Waning Moon

by salukiseason

prologue: a new dawn, a new night

Rarity did not like waiting. It was something she did just about every moment of her life. She waited- for new shipments of fabrics to come in, to find the time to sew a dress, for her boss to get off her case. Constantly, she had waited for something different- as a matter of fact, she’d dare to say she’d spent far more of her life waiting for things to happen rather than actually enjoying them. And it had absolutely infuriated her.

So, of course, she felt sympathy for her younger sister, Sweetie Belle, coming downstairs for the fourth time this week with her ears tilted sadly down towards her cheeks, and her head hanging low, entering the main floor of the boutique with a still-blank flank. “Ugh!” She screamed, throwing herself onto the chaise lounge that Rarity kept in the main room, for moments like that one, which required for one to dramatically throw oneself onto a couch and scream. These moments were frequent in their home, much more in recent months, as Sweetie Belle has embarked upon a quest for her cutie mark, which has proved to be fruitless each time.

“I take it you still don’t have a cutie mark?” Rarity frowned, using her horn to levitate Sweetie Belle’s saddle bag over to the bottom of the stairs. “I’m sorry, darling, you know, I truly thought this was going to be the one! I mean- honestly, what could’ve possibly gone wrong with a cutie mark in lucid dreaming?” She teased, gently, knowing that eventually, when her sister does truly discover her true talent somewhere in the seven-page long list of potential cutie-mark inducing activities, she’ll never hear the end of it.

Sweetie Belle buried her head in her hooves, slightly embarrassed, but mostly frustrated, “It sounded like a good idea on paper…” She murmured, “I’m just so tired of waiting! Every time I think I have my perfect talent- and that I’m definitely going to get my cutie mark, it never happens! …Rarity, what if I never get my cutie mark?” She tried to carry her bag towards her with her magic, but as soon as she managed to hold it high enough in the air, her horn’s green aura of magic fizzled out, leaving the bag and its contents, a book, and a few pencils, scattered across the floor.

Rarity frowned, hating to see her sister so distressed by something as trivial as waiting for her cutie mark. She looked down at her own, three blue diamonds, representing her love of fashion, gemstones, and all things fabulous, “Sweetie Belle, dear, have I ever told you about the time I thought I’d get my cutie mark?”

The smaller unicorn shook her head no, but looked up at her older sister with wide-eyed curiosity.

“I was your age, maybe even a little older, and I still hadn’t gotten my cutie mark, yet.” She mused fondly, “And I knew, I simply knew that my talent was in fashion! So when our school teacher asked for volunteers to help assemble the costumes for the school musical- I of course said, yes! I worked for at least a moon making every single costume just as perfectly dazzling as they could possibly be, and I finally got each and every one of them finished right before our first dress rehearsal!”

Sweetie Belle flicked her tail in annoyance, “I bet your costumes were perfect, because you got your cutie mark right on the first try…”

Rarity let out a chuckle, which quickly evolved into a rather unladylike snort, “Oh Sweetie, dear, what in all of Equestria makes you think that?” She put her hoof around her sister’s shoulders comfortingly, “No, no, not at all! As a matter of fact, I looked at those costumes, and I thought- oh, sweet Princess, none of these will do! They were… fine, for somepony with lower standards than I, that is. But for me, they lacked a certain pizazz that I just couldn’t place my hoof on- and the show was right around the corner! So, I did what any good artist would do, I took them home and decided I would work on them until they were absolutely sensational!”

Her younger sister laughed, “Right before the opening night of the play? I bet your teacher wasn’t happy about that!”

She rolled her eyes, “Oh absolutely not, but I knew she would understand once she saw the masterpieces I brought to school, and all would be forgiven! But there was only one, eensy-weensy problem… I had not a clue what to do! I was agonizing at my sewing machine for hours, until suddenly, out of nowhere, my horn lit up with all this magic I’d never had the ability to use before!”

“Really?!” Sweetie Belle looked up with excitement, “So that means, that before I get my cutie mark- my horn will tell me if I’m on the right track!”

Rarity laughed, “Sweetie Belle my dear, you must let me finish my story!” She scoffed playfully before continuing, “All of a sudden, I felt as if my horn was pulling me, and I looked down to see I was being dragged by a powerful, powerful magic taking me far away from home! I thought that it simply must have something to do with my love for fashion, and maybe even my cutie mark! After all, unicorn magic doesn’t happen without a reason, so wherever my horn was taking me, it simply must’ve been important, no? So I let my horn carry me all across Ponyville, out of town, even! Why, I went all the way to the edge of the Ghastly Gorge! And I knew that whatever my horn was leading me to simply must be my destiny… Do you know what it was, Sweetie Belle?”

“Hmmm…” The foal pondered, “A boutique? Something that inspired you to fix up all those school play costumes? Oh! Oh! A giant diamond?!”

“Ha!” Rarity scoffed, “Why I wish it was something that glamorous! No, no, my horn had led me all the way out of Ponyville to take me towards some giant hunk of rock, a big pointy boulder at the edge of the cliff!”

As if all of her excitement died, Sweetie Belle lowered her head down and tilted it off to the side, “... You’re joking, right?”

“Nope!” The older unicorn shook her head, “Not a bit!

“Well, then what happened?!” Sweetie Belle asked anxiously.

“Nothing.” Rarity shrugged.

“Nothing?”

“Not a thing,” She shrugged, “No… secret beauty inside the rock, no grand inspiration for my next design, no hidden truths of the self revealed to me by the treacherous journey, and no cutie marks.”

Sweetie Belle looked disappointed, “Then, why did your horn take you all the way to the Ghastly Gorge if it wasn’t for your cutie mark? Didn’t you say unicorn magic doesn’t happen without a reason?”

“I never figured out what it was, either!” The larger unicorn began laughing, “Why, I guess my horn truly was just, on the fritz! But I was so, so upset over it, and for what? I mean, clearly, my cutie mark came eventually, did it not?” She lowered her head to touch her nose to the top of her sister’s head affectionately, “Just as it will for you, Sweetie Belle. Now, come along! I spent so much time telling you that silly story, that you’re going to be late!”

“Wait!” Sweetie Belle trotted quickly behind her older sister, “But, you didn’t tell me how you did end up getting your cutie mark, though!”

Rarity lightheartedly whined, “Why, can’t a mare maintain just a bit of mystery around here?!” She grinned, using her magic to open the door and step into the outside.

It was surely a beautiful morning, if it could be called that. The sky was dark, and dotted entirely with bright stars, and the moon shone full and bright onto the cobblestone pavement Rarity put outside of the Carousel Boutique, just as it did each and every hour of each and every night. When she looked closely, she could even make out the vague outline of the Mare in the Moon- or, the new one, anyway. The breeze was cool and blew through her mane, and she made a note to remind herself to run a comb through it when she put her hair up for work once she made her way through the Everfree Forest. The white unicorn looked back to see her sister, and urged her on with her tail, “Come along now, Sweetie Belle, if you’re late, then I’m already behind schedule, and you know that Nightmare Moon doesn’t wait around for anypony, not even me!”