It was a marvelous day at Canterlot Carousel as the ponies of Canterlot browsed through the many dresses made by none other then Rarity herself, who decided to take a visit to see how the boutique was doing. She watched with great pride as Sassy Saddles sold a number of her designs.
One by one, the ponies rapidly checked out their picks at the counter where Sassy rang them up and packed the dresses into boxes.
"Whew! Blistering Buttons! I must say, this is one of the busiest days we've ever had," Sassy said, wiping sweat from her brow.
"Well, you've done a marvelous job with the boutique, I couldn't have asked for a better pony to run it," Rarity said with pride.
Before they left, the ponies, noticing Rarity, made sure to talk to her.
"Rarity, these dresses are so divine!" said one pony.
"How do you do it?" asked another pony.
"Well, it's nothing really, I just follow a simple set of guidelines called, The Rules of Rarity; TLC; Time, Love, and Couture," said Rarity.
Sassy watched as the ponies showered Rarity with admiration. She was happy for her boss, but she also had a feeling of sadness. But she made sure to put on a happy face when Rarity turned to her.
The next day, Rarity decided to take an early visit to the boutique a couple of hours before opening, just to see if she could make some last minute additions before heading back to Ponyville. Suddenly, she noticed a figure heading towards the boutique, it was none other than Sassy, and she was moving rather sneakily into the boutique.
"What in Celestia's name could she be up to?" Rarity asked before she silently followed behind Sassy.
Inside, Sassy made her way to the backroom with Rarity unknowingly behind and quickly shut the door.
Rarity crept in and, upon hearing Sassy's voice coming from the other side, put her ear to the door to listen in.
"Oh, what's the use?! Curses and corsets! What's the point of going on?! Perhaps it is time for me to end it all," Sassy said.
Rarity gasped at the words of Sassy and assumed the worst. As a result, she bucked the door open. "Sassy!" she shouted.
Sassy turned in shock at the sight of Rarity. "Rarity?! Um...what are YOU doing here so early?" she said.
"That's precisely the question I have posed for you," Rarity responded, before suddenly noticing Sassy was hiding something behind her back.
"Oh, I was just um...getting the dry cleaning done for the dresses," Sassy lied nervously.
"Dry cleaning, hmmm?" Rarity asked suspiciously, even though she could automatically tell she was lying.
Realizing, Sassy was hiding something, she used the trick her sister had tried on her and flicked Sassy's horn, blocking her magic and grabbed what she was hiding. After getting a thorough view of the item, Rarity cringed upon realizing that it was a picture of a rather unappealing dress.
"I guess you got me," Sassy said with a sigh.
"Is this...a dress? It looks like a dress, but I'm not entirely sure," said Rarity.
"It's terrible! I know!" Sassy snapped as she took the picture from Rarity with her magic, crumpled it up, and threw it in the trash.
Rarity saw there were quite of a number of less than aesthetically pleasing designs that Sassy had thrown away. "These are all yours?" she asked.
Sassy sighed in embarrassment. "Yes. The truth is I've always wanted to make my own designs for a boutique. Unfortunately, my previous 'success' prevented me from doing so. Not to mention I can't make a good design to save my life," she said.
"Well I will admit these are...ummm...less than desirable..." said Rarity.
"I just don't have that element that you have," Sassy said.
"Maybe what you need is a little inspiration and if there's any place to find it, it would be Canterlot," said Rarity.
After closing up the boutique, Rarity and Sassy began their search for inspiration.
"So, where should we go looking first?" asked Sassy.
"Oh pfftatfta, darling, you don't find inspiration, inspiration finds you. You just have to go with the flow," said Rarity.
"Go with the flow? I suppose that could work," said Sassy.
"So, what do you want to do first?" asked Rarity.
"Well, I am a bit famished," said Sassy.
"Ah, well lucky for you, I know the perfect place," said Rarity.
Sassy and Rarity arrived at the Tasty Treat. Sassy was reluctant to go in seeing as how it didn't have any hoofs, but Rarity assured her the food was good despite it and encouraged her to go in.
Inside, Sassy was rather impressed by the décor and she and Rarity took their seats where they were greeting by Saffron Masala and Coriander Cumin.
"Rarity! So good to see you again!" Saffron exclaimed.
"Yes, and who is your friend?" asked Coriander.
"This is Sassy Saddles," said Rarity.
"Oh, well welcome to the Tasty Treat. My name is Saffron Masala, the head chef, and this is my father, Coriander Cumin," said Saffron.
"I must say, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Coriander said as he grabbed one of Sassy's hoofs and kissed it.
"Father, what did we say about flirting with the guests?" Saffron said.
Coriander blushed in embarrassment before tending to the other guests.
"He seems charming," Sassy said with a giggle.
"You'll have to forgive him. He can't help himself sometimes," said Saffron.
Sassy and Rarity ordered their food and Saffron hurried into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Coriander brought everyone to his attention.
"Ponies! Tonight, the Tasty Treat would like to present to you our entertainment for this evening," Coriander said.
A group of ponies stood on a small stage in the restaurant and performed an Indian-like dance for the guests.
Meanwhile, Saffron returned with Sassy and Rarity's food. "Here you are, friends. Enjoy," she said.
Sassy was a little hesitant at first, but upon seeing Rarity enjoying the food, she gave it more thought.
"Come on, don't be shy. Try it, darling," said Rarity.
Acquiescing to Rarity's request, Sassy took some of the food, tried it, and to her surprise, she liked it.
"Mmmm, this is delightful," said Sassy.
"Told you," Rarity sang.
The two giggled as Coriander danced with the other ponies. Coriander then walked over to them, specifically to Sassy.
"Ohoho, you giggle, but can you yourself dance?" Coriander said, extending his hoof to Sassy who turned to Rarity with uncertainty.
"Go on, it won't hurt," said Rarity.
Sassy slowly took Coriander's hoof and he took her to the center of the restaurant. She tried to follow Coriander's movements, but lost her balance a few times.
"Not as easy as it looks, huh?" Coriander said teasingly, catching Sassy as she fell.
Sassy blushed as Coriander picked her up and took her through the steps on at a time. Eventually, she found the dance a lot easier and was thoroughly enjoying herself. "Oh my, this is fun!" she exclaimed.
"I didn't know your friend was such a good dancer," Saffron said to Rarity as she came out of the kitchen.
"Neither did I," said Rarity.
Sassy and Coriander danced together until the Tasty Treat closed.
