Rarity and the Thief

by StormLuna

An Expensive Order

The morning sun raised over Ponyville like it did every other morning. Opal jumped up on Rarity's bed and scratched her face demanding that she be fed and making Opal wait is not a very wise idea.

"Opal, that hurts! Give me a minute, you'll get your food!"

Opal growled and hissed at her like she did every morning but also like every morning Rarity went downstairs and gave Opal her food. Sweetie Belle was up as well hoping Rarity was fixing something good for breakfast before she had to head off to school.

"Rarity, what is for breakfast this morning?" asked Sweetie Belle

"Come on Sweetie Belle, what do I look like, your personal chef? Just fix yourself a bowl of cereal, I have to get to the boutique."

This did not please Sweetie Belle one bit. She was a bit annoyed and said, "Come on Rarity, it is still an hour before you open. Couldn't you at least fix me some eggs and toast or something."

"Oh, fine." snapped Rarity

Rarity seemed a bit annoyed that Sweetie Belle wanted something that required preparation that morning as she wanted to hurry up and get to work, as there was a music festival in a few months up in Canterlot but she always starts taking orders early for this one, as the materials for the dresses are hard to come by.

"I'm off to work Sweetie Belle, don't cause any trouble before you go to school, and at school for that matter." shouted Rarity

"Don't worry sis, I won't!" replied Sweetie Belle

Rarity went down to her boutique and opened her door for business. The first pony to come through the door was not a customer though, it was Twilight.

"Hi Twilight, how is everything today?" asked Rarity

"Oh, it's going fine Rarity. There isn't much to do right now so I thought I would come visit you earlier than normal. By the way, why do you have the shop open so early? asked Twilight

Rarity told her about the upcoming music festival in Canterlot and how she has to take orders early as the material for a lot of the dresses she makes for that festival is not easy to get.

"Wow Rarity, it looks like you are going to have your hooves full. How many of those did you make last year?"

Rarity told Twilight that she made ten of them and that the fabric for them comes from Marelaysia and is very expensive so the dresses are not cheap. Twilight knew this and asked Rarity, "How many do you think you will sell this year?"

Rarity replied, "Well I am thinking probably around the same amount, but I have decided to give ponies two ways to pay now."

Twilight asked, "And what is that?

Rarity told her about how she was going to start a cash or credit system instead of being cash only. She felt that it would make her seem like a more friendly businesspony and she hoped that her sales would increase.

Twilight said, "Cash or credit? I don't know about that. Aren't you worried about being taken advantage of? You know some pony could buy a dress from you on credit and then just take off and run, causing you to lose money."

Rarity replied, "Oh, don't worry Twilight, I am not a filly anymore. I already have legally binding contracts for customers who choose the credit option, so if they default on their accounts, I can sue them."

Twilight said, "Well even though you do have these legally binding contracts, they could still find places to hide or even worse, they could leave Equestria all together."

Finally some customers entered the door, and like Rarity greets all her customers, she said, "Welcome to Rarity's Boutique, where everything is chic and unique. What brings you in today?"

Lyra and Octavia came in looking for a dress for the upcoming music festival and they knew that Rarity was the best designer in all of Ponyville and sold her dresses at a decent price.

"We are looking for a dress for the upcoming music festival in Canterlot." replied Lyra

"Well I have plenty of designs and I also have other designs in this catalog that you can choose from. Some of those designs in the catalog take longer to make because I have to order the fabric from all over the world."

Lyra and Octavia looked through the catalog and it was hard for them to decide, there were so many fashionable designs in there but the prices for the material of the dresses they liked were not cheap.

"Why are the prices of some of these dresses so high?" asked Octavia

Rarity replied, "Some of the material for those dresses has to be ordered from the other side of the world and because of public unrest in Marelaysia, prices aren't as cheap."

Lyra was more understanding than Octavia was. Lyra continued to go through the catalog but Octavia was just standing there with a scowl on her face. Eventually though, Octavia returned to looking at the catalog. Finally they both found the dress they want.

Lyra took the catalog to Rarity and said, "I think this one is amazing. It is the same color as my coat and the accents match my eyes perfectly!"

Octavia looked at Rarity, pointed her hoof to the one she wanted and said, "This is the one I want, but do you think that instead of blue accents on it you could make the accents a light shade of purple so they will bring out my eyes more?"

Rarity was pleased that they had found the dresses that they want, she let them know that it would take approximately 60 days for the fabric to arrive and another 10 days to make the dress, which left more than enough time for them to be ready before the music festival.

Lyra levitated a bag of coins out of her saddlebag and asked "Rarity, do you think I could just pay now? I would feel much better if I pay for this while I know I have the money for it."

"Sure!" replied Rarity "The normal cost of the dress is 100 bits but since you are paying in cash and paying when you order it, you will get a 25 percent discount, so it will be 75 bits."

"That is great! You have no idea how much I appreciate this!" replied Lyra

As Lyra was paying for the dress Octavia said, "What about me, what will my price be."

"Well, it will depend on how you pay. If you pay in cash it will be 90 bits, but if you decide to use my new credit option, it will be full price, 100 bits."

Octavia scowled at Rarity complaining about the discounts that Lyra received and how much more she will have to pay but left Rarity's Boutique realizing that is just the way it would be.

As they were leaving the shop Lyra smiled and said, "See you in 70 days Rarity! You have a great day!"

Twilight looked at Rarity and said, "Was it me or did Octavia seem a bit well, on edge?"

Rarity replied, "Oh I'm not worried about her grumpiness. She will love her dress when she gets it and I know Lyra will love hers."

Twilight said, "Well I know Lyra will, but you know how Octavia is. She is much more uptight and demands that everything be beyond perfect. Well I have to get home, I have a lot of studying I have to do."

That afternoon Rarity sent off the order for the fabric. She knew it was not going to be cheap but she wanted her customers to be as happy as she is when she sees them wearing their new outfit.

Comments

[FrostMane]

A few light grammatical errors but nothing major. Although:

"Welcome to Rarity's Boutique, where everything is chic and unique.  What brings you in today?"

I think you mean:

Welcome to The Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique and magnifique.

[StormLuna]

2998805 I didn't even notice those errors until you mentioned them. Sometimes I read through my stories and see A LOT of errors which makes me feel kind of like a dunce.