The Apple sisters were surprised to find the garden gate open, but took advantage of the situation and walked through. Music was heard and they came across Sweetie Belle and Pinkie Pie, the latter playing her instruments. The mare took a bow once her song was finished and the filly clapped her hooves excitedly.
"Sweetie Belle!" Applebloom called out.
The unicorn turned her head and rushed to embrace her friend. "Applebloom! What are you doing here?"
"My brother has to deliver a message and I wanted to see ya again!"
"Ooh!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "A play date! That means double the fun!"
"Hey, I know you," Applejack declared. "Aren't you the Lady Rarity's fool?"
"Me? Oh, no! The only fool Rarity will ever keep will be her husband. Really, I feel sorry for whoever marries her." She whispered to the pagecolt. "She's gone crazy! Seriously, your master should just give up. She's been lost in La-La Land lately. Hey! Say that ten times fast! Lost in La-La Land lately! Lost in La-La Land lately! Lost in La..."
"Okay, okay!" Applejack interrupted. "Is yerr lady in?"
"Didn't you hear what I said? She's lost in La-La Land lately! Lost in La-La Land lately! Lost in..."
"I mean is she in the house?!"
Pinkie held out her hat. "That information is going to cost ya one bit!"
The disguised mare sighed as she fished in her pocket for a coin and dropped it in the hat.
"Yep! She's inside!"
She grinned widely at the pagecolt.
"Would you go get her, please?" Applejack asked, her patience wearing thin.
"I would, but..." Pinkie picked the coin out of her hat. "This coin is getting rather lonely. How can I do what you ask when Phillip here is so sad?"
The pagecolt narrowed her eyes at her. "Phillip?"
"That's what I named the coin! Maybe you can give him an Aurora?"
"A what?"
"You know! A friend! Someone to keep him company!"
Applejack groaned and reached back into her pocket to pull out another coin. As soon as it jingled with the first coin, Pinkie smiled and placed her hat back on her head.
"I'll get her right away! Pleasure doing business with you, sir!"
"Before you go," Applejack said, "might I ask...how did you become a court jester?"
"Oh, that! See, this was the only job the employment agency could get me! La-la-la-la-la..."
Applejack could not help but chuckle as she watched the pink pony go inside.
"Big brother!" Applebloom piped. "Can Sweetie Belle and I go play now?"
"Of course, you can. Just stay out of trouble."
The two fillies cheered in excitement and ran off into the orchard. Applejack sat herself on the stone bench and waited patiently for the lady.
Rarity's heart stopped the minute she saw the pagecolt. He looked so handsome and noble sitting on that bench. Sure, his shoulders were a little slouched but she did not care! She quickly smoothed out her dress and hair.
"Control yourself, Rarity," she breathed. "Not too fast. Oh, what if he doesn't feel the same way?" She giggled. "What am I talking about? What colt wouldn't feel that way about me?"
The unicorn took another deep breath and approached the colt.
"You wish to see me, sir?"
Applejack turned her head and was surprised at what she saw. The lady's face was unveiled and her black garb was replaced with an elegant yellow gown. Her face beheld a smile, something the disguised mare was not expecting to see.
Despite her curious change in appearance, Applejack stood for the lady.
"Good day, my lady," she said with a bow. "You're looking well. I see you're no longer in mourning."
Rarity glanced down shyly at her gown. "Well, I've decided it's time to stop living in the past and," she slowly returned her gaze to him, "look to the future."
"I am glad to hear that, my lady." Applejack reached into her pocket. "I have come to..."
"Oh please," the unicorn said, gently lifting the page's chin so that their eyes would meet. "Call me Rarity."
Her eyes fluttered flirtatiously, while Applejack's blinked in confusion. After staring at the lady for a long while, she kindly shoved her hoof away.
"Rarity," the disguised mare said, "the Duke did not take yerr message well. However, he did ask me to..."
"What is your name?" Rarity suddenly asked.
"Oh. Sorry. My name is Applejack, my lady."
"Applejack," the unicorn repeated with a sigh. "What a lovely name."
"Err, thank you. Anyway, my master..."
"Where are you from?"
"What?"
"I asked: where are you from?"
"Haystings. My lady, my master's love will never die and he will wait..."
"Oh, enough about him!"
Applejack cried out as the lady suddenly grabbed her foreleg and sat her down on the bench beside her.
"Let's talk about you!" Rarity insisted. "How long have you been in the Duke's services? What do you do in your spare time? Is there a mare in your life?"
The disguised mare scooted away. "My lady, my master..."
"I bade you never to speak of him again! But," Rarity said, moving closer to him, "if you know of some pony else who loves me, you could...tell me."
Applejack flinched as the unicorn touched her hoof.
"Nope!" she exclaimed, immediately standing up. "No pony that I know!"
Rarity curled her lip in a pout. Be patient, Rarity, she thought to herself. You were just being too forward, that's all.
Meanwhile, Applejack was flabbergasted with the situation. The lady was surely mad, but the page had a job to do.
"The Duke got you a present," she said.
Rarity groaned. "I will not accept any more gifts from..."
She gasped at the sight of the jewel. "Is that...a fire ruby?!"
Applejack nodded. "I shall have you know he was saving it for lunch."
The unicorn was torn between the jewel and her own principles, not to mention her wish that this gift was coming from the pagecolt and not the Duke. It seemed she was never going to get anywhere with him unless she complied with his request for her to accept the Duke's courtship. She tried to hide her grin as a plan formulated in her brain.
"I'll, uh..." she uttered, slowly taking the ruby in her hoof, "consider it. I will at least give the Duke the chance to get to know me better. Do you...that is, does your master, care for jousting?"
"Jousting?" Applejack repeated, raising an eyebrow. "I...I'm not sure, ma'am."
"Well, tell your master that if he wishes to court me, he will meet me at the jousting tournament tomorrow afternoon. You may also come, if you wish."
Applejack grinned, but also felt a stab of pain. This was the Duke's chance to win the mare of his dreams, but it also meant losing the dragon of her dreams.
"I'm sure the Duke would love to come!" she squeaked.
"Until tomorrow, then?" Rarity asked.
Applejack bowed politely. "Tomorrow, my lady."
"Please, Applejack. Call me Rarity."
The pagecolt sighed. "Rarity."
Rarity watched with a heavy heart as the stallion walked away. Surely he was attracted to her. All stallions were. He just did not know it yet because he was focused on his task to woo her for his master. She had to make him realize that it was him she wanted, not the Duke.
And she knew exactly how to do it.
Applejack was surprised not to find the Duke in the throne room. It was empty. Not even Octavia was there. She began searching the manor and came across the Lady Twilight in the library.
"Twilight!" Applejack called.
The unicorn looked up from her book. "Oh, Applejack! You're back!"
"Where's the Duke? I have a message from the Lady Rarity."
"He's taking one of his seven-hour bubble baths. He asked me to tell you when you came back to go help him. He gets a little fussy after the first hour."
Applejack stiffened. "Ya want me to...help him...bath?!"
"I used to help him all the time, but since he learned how children were made...well..." She blushed. "He just finds it awkward, considering we're not really brother and sister. It's not a problem for you, is it?"
Applejack wanted to scream that she was uncomfortable with this request, but then the lady would be pressing her with questions and her secret would be at risk.
"I...I'll get to it right away."
Applejack felt the lump in her throat grow bigger with each step she took towards the bathing chamber. It was hard enough to control her feelings for the Duke as it was. She could not imagine how she would react at the sight of him bathing.
Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob and opened the door. The dragon was in a tub full of bubbles, trying to reach a spot on his back with a sponge. He turned to her and smiled.
"There you are, Applejack! I have this itch on my back that I cannot reach. Could you lend me a hoof?"
Abruptly, Applejack slammed the door, causing the Duke to raise an eyebrow. She panted heavily as she leaned against the door. Seeing him without clothing was one thing, but being asked to touch him while in that state was another!
She breathed deeply as she counted to ten in her head.
"Take it easy, Applejack," she muttered to herself. "Control yourself. So what if he's naked? You've caught Big Macintosh without his pants and ya didn't get worked up about that! It's no big deal!"
After taking another breath, she opened the door once again.
"Sorry for that, my lord," she said, trying not to stare at him.
"Don't worry about it," Spike assured her. "Come on, are you going to scrub my back or what?"
Applejack gulped and slowly approached the tub, still averting her eyes from the naked dragon. Spike lifted her hoof and placed the sponge in it.
"It's right about here," he said, turning around and pointing.
She had no choice. She had to look. She turned and gazed at the green spines going down his scaly purple back. As she gently pushed the sponge against them, she tried her best not to make actual contact.
"A little higher," Spike demanded. "Higher...a little to the left...ah!" He sighed with pleasure. "Oh yeah, that's the stuff!"
Applejack could not help but chuckle and she found herself staring as she scrubbed lazy circles on his back.
"So what did the Lady Rarity say?"
This question snapped her back to reality.
"Oh. Well...she said she'd like to get to know ya better."
"Really?"
Without warning, he spun around and stood up, revealing the lower half of his body. Applejack quickly shielded her eyes with her hoof.
"What else?" the dragon pleaded.
She tried to find words but found it so hard to concentrate, knowing he was standing there stark naked.
"There's no need to be so squeamish," Spike said. "We're both males here."
"I'm just being polite, sir," she choked. "Would...would you mind gettin' back in the tub, please?"
The dragon rolled his eyes and sat back down for her convenience.
"Anyway," Applejack breathed, getting over her shock, "she asked ya to meet her at the jousting tournament tomorrow afternoon."
"Jousting?" Spike repeated, standing up again, thus causing Applejack to look away again. "Jousting?! I hate jousting!"
"Well," the pagecolt gulped, "Lady Rarity apparently likes it."
"But it's just so...violent!"
"Do ya want the girl or not?" she asked, gently lowering him into the tub.
"Okay, fine! But I haven't been to a jousting match in ages! I don't know the rules! What if she asks me what I think and I look like a fool?"
"Don't worry, my lord," Applejack assured him, her discomfort slipping away as she started scrubbing him again. "I could teach ya. My father used to take me to jousts all the time."
"It's not the jousting that worries me! I...I just don't know what I would...say to her."
Applejack stopped scrubbing to raise an eyebrow at him. "Wait a minute. Have you actually ever...talked to this mare?"
Spike blushed. "Well...I did say hello to her...once."
The mare put her hoof to her face. "Unbelievable."
"What?"
"You're tellin' me that you've been pinin' over this girl for Celestia knows how long and you've never exchanged more than two words of conversation with her?! You're sendin' me to get her to be yerr wife and you barely even know her?!"
She angrily threw the sponge into the tub. "Forgive me, my lord, but I've never heard of anything more pathetic!"
Spike's gazed up at the disguised mare in shock. Applejack panicked at the thought that he was going to fire her, but to her surprise, he laughed.
"You're not mad?" she asked in confusion.
"Mad?" Spike repeated. "You're the only pony who's been stallion enough to talk to me like that since my father died!"
"I...huh?"
"Promise me, Applejack, that from now on, you will be completely open and honest with me. Don't be one of those marish suck-ups, okay? If you have something to say, say it. Don't think you'll offend me. You promise?"
Applejack wanted to tell him everything at that moment, but she could not. She solemnly made the promise, but it hurt her, knowing she would not be able to keep it.
"Good," Spike said. "You're right, by the way. I should have talked to her, but I'm always so uneasy around her. Could you help me come up with something to say?"
She grinned slightly. "Of course, my lord."
"And none of that 'my lord' stuff! When we're in private, call me Spike."
Her heart swelled as she called him by his name for the first time:
"Very well...Spike."