All's Fair

by Equestria Buck Yeah

Chapter 7

The door to Carousel Boutique creaked open, gently tapping the bell overhead. Rarity dragged herself inside and flicked the light on, shutting the door behind her and locking it tight. She had never been more grateful to be home, but her enthusiasm was nowhere to be found. With a thought, she removed her single, half-empty saddlebag – its only contents being the key to her home and a few small bits of sustenance she had brought with her from the train ride home – and tossed it to the side. With the heaviest of sighs, she fell to her haunches and collapsed up against the door, resting her tired head on it.

The dressmaker wanted to cry, to scream, but there was nothing at all left in the tank. At first glance, one would have thought she was simply tired from a lack of sleep the previous night, given that all that seemed to be wrong with her were a few bags under her blue eyes and some strands of hair that were out of place. In any other instance, if anypony had taken a second, long look at her, she probably would have wanted to throw herself off a bridge for being seen without make-up or a perfectly coiffed mane. It hadn't been that way for a couple weeks now; it would have been even longer if she hadn't managed to track Coco Pommel down and asked for some help in getting home. She'd have to send her something once she had gotten settled back in as a sign of gratitude. It was the least Rarity felt she could do.

If only something had panned out with the police when she told them she was attacked by a trio of hooligans. She would have loved to have seen their faces right before she...she...well, whatever she would have done was probably against the law anyway. They didn't even manage to find any of her bags they stole from her. It was practically a wagon's worth! How did her attackers manage to simply vanish so effectively? It didn't really matter at this point, did it? Any window of opportunity for justice was probably long since closed, but at least she was alive. Shaken up but alive nonetheless, and relatively unharmed. The things they could have easily done to her...she shuddered at the thought.

Several minutes went by as Rarity sat lost in those thoughts as well as the more relieved ones. She desperately wanted to see the girls and her sister, talk to them, tell them how much she loved them. But right now, a hot bath would be quite the relief too, breathe some life back into her. At least in Ponyville, she knew no one was going to suddenly jump out and attack her. Grunting as she got to her hooves, Rarity gave her neck a good stretch and slowly made her way across the lobby and upstairs, dragging the saddlebag behind her with magic.

On the other side of town, Spike paced back and forth in his room. He also found the time to sprawl out on the bed, stare at the walls, play with a few of his toys and pace back and forth some more. He had heard all the shouting and arguing as Twilight shoved Rarity out the door. If only he had gotten there just a few seconds sooner once he first heard the commotion. He could have stopped it! Rarity was never one to have someone else fight her battles for her, but he would have helped regardless.

He needed to see her. She was probably still distraught and angry but she'd calm down once he offers a strong pair of claws to hold her and an ear to listen. But there wasn't any way he could just waltz out the front door. No doubt Twilight would see him or maybe even hear him if he tried that. The window in his room, however, was easy enough for him to escape through, and he could just as easily dig his sharp claws into the outer, gem-like walls of the castle and climb down. But if he slipped up and fell, he could badly him himself and end up making Twilight panic half to death before she'd inevitably chew him out.

A better idea came to him in an instant – something he remembered seeing in a movie once. Granted, it was only a movie, but as he worked out a plan, it seemed much safer than jamming his talons into a wall and praying. With a sly grin, he quickly made his way out of his room and to a nearby linen closet. Constantly checking over his shoulders, he managed to snag several sheets and stealthily shut the door.

Once back in his room, it took him a little while to find the ends of the sheets and tie them in a long rope nice and tight, doubling the knots over so they wouldn't slip loose. Yes, they'd do well now. Unfortunately, he couldn't very well tie the end piece to an oversized basket. If only Twilight had splurged on the bed he really wanted when he was delaying her from seeing the wonderful job their friends did with the roots of their old home. Ah well, what could he do?

With narrow eyes, Spike skimmed around the room, searching for something sturdy to be his anchor. Without having an armoire or dresser or something similar though, it was proving a bit difficult. Thankfully, he didn't weigh much, so there was little risk of his sheet rope coming undone because of that. With that in mind, he decided to try something a bit risky – tying the sheets to his doorknob. Keeping the door closed would prevent his linens from being dragged around because of loose furniture the way it happened on the big screen. Perfect!

Chuckling deviously to himself, the little dragon shut and locked his bedroom door as quietly as a mouse. The end sheet was wrapped thrice around the knob but was left enough length to be knotted more than once. It sure seemed strong enough once complete. To test it, Spike took the rope in his grip and gently leaned back. The round, bronze anchor squeaked in defiance but ultimately remained intact.

Without missing a beat, the young drake run over to his window and flung it open. The sun was warm and toasty, but that wasn't his concern at the moment. He grabbed the wadded ball of bed sheets, dragged it over to his escape route and tossed it out. It came to an end a few feet from the ground, but he could easily handle a short jump. Forcing back any nervousness, he hopped onto the narrow windowsill and held tightly onto the silky coil. Heck, he climbed up and down a taller rock tower when Applejack wanted him to build one during that silly phase he was going through when he pledged himself to her. This would be a piece of cake, and after only a few feet of descent, it was proving to be just that.

-----

The fluffy white towel hovered over its rack and set itself in place, surrounded by a sparkling, delicate blue hue. Its companion was sitting swirled around Rarity's sopping mane. The beautiful mare willed her mascara and eyelash comb to her, but as she gazed at her still-exhausted reflection, she couldn't bring herself to care enough to doll up right now. True, the bath was soothing and relaxing but otherwise did little to ease her troubled mind.

With a sigh, the dressmaker put down her cosmetics and shambled out the lavatory, switching off the light behind her. Maybe a good stiff drink would help. Couldn't make things any worse.

The drink would have to wait though. She heard a knock at the door as she got to the stairs. Ugh, if only she had more time to dry her hair. She wasn't about to let her guest in, but there wasn't any reason she couldn't take a peek to see who it was. A gasp escaped Rarity's lungs when she saw who it was – one of the only ponies she would let in right now...or, rather, the only dragon.

She bit her lip and grabbed the towel on her head, ready to toss it into the corner. But, Spike had seen her like this before. He wouldn't care if she didn't look her best. Heck, according to him, she always looked her best even if she didn't believe such a thing herself. Oh, what did it matter right now? There wasn't anything in Equestria that could erase what happened to her and bring her spirits back up, but a visit from one of her dearest friends would be a good start in that direction, towel or not.

An odd question came to mind as she put her hoof back down. She just got back to town and hadn't spoken to anypony. Spike knew she was away. How did he know she'd be there? Did he spot her from afar and she simply didn't notice? Surely he would have come up to greet her. Maybe he had been stopping by here and there to see if she had returned before then and it was merely a coincidence? She had been gone longer than anticipated and he had been known to worry about her. Eh, she can think about it later. There was a warm heart outside that she desperately needed right now.

There wasn't enough strength inside her to put up a wall she could hide her misery behind as she opened the door. There was enough, however, to let her smile. "Hello, Spike."

The young drake gazed at her loveliness with a notably sympathetic look in his eye. "Afternoon, Rarity. May I come in?"

"Please," the mare mumbled as she brought him inside. "Spike, I...I can't tell you how good it is to see a friendly face."

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked while slipping his arm around her shoulders.

Rarity nodded, leaning against his head as her eyes started to water. "It...i-it was the worst experience of my life. I never want to go back to Manehattan as long as I live! It was such a disaster! These hooligans attacked me and took nearly everything I had!"

Spike looked her over curiously but shrugged to himself. This again? Well...maybe Rarity and the Princesses mentioned her trip and the terrible memories started rushing back to the surface? Eh, whatever the case, he needed to be her rock.

"I'm sorry, Rarity. I know you're hurting, but I'm here."

The designer continued rambling. "I mean...I-I know there are ponies like that just about everywhere, but...I guess you never expect it to happen to you, y'know? I'm just ever so grateful that I was able to track down Coco Pommel and ask her for help. Otherwise, who knows how long it could have taken me to get back home? But, the one thing I don't understand out of all this is why Mother and Father would tell me to come to Manehattan and then not be there."

"What do you mean?"

"They told me in a letter to come see them, that they had somepony they wanted me to meet. Was supposed to be a surprise, but when I eventually reached the hotel they always stay at when visiting Manehattan, they had no record of them signing in anywhere. Coco let me use her phone and I called every hotel in the book, but nopony heard of them. Why would they do such a thing?"

"I have no idea," Spike said with a shrug. "Come on, it's been a rough day. Let's go inside, I'll make you some tea."

"That'd be...rather nice, dearie," Rarity sighed. "Thank you."

-----

Little by little, the shaken up unicorn had settled down, partly thanks to the hearty brew her young admirer made for her, but mostly because of his presence. As they sat peacefully at the dining room table with their chairs up against each other, she practically talked his ear off about the steps she had taken to get out of that horrid city, and he didn't say much to interrupt her. It felt strangely familiar to the dragon that Rarity was going on and on about Manehattan again, but he had no memory of her explaining everything in such detail.

Why did she decide to wait until now to talk about it? Nothing she was saying would have made her feel uncomfortable in any way as far as he could tell. It was completely possible she had just blocked it from her mind and something triggered it. It had to have been something Twilight and the other Princesses said! She was fine up until that day! If they had a hoof in it, he'd never forgive them!

Spike gradually steered the conversation away from the trauma and into happier territory. Some of it was reminiscing, some was about fashion and what styles she had planned, but he made sure not to bring up anything revolving around any of the recent goings-on. Right now, the day belonged to just the two of them, and he wasn't about to set things off again.

"So, how have the girls been, Spikey-boo?" Rarity eventually asked.

Spike gave her the most baffled look. Why would she need to ask that?

"Uh...fine, I guess? Twilight's probably still angry, I'm sure."

The mare paused before taking another sip and set the cup and saucer on the table. "Angry? What's she angry about, dear?"

He blinked at her again, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. A deep breath subdued his rising anger as did a roll of his eyes. "I...really don't want to talk about her right now."

"Oh, did you two get into a fight or something?" the ivory beauty correctly guessed as she rubbed the scales on his head.

"Really?" he whispered to himself. "Look, can we just change the subject? Please?"

Her ears fell in addition to her jovial spirits. "Oh. Err, alright. If you ever do want to talk about it though, I'm here, okay?"

"I know, but I'll be fine. I'm just happy see that you're feeling better yourself. Well, better than you did earlier."

A gentle smile returned to her cheeks, and she couldn't help but appreciatively nuzzle his. "I wouldn't have if it weren't for you, Spikey-poo." Said cheeks turned a light shade of red when they received a sudden soft kiss. True, Rarity had given him one from time to time, but she had never been on the other end of the deal. It was a little unexpected but not at all unwelcome. "You always have been a little sweetheart, haven't you?" she giggled.

Rarity's seeming acceptance, and the heartfelt look she was giving him, made the young reptile smirk with pride and confidence. He had been overflowing with an abundance of it for a few weeks now – enough to allow his claws to make their own way onto his lady's thigh.

She chuckled uncomfortably. "Err, Spike, what are you doing?"

"What? You're feeling so much better, I figured you'd wanna...y'know." His arrogant grin stretched wider as he petted her leg.

The poor dear's heart skipped more than one beat and her stomach suddenly dropped several floors. Scooting across her chair, she mumbled, "Uh...err...I-I'm rather surprised you know about that sort of thing."

"Well, I did have a pretty good teacher!" he blurted, shuffling back up to her and replacing his talons.

His lust-filled stare leaned her away. Her nervous eyes followed suit as drops of sweat started to form on her brow. "Um...a-and who might that be?"

"Seriously? Uh, you, duh."

A well-placed slap left his cheek bright red. Rarity's face was nearly as red as surprise and rage and horror exploded from her lips all at once. "How dare you! H-How could you say such a thing?! I just come home and you see me vulnerable, so you try to take advantage of me?! What's the matter with you?!"

"Hey, you're the one that–!"

"And what do you mean I taught you?! I can believe you reading about it in a book at the library, but from me? What, have you been spying on me all this time? Did you ask around town who I've dated and ask them for tips while I was away or something?! I can't believe you, Spike! I thought you were different! I thought you were better than this!" she hollered, hopping onto the floor and backing away from an increasingly frustrated dragon.

"What are you going on about?! You never give me the time of day for as long as I can remember, then all of a sudden, you're totally fine with being together, and now you're not?!" he fumed, climbing off his own chair and stomping after her. With every step he took towards her, Rarity danced around the table, keeping it firmly between them.

"When have we ever been together, Spike?! If that's supposed to be some sort of joke, I don't find it funny, especially after everything I just got finished going through!" the mare snapped.

"It isn't a joke! What's gotten into you? All that time, all that effort...did it...did it mean nothing to you?"

"Spike, I...I-I thought it was cute at first, but if this is where you expected things to go acting the way you're acting now, it..." With her emotions running wild, her belly had tied itself in knots; the young drake's bizarre advances coupled with the events on her recent trip were affecting more than just her mind. Rarity's rump hit the floor with her face practically turning green and her breathing becoming labored. "Oh gods, I'm going to be sick."

As he usually did when she needed aid, Spike heroically rushed to the damsel's side and grabbed a forelimb to help her back to her hooves. "Rarity, I...I'm sorry–"

"Don't touch me, Spike," she hissed, yanking away from him.

"But–"

"Don't...touch me." They stared long at each other, not saying a word. Disappointment hung heavy in her gaze; confusion more than anything was in his. "You need to leave," Rarity finally said.

"I-I was just–"

"Go home, Spike. Now."

A subtle furrow of her brow got the message across as he stood there dumbfounded. This...wasn't really happening, was it? Things had been going spectacularly and...it falls apart in five minutes? What did he do wrong? Rarity enjoyed his company and his touch, didn't she? Ugh, what was the use? Whatever it was that set her off left him far beyond square one. Utterly defeated, the heartbroken little dragon turned and sulked out of the room, through the lobby, and left the establishment.

The mare of his dreams let out a pained sigh when the store bell rung and the door closed behind it. Her blue eyes flowed like rivers as she sobbed into her forelegs.

-----

"Spike?" Twilight called out. She was hoping he had calmed down enough to answer a simple question about the placement of a particular book she had spent an inordinate amount of time searching for. The Princess approached the door to the most obvious place to look – his room. "Spike, you there?"

Her knock received no response either. Odd...she didn't see him anywhere around the lower level of the castle. This was where he usually went when he was upset. She grabbed the doorknob, hoping to peek inside. Maybe he was asleep? However, the door refused to open. Okay, he must still be really angry. Why else would he lock himself in?

"Spike? Look, I just have a quick question and I'll leave you alone." Still no answer. Something was off. Could he be hurt somehow? She didn't really have the strength like Rainbow Dash or Applejack to bust down the door since it was locked, but she did have one alternative.

In a burst of magic, Twilight appeared in the middle of Spike's dormitory. Everything looked in order – until she spun around and found a rope comprised of knotted sheets hanging out the window. It was nothing short of a miracle that her barely-subdued fury didn't give her a migraine. With gritted teeth, she pulled and pulled and pulled the linens back inside and unwrapped the other end from the doorknob, undoing the lock in the process.

The sheets were thrown into the corner and the door was whipped open and left there. There was only one place Spike was and Twilight knew it. Was he ever going to get it! She grumbled and fumed to herself, imagining laying into the pipsqueak when he got home, while she stomped back to the main halls of her large home. It would be so satisfying to speed over to the boutique and verbally blast them both, but she had done so to both a few times already, and frankly, if she never saw Rarity again, she couldn't have cared less – not after the stunts she pulled.

Twilight eventually made it to the map room, looking over the numerous locations and wondering what it held next for them. After some time, the sound of the front door opening and closing twisted a ear away. Ugh, she would have been happy being left alone for a little while, but she had to go play the gracious host for whoever the guest was, assuming it was a guest and not one of her other better friends.

She was pleasantly surprised and simultaneously irritated upon meeting up with Spike a few feet from her 'command center'. Strange, she expected him to be gone all day long again...and his eyes were really bloodshot. Has he been...crying? The alicorn's face softened, her motherly side creeping through past the anger. With a sniffle and a wipe of his nose, he looked up at her sadly.

"Spike? I, err...I found the rope in your room." His eyes shifted away. He was so dead. A hoof lifted his chin and she remained as calm as she could for him. "You can imagine how upset I am with you over that."

"Yeah," he sighed.

She caressed his cheek. No doubt there were a few dried tears on his scales. "Are...you okay?"

He choked down a sob and answered, "You were right."

"About what?"

"I...I-I shouldn't have gotten involved with her."

Twilight never had time for a relationship herself, but she had read enough stories involving love in her day to know what he was saying. "She dumped you."

He nodded as the tears returned. "Sh-she was acting like she couldn't stomach me being around her or wanting to h-hold her hoof or anything. We'd been doing so well too. I just don't understand!"

She hugged him tightly and chocked up another strike against Rarity. "I don't understand what she's been thinking either, Spike. I'm sorry for what happened. I...I know she meant a lot to you." His crying died down a bit when she pulled away, gazing at him softly. He deserved to be punished for sneaking out, but the Princess thought better of it; he'd been already punished enough as it is. "Did you want to come with me to the library wing? We can curl up and read a nice story together."

"S-sure," Spike squeaked.

It was fortunate for the mare that he, like so many other youngsters, could be easily distracted from their troubles. A short list of his favorite books came to mind as she walked with him inside. They had worked in the past to cheer him up when he was feeling down. She hoped it'd work today too.

Comments

[Fido]

Thoroughly enjoying this. Keep going!

[SFaccountant]

Man, it kind of feels like the changelings dropped the ball, here. It's going to be REALLY obvious something's wrong when Rarity informs everypony that she'd been gone until just that evening.
... Unless she never talks to them or they just end up dancing around the issue or just keep acting confused and angry all the time.
Come on, girls. You all know that shape-changers, mind control, and personality-shift magic exist. Don't default to "she's acting like a jerk for no reason."