Moonlight

Moonlight
by milesprower06

Back For Seconds, Part 1

'Alright, now's the time for extravagance.' Moondancer thought. It was Saturday morning, and a few hours from now, she'd be on a train bound for Ponyville. She couldn't remember the last time she had been out of town. Passing the time through the past week had been difficult too. She tried to read through the hours, but that only worked for so long. It felt strange, but she was also happy beyond measure that she no longer had to retreat into her books. Now, at long last, the day was here. It was time for her second date, but first, she needed to get a little something.

Dear Twilight,

What do I wear Saturday night? Since you're planning our evening, I figured I'd check with you.

Yours,
Moondancer

Much to Spike's annoyance, Twilight had quickly taught Moondancer to attune to the dragon's flame, which, with a combination of pyromancy and transmutation, allowed him to send letters great distances. Now they were able to communicate just as quickly and effectively as Celestia and Twilight used to during her days as the princess' protege.

My dearest Moondancer,

I've been wanting to do something formal for awhile. Do you have a dress?

<3 Twilight

No, she didn't.

She had all manner of sweaters, mostly black, and certainly not anything that could be considered formal. Not that that was going to stop her. But if she was going dress shopping, she was going to need a second opinion. Second, third, and fourth opinions.

"You've got a date with Twilight? That's awesome!" Minuette cheered ecstatically at the news.

"Yeah, come to think of it, you two go great together. So what kind of formal wear are we talking here? 'Grand Galloping Gala' formal, 'nice dinner' formal, or 'night on the town' formal?" Lemon Hearts asked.

"Um, there's a difference between those?" Moondancer replied, wondering what she was getting herself into. She didn't exactly have all the time in the world to pick something out for tonight, and no doubt these three friends of hers weren't all going to have the same opinions.

"Come on, we'll find what you need!" Twinkleshine chimed in, and the four of them were off to the market district.

"Twilight, for the last time, everything looks great. If you put one more coat of polish on that table, you two aren't going to be able to see your food." Spike groaned, as Twilight meticulously went over every last detail of her plan, which currently involved setting the table. Perfectly.

"I'm sorry, Spike. I just want everything to be just right."

"More perfect than the way things were for those three events you held last week? It's just a date."

"Second date, and the ball's in my court this time. I have to show her how much this means to me." Twilight emphasized, checking the placement of the plates and dinnerware.

"So you're really getting serious about this, huh? Didn't think I'd ever see you settle down."

"It's hardly settling down, Spike. It's not like there's ever been anyone else."

"Not even Flash Sentry?" The dragon sneered in a teasing tone.

"Hey, Lyra may have an uncanny obsession with those anthropomorphic creatures, but I've decided I'm only interested in my own race, and I'm not going to let a few days with Flash's human counterpart automatically make me attracted to the Pegasus guard in this world," the Princess of Friendship shot back.

The two of them heard the clang of the door knocker on the castle's front doors echo throughout the empty hallways. Twilight's eyes widened as she gasped.

"Oh no, she's early! Go get the door, Spike. I'll meet you guys in the throne room. I have to go change!"

Spike went off to answer the door, and Twilight zipped up to her bedroom upstairs. Her chosen formal wear for the evening was the 'simple and practical' light yellow dress Rarity had made for her birthday a few years ago, which had since been altered to accommodate her wings. She hadn't really had an opportunity to wear it since. She wanted to look nice, sure, but she didn't really want to upstage Moondancer. Especially here. She wasn't sure if the unicorn was nervous about dating a princess, but she'd rather feel like the under-dressed one. She wasn't worried; the other aspects of this evening, and Moondancer's foreknowledge would make her organizational skills and attention to detail rather obvious. She made sure the pink bow was tied snugly, and ran a brush through her mane and tail. Lastly, she put on the silver necklace that Moondancer had bought for her on their first date in Canterlot. With that, she trotted down the stairs, and made her way to the throne room, where Spike was entertaining Moondancer, who was currently looking at the six thrones, and heard her come in. Twilight had to suppress a gasp when she laid eyes on her.

"H-Hi Twilight." Moondancer said nervously.

"You... You look amazing, Moondancer." Twilight said, an open-mouthed smile on her face forming as she took in her date's chosen outfit.

Moondancer was in a black silk dress, with dark pink accents. She still had the scholar's cut, black glasses, and had curled the back of her mane. Completing the outfit was a pair of silver crescent moon earrings, and the matching silver necklace.

"Th-thanks. You too. I was afraid it would be a bit much, but Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine said it was perfect."

"It is. You look absolutely perfect."

The compliment made Moondancer blush. Twilight came up and gave her a hug.

"Well, let me show you around. Dinner's nearly ready."