Twilight's Dawning

by Bronyxy

2 The Dress

“Spike!” called Twilight “What should I wear?”
“I don’t know” replied the little dragon lifting his head fractionally from a comic book “We could go ask Rarity, she always knows what looks good.”
“Take it easy Casanova” she retorted, “If I take you there, I’ll need a crowbar to get you out again.”
“Just saying” responded Spike.
“Actually, I think you may be right” conceded Twilight after a brief pause.
Spike dropped his comic book and immediately sought out a mirror to check his spines and scales, acting out one of his favourite fantasies through dreamy lovestruck eyes “Why yes, Milady, I would love to …”
“Oh, you’ve got it bad” sighed the librarian shaking her head and shooting him a gentle smile.

Twilight left Owlowiscious in charge of the library and set off to Carousel Boutique with the purple dragon sat contentedly on her back facing behind her while plucking petals from a flower and reciting “she loves me, she loves me not” all down the road, leaving a trail of brightly coloured petals behind them. As he got closer to the end, he counted ahead carefully to make sure that he ended his rhyme on “she loves me”, as he did every time.

Eventually, the flower ran out of petals and Spike continued the remainder of the journey with a sloppy grin on his face, gently rising and falling with each hoofstep Twilight made, until they found themselves in front of the distinctively gaudy building that was Rarity’s home and studio.
“Pull yourself together lover boy” teased Twilight tenderly “We’re going in!”
The little dragon gave one last stroke to his spines to ensure he was looking at his best and gulped discretely, his mouth dry as it always was when he visited the beautiful white unicorn who was his unattainable dream.

“Darlings!” called the lovable fashionista from across the shop when she heard the bell above the door tinkle and looked to see who had entered the centre of Ponyville high fashion that afternoon.
“Oh, hi Rarity” came the reply, whilst Spike just stared longingly and blushed a shade of crimson.
“And hello to you too, Spikey Wikey” she said, sashaying over to the little dragon, tickling under his chin and fluttering her eyelashes coquettishly at him.
“Really Rarity, you spoil him” joked Twilight “I won’t be able to drag him off Cloud 9 for the rest of the day!”
“Oh, we won’t listen to Auntie Twilight, will we?” continued Rarity, softly rubbing noses with a totally smitten Spike.
“Now you’ve really done it!” lamented the little dragon's guardian in mock exasperation.

“So” said Rarity, “What brings you here today?”
“Well …” began Twilight uncertainly “I’m looking for something to wear when I meet Princess Celestia.”
“Surely this isn’t anything unusual for you darling” acknowledged the fashion designer, “You’re a much more frequent visitor to the Royal Castle since you’ve become a Princess. I’m sure you’re there on important business all the time.”
“Well yes, that’s true, but …” she hesitated just a fraction, but it was more than enough of a hint for Rarity.
“Oh my!” she gasped, her eyes growing wide “A cosy little tête-à-tête perhaps?”
“Rarity!” Twilight chided anxiously “I’m sure it’s nothing like that!”
“Yet here you are looking for a new dress” she observed, wryly raising an eyebrow.
It was Twilight’s turn to blush now. Sure it wasn’t like that. She may harboured secret feelings – but it wasn’t anypony else’s business, just a fantasy. Nothing like that would happen. Could it?

“When do you need it darling?” said Rarity trotting over to the door, turning the sign round to ‘closed’.
“Tomorrow actually.”
Rarity slid her red dressmaking glasses on and put a forehoof to her mouth, making different tone “hmmm” sounds as she viewed her new client from all angles.
“Up on the stage darling” she commanded, taking charge “No time to waste.”
She levitated her measuring tape across different parts of Twilight’s body making notes as she went along and sketched some tentative designs.
“Will you let me see how it’s looking?” asked the model from her position on the stage.
“No darling, I most certainly will not” replied the fashion designer firmly “You remember the last time I let you and the others put your individual tweaks into my designs?”
She was right, Twilight conceded; it had been a disaster and Rarity had proved that she had known best all along. There would be no sneak peeks this time; she would just have to trust the fashion designer to do her best.

Rarity flipped through a number of different outline sketches, forehoof to her mouth, regarding them first with her head to one side, then the other, making more “hmmm” sounds as she whittled down her choice.
“Ah yes!” she finally announced triumphantly “This is the one …”
Twilight’s head had been drooping while her friend critically reviewed her choice of design, but suddenly bucked up at Rarity’s words, wearing a smile as she felt that the design process was now so far evolved that it no longer needed her to be stood on display. In response, she took a step forward to get off the stage.
“No you don’t” said Rarity “A few more measurements if you please.”
Twilight let out a groan of exasperation and returned to where she had been, forcing her smile to stay in place a little longer. Spike meanwhile watched avidly, not sparing a thought for the discomfort of Ponyville’s librarian, but focused exclusively on the dressmaker’s beauty.

The measuring tape tensioned itself under the unicorn’s blue magical aura and stretched once more over her friend's lilac frame in a criss-cross pattern until Rarity was finally happy.
“Yes, yes, yes!” she cried “Twilight darling, you’re going to love it!”
“Can I move now?” she asked tentatively through her starched smile.
“Of course darling” replied Rarity dismissively as if it was perfectly obvious.
She trotted around levitating the tools she would need to progress her design to its next stage and then looked back at her customer:
“Thank you Twilight” she said brusquely “Now don’t let me detain you a moment longer; I’m sure you’ve got more important things to do.”
The message was clear; Rarity was now hostage to her creativity and nopony would be allowed to interrupt.
“Thanks Rarity” said Twilight “When would you like me to pick it up?”
“How does tomorrow afternoon sound?” she asked, engrossed in her preparations “About three?”
“Sorry Rarity” she replied with an agonised look on her face “I’m being picked up at midday.”
“Oh …” said the fashion designer looking up suddenly “Then I’ll just have to work a little bit faster. Half past eleven do you darling?”
“Oh, er .. yes” replied her friend awkwardly “That would be fine. Thanks Rarity."
“Please see yourselves out, won’t you darlings?” she said waving them away, already immersed in her latest project.

****

“What am I going to wear?” asked Celestia with an exasperated edge to her voice.
“Really Sister” said Luna “You have a massive wardrobe of different fashions going back years.”
“Maybe” the Sun Princess conceded “But they don’t all fit any more.”
“Yes, you have been demonstrating a penchant for pastries lately.”
“Luna!” her elder sister chided.
The Princess of the Night just raised an eyebrow and giggled as her sister threw a dress at her in disgust at the comment.
“Oh maybe I could have put on a few pounds …”
“Uh huh” responded the midnight blue mare with a cheeky smile. It wasn’t often she got the better of her elder sister and she was relishing every moment.

As the afternoon turned into evening, a collection of elegant and beautiful dresses from Celestia’s wardrobe formed into bigger and bigger piles across her bedchamber while her mood became more and more desperate. Luna stayed with her providing a commentary on each style that her sister paraded before her. She had tried picking out a positive feature about each one she saw, but eventually lapsed into a playing a game whereby she had to come up with a new word for each dress without repeating herself. She was rapidly approaching the end of her considerable vocabulary when her sister threw herself on the floor sobbing.
“Sister, you have looked beautiful in every one of those dresses you have shown me” comforted Luna, tucking her legs neatly underneath her as she lay down next to her sister and draped a deep blue wing over her “Any one would be perfect. Really.”
“But Luna” choked the most powerful pony in Equestria, sobbing like a filly next to her, desperate for reassurance “I want it to be perfect, don’t you see?”

The Princess of the Night suddenly started to think that her plan to relieve her sister from her self-imposed isolation could have been a bad idea and felt a deepening sense of guilt building within her.
“Celly” she whispered softly “Just think of it as a social event with some Head of State from another land. You’re comfortable with that; you do it all the time.”
“But Twilight is so much more than that, Luna” cried Celestia through her sobs “I love her!”

There it was.

There could be no more denying it.

Luna finally knew she had been right in bringing the two together and drew her sister even closer into an intimate embrace of the kind they had not shared in hundreds of years, her white body shaking through her sobs as Luna whispered gentle “sshhhhh” sounds. The sister who had led armies into battle; the sister whom all other leaders respected, feared or both if they were wise; the sister who had banished her to the moon; the sister sobbing her heart out over the love of another was the sister she loved with all her heart.

****

Twilight had barely slept. She tiptoed to the kitchen, not because she was hungry, but because she wanted a change of scenery. Spike wasn’t yet up; she would have been surprised if he had been, but somehow she wanted to talk to him. She felt something that she had never experienced before, like two massed armies of butterflies engaging in a pitched battle inside her. She half heartedly summoned the copy of ‘Supernaturals’ from the bookshelf and looked for a spell to alleviate her symptoms, but somehow she knew it wasn’t going to help. Even reading a good book held no appeal for her today.

She closed the book carefully and opened the door quietly setting hoof outside and looking up into the night sky. It was beautiful. She marvelled at Luna’s artistry and followed her fancy aimlessly into the countryside, alone with her thoughts. In fact she wasn’t alone, for the Princess of the Night had taken it upon herself to watch over her two most precious ponies tonight and smiled as she watched the Princess of Friendship appreciating her handiwork.

The Princess of Friendship seemed to be taking the prospect of the forthcoming date a lot more in her stride than Celestia had; Luna had worked hard to put her sister to bed and tried every trick of the dream realm to relax her in her sleep. However, night time was drawing to a close now and she blew Twilight a gentle kiss through the last vestiges of her realm before focusing on laying the moon to bed.

Twilight watched as the first rays of morning threw their brightly coloured spears across the purple sky.
“I wish I may, I wish I might …” she said to herself, not sure what she wanted or what the day would bring.
“I love you Celestia” she said to herself “But I don’t know how to tell you.”
She wandered on through the glittering morning dew that was spread like a spangled carpet across another field, alone with her innermost thoughts.
“And I don’t even know what to do about it” she agonised “What if I make a mess of it and she doesn’t want to see me again? What if she laughs at me? What if she banishes me for daring to express such feelings?”
She hung her head low and let out a sigh of forbearance; what would be, would be.

She finished crossing the field she was on and watched as the woodland creatures started to come out to look for breakfast. An inquisitive squirrel bounced up towards her and sat on a tree stump, front paws raised expectantly. Twilight cast a retrieve spell focusing on buried nuts and levitated one from a little nook in which it been hidden, offering it to her new friend who accepted it readily, turning it round in its paws as it bit through the hard shell and released the tasty kernel within.

She lost herself in a daydream as the simple pleasure unfolded in front of her and then watched as the squirrel clambered deftly up a nearby tree, emerging on a solid branch above whereupon it gave the tasty treat to its mate.
“You’re welcome” said Twilight softly, a smile breaking out across her face, her fears and insecurities wiped away for a moment.

Although Twilight had not paid any particular care to the direction in which she had wandered, she turned back to see the clear trail she had left through the dew, pointing her way back to civilisation. It was time to go back and rouse the purple dragon and prepare herself for the day ahead.

****

“Luna! Luna!” called Celestia in a state of agitation.
“It is time for my bed, Sister” replied the Preincess of the Night trying to keep the weariness out of her voice “What do you want now?”
“I still don’t know what to wear and I don’t know what I should do when Twilight arrives” she blurted “Please help me!”
“We have been over this many times already, Sister” responded Luna “All your dresses are beautiful, but generally you do not wear one. If you cannot choose, then receive her as you are. I cannot help you further.”
Celestia crossed and recrossed her hooves, looking increasingly tense.
“If she has come without a dress, take her for a walk around the Royal gardens, and if she has dressed up, then walk her round the cloisters or show her the portrait gallery” she suggested “You know she only ever heads for the library when she comes to the Royal Castle, so most of it she has never seen.”
“But Luna” she pleaded “What if she rejects my advances or tells others about this poor lovestruck old mare who goes round propositioning her students?”

“Sister!” snapped the Princess of the Night “You know her far better than that! Now enough already!”
Celestia stood stunned and chastened; she had to get a grip and she knew it. She could still back out and invent some pretence of formal Royal business if she chose; it was within her gift after all.

“Thank you Sister” she replied meekly “You’re right, of course. Please, I am keeping you from your bed.”
Luna accepted gracefully and excused herself, leaving her sister to fight her demons alone. Normally she would have stayed, but she had already expended more than was comfortable of her sleep cycle in comforting and supporting her sister, and could feel herself becoming irritable, a sure sign that rest was overdue.

****

Twilight turned up at Carousel Boutique a quarter hour before time; not so early as to rush the dressmaker, but not so close on time as to make her rush back for her chariot. The bell tinkled cheerfully as it always did and she stepped into the shop looking for its proprietor.
“I’m out back darling” came her voice “I’m just about finished too; your timing really is excellent.”

Twilight trotted through to where the voice had come from and caught sight of her friend standing to one side of the doorway, measuring tape round her shoulders, looking at her over her red dressmaking glasses. She stopped and looked inside, noticing a single mannequin in the centre of the room with all of the other projects pushed away round the sides, magnifying the grandeur of the design. She stopped and stared, her mouth falling open as she regarded the amazing centrepiece to the room.

She turned her head to look Rarity in the eye and caught a satisfied smile across her perfectly groomed white features. The dress was the deepest purple at the centre, changing imperceptibly through lighter hues to a pastel lavender at its edges, with her pink star cutie mark emblazoned subtly but unmistakably. The material shimmered in the light with an eye-catching iridescence, terminating in a gold trim all the way round.
“It … it’s beautiful Rarity” she gasped, unable to find the words to do justice to this magnificent creation.
“Do have a walk round it to see it from different angles” prompted the fashion designer “It’s my very best work if I do say so myself.”

Twilight did as she was bidden, utterly spellbound by the delicacy of the craftsmanship and the finesse of the design. As she approached the front, she noticed a golden clasp that fastened the two sides together across the neck; the fastening on either side being made of embossed gold – each in the shape of Celestia’s distinctive cutie mark!
“Rarity …?”
“Yes I know darling; a little artistic licence” she smiled in acknowledgement, “It adds a certain je ne sais quoi, wouldn’t you say?
“But Rarity …” came a meek protest.
“If you look closely, you will see the crescent moon of Luna’s cutie mark in the dark of the material behind the neck, because twilight is a product of both sun and moon after all” explained the fashion designer in mock innocence “Why whatever were you thinking, Twilight?”
The stunned customer took a close look and there was the moon, just as her friend had told her, but nowhere near as prominent as the twin sun emblems.
“It’s beautiful Rarity” conceded Twilight “I don’t know how you do it.”
“Oh tsk!” she chided, modestly, “It’s not every day that I am able to repay your kindness to me Twilight. Now let’s try it on, shall we?”

The stunned Princess of Friendship held still as Rarity levitated the dress and slid it on to her, fastening the golden clasp across the two sun cutie marks. It felt gossamer light and slid readily over her figure, neither catching nor riding up anywhere. She turned tight circles in front of the mirrors, turning her head to admire the creation from all angles, her smile growing wider by the minute.
“I absolutely love it!” gasped Twilight in admiration “Oh Rarity; thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Comments

[Fallen Knight]

Seems you suffer from the " lilac alicorn" disease, when there isn't two alicorns in the same scene there isn't really a need for at least the lilac part.

And when she and tia (finally) smooch you can just call them sparklebutt and sunbutt.

[Bronyxy]

8559250
Moonbutt approves!

[Fallen Knight]

The Princess of the Night suddenly started to think that her plan to relieve her sister from herself-imposed isolation could have been a bad idea and felt a deepening sense of guilt building within her.

her self-imposed

[RainbowSparkle3]

I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes.

[Bronyxy]

8559757
Spoiler alert - things may start to heat up!