The Origin of Suncloth

The Origin of Suncloth



Rarity was working very hard in her shop, trying to fulfil a huge order she'd stupidly agreed to.
"I should never have taken this order." mumbled Rarity. "This is too much for me." She yawned for the dozenth time this evening.
"Maybe just a little... *yawn*... nap..."

But just as her head touched the desk, an ear-piercing yell came from behind her.
"Sis! Sis!"
It was Sweetie Belle.
"Huh, what?" Rarity jumped up.
"You promised me you'd teach me about tailoring today!" the little filly yelled excitedly.
Rarity sighed. She had indeed promised little Sweetie Belle to teach a bit of her craft to her, but she was just too busy with the order.
"I'm terribly sorry, Sweetie Belle, but your sister is a bit too busy with her latest order." she said with a pitying look on her face. "Maybe tomorrow."
This was disappointing to her, of course. "Awww, but you promised."
"I know, sweetie, but these dresses don't finish themselves, you know." Rarity said with a look on her face as if to say she's sorry. "Be a dear and play outside."

But before Sweetie Belle could respond, Rarity was already fast asleep.
She could use some help., Sweetie Belle thought. This is the perfect opportunity to prove to sis that I'm helpful.
And so Sweetie Belle quietly worked on Rarity's dresses, and it all went well enough until she discovered something terrible.
Oh no! We're all out of golden silk. she thought.
After a bit of pondering, she came to the conclusion that she might be able to create some using her magic on a bolt of normal silk.

She put the bolt of cloth on a chair and started concentrating. Her horn lit up with a dim yellow glow, and the cloth started to glitter.
But to no avail. The spell failed, and the bolt of silk turned back to its normal self again.
I was almost there. I can do it.
She started to concentrate, her horn glowing yellow again. This time, the bolt of cloth actually turned golden as well. But again, her spell failed, and the bolt of cloth turned normal.
I'm almost there! Only a little bit more concentration...
Her horn glowed yellow again, the bolt of silk started to glitter and turned golden. She just needed to concentrate a little bit longer.
But then, yellow light burst from her horn, lighting up the entire room.

"Wha... what's this?" Rarity woke up. "Sweetie Belle, are you alright?"
And then the light disappeared, and Sweetie Belle stood there, panting heavily.
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity asked, worried. "Are you alright, Sweetie Belle?"
Sweetie Belle started to answer, but then she saw the bolt of silk she was trying to alter. It stayed gold this time!
"Yes! I did it!" she cheered.
"You did what, sweetie?" Rarity asked dumbfounded.
"I turned a bolt of silk golden!"
She seemed so pleased with herself. And indeed, it is a difficult spell to cast for the untrained. And Sweetie Belle had never been taught the spell before.
"Wow, that's amazing, Sweetie Belle." Rarity said, astonished. "I have never taught that spell to you, or have I?"
"Nope! You didn't!" Sweetie Belle said excitedly, now bouncing on the floor. This made Rarity think about Pinkie Pie for a second, before she turned her thoughts back to this amazing feat.

But this bolt of cloth seemed to be more than just golden silk in the eyes of crafty Rarity. When she held it in the darkness, it actually glowed. But the longer it remained in the darkness, the less it glowed, until it looked exactly like regular golden silk again.

Sweetie Belle noticed her sister's experimentations.
"What are you doing, sis?" she asked.
"Oh, ehm, I'm just testing the authenticity of this silk." Rarity answered stuttering, which made Sweetie Belle frown.
"You still don't trust my abilities?" she asked.
"Oh, it's not that, my dear." Rarity began. "It's just, ehm... Well, go outside and play for a bit now."
Sweetie Belle let her head down and sighed, but complied nonetheless. "Alright..."

Rarity was still tired, but this cloth fascinated her. She had to test some things on it.
She fashioned a hat from it, for it wasn't enough cloth for a whole dress.
Later that day, after hours of experimenting with the new hat, nothing seemed out of the ordinary with it, except for glowing brighter than regular golden silk.
Well, what did I expect? Rarity asked herself.

But later that night, she didn't seem tired at all.
Why do I have so much energy? Why can't I fall sleep? she thought. Hours of pondering didn't do her much good.
Eventually it came to her in an instant. Of course! she thought. That silk Sweetie Belle created... That's its special property I've been looking for!
She walked to the shop, careful not to wake up Sweetie Belle, and picked up the hat again.
The silk was only glowing a little now, but surely enough, it seemed Rarity was right with her assumption. When in contact, the silk from which the hat was made channeled the absorbed light into Rarity, giving her a small boost in energy.

Great., she thought. Now I won't be able to sleep at all tonight.
But regardless of her thoughts, she didn't care, for she was excited with the discovery she had made. And she had her sister to thank for it.

The next morning, when Sweetie Belle got out of bed, Rarity still hasn't slept yet. She started to feel tired, but she just had to ask her sister one last thing.
"You're up early, sis." Sweetie Belle started.
"Ehm, yes. About that..." Rarity replied. "Could you do me a favor?"
Sweetie Belle was a bit startled, seeing her sister with bags under her eyes, and with an almost blank gaze.
"Ehm, yes?" she replied after a short pause.
"Could you try to turn another bolt of silk golden?"
Sweetie Belle was taken aback by her sister's request. She could do it herself as well, so why would she need her to do it?
"Sure." was her only answer.

So Rarity prepared the shop for a transmution again, after which Sweetie Belle cast the same spell from yesterday.
It took some time, and a lot of concentration, but she did it. The bolt of silk turned golden again, and Rarity quickly jumped up and grabbed it for inspection.
"Why couldn't you do it yourself, sis?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I'll explain it to you in a little bit, sweetie." was Rarity's reply.
She held the bolt of silk into the light for a minute, during which she felt her tiredness slipping away. When she turned back to her younger sister, Sweetie Belle gasped in amazement.
"Sis, the bags under your eyes... They're gone!"
"What? Oh, I see." Rarity was thinking wildly about the posibilities now. This cloth could rejuvenate one's energy through sunlight!
Sunlight... She thought. "That's it!" she finally said after a lot of thinking. "Sweetie Belle, do you know what you have created?"
Sweetie Belle was startled by the huge grin on her sister's face.
"Ehm, no?"
"Suncloth!" cried Rarity. "Oh dear, we're going to be famous!"
Sweetie Belle thought her sister has gone mad, but after a couple of moments Rarity regained her normal stature again, and explained all to her younger sister, who was then as excited as she was.

After a week of solid practice and teachings from inexperienced Sweetie Belle, Rarity was able to produce the suncloth as well, rather than regular golden silk. Trade of suncloth bustled in Ponyville, and within a few weeks, spread all over Equestria. Sweetie Belle and Rarity became well-known, and went down in history as the original creators of the grand silk known only as suncloth.

And that's a wrap.