Inner Demon

Rion sighed deeply as he trotted through Ponyville. He no longer had a home or a job. Rion looked around at the ponies who were also walking about. Occasionally, ponies would give him weird looks, and others would stop and ask if he was a hobo pony. Rion didn't blame them, though; he was filthy. Rion sighed again.

He didn't know the area very well at all. He couldn't remember where Sugarcube Corner was, even though he'd been there the day before. Since Rion didn't have a home or other place to stay, he also concluded he had no place to bathe. Rion sighed for the millionth time. He hardly noticed a white unicorn pass him by. Suddenly, he heard a loud gasp, much like the one he heard when he first met Pinkie Pie. Not another one...

"Oh my stars!" he heard from behind him.

Rion turned to face the speaker, only to be suddenly hauled off to who-knows-where.

Rion blinked. One moment he was outside, the next he was in some building with a purple interior. Pony mannequins lined the walls, each adorned with a dress of some kind, some of them being half-finished. Rion felt himself hit the floor.

"Ow..." he muttered.

"Oops, sorry about that," the voice said again.

Rion stood up, examining his abductor. The pony was a white unicorn mare, with a fabulously curly purple mane, and a tail to match. Her eyes were a deep blue, and her cutie mark appeared to be three diamond-shaped gemstones. Rion looked from the mare, to the mannequins, and back. He suddenly didn't like where this was going.

"Who are you, and why am I here?" he asked.

"Well, my name is Rarity, and right now you're here at my shop, Carousel Boutique." she replied.

"...Why?" Rion said.

"Well...Just...look at yourself!" Rarity exclaimed.

Rion examined himself. Yeah, still filthy.

"So?" Rion asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I simply cannot let this pass," she said, closing her eyes and taking a dramatic stance.

Rion still didn't like where this was going, but before he could voice his opinion, he was suddenly attacked by tape measures and rulers.

"What are you doing?" Rion asked.

"Taking measurements," the unicorn replied while scribbling notes in a small journal.

"For what?" Rion inquired.

"Why, your new clothes, of course!" Rarity said, a delighted smile spreading across her face.

Rion blinked.

"Uhm, I kinda like my current clothes. And...how in the hay do you expect me to pay for all this?"

"Nonsense, darling, I couldn't possibly forgive myself if I let this crime against fabulousity stand," Rarity explained.

Rion blinked, confused. Fabulousity? Was that even a word? He decided not to dwell on it.

"Well, thanks miss," Rion said, smiling lightly.

"Oh please, it's nothing," Rarity replied, smiling herself.

After a few more minutes of measuring, Rion finally felt the pressure of rulers and tape measures leave his body. He shook his head, looking at Rarity, who was just finished jotting a few last measurements into her journal. Afterward, she set the notebook down and looked at Rion.

"Is there anything in particular you'd like? I noticed you're...fond of that jacket. Maybe you could let me spruce it up a bit?" Rarity said, smiling.

Rion thought for a moment.

"Sure," he replied, using his magic to remove the jacket. He folded it neatly in the air, and set it gently by Rarity's hooves. He looked back up at her, and noticed she was staring at his side. Rion blinked, before he suddenly remembered. Oopsie.

There was a rather large scar on Rion's right side, extending from his forelegs almost to his cutie mark. It was mostly faded, but still noticeable. Rion coughed, attempting to clear the nervous air.

"So uhm, why don't you just surprise me? In the meantime, I'll uh...do...something," Rion said.

Rarity just nodded. Rion stood up nervously, turning to leave, when Rarity suddenly snapped back to attention.

"Oh, wait! You simply must take a bath!"

Rion stopped.

"Yeah, and? I didn't exactly see any private bathhouses around here."

"That's fine, you can use mine for now," Rarity said.

"Err, are you sure that's okay?" Rion asked, raising an eyebrow. It seemed kind of awkward.

"Of course, it's the least I can do," Rarity responded.

Rion blinked again. Least you can do? You're already fixing up my clothes, Rion thought. He sighed inwardly, deciding to let it go. He wasn't about to look a gifthorse in the mouth.

"Thank you, Rarity," Rion said, walking off to find the bathroom.

"It's nothing," Rarity said. "Also, the bathroom is the other way."

"Right," Rion said, walking the other direction. Rarity couldn't help but chuckle.

~~xx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rion stepped out of the bathroom, freshly cleaned and feeling extremely refreshed. He let out a relieved sigh.

"Feeling better?" he heard from beside him. He turned to face Rarity.

"Sure am, thanks a lot Rarity. I appreciate it," Rion replied, smiling.

"It's nothing, darling. Oh, I finished your jacket. I do hope you like it," Rarity said. Her horn began to glow a light blue, and a piece of clothing floated in front of Rion's face. Rion's jaw almost dropped.

It was his jacket, normally just a plain black jacket, however, it was vastly different after Rarity's alterations. It had a red trim along the sides, lighter than his coat, however. The color had a nice goldish-orange trim, and two sapphires adorned either side. His Cutie Mark was also emblazoned on the back.

"Wow, Rarity...That's...That's amazing," Rion said, at a loss for words.

Rarity just smiled.

"Well thank you, I'm glad you like it," she said, smiling.

Rion smiled also, using his magic to take it and put it on. Cleaned it and made it look awesome. For once, Rion actually felt genuinely happy, especially since his arrival to Ponyville, of which he still didn't know the details. He decided not to think about that, though, and instead direct his thoughts on the day he had ahead of him.

Rion left Carousel Boutique a few minutes later. He recalled Rarity saying she had somewhere to be, which didn't surprise him, she seemed like a pony with a rather high social status. Rion sat down on a nearby bench, wondering what to do next.

"I have an idea," the voice in his head stated.

"If it's anything to do with death and destruction, don't even bother," Rion replied instantly.

"Nah, actually, I was thinking, maybe you should go set things straight with that Twilight Sparkle chick," the voice said.

"Hmm...That's not a bad idea, I guess," Rion said, thinking about it. "I'll do that, then. Have to start somewhere."

Rion hopped off the bench. At least he remembered where the library was. He made his way there, greeting ponies as he went, getting a generally positive response from each one. Yep, this place was almost exactly like Peaksedan. Rion stood in front of the library, not realizing how fast the trip went.

"Wow, that was quick," Rion muttered to nopony in particular. "Not complaining, though."

Rion sighed, knocking on the door. No reply. He knocked again. Still nothing. Rion sighed again. Maybe Twilight knew he was there and was ignoring him due to her suspicions. He wasn't going to pass up a chance to put things right, though. He opened the door and walked in. The lights were off. Strange, but whatever. Rion was about to say something when the lights suddenly clicked on.

"SURPRISE!"