Rarity galloped from cupboard to closet, frantically searching for the perfect accent to her new creation. Bolts of unfurled fabric laid across the floor, as the white unicorn expertly avoided stepping on any in her search for the perfect accessory.
“My new creation will be absolutely marvelous!" she exclaimed. "But it needs just one more thing”.
Her energy came from her inspiration. She was out hunting for jewels the day before. In her quest she found a pink sapphire. She could not forget the way it shone or how the light caught her eye. Rarity was gripped by the colors and it’s warm beauty. She was saving the gem and intended to make a dress just to suit it, but was using the inspiration to complete her latest project; a matching ensemble for Spike and Twilight for their annual return to Canterlot.
Sweetie Belle was close at hand, trying to keep up. She stumbled as she stepped between the fabrics laying on the floor. She was getting frustrated that could not be of more help to her big sister. Sweetie’s hoof got caught on a swath of fabric laying across the floor, and she crashed to the floor in a tangle of ribbon and thread. When she looked up, the shine from a gemstone caught her eye.
“Rarity, what about this?” She picked up a red ribbon festooned with gemstones. Rarity took it and eyed it carefully. She narrowed her eyes, searching for the potential inside the ribbon.
“No, no. This won’t do at all. It would be far too garish.” With a flick of her head, Rarity tossed it aside into a heap at the corner of the room.
“Besides,” she said, as she tossed her mane as she turned to her young apprentice, “there’s not enough of it. I need it for matching outfits”
Sweetie Belle looked past her sister to the dress pole, where a deep blue dress hung. It had emeralds and diamonds on a white Jabot collar, with more studded on a matching white belt. Beside it was a smaller outfit, decorated in the same manner, but as a jacket and trousers. The light from the window caught the gems on Twilight’s belt, and directly into Sweetie’s eyes. She squinted hard and raised her hoof to shield her face.
“I don’t get why you’re going through all this trouble”, said Sweetie Belle. “Twilight Sparkle will like your dress, no matter how much you work on it. You know she likes to keep things simple”.
Rarity looked at her sister with a smile. “Now, that’s what I thought at first" she said, thinking back to her original vision for the project.
Her eyes lit up with the dreams she had held in her heart for a lifetime. "But this is destined to be an absolute masterpiece!” She smiled as she delved deeper into her vision of her inevitable future.
“When she goes to Canterlot and ponies see what can be done…” She paused, daydreaming of the success and fame that she no doubt deserved. “There’s no telling how big this might get!” She giggled as she was lost in thoughts of her destiny of fortune and fame.
A sudden knock at the door startled Rarity back into reality. “Oh no! Twilight’s early”
She hurried into to the back room to check her hair in the mirror. She called to the door in her most cordial
voice “Just a minute!”.
Sweetie Belle‘s face lit up as she pounced upon the opportunity to help in a way that her big sister would not see as a distraction. “I’ll get it!”
Sweetie Belle bounced toward the door. She grabbed the handle and pulled the door open, but saw no one waiting at the step.
She furrowed her brow. Was this some sort of prank? She walked outside warily, unsure if she would find a possible guest, or fall victim to another pie in the face as an ill-conceived attempt from Scootaloo and Applebloom to earn a pranking cutie-mark. “Hello? Twilight?"
“One more second!” Rarity called out in a sweet sing-song voice.
Sweetie Belle looked around, but she saw no one. She thought it was probably Snips and Snails up to their old antics again. She shrugged, turned around, and walked back to the door.
‘Looks like they left‘, thought Sweetie Belle as she started to walk back toward the boutique.
The door started to creak shut. Sweetie Belle panicked as she saw it about to close, and began to run toward it. She leapt dramatically at the slowly closing door, landing with a thud on the porch. She gave a sigh of relief as she caught the door with her hoof just before it closed on her.
She called out to Rarity “Don’t worry Rarity! No one was there”, as she picked herself back up. The hard landing had left her a bit dusty, but none the worse for wear.
There was no response from the back.
Sweetie Belle thought to herself that Rarity must have not heard her as she walked to the back room.
She peered in, and saw it was empty. “Rarity?” she called out. “Where did you go?”
She walked toward the dresser in the back room. As she entered the room, she spotted Rarity’s hair brush underneath the stool in front of the mirror.
The younger unicorn picked up the brush, and wondered where her big sister had run off to. As Sweetie Belle set the brush carefully back into its drawer, she thought to herself that Rarity must have run upstairs.
"Rarity is always in a panic about something", the filly said to herself as she shut the drawer. "I bet I could be a lot of help if she would show me". Sweetie Belle pouted at the thought of being unappreciated by her own sister.
Sweetie Belle was lost in thought, and did not notice the dark figure approaching from behind. The small pony was cast completely in shadow before she saw the darkness that surrounded her. She turned around, and her eyes grew wide with fear when she saw what stood before her.
All she could manage was a slight gasp before a dark claw clutched her mouth shut.