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A Strange Introduction: Part 14,042 words
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A Strange Introduction: Part 72,245 words

A Strange Introduction: Part 5

A Strange Introduction: Part 5

Rarity was pacing her room nervously, trying to come up with a solution to her problem. "What AM I going to do? I feel like I'm in love with Soul, but we only just met a few days ago! Oh, though he IS such a marvelous gentlecolt, I couldn't possibly take advantage of him like that! He's lost his memory, he probably has some other mare worrying about him somewhere, and once he's done at Twilight's he'll leave and I'll never see him again. Or worse, he might just want to be friends! In fact, Twilight saved his life, and is currently helping him regain his memory! He has every reason to have....affections towards her. I've heard several colts talking about how adorable and smart she is, and Soul is several leagues above even Macintosh! They're probably in the throughs of passion right now!" She sighed, frustrated.

"Then again, I suppose it wouldn't be that bad if he does likes her. Celestia knows she could use a good coltfriend." She giggled. "Not that Twilight would let Celestia know, of course. Oh this isn't helping, no matter what I do I can't make myself any less anxious!" She shook her head to try to clear her thoughts before the calendar on the wall caught her attention. She gasped sharply, eyes twinkling with realization. "It's Thursday! Oh HOW could I have forgotten! It's my weekly spa day with Fluttershy! THAT should settle my nerves a little. Yes, in fact I might just go over there right now and see if we can do it early." She was about to leave when she caught sight of herself in the mirror and flinched. " First though I simply MUST reapply my makeup...and re-do my mane. And tail. And coat." She rambled as she walked to the bathroom.

***

Half an hour later Rarity had gotten herself fixed up and headed to Fluttershy's cottage. By the time she had gotten there the fresh morning air had already calmed her down some, and made her think rationally about her situation. "Maybe I should talk to Fluttershy about it. She'll probably be a little embarrassed, but it will feel good to get this off my chest." She went to knock at the door, but was surprised when it opened by itself, revealing Applejack standing behind it.

"Woah!" Applejack jumped back slightly in shock before quickly recovering. "Y'all almost gave me a heart attack there, sugar cube."

"I do apologize, Applejack. I was just coming to have a little chat with Fluttershy before our weekly spa visit. Why are you here?" She asked in curiosity.

"Oh, she was just picking up some medicine for Winona." Fluttershy said timidly as she stepped out from behind her orange barricade. "She's been having a bit of a tummy ache lately. Oh, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

Rarity glanced nervously at Applejack before answering. "Well I was hoping to speak with you in private, but I suppose it'll come out sooner or later, and it is good to have more than one pony's opinion about these things." She stepped past the two confused ponies and sat herself down in Fluttershy's living room, gesturing for the others to join her. Once they were all settled Applejack spoke up.

"All right, Rarity, what's all this about? Ah've got to get back to the farm pretty soon."

"All right, all right. But before I begin, may I ask you girls something?" After getting a quick nod from them she continued. "Okay, what do you girls think of Soulsilver?" She got confused glances from both of them, before Fluttershy spoke up.

"Um...well...I haven't really spent much time with him but he seems...nice." She blushed and hid behind her mane a little before brightening up. "Oh, but he did tell me that he likes animals, just, um, not when they're trying to eat him. And he offered to help me out with rounding up the critters in a few days when a big storm is due to hit." She realized that she was being more talkative that usual and hid behind her mane with a small "Eeep!"

Smiling, Rarity turned to Applejack. "And what about you, darling?"

Applejack tapped her hoof on her chin for a moment in thought before answering. "Well, like Fluttershy said, he's nice, and polite too. Mighty helpful as well, always willin' to lend a helping hoof to ponies. In fact tomorrow he said he'd come to the farm ta work off the 'debt' he says he has. Wouldn't take no for an answer. Why? What he got to do with this here meeting?"

Rarity looked nervously between the two. "Well.. you see, the thing is.....IthinkI'minlovewithhim!" She blurted out quickly before clamping her eyes shut. The two ponies opposite her sat blinking in shock for a moment, then, surprisingly, Fluttershy was the first to react.

"Oh, Rarity, that's wonderful!" She exclaimed, wearing a small smile on her muzzle. Applejack, however, was not as excited.

"Woah, woah, hold on there now, sugar cube, you've known him for less than three days! When did you figure this out?"

"Well, when we first met him I was interested by his mysteriousness,and was hoping something might come of it, but when I got to know him I found that he was the most perfect gentlecolt I could have imagined!"

"Rarity...."

""He cleaned up the mess that the Crusaders made last night..."

"Rarity."

"...and then this morning I woke to find that he had made us all breakfast all without being aske-"

"RARITY!" Applejack's shout finally snapped Rarity out of her fawning.

"Oh, I'm sorry Applejack. You probably don't want to hear me rattle on about my love life."

Applejack shook her head. "That's not it, sugar cube. What I'm trying ta say, is that I think you might be over-reactin' a little. You say you're in love with the feller, and that's great. If it's true."

Rarity just stared at her incredulously. "If it's true?! Of course it's true! Why on Equestria would I lie about this?"

"That's not what Ah meant. You say that you love 'im, but do you really feel that way?" This question was answered by a look of confusion. "I know that you're still a might sore about that Blueblood colt." Rarity looked down in embarrassment at this. "And Ah think you might just be making up for your loneliness by replacing your dream stallion with another one."

Rarity continued looking at the floorboards for a while before sighing. "Oh, you're right, Applejack, who am I kidding. When did you become better at interpreting emotions than I am?" She pouted a little before talking again. "But what am I supposed to do? I can't just stop having these feelings."

"Ah know you can't, sugar cube, I'm just saying that you should wait a while. Get ta know him and such. After all, you don't even know if he feels the same way. Heck, nice feller like him probably already has a sweet filly waitin' for him."

Rarity looked back down at the increasingly interesting floorboards, feeling dejected. "I know, Applejack. I told myself the same. It's just not often that I meet a stallion that actually cares for me."

"Well, I can't tell you not to like him, but just get to know him a little more first. Ah know it's hard, but everything will work out in the end."

Rarity sighed before looking up at Applejack with a smile on her face. "Thank you Applejack." She got a smile in return as she turned to Fluttershy, who was blushing lightly. "Fluttershy, you've been awfully quite, dear. Do you have something to say?"

The yellow pegasi's head shot up in shock. "Oh, no, I was just...thinking."

"About what dear?"

"Oh...nothing."

Rarity thought about objecting for a moment, but decided to drop it. "Well if you're sure, I won't push the issue."

Fluttershy nodded slowly as Applejack shot her a knowing smile. "Well, I'd love to stick around, but I've got to get this medicine back to Winona. It's been nice catchin' up, Rarity." She said as she nodded at the unicorn, before turning and smiling softly at Fluttershy. "And I'll be sure to pass along your message, sugar cube." She winked, causing the timid pegasus to blush and hide behind her mane, before taking her leave. Rarity, who was too preoccupied to pay any mind to what just occurred, sighed as she got up as well.

"Well, this has been a nice chat, Fluttershy, but I'm afraid I have to go. I can't leave the Boutique closed for too long."

Fluttershy nodded slowly. "Okay, Rarity. I hope you figure something out."

"Thank you, darling." She replied with a smile before leaving the cottage, closing the door behind her.

***

"Hey Twilight!" Spike called from behind the bedroom door. "You've got a letter from Celestia!" When he didn't hear an answer, he decided to go downstairs, letter in claw, to investigate. He still didn't fully trust Soul, and wanted to make sure that he hadn't done anything to hurt Twilight. While they weren't related, He still looked up to Twilight like a big sister and felt as if he had to protect her. He quietly made his way down the stairs and snuck his way into the main room and past Soul, who had his nose in a book, but as soon as he saw Twilight lying battered and bruised on the couch he lost all notions of stealth and quickly made his way to her side.

"Oh my gosh! Twilight! What has he done to you?!" he yelled out, causing Soul to look up from his book.

"Oh! Hello, you must be Spike. You're a little bigger than I remember you to be-OOPH!" Soul was inturrupted as a large book collided with his face.

"Stay back! I won't let you hurt Twilight anymore than you have!" Spike puffed himself out, trying to make himself as threatening as possible, while brandishing an entire pile of thousand paged hard backed novels.

"What?! I didn't hurt her! Something happened when she tried to-OUCH!"

"You can't fool me! You're some kind of evil pony!" Spike shouted before continuing his onslaught of literature.

"No I'm not, I don't even-URG! Look could you jus-ARGH! THOSE ARE SENSITI-HURG! CAN I GET A WORD IN EDGEWIS-NYEH! FINE I'LL KEEP MY MOUTH SHU-OOOOH GOD THAT HURT!" Luckily for Soul, all the ruckas managed to wake Twilight up.

"Ugh, Soul, why are you making so muc-OH MY GOSH, SPIKE WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" As soon as she opened her eyes she was greeted to the image of Spike throwing book after book at Soul, who was slowly getting buried.

"Don't worry, Twilight! I'm holding him off! You get out of here and get help!" But Spike's warning was shunned as Twilight lifted him up by the tail with her magic. "Woah! Twilight, what are you doing, he's gonna get you!"

"Spike you will tell me why you're throwing books at Soul right this instant, young dragon!"

"He hurt you! I was making sure he couldn't finish the job!"

"He didn't hurt me! If anypony hurt me, it was me!"

Spike just stared at her, confused and still upside down. "Huh?"

"A spell I cast backfired and hurled me into a bookcase!" She shook her head as she set Spike down on his feet before going over to the book fort that was Soul. "Did you even try asking him what happened?"

"N-no, but I thought he was trying to trick me! I just saw you passed out on the couch covered in bruises, and I panicked!" Twilight just sighed.

"I can't be mad at you, Spike. Not when you thought you were protecting me. But I am disappointed that you didn't think to ask what happened before you acted." Spike looked down at his feet in shame.

"I'm sorry, Twilight."

"Don't apologise to me, apologise to Soul he's the one you..." She stopped as she saw Soul passed out in the pile of books. "...knocked out with books. Great. Why did you come down, anyways? I thought you wanted to avoid him." Spikes head shot up in hock, surprised that he had forgotten, and picked up the scroll from beside him.

"OH! Right, you've got a letter from Celestia!" The scroll was snatched out of his claw almost instantly, and Twilight began reading it out loud.

"To my faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

I apologise for the lateness of this response, but court has been particularly hectic of late. This stallion that you described seems to be undetectable with magic, and Luna has been too busy to even inform her. I would suggest bringing him up to Canterlot with you next Tuesday so we may examine him. In the meantime, get him acquainted with the town, and try to see if you and your friends can help recover his memory. I have never heard of memory loss quite as extensive as his, and if he remembers anything useful I would like to know of it as quickly as possible.

Your loving mentor,

Princess Celestia."

Twilight looked up from the letter with a look of disappointment on her face. "Wow," Spike gushed. "Not even the Princess knows what's wrong with him. And what do you think she means by 'undetectable with magic'?"

"Well, you know the spell doctor ponies use to check on the vitals of their patients?" Spike nodded. "Well the Princess can do pretty much the same thing, except across any distance, and even read thoughts." Spike blushed at this and his claws covered his head, as if protecting himself.

"THE PRINCESSES ARE READING MY THOUGHTS?!" Twilight looked at him confused before he realised what he was worried about and giggled.

"Don't worry, Spike, they only do that in emergencies. And even then, I doubt you'd be thinking of anything they need." Spike wiped his brow and sighed in relief. "Well, unless of course they want a never-ending storage of dreams about Rarity."

"TWILIGHT!"

***

Right. So. That was the longest time between chapters yet. Though I did go away for the holidays. And of course now that I am starting my TAFE course literally tomorrow I get back into writing. I'm only good at it when I have something more important to do, I guess. And now, to publish the chapter and have the massive guilt that has been eating away at me disappear! *remembers he still has to write a bunch more chapters* *passes out*

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