//------------------------------// // Peace Times 1 part 2 // Story: Equestrian Throwdown // by Hex Mark //------------------------------// After a few moments, the human nodded, having made his decision before he looked to Twilight Sparkle. "If it's all the same- I'd like to see Lady Rarity first. I'm not starving, and to be honest- I would like to get some dignity back." he gave his answer, who jotted down the decision and the reasoning before smiling. "Alright then- follow us." she instructed the human, trotting down the road with Rainbow Dash and Skylark, the former still snickering into her hoof, the latter resisting the urge to punch her. Ponies gave him odd, somewhat amused looks as they passed the trio- the three making their way to the rather extravagant building. Before Twilight could open the door, a young male voice could be heard. "R-Rarity, I don't think I can hold on to them all." the voice stammered before the posh mare's voice called to refute this. "Nonsense dear, you just need a bit more balance on the boxes." Rarity told the source of the voice as Twilight opened the door, revealing the scene. A small purple dragon with green spikes was holding an assortment of colored boxes, which the human of the trio could only assume were filled with the clothes that had been made by the seamstress. "WOAH!" the dragon shouted as he lost balance, surprised to see Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Skylark- the many colored boxes beginning to tumble to the ground. "Uh-oh" The human quickly said, wincing before his irises turned gold once more. He moved, quickly maneuvering his arms and his left leg to catch the boxes, catching a few on his head. This would have been impressive, were it not for the way Miles pulled it off. Wearing Lyra's gown, plus the pose he was in, caused Rainbow Dash to fall to the ground- in tears from laughing so hard. Looking to see what happened, the dragon looked at Miles, giggling a bit before falling to the ground himself. It took a moment for Rarity to realize what had happened. "Oh, thank you for that- Oh dear!" she cried out in an overly dramatic fashion, making her way over to the awkwardly balanced human while Twilight Sparkle used her magic to free him from the burden of the many boxes. "Just what are you doing, wearing such an unsuitable gown." she questioned, looking over to Twilight, who offered only an awkward smile. "Lyra threw out his old clothes and stuck him in that. I see you had Spike helping you out." she replied while the human's eyes shifted back to blue. Having just stopped laughing, Spike looked at the human once more. "Say, Twi. Who is this...this.." the dragon tried to ask, and Twilight Sparkle looked down at her friend. "This is Miles Skylark. He's a human that Lyra summoned here for this year's 'game'." she informed the dragon, although Skylark was more surprised to see Spike than the dragon was to see him. "A-A D-D-D-Dragon?!" he asked, his hand shaking violently as he pointed at Spike, his eyes wide with intense fear. "Dude, relax! Spike ain't gonna hurt you!" Rainbow Dash intervened, getting in-between them before Twilight got out her notepad again, jotting down the reaction to seeing Spike quickly. Taking a deep breath, Skylark calmed himself down a little. "Sorry- it's just...I've seen plenty of dragons back home...I panicked.." he blushed before Rarity got out a measuring tape. "I'll get your measurements right away, you simply need to have a better outfit than that gown." the white unicorn got the idea, using her magic to wrap the tape-ruler around his waist first, then his chest. He snickered a little at the feeling of the tape brushing against his bare skin. "T-That tickles!" he couldn't help but blurt out- but luckily, Rarity had stopped taking his measurements as she began sorting through different fabrics, making different faces while she judged the possibilities. "Uh...Lady Rarity, I don't need anything fancy- no need to trouble yourself with-" he tried to lighten the load a little by requesting something simple, but the mare would not have it. "Oh nonsense, dear. You are a one of a kind guest- you need an outfit as unique as you are. Now let's see here.." she smiled before using a new spell to show a sort of preview of potential outfits on him. First was a pair of jeans and a button down shirt. "No, too laid back." she mused before thinking of more designs, one of which was a rather odd one- a black suit, red overcoat and fedora- projecting a pair of yellow glasses on him as-well before pausing. Shaking her head after a few moments, Rarity sighed to herself. "What was I thinking? It is horrifyingly ancient, and those glasses? What sort of buffoon wears yellow glasses with a red coat!" she sighed, stopping the projections for a bit before Skylark rose his hand. "E-Excuse me, Lady Rarity...but all I really need is a pair of-" he hoped to get through to the unicorn, who immediately interrupted him by putting a hoof on his mouth. "No no, shh- I know exactly what you need." she assured him with a smile on her face as she focused her magic again. While Miles could not see it, Rarity was going all out on the projection of the outfit. While he could not see it, the image that had been formed around him had a classic elegance to it. "This is just perfect for you, darling! The Purple and White of all four legs compliment one another nicely, if I were to be bold, I'd say this style rivals even the nobles of Canterlot." she justified the combination before adding one last detail to the preview- a black and gold cape. "The cloak around your neck will give you a heroic edge to compliment the whimsy of the hat.." she nodded to herself, pleased with the idea before she got the collection of fabrics in line. "Silk and satin- a glorious combination for such a vision." she mused to herself. The more time she mused on the project while cutting, the more time Skylark had to spend in the dress. "Lady Rarity!" he snapped briefly, much to her surprise. Taking a breath, the human calmed down. "I'm sorry- but you kept interrupting me." he apologized, causing the unicorn mare to blush a bit for being rude. "I'm sorry about that, I got carried away. So what were you trying to say?" the white unicorn asked, and the human blushed a bit more due to the dress. "I appreciate what you're trying to do....but I just need some pants. A decent pair of pants." he replied, a hand against his head. Twilight Sparkle wondered what he meant before it hit her. "He means to ask for something to cover his lower-half that isn't Lyra's dress." she translated for him. Rarity smiled, "Well, why didn't you just say so?" she asked, quickly getting some cloth together and within minutes, the seamstress made a pair of pants for the human to switch into. Going to the changing room to try them on, Skylark sighed in relief that he didn't have to wear the dress anymore. After about thirty seconds, Miles stepped out of the changing room, his night-blue pants fitting perfectly, although they were a bit snug. "They look great on you- the perfect compliment to your cutie mark." she smiled. "T-Thank you, Lady Rarity." he thanked her for the pants, involuntarily rubbing his shoulder as if he were trying to rub the crescent moon. Using her magic, Twilight Sparkle took Lyra's dress and gave it to Spike. "Please bring this back to Lyra." she requested the baby dragon, who smiled with a nod. "You got it, Twi." and with that, Spike ran off. "How much do I owe you?" Skylark asked, but Rarity shook her head. "You don't owe me anything- think of it as a gift for helping Lyra." she smiled, but before the human could protest out of honor, all the ponies in the room heard his stomach growling again. Rarity giggled before trotting over to the trio. "Our friend is hungry, isn't he? I know! Why don't we all go to Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack must be dying to see us today." she suggested, and Twilight Sparkle smiled. "We were actually going to head there next. She'd be glad to see you, Rarity." she replied, and soon enough, the quartet exited the store, Rarity placing the closed sign on the door before they began to make their way to Sweet Apple Acres. (tbc)