//------------------------------// // Anomaly // Story: Blonde Moments // by FamousLastWords //------------------------------// There was no better defense against the burning summer sun than an ice cream cone. That was a straight fact and nopony could convince Spike other wise. And if the smiles on his two compatriots were any indication, they agreed with his logic. Spike, Dinky and Derpy were taking a blissful stroll through the park. It was mid-day, so the sun was bearing down through the cloudless sky on them, but it wasn’t nearly as bothersome as it would have been had they not purchased ice cream cones right before their venture. There were other ponies trotting about as well. Several families used the beautiful day as an excuse to go out with their fillies and colts who were enjoying the middle of summer break. Spike couldn’t help but notice that to the average passerby who didn’t know better, his little group probably appeared to be their own little family. He and Derpy were side by side and Dinky was being playful and smiling as always. It was a nice thought, if nothing else. “How’s the ice cream, Derpy?” Spike asked, turning his head towards her. “I’ve never tried ‘blueberry corn-muffin’ flavor before.” Derpy stopped and held her ice cream up to Spike. “Here, try it. It’s really good! It’s like a sweet and salty mixture.” Spike winced as the blue and brown colored concoction was placed in front of his mouth. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” he said, before taking a quick lick. “It’s… It’s uhm…” Spike was trying to think of nicest possible way to say it was quite possibly the worst flavor of ice cream ever conceived by pony kind. “It’s… really unpleasant.” Derpy chuckled. “Well, the pony at the counter said I was the only one who’s ordered the flavor in a long time.” “Hey, it takes all kinds, right? And in the interest of being fair, I’d let you try mine, but I already finished it about twelve steps ago.” Spike gave her a playful shove before turning his attention to the other member of their party. “How are things going up there, Dinky? The ice cream treating you well?” He cocked his eyes up to the filly who was happily enjoying a double-scoop cone of mint chocolate ice cream while perched on his shoulders. “It’s great, Spike!” She was straddled around his neck, one leg on either side, her head perched above his. She peeked over his head frills to try and look him the eye. “It’s my favorite flavor!” Her action caused a bit of said dessert to drip onto the dragon’s nose which he happily licked up. “Oh yeah, that’s the good stuff. You see, Dinky, unlike your sister, you know the difference between good and not so good desserts.” “Yeah!” Dinky said, sticking her tongue out at her older sister. “Spike says I know ice cream better than you.” “Word up.” Spike raised a fist up and was rewarded with a small hoofbump from the filly. “Atta girl.” This time it was Derpy’s turn to give him a bit of a nudge. “Hehe, I should’ve known putting you two trouble-makers together was a bad idea. At least I like you guys.” “And we like you, too,” Spike said with a wink. “But you know what else I like?” “What’s that?” Derpy asked. “Getting a break from the hot sun for a bit,” he replied. “I do like a bit of sun on my scales, but even dragons need a break. There’s a picnic table in the shade over there. You wanna sit down real quick?” Derpy wiped a few droplets of sweat from her brow and nodded. “That sounds like a great idea.” The three of them made their way over to the table which was nestled underneath the lush overhanging branches of a large tree. Spike reached over his head to extract the filly from his shoulders. Spike set her onto the ground and took his seat. Dinky immediately hopped up and claimed the spot right next to him. Derpy sat on the opposite side facing the two of them. “It’s a beautiful day,” Derpy spoke up after they all got settled. She took just a moment to finish off her ice cream cone and wipe her mouth off with her hoof. “Thanks again, for taking Dinky and me out.” “Yeah, thank you again, Spike!” Dinky nuzzled into Spike’s arm before continuing her conquest against the desert in her hoof. “Psh, it was nothing,” Spike said. “Besides, Dinky said she was gonna pay next time. Right, Dinky?” The filly’s eyes shot open. “What? I did? But I don’t... “ She crawled up a bit closer to Spike and whispered a bit loudly then she intention. “Can I borrow some bits for next time so I can pay like I said?” “Don’t worry, I got you,” Spike said with a wink and a quick hoof bump. Meanwhile, Derpy looked at the two of them with a wide grin. “I’m glad you two are having so much fun.” Spike gave her a thumbs up. “Of course. Great weather, beautiful mare, adorable filly… That’s the recipe for a great day, if you ask me. But, speaking of great days, I did have a question for you, Derpy.” “What’s that, Spike?” Derpy asked. Spike cleared his throat and turned all his attention to her. “Well, there are two things I wanted to ask you about, actually.” “Okay.” “We’ll start with the easier one,” Spike said. “So, I was hanging with Rarity yesterday and remember how I mentioned to you about eating dinner with her at some point?” “Yeah,” Derpy said with a quick nod. “Well, I was hoping we could head over there tonight, actually.” Spike shrugged. “I know it’s a bit last minute, but she really wants to meet you and everything. And of course Dinky is welcome, too.” “Tonight?” Derpy’s eyes fell to the table and her relaxed smile was quickly replaced with a nervous one. “I’d love to. I just, I’m not really sure I have time to cook anything or know any fancy recipes or anythin—” “Don’t even worry about it,” Spike said, rubbing her hoof with a claw. “Rarity’s got all the cooking in the bag. And trust me, she’s a lot less fancy once you get to know her. No matter what the accent and makeup tells you, she’s just as pony as anypony else.” Derpy sighed and brought her eyes up to meet Spike’s. “Okay, I trust you, Spike. We’d love to go. Sorry, I’m just a little awkward with new ponies.” “Trust me, I know the feel,” Spike said with a chuckle. “The first time I had any meaningful contact with Rarity I destroyed half the town.” “I think I rememb—” “Those were dark times.” Spike shook his head and shuddered. “But, trust me, things will only go great tonight. You trust me?” Spike held open his claw on the table. Derpy eyed his claw for a moment before resting her hoof on it. “Of course I do.” “Awesome. Now, about the second thing…” Dinky gasped and hopped onto the table, eyeing their hoof-to-claw connection from mere inches away. “Is the second thing gonna be that you ask her to marry you?!” The two quickly separated, their cheeks on fire. “I uh…” “Well, you see…” “That’s not how things really…” Dinky took no part in their babbling and hopped right in front of Derpy. “Say yes! Spike is so cool and then he’d be around forever and not just sometimes!” Derpy tried to put her gaze anywhere but to the dragon across the table. “Look, Dinky, that’s just not—” “I got this,” Spike said. “Hey, Dinky, come here real quick.” The filly obliged and hopped across the table to Spike, bidding her sister a sigh of relief. “What is it, Spike?” Spike picked her up and set her on the seat next to him. “As cool as she is, I can’t ask your sister to marry me yet. You know why?” “Why?” she responded with ever-widening eyes. “Because to get married, you gotta act grown-up and cool and be really smart and stuff, and right now I’m not quite cool enough. But hey, maybe I will be one day. Who knows?” “Ohhh,” Dinky said, nodding. “I hope so.” Spike smiled and ruffled her mane before turning back to Derpy, who also happened to be staring at him with similarly huge eyes. Derpy, however, made excellent recovery time and shook off the stare. “Back to the second thing,” Spike said. “Right.” Derpy reoriented herself in her seat and was at full attention once more. “Go ahead.” “So, feel free to say no to this, because it might sound kinda weird or whatever. But, Princess Luna is hosting this dance thing, and—” “You mean the Canterlot Couple’s Dance?” Derpy asked. “Yes, that’s the… Wait. How’d you know about that?” Derpy cocked her head to the side. “Luna’s newsletter You didn’t know about it?” Spike tossed his arms in the air and shook his head. “I guess everypony else is officially cooler than me, these days. Anyway, yeah, that’s the one. It’s next weekend and I was wondering if you’d want to go with me?” Spike flinched ever so slightly and darted his eyes away from her as he asked. “I mean, like I said, if it’s not your scene that’s cool and all. I just figured I would ask.” When he slowly brought his eyes back, he saw her grinning ear to ear. “That’d be really, really fun,’ she said. “I’ve never gotten asked to go to a dance like this, before.” “You want to?” Spike asked, his smile growing as well. She bobbed her head up and down. “Mhm. But um, I don’t really have any fancy clothes or anything like that, and um… yeah.” “Don’t even worry about it,” Spike said. “Just like dinner tonight, we’ll get it taken care of. I’m just super happy that you actually want to go!” Derpy blinked a few times. “Why wouldn’t I?” “Well,” Spike rubbed the back of his head. “I’ve never really asked somepony to a big thing like this before. I guess I was kinda expecting the worse. You know what they say? If your expectations are low enough you’ll never get disappointed, right?” “I guess you’re right,” she replied with a giggle. “I’m glad I didn’t disappoint you, then.” Spike took her hoof in his claw. “Derpy, I need you to brace yourself because I’m probably about to say the cheesiest thing you’ve ever heard.” “Okay?” She straightened herself up a bit. “I”m braced.” Spike cleared his throat and looked her in the eyes. “Spending time with you is never disappointing.” She tried to keep a straight face, but failed miserably and burst into a short fit of laughter. “Yeah, hehe, that was pretty cheesy. Sweet, but cheesy.” “Hey, I’m still working on this whole romantic, mushy thing,” Spike said. “It’s not as easy as the books make it seem.” The two shared a laugh. In the meantime, Dinky was darting her eyes back and forth between the two of them. “You guys are weird,” she said, cocking an eyebrow at each of them. This only caused the laughter between Derpy and Spike to flare up once more. It was seeming to be a great day, indeed. Spike burst through the door of the Carousel Boutique and darted his eyes around in search of his target. And then he found her. “Rarity!” he shouted out, racing towards her. The mare was sitting at her dining table enjoying a cup of tea. “Oh, Spike! I take it you spoke with Derpy about dinner tonight?” “Yes ma’am!” he exclaimed, hopping into a seat of his own. “And dinner is a go.” “Oh, that’s wonderful,” Rarity said, giddily clapping her hooves. “I’m sure we’ll have a simply marvelous even—“ “No time for that,” Spike said. “I need information. Besides the one time she ate at the castle, I’ve never had a formal dinner date with her. What do I do? How do I dress? Do I bring anything?” The cool and collected mood Spike was in while comforting Derpy had gone out the window now that he was facing the reality of the situation on his own.  No matter how comfortable he and Derpy got with each other, each new experience continued to make him nervous. Or maybe it was just excitement? What was that word Pinkie always used? Nervoucited? Yeah, that’s it. “Spike, you need to calm yourself,” Rarity said. “Do not think of this anything fancy, but merely friends associating over the backdrop of a lovely meal. And, as the hostess, I will be providing all the food and beverages. Understood?” Spike took a few deep breaths. “Yes, I got it. And that’s what I told her but… why am I still nervous? You think I’d be getting over this whole awkward panic thing by now.” He plopped his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his palm. “It’s getting a bit old.” “If nothing else, it shows just how much you care for her that you want everything to go so perfectly.” Rarity gently patted his claw. “But, let’s get away from all that talk and move to the matter at hoof. And that would be dinner.” “Good idea,” Spike said, perking up. “What were you planning on making?” “Hmm, good question,” she replied, rubbing her chin. “What kind of things does she like? I already know what you like, but in all honesty, this is more about making her comfortable than anything.” “I know she likes Hayburgers,” Spike said with a chuckle. “But that’s not really nice dinner material. Well, she made an awesome casserole the other night, so I would assume hot veggie dishes are a good place to start. Oh, and she also likes spicy stuff, but only a little bit. Like, moderate spice if that makes sense.” “I see,” Rarity said. She had levitated a small notepad over to the table and began taking notes. “Alright, mild spice and hot vegetables. Any allergens I should be aware of?” “Not that I know of.” “We’ll just have to wait and see, then.” Rarity jotted a few more notes down. “And last but not least, what kind of beverages does she enjoy?” Spike scratched his head. “She usually gets root beer when we’re out. But I know she likes sweet tea, too. So that’s pretty open to interpretation.” “Got it,” she said. “I do think I have a perfect idea. Last but not least, however, what kind of things does Dinky enjoy?” Spike opened his mouth to speak but had to reevaluate his thoughts. “I don’t really know. Besides the casserole the other night, the only food I’ve ever seen her eat was hospital food and nopony likes that.” Rarity jotted a few more things down and closed the notebook. “Well, I’ll pick up some more filly-friendly food items at the grocery store, just to be on the side of caution.” “Good plan,” Spike said. “I told her I’d pick her up around seven. Will that give you enough time to prepare everything? I can reschedule if need be.” “Absolutely out of the question!’ Rarity said, giving him a stern glare. “Rescheduling a date is entirely inappropriate at any stage in a relationship, but especially important in these critical development stages. Seven o’clock will be absolutely fine. Everything will be ready, guaranteed.” “Awesome,” Spike said, hopping out of his seat. “Thanks for doing this with us, Rares. “ “It is my pleasure,” Rarity said. “However, in the meantime, you may want to take a moment to shower. It is rather hot out today and one needn’t risk being sweaty for a dinner.” Spike took the cue with no hesitation. “Understood. I’ll see you tonight, then?” “See you tonight, dear.” Spike waved his goodbyes and headed out the front door to get ready for the evening. The day just kept getting better and better.