Rarity shoved the sharp edge of the shovel deeper into the dirt with her magic, dust rising around her as she did so. She did her best to avoid it, but the effort proved fruitless, the dry substance settling on her already sweaty forehead and back.
"The things I do for work," she thought to herself as she lifted the soil out of the way. Underneath was a small bundle of sparkling gems, which she proceeded to scoop up with her magic and place in a saddlebag. Rarity had just received an order for a dress from one of her most reliable clients Sapphire Shores, who was putting on a Hearts and Hooves Day performance in a few days, even though Hearts and Hooves Day was the next day. Despite the generally accepted color of the holiday being pink or red, Sapphire had requested that the dress be adorned with sapphires, as it usually was. Rarity had drawn up a few quick sketches back at the boutique, and her ideas would need an abundance of the surprisingly common gem.
"Why is it Sapphire had to send in her order today? I'll be working all day tomorrow on this, and I won't have time to appreciate the holiday! It's not as if I had a date or anything, but it would've been nice to watch the couples go by. Instead I have to be here and watch the dirt go by my face," Rarity said to no one. She often mumbled to herself on a hard job. So far she had only accumulated about half of the total gems she would need, but that was enough to get started on the design for now. Also, the sun was starting to set, and the citizens of Ponyville had an agreement with the Diamond Dogs that they could collect gems by day, and the dogs could collect gems by night. Celestia knows what they'd do if they caught her again.
Trying not to think about the Diamond Dogs, Rarity started to pack up her things. As she was putting away her shovel, she noticed a slight blue glint being reflected off of it's surface. She turned around, and saw the beam of light was being reflected off of a dazzling blue gem sticking slightly out of the ground.
"That must be the greatest gem I ever did see!" she whispered. "Why, if that gem is as large as I think it is, it should be enough to fill the rest of Sapphire's order!" Nearly squealing with delight, Rarity rushed towards the spot where the gem lay buried. She plunged her shovel into the ground, lifting up dirt with every scoop, and throwing it off to the side. In a short amount of time, the whole gem was revealed. It wasn't quite as big as Rarity would have hoped, but it certainly was a beautiful gem, far more honed than any of the other gems Rarity had found that day.
"Oh, my," Rarity breathed, her whole body trembling with excitement. She retrieved a small cloth from her bag and rubbed the gem to let it show it's true shine. "What a beauty!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide in awe. "There's no way I can let a gem as fantastic as this one go to such waste as to be broken down and used on a dress! I...I shall keep it for my own!" She hugged the gem close to her, laughing almost hysterically. "Oh! But a gem this nice cannot go without a name," she said. Addressing the gem, she continued, "I shall call you..." she tapped her chin, with a foreleg. "...call you...Jemry! Ah, that's perfect! But I feel that you're missing something..." Rarity's horn alighted with magic, and she picked up a nearby rock. Working meticulously, she carved 'Jemry' in flowing cursive letters into the surface of the gem. "There now," she said. "Now you're perfect!"
By this time, the sun had almost completely fallen below the horizon, and Rarity was still marveling at her newest find. Realizing that she was short on time, she carefully placed Jemry into her saddlebag, packed up the rest of her things, and rushed back to the Boutique.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sweetie Belle woke up the next morning to the smell of a delicious breakfast being cooked downstairs. Finding the phenomenon odd, as Rarity usually didn't wake up early enough to make her breakfast, she took the stairs two at a time and trotted briskly into the kitchen to find Rarity humming away and preparing the biggest breakfast Sweetie Belle had ever seen.
"Wow, sis!" Sweetie squeaked, laying her eyes on all the delicacies Rarity was making. "What got you up so early?"
"Oh, I thought I'd just get up and prepare a little breakfast for my favorite little sister before she goes off to school," Rarity responded in a sing-song voice. "Besides, it's Hearts and Hooves Day, and isn't spreading a little cheer what today is all about?"
"I think that's Hearth's Warming sis..." she cut herself off. She knew Rarity hated it when she corrected her, especially on tiny things like this.
Rarity showed no reaction.
Sweetie Belle cocked her head in questioning. Realizing she was not about to be reprimanded, she hopped up cheerily, placed her forelegs on the counter, and said, "Wow, sis, you must be in a great mood! Seriously though, what's got you so happy?"
Rarity, obviously waiting for this question to be asked, replied, "See for yourself!" and stepped aside to reveal Jemry, who was propped against the wall in such a way so that the light coming in from the window was bouncing off of Jemry's surface and making him glimmer like the sun rising on morning dew.
"Wow!" Sweetie Belle gasped, excited, but quickly grew confused as to why it was in the kitchen. "What is it?"
"It?" Rarity scoffed. "He is a one-of-a-kind, magnifique, true-blue sapphire! His name is Jemry," she ended with a smile.
"Jemry?" Sweetie Belle was becoming more confused with every word that exited Rarity's smiling mouth. Looking closer, she saw the name engraved into the surface of the gem. "Ohhh, I see. Well that's super coolio!" she raised her hooves over her head with enthusiasm.
Rarity cleared her throat audibly. "Yes, I do suppose he is rather 'coolio'," she said, then told Sweetie, "Why don't you take a seat, and I'll get you your breakfast?"
After the meal had been finished, the dishes cleaned, and Sweetie Belle had been sent to school for the day, Rarity decided to take Jemry and go out on the town for an hour or two to watch the couples enjoy themselves and perhaps take a look at some of the HAH (Hearts and Hooves) specials. Trotting through town, Rarity kept the sides of her saddlebag, where she was keeping Jemry, open for all to see. The day was bright and sunny, and the light gleamed off of Jemry's surface, casting a light blue aura wherever they went. Several stallions stared at the beauty, disappointed that they weren't able to find anything that special for their mare-friends, and several mare-friends stared at them, dissapointed their colt-friend was staring at somepony else!
Rarity acted as if she didn't notice, as if she were looking for a nice bistro or cafe to sit down and have a meal, but in reality she was taking careful note of the attention her new friend was attracting. After about an hour or so of walking around downtown Ponyville, she decided to stop at her favorite little cafe in town for a rest. She sat down on her own seat and used her magic to arrange Jemry in such a way that it could be seen by any passers-by. A waiter arrived shortly.
"Good afternoon, madame, how may I help you?" the waiter started. He was trying his best to be cheery, but his boss had made him wear a pink suit today instead of his normal black, which he did not particularly like.
"Good afternoon," she responded, taking note of how dashing the waiter looked in that pink suit. "I will just have some tea, thank you."
The waiter nodded slightly, and began to walk away.
"Ahem," Rarity cleared her throat loudly.
The waiter took a deep breath to calm himself, and turned around smiling. "Is there something I missed?" he managed.
"You didn't take his order!" Rarity was trying her best not to make a scene.
The waiter looked around, genuinely confused. "'His', madame? About whom are you speaking?"
Rarity rolled her eyes, and pointed towards Jemry, sitting at the other end of the table.
"Oh..." said the waiter, coming to a rather disturbing conclusion. He put on an apologetic face, and started again, "Oh! I'm terribly sorry..." he grimaced, "...monsieur. And, ah, what is it you'd like?"
Silence. Then Rarity answered, "He will have the tea as well."
The waiter nodded again, and trotted briskly to the kitchen. "Being alone on Hearts and Hooves Day must really get to some ponies," he thought as he gave the orders to the pony inside.
Meanwhile, outside, Rarity again pretended not to notice the watchful eyes falling on Jemry's shimmering surface. She thought perhaps it would be a fun experiment to keep track on the amount of ponies eyeing him, so she leaned down to search for a pencil and paper from a her saddlebag. Finding a small pencil and a notecard, she placed them both on her lap, and sat up.
She was alone at the table. Jemry was gone.
At first, Rarity suspected he may have fallen over, but he was not under the table. In fact, he was nowhere on the ground. She sat up and looked around frantically. She couldn't lose him! After experiencing such a creature of beauty, how could she go back?
Then she caught sight of a clue, just in time. A smallish pony dressed in all black was stealing away to a dark alley, a slight glint emanating from the inside of it's coat. Rarity instantly gave chase, screeching to a halt at the entrance to the passage. The pony wasn't expecting pursuit, and had stopped just inside, but upon noticing it's victim sending it a violent glare from just a few steps away, it bolted on the spot, with Rarity in hot pursuit.
Through the town square they ran, shoving past happy couples and lines of busy street vendors, one to get away, and one to get closer. The thief had good distance on her, but being it's smaller size couldn't run as fast as an angered Rarity. The pony knocked down barrels and baskets to try to block her path, but Rarity had no trouble leaping over the obstacles. The thief then had a great opportunity, and jumped up small stack of crates to the rooftops above, knocking down the topmost crate to prevent further chase. However, the pony must either have been incredibly dense or have poor skills observation, because Rarity simply lifted the box back into place with her magic and jumped up to the rooftops as well. Rarity scoured the top of the town, finding the pony jumping precariously from rooftop to rooftop close by. She gave no thought for her own safety, and caught up with the thief, tackling it when she got close enough, sending them all sailing down to the ground below with a sickening *thud*.
"Ugh..." the thief whispered, the wind knocked out of it. Rarity took the chance to pin it down and take a closer look. The pony, a stallion, was indeed small for his age, which seemed to be only slightly younger than Rarity. He had a yellow coat and a tussled orange mane, but his eyes were as blue as the crisp oceans' waves.
Rarity raised a hoof to smack him.
"P-please! Don't h-hurt me!" he stuttered in fear, getting back his breath. "I-I just wanted to find a good gift for...for..." he trailed off. Rarity kept her hoof elevated, but waited a moment to ask questions.
"For who? What are you doing? Why are you stealing my Jemry?" she demanded.
"P-please, just listen to me!" the pony pleaded. "I just wanted a good gift for this great mare I like, and my job is dead-end and I can't do anything for her and I just...I just love her too much! I'm sorry I took your gem, please, just take it, I don't deserve anything beautiful."
Rarity, taken aback by this moving story, stepped back from the pony, and lowered her hoof. She lifted Jemry from inside the pony's coat, and leaned him against a nearby wall.
She lifted the pony to his hooves, and gave him an encouraging smile. "There's no need for any of this. A stallion doesn't need a gift to prove his love to a mare. Just go up to her and tell her how you feel. If she really loves you, she'll accept you for who you are, gift or not."
"Do you really think so?" he said, looking slightly happier.
"I know so," she replied, giving him a gentle pat on the back. "Now get out there, and go find your love."
"W-wow! Thank you, miss!" He removed his black clothing, threw it into a trash can, and ran as fast as he could to his new life.
Rarity smiled, and sat on a nearby crate, taking up Jemry in her arms. "Oh, my little Jemry, you did a good thing, getting stolen," she said, laughed, but quickly grew serious. "I couldn't bear the thought of being without you. It scared me so bad, why I just had to find you. I guess I'm not the only one who's..." she tilted her head slightly and stared right at him, "...fallen in love."
Rarity took Jemry in a warm embrace, and didn't let him go for a long time. His blue aura engulfed them both in a beautiful light, marking the start of a romance that Rarity would never forget.