His own snore woke him up.

Paper Lantern scrubbed at his eyes and yawned. He'd fallen asleep in the middle of his project again. He pawed at his cup of coffee and threw back the cold dregs, coughing. Squaring his sore shoulders, he picked up the scalpel and began to cut out the flower he'd traced out right before drifting off.

A unicorn had come into his mother's shop several weeks before, requesting a kimono designed to flatter her coat and mane, something unique, never been done, had been her exact wording. Silk had accepted the order, though it had left her with reservations if she could achieve the level of expectations the customer seemed to have. It'd taken several weeks, his mother staring at her sketch pad forlornly before inspiration struck. The customer had been in several times since, getting measured and fitted, approving some things, suggesting changes on others.

What had gotten Paper's interest in this everyday process of his mother's business was the customer leafing through a catalog of paper products. He knew that catalog inside and out and offered to help the unicorn if he could. She stated she wanted a lantern to go with her new kimono and pointed out a pink on with a simple sakura blossom design on it. Paper was agast. He could not let the mare pair something that generic with the piece that his mother was working her tail off to design. Though she was skeptical, Paper convinced her to put off ordering a lantern till after the kimono was made to make sure they got a design that suited her expensive frock best.

And now here it was, the night before the customer was to come and pick up her finished kimono. The colt had spent too much time on the framework and in the last hours he was carefully, but hurriedly cutting out patterns in thin, delicate paper.

The next evening, just after closing, the unicorn arrived for the last time. He helped his mother parade out the finished kimono and watched as the customer's eyes went wide as dinner plates. She showered Silk in compliments as she examined the outfit, marveling at the details, the texture, and the softness of it. Paper saw his mother basking in the praise, it seemed to make the flutter positively glow.

The mare asked to try on the kimono, and Silk moved to assist her into the outfit, teaching her how to adjust the kimono's length, how to fold the collar and how to tie the obi. While the two ladies were distracted, Paper snuck up the back stairs into his room. The finished lantern sat on his desk. He'd attached it to a light colored wood handle and he checked the knots on the string holding the two pieces to each other. Paper opened the top drawer in his desk and pulled out an electric tea light, which he flicked on and carefully set in the holder at the bottom of the lantern.

His ears perked at the sound of the sturdy wooden box that Silk packed her finish kimonos in clack onto the front counter top with a audible thunk. Picking up his work by the handle he made for the stairs

"Wait a moment, you can't forget your lantern!" he called down to keep both mares where they were.

"But I didn't order a lantern.." the unicorn said. Silk Kimono's forehead furrowed in confusion.

"Paper...what are you up t...." the words cut off as her jaw hit the stairs.

Paper took each stair one by one, slowly, the handle a bit heavy in his mouth. The lantern barely swayed as he made his way back into the shop. The lantern he'd made for the customer glistened like illuminated stained glass, the flicking electric candle inside making it seem like several fairies had been captured and put inside the lamp to make it shine. He craned his head forward, offering the creation to the unicorn.

Somehow, the mare's eyes got even bigger then before and she gasped audibly, hesitating for just a second before taking hold of the lit orb with soft orange magic. Paper felt a warm glow in his chest while he watched mother and her customer looking at the lantern at all angles. The look of wonder and excitement in their eyes as they found another small detail in his work that matched the customer's kimono made his heart skip a beat. With every small discovery they turned to him, exclaiming their delight, admiration at his handicraft and attention to detail. Paper felt like the glowing in his chest was radiating out of his cheeks, but his chest was puffed out in pride. In this moment, he understood exactly how his mother felt when she'd brought out the kimono.

Despite his resistance, the customer pressed several bills into his tiny hoof. thanking him profusely while Silk Kimono carefully folded, wrapped, and boxed the robe she'd made. "With this level of skill, I can see why it's your cutie mark.." she said while gazing dreamily into the lantern.

A scream of "YATTA!" startled a cat napping on the roof of Pink Blossom Imports. With an annoyed flick of it's tail, the cat went off to find a more quiet place to sleep.