The sun emblazoned the sky upon the glitter of sun-kissed gold and hues of the palest veil of yellows, coating and piercing through the cotton clouds that wisped slowly through the mid-afternoon sky. Slight washes of violet and reds began to mask the horizon as the sun started to set in the distance, suggesting that the time was somewhere between 4pm and 7pm though it was hard to be precise, what with no knowledge of the climate, seasons or even what the time itself was.
At the Carousel Boutique grounds it seemed that it was closing time for some of the other shops, with ponies leaving their tents, doing up the zippers to the entrance folds to keep them closed, packing their belongings and heading off back to the town square for a good evening of rest and relaxation. The equine were friendly to one another, greeting one another and asking about their day, to which were a mix of replies from fantastic to abysmal, before finally exchanging farewells.
Rarity's boutique was no different. Gai'vahros and Twilight were finally done with Rarity's request in her pattern cutting, and so felt as though it was time to take their leave. Rarity wasn't too keen with the two of them leaving, however, feeling that their stay was short despite being a few hours.
"Oh but, darlings, do you have to go? And so soon." Rarity was vividly disappointed and wasn't about to let up on her insistence. "And I had tea and cupcakes ready for all of us, too." It seemed at some point during her work she was baking, most probably for tonight's tea time. The pony had a big smile on her face to further abstract the guilt and empathy from her two friends.
"I'm sorry, Rarity," apologized Twilight to her friend, smiling back but showing her sympathy for putting Rarity's not-so-hard work at baking to waste, "but I really need to get back and start on my schedule. Oh, and I want to try and introduce Gai'vahros to everyone before it gets too dark."
"Oh, I understand, Twilight," Rarity responded in a more cheerful manner, understanding that it would be in Gai'vahros' best interest to make him feel at home and comfortable here due to the uncertain nature of the duration of his stay. "Well, take some of these cupcakes with you. There's no sense in letting them go to waste." As she spoke she proceeded to the kitchen and, after a moment, came back with a tray of cupcakes balanced on her back before shifting them onto the table beside the three of them.
"Oh, my Lady Rarity, you are too kind," Gai'vahros praised the pony, who responded with a small giggle, "but I only eat after a harsh battle. Perhaps I should give my share to your pet Spike, Lady Twilight?"
"Oh yes," Rarity said in sudden inspiration, trotting over to a small chest she had tucked away under a cabinet next to one of the side windows, "I almost forgot about my little Spikey-Wikey! Here, take him one of these. I'm sure he'll love it!" Rarity came back with a rather large gem in her hoof, that of a pristine emerald. The gem was a square cut most probably used to fasten onto cufflinks or as buttons.
"Oh, thanks, Rarity. I almost forgot I promised Spike that I would bring him back a jewel for all the hard work he's done for me today."
"Oh my, hard work? Like, heavy labour?" It seemed that Rarity was concerned for the young dragon, rushing over to her chest again. "I should give Spikey another one so he can get his strength back, the poor darling!" Again Rarity came back with another gem within her grasp, this time a sapphire of utmost quality, shaped like an oval.
"Actually, my Lady Rarity, I was hoping if I could take one as well?" It was a rather forward request from Gai'vahros, although he gave a small bow with a hand upon his chest as a sign of respect for the equine. "You've done so much for me that it is within my honour to repay your generosity, but I must locate my equipment first."
"Oh, Gai darling, you've already done so much for me, but if you insist." A final time she proceeded to her chest, but this time taking longer, reaching in deeper into the chest as though she had already known what she was looking for. Indeed, she did, and after a brief moment she gave a small cry as she trotted back, rather sure of herself, and presented a rather large gem in front of her. "This is an Equestria diamond, my dear-- one of the rarest gems in the whole land!" The large diamond was of perfect clarity although the diamond itself was distorted in shape, being of a rounded cube but was completely unsymmetrical on all faces. "But, it looks so... awkward, and huge, that I just can't find anything to use it on. So, I'm going to give it to you. Maybe you can find a use for it."
"Don't worry, my Lady Rarity," Gai'vahros gave a small smile as his hand wrapped around the great gem, lifting it from her hoof and, surprisingly, was quite light for a diamond of its size. "As soon as I find my kit I'll return it to you better than ever before. You have my word on that." The elf handed the gem to Twilight, who immediately placed it in her satchel though not without staring at the jewel as though it was worth her weight, and that of her library and everything in it, including Spike, in gold.
"Well, I guess we should be off now," Twilight spoke up after pocketing the diamond. "Thank you for everything, Rarity. I hope that lotion works really well for you." Twilight was pleased that she could help out her friend by giving her the new cleaning liquid for her clothes and materials. Both her and Gai'vahros headed to the door, with Gai'vahros opening it for the young equine, exchanging smiles before following her.
"Oh, not at all, darlings. I hope to see more of you tomorrow." Rarity came to the door and waved the two of them off before closing the door behind her.
"We should go to Applejack's place next," Twilight said as she gave a little smile to Gai'vahros. "She's Apple Bloom's older sister. And we can check to see if Apple Bloom has gone home, too. It's on the other side of Ponyville but it shouldn't take us too long. Oh, by the way, Gai'vahros, what do you think of Rarity?"
"I, uh..." Gai'vahros felt put on the spot for a moment, not knowing whether or not Twilight was expecting a specific answer. "Lady Rarity is a magnificent woman-- uh, pony. Sophisticated, glamorous... it's hard to describe in words."
"Haha, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were infatuated with her." There was a rather long pause, to which Twilight expected a reply from the elf. But no such thing came. "Gai'vahros, are you infatuated with Rarity?"
"No, of course not!" Gai'vahros shook his head violently, a look of discomfort on his face mixed with frustration that someone would suggest a thing like that. But, again, another brief pause occurred as he looked away, turning his head to the side to avoid eye contact. "I mean if she was an elf then... you know... I possibly would find her attractive. Probably."
"Oh." Twilight felt rather embarrassed pushing this line of questioning. "Well, let's head over to Applejack's."
Without further pause the two of them traveled over the bridge and back to the center of town, where it was still populated although with many fewer pony than before. As Twilight and Gai'vahros walked through the pathway many of the equines turned to notice the blood knight, some having seen him the first time though most were new. These pony folk did not look upon him as a monster but as a figure of glamour, with many of them recognizing the silks and satins that were prominent in Rarity's tailoring. Even though they were more interested in his clothes rather than himself, Gai'vahros did not seem to mind so long as he wasn't being looked upon in abstract judgment.
Suddenly, one little foal proceeded slowly to Twilight and Gai'vahros. The little pony was that of a pinto breed, by Gai'vahros' understanding of equine terminology, having a darkened white coat with pale brown patches on his hind, his underbelly and over his eyes. His mane was that of a dark auburn colour, styled in a forward fringe. Gai'vahros was rather baffled at first but he took to the understanding that it was just another friend of Twilight's.
"Oh, Pipsqueak." Twilight greeted the little colt with a warm smile. "it's good to see you. Is there anything we can help you with?"
"Hello, Twilight." Pipsqueak replied, though Gai'vahros thought his name sounded a bit demeaning. "Actually, I thought it would be jolly good to welcome the new person! I think it's brilliant that we get to have new people come stay in Ponyville."
"I'm honoured that you would do so," Gai'vahros replied with a small smile, looking down at the little pony before placing his hand on his head and petting him. For a moment Pipsqueak smiled but his face soon became more relaxed, soothed; a blanket of warmth and the feel of glistening silk felt as though it wrapped around his small frame, like a child would wrap the covers around him at night in fear of monsters. The feeling felt light, exhilarating, but not overwhelming, but began to dissipate slowly as Gai'vahros lifted his hand from him. "You're a very kind and noble foal. I can see you achieve great things, little one." Pipsqueak blushed but couldn't think of a way to respond besides to show his embarrassment.
"By the way, Pipsqueak, have you seen Apple Bloom? Do you know if she went home?"
"I'm sorry, Twilight. I haven't seen her all day. I've been helping mother and father with cleaning up the house."
"That's okay, we'll head over to Sweet Apple Acres and see if she's there."
"Okay. See you around, Twilight! Nice meeting you ... uh... hedgehog person!"
"Ugh, I should have seen that one coming." Gai'vahros sighed in dismay as some still referred to him as a hedgehog person, contemplating on just changing his hairstyle in the future. As the two of them proceeded to Applejack's place, Gai'vahros began to think and wonder about something, looking down at Twilight's flank before responding. "My lady Twilight, I must ask; what are these pictures that you and others have on your rear?"
"Oh, those are our cutie marks," Twilight responded, turning back to see Gai'vahros looking down at her flank. She felt rather scholarly in teaching him the things of their world to the point of being somewhat smug. "You see, when a pony discovers their special trait-- be it a personality quirk, an in-born trait, or a particular talent-- it manifests itself as a cutie mark on our flanks. Take mine for instance; it shows that my special talent is magic."
"Oh, yes, that makes a lot of sense now. So what about Lady Rarity? She's a tailor and yet she has three gems as hers. I would have thought her "cutie mark" would be a wrapping of cloth or silk or something to that extent."
"Well, Rarity got hers because tailoring wasn't actually her strong point, so to say. You see, when Rarity first created her costumes she insisted that they were not as good as they should be. That was when she discovered a boulder filled with gems and, after she put them on the costumes, did she finally believe they were as good as they could be. And that's why her cutie mark is three gems."
"That's some story. I've got to find some of these gem-filled boulders." Gai'vahros thought of himself as being much more knowledgeable, but the answer only sprung another question. "But Apple Bloom and Pipsqueak didn't have any cutie marks. Does that mean they have no talents or anything?"
"I hope not, but a pony is born without a cutie mark, and so they gain it later on during their life, usually during their school days. Miss Cheerilee has taught every-pony that any-pony can get their cutie mark at whatever age; earlier or later. But Apple Bloom is lucky with being able to have the freedom of exploration, to find out who and what she is, and have an infinite number of choices in her life."
"I understand that fully, my Lady Twilight," Gai'vahros admitted, to which he knew fully as to what it meant to be forced into a role, but he also knew of the fortune and virtues of it, too, "but is it not also true that, once you discover your role, that you can then dedicate your body and soul to the purpose, and to help those you love with your newfound talents?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right, Gai'vahros."
"So this Miss Cheerilee, is she a trainer in Equestrian lore?"
"By "trainer" you mean "teacher", and by "equestrian lore" you mean "education", then yes. Does your world not deal with the prospect of education and schools?"
"We do things a bit differently. As children we are raised in whatever way our parents see fit; to become farmers, scholars, to gain martial training as a warrior, to follow the Holy Light in the role of priests, or even to study the forces of the arcane as we become magi. As children we become apprentices to guilds or masters of the craft we seek. I guess you could see it as a way of seeking out a cutie mark through hard work, experience, and determination."
"So Gai'vahros, what made you decide to become a... uh, blood knight?"
The elf didn't know what to say. He stood for a moment, his head lowered as the trees swayed and danced upon shallow drifts of wind. Twilight did not notice for a moment, but eventually she turned back and saw the elf standing with his head drooping, looking to one side with a look of discord upon him. It seemed that the subject of his past was one that hurt him deeply; one he'd rather not recall. "I'm sorry, my Lady Twilight. Perhaps another time." Gai'vahros looked up, but not with the smile that Twilight had started to get used to seeing. His lips straight with the look of indifference on it as he began to walk again, catching up to Twilight. "Your friend is this way, right?"
"Oh... yeah..." Twilight felt disheartened that she would bring upon a subject of turmoil for her new elven friend. She had hoped that he had not held animosity against her as she began to lead him once again. "I'm sorry, Gai'vahros... I didn't mean to--"
"It's okay, my Lady Twilight. Just... it's not lore I would say, even to my confidants. Some other time, perhaps."
Twilight gave a sigh as she began to look sorrowful of what she had done. The young equine felt embarrassed, ashamed and regretful of questioning him about something that she had no right in knowing about. Even though, at the time, she felt it was harmless get to know him small talk, she couldn't help but feel as though it was her fault. However, without much further thought on the matter-- before Twilight to delve any deeper into her dark despair-- a sudden burst of light filled her soul as she felt the silk hand of Gai'vahros brush against her head and mane, stroking her from the top of her head to the base of her neck. It felt revitalizing, radiant, while purging the shadows from her mind. She looked back to see the elf smiling down at her.
"You worry too much, my Lady Twilight." Gai'vahros' eyes remained the same, but instead of being upset with himself he was upset for Twilight, knowing that it was his chagrin who had caused her pain. The elf lead with a smile to guide the pony's own. "Forget the past. Embrace the present. Look forward to the future."
"Oh, Gai'vahros..." Twilight looked upon the golden knight with almost tear-welled eyes while sprawling an awkward smile upon her lips. She felt as though Celestia herself had blessed her with her own boon as soon as Gai'vahros placed his hand upon her. Turning back, she looked towards a large structure shaped like a barn house, surrounded by a small fence with a large orchard out front. "Oh, it's just over there. Follow me."
Twilight dashed off into a gallop, heading straight towards Sweet Apple Acres. Gai'vahros, now in good spirits after inspiring his lavender friend, kept his large smile as he sprinted after her.