Concepts & Creations – TvE: Belle · 4:23pm Mar 29th, 2020
There's been a lot of delays for reasons both obvious and not, but at long last it’s time for the next C&C involving my Trixie vs. Equestria continuation series. This time we’ll be talking about the best of the Mane 6 (Yeah, I said it. Come at me, bro). As with all the previous times, this will undoubtedly spoil events at the end of Order of Shadows that I’ve yet to write, so a spoiler alert is in effect.
Near the end of TvE, Trixie and the Mane 6 went to the slums in the Crystal Caverns beneath Canterlot. There they met with Fancy Pants, colloquially known as The Gentlepony. Fancy had been caught trying to secretly fund Cadance’s and Shining Armor’s rebellion in the Crystal Empire. Unlike his co-conspirator Blueblood, Fancy was not sent to join the couple in Tartarus. Instead he was made a public example and banished to the Slums for life. While there, he used his charisma and substantial leadership talents to become the leader of one of the Slums’ major gangs. By the time of TvE, he was the most powerful pony in the Canterlot Slums.
Trixie needed the ponies of the Slums to act as a distraction so that she and the Mane 6 could get inside Canterlot Castle. To this end, they asked Fancy for help. Fancy agreed on one condition: that if they failed to defeat Evilestia, Rarity would stay with him in the Slums as part of his team of advisors. Rarity agreed. Of course, the Trixie and the Mane 6 defeated Evilestia, returning the real Celestia to the throne, so Rarity was freed from the obligation.
Rarity suffered significant hurdles after the defeat of Evilestia. She had plenty of funds through a lifetime of sound financial management, but otherwise was in a rut. Her reputation had already been heinously slandered among the elites, not all of whom considered the change in government to be a good thing. She was not only forced to restart her career from scratch, but with a serious public relations handicap. That she refused to stop supporting the newly crowned Princess Trixie did her few favors.
When the Slums were closed, Fancy Pants was given a full pardon. Ever-ambitious and determined to rebuild the financial and publicity empire he’d been forced from, he immediately begins building inroads to various Canterlot businesses. But, like Rarity, he is a tarnished pony, and getting a leg up on the social and business scene proves a significant challenge, especially considering he's completely broke.
When our story begins, Fancy learns that Rarity is having similar problems. He goes to her with the offer of a business partnership. Individually, they are capable and might have a chance at their ambitions. Together, they’d be unstoppable. Rarity, quickly seeing the appeal, agrees.
At the start of the story, we watch as Rarity works together with Fancy Pants to build for themselves a corner in the fashion market. Their combined creativity, talent, business acumen, and sheer charisma makes them a matchless pair, and their comeback becomes a public certainty. As they work together in a seemingly perfect harmony, Rarity can’t help but become infatuated with her new partner, and a fairy tale romance begins. It’s not long before the two are engaged.
Then… she starts noticing things. Fancy’s time in the Slums hardened him and warped his concepts of how business should work. When he can’t get his way through charisma and talent, he begins using other methods, methods involving hired muscle, shady backroom deals, and outright blackmail. Rarity dismisses her suspicions at first, but as time goes by she comes to realize that Fancy Pant’s ambitions are more like obsessions, and his time in the Slums have given him a taste for power.
Soon, Rarity wakes up to find herself entangled in a web of criminal activity headed by none other than her fiance. Her attempts to correct his actions reveal Fancy’s true nature, and their relationship becomes an abusive one. But she can’t just quit the partnership; it turns out Fancy’s been arranging things, and leaving him and their business would be fatal. Oh, not for her, no. But she has friends. A dragon assistant. A little sister.
The majority of the story related Rarity’s continuous struggle to outwit her fiance and escape the dangerous situation she’s found herself in. Along the way, we get an inside look at the sheer corruption of Equestria’s elite and their willingness to ignore or even accommodate Fancy’s criminal activities for their own gains. The story would be all about social and political intrigue, a matching of wits between Rarity and Fancy.
Spike would indeed be a major aspect of the story. In TvE it was established that he left Twilight’s side (on good terms, I assure you) to be Rarity’s full-time assistant. This hasn’t changed by the time of this story. This means Spike would be deeply involved in the story, though I’m not sure if Rarity would have confided in him or if she’d have worked to keep him unaware of the struggle. The intent would be for him to act as Rarity’s primary source of positivity throughout the story, being both encouraging and supportive at all times. And no, it was never intended as a Sparity, except perhaps in a friendshipping way.
There’s also the question of who might ally themselves with Rarity, or perhaps be fruitful to her goals. There are her friends, of course, but their involvement isn’t exactly clear. I figure Twilight would have to make some appearances, if only because of Spike’s presence. I also considered having Trixie make multiple appearances; seeing as Rarity lives in Canterlot, I figured Trixie could make Rarity a confidant to her struggles as a leader. Fancy would, of course, completely support this for the reputation boost, but how Trixie might play a part in Rarity’s schemes against him are unclear. Pinkie Pie, who also lives in (or at least, near) Canterlot might also be involved. For clarity, know that this story would take place before Pinkie’s.
This story was also meant to be an accompaniment to Applejack’s story. Where Applejack’s shows the actions of the common pony and their drive to rebel against the elites that have always dominated their existence, Rarity’s was to show the perspective of the elites, which would both confirm the problem while also revealing those among the aristocracy who agree that change is needed and actively seek it – they aren't all corrupt, after all. As Rarity’s story is the first to happen chronologically, it would also provide an aristocrat’s view of the events that would ultimately lead to the clash in Applejack’s story.
Above all else, the story would be about Rarity’s sense of generosity and nobility winning out over Fancy’s aggression and deceptiveness. Like the other stories, this one would show her truly coming into her Element, using her gifts and inner nature to form a deeply personal coalition to deal with the problem. The solution would not be without its sacrifices, though I was never clear on just what those sacrifices would be.
So that’s that. With Marshmallow Pony done, there’s only Book Horse to contend with, and then we get to what all these are leading up to. I’m rather looking forward to it.
Been a very long time since I read thise previous stories. I am looking forward to the new tale you will be writing.
Unless you decide to do Bulletproof Heart instead. I'm really waiting for that second series.
It really sucks to see good ponies like Fancypants so beat down by the system that it's fundamentally changed them for the worst. And poor Rarity is caught up in the aftermath of so much upheaval. But, this sounds like the perfect environment for her to participate in and use her social skills to counter Fancypants'. I'm curious to know what the endgame of this one would have been like. Would Rarity be forced to kill Fancypants, would she win him over to her side of things, or would they reach some sort of stalemate that would resolve in a future story?
Looking forward to more of these to found out!
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None of the C&C stories are going to be written, or at least I have zero expectations of doing so. The future could always surprise me. BPH is still my top priority, although I'm taking a break for a few weeks from it in order to indulge a sudden rediscovery of my love for horror stories.
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Although I know for sure that Rarity would come out on top and 'defeat' Fancy, his ultimate fate was never decided upon. Imprisonment? Death in some final conflict? I just don't know. But whatever happens, I know this story would have had a decisive ending for him. Which wasn't as important as Rarity discovering her full potential as an Element Bearer.