Carousel Designs, LLP.

by Taialin

2. Partnership

Three days later

*ding-dong*

Rarity yawned. Reluctantly, she got out of bed. She went to the door and called out, "who is it?"

"Um, it's me, Fluttershy."

"Oh!" Rarity opened the door to admit her friend. "You're here early."

"I just came in the morning, like yesterday, and the day before that. I'm sorry; am I too early?"

"No, that's alright, Fluttershy. I—" Another yawn. "I'm glad to have you. You can go to the workroom and get started. I'll be there in a minute." Another yawn, and Rarity slowly made her way to the bathroom.

Fluttershy walked to the workroom and noticed the changes to it. She had been frequenting this room for the past few days and knew how it was supposed to look. Some new dresses had appeared from when she had been here last. "Looks like Rarity worked late last night again," Fluttershy said to herself.

Rarity's desk was also a mess. Filled with letters, checks, quills, and a mysterious wet spot, Fluttershy chose to examine the letters. Some were for new orders, some for payment, and others for questions. Rarity had talked at length about how her business model worked the last few days, so Fluttershy understood what the letters were for. Deciding she would help Rarity with some of her letters, she picked up a quill in her mouth and wrote:

Dear Madame Lefleur,

Thank you! I have your check here for 1200 bits and your measurements, so we can work on your dress now. There are a few orders in front of you, but I think we can get to yours soon. If you need to change your order, that's okay, just send another letter and we'll make the changes for you.

Once we get started, it won't be long before we finish your dress. When we're done, you'll get another letter from us, and we can talk about how to deliver the dress to you. This is an expensive dress, so maybe you should just stop by Carousel Boutique in Ponyville to pick it up. But if you don't want to, that's okay.

Thanks,
Flut Rar
Carousel Designs

Rarity entered the room as Fluttershy finished the letter. "Darling, what are you doing at my desk?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Rarity. I'll go back to my own." Fluttershy made to leave the desk until Rarity stopped her.

"No, that's alright. Let me just . . ." Rarity examined the letter Fluttershy just wrote. She nodded in satisfaction. "You can work on the letters if you want, Fluttershy. I'll—" Rarity brought a hoof to her mouth as she yawned yet again. "I'll make the orders for a little while."

"Really? You'll let me write the letters to your clients?"

"I trust you with my designs, Fluttershy; there's no reason I shouldn't trust you with my letters as well." Rarity made her way to Fluttershy's desk. She yawned again. "You can answer the letters, Fluttershy. If you have any questions, you know where to find me."

---

"Rarity?"

. . .

"Rarity? I finished writing the letters."

. . .

Fluttershy bit her lip. She got up and walked to the other side of the workroom only to find Rarity unconscious at the bench.

"Rarity? Rarity! Wake up!" Fluttershy shook her friend.

"B-buh . . . Wha?" Rarity opened her eyes and looked around groggily. "Fl-Fluttershy. What are you doing here?"

Fluttershy was fretting. "Oh, Rarity! Are you okay?"

"Y-yes, darling, I'm fine. I guess I just . . . fell asleep for a moment." Rarity got up to move out of the room. "Just let me get some coffee and I'll be right back with you, okay, darling?"

Fluttershy intercepted Rarity and looked at her sternly. "Rarity. When is the last time you had a good night's sleep?"

"When is the last . . . oh, Fluttershy, I don't remember." Rarity yawned again. "Ever since Canterlot had begun inundating me with orders, I've been working late hours every night."

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, Rarity, you can't go on like this; it's not healthy!" She started pushing Rarity up the stairs to her bedroom. "You are going to get some sleep right now."

Rarity protested feebly. "B-but I have to work! Otherwise the orders will keep piling up, and—"

"I'm here now. I can keep working. What you need," The two ponies made it the Rarity's bedroom. "Is some rest." Fluttershy pushed Rarity onto the bed and tucked her in. "You can come back down when you're refreshed and alert, okay, Rarity?"

"But . . ." Rarity raised her hoof in protest before dropping it again. She didn't have the energy. "Maybe I do need some . . . rest. Thank you . . . dar . . . ling." Rarity's eyes drooped shut, and seconds later, she was fast asleep.

Fluttershy left the room quietly and returned to the workroom. Where Rarity had fallen asleep, a half finished dress lay. Opting not to interrupt her workflow, Fluttershy decided to return to her letters. She had finished replying to all the messages that needed responses, but there still remained the letters that placed custom orders: those letters required a new design.

"But Rarity's asleep. I don't want to wake her up because there are designs to make," Fluttershy contemplated. She scanned the first letter on the stack. "Canterlot unicorn, conservative semi-formal, no sleeves, all cotton?" She put a hoof up to her chin. "Maybe I can try this myself? It doesn't seem too hard. I've made coats for my animals before." Fluttershy picked up a pencil and piece of paper and began to sketch.

First starting with a rough sketch of a pony, Fluttershy reasoned what the client would like in their dress. "She wants a conservative dress, right? What color is conservative? Not really bright colors . . . Maybe something that matches her coat? I guess . . . brown?" She jotted down some notes on another piece of paper. "But it can't be all brown. Rarity would say that it's too dull. It needs an accent. What color makes a good accent? Purple? Blue? Green?" Fluttershy arranged some fabric swatches to see how the colors would look next to each other. "No, definitely not green." She shuffled the swatches around. "Not purple either. Blue? I don't know!" Fluttershy squeaked in frustration.

*tap-tap*

Fluttershy's ears perked up, and she looked at the window above her desk. A robin was hovering outside, and tapping the glass with his beak. Her frustration momentarily forgotten, she got up and opened the window to admit the bird.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Highfly! Have you gotten over your bird flu?"

The robin chirped and whistled merrily.

"It's good you're feeling better. Your colors look much brighter now."

Mr. Highfly strutted about on the sill, showing off. Fluttershy watched in amusement for a moment before a thought struck her. She glanced down at her unfinished design. "Oh!" Fluttershy sat back down at her desk. "Mr. Highfly, could you stay there please? Don't move!"

The bird turned and cocked his head at Fluttershy.

"I think I found my inspiration! Your colors, Mr. Highfly! I could make a very nice dress with your colors."

Chirping in understanding, Mr. Highfly turned to the side and stood as still as a bird could.

"Thank you, Mr. Highfly." Fluttershy retrieved the fabric swatches and found the colors that best matched the bird's feathers and beak. Brown, orange, and yellow now made up the dress. She placed an orange belly here, a yellow accent there, a fabric train that looked like the tail of a bird, and a closure system that modeled a bird's claws. She also brought over a mannequin and some toile to see how the dress would work on a pony figure. Before long, Fluttershy had completed her design.

The next few hours passed in the same way. Though she chose not to try the particularly complex orders, Fluttershy still managed to design many dresses based off of her birds. She even requested that some of them come over so she could match colors more closely. When Rarity finally awoke, refreshed, and reentered the workroom, she was greeted by a peculiar sight: Fluttershy hunched over a desk scribbling furiously, while a colorful menagerie of birds chirped and tweeted on the sill above her.

Good afternoon, Fluttershy. Thank you for that nap; I feel like a new mare! May I ask . . . uh, why your birds have decided to join us?"

"Eek!" Fluttershy jolted up and whipped her head to face the intruder. The birds above her fluttered in surprise at the sound. "I-I'm sorry, Rarity. You startled me. I was just doing some . . . uhm . . . designing."

"Designing? I didn't know you could do that." Rarity leaned in and examined the sketch Fluttershy was working on. Rather simple, but very workable. She then squinted at Fluttershy design notes next to it. Detailed, and very, very meticulous. Rainbow Dash could probably make the dress with those notes. Rarity stepped back from the desk, thoroughly impressed. "But apparently, darling, you do it very well!"

"O-oh! Um, thank you." Fluttershy, clearly embarrassed, meekly pointed to a small pile of orders pushed off to the side. "But I can only do the easy ones. I don't know how to do those."

Rarity examined the pile in question. "Hmm. Yes, these are for things like wedding dresses and suits. Don't worry, darling, I can take care of those. Just finish the ones you can. I'll take care of the rest." Rarity brought over another chair and began working on the more complex designs.

While they worked side by side, Rarity continued to talk: "My goodness, Fluttershy. I think I underestimated you. You can do so very much; you could probably run this Boutique yourself!"

Fluttershy blushed lightly. "Oh no, I'm sure I couldn't, Rarity. You t-talk with walk-in strangers-I-mean-clients. And sometimes, you go to Canterlot to show off a new line." Fluttershy hid behind her mane. "I couldn't possibly do those things."

"Well, nevertheless, darling, you've been quite a help around here." Rarity smiled. "I very much enjoy your company."

"Me too. Sewing and stitching alone is okay, but it's more fun with friends. I'm happy to help you with your work." Fluttershy smiled herself.

Rarity nodded in agreement. "Ever so, darling!"

"And your waitlist keeps getting smaller and smaller by the day! Isn't that wonderful!" Fluttershy piqued joyfully.

Rarity's smile dropped for just a second, but she hid it well. "Quite wonderful, darling!"

Fluttershy noticed. "Um, Rarity, are you okay? You twitched a little bit."

"Just fine, darling!" Rarity twitched again.

Fluttershy frowned, not convinced. "Are you sure, Rarity?"

Another twitch, then Rarity dropped her façade. She sighed. "You're right, Fluttershy, I'm not fine. And from what it looks like, even after my waitlist is cleared, I still won't be fine."

Fluttershy leaned closer, a worried look on her face. "What do you mean?"

Rarity pointed at all the letters on the desk. "Have you noticed how many new orders I've received today? They have slowed down a little, but not nearly enough for me to keep up with. Even if my waitlist is cleared, the letters will just keep coming, and my waitlist will only build back up again. I'll be right back to where I was before." Rarity looked back at Fluttershy sadly. "You know I hate forcing you into things . . ." A memory of a certain fashion photographer resurfaced, and she shuddered. "But, once this crisis is over, could you perhaps . . . perhaps come back on occasion and help me again? I will pay you, of course!"

Fluttershy spoke without hesitation: "Of course I would Rarity—every day, if you need it. I would be glad to keep helping you."

"Oh, Fluttershy . . ." Rarity embraced Fluttershy in a tender hug. "Thank you. You are too kind sometimes."

Fluttershy hugged Rarity back. "You're welcome."

Mr. Highfly, who had seen the whole thing, let out a wolf whistle.

Rarity and Fluttershy flung themselves away from each other, both blushing heavily. Rarity glared at the robin, who somehow had a smirk on his face. "Oh, shut up, you!" Rarity sighed, sat back on her chair, and said, "perhaps we should get back to work, darling. Then your birds will have nothing to whistle about." She shot the robin another glare for good measure.

---

*rrrrrrrrin-click*

"I know, I know, the spa date. I'll be there; I just need to solve this problem first."

It had been a week since Fluttershy first helped Rarity catch up on her orders, and during that week, they had made tremendous progress. Rarity sat at her desk, waitlist binder open. It was nearly empty.

"Fluttershy's been helping me so much for the past week." Rarity counted the number of orders they completed. "With all these orders done, I must have made more money this week than all of last year! She even volunteered to continue helping me so I don't get backed up!" Rarity smiled to herself. "What an amazing friend I have. She very well may have saved my sanity. I owe her so very much right now."

Rarity brought out an adding machine and tried to calculate how many bits Fluttershy should earn this week before she stopped herself. She sighed. "After all she's done, a wage just seems . . . paltry. She's done so much for me, after all . . ." Rarity recalled a few vignettes from the past week:

Very good, darling. These pieces look marvelous. Why don't you sew up the sleeves, and I'll work on the body.

You can answer the letters, Fluttershy. If you have any questions, you know where to find me.

Designing? I didn't know you could do that . . . but apparently, darling, you do it very well!

I couldn't have done so much without your help, darling. Thank you.

Rarity shook her head, clearing the memories. "With everything she's done, bits alone aren't enough. She's much more than an employee to me. This past week, she's been like a . . ."

If your cutie mark was a needle and thread, we would make a fine partnership.

". . . a partner," Rarity murmured. With her magic, she brought over a heavy business textbook from her bookshelf and scanned the index.

"Partnership . . ." Rarity flipped to the page and began to read.

. . .

"Oh, Fluttershy, I think this is just what you . . . I . . . we need.

---

Rarity settled back in the hot tub. "Ahh. Aloe, I must thank you for another wonderful spa session. I feel absolutely relaxed now."

"Of course, Rarity. Though, and forgive me for commenting, you already felt quite relaxed when I was massaging you today," Aloe commented while bringing a basket of soaps and shampoos.

"That does make sense. I certainly feel less stressed than I have for a while. And it's all thanks to a certain wonderful yellow pegasus." Rarity winked at the other pony in the hot tub.

"Eep!" Fluttershy tried to disappear behind her mane.

Aloe covered a chuckle. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better, Rarity. You two can come to the reception desk when you're finished." Aloe walked away, leaving the two ponies in the hot tub alone with each other.

Rarity waded across the tub and swept Fluttershy's mane away from her face. "Oh come now, darling, have some pride in your accomplishments. You have done so very much this past week."

"Oh, I just took a little off your work workload, that's all. It was nothing special," Fluttershy said humbly.

Rarity shook her head. "Oh, it was most certainly very special." Rarity levitated herself and Fluttershy out of the hot tub, and dried herself and Fluttershy with a spell. She looked behind her and called out, "Aloe, Lotus, could you please come back here?"

Rarity turned back, and locked eyes with Fluttershy's. She said with complete sincerity, "you saved my business, Fluttershy. Without your help, I would still be drowning in orders. It would have broken me eventually. I owe you a lot right now." Rarity turned around and went to her saddlebags to retrieve something.

Fluttershy put on a bathrobe and watched Rarity curiously. When she returned, it wasn't a sack of bits she was holding, but a stack of papers. "Rarity, what's this?" Fluttershy looked at the document, and her jaw dropped as she realized what it was.

"Like I said, I owe you a lot right now," Rarity said. "I believe, more that bits can repay. If you consent to this agreement, I can again give you what you properly deserve. Consent to this agreement, and you and I will become co-proprietors of Carousel Designs."

Fluttershy stared wide-eyed at the partnership contract for several minutes. Then she looked up at Rarity and smiled.

---

Dear Madame Lefleur,

We have finished your formal evening gown! You have elected to come by Ponyville to pick up your order, so we will have the dress boxed up and ready to go with you on the date you've provided. In the box, you will find your dress, care instructions, a photograph of the dress, and the invoice. We look forward to meeting you in two weeks.

Your dress was lovingly designed and constructed by Rarity Belle and company. We stand proudly behind your order! Your gown is guaranteed to bedazzle the eyes of any spectator, while being soft and comfortable against your coat. There will never be another dress like it.

In closing, thank you for choosing us for your custom garment needs! Enjoy your dress, and we hope to design for you again!

Carousel Designs, LLP.

Comments

[DiscordFan]

What does LLP stand for?

[A Joe in the Bush]

I keep reading waitlist as waistline.