"Keep in mind, it is a work in progress." Rarity said as she unlocked the door to the boutique. "The skirt itself is complete, but the outfit itself is subject to change."
"Good thing I'm not here for an outfit." Tex said with an uninterested smile.
"That's a shame, Simmons and I have worked very hard on it." Rarity pouted thinly, but turned to Simmons with a smile. "Isn't that right, Simmons?"
"I don't know, I think you really do most of the work." Simmons shrugged.
"Pish posh. You don't give yourself enough credit."
"Can we skip the pleasantries and get a move on before I realize how horrible of an idea this is?" Tex asked, forcing her voice to sound sweet.
"That's what I've been saying the whole time." Church said annoyingly.
"The difference is that's what you say all the time." Tucker chuckled. "Hell, it's pretty much your catchphrase at this point."
"I want a catchphrase too!" Caboose begged, grabbing onto Church's leg. "Can I please have one? I promise I'll take care of it and feed it every night! And walks! I'll let it walk me!"
"Fine, just let go of my leg."
"Okay." Caboose said in a bubbly voice, smiling to himself. "I get a catchphrase!"
"Why don't you all wait out here?" Rarity asked as she walked into the building. "We don't all need to come inside."
"Bow-" Tucker began.
"Don't you fucking dare." Church said firmly, before looking back to Rarity. "How long will you guys be in there for?"
"Just a few minutes, hopefully it won't-"
"Oh no you don't." Tex said, grabbing Church by his neck. "If I'm suffering through this, so are you."
"What? Why?" Church inquired, trying to wrestle himself out of Tex's grip.
"Because i said so." Tex chuckled.
"We could use somepony else's input." Rarity agreed.
"I don't know if dresses look good or not!" Church snapped angrily.
"Why? You Blues are pretty much women already." Sarge smirked.
"I'll come too." Twilight said to Church, causing him to stop thrashing about. "We'll just go in and get out. It won't be that much trouble. Spike, you stay out here with the others."
"Fine..." Church and Spike muttered together.
"Great." Tex chuckled, releasing Church.
"Don't be too long in there." Rainbow Dash said.
"You don't have to tell me twice." Tex nodded, quickly trotting into the boutique.
Rarity, Simmons, Twilight and Church nodded to each other and walked in after Tex.
"So which dress is it?" Tex asked as she came to a stop next to a group of marrequins.
"It's the skirt." Rarity said simply.
Tex looked at Rarity inquisitively, then back to the collection of dresses.
"It's this one." Rarity said as she brought one of the marrequins out of the group with her magic.
Tex examined the skirt with a serious eye. It was a dark blue skirt that seemed as if it would hug tightly to the body. The skirt went halfway down the legs, and the top of the skirt ended at the base of the neck. The rear of the skirt had a trio of black lines, twirling downwards.
"Well, what do you think?" Rarity asked curiously, fishing for a compliment.
"It's blue." Tex nodded.
"And?"
"And it's a dress."
"It really is more of a skirt."
"So a short dress then." Tex nodded unenthusiastically.
"Are you going to put it on or not?" Church asked impatiently.
"Just give me a second here, okay? This isn't easy for me."
"What's so hard about putting on a damn dress?"
Tex muttered uncomprehensilbly and snatched the skirt of of the mannequin. She glared at it for a few seconds, then let out a defeated sigh and made her way to the dressing room. Once she was inside, she placed the skirt on the seat in the small chamber and eyed it contemplatively.
"Hurry up in there." Church called out from the other side of the door.
"Shut up!" Tex hissed, turning back to the dress. "How the hell am I supposed to put this thing on?"
"There is a small black zipper at the neck." Rarity said idly, looking at a hat that sat on another marrequin.
Tex sighed and quickly unzipped it and slipped it on.
"Oh, and please take care with it." Rarity said nervously. "It isn't exactly made out of the most durable of materials."
"Yeah, yeah..." Tex grunted, trying to pull the zipper back up, but found herself unable to reach it. "Fuck!"
"You didn't tear it, did you?" Rarity asked worriedly, fearing the worst.
"No, I can't reach the zipper with these fucking hooves!" Tex snapped, trying to reach for it.
"Let me in, I'll help you." Twilight said, walking up to the dressing room.
"I can do it." Tex grunted, reaching for the zipper once again, but couldn't reach. She let out an extremely loud sigh, before unlocking the dressing door and poking her head out. "Just make it quick."
Twilight nodded and trotted into the large dressing room, using her magic to shut it behind her.
"So how do you do it?" Tex asked curiously as Twilight pulled the zipper up.
"Do what?"
"Being so friendly. It's difficult as all hell, and I'm just barely being nicer than I usually am."
"You'll get used to it." Twilight assured her, backing away.
"Did she tear the skirt?" Rarity asked loudly.
"See? She does't even trust me with a fucking dress."
"Don't worry, she does that with everypony. This is her passion after all."
"I guess." Tex sighed. "How do I look?"
"You look fine." Twilight smiled, unlocking the door.
"Tex, do you mind waiting for a few moments before coming out?" Rarity asked.
"Why?"
"I believe a dramatic reveal is crucial. You know, a before and after. A-"
"Okay, just... just stop treating this like a fashion show." Tex muttered, closing the door after Twilight had exited.
"Very well. This is the last thing I require you to do." Rarity promised.
"Good." Tex muttered. She looked around the room, which appeared smaller to her now. "Wish this thing had a mirror... I probably look like a jackass girly girl..."
"You may come out now." Rarity said, positively bursting with excitement.
"Alright." Tex muttered, taking a deep breath. "Here goes nothing, I guess..."
Tex pushed open the door and walked out of the dressing room. Her red mane flowed down the back of her neck, all the way down to the dark sapphire dress. Her tail poked out the back, and reached the same length as the edge of the skirt. She looked over to Rarity, whose lip was quivering. Unsure if this was a good sign, she turned to Church to see him staring at her, eyes soft.
"What?" Tex asked, looking at her flank. "Does it make me look fat?"
"No, you look good, actually." Church said sincerely.
"Screw you."
"No, I'm serious. You totally don't look like a psycho killer bitch in that."
"You really know how to make a girl feel special." Tex smirked. She turned to see Rarity staring at her with wide eyes. "What's up with you?"
"You look marvelous! Oh, you simply must put on this darling hat!" Rarity said excitedly as she rushed towards Tex with the hat that caught her attention before.
"If you put that hat on my I swear I'll tear it in half." Tex said as she slowly backed away from Rarity.
"But it goes perfectly with-"
"I don't care. I'm wearing a damn dress, and that's-"
"Skirt." Rarity corrected her.
"Fine, skirt, whatever. But I'm not wearing a hat."
"But-"
"No." Tex said, this time forcefully, leaving no room for an argument.
"Very well." Rarity said reluctantly, sad that Tex was so unwilling to listen to her.
"Time to show the others." Church said with a smile.
"Pardon me for withholding my excitement." Tex said sarcastically, walking up to the door. "Would have been easier just to tear the skin off."
"Sounds a little painful, don't you think?" Twilight asked.
"No, no it sounds like a walk in the park compared to this. This is much more painful." Tex disagreed.
"Aren't you over exaggerating it just a bit?" Simmons asked.
"For her, this is the most painful thing in the world."
"Got that right. I can barely even walk in this thing." Tex muttered, pushing open the door.
The rest of the group stared at her uncertainly when she first stepped through, staring at her silently, waiting for her to speak first, but she simply remained quiet. Tucker chuckled to himself after a few seconds and opened his mouth.
"If you so much as say one word, I will rip off your jaw, and shove it down your throat." Tex said pointedly, brushing past them.
"Come on, we have a train to catch." Twilight said, walking after Tex.
Tucker stared nervously at Tex as the others followed suit to the train station.
"I was just going to say how she didn't look like psycho killer bitch..." Tucker muttered before flying after them.