Love can hurt
The Ponyville library was closed that morning. It was something that would’ve immediately shocked Dusk Shine, but he allowed it for this time. He and his friends needed to use the place to solve a serious problem that had more priority than allowing the ponies of the town to enjoy reading, and Dusk himself admitted that it was something of the utmost importance.
Pinkie Pie had told Dusk and her friends to meet in the library that morning. In the main room several chairs were placed: some on the right side of the room, where Dusk Shine, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack were sitting; a pair on the left side, where Spike was sitting; and another behind a stool that was at the center of the room, which for the moment remained empty.
"Why did Pinkie Pie put these chairs like this? I thought we were going to talk about what happened yesterday." Dusk asked his friends after seeing what Pinkie Pie had done in the library room. "What is she planning?"
"It's Pinkie Pie, you never know." Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash answered at the same time, shrugging their shoulders.
"By the way, why is Spike sitting at the other end of the room?" Applejack asked looking at Dusk and then at the little dragon, who remained there.
"Huff... I guess it's because he's still mad at me..." Dusk sighed in despair. "Yesterday, when he heard about everything that happened at the fashion show, he blamed everything on me, he said that what I did was a big slap to the face to Rarity and since yesterday he hasn’t even looked at me... Even though I don't blame him, I suppose he's right... I was an idiot..."
"It wasn’t your fault, it was mine." Fluttershy added with a sad look. "I should’ve talked with Rarity before, so everything would have been solved from the first moment."
Dusk didn't want to answer, knowing that he would not achieve anything in arguing with his friends, because deep down he knew that Fluttershy and Rarity must be feeling the same way he was at that moment, each of them thought that everything that happened was just their own fault.
"By the way, did you talk to Rarity?" Dusk asked changing the subject a bit.
"Yes... when I got home, I begged her to open the door for me until she finally did and talked." Fluttershy answered remembering what happened yesterday.
After Rarity fled the fashion show, Fluttershy had been the first to react, because she, unlike her other friends, understood everything that had happened. That was how she ran at full speed to follow her friend to explain that everything had been an unfortunate misunderstanding.
"I told her everything, about me not wanting to be a model, me doing all of it so I wouldn’t disappoint her and how you did everything that happened in the fashion show so that no one would want me to be a model anymore." Fluttershy said sadly remembering what happened. "While I was telling Rarity everything, I could see her expression of horror... She told me that she had been thinking badly about me, that she had become jealous of all my fame. Like me, she didn’t want to tell me anything."
At that moment, Fluttershy fell silent as she was not sure whether to tell Dusk what happened next. As she thought it was more of an intimate moment between them since the two of them explained what happened. They cried together and forgave each other and what followed was Rarity beginning to cry in despair at the atrocity she had done with Dusk, about misjudging him and about the promise he had made. The only thing Rarity could repeat between tears was 'What am I going to do!? What am I going to do!?'.
"...we both forgave each other." It was what Fluttershy finally told Dusk, this time looking at him with concern. "Dusk... What Rarity did... she didn't want-"
"Fluttershy, you don't have to say it. Obviously, I know she didn’t do it for no reason." Dusk said interrupting the pegasus, giving a melancholy look. "She had every reason in the world to do what she did, it was all a misunderstanding, don’t worry, I would never get mad at Rarity for what she did, I just want to talk to her the way you did."
"Dusk, I too... I'm sorry I left you at the fashion show." Fluttershy added after a while, saying something she had wanted to say to Dusk since the morning. "After we fixed the misunderstanding, we both realized that we had left you in the fashion show and that everypony in the audience must have thought something horrible of you after Rarity slapped you in public, but when we wanted to return, we found ourselves facing Pinkie Pie, who told us that everything was solved, but... was there really no problems?"
Dusk was a little surprised at what was said by Fluttershy, and then smiled slightly.
"Actually, that's what Pinkie Pie said, there was no problem," Dusk answered smiling. "After you left, the first pony who jumped in front of me were the paparazzi. They pressed me with questions in which I seemed to be a novel villain, so Applejack and the others came and helped me get the journalists out. Then the rest of the audience rushed to the stage. I thought it was my end since Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack could not contain the crowd. Then came the biggest surprise. The audience instead of pouncing on me, they helped us drive away all those annoying paparazzi!"
The last thing Dusk said, he couldn’t help but say it with a note of joy and pride in his voice since the false news in the newspaper that he had broken Fluttershy's heart had been published. Dusk had avoided the other ponies of the town thinking that they would again judge him severely without even giving him an opportunity to explain himself. However, after the audience at the fashion show helped him, Dusk realized that their eyes were not of judgment, but of confusion. This time the ponies of the town didn’t jump to conclusions, but they helped him instead, and calmly requested explanations about what happened, assuming that the hero who had saved the town from so many disasters must’ve had a good explanation for everything that had happened. That was the definitive sign that Dusk was now one of them and that his image couldn't be so easily smudged without him giving an explanation.
"Obviously I had to explain to everypony what happened, or at least part of it." Dusk said remembering how complicated it was to explain everything without giving away the secrets of his friends. "But I finally asked them to just trust me, and they all understood, in fact, many of them supported me. The only problem is..."
This time, Dusk Shine wasn’t able to finish his sentence, as there was something else that had happened, although he wasn’t sure if it was important to address it now. After he explained that he had done nothing wrong and what he had done was to help Fluttershy secretly, all the ponies let out a sigh of relief. They knew that he was not capable of doing something terrible to his friends; however, Dusk also heard a few other ponies talking to each other and saying that it was all Rarity's fault, or that she must have provoked Dusk just to make a show.
"...is that the journalists seemed to not believe me." Dusk finished saying, not wanting to worry Fluttershy about what he had heard about Rarity.
"ORDER IN THE COURT!" Pinkie Pie yelled suddenly, entering from the kitchen door into the living room, wearing a long black dress, and an old and pompous white wig. Then she went to the chair that was in the center of the room, in front of the podium, sat down, and hit a rubber chicken like a hammer. "Order! Order! The court of Pinkie Promises will now begin!"
After a long silence in which everyone looked at each other with faces of disbelief, Dusk finally spoke.
"Are you really going to make a trial?" Dusk asked a little annoyed by the attitude of Pinkie Pie for pushing a small issue to the limit.
"Justice is neither good nor bad, it's only the reflection of our actions." Pinkie Pie said solemnly without flinching. "Let the accused pass!"
At the shout of Pinkie Pie, the library door opened, revealing Rarity, who entered slowly with her head down, looking askance at all present. As soon as she saw Dusk Shine, she immediately stopped with a startled look and her lip trembling as if she was about to cry, but she finally closed her eyes for a moment, swallowed and kept walking with a comprehensive look. Concern filled the room, where Spike was, who seemed to be as much or more worried than Rarity herself.
"Very well, we are here today to resolve the validity and compliance of the Pinkie Promise made yesterday by Rarity." Pinkie Pie began her speech, speaking seriously, although her seriousness was reduced to having a rubber chicken on her stool. "This trial seeks to reflect that the defendant made a pinkie promise apparently without measuring the consequences, a clear reflection of the little importance that is given to the Pinkie Promises. Let's read the background that seeks to reflect a fair sentence to..."
While Pinkie Pie continued her speech, giving a summary of what happened at yesterday’s fashion show, Dusk Shine began to get restless because of the seriousness with which Pinkie Pie and her other friends seemed to take the Pinkie Promises.
"This is ridiculous!" Dusk whispered to Rainbow Dash. "I know that a promise is important and shouldn’t be broken, but is a punishment really needed to prove how bad it is to break them?"
"Well, Pinkie Promises are a little different. You should never, ever, break them." Whispered Rainbow Dash in response.
"And what happens if you break it?" Dusk asked, remembering that Pinkie Pie had beaten him before he could break his pinkie promises.
"Well, I'm not sure, I just know a pony who has broken her Pinkie Promise." Rainbow Dash said a little worried. "Did you meet the last librarian?"
"Huh ... no, there was no librarian when I arrived." Dusk responded by remembering.
"Exactly..." Rainbow Dash answered with a gloomy look. "It is said that the librarian made the Pinkie Promise that she would reserve a book for Pinkie Pie, but she lent it to another pony, and one day the librarian simply... disappeared."
Upon hearing that, Dusk obviously knew that it was all an exaggeration, after all, Pinkie Pie would not be able to make someone ‘disappear’. However, just at that moment, he turned to see Pinkie Pie, who just stared, as if she had heard what the conversation with Rainbow Dash was all about, which made Dusk chill. Then Dusk made the decision not to ever break a Pinkie Promise for anything, just in case.
"...That would be the summary of the case, a true reflection of what happened the previous day, does the accused agree with all?" Pinkie Pie said looking at Rarity, after finishing her speech.
At the question, Rarity opened her mouth to answer, but at the last second, she looked sideways at Dusk, and closed her mouth without making any sound, just nodding to what Pinkie Pie said.
"Well, before proceeding with the case, is there anything the defendant wants to say to the jury?" Pinkie Pie asked again, pointing to where Dusk and the other girls were.
"Huh? We’re the jury?" Dusk asked surprised and relieved to hear that, because if they were the jury, then they could say that Rarity was not guilty of having to fulfill the pinkie promise.
"Only Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. The jury must be odd, plus your part of the Pinkie Promise case, you can’t be a jury." Pinkie Pie answered quietly. "And Applejack will be the president of the jury."
That discouraged Dusk a little since he was not a jury, meaning he couldn’t justify a reason to free Rarity of her promise, but that was only something minor after all his friends would not let Rarity fulfill this absurd promise. However, as soon as Dusk turned to see his friends, his hope fell on the floor. The faces of her friends were nervous, and it was recorded in their eyes that even if they wanted to, they couldn’t lie, especially Applejack. It was there that Dusk looked annoyed at Pinkie Pie because he realized that she had calculated everything, after all, if Applejack was the president of the jury, no one could lie.
"We all know that Applejack is the most honest of all here, so I guess no pony is against her being the president of the jury." Pinkie Pie said with a smile as if she had read Dusk's mind. "I fully trust her, so much so that only she as president of the jury will see the facts as they are and decide if the accused is guilty or not, I will only preside over the trial."
"How dirty, you don’t want to get your hooves dirty... You want Applejack to tell Rarity to keep her promise to never talk to me again." Dusk Shine thought angrily, thinking how cruel Pinkie Pie could be.
Dusk's thoughts began to swirl in his mind devising a way out of that situation while the feelings of anger, sadness, and mainly guilt, began to fill him.
"Easy Dusk, don't feel bad." Applejack said grabbing his hoof so that she could calm him down.
"Huh?" Dusk said surprised to see that Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy immediately noticed that something bad was happening to him. "No, nothings wrong with me..." Dusk added to reassure his friends, but then he realized that he was making the same mistake he had made earlier. "No... actually, something is wrong..."
At that moment Dusk realized that everything that happened the yesterday had been his fault, and what had just happened proved it. His friends always noticed when he had bad thoughts or was down, but he never noticed with Fluttershy or Rarity, he was totally hopeless at recognizing the true feelings of his friends. It was there that Dusk swore to himself that he would improve that great flaw he had, no matter what it took, he would achieve that goal, to be able to understand the true feelings of his friends so that they would never have to suffer something similar to what had happened.
"I repeat, is there anything the accused wants to say to the jury before we issue a ruling?" Pinkie Pie asked, again focusing on Rarity.
The white unicorn looked at her friends with a worried look, and then looked at Pinkie Pie for a few seconds.
"Oh! I understand! You can't talk because Dusk is here, and you swore you would never speak to him again." Pinkie Pie said surprised, realizing what Rarity was asking with her eyes.
Then Pinkie Pie got out of her seat, took a small blackboard that was there with chalk, and passed it to Rarity. Then the unicorn used its magic to levitate the chalk and began to write on the blackboard while showing it to the jury.
"I have no excuses for my behavior." Rarity wrote on her blackboard. "I totally regret what I did, it's unforgivable, I should’ve trusted Dusk, I'd like to retract, but I can't erase what I did. I made a Pinkie Promise, and everypony saw me do it. I have no way out; I must comply even if it hurts."
"No, Rarity..." Fluttershy said scared, feeling as guilty with herself as Rarity and Dusk felt at that very moment.
Dusk tried to say something, but Rarity continued writing on the blackboard.
"However, I have made a decision." Rarity wrote with a short pause to confirm the determination he had made. "If I can't talk to Dusk ever again, then I will not talk to any pony else anymore."
"What!?" Dusk yelled as his friends looked scared.
"Noooo...!" Spike screamed, throwing himself into Rarity's hoofs to hold her while he cried.
"Pinkie Pie, enough is enough! You can't let this go on!" Dusk said annoyed looking at the pink pony.
"Is the jury going to reflect their thoughts on a verdict?" Pinkie Pie asked as if she hadn’t listened to Dusk Shine. "The Pinkie Promise is valid, and Rarity has decided to fulfill it, do you want to reflect any objection?"
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at each other nervously, knowing there was nothing to appeal, then looked at Applejack, who just sadly lowered her head, accepting that Pinkie Pie was telling the truth and nothing else could be done.
"Then Rarity can never talk to Dusk Shine again, case closed-" Pinkie Pie said raising the rubber chicken to hit the stool, but before doing so she was interrupted.
"Stop! Objection your honor!" Scream appeared from the front door the same Pinkie Pie, wearing a suit of a lawyer.
Everyone turned to see who appeared from the door, then everyone quickly saw where Pinkie Pie had been for just a second, where now was a balloon with a face drawn and the wig that Pinkie had been used only a second ago. Everyone looked from one side to the other without understanding how Pinkie Pie had done that.
"How does she move so fast!?" Dusk thought desperate to understand the 'magic' that Pinkie Pie used to do her follies.
"Your honor, this case is a fraud. I demand that the defense is given one day to gather evidence to be able to defend my client." The lawyer Pinkie Pie told the balloon that now was the judge.
Then Pinkie Pie in a blink went under the stool, became dressed again in judge clothes, and went to the other side of the stool again occupying her place as judge.
"All right, the petition is accepted, the defense has one day to gather evidence that can save the defendant from keeping her promise, deferred case!" Pinkie Pie yelled, hitting the table with the rubber chicken.
When hitting the rubber chicken, the friends of Dusk came out of their astonishment to almost see Pinkie Pie in two places at once. She jumped to talk to Rarity, who just looked at them with a sad smile and answered what they asked writing on the blackboard, determined not to break her pinkie promise even though the trial still was not over.
While the friends talked among themselves, Dusk approached Pinkie Pie, who was leaving the room.
"Pinkie Pie, what was all this!?" Dusk said, annoyed with his friend. "Did you make this trial just to have fun? And what is that about you'll get proof for tomorrow?"
"Oh, I’m not getting the proof, I'm the judge, remember." Pinkie Pie said with a shrug. "If I did, it could reflect that I act in favor of one side, and justice must be blind."
Then Pinkie Pie continued her way and left the library.
"That pony is definitely crazy." Dusk whispered to himself, angry at Pinkie Pie for all the madness of the trial against Rarity.
After Pinkie Pie left, Dusk turned his gaze to Rarity, the mare he really wanted to talk to, more than anyone else in the world. Knowing it would be difficult to speak normally after everything that happened in the fashion show, Dusk slowly approached Rarity, who was still talking through the blackboard with her other friends.
"Rarity... Can we talk?" Dusk asked timidly when approaching his friend.
As soon as Rarity saw that Dusk had approached her side, she immediately lowered her head, feeling a mixture of fear and shame that prevented her from making eye contact with Dusk. So Rarity remained silent, not knowing how to respond or how to act.
"Hmm... I think we'll leave you alone for a moment." Applejack said, noting that Dusk and Rarity needed to fix their problems in private, so she pushed her friends to follow her out of the library, taking Spike off the hooves of Rarity, who just glared at his older brother while Applejack took him out of the room.
"I... know you don't want to break your promise, but is it okay if I talk to you?" Dusk asked slowly and timidly.
Rarity took a while before answering, then she, still with her head down, levitated the chalk and the blackboard that was next to her and wrote 'Yes.'
"It's okay... Rarity, I... I'm sorry you're going through all this!" Dusk said with a look of pain, while Rarity put a face of surprise and fear. "I should’ve found a better way to do things, I should’ve realized what you really felt, and I shouldn’t have put you in such a compromising position! I thought I was smart, but in so many cases I was just a complete idiot, and I'm-!"
At that moment Rarity, who had been horrified by Dusk's apology, stopped Dusk, and began to write quickly on her blackboard.
"You don't have to apologize; how can you apologize if I was the guilty one? I didn’t know how to act, I was the one who got jealous, I was the one who made you promise not to say anything, I was the one who shouted at you in public I was the one who distrusted you, I was the one who slapped you!" Rarity wrote quickly on her blackboard, so quickly that the words piled on top of each other as if she wanted to say a thousand things at once. "Please, please, forgive me for everything, I know what I did was unforgivable, but-"
"Rarity, there is nothing to forgive." Dusk said, lowering the blackboard that Rarity levitated so that she stopped writing.
"But I-" Rarity wrote with a desperate look, trying to express on her blackboard all the guilt that tormented her at that moment. However, Dusk interrupted her again so she wouldn’t continue writing.
"The slap was all because you saw what I was doing to Fluttershy, which looked very unforgivable, besides it was the straw that broke the glass. For days you kept the feelings that tormented you, so much anger, so many doubts, so many bad feelings accumulated in you until you just exploded and let go of all that frustration and anger... I experienced it myself... when I yelled at Princess Celestia at the Summer Sun Celebration." Dusk said, perfectly understanding what it was like to have an emotional explosion and get even with someone, looking Rarity in the eyes so that she could calm herself down because she understood how the guilt must’ve been, despairing at that very moment. "We’re all guilty of what happened, you and Fluttershy for not being able to tell yourselves the truth about what you both felt, and I... for not being able to realize what you really felt, despite being your friend..."
Rarity looked into Dusk's eyes, and she could feel how he really didn’t hold any grudges in his heart towards her, which finally reassured her a little more, although she still felt guilty.
"He's still worries about me despite everything I did... How could I not trust him?" Rarity thought, still feeling a thorn of pain as she remembered how she had tried to dismiss her feelings for Dusk, a love that now she felt less worthy than ever to deserve.
"Even though we were all guilty, only you are paying the price." Dusk added with a slight look of guilt. "So please, tell me what I can do, whatever it is, I will do it to earn your forgiveness."
"It's not necessary-" Rarity wrote on her blackboard before Dusk pushed it down, knowing that she wouldn’t accept it.
"Please, let me do something for you." Dusk asked with a pleading look, determined to do something for his friend. "I need to do something, anything, to earn your forgiveness and your friendship."
Rarity stared at Dusk's pleading look, seeing Dusk’s determined motive to do something nice for her, even though she felt she didn't deserve it.
"I know that look, it's the same look I gave to my friends when I forced them to accept my help, he's determined to do anything to help me, and I will not be able to change his mind." Rarity thought as she watched Dusk's intense gaze.
It was so that Rarity lowered her eyes again, taking a thoughtful look as she thought of something that was simple and that Dusk could also enjoy in some way so that he would stop feeling guilty, and both would feel better and could slowly resume their relationship as how it should be.
"We could have a date." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, turning red instantly when she realized she had written the first thing that had occurred to her. Then she quickly erased it quickly rewrote. "I mean, have lunch together!"
"A lunch date sounds good to me." Dusk said with a quiet smile, who had managed to read what Rarity had written first.
Rarity was red again at Dusks words, although she knew that Dusk’s idea of a date was a time where friends get spend the whole day together and nothing more.
There was a small diner in the town, and that was the place chosen by Rarity so that she and Dusk could eat, something not very simple or exquisite, perfect for the two friends who wanted to share and ask each other's forgiveness.
While they ate, the first few minutes were spent talking about the guilt they both felt, however, just as Dusk had done in the morning with Fluttershy, they both decided to stop talking about it since they knew that neither of them would ever accept that the another will take all the blame. Once they could resume a normal conversation, both could relax and talk again as they usually did as if nothing had happened. Of course, the only exception is that Dusk spoke, and Rarity responded by writing on the board. Not even that was impediment so that both had a fun conversation, talking only about trivial and silly things and leaving aside for a moment the guilt and concerns that they had been overwhelmed by yesterday.
"So Photo Finish is leaving the town without telling you anything?" Rarity asked on her blackboard, sipping the last of her tea.
"Yep. As she was leaving, I heard her say that this town was too real for her and that she would like to go back to Canterlot's false emotions for a while, whatever that means." Dusk answered with a smile, continuing with the lively conversation they were having, also savoring the last fried potato that was left on his plate.
At that moment Rarity raised her hoof, and the waiter immediately brought the bill.
"I'll pay-" Dusk said trying to take the bill; however, Rarity quickly pulled it away from him, this time being the one who interrupted him, writing on her blackboard.
"Don't even think about it, I'll pay, this is not a discussion!" Rarity wrote quickly, looking sternly at Dusk for a second. She then smiled happily, not being able to maintain her facade. After all, this lunch date had been great. Not only had she repaired a large extent of the bond she had almost broke with Dusk, but it had really been a fun date in which the two had shared, without tension, thinking of guilt, love or jealousy. It was just two ponies having a lovely time, and if there was something that Rarity loved to do, was to repay it with a gift when she was delighted, in this case it was to pay the bill.
Then Rarity opened her purse, and from it a few coins fell, just enough to pay for their lunch, leaving the purse completely empty. Dusk immediately noticed that.
"Don't worry." Rarity wrote on her blackboard when she saw Dusk's brief look of concern. "This week I have little money because I spent my time locked up, depressed by what happened with Fluttershy, it was a week when I didn’t work on any clothes but don’t worry, I'll soon work and recover all the money lost." Rarity finished writing with a big smile.
Dusk, knowing it would be useless to dissuade her friend from paying the bill, he decided to let it pass this time and invite her next time to make up.
"You know, it's good that you're so generous, but I think it can be dangerous for you to be so kind and always give everything away for others." Dusk said, fearing that one day some lousy pony would abuse his generous friend.
"You don't have to tell me; it's happened to me already." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, sighing heavily and looking to one side. After Dusk looked at her with confusion, Rarity sighed again and continued writing. "It's not something that happens very often, normally the ponies are understanding and never abuse others generosity, but there was a time where something bad happened... something I would rather forget."
"My dream has always been to buy a store in Canterlot, to run my own clothing boutique, and almost a year ago I achieved it." Rarity continued to write on her blackboard. "I saved all my money for years until I got enough money to be able to buy a tiny place in the commercial district of Canterlot. That time I was so excited that I put on my most elegant dress and went to Canterlot myself to deliver the money. Everything was fine until in the middle of a dark street I saw a poor pony with his clothes torn, crying and asking for help. However, all the ponies that passed by avoided him and looked at him as if he wasn’t there. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, and I got closer. Then I showed him the bag I was carrying with all my savings and told him I could get him what I needed, thinking that this poor soul would only want something to eat, but that Canterlot beggar ended taking all of my money and quickly ran away."
"No... Did he take all your money!?" Dusk asked surprised.
"Yes, he took everything..." Rarity wrote with a look of embarrassment. "And that was not even the worst thing that happened! As soon as he ran, I could see how the beggar went into the most expensive clothing and accessories store in Canterlot and then he appeared now with expensive designer lenses, with gold edges and gems... He probably spent half of my savings on those lenses, then he continued running until I lost sight of him, I was unable to do anything, I was so surprised by that beggar's attitude that I was completely amazed... I know that I offered to buy him what needed, but I never thought that he would abuse my generosity and that he would use my money to buy something so banal..."
When Rarity finished her story, Dusk made a quick calculation, thinking about the enormous amount of money that she lost. Dusk had started that conversation only to warn Rarity that such generosity could be counterproductive; however, he never imagined that she had already experienced, and even after that experience, she remained as generous with everyone.
"Don't worry, that's already happened." Rarity added writing on her blackboard, noting that Dusk had been very thoughtful. "All I want is never to see that pony again, because maybe now I would be able to give him my house if he asks me!"
Then Dusk and Rarity began to laugh together, with a more relaxed Dusk noticing that his friend took that tragic experience with humor.
Clink-Clink! The soda fountain doorbells rang. Three colts and three mares entered noisily, chatting among themselves and sat on the back table where Rarity and Dusk were seated, both tables being separated only by a few pots with decorative plants there.
"Can you believe all the fuss that was in town with all that fashion show!?" One of the colts that had sat on the back table.
"Don't tell me, who would think that Dusk Shine and Rarity would make such a scene, those two have become the scandal of the week! They shouldn't want to see each other after what happened!" One of the mares commented in response, who like all her group, had not managed to see that the next table were the two ponies they have been talking about at that moment.
Rarity and Dusk couldn’t help but listen to what the noisy group was talking about, even more, when they noticed that they were talking about them and that they haven’t even noticed that they were at their side. Then Rarity and Dusk looked at each other and laughed silently, after all, they had already solved that silly misunderstanding, now the only thing they could think about was the absurdity of it all and that others still thought they were still angry with each other. So they both remained smiling and raised their ears carefully to continue listening to what they had to say about them.
"It's not the first time that Dusk is news, it seems that every week he does something to get attention." Another of the colts said.
"But it's not that he does it on purpose, it's just that he seems to be a bad luck magnet, haha!" One of the mares laughed.
"Yes, Dusk already proved to everypony that he is a hero." Added the third mare, with a more biting tone of voice. "If you ask me, the culprit of yesterday's disaster was Rarity, wasn’t that obvious?"
"Yeah, that slap to Dusk Shine in front of everypony was too much." Said the second colt.
"She is the queen of drama, she always had to be the center of attention." Another of the mares added.
"Yeah... I guess if she wasn't so cute, she would be a total witch, hahaha!" One of the colts laughed.
"She's not so bad... although I suppose she exaggerates sometimes..." One of the colts said with a slightly nervous voice. "Still, she is the complete package: cute, feminine, sociable..."
"Yes... maybe too sociable... if you know what I mean." One of the mares answered, with obvious jealousy in her voice. "You should know, weren't you one of the ponies that went out on a date with her?"
"I-I... well, yes... even if it was only one time..." The colt replied; this time more nervous. "She... she never accepted another invitation..."
"Haha, don't worry, you're not the first one who fell for her charm, nor will you be the last, that's for sure, hahaha!" Another of the colts laughed. "Even I went out with her once."
"You see! She's probably gone out with all the colts in town." Another of the mares added. "Just because she's pretty, she believes she has the right to use the colts at her whim."
"I guess you're right, Hahaha!" The third colt laughed, making everyone at the table laugh together, just when the waiter finally brought the milkshakes they had ordered, which made everyone pause in their conversation.
"What a bunch of idiots, hehe!" Dusk laughed silently, thinking how absurd the whole conversation had been from beginning to end.
Then Dusk lowered his sight to meet Rarity's smile, but this time he saw that his friend was not smiling. Without Dusk noticing, Rarity had only lowered her head slowly, hiding her gaze, where the only thing Dusk could see was her lips, which for some reason, was trembling slightly.
Dusk looked at Rarity for a second and for a fleeting moment, Dusk's feelings synchronized with Rarity's, letting him feel what Rarity felt at that moment.
"Sadness... Grief... But, why? They were praising her beauty, I..." Dusk thought logically as he always did until his clumsy mind made the effort to think not only about the words but about the feelings they could provoke, in the hidden meanings, read between the lines, something that cost Dusk so much but something he had sworn to try to understand more clearly so he would not repeat the same mistake he made with Fluttershy and Rarity again. It was then that Dusk's level of empathy went up one point and Dusk managed to realize what those ponies had really wanted to express in their conversation and how Rarity must be feeling at that moment.
"Let's go Rarity." Dusk said seriously, standing up and taking a surprised Rarity from the hoof to do the same.
Then Dusk, guiding Rarity with him, walked to the next table and stood in front of it until the six ponies who were still drinking their shakes cheerfully looked at them sideways.
"Hey, you!" Dusk said with a serious look. "You all are just a bunch of idiots."
Then Dusk's horn shone briefly, which caused the six pony's milkshakes to explode in their faces, making everyone inside the soda fountain laugh at them. Instantly a second flash shone on Dusk's horn, and he and Rarity teleported away from there instantly, reappearing at the Boutique Carousel.
As soon as they got to Rarity's house, she was surprised where they were. She opened her mouth to speak, but only managed to emit a small moan as she remembered her promise. Then she retook her board and started writing.
"Dusk, what did you do!? It wasn’t necessary." Rarity wrote with a worried look.
"Rarity, I'm so sorry for being so slow in realizing the feelings of others..." Dusk said without answering Rarity's question, looking at her with a sad look. Then a sudden thought came to Dusk's mind. "I shouldn't have fled like that! I should have talked to them and told them to stop spreading false rumors about you!"
"It doesn't matter." Rarity wrote quickly on her blackboard. "I don't care what others say or think about me, I was worried about what YOU could think about me. About how I use colts at my whim... And that you think... I’m ... I’m a..." Rarity finished writing trembling, not being able to write the dirty word she was thinking, and begging Celestia that Dusk didn't think that way about her.
"I didn't believe it for a second." Dusk said quickly, understanding what Rarity was thinking. "Those lies about you, going out with all the colts in the town, I don’t believe it. I can’t believe they would lie about something like that! Why would they want to make lies like that?"
At that moment Rarity looked at the ground with a nervous look, slowly turning to a look of fear as many thoughts passed through her head.
"Maybe... it's not totally a lie..." Rarity wrote slowly on her blackboard, still with a look of fear and concern.
Now it was Dusk's turn to stay frozen, not knowing if he had understood what Rarity had just written.
"Don't get it wrong!" Rarity wrote quickly terrified, anticipating that Dusk could misinterpret what she had just written.
Then Rarity stared at the ground with a lost look full of concern. Her breathing shook as she made a decision about what to do since she wanted to explain so much about what she was talking and feeling at that moment; however, because she was not allowed to speak and can only write on her blackboard, she knew that it was difficult to express everything she wanted to say. Finally, Rarity gave a big sigh to know how she could make Dusk understand what she felt and think about everything they were talking about, something she was terrified to do. It was something she had never done with anyone, yet Rarity decided that it was necessary for Dusk to know certain secrets from her so that he could understand her better.
After a great sigh, still holding a look of fear and concern, Rarity used her magic to open a locked drawer that was close by and levitated a thick book in front of Dusk Shine.
"This is my diary." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, while she kept levitating that book in front of him. "I want you to read some parts of it, just... just promise me you won’t judge me so hard." Rarity added with a look of fear.
Dusk was surprised at Rarity's request, knowing how intimate a pony's diary could be, especially that of a mare, but Dusk also understood that if she asked him to do that, it was for a compelling reason.
"Are you sure?" Dusk asked with a slight look of concern.
Rarity didn't write anything on her blackboard, she just slowly lowered her head and nodded slowly. Then Dusk delicately took Rarity's diary between his hooves and opened it on the first page:
"Dear diary, today I start my new life and with a new diary, I'm no longer a filly, now I am finally a full-grown adult! Today I finally left my parents' house and rented my first house for myself!
It's a small but spacious house not far from the center of Ponyville, but far enough away to have some peace of mind. The owner told me that if everything goes well, she can sell it to me in a year, that's what I hope with all my heart! Once it will be mine, I can transform it and turn it into the Boutique of my dreams! I'm waiting excitedly!
...
I've been living alone for several days. Sometimes I want to regret what I did and go back to my parents... Gosh! If only I weren't so insecure about myself. I guess I'll keep hiding my insecurity under my mask, so no one will worry about me... Oh! Don't you know dear diary? Of course not, I wrote that in my other diaries, so you don't know anything about me. You'll have to catch up little by little, for now, I'll just tell you that the Rarity that everyone knows is not the real Rarity, or at least it's not how I always feel with myself.
It's hard to say, but I guess I'll have to tell you dear diary...
I was always a very insecure filly. With my parents traveling all over Equestria, it still cost me to feel loved or valued, even in school. I feared my companions, approaching them and talking, thinking that they would not like it. That's how I spent my first year of school until I got to know the fashion magazines.
I know that if you could laugh, you'd laugh, but it's the truth. One day a friend of my mother brought with her a fashion magazine of Canterlot. As soon as I saw her, I was immediately impressed by two things: the beautiful dresses that the models wore, and the very models, with elegant, beautiful expressions, sure of themselves while all eyes were turned to see and admire them.
That day I took the magazine and read it again and again, that's when my passion for sewing and design was born! It was the first time I thought about being a designer. However, I also noticed something, who would pay attention to a designer unsure of herself? The answer was obvious, nobody. It was then that I decided to change, to act differently, to move differently, to speak differently, to become more sure of myself, and there was no one more sure of myself than the models in the magazines. This is how my second year of school came with a renewed attitude.
I still remember that day, everyone looking at me strangely, all murmuring how strange it was after my sudden change of attitude. That made all my fears come back, all I wanted to do was run away, but I stood firm, kept my facade even though my legs were shaking and my stomach was churning. That's how everyone in the school gradually accepted the new Rarity, a more sociable, feminine and even somewhat flirtatious Rarity, just like the prestigious models of the capital. And while that Rarity was growing, the insecure Rarity was hiding in the depths of my being, but of course, she never disappeared, after all, you can't get rid of your own essence...
In short, enough of nostalgia for today, dear diary. For now, you just need to know that the Rarity that everyone knows is much more insecure than everyone believes, but as long as no one knows, everything will be fine, only you will know after all my soul needs someone to vent, even if it's just with a book."
At that moment the magic of Rarity moved several pages forward for Dusk to continue reading.
"Dear diary... I only talk to you.
I thought that my foalhood in solitude would prepare me to live alone, but no. Day after day, week after week, month after month, living alone terrifies me. I know I am an adult mare, but I can't help but feel like a little filly when I'm alone.
When I open the door of my house, I take a deep breath and go out walking with a smile on my face, that is my mask, which all the ponies see. But as soon as I return to my house and close the door behind me, my smile fades, and the insecure Rarity takes over me...
Crying from time to time is a relief.
...
Dear diary, today I met some very nice mares.
One of them was a little crazy, the other overly shy, the other a country mare without any notion of fashion, and a pegasus that looked at me like a weirdo. They are all weird! And I don't know why, but I still feel calm and hava fun when I'm with them, we're all so different! This day was finally a good day... But the day is over, and it's time to return home, and my mask smile disappears... Obviously, this is a face that they will never see of me, with them I'll be the always worthy and elegant Rarity, the unsure mare of herself stays at home."
Again, Rarity moved a few pages forward in the diary. However, what immediately caught Dusk's attention is that in the diary a name appeared many times, crossed out on each page 'XXXXX'.
"Dear diary, I feel so happy!
Today I met a handsome colt while doing shopping in the town, his name is XXXXX. He just came up to me, told me how pretty he was, and invited me to lunch. At first, I was going to say no, but he was so gallant that he finally convinced me.
During lunch he continued praising me and telling me compliments, he's so cute! He was so kind and friendly. The poor pony almost died when he realized he wasn't bringing money with him. Finally, I paid, and we were to meet again next time... Dear diary, I think I'm falling in love!
...
Dear diary, today I met with XXXXX, he is as gallant and friendly as ever.
We went to the park together, to the theater, to dinner. There I learned that he comes from far away and that for now, it seems he does not have much money. I told him that those things didn't matter, that money matters when there is love!
I finally found the cure for my insecure self, when I'm with XXXXX, I feel safe.
...
Dear diary, today I invited XXXXX to stay at my house.
The poor guy says he has no money, so he hinted to us if we could live together. I obviously accepted, after all, he's my boyfriend, and there's nothing more romantic than a couple living together. Obviously, that's all, for now we've only kissed... Oh dear diary, the truth is that I'm afraid to go further, will that bother you? Don't! Of course not, he is a gentlecolt, and as long as he keeps showing me his love, nothing else matters, he told me! We will be together for life! At last, I found my soulmate, somepony who loves me, somepony who cares about me, somepony who will never leave me alone...
...
Dear diary, I need to buy new curtains urgently!
Today I wanted to go buy new curtains since the previous ones are old, but when I went to see my savings bank, there was nothing there. Have I taken some out at some point and forgotten it? How strange, I'm usually not so forgetful.
...
Dear diary, today I had my first discussion with XXXXX.
I discovered that he had been the one who took my money. I told him that he should’ve asked me before because I was going to use that money, I was so angry! But he promised me that he would never do it again and we hugged each other sweetly.
He is so tender when he wants, it is hard not to forgive him that way, he also said that it would not happen again.
...
Dear diary, I... I don't know what to do.
Every day is a new discussion with XXXXX, he is no longer the same one I met if I ever really knew him.
He gets mad at me for no reason, but then he shows a tender side and forces me to forgive him. I'm so confused... The ponies say that love is stronger than anything, but... Is this really love?
...
Dear diary, XXXXX cheated on me.
Today I went to the market, and I saw him having dinner with another mare. I couldn't help but spy on them and see how they laughed together while he flirted. I couldn't help but remember how he did the same with me.
I don't know what to do! Everypony in town says that we make a cute couple, if I leave it, they will all blame me! Nopony will approach me and I... I'll be alone again.
The insecure Rarity seizes me... I will not leave him, I'll make this work!
...
I... I'm a fool!
Today I had to lie to my friends. I've always used a little makeup, but today for the first time I used eyeshadow. All of them told me how beautiful I looked with my new eyeshadow, and I, with my happy Rarity mask, thanked them with all my heart, telling them that maybe I would start using them permanently. If only they knew the real reason why I started using... Every night I cry without stopping! My weak eyes can no longer! I have never used eyeshadow before, but now it is the only way to hide from the world that I cry every day and night without stopping.
I know that XXXXX cheats on me, steals from me, lies to me, but I can't do anything! I... I tried to confront him, this time I didn’t let myself be overcome by his sweet words. And then I saw him... his real personality... He shouted at me, told me I was useless, that I should be grateful to have him, that he knew me better than any other pony, that if he left, I would be left alone and nopony would ever want to love me again... Why did I open up with him!? I told him everything! He knows that behind this secret facade, I'm just a dumb mare insecure! He screamed at me, and I just cried, and all I can do is write and drown my feelings in a silly book! I... I'm pathetic...
...
Dear diary, I need help.
...
Dear diary, today I made a promise.
Today I had breakfast with my friends. Every time I find it harder to smile, but I have to do it, I don't want to scare them or worry them, although I also know that it is becoming increasingly apparent that I have a problem. I can’t avoid Applejack's worried look, I think she suspects something, but she doesn't know what it is yet, and I want it to stay that way.
The one that definitely seems to know something is Pinkie Pie. She stayed with me after breakfast and told me directly that if she had a problem that she would trust in her and the others, that it is not good for her to keep my mask all day, did she always know? I can't help but think that she understands me because she also carries her own mask that she shows to others.
Oh my, only Celestia knows everything that I trust in my friends, but I don't want to involve them in my emotional problems or worry them more than necessary, this is something that I must solve myself. However, seeing Pinkie Pie's worried face, I decided that I should definitely do something about it.
I asked Pinkie how she would make a difficult promise to fulfill, so she was very thoughtful and said that she would help me to fulfill any promise challenging to fulfill that I did, even if it was by force. She swore to herself to be the guardian of difficult promises to fulfill and thus help me with the promise I could make, then she made a silly mimic that amused me, I decided to call it the Pinkie Promise, a name that Pinkie Pie liked a lot. And then I did, I made the Pinkie Promise to leave forever XXXXX, this time I'll fulfill it; otherwise, Pinkie Pie said she would give me a thrashing, haha... I wonder if Pinkie Pie said it seriously or not.
Here I go, dear diary, wish me luck.
...
Dear diary, several days have passed, but I have not had enough strength to be able to write everything that happened that afternoon.
I... I told XXXXX that I didn't want to see him again, that he left my house. I had to gather all the courage and determination I had for those words to finally come out of my mouth.
It didn't matter that he sweetened his words and asked me to forgive him as he did so many times before. It didn't matter that he threatened me as usual and that he would shout that I was just a weak and insecure mare. None of that mattered... But I never imagined that he would react the way he did.
He began to break everything in his path, all the things that were in my house, throwing everything into the air while screaming furiously and insulting me in ways no pony should ever do.
I... my legs trembled more than I could... I had never felt so much fear in my life, especially when after breaking everything in his path, he approached slowly to me with a look of total fury... And he... he..."
At that moment Dusk stopped reading. First, because the lines were blurred, because Rarity had cried while she had written that and the tears had erased part of the writing, but the other reason why Dusk stopped reading is that his blood froze completely after discovering the horrible situation that his friend had lived.
"Rarity..." Dusk said in a trembling voice and a look of fear, not knowing if he wanted to know the answer of what he was going to ask. "Did... did he...?" Dusk said shakily, unable to articulate what he was thinking.
Rarity, who was looking at the table with a look of panic, closed her eyes tightly and took her time before answering, knowing what Dusk wanted to ask.
"He pushed me against a chair... and it hurt my leg..." Rarity wrote slowly on her blackboard. "After that, he left, and I never saw him again."
Reading what Rarity wrote on her blackboard, Dusk's blood, which had been frozen from fear, heated up to boil as a blind rage grew on him.
With that brutish coltfriend Rarity had, discovering how he had reacted when she kicked him out of his house, Dusk was grateful that that brute had only pushed Rarity and nothing more serious had happened. Imagining his delicate and sweet friend being pushed by a rough colt, Dusk's blood boiled with anger as his sight turned red for a second.
"A colt doesn't lay a hoof on a mare, all the colts know that!" Dusk thought to try to reason in vain while trying to control his anger. "Rarity is my friend! If I ever see that brutish colt someday, I... I don't know what I'll do!"
"Please, keep reading." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, still with a look of shame and fear on her face.
Dusk breathed slowly to calm down, and with much trepidation, continued reading the diary.
"Dear diary, it's been a week since XXXXX left my life, and it seems that he was right, no matter how hard I try, I can't get out of the abyss I am in, a chasm that only seems to deepen each day.
Loneliness invades me, I hate being alone. Sometimes I feel like running in search of that idiot, but immediately I remember that would be the worst thing I could do in my life. Luckily, it seems that Pinkie Pie's sixth sense always warns her every time I think that. She appears to give me a hug and reminds me of my Pinkie Promise. But loneliness is not the only bad thing that XXXXX has left behind.
It took me a couple of days to find out why everypony in the town looked at me with such a dirty face after I kicked XXXXX out from my house. It seems that he left me one last gift before leaving Ponyville, talking to everypony in town, telling them how bad I was and how cruel I was to drive him out of my house. That's how everypony now thinks I was the evil one in that toxic relationship. That's something that bothers me a lot, but I'm so mentally tired that at this moment I do not care what everyone believes in the town, as long as my friends believe in me, that's enough for me... My friends, they were so kind as to ask me about what had happened, even to relieve my loneliness, they gave me a small kitten that I now take care of. Obviously, they know something terrible happened, but they wait for me to calm down and tell them, although I really don't know if that happens, I think there are things I prefer to keep away from my sweet friends."
Rarity again used her magic to advance a few more pages in the diary so that Dusk could continue reading.
"Dear diary, I want to stop being one on the outside and another on the inside, but I can't.
When I'm with my friends, I completely forget all the problems I had, but when I'm alone, I can't help but remember everything that I experienced and begin feeling weak.
The foolish and weak Rarity, who made one of the worst decisions of her life and fell in love with a boor, and now... now I can only be with my friends, only with mares.
I never thought that the damage done by XXXXX was so much. Now, every time a colt looks at me or touches me by chance, I can't help but remember that brute and all the damage he did to me. I tried to forget about him, even to erase his name from all my diary, but I can't, like a thorn in my heart, it seems that it will remain forever embedded there.
...
Dear diary, today I made a decision, I decided that I would not let that brute that I had as a boyfriend win.
I always believed in love, that love is the most beautiful and powerful force in the world. I always dreamt that when I was a mare, I would fall in love so hard that I wanted to scream with happiness. But now how do I do it? That brute left me a great wound, now the fear I feel to be with another colt only grows and grows, fearing that history will repeat itself. But if I lock myself in, he wins, and I can't let that happen, I must believe that love exists somewhere.
...
Dear diary, today I forced myself to try.
Today I'll be with a friendly colt from the town who invited me to go out.
When he spoke to me and looked me in the eye, I couldn't help but tremble and imagine the XXXXX face on that colt's face. But still I forced myself to accept, I must be strong and overcome my fears.
...
Dear diary, I don't know how many times the same thing happened already.
I try! I try because I want to overcome my fears, but it always repeats itself.
Every time a colt invites me out, we both have a good time together, going for a walk, having dinner, laughing. But every time a colt comes to touch me, I run away. I can't! I can't stop seeing the face of that brute trying to kiss me, and my body trembles from tail to head and I have to flee from my fears.
It seems that that brute won... I'll never be able to fall in love again.
...
Dear diary, today I realized that I have a new nickname in the town.
It seems that being with so many colts to try to break my fears made many mares began to say that I was a 'Femme Fatale', a mare that uses her attraction to conquer colts and use them at will. Of course, the rumors started by that brute before he left the town and now I’ve encouraged that story.
But you know what diary, I like it. I like everypony to think that I am a femme fatale, a fatal mare. So no pony will see my interior, and no other colt will come near me thinking that I am weak. I must be strong! Or at least, to make others believe that I am..."
The magic of Rarity was activated again, this time advancing several pages in the diary until almost reaching the end of this.
"Dear diary, today my heart jumped with emotion.
Today I went to the Spa and met a particular colt. He was definitely not my type, but as I always do with the new colts I know, I was sure of myself and flirted with him. The colts should never see me weak and insecure, they should only know the Femme Fatale of the town. However, that colt acted differently to all the other colts I've been with, and what amazed me the most was when he hugged me. For the first time I didn't run away, I just stood there, totally unarmed, not knowing what to do, but it was not a lousy insecurity, it was as if I knew it didn't matter if for a second I was weak in front of everypony, because those hooves would be there to protect me.
I... I think I've never felt like this. What is this? Is it what I have been searching for but could never find? I don't know, but I can feel it. I'm so afraid to say it, but I'll risk doing it. I think this can be-"
Before Dusk Shine kept reading, Rarity suddenly closed the diary.
"That hug was the first hug I received from a colt in a long, long time." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, glancing at Dusk while levitating the diary away from Dusk.
Rarity levitated the diary to her front, held it in her hooves, looked at it with sorrow, and placed it on a table.
"I know that now you think I was a fool, a weak pony who was not able to value herself and who suffered the consequences of her own weakness." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, her eyes almost ready to cry. "But I'd rather you know that I'm a coward than you think I'm a tramp."
At that moment Dusk quickly approached Rarity and hugged her tightly.
"You are not a coward." Dusk said softly as he hugged his friend. "In such a toxic relationship, the dominant in the relationship will gradually destroy the spirit of its partner to make the other feel inferior and worthless, to have its partner under their control. But you stood firm, you realized that he was killing you inside and you armed yourself with the courage to face him... Rarity, you are a very brave mare. "
As soon as Dusk said those words, ending with 'you are very brave mare', Rarity's tears couldn't contain themselves, and the white unicorn wept as she had never cried. A cry that mixed sadness and happiness, a cry that had been contained for years and now was finally released after finally being able to share that terrible experience that lived on that she believed was her first love and then broke her heart.
"I knew it... these hooves will always protect me..." Rarity thought as she cried and held on tightly to Dusk's hooves hugging her.
"I finally understand why Rarity kept that look of fear as I read the diary. Not only she thought I would think bad of her, but she also had to overcome the fear of opening up in front of another colt, knowing that the last colt that she opened herself to ended up betraying her feelings vilely and used that weakness to abuse her." Dusk thought as he continued to comfort his friend.
After Rarity finally finished crying and thus free her soul from that heavy load, both ponies slowly parted and watched each other with a sweet smile.
"And by the way, I would never believe that you are a tramp, I know you, and I would never believe in foolish rumors." Dusk said smiling at his friend.
"Then it was too much to show you my diary." Rarity wrote with a tender smile, making both of them laugh together.
"So... Who is the real Rarity?" Dusk asked curiously, getting a little more serious. "The one I've met so far is just a mask?"
"No. I have for a long time now accepted that the Rarity that appears with strength and security is part of me." Rarity wrote with a confident smile. "I love walking safely through the village. Being feminine by nature, sometimes a little flirtatious, being sociable. I learned that it's not a mask, it's just another part of me. It's just that I haven't always been like this and I don't always feel that way. Now you know that even though I promote my reputation as a coquette with the colts, I am a little, or rather, more shy than everypony thinks. Just keep it a secret."
"Besides, with you, I don't pretend to be flirtatious." Rarity thought, remembering that ever since she met Dusk, she realized that she was more daring and flirtatious naturally with him. Not because everything was a performance and she wanted to maintain her fame as a fatal mare, as it had happened with all the other colts that had invited her to a date sometime, but because only with Dusk she had the confidence to want and be able to be flirtatious naturally, him and only him.
"I'm glad to hear that, after all, I love the way you are." Dusk said honestly smiling, then blushing immediately when realizing what he had said, while Rarity also blushed. "I-I mean, I-I really like your way of being, elegant, feminine... you... it looks great on you..."
Both unicorns remained silent looking at the floor while they blushed.
"B-By the way, are you going to keep talking to me by the blackboard?" Dusk asked wanting to change the subject so as not to be embarrassed by the cheesy thing he had just said.
"I have to do, I must fulfill my pinkie promise." Rarity wrote on her blackboard, shrugging her shoulders.
"Yes, I suppose she more than anypony else wants to fulfill her pinkie promise, after all, it was her who asked Pinkie Pie to invent them." Dusk thought, pursing his lip thoughtfully.
"Well, I think it's time to go, I have to see if I can make Spike stop being mad at me." Dusk said approaching the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, and don't worry, I'll think of something so that we can talk again normally."
"I'm sure you'll find the way, you always do it." Rarity wrote, showing a big smile to Dusk as she escorted him to the door.
While Dusk walked away from the Boutique Carousel, thinking about the roller coaster of emotions that had meant that afternoon with Rarity, Dusk turned one last time to look back. In the doorway of the house was his friend, saying goodbye tenderly with a big smile.
When seeing his friend smiling, Dusk couldn't help but smile as well, feeling happy just to see her with a smile after all she had suffered. Then a sudden image of a big, rough pony pushing Rarity and causing her to hurt, made Dusk's see red again, and unreasonable anger ran through his body for a second.
"I'll protect them... always." Dusk whispered, closing his eyes and breathing slowly to calm down. Realizing that he had never been so angry in his life more than imagining somepony hurting his friends.
"First Fluttershy and now Rarity... I still have a lot to know about my friends to consider me a good friend... I should try harder in my friendship lessons." Dusk thought after reassuring himself and thinking about the secrets he had discovered from his friends and that they had trusted him to tell them, a confidence that he should reciprocate.
Finally, reassuring himself, Dusk opened his eyes again and looked where Rarity had to go, saying goodbye, but he couldn't see well, because as soon as he opened his eyes, the sun just began to hide and the evening light was reflected just in the windows of the Carousel Boutique.
Dusk narrowed his eyes at the reflection of the sun, not sure if his friend was still smiling at him or not. And it was at that precise moment, with the sun reflecting in his eyes, that a brilliant idea hit him like lightning, which made him almost jump because of it.
"That... That can work! I can't be sure, but if it works, I’ll be able to help Rarity!" Dusk thought surprised and excited, turning and starting to run at full speed towards the town.
Meanwhile, Rarity, who remained faithfully at the doorway of her house saying goodbye to Dusk, finally after seeing that Dusk suddenly left running at full speed after seeing the Boutique, went back inside.
Once Rarity closed the door behind her, she gave a heavy sigh, resting from all the emotions she had had to live and relive that afternoon. Then she went to where she had left her diary, picked it up, and took it with her to keep it in the same drawer with a key where she kept it.
Just before putting it away, Rarity opened the paper one last time, right on the page where she had taken it from Dusk.
"I don't know, but I can feel it. I'm so afraid to say it, but I'll risk doing it. I think this can be... LOVE."
"It is, now I'm sure." Rarity said after reading what she had written the day she met Dusk and felt his warm embrace for the first time.
"Order in the room!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she entered the library room to continue and give a verdict on Rarity's pinkie promise.
The room was as it had been ordered the previous day, with Pinkie Pie in the center in front of her stool, Rarity and Spike on one side of the room, and Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack on the other end, the only difference being the absence of Dusk Shine.
"As it was agreed yesterday, today we will finish the trial of the Rarity’s pinkie promise." Pinkie Pie said with a serious tone, looking at where her friends were. "Does the defense have any new arguments, witnesses, or evidence to add to the case?"
All the mares looked at each other without responding, with looks of concern to know that they were about to condemn Rarity to never speak with Dusk Shine again.
"Well, since there is no new antecedent to present, I ask the jury to give its verdict based on the facts and declare the accused as-" Pinkie Pie said raising her 'hammer' rubber chicken, before being abruptly interrupted.
"Wait!" Dusk shouted excitedly, surprisingly entering the library door, holding what appeared to be a piece of paper. "I have evidence to present to the jury!"
Then Dusk entered and approached the jury: Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, showing them the paper he was carrying, which turned out to be a photograph.
"Observe! This is a photograph taken at the fashion show, taken just as Rarity made her pinkie promise." Dusk said pointing the photo, which for some reason was somewhat blurred, but they were still able to see it, it had Rarity standing in front of Dusk, lifting her hoof while marking a cross on her chest to make the pinkie promise.
"What do we have to...? Wait! I know!" Rainbow Dash screamed after discovering what Dusk wanted them to see in the photograph.
"Rarity made the mark on her chest with her left hoof!" Applejack said in amazement, also discovering the meaning of the photo.
"Exactly!" Dusk said with a smile that was nervous for a second. "When Pinkie Pie taught me to make the pinkie promise, she would make the cross on her chest with the right hoof and then hit her eye with the left hoof. Every time I saw her, Fluttershy and Rarity made the promise. They all made the cross with the right hoof; however, in the fashion show, Rarity was so angry that she didn't notice and made the promise pinkie with the wrong hoof! What it means-"
"That the pinkie promise is not valid!" Fluttershy shouted with joy, looking at Rarity, who was the most astonished of all present.
"Then it's time for the jury president to give her verdict." Dusk said quickly, glancing at Pinkie Pie, who just stared silently at what happened with a small smile.
"You said you would trust what Applejack said, you can't question the jury, you said it yourself! You fell in your own trap Pinkie Pie." Dusk thought with some nervousness, preparing that answer in case Pinkie Pie wanted to extend the trial further, however, his pink friend did nothing.
Applejack looked at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, and both nodded with a smile.
"The jury states that the pinkie promise of Rarity was wrongly made. Therefore, it is not valid." Applejack said trying to be serious but couldn't help but smile while saying the verdict.
"Well, case closed." Pinkie Pie said with a big smile, hitting her rubber chicken twice on the stool.
As soon as Pinkie Pie hit her 'hammer,' Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy jumped to embrace Rarity, where Spike was already hugging her as she let out tears of joy, finally being able to talk to her friends again. The one that was delayed a couple of seconds before joining her friends was Applejack, who looked for a second out of the corner of her eye at Dusk while her sixth sense told her something.
"Dusk is hiding something... But I guess now ain’t the time to ask." Applejack thought, who felt that Dusk had been slightly nervous for a second.
While the jury met with the accused to celebrate the ruling, Dusk secretly used his magic to get rid of the photo he had used to exculpate Rarity. Even if his friends had not noticed, that photo did have something to hide, something that if someone looked at it in detail, they could realize that all this had been a clever deception.
The truth was that this photo was real. It didn't have any magical edition like that. However, the trick had been that that photo was only a reflection, a photo taken from one of the mirrors that had been in the fashion show that had coincidentally reflected Rarity making the promise pinkie. That's why she appeared making the pinkie promise with her left hoof although, in reality, she had done it with the right, and that was why the photograph appeared a bit blurred. Dusk had spent all the afternoon of the yesterday and the morning of today getting all the pictures taken in the fashion show and reviewing them one by one with hope of finding the photo he was looking for. For his luck with the enormous number of photographers who were in the fashion show, he finally found the photo he needed.
"The photo is real, but the image is not, it's just a reflection." Dusk thought as he made the photograph disappear so no one would take a second look. "I must admit that it was one of my brightest ideas, I don't even know how I came up with such a clever idea!" Dusk thought with a little pride.
"It's a relief that everything went well, right?" Pinkie Pie said surprisingly next to Dusk, who had already removed her disguise as a judge.
"Gah! I... I'm sorry, the picture is gone." Dusk said hastily, thinking that Pinkie Pie was there to ask for the picture, after all, the day before at the trial, she had been determined to judge Rarity, and maybe she had not given up.
"I don't want to see it, remember, the rules of the trial said that we would accept without hesitation what the jury said." Pinkie Pie said smiling. "As I said before, justice is neither good nor bad, it's just a reflection of our actions."
"That was also said yesterday... Why does she repeat that old saying so much-?" Dusk thought until he was struck down by a surprising idea. "Wait a second! Now that I think about it... Throughout yesterday's trial, Pinkie Pie unnecessarily repeated the same word again and again: 'reflect', she repeated it many times, and yesterday, when I said goodbye to Rarity, and I started thinking about the trial, the first thing that came to my mind was the word 'reflect', what if..."
Dusk looked astonished at Pinkie Pie.
"What if she repeated it so much so that word stayed in my subconscious and so I could discover that picture! What if it wasn't my idea but Pinkie Pie's... No, it's impossible, besides, what would she win with that? If so, why didn't she just tell me-?" Dusk thought until another revelation flashed into his mind. "She is the guardian of the pinkie promises, which means that if she came up with the little trick I used, she needed somepony else to realize that because she couldn't do it... And not only that! She forced us to accept what Applejack decided as president of the jury, I thought that would only hurt us, but if we managed to cheat Applejack, Pinkie would have to comply with the verdict despite knowing that everything was a farce... It can't be... It’s the only way to save Rarity from the pinkie promise she made and that at the same time Pinkie Pie didn't have to stop enforcing the pinkie promises. It is brilliant! This trial was not because Pinkie Pe wanted to abuse her power and punish Rarity as I thought, it was the opposite, it was to save Rarity!"
At that moment Dusk raised his sight after getting dizzy with his own deductions and theories. Seeing that Pinkie Pie saw him with a particularly sly smile.
"Something happened?" Pinkie asked, returning to her usual smile.
"Pinkie Pie... sometimes I think you're crazy, and then you're a genius... Maybe ... a little bit of both." Dusk thought with a smile, knowing that he would probably never know the truth about whether it had all been Pinkie Pie's plan or not, because even if it were, she would never admit it.
"Thank you." Dusk finally said in a whisper.
"Why?" Pinkie Pie responded smiling, answering exactly what Dusk knew she would say.
"In truth, pinkie promises can't be broken, we have to take them seriously." Dusk added, deciding to change the subject, going to something that still worried him about the pinkie promises. "Pinkie... Is it true that the former librarian disappeared after she broke a pinkie promise?" Dusk asked with a slight tone of concern.
"Yes... Do you want to know what happened to her for breaking a pinkie promise?" Pinkie Pie answered, looking darkly at Dusk. Then she changed face radically and smiled with her usual smile. "I paid her an all-paid ticket to Las Pegasus."
"Huh?" Dusk said confused. "She broke her pinkie promise, and you paid her a trip."
"Yes!" Pinkie Pie answered, putting a more thoughtful look as she remembered. "I was distraught with her, so I gave her that trip so I would not have to see her for a couple of days, and she would relax and reflect on her mistake and thus never break a pinkie promise again."
"T-Then, how come no pony else in town has seen her?" Dusk asked confused.
"Well, it turns out that while she was traveling, she found a better job, in the Las Pegasus library." Pinkie Pie answered with a shrug. "She wrote to me informing me of the news, but when I was going to tell the others, I realized that for some reason they all believed that I had made her disappear."
"But why-?" Dusk asked, thinking about why her friend didn't tell them the truth, but he kept quiet when he thought to know the answer... Surely Pinkie Pie didn't tell them the truth so that her friends would take their pinkie promises more seriously. "Hehe, so the punishment for breaking a pinkie promise is a free trip to Las Pegasus, maybe I should break one."
"Would you really like to leave the town?" Pinkie Pie asked with a slightly sad look.
At the question of Pinkie Pie, Dusk reflected and thought better what he had just said.
"No, you're right... I'll never break a pinkie promise, and so you'll never have to throw me out of town." Dusk said with a big smile, making Pinkie Pie smile happily too.
"Dusk!!" Rarity shouted after finishing receiving the hugs of her friends. Jumping to hug Dusk Shine's neck, screaming Dusk's name, something she'd wanted to do since she'd 'almost' made that silly pinkie promise.
"I'm glad to hear your sweet voice again." Dusk said, smiling when he saw Rarity so happy, and also blushing to have her so close as she was holding him.
"I promise to never distrust you or act so hastily again!" Rarity said with her bright eyes and a radiant smile, totally happy to finally be able to have a conversation with Dusk again. "I'll have to make you a great gift to compensate you!"
"Rarity, that is not necessary." Dusk said, quickly interrupted by Rarity.
"Please, let me do this." Rarity said with a determined look, repeating exactly what Dusk had said the previous day. "Yesterday you insisted on inviting me to lunch to apologize, now it's my turn to do something for you, and I know exactly what I'll do... I'll make you a beautiful Gala suit!"
"A suit for the Gala?" Dusk asked incredulously.
"Yes, and not just you." Rarity added, turning and looking at all her friends. "I'll make a dress for each of you, it'll be my way of thanking you for everything and compensating you for all the problems I caused you."
"A Gala dress!" Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie said excited in unison, with a big smile.
"A Gala dress?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash said in unison, with a slight expression of displeasure.
"Yes, they'll be perfect! There are designs that I have had in mind for a long time, they'll look great on you all!" Rarity said excitedly, already beginning to design in her mind what would be the best colors and designs of dresses for each of her friends. Then, seeing that unlike Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed with an anxious look, she decided to motivate them. "Easy, I promise you that the dresses will be as much or more beautiful than you can imagine, I assure you!"
At that moment each of the mares imagined what a perfect dress would look like, while Dusk did the same thing when imagining an ideal formal suit for the Gala, and with that thought, they all smiled and accepted the great gift that Rarity wanted to make them. It was so that Rarity smiled full of emotion as she imagined her own versions of the dresses for her friends, without guessing how abysmal the difference between the designs she imagined compared to the designs her friends had pictured.
# End of chapter 33