Getting Over it

Rover couldn’t sleep. This was a first for him. He was a dog, and dogs can always sleep. But Rover, on this particular night, could not. He was troubled, but not physically or with dread of some oncoming task. If that were the case he would have been fine. He had been through that before.

No, Rover was troubled emotionally. As he lay in his chambers, staring off into the dark, he ran a paw over the edge of his vest. He had worn it out the door of the Carousel Boutique that evening, and had kept it on all the way up until now. It certainly felt nicer than his old one. The fabric was soft and fresh, and there was no longer dirt caught in between his fur and his clothing. He liked it immensely.

He looked to his doorway and the faint candlelight beyond, deciding that he was alone. He would need to be undisturbed and unseen. Rover slowly, sitting up in his straw bed, removed the vest and pressed it to his face. It smelled like his sweat and the dirt that he works in from day to day, but beyond that, he detected something else. There was a faint and pleasant scent, a barely clinging remnant of the vest’s source. It was something between lilac and lavender, and Rover had never smelled anything like it.

As he sat and breathed through the fabric, the scent so rare and delightful to him brought forth images in his mind of open fields and peace and relaxation. This was new to him, and he loved it. The dog smiled through the cloth, big and toothy but full of a joy that he had never had before.

He fell asleep with his vest draped over his muzzle, and a few hours later, he woke up with it exactly as he had left it. The first thing he sensed on the new day was the smell of flowers embedded in his clothing. His eyes opened calmly and with more of a flutter than he had ever had before. He stared down the red garment, realizing that this was far superior to his old one. Even when it was new, the old one had been stiff and dusty. It had been cheap and the color had been somewhat dull.

But what he held in his paws was new and beautiful. Its color was vibrant and fresh, and its texture was soft and comfortable. Even the seams were cleaner than those of its predecessor. The only thing that could possibly make it better would be having more than one.

Rover paused at the thought. More than one vest? No, that would be silly. More clothes in general though… He liked that idea. But how? Where would he buy clothing for diamond dogs? His vest had been a fluke find at a pawn shop when he was young, and he had stolen it. Certainly nopony nearby had any idea how to even begin making clothes for his kind.

He sighed, eyes turning down for a moment, before holding up his vest one last time. It was then that he noticed something small but odd in the inner lining. Right below the collar, centered so that it could be seen through the part in the garment’s front, was a tag. Rover leaned in, squinting to inspect it. The tag was white and silky and double-stitched into the fabric. On the small square, an image of a deep violet scripted ‘R’ was sewn in delicately and precisely. In the head of the letter were two familiar eyes.

“Rarity,” Rover muttered. That’s where he could get what he wanted. She did so well on this vest, so why couldn’t she do more?

Rover made a very quick decision then. Carefully slipping on his coat, he moved to the center of the room. The floor was flat dirt here, indistinguishable from the rest. But Rover knew its secret. He dug straight down several feet before coming upon a wooden barrier. With a small amount of effort on his part, he forced it out of the way, revealing three large bags of gems. This was his personal stash.

The sun was still huddled at the horizon, and the sky was at the end of its fiery morning glow. Rover found himself confused as he stood at the door to the Carousel Boutique reading the little black and white sign hung over the door. It was one of those store-bought ‘closed’ signs.

How could she be closed? She was open yesterday! That was only hours ago, if you thought about it. Why would she have closed her whole store overnight? She seemed to have had plenty of business, if her abundance of fabric and need to shoo him away to work were things to go by. Surely she couldn’t have just gone out of business!

Rover began to panic before hearing a gasp off in the distance. He turned to look, following his ears, and saw a mare poking her head out of the door of a building. When she saw him, she squeaked and flipped a sign, nearly identical to Rarity's, on her front door before slamming the door and likely hiding under a bed.

Rover understood then. Being closed didn't mean that the Boutique was out of business. It simply meant that they wouldn't receive customers until they were open again. He sat down to wait.

And his wait was rewarded. Within what Rover felt was a bearable amount of time, the heavy purple door creaked open, revealing to him a tired looking alabaster mare with her mane curlers still in. With her magic, she gently lifted the 'closed' sign off the door and set it aside. Rarity then took notice of the gem-burdened diamond dog sitting patiently on her front step. "Rover?" She muttered, blinking sleepily.

Rover stood. "Yes," he said.

"Yes?"

"Yes, I am Rover."

Rarity seemed puzzled for a moment before she sighed. "Yes, well... Good morning, Rover. Would you like some tea?" She seemed incredibly unsure of her question.

Rover had no idea what tea was or why she was offering it to him, but she had made him a new vest, so surely he could trust her to an extent. "Yes?" He was just as unsure in his reply.

"Well then, come inside. Take a seat wherever you like." Rarity had what he thought was a strange expression on her face. She was almost smiling, but everything except her lips were twisted into something resembling confusion.

"Yes," Rover said. He followed her as she went inside. He then continued to follow her into the kitchen, a clean and organized little room.

Rarity gestured to the table, and Rover, feeling somewhat awkward, pulled out a chair to sit down. As the mare shuffled various things about on the counter with her magic, Rover examined the room. He noticed most prominently that there were freshly used dishes in the sink that he could still smell the food on. He detected eggs and toast, slightly burnt, with strawberry jam. Rarity must've just eaten breakfast, he figured.

Speaking of the mare, she laid a small and extremely fragile looking saucer and teacup down in front of him. The liquid inside, translucent and brown, was still steaming. Rarity herself held a mug of coffee, which, to Rover, smelled strong and black and unadulterated.

Ever so quietly, Rarity took a seat across from Rover and sipped her mug. She said nothing for a few moments. Suddenly, she tilted her drink back and downed it. Rover was amazed that she wasn't whining about scald burns. The mare's eyes opened wide, and she made a pleased face. "Ah, that's much better. I never can quite get by without a little caffeine in the morning."

Rover sat quietly. She was odd.

"Darling, you haven't touched your tea," Rarity said, using her magic to gently work a curler out of her mane.

Rover looked down into the brown pool in his cup. It smelled like water, but also like something else. It was something organic. Some kind of leaf, perhaps. He picked up the cup by the handle, feeling incredibly silly because his paw was so large that he had to grasp it with three digits, leaving his smallest hanging out in the air.

Gently raising the teacup, he lifted it to his jagged lips and sipped it. The taste was very similar to water, if a little bitter. He wasn't fond of it, but he finished the glass to avoid any possible whining from Rarity.

He glanced at the mare, and was confused when he saw that she seemed impressed by something. "What'd I do?" He asked.

"You have excellent table manners. I simply expected you to be more... sloppy, at the very least."

Rover noted that he should probably drink like that from then on. It was apparently a good thing.

"Never mind that. You obviously came here for a reason. Just excuse me for a moment so that I can remove these curlers, and I'll be right back to help you."

Rover nodded. After she left the room, he took the bags he had with him and opened each to see what he had. His personal stash was where he had been putting his own cut of the pack's gems for years. He never had anywhere to spend it though, so it built up to a fair size over time. Each gem was pristinely cleaned and shined, so the pile in each bag seemed to glow dazzlingly in the morning light. He was sure this would be enough.

Rarity returned. Her mane was glossy, freshly set in its daily shape. Rover hated to admit that it looked nice. "Now, what did you need, Rover?"

Holding the bags pinched in his claws, he looked up at the fashionista. "You said you made dresses?"

Rarity nodded, prompting him to go on.

"And you also make clothes for... males?"

"I made what you're wearing, dear. That is a men's garment."

Rover felt nervous suddenly. The emotion felt unusual to him. He didn't like it. "Would this be enough for something?" he asked as he opened the three bags of jewels.

Rarity's eyes lit up, and her jaw lowered closer to the floor. "Yes," she was barely able to gasp out. The mare seemed to be on the verge of drooling, but she very quickly collected and composed herself. "I'd say that would be worth several of my designs."

"How many?"

"May I see them?"

Rover nodded and handed over each bag. Rarity sifted through the horde with her hoof, lifting several individual pieces and eyeing them in examination. She then closed the bags and lifted them each individually with her magic. "Depending on the complexity and difficulty of the designs, I would be willing to make anywhere from ten to fifteen for you."

That was... That was much more than Rover had been expecting. By no means, however, was he complaining. This was what he wanted. This was even better than what he wanted. "Yes," he mumbled dumbly.

"What was that, Rover?"

"The number is good. When can we start?" The dog smiled, showing his teeth somehow without seeming intimidating to the pony.

Rarity smiled as well, clearly enjoying his excitement. "Right now if you'd like, but just so you're aware, I won't be able to do these all together. I have several commissions already scheduled for this week, and a sudden introduction of this much work simply isn't possible. At best, I'll be able to finish the first today. The rest will have to wait."

Rover was saddened by the news, and visibly showed it. His ears lay back, and he almost whimpered. "We can start today, though?"

"Absolutely. But, I must say I’m surprised to find that you want anything to do with fashion, and I’m even more surprised that you seem to have taken an interest in my fashion in particular. What made you choose the Carousel Boutique?”

The dog was taken off guard by the question. It was more personal than he had expected. He thought on an answer for a moment before speaking. “It smells nice.”