The guards posted at the gate seemed only dimly interested in the group until they spotted Spike. They were a pony and human, both dressed in scale armor and wearing falchions at their belts. The pony stepped forward first, "Welcome to Kadiston," he said with an air of repeated formality, "I'm afraid your friend isn't on the known dragon list."
Twilight frowned at the guard, "He's my friend. He won't hurt anypony."
The human guard laughed as he joined his brother-in-arms. "Anypony. I didn't believe you when you said they say that in the empire," he said to the pony guard. "Dawn Event, you rascal, you're bringing us headaches."
Dawn bowed his head to the human, "I am afraid the order of the gods makes it so. I must escort these two to safe lodgings. I will vouch for their behavior." He produced a scroll from his bags and offered it to the guards, but they waved him away.
The pony guard spoke up, "We know who you are, priest of all gods. Have you added the cat gods to your collection?" He turned without waiting for reply, shouting up at the gate, "They're good!"
The human waved them past, leaning in to whisper to Twilight, "It's considered impolite for ponies to go naked, especially in cities."
At his words, Twilight began blushing heavily. She had never considered herself 'naked', even if she was. She could see the discrete glances she was getting from others passing by now that her attention was brought to it and she became acutely self-aware. "I... didn't bring any of my dresses. I only wore them for special occasions," she stammered.
Dawn Event raised a hoof to settle on her shoulder, "Then our first stop will be a tailor. We want your first impression with your mentors to be a positive one."
Spike suddenly grinned, "I wonder if the tailors of this world are half as cute as the tailors in ours," he said with unabashed forwardness.
Twilight snorted at Spike's words. "I don't think you're going to find a Rarity like we did in the human world," she cautioned.
"Would it not all be a rarity," asked Dawn quizzically as he led the two through the gate and into the city proper, "considering it is not your world?"
The city was crowded. Twilight revised her opinion from Canterlot to Manehatten with the press of equines, humans, and other creatures all around her. "Is that a cat?" she asked, dumbfounded. She leveled a hoof at a bipedal feline with wings, dressed in the finest of silks and jewelry. The feline scowled at her and huffed indignantly before moving in a wide circle around them as if offended at the question.
Dawn Event softly chuckled as he kept them moving through the crowd pointedly. "That was a Purrsian. They are feline, yes, but they are no more cats than you are an equine. You are a pony, she is a purrsian. There are two other feline races, the griffons, which are half cat, half bird, and the sun cats, which are like lions in appearance. All would be offended if you called them by their lesser aspects."
Spike scratched at the side of his head, "Wow, that has to get confusing. I've seen a griffon before, um, only once personally. She was kind of a jerk."
"They can be a rough tribe to get to know," agreed Dawn, "but they are fine people, in their own way. There is hardly a finer breed of warrior to have at your back."
As they pressed through the streets, Dawn directed them into a small building. Within were many sets of clothing for both biped and quadruped customers. There were at least twenty designs on display. The proprietor was a pegasus with a cutie mark (which Dawn had said was called a 'brand of destiny')of a drama mask. She was wearing a leather work outfit with many pockets and tailor's equipment was hanging halfway out of many of them. She was quick to respond to potential customers entering her store and took flight only to land just in front of them. "Welcome! Stitch in Time is ready to see to all of your needs, be they practical, aesthetic, or a tasteful mix of the two," she jubilantly cried while looking over the three of them, "Oh my, you're just in time. At this rate, all three of you will be naked by day's end."
Dawn drew a bag of coins from his pouch while Twilight ogled the dresses on display. "They have so many pockets," noted Twilight, "and they look tough."
The pegasus tailor tilted her head at Twilight, "Of course, on both counts. How else do you plan to hold your things? And a uniform that can't stand a day's work is hardly worth wearing." She drew measuring tape from a pouch as she eyed the pouch that Dawn was holding, "So what'll it be?" The tape in her mouth seemed to do little to impede her speech.
Spike stuck out his tongue, "None of these are really me. Do I have to wear clothes too?"
Dawn nodded, "See that these two are dressed respectably. Here is twelve gold." A silvery coin was set down next to two gold ones, to be snatched up instantly by the tailor before she reclaimed her tape.
Twilight raised a brow, "You said twelve gold, but that one was clearly not gold," she questioned, raising a hoof to point at the already-vanished coins.
"The silver-looking one," explained Dawn, "was platinum, worth ten gold coins by itself. There are actual silver coins, worth one tenth of a gold, and copper, worth one tenth of a silver. Do they not have currency in your world?"
Twilight was quick to nod, "Of course we did, but it was all gold. We called them bits. They had numbers on them for larger denominations."
The pegasus smiled at the three, "As charming as this lesson on economy is, I can't have naked customers in my store. Think of the scandal! Now you seem like an inquisitive sort," she said, looking Twlight over, "A scholar's outfit will fit you just fine. And for you," she turned her eyes to Spike, "a tough and brave dragon, we'll want something that shows off your masculine side I think, something tough, that won't limit your movements. Yes, a monk's outfit would look just darling on you." She assaulted Twilight and Spike with her tape measure, taking swift numbers for their limbs, including getting Twilight to extend her wings out. "What a pretty hybrid you are," she said in a warm voice, "Such fine wings. But you're obviously a unicorn, am I right?"
Twilight nodded quickly, starting to blush gently, "How could you tell?"
The pegasus smiled brightly as she extended her own wings out wide, "You can't trick me that easily. You may have the wings, but the rest of you is too heavy to be a natural pegasus. No offense, miss...?"
"Twilight, Twilight Sparkle," offered Twilight, still flushed as the pegasus doted over her.
"And a pretty name too," cooed the mare before she withdrew her tape and set it away, "I can adjust one of my existing outfits for you, Miss Sparkle, but I'll need some time for mister...?"
"Spike," offered Spike with a proud grin.
"Spike, that fits you so well," she agreed, "I'm Lofty Thoughts. Now what was I saying?" She tapped her chin with a hoof for a moment, "Ah right, it'll take some time to get Spike's outfit ready. Come back in ten minutes for Miss Sparkle's, and tomorrow I'll have Spike's ready. If you prefer, you can wait for the first one."
Dawn sank to his haunches out of the way, "We will wait here for Miss Sparkle's dress."
Spike looked to Dawn, "It's not gonna cause any trouble that I go a day without, right?"
Twilight interceded, "We're getting it as quickly as we can, Spike. Ponies will just have to bear with us. Too bad we didn't bring that cute little outfit you wore for Hearth's Warming Eve."
Spike shook his head quickly, "Imagine fighting all those orc things wearing that? It'd be torn to shreds in no time. Rarity's work deserves better than that." He huffed and crossed his arms as Lofty approached him.
"Who is this Rarity? Another tailor?" she asked.
"Only the best!" exclaimed Spike eagerly. "She made all my outfits, back home."
Lofty flashed a smile, "We'll see about that. You can be the judge tomorrow. For now, I will work on your girlfriend's outfit." She turned and took flight, sailing into the back and leaving a blushing Spike behind.
As they waited, Twilight and Spike cast their gaze out onto the street, watching the menagerie of strange people bustling past. The guard had not been joking, they could not spot a single pony, human, or other creature that was not garbed in clothes, ranging from simple garments that did little outside of concealing, to outrageously ornate pieces suitable for a gala.
Dawn broke the silence between them, "Watching the people can make the day slip away if you are not careful."
Twilight raised a hoof, tapping at her horn, "Alright, topic change. You don't have a horn, and your friend doesn't have one, and you both do magic, so why does this work on me?"
Dawn shook his head slowly, "Because you have a horn. Your strength is your weakness. Unicorns learn to channel their magic through their horns. It comes naturally, so when that avenue is cut off, they are cast adrift."
Twilight raised a brow, "Are you saying I could use magic without my horn?"
"I could not say for your world," spoke Dawn in his soft, neutral tones, "but here, yes. Unicorns that suffer great misfortune, losing their horn entirely, can re-learn how to use their magic without it. We are ponykind, the power of the elements flows strongly through us, no matter the tribe."
Spike leaned forward a little as he asked, "So what element are you, or Twilight, or me?"
"I am earth-bound, the prairie tribe. I draw endurance and vitality from the ground beneath me intuitively," explained Dawn, "Young Twilight here is a unicorn. Her tribe deals with force. To pull, push, pinch and throw, all without touching, that is their gift. You, Spike, are sky, meaning that air and lightning will answer your call in different ways. I am not fully educated in the types of dragons."
“Huh,” mused Spike, "I was always more 'fire' back home." He drew a breath in a loud gasp of air. Dawn surged forward, rising to his hooves and trying to leap at the dragon, but it was far too late. Spike exhaled. Crackling bolts of lightning danced from his mouth in a great fan that swept over the store. Displays were knocked over, cracked and splintered under the explosive force of the electrical discharge. The cleric, also caught in the outburst, winced and recoiled as electricity coursed through his form. Twilight sat rooted in place, jaw unhinged in shock at the destruction brought about in an instant.
Lofty peeked out from the back, "What's all t--Oh Sun Queen above! What have you done to my store?" She hurried out, picking through her damaged displays with a devastated expression that was quickly turning to anger. "Who's going to pay for all of this?"