30 Days of Temptation

by LuminoZero


Prologue

Ponyville was an active town, even on the most mundane of days. But today was anything but mundane, nothing close to ordinary. No, today was an extraordinary day. It was bright and pleasant when the train from Canterlot pulled into the Ponyville station. Nothing out of the ordinary about that, but one of the passengers was probably the real cause of all the attention. The unicorn walked through the streets of the simple town, their long blue mane and pleasant smile catching the eye of everypony they passed on the street.

He dressed sharply, and greeted even the smallest filly with warm words and a genuinely kind smile, not like most of the ponies of his obvious stature that visited the small town. Well, most of his stature rarely, if ever, visited Ponyville. This unicorn was one of a kind, and as he walked towards the most fashionable building in the small town he nearly ran into another pony running down the street in a hurry. The young filly saw the collision coming, and slid back, sliding on her haunches right through the legs of one very startled unicorn.

"My word!" the unicorn declared, turning to face the white unicorn filly who had just slid by him. "Are you all right my dear?" he questioned while noting a very eerie similarity. Instead of solid purple, her mane was an odd combination of that and a shade of pink. Her green eyes seemed to focus on some thought or another, obviously a little filly in quite a hurry!

"Yep!" she replied energetically as she wasted no time heading on her way. "Sorry mister!" she called as she galloped off down the road. He merely watched the filly go and chuckled lightly. Every now and again he loved to visit places like this without his associates from Canterlot; everything here was so... honest. The usual warm smile returned to his face as he moved up to the 'Carousel Boutique', his horn glowing slightly as he pushed the door open. In spite of his interest with the mare within, he'd never actually been here. 'A true shame,' he thought, as he looked about the show room. It had nothing on Canterlot's massive showrooms, but he found the charm of the smaller building oddly appealing. No inch of space was misused; everything on the walls, the tables and on the ponykins was placed there on purpose, as if the entire shop was one large picture that had been designed in just this way.

A familiar voice greeted his ears from the back of the room, where a very familiar white unicorn stood, looking over what have been her latest design. Too difficult to see from here what she was working on, however. "Back so soon, Sweetie Belle? Did you forget something?" she asked, turning around with a smile and stopping in her tracks.

"Sweetie Belle? I assume that was the delightful little filly that I just met?" he responded, a charming smile on his face, just as she'd always remembered.

"Fancy Pants!" Rarity gasped out. She was more than a little surprised that the most important pony in Canterlot had just walked into her shop, and she hadn't even properly greeted him. "Oh! Oh my you surprised me," she stated. She began channeling Pinkie Pie for a moment as she dashed about the Boutique, covering many of her designs and projects she was working on in a frenzied state. She could not possibly let him see such crude designs. He'd think she was just lowborn gutter trash if he saw some of her scribbles.

Fancy Pants allowed her to run about, but began speaking almost instantly, hoping it would calm her down from her panic. "Hello again, Ms. Rarity. I'm actually not here to shop. Well, not for your designs exactly," he stated, leaving his explanation vague. Almost instantly, Rarity stopped, looking up from the half-finished dress that she had just covered, her horn still aglow after having tossed the cloth over it. "I wanted to know if you would be willing to help my nephew, you see."

Rarity paused, still looking a bit overwhelmed at his presence in her shop, but thankfully he continued. "You see, my nephew Penned Portrait is an artist, or he wishes to be. Unfortunately, he lacks the creative spark that all good artists have, and he has become quite depressed," he said, walking about the shop and glancing at what he saw there. Daring, clever and unique designs adorned the wall. All of Rarity's work just screamed one word.

Inspired.

He turned back to her with an honest smile. "You see, he has been surrounded by Canterlot fashions for all of his life. I think he needs something different, contrast as it were. And when I thought of creative ponies I knew that could turn Canterlot fashion on its head..." he paused for a moment as he glanced around the Boutique.

"Well, here I am."

Rarity was stunned that someone as important as Fancy Pants thought of her as so skilled that he would ask her to assist his family. It was positively stunning, outstanding, amazing! "Ah, well I am honored, of course. But, well, I am afraid I don't know the first thing about artists. I would not even know where to begin," she spoke honestly. She was chomping at the bit of an opportunity like this, but to lie about her own ability and do a poor job would only serve to damage her reputation. Too dangerous of a gamble for the fashionista to take.

Fancy Pant's smile did not fade, as he nodded to her. "Oh, but it is your dressmaking I wish to borrow, Ms. Rarity. You see, you come up with such creative and interesting designs. So much of what is in Canterlot is copying what other ponies succeed with. But everything here is such a breath of fresh air, a design of your own imagining. I feel if he could just see the dedication and heart you obviously put into your work, he would find his own inspiration."

Rarity blushed a bit, her ego drinking in the praise like a delicate flower after a spring rain. "Well, when you put it like that, how could I refuse? I would be honored to help!" she remarked, nearly bowing to the stallion. Thankfully, she caught herself before she did so. She associated with royalty so much lately that she nearly did it by habit!

"Excellent! When should I tell him to expect you?" Fancy Pants asked with a smile. He turned his head as the question hung in the air, happily looking among her works on the wall. He tilted his head and thought for a moment on one teal design, before nodding with a smile and moving on.

Rarity was practically skipping around her shop when his words passed her ears. She paused, a bit of apprehension building up inside of her. "Beg pardon?" she asked, having naturally assumed that the artist would be traveling to Ponyville to get away from Canterlot fashions.

"Oh don't worry about lodging. I have taken the liberty of reserving a penthouse near his studio for you," he explained. He seemed totally oblivious to the cause of her concern.

Well, now this was a totally different problem. Rarity had learned that Canterlot brought out the worst in her. All of the qualities she hated about herself were only compounded when she was there, and it hadn't gotten any better since the issue with Twilight's birthday. She raised a hoof to her forehead in annoyance as she recalled the bouquet toss at Cadance's wedding. She thought for a moment, and Fancy Pants did catch on to her silence.

"Is there a problem Ms. Rarity?" he asked, turning around to look at her. An odd combination of concern and confusion was mingling on his face as he observed her.

Rarity shook out her mane, having finally come to a decision about the matter. "Thirty days," she spoke as her first words, realizing instantly that she had to amend them lest they sounded incredibly rude to the unicorn. "I have difficulty maintaining my own inspiration in Canterlot, but I should be able to do so for thirty days. After that I would have to return here to restore my creative flow, as it were." All right, that was a half truth. What more frightened her was how much damage she could do to herself in thirty days without her friends and only the high and mighty elite of Canterlot to talk with. She wasn't envious of finding out.

Rarity knew she was weak. She had the best of intentions, but sometimes her vanity got the better of her... like at the Best Young Flier competition. Urgh, she couldn't believe that Rainbow Dash would even speak to her after how much of a mule she had been. She would say it was not her finest moment, but her mind always seemed to latch on to the failures so much harder. She was jostled back to reality by Fancy Pants speaking again.

"Wonderful! I must return to Canterlot to tell him the good news. I am sure he will be thrilled to have such a talented and understanding designer helping him!" he spoke, sounding genuinely pleased with the turn of events. "Well then Ms. Rarity. Please stop by my manor when you arrive in Canterlot. You remember where it is, yes?" he asked her, noting her nod as the mare still seemed deep in thought. "Excellent! Well, I should get going then. Oh, but one last thing," he said, stopping at the door.

Rarity turned back to him, her charming and dazzling smile once again taking the forefront of her demeanor. "Yes?" she asked sweetly.

"Well, Fleur De Lis has been craving something sweet lately, and nothing in Canterlot seems to satisfy her. Would you be able to recommend something local? Perhaps a new treat is just what she needs," he spoke, and Rarity could not help but think she was not getting the whole story out of the unicorn. Still, she knew the answer easily.

"Well, there is Sugar Cube Corner, just down the road a bit. I'd be careful of Pinkie though, she can be a little... enthusiastic," Rarity finished with a small laugh and a smile. For some reason, it felt much easier to be herself around Fancy Pants. He didn't seem to put on airs, at least not as much as some other ponies did.

He smiled happily, recalling the rambunctious pink pony. "Ah yes, I remember. Her excitement was childlike, very refreshing after spending so much time in these higher circles. Well, take care Ms. Rarity. I will see you in Canterlot!" he called, closing the door behind him as he left the boutique.

The sign in the window was flipped to 'Closed' well before he was out of sight.

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"Going to Canterlot, for a whole month?” the young voice asked that evening. Rarity had asked Spike for some assistance in her packing, and Sweetie Belle had just gone home. Understandably, the young dragon was slightly distraught by this news. That was part of the reason she'd requested his help to get her things in order. Better for him to hear it from her then anypony else.

"I'd prefer to think of it as just a month. Canterlot is a lovely place. The fashion center of Equestria, where all the most important and powerful ponies mingle, or it is so exciting!" she said with what sounded suspiciously like a squeal of delight.

"And, you are going to model for somepony?", Spike asked with the smallest tinge of jealousy in his voice. Rarity just laughed, however.

"Model? Moi? Honestly darling, when have you ever known me to be anything but the designer? We are just hoping some of my genius will bleed off on him. Or perhaps my fabulous designs will inspire him. Who knows?" she said, brushing a stray hair back into perfect formation in her mane. "It's just a change of scenery, I will still be doing what I always do, designing fabulous outfits with an assistant."

Almost as soon as she said that, she realized she should not have. Rarity turned towards the now crestfallen dragon, walking over to him. He didn't say a word, but he didn't need to. Rarity knew exactly what he was thinking. "Now, now Spike, pouting like that is no way for a gentle drake to hold himself. You know that no assistant I could ever have would replace you," she said as she nuzzled against his cheek. He slowly came back from his funk, just as an idea struck her. "Oh! I know!" she declared, her horn lighting up as a box across the room snapped open. In a moment, the necklace came into the air for them both to see.

The Fire Ruby Necklace. "Now, you see? My best assistant will be coming with me too. Perhaps if my designs will not encourage him, the pristine glow of the most generous gift ever will serve to do so," she added with a smile.

Spike seemed to recover from his depression, but he still grumbled "I wish I could go with you..." They both knew why he couldn't. With Twilight spending more and more time in Canterlot with her royal duties, Spike was the one running the library. And as much as Rarity knew the dragon cared for her, he would never break his promise to Twilight to take care of the library while she was gone. That loyalty of his was honestly one of the cutest parts of him, even when it wasn't directed at the attention-grabbing fashionista.

Rarity stopped to consider for a moment, and once again she spoke without thinking, "I'm actually glad you can't." Her eyes snapped open when she realized what she'd said. She didn't really want to tell him the story, but now she had to. Otherwise what she had just said would break the poor drake's heart. "Canterlot is home for you and Twilight, but every time I go there, I wind up doing something I regret. Forgetting about my friends, putting more stock in the famous and powerful, or even allowing a total swine like that royal pain of a prince to walk all over me for the sake of 'appearance.' I'd rather you not see me for that," she answered honestly. The dragon always looked at her as if she were perfection incarnate, and she did not want to taint that image of his with the truth. Perhaps it was greedy of her, but Spike's attitude always served to cheer her up, and she dreaded what would happen if he actually saw how broken and flawed she really was.

Spike, however, walked over to her and placed his hand on the necklace she'd set aside to be packed. "Then pretend I am with you. I'm here, in this ruby. Be yourself, not what they want you to be, and come home to us happy," Spike said with a smile. Those words would stick in her mind for the rest of the week. Be who she really was... But who was she really? Was she the small town designer? Was she the big city fashionista? Was she just an imposter? She mused, silently, that perhaps her masks had gotten so full she didn't know what her real face was anymore.
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And now, today was the day. Her bags were packed, her supplies ready, and all of her friends told. The advice has gone from the simple 'Please have fun, if that is ok I mean' to the playfully threatening 'You better keep your hoofs on the ground 'fore I come on up there an kick ya back to your senses!' With a 'Take care sugar cube.' added on to make sure her friend understood. Now she stood at the train station, allowing two delightful stallions she had 'persuaded' to 'assist' her in getting her luggage onto the train. She wondered, from time to time, if doing so was against her Element. She quickly justified that she was just encouraging them to be generous, and there was nothing wrong with that. As the train prepared to pull out, she glanced once more over the town she so loved. One month. One month of fierce combat against her own flaws, to try and help another artist. Nopony had been around to help her when she was starting out, at least not in the artistic sense. She would share her skill and knowledge with this budding artist. After all, what was the point of experience if we couldn't share it?

She only questioned if she'd be able to hold onto her true self long enough to teach him something of value. She would dread if she taught him how to be selfish, vain and how to break promises to friends. She reached into her luggage and pulled out the Fire Ruby, just looking into the facets of the gem.

Please... Please help me to remember.