Bejeweled

The rays of the sun began smearing its orange light over everything as it emerged ever so slowly from behind the mountains. Shoeshine closed the door after the last of her guest left and let a huge yawn out that she kept in for Celestia knows how long. Then she noticed they weren't the last ones, in fact two of them was still left, the charming Rarity gazing out the window, and Agate who most likely fell asleep inside the workshop. She rarely came out all night, yet still, strange noises came from inside. As if somepony would walk, dragging a bunch of cans that was stripped to her.

The door opened inch by inch, revealing her, Agate. Dizzy, exhausted and a real nest for wrinkles, but she was awake, and this wasn't all. For most her body was covered in beautiful, shining plates of steel adorned with small, round bells of all sizes and a huge metal belt. It was stunning beyond words, and she knew it all well. She was proud of her work, it looked straight up fantastic on its own already.

"Imagine when Rarity sees this." she told her fellow smith. The door she left open however was closed by a mysterious blue aura.

"There will be no need for imagination, dear." the voice of the pony in question hit Agate's ears as the unicorn of elegance appeared next to her, with dreamy eyes that simply didn't know where to look. The sight was marvelous, and Rarity was already imagining the even more beautiful dress atop it.

"Aggy, this... this is... perfect. Just perfect." Rarity complimented, as she allowed herself to take a closer look. It was so hard to believe yet it was just in front of her. A fragment of a dream, one that was to become reality very, very soon.

"Yes, it looks wonderful."  Shoeshine added, as she gazed over to Agate's face, something she couldn't say the same about.

"You should really go home, you doesn't look good at all." Shoeshine told both of them, kind of worried about the two after having no sleep at all.

"I agree, I'm desperate for a beauty sleep after all this."  Rarity responded after a small yawn she was unable to withhold anymore.

"Thanks Shine." the smith approached her newfound friend, doing a smaller hoofpump with her as the two giggled a bit.

The doorknob gained a faint blue tint from the magic of seamstress, as it opened as the girls bid farewell. The stars were still seen in the furthest borders of the sky on the west, however, most of them was hidden behind the enormous, black cumulus the weather pegasi was assembling. That suddenly reminded her about what she read in the papers yesterday, a reminder of the enormous rainstorm that was lasting all day long. While most ponies - especially Rarity didn't like the rain in summer, it was a necessary evil to wash away the pollen ponies might be allergic to, not to mention it was the most efficient way of watering plants and crops.

"Aggy, dear, how fast can you run in that armor of yours?" Rarity asked picking a pace from where she could easily swift into a gallop when needed, Agate following her up close.

"I don't know, haven't tried it actually. Why?" the smith replied, the steel clinging all over her, playing a random, incoherent song of its own.

"I just doubt you've made it of stainless steel." Rarity replied, pointing towards the black clouds with her eyes. Agate gazed over them and knew what she was to imply. The pegasi were fast, and the giant took shape very quickly. Soon enough they realized they have to make a run for it. Yes they definitely will need to run. The sky turned dark everywhere as the two unicorns trotted past countless houses.

The boutique seemed unreachable, and things got just even worse when a drop of liquid hit Rarity right in the face... and another... and another.

"Oh, no, please not yet!" she cried out in herself. She despised rain unless she was home, and in this case, she was far from it. The two had shifted into their highest gears, galloping down to save themselves, but they were already too late.

More and more raindrops fell from the sky and the two was exposed to them completely. They had to act fast.

"Quick! There!" Agate shouted, changing her angle of traveling towards a small bridge that connected two houses. It seemed big enough for the two to find cover under. The girls ran just there, to the very side of the house on the right, getting as much cover as they possibly could. Rarity allowed her friend a bit more cover, sacrificing a portion of her tail to the rain that already began to evolve into a blizzard.

Only the pink noise played in their ears as the two gazed around for a way out, looking at one another after the sad realization: they were trapped.

"What now?" the desperate Agate asked and loud, not to let her voice fade into the rain.

While the state of the two friends was grim, it was not entirely hopeless, and the seamstress knew that desperate situations needed desperate measures.

"Look. Stay here and watch out for the armor, I'll run back for an umbrella and come back for you." Rarity laid it out her plan. It sounded like a way out, but it had one obvious problem.

"You can't do that! You'll get completely soaked." Agate explained, but it all fell for deaf ears.

"It's going to be fine, darling." Rarity replied, putting her hooves on the shoulder of the smith. Her eyes filled with sadness and consideration, while being dreamy, as if she'd be about to sacrifice her own life.

"No, I can't let you do that." Agate backed away a little bit, as her horn charged up an amethyst aura that enveloped her armor as well, as she tried to take it off "You already did too much."

Even though it had no sleeves or anything, slipping out of steel plate took a bit of difficulty, but it was nowhere near an actual struggle and in a few seconds it already got laid by the wall.

"Watch out for it until I get back." she told her friend, and with a deep breath of fresh air, she leaped out into the waterfall.

The cold rain gave her chills, and on top of that, it was not the kind with the big raindrops. Instead, they were small, and pierced like thousands of liquid needles. Agate's soaked mane fell into her field of view, so she brushed it aside, yet still, all that water hitting her around that part made her job no easier. It was cold, and breathing without getting water in the mouth was impossible. Every second seemed like an eternity of suffering as she ran down the streets, hitting puddles from time to time that gathered on the bumpy road. She galloped onwards when a voice shouted her name.

"Agate!"

It was a familiar voice, faint, but definitely coming from the left. It was Twilight Sparkle, in an entrance to a house that was actually a huge tree. The wind blew her mane like crazy, even there, but she didn't give up.

"Agate! Quick, over here!" she kept shouting, waving with a hoof to sign the smith to come in, while holding the door with the other one. Agate ran as fast as she could, and soon as she entered Twilight shut the door.

"Are you alright?" she asked in a worried tone, as she stepped closer.

"Yeah, but Rarity is trapped out there." Agate explained, getting straight to the point. Twilight knew her friend well enough that a storm like this is a real nightmare to the fashionista. She knew exactly what she needed, as such, her horn filled with mana as she took down the regular umbrella and the backup umbrella and handed it over to Agate.

Agate opened up the dark purple checkered one with the help of her magic, while Twilight opened the door and let the smith ahead, then step on the gas to get back to save her friend, sort of.

Rarity was delighted by the sight of a mobile cover, but as Agate got closer, the worse she looked. The cold rain and the wind made her shake, feeling about to freeze. She needed to go somewhere warm to dry herself immediately.

Rarity took hold of the dark gray umbrella and opened it up, while she levitated up the armor and get it under its cover as well. Agate knew Twilight was waiting for them, and she trotted that way as fast as she could, her body trembling and teeth chattering. Twilight was waiting for them indeed, opening the door and giving the signals just like before.

"Over here, girls!" she shouted, waiting for them to get in and shutting the wooden door immediately afterwards as well as lending the mustard one a towel she cleverly prepared in the meanwhile already.

"Thank you, Twilight." Rarity told the mulberry one, trying catch a bit of air. However, something was familiar to her. How strange.

"Y-yes, thanks." Agate replied as she kept drying herself, though still shivering from the cold "Though you sure think it's a g-good idea to stay in a t-t-tree during a storm?" she asked, with a slightly worried look on her face.

"Well, with a magical lightning rod like mine, I can assure you it is." Twilight replied, proud and confident, as this little thing of hers newer failed her once so far.

"Why do I feel so de ja wu right now?" Rarity asked herself aloud, as the thought was very frustrating. She could swear her next collection she heard this one before... but where, oh where?

"What's it Rarity? Can't remember your first slumber party here? You asked exactly the same along with Applejack." Twilight snickered to provide a little push to that fragment of the seamstress' subconscious, which then surfaced in her conscious.

It caught Rarity off guard, all the things her mind was flooded with, the rain, Twilight with her book, the games, the pillow fight, and of course the continuous arguments with Applejack. Good times.

"Oh yes. Yes, I do remember now." Rarity replied, as she let her mind wonder and take a swim in the ocean of nostalgia, her eyes crawling towards the top-left corner of the room. She laid down the steel, just by the hanger so they will have no problems finding it.

"Speaking of that, where is Storybelle?" the tailor asked, only now noting the missing presence of the co-librarian.

"She went to visit her parents in Fillydelphia, she should be home by tonight if everything goes well." Twilight responded. She has started as a mere assistant but she learned so quick it stunned everyone around her. Still, her being able to handle the library all alone after so little time of working here amazed Rarity to no end.

Twilight lead Agate to the fireplace meanwhile, though it might not have been the best idea to build a fireplace inside a tree, but the assistant surely had something for that too. She sat down by the flames to warm up, Rarity joining her a bit later on.

"Aggy, are you okay?" she asked. Agate was only out in the rain for a few minutes, yet still, this gesture felt like a must to the seamstress. Especially after seeing her friend shaking to the bone and mallow. Agate however, just nodded with a smile warm as the heat of the fire next to them.

"Remember when we made marshmallows here with you and AJ?" Twilight recalled the sweet, sweet memories, joining Rarity on the train to the past.

"I most certainly do, wish we could repeat it." Rarity giggled back, but the warmth and comfort of the flames reminded her body that it didn't have much rest for a while, erupting in another yawn.

Soon afterwards Agate started to gape too, then Twilight caught it as well. It was so early in the morning, they might as well still go back to sleep. Then, Twilight had an idea.

"You know, I still have the reserve bed if you want to sleep over." Twilight explained, her eyes glinting a bit from the joy, even though she knew the seamstress will most likely refuse out of common courtesy.

"Thank you for the offer, but I don't want to be a bother to you." Rarity refused in her usual politeness, but as another big yawn tried to escape her mouth she held it back with a hoof of hers.

"You two look like got no sleep, and the rain isn't likely to stop anytime soon." Twilight explained. She had irrefutable points, and Rarity knew withholding anymore would be just plain stubbornness and not modesty.

"Well, if you insist, I think I could get a bit of rest." the seamstress replied, getting up from next to the fireplace. Twilight signed Agate to follow her upstairs, and the three unicorns entered the bedroom with Twilight in the lead.

"Shh! Spike is still asleep." Twilight whispered, slowly opening the door. They snuck in and up the stairs, to the top where the beds were located. There he snored, the little purple dragon in his little nest of a bed.

"Aww, isn't he adorable?" Rarity asked with warm eyes as she eyed her little purple Spikey-Wikey.

"Heh, the little guy didn't grow anywhere." Agate noted phlegmatically. She was a bit disappointed, she expected Sunburn to actually raise and tame a full-grown dragon, not just keep him in his baby form her entire life. However, all she achieved with this was a part-confused, part-angry look from Rarity, along with a spicy comeback of course.

"I for one like him much more this way then an enormous, savaging beast, but each on their own." Rarity replied as she turned back towards the bed to tuck herself into the sheets.

She laid down and slid in inch by inch, she knew that feel, the touch of the blanket's fabric and the mattress. She allowed herself to let out a little moan of pleasure and relief, it felt like the old memories coming to life. Then she recalled 'that' moment.

Her eyes shot open as a reaction, looking for the smith, for there was a high possibility she might do the exact same thing Applejack did back then.

"Don't you dare jump on it." she whispered in anger, however the smith nothing as such in her mind, and she snuck in next to her friend.

As the two got closer and closer their eyes met once again, sucking one another in as a black hole. There was always, always something in there that intrigued both of them, something that kept them wondering in each others' beautiful eyes. Time seemed to slow down every time this happened.

Twilight yawned up "Well, good night girls... or, morning." she corrected herself, snapping both friends out of the stasis.

"Yes, good morning." Rarity giggled.

"Good morning." Agate added with a yawn. The sound of the rain lulled them into sleep, slowly guiding the girls into the land of the dreams as their eyelids slowly shut down.

Little bit later Rarity woke up to the booming sound of a thunderclap. While the faint noise of the rain never disturbed her dreams, the loud thunders always managed to surprise her. She climbed out of the bed towards the window to see that it was still raining like a maniac, spotting a little flash in a distance that disappeared in a blink of an eye. For how long was she asleep, was her question, as she began monitoring the room for a clock. Upon finding the little, round-shaped object on the shelf nearby showing half past eleven she stared out the window once again. It seemed nearly impossible, for the sky was tinted in such dark gray color the light of the Sun barely made through it. In fact, it looked almost as dark as when they arrived. The seamstress allowed a sigh to wonder out from her mouth, she was to finish the masterpiece today afternoon.

Then she gazed over to her sleepyhead friend. It was quite late, should she wake her up or not? After a little bit of thinking later she approached her friend, shaking her a tiny bit from behind.

"Agate! Wake up!" she whispered, slowly awakening her "It is past to twelve, we've overslept." she said a bit louder until Agate got up.

"Past twelve already?" she whined, trying to get rid of the tears and others in her eyes with the help of her hooves.

"No, just past to twelve." Rarity corrected her, helping her friend up. Soon as Agate got on her hooves however, a wild groan was her from below. It was her empty tummy, they didn't have any breakfast after all, nor dinner. Still, Rarity giggled at the little sound.

The door creaked open by their side. It was a little claw opening it, slow at first, but more and more confident later on. It was Spike, with Twilight behind her.

"Rarity!" Spike said in surprise, running towards her beloved ivory mare with open arms. Rarity of course responded just the same way, as the two melted together in a warm hug.

"How is my little dragon?" Rarity asked, holding Spike thigh before parting with him.

"Oh fine, I'm fine." he replied, turning over the other mare he never seen before. "Who's the other girl?" he asked, one of his eyelids lowering as a form of puzzlement.

"Spike it's Agate. Remember her?" Twilight answered, walking in. However, that answer didn't mean much to Spike, who became a bit awkward about the situation.

"Well, actually, not really." Spike shied away.

"She was my classmate when you were even smaller." Twilight explained with a little smirk.

"Twilight, we're ever so grateful for your hospitality, but we really should get home by now, that dress won't make itself, I'm afraid." Rarity explained ever so politely.

Twilight understood, of course, Rarity was always having something she was working on, she was busy as bee. She had to keep herself occupied, whether it was sewing a new dress, or drawing an idea of new dress, or just enjoying the company of a good book and wine, maybe even writing down her own fantasies as well. She was a creative soul after all.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for breakfast? You ate nothing this morning." Twilight asked, as she allowed to take a step closer towards Rarity.

The seamstress would have stayed, but the progress worried her. They had limited time, and she couldn't allow herself to hurry with her part, it had to be just perfect. On the other side, she didn't want Twilight to feel bad by mistake, that she wants to get out as soon as she could. To top that, Agate's stomach replied earlier than her mouth.

"I suppose the dress can wait a few more minutes." Rarity replied with a gentle grin. A few minutes was an affordable sacrifice, and a necessary one too, either here or at home but they had to eat something.

"Go ahead, I already had breakfast but I prepared some cookies for you girls." Twilight smiled back, sending her guests towards the kitchen, which was located in the lower, underground part of the trunk, right next to the storage room.

It was most minimalistic, a pair of shelves, a stove and a small fridge was all it was, really, but served its purpose well enough in cases like that very day. No wonder Twilight usually chose to eat somewhere else, the lack of natural light, and the tiny space was not something the seamstress was keen on, Agate on the other hand found it a bit of charming in its own unique way.

Things were already set on the table, bread, hay, some jam, some fruits and vegetables, and of course, in the middle of the little, square-shaped table, the crispy-looking cookies with chocolate.

"It's a bit small, but try to make yourself comfortable." Twilight explained, a bit awkward because of the size, as the other two took a seat on the left. Agate didn't hesitate but charged her horn and got the bread, butter and the peach jam, making a delicious treat quick as she could. The two didn't speak, but ate.

Several sandwiches went down their throat before they decided it was time to the big finale. Rarity cleaned the corners of her mouth with a serviette, before folding it and gazing over to the cookies. Agate took the first piece of it, however, and bit off half of the crispy treat.

"Remember when we did the same at home a week ago?" Rarity recalled.

"How could I forget it?" Agate answered with a chuckle. It was all in her mind like it was just yesterday. She destroyed them in one bite, filling her mouth as much as she could, but now, she is much much slower and elegant about it.

So much changed in a week, and Rarity still had a hard time believing how the negligent drunkard turned into a sophisticated lady, or something close to that at least. However, it was not a time for the compliments, not yet. Instead, she signed a sweet with the azure aura of her horn and took a chip of it.

"I dare to say you became a completely new you since." she told the smith, however, she thought otherwise.

"It's a bit exaggerating, don't you think?" Agate asked. In her eyes, she learned the way of a lady, but it did not change her completely.

"Hmm, you might be right." Rarity replied as she took another of the cookies and took tiny bits of it, noticing only one left on the dish by the time she ate hers.

"Would you like the last one?" she offered it, tilting the dish a bit her as the corners her mouth curled upwards.

Agate however shut her eyes and shook her head for a brief moment, turning away towards the third mare who was making order in the shelves just next to them. "I think Twilight should have the last one." she said.

Rarity flinched back a bit in surprise but returned to her warm, motherly expression immediately. A clever idea and a generous offer in one, while it was a bit uncomfortable, it was also a pleasant surprise seeing Agate beating her in her game this time. This one time only, of course.

"Huh?" Twilight said, hearing her name, as her ears twitched in response. She didn't quite pay attention about what was going on.

"I have to agree, Twilight, darling, you worked hard on them, you certainly deserve the last one." Rarity added, turning towards to Twi as well with the dish raised, who was confused at first but became humbled afterwards.

"Oh, my, thank you very much girls." Twilight said, taking the last piece for herself.

"No, we'd like to thank you all this." Rarity replied, standing up from the table and preparing herself to leave.

"Anytime Rarity." Twilight replied, escorting them back upstairs "You too, Agate, feel free to come by when you wish." she turned to the smith. Though the two were no friends in the past, mere antiquances, it was still enough to help make a little bond between them at that moment.

Agate picked up the intact armor piece, while Rarity reached for the umbrellas Twilight put aside to dry them. The sound of the rain, the wind blowing outside, and even the little thunderclaps didn't bother either of them too much, but now that they had to face them once more did they took notice of it once again, and it made them think again if they'd want to go.

"You can take my umbrellas, then bring them back tomorrow." Twilight told her friends as she levitated them up to Rarity who took hold on them.

"See you later." Twilight bid farewell as she allowed herself a step backwards.

"Bye!" and "Farewell!" was heard at the same time from the other two as Agate opened the door.

The strong, cold wind ambushed them, but they resisted, opened their fabric shields and slowly took their way outside.

The two was close to one another as they cut through the blizzard, relying mostly on their senses and limited vision. Luckily though, the Boutique was unlike any other building around, thus it was easy to recognize. Sometimes a bright flash aided them to locate things easier that was followed by a huge thunderclap.

Slowly but surely, step by step did they approach it, when in a sudden, the wind decided to change direction. Agate lost hold on her umbrella, as the wind took it away and tossed it aside, letting the rain shower her and the armor with no mercy.

Without thinking she ran, ran as fast as she could towards the entrance, Rarity closely behind her, readying her key and slamming it in from a distance. She turned it to let her friend in while she strolled after the other umbrella that the weather captured and played around with.

She returned home, closing the door behind her and even locking it. Agate already rid herself of the wet armor and was drying it with a towel with a worried face, allowing a deep sigh to leave her throat as she finished. All seemed fine for now.

"That was close." Agate wiped her mane from her view as she raised the towel to dry it. Her breathing was still quite severe from all this adventure.

"It certainly was." Rarity nodded. She tried to put herself at ease as well, but this little turn of the tides in the end gave her too much of an adrenaline rush. Though, maybe she could use that for her advantage.

"Let's get started, I say, we should not waste any more time." she pointed it out, picking up the now dry steel plate and bringing it over to her room upstairs.

Opened windows and curtains going mad welcomed them, a party Rarity quickly ended as a small part of the carpet was all wet already. She groaned in herself, how could she forget about closing them before leaving yesterday, or maybe she did close them but not lock them? She couldn't remember, but still, she had the urge to check the drawers out. She hurried over to them, opening them one by one. Purses, papers, the blueprint of their dress, everything seemed to be in place, she was relieved.

"Thank Celestia, it's all here." she sighed in relief, her horn charging up and levitating the big, checkered blue paper that was scrolled up. She strolled over to her table and unscrolled it, Agate following her closely, as she also wanted to see what the seamstress planned.

"Want me to help?" she asked after peeking at the blueprint that had the final piece on it from front, sides and back too.

"That'd be most pleasant, Aggy." Rarity replied. For the paper wanted to curl back up, Rarity scrolled it up ever so easily and placed it by the side of the wall.

"Now, before we start I need to address that unlike you, I need complete quiet when working, so please, no chit-chat or anything." the seamstress explained in a fierce tone. Though that wasn't always true, for from time to time she found herself singing or just simply humming songs when she thoroughly enjoyed her work. Regardless, outside noises was still not welcome, even in those trances.

"Alright, then." Agate replied. Though she did want to chit-chat with her, as this was possibly the best opportunity to do so, she anknowledged her friend's habits, and kept her lips sealed.

"Good." Rarity replied, the blue aura around her horn appeared once more as she took up her orange glasses from the table and put them on. "Could you get the measure tape for me, it must be somewhere around there." she said, pointing towards the area with the mannequins.

Agate nodded and headed just there hovering up a yellow tape that was wrapped around one of the plastic ponies, while Rarity levitated up and unrolled the maroon red fabric, and prepared it along with silver scissors on her working table.

"Here it is." Agate shouted, strolling back and handing it over to her friend "Those glasses look sexy on you, by the way." she added. Rarity gave her a look of disbelief, that served a little reminder as the smith grabbed for her mouth.

"Oh yeah, no chatting, sorry." Agate apologized, backing away a little, as she suddenly had the urge to sneeze, thus she turned away and covered her face with one of her leg. Rarity chuckled a bit with closed mouth and returned to her work as she faded her eyes away.

"It's fine, dear. Bless you." she said, as she levitated up the material, measuring it and then cutting it down to size with swift snips. The lightning however decided to pull a prank on her as it lit up the whole room in a sudden. Rarity had no time for that though, irritated by the flashing light she groaned a bit, then with her magic, she drew the curtains together.

Her face sent the message, it could have only be clearer if she'd have hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign on her ears. She turned back to Agate who watched her work from the side, but from a distance not to be a bother.

"Dress up one of those figures while I'm at it, will you?" Rarity ordered. She sounded a bit mad, but both of them knew she is just being very serious, and she had a good reason to do so.

Agate did not even reply, just obey, taking up the armor and trying to put it on the mannequin, though the operation was a bit too noisy for the seamstress. Rarity however didn't allow herself to be frustrated upon tiny things, rather focused on that one thing she was doing, measuring and cutting, measuring and cutting.

It didn't take the smith too long to put the plates on, and she was long done by the time Rarity put them together with the help of her magic to see if it fits.

Making sure of that, she levitated up another roll of blue fabric from her rack, as she strolled over to her red, gold-adorned sewing machine, turning it on. She began working on the embroidered tribal motives, while the smith took it all in.

Then she sneezed once more.

"Bless you." Rarity replied "Tissues in the cupboards." she added, not letting her sight wonder away as she put everything into what she was doing at that time. Agate was quick to thank her and wandered over to take one.

Several long hours of work passed by, even Sweetie Belle arrived home before they could finish, but in the end, it all seemed to pay off. The armor-dress hybrid started to take shape, all that was left is the beautiful organza atop the steel plates of the skirt part.

"Careful, hold it still. Hold it still! That's not still, Agate, keep it fixed." Rarity shouted as Agate raised the iron rings of the belt part, as Rarity smeared the glue on the steel, then before it could dry, put on the see-through material and pushed it against the sticky liquid all around, carefully, not to have any wrinkles that would cut from its size.

"Okay, done." Rarity told her friend, signing with her hoof that she can let go it. Once done with that she took hold on the other end with her magic and stretched it all flat until it reached the very end of the cold, hard steel.

Soft fur layers with shades of pink adorned the end, all brushed in one direction, however, below it, a piece of fabric normally unseen to the eyes were used as a medium to attach it to the steel armor. Rarity glued it there as well.

"Okay, I'm washing hooves." she explained, hurrying to the bathroom on her rear limbs as her front hooves were all covered in glue, something she wanted to rid herself of as soon as she could.

"Yeah, I guess I also need that." Agate replied, following her to the bathroom.

A few minutes did all it take before both of them returned, and for some reason, their creation just caught them off-guard. They stopped there just as they entered, gazing on the dress for a few moments before they decided to take a closer look.

"It looks so awesome." Agate noted in awe. Indeed, it was a sight to behold. Though it looked so different on paper, it did not look any worse in reality either, if not the opposite. The sparking scarlet with the blue, purple and yellow tribal motives on it, the pattern in the organza and the hard steel erupting at the neck like a volcano, it all looked so strange and alien, yet so wonderful.

Rarity on the other side, didn't let it seduce her with such ease.

"We're not done yet, there still could be mistakes." she replied, as she set her glasses and decided to walk around it and check every of its spots for problems.

She moaned and groaned as she checked the puffs, the saddle, the belt and the skirt, moving or shaking them or just looking at their seams. She could not afford one mistake.

Everything seemed fine, until she saw a rebellious line of sylvia, hanging there all alone, but not for long, as the seamstress raised her scissors and got rid of it. Despite that, the saddle was stable, the organza was also intact, and she was yet to find something wrong even after another examination.

She allowed herself to take a deep breath and blow all her frustration away with an exhale. She eyed the fruit of their hard work, but instead of her critic view, she just let her mind open and take in its beauty.

They finished it, an unbelievable thought for both of them, yet it was real, it was there, right in front of their eyes in all its glory. As Rarity lost herself in her thoughts, two hooves grabbed her to prevent her fall from reality, hooves that wrapped themselves around her neck in a form of a sweet embrace.

"We did it. I can't believe it, Rares." Agate told her friend of ivory, holding her ever so close to herself.

"It is beyond my depth as well, trust me." Rarity replied, as she let Agate enjoy the situation just a little longer before making some room for herself with soft motions and a small step back.

"You know, we should have made two of it, really, one for your collection and one for mine." Rarity chuckled, as she just couldn't take her eyes off it.

"Your collection?" Agate raised one of her eyebrows with a smug smile as she looked at friend.

"Well yes, the one downstairs behind the stage, didn't I show you?" Rarity turned back to her, as if she could recall something like that already happening once. However, Agate shook her head in disapproval.

"No, but I think we have time to check it out." Agate replied as she took a look back at their dress for a second.

"Oh we do, dear, we do, this way." Rarity responded. Though boasting was not one of her traits, she still loved to showcase what she had, after all, she was proud of her creations... most of them, anyway. She turned around and waved the tip of her hoof a little bit as a sign for Agate to follow her out of the room.

They were downstairs again, as Rarity walked over to a huge curtain behind her personal little stage. She made a small entrance in the middle and let the smith take the first step inside. The whole place was filled with dresses, like a cloakroom. Long steel hangers filled with Rarity's creations made paths to walk along on.

"Wow! It's like a shop." Agate noted as she gazed around "Though it's a bit colder."

"Technically, this is a shop, darling." Rarity giggled back, pointing out the obvious. About it being cooler, while she could feel it that never really bothered her.

Dresses of all kinds were hanging there, even Rarity's Gala dress was found there Agate tried on a week ago.

Out of the gigantic forest of dresses, a huge flag of a feather was standing high above the others, calling the smith to itself. It was a hat, pink, with a flower and two feathers of red and pink attached to the red ribbon. It was quite simple, and looked almost like a pale yellow one right next to it.

Rarity caught up to the smith meanwhile, noticing Agate gazing over her work. The hat and the clothes had an extremely similar color to Agate's coat, the dress being a knee-long robe with an open space left at the chest part, as well as a beautiful white collar and a blue gemstone.

"Oh, I remember this one. I made it to fit the hat." Rarity said, floating away from reality and daydreaming about those good old times. The hat in question was having similar colors and style, but it was slightly more curvy and had a massive ribbon on it with a few fake flowers as well.

"I still recall Twilight's birthday..." she wondered, telling her little story "I was to make her a wonderful dress for her birthday while I was residing in Canterlot for shopping, but I met up with the elite of the capital and I just couldn't help myself."

"Well that was quite a selfish move." Agate noted, turning her head towards the ivory unicorn with a frown and a rather off voice.

"I know it well, and trust me, I was ever so embarrassed, but it might have been my one and only chance to gather some reputation and get the business running better." Rarity explained. She had a valid point there, Agate had to admit, for she knew that feeling all too well. Sacrifices must be made for one to achieve her dream, for her it was her own, old self, for Rarity, it was a present for her close friend.

Rarity allowed a relieved exhale to leave her mouth before she continued "By sheer luck, Twilight loved the base of the unfinished dress, however. I should have knew it though, she was always more about functionality than looks, keeping things simple and organized."

"Yeah, that's totally her." Agate nodded a tiny sneeze later as a response, taking her look back on the dress.

They kept gazing at it, adoring its beautiful shape and colors a little longer, before continuing their way in the fabric-forest.

Passing by more and more beautiful clothes one really caught the eye of the seamstress, a turquoise one with a pink, transparent part over it in the shape of a flower. She took a piece of its fabric in her hoof to feel its soft texture.

"Ah, my wedding dress." Rarity recalled those old memories, but quickly attempted to correct herself upon the little mistake she made "Not for my wedding, of course, I was just the bridesmaid."

"Cadence's wedding?" Agate asked back "When those insectoid freaks came over?" It was a memory she was never to forget, fleeing from those things down the street and even beating up one up close. It was terrifying, but her mind-presence was there, helping her run back home to arm herself.  However, regardless of how vivid it was she couldn't recall anything from the seamstress.

"Were you there too?" Rarity asked back in surprise after levitating up the whole hanger to gain full access to the masterpiece. But as she thought a bit more about it, why would she have not been there, Shining has been good friend with her for quite a while.

"Yeah, I wasn't all happy about it, but I did it for Armor, it was his big day after all." she explained "It went much better than I expected, though, I had good use of Hamy even." she giggled. Rarity became even more shocked. She heard that name before, and it was clear who the smith was referring to.

"Hamy? You mean you brought your hammer to a wedding?!" she asked in complete disbelief. Why would she, or as a matter of fact anyone do that?

"Yeah, I did, you may never know when you'll need to break in a door or defend yourself from a scary bug-like-thingy." the smith explained with childish joy "Just, don't tell this anypony, alright?"

Rarity just rolled her eyes over the whole thing, then smiled back at her friend. She know how wacky she is, but that was what made Agate herself. Her lips were sealed.

The two kept wondering around without aim or goal for a long time. It felt like a diary, within every piece there was a fragment of memory. Best-sellers, prototypes, and failed dresses that never saw the light of the day, there were so much things this magical place could talk about, and Agate was more than eager to listen. Yet, the deeper they went, the colder it was.

"G-geez, it's starting to get really c-cold in here." she rambled, her legs and jaw visibly shaking just a bit from time to time. She was about to freeze.

"Cold?" Rarity asked in disbelief. It wasn't anywhere close to cold, maybe a bit cooler but far, far from knee-shaking, teeth-clattering ice cold. There was something that could explain all this however.

Rarity stepped closer to her friend, and put her right on her forehead just below the smith's horn. Not a second but a huge gasp left her mouth from what she felt.

"Agate you're searing hot." she explained. It was official now, the smith had a fever, and Rarity knew exactly why. She escorted the unicorn with the cold back upstairs to let her rest.