Rarity's Rescue

by RarestRarity1779

Rating: mature
Tags: Rarity, Shining Armor, Sex, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Romance
Length: 19297

Rarity finds herself in peril once again only to be saved by a different knight in shining armor.

There's much work to be done at the carousel boutique and it's all that Rarity can do to keep up with and manage her gem resources. Finding herself low on what she needs for her latest grand project, Rarity must go out and find what she needs. However, unbeknownst to her, things will take a turn for the worse and she will find herself in the hands of captors who are brutal, evil, and even... familiar.

Who would Rarity be captured by? What horrors will she endure at the hands of her captors? Who will be her savior and how will she come to love him? Read on to find out.

*DISCLAIMER* Contains explicit forced sexual material which may be disturbing to some readers. Please read at your own discretion.

Published 2014-04-07 07:50:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-04-07 07:50:03 UTC

Chapter 1

As she skipped around and hummed to herself, Rarity stopped near the window on the ground floor and glanced out into the sky.  It sure was cloudy out there, but some of the sunset could be seen poking through the clouds in the sky.  “Oh, I do hope that it doesn’t rain,” she commented to Opalescence who meowed quietly in reply.  Rarity pulled herself away from the window and went back to her skipping and humming whilst she gathered her things.  She popped open a nearby trunk with her magic and began to sift through it for her saddlebags.  “I just have to get my hooves on these gems,” she continued to explain to her feline companion, “I just know that they’ll make this last project of the season one for the books.”  Opalescence meowed once more and yawned afterwards; her owner’s fashion pursuits were trivial matters to her.

At last, Rarity found her saddlebags and flung them over her back.  They felt rather loose, so she stepped over to a nearby mirror and used it to adjust the bags.  “I know I should have gone earlier, but I simply haven’t had the time.  I must say that it’s been quite a busy week,” she sighed as she finally adjusted the saddlebag.  Before she walked off to gather the rest of her things, she checked herself for beauty in the mirror.  “You look fabulous dear,” she quietly commented herself.  The saddlebags were new and of her own creation, but she had just never had the opportunity to wear them.  Perhaps she would take the long way through town to her destination and show them off.  “Do you know why these gems are so special Opal?” Rarity asked as she walked around the room in search of some other things.

Again, Opal only meowed as she rolled over onto her back and watched her owner trot around the room upside down.  “There’s my map,” Rarity said as she used her magic to grasp the map that Opal was laying atop and subsequently rolled her off of it.  Opal hissed and growled as she struggled to right herself, but let it slide as Rarity looked away from her and packed the bag down in her saddle.  “Anyway,” Rarity continued aloud, “they’re very important and very valuable.  They’re only around this time of the year and are so very hard to find, but I dare say that I think I’ve found the jackpot!” she said the final part with a singsong voice.  “I have to hurry though, because if it rains the soil will get moist and cause them to shrivel up into dust.  Not very hardy gems, but very beautiful,” she commented.

“Well,” she said as she checked around the room and made sure that she didn’t forget anything, “I have to go Opal, but Momma will be back soon,” she smiled at the little feline and then kissed it on the cheek.  The cat recoiled though, and tried furiously to wipe the kiss off of its own cheek.  Rarity sighed and rolled her eyes, “Goodbye dear,” she said as she went out the door; all the while Opal rolled furiously on her perch on the table as she tried to cleanse herself.

It was getting pretty late, but she still had quite a while until it got dark.  Still though, she would have to hurry as she would have to do all of the work herself.  Spikey Wikey had offered to help her, but the poor little sick thing was grounded in bed and there was no way that Rarity would have him risk getting worse over her.  Thus, Rarity merely scouted about and used a spell that Twilight had taught her to peer beneath the earth so that she could pinpoint the spots on her makeshift map.  To dig, she would just bring her trusty gardening spade along.

As she walked out of her front door, Rarity glanced back towards her fabulous saddlebags.  She wanted very much to take the scenic route as she had planned, but she was simply too pressed for time.  The clouds in the distance seemed to be growing darker and far more ominous, so it was all she could do to hurry to her destination.  She started to walk at first, but as it seemed to her that the clouds were getting closer, she increased her speed to a trot and stayed like this all the way up until she reached the very edge of Ponyville.  She crossed the final bridge along the dirt path and continued on for a few more minutes until she eventually reached a big dead tree which signaled for her to go off of the path.  After that, she went up and down a few hills and eventually reached a secluded dirt spot which really seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

A vulture crowed on a nearby branch and Rarity watched as it flew off; she gulped.  Dead earth all around her, a quickly fading sunset and ominous clouds, and absolute silence all around her made for a very uncomfortable feeling.  “OK Rarity,” she tried to calm herself, “We won’t be here long.  Just a few spots and then home,” she told herself firmly and then took a deep breath.  She looked up towards the sky and heaved a sigh, “At least the sunset is beautiful.”  She took out her spade and then pulled the map out of her saddlebag so that she could find her first spot.  She walked around for a little bit as she scoped out her surrounding and tried to get an idea of exactly where she was.  The map, like her surrounding, was mostly barren so she had to use some scribbled down markers such as the nearby tree, also dead, and then leave the rest to luck.  She walked around for a little bit until she eventually was ready to dig.  “If I’m correct,” she mumbled to herself, muzzle buried in the map, “my first spot should be right…” she walked a few more paces, “here.”  She flung the spade down in the ground to mark her spot.

Finally, she began to dig.  Since the earth was so dry, it was hard for her to dig in the first place, but Rarity had to take extra care with these gems.  They were highly unpredictable as to what depth they were located at, and the slightest chip could make one of these rarities worthless.  Spike’s claws would prove invaluable for a task like this, but, as Rarity had to keep telling herself, one had to make do with what one had.  She struggled at first with the digging, her magic being the only thing that kept the spade from flying off from the pressure, but was eventually able to get the hang of it.

As the minutes ticked on, Rarity’s hole got deeper and deeper.  Eventually, she felt as though she might not find the gems hidden beneath.  Could it be that she had read the map wrong and was digging feet, maybe yards off?  What if she was digging to narrow?  “Oh, maybe I should just give up,” she mumbled to herself as she stopped digging and glanced down into the hole.  “I made it last season without these, so what’s the harm in waiting one more?”  She sighed and dug her spade helplessly into the ground just one last time.  As she blinked in dismay though, she saw a bright flash of light come from the hole.  At first she thought it might have only been the sunlight reflecting, or perhaps it had been her eyes playing tricks, but when she glanced down into the hole one more time she saw the heads of several gems sticking out.  “This is it!” she said aloud with excitement.  “OK,” she took a deep, concentrated breath, “I must be careful with this.”

Rarity used the precision afforded by her trained eye and by her magic to maneuver the spade around and make the hole just a little deeper and wider.  She knew that she only needed to make it so that she could get force the gems out of the earth with her magic.  Eventually, as more time passed, Rarity was able to make it so that she could pull the gems out.  She counted as she placed the precious objects into her saddlebags.  “One, two, three, four, five, six…” she stopped once she placed the final one in there.  “Six,” she noted to herself and proceeded to do a little fashion math.  The gems were only moderate in size so she wasn’t sure how much it would cover on her new project, but at the same time she wasn’t sure if she had enough time to scout for more gems.  Then again, she could just go sell the gems at the cost of not being able to bring her vision to life.  She did have sixty-thousand worth of gems in her saddlebags after all.  She glanced towards the mountains in the distance where she could see the lighting flash and hear the thunder roll.  It put her in quite a dilemma.  Should she risk it?

Rarity sighed and looked down at her map.  If she was correct, there was a collection of gems just a few paces away from where she was.  She looked down at the map, up towards the mountains, down at the map, and then back up towards the mountains.  “I can do this,” she told herself as she followed the map closely to her next destination.  “Just this last bit and then on home.  If I don’t find anything in about five minutes, I’ll go.”  Rarity glanced up at the sky just one final time and saw that the clouds were now looming menacingly over her.

She knew she had to be quick, so when she found her spot she began to dig with all of her might.  Not once did she take her eyes off of the hole or the spade, and not once did she stop to let her magical stamina replenish.  Again, it seemed as if these gems were going to be deeper below the earth than expected.  Still, maybe she would have the time to get to them.  No, just five minutes.  That’s all Rarity, she had to constantly remind herself.  The idea of having gems so rare was so tantalizing to her that it was all she could do to try.  In that attempt to try though, Rarity found herself going over her five minute mark, and then her ten minute mark.  Soon even, the thunder rolled and it began to sprinkle very lightly and yet Rarity continue to dig.  “OK,” she said aloud as she noted the rain, “no problem.  I’ve still got a little time.  I just need to be quick about getting them out and into my saddlebags.”

The thunder rolled once more, almost as if it was trying to tell her to call it quits.  Rarity was persistent though, and she flung her spade into the dirt just one more time.  Once she did though, she saw the very same bright flash of light come out of it.  She gasped in excitement and said, “This is it!”  She got down on her knees and craned her head over to peer into the hole, which, with any luck, would shield the gems from the rain.  The thunder rolled just one last time and Rarity couldn’t help but feel it inside of her and smell it in the air that things were about to turn violent with the storm real soon.

“Gotta be quick,” she mumbled to herself one more time.  “Gotta be quick,” she repeated as she shuffled her spade hurriedly yet carefully throughout the hole.  “Got it,” she said eventually as a smile came across her face.  The gems were revealed and now all she had to do was place them in her bag.  She was sure to remain delicate with the task, but hurried as quickly as she could.  Once finished, she checked the hole just once more to make sure that she hadn’t missed anything.

It was around that time though that she felt the hard slam across the back of her head.  She didn’t really have the time to say anything or do anything before the world started to go dark, however she was able to utter a little whimper.  She blinked a few times as she tried to find out what was happening, but she just couldn’t seem to keep her eyes open and she just felt so tired.  She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.  Rarity was out cold.

Chapter 2

Hours, many hours later, Rarity opened her eyes slowly.  The world around her was blurry and she felt so groggy, but that started to change as she blinked her eyes a few times and allowed her vision to focus.  “Mhmm…” she let out a little whimper as she sat up and tried to ease the aching in her body.  Her whole body felt like she had just fallen down a mountain, but it was perhaps her head and neck that hurt the most.  She moved her head just slightly but then stopped as fast as she could when a searing pain shot through her.  She yelped in pain and placed her hoof on the back of her head where the pain was.  When she brought it back around to her front though, her eyes grew wide as she noticed the blood on it.  It seemed to be dry for the most part, but it was apparent that she was still bleeding a little.

Rarity looked up to observe her surroundings and saw that she was in quite an unfamiliar place.  There were lit torches all around the stone walls, and as Rarity looked around she saw that there were two narrow passageways which led into the small chamber that she was in.  As Rarity glanced all around her and took notice of her surroundings, it didn’t take her long to realize that she was in a cave.  It was rather cold and dank here, and the air was heavy, so Rarity knew that she had to be a considerable depth underground.  She slowly sat up on the damp mattress that she was laying atop and rubbed her neck, careful to avoid the spot on her head.  As she did so, Rarity took note of the torches one more time and realized that the cave must be inhabited.  But then she remembered how she had come to be here in the first place.  Somepony, or something, had attacked her.  She had to be cautious and she had to find her way out of there.

She flung the even damper sheets off of her body.  “I’ve gotta get help,” she said weakly to herself, “I’ve gotta get help,” she repeated just as weakly.  She went to bound off of the mattress and take off into as quiet of a run as she could down one of the corridors, but as she did so, she heard the clanking of metal and was thrown to the ground.  As she collected her wits, Rarity glanced back towards her flank and saw that there was a single, metal chain that had her held to a carved stalactite pedestal, one of four that surrounded her mattress.  “Wh… what?” Rarity said in a whisper as she could only stare back at it.  She tugged her leg over and over again as hard as she could, but she just couldn’t break free.

Tears began to well in Rarity’s eyes as they shot all around the room.  She was scared, confused, cold, and all alone.  “H…Help!” Rarity called out with a weak voice, not thinking of who might come to her call.  She only called out once though, and when nopony came, laid her head down into the mattress and sobbed.  She sobbed and she sobbed, but then she brought her head up and dried her eyes.  She knew that crying wasn’t going to solve anything.  “Just… just laying here and moping about isn’t going to solve anything,” she said to herself, “I… I’ve got to find a way out of here.

Rarity dried the tears from her eyes and stood up on the mattress.  All of her senses were about her now, and all she had to do was figure out a plan.  She looked about the room and saw that there wasn’t much to it, a rather dangerous characteristic for this situation.  Rarity observed the chain and the pedestal that it was tied to, and saw that at the very, very tip top of it, it was narrow.  A slight smile crossed her face as it looked as if it was all going to be OK after all.  All I need to do is drag the chain up and over the top so it’ll slide off.  After that, and after I’m out of here, I can figure out how to get this thing off of me.  Rarity looked down at the chain around her hind ankle with a look of both despair and anger.  OK, here we go.  Rarity went to muster her energy and placed all of her focus on the chain, but she frowned when nothing happened.  She tried over and over again, but nothing happened.  “What?” she said aloud as she reached up towards her head, fearing the worst.  She sighed in relief though when she felt the outline of her horn there.  Only, there was something off about it, something cold and metal-like.  She moved her hoof all around the outline of her horn, but was shocked to find that there was a metal cover over it.  Her eyes grew wide and her heart began to beat faster as she tried to get the thing off of her horn.  She struggled so hard even that she eventually fell down onto the mattress onto her back as she tried to push it off.

In the end, Rarity only succeeded in tiring herself out.  She dropped to the mattress, her breath escalating.  That was it, there was no hope.  She was out of ideas, the physical pain was returning to her, and her emotions were starting to get the best of her.  The tears welled up in her eyes once more and then they began to flow freely.  Rarity knew that she should try to be strong, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t.  She could hear Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who had to be two of the strongest ponies ever, telling her, demanding her to be strong and to dry her tears up.  Thoughts like that though, they only made Rarity cry harder.  For some reason, she just couldn’t help but feel like she might never see her friends again.  Nopony knew she was out there and with a storm blowing in, probably already in full swing, it was highly unlikely that anypony was out looking for her even if they did know she was missing.

Rarity sniffled as mental images of Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie flashed in her head; images of Spike too.  “Oh my… Spike…” she said through her tears, “I’m so sorry that I never paid any attention to you.  You were one of my closest friends.  I… I’ll miss you most Fluttershy.”  Rarity laid her head down flat on the mattress and closed her eyes.  She had to face the music and accept that she was at the mercy of her unknown captors.

Chapter 3

Within what seemed like more hours, Rarity eventually fell into sleep.  She was exhausted and the pain that she still felt told her that she needed to rest, and sooner rather than later, Rarity had no other choice but to submit to those demands.  After even more hours passed, Rarity soon awoke and found that, to her dismay, she was still there and that none of it had been a dream.  She only sighed and continued to leave her head down flat on the mattress and left her body curled up.  Her stomach growled after a few minutes though.  She was getting hungry, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, she really had to use the little filly’s room.  She wondered if she should call out again, but then decided that it was best if she just kept quiet.

Rarity picked her head up though, and perked her ears forward when she heard a sound.  She turned around and saw shadows cast inside of the cavern.  It was a considerable distance away from her, so Rarity couldn’t tell if the silhouettes belonged to ponies or not.  Could it be rescue?  Rarity smiled with hope as the silhouettes grew larger, indicating that their owners would be turning the corner anytime now.  But what if it was her captors?  Her smiled turned to a frown and a sense of paralyzation overcame her.  Somehow, as the shadows grew larger, Rarity couldn’t help but feel that these weren’t her rescuers.  She had the sudden, most horrible feeling actually that they were there to harm her.

The suspense and fear all ended, and yet grew too, when the owners, all four of them, of the shadows turned the corner and continued to walk down the passageway straight towards Rarity.  Her eyes grew wide and her heart began to beat faster as she saw them coming towards her; ugly, foul, and wretched creatures.  She had had a run-in with them before, and it wasn’t exactly something that she cared to repeat.  Diamond Dogs, such dirty and cruel little creatures.

Rarity could only remain silent as they entered into the room and surrounded her.  “This her,” one of them said with his Neanderthalic like tone, “right here, right here!”  He pointed at her like a stupid brute.

“Oh…” one of them said, a light brown one with big green eyes who appeared to be the leader of the pack, “she pretty.  She do just fine.”

Rarity blushed and her eyes darted away quickly when she caught one of their gazes.  Rarity wanted to look at them and see if she could place any of them at her first encounter, but she just couldn’t bring herself to look up.  They turned away from her and started to talk very quietly amongst themselves.  Rarity couldn’t pick up on much of it, but she did gets bits and pieces of it.  She heard, “Yeah, yeah, they be here soon,” and then later on, “That no matter.  We work hard today and we want have fun!”  After that though, the leader seemed to notice that Rarity could hear them and then quieted down the rest of the group.  They mumbled on a little longer and then turned back towards her where the pack leader then ordered, “Stand her up!”

Two of the larger dogs walked over to her and one grabbed her by the neck and the other by the leg, and they both pulled her up at the same time.  Rarity gasped in pain and surprise at being manhandled so violently, and even when she was up and standing on all fours, they still held her tightly.  “Now you tie her up some more,” the dog continued to order, “she fighter.”

So that was it.  Rarity had seen this dog before, maybe the ones around her too, and even though she didn’t recall them as much, they remembered her just perfectly.  She could only stare at the brown dog ahead of her, who seemed to not notice her eyes as he was inspecting the others around her.  In her absence of mind, Rarity started to drift over to the side a little bit and against one of the other dogs.  “Stop moving!” he barked at her and then placed his hand flat against her side only to give her a forceful shove in the opposite direction.  She glared up at him, but again, the dog didn’t seem to pay any attention to her eyes.

Her mind back where it should be, Rarity soon took notice of the extra chains that they were pulling out.  One of them held her in place while the other wrapped it around the pedestal closest to them.  Eventually, there were three more chains all around Rarity.  As she saw them and how they looked menacingly tight, Rarity couldn’t help but begin to sweat and quiver.  One of them grabbed her hind leg and Rarity let out a gasp of surprise, and the Diamond Dogs only chuckled and smiled devilishly at her.  “What are you doing?” she asked quietly, but none of them replied to her.  Maybe they didn’t hear her.  “What are you doing to me?” she asked just a little louder.

“Shut up mule!” the brown one yelled at her.  He met her eyes for a few moments but then peeled them away and back to the chains that were now starting to take Rarity first by the right hind leg and now by the left one.

After being told that, and as the tears that were welling in her eyes from such a degrading comment went away, it all came back to Rarity.  She remembered now!  The dog right in front of her, like a moron no less, had called her a mule after which time she got the better of them by going into one of her dramatic fits.  That was it!  Her key to freedom was herself!  All she had to do was turn on a little waterworks, whine and pout a little, stamp her front hooves a couple of times, and then she would be home-free!  A slight smile spread across her face, even though by now the chains on both of her hind legs were so tight that they were starting to cut into her.  Her bottom lip quivered and she began to sniffle.  “But… but whyyy?” she said and batted her tear-soaked eyelashes, “Why would you call me… a… an ugly old mule?”

“Hm?” she heard one of them utter and then saw that they were all starting to stare at her.

“I’m not a mule!” she stamped her front hooves and continued to cry dramatically, “If… if you’re gonna be mean to me, at least get it right,” she sobbed and used her foreleg to wipe some of her fake tears away.  “These… these chaaaaaains!” she moaned, “they hurt so much.  Please, please, loosen them up a little!”  Rarity couldn’t tell now, as she had to focus all of her attention on her dramatic performance, but it looked as if she was gaining ground!  “I’m hungry and I have to use the potty!  Pleeeeease!” she whined.  She closed her eyes and kept her head hung for the performance, but opened up one eye just a little bit to see her handiwork.  She couldn’t tell through her tears, but it looked as if the brown dog ahead of her was putting his hands up to cover his ears.  He was awfully close though…

The show didn’t go on much longer though, before Rarity reeled back and a sharp pain shot through her face.  Her fake tears ceased and her real tears came, and her quivering turned to shaking when she realized that the brown dog struck her.  He slapped her hard across the face one more time and then grabbed her tightly by the neck.  Rarity wanted to bring her hooves up and struggle, but during her dramatic show, had failed to notice that the big black dogs to her sides and to her front had tied up her front legs as well.  “I said shut up pony!” the dog yelled, but at least had the courtesy to correct himself, “You no want me to tell you to shut up again,” he said just a little quieter and then walked to her side.

He began to stroke her back and sides gently.  Rarity shuddered and the tears continued to pour out of her eyes as she could only turn her head backwards and watch.  She pulled her head back though and closed her eyes in terror when he leaned his head forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek.  “No…o…” she mumbled helplessly as the devious plan started to become clearer.

The dog had slapped her so hard that Rarity’s nose was bleeding, so he reached across, ran a finger through it and smeared a little bit of it in.  Rarity was shaking violently and the fear and hatred was welling up inside of her as she quickly realized that she had nowhere to go.  “What your name again?” he asked as he took his hand away from her face and went back to petting her back and sides; by now the other dogs had joined in on stroking her.  They ran their dirty hands across and up her sides and back, down her front and hind legs, and then down both sides of her neck.  Rarity only whimpered and shut her eyes firmly in fear.  The brown dog grew angry at this and he stopped stroking her and grabbed her again by the neck, this time so hard that he was sucking the air out of her.  “What your name?” he repeated and shook her a few times, “No make me ask again.”

“Please… please…” Rarity struggled, “My name is Rarity, it’s Rarity.”  The tears fell from her eyes harder and she found herself struggling to catch her breath when the dog finally let go of her throat.

He went back to his original position at her side and continued the gentle stroking.  “Rarity,” he said the name softly and waited for a few more moments, “Rarity,” he repeated the name.  He ran a claw through her mane and twisted a few locks around his finger.  “You remember us Miss Rarity?” he asked.

Not wanting anymore of the torment and abuse, Rarity quickly nodded her head and mumbled, “Yes,” in a near whisper.  She turned her head away from them and looked straight ahead.  She opened her eyes and continued to stand there helplessly.

“Good, good,” came the sinister reply.  “Then… it likely you remember this too?” Rarity’s eyes grew wide and a deep blush spread across her face as she felt his hand run down the length of her back and then come to a rest on top of her butt.  It didn’t stop there though, and the dog reared his hand back and slapped her there as hard as she could.

Rarity reeled in pain and embarrassment.  She gasped and then exclaimed, “Please!  I’ll do anything.  Jus… just leave me alone!”

The dogs acted as if they didn’t hear her though, and they continued their sick game with her.  The brown dog slapped her on the flank one more time, and then another, and then another, and then another time and over and over again, making each slap just a little more gentle than the last.  He then squeezed her flank tightly one time and then let it go.  Finally, he looked up towards her face and smiled at the pain that she was feeling.

Through her tears, Rarity managed to choke out, “Wh… why are you doing this?” and “Please… stop.”

The brown dog, surprisingly, did as he was asked and stopped touching her, though he allowed his comrades to continue their stroking and petting.  He walked over in front of her and grabbed her by the neck where he then picked her head up and forced her to look him in the face.  “You want know secret?” he whispered into her ear.  Rarity said nothing, but only coughed as the tears choked her.  “You do us wrong last time and you leave not one gem for us.  We run out of food and money and our women, they get very sick.  We come here to find new source, but you here too.  What luck!” he chuckled as Rarity whimpered.

After that, he leaned forward and planted his lips upon hers.  Rarity’s eyes grew wide and now the will to fight was coming up in her.  She tried and she tried to break loose from the chains, but with every little move she made they just seemed to dig deeper into her.  She tried so hard to back away from him, just move her body back a little, but she just couldn’t.  She sobbed and she sobbed as he kissed her and tried to close her mouth or hide her lips or… anything!  The dog slid his foul tasting tongue into her mouth and began to run it all along the inside of her mouth.  She thought about biting it as hard as she possibly could, and she was very tempted to, but she wasn’t stupid.  Rarity knew that if she bit him it would only anger him and he, along with the others maybe, would beat her up some more and maybe even kill her.  A…at least if I’m alive I’ll know what they’re doing to my body.

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, the dog pulled away from her and he smiled at her, obviously satisfied.  “If you like that, then you really love this,” the dog said to her menacingly and walked back behind her.  He then ran his hand down her buttocks a few more times in a stroking manner, and then slowly worked his way in towards her tail.  Rarity’s heart beat faster and faster and her tears fell so hard that they hurt.  She knew that this was it.

The other dogs moved themselves backwards just a little bit and they too reached for Rarity’s sweet spot.  One of them forcefully yanked her tail aside to reveal what lay beneath.  After that, another one of them did the unthinkable.  He reached his claw forward and started to prod at her genitals and massage the outer labia with his finer.  As all of that was happening, Rarity just couldn’t take it anymore!  “Wait, wait, wait!” she said slowly as she looked back at them and tried to lean forward to get away from them.

“What you want?” the brown dog asked and looked dangerously at her.

“Please… just let me go,” Rarity said and still tried to free herself from the chains, “I… I swear I won’t tell anypony,” she looked down at the ground and wept at the thought of knowing she would have this with her for the rest of her life.

The dogs only laughed at her torment though and continued to touch her private areas.  “We no care about that,” one of the taller black dogs said, “we only care about this!”  The all laughed once more.

Rarity just wanted out so bad and she would give up anything to be free.  “I have gems!” she said quickly as she still tried to lean forward and use her dock muscles to slam her tail closed.  At this, the dogs stopped touching her.  The brown one held up his hand and all the rest took theirs away and put them at their sides.  A very small smile spread across Rarity as hope flashed inside of her just once more.  But it left as she knew that she had to be quick about what she had to say.  “I have gems!” she repeated, “A lot of gems!  Piles and piles of them as a matter of fact!  Please, if you’ll just let me go… you can have all of them!  I have blankets and clothes and medicine, for your women, an....and food too!  Please, you can have whatever you want but please just let me go.”

The Diamond Dogs looked as if they were deep in thought, but unbeknownst to Rarity, they were only tricking her.  They hadn’t any satisfaction in a very long time, and being such a species by nature, they needed sexual fulfillment.  Sure, gems and clothes and food and all that would have benefitted them greatly, but it wasn’t what they wanted.  Rarity looked at all of them with pleading eyes, sincere eyes.  “I swear,” she said, “if you’ll please just let me go, I’ll take you right to my house and you can take anything you want!  Anything at all!  I swear I’ll never tell anypony,” she repeated her promise, hoping that it would help sway their decision.  Rarity tried to dry her eyes and look professional even though she could feel the runny eyeliner and the tears that lingered on her cheeks starting to dry.  There were a lot of things she wanted in this moment, but for now, she would settle for an ugly old beaten up rag that she could use to wipe her face.

Much to her dismay though, the Diamond Dogs only laughed at her more.  The brown dog rushed back up to her front while the others resumed feeling her up.  Once again, he wrapped his cold dirty hand around her throat and looked her in the eyes.  He got really close to her face and continued to elaborate on the Diamond Dog’s terrifying plan.  He chuckled and then said, “We no want what you got.  All you got worthless to us.”

Rarity started to shake and shudder violently again, though she had really never stopped, and tears began to well in her eyes once more.  “What do you want from me?” she asked with a terrified tone.

“We want you!” the Diamond Dog said and kissed her once more before she had time to speak.  He let go of her after a few moments and then Rarity looked down at the ground with a look of hopelessness in her eyes.  The color was starting to fade from her eyes and she felt as if she was dying inside now.  The dog went to walk away from her and go back to join the others in violating her, but she stopped him.  “Mr.  Dog…” she began shyly, “Wh…when you’re…” it hurt her to even begin what she was trying to say, “when you’re… done with me, can I please go home?”

“No,” the dog said firmly as he continued to walk back towards her flank, “you never go home.  When we done with you our friends come and they have their turn.  They work hard and it what they need.  When they finished, we make you work in mines.  After that, you serve us all our meals and do anything we say.  When any Diamond Dog want use you, you let him… or else,” he glared at her and then slapped her lightly, though with some force, across the cheek.  Rarity turned her head forward and looked down at the ground.  She didn’t want to watch what they were doing or have anything to do with it, and all she could do was stand there and take it.  They won’t take long Rarity, they won’t take long.  She tried to comfort herself, but inside, Rarity was dead.  She lowered her head just a little more and counted the tear drops as they landed on the rocky floor of the cave, and then almost silently hummed a tune that her and Fluttershy came up with, all with the hope that it would take her mind off of what was happening, what was about to happen, and what was to come.

One of the dogs smacked her really hard on the rump once more and it startled Rarity, who was now so caught up in trying to not notice what was going on at her rear.  It scared her, and mixed with the urge she already had, Rarity began to urinate on herself.  She blushed as she tried so hard to stop it from coming, but the relief that it afforded just wouldn’t allow her.  The tears in her eyes started to pour harder, and Rarity felt like such and object as they laughed at her.  The fighting spirit inside of her made her hope that she hit some of them in the crossfire, but in reality she had felt all of their hands pull away and had heard them back away as she did her business.  Through the laughing, Rarity heard one of them say, “Haha.  Me bet she have fun with that tonight.”  That comment made Rarity realize that she was still over her mattress.

The laughter died down and they allowed Rarity to finish.  Only, she wished they would have kept laughing because the sound of the liquid streaming down onto the mattress echoed throughout the room and seemed to taunt her.  After a few more moments she finally finished and continued to stare at the ground and attempt to focus on tuning the world out as she went back to humming and counting the tear drops.  Behind her, she could hear some of the dogs licking their hands and placing them down on her genitals, only to begin rubbing.  I feel so dirty.  She looked up towards the passageway in front of her but lowered her head back down after some time.  She could feel nature starting to kick in at the rear as all of the saliva mixed to make lubrication and thus arousing her.  Inside, she wasn’t, but her genitals were.  She tried so hard to fight back against nature and the dogs, but no matter what she thought of or did, she just couldn’t stop her genitals from becoming wet.  “I think she like it,” one of the dogs commented and Rarity blushed just a little harder.  S…stupid dogs.  They can’t even be quiet about it or have the knowledge to know that it’s only nature.  I… I can’t help it.  I don’t like it.  She glanced backwards with a look of worry on her face; she so desperately hoped that they were only playing a sick joke and knew that she didn’t like it.

A few more moments later, all of the hands stopped groping at her genitals.  Rarity felt slight relief at first, but she knew that it was probably a sign of something worse to come.  She was right too.  There was some inaudible mumbling amongst the group as to who was going to go where and then after that the touching started to resume, only there weren’t as many this time.  Without looking backwards, Rarity could feel two of them coming upon her front as they ran their hands across the length of her body and then up her head.  Once there, one of them just slightly picked her head up and smiled down at her hatefully.  She didn’t want to look ahead now because, if she were to, she would be forced to look at both of the erect penises thrust in her face.

She knew what they wanted her to do.  All the will that she had to fight, to bite them even, was all gone.  She wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction though.  If they wanted it, then they were going to have to force her to do it.  She kept her head turned away and her eyes off to the side, merely staring at the flickering flame of a torch.  Even when one of them grabbed her by the mane and tugged hard, she still kept her eyes off to the side; she wouldn’t watch her own rape.

At her rear, she could feel one of the dogs place both of his hands on her haunches, obviously preparing to mount her.  Suddenly though, it all became too much for Rarity.  The world around her started to spin and she began to feel sick to her stomach, and drowsy as well.  Her eyes began to slowly flutter open and closed, but still she never looked ahead.  The world in her eyes grew dark and Rarity’s body began to fall limp as a rag as she knew that she was about to be fully taken advantage of.  After that though, would all be a blur.  Rarity fainted, and the only thing she would be able to recall was a booming male’s voice echo throughout the cave, “NOOO!”  The hands left her and the overwhelming sensation of being surrounded was lifted.  But it was too late for her to see much of anything at all.  No, by that time, Rarity had already fainted and was once again out cold.

Chapter 4

Much later, Rarity awoke.  She was groggy and her head hurt really bad, but something felt different about where she was, and she could hear voices too.  They were only mumbles at first, but as Rarity came out of her drowsy state they began to grow clearer.  Soon she could make out familiar voices saying, “Look!  She’s awake!” and “Quick!  Get me some water!” and “Somepony go get the nurse!”

Rarity blinked her eyes a few times and allowed her senses to return to her.  Everything seemed like a big blur to her at first, but as she awoke and as her senses finally came about her, the horrible realization of what she had suffered came back to haunt her.  Her eyes shot wide open and she lurched upwards.  Before she could get too far up though, a set of two purple hooves landed on her chest and pushed her back down into the warm bed.  Rarity looked up and saw the familiar face of Twilight Sparkle standing over her.  The purple unicorn smiled softly and used her magic to pull the sheets up over Rarity.  “Take it easy Rarity,” Twilight said softly to her, “relax.  You’ve been through a lot but you’re safe now.  Fluttershy went to get you some water and Rainbow Dash went to find a nurse.”

Rarity was still a little dazed as she tried to sit up once more, only to be put back down by Twilight again, but she was able to mumble a little, “Wh… what happened?”

She coughed several times, her throat as dry as a desert, at which time Fluttershy came dashing in with a cup of water.  “Here you go Rarity,” she said softly as crossed to the foot of Rarity’s bed and then gave her the cup.  She saw how dehydrated Rarity seemed to be, so without having to be told, she instantly turned on her hooves and went to fetch another cup.

Rarity drank the water as though she hadn’t had anything to drink in days, and it only took her a matter of seconds to drain the cup.  Afterwards, she took several deep breaths and propped herself up on the pillow.  “Twilight?” she asked once more, only this time with a little more energy, “What happened to me?”

It seemed as if Twilight was trying to avoid the issue, but she couldn’t seem to keep her eyes from darting over and catching Rarity’s confused stare.  “It… it’s not a pretty story.  Are you sure you want to hear every detail?”  Her throat still a little dry, Rarity only nodded her head a few times and continued to look quietly at Twilight.  Twilight Sparkle sighed and looked over towards the window where she then closed her eyes and told Rarity the full story as she had been told.  “He’s been here the whole time,” Twilight finished and then looked across the room once more.

Rarity followed Twilight’s gaze to the window and soon saw the large white, extremely handsome stallion leaned over against the wall and asleep.  “Is that your brother?” Rarity asked as she looked him over.

Twilight nodded her head and smiled at softly.  “Yep,” she said, “it sure is.  That’s my big brother,” she smiled at the sleeping stallion, “That’s Shining Armor.”

Rarity looked at him for a few more moments but then looked back over at Twilight.  “How long has he been asleep?” she asked.

Twilight looked back over at Shining Armor as she tried to work out the math.  “Not long,” she eventually concluded, “maybe an hour or so.  Like I said, he brought you here late last night and was up well into the morning.  Why do you ask?”

Rarity glanced back over at him and then looked back at Twilight.  She shook her head several times and said, “No reason.  I just wanted to thank him when he gets up, you know… for saving my life and my… and my…” Rarity’s voice started to shake and tears began to well in her eyes.

Before she could finish though, Twilight merely waved her hoof in the air and said, “It’s OK Rarity.  It’s all over now and you don’t have to relive it.”  Rarity looked down towards the sheets and sniffled once, but nodded her head as she tried to take Twilight advice.  Twilight was quiet for a few moments afterwards, but then smiled and said, “Give me a hug?”  Rarity nodded and smiled as Twilight leaned in to hug her.  They embraced for a little while and then Twilight pulled away and then said, “Well, I’m going to pick up the girls some lunch and get a few things from the market.  Is there anything that I can get you?”  Twilight stood up and walked across the room to the door.

Rarity thought for moment but eventually shook her head and said, “No thank you dear, I’ll be fine.”

“OK then,” Twilight said and pushed the door open, “I’ll be back soon.  Fluttershy and Shining Armor will keep you company, and Rainbow Dash too I guess, and Pinkie Pie and Applejack will be here soon.  I’ll see you around I guess,” she went to go out of the door but then turned around and chided, “Oh, and make sure you get lots of rest and tell the nurses if you need anything.”

Rarity chuckled a little and then promised, “I will Twilight.  Now run along, you needn’t worry about me.”

With that, Twilight smiled briefly at Rarity and then exited the hallway and closed the door behind her.  Once alone, Rarity heaved a sigh and allowed her head to fall back down onto the pillow.  She wondered where Fluttershy was with the water and where Rainbow Dash was with the nurse, but didn’t really care as she felt fine anyway.  As a matter of fact, some serene silence and alone time sounded good right about now.  She wasn’t really tired, more so weary; she didn’t feel like her usual self.  She tried to get comfortable and sleep, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t get comfortable enough.

As she tried to get comfortable though, Rarity caught sight of Shining Armor, still asleep, across from her.  She flipped over onto her side to face him and then pulled the sheets up over her body just a little more.  All was quiet for a time as Rarity merely laid there and watched him sleep.  I feel so in debt to him.  She continued to watch him sleep and had a blank look on her face as she tried to gather her wits and recollect all that had happened.  She tried as hard as she possibly could to recall all that had happened to her, but she just couldn’t seem to remember anything but little bits.  She remembered that she had been in a cold, dark, and damp cave when her captors had approached her.  She remembered that they had beaten her, made her suffer the ultimate indignity, and of course, had tried to have their way with her.  After that though, all she could remember was everything going dark.

Tears began to well in her eyes and her body began to shake with both anger and fear at her experiences.  Slowly and reluctantly, embarrassed to be doing it in front of another pony, let alone a stallion, she reached her foreleg down and touched her vagina.  She didn’t really know what to feel for, but she just wanted to check and made sure that the dogs didn’t get any further than they already had.  She heaved a sigh as she felt herself over and then pulled her hoof away.  Luckily enough, Rarity didn’t feel anything on her labia as far as scars or anything like that, and it didn’t hurt her, so she supposed that all she had to worry about getting rid of was the mental pain of the indignity that was caused as the result of her being felt up.

Rarity sighed once more and used her magic to get a tissue from a nearby box.  Her magical skills felt weak, she barely had the energy to levitate the tissue towards her, and her horn ached horrible.  All of this pain and difficulty meant that they must have just gotten the cover off of Rarity’s horn.  All unicorns had a magical energy which radiated off from the horn, acting as a sort of generator in a way, and if that radiated energy was cut off or covered up, then a unicorn would completely lose their magical abilities; some could even permanently lose their abilities.  It would hurt to use magic and she wouldn’t be able to cast but the simplest of spells, but it would recover in time, most likely after a few days.

Rarity gasped from exhaustion as the tissue finally came over to her and then she stopped casting her spell.  She watched with weary and bored eyes as the tissue descended down slowly onto her chest.  When it finally landed, she grasped it with her hoof and brought it up to her face where she then began to pat her eyes dry.  Rarity hadn’t seen herself in the mirror for what seemed like an eternity, but she was sure that she still looked like a mess.  She was tempted to get up and walk around the room a little, perhaps look at her reflection in the nearby window too, but she just didn’t have the energy and besides, she didn’t want to wake Shining Armor up.  Rarity was sure that whatever level of exhaustion she felt, Shining Armor had twice the level.  After all, he had been the one to traverse the massive tangle of tunnels throughout the cave, fight off her captors, and then carry her all the way here to the Ponyville Hospital.

As she thought about it once more, Rarity couldn’t help but allow the feeling of how in debt she was to him return.  She looked back over at him and once more continued to watch him sleep in silence.  Eventually though, she broke that silence.  “I know you probably can’t hear me,” she began with a quiet tone, “but thank you.  Thank you very much.  I… I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come along.”  She looked down at the floor and was quiet for a time, but then looked back up at Shining Armor.  She smiled softly at the sleeping stallion and continued, “Twilight talks a lot about you.  She says that you two are the best of friends and that you’re the captain of the Canterlot Royal Guards too.  Is all of that true?”  Of course, she didn’t expect a response, but she felt that it would be a way for her to pass the time and to perhaps put her mind at ease.  “I was hoping that we could talk when you awake.  I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.  Twilight said that you came to town once, but that I was away whist you were here.”  She was quiet for a moment as the blank look started to return to her face.  “Shame,” she commented quietly and then blinked her eyes a few times.  “You’re very handsome,” Rarity complimented.

Shining Armor shuffled around a little, but was still fast asleep.  Rarity didn’t know this and blushed deeply.  She quickly adjusted herself to look a little more natural and pulled the sheets up over her face, all as she hoped that Shining Armor didn’t hear any of what she had said.  When he stopped moving about though, and a little snore escaped from his mouth, Rarity giggled and then heaved a sigh of relief.  She flipped back over onto her side and pulled the covers up to her muzzle where she continued to watch him sleep.  She had meant what she said; Shining Armor was a very handsome stallion.  She couldn’t be sure as she had never had the opportunity to meet him, but something just told her that he was a very sweet and caring individual.  Also, she wasn’t sure what it was, but there was just something about his mere presence in the room that seemed to comfort her.  Maybe it was the whole “damsel in distress” mental mechanism kicking in, or perhaps it was the debt that she felt she owed to him, but whatever it was, she rather liked it.

Rarity fell back into the blank stare once more as she tried to gather her thoughts, but was eventually shaken out of it as the nurse entered with Rainbow Dash.  Rarity picked her head up and looked towards the door to see who it was and then flipped over with a smile on her face when she saw who it was.  “Hey there sleepyhead!” Rainbow Dash greeted as she entered into the room, “How ya been?” she asked and hovered forward where she leaned in and gave Rarity a hug.

“I could be better Rainbow Dash darling, I could be better,” she said, “But I’m not bad all things considered.”

“Ah,” Rainbow Dash smiled at her and waved her hoof in the air, “You hang out with me too much.  That’s how I know you’re gonna be OK.”  They both chuckled at this and then Rainbow Dash continued, “Sorry it took so long to get the nurse.  I got up there and couldn’t find anypony, and basically just flew around the halls until I eventually ran head first into her.”  Rainbow Dash pointed over to the nurse who was scribbling down some things on a clipboard.  She chuckled and then said, “Sorry about that again.”

The nurse waved her off as she placed the clipboard down and walked towards Rarity’s bed.  “Oh,” she said, “think nothing of it.  You find ponies get excited when you work in this business, so some accidents are to be expected.  But hey, as I said, at least we’re already in a hospital right?”  Everypony in the room smiled at the nurse, partly because of her joke and partly because of her frazzled hair and crooked hat, obviously damage which resulted from the collision.  “Well Miss Rarity,” she said as she came over to the bedside, “if you could, please roll over onto your back for me.”  Rarity did as she was told and laid there as the nurse inspected her even though she was one hundred percent sure that she was fine.  She answered a couple of questions, asked a few questions, talked a little about what didn’t feel normal, and otherwise normal medical procedure.

After that, the nurse left and left Rainbow Dash alone with Rarity.  The two of them had a little conversation beginning with Rainbow Dash sitting down beside Rarity’s bed.  “Does anything hurt?” she asked innocently.

“Not really darling,” Rarity said, “Mostly just my head… and my dignity.”  It ended after that.

Rainbow Dash stopped there; she knew that Rarity didn’t want to talk about it.  “Man,” she said and punched her hooves together, “if only I could have gotten one shot at those dogs…”

Rarity smiled at her friend’s charisma and loyalty, but still she knew that it couldn’t undo what had already been done.  “Hey Rainbow Dash…” Rarity began slowly, a blush starting to spread across her face, “Do you know… do you know if they cleaned me up?”  Rainbow Dash seemed a little confused at first but eventually caught on as Rarity looked away from her and pointed down towards her genitals.  It was likely that Rainbow Dash was the first one here considering that she got the news at the same time the other’s did, so she was sure to be the one to ask about these matter.

“Oh,” Rainbow Dash said and looked away from Rarity entirely, “Yeah… they were doing that when I got in here.  Actually, I went to go get the nurses another bowl of water and soap and some more rags.”  She stopped there and avoided going into any further detail.  To know that such an independent and internally strong mare like Rarity had been pushed and frightened to the point of wetting herself even hurt Rainbow Dash.

They were quiet for a few moments following the question, but they eventually slipped into more innocent and casual conversation.  Rainbow Dash had been out at Cloudsdayle practicing with the Wonderbolts, so she hadn’t been able to speak with Rarity for a time and now was the perfect time for them to catch up.  They each tossed questions at each other and chatted about this and that for a long time.

Eventually, Fluttershy joined up with them and served Rarity her water.  She drank it quicker than the average healthy pony would, but at least she was able to control herself this time.  The timid little mare joined in on the conversation after a while and they all just talked as friends.  Soon enough too, Pinkie Pie and Applejack came racing into the room.  Both of them were short of breath but at the same time they had relieved smiles upon their faces to see that their friend truly was alright.  They embraced her and offered their sympathies and assurances that they would be there for her every step of the way.

Rarity embraced them back, thanked them, and then invited them to keep her company afterwards.  “There isn’t much to do around here,” she pointed out, “so you girls might as well just stay here and keep my boring old self company.”

They all chuckled but then grew silent when they heard a different voice, a voice which did not belong to any of them, pipe up from within the room.  “Miss Rarity,” the voice said slowly, groggily, “if it’s OK that I call you that, while I don’t know all that much about you other than the fact that you’re one durable mare, I can probably infer that you aren’t anywhere near boring.”

They all turned their heads around and looked to see who the voice to belonged to.  There, on the window seat, was Shining Armor stretching out.  He yawned and then climbed up out of the seat and shook himself off.  “I’m sorry if I interrupted you girls,” he smiled warmly at all of them, “but I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be going.  I was hoping that Twily would be here, but could one of you please just tell her that I miss her, I love her, and I’ll be sure to visit before I have to go back to Canterlot?”

“Me!” Pinkie Pie shouted and rose her hoof, only to shake it erratically in the air, “Pick me!  Pick me!” she pleaded with him.

Shining Armor chuckled at the pink mare’s antics and said, “All right, all right Pinkie.  You can do it.”

“Yay!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed and began to skip around the room all while her friends chuckled at her light-heartedness.

“Shining Armor?” Rarity said amidst the skipping and the chuckling just before he turned to go out of the door.

“Yes ma’am?” Shining Armor asked politely.

Rarity blushed at this and said, “I was wondering if I could maybe speak to you?”

Shining Armor turned back into the room at once and smiled at her.  “Of course,” he said and went over to her bedside.

“I hate to be rude,” Rarity turned her head over towards the other girls, “but could me and my savior have a little private time?”

The other four ponies in the room bid their goodbyes, promised they would be back later to see her out, and then left.  As they closed the door behind them and as Rarity watched their shadows leave the glass, all was quiet.  Rarity didn’t know where to begin and she didn’t know what to say.  Luckily enough though, Shining Armor seemed to pick up on this and started things off for her, “Is there something you wanted to ask me or tell me?” he asked so gently.

Rarity’s eyes shot nervously about as she tried to bring the words to voice, but all she could seem to utter was, “Yes.”  She nodded her head.  Afterwards, all became quiet once more.  Shining Armor didn’t seem hurried or anything, just patient and gentle as he waited for what Rarity had to say.

He chuckled quietly under his breath and looked into her eyes.  “What is it you wanted to tell me Rarity?  You don’t have to be nervous.  I don’t bite,” he smiled gently at her.

Rarity smiled back at him, but as she did so, she really got to catch sight of his eyes for herself.  There was just something in them that told her he was telling the truth and something that made her feel at ease.  As if it was the key that unlocked her inner feelings, Rarity finally found the energy (or courage) to say what she wanted to say.

“Shining Armor,” she began slowly, “I’ll be honest with you and say that I don’t quite know how to put this.”  She was quiet for a few moments as she gathered her thoughts.  She twiddled her hooves around and eventually started up once again.  “You saved me.  I don’t know of any other word that could perfectly describe it.  You saved me, and that’s something that I won’t ever forget and is something that I think you need to be repaid for…”  She had to stop there though as Shining Armor stopped her.

“Oh no Miss Rarity,” he said while he shook his hoof and shook his head, “I don’t want to hear any of that.  It is my duty as an officer of the Canterlot Royal Guard to ensure that any and all ponies, whether under my current jurisdiction or not, are safe and able to live peacefully.  I was only doing my job.”

Rarity was persistent though, and she continued to push him.  “I insist that you call upon me for anything that you might need,” she said, “I don’t know if Twilight told you or not, but I run a boutique here in town and I would be glad to provide you with anything you might need free of charge, anytime too.”  Shining Armor only chuckled softly as Rarity continued to name off what she could do for him.  “I could make you anything you wanted, I could maintain and dress all of the Royal Guard uniforms, I could buy you a personal dinner…”

Shining Armor cut her off once more.  “Isn’t that usually the stallion’s job?” he asked and looked at her, apparently scaling her up.

“What?” Rarity asked.  She stopped naming things off and looked up at him.

“Isn’t that usually the stallion’s job?  You know, to pay for a lady’s dinner?” he asked her.

Rarity was quiet for a moment as she tried to figure out what game Shining Armor was playing, but eventually said, “I… I suppose that’s common practice, but if that’s what you would like, I certainly don’t mind to.”

“That’s not what I want,” Shining Armor said softly and shook his head.

Rarity started to grow frustrated with the stallion, but tried to keep her composure.  “Well,” she said, “What can I get for you, do for you?”

Shining Armor lifted his head up and tapped on his chin with his hoof.  “I want…” he said slowly, “I want…” a smile started at the corners of his mouth, “Nothing!” he said and looked back down at her.

Rarity sighed and looked down at her bed sheets.  “Twilight wasn’t lying when she said that you were difficult,” she commented and looked over at him with an annoyed look on her face.

Shining Armor laughed aloud and took a seat on the floor by her bed.  “Yep,” he said and reached up to smooth out some wrinkles in the covers, “That sounds like something little Twily would say.”  He was quiet for a few moments after that, but then stood back up and sighed.  “Look, Miss Rarity, you really don’t have to do anything for me.  I was only doing my job.”

Rarity sighed and persisted, “Yes, I do.  It is common courtesy.”  She huffed and crossed her forelegs.

Shining Armor shook his head several times and a smile spread back across his face.  “Fine Miss Rarity,” he said and looked at her, “if you really want to do something for me, then when you get out of this hospital, come have a drink with me or something.”  Rarity blushed deeply and looked down as she concluded that Shining Armor was asking her out on a date.  He suspected what she was thinking though and said, “No, no, no, not a date of course, but as acquaintances.  I haven’t had the chance to meet you and it would be nice to get to know each other,” he pointed out, “After all, you can never have too many friends.”

Rarity processed what she had been told and then a gentle smile came across her face.  “I would very much enjoy that,” he said, “Very much.”

“Good,” Shining Armor said and nodded his head, “Well, I hate to be a rush, but I’ve got a lot of work to do.  Please though, don’t hesitate to call on me if you need something.  Oh yes, and I’ll be here with Twily later when they release you, so maybe we can make plans then?”  He smiled at her and headed for the door.

“That sounds lovely,” Rarity smiled back at him.

“Great!” he said, “So I guess I’ll see you later?”

“Indeed,” came the response.

With that, Shining Armor smiled one last time at Rarity and then exited out of the room.  He closed the door gently behind him and Rarity listened as hoofsteps clacked off into the distance.

Left all to herself now, Rarity flipped over in her bed to a more comfortable position.  Now, she was really going to try to do as she was told and get some rest.  She closed her eyes, but they would just pop back open every time she tried to get comfortable.  The nurse had brought her back a cup of water and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so Rarity leaned forward and took a sip of the water and a bite of the sandwich.

After that, she laid back down and tried once more to make herself comfortable.  Finally she succeeded and was able to close her eyes and fall into sleep.  As she did though, images of Shining Armor kept flashing about in her head.  She knew that she had only just met him, but still, there was something about him that she liked very much.  All the while, she tried to deduce just exactly how Shining Armor had rescued her.  Twilight had given her the story, but only a vague explanation of that, and besides, she hardly remembered what she had been told.

Rarity yawned and pulled the sheets up over her just a little more.  She knew that she should be focused on resting and on what the doctors told her, so she tried as best she could to throw all other thoughts out of her mind and put herself at ease.  It took some time, but Rarity was eventually able to fall asleep.  Her mind was clear and she felt at ease, finally safe.  Only, one thought continued to linger in her mind:  Shining Armor.

Chapter 5

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…

Chapter 6

Across town and in the library, Shining Armor was just now getting out of the shower.  He dried himself off thoroughly, combed his mane down so that it had its usual handsomeness, and then put on a little cologne so that he would smell nice.  The time was drawing near for their date and Shining Armor was growing increasingly excited.  Rarity was a swell mare, very nice, very caring, and very pretty.  As he looked around for his toothbrush, he couldn’t help but think more about Rarity.  He pondered maybe asking her formally to be his marefriend, but he just wasn’t sure.  For one, he didn’t know if she would say yes (right now anyway) because they had just met, and then for two, she was one of Twilight’s best friends; Shining Armor knew the kind of drama that could ensue when rushing into a relationship or getting involved with somepony who was friends with your sibling.  “Still though,” Shining Armor mumbled to himself and smiled in victory when he finally found his toothbrush, “It’s a nice idea.”

He brushed up, cleaned up a little more, and then picked out his tuxedo from Twilight’s closet.  “Hope it still fits,” he said as he started to pull it off the hanger.  It had been his from way back in high school for the prom, and after his induction into the Royal Guard, he sent most of his old unnecessary belongings to either Twilight or their parents.

At first, it didn’t look like the old tux was going to fit, but after several close clothing calls, Shining Armor was finally able to squeeze into it.  It was a little tight at certain points, but luckily wasn’t something that was noticeable or would be too uncomfortable.  Don’t know what I would have done if this thing hadn’t come on.  He circled around and checked himself out in the mirror, admiring how he had managed to at least partially keep his high school figure.  For tonight, a tuxedo or a suit was absolutely necessary for him.  He planned on taking Rarity to one of the best restaurants in Ponyville, and definitely one of the ritzier places.  He wondered if perhaps he should send her a letter or visit her and request that she wear a dress, but he eventually decided against it as he wanted to keep the location and surprise, and besides, Rarity didn’t need a dress.  Her mere physical appearance was enough to compensate for even the most beautiful and expensive dress.

All ready to go, Shining Armor made sure that he looked OK, smelled OK, and was ready for a nice dinner with his new friend.  Once sure that all was well, he set off for Rarity’s boutique.  For some strange reason, he seemed to know the route by heart and thus it didn’t take him long to get there.  Huh, I wonder why I got here so fast?  He asked himself as he neared her door.  He dwelled on it for a few moments, but then brushed it off as he switched his focus to looking good for Rarity.

He knocked on the door and waited for her to come.  “Coming!” her beautiful voice echoed out and hoofsteps could be heard drawing closer and closer to the door.  She opened the door and smiled instantly when she saw who it was.  “Shining, darling!” she said and jumped up to hug him as she did all of her friends.  “Come in, come in,” she ushered him inside politely after she backed away from him.  “Forgive me for not being ready sooner,” she explained, “but I can’t seem to find my lipstick.  She saw down in one of the chairs and started to sift through one of her makeup bags.  “I didn’t know where we were going, but will this dress do?” she asked.

“I think it’ll do just fine,” Shining Armor said as he watched the beautiful mare sift through her possessions, “It’s very becoming of you.”

Rarity blushed and smiled to herself, “Why thank you.”  She continued her sifting and placed the bag down when she couldn’t seem to find it.  She exhaled with frustration and decided that she didn’t need it.  “Shining Armor?” she asked him, “Do you think I’ll be OK to not wear any lipstick with this dress?”

Shining Armor didn’t have to think twice before he answered.  “Yes Rarity, you’ll look more than OK.”  He smiled at her.  Shining Armor was so tempted to tell her that she was beautiful and they she always looked beautiful, but he feared that he would unintentionally make the atmosphere awkward and thus make the whole affair awkward.

Rarity thanked him once more and put her bag back up.  Satisfied that she hadn’t forgotten anything, she asked if he was ready to go, and upon confirmation, went out the door with him.

They walked to the restaurant slowly, somewhat quietly, and merely enjoyed each other’s presence.  Naturally, there was a little conversation, but mostly just comments on the weather and questions of how each other had been.  Funny they both thought, because it had only been a few hours since they last saw each other.

In any event, when they finally arrived at the restaurant, Shining Armor seated her like a gentlecolt and then took his seat.  They ordered and ate and it was a very peaceful and friendly affair.  Once finished though, Shining Armor placed down a considerable amount of bits on the table while Rarity again began to sift through on her bags.  “Uugh!” she said comically to him, “I can’t find anything today.”  When she finally found all of her money though, she was surprised to see that in the place of the bill there was a receipt with a stamp on it marked “Paid in full” and a considerable tip sitting atop the table.  Shining Armor drummed his hooves quietly on the table and whistled as he looked away from her.

“Shining Armor!” Rarity chided him and stamped her hoof on the floor, “You did not just do what I think you just did.”

Shining Armor could only smile at her and say, “Well, you didn’t say that I couldn’t pay ninety-nine point nine percent of the tab.”

“You are unbelievable,” Rarity said, “You’re unbelievable!”  She waved her hooves in the air and acted playfully angry.  All the way out of the restaurant and into the dark streets, she continued to chide him.  “Stop paying for things for me otherwise we won’t be friends anymore,” she told him jokingly.

“I’ll have to think about it,” he said and smirked smartly at her.

After the little makeshift spat, the two of them laughed with each other and continued to walk to Rarity’s home.  Once there, they bid each other goodbye with a hug and a clasped hooves.  “I’ll see you soon?” one would ask only to have the other respond, “Definitely.”

Finally alone, Rarity slipped out of her clothes for the second time that day and went to wash her makeup off.  As she had before though, Rarity didn’t feel like sleeping this time.  She was too alert, too… hopeful.  Hopeful of what?  She stopped wiping her makeup off for a moment as she pondered on the question.  Eventually though, she finished up and decided that they best way to ponder on her thoughts would be to go back to her trusty diary.  “Oh,” she said as she rubbed her horn gently, “I know I take you for granted a lot, but I really do love to be able to write.”  Finally, the occasional sharp point that ran through her horn when in contact with anything went away.  Rarity would indeed make a speedy recovery at this point.

She went upstairs and made herself comfortable.  Rarity slipped into her robe, allowed her mane to just be let down, and opened the window just a little bit to let some fresh air in.  Afterwards, she laid down in the bed and pulled her diary out.  She flipped it open to the marker and prepared to write, but just before she did, she took note of her last sentence.  As it were, in her excitement for the dinner, she had completely forgotten about it.  She read the words aloud, quietly of course, over and over.  “Still… Still… Still…” she said and then looked out the window at the moon.  It was the most handsome shade of white, almost like Shining Armor’s coat.  She looked back down at her diary and smiled to herself.  She bit her bottom lip in a schoolmare-like sense of wonderment as she slowly finished her sentence.  Still… I think I’m going to go for it.

Chapter 7

A few days later, the desire to date Shining Armor was killing Rarity.  She hadn’t been able to see him over the past week or so because of the fact that a spot had been chose and the Royal Guard had been sent to the outskirts of Ponyville to use the rugged terrain for training.  However, they had been able to keep in contact through Twilight Sparkle.  Rarity wanted so desperately to go and see him, reveal her true feelings to him, and just… kiss him, but only family was allowed into the training grounds and even then only for a very short time.  Shining Armor, even though he was the commander, wasn’t allowed off the grounds just like the other soldiers.  It was all very strict and Rarity thought very unfair.

To keep herself occupied though, Rarity was eventually able to return back to work and what she loved most.  A few days before, Rarity awoke to find that she felt better than she had in years (or what seemed so anyway).  She thought that it might have been because she had such a good night’s sleep, but when she absentmindedly poured a cup of coffee, took a sip from the cup, and didn’t realize it until she was reading the morning paper, levitating a spoon full of cereal, and the cup as well, she knew that she finally had her magical abilities back.  What a relief it was too.

Today was the day though, Rarity was sure of it.  Today she would have the courage to tell Twilight of her feelings for Shining Armor.  She had arranged yesterday to meet with Twilight and have a little mare on mare time at the library, and when she was finally there and when the right time came, she would finally reveal her feelings of Shining Armor to Twilight.

It was yet another beautiful day as Rarity walked towards the library.  She stopped and admired some nearby flowers that had been planted by the town and afterwards checked one more time to make sure that her book was in her saddlebag.  The book was one of her very favorites, a romance novel that was good though old.  An instant classic in her mind.

“Hi Rarity!” Twilight greeted with a smile as Rarity finally arrived with a knock on the door.

“Hello Twilight,” Rarity said cheerfully back and walked inside as Twilight stepped aside.  “Well, we can get started whenever you’d like.  I brought my own copy,” she said and pulled the book out for Twilight to look at.

“Hey,” Twilight said as she looked it over, “I know that one!”

“Oh?” Rarity asked as she followed Twilight into the living room and then made herself comfortable on the couch.

“Yep,” Twilight said, “It’s so romantic.  I love it!  Naturally though, Spike doesn’t want anything to do with it,” she sighed playfully.

“Well,” came the reply, “boys will be boys I guess.”

“I guess so,” Twilight agreed and went in search of her own copy of the book, finding it almost instantly.

Once she settled down onto the couch beside Rarity, the two of them spent a little time reading in silence paired with some casual conversation.  Afterwards too, they had a book-club like discussion over what they had read.  After that though, Twilight returned from the kitchen with refreshments and little hoof sandwiches.  Book discussion over, it was Rarity who asked the first question, casually enough.  “So Twilight,” she began, “how have things been?”

Twilight smiled and swirled her drink around.  “Oh,” she began, “not bad all things considered.  It’s been a real task though running up and down to the camp to give things to Shining Armor.  Insists though that he has something a little more ‘domestic’ as far as food goes.”  She chuckled.  She went to ask Rarity how she had been, as was custom, but Rarity beat her and brought up another subject.

“Actually,” Rarity said as she sat her cup down and scratched her hoof nervously, “that’s sort of what I was hoping to talk to you about?”  A slight blush spread across her face, but fortunately, Twilight didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh?” Twilight asked.  She cocked her head and continued, “What do you mean?”

“You know,” Rarity began slowly, “about the camp and… your brother.”

Twilight giggled.  “My brother?” she asked.

“Yes,” Rarity replied, “your brother.  Shining Armor.  Well… you see Twilight I… I kind of wanted to ask you something.”

“So what is it?” Twilight pressed.

“You see Twilight,” Rarity began to explain, “as it were, over the past few weeks I seem to have grown an… affinity for Shining Armor.”  She circled her hooves around nervously for a few moments before continuing.  “I was afraid to tell you because I know all of the drama that can arise because of friends and siblings and the like.  Shining Armor is a sweet stallion though, and…”  she quieted herself when she heard laughter.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Twilight said through her chuckles, “Are you saying that you want to date Shining Armor?”

Rarity blushed and looked down.  “Well, it certainly seems that way,” she said nervously.

“Alright then,” Twilight said after she stopped laughing.

“What?” asked Rarity, unsure if she had heard Twilight correctly.

“Alright,” Twilight repeated, “Done.”  She smiled at Rarity.

“You mean you don’t mind?” Rarity asked.

Twilight snorted and waved her hoof.  “Of course not,” Twilight said and flipped her mane aside, “Besides, I think it’s sweet.”  Once again, Rarity couldn’t help but look down and blush.  “Have you asked him yet?” Twilight pressed her friend for more details.

Quietly, and with an embarrassed tone, Rarity mumbled, “No… I’m afraid to.”

“Oh I get it,” Twilight said with a playful yet friendly tone, “You’ve got the romance butterflies.”  Rarity could only nod her head in agreement.  Twilight sat silently for a moment as she pondered it all over, but then she eventually jumped up and said, “Tell you what, I’m going to take some lunch to Shining Armor in a few hours.  Since he’s not allowed off the grounds, then I’ll just pass the message along and he could pass you a message along too.”  Rarity seemed wary of the idea at first, but Twilight was able to put her to ease.  “Don’t worry,” she said, “I won’t laugh.  What you guys have to say to each other is your business, not mine.  Besides, since it’s not related to science, history, math, or social studies, then chances are I’ll forget it soon anyway.”  She chuckled.

Rarity smiled at her and stood up.  She was overjoyed with how Twilight reacted and she was just so excited that she could go home now and make a million dresses.  “Thank you so much Twilight!” she thanked her friend.

“It’s no problem Rarity,” Twilight said as she escorted her to the door.

Before she left though, that sense of nervousness overcame Rarity’s excitement.  A sudden, horrible thought struck her and it was all she could do to try to avert it.  “Twilight, darling,” she said with a whisper, “Please do me a favor.  Don’t come right out and tell him.  I really don’t think it would be for the best.  I think the best approach would be for you to… beat around the bush if you will.”

Twilight nodded and respected her friend’s wishes.  “I think I can do that,” Twilight said and smiled.  She mentally noted it and then bid Rarity her goodbyes.

Afterwards, Twilight spent the rest of the day tidying up the library, snacking on the sandwiches that she had shared with Rarity, and other miscellaneous tasks to pass the time.  As the hours ticked on though, Twilight eventually went to packing up a nice lunch for Shining Armor.  Once finished and armed with what Rarity wanted her to do, she set out on the length trek to the training base.

Once there, she was allowed right in of course, and delivered her lunch to Shining Armor as well as passed the message along to him.  “So…” Twilight said, “What do you think of Rarity?”  She would use strategies like this to gain information from Shining Armor.

“She’s a nice mare, very pretty too.  So very generous as well,” he said, more to himself than her as he scribbled down some paperwork.

“So…” Twilight began slowly, innocently as possible once more, “Would you date her?”

An awfully long and awkward conversation ensued, but then it yielded results.  Shining Armor eventually gave Twilight what she had come for.  He sighed and came close to her.  In a quiet voice he said, “Twilight, I like Rarity… a lot.  She’s a swell mare and well… I think it’d be quite the honor to date her.  So… could you maybe pass the message along inconspicuously?”

Twilight agreed of course, and delighted to deliver the news to Rarity bade her goodbyes and set off.  Once back into town, it was only natural that the first place she went was to Rarity’s boutique.  She knocked on the door and when Rarity answered, gave her the news right away.  The usually ladylike and proper mare squeed like a little schoolfilly and jumped up and down.  Finally, she had a stallion who was interested in her for so much more than her looks.  A sweet stallion which she knew would care for her and always be there for her.

As the days passed by, Shining Armor and Rarity began to convey more and more messages to each other through Twilight.  Despite the otherwise obvious meanings of each message, ironically enough, the both of them had a fear that they might be overdoing it.  Thus, they decided to beat around the bush more.  Twilight Sparkle wanted so desperately just to drag them both into the same room and shout at them to kiss each other already, but she knew that it would be best if she went ahead and let them do it in their own way.  Besides, it was all very cute to her to see her best friend and her otherwise stern and commanding brother acting like two schoolponies in love.  However, it didn’t take long before her wishes started to come true of their own accord.  Shining Armor, on the very last day of his training, gave but five simple words to Twilight to convey to Rarity.  “Meet me at the library.”

Chapter 8

Later that night, Rarity followed the orders of her message.  She kept things simple with her appearance.  There were no dresses or lipstick this time, but merely her own natural beauty, as Shining Armor put it, and a dash of perfume.  All day, Rarity had waited for the sun to go down.  She suspected that Shining Armor was going to do something very romantic based on the fact that he stalled and later sent her a letter which said that he would meet her outside as soon as the clock struck nine.

Hours later, nine the clock did strike.  As promised, Rarity went to the meeting spot.  She waited outside of the dark library for any sign of life but eventually frowned as she thought that perhaps Shining Armor had been held and wasn’t going to show up.  Before she could turn to leave though, she felt a tingling sensation grasp her gently by the throat and turn her head around.  She didn’t have much time to react though before Shining Armor placed his lips to hers.  By far, it was the most amazing kiss of her life.  “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that,” Shining Armor told her once they finished kissing.

Rarity, trying feebly to hide her blush, guessed.  “Since we first started this whole thing?”

Shining Armor shook his head.  He smiled gently at her and said, “No.  Ever since I first met you.”  All was quiet for a moment in the dark streets of Ponyville as Shining Armor said, “Hey, come with me.  I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Rarity trusted him completely, so she did as she was told and followed him into the library and up the stairs.  Once they got to the door of the guest room though, Shining Armor placed his lips to hers over and over and over again.  Rarity did the same to him too.  This wasn’t innocent kissing, but was more passionate and sexually charged.  Before she could get to into it though, Rarity pulled her lips away from Shining Armor and said, “Oh, oh Shining Armor I want you so bad.  I want you so bad, but what if Twilight hears us, or Spike?  I couldn’t dare risk something like that…”

Shining Armor shushed her though when he kissed her once more and snuggled his head to hers.  “Don’t worry about that.  Twilight and Spike are out on the town.  We’ve got the whole place to ourselves.”

With that, the pace of everything escalated quickly.  Rarity let all of her emotions, all of her sexual desires, and even the feeling that she was still in debt to Shining Armor go and entered into the room with him.  The scene was romantic upon entry with lit candles all about the room, a quiet and personalized romantic atmosphere as well, and even with the shades drawn just so that they allowed the most romantic view of the full moon.

“Come here you,” Shining Armor said quietly and playfully as he pulled Rarity down on top of him.  They kissed passionately at first and then cuddled innocently.  After that though, things could only go up.  Shining Armor penetrated into Rarity, who asked that he be gentle because of the secret fact she was a virgin.

He started to thrust slowly and Rarity looked him in the eyes and through her excited pants said, “Shining Armor, I’m so very glad that you were the one to take me.”

He smiled at her and kissed her on the head and then wrapped his foreleg around her back and began to thrust just a little more slowly.  He allowed her some time to break in and then began to pump her just a little more quickly.  They both panted in ecstasy and kissed each other passionately until Shining Armor eventually pulled out of her and then allowed her to be on the bottom.  With her permission, he stood up and allowed her to lay flat over the bed after which he mounted her once more and then began to thrust a little more quickly.  Slowly, he increased his speed until eventually he could sense that Rarity’s pants had nothing in them now but delight.

Shining Armor bit her ear gently all while stroking her sides with his hooves.  Staying in this position for awhile, it didn’t take either of them long to be pushed to the brink of orgasm.  Rarity went first though, and squirted her juices out as he continued to pump her.  The orgasm and the restricting of her personal area only seemed to pleasure Shining Armor even more and then he was the second to cum, literally seconds after Rarity.

As he came, he pushed himself all the way inside of her and listened with a sense of masculine satisfaction as Rarity whimpered in pleasure at the feeling of being filled up by his juices.

Afterwards, he pulled out of her and gravity ran its course, making the rather large load come pouring out of her.  Normally a very neat and tidy pony, Rarity secretly loved the feeling of all the cum dripping out of her and running down her legs.

Breathing heavily, they both laid down in the bed and cuddled with each other.  “I love you so much,” Shining Armor said to her.

“I love you too,” Rarity said and got closer to him.  She snuggled her head up against his body and closed her eyes.

All was silent for a time as each of them stared out of the window and looked at the beautiful moon, or shifted their gaze over and looked at one of the flickering candle flames.  Rarity expressed her concerns that they had perhaps moved to fast but was relieved to see that she wasn’t alone.  “So then,” she concluded, “I suppose that you aren’t really going fast if you both travel at the same speed?”  She smiled up at him and he smiled down at her.

“That sounds about right princess,” he gave her a nickname, “That sounds about right.”