"So who was the guy who ordered all this stuff?" Spike asked as he sat on the table, looking through the pile of rough sketches.
"A very wealthy pony from Manehatten." Rarity muttered idly a she drew another quick sketch. She scowled and drew a small 'X' in the corner, signifying that the drawing was unacceptable. "No, this will never do."
"What are you talking about?" Spike asked, grabbing the drawing to examine the intricate dress. "They look fine to me."
"Exactly! It's just fine. He is not paying for fine, he is paying for perfection. He needs them to look genuine, not just a copy." Rarity huffed, crossing her forelegs on the table, eyeing the pile of denied designs. "None of those are anywhere near what they should be in terms of quality."
"Well you certainly have the quantity to make up for it." Twilight noted quietly. "There must be dozens of designs in there. How are none of them acceptable?"
"There's actually one hundred and forty three designs in there, and none of them are acceptable because they're all terrible!"
Twilight sighed, knowing nothing she could say would help Rarity in her current state of mind. Instead she grabbed a few of the designs with her magic and began examining them. Each piece was beautifully detailed and looked as if she copied them out of the book itself. Sighing, Twilight placed the designs back on the pile and used her magic to pick up Spike and placed him on her back.
"What gives?" Spike asked warily.
"Nothing, I just figured maybe we were being a distraction." Twilight said sincerely, eyes focused on Rarity.
"You aren't being a distraction." Rarity tutted, flashing a quick smile to Twilight.
"Even so, it's getting pretty dark out." Twilight sighed, looking at the clock that sat above the door.
"I guess it is rather late." Rarity agreed, adding a quick 'X' to another drawing. "But I should at least get one design done before I move on."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Please Twilight, I'm a professional." Rarity said with a small laugh. "Besides, if I don't get at least one done soon, how can I expect to get twelve done?"
"I'll talk to you later Rarity." Twilight sighed dismissively, shaking her head as she neared the door.
"Good night Twilight. Good night Spike." Rarity said as Twilight opened the door, turning her attention back to the drawings.
"G'night." Spike muttered as they left the boutique, closing the door behind them.
Rarity's ears perked when she heard the door shut, and she yawned lightly. She turned to the pile of designs and spread them out on the table to gt a better look at them.
What am I doing wrong? Rarity though to herself, grabbing one of the sketches that she made of a suit and began studying it, noting every flaw. The hat? May be a tad rambunctious. The neck tie? Too poofy. The suit? Too formal, not dark enough. The tail of the suit? Not formal enough, too long.
She tossed the paper back on the pile and used her magic to take a cushion off of the couch. She fluffed it to make it more comfortable then placed it on the table, where she began banging her head on the table. After a few seconds of that she placed her chin on the cushion, feeling defeated. There was a small knock on the door, causing Rarity to throw the cushion back on the couch and perk up.
"Come in." Rarity said sweetly.
The door swung open and Simmons strolled in, bags under his eyes. Rarity stared at him concernedly as he slowly trudged inside.
"Hello." Simmons sighed as he walked past her.
"Oh dear, Simmons are you look positively tired." Rarity said worriedly. "What happened?"
"Nothing. We came up with two thousand eight hundred and seventy two different ways for them to try and get their cutie marks." Simmons grunted, plopping down on the couch. "We started with accounting, but I think they may be a bit too young for that. Do you think they're too young for accounting? I'm too exhausted to tell."
"I'm not sure." Rarity said honestly, approaching Simmons. "But it's nice to hear that you managed to help out their little club and run through the entire alphabet of-"
"We finished up llama ranching, so we're only half way done." Simmons interrupted lightly. He then groaned and began rubbing his eyes. "Wait, are llamas people here too? I mean you have zebras so how do I know if you have llamas. Are giraffes people too? I hope that didn't sound racist. I mean I'm Dutch-Irish, and that isn't exactly-"
"Simmons, you're over tired and over worked." Rarity said in a hushed voice. Eyeing him carefully, she formed a quick idea. "You need a small vacation."
"I may need some rest, but I doubt I need any actual vacation."
"I will hear none of that Simmons, I insist. You need a break." Rarity said, floating the book in front of her to look at it. "In fact I may take a few days off myself."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? You have a lot of orders to fulfill..."
"We have the time." Rarity shook her head, placing the book back on the table. "We have a few months until we have to complete those designs, and even then we only have a few orders to fulfill. Besides, it is always necessary to take a break once and a while."
"Overworking does lead to stress, anxiety and insomnia..."
"An excellent point." Rarity agreed, taking a seat on the couch next to him. "So what say you, Simmons? Care to take a few nights off and relax?"
"But I promised the girls that I would help them finish organizing. We're only halfway through the alphabet, then I have to go out and get folders and-"
"Nonsense. They have two thousand eight hundred and seventy two different activities to do until they need you again. I'm sure they can wait a few measly days."
"I guess that's true." Simmons shrugged.
"Great." Rarity smiled happily.
Simmons stared quietly at Rarity, eyes not shifting slightly.
"Is something the matter?" Rarity asked hesitantly.
"I don't do breaks a lot." Simmons murmured thoughtfully. "What exactly do I do?"
"Well for one, you should stop thinking too hard." Rarity said amusingly.
Simmons nodded and began floating a piece of paper along with a quill over to the couch.
"You don't need to take notes." Rarity giggled, using her magic to put the paper and quill back to where they were. She looked at the clock and back to Simmons. "For starters we can go out for a meal together in an hour or so."
"You want to go to dinner together?"
"What's a meal between friends?"
"I guess, sure." Simmons nodded tiredly.
"Great." Rarity smiled again. She looked back at the pile of designs and hummed. "I guess I should put that away this stuff..."
"Give me a few minutes and I'll help." Simmons said as he got off the couch.
"Thank you but that's unnecessary." Rarity said, using her magic to put him back on the couch. "Have some rest, you of all ponies deserve it."
"I can help just a little bit." Simmons grunted, getting off the couch again.
"Simmons, you've done enough for tonight." Rarity said reassuringly, once again using her magic to put him back on the couch.
"But I want to help." Simmons whined, starting to get off the couch.
"I know you do." Rarity chuckled lightheartedly. She used her magic and placed him on his side so his head was on the cushion, where she held him in place until he stopped trying to get up. "Don't worry, I'll wake you up when it is time to go."
"You know, I can sort of see why Grif likes sleeping now." Simmons said, head sinking into the cushion. "This thing is really comfy."
"Much like my clothing, I expect my furniture to be top of the line originals." Rarity said as she quickly sorting the pile into two separate, smaller piles, one for dresses and one for suits. After two minutes she was done sorting, so she put them into two separate drawers. Feeling a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she turned to Simmons and smiled. "Simmons, would you be a dear and-"
Rarity stopped mid-sentence when she saw Simmons' eyes closed as he snored lightly, already asleep. She smirked and grabbed one of the folded silk sheets and threw it over Simmons as she trotted upstairs to get ready for dinner.