Fame or Friendship Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7


Rarity could not think straight the next day.  She still was making up her mind and the more she thought about it, the more scared she was of what might happen.  She couldn't face the paparazzi or anypony out in public, she was too nervous to even talk in the open.  It appeared that no one else knew yet about the studio moving to Canterlot and she knew that if any Ponyville residents found out, especially her friends, they would be horrified.  Losing Ponyville's top model and best fashionista would be a very rough thing for them all and even worse for Rarity.  She loved her friends so much but also loved this job and wanted to keep doing it and unfortunately she couldn't keep both at the same time.

"Success and living the dream in Canterlot or a hardworking life living in the country with my friends and family…" she said to herself while pacing back and forth.  
She was hiding behind a small patch of bushes where nopony could see her.  The only pony who saw her was Pinkie who was hopping along happily until she heard Rarity talking to herself.  Rarity's voice made her sound extremely stressed.  Pinkie stopped hopping and slinked over towards the bushes and peaked her head from behind them listening closely to Rarity.

"Oh Rarity come on, make up your mind!  Why is this so hard?!" she said angrily to herself.  "You know you want to keep modeling with Photo Finish but you can't just leave all your friends and the boutique behind!  Canterlot or Ponyville, Canterlot or Ponyville…"

Suddenly, Pinkie lost her head and went into panic mode.

"YOU'RE MOVING TO CANTERLOT?!?"

Rarity leaped in the air screeching almost loud enough for somepony else to hear her.  After landing back on the ground with her eyes open wide and breathing fast, she looked over to see Pinkie in the bushes.

"PINKIE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?"

She reached over and pulled Pinkie into the clearing so no one would see where they were and covered her mouth with her hoof.

"MMM-MM-MMMFFFF!" Pinkie said under Rarity's hoof.

"SSSSSSH!  Pinkie, please, don't let anypony hear you!" she whispered while letting go of Pinkie's mouth for her to speak.

"RARITY……er, I mean, Rarity, what's going on, why are you going to Canterlot?"

"I'm not officially going just yet darling, but apparently Photo Finish is moving the studio to Canterlot because she thinks we've outgrown Ponyville and she's pleading that I go with them…"

"But you aren't, are you?"

"Well, I haven't made up my mind yet, darling…"

"But Rarity, what about us?!  You wouldn't see us again……well, maybe, but not that much!  What would you be doing in Canterlot anyhow?"

"Well, modeling for the studio like I still am, but it would be full time and I wouldn't have the boutique, I guess I'd just be a celebrity…"

"Oh please Rarity, don't leave us, we'd miss you so much!  What would we do without your awesome dress-making skills?!  Ponyville would only be…well, Rarityless!!"

"I know Pinkie, that's the thing: if I go, I'll be leaving that all behind, but I really wanted this job, I just was so unprepared for us to move to Canterlot.  I thought it was all perfectly fine in Ponyville, and although I've always wanted to live in Canterlot, I don't think it's worth moving there if it's only because the studio is moving.  And I really don't want to stop making dresses either, it would be too unproductive."

"So you're staying then?"

"I'm not sure, darling.  I'm really stressed out here, I can't make up my mind.  Oh please don't tell the others, please, please, pleeeeease?!"

"Well……alright.  I Pinkie-promise I won't.  Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Thank you ever so much, darling.  I promise I will decide soon.  Photo Finish is still giving me a few days to decide.  After that, the studio moves and I with them if I so choose."

"But please don't go Rarity, everyone will miss you way too much!  What will all our other friends think?  What would Ponyville think?!  WHAT WOULD SPIK-"

"SSSSSHHHHH!!!  I know, I know Pinkie!" Rarity said covering Pinkie's mouth with her hoof.  "Just please give me some time.  I swear I'll make the right decision, or at least I sure hope I do.  Believe me, it's not going well so far…"

"Ok, but please don't forget us Rarity, please!  I'm not sure how I'll ever keep this a secret from the others!"

"I will think it over darling, I promise.  Now, I must go, I have one more shoot over at the studio before they move…"  Rarity then picked up one of her bags and set it on her back and rushed off to the studio.

"Bye Rarity!  Please choose wisely!" Pinkie said trying to sound as happy as she could with a rather hoarse voice.  "Oh no, what now?  Rarity leaving us……FOREVER?!?"


Pinkie walked nervously back to Sugarcube corner with many thoughts racing through her head about Rarity.  She was so scared that she couldn't even get herself to look or act normal.  She was good at keeping secrets but the fact that one of her best friends might leave left a huge lump in her throat and she couldn't get a hold of herself.  She took a deep breath before she entered the confectionary and walked right in to meet her other friends over at one of the tables having some mid-morning snacks.

"Oh, Pinkie, there you are!" Twilight said looking up.

"Hey guys…" Pinkie said trying to not let them see the sweat that was starting to form on her forehead.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, it's just……a really hot day." She said wiping her forehead and panting.

"Sure is a shame Rarity can't be with us this mornin'." Applejack said.

"Well she does have a job to do, I'm sure it's all for the better…" Fluttershy responded after taking a sip of her drink.  "I am a bit worried though, it's almost like she's getting too attached to it."

"I don't wanna be a negative Nancy here guys, but I think Fluttershy is right." Rainbow Dash said while everyone looked at her. "It's like Rarity doesn't even wanna be around us anymore."

"Of course she does Rainbow Dash, she just has a really demanding job, that's all.  Don't forget she's a super model now, not just a regular model."

"Yeah, but it's keeping her away from us Twilight." said Spike who hadn't touched his cupcake yet.

Twilight sighed knowing that Spike was right.  "I know she hasn't been able to meet with us……and this job is really getting too demanding for her.  I do have the feeling that something isn't right either.

"I dunno, what do you think, Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash said to Pinkie who had just sat down with them.

Pinkie's eyes widened as everyone glanced at her expecting a reply.

"Um……I uh……I dunno, what do you guys think?" she said nervously with more sweat forming on her forehead and trembling a little.

"You alright, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked her.

"Yeah Pinkie, you don't look so well." Fluttershy said.  "Oh my goodness, do you
have a fever?!"

"NO!!!  Er, no of course not, I'm fine!  Hehehe……hehe…"

Everyone at the table stared at her blankly knowing she was keeping a secret from them.  The harder they stared the more Pinkie sweated and trembled and her face started turning red.

"Pinkie, Spike hasn't touched his cupcake yet and you aren't staring at it as if you're about to take it from him like you usually do." Twilight said right before Spike suddenly became alert and grabbed his cupcake and ate it up before Pinkie could devour it herself.

"Um……I'm not that hungry I guess?"

"You sure you're ok Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked her.

"I'm fine guys, I'm fine!  There's nothing in the whole wide wide world that is bothering me right now at all!  If there was anything that was bothering me, well, it could be anything I guess, but there's nothing that's bothering me, but if perhaps there was some little tiny thing that was bothering me I'd probably let you know but trust me there's nothing that is bothering me at all and I assure you it has nothing to do with Rarity and her job and that she might……uh oh…"

Pinkie stopped trembling briefly and had a horrified look on her face.  Everyone else's eyes widened and they were just as horrified as she was.

"What's this about Rarity?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"NOTHING!" Pinkie said, her voice starting to get higher and louder.

"Pinkie, what's going on with Rarity?!" Twilight demanded.

"NOTHING'SGOINGONWITHRARITYGUYS!!!" Pinkie said with her lips moving faster and her eyes darting back and forth rapidly.

"Is she going to do something terrible?  HAS she already done something terrible?!" Spike asked starting to get very worried.

"NO!!"  Pinkie started sweating so much that she looked like she had just come out of the shower.

"Pinkie, tell us what's going on, we need to know!!" Twilight demanded.

"OK FINE, RARITY SAID THE STUDIO IS MOVING TO CANTERLOT AND SHE MIGHT GO WITH THEM SINCE SHE REALLY LOVES THE JOB AND MIGHT LEAVE US AND HER BOUTIQUE AND ALL OF PONYVILLE FOREVER AND EVER AND-" she stopped with her hooves in her mouth and everyone gasped loudly.

"RARITY'S LEAVING US?!?" Fluttershy shouted.

"FOREVER?!?" Applejack added.

"WE HAVE TO STOP HER!!" said Twilight putting her drink down and starting to get out of her chair.

"WELL WHAT ARE WE ALL WAITING FOR, LET'S GO!!" Spike said with a lot of fright in his voice and a look on his face as if he was about to cry.

They all jumped down from their chairs and rushed out the door leaving Pinkie behind who was completely devastated at what she just did.  She slowly removed her hooves away from her mouth and the sweat had stopped forming and her face turned somewhat pale rather than red.  She was staring into blank space completely speechless.

"I just broke a Pinkie promise……" she said quietly.  Her hair then puffed up round and fat like a balloon being inflated and then suddenly flailed around in one direction as if being blown by a fan behind her.  Her curls then uncurled and her hair went straight down like it was wet.  Her eyes got huge and sad and tears started to form and her lips vibrated causing her speech to slur.

"Not again…" she said as the tears started to run down her cheeks like waterfalls.



TO BE CONTINUED…