Finally, a day where I don't have that oppressive sod breathing down my neck! I know that I act happy all the time, but happiness does not equate to stupidity (although in his mind he seems to think so). I try so hard to get along with him since we're stuck in this together, but he rebuffs my every extended palm leaf and even spits on it sometimes.
What'd I ever do to get stuck in this situation?
Anyhow, when I had heard that Artemis was being forced away for a vacation on the pretense of "over-working" himself, I could hardly contain my joy! Don't get me wrong, I've hung around him long enough to not really be affected by his demeanor, but a stallion like me can hardly live like this all the time, can I? I'm a social pony! I like to be at parties and chasing the mares, trying to impress them with my fancy title of "Secretary of the Chief Archivist" although most of them don't really dig the ponies of my profession.
Figures, I thought. You grow up as a total stud when you're a colt, and then BAM. Get a scroll for a cutie mark and suddenly you're an egghead. I manage to work around it, however. I mean, there's pretty much no mare in Canterlot who can resist my charms except for the Princesses. Not that I ever try anything funny with the ones who are too young for me or currently devoted to another. Hey, even a guy like me has standards.
Well, back to the present. With Artemis gone, I was free to relax and socialize as much as I wanted for a week. It had been too long, with social breaks scarce under the whip of the master (he held it in the utmost belief that partying turned one's brains to mush).
Of course I still had my job to take care of, but Artemis didn't expect anything from me any ways. I half imagined leaving the Starswirl the Bearded wing as it was and seeing him kiss the ground when he saw that it wasn't destroyed. Or burned. Or in some other unfortunate state that he probably would have blamed on me. It's not even fair, I carry a candle through the Archives for ONE NIGHT just to see my way around, and an entire wing gets burned to ashes. Thankfully, the Princesses managed to do a living recollection spell that recreated the wing exactly from memory, although we still find books here and there that have completely empty pages from where the Princesses didn't manage to remember enough. But that's a story for another time.
The very first thing I did when I saw Artemis' chariot disappear over the horizon was break out a celebratory cup of coffee. As much as the stallion and I didn't get along, I had picked up his habit of drinking the potent brew (while he complained that I wasn't getting the full experience with my 'light' grind of beans). However, I found it positively disgusting that he drank his with a generous dollop of wild honey. I'd tried the mixture once when he wasn't looking, curious of the taste, and nearly gagged. That was the last time I ever tried to mix two foods together that obviously didn't work out.
Eventually, my cup ran dry. Contemplating on making another cup, I decided that another would not be good for my nerves and decided to head out towards the city to try and find a diversion to partake in. After all, this IS Canterlot, one of the greatest cities in the whole of Equestria. How could one possibly grow bored?
Apparently very, very easily.
-------------------------------Cue Flashback-------------------------------
Dusty Scroll sighed, resting his weight against the wall of a toy store. He'd forgotten that Canterlot was a city that was geared towards the upper class, with diversions such as golf, croquet, and other such genteel activities. "Darn it, Artemis. You've kept me cooped up in the castle for so darn long I'd completely forgotten how boring this city is for me. I should have taken a job offer in Manehattan or Fillydelphia," he said, his eyes filled supreme boredom as he gazed upon the passerby.
With nothing else to do, he'd resorted to one of his favorite pastimes: picking up the ladies. He only needed to find an appropriate target. "Oh wow," he breathed to himself.
Target acquired. Walking down the street was quite possibly one of the hottest mares he'd ever laid eyes on. With a perfectly styled purple mane and a pure white coat, she drew the attention of just about every other single stallion who walked by her. She even seemed to relish in it, although he noticed that she politely rebuffed any offers to a cup of coffee or invitations to garden parties. "I follow my eyes, and my eyes like what they see." Whipping his hair back and checking his reflection in a nearby store window, Dusty confidently walked up to the white-coated mare. As he got closer, he noticed that three diamonds adorned her flank. "Hello, there!"
She turned to face him, and he almost melted under her gaze. "How can she be so perfectly beautiful? I've got to find out more about her," he thought to himself, hoping that his coat hadn't visibly blushed darker. "Hello. I don't believe I know you, nor that you know me."
"The name's Scroll. Dusty Scroll. I was just strolling down the street when I couldn't help but notice your immaculate beauty." Winking flirtatiously, Dusty poured all of his powers of marechasing into this. There was no way in Tartarus that he'd let a mare like her get away!
"Why, thank you for the compliment sir. I am called Rarity." Raising a hoof to bounce her mane, she stared at him through lidded eyes. "Yes, I suppose I do look rather marvelous today." She graced him with a smile, and Dusty felt his temperature rise.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Romeo. She's not yours yet." He mentally scolded himself. It was a principal rule of marechasers to not become too attracted to their targets in the case that their advances are rebuffed (which happened all too frequently, unfortunately), but he just couldn't help himself. This mare had charmed him much more than he'd like to admit. "Well, I was just wondering if such a beautiful mare as yourself would be willing to catch a drink with me. They say that drinking tea is ultimately more enjoyable with two ponies rather than just one."
She let her smile fall a little bit. "Thank you for the gesture," she replied, "but I'm actually busy at the moment. Today is the opening of my new clothing line, 'Full Spectrum Fashion', and Hoity Toity will be there to see it!" She squeed. "I simply must be there on time or I'll lose the biggest contract of my career." Rarity noticed that Dusty looked considerably crestfallen after her rebuttal, and she relented a bit. "Tell you what, why don't you visit me tomorrow and we can lunch together? I'm staying at one of the royal suites during my time here in Canterlot." She flashed him one of her more bedazzling smiles.
Now sure that he was blushing violently, Dusty Scroll nodded violently. "That would be just perfect. I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"But of course, darling. Now I really must get going. Ciao!" With a small wave of her hoof, Rarity quickly trotted down the street while Dusty simply stared after her.
"A lunch date with the perfect pony. I think I'm in love." He sighed happily. Far be it from him to believe himself every time he was smitten, but this time felt different. This time, something felt real.
Just like every other single time where it felt real. Shaking his head as if to dislodge this unappetizing thought, Dusty Scroll quickly galloped back to the castle and headed straight to the archives. Perhaps he'd tidy up around the "Starswirl the Bearded" wing after all.
-------------------------------Flashback End-------------------------------
I can't believe my luck! I actually managed to procure a lunch date with the love goddess I know as Rarity. This has to be the best day of my life. Artemis gone for a week so I can pursue my romantic ambitions freely, and that ambition had actually agreed to lunch with me. I hope we manage to hit things off before Artemis comes back though.
He can be such a downer sometimes when I mention special someponies.
- Dusty Scrolls, Secretary to the Chief Archivist