Rarity's Dressesby Bluebell_Teh_UnicornChaptersA Little ProblemDaisy's DressFinding A SolutionLibrary ResearchNew DressesA Little Problem"Oh, Rose, darling, I'm sure you will simply ADORE this new dress I made for you!" Rarity was beaming and her eyes were shining. Rose laughed. "Oh, I'm sure, Rarity. You're such an amazing designer! May I see the dress?" "Oh, of course! I should have brought it out already; what was I thinking? Excuse me one moment!" Rarity galloped to the back of the boutique and came back with a mannequin modeling the dress. It was long and made of a dark red silk, with green ribbons lining the edges. Small roses made of fabric, in all different colors, lined the neck of the dress. The work was beautiful and very intricate. Rarity beamed wider. "So, darling, what do you think?" Rose stared at it, her eyes wide and mouth agape as if in a trance. Finally she snapped out of it. "I LOVE it! Oh, Rarity, you ALWAYS manage to surprise me with how beautiful your dresses are! I have GOT to get something like this for Lily and Daisy! Oh, could you wait here a moment? I'll go find them right now!" Before Rarity could say anything, Rose galloped out of the boutique, too excited to wait another second. Rarity sighed and sat down. Rose's dress had taken a few hours to make, and Daisy and Lily would surely be expecting something just as good. Ideas began to run through her head. "Well, since the main theme of Rose's dress is red, and Rose's mane is red, perhaps Lilly's dress could be cream and Daisy's could be green... oh, those stitches will take such a long time to do again, I had to do them by hoof... ugh, this will simply be a disaster if I push myself too hard!" Just as she finished her finished her conversation with herself, Daisy, Lilly, and Rose burst in through the door. All three mares were giggling like crazy. "Oh, Rose that dress IS beautiful!" Daisy was mesmerized by the dress. "I want my dress next!" Lilly galloped over to Rarity. "But I want it next!" Daisy pushed Lilly out of her way. The mares began fighting. "Oh, oh dear, this won't bode well... girls. Girls. GIRLS! Let's be a bit more.... GIRLS!" At Rarity's yell, the mares stopped fighting and looked at her expectantly. Rarity laughed a bit nervously. "Now, I don't want to play favorites here, but I think I will do... Lilly's dress first, all right? And then I will make the dress for Daisy!" Lilly stuck her tongue out at Daisy. Daisy just rolled her eyes and examined Rose's dress more closely. Rose smiled. "Okay. Well, Daisy, let's go get some lunch, I'm just starving!" Rose and Daisy trotted out of the boutique. Rarity beckoned to Lilly. "Come, darling, let's start on your dress! How do you want it? I think I have an idea already, would you like to see it?" Lilly beamed. "Well, of course!" They trotted to the sewing room. Rarity took out a piece of paper and drew out a design on it, then added some color. She then showed it to Lilly. "What do you think?" The dress was a lighter cream color, with ruffled sleeves and edges, and a long train of fabric lilies, some were lavender, some where pure white, and some were pink. Even though it was just a mere drawing, it looked exquisite. Lilly gasped. "Rarity, I... I... IT'S GORGEOUS!" She beamed wider than most ponies had in their lifetime, her eyes sparkling. Rarity grinned. "You think so? Now, this dress could work with silk, cotton, or velvet, but I personally suggest silk. It just feels so nice and adds a lovely sheen..." Rarity rubbed her eyes. "Oh, dear, I'm feeling a bit lightheaded..." Lilly looked a bit confused. "Rarity, are you feeling okay? Are you going to?..." "Oh, oh, dear... my head, it's simply aching..." Rarity fell to the ground with an audible thump, unconscious. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A few hours later...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rarity got up, rubbing her eyes. She shook her head to clear it and looked around. Lilly was nowhere to be seen. "Lilly? Lilly, darling? Are you still here?" She trotted around, shaking her head to clear it every now and then. She was still a bit drowsy. "Oh, my, what's this?" On one of the mannequins, a gorgeous light magenta dress was modeled. It had undertones of cream and yellow, and there was a large lily at the neck. "I don't remember making this... oh, silly me. I'm so forgetful! I must've made it at night... this would be perfect for Lilly! Oh, wait, it doesn't quite fit the theme I had in mind... oh well. I'll just put it up for sale!" Rarity observed the dress carefully. Sweetie Belle trotted in, balancing a glass of raspberry juice on her head. "Hey, Rarity! Look what I can do! I've been practicing!" Rarity gasped in horror and took the glass off Sweetie's head with her magic. "Oh, Sweetie Belle, that is just too dangerous! You could spill something!" "Okay, Rarity. I won't do it again." Sweetie Belle trotted off, disappointed. Rarity went back to examining the dress. Suddenly she screamed. "Sweetie BELLE! You get over here right this instant!" Sweetie Belle galloped over to Rarity. "What's wrong?" On the bottom of the magenta dress, there was a large red stain. "Did you spill juice on this dress?!" "Oops... sorry, Rarity. I-I didn't mean to! I don't think I've even seen that one before..." Sweetie Belle looked over the dress curiously. Rarity pushed her away from the dress. "Sweetie, why don't you go outside and play? I have some work to be doing." "Yes, Rarity..." Sweetie Belle trotted out of the boutique. Rarity went back to Lilly's dress design and got to work, hoping she would show up soon. But by nine o' clock at night, she still hadn't come back to the boutique. Rarity had finished the dress by then. "Well, maybe she'll come back tomorrow..." without giving Lilly's disappearance another thought, Rarity went into her room, brushed her mane out about twenty times to make sure no tangles were left, and went to bed. Daisy's Dress"Rarity, have you seen Lilly at all? We haven't seen her since yesterday!" Rose and Daisy trotted into Carousel Boutique. Rarity was helping Berry Punch try on a new dress. "Oh, no, I haven't! I got dizzy yesterday and fainted, and when I woke up, poof! The girl was gone! Now, darling, does the material feel right? It's supposed to be as comfortable as silk, but without the sheen. Does it feel like silk?" Rarity was fussing over Berry's dress. Berry Punch just shrugged. "I guess so. I like how it feels, and I think it's pretty!" Opalescence clawed at a loose thread in the dress, an elegant purple masterpiece covered in red and magenta beads. "Well, only the best for my best customers! Are you sure it feels right?" Rarity looked at the dress critically. "Yes, I'm sure, Rarity! Honestly, you certainly care about your dresses!" Berry took out a purse and gave Rarity some bits for the dress, then trotted out the boutique. Rarity sighed as she watched her go, then turned to the two remaining flower ponies. "Well, Daisy, are you ready for your dress?" Daisy nodded. Rarity trotted into the sewing room and took out a piece of paper. "Now, I'm just going to do a quick rough sketch, and you tell me what you think, alright, darling?" Daisy nodded and watched as Rarity drew out a design. "Wow, you certainly work fast for such amazing work!" "Oh, the drawings are easy, darling. The hard part is actually making the drawings come to life! Here we go. What do you think?" The dress had sleeves that looked like blades of grass sewn together, and a train with a ragged edge and daises lining it. There were tiny brown beads that resembled seeds sewn onto the edges of the dress. It looked like a garden you could wear. Daisy stared at the drawing for a moment. "That's... well, it's perfect! Can I watch you work on it?" "Well, of course! Follow me, darling!" Rarity trotted into the sewing room with Daisy following. "Now, Lilly and Rose both have dresses the same color as their mane, so that's what I thought I'd do for you. Is that alright?" Daisy shrugged. "You know best!" Rarity nodded, found the perfect fabric, and got to work cutting out a pattern. Rarity wondered if Daisy would just silently watch the entire time. Daisy quickly put an end to the silence, however. "How long have you been in the dressmaking business?" "Oh, about fifteen or so years, I've lost count..." "How much do you normally make?" "Well, darling, I really don't keep track of that sort of-" "How long have you had Opalescence?" "Oh, ever since I moved into-" "Hey, is that Lilly's dress?" "Well, I'm not sure who I made that one for, but-" "When are you going to be done with my dress?" Rarity stopped cutting and held her head for a few moments. "Keep it together, Rarity... oh. oh, my, I... I'm not feeling so well..." Daisy looked confused, but not really concerned about the state of the dressmaker. "Hey, what's wrong?" "Er, nothing, as far as I... oh dear." Rarity fell to the ground again, dragging the dress pattern with her and almost impaling herself with the scissors. The last thing she remembered seeing was Opal pawing at her face curiously. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A few hours later...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rarity woke up on the ground again, and remembering what happened yesterday, she groaned in distress. "Oh, Daisy probably won't even show up again... why should I even bother finishing her dress?" Despite what she had said, she got to work anyways, and in a few more hours, she had finished. Rarity trotted over to the display racks to put it where she remembered an empty spot, but instead of an empty hanger was a light pinkish-purple dress with a light green train and a clump of three daises at the very edge of the train. Rarity simply stared at the dress for a moment. "Funny... I don't remember making that dress at all. How odd... my memory must be going crazy... or maybe I'm sleep-designing? Ooo! That'd increase my productivity!" She giggled a bit at the thought. "Oh, well. Better just use a different hanger." She brought over a second hanger from another rack and hung up the dress. She lifted up the edge and groaned. "Ohhhh, Sweetie Belle, have you been spilling juice AGAIN?" Rarity trotted outside. "Sweetie Belle! Get over here this instant!" Sweetie galloped over to Rarity. "Yes?" "Have you been balancing juice on your head again?" Sweetie Belle shuffled her hooves uncomfortably. "Um... maybe..." Rarity groaned. "Sweetie BELLE! Didn't I tell you not to do that again?" "Yes, Rarity... I promise I won't spill any juice anymore!" Sweetie Belle galloped away before Rarity could continue the scolding. Rarity sighed and trotted back inside. "That little filly is such a nuisance sometimes... oh, well, I know how to make stains like that come out!" Rarity took the dress and went to washing, and soon enough the dress was as good as new. Rarity waited again for Daisy to return, stalling herself with sewing books that she had practically memorized and every now and then she'd work on a filly's dress, just for fun. She'd make Sweetie Belle model it later. Eventually, it got too late to stay up waiting for her customer to return. Rarity went to bed, wondering if she should get help for her little fainting problem. It seemed to be scaring customers off. Finding A Solution"Twilight, I had to close up shop today to visit you! Are you SURE you don't think you can help me?" Rarity was whining loudly, in hopes that Twilight was just trying to hold information from her. "Rarity, really, I've never heard of anything like this before! It's very unusual for ponies to just faint, and when they wake up the other pony with them has disappeared!" Twilight became somewhat exasperated. "Oh, and it seems I can't remember the dresses I make. Could you at least help me with that, then?" Twilight sighed. "Well, I suppose I could-" Out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie popped out from upstairs in the library. "You can't remember making dresses AND ponies are disappearing? Maybe it's connected!" "First of all, Pinkie, what are you even DOING here?" "Well, Gummy kinda ate my mane, and now he's coughing up hairballs even though he doesn't even have HAIR! So, I wanted to know if something is wrong with him!" Pinkie held out her foreleg for the two mares to see. Gummy was gnawing on it, but he popped off and coughed up a slimy ball of pink strands. Twilight facehoofed. "Pinkie, he's coughing up YOUR mane." "OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH! That makes SO much more sense! Thanks, Twily!" She hung upside down from the above floor by her hind legs and faced Rarity. "So, about the dress and disappearing ponies thing, maybe they're connected!" "Connected? How?" Rarity was perplexed by Pinkie's idea. "You can't possible mean..." "Yup! You turn them into dresses!" Rarity gasped in horror. "Why, Pinkie, that's ridiculous! I would NEVER kill another pony!" Pinkie laughed. "Maybe not you right now, silly, but maybe you have a crazy psycho side that does the killing for you!" Twilight groaned. "Pinkie, I have been your friend for a while, and that has GOT to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth." "You'll see I'm right! Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you put a video camera in the boutique so you can see what happens next time you faint?" Rarity thought for a moment. "Pinkie, that has to be the most intelligent thing I've ever heard! I'll do that right now!" She galloped off. Pinkie called after her as she ran. "Remember, you might not like what you see!" Rarity had already ran off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "There we go!" Rarity sighed happily. She had fixed up video cameras in all the rooms besides her bedroom. The doorbell rang, and none other than Hoity Toity trotted in. "I want to see some of your newest designs! They had better be good!" Rarity nodded. "Oh, right away!" She used her magic to bring over a couple of clothing racks with her work on it. Hoity Toity examined the clothes carefully. "Hm... neat stitches... looks very good... some of these dresses seem very similar, was that on purpose?" "Um, yes! Of course! I think it adds a nice effect, don't you?" The nervousness began to show in Rarity's voice. "I suppose." Hoity Toity continued looking over the clothing, muttering to himself constantly. "I'd like to see about... hm, let's say ten of these, five of these, and fifteen of these for me. I don't have the bits now, but I can get them." Rarity nodded, not really listening. She silently took a few deep breaths. The dizzy feeling came on again and she began to stumble. "Miss Rarity, are you all right?..." "Well, I think... not." Rarity collapsed once again, and woke up once again to find that she was alone, with two new suits on her clothing rack. One of them looked exactly like the one Hoity Toity wore. She sighed and got the video tape from the camera and trotted to Twilight's, hoping Pinkie wasn't right after all. "Rarity. Did you... faint again?" Twilight bit her lip, nervous. Pinkie Pie popped out of nowhere again and bounced in front of Rarity's face. "Am I right? Did you watch it? I wanna watch it!" "Calm down, Pinkie! Come on, Rarity, we should watch it and see what happened." Twilight used her magic to bring up a small screen and a VCR. Rarity swallowed nervously. "Oh, I feel like I have needles on my head! Wait... needles?" Rarity was silent for a moment, then began hopping up and down, rubbing her mane. "Opalescence, get out of my mane right now! AAAA! Oh, she's scratching me! AAA! GET HER OFF! Opal! BAD kitty!" Rarity finally managed to rip Opalescence from her head and set her down. Rarity was bleeding a little, but she used her magic to conjure up a bandage, put it on her head, the fix her mane so it'd look normal while hiding the bandage. Opal meowed in a bored tone, then began to groom herself. Twilight rolled her eyes and popped in the video tape. There was a bit of static at first, but in a matter of moments, the video began to play. "Skip it to where I faint!" Twilight got a remote and skipped some of it until they saw Rarity hit the ground. They watched the video from there. Library ResearchIn the video, Rarity got up again quickly afterwards. "Oh, sorry about that, darling, it happens sometimes." She laughed sweetly. "Now, I think you could use a new suit. Follow me!" Rarity and Hoity Toity trotted to the sewing room. Hoity Toity surveyed his surroundings. "Well, it's a nice little workroom..." "Do you really think so?" Rarity smiled and took out some fabric and a pair of scissors. "I think you could use a change from your current fabric, don't you?" "Well... what did you have in mind?" "Oh, I don't know... your suit is silk, correct? Velvet can be very comfortable and elegant, and cotton can look very nice, and fur is always comfortable..." "Fur?" Hoity Toity's glasses almost fell from his face. "Oh, yes. Things that have been treated well often produce the best quality of fur, you know." Rarity pulled out a butcher knife from the drawer, out of Hoity Toity's sight. "But... but, I don't think that's a very good... did the animals die naturally?" "Well, death itself is natural." "Well, yes, but were the animals purposely killed?" Rarity gasped in horror. "How could you even think that I'd buy furs like that?" Hoity Toity sighed in relief. "Er, I'm sorry, I normally don't work with furs." "Would you like to be the fur?" Hoity Toity's confused look was quickly replaced by one of pain, after all, it's hard to keep a straight face when you're got a knife in your throat. He fell to the ground, the blood pooling around him. Rarity made short work of him, skinning him expertly and quickly. She picked up the coat and washed out the bloodstains. A few stray stains remained, but otherwise the coat looked perfectly normal. Rarity got to sewing, and in a matter of moments, she had created a beautiful suit, but it needed... something. Rarity trotted back to the sewing room and plucked out his mane, washed the blood out, then added the mane as undertones to the suit, giving it a very elegant effect. Rarity hung up the suit, found Hoity Toity's old suit, cleaned it free from the blood, and hung it up, although it was tinged red somewhat; Rarity had left the suit in the blood for a bit too long. She went to the body and began cleaning it. She used her magic to open up a small door to the basement and tossed the skinned body down there. A few flies flew out, having gorged themselves on rotting meat. Rarity looked dizzy again. "Oh dear..." She fell to the ground in the same place she had fainted at first. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight turned off the screen and took out the video. Rarity stared at the empty screen, stunned that she could even do such a thing, or that anypony could do something like that. Pinkie Pie nodded. "I TOLD you guys!" Twilight sighed. "Rarity, I'm afraid Pinkie's right... you DID kill those ponies, and..." she swallowed nervously. Rarity began to cry. "Oh, Twilight, I'm a monster! What do we do?!" Twilight bit her lip. "Rarity, you are my best friend. But... we need to lock you up while we find out." "Anything! Just save me from myself!" Rarity's tears pooled on the ground. Twilight sighed and used her magic to open a door leading underground. Rarity galloped down there and stayed there as Twilight put up a forcefield to keep her down there. Rarity heard some words, then the front door closing. A few moments later, there were more hoofsteps and voices. Rarity listened closely and realized that Twilight and Pinkie had gotten the rest of the group to try and figure this out. She stayed silent so she could hear. "So, Rarity actually... killed ponies?" That was Rainbow Dash. "I'm afraid so. We have a video of her killing Hoity Toity and turning him into a suit." Twilight, most definitely. The next voice she had to strain to hear. "Oh, how could Rarity do such a thing? A-are you sure it was her?" It had to be Fluttershy's voice. "I never thought that dainty lil' pony had anythin' like that in her." Applejack. "Well, guys, we GOTTA help her somehow!" Pinkie Pie. Rarity could hear her bouncing around. There were some scuffling noises. They must be looking through the books, Rarity thought. "Found one!" "Rainbow thinks she found something useful, please, please be useful..." Rarity quickly silenced herself, not wanting to miss anything they say. Twilight began to read aloud, loudly enough for Rarity to her without straining her ears. " 'The corrupt pony is in a very unstable condition and can change her mind at any time about how she feels about anypony or everypony. They will often use their victims in a hobby or career of theirs, often tricking others into thinking it's a normal product." "S-stop! Y-you're going to give me nightmares!" Fluttershy couldn't stand it. Rainbow spoke. "Don't worry, it's not that bad. The worst is yet to come!" "Rainbow, don't say that! Now, let's see here..." Rarity stopped listening, curled up in a corner, and began to weep softly. "What's going to happen to me? Oh, I've never been so scared... I need help! I ne-e-e-e-e-ed HELP!" Soft weeping turned into loud bawling, and yet the voices upstairs seemed to be ignoring her. Rarity stopped crying for a moment. Maybe her friends didn't care about her as a pony, they just wanted to make sure she didn't kill them. Selfish ponies. Why should they live? She became lightheaded again and closed her eyes for a moment. Twilight broke the forcefield and yelled for her. "Rarity! I found a cure!" Rarity got up slowly. "I'll be up in a moment, darling." She conjured up something and hid it in her mane, then trotted upstairs. New Dresses"It has a spell that can make you back to normal! It says the fainting is caused by corruption of the mind somehow... we can destroy the corruption and turn you back to normal!" Twilight was beaming. Rarity nodded. "Well, just one thing. Could I have a word with you, Twilight?" Rarity trotted downstairs. Twilight followed, confused. "What is it?" "Oh, nothing much. Just... do you know how much a fur dress can sell for?" Before Twilight could react, Rarity pulled the butcher knife out of her throat and, in a quick motion, cut off Twilight's head to silence her forever. She made a few more cuts and hung up the dead body to bleed out efficiently. The warm blood pooled around Rarity's hooves. She shook them off before trotting upstairs. Rainbow Dash looked confused when Rarity came up alone. "Where's Twilight?" "You'll see her soon." Rarity's horn glowed, and four more knives appeared. Before anypony could react, she slit their throats at the same time, all except Fluttershy. She merely held the knife to Fluttershy's throat. "Fluttershy, darling, can you keep a secret?" Among all the death and blood, Fluttershy couldn't control herself. She twitched and whimpered, then began to shake wildly. "Rarity... p-please don't kill me! P-please!" "I won't, dear! Just keep this little... incident between you and me." Rarity smiled sweetly. "But... what? N-no!" Fluttershy immediately wished she could take her words back, as that wasn't the answer Rarity wanted. "Well, you know what they say, two can keep a secret if one of them is dead." The knife went through Fluttershy's neck and she joined the others in death. The carcasses began to smell, from all the pooling blood and the flesh rotting. Rarity quickly went to work skinning them and washing the skins clean. She remembered Twilight and skinned her as well. Soon she had five lovely pelts, and no sewing equipment. And before she could begin dressmaking, she'd have to clean up the library. She used her magic to try and drain all the blood from the wooden boards and let it slip under the cracks into the basement. It worked, and she watched as the red drained slowly. She gathered up the skinned carcasses carefully, trying not to get too much blood on herself, and threw them in Twilight's basement. She quickly washed herself off, then gathered up the furs and teleported to Carousel Boutique. She immediately got to work making dresses from the furs, after all, if she waited any longer the fur might spoil and smell rotten. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rarity woke up in the sewing room surrounded by 5 dresses. One was lavender with some dark blue lining the sleeves and train, with a magenta stripe down the middle. Another was blue and billowy, with red feathers lining the puffed sleeved and rainbow streaks assembled symmetrically on each side of the dress. The next was orange, a simple dress, with a light golden shade of yellow 'fabric' for the sleeves. Yet another was sweet and long, a creamy yellow, with light pink ribbons trailing off the train. The last was pink and seemed puffier than normal. It was pink, with darker pink edges and sleeves. But this time, Rarity remembered every detail from making them, from slitting Twilight's throat to the last stitch on the last dress. She simply stared at the creations for a moment, then acceptance sunk in. She certainly couldn't stay in Ponyville now. Why not move to Canterlot? It'd take an awful lot of packing, but still... After a few hours, she had stuffed most of her things into bags, including all the dresses and suits. She would obviously need those. Sweetie Belle trotted in. "Rarity? What are you doing?" "Oh, well, I'm going to Canterlot, darling." Sweetie Belle's eyes shone. "Am I coming too?" "I'm afraid not, darling. Instead, Mom and Dad are going to pick you up. You'll still get to be with your friends!" Sweetie Belle sighed. "Okay..." she trotted back out. Rarity looked around. "Oh, I'll miss you, Carousel Boutique," she mused to herself. The door opened and Spike walked in, back from exploring a small cave Twilight had allowed him to visit. "Hey, Rarity? Do you know where Twilight is? I can't find her anywhere!" Rarity shook her head. "I haven't the faintest idea, darling." She used her magic to pick up all her bags and trot off. Spike followed. "Where you goin'?" "Canterlot. I've decided to move." Spike was aghast. "But- why- your friends! They'll miss you!" Rarity sighed and stopped for a moment. "Spikey-wikey... as much as I will miss you all, you'll all be in my heart." "But Rarity!" Spike was almost in tears. "Please!" Rarity groaned and continued trotting. "Spike, honestly, you're a very good friend, but I really feel that this is the best choice for me." Spike sighed. "Okay, Rarity." He walked away, mumbling to himself unhappily. Rarity watched for a moment, then went to the train station and boarded the train to Canterlot. Many thoughts ran through her head, but one was much more exciting than the others. A fresh start, with new customers, new friends, and new clothes. New ponies to meet, new things to do, new things to learn... And new dresses to make. Rarity began to warm up to the fur idea. Perhaps it could be the new fashion... as long as nopony found out the source.
A Little Problem"Oh, Rose, darling, I'm sure you will simply ADORE this new dress I made for you!" Rarity was beaming and her eyes were shining. Rose laughed. "Oh, I'm sure, Rarity. You're such an amazing designer! May I see the dress?" "Oh, of course! I should have brought it out already; what was I thinking? Excuse me one moment!" Rarity galloped to the back of the boutique and came back with a mannequin modeling the dress. It was long and made of a dark red silk, with green ribbons lining the edges. Small roses made of fabric, in all different colors, lined the neck of the dress. The work was beautiful and very intricate. Rarity beamed wider. "So, darling, what do you think?" Rose stared at it, her eyes wide and mouth agape as if in a trance. Finally she snapped out of it. "I LOVE it! Oh, Rarity, you ALWAYS manage to surprise me with how beautiful your dresses are! I have GOT to get something like this for Lily and Daisy! Oh, could you wait here a moment? I'll go find them right now!" Before Rarity could say anything, Rose galloped out of the boutique, too excited to wait another second. Rarity sighed and sat down. Rose's dress had taken a few hours to make, and Daisy and Lily would surely be expecting something just as good. Ideas began to run through her head. "Well, since the main theme of Rose's dress is red, and Rose's mane is red, perhaps Lilly's dress could be cream and Daisy's could be green... oh, those stitches will take such a long time to do again, I had to do them by hoof... ugh, this will simply be a disaster if I push myself too hard!" Just as she finished her finished her conversation with herself, Daisy, Lilly, and Rose burst in through the door. All three mares were giggling like crazy. "Oh, Rose that dress IS beautiful!" Daisy was mesmerized by the dress. "I want my dress next!" Lilly galloped over to Rarity. "But I want it next!" Daisy pushed Lilly out of her way. The mares began fighting. "Oh, oh dear, this won't bode well... girls. Girls. GIRLS! Let's be a bit more.... GIRLS!" At Rarity's yell, the mares stopped fighting and looked at her expectantly. Rarity laughed a bit nervously. "Now, I don't want to play favorites here, but I think I will do... Lilly's dress first, all right? And then I will make the dress for Daisy!" Lilly stuck her tongue out at Daisy. Daisy just rolled her eyes and examined Rose's dress more closely. Rose smiled. "Okay. Well, Daisy, let's go get some lunch, I'm just starving!" Rose and Daisy trotted out of the boutique. Rarity beckoned to Lilly. "Come, darling, let's start on your dress! How do you want it? I think I have an idea already, would you like to see it?" Lilly beamed. "Well, of course!" They trotted to the sewing room. Rarity took out a piece of paper and drew out a design on it, then added some color. She then showed it to Lilly. "What do you think?" The dress was a lighter cream color, with ruffled sleeves and edges, and a long train of fabric lilies, some were lavender, some where pure white, and some were pink. Even though it was just a mere drawing, it looked exquisite. Lilly gasped. "Rarity, I... I... IT'S GORGEOUS!" She beamed wider than most ponies had in their lifetime, her eyes sparkling. Rarity grinned. "You think so? Now, this dress could work with silk, cotton, or velvet, but I personally suggest silk. It just feels so nice and adds a lovely sheen..." Rarity rubbed her eyes. "Oh, dear, I'm feeling a bit lightheaded..." Lilly looked a bit confused. "Rarity, are you feeling okay? Are you going to?..." "Oh, oh, dear... my head, it's simply aching..." Rarity fell to the ground with an audible thump, unconscious. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A few hours later...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rarity got up, rubbing her eyes. She shook her head to clear it and looked around. Lilly was nowhere to be seen. "Lilly? Lilly, darling? Are you still here?" She trotted around, shaking her head to clear it every now and then. She was still a bit drowsy. "Oh, my, what's this?" On one of the mannequins, a gorgeous light magenta dress was modeled. It had undertones of cream and yellow, and there was a large lily at the neck. "I don't remember making this... oh, silly me. I'm so forgetful! I must've made it at night... this would be perfect for Lilly! Oh, wait, it doesn't quite fit the theme I had in mind... oh well. I'll just put it up for sale!" Rarity observed the dress carefully. Sweetie Belle trotted in, balancing a glass of raspberry juice on her head. "Hey, Rarity! Look what I can do! I've been practicing!" Rarity gasped in horror and took the glass off Sweetie's head with her magic. "Oh, Sweetie Belle, that is just too dangerous! You could spill something!" "Okay, Rarity. I won't do it again." Sweetie Belle trotted off, disappointed. Rarity went back to examining the dress. Suddenly she screamed. "Sweetie BELLE! You get over here right this instant!" Sweetie Belle galloped over to Rarity. "What's wrong?" On the bottom of the magenta dress, there was a large red stain. "Did you spill juice on this dress?!" "Oops... sorry, Rarity. I-I didn't mean to! I don't think I've even seen that one before..." Sweetie Belle looked over the dress curiously. Rarity pushed her away from the dress. "Sweetie, why don't you go outside and play? I have some work to be doing." "Yes, Rarity..." Sweetie Belle trotted out of the boutique. Rarity went back to Lilly's dress design and got to work, hoping she would show up soon. But by nine o' clock at night, she still hadn't come back to the boutique. Rarity had finished the dress by then. "Well, maybe she'll come back tomorrow..." without giving Lilly's disappearance another thought, Rarity went into her room, brushed her mane out about twenty times to make sure no tangles were left, and went to bed.
Daisy's Dress"Rarity, have you seen Lilly at all? We haven't seen her since yesterday!" Rose and Daisy trotted into Carousel Boutique. Rarity was helping Berry Punch try on a new dress. "Oh, no, I haven't! I got dizzy yesterday and fainted, and when I woke up, poof! The girl was gone! Now, darling, does the material feel right? It's supposed to be as comfortable as silk, but without the sheen. Does it feel like silk?" Rarity was fussing over Berry's dress. Berry Punch just shrugged. "I guess so. I like how it feels, and I think it's pretty!" Opalescence clawed at a loose thread in the dress, an elegant purple masterpiece covered in red and magenta beads. "Well, only the best for my best customers! Are you sure it feels right?" Rarity looked at the dress critically. "Yes, I'm sure, Rarity! Honestly, you certainly care about your dresses!" Berry took out a purse and gave Rarity some bits for the dress, then trotted out the boutique. Rarity sighed as she watched her go, then turned to the two remaining flower ponies. "Well, Daisy, are you ready for your dress?" Daisy nodded. Rarity trotted into the sewing room and took out a piece of paper. "Now, I'm just going to do a quick rough sketch, and you tell me what you think, alright, darling?" Daisy nodded and watched as Rarity drew out a design. "Wow, you certainly work fast for such amazing work!" "Oh, the drawings are easy, darling. The hard part is actually making the drawings come to life! Here we go. What do you think?" The dress had sleeves that looked like blades of grass sewn together, and a train with a ragged edge and daises lining it. There were tiny brown beads that resembled seeds sewn onto the edges of the dress. It looked like a garden you could wear. Daisy stared at the drawing for a moment. "That's... well, it's perfect! Can I watch you work on it?" "Well, of course! Follow me, darling!" Rarity trotted into the sewing room with Daisy following. "Now, Lilly and Rose both have dresses the same color as their mane, so that's what I thought I'd do for you. Is that alright?" Daisy shrugged. "You know best!" Rarity nodded, found the perfect fabric, and got to work cutting out a pattern. Rarity wondered if Daisy would just silently watch the entire time. Daisy quickly put an end to the silence, however. "How long have you been in the dressmaking business?" "Oh, about fifteen or so years, I've lost count..." "How much do you normally make?" "Well, darling, I really don't keep track of that sort of-" "How long have you had Opalescence?" "Oh, ever since I moved into-" "Hey, is that Lilly's dress?" "Well, I'm not sure who I made that one for, but-" "When are you going to be done with my dress?" Rarity stopped cutting and held her head for a few moments. "Keep it together, Rarity... oh. oh, my, I... I'm not feeling so well..." Daisy looked confused, but not really concerned about the state of the dressmaker. "Hey, what's wrong?" "Er, nothing, as far as I... oh dear." Rarity fell to the ground again, dragging the dress pattern with her and almost impaling herself with the scissors. The last thing she remembered seeing was Opal pawing at her face curiously. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A few hours later...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rarity woke up on the ground again, and remembering what happened yesterday, she groaned in distress. "Oh, Daisy probably won't even show up again... why should I even bother finishing her dress?" Despite what she had said, she got to work anyways, and in a few more hours, she had finished. Rarity trotted over to the display racks to put it where she remembered an empty spot, but instead of an empty hanger was a light pinkish-purple dress with a light green train and a clump of three daises at the very edge of the train. Rarity simply stared at the dress for a moment. "Funny... I don't remember making that dress at all. How odd... my memory must be going crazy... or maybe I'm sleep-designing? Ooo! That'd increase my productivity!" She giggled a bit at the thought. "Oh, well. Better just use a different hanger." She brought over a second hanger from another rack and hung up the dress. She lifted up the edge and groaned. "Ohhhh, Sweetie Belle, have you been spilling juice AGAIN?" Rarity trotted outside. "Sweetie Belle! Get over here this instant!" Sweetie galloped over to Rarity. "Yes?" "Have you been balancing juice on your head again?" Sweetie Belle shuffled her hooves uncomfortably. "Um... maybe..." Rarity groaned. "Sweetie BELLE! Didn't I tell you not to do that again?" "Yes, Rarity... I promise I won't spill any juice anymore!" Sweetie Belle galloped away before Rarity could continue the scolding. Rarity sighed and trotted back inside. "That little filly is such a nuisance sometimes... oh, well, I know how to make stains like that come out!" Rarity took the dress and went to washing, and soon enough the dress was as good as new. Rarity waited again for Daisy to return, stalling herself with sewing books that she had practically memorized and every now and then she'd work on a filly's dress, just for fun. She'd make Sweetie Belle model it later. Eventually, it got too late to stay up waiting for her customer to return. Rarity went to bed, wondering if she should get help for her little fainting problem. It seemed to be scaring customers off.
Finding A Solution"Twilight, I had to close up shop today to visit you! Are you SURE you don't think you can help me?" Rarity was whining loudly, in hopes that Twilight was just trying to hold information from her. "Rarity, really, I've never heard of anything like this before! It's very unusual for ponies to just faint, and when they wake up the other pony with them has disappeared!" Twilight became somewhat exasperated. "Oh, and it seems I can't remember the dresses I make. Could you at least help me with that, then?" Twilight sighed. "Well, I suppose I could-" Out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie popped out from upstairs in the library. "You can't remember making dresses AND ponies are disappearing? Maybe it's connected!" "First of all, Pinkie, what are you even DOING here?" "Well, Gummy kinda ate my mane, and now he's coughing up hairballs even though he doesn't even have HAIR! So, I wanted to know if something is wrong with him!" Pinkie held out her foreleg for the two mares to see. Gummy was gnawing on it, but he popped off and coughed up a slimy ball of pink strands. Twilight facehoofed. "Pinkie, he's coughing up YOUR mane." "OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH! That makes SO much more sense! Thanks, Twily!" She hung upside down from the above floor by her hind legs and faced Rarity. "So, about the dress and disappearing ponies thing, maybe they're connected!" "Connected? How?" Rarity was perplexed by Pinkie's idea. "You can't possible mean..." "Yup! You turn them into dresses!" Rarity gasped in horror. "Why, Pinkie, that's ridiculous! I would NEVER kill another pony!" Pinkie laughed. "Maybe not you right now, silly, but maybe you have a crazy psycho side that does the killing for you!" Twilight groaned. "Pinkie, I have been your friend for a while, and that has GOT to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth." "You'll see I'm right! Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you put a video camera in the boutique so you can see what happens next time you faint?" Rarity thought for a moment. "Pinkie, that has to be the most intelligent thing I've ever heard! I'll do that right now!" She galloped off. Pinkie called after her as she ran. "Remember, you might not like what you see!" Rarity had already ran off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "There we go!" Rarity sighed happily. She had fixed up video cameras in all the rooms besides her bedroom. The doorbell rang, and none other than Hoity Toity trotted in. "I want to see some of your newest designs! They had better be good!" Rarity nodded. "Oh, right away!" She used her magic to bring over a couple of clothing racks with her work on it. Hoity Toity examined the clothes carefully. "Hm... neat stitches... looks very good... some of these dresses seem very similar, was that on purpose?" "Um, yes! Of course! I think it adds a nice effect, don't you?" The nervousness began to show in Rarity's voice. "I suppose." Hoity Toity continued looking over the clothing, muttering to himself constantly. "I'd like to see about... hm, let's say ten of these, five of these, and fifteen of these for me. I don't have the bits now, but I can get them." Rarity nodded, not really listening. She silently took a few deep breaths. The dizzy feeling came on again and she began to stumble. "Miss Rarity, are you all right?..." "Well, I think... not." Rarity collapsed once again, and woke up once again to find that she was alone, with two new suits on her clothing rack. One of them looked exactly like the one Hoity Toity wore. She sighed and got the video tape from the camera and trotted to Twilight's, hoping Pinkie wasn't right after all. "Rarity. Did you... faint again?" Twilight bit her lip, nervous. Pinkie Pie popped out of nowhere again and bounced in front of Rarity's face. "Am I right? Did you watch it? I wanna watch it!" "Calm down, Pinkie! Come on, Rarity, we should watch it and see what happened." Twilight used her magic to bring up a small screen and a VCR. Rarity swallowed nervously. "Oh, I feel like I have needles on my head! Wait... needles?" Rarity was silent for a moment, then began hopping up and down, rubbing her mane. "Opalescence, get out of my mane right now! AAAA! Oh, she's scratching me! AAA! GET HER OFF! Opal! BAD kitty!" Rarity finally managed to rip Opalescence from her head and set her down. Rarity was bleeding a little, but she used her magic to conjure up a bandage, put it on her head, the fix her mane so it'd look normal while hiding the bandage. Opal meowed in a bored tone, then began to groom herself. Twilight rolled her eyes and popped in the video tape. There was a bit of static at first, but in a matter of moments, the video began to play. "Skip it to where I faint!" Twilight got a remote and skipped some of it until they saw Rarity hit the ground. They watched the video from there.
Library ResearchIn the video, Rarity got up again quickly afterwards. "Oh, sorry about that, darling, it happens sometimes." She laughed sweetly. "Now, I think you could use a new suit. Follow me!" Rarity and Hoity Toity trotted to the sewing room. Hoity Toity surveyed his surroundings. "Well, it's a nice little workroom..." "Do you really think so?" Rarity smiled and took out some fabric and a pair of scissors. "I think you could use a change from your current fabric, don't you?" "Well... what did you have in mind?" "Oh, I don't know... your suit is silk, correct? Velvet can be very comfortable and elegant, and cotton can look very nice, and fur is always comfortable..." "Fur?" Hoity Toity's glasses almost fell from his face. "Oh, yes. Things that have been treated well often produce the best quality of fur, you know." Rarity pulled out a butcher knife from the drawer, out of Hoity Toity's sight. "But... but, I don't think that's a very good... did the animals die naturally?" "Well, death itself is natural." "Well, yes, but were the animals purposely killed?" Rarity gasped in horror. "How could you even think that I'd buy furs like that?" Hoity Toity sighed in relief. "Er, I'm sorry, I normally don't work with furs." "Would you like to be the fur?" Hoity Toity's confused look was quickly replaced by one of pain, after all, it's hard to keep a straight face when you're got a knife in your throat. He fell to the ground, the blood pooling around him. Rarity made short work of him, skinning him expertly and quickly. She picked up the coat and washed out the bloodstains. A few stray stains remained, but otherwise the coat looked perfectly normal. Rarity got to sewing, and in a matter of moments, she had created a beautiful suit, but it needed... something. Rarity trotted back to the sewing room and plucked out his mane, washed the blood out, then added the mane as undertones to the suit, giving it a very elegant effect. Rarity hung up the suit, found Hoity Toity's old suit, cleaned it free from the blood, and hung it up, although it was tinged red somewhat; Rarity had left the suit in the blood for a bit too long. She went to the body and began cleaning it. She used her magic to open up a small door to the basement and tossed the skinned body down there. A few flies flew out, having gorged themselves on rotting meat. Rarity looked dizzy again. "Oh dear..." She fell to the ground in the same place she had fainted at first. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight turned off the screen and took out the video. Rarity stared at the empty screen, stunned that she could even do such a thing, or that anypony could do something like that. Pinkie Pie nodded. "I TOLD you guys!" Twilight sighed. "Rarity, I'm afraid Pinkie's right... you DID kill those ponies, and..." she swallowed nervously. Rarity began to cry. "Oh, Twilight, I'm a monster! What do we do?!" Twilight bit her lip. "Rarity, you are my best friend. But... we need to lock you up while we find out." "Anything! Just save me from myself!" Rarity's tears pooled on the ground. Twilight sighed and used her magic to open a door leading underground. Rarity galloped down there and stayed there as Twilight put up a forcefield to keep her down there. Rarity heard some words, then the front door closing. A few moments later, there were more hoofsteps and voices. Rarity listened closely and realized that Twilight and Pinkie had gotten the rest of the group to try and figure this out. She stayed silent so she could hear. "So, Rarity actually... killed ponies?" That was Rainbow Dash. "I'm afraid so. We have a video of her killing Hoity Toity and turning him into a suit." Twilight, most definitely. The next voice she had to strain to hear. "Oh, how could Rarity do such a thing? A-are you sure it was her?" It had to be Fluttershy's voice. "I never thought that dainty lil' pony had anythin' like that in her." Applejack. "Well, guys, we GOTTA help her somehow!" Pinkie Pie. Rarity could hear her bouncing around. There were some scuffling noises. They must be looking through the books, Rarity thought. "Found one!" "Rainbow thinks she found something useful, please, please be useful..." Rarity quickly silenced herself, not wanting to miss anything they say. Twilight began to read aloud, loudly enough for Rarity to her without straining her ears. " 'The corrupt pony is in a very unstable condition and can change her mind at any time about how she feels about anypony or everypony. They will often use their victims in a hobby or career of theirs, often tricking others into thinking it's a normal product." "S-stop! Y-you're going to give me nightmares!" Fluttershy couldn't stand it. Rainbow spoke. "Don't worry, it's not that bad. The worst is yet to come!" "Rainbow, don't say that! Now, let's see here..." Rarity stopped listening, curled up in a corner, and began to weep softly. "What's going to happen to me? Oh, I've never been so scared... I need help! I ne-e-e-e-e-ed HELP!" Soft weeping turned into loud bawling, and yet the voices upstairs seemed to be ignoring her. Rarity stopped crying for a moment. Maybe her friends didn't care about her as a pony, they just wanted to make sure she didn't kill them. Selfish ponies. Why should they live? She became lightheaded again and closed her eyes for a moment. Twilight broke the forcefield and yelled for her. "Rarity! I found a cure!" Rarity got up slowly. "I'll be up in a moment, darling." She conjured up something and hid it in her mane, then trotted upstairs.
New Dresses"It has a spell that can make you back to normal! It says the fainting is caused by corruption of the mind somehow... we can destroy the corruption and turn you back to normal!" Twilight was beaming. Rarity nodded. "Well, just one thing. Could I have a word with you, Twilight?" Rarity trotted downstairs. Twilight followed, confused. "What is it?" "Oh, nothing much. Just... do you know how much a fur dress can sell for?" Before Twilight could react, Rarity pulled the butcher knife out of her throat and, in a quick motion, cut off Twilight's head to silence her forever. She made a few more cuts and hung up the dead body to bleed out efficiently. The warm blood pooled around Rarity's hooves. She shook them off before trotting upstairs. Rainbow Dash looked confused when Rarity came up alone. "Where's Twilight?" "You'll see her soon." Rarity's horn glowed, and four more knives appeared. Before anypony could react, she slit their throats at the same time, all except Fluttershy. She merely held the knife to Fluttershy's throat. "Fluttershy, darling, can you keep a secret?" Among all the death and blood, Fluttershy couldn't control herself. She twitched and whimpered, then began to shake wildly. "Rarity... p-please don't kill me! P-please!" "I won't, dear! Just keep this little... incident between you and me." Rarity smiled sweetly. "But... what? N-no!" Fluttershy immediately wished she could take her words back, as that wasn't the answer Rarity wanted. "Well, you know what they say, two can keep a secret if one of them is dead." The knife went through Fluttershy's neck and she joined the others in death. The carcasses began to smell, from all the pooling blood and the flesh rotting. Rarity quickly went to work skinning them and washing the skins clean. She remembered Twilight and skinned her as well. Soon she had five lovely pelts, and no sewing equipment. And before she could begin dressmaking, she'd have to clean up the library. She used her magic to try and drain all the blood from the wooden boards and let it slip under the cracks into the basement. It worked, and she watched as the red drained slowly. She gathered up the skinned carcasses carefully, trying not to get too much blood on herself, and threw them in Twilight's basement. She quickly washed herself off, then gathered up the furs and teleported to Carousel Boutique. She immediately got to work making dresses from the furs, after all, if she waited any longer the fur might spoil and smell rotten. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rarity woke up in the sewing room surrounded by 5 dresses. One was lavender with some dark blue lining the sleeves and train, with a magenta stripe down the middle. Another was blue and billowy, with red feathers lining the puffed sleeved and rainbow streaks assembled symmetrically on each side of the dress. The next was orange, a simple dress, with a light golden shade of yellow 'fabric' for the sleeves. Yet another was sweet and long, a creamy yellow, with light pink ribbons trailing off the train. The last was pink and seemed puffier than normal. It was pink, with darker pink edges and sleeves. But this time, Rarity remembered every detail from making them, from slitting Twilight's throat to the last stitch on the last dress. She simply stared at the creations for a moment, then acceptance sunk in. She certainly couldn't stay in Ponyville now. Why not move to Canterlot? It'd take an awful lot of packing, but still... After a few hours, she had stuffed most of her things into bags, including all the dresses and suits. She would obviously need those. Sweetie Belle trotted in. "Rarity? What are you doing?" "Oh, well, I'm going to Canterlot, darling." Sweetie Belle's eyes shone. "Am I coming too?" "I'm afraid not, darling. Instead, Mom and Dad are going to pick you up. You'll still get to be with your friends!" Sweetie Belle sighed. "Okay..." she trotted back out. Rarity looked around. "Oh, I'll miss you, Carousel Boutique," she mused to herself. The door opened and Spike walked in, back from exploring a small cave Twilight had allowed him to visit. "Hey, Rarity? Do you know where Twilight is? I can't find her anywhere!" Rarity shook her head. "I haven't the faintest idea, darling." She used her magic to pick up all her bags and trot off. Spike followed. "Where you goin'?" "Canterlot. I've decided to move." Spike was aghast. "But- why- your friends! They'll miss you!" Rarity sighed and stopped for a moment. "Spikey-wikey... as much as I will miss you all, you'll all be in my heart." "But Rarity!" Spike was almost in tears. "Please!" Rarity groaned and continued trotting. "Spike, honestly, you're a very good friend, but I really feel that this is the best choice for me." Spike sighed. "Okay, Rarity." He walked away, mumbling to himself unhappily. Rarity watched for a moment, then went to the train station and boarded the train to Canterlot. Many thoughts ran through her head, but one was much more exciting than the others. A fresh start, with new customers, new friends, and new clothes. New ponies to meet, new things to do, new things to learn... And new dresses to make. Rarity began to warm up to the fur idea. Perhaps it could be the new fashion... as long as nopony found out the source.
