Dusk Shine in pursuit of Happiness

by bigsnusnu


Chapter 34 - Love can heal

Love can Heal

"Are you really going to make a dress for each of them, including a suit for me?" Dusk asked as he entered Rarity's room, following his unicorn friend.

After Rarity told all her friends that she would make the dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala as an apology for all the problems she had caused, she ran up to her room, totally excited at the idea of designing beautiful costumes for them, her best friends. The only thing that Rarity managed to say while running down the stairs was that everyone showed up right there the next day so they could see the preliminary designs.

It was so the other mares smiled to see their friend so happy, and they left delighted for having finally solved that whole problem with the pinkie promise, however, before leaving, Dusk bit his lip and turned to see where his friend had gone. A strong feeling of not wanting to leave her alone took hold of him, after all, he had almost been on the verge of not being able to hear her beautiful voice anymore, and that fear made him want to talk with her a little longer before leaving. Finally, Dusk was motivated to go up to his friend's room, a room that also served Rarity as a sewing workshop.

"Of course, I will! The only thing I regret is that it never occurred to me before!" Rarity said excitedly as with her magic. She blew a lot of things at once, like needles, thread, and pieces of cloth, ordering her room. At the same, she was taking large sheets of paper and a pen in front of her.

Seeing Rarity's ability to manipulate so many things in detail, Dusk began to think about something, but he was quickly interrupted by a blow to his side.

"Excuse me!" Spike said annoyed, making his way through Dusk's hooves since the unicorn had stood in front of the door, preventing the free passage.

The little dragon had had a feeling very similar to what his brother had felt, so as soon as he saw Dusk going up to Rarity's room, he quickly followed.

"Spike, are you still mad at me? I told you it was all a misunderstanding." Dusk said with regret, realizing that his little brother apparently still blamed him for everything that had happened with Rarity. "I'm really sorry."

"I know it was a misunderstanding... Rarity explained everything to me." Spike said, pursing his lip, still not looking at his brother. "But even so, although everything was solved, I'm still a bit annoyed with you."

Dusk had learned that Spike really seemed to have a great passion for Rarity, something that seemed to be not just a passing crush since they were in Ponyville, it seemed that Spike was falling more and more in love with the white unicorn. For this reason, Dusk understood correctly why it was so tricky for Spike to forgive him.

"But you'll still forgive me, right?" Dusk added with a small smile, knowing that deep down his brother was not so spiteful.

"Yes... but it will take me a couple of days." Spike answered Dusk, admitting that deep down he knew that Dusk was not to blame and that he would have to forgive him at some point, despite the severe problems he had caused his beloved, but even so, his stubbornness made it impossible to forgive him in that same instant. His brother would have to wait a few more days until his anger finally dissipated completely.

Suddenly a drawing sheet went flying from where Rarity was and fell in front of both brothers. Both Spike and Dusk came to see the fallen sheet where the silhouette of a mare in a long evening dress was drawn. Then another one fell near them with another drawing of the outline of a pony wearing a similar but tighter dress at her waist.

"Wow, these are really good." Dusk said, admiring his friend's sketches.

"They are beautiful dresses.” Spike said flatteringly to his muse, but not falsely, since the drawings, although simple, really allowed him to see the process in making a beautiful dress.

"Those designs do not work at all." Rarity said while still drawing on her desk. "Each dress must be unique, but each dress must fit perfectly to each one, which is why even if they look good, I immediately know that those sketches will not work for the dresses I imagine for my friends."

Seeing that Rarity was still totally focused on her work, Dusk remembered what he had thought when he had seen her manipulate so many objects at once. He immediately thought of the three principles of magic and how his strength was 'power,' Trixie's 'concentration,' and for a moment Dusk thought that the latter was also Rarity's strong point. But seeing how different sketches flew, all born of nothing in the mind of his friend, Dusk had to change his appreciation to realize that his friend was definitely strong in the last principle of magic, the 'imagination.'

While he thought that, Dusk could see Rarity's eyes, which remained true to the sketches she drew, and Dusk could see 'that' shine in his friend's eyes, a brightness caused by Rarity's strong imagination. “Creativity”. Dusk was sure that while Rarity was drawing, her mind was already making thousands of costume designs, devising what would be the best designs for the dresses of her friends. At that moment, Dusk remembered how he had seen a similar glow when he saw Applejack harvesting on the farm but Dusk also realized that Rarity was something different. For the brightness in her eyes was not just for the joy of doing something she liked, like designing dresses, but also by the joy of imagining the smile on the faces of her friends from seeing them receive a gift from her and how they would adore them.

"You're..." Dusk said without taking his eyes off Rarity, not realizing he was thinking out loud.

"You're amazing..." Spike said, going ahead a fraction of a second to what Dusk was going to say, which was exactly what Dusk was thinking.

Being pulled from his thoughts by Spike's phrase, Dusk turned to see his brother, surprised to note that they almost said the same thing at the same time. Then Dusk realized that Spike didn’t even know what had happened and was only looking at her with the same stupid face he always has when she is around.

Noticing that, Dusk turned all red and turned quickly.

"I-I think I'll be leaving now; I'll see you tomorrow.” Dusk said nervously, saying goodbye to Rarity, who was totally focused on her work.

Dusk quickly trotted down the stairs, with one question in his mind.

"Have I been looking at Rarity with the same look that Spike has? A fool in love?" Dusk thought, totally embarrassed.


It was the next day, and as the unicorn fashionista asked them, Dusk Shine and his friends met again at the Carousel Boutique to see the expected designs that Rarity had prepared for them.

"Sorry for making you all wait!" Rarity finally said, going down the stairs of her room to the main hall, where the others were gathered.

Meeting with her friends, Rarity couldn't help but yawn, after all, she had stayed up all night thinking and working on the preliminary designs for her friends' dresses. But even the dream could not prevent her from smiling. Completely excited, she was ready to present the sketches to her friends. To her, they were the perfect designs for her friends.

"I hope you're not over-demanding." Applejack said, noticing the small circles that Rarity happened to miss while putting her makeup on.

"It's nothing, just had little sleep, but I'm just so excited!" Rarity said excitedly, completely forgetting the tiredness she felt. "Every sketch I made was discarded, again and again, always wanting the dresses to be perfect, unique, that represented the best of my friends, their tastes, their talents... It was so very complex that it cost me a lot to translate it into the design’s final, but I think I finally did it! The perfect dresses for each one of you!"

Before the words of Rarity, the other ponies were contagious with the emotion of their friend. Rarity was the best dress designer in the whole town, and if she said she had finally come up with the perfect dresses for all of them, it meant that the dresses really must be beautiful, with everything they would expect. This was how everyone's expectations grew to a maximum level.

"There you have them!" Rarity said excitedly, levitating with her magic several drawing sheets, passing one to each of her friends, the sheet on which was drawn the final design of their own gala dress that she would make for each of them. "What do you think!?" Rarity added excitedly, looking forward to the response of his friends.

As soon as Dusk took the sheet with the sketch of what would be his suit, the smile he had could only be kept frozen by obligation, because the sketch that appeared drawn with his future suit, was very, very distant of what he had expected. Because of Rarity's high expectations, Dusk had expected a magnificent gala suit, that would stand out, intelligent, sophisticated... But what Dusk saw in the sketch was rather a simple suit, with several unique details, of course, but Dusk could not avoid feeling that this was definitely not what he expected, less from someone with the talent that Rarity had.

Keeping his smile forced, Dusk glanced sideways at his other friends, and to his surprise, he saw that they were all having the same forced smile as he had. It was so that everyone understood that everyone felt the same way: 'It was not what I expected, but we can't tell Rarity!'

"W-What... Don’t you like them?" Rarity asked after an awkward silence, obviously noticing that her friends were smiling nervously.

"No, no, no, no... Hmm... well, yes." Applejack said with a nervous smile, unable to avoid telling the truth finally.

"Do you all think the same?" Rarity asked disappointed, focusing her gaze on her friends and stopping at Dusk.

"Err... well, it's not that I don’t like it, it's actually very... nice." Dusk responded timidly, not wanting to lie to his friend nor hurt her. "It's just that with everything you said..."

"I thought it would be cooler, I mean, if I'm going to wear a dress in public, I was hoping it would be cooler." Rainbow Dash said completing what Dusk wanted to say. Then the pegasus noticed the look of disappointment on Rarity’s face, and immediately retracted what she said. "B-But, Hey! I have no problem wearing something like that, I-I think it will be a... nice dress."

"Yes... it's... special, and I love the special kind of… uh… dresses!" Pinkie Pie added with a nervous smile, trying to cheer up Rarity.

"You don't have to lie, if you don’t like it, you have to tell me." Rarity said with a slightly more serious look, then she sighed and smiled shyly. "Listen, these are just sketches, I can change them, you can make arrangements, so don’t worry, now... wait here, I... I'll go up and see what changes I can make to the sketches."

Then Rarity turned around and climbed back to her room. In the meantime, her friends stayed there with guilty looks for having rejected their friend's hard work.

"Ugh... I feel terrible." Rainbow Dash said annoyed with herself, feeling that everyone shared there.

"The dresses are a gift from Rarity, we should... we should have said that we liked them even if it wasn’t true." Applejack said, chewing her lip, blaming herself for being so honest.

"At least she didn’t show us the finished dresses, can you imagine? It would have been a disaster." Pinkie Pie added with a nervous smile.

"She was so tired... She had to work all night on those sketches, if only we could help her." Fluttershy said with a sad look.

"That's it!" Dusk said surprisingly. "If we help her, maybe we can share the burden and at the same time, we can help her to really make them how we want them to be."

It was so that Dusk began to climb the stairs to Rarity's room, followed by his other friends.

Upon entering the room, Dusk immediately noticed that Rarity was again in absolute concentration mode, holding a pen and not taking her eyes off her desk. However, unlike the previous day, this time Rarity did not draw at full speed, this time she only bit the tip of the pen while holding her head with a hoof and kept an uncomfortable look, as if she could not flow any more ideas in her mind while watching the sketches of the designs.

"Ahem...! Rarity?" Dusk coughed heavily to get Rarity out of her thoughts.

"Huh!? Why did you all come up here? I told you to wait downstairs." Rarity said, confused.

"We thought maybe we could help you.” Dusk said with a kind smile.

"Oh, thank you darling, but it's not necessary, remember, this is my gift to you." Rarity said, smiling.

"Hmm... well, maybe you don’t want us to help you make the dresses..." Dusk said, scratching his head and quick thinking of another solution. "But maybe we can help you with some ideas for the designs."

"Ideas for your designs?" Rarity repeated confused, then stopped for a second to see her friends one by one, and then smiled with a slight air of arrogance. "I'm sorry, dear, but that's precisely what I meant, that is, I would prefer that you help me by making clothes to help me with the design, it is the most important step when it comes to making a new dress! But if I do let you help me with them, you may accidentally do more harm than good, I think it's better that I do it by myself."

"Please, we can do it, we can help you with the designs!" Dusk responded quickly, not being able to avoid be bothered a bit, since he didn't like to be underestimated, even if it was something he didn't know how to do, like making a dress. "I mean, we just have to give ideas on who wants what’s, how hard can it be?"

"How hard can it be!?" Rarity said slowly, this time she was getting upset. "Are you saying that my work is easy to do?"

Before the intense look of Rarity, Dusk Shine realized that what he had just said underestimated his friends work, which made him immediately regret it. Totally nervous, Dusk glanced at his friends behind him to seek some support, but his friends looked away and just kept whistling softly without making eye contact with Dusk, knowing that Dusk had screwed up and not wanting to get involved in a possible discussion.

"W-Well... w-what I wanted to say is... is that it should not be hard to know what each of the girls' like." Dusk finally responded, totally nervous. "That... that's it."

Rarity continued to look at Dusk with an intense look, not anger, but annoyance. Then, after a few seconds when no one spoke, Rarity changed her face, pursing her lip as she looked up with a thoughtful look, and then she looked back at Dusk, this time staring at him with a cunning smile, which could only mean that there was going to be some new problems coming for the lavender unicorn.

"Very well, if you think it's so simple to design the dresses, then YOU will make the dresses." Rarity said with a big smile. All before the look of shock in both Dusk and their friends faces.

"What!? No! I couldn’t, I mean, I don't even know how to sew well, and-" Dusk said panicking, regretful of having talked more than he should.

"Don't worry, I'll help you at all times, you just have to do the design and guide me when I make the dressing assembly, don’t worry, everything will be fine!" Rarity said with a sincere and friendly smile. "So we'll see if designing is really that easy.” Rarity added, giving Dusk a fleeting, penetrating look of punishment.

"Dusk will make the dresses?" Fluttershy asked fearfully.

"Is that really a good idea?" Applejack added also doubting the ability and sense of fashion of Dusk.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine, I promise." Rarity smiled.

"Mine first! Mine first!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly, jumping in front of Dusk.

"Heh... Maybe it's not so bad." Rainbow Dash said, also accepting the idea.

"Well, it's decided then!" Rarity said with a big smile.

Then the other four mares imitated Rarity, and they all stared at Dusk with a big smile.

"How do I keep getting myself into these situations?" It was the only thing Dusk thought about, making a nervous smile when he saw the unjustified trust that his friends put in him, with no other choice than to accept this ‘punishment’ Rarity had just given him.


The first obstacle to overcome, before starting with the dresses, was time. Because making five dresses and his own suit required more time than Dusk anticipated, so the first thing he had to do was look for someone to replace him as the librarian, after all, Dusk couldn't close the library, even now, since for some unknown reason, it was filled with mares reading a particular series of comics that was causing a sensation among the mares of the town and which Dusk had not yet taken the time to review its content.

Spike was who came to mind for the job, but Dusk doubted that Spike would accept easily, even knowing that this would mean that Dusk would be alone with Rarity at home. However, to Dusk's surprise, Spike didn’t give much importance and accepted without problems.

"No problem, and it doesn't bother me that you’re at Rarity’s without me." Spike had responded when Dusk asked him. "Besides, I'm Rarity's real star assistant, hehe." Spike added with a small clever smile as if he knew something Dusk didn't know.

Once that was resolved, the next thing was to order the shifts, since it was difficult to have all his friends in one place, so the mares took turns visiting Rarity and Dusk one at a time, and so they worked alone in one dress at a time.

That's how the first day arrived, with everything ready in Rarity's workshop. And the first pony to go and give their ideas for her dress was Rainbow Dash.

"Doesn't matter." Rainbow Dash said looking away.

"What do you mean doesn't matter?" Dusk answered.

"That it doesn't matter, you know, I don't really like to wear dresses, so it doesn't matter, anything you choose will be fine." Rainbow Dash answered with a shrug.

Since Rainbow Dash was the first dress he would need to design, Dusk had to admit that he was excited about what he would do, because although he was mostly forced to accept job, as time passed, Dusk began to see the positive side, because he was excited to do something new, and at the same time, to do something that would help him to know more about his friends. It was for that reason that Dusk's enthusiasm fell to the floor when rainbow Pegasus gave her ‘idea’.

For a moment, Dusk scratched his head, not knowing what to do. Then he approached one of the mannequins that Rarity had and indicated to Rainbow Dash the dress that was on this.

"How about this dress? Do you like it?" Dusk asked, kindly.

"Hmm... Nah!" Rainbow Dash responded negatively after seeing the dress pointed out by Dusk.

"Okay, how’s this?" Dusk asked again, this time pointing to another dress.

"Hmm... Nah!" Rainbow Dash responded again in the same way.

"How about this-?" Dusk said, being interrupted quickly.

"Nah!" Rainbow Dash said without giving Dusk time to speak.

"If you don’t like them, it's because you DO like something! Just tell me what you like!" Dusk finish screaming, irritated to see that he wasn’t getting anything from Rainbow Dash.

During Dusk’s outburst, Rarity couldn’t help but laugh seeing how the stress was just beginning, Dusk was already in trouble. Then Dusk glanced at Rarity and could only lower his head, frustrated to discover that Rarity was right, and it seemed that this would be more difficult than he expected.

"I don't know what I want, I just want something... cool." Rainbow Dash added to see that Dusk still didn't understand.

"Something cool?" Dusk said with a confused look.

Then Dusk put a hoof on his lip and began to think. After all, he hasn’t started on a completely blank canvas, he already knew a lot about his friends, now it was only for him to use that information and think about what someone like Rainbow Dash could consider 'cooler.'

Dusk took the drawing block for the first time and made a crude drawing of a dress for Rainbow Dash, although more than dress it looked like the dress of a racing pony.

"Hmm... yes... I think you have something there." Rainbow Dash said after seeing Dusk's drawing. "But it has to be cooler, you know, hmm... twenty percent cooler."

It was then that Dusk looked at Rarity with a proud smile, because he was finally able to achieve something, a design that Rainbow Dash liked, and that meant that he had already made an improvement when compared to Rarity's designs. At Dusk's glance, Rarity just looked at him and smiled kindly without malice.

"I already have the design!" Dusk said once Rainbow Dash finally gave the nod to Dusk's sketch, approaching Rarity with a smile. "Now what?"

"Well, what's left is to see the type of fabric to be used, the colors, the seam... Hmm, how are you at sewing?" Rarity asked, asking the question she needed to ask; however, there was no need for an answer since it was clear enough to her, she could see Dusk's nervous smile knowing that it was surely going to be a disaster. "Don't worry dear, I think I'll take care of that Hmm... you also have to take the measurements, and-"

"I can do that!" Dusk said, shouting with enthusiasm since at last Rarity was giving him a task that he could do without any problems.

Then Dusk took the tape to measure and approached Rainbow Dash.

"Don't move, I need to measure and record your measurements.” Dusk said, concentrating and beginning to measure the length of Rainbow Dash's front legs, all while the pegasus stood still as a statue and averted her eyes, trying to hide her blushed cheeks from having Dusk so close.

Every time Dusk wrote something near Rainbow Dash, the pegasus kept looking at him out of the corner of his eye, with an intense look at having him so close. However, as soon as Dusk noticed that she was looking at him, Rainbow Dash immediately averted her gaze.

"I think that's all.” Dusk said once he finished taking the measurements.

"Y-You know, uhmm… I-I don’t think you took the measurements of my neck well." Rainbow Dash said a little nervous, not wanting it to end so quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry.” Dusk said, going back to his friend and surrounding her with the measuring tape while putting his head under his friends to check that he measured correctly.

That was just what Rainbow Dash was looking for, who blushed even more as she felt Dusk's warmth and scent almost touching her neck.

"Hmpf!" It was the snort that Rarity made after noticing from the start that her friend was enjoying having Dusk so close to her.

After that, Rainbow Dash left, and Rarity and Dusk started making the first dress. Rarity followed everything that Dusk told her. The only thing Rarity did occasionally was to say, 'Are you sure?' But Dusk always told her to continue, after all, Dusk was just following the design that Rainbow Dash had approved.

And the second day arrived, and the next on the list was Fluttershy.

"A dress inspired by nature and French haute couture at the same time?" Dusk asked his new client.

"Yes... I really like nature, something inspired by wildlife, leaves, birds, butterflies, something that represents life itself... If a dress could have those things, I think I would like it." Fluttershy answered smiling. "But I also like haute couture, something beautiful and elegant, that serves both a banquet and a casual dinner, with fine stitching, that combines each accessory, with a first quality fabric that shines at night and stands out in the day, contemporary and creative."

Before the new order, Dusk put an even more pensive face, since Rainbow Dash’s dress so unique, he thought he would have an easier time with Fluttershy since she can tell him what she wanted, but what Dusk didn’t expect was how demanding her shy friend was in terms of dresses.

A small laugh distracted Dusk. Turning, the colt saw how Rarity began to laugh again seeing how everything was so confusing, which made Dusk put a serious look, he did not like to lose. Then Dusk made a quick sketch, drawing a rough drawing of a long dress with drawings of flowers on it. Fluttershy looked at him and almost discarded the entire dress, but unlike Rainbow Dash, she said in detail what to keep and what things to add.

"Do you like this?" Fluttershy asked, insecure each time she asked to add something to the design.

"Err... yes, it would be cute on you." Dusk always said, without really being sure of what he was saying, since he didn't know if he really had a fashion sense or not, but he could be sure of something, that anything his pretty friend wore would look good on her.

That's how, although it took more than three times as long as with Rainbow Dash’s dress, Dusk finally managed to create a final design for Fluttershy's dress.

"Darling, are you sure you want to follow this design?" Rarity asked once Dusk showed her the final sketch of the dress.

"Sure, that's all Fluttershy wants.” Dusk said with pride, while Fluttershy smiled, approving what Dusk said. "Now, time to measure.” Dusk added, taking the tape again to measure.

Just like Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy just fell silent, totally blushed to have Dusk so close by measuring her, touching the tape with each part of her body as she brought his face closer to her body.

"Well, I'm finished!" Dusk Shine said, smiling, after finishing his measurements.

"I-I... uhmm... I-I think you did my neck wrong." Fluttershy said nervously, totally blushed.

"Really?" Dusk asked, confused, unable to believe that he had made the same mistake twice.

Then Dusk approached his friend and began to measure her neck, very slowly to check that he measured well this time, without even thinking about yesterday, he failed to realize how that was also an excuse used by his shy friend so that she could feel Dusk's hooves again on her neck, and have his face close to hers.

Meanwhile, Rarity was very surprised when it happened with Rainbow Dash but never imagined that her shy friend would dare to use the same trick with Dusk. Seeing how Fluttershy was smiling, fully blushed, having Dusk so close to her, Rarity could only let out a snort, a snort of pure jealousy.

Finally, Fluttershy left the workshop, although promising to return with some accessories for the dress that Rarity didn’t have in her studio, 'natural' accessories that only Fluttershy could get and that for obvious reasons Rarity would never have. Meanwhile, Dusk and Rarity began to work on the rest of the dress. With Rarity sharing a look of doubt and disbelief at what they were creating, and Dusk smiling to be creating the vision of the perfect dress that his friend wanted.

The third day had arrived, and now it was Applejack’s turn.

"I don't want something very striking, something simple and that can be occupied at any time." It was the simple order of Applejack.

"Well, I expected you to ask for something like that.” Dusk said, smiling, in advance anticipating how simple his country friend was.

"So you think I'm simple huh?" Applejack asked angrily, taking Dusk’s words badly.

"I-I didn't mean that, I just wanted to say that I think a simple dress might fit you better than a very elegant dress.” Dusk answered with a nervous smile.

"You think an elegant dress wouldn’t look good on me?" Applejack criticized again, annoyed to think that Dusk didn’t think she could be so refined to wear a dress.

"N-No, what I meant was..." Dusk replied, shrinking, not knowing what to say to flatter his friend without her misinterpreting it.

"Well, tell me then what dress would fit a 'simple' mare like me." Applejack said, annoyed with Dusk.

Before the annoying look of her friend, Dusk had no choice but to listen to her and begin to draw a dress without major clues. Sketches that one after another were discarded by Applejack.

"And what good would a dress like that last... No, that's not it, a simple dress would not work at the gala... That doesn't work either, many decorations..." was the criticism that Applejack said every time she was presented with a sketched version drawn by Dusk, who discarded each one of them almost without looking, mostly because she was annoyed with Dusk than for the fact that she really didn’t like the designs.

This was how the design work again, happening almost the same as it had happened with Rainbow Dash, in which her friend rejected the entire design almost immediately, only this time, instead of receiving a silence, only received negative criticism. As he continued to try and gain the approval of his friends desired dress, Rarity seemed to be having a bit of fun watching the situation worsen, laughing silently, but enough for Dusk to hear her and let him know that this was her revenge for telling her that this was an easy job.

"This is pointless, Applejack is so upset that she will reject every dress design that I show her..." Dusk thought frustrated, beginning to think about how to solve the problem. "Wait, there is something common in what she always says... She always says that such a design does not 'work'… Why does she say it does not work instead of saying she doesn’t like it?" was what Dusk thought, coming to a revelation that maybe he could get him out of that loop he was in.

"How about this design?" Dusk finally said, drawing a dress that also wore boots. As soon as Dusk showed the design, Applejack immediately opened her mouth to dismiss it, but then Dusk spoke first. "These boots will serve you for any terrain, you see, they are perfect for a hardworking and versatile pony like you, something I have always valued about you."

"Hmm... yes... I guess that would be good." Applejack said a little blushed, finally accepting a compliment from Dusk and at the same time accepting an idea for the dress. "Maybe they could be waterproof... and have some apples embroidered."

"Yes, that's good, and maybe also..." Dusk began, happy to finally be making some progress with his friend's dress design.

Dusk and Applejack finally began to design the dress together. It was filled with so much tension in trying to reach an agreement, that without realizing it, Applejack stopped being annoyed with Dusk and accepted that the dress was not elegant, which had just been the reason for her anger with Dusk, but in Applejack's favor, the final design didn’t end up being a simple dress at all, but after a long time, the country mare was left satisfied.

"Well, next part is taking the measurements.” Dusk said, taking the tape to measure.

"Darling, maybe... I should do it." Rarity said with a nervous smile, while a small drop of jealousy erupted in her since she didn’t want her friends to be enjoying Dusk's touch so much.

"No, you already do almost all the dress, leave this task to me.” Dusk answered with a smile, not realizing Rarity's true intention to help him.

And as it seemed with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, Dusk began the delicate task of measuring the length and contour of Applejack's body; and just as with the other two mares, Applejack didn’t complain about the fact that he was so close and touching her with a measuring tape, she just made a bad poker face while blushing as Dusk carefully and slowly did the work.

"Ahem!" Rarity coughed annoyed, noticing that in an oversight, when Dusk was taking the measurements on the hind legs of Applejack, she had taken the opportunity to give a quick glance at the back of Dusk. Immediately Applejack looked away and remained as if nothing had happened, grateful that Dusk was too focused on measuring to notice that.

"They’re all taking advantage of my innocent Dusk." Rarity thought, biting her lip and keeping a jealous look on her face. Same look she had when Applejack, like her other friends, used the same trick so that Dusk would measure her neck again so that she could have him as close as possible even if it were only a few minutes more.

Once Applejack left Rarity's workshop, the two unicorns began the arduous task of making the third dress. With Dusk guiding and giving the orders while Rarity continued to limit herself to just follow the instructions, but without ceasing to put a look of displeasure and guilt upon seeing the strange dresses she was making.

"This started only as an act of small revenge against Dusk, but I think if I'm not careful, it can get out of hooves." Rarity thought with some guilt, hoping her friends wouldn’t have a heart attack when they see the result of their dresses.

Finally, the fourth day arrived, and Pinkie Pie was the last to choose her design.

"Candies!" Pinkie Pie said immediately after Dusk Shine asked her what she would like her dress to look like.

"Candies?" Dusk repeated confused while drawing a few candies in the dress design he was preparing. "Yeah... I guess we can add-"

"And balloons! Many balloons!" Pinkie Pie added excitedly.

"I guess I could add a few balloons to the tail of the dress, and like that-" Dusk said adding the new order to the design of the dress, again being interrupted.

"Ooooooh and streamers! Definitely, an elegant dress has to have streamers!" Pinkie Pie again added excited, taking Dusk's drawing and drawing many streamers about the design of the dress. "Red streamers, blue streamers, green serpentines, violet streamers..."

While Pinkie Pie continued dictating object after object to be added to the dress, Dusk glanced sideways at Rarity, Pinkie Pie, like her other friends, was even more of headache to deal with, except she didn’t want something specific, it seemed like she wanted everything in her dress, anything that she could think of at that precise moment, which obviously meant that little of the initial design of the dress remained, now there was only one huge mess of things stacked in Pinkie Pie's design.

"Maybe also some pots with flo-" Pinkie Pie said before Dusk put a hoof over her mouth to stop talking.

"I think with what we have here is enough, hehe.” Dusk said, smiling nervously.

"Okie dokie!" Pinkie Pie smiled.

It was so that Pinkie Pie's dress design finally got a green light, and Dusk immediately began the task of measuring his friend. As it rarely happened, Pinkie Pie managed to remain completely motionless, like a statue, just watching Dusk while he worked and blushing with a little laughter included each time, he approached her and played with the tape to measure.

"Well, I think I finished.” Dusk said after a long time, this time measuring with twice the care, as he naively began to believe that he really had a problem to measure since all his friends had told him that he had misjudged on occasion.

"Actually, I think you made a mistake in one of your measurements..." Pinkie Pie said blushing, with a small nervous smile.

"Oh no! Let me guess, I made a mistake measuring your neck.” Dusk said sighing frustrated, seeing that apparently, he had made the same mistake again.

"Actually, I think it was under my tail that-"

"PINKIE PIE!" Rarity yelled, blushing, immediately stopping what her crazy friend was going to ask of Dusk.

"It was a joke... maybe..." Pinkie Pie answered smiling and winking at Rarity, all while Dusk looked confused, naively unable to understand why Rarity had put Pinkie Pie to silence.

Once Pinkie Pie left, Rarity and Dusk began to make the fourth dress, the most time consuming of all, but also the most special, because both their opinions on all the dresses were really unique, in more than a form, something that seemed to bother Rarity. While Dusk saw them, he immediately thought that those dresses were not much to his liking, but obviously, his fashion sense was null, and more importantly, as long as his friends liked him, it was fine for him.

Finally, the fifth day arrived, and Rarity finally found herself in solitude in her workshop, with an evident look of weariness after having a long and hard-working week making the different dresses for her friends.

"Well, I think today I'll rest a little before-" Rarity said, thinking aloud until she heard someone enter the boutique and go up the stairs. It was Dusk Shine who appeared at the door of her room.

"Dusk? What are you doing here?" Rarity asked, confused.

"Well, I was in the library until I remembered that I still have one more dress I need to make, yours.” Dusk said with a big smile.

"Mine? Oh no, dear, I don't need you to make me a dress." Rarity answered with a tender smile. "It's not that I don’t trust your skills as a designer, but... Um... I don't know how to finish that sentence." She said with a coy smile, embarrassed.

Then both unicorns started to laugh together.

"Haha, yes, I understand you, and I have it well deserved, I now understand that designing a dress is far more difficult than it seems.” Dusk said with a sad smile.

"You don't have to tell me that, we're still going to be in the middle of your lesson." Rarity said with a sweet smile. At those words, Dusk just looked at her, confused. "Easy, you'll understand soon.” Rarity added with a more mysterious smile.

"Huh, well, if you say so...” Dusk said still without understanding what his friend was referring to. "Well, then I won't waste your time anymore, I think I'll go back to the library."

"Actually..." Rarity added quickly, trying to think of an excuse to take advantage of the fact that Dusk was there and that they were finally alone with no work to do. "Taking advantage of being here, I'd like to show you something."

"Hm? What thing?" Dusk asked curiously.

"It's a surprise ~ Close your eyes." Rarity said coquettishly with a sweet voice.

Dusk did as his friend asked and closed his eyes quietly, while Rarity bit her lip and smiled nervously to see that she had Dusk Shine there for herself and that now she finally had the chance to flirt a little. With him, as his friends had done in those four days, only this time, she would do it a little differently.

While Dusk closed his eyes, he sharpened his ear to see if he could hear what Rarity was doing, but all he heard was something like moving cloth.

"Now you can open your eyes!" Rarity said, finally.

Dusk opened them and was amazed at what he saw. There, in front of him, was Rarity, but she was wearing a beautiful and elegant evening dress, dark pink and yellow, adorned with a few gems, with a fold on her tail that gave a touch of elegance, very attractive, all combining perfection and harmoniously with crystal slippers that highlighted the beautiful blue eyes of Rarity.

"What do you think?" Rarity asked, smiling, seeing that she had managed to amaze Dusk. "This will be my dress for the Grand Galloping Gala. Of course, on that day I'll also change my manestyle and make up for the occasion, but tell me, do you like it?"

"You look beautiful.” Dusk said honestly, answering without thinking about what he was saying. Instantly Dusk blushed when he realized what he had just told his friend. "I-I mean, it looks good on you, hehe."

"Thank you." Rarity said smiling, also blushing at the beautiful compliment Dusk had just told her. Then Rarity bit her lip again, smiling nervously, thinking that since she had succeeded in showing the dress, she should have the courage to continue with her plan. "Very good, now close your eyes again."

Dusk again did what his friend told him and waited patiently.

"I'm taking off my dress, it'll only take a few seconds." Rarity said with a slight flirtatious tone in her voice.

"Why can’t I look? I see her without clothes all the time, what's the difference?" Dusk thought without caring what Rarity said. However, the more he thought about how Rarity was in front of him, carefully and femininely removing that dress, Dusk only blushed more and more. "She's just undressing in front of me, she's just undressing in front of me!" Dusk repeated over and over, trying to calm down but getting the opposite effect.

"You can open them now~" Rarity finally said, with a sing-song voice.

Dusk again opened his eyes, and in just a second, his face went completely red, almost smoke coming from his ears.

Before him was the same old Rarity, only now she was wearing tight dark blue stockings, which combined perfectly with her skin and eyes, the whole added to the casual and innocent pose that Rarity did, all to leave Dusk without speaking before that sexy image.

"I know you must believe that clothing is just a mere accessory, but tell me, do you still believe it?" Rarity asked coquettishly.

"Sure, why would I look different just for wearing some cute and provocative stockings?" Dusk said in his imagination.

"Bleh... blah... eh..." was the only thing that Dusk managed to babble, still totally blushed, unable to take his eyes off Rarity's legs.

"Clothing is not just an accessory, it can attract, alienate, provoke, it's another instrument to express what you want or feel, it's just another form of art." Rarity said with a smile. "Now close your eyes again, darling, I'll show you one last garment."

Dusk, like an obedient slave, immediately closed his eyes and could not help but tremble slightly with emotion as his foal imagination flew with crazy ideas, fantasizing what kind of erotic garment could surprise him Rarity this time.

"Don't think of her that way, she's your friend, she's your friend!" Dusk thought frantically, trying in vain to calm down.

"You can open them now." Rarity said finally, excited.

Dusk Shine opened his eyes at the speed of light, holding his breath, completely impatient of what he would see. And in just a fraction of a second, his spirit crashed to the floor due to disappointment. This time Rarity was not wearing any clothing. Instead, she was just standing smiling at the side of a mannequin wearing some kind of suit.

"Ta-dah!" Rarity said with a big smile, pointing Dusk to the mannequin at her side.

"W-What... What is that?" Dusk said with a nervous smile, still trying to recover mentally from the disappointment suffered, all while mentally repeating 'Dumb! What are you waiting for!?'

"It's your gala suit!" Rarity answered, not being able to hold her emotion.

"My suit?" Dusk repeated, still not understanding. It was then that Dusk realized what it was and saw in more detail that suit on the mannequin, a gala suit that mixed shades of dark blue, like the color of his mane, with a modern design but maintaining an elegant cut. In Dusk's opinion, it was a nice suit, but when imagining himself dressed in that at the gala, he couldn’t help but be disappointed a little when he saw how normal his suit was, compared to the 'unique' dresses of his friends. "Ehhhh... you shouldn’t have.” Dusk said, smiling nervously.

"Don't be scared, it's not finished yet." Rarity said, smiling, noticing Dusk's disappointment immediately. "It lacks the most important part, the details, something that makes it really unique and special for you. Tell me, dear, is there something you like in particular? I mean, I know you like books and all that, but is there something I can rely on to add to the design?"

"Hmm... something you can use to add to the design..." Dusk said, concentrating and thinking about what could be of use to Rarity. "Well apart from the books I like history, obviously also everything related to magic, also astronomy..."

"Stars! That's it! How did it not occur to me before!?" Rarity shouted with excitement as her eyes shone to see in her imagination finally picturing a suit with stars on it. "Yes, yes, it will be splendid! On the edges and sleeves, flashing as-"

"A Cape!" Dusk said suddenly interrupting Rarity. Also visualizing in his mind what would be an ideal suit.

"What?" Rarity asked, confused, thinking that she had not listened well.

"A Cape.” Dusk repeated, smiling. "An old-style cape, like Star Swirl the bearded one, but with the constellations, embroidered on a starry background... It would look so cool!"

"Dusk... I don't think a cape is very... 'appropriate' for a gala." Rarity said slowly as she searched for the right words to tell Dusk that his idea was frightening.

"Please!" Dusk said with the eyes of a dog scolded. "We already did all the dress as they wanted, why can't my suit be the way I want it?"

Rarity stared nervously at Dusk while he stared at her with those tender pleading eyes.

"Hmm... Ugh, okay, I'll make you a cape." Rarity finally answered, giving up. "I should have stayed firm, why did I give in so easily?" Rarity thought at that moment.

Then Dusk came over and hugged her, saying thank you.

"Oh yes, for this." Rarity thought to answer herself as she blushed when she was embraced by Dusk.

And so, the long-awaited day had arrived, the day when Rarity and Dusk would finally show their friends the finished dresses.

In the main hall of the Boutique Carousel, the four mares were gathered together with Dusk Shine, Rarity and Spike, gathered in front of five mannequins covered with white blankets to hide the dresses and thus keep the tension to the maximum. Next to the mannequins, in front of their friends, were Dusk and Rarity, the designers of those dresses.

"Yawn...! Are... Are you sure you want to show them these dresses?" Rarity asked Dusk after a big yawn, unable to hide a slight look of concern.

"Yes, I'm sure, it's the designs they approved, so they should be fine.” Dusk answered with confidence. "How weird, I made sure I did most of the work with Rarity, why would she be so tired?" Dusk thought at the same time, noting that for some reason not only Rarity but also Spike, seemed very tired.

"Enough to make us wait, show us the dresses!" Rainbow Dash said, as impatient as ever.

"Well, without further ado..." Dusk said excitedly, lighting his horn as his magic lifted the blankets of the mannequins. "Here are your clothes!"

As soon as Dusk raised the blankets, the four mares looked surprised at what they saw, while Spike only tilted his head with a confused look; Dusk just stood there, looking expectantly at the faces of his friends, while Rarity only covered her face with a hoof because of the embarrassment of seeing those dresses.

As Dusk had said, the dresses were exactly as their friends had requested. Pinkie Pie's dress looked like a giant candy wrapper, with a large cupcake over her head and several balloons tied to its skirt that was shaped like wrapping paper; while Applejack’s dress looked more like an overall workwear made of scraps than a formal dress, with waterproof boots and a pretty ostentatious cowboy hat; Fluttershy's dress, on the other hand, consisted of a long, old-fashioned skirt with a huge breastplate on the neck that simulated a flower, and a hat that was an exact replica of a nest with eggs on it; and lastly, Rainbow Dash’s dress had very little to be said, since it hardly fell into the category of dress, more like an armor or suit for sprinters; and finally, to Dusk's surprise, there was a dummy completely covered from neck to toe with a huge cape full of embroidery with several drawings of the best known constellations.

The seconds passed, and no one said a word in the room, as if they had all been frozen watching the dresses.

"You see? I told you." Rarity finally said breaking the silence, with an expression of guilt. "This is what you wanted, your designs. Now you understand that-"

"I love it!" The four mares and Dusk shouted in unison, with genuine faces of emotion. To the total surprise of Rarity and Spike.

"You liked them!?" Rarity shouted shocked, watching as all her friends ran excitedly to check their dresses.

"Haha, I told you they would like them, you just had to give them what they wanted.” Dusk said with a triumphant smile, after demonstrating that he had been right and that he could be a good designer too. "By the way, great work with the cape, it's just as I imagined it, it will be great to be dressed like that at the Grand Gala!"

At Dusk's comment, Rarity only slightly frowned and looked down at the floor with a thoughtful look. This was definitely not the result she had expected. Since she had told Dusk to design the dresses, she planned for both Dusk and her friends to learn a lesson about the true tastes and how difficult it was to be a designer. At this point, it was where Rarity had thought. That her friends would realize that the initial designs that she had created were the ideals to take to the Grand Gala, however, to her total surprise, after seeing those aberrations of dresses, her friends had been more than satisfied with the course designer work of Dusk Shine.

"Huff... well, as long as you all are happy." Finally, Rarity sighed with a smile of resignation. "At least there's still a lot of time left for the Gala. There's still time for them to realize..." Rarity thought, relaxing.

"So those are the dresses that will lead to the fashion show?" Spike asked thinking out loud.

"What fashion show?" Rarity and Dusk asked in unison.

"Oh, well... it was a surprise for Rarity.” Spike said, blushing slightly. "I talked to the mayor to do a little fashion show, and that way, everypony could see the beautiful dresses that Rarity did, and so... everypony can see how wonderful she is..." Spike added with a dreamy look at Rarity.

"Aww... my dear Spikey-wikey, you did all of that just for me? You shouldn't have." Rarity said affectionately, approaching Spike and giving him a sweet hug, making the dragon stay all dizzy with a foolish look of a boy in love. Meanwhile, while hugging Spike, Rarity glanced at her friends who were beginning to dress in their peculiar dresses, and in that instant, a small shiver ran down Rarity's back as she imagined her friends modeling those dresses. "It's... It's very nice what you did, Spike, but the truth is..." Rarity added, releasing the hug and with a more nervous voice, carefully choosing his words to try not to hurt his beloved baby dragon.

"A fashion show... Actually... It's a great idea!" Dusk interrupted with energy, after having meditated the news that Spike had just given them.

"Spike had a great idea! After the disaster of the Photo Finish fashion show, Rarity can once again improve her image and silence those fools who slander her for no reason." Dusk thought, wanting to take advantage of that opportunity to help his friend, and of course to show off his spectacular new cape.

"W-Well... a fashion show requires a lot of work..." Rarity said with a nervous smile, while her brain worked at full capacity to see how she could escape this mess they have now involved themselves in.

"But the dresses are ready.” Dusk said quickly taking his new coat and putting it on while doing an elegant pose.

"So... Do you really think we should go to the fashion show with these dresses?" Spike asked with a doubtful face, as he looked at Dusk and then at Rarity, who seemed to have frozen at the sight of Dusk dressed in his constellation cape and doing an 'elegant pose.' "I thought maybe..."

"Of course we are! We’re going with these dresses!" Pinkie Pie said approaching to hear what her friends were talking about, after dressing in her new dress. While also doing a crazy pose to show her 'beautiful' new dress.

"So we can show everypony the wonderful work Rarity has done.” Fluttershy said confidently, making another elegant pose to show the splendor of her new dress.

"Actually, I don't like walking on some fashion runway... but with this dress though, I could make the exception." Applejack added, also in her new dress, with a confident smile and posing behind her friends.

"Yes, everypony will be surprised when they see me in this awesome costume!" Rainbow Dash said in her new dress, also doing an extravagant heroic pose.

While her five friends made great poses with their new dresses, Rarity could only clench her teeth and give a big forced smile while her right eye twitched slightly, as if her brain had literally been overloaded and she had no words to express herself before the aesthetic disaster that was before her eyes.

"Well, yes, they will definitely be surprised.” Spike added, scratching his head as he looked at the peculiar dresses of his friends.

As Spike spoke, Rarity returned to reality and managed to have enough strength to talk again.

"A-Actually, I think it would be better..." Rarity began with a nervous smile. She tried to think of some way to explain the horror of what her friends were asking her. However, seeing them excited and smiling with joy, posing their new and quirky costumes, finally made Rarity give up. "Huff... it's okay... if that's what you want... But on one condition! For the next fashion show, everypony will have to model a dress of my choice, deal?"

"Deal!" The five ponies said with huge smiles. Completely excited to showcase their beautiful outfits for everyone to look and admire their own original designs.

"Okay, as long as they're happy, I guess that's fine with me, too." Rarity thought, sighing and smiling slightly. "Besides, it's just a little fashion show, what could possibly go wrong?"


"Gulp! Wow... there’s a lot more ponies than I expected." Spike said gulping nervously, after peeping through the curtain and seeing that almost the entire town had gathered around the catwalk, they had set up to make the fashion show. "How are you not nervous?" Spike added, looking at Rarity.

"Oh, dear, it's not my first fashion show." Rarity said with a confident smile. "A lot more ponies than I expected have indeed come, but when you have confidence in your work, there's nothing to-"

Rarity suddenly fell silent as her friends approached her, all ready to go on stage wearing their original dresses.

"I take it back, I'm very nervous!" Rarity added almost hysterically when she saw her friends and the clothes they were wearing. For a split second, she almost forgot that they were dressed like that, but no matter how many times she saw them, in those clothes they call ‘dresses’, she had the same shock of horror.

"Don’t worry, everything will be perfect." Dusk Shine said, smiling affectionately, not realizing the real reason why Rarity was nervous. "Well, Spike, you’re up, make a great presentation!"

With the signal from his brother, Spike adjusted the elegant tie that Rarity had made for the occasion, and took the microphone, ready to announce the start of the long-awaited fashion show. While Spike began his presentation, Dusk, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash lined up behind the curtain, ready to go on stage.

"Listen... Do you really want to go out... like this... I... I think..." Rarity began to stammer, biting her lip and looking at her friends. She wanted to shout that the designs they had made were horrible from an aesthetic point of view, that she would never in her right mind make a fashion show with models dressed like that... but seeing the smiles and proud faces of her friends, Rarity didn’t have the heart to tell them how horrible their fashion tastes were. "Just... just walk around without looking at anypony and come back here quickly." Rarity finally said, resigned.

Finally, the curtain opened, and the five models began their way down the catwalk. They were all before the attentive look of dozens of ponies who had attended more than anything for the morbidity of going to a Rarity fashion show in which Dusk modeled, all after the scene that both had done in the last fashion show.

The audience held their breath as soon as the curtains opened, all waiting to see the models and dresses. For although the vast majority had attended for other reasons, none of those present could deny that Rarity's dresses were always beautiful, and independent of everything, there could only be one sure thing in that fashion show, and that was that Rarity would surprise them with some wonderful costumes. It was so that the public had their throats dried and almost choked on their own saliva when they saw the 'spectacular' new designs worn by the models who walked the catwalk.

One wore an ugly cape with some weird drawings, another wore an old tablecloth as a dress, the other wore a ridiculous children's costume, another looked like a plumber with a cowboy hat, and the last one wore some sought of strange armor; those five models could only be defined with one word: 'ridiculous.' With full faces of amazement, everyone in the audience were speechless, they could not believe what they have just saw, while Rarity just crouched down and covered her face with her hooves, totally ashamed. The only ones who were smiling were the five models who reached the end of the catwalk. They were proud to leave the public so impressed by their bold dress designs.

"Wow... they're really amazed." Applejack whispered, still smiling, but little by little noticing that something was wrong.

"Yes... maybe we should go back quickly, as Rarity told us." Fluttershy whispered, gradually returning to her natural shyness, nodding to them to return to the curtain, where Rarity was now standing, quickly moving her hooves desperately telling them to come back quickly.

"Maybe we're doing something wrong?" Rainbow Dash whispered, noticing that the audience had come out of his astonishment and now began to murmur, with faces of confusion.

"That's it! We're posing!" Pinkie Pie whispered in a scream so that all her friends would do the same as her.

Then the five models made extravagant poses, one after the other, trying to imitate models that appeared in fashion magazines that Rarity reads, believing that this way they would be able to impress the public even more so that they could finally applaud them.

"See the amazing new collection from the most talented designer of all Equestria!" Dusk cried with pride, glancing at Rarity, who for some reason, hid her face and shook her head as if she denied something repeatedly.

At Dusk’s words, the audience began to murmur louder as the confusion grew larger and larger. The five models managed to finally hear what the audience were saying, and finally understanding the real effect that their new clothes were causing.

"What is all this?"

"Is this a joke?"

"How ridiculous!"

The comments continued and continued, while Dusk and the others lowered their views to see their costumes better and began to feel ashamed after listening to everything the others thought of their designs. Then Dusk looked again at where Rarity should be to get some guidance on what they should do, but this time he could not find her, it seemed that she had disappeared from the catwalk.

"This is the worst joke of all!" A pony shouted suddenly from the crowd, making everyone look at him. It was a grey colt with a fan for a cutie mark, dressed very elegantly, with dark glasses and a long white mane finely combed and collected at the end. "I can't believe that me, the magnificent Hoity Toity, the greatest fashion critic of Equestria, is wasting his time on these… these abominations! This isn’t a designer's job, it's a job for a clown! This is the last time I do Photo Finish a favor." After that last comment, the elegant pony turned around and began to walk away.

Dusk's agile mind had already understood that his suit and his friends’ dresses had been a mistake and that it was his responsibility to try and fix the problem and save Rarity's reputation. However, hearing that elegant pony was indeed a famous fashion critic, Dusk's mind began to work at its full capacity to find a solution in less than a second; otherwise, Rarity's career as a designer would end.

With a flash, Dusk made Pinkie Pie's party cannon appear and fired it, causing balloons and confetti to be fired at the entire audience along with the sound of the Pinkie Pie cannon.

"Of course, it was a joke! What do you think this was!? Boing! Boing! Boing!" Dusk screamed at the top of his lungs to keep the fashion critic from fleeing, all the while turning a couple of turns on himself and making a clown's nose appear while putting on a stupid face. "The... The real fashion show will start soon."

As if it had been a signal, as soon as Dusk said that, the lights on the entire stage went out and only one light was left on, the light pointing to the curtains on the walkway. Then the curtains opened slowly, revealing a majestic Rarity, dressed in the same beautiful fuchsia dress that Dusk had seen a few days before. Besides, this time Rarity had added to the set some ruby earrings and a golden headband that highlighted her beautiful face in front of the stage lights, also, her mane was elegantly combed differently.

The entire audience was silent before the departure of Rarity, but it was a very different silence compared to when they came on the catwalk, this time all were hypnotized by the beautiful appearance of the white mare, with her beautiful dress that seemed to shine while she walked decently and elegantly down the catwalk. While Rarity walked, the audience began to murmur among themselves, smiling and unanimously approving of Rarity's beautiful attire.

"Now that's a dress worthy of a gala." Suddenly the fashion critic said, who seemed to have completely forgotten about his desire to leave a few seconds ago, hypnotized like everyone else by the beautiful appearance of Rarity.

Dusk Shine, who was on the edge of the catwalk, managed to listen to the fashion critic, however, his eyes could not get away from the beautiful Rarity, who slowly approached him and his other friends. It was there that Dusk realized that Rarity's horn glowed faintly, and that the glow of gems that seemed to surround her was not an imaginary effect for thinking about Rarity's beauty, but that Rarity was really making her dress leave a faint wake. Bright as she walked, doing everything to make her dress look even more beautiful.

As soon as Rarity reached the end of the catwalk, where her friends were, she gave them a fleeting signal with her eyes so that they should move. Then, taking advantage of the fact that the only light was centered on Rarity and that the eyes of the entire audience were fixed on her, Dusk and the others moved slowly into the shadows of the walkway to return to the curtain. As soon as Rarity noticed that her friends understood her signal, Rarity also made her way back to the curtains, only one step behind her friends, enough for the audience to remain focused on her and not on her friends.

When they reached the curtain, they all went through it, followed at the end by Rarity, who, before going through the curtains, glanced back at her audience, and gave them a big smile.

"Now the fashion show begins." Rarity said softly but with the volume just right for everyone to hear. Then she closed the curtain behind her and concentrated more to turn on some more lights and make a play of lights to entertain the audience in that little time-lapse that she had.

"Rarity! That was incredi-!" Pinkie Pie yelled, being quickly interrupted.

"We don't have time... Aloe! Lotus!" Rarity said completely serious while her horn was still lit.

In the act, Aloe and Lotus, the twins who work at the Ponyville Spa, appeared behind a folding screen that was back there and had been used for Dusk and the others to change their clothes.

"Dusk will be the first since the girls need manestyles, we only have a few minutes, I trust you will be quick!" Rarity said, trying not to look as worried as she was.

Then Aloe and Lotus smiled, knowing that this was the occasion to return the favor to the one who had helped them so many times, so they could not fail. Then both sisters quickly pushed Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy behind the folding screen, while Dusk was left alone with Rarity.

"Don't ask, please put this on as quickly as possible." Rarity said, looking at Dusk with a serious, almost pleading look as if she knew Dusk was about to ask what was happening. Then Rarity gave him a suit, which Dusk immediately recognized that it was the suit that Rarity had shown to him a few days ago, only that this time the suit had several stars of different shades and sizes in the sleeves, neck, and edges of the suit.

Dusk looked at Rarity, and the only thing he understood was that even if he didn’t know why at that moment, he had to do exactly what his friend asked of him. Then Dusk quickly removed his cloak, and in a matter of seconds, he dressed into the suit.

"Now go on, walk forward and then straight back." Rarity said quickly, giving Dusk a vague but concise instruction on what to do on the catwalk, as she opened the curtains for Dusk to come on stage.

Dusk went out to the catwalk, and as soon as he walked, he noticed immediately that the lights changed, turning and blinking differently while it seemed like the shine were like stardust falling from the sky. The audience was immediately fascinated by Dusk's modern and elegant suit, murmuring with joy and acceptance as Dusk walked down the catwalk.

At the end of the catwalk, Dusk looked at the audience seriously, unable to avoid looking briefly at the fashion critic, knowing that this time things were different, and turned around to go back to the beginning of the catwalk.

"Not bad... Not bad..." The fashion critic said, holding a hoof to his mouth while trying to hide a big smile of satisfaction, which clearly indicated that he had definitely loved that suit.

While Dusk was returning, the public began to applaud, lasting even after the curtains closed behind Dusk.

"Rarity, that was amazing!" Dusk said almost in a shout, impressed not only by the staging of Rarity, but also by the beautiful suit that he was wearing now, and only now realizing the detail on it, in front of a mirror that was there. "This outfit is amazing, I know you just added some details, but it's like a completely new outfit, the stars of the outfit almost seem to shine by themselves! The whole outfit is unique and beautiful."

"Huff... Thank you, I'm sorry for being so abrupt, but we didn’t have time, in a fashion show you should not spend so much time between one model and another." Rarity said, finally looking a little more relaxed. "And speaking of that..."

Just then Lotus was guiding Pinkie Pie out of the folding screen, who had been the first to be fixed and in record time had been made up, combed and dressed by Aloe and Lotus. As soon as Dusk saw Pinkie Pie, his mouth opened wide in amazement at how pretty his pink friend looked. Pinkie wore a dress with a white and light blue breastplate adorned with a cute pink bow, on her waist a white lace with candy embroidery, with a bulky pink skirt that completely hid her fluffy tail, her mane was gathered at the back, and wore a cute little hat that combined perfectly with her shoes, the whole design was inspired by the sugar candy at Sugarcube Corner, but without reaching the ridiculous end of the design that Dusk and Pinkie Pie had created.

"Rarity, this dress is beautiful! Yes, a lot more beautiful than the other dress!" Pinkie Pie said with a genuine smile of emotion.

"I knew that you would like." Rarity said, smiling too.

Then Rarity opened the curtains, and as she did with Dusk, the lights changed again as they changed colors and made a perfect background of a candy wrapper while Pinkie Pie began making her way down the catwalk with a huge smile.

It took a couple of seconds for Dusk to come out of his astonishment, then he saw Rarity, and before he could say anything, the first thing he noticed was that Rarity was tired because of all the effects and magic she had to do. Understanding that this beautiful show could only be performed by someone like Rarity, Dusk stood next to Rarity, almost touching her, and illuminated his horn, giving her support magic so that at least her job was a little bit easier.

"Thank you." Rarity said, smiling gratefully, and a little less tired feeling part of Dusk's magical energy supporting her.

"How did you... when did you make those beautiful dresses?" Dusk asked immediately, impatient to be able to solve all the doubts he had.

"I made them at the same time as I worked on your dresses." Rarity answered, smiling. "During the day I worked with you on your designs, and at night I worked on my own designs, it was very exhausting, but fortunately I had the help of my dear Spikey-wikey."

"So that's why they were both so tired..." Dusk thought finally solving the mystery.

"And in case you haven’t noticed, both your suit and Pinkie's dress and the others are exactly the same designs that I showed you the first day.” Rarity added with a smile full of pride, leaving Dusk surprised, since he had indeed not noticed at all. "I know you didn’t like my designs when I showed them to you, but I also knew that they would change their minds once they saw what my designs were really like when they were finished. Then I came up with the plan to make the two dresses for each one, although I must admit that the fact that they liked so many of their own designs was something that cause my plans to change. "

"Did... Did you know we would like your designs? I... I don't understand... How were you so sure? I mean, I don't understand how your designs worked, and mine didn’t." Dusk said, thinking aloud. "I know that your dresses are nicer, there's no doubt about that, but what Pinkie Pie just told you... I gave her everything she wanted in her dress, but now she says she likes your design better than the one we made, why is that? "

"Because they all think they know what they want, but there are things that they like more, and some that they wouldn’t even know." Rarity said, smiling at Dusk's confused face. Then Rarity pointed to Pinkie Pie, who was already back on the catwalk. "Look at Pinkie Pie, anypony who knows her will say that she likes partying and making a mess, right?"

"Of course.” Dusk answered for sure.

"Then you'll be surprised to know that somepony as crazy as her, actually likes order in certain things." Rarity said, smiling with pride, knowing that Dusk wouldn’t understand what she was saying. "Haven’t you noticed? At parties, she doesn't throw the balloons at random, nor the serpentine, she always follows patterns! For example, on Applejack's last birthday, she ordered the balloons in order: yellow, green, blue, yellow, red, green, and so she followed that pattern precisely."

Dusk opened his eyes in surprise at Rarity's discovery, something he probably would never have noticed.

"For your design, you only put candies and balloons in disarray, but in my design, I took time to make a pattern in the lace candies and the skirt edge, that's why I knew that when comparing them, Pinkie would like my dress more than yours."

As soon as Pinkie Pie came through the curtains, followed by a round of applause, Dusk became speechless again when Fluttershy appeared behind the folding screen, more beautiful than ever, dressed in a long green skirt that simulated designs of leaves, with an embroidery of flowers on her dress, a necklace finished with a nice cloth butterfly on her chest, identical to the one that adorned her left ear, while her mane had been slightly curled at the tips and adorned with different small flowers on it.

"This dress is beautiful! I don’t know what she thought when I designed my dress, I... I’m really sorry doubting your designs, Rarity." Fluttershy said, smiling, somewhat embarrassed.

"Don't worry honey." Rarity said, returning the smile.

When the curtains opened again, and Fluttershy entered the catwalk, Rarity changed the lights again, putting a green color under the floor and celestial up, making the effect that Fluttershy was modeling in a green and quiet meadow, which combined perfectly with her set inspired by nature.

"If you ask Fluttershy, she will tell you that she loves everything that is of nature, like trees, flowers, and animals." Rarity said, continuing the conversation with Dusk. "But then, do you think that a nest on her head was a good idea? Or that the spongy material that you put on the floor of the skirt to put real flowers was the right thing to do?"

"It... It's what she asked me to do." Dusk said, unconvinced.

"Fluttershy loves nature and is always feeding and pampering her little animals, but have you ever felt that foul-smelling dirty animal scent on her?" Asked Rarity, leaving a surprised Dusk, who only then realized that what Rarity was saying was true, Fluttershy always had that smell of flowers, never a bad smell despite spending a lot of time surrounded by animals. "That's because she takes great care of herself, more than all of us together. She always likes to be clean, which is why although at first, she thought it would be a good idea to have a nest on her head or real flowers on her dress In time, I knew that she would prefer a simpler dress, with a skirt that would not crawl and just reach her hooves, and that would not be a spongy material with dirt on it; using different fabrics to deliver the illusion of nature, not using true nature in the dress."

While Dusk listened more to Rarity, everything made more sense. Then Dusk began to wonder if he knew his friends only superficially, but that thought was quickly dispersed, at that moment, Rainbow Dash appeared in her dress behind the folding screen. She wore a long skirt with the colors of a rainbow, with an embroidery of cotton fabric on its edge that simulated a cloud perfectly, also wearing a delicate necklace of gems that simulated a bunch of grapes on her chest, with some golden shoes with ribbons that were tied beautifully to the middle of their legs, with her mane smoothed and well-combed, with a brooch of golden laurel leaf that gave a very elegant touch to the whole. Of all his friends, Dusk had to admit that Rainbow Dash surprised him the most, because it never crossed his mind that a dress could fit his cocky and rude friend so well.

"I... I’m not sure if I want everypony to see me like this..." Rainbow Dash said, blushing tenderly. Then she glanced at Dusk briefly and saw how he was watching her amazed with his mouth wide open, which gave her some confidence. "Although... maybe it's not that bad, it's really nice Rarity!"

"I knew you would like it, darling." Responded Rarity kindly.

Fluttershy left the scene, and it was now Rainbow Dash’s turn. As soon as she approached the catwalk, the lights gave a sudden change, moving quickly and simulating a lightning bolt on the stage, something perfect for the entrance of the pegasus.

"With Rainbow Dash, the truth is quite simple." Rarity said, smiling, continuing her conversation with Dusk. "She likes to show her strength, she's good at sports, she's tough and all that, but she also has a soft spot that she tries to keep hidden from the public, she likes to be feminine too, she likes cute things , likes to look good, likes to show that she is still a mare although she likes to do many things that you would normally say are more suitable for a stallion, although of course, she will never admit it, she likes to maintain her image as a ‘tough girl’, hehe."

"Rainbow Dash is a mare..." Dusk repeated in a whisper, as if for a second he had forgotten, unable to take his eyes off Rainbow Dash.

Then Rainbow Dash made her way back to the curtains, and in that instant, the last mare that was behind the folding screen appeared, Applejack. She wore a skirtless ostentatious than those of her friends, leaving her tail free, a green skirt completed with many leather ornaments in it both in the lower part and in the upper part, with the infallible apple ornaments in it, ornaments that presented a more simple but elegant boots that she wore, with a cowboy collar with an apple brooch on it, wearing a hat that was very similar to the one she usually wore, but with embroidery and a couple of apples drawn at the base of it, while her mane had been worked on the most, elegantly combed at the top with a slight wave, while her length had been beautifully braided, like her tail.

"It's... it's very beautiful, Rarity." Applejack said, looking in the mirror and blushing a little. "I never would’ve thought of somethin’ like this."

"I knew it would be perfect!" Rarity said, smiling satisfied.

Rainbow Dash came back through the curtains and Applejack gave a couple of sighs to calm her nerves and then entered the catwalk. As with the other girls, Rarity changed the lights again, making them dim red, as if apples fell from the sky.

"Applejack is a bit more complex." Rarity said, continuing her conversation with Dusk. "If you ask her, she will tell you things that relate to her work, simply because she is very practical, and also because in her family she was always brought up with that ‘love-to-work’ mentality, and that's the real reason why she thinks so. Because of her family! That is precisely the kind of difficulties that I need to unravel to find out what she likes so that you can understand, what she loves most of all is her family, or rather what she represents. That's what her whole life revolves around, apples, and keeping her family's legacy, but there is something she also wants in the back of her heart, she wants to show that not only is she another ‘Apple’ in the family, she wants to show that she is ‘Applejack’, her individuality, and this dress reflects it perfectly, something that she and no one else in her family can use, but always keeping her bond with her family alive. She wants to show that she is part of her family, but also that she is different and unique! "

At the words of Rarity, Dusk just kept quiet, amazed by the strong analysis that Rarity had made of her friends, all for the good of them, to make them a dress that fit perfectly on each of them. Indeed, Dusk had already seen that Rarity's dresses were more better than the ones he did, but now he sees that it was not only because they were more aesthetic and with more fashion sense than he did, but it was because there was a lot of love involved to make these dresses.

"So you discovered what they wanted in the back of their hearts..." Dusk whispered, smiling, looking amazed at his friend.

"Hmm? Well not just to them, that also applies to you." Rarity said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"What do you mean?" Dusk asked, surprised.

"You also think you know what you want, but it isn’t as well as you think." Rarity said, smiling. "For example, you chose to put stars on your suit, right? Then tell me, why did you choose that?"

"W-Well, it's because the constellations are very impressive, from a historical and natural point of view, formed eons ago, the constellations-" Dusk began to explain, becoming a professor.

"It's because of what they make you feel." Rarity interrupted with a smile. "Surely it's because when you look at the stars they give you a warmth and serenity that nothing can equal, don't try to reason everything, that's what happens with you, you want to show your intelligence to others and show that you are a pony who is more calm and collective, but in reality, you feel like everypony around you, harbor feelings that you may feel ashamed of."

Dusk stared at Rarity with his eyes wide open, realizing that his friend seemed to know him better than he knew himself because he just accepted that what Rarity was saying was true, everything that he once was before arriving in Ponyville has changed.

"Hehe, I guess I'm just like the girls then.” Dusk said, smiling, admitting that he also needed to know himself more.

"It's a problem, right? Not knowing what you really want... or who you really want..." Rarity said in a whisper, looking at Dusk with a more nostalgic look. "Although I hope you discover it sooner or later."

With thunderous applause, Applejack was the last to leave the stage, and while the applause continued, Rarity re-aligned her friends, this time so that they would all go out together and finish the fashion show.

As soon as they came on stage, everyone in the audience was applauding, the applause only increased when, to Rarity's surprise, Dusk and his friends took a step backward so that Rarity was in front, and the audience, remembering that she was the designer of those beautiful dresses, recognized and praised her, which led to the white unicorn almost to tears of emotion, especially when her beloved Spike approached her with a bouquet of flowers, something he and Dusk had planned for the end of the fashion show as a surprise, and that Rarity thanked excitedly kissing the baby dragon strong and affectionately on both cheeks, which was enough to make Spike reach nirvana.

That was how the fashion show finally ended, and Rarity's reputation was higher than it had ever been in town, enough for them to forget about the false rumors about her for a while.

"Huff... I'm glad everything is over." Applejack said once they closed the curtains for the last time and the fashion show ended. "This dress is cute and everything, but I don’t really like to model."

"Yeah, although I still think that the helmet from the other dress was not so bad." Rainbow Dash said, looking a little uncomfortable at her mane, which was now well combed.

"Maybe I could put a couple of balloons in the queue to make it look better." Pinkie Pie said, looking at her own dress.

"I don't think you have to do anything to your dresses; you all look beautiful the way you are." Dusk said, smiling, then realizing that he had shamelessly just told all his friends that they were beautiful, and then he blushed.

"W-Well... if you really think so..." Rainbow Dash said blushing deeply, like her friends did, after Dusk told them that.

"Alright girls, please take off the dresses carefully to keep them perfect so you can wear them on the day of the Gala." Rarity said again, after all, there was still much to be ordered after the fashion show.

While the mares went behind the folding screen to remove their dresses, Rarity looked at Dusk, who just stood there to give some privacy to his friends. Then Rarity stared at Dusk with an intense and affectionate look, then opened her mouth to say something, but instantly stopped and her face changed suddenly. Dusk noticed that immediately.

"Is something wrong?" Dusk asked with a somewhat worried smile without knowing why Rarity saw him that way.

"Oh, don't worry, it's just that I saw somepony... that I would rather not see." Rarity said shaking her head and putting a rather nervous smile to try and not worry Dusk.

Dusk realized that Rarity had not been looking at him, but someone behind him, as he turned, he saw that there was a pony approaching them, the fashion critic, who approached with a big smile, walking elegantly.

"Fabulous! Divine! I knew Photo Finish wouldn’t let me down. She said I would find a great designer here in Ponyville who would be my next rising star, and she was right!" Said the fashion critic, named Hoity Toity, as he approached where Dusk and Rarity were.

"Do you remember the story of the colt that I told you the other day?" Rarity whispered nervously in Dusk's ear before Hoity Toity reached them. "The colt that I would not want to see ever again because of what he did to me..."

"The story she told me the other day?" Dusk thought, trying to remember. Then, like a bolt of lightning, the memory of the sad story of Rarity's ex-boyfriend fell like lightning into Dusk's brain, and at that moment Dusk's brain stopped thinking logically, at that instant his eyes became completely red.

Hoity Toity finally reached Dusk and Rarity and was about to open his mouth to meet and talk in person with the designer of that masterful fashion show, because on stage he had not seen his face very well. However, the only thing that reached Hoity Toity was that the lavender colt that was next to that mare turned abruptly, having a hateful look that could paralyze even a dragon, and then a strong punch hit him in the whole face.

With a hard punch from Dusk's right hoof, Hoity Toity fell to the floor, while Dusk's glare, blinded by anger, finally began to slowly subside. An instant rage born of the mere fact of remembering Rarity's story and imagining his friend being used by an abusive colt. Meanwhile, the other friends of Dusk, with Lotus and Aloe, all behind the folding screen, poked their heads and began to look confused and curious about what all those screams were due.

"Dusk! What did you do!?" Rarity shouted, surprised, and scared by what had just happened. Then she threw herself to the ground, next to Hoity Toity, and tried to help the still stunned fashion critic get up.

"He... he deserved it, for what he did to you... No colt should ever touch a mare like that!" Dusk said angrily, slowly calming down and regaining his senses, since even he was surprised at what he had just done, since Dusk was a calmer and more collected pony, not of action, and had never hit anyone like that in his lifetime.

"What are you...?" Rarity said confused, then quickly understood what was happening. "Dusk, you're wrong, this is not the colt that was my coltfriend, it's the colt that took my money in Canterlot! That's what I meant by saying that he was the colt that I told you about the other day and that I never wanted to see him again!”

Dusk's brain quickly began to think and then he remembered that Rarity told him the story of her ex-coltfriend and a story about a pony who took all her money when she offered it to him in Canterlot.

"Oh... Now I understand..." Dusk said awkwardly as all his anger and courage disappeared instantly and was filled with pure shame and regret. Then he looked at Hoity Toity, who seemed finally to be coming out of his daze. "Hehehe…. Whoops!"

"What was that!? That was unacceptable! Guards! Guards!" Hoity Toity started screaming, touching his cheek where Dusk had hit him, calling the guards as if he thought he was still in Canterlot.

"N-No! Please, calm down, it was a huge misunderstanding." Rarity said scared, trying to calm down the colt down so that no other scandal would happen since she had just left one.

“Calm down!?" Hoity Toity said offended, looking this time at Rarity, who was still sitting next to him. "How can I calm down when this barbarian-! Wait! I know you."

Then Hoity Toity took off his glasses to get a better look at Rarity's face and then hugged her tightly with a smile as if everything that had just happened has just been forgotten for a second.

"You’re that mare! That saint who helped me in my most desperate moment! You are my savior!" Hoity Toity said excitedly while still hugging a totally surprised Rarity, who like Dusk, didn’t understand what was happening.

"You remember me?" Rarity said confused, then she pulled away from the hug and held Hoity Toity by the shoulders, looking at him sternly. "Do you also remember how you took all of my money!?"

"Of course, I remember... Wait a minute, did you say all your money?" Hoity Toity said surprised, then he lowered his gaze as he sorted his thoughts with this new information, trying to understand what happened. "Oh... wait, I think I owe you an explanation..."

"That day I had just arrived from Manehattan to make a great deal in the capital, and since I didn't know Canterlot, I asked a kind colt to guide me through the city. Then he took me through the darkest streets of Canterlot, and that's when some thugs stole everything! My bags, my money, even my expensive clothes that I was wearing, all before throwing me into a quagmire and making fun of me. Then I started to ask for help, but none of the ponies in the capital approached me, everypony believed that I was a beggar. It wasn’t long until YOU approached me, a beautiful and elegant young mare, wearing a beautiful and expensive dress, and you offered me what was in your bag. I knew it was a lot of money, but I know that in Canterlot there are many rich families, so I didn't hesitate, and in my desperation I took your money and went immediately to buy some clothes, shoes and glasses, you know, a pony of my category can't be seen naked, I would lose my status as a fashion critic... Once I was dressed appropriately thanks to your money, I contacted my partners to carry out my business and they sent me more money to replace what was lost, and then, having solved everything in Canterlot, I stayed for weeks with a single goal, to look for that young wealthy mare who helped me at the time. I looked for her all over Canterlot, I even spoke with the more noble and wealthier families there, but I could never find you. I never thought that this beautiful and elegant lady would live in a little town like this and that was all the money you had."

Rarity listened to everything, amazed by the story, just like Dusk behind her. While his other friends kept listening to the drama, leaning behind the folding screen, eating some popcorn that Pinkie Pie had taken from somewhere.

"You know... I didn't really wear an expensive dress that day, I only wore a dress that I made myself, and with somewhat cheap materials." Rarity said, smiling a little, to finally relax the atmosphere.

"Unbelievable! That's even more amazing! Hahaha... Ouch!" Hoity Toity said, beginning to laugh with Rarity, until the laugh made the pain of the blow on his cheek return and that he remembered everything that had just happened. "Oh right! Why the hay did you hit me!?" Hoity Toity added looking at Dusk, already calmer but still angry at the blow.

"I'm so sorry!" Rarity said quickly before Dusk could respond, with a pleading look at the fashion critic. "It's just that he confused you with somepony else, somepony who hurt me a lot a long time ago, please forgive him, please don’t be mad at him, he just tried to protect me."

Hoity Toity remained pensive for several seconds, until finally he stood up, brushed off the dirt that was on his elegant suit, and looked more serious as he looked at Dusk and Rarity, who had also stood up and now he waited with an expectant look at Dusk's side.

"Oh very well, I'll forget this huge affront to myself, and then you will forgive me for what happened that time, is that appropriate my dear?" Hoity Toity said, extending a hoof to Rarity.

"Yes, thank you very much." Rarity said immediately, knowing that this deal meant that she couldn’t get the money that she gave to Hoity Toity back, but that didn’t matter, the most important thing was not that the problem didn’t escalate further and that neither she nor Dusk had problems with someone as important as Hoity Toity seemed to be.

"Great, now all that remains now is what I owe you." Hoity Toity said with a mischievous look.

"Sorry, what?" Rarity said, confused.

"What I owe you my dear, to pay you back for the money you lent me, it's been a couple of years now, and I'm still in debt. What, did you really think that my apology would be enough to pay you back for the great kindness you gave to me back then?" Said Hoity Toity with a smile, same smile that grew on Rarity’s face when she realized what he was talking about. "I think a good way to repay you would be to take your beautiful dresses to the main boutiques, to the biggest cities of Equestria, and that way everypony in Equestria can appreciate such beautiful work... Tell me, how would you like that?"

"That... That would be a dream come true!" Rarity said almost shouting, so excited to finally achieve one of the goals in her life, that she hugged Dusk Shine, who was by her side of her. "We did it!"

Dusk looked at her smiling and was about to say 'No, YOU did it,' thinking about rectifying him and telling her that it was only her who achieved it because of her clothes and her generosity that had given her this opportunity. However, for the first time, Dusk thought he understood what it was to see beyond what Rarity had told him, and then Dusk knew what Rarity really wanted. She could seem very focused in her work and always want to excel, but she didn’t want to do it alone, she wanted to do it with her friends, that's why she made dresses with them all, that's why she was looking at the details that could make them shine more, because it was important for her to shine, but she preferred to stand out with all her friends.

"Yes, we did it." Dusk finally said smiling and returning the hug, understanding that Rarity wanted him and his friends to be part of that special moment for her.


It was the next morning at Carousel Boutique, and Rarity was next to Dusk in the main hall, ordering the last things that remained of last night's fashion show.

"Thanks for helping." Rarity said, ordering some scraps of cloth on the floor.

"I figured you still have a lot of things to do, after all, I was here for five days, and I now know how much it takes to make so many dresses.” Dusk said, smiling. "I thought about asking Spike for help, but he's been acting a little weird since yesterday, I guess he might be very tired."

"Poor Spikey-wikey, I'm so grateful, it was very sweet of him to help me every night with the dresses... Well, now I just need to keep these fabrics and dresses, and we'll be ready." Rarity said, smiling, picking up the last pieces of cloth left on the floor. Then she stopped and spoke as she turned her back to Dusk. "By the way... I didn't thank you for yesterday."

"Hmm? for being part of the fashion show? No need to thank me." Dusk said, smiling.

"I don't mean that I mean... when you defended me, thank you." Rarity said still turning her back to Dusk, although from behind you could see that Rarity's cheeks were slightly blushed. "I know it was a misunderstanding, and at the moment I was very scared that you would cause more problems, but now that everything happened the way it happened, it really makes me happy to know that you want to protect me. So, Thank you!" In that instant Rarity turned with a vibrant and huge smile of genuine happiness.

At that moment, for a few seconds, Dusk's heart quickened as his cheeks blushed.

"I-It was nothing, hehe..." Dusk said awkwardly, laughing like a fool. Then he carefully took a couple of dresses and placed them on some hooks to store. "W-Where would you like these dresses?" Dusk said quickly so that Rarity would not notice how clumsy he could be with the simple smile of a mare.

"Come, I'll keep the dresses here." Rarity said, smiling, a little happy after seeing Dusk blush when she smiled. Then she took the last of the dresses, and together they kept the dresses in a large closet that was behind a large curtain, which was where Rarity kept most of her clothes and designs.

While Rarity kept and ordered the hanging dresses, she bit her lip and turned to see Dusk.

"You know, do you remember when I made you close your eyes and presented you with some clothes?" Rarity said with a slightly mischievous look.

"Y-Yeah..." Dusk stammered, who could only blush when he remembered Rarity with her sexy stockings.

"Well, let's play one last time, close your eyes." Rarity said as she turned to look again at the dresses there.

Dusk quickly closed his eyes like an obedient puppy, without questioning anything, just nervous as his imagination began to create crazy fantasies.

"No, what are you thinking!?" Dusk shouted at himself in his mind after imagining Rarity in her sexy lingerie. "She would never wear something like that... But... What if she... Ugh! Stop thinking about your friend like that!" Dusk continued to fight with himself in his mind as if a Dusk-angel and a Dusk-demon were arguing like children.

The seconds passed, and Dusk was still waiting for Rarity to tell him to open them. However, it seemed that nothing was happening, there was no noise to guess what clothes Rarity was wearing at that moment. The only thing that Dusk noticed with his eyes closed is that he was very close to something that smelled very good, something close to him.

Finally, when Dusk opened his mouth to ask Rarity how much longer it would take, he felt his lips the gent touch of a mare’s lips.

Dusk suddenly opened his eyes when he noticed that Rarity was kissing him, which made him blush completely, with an almost phosphorescent red. Instantly Dusk thought about taking a step back and retreating scared. However, his body didn’t listen, and while his heart was beating a thousand times a second, the only movement Dusk made was to slowly close his eyes and let go.

Just as Dusk closed his eyes completely, Rarity slowly left Dusk's lips, finally ending what felt like a long, soft kiss towards her love, with her cheeks completely red as she opened her eyes and looked at him intensely with a hint of fear.

As soon as Rarity finished the kiss, Dusk also opened his eyes, with a puzzled look, as if hundreds of thoughts and feelings were swirling around him and he didn’t know which one to listen to first. Then, with trembling lips, Dusk tried to open his mouth and say something, however his lips were silenced by another kiss, a fleeting and tender kiss that barely touched the lips of Dusk only for a fraction of second, but that was enough to make him blush even more, almost to make him smoke from his ears.

"Don't talk..." Rarity whispered, breathing hard and lowering her head quickly so Dusk would not see her eyes.

Then Rarity turned around and walked to the stairs to go up to her room.

"Uh... Ah... Err..." Dusk babbled weakly, trying to keep Rarity from leaving but still unable to do so as it seemed that everything inside him was confused, having trouble deciding what to do.

Hearing Dusk's babble, Rarity took a deep breath for a second, then turned to see Dusk, still blushing, and then winked. It was the only thing Rarity did before continuing up the stairs quickly and getting out of sight.

Dusk Shine stood, still frozen, not knowing what to do, waiting while his brain rebooted and worked again. Slowly emerging from his daze, Dusk turned and started walking to retreat.

"Ouch! Huh!?" Dusk said stunned after hitting a wall, so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even realize he was walking towards a wall.

Then Dusk closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, trying to get away from the swirl of thoughts that he had at that moment so he could focus, something tremendously difficult, since he could still feel the taste of Rarity's lips and her perfume. When Dusk realized that his cheeks blushed again just remembering Rarity, he shook his head to think clearly finally, because there were so many things to think about, so many that he understood that it would take more than a day to process everything that he was thinking and feeling at that moment.

"Don't try to reason everything... Feelings are not something to be ashamed of." Those were the words Rarity had said the night to Dusk, and now the lavender colt couldn’t get her out of his mind. He finally leaves the house of the mare that had just given him that sweet and tender kiss...

On the other hand, a few seconds before, just when Rarity finished climbing the stairs... She gently closed the door of her room and leaned on it while giving a big sigh.

As soon as Rarity exhaled the last of the air she had left, she pressed her lips together with her hoof, and her face turned completely red, even more than Dusk had put on after the kiss. She had managed to keep her composure partially for a few seconds, but this was her limit.

Rarity ran to her bed, jumped on her stomach, adjusted a pillow under her mouth, and then Rarity screamed with all her might, waving her hind legs quickly as if she were a small foal kicking with euphoria.

"Kyaaaaa! I did it! I did it! I can't believe I did it!" Rarity thought in ecstasy as she could not stop screaming with happiness and turning in her bed, cries that were fortunately muffled by the pillow that she was hugging.

Then Rarity hugged the pillow even more tightly while her blue eyes shone in ecstasy as she remembered what had just happened.

"It wasn't a perfect kiss from the novels, with a sunset, roses falling around us while we both say we love each other..." Rarity said, looking at the ceiling, for a second calming down. Then she remembered the kiss again, and her cheeks blushed again. "No, it wasn't like I imagined, but it's still the most romantic thing that ever happened to me! Hnnnn!" Rarity said, embracing her pillow with all her might, still feeling the warm taste of Dusk's lips on hers.

Rarity didn't know it, but that was the ultimate remedy. From that moment on it didn't matter how bad it was with her previous attempt on having a boyfriend, it didn't matter how much pain and sorrow that spawned from that occasion, because if she ever remembered that again, all Rarity had to do was relive that kiss, and her heart would burst with joy, pushing away all bad memories and reminding herself that true love can cure everything.

# End of chapter 34