The Seamstress

　　　　Silence, the purest and simplest of the evening in the dead of winter. The only thing to break this was the screams of the winds between the buildings of Ponyville. The moon and stars could not be seen this evening through the thick set of clouds. Lights were turned out everywhere, the ponies of the little town having long since turned in, trading their busy days for restful sleep and dreams.

　　　　One who looked upon this town would have believed all was peaceful, each pony in their own little beds staying warm. So deep was the darkness of night and the shadows that none would have known a single pony, wrapped in a thick coat, boots and scarf was out in this weather. Foregoing their safety to venture out would suggest madness unless considered an emergency. But this was not a true emergency, and so, the pony wondered to theirself if they truly were mad. They moved slow through the snow, as it came to their fetlocks, the breath puffing out in dense clouds, unseen, but felt as the moisture of the mouth clung through the scarf wrapped around their neck and mouth, leaving only their eyes and mane free.

　　　　Once in a while, a small glow would appear, lighting the pony for the briefest of moments before being extinguished again. A mane of purple could just barely be made out in that briefest of light around a small white horn. The mane and tail were being slowly over taken by the white snow, as the temperature was so cold, that the little amount of heat being put out by the pony was only just enough to keep her warm.

　　　　Slowly over the span of an hour or so, Rarity made her way to a large dark building. She noticed that the side of the shop was nearly covered to the roof in snow drifts, due to the strange formations of the building than the amount of actual snow. But at a time like this, to Rarity, it seemed as if it were because of the snow itself. Shivering slightly as some snow melted around her collar and made its way inside. Carefully she checked the door and was surprised to find it unlocked.

　　　　Slowly the door opened a small crack, before another small glow came from her horn holding the bell to keep it from sounding. Next, Rarity worked a small shield around herself to block as much of the snow from coming in as possible. Once inside she closed the door, once again using her magick to keep the sounds of the door and bell from sounding.

　　　　Her horn lit still, in the darkness of the building, Rarity quickly looked around to ensure the occupant of the shop and home were not hiding somewhere waiting for her. The way Pinkamena acted, it would not have surprised her. So far, she could find no sign of the pink pony, and quietly made her way around the counter and into the kitchen, where once again Rarity stopped to ensure no pony was there waiting for her. The smells had dissipated some, but she could still smell the strange bitterness from the now cold cauldron, yet now mixed with the heavy perfume of cinnamon.

　　　　Rarity made her way to the dark corner, the light of her horn crawling up the base of the podium upon which a thick brown heavy bound tomb resided. Rarity looked over the title and the pink doll, it seemed to now be in a sitting position, as if standing guard on top of the book. Rarity used what little detection magick she knew to see if the book and doll were enchanted to set of something in case of being touched or moved.

　　　　Though inexperienced, Rarity was surprised, and yet relieved, to find there were no such enchantments placed upon neither the book, nor the doll. Using her magick Rarity lifted both the book and the doll. With only a second to spare she gently placed the doll back down in its original way while she kept hold of the book. She turned, stuffing the book under her coat, to find it was most uncomfortable and almost did not fit.

　　　　She heaved a quiet sigh as she thought of what to do. Without the proper rest and using her magick this much on something other than her craft, it was becoming tiring, especially when she was multitasking. She did not know of anything that would help her lighten the load, as that was a part of more rigorous and higher level of performance that she lacked. She had not been fortunate to go to any form of magick school to learn to properly hone her magick uses, or even to expand her knowledge. Rarity had only done what she could with what little bit her parents had taught her when she was younger.

　　　　Rarity decided to go ahead and work with her back up plan in case she had originally misjudged the size of the book as she thought. The removed a small bit of cloth and rope. She wrapped the book carefully and completely with the cloth before then tying the book to her back and she made her way back.

　　　　The time and magick to leave was even more exhausting with the heavy weight of the book on her back. Sometime past halfway through the night, just as the snow began to settle, the winds blowing less now, Rarity entered her home with a huff.

　　　　‘Of course, it waits until now when I get home to settle down. Just my luck. Another notion that proves what I am doing is wrong. No, Rarity, this may be wrong, but you did try to speak with Pinkamena. It is not a book that is cursed. It was merely something Pinkamena said to keep it out of your hooves. She knew you needed help, and she was selfish to ignore your request of help. Oh... Where is this coming from?’ She pondered in her mind.

　　　　Shaking off her thoughts, Rarity worked to settle herself at her desk and begin looking through the book. It did not take long to find the chapter on the dolls. She looked over, barely able to read some of the words, but the illustrations were impressively detailed, and this was what Rarity had hoped for the most.

　　　　She gathered a few pieces of material she had set aside for just this chance. She worked slowly on the first one, carefully looking over and comparing every piece of detail of what she was doing to the illustrations on the pages before her.

　　　　As she continued, it seemed that some of the illustrations changed the further into the book she went. IT began to break down how to make dolls that looked so much like ponies by using real materials. This at first slightly disturbed and disgusted Rarity, then looking down at the pieces of yarn she was planning on using for the mane and tail, as she did with her first couple of dozen dolls, she came to realize that this in fact made it more realistic.

　　　　Rarity touched at her mane a bit, before touching the yarn, her mind making the comparisons. She noticed how smaller, thinner, but silkier and smoother her mane was. The yarn in comparison was thicker and soft, it felt rough in texture, and compared to real hair, it just felt, too rough and failed to catch the mind. The doll was mostly done already, so Rarity set it down and to the side, waiting before setting in its stuffing and turned more pages to find if there was anything in there for unicorn and pegusi pony dolls.

　　　　She did find more pages that went into slightly more detail, albeit more gruesome detail, making Rarity’s stomach lurch slightly. The illustrations showed the possibility of using real bones, but not of pegusi, thankfully, but of small birds as the bones held similarities.

　　　　There most certainly be no way that Rarity would take to harming a small bird just to make her dolls more realistic and likeable. She shuddered to think of other ponies reactions if they found that she used real materials from birds to make her dolls, pieces of scrap materials and thread seem more authentic.

　　　　Instead, Rarity looked over the large collection of sticks and twigs she and Sweetie Belle had collected near the edge of the Ever Free Forest. It had been a bit unsettling, but they did not have to venture to far into the tree line to find what they were looking for. Though it left them both with a strange impression that the snow also did not seem to go into the forest itself either, seeming to settle like the thickest blanket over the tree tops. IT turned the already dark and heavily shadowed forest even darker, if it were possible. Then again, Rarity recalled thinking at the time, she would not have believed it if she had not witnessed it herself.  The real amount of snow that was present seemed only the snow that had been blown in by the heavy winds.

　　　　There were many times either Rarity or her sister had noticed strange sounds coming from further in the forest. Unsettled, Rarity shortened the trip into the forest, having already kept the edge of the trees and the distant town in sight. Afterwards, Sweetie had told Rarity when they were coming to the edge of town that when they had left the forest, she had glanced back hearing something and saw glowing yellow eyes. Rarity had not seen anything of that, but then she had been trying to hurry her and her sister back to the safety of town as quickly as possible.

　　　　It was at this point, thinking back that Rarity truly thought about the foolishness of her decision. She had convinced herself it was merely an outing for her and her sister, but now she realized, in hindsight, the foolishness of her decision. Especially with Sweetie Belle being there with her, anything could have happened. They were lucky that either nothing happened, or they had just made it out of the forest before anything could have happened.

　　　　A few of the twigs and sticks seemed to fit in a way that she could definitely work them into a shape like that of a small wing. Though these dolls she made would be a little bit bigger than the original ones. She reworked the material she had, laying out the designs for both the dolls shape and the wings. Rarity had chosen the softest material, almost like silk, it was a thin breathable velvet material. Granted it was thin and felt wonderful, it was still thicker than actual silk, less costly, and would hold together better than actual silk for the sticks and such.

　　　　Working carefully, Rarity moved the sticks onto the wing cutouts she had made. She then laid down a little bit of cotton she was finally able to afford, just enough to stretch over the twigs and sticks to soften their ends and edges before laying the second layer of fabric over it and carefully stitching it down.

　　　　Once done, Rarity lifted the one finished wing and inspected it with a critical eye. The thread blended very well into the fabric, but the bulkiness of the cotton and sticks stretched the fabric just where it looked very much like an actual wing. With this, Rarity thought, she most likely would not need to find stray feather to make the wings look better, if she made a few modifications along the center of the wing it would look like actual feathers on a wing. Large ones, but feathers nonetheless. She marked a few notes on a scroll, before using a white pencil to mark where on the wing she should make the modifications.

　　　　She then turned the pages and found the way to make real unicorn dolls were to use broken horns of dead or injured unicorns. This indeed seemed darker than the previous two pages, there was no way Rarity would ever do such a thing. She shivered before looking over he materials, she still was not sure what she could use to make the horn for the unicorns.

　　　　That is, until her eyes came across a small oblong shaped river stone she had. She remembered that weeks before, just before winter started, on the last warm day, she and Sweetie Belle. She lifted it with her magick and looked over it carefully as it slowly revolved around in her magical grasp, a small smile played at her lips, it would do, but it was still not quite the shape. She needed something to help file it down, and give it the shape that would work.

　　　　With a yawn, Rarity set the stone down, she looked over everything and nodded to herself, she knew she still had a few bits left over, so perhaps it would work out to get something to help her design the horn from the stone. The only problem is, she did not have enough stones, but there were plenty outside along the bottoms of rivers. The only problem being, of course, the weather was so cold, the water that was present in said rivers would be frozen over.

　　　　Rarity lifted the book and brought it with her up the stairs to hide it in her room before settling in for some well earned rest. It was still a couple of hours before the sun rose, so she could get some sleep at least and finish working everything out in the morning.

　　　　Once upstairs, Rarity placed the book in her closet wardrobe in a back corner and set a few pieces of old clothing she had not thrown away yet, preferring to instead possibly reuse them as scraps if she needed. Closing the door Rarity turned and climbed into her bed, closing her eyes and quickly drifting off to sleep.

　　　　As she fell asleep, she failed to notice the strange green glow coming from the closet, as well failed to notice the closet door handle jiggling slightly, opening just a crack before the glow faltered and diminished.

　　　　The following weeks were some of Rarities hardest working days, and yet, some her best days. Things for her and Sweetie Belle were going quite well, she was even finding herself slowing pulling ahead of her deadline, coming close to finishing before it was time. She took an opportunity to spend some of this time with her little sister, the two cooking, talking, laughing, playing games, and more. Drawing closer as sisters should.

　　　　“Hello, Miss Rarity?” Came the voice of a stallion from in the front room. Rarity turned, having just finished the last of her dolls. IT was more than what she had made last month, however, quantity of each set she made, was only one dozen for each. One dozen Earth ponies, one dozen Pegusus, and one dozen Unicorns. The unicorn dolls proved somewhat more challenging, as when Rarity got the material she needed to file and smooth down the stones she was able to find, she found when they got to a certain point,t he stones lost their center integrity  becoming fragile. Some would break, others would seem fine, but upon final examination they would have minute cracks.

　　　　Eventually Rarity did find a decent stone quartz, but only the specific that had formed thicker, shown by the cloudy form deep within it. More common than its cousin clear quartz due to its milky white color, Snow Quartz proved sturdier, and at the same time cheap to use. The fact that there were no areas around ponyville she could find them, she was able to trade and barter for them.

　　　　This worked as a double edged sword. For simply buying and trading for the stones she needed would help allow the dolls to be sold for a higher price altogether, and yet, this would be unfair for others to pay more for one doll over the others. This certainly was a small bump, but her craftmanship was improving with each one made, she could certainly raise the price just a small bit for all three, while allowing the true cost of the unicorn dolls to lower to stabilize everything.

　　　　Standing, Rarity set the last doll down and went to turn to greet the customer who entered her front room. She let out a small shriek of fright as the stallion was right behind her.

　　　　“Oh, my apologies Miss Rarity. I did not mean to startle you, it’s just that I was left waiting in the foyer for a few minutes.”

　　　　“Oh no, I am so terribly sorry, I was inspecting the last of the dolls, and was completely focused on my work.”

　　　　“And, such fine work I must say.” Night Tea said as he slowly looked over the dolls.

　　　　“Yes, I have three dozen, one dozen of each type of pony there is.”

　　　　“So it would seem.” Night said as he let out a small short whistle.

　　　　“It was difficult, but I was able to design the wings, it was meticulous work, but very fine, and the horns for the unicorns, I thought of stone, but they were too fragile once filled and smoothed down for such intricate work. I did find a quartz stone that was able to hold up to the wearing. This will of course allow the unicorn dolls to cost more, but I was considering something about that.”

　　　　“Allow a specific and equal price for all three so that way one does not fall short of sales?” Night asked.

　　　　“Uhm... I think so, it sounds about right.”

　　　　Nodding, Night turned to Rarity and smiled pleasantly.

　　　　“I would say it sounds like a splendid idea, and will help boost sales all around, and from what I can see I believe these will sell quite well. Oh, which reminds me, I have everything set up in Canterlot for the store. As long as things go well, I will be needing more for next month.”

　　　　“Well, that should not be a problem, however, I am only one pony, I will end up burning a lot of late oil, as the saying goes.”

　　　　“Oh, please, I don’t want you to do anything that would put you in a bad situation.” Night pleaded, making Rarities heart beat a little harder.

　　　　“Oh, it’s, uh, nothing really. I tend to do that anyways when making dresses.” Rarity felt her cheeks blushing, the warmth of her blood flooding her face. It seem like a chain reaction, her heart began to beat even faster, making her feel slightly light headed.

　　　　‘Strange considering how much is in my cheeks. Wait, why am I acting like this? Well, he is handsome, and the way he speaks to me, he cares.’

　　　　“Miss Rarity, is there something the matter?” Nights voice broke her from her reverie, and brought her back.

　　　　“Oh, no, no nothing is the matter, Night. Um, is there anything else you need?”

　　　　“No, I will just go ahead and start collecting the dolls and be on my way.” Night began to turn back to the table, and away from Rarity. She breathed easier now that she felt like she wasn’t under his gaze, and yet she still felt all the heat in her cheeks. So focused was she that she did not see the smile on Nights face, light and casual and he began to collect the dolls.

　　　　“Actually, I was considering, would like to have a meal with me?”

　　　　The question caught Rarity off guard, and she turned to look at Night.

　　　　“I’m sorry, I am afraid that I misheard you. Did you ask me to share a meal with you?”

　　　　“No, it sounds as if you heard me correctly.” Night turned, a smile on his face, his eyes lighting up just the slightest bit.

　　　　Rarity looked into his eyes, there was a voice that was saying something in the back of her mind, but it seemed to become distant as she stared at him, her heart going back to beating quite a bit.

　　　　“Would you like to?” Night asked, trying to venture a question from Rarity.

　　　　“Y-y-yes.” She stammered. He smiled that wonderful enchanting smile once again and finished collecting the rest of the dolls.

　　　　“Would you care to meet at The Sweet shop?”

　　　　“Oh, no, I am sorry but, Miss Pinkamena and I had a disagreement. At this time, it would be unwise.”

　　　　“Oh, dear me, I am so sorry. Then perhaps I shall find something and stop by tonight then?”

　　　　Rarity could do nothing more than nod at him. Her mind seemed now completely blank, she could not think, she could barely breathe.