Let’s Dance!
~Chapter 3: Dresses and Teatime Confessions~
The days leading up to the big Hearts and Hooves Day ball were quite busy. Everypony was working together to make sure things went smoothly.
One almost last minute decision was made and agreed upon when Twilight Sparkle and her friends all met up again. They all agreed that the ball should be a masquerade. They figured it could be something fun for everyone. Rarity was especially thrilled at the idea. Her biggest challenge would be to come up with a design that would suit Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
As soon as the change was made, the invitations went out.
All week, news had traveled fast that Princess Twilight Sparkle was hosting a Hearts and Hooves Day ball at her castle in Ponyville. News of the ball had even reached as far as Canterlot. Twilight Sparkle found this out when a jet of green flames shot out from Spike’s mouth to be replaced with a familiarly bound scroll.
“Twilight! Letter for you!” Called the young drake. He swiftly handed it off to the hard-at-work princess sitting in her throne.
Twilight gave a grateful nod and a smile to her faithful assistant. “Thank you, Spike. I wonder what it says…” she pondered aloud before cracking open the wax seal and revealing the contents within.
Spike, ever the curious little dragon, was trying to get a peek at what was written. “What’s it say?”
Twilight was amused by Spike’s antics and gently picked him up in her magic and placed him in his own throne beside hers. She then levitated the opened scroll in front of him. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”
Spike did just that. Just as he suspected was the case, the letter was from Celestia. He read the letter quietly to himself. "Huh. It seems ponies from Canterlot have heard about the ball you're all putting together and have been requesting tickets. What do you plan on doing about that?"
Twilight pondered the question for a moment. "Hmm…" She tapped her hoof to her chin in thought. "Perhaps we could do a first-come-first-served sort of thing. After all, while spacious, I doubt we have the space to ALL of Canterlot AND Ponyville in here."
Spike gave Twilight a huge grin and a thumbs up. "Great job, Twi! I'll send Celestia the message right away."
Twilight returned her assistant's smile and ruffled the spines on his head, causing the young dragon to half-heartedly scowl at her. Twilight giggled at Spikes reaction. "I think we should go over all the lists again to make sure we haven't forgotten anything."
Spike let out a large yawn. "I think we should take a break, Twilight. We've been at this for hours."
Twilight glanced at the clock that was nearby and decided her ever-faithful assistant was correct. "C'mon, Spike." She called while leading the way to the kitchen. "I can't believe we worked all through the afternoon without any breaks. Why didn't you tell me we missed lunch?" She giggled.
When they got to the kitchen, Starlight Glimmer was already there sitting at the table with what appeared to be the last remnants of a sandwich.
Starlight glanced up when her teacher and her dragon companion walked through the doors. A small smile graced the Unicorn's features. "Hi, Twilight. Hey, Spike. How are preparations going?"
Twilight smiled back at her student. "Hey, Starlight. Things are coming along nicely. We're just confirming some last minute invites, but other than that, everything's going pretty smoothly on our end. How about you?"
"I was at Rarity's getting a last minute fitting in for my dress. Speaking of, Rarity asked me to pass a message along to you. She wants you to go in for a last fitting as well, you know, whenever you get the chance." Starlight was picking her plate up and washing it off in the sink as she spoke. "I'm going back into town to see if anypony needs help with anything. Unless you need me to stay here for anything…" She finished unsurely.
Twilight smiled at the nervous Unicorn and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "Don't worry about things here. Spike and I have it all taken care of. But, if something does come up, I'll be sure to let you know." She gave a reassuring smile.
Starlight smiled back and nodded. "Well, I guess I'll be going then. I'll be home later." She disappeared with a quick teleport spell, once again leaving Spike and Twilight alone.
Twilight remembered why they came into the kitchen in the first place and started gathering all the ingredients in her magic to make sandwiches, plus a bowl of gems for Spike.
There was silence while the two ate their meals. It was broken, however, by Twilight. "Hey, Spike, when we finish eating, could you send a note to Rarity letting her know I'll be by tomorrow for my dress fitting?"
Spike, remembering the many times Twilight had admonished him for talking with his mouth full, finished the clawful of gems he had just stuffed in his mouth before answering. "You got it, Twi!" He gave a salute, then continued to stuff his face.
Twilight giggled. "I'm going to continue working. You're welcome to continue helping me after you send the message to Rarity, or you can have the rest of the afternoon off. It's up to you."
Spike didn't even think twice about his decision. "I'll stay here and help you out."
Twilight gave an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Spike. Let's get back to work then."
Once they were finished with their food and dishes were washed, both Alicorn and dragon got back to work until the moon was risen. After dinner, all residents of the Castle of Friendship called it a night and went their separate ways.
The next day…
Twilight Sparkle had made a plan the night before to go to the Carousel Boutique to get her dress fitting done. But first, Spike, Starlight and herself would spend the morning finishing up anything that still needed to be done.
The morning flew by and soon it was Starlight Glimmer who spoke up, putting a halt on their progress. "Um… Twilight? Don't you think you should start heading over to Rarity's?"
Twilight paused her work on sealing envelopes to glance at the nearby clock. She let out startled gasp, and nearly knocked over all her hard work when her wings flared out. "Oh my goodness! Thank you, Starlight!" She stood up from her throne and was heading for the door when she suddenly paused mid-step, then turned around to face Spike and Starlight. "Are you two alright with me leaving you to finish this up by yourselves?" The worry was clear on her face.
It was Spike who preempted the onslaught of questions he knew would come. "We've got this, Twilight. There's not much left to do anyway. Go! Have fun, and please try to relax."
Twilight nodded in response and performed the breathing exercise taught to her by Cadance many years ago. "Thank you. Both of you." Twilight looked visibly calmer now. "I'll be back later." She turned back toward the front door of her castle and in the direction of the Carousel Boutique.
It took only a few minutes, but soon she arrived at Ponyville's dress shop and home of one of her best friends. Twilight took another deep breath before pushing the door open; the little bell above the door signaling her entrance into the shop and a familiar greeting.
"Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is-- Oh! Twilight, you're here! Splendid!"
Twilight tittered softly behind a hoof at her friend's energetic greeting. "Hi, Rarity. I'm not too early or too late, am I?"
Rarity dismissed the question with a wave of her hoof. "Oh, nonsense darling. You're here right on time. Now, let's get started, shall we?"
Twilight stepped up onto the mirrored platform in the center of the boutique; allowing herself to be seen from all angles.
Rarity brought out the nearly complete dress that Twilight was to be wearing to the upcoming ball. She draped it gracefully over the Alicorn's body, pinning it in places that still needed minor adjustments.
"Hmm… Yes… That looks absolutely lovely. Why, everything is simply coming along just perfectly." Rarity gushed. "The look on everypony's face when you walk through those doors will be so worth it."
Twilight giggled at her friend's excitement. There was really only one creature she truly wanted to impress that night. With that thought in mind, Twilight allowed herself a moment to just let her mind wonder. She didn't notice she had drifted so far into her own mind… That is, until she heard her name being shouted…
"Twilight Sparkle!" It was Rarity, who apparently had been trying to get her attention for some time. "Equestria to Twilight Sparkle! What, for goodness sake, could possibly be distracting you this much? I've had to call your name at least five times."
Twilight flushed light pink in embarrassment. "Sorry, Rarity. I didn't mean to space out like that."
Rarity watched a familiar awkward grin cross her friend's face. The fashionista stopped everything she was doing and got close to Twilight as she spoke. "Now, darling, I want you to be completely honest with me when I ask you this…"
Twilight swallowed hard to try to moisten her suddenly very dry throat. The anticipation was almost too much. "Umm… Wh… What… do you want to know?"
That must have been the magic question because Twilight, before she even realized what was going on, found herself seated in Rarity's kitchen with a tea service in front of her that she swore wasn't there two seconds ago.
"Now, Twilight Sparkle," Rarity paused to take a dainty sip of her tea. "In response to your question, I want to know… who is he?"
Twilight was in the process of taking a sip of her own tea when Rarity's inquiry started. The question caused the mare to start choking on her tea. After clearing her airways and catching her breath, Twilight was able to get a few words out. "Wha… what do you mean?"
Rarity cocked her eyebrow in response, then resumed her impromptu interrogation. "Do not play coy with me, Twilight Sparkle. Don't think I haven't noticed that you've been all out of sorts lately." Before Twilight could protest further, Rarity continued. "I've heard from our friends that you've been spacing out much more frequently, much like you were just moments ago. So, again I ask; who is he? Who in Equestria is special enough to have caught Princess Twilight Sparkle's attention in such a way?"
Twilight decided to give up all pretenses of ignorance. She figured she'd let the rest of her friends in on her secret, starting with Rarity. After all, she did tell Starlight. So, it was only fair. She sighed, "It's…" she let out a sigh. "Promise you won't laugh?" Twilight looked beseechingly at Rarity.
Rarity saw the pleading look in the princess' eyes and agreed. She placed a comforting hoof atop Twilight's slightly shaking one to steady her. "Go on, darling."
Twilight nodded. Emboldened by the gesture, she felt calm enough to get the next words out. "Ok. It's… Discord…" She managed to get out in a near whisper.
Because of her years of being friends with Fluttershy and dealing with her mannerisms, Rarity was able to pick up on Twilight's murmured response fairly easily. Twilight becoming overly flustered to the point where she was now cocooning herself beneath her lavender plumage was new, however.
Rarity slowly approached the enshrouded mare and gently placed a comforting hoof upon her back so as not to startle her. "If it's alright with you, Twilight, I'm going to let the others in on your little revelation."
There was a slight lowering of feathers; enough for the top of Twilight's head and horn to be revealed, and enough movement of the princess' head that Rarity took it to mean an affirmative.
Rarity took a sip from her teacup that she had refreshed at some point during their discussion. "Excellent! Just leave everything to me."
The gears in her mind were already turning. She would gather the rest of her friends and they would plan a way to get Twilight and Discord together. Just the thought of getting to play matchmaker for a couple of her friends; especially ones so close to her, was making her giddy.
Eventually, Twilight was able to be coaxed out from beneath her wings and the two were able to resume the fitting Twilight had originally come here for. However, it had gotten late and Spike would most definitely begin to worry if Twilight wasn't home soon.
As Twilight was stepping out the door to the boutique, she turned to face Rarity. "Hey, thanks for the tea, and… for listening… This is all really new to me…" She looked at her hooves sheepishly.
Rarity lifted Twilight's chin so she could look her in the eye. "Now, now, there will be none of that. This is all perfectly natural. You know you can always come to me whenever you need somepony to talk to."
Twilight smiled. "I know. And thanks again." She turned and flapped her wings to lift off into the air. "Later, Rarity!"And she took off in the direction of her castle.
From atop a cloud not far away, there lay a creature made up of an amalgamation of animal parts. From his vantage point, he could see much of Ponyville. There was only one thing, or one pony rather, that had his full attention, however. He looked on as the mare he loved talked briefly to Rarity outside of Rarity's shop before taking off and heading home. The then watched, entranced by the mare's beauty, as she flew into the distance toward her home. He stayed on that cloud until the moon began cresting over the horizon. Then, with a snap of his clawed talon, he was gone; back to his home in Chaosville.