"Well, go on. Open it!"
Pinky prodded her friend, impatiently; the barest hints of a frown touching upon her lips when time seemed to move far slower than usual. She was quite certain, in fact, that the hands of the clock on the wall had jumped backward by a minute! "How much longer are you going to make me wait?" the pony sighed, a slight whine of frustration laced into her usually bubbly voice.
"I- I can't!" the letter in the buttery yellow mare's hooves was trembling. Wide eyes brimming with tears peered at Pinky, desperately, from behind her feathery soft bangs. "Do you have any idea who this is from?!"
"I can see the name on the letter, so I have an idea…." Pinky murmured loud enough to be heard by her panicking companion. She was about to grab the object out out of the hooves of the distraught pony, but froze when the poor girl threw her hooves up in the air in exasperation.
"It's only from THE most stylish pony in all of pony history! I'm touching her letter!" she breathed. "I'm actually touching THE Minori's letter! How could I possibly open it?! Something this precious definitely has to be laminated! Framed!"
Pinkie blinked slow as an owl as realization dawned on her. "Well," she huffed. "How are you going to see what she wants, in that case?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. "Let's be reasonable here, Milky." she urged. "There's no other way you can do what without opening it. It might be something important." she explained, hoping to coerce her business partner and bring her back down to earth. Reaching out, she lay her pink hoof on top of Milky's, giving the pastel yellow fur a reassuring stroke. "Listen, I know you're excited, but one of Neighppon's most famous fashion artists could be asking something very special of you in this letter. Wouldn't you want to know what that something is, and be able to give her a reply?"
Milky processed the information, all the while anxiously gnawing her bottom lip. One way or another, she knew, the letter had to be opened, much as she so desperately wished to preserve it. "I-" she swallowed the lump in her throat. "I…...Pinky, I can't!" she wailed. "You're going to have to open it for me!" Before she could take back her words, the request was fulfilled, and the pink-haired mare plucked the letter out of Milky's trembling hooves. "Be gentle with it!" she added as a precaution.
Pinky rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she thought, Milky's obsession with this fashion icon simply went off the rails. Though, admittedly, she could understand where her friend was coming from- she had certain famous ponies that she held in high regard as well. "Ok, I'll be careful. Don't worry," she reassured the panicking pony. A gentle squeeze was given to Milky's shoulder before a letter opener was fished from Pinky's purse. In one fluid and clean swipe, the envelope was torn with little resistance.
"Now, let's see here…." Retrieving the letter from within, her hooves unfolded the parchment, and she read through the penned, glittery gold words that were spelled out in cursive.
Milky held her breath in expectation as Pinky read silently; the only sound filling the space of the cozy atelier being the constant ticking of the clock upon the wall. Her heart fluttered at the possibility of the precious letter containing good news of some sort. Then her stomach flopped and clenched at the fear of it being bad. Was Minori writing them to inform them of of her buying out their store? How in Pony Land would she have gotten their address? Of course, being bought out by THE most fantastic and fabulous fashion artist, Minori would be an unexpected privilege, but also a devastating blow, for sure. Milky's muzzle scrunched as the complex and confusing feelings boiled within her, even as Pinky took her time turning the letter over in her hooves, looked inside the envelope a second time, and finally turned her attention back to her.
"Well, what's it say?" Milky released the breath she hadn't been aware she had been holding, and gasped for another breath to fill her burning lungs.
The pink mare was silent. A hoof ran through her cotton-candy colored bangs and the letter was gently placed on top of the envelope and both laid to rest in front of Milky, who peered at it in confusion. "You're not going to believe this-"
- - - - - -
"I can't believe it." Milky breathed, her voice trembling as she struggled to comprehend the message in the letter she had just read. A bead of sweat formed on her temple, which was promptly patted away for her with a decorated handkerchief Pinky had been fished out of her purse. "This is simply unbelievable!" The letter lay splayed out in front of her on her desk, and golden cursive script swam in unintelligible words before her eyes as she began to lose focus. "The greatest, most popular fashion artist in all of pony history wants me…..wants me to- And Queen Majesty…..." she gasped, desperately trying to clear her mind in order to form a coherent sentence.
Pinky smiled. "Well, sister dear, the letter is addressed to the both of us, so I'm involved in this too." she reminded her twin sister with a gentle tap on the shoulder. "But wow! Never in a million years would I have ever imagined that we'd be exclusively invited to design an outfit for the world's greatest outfit designer, and have a free ticket to a grand event at Seraphim's Forest by royal invite of Queen Majesty!" she gushed.
"And Minori…." Milky swallowed the lump in her throat that was restricting her airway. "Minori will be wearing our design at that event…." she sighed, dreamily, beginning to fan herself with the envelope of the letter. "Sister, this is a dream come true!" she squealed, her cheeks dusted with the rosy glow of a blush.
Pinky nodded, unable to resist smiling at how utterly adorable her usually tomboyish sister was being. "Well, it looks like we have work to do." she decided. With their minds made up, she walked over to her own desk and located her most favorite set of stationary. For such a special occasion, what better than to use the stationary that she had received from a most special pony? Her breath momentarily caught in her throat as memories of that dear pony washed over her like a tidal wave. "I think we can start with a thank you letter to Minori, telling her that we accept." she winked, placing the sheet of paper down in front of Milky.
The better yellow pony blinked, stupefied at the request made by her twin. "You want me to?" she gawked.
"You're her biggest fan, aren't you?" Pinky teased, chuckling. "Try not to drool all over the stationary while you're writing."
Milky's cheeks reddened. "What kind of ill-mannered mare do you take me for?!" she shot back, indignant, which only earned peals of unrestrained laughter from the pink-haired pattern designer.
The pink pony took a step back and raised her hooves in defense. "In that case, I'll leave you two alone." she hummed, giving another smile before she turned to the door.
"Where are you going?" her sister asked.
"Just for some fresh air." Pinky reassured her. "All this is kind of a lot to take in." Without another word, she was gone, quietly shutting the door behind her.
Milky sighed, leaning back in her chair and gazed back to the butterfly printed parchment that lay out before her. "You're telling me."