Assembly

One by one, swimming in a sea of loud chatter, each and every single worker at the Sapphire Carousel messily filed into its grand theatre. Not just the entertainers, mind you. The cooks, the janitors, the security team, everyone that called that place either home or work or both.

“Come ooooon! I ain’t got all day to herd you, people!” Rainbow Dash bellowed from atop the stage. “Move it!”

“Can we sit next to our friends, teacher?” Lemonwhisk called out, two or three of her friends giggling beside her.

“Sit wherever the hell you want,” Rainbow Dash called back. “Just do it while I’m young, yeah?!”

“But, teeeeeeacher!” I loudly whined, more giggling erupting around me. “What if I don’t want to siiiiit?”

“Then go and swing from your ring, see if I care,” she shot back and then grinned. “Maybe this time you won’t fall off like last week’s practice.”

A chorus of ‘oooohs’ followed her retort, which I good-naturedly rolled my eyes at. I didn’t fall, by the way. I was merely testing how fast Rainbow could catch me. Really!

Regardless, I followed my coworkers, plopping myself down on the empty seat between Big Mac and Shimmer Glass.

“What’s going on?” Shimmer whispered, leaning towards us.

“Assembly, obviously. Lady Luna’s finally gotten sick of us bullying Rainbow Dash.” I sighed theatrically, placing my hand over my head. “Alas! My days of crime have come to an end.”

Big Mac snorted beside me, drawing my attention and prompting me to sidle up against him. I glanced at my coworkers conspiratorially.

“Come now, Mac! Who shall we torment next? I vote for Vanilla Mint. She ate the last piece of cake yesterday. Only I’m allowed to do that and get away with it.” Shimmer laughed, prompting me to turn to her and speak very matter-of-factly. “I’d get away with murder, I’ll have you know.”

“Mmm! I don’t know about that, Rares,” she teased. “What do you think, Mac? Would she?”

“Nope.”

“What! Yes, I would!” I protested, making a show out of stomping my feet. “Betrayal! I bet Rainbow Dash would back me up!”

“Hey, Rarity!” snapped the devil herself. “Can it, will you?!”

I stuck my tongue out at her, which didn’t make her laugh, but it certainly worked its charm on my two friends. I was all but ready to whip out another charming line, but my quip died in my throat when Lady Luna strode onto the stage.

Almost instantly, the room fell silent, all eyes on her as she took her place in center stage.

What was happening? I wondered, curious. Auntie Luna hadn’t mentioned anything important going on, and I couldn’t for the life of me remember the last time she’d had to address the entire place.

“Very well, ladies and gentlemen. We’re all busy individuals with places to go, things to see, and people to do, so I trust we can get through this quickly.”

She waited for the laughs to die down before clearing her throat.

“In an ideal world,” she said, loud and clear, “this meeting would not be necessary. In an ideal world, the only reputation our fine establishment would have is a reputation of offering a good time.”

“A very good time!” chimed someone.

“Yes. A very good time,” Lady Luna said, smiling pleasantly. “Unfortunately, this is not an ideal world, and though we have a reputation of offering very good times—” Her tone turned sharp. “We also have a reputation of being irredeemable gossips. And by we, let’s be clear, I mean you.” She looked at me directly. “And especially you.”

“My Lady! You flatter me!” I gasped, standing up and then curtseying towards my friends as they ‘politely’ applauded. “Thank you, thank you!”

“Sit your ass down, Rarity,” Rainbow called, even though she too couldn’t help a smile.

Once I’d done as much, my Lady continued.

“First thing’s first. The main reason I’ve summoned you here is to inform you that an important individual is interested in one of our more intimate services. Due to their extremely high profile, I will be personally selecting the workers they’ll be able to choose from. But we’ll get to that in a moment.

“As you all know, we value the privacy of our clientele here. I trust you all, and you’ve never given me a reason to doubt you. But this is a special occasion, and special occasions warrant special reminders. Thus…”

She stepped closer towards us.

“Let me make it clear, in no uncertain terms, that when the time comes, any individual who comes in contact with our guest and doesn’t take their identity to the grave, will be fired from the Sapphire Carousel immediately. I will find out if you’ve been indiscreet, and I will take action without hesitation. Obviously, I would rather it not come to that, but if I must do it, I will. Am I understood?”

No one spoke.

She smiled.

“Good.”

She waved her hand, and her secretary, Honey Petal, stepped up onto the stage, bringing with her a notebook and pen.

“Now, onto the client. For the sake of their privacy, the date and time of their arrival will be private until it happens. That means that anyone I’ve picked will have to be available at all times, and they will have to coordinate their schedule with Honey Petal. Additionally, this opportunity will be available to all our workers, both men and women.”

My, my, my.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t more than very intrigued. To my recollection, Lady Luna had never taken such extreme measures to protect the identity of a client. The only hitch was the need for constant availability. I did have the boutique to run after all, but… a little income could be sacrificed if it meant an interesting soirée, no?

“That said, anyone interested and willing to commit to the schedule, stand up now.”

We all looked at each other, daring each other to see who’d volunteer first. To my great surprise, it was my dear Mac himself. He stood up tall and proud, his arms crossed and a lazy smile on his face when he noticed my staring.

“What!” I gasped, as others stood up around us. “Macintosh! Sit down! I’ll never stand a chance if I have to compete against a dreamboat like you!”

“Eeyup.”

“Well then!” I huffed faux-indignantly, standing up next to him. “May the best sex worker win!”

Shimmer looked up at us, amused. “You two are silly,” she noted, her smile washing away when we turned to look at her. “What?”

“Are you not joining the competition?” I asked innocently.

She snorted. “What? No.” We continued to stare, our lower lips jutting out. “Stop staring at me like that.” We did not. “God.” She stood up. “Fiiiine.”

With a girlish squeal, I snaked my arms around theirs, bringing the three of us close together.

“If we’re lucky,” I whispered, conspiratorially, “maybe the client will pick all three of us.”

We watched with bated breath as the game of roulette began, the Lady calling name after name, Honey scribbling down every name. Marble Victory and Star Whistle, Apple Moon and Wild Strike, even Silent Song was selected.

I will admit I was surprised the Lady hadn’t picked me first–she always did–but maybe she was trying not to play favorites. My time would come soon enough, regardless, and when her eyes turned to us, I stood up straight.

Her eyes flickered between us.

“Big Macintosh,” she said. “Shimmer Glass.”

She paused, and for a second, her eyes locked with mine before she dealt me an unexpected blow.

“And that’s it.” She wiped her hands against each other, satisfied. “Everyone who was named is to stay and coordinate with Honey. The rest of you are free to leave.”

“That’s it?” I said, startled and quietly at first, before I involuntarily called out, “That’s it?”

She turned to look at me, and without hesitation, replied, “Yes. That’s it.”

I… It’s hard to describe how I felt. I’d been told no before, certainly, but this felt different. For some reason, I couldn’t exactly comprehend, this rejection stung much more than any of the other times I’d not made the cut.

She’d singled me out. She had. Intentionally or not, Lady Luna had made it clear that omitting me had been a conscious choice, and I found myself indignant that I was apparently not good enough for what seemed to be one of our most important clients.

I racked my mind for an explanation. Had I upset Auntie Luna? No. We’d gone to dinner last night, and it was fine. But then what? Why was I not chosen? Did she think I wouldn’t be able to deliver?

Did she really think I wouldn’t be able to keep my mouth shut on their identity?

Why?

Even Shimmer and Mac seemed to have noticed I was upset, the two of them awkwardly and uncomfortably silent beside me.

“Well,” Big Mac said, dragging me out of my stupor, and flashing me a grin. “It’s for the best, Diamond. I would’ave won anyway.”

“No, you wouldn’t have!” I protested, playfully pushing him away. Grateful to have something lighten the mood. “The Lady was only sparing you the humiliation of having this person instantly choose me. You’re both welcome.”

“Thank you, Ra-ri-tyyyy,” Shimmer said in sing-song. “How generous and kind of you!”

“But of course, dear! You know me!” I replied, my enthusiasm waning as I saw Lady Luna exit the theatre. I quickly picked myself up, however. “Besides, it’s for the best. I have the boutique to take care of, and Rift mentioned wanting to take me on a surprise date sometime soon. It all works out.”

And that was that.

Or so I told myself, trying to ignore the sinking sensation that something…

Something was not quite right.