//------------------------------// // 7: Right Where I Want Her [Slice of Life...ish?] // Story: Thirty Minutes of Fabulosity // by Esle Ynopemos //------------------------------// ((Prompt: If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.)) Silver Thread allowed herself a triumphant smirk. She had finally won. Sure, it had been a nasty battle, with no small amount of blackmail, spreading rumors to tabloids, and a fair chunk of mane-biting. She had spent a significant portion of her personal fortune to make this happen, but it was all worth it to put this upstart seamstress in her place. The Canterlot fashion scene was as cutthroat as it came, and it was time for Silver to show this small-town yokel that she had competed against the wrong mare. “So, if you won't leave Canterlot,” she said, false friendliness dripping from her tone like poison, “I'm afraid I really won't have much choice. Neither of us really want that, do we?” She grinned at the upstart unicorn, this 'Rarity.' A full minute ticked away on the wall-clock as Rarity sat at her desk, her hooves pressed together in front of her nose, giving Silver no response. Silver Thread smirked. No doubt this amateur was rendered speechless by how utterly she had crushed her. At length, Rarity finally cleared her throat. “Well, I suppose I'll have to leave, then.” Her tone was quite even, and her face remained neutral. Silver Thread couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She had been hoping her opponent would struggle at least a little. A bit of wailing and gnashing of teeth would have made it feel like a more satisfying victory. Still, it was a victory all the same. “We'll all miss you here, but I'm glad you see reason.” Rarity nodded her head. “Yes, it's for the best, really. I'll pack my things and close up shop. I should be on the train to Ponyville by Monday.” She put a hoof to her chin. “Oh, but I just wonder what will become of my designs?” “Your designs?” Silver's smile wavered slightly. Where was she going with this? “Yes, my designs. Why, after my shop closes, you won't be able to find them in Canterlot anymore. They'll become something of a,” she chuckled, “a rarity!” Silver blinked. “Yes... I suppose they will.” Rarity's eyes glinted. “In fact they'll probably become, dare I say, vintage!” A look of horror washed across Silver's eyes. “V-vintage?” “Ooh, I daresay I like the sound of that.” Rarity waved a hoof dramatically toward the window, gesturing at the cityscape. “Rarity's Vintage Fashions! That sounds like something ponies would pay good bits for, don't you think?” The smile was now completely gone from Silver's lips, replaced by a troubled frown. “Of course,” Rarity continued, “I'll still be making them over in Ponyville. Can you imagine, some small town where you can find fashions that go for, well, by that point it'll be hundreds of bits each in Canterlot? Why, Ponyville would become the new mecca of the fashion world!” “Hundreds...” Silver repeated. “I must say, it almost certainly is for the best. I'll get to be in Ponyville, selling dresses to ponies all across Equestria from the comfort of my own hometown, and you...” She coughed into her hoof. “Well, I'm sure you'll manage. Sure, maybe it'll burn every time you see somepony paying ten times what they pay for your designs in order to get their hooves on something designed by a small-town yokel, but, like you said, it's best for everypony.” Silver Thread's eyelid twitched. “I... you...” Rarity gave her a knowing smirk. “Of course, if you would rather I stay here in Canterlot, I am sure we can work something out. I have a partnership contract here you could sign, if you like.” She scooted a stack of papers across the desk towards her. “You would be working for me, of course, but... oh, how can I put this tactfully? You could stand to benefit, I think, from working under somepony that understands the finer points of design.” Silver hesitantly took the contract in her hooves. “Who knows,” Rarity said, “you might learn something!” “But... but I...” Silver Thread stuttered, her lip quivering. Rarity gave her a sympathetic pat on the back. “Now, I don't expect you to make your decision immediately, darling. Go ahead and give that a look over.” Her horn glowed, and the door to Rarity's office opened behind Silver. “Oh, and could you be a dear and send the next pony in? Thank you!”