//------------------------------// // Recipe for Disaster // Story: Equestria Girls: Love Is Magic // by onekface //------------------------------// Chapter 12: Recipe for Disaster (Friday) (Morning) (CHS courtyard) “Cinch!?” Twilight let out a mighty gasp when she heard the name. Sunset covered her mouth but not fast enough to catch the attention of the students around them. “Are you sure?” “Believe me, I’m 100% sure. Creepy eyes, glasses and a scowl that could make your skin crawl? It was definitely her.” “And you think she’s behind these attacks?” “Absolutely.” Sunset gave a confident nod. “When I was close to her, I felt the same kind of magic that came from the artifacts. She’s either behind all of this or is part of it.” “That doesn’t make sense.” Twilight opted, continuing their walk to school as they spoke. “I know that Principal Cinch was upset about what happened at the Friendship Games. But I didn’t think she’d be upset enough to actually hurt others.” “But doesn’t it make sense?” Sunset challenged. “She has motive, she knows that magic exists and she had access to those artifacts. I’d say those are more than enough to make her guilty beyond reason.” “Sounds like someone’s just bitter.” “That still makes her a prime suspect in my book.” “I don’t know Sunset. That seems like jumping to conclusions to me.” Much to her surprise, Twilight actually defended that woman. “I know that Cinch wasn’t exactly the nicest person to be with but I find it hard to believe she’d stoop down to such a level. What you felt might just be magic residue that lingered off her body. You did say that she was one of the few people who touched the artifacts, right?” “Yeah… but…” “But she doesn’t appear on my scanners. It could just be she held the object in her hand, so some of that magic might’ve just passed on to her. And if we leave it alone, it’ll just disappear like Adagio said.” “You sure that’s a good idea?” “Did you check everyone else who also had access to the relics?” Her face went down. “Well… n… no. But she still strikes me as our prime suspect. I mean who else could it be?” “Just because she did something horrible back then doesn’t make her a villain now.” Twilight berated her. “We shouldn’t go accusing people just because of what they did in the past. You and I should know that better than anyone here.” Her friend recoiled at that outburst. “Everyone deserves a chance – or at the very least, give her the benefit of the doubt. Don’t you think you’re being a little unfair after what we’ve done ourselves?” She might be. After all, she was once like Cinch. Doing everything for the sake of victory. Heck, she even took it a few steps further, turning in a raging She-Demon in the process almost turning the whole school into an army of zombies. And Twilight nearly entombed the whole school when she was Midnight Sparkle. Who would’ve thought that they would be labeled as the queens of means in this school? “You’re… probably right.” She let out a defeated sigh. “I shouldn’t be pointing fingers at everyone I don’t like. Maybe I’ll… do a double check on her just to be sure.” “We both will.” Twilight assured her, passing a soft smile. “I’ll do a full scan of the museum with my equipment. If she really does hold the magic like you say, then we’ll confront her together. And besides, it’s not like she can get her hands on the artifacts right now.” “Yeah… yeah that’s true. I guess I was worried for nothing.” “And even if she did bring out her shadow wolf, we know how to beat it.” Twilight thrust her fist forward pretending to shoot some kind of magical beam out like one of those magical girls in cartoons. “Speaking of wolves. Did you hear about the plan Flash made for Rarity’s animal pageant show?” (Crystal Prep Academy) At long last. Friday. Celestia breathed a sigh of relief as she entered the sister school of CHS. It was the last day of the week and the last of her goodwill visits. Having to see Cadance these last few days have been great but being away from her own school was pretty lonesome. Luna has done a wonderful job keeping things together and there have been little complaint by the faculty staff but it would be nice to finally return to her own office and be with her own students. As she paced through the hallowed halls of Crystal Pep Academy, she could see that most of the kids here have grown accustomed to seeing her around. Some even greeted back making it look like she was an actual teacher of this school. Heh… that would be a barrel of laughs. Taking another turn, she found herself staring at the door of the Principal’s Office. The name tag on the door was freshly minted. A rough guess would say that the new Superintendent has finally decided to move in. She gave a gentle knock and heard a voice beckoning her to come in. With a soft sigh she entered, eyes shooting up when she saw the newly renovated office. “Ah… Lesty. Good timing. Come on in.” Sombra offered her a seat as he put out his diplomas on the wall and a few mugs on the table. The coffee pot that had given her a bad stomach was gone, replaced with an expensive looking teapot. Something akin to what Fluttershy would have in her dashboard. “Sorry for the mess. I just had the old stuff put away for mine. Can I get you some tea? I made a fresh pot.” He paused for a moment, a coy smirk growing on his lips. “I promise it won’t make you sick.” Celestia rolled her eye back at him. “You’re never gonna let that go, are you?” “Not in a million years.” He answered, placing two cups on his desk. “I also see that you found your way to my office. All by yourself.” “I only got lost twice.” She reasoned back puffing her cheeks in such an adorable way. “And if I remember correctly, you were lost too. In your own school no less.” “I wasn’t lost.” Sombra defended feigning innocence. “I was just umm… patrolling the halls, making sure everyone was in class.” “Emm hmm… sure. Like anyone would believe that.” Celestia shot him a wry look. “You’ve never been very good at lying.” “That just goes to show that I am an honest man at heart. Or… so some people claim to say.” He rubbed the back of his long raven hair shyly. “I guess all that time in your expeditions didn’t change that part of you at all.” He laughed. “Well when you’re exploring cavernous areas and ruins of long lost civilizations in the rain forest, you don’t exactly have much options in terms of company. One time I was trapped in a canyon for a whole week. I was so mad for company I started talking with rock formations like they were my friends.” “Ha! And you thought that our school mascot was crazy.” “Hey in my defense, I was young and I didn’t know that seahorses were a thing.” They glared at one another before suddenly burst out laughing. “Ah… I missed this. I can’t remember the last time we bickered over something so… mundane.” “I know. Remember our college debate on snacks?” “How can I forget? You and Luna argued which was better: Liquorish or popcorn. That whole thing lasted for weeks. Doodles and I had to separate you two.” “Those were the good old days.” “The best of days.” Sombra corrected smiling nostalgically. “Even Sophie had a good laugh every now and then.” Sophie… The name rang so many old bells in her memories dusting away the cobwebs and reopening distant events. Sombra’s late wife, Flash’s mother and…… a dear old friend. A companion that they all went through together. “I’m sorry about what happened to Sophie.” The man quickly realized his mistake and hastily waved it off, forcing a smile. “Don’t be. She lived a good life and she was happy at the end. I couldn’t ask for anything more for her.” “I wish I could’ve talked with her one more time.” Celestia said solemnly. “She would be very proud of her son. Flash Sentry has grown to be quite the gentleman. You can’t imagine the things he’s gone through.” “So I’ve heard.” He nodded. “I’m sure his mother is looking out for him wherever she is. I just hope he won’t turn up like me. Going on adventures every waking moment.” His bones shivered at the thought. “Trust me. It’s not as exciting as it sounds.” “You don’t think he has the aptitude for it?” “I’ve come to realize a little too late that: Wherever you go, there are just some voids you can’t fill deep in your heart.” Sombra’s face darkened as if concerned over a serious matter. “The past has a way of catching up to us when we least expect it.” Yeah. Somehow she understood those words. “I know the feeling.” “Say…” The Superintendent brightened up. “Are you… free tomorrow, Lesty?” “Me?” The question naturally caught her off guard. “Well… I’m not doing anything in particular. Why?” “Well it just so happens that I’m hosting a pageant show on Saturday and I was hoping you could come as my morale support. Some important friends from the capitol are flying all the way here and I could really have someone watching my back.” Celestia’s brow ticked upward. “You mean like… a date?” “NO!” He muffled his mouth. “I mean… no. Of course not. It’s not a date-date. Ahehehe…” Oh god, he looked so adorable. It actually reminded her of his younger self back in college. “But there’ll be an after party with a lot of important people. It wouldn’t hurt to rub shoulders with the boys and girls at the top. Right? So what do you say?” The man eyed her expectantly. “Care to be my Plus-1?” She eyed him curiously, but couldn’t help but smile at the offer. (Midtown Apartment) Aria sighed lowly that afternoon as she strolled through the kitchen of their apartment casting an eye on each shelf along the way. It was a humble place near the edge of the city that served as their home for the last few years since they were banished to this place. While Adagio might call it a dump it still provided a roof over their heads and better shelter than their van. The apartment had about five rooms total. Two bedrooms which she and Sonata share one. The living room and kitchen were connected along with the dining room. There was also a spacious bathroom for all their hygienic needs and a simple storeroom. Thankfully the rent here wasn’t extortionately expensive and they’ve been able to live by with what they could scrounge up. It wasn’t much but it was better than nothing. But at the moment, it would seem like they really did have nothing. All the cupboards were entry, their pantry was nothing but dust and cobwebs and the half eaten sandwich in the fridge left for a poor sight. “So… what’s for lunch?” Sonata asked from the dining table with spoon and fork in hand. “A half-eaten sandwich.” Aria replied showing the said treat. “I think it might’ve been… tuna… or maybe mystery jam. I don’t know. Want to try it out?” The airhead nodded back and gleefully bite into the sandwich. “Oh. Yup. That’s definitely tuna.” She paused. “Or… it could be mystery jam. I can’t really tell.” “Ugh. This is ridiculous. Whose turn was it to do the groceries this week?” “Not me. Mine was last month. I would’ve helped but you guys banned me from shopping.” “That’s because you spent our entire grocery money for a stupid doll!” “What!?” Sonata gasped grasping a large stuffed animal twice her size. No one knew what it was except that it had a snout, a scarred eye and a feathered cap. “How dare you call Sir Hugsalot stupid!? He’s the most adorable huggable creature ever!” Aria couldn’t help but groan. “You do know that guy pretty much conned you to buy that thing for 4 times the price, right?” “And he was worth every bit.” “Ugh you really are an idiot.” “Pfft. You’re just jealous because you don’t have a huggy buddy.” She cuddled the strange animal with such affection that it made Aria gag. “I’m this close to turning your hug buddy into dinner.” But thankfully she didn’t as their fearless leader returned, rubbing her nose like she was trying to suppress a migraine. They saw her toss her phone to the table, grunting angrily before snatching the cold sandwich off Sonata’s fingers. “What’s eating you?” “Technically she’s eating a sandwich.” Adagio ignored their banter and spat out her bite. “Ugh… what is this? Mystery jam?” “It’s actually tuna.” Sonata corrected as she caught the sandwich back and gladly took another bite. “Well I just had a long chat with our esteemed manager at the Sleepy Sirens.” That didn’t sound promising. “I told him that we can’t take the late night shift anymore.” “I take it he didn’t take it very well.” Aria deduced to which she was probably right. “He didn’t.” Adagio grumbled. “He says that he has to let us go. I guess that’s simply the polite way of saying that we’re all fired.” “Well good riddance. I never liked that place anyway. Always so crowded and loud.” Sonata sobbed. “Aww… but I like that place.” No it wasn’t. The pay was mediocre, the customers were nightmares, the boss was absolutely overbearing and don’t even let Aria get started on the fan club. “Does that mean I won’t be able to bring back leftovers from the snack table?” “It means we won’t be going back there. Ever.” Aria explained. “Speaking of which, someone needs to run down to the grocery store. We’re pretty much out of… well… everything.” “Not so fast girls.” Adagio raised her hand up. “If you remember, our savings aren’t exactly top notched ever since we splurged it on that 2nd hand van for our mini-tour around the countryside. We have about enough to pay our rent this month alone. And we can’t exactly go back to our old job.” “Ugh… great. We’re broke in more ways than one. What other place do we know that generates a lot of negative emotions?” “None that we know.” Their leader sighed. “Looks like I’ll have to take that waitress job in the mall.” “Ugh… you’re gonna smell like fish.” “Oh be quiet. It’s not like we have any other ideas. As long as that monster is out there hunting for magic, we can’t afford to be out the city at night.” Sonata whimpered behind recalling the attack. Aria unconsciously reached out for her frightened sister reassuring her with a soft smile. She wasn’t gonna let that monster near her. Not as long as she had anything to say about it. “What about those girls back in Canterlot High? Did they find anything?” “Not a peep. Though that’s quite understandable. I’m not exactly thrilled of looking for monsters that see us like buffet tables on a deserted island.” “Oh oh oh!” Sonata waved her hand up like a child wanting to answer a question her teacher gave out. “Can I help? There’s an opening at that Cake Shop we passed the other day.” “No!” Adagio shot her down before she even got out of her seat. “That magic we got from that Flash guy was just enough to keep up. You need to rest.” “But I’ve been trapped in this apartment for days now.” “And you’ll continue to stay until we can find another place that serves negative emotion on a platter.” She leaned on her seat deep in thought. “We just need to think.” (Fashion Boutique) (Canterlot Mall) Rarity walked softly down the halls of the mall that evening heading to her workplace with a half-cooked smile on her face. The mall’s renovation had begun and the main square was already being converted to a runway where models of all kind will be strutting through with grace, decked out with fabulous clothes and thick sheets of makeup. Large neon lights and smoke machines were being installed and even a DJ booth was erected at the second floor, ready to blare out all the remixed noises they want. The models who will be strutting over there will all shine like stars tomorrow, and oddly enough she didn’t meant that in a metaphorical term. With the amount of jewels Ms. Hemline brought out of her personal stash, those models out there will be gleaming and glittering painting the whole mall with all the colors of the rainbow. She could hardly wait. If only her designs would have such an impact. Oh well… there was always next time. Eventually… She reached the front of the boutique unsurprised that everyone was still going on about like a bunch of headless chickens. It seems like Prim Hemline wasn’t gonna be pulling any punches. She can expect her rivals from the other stores to put just as much effort. Still… if she was gonna put her money on a winner, Hemline would take the pot. “Everyone stop!” The whole crew froze on their tracks when their boss kicked down the door of her office breaking it off its hinges. “We need to redo the second lineup! Right now! Put away those glitter and replace hems! You and you! Man the stations! I’ll do it myself if I have to!” “Ms. Hemline?” Rarity managed to break through her fright and speak up. “What’s the matter? What’s wrong with the second lineup? They look wonderful.” “Wonderful isn’t enough!” The fashion mistress retorted, her eyes widened in panic. “They need to be perfect! Absolutely perfect! We must use all of our resources to make them shine ever brighter!” “All of it? I know it’s an important show, ma’am. But isn’t that a bit excessive?” “Not when they’re coming!” They? The word made her staff tilt. “They who?” “I just got a call from my former agent in the capitol. The world renowned rivals, Fancy Pants and Hoity Toity are coming here! They are to be the judges of the pageant show!” Fancy Pants and Hoity Toity? Everyone in the store gasped in both fear and amazement. There was not a single one in the fashion business who didn’t know their names. They were once co-star fashion designers who were at the top of their industry during the dark-age of art. They were pretty much nobodies back then until they found each other in Manehatten. Pitching their ideas together they created a lineup of dresses, suits and costumes that practically cornered the market. They opened their own store and became names that were known throughout the country. And ever since their debut on the grand runway, they made tours around the world showing up in talk shows, billboards, magazines and had their designs put on display like museum art pieces. ‘The Power Partners’ as people called them. Their original first-gen designs were practically auctioned for millions. But then one day they the two of them got into a massive argument and split, each of them starting their own brand and have been rivaling for the first place ever since. It was practically a show biz drama story. “H… h h h h h Hoity Toity and F f f f f Fancy Pants? The founders of Hoity Toity Trendsetter and The Fancy Fabulous?” “The very same! They’re flying in the air right now and will be in Canterlot City within the hour!” Their two screams could probably wake up at the dead at this point. “But why!? Are they here for the fashion show?” Rarity couldn’t wrap her head around it. “I mean I know that they’re super stars of the industry but why would two of the most iconic figures of the fashion world attend such a…” “Small? Insignificant? Mediocre?” Prim punctuated that last bit. “You might be right on that regard. But apparently a certain ‘benefactor’ of ours is a close friend with each of them. He pulled in a few strings to get them to come over.” A benefactor? The only name that came to mind would be Sombra, Flash’s father. Did he have such a connection with those two? That would certainly make him quite the influencer. “My goodness. That is amazing.” Rarity’s eyes beamed. “Oh dear. To be in the same room and breathe the same tasteless air as those two. It will simply be…” “… divine.” Prim agreed, before her face suddenly contorted with fear. “We need to redo the whole thing! Everyone stop what you’re doing! We are redoing the second lineup, right now! And someone get me a pile of clothes where I can scream into!” Yup, she was having a meltdown. “Rarity!” “Y… yes?” The girl stiffened when her boss held her by the shoulder, looking into her eyes deeply like a woman with a purpose. “This show has been escalated to the top.” She declared loudly. “We must do our utmost to impress them! Hold nothing back. Use everything and anything you want from the storeroom. I am lifting all restrictions from the tailoring stations. Do whatever it is you have to! We must win this pageant at any cost!” “Of… of course Ms. Hemline. You can… count on me… ahehe…” “Very good!” She screamed a tone too high when she finally released her. “Someone get me my coffee! And where’s that pile of clothes I asked for!?” The lady then returned to her work, screaming and yelling at anyone who came her way. Oh dear. This just got complicated. Rarity looked over to her section of the store where her four designs were prepared. She had made them yesterday and sadly there were only four on the roster. Most folks here expected to see a whole rack full of her clothes but alas… fate has dealt her a cruel hand. She was doomed to forever be beneath the low born of the fashion world. “Hey Rarity!” She looked up immediately when her name was called out. It wasn’t Ms. Hemline. She was busy roaring over her lineup. “Bulk?” The young lass turned over to the door noticing one of her overly muscular acquaintance waving by with his pet dog in hand. “What are you doing here?” “Ah… I heard from Fluttershy that you needed animals for the show, so I thought I’d bring Wooyoo.” The man/boy’s dog barked cutely in return, wagging its tail like the most adorable ball of fluff ever. “She says that she wants to wear something deep and meaningful… like my MUSCLES!” Rarity chuckled back accepting the little fluffy guy. Fluttershy must’ve gone through some hoops to get him to come over. “I will be happy to add you and little Wooyoo here to my roster, Bulk. Your contribution will make an excellent addition.” “YEAH!” He flexed out wildly nearly ripping off his shirt. “That is… AWESOME!” “Rarity! Heya!” Another voice chimed in catching the fashionista’s attention. “Apple Bloom? Winona?” She startled. “How…?” “Heard you needed animals for the show. So I brought in Winona along. Applejack wanted to bring her personally but she’s out visiting Big Mac at the hospital. Granny even brought Max and Maxine along for the run.” Those would be the goats outside. Rarity’s eyes widened a bit. She clearly wasn’t expecting aid to come so soon. “Why… thank you. I never imagined you would…” “Hey Rarity!” Rainbow Dash came next before she could even finish her thanks. The speedster came in with her pet turtle in tow. “Got room for one more in your lineup? Remember, I want Tank to be 20% cooler than everyone else.” “Hey Rare!” Twilight and Spike? You too? “Rarity! Yoohoo!” “Rarity, over here!” “The Great and Powerful Trixie has… hey! I’m still talking here!” “Oh Rarity!” Before long the whole front of the boutique was jam packed with her friends waving over with all of their adorable pets. A smile began to grow on Rarity’s lips while her heart melted. xxxxxxxxxx “Wow… I guess that plan worked out too well.” Flash chuckled to himself as he watched Rarity drown in with her friends as their pets lined up to be measured by the fashionista herself. She looked… happy. Like really happy. “Oh I think it worked out perfectly.” Fluttershy cutely agreed patting the boy on the back. “Are you sure you don’t want to put Banana in as well? I know your little fluffy friend would love to be part of the big show.” He looked back at the store and shrugged. “I think Rarity’s got her hands full with those guys already. She doesn’t need more than that. Thanks for giving me your contacts though.” “I should be the one thanking you. I’d never be able to talk to everyone and ask them to bring their animal companions to Rarity.” She added while petting her pet rabbit. “It was really nice of you to do all of this for Rarity’s sake. I really didn’t want to disappoint her because of that bad food incident.” The boy shrugged back casually. “Meh. I figured she could use a break. She has been working really hard on those designs after all. I’d hate to see them go to waste. It might not be a magical emergency but I’d love to help out either way.” “Well I think what you did for her is still very sweet. All the animals will be happy they get to wear something really fancy for once. Even Angel here is excited.” Her rabbit gleefully agreed, already imagining itself as a daring musketeer. “You think so? I only just called a few friends over. You and Twilight handled the rest.” “Now you’re just being humble.” She threw him a punch which felt more like a soft breeze rather than a hit. “How about this? As a thank you. Why don’t I take you out for the movies this Sunday? Rainbow Dash has been going on about this new Daring Do movie all week.” “A beautiful lady asking me out to a cool action movie?” He teased. “How could I possibly say no?” Fluttershy chuckled back, holding her flushed cheeks in check. They then noticed the animals in the store began to go on an uproar which didn’t bode well for the boutique. “Oh… I think that’s my cue. Won’t you join us?” Flash waved it off. “Nah, I’ll probably just get in the way. You go on ahead. I’ll catch the whole thing on the pageant tomorrow.” He leaned back and watched as Fluttershy entered. And within seconds, all the animals in the store began to calm down like they were put under a spell. “Good luck ladies.” (Celestia/Luna’s Apartment) Celestia was in a bit of a rut that evening. For one thing she was grateful that it was Friday. That meant that there was no need to get up early tomorrow. She also had a Not-date with a certain Superintendent tomorrow and right now she was raiding her closet for the proper attire. She wondered if she could go in with her casual attire. It was simple, comfy and looked stylish. Ah… no. That won’t do. There was an after party later, with all those important guests in Sombra’s political circle. She’d need to look prim and proper. Maybe she could try on that white dress she bought some time ago during Mayor Mare’s acceptance speech. It had a certain elegance to it, warm and was hot dang stylish to boot. But would that look good for the pageant show? Ugh… dang it. Now she’s just going in circles! “Sister?” Luna called out after knocking on the opened door. “What are you do… whoa!” She gasped when she saw the mess sprawled all over the room. “What happened here? It looked like a tornado just passed by.” “I wished.” She groaned, piling up another set of clothes on her bed. “I’m currently trying to find an outfit for tomorrow. I’m ah… going to a rather lavish party.” “A lavish party? That sounds intriguing.” Luna’s eyes squinted as a grin showed itself on her face. “Anything I should know about?” “Nothing you should be concerned about. Just… mingling with some of the local elites of the city.” She gasped. “Really now? That’s good. But how in the world did you get invited?” “I’m actually going as a Plus-1 to a certain… wealthy benefactor.” “A Plus-1?” Luna put her mind at work and suddenly connected the dots. “Wait a minute. Don’t tell me it’s… Sombra!?” Her guilty expression answered that question. “No way. You actually talked it out after all these years!?” Her sister shrugged back smiling happily. “And now he’s asking you out as his date!?” “Not a date.” Celestia corrected. “Just friends. He needs someone as a morale support. He’s hosting a pageant show tomorrow and will be one of the judges in the panel.” “Right~~ and you’re picking out an attire to… what? Seduce him?” “Sister. I am not that kind of person.” Luna gave her a look. “Well… not anymore. My dating days are behind me.” “Emm hmm. Sure. I believe you.” She definitely didn’t. “But… let’s say for a moment you’re… still in the market. Would you go back to him?” “I… I don’t understand what you’re saying.” “Oh come on Celestia. You can’t be this ignorant! Can’t you see the hints?” The Principal backed away. “Wh… what hints?” “The SIGNALS!” Her little sister squealed. “I can’t believe you can’t even catch the signals.” “What signals? What are you going on about?” “Don’t you see? It’s clear that he wants to get back with you!” Celestia brushed off that nonsense. “Don’t be ridiculous. There was no such hints.” “Oh please. Why else would he ask you out?” “Because we share the same occupation and have the same aptitude for public appearance. We complement each other on a natural level.” “Ah huh… and he likes you.” The damn woman insisted. “Face it sis. It’s so clear that he’s still holding a torch for you even after all these years.” “That’s… that’s preposterous.” “Did he ask you all shy and nervous? Or was he totally direct?” He was kind of going around at first but eventually came clean. And now that she thought about it, he did look kind of fidgety. “He was… hesitant about it.” “Then you’re in the clear! Sombra is definitely still into you.” “But what about Sophie?” “Oh don’t bring her up now.” Luna scolded, pulling her sister to the mirror. “It’s been over 10 years since then. I’m sure Sombra is ready to move on. And seeing you must’ve sparked that torch that he’s been holding ever since. Speaking of which… I hope you guys settled your past grievances.” “We did… somewhat.” “Good enough for me. Now let’s have a look.” She quickly dove into the pile of dresses and frowned. “Wow sister. Since when was the last time you shopped for clothes?” She picked one out of the pile and cringed at the designs. “Wasn’t this from your prom… back in college?” “High school actually.” That didn’t make it sound any better. “I just never thought I’d have to deal with this kind of thing again.” “That’s a sad state of future you have there.” “Excuse me!?” Luna brushed her anger off. “Now now. Let’s not give up hope. There must be something here you can wear that won’t make you look like some kind of adult trying to play kid again. Don’t you have anything for formal events?” “The last dress I have was for Mayor Mare’s acceptance speech. I could just raid my closet again. But… most of the stuff I have here aren’t exactly for… high class.” “And there’s no way we can shop for anything at this time.” Luna grumbled lowly before a thought popped in. “I got it! Wait right here!” She bolted off to the adjacent room and trampled through furniture before finally returning with a deep blue dress. “Here. Try this on.” Celestia’s eyes widened in shock when she saw the dress. Her mouth opened in awe while her breath was stolen away by the beauty of it. “Why… Luna. It’s… gorgeous. Where did you get this?” She shrugged. “I might’ve splurged a bit last month. I was actually saving it for the Winter Holiday party in school. But I figured you deserve this much of a chance.” Celestia looked at it. The dress was a deep navy blue that went just above her ankles with glitters that formed a crescent moon on the lower side. One might guess her sister had a hand in that. It might not agree with her appeal but it looked damn good even from afar. “I don’t know what to say.” “Don’t say anything. Try it on.” She quickly pushed the lucky gal to the divider watching her change into it. “Well? How is it?” “It’s absolutely divine.” Not a surprise there. “But… there’s just one slight problem.” “Oh? What is it?” “It’s a little tight around the chest.” Luna threw a roll of socks at her.