Winter was nearing its end with only a few weeks left for snow. The sky was a cloudless blue and the sidewalks were clear of snow and ice. Rarity was currently walking through the business part of town to do something she had not done in quite a while. She could not quite remember the last time she had a hooficure. They were something she used to really enjoy but after while, they stopped making her happy along with everything else. Since she was in better spirits as of late, Rarity figure she it something long overdue.
Things have been going well since she had her little incident with Spot a few months back. He hadn’t been coming to her shop all beat up as often anymore. When Rarity brought this up, He told her that his friend had been coming with him to go “adventuring” as he put it. Rarity did not care much as long as he did not end up hurt.
Rarity was nearly completed with the dress she was making for him. Since he had no true specifications, she was able to run wild with it. Her inspiration had made a huge comeback and she was even thinking about showing some of her designs to her old company. No sense in making a dress if it wasn’t going to be worn, after all.
The unicorn continued on her way with a small smile on her lips.The shops and stores stood in long identically shaped buildings along the street with the only break being a few alleyways. The only difference between them all being the colorful signs and advertisements plastered out out on their fronts. They were all different shapes and sizes and looked like they were trying to outdo one another. There was a building at the end of the street with a modest sign that said “Vera’s Spa”. Of course, her own business also dealt with spa treatments as they dealt with all thing beauty nowadays, but Rarity did not want to be made a big deal of among other reasons. Making up her mind, she walked to the spa at a slow trot.
Rarity had almost made it to the end of the street when she heard a faint yelp of pain coming from a nearby alleyway. The voice sounded very familiar and it made Rarity instantly worried. She made her way into the darkened alley. The alleyway was lined with graffiti of varying quality and size. There was a couple of overturned trash and a dumpster cans but not much else. Rarity was beginning to think she imagined the whole thing when she heard the voice again.
“Give it back!”
“If you want your little chew toy back you got to do a trick for me. C’mon, boy. Roll over!”
The voice was young but rough and a little gravely and it was coming by the dumpster further down the alley. There was an angry yell and a crash. Rarity heard the sound of the voice laughing and she grinded her teeth as she moved closer.
She crept up to the dumpster silently. In front of her, there were two young earth pony colts with their backs turned to Rarity. One was small and frail looking, standing on four skinny legs. He had a dark yellow coat and a light yellow mane that matched his tail. His cutie mark looked like a trail of small black ants. He was standing off to the side snickering into a hoof. The other one was much bigger and bulkier and Rarity guessed he was the older of the two. His coat was a light brown and he had a sickly green mane and didn’t have his cutie mark yet. The larger one was standing on top of a familiar Diamond Dog with a hoof pressed against his head and another holding up a little rubber newspaper.
“I guess what they say about Diamond Dogs are true. They are dumb! Now how about you take your lumps like real mutt and quit squirming,” the bigger colt mocked and Spot began to shake underneath him.
“Ahem.” Rarity tapped her hoof.
The two colts turned towards the voice to see a rather prim white unicorn that was staring hot fire into them. They both immediately wilted under her glare.
“I suggest you both leave before I get half the mind to do something about your behavior,” Rarity seethed.
The scared expression lifted from the bigger colt and he suddenly grew a backbone. “I ain’t scared of you, bitch, how about you leave before we get rough with you too.
Rarity’s horn glowed and her eyes became white as the whole alley way shook. Cracks formed in the ground and the two colts backed up towards the wall.
“That.” Rarity’s horn stopped glowing. “Is your cue to leave.”
The scrawny yellow colt sprinted away before the other one had time to react. Once his brain finally caught up with him, the larger chased after him. Unlike his yellow friend, he stopped at the end of the alleyway and turned to glare at Spot with the rubber newspaper sitting in his hoof.
“Don’t think this is over, mutt. I’ll be waiting for you when you get back!” the colt screamed. He then bit into the squeak toy and tried to tear it in half. Rarity grabbed a hold of it in her magic but when she tugged it tore apart. The colt then spat the other half out and ran off.
Rarity snorted in anger before her face softened and she turned towards Spot, who was still lying on the ground. “Are you okay?” she asked.
The pup finally began to stir and he looked up at Rarity. his nose was all bloody and one of his eyes was swelling into a precursor of a black eye. There was turmoil all over his face and there were streaks from shed tears. Before Rarity could say anything else he walked away towards the now ripped in half rubber newspaper. He picked it up and stared at the pieces sadly.
Rarity watched the small Diamond Dog stare at his broken toy. She cursed herself silently and felt the guilt rise up inside of her. She walked up to Spot and put a hoof on his shoulder causing him to flinch.
“Let’s go. I’ll get you cleaned up at my house.” She motioned for Spot to follow her and he slowly shuffled behind her without saying a word.
Rarity stopped by the street and waited for Spot to catch up with her. Once he appeared beside her, Rarity flagged down a taxi which stopped by the curb. The stallion taxi driver looked on boredly as Rarity stepped into the automobile, his eyes widening once Spot joined her.
“Whoa there. He ain’t gonna be a problem there is he?” The driver eyed Spot cautiously.
Rarity raised an eyebrow at the driver before her eyes narrowed into a dangerous squint.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“He’s one of them Diamond Dog’s, right? I read about them in a magazine once. He ain’t gonna ruin my upholstery is he? I heard how they can get.”
Rarity’s jaw dropped at the nerve of the driver’s words. Spot curled up into a ball, not looking at anything but the floor.
Energy crackled off of Rarity’s horn and her form visibly darkened. Her eyes became slitted like that of a cat.
“How about you get driving or your car seats will be the least of your worries.” The driver could feel the hate in her words.
“N-No problem, Ma’am, where to?”
Rarity gave her address and the drive wiped the sweat off his brow. The automobile began moving and there was not another word spoken in the vehicle as it moved.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
After Rarity begrudgingly paid for the cab fare, the two of them made their way into the boutique. Spot walked in silently to the living room, and Rarity went to the kitchen for a wet rag and an ice pack. Spot made his way to the fainting couch. When Rarity came back to the living room. He was staring blankly at one of photos she had hung up. The one in particular was a picture of a golden mare standing behind a podium gesticulating wildly with her forehooves in front of a crowd of ponies. She had a rather ornate bell as a cutie mark. The whole living room had made a complete 180 from the squalor that it was before and the place actually looked livable. Rarity handed Spot the ice pack and attempted to wipe his nose with the rag. When he shied away, she handed it to him.
“Are those two the reason why you showed up to my house all injured those times?” Rarity asked and hoped she could pester him into spilling the beans.
Spot stopped wiping his nose and looked away from her. “Sometimes,” he finally said. “They’re usually not that mean, but my friend kind of humiliated them the last couple of times they were around.”
Rarity wondered if his friend was the reason why he hadn’t been coming around all roughed up as often.
“What are their names?” Rarity asked with slight edge in her voice.
Spot looked at her nervously.
“You’re not gonna go hunt them down or anything, are ya?”
Rarity smirked at his answer.
“No, unless they cross me again that is,” said Rarity, causing the Diamond Dog to smile.
“Their names are Piss and Vinegar. Piss was the skinny, yellow colt and Vinnie was the big, dumb one.” said Spot.
Rarity scrunched her nose up when she heard their names.
“What kind of parent names their child Piss?”
Spot frowned. “Probably not a very good one. I didn’t pry but I kind of guess that’s why he ended up at the orphanage with me.”
Rarity swallowed. “You mean—”
Spot met her in the eye bitterly which made her freeze..
“You said it yourself when we first met. I’m the only Diamond Dog you met in a long time, right? Well I’m the only Diamond Dog I’ve ever met.” Tears formed in the corner of his eyes but they never fell. “I’m not sure if they’re all dead, hiding or what, but there is none in Equestria and I don’t think anyone misses them either.”
Rarity thought back to the taxi driver and the cruel bullying she witnessed and bit her lip.
“Spot, I know ponies can be cruel sometimes just like every other being, and I can’t tell you that my own experiences with other Diamond Dogs have been all that pleasant, but you are a good kid. Others might not see it when they first look at you but that’s why you have to show them their expectations are wrong and you are your own person.”
Spot sat there in silence after hearing those words, but then he smiled and said something she did not expect him to.
“That’s kind of funny but when you said that, I thought of you,” said Spot.
Rarity turned her head sideways and gave him a confused look.
“How so?” she asked.
“A little while after you moved here, the kids at the orphanage began talking about you. They said you moved in to an old dress shop and that you were the meanest, nastiest mare in town, but when we finally met; you weren’t really as nasty as they have been saying. You were a little grumpy, yeah, but you just seemed like you were lonely and had nothing to be happy about.”
Rarity just stared at the pup silently, not denying his clam. He gave her a warm smile.
“You’re a not like that as much anymore now though. I must be having a positive influence on ya or something.” Spot said, rather boastfully, causing Rarity to chuckle.
“What can I say; I have grown a little fond of you I guess. A little,” she teased. Rarity began thinking about the children told Spot and then got curious. “What else have your peers said about me?”
Spot drummed his fingers on his leg and he began to sweat.
“Are you sure you want to hear about it. It’s not very nice, ya know?” said Spot. Rarity waved him off with a hoof.
“Oh please, like a bunch of foals can say something that would hurt my feelings.”
“Um, they also said you were a shriveled, old witch who stole the skin of a beautiful mare to make yourself younger.”
Rarity puffed her cheeks out and huffed.
“Why I never!” she turned away and stuck her nose in the air over dramatically, hoping to get another laugh out of Spot.
Rarity indeed heard him chuckle a little but then he became oddly silent. She turned back to him only to find him staring at his now ruined squeak toy and going over it with his fingers.
“That little newspaper means a lot to you, doesn’t it? Did someone special give it to you?” Rarity asked, figuring it was a gift from that grandfatherly figure he mentioned a while back, but to her surprise he made a face and shook his head.
“No, no one like that or anything, at least not in way you think.” Spot’s eyebrows furrowed together as he spoke. He then turned his head to Rarity and spoke again.
“Do you know what a puppy mill is?”
Rarity blinked at the question.
“Isn’t that where they mass breed puppies? I heard they are illegal in Equestria.”
Spot put the ice pack down from his eye and placed it in front of him. He lifted up the broken chew toy and began staring at it again.
“They aren’t very nice places. When I was a baby, a pony conned one into buying me. Apparently, they were lookin to expand their breeds of dogs and thought I was something exotic. I was definitely exotic alright.” His eyes became all watery but gave short laugh nonetheless.
Rarity’s face morphed into a look of horror the longer she thought about the implications of what he just told her.
“Sweet Celestia…” Rarity said quietly, her eyes going wide.
“They kept me there until I started saying my first words,” Spot said, cradling his arms. “I was just kinda repeating what the pony was feeding us was saying, really. After the owners found out I wasn’t the kind of dog that should be a part of their stock, they pawned me off to some stallion using the same spiel that con pony used, at least they said as much.” Spot’s ears flattened to his head.
Rarity nodded, silently listening.
“Before they sold me off they went out of their way to make sure I did not blab anything and that stallion bought me none the wiser. Living with him was a lot better than being at that the mill but even with my refusal to talk, he realized he shouldn’t be keeping me as a pet. Right before he dumped me off in some alley he gave me this little rubber newspaper, I think to comfort me.” Tears finally began falling from his eyes.
“You poor child.” Rarity said to him, almost automatically, before joining him in his tears.
“Please don’t give me that. I got enough of that kind of talk from the orphanage workers to last a lifetime. Besides, I’m doing a lot better than I was when I was real little. I’m no longer scared of talking, for one.” He held up the torn little rubber toy and smiled at it sadly. “I kept this thing from back then to remind myself that no matter how nasty and cruel other people can be… Everyone is capable of kindness even if they don’t think they are. Heck, even those shitty puppy mill ponies could have just killed me and hid the body, but they didn’t. I always have this dumb squeak toy on me to keep me anchored and it helps me remember that the world isn’t as awful as it appears to be.” Spot began to squeeze the bits of rubber in his hands and his tears began falling again. “But it’s so hard to keep going sometimes and I feel like it’s just me against the world.”
Rarity came closer and sat down next to him.
“I know it all can be tough and sometimes it feels like the world is crashing down on you but don’t forgot you are not alone. You are in my life now and I do not plan on going anywhere for long time.” As Rarity spoke she thought about all the old friends that are still with her that she has neglected: A pink mare,whom she couldn’t stop feeling jealous of, a steadfast farm pony who she irrevocably hurt with her words, a rainbow haired Pegasus long gone looking for answers she will never find, and a purple alicorn princess whose friendship she might have lost. Their faces flashed through Rarity’s mind as spoke to the child in front of her. “And you also still have that friend of yours that you always talk about, correct?”
Spot began to smile a little at that.
“Yeah, he’s actually the first friend ever made.”
“And if he is a true friend he will stick with you. No matter how scary things can get, you will always have others that will face it with you.”
Spot wiped his eyes clean.
“Thanks for listening, I think I needed that. Sorry for all the waterworks.”
Rarity gave him a smile and a wave of her hoof.
“Please, there is no apology needed. We all have our bad days.”
“Hehe, that’s for sure.” Spot swung his legs back and forth on the couch. “Hey, is it okay if I hang here for a bit? It’s probably gonna be a little nutso at the home for a while.”
Rarity nodded and then looked over to her closet an idea popping in her head. “Wait here a minute.”
She walked over to her linen closet where she had stashed away her latest creation. Rarity pulled out a formal, yellow dress with red checkered ribbons. Spot’s eyes sparkled and his ears perked up as it came into view.
“You think your friend will like it?” Rarity asked.
“He’ll love it!” Spot said as he bounced a little in the air.
Rarity raised her eyebrow at Spot as he again used that pronoun. “He? Your friend is a boy?”
Spot scrunched his face up at the question.
“I’m not sure. My friend is pretty different.” Spot rubbed his head. “And complicated.” he added.
“It definitely sounds like it.” Rarity’s grin became much larger. “You should tell them that they are more welcome to come down and see my creation tomorrow. I would love to meet him.
Spot’s ears flattened a little and he gave her an apologetic smile. “I’ll try. They’re really shy and they’ll probably be scared that you’ll hate them or something.”
“Oh pish posh, if they are a friend of yours then they are a friend of mine. Tell them that they have nothing to fear.”
Spot gave her a nod and then got more comfortable on the couch.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he said. Spot got more comfortable on the couch. “So what do you want to do now?”
“Have you ever played Ogres and Oubliettes?”
Spot shook his head.
“A friend of mine got me in the game some years ago. I haven’t played it in a long time but I’m sure it will pass the time.”
After Spot agreed to try the game out the two of them spent the next couple of hours trying to play. The game was a lot more complicated than what Rarity remembered and she had a hard time explaining it. After a couple of hours it began to get dark and Spot decided it was time to head home. Rarity was walking him to the door when a dark thought ran through her mind.
“Despite paying off the dress with your work last week, you do know you are more than welcome to come by anytime you like, correct?”
Spot turned to her right before he opened the door. Despite his roughed up appearance his smile was light and carefree. It was a smile she hoped he would never lose.
“Of course, you got the chilliest crib in town. I’ll see you sometime tomorrow, Ms. R.” Spot waved to her and he walked out the door.
“Tell those two ruffians that if they lay a hoof on you I will make a coat out of them!” Rarity called out. Spot smiled and waved her as he made his way down the street with a spring in his step. She felt a feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time. At that moment, Rarity realized she never wanted him out of her life.
Rarity made the decision then and there.