Dresses for a Princess

by twilightsparkle3562

Rating: everyone
Tags: Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Discord, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 8133

Rarity attempts to remake all of Twilight's old dresses after they are destroyed in the Golden Oak Library.

In this sequel to Wrath of an Angry Prince, Spike enlists Rarity and Fluttershy to help remake Twilight's dresses that she wore as a unicorn to help remind her of the most important events in her life as part of an effort to help Twilight get over the loss of her library.

Meanwhile, Discord also joins in, determined to get on Shining Armor's good side by remaking Twilight's best mare dress.

*Special thanks to Pastelights for editing.

Published 2015-05-18 12:20:03 UTC
Last updated 2015-05-22 23:37:37 UTC

Sleepless Nights

“Dresses for a Princesses”
By TwilightSparkle3562

Chapter 1

“Sleepless Nights”

Ever since she had heard her brother mention of the best mare dress she lost in the library explosion while confronting Tirek, Twilight could not help but think of all the sentimental items that were also lost. After all, she had mentioned that two of the books that she tried to sell in Rainbow Falls were of value to her, even if she didn’t read them anymore. These were items that made her who she was and now, they were gone. Because of this, Twilight couldn’t sleep that night and spent the rest of the night instead pacing around her bedroom.

“Twilight,” called a groggily voice coming from the hallway. “Is everything all right?”

But Twilight didn’t respond to the voice and instead kept pacing around her bedroom. After a moment, a small purple baby dragon holding a small light blue blanket in one claw and a doll in Rarity’s likeness in another, entered her bedroom and it was only then did she stop pacing.

“Oh, sorry if I kept you up Spike,” she sighed, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I certainly wasn’t trying to.”

However, the thought of being kept up late was the last thing for Spike to think about. He had seen Twilight stressed many times before, but this was something completely different. In his mind, he thought that losing the Golden Oak Library was still plaguing his friend’s mind, even though the library had been recreated as a chandelier.

“You know, Twilight,” he said as Twilight sat back down on the edge of her bed. “I’ve been worried about you lately. I know you are ready for us to make new memories here, but I can’t help but wonder why you are acting this way.”

Twilight lowered her head and let out a deep sigh, before turning back her attention towards Spike. She was certainly struggling inside and it showed.

“Well, I don’t know if you remembered that Shining Armor got angry at Discord today,” explained Twlight. “He came here this morning and told me to summon him at once and after I did, I listened to Shining Armor yell at him for betraying Equestria.”

“Of course he will act like that, Twilight,” replied Spike, placing his claw on Twilight’s hoof. “He’s your brother after all. It’s normal, I mean, you do the same with me.”

“Its not that,” cried Twilight, her voice slightly panicked, causing Spike to get scared. “It was what Shining Armor said that really got me upset. Discord is somepony that we can at least try to trust, but something else has been really bothering me.”

Spike saw Twilight closed her eyes and a small tear trickled down her face. It seemed that something was really hurting Twilight and he needed to find out why.

“Care to tell me what it is, Twilight?” asked Spike. “We are friends you know and we made a pact to tell each other what is bothering us.”

Twilight then let out another sigh and at that point, she revealed to her number one assistant what was on her mind.

“Well, Spike,” she said, trying to hold back tears. “We both know hard it was to lose the Golden Oak Library. Thanks to my friends, we got it back as a chandelier to hang in the throne room. But, there were some valuable items that I will never get back because of Tirek.”

Spike knew very well what Twilight was talking about. Up until that moment, Twilight had been very quiet about the library’s loss. When it blew up, the life Twilight had was also gone with it. Everything she had owned ever since moving to Ponyville was lost in the explosion and it was devastating to her.

“I mean, all my letters to Celestia,” she said, slightly choking up. “My books and pictures that I treasured and especially all my clothes that Rarity made for me. Everything that I ever had was gone!”

Twilight then lowered her head and quietly sobbed as Spike tried to console her. Not every victory that Twilight and her friends had obtained was going to come out without a scratch.

“I’m sure we can try to replace them as best we can,” suggested Spike, rubbing one of Twilight’s wings. “I mean we can come up with something. Princess Celestia has sent you new books from Canterlot and the memories of our time in the library are on the ornaments on the chandelier. Plus, we still have our friendship journal. You can write your letters to Celestia in them, if you can remember. We’ve been through worse situations before, you know, Twilight and there is always a light at the end of tunnel.”

“You don’t understand, Spike,” cried Twilight, bluntly ignoring her assistant’s suggestions. “Some of those clothes Rarity made held memories in them and made me who I am along with my books, my pictures and my letters. My Winter Wrap Up vest that the town gave me as All Team Organizer; my Gala Dress that I wore to the Grand Galloping Gala; my Best Mare dress that I wore in my brother’s wedding; the dress Rarity made for my birthday along with my Starswirl the Bearded Costume that I made myself. Everything in those outfits held a memory and those held the most memories next to my books.”

At the same time, Spike could start to feel the pain that his friend was going through. Like Twilight, he also lost items of value to him, such as the small basket that he had always slept in; all his comic books and more so, the pictures of Pee Wee, the phoenix that he saved from the teenage dragons before later returning to his parents. He knew that he had his own sentimental values to deal with, but Twilight was far more important.

“Um, Twilight,” said Spike, nudging her to get her attention. “I’m pretty sure that Rarity can make you new dresses. I mean, she can even recreate all your dresses for you, even though you may never wear them again. Besides, you are going to need a whole new wardrobe for all those important royal duties that come with being a princess."

But Twilight stayed silent as the message was absorbed into her mind. In her mind, remaking the old dresses would bring back memories of that dark day in her life. However, Spike was seeing otherwise.

“Come on, Twilight,” pleaded Spike. “Let Rarity help you get back something that holds value to you. If your friends can bring back the library and turn it into a chandelier, then maybe she can bring back your dresses to remind you of the memories that you made during those periods of time. If Applejack can give you rustic farm décor for the kitchen, Rainbow Dash can give you Daring Do posters for the library and Fluttershy can give you stuffed animals for your bedroom, then Rarity can help you with your wardrobe.”

To prove his point on the stuffed animals, Spike walked over and picked up one of the stuffed animals that Fluttershy had given her, handing it to her. This made Twilight feel slightly better as she placed the stuffed animal next to her bed.

“I’m pretty sure that Rarity can figure something out,” said Twilight, feeling slightly better. “If she can decorate my dining room then maybe she could give back something of value to me. Get some sleep, Spike. Tell her about it in the morning.”

So, Spike allowed his friend to fall back asleep with the reassurance of Rarity possibly giving Twilight a new wardrobe that would be fit for a princess. However, not before setting off one of Pinkie Pie’s confetti cannons as he made his way back to his bedroom.

It was going to be a tall order for the pony he loved dearly, but Spike was determined to make his closest friend and mother figure adjust to her new castle, no matter how hard it would take.

Recruiting Rarity

Chapter 2

“Recruiting Rarity”

Early the next morning, Spike left the castle and walked over to Carousel Boutique in order to get Rarity to help Twilight fill in the void that she had lost. As he walked, Spike could only think of his friend and how she was dealing with this loss. At the same time, however, Spike was also beginning to think of how the library’s loss affected him too. Like Twilight, he too lost everything he had owned: his bed basket, his comic books and most importantly, the pictures of his pet phoenix, Pee Wee, whom he returned to his parents. However, his main concern was of course, Twilight and his own concern was secondary.

Soon, he came across the large foundation where the Golden Oak Library once stood, now empty and lonely. He knew that while the library was now a chandelier, the memories in the place that he and Twilight called home would continue to prosper in their minds. Just then, he suddenly saw something lying in the ground.

“What is that?” he thought as he crawled down to pick up the object, which was revealed to be a dirtied pink bow that was not charred by fire. Looking at it closely, Spike carefully examined the bow and realized exactly what it was.

“Incredible!” he whispered. “This is from Twilight’s best mare dress. I’d better get this over to Rarity and fast, just to be sure if it really is.”

So Spike ran as fast as he little legs would let him and soon he came up to the door of Carousel Boutique. Ringing the doorbell before fainting from exhaustion, the door was soon opened by a white unicorn with a long, neat purple mane.

“Yes, what can I do for…?” the unicorn started to say, but then looked down at the site of the purple baby dragon, causing her to gasp. “Spikey Wikey! What happened to you?”

Hastily bringing him inside, Rarity brought Spike into her kitchen where she immediately gave him a glass of water, throwing it onto his face and causing him to wake up with a start.

“What happened?” gasped Spike, trying to make sense of where he is. “How did I end up in here?”

“You fainted at my door,” replied Rarity, refilling the glass of water for Spike. “Drink this, you need to conserve your energy.”

As he drank, Spike suddenly began to feel flush in love for what he called the most beautiful creature in Equestria. Once he finished drinking, Spike then pulled out the dirtied pink bow and held it out for Rarity to see.

“What is that, Spike?” she gasped, racing over to the bow and picking it up with her magic. “Where did you get this bow?”

“I found it on the way over here, Rarity,” replied Spike, stroking his tail as Rarity examined the bow. “Twilight’s been feeling upset about losing her personal possessions when Tirek destroyed the library. She was up half the night thinking about it.”

“But, I thought she was happy with what we did with the library,” said Rarity, continuing to examine the bow “You saw the happy tears that flowed from her eyes.”

“I know, we all did,” remarked Spike when he suddenly heard a gasp from Rarity. The white unicorn stared down at the bow, before looking back towards Spike with a shocked expression on her face. “So, do you know what the bow came from?”

Rarity stayed silent for a moment as the sight of dirtied bow sent chills down her spine. Spike was starting to grow uncomfortable with this, but it didn’t last long and Rarity was soon back to her old self, letting out a deep sigh.

“I know what this bow is, Spike,” she said, sadly. “This is from Twilight’s best mare dress that she wore at her brother’s wedding. Remember we made this for Twilight as an apology for not believing her about the Changeling Queen?”

“We did, didn’t we?” remarked Spike. “It was all that I could find from the library site, Rarity. Twilight says that the dresses that you made for her held so many memories.”

“And she’s right,” said Rarity. “I always told her that I could always make her new dresses. She will need a new wardrobe after all, giving all the royal duties she will have to take part in as the Princess of Friendship.”

As she spoke, Rarity began to get more and more excited over this, but Spike had to set the record straight with Rarity. He had to tell her that Twilight longed for a piece of her old life back and Spike was going to do everything in his power to accomplish that.

“That’s not the reason I am here, Rarity,” he said, ending Rarity’s excitement. “Twilight told me that she would like you to remake all her dresses that she wore as a unicorn.”

This caused Rarity to suddenly stop being excited and instead let out a loud gasp of shock.

“But, Spike,” said Rarity, her eyes wide open. “Twilight’s an alicorn now and if I remake her dresses, they won’t fit her anymore. Of course, I could make holes in them for her wings, but still, it’s better for her to move on. Clothing can’t last forever.”

“Twilight knows that she can’t wear them,” remarked Spike, taking another sip of his water. “But you need to know that the times that she wore those outfits were some of the most important in her life, like the last time we went to the Grand Galloping Gala. Twilight loves the chandelier, but those dresses you made held close to her heart, like the books that Celestia would always send her. How would you feel if something you cherished was destroyed before your eyes?”

This caused Rarity’s stomach to slightly cringe. Sure she had seen many outfits destroyed in her life, but she could feel the pain that her friend was going through. After all, what Tirek did in addition to his rampage was commit a crime against fashion by destroying Twilight’s clothes.

“It would mean a lot to Twilight,” continued Spike, getting down from the table. “If you do it, then she’ll be getting a piece of her old life back because of you. Will you do it for her and me, Rarity?”

Rarity thought about for a moment and then began to think of what she did to help Twilight adjust to her new castle. She knew that while Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie each decorated a room in their honor, Rarity knew that she had still yet to do something for Twilight. Even though she decorated the dining room, it wasn’t enough. This was something that needed to be done and it was Spike that was going to make sure that it was carried out one way or another.

“Oh, I might as well, Spikey Poo,” she said, placing her hooves on her cheeks. “I’ve never said no to you and Twilight before and I won’t start now. You are important to me, just like all the other girls.”

Spike smiled excitedly knowing that the pony he had a crush on was going to help his friend in her time of need. So, Rarity walked into her work room and began to gather the necessary fabrics that she used to make Twilight’s dresses. But just before Spike left, Rarity suddenly sat back on her bed and had a look of worry on her face.

“Rarity, what’s wrong?” asked Spike, worriedly.

“It’s just that I was wondering if maybe Fluttershy could give me a hoof here," replied Rarity, who was starting to feel the pressure that comes with large orders. . Can you see if she can help me out?”

“I’ll see what I can do, Rarity,” replied Spike, kindly and headed over to Fluttershy’s cottage to ask her for help. “As far as I know, she can sew just as good as you.”

Spike knew that this was a step in the right direction. Getting a piece of Twilight’s life back was much more important than anything else and he would stop at nothing to make sure that Twilight continued to be given the support she needed to adjust to her castle.

Getting Discord and Fluttershy Onboard

Chapter 3

"Getting Discord and Fluttershy On board"

While Rarity had Spike race over to Fluttershy’s cottage to enlist her help in remaking Twilight’s dresses, the timid yellow Pegasus and the ex-master of chaos known as Discord were having their usual Tuesday tea at her cottage. Fluttershy could see that Discord was still reeling from the verbal smack down he had received from Shining Armor back at Twilight’s castle. In fact, the sounds of his yelling continued to echo through the chaotic creature’s head which made him feel scared and vulnerable.

“What exactly are you talking about, Shining Armor?” asked Discord. “I am pretty sure that everything Twilight lost could be replaced.”

“Discord,” he heard Shining Armor say coldly and quietly. “Did you ever stop to think that some items that Twilight had in the library are items that can’t be replaced? Not everything can be replaced, She lost her books and pictures from her days as Celestia’s student, all the gifts she has received from her friends and family over the years including the dress that she wore as my best mare at my wedding? Did you ever stop to think about that?!”

To combat this, Discord produced a set of headphones to block out the noise much to Fluttershy’s confusion. Realizing that he didn’t want to make himself an even bigger of an idiot than he already was, Discord got rid of the headphones.

“You’ve been acting strange lately, Discord,” remarked Fluttershy. “Are you still thinking about what Twilight’s brother said to you?”

The sounds of Shining Armor’s yelling were heard through Discord’s ears as he lowered his head towards Fluttershy to let her hear for herself the noises that were going through his mind. This caused Fluttershy to get slightly scared and Discord pulled himself away from her.

“If that gives you any indication, my dear Fluttershy,” said Discord. “Then yes, I’m still thinking about it.”

“Some ponies are difficult to make up to, Discord,” replied Fluttershy. “I’m sure you can make up for what you did eventually. I know you are sorry for what happened, but you need to focus on the future and not the past.”

Discord took the matter into consideration and pondered the fact that maybe he could try to find a way to get Shining Armor to see that he was just a misguided soul who was manipulated by an escaped convict from Equestria’s underground prison.

“I just want to do something, Fluttershy,” he said, pacing back and forth, nearly stepping on Angel bunny. “If I could help in any way to get him to understand what I am trying to say to him. Maybe I could go to the places that I helped Tirek attack and help the ponies there get back on their feet.”

Discord considered the matter but then, he suddenly began to think of what would happen if he did come into those towns, particularly Appleloosa. A thinking cloud came out of him and it showed a picture of the Appleloosians placing Discord at the gallows with a noose tied around his neck. Seeing her friend at the gallows caused Fluttershy to cover her eyes with her wing and Discord immediately snapped the cloud away.

“My thoughts exactly,” remarked Discord. “Perhaps it would be best if I take it small, Fluttershy.”

“I agree,” said Fluttershy, shaking off the sight of horror that was before her eyes. “If you want to atone for your actions, do it here first with those that are closest to you.”

Just then, a knock was heard at the door and Fluttershy walked over to open the door and reveal Spike on the other side.

“Spike,” said Fluttershy, letting the baby dragon in. “What can I do for you?”

“Rarity was asking for you,” panted Spike, trying to catch his breath from all the running he did. “She’s going to recreate all of Twilight’s dresses that she lost in the library explosion and was wondering if you could help her.”

Fluttershy considered the matter and although she did give her own spin on Twilight’s bedroom, the matter of helping her friend with this tall order was something that she felt that needed to be done. After all, Fluttershy did have a freaky knowledge of sewing, according to Applejack. At the same time, she thought that this would be a good opportunity for Discord to start making up for his actions and try to get back on Shining Armor’s good side.

“Sure,” she replied to Spike before turning to Discord. “Maybe this is your chance to make up for your actions, Discord. How good are your sewing skills?”

“I would say that they are rusty,” he replied, transforming into a sewing machine in his likeliness. “But, I’ll see what I can do.”

“Twilight wants all her dresses remade from when she was a unicorn,” continued Spike, trying to hide his feelings about Discord helping out. “This is something that would help Twilight get used to our new home.”

With Fluttershy and Discord on board, Spike happily returned to Carousel Boutique and let Rarity know about the help that she would be getting. Unfortunately, the idea of having Discord help was something that she didn’t quite have in mind.

“Are you nuts, Spike?” gasped Rarity, appalled that Discord was helping. “He’ll just ruin everything!”

“Give him a chance, Rarity,” pleaded Spike, as Rarity gathered the necessary materials she needed. “Discord may be a jerk, but he wants to redeem himself.”

“Out of the question!” retorted Rarity, using her magic to cut into deep purple fabric. “It will just be Fluttershy and me and that is that! So, go back and tell Discord that he cannot help me!”

Spike didn’t want to argue with the pony he had a crush on, so he started to walk back towards Fluttershy’s cottage, but didn’t get very far when Discord appeared and armed with a needle and several spoonful’s of thread.

“Hello, Rarity,” he said in a singsong voice. “I’m here to help!”

“What are you doing here, Discord?” asked Rarity, huffingly. “Go away at once! This is a delicate operation and I have no time for your games!”

“He’s not here to play games, Rarity,” remarked Fluttershy as she flew in through the door. “Discord wants to redeem himself and I thought this would be a good chance for him to do so.”

Rarity wanted to protest, but Fluttershy raised an eye in an effort to get her to change her mind. After all, Fluttershy did something nice for Rarity when Photo Finish came to Ponyville, now it was a time for Rarity to do something nice for Fluttershy.

“All right,” groaned Rarity, placing her hoof to Discord’s chin. “But if you do anything garish, Discord, so help me…”

Discord produced a small halo and a harp and solemnly promised to not cause any chaos during this delicate operation.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” said Discord, reciting the pinkie promise.

So, the mission to recreate Twilight’s destroyed dresses had begun…

The Golden Oak Chandelier

Chapter 4

“The Golden Oak Chandelier”

In the days that followed, Rarity, Fluttershy and Discord worked round the clock to remake all of Twilight’s dresses from her unicorn days. Thanks to Discord continuously screwing up, they were set back a couple of times. However, they managed to continue getting the dresses done without any further interruptions. Soon, they finished remaking Twilight’s birthday dress from the Canterlot Garden Party and were just getting started on remaking Twilight’s gala dress when Discord suddenly interrupted the activity.

“You know, I was thinking,” he said, admiring the work on Twilight’s gala dress. “Perhaps maybe we could you know, jazz it up a little bit.”
To prove it, Discord transformed himself into a tailor and was measuring the dress form, treating it like a real pony.

“I say Twilight,” remarked Discord, talking to the form. “Wouldn’t you want your gala dress to be a little…modern, to be precise?”

Rarity was starting to lose her patience with Discord and let out a strained growl under her breath. This caused her to glare at Discord with angry eyes.

“Discord,” she growled, fully annoyed. “Either you stick with the plan or disappear. Stop talking to the dress form and get back to work!”

“Oh, you’re no fun, Rarity,” pouted Discord, letting out a raspberry at her. “I was only trying to rehearse what I would say to Twilight when we give her these dresses.”

Rarity just rolled her eyes and focused on getting the dress done. After all, these weren’t dresses that Twilight was going to wear. These were just to help Twilight give a piece of her life back and nothing more. However, Rarity could see that Discord was treating it like a game and not like helping a suffering friend.
“Um, Rarity,” asked Fluttershy, who was working on remaking Twilight’s Starswirl costume. “Can you take a look at these hoof stitches?”

Rarity walked over to Fluttershy and examined the work that was being done on the costume. Fluttershy was doing a good job for the most part, but noticed that some of the stitches were off.

“Not bad, Fluttershy,” she said. “However, some of the stitches are a little off. Try to see if you can stich them again.”

“If you say so,” replied the timid Pegasus.

Meanwhile, Discord had finished getting the top of Twilight’s gala dress done and was now working on getting more material for the bottom of it. Just then, he suddenly began hearing voices in his head again as the sounds of Shining Armor were ringing through his brain once again, talking about Twilight’s best mare dress that was also destroyed.

“If I’m going to get back on Shining Armor’s good side,” he thought to himself. “Then I have to be the one to remake Twilight’s best mare dress. But what does it look like?”

Discord quickly went into another room in the boutique and snapped his fingers, disappearing in a flash of white light.

“Did you hear that, Fluttershy?” asked Rarity, as continued sewing away on the gala dress.

“Discord must have disappeared for a second,” she replied, still trying to hoof stitch the Starswirl costume. “I’m sure he will be back, eventually.”

A few moments later, Discord brought himself back to Twilight’s castle and was now finding himself in the throne room looking up at the Golden Oak Chandelier. He knew that there had to be a picture of Twilight at her brother’s wedding on one of the ornaments. It was really the first time that Discord had seen the chandelier that he had heard Fluttershy continuously speak about. Staring up at the chandelier had gotten Discord thinking of the gravity that his actions had caused.

However, he couldn’t stay unfocused for very long as he had to return to the Boutique before Twilight would appear. After a few moments, he came across an ornament that had a picture of Twilight singing to Cadence and Shining Armor at their wedding reception. Seeing Twilight singing had caused a tender cord to be pulled inside of Discord.

“No wonder Shining Armor was so angry at me,” Discord said to himself. “This was more than a dress, it’s a piece of not just Twilight’s life, but his life as well.”

Discord knew that even though he had been imprisoned in stone, he had heard the wedding that had gone on in Canterlot that day. He remembered hearing of the changeling invasion and the real wedding that was held after they were defeated. Discord was also thinking back to when he was restoring the stained glass windows in Canterlot. One of the windows he restored was a depiction of Cadence and Shining Armor defeating the changelings, which was an important moment in Shining Armor’s life.

“I’ve got to fix this,” Discord thought, using his powers to take a picture of the ornament that held the memory of the royal wedding. “I’ve just got to if Shining Armor will ever forgive me.”
Soon, Discord disappeared and quickly returned to the Boutique where Rarity and Fluttershy were putting the finishing touches on Twilight’s gala dress, now fully restored to its original design.

“There you are, Discord,” said Fluttershy, happily. “What do you think?”

“Very impressive, Fluttershy,” replied Discord, transforming into a photographer. “This is worthy of a photo shoot.”

Discord continued to take photos until a glare by Rarity caused him to stop and drop the photographer disguise.

“Where have you been anyway, Discord?” asked Rarity. “We were wondering where you were and we really could have used your help on the Starswirl costume. Fluttershy was struggling with the hoof stitches, I’ll have you know.”

To prove what she was saying to Discord, Rarity handed Discord the costume which continued to show the futile attempts of Fluttershy trying to hoof stitch the costume. Although Discord had wanted to personally remake Twilight’s best mare dress in an effort to get back on Shining Armor’s side, he was forced to work on the costume.

“But, Rarity…?” Discord started to ask, but Rarity interrupted him.

“Don’t argue Discord, do as you’re told,” Rarity interrupted bluntly, turning her attention to the finished gala dress. “Now, hurry you two, I want to get this done soon.”

So they went back to the task at hand and Fluttershy set out to start work on remaking Twilight’s best mare dress. Discord wanted to pitch in and offer to help, but he didn’t know how to ask.

However, little did they know at that moment that Twilight was about to be visited by Shining Armor...

Apologizing for his Actions

Chapter 5

"Apologizing for his Actions"

Following his outburst at Discord, Shining Armor left the Crystal Empire at Princess Cadence's insistence and returned to his little sister's castle to apologize for his behavior. Even though it was justified, Shining Armor had left Twilight feeling scared and hurt when he brought up some of the items that she lost in the library. Approaching the castle, Shining Armor calmly walked into the lobby and searched for his sister.

"Twiley?" he called, trying to get her attention. "Twiley, are you here?"

Shining Armor soon found himself heading towards the castle's library, where he believed where his sister was. He learned that where there was books, there was Twilight. Opening the doors, he saw Twilight looking at one of her books that Celestia had sent her while Spike sat next to her.

"Hi, Twiley," said Shining Armor, approaching Twilight and breaking her concentration. "I expected for you to be in here."

"Hi, BBBFF," replied Twilight, closing the book. "I didn't expect you to be here. Something I can do for you?"

Shining Armor then looked over at Spike and gave him a motion with his head to get him out of the library. Knowing that he needed to check on Rarity, Fluttershy and Discord, Spike left the library and darted off to the Boutique.

"Might as well go check on how Twilight's dresses are coming along," thought the baby dragon.

Once Shining Armor and Twilight were alone, the prince of the Crystal Empire looked at his little sister and took in a heavy sigh, knowing he had to say what he needed to say. The last time he had been in this situation was after the Changeling Invasion, so Shining Armor was no stranger.

"Look, Twiley," he began. "I just wanted to…"

"I know what you are going to say, Shining Armor," interrupted Twilight. "But you had every reason to yell at Discord. He put Equestria in danger."

"Yes, I did have every reason," said Shining Armor, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "But, there is something else that I did that I may have upset you."

Twilight was puzzled for a second, but then she realized of what her brother was going to say to her.

"I may have said something that might have upset you," continued Shining Armor, scratching the back of his head. "I mentioned of the dress you wore as my Best Mare and I know it upset you when I mentioned it to Discord. But, you have to hear me why I said that…"

Shining Armor struggled to speak and find his words, but Twilight understood.

"He needed to know that, Shining Armor," she said. "I lost everything that was important to me in the library and he needed to know the consequences of his actions. Hey, even I would have done the same thing."

This made Shining Armor think back to when he apologized to Twilight for what she did at his wedding rehearsal. Now, it seemed like it was déjà vu all over again.

"It's just that," said Twilight, who was now struggling to find her words. "I wish that I could get some of those sentimental items back. If I could use a time travel spell and save all that I treasured, then it would make me feel better."

Shining Armor let out a heavy sigh and placed a hoof around his little sister's neck as a small tear trickled down her face.

"Sometimes we just can't do spells that we want," he said, remorsefully. "All that matters is that it's not about the things you own, it's about the memories you had with them."

Twilight leaned over after hearing those words and hugged her brother tightly, feeling remorseful over the fact that she couldn't turn back time and save all that she treasured.

Meanwhile, Spike dashed over to the Boutique where Rarity, Fluttershy and Discord, much to Rarity's increasing annoyance, were continuing to work hard restoring Twilight's dresses. By this point, Twilight's birthday and gala dresses were remade to their original glory, although work was still being done on her Starswirl costume and unbeknownst to anypony, Discord had started work on remaking Twilight's best mare dress, the outfit that prompted him to take part in this mission.

"Sweet Celestia!" gasped Spike, upon walking into the workroom. "What happened in here?"

Spike saw what appeared to be Twilight's best mare dress which looked nothing like it was supposed to be.

"So you have noticed, Spike?" remarked Rarity, her anger pointing towards Discord. "Our chaotic friend proves that he is not a fashionista?"

"Why me?" gasped Discord, feeling slightly insulted. "I thought Twilight wouldn't mind if I put my own spin on it. Everybody's a critic."

In a fit of disgust, Discord snapped his fingers and transformed into Hoity Toity, the bigwig fashion critic in Canterlot who had initially berated Rarity for the infamous fashion show she had done for all of Ponyville to see.

"Twilight's best mare dress has to be just like the way it was before it was destroyed," snapped Rarity. "Why can't you get anything right?"

Then, Rarity made her mistake of poor words.

"WE SHOULD NEVER HAVE RELEASED YOU FROM YOUR STONE PRISON!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, causing the whole room to fall into a stunned silence. Discord turned back into his normal self and just stood there with a shocked expression on his face.

"Well played, Rarity," he said, his eyes filled with tears and his voice filled with hurt. "Well played."

And Discord snapped his fingers, disappearing in a flash of light. Fluttershy could not believe what Rarity had just done and gave her friend one of her stares. This was a shock to Spike, who wasn't expecting to come back and witness what he had seen.

"Did I just miss something here?" he remarked as Fluttershy left the boutique and went off in search of Discord.

All Rarity could do was let out a huff and set about the task of getting Twilight's best mare dress done…the way she wanted to do it.

Meanwhile, Discord had retreated to Fluttershy's cottage, feeling hurt over what had just happened. He felt like he had failed to redeem himself in Shining Armor's eyes and was going to feel like a threat to him. But, Fluttershy was determined to let Discord know that he was no longer a threat to anypony…

Chaotic Depression

Chapter 6

“Chaotic Depression”

Discord had felt like the most hurt creature in Equestria as he soon found himself in his thinking tree, now back in the outskirts of Fluttershy’s cottage and reflecting whether he had gone too far in trying to get back on Shining Armor’s side by helping his little sister. Now it seemed as if nothing could be done to amend his ways.

“Discord?” called Fluttershy as she flew faster and faster in search of her friend. “Where are you?”

The yellow Pegasus flew faster and faster towards the tree and when Discord saw that Fluttershy was coming, he rudely turned his head away from Fluttershy’s view and sighed loudly in a huff.

“Discord, I’m sorry about Rarity,” she said, landing on the branch. “She’s usually so protective when it comes to her fashions. I know you were trying to help.”

“Help? Help!?” cried Discord, his back still turned on Fluttershy. “Nopony cares that whatever I do is for helpful purposes. I want to redeem myself, Fluttershy, but I just don’t know how.”

“Well, perhaps if you could face me,” suggested Fluttershy. “Perhaps I can help you find a way that you can start to better yourself.”

Discord turned and faced his friend with his eyes still watered and red. Snapping his fingers, he caused the tree to disappear and then followed Fluttershy back to her cottage. Back in the cottage, Discord was given a glass of water and a box of tissues to dry his eyes.

“I don’t understand, Fluttershy,” said Discord. “I was only trying to be helpful to Rarity, not to cause her any trouble. I’m a creature of chaos and sometimes I just can’t control myself. You know how it is.”

“I know how it is, Discord,” replied Fluttershy. “These dresses we are making for Twilight are just more than dresses, they represent a major accomplishment in her life ever since she moved to Ponyville. They needed to be just the way that they were before Tirek destroyed them.”

“Which was caused by me,” moaned Discord, turning his head away. “If I hadn’t been tricked by Tirek, then none of this would have happened. Everything is my fault, Fluttershy, don’t you see? If I could go back and change the past, I would do so! Celestia was even thinking of turning me back to stone because of what I did.”

Fluttershy could see that Discord was having another one of his meltdowns and Discord literally demonstrated by melting onto Fluttershy’s floor. However, Discord quickly pulled himself together, literally, so as to not cause any more upsettings between him and Fluttershy.

“Well, I’m glad she didn’t and that you two are friends now,” said Fluttershy, trying to keep her friend upbeat. “We are all your friends, Discord and maybe Rarity may have gone too far when she said that we never should have released you from your stone prison. I’m actually glad we released you from stone.”

“Why is that, my dear Fluttershy?” asked Discord.

“Because we could never have had the friendship that we had now,” she replied, hugging him tightly.

Just then, there was a knock at the door and Fluttershy walked over to answer it. Opening the door, she saw Rarity standing in the doorway with a look of guilt on her face. Knowing it was Rarity, Discord tried to disappear, but Fluttershy gave him a stare and he didn’t disappear.

“Discord,” said Rarity, her voice filled with embarrassment. “I wanted to apologize for what I said about you. It was wrong of me to say that we should never have released you from your prison.”

“Well, maybe now you see I was trying to be helpful,” replied Discord, folding his arms. “Don’t you think it is right to have fun every now and then?”

“You had great intentions I am sure,” said Rarity. “Even if they are called into question sometimes. But you have to understand that there are times and places for fun and games. This was not a time for them. Surely, you understand that?”

As Rarity spoke, Discord turned himself into a pair of watches to show that he was getting the message.

“I get what you are saying my dear Rarity,” sighed Discord. “All I want was to leave my mark on the project that we are all trying to accomplish and I thought that Twilight’s wedding dress would be the one to leave my mark on, because its what Shining Armor cared about the most.”

“Yes, Twilight’s best mare dress is important to both him and Cadence because Twilight was a symbol of their wedding,” explained Rarity, breaking into a small smile. “A symbol that never came to be because of stupid mistakes that we made. When we realized of the mistakes we made, we made the dress as a way of strengthening our relationship with Twilight as well as apologizing for our behavior.”

Taking into account what he had just heard, Discord apologized to Rarity for his behavior and soon, all three of them were back at the Boutique putting the finishing touches on Twilight’s restored clothes.

“She is going to love them, I am sure,” said Rarity, making sure that they were ready for presentation, before turning back to Discord. “Now, you said you wanted to leave your mark on the project?”

“If you don’t mind that, my dear Rarity,” chuckled Discord and Rarity transferred some of her magic into Discord that he would use for the presentation of the dresses.

“Now then,” said Rarity. “Let’s give Princess Twilight a piece of her life back. Follow me!”

As they walked towards the castle, Discord, Rarity and Fluttershy began to sing a reprise of their song from when they built the Golden Oak Chandelier.

It's not the things that you gather 'round

-Discord

It's not how much you own
-Fluttershy

The things that hold the meaning in your life
Are the memories you've sown

-Rarity

So we make, so we make, so we make
This castle a home
So we make, so we make
This castle a home
So we make, so we make
This castle a home!
-Discord, Rarity and Fluttershy

Presentation of the Dresses

Chapter 7

“Presentation of the Dresses”

It was sunset by the time Discord, Rarity and Fluttershy arrived at Twilight’s castle with her remade dresses. Knocking on the door, the two ponies and creature were greeted at the door by Spike, who had been waiting all day for them to return.

“About time you guys got here,” he said, letting them inside. “Twilight and Shining Armor were starting to get suspicious.”

“What do you mean?” asked Rarity. “You didn’t tell them about what we were doing, didn’t you?”

“Well, its just that Shining Armor had to get back to the Crystal Empire and he that he couldn’t wait any longer,” answered Spike, clutching his tail.

Just then, the sounds of hoof beats were heard and at that moment, Twilight and Shining Armor came into the main hall and approached the group of peers in front of them.
“All right, Spike,” said Shining Armor, impatiently. “I have to get back to the Crystal Empire, so what is it that you want to…?”
Shining Armor was interrupted when he saw Discord standing with Fluttershy and Rarity. Discord took an enormous gulp and approached the Prince of the Crystal Empire feeling himself shake in his spine. He could still hear the bellowing voice of Twilight’s older brother in his brain and was afraid over what Shining Armor had to say.
“Hello, Shining Armor, Twilight,” chuckled Discord, nervously. “The, uh, beautiful Rarity and dear Fluttershy have something to give to Twilight.”

Twilight took a gander at what was behind Discord and knew that something very important to her was underneath the blue tarps.

“Are those my dresses?” asked Twilight, taking an enormous gulp. Rarity and Fluttershy pulled off the tarp and revealed all of the dresses that Twilight once owned, now restored to their original glory.

“We recreated these dresses just like the ones that you once owned, Twilight,” explained Rarity. “I know you said that you will need a new wardrobe now that you are the Princess of Friendship, but these dresses each tell a story of the most important events in your life from the moment you moved to Ponyville until now.”

Fluttershy then stepped forward and handed Twilight’s newly made Starswirl the Bearded costume to her. Twilight examined the costume and her puzzled look turned into a warm smile, knowing that the costume she had worn on Nightmare Night was brought back to her.

“I did my best at hoof stitching,” said Fluttershy, as Twilight continued to examine the costume. “If you don’t like it, then you can tell me.”

“I don’t like it, Fluttershy,” replied Twilight, putting the costume down. “I love it!”

The princess of friendship leapt forward and hugged her shy friend tightly, as a sign of thanks for her hard work.

“You both did an amazing job,” said Twilight, happily, pulling away from Fluttershy. “It’s exactly the way they’ve always been.”

Twilight then looked at her newly remade gala dress from the time she and her friends went to the Grand Galloping Gala, feeling the material used to make it. Feeling the material melted Twilight’s heart with joy. Attending the Grand Galloping Gala was the first true social event in her life and was also the first event she attended with other ponies.

“Don’t forget this dress,” said Rarity, showing off Twilight’s birthday dress. “Remember the time we were at the Canterlot Garden Party?”

“I could almost put this on and do my dancing in it,” laughed Twilight, thinking back to the awkward dancing she did at the party. Discord then knew that there was another dress that was important to both Twilight and Shining Armor that needed to be presented. He looked back to see another blue tarp, covering the best mare dress that he had tried to change.

Knowing that he was going to be the one to present it, Discord used his magic to produce a tuxedo and used his magic to bring the tarp forward.

“I hope they like it, especially Shining Armor,” he thought stepping forward to the royal siblings. “If there was ever a time for him to start forgiving me, it’s now.”

Twilight then saw Discord approach her brother with the tarp covered dress and joined her brother’s side as Discord looked down at them with a worried expression on his face.

“Shining Armor, Twilight,” he said, nervously. “I know what I did with Tirek was the worst act of crimes I’ve committed against Equestria. While you may never forgive me for what I did, I made it my mission to help right a wrong I made.”

Discord then pulled off the tarp to reveal the dress that was important to both Twilight and Shining Armor: the dress that Twilight wore as Shining Armor’s best mare at his wedding to Princess Cadence in Canterlot. Seeing the restored dress to its original glory brought both Shining Armor and Twilight to tears and Discord feared that he had done the unthinkable and made them upset.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be brought to tears,” he remarked, stepping back in horror. “If you hate it then…”

“Why would I hate it, Discord?” cried Twilight, approaching Discord with tear filled eyes. “You may be a jerk at times, but you’re a jerk with a heart of gold. You have given my brother and me an important piece of our lives back.”

Twilight then hugged Discord as her brother looked on. Although he couldn’t find any words to say to Discord, he knew that Discord would be somewhat forgiven for his actions that he had caused. Although it wasn’t fully forgiven, it was a step in the right direction.

“Seeing all this makes me cry,” remarked Fluttershy, smiling with tear filled eyes of her own. “I’m happy for Twilight, Rarity.”

“Me too, Fluttershy,” added Rarity, who was also developing tear filled eyes. “We have helped give Twilight a piece of her life back and repaired the relationship between Discord and Shining Armor. I just hope this is beginning of the healing process.”

Sure enough, the Equestria Healing Process had already begun…