Sit quietly. Do your homework. Study. As far as the Crusaders are concerned, being shut away in Rarity's stockroom on the first day of the weekend is very much like punishment, especially since there isn't anything interesting in there -- well, nothing they're still allowed to do. The previous attempts to entertain themselves mean the only items not expressly on the Forbidden list are the horribly weak clear-dry craft glue and the spools of thread.

Today's homework is about spiders and the weaving of webs.

There may be something they can do with the thread.

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The Empire is starting to see a little more tourist traffic. The tourists, however, are having trouble seeing anything. When every native surface in the nation offers a choice of 'reflective or refractive?' -- well, it's rather easy to spend their entire vacation stumbling into buildings, usually right next to the door.

Cadance is working on the problem. But she can only treat the walls. The crystal ponies aren't going to cover themselves... unless a certain designer can get them interested in the foreign concept of 'clothing'.

It's a challenge fit for an artist!
Or a madmare.
When you hire Rarity, you usually get both.

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In some ways, every Bearer is a partial reflection of every other. Fluttershy can lecture, Pinkie is prone to overwork, Applejack has wound up lost in research, and Twilight's been known to hide under the occasional couch. But when it comes to Rarity and Rainbow... that's where the connection seems to be the most tenuous. They're each part of the same sextet and to outside observers, that's about it.

That little detour through the kite flying area means Rainbow isn't going anywhere for a few hours. Rarity refuses to abandon her relaxation site. And with the two mares stuck with each other, they're going to talk about how they have absolutely no commonalities whatsoever.

They're nothing alike, except for the one way in which they're exactly the same.

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits welcome. While this story does reference previous events, it can generally be treated as a stand-alone: no other reading is required.)

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Cover art taken from an image by White Quartz, cropped by Dawnbreez.

Finding one's ideal assemblage of beauty products is somewhat more complicated than discovering the perfect mate: after all, when it comes to love, a mare has but to locate one pony. It's taken years for Rarity to learn what works best for her: in some cases, the only things which work at all. Which means that having a crucial shampoo (her only shampoo!) taken out of the mix may create something of a minor issue.

Well, it's surely nothing which a proper lady can't deal with in dignity and grace. Also explosions.

She's still a Bearer. There's always explosions.

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Cover art taken from assembled captures by SelenaEde.

All Mr. Rich wanted was a court-arranged signed promise stating that Rainbow wouldn't practice stunts over Barnyard Bargains any more. But judges are fickle creatures, and so the ruling put her in the aisles. Working off the damages while supposedly learning some respect for the store itself.

She wants to be a good employee. She's dedicating herself to this.

It's odd how all of Rainbow's interests seem to end in that one crater the same way.

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Every holiday has its aftermath and for Rarity, the day after Hearth's Warming means a well-established groove of frustration leading a parade of ponies into the Boutique. But she has absolute confidence in her ability to get through it. She's heard the songs, she knows what the most threadbare of floats looks like... having it happen every year just allows her to benefit from experience.

For example, the myriad of seasonal murder fantasies now know exactly which vital arteries to strike.

(A stand-alone, no-prior-reading required part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits welcome.)

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First you're born, and then you're recorded in triplicate. The end of labor is the start of a very long paper trail, because nopony can exist without being documented. Sending copies of a new foal's documents to the Herdbook Registry is perfectly normal. And of course, in order to make sure there's nothing strange going on, that paperwork gets reviewed. Which is done by bureaucrats who establish absolute control inside their office while having no idea of what's happening in the actual world. So as far as they're concerned, the forms associated with somepony named 'Flurry Heart'...

Don't tell them. It's funnier if they find out on their own.

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Realistically, those whose parties wake a Princess from her slumber should expect consequences. But Celestia simply wants to get some sleep, and so her chosen solution is a simple one: deal with it through not dealing with it. It's quick, easy, and sends the problem down the road.

On an equally realistic note, a Princess who decides to make consequences into somepony else's problem should probably expect a few of her own.

Return To Sender. Address Extremely Known.

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group: new members and trope edits welcome. Takes place after Triptych itself.)

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This story is a sequel to Triptych

Her first prison was underground, and it took a lifetime before she recognized its nature. The newest cell has hallways and windows. Her mentor takes her outside, but she always comes back to marble floors and ponies who don't know how to look at her for more than a few minutes. She's too slow when responding to her own name, she can barely reconcile having one, and...

A prison with a lock. A prison with a door.

She's trying to figure out what the difference is. Or whether there's any difference at all.

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

This story is a direct sequel to Triptych. Do not read it unless you've finished the original.

This story is a sequel to A Duet For Land And Sky

She knows how to look out for herself: that's why her parents left her in charge of the house. Because they know she's responsible. But Ponyville's adults were collectively incapable of seeing that, and so she's been forced to live with the Apples. Something which made Applejack delusional, because that mare now thinks she has the right to exert control.

Scootaloo disagrees. She takes care of herself. As soon as her parents come back, they'll explain that. Everything will be normal again. And they'll be in Ponyville any day now. They always could arrive tomorrow, and there was a chance that they would have shown up yesterday.

But this is today.

(Part of the Triptych Continuum, which has its own TVTropes page and FIMFiction group. New members and trope edits welcome.)

Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.

Cover art from vector capture by Lahirien.