• Published 26th Jan 2016
  • 3,843 Views, 160 Comments

Revenant - Muramasa



Sunset Shimmer is coming home.

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Say Yes to the Dress

Carousel Boutique was once again directly in my field of vision, towering over me; although this time, I was glad to say, my time spent in it would be significantly more than three seconds and on much friendlier terms.

Rarity had sent me a letter today that indicated my dress was ready, and wanted me to come try it on to make sure everything fit okay. She was extremely excited about it, she had written in the letter, and after asking both Twilight and Starlight if they had gotten the same reaction, they shook their heads in the negative. I didn't know if I was going to take that as good news or bad news, but I was certainly about to find out, at any rate.

I opened the door and, this time, stepped through the doorway completely. The bell by the door in question gave a pleasant chime as it always had. Rarity was doing the exact same thing she had been doing when I first (almost) walked into the shop; her back towards me, stitching up something I took a step before she called out to me.

"Is that you, Sunny?" she asked, not turning around. Although she couldn't see it, I smiled.

"The one and only," I replied. In response, she turned around, and on her face was not only the happiest, beaming look I'd ever seen on Rarity, but on anyone. Her smile almost reached her ears on both ends, and her eyes were opened wider than Luna's moon.

"Oooh, you're here! Excellent! Come, quickly!" she shouted, running to her right. Surprised by her enthusiasm, I followed, and she began to speak as I turned the corner to meet her.

"If you're wondering why I'm so elated, Darling, it's because this is, and I'm being completely honest, perhaps the best dress I have ever made; my magnum opus, as the Griffons would say. I've been dying to show it to you," she said. As I came to face her, I found her standing next to a pink curtain draped across a circular stage, and Rarity's magical aura pulsing around what I assumed was the rope to pull it open. My normal smile quickly turned to a rather sheepish one.

"Well, thanks, Rare, but I'm sure I'd be satisfied with it if it was your worst dress," I told her. Rarity, still donning a mischievous grin, violently shook her head.

"You'll be the talk of the party, Darling. Observe," she said, before pulling the curtain. What greeted me once it had fully been removed from view was an absolute work of art that was almost beyond my comprehension.

It was completely orange, for one, but a burning, bright orange that was spectacularly subtle. Within it, red and yellow flakes were scattered across the dress like some sort of galaxy, giving it a beautiful landscape without overdoing it. It was in a feathered pattern, like the wings of a bird, and the dress seemed to ripple from the neck area to the bottom. It would leave my front hooves visible, but it would completely cover the back two, I noticed, and when I went up to the mannequin it was displayed on to touch the fabric, it had to be the smoothest material I had felt in any dimension. It couldn't get any better, in my mind, but hanging on the mannequin's neck was yet another gift; a necklace displaying my cutie mark emblazoned in colored steel, hanging from a gold chain. It wasn't until I stepped back a bit after closely examining it that I realized what it was trying to represent.

"A Phoenix," I whispered, just loud enough to hear; I realized I was tearing up. I tried to inconspicuously get rid of them (probably unsuccessfully) as Rarity began her explanation.

"Yes indeed! I try to make every dress personal, darling, and so I thought a bit about you coming back to Equestria. I admire your change in character, Sunset, but admire even further your will to initiate it, and to start again once new; thus, the phoenix. I asked Celestia via letter if you liked the animal, because I wouldn't want to make the dress if you didn't; I was delighted to find that not only did you like them, they were your very favorite. They simply won't be able to keep their eyes off of you, Sunny!" she exclaimed.

I stared at it for just a bit longer. I said nothing; instead, I carefully walked over to Rarity and locked her in a tight embrace. She appeared not to be expecting it, but she gladly adjusted to it after a few seconds.

"Thank you," I whispered. She gave a little laugh as we broke apart.

"Oh, don't mention it, darling; it was fun to make. I also got that second dress for you know who, to your exact specifications. I have a feeling she'll like it," said Rarity. She turned to a curtain right next to her and drew it back, revealing a dress that I had come to expect when walking in; a simple teal color and fabric, not at all fancy, but elegant enough for the Gala.

"I tell you, digging up Unicorn Twilight's old measurements was a trial, but I think it turned out alright. I have the hair dye as well; I'd bring her here as soon as you possibly can, because it takes about a day to really set in. So, with all of that out of the way, would you like to try on your dress, Darling, so we can make adjustments?" asked Rarity, turning to me. In response, I gave her a look that very much mirrored her own when I had walked into the store.

"I'd love to," I said softly.

* * * * * *

Normally, Flash Sentry was stationed in the Crystal Empire, ever diligently guarding the throne room for most of the day, ready for any sort of threat to come across him so that, as he was trained, he could immediately dispatch it with relative ease. However, I knew his schedule; this was the one week where he was relieved of duty, and he came back to his home town of Canterlot to spend some time with his parents.

He had a temporary place he rented out near the center of the city for this very occasion. I had only been there once, because I needed to borrow a book on combat techniques for Shining Armor and he sent me to pick it up, but we'd always talked during my visits to the Crystal Empire for one reason or another. It was a nice little apartment; obviously bland, because it was temporary, but it would certainly be accommodating if it weren't.

I was currently standing in front of the door, which was emblazoned with a simple number 221. I had teased him about the number, asking him if he would solve some mysteries for me, but I was only ever met with an eye roll. Knowing he was a fan of the stories, I had a suspicion that it was part of the reason he picked that specific apartment, but of course, I never said anything to him. After staring at the gold plated number for a little while longer, I rapidly knocked three times on the door.

As I had come to expect, he answered the door almost immediately. He had a sort of bored look plastered upon his face, but as soon as he saw me, I was delighted to see, his face immediately lit up.

"Sparks! It's good to see you! Nice shades, by the way" he said. I nearly had a heart attack; I had completely forgotten I was wearing them. I calmed down, however, when it was apparent he liked them; Sunset would be happy to know it. When I walked past him into the apartment, he closed the door behind me and began walking towards the bookshelf at the back of the room

"So what brings you here? Got another book the Captain won't pick up himself?" asked Flash. I rolled my eyes.

"Shining could have you suspended for that," I told him, a playful grin on my face. Flash returned it, and motioned outward with his hoof.

"Shining isn't here, Sparks, so I think I'll be alright." He leaned upwards to look over my shoulder. "Unless he actually is here and I'm being tested, in which case I deeply apologize for my behavior and it won't happen again, Sir," he said. I started laughing, and he did the same; I felt the little nervousness I had coming here slowly fade away.

"No, you aren't being tested, as far as I know, and I don't need a book this time; I just came to chat. How are your parents?" I asked him. Flash quickly sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Ah, they're fine, as usual. We're going out to dinner tomorrow night, and we're probably gonna do something on Saturday, but I don't have anything in particular planned; and then on Sunday I leave for the Crystal Empire. It's nice here, Sparks; you can only stand around doing nothing for so long once you've been trained for action," he said. I was secretly excited that he had nothing to do on Saturday, but I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to mock him.

"Uh, "trained for action?" I recall my brother telling a story about an opossum scaring the daylights out of you in the Everfree Forest," I told him. He looked up to the ceiling in annoyance and sighed before I'd even finished the sentence.

"Celestia, can we please drop that? It was significantly larger than the average opossum and I thought it was something else. You of all ponies should know the reputation that place has," he said in defense, although his efforts were in vain; I still began laughing in remembrance of the event.

"No, that one isn't going away, sorry. So, the Grand Galloping Gala is this Saturday," I said, turning the conversation in the right direction. Flash shrugged and twisted his head to the side in response.

"I'm not too big on parties. I'm assuming you're going, because you're a princess now? I don't know, I'm just not really interested in that type of thing," he said. Seizing the opportunity, I quickly pulled out one of the golden tickets and hung it in the air in front of me with my magic.

"Not even as my date? We'll have fun," I asked him with a devious smile. His countenance quickly flooded with shock, which was precisely what I expected; Flash gave the impression of a laid back stallion, but he was easily embarrassed and surprisingly reserved. Flash quickly looked around at nothing before finally answering me.

"Um...yeah, I suppose. When should I be ready?" he asked nervously. I chuckled and put the ticket at the ledge of the bookshelf where he had been leaning.

"Seven thirty sharp. I'll pick you up. See you there!" I said quickly before opening the door and exiting the building.

Once I was outside, and knew there was nopony around, I did I silent cheer of victory. I had been talking to Rarity since the beginning of the year about asking Flash to the Gala, and, in my opinion, it had gone rather smoothly. It was interesting that it all had to be the day I woke up from a two week coma, but none the less, I had a date to the Gala; everything had turned out okay.

As I began to walk down the stairs of the apartment complex, I remembered that Sunset was going to go see Rarity today about her dress. Whatever it was going to look like, it would be spectacular, I knew; I couldn't help but wonder what she had planned for everypony else as well, because she had started making everything right when Sunset came back and absolutely would not let any of us see the works in progress.

And then, of course, there was the Gala. For whatever reason, whenever me or any of my friends showed up to the party, it became an absolute disaster; first with our individual incidents, and, more recently, the whole Smooze deal with Discord, or, as Celestia liked to call it, "The best Gala in years". I was deathly afraid of taking Flash to yet another disaster, but I had a feeling everything would work out correctly. And of course, if it didn't Celestia would be happy, so I supposed it was a win-win.

As I began to walk towards the castle so Celestia could take me back to Ponyville, I looked around at the scenery; ponies of all types waltzing around the city, the medieval architecture towering high above me, making me feel rather small. Nopony seemed to recognize me; either they didn't look hard enough, or they preoccupied with something else. In that moment, walking down the street, a singular thought ran through my mind.

I don't feel like a Princess, and I couldn't be happier.

Author's Note:

And here it is, the penultimate chapter of Revenant! Do you all think the Gala will go smoothly?