A shadow in the light

The edge of the market district was significantly quieter with more open areas, less shops and more houses than before. Shadow noticed that the houses weren't as sophisticated as they were in Canterlot, the most noticeably difference being the hay rooftops, sturdy and water proof but not completely solid. It was fortunate that so much room was available, In Canterlot, if a house were to be renovated they would need the approval of every single neighbor as well as a professionals opinion on the matter just because a nice view could be in jeopardy. Even the castle needed a majority vote from the city if they were to extend a wing. Here in the small town though, it seemed as if every single direction ended in a beautiful horizon or forest that it didn't matter if one direction was cut off.

Twilight lead Shadow over a river cutting it's way through the edge of town, the water glimmered as it reflected Celestia's sunlight giving the water a beautiful shine while still retaining it's clear blue glow. Fish leaped from the liquid to snatch small insects only to fall back down with a splash.

Twilight stopped on the other side of the bridge lifting her hoof up in front of shadow implying for him to come to a stop next to her.

"Okay, now do you see the round building over there?" Twilight gestured up the road towards a circular building. "My friend Rarity lives there and I want you to go in and introduce yourself,"

Shadow shot her a worried look. "Wait, aren't you coming with me?"

"If you're going to stay in Ponyville I won't always be around to help you out whenever you need to meet somepony new," Twilight rested a hoof on his shoulder along with a heart warming smile. "You'll do just fine, Rarity is the most understanding and generous pony out there, give her a chance and you may just find out that meeting new ponies isn't as bad as you might think,"

Shadow's heart stopped trying to leap from his chest long enough for him to return a weak smile. He looked at the shop, then back to Twilight. "What will you be doing?" Twilight's smile quickly turned from comforting to one of mischief.

"Oh I just need to talk to a friend that you will DEFINITELY be meeting later, I'll be at in the shop in no time flat," She had emphasized the 'definitely' making it clear that whomever it would be, that pony would make quite an impression on him when the time came. letting go of his shoulder she turned around to leave, however Shadow wasn't done preparing himself for his mission that he was mentally unprepared for.

"What do I talk to her about? So far I know nothing about her!" Twilight turned slightly to allow her next few words be as clear as possible.

"She's a fashion designer, good luck!" She trotted away not giving Shadow a chance to interrogate her further.

Shadow slowly faced the shop at the end of the road and commenced his seemingly long journey to the front door. As the shop came into detailed view, only then did he notice the extravagant design and effort that was put into making this shop... no, boutique really special.

The tiny palace was two stories tall with patterns aligning the blue and white walls as well as the purple checkered roof tops. At the very top was an outlook somewhat similar to the town hall that held a noticeably bright red flag. Looking through both the windows and the bright yellow curtains that lined it, one could see fantastic and extravagant dresses each being worn by a ponyquinn (mannequin) standing side by side, however Shadow didn't see any suits for stallions. He came to the conclusion that this 'Rarity' didn't like the same old style and like to express herself through her work as could be seen through each front window.

Shadow was reaching the end of his journey to the front door. Before reaching for the handle he observed the substantial, as well as eye catching design of the front sign. There stood a ponyquinn wearing a beautiful pink dress, even Shadow, with no eye for fashion could tell she was marvelous when it came to designing clothes, as well as causing it to be regrettably expensive.

The front door of the boutique opened with a chime as a brass bell rang through the boutique.

"Just a moment! Welcome to the Carousel Boutique where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique!" The white unicorn pony trotted towards Shadow, her purple main bouncing with rhythm as she did so. "Hello there, what can I do for such a gentlecolt today?"

Shadow had thought of only one topic he could talk to the designer about, one which he wasn't quite confident about but he had nothing else in mind so he went along with it. "I was hoping you could design a cape for me, my old one is tattered and didn't match my coat very well," Shadow was sweating furiously, not knowing how to act, how she would react or what would come next. It wasn't the price itself he was worried about, (although looking at the tags on the nearby items brought unease) it was the fact that she designed wondrous ensembles but all he had asked for was a boring old cape.

"Hmmm, that isn't a request I get very often, but it's nothing too complex that I shouldn't be able to do within a few days!" She  gestured him into another adjacent room, filled with materials and sketches all over the floor and desk. "Sorry about the mess, I've been a bit busy with Canterlot customer requests. Now," She turned to him while levitating a sketching pencil behind her. "What will you be using this cape for?"

Shadow was taken back from this, he wasn't sure why she had asked such a thing, why would it have anything to do with his cape? "Umm, why do you need to know?"

"Well if you're going to be a stuntpony then I would need to bring out whatever colour I could get from your coat. On the other hoof if you were to use it for warmth I would need to put more effort into the art and materials rather than the colour," She explained as she stared at his flank with a puzzled expression. "Is that your cutie mark, a black splodge?"

"You can see that?" Shadow rotated to advertise his flank. "Most ponies don't realise that I even have a cutie mark because it blends in with my coat, how did you see it?"

Rarity stood tall and proud as if she were being presented with an award. "A designer must have a good eye to distinguish even the smallest of details,"

Shadow waited for a moment expectantly before questioning her further. "Aren't you going to ask what it signifies?"

"It's not my business to pry into your life darling, I'm here to make you look fabulous and that's just what I'll do to you, even if your main and coat don't exactly allow much room for expressive craft," The fact that Shadow didn't need to diverge from the topic himself somewhat cheered him. "Now back to the issue at hoof what will you be using this cape for?"

Shadow's expression changed from one of relief to utter panic. What was he meant to say? What job would one expect to stay up at night so that he didn't have to lie completely about himself? Sweat poured down his forehead and into his mouth imprinting a salty tinge to his tongue. He said the first thing that came into his mind, the first aspect of Canterlot that he didn't resent, and instantly regretted his decision. "I-I work the night shift at ummm, the Canterlot castle," Shadow's heart retched itself out of his body and stuck right in his big fat mouth. He choked on it and spat it back out with disgust before fumbling with it to put it back where it belonged. It wan't a lie, just not the complete truth. He did work the night shift and it was at the castle. He just didn't tell her what the job included, and since the only job known to keep ponies working late was guard duty, he thought Rarity would probably assume. Although Shadow didn't count on Rarity's reaction being, well, astonishing to say the least.

Imagine a young filli had just been asked to spend the entire day with a famous star she had admired for years. Jumping up and down without a care in the world, eyes gleaming as if one thousand wishes had just come true and best of all, it wasn't even her birthday. "CANTERLOT! I've always dreamed of living there! The glamor, the style, the sophistication, It's all a pony like me could want!

Shadow was almost terrified at Rarity's reaction, the pony started pacing around him ranting on about glamour, sophistication, her future prospects. He wasn't sure how to respond, stop her rant and you could be in a lot of trouble, let her go on and you could just lose your mind. Her constant  unbearable chatter was broken with a single chime of the boutique's front door. Talk about saved by the bell.

"Just stay right here darling, I'll be right back and when I am you will tell me all about your job at the castle," she trotted through the doorway, happy to think she just found another posh dream Canterlot stallion. All Shadow could think was 'what in the world am i going to do now?' Despite her not wanting to 'pry' into his life she seemed quite intent on finding all about his affiliation and the royal castle.

Shadow contemplated jumping through the nearest window to escape his investigator until he heard a revealing voice come from the entrance of the shop! He made his way out of the fitting room and headed in the direction of the display room where the voices became clearer.

"... careful around him," Shadow halted around the corner as Twilight's words rooted him. "I'll tell you later what happened with him and I, but you should know that he apparently practices dark magic,"

"Oh my word, how did you find out, or better yet what are we going to do? You do remember what happened last time you dabbled in that icky art, right, Twilight?"

Twilight gave a small yet distinguished gasp. "Don't remind me, I'll never forget it, but right now we need to be careful around him, we don't know how powerful he is and I don't want anypony to get hurt!" Twilight drew closer to Rarity, the words barely audible to Shadow. "I have the elements in my library if anything happens,"

Elements? Shadow had heard of something similar long ago. Luna had told him that it was the "Elements of harmony" that had banished Nightmare Moon to the moon as well as dim the dark flames that had grown inside her (during her absence) when she returned. Was it these elements Twilight ushered? Maybe they were the other elements, such as the "Elements of nature" or "Elements of life". Surely this was just a coincidence.

"He's in the fitting room right now, did you want me to get him for you?"

"That would be good, thank you Rarity. The day's nearly over so I'll just make sure he gets home without causing trouble. I was also going to send a letter to Celestia asking about her approval of somepony teaching dark magic but since Spike is in Canterlot I'm going to have to wait,"

Rarity walked towards the Shadow's hiding spot. Shadow darted quietly to the fitting room without a single sound, all his training and skill was still hardwired into his steps. "Darling, Twilight is here!" Rarity announced entering the room, noticing the dark pony staring out the window, his chest noticeably rising and falling for some odd reason.

"Oh, thank you miss Rarity!" Shadow slowly walked towards the entrance of the shop before looking at the fake, calm expression upon Rarity's face. "About the cape, could I ask you about it later?" Shadow didn't entirely want a new cap but he didn't want her to feel as if he didn't like her and that her business was unwelcome.

"Of course deary," Rarity waved a dismissive hoof letting Shadow show his own way to the exit. He walked around the corner into the front room where Twilight sat impatiently waiting.

"Hurry up will you? You were an unexpected diversion from my schedule today and i'm running late for my study time!"

"Sorry about that" Shadow lowered his head in guilt as he approached. "If you don't mind me asking," he looked up at her whilst Twilight turned her head puzzled. "Why did you need to come to this 'Carousel Boutique'?

Twilight spread a small grin across her face as the question arose. She turned to leave expecting Shadow to follow her. As he trotted to catch up and walk beside her, he wasn't sure if she was going to answer or not so he raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Well?"

"I came here for some gems," Twilight answered.

"What in the world would you need gems for?"

"It's not for me, it's for my friend Spike, he loves gems and Rarity has a large supply that she is generous enough to share every now and then,"

"Ok, that's nice I guess, Spike must have quite the collection since he keeps getting spoiled with gems! Does he sell them? He wouldn't just keep them locked up in a drawer would he?"

Twilight looked at him first with confusion which turned to realization and lastly into a burst of laughter. She wobbled from side to side slightly as her body threatened to cause more pain during her fit. Shadow was bemused by this as well as annoyed, not understanding the joke. Twilight regained her posture with tears still swelling at her eyes.

"I'm sorry but i forgot you hadn't met Spike yet,"

"So what did I say that would leave you in hysterics?"

"I just can't see Spike selling his precious gem stones,"

"Why not? I know as a fact that both Princess Luna and Celestia wear jewelry, even they may be interested, who knows?"

"Look, Shadow" Twilight Stopped and turned to him still with a grin imprinted to her face. "Spike likes to eat his gems, he is a dragon after all," She informed him in the most casual voice she could muster in her condition.

"Ooohhhh, he likes to eat them because he's a dragon, now it makes sense," A few moments went by as the two stood there almost motionless, if it weren't for the rise and fall of their chests, you could have thought they were coloured statues. The timer ran to zero in Shadow's mind leaving a high pitched ringing sound in his head as the true meaning of the previous answer brought realization to him.

"WAIT, WHAT, HE'S A DRAGON? YOU HAVE A LIVE DRAGON LIVING HERE IN PONYVILLE?!