Finding Prince Charming
Spike glanced around as his eyes widened in amazement, unable to believe what they were seeing, before him was a huge multi-colored field where the floor glowed with flashes of different colors, something that at first glance would have looked like a huge field full of flowers that were bright, but that by paying more attention you could see that the enormity of colors were not flowers but gems! Rubies, sapphires, emeralds and different gems of varied shapes, sizes, and colors that covered the entire field as far as the eye could see.
"This... This is paradise!" Spike said as he wiped his eyes filled with tears of happiness.
The little dragon started to run across the field while his paws felt the pleasant and hard contact of the gems to step on, there Spike threw himself to the floor, turned and laughed while he moved his paws and claws to make an angel of gems on the ground, then stretched out one of his claws and grabbed a huge sapphire that barely fit in his claw. Spike eyed the gem eagerly as the beautiful blue reflected in his large eyes, the dragon's mouth began to salivate as he brought the sapphire to his mouth, he couldn't take it any longer, he had to taste that appetizing bright stone. Spike opened his mouth as wide as he could and finally took a sharp bite.
"WAHHH!" Dusk screamed loudly, causing Spike to finally wake up from his beautiful dream.
"Huh? Ah...? What's wrong?" Spike asked sleepily, trying to figure out where he was and what that scream had been.
"What's wrong!?" Dusk repeated annoyed as he stood up, for as he had screamed, he had jumped out of bed and fell flat on the floor. "You bit me, that's ‘what's wrong’!!"
"What I... What?" Spike said, stretching his paws as little by little his lucidity returned. "Wait... Why are we in a room? Wasn't I just in a field of gems a minute ago?" Spike finished looking around.
"So that's what you were dreaming about? And that's why you bit me? You thought that I was a gem?" Dusk said still upset rubbing his upper right leg.
"Uhm... I... I'm sorry?" Spike said scratching his head, disillusioned to realize that it had all been a dream and that instead of biting a delicious sapphire he had bitten Dusk on the leg. "But it's partly your fault, I told you it wasn't a good idea for us to sleep together."
Dusk glared at his little brother, since like so many times before the little dragon tried to make Dusk feel guilty for a mistake that he had committed, nevertheless this time Spike had a point, since it had been Dusk's decision that they slept together, not for a sentimental reason but an economic one, if they wanted Applejack's money to last them until the next night, they could not afford to move to a two-bed room, which would obviously have cost them more than a single. As soon as they had entered the room the night before, they had both realized that little problem; that night Spike had offered to sleep on the floor, but that was something that Dusk as a big brother couldn't allow, empathy that Spike shared towards his brother, who wanted Dusk to finally sleep comfortably in a bed, none of them wanted the other to sleep on the floor, so Dusk finally decided that they both share the bed, something they did when they were younger, but hadn't done so for many years now.
"It’s true that sleeping together was my idea, but I never thought you'd bite me! I mean, you've never done it before." Dusk said as he continued rubbing his leg, while his anger steadily waning.
"Yeah, well, I had never gone so long without eating any gems." Spike said, looking to the side annoyed, and then made a small pout as he looked to Dusk. "If only we could buy one, one little..."
Dusk immediately looked away, avoiding Spike's eyes, after all Dusk found it hard to tell Spike ‘no’ when he put on that face, especially when he felt guilty, because Dusk couldn't help but think that the poor dragon had put aside his prized gems in the castle just to accompany Dusk on his fateful task of making friends, after all, it was only Dusk who could not return to Canterlot, not Spike, but Dusk knew that his brother would never abandon him, and he internally thanked him for it.
"Oh look, the sun's out!" Dusk said looking at the window, trying to change the subject. "Thank Celestia you at least woke me up in the day and not in the middle of the night. Well, it's time for breakfast and then we'll head out."
Dusk approached a small plate of fruit which was included in the price of the room as a breakfast.
"Yeah... a breakfast without pearls... without diamonds..." Spike said reluctantly as he dragged his claws until he reached Dusk to accompany him to breakfast.
“Jeez... It's gonna be one of those days...” Dusk thought when he realized that Spike was throwing one of his tantrums, he wasn't going to shut up about this for the rest of the day.
"...and that's why, even if both are red, a juicy apple will never beat the taste of a sweet, crispy ruby." Spike said walking down the stairs at his brother's side.
Dusk, on the other hoof, just kept silent, giving Spike a tired look. As Dusk had feared, the little dragon had not stopped talking about gems and their flavors throughout breakfast, even as he ate the fruit, he hadn't failed to criticize and compare them to different gems, and now that they had left the room and were down to the lobby, Spike kept talking about the same thing. Dusk needed to change the subject, talk about anything so that Spike could finally stop talking about his appetite for gems, however as that had been the first issue of the day and all he could think about was gems and the pain from that bite, Dusk couldn't think of anything as a new conversation topic.
"...now pink rubies are a little more acidic than scarlet rubies, instead, the-" Spike continued his monolog until Dusk finally couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted him.
"Enough! How can a gem have taste, that is to say, they are only hard, colored stones." Dusk said exasperated, not having another subject to speak of, he had decided best to drop the subject by taking the contrary. "I bet you can find something that is the exact opposite to a gem and you will love it as much or more so than gems."
"The exact opposite? What's the opposite of a delicious gem? "Spike asked mockingly.
Dusk paused and thought for a moment: “What would be the opposite of a hard and colorful gem...?”
"Hmm... I know!" Dusk said in surprise. "A marshmallow! You've never tried them, have you? I assure you that marshmallows will please you, so much so that you'll never want to eat gems again!"
"Pff! Are you serious?" Spike laughed. "Okay, if you ever see that I prefer something soft and white instead of a hard and colorful gem, you can give me a good kick in the butt."
"Deal, but until I find out where I can get marshmallows you won’t complain again about not having any gems to eat." Dusk said walking back, knowing that at least for now he had managed to keep Spike quiet for a while.
They continued down to the lobby, where the innkeeper was, a tall, stout brown pony with a black mane.
"Good morning," Dusk said, waving to the innkeeper.
"Good morning, did you sleep well?" The innkeeper said gently. "Have you vacated the room?"
"Yes, we slept very well and... Huh?" Asked Dusk confused, stopping to smile. "W-We don't want to vacate the room, in fact, we want to stay another night."
"Oh, I'm sorry but that's not possible, I thought I told you, but maybe I forgot." The innkeeper said taking out a book from the inn and showing it to Dusk and Spike. "As you know, tomorrow night will be the Summer Sun Celebration, and this year the princess in person will come to Ponyville, so there will be many visitors and I have all the rooms booked for today and tomorrow, in fact, it's lucky that you could get the last free room I had yesterday."
Dusk fell silent, frozen not knowing what to do or say while the innkeeper turned around and went right back to work.
"This... this is bad..." Dusk stammered once he came to himself. "Tomorrow is no problem, normally the last night is spent sleeplessly waiting for dawn, but we still have tonight before tomorrow's celebration... And this is the only Inn in town!"
"Well... we could ask Applejack or Fluttershy to let us stay over one last night, even Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie would accept us if you asked them." Spike said thoughtfully.
Dusk froze again. As soon as Spike said they could see those mares again, Dusk's heart leaped with excitement, yet at the same time, his head was filled with thoughts that only frightened him. All of them had helped him somehow or other, he couldn't just go back to them with his tail between his legs asking for their help again.
"No, we should find another way." Dusk said finally, looking to the floor with resignation. "Really... it's troublesome being on your own..."
"But you're not alone." Spike said smiling.
"Of course not, I have you." Dusk said with a small smile, heading toward the exit of the inn.
"Humph... I didn't mean myself, ever since you came to this town you've never been alone." Spike whispered softly so Dusk couldn't hear him.
Then they both opened the inn's front doors and went out to breathe the cool air of Ponyville.
"So, what's the plan now?" Spike asked.
"We should definitely settle this accommodation issue." Dusk said reflectively, looking up at the sky as he walked. "But for some reason, I feel this issue is secondary, I feel that there is something more important to solve than having a place to stay, there's something I'm forgetting, something... important, but I can't remember what-"
BAM!!
Dusk stopped talking as he tripped over something and fell face-first into the ground.
"Ouch! That hurt..." said a sharp voice behind Dusk, while he remained with his face on the ground.
"Bwah...! What happened!?" Dusk said lifting his face off the ground and spitting out a mouthful of dirt.
Dusk turned his head to know what had tripped him, or in this case whom, since behind Dusk lying on the ground was a small white filly, specifically a unicorn, with pink and lilac wavy mane, and huge green eyes.
"You've got to be more careful! How could you not see me?" Asked the filly lying on the ground, looking at Dusk.
"I... uh ... I'm sorry, I think I was distracted." Dusk apologized, getting up and scratching his head. He knew that while he was walking he had been lost in thought, but never thought that he was SO distracted to not realize that he would hit a small filly.
"Okay, but... I think I screwed up my leg..." said the filly as she struggled to her feet and picked up one of her front legs, which she could not seem to bend well.
"Oh no! I-I didn’t mean to hurt you!" Dusk said nervously, coming up to the filly and staring at her leg in horror. "I was a fool to walk without paying attention, I really sorry!"
"What are you talking about?" Spike said suddenly, confused and upset. "SHE rushed at you while you walked with your head in the clouds, I saw it!"
"What are you saying?" Dusk asked confused. "Why would she-?"
"Ouch! My leg!" The filly screamed in pain, causing Dusk to stop looking at Spike and again focus his attention on her.
"What's the matter? Does it hurt a lot?" Dusk asked concerned about the little girl.
"Only when I try to walk..." answered the filly before taking her 'sore' hoof up to her head and looking up to the sky with her huge eyes, in a very theatrical way. "And just when I had so many important things to do in town! Now I can't walk nor can I go anywhere!" The filly ended dramatically, casting a fleeting glance at Dusk, something that went largely unnoticed by the naive Dusk, but not the small, cunning dragon.
Dusk put a hoof to his mouth and looked thoughtfully at the ground for a few seconds.
"Well... it's my fault you got hurt, I guess I could take you and help you in whatever you need..." Dusk finally said, looking at the filly.
"Really!?" asked the filly, casting huge pitiful eyes, eyes that it would be impossible for anyone to say no.
"Yes, of course, it's no pro-" Dusk said with a smile before being interrupted by Spike.
"Ahem... Dusk, can we talk for a second?" Spike said, nudging Dusk on the elbow. Then Spike made Dusk turn his back on the filly so she couldn't hear them.
"Dusk, we shouldn't trust that filly." Spike whispered into Dusk's ear. "I know that trick, I wear that same face when I want something from you, she's definitely planning something!"
"Do you think so?" Dusk said suspiciously, turning around for a second to look again at the filly, who smiled innocently, looking at Dusk with her tender eyes.
"No way, just look at her!" Dusk said again as he turned to talk to Spike. "She doesn't look a thing like you, she really is just an innocent filly."
Spike prepared to continue arguing, but Dusk simply turned around and went back to the filly, leaving Spike with the words stuck in his throat.
"It's decided kiddo, so tell me, where do you need to go?" Dusk said paternally, crouching a little so that his face matched that of the filly.
"Just a couple of places, I'm sure it'll be quick." the filly smiled with joy.
A thought crossed Dusk's mind, doubts of whether he had acted in the same way with another filly, such as Scootaloo, but he told himself that it would have been very different, since the little pegasus had a very strong character, unlike that of the small, helpless unicorn that had somehow awakened Dusk's 'big brother' instincts. This was how his doubts dissipated and finally, only one idea remained in the mind of Dusk: “Yes, the right thing is to help her, besides what harm is it to help this tender filly?”
"Alright! Come on!" Dusk said, stooping for the filly to climb onto his back and thinking how strange it was that he, who almost never interacted physically with other ponies, had carried two ponies on his back in just two days.
The filly climbed up with a smile on Dusk's back and held tight to not fall when he stood back up.
"Well, you'll have to guide me on where to go, since I'm new in town." Dusk said looking at the filly one last time and started to walk.
"Okay!" the filly said happily, that as soon as Dusk had stopped seeing her, she had taken a small set of paper and pencil from her mane and began to write something.
"By the way, what's your name?" Dusk asked suddenly, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Sweetie Belle." said the filly smiling.
"A pleasure to meet you, my name is Dusk Shine." Dusk said nodding to his brother walking at his side. "And the grumpy one is Spike."
That last one startled the filly, who had completely forgotten the presence of the little dragon, who at that moment walked beside them with a penetrating stare at Sweetie Belle.
Spike knew that he couldn't trust this filly, after all only a trickster can recognize another trickster and Spike knew that this filly was hiding something, which he verified quickly when he saw the filly pull out a hidden pencil and held it no problem with her supposedly hurt leg. Sweetie Belle meanwhile had tucked away the paper and pencil after quickly realizing that Spike was watching her, but it was too late, Spike knew she was lying and she knew that he knew. Both wore poker faces of fright for a few seconds, Sweetie Belle wanted Spike to stay away, and Spike wanted to unmask her in front of Dusk, all the while Dusk kept walking oblivious to everything. Finally Sweetie Belle looked away for a second, turned to look annoyed at Spike and sticking her tongue out as she clutched Dusk harder, Spike, on the other hoof, only frowned reluctantly knowing that the filly had come to the same conclusion that he had while they had their stare off, Dusk wouldn't distrust the sweet and tender Sweetie Belle, and Spike, without having more evidence than that paper the filly hid, he had no evidence to reveal her true personality, so Spike just resigned himself and kept walking while keeping his eyes on the filly, waiting for her to make one wrong more and get Dusk to realize the truth.
Sweetie Belle was still smiling as she hugged Dusk's warm back. “It's only a small hiccup that the dragon found me out, but even so, it's all according to plan.” Sweetie Belle thought with a mischievous smile, then she took out the paper and pencil she hid when Spike discovered her, the little dragon was still watching, but now she didn't care because she knew that Spike was also an expert manipulator and would wait patiently for his next move. Then Sweetie Belle read the paper, which had listed different characteristics, such as: brave, funny, intelligent, etc... She took the pencil and put a check mark next to where it said 'chivalrous".
“Yes, he's definitely chivalrous.” Sweetie Belle thought, still lying on Dusk's back, remembering the steps she had taken to achieve her 'plan'.
Sweetie Belle's Flashback (One day before)
Sweetie Belle jumped for joy in the main hall of the house, and no wonder, the filly had been waiting a long time for this day, today she could spend a couple of days with her beloved older sister. For Sweetie Belle, her sister was the best mare in the world, she was pretty, elegant, generous, refined, so she had always been her role model, Sweetie Belle always followed her everywhere since she could remember, she had grown very sad when her older sister decided to leave her parents' house to live on her own, and although there were times when she and her parents visited her sister for the day, for Sweetie Belle it wasn't the same. However, these days would be special since her parents had to travel and they had left to her in charge of her sister, so they would spend some days together, like when they were kids again! A cheerful, fleeting sense of joy swept through Sweetie Belle's body before she realized something, something that made her stop jumping and her mood turned.
"Will it be exactly like it used to?" Sweetie Belle asked softly, as she remembered and new memories appeared, replacing her sister's happy memories. Those happy memories were the majority and they were the reason she loved her sister, however, Sweetie Belle had to admit they weren't all happy memories, there were times when her sister was angry with her, shouted at her, or ignored her, it all depended on her sister's mood. So now there was only one question left, what mood would her sister be in today?
The noise of hooves coming down the stairs swept Sweetie Belle out of her thoughts, her sister came down to greet her, and soon Sweetie Belle's question would be answered.
"Hello, little sister, did I make you wait long? I hope you're ready for an afternoon of sisterly fun!" Said Sweetie Belle's sister with a big smile.
Sweetie Belle froze for a second before giving her sister a big smile and a hug. This was more than perfect! For some reason, her sister was happy, in fact much happier than usual, which meant she was in 'good sister' mode.
That was how Sweetie Belle spent all day with her sister, going to the spa, eating ice cream, telling stories of her parents and friends, walking through the town... For Sweetie Belle that day was perfect, and a perfect day had to end with a picnic in a park on the outskirts of the village.
"You look so happy today!" Said Sweetie Belle, finally daring to ask after having spent such a spectacular day, while they were still sitting in the picnic area of the park, Sweetie Belle on a tablecloth on the floor and her sister on a small sofa she had taken, since she didn’t like lying on the floor.
"That's right!" Said her sister with a big smile, almost ready to explode, as if she had been longing for someone to ask her for a long time. "It turns out that today I was told that I would be in charge of decorating for the Summer Sun Celebration! Do you realize what this means!? ME! I will be able to decorate the great hall for this year's celebration, which is just the most important in the history of Ponyville because the princess will come personally for the celebration! I will have the great honor of welcoming the princess!"
Sweetie Belle's eyes widened in astonishment, not so much by surprise but rather by admiration.
"Wow... That's unbelievable big sister!" Said Sweetie Belle cheerfully, who at that moment enjoyed saying 'sister' instead of saying her name, not because she didn’t like her sister's name, but that at the time she enjoyed saying the word sister and knowing that they had that strong a family bond.
"Yes... I do wish I could start decorating the great hall, but there are some things I can only buy tomorrow, so I must be patient." Sweetie Belle's sister said before looking at her sister and stroking her head. "Besides, I promised to spend the day with you."
Sweetie Belle stared at her sister dreamy eyed, she was the perfect sister, not only that, she was the perfect mare, her role model... Sweetie Belle wanted so much to be able to do something for her sister, but what could a little filly like her do to help her peerless sister?
"Ahh... "Sweetie Belle's sister suddenly sighed, pulling the filly out of her thoughts.
The little unicorn realized when she looked at her sister that for the first time that day she had stopped smiling, putting on a small smile of resignation while looking at something in the distance, which made Sweetie Belle follow her sister's look to find the cause of this change of mood.
Sweetie Belle followed her sister's gaze until she came across what she saw, which was a pair of unicorns lovers, a stallion and a mare who touched their noses affectionately as tender lovers. She watched them for a moment until she finally realized why her sister had reacted like this.
"Sister, are... are you in love?" Sweetie Belle asked innocently.
"What? No, of course not." Sweetie Belle's sister quickly denied before glancing back at the couple. "Although... maybe I would like to be..."
"B-But you're very pretty, and nice, and smart, I'm sure you could get any colt!" Sweetie Belle looked at her sister energetically.
"Well... that's not problem..." said her sister with some pity. "I have known and gone out with some ponies, but... I don't want just any colt."
"And just what kind of colt would you want?" Sweetie Belle asked, very interested.
"Hmm... I don’t know, hehe, I guess I'm still waiting for my prince charming." her sister replied thoughtfully, before blushing as she realized she was talking about love with her baby sister. "Well, it's enough girls talk for a day, let's go home."
Sweetie Belle's sister got up and levitated her small couch while Sweetie Belle organized the picnic basket, then started walking back home, however, this time the walk was quiet as Sweetie Belle was concentrating on something else, now she knew how she could help her dear sister: She would get her the colt of her dreams!
Once they reached home, Sweetie Belle's sister went up to her room, saying that she should finish a dress for a client, this was the perfect opportunity for Sweetie Belle to start her search, however before going out to fetch a colt, she must know WHAT to look for in a colt, to know what a mare was looking for in the perfect pony was something beyond Sweetie Belle, who at this young age still saw the young colts of her class as fools.
To find out what to look for, it would be best to ask her sister, but that was ruled out because Sweetie Belle's plan was to surprise her sister, so she should look for another way to know what to look for, maybe ask other mares? Her sister's friends? These were Sweetie Belle's first thoughts until she remembered 'the book'. Sweetie Belle looked around trying to find where that book was, and as she didn’t see it, she began to look at the various furniture and sewing drawers her sister had in the main room, throwing fabrics, gems, and dresses all over the floor until she finally found it in a small drawer. Having found what she was looking for, Sweetie Belle looked at the book, this was one of the most famous at that time among the mares, she was not sure what it was about but apparently it was a romantic novel about a shy mare who falls in love with the perfect stallion who eventually turned out to be a prince, something all the young and mature mares liked, including her older sister.
"So 'Fifty Shades of Hay' eh?" Said Sweetie Belle, reading the cover of the book. "Well, I guess if the mares like this book so much and love the protagonist of it, it's because they would like to be with a colt like that."
Sweetie Belle began to read the book, which started well but that slowly stopped working, since the book had many words she didn’t know and the protagonists did many things she didn’t understand, it was also a very long book and she decided she didn’t have time to read the whole book, so she finally decided to skim the pages quickly until she found what she was looking for.
"Bingo!" Sweetie Belle finally said when she found what she was looking for, a page in which the protagonist of the book said 'the six things a perfect stallion should have.'
Sweetie Belle wrote down what was written on the page and rushed out of her sister's home with a bright smile, now that she knew what to look for, she just need to looking for a pony that met the requirements, the perfect colt for her perfect sister! But as she walked smiling, that smile faded, as did the speed of her walk. Sweetie Belle finally stopped in the middle of town with a look of disappointment, then she took the paper of the requirements for the perfect stallion and re-read it, she realized that this task was not really so simple and even her sister had also said that she didn’t want any colt, after all not any colt could have all those perfect characteristics of being chivalrous, brave or funny simultaneously.
"My sister was probably right... only a real prince charming could be so perfect..." Sweetie Belle said to herself disillusioned. "And of course, princes don't just fall from the sky."
As soon as Sweetie Belle uttered those last words, a piece of paper came flying and smacked her in the face.
"Bwah! What's this?" Sweetie Belle said, taking the paper from her face. As soon as she took the paper she realized that it was actually a photograph, which surprised her, but not so much as she was surprised to see that it was a photo of Princess Celestia, and it was not any photo, the Princess was laughing next to a colt and what appeared to be a little dragon, this surprised Sweetie Belle even more, who had seen pictures of the princess but had never seen a photo in which she was smiling that way.
"This must be a personal photo..." Sweetie Belle thought out loud, still staring at the figure of the princess. "But what makes her smile so happily? And who owns this photo?"
While Sweetie Belle continued to examine the picture, her sight stopped focusing on the princess and focused on the colt that appeared next to her.
"Who's he?" Sweetie Belle wondered, trying to remember if he was anyone she knew from town, yet that was in vain, especially knowing that most of the colts and stallions living in Ponyville were humble workers, on the other hoof, this colt of the photo looked very elegant and refined, almost like a...
"A prince!" Said Sweetie Belle aloud. "Yes! He must be a prince! There is no other explanation!" Sweetie Belle yelled with joy, thinking that this was the only reason the princess looked so happy and would have agreed to take a photo like that. Because this colt had to be some kind of close relative to the princess!
"Wait... if this photo's lost, that means this colt could be here in town!" Sweetie Belle shouted even happier, giving thanks for the tremendous stroke of luck that had reached her, now she knew that there was a true prince and that prince could be here in town! Now all she had to do was find him.
With a revived spirit, Sweetie Belle began to run quickly through the streets of Ponyville looking for that prince, every time she saw a colt she approached only to verify that it wasn’t the colt in the photo, however for all the laps she ran around town, she wasn’t able to find this supposed prince. When she had almost lost all hope, seeing that the sun was already starting to set, she decided to start asking the ponies that walked through the village, after all, she didn't lose anything by asking.
"Oh yeah, I have seen him." said a purple mare after Sweetie Belle showed her the picture of the prince. "I saw him carrying Pinkie Pie, I think he was taking her home."
Sweetie Belle's heart beat wildly, it was true! The prince really existed and was in Ponyville!
Hastily thanking the mare, Sweetie Belle started to run towards Sugarcube Corner, once she turned one last corner before reaching the bakery, she stopped short as the door opened.
For no reason, Sweetie Belle hid in a shadow and she waited to see who was coming out. To Sweetie Belle's delight, a lavender unicorn emerged from the doorway of the door with a small purple dragon. They were the same as the picture! Only a little older, which was good because now the prince seemed to be the same age as her sister.
"Fufufu! There you are." Sweetie Belle whispered with a giggle of joy as she held the photo and checked for the last time that the colt was the one in the photo. "At last, I found him, a true prince charming."
Suddenly, Sweetie Belle prepared to go out to meet the prince, but she couldn't take one step before stopping. She could not just approach and ask if he wanted to go out with her sister, he could be a prince but still she had to verify that he met all the requirements of the 'perfect stallion', plus, Sweetie Belle looked at the sky and saw it was already nighttime, so she had to return to her sister's house soon, or she would worry.
The little unicorn followed the prince and his pet dragon and saw that they were heading to the town inn.
"So they'll sleep there tonight." Sweetie Belle said wickedly as she hatched a plan. "Well, tomorrow will be the day, tomorrow I'll approach him and I will prove that he is the ideal colt for my sister!"
That's how Sweetie Belle started her way back home thrilled to know that tomorrow she would meet a real prince.
End of Flashback.
Dusk kept walking aimlessly, just following the orders of the little filly on his back, who was showing where to turn at each corner.
"Will it take us long to get where you need to go?" Dusk asked glancing back at Sweetie Belle, he was beginning to suspect that the filly was only leading him on a wild goose chase.
"No, not long!" Sweetie Belle replied with a smile and a tender look, making Dusk's doubts disappear before such an innocent face.
"By the way," added Sweetie Belle. "Do you like to read? Or solve math problems? Or history? Maybe you're studying something?"
Dusk was surprised by the stampede of questions that Sweetie Belle made so suddenly out of nowhere, but didn't give it a second thought since the little filly probably just wanted some topic for conversation.
"Yeah, I really love reading, actually it's one of my favorite things." Dusk said proudly. "I also like mathematics and history, and yes, I also study, I am a student of magic, in fact, I am the student of... uh... the best teacher of magic in Equestria." Dusk finished, almost saying he was a student of the princess.
"Wow...! Then you must be really smart!" Sweetie Belle said in surprise.
"Yes, you could say that, hahaha!" Said Dusk, blushing and laughing vainly.
As Dusk laughed as his ego swelled, the filly on his back took out her paper and pencil again and marked with a tick where it said 'intelligent'.
“Two down, four to go.” Sweetie Belle thought with a smile, all this under the watchful eye of Spike, who never took his eyes off her.
The next thing about the 'perfect stallion' was to see if Dusk was funny, Sweetie Belle decided that the quickest thing was to continue with the direct questions.
"Eh... Dusk, do you like to laugh?" Sweetie Belle said timidly, without another way to find out whether or not Dusk was funny.
"Well yeah, who doesn't?" Dusk replied simply.
"I don't mean that, I meant... uh... I don’t know, do you like telling jokes? Or playing pranks?" Insisted Sweetie Belle.
"Hmm... well, I'm not exactly a comedian looking to get a smile out of every pony I come across." Dusk replied before blushing a little. "But recently I realized that laughter can be more powerful than I thought... And about pranks, yes, I also played several pranks, in fact, two days ago I had got in trouble for playing a big prank on some ponies of the town, hehe."
“That should definitely count!” Sweetie Belle thought, after all, how could he not be funny if he liked to play pranks? “Chivalrous, intelligent and funny! Definitely Dusk is great for my sister!” Sweetie Belle went on thinking, getting excited before quickly trying to calm down again, after all, she could not take it for granted, it was still up to her to see if he had the other characteristics, although these would be harder to figure out because they were something she couldn't know just by asking. The next on the list was 'brave', every good stallion must have been brave to protect his beloved, but any boy could say he was brave, the point was to prove it.
Sweetie Belle thought for a long time watching the road while being carried by Dusk, all in total silence until the sight of a particular pony gave her the answer on how to find out if Dusk was brave or not.
As they walked, an unexpected cry surprised Dusk.
"Hey, you!" Sweetie Belle shouted, imitating a hoarse voice. "Yes you, the one in white, I'm calling you."
"What is it?" Dusk asked, looking back at Sweetie Belle.
"Shh! Just play along." whispered Sweetie Belle, before screaming again in a hoarse voice. "Hurry up!" Sweetie Belle shouted again.
Dusk turned around again, not understanding what the filly was doing, play along with what? And who was she calling? After all, they were on a road surrounded by houses, only he, she, Spike, and that huge, muscular pony that was coming towards them...
“Wait…!!” Dusk thought as a cold sweat ran down his body as he saw that the largest, most muscular pony he had ever seen was approaching him, a huge white pegasus with large muscles all over his body except for his hoofs and wings, with blond mane trimmed military style, red eyes, earrings in his ears and a dumb-bell like cutie mark, from what he saw, it was the most intimidating colt Dusk had seen in his life.
"You talking to me!" Said the white colt with a harsh voice.
"Uh... Uhm..." Dusk said without being able to say a word to the tremendous beast standing in front of him.
"Yeah, I'm talking to you!" Said Sweetie Belle on Dusk's back, still imitating a hoarse voice, making it seem as if Dusk was speaking. "I just wanted to know if you have so much muscle are you left with any brains!"
Dusk froze at the words of Sweetie Belle as the white pegasus brought his face closer to his, now Dusk knew, he would be murdered there and now.
"What did you say...!?" the white pegasus said, staring into Dusk's eyes with a penetrating gaze.
"Gulp..." Dusk swallowed and tried to speak, without much success, as the fear of being beaten overcame him.
"What are you deaf! Besides... I want to know if your little wings can lift that heavy body full of muscles you have!" said Sweetie Belle the ventriloquist, hidden behind Dusk's back and mane.
The white pegasus kept his face glued to Dusk watching him with a penetrating gaze, while poor Dusk was all sweaty watching those terrible red eyes trying in vain to remember the teleportation spell but his fear prevented it. So they kept staring at each other until the white pegasus's gaze suddenly changed.
"Grrr.... ..... sniff... sniff... Bwahhh!" the white pegasus suddenly began to cry, leaving Dusk, Sweetie Belle, and Spike stone-faced before such a bizarre image of seeing such a tremendous stallion crying like a foal.
The white pegasus quickly turned and ran away, before the astonished eyes of the others.
"That... that was amazing!" Sweetie Belle yelled enthusiastically, finally breaking the awkward silence that had been left. "You didn't even have to fight, you just intimidated him with a look! That was really brave! I could never have faced a stallion like that."
Dusk's soul was slowly returning to his body, the truth was that he hadn't really been brave, the only thing he had thought to do was run, if anything saved him was that despite his appearance that stallion wasn't really aggressive.
"Why did you do that?!" Dusk asked Sweetie Belle annoyingly.
"Huh...?" Said Sweetie Belle, surprised that Dusk was upset with her. "I... I just wanted to play a joke, like the ones you did, hehe..." Sweetie Belle finished with a scolded puppy dog look, knowing she couldn't tell what her true intentions were.
"You see? I told you she would be nothing but trouble." Spike said annoyed, the comment made Sweetie Belle lower her ears in shame.
Dusk looked at the dragon and then at Sweetie Belle, the filly looked sad, this time it didn't look like she was faking the puppy dog eyes, after all it was one thing that Dusk fell for that tender expression, but he knew that expression was faked, Dusk knew that face was to get something she wanted, but this time the filly wasn't faking that expression, after Spike's comment she seemed truly sorry.
"Huff... it's okay, it's over," Dusk said with a sigh. "But we must go and apologize to that pony, he looked like a nice pony, and we hurt him, let's go."
After this, Dusk began to trot a little to see if he could catch the white pegasus, plus he didn't want to have more problems in the town, and if he had learned anything it's that if he let this happen, this was a small problem that could become a huge one if not solved. For her part, Sweetie Belle was surprised to see that Dusk had forgiven her so easily, especially when she saw that he was worried about that stallion she had mistreated.
As Dusk trotted, Sweetie pulled out the list again and marked where it said 'brave', then put the pencil in her mouth and thought for a moment before writing something that was not on the list of the six characteristics of the perfect stallion, she wrote 'tender' and put a mark of approval, then smiled and hugged Dusk harder, wishing more and more that he really was the prince her sister was looking for.
“So... How long will we be here?” Dusk thought, not understanding the strange events that had happened in the last few minutes.
After Dusk had managed to reach the white pegasus, he realized how sensitive he was, first he had to beg him to listen as he was still crying over Sweetie Belle insults, after he was able to calm him Dusk explained that it was just a joke and the filly apologized to him, then the white pegasus, who they learned was named Bulk Biceps, quickly changed his attitude and laughed at the prank with big laughs patting Sweetie Belle on the head, Dusk could see now that despite his appearance of that stallion, he was as much or even kinder than the villagers, perhaps almost equaling the kindly Fluttershy. Finally, everyone said goodbye to Bulk Biceps and continued on their way, that's when Dusk asked Sweetie Belle to stop beating 'round the bush and tell them where to go, so Sweetie Belle finally led Dusk to where she wanted to go: A furniture store.
Once they entered the store, Sweetie Belle had asked him to come to a bed that was for sale and to sit there beside her, and there they had stayed for a long time without saying or doing anything, Dusk waiting for Sweetie Belle to say or do something, not knowing that the filly expected the same from him.
"And... are you expecting something to happen?" Dusk asked, already tired of waiting for the filly to do or say something.
"Yeah... well... I'm not sure, just... do your thing, I guess." Sweetie Belle replied confused.
"Doing my thing? What do you mean?" Dusk asked confused as well.
"I don't know." Sweetie Belle replied annoyed.
Dusk could not understand what the filly meant, and it seemed that she herself didn't know what she meant, so he finally decided that it was foolish to keep waiting for something that neither of them knew and asked Sweetie Belle to climb back on his back to take her home.
"Okay..." Sweetie Belle said disappointedly, climbing onto Dusk's back.
As they walked out of the store, Sweetie Belle pulled out her list again and put a question mark next to one of the perfect stallion's features.
“'Good in bed' What did it mean by that? We spent a lot of time in bed and nothing happened to Dusk, what was Dusk supposed to have done? Sleep?” Sweetie Belle thought naively, not understanding the mature language of an adult mare and the hidden meaning behind that phrase in the book.
That's how Sweetie Belle gave Dusk directions to take her home. Finally, she would introduce Dusk to her sister! Although he had a question mark on 'good in bed' and lacked another feature that Sweetie Belle had not wanted to mark yet, he had achieved four of the characteristics of an ideal stallion, and in the opinion of Sweetie Belle, a colt who was intelligent, funny, chivalrous and brave, as well as tender and a true prince, was something she would probably never find again, for Sweetie Belle, Dusk had indeed proved to be a perfect stallion for her sister.
"Here it is. I live here, for now, Carousel Boutique, isn't it cute?" Sweetie Belle said once they arrived at what appeared to be her home, a big ornate and feminine house with large windows and a sign over the door that showed a pony mannequin wearing clothes, if Dusk had to guess it seemed to be the house of a clothing salesmare.
Sweetie Belle couldn't get over the excitement, she could already see her sister's reaction to seeing her prince charming and Dusk's reaction to seeing her sister, so she jumped from Dusk's back and headed for the door of the house.
"Wait for me here, I'll be right back!" Sweetie Belle shouted excitedly as she opened the door and hurried into the house.
Dusk stood still, just as the filly had told him, but not because he wanted to obey what she had told him, but he was surprised to see that Sweetie Belle could walk and run no problem.
"And this is the part where I tell you I TOLD YOU!" Spike said to his side. "I told you she was faking."
"B-But then why did she do everything she did?" Dusk asked confused, turning to see Spike, then he saw on the floor a small piece of paper with something written that had fallen from Sweetie Belle's mane when she had jumped off his back.
"Good in bed?!" Dusk read aloud, completely blushed, before his attention was fixed on another point.
For her part, Sweetie Belle had rushed into her sister's house, but she could not find her in the main room, which was still as messy as she had left it when she had searched for her sister's book, then shouted her name and kept looking for her in her room and in the rest of the house, all with the same result, she was definitely not at home.
“It can't be... How can I have such bad luck!” Sweetie Belle thought resignedly as she walked back to Dusk. Once there she was surprised to see Dusk with a stern face and Spike with a small smile of triumph, both looking directly at her.
"So... How's your leg?" Dusk asked eyes narrowed.
"My leg?" Sweetie Belle asked before realizing her mistake and dropped her facade. "Oops!"
"Why did you do it, Sweetie Belle? Perhaps for this?" Dusk asked, showing her the paper with the list she'd dropped.
Sweetie Belle didn't know what to say, she had been completely exposed and just when she almost achieved her goal, she lowered her head in shame without saying a word, she had deceived poor Dusk, now he would hate her. Meanwhile, Spike grinned seeing that after almost the whole day in silence the filly had finally dug her own grave, now only was left to see what Dusk would do to get revenge for being tricked, just as Dusk took revenge on him when he tricked him.
Dusk approached the filly, stood in front of her and to the complete surprise of Sweetie Belle and Spike, he just stroked the little filly affectionately.
"So you did all this because you fell in love with me?" Dusk said with a smile. "That's very cute, but I'm much older than you."
"HUH!?" Sweetie Belle and Spike said in unison.
"Don’t worry, I know how you feel, I've also had strong feelings toward someone older than me." Dusk said stroking Sweetie Belle's head and reminding the mare that it had been his first love for which he still felt something. Dusk, therefore, felt responsible and didn't want to destroy the little filly's hopes.
"Huh... I... just..." Sweetie Belle was not sure what to say, Dusk had misinterpreted everything and now believed she was in love with him. She wanted to tell the truth, but she did not want to admit so openly that her plan was for him to fall in love with her sister, at least not before they met.
"You're just a filly, obviously I can't be your boyfriend, but what if I was your big brother? That way we can keep seeing each other if you want." Dusk smiled, thinking of how best to avoid hurting the 'feelings' that Sweetie Belle felt for him.
"Big brother?" Repeated Sweetie Belle, who for some reason was moved by such words. "That... that would be great!" Said Sweetie Belle with a big, honest smile.
"All right! It's decided, I'll have a new baby sister." Dusk grinned as he stroked the smiling filly's head, while the stunned dragon looked at them in utter astonishment.
"No... She can't be your sister, I'm your brother!" Spike said annoyed as his brother's jealousy surfaced.
"Relax, it's just a figure of speech, it's not like she's moving in with us, she already has a family, it's just an affectionate way of speaking when we see each other, right?" Said Dusk smiling, while Sweetie Belle was sticking out her tongue at the dragon and Spike only got more annoyed.
"By the way... There's something I don’t understand," Dusk said a little blushed, showing the list to Sweetie Belle. "Here you wrote that the perfect stallion had to have six characteristics, to be gentlemanly, intelligent, funny, brave, good in bed and then it seems that you hurriedly wrote down another characteristic: tender, they all have a mark but... Why didn’t you put a mark on the first feature listed?"
Sweetie Belle knew what Dusk was referring to, among the six characteristics that the book said that a perfect stallion had to have, Sweetie Belle couldn’t mark the first because Dusk did not comply with that characteristic, the characteristic was: 'clean'.
"Wel ... it's just that... when I got on your back I could smell you smelling like sweet, and you even had some baking dough in your mane..." Sweetie Belle replied somewhat distressed. "It's not that much! After all, I don't bathe every day, but... I think you're a little bit dirty."
Dusk could not help blushing and feeling sorry that the little filly had noticed that he was dirty, that was something that unfortunately had not noticed, after all the busy days he had, he hadn't taken a full bath since he had left Canterlot, plus in said castle his own personal hygiene was something that lately had been neglected for isolation to read books, but now that an unknown filly had pointed it out to him he was dying of shame.
"Eh... yeah, I... I think you're right, hehe." Dusk said in dismay, then turned around quickly and looked at Spike. "Alright, we're leaving."
Dusk began to walk quickly while Spike began to accompany him.
"Goodbye Sweetie Belle, we'll see you soon!" Dusk finally shouted once he had walked away from the filly, waving his hoof to say goodbye and continuing on his way.
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Spike frowned, surprised by his brother's sudden change of attitude.
"Where do you think? To take a bath!" Said Dusk disturbed, who was still ashamed that someone had indirectly made him see that he was dirty.
Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle watched and waved at Dusk until she lost sight of him, then turned around and entered her sister's house, again disappointed that her plan to bring Dusk and her sister together failed.
"Oh gosh! Where did my sister get to just when I needed her!?" Sweetie Belle wondered aloud, resting on one of the sofas in the living room.
As soon as she sat down she saw a note she hadn't seen before, a note placed on the sofa in her sister's hoofwriting, Sweetie Belle took it and read it.
"Sweetie Belle, you're dead!
Look at all the mess you left in the main hall! If I did not have to leave urgently, you'd really be in trouble! As punishment, you will also have to wash the crockery! I hope that everything it is tidy and clean when I return or you will face the consequences!
PS: I'll be out all afternoon, I must attend to urgent matters, so try not to burn the house down in my absence."
Sweetie Belle finished reading the note grumpy, now her sister was angry with her and she was well aware of her sister when she was angry, she was terrible, and worst of all is that all this mess in the room had done looking for the book, meaning that now her sister was angry with her just for wanting to help her.
"By Celestia! Rarity changes mood so easily!" Shouted Sweetie Belle annoyed, forgetting to say 'my sister' affectionately and finally saying only her name, not realizing that she, like her sister, changed mood easily, and now that her sister was angry with her, Sweetie Belle was also angry with her sister.
"She's so bossy and irritable!" Sweetie Belle grumbled as she began to sort the room, forgetting her 'loving sister' and just remembering her 'bossy sister'.
As Sweetie Belle was tidying up, she couldn't help but think of Dusk and her plan to bring him together with her sister, remembering how good colt he had been with her.
"Maybe... he's too good for my sister." said Sweetie Belle annoyed. "Maybe... he's just for me." Sweetie Belle said a little blushed, remembering fondly that Dusk had said he could be like her new big brother.
# End of Chapter 10