//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Dawning Reality // by WordSPark37 //------------------------------// Chapter 2 “What kinda drinks?” Spike shouted out into the kitchen, hoping Twilight wouldn’t be too busy to ignore him. another shout responded from high above, probably somewhere between the oak bookshelves. “Pinkie’s coming!” “No alcohol then!” Spike shuddered as he thought of the last time Pinkie had gotten her hoofs on a daiquiri. It had not ended well for anypony, and he doubted poor Apple Bloom would ever see balloons the same way again. He sure didn’t. Pots clanged and utensils clattered inside the magically-enhanced picnic basket as Spike began the preparations. With a sharp exhale, he lit the oven with a self-sustaining flame, proud of his own dragon blood, and set to cooking. He figured something sweet like oatmeal cookies and cupcakes was necessary to counter the buttery popcorn that absolutely had to be there for a performance such as this. As he reached for the top shelves were the flour and sugar were kept dry and cool, a sudden banging on the wooden front door caught his attention. Unfortunately, losing focus on balancing on the tips of his back toes, and crashing down onto the kitchen floor. Dazed and seeing everything blurry and doubled, he could hear Twilight’s distorted shouting as the banging continued. “Coming! Coming!” Spike lifted himself from the floor, shaking himself off, and resorting to a lizard-like position to more effectively eavesdrop on the commotion in the living room. The banging had ceased, replaced by a barely-audible high-pitched babbling as Twilight tried to calm the source. All he could hear was a rapid-firing high-pitched voice babbling relentlessly, ignoring Twilight’s attempt to control the situation. Spike’s ear sprang up involuntarily, already quite familiar with the source of the voice, and accustomed to such situations, was able to make out probably a bit more than Twilight had. Something about tonight, a dress, and unless he’d heard incorrectly, which he hoped he had, a tidbit regarding a date with somepony. “Rarity! Rar-… Rarity! Calm down! Breathe, breathe!” Muffled by the oak door, Spike kept his ear against the door as he reached out with his tail and grasped a nearby tumbler. Transfixed on the door, he only lifted himself away to accommodate the empty glass to amplify the clarity of the conversation going on behind the door. It may not have been his proudest moment, eavesdropping on two of his best friends, but it certainly wouldn’t be his worst. Not by a long shot. ******************T****************** The last thing Twilight needed now, of all things possible, was a hysterical unicorn bawling in her living room what with all the preparations necessary for that night. Well, maybe that was a bit of a lie; Spike had meticulously gone through every single one of the tasks that needed completing, and the only thing left to do was prepare a picnic spread to enjoy amongst friends, and relax for the rest of the day. She had to admit, she’d enjoyed Spike’s recent growth more than she cared to admit. It made him ever so efficient at completing everything easily five times as fast as before, allowing him to pamper her further by allowing ample time for relaxation, quiet chitchat, reading, and even the occasional massage. His appearance had even changed from adorable to ruggedly handsome. She blushed a bit as the thought of this, but was quickly and unceremoniously snapped back into reality as multicolored fabrics stifled her as they were practically shoved into her snout. “…And now I can’t decide! Should I go with the low-cut garden gown or my flowing nightshade gown? But neither goes with my capelet top! And what of hats?” A desperate Rarity had now left the clothes hanging on a fuming unicorn horn as she sorted through the scattered remains of her saddlebags. “Rarity…” The white unicorn simply continued muttering to herself worriedly, digging around in the impressive collection of fabrics and accessories strewn around the once-organized library, and Twilight folded the dresses on her horn delicately, and placed them on a side. “Rarity…” Finally, two clear blue eyes looked back towards the concerned unicorn from beneath a pile of awkwardly accommodated hats and maneclips. She cut a rather drastic yet comical figure, still trying to catch her breath and unaware of the ribbon situated amusingly on her flank. Twilight began to re-organize everything Rarity had hastily pulled out of her saddlebags as she tried restarting the conversation on a quieter level. “Okay, start again, slowly.” Rarity closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to calm her nerves. It served to some extent, yet her speech was still hurried and her hind left hoof kept tapping annoyingly on the floorboards, something that might have caused any eavesdroppers to sigh in frustration. “ Well, you remember that dashing stallion I told you about, Topline?” “The manager?” “Yes, precisely!” Rarity replied, with an all-too obvious glint in her eyes. Twilight sighed as she finished her work of tidying up the fashionista’s mess. She motioned towards the nearby bay window where she usually curled up with Spike, both wielding their half-framed reading glasses as they shared the latest issue of Modern Spellcaster or one of Dan Cropper’s latest novels. Of course Rarity simply used it to replace her Méridienne, and laid on it with dramatic flair. Twilight simply sat beside her on the floor, resting on her haunches as she continued the conversation. “So what about him? Did he finally ask you out?” “Yes,” Rarity said, with a less-than-excited tone. Twilight raised an eyebrow, curious at her friend’s lack of enthusiasm. Twilight might not have remembered every detail of all the monologues Rarity had provided about every topic conceivable to the fashion-crazed high-class unicorn, but she’d heard enough of the rich young unicorn that had been visiting her boutique for the past few weeks to know that Rarity had been hoping that he would do just that. Yet for some reason, the tone in her voice revealed that she wasn’t as excited as Twilight would’ve expected. “What’s the matter then?” Twilight asked, looking at Rarity dead in the eye. The intensity in her gaze drove her friend to sigh in a defeated fashion, sinking into her seat. “After the fitting, he asked me if I was doing anything tonight,” Rarity admitted. “But you told him, right, about tonight? About the Summer Theatre?” “Yes, of course, but he was persistent, and…” “And what?” “He agreed to accompany me tonight.” Twilight simply sat there, a blank expression on her face. Her mind, however, spun with a million thoughts, not least among them was the fact that Rarity was planning on seeing another pony, while Twilight knew the feelings Spike harbored towards her. At the same time, she felt a twinge of jealousy, though she couldn’t understand why. She’d seen Topline, and he wasn’t her first choice for a friend, let alone a boyfriend. And last but not least, this tidbit of news meant that Spike would need to prepare a picnic for either 6 or 8 ponies, definitely not seven. “So, what are you going to do?” Twilight finally asked after a bit of awkward silence. Rarity began to wave her hooves in the air once again, looking nowhere in particular. “Well, that’s what I came here for! I have absolutely no idea what to wear, and frankly darling, you’re one of the few…” “Rarity!” Rarity looked at Twilight, shock in her eyes at the strength with which Twilight had reacted. Twilight herself was shocked by how firmly she’d come off as, she’d only meant to interrupt the incoming rant, not seem tyrannical. “I’m sorry, but that’s not what I meant. What are you going to do about the picnic we had planned?” With a guilty demeanor, head hung low, Rarity was forced to admit her mistake. “Well, it wouldn’t be fair to you girls if I brought along a complete stranger. So we’ll have our own little gathering not too far from where you’ll be. I’m sorry, but I simply can’t miss this chance!” Rarity was practically pleading now, having dropped down from the seat to sit directly in front of Twilight, her face filled completely by two pools of downright honest begging. Twilight sighed. She didn’t like it, not one bit. Rarity had made a promise as had each of the six to be there tonight; it was one of their outings as friends that they enjoyed as six friends, with no doubts or worries, simply laughter and happiness, the former usually supplied by Pinkie. However, she could tell that his stallion obviously meant a lot to Rarity, and she wouldn’t want to disappoint her by sending her on a guilt trip for this one time. “Alright Rarity, go ahead and go on your date, but I won’t lie to you, I don’t think it’s such a great idea. I mean…” Her makeshift speech on why exactly she didn’t think it was such a great idea was cut short as her air supply was interrupted. Rarity had grabbed her in a most-uncharacteristic bear hug, yet obviously filled with glee, supplying an endless stream of thank-you’s as she hugged Twilight. Twilight for one wasn’t enjoying herself much; she preferred not to draw too much attention, and frankly, she didn’t understand what all the hubbub was about. She hadn’t expected Topline to be worth all this excitement, but perhaps she was wrong. She’d have to see what all the fuss was about herself, but later. However, just as soon as it had appeared, the glee and joy in Rarity seemed to disappear as she slowly let go to confront Twilight with a very serious expression planted on her face. “What’d you mean by that?” “By what?” Twilight said, fidgeting with her hooves. “Not such a good idea?” Rarity replied, squinting one eye and inspecting Twilight suspiciously. She took a few steps forward towards the purple unicorn and was met with a mirrored action on behalf of Twilight, who began to shrink back until she was cornered by a miffed Rarity. Twilight looked towards the bookshelf next to her and muttered her response. “It’s just that… Well, sometimes, no, most times, your dates don’t meet your expectations… Remember Prince Blueblood?” Rarity blinked in surprise at her friend’s blunt statement of truth, and sat back down on her haunches, staring into the distance as she tried to process what was being said to her. Twilight gulped, but she couldn’t go back now. She’d tried her best to ignore her friend’s relationship issues, but she was on the road to even more heartbreak, and she may as well tell her the truth now. She was on a roll. “And then that incident with Fancypants? And the misunderstanding with Dr. Scrollhart? And what about that whole mess with the stallion down at Pony Hall?” Twilight’s intentions were the best possible, but Rarity’s heart sunk and the blood rushed to her cheeks as she recalled all her failed attempts at finding the perfect stallion for her. She was only glad Twilight wasn’t mentioning her attempts at finding the perfect mare, since that experiment certainly hadn’t turned out any better. Rarity shook her head and snapped back into her offended diva mode. “Well, excuse me for having standards!” She said, as she turned with a swish of her purple mane. “Rarity, wait! I just meant that maybe you’re looking in the wrong places for the wrong kind of pony!” Twilight quickly shouted as Rarity began picking up her outfits from the floor. She managed to slow her down a bit, intriguing her with her statement. “What do you mean?” She said, turning slightly to face Twilight. If they’d paid closer attention, they could’ve heard a shallow breathing pattern behind the kitchen door suddenly stop to be replaced by an excrutiating silence. “Well…” twilight said, when suddenly a pink blot outside the window behind Rarity caught her attention. Her heart sank as she saw Pinkie mouth the word forever slowly, then sink back down behind the windowsill, only to hold up a sign with the word FOREVER outside the window. Twilight faced Rarity, who still watched her insufferably carefully, and managed to think up of an excuse to derail the conversation and avoid breaking her Pinkie Promise. She’d never hear the end of that one. “Just… maybe you ought to look closer to home? You never know…” Twilight said, avoiding direct eye contact. Rarity did her best to hide her disappointment, and continued picking up her many clothes and carefully folding them, avoiding creases as she packed them into her saddlebags. “Oh…” Twilight stood back up, pacing slowly around the scattered garments and tussled books on the floor, trying to look at Rarity’s face, which she kept conveniently well-hidden. “Are you still going on the date?” Rarity huffed, busying herself with her task at hoof. “Of course! If it doesn’t work out I’ll start looking for your mystery-stallion here in Ponyville…” A hint of disappointment was evident in her voice, but Twilight ignored it, focusing on the hints she’d been trying to drop. “Maybe it’s not necessarily…” A sudden bang surprised both Rarity and Twilight, who looked towards the front door to find Pinkie Pie beaming at them next to a fully-opened door. In the kitchen the sound of a hard-scaled head hitting the floor in shock was drowned out by the slam of the door on the library wall. “Hi Rarity!” Pinkie smiled, and dropped her head suspiciously as she looked towards Twilight and dropped her tone of voice into a sinister octave. “Hello, Twilight…” Rarity didn’t notice Pinkie’s odd behavior, but it did not go overlooked by Twilight, who gulped at Pinkie’s threatening appearance. She didn’t know what would really happen if she broke the Pinkie Promise, but after the whole ordeal with Applejack, she didn’t want to find out. “Hi Pinkie…” Twilight responded, shrinking back and drooping her ears. Rarity paid her no mind and hopped over to Pinkie. “Hello darling! Say, would you mind helping me choose an outfit for tonight?” Pinkie tilted her head in confusion, her snout scrunching up slightly. “Tonight? We have to wear outfits?” She asked innocently. “Well… let’s go over to the Boutique, we can talk about it there… Goodbye Twilight.” Rarity said, looking back to bid a farewell to the hesitant unicorn as she walked out of the library with Pinkie Pie bouncing closely behind. Once the door had closed behind them, Twilight heaved a heft sigh of relief as she was once again left to her thoughts. She began levitating the books on the floor to their proper positions when a sudden appearance at the front door once again startled her, causing the books to fall haphazardly all over the library floor. Pinkie stuck her head through the doorway, looking at Twilight with an accusatory glare. “I’m keeping my eyes on you!” She said, pointing her hoof back and forth between her eyes and Twilight. Twilight gulped, unsureof how to respond, until Pinkie smiled once again, waving her hoof frantically. “Okey-dokey-lokey! See you tonight then!” She said, and disappeared once again, finally leaving Twilight alone. Still, she sat on the spot, and waited for a few minutes before cleaning up, just in case of any other unannounced visits. As she finished placing the last book in place, she heard a clatter in the kitchen and went to investigate, trotting quickly as she heard Spike’s voice from behind the kitchen door in a series of strong curses and utterances. Worried that he may have been hurt, Twilight rushed towards the kitchen and flung open the door.