rarity, Twilight and I trotted over to the registration desk to check in for the runway exhibition this evening.

“Rarity, Carousel Boutique, correct?” The mare at the desk penciled in Rarity’s information.

“Yes, madam. If I may ask, what position are we in the exhibition?”

“You are the final showcase, Miss Rarity.”

Rarity screamed and ran to her booth, and slid underneath the table. The mare in charge of registration raised an eyebrow, and continued her business. But that scream caught me off-guard, and I questioned the pony.

“Hey, ma’am, why would my friend over there freak out about being last?”

She took her glasses off. “Sir, in a fashion exhibition, going last is either the best possible outcome or the worst. I assume she never has gone last at an event like this. If her ensembles are atrocious and out-of-fashion, her career is done. The last ensemble is always the one most remembered. Pray that she doesn’t screw up.”

That was a very brutal assessment, but apparently true. Rarity had this frightened look on her face as if she just confronted death. Twilight ran over to comfort her.

“Rarity, you never know! You made an incredible suit yesterday, you could blow them away, and your designs will be the talk of Equestria!”

“DON’T YOU PATRONIZE ME! This is the worst. Possible. THING that could ever happen to me! Waaah!” Rarity sobbed quietly under her booth as a few ponies walking by, looking at one another, skidded away from our area.

I activated my magic, remembering to channel it slowly, and I pulled Rarity from under the table, and lifted her onto her hooves. She looked visibly distraught, and her hair was ruffled beyond recognition.

“Listen, Rarity…” I finally found the words to speak to her. “…the suit you made me was fantastic. I’m no fashion expert, nor am I a published critic. But I would be envious of anybo…anypony wearing that suit. It is really freaking sharp; worthy of acclaim.”

Rarity gave me a huge hug, her tears falling down my backside. “Thu…thank you, Tom, that means a great deal, hearing you say that…”

After our vent circle was complete, we composed ourselves, and gathered the materials for our march down the runway. I had never been on a runway like this before, and I had no idea what to do. Rarity shoved me into the changing room, and gave me a few key instructions, telling me how to look and travel down the aisle, and what each ensemble represented.

“Now, Tom, we are the last ensemble in each rotation of twenty brands. The first style is ‘seasonal’, and it is summer, so you will be wearing this…”

Rarity pulled out a Hawaiian lei, with a cream and orange pinstripe, button-down shirt.

“The second style is going to be a unique one this year: rustic. Typically, fashion conventions don’t entertain this style, but this year, there is a wave of more modern rustic apparel…”

She handed me a Stetson, a quartet of spurred boots, and a set of mahogany overalls set over an indigo button-down with a collar.

“The final style is the most important one of the evening, as most of the crowd tonight is supposed to be from the under-crust of the Canterlot elite. Not many bigger names, but plenty of potential clients…”

The suit that she made for me was the final piece of the puzzle. It looked better than I had seen it the other day: ironed down, flourished and creased to perfection.

Both of us exited out dressing room, and we peeked out into the crowd. The main hall was packed with thousands of spectators, and the runway was lined with very posh-looking ponies, dressed excessively to stand out in the crowd. Rarity gasped, and shut the curtains tightly, gripping the fabric for dear life.

“What, Rarity, what did you see?!”

“Uhh…I made a mistake. Tom, this is a HUGE deal now. Don’t. Mess. Up. Don’t. Triiip.” Rarity kept heavily grasping for air as she rested herself on the floor.

Then she turned to me and listed names I didn’t recognize. “Sapphire Shores. Photo Finish. Fleur de Lis. Fancy Pants. Hoity Toity. And…WAIT, she wasn’t…” Rarity looked back out, and back to me and her jaw dropped.

“PRINCESS CADENCE?!”

Another Princess?! How many princesses can one country have?

I peered out into the crowd, and I saw who she had referred to; that Shining Armor pony was in the crowd sitting next to her, the both of them laughing as they had conversation with a pony wearing a monocle. This was a huge night for Rarity, and I had to be a good Samaritan in this foreign environment.

“Miss Rarity, your first entry, please. You’re on deck!”

Rarity, fidgeting, grabbed my first ensemble, and I went into the dressing room. Walking out with everything buttoned properly, I carefully trekked down the runway, as cameras began flashing in my face. Rarity had told me to focus on one spot so I wouldn’t trip and fall on my face.

The hostess sounded off the current entry. “The Carousel Boutique’s Summer Selection by Rarity.”

I gave a very slight look of contentedness as I turned to three different directions, getting acquainted with my stage presence. I received a few claps of approval, one of which came from Shining Armor, who immediately recognized me after a few seconds of staring at my face. Making my way back, Rarity looked relieved that I didn’t make any mistakes.

Hoity Toity’s entries were first in every rotation, and he received thunderous applause each time. When our rustic entry approached the stage, a few members of the crowd stood up and applauded. This piece was apparently very fetching, as I noticed Princess Cadence started clapping with Shining Armor, which started a wave of other soft claps.

I came back to Rarity, and she was cautiously optimistic. “Good job, Tom, as long as we keep our composure, nobody will mock us. This is turning out okay. But I don’t think this next piece will outdo THAT.” She pointed to Hoity Toity’s last entry, and it was incredible. Anyone would want to be seen in that.

“I’m sorry, Rarity. I’ll do my best, regardless, don’t you worry about me…”

The hostess called out the last entry.

“For our final ensemble, we have Miss Rarity’s new formal fashion, direct from the Carousel Boutique.”

I made my way across the aisle slowly, and bore a confident expression with my chest flexed out a short way. As I walked, there was a slow rise from the audience, and I could see the pony, Hoity Toity, take off his shades and stare at my suit. Was there something wrong with it? He began to point everywhere and whisper to the blue maned Sapphire Shores sitting next to him. She nodded and was grinning to him.

Oh no, I knew this was going to happen!

The next thing I hear is the whole front half of the audience cheering. I stopped at the end of the runway and stood perfectly still, looking up. The balcony roared in approval and everyone in the Canterlot elite rose and applauded the three-piece.

“Miss Rarity and the Carousel Boutique win top prize in the showcase! Congratulations!”

I stood there, with a wide grin on my face as I beckoned Rarity up front. She paced forward as the crowd’s gaze shifted to her. They shouted cheers in her direction as she gave a slight bow. Then she looked to me and started giggling with excitement, and I channeled energy into my horn. My magic suddenly erupted, as fireworks shot out of my horn, and lit the room. Rarity and I stared up at the light show above us, and I thought of Jonah.

Jonah, the magic is getting easier. I’ll find you soon, I promise. But I hope you don’t mind me enjoying my time a bit, alright? Thank you…