//------------------------------// // The Good Life // Story: Rarity Gets Enslaved // by MagicS //------------------------------// Now that I’m looking over things I feel like I was maybe slightly overemotional when I first started writing. Oh well, I also wanted to capture what I was feeling at the moment and I feel like I did a pretty good job of that. Things are truly looking up for me now though. I really can’t convey how grateful I am to Duke Terluff that he would do something like this. I hope my dresses and makeup and everything else I brought with me were recovered. If not I would have to live with it but that would be okay since I at least have my precious diary back. So since I’ve caught up to current events I wonder what I’ll do now? I suppose I’ll just keep writing everything important down at the end of the day. Maybe I’ll keep you close by and not write again until I’m on my way out of here? Twilight is going to want a detailed record of events and I really don’t want to lose you again. All I know for sure is I’ll cover everything I can. Hmm. *Note to self: Remember to actually white-out the crossed out lines It was later that day (it was indeed the next morning after I had fallen asleep once more at my desk) after I had finished up writing down everything that had happened to me so far that I made my way back to Duke Terluff’s residence to see what else he had found from the ship. I was ecstatic at first but I didn’t want to get too excited, there were more than just my personal belongings on that ship so who knows what the Duke had scrounged up. Still I rather giddily hopped my way through the castle along the way. Not even minding if any trolls saw me despite how awkward and embarrassing it might look. I quickly made it to his chambers to find him and his wife at the center table with a number of boxes piled around it. Oh dear, I hope none of my dresses were thoughtlessly stuffed inside these boxes. Please let them at least be folded first. I gave both Duke Terluff and his wife nods of greeting and went to work on opening up the nearest box. “Oh, this is great! I hope my things are still in good condition.” “Remember, they might not be there at all. Don’t get your hopes too high up.” Duke Terluff said rather pessimistically. Or if I’m being fair, realistically. Most of the boxes turned out to be filled with random supplies and tools or other things taken from the boat. In fact all but two were like that. Of those last two boxes one was just as I feared, torn, crumpled, and ruined dresses haphazardly thrown in without a care in the world. It was almost enough to make me cry. I had to close that box and push it far away, unfortunately there would be nothing more for it but the trash. The last box however did at least have one thing that made me happy. My old sketchbook! A bit unneeded now but I was still happy to have it back. Some of the old designs and ideas jotted down in it could be helpful. Despite everything else I really couldn’t help but feel that things were finally coming up Rarity! I was the “In” thing now in the castle. Everyone who was anyone knew about me and what I could do and they all wanted to get their hands on me. Some were jealous of me working for Duke Terluff and wanted to be able to say they had my services as well, others just wanted a good dress. And some more simply wanted my company for the prestige it would give them. The Duke was more than happy to oblige any requests and he allowed me to do as I pleased, knowing how well it reflected on him. He wanted others to see him as a rather magnanimous figure. And as a consequence I became a powerful figure despite my status. The trolls hung off my every word when it came to fashion and design now, I could and was influencing anything possible. It didn’t escape my mind that I could use this power for selfish and perhaps even mean ways. If I said something negative about another noble, or even Duke Terluff (not that I would ever do such a thing), the trolls who now greatly respected and needed me would do nothing more than agree. They would do anything to please me at this point. I could ask for whatever food or luxury I wanted. To put it simply I was now living the good life. The new dress for Mrs. Terluff was done. As was the Duke’s suit. My own dress was coming together nicely but I decided to put that aside for the moment to focus on what Earl Tsalim wanted. He was kind enough to bring in his lovely wife, Tsaree, which made it even more apparent to me that I still had no idea what Mrs. Terluff’s name was. Anyways she was an absolute doll and was so excited to have me making a dress for her. It seems the both of them thought that I would never do something like that because I was used to the company of Dukes and doing my work for them. As if! I would always be there to help others, no matter their station. Which is something of a silly thing to think about in this situation since Earl Tsalim and his wife were most assuredly far above almost every other troll in the kingdom. Even when it came to nobility he was still above the Barons and Viscounts as I learned. The trolls used a bit of a different system than Equestria. Tsaree had dark fur bordering on black so I went with a deep red velvet for her. She also was already on the thin side so I really wanted to enhance that look, a form-fitting skirt did well to that effect along with a wide belt around the stomach. This was less of a flowing, extravagant, gown like I had made for Mrs. Terluff and more of a “professional” piece. It was sharp and eye-catching, it made her look strong and imposing if she kept a straight face. I had noticed that she had rather piercing eyes and a brow that made her look angry even though she was supremely polite and demure. Still I designed it off appearance and if there was a theme for this outfit it would be “In charge”. “I think you’ll love it, darling.” I told her as she came by with her husband a day later to pick it up. “Don’t hesitate to ask for my services again.” “Thank you so much, it already looks wonderful.” The shy Tsaree said as she bowed her head even further than her husband liked to. “We’ll be sure to come by again and if you need anything from us all you need to do is ask, Lady Rarity.” Earl Tsalim said as they both backed out the door. Lady Rarity. Now I like the sound of that! Perhaps I was letting this get to my head a little bit. But who cares! This is amazing! “Lalalala~.” I started singing to myself as I went around my office. You wouldn’t even recognize it compared to when I first started working in here. Now I had mannequins, dividers, even more rolls of boxes and fabrics and accessories strewn about, and anything else I wanted. A flower vase with an arrangement featuring a heavy use of roses that I designed myself sat on the center of my desk. A fresh basket of the trolls finest apples sat on my cabinet with a card saying they were a gift from Viscount Tihud, a noble who I had never even met. There was a long list of work orders on my desk that I could get to now, although I wanted to finish my own dress first. It seems many had gotten wind of Earl Tsalim brazenly coming to my office and asking me directly to make a dress for his wife and since then I’ve had many others asking me the same. I can’t really refuse but honestly I don’t think I even want to. The ideas just keep coming, it takes a lot of hard work, time, and effort to make each thing but I know they’re being appreciated. Better to have too many dresses to make than too little. I had used silk and velvet already, now it was time for satin, chiffon, and crepe! Wasn’t I lucky to be in a place that had a full inventory of everything a professional, high-class, fashion designer needs? Lucky minus everything else about being stuck here. The one downside to being this popular and already having so much work to do was that I would occasionally be interrupted by someone else coming by to place an order or ask me for something else. Getting interrupted when I’m in the middle of working my magic and “in the zone” can be very disruptive. Still, I was the pillar of politeness and understanding. I wanted the trolls to think as good of me as possible. I wonder if I could have a painter come in here? This was almost an acceptable studio for me to work in and that might just send it over the edge. Actually instead of a painter I think I would like to do it myself. I’ll ask Duke Terluff for some paint and brushes and really make this office shine! Hm, but I have so many orders to complete so maybe that would be a bad idea. Did Twilight ever invent a cloning spell? Probably. Enough of that, I sat back on my desk and got out my sketchbook. Time to finish the last bits of detail on my dress. I would probably need to make up one or two prototypes before it was just perfect, and I didn’t have a ponyquin to put my dress on while I made it so it was doubly difficult. I’m going to have to put more effort into the drawing board and the initial stitching than I normally do. Let’s get to work! The day after I finished my dress I was invited to do some interior decorating for Marquess Tivbald. His personal quarters were not as large as Terluff’s or Tulepule’s but they were still quite grand. And just as boring as most others I had seen. He allowed me to go about my business, looking through the rooms, checking out what he currently had decorating everything, examining the flooring, painting, etc. Obviously this was not my normal forte but my talent and skillset could be applied to anything like this. I can easily make anything fabulous. Marquess Tivbald nervously watched me the whole time, perhaps worried that I would take offense to something or insult his aesthetic sense. Well I certainly didn’t like it but saying anything bad about this would be the same as insulting nearly every noble’s home. Was I supposed to complain about the same boring drapes I saw nearly everywhere else? Was I supposed to admonish him in particular for simply copying everything and not even trying to go his own way when the same could be said of all the other Dukes, Barons, and so forth? I’m glad he respected me but I wish he would be less nervous, you asked for me to help you darling there’s no need to worry. I’m going to be as pleasant about all of this as possible. I do honestly and eagerly wish to make his home the best and prettiest it can be. “First things first.” I said as I wheeled about to face the Marquess. “I’m going to be getting you new curtains for every window in here. Red with gold trim, it will be a powerful and majestic look. How does that sound?” It was just a courtesy to ask, I knew well what he would say. “Splendid. It sounds perfect, Lady Rarity.” Tivbald responded. So even he was calling me “Lady” Rarity. I wonder if any Dukes would? I smiled at him. “Wonderful. After that I was thinking we could paint a pattern on your walls, down at foot level, just something like dots or stars going up and down in a pattern. Something to give the place a little extra flair.” The fidgety Marquess just nodded along the same as always. I could say we should start smacking holes in his walls with a sledgehammer and he’d probably agree to it. I think maybe that nature of the trolls may be what has contributed to the stifling of creativity and development of any new fashion and art in their kingdom. A pity. But at least it allowed me to really exercise my vision to the fullest, I didn’t have anyone saying they didn’t want this or that, they all respected my ability and knew that I knew better. Haha! It was many more hours that I worked on and thought up ideas for redecorating his expansive chambers. Naturally this wasn’t something that could be done in a single afternoon, I’d have to keep coming back over several days to fully plan things out and get the actual work started. It would be a fun project to do on the side while I make more dresses. The day after I started doing the decorating for Marquess Tivbald I was invited to spend the day with Duke Tulepule. He didn’t want a dress made or anything he just wanted me to spend time with him and accompany him to any functions and events. Seems he was interested in getting to know the new big deal better, or perhaps just wanted others to know he could call on me whenever he wanted and I was happy to accompany him. I wasn’t sure if Duke Terluff would be okay with me just spending the whole day with Tulepule but when I asked about it he just shrugged and said it was no big deal. I was busy with work but this was hardly an offer I could refuse. Terluff said Tulepule wasn’t busy like he was so I wondered if the day would just be spent partying or whatever else Tulepule might like to do in his spare time. At the time I was supposed to meet up with him two armor-clad guards arrived at Terluff’s front door saying they were sent to escort me. Actually this made me a little nervous but I suppose Tulepule just wanted to treat me with importance and didn’t want me getting waylaid. We peacefully made our way through the castle until coming to Tulepule’s door, at which point I knocked on it and was greeted by the party loving Duke once more. He swung it open with a smile and I was dismayed to see he was wearing the exact same suit he had on at the previous party. Why couldn’t he just ask me to make him a new one? Perhaps I should offer if the opportunity comes up today. “Duke Tulepule, a pleasure to see you again.” I greeted him with a warm smile and a toss of my mane. I had spent extra time this morning making it look perfect, even using a new shampoo giving it the smell of roses. “A pleasure to see you as well.” He waved me inside. “I hear some are even calling you Lady Rarity now.” I giggled and tried to play down my happiness at acquiring that title as I walked inside. “Oh please, it’s rather silly isn’t it?” Try to appear humble, Rarity. “I was surprised as well but you’re very respected now. And even more appreciated, you’re seen as irreplaceable by many and they wish to treat you the best they can.” Tulepule said as we walked past his foyer and into his large living room. There was that overly white spot on the carpet that I had vigorously scrubbed a stain out of. I’m ignoring that. “It’s nice to hear something so positive.” I said to him, leaving out “Considering the rest of my situation”. As I looked around the rest of his home it was clear that there wasn’t any party going to be held here today. “So just what did you have planned for us to do today? I didn’t hear of any big parties going on and I doubt you just want to sit here and chat.” “Quite so.” He grunted as he sat down on his couch, stretching out his arms. “This was just to meet, I have a small get-together with some other nobles that I’d like you to attend with me, we’ll leave in a minute. And later today I have some entertainment planned that I hope you’ll find enjoyable.” Entertainment? Whatever could he mean? I was a bit intrigued and the excitement was plain to see on my face. “Well I’m excited about it already.” I told him. “Good, good, I’m looking forward to it as well.” Tulepule said as he rested and stretched his body for another minute or two before getting back up. “Shall we?” He beckoned me to walk by his side as the two of us left his residence. He told me on the way we were just going to a small parlor in a private area of the castle where a few of his friends were gathered. These ones apparently had been unable to attend his big party where Mrs. Terluff wore the dress I had made for her. So having missed out on that they asked if they could personally meet with me and see what all the fuss was about. If I knew that before coming here I would’ve at least worn a hat or some jewelry, not my new gown of course since that needed to be first debuted at a big party but at least something with a little style and luxury would’ve been good to throw on. “So will any of these friends of yours be wanting to commission a dress?” I questioned him. My question was met with a shrug. “Perhaps, they haven’t seen what you can do though, only heard about it.” I suppose that would have to be a satisfying enough answer at the moment. As we continued to walk through the castle I noticed that every other troll or group we passed by would steal glances and whisper about us. Now they had something new to gossip about. The trolls loved their gossip. Hm, that’s the pot calling the kettle black I do suppose. Well it made me happy that I was still stirring up conversation like this, when they stop whispering is when I have a problem. The further we walked the less trolls I saw though, and the windows along the outer wall of the castle went from being normal glass to stained. I had never been along here yet and it was rather pretty looking. Of course it would look even more pretty if it wasn’t again raining outside. Unlike the room my office was located at the glass here didn’t block out the sound of the rain pounding against it either. The sound of my hooves along the stone was almost completely drowned out. I don’t dislike the rain and I might even find something like this calming if it was a different situation but not when I’m about to enter a private function with some trolls I’ve never even met before. At the corner of this hallway I spied a lone door, the corner bulged out in a semi-circle with the door in the middle. Perhaps one of the circular towers along the castle wall was situated right at this corner. “There’s our destination.” Tulepule said from beside me, turning slightly to walk towards the door. When he reached it he pulled it open without knocking and we entered a large circular room with a single window facing out towards the mountains that surrounded the castle. A candle-lit chandelier hung from the ceiling above a thick, square carpet that had been lain over the stone floor. A few tables and chairs were thrown about randomly for any who wished to use them, all in all it was a fairly unimpressive room. For simple get-togethers and nothing more it seems. Adding to the furniture and decorations in the room were a small group of trolls, including one I recognized. The large one who had been conversing with White-streak (or Berten apparently) at the party I had catered where I first met Terluff and got drawn into all of this. He eyed me with an unimpressed look on his face that I returned with my best smile and half-closed eyelids. Because that’s how Rarity does it. “My, so this is the one we’ve all heard so much about?” A female troll with a light, almost tan-colored, coat of fur said as she walked up to me. “Charmed to meet you, I am Mrs. Toolis.” “Charmed as well, Mrs. Toolis.” I replied. “As I’m sure you all already know, I am Rarity.” The greetings continued like that and the day as well was filled with the same sort of conversation I’d been having with all the nobles lately. They wanted to hear about my fashion sense and how I made such amazing dresses and I was more than happy to oblige. Tulepule was sure to remind them all that it was at his party where I first showed up with Duke and Mrs. Terluff. And I told them about my office and how if they ever wanted a dress of their own or anything else they were more than welcome to it. A servant brought in some beverages and snacks at one point, upon which the subject of their love for apples came up. One of them offered to have their personal chef bake me an apple pie and I was only too gracious to accept. On the condition that they at least let me take their measurements for any clothes I might want to make for them in the future. Honestly it was such an ordinary little gathering and way to spend the afternoon I hardly have anything else to say about it. The large troll (Duke Tylark as I learned) stayed polite but standoffish the whole time, from some of the looks I caught him giving me I had to assume that he did not care much for slaves regardless of how unique and fantastic they might be. Yes I am being humble. Can’t you tell? Either way after a few hours Tulepule said we had another function to attend to and the two of us said our goodbyes. As we walked through another portion of the castle he turned to me. “Now that the fuss is out of the way we can get to the fun. I’m sure you’ll find what I have planned more enjoyable than standing around talking to a bunch of stuffy nobles.” Obviously he didn’t know me very well but I was hardly going to say that. After much more walking we made it to a large room in the castle where a good deal of other trolls were also milling about. At the far end of the room was a large iron gate but behind it all I could see was empty space, an alcove of some sort. Again once I appeared the eyes of many fell on me and the conversation noticeably shifted. Something I recognized proudly, walking along astutely with Duke Tulepule. “So darling, just what are we doing here?” I asked him. “This is just to take us to our destination.” He said, pointing at the gate. “It’s starting soon.” Right as he said that the iron gate rose up into the ceiling and the crowd of trolls moved into the space behind it, the two of us along with them. Now what was going on here? I stood there in this crowded area, almost smushed between Duke Tulepule and other trolls. At least they all bathed well but this was still getting stifling. When all of us had entered this second room the gate came back down again and I heard a massive clang as if some sort of heavy machinery locked into place and then the very floor we were standing on started to descend. Oh, this was a lift. “Surprised?” Tulepule asked from beside me, a small smirk on his face. “A little admittedly.” I said while the walls creaked around us. So where were we going? I wanted to ask but I doubt he would tell me, he still wanted it to be a surprise. All of these trolls were likely going to the same place to see whatever this “entertainment” was. What would a bunch of trolls be going to see that was down wherever this lift went? Down… beneath the castle? I stiffened, my eyes going wide. Oh please don’t let this be going where I think it is. With everything going on around me I had practically forgotten. It had been a while and I’d been so busy climbing the social ladder, rediscovering my passion and creativity by making new clothes for the trolls. Enjoying myself as best I could here. And at the same time forgetting about everyone else and what other things were going on in this castle. The lift came to a stop, another iron gate at the bottom opened up and the procession of trolls and I entered a long walkway. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, getting closer and closer as I gulped nervously. And finally when we reached it I saw that I had arrived in the same cavernous chamber that Tyluck first took me too. Right in front of us stood a large circular stadium, its doors opened as the trolls arrived and everyone began piling into it. “I hope you enjoy the coliseum.” Tulepule said to me. “I don’t come down here too much but I felt something more exciting would be a nice change of pace for both you and I.” An uneasy expression was frozen on my face, thankfully he couldn’t see it. “I’m sure I will.” I said monotonously. The Duke and I made our way to a private viewing box he had reserved for the day. It stood just above the first level of benches that lined the fighting grounds. He had two comfortable looking chairs for us to sit in compared to most others who had to use the hard wooden benches. Comfort was not on my mind though. Was I going to have to watch this? Could I even say I wanted to leave? He’d be offended and upset, and if he asked why I wanted to leave could I hold back from telling him how barbaric and disgusting I thought all of this was? No. I’d just have to sit here and stomach my way through it. “It’s a whole evening’s worth of fights for us to see.” Duke Tulepule cheerfully said. “Some slaves and beast contests to start and then a confrontation between our two champion troll warriors to cap it all off! A splendid event if I say so.” I absentmindedly nodded along, eyes glued to the sand of the coliseum. I hope there weren’t going to be any pony slaves fighting. Was it bad of me to think that? I really didn’t want any slaves to be fighting. I wonder if the two I met last time would be involved again. The stands were filled out quickly. Hundreds of trolls were going to be watching. The murmuring from them all was creating a cacophonous racket that I sorely wished I could drown out. I wanted to just cover my ears and bow my head but it would be unseemly if I did. How could they enjoy watching this so much? How could they be okay with pitting two poor slaves against each other? Tulepule too, I thought he didn’t seem so bad, just a bit indifferent. But he thought I would want to see this? He likes watching slaves forced to fight against their will? Was he just that oblivious? The cheering of the crowd peaked and I looked out to see two heavy doors on either end of the stadium opening up. To my dismay a pony holding the same wooden shield and stick as I had seen before came out of each of them. I recognized the one to my right, that gray pony who I had met. Harlequin Black I believe his name was? And the other to my left… My breath caught in my throat. “Captain...” I whispered out, eyes fixed on Captain Anchor as he walked across the sand of the arena. What am I doing. What am I doing? How could I just sit around up in the castle, comfortably living like a princess and doing whatever I wanted when this was going on? Did I let the luxury and status get to me so badly? Captain Anchor, Harlequin Black and Birdseed, Daylight, Gertrude, everyone else… I watched the two fighting ponies as they stood in front of each other, prepared to do battle. I couldn’t blink. I sat at the edge of my seat. If Duke Tulepule was saying anything to me I didn’t hear him. While I watched them as the fight was about to begin I swear that gray pony briefly turned to look right at me, he was still smiling the same as I remember. It looks like he hadn’t stopped being optimistic. But I had stopped doing anything to help the other slaves or escape this place. The rest of the day passed by in a daze. I remember watching the fights with a glassy unfocused look, responding automatically and superficially whenever spoken to. Finally when it was all over we went back up the lift and I said farewell to Duke Tulepule and went back to my office. My office. A prison cell that I had tidied up. No more of this prancing about with troll nobles. It was time for me to get serious about helping those who needed it. I had power now, I had influence and respect, I knew I could do something even if I wasn’t sure what yet or how far I could go. For all of my friends and the other slaves that I carelessly forgot about while I got swept up in the excitement and splendor of high society, selfishly getting to do what I want while the rest of you were worked to exhaustion, I’ll make it up to you. I promise.