Uninspired
Written by: ponyofawesome92
Rarity groaned as she looked at the hideous dress she made. Well, the dress wasn't hideous, it was actually rather lovely. But it was all wrong for this new client.
The client hadn't been very particular about the style of dress, or the color. Rarity had no idea what to do and it was infuriating.
The problem was, this client was a goth. Rarity had styled for goths before, on Nightmare Night. But this? She wanted a pretty dress, something she could wear everyday.
Rarity did not do well with everyday causal. She took a glance at her sketch-book and sighed in dismay, the colors were all wrong! Bright pink, what was she thinking!
"Why is this so annoying!? I've done harder orders before... but something about this client just rubs me the wrong way."
Rarity grumbled to herself as she fiddled with the dress.
The dress itself was beautiful, a long mermaid style trim with a a-line neck in bright pink. The only thing was the color wasn't right, and it had way to many sparkles. It was like she was designing for Pinkie Pie.
"Maybe if it's a bit shorter here, ooh and change the color of course." She muttered.
The dress was being altered at an amazingly fast pace and Rarity's hands were now flying, they were blurring in front of her face and after a while she smiled and stepped back from the dress.
It was now about three cementers shorter, with a fuller neckline that wrapped all around the neck and jutted out on the sleeves a bit. The dress was lacier now, with a ruffled bottom that floated downwards.
She smiled as she got a black fabric switch from her supplies.
"Now should I do a gold or red ribbon for the trim?" She asked herself.
She decided on the gold, it would stand out more and everything needed a little bit of sparkle and dazzle. Well in her mind it did.
She finished making the bow on the waist of the gown and took a step back to admire her work. She smiled brightly and snapped her fingers.
"Yes!! This is perfect!" She exclaimed gleefully.
Rarity hopped her nerves didn't show. She was now showing off the dress to the client. The client was an odd one, she was completely diffrent form Rarity's usual, really.
She had pitch black hair that looked cheaply dyed, Rarity could see brown roots behind the black. She shuddered at the thought of dying her natural purple hair.
The girl looked critically at the design and then frowned deeply, she shook her head and Rarity's heart fell. She had been so proud of this one, she was hoping that she would love it as much as she did. But it turns out she was wrong.
"I don't think this dress is really....Me." The client exclaimed after a while of thought.
Trying not to show her frustration and disappointment, Rarity sighed and smiled. She was trying to keep calm.
"Well, you uh didn't really give me much of an opinion on what you wanted." She explained.
The girl laughed and shook her head, Rarity smiled along with her but inside she was crying out in annoyance.
"I thought it was really obvious what I wanted." She replied.
Rarity groaned inwardly. "Well, it wasn't darling. I've never done something this complex before." She replied with a hint of annoyance.
Her client gave her a look, she looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it certainly was not.
"I thought it was easy, but if you don't have the guts to do it... I can take my money somewhere else-"
Rarity had cut her off by squeaking nervously and waving her hands wildly. The client looked at her in confusion.
"No, no, no! That's quite alright!! Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it! I'll make the ugli-I mean, the most beautiful dress you have ever seen in your entire life!" She replied.
The girl looked at her haughtily and smiled, her smile wasn't a nice one.
"Well, you'd better! If you don't, I'll have to tell everyone in town how much of a failure you are! We wouldn't want that now would we?" She mocked with a sneer.*
Rarity gulped and smiled nervously, she had no idea why this girl she didn't even know was treating her this way. It made her more than a little anxious.
She tried very hard to keep her composure though, and she smiled warmly at the frowning girl.
"Sure thing! I'll make it however you want it!" She replied.
She didn't need the business loss she would surely get if this girl spread mindless gossip about her, nothing seemed to be going right today.
Rarity blushed with anger as the client and herself walked towards the front door of the Boutique. She smiled as cheerfully as she could however as the client turned around before leaving.
"You'd better, or I'll be very disappointed." She exclaimed before slamming the door in Rarity's face.
"Well I never!" Rarity exclaimed with a huff.
She was now walking back to her work station and she was feeling more hopeless than before.
How can I make this dress if I don't even know what she wants!? It's so unfair! Why do I even do this to myself!? Rarity griped to herself as she worked on the sowing machine.
She stopped abruptly as an idea sparked. Or maybe it was a realization.
I don't have to do this! I don't have to be bullied into making something gorgeous! I am Rarity! I will not stand for this!
She had a moment of hope just before it shattered as she remembered the threat that had been made. She would loose lots of business with a rumor like that. Sure her regulars would still come and her friends, but most of her revenue came from out of the blue, very pricey orders.
She got up from the machine and walked down to her living room, her couch was there waiting for her. She sighed sadly and jumped onto the plush red couch.
She cried deeply into it for a long time.
Twilight and Spike were walking down the main street of Ponyville for a little break and a change of scenery. It was a beautiful Fall day and the trees were just beginning to change.
Twilight smiled as she carried four books in her arms. She hugged them close as she and Spike walked down the road.
"Isn't it a beautiful day, Spike?" Twilight asked causally.
She was actually trying to get Spike's attention back to herself. Spike was gazing longingly at the Carousel Boutique, and it was getting a little creepy.
Twilight didn't want to be rude though.
Spike nodded and sighed and she groaned.
"Wanna visit, Rarity?" Twilight asked.
Spike nodded and happily skipped his way towards the house with Twilight.
The two got to the boutique and began to knock on the front door. There was silence, which was odd because the open-closed sign was flipped to open.
Twilight knocked again but this time with more force and Spike's smile fell. He glanced worriedly at Twilight, then the door, and back to Twilight.
"What if she's hurt or something?" Spike asked anxiously.
Twilight considered this, she smiled at him and she shook her head. Rarity wasn't the type of person to go out and hurt herself, she was very careful.
"Oh, Spike! She's probably fine! Here I'll show you!" Twilight replied happily.
Spike looked like he didn't believe her.
Rarity sobbed as she put herself down again and again, this was getting her nowhere she knew but it felt good to just wallow. She sniffed as she heard a loud knock on the door, it sounded urgent.
She tried to smile as she got up off the couch and strode purposefully towards her door. Sighing heavily, she opened the door to reveal a concerned looking Spike and Twilight.
"Oh, Twilight and Spike! I wasn't expecting you!" She exclaimed, trying very hard not to cry.
Twilight and Spike looked at the distressed looking Rarity, her hair was messier than usual perfection and she had a red tint in her eyes, but her face was still shining with fake happiness.
And to Spike, she was still beautiful.
"Are you alright, Rarity?" Twilight asked with concern full in her voice.
Rarity smiled meekly and sighed out after seeing the dubious looks her friends were giving her.
"No, no I'm not. But it's nothing too serious! Don't worry about it. I swear!" Rarity lied.
Twilight raised a brow and Spike looked at his crush with big, hopeless eyes and Rarity sighed again this time in defeat.
"Fine, fine... come on in and I'll tell you all about my miserable failure!" She exclaimed, rather dramatically.
Twilight smiled and walked inside with Spike, not knowing what to expect.
Rarity ushered her friends into her kitchen quietly, she made them tea while they sat. She put the kettle on to boil and she sat down and smiled a tiny, sad smile.
"Come on, Rare. You know we hate seeing you like this!" Twilight reminded.
Rarity blushed at her friend's praise, she smiled again and sighed with relief as she told them what happened.
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Twilight had gasped at the end of her short tale. Rarity wasn't sure what she expected in her, but it wasn't something this big that was certain.
"I cannot believe she would say something like that! That's blackmail, Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed angrily.
Spike raised a brow, why would Rarity even bother to finish a dress for somebody with that bad of an attitude? It didn't make any sense!
"I know it's blackmail, darling. But I can't afford to have that kind of rumor spread about my business! I'll loose all of my costumers for sure, fashion is a cruel world, Twilight!" She explained with a pound of her fist on the table.
Twilight sighed and shook her head, Rarity was being stubborn. She smiled kindly at her friend and took her clenched hand.
"Rarity, we care about you. We don't want to just stand by, we wanna help.'' Twilight replied.
Spike nodded encouragingly.
Rarity just sighed in response. She was flattered that her friends wanted to help, but she really wanted to handle this on her own. This was her life's work after all, her passion!
"Twilight, dear...I'm flattered, really I am. But I'd rather deal with this on my own, you know since it's my own business and life's work after all." She replied, saying what echoed in her head.
Twilight sighed and put her arms on the table. Rarity still wouldn't budge, she was being really stubborn.
"Well, why don't we help you with the design?" Twilight asked, hoping Rarity would say yes.
Rarity considered this for a while, Twilight was a librarian right? She probably had a good idea on what Gothic people wore and liked, so the chances of success were probably much higher with her on her side.
"Well, why not!? You've got yourself a deal, Twilight!" Rarity concluded and she shook Twilight's hand.
Twilight grinned happily and she and Spike walked over towards the workstation with Rarity.
hr]
The three of them worked tirelessly on the dress for about two hours straight. The finished project was a thing of Gothic beauty.
It was a blood-red color, with a black satin cape trailing along the back. The cape was short, but stylish. It had a flip-up style with some silver pearls sewn into it.
The rest of the dress was simple, yet elgant. It had a lace-like texutre at the bottom that reminded Rarity of a fancy window. She smiled proudly as she handed Spike some lemonade, Twilight was already drinking her own.
"Well, I belive this is one of the most beautiful dresses I've ever made!" She exclaimed proudly.
Spike and Twilight cheered and Rarity laughed along with them.
Twilight sat at her library desk for a while, she was thinking about what to write to Celestia. She wasn't to sure how to get the words out right.
Rarity's dress had been a huge hit with the client, and she had apologized for her behaviour and payed her in full, and with an extra large tip.
Twilight smiled as she thought about how happy Rarity had been, she felt so proud of her when she didn't give up and she had thanked them both profusely for helping her out.
Twilight's eyes sparked as she got the idea for her letter.
"Spike, could you please pass me that paper over there? And the pen?" She asked.
Her little assistant complied and she thanked him, she got to work on her letter and in the end it looked something like this.
Dear Princess Celestia,
My friend Rarity had a little problem with a client today, at first she was very confused and upset about this and she was trying to go in on it alone.
But with a little push from myself and Spike, we helped her realize that doing something stressful on your own can only cause you more stress in the end, and can only hinder you're work.
Sometimes, all you need is a little loving care from a friend to help get you back on you're feet.
That's what we did, and Rarity got her client and we got to help out a good friend.
Love, Twilight Sparkle.
~Fin~