She’s a rarity
"I can't believe a filly found me dirty.” Dusk said worriedly as he continued to walk the streets of Ponyville.
"So…? What's the problem?" Spike said apathetic. "When you shut yourself up to study, you spent days without eating or bathing."
"Yeah, but..." Dusk said pausing and realizing that Spike was right, because in the past he hadn't minded something like that, however now it was different, because although he didn't want it that way, Dusk had known and had stayed with different mares, and it was a well-known standard of good living that a gentlecolt should always be neat and gallant before a mare. "It's just different now!" Dusk finally said, blushing.
Spike looked at him for a moment, then looked down with a frown as he walked beside Dusk.
"That's not fair." Spike finally said, unable to bear his discomfort. "You're going to spend all the money left on a bath and I can’t even buy one gem."
"Oh, come on! Don't start that again." Dusk replied, looking at Spike annoyed, ready to argue, yet when he was about to rebuke his brother, Dusk couldn't help but see his sad face and feel some pity for the little dragon, as well as finding some reason in what he said.
"Okay, you win.” Dusk said with a sigh of resignation. "We'll split the money in half, so you can buy some gemstones and I'll have my bath, I suppose we'll have enough money for both, after all, we shouldn't worry about paying the inn anymore since there are no rooms available." Dusk finished saying, remembering the problem of his lack of shelter for the night, a problem that still had to solve, but of course, after taking a good bath.
At Dusk's words, Spike's eyes lit up and the smile returned to his face.
"You're the best!" Spike smiled, regaining his good mood and ready to talk to his brother normally again. "By the way, where are we supposed to go exactly?"
Dusk glanced sideways at Spike and puts an analytical face, a face that Dusk always put when he trying to put together a puzzle.
"Well, yesterday Scootaloo mentioned that there was a Spa in the town, and she only showed us half the town before I asked her to go to school, so the Spa should be in the part of town that we haven't toured yet.” Dusk said, remembering. "Now the problem is finding the Spa."
"Hehe, I don't think that'll be a problem.” Spike said with a small chuckle, pointing to the front.
Dusk glanced over to where Spike was pointing, and he saw a large house with a pink tent-shaped roof, its doors were decorated with hearts, and hanging down it had a large heart-shaped sign that showed a mare with a long, stylized mane next to a horseshoe surrounded by flowers, underneath that sign he read an inscription that said 'Ponyville Day Spa'.
"So you're going to take a bath at a beauty salon?" Spike scoffed. "And will you also take advantage of having them trim and paint your hooves? Hahaha."
Dusk just blushed without argument to refute, he really didn't like being related to anything overly feminine, and entering a beauty salon was precisely one thing that Dusk would normally never do, however the bigger priority for him now was to take a good bath and that no one else would tell him again to his face that he was dirty, so Dusk simply gritted his teeth and walked steadily toward the door of the Spa while he was followed by Spike, who was still laughing his brother about he dared to enter a beauty salon.
"You'll pay for this!" Dusk thought annoyed as he opened the Spa door while he heard Spike's persistent giggle.
Once inside the salon, they saw a spacious hall with a reception table, but no one who was there to receive them. Dusk glanced around and prepared to call someone in charge when suddenly he heard voices coming from a hallway behind the vestibule.
"So, did you get to the part where he reveals to 'Illusion' that he's really a prince!?" said a female voice excited.
"Oh yes! It's my favorite part of the book! It was so romantic!" Said another elegant female voice. "I wish I could find true love as 'Illusion' did..."
"You'll find it, my dear, you just have to be patient." The first voice said affectionately.
"I guess..." The elegant voice sighed. "Although I've asked myself lately, how will I know that I'm in love if I've never been before?"
"Fufu, that's simple." The first voice gently laughed. "You just feel it."
Dusk could clearly hear this conversation because he had unconsciously moved closer to the voice’s origin, there he could see a pink mare with a light blue mane and a lotus flower cutie mark, she wore a white band on her head and a smaller one around her neck, apparently that was her uniform saying she worked there. The other was a unicorn mare with white coat and blue eyes, she had purple mane and tail, both neatly combed, on her flank rested her cutie mark of three sky blue diamonds, in addition to her way of moving and expressing herself gave Dusk the impression that this mare was very much like the elegant and wealthy mares of Canterlot, an impression he didn't have of anyone else in that town, so she caught Dusk's attention and he stared at her.
"That mare looks like the typical snobby mare of Canterlot, don't you think?" Dusk whispered to Spike, who had followed him and stood by his side looking from far away at the mares.
"Yeah... She's beautiful..." Spike replied, gone from reality, with his eyes and thoughts fixed on what, in his opinion, was the most beautiful mare he had ever seen.
Dusk stared at Spike in surprise, he had never seen Spike like this, his little brother was lost in his own thoughts, with his mouth open almost drooling and his eyes half closed staring without blinking at the white mare. His little brother had fallen in love with that unicorn, that was something new to see for both of them. Dusk was not sure how to react as a brother, and simply he prepared to take the dragon by the shoulders and make him react, however, a memory came quickly to his mind and the male unicorn smiled maliciously thinking how to make his brother come back to reality and get revenge for mocking him, all at the same time.
Spike was still in his lucid dream staring at who might have been the love of his life when a heavy blow to his butt made him fall flat on his face.
"Ouch...! Why'd you kick me!!" Spike cried annoyed, turning around and seeing that Dusk had kicked him.
"Well, I remember you telling me this morning that if you ever wanted something soft and white instead of a gem, I could kick you.” Dusk smirked. "And from the way you looked like a silly in love when you looked that white mare, I think it's fair to say that you'd like to have her more than any old gem, wouldn't you?"
"I-It's not that I like her..." Spike said shyly, getting to his feet again. "Or maybe yes, I don't know, it's just... she's so cute and-" Spike couldn't finish speaking, due to another small kick Dusk gave him.
"And that other one why it was!?" Spike yelled annoyed on the floor, rubbing his butt.
"That one was because at Fluttershy's house you told me to kick you if you ever fell in love." Dusk laughed as Spike looked at him with hatred.
"What is going on here!" A mare's voice shouted, immediately distracting Dusk and Spike. It was the voice of the white mare, who noticed their presence and approached them after hearing all the commotion. "Who are you and why do you kick this baby boy!"
Then the mare came up to Spike, who was still on the ground and she gave him a big hug.
"Are you okay, little boy?" Asked the white mare after hugging Spike, a question that remained unanswered because Spike was almost unconscious, ecstatic, totally blushing.
"Why did you kick this cute little boy!" Asked the white mare again, looking annoyed at Dusk.
"It's... It's just a misunderstanding!" Dusk said quickly, wanting to avoid at all costs someone getting angry with him again. "Come on Spike, tell her it's just a game between us."
Spike, who had already partly returned to reality after the mare's warm hug, looked at his trusty dear brother, who had cared for him and helped him so often and with whom he always shared his adventures; And then Spike looked at the other side, at the beautiful mare by his side, the choice was obvious.
"He... He's a bad pony who just wants to hurt me, Bwaah!" Spike said, pretending to cry, taking the opportunity to snuggle up in the white mare's legs.
"Aww... Calm down poor baby." Said the white mare tenderly, comforting Spike and looking annoyed at Dusk. Then, for the first time, Dusk knew the betrayal of a brother changing him for a girl.
"You should go now or I'll call someone to throw you out." The pink mare said looking at Dusk, who had also seen everything and now believed that Dusk was just a pony that enjoyed harassing the little ones.
"N-No... I... I..." Dusk stammered, not knowing how to defend himself.
Spike glanced sideways at Dusk as he continued to be caressed by the mare of his dreams, his poor brother really seemed to have complications in the face of such situation, apparently he already had received his deserved punishment after kicking him, and although Spike would have liked to be hugging that white mare forever, he finally decided to save his brother.
"Wait.” Spike said, letting go of the hug of the white mare. "It's... It's true, it was all just a game, the truth is that he's my brother, sorry for lying..."
The three ponies stared at Spike, the mares somewhat surprised and Dusk smiling, relieved that Spike had saved him and finally told the truth.
"You... WHAT!" Asked the white mare, still stunned.
"Yes... I lied, sorry for that..." Spike said, feeling sorry to fool such a beautiful mare.
"I didn't mean that it's just that..." Said the white mare, pausing because she was not sure what she was going to say. "Are you really brothers? I mean, I don't judge anyone, but... Wow! Apparently, your mother was a little naughty..."
Dusk was perplexed for a few seconds, not understanding what the white mare had meant until finally he suddenly understood what she was referring to with 'naughty', then he blushed completely.
"N-No! You're wrong! We're not real brothers, it's not like my mom did 'that' with a dragon or something like that!" Dusk said quickly, not wanting others to think his mom was a 'naughty'. However, as soon as Dusk finished his speech, he immediately saw Spike and his heart clench after realizing that he had just said that they weren't really brothers.
"He's not my blood brother.” Dusk added quickly, staring at Spike seriously. "But Spike is my life brother, we've known each other since I was a little colt and he was an egg, we've always been together since he was born. Even if we don't have the same mother and father, he's my brother and I'll always be there for him." Dusk finished saying, putting a hoof on Spike's shoulder and looking at the dragon affectionately.
Dusk's words hit Spike right in the heart, immediately giving him a hug in thanks. A hug that they broke quickly after a few seconds, because, one: both thought themselves too macho to give each other a sibling hug, that was for mares; And two: because they were interrupted by an annoying sound.
"Awww..." Both mares said tenderly at the same time when they heard Dusk's speech and saw them hugging each other.
"So you welcomed him into your home and that's how he became your brother, that's so cute!" Said the white mare with a smile, now looking at Dusk tenderly. For his part, Spike saw the white mare had stopped paying attention to him and she had fixed her sights on Dusk, something that made the affection he had just felt for his brother quickly replaced by a new feeling he didn't know of until that day, jealousy.
"So... what are you doing here?" The pink mare finally asked, who also began to speak more kindly to Dusk.
"Err... Oh, yes! I wanted to ask if I could take a bath." Dusk said, recalling what his mission was coming there.
"Clients!" Said the pink mare animatedly, with a big smile. "You should have said so from the beginning, sorry for not seeing to you immediately, but I was attending another client."
"No problem." Dusk smiled, guessing the white mare must have been the other customer.
"This way please." Said the pink mare politely, approaching the reception desk. "You must be new here, so first of all I will make your personal file. Tell me, what is your name and where are you from?" The pink mare finished, taking some papers from the reception desk.
"My name is Dusk Shine, I'm from Canterlot.” Dusk said, also politely.
"Oh! Canterlot!" Said the pink mare surprised, scribbling Dusk's data on the file. "By the way, my name is Aloe." added the pink mare, before looking sideways at the white mare and giving her a small complicit smile. "And the beautiful white mare by your side is my friend Rarity." Aloe finished saying with a chuckle.
Dusk turned, looked at the white mare and prepared to greet her as a good gentlecolt had to face the presentations, which he didn't do with Aloe because he imagined that he shouldn't interrupt her in her work.
"It's a pleasure, Miss Rarity." Dusk solemnly said, bowing, taking a Rarity's hoof and kissing it politely, just as he always did with the refined mares of Canterlot, which seemed the right way to her as she had that same refined appearance of snob mares of the capital.
Rarity blushed slightly at Dusk's act, then she glanced at Aloe and both of them shared a girly giggle.
"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Dusk Shine." Rarity said very politely, suppressing her giggle.
"And tell me, what is your occupation?" Aloe asked again, filling the file.
"I'm a student of magic." Dusk replied.
"Wow...! You must come from a good family to be able to study magic in Equestria's best magic school, isn't it?" Aloe added curiously.
"Eh... yeah... I guess, hehe." Dusk responded somewhat nervously, he didn't mean that unlike most other magic students at Canterlot, that mostly studied there for their money and/or social status, he had been chosen exceptionally only for his talent in magic.
"Gentlecoltly and from a good family, definitely a good match." Aloe chuckled, looking sideways at Rarity. "And tell me, are you single?"
The question confused and surprised Dusk, so he couldn't respond immediately. Was that also a question of the reception file?
"Because, you know... I'm engaged, but I think my friend here is single." Aloe said, smiling at Dusk and aimed with her eyes at Rarity. "Both of you would really make a nice couple."
"Shh! Enough, Aloe." Rarity said quickly, blushing and smiling at Dusk. "Don't listen to her, she just wants to annoy you."
"Eh... yeah... hehe..." Dusk laughed nervously, not really understanding if they were really flirting with him or they were just bothering him. "Mares..." Dusk thought.
"Well, you can go into the baths already." Aloe finally said with a smile, putting away the reception files. "Minors don't pay, so your little brother can enter for free, that will be 12 bits."
That startled Dusk, he realized that he wouldn't be able to pay, at least not with only his share of the money.
"Emm... Spike... I'll have to take all the money out of the bag. Is there a problem?" Dusk whispered to Spike.
"B-But then I won't be able to buy a gem.” Spike demanded, who just looked resigned at Dusk and added. "It's fine, do what you want."
"Thanks, bro." Dusk grinned and handed the money to Aloe.
"Aww... So you wanted money for a gem? I guess even though you're little you're still a dragon." Rarity said tenderly approaching Spike. "Take it, it's small but I hope you like it." Rarity finished, handing Spike a small topaz she kept.
Spike held the small gem and looked again at Rarity's smiling face as he felt a huge crush on his heart, now he was sure, he fell in love and Rarity was the mare of his dreams!
Once everything was in order, Aloe motioned for Dusk and Spike to walk down a corridor to the right.
"This way, please, I'll be with you shortly.” Aloe said giving them directions, then she waited for Dusk and Spike to go down the corridor before turning around and talking to Rarity again.
"So... What do you think?" Aloe asked excitedly.
"What do I think about what?" Rarity asked, pretending naivete.
"Don't pretend you don't know what I mean, I'm talking about Dusk." Aloe smiled.
"He's cute... and gentlecoltly, but... I don't think he's my type." Rarity said as she watched Dusk walk down the hall. "I mean, he looks childlike, and acts like such, did you see how childish he was to fight with his brother? A mature pony should not act like that."
"What do you mean?" Aloe asked confused. "I've seen you fight with your little sister thousands of times when you bring her here."
"T-That's different!" Rarity said quickly, embarrassed, then looked back down the hall and thought for a while before she spoke. "Although you're right, maybe I'm judging him too fast, maybe... I'll use my charms to see what happens." Rarity finished speaking, with a mischievous little smile on her lips.
Meanwhile, Dusk and Spike finished walking down the hallway and came to a large room with a huge bathtub. Once there they waited until Aloe arrived, she handed them a pair of towels, and politely left the room, wishing them a relaxing bath, where for some reason she accentuated the word 'relaxing' when she looked at Dusk. Being alone, Dusk finally entered slowly in the bathtub, much to his surprise was a Jacuzzi, which began to release steam as soon as he entered, followed by Spike who simply jumped into the hot tub.
"Ah... This really is relaxing..." Dusk said smiling, immersing himself completely in the water and then taking his head out of the water and asserting himself on the edge of the hot tub, with his eyes closed. "Finally a break, free of stress..."
"Sorry, can I sit next to you?" Said an elegant voice behind Dusk.
"Yeah... no problem..." Dusk said extremely relaxed, still with his eyes closed.
Dusk still thought of nothing when he heard and felt the water move when someone beside him got into the hot tub and sat next to him. It took several seconds for his brain to notice and react to the event, Dusk suddenly opened his eyes and looked at his side in surprise, where now there was an elegant white mare, sitting next to him in the hot tub.
"M-Miss Rarity! W-What are you doing here?" Dusk asked blushed, totally nervous to see a mare bathing next to him.
"Please, just call me Rarity." The white mare smiled, waving her long lashes. "I'm just taking a bath, just like you."
"Y-Yeah, b-but I'm... I'm still here." Dusk said, extremely nervous as he almost felt their skins touching each other because of how close she was.
"I know that's why I asked you.” Rarity said coquettishly. "Besides this is a mixed spa, there's nothing to worry about, or..." Rarity said before moving closer to Dusk. "Does my company bother you?"
"N-No! Of course not!" Dusk said looking away from Rarity, totally nervous.
Sometimes Dusk found himself difficult to understand his own behavior, that is, only a few minutes ago he had seen Rarity in the hallway, but now that she was beside him, with her coat wet and the water covering half her body, for some reason he thought that image seemed more attractive and made him more restless.
"You shouldn't be nervous, it's just a bath." Rarity said with a flirtatious smile, putting her hoof on Dusk's shoulder. "Plus, it's always fun to come with someone else."
"WAHH!" Spike yelled suddenly. When he saw Rarity entering the hot tub he froze with his mouth open, then he saw she sat next to Dusk and his mouth dropped even more, finally when Rarity touched Dusk's shoulder his mouth dropped completely due to surprise, causing him to swallow a lot of water as he watched as his brother snatched his girl.
"Spike!" Dusk and Rarity shouted in unison as the dragon almost drowned.
Once Dusk took Spike, he forced him out of the hot tub and rest outside, which Spike reluctantly did, sitting on the edge of the hot tub just in front of Dusk and Rarity, not taking his eyes off his brother, he wouldn't let Dusk take his beloved away.
Everything that happened made Dusk finally relax and cool his head, after all he couldn't be mentally distracted while his brother could drown again, also he had to prove that he was a gentlecolt that could bathe with a mare in a public bath without a problem, as long as she wasn't too close, and just his luck, Rarity had just decided not to be too close to Dusk, at least not while little Spike was there.
For Rarity, it was just a game, a beautiful mare that made the colts do everything she wanted with only her charms, it was something she often did, not in an evil or abusive way, but rather just to play a little, because she always thought that while others had magical power, speed, intelligence, agility; She had her feminine charm, and she liked to make use of it, so she wouldn't miss the opportunity to have some fun with the naive Dusk.
"Well, since I can't get close, I think it's time to use my best weapon, My Killer Look!" Rarity thought, sitting in the hot tub to a short distance from Dusk. She turned her head coquettishly, directing her gaze directly into Dusk's eyes, showing him her huge, bright blue eyes as she coquettishly fluttered her long, well-cared for lashes.
Meanwhile, Dusk began to relax again in the hot tub until he felt an uneasy sensation, that of a persistent look, then he immediately looked at Rarity and saw her huge blue eyes staring at him while her long lashes waved incessantly.
"Eh... Rarity...?" Dusk asked.
"Bingo!" Rarity thought. "Here comes the flattery."
"Yes, darling?" Rarity said waving her lashes even more, without ceasing to flirt.
"Do you have something in your eyes?" Dusk asked innocently.
"Huh?" Rarity replied perplexed, dropping her flirtatious act for a face of utter disbelief.
"It's just that for a while you've been blinking a lot, is something wrong?" Dusk asked confused.
"I... err... it's just... Huh?" Rarity said totally in shock, not knowing what to say. It was the first time something like this had happened to her, what she wanted was Dusk to say 'What pretty eyes' or 'How beautiful you are', the same words she had heard so many times from other colts, but instead, Dusk said a stupid question that had made her look like a complete fool, perhaps... Her famous feminine charm hadn't worked on Dusk!?
"No... It’s nothing..." Rarity finally said ashamed, totally blushed, without even being able to believe that her greatest charm had not worked.
As for Dusk, he didn't know why Rarity had apparently been embarrassed, so he just looked at her even more confused, while the little dragon looked at her with a totally different look, a look that had been mesmerized by the gorgeous blue eyes of that beautiful mare.
That impasse left Rarity unsettled for several absolutely silent minutes, until finally she decided not to give another thought to the matter and just continue with the bath and the conversation, after all, there would be other opportunities to seduce Dusk with her charms, best to enjoy the bath for now.
"Emm... So tell me, Dusk, what does it feel like to live in Canterlot?" Rarity asked, starting the conversation again. "I mean, living near the palace, surrounded by elegant shops and refined ponies, that must be a dream come true!"
"Hmm... yeah... it's really a nice city..." Dusk answered, trying to think of the comforts and advantages of living in the capital city of Equestria, while he did he couldn't help thinking that Ponyville, despite everything being the opposite of Canterlot, was also a good place to live. "Although Ponyville is also very nice.” Dusk added, thinking aloud.
"Oh, of course, Ponyville has its charm, but nothing compared to the opulence and magnificence of Canterlot." Rarity smiled, with dreamy eyes. "My dream is to open a shop there, someday."
Dusk stared at Rarity, wanting to know what her work was, then Rarity saw his confused look and read his mind.
"I'm a dressmaker." Rarity said with a big smile, before continuing to talk excitedly. "Fashion designer, seamstress, and now an interior designer! Hehe." She finished saying as if she had wanted to say it for a long time. "I am actually in charge of decoration for the Summer Sun Celebration!"
"Eh... wow, that's a very important job.” Dusk said with a smile that was almost a grimace, thinking that it didn't really matter much to him, things like fashion, decoration, were all too feminine; however as a good gentlecolt he couldn't seem indifferent to the conversation of a mare, so he continued to pay attention and chat. "And what decorations did you plan on for the celebration?"
"Fufu, it's a secret." Rarity laughed. "I'll have to start work today to complete it, in fact, I should be working right now if it weren't that to begin working I need to place an order that will arrive later this afternoon, but I'm sure I'll do something that will surprise all the attendees! Including the princess of course! I can't wait to see everyone's faces when they see how beautiful I'll decorate the great hall! I can just see it now, it'll be beautiful!"
Dusk actually found the conversation with Rarity getting more boring, and while it was true that he must recognize that she was very pretty, he was finding the mare more akin to the vain and superficial mares of Canterlot, i.e., Why was she so moved by such aesthetic things? They're only ornaments!
"But enough about me." Rarity smiled. "Tell me about yourself, do you know any important ponies in Canterlot? Someone of high society or royalty?" For a moment Dusk was relieved that Rarity wanted to change the topic, but when she wanted to know if he knew someone from royalty, he definitely decided he wouldn't say anything about the important ponies he knew, like the princess for example, after all, it seems that like the Canterlot's mares, she was only interested in nobility and social status. Although ultimately Dusk didn't need to respond, as he was interrupted by the loud voice of his brother.
"Of course!" Spike shouted from outside the Jacuzzi, he had seen and listened to both ponies and wanted to be part of the conversation and wanted Rarity to pay attention him again. "We know the General of the Royal Guard, the Leader of the Council of Nobles, we even know the princ-" Spike was silenced by Dusk's magic, closing his mouth.
"Yes, we know some ponies, but no one very important, hehe..." Dusk said as he continued to use his magic on Spike.
"The General of the Royal Guard, huh?" Rarity said smiling, she had reached to hear what Spike said. "Then you must be very important in Canterlot... And tell me, how many days are you in Ponyville? What places have you seen of the town?"
"Well... Yesterday a filly gave us a tour of various places in town." Dusk replied, again thanking for the change of topic but a little annoyed that Rarity asked so many questions. "We know Town Hall, Sugarcube Corner, the Clock Tower, the..." Dusk stopped abruptly and opened his eyes wide as he remembered something very important, what he tried to remember that morning but he couldn't do, he remembered now!
"THE LIBRARY!" Dusk screamed. "I completely forgot about the library!"
"What about the library?" Rarity asked, confused by Dusk's sudden change in attitude.
"The town library's closed!" Dusk said quickly, standing up. "That's something I can't accept, I need to do something about it!"
"Umm... yes, the library is closed, but what does it matter?" Rarity asked, still confused.
"You don't get it!? A library is a temple of wisdom, a haven of knowledge!" Dusk said agitatedly, approaching Rarity and taking her by the shoulders. "What about any pony in the town that wants to read about something and can't!? It's a crime!! Knowledge is the greatest-"
"AHEM! But that can wait, CAN'T IT, DUSK!?" Spike coughed heavily, for Dusk to come out of his frenzied state and realize that he was again exaggerating and seemed to be scaring Rarity a little.
"Y-Yeah... that can wait..." Dusk was forced to say, releasing Rarity and wanting to avoid at all costs making a scene in front of Rarity.
"Wow...! You really are passionate about libraries... "Rarity finally said, still surprised by Dusk's change of attitude.
"Yes..." Dusk said more calmly, sitting down again and looking down. "It's just that libraries were my refuge when I was a little colt. Everything I read and learned there... I wouldn't want any pony not to have access to something as valuable as a book..." Dusk finished melancholically.
Rarity stared at him while many thoughts crossed her mind, she knew something Dusk didn't know, something related to the library, perhaps the best thing would have been to tell him right away, but Rarity finally dismissed that thought, thinking it wouldn't be necessary to tell someone of Dusk 'status'.
"No problem, I'm sure that after you take a good bath you can solve the subject of the closed library, after all, you are a colt of noble birth, from the great capital city of Equestria, surely you will solve it.” Rarity said with a smile.
"Eh... yes... I hope so." Dusk finally said, resigning himself to having to do what Rarity had just said and just quietly finish the bath before fixing that problem.
"And tell me..." Rarity said, wanting to change the topic. "Where are you staying, at the village inn? Or did you come in some big private carriage to Ponyville?"
Those words put Dusk back into tension, again remembering another problem he'd have to solve once he'd solved the bath and library.
"Well... We were staying at the inn but now we have nowhere to stay." Spike replied, approaching the edge of the hot tub, wanting to share the mare's attention. "And the worst thing is that we don't have money anymore."
"Wait... you don't have money!" Rarity asked incredulously before looking worried again at Dusk. "So you are not a colt of noble birth, or wealthy?" Dusk blushed a little before speaking.
"No... neither one nor the other, I'm not from a noble family or wealthy, I'm from a humble family and only study magic because my teacher pays for my studies." Dusk said a little embarrassed. "The truth is that we spent the last bits we had on this bath, and now we don't have any more money, hehe."
Rarity stared at Dusk with concern and then looked down and frowned as she covered her mouth with her hooves and put on a thoughtful that she knew he was only a common pony that didn't even have one bit.
"No money..." Rarity whispered before she rose quickly from the hot tub and quickly left. "I'm sorry, I must go." She added without even looking at Dusk or Spike.
And there Dusk and Spike remained, completely perplexed by the sudden change of attitude of the mare. Dusk thought that maybe Rarity's behavior would change upon learning that she was just bathing with a couple of guys who didn't have any money, but he never imagined that she would run like that and abandon them like that, that had been worse than he expected.
"W-What happened!? Why did she run away!?" Spike asked confused.
"I'll tell you why.” Dusk said annoyed, beginning to wash his mane as if he had not been affected Rarity's attitude. "It happens that she realized that we had no money and decided that she was too refined to be with a couple of bums like us... As I thought, she's not like the other mares in this town, she is just as cold, selfish and calculating as the elegant mares of Canterlot." Dusk finished saying bitterly, realizing that his first impression hadn't been wrong and now knowing why Rarity had seemed so interested in knowing whether Dusk was a wealthy noblecolt or not.
What followed was rather trivial, Dusk finished bathing, dried himself slowly, making sure he was completely clean, and finally, he walked with Spike towards the lobby, Spike head down and Dusk with a look of bitterness.
"See you later, come back soon." Aloe smiled once Dusk and Spike said goodbye and left the Spa.
Dusk felt the sun's pleasant rays and the cool breeze hitting his freshly washed coat, thinking that he mustn't be bitter about what had happened and simply enjoy the day and solve the problems that he still had pending, the library and lodging, but that never happened, because as soon as they left the spa, an unexpected cry put them on alert.
"Dusk, Spike, please wait!" Cried the voice of a mare in the distance. It was Rarity, who was trotting in the direction of the Spa.
"Why did this vain mare come back?" Dusk thought bitterly again, feeling annoyed with himself for thinking she was cute despite her superficial attitude.
"I'm sorry I abandoned you so suddenly, but... I had something to do in my house." Rarity said with a smile once she reached them. "By the way, there I found a photo that might interest you." Rarity finished talking, looking at Dusk and showing him a photo.
Dusk took the photo and with Spike, they were surprised to see that it was the private photo that they had next to the princess and that Spike had lost a couple of days.
"H-How did you get this?" Dusk asked in surprise.
"Well, it seems that my sister Sweetie Belle found it a few days ago, I found it now by chance, I tried to find out more but she was annoyed with me for making her clean the house, and she locked herself in her room, so I took the photo and the opportunity to bring it, it's yours, isn't it?" Rarity said cheerfully.
"Yes... it's mine." Dusk said suspiciously as he handed the photograph to Spike to be kept.
"That irritating filly is your sister!?" Spike said at the same time Dusk spoke, quickly correcting himself nervously. "I-I mean, that adorable filly... hehe." Spike laughed, not wanting Rarity to know that he didn't like Sweetie Belle's attitude at all.
"So... Do you know the princess?" Rarity asked, ignoring Spike's comment, looking with much interest and coquettishly at Dusk. "Are you royalty or something?"
"I knew it!" Dusk thought. "This mare left us when she found out we had no money and now she comes back because she finds out about my relationship with the princess! It's just a self-interested mare!"
"Hardly, she's just my magic teacher.” Dusk answered sharply.
"Oh! But that's just as interesting, why didn't you tell me something so important when we were taking in the hot tub?" Rarity asked excitedly.
Dusk was silent and looked away completely annoyed, something that surprised Rarity.
"Eh... well... to what I was getting at." Rarity said quickly after Dusk left her unanswered. "Now I have time to go see some clients, I... I wanted to know if you could come with me and help me carry some things." Rarity finished speaking, again using her secret weapon, putting on a flirty face and waving her long, beautiful lashes.
"That's the last straw!" Dusk thought. "Now she wants to make us help her as her servants when she knows I have other priorities! How selfish can Rarity be!?"
"Of course!" Spike said almost in a scream before Dusk had even opened his mouth to refuse. "I'll help you in whatever you need, Rarity!"
"Aww... you're so cute, Spikey-wikey.” Rarity said lovingly, giving him a small kiss on his cheek, causing Spike's tail to tighten as he fumed through his ears.
Finally, Rarity smiled again and began to walk, being followed by Spike who almost seemed to float dropping loving hearts with every sigh. Dusk immediately approached Spike and took him by the shoulder to stop him.
"Spike, we have other things to do, remember?" Dusk whispered in a futile attempt to stop him from following Rarity, which didn't work, as the dragon didn't hear him, he shook Dusk's hoof and just followed Rarity, hypnotized by the white figure of the mare.
Dusk was silent where he was, watching as Spike and Rarity continued walking until the mare realized that Dusk didn't follow them.
"Why doesn't he follow me?" Rarity thought confused before remembering that in the hot tub Dusk had seemed immune to her charms. "Well, now I'll prove that no colt is immune to my charms!" Rarity told herself, smiling wickedly.
Rarity quickly shook her head back to look at Dusk, making her beautiful mane turn gracefully, flow and fall neatly into place, as she gazed lovingly at Dusk with her most flirtatious look.
"Are you coming, dear?" Rarity asked waving seductively her beautiful lashes.
Spike remained open-mouthed at such a seductive and beautiful mare, yet Dusk did not flinch.
"Of course I'll coming, I can't let Spike go alone.” Dusk said still resentful of Rarity. "And by the way, I insist, you should go to a doctor, it's not normal to blink so much." Dusk finished saying innocently, not understanding Rarity's flirtation attempt.
Dusk began walking to where Rarity was, without even looking at the mare, while Rarity inflated her cheeks in frustration.
"What's wrong with this colt!?" Rarity thought confused and upset. "Again I used my charms and my most flirtatious look and he doesn't flinch, what's more, he seems to be upset, did I do something wrong!?"
Rarity couldn't understand why someone didn't fall for her charms and that frustrated her more and more! She had only wanted to play with this colt, in the beginning, now it was a personal challenge. However, first, there were more important things to do before continuing her games, so she just took a deep breath and walked back to reach Dusk while being followed in turn by the little Spike, who couldn't take his eyes off the mare of his dreams.
The first place Rarity took them was to a huge house on the outskirts of town, a house that was very different from the humble houses of the town, that house could simply be defined with a word, a mansion.
"Wait here." Rarity said once they reached the garden of the house, then she walked alone to the front door.
"Of course! You don't want someone of high rank to see you with someone like us..." Dusk thought, still annoyed with Rarity.
Once Rarity knocked on the door, a butler attended her, and after talking with her, he came back in and called the pony who appeared to be the owner of the mansion, a brown-skinned stallion with a well-groomed black mane, wearing a tie with the symbol of money in it and his cutie mark was precisely three sacks of money. Dusk saw that same cutie mark on a plaque at the entrance of the mansion in which it said: Filthy Rich's mansion.
From the distance, Dusk couldn't hear what that pony and Rarity said, but he could see their gestures. At first the wealthy pony had refused something, however Rarity had smiled and flirted subtly until the gestures of the stallion has softened and finally he smiled, after that, the stallion again called his butler, who came with two large boxes, then Rarity took her bag of money and gave a lot of bits to the stallion, then she thanked him and said goodbye, bringing the boxes with her magic when, and finally she returned with Dusk and Spike.
Dusk recalled that Rarity had been excited about the decoration of the Summer Sun Celebration and she had told him that she needed to buy a lot of things to do that, so he immediately assumed that those boxes should contain her precious ornaments for the celebration, and decided not to ask why in exchange he decided to ask about the change of attitude he saw in the stallion while talking with Rarity.
"Why did that pony suddenly change his mind?" Dusk asked curiously.
Rarity was a little surprised at the question and was a little embarrassed to realize that she had been watched attentively all that time by Dusk, but then she simply smiled.
"Well, Filthy Rich is a very conciliatory pony when there are deals to be made, but now he was reluctant to sell me what I asked for." Rarity said smiling and then glancing at Dusk. "That's why sometimes mares have to use their feminine charms to win over the obstinacy of stallions."
"So that's why" Dusk said mockingly. "I can't believe you convinced him that way, I mean, I would immediately notice if anyone was flirting with me."
"Sure... hehe..." Rarity laughed nervously, thinking how naive Dusk was when he didn't realize that she had been flirting with him several times and that he hadn't even noticed.
The three of them began to walk again and repeated the same process several times, they came to a house, usually wealthy houses, Rarity talked to some pony, they passed some boxes and she paid them. In that way they continued until they finished the fourth house when the sun was already beginning to hide and they had already got 10 huge boxes, which wouldn't have been able to move were it not for the magic of Dusk, and by the help of Spike, that although Dusk told him that it wasn't necessary, the dragon insisted on carrying a huge and heavy box on his own, to prove to Rarity that he was also strong.
Once Rarity returned with the boxes of the last house, she looked toward the sunset and for some reason, she became very nervous.
"Oh no, it's getting too late!" Rarity said aloud, watching the sunset and biting her lip. "We must hurry."
So they began to walk again, this time with a slightly faster pace as Dusk and Spike followed Rarity, who almost trotted while carrying a box with her magic.
As they walked on suddenly Rarity's eyes turned and she stared at something, Dusk realized and followed her gaze, so he could see that for some reason she had her eyes fixed on a huge and excessively ornate carriage, which was on the main road heading for the outskirts of the town. Dusk didn't understand why she stared at it, but what he did understand was the mare's expression, which showed sadness.
As Dusk stared ahead, into Rarity's face, and she kept walking and looking the other way, Dusk suddenly realized the imminent danger.
"Rarity, watch out!" Dusk shouted too late, for he only heard the blow when the distracted Rarity, who not looking forward, had crashed into a tree making the heavy box that she levitated fall on her.
"OUCH!" Rarity shouted on the ground, being immediately helped by Spike, who jumped frightened to see his beloved fall down, followed by Dusk, who offered her a hoof to help her get up. "How silly of me, how can I be so distracted! I hope this doesn't leave me a bump."
"Calm down, it wasn't a heavy blow, and believe me, I know about blows to the trees.” Dusk said with some embarrassment. "Definitely this won't leave you a bump, you just messed up your mane a little."
"MY MANE IS A MESS!?" Rarity screamed, even louder than when she hit the tree. Then she got up and looked back, it seemed she wanted to run away somewhere, but then she looked at the sunset, where the sun was almost completely hidden, and she bit her lip hard while she had a look of concern.
"There's no time, let's go." Rarity said quickly, re-levitating the box she was carrying and starting to walk faster, followed by Spike and Dusk, who only looked at each other in confusion, picked up the boxes and followed her to the same step quick.
As they walked, Dusk began to recognize the buildings and realize that they were apparently moving toward the center of the town, something that was rectified when he finally saw Rarity heading towards the town hall. That pleased Dusk for a second and then bothered him again because this place was where he should have gone first after he left the spa, to solve the library problem, instead he had been following Rarity all over the town, carrying her silly boxes of ornaments. This made the resentment he felt towards Rarity grow, not only abandoning them when she realized that they had no money, but also her mere interest in returning when she realized that he was related to the princess and the fact that she had used them as her helpers all afternoon.
Once they approached the town hall, they could see that in front of the main door was the Mayor, who was just closing the door ready to close the town hall for that day.
"Please wait, Ms. Mayor!" Shouted Rarity, setting aside the box she was carrying and running to keep the Mayor from closing the town hall.
As she talked with the Mayor, Dusk and Spike stayed where they were, where Rarity had left the box, who by inertia didn't follow Rarity when she was going to talk to someone, just as they had all afternoon.
"Time to go.” Dusk finally said annoyed, looking at Spike. "If we stay, she might use us as her helpers all night."
"But, we must help Rarity..." Spike replied with a look of love, looking at the white mare.
"Enough!" Dusk said loudly, taking Spike by the shoulders. "This mare doesn't care, she left us at the spa and only came back because she thought I was royalty, and then just used us as tools all afternoon, I can't take it anymore!" Dusk finished talking angry, causing Spike to lower his head sadly because he didn't want to believe that such a beautiful mare was as bad as Dusk said.
"Hey, guys!" Rarity said smiling, coming to them. "I have something for you."
"What? More work?" Dusk answered annoyed.
"Oh, of course not." Rarity said, still smiling, not realizing Dusk's sarcasm. "This is for you."
Then Rarity showed them a rolled scroll, which Dusk unwillingly took, opened it and read.
"What's thi-?" Dusk couldn't finish his sentence once he read the scroll, as it made Dusk's eyes wide with surprise. "A... A permit to reopen the library...?"
"That's right." Rarity said with a big smile at Dusk's surprise. "The library was about to be closed down, in fact, just this morning, all the books were auctioned off, and obviously there's no library without books, so I went and bought the books to be able to reopen the library."
What Rarity said surprised Dusk even more, who dropped the parchment and opened one of the boxes, which contained no adornment as he thought, but dozens of books.
"When you said that you were a student at Canterlot I thought you would be from a wealthy family, so you would have no problem buying the books." Rarity continued speaking. "But when I found out you didn't have any money, I had to run home to take the money I had saved for the Summer Sun Celebration ornaments."
"Is... Is that why you left?" Dusk said slowly, with a pain in his heart.
"Yes, why else would I have left?" Rarity smiled. "Sorry if I did not tell you, but I wanted it to be a surprise."
"Bu... but what about the ornaments you wanted to buy?" Dusk asked worriedly.
"Oh, that..." Rarity replied, no longer smiling sincerely, she wore a sad smile. "Don't worry, I will surely be able to make a beautiful reception for the princess with the materials that I already have... Besides... the seller I wanted to buy the ornaments from left town, and anyway I have no more money, hehe..."
Dusk's mouth was dry, and he swallowed hard as his face shown such guilt. There Rarity was, the mare he had misunderstood all day, thinking that she had abandoned them when she really wanted to help them, thinking that she had only used them when in fact she was giving him what he most wanted. A great pain was born in his heart to realize how wrong he had been with her.
"Why?" Dusk strained to ask.
"Well, while we were at the spa, you told me how important the libraries were to you. Very rarely do I hear someone talk so passionately, so I decided the right thing would be to help you." Rarity smiled tenderly.
"But that wasn't just simply helping!" Dusk thought. She had spent a great deal of money, and not any money, money she wanted to use to make a great reception for all the ponies at the Summer Sun Celebration, money she would use to impress the princess, money she would use for something she really loved, just to help him!
"And best of all, you'll be able to use the library until they find a new librarian.” Rarity added cheerfully. "That's two birds with one stone! Now you just need to go talk to the Mayor to get the key!"
That last comment was the last drop that was needed to overflow Dusk's emotions, he felt dirty, a bad pony standing in front of a luminous being, he thought that Rarity was the same as the cold and selfish mares of Canterlot, but he couldn't have been more wrong, Rarity was the most generous mare he had ever known!
As Dusk stared at Rarity, she couldn't help but think of two things, how beautiful Dusk looked in the late afternoon sunlight behind his mane, and the other was the intensity with which HE looked at her, that intense look was the look she had been looking for when she had flirted with him and hadn't worked, but now there was the look, now that she was all sweaty for jogging and with her mane still disordered after the blow, no colt would have seen her with those eyes as she was now, but there was Dusk, staring at her with huge eyes like no other colt had seen her before, since other colts only saw her beautiful blue eyes, instead Rarity seemed to feel that Dusk saw beyond that, he wasn't seeing her superficially, he was admiring her inside, to her as a pony! That was the first time in a long time that she blushed before a colt and not the other way around.
The whole situation had touched Dusk deep down, and though he was reluctant to any form of affection with others, this time he couldn't help it. Without warning, Dusk lifted his hooves and hugged Rarity tightly.
"Thank you! Thank you so much for everything!" Dusk said sincerely as he hugged Rarity.
"Eep!" Rarity shouted feminine, almost in a whisper, at Dusk's surprise hug. While she was still blushing, she couldn't help but close her eyes and feel good in the warm hug Dusk gave her.
The hug lasted for a few seconds until Dusk's emotions returned to being what they were and he blushed as he realized the sentimental and unnecessary emotional act he had made.
"I... I'm so sorry..." Dusk apologized after releasing Rarity. "Come on Spike, we need to talk to the Mayor."
Dusk turned and headed for the Mayor, who was still waiting in front of town hall, while Spike followed him belatedly, for the dragon had stood for a long time with his mouth open, looking at Dusk and Rarity after the hug, exchanging his gaze from one unicorn to another, until finally Spike let loose small flames through his nose from jealousy and followed Dusk.
Once Dusk had released Rarity from the hug, she had stayed where she was, without saying a word and just looking with dreamy eyes at Dusk. As she watched him walk and talk to the Mayor, her heart began to beat faster and felt as though she had butterflies in her stomach.
"What... what is wrong with me?" Rarity whispered to herself as she touched her chest with her hoof, not understanding those new sensations and feelings until the memory of what she talked to Aloe that afternoon came back to her head.
"'How will I know that I'm in love if I've never been before?' Rarity had wondered.
'Fufu, that's simple, you just feel it.' Aloe had laughed in response."
"It can't be..." Rarity whispered after remembering that. "He is not like my dream prince, he is childish, clumsy and careless..."
Then Rarity looked up again looking at Dusk, who noticed that she was looking at him and smiled, which made her heart to beat faster as she blushed even more.
"Heh... hehehe..." Rarity began to laugh. "So that's how it feels..." She finished talking, feeling happier than she ever remembered.
"Why are you laughing?" Dusk asked abruptly, who had already spoken to the Mayor and was back with Rarity.
"Eh!? N-no, it's nothing." Rarity said quickly, nervously.
"Anyway, thanks again, I promise I'll repay you somehow.” Dusk said kindly, grateful to have met a pony like Rarity.
"Don't worry, I did it because I wanted to." Rarity smiled.
"You really are unique." Dusk smiled tenderly.
"Well, not for nothing, my name is Rarity." Rarity smiled coquettishly, a flirt which for the first time that day worked and made Dusk blush a little, who now saw the real Rarity.
Both stood smiling slightly blushed for a few seconds until they were interrupted by Spike.
"AHEM!!" Spike coughed hard, that contrary to both ponies, looked very upset. "Isn't it time to go?"
"Oh, yes, you're right! It's night time!" Dusk said quickly, looking up at the sky. "I... think it's time to go..." Dusk finished talking, looking back at Rarity.
"It's okay, I just hope to see you again." Rarity smiled.
"The... The Summer Sun Celebration!" Dusk said quickly. "I know you'll be there, and I... I would very much like to see you again at the party."
Rarity liked the sound of that, because she wanted to see him again, and the party would be the next day, she would only have to wait one day, but she didn't want to wait, she wanted to continue feeling that happiness, and if possible, share her happiness.
"You know..." Rarity said tenderly. "Tomorrow I'll be joining some friends for breakfast at the Cafe. Tell me, would you like to join us for breakfast?"
At Rarity's request, Dusk hesitated a moment, it was one thing to meet with Rarity again, something he really wanted, but another thing was to get together with her friends, what kind of ponies would they be? He didn't like to meet ponies he didn't know, much less in large groups, however, after what Rarity had done for Dusk, he simply couldn't refuse.
"It... it's okay." Dusk said timidly.
"Splendid!" Rarity replied cheerfully.
After that, Dusk said goodbye to Rarity, again kissing her hoof as a gentlecolt, an act that for the first time in his life Spike imitated, who also wanted to show he had good manners, giving an even more pronounced bow than did Dusk and kissing more strongly the Rarity's hoof, proving that he could be a gentlecolt even better than Dusk. Then Dusk and Spike started walking toward the library while Rarity headed in the direction of Carousel Boutique.
"It'll be magnificent!" Rarity said, thinking aloud as she walked home happily. "I can't wait to introduce Dusk to my friends, I wonder what will be their reaction when they know it looks like I finally fell in love!" Rarity said tenderly, not knowing that tomorrow's breakfast would be very different from what she expected.
# End of Chapter 11