//------------------------------// // ~ A Starting Idea ~ // Story: Tailor of the Crown // by Monochromatic //------------------------------// Tailor of the Crown By Monochromatic Shall I offer A Starting Idea of a seamstress and a royal sister talking of a wounded heart they both hold dear "You are very silly, Celestia." A beautiful pegasus princess of snow white coat, vibrant lavender hair, and amethyst eyes giggled softly, a teacup raising to her lips as her eyes set on the delighted young alicorn sitting on the opposite side of the table. "Am I?" the young mare asked, attempting and failing to seem serious. "Should I apologize for it?" "No. I like it," the princess said, a blush decorating her cheeks. "But you know that already, don't you?" Celestia giggled. "I do, my dear princess. I do." There were many things in life that Rarity had never predicted. She'd never predicted she'd find such wonderful friends, never predicted she'd be one of Equestria's heroes, never… Well, actually, that was somewhat of a lie. She always knew greatness and fabulosity attracted the very same thing, and frankly she was saving Equestria just by offering them dazzling designs to wear—now, if only ponies actually wore clothes more frequently. However, there was one thing she never saw coming: envy. Envy of the romantic kind, though, but not the act in itself but more who she was envious of. It… Well, in her romance novels, those she read in her bed under Canterlot's night light, envy and jealousy were always thrilling plot devices. Drama all around, and she loved it! She revelled in it, and she would live it if… if there wasn't something wrong about being envious of the long dead. The constant whirring of her sewing machine filled the room; the typewriter responsible for weaving the story she was now in. Her eyes went over the fabric under her hooves, streaks of green and white, a fitting dress for the surprising object of her affections. "Rarity? How long has it been since Sister employed you?" Her ears twitched, and even if her concentration wavered, her sewing did not. Her eyes flickered up towards the alicorn sitting by the window, her gaze lost in the night she owned. Princess Luna often visited the Castle's royal fitting room, and the royal—and temporary—tailor could hardly complain. 'Twas a different life indeed, to go from simple townfolks asking for dresses to dukes, duchesses and two beautiful princesses asking for gowns and all sorts of attires. She hummed, a hint of magic adjusting the red glasses perched atop her nose. "Well, I believe it's been seven months since the Manehattan Fashion Show, so I'd venture a guess at…six months?" Six months, she'd ventured, and seventeen days, she privately thought. Princess Luna fell silent for a moment. "She enjoys your company greatly," she said, eventually, like a careful thought released into the wild. "As do I." A pleased smiled swept across Rarity's face. "Oh? I'm delighted to hear that, Your Highness! I am endlessly grateful for the opportunity Princess Celestia has given me, and—" Her eyes again flittered towards the Princess, and a wink quickly followed. "I do aim to please, you know!" Princess Luna turned to her, a raised eyebrow and soft smile. "You do, Rarity," she said, and an impish edge twisted her smile, "'Tis the first time I've seen Tia so fascinated by dresses." A heated red streak rushed past the unicorn's cheeks, and she cursed her body for so rudely betraying her. Nevertheless, the sewing machine stopped, and a dazzling smile decorated her face. "Why, Princess!" she exclaimed, a hoof flying to her chest. "You sound surprised! Did you honestly expect anything less of moi?" Princess Luna's smirk grew. "Some humility?" Rarity's smile did not falter. "I'm only overly confident in the hopes that some of it will rub off on you, Your Highness," she said innocently, and what a winning sensation when Luna's nose crinkled in embarrassed displeasure. The Princess looked back to the window, and so did Rarity turn her machine back on and return to her dress. Or, she did until Princess Luna spoke up. "Curious." Rarity turned off her machine and smiled. "Curious?" "Your overflowing confidence falters when in presence of my sister," she noted, turning to Rarity. "You seem to hang on her every word." The cursed blush returned, and Rarity's smile fractured slightly. "Do I now?" "You do. I always notice when ponies devote all their attention to Celestia," the alicorn said, and in her voice Rarity detected bitterness. Princess Luna looked back towards the night sky. "I notice too much." A brief silence, and she continued before Rarity could offer comforting words. "My Sister and you spoke at length during last week's Gala." Rarity hummed, offered a hasty reply because dear, dear, last week's gala had been quite the event, indeed. Too much wine, too many loose tongues, and an entire night where nothing had existed save for her, a far too tipsy alicorn, and the heated banter that flew between them. And then… the day after… "Tell me, Rarity," Princess Luna continued, and her tone grew soft. "Has Celestia told you of Princess Amethyst Snow?" Rarity, again, did not reply. Her words caught in her throat, and her heart hammered against her chest. Yes, she'd heard of Princess Amethyst Snow, the beautiful Saddle Arabian princess who'd lived centuries ago. She'd seen her, even, in a simple diplomatic portrait that hung in the main library, overseeing a castle that could have—would have—been hers. "She has, yes," Rarity said, a great care in her words. She remembered that night in her fitting room, an altogether different alicorn sitting in the same spot where Luna sat, and telling Rarity of a pegasus princess that once lived in the castle and to whom Celestia was set to marry. Was being the key word. She cleared her throat and turned on the sewing machine, the rhythmic sound keeping her thoughts grounded. "The Princess mentioned her once when we were discussing a romance novel. I didn't even know arranged marriages were something that, well, could even be arranged in Equestria." "Nay. It was anything but arranged," Princess Luna replied. "Princess Amethyst was to stay for a few months and act as a diplomatic representative between our two nations, but months turned to years. She was kind. She made my sister smile, and would sculpt ice and snow statues that could not melt under Sister's sun." She smiled, briefly. "And Sister tried." Again, Rarity felt a tug at her heart. It was an admittedly endearing thought, to imagine a beautiful princess sculpting a pristine ice sculpture, and an alicorn furiously trying to melt it away with well-placed rays of sun. It was adorable, truthfully, and Rarity wished she were in a time and place where such a carefree Celestia wasn't hidden under thousands of years of pretenses and masks. "It must have been very hard for Princess Celestia," Rarity continued, because she was not envious of a long-dead princess, she was not. It was a tragedy that Princess Amethyst had died, and her heart wept for Celestia and the now obvious reason for why the Princess so adamantly rejected her many suitors. "Losing a loved one to illness can't be easy." "Her illness did not take her away as quickly and painlessly as she deserved," Princess Luna continued. "I did try my best to give her comfort in her dreams. She did not have a single nightmare during her illness, but… But though she did not dream after her passing…" She faltered, paused, as though she'd said too much, but then continued somberly, "Celestia did, and those were very long, very terrible nights." The sewing machine stopped. In the back of her mind, she wondered why Luna was telling her these things. In the back of her mind, she wondered many things, not all positive. In the back of her mind, the expression "second best" whispered. "I'm sorry, Princess Luna," she said, because what else could she say? "I wish there was something I could do." Princess Luna hummed. "Sister loved snow. It was all that interested her," she murmured, as though she hadn't heard what Rarity said. "But as I said... " She swayed her head lightly, her eyes flickering towards the unicorn. "Tis the first time I've seen Tia so fascinated by dresses."