It was the mare’s poise that caught Rarity’s eye. The unicorn stood out even amongst the grand designs of the Carousel Boutique. She belonged here, this mare, in a way no other pony ever could. The thought brought a smile to Rarity’s face even as she pretended not to watch her through the glass in the back of the store.

The mare’s attention seemed to be fixed on the hats she had out on display. All of the hats were marvelous, of course, but not every hat was appropriate for every occasion. One could hardly wear a derby hat around Ponyville every day, after all. Bonnets were an option, of course, but added ten years to the age of any mare under forty; hardly an ideal form of headdress for a beautiful young mare. Berets were hardly the kind of hat to impress around Ponyville; most ponies here would not appreciate a good beret if they saw one. But then, they did not know silk from toile.

A slouch hat? Rarity watched as the unicorn pulled one down with her magic, looking it over for a moment before setting the hat with the folded brim atop her elegantly coiffed mane. She hesitated, then reached up with one hoof to set it askew. It was beautiful, perfect; any pony with eyes would find them drawn to her.

But Rarity knew the look the pony wore. It was the look of a pony who found precisely what they wanted, but not what they needed right now. That hat was perfect, but there were times when perfection simply wouldn’t do. It was practically a crime for such perfection to go unappreciated, but she knew that it would. After all, a diamond in the rough was nothing more than a sparkle in mud. Reluctantly, the pony lit up her horn, and the hat floated off her head to return to its place alongside the others.

If perfection wouldn’t do, what did she need? Rarity’s eyes wandered over the hats. The cartwheel hats were marvelous, with their splendidly wide brims, but if a slouch hat was too much, a cartwheel hat would be no better. A shako? Now how did that get there? No, that belonged with the costumes, not on the hat rack. What had she been thinking?

The pony turned round, drawing Rarity’s attention back to the glass as the unicorn’s magic tugged another hat onto her head. A sun hat, of course! Perfect! Not too sophisticated for Ponyville, but not so plain as to be unfashionable. Oh, but which one? There were dozens. True, one could not go wrong with a sun hat – well, not with her sun hats – but there were so many to choose from, and only one would be perfect.

The one with amethyst? Rarity’s ears fell as pony returned the hat to the rack; she was quite fond of that one. Or perhaps the wide-brimmed one in yellow? It was beautiful, but clearly, the garden’s worth of flowers was just too much for her.

Rarity watched the mare go through hat after hat. At first, each hat found its way back to the rack, perfect in its place, but soon the mare grew impatient, ripping the hats off the rack and tossing them to the side as they failed to appease her. This one was too plain; this one, too large; this one, too flowery. This one…

Rarity’s eyes lit up as the mare stopped, gazing at herself in the mirror. It seemed she had what she was looking for. The slouch hat had been perfect; this one was less than that, and at the same time so much more so. Sure, that had had been perfect for Canterlot, for a party where they sipped the finest chardonnay, but this was a hat which could be worn around Ponyville. It was eye-catching, but not gaudy. It would stick in the mind and draw the eye, but not seem like it was trying too hard.

Simple, yet beautiful, it was the perfect hat for Ponyville. It was a good thing she had replaced the flower in the band this morning on impulse; its vibrant petals were flush with color and full of life. And the scent! Oh, she could practically smell it, the sweet hint of fresh flowers it would lend its wearer as a sort of natural perfume. Rarity clapped her hooves together as the mare glanced up at the brim of the hat, then looked over and met Rarity’s gaze through the glass. Rarity nodded her head, and the mare smiled.

But what could possibly accompany it? Rarity’s eyes flicked across the store. True, many ponies in Ponyville went au naturel, but that would never do for a mare like this. No, it would be a waste to allow such beauty, such elegance, to go uncomplemented. But what to wear? Nothing too fancy, of course; perhaps a simple sun dress, to go with her hat? Yes, that would be perfect. Perhaps something yellow and white, to go with her coat.

Rarity rubbed her chin as one of her dresses floated over to the mare, wrapping itself around her shoulders. A clasp floated up from the hanger the dress had been resting on, the gilded hook latching into the dress and holding it in place. The mare peered into the mirror as Rarity’s eyes narrowed. It was almost right, but it needed something else. Something more.

As if reading her mind, a simple pink sash floated over and wrapped itself around the mare’s chest, tying itself off behind her with a gigantic flourish. That mare certainly knew how to… to…

Rarity sighed. It was too much. It would be perfect for some sort of get-together in Manehattan, but here, in Ponyville, almost anything would call attention to itself. True, the hat would do that on its own, but in conjunction with the sun dress, the pony would look terribly out of place. No, it just would not do.

The mare seemed to agree, her ears falling as her horn lit up, the sash untying itself, the dress returning to its place. But what could she do now? Clearly, she was trying to impress somepony, but it was equally clear that she didn’t want to be too obvious about it. That clasp had looked nice, though. Perhaps just a necklace…

Yes, that was it! Rarity beamed as the mare’s horn lit up once more, a golden necklace with a brilliantly cut amethyst jewel set into its heart wrapping itself around her neck. Not too little, not too much, it complemented the hat without drawing too much attention away from the mare herself. That would do nicely.

The mare nodded her head sharply in satisfaction. Reaching her hooves up to adjust her hat again, the mare began to walk away from the mirror before she glanced over her shoulder and met Rarity’s eyes through the glass.

Those eyes. How had Rarity not noticed them before? They were like the clearest glass, reflecting the light of the world around them, shimmering even in the muted light of her shop. Forget the hat; nopony who saw eyes like that would ever be able to look away from them. Anyone who saw them would be enraptured by her gaze, trapped forever, their heart stolen away.

The mare smiled sultrily, ducking her head slightly as she half-lidded her eyes. Rarity felt a thrill go through her, starting at her neck and travelling down into the core of her body, warming her even as she mimicked the gesture. Two could play at that game.

The two ponies both sauntered towards the glass that separated them, their bodies swaying perfectly in time with one another as they approached one another, never breaking eye contact. Few mares could catch her eye; true, there had been one or two, but nothing like this. Such beauty, such perfection… Rarity couldn’t help but shiver, and saw the other mare do the same.

The two mares looked at each other, their eyes roaming over each other’s bare coats. Rarity knew now more than ever that the mare had been right to discard that dress; covering such sumptuous flesh with mere cloth, what had she been thinking? Rarity lifted her hoof, posing for the other mare, giving her a superior look that the mare mimicked. She only held the pose for a moment before giggling; how silly they must look, posing together like that.

“My, my,” Rarity said, tilting her head to the side coyly, “What is it that brought you to my boutique? Surely you didn’t come here just to see little old me?”

The mare’s lips moved soundlessly, the glass holding back any sound they might have made, but Rarity didn’t need to hear her words to know what she was saying.

“Oh, nonsense. I’ve seen the look you were wearing many times; you are trying to impress someone.”

The mare blushed, her lips moving again.

“You don’t want to say who? Well, no matter. Though I think that whoever it is doesn’t deserve you; that hat is beautiful, but what kind of pony wouldn’t notice you even without it?”

The mare’s eyes flickered, and her ears fell slightly, her playful expression slipping; Rarity could feel her own falling away as well as she sighed.

“I’m sorry. You’re right; just because they haven’t noticed you yet doesn’t mean that they won’t if you put in a little extra effort. With an outfit like that, they’re sure to notice you.”

The mare’s ears perked up as she smiled again, her mouth moving silently once more.

“Of course they will, darling. I did, after all.” Rarity purred those last few words, batting her eyelashes at the mare.

The mare’s blush deepened as she replied, her horn lighting up as the flowers from the vase Rarity kept in the front of the boutique floated up next to the glass.

“Pour moi?” Rarity asked, her cheeks flushed as she smiled. Sure, they were her flowers, but it was the gesture that counted, was it not?

The mare nodded as Rarity leaned forward, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath; despite the glass between her and them, she could feel their scent filling her lungs. “Oh my. Fresh cut this morning, unless I miss my guess.” She giggled loudly at her own joke, and as she opened her eyes, she could see the mare on the other side was doing the same.

“My, my, this is unexpected.” Rarity leaned in closer to the glass until her horn lightly tapped against the surface, the other mare doing the same as they lost themselves in each other’s eyes. “Mmm, why, I’m half-tempted to steal you away for myself.”

The mare spoke again, pressing her snout forward until her breath fogged the glass, lips scant inches away from Rarity’s own as she fluttered her eyes sultrily.

“Oh, really? Well, then—”

“Rarity, what the hay are you doing?”

Rarity squeaked loudly, jerking her face away from the glass, her cheeks burning. “Applejack! What are you doing here?”

“Uh, came to pick you up for the picnic, remember?” Applejack hefted a wicker basket in one hoof.

“Why didn’t you knock?”

“I did knock. Three times. Ya might have heard me if you weren’t so caught up in… what were you doin’, anyhow?”

“Oh, nothing,” Rarity said, fluffing her mane with her hoof.

Applejack glanced from Rarity back to the glass, her eyes narrowing before she smirked. “Well I’ll be. Finally found somepony who was up to your standards, huh?”

“I don’t quite follow.”

“Oh, I ‘spect you know exactly what I’m sayin’. You were flirtin’ with the prettiest pony in all of Ponyville, weren’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rarity looked away.

“Uh huh.” Applejack’s eyes fell to the floor. “Are those… flowers?”

Rarity’s face was on fire as her horn lit up, grasping the flowers and replacing them in their vase. “Yes. I just thought I would freshen up the boutique. You know how nice they smell.”

“Sure do.” Applejack tapped her chin with her hoof. “But I wonder how they ended up over there.”

“I was just… rearranging things.”

Applejack laughed. “Well, whatever you say, sugar cube.” Her eyes flicked back to the glass. “I can leave y’all alone if you’d like.”

“Oh hush.” Rarity pouted, turning her face away as she crossed her hooves across her chest.

“Aw, I’m just teasin’.”

Rarity blinked as Applejack’s hoof touched her shoulder.

“Don’t worry. It’s kinda cute.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Rarity asked archly.

“Nothin’.” Applejack glanced over towards the door. “You ready?”

Rarity bobbed her head.

“Let’s get goin’ then.” Applejack grabbed the picnic basket in her mouth, taking a few steps towards the door before setting it down. “By the way, nice hat. It looks good on ya.”

Rarity couldn’t stop herself from grinning. “Why, thank you.”

Applejack clicked her tongue, flashing Rarity a wink before she bent down to retrieve the basket.

Turning back to the glass, Rarity lifted a hoof to straighten out her necklace before slowly returning it to the floor. Bracing herself, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as her straightened. When her eyes sprung open again, the other mare had returned, her eyes sparkling with confidence once more.

“You comin’?”

“Of course.” Giving one final glance at herself in the mirror, Rarity lifted her head up high before she trotted out the door.