Out of Fashion

by xjuggernaughtx

No Passion for Fashion

Author's Note: A big thank you to tdreyer1 for the awesome image. If you would like to see the art full size or any of his other work, go to his Deviantart page at: http://tdreyer1.deviantart.com/

Out of Fashion

Chapter 1 - No Passion for Fashion

Blank, Rarity thought. Blank. Blank. Blank.

She looked down at the clean, white paper sitting before her on the desk. It represented two hours of demoralizing, humiliating failure. With a heavy sigh, she turned away from her desk and walked over to the large window where Opal lay, basking in the sun.

"Oh, Opal, what am I to do?"

The pampered cat cracked an eyelid to observe her owner and then languidly turned over to catch the sun's rays on her stomach.

"Well, I'm thrilled that you can be so relaxed, but this is a crisis!" Rarity turned to the overflowing wastebasket that sat near her desk and regarded it with loathing. "I haven't created anything remotely original in weeks! I'm just rehashing all of my old ideas in new colors!" Trotting over to the discarded sheets, she pulled a particularly large drawing out. With a flourish that implied her disgust with the piece, she sent it drifting through the air. "Just look at it, Opal! What was I thinking? Last year's neckline with peacock feathers and a beaded train? A beaded train?! Ugh!" The design floated briefly through the air and landed squarely on the prim, white cat, covering her. In a flash, Opal shredded the offending paper while hissing her displeasure. "Yes, that is precisely how I feel, my dear. That's the exact sentiment."

The room began to slide out of focus as tears welled up in Rarity's eyes. As she collapsed into sobs on the floor, she missed the delicate patter of Sweetie Belle's hooves. When the younger unicorn stroked her mane, Rarity started.

"Oh, Sweetie, I-I'm sorry. I'm sure I look an awful mess," Rarity sniffed miserably.

Sweetie Bells sat down on the floor before her big sister.

"Are-are you okay?" she asked, voice full of sympathy.

Rarity sat up and wiped her eyes. She didn't like Sweetie Belle to see her like this. It lacked dignity and was a poor example.

Pull yourself together, Rarity! If you can't be a good designer, you can at least attempt to be a good sister!

Rarity looked over at the little filly and tried to force a smile.

"Yes, I-I’m just a little upset over a silly mistake I’ve made," she replied, forcing more casual tone into her voice. "Some materials just weren’t meant to go together, but one must keep trying. Everypony makes a poor style choice once in a while." Everypony except me, she added silently.

Sweetie Belle looked up at her sister, eyes full of concern. She had never seen Rarity like this. Sure, her sister was a little emotional from time to time, but it always been a little more theatrical. This time, Rarity seemed truly miserable.

"What can I do?" the filly implored.

Rarity gathered up her sister in a hug, nuzzling her face into that soft, bi-colored mane. The closeness of their bond lifted her spirits, if only a little. Gently, she set Sweetie Belle back down on the floor.

"You have done wonders already. Now I have to get back to work."

With that, she turned back to her design table and magically gathered up her pencil. Sweetie Belle watched for a while as Rarity stared off into space, barely moving a muscle. Finally, she quietly left the room. If the only thing she could give Rarity was peace and quiet, she was determined to at least do that much.

If only somepony else was here. She thought. I'll bet they'd know what to do. Somepony like Twilight.

Sweetie Belle stopped short.

"That's it! I'll go get Twilight!" Sweetie Belle raced for the boutique door. "She'll have an answer for this!”

The slamming door woke Rarity from her torpor and she looked down at her sheet of designer's parchment. It was still brilliantly white and still devoid of any image. As she watched, the page faded to an ugly grey. A dark cloud had blotted out the sun and all the color seemed to drain from the room. Deprived of her warm pool of light, Opal disdainfully climbed to her feet and slowly sauntered out of the room.

"I can't blame you," whispered Rarity. "I don't want to be here either."

---

Rainbow Dash looked down at Twilight as she flapped in angry circles.

"What do you mean there aren't any more?" she growled.

Twilight watched as the disgruntled pegasus circled inside her library and smiled internally. It had been unthinkable until recently that Rainbow would have even set one hoof in a library to read anything, but here she was, desperate for a new book.

"I'm sorry, but that was the last Daring Do novel. There just aren't any more," Twilight replied.

Rainbow dropped down to the floor and advanced on Twilight, eyes full of desperation.

"But that can't be! Daring Do and The Cursed Cult of Dressage ended with a cliffhanger! There has to be another one!"

Rainbow grabbed Twilight's head between her hooves and pulled her close.

"Don't hold out on me!"

The unicorn pulled her head out of Rainbow's firm grip with a small popping sound.

"You're just going to have to wait. The new novel is still being written," Twilight offered helpfully. "It probably won't be out for another year"

"ANOTHER YEAR!" Rainbow returned in a panic. "I can't wait a whole year for a book!" She took to the air and turned to regard Twilight, "Okay, here's the plan. If we leave now, we can probably get to the author's house within the day! We'll make her finish that book!" With that, the athletic pegasus zoomed from the library, carving a rainbow colored streak through the sky. Twilight watched it fade with a look of surprise, but was forced to take a couple of quick steps back as Rainbow barreled her way back inside. "Oh, hey, who wrote those books," Rainbow asked, a little sheepishly, "and where do we find her?"

"Rainbow--," Twilight began.

"Twilight? Twilight, are you home?" came a cry from outside. Both ponies turned to see Sweetie Belle trotting into the library. “Oh Twilight, will you come and help?”

"What is it?" Twilight asked. "Are Applebloom and Scootaloo okay?"

The small unicorn looked up at Twilight and said mournfully, "It's not them, it's Rarity. You guys have to help. She's so upset, but she won't talk to anyone about it." Her brimming eyes darted back and forth between the two ponies while her lower lip quivered. "I'm really getting worried!"

Rainbow stepped forward, full of concern, "Something's wrong with Rarity? What's going on?"

"You know, she has seemed a little withdrawn lately," added Twilight

"She's falling apart," sniffed the tearful filly, "She can't sleep. The boutique is a mess. I even made her my special breakfast yesterday and she didn't even touch it." Sweetie Belle rose up and placed her two front hooves on Twilight's chest. "Please, Twilight, can you guys go over and talk to her?"

Twilight put her hoof on Sweetie Belle's head and looked down at her with affection. The little unicorn was so concerned about her sister.

"It would be our pleasure, Sweetie Belle." Twilight looked over at the fidgeting high flyer. "Can you get the others and meet me at Carousel Boutique?"

Rainbow Dash took to the air and performed a small loop-de-loop.

"On my way, Twilight. If Rarity's spirits down, we are just going to have to find a way to pick them up, and UP is my specialty!"

With that, she rocketed out of the library. The back blast of air was so great that Sweetie Belle found herself airborne, but Twilight caught her as she flew by.

"Whoa!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "Thanks, Twilight! Thanks for everything."

---

Carousel Boutique’s dusty windows and carelessly lopsided ‘Closed’ sign told Twilight that Sweetie Belle’s concerns weren’t overblown. There was no way that anypony with Rarity's attention to detail would let that sort of sloppiness get by her.

"She hasn't opened the store for the last two days," Sweetie Belle said grimly.

"Don't worry," Twilight replied, pushing the door open. "We'll find a way to fix this."

---

Rarity barely reacted as she heard the sound of the boutique door swing closed.

Oh, Sweetie Belle is back. I do wish Mother and Father would turn up to take her home. It's just too difficult to pretend any more.

"Rarity?" came a call from the doorway.

NO! she thought desperately. No visitors!

"Oh, Twilight! Please don't come in! I-I'm feeling ill." Rarity moved to sit more fully in the darkened corner near her desk. "It's probably best if you stay away for a few days."

Sweetie Belle moved cautiously into the room and made her way over to her sister. Sitting down in the shadow, she leaned her body in close, trying to gently turn the miserable unicorn.

"I hope you aren't mad, but I brought Twilight. I didn't know what else to do."

Twilight took in the details of Rarity's workshop with growing unease. It was usually a riot of color and fabric, but where there were generally signs of activity, this seemed more like neglect. Rolls of fabric lay discarded on the floor with Rarity's careless hoof prints on them, and dress-forms lay overturned and piled haphazardly in a corner. Worst of all, her friend's design table was conspicuously bare. In all the time that Twilight had known her friend, she had always been working on at least three or four pieces.

"Sweetie Belle, would you mind giving us a few minutes?" Twilight asked quietly. Sweetie Belle slowly walked out of the room but stopped to whisper to Twilight.

"Is she going to be okay?"

Twilight glanced over at the darkened shape in the corner.

"I'm sure she will," she whispered reassuringly. "We aren't going to let her suffer. Now run along."

---

"Please, Rarity. We're worried about you. What's going on?" Twilight stepped carefully around the discarded supplies to be near her friend.

"Do you really want to know, Twilight?" came the soft reply. Rarity turned to look up at Twilight and the studious pony couldn't stifle her gasp in time. The usually impeccably styled pony was a wreck. Her once luxuriously maintained coat was unkempt and her usually expertly coifed hair stood out at odd angles. The melancholy pony stepped out into the light.

"I-I can't do it any more," Rarity managed, her voice shaking. "I'm washed up. I'm out of ideas. I have no inspiration. Everything I've made is out of fashion." Tears streamed down her face and fell softly onto a swatch bright royal blue fabric, slowly darkening the cheerful material. "I'm out of fashion."

"Rarity, it's just a little block," Twilight said bracingly. "All you--"

"Oh, just a little block it is?! Well, look at this!"

Twilight took a quick step back from her angry friend, who had suddenly lunged toward the design table. Rarity grabbed the wastepaper basket and threw it across the room where it slammed against the far wall. The discarded designs floated this way and that through the air, settling all around Twilight. As she gazed at them, she had to admit to herself that they were undeniably terrible.

"Well, let's have it!" fumed the designer. "What do you think of them? Are you taken with their bold, new lines? Dazzled by their inspired palate?"

Twilight searched desperately for something positive to point out.

"Well, this one is, uh, interesting."

"Oh, please don't Twilight. You're a terrible liar, which is a wonderful quality most any other time." Rarity hung her head low. "Oh, Twilight. What am I to do now? I've never been out of ideas. Of course, every idea hasn't always worked out, but I've always had a backup." She turned away from her friend and began to pull the curtains closed, shrouding the room in darkness. "Soon my Cutie Mark will fade away and I'll be a featureless, talentless pony. My life is over."

In the darkness of the room, Twilight allowed herself a small smile. This was a little more like the Rarity that she knew. Maybe talking about the problem was helping at least a little. She would take melodramatic Rarity over miserable Rarity any day.

"Rarity, we are not going to let that happen!" Twilight bounded forward and ripped the curtain back open, flooding the gloomy room with sunlight. Rarity shielded her eyes with one leg as she tried to adjust to the sudden change. "All of us have been through too much together! You have always been there when we needed you and now it's time to return that favor." Twilight sternly walked over to the mournful designer and began pushing her out of the room.

"Now really, Twilight!"

"No arguing! I have just the thing for you, whether you want it or not!"

---

“Oh, Twilight, you didn’t!” Rarity tried to hide herself behind her friend. She could see the rest of their friends rapidly coming down the street.

Twilight turned to regard the cringing unicorn, who was trying in vain to smooth her fly-away hair.

“Oh yes I did! There is no use hiding any more.”

“Twilight,” Applejack’s voice rang out as the 4 ponies approached, “Rainbow here said that somethin’ is wrong with Rarity! What’s all the fuss—whoa Nelly!” The others stopped short as they caught sight of the unhappy unicorn.

“Oh, my!” Fluttershy gasped. “What’s happened?!”

Twilight stepped forward, addressing her friends.

“Rarity has run out of inspiration. She needs our help to get her creative juices flowing again.”

“Oh, jeez! Is that all?” Rainbow Dash flew down and threw her foreleg around Rarity’s shoulder. “You had us really worried! We thought something really bad had happened!” Rarity began to shake with emotion, her eyes welling up.

“This is really bad, Rainbow!” Twilight growled directly into the high-flyer’s face. “How would you feel if you woke up tomorrow and you couldn’t race any more? Rarity has lost her special talent!”

Rainbow Dash looked horrorstruck as she turned back to her friend.

“Is-is that true?”

Rarity swallowed hard and tried not to look at her friends.

“I’m afraid it is. Soon I’ll close this boutique and move away. What use would I be here?”

“Uh-uh, nothin’ doin’!” Applejack consolingly stroked her friend’s shoulder. “Twilight here has a plan to fix ya right up and we’re here to help! We’ll have you workin’ on them fancy duds again in a jiffy!”

“I know, I know!” Pinkie excitedly shouted. “A party! It’s a party, isn’t it, Twilight? No one can be in a funk when it’s time to get funky!” Twilight grinned at her friends’ enthusiasm.

“Well, I had something a little more low-key in mind to start.” Twilight commandingly pointed off into the town’s center. “Girls, this patient needs a spa treatment, stat!”

---

Rarity signed with deep contentment and had to admit to herself that this was exceedingly pleasant. Her friends had treated her to a full body massage and a new mud mask, with special ingredients imported all the way from Marerocco. Now, soaking in a huge tub with her friends, she found herself reflecting on the recent past.

My, my, my, Rarity, you did let yourself fall to pieces, didn't you? I’ve always said there was nothing a long soak and a hooficure couldn’t fix. I suppose we will be putting that to the test. The unicorn let herself sink deep into the revitalizing water, submerging herself nearly to her eyes. She might be a failure, but at least she was a warm failure.

Twilight carefully noted the changing moods of her distressed friend. At the very least, it didn’t look like Rarity was about to burst into tears at a moment’s notice, but certainly wasn’t her old self either.

“So how are you feeling, Rarity?” Twilight tried to ask in a light, conversational tone. “Getting any new ideas?”

Fluttershy made her way over to Rarity’s side and gave her a gentle, mischievous poke.

“Usually when we are here, you tell me about so many ideas that my flank is all wrinkled when I get out! You always said fashion was 10% inspiration and 90% hot water.”

“This is all very lovely, girls, but I’m afraid that I’m still at a loss. I can’t stop thinking about how I can’t think of anything!” She gave her friends a weak smile. “The spark is gone, but life must go on, I suppose.”

Pinkie smacked the surface of the water with her hoof and sternly eyed her friend.

“Well, if this water won’t ignite your fire then we will just have to find someplace that does!”

“Pinkie, you’re a genius!” Twilight exclaimed, her face lighting up. “When was the last time that you really felt inspired, Rarity? Maybe we can trace this back to the source!”

The designer put her hoof to her mouth, considering for a moment.

“Well, I suppose it was our last trip to Canterlot. We stopped off in that ‘Exotic Plants of the Everfree Forest’ exhibit.”

“Oh yes!” Fluttershy cut in, beaming at the warm memories. “That was a wonderful afternoon! The beautiful, rare flowers were so fragrant and lovely!” The gentle pony's mood began to darken a bit as she looked away from her friends. “It’s a shame we stumbled into those laughodils and had to go to the Canterlot Medical Center with Cackle Cramps.”

“Are you kidding?!” Pinkie interjected. “That was the best part of the trip! I laughed so hard I got hiccups, and then I hiccupped so hard, it made me sneeze, and then all the sneezing made me laugh again! Pinkie started to snicker. “Just thinking about it is making me crack up all over again!” With that, she flipped over in the tub, kicking her feet this way and that as a furious stream of bubbles erupted around them. As each bubbled popped, Pinkie’s distinct laugher could be heard.

“Land sakes, that is one silly filly,” Applejack commented, trying but unable to suppress a grin. “Well, what do ya say, Twilight? Should we take a trip back to Canterlot?”

“I think that would be an excellent start,” Twilight rose to her feet, “because Canterlot is home to the single most inspirational place in all of Equestria!”

Rainbow Dash perked up, interested.

“Really?! Where are we going? The Raceway?!”

Twilight gave her friends an enthusiastic grin.

“No, even better! The Canterlot Royal Library!”

The studious pony stared in bewilderment as groans erupted around her.

Author's Note:

I'll be revising this soon so many of the problems you see here will be going away. Hopefully.

Comments

[muter3456]

Hey! I remember prereading this! Glad to see it got posted finally!

Also, lookin good!

[xjuggernaughtx]

1028063 Thanks! I wish it hadn't been approved and posted in the middle of the night, though. I think it's kinda going to go under the radar.

[muter3456]

1029056 I shall get you some publicity from my friends, then!

[xjuggernaughtx]

1029656 That would be awesome! Also, it will have a bunch of updates, since I wrote it in chapters. So people will probably see it pop up again. Or maybe not. I just realized I don't really know how the updates work. I think they show up in the new updates section...

Still, people still find A Door Jam somehow, so this one will be found, as well.

Thanks for the support. The second chapter is almost done, so you can read that one early if you want.

[muter3456]

1029686 Yep, they do show up in the Updates section, so people will find it anyways.

And nah, as much as it sounds tempting, unless you want me to do some proofreading/editing, then I'll just wait like everybody else.