“Clydesdale Sterling?” asked Pinkie Pie, “That was his name? I can’t believe it; I don’t know him. He must be new to Ponyville if I don’t know him already.”

It was a few hours later, and the six were together in the library again. The other five had returned, and were listening to the second story of the day regarding the town’s newest inhabitant.

“What makes you think he was harmless?” asked Fluttershy, her interest peaking.

“I never said he was harmless, I said he didn’t seem dangerous; not to us anyway. He definitely wasn’t harmless. He looked… tough, but still unimposing somehow.”

“Twi, did he have a scar on his face like this?” asked Rainbow Dash, tracing a line across the right side of her face starting at her temple and running down to her cheek.

“Yes.” She replied.

“Then he was the one from the mountain. He’s gotta be, it can’t be anypony else.”

“So, we know there’s a new stallion in Ponyville,” began Rarity, “We know his name and what he looks like, but we have a complete lack of any other information about him. Not where he’s from, or why he’s here; and I think we all want to find out.”

The others nodded, and they began hatching plans to quench their curiosities.

“I don’t think this is a very good idea,” protested Twilight.

“Relax, darling. Everything will be fine. It’s not like anypony will get hurt,” replied Rarity assuringly, looking back at her from the roadside.

“Ah, I don’ know Rarity. I think I’m with Twi on this one. It just doesn’t seem right,” said Applejack.

“Oh, would you just chill! This is a great idea; it’s foalproof! That stallion came into town on this road earlier, so he’ll probably come back out on it too. And when he does, Rarity’ll work her magic and we’ll know everything about him in an hour,” assured Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, and after she gets him to go with her, we’ll just show up, and I’ll welcome him to Ponyville! I get to sing the welcome song, and we’ll be friends forever!” exclaimed Pinkie, jumping up and down.

“It just doesn’ seem right to use Rarity as bait,” stated Applejack, looking to her friends for their opinions.

Before they could answer, a sophisticated accent from the road protested, “I am not bait! I’m simply a persuasion to try and get him to stop and talk to us.”

“But, what if it doesn’t work?” asked a small voice.

“Fluttershy, this is Rarity we’re talking about. No stallion ever turned her down for anything,” said Dash as the group looked towards the white mare, who was standing on the side of the road and fussing over her looks, “If anypony can get this stallion to talk, it’s her.”

“Dash, are you okay? You’re kind of obsessing over this guy,” asked Twilight.

“I am not!”

“Um, yes, you are,” said Fluttershy quietly.

Dash rose above her friends, threw her hooves up in the air, and shouted, “I am not! How could you say I’m obsessing over a stranger? I’m not obsessing!”

Her tirade was interrupted when Rarity hissed, “Quiet, he’s coming.”

They ducked behind a bush as they listened to the sound of approaching steps on the cobblestone road. As they grew louder, Rarity crouched on the roadside, holding her back left ankle, and put on one of the most dramatic performances any of them had ever seen.

As the stallion came into view, she began wincing and crying; acting of course but still appearing to be in distress. Her sobs grew louder as the stallion approached, with the group expectantly waiting for him to stop, giving her a chance to lure him into a conversation.

But, the stallion walked right past her without even turning his head.

Rarity looked up in disbelief, and seeing the stallion’s backside continuing down the street, she rolled onto her back, gripping her leg, and fitting the role of a damsel in distress, cried, “Ahh! Oh, my ankle, it hurts! Oh the pain! Somepony, please help me!”

The stallion, without turning around, audibly said, “I know you’re not hurt.”

The white unicorn’s sapphire eyes widened in surprise to match the others’ concealed in the shrubbery. Rarity looked at the stallion’s back receding from her, then back at her ‘hurt’ ankle. She needed to think of something before her chance slipped away.

She acted without thoroughly thinking of a new plan, looking back to her leg and saying, “Oh, it feels better.”

The unicorn darted to catch up to the stallion as the other five crept along the roadside, just out of sight. She reached his side, panting, and struggled to keep pace with his long stride.

“So, what’s your name,” she said out of breath, trying to buy time.

The stallion looked at her with a suspicious look as he walked, then back ahead of him, replying, “I’m Clyde.”

“Oh funny,” she said forcing a nervous laugh, “A friend of mine said she met someone that looked just like you named Clydesdale Sterling.”

"So you're friends with Twilight?"

"Yes."

“Well, that is my full name, but I normally just go by Clyde. And you?”

“I’m Rarity,” she said through heavy breaths, trotting to keep up with the much larger pony’s gate.

“Nice to meet you,” replied the stallion, offering a friendly smile, but not slowing down in the slightest.

Rarity quickened her pace to catch up with him again, passing him on the road and stepping in front of him. The two stopped, facing each other in the middle of the cobblestone path. Her mane was out of place from trying to keep up and she was out of breath, but she tried to look as attractive as she could.

“So, you’re new to town?”

“Yes. I got here a few days ago,” he said as he tried to go around her, but she very deliberately blocked his path.

The unicorn tried to think of what to say next but couldn’t. She looked at her hooves, debating her next move. She had to get the stallion back to the library somehow, but feigning injury hadn’t even stopped him, and small talk wasn’t leading her anywhere either. She decided to go to plan C.

Rarity looked back up into the stallion’s intense green eyes. He was looking back with a slightly confused expression, an eyebrow raised and his jaw set. She batted her eyelids and began slowly advancing on him, swaying a bit as she did. Seducing this stallion would definitely get him to do anything; it had worked on others in the past, so surely it would work now.

“Well,” she began, “seeing how you’re new to town, and don’t know many ponies here, perhaps we could be friends.”

She made eyes at him as she brushed along his side, and cooed, “Maybe even more than friends.”

Rarity looked up into his chiseled face and smiled, trying her best to entice him. The stallion looked back, an amused grin across his face. He opened his mouth to speak, and Rarity anticipated his compliance.

“Thanks, but I’ve got some things I need to attend to.”

He bowed as he said, “Until next time.”

The pegasus suppressed a chuckle until he had walked a few feet away from her, then spread his wings and kicked off into the sky, flying towards the Saddleback Mountains.

Rarity stood frozen in disbelief as the other five sprang from cover and came to her side.

“I’ve… I’ve been rejected,” she said, her eyelid twitching and her jaw hanging loosely.

Her friends began snickering. The situation she was in was ironic enough, but coupled with the look on her face, they couldn’t contain their laughter, especially Pinkie Pie. She was noisily giggling, causing Rarity to whip her head around.

“This isn’t funny!” she protested, “This is serious! This has never happened to me before,” she explained, panic rising in her voice.

“It’s fine,” assured Rainbow Dash, “you were just a little off your game, that’s all.”

“It is not fine!” she whined “What’s the matter with me?”

“Well,” started Applejack through giggles, “I don’ know if it’s the way you started out, with that ‘hurt ankle’ gimmick, or the way you forced yerself on him like some love sick filly, but you were ‘bout as smooth as old applesauce.”

The five laughed, and a smile even spread across Rarity’s face.

“Sorry Rarity, but that was awful,” said Twilight, a giggle escaping as she finished.

Now they all laughed together. It was awful, and they embraced it. When the spell had passed, Rainbow Dash sighed.

“Do we have another plan?”

The group grew silent in thought. Minutes passed until the quiet was interrupted, and even then, the voice behind it was nearly a whisper.

“Doesn’t cider season start tomorrow?”

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with this Sterling guy?” answered Dash.

“Well, with enough cider, we might be able to get him to talk.”

The other five were stunned.

“Fluttershy, how do you know about this sort of thing?” asked Twilight slowly.

The yellow pegasus only shrugged, the corners of her mouth drawing up in a timid smile.

Rainbow Dash, her jaw still hanging loosely, asked, “You mean you wanna get him drunk?”

“I never said that,” said Fluttershy quietly, “I only said with enough, it might be easier to get him to tell us about himself.”

“That’s actually a really good idea,” stated Pinkie Pie, “Ponies at my parties do seem pretty talkative after they’ve had some time at the punch bowl.”

“Well, it’s better than anything I’ve got,” said the purple unicorn, “Applejack, can we use your barn as a makeshift tavern tomorrow?”

“I was plannin’ on fixin’ it up that way anyhow. Mac and I can finish it up by sunrise, but ya’ll need to put up posters or somethin’ so the new guy knows what’s goin’ on tomorrow.”

And with that, the six parted ways to lay the ground work of their new and improved plan.

Author's Notes:

Hey guys! Thanks for reading this far. Please leave a comment if you have any questions or concerns on my work, and I'll try and respond. Thanks again.