Rarity's Rescue

The following days passed by averagely enough and finally Rarity was preparing for her meeting with Shining Armor.  A few days ago at the hospital, as Rarity was being readied to leave, he came to visit her and told her that he had decided on a few places for them to go but that Rarity would be the one to pick.  So she did, and the two of them decided on a little café that was right in the middle of Downtown Ponyville.  It was a quiet little place and had quite the reputation for serving good food and beverages all while maintaining a peaceful atmosphere.

At her home, Rarity walked about upstairs.  As she expected, Rarity soon ran into a clothing dilemma.  She could wear her white dress, which she felt was pretty but perhaps too “date like” for what she was attempting, or she could wear her blue dress which she felt was pretty also, but maybe a little too casual.  “Which one do you like Opal?” she asked her cat.

Opalescence stood up and stretched out on the bed.  She walked over to one of the dresses and started to circle around on top of it.  “Are you sure?” she asked, “It doesn’t look to casual?”

Opal rolled her eyes in a “Fine, don’t take my word for it,” kind of fashion which swayed Rarity’s decision.

“Alright, alright,” Rarity said as she hung the other dress up, “The blue one it is.”  She slid into the dress and then continued to make herself look nice.  She brushed her teeth and put on a subtle amount of perfume.  She then brushed her hair and fixed it up to where it had its usual luster.  When she finally finished, she checked herself out in the mirror.  “Oh,” she said, mainly to herself, “I do hope that I’m not giving off the wrong impression.”  She feared that she had perhaps made the dress look too romantic paired with her hair, makeup, and perfume.

She was running late enough as it was though, so she would have to wing it.  She knew that it wouldn’t look good for her if she were to show up late, so she tried to see if she could teleport herself there.  Rarity took a deep breath and tried to muster up her magical energy.  It seemed as if it was going to work at first, but as she went to cast the spell, nothing happened and a strong breeze shot throughout the room.  At this, Opalescence hissed at the strange wind and shot underneath the bed.  Taking deep, exhausted breaths Rarity looked down at the ground and said, “I can’t do it Opal.  I can’t do it.”

Her magical abilities were slowly returning and now she could cast simple spells such as levitation even though they were very unstable.  Her first full day out of the hospital, she had tried to get a little work done but it had been to no avail.  She tried to sew some threads in a saddle, but she could barely even hold the needle let alone keep it steady.  In any event, the doctor promised her that she would have full magical capability and would return to her old self within a week.  Still though, it was hard to have magical abilities all this time, be good with them too, and then have them gone just like that.

For the moment though, Rarity tossed it out of her mind and decided to stop moping.  She reminded herself of how late she was and then headed out the door.

Despite suffering through what she had, Rarity was remarkably strong about it.  Most ponies would recluse from society or become fearful or a certain group, males in this case most likely, but not Rarity.  Maybe Rainbow Dash was right.  Maybe she did hang out with her too much.  Rarity smiled at the thought at continued to walk on at a leisurely pace towards her destination.  The sun was out, the temperature was perfect, and Ponyville was abuzz with activity.

Rarity passed several ponies she knew and waved hello to them, and they to her, but for the most part she didn’t pay much attention to the crowd around her and continued to walk on in silence.  Over the past few days, she hadn’t had much time to just be alone and collect her thoughts.  She had longed to write down everything in her diary, but again, her temporary magical impairment wouldn’t allow her to.  She wanted to record all of her experiences with the Diamond Dogs, with her friends and with the hospital staff, and even with Shining Armor.  He was a very sweet stallion, Rarity thought.

He was among the first to arrive when it came close to the time that Rarity would get to leave, and the whole time he constantly checked up on her.  It seemed as if every time she turned around he was asking her if she needed something, if she felt OK, if her pillow needed fluffing, or even if she wanted to tell him anything.  That was one of the many things she liked about him too; he listened.  True, she had only known him for three or four days, but already she considered him a good friend.  Then again, any member of Twilight’s family was a friend of hers.

Soon enough, Rarity could see the little sign that belonged to the café just ahead of her.  Sure enough, as she got closer, she could see an increasingly familiar stallion sitting all alone at one of the tables outside.  He took a sip of what looked to be like a mocha, one of Rarity’s favorite beverages, and looked about.  He was wearing what looked to be a type of uniform, red in color and with a white band crossing both shoulders and meeting a crest in the center of his chest.  Rarity thought that he looked quite strapping in it.  At least I’m not the only one who dressed up.  She felt rather relieved at the realization that perhaps she hadn’t overdone it after all.

As she got closer to him, she eventually called out, “Shining Armor!”  He looked about for a few moments as he tried to deduce where the greeting was coming from but eventually caught sight of Rarity.  They both smiled at each other and waved.

Shining Armor stood up and watched as Rarity crossed the street to meet him.  Now, he finally got to see her in her true magnificence.  When he first caught sight of her when she called out to him, he saw that she was wearing a blue dress but he only caught a glimpse of it.  Now that he was standing up and looking at her directly though, everything just seemed to move in slow motion.  She looks so beautiful.  Like… like an angel.  As she crossed the street, Shining Armor couldn’t help but note her perfect features.  Her mane looked silky in the sunlight and it had the perfect bounce to it, there was a gentle smile across her face which showed her pearly white teeth, her eyes looked simply gorgeous and her eyelashes were plucked upwards, and she just had an aura of beauty about her that forced any stallion, any pony to look towards her.  In Shining Armor’s opinion, Rarity really had mastered the art of beauty.

Almost as quickly as the feeling of being awestruck came, it left.  It was so sudden even that Shining Armor was surprised to see that Rarity was already there and standing in front of him with a smile on her face.  He shook himself out of it and tried his best to make it seem as if all was natural.  He looked into her eyes and smiled gently at her, and then he took her hoof in his and then placed a kiss atop it.  Rarity blushed deeply and started to fan herself in embarrassment.  “You’re quite the gentlecolt,” she commented.

Shining Armor chuckled as he dropped her hoof gently back to the ground.  “Why thank you,” he said, “I just believe that you should treat a pretty lady right, any lady for that matter.”

“That’s very noble of you,” Rarity said as she looked up into his eyes.

They were quiet for a few moments following that comment but then Shining Armor cleared his throat and then ushered her on.  “Shall we?” he asked and stepped aside so that he could point at the table he was sitting at.

He beat Rarity to her seat though and pulled it out for her.  “Thank you,” she said and took her seat.

“Think nothing of it,” Shining Armor said with a smile, “I hope you don’t mind, but I went ahead and ordered a little something for myself to sip on while you got here.  I haven’t been up all that long,” he admitted with a little blush, “Oh, and we can move inside if you would like.  I don’t get to see Ponyville often, but I think it’s very pretty around here and I like to enjoy the sights.”

Rarity smiled gently at him and shook her head a few times.  “That’s quite alright,” Rarity said in regards to his premature order, “and this is nice.  The weather is beautiful today and besides, I do need a little sunshine.”

The waiter came over and Rarity placed her order.  Already, the two of them started to make conversation.  They talked casually at first, inquiring about each other’s line of work, where they lived and about their friends.  Soon though, after Rarity ordered her drink, the conversation started to turn a little less innocent if not darker.  “Can I ask you something?” Rarity asked as she poked around and played with the straw in her drink.

“Of course Rarity,” Shining Armor said after he took a drink of his mocha.

Rarity was quiet at first as she hesitated about asking, but it was something that she had to know.  She hadn’t had the opportunity to ask him and get the full story, let alone be somewhere where she could have a private conversation with him.  “Will you tell me how you did it?” she asked.

Shining Armor looked at her with a confused look on his face.  He cocked his head after he took another sip of his drink and asked, “How I did what Rarity?”

Again, Rarity was quiet for a few moments as she continued to play with her straw.  “How you saved me,” she said.  Shining Armor was silent as he thought about the request he had been asked.  “Twilight didn’t tell me a lot,” Rarity admitted, “just that you got me, brought me to the hospital, and that you had been there all night.”

Shining Armor sighed and looked at the logo on his cup.  He knew that it was probably best if Rarity didn’t keep bringing it up, but still, if she wanted to know then it was the least he could do for it.  “Are you sure you want me to bring you back to it?  You know what Twilight said.”

“Yes,” Rarity nodded her head, “I’m sure and I know what Twilight said.  I’ll forget it after I know all the details.”  Her stance was firm.

“OK then,” Shining Armor said, “Here’s the full story.  I was sent down to Ponyville on royal business to scout for some open land for a rugged training exercise.  I couldn’t find any land that would be suitable enough though, so I just scouted outwards and outwards until I eventually found the area where you were.  I didn’t know you were there at first, but then I heard somepony let out a scream and then I heard some laughing so I ran towards it as fast as I could.  When I got to the top of the hill, I laid low and watched them carry you off.  I was going to try and get help, but when I saw them go down a hole in the ground I knew it was too late.”

Rarity listened, mesmerized by the story and the memories as they came back to her.

Shining Armor continued, still staring at the logo on his cup.  “I jumped down the same hole that they did only to just fall into total darkness.  I lost them at that point but I just ran down the cavern I could find using my aura as light.  After what seemed like forever, I found out that I had to be going in circles so I cut off at the first point I could.  Bad idea.”

“Why was that?” Rarity asked.

“It led me to the main cavern.  Oh, there had to hundreds, maybe thousands of those dogs there.  I had to be really quiet and walk through in the shadows and stay behind carts and rocks as I went.  It was no easy task, and I came close to getting caught, but I finally got out of there and followed some footprints through another side cavern.  They trailed off though and I eventually lost sight of them.  I snuck through the tunnels and then I heard the sound of… well…” he hesitated and looked down at the ground, completely away from her.

“Sound of what?” Rarity asked.

Still, Shining Armor remained silent.  Honestly, he didn’t really know how to describe what he heard without upsetting Rarity.  In any event, the explanation was bound to get to her at some point, so it was inevitable.  Shining Armor looked up and towards her face and said, “Suffering.”  He left it at that though and continued after a few moments of silence.  “I got into a panic and started running.  Oh I ran as fast as I could but I wasn’t fast enough!” there seemed to be guilt building in his words, “I slammed into walls all over the place and I tried to get there faster.  All I could do was run towards the sounds Miss Rarity!”  Shining Armor came up out of his seat a little bit and his volume increased a little, as well as the apparentness of the guilt.  “Eventually, I finally found myself down a cavern that was torchlit.  I didn’t know where it would lead me and at that point I didn’t really care.  After running down that passageway, well… I’m sure you remember the rest.”

Rarity nodded her head slowly several times, mostly to herself, and then said, “Thank you.”  Now she knew the full story.  At first, she expected that it would hurt her more to know the cold truth of what had happened to her, but in fact, it didn’t.  She felt rather relieved now that she knew the full story of how she was captured, abused, and rescued.  In an instant, she was able to process, dwell on it, and then tuck it away inside of her mind.  She heard some sounds close by, sniffling it sounded like.  “Shining Armor?” Rarity asked as she looked around, “Do you hear somepony cry-” she was cut short when she finally saw that it was him who was crying.  Concerned for her new friend, Rarity reached across the table and placed her hoof atop his.  “What’s wrong?” she asked him.

Shining Armor wasn’t able to look at her.  He looked off to the side and said, “I’m what’s wrong.  I waited too long.  I waited too long,” he repeated with a quieter tone, “I should have gotten you when I first saw them dragging you off.”  He placed his head down flat on the table and was silent.

Rarity was awestruck by the amount of concern he had for her.  Though what had happened to her could have been avoided, there was still no guarantee and it was what he thought was best at the time to try to get help.  It wasn’t his fault.  “I don’t blame you for anything,” she said as she stroked his hoof, “You did what you thought was best.  How could you have known what it would be like down there?  How could you have known you would have the strength to take on more than one of them?  It isn’t your fault darling,” she said comfortingly to him.

Though he seemed somewhat reluctant at first to let Rarity’s words of forgiveness touch him, he eventually did.  He brought his head up and he asked, “Bet you never could imagine a Royal Guard officer crying, huh?”  He smiled at her and used his magic to get one of the nearby napkins to dry his eyes.

They both chuckled at his joke and Rarity said, “I think it’s sweet.  It means you have a heart.”  For a moment, Rarity actually thought that she saw him blush, but he took a drink of his beverage too soon for her to notice.

“Thank you,” he said.

“You’re quite welcome,” came the kindly response.

Throughout the rest of the meeting there was a return to the more simple and innocent conversation.  Soon even, it was as if the whole conversation about Rarity’s kidnapping had never taken place.  As a matter of fact, it seemed like it had never even happened.

Afterwards, and much to Rarity’s polite distaste, Shining Armor paid their tab and escorted Rarity home.  As they walked through the streets of Ponyville, their conversation continued on as they learned more about each other.  By the time they had reached the carousel boutique even, they found that they had much in common, aside from having white coats and being unicorns of course.  They found that they each liked the same kind of classical music, enjoyed a good mystery thriller, and even liked the same kind of dressing on their salad.  “It’s funny how much you never expect a pony to have anything in common with you,” Rarity commented as they approached the door to her home.

“I’ll say,” Shining Armor agreed.  They smiled at each other and it was silent for a moment until Shining Armor eventually said, “Well Miss Rarity…”

Rarity held up her hoof and cut him off.  “Please Shining Armor, call me Rarity.  We are friends after all.”  She smiled at him and he smiled back.

“Of course,” he said and chuckled under his breath, “my bad. Anyway, I guess I should probably be going and you know, leave you to it.”

Rarity nodded her head but looked down at the ground, rather sad to see her new friend go away.  “I wish you didn’t have to go so soon,” Rarity said.

“Me too,” Shining Armor agreed, “But it doesn’t have to be so long.”

“Oh?” came the reply, “What ever do you mean by that?”

Shining Armor looked up towards the sky and a smile started to form across his face.  “Well,” he began slowly, “I was kinda hoping you’d join me for dinner.”

Rarity blushed and looked down at the ground.  She knew that they would only be going as friends, but still, it just had that whole dating feel to it.  Regardless though, there was no way that she could turn him down, so naturally her only choice was to agree.  “I would like that very much,” she said.  She pointed at him with her hoof and smirked playfully.  “I’m getting the bill this time though,” she said.

Shining Armor backed up jokingly as though he was being threatened.  “Alright alright,” he said, “deal.  So I’ll see you this evening?”

“Indeed you will,” Rarity said and turned to unlock her door.  As she tried to though, her lost magical ability kicked in and she dropped the key.  She felt exhausted though so she couldn’t muster up the energy to pick the key back up, and she had never been much good at unlocking the door with her hooves.

Luckily though, Shining Armor was there for her.  “Here you go,” he said as he used his magic to pick up the key, “Allow me.”  He stepped forward a little and slid the key into the lock and turned it, pushing the door open for her afterwards.

“Thank you,” Rarity said as she tried to hide her blush from the gentlecolt.

“Think nothing of it,” Shining Armor said and laid the key down on a nearby table.  “I’m here if you need me.”

Rarity smiled and thanked him graciously, and after a few more words discussing when and where they should meet up for dinner, she waved him off.  Afterwards, she proceeded to slip out of her dress and make herself comfortable.  She had been up into the late hours of the night practicing with her magic to see if she could hasten its comeback, so she didn’t get much sleep.  “A nap sounds real nice right about now,” Rarity mumbled to herself as she smoothed her mane out in the mirror.

In accordance with her comment, Rarity went upstairs, slipped into her cozy pink robe and laid down in her bed.  She set her clock to wake her up in a few hours, both so she could have some time to herself and then have enough time to get ready for dinner.  After that though, she drew the curtains, slipped under the sheets, and fell into a peaceful sleep.

Hours later when she awoke, Rarity was delighted to find that she was beginning to feel more like her old self.  Out of curiosity, she tried out her magical skills and upon doing so saw that she had a moderate amount of power return.  Now she could at least move a needle around in a decently straight line and could finally maneuver a pen.  Finally, she could write in her diary.  That’s exactly what she did too.

Rarity trotted happily back into her bedroom, plopped down flat onto the bed, and pulled her diary out of its hiding spot.  At first, she recorded all that had happened in the days that she hadn’t been able to write, though she merely touched on her experience with the Diamond Dogs as it was something that she wanted to forget but was something that she knew she couldn’t ignore.  Eventually though, she changed to the closer days and to her experiences with Shining Armor.  Her writings started out innocently enough, but as she continued to write up until just a few hours ago, she couldn’t help but write down the most romantic things about him.  She noted how handsome and strapping he was, the level of concern that he seemed to have for her, and just the overall great personality that he had.  “Only a pony out of Canterlot,” she noted aloud and smiled.

Eventually though, as she read back through what she had written, she couldn’t help but feel like it was wrong what she was writing.  She thought about scratching it out, but she just couldn’t bring herself to.  For one, he was Twilight’s brother and she knew how a pony could act when you dated his or her brother or sister, and for two he didn’t even live in Ponyville and Rarity wasn’t good with long distance relationships.  However, he was sweet and unique, and he had saved her.  Could it be that she owed him this for saving her life?  Rarity wasn’t one to believe much in superstition or coincidence, but could it be that fate wanted all of that to happen so that she would meet him.  In Twilight’s tales of Shining Armor before she even met him, Rarity couldn’t help but feel like he was the type of pony that she would like and get along with well.

Still though, there were so many factors and she couldn’t do that to Twilight.  Besides, being brash and too quick with things would never get a pony anywhere, especially with relationships.  “Still…” Rarity said aloud and looked out of the window across from her.  She stared out of it in silence for a moment as she thought about him.  Still… she wrote down in her diary, only to repeat it two more times, Still… Still…