It was one of those rare, perfect afternoons that happen so infrequently in the springtime; gentle, balmy breezes balanced just right with the warmth of the sun, gusts carrying the scent of grass and dissipating morning dew, and trees and clouds taking their own lazy pace at rolling with the breeze. It was a morning that any would agree would be criminal to ignore; a morning inspiring small talk about the weather both parties were sincerely heartfelt about exchanging. Rarity, needless to say, wasn't exempt from the enchantment of such picturesque days, and upon awakening to such an idealistic scene, had quickly made the decision to take advantage of such beautiful conditions!
Though no-one would mistake Rarity for the "outdoorsy" type, such a beautiful day was simply begging for an afternoon in the park. Rarity had made quick work of packing a stylish saddlebag with a blanket, some neat sandwiches for a light brunch, a few other just-in-case items, and a novel for company, delicately arranging each item just so in her bag. Her normally-cascading violet coifs were held neat and prim with a polka-dot elastic, wide-brimmed sun hat (signature curled fringe peeking from beneath its rim) and sunglasses completing the ensemble. Her work could wait for a hiatus of a single afternoon, she rationalized. A lady deserves an afternoon off!
Rarity set to hoof through town, seeing Ponyville unusually alive and bustling right along with her, with the weather. It seemed like everyone was just that much more alive, grateful, happy. Small talk among townsfolk was exchanged, flowers smelled, existence marveled. But she was simply passing through town, and as much as the interactions were appreciated, she had a novel to keep her company and cucumber-dandelion sandwiches to enjoy. All by her lonesome, Rarity trotted happily to the nearby park.
The park was mainly a grassy field with gentle, rolling hills, dotted with buttery spots of yellow and white from the tiny spring blossoms fighting their way though the grass, sparse, proud trees surrounding its perimeter. A pond stood still and cool in the center; a single tire swing sat undisturbed above it, hanging from a tattered rope suspended from an overhanging bough. There were a few wooden park benches too, but as Rarity approached, all were empty. She sighed happily; she might have been a bit of a socialite, but the afternoon alone was a welcome respite! She pulled a darkened trail through the tall grass, lifting dainty hooves extra-high as she stepped, before nosing into her saddlebag and cheerfully tugging at her blanket's corner with her teeth. She cast it before her, cyan aura tugging at all four corners, holding the blanket taught, draping it over the grass carefully, gently stepping upon the blanket once she was satisfied and diligently smoothing out wrinkles and fussing her blanket to absolute perfection. Rarity heaved one more light sigh as she laid on her side lazily, hoisting her saddlebags off with her magic and draping them before her. It was set to be a lovely afternoon.
Twilight Sparkle wished she could make the same claim.
Sure, Twilight could see the same beautiful weather, but she'd be damned if she could enjoy it. She and Rainbow Dash had just prior parted ways; Twilight did her best to reason Rainbow Dash out of her plans, but "a deal's a deal, Twilight! I don't squelch on a deal, duh." While she didn't expect anything less from the bearer of The Element of Loyalty, that couldn't prevent her from hoping. Regardless, Rainbow Dash had at least been kind enough to let Twilight know the intricacies of Spike's Masterful Plan, not to mention where Spike was, and so Twilight hurried in an odd, restrained gait, a kind of gait that one might adopt when one is in a rush but wanting not to appear as such. Her hooves nervously kicked up the dirt around her as she trundled along the path to the park, head craning to and fro for any hint of orchid scales or green spines. No luck, so far.
Twilight crested a hill, pausing for a moment. She could feel her mind racing, feeding into its own cycle of what-ifs and its own casting catastrophe and and and. She swallowed a lump in her throat, mind pinging back at once to a memory from her youth, to a certain fantastic babysitter. Twilight's anxiety certainly wasn't anything new, and even back then, she'd get so worried over the silliest things. Twilight pushed her forehoof against her own chest, remembering Cadance's words - it's all alright, kiddo, c'mon - she exhaled carefully, deeply - just breathe it out with me, alright? She repeated the soothing gesture once or twice more, inhaling with a new resolve and a calmer mind. It's okay, it was gonna be okay. Amethyst eyes scanned the rolling sky before her, lazy pegasi flitting to and fro; as was the norm.
"Oh no..., " Twilight muttered, anxiety gripping the depths of her chest again. A certain azure blur was distinct among the pegasi. She was running out of time.
She kicked off once more, trotting a bit faster along the path to the park. Twilight passed a few parch benches, knowing she was getting close. She looked back and forth, and it was then - before her, she saw Spike proudly approaching a particular white unicorn in repose, and the strangest sensation of mutual relief and utmost trepidation washed over her, hooves breaking into a gallop.
* * * * *
Twilight's parents blinked in unison, in matched confusion and surprise.
"I-I'm sorry, Princess, what?...?"
The Princess offered a half-nod to them, her stately eyes a bit more haggard than usual. They stood at the head of Celestia's classroom, vacant but for themselves, their children, and a young reptile. Twilight and Shining Armor were excitedly telling one another about their lessons from today, Spike listening with rapt attention. Celestia looked over to the trio before reiterating, "I do. I believe it might be in everyone's best interest if Spike were allowed to reside with Twilight on a more... long-term basis."
Her parents blinked again, taken aback and looking back and forth to one another, then the princess. Twilight Velvet would chime in first, "I... isn't he a little young for that? If I may, Princess, that seems a bit... like a smidge of an imposition?"
"It's certainly not my intention to impose on you two, Velvet! But he's very independent, and frankly... well, we don't know too much, but he's an absolute angel... when Twilight's around. Perhaps because she hatched his egg? We're not sure, and it's certainly not your responsibility. But..." Celestia trailed off, carefully picking her next words, "...has... Twilight seemed unusually restless on your end lately, at all?"
"Well..." Night Light chimed in, "...girl's been a bit of a brat about bedtime lately..."
"But that's just her age, dear!" Velvet added.
"Well yes, but... Cadance said she's been a bit more stubborn, too..."
Velvet paused in an uneasy silence.
"Mm. Far be it from me to question... well, anything, but I'm merely making the suggestion, that it might be good for all the parties involved...?" Celestia let the statement dangle pointedly.
Velvet and Night Light exchanged unsure glances, a silence hanging palpably in the air. Celestia broke it with a light sigh, hating to strike what she felt was a somewhat manipulative chord, but she added nonchalantly, "Plus, the... unique, exclusive opportunity to raise and befriend a creature so rare as Spike's kind seems like... somewhat of a prestigious opportunity, one that may be worth capitalizing on, if nothing else."
Their eyes lit up with a flicker of realization; it was Velvet that was the first to cede, eyes looking to her husband with an appeasing glance. "Well, dear... the Princess does have a point, you know? And... maybe it'd be good for Twilight! Have someone to look after, teach her a little responsibility!"
Night Light still faltered, unease in his voice, "It might, but... it just... seems like an awfully big undertaking!"
Celestia chuckled. "Nonsense, little fella sleeps most of the day away. And don't worry, I'm by no means proposing a permanent relocation for Spike, maybe... maybe just weekends at first? Don't worry, I'd still keep him in my stead the majority of the time. Plus, " she chuckled, "I'd be more than happy to provide the gems he's so fond of eating."
"He eats gems?!" Velvet yelped.
"Yes, yes! But it's alright, the Royal Mines are brimming with ones with far too many imperfections to make any use other than dragon chow," she added, a desperate, reassuring tone in her voice.
The parents exchanged glances once more, excusing themselves from the Princess. They took their leave in a corner, discussing carefully the pros and cons, weighing another mouth to feed in their house against the idea of having children responsible for raising what amounted to a one-of-a-kind creature like that. Could you imagine the prestige?! But... they already needed Cadance just to juggle the two little ones in their house already (though Shining was coming into an age where he resented the implication he needed a foalsitter, geez!). But... maybe it would help with her unusual bouts of acting out as of late?
Celestia watched tensely at Velvet and Night Light commiserating, doing her best to gauge how their conversation was going, nose tilting in their direction. She hoped so earnestly for their compliance. Celestia loved all her students, all her subjects, and far be it from her to choose favorites; but it would be a lie to claim that didn't hit a special, painful note in her heart each day when Twilight was getting ready to leave class, to see how intently she would stick close to Spike, to hear that ritual they'd subconsciously perfected every day - so you're going to be back tomorrow, right? Yeah, don't worry! O-okay I won't! - and to have to deal with a sullen, pouty, defiant little dragon for the rest of the night. Of course, she didn't begrudge his childish behavior; if anything, it only deepened her sympathy towards the duo's unusual situation.
It was such a delicate balance, leveraging "suggestions" with a gentle touch towards Twilight's parents. If so needed, of course, Celestia could proverbially invoke eminent domain, and make what is right happen. But she didn't want to, didn't want to have to. So, she waited, a cautious optimism held in her breath.
The duo nodded in uneasy unison, approaching Celestia once more.
"...after thinking about it, we think you're right. It's worth a shot if nothing else, right? We're willing," said Night Light.
Celestia's entire frame visibly relaxed, a warm smile spreading into her cheeks. "Wonderful! " she exclaimed, clapping her forehooves together. With a gentle smile, she bowed her head, looking up, "Well, I believe you have some news to break? I'll leave you to that; I'll gather some belongings of his." Celestia turned on her heels, striding away awash in a warm relief.
The nervous set of parents approached the oblivious trio, stammering and tripping over their words.
"Twily, dear? Er, Spike, Shiny? We, um, have... some news for you all!"
Shortly thereafter, every on-duty guard and resident of Celestia's classroom wing of her castle yelped, flinched, or pomfed at the unison screams of unbridled joy and excitement that reverberated through the hallowed halls out of the blue. Through many blinks and murmurs of confusion, business shortly resumed as normal for all but a very select handful of the building's current occupants, who were busy celebrating in the utmost of glee.
* * * * *
Spike's knees shook, but he gathered himself, fists clenching around the object behind his back, a deep breath helping him gather his resolve. His eyes fell to the gorgeous mare before him, her delicate haunches so perfectly posed, those cute little glasses balanced delicately on her muzzle, those brilliant eyes so intently scanning the book between her forehooves. Of course, he was nervous - but Spike had thought this through, and he'd covered every possible little wrinkle and blip that could go wrong. This time. This time his plan was perfect. He took one last heaved breath for courage, and forced his stubby legs forward.
"H-h-hi, um, hey there Rarity!" Spike chirped, a nervous smile etched into his cheeks, the tremble overwhelming his body immediately evident. He turned his knees inwards, toes wiggling.
Rarity blinked with a start, not even noticing his presence until he spoke. She looked up from her book and offered a genial smile. "Spike! Why hello there, how are you on this gooorgeous day, doll?"
"Not much! Um - dangit - I'm good Rarity, ahaheh!" Spike blushed, heel-toeing in his nerves. His eyes darted upwards just for a second to check; he chuckled a bit under his breath upon seeing Rainbow Dash bolt above, pushing a cloud in front of her. Just like I planned... He gave the tiniest of fist-pumps.
"Y-yeah, but um, w-what are YOU up to, Rarity...?" Spike stammered.
Rarity's eyes fell back down to the novel in her hooves, smiling a warm smile, "Just enjoying this splendid weather and a good book. A wonderful break from this order I've been positively slaving over, ugh!"
"Y-yeah, I'm sure you've been swamped Rarity, aha-ehheh..."
Spike craned his head upwards; Rarity hadn't even really taken notice of the shifting shadows above her. On breezy days like that, lazily rolling cloud cover was to be expected! But this one had lingered for a bit longer than they normally would, and slowly - a few more gathered (much to Rarity's oblivion). Spike gulped nervously; Rainbow Dash would peek out of the looming cloud cover, making eye contact. Spike offered a restrained nod, a gesture to be returned by Rainbow.
Spike preemptively flinched in anticipation, and Rainbow Dash popped out of her cloud cover to give a mighty buck to the line of clouds above them, a roaring thunderclap echoing as her kick dominoed through the line of clouds! Rarity flinched with a start, looking skywards, past the rim of her shades, to the suddenly-darkened skies; a fat raindrop would plop squarely on her snout, greeted with a displeased whine.
"Wh...?! Rain, we weren't supposed to have...?!" Rarity scrambled to her hooves, doing her best to shove her book into her saddlebag as the gentle shower picked up intensity.
This was Spike's chance.
Like a valiant knight unsheathing a sword, Spike boldly revealed the umbrella from behind his back! "Don't worry, Rarity, your pretty little head's not... going..." Spike's impassioned speech trailed off. His thumb claw was pressing on the button to release the umbrella's tines, but there it stayed, sealed and unopened.
"...Ahehe."
Spike offered a genial smile to the still-scrambling Rarity, determined claws pushing and lashing at the release mechanism of the umbrella, to no avail. He flopped to the ground, practically wrestling with his foe at this point, back legs kicking at the release mechanism with all his tiny might, hands gripping onto the handle, struggling and pushing. But it just wouldn't budge!
He kept trying, determined to save his beautiful lady's mane from getting disheveled. He was so intently focused on the task at hand, that he barely registered Rarity's voice behind him.
"Spike, dear, shouldn't you be taking shelter? I don't think it's going to let up!"
Spike blinked, pausing his umbrella endeavor to roll over and look to Rarity... who was more than sufficiently covered by a delicate umbrella of her own, carefully positioned on her back. Spike gawked.
"...y-you?! Had?! An umbrella alrea-WHY, Rarity, why did you already have an umbrella?!"
With a demure bow of her head, she offered, "A lady is always prepared, Spike!"
Spike groaned in frustration, kicking his undefeated, umbrella-ey foe away in abject frustration. Rarity blinked, unsure as to the source of her young friend's outburst. "Are... you going to head indoors, Spike?"
"N-No, I'm fine! Don't worry about it, I'm, uh. It's cool, Rarity! Don't worry about it, " he grumbled in frustration, fighting back tears. He didn't want to admit his scheme; Rainbow Dash should cut this out soon enough, he should be fine.
Shrugging and accepting her friend's odd explanation as Quaint Dragon Behavior, Rarity shrugged and made her hasty leave out of the park, towards somewhere infinitely more climate-controlled and dry. Spike sat there, alone in the rain, cheeks hot from a mix of his tears and his gritted teeth in frustration! The umbrella wouldn't open, HER HAVING AN UMBRELLA OF HER OWN! Rookie mistakes, Spike, rookie mistakes! Spike continued to mentally chide himself, blinking with a start at a sudden pause in the rain. Did Rainbow Dash finally let up? Spike looked up.
No, the rain was still pouring around him - and around Twilight, the umbrella held in her aura shielding them both. He sniffled and pouted, immediately looking down from his friend. "Yeah, yeah, I know! Rub it in Twilight, g'uh..."
Twilight chuckled a little, bowing her head and bumping purple cheeks with Spike, "Sometimes things don't go how you plan, okay?"
Spike huffed and ignored her further.
Twilight sighed, insistently nuzzling her friend's cheek that much more, "come on buddy, is sittin' in the rain gonna fix any of this?"
Wordlessly, eyes still avoiding her, Spike sighed and just barely shook his head.
Twilight smiled, scooping Spike up with her magic and plopping him on her shoulders, "Them come on Spike, let's go get ya dry. We both know how easy you catch a cold."
Spike's arms remained defiantly crossed over his chest for a moment, but then, they relented, defeated claws finding respite in handfuls of Twilight's mane that he held for comfort. "Y-yeah, I guess we do..."
Twilight wasn't the best at offering comfort. In fact, she was downright awkward. But that never stopped her from trying. "Tomorrow's... tomorrow's a new day, okay?"
"Y-yeah... yeah!" Spike suddenly perked up, a renewed sense of bravado washing over him, "and what kind of master schemer gives up after one little setback?!" He chuckled, cockily adding, "I already had a backup plan. Time for Plan B."
Twilight rolled her eyes, thankful Spike wasn't in a position to see it, and added, "And I'm just sure Plan B is an awesome plan, a plan that uses every ounce of your cunning and wit, Casanova."