Hello, Harmony

by EpicGuy

Patterns and Plans

Twilight's anklet ticked flatly, a pattern that embedded itself so deep into her mind that she even forgot it was there. Even then, between the soft hum of the sewing machine and loud clopping of hooves outside, she could barely hear it.

Although Rarity's passion, and profession, was sewing and crafting, Twilight prided herself on the tiny bits of knowledge she had on the subject from watching her friend. Her stitches were off and slightly skewed, but it would do.

A single bead of sweat fell from her brow onto the sewing machine, the last time she used it being when her mother let her help sew a dress when she was just a filly. She found the process rather silly back then, but now she was thankful to get that experience.

While her hooves worked furiously at a bolt of fabric, her mind wandered to her parents, both living in the upscale area of downtown Canterlot. She hadn't sent a letter to them lately, since nothing usually happened that needed to be brought to their attention. She pondered how they would think about their daughter, Celestia's student, put under probation for assistance with assault. What their expressions might be for such an announcement. She cringed at the thought.

There were more important matters at hoof, though.

She kept a close eye on the nearby pattern as she dismissed her earlier train of thought. "Sew 1A to 2B, then hoof stitch the result to main body," she read aloud. "Repeat with 2A and 3B."

The pattern itself was not hers, but a forgery of one of Rarity's more practical suits. The seamstress often left out instructions and copies of her patterns months after making them, so it was easy for her to replicate them both, with a few changes of course. She didn't have the color fabric Rarity used, but that didn't matter as her outfit had a much different purpose.

Twilight found herself humming above the clatter, tune of which nearly brought tears to her eyes. She remembered the words clearly; although the last time she heard it was over two years ago.

"Thread by thread, stitching it together..." Twilight began to sing, matching her movements in time with the rhythm of the oh-so-familiar song.

"Twilight's suit, cutting out a pattern snip by snip..." She finished sewing 2A to 3B, making a single sleeve that, when tested, extended to the bottom of her hoof and covered it. Shaking her head, she took the nearby scissors and cut a jagged line across the tip, leaving just enough room for a portion of a hoof to be seen. "Perfect."

Twilight Sparkle looked across the desk at her progress; the body was complete, albeit a little sad-looking, and all four leggings were done. Taking a final, long look at the sewing machine, she shut it off for the moment being and uncovered three rusty, bent needles and a spool of dusty thread from the leftover fabric that adorned her desk.

"Making sure the fabric flows nicely..." she continued, brushing a stray hair out of her face.

The unicorn levitated all the pieces into the air before organizing her work space, keeping the instructions close by her side. "I don't want to sew a hoof to my back. That would be embarrassing." she thought aloud, reading the next part over three times before beginning to sew one hoof.

The process was long and tedious, as she had to go back four times to get the legging firmly in place before she could even begin to sew. After a while the monotonous beeps of the anklet, combined with the frantic patter of rain outside, began to make the unicorn feel as if she was under a trance in which the sounds tortured her frail mind. Finally she succeeded in getting the first one fully attached, and in her burst happiness looked at her faithful wall clock. It took her thirty minutes to get the accursed object sewed to the body.

"Good thing I'm on probation." Twilight muttered, fetching the next legging from the desk.

---

After three hours of work, little sleep and a few sweet verses of songs, Twilight Sparkle's creation was done.

It looked like a veil of night, and not at all seen when placed next to any shadows. The stitches were less than perfect, but the blasted thing held together so Twilight was satisfied. On a few dresses Rarity would embroider the wearer's cutie mark somewhere out of sight. and so did she. A lopsided, monotone star, complete with all the points, was placed strategically beside the inner thigh, were nopony would suspect it.

She even made a mask, fashioned from a veil Rarity had once given her as a Hearts Warming present. It fit snugly over her face, leaving only room for her luminous eyes to peek out into the world.

She looked at herself in the crystal-clear mirror, seeing a lavender unicorn with a passion for academics and friendship. Her mane was tangled in a few places thanks to a tussle with a particular needle, and her tail was ragged from hitting the side of the desk for so long. It was a habit of hers, one Shining Armor usually mocked as everypony could tell when she was focused.

"So long, Twi," Her words echoed throughout her home, every branch feeling a little reverberation. The clothing, plus a stray hat she picked up from the cluttered floor, was engulfed in a magenta mist and she galloped into her bathroom, shutting the wooden door, despite Spike being fast asleep and the door being locked. After a moan, a groan and a satisfying snap, an unfamiliar figure strolled out of the bathroom, dressed in a dark shade of purple and wearing a dapper fedora and a tight, dark mask that only revealed her somber eyes.

The figure moved gracefully from each wooden panel to the next, a long cape covering most of her back, and she paused briefly at a simple mirror above a simple dresser. The same stoic face looked back at her.

"Hello, harmony."

Comments

[mcb893]

What? Wait? Vigilante? I'm exceptionally confused.