"Achoo!" Rarity paused momentarily in her work and sniffled as another blast from her irritated sinuses proved to be too much for her nose to keep in. She only just thought to turn her head to keep the germs from getting anywhere the dress she was working on. It was for a very important client from Canterlot for a very important ball. It may not necessarily be the most important order the fashionista had ever received in her life, but it was still a top priority that she knew she had to get done. The customer was counting on her to have the dress ready, and the deadline was tomorrow!
Unfortunately, Rarity found that her body was working against her. It had started the other day with a faint tickle in her nose, a stuffy feeling that wouldn't go away no matter what she did. She dismissed it, convinced it would pass with time once whatever it was that was assaulting her nostrils went away. But it had lingered despite a good night's sleep and a bowl of soup with dinner before that. Now it had turned into a constant losing battle, forcing her to stop and sneeze every few seconds. As the unicorn did so, she was unaware that her horn seemed to be sparking, almost like it had a mind of its own.
Still, the fashionista pressed onward as best she could. By now, her body was starting to ache. A slight elevation in temperature was starting to make itself known even though she had been careful not to adjust the thermostat. If one looked closely, they might have even seen the color start to drain from her face, turning her normally snow white face a ghostly shade.
The sneezes grew louder, the sparking from her own horn grew worse. Again, Rarity let out an "Achoo!" and sniffled, using her magic to summon up some tissues to wipe her nose. Doing so revealed just how much of a struggle even simple levitation had become, her horn barely seemed to have the magical reserves needed for the tasks at hoof. And her own hoof to eye coordination was starting to slip.
The fashionista unhappily sighed, slumping onto the desk in her workshop as she lifted up her ruby red sewing glasses. The dress was still far from complete. Yet she could tell that continuing to work on it was putting too much of a tax on her body. "Oh, it's no use," She lamented to herself. "I simply cannot work in these conditions. All I'm doing is spreading these icky germs around, which are sure to make my client as sick as I am now." As if to emphasize that point, she let out another sneeze, not even bothering to fight back against it. And just like before, sparks of magic spilled out from her horn, flying through the air and landing on nearby objects.
Reluctant though she may have been, the unicorn seamstress knew there was only one thing to do in a situation like this. She set down her measuring tape, lifted her ruby red sewing glasses fully off her face, and trotted out of her workshop. "I'll just have to tell the client their order has been postponed due to my illness. I do hope they'll understand." She said as she headed to her bedroom to get some much needed bed rest.
Yet as Rarity turned off the lights and closed her workshop door, she was unaware of what was to unfold. All those sparks of magic that had been flying around had produced an unexpected side effect.
Within seconds of the workshop being abandoned by the pony who usually spent her days in there when working on a dress, it happened. Her sewing machine, her threads, her needles, even her measuring tape and the scrap of paper containing the outline for the dress. They all came to life, a result of the magic that had been spread around so "generously" by Rarity's horn during her earlier sneezes.
None of the objects now made sentient spoke a word. Not a word needed to be said. All knew the mind of the pony who had unknowingly brought them to life, and knew what it was that most concerned her. They were most determined to help her in any way they could. If she could not finish the dress herself, they would finish it for her as best they could. That seemed the best way (at least in their minds) to repay Rarity for her unintentional act of generosity.
So it was that the sewing machine started to hum, the threads unfurled, the needle and measuring tape moved of their own accord. They had a tight deadline to complete the dress. Time was already running out!
Rarity drifted off into a rather uneasy sleep, her mind still racing with thoughts about the unfinished dress and how she would explain to the client about the delay. Yet once she had fallen asleep, she snoozed for what seemed like hours. All the while, she was not the faintest bit aware of what was transpiring in her workshop in her absence. And as it so happened, today was a day when she had her boutique all to herself, nopony but her occupied it and there were no other obligations she had to meet. So she slept on and on, unaware that her workshop had come to life.
Eventually, the unicorn stumbled awake some time later, feeling the slightest bit better for having given her aching body a much needed rest. Of course, it took more than a few hours bed rest to ward off a sickness, but at least she felt refreshed enough to move on her own power. Perhaps with a little bit of medicine, she could weaken the symptoms enough to write the letter informing her client of the delay.
Yet as Rarity trotted through her boutique and strolled past her workshop, her trained ears picked up the most unusual of sounds. It sounded like the whiring of a sewing machine, the unfurling of fabric rolls, and the cutting and folding of fabric. That struck her as most odd. Who could possibly have come into her boutique unannounced and picked up work on her dress without her being made aware of it? Had she been so deeply asleep that she hadn't heard the bell above her boutique's front door ring? Had she perhaps forgotten an engagement for today as a result of everything else she'd had to worry about?
Her curiosity getting the better of her, the fashionista pushed open the door to her workshop. And when she did so, she could hardly believe her eyes! The sight that greeted her seemed like something out of a dream! Yet it was there, it was real. Her sewing machine, her fabric rolls, and many other parts of her boutique appeared to have come to life all by themselves. They had no mouths, but did have eyes. And they seemed to be operating entirely of their own free will. So "in the zone" were they that they didn't notice the pony to whom they owed their existence. They were all hard at work trying to finish up that dress.
But Rarity couldn't help but frown at the result. It was far from desirable and had a rather sloppy quality to it. It was probably to be expected given that the different machines and other objects had only just come to life a few hours ago. Even so, she found herself forced to make her displeasure known. "What in the name of Celestia is all this?! That dress is so hideous! It won't do for the important client at all."
Upon hearing that comment, all the sentient objects stopped what they had been doing and turned to Rarity. They appeared to be equally parts shocked and upset that she had reacted so negatively to their attempted generosity. They had only wanted to help.
The fashionista seemed to understand what the objects were feeling, as she gently spoke to them. "Oh, you tried your best. I'm not mad with you for wanting to help. It's not bad for a first attempt, really," She had to bite her lip as she spoke those words. "However, I simply cannot accept such a hastily constructed creation. Not without making some adjustments at the very least. I do appreciate the sentiment. But if I have to take a day off from making my dress because I'm sick, it can't be helped," She let out a sigh. "And I'm afraid I simply can't have you all continue to be like this. You would scare off my customers if they saw you all alive."
At that the objects all fell silent completely and shut their eyes, as if hoping to turn invisible or go back to the way they were. Nothing happened.
Another sigh escaped Rarity's lips. "Well, I guess you can stay like that for a few more hours. It's not like I have anything else that needs to get done. But by morning, I expect you all to be back to the way you were. If not, I'll be getting Twilight to come here. I'm sure she'll know how to return everything to normal." She then turned and trotted out of her workshop while thinking in her mind. "I never imagined my own horn could be so powerful. Just what is it I caught that made it able to bring my workshop to life?"
Author's Note
This is based on the video "Rarity Catches a Cold" by Magpiepony on YouTube. Due to it containing a swear word (in order to avoid being tagged by YouTubeKids), I can't link to it here since this fic is rated everyone and I don't want to risk violating site policies. I'm sure it would probably be okay, but I don't wanna take any chances.
There's no exact timeline for when this could take place. It could take place at any point within FiM's continuity, except for after the time skip shown in "The Last Problem".
