Although her plans to be Discovered at the Canterlot fashion trade show were a bust, Rarity remains undaunted. Instead, with a little help from her father, she has purchased the abandoned Carousel Boutique, converting it into her own dress shop. After all, with the trainline soon to connect Ponyville directly to Canterlot and places even further abroad, there's a lot of potential in her own home town.
Of course, starting one's own business is never easy, especially not when it's something that ponies consider purely a luxury item...
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Tropes found in this story include:
- Entertainingly Wrong: Rarity concludes that Pinkie's parents were miners who died in an accident.
- Gossip Evolution: Rarity is well-aware of the process, and is careful of what she says in front of Mrs. Voyeur.
- Gossipy Hens: Mrs. Voyeur. In spades.
- The Kindness of Strangers: In a Call-Back to its prequel, Pinkie Pie's random decision to be nice to Rarity sets up the first real step to Rarity gaining a place in Ponyville.
- Odd Friendship: By the end of the story, Pinkie and Rarity are in the early stages of friendship.
- Poverty Food: Rarity had been supplementing her meals with grass from the wild-zone. It's not tasty, but it is free.
- Spotting the Thread: Rarity is able to realize that there is something strange about Pinkie, but she never pulls the thread.
- Stranger in a Familiar Land: As Rarity becomes painfully aware, all that time at boarding school means she has become essentially a complete stranger in her own home town.
- Values Dissonance: Rarity and Applejack have very different world-views. Rarity outright describes Applejack as alien to her.
- Weirdness Censor: Most ponies don't think about what Pinkie can do...
