• Chapter Five: Stolen Spotlights •
…
The white, unicorn filly whisked her way through the crowd, approaching the front of the line.
"Please, oh please let me cut in here!" The unicorn filly peered up at the pony who stood near the front of the line. She gave him puppy dog eyes, the blueness glistening.
"Go win the lottery, kid," the pony glared down at her, before peering back up, prissily.
"Manehatten- every pony for themselves," muttered the unicorn. She trotted along the dark path, approaching the corner. "Well if I cannot get in the front way- I'll have to go the back way. She trudged down the path, before reaching a Royal Guard.
"What place do the Manehatten Designer Backstage Passes ponies gather?" The pony peered up at a royal guard before her. The changeling glanced down at her, before pointing to an alleyway up ahead, and the unicorn grimaced.
"Do I have to take that turn? I do not trust alleyways during the night, and this one looks awfully dirty." She looked down at her perfectly manicured hooves. The royal guard glared at her, and she quickly backed away.
"Ok, I will to that way... ok." She scampered down the alleyway, looking ahead of her avoiding the glances of some shadows creeping up behind. She finally reached a turn off, and immediately shied upstairs, towards a new room. It was horrendously loud in there, and there heaps ponies going their separate directions all over the place. The unicorn gulped, as she levitated a large bag, and went trotting down the corridor.
"Rarity! Here!" She turned around to see a white unicorn colt with a blue mane, beckoning for her to follow. He glanced at her cautiously, as she approached him, trying to make herself go unnoticed by any of the passing ponies.
"Did you bring them?" He eyed her bag, and Rarity nodded.
"And did you change the script?" Rarity glanced at the colt curiously and he nodded. She bounced up excitedly, and gave the colt a hug. He returned it and Rarity pulled back in glee, holding his shoulders.
"Thank you so much!" She gave a little squeal, and the colt levitated the bag off her.
"Go put something nice on. I for one, know you would have been better than Fluer Dis Lee any day." The colt smiled at her, and she nodded, shuddering at the thought of the white unicorn with the white and pink mane. At first they had been best friends, then the pony had just back stabbed her. Rarity now felt a deep, deep hatred for Fluer. The pony commonly stole Rarity's spotlight, and toiled with her ideas. This time, Fluer Dis Lee had gone too far, and it was up to Rarity to regain her potential. A loud voice boomed through the speakers, and Rarity gave the colt one last hug, nuzzling his mane with her snout, and breathing in his scent.
"Bye, Fancypants. Meet you backstage after this?" The colt nodded, before galloping away. Rarity trotted through a mass of gathering ponies. Each were wearing their own unique and astonishingly wear. Rarity approached a stand, and to her relief, it was labeled with the name: 'Rare.' Rarity snatched the first dress from the stand and raced into the change room. The dress was one of the old ones she had created, but it was still completely unique, and it matched her pelt colouring perfectly, with the yellow bells shimmering next to her pure white fur, and the pink head piece, matching her purple mane. The dress was mainly pink, as overlapping different shades showered down above each other, each lined with a string with bells hanging from them. She put a necklace on, which matched her cutie mark perfectly, and dangled down low, but not too low. Rarity did her hair up properly, finishing it with a tidy bow, and trotted out of the change room. All the ponies were gathered, lined up down the hall, waiting for their names to be called. To Rarity's horror, she saw Fluer around the front of the line, chatting with a purple unicorn. Gasping, Rarity trembled, hiding behind a pony, so Fluer Dis Lee wouldn't be able to spot her. Rarity tiptoed down the line, until she was on the exact opposite to Fluer, and allowed her to breathe again. Oh, what number did Fancypants tell me I had again? 16! That's right. Fancypants and Rarity had been best friends since... forever really. Their parents had been friends, and the two had basically grown up together. They weren't like brother and sister or anything. They were just best friends. Fluer Dis Lee had used to be part of the group. The three of them did simply everything together. One day, Fluer had approached Rarity, and threatened Rarity that Fancypants was hers. Knowing that Fluer had a crush on Fancypants hadn't made matters easy. Every time Rarity so much as talked to Fancypants, Fluer would be there, showing off, then later threatening Rarity again. It had been very hard for Rarity- She didn't even like Fancypants that way... Ok, maybe a little bit... Ok, maybe a lot- but still! Eventually, Rarity had to take matters into her own hooves, and told her mother what Fluer was doing. Her mother then chatted to Fluer's mother, and eventually, the two best friends fell apart. They became instant enemies, and vowed to outshine each other at everything until they died. Fluer went incredibly overboard with it, forcing Rarity to give up on the things she loved. Usually it was just small things, like caring for the cat or the most neatest, but this time, Fluer had gone too far. She had decided that she could be a better fashion designer and modeller than Rarity. That was Rarity's special talent, and there was no way- no way she was going to let Fluer beat her at the one thing she was good at out of everything. Rarity wasn't meant to be in this competition... It had all started with that one day, a week from today...
…
"Oh look, it's Rarity and her mongrel- no we don't want to pat that mutt sorry," Fluer snickered, trotting up to Rarity and her younger sister; Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle was a white unicorn like Rarity, and she had a curly pink and purple mane. Sweetie Belle stepped forward angrily.
"I'm not a mongrel!" The filly glared at Fluer Dis Lee and her 'friends,' more like 'slaves,' according to Rarity. One of the slaves Twinkleshine snickered.
"We should send it back to the pound where it belongs."
One of the others, Lyra nodded vigorously and turned to Sweetie Belle, "yeah blank flank!"
Sweetie Belle sniffed slightly, tears welling min her eyes, and Rarity pulled her sister close to her, hugging her slightly.
"What do you want Fluer?" Rarity tilted her head, preparing for Fluer Dis Lee to boast about how much better she was at doing her hair than Rarity, or how much she had the better Cutie Mark, but instead, she said something which really made Rarity's blood run cold.
"I am sure a desperate wannabe pony like you Rarity, would have heard about the new fashion shows in Manehatten, would have you?" Fluer blinked her eyes rapidly, the pink-purple eyes glistening cruelly.
Rarity stared at them. "How could I not? The shows are incredibly hard to get into- let alone, them being the biggest thing in society today! The designer has to create their own dresses and model in them themselves, and the winner earns so much bits?" Rarity explained. Sweetie Belle had pulled back from Rarity's hug, as Fluer and her slaves nodded.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Sweetie Belle hissed, tilting her head.
Fluer smirked, and turned to another two of her slaves. "Care to tell the, Lyra and Bon Bon?"
The turquoise-green filly stepped forward, and smugly grinned at Rarity. "Why, it has everything to do with everything. We know a filly like Rarity would be one of the first to get tickets into a high society event like this, would she not?" Lyra smirked as Rarity stuttered.
"Well... I-"
The cream filly with the pink and blue mane went next, "of course she would, and I bet a filly like her would be competing in it too! It'll be fun watching Fluer and Rarity battle out who is the most altogether beautiful- and who is the best designer of course!"
"Wait... You have tickets... You're competing?" Rarity gaped, as Fluer fixed her mane, which had slipped to the side a bit.
"Why of course I am- everypony knows that already. And I am going to win this," Fluer smirked, as she looked at Rarity's astonished expression, "and I'd assume by all your body language that you're not even going to watch. Too bad. I guess it goes to show that I am a better designer and modeller than you, getting into one of the greatest shows in Equestria!"
"Just you hold your tongue there, missy!" Sweetie Belle stepped forward.
"Sweetie Belle," Rarity muttered through gritted teeth, but the foal didn't listen to her.
"Rarity has tickets! She has three actually! One for me, her and Fancypants. And she will be competing! She's going to win this, and you have no hope at all!"
Rarity's eyes widened. No Sweetie Belle!
Fluer Dis Lee hesitated for a moment, an expression of shock had changed her smug face, but she quickly covered it up with a smirk, "how great! See you at the competition then Rarity. If you'll even be there!" She snickered, and her evil slaves joined in as they strutted away. Rarity turned to her younger sister, fury buzzing across her eyes.
"What have you done Sweetie Belle? Fluer now expects me to go to a place where we won't even be going! I'll be a laughing stock! Out of all the worst things to happen this is the. Worst!" Rarity began sobbing, covering her eyes with her hooves in misery.
Sweetie Belle looked at her sister in horror. "I'm sorry... I got a bit carried away." Rarity peered at her sister, and gave a small sniffle.
"It's ok... We'll figure a way out of this."
…
So that was how Rarity had decided to go to the competition- it still didn't explain how she got into the place however. That was a whole different story.
…
"Fancypants! I need your help!" Rarity raced through the school playground until she reached her friend. The colt smiled at her and trotted up.
"Hi Rare- what do you need?"
Rarity didn't even hesitate, as she began explaining what had happened with Fluer. Fancypants listened contented to the whole story.
"And I need your help to get me into Manehatten to compete in the competition, and you and Sweetie Belle need to come too." Rarity took a gush of breath, as she finally finished the sentence with a full stop.
"You want me to what?!" Fancypants shrieked, and Rarity stuffed her hoof in his mouth to make him calm down, which he did.
He sighed, "Rarity, you know I'd do anything for you- but to get you three tickets to the most popular show in all of Equestria is on the verge of impossible."
"Ha! On the verge of impossible, but not impossible," Rarity pointed out. "Please help me, please?" She gave him puppy dog eyes, and he tried avoiding her glance, by blocking out her eyes with his hooves, but it was too much as he finally gave in.
"Fine Rare. I'll do what I can to help, but I'm not promising anything." Rarity let out a squeal of delight, and gave Fancypants a squeeze.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She hopped up and down, and Fancypants watched her admiringly, as the filly with the white fur and the purple mane skipped up and down ecstatically.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Rarity chimed, grabbing Fancypants hoof and leading him outside the school grounds and towards his house. Before long, the two unicorns were discussing a plan. Fancypants was the leader of the group this time- he did all the planning, while Rarity nodded obediently to everything he said.
"My sister's boyfriend's cousin's aunty's son's girlfriend's mum, is one of the ponies running the competition, and if I can get in contact with her, she may be able to get us three tickets at a reasonable price. All the ponies who are competing however, have already signed up, and there is no possible way of getting into the competition to compete, however, one of the ponies got sick just yesterday, and they need a replacement for her now. Although you are not on the waiting list, I can still sneak your name into the top of it, so you'll get in. Then we have to find a way to get to Manehatten in the first place. It took me a while, but I finally managed to convince my sister's boyfriend's mum who works at the train station, to get us three tickets. Once we get there, Sweetie Belle and I will get straight into line, while you take a back alley entrance into the main room where all the designers gather. Once you arrive there, stay away from Fluer because if she knows you are there, it will be in her nature to sabotage you, so keep away from her. That will also mean giving you a secret name. What do you think it should be?" Fancypants tilted his head.
"Rare. You're the only one who calls me that, and Fluer never heard you call me that nickname," Rarity replied.
Fancypants gave a satisfied nod, "ok Rare. Are you sure you're up for this?"
Rarity gave a vigorous nod. "Time to kick some Fluer Dis Lee's rump!"
…
That was basically how Rarity got to where she was now.
"Ok, line up fillies. We don't have all day!" A strict voice echoed across the room, and Rarity turned to see a pink unicorn with a white and hot pink mane.
Rarity, being number 16 was quite close to the back of the line. She hid her face, and peered around until her eyes rested on Fluer Dis Lee, who was number 4. Once all the ponies were neatly lined up, the pink unicorn began to talk.
"For those who do not know, my name is Rosetta, and I will be the pony to come to if you get lost, or if you want to know scheduling, etcetera, etcetera. The show is about to start in another fifteen minutes, so for any pony that needs to go to the bathroom, it is that way. Remember, stay in order, and please, be quiet. Do not disturb your fellow competitors and be courteous. Are there any questions?" Rosetta's strict expression changed to a warm one. When no questions were asked, Rosetta smiled kindly, "good luck ponies!"
Rarity sat down, and made some finally adjustments to her dress and hair. Rosetta went strutting up and down the line, eyeing each pony. She stopped at Rarity.
"Why 16, you're very pretty," Rosetta smiled innocently, and Rarity gave her a beam back.
"Thank you!"
The fifteen minutes were up and all the ponies went quiet. A pony hopped on stage.
"Mares, and gentlecolts- welcome to Manehatten's latest and most popular fashion show, where the designers become the modellers and the modellers become the designers! Today, we are proud to present 20 ponies, willing to show off their designs, and their moves. You saw the auditions- now we get to watch all these ponies, and their amazing designs to single out a top ten! I welcome you with our first contestant; Fern, with her amazing design; Silent Beauty!" The first few acts came down. None of them impressed Rarity too much. The best so far, was three, who had a beautiful starry dress to match her coat colour, but the trimming on the edges of it were slightly off. Fluer Dis Lee, number four was up next. Rarity had to admit- her dress was the best one yet. The dress was mottled white, mint-green, pink and brown which blended in perfectly with her white fur, and her pastel pink mane. The dress curved upwards at the tips, revealing some glamorous anklets she wore on her hooves. On her head, there was a beautiful flower crown, perched between her horn. The crown mirrored the same colours as her dress, and it was all out, quite impressing. Fluer strutted down the stage, her head high, and she marched elegantly towards the end of the stage. Right when she reached with edge, she stopped abruptly, pulling a pose, which suited the feeling of her outfit perfectly. She blinked her pink-purple eyes fondly, before turning around, and strutting off, giving one last glance at the audience before disappearing. Rarity would be lying if she said that Fluer's act wasn't impressive. It just gave Rarity a boost of determination. I have to beat that fraud. Rarity moved forward in line, as the next pony strutted down. The next few acts went walking down. Now it was getting more exciting, as some of the ponies and dresses Rarity was quite envious of. Others however, Rarity knew didn't stand a chance. Rarity was now at the front of the line, as number 15 went trotting nonchalantly down. Rarity peered through the crowd, until she spotted Sweetie Belle. Sitting right next to her little sister, was Fancypants, who was chatting down at the younger unicorn. Sweetie Belle nodded, before looking forward, and Rarity realized that she was up next.
"Break a leg, 16," Rosetta smiled broadly at the white unicorn, and Rarity smiled back, turning to the audience and getting ready.
"I now welcome you with our sixteenth contestant; Rare, with her amazing design; Classic Chic!" Rarity stepped out of the curtain, blowing a light kiss at the audience, before holding her head high and tossing her curled main across her shoulder. She smiled as she walked down the stage confidently, and stopped right at the audience. She could hear the bells at the end of her gown twinkling softly, much to the audience's surprise. They seemed to like her dress, as some of the ponies stood up and cheered. Rarity struck her pose, making the screaming crowd cry even louder. Rarity smiled, dipping her head slightly to the audience before strutting towards the end of the stage, and was once again behind the curtains. She jumped up and down excitedly.
"Good job, 16! Now come on 17." A pony who was organising all the ponies gave Rarity a smile, before pointing towards the change rooms. Rarity trotted up to them, and got changed back to normal. I hope I get into the top 10! That will mean I will go for another round, and I could possibly win! Rarity emerged from the change rooms, and scampered up to her other dresses she had planned just incase. They were all still there, and Rarity smiled as she hooked the dress she had been wearing back into the stand.
"Rare!" She turned around to see Fancypants galloping up to her, with Sweetie Belle at his heels. When the colt reached Rarity, they exchanged a quick hug, before they began speaking.
"You were amazing! There is no doubt that you will get into the top ten! Everyone else in the audience seems to think so," Fanypants explained.
"Really?" Rarity's eyes brightened up.
"Indeed," Sweetie Belle shrilled.
Rarity smiled. "Well only four more acts to go, then I will find out."
Fancypants shuffled on his hooves, "um... Rarity... Do you want to... Uh, go somewhere to eat with me after the competition is over?" He stopped, "you don't have to if you don't want to!"
Is he asking me on a date? Rarity was screaming in her mind, as if her own fantasy novel was coming true. Except they weren't going to do anything weird like they did in the books, like get married after the first night, or speak in those really mysterious lovey voices.
"Are you kidding me? Ye-" Play it cool, Rarity! "I mean... Sure! Sounds great!" Rarity smiled at Fancypants, before looking down at her younger sister, "what about Sweetie Belle?"
"She's not hungry, plus, she said that she would be fine back at the hotel on her own," Fancypants replied. Rarity narrowed her eyes down at her younger sister.
"Go have some fun. Your two need to have some time together. Alone. I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself," Sweetie Belle looked up with serious, yet pleading eyes. Rarity knew that Sweetie Belle wasn't pleading because she wanted to stay at home alone, but because she wanted her sister's dream of being with Fancypants to come true. She's a good sister.
"Alright then," Rarity sighed, giving her sister a small hug. "Behave yourself."
Fancypants and Sweetie Belle soon went back to the audience as the final four acts were complete, and the judges were now deciding on the top ten. Rarity knew that they announced the ponies that got in, by the order of what numbers they were in, which would make things very frightening for Rarity, considering that number 16 was further back than any of the other numbers.
"All models, please gather in order in front of me now! I repeat, all models please gather in front of me now!" Rosetta called, her squeaky voice quite loud as she called out for the designers. Rarity quickly piled behind 15, and watched as the pony began speaking again.
"Well I must say, we have seen some pretty jaw-dropping dresses today, don't you all think?" Everyone in the audience screamed louder than ever. Once they quietened, the narrator continued, "well I am proud to present to you, the top twenty, right here, right now we will be finding out who has gotten in to the top ten! Please give a warm welcome towards our top twenty!" The line of ponies began trudging their way onto stage, smiling and waving to the audience. Rarity followed along the line, and let out a huge grin as she was seen on stage. Eventually, every pony had piled onto the stage and simultaneously did a curtsy.
"Okay! Now is the moment you have all been waiting for... The top ten are..." The whole audience silenced. "Four!" Big surprise. Fluer Dis Lee stepped forward beaming, and threw her flower crown into the audience. The screaming crowd vigorously tried to grab ahold of the flowery headpiece. "Six!" "Seven!" "Nine!" "Eleven!" "Twelve!" "Fifteen!" Rarity gulped. If she wasn't the next pony to be called, that would mean she'd no longer be in the competition. She crossed her hooves, desperately praying to Chrysalis that they would call that lucky number. She peered through the audience, catching Sweetie Belle and Fancypants's eyes. They looked like they were praying too. Everyone in the audience seemed to be looking at Rarity actually. They all knew that if sixteen wasn't called, she'd be out of the competition. "Sixteen!"
"Yes!" Rarity cried, hopping up and down in glee. She realised the audience was staring at her, and she quickly went into a more casual position, smiling slightly. She didn't notice that further along the row, number four was eyeing her through slitted eyes. The last numbers were seventeen, nineteen and twenty.
"I won! I won!" Rarity squawked, cantering down the line of the audience after the show had finished. She threw herself into Fancypants's arms, and hugged him tightly.
"I won! I won!"
"We know," chuckled Sweetie Belle.
"Was it ever a doubt?" Fancypants questioned after Rarity had let go of him.
"And now you two have your," 'date' Sweetie Belle mouthed out to Rarity, making the white unicorn filly with the purple mane blush.
"Don't you need to be walked back to your hotel room, Sweetie Belle?" Rarity questioned.
"I can manage," Sweetie Belle glared at Rarity in a way which would say 'just enjoy yourself!' Rarity hugged her sister lightly.
"I love you," she whispered into her ear.
Sweetie Belle looked up. "I know you do, and I know you know I love you too."
…
Fancypants and Rarity went to an expensive restaurant, sat at a table for two, and ordered their meals. They chatted about each other, their likes and dislikes, and ate the delectable meals. There was a live band playing, and at some point they played a slower song.
"We should dance," Fancypants suddenly requested, grabbing Rarity's hoof and showed her that there was a dance floor where basically every other pony was currently, dancing with their partner.
"I don't know... I can't dance very well," mumbled Rarity, but Fancypants excused it.
"I don't care. Rarity, please dance with me?" Fancypants stared at her, begging her to join him. Eventually Rarity sighed.
"Alright."
Almost instantly they were on the dance floor. Rarity glanced at all the other dancers. Half of them just had their heads over the other's back, moving to the rhythm of the music. The other half held each other's hooves and danced facing each other. Fancypants chose the second method, holding his hoof out for Rarity, and without hesitation, she took it.
Rarity would be lying if she said the dance wasn't fun. Fancypants and Rarity could easily mirror each other's hoof steps. At some point Fancypants made her twirl. Rarity giggled slightly, as she was pulled back into his hooves, and they spent the rest of the song glued to each other, staring in the other's eyes. Finally the dance was over, and they broke out of each other's trance. The two of them quickly trotted back down to their table.
"When did you get so good with dancing?" Fancypants tilted his head, and Rarity looked up in surprise.
"You thought I was good?"
"You were incredible at it!" Fancypants grinned. "I've never seen anypony dance as good as you ever."
Rarity smiled. "You were amazing too."
The end of the night was nearing, and the two eventually went back to their hotel rooms. Rarity was sleeping with Sweetie Belle, whilst Fancypants was sleeping in a completely different room. Just before Rarity opened entered the door to her room, Fancypants stopped her.
"This was fun Rarity... we should do it more often," Fancypants smiled.
Rarity nodded. "I know I had a great time!"
"And one more thing," he stopped her again. Rarity turned around to see him there, a few centimetres from her face. To her shock, he closed the gap between the two and kissed her. It was nothing special, just a light kiss, but Rarity felt as if she was being lifted into heaven. She was disappointed when it was over, and when Fancypants had said his goodbyes and was gone. She fell against the door, breathing. What... just... happened? Did the pony I have had a crush on since forever just... kiss me? Rarity knew that today she had a new best moment of her life.
Rarity opened the door, into her room, and got into her bed.
"Why do you look so dreamy?" Sweetie Belle questioned, a smug expression on her face.
"I'm in love, Sweetie Belle. I'm in love."