“Could you pass me a glass of punch please, my dear?” Rarity said to Luna. The alicorn happily obliged. After their concert had finished, the stage was dismantled and everything had been cleared away, naturally the first thing that had happened was Pinkie Pie’s announcement of a celebratory party. Whilst known for throwing parties for events as insignificant as it being a Tuesday, everypony agreed that their performances warranted a good celebration.
“I have to say, Rarity, you had us all worried for a moment there.” Twilight said, helping herself to some punch. “But it was worth it when you brought it back, though I was quite surprised by your choice of music.” Rarity caught Rainbow Dash’s eye and exchanged a smile.
“Well, Twilight, I realised that trying to play music for the sake of the audience only leaves you disappointing yourself, and if you disappoint yourself you won’t sound good to anypony else either. On the other hoof, if you play for fun, and for the sake of nothing more than the music itself, you’re sure to put on the show of a lifetime.” Twilight nodded in sagely agreement.
“Do you mind if I put that in my next letter to the princess? I’m sure she’d want to hear about it.”
“Of course not, it was a very valuable lesson after all.”
“I thought you were amazing,” Luna said to Rarity. “I particularly liked the passion and emotion you managed to get out of your instrument. The sound reminded me of an electric guitar, but different…more expressive, maybe.”
“Why thank you. I’m just sorry I missed much of your performance, the fragments I did see were fabulous.”
Luna blushed happily at the compliment, looking shyly at the floor, a complete contrast to the confident figure that had been performing a couple of hours earlier.
“It was a lot of fun. I’m very glad my sister sent me here.” Behind the alicorn, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were deep in conversation.
“Ah’ve gotta say, Ah’m most impressed with yeh playing, Rainbow. Even if you were a mite…off…at the start.” Rainbow Dash shrugged.
“Ah, well, you know how it is. Soon as we were playing something fast and loud I was all over it like Pinkie Pie on a cupcake,” the pegasus stated. Applejack snorted slightly, looking over her friend’s shoulder to see the aforementioned pony demolish a tray of the sweets in record time.
Having drunk her fill of punch, Twilight again joined Rarity. “Rarity, I hope this isn’t too much trouble, but I was wondering if you’d be able to make our costumes for the Gala. You did such a good job last year, even if they did end up getting a little…dishevelled…over the course of the night. I completely understand if you don’t want to, I mean it is a contest after all.” Rarity shook her head violently.
“My dear Twilight Sparkle, you really didn’t think I would deny you fabulosity for the sake of competition, did you? It would be my pleasure to make you all outfits; I’ve been itching to make something for Luna since she first got here after all. Just drop by the boutique with your ideas at any time and I’ll get started as soon as I can.” Twilight smiled gratefully at her unicorn friend.
“Thank you. Knowing you, I’m sure they’ll be absolutely beautiful.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It was long into the night when the party finally ended, the ponies finally succumbing to their exhaustion. At last, Twilight, Luna and Spike were left alone in the library. Twilight was used to staying up late, but even she had to stifle a yawn as she turned to Spike.
“Come on, number one assistant, time for bed, I…oh.” The baby dragon had seemingly fallen asleep where he stood, crumpling to the floor in a gently snoring heap. Twilight and Luna looked at each other and giggled softly.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to his ability to do that,” the alicorn princess said with a tinkling laugh.
“Well I’ve known him for his whole life and I’m still not used to it,” Twilight replied as she gently lifted the sleeping dragon with her magic. The princess and the unicorn continued their conversation as they walked up the stairs to the bedroom, Spike floating between them, encased by a purple glow. On reaching the bedroom, the two ponies worked together to quickly and efficiently put Spike to bed, Twilight gently pulling up the blanket as Luna dimmed the lights.
“Sweet dreams, Spike. You did brilliantly today.” Twilight whispered softly. Spike rolled over and snored gently, before muttering something that sounded like, “Thank you mummy.” Luna giggled again, louder than before. Twilight gave her a mock disapproving stare as the two ponies made their way out onto the balcony.
“What? I can’t help it, he’s funny when he’s cute. And asleep. Actually, he’s funny most of the time.” Twilight smiled and nodded in agreement.
“That he is. He’ll be a real heartbreaker when he grows up, provided he grows out of his affections for…a certain pony.” Twilight stumbled at the end of the sentence a little, her head echoing with a voice yelling “FOREVEEEEEER!”
“A certain pony…you mean Rarity?” Luna asked.
“Um, yeah. I promised never to reveal his feelings to anypony.”
“Well, it’s kind of obvious, what with the way he acts. And stares at her. All the time.”
Twilight suppressed another giggle. “Yes, he’s certainly not subtle, but a promise is a promise.”
“How very noble, Miss Sparkle.” Luna said.
“Well, it’s what friends do.” With this statement, a thoughtful look came over Luna’s face. When she spoke again, it was with a quieter tone.
“Do you know what the best part of this whole experience has been? Not the music, though that has been incredible. It’s just…things like this. Random conversations, about random things. Because that’s what friends do. Back in Canterlot, besides Celestia, everypony either treats me as a goddess or looks at me with fear, as if I’m going to turn into Nightmare Moon again.” Luna shuddered slightly. “But here…everypony just regards me like I’m a normal pony, and for that I’m eternally grateful. Finally, I have friends.”
Twilight was surprised at Luna opening up to her, not having realised how similar the princess’s story was to her own. Though Twilight had never been aware of how alone she was, with Spike constantly present for company and Princess Celestia in frequent contact. It was then that she truly realised how lonely the alicorn must have been for the thousand years she spent in solitary lunar confinement. A tear threatened to fall from the unicorn’s eye, but she instead leaned over and gently nuzzled the alicorn.
Luna was shocked at the sudden contact, but didn’t pull away. Instead she closed her eyes and leant into Twilight, returning the gesture.
“Thank you for understanding. And thank you for being my friend.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Now, no peeking!” Rarity said with mock sternness. “I’m talking to you, Rainbow Dash.”
“Come on, Rarity, the suspense is killing me!”
“Ok…you can look now!” The unicorn cried. There was a moment of silence, then seven simultaneous gasps.
“Wow, Rarity, you’ve really outdone yourself this time.”
“Yeah, mine’s even cooler than my gown from last year! Even cooler than my rainbow armour.”
Rarity smiled, choosing to ignore the comment about the infamous dress that, whilst supposedly twenty percent cooler than Rarity’s design, was one hundred percent less fashionable.
“I’m overjoyed that you all like them.” Luna strode over to investigate hers a little more closely. The defining feature of the ensemble was a long, elegant cape that tied around the neck, flowing almost to the floor. It appeared to be black, but as Luna tilted her head the change in the light revealed a shimmering dark purple flecked with sparkling silver highlights.
“Isn’t it simply divine? It took so long to get the fabric right, but it sets just the right tone of giving plenty of presence without appearing gaudy,” Rarity said. “And I designed the shape to give you plenty of freedom to move about. You’ll be able to play as if you were wearing nothing at all.”
Luna gave the unicorn a grateful smile. It really was perfect, even better than she’d imagined when they’d discussed the outfit a few days ago.
Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack each inspected their own capes happily. The basic outline and shape of their outfits were similar, but each was tailored to the personality and appearance of the owner. Twilight’s was a shiny black, with a thin pattern of concentric stars outlined in magenta and violet. Fluttershy’s was a light cyan with white accents, a colour Rarity had chosen to match the pegasus’ eyes. Lastly, Applejack’s was a leaf green affair, bordered with red and with a large apple embroidered subtly onto the back.
“They’re perfect! Thank you kindly, Rarity.” The fashionista again smiled in pleasure, turning to her bandmates to see what they thought of their own costumes.
“Rarity, these are so awesome. I’m kinda surprised you went for something so…unsubtle, but I’m glad you did, we are gonna look so cool on stage.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, Rainbow Dash. And you know, it’s really all thanks to you. You’ve opened my eyes to a whole other world of opportunities; sure, there’s plenty of clothing aimed at the metal community, but so much of it is so inelegant. I’m confident that my newest line will prove immensely popular, maybe not in Canterlot, but Trothenburg’ll be a big market…”
“Wow, you’ll certainly make a stir with these at the Gala, Rarity.” Twilight said. “Certainly, no-one will be able to miss you dressed like this.”
“Why of course, a little bit of controversy will certainly liven things up, not to mention it’ll attract more attention to my business,” Rarity laughed. “Though I’ve had so many orders for gala dresses this last month, I’m starting to wonder if anypony there will be wearing an outfit that I wasn’t responsible for creating.” She turned back to the dresses, casting a loving eye over her own. Rarity had taken heavy inspiration from old photos she’d seen from about a century ago when designing the item of clothing. It was a full length ball gown, similar to her dress from the last gala in form. However, this dress was black, the cascading layers of fabric overlaid with accents of midnight blue lace. The overall effect was mysterious, and maybe a touch sinister, but beyond a shadow of a doubt it was filled with the essence of Rarity’s characteristic elegance.
“This is gonna be so fun!” Pinkie Pie said happily. She’d already put her dress on, an outfit that bore a lot in common with the one she’d worn in Appleloosa for her war-inducing song. Unlike that purple dress, this was the same black as Rarity’s, though there were a few dark pink highlights here and there.
“Looking good, Pinkie Pie,” grinned Rainbow Dash. Her outfit was, at first glance, a very subtle flat black affair with a simple but graceful shape. However, a slight shift in the light revealed a riot of colourful stitching around the base, the embroidered iridescent pattern showing a row of winged skulls. Rarity had taken the idea from the emblem of the Shadowbolts, the fake fliers created by Nightmare Moon. The pattern changed colour depending on the angle it was viewed at, a slightly mesmerising effect that was sure to generate plenty of attention for the cocky pegasus.
“Oh my, Spike, you look smashing!” Rarity declared. She’d crafted him a black suit, complete with a cloak and a top hat to set off the ensemble. Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, thinking back to the incident with Owlowiscious and the fake mouse.
“Stylish, suave and a teensy bit evil. You look like quite the little villain.” Rarity said, evidently very pleased with the outcome of her hard work. Hmm, but there’s something missing…Aha!” She turned to Twilight.
“My dear, if it’s not too much bother, might I trouble you for a moustache?”
“Sure, Rarity. Hold on a second.” Twilight closed her eyes in concentration, horn starting to glow. With a quiet pop, a black moustache appeared on the dragon’s face.
“Yes! That’s absolutely perfect! Thank you so much, Twilight, if you could do it again right before the Gala I’d be so grateful.”
“I’m sure it won’t be a problem,” Twilight said with a smirk. Rarity suddenly became aware of a stifled giggle behind her. She turned to see Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, who both suddenly burst into fits of laughter.
“Girls! What in the name of Celestia is wrong with you?”
Gasping for breath, and with tears of laughter running down her face, Rainbow Dash gasped, “Nothing…Sir Rarity.”
Rarity looked confused for a split second, then her eyes widened and she ran to the mirror. Staring back at her, with a look of shock on her face, was a white unicorn with a magnificent curly purple moustache.
By now everyone in the room had broken down laughing, and as she looked at the comical sight in the mirror Rarity gave in and joined them.
“Hohohoho! My moustache! How wonderful!” At her imitation of Steven Magnet, they all laughed even harder.
As the laughter died down, Twilight wiped the tears from her eyes and her horn glowed once more. With another faint pop, the offending facial hair vanished. Rarity’s eyes grew wide again and she took on a look of mock despair.
“What a world, what a world!” Once again, everyone in the room dissolved into laughter.