Writer's Training Grounds Entries

by Yukito

Prompt #2 - Trust Issues (Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Lyra Heartstrings) [Slice-of-Life]

It was a typical afternoon for Rarity at Carousal Boutique as she hummed a delightful melody and ran garment after garment through her sewing machine, creating beautiful works of craftsmanship that was certain to bring the customers running to her door at full gallop.

The toll of the bell behind her told Rarity that somepony had entered her shop. Turning her machine off, she turned around to greet her new customer. “Welcome to Carousal Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique. How may I-”

“PRESENT!” Rarity took a step back as a pair of eyes suddenly filled her entire vision. The eyes retreated a bit, revealing the head of the green unicorn mare they belonged to. “Need a present, now!”

Rarity pushed the unicorn away from her personal space and cleared her throat. “Lyra, darling, please calm down. Now, what exactly is the problem?”

Lyra took a deep breath. “Bon Bon’s birthday is tomorrow and I totally spaced on it! I haven’t got her a present yet and I can’t ask her what she wants ‘cause then she’ll know I left it to the last minute!” Lyra fell to the floor, head in her hooves. “Rarity, my pal, you’ve gotta help me!”

Rarity wasn’t aware that she was this pony’s ‘pal’, but regardless, there was a pony in distress at her hooves and that wasn’t a problem that was going to go unresolved. “Fear not, Lyra Heartstrings! I have just the thing for you.” With a glow of her horn, Rarity brought in a dress from her back room. When Lyra looked up to see the dress, her distress suddenly turned to excitement. “I’ve had this lying around for some time now. I think it just suit Bon Bon so very well, don’t you?”

“I’ll take it!” Lyra shouted as she jumped to her hooves before deflating a little. “Ah, but see, here’s the thing… I’m a little short on bits right now, so-”

“Not to worry. I will accept payments in installations,” Rarity said.

“Wow, thanks!”

“Please, do not mention it. Now then, let me just wrap this up for you.” Whilst Rarity ventured off to the side to place the garment away into a suitable, waterproof bag, Lyra decided to look around the shop for a bit. Her eyes fell on a curtain draped around a bunch of ponnequins.

“Oh! I bet these are the costumes for that upcoming fashion show in the town square!”

“Right you are, darling,” Rarity said with a prideful smile on her face. “I dare say that they are my greatest creations yet, sure to take the town, neigh, the world by storm.”

‘You say that about all your creations,’ Lyra thought as she reached a hoof out to the curtain. “Can I take a peek?” Lyra’s hoof touched the curtain, but was suddenly slapped away by a white hoof.

“No!” Rarity shouted, suddenly to Lyra’s side. Lyra gave her a surprised look, and Rarity realised what she had just done. “I-I mean, no, they’re um… not ready yet.”

“I’m sure they still look fine,” Lyra said as she turned back to the curtain, but her view was obstructed by a large bag being shoved into her face by Rarity’s magic. “Hey!”

“There’s your dress, we’ll discuss payment later, I have much work to do.” Rarity ushered for Lyra to leave the store, pushing the confused mare towards the door quickly. “It’s been great to see you again, I do hope Bon Bon likes the dress, okay bye.” Rarity slammed the door on Lyra’s back. She remained still for a few moments, contemplating her actions.

She then turned back to her designs, still hidden beneath their curtain, and sighed. “Well then, back to work, I suppose…”

A few minutes passed by as Rarity continued to work her magic – both literally and metaphorically – on her designs. The bell rang, once again distracting her from her work, but this time it was accompanied by a familiar voice. “Hi there, Rarity. Mind if I come in?”

Rarity turned to her friend with a welcoming smile. “Twilight, darling! What a pleasant surprise!”

“I was just passing by while doing some shopping and decided to stop in and say hi,” Twilight said as she removed her saddlebags and placed them by the door. “I see you’re ‘in the zone’ today.”

“Oh yes, quite,” Rarity said with an ecstatic nod. “Would you like some tea, Twilight?”

“No thanks. I don’t intend to stay long.” Twilight looked around the shop, her eyes landing on a curtain covering a few ponnequins. “Are those the designs for the upcoming fashion show?”

Rarity’s facial expression suddenly changed from excited to uneasy. “W-Why yes. Yes they are.”

“I’m sure they look lovely,” Twilight said as she approached the designs. “You mind if I take a look?”

“W-Well, they’re not finished yet, so I-”

“That’s okay. I’m sure they still look lovely.” Twilight’s magic grabbed the curtain, but it was suddenly met by the other unicorns’. “… Rarity?”

“Twilight, please. I don’t want you to see them just yet.”

Twilight cancelled her magic and turned to Rarity. “And why not?” she asked.

Rarity scuffed a hoof against the floor. “I… I just don’t, okay? Would you like to see my other designs, though? I’m sure you’ll like them much more than-”

“Rarity, I ran into Lyra on the way here,” Twilight said, bring a sweat to Rarity’s brow. “She told me you were acting quite unlike yourself when she tried to look at your dresses.”

“Oh… she said that?” Rarity asked in an innocent tone. It clearly wasn’t fooling Twilight, though. “… Okay, so maybe I was acting a little rude to her. But Twilight, you don’t understand.”

“Then why don’t you try explaining it to me?” Twilight asked. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

Rarity sighed and lowered her head in defeat. “Yes, yes. You’re quite right… You see, Twilight, after that fiasco that took place in Manehatten, I’ve been feeling a little bit… insecure with my designs. I just don’t want to risk anypony stealing them again like last time.”

“But Rarity, that was just one time,” Twilight said. “And you know the ponies here in Ponyville. You don’t have to feel paranoid around them. They’re your friends.”

“So was Suri, once upon a time,” Rarity said, bitterness clear in her tone. “She and I used to make clothes together, you know? We would put our creative minds together and design the most unique garments that, even to this day, I alone could not hope to create.”

“But that was a long time ago,” Twilight said. “Suri changed during her time in Manehatten, but your friends here in Ponyville won’t change the same way. At least not overnight.”

“But Twilight, it’s not as though it was Suri alone that was almost responsible for my downfall.” Rarity turned her head to look at the purple fabric lying on her desk. “I gave her that fabric, and I allowed her to see my designs, simply because I thought it was the friendly thing to do. I thought that generosity would never go unrewarded, but in that big city, I learned that sometimes it can lead to sever punishments.”

Rarity looked to Twilight with large, wide eyes, tears threatening to spill as her bottom lip quivered. “Twilight, was I just being foolish all this time? Was it naïve of me to believe that a generous deed would always be passed around?”

Twilight reached forward and hugged her friend. “Of course not, Rarity. Your generosity is part of who you are, and it’s one of the things that makes me proud to be your friend. You weren’t wrong for trying to show those other ponies some generosity. The ones who betrayed your good will were wrong, and they were punished.” Twilight pulled back and wiped the tears from Rarity’s face with her wing. “They were punished by missing the chance to have such a great friend like you. Suri especially.”

Rarity smiled. “Twilight… I’m sorry, Twilight. I’ve been such a fool.” Rarity’s magic wrapped around the curtain hiding her designs, but it was met by Twilight’s. “Didn’t you want to see them?”

“I’ll wait until the fashion show,” Twilight said. Rarity nodded and released her magic. “Don’t ever lose that generous spirit. It’s part of what makes you who you are.”

“I won’t, Twilight. Thank you.”

Twilight turned to leave, but stopped for a moment to add, “Oh, but do be careful about how much generosity you show to your competition. A little’s fine, but don’t forget to save some for yourself, too.”

Rarity smiled and nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Author's Note:

Check out the other submissions by various authours here: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2014/01/writing-training-grounds-002-rarity.html

Comments

[Seer]

Oh Lyra, they would hate you in prison.

[Alex Warlorn]

I like the idea that Rarity and Suri USED TO be on GENUINE friendly terms with each other. But the Suri Rarity knew DIED in Manehatten.