Don't you remember when I was a bird, and you were a map?
Rarity scrutinized the paper in front of her. It was filled with dark scribbles of measurements, numbers, and notes about what she wanted the final outcome to look and feel like. Not too tight, not too baggy, comfortable for spring/summer weather. Twelve and five eighths of an inch here. Small frills. Double stitch there. Gather. She sighed with fatigue and pushed her glasses up her muzzle with her free hoof. Her other one was flattening the fabric in front of her. Wearily she grasped the thin needle with her magic. She could feel it slipping. Such small and fine objects were hard to manipulate. The silver glinted in the light of her lamp. After checking just one more time to make sure she was sewing in the right spot, Rarity went to work.
Back, forth. Up, down. Over, under. Now again. The unicorn painstakingly examined every little detail to make sure everything was perfect. A single misplaced stitch could leave the entire thing very fragile and cause it to tear easily. Using her teeth, she broke off the thread and tied a small knot. Then, Rarity set down her needle and carried the unfinished skirt to her ironing board. She flattened out the material and ran the iron over it. Back and forth. Slow and steady.
Rarity had been on her own since just a little while after Sweetie Belle's birth. In fact, she hadn't even finished high school when she started working at a local tailor's in Manehattan. As soon as she had graduated, she had gotten a full-time job there. She'd moved away from her parents into an apartment on the other side of the city at around the same time her little sister was born. They saw each other once, but Sweetie was too young to remember. Rarity was always very busy. She tried to stay near her family, but eventually supply and demand won out and she had to move to Ponyville. Her parents decided that she should take Sweetie Belle with her. They had passed away shortly after the move. Carousel Boutique had opened just two weeks later. Life went on. Rarity supplied everything, from shoes to books to furniture to food. She had become very independent and rarely asked Sweetie for help or company.
Rarity folded the newly ironed skirt and put it aside. She had a very big order to fill, but she'd never finish it in time if she tried to power through it. She start again tomorrow after a full night's rest. She looked once more at her paper, trying her best to memorize the grand picture. Perhaps inspiration would come in her sleep.
Settling under her covers, she pulled her pink mask over her blue eyes and turned off the lights with her magic. Then Rarity took a deep breath, and tried to relax.
When she had first opened Carousel Boutique, she rarely made plans. Her creations were raw, spontaneous, and brilliant. Everypony loved them. Eventually, though, it got old. Her exciting new city style had become the norm, and no one felt as if her designs were interesting or original anymore. Rarity had tried to suppress her ideas, but she couldn't help it. There would always be buttons, zippers, gems, tassels or whatever else to add. Finally, though, one day she had decided to sketch out her entire plan. She couldn't fit all the details on the paper and was forced to minimize. It became habit, and over the years Rarity learned to save the extravagance for the more special outfits.
Rarity shuffled under her blankets. In some ways, she felt jealous of the ponies around her. Twilight had Spike. Applejack had her family. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy and her animals. Even Celestia had Luna. And sure, she had Sweetie Belle, but the two were not particularly close as far as sisters went, and pigs would fly before the little filly could ever help out in the boutique. No, Rarity relied on herself. And in other ways, it was good to be independent. She knew she could trust herself to get things done. Nothing ever happened in the boutique without her knowing about it.
But it did get lonely.