“Good bye, Rush! See you after work, okay?” Derpy said, giving her zebra a kiss.

“Yep, I’ll see you after work.” Rush smiled, returning the kiss and hugging Derpy tightly for a moment. She closed her eyes and nuzzled into his shirt for a second, relishing in the warmth of his chest before pulling away and leaving, giving a final wave before flying to work. Rush walked off towards Rarity’s Boutique, arriving there after only a few minutes.

Having seen him earlier, Rarity opened the door and latched onto him, hugging and kissing him for a good few seconds. “Good morning, darling,” She said as soon as she pulled off of him, arms still around his neck. “Today is the big day, no?”

“A very big day.” Rush smiled down at her.

“Well, I’ll be giving you the day off today, so you can prepare whatever you need. Speaking of which, if you’d follow me upstairs, then I’ll give you some scented candles and such.” She said, letting go of him and walking up the stairs.

“Thanks. Though… I’m kind of worried.” He divulged.

“Why?”

“Just… I dunno… I feel like it might not go well.” He continued, biting down on his lip. “I feel really dumb for thinking that way but… I just can’t get over it.”

Rarity stopped at the top of the stairs, turning to him as soon as he head reached her. “Rush… you are about to treat Derpy to a date where you have not only a romantic, candlelit dinner, but an entire night where you pamper and massage her. If she doesn’t absolutely love you by the end of it, I am one hundred percent sure that she has been replaced by a changeling.” She firmly said. “Don’t you dare doubt yourself. You are the sweetest, kindest, and most thoughtful zebra- or stallion in general- that I have ever met, and I am sure that Derpy feels the same.”

Rush went silent for a good long while, “You’re right.” He said, “I… I shouldn’t be doubting myself… It seems really silly to be worried about something so unlikely to happen.” He affirmed. Pausing for a moment, he went on, “Even if it doesn’t go off perfectly… I know it’s still going to be a wonderful night.”

“I have no doubts that it will go perfectly anyway.” Rarity smiled. “Now, you wanted scented candles… which scents would you like? I have purchased quite a few over the years, so whatever you’d like, I most likely have, dear.”

“It may be a strange request… but do you have any blueberry muffin scented candles?” Rush asked. “Or uh… Banana Nut?”

“Why would- oh… oh, yes, Derpy does love muffins… hmm. I may… let me check.” She opened the hall closet and began searching around, giving Rush an unintentional view of her plot waving about as she looked.

“D-did you want any help?” Rush asked.

“No, It’s fine. Thank you, though.” Rarity called out.

“Alright…” Rush mumbled.

Glancing back, Rarity smiled as she saw where his gaze lay. “Enjoying the view, Rush?” She asked, giving another wiggle. Rush just nodded quickly. She giggled, turning back to the closet. “Well… you’re in luck! It seems that one of my friends- probably Pinkie Pie, in retrospect- gave me those exact scents, as impossible as that seems.” Pulling back from the closet, she held two candles in her hands, both muffin-smelling.

“Thank you, these are really going to help tonight.” Rush said, a wide smile spreading across his face as he took the candles from her. “Did you have anything else I could use?”

“Hmmm…” She tapped a finger against her chin for a few moments, deep in thought. “Well, I do have some bubble bath mixture. Derpy would love that, yes?”

“She’d definitely love that!” He exclaimed.

Reaching back into the closet, Rarity swiftly handed him the bubble bath mix. “There you are, dear. Now, as I said, you’ve the rest of the day off to prepare for your date tonight. Do make good use of it, won’t you?” She leaned up and gave him a kiss.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make the best of the rest of the day.” Rush smiled, returning the kiss, giving her one last hug before he left. “Have a great day.” He waved.

“You too, darling!”

Rush walked down the street, towards the massage parlor. Pausing outside of the door for a moment, he readied himself for whatever may happen when he walked in. He opened the door up and walked inside. “Hello?” He said aloud.

Aloe and Lotus looked up from the desk, their eyes brightening for a moment before dimming back to normal, remembering what had happened. “Ah… hello, Rush. It is… nice to see you.” Aloe said.

“Are you here to have a relaxing spa trip, perhaps?” Lotus hesitantly asked.

“It’s not something we normally- really, ever- do, but…” Lotus continued.

“Given what happened between us, we believe this may be ample compensation for the troubles we caused.” Aloe finished. “In fact, we’ll give you the pick of all the rooms, unless you have a specific one in mind.”

Rush scratched his chin in thought, “Maybe… the big one with the tub in the center?” He asked.

“Hmmm… yes, we can spare that for the night, right sister?” Aloe asked, Lotus nodding in confirmation. “Well, as long as you give us your word that you won’t leave it terribly used, and that you’ll use only that room, I see no reason as to why we can’t hand you the keys to the spa.” She said.

“Thank you so much! And I swear, I’ll make sure everything gets cleaned up afterwards.” He said, smiling widely. “I have one other question… um, do you by chance sell massage oils and bath scents?”

“We do!” Aloe said, smiling once more. “Let’s see… we have an array of normal, scented oils, along with a few that have bonus effects, such as Heated Passion. As for bath scents, we have lavender, vanilla, and citrus.”

“Hm… maybe just a few of the regular scented oils… and um, maybe one of the Heated Passion… and vanilla for the bath scent.” Rush said.

Lotus nodded, ducking under the counter for a few moments before handing him all he had asked for. “Let’s see… Heated Passion, vanilla bath scents, and a few scented oils; rose, peach, and apple, respectively. Will that be all?” She asked.

“Yes, that will be everything.” Rush nodded. “How much will it all be?”

“About… fifty bits.” Aloe said, adding it all up.

Rush pulled some bits out of his pocket and counted out the fifty. “There you go.” He said, handing her the bits.

Taking the money and putting it in the register, Aloe soon handed him a bag to carry his goods in, along with a key to the spa. “Please leave the key on top of one of the massage tables when you’re done, along with locking up as you leave.” She said.

“As for use of the bath, it should heat up after about ten minutes.” Lotus added.

“Alright, thanks for everything!” Rush said.

“No problem!” The spa sisters said. They each gave a little wave as he left, happy that they had amended some of the awkwardness between them.

Rush walked out of the massage parlor and headed back to the house, walking back into the bedroom he set the bags down behind his own rather large bag. He left the bedroom and went into the kitchen, gathering a few pots and pans. Humming quietly, Rush got started on getting some of the things for dinner ready.

-------------------------------------------------

Two hours later:

Rush stepped out of the now closed massage parlour. Having dropped everything off, he was ready to go up to the school house and pick Dinky up.

However, his plans were shattered with a cry of, “Daddy!”, and the feeling of a small body impacting his leg.

“Hi Dinky!” said Rush, grinning as he lifted her up into his arms.

“Why are you out here, Daddy?” She asked.

“I was just getting a few things ready.” He explained, “And I have a question I’d love to ask you.”

“Ok! What is it?”

“Would you like to spend the night with Sweetie?”

“Yeah!” Dinky chirped, bouncing up and down in her father’s hold. “I’d love that, daddy!”

“Let’s go drop you off, then.” Rush smiled, hugging Dinky as he carried her off towards Rarity’s house. After only two minutes of walking, they arrived at Rarity’s door. He knocked on the door and waited for Rarity or Sweetie to answer.

Rarity came to the door first, happy to see her stallionfriend and (hopefully) soon-to-be daughter at the door. “Hello, darlings!” She said, giving each a kiss in turn. “Is Dinky staying the night with Sweetie Belle?”

“If that’s alright with you.” Rush said.

“Why, I’m perfectly fine with it, and I know that Sweetie is eager to see her niece.” She said, taking Dinky and holding her. “You’d like to stay the night, right?”

“Yeah, Rarity!” Dinky said, nuzzling into her mother’s neck. “I love staying over here...:”

“Have a great time.” Rush smiled and waved.

“”You too, dear! I hope your night goes wonderfully!” Rarity said, waving back.

Rush walked back towards his home, but not before giving Rarity and Dinky one last hug and kiss. He opened the door to the house and walked inside. He sat down, waiting patiently for Derpy to get home.

After a few hours, the door opened, and the mare herself walked through. “Whoo… long da- Rush! What… what’re you doing home so early?” Derpy said, surprised that he was there.

“Rarity left me off early.” Rush explained as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

“That’s great!” She exclaimed, giving him a kiss. “What’s the occasion?”

“Something.” Rush grinned. “You’ll find out soon.”

“Oh… well, where’s Dinky?” She asked, looking around.

“With Rarity and Sweetie.” He said. “It’s just you and me tonight.”

“Just you and I, hmm?” Derpy smiled, hugging him closer. “What are you planning, you sly zebra?”

“All in good time.” Rush said, picking Derpy up.

“Woah!” She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise… so just close your eyes, I’ll tell you when you can open them again.” He said, giving her a kiss. Derpy did as he asked, closing her eyes as they headed off into the night.

Author's Notes:

Nearly there!
Next chapter might be quite a long one. Maybe. Who knows.
Thanks to Patric12345 for being the best.
Toodles!
~TOOWC