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Suppression of Dissent
🕑 Added 2019-07-21 00:45:55 +0000 UTCVogue and Raduga, serving a night in jail for leading a peaceful protest
Raduga is a good friend of Vogue. She'd grown up eagerly collecting pony fashion magazines and devouring book after book on fashion design. She finally managed to save up enough bits to move to Canterlot bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, dead-set on becoming one of the next top minds in fashion, a model. But every modelling agency she applied to always went cold after the first interview. Was it her broken Equuish? Raduga studied to improve it. It certainly couldn't have been her sleek, mud-dyed plumage- why, it was the envy of every griff back home!
It isn't until she overhears a photographer whispering to an agent- "ugly overgrown vulture"- that she begins to understand. There are no griffon beauty models in Equestria.
Raduga refuses to give up, eventually ending up at a modelling agency owned by one Lady Vogue. As expected, a few minutes into the interview, Vogue politely tries to explain that Raduga just isn't what the agency is looking for at this time. Frustrated, Raduga simply asks if it's because she's a griffon. Vogue tries to deflect, but Raduga presses the issue. Is it because she is not baby-faced little horsey? Because she have teeth, talon, beak? She is beautiful in her home country! As beautiful as any creature! And if she can appreciate beauty and art and talent of tiny horses, then why not can tiny horses appreciate Raduga?
Vogue gets defensive, a shouting match occurs, and she has the griffon escorted from the building. The nerve of that....that vulture! To suggest that Vogue couldn't look past someone's species? There's nothing discriminatory about it- ugly is ugly!
Vogue is so red-faced and angry she has to excuse herself from work for the rest of the day. The griffons words keep popping back into her mind, at unexpected moments. And slowly, Vogue realizes her agency doesn't have any griffon models. Or hippogriffs, or changelings, or dragons, or any creature. Just ponies......just thin, pretty, identical unicorns.
......Maybe something does need to change.
It takes time, but Raduga and Vogue end up forming a powerful, life-long friendship. Vogue uses her position to give the griffon a social leg up, and Raduga goes on to become the first griffon model in Canterlot, and the very first griffon fashion designer. Vogue's modelling agency is the first to open its doors to all creatures, and now boasts a colorful and gorgeous array of talented ladies from all around the world.
Comments
ApofisNecros
This is a completely different track from what you described, but I was just so damned inspired I had to go for it: "Fashion Forward, Canterlot Carousel, Vashta, Manehattan Designs, Unique. The fall lines are going to be tough competition this year." Flash Magnate rolled his eyes. "Only if you didn't prepare eight months in advance, how is life on the edge by the way?" Madame Flare gave him an indignant snort in response. "Spoken like the owner of the fifth rated agency in Canterlot, although that is your specialty is it not, Flash?" Flash gave a hearty chuckle. "Oh how I've missed your stinging wit, Flare. Why do you spend so much time cooped up in Baltimare? The fashion capital of nowh-OOF!" Flash staggered back as his vision was partially obscured by a flare of mud-dyed plumage, he took a moment to recover his lost breath. Shaking his head to dislodge his mane from his eyes, he looked up to rebuke the pony that ran into him, only to have his eyes widen in suprise. "I say, do watch where you're going dear. You're liable to hurt some pony." Madame Flare sneered, her voice dripping with disdain. Either not hearing or ignoring the unpleasant mare's words, the griffon moved to Flash Magnate, using a talon to unsuccessfully smooth his jacket. "I am sorry, I was not paying attention. Please forgive." The griffon flustered slightly, her wings bristling with agitation. "Hold on a moment." Flare examined the griffon closely, an unpleasant grin curling her muzzle. "Aren't you that griffon that's attempting to become a model?" "Raduga." The griffon shot back with a glare. "What of?" "What of? Darling, please..." Madame Flare regarding Raduga the same way a snake might regard a mouse. "A lady of your, ahem... Stature, does not simply waltz into Canterlot and become a fashion model. No experience, no following, no product and no pretense or demand. Take it from someone who knows Ms. Raguda, you are far better off flapping back to whatever desolate rock you came-" "I'll hire you." Flash Magnate cut off Madame Flare without so much as looking in her direction. "You what?" Both ladies exclaimed with very different inflections. "I'll hire you." Magnate repeated, not breaking eye contact with the amber, vulture like eye. "Full time, generous benefits, 3 shows a week, private carriage. You model my fashions, we'll look into other designers later on- maybe even some griffon garments once you've established yourself. Oh, and your contract with my agency will be exclusive." Flash rattled off quickly, extending a bright yellow hoof. "Deal?" Raduga stared in shocked dibelief at the unicorn's hoof (Flare was also staring with a matching expression, although for very different reasons), she had been trying for weeks to break into the business. Facing thinly veiled rejections laced with feeble excuses, she was weary of the unicorn watching her, a slight twitch pulling at the edge of his mouth; but she was so blindsided at being offered everything she wanted on a silver platter that she could only think to say... "Yes!" Raduga's talon shot out to grasp the smaller unicorn's hoof, shaking it almost violently in her excitement. Flash gave a sincere, beaming grin as he levitated a buisness card over to her in his magic. "Excellent, stop by my office this afternoon. I'll tell my secretary to expect you." Flash watched the flustered griffon take off at a hurried pace, shouting her thanks back at him all the way out of sight. "You're insane." Flash Magnate turned to face Madame Flare with a shit-eating grin. "You may think I'm insane, but I think you're an idiot." Flash started to stalk around the bristling fashion mare. "Tell me Flare, first and foremost in the world of fashion... What do you have to be to make the biggest waves?" "Creative, insightful, conniving and devious. But most importantly not an idiot." She sneered back, Flash continuing around her unmoved by her barbs, returning a low chuckle. ""Be new, you're new, or else you're through."" He sing-songed at her, watching Madame Flare's expression start to falter. "Oh.." "Yes, oh." Flash smirked. "Please don't tell me you haven't noticed the recent influx of non-pony species into Equestria, Flare? What with the Princess' new School of Friendship and such the call for variety and inclusion is... Inevitable. Years from now we'll have creatures of every race and creed flooding into Equestria, looking to carve thier own path." He came to a stop in front of her. "And I am about to sign an exclusive-" The stallion dragged out the word like a sip of fine nectar. "-contract with what is currently Equestria's first and ONLY griffon model. My agency is about to become a flagship of inclusion and equality; and everypony and everyONE from the Crystal Empire to Stalliongrad is going to want to see Canterlot's next top model." Flash sauntered past her, leaving the fashion mogul looking like someone had just totalled her 500,000 bit carriage. "Ciao Flare, see you on the runway!"
MiaMaha
!!!! I absolutely ADORE that you're exploring a topic like this in your verse! I love that Vogue is written to be discriminatory herself before coming to self-reflect and grow so far beyond that. This is SUCH a neat thing to see, and the story and world-building you've thrown together for this is very intriguing! Nice~~
ApofisNecros
Dammit! Now I have to write! xD
