Three days had past since Tirek unfortunately made his residence in the boutique. The centaur hardly came out of his room other than to eat. Spending so long in Tartarus, Tirek had grown accustomed to his own company and silence. If he wasn’t so spiteful, he may have been grateful for keeping his sanity. But that wasn’t the focus on his mind. He needed an out; he needed to finish what he started.
Tirek laid on his bed, staring at his bracers. He had no idea how long it had been that he was in his own thoughts. His desolate eyes moved from the bracers to the bow on his stand. He had not touched it since he saw it. Yet, it called to him. It also made him curious. Why did the unicorn have a longbow? She didn’t fight. He doubted that she even knew how to use it. A thought then came to his mind.
He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up on his legs. He reached out to the bow and hesitated. It could be a ploy. No one could have known about this, so then who put it there? He finally decided to take it and examine it. The decorations on the wood gave strong suggestions that this was the unicorn’s; swirls carved into the wood with blue and white designs painted all over. It was well taken care of and unstrung, just as it should be when not in use.
With care, he set his hoof onto one point of the bow and pulled it towards him. It was easy enough to pull the string up and hook it at the end. He brought it up and pulled it back, having to remind himself that this was a pony’s bow. If he pulled too hard, he could snap it. With how easy it was to pull back, he guessed it must’ve been a 30 pound draw. That makes sense considering a unicorn wielded it. An earth pony would have a much stronger draw. This only gave him more proof it could be hers.
It had been years since he had held a bow. Now that he grasped this one in his hands, he felt an itch in the back of his mind to delve into the sport once more. Regardless, he didn’t believe the bow was ever actually fired. He unstrung the bow and walked out of his room.
Rarity was out on the floor working on more designs for clothing and fashion, at least that’s what she called it. Tirek set the bow down on one of the tables. “I’m going out. I’ll be back.”
“What? Where are you-...” Rarity turned, still holding the dress in her magic. Her voice cut off after she saw the bow. “Where did you get that?” Her voice turned more stern and serious.
“It was in my room after it was built. How should I know where you keep your decorations or why I should care?” Their eyes met for a few moments, each judging the other. “I’m going out.”
Rarity walked over to the bow and picked it up after the door closed behind the centaur. Her blue magic swirled around it as she strung it and pulled it back. She let the string slack back into place, slowly letting the pressure off it. It had been a long time.
Tirek returned a little over an hour later. Over his shoulder hung a portion of a yew tree’s trunk. Rarity wasn’t sure if she was relieved to see him return or burdened by it. Her brow raised and she opened her mouth to say something, but Tirek spoke first. “One of the earth ponies, she lives on a farm, doesn’t she?”
Rarity gave a disapproving look. “She has a name. You won’t get anywhere, or any favors from me, if you keep up your attitude.”
A scowl formed on Tirek’s face. Rarity continued to stare at him, unfazed and unamused. She knew the question that lingered on the edge of his mind, but she was going to hold firm until she heard the words. If Tirek wanted this so badly, he would have to eventually say something.
Finally, she got some satisfaction. “Her name, then.”
“Applejack.”
“Apple… jack….” Why did ponies have ridiculous names? “Does she have a lot of tools?”
“What do you need them for?”
Tirek was silent for some time again before answering. “I would like to make a bow.”
This almost took Rarity by surprise. “Whatever for?”
“Nostalgia.” He paused. “I had one when I was younger.”
“And how do you expect me to trust you with a bow and arrows? Especially since you’ve only been here three days.”
“I could have taken your decoration bow and easily converted it.”
“You’d end up breaking it with those slabs of meat you call arms. Although, I suppose you have a point. I’ll take you over there.” Rarity set aside her outfits and led Tirek out the door. Many ponies stared wearily at the centaur as he followed Rarity to Sweet Apple Acres.
Rarity made her way to their home and looked around, hoping to see someone around. She was happy to see that Granny Smith was with Apple Bloom working on their preparations for the zap apple jam. The apples had started to grow the other day. Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara were also there. Rich was conducting his normal business with Granny concerning the zap apples. Diamond and Apple Bloom talked away, becoming close friends over the couple years Diamond had been away from her mother.
It wasn't easy to miss Rarity and her fabulous self, but it was harder to ignore the fact that Tirek was walking with her. Seeing Tirek, Apple Bloom and Diamond became visibly nervous. Rich and Granny stopped their conversation to look at them.
“Good mornin’, dearie!” Granny called to Rarity, waving her hoof.
Rich gave Granny an odd look. He bent closer and whispered, “Aren’t you afraid of him being around?”
“Nah. I had my fair share of danger and adventures when I was a young’un. The only thing that scares me is another parasprite infestation.”
“Good morning, everyone,” Rarity greeted. “I’m going to assume Applejack is out on the farm.”
“Actually, she’s in the barn.”
“Perfect! Thank you!” Rarity took Tirek and headed to the barn. As they approached, they could see Big Mac and AJ getting carts prepped and ready for harvesting.
“Hey, Rarity,” Applejack greeted as they approached. “What, uh. What brings you two here?”
Rarity gave Tirek that look again, the one he already grew to hate. That look expected so much from him and showed no mercy, yet it was not threatening in the least. His fingers drummed on the wood, giving a quiet growl deep from his chest. He fixed his eyes on the farm pony. “I need to use your tools.”