//------------------------------// // White Eyes of Sheer Despite // Story: Apparition Amphitheater Presents: Forsaken Fashion Dolls // by Nightmare_0mega //------------------------------// It had been a couple days since the pig catastrophe. Carousel Boutique had been completely restored, and Rarity had finally managed to make some decent headway on the projects she managed to salvage. Unfortunately, not all of them could be saved, and she instead had to start from scratch on those, but thankfully the customers in-waiting for those commissions were kind enough to give her a pass. At least, most of them. There was one particular customer. Spoiled Rich, wife of the illustrious and wealthy Filthy Rich, had placed such order that ended up ruined. While other customers were understanding over the situation and gave her more time, Spoiled was much less forgiving of the matter, berating her for not being able to control a trio of blank-flanks once Rarity explained the situation. Worse, she decided to twist the knife a bit and threaten to cancel the order if it wasn't complete by tomorrow. If she wanted any hope of completing it, she'd need to make that one her sole priority over all others. It really put a damper on her mood, and somewhat choked her creativity a bit. Her movement and drive became less flowing and more methodical as she diligently worked on Spoiled Rich's dress, doing what she could to finish it in time, or better yet have it finished with time to spare. Never the less, it was going to be a long day. At the very least, the new ponnequins she began to use worked splendidly. They seemed to fit nearly any sort of clothing very well, just like her old ones, and seemed to be soft to the touch but tough enough to take any needle pokes and prods without so much as a scratch. The only thing that seemed to cause her to pause from time to time were the very feint squeaks she heard every now and then as she worked on her projects. She did have Twilight look them over yesterday when she couldn't take the curiosity any more, but even she found nothing out of the ordinary. Not even a rogue mouse somehow trapped inside was detected. Despite the issues, both minor and major, she kept working on the tedious dress, wanting nothing more than to work on something else for the time being. Her eyes drooped as much as her mood slowly sank, until she finally took a step back and gained some reason. Rubbing her temples, she gave a heavy sigh, and decided to retreat to the kitchen for a relaxing cup of green tea. It didn't take her long to fetch the set and start to boil the water. However, as she was about to finish her final preparations, she heard the front door open and the shop bell ring. "I'm home, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle announced, as she raced through the building and up the stairs. Rarity gave a smile and light shake of her head as she began pouring the hot green tea into her favorite cup, ready to drink. Just as she was about to take a sip, Sweetie suddenly raced up behind her and slammed against her leg with a hug. It was enough to kick Rarity out of her concentration to drop the little cup of tea, where it smashed upon impact. The once fine china cup now lay scattered about in shards of white fragments; its contents soaking the floor. Rarity's eye twitched. "Oh, s-sorry," her sister said apologetically, "I didn't know you were making tea." Rarity gave a tired, if irritable, sigh, "It's alright, Sweetie. Just be careful next time. So, how was school?" "It was alright, I guess," she sighed, "A little boring. We were learning about legendary creatures that live in the Everfree, but what we were taught were about things we already knew about: cocatrices, cragadiles, and timber-wolves. Though, Miss Cheerilee did say she'll be covering some of the spookier creatures next week, like 'phantoms' and 'wil-o-whisps'." "That's nice," she said halfheartedly, gathering up the broken shards of the cup and putting them into a small satchel. "I'll have to take these to a dish repair shop when I have time. Just another thing on my to-do list, I'm afraid." "Oh, do you need help?" "No, Sweetie. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I can't be distracted right now. Spoiled Rich came by today and... didn't take my news about what happened at the shop very well. She wants me to complete her order by tomorrow, so I'll need to do what I can to make sure it's finished tonight. This means I won't be able to help you with any of your homework this time around." "Aww," the little filly belly-ached, "Can I go and see my friends then?" "Have you finished the chores Applejack had set up for you and your friends?" "Yes." "Then, I'm afraid for now the answer is no." "But-!" "I told you, Sweetie. You're grounded until I've finished these orders." "Then, can I help you finish them?" "No," Rarity replied with a bit more ire in her voice, "I don't have the time or the patience for that. Spoiled Rich's order is VERY particular, and I don't want to leave any imperfections of mistakes if I can help it, lest I lose her as a client." I'm not exactly fond of her, myself, but I'd rather retain as many clients I can, even those that are influential and persuasive. "But, I promise I won't get in the way!" Sweetie whined. "I said no!" Rarity barked, "I need all the concentration I can muster to make sure I complete this order. Just, go to your room, and do your homework." "But-" "I SAID GO TO YOUR ROOM!" Rarity all but shrieked. The little filly raced out of the kitchen and into her room, slamming the door behind her. Rarity huffed, and tossed the tea set into the sink, storming back into the studio thereafter to continue work. For a moment or two, she applied as much concentration as she could, sewing patterns and stitching together materials, hiding seams and trying to bring just one part of it altogether, but soon her mind wandered a bit. Her hardened scowl of irritation and effort fueled fixation began to soften and waver, as she glanced back behind her, hearing light sobs. As Celestia's sun began to slowly set against the horizon, so too did Rarity's heart begin to sink from the muffled sound of her sister as her work drive came to a screeching halt. She gave a heavy, heartache filled sigh as she stared in the direction of Sweetie's room, contemplating on whether she should drop her work entirely and comfort the poor girl, and apologize for snapping at her like that. She had likely hours upon hours left before she could consider Mrs. Rich's commission done. It would only take a few moments of consolation. Moments that may turn to hours of horsing about and involuntary play time. It was always like that. However, as much as it pained her to do so, she shook her head turned away from the crying and forced herself to return her attention to the project at hand. She kept sewing and threading, measuring and cutting new material for decoration and application, slowly but surely molding the dress to how it should be, and how it was before the pig disaster happened. She scowled a tad upon thinking about it. It hurt to consider, but after the repercussions of the event effecting her more fully today, she couldn't help but feel a little more resentment. She grimaced and shut her eyes, letting a tear leak through, as she tried to discard such a toxic thought. Suddenly, and rather sharply, she heard something scrape against the floor. It was quick, harsh, and ominous. She stopped, and turned her gaze in the direction of the noise, trying to locate its origin. She looked about the room, now glowing with the red evening light from the windows, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. The only thing that seemed only slightly out of place was the ponnequin on the far end being slightly askew. She rubbed her eyes deeply, believing she was only seeing things due to the odd evening lighting, stepped off her work stool before her project, and headed for the lamp, setting it alight to illuminate the room properly. As she did, she heard another scrape. Rarity spun around quickly to try to see what made that noise, and saw nothing once again. Everything was as it should be. Even the ponnequin that was slightly askew was back the way it was. She approached it slowly, her heart beginning to quicken as she got close and closer. Upon being mere inches away, she reached out with her hoof to touch the inanimate mock pony's cheek. Suddenly, its head turned directly at Rarity, causing her to jump back. Not a moment later, the other ponnequin heads snapped toward her direction. Rarity backed away, shocked and terrified of what was happening, just before she tripped over something and blacked out. -o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o- Rarity woke up with a start, lying upon the floor of the studio, next to the ponnequins and projects, whom all sat where they belonged. She rose back up to her hooves, dusted herself off, and gently patted against her aching side that landed on the ground. Upon gazing about, she noticed it was night time. The lamp was on, and the only sound she could hear at the moment was the sound of the crickets outside. She looked back toward the direction of her sister's room, and listened close, swiveling her ears to better focus. Nothing. Not a sob came from her sister's room. She decided it was time to check up on her sister. It was the very least she could do, after what she did prior. She only hoped she could make up for it tomorrow. It wasn't long before she arrived at Sweetie's bedroom door, and upon opening it, she found her sister fast asleep, books and papers scattered, but complete, and her saddlepack put off to the side. Rarity gave a weak smile, as she let her horn flare up, gather the papers and books, and put them neatly off to the side beside the saddlepack. She then walked into the room, tucked her sister into bed, and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead, before exiting the room and shutting the door behind her. As soon as she had, she made her way back to her studio and went back to work, diligently pouring all of her effort into completing Mrs. Rich's commission. Stitch by stitch, moment by moment, and fabric by fabric, the new dress began to take shape and form, becoming the masterpiece it was planned to be. At least, the masterpiece she hoped it would be. She worked long into the night, pouring every ounce of energy into it until, finally, it was done. She looked out of the window and into the night sky, gazing up at the full moon before her. It's a lovely night. She yawned and stretched, and moved away from the commission, looking it over from a distance, and giving it a final once over. Satisfied with how it turned out finally, and glad it was done, she decided it was now time to go to bed. Leaving the studio, she turned off the lamp, as well as other light sources as she went around the Boutique, until she reached the bathroom. Once there, quickly went through her nightly routine just before she finally retired to her bedroom, turned out the lights, and jumped into her snug, tightly made bed. Before she closed her eyes, she flared her horn once more, set her alarm clock, and slipped on her soft night-mask, sighing in satisfaction. Tomorrow is a brand new day, she thought, I'll make up with Sweetie and finish the orders as quick as possible. -o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o- A loud scraping sound kicked Rarity out of her slumber as she jumped out of bed, scattering sheets around the room in her panic. She looked about for a moment, beginning to get worried as she couldn't see anything, before she realized her mask was still on. Removing the mask, she took a second look around. There was silence for a moment or two before she heard another loud scrape. Shivering, Rarity slowly approached the door to her room and gently opened it to peek outside. She leaned back and forth, trying to see if anything was wrong. Upon hearing yet another scraping sound, but still seeing nothing, she opened the door all the way and left her room. Before she decided to look around the house, she headed straight for her sister's room. Opening the door, she saw Sweetie Belle was still asleep, safe and sound. Rarity wondered if she was just a heavy sleeper, or couldn't hear that awful noise. Regardless, Sweetie Belle seemed to be alright for now. With that relief in mind, she set about looking around the Boutique. First starting in the Bathroom, she found nothing. Then, proceeding to the kitchen, she gazed about and found even more nothing. It wasn't until she checked the studio that she found something wrong. All five of her ponnequins were gone. Before she could even react to her missing purchase and her projects, she heard another scrape, coming from the showroom. She peeked around the corner and looked into the room, and found one of the ponnequins set in front of the door. Despite all of her instincts telling her to run, she couldn't help but approach the statuesque mimic. She reached for it, just before its head spun around and stared directly at her. She jumped back in fright, landing on her rump, before she scrambled to get back to her hooves and flee. As she she was about to take off back through the boutique, she ran into another one, which caused her to fall back once again. She gasped in fright as she began to hear more scraping sounds. First to her left, as another ponnequine appeared. Then to her right, as yet another emerged from seemingly nowhere. She gazed back behind her, where the front door was, and saw now two were blocking the exit. Even if she had an opening, she wouldn't leave without Sweetie. Even if she made you delay again? "Wh-what?" Rarity stuttered, frightfully bewildered, seeming to hear a distorted version of her own voice. You'd have been done long ago if she weren't here. "N-no!" You wouldn't have to feel so bad about something so time consuming and pointless. "STOP IT!" Too late now. "I SAID SHUT UP!" she shrieked as she scrambled back to her hooves and attempted to strike one of them. Suddenly, the one attacked swiftly snapped its foreleg, and struck Rarity away, causing her to crash back to the ground. From the point of contact, however, floated what seemed to be an elongated strand of thread. As Rarity rose back to her hooves once again, she rubbed her cheek, only to find something poking out from it. She gripped it with her hoof and pulled on nothing but thread. The very lengthy thread that was hovering in the air. Her eyes widened in horror as the unicorn ponnequin's horn flared crimson, and engulfed the tail end of the thread. You aren't needed anymore. So easy. So emotional. It's time to move on. The thread then began to tug, and pull away from Rarity, splitting her alabaster coat like fraying fabric. Beneath the coat, however, was a hard surface, almost like the ponnequins' surrounding her. As the thread kept pulling, more of her coat began to split and come away. Pieces of her coat and mane began to fall away as her breath quickened, becoming harsher by the second, until the fear finally took over, and she screamed.