“Ah can’t believe yah managed to talk me into this!” complained Apple Bloom galloping at full speed behind Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
“Come on we’ve got to hurry, or we’ll never catch up with them,” called Sweetie Belle leading the pack.
“I can’t wait to see him in action,” grinned Scootaloo excitedly.
“Ah’m getting a terrible sense of deja vu,” groaned Apple Bloom.
“De Ja what now?” asked Scootaloo with a baffled look.
“Deja vu, it means,” Apple Bloom began but then decided now wasn’t the time to explain, “oh never mind.”
“But, that doesn’t make any sense,” replied Scootaloo. “How can you get a sense of never mind?”
“For Pete’s sake, Scoots, it means -”
“Shh, quiet!” interrupted Sweetie Belle, grinding to a halt. Luckily her friends were able to stop just in the nick of time avoiding a collision. “I think I can see Spike and Rarity,” she puffed as she pointed a hoof in the distance. “Come on. We’re nearly there.”
Pulling out a rock costume from behind some bushes, the Crusaders huddled underneath and quietly made their way closer to the couple up ahead. Scootaloo chuckled earning a curious glance from Apple Bloom. “You know, this reminds me of the time we tried to get our Cutie Marks for spying,” she whispered.
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes incredulously. “Yeah, Ah know and, if Ah remembered correctly it didn’t quite work as well as we hoped,” she sniped sarcastically.
“Shh,” hushed Sweetie Belle as they were creeping slowly forwards. “They’ll hear us.”
After an awkward and quiet 20 minute walk, Spike and Rarity soon reached their destination at Rambling Rock Ridge. Neither had spoken to each other since they had left Ponyville. Both of them were nervous.
Rarity was not sure what Spike wanted or what he had planned to say to her. Given that he had invited her, she felt it would be polite for him to start the conversation. Spike on the other hoof was terribly nervous. Throughout their entire journey, he tried to find the opportune moment to speak, but his nerves got the better of him and kept his mouth shut.
“So … where did you want to start?” asked Spike, hoping to break the awkward silence.
“Hmm...” pondered Rarity rubbing a hoof underneath her chin, “I was thinking we could start by looking for some jades and rubies. Shall we start over there then? Next to the large boulder.”
“Sounds good.”
The Cutie Mark Crusader were within an earshot distance away of the two. The rock costume seemed to camouflage their presence almost perfectly. "Are yah sure this is such a good idea?" asked Apple Bloom nervously.
"Relax Apple Bloom," Scootaloo replied reassuringly. "Spikes got this."
“That’s not what Ah meant,” groaned Apple Bloom.
“Will you two please be quiet,” pleaded Sweetie Belle. “I’m trying to listen.”
Putting the plan into action, Spike cleared his throat. "So, uh how's business going?" he asked nervously.
"My business is doing really well,” answered Rarity as she picked up a gem with her magic to examine it. “Sassy is doing an excellent job managing the Canterlot Carousel, and I have been getting a lot of orders at my Manehattan store. If it wasn’t for Cocco Pommel, I don’t know how I could keep up."
"That's great to hear."
"Why do you ask, Spike?” asked Rarity grabbing another as she placed it happily in the cart.
“I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately,” Spike began, “about the pony economy.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, I’ve been reading about the latest economic forecasts,” he began solemnly, ”apparently the market is on the downward trend.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow and stopped searching for gemstones. “Is that so?” she asked with a curious tone.
“According to Major Capital, ponies aren’t able to borrow bits like they used to.”
“Major ... Capital?”
“Yes, Major Capital is Equestria’s leading expert on the bit exchange and housing market,” Spike boasted. “She’s the best pony to get your financial advice from.”
“Huh,” replied Rarity, “I must admit, I’m not too familiar with that pony.”
“Well, last week she warned that there aren’t enough bits going around because of a housing balloon looming over Manehattan,” Spike explained. “Once it bursts, the balloon will crash into the stock market causing a lot of economic problems.”
“I beg your pardon? Balloons?”
“Yeap. Gosh makes you feel kind of sorry for the ponies that balloon lands on. You’d think they just move the balloon.”
“Darling, I think you mean bubbles.”
“Why would bubbles crash into the stock market?”
“Spike, dear,” she chuckled as she tries to explain. “The housing bubble is an expression where the price of houses is overpriced when compared to their actual value. It’s not a real bubble or balloon for that matter.”
“So what do they mean when she says it’s going to crash then?”
Rarity contemplates how best to answer this question without confusing the poor dragon and herself. Pondering the question once more, she shook her head and instead excused herself for her lack of knowledge. “I’m not too sure Spike, I’m not an economist,” she smiled.
“Huh. Guess I’ll need to read more about it,” he muttered to himself.
“I’m sorry Spike, but I don’t pay too much attention to those sorts of issues,” she admitted.
“You don’t?” asked Spike dumbfoundedly.
“Yes, I don’t find pony economics at all captivating. I design works of art. I do it for the pleasure of making ponies fashionable and setting the latest trends.”
Oh! Horse apples! Spike cursed to himself. What am I going to do now?
“Spike, what has brought this up?”
“Ah …” Spike stared at her blankly for a second.
As Spike struggled to answer the question, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were observing intently; each filly reacted differently to the situation. Apple Bloom was pulled her face in embarrassment as she empathized with the poor dragon. Scootaloo watched on baffled, failing to register how their plan was falling apart. Whilst Sweetie Belle was glared angrily at her sister, blaming her for Spike’s blunder.
How dare she embarrass Spike like that especially after all his hard work! she thought to herself.
“Umm … I … ah…” stammered Spike, still desperately searching for an answer.
“Spike? Are you okay, darling?” asked Rarity with concern.
“Is it getting hot in here?” he responded nervously, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Sweetie Belle was barely able to contain herself, however, and let out a fierce, low audible growl. “Grrrrrr.”
“Shh,” hushed Apple Bloom quickly covering Sweetie Belle’s mouth. “She’ll hear us.”
Unfortunately, Rarity did hear something. A familiar voice. She turned to the source of the sound, before glancing just over her right shoulder. The three fillies froze as Rarity stared in their direction.
“Do yah think she can see us?” whispered Apple Bloom, still holding her hoof over Sweetie Belle’s mouth.
Scootaloo shakes her head. “I don’t think so,” she said with some confidence. “This costume is fool-proof. There is no way she will be able to recognize us.”
But she does. It was the same rock costume she had made for the Cutie Mark Crusaders last year when they tried for their bird watching cutie marks.
Rarity frowned silently and groaned. She didn’t know what these girls were up to, but she did have a fair idea that it somehow involved meddling in her affairs with Spike. It was probably one of her sister's schemes. After all, she was acting particularly suspicious this morning. Thinking about it carefully, she decided to play along with the ruse.
Spike, on the other hoof, used this distraction to cleverly think of how he was going to get the conversation back on track. "Well, I was thinking about how it would have affected you. Like just yesterday I was reading in the Manehattan Times that the cost of silk has skyrocketed," said Spike.
"Really?" she responded in mock surprise.
"Yes didn't you know the silkworms went on strike after they weren't getting enough leaves," he smiled proudly, not picking up on the sarcasm.
"Spike, dear," said Rarity deflating Spike’s enthusiasm, "that was three years ago."
"Huh?" he stutters. “It was?”
"Yes, I'm sorry dear,” Rarity chuckled.
"Really?" asked Spike feeling mortified and the world falling beneath his feet.
"Yes, and it was silkworm farmers, not the worms that had to renegotiate the contracts they had with the silk manufacturers. They were demanding for fairer wages, not leaves."
“When it said green, I assumed it was leaves," said Spike disheartened
“Spike, that’s another expression for money.”
"Oh.”
“It got extremely unsavory that it even went to the Fair Materials and Trade Court in Canterlot."
Spike was at a loss for words. He squats for a moment contemplating the countless hours he had spent trying to understand this stupidly dull topic. His efforts had been for naught.
For Rarity, however, it was one of the cutest things she had seen. Her Spike-wikey was trying to show her how much he had grown, but only to put his foot in his mouth and get muddled along the way. Having had her fun though and sensing his distress, Rarity decided to change the dragon’s mood.
"So I hear that there’s a new comic book coming out,” she began. “Splinter-mane?"
“Spider-mane,” he responded dully, “yeah, it's pretty awesome!"
"I would love to hear more about it," she inquired, hoping to bait him.
“Really?” he asked hopefully.
“As honest as Applejack,” she winked with full sincerity in her voice.
Spike jumped up excited. Maybe this was a conversation that would go better for him. After all, his extensive knowledge of comic book heroes could match Twilight’s knowledge of astro-magicks.
"It's about this alien from another planet that gets bitten by a spider and becomes a superhero,” said Spike merrily.
“Ooo! That’s sound absolutely interesting. Please go on. What happens to him?”
“He gets mysteriously gets summoned to our world where he becomes a unicorn. He becomes a sensation and ends up saving his world and ours. He gets help from a princess and a particularly cool dragon,” he boasted with a wide grin on his face.
Rarity said nothing and continued to watch the dragon fondly, giggling along with his cheerful attitude.
"He's got nothing over Super-mare or Drac-thor the Mighty though," he smiled and posed for the white unicorn standing before him. He then proceeded to demonstrate a few scenes from the comic as Rarity continued to watch in earnest.
“What is he doing?” whispered Scootaloo.
“Improvising,” replied Apple Bloom.
“Impro-what?”
Apple Bloom groaned incredulously. “He’s basically changing the plan, doing something else and succeeding.”
“Oh. why didn’t you just say that?” asked Scootaloo. “Sometimes I think you just use big words to make yourself sound smart.”
Apple Bloom glared at Scootaloo but kept her mouth shut. Now wasn’t the time to get caught.
Sweetie Belle ignored them as she watched the two intently, especially her sister as she wondered what she’s really up to? As Spike finished the last of his scenes, Rarity clapped her hooves together. “Bravo, Bravo.”
Taking his cue, Spike turned to bow and blow kisses to his audience. Not realizing what was happening, Rarity slowly walked provocatively towards him, smiling along the way. “You know, Spike,” she began seductively.
“Yeah,” he gulped.
She lowers her head towards his. He closes his eyes and puckers his lips hopefully, but lucks out as she instead kisses his forehead. The move was still effective. However, he stammers and looks up, blushing. She takes a step back, turned around and smiles.
Scootaloo’s and Apple Bloom’s eyes widened watching this amazingly romantic display unfold before them. Scootaloo was clapping her hooves with excitement. Sweetie Belle, however, glared jealously at her sister as her temples began throbbing in a silent rage. Proverbial steam was coming out of her ears.
“It's really sweet that you are trying to be more adult, but,” then she playfully rubs his cheeks with her hoof and pouts her lips together before skipping away. “I prefer you like this. My cute Spikey-Wikey,” she ended poking her tongue out and winked. She giggled and resumed her hunt for gems, skipping away.
Spike’s jaw dropped. He’d just been baited, and worse of all, he fell for it. Flustered, frustrated and embarrassed, he groaned bitterly, chastising himself for falling for her ruse. He muttered a few profanities under his breath as he begrudgingly followed after her, pulling the cart along with him.
As the two continue their journey deeper into the ranges, Apple Bloom pulled the costume off feeling somewhat disappointed. “Well that could have gone better,” she grumbled.
“So … what just happened?” asked Scootaloo rhetorically.
“I’ll tell you what happened,” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. ”Spike got played!”