A new day had just dawned. The roosters began their morning song, and the first light of dawn shined over Carousel Boutique. A quiet snoring sound could be heard inside the walls of the building, as it's owner was taking a nap while leaning on a table with a few blue pages lying on it. The scribbles on the pages didn't look like anything even remotely close to clothing designs, but rather like something a young foal would be drawing while being insanely bored during a lesson in school.

"Huh? Wh-what?" the snoring stopped, and a short yawn took it's place. "What a dream," the tired, and quiet voice suddenly got much louder, and the partially opened eyes fully opened themselves right away as well.  "Huh? Wait! What time is it? Is it morning already? Did I fall asleep?" the voice got louder with each sentence, eventually turning into a loud gasp, full of surprise. "Oh Celestia, I haven't done anything yet, and I only have 2 days left!" the voice started sounding hysterical. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Rarity put her hooves over her eyes. "What am I gonna do?" a moment of despair took over Rarity. It seemed as though she was about to cry, and she probably would have if she had not been interrupted.

"Rarity? What's wrong?"

"Oh Sweetie Belle." Rarity replied in a tone full of misery. "I fell asleep while trying to work, and I haven't gotten anything done!" she started crying right in front of her younger sister. "Woe is me!"

"Rarity, calm down! I'm sure you'll figure something out. If it’ll help you out, I can go out and find some more gems if you want." Sweetie Belle tried to cheer her sister up, and convince her that all will be well. "I’ve got a better grasp of that spell now, and I think I can find a bigger amount than I did yesterday."

"Oh, yes, that would be great! Thank you!" Rarity was very happy to hear that, but her tone still had a touch of hysteria to it.

"Just try not to stress yourself too much, sis. Okay?" Sweetie Belle walked off, leaving her older sister by herself again. The young filly sounded more confident than her stressed out sibling, who took the time to figure out what to do next.

"Hmm, I still don’t have much material left. What should I do?" Rarity asked herself, and replied to herself after a few short seconds. "Hmm, well I could put something together from the cut fabric I have left. Only thing I’d have to do is tie it all together." Having regained her lost confidence, Rarity was about ready to get to work, if not for yet another unexpected guest.

The unlocked door opened, and a familiar face appeared  from it. "Hey Rarity. How's it hanging?"

No surprises this time, Rarity was glad to see her friend visiting her, and greeted her back right away. "Oh Rainbow dash! Hi! What brings you here?"

Without any further formalities, Rainbow dash decided to jump straight to the point. "Well, look. I know that you know that I hate dresses, but I’m hoping to go to the Wonderbolt Charity Luncheon in Cloudsdale in a few days. Think you can put something together for me, please? Something nice, yet awesome at the same time?"

No matter how much she may have wanted it, Rarity knew that she was already low on time as it was. She replied in a sad voice.  "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Rainbow, but I’m in the middle of filling a very big order. I have 6 dresses to make in only 2 days," Rarity explained.

Rainbow Dash didn't seem too disappointed. On the contrary, she understood her quite well. "Oh, I see. Do you need any help?"

"Oh, yes. I would appreciate that actually." Rarity was glad to hear such a polite response. She needed all the help she could get, so she pointed her friend towards a chest of unsorted clothing lying around in a nearby corner. "Can you search for some good looking fabric lying anywhere in here?"

"Sure!" Rainbow Dash agreed and walked towards the black chest by the wall.

Rarity took a closer look at some of her notes while the other pony in the room tried to find anything of use in the nearby trunk, but something soon caught the eye of the fashionista. She looked upon the blue pegasus with the multi-colored mane, with an unsettling gaze. Rainbow Dash didn't find anything noteworthy in the black chest, so she proceeded to keep looking in a pile of cloth a few steps away. Rarity's eyes followed her across the room. She looked at her even more closely as she stopped to sort through the pile of cloth. "Oh my...her...her fur is so...divine..." Rarity whispered to herself after a short while.

"What was that?" Rainbow Dash had heard her friend whispering something, but couldn't make out a word she said.

"Oh, uh...nothing, Rainbow," Rarity got a bit carried away and didn't expect Rainbow Dash to hear her. "I was just, uh...thinking to myself." She let out a short, slight nervous sounding laugh.

"Um...okay then." Curious, but not too bothered by Rarity's weird attitude, Rainbow Dash resumed with the sorting. Without her noticing, Rarity quietly walked closer towards her and started expecting her fur again. Although unbothered until now, the pegasus jumped to protest as her friend started rubbing her hoof against her backside  "Hey! What are you doing!?"

"Oh, sorry, Rainbow. I just, uh...I...really like your...fur?" Stuttering on nearly every word, and holding long pauses everywhere, not to mention that her answer sounded more like a question.

It's no wonder Rainbow Dash got a bit suspicious of Rarity's behavior. "Huh?"

"Uh...I mean...uuh..." Rarity was having slight difficulties figuring out a way to explain herself. Luckily for her, another one of her friends just arrived and interrupted the awkward situation.

"Oh, there you are, Rainbow. I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Oh, hey Twilight," Rainbow Dash greeted her friend right back. "What's up?"

Twilight immediately explained her reason for finding her, "Pinkie Pie needs your help with transporting a large cake to town hall for Mayor Mare's birthday. Think you can give her some extra muscle?"

"Sure thing! Tell her I'll be right there," without thinking, Rainbow Dash agreed, and apologized to her other friend for having to leave so soon, "Sorry, Rarity. Gotta dash."

"Uhh...yes, of course...but...can you come back once you're done?" Something was clearly bothering Rarity. A thought that wouldn't let her rest, or even talk in her ordinary tone.

Oddly enough, Rainbow Dash didn't notice anything peculiar. "No problem! Anything for a friend. See you later!" After promising to come back for one friend, she ran off to help the other.

The ghost was clear, and Rarity could finally be alone with whatever bizarre thoughts had been eating away at her mind. She walked up to the black chest that her rainbow maned friend had been inspecting earlier. As patiently as she may have been sorting through all the scraps of cloth in it, she failed to notice quite a surprising feature that was hiding itself in one of the corners of the chest. As Rarity herself moved away a piece of unusable fabric, the object became visible and clear. It was a knife with a black handle, and a stain of blood on the blade. What was it doing hiding in the trunk, where did the blood stain come from, and for what purpose could a fashionista like her could possibly be keeping such a thing...those were all questions left unanswered.

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