//------------------------------//
// – 5: Matters of Perspective – 
// Story: Sparity Shipping Mega Epic 
// by Mareity 
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Rarity needn't have fussed about the time so much, it turned out; it was no darker by their arrival at the stands near the cascade than from their departure from the smoothie stand. Nonetheless, she surmised that the less time spent on the move the better; keeping a steady pace and having a small dragon with the local knowledge riding upon her back directly parlaying directions into her ear had surely provided the two of them with ample time to enjoy the vista that lay ahead.

Parts of the plaza market were packing up for the day as the sun began to set in earnest, but some were still open, and the crowds were shrinking in kind, so getting from centre to rim hadn’t been too difficult. There were some sightseers who’d had the same idea as Rarity in visiting the area for the view, mostly clustered in friend- and family-groups who were looking over the edge; some taking photographs and others eating ice cream cones, a few flying kites in the breeze a little further along from where the pair had arrived.

After they’d passed a group of pegasi mugging for the camera and reaching a relatively quiet spot Spike let go of Rarity, hopped upwards off her back as she slowed to a stop, and kept going for a moment, looping-the-loop once before flying in front of her. ‘Ah, open space!’ he exclaimed, taking a deep breath, ‘Feels great to get here at last after all those ponies packed together at the market. Y’know, it’s such a beautiful evening I might just fly around over the edge for a while, soon.’

‘Well, don’t zip off right away, Spike!’ Rarity said, ‘I didn’t come over this way just to get left in the dust by an overenthusiastic wing-haver. I’d have spent my afternoon with Rainbow Dash if that was the plan!’

‘Right you are, Rarity,’ said Spike, plopping himself with a light thud onto the paving slabs. ‘Besides, I need to warm up before I do anything crazy off of terra firma. C’mon, they’ve got those pay binoculars if you still wanna see Ponyville closer up.’

‘Ooh, yes! Just for a minute, then we simply must take a tiny peek at the cascade. It is still there, correct? Still full of water?’ Rarity joked as they passed a coffee stall and approached the railings.

‘Yeah, they bottle some of it as it runs off of the mountain snows before it hits the moat but there’s more than enough to go around! Heck, that’s what you were drinking at the meeting.’

Rarity popped a bit out from her purse and stepped in front of a binocular stand. ‘Well, one thing at a time. Like to share a view, Spikey?’

The sky was turning increasingly golden to the west and purple with a galactic spill of twinkling stars in the east. The amber sun was dipping downwards toward the mountainous horizon to their south, to which the hazy Everfree Forest stretched from relatively nearby into the distance, thinning out somewhat to the right of her vision towards what she supposed was Appleoosa’s general direction. As she clunked a bit into her chosen binoculars’ money slot, Rarity found the view nostalgic of the Cutie Map table at Twilight’s old castle, the one that hadn’t worked since King Sombra had destroyed the Tree of Harmony some time back.

‘Sure I would,’ said Spike, politely queueing a step behind her right as she scoped the view closer up. He waited patiently for a moment while she quietly pointed the binoculars left, right, upwards, “ooh!”ing and “ah!”ing vaguely at the things she saw. ‘Uh, Rarity… you were saying?’ he eventually piped up.

Rarity retracted her eyes from her perch’s eyeholes and turned to Spike. ‘Oh, excuse me so much Spikey, there’s just so much to see and not much time to see it before the bit runs out! Go on, take your turn – ah,’ she turned back for a moment to point it at something specific, ‘There we go. Easy access to Ponyville just for you.’

He flew up to the binoculars and trained his eyes upon the distant but unmistakable double-cylindrical shape of the Carousel Boutique, seeing a green speck and a larger brown speck just outside. ‘Hey, I think that’s Yona and Sandbar down there,’ he said, ‘Outside the boutique.’

‘Yes, quite possibly… darling Yona’s under instruction to close at sundown,’ said Rarity, ‘Most likely she’s spending some time with her beau and chatting while it’s quieter ahead of locking the shop. Not unlike ourselves, I suppose. What else do you see? I had a perfectly lovely panoramic view but, I want to hear it from you!’

‘Well, I see ponies rowing boats on the Saddle Lake, some kids nearby coming outta the School of Friendship… a couple of pegasi I think, green ones, among ’em flying around… hey, they’ve got a good routine going on between them. And I think they’re heading over to Rainbow Dash’s place. Is she mentoring flyers now?’

‘That’ll be the Barrel twins, I think,’ Rarity explained, ‘Barley and Pickle, two young pegasi of not inconsiderable flying talent the girls and I met that time we visited Hope Hollow, who’ve started at Starlight’s school this year, Rainbow tells me. Unless something’s changed Dashie doesn't do private tew away from the Academy, but from what she tells me I believe they rather wish she would!’

‘That’s cool, good luck to ’em,’ said Spike absentmindedly. As Rarity spoke he pivoted his view away from Ponyville and followed the river into the Everfree Forest, looking over there for anything interesting. After a short while he exclaimed, ‘Whoa, neat.’

Rarity stood closer to him and asked, ‘Well? What’s got you so bedazzled, Spikey?’

He flew one step to the right to make room for two, putting his left eye onto the right eyehole. ‘Check out the castle ruins in the Everfree Forest.’ Rarity hopped back on the perch and pressed her cheek against his, putting her right eye onto the left eyehole as Spike trained the binoculars back to where he’d seen. Before long she saw what he meant as she beheld the reflections cast by the myriad facets of the blossom-pink leaves of the crystal treehouse, the structure arisen from the wreckage of the Tree of Harmony that resided in the old castle’s front courtyard. Besides how it glittered as its boughs swayed, it refracted the sunset through the forest’s evening mist, casting a small double rainbow from one side of the courtyard to the other. A light was on close to the tree canopy, so somecreature was home for sure.

‘My goodness… that is positively iridescent, isn’t it?’ she breathed.

‘I don’t usually mess around with my binocs this late in the day, so that’s new to me. It’s really spectacular, huh?’

Just as Spike finished that sentence, a “chonk” sound accompanied the expiration of Rarity’s bit and the view suddenly blacked out, so the two of them backed away from their deactivated viewpoints. She chuckled and said, ‘It truly is an inspiring sight. Would you judge me particularly if I said the crystal treehouse had something of a “sparkle” in the “twilight” there, Spikey?’

Rarity peered over where she’d just been looking, unsurprised to find it now out of her sight, as Spike jokingly winced then sighed. ‘If I told you I saw more than a “dash” of “rainbow” over there, I’d be “draggin’” myself down to your level,’ he paused, then went one further; ‘Sights like that are truly a “rarity”, wouldn’t you say?’

Rarity laughed again as Spike’s expression changed to a sly grin and he made a clawguns gesture at her. ‘Terrible,’ she said, patting his head, ‘You’re lucky you’re cute enough to get away with it, darling. What a difference a small change in perspective makes, though; whoever’s inside over there is probably blissfully unaware of the glory surrounding them!’

‘There’s this weird… energy around the Castle of the Two Sisters anyway, but, wow… the view brings out its best, you’re not wrong,’ said Spike as he looked to their right, west towards the sun which was barely kissing the distant mountains’ peaks, ‘And we picked just the right time to see it like that. Sun’s already moving around.’

‘Oh, yes, we must get a move on to the cascade before it’s properly dark, mustn’t we?’ said Rarity with no small amount of alarm, ‘Come on!’

Spike flew alongside Rarity this time as she galloped to the cascade to the west, weaving between the few pedestrians and tourists that were moseying along one way or another. The ornate guardrail that protected creatures from a nasty fall bent around and divided the pavement from the water as they approached, and there was an arched walkway bridge that connected their side to the other that it also continued along. It turned out the kite flyers they’d noticed earlier were bunched up right nearby, as there was a stall offering a range of kites for hire set up on one end of the bridge.

The cascades were where the mountainside water in the rivers that ran through Canterlot fell upon the lowlands. The one where Spike and Rarity were was just one of several, but its overlook facing south towards Ponyville made it the most attractive of them all and the most popular among visitors to the capital. As well as the water forever tumbling down from the edge beneath them, this far from the city centre one’s eyes could clearly follow the river upstream to another churning waterfall some distance away, endlessly sloshing down a steep grassy cliffside into the citadel proper on its journey to their current location and far beyond.

Rarity slowed up as she approached then trotted onto the crest of the bridge, panting for a moment after all that running and readjusting the headscarf that had ridden back on her head in her haste. ‘Oof, well… here we are,’ she said as Spike flew up and grabbed the top of the hoofrail next to her, keeping himself aloft by pushing his feet against its floral steel supports.

‘Might not be the best idea to look straight down,’ said Spike, ‘It’s nice up here but even I, your accompanying wing-haver, get freaked out by the drop. It’s actually a bit less troubling when I’m flying, I find.’

Rarity couldn’t help herself – she leaned over towards the waterfall, then pulled back a little too far in reaction to seeing it disappear downwards to a vanishing point, nearly toppling backwards. ‘My goodness, you’re not joking! While I do have faith in these rails, it is somewhat nerve-wracking on an instinctual level!’

‘Like I said, keep your eyes level. The average earth-bound creature’s not wired to look at a sheer couple-thousand-foot drop without some fear of falling,’ said Spike. Rarity did as Spike said, and for a moment they both leaned against the bridge rail quietly and listened to the white noise of the falling water as the sun reddened further, illuminating the distant clouds in pink and yellow and dipping further beyond the mountains.

After a moment Rarity turned to Spike and spoke again. ‘You know, I’d very much like to see you fly,’ she said, ‘Out in the great blue yonder… or red, pink, gold, whichever colour yonder. You said you were going to. Did you come down here often, you know, before?’

‘You mean with Gabby?’ Spike asked, mutedly. Rarity nodded. ‘Yeah, a bunch of times. We had a lot of fun flying around up here, although she was better at it than me. When she came up to Canterlot to visit, if the weather was good we’d play tag and attempt stunts around here. With, uh, mixed results.’

‘I thought as much. It really is too bad I couldn’t accompany you if you were to take to the skies, but I can still watch. Or,’ she looked to the stall on her right and tisked, ‘Oh, I’ve not flown a kite since I was a little schoolfilly, but maybe I could hire one for a little bit and try to keep up with you like that? What do you say?’

‘That sounds great, actually! I’ve accompanied Starlight with her kite-flying a few times, so I can give you a tip or two before I set out if you like,’ said Spike, ‘Starting with, ah, start simple. Hire a diamond kite, nothing fancy.’

‘Why, yes! That sounds marvellous! A kite with diamonds…’ Rarity said, a fantasising twinkle in her eye.

Spike shook his head and raised a claw. ‘Just refers to the shape, not the material. Anyway, I’m gonna limber up a bit if you’re heading over to that stall.’

‘Oh! Right you are, Spikey. I shan't be more than two ticks!’ said Rarity, nodding before trotting away. Spike landed onto the bridge and used the intervening time to rhythmically stretch and bend his arms and wings, along with a few leg squats while he awaited her return, which didn’t take too long. As she returned with a white diamond kite with a glittering approximation of her own cutie mark diamonds painted onto it in tow, she cooed, ‘I’m back, darling! The kite stall stallion was about to call it a night, but I convinced him to let me have one for the next short while. Now, how about you lay out the basics for me?’

‘Hey, they had one in your style,’ he said, hovering to her eye level and taking the kite’s reel from Rarity’s magic hold into his claw, ‘Guy must be another admirer of yours, huh. Well, let’s not waste time; hopefully giving you a “crash course” won’t turn literal!’

Rarity giggled. ‘I’m all eyes and ears, Spikey; I promise to hang onto your every word. Now, show me what you can, so we can get started in earnest.’

It didn’t take all that long for Spike to teach Rarity how to keep a kite aloft in the breeze, how to steer it nor reel it out and in – she actually remembered a few things from her fillyhood experiences with them. ‘Hey, do me a favour though?’ he asked after she’d gotten the general gist, ‘Don’t fly too high if you can help it. I can’t promise I won’t get tangled up in the string otherwise.’

‘I’ll try, but you know, they put the ribbons on the line for a good reason, not just for looks, although they are, well, fabulously me-themed! Don’t you think they look just like my mane when the breeze catches them? Isn’t that clever?’

‘It definitely flatters you, that’s for certain,’ laughed Spike, ‘Maybe you’re right, but just be careful anyway? I haven’t done this for a while.’ Hopping onto the hoofrail, he spread his wings to their full span and stretched his shoulders. ‘I’m ready to go if you are, Rarity.’

‘Don’t wait for me overlong; do it, get out there! I’ll try to follow your lead, darling.’

Spike flapped twice before jumping off the rail, taking off with an audible “whoomp” sound. He sped away for a moment before curling left and upward, a joyous laugh alongside another loop-the-loop and a full-body spin signifying to Rarity how liberating it felt to get back out there for fun, rather than simple travel. ‘Oh, man! It feels so good to hit that breeze!’ He hovered to a stop, waved to Rarity with both arms and said, cheerfully, ‘Hey down there! Who’s little now, huh?’

Rarity gave him a stern look, then smiled, reeling her kite up and out a little further. ‘Simply another matter of perspective, Spike. Now, would you care to accompany me, just for a moment? This is, for all intents and purposes, my first time taking flight like this, after all!’

‘Right, right, sure… I’ll come closer and support you for a bit. Can you tack to your right for a second? Call it a two o’clock adjust?’

Rarity didn’t understand the aerial parlance at first. ‘But it must be nearing five already…? Oh, right, you mean, yes, of course, darling,’ she said, before doing as instructed. Spike flew to the kite and hewed closely to it for a minute, his hands hovering nearby to catch it in case it caught a sudden gust. For her part Rarity kept a stiff hold on the reel, trying her utmost to be sure that didn't happen.

‘Alright, you’re stable enough provided the wind stays constant,’ he called, ‘Now, back to twelve and in a little?’ Rarity obeyed, repositioning the kite straight ahead as Spike shadowed it further, ‘Now to ten? Alright,’ he said as he followed her tack to her left, ‘I think you’ve got it. How do you feel?’

‘Reasonably confident, for a rank amateur,’ said Rarity, ‘You needn’t stay so close anymore, I don’t think. Best you give me a tiny bit more space or you really will risk sustaining an entanglement! Overcautiousness can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies, you know?’

‘Hah, I was thinking that. Care to see me cut loose for a bit?’

‘Oh, I shouldn’t encourage you to overdo it, but I would very much like to encourage you to do it – yes, soar for me, Spikey!’ Rarity pranced in excitement, ‘I’ve seen what you can do in the past, but refresh my memory if you will! Just don’t go too far, okay?’

It was Spike’s pleasure to spend a few minutes higher up showing off to her, soaring, zig-zagging, spiralling through the clear sky, encircling Rarity’s spot on the bridge with determination. He had a specific workout planned in between casual flight, though, and before long called for Rarity’s attention before going for a series of aerial loops and twirls that, coupled with the encroaching twilight, had Rarity enraptured, regardless of whether they were perfectly executed.

Towards the end of his performance Spike flew in a complex pattern, leaving a smoke trail behind him as he drew the word “Spike” punctuated with a somewhat wobbly drawing of his own visage with his movements, that left gleaming green embers that glittered for a minute in the dusk before fading. Rarity found that in particular delightful.

For the duration Rarity pootled along with her kite, pulling it in and out and turning it as she felt necessary, trotting left and right in a vague imitation of Spike’s general position. Her ability to join in remained limited, but that was fine, really – before long she was enchanted by Spike’s air moves to the point that paying close attention would have been a distraction she could’ve done without. His euphoria was infectious to her, and the two of them pealed with laughter of joy and excitement.

They continued to fly like that for a while until the sun had halfway dipped below the horizon and the shadows became long, and once they realised the surrounding streetlamps had flamed on for the night Spike scooted back onto the bridge, that bit too quickly – what was intended to be a quick halt onto the bridge’s hoofrail became a stumble at the last second, and Rarity had to rear and catch him with both hooves.

‘Oof!’ she cried as the impact knocked her back a step, then placed him firmly back onto the pavement. ‘Spike, that’s two botched landings today! You really should be more careful!’

‘Three, actually, but you weren’t around for the first one first thing,’ said Spike, ‘Sorry…’

‘Don’t apologise to me, apologise to future Spike when you really hurt yourself. I worry about you sometimes, darling,’ said Rarity, ‘I excused the stairs incident before as a one-off, but if you’re making a habit of risky manoeuvres, my goodness…’

‘Hey, I didn’t mean to, this time! I just haven’t done that in a while is all, Rarity. Usually I choose a touch-down point that’s a bit clearer than a bridge with a rail, but I didn’t want to go too far away from you.’

‘Well, perhaps you’re just having one of those days. I’m sorry if I’m lecturing you, dear, but it’s as I said… I’d be ever so upset if I’d heard you’d injured yourself because you overdid it, you know!’

‘Ahem,’ came a cough to Rarity’s right. ‘’Scuse me, ma’am, but have you finished with the kite now it’s dark, if you don’t mind…?’

She turned to the earth pony who Spike presumed was the proprietor of the kite rental stall, and smiled coyly. ‘Oh, of course. Yes, no more flying for either of us today. Thank you ever so much for putting up with our late-coming, sweetheart…’ she magiced the kite towards the stallion alongside a small peridot, ‘Here’s a little more for your trouble. Get something nice for Loopdeloop!’

‘Why, thank you! As for you, young dragon, that was quite a show you put on back there, very impressive! Now have a nice evening, both of you,’ he said, before taking the kite into his mouth and returning to his stall to pack up for the night.

‘Who-de-who?’ asked Spike as he left.

‘His wife. He told me she was a fan of my work, that’s all,’ said Rarity, ‘She designed that kite herself, as a matter of fact. Anyway, thank you ever so much for the kite tutorial, as it were, it’s been so long! I’d honestly forgotten how much fun it can be once you’ve got your sea legs. Air legs. Wings. And also legs. And you know, horns are involved a little, too…’

Spike cringed a bit while Rarity pontificated. ‘Man, maybe I got carried away… I feel kind of awkward knowing he was watching.’

Rarity chuckled before sitting on the ground, and put a hoof on Spike’s chest. ‘Oh, take a compliment gracefully, you’ve done that in public before by your own admission. And besides, he was right – you were rather impressive up there, I thought… landings aside you’ve become a bit of a dab-hoof at the entire, “being airborne” thing. I really loved watching you go, and you put so much effort into it just so I could watch, and even helped me put a crude approximation of my own presence up there… it was really lovely, all of it. We simply must do it again sometime. Maybe repeat practice would improve my kite skills, who can say!’

‘Aw, shucks,’ Spike said, blushing, ‘I just did my best. Like I said before, Gabby’s better at stunts than me…’

Rarity gave Spike another stern look and reached down, putting her hooves on his shoulders. ‘Spike, Spike… hush. You don't need to compare yourself to Gabby around me, darling. I'm very thorough in my mind which of you I’d rather watch, no disrespect meant to her.’

Spike sighed. ‘I’ve been comparing myself to her a bunch since we broke up, that’s all. I’ve been trying not to, but it’s tough… like just now, I never felt self-conscious when I flew with her because she got most of the attention from passers-by and I suppose I was comfortable playing support… she was so good at everything she tried, you know? She wasn't just my griffriend, she was kind of, not a role model, but…’

Rarity surprised Spike – he emitted a brief “hurk” as she scooped him up in her arms and gave him a gentle squeeze, closing her eyes and putting her cheek against his. ‘She can't be good at everything, Spikey. She wasn't good at keeping a sweet little dragon around, after all, was she? That’s a black mark in my book!’

Spike murmured something as he returned Rarity’s embrace. ‘What’s that, precious?’ she asked, pulling away a little.

‘I said I think I have a new role model now! You offered to be that back at the smoothie stall, right? Besides, Gabby wasn't it, not really. I looked up to her, but not as an aspirational figure? I guess she was more of a… friendly competitor in a way, really. I was her sidekick. But you, Rarity… I really admire your confidence, and competence, with the whole fashion emporium thing, and your generosity, and how outgoing and true to yourself you are, and… you know, sometimes I really wish I was you and I'm aware how weird that sounds.’

She reeled Spike back in and spun around so her back pressed against the bridge’s guardrail. ‘Aww, Spikey-Wikey… it is a slightly odd thing to confess, but I understand.’ Rarity said nothing more for a few seconds, before continuing, ‘You know, there are many things I admire about you, too.’

‘You’re just saying that to be nice… well, I guess I have done some stuff to earn my keep over the years,’ said Spike.

‘I don’t really mean the Gauntlet of Fire or any of that, darling. I just mean, you,’ said Rarity, ‘You work so hard at everything you do, and you’re ever so clever, resourceful, and you’re unfailingly a perfect gentledragon, and you’re wonderful to simply spend time with, and you never say die when the chips are down. I truly, deeply mean it from the very bottom of my heart when I say you’re my favourite little dragon, even nowadays when I am acquainted with several.’

‘But, I’m not–’

Rarity pulled away again and looked Spike straight in the face, put a hoof to his lips for a second, and her voice became increasingly frantic as she spoke further. ‘Not another word, not another doubt. I’ve hardly forgotten what you said at the meeting about questioning your own motives, but those are all good things, and they come from you, because You. Are. Good. Whatever’s inside you is good, and not bad. It’s a wonderful, wonderful thing that you are who you are, and nothing, nothing can ever change that. Am I making myself quite clear?’

Spike nuzzled into Rarity and held her a little harder before looking up and speaking again. ‘I mean, if you want to inflate my ego further, you can keep going,’ he said, ‘I wouldn’t mind.’

‘Perhaps you need a little time before I do,’ said Rarity sadly, ‘Egos have a nasty habit of popping when overfed. I just so wish you could see how special you are, like I do on the outside looking in.’

Spike sighed. ‘I’m working on it, Rarity. That’s what this afternoon’s been all about, you know that.’

‘Oh you must love yourself more, Spikey. If you don't, you’ll never… ooh, I couldn't imagine anything sadder,’ said Rarity, giving Spike another tender squeeze and tearing up enough that he felt one or two drop onto his ear frills. He realised he was trying and failing to fight his own tears welling up, too, and the two of them stayed silent in their comfy little cuddle for a short while until their mutual emotional rush subsided.

Eventually Rarity leaned back against the rail and craned her neck straight upwards towards the night sky as she cradled Spike’s head in her arms. ‘How long have we been like this, Spike?’ she sniffed.

‘Mmph… no idea?’ said Spike, detaching from Rarity and likewise looking around before wing-boosting so his eye-level was over the hoofrail, ‘Not that long. I can still see the sun.’

Rarity stood on her hind legs and turned around, looking sunwards as well – Spike was right, while the sky was at best dark purple now there was still a bit of red glow beyond the mountains. ‘How entirely, slightly awkward,’ she said sheepishly, blushing and wiping a bit of streaked mascara from her cheek, ‘I’m unsure what overcame me just then, getting all intimately, huggy and such, with you like that in full view of every dratted creature in Canterlot – I suppose I just don’t care for when you do yourself down, darling.’

Spike held onto the hoofrail and gave Rarity the strange look he’d given her back at the smoothie stand, before once again snapping to attention. ‘Well, I'm sorry if I upset you with my whining, but I didn’t dislike you hugging me or anything.’

‘You are not whining, you are explaining,’ said Rarity, ‘And I'm listening, and as far as I'm concerned your feelings are quite valid, Spikey, it’s perfectly alright. You know I meant it when I said the door to the boutique is always open. No matter what, I’ll always be there for you.’

‘Well, if you say so, I just worry that I'm offloading too much. Though to be totally honest, it is really nice that we can just talk about stuff.’

‘I could say the same for you, truly,’ said Rarity, ‘All that rot about how I turned tail from you and Gabby earlier… I’d held the, the pain of that inside me for so long, but when I told you… I knew I could trust you to understand how I felt, dear. It all tumbled out at once, and normally I’m a modicum more… guarded than that, perhaps? But, sat there with you, when you asked me why we hadn’t met for a while, I just knew we were of the same heart, and I had nothing to fear.’

‘Good way of putting it. I don’t think I’d ever open up about this stuff with anypony else… well, maybe Twilight, but there’s no maybe around you.’

‘Yes, darling Twilight, who I’m sure would appreciate you bending her ear about these things, too… she does care about you very much, even if she overthinks issues somewhat. Speaking of whom,’ said Rarity, looking into the distance, ‘Now she’s lowered the sun entirely, it may be time to depart soon. Unless I’m mistaken the next balloon back to Ponyville is in half an hour, and I’ve monopolised your time quite enough besides…’

‘Eh… yeah, you’re right, I should get back to the castle. Can we just… wait two minutes first? Let’s watch the last bit of sun go down.’

‘Gladly,’ said Rarity, smiling sweetly at Spike, ‘There’s no rush.’

It had been quiet by the bridge since the kite stall had packed up and the streetlights stretching away from them in both directions had lit up, and the pair responded in kind with a quiet observation of the sun’s final rays. The two of them leaned on the railings and watched as the final ebb of light drained from Ponyville and the surrounding lowlands, noticing that much of the town had lit up in an array of white and yellow pinpricks, and that suddenly the most visible thing over there were magenta and green disco lights emanating from near the Ponyville schoolhouse. ‘Oh, that must be Pinkie over there, doing that which she does so well…’ Rarity said a bit absently, ‘See those lights? She told me her big event for the week was the Fall Schoolfoal Social, and I suppose that’s tonight.’

Spike paid attention, but remained quiet. ‘Let’s meet up again, over in Ponyville sometime soon. What do you say?’ he eventually asked.

‘Of course, come see me sometime, Spike. Any time is fine, you needn’t send a letter in advance,’ said Rarity, ‘Although I do appreciate receiving one once in a while, and not just on business matters! Maybe you can hover-model for me like you used to, I’ve got several designs I need a fresh perspective on and, well, I love her to bits but Yona’s just not cut out for the, well, cut, and as for Sweetie Belle, she’s not terribly interested in such things…’

Spike knew Rarity didn’t need him to do that, but it was an old way of spending time together, and he couldn’t lie, he did enjoy being included in her creative process. ‘Sure, next time I come by and you’re not too busy we can,’ he replied, ‘Though I just remembered when you brought up that school disco – the Running of the Leaves is pretty soon. Wanna meet up then?’

‘I was all ready to attend the audience with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to cheer on the usual suspects, i.e. those ponies casually, collectively known as Appledash, but of course you can join us,’ said Rarity, ‘Fluttershy’s been asking after you, you know, since a little bird told her about your break-up. “Oh, that poor little guy! He must be so sad!”’ Rarity put her hooves to her face and looked at Spike with big eyes as she goodnaturedly imitated Fluttershy’s soft, meek voice, ‘You know how she can be, the sweet filly. She’ll be so happy to see you well.’

‘Or she could’ve just asked Discord, I played “real” O&O with that guy over the weekend,’ said Spike, ‘You should join us sometime, it’s a blast with him as OM. But sure, I’d love to spend time with all of you. Twilight’s coming over that day anyway to give out trophies to the winners so I’ll have to attend the ceremony with her, but otherwise I’ll be up for grabs.’

‘Hmm,’ said Rarity, ‘Did you speak with Discord about Gabby, then?’

‘He already knew, and… well, let’s just say I know from experience that Discord thinks actions speak louder than words where romantic issues are concerned?’ said Spike, ‘I respectfully told him to mind his own business and that my mind was made up. I don’t want to step foot in Ponyville and slip on a strategically-placed banana peel that somehow skids me all the way to the florist, and then to the winery, and then to Sugarcube Corner for a box of chocolates, and then dumps me on Gabby’s doorstep to make up with her, and several angelic flying pigs in diapers with bows and arrows are also there for some reason.’

Rarity snickered. ‘Well, maybe that’s why he said nothing to her, then. That’d count!’

Spike chortled in kind. ‘Yeah, true enough… so yeah, we’ll all meet up at the race. Sounds great!’ He looked down at Ponyville one more time, then said, ‘Well, you don’t want to miss your balloon and the dock’s a way from here. Wanna get going?’

‘Yes, let’s go, I couldn’t bear to leave Opal unfed for much longer. Now hop on, I have need of your navigational skills once again!’ said Rarity, lowering for Spike to ride her again, ‘We are out of my usual purview coming all this way out, after all!’

‘No problem! Happy to help.’ Spike didn’t hesitate this time and fluttered onto her rump-first, a perfect landing for once. They made their way through the streets of Canterlot to their destination in good time, chattering and laughing the whole way, and Rarity cooed and waved a hoofkerchief to Spike from the balloon as it set forth back to her home. It truly had been a magnificent afternoon with her favourite little dragon, she reflected later – she couldn’t wait for their next official rendez-vous, and who knew? Maybe he’d visit the boutique in the meantime, she dearly hoped. After all, those dresses wouldn't model themselves.


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