//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: After The Secret 
// by jw278 
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As we join Spike and Rarity, they are happily walking down the streets of Canterlot, chatting away amongst the other ponies. Most ponies don’t even bat an eye at a dragon walking down the streets. Some do have a glance from time to time, but don’t really mind as they have better things to do.

“So, Spikey, what shall we do?” Rarity asked with a smile as she looked at Spike.

Spike giggled and said, “Truthfully, I don’t know. I didn’t really plan anything out besides making a cake for Celestia and Luna for our lunch meet up,” Spike scratched his head and said, “How does a bit of window shopping and maybe a walk in the park sound?”

Rarity’s face went from a smile to a big grin as her eyes sparkled and she said, “Oh, that sounds like a fabulous idea, Spikey. Lead the way.”

Spike let out a little laugh before whispering under his breath, “Gee, what a surprise. A mare that loves to shop.”

Rarity glared at Spike and said, “What was that, my love?”

Spike realizing she heard him nervously laughed and said, “Nothing dear. Let’s go this way,” and started to walk off down the street as Rarity giggled.

As the day passed, they went from shop to shop, looking at all sorts of nick-knacks and bits and bobs. Spike even brought a hat for Rarity to keep her head in the shade as the sun shone down, saying that it was the perfect ensemble to the Fire Ruby she was wearing as the red ribbon matched the color perfectly, which Rarity agreed.

Now coming out of a fabric shop with some new materials floating in her magic aura and a smile on her face, Rarity turned to look at Spike behind her and realized she may have overdone it with the amount of shopping bags that he was carrying. “Oh, Spikey, I think I got a bit carried away. I’m sorry.”

Spike raised an eyebrow and said, “You think?” Before he let out a giggle and said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s not heavy. Though I’d much rather not have to carry all this stuff around for the rest of the day.” That’s when Spike had a thought. “Then again, I don’t have to.” As Spike placed the bags down, he looked at Rarity and said, “Put the fabric with the other stuff, Rarity.”

As Rarity placed the fabric down with the bags, she was curious what Spike was thinking. Before she had a chance to ask, a green flame left his mouth and all her things were turned to ash and blew away in the wind. “Spike, what have you done!” Rarity asked, shocked that all her new shopping had been set on fire right in front of her.

Spike laughed at the look on her face before saying, “Relax. It’s the same magic I use to send letters to the princesses, only this time instead of sending it to them I sent it to your boutique in Ponyville,” with a smile.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Rarity smiled and said, “Please tell me the next time you do something like that, Spikey.” Just then, a grin came on her face before she said, “I didn’t know you could do that now. I must say going shopping with you from now on is going to be much easier. Oh, just think of how easy it will be and how much more we can buy.”

At hearing Rarity say that, Spike slapped a claw over his face before saying, “What have I done?” Before looking at her smiling face and thinking, “Oh, who am I kidding? How could I say no to that face?” As he looked at her and smiled.

As Rarity smiled back, she caught a little corner café in the corner of her eye and said, “How does a little break sound, I could do with some refreshments. My treat, of course.”

“Sounds like a great idea,” Spike happily said and they made their way over to the café. Spike took a seat outside as Rarity went inside to order some drinks. As she made her way to the counter and ordered some ice cold cider and paid, she told the cashier that they would be sitting outside and started to make her way back towards the door when she heard someone call her name.

As Rarity turned to see who called her, a smile came onto her face when she realized it was none other than Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis. “Fancy Pants, Fleur de Lis. What a pleasant surprise bumping into you two her of all places,” Rarity said happily smiling at them.

“A pleasant surprise indeed,” Fancy Pants said smiling back, before asking, “What brings you to Canterlot? Here to check how Canterlot Carousel is doing?”

“Oh no. Not today. I was invited to lunch with the princesses and was just doing some shopping afterwards and decided to take a break here at this café,” Rarity said with a smile.

As Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis smiled at her, Fleur de Lis cleared her throat and said, “Rarity, dear. I do hope you don’t think this is too forward of me, but as your friend I wanted to ask, are you aware there is a rumor going around that you are dating a dragon?”

Rarity’s smile disappeared from her face and it felt like all the color from her face was gone, as she thought, “This is it. For the last few weeks business and everything else has been perfect, but I knew this day would come. I always feared what the upper crust would say or how they would react. Would it be like my grandparents and parents?” Rarity gulped. “No, I took the risk and I’ve made my choice and I’ve never been happier. Who cares what anyone else thinks?”

Realizing that she hadn’t said anything, Rarity snapped out of her thoughts and took a breath before smiling again and saying, “Yes, Fleur de Lis, dear. I’m well aware of the rumor and to tell you the truth, it’s true. I’m dating a dragon and I’ve never been happier in all my life.”

For a moment nothing was said and the silence felt like an eternity for Rarity, till both Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis started to laugh. Rarity was dumbfounded by their reaction and was about to say something before Fancy Pants said, “That’s great news, Rarity. We couldn’t be happier for you,” as Fleur de Lis nodded happily in agreement.

“What? You mean you don’t care that I’m dating a dragon?” Rarity asked.

Fleur de Lis giggled and said, “Oh? Come now dear. Like we care if you are dating a dragon. All we care about is that our friend is happy and if this dragon makes you happy, then we’re happy for you,” as she smiled at Rarity.

As Rarity stood there a little bit teary eyed she understood in just those few words that Fleur de Lis and Fancy Pants, although they were part of the upper crust, they were also true friends.

As Fancy Pants laughed, he said, “Although, I would like to meet this dragon of yours one day. After all, it’s not every day a pony and a dragon become a couple.”

Rarity smiled and said, “Well, how about right now? He’s sitting outside. I just came in to place our order.”

Fleur de Lis smiled and said, “What a wonderful idea. I can get a good look at this dragon and make sure he’s right for you. I’ve always been a good judge of character after all.”

As Fancy Pants uses his magic to grab his and Fleur de Lis’s drinks from the nearby table they were previously sitting at, he smiled and said, “I believe we have some time. Lead the way, Rarity.”

As Rarity and her two friends made their way outside, Rarity smiled at Spike as he stood up and said, “Fancy, Fleur. What are you doing here?”

Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis, stood there for a moment before Fancy pants said, “Spi- Spike? Is that you?”

Spike smiled back and was about to answer before Fleur de Lis charged at him and pulled him into a hug, almost knocking them over as she said, “Spike! I’ve missed you!”

As Rarity stood there looking a bit shocked at seeing Fleur de Lis hugging Spike, as it was well know that she never hugged anypony except Fancy Pants, Spike hugged back and said with a giggle, “It’s been awhile hasn’t it, Fleur?” Before breaking the hug and looking over at Fancy Pants and saying, “Hey Fancy. How've you been?”

Fancy pants placed his drinks on the table and walked up to Spike and said, “Good, but even better now I get to see you again, old friend,” as he hugged Spike. As everyone took a seat at the table Fancy Pants said, “How did we not put two and two together? I mean we heard the rumors of you dating a dragon, Rarity, and, of course, we heard the rumors about you growing, Spike. I just didn’t know the two were connected.” As Fancy Pants smiled at Spike he said, “I must say growing up suits you old chum,” as Spike smiles back at him.

As Fleur de Lis giggled she said with a smile, “It really does Spike,” before looking at Rarity and saying, “I told you I was a good judge of character, Rarity. You won’t find better than this one, right here. I most definitely approve. Two hooves up.”

Rarity giggled and said, “You don’t have to tell me. I know. Trust me,” as she smiled. Just then, a waiter came out and placed Rarity and Spike’s drinks on the table. As she thanked him, she looked at her friends and asked, “Spike mentioned you and he were friends, Fancy Pants, and that you met at some gatherings, but I must admit I didn’t know you were this close.”

Fancy Pants laughed and said, “Are you kidding? This dragon changed my life for the better. I mean, he introduced me to Fleur after all.”

“What? Really? I had no idea,” Rarity said, getting a twinkle in her eye.

Spike smiled at Rarity, as he thought, “You may be a lady, Rarity, but when it comes to gossip, you’re just like any other mare,” As Spike giggled he said, “Hey, come on now, Fancy, you and I both know I didn’t really do anything.”

“Oh really?” Fleur de Lis said with a raised eyebrow before looking at Rarity and saying, “Would you like to hear how me and Fancy met, Rarity?”

Rarity’s smile went from ear to ear as she said, “Oh yes, I would love to hear how you both met.”

Fleur de Lis giggled and said, “Well, I think before I tell you how we met, Fancy should tell you how he and Spike met and became friends. After all, if it wasn’t for them meeting, I may have never met Fancy Pants.”

As Rarity looked at both Fancy Pants and Spike, Spike smiled and said, “Not much to say really. We met at a party.”

Fancy Pants smiled and said, “Well, there’s a bit more to it than that. Wouldn’t you say?” As Fancy Pants smiled at Rarity he said, “While it’s true that’s how we met, that’s not how we became friends. You see, back then I had grown tired of going to those sorts of parties and I only went because as a business pony, it was expected of me to keep up appearances and show my face. I mean, there were ponies there that my family had been doing business with since before I was even born.”

After sighing, Fancy said, “But after awhile, one party seemed like the rest. There was never anything different. The same old ponies gathering around the princess like locus just trying to show off or stand above the rest. It really does get tiresome after awhile.” Fancy giggled and said, “Then one day, I was at yet another party. I remember making my way over to the catering table to get away from everpony and saying to myself, ‘Sweet Celestia, how boring these things get? I wish they would liven up these things from time to time.’ That’s when I heard a voice say, ‘Tell me about it. Are all these parties this boring?”

Fancy Pants giggled again before he said, “I thought I was going mad. I was sure no pony was around when I said that, but I guess I was half right; no pony was. As I looked around, I saw no one until this little creature I had never seen before came from underneath the table cloth and looked at me and said, ‘Well, are all the parties like this?’ I was taken aback by what I was seeing. There was a little baby dragon standing in front of me and talking no less.”

As Fancy smiled at Spike he said, “I didn’t know what to think at first, but he just kept looking up at me, like he was waiting for something. That's when I realize I didn't answer his question. I’d just been staring at him. So I cleared my throat and said. ‘Oh, yes. Yes. Unfortunately, most of these parties are quite slow and a bit boring at times Mr...’ As I saw him reach out his claw, he said, ‘The names Spike, nice to meet you.’ I shook his claw and was about to introduce myself, when he said, ‘Mr Fancy Pants.’ I was unsure how this little creature who I had never met before knew my name so I asked him, ‘How do you know who I am?”

After taking a sip of his drink, Fancy Pants said, “I was surprised yet again when he said, ‘Oh well, I know all the ponies names here today. Not just that, but I know that your family for instance are known for running and owning some of the biggest and fanciest hotels in all of Equestria. Cele- I mean Princess Celestia gave me the list of ponies that would be coming today, a few days ago, and since Twi couldn’t come cuz of her studies, she made me research who everypony was and what they did. She said it would help me mingle with the ponies if I knew a bit more about them and it might make it easier to make some new friends.’ I was quite impressed for someone so small to do his research into who would be attending the party. I mean, it’s just good business to know whose who after all.”

As Fancy Pants giggled he said, “But that still didn’t explain what a baby dragon was doing at this party or indeed who this Twi he mentioned was, so curiously I asked, ‘So you know the princess, is that why you were invited today?’ As I watched Spike nod his head in answer to my question, I said, ‘But I’m sorry, who is this Twi you mentioned? I’m afraid I don’t know any pony by that name,’ As I looked at him just standing there for a few seconds, until he said, ‘Oh, right. Sorry. I mean Twilight Sparkle. She’s Princess Celestia’s number one student. I just call her Twi since she’s like a big sister to me.’ Of course, I heard Celestia talk about a filly named Twilight before, so as soon as he said her name I knew who he was talking about and said, ‘So you’re like Twilight’s little brother? Well in that case it’s a real pleasure to meet you, Spike.”

As Fancy Pants giggled he continued, “As I watched Spike smile back and puff out his chest, he said, ‘Oh no. I’m much more than that, I’m her best friend and number one assistant, I do all sorts of work for her and sometimes Princess Celestia too.’ Again, he surprised me for one so small, he sounded like he was working very hard. ‘Wow, that must be a lot of work for such a small dragon. I must say I’m very impressed, Spike.’ As I looked at him standing proud, Spike said, ‘It sure is a lot of work, but I couldn’t be happier cuz I get to help my big sis and best friend in the whole world.’”

As Fancy Pants smiled, he said, “I couldn’t help but chuckle. The little guy looked so proud, but that’s when I had a thought. If he had worked so hard to find out about the ponies at this party and was invited by Princess Celestia herself, why was he under a table? So I asked him and I just remember him standing there twiddling his claws together and looking sad when he said, ‘Cuz I’m a scary dragon. I have sharp teeth and claws and I see the way ponies look at me. I didn’t even want to come to this party, but Princess Celestia said I should come and I didn’t want to disappoint her, so I thought if I stayed under this table I couldn’t upset anypony or do anything to embarrass Princess Celestia,’”

Fancy Pants sat there with a sad face as he looked at his drink on the table and said, “It broke my heart to hear such a small child say such things, so I said to him, ‘But you’re talking to me and I don’t find you scary. In fact, I find you quite charming.’ That’s when he looked up at me and said, ‘But I could hurt you. I’m a monster after all.’ I remember patting him on the head and asking, ‘Will you hurt me, Spike?’ to which he looked back at me in horror as he said, ‘NO! I could never hurt ponies.’ As I chuckled at his answer, I said, ‘That’s why I’m not scared of you. I can’t quite put it into words but I can tell you this, you are no monster, my little friend. After all, do you think Princess Celestia would allow a monster to be here in her castle or to work side by side with her number one student.’ For a few moments, Spike didn’t say anything. Then he looked at me and said, ‘You called me your friend. Are we friends?’ I couldn’t help but smile at that and said, ‘I would very much like to be your friend, Spike.’ After seeing the smile on his face as he nodded back saying he would like that, we both shared a giggle and spent the rest of the party chatting away.”

As Fancy Pants heard Spike giggling, he looked over at Spike and said, “After that, I found myself eagerly waiting for the next party so I could talk with my new friend again. The parties were never boring after meeting him.”

Spike said, “Funny thing is after that party was over, Celestia came to me and asked if I had fun and if I made any friends. I told her I made a friend and had fun and she smiled. It’s like she knew we would hit it off. Now that I think about it, it wouldn’t surprise me if she was watching us the whole time.” As Spike giggled he said, “I couldn’t wait for the next party to see Fancy again. One party turned into two and so on. Eventually, I met ponies like Hoity Toity, Photo Finish and Sapphire Shores, and we all became good friends. It got to the point where it felt like we were our own little party group inside of the parties we attended.”

“Oh my,” Rarity said with a smile, “So is that how Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis met then, at one of these parties?”

Fleur de Lis chuckled and said, “Hmmm. We did meet at a party, but at the time, I was there as Spike’s date.”

Rarity spat her drink out and coughed as she said, “WHAT!?!” 

As Spike looked at Rarity he said, “It’s not what you think, Rarity,” before glaring at Fleur de Lis and saying, “Why’d you have to go and say it like that, Fleur?”

Fleur de Lis giggled and said, “Well, it’s true. You did take me as your plus one after all,” before she looked at Rarity and said, “Sorry, darling, I was only having a bit of fun. While I do care dearly for Spike, I can assure you it is as a very good friend, nothing more.”

As Rarity wiped her mouth with a napkin she said, “Yes. Well, it is none of my business what Spike got up to in the past or who he may have dated.”

Spike chuckled as he looked at Rarity and said, “Rarity, I’ve never dated anyone else. You are the only pony for me. No one else comes close to you.”

As Rarity felt herself start to blush, Fleur de Lis giggled and said, “Awww. They’re so cute together. Wouldn’t you agree, dear?”

As Fancy Pants started to laugh along with Fleur de Lis, he said, “Indeed, I would, Fleur, my love.” Just then, a beeping could be heard and as Fancy Pants took out his pocket watch and opened it, the beeping stopped as he looked at the time and said, “Oh my. It seems we spent more time talking than I realized. Fleur my dear we’re going to have to go. Otherwise, we’re going to be late for our meeting.”

“Oh my. Please don’t let us keep you,” Rarity said as she smiled at Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis.

Fleur de Lis, on the other hoof, sat there and pouted as she looked at Fancy Pants and said, “But it’s not fair. We were just about to get to the good part of the story. Why did you have to drag your part out so much?” Just then she smiled and clapped her hooves together and said, “I know, Rarity. If you and Spike don’t have any plans for the rest of the day, why don’t you come with us?”

“Wha-? oh no. We couldn’t possibly impose on whatever you have planned,” Rarity said trying to be polite.

“Oh, don’t be silly. You wouldn’t be intruding. This way we can continue with our story. Besides, it’s just a meeting of The Society of the Emerald Mist,” Fleur de Lis said happily.

“Wha- what!?! The Society of the Emerald Mist is real? I mean I heard the rumors, of course,” Rarity then looked at Spike and said, “The Society of the Emerald Mist is meant to be like a secret society of the elite. But I thought it was just a rumor.”

As Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis start to laugh, Fleur de Lis said, “Oh, it’s nothing so grand, I assure you. So you want to come then?”

Rarity started to gasp and was at a loss for words. It was always part of her dream to be able to mingle and socialize with such elite ponies. That’s when Fancy Pants said something that blew her mind, “See? I told you calling it The Society of the Emerald Mist would make it sound mysterious and cool,” as he giggled and said, “You should come. After all, it’s been awhile since the founder of our little group has come to one of the meetings.”

Rarity looked as Spike face palmed and said, “Why did I let you convince me that was a good name?” As he shook his head.

“What!?!” Is all Rarity could say as they all looked at her before Fleur de Lis said, “Oh dear, I think we broke her,” with a giggle.

Spike sighed before saying, “Look, Rarity, it’s not what you think it is. In fact, you already know the rest of the group. Apart from us three here, there’s Hoity Toity, Photo Finish and Sapphire Shores. I told you before that I was never really good with big groups of ponies back in the day, but I got to know them and felt relaxed around them. Kind of like when I hang out with you and the girls. I made a passing remark at one of those parties about how it felt like we were our own little group, and next thing I know everyone’s coming up with names.” As Spike points at Fancy Pants, he said, “That’s when this one said ‘We should call ourselves The Society of the Emerald Mist.’ When I asked him how he came up with such a name, he said, ‘It matches your eyes, Spike. Besides, it sounds mysterious and cool.’ Next thing I know, everypony is agreeing to it and that’s how we formed the group. We don’t really do much. It’s more of an excuse for us all to catch up and hang out.” As Spike shrugs his shoulders, he said, “No idea how it became this rumor of a secret society for the elite though."

“I see,” Rarity said now back to her normal self. “No matter. If the invitation is still open, I think it would be a wonderful idea for us to go. It would give you a chance to see everypony again. By the sounds of it, it’s been awhile since you were all together.” As Rarity giggled she said, “Plus, I’m still dying to know how Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis met after all.”

“Excellent,” Fleur de Lis said with a smile as she stood up from the table and said, “Shall we go then? It’s at Fancy's hotel just down the street.” 

As they all started to walk down the street, Rarity looked at Spike and said, “Oh my, Spikey. And here I thought you said there were no more secrets you were keeping from me,” as she giggled.

As Spike blushed slightly and as he scratched his head, said, “Well, truth is I didn’t know that our little group had become some big secret. Honest. It just seemed like fun to have our own little group at the time. It really is nothing special. Just some friends spending time together.”

As Rarity smiled she said, “Well, I’m looking forward to it, my dear.” Just as she said that, they came to Fancy Pants’ hotel and Rarity couldn’t get over how big and luxurious it was as they walked inside.

As a member of staff walked up to Fancy Pants to greet him, he told Fancy that the other guest were already here and where waiting in his private room. As Fancy Pants nodded and thanked him, he walked over and behind the reception desk and took out a camera. He then took a quick photo of Spike, and then of Rarity, and handed it over to the staff member, saying “See that every hotel and resort gets a copy of these photos and updates the list, if you please.”

Spike stood there and said, “Oh come on, Fancy. I told ya before you don’t have to do that.”

Fancy Pants giggled and said, “Sorry. Too late. Already done. Besides, I needed an updated photo of you now you’ve grown bigger.”

As Rarity stood there a bit confused as to why Fancy Pants took her picture without asking, Fleur de Lis leaned over to her and whispered, “Every member of The Society of the Emerald Mist, gets to stay at any of Fancy's hotels or resorts free of charge and gets the best rooms whenever they want.” As she giggles, Fleur de Lis whispers, “Welcome to The Society of the Emerald Mist, Rarity.”

As Rarity looked a bit shocked at what Fleur de Lis just said. Fancy Pants walked back over smiling as he said, “What kind of friend would I be if I charged my friends for staying at one of my places?”

As Spike just stood there shaking his head and said, “What are you like? You know it’s not very good business to give rooms away so freely.”

Fancy Pants just smiled at Spike and said, “There’s more to life than making bits, my friends. You taught me that.” As he sees Spike just smiling back at him before saying, “Well we’ve kept the others waiting long enough. Shall we go?” As everyone starts walking down a corridor, Fancy Pants said, “I can’t wait to see the looks on everyone’s faces when you come walking in Spike,” as he giggled.

“Yeah, it seems like forever, since we were all last together. I can’t wait.” Spike said as he giggled along with Fancy Pants before they all came to a stop in front of a door.

As Fancy Pants pushes the door open and walks inside, he said, “Hey, guys. You’ll never guess who we brought with us,” as they all walk in.

The ponies in the room all looked to where Fancy Pants and the others are. As Sapphire Shores gets out of her chair with a smile and says, “My, my, Rarity. This is a surprise, hun,” before looking to the side of her and seeing a dragon standing next to her with a smile on his face.

As Sapphire Shores stands there staring at Spike, Spike said with a chuckle, “What’s the matter, Sappy? You always said I was cool looking. This too much for ya.”

Just then Sapphire Shores face lit up and as she looked at Spike, said, “Spike! Oh my Celestia, look at you!” She ran up to him and pulled him into a hug and said, “We all heard the rumor of you growing up, but I didn’t think you got this big.”

Spike chuckled as he hugged back and said, “Well, you know me, Sappy. If I’m gonna do something, might as well do it big. Right?”

Sapphire Shores breaks the hug as she chuckled and said, “You got that right.”

Just then, a bright flash went off as Photo Finish said, “Spike, you look amazing and so big and bold now. You must let me put you in my magazine.” As she went and gave him a hug, Photo Finish said, “I want the world to see the new you.”

After hugging back and giving Photo Finish a smile, Spike said, “Na, sorry, Photo. I’m not interested in seeing my ugly mug in print. But thanks, anyways.”

“I must say, Spike, my boy. You look magnificent,” Hoity Toity, said with a smile as he hugged Spike. “I’d say you’re about the same size as the princesses now from the looks of it.”

As Spike hugged back and said, “Yeah I am.” As he broke his hug with Hoity Toity, Spike grinned and said, “Only when I’m on all fours like a pony. If I stood up on my hind legs, I’d be much bigger.”

As Hoity Toity giggled, Fleur de Lis cleared her throat, gaining everyone’s attention as she smiled and said, “I trust everypony here knows Rarity. I would like you all to make her feel welcome as she is now the newest member of The Society of the Emerald Mist.” As everyone looks over to Rarity, a grin came onto Fleur de Lis’s face as she said, “And Spike’s marefriend.”

“WHAT!?!” Is all they could say as they all looked at Spike and Rarity. Seeing them both start to go red in the face, Photo Finish snapped another photo before saying, “A pony and a dragon in a relationship. I’ve never heard of such a thing.” As Photo Finish got right in Rarity’s face, she smiled and said, “You must allow me to put this in a magazine. Just think of how many ponies would love to hear this story. The Element of Generosity, hero to the masses and Spike the dragon, hero of the Crystal Empire, ambassador of Friendship to dragons and Changelings and number one assistant to the Princess of Friendship, in a relationship. The public will go wild for such a story.”

As Rarity took a step back a bit unsure of what to say, Sapphire Shores said, “Ok, Photo. That’s enough. You’re making the poor dear feel uncomfortable,” as she pushed Photo Finish away from Rarity a bit.

“Indeed, dear. Besides, you know the rules of our little club. No talking work allowed when we are together like this,” Hoity Toity said, giving Photo Finish a serious look.

As Photo stood there for a moment to compose herself, she looked at Hoity Toity and said, “I know the rules,” before sighing and looking at Rarity and Spike with a sad smile and saying, “Sorry. I guess I got caught up in the moment.”

Spike had a little giggle and said, “It’s ok, Photo. It’s understandable. It’s big news to find out that a pony and a dragon are dating. But if it’s all the same, I’d rather not have it plastered in every magazine and paper in Equestria.”

As Rarity put a hoof on Spike’s shoulder, she smiled at Photo Finish and said, “It’s not that we mind anyone knowing, it’s just we would rather not get mobbed in the streets by everypony that wants to see us and ask questions. But I can assure you, if and when we decide to go public to the world, you my dear, will be the first one we come to. I can think of nopony else who I would want to write our story.”

Photo Finish smiled and said, “It’s a deal.”

As Fancy Pants smiled and started to walk over to a fridge, he said, “Now that’s all sorted, how about we all take a seat. I’ve got some nice wine in the fridge, I think now’s the perfect time to crack it open.”

As everyone smiles and nods their head in agreement, they all take a seat around a table. As Rarity takes a seat next to Spike, she asks, “So, what do you all do in The Society of the Emerald Mist? I mean, if the rumors are to be believed, then The Society of the Emerald Mist is run by the elite of the elite and are helping Equestria thrive from the shadows.”

Hearing Rarity say that makes everyone burst out into laughter before Fancy Pants places a glass of wine in front of her and the others before taking a seat, “Though some rumors turn out to be true,” he said as he smiled at Rarity. “The truth is The Society of the Emerald Mist is just this. We all lead very busy lives and have to keep up appearances, and because of that, we never really get time to just relax and be ourselves. But when Spike pointed out how much fun we all had together at a party. It occurred to us that when we were together we didn’t have to pretend or worry about what any pony thought about us. So after coming up with the name, we made this little club where we could just relax and have fun with our friends. That is what The Society of the Emerald Mist is. It’s nothing grand like you may have thought. Just some friends catching up and spending time together.”

“Indeed. Don’t get me wrong. I love my work, but when everypony is always watching you or waiting to see what you’re going do next, it’s a lot of pressure. So, getting together like this and just hanging out helps us unwind. That’s why we have the rule about not talking about work when we get together like this.” Hoity Toity said as he smiled at Rarity.

“Talking of, it’s been a long time since we were all together like this, thanks to some dragon running off to Ponyville and getting caught up in his work,” Sapphire Shores said as she smirked at Spike.

“Yeah, sorry, guys. I guess I got caught up in my work. I always planned to come back more and visit. Honest. Even when you sent me the invites to come and join you, I wanted too, but I was busy. I’m sorry it’s taken so long to come visit,” Spike said as he rubbed the back of his head with a bit of a sad chuckle.

“Oh, pay no mind to what she said, Spike,” Fleur de Lis said with a smile, before saying, “We all understood how important your work was as Twilight Sparkle's assistant and how serious you took your responsibilities. It’s nothing you have to apologize for.” As Fleur de Lis puts her arm on the table and rest her head in her hoof, she smirked at Spike and Rarity and said, “Besides, it looks like work wasn’t all you were doing. You always did have an eye for beauty. Considering how you worried about finding someone, I’d say you did more than ok for yourself. After all, you managed to snag quite the beauty indeed.” 

As Rarity and Spike both sat there going bright red after hearing Fleur de Lis say that. Photo Finish said, “Awww, how cute. You made them blush,” before everyone else started to giggle at the cute couple.

As Fancy Pants finished giggling he said, “Well, considering it has been awhile since all of us have been together, I think a toast is in order, and I think it only fair that Spike gives it.”

As the blush comes off Spike’s face, he said, “Really? Come on. Why does it have to be me?”

As Fancy Pants smiles back at Spike, he said, “Because you’re the one that made this little club. And besides it’s only fair since you’ve been gone for so long.”

Spike sighed and gave in as he saw all the others nodding happily in agreement with what Fancy Pants was saying. “Fine,” Spike said as he picked up his glass and said, “May you live as long as you like and have all you like as long as you live. My heart is as full as my glass when I drink to you, my old friends. Cheers.”

“Cheers!” everyone said in unison before taking a sip of wine. As Rarity placed her glass back down she looked at Spike and said, “That was beautiful, Spikey,” making him go a bit red in the cheeks.

“Yep. That dragon has always had a way with words,” Sapphire Shores said with a smile, gaining Rarity’s attention as she continued, “Spike here has written some of my songs for me in the past. I know everypony thinks I write my own stuff, and I do, but I hit a bit of a wall back in the day and Spike here gave me a hoof, or I guess in his case a claw.” As Sapphire Shores giggled, she said, “He was a true friend, but he refused to take credit and said that I should just tell ponies that I wrote the songs.”

Spike giggled and said, “What can I say? I was just helping a friend. Besides, I may have written one or two of those songs but you brought them to life. It helped me in my music studies anyways, so the way I see it, it’s a win-win for both of us.”

“Same old Spike,” Sapphire Shores said as she shook her head with a smile as she took another sip from her glass.

Rarity turned to look at Spike and said, “You said before that you wrote some songs, but you never said they were for Sapphire Shores, Spike.”

Spike giggled and said, “Well yeah. How else did you expect them to play my songs on the radio if it wasn’t for a well known singer.”

Rarity sat there a bit shocked for a moment, as everyone started to chatter away before Photo Finish snapped her out of it by saying, “I guess this makes Rarity the newbie of the group now. Congratulations, Fleur de Lis,” as she chuckled.

Fleur de Lis giggled a long with Photo Finish as she said, “It’s about time too.”

“Wait, you were the newest member before today?” Rarity asked as she looked at Fleur de Lis.

“Oh that’s right. I almost forgot. I was telling you before we came here how I and Fancy met. Well, to be more precise, I was about to tell you.” Fleur de Lis said with a giggle.

“Oh, you were telling Rarity how you guys met? I always love this story,” Photo Finish said with a smile as everyone stopped talking to listen to Fleur de Lis.

Fleur de Lis smiled and said, “Where did we get too? Oh, yes. Fancy Pants had just told you how he and Spike met, and how this bunch of clowns soon became friends with one another and made The Society of the Emerald Mist.”

As Fleur de Lis sits there trying to work out what to say. She smiled at Rarity and said, “You know I’m a model, right?” As Fleur de Lis sees Rarity nodding in answer to her question, she giggled and said, “Would it surprise you to learn that I started out as a cleaner at Canterlot Castle before I became a model?”

“WHAT!?!” Rarity said in surprise, as everyone giggled a bit, before Rarity cleared her throat to regain herself and said, “Sorry. It just took me by surprise a little. I had no idea that you were a cleaner before you modeled.”

As Fleur de Lis giggled she said, “That’s fine. I guess its old news nowadays, but yeah, before I modeled I helped clean the castle. I wasn’t born into bits. I’m as common as they come.” 

“Please, there’s nothing common about you,” Fancy Pants said as he smiled at Fleur de Lis, making her blush as she smiled back at him and said, “Why thank you, my love.” 

As they both just sat there smiling at each other, Hoity Toity cleared his throat and said, “When you both stop staring into each other’s eyes, I’m sure Rarity would like to hear the rest of the story sometime this year.” Making the others giggle as Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis snap out of their own little world.

Laughing in embarrassment Fleur de Lis said, “Right. Sorry. Where was I? Any way like I was saying, my dad passed away when I was young, so it was just me and my mom. She was a hard worker, but as I got older I wanted to help more, so I started doing odd jobs wherever I could to help pay the bills. She was against it at first, but I won her over in the end. As time went on, I managed to get a job as a cleaner at Canterlot Castle. That’s where I met Spike.”

As Fleur de Lis giggled, she said, “In fact, it was on my first day on the job. I thought I was going to get fired for sure till he saved me.”

Spike laughed and said, “Please I didn’t do anything.”

“Oh, that’s not how I remember it,” Fleur de Lis said with a smile as she looked at Spike before saying, “It was my first day and the head cleaning maid told me I had to clean a whole corridor by myself and that she would be back later to inspect my work. Worked out fine for me as that mare had a stick up her backside. Anyway, I started cleaning and I guess I got lost in my own thought because before I knew it, I had ripped one of the tapestries hanging on the wall and as I heard hoof steps coming closer I started to panic, I thought this was it. Not only would I get fired but I’d have to pay to get it fixed and it looked really, really expensive. I collapsed to the floor and started to cry, when from out of nowhere I heard, ‘What’s the matter, did you hurt yourself?' and 'Are you ok?’ When I opened my eyes, I saw a little baby dragon standing in front of me, worried that I had hurt myself.”

Fleur de Lis takes a sip from her glass and just stares at it on the table for a moment before saying, “Of course, the head maid had told me there was a baby dragon living at the castle, but she said that I wasn’t to talk to it or pay it any attention at all. She said it wouldn’t be a smart idea to go against that rule.” As Fleur de Lis looked up from her glass she looked at Spike and gave him a warm, yet sad smile, before saying, “I thought at the time, this is it, I’m definitely going to get fired now. As I sat there with this baby dragon looking at me, I couldn’t work out why the head maid had said to stay away from him. His eyes looked so kind and scared for me.” As Fleur de Lis sees Spike giving her a warm smile, she said, “The next thing I know, I’m crying my eyes out to this dragon who I didn’t even know about what happened. Then just like in a nightmare I heard more hoof steps coming and began to panic all over again. That’s when the little dragon giggled and said, ‘Don’t worry about it. I got ya covered.’” 

Fleur de Lis giggled and said, “The next thing I know, he’s setting the tapestry on fire and in a quick panic I threw the bucket of water on it to put it out and just as I was about to ask him what he was thinking, the head maid showed up demanding to know what was going on.” Fleur de Lis sighed and said, “I thought I was through this time when the little dragon stepped forward and said, ‘It was my fault, I was practicing my fire breathing and the tapestry caught on fire. This pony acted really quickly and was able to put it out with the water.’ I was in shock at what he just said, as the head main looked at me and said, ‘I see. We made the right choice picking you as a new cleaner here. You can go take a break, but if you wouldn’t mind cleaning this up before you go though, I would appreciate it.’ Before glaring at Spike with such hatred in her eyes and saying, ‘I thought you were told about using that fire breath of yours in the castle dragon,’ she then lowered her head to his eye level and said, ‘If this happens again, I will personally go to the princess and have her chain you up and throw you in a cage. After all, it’s where all good monsters belong.’” At this point, Fleur de Lis had a disgusted look on her face as she said, “To this day, just thinking about what she said makes me sick.”

Just then Spike started to giggle, which surprised everyone and as they all looked at him, he said, “Hey, don’t let it bother you. I don’t. Besides if that never happened then we may never have become friends, right?”

As Fleur de Lis looked at Spike and smiled, she said, “I suppose you’re right,” before taking a breath and saying, “So there I was, the head maid had said what she needed and left. It was just me and this little dragon, which was just standing there smiling at me. I couldn’t get over the fact that he was smiling at me after hearing such things said to him, so I asked him, “Why did you do that? It's clear to anypony that she doesn’t like you. I don’t even know you and yet you lied to help me keep my job.’” Fleur de Lis giggled as she looked at Spike and said, “After I said that, he looked offended and said, ‘Twi said that I should always try to help a pony in need. It’s just the right thing to do and you looked like you needed help.’ As I watched him fold his little arms and puff out his chest, he said, ‘Besides, I didn’t lie. I did set that tapestry on fire and you did put it out. It’s not my fault that that stick in the mud head maid didn’t bother to ask any more questions.’”

Fleur de Lis chuckled as she said, “I couldn't help but laugh at how cute he looked standing there all proud of himself for being able to pull off his little plan. As I got up off the floor, I thanked him and we introduced ourselves. I told him that he had to let me repay him somehow, but he refused. That’s when he got this smirk on his face and said, ‘Well, there is something you could do to help me. There’s this new recipe that Chef Walnut has just taught me and I’d like to try it. So, if you aren’t doing anything tomorrow on your break, would you like to try it for me? It’s ok if you don’t want to. You don’t have to.’ How could I say no to that, the little guy had just saved my job and all he wanted was somepony to try his food?”

“The next thing I know, a look of fear came over his face as he started to run off down the corridor, saying something about if he’s late for hoof to hoof combat training again. Princess Celestia said she would make him work twice as hard. As he took off waving and shouting back that I should be more careful from now on and that he’ll see me tomorrow.” Fleur de Lis said as she giggled. 

“And so I met up with him the following day and we had lunch in the Royal Garden where he told me that he was Twilight’s number one assistant and just what sort of work he did. I was a little confused why he asked me to try the food and not her, but he just said that he needed somepony to try it first before he let her eat it. He said it had to be perfect for her.” Fleur de Lis said before taking another sip from her glass. “After that, we started spending more time together. I even taught him some cleaning tricks I had picked up over time. Some of the staff still told me to stay away from him and the head maid would chew me out from time to time, but I didn’t care. It was fun spending time with him. As time went on, he would sometimes help me clean a room as he worked on his studies, even going so far as to help other members of staff. Some were reluctant at first, but he won them over in the end. I think the overall atmosphere of the castle changed for the better after that.”

As Fleur de Lis looked around the room, before looking at Spike and smiling, she said, “To this day, I still don’t know how you managed to spend time with me and do all your work for Twilight, on top of your studies. The work you did would take at least five ponies to do, and yet you did it all by yourself. In fact, I remember every time I asked why you did so much you would always give the same answer. You do it for her because she deserves the best and how could you call yourself her number one assistant if you couldn’t help her when she needed it, even if it was something as simple as keeping a room clean.”

As Fleur de Lis watched Spike start to go a bit red in the face, she smiled and said, “You really are the most magical creature I have ever met, Spike and there’s not a day goes by that I don’t thank Celestia that I ripped that tapestry and met you that day. Any way, like I was saying, we started to have lunch together quite a bit and I guess it became part of our normal routine.”

Fleur de Lis giggled and said, “One day though, Spike was running a bit late so, why I waited in the garden for him. I started to read a magazine with such beautiful mares dressed in such fabulous gowns and started to read an article about some grand party that the elites would attend. I guess I got lost in it because I didn’t even notice Spike standing behind me. He scared me half to death, but when I noticed him staring at the page I had open he said, ‘Hmmm, hey Fleur, you said you were working here to help your mom pay the bills so she didn’t have to work so hard, right?’ Now of course over time I had told Spike why I was working there, so I was a bit confused why he would ask such a question.”

As Fleur de Lis looked at Spike and grinned, she said, “He kept looking back and forth between me and the magazine before he said, ‘Now don’t get me wrong, the mares in this magazine are pretty, but I think you’re more beautiful than any of them.’ Of course, this made me go a bit red in the face. I mean Spike was saying I was better looking than the models. Me, a simple commoner.” As Fleur de Lis giggled she said, “Poor little Spike started to panic and felt my forehead, the little dear had no idea I was blushing. He thought I was coming down with the flu.”

As everyone started to snicker and giggle. Spike face palmed and shook his head as Fleur de Lis stopped giggling she said, “I had to explain to him that I wasn’t sick and that I was just embarrassed by the compliment he gave me. For all the amazing things he could do, it was easy to forget sometimes that he was still young and still had things to learn. That’s when he told me his friend was the one who wrote the magazine and started to tell me about this lot and their secret little club.”

Fleur de Lis leaned back in her chair and said, “Because of how laid back he is and how easy it was to talk to him, it was easy to forget just who he was and how connected to the world of the elite ponies he truly was. I didn’t think any more on the matter because honestly it didn’t matter to me. We were friends. That’s all I cared about, so we had our lunch and he told me more about his other friends as we enjoyed our time together just like we always did.”

Spike sighed and said, “I guess this part of the story would make more sense coming from me.” As Fleur de Lis smiled at him, Rarity and the others looked at him, as Spike continued, “I was at yet another party. By the way, just saying, but I think we have too many parties at the castle,” making some of the others giggle before he said, “Though I guess I shouldn’t complain. It gave me more time to hang out with you guys. Anyway, I was at another party with this lot and we were enjoying ourselves just like we always did when we were together. When a pony proposed to another, of course, she said yes and everypony started to congratulate them. I guess I was still too young then. I just didn’t see the point in all this marriage and romance stuff.”

Spike gave a sad smile before he said, “Of course, Fancy Pants and the others went on about when I grew up, I’d understand. Saying things like, ‘When you meet that special somepony, it changes you for the better and you want nothing more than to be able to spend the rest of your lives together.’ You know, that sort of stuff. I think that was really the first time since I was hatched that I truly realized how different from ponies I was.” As Rarity placed her hoof in Spike's claw, she looked at him and gave him a warm smile. He smiled and took a breath before he said, “I remember looking at all my friends happy smiling faces as they were telling me all this and saying, ‘I think I get it now. When you find that special somepony, you want to spend your life with them and be happy. But what pony would want me as a special somepony? I’m not even a pony. I’m a dragon. A monster.’ The next thing I knew, I’m being smacked around the face and Photo Finish is staring at me with such anger in her eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look like that before or since,” he finished with a weak chuckle.

Photo Finish lifted up her glasses to look at Spike and said, “You deserved it for what you said.”

Spike smiled back and said, “So there I was holding my cheek as Photo Finish was glaring at me and everyone else was just shocked into silence at what just happened, I remember her pulling me into a hug and holding me as she said, ‘You are one of the most hard working, kindest, and gentlest creatures I have ever met. If anyone deserves to find happiness and love, it’s you. I don’t want to ever hear you call yourself a monster again because that is something you could never be.’ As I hugged her back and cried, I remember this lot trying to cheer me up by saying, ‘Hey the worlds a bigger place than Canterlot. Who knows? The right pony, dragon, or whatever could be out there, waiting just for you.’” As Spike chuckled he looked at Rarity and smiled as he said, “Turns out these guys were right. Who knew?” 

As Rarity started to go red in the face, she said, “Oh, Spikey-wikey,” before leaning in and kissing him on the cheek as the others started to laugh, before Spike said, “The thing is after that party, Celestia got me to do one of her midnight sweet runs to the kitchen and, of course, Hazel Walnut found me and hit me over the head with his ladle.” As everyone started to snicker, Spike smiled and said, “But this dragon always completes his mission and I managed to get her some sweets.”

As Spike takes a sip from his glass, Fancy Pants goes around the table topping everyone’s glasses up, as Spike smiles and says, “After delivering her the goods, I thought that was it, but she asked me if I was ok. You see, it turns out that she noticed that something had happened at the party and wanted to know what was going on. So, I told her what happened and, of course she was pretty much saying the same sorts of things as this lot, only more princessy. When I told her that I’d upset Photo Finish and explained what I said to do such a thing, I remember just looking up at her. I remember how sad she looked. Even though I could tell she was trying to smile, it was like she was about to burst into tears after hearing what I had said and she just hugged me like Photo Finish did. But even though it was the same, it felt different. It was warmer. Safe, even.”

As Spike looked around the room seeing all his friends smiling at him, he gave them a warm smile and said, “After a while, we broke our hug and just stood there in silence, until Celestia said, ‘Spike, as you know, we have a big event coming up next week and I want you to bring somepony with you.’ Now, of course, I was about to say I’ll bring Twi. Celestia knows she could do with getting her head out of the books for a change or maybe even Blueblood. It would make a change to have him come to one of these parties.” As his friends giggled, Spike said, “But she stopped me before I had a chance to say anything and said there were some rules. It had to be a mare. It couldn’t be Twilight or Cadance and it couldn’t be any of my friends that I hung out with at these parties.”

As Spike giggled he said, “Obviously, I was confused as to why she would set such rules and even asked who I was meant to bring then, she just giggled and said I’d have to figure it out myself. She said she would even sweeten the deal by giving me some of her personal gems that she kept in her room as a reward for finding somepony to come with me. So I spent most of the next day thinking of somepony I could bring and as I was making my way over to Fleur de Lis in the garden for our usual meet up, I saw her lost in thought reading another one of Photo Finish's magazines.”

As Spike smiled he said, “How did I not think of it before? I knew a mare that wasn’t on the list of ponies I couldn’t bring already, so I asked Fleur de Lis if she wanted to go with me.”

Fleur de Lis started to laugh and said, “I had no idea what took place at that party at the time or of the rules Celestia had placed on Spike for bringing somepony with him.” As Fleur de Lis stopped laughing and smiled, she said, “I was just sitting there reading a magazine waiting for him, when Spike showed up. He had this happy little smile on his face as we started to eat our lunch and chatted away. He asked me if I liked reading those magazines and I told him that I loved the dresses the mares wore and the whole idea of being dressed up and going to such fancy parties seemed like something out of fairy tales. That’s when he said, ‘There’s this big party going on next week. You want to come with me?’” Fleur de Lis giggled and said, “He asked me so casually that it took me by surprise. I even had to ask him again just to make sure I heard him right."

Fleur de Lis smiled at Spike, then at Rarity and said, “I didn’t know what to think I mean, sure, I cared for Spike, a lot, but not in the romantic way. So I told him that and even tried to give him a smile to break it to him as best I could.” Just then, Spike started to snicker, as Fleur de Lis scowled at him before having a little giggle and said, “That’s when I noticed him looking at me funny and so I asked, ‘Aren’t you asking me to be your date for the party?’ To which he looked at me and said, ‘Date: a social meeting planned before it happens, especially one between two creatures who have or might have a romantic relationship.’”

Spike laughed and said, “After that party, I started to read up more about romance and I may have just finished reading the dictionary definition of the word date before I met up with Fleur de Lis.”

As everyone started to giggle, Rarity said, “I guess that’s what happens when you live with Twilight,” making everyone laugh even more.

Fleur de Lis stopped laughing as she said, “So there I was looking confused at what Spike had just said, when he said, ‘No, I mean yes. I’m asking you to come with me to this party but not as a date. I mean, I think you look beautiful and all, but I was asking you to come as my friend, I thought it may be nice if you would come with me and meet some of my other friends. I’d ask Twi, but Celestia said it had to be some mare other than Twi and Cadance, so you were the only other one I could think of.’”

Fleur de Lis takes a drink from her glass as she said, “Needless to say, I felt a bit embarrassed jumping to the conclusion that Spike was asking me out on a date, but after we had a good giggle about it, he was still waiting for my answer. Truth is, I was flattered that he would ask somepony like me and as much as I would have loved to have gone, I didn’t think I would fit in there. I’d feel like an outcast amongst the elite. I told him as much and he just laughed and said, ‘It’s ok. I don’t think I fit in there much myself. Apart from the few friends I have at these sorts of things, I don’t really like going to them. I’m not a fan of big crowds after all, so you should come. We can be outcast together,’ he said with a happy face. How could I say no?" Fleur de Lis said.

“So after agreeing to go with him, we planned to meet up in the garden and he would take me from there, to the party,” Fleur de Lis said before she started to giggle and said, “But like any good mare, it hit me that I had nothing good to wear. I mean, I couldn’t just go in any old dress. This was a party for the elite and I’d stick out like a nail on a piece of wood. That’s when Spike said not to worry about it. He said he’ll take care of getting me a dress to wear just as long as I gave him my measurements. Of course, I didn’t like the idea of him going to all that trouble for me, but he insisted, saying that this was his idea and I should just enjoy myself. So, I reluctantly gave up my measurements and went on with our day.”

As Fleur de Lis sat there smiling, she said, “The week just flew by and the next thing I knew, I was standing in the garden waiting for Spike. When he turned up, he ushered me into a changing room where I put on the most beautiful white dress I’d ever seen in my life. I couldn’t believe it. It fit perfectly and it was like it was made for me. I even remember asking him how he could of afforded such a dress, but the little devil just smiled and said he knew some ponies. After that, we made our way to the party. We walked in and it felt like everypony was staring at us. I started to get uncomfortable and wished I never said yes. As I looked at Spike, though, he had such a happy smile on his face. It was like he couldn’t see all the ponies staring and started to wave at a little group of ponies at a table. So, he escorted me over to them all.” 

As Spike smiled he said, “I didn’t care about the other ponies in the room. I had gotten used to them staring at me all the time after all. All I wanted to do was introduce Fleur to my friends. So, of course, they all introduced themselves to her and vice versa. I think they were more shocked at me bringing someone, as it’s not something I’d done in the past. So, I told everypony what Celestia wanted me to do and that I couldn’t be happier that Fleur had agreed to come with me.”

Fleur de Lis giggled and said, “I was a bit shell shocked at first. I mean, Spike had told me about his friends, but there I was standing and talking to some of the most well-known and biggest names in Equestria. I almost fainted when I saw Sapphire Shores and I was a big fan of Photo Finish’s magazine. That’s when Fancy asked me what I did for a living and how I met Spike.” As Fleur de Lis smiled she said, “I knew this was going to happen and I was worried that once they found out I was just a cleaner they would look at me differently. Maybe even start to mock me for not being from the elite world and all. Before I had a chance to say anything, Spike jumped in and told them all I was a cleaner, how we met and became friends.”

Fleur de Lis looked around at her friends and smiled as she said, “Not one of them laughed or made fun of me. In fact, they treated me just like I belonged there. I felt terrible for thinking the worst of them, even going so far as to apologize, which of course they all got a good laugh out of. We all seemed to hit it off and as I was talking to Photo Finish, I told her how much I loved her magazine and she even offered to send me the next one in advance and sign it for me. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to talk to them all. It was just like I’d known them for years. That’s when Photo Finish told me she was having some problems at work. Something about a model not being able to make it to her next shoot on the weekend and Hoity Toity had a new line of dresses for the magazine he wanted to show off.” As Fleur de Lis and the others started to smile, she looked at Rarity and said, “Can you guess what happened next?”

“They asked you to model the dresses for the magazine shoot and that’s how you became a model,” Rarity said with a smile, confident that her answer was right.

Fleur de Lis giggled and said, “Close, but not quite.” As she looked over at Spike and smiled she said, “A certain little dragon jumped forward, saying that I could model for the shoot. He said that I would be perfect for the job since I already looked like a model. Of course, I tried to object to it as I started to get embarrassed. As I stood there with them all looking at me, Fancy said, ‘Yes. Well, she most certainly looks radiant enough to be a model.’” Fleur de Lis giggled and said as she looked at Fancy Pants, “You looked so cute then, with that red face of yours,” making Fancy Pants blush as she said, “Yes. That’s the look,” making the others giggle.

“Of course, Photo Finish jumped at the chance and begged me to help her out. I even tried to get out of it by saying I didn’t know the first thing about modeling. But I don’t know if you’ve noticed, she can be a hard mare to say no to.” Fleur de Lis said as she giggled. “So in the end, I agreed to help them out. Hoity Toity even said it wouldn’t be a problem changing the dresses to fit since he already had my measurements. At this point it hit me; when Spike said he knew ponies that could help me out with a dress, he meant Hoity Toity. I felt like such a fool. Here I was standing with the pony that had made such a beautiful dress for me and I hadn’t even thanked him for it. So I did just that, at which point he looked at me confused before saying that he didn’t make the dress. He just changed it so it would fit the pony Spike gave him the measurements for.”

As Spike sat there giggling, Fleur couldn’t help but smile as she said, “There we stood, both confused as to where Spike had gotten this dress. That’s when he said with a smile on his face, ‘Oh yeah. That dress? Well, I don’t really make any bits, but I knew you needed a nice dress for tonight, so I took one of Celestia’s and had Hoity Toity change it to fit you. It suits you by the way.’ I couldn’t believe what he had just said. I was wearing one of the princess’s dresses. The next thing I heard was a voice from behind us say, ‘I couldn’t agree more, Spike.’ The color drained from my face at that moment. I knew that voice. We all did. As we all turned around there stood Princess Celestia. As we all bowed to her, I started to panic and tried to apologize. I tried to explain that I had no idea it was her dress. At which point she just smiled and said, ‘It’s ok my little pony. Spike explained that he was bringing a friend with him tonight and that she didn’t have anything to wear, so I told him to help himself. I must say you wear it well. I do hope you don’t mind wearing my hoof me downs, dear.”

As Fleur de Lis laughed, she said, “Of course, I started to panic and told her I didn’t mind and thanked her for the dress. Celestia, being the pony she is, just stood there and smiled, whilst Spike just giggled at how I was overreacting. It really was like being in some kind of fairy tale. The poor working class pony suddenly mixing with the elite. I felt like I was dreaming. I even had the princess dress to prove it.” As Fleur de Lis had a drink from her glass she looked at Spike with a smile and said, “I remember Princess Celestia telling Spike that he seemed to have an eye for picking out the right clothes for the right pony. How did she say it again? ‘You seem to have an eye for finding beauty, Spike.’” As Fleur de Lis placed her arm on the table and rested her head in her hoof, she looked at Rarity and grinned before saying, “I couldn’t agree more with that statement.”

This made Rarity blush as Spike sat there rubbing the back of his head with a red face, as he said, “Dragons have always had a keen eye for finding beautiful things.” As Spike looks at Rarity, he said, “But our greatest treasures we always keep closest to us.”

As Rarity’s face got even redder. She quickly gulped some of her drink down as the others watched on and giggled. Fleur de Lis sat back up and after she finished laughing said, “I remember that night was so magical. Sapphire had to go mingle with some other ponies at the party, which is why Princess Celestia came over in the first place. So Hoity Toity and Photo Finish hit the dance floor, making it just Spike, Fancy, and me who were left. So I asked Spike if he wanted to dance and he said he couldn’t dance, which I thought was strange at first as I knew he was taking dance lessons along with so many others. That’s when he told me that even though his dance instructor said he was a good dancer, he wasn’t big enough to support a full grown mare’s weight and he could only dance with fillies around his own height. So, during dance class he had to dance with the teacher's daughter.”

As Fleur de Lis smiled, she said, “The next thing I knew, Fancy here was offering to dance with me. I felt bad at the idea of leaving Spike alone, but he insisted that I go enjoy myself with Fancy. He said something about being hungry and going to hit the food table before he left us alone. So, I ended up dancing with Fancy for what felt like hours that night. In the end, we all spent that night chatting away and enjoying ourselves, and I made some of the best friends I’ve ever had that night. After the party was over, Spike and I were walking back to the changing room and I was telling Spike that I was still unsure about being a model for Photo Finish on the weekend, but he said I had nothing to worry about. He assured me that Photo Finish and Hoity Toity would take care of me and even Fancy Pants was going to be there just to make sure I was ok. He even went as far as to say that it worked out great as I would be getting paid a lot more for modeling than I do for cleaning the castle. I mean don’t get me wrong, the pay was good at the castle, but I couldn’t argue with the fact I’d be getting more bits for the modeling job and the fact I got to see Fancy again sealed the deal for me.”

After saying that, Fleur de Lis’s smile left her face as she said, “That’s when we ran into her." As Rarity looked at Fleur de Lis, she could feel the change in the atmosphere, as Fleur de Lis continued with venom in her voice, “The head maid. I don’t even remember where she came from, she just showed up in front of us. As she stood there glaring at me she said, ‘Miss Fleur de Lis, I don’t know what you are thinking, but let me set you straight on a few things right now. You do not belong with them. You are a cleaner, a servant. It is your job to serve ponies like that, not mingle and act above your station. Just because you put on a pretty dress doesn’t take away the fact you are a commoner, ponies like you should know your place. I’m not trying to say this to be mean; rather I’m saying this to help you. Those ponies aren’t your friends; you were simply entertainment for them tonight.’” As Fleur de Lis took a sip from her glass, she said, “I was about to say something when Spike got in-between us and said, ‘That’s not true. They are her friends and she does belong. I invited her to that party,’ that’s when the head maid turned her eyes to Spike."

As Fleur de Lis looked down at the table with anger in her eyes, she said, “The head maid started to giggle at Spike and said, ‘I should have known you had something to do with this, dragon. What, do you think they are your friends? Don’t tell me you actually think you belong with them? Do you think you're one of us?! Don’t make me laugh.’’ As she lowered her head to be in eye sight with Spike, she started to poke him and said, ‘You will never belong here! You are not a pony. You are nothing. No, I take that back. You are less than nothing. You’re a mons-‘ I’d heard enough out of her mouth and the only way I could shut her up was a good old-fashioned slap.”

Spike laughed and said, “You could hear the echo of that slap all the way down the corridor.” As Fleur de Lis looked up and smiled at Spike, she said, “Oh, please you’re exaggerating. But I won’t lie, it felt good to shut her up,” Fleur de Lis said with a giggle. Spike laughed and said, “It was even better to see.”

As Fleur de Lis looked at Rarity, she could see she had a bit of a sad smile on her face and wanted to say something. So Fleur de Lis said, “After I slapped her, I got in her face and told her what I do in my own time and who I associated with is my business, making sure she understood that if she ever laid a hoof on my friend or even so much as looked at him in a way I didn’t like, that the next time she wouldn’t be getting off with a slap.” As she saw Rarity smile at hearing that, Fleur de Lis laughed and said, “After I said that she just backed up and ran off, but I think she got the message.” This made everyone else burst into laughter.

Fleur de Lis took another drink from her glass and said, “After she left, I turned to look at Spike to make sure he was ok, and he was just stood there as still as a statue, looking down at his claws. I remember calling out to him and asking if he was ok, but he didn’t say anything. I laid down on the floor next to him and told him not to listen to anything the head maid just said and after a few more minutes of silence I asked him, ‘Why didn’t you stop her from poking at you? I’ve heard some of the royal guards talking about how impressed they were at how well you handle yourself in hoof to hoof combat, in passing. You could of stopped her at anytime right, so why didn’t you?’”

Fleur de Lis looked at Spike and gave him a warm smile as she said, “That question seemed to get a response, because as he looked at me, he said, ‘Yes. I could have stopped her. It would have been so easy, but if I did that then everything she said and thought about me would have been true.’ As I laid there looking at him with tears forming in the corner of his eyes, he smiled at me and said, ‘I may not be a pony, but I belong here. Thank you for being my friend.’ It was breaking my heart to see him like that, so I pulled him into a hug and we just laid there as he cried and I said that he didn’t need to thank me. I told him I couldn’t have asked for a greater friend. I don’t know how long we stayed like that, but after awhile we made our way to the changing rooms. He even tried to apologize for ruining my night and I quickly assured him that he did no such thing before we went on our merry way.”

As Fleur de Lis leaned back in her chair, she said, “Life after that was great. I did the photo shoot on that weekend and Fancy even took me out to dinner to celebrate. Photo Finish kept her word and sent me a signed copy of the new magazine, with me on its cover of all things. My mom flipped out,” Fleur de Lis said as she giggled. “I still have it to this day. It’s in a frame mounted on my wall.” Fleur de Lis smiled as she looked up at the ceiling and said, “I never had so much fun before. I loved working as a model for that weekend and went on and on about it to Spike when we had our lunch meet-ups. It turns out that Photo Finish wanted me to do more modeling for her and Hoity Toity said he had some great ideas for some new dresses he wanted me to try. Spike would sit there listening to me and he told me I should go for it. I told him that I couldn’t because I still had my work to do as a cleaner at the castle. He came up with an idea of just doing it on the weekend and after talking it over with Photo Finish, she agreed. So, I started to model on the weekend and clean in the week, looking forward to being able to tell Spike all about it at our lunches. Fancy would come to every shoot and we would always spend time together in between shoots or after I was finished.” Fleur de Lis looked around the room at her friends and gave them a sad smile, before she said, “That’s when it happened. The weekend was over and I was making my way to the main doors of the castle excited to tell Spike about my latest shoot, when the guards at the door wouldn’t let me in. They knew I worked there. They’d seen me every weekday. That's when a pony came out of the castle and told me I was fired for slapping the head maid, and that violence of any kind would not be tolerated at the castle. I tried to explain what had happened and even begged him to at least let me say goodbye to Spike, but he wouldn’t have any of it. I was heartbroken. I didn’t know what to do. I ended up at Fancy’s place and breaking down in his arms as I told him what had happened.”

Fleur de Lis smiled at Spike and said, “I hated the idea of never being able to see my friend anymore. I spent days trying to get into the castle and even asking why they had waited so long to fire me, but it was no good. I was moping about my house one day when Fancy showed up at my door with a smile. He said that there was a way for me to see Spike again and held out two tickets for a party at the castle and asked if I would go as his date.” Fleur de Lis giggled and said, “I was so happy, not only because me and Fancy had started to become closer but I would be able to see Spike again. So, of course, I said yes.”

As Fleur de Lis laughed she said, “It felt so weird walking through the castle again. It hadn’t been that long, yet it felt strange. I made my way into the party with Fancy at my side and as we spotted our friends. We made our way over to them, but I couldn’t see Spike anywhere. Just as I was about to ask them where Spike was, I heard a voice from behind me say, ‘Looking for someone?’ As I turned around there he stood smiling at me as he said, ‘Hi, Fleur. Been awhile. How ya been?’ I remember I pulled him into a hug and started to blubber like a filly as I tried to explain that I was fired and they wouldn’t let me back in the castle to see him. He hugged me back and giggled. Then he said, ‘Yeah, I know. I saw you every time from the window.’”

As Fleur de Lis looked at Spike she said, “I was confused at what he said and asked that if he saw me, then why didn't he call out to me or come see me. That’s when he gave me a sad smile and said, ‘Because I’m the one that told Princess Celestia to fire you.’ I couldn’t believe what he said. He got me fired. I was so angry at him, I remember I slapped him around the face and screamed at him, ‘How could you do that? I thought we were friends!’ before running out of the party. When I came to my senses, I realized I had ran straight into the garden and was sitting at our spot where we would have lunch and just started to cry. That’s when I heard a voice from behind me say, ‘I am your friend. Please let me explain.’ I turned to look and saw Spike standing there. I told him that he's not my friend because friends don’t do things like that to each other and to leave me alone. We were done. I never want to see him again.’”

As Fancy Pants went around the table topping up everyone’s drinks. He came to Fleur de Lis side, topped up her drink and placed a hoof on her shoulder as he smiled at her. Fleur de Lis smiled back at him and placed a hoof on his and said, “Such a silly mare I was back then. As I sat there, I watched Spike turn around and say, ‘Ok, Fleur if that’s what you want.’ As he started to walk away dragging his tail on the floor, he said, ‘It’s just I thought friends wanted nothing more than to help each other be happy. That’s why I did it. To make you happy.’ I screamed back at him, ‘How was getting me fired going to make me happy!? I liked working here and seeing you every day.’ That’s when he turned around and looked at me and said, ‘Yes, so did I.’ As I looked at his sad face, I asked again, ‘So why, why did you get me fired?’”

As Fancy Pants sat back down, Fleur de Lis looked at Spike and said, “That’s when he told me. ‘You like working at the castle and spending time with me, just as much as I do with you, but when I saw how you looked at Photo finish’s magazines and saw the smile on your face as you would tell me about how your photo shoots where going, you looked truly happy. You always got this twinkle in your eye when you would talk about it. I knew you would keep trying to work here at the castle to see me, but if I was truly your friend, then how could I keep you from something you clearly loved doing? I thought this way you could be happy.’”

“As I sat there and listened to him. I felt my anger disappear, realizing he did it for me. He wasn’t wrong. I loved working as a model and wanted to do more. I just wasn’t willing to admit it to myself because I knew what I’d have to give up, so he made the choice for me,” Fleur de Lis said, smiling. “So, there I sat looking at him. I knew even though he was getting on better with the staff at the castle now that he still didn’t have a lot of friends, and yet he was willing to give up spending time with me just so I could do something I loved. How could I have stayed mad at him for that. He was looking out for me just like he had been doing since the first time we met.”

As Fleur de Lis giggled, she said, “I ran over to him and gave him a hug. As I cried and begged for his forgiveness, he told me not to worry about it and that friends fight sometimes and there was nothing to forgive. I remember as I hugged him, I said, ‘You really are a great friend, Spike,’ and as I kissed him on the cheek, he went bright red.” As Fleur laughed, she said, “As he started to get embarrassed, I noticed he dropped something and as I bent down to pick it up and found it was one of Photo finish’s magazines in one of those plastic covers. But not just any one. It was the very first one I had done and was on the cover of. As I looked at him, he pulled out a quill and said, ‘I was hoping you’d sign it for me. That things going to be worth some bits when you become a supermodel,’ as he laughed at me with that same happy smile on his face.”

As Fleur de Lis had a drink from her glass, she said, “No one had ever asked for my autograph before. Of course, I signed it,” as she smirked at Spike she said, “I signed it and wrote, ‘To Spike, one of my closest friends. Thank you for everything and giving me the push I needed. Your number one fan, Fleur de Lis.’” As Fleur de Lis giggled, she said, “I told him that was the first autograph I’d ever given as I watched him carefully put it back into its cover. You should have seen the grin on his face. He just looked at me and told me that, that just makes it even more of a rare collectable. After we both laughed, we sat there in silence looking up at the stars before I said, ‘You know this means we won’t be able to see each other every day, right?’ He just nodded and said, ‘I’m ok with that as long as you're happy. Besides, it’s not like I’m not going to see you again. I mean, I see the others quite a bit and they don’t work here. You just better remember to send me a copy of every magazine you’re in.’ As he looked at me and smiled he said, ‘It’s my job to help Twilight and walk down the same path as her. It’s your job to let others see you shine. That’s where we belong. Besides, it doesn’t matter where you go, or what you do. I will always be your friend.’”

“It’s as true today as it was back then,” Spike said as he smiled at Fleur de Lis, before saying, “And to this day, I always get a copy of every magazine she’s been in,” he said as he laughed.

As Fleur de Lis giggled, she said, “At that moment, I couldn’t help but think he was destined to do great things. Turns out I was right.” As Fleur de Lis looked at Spike and smiled, she said, “After that, we went back in and joined the others at the party. I apologized for running out and my behavior before I left. I asked Photo Finish if I could start working more as a model and she jumped at the chance, saying I was getting quite the following already. So we all enjoyed the rest of the night together. Fancy even got the courage up to ask me to be his marefriend. I accepted, of course.”

As Fleur de Lis got up out of her chair, she walked over to a glass cabinet and removed a photo. As she started to walk back over, she said, “Fancy has a room like this in every one of his businesses. It is for the members of The Society of the Emerald Mist, only.” As she passed Rarity the photo for her to look at, she said, “That is a copy of mine and Fancy’s wedding day photo. The dress I’m wearing is the very same one Spike got for me for our first party together. It’s my princess dress.” Fleur de Lis said as she giggled. Before she said, “That night I became the newest member of The Society of the Emerald Mist and found my love, Fancy Pants, all because I ripped a tapestry and met a magical little dragon. That is the story of how I met my Fancy Pants and how I made some of the greatest friends a mare could ever ask for.”

As Rarity looked at the photo, she could see the same ponies in the room on the photo, only younger. In the middle of them all, stood a little baby dragon with the happiest of smiles. As Rarity passed Fleur de Lis the photo back, she couldn’t help but smile as she said, “That’s a wonderful story of how you met, not just Fancy Pants but all your friends here. I only wish that that head maid would have been nicer to my Spikey-wikey. Such a nasty mare, to say such horrid things.”

As Spike smiled softly at Rarity, he said, “It's ok. I learnt early on that not all ponies were going to like me. It’s just a fact. But I don’t need them to. I have my friends and ponies that care for me. Funny thing is that head maid still works at the castle to this day.” Rarity looked shocked at what Spike said and couldn’t believe that a mare like that still worked at the castle. Just as she was about to say something, Spike said in a sympathetic voice, “After that night, I decided to do some digging and find out why she hated me so much. I thought if I could figure out why she hated me then maybe I could work on becoming her friend. I didn’t like what I found out.”

Spike sighed and said, “Stop me if you’ve heard this story before. It turns out years before I hatched the head maid was a low level cleaner at the castle. She had met a well-to-do pony, a member of the elite class, and they hit it off. They even fell in love and got married. When his parents found out, they disowned him and the ponies that he thought were his friends turned their backs on him, even mocking him. In the end, he lost everything. His business went bust. His friends didn’t want to know him. All he had in the end was her. By all accounts they seemed happy enough until tragedy struck. It seems he wanted to be able to give her the life he thought she deserved and was out somewhere hunting for gems to make some bits. But then he wondered into the wrong cave and met his end because of a dragon.” As Spike clenched his claw and closed his eyes, he said, “The one rule every creature knows, you don’t steal from a dragon's hoard.”

As Spike took a slow breath and opened his eyes. He looked at Fleur de Lis and Fancy Pants with a soft smile and said, “Looking back on your story nowadays, I truly believe she thought she was trying to help you, Fleur. She didn’t want you to go through the same pain she had. As for the way she was with me, would any of you be able to work around one of the creatures that took the only thing you ever loved away from you, every day?” As Spike looked around the room, no one said anything. “Looking back on it now, I don’t know how she did it. If I was in her hooves, I don’t think I would even be able to be in the same room with one of the creatures that took away my one and only love, let alone have to work side by side with them day in and day out.” 

As Spike took a drink from his glass, he said, “After you left the castle, Fleur, I started working as a cleaner in whatever little spare time I had. I wanted to show her that I wasn’t what she thought. On one occasion, I ended up cleaning a room next door to her. We never made eye contact or spoke, of course; we just got on with it. That’s when I heard a loud crash and a scream, I ran next door to see what had happened and it seems as she was cleaning she’d knocked over a vase and cut her arm in the process. I ran over to see if she was ok, and I could tell it was a pretty bad cut just by looking at it. I think my survival training kicked in or something, because I ripped one of the curtains and went to wrap it around her wound, as she was screaming for me to stay away. For the first time since she knew me, I grabbed her arm and shouted at her to keep still. I told her to stop acting like a foal and that she needed medical attention. That seemed to do the trick as she stopped fighting me and allowed me to treat her wound. I told her she needed to go to the hospital and offered to help her, but she just slowly walked off saying, ‘I don’t need you to take me and don’t expect me to thank you, dragon.’ Without thinking I shot back, ‘I know you don’t and I wasn’t expecting you to thank me. I may be a dragon, but that’s not who I am. I am Spike, the number one assistant to Twilight Sparkle and don’t you forget it. Now hurry along to the hospital before you start bleeding through that cloth. It’s only going to give me more work to do if that happens.’”

As Spike let out a slight giggle, he said, “To this day, I actually believe I saw her smile for a second before she left. As time went on, things seemed to get better between us. I mean, I don’t think we will ever be best friends or anything, but at some point in my time at the castle, she stopped calling me dragon and started calling me Spike. She would even maybe say hello in passing from time to time. But it was a slow process. One I was glad I put the time into. I like to think at some point she stopped seeing the monster and just saw me and who knows? Maybe. she was able to let go of some of that pain.”

Fleur de Lis finished off her drink and said, “I genuinely had no idea the head maid went through something like that.” As Fancy Pants went to top up her glass and realized that the bottle was empty.

Fancy stood up and said, “Not to worry. I have more in the fridge,” as he made his way over to the fridge to retrieve another bottle.

Just then Rarity said, “Oh my. It seems it's gotten pretty late,” as she looked out the window to see the night sky. She said, “We should probably think about making our way home soon, Spikey.”

Just then, the others started moaning and saying things like, “You can’t go yet. We’ve only just started to relax and enjoy ourselves.” That’s when Fancy Pants laughed and said, “Why don’t you just spend the night here? You know I own this place and this is a hotel after all. It saves you having to leave so soon.”

“Oh, no. We couldn’t possibly take advantage of your kindness like that, Fancy Pants.” Rarity said as she waved her hooves around.

Fleur de Lis giggled and said, “Oh, go on Rarity. Spend the night. Have some fun with us all. Besides, we could class this as your welcome to The Society of the Emerald Mist party.”

As Rarity looked at Spike, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “It’s up to you. We could stay. You did say you have no work tomorrow.” As Rarity looked around the room at the others faces, waiting for her to answer, she said, “Oh, why not?” Everypony cheered at her answer and Hoity Toity shouted, “It’s party time.”

As Rarity started to laugh, she froze and said, “Oh, no. I forgot about poor little Opalescence.”

Just then Spike said, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll send Fluttershy a letter and ask her to watch Opal for the night. Which reminds me. I better send Twi a letter as well.” Just then Spike looked over at Fancy Pants and said, “You mind if I borrow some parchment and ink, Fancy?” As quickly as Spike had asked for it, Fancy had floated over some parchment, ink and a quill with a smile.

As Spike wrote the letters, Rarity was quick to remind Spike to tell Fluttershy where the spare key was and to make sure he said that Rarity would treat her to a day at the spa for the inconvenience. As he finished writing the letters and watched them turn to ash, he looked at Rarity with a smile and said, “Done. Now let’s enjoy the rest of the night.” 

And with that said, the party went on, as they all chatted away, drank and ate, happily enjoying each other’s company. They even got a response from Fluttershy, thanks to Discord, sending them a letter, saying that she didn’t mind watching Opal and that Twilight said she’ll see them tomorrow. They partied into the late night until they all decided to retire for the night. After finding out the only room left was the Royal Sweet, Rarity and Spike were reluctant to accept such a room, but with sleep starting to take a hold of them they gave in and were escorted to their room by a member of staff. When they walked into the room, Rarity couldn’t believe how big it was. It was just like staying in a room at Canterlot Castle. “Probably why it was called the Royal Sweet.” Rarity thought to herself as she smiled whilst looking around the room. That’s when she realized there was only one bed and started to get nervous.

Spike for his part was looking around the room after closing the door, with a smile before he said, “Wow. Fancy really out did himself with this room. Wouldn’t you say, Rarity?” When he didn’t get a response he looked over at her and asked, “Rarity? Everything ok?”

Snapping back to her senses, she looked at Spike and said nervously, “Why yes, darling. Everything’s fine. It’s just, errrm.” Not knowing how to say it, she pointed to the bed, as her face started to go red.

Spike looked at where she was pointing and went bright red and said, “Oh, right. Yeah. The sleeping arrangements. It’s ok. You can have the bed, Rarity. This couch over here is pretty big and looks super comfy to, so that’s more than enough for me.” 

Rarity relaxed a bit after hearing that and said, “Thank you for understanding, Spikey. That’s most kind of you,” before kissing him on the cheek and saying, “I must admit, I’m a little light headed after drinking so much wine. It’s no wonder why you said you were used to drinking before.” As Rarity let out a little giggle she said, “If it’s ok with you, I’m going to call it a night and go to bed.”

As Spike laughed he said, “Not at all,” and after giving her a kiss. He said, “Good night, my love.

As Rarity walked over to the bed and placed her Fire Ruby necklace down on the bedside cabinet, she turned to watch Spike climb onto the couch and said, “Good night, my Spikey-wikey,” before climbing into bed and turning off the lights.

Try as she might, however, Rarity just couldn’t get comfortable. Even though the bed was really comfy and much bigger than her own bed at home. She tossed and turned trying to sleep. As she did, she could make out Spike’s silhouette in the dark doing the same thing. “Hmmm. It seems that couch isn’t as comfy as you led me to believe, Spikey," Rarity thought. "What are we doing? I know we agreed to take things slow, but we’re married for Celesia’s sake. We should be able to share a bed.” With that thought in mind, Rarity sat up and turned on the lights gaining Spikes attention.

“Everything ok, Rarity?” Spike asked curiously.

Rarity looked at Spike and said, “Spike, come sleep with me on the bed.”

Spike started to go red and nervously said, “Wh- I mean. Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Spike, we’re married. And besides, I think we’re both adult enough to share a bed,” As Rarity paused for a moment, a slight blush came on her face, as she said, “Without any,” clearing her throat, she finished, “other intentions.”

“Yeah. You’re right,” Spike said still with a red face. As he got up and nervously made his way over to the bed, he looked at Rarity and said, “Are you sure?” Rarity nods and with a gulp, Spike climbed into the other side of the bed and Rarity turned off the lights.

As they lay on opposite sides of the bed, with their backs to one another, Rarity still couldn’t sleep. As she lay there looking into the darkness, she could hear the sound of her heart beating louder and louder. It was driving her nuts. That’s when she had a thought and said, “Spike, are you still awake?”

Spike responded with, “Yeah. Why. You need something?”

As Rarity rolled over to look at Spike, he did the same. Now as they lay there looking at each other, Rarity could feel her face getting hotter as she said, “Spike, I can’t sleep and I know this may sound kind of like a strange request, but do you think it would be possible for you to hold me?” For a moment, Rarity lay there in silence until she felt Spike wrap his arm around her back and pull her close to his chest. As she snuggled into his chest, she thought, “This is it. This is what I needed. Just having him close to me like this always calms me down and relaxes me.”

As Spike holds Rarity in his arms, he said, “I hope this is ok.” Feeling Rarity nod her head and breath a quiet sigh of relief, was all the answer he needed as he gave her a little squeeze. Before he asked, “So, did you have fun today?”

As Rarity looks up from his chest to make eye contact with him, she said, “Oh yes, Spikey. I really enjoyed hearing more about your life in Canterlot before you came to Ponyville. And I know you said Hoity Toity was more laid back when you get to know him, but I didn’t realize just how much till today. He seems like a real party pony when he gets going,” letting off a little laugh before saying, “And the story of how Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis met was beautiful. I had no idea you played such a big part in their lives. Not just their lives, but so many others. You really did leave so much behind when you came to Ponyville. I guess I just didn’t realize how much till today.”

As Spike chuckled he said, “Yeah. That’s true. I left a lot of good friends back here in Canterlot when I followed Twi to Ponyville, but even though we don’t see each other as much as we did, we’re all still good friends. I also gained so much more when I came to Ponyville. Including the one thing I never thought I’d have. I found you.”

Rarity put a hoof on his cheek and kissed him before saying with a sad smile, “Such a sweet, gentle dragon.”

Spike noticed the look on Rarity’s face and asked, “What’s the matter?” When Rarity didn’t respond, he said, “Are you upset because we never got to go to the park?” Trying to make a joke to lighten the mood, with no success.

Rarity took a slow calming breath before she said, “No, Spike. I’m not upset. It’s just if one thing was made crystal clear to me tonight it’s that everything you’ve done with your life up till this point has always been for Twilight. You worked harder and did more than anyone so you could stay by her side, even leaving all your friends behind to move to Ponyville.”

Spike smiled and said, “Well, yeah. Of course. I’m her number one assistant. It’s my job to be there for her in whatever way she needs me.” When Spike didn’t see Rarity smiling back at him like he hoped, he sighed and said, “Being Twi’s assistant gave me a purpose in life. It made me feel like no matter what happened or whatever anyone said, I had somewhere I belonged.”

Rarity nodded and said, “I know, Spike. I understand that better now after hearing more about your past and you know I love Twilight, just as much as any of our other friends. But, surely you must realize that you’re not a baby dragon anymore. There’s going to come a time when you have to stop living in Twilight’s shadow and start living for yourself. I mean we’re married, Spike. Did you think that I was going to move into the castle with you? I have my own life and businesses to run and I know we’ve never really talked about it before, but at some point I was hoping to have a home for just us. Maybe even a family of our own one day. I’m not saying you have to stop being Twilights assistant. I would never even dream of such a thing. All I’m really trying to say is you have somewhere else you belong now to.”

Spike closed his eyes for a moment and lay there in silence before he said, “You know, back when King Sombra first appeared and tried to take over The Crystal Empire, me and Twi were trying to find the Crystal Heart and we fell into one of his traps. It showed you your worst nightmare come to life. You know what mine was?” Rarity didn’t say anything and just listened as Spike continued, “It was Twilight making me leave and not needing me anymore. To this day it terrifies me. I’ve built my life around her. she has been at the center of everything I’ve ever done. The idea of not being there for her when she needs me scares me, Rarity.”

Rarity wraps her arms around Spike and says, “I’m not saying you can’t be there for her. If anything, I expect you to be. I understood, when I first realized I had feelings for you that Twilight is an important part of your life, but I would like you to think about your own happiness and what the future holds. And not only for you, but for us as a couple as well. I love you, my husband,” before she passionately kissed him.

Spike kissed her back and said, “I love you too, my wife. I will give it some thought.” As Rarity smiled at him she said, “That’s all I ask. Now let’s get some sleep.” As she once again snuggles up to Spike and they both fall asleep in each other’s embrace.

The following morning, Rarity awoke to find herself in Spike’s embrace, with her hind leg over his waist and their tails wrapped around one another. A bit embarrassed at being in such a position, she moved her leg and managed to unwrap her tail from his. She tried to move away from Spike slowly, as not to wake him. Just as she was able to get out of his arms, he pulled her back in and said, “Just five more minutes,” whilst still asleep. 

As Rarity looked at the smile on his face, she giggled and thought, “He’s lucky he’s so cute,” as she snuggled back in and said, “Just five more minutes then.”

About fifteen minutes later, Spike woke up and looked down to see Rarity snuggled into his chest. As he did that Rarity looked up at him, Spike smiled and said, “Good morning, beautiful. Sleep well?”

This made Rarity blush slightly as she smiled back and kissed him before saying, “Good morning, my love. I don’t think I’ve ever slept so well before in my life,” making Spike giggle.

After just lying there, holding each other for awhile, they decided it was time to get up and freshen up before going to get the train back to Ponyville. Spike had offered to see if Celestia wouldn't mind them borrowing a carriage or even offered to fly them back himself, but Rarity said she just wanted to take a train ride home and enjoy the view in her husband’s arms before returning to their busy lives.

As they happily come down to the lobby, they see Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis standing there. Spike and Rarity make their way over to them and both thank them for allowing them to spend the night in such a lovely room. Fancy Pants smiled at them and said, "It's no problem. You know that and you are welcome to stay anytime, my friends". 

Fleur de Lis giggled and said, "The others had to leave due to work, but they said they hoped they can get together again soon." For a few minutes, they stood and chatted away before Spike and Rarity said their goodbyes. Rarity and Spike soon found themselves on the train back to Ponyville. They sat there holding one another in a loving embrace, watching the world pass by as they looked out the window with smiles on their faces. They would sometimes catch a pony or two staring, but they didn’t care. They were just happy holding each other.