The Lorax and all references and characters contained within are copyright of Dr. Seuss. My Little Pony; Friendship is Magic is copyright of Lauren Faust and Hasbro. I own nothing and am earning no money from this fan project.
Chapter 1 – The First Day
She felt the vortex swirling around, changing her, pulling her further and further into it and toward a strange new world. Finally, she stepped out on the other side and into a large office. She looked around and saw no one. Good, what would they think if she just popped out of a mirror? Oh, right, she was on her hands and knees too. Remembering what Twilight said about her adventures, Rarity stood up on two legs for the first time and turned back as the Lorax tumbled through the mirror.
"Listen, sweetheart, I don't have much time. He catches me here, he's not gonna be happy. I worked my magic on him so he'll think you're his personal assistant. Everything you need as far as paperwork is in your bag and keys to your room at the Greenville Boarding House."
Personal assistant? Rarity was used to being assisted, not helping others. But if that was the way to get close enough to this guy to change his mind, then she'd have to go along with it. She studied herself in the mirror and supposed she was beautiful enough for a human. She still had long purple curls and was dressed in her black turtleneck paired with a purple skirt and matching ankle boots. Her deep blue eyes hadn't changed in color or shape. It was disappointing that her horn and cutie mark were gone, but then her eyes looked up at the hair clip Princess Celestia had given her. No, she still had it.
"For Pete's sake, stop primping. Grab some files and act like you're doing something." The Lorax hissed before he took off out of a large glass door that led outside.
She could hear footsteps coming closer, so she quickly crossed the red carpeted floor and picked up a folder from the large mahogany desk. Her heart pounded as she heard the handle turn on the door. In her mind she tried to prepare herself to meet her new boss, her new mission. He was probably older, maybe a bit paunchy with graying hair. She imagined he'd wear some kind of bland suit.
However, Rarity hadn't prepared for six feet of boyishly handsome perfection to walk through the door. Maybe she hadn't been human very long, but he was certainly attractive. He surveyed her with eyes hidden behind glittery blue shades as he removed the top hat from his ebony hair. His suit with its green tailcoat was certainly far from bland, but Rarity didn't care much for it either. On his lapel he wore some kind of strange pink flower or some kind of plant Rarity had never seen that clashed with the green hue. The entire garish coat was complimented (or maybe not – Rarity couldn't decide) by gold buttons and a chain hanging down from his pocket on one side. He held out his hand, which was covered in a green glove that extended above his elbow and she gave him the folder.
Behind him trailed a woman with painted red lips and big, blonde hair who spoke in an accent similar to Applejack's. "And who are you?"
"She's my new assistant," the young man said as he sat behind the desk in a tall plush chair that matched the carpet. He removed his shades, ice blue eyes reflecting confusion as he tapped the glasses on his desk. "They didn't tell me your name."
"I'm Rarity."
"Just Rarity?" the woman drawled.
Great. Princess Celestia would send one of the few ponies in Equestria with just a first name. Her sister popped into her mind…Sweetie… "Belle. Rarity Belle."
"Well, Miss. Belle, did they explain your duties to you in HR?"
"No. They popped a folder in my hand and told me bring it here."
"What do I pay those idiots for?" The man asked not looking up from the paper on which he was quickly writing something.
Is he really the boss? Rarity wondered. He was so young. Perhaps humans aged differently. She'd have to look at the paperwork the Lorax mentioned and see how old she was supposed to be here.
The woman looked at her with disbelief and put her hands on her hips. "Well, go on up to HR and they'll get you settled. Then come back in here. You stay until Mr. Onceler has finished his work day or until he gives you the go-ahead to leave."
So that was his name. "Got it. And may I ask your name?"
"You may address me as Mrs. Onceler."
And there it was – he was married. Of course he was married. No stallion…er…man that attractive would be single. And if he were single, then he'd probably be a colt-cuddler…or whatever they called that here. Yes…his flamboyant suit definitely screamed that he liked guys.
Leaving the office, she wondered how she would ever get away with this. She supposed she would just have to trust that Princess Celestia and the Lorax knew what they were doing. Rarity started down the long hallway, unsure of where to go.
"You need help?" A kind voice asked. It belonged to a girl with long, brown tied up in a ponytail.
"I'm supposed to go to HR."
"Oh, I'll walk with you. I'm Lisa."
"Rarity."
"Rarity," Lisa repeated thoughtfully. "That's not a name you hear very often, but it's pretty."
"Thank you."
"So are you working in the office with the rest of us?"
"I'm Mr. Onceler's personal assistant."
Lisa gave a short laugh. "Good luck with that! You couldn't get most of the girls here to take that job. Long hours, boring meetings, not to mention the guy isn't exactly a peach." She opened a door leading into another office. "Plus, there's his…uh…reputation with the ladies."
"Whose?" Asked another young lady with short, straight black hair.
"The boss. Rarity, this is Abby."
Abby crossed her arms and looked Rarity up and down. "Oh, so she's going to be the new notch in his belt."
"I most certainly will not!" Rarity protested. "I have no intention of falling in love with him."
Both Lisa and Abby laughed, but it was Abby who spoke first. "Love has nothing to do with it. In fact, unless you're green and made of paper, he's not going to love you."
"I would hope not. I'm sure his wife wouldn't be happy about that."
"His wife?" Lisa asked.
"That tacky woman with the big hair, glasses and uncouth accent."
Abby snickered. "Oh, Rarity, no! That's his mother. Mr. Onceler isn't married, in fact, according to recent magazines, he's quite the eligible bachelor."
"If you could find a woman crazy enough to put up with him," Lisa said.
This conversation was not making Rarity feel any more confident about her job. The paperwork at HR didn't take too long and then she was shown to a small office adjacent to her boss'.
The head of HR explained what she'd primarily be responsible for. "You'll answer his calls – if it's important, and by that, I mean someone better be dying, put it through, if not take a message. If he's unable to attend a meeting, you'll go in his place – make sure you take detailed notes. Look over his schedule the day before and make sure he has everything he needs for whatever meetings or appointments he'll be attending. He'll leave his briefcase on his desk – put the papers in there. He'll also leave his silver cigarette case on there – make sure it's full of his favorite cigarettes. I've listed them here."
He smokes. Great, Rarity thought sarcastically.
"He sends out dry cleaning every night so before you come in for the day, stop by the dry cleaners in Greenville, pick it up and you'll put it on the hook outside the locked door in his office. Then make sure by eight there's hot, black coffee on his desk."
"What's behind the locked door?"
"He almost never leaves the factory grounds. He felt it better to have a private apartment built right next to his office. Only he knows the code and if, for whatever reason, he doesn't close the door all the way, you are never to go in there – ever."
Yes, because after what the other girls told her about his 'reputation' going into his private living space was just what she was going to do. At this point, it was very hard to trust in this plan.
The other woman left her alone and she skimmed the schedule for the next day. In neat handwriting were lists of all the papers needed and, thankfully, the filing cabinet was well-organized making it easy to find everything. She gathered from the papers that the company made thneeds – whatever the hell those were! And it looked like the materials for it were produced by a specific tree. These must be the trees I'm supposed to help save, she realized.
Unfortunately, some of the papers were blueprints for what appeared to be a machine with three axes on it that would rotate in order to chop down three trees at once. In red lettering, the same neat handwriting – Mr. Onceler's, she guessed – made two suggestions: "Four axe heads maybe?" And: "It needs to be about 20% BIGGER!"
Well, much more specific than 20% cooler, Rarity thought and smiled at the memory of making Rainbow Dash's dress for the gala. She separated the papers based on which meeting they were needed for and then walked into the adjacent office.
She was relieved to see her boss' mother had left, but Mr. Onceler was at his desk reading something concealed inside a folder intently. "Just leave the papers on the corner there, Amity." He gestured with his gloved hand.
She wondered why he wore those garish green gloves that didn't even match the shade of his green coat. Maybe he had a thing about germs. "It's Rarity."
Finally, he those ice blue eyes looked up at her. "Excuse me?"
"My name – it's Rarity, not Amity."
He smiled and not in a friendly way. "Ra-ri-ty. I don't pay you to correct me." He opened the silver case she'd been told about and extracted the last cigarette from it. "Just make sure those get in my briefcase tomorrow morning." He lit the cigarette and took a long drag before holding out the papers he'd just been reading. "And forward those to my lawyers so they can take care of it. Damn environmentalists…"
She coughed lightly as smoke hit her face. "Yes, sir."
"Does this bother you?"
"Yes, actually. I think smoking is repulsive."
He stood and leaned in toward her over the desk. "Ra-ri-ty, the correct answer is: 'no, sir, it doesn't.' I also don't pay you for your opinion." He tapped the silver case. "Make sure that's filled tomorrow. You may go."
She was certain by the time he finished speaking she'd been giving a death glare, but she managed a small smile and walked out hoping she could quell the urge to say or do anything that might cost her this job or jeopardize the mission.
He watched her leave. There was something different about this one. First of all, Onceler couldn't clearly remember meeting her or interviewing her – those memories seemed strangely fuzzy and disjointed. Perhaps for others this wouldn't be a problem, but the thing was, his memory was very good. Even as busy as he was, he certainly wouldn't have forgotten someone with purple hair, flawless features and porcelain skin. She almost seemed otherworldly.
Then there was her paperwork. He pulled it from the back of the folder in front of him. Rarity Belle was twenty-two years old, only a year younger than him. She had a high school listed that he'd never heard of, no college experience (of course, neither did he), and had been a fashion designer for a place called Carousel Boutique – wherever the hell that was. Why on earth would a fashion designer want a job as his personal assistant? Even though thneeds could be used in fashionable ways – after all, they did have a million uses – it was a stretch to think she'd give that up to work for him.
The thing that intrigued him most was he could tell she was from humble beginnings just like he'd been. Her polished manner was learned, not something she'd been brought up with. He'd been around enough people like that to tell. "Humble beginnings" that's what they called it to be polite, but one look at his family would clue anyone in on the fact that he was nothing more than a country bumpkin with a tailored suit and confidence.
Well, Miss. Rarity, he thought. It'll be interesting to see where this goes.
Rarity wanted a while to look around Greenville the next morning, but as it was, she almost missed the bus to the factory and she didn't want to be late on her first full day of work. Perhaps during the weekend, but from what she could tell, Friday was some kind of holiday, so the shops would probably be closed. Looking at the decorations on the houses, she gathered it was similar to Hearth's Warming Eve. This was her first Hearth's Warming Eve outside of Equestria. She thought of the gift she'd sewn for Sweetie Belle, still waiting to be torn open by the little filly. Rarity would miss her sister's look of excitement as she put on the dress and pranced around.
Staring out the window on the ride there, she got a good idea of the valley. There still seemed to be quite enough trees, so she wasn't entirely sure what the Lorax was so afraid of. But then her mind wandered back to those blueprints. If they could chop down the trees three or four times as fast, then it might be possible to decimate the entire forest in no time. As the factory loomed closer, it was obvious some of the employees were already at work as smoke rose into the air. The bus rumbled over a bridge and she thought she saw a hint of something dark in the stream under it, but it wasn't entirely light out yet and she couldn't be sure.
Rarity rushed into the building upon arriving and clocked in. First, she ran to the office and hung up the dry cleaning to avoid lugging that around. She picked up the files she'd left the night before and made sure they were neatly laid in her boss' briefcase. Cringing at the thought of being exposed to it all day, she filled the silver cigarette case. Maybe I should just hide the lighter, she considered.
It took her a minute to figure out how to use his fancy coffee machine, but once she did, it made a perfect, steaming cup of coffee that she placed on his desk moments before he entered through the supposedly sacred 'locked door'.
"Good morning, Ra-ri-ty," he drawled.
She forced a smile. "Good morning, sir."
He was dressed in the same kind of coat and gloves he'd worn the day before. His hair was slightly damp and when he walked close to her she caught the scent of something spicy like cinnamon or cloves. It reminded her of crisp autumn days when she could be found in Sugarcube Corner having a chai tea latte with Pinkie Pie. "Do you have a copy of my schedule for me?"
"Yes, sir." She handed it to him.
He sat down and immediately lit up a cigarette. She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. He comes out smelling absolutely delicious and now he's doing that…gross.
"Is there anything else?" she asked.
He shook his head and dismissed her with a wave of his hand. Rarity retreated to the sanctuary of her own little office. She looked at her copy of his schedule. Two meetings overlapped and in that neat, red handwriting he'd written: "Attend this one and take detailed notes."
Did he always write in red ink? It was kind of angry-looking.
There was a knock on the door frame and she didn't want to look up worried it was him, but to her surprise it was Lisa. "Hey, girl. Someone brought in muffins so I thought you might like one." She set a chocolate muffin on Rarity's desk.
"Thanks."
"How are you getting along?" Her voice dropped. "You know, with him?"
"Is he always a jerk or is it just me?" Rarity whispered.
"It's not just you. Don't get me wrong, this is a great place to work, but he's no gem. I heard one of his personal assistants is still in a mental hospital."
I should have never left Equestria, she realized. She reminded herself to strangle the Lorax next time she saw him.
Lisa leaned against the edge of Rarity's desk. "I've actually heard rumors he was a decent human being once, but I've only been here a year, so I didn't know him then. Not that I'm excusing his actions or attitude, but I guess it must be hard to know who really likes you when you're that rich. I mean, of all the girls he's…well, you know…I'm pretty sure all of them have only gone to bed with him hoping to get something in return. Maybe that's why he loves money so much – it'll never love him back, but it'll never hurt him either."
"For him to be hurt would require him to have feelings," Rarity said. "And why does he wear gloves all the time? It's a little weird."
Lisa shrugged. "The tabloids like to say he sharpens his nails into claws or paints them hot pink, but no one else really questions it. I guess when you're rich it's a 'personal fashion statement.'"
"Well, I worked in fashion and I'm not sure what statement that's supposed to be," Rarity laughed.
"What's really odd is that he comes from a family of hicks – you've met his mother, Isabella. Anyway, a suggestion from mama is like a commandment to him. He has two idiot brothers, Brett and Chet, who work in the factory – twins, I think a couple of years younger than him. Nice guys, actually, but pretty dumb. Then there's an aunt and uncle I haven't had too much interaction with, but who don't seem to do anything except feed off his success."
This definitely gave her some insight into not only the situation, but Mr. Onceler as a person. He wanted to separate himself from being the same as his family. So had she. Now, her parents were very loving and supportive, whether she succeeded or not, but from their mannerisms to their accents, they would never be accepted into the elite of Canterlot as she'd wanted to do. She could see someone surrounded by the elite lose themselves, as she'd almost done a time or two. That's probably what was happening to him. If she could somehow uncover pieces of who he used to be, maybe that would be the key to changing his heart. That is, if he still had a heart.
