Rarity's Dresses

"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.