Usually not one for tacky clothing or far-out ideas, Rarity nonetheless fulfils a generous if somewhat embarrassing dressmaking commission to please Derpy Hooves.
Unfortunately for her, a generous act can have... strange and unexpected consequences, especially when poor, simple, over-the-moon-grateful Derpy insists on repaying the kind deed.
Of course, Rarity will take it all in stride. And so will everyone else. It's only fashion, after all. No one ever gets silly or over-the-top about that, right?
Impossible Numbers' entry for The Obselescence Memorial Jinglemas Twinglemas Secret Santa Sendoff: Part 2 Edition!
My specific prompt from DragonGeek: tagged "Rarity", tagged "Derpy Hooves", rated "Everyone", no romance.
Chapters (1)
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Glad you enjoyed it! The Secret Santa project was a blast, and it's nice to write a (in this case, farcical) story specifically as a gift to a fellow user. I'm so pleased you liked what I had to offer.
I think the ‘political acumen’ line is when I finally burst out laughing. This was a delightful riot
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Glad you enjoyed it.
Honestly, the whole dinner scene was probably my favourite scene to write, tied with the opening.
Have I ever said that you're a treasure? Because you are. :D
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You might have mentioned before something to that effect, yes.
Oh my God, this was amazing writing. Rarity, Rarity, Rarity, I was so torn between laughing at her suffering and also feeling sympathy to her as well; you did a superb job with the characterization throughout all of this.
Very well-written and with excellent grammar. It kept my attention to the end, though I must admit I acutely felt Rarity's discomfort throughout - the poor, poor, poor thing.
Still, she never once blew up at the well-meaning Derpy, which was no small feat of colossal self-control... especially considering that was an event I felt sure was inevitable.
I rather appreciated that moment of clarity, where Rarity considered that the snowball of events could've all been avoided had she refused Derpy's request. It was very mature of her given all the trouble she'd been through, and a stark contrast to some of the more childish and selfish renderings of her I've come across on this site. Seriously, I love just how polite her dialogues are here.
Derpy's burst-in apology was also a welcome respite from Rarity's discomfort, and served to endear us to the little gray pegasus in spite of everything.
LOL. Cursive in a nutshell.
For what it was, it was well-executed. Thank you for sharing.
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Goodness me, I come back after nearly a week to find quite a few comments from you scattered about. Talk about a surprising pleasure!
I'll do the comments justice at a later date, but suffice it to say I at least want you to know how gratifying it is to see such enthusiasm. Ta very much, and I'm glad my 'umble stories hath pleased thee so, guv'nor.
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While I'm at it, I should say thank you for leaving this comment too. Getting Rarity right is always a major concern of mine whenever I write her character, especially given how much of a balancing act she can be between generosity and greed. Glad you enjoyed it!
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A large part of it was that I was inspired by the hi-jinks of Jeeves and Wooster (initial innocuous event snowballs into a massive mess, and an intelligent bystander works it all out so that all's well that ends well). Unfortunately, the manipulative aspect felt a bit off, so a large part of the ending was meant to address that and keep all the characters on the sympathetic side (e.g. Celestia is prepared to take the blame should the scheme fail, Derpy has to at least have some awareness of the misery she's unintentionally inflicting, and Rarity cannot be allowed to respond maliciously). Honestly, it even helped the comedy a bit; if someone's fighting to be polite and respectful despite their own desire to strangle someone... then heap more misery on them and watch the veins pulse on their forehead! A good chunk of comedy is refined cruelty.
On a tangential note, I try to avoid blow-ups as some sort of resolution. In real life, they're more likely to cause problems than solve them. Plus, as you say, they're pretty immature. I mean, it's fine as maybe a character trait/flaw or as a way to, well, cause more problems, but having a massive, unintelligent, cathartic outburst at someone is not a mature way to solve any issue.
Thanks for the comments, by the way. They were a pleasure to read, and I'm sure they'd be really impressive if they were in cursive.