Disclaimer: I own only the following: Charles, and anything that doesn't happen in the show proper.

Chapter 19: A Dog and Pony Show

As the Grand Galloping Gala draws nearer and nearer Rarity continues her usual work at her shop and home Carousel Boutique. She levitates gems she collected over the weeks and months and places them on a new dress she is working on.

"Perfect!" Rarity said as she finishes. Just then the bell in her front door rings signaling a customer entering.

"Coming! Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique and magnifique." Rarity said as she closes the curtains for her new dress as she approaches her customer but as she sees who her visitor is she gasps in total shock to see a taller female pony with a blue mane and tail wearing a white pop fashion clothing and a thin top hat.

"Sapphire Shores! The pony of pop!" Rarity shouts in disbelief.

"Good afternoon, Miss Rarity!" Sapphire greeted in a singing pop like voice.

"You yah... Y-y-you know my name?" Rarity asked shakingly by the unexpected surprise.

"Well, of course I do, darling. I make it a point to know all of the up-and-coming designers and Clothes Horse magazine simply raved about you." Sapphire explained as she looks around the places clothes.

"Oh my stars. If I'm dreaming, do not wake me up. How may I help you, Miss Shores?"

"Oh please, call me Sapphire."

"[giggle] How may I help you, Sapphire?"

"Well, as I'm sure you know, I'll be touring all of Equestria with my latest concert, Sapphire Shores' Zigfilly Follies so I need to look seeensational! Ow!"

"I have just what you need. Sapphire Shores, prepare yourself for the pièce de résistance de la haute couture. I used every last diamond I found on this one garment." Rarity said as she presents her new attire she just finished. As she removes the curtains the clothing shines and sparkles with sapphire and ruby diamonds on a white pop dress which made Sapphire's eyes and mouth open wide in awe.

"[gasp] And it is spectacular! I'll take it." Sapphire said.

"Really?" Rarity asked in delight.

"Oh yes, and five more, each done up in a different jewel."

"Beg pardon?"

"Costume changes." Sapphire said and Rarity looks in her jewel chest remembering that it is all empty with not a single diamond in it. She then faints in exhaustion.

"[chuckle] Yes, I do have that effect on ponies." Sapphire said to herself as she walks out the door for Rarity to get started on another project that maybe too close to call.

A knock on the door of the library Woke Charles d'Artagnan up he opened the door to saw who it was.

"Rarity! Great to see you!"

"Hello Charles, isn't it a fine day?" She seemed positively abuzz with excitement, barely able to contain it. "May I come in?"

"Certainly," he invited, stepping aside to let her pass. "You seem happy about something. Are frills back in fashion this year?"

"Even better!" She gave a squeak of delight, but conformed herself. "I've just been tasked by Sapphire Shores, and I mean the Sapphire Shores, to make outfits for her concerts!"

"Great, good for you," he said. "So, what are you here for? I take it this isn't just a social call."

"Indeed. I need some assistance gathering gemstones for her outfits and I was wondering if Spike would like to help me?"

"I'm sure he'd be happy to. We're just about to break for lunch anyway, so he should be free." He rounded to the stairs and called: "Spike, somepony here to see you!"

"Go away! I'm napping," came the sleepy reply.

"It's Rarity!" Charles felt a wind rush by him and Spike was there in the blink of an eye. That was quick...

"Charles, what's going on?" Twilight had also come downstairs, as Rarity explained what was going on to Spike, who had eyes for nopony else.

Once they were both done explaining the situation to one another, Twilight said that of course it was okay with her, just as long as they were careful. Rarity was very grateful to them both and promised that they would be.

Charles who was worry asked "Hey don't you want me to come along Rarity?"

"Huh you why?"

"For protection against jewel thieves!"

"Well…" Rarity thought. "If you insist… I suppose you could accompany us."

Spike returned with a red wagon. "Here you go, miss Rarity! Anything else you need?"

"Good news Spike! Charles will be accompanying us."

"Oh…" Spike replied, looking a little disappointed.

"Well, good luck, Rarity. Be careful out there!"

"Thank you, Twilight. We shall!" Rarity looked over at the boys. "Come now then, let's go search for some gems! Spike, bring the red wagon please."

"You got it Rarity!" Spike grabbed the red wagon and Charles walked by Rarity, following her to wherever she was going to search for the gems.

They arrived at some bare place that was pretty far from Ponyville. Charles looked around to see just mountains of rocks and absolutely no grass in sight. There was actually no green for that matter, except for the few trees in sight.

"Oh my gosh!" Spike began talking excitedly as Rarity used her horn to search for gems. "Sapphire Shores! The Pony of Pop! She is awesome! I mean, she's gorgeous, talented and-heh" Rarity stared at Spike as if she was offended. "...and not even half the pony you are. I mean, you're ten times more gorgeous and talented and..."

"Spike, a lady is never jealous." Rarity responded.

"Eh, of course not. But were you totally flipping out or what?"

"Ladies do not 'flip out', Spike. However, I was quite in awe." Her horn began glowing, causing her to search around more areas. "I need to find more jewels than ever before to decorate her costumes." As she was pacing around, she suddenly halted and pointed towards a spot beneath her. "O, aha!"

"Did you find some?" Spike hopped.

"Yes, Spike! Right there!" She pointed with her hoof.

Spike hopped over to the spot and began digging with his hands until he spotted them with his own eyes. "Ooooo!" Spike stated as he licked his lips and drooled. "You look so delicious..." He dove into the hole and grabbed the handful of jewels. He was about to shove them down his throat but Rarity stopped him. "Spike! I promised I'll give you gems to snack on, but we need to collect more first or I'll never be able to make these outfits for Sapphire."

Spike lowered his head and walked over to the wagon to place the gems on there. He sighed. "Hm... I will miss you, my sweets."

"Come along." She told the boys. "We have many jewels to find."

Spike placed the jewels on the wagon and bowed. "At your service, my lady."

During the search, Rarity continued to spot jewels underneath the ground to which Spike dug for. Charles didn't do much digging, but he did some carrying every now and then. Once in a while, Spike was tempted to eat the gems on the wagon, but Rarity scolded him before he could.

When the wagon was full of gems, Spike stood nearby, drooling and licking his lips. Rarity patted him on the head and spoke. "You've been very patient today, Spike. And for that you'll get the finest reward." She pulled out a light blue gem in the shape of an octagon. "This is from me to you." Spike held his mouth open to eat it, but suddenly he grabbed the gem instead and looked at Rarity, dazed. "Is something wrong, Spike?" Rarity asked.

Spike could only stare at Rarity for a moment and release a smile. "No. It's perfect." He expressed as he held the gem close to his chest.

Rarity horn began glowing and she was pulled over to the next location of gems. "Oh, bring the cart, Spike. There are more over here."

"For me. From Rarity…" Spike said. He began bringing the cart over to Rarity.

"Spike…" Charles announced as they were walking toward Rarity. "Why do act like that around Rarity?" he asked.

"Well you see…" He stopped and waved for Charles to bring his head closer. Charles did so to where he positioned his hands around his mouth and began whispering. "I have a crush on Rarity."

"A crush…?" Charles questioned.

"Yep. You know… when you really like someone."

"Really like…" Charles muttered under his breath, thinking about his feelings with Fluttershy.

"But promise me you won't tell anypony! Especially Rarity!"

"Ok, ok. I promise."

"Spike! Where are you?" Rarity called from a distance. "You know, it's terrible to keep a lady waiting."

"Coming!" Spike responded, rushing over to Rarity.

"I think we're really going to strike gold this time." Rarity spoke as Spike began digging. "So to speak."

"Jackpot!" Spike exclaimed, bringing out an armful of jewels.

Spike began placing the gems carefully on the wagon.

"Well, I think that's all we can do for today. And these will certainly get me well on my way with Sapphire's outfits. Why don't we start headi..." Suddenly, Rarity's horn began glowing again, leading her to somewhere else. "Oh! What's this? Another jewel. Oh, strange." She was led into the trees. "It's in the trees. Oooo..." She spotted a gold gem but suddenly a strange creature popped out. Charles instantly recognize it oh no what is that dumb mutt doing here(1). "Ewww!" Rarity flinched at the sight of the creature. "Uh... uh... Good day, gentle... uh, fellow. I am Rarity and these are my friends Spike and Charles." She slowly backed away toward them.

"Ehe..." was the only thing Spike could mutter.

Charles started to get angry.

The creature jumped out of the trees and began walking up to Rarity. "A diamond dog."

Rarity and Spike could only back away while the creature was coming towards them. Charles suddenly stepped in front of both, Rarity and Spike, and the diamond dog.

"Go away!" Charles told the dog, standing in front of him. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"We hunt." The dog replied.

"Uh... we?" Rarity asked behind Charles.

"We hunt for gems. But you are a better hunter. So now we hunt... for you!" He replied.

Suddenly they heard digging noises behind them. Two more of those dogs popped up, causing Charles to look back. One of the dogs tried to grab Rarity but she ducked in time.

"Rarity!" Charles called and tried to go help her but the dog in front of him had pushed him to the side. Charles grunted as he landed on the ground from a distance. He saw Spike try to harm the dogs by digging at their tails with his tail. Charles immediately pushed himself up and began running towards them.

"Run, Rarity! Run!" Spike advised Rarity.

Rarity began running. Spikes grabbed hold onto one of the dog's legs, causing him to trip and grab the other dog's tail and make him fall as well.

"Spike! Charles! Come on! Hurry!" Rarity called for the boys.

Charles saw one of the dogs sneaking up from behind her to pounce on her. "Gotcha!"

But before he could grab Rarity, Charles leapt and pushed him forwards While he was struggling on the ground beneath his hooves, he could only try to push me off. "Get off of me!" He exclaimed.

"Got him, Rarity! I got him!" Charles heard Spike.

"Haha! Nope!"

"Sorry, scaly one."

Suddenly, a pair of dog arms grabbed Charles and threw him away from the dog he was holding down. Charles released more grunts, feeling the pain when he landed back on the ground. He could already feel scratches, maybe even bruises on hisy body.

"WAAH!" Rarity screamed as the dogs grabbed her and began running towards their hole. Charles began trying to push himself up once again, but it took him longer as he had to deal with the soreness. "Unhand me this instant, you ruffians. Stop! Put me down, you scum! You rough-!"

"Rarity!" Spike called after her.

Charles managed to stand back up and notice Rarity in the hole, but she struggled to stay out on top. "Spike! Charles!" She tried to grab hold of the dirt. "Ah, dirt!" Charles immediately ran over to the hole and slid to prone, grabbing Rarity's hoof.

"Hold on, Rarity!" Charles said as he tried pulling her up, but he was losing my grip as the three dogs fought back. Charles wasn't able to keep his hoof wrapped on hers as the dogs finally managed to pull her away from him.

"AAAAAH, Charles!" She screamed as she was sucked in.

"Which, what, where?" Spike muttered quickly as he ran over to the hole.

"SAVE ME...!" Rarity screamed in an echo from a distance beyond the hole.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Spike shouted.

"Spike! Get the others!" Charles ordered. "I'm going in!"

Without any hesitation, Charles dove into the hole.

Somewhere in the caverns(2)

It was several seconds until Charles finally landed on the ground. He groaned and stood up, shaking his head. He looked around and noticed many holes throughout the area. Great… how am I supposed to find Rarity in here?

"Okay Charles remember what Pothos taught you 'Listen to the echos in the cave and you will find you way'!" Charles said to himself.

Charles closed his eyes and begin to listen. All of a sudden, his ear perks as if catching something. "This way" fowling the faint echo. "Oh please, diamond dogs. Please let me go." Charles started hearing from a distance. It was Rarity!

"No!" One of the dogs stated.

"You're our precious little pony."

"For ever! Muhahahaha."

"But what ever do you want from me?" Rarity asked.

"Gemsss!" One hissed.

The voices began getting louder.

"Yes! The gems. The jewels."

"Find them! Find them all!"

"Oh! Is that all?"

Charles finally arrived to where the voices were coming from. Rarity, along with the other dogs, were in this large area. They were in my sight and Charles knew he couldn't just barge in there because it would be an instant loss. He used his Invisibly Spell, looking slightly at what was taking place. Rarity was searching for more jewels in the ground. She stopped, picked up a stick and marked the spot with an x.

"There. A lovely pocket of jewels are right there. Now, would you be so kind as to show me the exit? "Rarity asked.

Another dog, which must have been a guard, pointed a sharp spear at Rarity, causing him to gasp quietly.

"Good!" One of the dogs hopped excitedly. "Now, dig them up, pony."

"What? But you said you wanted me to find the gems."

"Yes! Find and then dig."

"Dig?" Rarity asked, irritated now.

"Yes. Dig."

The guard dog led her towards the x as the other dogs pointed straight at it.

"Ohh..." Rarity moaned. She began digging lightly, actually barely tapping the ground. The other dogs looked in surprise. Rarity continued grunting as she lightly tapped the ground, only moving speckles of dirt.

"What are you doing? We said dig!" The big dog commanded.

"Forgive me but prior to you so rudely dragging me into your dirt pit, I had a pony pedi and I am not about to chip a hoof because you dislike my style of digging." Rarity answered boldly. Afterwards, she continued her way of digging.

"Oh, for goodness." The medium-sized dog placed his paw on his face. "Fine! Just stop. Stop! Dig, dogs! Dig!" He called toward the other guard dogs that were in a hole above them. "And fast."

Well… I'm glad I didn't rush in…

The guard dogs began furiously digging at the spot Rarity marked.

"She won't dig, she pulls." The big dog announced, while they held up a saddle and a cart.

"I beg your pardon," Rarity responded as she began backing away. "but what, pray tell, are you doing?"

"Others will dig. You will haul the wagon." The big dog answered.

"Prrrecious pony pedi will be preserved." The small one added as he placed the saddle on Rarity when she reached a dead end.

"Well, somebody certainly needs proper nail care. When was the last time you two had a manicure? You're scratching up my coat with those jagged things." She had noticed their nails as they secured the saddle on her.

"Please be quiet!" The average one answered.

"Good heavens, what is that smell?" Rarity exclaimed.

"Smeeeeeell?" He released a horrid stench of his breath at Rarity.

"Ah, mystery solved. It's your breath." Rarity replied, frankly, which led the dog to turn around and smell his own breath.

"Enough! Search, pony!" He ordered.

"Well, since you insist..." Rarity began pulling the cart while finding gems and marking them with a stick. "But I must say the working conditions in here are simply dreadful. Musty and damp, it's going to wreak havoc on my mane. And this air is stifling, suffocating. And when I try to take a deep breath, the stench of all you dogs makes me nauseated. You look and smell like if you haven't bathed in weeks. Have you never heard of soap? You could all do with a good round of soap and water. Water, water, I'm terribly thirsty. Could I please have some water?"

"Good gracious, I can't take this anymore." The small dog pulled his ears. "BE QUIET, PONY!"

"And that's another thing." Rarity persisted. "I would appreciate if you stopped calling me 'pony'. I am a lady and I wish to be addressed as such. So you may call me 'Miss' or 'Rarity' or 'Miss Rarity'."

"Enough!" The average dog yelled out as he pulled his ears as well. "Your whining! It hurts!"

"Whining? I am not whining. I am complaining. Do you want to hear whining? Thiiis iiis whiiining! Oooh, this harness is too tiiight! It's going to chafe. Can't you loosen it? Oooh, it hurts and it's sooo ruuusty!" Rarity continued to whine in a high pitched voice, even starting to hurt my ears a little. "Why didn't you clean it first? It's gonna leave a staaain! And the wagon's getting heeeavy, why do I have to pull it?"

"Aaah! Make it stop!" The little dog desperately ordered.

"Stop whining!" The average one demanded.

"But I thought you wanted whiiining!" Rarity purposely answered.

"We'll do anything, pony!"

Rarity gave them an annoyed stare.

"Oh, uh, we'll do anything, 'Miss Rarity'." The average one laughed nervously.

"Anything?" Rarity questioned, dreamily.

Soon enough, she had the dogs doing work for her, as well as improving the conditions around her. Wow Charles thought She fooled them those mutts are still dumb as ever! As much as Charles wanted to save Rarity, he still couldn't do anything about it… He had to wait until she was alone but there was no possible way to tell her so, so the only thing hecould do was just wait it out and see what Rarity did. The area was covered with ribbons as two guard dogs beside her fanned her. She was given water in a gold chalice. Unbelievable… so much for a damsel in distress…

Rarity took a sip from the water and pulled back, slightly disgusted. "Oh, this water is hardly sparkling. But I suppose it will have to do."

The three other dogs were pulling the heavy loads of gems until they stopped for some air. "Wait! Why are we doing this?" The average one asked.

"To stop the awful noises from the pony's mouth, remember?" The little one began imitating Rarity's whining but the average dog placed his paw on his mouth.

"Yes, yes, I know. This is ridiculous! Letting a pony order us around. What are we? Mice or dogs?"

The other dogs began saying "mice", but suddenly changed their answers to "dogs".

The average dog stared at them for a moment, and then continued his speech. "Dogs do not pull. Ponies pull. Let her make the awful noises."

They walked up to Rarity and began placing the saddle on her. "What are you doing?" She asked. The average dog flicked her drink. "Hey, you spilled my drink. Oh!" Rarity began her whining. "Not sooo tiiight!"

"Ha! Make the noises all you want. But move while you make them. Hyah, mule!" He ordered Rarity, slapping her from behind.

Uh oh., Charles thought as an shift in Rarity's eyes. "Did you just call me a... mule?" She asked sadly.

The dog moved his eyes around, wondering what he should say. "Ehh..."

"Mules are ugly. Are you saying that I too am ugly?" Tears formed in Rarity's eyes and she immediately began crying.

"What are these noises?" The little one asked, walking over to them.

"HE CALLED ME UGLY!" Rarity cried out.

"No! Mule! I said mule!" The average one replied quickly.

"An old ugly mule! And it's true! Just look at me. I used to be beautiful, but, but nooow..."

Nice going to fool those dumb mutts.

"No, no! You're still beautiful, po... uh, Miss Rarity." The big dog had come along too.

"You're just saying that!"

"No, you're still pretty and... and..."

"Oh, uh uh, nice. Yeah."

"I don't believe you! You never liked me!" Rarity began wailing out loud.

"I've had just about enough of this!" The average dog exclaimed as the three of them held their ears.

They grabbed her and took her to a cell with a steel door. They placed her in there and shut the door, locking it.

"Now until you learn to stop whining, you're going to stay in here FOREVER!" The average one exclaimed and began walking off, bringing his other guard dogs along with him.

Finally was Charles chance…

After he made sure they were all gone, Charles became visible an raced over to the cell Rarity was in.

"Forever?" Rarity spoke. "Oh, it can't be! I won't ever see my friends again or get pedicures and… oh no! I'll miss my only chance with Sapphire Shores!" She began crying again.

Charles sneaked up to her cell door and looked in. "Rarity!" He exclaimed softly.

She gasped and looked up in shock. "Charles? Is that you?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm going to get you out of here! Just hang on!" He looked around for a way to open the door, but as far as Charles could see, there really wasn't any unless he retrieved the key from the dog that locked her in there… Charles sighed and looked at Rarity, who returned a worried look. "Rarity, just hold tight… I'll go find the key and get you out."

"Oh, Charles, please hurry!"

He nodded and turned around to follow wherever the dogs walked to. Charles started at a light sprint as he continued looking for the holes the dogs went through. It wasn't too difficult as he started hearing faint voices when he grew close.

"Geez, it's nice to take a break from all that whining!"

"Yes, but… what if she never stops the whining?"

Charles followed their voices which led him to the final hole, revealing them around a table in separate chairs. They were playing cards. Charles his Invisibly Spell again and become invisible and continued listening as he tried to find the keys.

"Hmm…" The average one thought. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "I got it! How about we put dirt in our ears?"

"But…How will we hear each other then?" The small one replied.

"Hand signs?" The average dog suggested.

Fortunately, the average dog was right in front of Charles, however, he was facing the other dogs, away from him. Charles slowly began creeping out after he spotted the ring of keys hanging outside his red coat. His hooves pressed lightly on the dirt landscape as He moved closer and closer to the keys. When his hoof was right under the keys, he made a sudden move, which caused Charles to pull back suddenly and stay still.

"Ah-chew!" He sneezed and wiped his nose. He then began looking around above Charles.

"What's wrong?" The small dog asked.

"I smell pony…" He responded as he continued looking around suspiciously.

"Don't we have a pony locked up here?" The big dog asked.

"Yes…but… It's as if I can smell one right near me…"

Charles quickly, but softly crawled towards under the table, just in case he looked down… Okay not as dumb as I remember.

"That pony must have just made you keep her scent with all her whining."

Okay maybe not!

"Yeah…I guess."

After a while of waiting under the table, once Charles heard them shuffle cards and deal them, he reached out his hoof to grab the keys. Charles had to carefully and slowly pull them back because even the slightest jingle of them will alarm the dogs… Once Charles had carefully retrieved the keys under the table, he held them in his mouth and slowly crawled out of the room.

Once Charles was far enough, he made himself visible and quickly rushed over to Rarity. She was sitting in the corner of the cell room, very sad. Once she heard him, she quickly turned around and changed the expression on her face to an excited one.

"Oh, Charles!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Shh." Charles warned her.

Using his Telekinesis spell he 'inserted' one of them into the lock and turned. A click sound was heard. As soon as he opened the door, Rarity ran towards Charles, embracing him with a tight grip and pummeling him with gratitude. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"C'mon." Charles said quietly as he lightly pulled her off. "Let's get out of here as quick as possible."

"You don't have to ask me twice!" Rarity replied as she followed him.

Charles started walking carefully towards the way he came in. When he reached the door, he opened it to find a rather unfortunate surprise. The three dogs were standing on the other side of the door, looking at the two unicorn ponies as if they were already expecting them.

"I knew I smelled pony…" The average one spoke. "Well, boys, looks like we have another work horse."

As they got ready to breach, Charles quickly slammed the door on them and barricaded it with his body. As he struggled to keep the door blocked, Charles looked around for an escape plan. Then, he remembered the carts of jewels.

"Rarity!" Charles called through strains. "Get those carts over here! ...Now!"

"But, I'll get all sweaty!" Rarity responded through a worried tone.

"Rarity…" Charles replied as he continued attempting to hold back the door. "Does that really matter right now? I'm trying to save you!"

After she analyzed the Musketeer pony's troubles, she sighed. "Okay… for you, Charles!" She ran over to one of the carts full of jewels. She began pushing the cart over to where he was, but it was taking time to be done.

"C'mon Rarity…! Hurry!" Charles exclaimed, already feeling that he's losing the advantage. She slightly moved faster and managed to bring them over to where he was. "Okay, now place it front of the door!" She did so, and when the cart was able to hold the door, Charles let go and quickly ran over to another cart and pushed it over to the door in a matter of seconds, just to be safe. Once the door was blocked off for good, he called over Rarity and began running towards another way out. It'd be a while until the dogs realized that there are holes everywhere…

The unicorns were running through a long tunnel. They reached another area with a large amount of space between. Charles looked around and spotted a wooden door.

"There! C'mon!" Charles pointed towards the door and led Rarity to the door.

Before he could get his hoof on the handle, the door was pushed open, to reveal the dogs once again.

"And where do you think you PONIES are going?" The average one announced. Charles could only step back to hold back Rarity. "It time you ponies go to work!" He began walking towards them with a harness. He tried to place it on Charles, but instead, he used his 'Magic Horn Blade' and slash him in the stomach.

"Oomph!" He released a grunt as he held his stomach "That pony is too much trouble! Get rid of him!" He ordered the big dog.

The large dog walked over to him. "Out of the way, pony!" He grabbed Charles and threw him to the side. Charles hit the rocky wall with enough force to cause the rocks above to fall upon him when he landed on the ground. But he created a barrier of magic and pretended to faint.

"Charles!" Rarity called out. She went to to him and saw him not knock out and wink at her. She realized what he is doing and played along.

"Come on pony, time to WORK!" One of the dogs announced.

"Noo! Charles!" Rarity began crying again.

"No! Not the terrible noises again!" A dog cried.

"Why, did you have to hurt him?" Rarity combined her crying with her whining as she did before. "You dogs are so mean! Why? Why?"

The dogs screamed. "Stop whining!"

"You hurt my friend! Now he's not okay! I hate you fiends!" Rarity began wailing out loud, for a pretty long time. "Charles, please please open your eyes!"

"I can't take it! I can't take it!" The dogs exclaimed.

Suddenly, Charles heard something break open near him. "Lady Rarity, I'm here to save you!" It sounded like Spike's voice…

The dogs screamed and ran over to somewhere else nearby. "Please, save us! Make it stop! Please!"

"Excuse me?" Twilight's voice sounded.

The dogs began their reasoning."So picky."

"And critical."

"She won't stop talking."

"And crying about her friend!"

"We, uh, give her back. Yes."

"Friend?" Twilight questioned. "Charles!" She realized and rushed over to the sounds of wails from Rarity. "Rarity? Oh no…"

Rarity continued sniffling. "I don't know what to do!"

"Charles!" He heard Fluttershy's voice as she rushed over to him. "Charles, no!" It sounded as if she was desperately looking for a way to help but she couldn't… "Charles…no… please…" he felt her head rest lightly on his. After a moment of sniffling, he felt a drop of water fall on him.

Charles started opening his eyes slowly to a blurry image. Things cleared up afterwards. He looked around to see the other ponies looking away sadly while Fluttershy rested her head on mine. "Girls…?" Charles asked weakly. Fluttershy gasped while the other ponies immediately turned around.

"Charles?" Fluttershy softly asked. The other ponies moved closer to him.

Charles looked at them in silence for a moment. "…well that took awhile, Spike…" He addressed the time it took for them to come help. Everypony crowded around him and gave sighs of happiness as they knew that he was okay. Fluttershy held him as she was joyful as well.

"UGH!" The dogs suddenly interrupted. "Just take the jewels and go!"

"You're letting us leave with all these..." Spike looked at the many carts of jewels in front of him. "jewels?"

"Yes. Take them. And her with them!" The average exclaimed in fright as they cowered in a corner.

"Please!" The small one added.

Charles stand up as the other ponies prepared to take the jewels.

"Alright, girls, let's bring em home!" Applejack announced and she strapped herself in one of the harness. She looked over to me and smiled. "C'mon Charles… Climb up on this here cart, you deserve to rest…" She motioned him to climb on the cart she was taking back to Ponyville. "I'm Okay I'll walk." The rest of the ponies strapped themselves to the carts and began leaving.

"I can't believe you got all these gems!" Pinkie Pie exclaim.

"Heh. I can't believe you tricked all those dogs." Rainbow Dash added.

"Just because I'm a lady doesn't mean I cannot handle myself in a sticky situation. I had them wrapped around my hoof the entire time…well…not the entire time, actually…"

"What do you mean, Rarity?" Twilight asked.

"Had it not been for Charles, I probably wouldn't have been able to get away with all these gems…" Rarity replied. "And my crying at the end…" She began saying softly. "Well…He pretended to faint…"

Charles looked over to Rarity. "Knowing that your 'whining' easily bothers them… I'm pretty sure you would have done it without me Rarity… After all… it was you who defeated them…"

"Oh, thank you, Charles." Rarity responded. "But, for right now, I'm just glad you are alright. By the way... I may have exaggerated a bit too much at the end... but you know me." She chuckled.

"I can't wait to write to Princess Celestia about you ponies and tell her what you taught me today." Twilight said.

"Me? What did I teach you?" Rarity questioned.

"Just because somepony is ladylike doesn't make her weak. In fact, by using her wits a seemingly defenseless pony can be the one who outsmarts and outshines them all."

"Hm... 'Outshines' is right. Now you have enough gems to cover Sapphire Shores's costumes." Spike announced as he was munching on one of the rubies.

"Not if you eat them all, Spike." Rarity used her magic to peel the ruby off of Spike's hands before he could take another bite and place it back on the cart, causing everypony to laugh.

When they arrived at Rarity's shop, all the ponies released the harnesses and began bringing in the gems. "Charles?" Rarity called. "Yes?" Charles said. "How did you Know those diamond dogs?" Rarity asked. "Well it's a long story I'll tell you all about it some other time."

Notes

(1) I'll bring up the diamond dogs in a later chapter.

(2) I decided to skip the part with the others in the cave as it held little immediate plot relevance to the chapter as far as I can tell.

Next Chapter: Chapter 20: Green Isn't Your Color Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 48 Minutes