Gabby twirled, pulling Spike along. "So, this is my town!" She threw an arm out wide. "What do you think of it?" Her tail was lashing with excitement, her bright eyes locked on him, eager for that reply.
Spike tapped a foot with thought. "You want my honest take?"
"Yes!" She bobbed her head, squeezing his hand between both of hers. "What do you think?"
"Well... To start, they're griffons."
She cocked a brow. "Is that bad?"
"No! No... But it comes with a few expectations, that they meet." He reached up his free hand towards her cheek, gently brushing the feathers of her face. "But I met some nice griffons, and some less than nice ones. I can feel you, here. Maybe not as concentratedly awesome, but I can't penalize them for that."
"Aw." She suddenly clapped her hands on his cheeks, cradling his face. "You keep saying such nice things about me!"
"I only speak the truth." He held up a hand in solemn oath.
"Yeah yeah." She did not sound convinced. "Today, a treat!"
"Yeah?"
She pointed down the road. "Gonna take you to a show! You never saw any griffon plays. They're not like pony ones, at all. I've seen those, and these, and yeah, different creatures." She grabbed for one of his hands anew. "Let's go!"
Spike followed along after Gabby, laughing at her eagerness, but he had a smile of his own, catching some of that spirit along the way. "I'm sure it'll be great."
It... was something. Spike emerged with Gabby at his side. She was hooting and cheering, slapping him on the back. "Did you see that part? And the sword!" She made a swinging motion. "Agh, if only..." She fell against him, playing dead.
"Yeah... saw it." He shook his head a bit. "Are all griffon stories so... violent? It was like... Like the adventures of Captain Astounder, turned up to eleven!"
"Who?" She righted herself. "You alright?" Her joy turned to concern. "Oh man, was that not your thing? I'm sorry!"
"Hey, hey!" He took her hand between his. "Hey. You put up with a lot of stuff for me. You don't really like comics, right? That's, uh... alright, we're not twins, and even twins aren't that..."
"I got that book," she defended. "With the yak?"
"Where is it?" He flashed a cocky grin. "I noticed it quietly fading away."
Her cheeks began to burn. "I thought the yak was very nice, but I couldn't quite get the... everything else?"
"And that's alright." Spike patted her hand. "We like our own stuff, and we like each other, but we don't have to like each other's stuff."
"Yeah..." She did not appear entirely satisfied. "Gonna read the next chapter of that."
Spike raised a dubious brow. "Don't do it just for me."
"What if I want to see what's next?" She flashed a big grin. "I may not be super into collecting them like you are, but I liked the story."
"Hey, that's cool." Spike bounced away with a quick thumbs up. "I'll show you where--"
"--Nuh uh. You said that was the old series. That's a different story. I already started. I want to finish it where it is now." She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "If I like how it goes, maybe that can be another story I read?"
"Huh, alright." Spike allowed that, his smile warming. "Cool that you like it. Now I'm gonna have to read it."
This got a blink out of Gabby. "You're the one that pointed it out. I thought you'd have read it already?"
"I'm a comic fan." He put both hands to his chest. "I knew about it, sure. But I know a little about a lot of comics. Doesn't mean I actually read it."
"But now you will." She tapped her chin. "You get paid more than me. If you're going to read it, just pass it to me when you're done and we both win?"
"Score." They met knuckles to knuckles in a fistbump. "I'll put in your address for where to deliver it to. This is for you. I read comics pretty fast, then we can talk about it."
Gabby burst into little giggles, hands trembling in balls. "That sounds like a lot of fun!"
Spike turned on the side of the road, taking in the views. "So where to next?"
"Uh."
"What?" Spike lifted into the air a few inches, wings flapping steadily. "I'm having fun."
"Glad to hear it... But, uh, I... Oh!" She pointed with a sharp thrust of a finger. "The peak!"
"The peak?" Following her pointing, he saw it, a tall outcropping of stone near the edge of town. "Huh. What's that? Besides a peak, that is."
"It's a very special place." She lifted into the air much as he had and soon began to lead the way across the city towards the rock tower. "And we won't leave without seeing that, so this way!"
The two soared low over the city, approaching the landmark rapidly. "So." He drew up aside her. "What's so special about this spot?"
"It's special," she assured without specifics. "And I'm not going until we see it. Together."
He could hear the seriousness in her tone, so he didn't argue it further. Besides, what was the harm of looking at, or from, a tall rock? They landed gently on its side, on a tiny trail that led the rest of the way up. "Mind your step," she warned, shimmying along, flat against the rock.
"Why aren't we flying the rest of the way?" They were so close. Surely it would have been easier to just finish their flight than to make that last bit on the too-narrow walkway.
"The wind gets nuts right at the top." She stepped over a crack carefully, sliding forward. "Trying to come in for a landing up there will send you flying, or crashing. Maybe both? Let's not find out."
Spike followed the motions she performed, making the slow climb up to the top. As the wall gave way to the floor, the wind battered against them with the soft whistle of powerful gusts. She had not been lying. "Nice." He could see out across the entire town from there. It was like a... toy or an art piece, all the houses seemingly perfect from so far away. The people, simply gone, lost.
"They call this..." Gabby danced a little, uncertainty fluttering in her. "They... It's Couple's Point. They say if two griffons come up here and see the same thing, out there--" She waved at the miniature city before them ."The same thing, it's a good sign they'll be together forever. The more exact the match, the better."
He was not a griffon, but he had the sense to keep that to himself. "See the same thing? We're already at a disadvantage then."
"Huh? Why's that?" Her eyes darted from thing to thing so far below. "It's the same city. Don't worry about not being a griffon."
"It's not that." He tapped her hand but once. "I didn't grow up here. The town's great, but my view of it's not gonna be the same as yours."
"So..." She rocked a little in place. "So if you do pick the same thing, it'll be even more amazing."
"But if I pick something different?"
Gabby shrugged a little. "Then we know what to blame, huh?" She crouched down, getting a bit of chalk and two slates that were hidden nearby. "Here's how it works. We write what we see, top three. The order matters, but even getting the same things in a different order's still pretty nice." She offered a chalk bit and a slate towards Spike. "Once we have our three things down, then we can compare."
"Huh." He accepted his tool and looked at the city anew. "Huh... Well..."
"Write it, don't say it," reminded Gabby as she began to scratch at her pad.
He nodded slowly, and the marks came. "And..." A last thing added to the tally. He tucked the sheet against him. "All set?"
"Mmmm. Mmmm..." Her chalk danced in the air as her eyes darted wildly from thing to thing. "There are so many things..."
"The idea is the first three." Spike smiled gently at his ruffled girlfriend. "So don't stress so much on the best, just the first three."
"Right... right! First three." She hurriedly scribbled something and slapped down her chalk on the lip of the board. "There, three. No more delays! Ready?"
"Ready." He held up his board, the writing facing himself.
"One."
"Two." Spike held the board, ready to flip it.
"Three!" They both twirled their boards to face one another.
Her eyes swept rapidly over Spike's writing. "Lots of griffons? Gary's house, aw that's nice." Her face colored suddenly. "And where my favorite griffon came from." She punched his shoulder right in the middle of a laugh. "Stop that!"
"You don't look that upset." He took his turn to read hers. "The house I grew up in. Hey, I remember that. Shame we couldn't go in it." He snapped his fingers. "Where we played chick games."
Gabby squirmed a little. "I was hoping you would think of that."
"It was fun." He looked to the third one. "Really, it was. We were just two creatures having a great simple time. You don't get to... be that every day. I'll remember it. Hm. The lake?" Brought up, he could see the lake, shining clearly, the setting sun casting a brilliant shade across it. "It does look nice. Good choice."
"Not a single one," grumped Gabby, but that sulk faded quickly. "I said I wouldn't pout!"
He snagged her, one arm slipping around her midsection. "I came here for you, Gabby. The rest is bonus. When we leave here, I get to keep you, and the memories we made. The way I see it, that's way more important than any specific thing here. Uh, not to talk down to your friends."
"I get it, silly." She leaned in against him and pressed down, urging them both to sit there, facing the sunset. "Right now, I think I want to just watch that sun dissapear with you. Is that alright?"
"I couldn't think of a better way to spend the evening." They leaned against one another and things grew quiet. Not an akward silence. There simply wasn't anything that needed to be said at that moment. They were comfortable in the presence of the other, and they stayed still until the sun had entirely sank away. "Good job," Spike broke the silence with. "I wonder at times how much effort Celestia actually puts into Sunsets."
Gabby burst into laughter at the idea. "Oh wow. Just imagining her trying to get artistic with that, for how many years she's been doing it? That'd be crazy!" She leaned in and bonked her head against his. "Wanna ask her when we get back?"
"She's retired," he reminded, looking thoughtful. "But we can try to track her down, ask her about it... I bet she'd laugh."
"Well good." Gabby squeezed him firmly. "Means she isn't mad."
"Yeah... Gabby?"
"Hm?
"Thanks, for the idea, and for taking me." He squeezed her in closer, nestling against her warmth even as he shared his own. Dragons were full of heat. "This trip was way more fun than I was worried about. You should write to Gary more often though. I think he misses you."
"I should!" she stated with a firm conviction. "Write all the griffons here! One big letter for them all to share. Gosh, why did I let those connections go so cold? Seeing them reminded me how much I loved them so much!" She stood up smoothly. "Let's get down before it gets too dark."
"Good idea." And he joined her on getting down past the dangerous winds. They'd fly the rest back to Gary's, to rest. Their trip was coming to an end. But it was hardly a bad one.