The Stitching Nightmare

by ReginaTwi

Rating: everyone
Tags: Rarity, Comedy, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 4508

When Rarity gets commissioned to create a dress for Princess Celestia's royal engagement, the villains of her beauty sleep attack!

Rarity is regarded as one of the best designers in Equestria, so it was no brainer that the Princess of the Land was going to request a dress... right?

Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's beloved student, tells Celestia everything about her friends in Ponyville. The young unicorn mare writes the Princess letters, entailing all she can about her friends. Rarity's passion for fashion stood out to Celestia: "I'd like her to make a gorgeous dress, Twilight Sparkle!"

But the poor mare is struggling to collect ideas that she believes the Princess will love. She has one extremely restless night, as her villains of the night attack!

Surely, a sweet, caring Princess will come to save her... won't she?

This is a story inspired by a rejected idea for a season two episode that would have been titled "dreamweaver". This story is set within the gap between season 2 and season 3!
This story also contains implications that Rarity develops a slight crush for the Princess of the Night. If that isn't to your liking, I do apologise!

Published 2024-10-31 19:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-10-31 19:00:00 UTC

Knit One

Author's Note

Just a small heads up that I'm British so I use British spelling/words in my fics! I have absolutely no apologies for doing so :twilightsheepish:

Knit One

"Good morning, Rarity!" shouted the plump, blue earth pony who ran the bakery.

Mrs. Cake had known Rarity for many years, from the mare's fillyhood to her young adult life. The baker had always wished her a good morning when she saw the unicorn mare walking past Sugarcube Corner.

Rarity gracefully trotted by, waving in the earth pony mare's direction. Her mane bounced up and down as the trot became happier after seeing a friendly face.
She smiled calmly, closing her eyes. Her blue eyeshadow shimmered in the delightful Ponyville sun, which situated itself between two very fluffy, white clouds.

The cloud to the left of the sun was breaking apart ever so slowly as a breeze passed through the town. The breeze was calming, as it brushed delicately through Rarity's mane as she skipped home.

Approaching her front door, Rarity smiled. Her blue eyes glimmered as she looked at the Carousel Boutique's purple door.

"Well, I do say," she thought to herself, "Today will be a day of no stress for little Rarity, I'm sure!"

However, the breeze started to gain more power. A violent power.

Wind.

Within seconds, Rarity's mane lost its delicate structure and curls. Within seconds, Rarity's happy mood had been disturbed.

The wind's cold temperature felt like a blast of ice one would experience in the winter room in Cloudsdale's weather factory. It was harsh. Rarity hated it.

"By stars! What happened to the weather?" Rarity pondered, moving to look up at the sky.

The once blue sky had been completely taken over by grey clouds. The sky began to rumble, sounding like a ferocious dragon Pinkie Pie would awaken after thousands of moons of slumber.

"An angry weather pony must have slept poorly," Rarity thought to herself.

She sighed, shaking her head. She knew she had to carry on with her day, even if it meant she was locked indoors until the next morning. Rarity extended her front left leg, her hoof making contact with the golden doorknob.

Turning it left, turning it right, the door popped open with a click.

The boutique was darkened by the weather outside: Rarity turned on the lights reluctantly as she stepped inside. She sighed contently, however, knowing that she was home and away from whatever chaotic weather was potentially on the way.

She looked over to her bed, a bed with two fluffy pillows and a perfectly soft duvet. The sheets were white in colour, the same white as her cat's fur. Her beloved cat sat calmly on top of the bed, almost blending in. Opalescence's brilliant green eyes gleamed as they watched Rarity happily hop over to the bed.

"Oh, Opal, darling..." Rarity sighed at the top of her lungs, relieved she was finally home and away from the chaos that was the weather.
"Whatever can a mare do in the awful weather? I have no orders for dresses from the mares across town! Whatever shall I do?"

The unicorn wailed as a slight tear formed in the corner of her eye. She enjoyed being dramatic, she thought as she giggled at herself (secretly in hopes the cat could laugh too). However, her boredom was very real. She had nothing to do and not much inspiration for a new clothing range for the Ponyville ponies to enjoy.

Maybe this awful weather could be of inspiration, the pony thought, before realising the greys and the whites probably wouldn't appeal to anypony in all of Equestria.

Sighing, she decided to sit on her bed, maybe to secretly have a short nap.

"Rarity? Are you in there?"

Rarity jumped up immediately, shocked from being able to faintly hear a very familiar voice, which was muffled by the wind and the door's presence. She trotted swiftly to her door and was surprised upon seeing her friend's face.

"Twilight? What in Celestia's name are you doing here in this weather?" she questioned as she opened the door, ushering the purple unicorn inside the boutique.

Twilight Sparkle, who Rarity had been friends with for a short while now, had seemingly walked her way to the Carousel Boutique. Wearing her yellow raincoat didn't seem to help Twilight, for her mane was completely frazzled by the wind and rain.

"Darling! Your complexion and your hair!" Rarity gasped as Twilight stepped into her home.

Using her magic, Rarity quickly fixed Twilight's appearance, to which she received a very warm smile.

"I am so glad you're in Rarity, I wouldn't know what to do if you weren’t!" Twilight said, a tone of thankfulness in her voice as she looked over at Rarity's now very messy bed. Opalescence clawed at the duvet, trying to move it out of the way.

The comical scene made Rarity chuckle nervously as she quickly strided over to the bed to fix the mess.

"Is that so? Whatever could be so urgent?" she pondered, looking at the mare somewhat disapprovingly.

"It's the Princess!" Twilight beamed, her statement causing Rarity to stop what she was doing completely.

"My! Is she alright?"
A state panic took over Rarity. Delicately, she fluttered her eyelashes as she looked at the mare stood before her, hoping for a positive answer concerning the Princess' health.

"Yes, why wouldn't she be?" Twilight asked, pulling a face, "She just wants a dress!"

Rarity could hear the cogs in her brain breaking. The Princess Celestia wanted a dress made by Rarity.

"Why! I can't believe it!" Rarity stuttered, a confusion in her voice, "why me?"

"I might have told her that you're an avid fashion pony, Rarity! She was very interested!" Twilight said, very happily, "And those Gala outfits! She loved them very much and how they displayed our personalities."

The pale unicorn mare felt faint as Twilight continued her speech. She had stopped listening to her, frantically imagining different scenarios in her head.

"Oh, Rarity, this dress is awful!" Princess Celestia will say upon seeing the mustard yellow dress covered in brown spots.

"Oh, by stars! What is this! It's amazing, Rarity!" Celestia will say, looking happily at the green dress Rarity showed her.

Staring at the floor, Rarity noticed a purple hoof waving in front of her face.

"Are you even listening?!" the pony asked, sounding somewhat annoyed, causing Rarity to lock eyes with her once again.

"Darling, are you sure this is a good idea?" was her question.

"Of course! This will definitely boost your reputation across the land and with fancy ponies! The Princess needs it in a week for her fancy pony monthly meeting ball, I'm sure you can do that!" Twilight said, giggling.

"Oh, yes, of course!" Rarity said, putting on a smile. She couldn't let Twilight, or the Princess, down.

"See ya then!" Twilight shouted over the wind as she ripped open the door, waving her arm as she left.

As the sun rose, welcoming a new (and hopefully a calmer) day, the birds chirped, waking Rarity up in an instant.

She blinked rapidly, turning her head in any possible direction. She found herself staring at the mannequin the pony was going to use to create her new dress. A dress for a gala, for a very fancy gala, perfect for Princess Celestia to use.

It would be a much bigger dress compared to what she was accustomed to making, considering the sheer height of the Princess compared to the other normal pony folk she knew and loved. She wanted it to be bold and courageous, just like the Princess, but she wanted it to match with her slightly softer colour palette. She wanted the dress to be flowy, just like Celestia's mane that Rarity adored oh so much.

"Say, Opal, what do you think the Princess will like?" Rarity asked her cat as if she was bound to get an answer from Opalescence.

The cat locked eyes with Rarity for a split second and proceeded to just kick her mouse toy at Rarity's left hoof. It made a soft squeaking noise as it rolled away, the snow white cat following it to have more fun playing with the toy.

The unicorn sighed. She had no idea what to do for the dress.

How could she make it graceful and appropriate for her fancy pony gala, using colours that would perfectly compliment her in the autumnal weather.

Looking out of the window, Rarity watched the sky as the sun was once again enveloped by rain clouds, which started their rumbling rampage almost immediately. The sky, which was once blue and happy, was now grey and dismal yet again.

Rarity shook her head, her mane flopping around as she did so, knowing that she had work to do.

Twilight's short but sweet visit had now thrown Rarity into a spiral of work, tiredness, and desperation.

"The Princess needs it in a week for her fancy pony monthly meeting ball," as Twilight had said, would be on repeat in Rarity's mind constantly.

"I'm sure you can do that!"

Rarity would see her friend's bubbly face as she smiled, delivering her message. Rarity knew that she would see that bubbly face when she finished the dress of Celestia's dreams.

At least- she hoped it would be so.

Picking up the threads and needles she needed to create the basic foundations of her dress, the designer got to work immediately, a twinkle in her eyes.

Her blue magic aura would light up the room as the rain hit against the windows. Her small glasses sat on her muzzle and watched the rain go by. It was as if the Wonderbolts were flying into a window (but as rain droplets and much smaller than themselves) at their highest speed possible.

"They will never be as fast as our Rainbow Dash," Rarity said to her glasses, giggling. "I don't think I would have any windows left if they were!"

But then she sighed. She had realised her habit of talking to inanimate objects whilst she worked on an outfit had returned after quite some time away.

She closed her mouth, frowning slightly.

Several hours had passed, and Rarity felt her eyes drooping from exhaustion.

It was very dark outside, even darker than what it was during the rainstorm of the day. The spectacular moon was finally out, shining brightly into Rarity's home. The Carousel Boutique relished in Princess Luna's moon, the Princess loved by so many creatures across the land.

Rarity closed her eyes, sighing. There was no way she would be able to sleep that night; she had only just been able to construct the foundations for the dress to keep it secured.

But the mare was very wrong, considering she fell asleep several minutes later.

Her sleep was muffled, a bright burning light filling most of it, as she witnessed nothing short of a nightmare.

"Is that.." Rarity started to question, as her equipment started to fly towards her, swords and shields bonded to them, "my equipment?"

Rarity was so shocked and so terrified that she started running towards what seemed like a door. Except, it was several miles away from the poor pony. It looked welcoming. It looked cosy.

But as she got closer to the door, and as her needle cushion started throwing itself at her, Rarity could no longer see the door. There was no door to even begin with.

"NO!" Rarity wailed, her eyes steaming with what seemed to be tears.

She had no escape from this nightmare now.

The only thing she could do was wake up.

Her eyes flashed open, just like a lightning strike meeting a tree. She couldn't see anything but the moon beaming into her eyes. The mare's mane fell over her eyes as she turned onto her side, not knowing if she should sleep or not.

The morning rolled around relatively quickly, and Rarity hoped that this was going to be a relatively nice day in the skies. She hoped that there would be soft, fluffy clouds that she could see the pegasi playing in.

Clouds. That was an idea Rarity thought about. She didn't remember the last time she didn't see a cloud in the sky following the weather that caused so much dismay for the poor mare. But, this dismay wouldn't bring out the brightness in a dress - would it?

Hearing a knock, Rarity left her thoughts behind.

It was a powerful knock, a knock that she wasn't familiar with. Quite frankly, it was rather scary, sending Rarity into a fearful state.

She watched her hooves as the front left one fell before the other. She walked slowly, lifting her right hoof up to make contact with the doorknob.

Turning it left, turning it right, the door popped open with a click.

Rarity looked outside, her eyes meeting those of a tall, dark pony mare she had only met thrice before.

"Princess Luna?!"

Purl Two

"Princess Luna?!"

Rarity gasped, utter shock taking over her.

The tall alicorn mare stood, her head turned down so she could clearly look at Rarity's sapphire blue eyes. Her cyan eyes shone as the sun beamed on Rarity's horn. She blinked twice, very slowly, as she cracked a small smile.

"Why, Rarity! How lovely it is to see you again!" Luna said cheerfully, smiling like a filly meeting her favourite celebrity.

"Yes, you too, your majesty. Please," Rarity hesitated before she continued talking, "Please come in!"

Scurrying away from the door, Rarity bowed slightly at the Princess. She smiled as Luna laughed.

"Please, take a seat here!" Rarity said as she pointed towards a small desk with a large armchair sat behind it.

On the desk sat five pieces of paper, all with drawings of dresses sprawled across them. They were long dresses that would immediately crush a little pony if they tried to wear it.

"Do ignore the mess, Princess," Rarity laughed nervously as she moved the drawings to the side of the desk in a neat pile with her magic.

Luna giggled, covering her mouth with her hoof as she did so.

"I hear that you had a dream last night, Rarity," she started to explain, "And I thought that I would, as the Princess who watches over dreams, come to help you!"

She, again, cracked a wide, filly-like smile, tapping her hooves on the floor. Rarity looked at the Princess, smiling. She had never seen her be so down to earth - for it was only their fourth meeting.

"She's rather cute when she wants to be," Rarity thought to herself.

"Why, it was a terrible nightmare, Your Majesty!" Rarity sighed, thinking about the flying needle cushion with the sword coming straight towards her. She shook her head, her purple mane hitting her face at a speed.

Luna simply sighed, knowing that she was in for a long conversation with the unicorn mare.

"I have knowledge of a cushion and a pair of glasses chasing you with swords and shields. Why, those same glasses right there!" the Princess said, pointing towards the red glasses sat against Rarity's horn.

"What have you been doing during the day?"

Rarity's eyes met the floor as she looked down in embarrassment. She didn't know whether she should be truthful or lie to Luna.

"Well, being honest," the unicorn mare said, knowing that if she lied, she would be haunted by her equipment and Applejack in her sleep.

"Celestia has requested a dress from myself. It is needed within the next six days! Oh, Luna!" Rarity whined, a tone of desperation in her voice.

She threw herself at the Princess' hooves, as if she was begging for mercy. Her desperation was clear: Luna couldn't just leave her stranded now, could she?

"Ah, yes," Luna started to say, feeling confused, "My sister is hosting a Gala for the highest of Canterlot society! I almost forgot!"

Rarity's mascara was starting to seep down her face: the mare was crying.

"Rarity, do not cry!"

The Princess of the Night was feeling desperate, almost begging for the mare to stop crying before she did too. She was tired, probably more so than Rarity, as she hadn't even considered sleeping for an hour or two before she travelled to see Rarity.

"Only you can control your dreams, Rarity. I have been away for so long that I don't know exactly what I'm doing yet! I can only assist with fighting away the villains of the night, just like that cushion." she said, pointing towards the very normal looking needle cushion.

The Princess stood up, leaving behind the chair she was sitting on. She walked towards the door, a clear sign that their meeting was over.

Luna looked back, smiling softly at the mare, sending butterflies through Rarity's stomach. She had liked the Princess for some time but had only admired her soft, dark blue coat from a distance. She admired the way her makeup glistened as she closed her eyes. She admired her voice, with that old, royal speaking pattern she hoped she would never lose.

Rarity waved the Princess goodbye. She was confused, not knowing what to think.

She was too scared to sleep that night, with the memory of the night she had endured the day before playing through her mind again and again.

But she thought it would be the best thing for her. Maybe the nightmare wouldn't come back, and she would have a lovely dream about Celestia being very satisfied with the dress.

"Rarity... come here!"

Rarity could hear the voice of that villain from the previous night.

A red thing, a small red thing, drifted towards her.

The needle cushion was back, haunting her for another night.

In a wail of desperation, Rarity begged and pleaded for it to leave her alone.

"But, Rarity, I need to help you!" the tiny voice said, becoming more evil by the second.

Rarity could feel herself shivering, a state of fear taking over her. She wanted to fight back, showing her bravery that Luna had tried to encourage her to unleash.

But, Rarity was admiring the mare of the night to such an extent that her focus had gone - "Gosh, what did the Princess say again?"

She could only think about the Princess' makeup perfectly sitting on her eyes and how it shimmered when she closed her eyes and blinked.

She almost forgot about the red needle cushion flying towards her until she heard the clashing of swords.

A bright beam of light took over the nightmare, causing Rarity to jolt back into action.

Her glasses and her cushion were zooming towards her until a sword, adorned in a blue aura Rarity knew very well, stood up proudly in front of her.

The unicorn's own magic had conjured a sword from somewhere she didn't know: she had seemingly protected herself from the villains of the night.

"But Rarity, we want to help you with that dress!" the small glasses shouted at the top of its lungs, which was accompanied by a soft rumble of thunder.

The thunder had been a reality several days before: Rarity's nightmare was becoming even more real.

"Allow the storm to come closer, Rarity! Let it take you over!" the cushion laughed, an evil twinge in its voice. It hit its little sword against the bigger sword Rarity was still holding, the glasses following the cushion's every move.

A maniac cushion was potentially about to ruin Rarity's life: Celestia wouldn't be able to get the dress!

A blue magic aura, which was much darker than Rarity's, suddenly started to take over the scene. She didn't recognise it but immediately made the assumption that it belonged to the dreamy pony she had seen hours earlier.

Princess Luna, the caretaker of dreams, had finally come to save the unicorn mare.

"Princess!" Rarity yelled out, some hope in her voice.

But the distraction caused Rarity to drop the sword, causing it to vanish from the dream. She was now defenceless over the two tiny villains she thought she knew well.

The swords came firing towards her, like little lightning bolts were about to attack her eyes. Rarity screamed, fear consuming her.

"It isn't real, Rarity! You must fight back!" Luna shouted from a distance as she bolted towards the helpless mare who didn't know if she was about to say goodbye to dreaming forever or if she would survive to see herself making Celestia's dress.

A courageous bolt of lightning crashed through the dream land very suddenly, causing Rarity's nighttime villains to jolt out of position. They were just as shocked as Rarity was: the weather was not a part of their plan, it seemed.

Scurrying away, the equipment yelled back to Rarity and Luna, a constant reminder of "help" they wanted to give to Rarity.

"Are you alright, Rarity?" Luna asked as she reached the mare at last, placing her wing delicately over the unicorn mare's shoulder, sending Rarity into a spiral of butterflies.

She nodded, confused and seemingly terrified of the storm that was approaching even faster than before.

"Rarity! You must fight back against the villains of the night!" Luna said, her magic picking up the sword to give it back to Rarity.

Luna's mind was a flurry of mess.

Before stumbling upon Rarity's nightmare, Luna was watching over the dream of the ever ambitious Rainbow Dash, who was dreaming of becoming the world's most popular Wonderbolt. It was a dream of joy and pleasure (and even maybe a dream of selfishness) for Dash, one of Rarity's closest friends.

She had contemplated joining Fluttershy in her dreamland; a soft, pink filled dream with bunnies hopping and birds chirping. Luna thought it would be a nice detox from her work, but maybe Fluttershy would prefer to be alone with the cute critters after that faithful Nightmare Night.

But as she approached the door that revealed Rarity's sleep, she knew she had to join her in the battle. She could see the piercing beam of light that was far from normal for a dream of happiness and joy.

She knew it was her job to help.

Entering the battle was an easy task for the alicorn Princess, who was much more powerful than the unicorn mare and the little cushion and glasses that wanted to hurt the fashion designer.

But the battle was a struggle for the poor Rarity who didn't know what to do. She would weep in fear - Luna knew she had to help.

Bells ringing through the two mares' ears caused the two to spring into action, Rarity out of pure fear and Luna out of protection, signalling something significant was likely going to happen.

"What was that?!" Rarity asked, half whispering, half crying.

"Oh, Rarity, please don't cry! I don't know what that was, probably that awful storm of villainy." Luna replied, a confused tone in her voice.

Usually, the alicorn would know exactly what would happen next and would guide a poor pony through their nightmare. Rarity's, however, was so unpredictable that she didn't have any idea as to what was going to happen or what she could do to help.

All she could do was listen. She had to listen to the wind the storm created. The whistles created a song, an unpleasant song at that, that Luna had to get Rarity to listen to.

Rarity's mane was frolicking around like a sheep in the field. The wind was extremely powerful. It didn't like her, and Rarity didn't like it.

"Rarity!" Luna had managed to shout over the whistling, "You must listen to what it has to say! It's something about a dress..."

Luna's voice trailed as she realised what was happening. Rarity wasn't having a nightmare, but the stress built up by Celestia's desire for a dress on an ever so tight deadline caused Rarity to have a powerful, damaging dream.

The dream that was believed to be a nightmare was a dream that was sent by Dreamland Incorporated (who had been Luna's employers for around a thousand years or so, as she was their only employee) to guide Rarity in the right direction.

"A dress?" Rarity asked, confusion taking over her.

Tears streamed away from her face as the wind bashed into her, making it hard to move. Slowly, she relaxed her body, closed her eyes, and listened to the whistling the wind had to offer.

"A dress that will whip up a storm will suit the Princess well..." the wind whispered calmly, "A dress that will whip up a storm will be a success!"

Rarity listened carefully to the soft, calm whisper the storm was delivering. She finally realised that the storm she had endured after her short walk through her beloved village was a sign of what was to come.

"A storm dress! That's it!" Rarity cheered loudly, which shocked Luna. She was just like a happy filly who had met a celebrity she loved and adored.

The dream around the mares became dimmer almost immediately.

"This is my queue to leave, Rarity." Luna sighed a sigh of relief, "Have a good sleep!"

The Princess turned around, craning her neck back to send a smile to Rarity.

"I'm sure Celestia would love a storm dress."

"Why, Rarity, this is amazing!"

Princess Celestia tapped her her hooves in excitement when she came face to face with the dress.

Several days had passed since Luna and Rarity's meeting in the unicorn's dream, and Rarity had finally constructed a dress she believed the Princess would love.

Whilst the dress appeared as grey and white with slithers of white throughout it, the layers of the dress created a marvellous story of dreams and light. Composed of soft pinks, blues and greens, Celestia was a major part of the hidden layers of the stormy dress.

It was perfect to the Princess, who was very satisfied.

"Twilight! Thank you for telling me even about your dear friend, Rarity and her passion. She really is Equestria's best designer!" Celestia continued to compliment Rarity, who was joined by her close friend.

Twilight Sparkle beamed in delight, patting Rarity's shoulder. She had hoped she didn't put too much pressure on the poor mare, but she knew that was probably far from what happened.

"Wow, Rarity! It really is a lovely dress!" Twilight started to say. She smiled and cheekily added, "I'm sure all the mares in Equestria will love this dress!"

Rarity nervously laughed, half looking at Twilight, half looking at Celestia.

"You will have to become my new personal designer!" Celestia commented, jokingly, sending a flurry of panic through Rarity's system.

But the Princess just laughed, knowing that it would be impossible for Rarity.

"Maybe one day, Your Majesty." Rarity said, closing her eyes slowly.

Maybe then, she could find out all she wanted to know about Princess Luna, whom she hoped to meet personally once again.