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She was there. Right in front of him. Rarity.

Spike had convinced himself he had imagined that whole day, years ago. When he had told Twilight about it she had rattled on about how his grief for Rarity was causing him to imagine things.

There was no denying it now. She was stood there, as beautiful as the first day he saw her. Her big blue eyes sparkled with recognition as she looked at him. Did she remember him from that day?

Her friend looked so ordinary compared to Rarity, she was pulling on Rarity's arm. Rarity had frozen in place and was looking at Spike wide eyed. He couldn't look away from her beauty.

"Spike? Could you please slow down?" Twilight snapped as she turned the corner. She was levitating a trail of books that followed her around. She looked at Spike in confusion at why he had stopped moving. She followed where his eyes were looking and gasped. The books fell to the floor with a clatter.

"R-Rarity?" Twilight breathed with eyes wide.

Rarity broke away from the dragon's mesmerising eyes and looked at Thimble. She was staring at Rarity with her mouth open.

"Rare, what's happening?" Thimble hissed under her breath. Rarity was speechless. Why did everyone recognise her? Did she look like her namesake that much?

"I don't know. Come on, darling, let's go." Rarity said quietly. She was surprised at Princess Twilight's reaction too. Although, she knew that Twilight and the other Rarity had been good friends.

The dragon and Twilight were both still stood there in shock.

When Rarity drew closer to them she saw the dragon, who she assumed was called Spike, clearer. He was gorgeous. At this thought, Rarity blushed and looked down as she walked past him. How rude and unladylike of her to stare like that!

She felt his eyes on her back until she turned the corner. Her heart rate was erratic and she felt as if she would faint. Thimble kept darting looks at her which Rarity could see out of the corner of her eye. They managed to get to the castle exit and Rarity had never thought she would be so relieved to leave the palace!

It was raining still and neither of them had umbrellas. Rarity didn't mind as much as Thimble seemed to. Although Rarity didn't want her mane to be messed up she felt like the cold rain would cool down her blushing cheeks. And her mane wasn't looking it's best anyway.

They weren't very far away from the boutique but they were very far away from Rarity's house.

"I think I might take the bus home." Rarity remarked when she spied a sheltered bus stop. Thimble nodded and waved goodbye as she carried on walking.

Rarity gave a little sigh as she waited for the bus and tried not to think about the strange way the Princesses and that dragon had acted around her. It really seemed like she was a ghost and that they knew her. She decided to look up the element of Generosity bearer when she returned to her house.

To her relief the bus stopped for her. She gladly rushed on but was surprised by how many ponies were on the bus too. It was basically packed.

Luckily she found a seat and sat down on it heavily. The day had drained her emotions and she felt exhausted suddenly. She looked lazily around at the other ponies. They were all the posh, snobby ponies that lived near the castle. They were all looking down and no one was speaking. Rarity felt slightly out of place, although she was pleased there were no rowdy young ponies- she just wasn't in the mood for their drama.

The bus stopped and a grey haired, yellow pony got on. She had her hair in a big pink bow that made her look youthful even though she was obviously fairly old. She had a checked scarf around her neck.

The old pony paid for her ticket and thanked the driver in a country accent. The pony turned around and looked for a seat. Rarity's seat was tucked away in the corner but she could see there were no more spare seats. The pony was clearly soaking wet and unsteady on her feet.

Rarity waited politely for one of the business ponies who were near the front to give the pony her seat. After a moment Rarity realised they were too snobby to stand for her. Rarity was appalled and immediately squeezed out from her row.

"Excuse me, would you like my seat?" Rarity asked politely. The pony smiled as she turned around but her mouth dropped open slightly. Rarity was struck by a feeling of dread; did she 'recognise' her too?

"Thank you. How generous of ya!" The older pony said throwing a dirty look to the other ponies. Rarity smiled and stood up for the rest of the journey, happy to help that old pony.

Her parents had always told her she was beautiful but Rarity believed that they just said it like every parent did. However, she noticed some stallions dart a look at her. She was still young and wasn't very comfortable with it.

The old pony started to talk to her and she was thankful; it gave her an excuse to not just look around.

She learnt the pony's name was Apple Bloom and her sister was an element of Harmony-Honesty. Rarity was surprised, you didn't usually run into people who knew the elements of harmony and it support her theory that she did look like the element of generosity. Apple Bloom must have known the original Rarity.

"So, because of your sister did you know all the elements of Harmony?" Rarity asked casually.

"Yes I knew them all, we were close friends. I even know Twilight, I still see her sometimes." Apple Bloom said as if she was proving a point to the snobs on the bus. Rarity secretly cheered her on, since she grew up in a rougher area she still held a small kind of annoyance at the snobbish and posh.

"In fact, you look remarkably like the element of Generosity! What's your name?" Apple Bloom asked with a glint in her eyes. It was if she already knew the answer.

"My name is Rarity and I was born on the sad day that my namesake died on. My parents thought that I looked so much like her that I would be named as a tribute to her memory. A few people have commented on it." Rarity replied with a smile.

"Ah, that is quite a coincidence!" Apple Bloom stated. She then looked out of the rain stained window.

Rarity was reluctant to stop speaking as she wanted to know more. But she decided to let the old pony do what she wanted.

With a small squeak of alarm Rarity realised where they were. They were nearly at her stop. She quickly pressed the stop button and the bus had to slow quite rapidly, which was difficult in the rain.

Rarity rushed to the front of the bus to apologise to the driver for being so sudden. She made sure she was very polite and the driver seemed to be thankful for the respect. With a last smile at Apple Bloom she left the bus and was immediately met by a spray of rain and wind. Rarity gritted her teeth and struggled to her house. She was dripping by the time she stumbled inside. Her mother and father were waiting for her and they didn't look impressed.

"Hello." Rarity said cautiously.

"And where have you been?" Her mother asked in a strained voice. Rarity looked at the clock in confusion. When she saw the time her eyes widened. It wasn't just getting dark outside from the rain clouds. Night was almost falling, that would explain why the bus was so full; rush hour.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise it was that late!" Rarity said truthfully. Her mother's mouth was stretched thin and her father's brow was creased.

"THIS came for you." Her father snapped and gave her a package. Rarity opened it and found a necklace inside.

"We don't go to work everyday so you can squander the money on lavish gifts for yourself!" Her father growled softly. Rarity blinked and looked up. She didn't buy the necklace!

"I didn't buy this! I would never do that! And even if I did I could just go and find some gems to pay for it!" Rarity blurted out. She then bit her lip in embarrassment at being so unladylike. Rarity floated the necklace out of the box to examine it. It was a golden collar with a purple diamond gem embedded in it. Apart from the colour the gem was basically her cutie mark. It did look like something she would have bought for herself if she was being selfish with money.

Her parent just looked at her skeptically.

"Hmmm, I suppose you could pay it off out of your work wages. Try it on." her mother said, enticed with how sparkly the gem was. Rarity smiled faintly and lifted it around her neck. She let out a startled gasp when some kind of energy flowed through her. The gem shone out blindingly. Her parents let out yelps of alarm.

"What was that?" Rarity whispered in a small voice. All the lights had gone out in the building.