Spike wants to be a pony again and Twilight wants to test a highly dangerous and possibly deadly spell. What could possibly go wrong?
Spike wants to be a pony again and Twilight wants to test a highly dangerous and possibly deadly spell. What could possibly go wrong? I'll tell you what everything!
It certainly wasn't a perfect day in the small town of Ponyville but it was close enough. There were a few clouds in the sky that hinted at the possibility of rain, but that all depended on how Rainbow Dash was feeling that day. That was the downside of having a temperamental speed demon in charge of the weather patrol. Get her in a bad mood and your whole day could be ruined. On the bright side, no monsters had stormed into town yet so everypony was in a relatively good mood. So all in all, it was a decent time to hang out with friends which is exactly what Sweetie Belle intended to do.
The small filly trotted through the town's market, heading towards Sweet Apple Acres. Her fellow members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Scootaloo and Applebloom, had agreed to meet at their clubhouse the day before so they could draw up an official club schedule for the month. Sweetie passed a few of her classmates but didn't stop to talk. She wasn't necessarily late but the young filly couldn't afford to stop and chat. Now things don't always go the way ponies plan and life was determined to teach her this lesson with an extra helping of homework. Just as Sweetie reached the edge of the marketplace a voice called out to her.
"Sweetie Belle, there you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Sweetie instantly recognised the voice of her sister and groaned. Whenever her sister was looking for her, it was to get her to do chores and right now she just didn't have any time to waste. Sweetie Belle turned slowly, making sure she displayed how uninterested she was at the prospect of being held up.
"What is it, Rarity? I'm in a hurry." The filly spoke in a calm but firm tone.
"Oh, please. Enough with the attitude, Sweetie. This isn't the time for a rebellious phase." Rarity waved a hoof dismissively. "I was just coming to tell you I'm leaving for Manehattan on the next train and I'll be gone for the next few day so you will have the boutique to yourself while I'm gone."
"Wait, you're leaving? But I thought 'Rarity for You' was doing well." The smaller filly's tone changed to one of concern.
"Oh, it is. But there is a problem with one of the designs and they need my expertise to remedy their mistake. You understand, right?" Rarity patted her sister gently above her horn but Sweetie quickly swatted it away.
"Can you stop that!? I'm not a little foal anymore. Stop treating me like one." Rarity chuckled internally but kept her opinion to herself.
"Of course, I'm sorry." Rarity held up a hoof. "You are completely right but on that matter, there are a few rules I need to lay down. Now I cannot stress this enough, so listen carefully. While I am gone there are to be no parties, no sleepovers and no coltfriends. I repeat, no coltfriends." Sweetie didn't know why but that last part really ticked her off. Why did her sister have to be so patronising.
"I understand." Sweetie said through clenched teeth.
"That's a good little sister." Rarity smiled almost evilly before trotting off. "Have fun."
"Yeah, whatever." Sweetie muttered before turning and continuing her journey to the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse.
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom both sat in front of a blank sheet of paper they had nailed to the wall of the treehouse club room, trying to think of ideas for activities they could try but since they already had their cutie marks, they were having a hard time of thinking of any. There club room was fairly modest with barely any furniture, the most impressive of which was a quite unimpressive podium. The two were sitting in the corner furthest from the door talking idly.
"Hey, Scootaloo. Why do they say extra-ordinary when describin' cool stuff like superheroes? Ah mean, ah get that things can be extra hot or ya could have extra hay fries but if extra means more, than extra-ordinary is the exact opposite of what it is."
Scootaloo just looked at her friend dumbfounded, wondering what had made her friend say that. "I'm gonna be honest. I don't know what the heck you're talking about."
"Don't ya get it? If somepony was extra-ordinary, shouldn't they be super normal, not super powered."
"Meh, I don't really care. I just roll with it. It's not like we can change the Equestrian language." Scootaloo said as she checked her hooves for dirt.
"Or can we!" Apple Bloom jumped to her hooves, a ridiculous idea already forming in her head.
"I swear, if you sugges-" Scootaloo was cut off as the clubhouse door slammed open.
"I cannot believe her!" Sweetie screamed to nopony in particular.
"Woah! What's wrong, Sweetie?" Apple Bloom ran over to her friend, hoping to help in anyway should could.
"My sister! She treats me like a darn foal!" Sweetie slammed the door shut, rattling the clubhouse in the process. "I hate her!"
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, remembering the last time this happened. "Ah ain't givin' yah mah sis again, just so ya know." Scoot looked between the two before deciding to add her own comment.
"So what exactly happened this time?"
"She came right up to me and announces she's leaving without even telling me." She threw her hands up in the air. "I mean, seriously."
"...But if she told you she was leaving without telling you, doesn't that mean she did tell you?" Scootaloo asked, obviously confused.
"Yeah, but only a few hours before she's leaving! I mean she could have told me in advance."
"Maybe she only found out she was leaving today." Apple Bloom suggested. "She is a designer after all."
"Does a good sister leave a filly alone while she's off working?! I think not."
"Wait? If she's not home... and you have the whole place to yourself..." Scootaloo slowly began to grin at her friends. "We can have a sleepover!" She began hopping in place excitedly.
"Nope, she said I can't. It freaking sucks." The unicorn groaned.
"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." Applebloom grinned as she put her arm around her grumpy friend. "Right?"
"Well, I guess." Sweetie said reluctantly. "I am my own mare after all."
"You said it!" Scootaloo swung her hoof in the air and gave Apple Bloom a high hoof. "What other rules did she say? Let's see how many we can break." Sweetie smiled at the idea of breaking her sister's rules.
"Sure, why not? No parties was one but unless either of you have a coltfriend then we can't really break the other rule." The three fillies looked between them, confirming the fact that they were all single.
"Wow, we really need to get out more." Scootaloo said. "How are all three of us single?"
"Maybe the fact that we've only focused on cutie marks for the last year or two might have something to do with it." Apple Bloom shrugged. "The closest any of us have had to colt friends in sharing milkshakes at Sugarcube Corner." From the corner of her eye Sweetie saw Scootaloo giggle to herself.
"Speaking of which, I know somepony we could invite." The orange filly gave Sweetie a coy grin.
"Who?" Both her friends said in unison.
"Spike!" She almost yelled in enthusiasm.
"Yeeeaaaah... no." The unicorn said flatly. "Don't get me wrong, he's a nice dragon but I wouldn't really date him. It would feel too awkward dating a dragon." Sweetie dismissed the idea quickly.
"Not that Spike. Remember the colt from last month?!" Scootaloo flung her hooves in the air.
"Oh yeah! I remember him." Apple Bloom smiled. "He was kinda cute."
"He was... kinda cute." Sweetie blushed slightly and to her chagrin, her friends noticed and monopolized the tease market.
"Aww, she does like him." Scootaloo pinched her friend's cheeks, making them grow even redder. "Isn't that adorable."
"Sh-shut up!"
"Oh, she's getting defensive. She totally loves him." Apple Bloom joined in the teasing as any good friend would.
"You guys suck." Sweetie crossed her hooves and pouted.
Her friends grew quite as Scootaloo slowly leaned in towards Sweetie's ear and whispered. "I know somepony you wish you could su-"
"EEWWW! No!" Sweetie screamed as she tackled her friend. "Shut up, that's gross."
"Hehe, yeah but it was worth it." Scootaloo grabbed her sides as she laughed. "You should have seen your face."
"You better watch your own face before I hit it." Sweetie playfully punched her friend's ribs.
"Okay, I surrender." Scootaloo mocked defeat. Sweetie ceased her pretend attack and laughed. "Besides, it's not like we even know where he lives. I haven't seen him once since that day."
"You probably wouldn't have. He's Princess Twilight's cousin. Apparently he was only here for that one day." Sweetie recalled what Twilight had told her.
"Aww, that sucks." Scootaloo kicked at the dirt before an idea popped into her head. "Maybe we could ask her when he's in town next before we head over to the boutique?"
"Works for me. Let's do it. Grab your saddlebags, girls. It's sleepover time!" Sweetie smiled.
At the same time on the other side of town, Princess Twilight Sparkle was enjoying a fresh stack of pancakes make by her number one personal assistant, Spike. The little drake had woken up in a suspiciously good mood and had decided to dust the shelves, mop the floors, reorganise the nonfiction section by order of realism, which Twilight found quite useful, and made breakfast for the of them. What impressed Twilight the most was that he had done all that before she had even woken up. If Twilight didn't know any better, she would have thought he had ulterior motives.
"Delicious as always, Spike. Thank you for the wonderful breakfast." Twilight took a sip from the fresh orange juice spike had squeezed.
"No problem, Twilight. You always work so hard so I thought it was only fair for you to have a day to relax." Spike grabbed another stack of pancakes that had just finished cooking and place them onto Twilight's plate. Twilight stared at her number one assistant for a moment before speaking.
"So this isn't some way to bribe me in order to get something you want?" The alicorn telekinetically grabbed a bottle of maple syrup from the pantry and poured a sizable amount onto her pancakes.
"No, of course not." Spike waved his claw dismissively. "Why would you think that?"
"Okay, spill. What is it that you're hiding from me?" Twilight stabbed the stack with her fork and took a mouthful of the delectable dessert.
"Hiding?!" Spike swallowed nervously. "What makes you think I'm hiding something?"
"Really?" Twilight said flatly. "Normally I have to drag you out of bed yet, lo and behold, you're up before me and working like there is no tomorrow. Not that I'm complaining, in fact I wish you'd do this everyday, but you can't deny how suspicious this seems. So what is it? Did a new issue of Power Ponies come out? Did you find a particular gem at the market you want? Spill."
Spike grabbed his tail with both claws and began wringing it nervously. "Well... you see, I kinda wanted to...." Spike voice faltered as he mumbled something unintelligible. Twilight leaned in to hear better but she couldn't make it out.
"You're not Fluttershy, Spike. You can't whisper your way out of this. Speak up." Twilight devoured a pancake whole, not even bothering to clean the maple syrup that now coated her lips.
"I...I want to...be a pony again." Spike whispered as he cheeks burned bright red.
"That's it?" Twilight ate yet another pancake. "Why didn't you just say so?"
"Wait, you don't find that weird?" Spike was surprised that Twilight had taken it so well.
"Why would I find it weird? I once spent a day as a Breezy so I understand the feeling of being in another body. It's a relatively enjoyable experience. So just for today, I'll turn you into a pony. Consider it a gift for all the good work you've done." Spike looked at Twilight skeptically, not completely convinced with her answer.
"Okay, now it's my turn to be suspicious. Normally when I ask for things that could have potentially disastrous consequences you interrogate me for hours before rejecting my idea. What's the real reason you're saying yes?" Twilight is known for having one the the worse poker faces and today was no exception. Spike just stared at Twilight blankly, waiting until Twilight's feeble defences failed completely.
"Okay fine!" Twilight dropped her face onto the table in defeat. She instantly regretted this, having forgotten about the stack of maple syrup covered pancakes in front of her. Twilight slowly withdrew her face from her breakfast with a squelch. "Eugh. Do you mind grabbing a towel before I tell you?" Spike shrugged and grabbed one of the dish towels from the bottom drawer. Twilight grabbed the towel from his claw and set to work cleaning her face. Only once she was sure that most of the golden liquid was gone did she continue speaking. "Well, you see, recently I've been experimenting with morphic spells in order to learn how changeling magic works. Mainly on how the age of the desired creature can be manipulated. I've been looking for somepony to test my spell and to be completely honest, I was going to ask you to be my test subject anyway."
Spike face planted. "I should have known it had something to do with studying. So if I asked and you weren't planning on already planning on testing the spell, what would have you said?" Twilight didn't hesitate in answering.
"I would have said." Twilight cleared her throat. "Of course not, it's way too dangerous and irresponsible to cast body alteration magic on any creature. The fact that you survived last time was by pure coincidence."
"And you're willing to cast dangerous magic on me now? Wait? I could have died!" Spike took a step back, now worried that the spell was actually dangerous.
"Well, it is in the name of science. Now hold still." Twilight lowered her head and pointed her horn at Spike.
"No, wait! I change my mind!" Spike turned to run but had barely taken a step before the room was filled with light.
"Too late." Twilight smiled as she shot a laser of condense magic at the fleeing drake. "Bullseye!" She squeed.
The sun was now at its highest in the sky as the Cutie Mark Crusaders made their way through town. They were busy discussing what they would do at their unapproved sleepover, most of which involved 'crusading'. Apple Bloom was mostly thinking of ways to make the night more interesting.
"Hey, Sweetie. Do you have many snacks at your place? I wanna go into a sugar coma." Scootaloo beamed.
"I think we had a few pieces of toffee but that's it. Rarity doesn't really keep to much candy around. Something about internal discipline and keeping to a healthy diet." Scootaloo recoiled at the word.
"Eugh! That's insane. Why would anypony willingly stop eating sugar." Scootaloo stuck out her tongue and gagged. "If I had to go on a diet, it would be a 'sugar only' diet."
"I second that motion." The three fillies paused for a moment when they heard Pinkie's high pitched voice echo from somewhere across town. The three looked to each other before deciding to ignore the voice and continued walking.
"Isn't the purpose of a diet to lose weight?" Apple Bloom looked at her friend with mirth. "I'm pretty sure you would only gain weight from that diet." Scootaloo chuckled at this.
"Yeah but it would totally be worth it!" The pegasus pony jumped into the air, using her stunted wings to hover momentarily."You know what? We need to stock up on snacks! I've got twelve bits on me. how about you two?" Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie brought out what little change they had and dumped it into Scoots hooves.
"I kinda left my wallet at home. This is all I got on me." Apple Bloom blushed.
"Sis didn't leave me any money. That's the last of my pocket money." Sweetie kicked at the dirt in disapointment.
"Well we could get a decent amount of junk food with..." Scootaloo quickly counted the bits she now had in her hooves. "...twenty-one bits. You guys want anything in particular?"
"Ah'm fine with anything."
"Same here."
"Cool. Hey, Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom and I are gonna grab the snacks. You're okay heading to Twilight's on you own?" Scootaloo tied the bits up in a brown cloth and placed it into her saddle bag.
"Yeah, I'm good. Meet you girls at Sugar Cube Corner?"
"I don't think it'll take too long, so if we're not there then we'll be at your place." Scootaloo yelled over her shoulder as both her and Apple Bloom left. "Don't take too long though. It would be a shame if somepony were to eat the candy without you!" The orange pegasus chuckled at her half serious joke.
"I won't give you the chance to eat them!" Sweetie shouted in defiance as she ran in the direction on Golden Oaks library.
"Spike? Are you okay, Spike?" A voice called out to the drake. It sounded distant somehow. He opened his eyes slowly and shook his head to clear his blurred vision.
"I see a bright light..." Spike said slowly. "Am I dead?"
"Yeah, you're okay." Twilight rolled her eyes as she offered her hoof to Spike. "C'mon. Up you get."
Spike tried to grab her hoof but fell flat on his face. He groaned into the wooden floorboards before lifting himself back up with his modified appendages. Spike quickly looked himself over, faintly recognizing his new equine body from the last time he had been a pony, but it felt different in a way. After making sure that Twilight hadn't messed up and given him five legs, he lifted his left hoof and took a tentative step forward but pitched dangerously forwards. He managed to stop his fall by quickly placing his left hoof back onto the ground.
Looking mildly embarrassed, Spike straightened himself out. Once he was sure he wouldn't fall face first into the ground he moved one of his hooves in front of his face and examined it closely. Looking up he could see the tip of what appeared to be a unicorn horn. "This'll probably take some getting used to." He turned to Twilight who was staring at Spike with a mild blush on her cheeks. "You look... less tall than usual." Twilight didn't respond and just kept staring at Spike. "Yo, Twi. Equus to Twilight, you in there?" Spike gave the unicorn a tap on her horn.
Twilight quickly jolted to her sense and shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Oh, yes right. Sorry... What were you saying?"
Spike tilted his head in confusion. It wasn't like Twilight to be so distant unless she was reading. "You okay? you seem a little preoccupied."
"Sorry, I was just distracted. Hold on a sec, I need to make a record of this. Stay right here." Twilight quickly bolted out of the room and came back moments later with an old camera. "Do you mind?"
"Not really. But why do you need a photo." Spike stood as tall as he could and smiled.
"No reason, just collecting information for research." Twilight snapped a photo and summarily teleported the camera back to it's original location. "This is perfect, that's everything I need."
"Wait, you're just taking a photo? That's it? No four hour test?" Twilight shifted uncomfortably.
"W-well I already know the details of the spell and everything, I just wanted a photo for myself. You are kinda cute after all." Twilight shrunk back as a blush appear on her face.
"Haha, very funny. I'm eleven for Celestia's sake. I'm meant to be cute."
"Well, technically speaking, you're nineteen." Twilight quickly commented and began gesturing with her hoof offhandedly. "The spell imitates changeling magic and allows the user to take the form of any creature no matter the age or species. While there are limits to size, an example being that a pony could not turn into a manticore, most species are-"
"Exactly. Just remember, you have the body of an adult, so you need to act like one." Twilight moved closer to Spike and looked him up and down. Twilight smiled to herself. "I knew you were adorable as a colt, but now?" Twilight gave him a shoulder nudge before walking into the main room of the library. "Rarity would fall head over hoof for you." Spike smiled widely.
"You really think so?!" The ex-dragon followed the unicorn into the next room.
"I've read a few books on romance. I believe a have a firm grasp on the subject." She stated matter-of-factly
"If you say so." Spike made his way to the door before remembering something. "Hey, Twilight. Since I'm now a unicorn, can I cast magic?"
"Fortunately, no. You're naturally a dragon, so your magic is of dragon origin. The spell only changes the physical natures of a living being, not the arcane abilities."
"Thought so." Spike frowned, obviously disappointed. "Guess I'll just have to use my hooves to do things. C'ya Twilight."
"Bye!" Twilight waved her assistant goodbye. Spike closed the door and trotted off in the direction of the Carousel Boutique.
Twilight trotted upstairs to her room and grabbed a book from her bedside table. Once she was settled comfortably onto her bed she began reading from where she had left off. "Why do I feel like I've forgotten something?" She muttered to herself. Twilight had barely finished a single page of her book before she heard a knock on the door. With a sigh she put the book back down and went to answer the door. "Looks like I won't be getting any relaxation done after all."
Another knock came from the door as she got closer. Putting on a smile, Twilight opened the door and spoke. "Hello, how can I-" Twilight paused when she saw the filly in front of her. "Oh, hello Sweetie Belle."
Sweetie Belle knocked on the door of the library again, slightly harder than she had before. Normally she would just walk inside but the mailbox, Hapless, had suggested to knock for some reason. Something about a sense of foreboding. The young unicorn was about to knock again but the door was opened before her hoof could make contact. Twilight began speaking before the door was fully open. "Hello, how can I-" Twilight paused when she saw the filly in front of her. "Oh, hello Sweetie Belle. What brings you here?"
"Hey, Twilight. I just wanted to ask you something." Sweetie Belle replied. "You see, the girls and I are having a sleepover at the boutique and-"
"A sleepover?" Twilight interrupted. "But Rarity is leaving for Manehatten. Who is going to supervise you fillies?"
"Oh that? Well Rarity said it was okay? She is a wonderful sister after all." The younger unicorn lied with a smile. Twilight looked Sweetie Belle over, not entirely believing her.
"So you wouldn't mind if I sent a letter to Rarity to confirm your story?" Twilight could see the alabaster unicorn stiffen at these words but she quickly relaxed and put on an expression of calm, which was eerily similar to Rarity's.
"Sure, go ahead. She'll say exactly what I said." Sweetie claimed. While she looked calm on the outside, Sweetie was freaking out. If Twilight actually did send a letter to her sister, she would be totally screwed. A few beads of sweat appeared on Sweetie Belle's forehead but fortunately Twilight hadn't noticed.
Twilight didn't break eye contact with Sweetie for several seconds but eventually lowered her head with a sigh. "I'm not a fan of leaving you fillies unsupervised but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt this time. Just so you know, I will be asking Rarity about this when she gets back." Sweetie relaxed slightly at this.
"So you're not going to send a letter?"
"Normally I would but Spike just left, so I can't."
"Oh, that's actually what I wanted to ask you about. Do you know when Spike will be back in Ponyville?"
"I just told you, he left." Twilight reminded her. "He'll probably be back later tonight."
"No, not Spike. I mean your cousin. The pony Spike, not the dragon Spike." Sweetie made some odd gesture that Twilight didn't recognise.
"I have a cousin?!" The alicorn said confused.
"Uh, yeah." Sweetie looked slightly puzzled. Twilight wasn't normally one to forget things. "Your cousin, Spike. Remember? I met him last month." Twilight tried to recall the event in question but she was coming up blank. She didn't think her parents had any siblings either so how could she possibly have a cousin. The alicorn normally had an amazing memory so why couldn't she remember something so recent? Twilight was sure she would remember having a cousin, especially if he had the same name as her number one assistant.
"I'm sorry, Sweetie. You must have the wrong po-" Twilight paused as something clicked in her mind. "Just out of curiosity, when exactly did you meet this cousin of mine?" She couldn't be sure but she had an inkling of who Sweetie might be talking about.
"Around a month ago. Just before you went of to Canterlot to deal with another catastrophe of some sort." The filly replied casually. World ending calamities seemed to happen so often these days. "Guessing it went well since we're all still here."
"Did this cousin of mine happen to have a purple coat and a green mane?"
"Shesh, Twilight. You're acting as if you never met your cousin before." Sweetie joked.
"Yeah, about that. The thing is the Spike you're talking about is actually..." Twilight tried to think of what to say next, but couldn't really think of anything. If Celestia found out she was using changeling magic unsupervised she would get in so much trouble, so she couldn't tell anyone the truth.
"Spike is actually what? He is your cousin right?" Sweetie interrupted Twilight's thoughts.
"Of course he is. I was going to say he actually is..." Twilight knew she was going to regret this but she couldn't think of anything else. "Actual in town again."
"He is!" Sweetie shouted excitedly. She quickly cleared her throat and spoke again calmly. "You wouldn't happen to know where he is... would you?" The filly asked hopefully.
"Sorry, but I don't. He just left and didn't tell me where he was going." Twilight confessed. "He could be anywhere."
"Oh, I see." Sweetie sighed, clearly disappointed. Twilight felt a little sorry for her part-time student.
"You know, if you you want, I could pass on a message for you." She offered, hoping to cheer Sweetie up.
"Nah, it's okay. I have to go anyways. The girls are probably waiting for me."
"Well, I won't keep you. Have fun with the sleepover, Sweetie, and don't worry. I won't tell Rarity." Twilight gave Sweetie a wink. "Just promise me you'll work extra hard on your magic for next week's lesson."
Sweetie nodded happily at Twilight. "Thank you Princess Twilight. I'll study hard, I promise."
"I'll hold you to it." Twilight flinched slightly at the word 'princess'. She didn't understand why everypony felt the need to use her title. "Now run along."
Sweetie Belle obeyed and ran in the direction of Sugarcube Corner, eager to meet back up with her friend. She didn't have to run far since Ponyville was a relatively small town and within minutes she was at the front of Sugarcube corner. Sweetie rushed inside and what she saw somehow didn't surprise her.
At the counter were her friends, buried beneath a monolithic pile of confectionary and savoury snacks. Pinkie Pie, the town's party pony, was zipping from various parts of the store collecting items to add to the pile, all the while listing off all the necessities for a sleepover. Sweetie Belle looked to Scootaloo, who was currently drowning in sugary goodness.
"What is it this time?" She droned, mostly used to the way Pinkie acted. "Did she challenge you to a sugar pile competition?" Scootaloo tried to dig her way out of the candy pile but with every hoof full of lollies she moved a bucket load would take its place. The trapped filly quickly gave up and groaned in frustration.
"How the heck does this town even have this much candy in it!?" She growled. "Where does she even keep it?" Pinkie stopped dropping candy onto the pile and looked between the mountain of sugar and Sweetie Belle.
"You know, she has a point. I've kinda been pulling all this out of nowhere. Where the hay am I supposed to put it all?" Pinkie waved her hooves around, gesturing to the shop in general. "There aren't enough containers!"
"Why are you making a pile in the first place?" Sweetie inquired.
"Well Scootaloo said you girls were having a sleepover and needed some yummy, delicious, fantastic, super-"
"She said all that?" The alabaster filly interrupted.
"I'm paraphrasing. Now where was I? Oh yes!" Pinkie bit a chunk out of the pile and swallowed it whole, wrappers included, before continuing. "-Tasty treats. She was like, 'We only have twenty-one bits. Got any suggestions?' and I was like, 'Let's see what we got' and she was like, 'Pinkie, stop! We're being crushed'. Those were the good old days." Pinkie sighed and looked out into the distance.
"That was literally five minutes ago!" Apple Bloom yelled from somewhere underneath Toffee Town, as previously named by Pinkie.
"I remember it like it was five minutes ago." The pink menace said wistfully before snapping back to reality. With a single hop she landed behind the counter and revealed her usual joyous grin. "So have you decided what you wanted?"
"I want out!" Scootaloo yelled in desperation which was accompanied by a groan of agreement from somewhere beneath Toffee Town which caused a candy quake. The town was decimated.
"Out? Never heard of that candy before..." Pinkie mumbled as she tapped her chin in thought as she tried to imaging what 'Out' would taste like.
"I think she means she wants to get out of the pile." Sweetie interrupted the allegedly insane mare.
"Well why didn't she say so~" Pinkie sung before she dived into the sugary mass. The pile wobbled like for several seconds as if made of jelly and from the remains of Toffee Town burst Pinkie holding one filly in each hoof. "Behold! I bear a gift for thee, my lord." Pinkie recited as she ceremoniously placed the two girls at in front of Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom shook themselves off to remove whatever candy had stuck to them. Sweetie giggled at how much the action reminded of her of Winona, Applejack's dog, after a bath. Once all remains of sugar were gone from their coats Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned to the mare that had trapped them, each sending her their own blank stare. Pinkie just stared back at them with an innocent smiled.
"So have you decided what you wanted?" Pinkie repeated.
"Ah don't think I want candy anymore." Apple Bloom answered.
"Yeah, I'm kind of reconsidering that diet thing." Scootaloo looked to the pile and shivered. "I'm gonna have to pass on the candy."
As these words left her lips the room suddenly grew darker. The shadows grew in size and the air became cold. Pinkie Pie had also changed. Her hair was now hanging limply and her eyes were cold as ice betraying no emotion at all. The three fillies looked to each other in concern having never seen Pinkie so stoic before. The three fillies felt a collective shiver run down their spines. They were so nervous that when Pinkie finally did speak they practically jumped out of their fur.
"Pass?" Her voice was flat and unusually grisly, betraying no emotion. "One does not simply pass on candy. No mare or colt has ever left this Temple of Taste without partaking of the food we provide. Do you dare to be the first, child?" She directed the question to Scootaloo.
"N-no..." She shook in fear. Since when did Pinkie become so sinister. The mare in question leaned forwards until she was only inches from the Scootaloo's face.
"Great! I'll pack your order." Pinkie change back to her former self so fast that when her hair curled it cracked like a whip. The room also returned to it's previous state as if someone had flipped a switch. Pinkie bounced behind the counter as if nothing had happened. "I don't really have anywhere to put all this, so I'll sell you it all for one cheap price. That'll be twenty-one bits. I'll deliver the pile after I'm done with work. Okay?"
The three fillies looked between each other with concern but ultimately they all came to the conclusion that every other pony did. It's Pinkie Pie. After quickly paying Pinkie for the food the cutie mark crusaders trotted towards the carousel boutique, eager to forget everything that had happened.
Spike kept looking behind him but whenever he would, they would quickly look away. He did know why but practically every mare in town kept staring at him. Normally he would appreciate the attention but this just felt weird. He could see them looking at him out the corner of his eyes but every time he went to look at them they would suddenly be busy with something else. One mare started sweeping the road in an attempt to look preoccupied. Who sweeps a dirt road!? At first he thought it was a coincidence but it was happening everywhere he went. Did they somehow know he wasn't an actual pony?!
Spike was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't even notice the mare coming up right behind him. Spike felt a light tap on his shoulder accompanied by a soft sounding voice.
"Excuse me, um, sir?" The voiced was high pitch and seemed quite nervous. Spike stopped walking and turned towards the voice. He didn't recognize the mare but he had recalled seeing her around town on occasion. She had a pale yellow coat and a raspberry mane with light raspberry streaks. Her mane was mildly unkempt but nowhere near as much as Rainbow's. Spike noticed her cutie mark was a rose.
"Can I help you?" Spike still hadn't gotten used to his new voice and was momentarily surprised by it.
"No-I mean yes, sorry. I-well the thing is, my friend over there." She pointed over to another mare who was hiding behind a menu at the local cafe across the road. He could see greyish blue fur and part of a aqua mane with what looked like a pink bow but he couldn't see the mare's face. "Well, she was just curious as to if you're busy tonight or something." The mare was slowly becoming more and more embarrassed and was slowly but surely turning redder and redder. "She thinks you're super cute."
"Oh..." Spike had not been expecting that. He wasn't really sure how to respond. This was definitely a new experience for him. "I'm kinda on the way t-" The mare sensing his answer quickly interrupted.
"Please! She kinda needs cheering up right now. Just have a chat to her and you'll see. She's super nice and lots of fun." Spike didn't want to waste time he could be spending hanging out with Rarity but he was really bad a rejecting ponies, especially if they were upset. Spike sighed internally. Curse my kind nature.
"I guess I could talk to her but I'm sort of in a hurry." The mare beamed and grabbed him by his hoof, all but pulling him over to her friend. Spike felt rather embarrassed about being dragged across the street and felt his cheeks redden.
The Ponyville cafe was much like the other building in Ponyville except for the fact that it's timbers were painted green. Outside it had tables shaped to look like mushrooms with hay bales for seats. The table Spike was being dragged to had three bales with two on one side and one on the opposite side. The mare leg go of his hoof and jumped in the chair next to her friend and gestured to the seat across from them. Spike smiled and sat down.
The mare behind the menu slowly lowered her paper shield and gave Spike a small smile but quickly looked away and blushed. The pony that dragged him there rolled her eyes and sighed.
"I guess I'm doing the introductions. My name is Roseluck. This here," She tapped her friend on the withers. "is Flitter. She's not normally this shy so just bear with her for now. Flitter, this is... I'm sorry, I don't think I grabbed you name."
"My name's Spike. Nice to meet you two." Spike nodded to each of them in turn.
"So Spike." Flitter mumbled. "You're a new pony in town, aren't you?"
"H-how did you know that?!" Spike gasped. She was on to him. Game over, bro!
"Because Pinkie hasn't thrown a party for you yet." Roseluck replied casually. "She's the town's resident party planner in case you didn't know. Although I find it hard to believe she hasn't found you yet." Flitter nudged Rose's foreleg and hissed something in her ear. "Why can't you ask him?!" Roseluck protested.
"Why do I have to ask him?" Flitter spoke is a harsh whisper.
"Because you're the one who wants it!" Rose argued.
"Listen, girls. I'm in a really big hurry. I'll talk to you later." Spike slowly got up from his seat and walked away. The two mares were too busy arguing that they didn't even see him leave.
"But you're better with talking than me." Flitter whined.
"I've already got a stallion for estrus, you need to get one yourself... where'd he go?" Rose froze. She quickly scanned the cafe but Spike was nowhere to be seen. "See! Now you took too long and he freaked out!"
"So when do you think she will bring the candy over?" Sweetie squeaked in excitement.
"I don't know and I don't care, I'm not having candy for at least a week." Scootaloo growled. Apple Bloom nodded her agreement. As far as she was concerned, her diet was starting that day.
"You say that now but I bet you that when it actually gets here you'll both change your minds." Sweetie predicted.
"Says you. You try being buried under a tonne of sugar." Scootaloo huffed through Sweetie Belle's pillow. The three fillies were lounging in Sweetie's room with Scootaloo having taken up the bed and Apple Bloom lying across her desk leaving Sweetie Belle to rest on the floor.
"Not to ruin the mood or anything but what exactly do you do at a sleepover?" Scootaloo rolled over so that she was on her back and stretched her wings, sighing in relief as her joints popped.
"Well, when Applejack had a sleepover with Twi they did makeovers and stuff. We could try doing that." Apple Bloom Proposed.
"Seriously? You know who you're talking to right? I can't have a makeover if I'm trying to be like Rainbow Dash." The young pegasus threw her hooves in the air. "What if she found out I wasn't totally awesome like her?"
"You do know that Rainbow goes to the spa regularly, right? Practically everypony knows." Sweetie Belle pointed out. "There's nothing wrong with relaxing."
"S-she goes to the spa?!" Scootaloo's jaw dropped at the revelation. "B-b-but Rainbow only does cool stuff... Wow she goes to the spa... Maybe the spa isn't so lame after all." Both her friends rolled her eyes at Scootaloo.
"You are such a confo... comfrom. Darn ah forgot the word." Apple Bloom slapped the ground with her right hoof.
"Conformist." Sweetie reminded her friend.
"Yeah, that! I thought a fangirl like you would have known. You practically stalk her as it is." Apple Bloom said.
"Hey, it's harder than you think to follow her. Especially with these wings." The orange pegasus fluttered her stunted wings to emphasise.
"There's nothing wrong with your wings, Scoots. Twilight just said you're developing late, remember. Just give it time. I'll probably get my magic working properly at the same time." Sweetie smiled to her pegasus friend.
"Yeah, you're probably right. I-" Scootaloo paused when she heard the front door's bell ring. "Didn't you close the door?"
"Nah. I left it unlocked for Pinkie." Sweetie jumped to her hooves and went to the door. "I'll just tell her to dump it in the foyer. You girls wait here."
"Way ahead of you." Scootaloo yawned as she dropped her head heavily onto the pillows. Apple Bloom mimicked her but forgot she lacked any cushioning and smacked her head into the floorboards. The unicorn filly remained silent for a few moments before groaning in pain.
Sweetie skipped out of the room, not bothering to close the door. Sweetie quickly trotted down the stairs, eager to feast on the candy they had bought but stopped when she saw somepony she didn't recognise. Or did she? She couldn't remember but the pony looked oddly familiar. A purple stallion with a green untidy mane was looking at some of the outfits fitted onto the ponyquins Rarity had placed around the shop. He was currently inspecting a dress that Rarity has completed the day before which was placed next to the shops window, so his back was to her.
"Hello? Can I help you?" Sweetie said.
"Oh hey, Sweetie. I'm just looking for Rarity." The stallion didn't turn to face her but kept on looking at the dress. The voice sounded oddly familiar for some reason.
"My sister isn't here right now. She's off in Manehatten but you can leave any orders or questions with me." Sweetie recited what her sister had taught her to say for when she wasn't around. It was annoying to have to remember the line but at least she didn't have to do any actual work. The stallion turned to face her and frowned.
"Oh, that sucks. When will she be back?" She noticed the stallion had two small fangs sticking out of his mouth, one on each side. It kind of make him look like a vampony.
"I'm not sure. Why? Do you have business with her?" Sweetie inquired, curious as to who this pony was.
"Not really. I just wanted to say hi. Anyway, thanks for your time." The stallion turned to leave but something caught Sweetie's attention.
"Wait!" She blurted out before she could stop herself. The stallion froze in his tracks, surprised by the sudden outburst. "Your cutie mark." The stallion twisted his head and looked at his rear. He hadn't really paid it much attention. Emblazoned on his flank was a scrolled being enveloped in emerald flames.
"What about it?" He looked back to her with a mildly confused expression.
"I've seen somepony with the exact same one." Sweetie took a few small steps towards the pony. "He looked just like you, too." The stallion looked around nervously, avoiding the advancing filly's gaze.
"I'm sure you're mistaken."
"No I am not! I never forget a cutie mark. I remember seeing his and it looks just like this one." The stallion took a step back, accidentally knocking over the ponyquin he had been looking at. "How come you have Spike's cutiemark?"
"Oh that? Well-" Spike began.
"You also look just like him too?" Sweetie looked the stallion over. "Are you his dad?"
"What?! No. Of course I'm not his dad." Spike recoiled. Mostly out of surprise. Him being his own dad? That was out of the question... and imposible.
"So what, are you his brother or something? Why else would you look exactly like Spike." Spike couldn't think of any excuses or way out of this. Either Celestia had it out for him or he had the worst luck in Equestria. Wait, Brother? Could that work? Spike went over the options he had. He could either run and look like a total weirdo or pretend to be his own brother...
"Um... yes?" Spike responded, sounded confused at his own answer.
"So you're Spike's brother?" Sweetie looked unconvinced. "That would explain your looks but how the hay do you have his cutie mark."
"Just lucky I guess." Spike shrugged, all but giving up on thinking of excuses. "It's not impossible. You and your friends got the same cutie mark." The stallion pointed out.
Sweetie gave her flank a quick glance before returning her attention to the stallion. "Point taken." The young mare admitted. "So if you're here, then where is your brother?" Sweetie looked behind the stallion from both sides, somehow expecting the young colt to be behind him.
"He isn't here." Spike announced the obvious.
"I can see that. Where in town is he?" Sweetie rephrased.
"I'm already regretting this." Spike groaned under his breath. "I already told you, he isn't here. At all."
"But Twilight said he left the library not long ago. Spike must be somewhere in town if she said that."
"My name is Spike." Spike could practically see the gears turning in Sweetie's head as she tried to think about what he had said.
"Your parents gave you both the same name! Why the hay would they do that?" She had been expecting the cute colt from last month. Why did the universe have to smash her hopes in the dirt.
"I don't really have time to explai-" The sound of the door's bell interupted him followed by an arristocratic voice.
"Sweetie Belle! I'm home~" Rarity sung out as the boutique's door swung open. Spike looked oddly at Rarity for a moment.
"Why did you just repeat what you said?" The ex-dragon scratched his head with his hoof.
"Drama, darling. One cannot simply not make a standard entrance and what better way than to emphasize your arrival." Rarity started walking to walk towards her sister but froze when she realized it wasn't her sister that had spoken. "Oh my, I'm sorry. How rude of me. Is there anything you needed, Sir? Here at carousel boutique we pride ourselves on serving you with apparel to suit any occasion. Was their anything in particular that you were looking for today?" Sweetie Belle took this opportunity to speak up.
"He said he was here to see you, sis." The younger unicorn said as she slowly shifted backwards towards the stairs. She didn't know why her sister was back early but she had to tell the girls.
In response to this Rarity simply rolled her eyes are her younger sister. "Of course he came to see me. I'm the one who makes the clothes. Now go upstairs and do... something." Rarity made a shooing motion with her left hoof which earned a small glare from Sweetie. Rarity sent another glare back at her that promised to come with later punishment if not obeyed. Sweetie soon relented and grumbled as she made her way back up to her room. Once the younger sister was out of sight Rarity turned her attention back to the stallion in front of her. "My apologies about that. My sister means well but she... well, she's Sweetie Belle. So back to the topic of fashion. Was their any particular item you wanted to see today? Perhaps you were after something custom made?"
Spike glance around the boutique for a few moments. He didn't know the first thing about fashion. He knew that stallions wore suits and mares dresses but that was the extent of his knowledge. Anything after that would be pure guesswork.
"Maybe just a suit." He suggested after a few moments thought. "I didn't really come in with anything in mind." He wasn't lying either. He only came her to see Rarity but after running into Sweetie he realized that he couldn't just announce that he was the young dragon that lived with Twilight. She would probably believe him after some explanation but it would just make things more confusing. He didn't really mind that she didn't know it was him though, as long as he got to spend time with her.
"Ah, so you're doing some exploring into what styles suit you. I like your thinking." The fashionista smiled and gesture towards a small purple podium off just a few meters right of the stairs. The podium was surrounded on three sides by oval mirrors which Spike had learned was to allow the customer to see the clothes from all angles. "Just step onto the platform over there and I'll take your measurements, Mr... Oh my, I don't think I caught your name."
"Spike. I just arrived in town." Spike said casually, building on the lie he had told Sweetie.
"Such a gorgeous name. I have a friend called Spike. He's a young little dragon that lives nearby." The alabaster mare hummed as she used her magic to retrieved a notepad and pen as well as a few other tools including a measuring tape. "You actually look quite similar to him. Not in physique of course but you do have a colour scheme almost identical to his. Not a combination you see often in ponies."
Rarity pulled her measuring tape taught with her magic and held it against Spike's forelegs and wrote down the measurements before moving onto other parts of his body, all the while writing notes in her note pad.
"No, I guess it isn't." Spike replied, blushing slightly from the proximity of his long time crush.
"It's odd actually. Sweetie met a colt with the same colour scheme not long ago, too. For the life of me I cannot remember his name though. Lift your hoof please."
"What?" Spike frowned.
"Your hoof." Rarity pointed to his right hoof with her left. "Just hold it out straight in front of you. I'm almost done." Spike obediently did as he was told and allowed Rarity to continue about her work. It felt odd to have her measuring him, especially with his new body. Normally he had thick scales to keep him protected but now he had but a thin layer of fur. Everything was so sensitive. Already he had twitched a few times when Rarity had made contact with his fur but she either hadn't noticed or didn't bother to comment. Maybe she thought he was shy.
Rarity soon finished taking Spike's measurements and levitated her tools back over to the desk, keeping the pen and notepad with her. Without uttering a word, although she did hum, Rarity trotted over to a second desk next to the first and grabbed a hoof full of paper and began sketching what Spike assumed were clothing ideas. From the podium he could see her sketch what looked like the beginnings of a suit. It seemed that was the only thing that stallions bought from Rarity.
"So, darling." Rarity dropped her pen onto the table and turned to address Spike who in turn blushed mildly. "I'm thinking a dupioni interior. It has a beautiful iridescent affect which I think would compliment you quite nicely. You seem to be quite an active pony so for the main material I suggest gabardine. It's a tough little material and it will look great on you, I'm sure. Now, did you have any preferences for colour. At first I was thinking a bit more green but you already have enough in your mane and tail. Too much of a good colour can be disastrous."
"I guess so but I wasn't really thinking about grabbing a suit, to be honest." Spike scratched the back of his head nervously. Now that he thought about it, if he did try to get a suit here, how would he pay for it? It's not like he would even be able to wear it once he was a dragon again.
"Why darling, what else could a stallion possibly want to wear?" Rarity laughed lightly before shaking her head. "No no no, I insist that I make you a suit to outshine all others. It will be bold, majestic and dare I say it, divine!" She shouted as she raised her hooves in the air as if in celebration. Rarity composed herself and coughed lightly in embarrassment. "Ahem, my apologies. I get a little excited about new projects."
Spike new full well how Rarity could excited Rarity could get when it came to fashion. It was very easy to get caught up in her excitement. That might actually explain why she was such a good business pony now that he thought about it.
"It's fine but I was actually thinking of something more fun, I guess." He shrugged, not entirely sure what he wanted.
"Fun? Well this is a first, I must admit." The alabaster mare shifted uncomfortably. She had never had a stallion reject her fashion advice or one of her suits. "Are you sure I can't interest you in one of my latest pieces. It'll guarantee you are the center of attention at any social occasion." Spike didn't notice it but beads of sweat had begun to form on the mares forehead.
"I don't really go to fancy stuff. I just hang out with my friends." Spike said offhandedly. "I got a suit for the grand galloping gala but it just felt weird on me." Rarity's ears shot up at hearing this.
"The Gala! Why not grab a new suit for that? I promise you that my suits will most certainly not feel weird on you." Rarity felt her left hoof begin to shake but quickly forced it to stop. She had to look professional. She would not let a simply little rejection affect her.
"No, I probably won't be going again. I was thinking of grabbing something that I could play around in." Spike lowered himself to the ground and if he was about to start a race. "Something cool."
"I..ugh." Rarity looked around nervously, not sure what she could offer the stallion. Every other client was content with a suit. With mares it was easy. A dress could take on many forms but she found that suits were fairly limited. What else could a stallion want to wear? She had never been stuck when it came to fashion. Slowly Rarity backed away towards the stairs, a nervous sweat forming on her coat. "Just a moment please." Rarity bolted up the stairs, leaving a dust cloud in her shape.
"Huh, I thought only Pinkie could do that." Spike tilted his head in amusement.
Sweetie Belle bolted into her room and quickly closed the door behind her. Both of her friends looked at curiously, unsure of why she was in such a rush. They didn't have to wait long for an answer.
"Girls, we got a problem. My sister is back already!" The unicorn filly panted lightly from her run upstairs.
"What?!" Scootaloo shouted before clamping her hooves over her mouth realizing that Rarity might have heard her outburst.
"But how is that possible?" Apple Bloom asked. "She's meant to be in Manehattan. She should be gone for at least a day."
"I'm not sure. Maybe the universe made her leap through time just to mess with us?" Sweetie threw her hooves in the air. "All I know is we need to get out of here! I can't have my sister find out we were going to have a sleepover. She'll ground me for life."
"What makes you think she'll think we were here for a sleepover? For all she knows we are just hanging out with our friends." Scootaloo grinned cockilly.
"With bags full of sleepover stuff?" Apple Bloom droned. "Yeah, ah don't think she'll buy that for a second."
"Oh... right." Scootaloo's expression deflated. "I forgot about our gear."
"Enough talking, we need get out of here before she finishes with the customer downstairs." Apple Bloom and Scootaloo grabbed their bags from the floor and began trotting for the door of Sweetie's room when their unicorn friend pulled them back with their tails. Both girls yelped in surprise as their tails went taught and they were dragged back a few feet.
"What the heck, Sweetie?" Scootaloo yelled as quietly as she could as she rubbed her sore flank. "Aren't we supposed to be leaving, why'd you pull us back?"
"Weren't you listening?! My sister is down there." Sweetie point down at the floor. "She'd see us coming from a mile away."
"Then how do we get out of here-" Scootaloo froze when the sound of hoofsteps echoed through the door. Somepony was coming and they could all guess who.
"Quickly, ah got an idea but ya'll won't like it." Apple Bloom said as she ran away from the door, motioning for her friends to follow.
As the fashionista dug through her fabrics, scattering them across the room, she muttered to herself. Each idea she though of was instantly bludgeoned to death for crimes against fashion.
"What kind of stallion doesn't like a nice suit!?" She screamed into the pile of materials. "Well I shall not be scared off by you. I will make something worthy of your tastes, whether you like it or not!"
Rarity jumped out of the pile and galloped to her sowing table hoping to find a source of inspiration. Anything would do. An idle piece of clothe, a interesting piece of sting... hell, she would even accept a-
Rarity's thought were interrupted when the window of her creative studio was smashed apart by a familiar cyan pegasus bursting through it. Rarity barely had time to register what was happening before said pegasus rocketed into her sending them both flying across the room. Not only was Rarity's minds all over the place, now everything else was too. Materials hung from every surface, ponyquins lay toppled on the ground and a pair of scissors had buried themselves in the wall next to where Rarity had been standing.
Rarity's vision blurred and for a moment all she could see was blue. It took the alabaster mare several seconds to realize this was because Rainbow Dash's stomach was draped across her face. She tried to speak but it was muffled by her friend's cyan coat. She was about to try again when the body on her shifted. With a mirthful laugh Rainbow Dash untangled herself from the fashionista and got to her hoofs, a large smile on her face.
"Hey Rare. What's up?" The destructive pegasus grinned as she helps Rarity to her hooves. The alabaster mare accepted the help all the while glaring at her friend. With gritted teeth Rarity spoke to her friend, trying very hard to contain her anger.
"Rainbow Dash!" She hissed as kindly as she could. "What pray tell are you doing here? I am in the middle of an incredibly taxing project and it requires my utmost attention, so if you don't mind, I would like you to l-"
"You got another project? Cool, speaking of projects, Twi and I are working on a special... thing and we were thinking of adding a third subject or whatever Twilight wants to call it. You in?"
"I don't have time to help Twilight with her science experiments! Do you not see that I am in the middle of a fashion crisis?!" Rarity ground her teeth together in frustration, trying and failing to control her stress. "I'm already hitting a creative wall and I don't need any more distractions. Now if you don't mind, I have a client downstairs that needs my attention." Rainbow was quick to respond to her friend.
"Suit yourself. I guess Twilight and I will just have fun without you." Rainbow went to fly out the window but remembered something she had seen on the way in. "By the way, not sure if you know this but your sister and her friends just jumped out the window. I'm surprised they didn't hurt themselves."
"Oh please. I don't have time to worry about those girls. I'll rebuke my sister later. Now enjoy your science time or whatever it is with Twilight." Rarity waved to her friend as she flew away. "Now, what to do about all this?"
Rarity looked around at the chaos before her. It looked like Discord had had his way with the place although if she thought about it, even Discord would have a hard time replicating this chaos. Nothing was where it should be. All her inspiration, gone. Rarity could already feel a mental breakdown coming on. How was she supposed to design an outfit for a stallion who didn't want to wear normal clothing. Now hold on a moment, Rarity. A little voice inside her head spoke. Who said it had to be something normal. Maybe you could use this as a chance to branch out into a new fashion. Create something that no pony has ever seen before. This could be big!
"But how do I make something new if I don't know what he likes?" Rarity spoke aloud.
Ask him, of course. A respectable mare should have the courage to ask another what they appreciate.
"I suppose but... wait, why am I talking to myself?" Rarity paused. She had talked to herself out of boredom or for inspiration sake but she had never had an actual conversation with her conscience.
Because you need advice and if you don't mind my saying so, how else would you find intelligent conversation around here. The only pony within three miles with any fashion sense is Fluttershy and she's too shy to speak her mind. So, here is what's going to happen. You will go down there and interrogate that Stallion on his fas-
"Interrogate is such a harsh word, darling. Maybe interview would sound nicer? I'm not a pacifist or anything but I'm still not one for unnecessary violence." Rarity spoke to the air. She didn't really know where to look when speaking to herself so she opted to stare at the door.
I guess that will suffice. Now, after you 'interview' him, you will make him the most gorgeous anypony has ever seen and we will be rich!
"We?" Rarity frowned. "But I'm doing all the work?"
I'm you, genius. We as in the royal we.
"Oh, right. My apologies." Rarity bopped herself on the forehead. "How silly of me."
Indeed. Now go and change the future of fashion!
At that same moment a young stallion downstairs was busy trying to attach the head of a ponyquin back to it's body and failing miserably. Hopefully Rarity didn't charge him for the damage.
"What the heck are we going to do now?" Scootaloo huffed as the trio attempted to extract twigs and leaves out of their manes. Thankfully the trio had fallen on the bush under Sweetie's window so they didn't get hurt but now they had to go through the annoying process of removing pieces of plant from themselves. At least they weren't covered in sap this time. "I was all excited to have a sleepover and whatever."
"How am I supposed to know?!" Sweetie yelped as she pulled out a twig which had decided that if it was going down, it was taking her hair with it. The young mare winced as some of her hair was torn free. "It's not as if I had a backup plan in case she returned."
"Maybe we could move the sleepover to one of our houses." Apple Bloom gestured to Scootaloo and herself.
"Yeah, that sounds totally awesome!" Scootaloo hopped in the air, using her little wings to keep herself floating for a moment longer before plodding back on the ground.
"Why don't we have it at your place? We've never had a sleepover at your house before..." Apple Bloom tapped her chin in thought before continuing. "Actually, now that I think about it... I don't think we've ever been to your house before."
"What? Of course you've been to my house. What about that time we-"
"Nope, I think Bloom is right. Whenever we plan to go to your place something comes up."
"You guys have never been to my place? Seriously?" Scootaloo looked at them in surprise. "How have we been to both of yours but not to mine?"
"Oh, that's easy!" Pinkie Pie poked her head out of a nearby mailbox, soon pulling her whole body out. "It's because it has never been relevant to the story so they just left it out. There's actually a lot of fan theories about it. A lot involve child abuse but many others think she's homeless or that her parents are dead. They'll probably drop it on us eventually." Pinkie moved her hooves about casually as she talked. "Kinda like how no one ever mentioned Fluttershy's brother until the episode he appeared, even though Rainbow has apparently know about him for ages. I didn't even know I had a sister named Maud until they added her in later on. I'm so glad they did though. I love my sister soooo much." Pinkie let out a loud squee before disappearing back into the fifth plane of chaos.
The three fillies looked between each other in something akin to confusion, except this emotion came with a mild headache. Pinkie was hard to understand most of the time without her breaking the laws of physics. This was just painful to think about.
"Did she just say I wasn't relevant?" Scootaloo said after several minutes of confusion.
"What I like?" Spike tapped his chin thought. "Well, I guess The Power Ponies. They're pretty cool. There was this one issue where Filly Second was forced to-"
"Yes yes, very interesting dear but I was thinking in more of a fashion sense. Maybe something you saw once that caught your fancy, perhaps?" Rarity interrupted her customer for what must have been the seventh time. He didn't seem to mind though. Spike was content to just talk to her.
What are you doing? The voice in Rarity's head hissed. You're supposed to learn about his likes and dislikes. What if he doesn't know anything about fashion, have you thought about that? The true mark of a fashion designer is her ability to know her customers. She hated to admit it but the voice in her head was right.
"Well I did see this awesome helmet when I went to the crystal empire. It was so cool." Spike grinned. "It had awesome gold tri-"
"Yes, very... interesting." Rarity cringed. "Helmets aren't really fashionable though. Maybe a few hundred years ago, but now? No no and no.He seems to like medieval items. Maybe you could work with that? "Perhaps I could modify a cowl into something more modern? With I little work it would look quite fetching."
"What's a cowl?" Spike looked at Rarity oddly. He had heard her mention a few types of clothing while helping her with work but she had never mentioned one of those before. Maybe it was a combination of an owl and a cow? What would that look like?
"It's nothing special. It's basically a half a cloak. Apparently it was a thing a while ago." Rarity recalled seeing one in the hearths warming eve play. "A long while ago. If that isn't too your liking, mayhaps there something else you like."
"I do like gems. Especial rubies." Spike licked his lips as his stomach growled in agreement.
"Yes! This I can work with. I can happily say I am quite knowledgeable on gems when it comes to fashion." Rarity smile as she tilted her body and showed of her cutie mark. Spike couldn't help but stare but probably not in the way Rarity would have liked. Thankfully Rarity didn't notice. "Now, if I can just figure out-"
"How about armour? Could you make me some armour? That would be pretty cool." Spike grinned.
"Armour?!" Rarity recoiled as if she had be slapped. "Surely you can't be serious, darling. Why would you wish for armour? What event could you possibly attend that would require armour?"
Well, Ponyville is next to the Everfree forest. The voice in her head reminded her.
"I dunno. It just looks cool. Don't you make clothes because they look nice?"
"But armour isn't clothing. Armour is armour. I don't do armour." Rarity shuddered at the mere thought. It had been hard enough designing Rainbow's idea of a dress for the Gala.
"Aw, that sucks." A light chuckle escaped the stallions lips. "I was hoping for something cool."
"Look around you." Rarity gesture to the clothes lining the shop. "There must be something that appeals to your tastes."
"Not really. You make awesome dresses and all but I'm just not much for fancy stuff."
"There must be something I can do!" Rarity grabbed Spike by the withers, her face barely a hoofs distance away from his. "There must be something in this entire store that you like!" Spike shuffled his hooves nervously. Well there is one thing. Spike thought to himself. What the hell! Why was he talking about fashion? He could do that any day! For all he knew, this would be the only time Twilight would ever turn him into a pony again.
"Well, there is something I... kinda like." Spike blushed, the red in his cheeks showing through his coat.
"Perfect! What was it you had in mind, darling?" Rarity beamed at the prospect of finally making a sale.
A little voice is Spike he screamed at him. "Dude, don't do it?! I know what you're thinking bro but don't. Don't be stupid. Only the friend-zone lies down that path!" Alas, like most entities with his level of maturity they don't listen to logic so it was with great embarrassment and bright red cheeks that the purple coated ex-dragon spoke these words.
Rarity looked at her customer with a mix of emotions, the most prevalent one being confusion. Sure, she was a mare of dignity, grace and beauty, and all should adore her for it, but this stallion was taking her by surprise at every turn.
"I'm sorry darling, could you repeat that. I'm almost certain I am misunderstanding you. It sounded for a moment as if you were asking me on a date." She laughed nervously.
"I-It doesn't have to be a date or anything." The stallion blushed profusely. "Maybe we could just grab a milkshake or something."
Rarity looked at the would-be customer in mild shock. He was actually asking her on a date! What should she do? She hadn't even hung out with a stallion in over a year, much less gone a date. If she outright refused he would be crushed but if she said yes he might get his hopes up. Maybe she could let him down gently? But how?
"Eh... about that dear. I'm not sure that I have the ti-" Rarity was about to continue but something clicked in her mind. "Did you say milkshakes?"
What kind of gentlepony takes a lady out for milkshakes? That's something you do with your childhood crush, not as a serious date. He can't be serious, can he?
"Well, yeah." Spike responded as if getting milkshakes was the obvious thing to do on a date. "The milkshakes at Sugarcube Corner are the best."
"That's not the point darling. Most stallions take a mare out to restaurants or the theatre for a date." Rarity could have gone on for hours about proper date etiquette but she opted not to.
"Well I'm not like most stallions, I guess." 'Smooth', Spike thought to himself.
Rarity had been out of the dating business for a long time. Practically ever since she had met Prince Blueblood. That stuck up bastard of a prince had ruined romance for her. That wasn't helped by the fact that most stallions thought they were out of her class so it was rare for them to ask her out. In fact, this odd pony in front of her was one of the first ponies in over a year to have to courage to actually ask her on a date, so at least he had bravery going for him... or stupidity? He was still far from a gentlepony though.
"Be it as it may, I am currently in no position to be starting a relationship. I am simply too busy."
"Not even just one date? You can't be that busy." Spike had seen Rarity finish her spring line just last week, if he recalled correctly. "Consider it a break from work to relax. I'll even pay for you milkshake."
"I should hope so." Rarity scoffed.
"So you're coming?!" Spike's ears shot up as he was filled with expectation.
"I suppose it couldn't hurt." The fashionista relented. She might as well accept. She had been getting stressed as of late so a night on the town might be fun. "But you are to conduct yourself in a respectable manner, understand?"
"Of course." Spike smiled at his success. "My lady."
"yes, well." Rarity turned away from the stallion to hide her reddening face. "I have much to do and little time to do it. Be sure to pick me up at sunset and try not to be late. A true gentlepony is punctual."
No problem, Rarity." Spike said, grinning as he trotted towards the door. "C'ya tonight."
Spike looked at himself nervously in the mirror. He looked decent enough but he couldn't help but get the feeling that something more could be done. He had done everything he could think of to make himself look presentable. He brushed his teeth until they sparkled. He had showered twice just to make sure his mane was clean, which was a new and strange experience for him. Normally his scales wouldn't only require a rinse and they would be good as new.
He had even borrowed Twilight's fur brush to clean his new hide. The whole thing admittedly was an was an odd experience. Hopefully she wouldn't notice he had used her brush since they had similar fur colours.
The ex-dragon inspected himself in the bathroom mirror looking for any and all flaws. Finding no obvious ones he gave himself a victory pat on the back before heading out the door to pick up the mare of his dreams. After all this time, all the work he put in to making him notice her, she would finally be his. He would not this date go to waste.
This date had to be perfect.
Rarity looked at herself in her silver bordered mirror, looking over her entire body for any flaws. She tutted loudly as she examined her undercarriage. It was not nearly as slender as she would like it to be. She would probably have to go for a summer dress. No matter, though. She could deal with that later. She had other problems to worry about.
Her mane was an absolute mess. She had only washed it four times. How was she supposed to go outside like this. Maybe she could get away with it. It's not like any of the residents of Ponyville had and sense in fashion after all. Thank Celestia she had gone to the spa the day before, so her fur and hooves were in prime condition.
"I wonder if he would like my hair in a bun..." She bounced her mane with her hoof, imagining different styles and what dresses they would suit. Although, they were only going out for milkshakes, maybe she should just keep it simple. "Maybe I should keep it as is?"
Rarity trotted over to her workstation and grabbed a yellow sundress she had made for her date. It was a simple dress but it looked quite fetching, if she did say so herself. With little effort, Rarity used her magic to put on her outfit. The canary yellow dress lightly hugged her figure up until her waist, where it furled out into a thin, almost see through, cream yellow skirt. Not one of her best works but she found herself liking it quite a bit.
Now all she had to do was wait for her date to arrive.
Was it normal to feel this nervous before a date? Every time he thought he was ready, he froze. Spike felt like he was going to shatter at the lightest contact. He had butterflies the size of phoenixes in his stomach that wouldn't go away no matter how much he willed them to disappear.
The purple stallion paced in front of Rarity's door, trying to build up the courage to knock but it was as if his courage was being stored in a barrel full of holes. Whenever he thought he was ready, he would lose his confidence and start thinking of all the ways things could go wrong. What if she changed her mind? Maybe she didn't like milkshakes and he was wasting his time.
"Chill, Spike. All you have to do is knock on the door." He attempted reassured himself, before letting out a defeated sigh. "Yeah, that's all I have to do..."
What felt like hours to Spike was in reality, only a few seconds. Mustering what little courage he had, he acted before he his bravery left him again and raised his hoof to the door and rapped his hoof against it. Now he just had to wait.
Inside, he could hear some movement. The occasional rustle of materials. The intermittent sounds of coat hangers being moved about. He could hear all of it and for some reason, these normal sounds scared him. Did she not hear him knock? Maybe she had forgotten or didn't want to go anymore. Maybe this was a mistake. Why would a mare as beautiful as Rarity agree to go on a date with him.
Spike was just about to turn and run when the door opened.
Rarity turned her head to the sound of the knocking and smiled. He was right on time. Not too early to make her rush and not too late so as to make her worry he wouldn't show. He was punctual. He had that going for him. Now all she had to do was make him wait a little bit.
She didn't want it to look like she was waiting for him at the door which is pretty much what she had been doing for the past several minutes. Alas, a lady must always keep her suitors waiting... at least, that is what she had been told. From what she had heard from Canterlot society, she must make a stallion wait for her. Not too long though. Just enough time keep him interested.
She probably had around a minute before it was suitable to open the door. She might as well make it look like she was doing something of importance. She proceeded to trot around her showroom, idly examining some of her designs and checking through one of the clothe racks, idly counting down from sixty. The seconds seemed to go by painfully slow but alas she must follow the rules and proper date etiquette mandated that she make the poor stallion wait.
As she neared the end of her countdown Rarity trotted to the front door and mentally prepared herself for what was about to happen. She must remain calm, she must be dignified and most importantly of all she must be elegant.
"In other words, you're just going to be your normal everyday self?" Her inner voice chimed in.
"Oh, you're still here?" Rarity stopped mid-step and droned. "Do you have nothing better to do then belittle me?"
"Nothing whatsoever. By the way, acting like your normal self, Great idea! It's not like that hasn't worked in the past. Don't forget to be vain, demanding and underhanded."
"I am no such thing! Now hush, I have a date to go on." Before the voice in her head could respond, Rarity used her magic to grasp the door handle and yanked it open.
She must have done so quite suddenly because the young stallion on the other side nearly jumped out of his skin when she opened the door. Almost comically, he stood up a straight at he could, which brought him just a inch shy of Rarity's full height.
"H-hi.. hello... I mean uh, Ahem." Spike mentally slapped himself and tried to speak again. "Good evening, Rarity." The stallion was so nervous that it was almost adorable, like watching a colt ask his crush out. Rarity couldn't help but let a small giggle out.
"Good evening to you, Spike." She stepped outside, closing the door behind her. "Shall we go?"
"Yeah- I mean. yes, we shall." Spike corrected himself.
"Darling, you are simply too charming." Rarity chuckled. "But you don't need to act differently simply because we are on a date. I will act like myself and you will do the same."
"You want me to act like you?" Rarity paused mid-step, imagining what that would look like.
'No, silly." Rarity tutted, shaking her head. "I want you to be yourself. While it is nice that you would try and change how you speak for me but, and I don't mean this to sound rude, you are not very good at it."
"Oh, really?" Spike deflated at her words which Rarity noticed.
"Darling, that is not a bad thing. It simply isn't you. Now, don't feel so bad. It wouldn't be proper for somepony to be so glum on a date, would it?"
"I guess it wouldn't." Spike had to admit she was right. He shouldn't be sad. He was on a date with Rarity, the most beautiful mare in Equestria. The mare he had had a crush on since first laying eyes on her. At that realization his ego went from living in a tent under a bridge to living in a condominium next to the beach. He was on top of the world and he couldn't help but smile at the fact.
"That's the spirit." Rarity smiled when she saw Spike's apprehension disappear. "Now, let us be on our way. Those milkshakes are not going to drink themselves."
Just like any other day, Sugarcube Corner was abuzz with activity. School was out, many adults had just finished work and everyone wanted something sweet to make their day complete.
The owners, Mr and Mrs Cake, were in the kitchens baking all the delicious sweet and savoury food the establishment was known for, leaving their friend and colleague Pinkie Pie to serve the customers. Pinkie didn't know what she liked better. baking, talking to customers or eating the baked goods. All three were amazing but sadly she was only paid to do two of those... she couldn't remember which two though.
"Meh, I'll find out later, won't I?" Pinkie asked.
"What?" A confused mare asked. "I asked for carrot in my milkshake."
"Oh, sorry Top, I was talking to someone else.That'll be four bits or three if I get a cuddle."
"I think I'll just go for the full price." The mare hoofed over the coins and trotted off to one of the tables around the rooms.
"No problemo." Pinkie called back and dropped the coins into the wooden till under the counter. Business was definitely good today. The till was already full. Pinkie looked around in thought and decided to dump the contents of the till in a vacant drawer. She nodded to herself, happy with her quick solution, and returned the wooden till to it's rightful place, ready and eager to be filled with the coins of happy customers. Pinkie looked up as another set of customers entered the store. Much to Pinkie's joy the next coins in it would be received from one of her favourite friends in the whole world. Rarity and Spike. Rarity looked normal for the most part but for some reason Spike looked different.
Maybe it was the lack of scales, the addiction of hooves or even his brand new cutie mark but it was definitely Spike. She could never mistake a friend and Spike was one of her favourite friends ever.
Pinkie was snapped away from her thoughts as Rarity waved a hoof in front of her face.
"-nkie. Are you in there? Equestria to Pinkie!" Rarity looked at her friend in a odd mixture of mirth and concern.
"Oh. hiya Rarity. Hey, Spike. What are you two up to? Wait, don't tell me." Pinkie rubbed the tips of her hooves against her temples in what was a strangely accurate impersonation of a fortuneteller. "You aaah... the lady wants a... She wants a yakow bone! A yakow bladder! No... no... I got it! For many moons... she has... waited for... a juice pop? A jewel shop? Oh... oh... I know, she's got a hairball?! A hair lip? A hairy chest?" Pinkie would have gone on for hours but Rarity was slowly becoming more and more concerned about what Pinkie was saying as time went on.
"Close... but no." Rarity frowned. What in the name of Celestia was a Yakow? "My friend and I would like a chocolate milkshake."
"Well why didn't you say so? That'll be three bits." Pinkie recited the price, having memorized the menu a long time ago. Spike smiled at Rarity and went to pay but the alabaster mare stopped him.
"What's wrong?" Spike looked at the mare confused.
"I thought they were three bits per drink?" Rarity turned to address Pinkie Pie "Darling, you don't need to give us a discount just because I'm a friend." Rarity signaled for Spike to reach for additional coins but Pinkie just stared at them blankly.
"...What's a discount?" She tilted her head in confusion.
"A discount is when..." Rarity went to explain but decided against it. It would be easier to just accept the discount. "Never mind. Thank you, dear. I'll pay you back later, somehow."
"Okay, then. I'll bring you your drink soon." Pinkie smiled to her friends before writing their order on a piece of paper. She then folded it into a paper plane and threw it into the kitchen. It was either by sheer luck or some sort of mystical power that only Pinkie had access that the paper plane somehow landed on the bench in front of Mrs Cake.
Moments later the order was ready and Pinkie was carrying a tray of food across the floor of Sugarcube corner containing half a dozen muffins, an assortment of candy and two milkshakes.
Rarity and Spike sat by themselves at a small table that had recently been vacated by a excited group of fillies. Spike, being new to the concept of dating sat their in silence, much to Rarity's chagrin. Spike would probably be too nervous to say anything so she took it upon herself to initiate the conversation.
"So, darling. While I must say it is nice to go out with a stallion after such a long time, I'd like to know a little more about you. What do you do for a living?" Rarity rested her elbows on the table which was uncharacteristic of her. She thought that perhaps a more informal setting would help Spike relax.
"My job? Oh, well I do a bit of organization and the occasional errand. Whatever I'm needed to do." Spike shifted in his seat.
"So you are a personal assistant!" Rarity smiled as she rested her head in her hooves. "Not bad. Who is it that employs your services? Perhaps I might know them." Spike stiffened at her question. He couldn't answer her question without revealing who he actually was and Rarity would see straight through any lie she told her.
"I-I can't really say too much. They're in a position of power so I'm not even meant to say I work for them." Spike cringed as he spoke. Even he thought that answer was terrible. He doubted Rarity would settle for such an answer either. But her response was far from what she expected.
"Oh, I do love a good mystery." Rarity bounced in place, obviously excited. "I have an idea. Let's have a little game. If I can guess your employer, I get one wish. If I lose, you get one wish. Deal?"
Rarity looked at Spike innocently and smiled. She was so beautiful and radiant that he found himself agreeing before he could even comprehend what she had said.
"Wonderful!" The fashionista clapped her hooves together in delight. "Now let's see. A mysterious stallion appears in my store looking for new clothes but he doesn't know what he wants meaning you most likely do not have much experience when if comes to fashion. From this I am guessing you mustn't be in a position where you get to choose your attire often, if at all. Maybe a workplace with a set uniform." She tapped her chin in thought. She had borrowed many mystery/romance novels from Twilight in the past. Finally all her reading would pay off.
She looked to Spike to see if he gave any reactions. Spike stared at Rarity nervously. He doubted she would guess who he really was but there was always a chance. The young ex-dragon mentally punched himself. How was he supposed to enjoy himself when he kept thinking of the negatives. He had to get it together. What were the actually chances of things going wrong. It was with this thought that Spike made a new rule. No matter what, he will not think bad of himself. He had worked hard to get here and he will not let his nervous behavior get the better of him, not like it had at the Equestria games. Spike mentally grabbed all his negative emotions and chucked them in box number thirty-four.
If you are not familiar with the box system then here is a little run down. The way a males mind works according to the Males of Equestria Network is that a males mind is separated into boxes and there is a box for everything. There a boxes everywhere. Somewhere in the basement there is even a box for the mother-in-law. The one rule is that each box must never touch and only one box may remain open at any time.
So after making sure that box thirty-four was safe and secure, Spike smiled knowing that things could only get better without his negative emotions. "Did you want a hint?" Spike smiled. Rarity frowned at his offer.
"No thank you dear. I am quite alright." Rarity suddenly had the feeling that she was going to lose this bet. Why would he offer to help her unless he was sure he would win. Well she wouldn't lose. That wish would be hers one way or another. "I think I'm onto something. You said your employer is in a position of power, correct? Do you work for a noble? Fancy Pants, perhaps?"
"No, nopony as fancy as that." Spike chuckled at her guess. "You couldn't be further from the truth."
"Well apart from nobles only important business ponies would need personal assistants and unfortunately I know very little about the corporate world." Rarity pouted. "And here I was thinking I'd be getting a free wish."
"Oh, what's this about wishes?!" Pinkie bounced over to them with a tray balanced precariously on her back. "Is it a genie, a monkey hand or maybe a... actually I don't know what else grants wishes. Oh, well. I'll figure it out later." With flexibility only owls could accomplish Pinkie twisted her head around and retrieve a single milkshake from the tray on her back before placing it between Rarity and Spike. Rarity waited for a second drink to appear but it never did. The only thing that appeared were two red striped straws.
"Say, Pinkie. Didn't I order a second drink?" Rarity noticed a second chocolate milshake on the tray but it looked slightly different. It had an orange tinge to it. How odd. "There. You left it on your back."
"Oh, this." Pinkie raised her waist making the tray bounce. "This is Carrot Top's milkshake silly. "You only asked for one milkshake. No refunds!" She yelled.
"Pinkie, you honestly can't expect us to share, you." Rarity let out a feminine giggle. "I specifically asked for two milkshakes. You even offered me a discount for them."
"Nope, you said and I quote," Pinkie cleared her throat and did the most accurate impression of Rarity Spike had ever heard. "My friend and I would like a chocolate milkshake." If he closed his eyes Spike would have sworn it was Rarity.
"Darling, I meant one each." Rarity sigh. Sometimes talking to Pinkie was difficult. "You must have realized that when I asked about the... Oh, I see. I didn't receive a discount, did I?" Rarity slid her hoof down her face and groaned. Pinkie could really test her patience sometimes. "Pinkie could you please make us another shake."
"Sorry Rare-rare, no can do. The plot of the story requires that both of you two share a drink. Now, enjoy." With a satisfied grin Pinkie bounced off, completely unaware of the glare that was burning into the back of her head.
Before she could blow up, Rarity to a deep breath and recited a calming mantra. It was going to be a long day.
Spike had no idea what Rarity was doing. She was breathing heavily and saying something under her breath. Was she about to sneeze?
"Hey, Rarity you need a tissue?" Spike asked.
"Wah? Oh, not thank you darling." Rarity shook her head. She was fairly certain she had calmed herself sufficiently enough not to get a migraine from dealing with Pinkie. "I am quite alright. I'm not sure what we are going to do about the drink though."
"We could share. I don't mind." Spike nudged the drink over to her. Rarity seemed to hesitate for a while but the drink did look incredibly appetizing.
"Well, I suppose there is no harm in it." The fashionista admitted. Rarity leaned for and took a look suck on her straw and smiled as she tasted the sugary drink. It had been a while since she had had a milkshake and now she wondered why she didn't have them more often.
"Make sure you leave some for me!" Spike joked. Rarity let go of the straw and blushed.
"Sorry, darling. The inner child in me couldn't resist." Rarity slid the glass over to Spike. "You have some." Spike obeyed, eager to have a drink.
"Wow, this is great." Spike was blown away by the flavour. The chocolate was so rich and sweet that he couldn't help but grin like the child he was.
"The food here always tastes amazing." Rarity commented. "It helps that there isn't any competition in town so they can afford to use better ingredients. I'm curious, Spike. I understand you can't tell me who you work for but I just want to know a bit more about you. What are your interests, your likes and dislikes."
"That's not really a hard question. I like gems, power ponies and games."
"No, darling I mean what do you enjoy." Rarity clarified. "For example, I like walks in the park in the spring, I have a passion for fashion and I have always wanted to be a part of Canterlot society. Try again. Put more personal details in."
"Oh, alright. This is going to be tough." Spike tapped his chin and thought, trying to think of anything that set him apart from others. "Well, I've always had an interest in where I come from and who my family are. I never met my parents so it's always grated on me not knowing anything. It just feels wrong if I ignore my past."
Rarity put her hoof on her heart and could have sworn he saw her eyes mist over.
"Oh, darling. That is so touching. I'm sorry to hear you never met your parents but I hope you manage to learn everything about them." Rarity turned away from Spike and hurriedly wiped the tears from her eyes. "I hope you don't mind me asking but who raised you then?"
"I was raised by a noble mare." Spike said, trying not to give any indication of who had actually raised him. He technically wasn't lying either... much. For the first few years of his life Celestia had taken care of him. You couldn't get more noble than a princess. He still had to be careful though. If he said too much she would guess who his real carer was and then he would be screwed.
"Oh, so you are part of Canterlot society!" Rarity squealed in excitement. "Why didn't you say so earlier? I myself have recently opened a boutique in Canterlot. Perhaps you have heard of the Canterlot Carousel?"
"I think I have. Your store made the 'Princess Dress', right?" Spike had heard all about the story from Twilight.
"Oh darling, don't get me started on that horrid thing. I made the mistake of letting my dresses become mass produced. Never again." Rarity shivered at the memory. "But let's not talk about the past. Do you have any aspirations, Spike. I myself want my brand to be seen all across high society. I want the name Rarity to be synonymous with beauty and grace."
"Hehe, I haven't got any goals that grand." A thought struck him. "Actually. I've never really thought about my future."
"Well, that's not good. You can't expect to be an assistant for the rest of your life." Rarity took a casual sip of the milkshake. "Maybe start a business of some sort."
"You said you liked gems. Why not open a mining business. It may not be the most glamorous field of work but gems are worth quite a bit of money, if you can handle the dirt and mess involved." Rarity was obviously repulsed by the idea of digging but she did have a valid point. He could already dig for gems with ease. If he could get Twilight to enchant an object with a gem finding spell he could start a business. Rarity wasn't only beautiful, she was super smart too.
"That's... actually a really good suggestion." The purple stallion admitted.
"Well of course it is. I suggested it." The alabaster mare flipped her mane over her shoulder.
Spike mulled the idea over in his head as he drank from their glass. Could he actually have a job when he was still a child? He wasn't aware of any rules saying otherwise. He might have to ask Twilight about it later.
Rarity smiled in content at her inspiring suggestion. She could imagine it now. A booming business empire started from a suggestion made by her. Maybe she could get her brand labeled on it. Rarity's Gem. She deserved another sip of the milkshakes, if she did say so herself. Still stuck in her imagination Rarity leaned forward and took one of the straws in her mouth and took a sip of the sugary concoction.
Both Spike and Rarity drank the milkshake together with their own straws, each in their own little world. Neither pony noticed until they looked into each others eyes. Neither of them reacted as the other might expect.
Rarity blushed and looked back down at the drink. She was such a sap for roamnce novels and something like this seemed to have been pulled right out of the pages and stuck into her life. She certainly hadn't expected something this cliche to happen but it was just a drink. There was no harm in drinking at the same time.
Spike's reaction was pretty much the same but with more blushing and smiling involved. He was sharing a drink with Rarity! As far as he cared half of Ponyville could be destroyed at that moment and he would have noticed. He was in heaven.
"This sucks!" Scootaloo growled as she kicked the floor of their clubhouse. "What are we supposed to do now? I was so hyped for this sleepover." The other two crusaders muttered their agreement with her statement but neither offered any advice.
After the disappointment of having their plans ruined the three fillies had retreated to their base of operations, the cutie mark crusader clubhouse. As they lazed around the small tree house, the three fillies brooded over their unfortunate luck. Their plans never seemed to work out the way they wanted them to, no matter how airtight the plan was.
This just didn't make any sense to Sweetie Belle. Rarity had definitely said she was going away for a few days. She shouldn't have been home until the next day or maybe longer, so what had made her come home so soon. Was her trip cancelled for some reason? Was it all a ploy to catch her breaking the rules or was it something else? It made no sense.
"You girls just want to call the whole thing off? Ah don't mind heading home early." Apple Bloom suggestion seemed appealing but Scootaloo had other ideas.
"You want to quit?" The young speed-demon yelled. "We never give up! We are the cutie mark crusaders. We can't just give up! We can just have our sleepover somewhere else. How about right here!" She stomped her hoof on the sturdy floorboards in pride. "We are the cutie mark crusaders! Since when have we let our sisters get in the ways of our plans? We can totally pull of an amazing sleepover right here, right now!"
The other two fillies seemed hesitant at first but their mood quickly changed as they thought about Scootaloo's words. The young daredevil was right. They were the cutie mark crusaders. Nothing stood in their way. Especially not their older sisters. All together the three fillies made an agreement that on that night they would have the best sleepover ever.
The sun was beginning it's slow but ever continuing journey towards the horizon. It's long and arduous trek across the sky had seen many things. It had seen peace in the frozen tundra's to the north, or at least what the denizens below called north. The sun never really bothered with the words that the creatures below came up with. It was just nonsense to her. What she did care about was the world itself and all the beauty that rested upon it.
From her perch in the vast emptiness of space she saw fires burn in the molten plains of the dragon homeland and many other wondrous things. She watch the world evolve for centuries and she believed that every moment was precious because every second that she burned was another second that she gave life to the world below. The sun cared deeply for Equus and would always be their to keep it warm.
Unfortunately the sun was spiteful, and knew that it would not live forever so it had decided long ago that when it died it wouldn't go without a fight. If it was going down it would take the whole solar system with it. If it couldn't have Equus, nothing will.
The moon on the other side of the coin was perfectly happy to die peacefully so long as it got to be closer to it's long distance lover, the planet of Equus. It wished so much to be one with the planet below but their union would shatter the planet it loved so much in two. Like an age old tale, their love was forbidden so it sat it silence, orbiting close to the one it cared for but never being allowed to get near from fear of hurting it's one true love. The life of a satellite was difficult but she would manage it, somehow.
The planet of Equus just sat by itself, completely oblivious to the complicated emotions that were directed towards him. He happily took in the warmth of the sun all day long, the sun orbiting around it to keep the large planet nice and cosy all year round. The moon was pretty nice too, gently tugging on his solid surface with it's own gravity like a massage. Together the two orbs made Equus feel comfortable and relaxed. Equus did get the feeling that the moon was getting a bit too close sometimes but it may have just been his imagination. It never occurred to Equus why the two orbs stayed close by all these years. Occasional the sun would send him a shy wave in the form of a solar flare and he would normally blush in response. It's not like either celestial body could like Equus, right? Hopefully not because he had a thing for the planet next door.
The emotions of solar system went unnoticed by Princess Luna and Princess Celestia as they adjusted the trajectory of their respective charges. The solar princess lowered the sun unaware of the burning rage that could erupt if it ever found out that Equus couldn't return its love.
Luna still had not entirely mastered the control of the moon after her one-thousand year absence and accidentally nudged the colossal satellite an extra mile towards the planet which thrilled the shy rock to no end.
The day drew to an end and night began one again and it was as the celestial bodies moved into position that Spike and Rarity left Sugarcube Corner.
Rarity looked down the street as the towns many buildings lit up in response to the coming night. Restaurants began to serve dinner to their hungry customers and the two ponies couldn't help but feel hungry from all the smells that wafted through the towns.
"Say, darling. I know we only just finished our milkshake but would you be fine with stopping for a quick meal?" Rarity smiled and lean into Spike's side. "Pretty please." Spike was already going to agree but a little extra affection went a long way and Spike enthusiastically agreed to the mare's suggestion. Together the two decided to eat at a new pizza restaurant. There was a wide selection of pizzas including, in Rarity's opinion, a ghastly griffon friendly pizza. They eventually decided upon a Haywaiian pizza which Spike insisted he pay for, even if it did invlove him using the last of his money but Rarity didn't have to know that.
So with fresh food in front of the two they began to eat. Rarity decided to let go of her manners for the night and opted to use her hooves to eat the pizza instead of cutlery. Mainly because it didn't seem the restaurant had any to speak of. Still, despite the establishments lack of proper eating utensils she was quite happy with the food they served. Maybe she could take her friends there for lunch some other time. Her date seemed to enjoy the food as well and ate with fervor.
He didn't eat like a noble despite apparently being raised by somepony from Canterlot society but stallions will always be colts at heart. Get one worked up enough and they'll act like children until they're told off.
It was slightly refreshing to see a pony that didn't care what others thought. He seemed so young at heart and free spirited as if the world had not yet corrupted his ideals. She had suffered the wrath of Canterlot before and knew what it was like to have others force you down. How this random stallion had been raised in Canterlot and somehow grown up to be so possitive was a mystery. She would probably never know but she felt oddly comfortable around him as if they had been friends for a long time. He was kind. That was the best way to put it.
Many ponies she had met in Canterlot only cared for themselves and their personal image. She would be the first to admit that she held her own personal image on a pedestal. She had done a lot of things she regretted.
'Like when you decieved Spike into giving you his precious ruby because you thought it was pretty but have never worn it since.' The voice in her head spoke.
Well this was just perfect. Just when she thought her self loathing consciousness had taken a hike, it comes back at the worst time. She couldn't even talk back to herself because Spike would think she was crazy.
'So many Spike's in your life now. Maybe you can manipulate this one as well.'
"Will you shut up." Rarity whispered harshly in her shoulder. Spike looked up at her, a sliver of cheese hanging from the corner of his mouth.
"What was that?" He asked.
"Oh, nothing darling. Just thinking to myself." She announced. "You know how it is."
"Nope, but you should probably finish your pieces before they get could. Cold pizza is never good news." With that comment Spike ate the last of his pizza like a vacuum. Rarity smiled and ate her food. With all the seriousness surrounding her profession maybe what she needed was a little immaturity. Maybe a little chaos in her day to day life wasn't so bad.
Meanwhile, far away in a realm of pure unadulterated chaos, where pigs most certainly did fly and a big hungry caterpillar was free to eat all the damn fruit he could, a Draconoquus by the name of Discord sneezed. Someone in Equestria was thinking about chaos. Hopefully they didn't talk about it or he just might explode with joy.
In the span of only one hour the cutie mark crusader club house had been transformed, if you considered adding a few streamers, a pile of pillows plundered from their homes and some sleeping bags a transformation. In realistic terms the club house had been slightly altered temporarily but the three fillies responsible were still proud of there work.
"This is awesome!" Scootaloo jumped in the air, using her stunted wings to gain some upward momentum before plummeting back to the wooden floor of their tree house.
"Yeah, I can't wait to tell scary stories and have pillow fights." Sweetie Belle jumped with joy, the thought of all the fun they could have made her feel giddy.
"Oh, ya'll think you can beat me in a pillow fight, huh?" Apple Bloom grinned evilly, hefting one of the many pillows in her hand. "We'll see about that!" The yellow earth ponies threw the the fluffy projectile at her pegasus friend. The sleepover had officially begun.
The stars rested peacefully above Equestria, their individual lights bathing the land in gentle lights. If ever one was to be burdened or encumbered with emotions they could always look to the ever present stars for solace. Many adored the night sky and could find peace in it's endless beauty. This had held true for hundreds of years and this night was no exception. The sky was void of any clouds, granting an uninterrupted view of the sea of lights hovering over the world. This night was not one to be squandered.
Couples throughout the land shared memories on nights such as these that would be remembered fondly for their whole lives and like many other nights, new memories could be made. All across Equestria, even if everything seemed like an average night, everypony knew that tonight was one to be remembered.
Couples spent the night together at home, content to simply be in the company of the one they loved. Romantics enjoyed the many activities the night had to offer. Lovers rushed around trying to squeeze as much fun as they could out of the night. Those who were alone found nights such as these to be the perfect time to relax and reflect of their past.
What made a night such as this so remarkable? Why was a night like any other so special? It may be that the sky was clear and offered an uninterrupted view of the stars or the soft cool breeze blowing away the heat of the day. Many things can make a difference but the truth was that this night was simply a night like any other. Nothing made it special, nothing made it more important than any other day. It wasn't anything tangible that made this night important but everypony simply felt that it was a night to remember. You could call it a premonition. It was a feeling that couldn't be described. It was simply a fact that something was special about this night.
Rarity and Spike walked side by side, heading in the general direction of the Canterlot Boutique. Spike was overjoyed that nothing had gone wrong. His very first date with Rarity, his very first date ever, had gone off without a hitch. The way Ponyville seemed to attract disaster, he was just thankful no monsters had attacked.
"I have to say Spike, that was actually fairly enjoyable." Rarity smiled at the purple stallion beside her. Frankly, she hadn't known how the date would go but she was pleasantly surprised with how the date had gone as a whole. It wasn't overly romantic like in her books which was a bit disappointing but enjoying food never hurt anypony. "Although next time I expect something a little more... inspired. A lady cannot live on milkshakes, as delicious as they are."
"N-next time?" Spike visibly shivered. Rarity found this rather endearing. To think just the thought of another date would make him this nervous. "Y-you mean you want to go on another date? For real?!" Spike blushed brightly through his fur.
"Why of course darling!" Rarity announced. "Despite your unorthodox suggestion for a date, I had a lovely time. I am excited to see what surprising outing you come up with."
"Um, I'll try to think of something... I guess." Spike chuckled as he scratched his mane nervously. It would be rather hard to think of another date since he was only a pony for a day. Maybe he would be able to convince Twilight to cast the spell on special occasions.
"I'm sure you will." Rarity gave the stallion one of her patented winks. Spike's only reaction to this was to turn bright red and pretend he hadn't noticed. To think a simple wink could make the poor stallion blush so ferociously. Rarity chuckled causing Spike to blush even further. "Oh, darling, you are simply to adorable. If a wink causes you to blush I can hardly imagine what a kiss would do." She teased, bumping Spike with her hip.
Spike's only response to this was to blush even further, the very mention of kissing sent shivers down his spine. Sure, he had been kissed on the cheek before but he'd never had a real kiss in his life. Even though he had promised himself to be more confident the young stallion couldn't help but feel nervous. It was getting late and soon they would be back at Rarity's house. In every movie and comic he had ever read, the couple always kissed at the end of the date. It wasn't that he didn't want to kiss Rarity, in fact it would be a dream come true. He just didn't know if he could go through with it. It was bad enough that he had lied about who he was to go on this date with her.
"Darling, are you all right?" Rarity didn't know what was going through the stallion's mind but he seemed a little shaken by her comment. Perhaps she should slow down with the flirting. After all, it was obvious this stallion had no experience with the opposite sex. "You mustn't take everything I say so seriously. What do you say we go for a walk in the park to calm our nerves." It didn't need to be said that by 'our nerves' she meant his nerves.
"Y-yeah" Spike swallowed nervously and nodded. Nothing bad ever came from a walk in the park. "A walk sounds good right about now. Sorry if I'm acting a bit... odd. I'm not really good at things like this."
"I can see that." The alabaster mare couldn't help but smirk. It didn't take a genius to tell that. "We'll just finish our walk and then you can drop me off back home. Maybe next time we can get rid of your nervousness. Practice makes perfect." This seemed to have the desired effect and Spike smiled.
"Thanks, Rarity. You always know the right things to say."
"Well of course I do." Rarity beamed at the compliment. "I wouldn't be very good with customers if I didn't know how to ponies happy."
"Hehe, yeah. I guess you wouldn't." The two were nearing the edge of two where the park resided. A walk in the park was definitely the right thing to cool his nerves.
"Spike, do you mind if I ask you something?" Spike turned away from the park ahead to look at her.
"Sure, go ahead." Rarity didn't really know what it was but he felt really familiar to her. She didn't know what it was but something was going on that she didn't know about.
"If you don't mind me asking, and I know this might sound a little silly, but are you-" Her sentence was cut short as all the air was forced out of her lungs.
Rarity felt the world turn upside down. One moment she was standing upright, enjoying a nice stroll and now she was on her side and her barrel was covered in dirt. For a few moments she strugled to breathe but eventually she managed to verbalise her surprise. "Huwah? What in Celestia's name just happened!?" The alabster mare rushed to her hooves only to see Spike dusting himself off and saw a broken pot plant where she had been standing.
"Are you okay down there?!" A voice yelled from above. From the upstairs window of one of Ponyvilles many thatched housed Rarity could she a cream coloured mare looking down at them with worry in her eyes. "I didn't mean to drop it, I swear. I am sooo sorry. Please don't sue me."
"Don't worry, we're fine." Spike yelled up to the mare who instantly relaxed with a sigh. She apologized again quickly before disappearing back into the house. Rarity looked down at the broken pot plant, slowly realizing what had just happened. That could have hit her head! Had... Spike pushed her out of the way? Rarity turned to her saviour but he was already a few meters ahead of her so she rushed to catch up. She didn't even know what to say. A stallion that she had only know for a day had just saved her from a possible concussion... and dirtied her coat. Still, a little bit of dirt was much better that possible brain damage.
"Um, thank you, Spike." Rarity mumbled. Feeling that her words were inadequate she gave him a quick hug that last only a second. "You really are a true gentlepony. Thank you for pushing me out of the way but next time try not to get my fur so filthy." Rarity let out a nervous laugh as she examine her ruined coat. It looked like another trip to the spa was in order.
"I promise." Spike chuckled. "Besides, it was nothing. Anyone other pony would have done the same."
"Be that as it may, they weren't here to do so. So for now you are my knight in shining armour." The fashionista smiled at Spike causing his heart to flutter and his face to turn red. He'd always wanted to be her knight, even if it was a knight in rusty armour, but for Rarity to actually say it made his dreams come true. "Now, with my safety assured, shall we proceed to the park?"
"It would be my pleasure to accompany you, my lady." Spike put on a noble accent and did an exaggerated bow which Rarity found a little endearing and the slightest bit adorable.
Equus looked between both of his friends nervously. He had never expected them both to actually like him, much less than confess their feelings to him. The sun looked at him expectantly, her whole body burning brightly, partly in hope but mostly in fear of rejection. The moon or Lua as she had recently started making him call her, just sat their in silence, too scared to make any further comment.
It kind of made sense now that he thought about it. It would explain why they were always hanging around him but it only made things more difficult. They were his friends. How could he love them like... that. To top it off he already liked another planet so he would have to not only reject both of his friends feeling but reveal his own feelings in order to explain his choice. It was at times like this he wished the universe hadn't decided to create the asteroid that he evolved from. This was going to be awkward.
"Um, girls, I don't really know how to tell you this." He swallowed nervously. There was no way this was going to end well. "I kinda like someone."
"...Someone else?" The moon shuddered. If she had eyes they would have been tears. "Who?"
"Seda Ina Hivasa" Equus sighed. "We've been talking for a while and I was thinking of asking her-"
"That hussy!?" The sun screamed. "Why her?! She hasn't done anything for you. I've been here for you since the beginning. I've kept you warm for centuries. Without me you would be covered in ice!" She roared, her surface growing brighter as her flames grew in power. Already he could feel the water on his surface begin to steam.
"You don't have to be jealous, Sun." Equus attempted to calm her down. "I've known her for a long time. If you just talk to her you'll see that she's a nice planet."
"Oh, I bet you think she's nice!" She yelled. "She probably lets you see all of her mountains up close. Is that why you like her, huh!? Maybe if I showed more you would like me." The sun grew unstable, spewing fire at passing comets, reducing them to ash. "Is that it?!"
"No, it's nothing like that." Equus realized he'd messed up. He turned to the moon for help but she'd backed away from him, sulking a few thousand extra hundred kilometers away. "We just have a lot in common, that's all."
"You want to be with here, huh? You don't care if you hurt Lua or I?! Well screw you!" The sun screamed. "You can be with her in hell!"
With that the sun exploded, engulfing the solar system in a torrent of rage and fire. Across the galaxy many other planets saw the commotion and one planet in particular made note of the situation. He would definitely have to make sure the sun and his crush were friends before revealing his feelings.
Another planet took another message from their argument. Screw love, he wanted to live. If his sun wanted to date him, so be it, she could have him. Anything to avoid being burnt to a crisp. Especially when the star he orbited was a hypergiant that could destroy not only his solar system but probably most of the neighboring ones as well. Screw that.
Spike looked around the area nervously. When Rarity had suggested to take in a walk in the park to calm their nerves he assumed it would be just an average walk but his expectations had been almost immediately smashed to pieces. What was meant to calm him only made him feel awkward and uncomfortable. Why was that? It may have had something to do with the fact that for some unknown reason, practically every couple in town was in the park on the date. That would have been fine if many of them weren't kissing. Who kisses in public?! Rarity either hadn't noticed, which he highly doubted, or she didn't care. She just kept on walking without a care in the world.
"Um Rarity. Maybe we should just call it a night." Spike suggested his discomfort evident in his tone.
"And miss out on a romantic night like this!? I thought this was meant to be a date." Rarity said with a faux gasp before grinning devilishly. "Just ignore the other couples. We're here to have fun, not to watch other ponies enjoy themselves." Rarity hummed a simple tune as she looked around the park.
"Sorry, it just feels a little weird, that's all. I'm not really too familiar with romance and stuff." Spike shrugged. As far as he was concerned, he was only an apprentice in the ways of love. Rarity was an adept. Compared to her he knew nothing about romance. If she said walking in a park full of couples was romantic, then who was he to argue. That didn't stop the situate from making him feel uncomfortable. It didn't help that he was slowly but surely getting more and more tired. He may have a body of a stallion now but apparently, Twilight's spell didn't give him the endurance of an adult. This is what he gets for waking up early to do chores. He silently promised to himself that he would sleep in till midday.
Rarity, unaware of the minor discomfort Spike felt, continued to glance at the ponies around them and wondering how they were able to be so open with their relationships. The park wasn't what Rarity would consider to be the ideal location for a date but Ponyville could only offer so much in the ways of romance. The most romantic thing to happen to her all year was today. In fact, this day might have been the most romantic date she had ever been on, which was a rather sad thing to admit. To think her, one of the top fashion designers of Equestria, being reduced to seeing milkshakes and pizza as a milestone in her romantic life.
The old her had aimed for relationships with highborn nobles which had unfortunately only ended in tragedy. She would never forget her horrid encounter with Blueblood. Since then she had learned how horrible some nobles could truly be. One mistake and you could be ridiculed and publicly shamed for life. No, it was much better to find someone normal. It may not help advance her social status but she was done with the upper class. Beside her she heard her companion yawn and thought to herself. 'Maybe normal wouldn't be so bad.' She turned to face Spike who was only mid-yawn and smiled.
"A little tired, are we? Surely you aren't bored of me already." She joked.
"Oh no, it's not that!" Spike's eyes shot open from half-mast as he stammered. "I had an early start this morning. I didn't mean to be rude. I'm honestly enjoying myself-"
"Darling, relax." Rarity went from a light chuckle to a loud chortle that some would say was unbecoming of a lady. "I'm only teasing you."
"Oh, r-right. Of course you were." Spike stuttered in embarrassment. "I'm sorry if I'm making this date a little weird."
"Nonsense, darling." Rarity replied almost immediately. "Despite the simplicity of it all this has been one of the best dates I have ever been on. Sure it may not have been as romantic, thrilling or dreamy as most of my books but I have had fun and that is what matters."
"So, are you having fun now?" Spike asked.
"I am having a marvelous time, darling." The two had reached a reasonably comfortable patch of grass away from most of the other ponies. Her fur was already covered in dirt from earlier so a quick rest on the ground couldn't hurt. She lowered herself to the ground and signaled for Spike to follow. He watched her for a few moments before following her example.
Rarity looked out across the park. From where they sat they could see all the other couples and everything they were doing. As Rarity watched them she couldn't help but feel jealous that others had such fulfilling relationships. It made her feel a little insecure about her own love life. She didn't know why but she soon found herself leaning into Spike's withers. The stallion didn't seem to mind but she did notice that his body did get slightly warmer. He did seem to become embarrassed rather easily but he was a good stallion, Better than some she had known.
Just in the last few hours he had shown many fine qualities that she found quite appealing. He was kind, caring and willing to keep her from harm. Despite his slight immaturity he was a true gentlepony at heart and even though it was their first date he genuinely seemed to like her. Sure it wasn't like something out of one of her books but it was romantic none the less. Certainly the best date she had been on so far and most definitely the best stallion she had met to date. Wait a moment. Was she falling for a pony she had only known for one day?
Slowly she tilted her head to get a closer look at his features. His jaw was rather sharp with is muzzle being flat like most stallions. His eyes were a beautiful shade of green that reminded her of rare emeralds she had once used in a dress for a client. His two toned hair shared a similar shade of green which despite her general dislike of the hair colour was well groomed and quite fetching. The only thing she found odd about his features were the two sharp fangs protruding from either side of his mouth. They reminded her of vamponies that she had read in some of her more... in depth stories. They weren't intimidating in the least, in fact she thought the fangs made Spike look more mature and a tiny bit mysterious.
She took a quick glance at his thighs noticing he had a small amount of muscle. It wasn't anything to brag about but it was definitely there. Her eyes followed the pattern of his muscles until they reached the image on his thigh. She still had no clue what his cutie mark represented but she assumed it had something to do with his job. What an odd cutie mark it was though. A sealed scroll surrounded by green fire? She couldn't think of any literal meaning whatsoever. It must have been metaphorical. Maybe his job was to dispose of sensitive documents.
She heard Spike cough and quickly turned her head back to face him, scared that he had caught her inspecting his body. Thankfully he didn't seem to notice her looking and was still looking across the park. He appeared to be deep in thought. She found herself wondered what he might be thinking about. Was he thinking about work? Maybe he was thinking about what he should do next for their date. She didn't know why but a small part of her hoped that he was thinking of her.
Strange. Why had she thought that? It didn't matter if he was thinking about her or not. She had admit it would be nice if someone was thinking about her once in a while. Rarity shook her head to get rid of the depressing thought. Curse her mind for thinking of such things. Was she really having those type of thoughts about a pony she had only known for one day? First she started talking to herself and now she can't even think straight. Actually what had happened to that little cynical voice in her head? Now would have been the perfect time to strike.
"Rarity, are you alright?" Spike spoke softly, jolting the older mare from her own thoughts. She found that he was now staring right into her eyes, a small blush on his cheeks. Why was he staring at her? It took her a few seconds to realize she was practically resting on top of him, her barrel pressing up against his, her muzzle lying gently on his withers. How long had she been leaning on him?!
"I-I am fine, darling. Just resting. Don't mind me." Why had she said that!? Rarity wanted to get off him but part of her fought the urge to move away from her source of warmth. She hardly even knew this stallion yet she was acting so casually around him. In fact she didn't even act this way when she was by herself. Sure she might use the occasional flirt to win over clients but to cuddle up to somepony was on a whole nother level of flirting. Although she had to admit the position she was in was rather comfortable. Maybe just a few more minute of this and then she'd move.
Spike seemed to accept her response and turned back towards the park. He felt a tingling in his chest that he usually felt when around Rarity but instead of having butterflies in his stomach it felt more like a pegasus was stirring up a storm in his chest. He must be doing something right for Rarity to be cuddling him but he had no idea what it was. Maybe being an adult was easier than he thought. He turned to Rarity who was resting on his shoulder with her eyes closed. She wasn't quite sleeping, she seemed to be in the grey area where relaxation and sleep meet. Rainbow Dash was apparently a master of that realm.
It wasn't uncomfortable for him in the least, in fact it made him all giddy inside, so he decided to simply let her be for the time being. If this is how dates usually went then he hoped this date would never end.
The cutie mark crusader club house was filled with the sound of excited fillies. The night was young and the cutie mark crusaders had so many activities they could do, so many games that they could play. There was no better time for fun to had than at a sleepover. Just the thought of it sent shivers of joy down the fillies spines. No siblings would tell them if they could hang out with their friends or not. This was their night.
They had their sleeping bags ready, large fluffy ones that were a few sizes too big for their tiny bodies. Perfect for curling up like a Caterpillar. Even as the cool night air began to creep in they remained nice and toasty. They had a small collection of story books borrowed from Twilight that they could read at their leisure although Scootaloo seemed to be against the idea from the very start. Why read when you could play awesome games and talk about Rainbow Dash. Unfortunately her friends didn't share her level of admiration for the world greatest pegasus and Wonderbolt.
Sweetie mentioned something about makeovers sometime during the planning but Apple Bloom and Scoots had shot the idea out of the sky almost immediately. The young unicorn had attempted to fight for the makeover but the other two formed a verbal shield wall that halted any advance she tried to make. Living with her sister had taught her the delicate art of verbal jousting but the finesse of her words were all but useless against the brutishly strong will of Apple Bloom learned from years of arguing with Applejack and the fine sense of stubbornness Scootaloo had achieved, honed from months of bonding with Rainbow Dash. Needless to say Sweetie lost the battle.
Apple Bloom's ideas were rather plain considering the ideas the trio usually came up with but were met mostly with mumbled agreements. Unlike many of their other ventures this sleepover seemed to be lacking the usual explosive action that followed them around. They had considered telling Pinkie Pie about the change of location but they somehow felt that the towns omnipresent party pony already knew.
While her friends chatted idly inside the comfort of their sleeping bags Sweetie Belle gazed out the window of the club house, her mind wandering from subject to subject never idling on one thought for too long. She thought of many random things in a short period of time. Should they paint the tree house? The cost of paint and what colours would look best. Her thoughts went on many tangents but she eventually found herself returning to the topic of her sisters sudden return. None of it made any sense.
Her sister was meant to be gone for at least a day. What could have happened to turn a trip that long into an hour long venture. Her sister loved fashion and her business to the point of obsession so there was no way she would choose to skip the trip when her business was in need. She toyed with the idea that Rarity had made the whole thing up just to catch her breaking the rules but she doubted that her sister was that conniving and even if that was the case it would have been smarter to return while the sleep over was in progress. Things just didn't add up.
And what was with that stallion from earlier. He looked just like Spike, his name was also Spike and he had the exact same cutie mark as his brother. That just didn't seem right. She could under stand the cutie mark since she and her friends shared the same ones but to have the same names and appearances was downright odd. A lot of strange things were happening in such a short period of time. She didn't like it. Not one bit.
"Hey, Sweetie!" Apple Bloom shouted across the small room. Sweetie turned to find her friends sitting in their sleeping bags side by side, her own bag lying empty in front of them. "You done starin' into the distance. It's gettin' a little weird how focused you're startin' to look."
"Yeah." Scootaloo chimed. "Stop it with the mature thoughts. You're gonna make me catch it. I'm too young to be serious."
"Since when are you ever serious?!" Apple Bloom playfully elbows the pegasus in the ribs. Scootaloo returned with her own nudge and soon the two were shooting light jabs at each other, giggling all the while. Sweetie Belle was content to watch as she moved over to her own sleeping bags. Out of the three she considered herself to be the less physical of the three but she did enjoy the occasional tussle with her friends. By the time she got comfortable in her sleeping bag the other two had settled down. The three fillies soon found themselves lying in a circle, each of them staring at the ceiling of their clubhouse.
"I can be serious when I want to be. I just don't want to do it that often." Scootaloo spoke softly. "Besides, it's not like I have anything I need to be serious about. That the bonus of being young. No responsibilities."
"Speak for yourself." Apple Bloom scoffed. "Ah have to do chores around the farm otherwise ah don't get supper. Have you ever tried haulin' a cart of apples. Ah have no idea how Big Mac does it."
"He's an adult. Duh." Scoots said it like it was obvious. "Adult got muscles and stuff."
"Only the guys got real muscles, though. The only girls I know who got any muscle are mah sister and Rainbow."
"Hey, I got muscles." The pegasus of the trio proclaimed proudly, shooting a hoof into the air as if she were raising her hand in class. "Don't count me out so easily."
"You?! I can't see any muscles." The young farmer teased, reaching out of her sleeping bag so she could jab her orange friend in the rips. Scootaloo swatted away the invading hoof but Apple Bloom continued to poke her friend. "Nope, definitely bone."
"Cut it out. I got more muscles that you." She said defensively, jumping out of her sleeping bag and out of Apple Blooms reach.
Sweetie watched from the sidelines as her other friend left the warmth of her sleeping bag to stand face to face with Scootaloo. She didn't know if they were going to start an impromptu wrestling match or not. The truth was she didn't really care. It had been a long day and she was getting a little sleepy. She would keep an eye on them in case they actually got hurt but as far as she was concerned it was none of her business. If she had to actually guess who had the most muscles, she would probably feel safest betting on herself.
Her two friends exchanged a few verbal jabs that would have made Iron Will proud. Slowly the verbal jabs turned into friendly pokes, each one accompanied with some clever one-liner but in all honesty she hadn't been paying enough attention to remember them. It didn't take long for the friendly pokes to escalate as she had predicted. Her minds drifted about elsewhere as her eyes followed her friends as they rolled about the floor tickling each other, their high-pitched giggles echoing across their corner of the farm.
"Give it up Scoots!" Apple Bloom gasped through her laughter, tears in the corners of her eyes. "You can't beat years a farm work. Surrender!"
"Wai-" Scootaloo went to respond but was cut short by a powerful counterattack by Apple Bloom. She managed to wriggle free of the earth ponies grip and flip Apple Bloom over so that she was now on top. Now straddling Apple Bloom, a large devilish grin stamped onto her face that she had learned from Rainbow Dash. She raised both hooves into the air and began to repeatedly tap her friend on the chest. "You are no match for the typewriter."
The farm filly couldn't help herself as she giggle uncontrollably. She couldn't understand it. Her chest wasn't ticklish and if anything the repeated tapping actually hurt but she found herself laughing all the same. Pain and laughter aren't well known when it comes to endurance and the earth pony soon found herself yelling her surrender repeatedly until her brash friend saw fit to bring her torment to an end.
"Victory is mine!" Scootaloo raise both hooves to the air in victory before proudly strutting around the room. "Hey, Sweetie Belle. Did you see that?" She turned to her unicorn friend and found that the filly was fast asleep, she was wrapped snugly in her sleeping bag and was lying comfortably on her back with a small smile on her face. "Aw, c'mon. The sleep over has only just begun. You can't just bail on us now." Scootaloo moved to wake up her friend but Apple Bloom quickly jumped in her way.
"What are you doing? She asleep, don't wake her." Apple Bloom said sternly.
"Why not?! We still have hours until we should be asleep." Scootaloo said in a harsh whisper.
"Because she's asleep." The young farm girl grinned as she slowly raised a permanent marker in the air. "Sleepover tradition states that if you fall asleep first, you're fair game."
"Wait, that's a thing?" Scootaloo gazed between the marker and her sleeping friend. For a second she argued against the act but any resistance was quelled when she asked herself a simple question. What would Rainbow do? The answer was simple. Do it! Scootaloo grabbed the marker in her teeth and mulled over what she could draw on her friend. For now the unicorn was safely covered in her sleeping bag except for her face so she didn't have much area to work with. A few small ideas came and went but nothing amazing, most of her ideas were childish anyway.
Scootaloo circled around the young unicorn and stood to her side, almost parallel, so she could lean towards her face without stomping on the sleeping filly. Scootaloo drew closer to her friends face until she was only inches away, the marker almost touching her alabaster fur. It would be a shame to stain such a clear coat but she was certain Sweetie would find the whole thing funny, eventually. Scootaloo took note of a small grin that the unicorn wore and chuckled. Sweetie looked like she was having a nice dream although she had no idea what about. Hopefully she'd wake up happy as well.
"What are you waiting for? Just draw somethin'." Apple Bloom nudged the pegasus from behind. Scootaloo, trapped in her thoughts and unprepared for the sudden push, tipped precariously forward. Scootaloo yelped in surprise as she was ripped from her thoughts into reality. The marker dropping from her mouth, clattering to the floor next to the sleeping fillies head. As Scootaloo fell forwards she tried to use her stunted wings to regain her balance but they only provided enough lift to slow her down, making the short fall unbearably long.
To Scootaloo it was as if everything began to slow down. Time crawled to to a halt. The moment it took her to fall stretched on endlessly. Her friend's face inched ever closer to hers. The idea of an accidental smacking into somepony's head was bad enough but coupled with the fact that unicorns had an unfair advantage when it came to headbutting, for obvious reasons, made the whole situation seem all the worse. Scootaloo shut her eyes tight, preparing for a hard and sharp horn to the head. All her instincts, hundred of years of biological memory, were abandoning her and she was left with nothing to do but wait for the concussion that was somewhere in her very near future.
But oddly enough she did not receive the unholy amount of pain she had been expecting. In fact, she seemed to be in no pain at all. The only thing she felt was a rather harsh tug on her tail and a light warmth on her face. It seemed that luck was on her side for once.
"You alright?" Apple Bloom mumbled from behind, her words muffled by something in her mouth. Her words were difficult to understand but not impossibly so. Scootaloo considered the recent events and concluded what had just happened and made a mental note to thank the young farm girl after she hit her for pushing her over in the first place.
Scootaloo opened her eyes and went to thank her friend but any words she may have spoken were ambushed in a dark alley by a street gang going by the name of 'surprise'. That is to say, she was shocked at what she saw. Unsurprisingly they had accidentally awoken their unicorn friend who also seemed equally surprise to have an orange pegasus filling up her field of vision. It's not everyday you wake up with somepony hovering over you.
The two young fillies stared into each others eyes, each trying to figure out what to say or do. Scootaloo's first thought was to shuffle away and say she tripped which honestly was a slightly believable and partially honest answer. Unfortunately her body opted to stay still and let the awkward silence continue. Sweetie Belle on the other hand was wondering why the most reckless filly in their little group had woken her and why their lips were touching...
While each filly thought of what course of action to take next they came to a slow, yet sudden realization of what was happening. Scootaloo's reaction was the quicker of the two. When she found the explanation for the warmth emanating from her lips, her pupils shrunk to pinpricks whilst her eyes shot open to the size of dessert plates. They would have opened wider if they could but only adults can imitate dinner plates due to size differences.
Sweetie Belle seemed to have a similar reaction but only slower and with the lack of energy that comes with waking up. It began with her eyes widening in a similar fashion to her friend but with her eyebrows furrowing in confusion at the same time. Her mind slowly began to awaken. Her first thought began with bewilderment, followed quickly by relief at realizing it was just her friend that was hovering over her. Her mind jumped into overdrive to try and make sense of what was happening and gave Sweetie a couple of possibilities, but the only thing Sweetie Belle as concerned with was why her friends lips were currently pressed against her own.
Scootaloo went to jump off her friend but the natural reflexes of her pegasi blood failed her as the unicorn filly underneath her curled her hind legs beneath Scootaloo's barrel and threw the pegasus off her with surprising strength. The result of which led to Scootaloo crashing into Apple Bloom who had been position behind her at the time.
Sweetie Belle pushed herself out of her sleeping bag and rolled to her hooves as her two friends began untangling themselves from each other. Her mind was now fully awake, as was her body. She didn't know if she was meant to be upset or infuriated at her friends, so far she was leaning towards yelling at them but for some odd reason despite her current contempt for her friend's actions, she found her first thoughts to be wondering what her sister might think of the situation. Probably disgust and anger, if she knew her sister as well as she thought she did. Oddly enough the thought of her sister becoming upset made her happy but she quickly pushed the thought from her mind and refocused on her friends.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo finally manage to separate themselves from each other, all the while being judged under the ever-glaring eye's of their friend. Each one stood up straight and lowered their gaze as if they were about to be scolded by their teacher.
"Listen, this isn't what it looks like, I swear." Scootaloo chucked nervously, hoping that she could somehow relieve the tension. As usual she found herself wondering how Rainbow Dash would handle this sort of scenario.
"What it looks like?" Sweetie huffed. "It doesn't matter what it looks like! You kissed me, and while I was asleep! That's just... just..."
"Creepy?" Apple Bloom offered. If she were honest, she was feeling more awkward than anything. The only thing she could hope to do was help and hope that this didn't hurt their friendship.
"No, I mean yeah it is creepy but seriously." Sweetie shook her head to try and figure out her words. "You don't kiss someone without permission, especially while they are asleep. That's not even a friendship lesson, that's just common sense."
"Yes, I know but please just hear us out. It was a total accident, I swear." The pegasus raised her hoof to try and calm her her unicorn friend down. Sweetie frowned but didn't respond so Scootaloo took that as permission to continue. "You fell asleep to we were going to draw funny pictures on you and I kinda... fell. True story, I promise. "
"So you tried to pull prank and tripped but you just happened to land in the perfect position to kiss me?" Sweetie said skeptically. It did sound like something she and her friends would do and she didn't want to think her friends would do something like this intentionally but the whole story just seemed too convenient. "Yeah, right. Prove it then."
"Seriously, you don't believe us? Come on. We're your friends, Sweetie." Scootaloo pleaded. Surely Sweetie would see this for what it truly was. How could she prove that it was all a innocent mistake?
"The marker!" Apple Bloom shouted out of nowhere.
"The what?"
"Yeah, the marker. You see, we were going to draw on you, right?" Scootaloo elaborated. "I dropped it when I fell. So, if it is next to your sleeping bag then that proves it was an accident. Go check, it will be there."
Sweetie looked unconvinced but trotted over to her sleeping bag anyway. She honestly did hope that their was a marker there and they could throw this incident behind them. Alas, a quick scan of the area around her bedding revealed to marker. As much as she had hoped against it, her friends must have been lying, and to her face no less. Sweetie growled and kicked out at her sleeping bag in frustration. How could they do this?! Her kick sent the sleeping bag tumbling a few hoofs away and a small object to fly out of it's folds. Her eyes followed the mysterious item as it skittered against the floor before rolling to a stop. Curious she trotted over to the object and picked it up in her hooves and felt stupid when she realized what she was holding. A marker.
"Ha, you see!" Scootaloo yelled in triumph. "I told you we were telling the truth."
Sweetie looked between the marker and Scootaloo. Her mind screamed at her to refuse the evidence and say that they had planted it but her heart yearned to accept their story. She didn't want to hurt their friendship.
"I-I'm sorry, girls." She mumbled. "I-I assumed the worst and let my anger take over. I shouldn't have doubted you."
"Hey, don't worry, Sweetie. If I woke up with you kissing me I probably would have been angry too... I think." Scootaloo responded.
"Yeah, we all get a bit emotional sometimes but we should never let our feelings get in the way of our friendship. Hey maybe we can get Twilight to put that in their journal?" Apple Bloom grinned at what she hoped was sage advice.
"Maybe, but first I think we should try and finished our sleepover."Scootaloo said. "I'm not sure Twilight would appreciate us storming into her castle at this time."
Spike would like to think he was good with time management, having been assisting Twilight with organising multiple public events over the years whilst following a strict schedule, but on occasion he would find himself losing track of time. This often occurred when he was cleaning or reading a comic.
Time seemed to disappear for him once again as he gazed across the park. He had a warmth in his heart that seemed to spread to all corners of his body. The view available to him was simple but beautiful, the soft grass being illuminated by the equally soft light of the moon. The stream that cut through the park looked like a silver string weaving through the scenery with the old wooden bridge tying both sides together. It was truly something special but despite the beautiful view before him, he couldn't keep his thoughts from returning to the even more beautiful mare leaning against him. He didn't really know how to put it into words but if he had to, he would say he was content.
He wasn't really sure how he had expected this day to go but he would not deny he was happy with the outcome. Sure things had started out rocky, what with his awkwardness and immaturity, but everything worked out in the end. The rough jagged rock the date had begun as had slowly been chiseled and polished down into something that resembled normal and now finally it was perfect. Thanks to Rarity he didn't even feel nervous anymore. She really was an amazing mare. If only the night could last forever.
He wondered if Rarity would still consider dating him if she knew that he was the young drake she was familiar with. She already said she was enjoying herself so nothing would change. He would be the same on the inside so did it really matter if he was a little younger and a dragon? He didn't know whether he should let her know and risk it all or just be happy with this one date. Maybe he should just let things happen and if he ended up telling her everything, then so be it. But... it wouldn't hurt to let Rarity rest for a while longer. There was no need to let her know anytime soon.
"Alright! No more weird stuff, girls. Let's get back on track!" Apple Bloom announced. "Sergeant Sweetie, have you got the list?"
"Yes, ma'am." Sweetie Belle saluted and hoofed the scroll to her commanding officer. "Corporal Scootaloo and myself are ready and waiting for your orders, General Bloom."
"Alright girls, it's time for phase one of this operation. We've got a lot of work ahead of us and not much time to do it in." Apple Bloom stated.
"Um, girls. I'm not exactly following what's happening." Scootaloo mumbled. "Is this still a sleepover or am I missing something?"
"Weren't you listening to a thing I said?" The farm-girl said in disbelief.
"Not really. I'm still kinda stuck on the whole kiss thing that happened."
"Silence!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "That will remain forever more a secret! Never happened. Alright?!"
"What never happened?" Scootaloo grinned.
"The ki... oh clever." Sweetie smiled at her friend small display of wit.
"You two done yet? Very good." Apple Bloom checked the list she and her friends had made. They had a lot to do and not much time to work with. "Let operation 'Boogie Monster' commence."
The three fillies spoke quietly despite knowing that they were alone. The longer they schemed the more they smiled and grinned sadistically. If the boogie monster was real even it would shiver in fear at the expressions the three children bore.
Silence fell over the clubhouse as the three fillies grabs the equipment they need. Ropes, torches and oddly enough, as grappling hooks were all thrown into their saddles bags along with other assorted items that seemed to bear no correlation to each other. With everything prepared the three fillies made their exit. The wind blew through the orchard surrounding them, echoing ominously, as they made their way to the Carousel Boutique.
Spike thoroughly enjoyed the warmth that filled him as Rarity rested against him. He had no clue as to how long the two had remained in this position. It could have been minutes or hours but it seemed to stretch on forever. It wasn't boring or exhilarating. It just was. Is this was ponies experienced when meditating or was this something different entirely?
He eventually pulled his mind from the peace that it had claim for itself and found it was getting rather late. Rarity still remained against his side, her breathing low and calm. Unsurprisingly Spike found he was getting rather tired himself. He would relish the idea of sleeping by her side but it was getting chilly and he didn't want Rarity or himself to wake up with a cold so with much hesitation Spike coughed and gave Rarity a gentle nudge. It was probably unfair to rouse her from her rest but it needed to be done.
"Mwaah." Rarity's response was to whine and groan loudly as her nap was threatened. "Who disturbs my beauty slumber."
"Hey, Rare." Spike nudged her again and she reluctantly cracked open her eyes. "Time to get up."
"Already? But I was comfortable. Can't we sleep a little longer?" She asked, nuzzling herself harder against Spike.
"It's getting cold. Wouldn't you rather sleep in a bed than out in the cold?" Spike asked. His plan was simple but nice. He'd take her home and give her a hug goodbye. It would be a good way to end the date, he thought. Rarity slowly removed herself from his side to sit up straight. She bore a light frown on her face but it faded quickly. For a moment she had thought Spike was making a suggestive comment but his face only showed innocence in his words.
"I suppose it is getting late." Rarity admitted. "I will, of course, have you accompany me home. You can't let your date walk home in the dark, can you? Rarity fluttered her eyes dramatically which had the desired effect on her companion who blushed profusely and agreed wholeheartedly to her proposition. Honestly, sometimes it was too easy.
Rarity made a show of linking hoofs with him and led him out of the park, smiling all the while. She was delighted that he didn't seem nervous anymore. He still had moments of hesitation but he was improving quickly. A few more dates and he might even sweep her off hooves. True he wasn't the brightest or the best but life wasn't like the books she'd read and she was excited to see where this courtship would lead.
"Say, Spike." Rarity said, keeping her eyes forward. "If we went on another date, where would you want to go?"
Spike didn't answer for a short while. She almost thought she hadn't heard him until he looked up into the night sky and spoke softly. "I honestly don't know. I've never really thought about what places would be good for dates. Maybe a fashion show? You're always looking for inspiration after all."
"Oh, Spike. That's very thoughtful." Rarity Smiled. "Then how about next week? There is a fashion show in Manehattan coming up. I was meant to go and help out with one of the designs but I got a scroll saying the show had been postponed, thank Celestia!"
"That sounds awesome." Spike grinned. "Although, I don't really have anything appropriate to wear to a fashion show." 'Mainy because my clothes are all dragon size', Spike thought to himself.
"Not to worry dear. I will make you a suit worthy enough to be walked down the runway itself." Rarity reassured him. They were nearing the boutique when an idea came to her. "In fact. Now would be a perfect time to take your measurements."
"Didn't you take them before?" Spike reminded her. He was pretty sure she had although couldn't even remember what he had eating this morning so he could have been wrong.
"It can never hurt to be sure, dear." Rarity said as she walked inside, Spike following just behind her. The lights were off in the boutique so Rarity guess that her sister was fast asleep upstairs, or sleeping at the clubhouse she and her friends had made. Rarity began trotted upstairs and called over her shoulder. "Just stay there for a moment, dear, I'll see if I can find where I left my measuring tape. Take a seat on one of the lounges."
Rarity quickly peeked in on her sisters room to find it empty and smiled. 'Perfect. No need to worry about interruptions.' Once she was satisfied with her sibling inspection Rarity quickly made for her own room and rummaged through her wardrobe, searching for an item she had kept hidden for quite a while. It was about time it saw some use.
Spike gazed around the dark room. Things always seemed different in the dark. The boutique was, to his surprise, a little unnerving in the dark. The ponnequins places around the shop in particular seemed out of place and once or trice he could have sworn he'd seen on or two on them move. He knew it was just his imagination but it still made him a little jumpy. Hopefully Rarity would be back soon with the measuring tape.
To his relief his prayers were quickly answered as he heard the soft and gentle sound of Rarity's hoofsteps. Spike turned to talked to her but quickly froze, his jaw practically dropping to the floor. Rarity stopped at the base of the stairs, a thin black gauze dress draped over her figure, traveling up her body until it met a violet choker around her neck.
"I take it that means you like it?" Rarity couldn't help but let out a small giggle. She raised her hoof and beckoned to Spike. "Now come over here so I can take your measurements." Spike, his body now on autopilot, complied without question. Rarity produced a measuring tape and set to work.
Rarity wanted to laugh at how she was acting but she quickly pushed those thoughts down. It was all just fun after all. She pretended to jot down the results before continuing. When she thought he wouldn't notice, Rarity would give his muscles a light squeeze. For measurement purposes, of course. Besides, he didn't seem to mind. After a few minutes Rarity moved to the front of Spike so that that were face to face.
"Thanks darling. I'm certain now that you'll have the best suit out of all the stallions." Rarity stated. She was about to call it a night when she was struct by inspiration. "And you know what? Since you've been such a good client, I think you deserve a little reward, don't you?" She whispered in a sultry tone.
Spike went to ask what she meant before Rarity threw the measuring tape over his head and used both hooves to pull him closer to her. To say he was surprised was an understatement. His world was thrown sideways as Rarity, the mare of his dreams pressed her lips against his in what could only be described as the best moment of his life.
Twilight Sparkle pored over a book on arcane sigils she had 'borrowed' from Celestia's personal collection. The book, while a decent read, was altogether disappointing. She pretty much knew everything it contained already but she was still determined to finished the book. What kind of scientist would she be if she gave up halfway?
Twilight yawned as she finally reach the end of the book. Three hours well spent, according to the cuckoo clock on her bedroom wall. Funny. She thought Spike would have been back by now. It was almost midnight. Hopefully he hadn't gotten into any... Twilight paused in thought as something nudged at the edge of her mind. Why was midnight so important? No matter how hard she pondered and contemplated the subject she came up blank. Was she forgetting something? Twilight's eyes shot open as the answer slammed into the forefront of her mind like an out of control mailmare.
"Oh, That's right!"
Rarity let out a little squeal as the stallion in front of her was consumed by a bright flash of light before seeming to disappear. The fashionista rubbed her eyes in confusion, looking around her shop but her date was nowhere to be found.
"Spike." She called out in concern.
"Um, down here." A nervous, and familiar, voice called up to her. Slowly Rarity tilted her head down until a young dragon came into her view, looking up at her apprehensively. "I don't suppose you'll accept a 'sorry'?"
"No way!" Three fillies shouted in unison from the darkness.
Rarity looked between the young drake and three fillies in horror, her mind trying and failing to understand the situation. The stallion she had spent all night with, the one that had confused her emotions, had been her little Spikey-wikey all along?! To top it all off, her younger sister and her friends had witnessed her kissing said Spikey-wikey whilst they had been pretending to be ponnequins! Her life was over. They'd never let her live this down. Through all her thoughts, one question kept repeating itself.
"Why?" Rarity said shakily as she looked back to Spike who was looking as guilty as anypony could.
"I am so sorry, Rarity." Spike hung his head in shame. "It didn't mean for this to happen."
"Spike." Rarity didn't know what to think. Spike was a dear friend to her, one of her best friends in fact. Why would he do this? How could he do this!? The confusion in her eyes was replaced by a steely glare. "I'm not sure what you hoped to accomplish with this little stunt of yours but congratulations. You've succeeded in breaking a mares heart." Rarity sighed, not looking the young dragon in the eyes. "I think you should leave."
"Rarity. Plea-" Spike went to speak but Rarity held up a hoof and silenced him. He wanted to object but when he saw the first tear hit the floor he knew he had messed up, bad. He didn't offer any more words as he turned and left, his eyes watering as he left the boutique, the door swinging shut behind him, severing his connection the the mare he idolized. The mare who probably hated him now.
The Crusaders watched on in shocked silence as this unfolded, scared to speak lest they face the wrath of Rarity, who thankfully seemed to have forgotten them for the time being as she slowly made her way upstairs, fresh tears streaming down her face and soft sobs filling the room.
Soon the three fillies were alone, unsure of what to do next. The silence would have continued forever were it not for the uncouth nature of fillies.
"So is operation 'Boogie Monster' still on or what?" Scootaloo whisper before receiving a prompt slap to the back of the head.
Rarity raised her head off the pillow when a dull knocking roused her from the blissful confines of sleep. Why couldn't ponies just let her rest in peace. She attempted to return to sleep but the sound of hooves hitting wood returned. With a groan of irritation Rarity sluggishly made her way out of bed and down stairs to the door. The pony on the other side look at her in poorly concealed shock when she opened the door. Sure she hadn't brushed her mane in two days or done anything but wallow in pity but she couldn't have looked that bad. Could she?
"Hey, Rarity." Twilight said, trying desperately to keep eye contact. "How are you doing?"
"Oh everything is simply smashing." She said with enough sarcasm to ruin any meal. "Or at least my feelings are but that's just me. How are you darling?"
"Do you mind if I come in?" Twilight asked, giving Rarity a genuine smile.
"Well the sign does say closed but why not." The fashionista rolled her eyes and lead Twilight through her home into the kitchen. "Tea? I'd offer snacks but I haven't gone shopping recently."
"I'm fine." Twilight waved her hoof. "I just want to talk to you about-"
"About Spike, I know. You were bound to come by sooner or later." Rarity interrupted, letting out a defeated sigh. "Do the girls know?"
"No, I thought you'd like to keep this private. I've asked your sister and her friends to stay quiet too but I'm sure Applejack already knows."
"And it won't take Pinkie long to find out." Rarity stated. "I just can't believe my little Spiky Wikey would betray me like this."
"Rarity, it's not like that. It's a bit more complicated. Spike didn't mean for any of this to happen. He was originally just going to talk to you but things got out of hoof."
"Out of hoof?!" Rarity snarled. "He completely broke my trust. He pretended to be somepony else, got close to me and shattered my heart in two. I actually thought I had found a nice stallion."
"Rarity. I know that things didn't turn out well but Spike really is sorry. It was all just a big misunderstanding. Can you please just go talk to him." Twilight pleaded. "I can't get him to go outside. He's devastated."
"Humph." The pale mare tilted her muzzle to the air. "Serves the little guy right for messing with a ladies feelings."
"Rarity!" Twilight said sternly, with a level of anger that surprised Rarity. She even flinched a little bit. "I don't care what happened but you shouldn't treat a friend like this. If you won't do this for Spike, then do it for me. Please."
Rarity sat in silence as her friend stared her down. She doubted Twilight would let the matter drop but she didn't know if she was ready to face Spike yet. Would she be angry or sad if she saw him? Her mind told her it was a good idea to go with Twilight but her heart was stubborn and just wanted crawl back into bed. She certainly knew which of the two she would prefer at this moment. Alas, her conscience was the tie breaker and she knew talking to Spike was the right thing to do, so with much hesitation Rarity gave Twilight a feeble nod.
Spike shambled through the library, his mind working on autopilot as he silently placed books into their proper locations. At one point an earth pony came in asking for something new to read to which Spike murmured a few halfhearted suggestions. The stallion easily sensed something was up and for a moment considered inquiring what was wrong but decided to eject himself from the premises. The young dragon sighed aloud and continued with his work.
He found manual labour calming when he was upset. If he tried to relax his mind would always focus on what was wrong but when he started working things grew quiet, so work he did. He didn't care how long or how hard he had to work, as long as he didn't have to think about the colossal mistakes he had made.
Spike could have been working for minutes or hours, he wouldn't know or care how much time had passed but eventually fate declared it's intentions to him as a slow and hesitant knock reached his ears. Spike replaced the small stack of books he had been carrying on the table and answered the door. He kept his eyes low, staring at the ground with disinterest, as the door arced it's way open. The visitor had alabaster fur that had once been smooth but now was matted and displeasing to behold. The once polished hooves hadn't been maintained properly with the occasional mark or scratch. For a time he didn't dare look up to confirm his suspicions but he was a creature of curiosity and eventually he succumbed to his need to know. The face that greeted his was familiar yet unknown at the same time. The purple mane that had once been expertly cared for and styled was now a tangle of matted hair with split ends that would sent any hairdresser to an early grave.
Rarity stood before him with a look a displeasure on her face but that wasn't made the young dragon avert his gaze. He felt terrible for what had happened but he couldn't bare to witness Rarity in this state, and it was all his fault. He couldn't even look her in the eye. Pathetic.
"So." Rarity said after a considerable length of time. Her voice was devoid of it's normal cheeriness. "Are you not going to invite us in?"
Spike looked up in surprised at both the question and the mention of 'us'. A quick glance revealed a sheepish purple pony hiding behind Rarity who was looking at the both of them nervously. He should have known Twilight would stick her nose where it didn't belong but that's what sister figures do. He didn't have any other options so Spike stepped to the side and gestured for the two to enter. Once they were beyond the buildings threshold Spike closed the door, blocking the ambient sounds of Ponyville and dooming the library to an awkward silence.
The three found themselves sitting on cushions around the libraries central table with Spike staring uncomfortably at the table, his nerves refusing to let him look Rarity in the eye. The white mare in turn seemed adamant to not make the first move. Through the void of silence the clock from Twilight's room resounded through the library. Four-hundred and ninety seven. That's how many ticks of the clock it took for Twilight to grow restless. Over eight minutes and neither had even looked at each other. Despite her lack of experience in social matter, even Twilight couldn't help but squirm in the unpleasant atmosphere. They needed something to get them talking and her just sitting there didn't appear to be helping them open up.
"Well~" Twilight chirped, trying to put on a convincing smile. "I'm starving. How about I grab us something to eat?" Before waiting for a response she sped out of the room as fast as was appropriate. She had hoped they would start talking things over immediately. She hadn't expected several minutes of intense silence. She hoped that maybe something to eat would calm their nerves... and hers. Maybe some soothing tea and biscuits would be suitable.
Rarity and Spike however did not start talking immediately. It seemed that silence would reign forever but boredom has a way of turning things around. It is amazing what someone would do when they were bored. Time had a funny way of stretching itself and soon enough Rarity had run out of things to look at. One could only stare at books for so long before growing to detest them and apparently her patience with them was rather low. She had tried to inspect her hooves but the sight of her neglect was painful to behold. For a moment she had considered simply leaving but she had the suspicion that Twilight would hunt her down and drag her back kicking and screaming. She had told her friend she would do this and Rarity was a mare of her word, no matter how much she hated it.
"I'm not going to forgive you." Rarity stated out of nowhere, not turning the the drake. If no one said anything they would be there till the sun went down. She might as well get the first word in. Spike didn't give any indication that he had heard her, in fact he almost seemed lost in thought. Rarity was almost about to repeat herself when she heard his soft reply.
"I know." Spike mumbled, his voice barely audible. She almost thought she had imagined the voice, he was that quiet. "I am so sorry, Rarity."
"This isn't something you can apologize for." Rarity sighed. "I can forgive a lie, Spike. But you stole something from me. I have never kissed a pony before, correction, had never kissed a pony. Do you know how important a first kiss is to a mare?"
"I swear I never meant any of that to happen." Spike muttered solemnly. "All I wanted was for you to see me as something other than just a kid. Things just got out of control."
"This is beyond 'a little out of control'." She exclaimed, turning to face the young dragon. "If you don't like the way I act towards you, all you had to do was tell me. I would have listened. Instead you went through this whole charade to get close to me. I understand you didn't intend for it to end out this way but it doesn't matter what you meant to happen. What matters is what did happen and you can't change that."
"I know that." He sighed in defeat, his eyes fixed on the floor. "I know that nothing I say can make up for what happened but I really am sorry. It was a stupid mistake and I'll do anything to make amends. I just don't want you to hate me."
"Spike... I don't hate you." Rarity features softened as Spiked spoke, his words making her forget her anger for a moment. "I don't really know how I feel. Everything is just so confusing. Even after a few days I still can't get my head around it but I do know one thing. You are one of my best friends, Spike and as much as I think you deserve it I can't bear the thought of losing you."
"So you're not angry?" Spike finally raised his head to meet her gaze, the beginning of tears forming.
"I wouldn't say that. I'm definitely upset so don't think you're off the hook. I'll be expecting a lot of help around the shop to make up for this but right now... I'll settle for a hug. Sound fair?"
"Yeah." Spike nodded sniffled as he wiped the moisture from his eyes. "I can work with that."
Rarity held her hoof out and signaled for him to come closer. The young Drake slid over to her and clutched her frame tightly. Rarity gladly returned the hug, a small smile gracing her features. The two held the hug for as long as they could, each trying to hide the blushes that had overcome their cheeks. When the two finally broke apart Rarity couldn't help but let out a short giggle which Spike frowned in confusion at.
"I'm sorry, darling." She waved a hoof dismissively. "I just realized how silly this whole situation is. It's like something out of one of those novels I read.
"Your books have dragons turning into ponies?" Spike asked in surprise.
"Well, not that specific but there is this one where a young commoner pretends to be a prince to win the heart of a lady. It's a long and complicated story but she eventually finds out his secret and she turns him away."
"Do they get back together?" The young dragon asked hopefully.
"Not right away but after a while, when the young pony becomes a stallion, he returns to her, challenges another stallion who is trying to woo his true love and proves his love and loyalty to her and after that it gets a little..." Rarity coughed nervously as she turned a bright shade of red. "...well it gets a little complicated after that. Let's just say they live happily ever after."
"How is that complicated? What happened next?" Spike pushed for more information which only made Rarity get redder and more fidgety.
"Anyway!" Rarity looked around anxiously before jumped to her hooves. "I think it will just get awkward if we wait for Twilight to get the snacks. I think I might just go home." Rarity quickly trotted to the door, Spike following just behind. The outside ambiance returned as the wooden door swung open. Spike expected Rarity to leave without another word but it seemed his friend had one last thing to say. "Oh, before I forget. Don't forget to stop by for your suit, darling. You need to look your best for the weekend."
"The weekend?" Spike looked bewildered at her. "What's happening then?"
"The fashion show, darling." Rarity smiled and for a moment Spike swore she looked like an angel. "Do try to keep up." She chortled and she left, leaving the small dragon in a state of confusion. They were friends again, which brought him joy to no end but the fashion show was meant to be a date wasn't it? Did she want to go as a friend or was this another date? Before he could ponder the situation longer Twilight returned with a tray of tea and biscuits held aloft with her magic, a content smile on her face.
"So, did it work?" Twilight grinned as she set the tray down of the table.
"Yeah, I think we're good now." Spike smiled as he picked up a biscuits and chomped down on it. "we're going to a fashion show later in the week."
"That's fantastic." She exclaimed. "I knew you two just needed some time to sit down and talk. Oh, maybe you could write a letter to Celestia about what you've learned."
"Wait, are we still doing that?" Spike asked in surprise.
"Well, it couldn't hurt. Plus she hasn't heard from you in a while." Twilight smiled as she summoned a quill and parchment. "And feel free to leave out the reason why you turned into a pony. Just in case."
"Twilight..." Spike said, deadpan. "You just don't want to get in trouble, do you?"
