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Equestrian Fashions: Manehattan-Fillydelphia (Closed: See OOC topic. 8/12 end date)


SteelEagle

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OOC- Next thread starts on August 12th. Past that date, should this thread go two weeks without a post it shall be locked.

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Equestria had seen many storms in it's long and stories, but none quite like this. It wasn't of strong winds and weather blowing over the plains and between the high skyscrapers, or rolling thunder knocking little towns for a loop. Nor was it a storm of politics or unrest or military action or even change. No, this storm came in waves of fabric and design meant to not only lighten your pocketbook, but brighten your life in the glow of such fabulous and unending beauty and glory!

Equestrian Fashions was gearing up and the world of fashion would never be the same! Heck, Equestria might never be the same.

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The private train car had arrived not so long ago. Or maybe it was just Valen's nerves playing with his sense of time as he paced in his not-entirely private car. Under normal conditions he would be excited or perhaps happy, but these were anything other than normal circumstances. It had only been a few days ago that he had simply been a colt at a fashion show. Now he was a colt pretending to be a fily model as perhaps the main centerpiece of one of Equestria's biggest shows in history, and quite against his will too he might add. The next several months were going to be especially harrowing, his act paramount for effect if he didn't want the whole thing to collapse in on itself. The livelihoods of dozens relied on him, and that was perhaps the scariest notion of them all.

At least the train was special. It had a dedicated kitchen, dining car, staff quarters, and two cars dedicated to the hands who were working the shows. What followed were six cars of storage and workspace, and not tiny ones either- it was possible to fit an entire runway in a few. Magically enhanced mechanisms on the bottom of the train helped keep those cars especially stable. The final four cars were dedicated to the creative talent. Because the whole thing was so rushed they had no time to decide on the first trip who would be in what room, and tickets were thusly give out randomly. For the most part ponies were okay with it, though some hem and hawed. There would be time for reorganizing after Fillydelphia. Each car had two rooms, quite opulent considering they were trains, and each room had two beds. Each bed was also a bunk bed in case of overdrafting, but that wouldn't be a problem.

"The Equestrian Express headed to Fillydelphia! Stops in Shady Sands and Yeehawnkers," the word was passed and soon Valen felt the whole train move, sending him to his doom as the door opened to who he'd be sharing his room with, at least for the first trip.

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Honeydew had almost missed her train, which might have been surprising, considering she had a tendency to run everywhere, if it weren't for the fact that she was easily distracted by potential stories. Luckily, she remembered just in time and hopped onto the train with little delay. She was panting now but that didn't stop her from briskly walking to her car. Finally, she found it, and she slid open the door with such force that the room might have shook. She stared at Valen Orange for a few seconds before casually dismissing him to check out the room. She looked out the window, slid her back against the wall and eyed everything in the car. She ducked down quickly and looked under the seats. She shoved Valen Orange aside a moment to inspect the floor he had been standing on. Finally, she hopped onto a seat.

"Everything appears to be in order," she muttered, taking out her notepad and writing on it with a quill in her mouth. She put the notepad back into the satchel she was carrying around her neck. She looked back at Valen Orange again.

"You look familiar," she said, point-blank.

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Glimmer was bouncing off the walls. Literally.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She repeated over and over again, flying around and hopping around the room with glee. Her big child eyes wide with so many emotions that one would get a headache trying to figure out which one was which.

She had gotten to the train very early with all of her luggage. When her mother said she had managed to get her into a real live fashion show she never expected this! It was a dream come true. She could learn the ways of fashion from the masters! She felt ready to die from joy!

"Glimmer...calm down....please." Her older brother, Razor, groaned. A large bump on his head.

Glimmer stopped and giggled, "I'm sorry big brother. This is just so exciting! EHHHH!" She hopped up and down again.

"Yeah yeah. Fun. Now...could you get me out of this sack!?" He asked harshly. His head sticking out of a burlap sack.

Glimmer stopped and looked at him with a glare, "Do you promise not to run away?"

"Are you going to hit me over the head again?" He asked.

Glimmer smiled, "No. But that doesn't really answer the question."

Razor groaned, "I don't see why I have to be here."

Glimmer smirked and looked her brother right in the eyes next, tears forming, "Do....don't you want to spend time with me?" She sniffed.

Razor grunted and bit his tongue, "I...I don't...alright you win. I'll stay!" He sighed in defeat.

"YEAH!" Glimmer said and hugged him around the neck, purring as she rubbed her head against his.

'I'm such a sucker.' Razor thought.

Glimmer let him go, "Oh I'm gonna look around the train. I'll be back in a bit." She ran off, hoping to see who else would be here.

"Hey wait...," Razor called, "I'm...still...in the bag." But she was gone. He groaned and stared at the wall.

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What an insatiably rude newspony! For the life of him Valen couldn't even begin to understand why she felt the need to be so incredibly pushy, but the tabloid journalists who populated the city tended to be a bit on the crueler side of society. He was happy to say that he never once purchased one of those gossip strangled zines, but that didn't mean he wasn't fully aware of them. As the son of a leading Manehattan family he had to keep some amount of wits about him so as to not embarass the family, which only meant the fact they were sharing the room added to the stress levels incredibly. She seemed to have some manner of memory of Valen, who wasn't entirely mocked up as Gilded. Still, he was quite pretty enough to try and pull the wool over her eyes if only for a while.

[colour=#3333ff]"Vell, perhaps you are a fan of fashion, yes? I am Gilded Lilly, ze greatest filly model in all of Equestria!"[/colour] He struck a momentary pose before turning around and looking at the window as the city started to gain speed around her. He sighed, trotting towards the door.

[colour=#3333ff]"It figures zat Photo Finish would not room me vith my dezigner. Zat mare, I swear to Celestia. How can I expected to work like zis, no? No offense intended darling, I am sure you are from ze best newspaper in Equestria. Who are you?"[/colour]

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These past few days have passed like a blur for Flakey Shards, crystal filly of the Crystal Empire. It only seemed like yesterday that he had been doing what she always did; waiting around her local train station and sell fake gems to gullible tourists for lots of bits. That was until Flakey tried making a certain white unicorn with a diamond-spangled flank one of her marks. That unicorn was no other than Miss Rarity of Ponyville, and she effortlessly identified the pale blue filly’s work as the stained-glass forgeries they were.

Flakey Shards usually would have fled to con another day, but things didn’t quite pan out the way she intended. She still couldn’t comprehend how the following events came to be, but it became known to Miss Rarity that the crystal filly had a gift for crafting gemstones into particular shapes. And apparently, a travelling fashion show down in Equestria needed ponies of Flakey’s budding caliber to work on jewel-encrusted clothing to be displayed in the show. Presented with this chance to work as a sort-of apprentice to a well regarded fashion designer like Rarity, Miss Shard’s inner voice... her sometimes-ignored drive to follow her innate destiny, compelled her to accept.

And so Flakey found herself speeding towards Fillydelphia via train, in the company of Rarity and two earth ponies she didn’t really know. The filly didn’t admit it, but she felt a teensy bit anxious not being in the company of ponies she didn’t know like in her previous visits to Equestria. So far, Flakey remained silent, preferring to doodle in a notebook she brought with her rather than talk to the adults in her cabin. Maybe the filly would go stretch her legs in a few minutes and try to find kids her own age to talk to (if they weren’t total bummers that was), but the young crystal pony was in no hurry to do so at the moment.....

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Glimmer bounced around the train, her bow bobbing up and down. She found this train to be awesome! She peeked inside one room to see a filly about her age, and an older mare. She stepped in with a smile, "Hello. Um...am I interrupting?"

Glimmer gave them all a smile and a friendly wave.

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Honeydew gave Valen a long look as he introduced himself, narrowing her eyes. Her reporter instincts were telling her something was off about him, but she didn't know what.

Too young to be a Mare in Black. Doesn't have the hooves of a Starmane. Changeling, maybe? Parasprite puppet? Judging by the fashion sense, she's definitely under some form of mind control.

These were the thoughts running through the young mare's head while her suspicious gaze was focused on him. "Never heard of you," she said. "But then, I don't keep up with fashion." She turned her head up dismissively before looking at him again. "I'm Honeydew, ace journalist for The Daily Turnip. It is the best newspaper in Equestria because it is the ONLY newspaper that reports the truth, whether anypony thinks so or not. Nice accent, by the way. Do all fashion models talk like they're from Germaney?" She paused. "Strike that, I'll find out soon enough, I'm sure. So, it looks like we'll be rooming together. Good. I think it's only fair to warn you that my snore is loud enough to scare off bears. I suggest ear muffs, unfashionable ones."

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Rarity was still unsure how to feel about Equestria Fashions. It truly was a mix of strange emotions, many of which she didn't quite know how to deal with just yet. She felt guilt for the burden her silence was putting upon young Valen. She felt anxiety about being away from her shop for it, and of course for how her fashions themselves would be received at the shows. It was still early in the tour, however, and as such she still had most of her confidence and optimism remaining.

No, she wasn't going to let herself worry just yet. Valen had reason to worry. She was an adult. She needed to retain her strength and act as somepony that could offer the young ones involved support when they needed it. Speaking of which, sitting with her in the train cart along with Aloe and Lotus from the Ponyville Spa was another young pony who had gotten involved in this because of her. Flakey Shards was spirited if perhaps a little misguided, but she had talent. Rarity had encouraged the girl to become involved as she hated the thought of such a genuinely talented child continuing to feel as if she had no other option than to try and sell fake gems to passersby in the Crystal Empire. Flakey seemed eager to get to work, but looking at her face, Rarity could see signs that her nerves were acting up. It only followed, she supposed. This was a filly, out on her own, so very away from home and all those who knew and cared for her. Rarity wanted to comfort her.

She wasn't sure, however, how exactly was best to do that. Flakey from her experience was a somewhat precocious and brash filly. She wanted to make her feel more comfortable without coddling the child. She noticed the filly was actively sketching in a notebook and decided this was probably her best window to strike up a conversation. Nodding subtly, she spoke, [colour=#663399]"What is that you're drawing, Flakey dear?"[/colour] she asked. [colour=#663399]"ideas for gem shapes, perhaps?"[/colour]
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Jolting her head up when the sound of Rarity piercing through the background hum of a speeding train, Flakey Shards responded with a simple answer; [colour=#99ccff]“Not really.”[/colour] Truth be told, the crystal filly did draw gemstones on occasion; especially when she was planning new designs to bedazzle marks with. Maybe later on the trip when she felt more comfortable, Flakey would sketch out jewel shapes as part of her Equestrian Fashions responsibilities.

Not feeling particularly shameful over what she drew in the meantime, Miss Shards turned the notebook around to let Miss Rarity see her crude cartoon doodle. [colour=#99ccff]“It’s a concept for a prank on one of my classmates,”[/colour] explained the little pony with a twinge of mischievous satisfaction; [colour=#99ccff]“I sneak into Bright Stone’s bedroom at night, put a toy spider on a fishing pole, and I dangle it on her to see if she wakes up screaming. Pretty funny, huh?”[/colour]

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Thank Celestia the reporter hadn't ever met Valen, putting him at a slight advantage for the moment. He was familiar with that so-called paper and through that her work. It was one of the dime a dozen tabloid papers that mixed in some real celebrity gossip with convoluted and asinine conspiracy theories, hit pieces, and 'alternative' news. These muckrakers, these yellow journalists, they only ever sought to draw blood from you and would leave you a withered husk if you allowed them an inch. He'd have to play it cool, but thankfully she didn't follow the world of fashion close enough to spot the subtle fallacies of his story. Good for him. Very good for him.

[colour=#3366cc]"Vell, you may not know of ze fashion now, but I azure you, ve vill educate you, yes?"[/colour] Valen trotted contemptuously towards the mare, [colour=#3366cc]"and I shall have you know zat I am not Germaneic, but Prench. Are all Equestrians so...uncultured as to not know ze difference?" [/colour]Valen allowed a smirk to linger dangerously,[colour=#3366cc] "oh vell, I suppose I'll find zat out soon enough, yes? Thank you for ze warning regarding your sleep delinquency, few mares vould be villing to share such details but I can see quite plainly zat you are honest," [/colour]It was a lie of course, Valen did not trust her further than he could throw her but it wouldn't hurt to leave her none the wiser, would it? Just then a filly, one of the designers, poked her head in.

[colour=#3366cc]"No, no, you've interrupted nothing, vhy don't you come in and join us, yes?" [/colour]If nothing else, maybe it'd distract the reporter.

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Glimmer walked in, "Oh good. Mommy always said to not interrupt ponies or griffons. Very rude."

She preened at a feather that was bugging her before giving the two ponies a smile, "Hi, I'm Glimmer. I guess you both are also going to be models or designers right? oh isn't this so much fun. We get to travel and make fashion history!" She squealed in delight, bouncing up and down.

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Valen gave a toothy grin, his incredibly perfected pearly whites blazing a trail of glamour before him as assuredly as if he had been breathing fire. He had always practiced superb dental care, and under the uncaring hooves of Photo Finish and the more caring yet at times equally manic hooves of Rarity he had the teeth of an angel. Fit his role, did it not? He gave a small, graceful bow to the filly, best face forward for now.

[colour=#3366cc]"Your mother taught you vell, darling, but there was precious little to interrupt. I am Gilded Lilly, the model of everypony's dreams, and this here is..."[/colour] Valen knew the name but was playing up the role a little. Who ever said hamming it up couldn't be fun?

[colour=#3366cc]"Ah! Miss Honeydew of Manehatten, from a prestigious newspaper, correct? In any case, she is not a model. Are you ze young designer?"[/colour]

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[colour=#99CCFF]“Not really. [/colour][colour=#99CCFF]It’s a concept for a prank on one of my classmates, [/colour][colour=#99CCFF]I sneak into Bright Stone’s bedroom at night, put a toy spider on a fishing pole, and I dangle it on her to see if she wakes up screaming. Pretty funny, huh?”[/colour]

Rarity chuckled and shook her head slightly. Oh, to be young. Or well, being a prankster she supposed wasn't entirely age dependent. A couple of her closest friends had never outgrown such things even as they entered alleged maturity. Rarity wasn't sure she entirely understood it; even in her foalhood she had never had a desire to deceive or find laughs at the expense of friends. Dash and Pinkie always seemed to have fun with their little pranks however, and so long as no one was getting hurt who was she to stand in the way of that? She nodded to the foal beside her. If nothing else, she'd try and use this to relate to the poor filly.

[colour=#663399]"Ah, so you and your friends enjoy playing pranks on each other?" [/colour]Rarity started. [colour=#663399]"I have a couple friends myself who are always up to that sort of mischief. Sneezing powder hidden in flowers and what not. They've gotten me good quite a number of times."[/colour]

The mare gave a laugh and nodded again. [colour=#663399]"So long as no one is hurt and it's not done out of malice, I think that sort of thing is entirely healthy, especially for ponies your age,"[/colour] she said, smiling. [colour=#663399]"And I must say that you're prank does sound quite daring and innovative!"[/colour]

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Flakey Shards eagerly shook her head to answer Rarity’s question, implying that this was a sort of thing her friends routinely engaged in. That was a blatant lie of course, as nearly all her pranks were intended to mock and humiliate classmates that got on the little filly’s nerve. But rather than reveal all this to the adult mare in the train cabin, Flakey gave off a sickeningly sweet smile and said; [colour=#99ccff]“Glad you think so Miss Rarity! I gotta’ outdo myself constantly to keep my friends impressed.”[/colour]

Right then, Miss Shards remembered a comment from Rarity that she found odd. [colour=#99ccff]“Hey wait a sec!”[/colour] she confusedly exclaimed; [colour=#99ccff]“Your friends are pranksters too? Aren’t they too, uhhhhh... grown up to be doing that?”[/colour] As far as the little crystal pony knew, adults were supposed to be ‘mature’, and not partake in things children did. Flakey full well knew she wasn’t looking forward towards the dreariness of adulthood anytime soon.....

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Glimmer nodded, "Yep. I'm a designer...or I hope to be. I still think I have a lot to learn, but I know my way around the fashion world."

"Oh are you one of the models?" She said as she hopped around Lilly, "Oh you are just so cute." She couldn't help but give her a hug in excitement.

"This is going to be so much fun. Seeing the world and staring in fashion shows, I wonder where are first stop will be." She said, wondering where the train would go first.

---------------

While Glimmer was having the time of her life....her brother wasn't.

Razor struggled, spasming here and there trying to get loss of the bindings that chained him.

"Out, got to get out. Can't move...can't move!" He said, hyperventilating.

Razor wasn't claustrophobic, but when he couldn't move, especially his wings, he tended to get....a bit uneasy.

"Need....to....MOVE!" He said, struggling. He tried to peck and bite at the neck of the sack he was in. What did he do to deserve this!

He fell to his side and rolled on the floor, as he tried to free himself.

"Somegriffon...please help meeeeee." He cried, hitting his head against the ground.

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(OOC: Gugh, why did I think I had already posted sometime? SORRY! I hope you guys weren't waiting on me too long!)

The Daily Turnip was the exact opposite of prestigious, but Honeydew beamed with pride, because in her mind, it was THE best newspaper. The compliment helped worked to cast her suspicions to the side for a moment. Oh, they were still there. She was almost CERTAIN that accent was fake, but then, she'd seen plenty of ponies use fake accents before to look more exotic. No, there was something else off about the model. In any case, maybe it would help if she tried lowering the model's guard first. Instead, she casted her suspicious gaze on the little griffon, looking her up and down. "Hm. So, I'm rooming with two kids. Coincidence?" She walked past the griffon and slid open the door peering out. "Something bigger must be happening around here than I thought. And SOMEPONY doesn't want ME to know about it." No big deal. Once everypony had fallen asleep, she'd start investigating this peculiarity further.

She closed the door, and her eyes snapped back to the young griffon. "You look a little young to already be engaging in unspeakable acts of evil in the name of fashion," she said slowly. She outright stared at the young griffon when she hugged Valen, as if the designer was already committing some act of unspeakable evil right in front of her.

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Valen breathed a little, demire sigh of relief as the designer seemed to take him in with nary a concern otherwise. He was getting pretty good at his act, little lies littering the world around him like truth-devouring demons. He was a victim of happenstance as much as they, but in a sense it felt good to be on the more assertive end. Then again, it also felt nice to get away from the reporter for a minute, who's aura of suspicion was so pervasive and thick that Valen felt the layers of his mental mask withering underneath it. Finally, a few things were turning up Valen, sweet orange sights in a world of fleece espionage around him, a simple spy in a grand game!

[colour=#3366cc]"I believe ze are trying to hide vze most vunderbar of salad bars from you, Honeydew. Be a dear and fetch us some while you're out? A model has to have some sustenance!"[/colour] Valen let out with a lilt, more than pleased to add a bit of swagger to his own imaginary momentary victory.

Then Glimmer hugged the life out of him, squeezing him like a doll and sending his eyes bulging cartoonishly for a moment before coming back. He slowly pushed off.

[colour=#3366cc]"Non, darling!"[/colour] He muttered almost incoherently, creating the distance through some sincere effort and stumbling about for a second before regaining. He adjusted himself, nothing ruined his good looks and role, all was well. He chuckled.

[colour=#3366cc]"Very touchy feely, yes? Ah, just a little warning next time, darling. Yes, I am von of ze models. Who are ze others? I do not see them yet. And I do believe we are headed to Fillydelphia. Have you ever been?"[/colour]

Valen had been to the city a few times. Not one of his favorites, mind you. A bit rough around the edges, an old frontier city that in days past had been the on the razor's edge of Equestrian expansion. It was a city that loved it's sports and was a fiercely independent, holding the largest population of non-Equestrians in all the land. Cosmopolitan without the class, a clash of cultures without the finery, but unique and brutal in a more charming than dangerous way. He did not know what the designers had planned for the models there, but it was certain to be...interesting.

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Glimmer giggled, "Sorry. Yeah I am a bit huggy, but that's cause hugs are good. And I don't know who the other models might be. Maybe I'll see them as I look around the train."

The little griffon looked at Honeydew, "Huh? Evil? You're kinda funny. But in a good way."

Honeydew was odd, and she looked at the mare curiously for a moment. But she forgot about it when Lilly asked if she had been to Fillydelphia.

"Yup," She nodded, "I've been there a few times. My brother got into a big fight with a Kraken once down there near a beach. Then another time, mommy had to force him to go to some dating thing." She snickered, covering her mouth to stifle it from becoming a laugh.

She then stopped and tapped her beak. She had a sudden feeling...she was forgetting something.

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OOC- Topic will now close on 8/19 barring a post. After that, one week without post results in thread lock. Topic continued at: http://www.canterlot.com/topic/16010-equestrian-fashions-fillydelphian-dreamers-closed-ooc-topic-for-entry-fillydelphia/

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[colour=#99CCFF]“Glad you think so Miss Rarity! I gotta’ outdo myself constantly to keep my friends impressed.”[/colour]

Rarity was not an exceptionally naïve mare and she had already observed this unfortunate filly to be a troublemaker of a more serious breed than one might typically find back in Ponyville. Her smile's artifice was thus quite hard to ignore. However, while maybe it remained that Rarity just seldom knew how best to deal with children, she doubted what this filly needed was any kind of stern hoof or belligerent mare sticking her muzzle deep into whatever mischief she liked to concoct. No, Flakey was likely expecting such things. She seemed the sort who just waited in anticipation for some clueless adult to confront her with the intention to change her ways. Rarity had no intention to play that kind of game. She'd figure Flakey out another way, and maybe in time this filly would open up to her just as Valen had.

[colour=#99CCFF]“Hey wait a sec! [/colour][colour=#99CCFF]Your friends are pranksters too? Aren’t they too, uhhhhh... grown up to be doing that?”[/colour]

At this sudden spark of genuine interest, Rarity chuckled.

[colour=#663399]"So being grown up means a pony can't have fun?"[/colour] She smirked and gave a giggle.[colour=#663399] "I suppose I can see where some fillies and colts might attach themselves to that notion, but the way I see it, it is a misguided one."[/colour]

[colour=#663399]"Laughter is one of the key elements of harmony after all, darling. It's as important to a fulfilling life as anything else,"[/colour] she said, nodding. [colour=#663399]"Playing pranks, like so many other things is an art--and like any other art, those who choose to pursue it do their best to just get more clever and timely as they continue."[/colour]

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