"Healthy" Competitionby IfFoundReturntoRarityChaptersPrologueChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3PrologueThe door to the boutique swung open. Rarity was exhausted. It’s always a pleasure to go, she thought, But I’m glad it’s once a year. It drains the life out of me. It had been a long week for her, as she spent all of it in Manehattan, at Equestria’s largest fashion expo. Packed to the brim, it was the place to be for all involved in Equestria’s booming fashion industry. It was also incredibly lively, and as was the case with poor Rarity, extremely exhausting. Just make it to the sofa, she told herself, and I can sleep for the rest of the day. Dropping her bags at the floor, she used the rest of her strength to crawl to the couch. She pulled herself up, curled up and closed her eyes. Just a cat nap… Knock! knock! knock! Like a sleeping lion who was disturbed Rarity snapped at the sound. “WHAT?!” “Oh… gosh… I’m so sorry, I’ll come again later. Sorry…” She recognized the soft voice immediately. “Oh goodness! Fluttershy, I’m so sorry!” Rarity sprang up to the door. “I sincerely apologize, darling. I just got back from Manehattan, it was incredibly tiring. Please forgive me.” She opened the door to be greeted with a warm smile from the pegasus. “It’s okay Rarity. I heard you were on your way back, so I wanted to come by and return Opal if you were here.” Fluttershy placed her bag down to allow the cat to get out. “Yes, thank you so much! I hope she wasn’t too much trouble.” “Oh of course not. She was the sweetest.” “That’s great.” Rarity got down to eye level with Opal. “Mommy missed you so much, yes she did!” She leaned in to give her a little nuzzle, only for Opal to return the affection with the usual hiss and a swipe. “Well I suppose that’s my fault for believing you felt the same way.” “So, um, how was the expo?” “It went fantastic, thank you so much for asking! I was able to talk to Hoity Toity again, apparently he is looking to have a store opened in Blueblood Plaza! And he asked me if I’d be interested in opening there!” The thought alone was enough to make Rarity squee like a school filly. “That’s good news. I’m so happy for you.” “Thank you! Now come inside, I can make some tea.” “I’m sorry Rarity, I wish I could… But I don’t have time for that today, I’m in a bit of a hurry…” “Okay darling. Another time then.” “But before I go…” Fluttershy fumbled through her bag, “I have your mail too, like you asked.” “Oh Fluttershy, I cannot thank you enough for doing all this. I appreciate it so much.” “Anything for a friend. Oh, and I should add, there was also something else in there, along with your mail.” “What do you mean?” “Well, I caught this pegasus who was waiting outside your door to give you something. I didn’t recognize her, she seemed like she was new.” “Maybe it was someone I know? What did she look like, did you talk to her?” “She had a light green coat with a yellow and pink mane. I spoke to here a little… I just told her you weren’t home. She then asked me to give you this.” Fluttershy fummled through her bag again, and pulled out a pink envelope, it looked as if it was homemade. Rarity took the envelope from her, but was extremely puzzled as to who it could be. She not only knew of no pony who matched Fluttershy’s description, nor did she expect to receive anything during her time away.” “Are you sure you didn’t recognize her, dear?” “It was the first time I saw her… and there was that building close to City Hall that was recently sold…” “Well. If that’s all you know, I appreciate you telling me that. I’ll look into it then and find out what she wanted. Thank you again Fluttershy.” “Really, it’s never a problem. I’ll see you another time Rarity!” “Goodbye darling!” And with that, Fluttershy was off. Rarity closed the door. “Well,” she said to herself, “I should probably sort this before getting my beauty sleep.” She examined the envelope. It was blank, save for the decorations. There’s no return address on this… She continued to inspect the envelope. She just delivered it on their own? Using her telekinesis, Rarity got her letter opener, and cut the envelope open, to read the contents. To whom it may concern, Hi! I’m new to Ponyville. My name is Fabrica, I moved here recently from Appleloosa! I’m so excited to meet my new neighbors! As I really want to get to know each and every one of you, I’m having a move in party on the 15th of the month at the opening of my store Apparel Avenue! Refreshments will be provided. I’m located two houses to the east of City Hall. I hope to see you there! -Sincerely, Fabrica Rarity placed the letter down. Uncomfortable thoughts came to her mind, memories of cruel competitors she had to deal with. Especially awful, mean spirited ponies like Suri. What if this Fabrica was just the same? No, she told herself, it’s not fair to judge a pony before meeting her. I wouldn’t want somepony doing the same to me. I guess the right thing to do would be to attend her party on the 15th, the 15th… Rarity rummaged through her papers, trying to find where she put her daily planner. “Ah, here it is~!” She said in a sweet little sing-song voice. “Now to just check that date… OH MY STARS! The 15th is tomorrow!” One of the issues Rarity had was she could never reorganize her daily schedule, especially after she’s been out of town so long, the day before something came up. “Well… I suppose I can squeeze in a brief visit if I close the Boutique for lunch, and I’m back in time to meet up with the clients in the afternoon…” She marked the new event in her planner. “Then it’s settled! I’ll attend Fabrica’s party tomorrow, and move on from there! Oh, I do hope I have something to make a very good first impression with...” Rarity’s thoughts of a good rest were a thing of the past, as now all of her attention was diverted to the creation of a stunning ensemble for tomorrow. Chapter 1“Ta dah! Well Opal, how do you think it looks?” Rarity emerged to show off her new outfit. Despite only having a few hours, she put everything she had into making her ensemble shine. It was a light blue gown, complete with magenta lacings and studded with the finest gems she had to offer. To her, it was perfect. Opal glared at it, looked to Rarity, and then wandered off. Well she didn’t give me a hiss, so it can’t be terrible… She walked over to her counter to pick up Fabrica’s original invitation, and checked the address one more time. Two houses east of City Hall… Yes I think I remember that location being up for sale some time ago. Rarity placed the letter back with the rest of her mail, and prepared to leave. “Opal, please be a dear and watch over things while I’m gone, mommy loves you!” There was a time where she couldn’t trust Opal on her own, but she was definitely mature enough to be left alone for a short time. Especially considering she would spend most of the day napping anyway. Rarity left the boutique, and locked the door behind her, before beginning her walk to Apparel Avenue. It wasn’t a long walk, considering how the Boutique itself wasn’t terribly far from the center of town either. To Rarity, however, the walk felt like forever. She never had to deal with someone else opening a clothing shop in Ponyville. First impressions were a key thing to develop this relationship. Soon enough, Rarity made it to Apparel Avenue. It was a small establishment, a yellow building with some amateur signs, and a big one that read ‘GRAND OPENING!’ Well, she did just open it, I suppose I can’t judge too harshly on appearance at this moment. Rarity trotted up to the building, and rang the doorbell. The door swung open, to reveal a slightly pudgy Pegasus with light green fur. Sure enough, she matched Fluttershy’s original description. “Well hiya there! My name’s Fabrica! Come on in!” She gestured to come on inside, so Rarity stepped inside the establishment. “Thank you most sincerely.” “Now, what would your name be?” “My name is Rarity. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” “The pleasure is all mine!” Fabrica then looked at Rarity’s ensemble. “Well… you certainly took things way too formally, didn’t ya?” “Well, I do run the Carousel Boutique not too far from here. I took note that you too ran your own boutique, I thought I should at least dress to impress a fellow pony with a passion for clothing!” “Well you can consider me wow’d, Rarity! I remember dropping off the invitation at your establishment, I think I met your friend, Flittershy?” “Fluttershy.” “That was it! Yeah, you have a nice establishment! Real high end stuff, doesn’t really seem fit for such a town though. They don’t seem ‘into’ that, not nearly as sophisticated as you are!” Rarity couldn’t help but take a bit of insult at that. She knew that chances were that Fabrica didn’t mean to sound hurtful, but she couldn’t help but take a little offense. This was, after all, her passion. And the way Fabrica put it kind of made Rarity feel that she was the odd one out for that. Just ignore it, she thought to herself. She probably didn’t mean it like that. Fabrica continued to talk. “Well, it seemed okay then to open up a bit more of a casual clothing shop, ya’ know?” Rarity looked around the establishment. Fabrica was right, in comparison to Carousel Boutique, Apparel Avenue was certainly far more casual. In contrast to her own extensive gowns in the Boutique, Fabrica’s store had simple clothing, like sweaters on racks, not displayed on mannequins as Rarity would have it set up. It certainly fit the atmosphere of Ponyville more than the Boutique did. “Yes, I do believe I understand what you mean.” “Now don’t be so shy, I’ll show you around.” Fabrica stepped behind Rarity’s gown to nudge her inside, when suddenly- RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP “What… what was that?” Despite asking the question, Rarity knew all too well what happened. Even those who aren’t in the fashion industry know that sound, and fear it too. “I’m… I’m so sorry, my hoof got caught up in your dress and when I guess I jerked it too fast, and…” Fabrica walked to the front of Rarity, and held up the torn-off fabric too her face. “I’m so sorry.” Rarity took in a deep breath. “It’s not a problem. It happens.” “You’re not upset?” “No, I’m not.” She gave a warm smile to Fabrica. “It’s okay.” Fabrica breathed a sigh of relief. “Phew! I thought you were going to blow a gasket at me!” She chuckled, and placed her hoof. “Well, I guess it was after all your fault for wearing something so over-the-top, eh? Bet that won’t happen again, you wearing something so crazy for nothing!” With that comment, Rarity’s feelings changed from pity for Fabrica, to embarrassment. Her white fur shifting into a slight shade of red. Is she really making fun of me for this? After she just tore it? “Come on upstairs dear, we’ll take that nonsense off of you. I’ll see if I can repair it and get it back to you.” ****** Fabrica took Rarity upstairs to her workroom, and had her remove the outfit. She then took the gown and walked to the other side of the room and placed it on her workbench. Rarity took a seat across from the workbench, so as to not get in the way of anything Fabrica already set up. Celestia knows how Rarity would feel if somepony messed up her work area, she didn’t want to get in the way of some other pony’s. “I’ve never really done any work on something like this before,” Fabrica continued to examine the dress, continuously picking it up and putting it back down. “But if you give me some time, I can have it good as new in no time!” “It’s really not necessary dear, please-” “I insist, I insist!” Clearly finished with her inspection, Fabrica turned around to face Rarity. “I’ve always wanted to do some work on some formal wear. This is a perfect opportunity.” “Do some work, what do you mean? I thought you mainly specialized in casual attire?” “I do, but seeing the area, your shop, I dunno, maybe it’ll be good to give it a whirl! I might as well get something done. I’m sure I can make at least one formal line!” Rarity froze in her place. Another clothing shop, specializing in casual and formal wear? What am I going to do? With this location closer to the busiest part of town than my shop, there’s no doubt- With that, she cut herself off from that train of thought. Any pony has the right to do as they please, and I know this isn’t going to turn into anything severe. Business has never gone down for you, this is no exception. “You alright there sweetie, you got quiet for a second. I don’t suppose your kind is separable from your ensemble, are ya? You take it off and lose all traces of consciousness.” Fabrica chuckled at her comment, as if she thought she just made one of the funniest lines of the year. “Ha ha, I assure you I am fine without it.” Though I do wish she’d tone down the joking a bit, Rarity thought, I don’t get how one second she could be saying that she wants to make a formal line, then the next second ridiculing me for wearing such an ensemble. “If you say so!” Fabrica began to step forward. “Now why don’t you stick around for a bit, it’s nearly 1 and I’m having some other ponies over and-“ “I apologize darling, did you just say it’s almost 1 o’clock?” “Yes, why?” Sweet Celestia, I’m going to be late! The clients! Rarity scrambled up to get herself together. “I’m so sorry, I wish I could stay but I need to be running back, I have some business and I really need to be on my way and-“ “Slow down, slow down! Okay, we can chat again another time, I’ll come by later this week after I’ve repaired your gown okay?” “Thank you so, so much, and you have my deepest apologies!” With that, Rarity ran down the stairs. Fabrica shouted down the stairs, “I said not to worry about it, see you soon!” Oh I hope I can beat the clients to the boutique, I don’t want to keep them waiting. Making it downstairs, Rarity opened the door to outside, and bolted out. Chapter 2Dear Rarity, In regards to the new store location in Manehattan, the details regarding the floor space has been cleared up. We can now discuss what you’ll be focusing on in the new location, and the upcoming exclusive line for the store. It is important that we make time to have this conversation, and relatively soon, to finalize these details. The earliest date I may be able to travel to your current boutique in Ponyville would be the 17th of next month. Please be prepared. Until then, Hoity Toity Finished reading, Rarity used her magic, sending it across the room and pinned it to the wall just above her work station. It was incredibly important for her to remember the date, as Hoity Toity is not one with a flexible schedule. She sat back down at her desk, and rubbed her hooves in her eyes. Things looked a bit packed for her in the coming weeks. Not to mention, things haven’t been all that fantastic the past few days, either. Rarity’s newest client was an Earth pony named Persnickety, and to her discovery, a rather impatient one. The day she was set to meet with him was the day she was running back from Fabrica’s. Despite making it a few minutes prior to the scheduled appointment time, Persnickety was standing outside waiting for her. Apparently he had the wrong time scheduled, and began to berate Rarity as soon as she arrived, as he believed her to be tardy. It took all of her might to try to calm him down, and even after she proved to have the correct time, and offered to make up for his waiting by offering a sizable discount, he still didn’t appear too happy. He needed 5 gowns of various sizes for his daughter’s cute-ceañera, and needed them in just a week. Fortunately for Rarity, she had enough fabric to get the job done, and in a matter of days, had already completed 2 gowns, and was adding the finishing touches on the 3rd. DING DONG, DING DONG~ “Just a moment, I’ll be right there!” Rarity got up from her work desk, and proceeded to walk downstairs. That’s odd, I wasn’t expecting anypony… She looked at her clock hanging on the wall. It read 3:30. Sweetie Belle is a bit late, but she said she would be playing with her friends. And even still, she never would ring the doorbell, she just comes right in. Rarity opened the door, to reveal Persnickety. “Mr. Persnickety! Oh what a pleasure to see you again, I was just in the middle of the 3rd gown, one of the filly-sized ones, would you like to come in and see-” “Yes, I came here to speak about those, I’m cancelling the order.” Bewildered by the statement, Rarity took a step back. “W-what do you mean you’re cancelling it?” “Don’t need it anymore. Found a better shop, had some clothing ready. As such, I have no use for what I ordered from you.” “But what about what I’ve already completed, will you at least be taking those?” “I have no use for them, just sell them to someone else.” “But Mr. Persnickety, I’m simply afraid I cannot! The order you placed was so incredibly detailed with measurements and in design that it would be almost impossible to find another pony who would be a fit!” “That’s not my problem, I came here to cancel the order, and I’ve done so. It’s your problem what to do with the current gowns, I will not be accepting them nor paying. Good day.” With that, Persnickety trotted off. Holding herself back so she didn’t escalate the situation, Rarity just slammed the door. “AAAAAAARH!” After letting out her scream, she walked upstairs to her room. Without a second thought, she climbed onto her bed and just laid there. Opal took notice of this, and in a rare moment of compassion, joined Rarity and curled up beside her. “Oh Opal… What am I going to do about this?” She put her hoof around her cat. “It’s just so stressful. How could he do that, make me rush through completing dresses on a short time frame, clearing my schedule, and to cancel it? And for what?” Rarity rolled over in bed. “He mentioned finding a new shop… could it be…?” She put her hoof to her eyes, wiping away the forming tears. “She can’t already be hurting my business, can she? I don’t want…” She held Opal closer. “I don’t want to get closed out of my home town…” ****** “Rarity! What are you doing? It’s only the afternoon, it’s not bed time already!” “WAHAHA~!” Rarity, startled from her sleep, awoke to the sight of her younger sister. “Sweetie Belle, you’re home late, where have you been?” “Apple Bloom and Scootaloo wanted to check out that new store in Ponyville, so we went. I didn’t really find anything interesting though. Especially since I’m trying to save up for that new music player and-“ “Wait, just a moment Sweetie Belle.” Rarity got out of her bed. “What store are you talking about?” “The new clothing store. Apparel Avenue. I didn’t like it too much because I felt there wasn’t anything really special to it, your store is much better!” “Thank you dear. You have no idea how much better that makes me feel.” Rummaging her hooves through her mane, Rarity trotted over to her desk. “I just lost a customer to her. I’m not feeling too great about it.” She sighed, and picked up the pen, and already started sketching up some new designs. “I guess I just have to pick myself up and start over.” “Are you okay?” “I’m fine. Thank you for asking though.” “Really? You know you can tell me.” “Normally I’m the one telling you that.” Rarity giggled at that. “I’m just… well… I never had to deal with something like this before. I guess I have a bit of anxiety.” “Oh… and um, I should tell you something. The pegasus who runs the shop-” “Fabrica?” “Yes her. She asked who we were, so I, um, told her I was your sister. And she said she needed to stop by if that was okay. I was sure what to say, so I said it was okay…” “She’s coming here?” “Yes… Did I do something wrong?” “No, absolutely not. Thank you darling.” Rarity gave a gentle hug to Sweetie Belle. She did say she wanted to finish fixing that gown… maybe she’s here to drop it off. “Did she say how soon she’d be here?” “She looked like she was getting ready to leave shortly after we-” DING DONG, DING DONG~ “I’m going to assume that’s her. Wait here Sweetie.” Well that certainly was fast. Rarity left Sweetie Belle in her room, and walked down the staircase. “I’m on my way! The door’s open!” Making it downstairs, she encountered Fabrica making her way inside. “How have you been darling?” “Well I’ve been fine, business is okay.” Fabrica inspected the area around her, almost judging the boutique. “Might I ask, what brings you here? I wasn’t expecting you.” Rarity noticed Fabrica didn’t have a clothing bag on her, or something of the sort. So she clearly wasn’t there to return the dress. “I was running my store, and happened to bump into your younger sister! I thought it would be okay to stop by and say hello if you were around.” She continued to look all around the room, as if looking for something that wasn’t there. “I thought you wouldn’t mind.” “No not at all! But, um, is there something in particular you were looking for?” Rarity tried to start up some conversation, she was getting a bit uncomfortable with how Fabrica was almost snooping around. “As I mentioned before, I was kind of interested in selling some higher end stuff.” She walked up to one of the dresses on a mannequin. “How much does one like this sell for?” “Well, that one in particular is about 200 bits.” “Sounds a bit pricy. What’s the reason?” “Well, the material is pretty expensive, and the time it takes to create the details goes into the price, I try to be a bit generous and sell things a bit lower than they’d usually go, but I also have to keep my store open.” “Understandable, I get it.” Fabrica stopped her apparent wandering, and looked to Rarity. “I apologize for barging in, I just thought I could come over and stop by, say hello, chit chat, the usual.” For wanting to come over to… ‘chit chat’, you don’t seem to be too interested in it. Rarity thought to herself. “Would you perhaps like to have some tea or something? I can place some hot water on the stove.” “Well, if it’s not too much trouble, sure!” Rarity then led Fabrica to the kitchen, and she took a seat as Rarity prepared the tea. “Have you had any interesting customers yet recently, in your short time here?” Rarity said, again trying to spark up some discussion as she placed a tea cup where Fabrica was sitting, and went to grab her own. “Why yes, actually, just yesterday! There was this one rather… interesting individual. His name was Persnickety, and he-” CRASH The shattered cup she just dropped was the last thing on her mind for the moment. At that second, Rarity’s mind just went blank. “Is everything okay?” asked Fabrica. “I apologize darling. I foolishly wasn’t paying attention.” Rarity just stared at the shattered mess, unable to move to clean it up. “You know, maybe I should leave, I’m sorry for troubling you.” “D-don’t worry about it, really.” Fabrica didn’t hear Rarity say that, she was already at the door. But Rarity didn’t mean to say it to her, she was saying it to herself. And she wasn’t talking about the broken tea cup. Standing over the counter, and with her fears confirmed, Rarity cried again. Chapter 3Rarity sat at her desk, staring at the notebook holding the logs of her sales and customers. Through the entire week, she only had three customers, all of which only placed relatively small orders. What am I going to do? How did it get to this? This is bad enough as is… But with Hoity Toity coming next week, and he sees how empty the boutique is?He’ll never believe I’m able to manage another shop! Everything was fine until I lost that one client. What if he decides I’m not up a pony suitable enough to make it in Manehattan! What if… Rarity cut herself off, hitting head on her desk. She didn’t want to think about it anymore. “Rarity… are you in there?” Sweetie Belle creeped into Rarity’s room. “I was yelling for you downstairs. Didn’t you hear me?” “I’m sorry Sweetie…” Rarity picked her head up from her desk. “Your sister has had a lot on her mind recently.” “What’s wrong?” “It’s nothing new, Darling. Did… did you happen to see if any pony was around that new store?” “Yeah, I walked by it on my way home. Is that what’s bothering you?” “Is it that obvious?” “K-kind of. That and with the way your shop’s been so, well-” “Dead?” “I wasn’t necessarily going to say that…” “It’s okay, Sweetie Belle. It’s very much true.” Rarity let out a heavy sigh. “Maybe I’ve just lost my touch. Maybe I just lost... Oh who am I kidding? I’m ruined!” She slammed her face back on the desk and began to cry. “That’s no way to talk, Rarity. You can get out of this. I’ve seen you going through worse and come out better!” Sweetie Belle walked up to Rarity, putting her hoof around her. “Y-you think so?” “Yeah, like the time with that pony who stole from you, and how you managed to get yourself out of that. You could make just as big a comeback!” Rarity lifted her head up, and wiped the tears from her eyes. “You’re right, Sweetie!” Her eyes started to twinkle, as she brought herself together. “I know exactly what I can do! I still have some time before Hoity Toity comes over. If I can take some of my cheaper fabrics, I can create a rush sale. And with that I’m sure to draw up some business by the time he comes over. He’ll see the boutique is still doing incredibly well and can support a new shop in Manehattan. Oh it’ll take a lot of work, but I’m sure it’ll pay off.” “Are you feeling a bit better, Sis?” “Oh most certainly!” Rarity hugged Sweetie Belle. “You helped me feel so much better.” Sweetie Belle replied with a squee. But if I’m going to do this, I have to make sure I can stay a cut above Fabrica… “Sweetie… could you do one more thing for me?” “Anything!” “I need you to go down to Apparel Avenue one more time, and I want you to tell me the average price of what’s being sold there.” “Well, isn’t that—I don’t know…” “It’ll be a big help, Dear. Just do it as a favor for me, please?” “O-okay!” Please, please work. Rarity let out a heavy sigh, and locked the door to the Boutique. This is fabulous, the boutique has been attracting entirely new customers for almost a week! It’s been incredibly tiresome to prepare, but it brought some business back fortunately. Despite only having a few days, she managed to pull everything together. It took all she had in her, staying up night and day creating new designs, cutting up fabrics and piecing them together, but she did it. Fortunately for her, the sale was a tremendous success. In fact, it was so successful that by the third day, word spread beyond Ponyville of what was going on, and new clients from places such as Fillydelphia and Canterlot came to stop by. However, this was all only possible thanks to Sweetie Belle. As per Rarity’s instruction, she went over to Apparel Avenue and found the exact prices of Fabrica’s lines. With this information, Rarity then cut her own prices so they would be about sixty-percent of whatever Fabrica sold similar clothing for. Enough to just barely make a profit for her, and enough to be a cut above Fabrica. Rarity kept trying to tell herself it was within good reason, especially after finding out that Fabrica sold her designs at an average price of one-hundred and fifty bits. Convenient, especially considering Rarity just so happened to tell her that her own gowns were typically worth around two-hundred bits. I know it’s not particularly right, but it’s what I had to do. I didn’t have a choice. Besides, according to Sweetie Belle, Fabrica had several ponies over before. Her business must be doing just fine. Despite trying to keep a neutral mindset, it quickly changed at the sight of the unfinished gowns for Persnickety. So far, these were the only custom garnments during this whole flash sale that nopony even so much as glanced at. They were an incredible burden on her, and weren’t going anywhere. She’s clearly doing fine if she can just take away clients like that. And she stole my dress. She said she’d return it several weeks ago, but still hasn’t! She must have just used it as a template to make her own lines. In frustration, Rarity let out a loud groan. Stealing clients, lowering prices, taking my dress, being snoopy around my store...she started this! I’m not doing anything wrong! I’m just doing what I can to stay ahead! Suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, the doorbell rang, shattering her train of thought. That’s odd, now who could it be at this time? “Yes, coming!” Rarity trotted to the door, and was immediately shocked to see none other than Hoity Toity standing on the other side. “Hoity T-Toity! I thought you weren’t coming in until tomorrow morning!” “I originally planned to, but when word of your booming sale reached Canterlot , I simply had to stop by to observe what was making it so incredibly popular!” “Why yes, do come in and look around! I just finished closing up, but feel free to look around at what I have completed!” Rarity stepped aside to allow Hoity Toity into the boutique. “My, it really is looking quite extravagant! You know, your sale must be so popular, because on my way in, I saw another store had a sign up as well advertising a sale! Oh but I wouldn’t believe they’re doing nearly as well as—” “I’m sorry, did you say another store was having a giant sale?” Rarity’s eyes twitched while saying that. She knew she didn’t even need to ask, she figured out exactly what was going on. At this point, she was just trying to hold back an outburst. “Yes! It was Apparel something, I believe that…” Hoity Toity’s words just trailed off, Rarity stopped listening at that point. What was building up over days and weeks had finally reached a tipping point, a point where Rarity had enough, and decided it was time to address this blatant copycat attempting to bring her down. “…But I cannot stay here all night,” Hoity Toity continued on, “as I had not planned to and only intended to come by to view your current success. I shall have one of my assistants bring everything regarding the new location. All you need to do is show me your presentation for the line, and tell me whether or not you’ve decided if you will be running this location.” Rarity shook her head, snapping out of her reverie, bringing her back to the moment at hand. The designs! I was supposed to have them prepared for tomorrow. I completely forgot about them while organizing this whole ordeal! She gave Hoity Toity a fake smile. “Yes of course! I’ll have that all prepared. Don’t you worry.” “I will be back at noon on the dot tomorrow and not a second off.” “Yes of course, I will see you then!” And with that, Hoity Toity went on his way, and Rarity shut the door. I wish I could deal with setting up a new line at this second,but how can I knowing that she is trying to take something else of mine too? I need to go over there right now and give her a piece of my mind! Who does she think she is? Stealing clients, ruining my gown, copying my ideas… Rarity threw on her evening wear as she made her way out the door. I mean, the audacity of it all! Rarity slammed the door behind her as she left to Fabrica’s. Rarity finally made it to Apparel Avenue. Hoity Toity was right. There was a gigantic sign above the store that read ‘SALE!’ The nerve of her! Rarity knocked on the door, and at this point, she was finding it very difficult to hold back her anger and not break the door down herself. “Hello? Oh, it’s just you.” Fabrica creeped open the door. “Is there something I can help you with?” Rarity exploded, with all the pent up frustration from the past weeks “Yes indeed! Might I ask what in Celestia’s name is going on here? What do you think you’re doing? You’ve taken my clients away, you’re copying my methods, spoken bad about how I do things. Because of you I have these incredibly expensive custom gowns that are just wasting away because I have absolutely nothing I can possibly do with them! I then start losing customers so I do the one thing I can and you copy that too! And what about that gown you said you’d fix of mine that you ruined? I suppose you have that up for sale at this point! Why don’t I see if—” She pushed open the door a bit more and stepped inside, and was completely disheartened at what she saw. “Well, not like you have any reason to storm in and shout at me, you got what you wanted. Let me go get your stupid thing. It must be so valuable.” Fabrica slammed the door, and walked away into another room, leaving Rarity alone to see what was really going on. Signs read ‘EVERYTHING MUST GO.’ and ‘BUY 1 GET 2 FREE.’ Rarity misheard Hoity Toity. Fabrica hadn’t put up a competitive sale. She was going out of business. “W-wha… I don’t understand…” Rarity was bewildered. What could possibly be going on? I thought, I thought— Fabrica quickly returned, and threw a garment bag at her. “Here’s your stupid dress. I couldn’t quite get everything together back in place but I did what I could.” “I don’t understand, Fabrica, what’s been going on?” “Like you don’t know,” Fabrica huffed. “You win, alright?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about? Win what? What are you saying?” “Look, it’s obvious you didn’t want me around. But accusing me of taking customers? How can I when my shop is about as silent as a rock? And you putting up some giant bargain I can’t compete with. Well that’s just the final nail in the coffin. I’m done.” Rarity was beginning to piece together what was going on. She placed the garment bag down and began to sort through her thoughts. Sweet Celestia. She wasn’t trying to hurt me! This whole time Iwas the one doing damage to her.I’m the crazy competitor!“But, what about Persnickety? Didn’t he place a large order? He placed an order with me and then cancelled it saying she wasn’t satisfied and found another place.” “Well, that wasn’t me. I met a pony named Persnickety, and all he did was come to the store to look, apparently he didn’t like it. He didn’t buy anything at all, heck I’ve barely sold anything this whole time I’ve been here! I found out soon after that he gave me a bad name and told ponies not to come here! I’ve clearly made a mistake. At this point, I’m just going to cut my losses, and go.” So… he didn’t buy anything from her, and he didn’t cancel the order with me because of her… I didn’t even look into the details, I just assumed! And if he gave her a bad rep, he must have done the same for me, and that’s why my business was slow! I just created a bunch of assumptions because of my own fears… And because of that, I’ve hurt somepony. Rarity thought to herself. “Fabrica, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know—” “Look, I get it, you didn’t want somepony else on your turf. I know I might have been a bit… rude, and I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to say to try to get along with someone else who had a similar store. But I just…” Her words trailed off as her eyes began to tear up. “It’s just another failure of mine, I guess.” “Darling, please. I can’t even begin to start to make up for what I’ve done based on facts I just assumed, but if you would let me try to help—” “Help? What can you possibly do?” Rarity took a deep breath. She knew exactly what she had to do in order to start putting things right. It was a bit of a sacrifice, as it was what she originally wanted for herself, but she knew it was the right thing to do. “Would you like to work in Manehattan?” “Huh?” Fabrica rubbed her eyes, stopping herself from shedding more tears. “Yes. I’ve been talking with someone high up in the fashion industry, we’ve been working to get a store open there. It’s in an extremely prime location. And well, maybe you’d be better off taking that spot than me. And don’t worry about the cost of the location, we have that taken care of.” She let out a sigh, and continued. “I’m deeply, deeply sorry. I got a wrong image of you, and created many assumptions founded on absolutely nothing true. And as a result, I’ve caused a mess, and in addition to hurting another pony, I’ve made myself into something really terrible. And it is horrible. Fabrica, I’m sorry. And I want this to be a new place for you to start.” “I… I don’t know what to say, I didn’t think…” Fabrica couldn’t help it anymore, and tears started to flow down her face. Without a second thought, she jumped on Rarity, giving her a tight hug. “Thank you so much…” “It’s what you deserve for me being so terrible.” Rarity returned the hug. “Please be at my place at noon, we can discuss the details then.” “Thank you…” Fabrica let go of Rarity, and wiped her face. “Maybe now, we can get off on a better hoof with this behind us, huh?” Rarity giggled. “Yes, I do believe we can.”
PrologueThe door to the boutique swung open. Rarity was exhausted. It’s always a pleasure to go, she thought, But I’m glad it’s once a year. It drains the life out of me. It had been a long week for her, as she spent all of it in Manehattan, at Equestria’s largest fashion expo. Packed to the brim, it was the place to be for all involved in Equestria’s booming fashion industry. It was also incredibly lively, and as was the case with poor Rarity, extremely exhausting. Just make it to the sofa, she told herself, and I can sleep for the rest of the day. Dropping her bags at the floor, she used the rest of her strength to crawl to the couch. She pulled herself up, curled up and closed her eyes. Just a cat nap… Knock! knock! knock! Like a sleeping lion who was disturbed Rarity snapped at the sound. “WHAT?!” “Oh… gosh… I’m so sorry, I’ll come again later. Sorry…” She recognized the soft voice immediately. “Oh goodness! Fluttershy, I’m so sorry!” Rarity sprang up to the door. “I sincerely apologize, darling. I just got back from Manehattan, it was incredibly tiring. Please forgive me.” She opened the door to be greeted with a warm smile from the pegasus. “It’s okay Rarity. I heard you were on your way back, so I wanted to come by and return Opal if you were here.” Fluttershy placed her bag down to allow the cat to get out. “Yes, thank you so much! I hope she wasn’t too much trouble.” “Oh of course not. She was the sweetest.” “That’s great.” Rarity got down to eye level with Opal. “Mommy missed you so much, yes she did!” She leaned in to give her a little nuzzle, only for Opal to return the affection with the usual hiss and a swipe. “Well I suppose that’s my fault for believing you felt the same way.” “So, um, how was the expo?” “It went fantastic, thank you so much for asking! I was able to talk to Hoity Toity again, apparently he is looking to have a store opened in Blueblood Plaza! And he asked me if I’d be interested in opening there!” The thought alone was enough to make Rarity squee like a school filly. “That’s good news. I’m so happy for you.” “Thank you! Now come inside, I can make some tea.” “I’m sorry Rarity, I wish I could… But I don’t have time for that today, I’m in a bit of a hurry…” “Okay darling. Another time then.” “But before I go…” Fluttershy fumbled through her bag, “I have your mail too, like you asked.” “Oh Fluttershy, I cannot thank you enough for doing all this. I appreciate it so much.” “Anything for a friend. Oh, and I should add, there was also something else in there, along with your mail.” “What do you mean?” “Well, I caught this pegasus who was waiting outside your door to give you something. I didn’t recognize her, she seemed like she was new.” “Maybe it was someone I know? What did she look like, did you talk to her?” “She had a light green coat with a yellow and pink mane. I spoke to here a little… I just told her you weren’t home. She then asked me to give you this.” Fluttershy fummled through her bag again, and pulled out a pink envelope, it looked as if it was homemade. Rarity took the envelope from her, but was extremely puzzled as to who it could be. She not only knew of no pony who matched Fluttershy’s description, nor did she expect to receive anything during her time away.” “Are you sure you didn’t recognize her, dear?” “It was the first time I saw her… and there was that building close to City Hall that was recently sold…” “Well. If that’s all you know, I appreciate you telling me that. I’ll look into it then and find out what she wanted. Thank you again Fluttershy.” “Really, it’s never a problem. I’ll see you another time Rarity!” “Goodbye darling!” And with that, Fluttershy was off. Rarity closed the door. “Well,” she said to herself, “I should probably sort this before getting my beauty sleep.” She examined the envelope. It was blank, save for the decorations. There’s no return address on this… She continued to inspect the envelope. She just delivered it on their own? Using her telekinesis, Rarity got her letter opener, and cut the envelope open, to read the contents. To whom it may concern, Hi! I’m new to Ponyville. My name is Fabrica, I moved here recently from Appleloosa! I’m so excited to meet my new neighbors! As I really want to get to know each and every one of you, I’m having a move in party on the 15th of the month at the opening of my store Apparel Avenue! Refreshments will be provided. I’m located two houses to the east of City Hall. I hope to see you there! -Sincerely, Fabrica Rarity placed the letter down. Uncomfortable thoughts came to her mind, memories of cruel competitors she had to deal with. Especially awful, mean spirited ponies like Suri. What if this Fabrica was just the same? No, she told herself, it’s not fair to judge a pony before meeting her. I wouldn’t want somepony doing the same to me. I guess the right thing to do would be to attend her party on the 15th, the 15th… Rarity rummaged through her papers, trying to find where she put her daily planner. “Ah, here it is~!” She said in a sweet little sing-song voice. “Now to just check that date… OH MY STARS! The 15th is tomorrow!” One of the issues Rarity had was she could never reorganize her daily schedule, especially after she’s been out of town so long, the day before something came up. “Well… I suppose I can squeeze in a brief visit if I close the Boutique for lunch, and I’m back in time to meet up with the clients in the afternoon…” She marked the new event in her planner. “Then it’s settled! I’ll attend Fabrica’s party tomorrow, and move on from there! Oh, I do hope I have something to make a very good first impression with...” Rarity’s thoughts of a good rest were a thing of the past, as now all of her attention was diverted to the creation of a stunning ensemble for tomorrow.
Chapter 1“Ta dah! Well Opal, how do you think it looks?” Rarity emerged to show off her new outfit. Despite only having a few hours, she put everything she had into making her ensemble shine. It was a light blue gown, complete with magenta lacings and studded with the finest gems she had to offer. To her, it was perfect. Opal glared at it, looked to Rarity, and then wandered off. Well she didn’t give me a hiss, so it can’t be terrible… She walked over to her counter to pick up Fabrica’s original invitation, and checked the address one more time. Two houses east of City Hall… Yes I think I remember that location being up for sale some time ago. Rarity placed the letter back with the rest of her mail, and prepared to leave. “Opal, please be a dear and watch over things while I’m gone, mommy loves you!” There was a time where she couldn’t trust Opal on her own, but she was definitely mature enough to be left alone for a short time. Especially considering she would spend most of the day napping anyway. Rarity left the boutique, and locked the door behind her, before beginning her walk to Apparel Avenue. It wasn’t a long walk, considering how the Boutique itself wasn’t terribly far from the center of town either. To Rarity, however, the walk felt like forever. She never had to deal with someone else opening a clothing shop in Ponyville. First impressions were a key thing to develop this relationship. Soon enough, Rarity made it to Apparel Avenue. It was a small establishment, a yellow building with some amateur signs, and a big one that read ‘GRAND OPENING!’ Well, she did just open it, I suppose I can’t judge too harshly on appearance at this moment. Rarity trotted up to the building, and rang the doorbell. The door swung open, to reveal a slightly pudgy Pegasus with light green fur. Sure enough, she matched Fluttershy’s original description. “Well hiya there! My name’s Fabrica! Come on in!” She gestured to come on inside, so Rarity stepped inside the establishment. “Thank you most sincerely.” “Now, what would your name be?” “My name is Rarity. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” “The pleasure is all mine!” Fabrica then looked at Rarity’s ensemble. “Well… you certainly took things way too formally, didn’t ya?” “Well, I do run the Carousel Boutique not too far from here. I took note that you too ran your own boutique, I thought I should at least dress to impress a fellow pony with a passion for clothing!” “Well you can consider me wow’d, Rarity! I remember dropping off the invitation at your establishment, I think I met your friend, Flittershy?” “Fluttershy.” “That was it! Yeah, you have a nice establishment! Real high end stuff, doesn’t really seem fit for such a town though. They don’t seem ‘into’ that, not nearly as sophisticated as you are!” Rarity couldn’t help but take a bit of insult at that. She knew that chances were that Fabrica didn’t mean to sound hurtful, but she couldn’t help but take a little offense. This was, after all, her passion. And the way Fabrica put it kind of made Rarity feel that she was the odd one out for that. Just ignore it, she thought to herself. She probably didn’t mean it like that. Fabrica continued to talk. “Well, it seemed okay then to open up a bit more of a casual clothing shop, ya’ know?” Rarity looked around the establishment. Fabrica was right, in comparison to Carousel Boutique, Apparel Avenue was certainly far more casual. In contrast to her own extensive gowns in the Boutique, Fabrica’s store had simple clothing, like sweaters on racks, not displayed on mannequins as Rarity would have it set up. It certainly fit the atmosphere of Ponyville more than the Boutique did. “Yes, I do believe I understand what you mean.” “Now don’t be so shy, I’ll show you around.” Fabrica stepped behind Rarity’s gown to nudge her inside, when suddenly- RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP “What… what was that?” Despite asking the question, Rarity knew all too well what happened. Even those who aren’t in the fashion industry know that sound, and fear it too. “I’m… I’m so sorry, my hoof got caught up in your dress and when I guess I jerked it too fast, and…” Fabrica walked to the front of Rarity, and held up the torn-off fabric too her face. “I’m so sorry.” Rarity took in a deep breath. “It’s not a problem. It happens.” “You’re not upset?” “No, I’m not.” She gave a warm smile to Fabrica. “It’s okay.” Fabrica breathed a sigh of relief. “Phew! I thought you were going to blow a gasket at me!” She chuckled, and placed her hoof. “Well, I guess it was after all your fault for wearing something so over-the-top, eh? Bet that won’t happen again, you wearing something so crazy for nothing!” With that comment, Rarity’s feelings changed from pity for Fabrica, to embarrassment. Her white fur shifting into a slight shade of red. Is she really making fun of me for this? After she just tore it? “Come on upstairs dear, we’ll take that nonsense off of you. I’ll see if I can repair it and get it back to you.” ****** Fabrica took Rarity upstairs to her workroom, and had her remove the outfit. She then took the gown and walked to the other side of the room and placed it on her workbench. Rarity took a seat across from the workbench, so as to not get in the way of anything Fabrica already set up. Celestia knows how Rarity would feel if somepony messed up her work area, she didn’t want to get in the way of some other pony’s. “I’ve never really done any work on something like this before,” Fabrica continued to examine the dress, continuously picking it up and putting it back down. “But if you give me some time, I can have it good as new in no time!” “It’s really not necessary dear, please-” “I insist, I insist!” Clearly finished with her inspection, Fabrica turned around to face Rarity. “I’ve always wanted to do some work on some formal wear. This is a perfect opportunity.” “Do some work, what do you mean? I thought you mainly specialized in casual attire?” “I do, but seeing the area, your shop, I dunno, maybe it’ll be good to give it a whirl! I might as well get something done. I’m sure I can make at least one formal line!” Rarity froze in her place. Another clothing shop, specializing in casual and formal wear? What am I going to do? With this location closer to the busiest part of town than my shop, there’s no doubt- With that, she cut herself off from that train of thought. Any pony has the right to do as they please, and I know this isn’t going to turn into anything severe. Business has never gone down for you, this is no exception. “You alright there sweetie, you got quiet for a second. I don’t suppose your kind is separable from your ensemble, are ya? You take it off and lose all traces of consciousness.” Fabrica chuckled at her comment, as if she thought she just made one of the funniest lines of the year. “Ha ha, I assure you I am fine without it.” Though I do wish she’d tone down the joking a bit, Rarity thought, I don’t get how one second she could be saying that she wants to make a formal line, then the next second ridiculing me for wearing such an ensemble. “If you say so!” Fabrica began to step forward. “Now why don’t you stick around for a bit, it’s nearly 1 and I’m having some other ponies over and-“ “I apologize darling, did you just say it’s almost 1 o’clock?” “Yes, why?” Sweet Celestia, I’m going to be late! The clients! Rarity scrambled up to get herself together. “I’m so sorry, I wish I could stay but I need to be running back, I have some business and I really need to be on my way and-“ “Slow down, slow down! Okay, we can chat again another time, I’ll come by later this week after I’ve repaired your gown okay?” “Thank you so, so much, and you have my deepest apologies!” With that, Rarity ran down the stairs. Fabrica shouted down the stairs, “I said not to worry about it, see you soon!” Oh I hope I can beat the clients to the boutique, I don’t want to keep them waiting. Making it downstairs, Rarity opened the door to outside, and bolted out.
Chapter 2Dear Rarity, In regards to the new store location in Manehattan, the details regarding the floor space has been cleared up. We can now discuss what you’ll be focusing on in the new location, and the upcoming exclusive line for the store. It is important that we make time to have this conversation, and relatively soon, to finalize these details. The earliest date I may be able to travel to your current boutique in Ponyville would be the 17th of next month. Please be prepared. Until then, Hoity Toity Finished reading, Rarity used her magic, sending it across the room and pinned it to the wall just above her work station. It was incredibly important for her to remember the date, as Hoity Toity is not one with a flexible schedule. She sat back down at her desk, and rubbed her hooves in her eyes. Things looked a bit packed for her in the coming weeks. Not to mention, things haven’t been all that fantastic the past few days, either. Rarity’s newest client was an Earth pony named Persnickety, and to her discovery, a rather impatient one. The day she was set to meet with him was the day she was running back from Fabrica’s. Despite making it a few minutes prior to the scheduled appointment time, Persnickety was standing outside waiting for her. Apparently he had the wrong time scheduled, and began to berate Rarity as soon as she arrived, as he believed her to be tardy. It took all of her might to try to calm him down, and even after she proved to have the correct time, and offered to make up for his waiting by offering a sizable discount, he still didn’t appear too happy. He needed 5 gowns of various sizes for his daughter’s cute-ceañera, and needed them in just a week. Fortunately for Rarity, she had enough fabric to get the job done, and in a matter of days, had already completed 2 gowns, and was adding the finishing touches on the 3rd. DING DONG, DING DONG~ “Just a moment, I’ll be right there!” Rarity got up from her work desk, and proceeded to walk downstairs. That’s odd, I wasn’t expecting anypony… She looked at her clock hanging on the wall. It read 3:30. Sweetie Belle is a bit late, but she said she would be playing with her friends. And even still, she never would ring the doorbell, she just comes right in. Rarity opened the door, to reveal Persnickety. “Mr. Persnickety! Oh what a pleasure to see you again, I was just in the middle of the 3rd gown, one of the filly-sized ones, would you like to come in and see-” “Yes, I came here to speak about those, I’m cancelling the order.” Bewildered by the statement, Rarity took a step back. “W-what do you mean you’re cancelling it?” “Don’t need it anymore. Found a better shop, had some clothing ready. As such, I have no use for what I ordered from you.” “But what about what I’ve already completed, will you at least be taking those?” “I have no use for them, just sell them to someone else.” “But Mr. Persnickety, I’m simply afraid I cannot! The order you placed was so incredibly detailed with measurements and in design that it would be almost impossible to find another pony who would be a fit!” “That’s not my problem, I came here to cancel the order, and I’ve done so. It’s your problem what to do with the current gowns, I will not be accepting them nor paying. Good day.” With that, Persnickety trotted off. Holding herself back so she didn’t escalate the situation, Rarity just slammed the door. “AAAAAAARH!” After letting out her scream, she walked upstairs to her room. Without a second thought, she climbed onto her bed and just laid there. Opal took notice of this, and in a rare moment of compassion, joined Rarity and curled up beside her. “Oh Opal… What am I going to do about this?” She put her hoof around her cat. “It’s just so stressful. How could he do that, make me rush through completing dresses on a short time frame, clearing my schedule, and to cancel it? And for what?” Rarity rolled over in bed. “He mentioned finding a new shop… could it be…?” She put her hoof to her eyes, wiping away the forming tears. “She can’t already be hurting my business, can she? I don’t want…” She held Opal closer. “I don’t want to get closed out of my home town…” ****** “Rarity! What are you doing? It’s only the afternoon, it’s not bed time already!” “WAHAHA~!” Rarity, startled from her sleep, awoke to the sight of her younger sister. “Sweetie Belle, you’re home late, where have you been?” “Apple Bloom and Scootaloo wanted to check out that new store in Ponyville, so we went. I didn’t really find anything interesting though. Especially since I’m trying to save up for that new music player and-“ “Wait, just a moment Sweetie Belle.” Rarity got out of her bed. “What store are you talking about?” “The new clothing store. Apparel Avenue. I didn’t like it too much because I felt there wasn’t anything really special to it, your store is much better!” “Thank you dear. You have no idea how much better that makes me feel.” Rummaging her hooves through her mane, Rarity trotted over to her desk. “I just lost a customer to her. I’m not feeling too great about it.” She sighed, and picked up the pen, and already started sketching up some new designs. “I guess I just have to pick myself up and start over.” “Are you okay?” “I’m fine. Thank you for asking though.” “Really? You know you can tell me.” “Normally I’m the one telling you that.” Rarity giggled at that. “I’m just… well… I never had to deal with something like this before. I guess I have a bit of anxiety.” “Oh… and um, I should tell you something. The pegasus who runs the shop-” “Fabrica?” “Yes her. She asked who we were, so I, um, told her I was your sister. And she said she needed to stop by if that was okay. I was sure what to say, so I said it was okay…” “She’s coming here?” “Yes… Did I do something wrong?” “No, absolutely not. Thank you darling.” Rarity gave a gentle hug to Sweetie Belle. She did say she wanted to finish fixing that gown… maybe she’s here to drop it off. “Did she say how soon she’d be here?” “She looked like she was getting ready to leave shortly after we-” DING DONG, DING DONG~ “I’m going to assume that’s her. Wait here Sweetie.” Well that certainly was fast. Rarity left Sweetie Belle in her room, and walked down the staircase. “I’m on my way! The door’s open!” Making it downstairs, she encountered Fabrica making her way inside. “How have you been darling?” “Well I’ve been fine, business is okay.” Fabrica inspected the area around her, almost judging the boutique. “Might I ask, what brings you here? I wasn’t expecting you.” Rarity noticed Fabrica didn’t have a clothing bag on her, or something of the sort. So she clearly wasn’t there to return the dress. “I was running my store, and happened to bump into your younger sister! I thought it would be okay to stop by and say hello if you were around.” She continued to look all around the room, as if looking for something that wasn’t there. “I thought you wouldn’t mind.” “No not at all! But, um, is there something in particular you were looking for?” Rarity tried to start up some conversation, she was getting a bit uncomfortable with how Fabrica was almost snooping around. “As I mentioned before, I was kind of interested in selling some higher end stuff.” She walked up to one of the dresses on a mannequin. “How much does one like this sell for?” “Well, that one in particular is about 200 bits.” “Sounds a bit pricy. What’s the reason?” “Well, the material is pretty expensive, and the time it takes to create the details goes into the price, I try to be a bit generous and sell things a bit lower than they’d usually go, but I also have to keep my store open.” “Understandable, I get it.” Fabrica stopped her apparent wandering, and looked to Rarity. “I apologize for barging in, I just thought I could come over and stop by, say hello, chit chat, the usual.” For wanting to come over to… ‘chit chat’, you don’t seem to be too interested in it. Rarity thought to herself. “Would you perhaps like to have some tea or something? I can place some hot water on the stove.” “Well, if it’s not too much trouble, sure!” Rarity then led Fabrica to the kitchen, and she took a seat as Rarity prepared the tea. “Have you had any interesting customers yet recently, in your short time here?” Rarity said, again trying to spark up some discussion as she placed a tea cup where Fabrica was sitting, and went to grab her own. “Why yes, actually, just yesterday! There was this one rather… interesting individual. His name was Persnickety, and he-” CRASH The shattered cup she just dropped was the last thing on her mind for the moment. At that second, Rarity’s mind just went blank. “Is everything okay?” asked Fabrica. “I apologize darling. I foolishly wasn’t paying attention.” Rarity just stared at the shattered mess, unable to move to clean it up. “You know, maybe I should leave, I’m sorry for troubling you.” “D-don’t worry about it, really.” Fabrica didn’t hear Rarity say that, she was already at the door. But Rarity didn’t mean to say it to her, she was saying it to herself. And she wasn’t talking about the broken tea cup. Standing over the counter, and with her fears confirmed, Rarity cried again.
Chapter 3Rarity sat at her desk, staring at the notebook holding the logs of her sales and customers. Through the entire week, she only had three customers, all of which only placed relatively small orders. What am I going to do? How did it get to this? This is bad enough as is… But with Hoity Toity coming next week, and he sees how empty the boutique is?He’ll never believe I’m able to manage another shop! Everything was fine until I lost that one client. What if he decides I’m not up a pony suitable enough to make it in Manehattan! What if… Rarity cut herself off, hitting head on her desk. She didn’t want to think about it anymore. “Rarity… are you in there?” Sweetie Belle creeped into Rarity’s room. “I was yelling for you downstairs. Didn’t you hear me?” “I’m sorry Sweetie…” Rarity picked her head up from her desk. “Your sister has had a lot on her mind recently.” “What’s wrong?” “It’s nothing new, Darling. Did… did you happen to see if any pony was around that new store?” “Yeah, I walked by it on my way home. Is that what’s bothering you?” “Is it that obvious?” “K-kind of. That and with the way your shop’s been so, well-” “Dead?” “I wasn’t necessarily going to say that…” “It’s okay, Sweetie Belle. It’s very much true.” Rarity let out a heavy sigh. “Maybe I’ve just lost my touch. Maybe I just lost... Oh who am I kidding? I’m ruined!” She slammed her face back on the desk and began to cry. “That’s no way to talk, Rarity. You can get out of this. I’ve seen you going through worse and come out better!” Sweetie Belle walked up to Rarity, putting her hoof around her. “Y-you think so?” “Yeah, like the time with that pony who stole from you, and how you managed to get yourself out of that. You could make just as big a comeback!” Rarity lifted her head up, and wiped the tears from her eyes. “You’re right, Sweetie!” Her eyes started to twinkle, as she brought herself together. “I know exactly what I can do! I still have some time before Hoity Toity comes over. If I can take some of my cheaper fabrics, I can create a rush sale. And with that I’m sure to draw up some business by the time he comes over. He’ll see the boutique is still doing incredibly well and can support a new shop in Manehattan. Oh it’ll take a lot of work, but I’m sure it’ll pay off.” “Are you feeling a bit better, Sis?” “Oh most certainly!” Rarity hugged Sweetie Belle. “You helped me feel so much better.” Sweetie Belle replied with a squee. But if I’m going to do this, I have to make sure I can stay a cut above Fabrica… “Sweetie… could you do one more thing for me?” “Anything!” “I need you to go down to Apparel Avenue one more time, and I want you to tell me the average price of what’s being sold there.” “Well, isn’t that—I don’t know…” “It’ll be a big help, Dear. Just do it as a favor for me, please?” “O-okay!” Please, please work. Rarity let out a heavy sigh, and locked the door to the Boutique. This is fabulous, the boutique has been attracting entirely new customers for almost a week! It’s been incredibly tiresome to prepare, but it brought some business back fortunately. Despite only having a few days, she managed to pull everything together. It took all she had in her, staying up night and day creating new designs, cutting up fabrics and piecing them together, but she did it. Fortunately for her, the sale was a tremendous success. In fact, it was so successful that by the third day, word spread beyond Ponyville of what was going on, and new clients from places such as Fillydelphia and Canterlot came to stop by. However, this was all only possible thanks to Sweetie Belle. As per Rarity’s instruction, she went over to Apparel Avenue and found the exact prices of Fabrica’s lines. With this information, Rarity then cut her own prices so they would be about sixty-percent of whatever Fabrica sold similar clothing for. Enough to just barely make a profit for her, and enough to be a cut above Fabrica. Rarity kept trying to tell herself it was within good reason, especially after finding out that Fabrica sold her designs at an average price of one-hundred and fifty bits. Convenient, especially considering Rarity just so happened to tell her that her own gowns were typically worth around two-hundred bits. I know it’s not particularly right, but it’s what I had to do. I didn’t have a choice. Besides, according to Sweetie Belle, Fabrica had several ponies over before. Her business must be doing just fine. Despite trying to keep a neutral mindset, it quickly changed at the sight of the unfinished gowns for Persnickety. So far, these were the only custom garnments during this whole flash sale that nopony even so much as glanced at. They were an incredible burden on her, and weren’t going anywhere. She’s clearly doing fine if she can just take away clients like that. And she stole my dress. She said she’d return it several weeks ago, but still hasn’t! She must have just used it as a template to make her own lines. In frustration, Rarity let out a loud groan. Stealing clients, lowering prices, taking my dress, being snoopy around my store...she started this! I’m not doing anything wrong! I’m just doing what I can to stay ahead! Suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, the doorbell rang, shattering her train of thought. That’s odd, now who could it be at this time? “Yes, coming!” Rarity trotted to the door, and was immediately shocked to see none other than Hoity Toity standing on the other side. “Hoity T-Toity! I thought you weren’t coming in until tomorrow morning!” “I originally planned to, but when word of your booming sale reached Canterlot , I simply had to stop by to observe what was making it so incredibly popular!” “Why yes, do come in and look around! I just finished closing up, but feel free to look around at what I have completed!” Rarity stepped aside to allow Hoity Toity into the boutique. “My, it really is looking quite extravagant! You know, your sale must be so popular, because on my way in, I saw another store had a sign up as well advertising a sale! Oh but I wouldn’t believe they’re doing nearly as well as—” “I’m sorry, did you say another store was having a giant sale?” Rarity’s eyes twitched while saying that. She knew she didn’t even need to ask, she figured out exactly what was going on. At this point, she was just trying to hold back an outburst. “Yes! It was Apparel something, I believe that…” Hoity Toity’s words just trailed off, Rarity stopped listening at that point. What was building up over days and weeks had finally reached a tipping point, a point where Rarity had enough, and decided it was time to address this blatant copycat attempting to bring her down. “…But I cannot stay here all night,” Hoity Toity continued on, “as I had not planned to and only intended to come by to view your current success. I shall have one of my assistants bring everything regarding the new location. All you need to do is show me your presentation for the line, and tell me whether or not you’ve decided if you will be running this location.” Rarity shook her head, snapping out of her reverie, bringing her back to the moment at hand. The designs! I was supposed to have them prepared for tomorrow. I completely forgot about them while organizing this whole ordeal! She gave Hoity Toity a fake smile. “Yes of course! I’ll have that all prepared. Don’t you worry.” “I will be back at noon on the dot tomorrow and not a second off.” “Yes of course, I will see you then!” And with that, Hoity Toity went on his way, and Rarity shut the door. I wish I could deal with setting up a new line at this second,but how can I knowing that she is trying to take something else of mine too? I need to go over there right now and give her a piece of my mind! Who does she think she is? Stealing clients, ruining my gown, copying my ideas… Rarity threw on her evening wear as she made her way out the door. I mean, the audacity of it all! Rarity slammed the door behind her as she left to Fabrica’s. Rarity finally made it to Apparel Avenue. Hoity Toity was right. There was a gigantic sign above the store that read ‘SALE!’ The nerve of her! Rarity knocked on the door, and at this point, she was finding it very difficult to hold back her anger and not break the door down herself. “Hello? Oh, it’s just you.” Fabrica creeped open the door. “Is there something I can help you with?” Rarity exploded, with all the pent up frustration from the past weeks “Yes indeed! Might I ask what in Celestia’s name is going on here? What do you think you’re doing? You’ve taken my clients away, you’re copying my methods, spoken bad about how I do things. Because of you I have these incredibly expensive custom gowns that are just wasting away because I have absolutely nothing I can possibly do with them! I then start losing customers so I do the one thing I can and you copy that too! And what about that gown you said you’d fix of mine that you ruined? I suppose you have that up for sale at this point! Why don’t I see if—” She pushed open the door a bit more and stepped inside, and was completely disheartened at what she saw. “Well, not like you have any reason to storm in and shout at me, you got what you wanted. Let me go get your stupid thing. It must be so valuable.” Fabrica slammed the door, and walked away into another room, leaving Rarity alone to see what was really going on. Signs read ‘EVERYTHING MUST GO.’ and ‘BUY 1 GET 2 FREE.’ Rarity misheard Hoity Toity. Fabrica hadn’t put up a competitive sale. She was going out of business. “W-wha… I don’t understand…” Rarity was bewildered. What could possibly be going on? I thought, I thought— Fabrica quickly returned, and threw a garment bag at her. “Here’s your stupid dress. I couldn’t quite get everything together back in place but I did what I could.” “I don’t understand, Fabrica, what’s been going on?” “Like you don’t know,” Fabrica huffed. “You win, alright?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about? Win what? What are you saying?” “Look, it’s obvious you didn’t want me around. But accusing me of taking customers? How can I when my shop is about as silent as a rock? And you putting up some giant bargain I can’t compete with. Well that’s just the final nail in the coffin. I’m done.” Rarity was beginning to piece together what was going on. She placed the garment bag down and began to sort through her thoughts. Sweet Celestia. She wasn’t trying to hurt me! This whole time Iwas the one doing damage to her.I’m the crazy competitor!“But, what about Persnickety? Didn’t he place a large order? He placed an order with me and then cancelled it saying she wasn’t satisfied and found another place.” “Well, that wasn’t me. I met a pony named Persnickety, and all he did was come to the store to look, apparently he didn’t like it. He didn’t buy anything at all, heck I’ve barely sold anything this whole time I’ve been here! I found out soon after that he gave me a bad name and told ponies not to come here! I’ve clearly made a mistake. At this point, I’m just going to cut my losses, and go.” So… he didn’t buy anything from her, and he didn’t cancel the order with me because of her… I didn’t even look into the details, I just assumed! And if he gave her a bad rep, he must have done the same for me, and that’s why my business was slow! I just created a bunch of assumptions because of my own fears… And because of that, I’ve hurt somepony. Rarity thought to herself. “Fabrica, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know—” “Look, I get it, you didn’t want somepony else on your turf. I know I might have been a bit… rude, and I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to say to try to get along with someone else who had a similar store. But I just…” Her words trailed off as her eyes began to tear up. “It’s just another failure of mine, I guess.” “Darling, please. I can’t even begin to start to make up for what I’ve done based on facts I just assumed, but if you would let me try to help—” “Help? What can you possibly do?” Rarity took a deep breath. She knew exactly what she had to do in order to start putting things right. It was a bit of a sacrifice, as it was what she originally wanted for herself, but she knew it was the right thing to do. “Would you like to work in Manehattan?” “Huh?” Fabrica rubbed her eyes, stopping herself from shedding more tears. “Yes. I’ve been talking with someone high up in the fashion industry, we’ve been working to get a store open there. It’s in an extremely prime location. And well, maybe you’d be better off taking that spot than me. And don’t worry about the cost of the location, we have that taken care of.” She let out a sigh, and continued. “I’m deeply, deeply sorry. I got a wrong image of you, and created many assumptions founded on absolutely nothing true. And as a result, I’ve caused a mess, and in addition to hurting another pony, I’ve made myself into something really terrible. And it is horrible. Fabrica, I’m sorry. And I want this to be a new place for you to start.” “I… I don’t know what to say, I didn’t think…” Fabrica couldn’t help it anymore, and tears started to flow down her face. Without a second thought, she jumped on Rarity, giving her a tight hug. “Thank you so much…” “It’s what you deserve for me being so terrible.” Rarity returned the hug. “Please be at my place at noon, we can discuss the details then.” “Thank you…” Fabrica let go of Rarity, and wiped her face. “Maybe now, we can get off on a better hoof with this behind us, huh?” Rarity giggled. “Yes, I do believe we can.”
