Rarity yawned as she stretched her arms. She sat in her bed, looking out the bedroom window. A gentle smile came across her face.
“Another fabulous day,” she murmured, rising to get out of her red, queen sized bed. She briefly glanced up at the purple canopy overhead, before walking past the mannequins that stood at the side of the room.
She trotted over to the washroom, She hopped in the shower and began washing herself, before getting out and drying herself on her purple towel. She then got up and looked in the mirror. An alabaster unicorn with a purple mane stared back at her through slightly tired, blue eyes. Her mane was unkempt with the water and was still damp, so she levitated over her hairdryer and comb and began brushing and drying at the same time.
“What shall I do today?” she said to herself as she brushed and dried. “I have a line-up of dresses I have to work on. I’m going to need some materials, though.” She frowned in contemplation. “Do I have enough fabric for the gown? I certainly hope so; I’ll have to check.”
Her mane managed to curl back to its traditional pose, so she stopped. Placing the comb down and putting the hairdryer back onto it's shelf, she levitated over her makeup kit, and began blushing up her cheeks. “Hopefully I’ll be able to complete my orders by the end of the week,” she mumbled, eyes closed. “Celestia knows that I’d like to be free this weekend.” She smiled. “Maybe I’ll take Sweetie Belle out for a trip to Canterlot. Or maybe Fillydelphia. I don’t know.”
She stopped with the powder, and moved onto the mascara. She picked a sky-blue color, and proceeded to color her eyelids with it, squinting gently as the marker gently pressed against her eye. “Fancy Pants mentioned something about getting together for a luncheon one day. Perhaps I’ll send him a letter, asking about the details.” She smiled. “And would it really be so uncouth of me if I tried to advertise my business? I doubt it; Fancy would allow it, anyway!”
She quickly finished up with the mascara, moving onto the eyelash brush. Carefully, she groomed her eyebrows with the brush using her magic, wiping upwards so as to curl the lashes.
“There! All done!”
As she put the kit away, she glanced once more at the mirror. There stood Rarity, the loveliest and most graceful of all the unicorns! Not on par with the likes of Princess Celestia, of course, but certainly in a league above the rest!
She sighed. That image, while certainly endearing and lovable, had grown slightly tiresome. Partially due to the comments made by a certain dragon…
She shook her head. “Now’s not the time for that,” she said. She walked back out to her room, looking out the window.
Celestia’s sun shone down on her, warming her face and bringing a smile to her elegance. A few birds chirped a morning song to her, the bluejays and cardinals singing a small chorus. She hummed with them for a moment, eyes closed, listening as the song was carried with the wind. She guessed that it would soon travel down the rest of Ponyville, perhaps all the way to Sweet Apple Acres. I should count myself lucky, she thought. I get to hear first morning’s sweet song!
She opened her eyes once more, resting her gaze on the horizon. The tip of Luna’s moon could be seen falling behind a few hills. Her smile grew as she watched it wink at her before vanishing.
“It certainly is a beautiful morning,” she commented to herself.
“Not as beautiful as you, Lady Rarity.”
She screeched at the sudden voice, jumping up in. She turned, charging her horn at whoever had spoken.
“Spike!” she gasped, her magic dying away. “How did you get in here!”
Spike the baby dragon shrugged. “I walked through the front door.”
“It was locked!”
“And I unlocked it,” he responded, seemingly finding nothing wrong with his action. “What’s wrong, Rarity? You seem a bit frazzled.”
She took a moment to breathe in and out slowly. She managed to recover just enough to respond, “It’s nothing, Spike… just a case of nerves.”
“Oh! I know what’ll calm you down!” He raced downstairs before she could protest, returning moments later with a cup of some brown liquid. She assumed it was coffee.
“Thank you Spike,” she started, “but I don’t think I’ll be needing that—”
“Nonsense!” He quickly crossed the room, cup in hand. “It’ll calm you down for sure!”
“Spike, I—” She was cut off as the cup suddenly met her muzzle. Spike somehow managed to force her head back, making her swallow the liquid. She resisted the urge to grimace, as the “coffee” was cold and too sugary.
“Better?” Spike asked, oblivious to Rarity’s disgust.
“Er, yes,” she mumbled.
“Good! Now, come on downstairs; you’ve got to eat breakfast! I’ve prepared it myself!”
“Th-thanks, Spike,” Rarity murmured, not having the heart to tell her friend that she had planned on going to the Sugarcube corner for a muffin.
“It’s no problem, Lady Rarity!” Spike answered back cheerfully. “What stallion wouldn’t want to serve you, oh mistress of grace and wonder?”
The title made her pause with worry, but Spike didn’t notice, dragging her downstairs with him.
***
Breakfast was certainly more enjoyable than she expected. She finished up the last of a bagel that Spike had prepared, levitating over a napkin to wipe her mouth. She then wiped up the crumbs and tossed the napkin into the trash. She levitated the plate over to the sink, intending to wash it, but was stopped by Spike.
“Let me wash it, Rarity!” he implored.
“Spike, dear, it’s alright. I can do it—”
“And risk damaging your perfect complexion? No way, Rarity; let me do it!”
She was slightly miffed at this is. "Just because I insist on looking my best doesn’t mean I can’t do anything remotely gritty!" Sighing, she simply placed the plate in Spike’s hands. “... Alright. Fine.”
Spike happily nodded, grabbing a stool and bringing it over to the sink. He began washing the dishes, scrubbing away the grime and crumbs.
Rarity sighed. Sometimes Spike could be quite the handful. Sure, she appreciated his help, but she didn’t like it when he considered her unable to do the simplest of things. Maybe I should tell him. She shook her head, dismissing the thought. Now was neither the time nor place for such a confrontation.
“Oh Rarity, you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind! Hey, Rarity!” Spike was singing.
Rarity lowered her head to the table. Great; now he’s singing that annoying song with my name instead of Mickey!
“Hey, Rarity! Come check this out!”
“What is it, Spike?”
“Just come over and look!”
She let out a huff, rising from her seat and walking back over to the sink.
Spike had morphed a set of soap bubbles into a crudely shaped heart. “Look! I made it for you!”
“That’s… great, Spike,” Rarity said, trying not to look annoyed.
Spike didn’t seem to notice her tone. “See? Even bubbles know you’re lovely!” He waved his hand around, morphing the bubbles into the shape of Rarity’s face.
She managed a small smile. “Well, look at that. You certainly have a talent with bubbles.”
He beamed. “I know! I learned how from a book I read last night!”
She started. “W-what do you mean?”
“I learned how to morph bubbles just to show you how much I care,” Spike answered cheerily.
She didn’t say anything to that, turning away and returning to her seat. Spike didn’t notice, going back to washing the dishes, humming a little tune.
Rarity’s skin crawled the more she thought about it. On one hoof, she thought it was somewhat flattering that Spike admired her so much. On the other hoof, though, it was creepy that Spike had practically broken into her home just to show her bubbles. The breakfast had only slightly toned down the creepiness, but now the bubbles left her with a feeling of dread in her heart.
Spike’s crush on Rarity was no surprise to anypony. Rarity herself knew of it the moment they had met. Out of respect for Twilight and the dragon, she had refrained from letting on that she knew, even though the crush could sometimes get a bit out of control.
Okay, maybe it got bothersome after a while, but that still didn’t mean that she should feel annoyed by it, right?
Right?
“Rarity?” Spike called.
“Oh!” She turned and forced a smile. “What is it, Spike?”
“I finished the dishes. Do you need help with anything else?”
“Uh, well…” Her voice trailed off as she looked away, thinking. “I-I suppose I could use some gems. But,” she added, turning back to him, “you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”
“Aw, no problem, Rarity!” Spike answered, smiling. “It would be my pleasure to serve somepony as magnificent and beautiful as you!”
“Th-thanks,” she stuttered. He nodded, and walked out, whistling to himself.
Right as he left, Rarity placed her head between her hooves and groaned. Dear Celestia, what is this that I am feeling? All these chills going down my spine, all these feelings of discomfort; why am I feeling this way?
She had no answers. Rarity sighed, getting to her hooves. “I might as well get to work,” she murmured, hoping that staying busy would absolve her from her nervousness.
***
Rarity was working at one of the sewing machines she had in the Boutique. The gentle humming of the machine managed to push aside her thoughts on Spike’s crush, and she found herself losing herself in her work. She concentrated hard on the fabric, making sure that the dress would not be ruined.
“Rarity!”
Startled, she kicked back from the machine and turned—
Only to see Spike standing in the doorway.
“Spike!” she yelped. “Please, dear, at least try to knock before you shout my name like that!”
“Sorry, Rares,” he said sheepishly. Rarity’s widened at the sudden nickname. “Anyway, um, I got the gems you wanted!”
She managed to smile. “That’s nice, Spike—”
She cut herself off as Spike entered the Boutique, pulling behind him a rather large wagon. On it were two oak barrels. The load was evidently heavy, as Spike gasped and wheezed as he pulled the wagon in.
“Spike!” Rarity gasped. “Wh-what is this?”
“These,” Spike said, gesturing behind him, “are the gems you asked me to get!”
“B-but, Spike! Barrels?” She practically screeched the last word out, though Spike paid no attention to her shock.
“Yep!” he said proudly. “I got you all the gems I could find!” His eyes glossed over as he stared at her. “The loveliest, prettiest, most voluptuous—” At that, she gasped and blushed darkly; “—mare deserves more than a handful of gems!”
“T-that’s-well—” She couldn’t even find the words to thank or rebuff him.
He shook his head. “No need to thank me, Rarity. All in a day’s work!” He brushed himself off before turning to leave. “Now, if you excuse me, I have to go refill some holes!”
He left her staring in shock at the barrels. She fell to her haunches, sitting back in complete bewilderment.
I don’t even need a single barrel's worth of gems! What on Equestria am I going to do with this many jewels?!
And that word he used! Voluptuous! Surely he knows how uncouth that word is! How dare he say that to me—
She stopped. Oh, my dear Celestia… What have I gotten myself into?
She got to her hooves unsteadily, eyeing the wagon with distaste. She didn’t have the heart to throw the barrels aside. She sighed heavily, before using her magic to take hold of the wagon’s handle, pulling it to the storage room.
“Please let this be a one-time thing,” she prayed to nopony in particular.