I don’t remember much of that night, for I have foggy memories of giving those Changelings a heart attack from popping out of nowhere. What I do remember, however, was after all of that where I was making my way back to Ponyville, that I would set a time a place in which we could have our trial date. I had it scheduled for a week after Guys Night, but I haven’t settled on the place. Nevertheless, it was Twilight that stepped in with the suggestion of having the whole trial date thing to be at the Friendship Castle in Ponyville.
Needless to say, that I’ve made sure that Twilight wouldn’t be interrupting us nor would she be spying as she did in the past. If anything, I’ve made sure that Celestia would be enough to get both her and Starlight out while I orchestrated the whole thing. After all, it isn’t every day that you’d get to date someone who is a king so I had to be sure that everything was perfect.
Now, before I go on to describe the date itself, I want to point out something here: when it comes to dating, I try to go for something a little bit original. Regardless of who they were, I didn’t just want to see a movie or have dinner in a fancy restaurant. I date someone in which regardless of how it ends, I do want to leave some kind of impression. So on that night in early November, that’s exactly what I did.
Thorax showed up on time at six on the dot. He had with him a few Changeling guards by his side as they flew in on the chilly air. I rushed over to the front door as quickly as I could before he could knock, in which I was able to reach over there just in time.
“Hey Thorax,” I greeted him even though I was somewhat out of breath, “Right on time.”
“How’ve you been?” He smiled at me. “I was kinda worried that I wouldn’t be able to make it.”
“Nah, your timing was perfect.” I held the door wider. “Come on in, I’ve got a little surprise for you.”
“Oh! That reminds me,” the Changeling King turned to one of the guards in which they handed him a silk bag. “This is for you. I hope you don’t find it of me too forward to give this to ya.”
I was curious as to what he’d given me this time. Taking the silk bag into my claw, I untied the silver threads apart and peeked inside. “Are these candied diamonds?” He nodded, “This is perfect for dessert. You can come in now.”
He turned to his guards and told him that they can stand there to watch while he went inside. They saluted and took their place at the entrance. “So where’s Princess Twilight?”
“I had Celestia keep her and Starlight Glimmer occupied in Canterlot, we pretty much have the castle all to ourselves.”
He raised an eyebrow, “Oh? And how come?”
“Two reasons: First and foremost is that I don’t want to be spied on again,” I told him as I begun to show him the way to the dining room.
“Again? You mean that she did this before?”
I smirked, “Yeah, I’ve quickly learned that when it comes to me dating anypony, Twi tends to try to keep a close eye or ear on me. I know that she has been protective of me, but personally, I’d rather be on a date one on one, you know what I mean?”
He nodded. “I guess so. Now you promise that there are no hidden cameras or microphones anywhere?”
“I’ve already checked – that’s why I told her that I would be dating you three days from now so she wouldn’t know about what’s going on now.”
“Wow, I didn’t know you had a sly side.”
“Which leads to my second reason: Considering what you are offering me, I thought that if there is a possibility that we might become more than just friends, then I needed to eliminate as many outside influences as possible.”
“You know, I am rather curious, what are we going to do anyway?”
I showed him to the door of the dining room. Behind it, as I flung the doors open to show him that among the lit candles, the china, silverware, plates of raw vegetables, pasta, spices, fresh fruit, eggs, milk, and chocolate, were knives, mixing bowls, whisks, measuring cups, spoons, a specially constructed stovetop, and oven. “Uh… Spike?” Thorax asked me in bewilderment. “What’s all this for?”
“I have a question for you: do you know how to cook?”
This surprised him, “Wha- N-No, I don’t have a clue how.”
I smiled, “Good. For this trial date, I’m going to teach you how to cook.”
“But isn’t it hard?”
“Not really,” I drew him in by the shoulder. “Of course, there are a few rules that you’d need to follow. But trust me when I say that I have been doing this for quite a while now and I know what I’m doing. Of course, you’d gotta let me lead you in how to make our dinner.”
“You do know that what we eat is different than what you guys eat, right?”
I was ready for this, leading him over to the table; I picked up one of the jars from where the spices were kept. “That’s why I’ve asked your brother to send samples of your favorite flavors over here. As weird as some of this stuff is, I do think that with a little creativity, we might come up with something tasty for the both of us.”
He gave a low whistle, “You thought up of everything, haven’t you? So…” He looked around at the spread. “What exactly do we do?”
“I figured that I wanted to keep this as simple as possible. We’ll be having a two-course meal: a pasta and dessert. Don’t worry, it's drop-dead easy for both of them, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on you while we’re making this. I’ll show you how step by step. So you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he shrugged. I could tell that he was feeling uneasy about this.
So I got out two cast iron deep frying pans. “First thing’s first, we’re going to make ourselves a one-pan pasta. It doesn’t need as much cleanup as the dessert, but I think that it’s pretty much foolproof.” After taking one of the pans he asked what he does with it. “We put them on the stove, but we don’t want to lit the fire just yet. Here, come with me.” I lead him towards the table where the vegetables and knives were. “So apart of the noodles themselves, we’d need to chop some vegetables to make the sauce itself.”
With that, I taught the king how to chop an onion and some cloves of garlic as thinly as possible. I noticed he was tearing up halfway of chopping one of the onions. “Wow, this stuff is strong.” He commented as he took a moment to clear his eyes of his tears. “Is this really necessary?”
“Yeah, it’s to help the flavor. But that’s because you’re not chopping as fast as I am. But I wouldn’t recommend for someone who hasn’t had enough experience. So take your time.”
I watched him as he methodically sliced the onion before moving onto the garlic. While we were chopping, I asked him, “So is this really your first time cooking?”
He shook his head, “I’ve already told you that I never did. Since we mostly feed on love, we haven’t bothered learning about cooking techniques from ponies. Heck, I never had a taste of pony food until the Crystal Empire. You know after you found me.”
“Oh yeah!” I snapped my claws. “I keep forgetting to ask you about that. What was the first thing you’ve eaten anyway besides love?”
“Do you know those… (What do you call them?) Purée’s, I think it was. At first, since no one had any idea what else I could eat, I was given several bowls of purified fruit, just to see what I could take. In the end, I managed to consume all of it. Then they moved on to vegetables, then soups, bread, roasted stuff, smoked, even desserts. They even encouraged me to experiment with food from across the globe from deep fried crickets to tea’s – all on the same day too.”
I grimaced, “Sheesh, I bet your stomach was really aching from eating all of that.”
“Are you kidding?” he chuckled. “I had my mind and taste buds blown by all the different flavors, textures and techniques outside of just feeding on pure love alone. What’s even more remarkable, is that the cooks who made all of it had put their love and passion into it – literally. Even with the blandest of foods, there are tiny traces in there.”
“Well, that’s cool,” I said as we moved on to chopping the cherry tomatoes. “So I guess there’s love being put into this meal, huh?” I paused at the realization of what came out of my mouth. “That was a stupid question, wasn’t it?”
Thorax laughed, “Not at all! Yes, there is indeed love that is going into this meal.” The room became quiet, except for the chopping of vegetables and him trying to copy what I was doing. “Hey, Spike?”
“Hm?”
“Why are you teaching me how to cook?”
I shrugged and told him the truth. “To be honest, if we are going to be on this date, why not make it memorable. You know… just in case…”
He raised an eyebrow, “Of what?”
“That… that maybe this time that I have found what I was looking for,” there was a very uncomfortable silence between us.
“Can I ask you a very personal question?” I told him that he could go ahead. “I know that you have been on dates before, so do you want to let me know what is your ideal special some… body.”
“If you think of changing into the partner of my dreams then the date is over,” I smirked.
He blushed as deeply as the cherry tomatoes. “Oh no! I’m not planning on that I swear!”
I chuckled, “Relax, I’m just pulling your tail is all. But to answer your question,” I moved on to a clawful of chili peppers. “Being the kind of guy that swings both ways, I guess that I’m a little leaning towards personality than anything else. Like, the guy that I would live with, I can imagine being someone that I can lose myself in conversation with for hours and not realize how long it’s been. I want to be with someone who has a good deal of knowledge and wisdom but doesn’t talk down to me about it, but talks on the same level. I wanted to be with someone that I don’t fall in love overnight, but rather have it grow with time. I hope to be with someone who is mature, yet young at heart. One that can not only share the same interests but show me a new perspective on the things they’re interested in.” I looked up from the cutting board. “I’m not boring you, am I?”
He shook his head, “Not at all. It’s kinda funny in a way.”
“What do ya mean?”
“Those are the same traits that I fell in love with.” He told me as he finished chopping the tomatoes.
I snorted, “Really? I’m all of those things?”
“Yeah! You’re always fun to talk to and you’re a really good listener. I’ve learned more about pony and dragon culture in a way that I can understand clearly. It took me years to realize that I was developing feelings for you. You’re mature for your age, but when you want to have some fun or show me something new, I’m able to walk away knowing something that I didn’t before.” He looked at the peppers near him. “Uh, do you mind if I skip these?”
“No problem, remember these jars?” I pulled out a few in front of him. “I think you might want to flavor your pasta up with one or two of these.” He did choose one of the jars to which we proceeded to arrange our ingredients into the pans. But before I could ignite the heat, I went out to get the phonograph and a few records to fill the silence of the room. “I hope you don’t mind having some old lounge music in the background,” I asked him.
“I don’t mind,” he replied. “What do you got?”
“Only a couple of albums, one is Sinatra, Maretin-”
“Oh! Play him!” he cried. I shrugged and proceeded to place it on the turntable. After setting the needle on, the first thing to come out of the horn is the guy soothingly singing something in Istallion.
“This is a good one,” Thorax nodded in approval.
“Huh?” I said as I went over to the stove. After igniting the fire and dumping the water into the pans, I commented. “Ya know, I didn’t take you to be a Maretin fan.”
“What can I say? I like his singing. It’s smooth but full of life. Although, I didn’t know that you have his records.”
“We practically live in a library,” I pointed out as we started to stir our pans. “We don’t just have books and scrolls in here. We’ve got recordings of music too from ancient chants to recent pop songs and everything in between. I’ve tended to take a listen whenever Twilight isn’t around while I do chores.”
“Like cooking for her?” he smirked.
“Hey, I don’t do it all the time; she and Starlight do help out.”
The conversation kinda died as we brought the water to a boil but we still kept stirring. Finally, Thorax spoke up, “So… do you always treat your dates out by cooking alongside them?”
I shook my head. “Not really. I tend to do different things depending on what’s going on. Like in the summer I once took a date rock-climbing, and in the winter, we sat in front of a fire drinking hot chocolate. But like I said, it just depends. Plus, Rarity told me that you can learn quite a bit from your date when you’re doing an activity together.”
“…. And… How am I so far?”
I told him that I wasn’t sure yet since our date just got started. So I decided to change the subject. “How’s your kingdom?”
“Great,” he replied. “Nightmare Night was a success, but in the meantime, we’re getting ready for Hearth's Warming.”
“And your queen?”
“She’s helpful, all things considering. Currently, we’re trying to have some official heirs to the throne. In which, we don’t know about the results as of yet.” At that moment, that feeling of unease returned, and the Changeling King sensed it. “Spike, you’re not driving us apart by any means.”
“Not even the kids you’re trying to have?”
He shook his head. “It’s not that I’m accidentally going to get you pregnant.” He then gave sly smile, “Unless you really want me to.”
This caught me off guard, “Wait what!”
“Kidding,” he laughed. “I’m amazed that you fell for it.”
“Sorry, it’s just you put me off for a sec.”
A few chuckles later, he became serious. “Anyway, Spike, when or if my queen has children, it won’t make any bit awkward if you were around. If anything, I would welcome you to be with them since I know you’re great with foals.”
“I don’t know about that,” I scratched the back of my neck. “I mean, I don’t think that I’m ready for kids myself.”
He scoffed in disbelief. “Oh, nonsense! You’re great with young ones. From those Crusaders to foalsitting Flurry Heart, you’re amazing from what I’ve heard. And I would be more than honored for you to be with my children as well.”
I paused from stirring, “You’re not just dating me just to become a glorified foalsitter, are you?”
We carried this on until the pasta was just right. Before we could sit down, I sparked up the oven for it to warm up for dessert. After moving the pans off the stove and onto the crystal table, we proceeded to pig out directly from the pan. It may sound weird, but seeing Thorax throw out the rules of dining edict to just stuff his face with noodles, veggies, and the paste into his mouth was rather… strangely relaxing in a way. Even though he has ruled the hive for a couple of years at this point, he never fully embraced all the strict rules of the aristocracy.
“You know,” Thorax came up for some air, tomato sauce doused his muzzle. “If I knew that cooking was this easy, I think I would have done this a long time ago.”
“It’s easy once you know how,” I pointed out. “You just got to have the right stuff and enough time to make whatever you want.”
“Maybe I should be doing this alongside my Changelings when they do this. Give me some lessons so I can show off at our potlucks.”
“Why Thorax, I’m shocked,” I waved a claw over my head overdramatically. “A King that wants to show off? What would the country say?”
“Hurray, more food!” he teased and we had a good laugh. After a while, he asked another question: “Just a random thought, have you ever considered of moving out?”
I raised an eyebrow, “Why are you bringing this up?” He said that he was curious since I was twenty and had ever thought of going out on my own. “Eh… I guess I could if I had a place to move to. To me, I don’t just want to move somewhere where I don’t feel like I’m not home, you know? I mean sure, I am an adult, but so far, I don’t have a plan to move anywhere, nor knew what exactly I must do to maintain what I like to do.”
“You know,” the Changeling King pawed at the table. “Once you do become my consort, I’ll be more than willing to give you space at the hive, just for you.”
“But that’s my decision to make.”
Thorax fell silent for a moment, “I’m sorry, that was out of line for me to do so.”
“Hey I don’t blame ya, I’ve been trying to figure that out for a while but I haven’t settled on anything.”
“Understandable,” he nodded. “Just so you know… I meant what I said.”
“Well… thanks, I guess…”
Once again, the conversation fell silent as we finished up our meals. From there, I taught him how to make a dessert soufflé in a way that he managed to understand it. He paid close attention to making the base and how to fold the egg whites. Once it was placed in the oven, we waited while it cooked.
“So… Thorax,” I decided to break the tension. “Can I ask you personal questions?”
He chuckled, “Well, I guess that’s what we’ve been doing on this dating thing so, go ahead.”
I looked at him in the eye and asked, “Why exactly did you fall in love with me? I mean, I know what you said of how long it’s been around, and the fact that you’d admire me. But why?”
The Changeling King went quiet for several minutes, no doubt trying to figure out what to say next. “I don’t know if I can explain this just right. But I guess that out of everyone that I’ve known, you stood out in my mind. After all, you were the first to show me real kindness because you cared. More than that, but from my upbringing to survive in such a cruel world, it was as if… a light had lit up in the darkness. To show me that I wasn’t alone. I don’t know what exactly to tell you, but you’ve been patient and I was… admittedly, too eager in learning this new world outside of the hive. From you, I felt a connection because you’re more than the dragon I wanted, but needed. Yes… Even as a King, I need you. It’s why I wanted you to be a master to me in court. That you matter to me above titles of power – you are the reason of how I became to be. And I just want to return that same love you had given me.” He then frowned when I didn’t react. “It’s way too corny, isn’t it?”
“N-no, not at all dude. It’s rather touching of ya.”
“And I meant it too.” He said as he grabbed my claw. “Spike, if you do decide to become my court consort, anything you could ever want, I’ll give that and my heart too. If you wanted to move somewhere, I can arrange it. If you wanted to snack on rubies before lunch, it shall be done. Or…” here, his cheeks had turned pink. “If you wanted… relief, just ask and I’ll be willing to do so.”
My eyes went wide and I’m sure my cheeks were on fire. “Wow. That’s a little too soon for anything like that, don’t ya think?”
“I don’t mind waiting,” he replied. “The point being is that out of everything you’ve done for not just for Equestria, but for me and my Changelings, you deserve happiness. I’m willing to be your slave to have you obtain joy.”
Wow. Even now, that’s all I could say. None of my dates had talked to me like this and meant it. So with those words still fresh in my head, we got the molten hot soufflés out, dusted with powdered sugar. By the time we started to dig our forks in, I said. “Okay.”
Thorax looked up at me, blinking, “Pardon?”
“I have thought it over, and I accept it.” I smiled at him. “I’ll be willing to be your consort.” This followed by being tackled in a hug.
“Oh, thank you so much Spike!” he said to me before kissing me on both sides of my muzzle. “Thank you.”
I on the other claw was gasping for air, in which he took the hint.