//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: After a Fashion // by DarkPhoenix //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Enter the Fiancé Heaving a sigh, Fancy watched the hand on the clock slowly move closer to its goal. He thought he’d been so smart three days ago when he’d offered to watch the shop for Rarity so she could spend some time bonding with Sweetie. Surprisingly, she’d taken him up on that offer. Much to his dismay, she’d had him watch the shop multiple times while she left on various errands. Over the last three days, he’d been stuck watching the shop half a dozen times. Normally, watching a shop wouldn’t be so bad, but since Rarity dealt mainly with special and custom orders, there was a lack of steady customers coming through the door. He was used to always having something to do, so sitting and watching an empty shop was torture. At least today he had a distraction in the form of Sweetie Belle. The filly was over in the corner, practicing her magic. He mostly left her alone, occasionally checking on her to make sure she wasn’t wearing herself out. Rarity had stepped out to pick up some supplies from a couple shops, as well as visit the post office to retrieve a few special order packages. The clock taunted him, moving slower and slower the closer the minute hand got to the twelve at the top. As soon as the hour ticked over, he would be able to close up the shop. His gaze drifted between the clock and the door, on the off chance that somepony came in to rescue him from the monotony. After an eternity, the clock chimed, signalling a new hour. Barely suppressing a groan of joy, he trotted over to the door, flipping the sign from “Open” to “Closed.” With the shop now officially closed, he decided to check in on Sweetie again. She was currently practicing with a quill, the object hovering in front of her. She could now lift light objects fairly well. She was practicing with a quill to get used to holding it, as the next step was working on manipulating the object by using the quill to write. Concurrently with manipulation, she’d move on to trying larger and heavier objects, like small books or a magazine. He sat down next to her, watching for just a moment before speaking up. “How’re you doing, Sweetie?” “Good,” she responded. Her eyes were open, staring at the quill. “Watch this.” The quill started moving. Slowly, it flipped end over end, then stood on it’s point and revolved. As it moved, it became less steady, slipping a bit, but it never fell completely. “Very good,” he said. Lightly, he set his hoof on her shoulder. The sudden contact startled her, the quill falling as her concentration slipped. “Hey!” she exclaimed, indignant gaze turning to look at him. “You messed me up.” He chuckled. “I did, but distractions happen everyday. You need to learn to work around them.” Removing his hoof from her, he continued. “If somepony suddenly shoved you, then not even the best archmage would be able to hold onto their spell. But a light contact,” he set his hoof back on her shoulder, “you should be able to concentrate through that.” Under his watchful eye, she kept practicing. After another fifteen minutes, he called an end, as she was breathing hard and perspiring, signs that she was getting tired and using too much magic. He nudged her. “Come on, time to call it quits for now. I’m sure Rarity will be back soon and we’ll all get something to eat.” With a sigh, she let the quill fall to the floor. “Fine.” They moved into the sitting room, Fancy taking up a book while Sweetie continued on a drawing. “What do you think we’re gonna do for dinner?” she asked him. He shrugged, flipping a page in the book. “I have no idea. It’s getting late, so Rarity will probably bring something home.” His eye traveled down to the brightly colored magazine he’d purchased yesterday that was sitting on the table. On the front of it was a picture of his house. Spread across the top, just under the magazine’s title, was the caption “Fancy hides in house. What else is he hiding?” A small section of the cover had another picture, this one a zoomed in shot of his front door, showing his assistant Quick Time entering. “Mysterious mare visiting Fancy.” The magazine had simultaneously gotten him to laugh and nearly facehoof. It was absurd the things that were being published about him, but it had been a week since the breakup, surely something else had happened since then. It was just his luck that he had to be the top story in the slowest news week ever. Fancy and Sweetie sat for another few minutes, before the front door opened. “I’m back, and I brought some dinner,” Rarity’s voice called out. “Finally,” Sweetie said. She set aside her crayon and hopped up, leaving the room. Fancy was in less of a hurry, so he finished the page he was on and set the book down on the table. Upon entering the main room, he saw Sweetie and Rarity disappearing into the kitchen, a couple bags floating behind them. Standing by the door was another pony, a unicorn. Several more bags were being set down next to him. His coat was a beige color, his short mane an aqua blue. He looked up, seeing Fancy standing there. He had a cutie mark of a bellows. “Oh, hello. I wasn’t aware there were any customers left at this hour.” “I’m not a customer,” Fancy replied. Before the stallion could say anything, Rarity came out of the kitchen. “Darling, you can just put the bags in the workroom.” She caught sight of Fancy. “Ah yes, you two haven’t been introduced.” She gestured to the stallion with a hoof. “This is my fiancé, Blaze Hearth. Blaze, this is the houseguest I told you about. Meet Fancy Pants.” Blaze approached Fancy, holding out his hoof. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Pants.” Fancy took the hoof, receiving a firm hoofshake. So this was the fiancé that had stolen his Rarity. Fancy ran a critical eye over him. His mane was slightly askew, having the look of somepony who had hurriedly smoothed it down with hooves. His coat was smudged with black spots in places and Fancy picked up a subtle tang of sweat. His hooves were rough, and exuded the air of a workpony. It wasn’t that he was unattractive, he was just a little rough for Fancy’s taste. “I’ve heard a lot about you,” Blaze continued. Fancy dropped his hoof, resisting the urge to wipe it on the carpet. “From more than the tabloids, I hope.” Blaze laughed. “Mostly from her,” he said, pointing at Rarity. Looping a foreleg around her shoulder, he leaned over and planted a kiss on her forehead. “She talks about you a lot.” “Really?” “Really. I’m not sure whether to be proud of her, or jealous of you.” That was interesting. Fancy filed that information away for later. If he was on Rarity’s mind, then there were certainly ways he could use that to his advantage. Rarity gasped. “Darling, you know my eyes are set on you.” She gave him a quick kiss. “Now come on, let’s eat.” In the kitchen, Sweetie was already sitting at the table. Four plates were set out, and several boxes sat in the middle, a mixture of pleasant aromas mingling. Fancy sat in a chair, Blaze sitting across from him. “So I’m curious,” Fancy said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard the story of how you two met.” He needed information about Blaze. The more he knew about the stallion, the better he could plan things out. “Well, it’s kinda funny, actually,” Blaze said, scooping a small pile of noodles from a container onto his plate. “See, I own a shop here in town. I do custom metalworking, usually for decorations. If you see a decorative door handle, fence top, or something like that, unless it was imported, it’s my work.” He took a bite of food, slurping up his noodles and making Fancy cringe. “One day, this gorgeous unicorn walks into my shop and asks if I can mold something out of gold. I said sure, even though I don’t work with it very often. She needed a base for a piece of custom jewelry, to go with a dress.” “It was for a special client,” Rarity interjected. “I’d never been asked to make jewelry before, only put gems on a dress, which I can do easily enough. So I went to an expert.” “I don’t know about that expert part, but you came to me. Anyway, I made a base to her specifications and I figured that was the end of that.” Rarity giggled. “Once word got out that I could also provide custom jewelry to match an outfit, I started getting orders for that as well. So I kept going back to Blaze’s shop.” “I admit, I thought she was beautiful, but very much out of my league.” Fancy certainly agreed with both of those statements. “However, one day I was feeling exceptionally giddy. I’d been hired by Mayor Mare to provide some decorations for a town celebration and been paid generously in advance. So when Rarity came into my shop soon afterwards...” Rarity picked up the story. “He asked me out, without preamble. Took me by surprise.” “So that’s it? You said yes?” Fancy asked. There was no way that his Rarity would ever just agree to a date with a stallion like that. A mare like her should be charmed and wooed first. “Oh, no. She turned me down.” Blaze chuckled. “About near crushed my heart. Certainly crushed my good spirits. But I took her order and completed it anyway. After she picked up the jewelry, which was for her friends to wear at the Grand Galloping Gala, I thought I’d never see her again.” “What happened?” Fancy asked. Obviously, something had changed. The question was what. “The Grand Galloping Gala,” Rarity said. “I’d dreamed for so long to meet a Prince who would sweep me off my hooves. Then I met Blueblood.” Her face morphed into a look of disgust. Ah, Prince Blueblood. Fancy has had the misfortune of not only meeting, but working with that poster-foal for insufferable, ignorant oafs before, so he certainly understood Rarity’s misgivings about Blueblood. If there was ever a pony to shatter dreams, it was him. He pranced about like he owned everything. He called himself a Prince, when his connection to the throne was about as loose as the mares who worked in Canterlot’s back alleys. Fancy honestly didn’t understand why the Princesses kept him around. “Having met Blueblood, you have my sympathies.” “Thank you,” Rarity said, taking a moment to let the scowl on her face fade. “So after that disastrous night, I was forced to rethink my ideas on romance. Holding on to a filly’s dream of finding a perfect Prince is silly. If I continued thinking like that, I’d never find a stallion who could satisfy those qualifications. Blaze continued to eat while Rarity spoke. His loud slurping making Fancy wince every time. Apart from his exterior appearance, his table manners needed work. A lot of work. “I opened myself up to the idea of dating non-Prince stallions,” Rarity continued. “It just so happened that I remembered when Blaze asked me out a few weeks prior. So I went back to his shop and asked him if he still wanted that date.” “Shocked me,” Blaze chuckled. “Here she is, coming into my shop without an order, and taking me up on a date. I thought I’d died and gone to the Summer Lands.” Rarity set a hoof on his. “Your reaction was quite humorous, darling. The poor stallion couldn’t close his mouth. It took him several moments to respond.” What Rarity had said made sense. A night with Blueblood would be enough to make anypony contemplate jumping from the castle’s tallest tower, much less change their ideas on dating. He’d heard what had happened to Blueblood that night, getting cake thrown at him. Outwardly he’d been appropriately shocked and outraged, but inwardly he’d been jumping with glee. His only regret was not getting to witness the event. He’d been too busy running from a horde of squirrels. So she’d agreed to go on a date with Blaze. Fair enough, Fancy was no stranger to experimenting. So how did they end up staying together? It must have been a truly amazing first date to get Rarity to come back. “Was it a good date?” he asked. Rarity and Blaze stared at each other for a moment, before they burst out laughing. Fancy was confused, wondering what he’d said. “It was awful,” Blaze said. “A total disaster,” Rarity agreed. “The food was terrible, the waiter spilled a drink on me, the weather pegasi messed up and it started raining on us, I got locked out of the Boutique, and my dress got ruined.” She smiled at Blaze, who smiled back. “But throughout it all, he managed to keep me entertained, kept me laughing. I was still miffed, but none of it was his fault, so I agreed to a second date. Eventually.” “It took her a few days.” So even after a disastrous first date, she had agreed to keep going out with him. Fancy revised his view of Blaze. Obviously, there was something about him that drew Rarity’s attention. If he could find it, he could exploit it. As much as he may hate the idea, he’d have to spend some time with Blaze, get to know him. An added benefit to that being that it would look good to Rarity, who’d continue to allow him access to not only her, but Sweetie as well. The filly was quietly eating her dinner. She’d most likely heard most of this, and witnessed it as well. Many foals her age would be whiny at being so bored. Instead she was well behaved, well mannered. “So, then what? You continued dating?” Blaze nodded, a bit of stray noodle hanging from his mouth flopping around. His tongue darted out and licked it up. “We did. Fortunately, the second date was much better. We dated for months, growing closer together. We’d been dating for about a year when I finally popped the question.” “If he thought he was shocked when I took him up on his offer of a date, that was nothing compared to when he asked me to marry him.” She giggled. “I fear my reaction was most unladylike.” “It was adorable, when I wasn’t fearing what your answer would be.” She playfully swatted him. “I suppose my answer is now known to all. We haven’t set a date for the wedding just yet, still trying to work out schedules with my friends and the Princesses.” Fancy did a double take. “The Princesses?” Rarity nodded. “Well, Twilight informed Princess Celestia about the engagement, and she offered to officiate the ceremony. Princess Luna also expressed interest in attending. As you can imagine, working around their schedules is quite the hassle. Though I have no doubt we’ll settle on something soon.” Blaze had the biggest grin on his face. “I never even imagined that there’d be a Princess at my wedding, much less two! How could I have gotten so lucky with you, Rarity?” She blushed. “You flatter me.” He leaned over, kissing her. “It’s not flattery if it’s true.” She kissed him back, giggling. “True.” Just watching them, Fancy could see the love they had for each other. It made him sick. That should be him kissing Rarity, holding her close, engaged to her. She should be marrying him, not some common workpony with terrible table manners. What she saw in Blaze, he had no idea. He was engaging and had a positive attitude, but so did ninety-nine percent of other ponies. There was something special about him, and he had to know what. He should interrogate Rarity when Blaze left, possibly Sweetie as well. It was never wise to discount the insight of a foal and she might have some observation that an adult would miss.  The rest of dinner passed with Rarity and Blaze taking turns telling stories about their relationship. Fancy listened to every word, analyzing it to try and glean as much information from it as he could. Sweetie remained quiet, cleaning her plate and then sitting there. Fancy felt bad for her, as she must be bored. But the lovebirds were on a roll. Finally, dinner was over. Fancy was hoping that Blaze would go home, but he stuck around, helping Rarity with the dishes. The two of them went into the sitting room, looking like they wanted a bit of privacy. He obliged, because it provided him with some time alone with Sweetie. The filly went up to her room, Fancy following behind her. “So Blaze seems nice.” She nodded. “Yeah, he is.” Now that she’d escaped from the dinner table, her mood had perked up. “He let me and my friends into his shop once, showed us how everything worked. Wouldn’t let us try our hooves at metalworking cutie marks, though.” Fancy concluded that at least Blaze had a brain if he wasn’t willing to let Scootaloo around an active forge. Celestia only knows what that filly could do in that situation. Probably manage to burn down the shop for starters. “What’s your opinion on him?” he asked. Sweetie opened the door to her room, going inside. “I dunno. Like I said, he’s nice. He really seems to like my sister.” Fancy came into the room as well, sitting on the floor. “So you wouldn’t mind having him as a brother-in-law?” She shrugged. “I never really thought of it like that. I guess if he does marry Rarity, then he’ll be family.” She went quiet, chin turned up in thought. “I’d be okay with it, I guess.” “You guess?” “I mean, he’s nice and sometimes plays with me.” There was more she wasn’t saying. Fancy knew he needed to dig deeper, get Sweetie to open up to him, but he needed to be delicate about it. Pushing her too hard would only cause her to clam up. He had a hunch that her actions at dinner were a clue. “Is something wrong, Sweetie?” She looked up at him. “What do you mean?” “You were very quiet at dinner.” “I’ve heard it all before,” she said quietly. He lay down on his stomach, bringing his head more in line with hers. “Sweetie, you can talk to me. I promise that I won’t ever tell Rarity.” She still looked hesitant, so he decided to throw a little charm in there. “I like you, Sweetie. I think you’re a wonderful little filly, who’s smart and certainly fun for this old stallion to be around.” She giggled in response to the smile on his face as he said that. “I don’t like seeing you upset, and sometimes things get better when you confide in somepony.” Her green eyes stared into his. “Do you promise not to tell Rarity?” With a smile, he nodded. “I promise.” Looking around, like Rarity might be hiding in the room, Sweetie leaned in close, to where her breath tickled his ear. “I’m worried,” she whispered. “About what?” “Whenever he’s over, Rarity just stops paying attention to me. I’m worried that when they get married, I’m gonna lose my big sister. I already almost never see mom and dad, they’re always away on some trip for the University. I don’t wanna lose Rarity too, then I’ll be alone.” Her ears were folded down, her head drooping lower as she spoke. Fancy gently lifted her head up with a hoof. “Hey, there’s no need to worry. Think about how much fun you two have been having these last few days. It’s obvious she loves you and cares for you. I think she’s just caught up in the romance of it all. You know how she is, she focuses on one thing, to the exclusion of everything else.” Sweetie sighed. “Yeah, she does.” Her hoof scuffed the ground. “It’s kinda annoying.” First and foremost, Fancy was a business pony. He was good at analyzing a situation and coming up with an outcome that benefited him. Already his mind worked to see how he could turn this sisterly situation to his advantage. He needed to keep Rarity close, but if he could do that while driving Sweetie closer to him, that would be ideal. “I’m certain that once the novelty of it wears off, she’ll come around. Besides, you won’t be alone. You’ve got your friends. And you’ve got me.” “Applebloom and Scoots are awesome, but they can’t be around all the time. And you’re fun, but you’re going back to Canterlot sometime. I know you can afford to do nothing for as long as you want, but you’re not gonna stick around.” “You are right. I have a life and a business I need to get back to. And as much as I trust Quick Time to temporarily run my business, she can’t do so forever. But just because I won’t be around doesn’t mean we can’t do fun things.” This was the make or break moment. He needed to sell Sweetie on what he was about to propose. If this worked, then he’d have plenty of access to her, with Rarity’s blessing. He perked up, like he’d just gotten an idea. “Say Sweetie, have you ever been to Canterlot?” “Once, but it was for a school field trip to the palace. We didn’t have time to see the town at all. And right after, Discord broke out.” “Well, how would you like to visit Canterlot and stay in my mansion?” Her eyes lit up and her entire demeanor changed. “Really? You’d let me do that?” “Sure. I’m certain I could arrange for you to have a wonderful time.” And the fact that it would get Sweetie into his home, where he could control the situation, was very much a bonus. Leaping up, she let out an exclamation of joy. “I’d love to!” She hopped around a few times, before suddenly stopping. “But I don’t think Rarity would allow it.” “Nonsense. I’m sure I can work things out with her. What do you say? Would you like to see Canterlot?” “I do!” Fancy smiled. This was working out perfectly. Convincing Rarity would take some work, but the perfect outcome would be Sweetie coming to stay at his mansion, alone. If Rarity wanted to tag along, which he was certain she would, that was perfectly acceptable as well. It wouldn’t be hard to distract her. Of course, this was in the future. Right now, he needed to work on figuring out Blaze. Perhaps a visit to his shop was in order tomorrow. If he could corner the stallion one on one, Fancy was certain he could get information out of him. Already he knew that he inadvertently was taking Rarity from Sweetie. The more he knew, the better he could turn a situation to his advantage. “I’ll talk to Rarity,” he said. “Which means you should as well.” “What do you mean? There’s no way I can convince her to let me go to Canterlot.” “Not about that,” he said, shaking his head. “About how you feel.” Having there be a wedge between Rarity and Sweetie could actually be a good thing, if it drove Sweetie towards him over her. However, it was too early in the game for that to happen yet. It was far better to keep them together. For now, his access to Sweetie was through Rarity. But if things went his way, which they always did, he wouldn’t have to go through Rarity anymore. If it came to it, he’d hammer the wedge in himself. “Uh-uh. I can’t do that. She’ll just get upset.” “Sweetie,” he said. “Rarity’s your sister. Obviously you two care for each other. However, part of being family means should be able to feel comfortable talking to each other. That doesn’t mean you need to tell them everything, it’s fine to have your secrets. But it’s obvious that you miss her, so talk to her. Tell her how you feel. I’m sure she’ll listen.” Sweetie still didn’t look convinced, so he reached out, setting a hoof on the top of her head and rubbing it gently. “If you want, I’ll be there to help you.” He didn’t care what the answer was to that question. What mattered was that she felt that he only had her best interests at heart. She needed to trust him implicitly. “You’d do that for me?” He nodded his assent. “I... I don’t know. Would that really work?” “I think so. Like I said, she genuinely cares for you and wants you to be happy. So if you just tell her how you feel, that you feel like she’s ignoring you, I’m sure something good will happen.” She was quiet for a moment. “Okay. I’ll talk to her, though I’d like to do it alone.” “That’s fine. I’m not part of your family, and this is family business. So why not talk to her when Blaze goes home tonight. Unless, you think he’s going to spend the night.” Sweetie shook her head. “He only stays the night if I’m sleeping over at Applebloom’s or something. If I’m here, then they sleep apart.” Fancy filed that information away. So Rarity and Blaze were at least sleeping together. The mere thought of a stallion like him sleeping with Rarity filled him with disgust, but knowing about it was valuable. And Sweetie knew about it as well, which opened some doors for him to exploit later. “Okay, then do it tonight, while you’re thinking about it. If you wait, you may lose your conviction.” He stood up. “So, since those two are occupied, is there anything you want to do?” She put a hoof to her chin in thought. “Wanna play a board game?” “Sure,” he said with a chuckle. The filly let out a squee and ran over to a bookcase, the bottom shelf of which was filled with boxes for games. She selected one, dragging it over. They spent over an hour playing several rounds of the game. It was a game that relied upon strategy and luck in equal amounts, so neither of them had an advantage over the other. Fancy could strategize better than Sweetie, but she seemed to be luckier than him. Or she was cheating somehow. As they were finishing up their fifth round, with the two of them tied at two wins each, the sound of a clearing throat drew their attention to the doorway. Rarity stood there, looking on in amusement. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she said. “Merely, your sister cheating,” Fancy said. “I do not cheat,” Sweetie countered. “You just have bad luck.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “Well, Blaze has gone home, so I’m going to go read in my room for the rest of the night. Goodnight, you two.” She turned away, heading down the hall. Fancy heard a door open, then close a moment later. He looked down at the various items in his possession. It was clear that unless he had a massive reversal in fortune, Sweetie was going to take this game. He set down his cards. “Fine. You win.” She cheered. “See? Bad luck.” He chuckled. “Indeed. However, you have something you need to do.” Sweetie knew exactly what he was hinting at. “Do I hafta?” “Yes, you do. Better to do it now than to wait.” He placed a hoof on her flank, simultaneously feeling it while pushing her towards the door. “Go on. I’ll clean this up. Why not come to my room after you’re done, if you want to talk.” She sighed, trudging out the door. Fancy watched her go. A moment later, he heard a knock, followed by Sweetie asking to talk to Rarity. It was only after he once more head the door open, then close, that he started putting away the game. In short order, the game was put away. A quick trip to the bathroom and his nightly routine was completed. Sweetie was still in Rarity’s room, so as he said he would, he retired to his own room. He was laying in bed, reading a book, when there came a knock at his door. “Fancy?” he heard Sweetie say. “Come in,” he replied, setting aside the book. The door opened and Sweetie stepped inside. “How did it go?” he asked. “We talked for awhile.” “I figured. But what did she say?” He patted the bed. With a grunt of effort, she climbed up, sitting near the edge. “Well, I did what you told me to. I told her how I feel, about how she acts when Blaze is around. I told her about my fears.” She drew in a deep breath. “She apologized, of course. She said that she’d be sure to include me more.” Her eyes were still pointing down at the bed. “Sweetie, what is it?” Fancy asked. “It’s just, she’s promised things like this before, and every time it always goes back to her ignoring me. I thought things might change after the Sisterhooves Social, but they didn’t. Why should things be different this time?” With a soft plop, a drop of moisture fell from her muzzle and onto the covers. Her body was shaking as she struggled not to cry. Fancy reached out, drawing her into an embrace. She didn’t resist, her hooves finding their way around his neck, her head leaning into the crook of his shoulder. He felt warm, wet drops impact his coat. “I’m sorry, Sweetie.” He rubbed her back, holding her close. If things were this bad between Sweetie and Rarity, then he’d have to accelerate his plans. The wedge between the sisters was deeper than he thought. This required a shift from stabilizing the wedge, to inserting himself into the equation. He needed to get Sweetie to run to him in times like this. If she came to view him as a friend, he could exploit that, evolve it to become something more. He let her cry into his shoulder. Her body pressed up against his. His hoof running through the soft coat on her back, occasionally patting her head. When she finally pulled back, wiping her eyes with a hoof, he smiled at her. “I’m sorry things are like that between you and Rarity.” “Sorry for messing up your coat.” He waved a hoof. “Think nothing of it. But just give Rarity some time. Have a little faith in her. No matter what, she’s still your sister. She’ll come around and see what she’s missing: a truly wonderful pony, one that I’m honored to call a friend.” “You think we’re friends?” “Of course.” He looked surprised. “What else would we be?” “But you’re old.” He clutched his chest. “Oh Sweetie, you wound my heart.” The sound of her giggle echoed throughout the room. “But you even called yourself old.” “Hmm. I suppose I did.” With a sigh, he continued. “If you say it, it must be true. I’m old. I’m ancient and decrepit. I could keel over any moment.” He looked around. “Where’s my walker?” Even with a hoof stuffed in her mouth, Sweetie couldn’t contain her laughter. “Stop it. You’re not that old.” He chuckled. “No, I’m not. But nothing says I can’t have a little fun.” The filly let out an adorable yawn. “Oop, someone’s sleepy.” “No I’m not,” she protested. He gave her a flat look, broken only by a slight grin. “Uh huh.” “Okay, maybe I am a little.” “I thought so.” He stood up, getting out of the bed. “Come on.” “Where are we going?” Her eyes were curious, but not distrusting. “To your room, silly.” “But, why?” “So I can tuck you into bed.” Dutifully, she hopped down. Fancy led the way into her room, where she climbed into her bed, laying down. He pulled the covers over her, patting her head. “Just give Rarity some time,” he said again. She nodded. “I know.” He moved, standing in the doorway. “Goodnight, Sweetie.” “Goodnight, Fancy. Thanks.” “You’re welcome.” Smiling at her, he closed the door. The smile never left his face. Already he could think of a dozen ways to exploit things to get Sweetie even closer to him. He would still pursue breaking up Rarity and Blaze, of course. After all, it made sense to play both hooves in case one failed. This way, no matter which one won out, he’d end up with Rarity. Briefly, he entertained thoughts of somehow securing both of them. Not one, but two Rarity’s, both his, forever. However, such thoughts, while pleasant, were distracting. If it happened he certainly wouldn’t object, but to aim for it would be a disaster. For now he could afford to play both sides, but at some point, he would have to make a decision on which one to pursue. It would all come down to information. Laying in bed, hooves behind his head, he smiled up at the ceiling. Things were certainly looking up. There was still a lot of work to do, but for now he could allow himself a celebration. Sweetie was growing closer to and trusting him. Rarity trusted him. He had finally met Blaze. He had discovered secrets between Sweetie and Rarity. Today was a good day. He had been complacent these last few days, but now his goal of attaining Rarity was closer. Hopefully tomorrow would be even better.