A few days passed in the castle as the snow started to settle in the forest. Spike’s arm had healed rather nicely thanks to the first aid of Rarity and his friends. The dragon had been getting better with his mood and attitude ever since that night with the Timberwolves, and with a little counselling from Rarity he was starting to even feel like his old self again. It was like the spark in his heart had been reignited and his darker side was slowing dying. Things were good for the drake.
He and Rarity had been spending a lot of time together, getting to know each other. This, of course, was completely one-sided. Spike fully remembered everything about his Rarity but, due to the spell, she couldn’t remember anything about her Spikey-wikey. That part was a little heart breaking for him. However, he had hope that she could relearn everything before midnight tonight, when his contract would expire and he would be stuck like this forever… as a monster.
At the moment, the two were sitting in the castle library. Rarity was nose deep in a rather large book while Spike was chatting with Twiclock, who practically lived in the library.
“Well…” Spike whispered to the clock while Rarity was distracted. “What do you think?”
“What do you mean, what do I think? Be more specific.”
“I mean what do you think about Rarity? We’ve gotten a lot better over the past few days but I’m not sure if she feels the same way I do… It’s last year all over again.”
“That’s not going to happen Spike, you know that she loves you… We just need to give it a little more effort,” said Twiclock. “And we need to do it soon. Luckily, the girls and I have started working on a plan for tonight. We just need a little more time to get ready.”
“Well, I hope you hurry. The spell’s going to be broken sometime tonight and this is our last chance.”
“Don’t worry about it; everything is going to be perfect!”
“I hope you’re right Twiclock… I really do. What should I do until then?”
“You should do something special for her; it would help if you could get the spark started before tonight. Maybe you could take her somewhere special. This is going to sound weird, especially coming from me, but maybe try going outside for a little bit. It’s far too beautiful today to waste indoors.”
“Maybe you’re right... Although she looks pretty deep in her book,” said Spike. “I’m not sure if it’d be a good idea to interrupt her.”
“Spike, don’t tell me you’re nervous,” grinned Twiclock, giving him a few nudges towards the reading mare. “Come on now, don’t be a Fluttershy.”
“Alright, alright,” mumbled the drake. “I’m going…just go get things ready for tonight… What do you even have planned for tonight anyways?”
“It’s a surprise, but just be sure to ask her for dinner, okay?”
“Alright, Twiclock. Now go hop off and get ready. I’ll see you later tonight for dinner and stuff. Now excuse me, I have to go and ask Rarity out.” The dragon got up from his spot and started to cross the room towards Rarity. There were a million and a half ideas and pick-up lines that he thought of using, he thought about playing it cool, smooth and charming, and he knew what he was going to say and how he was going to say it. Now all he had to do was… Well, actually say it.
Rarity noticed the approaching dragon and gave him a warm smile. “Hello dear, is there something that I can help you with?”
Spike’s tongue seamlessly turned into putty. So much for his two minutes of preparation. “Ha…hi… Hi Rarity.” Why was it so hard for him to talk? “So…hi.”
“Hi…” the unicorn asked curiously. “Is there something wrong? You sound like a cat’s got your tongue.”
Ye-yes…ha, ha… Funny, Rarity,” murmured Spike, trying to get his thoughts straight again. “So, anyways… I was wondering… Well, it’s a really nice day out and thought you’d like to go out in the courtyard for a walk… But if you say no that’s fine too! I don’t want to interrupt your book!”
“Why not at all, darling,” chimed Rarity, placing a bookmark in her novel and setting it on the table next to her. “I was looking for an excuse to stretch my legs and a walk sounds marvelous. Just give me a second to grab my scarf.” She trotted off to the coatrack and tenderly pulled her scarlet scarf down and whipped it around her neck, making sure that it was on snugly. “Are you ready to go, dear?”
Spike nodded his head as he squeaked out a “Yes,” and hurried to Rarity’s side. The two began to walk down the hallways and to the main doors that led to the castle courtyard. When they got outside they were blinded by the reflective snow, but their eyes quickly adjusted and they took their first steps into the cold, crisp air.
Rarity shivered a little as her hoof made contact with the snow. “A little colder than I thought,” she said to herself. “Maybe I should have gotten my boots as well.”
“I can go and get them for you, or send to have them delivered to you,” offered the drake. “If your hooves are a little cold, that is.”
“I think that I’ll manage,” she beamed, taking another step into the icy powder. “I think I’m getting used to it.”
“That’s good to know.”
Spike also took a step into the snow. He was a lot more tolerable of its coldness than the pony was, but that was to be expected. Feeling the snow between his feet was rather relaxing, and the fresh air was nice change from the stuffiness of the library.
“Spike look, robins!”
The dragon looked peculiarly at what Rarity was talking about. She had run up to one of the trees in the garden and was admiring a nest of red-breasted robins, as well as an assortment of other winter birds.
“Aren’t they just magnificent, Spikey?
Spike’s heart skipped a beat. “What did you call me?”
The mare’s face grew a little red as she tried to hide her blush behind her hair and behind the tree. “Oh… it’s just a little pet name I came up with. I do hope you don’t mind it, I wouldn’t want to call you something that you didn’t like.”
It couldn’t have made him happier. “No, that’s okay. In fact I kind of like the ring to it… Spikey Wikey,” he started to laugh. “Spikey Wikey, I like it.”
This made the mare giggle a little. “Then I’ll make it a habit to call you it more often.” She started to look at the many birds fluttering in the trees. The way they flew in the air made them look like they were dancing with all the colours of the wind… Whatever that meant. The flock seemed to make a beeline towards the dragon, and Spike soon found himself over encumbered by the playful pecks of the birds.
“Ah, hey! Stop!” he cried, swatting at the infernal creatures. “I don’t have any food!”
Rarity couldn’t help but laugh a little, even if it was at his expense. It was just too funny. When the birds started to flutter away and she saw that he was okay, they both shared in a laugh. Spike even extended one of his claws and allowed a few birds to rest on his hands and fingers, pecking at his scales.
It was so strange seeing Spike so…calm, Rarity thought to herself. She knew that he was getting better but this was a true test of his ability. It was almost angelic the way he reverted to such a charming, well-mannered gentledrake. It was magical…
“It is quite strange,
And yet I find,
That this dragon is both couth and well-refined!
And now I see, he’s so much more…
Perhaps there’s something that I didn’t see before.”
Spike looked out at Rarity who was playfully admiring him; he couldn’t help but blush in return. She was always so beautiful when her face got all red…
“She looks at me, I swear I saw,
Words I want to say keep dancing on my jaw,
And still I pray, there’s something more.
That she can still see the little drake I was before…”
“Yes… It’s a bit, alarming,
Who’d have ever thought I’d feel this way…
True…that he is quite charming,
And perhaps all of this was meant to be…”
Unknown to them, a few enchanted knick-knacks were watching them from within the castle…
“Well, who'd have thought?
Well, bless my soul,
Well, who'd have known?
Well, who indeed?
And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?”
“It's right peculiar.”
We'll wait and see,
A little more,
There may be something there that wasn't there before.”
“You know, perhaps there really is something there that wasn't there before,” smiled Twiclock.
“What’s there?” Rainbow Cup asked.
“There may be something there that wasn't there before,” repeated Tankardjack.
“STOP IGNORING ME!”
“Now hush now, little darling. It’s time to go to bed.”
“It’s three in the afternoon!”
The tankard mug picked up the fidgety cup in her mouth and started to head to the kitchen. The rest of their friends did little to nothing about it and focused on Spike and Rarity’s date.
*****
Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, the sun had been a gift from the goddesses as small traces of snow started to melt, a little strange so early in winter but no pony was complaining about the warmth that the sun emitted. A few stalls even dared to open up and test their luck for a market day, and all the fillies and little colts enjoyed their snow day.
However, in the smelly dumpster of a cold alleyway, Magnum was still hard at work making his potato radio pick up random chatter. He had spent the last three days in his base, hardly getting any sleep and barely eating the food that Lyra kept bringing him. He was a father on a mission and he wouldn’t let mortal limitations restrict him from finding a way to save his daughter.
He munched on a few crackers as he tried to hook up a pinwheel to an alternator in an attempt to boost his radio’s power. Rearranging things like wires and chips were nothing to him, mere child’s play, but he always regretted not sharpening his skills in advance machinery, as after the last three devices he made blew up in his face he was running out of materials to make his gadgets with.
“Come on…” he mumbled, making the exposed ends of wires touch each other lightly. “Steady… steady…”
Knock, knock, knock!
Magnum jumped at the sudden noise, losing his grip on the wires and knocking over his device. “Dang it,” he whispered, making sure that he kept quiet. Somepony was knocking on his trash bin, he knew that Lyra would make a signal so it couldn’t have been her. Was he compromised? Had the Princesses finally found him and were here to take him away to some underground torture chamber and beat him for trying to cut through the Everfree Forest? All he ever wanted in life was to save some time and expose the Timberwolves as the government operatives as they were. Was that really worth all this drama?
The answer was a large yes as the mustached stallion carefully reached into his stash of things and pulled out a small hoof cannon. If he was going down, he was going down kicking and screaming. Just like his honeymoon.
He kicked open the lid of the garbage can and aimed at the perpetrator. “Gut or nuts!” He screamed through his teeth. “Your choice!”
“Nice to see you too, Magnum,” mumbled the fiery-maned pony who had been knocking on Magnum’s lid. “What’s it been, like two years?”
The stallion lowered his gun as his heart started to beat at a normal rate again. “Spitfire, nice to see you again as well…” he sighed. “What are you doing here in town?”
The Wonderbolt rolled her eyes. “I was in town giving Lyra an update on that mirror thing she’s so interested in and I told her I’d check up on you. Got to say, I love what you’ve done with the place.”
“Sarcastic as ever…”
“Is that any way to treat your eyes on the inside?” Spitfire grinned. “Anyways, I’ve got some stuff for you, you old stallion.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a small bundle wrapped in a cloth. “Some lunch and wires, as well as some cookies from your wife. You know not to sound mean but I don’t see why Pearl stays with you, if I was her I’d have left you about a million crazy stunts ago.”
“I’m only crazy if I’m wrong,” said Magnum, taking the bundle from her. “And have I ever been wrong?”
“Countless times,” droned Spitfire. “But you’ve been right just as many times… Probably why I haven’t left you.”
“Then leave it at that… Thanks for the supplies. I was down to my last three wires. I swear I go through these things like my wife’s sugar cookies.”
“Yep, and if you keep indulging in them, you’ll lose both your hooves.”
“I’m always careful about wires and explosives!”
“I was talking about the sugar cookies,” said Spitfire. “Seriously, I’m getting fat just by looking at them.”
“Pearl always did know the fastest way to a stallion’s heart,” beamed Magnum. “How is my little Pearl, anyways?”
“She’s fine. She is getting a little worried and is wondering when you’re coming back home.”
“Thanks… It’s just so frustrating sometimes. Knowing that I have to leave her like this… but I need to save my daughter.”
“Yeah… That’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about…” Spitfire said nervously. “I don’t know how, but a research party is going to be heading into the Everfree tomorrow morning, but they’re bringing several guards with them…”
“Horse apples,” cursed Magnum. “Those Timberwolves must have told them about my presence and think I’m still in that castle. If they find Rarity they could use her as leverage to find me!” He hopped out of the garbage can. “There’s no time to make a plan. I have to find Rarity now!”
“Then I’m coming with you,” said Spitfire.
“No, I need you to stay behind and make sure that my family stays safe. If I die and don’t return, I give you permission to marry my wife.” With that, he made a beeline towards the Everfree forest and into the trees on a quest to save his daughter from the government and a dragon.
Spitfire just stood there with a dumfounded look on her face. “What the fu—?”
*****
Meanwhile, back at the castle in the forest…
Spike had started to lead Rarity back into the forest after spending a good chunk of the afternoon playing in the snow and feeding the winter birds, during which Spike had an idea of the perfect place to ask Rarity out for dinner.
“Spikey dear, I really don’t see the point in this blindfold,” muttered Rarity. “I’ve still yet to see every part of the castle and I would rather not get lost.”
“Don’t worry about it; it’s actually not that well hidden, it’s just another room hidden in the west wing and close to the kitchen. Plus you know that you can always just holler and somepony will come and help you get around. Besides, you don’t want to spoil the surprise.”
“I guess not,” said the blindfolded mare, trusting that the dragon would lead her to the room safely. “Are we almost here?”
“We’re here, Rarity,” said Spike. “Open your eyes.”
When the white mare did just that, she was blessed with a sight for sore eyes. Rarity thought she’d never ever see another fashion studio again in her life, yet here she was standing with rows of shiny new sewing machines, rolls of colourful and exotic looking fabrics, shelves of needles, scissors and ribbons, and mannequins of all shapes and sizes. It was enough to bring a joyful tear to her eye.
“Oh my… Spike, this is simply wonderful! I thought I’d never get to make another dress again in my entire life!” she turned to the dragon with a curious look. “How did you know?”
Spike, of course, had always known of the mare’s love for fashion, but couldn’t risk telling her that, so he made something up. “Oh, Pinkie Stick said something about you wanting to see our fashion studio, and I guess you’ve never actually got around to seeing it, so I spent a few hours cleaning everything up for you. I hope you like it.”
Rarity galloped over to the drake and wrapped her hooves around his chest. “I love it, Spike. Thank you so much.”
The dragon’s heart quickened in its beating as he felt the warm fur of the unicorn against his scaly flesh. There was so much that he wanted to tell her, that he loved her and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, that he didn’t care if he even had to stay like this forever, as long as she could love him then he could be a dung beetle.
Now seemed like the best time to finally ask the question. “Rarity…”
“Yes Spike?” the mare asked, looking up at him while still in an embrace.
“Would you… Would you like to join me for dinner tonight?”
Rarity’s cheeks curled up into a smile. “I would love to, Spikey.”