Spike eyed his target with the most extreme amount of fervor a dragon could possibly give to his prey. It was so small, so insignificant, so meager in its being that he almost felt bad about running it through. But, he had a job to do, so there was little point in arguing with his conscience.
He was a loyal dragon, after all.
“Aha! I got it!” Spike pulled the needle the rest of the way through the thread before breaking off the loose end. “You see, Rarity? I told you I was getting better at this whole claw-stitching thing.”
Rarity trotted over from her place by the sewing machine to inspect his work. She dropped her glasses over her nose and eyed it carefully. “I do say, Spike, well done! Of course, the length is slightly off, but nothing that takes away from the piece as a whole.”
Spike beamed. “Thanks, Rares. Now that that’s over, you mind if I finish my story?”
“Of course, dear,” she replied, walking back to her station. “Where were we? Ahh yes, Derpy and yourself were walking around the park, discussing things, correct?”
Spike scratched his chin for a second before pointing to the air. "Right! Okay, so there we were: just chatting, killing time, y'know, the usual!"
“Mhm. Then what happened?”
“Well, I don’t know what was in the air that day, but I was on another level. I was executing conversational skills like it was nobody's business and before you knew it, we were at the spot where the old library used to be. You know the one.”
Rarity glanced up from her garment. “Yes, of course. But why did you bring her there? It’s nothing more than a patch of grass at this point.”
“That’s true,” Spike said with a nod. “But like, we were talking about the past and stuff and it just seemed to fit the mood, I dunno.”
“Hmm, I suppose there is a certain poetic flair to the idea,” Rarity said. “Very well, Spike, I approve.”
The dragon smiled, a proud gleam on his face. “Thank you. But, if you think that was good, wait until you hear what I did next!”
“Ooh, the suspense is driving me mad,” Rarity said as she emitted a playful chuckle. “What happened next?”
“So, there we were, standing on that little patch of grass.” Spike paced back and forth around the room, claws wrapped behind his back. “We’re talking about our pasts and memories and what not. She says something like ‘Oh, Spike, memories are cool’ or however she said it. So, I'm not sure if I ate something good that day or if the powers that be finally decided to smile down on me, but you’re not gonna believe what I did.”
“Oh?” Rarity was not giving her full attention to the dragon. “Should I be sitting down for this?”
“You may as well be,” Spike said with a cocky grin. “Because let me tell you… I looked her in the eye, smiled, then picked a flower that was growing nearby. I then threw caution to the wind, rolled a perfect nat-twenty on charisma, gently pulled her mane back, and put the flower in her hair.” Spike saw Rarity’s eyes widen ever so slightly as her lips began to curl into a smile. “And to send it on home, I told her ‘Now we’ve got a memory together,’ … or something like that.”
Rarity squealed with excitement before leaping out of her chair. She wrapped Spike in a hug that was roughly reminiscent of the time he was stuck in Chrysalis’ insect goo… except this constriction was warm and fuzzy. If only he could move his arms enough to reciprocate the hug.
“Oh, darling, that’s so wonderful!” the mare exclaimed, finally releasing the suffocated dragon. “I always knew you’d have it in you to win over a mare of your own, but to do it in such, such… style! I’m so proud, dear.”
Spike dusted some pretend dirt off his shoulder. “Yeah, well, I do have the ability to be pretty charming when I want to be. I just wish it didn’t require so much effort.”
“Psh,” Rarity said, shooting the dragon a playful wink. “Being charming is simply a way of life for some of us.”
“You know it.” Spike let out a sigh and took a seat on the nearby couch. “So, that’s all well and good, but I didn’t even tell you that I invited her over for dinner. That was an experience.”
Rarity, who had resumed sewing, nearly stitched her hoof due to loss of concentration. “D-Dinner? Already? Spike, that’s fantastic!”
The dragon nodded. “Thank you. It just kinda happened, though. We were about to part ways after walking in the park and I just…. I guess I just didn’t wanna say goodbye, yet. So, I invited her over to the castle for dinner.”
Rarity once again leaped from her seat, this time landing on the couch next to Spike. “Darling, the first dinner together, especially with one’s family, is above almost all else in relationship importance. More than the first anniversary, the first present, the first night al—well, it’s just really important. How’d it go?”
“Trust me, Rarity, I knew it was important.” Spike gave her a thumbs up. “All in all, it went pretty great, or so I think. Twilight likes her, which is a lot more than I could say about her experiences with my previous marefriends. Starlight made an awesome dinner and we all had a good time. And, uh, yeah… everything was smoothe.” Spike’s twiddling thumbs and inability to make eye contact did not go unnoticed.
“Spike? What did you do?” Rarity blinked a few times. “How bad was it?”
Curses!
“Eh, well, she was on the porch and I was saying goodbye and all.”
“And?”
“You know, I was kinda getting nervous after we arranged to meet again today, so…”
“And?”
“I paused for a second, I guess she kinda moved in a bit closer to me, biting her lip…”
“And?!”
Spike took a deep breath. “I may have said goodnight and shut the door in her face.”
Rarity brought her hoof to her face at the speed of lightning.
“Yeah, so, it wasn’t my finest moment,” Spike said. “But, you know, I’m still learning this whole dating thing! It’s complicated! You have to pick up on all these signs, try to keep your claws to yourself even when it’s hard, you have to shower on a regular basis…”
Rarity giggled and brought a hoof to her mouth. “Spike, sweetheart, you need to go easy on yourself. Yes, slamming the door in a mare’s face isn’t exactly ideal, but the events leading up to that point more than demonstrated how much you care for her.”
“You think so?”
“I know so,” she reassured him. “But what’s even more important, Spike, please don’t fall into the hole of trying to be somepony you’re not. I know you’ve heard it before and you’ll probably hear it again, but don’t worry so much about impressing her. She likes who you are, already. If you try to be somepony else, she’ll see right through it.”
Spike nodded. “Yeah, Starlight said something similar. Look, Rarity, you know more about love and all that jazz than anyone I know. That’s why I’m talking to you about it. I’m honestly kinda scared. But not like, frightened scared. More like ‘Sweet Celestia, don’t let me screw this up’ scared. I just feel right spending time with her. I don’t wanna lose that. At least not as long as I can help it.”
“Spike,” Rarity said. “Don’t worry. Just keep being the amazing dragon you’ve always been. You’re quite wonderful, to be honest. And as for moving forward, just keep a broad mind regarding things. Don’t limit yourself to what you think you should do. Just do what feels right.”
The dragon chuckled. “Heh, my mind’s broad enough. I already have a hard time finding hats that fit.”
The two shared a quick laugh before they were interrupted by a knocking at the door.
“I wonder who that could be?” Rarity asked.
“I’ll go check,” Spike replied.
The dragon traveled over to the door and slowly creaked it open. On the other side stood a stallion, a good head taller than Spike. He was wearing a flashy business suit and wore a big smile.
“Um, can I help you?” Spike asked.
The stallion shook his head and smile. “I apologize for bothering you this morning, sir. I’m just simply going door to door to inform the residents about the Fun Fair going on in Ponyville today.”
Spike opened the door the rest of the way. “Fun fair?” He was always down for some fun.
“Yes sir,” the stallion said. “For just a few bits a pony, your whole family can enjoy an afternoon of rides, meet and greets and junk food! Let me leave you this pamphlet with more information.” He pulled out a small booklet and handed it to Spike. “Any questions you have will be answered within. If you’re interested, it’s being hosted on the outside of town, just by the river. We hope to see you there!”
“Very cool. Thanks!” Spike shut the door and traversed back to the couch. He plopped down next to Rarity and started flipping through the booklet.
“What’s that dear? I hope it wasn’t that insurance salesman again.” Rarity scrunched her face up. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell them that I’m not interested in meteor coverage. The nerve of some ponies!”
“Steady girl,” Spike stated. “It was just a guy advertising some kind of fair going on today. I guess they’ll have rides and a bunch of other stuff.”
“Oooh,” Rarity cooed. “That does sound fun. But, I do wonder how they set these things up so quickly. You walk by an empty area one day, the next there’s a rollercoaster and cotton candy machine.”
The dragon shrugged. “One of life’s great mysteries. But, it does look pretty co— Hold up a second!”
Rarity leaned over his shoulder to attempt to see what he was seeing. “What is it, darling?”
“Right here, under the ‘Meet and Greet’ section!” Spike followed the text with his claw. “‘One day only, meet children’s book heroes Poptart and Notepad! Do you know what this means?” Spike flipped around, whacking Rarity in the muzzle by mistake. “Oh, sorry.”
She rubbed her muzzle, checking her hoof for any blood. “Oh, it’s uh, it’s quite alright dear. What does it mean?”
“Poptart and Note Pad, the two ponies from those stories I read at the hospital. They’ll be in town! Today!”
Rarity chuckled. “Darling, I thought we talked about this before. Storybook characters aren’t real. It’s just actors pretending to be them.”
“I know that,” he said, “but it’s not for me, anyway. Dinky loves Poptart and Notepad! If I can convince the doctor to let me and Derpy take her out to the fair today, do you have any idea how happy that’d make her?” Spike couldn’t control his excitement at the thought. “A little fresh air, some fun rides and getting to meet her heroes! What a day!”
Rarity watched the dragon bouncing across the room, shouting his plans to himself. She placed a hoof over her heart and sighed. “Spike, you really are the sweetest. Nopony else I know would go so far just to brighten up a filly’s day.”
Spike paused and looked at her. “Really? Well I.. You know… I just wanna try and make a difference is all. Poor Dinky’s been cooped up in there for months. Not to mention I think it could do Derpy some good, too, to be able to spend time with her sister. Is it so strange to want to see somepony happy?”
“No, not at all. I only wish there were more dragons, or ponies for that matter, like you.”
Spike blushed and rubbed the back of his head. “Gosh, Rarity. Thanks. But, you know what Starlight always says. One Spike is more than enough.”
“True, true,” she replied. “If there were too many of you, I doubt Equestria could remain standing for too long.”
“You know it,” he replied with a wink. “On that note, though, I’ve gotta get moving. I need to get to Ponyville General ASAP to talk to her doctor. You know how long doctors take to do things. Getting a bandaid takes three hours these days. But, this way we’ll have at least a four-hour buffer to get a decision. Either way, I’ll figure something out because this is too perfect to be a coincidence. It’s fate. Fate I tell you!”
The dragon dashed toward the door and flung it open. However, remembering his manners he quickly dashed back from whence he came and gave Rarity a quick hug and a light kiss on the cheek. “Thanks so much for listening and your advice. Love you, Rares.”
Rarity chuckled. “Of course, Spike. Now stop wasting time here and go get ‘em!”
Spike nodded and dashed out the door. If fate was truly on his side, things could only get better.