The Walkers

PART III

Spike and Little D had just left the library and were making their way towards Rarity’s shop. Little D was still buzzing with excitement from his encounter with Twilight. “I can’t believe I’ve finally found the Element of Magic. At long last, my journey can finally begin,” he thought to himself. He began grinning again and started to hum to himself.

“What’s got you so happy, D?” asked Spike.

“I just learned that I can finally start something that I’ve been dreaming of for ages. I’m talkin’ ‘bout a good ol’ fashioned adventure here. I just hope I can get some friends to help me out,” he took his hands out of his pockets and began snapping his fingers excitedly. “If I can just get a small group of buddies, I can finally get started, then it’s all smooth sailing from there,” he grinned widely and began chuckling.

“Oh really? What kind of adventure? Is it like a quest?” asked Spike in wonderment. “OH! OH! Is it like one of those adventures where you have to trek across barren lands and fight goblins and werewolves and at the end you find a great big pile of treasure?” His eyes were as wide a saucers and his grin stretched across his face from ear to ear.

“Actually yes it is,” replied Little D with a smile, “and the treasure is grander than your wildest imaginations.”

“Oh is it a pile of gold? No, no, wait, a MOUNTAIN? Or better yet a huge cave FILLED with gems and ice cream!” he shouted excitedly

“Something even better: knowledge,” he said with an enormous grin as he tapped his head with his index finger. Spike’s excitement was, deflated, to say the least.

“Oh,” he said blandly. Little D reared his head back and laughed loudly.

“Yeah, I suspected you to say something like that, but the knowledge I’m seeking is very powerful. Strong enough to bring someone back to life,” explained Little D. Spike seemed to become interested again, if not a little fearful though.

“You mean,” he gulped, “like a zombie?”

“No, of course not,” replied Little D, which seemed to calm Spike down a bit, then with a grin, he added, “Well kinda.” Spike looked up in horror. “Is this the place?” he pointed to a petite, two story building that looked like a tent made out of purple and pink glass and gold.

“Yeah, this is the place," replied Spike dreamily, seemingly to have forgotten the zombie comment. “Let’s go on in.”

“Right behind you,” said D. The door opened with a ding as they walked in.

“Just a minute!” called a voice happily from somewhere in the back of the store. Little D stood near the door and looked around while Spike went to sit in a chair. The open area of the room gracefully displayed the mannequins wearing clothing like works of art. A delicate glass chandelier crowned the ceiling, hung over a large circular platform in the center of the room. It's light brought out the purple and blue diamond designs running up and down the walls

“I do so apologize for the wait darling, but I was a tad occupied with another task in the other room,” said a woman as she came out of the back room. The woman radiated beauty and grace as she sauntered into the room. She wore a simple long-sleeved white shirt, a knee-long black skirt, black heels and black stockings. Her smooth skin seemed almost unnatural in it’s flawlessness. Blue eyes shone out from behind orange glasses with an artistic gleam. She glanced at Spike.

“Hi Rarity,” Spike said dreamily.

“Oh hello Spike dear. What brings you here?” said Rarity sweetly.

“That would be me,” said Little D with a bow. Rarity looked over at him with a kind smile.

“Oh you must be here to be fitted for some new clothes,” she said. “Just step up on the stage darling and let me get to work.”

“What? No I'm not here for that,” he said with a laugh.

"You're not? Are you sure?" she asked seriously with narrowed eyes.

"No. Wait, what's wrong with my clothes?" he asked defensively.

“Well for starters it looks like you’ve been wearing the same set of clothing for years! They are absolutely filthy and ratty and I cannot have it on my conscience that someone is walking about town in rags.”

"You're closer to the truth than you think," he sighed as he looked down at his clothes. He was suddenly painfully aware that almost fifty percent of his attire was clumsily stitched together. "These pants were white when I got them," he grinned.

“All the more reason to get you fitted for some new clothing then, darling,” the seamstress said, apparently not getting the joke.

“As kind of an offer it is I’m afraid I’ll have to decline for now. However there is another matter that you could help me with,” he said with another small bow. “I’m here to pick up a pair of boots for Applejack. Do you have them ready?”

“Oh is that what you’re here for? How chivalrous of you.” Rarity walked back towards the door she came through. “I was just putting the finishing touches on them actually. I wasn’t expecting anyone else to pick them up for her, especially not this early in the day.”

“Yeah, I don’t think she was planning on it either. If I didn’t know better I think she was trying to get rid of me. Crazy right?” D chuckled.

“Oh I wouldn’t worry about that. I’m sure she’s just overwhelmed at the moment, though she won't openly admit it herself. Apple Bucking season is almost upon us and she’s just trying to keep everything running smoothly. If anything, you’re helping her out by allowing her to stay opened a bit later and get home at a decent time now, instead of needing to run all these errands herself,” she said confidently.

Little D was just barely listening. He was walking towards the white cat that was sleeping on the couch. He got to it and scratched it behind the ears. “Good kitty,” he said with a smile. The cat opened it’s eyes sleepily, then snapped wide open in fear. It gave a loud hiss and took a swipe at Little D. “What the hell cat?” he asked it annoyed. The beast hissed again and took another swipe, this time cutting three large gashes in his shirt. “Ey! This is my only shirt.” The cat didn’t care. It hissed again and ran in the direction that Rarity had just went.

“Woah. What did you do to Opal to make her so mad?” asked the bewildered dragon.

“Exist, apparently,” replied D gruffly as he looked down at his shirt. “Just great. Now I gotta get this stitched up.”

“Oh good heavens!” gasped Rarity in horror. “What in the name of Equestria happened to you shirt?” she practically ran into the room. She set the newly repaired brown work boots on a table near the front door and rushed over to D. “This isn’t good at all,” her voice was thick with concern, much like a surgeon performing a tricky operation. “I need to get this sewn up quickly. Take off your shirt Mr...um...”

Little D rolled his eyes, not that Rarity could’ve seen because of his glasses. “My uncle calls me Little D, so no reason you can’t,” he was starting to tire of his introduction. Three introductions in one day? He was lucky to get in one a year. “Anyways it’s fine, I can get this stitched up later, besides, it’s not like that beast of a furball drew blood,” he patted his chest along the gashes to emphasize the point. “See? Nothing” he said with a smile.

“It’s not nothing,” she said sternly. “It’s absolutely dreadful!”

Seriously?

“Look I appreciate your concern but I really need to be going,” he began to back away slowly, but Rarity only got closer.

“What you need is to give me your shirt so I can fix it, and while we’re at it, I can take your measurements and have a whole new set of clothes ready for you by tomorrow. You will be in town for a while longer, yes?”

“A few days, yeah. But I’m fine, can I just please go now?” he asked with dwindling patience. He tried to go around her again but she grabbed onto his arm.

“Absolutely not! Now I’ve already stated that I cannot have someone walking around town in rags and I am not about to go back on that.” Rarity snapped her finger and in a second Little D was encased in a light blue aura. “I apologize for the drastic measures, but you leave me no choice. Now you can either stop acting like a child and we can do this without the magic, or we'll have to do this the hard way.”

Little D scoffed. “How ‘bout neither,” he went for a step forward, but instead, lost his balance and wound up on the floor of the boutique with a grunt.

“Suit yourself,” said Rarity simply. She levitated him onto the stage at the center of the room. She grabbed a tape measure and began using her magic to keep Little D in place and held his arms out. "I'm only doing this for your own good. You'll thank me for this later." While she finished up with the measurements she tried to keep a conversation going with him. "I must say that I do love your glasses, but must you really wear them indoors? It seem so tacky to do such a thing."

"Yes," he said blandly.

"Oh. OH MY GOODNESS," she stopped her work and looked ashamed. "I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I didn't realize that you were blind. Why, I feel so foolish for not realizing it sooner. It seems so obvious now, only someone who actually was blind would walk around in such horrid attire and wear sunglasses indoors."

Seriously?!

Little D wasn’t sure whether he should laugh, or feel insulted.

“Uh, no. Its not like that. I just really don’t like people looking at my eyes. Lets just say that people tend to go crazy over my eyes,” he said simply. “I also really hate taking my shirt off in front of people.” That last remark was directed at Rarity, who just waved his concerns aside.

“Worry not darling,” she said assuredly. “Sure you may be a tad pale, but trust me when I say that I’ve had to deal with customers who had, shall we say, less of a muscular physique than you and those had the audacity to flirt with me.” She shuddered at the memories. “But back to the issue at hand, if you want, you can always stand in one of the dressing rooms while I repair your clothing.” She released her hold on him and watched as he stumbled over to the dressing rooms while he began to unbutton his shirt.

“That sounds reasonable enough. Just one thing.” He turned back to her with his muscular chest and abs fully exposed and struck a modeling pose. “No peeking,” he teased with a sly grin on his face.

“Oh you brute!” Rarity looked away in the attempt to hide her blush. “Just hurry on up and get in the dressing room. I can’t have you parading around my botique like that with a lady present.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” he said as he entered the dressing room and closed the door behind him. He slid the shirt out from the bottom of the door. “Be careful with it,” he warned. “It’s my all-time favorite shirt. Had it a long time.”

“Don’t worry darling, you’re dealing with the best seamstress in all of Equestria,” boasted Rarity. “I’ll treat your shirt with the utmost care.” She sat at a table with a sewing machine. It whirred to life as she began her work.

Little D stood patiently in the dressing room and examined himself in the tall mirror that was hung on the wall. He flexed his biceps and shook his head stupidly. "Who really checks themselves out in mirrors anyway?" he thought to himself. He sat down on the bench that stuck out of the wall. He waited a few more minutes until there was a knock at the door.

"All right, you shirt is all finished. I'm passing it to you now," said Rarity as she slid the shirt under the door. Little D took the shirt and looked at it, still a mess of stitches but all fixed up.

“Thanks Rarity,” he said as he put the shirt back on. He buttoned it up and stepped out into the room. “How much do I owe you for the fix?” he asked.

“Oh don’t worry about the charge darling, it was an emergency situation, and it wouldn’t be very lady like of me to just let you walk about town like that,” she said as she handed him Applejack’s boots. She began to smile, but faltered when she saw movement out the corner of her eye. She turned to see Opal playing with a ball of yarn happily. “You have a lot of nerve missy,” she scolded. “Ruining this nice young man's shirt like that and now you’re playing like nothing happened. Shame on you!” Instead of looking sad, Opal swiped at the ball hard and sent it flying straight at Little D’s face. It hit him and managed to knock his glasses off of his face.

“Oh my goodness!” cried Rarity. “Are you all ri-” her words stopped in her throat as she stared at Little D.

“Thank you for fixing my shirt,” he said coldly and slowly. “I’ll be on my way now.” He picked his glasses off of the floor and put them back on. He brushed past her and took the boots off the table and left without another word.

“Well that was weird,” said Spike casually. “You ok Rarity?” he walked over to her and looked at her.

“His eyes,” she mumbled.

“What was that? Are you feeling ok?” he began to grow concerned when he saw the look of fear on her face.

“Those eyes,” she mumbled again. “So awful.” She shut her own eyes and tried to forget what she just seen. She shook her head but stopped when she realized that Spike was right there. “Oh I’m sorry Spikey, but could you be a dear and fetch me a cup of tea?”

“On it!” Spike, forgetting his past worry immediately, saluted and dashed into the kitchen and came out a few minutes later with a hot cup of tea.

“Thank you dear,” she said and kissed him on the cheek. “I don’t wish to sound rude, but could you please give me some time to myself? I need to....re-collect myself.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” he said dejectedly. “I’ll, uh, see you later then, I guess.” It broke Rarity’s heart watching the little dragon sulk off like that, but she really needed some time alone after what had just happened. Her thoughts wandered back to his eyes, his awful eyes. So hideous.

She shuddered.