Rarity took a step back to admire her handiwork and grinned. If she had to say it herself, which she apparently did given the complete lack of ponies awake at four in the morning to say it for her, this was the single most beautiful garment ever designed with the intent that nopony notice its wearer. The sleek contours and adorable ear flaps were marvels to behold unto themselves, and that wasn’t even mentioning how gorgeously the black fabric absorbed all the light in the room; Normally this fabric would be used in the sort of slinky black dress that drew the eye directly to a pony’s most… How to say, flattering features? However, when there was absolutely nothing left to draw the eye to, it produced quite the opposite effect. Truly, it was a work of art. Was it going too far to call it her masterpiece?

Maybe, but it was four in the morning, so Rarity found she no longer cared.

Rarity giggled deliriously. She had a stealth suit. She had a plan. She had a selection of different ‘Gotcha!’ speeches prepared. She even had a bottle of champagne set on the kitchen table ready to celebrate her inevitable victory. Subterfuge may have been a bit underhanded, but this whole thing was positively invigorating. Or maybe that was the sleep deprivation running amok with her inhibitions…

Either way, Rarity mused, I’m ready to move on to the next phase of my plan.

Which was… Wait until 7:30 P.M. and trail Pinkie Pie?

... Ponyfeathers, Rarity allowed herself to think inside her head where nopony could hear a lady curse. And I was so excited about this.

Rarity briefly entertained the notion of simply staying up all night, but she quickly dismissed it. Even when they had no intention of being seen, a lady still needed – no, deserved – her beauty sleep. Disappointed with time’s stubborn refusal to change its pace, she found herself crawling into bed, donning her sleep mask and closing her eyes.

The following morning was a blur of drowsiness and anticipation. Somewhere around her fourth cup of coffee – two creams, two sugars – Rarity noticed her hoof unconsciously shaking and decided it would be best to switch to tea. Somewhere around her fifth cup of tea – two sugars, one spoonful of honey – she noticed her jaw shaking and thought maybe she should cut out the honey and sugar. Somewhere around her first sip of honeyless, sugarless tea she noticed the liquid shooting out of her mouth at escape velocity and thought it might be a good idea if she switched to water.

“Fascinating…” Rarity mumbled to no one as she turned to page D3 in the Ponyville Times.

"Purr?” Opal inquired from over by the water bowl.

Rarity lowered the paper as she glanced over to her companion. “Oh, Opal, you won’t believe this. Apparently, Lotus and Aloe – you know, the ponies from down at the spa – have begun dating the Rose brothers, Prim and Summer, who run a similar establishment up in Canterlot. I could have sworn they were both gay.”

"Mao,” Opal said as she skulked away from her bowl and out of the room.

Rarity frowned. “I guess you believe it,” she said as she raised the paper back up and continued reading.

Cleanliness was next to Celestialiness, as they said, though Rarity had to admit she wondered where ‘they’ got ‘Celestialiness’ from. Still, having dirty dishes in the sink would not do, even if it was simply a coffee mug and a tea cup.

As Rarity levitated the coffee mug, she squirted some soap onto a sponge and began to wash out the tiny amount of coffee left in the bottom before it had the chance to stain. When she finished rinsing it and placed it on the drying rack she moved on to the tea cup.

This tea cup had been a gift from Fancy Pants, as Rarity often liked to recall. From its delicate curvature to its elegant cream color with gold trimming, it was the utmost representation of class.

Rarity dropped the cup and let out a falsetto “Ideeeaaaa!” as inspiration struck.

Rarity smiled as she placed the last bolt of fabric neatly in its drawer. Perfect, now when I’m going to need to restock something soon, I’ll know how much I have left simply by seeing where it’s located. Organizing by yardage was unconventional, sure, but it was brilliant. If she needed red silk for accents on a Nightmare Night costume, for example, and wasn’t sure how much silk she had left, she could just go to… where the silk was… and…

Rarity scratched her chin. Where had the silk wound up?

Perhaps it would be better to do it by fabric type…

‘Hey Rarity!

Mom and Dad said I should write you a letter since I missed you, so I’m doing that right now! I can’t wait to tell you all about the things Ms. Cheerliee’s been teaching us in class this week. Scootaloo said she got an idea for how we can get our cutie marks this weekend, but she won’t tell me or Apple Bloom what it is until it’s time to do it, so I can’t tell you what it is either, but I’m really excited about it and will be sure to let you know how it turns out!

Love you sis,

Sweetie Belle'

Rarity eyed the letter warily. “I suppose I should write a response, shouldn’t I, Opal?”

”Mao,” Opal replied.

With the last bolt of fabric once again put away, Rarity let out a sigh of relief. This was good. Maybe yardage hadn’t been the best method by which to organize her fabrics, but texture? That was brilliant. Say she wanted to make something for Applejack. Applejack liked denim, and now all her denims were in one place! She simply had to go to the denim section, pick out one she liked, head over to the cotton to pick out an accent color… Unless maybe she had a toile that would work better… Or a... nylon…

Rarity frowned. This isn’t better.

A little to the left, Rarity thought to herself as she made the adjustment. No, that’s too far left…

She could do this. Sure, it took precision, but she had that; She had precision in spades!

A little more to the right… She could feel the sweat beading on her brow, but she was so close… Just a little more, and-

”Mao.” Rarity shrieked at the sudden noise, falling backwards and losing her telekinetic grip on her charge.

It’s over. It’s all over, she sadly mused as time slowed during her fall. Tell my Sister… not to play with my things.

Rarity finished sketching the dress and grinned. It was magnificent. She’d perfectly translated the curvature of the tea cup into a billowing skirt, and once she selected the perfect cream colored silk and got the correct golden dye with which to add the embellishments, it would be the most beautiful garment ever created.

Fun fact, Rarity noted to herself as she lifted her hoof from the cloth on the table, hoof paints are no replacement for proper dyes.

It looked like a trip to the crafts store was in order.

Rarity hit the ground. Slowly picking herself back up, she wasn’t sure if she should look, but knew she had to anyway. Nothing good would come from avoiding it, after all.

Carefully opening one eye, she looked at the plate. One pancake and two eggs balanced perfectly on top and…

The garnish had fallen squarely in between them.

... It’s beautiful, Rarity nearly wept at the sight.

’Dearest Sweetie Belle

Thank you for your letter’

“Thank you for your letter? That sounds sincere...” Rarity frowned.

'Thank you for your letter

I was quite happy to receive your letter!’

“Eh… Better, but I don’t want to sound like I’m being too loud…”

'Thank you for your letter

I was quite happy to receive your letter!

I was quite happy to receive your letter.’

“Good… Good. That’s good.”

Organizing by texture was stupid, that’s what it was. Sure, she had all the toile in one place, but if she wanted to compare red toile with red cotton, now she had to walk five paces, pick up the toile, walk six paces, pick up the cotton, walk another twelve paces to the cutting table, and then walk twelve to eighteen paces back to return the rejected fabric. Such inefficiency was entirely unacceptable.

Perhaps if I organized by color…

’DEAREST SISTER Sweetie Belle,

HELLO. Be sure to say hello to Mom and Dad for me, and let them know that I miss them with all the intensity of one thousand burning suns.

It pleased me greatly to receive your letter! I can’t wait to hear all about your latest adventures, and your cutie mark shall without a doubt find you through the swirling cosmos sooner than you might think.

With Love,

Best Wishes,

In Good Health And Of Solid Mind,

Rarity

P.S. Don't play with my things.’

“... It’s perfect.”

Without a doubt in her mind, bookkeeping was Rarity’s least favorite part of running a business.

… That’s all. She was bored, but she wasn’t that bored.

Rarity eyed the clock angrily, willing the hour hand to click from 12 to 1; When this failed, she switched to willing the minute hand from 09 to 10. When that also failed to produce immediate results, she settled for willing the second hand to change from 32 to 33. 34. 35.

Rarity smiled. She’d done it; she’d mastered time itself.

”Mao.”

“Just a moment, dear, Mommy is about to bring about 1’o’clock utilizing nothing but the power of her mind.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you. I’ll just go home now,” came a voice that was distinctly not Opal. Rarity turned away from the clock and saw Fluttershy cringing in the doorway to the kitchen.

“Oh, dear, I’m sorry Fluttershy! I didn’t hear you come in,” Rarity laughed as she got up from her seat at the table and walked over to her friend, offering a welcoming hug. “What brings you by my humble abode?”

Fluttershy returned her hug with a tentative smile. “I heard you were super busy today, and I wasn’t doing anything, so I thought I’d come offer to help. If that’s okay with you. Since I know how to sew,” Fluttershy squeaked as Rarity pulled away from the hug at its conclusion.

“Busy? I’m not busy,” Rarity said. “I’ve been doing absolutely nothing at all all morning.”

“Oh, so you finished that order?” Fluttershy asked with a bright smile peaking out from behind her pink mane.

“What order, darling?” Rarity asked.

“The one that you had to miss Gravity Appreciation Day for. But this is great news if it means you can come now. You know, if you feel up to it. It’s not a big deal if not, but we’d all like to see you, and I know Gravity is important to you, I think, I hope I’m not assuming too much, and it’s alright if it’s not that important to you, but…” Fluttershy continued uttering apologies, but Rarity stopped listening as she realized what Fluttershy was talking about.

“Oh right, that order, yes, what I meant to say was, ah, I’ve been doing absolutely nothing but working all morning, and I fear I am still very much occupied with it, I doubt I’ll be free before next Tuesday, hah hah hah,” Rarity covered, cursing her forgetfulness. She should have realized Pinkie would tell the others why she wasn’t coming.

“Oh. So I can help you then? If you don’t mind, I mean. I know you didn’t want Pinkie to help, but I thought maybe I could since I know how to sew and all. But if you don’t want me to help, that’s okay too, because I can go…” Again Rarity stopped paying attention.

“Oh dear, I would love your help, you know I would, but the pattern is so complicated that I can’t afford the time to show you how to use it properly and still have time to finish it… Heh heh…”

“Really? But when I came in you were just sitting at your table. And what was that about the power of your mind? If you don’t mind me asking. You don’t have to answer.” Fluttershy pawed the ground anxiously.

If genetics hadn’t already done the job, all the color would have drained from Rarity’s face. “Oh, uh, well, you see, the thing is-” She stammered as she tried to come up with a lie, but Fluttershy interrupted her.

“Oh no, did I sound accusatory there? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything. I know you’re busy a lot, and I shouldn’t force my help on you if you don’t want it... I’ll just go home and think about what I’ve done… Mean, naughty Fluttershy, accusing ponies of lying for no good reason… You’ve got to have more faith in your friends, Fluttershy…” Rarity heard her front door close as Fluttershy departed.

“Well, that was a freebie.” She would have interrupted at some point, but letting Fluttershy talk herself out of suspicion turned out to be easier.

Rarity let out a sigh of relief. At least that was out of the way. Perhaps, though, she should go at least pretend to be busy with an order in case another one of her friends came along.