//------------------------------// // In Which Stella Vera recieves Negative Feedback // Story: Dress Up // by Scarlett Ires //------------------------------// Sweet Celestia this was terrifying! Stella stood in front of Rarity's boutique, a renowned landmark throughout the fashion community. The once again overly anxious mare could hardly keep her composure. Her dress-stuffed bags floated directly behind her, though she could hardly concentrate on using her telekinesis to keep them up. But alas, she was here, and she wasn't going to turn around and leave. She'd spent 75 bits on the train ticket here. Her legs quivering, Stella pushed open the door to Rarity's boutique. It was even more beautiful on the inside than it was on the outside. She could hear the distinct voices of Rarity and Hoity Toity somewhere out of sight. The bell over the door had rung, but it had drawn no attention. What if they'd heard the bell and just ignored it? What if they didn't want to be disturbed? Stella squealed, although it wasn't that super happy, super cute squeal that Pinkie Pie tended to make. It was more of a terrified, sweet-Celestia-what-the-buck-am-I-going-to-do squeal. Unfortunately, yet fortunately for Stella, a certain white and purple mare heard the gasp. "Hello?" the heavily accented voice called. "Is anypony there?" "Um yes!" Stella called back nervously. "I'm here." Stella heard some more talking between Rarity and Hoity before the mare trotted out to greet her. "Hello there, darling!" she exclaimed. "My name is Rarity, and welcome to my boutique! May I help you with anything?" This is your moment, Stella! Don't screw up! Stella thought. "Well... My name is Stella Vera. I'm here to show you some of my dress designs. I-if you'd be interested in seeing them of course." Rarity's eyes immediately lit up. "Of course! I'd love to see them!" Rarity almost shrieked. "And Hoity Toity can see them as well! He's a fashion critic, you see." "Oh I know who he is. He's one of my fashion icons, for your information." "All the better! Come, come! This must be so exciting for you!" Rarity full out shrieked, before pulling Stella roughly into a back room. It was all the poor mare could manage to keep her concentration on levitating her bags. At least I'm getting an audience! The first thing Stella was Hoity Toity sitting at a table with two chairs. She couldn't help but let out a squeal. A Pinkie Pie squeal this time. "OhmygoodnessHoityToityit'ssogreattomeetyouI'mahugefan!!" Stella shrieked like it was one word, not stopping to take a single breath. The stallion simply nodded. that wasn't the reaction I wanted... Oh well. Stella collected her nerves, before giving a slight bow to the stallion. "My name is Stella Vera, and I'm a crystal pony. Obviously." She caught the stallion looking back at her bags. "I'm also a fashion designer!" That got Hoity's attention. "Oh? Allow me to see your work." He said calmly. All at once, Stella's bags dropped to the floor, and she immediately opened one - an old black and white checkered one. She loved that bag. "There are some of my absolute favorites in here!" she squealed, removing one of her first designs: a fleece black and white checkered t-shirt, like the bag the it was carried in. It was accompanied by a completely black skirt, with a white bow at the waist. Stella thought it was adorable. "It's awful." The stallion said, completely nonchalant. Stella visibly flinched. "H-huh?" she asked with a sudden stutter. "O-oh, my apologies. T-that was an o-old design. Not v-very good." The stallion raised an eyebrow. "Do you have anything good to show me?" he asked. "Yes, of course. J-just give me a minute. Or three." The mare dove into her pile of bags, desperately searching for the bag containing the dress she'd shown to Fleur. Then she remembered. She'd sold it. "Ummm..." she said, desperately grabbing a dress from the checkered bag, holding it up for the stallion to see. It was one of her better designs; a green and brown nature themed dress. Simple, but attractive. "This one is one of my best! It's designed to have the classic colors of nature, green and brown. Just in time for Autumn as well! Hehe..." The stallion stared at her dress for a frightening amount of time, before finally speaking. "Well, Stella, I've enjoyed your, ah... display ... However, neither outfit shows very much talent, effort, or beauty." Her heart froze. She could hardly breathe. How the hell could he not like these?! I worked so hard! Alas, her work had proven to be for naught. Here her role model sat, telling her that her outfits were horrible. All the mare could do was pack her bags back up and turn to leave with a heavy heart and a bunch of heavy bags.