Once everycreature aboard the Queen Parabola IV had alighted and it had moved on, Rarity took a delicate slurp of her cocoa’s dregs, licking her lips surreptitiously before sitting upright and addressing her darling Spikey. ‘You surprised me doing that, in case you couldn’t tell,’ she grinned, putting her free foreleg around his side, ‘I mean, not in a bad way, simply that I didn’t know you had the upward thrust to heft me onto a roof like this!’
Spike finished his own long sup of the steaming hot chocolate before replying. ‘Eh, I’ve been on patrol with Shining Armor and his guards these past weeks a fair few times, Rare,’ he shrugged, ‘Kept me busy, my mind occupied, and my body fit, I dare say. And yeah, it is new… I don’t think I told you about the bog incident around this time last week? Had to save a big guy, Tundra Aurora, who fell in one. Quickly too, since it was freezing out in the forest.’
‘Freezing, you say? So unusual, that far north,’ Rarity said, raising her eyebrows, ‘But no, I don’t recall reading about that. Ah, I suppose his rescue went without too much drama, then? This was one of the guards, I assume?’
‘Yeah. Short version is, he somehow made it halfway into one while checking for polar bears in the thick before he started to sink, but once he did, well… me and True Arrow – that pegasus gal I mentioned in my letters a few times, if you remember? – hadda fly over with a rope and get him out. He was AOK after he’d popped out of his armour and we’d got him back onto firmer soil. Of course we lost that, but so what? We pulled off the rescue big-time!’
‘Truly?’ Rarity gasped, ‘Well, well done to the both of you for saving a stallion’s life like that! You and the guardsmare, I mean. I’m quite surprised you’re so, ah, blasé about such a thing.’
Spike shrugged again. ‘Eh… Shiny was pretty pleased with us both and all, but it didn’t seem that huge of a deal then and there; the team needed flyers and we were the closest available. Mainly translated into extra ice cream with cake at the dinner table once we were done for the day, y’know? I’m hardly complaining. It was just all in a day’s work, but… it proved to me that I can do stuff like that. I mean, you’re half that guy’s weight if that, so mathematically it stood to reason I could lift you solo.’
Rarity snorted with amusement, tipping the last few drops of her drink onto the roof’s snows before crumpling the cup and placing it into the saddlebag opposite the crystal flowers’. ‘Flatterer. Well, mostly you did, though, ah, fleeing the guards definitely gave you the kick in the pants you needed to get us over the top. It wasn’t an unpleasant ride though, darling… um, weren’t you saying you were going to turn yourself in later, though? I rather hope we won’t be having the rest of this date of ours from opposing sides of jail cell bars!’
Spike shot Rarity a wince. ‘Eheh, I don’t expect a minor indiscretion like that would get me locked up, but I gotta level with ’em, and take my lumps if I must. Like I said, I’ve been with Shining’s guys lately and it’s only polite, y’know? I don’t wanna act like a tearaway the second I’m out of his watchful eye or anything like that. Of course, it helps that I have the privilege to get away with it, at least a bit. Not everycreature’s that lucky…’ he shuffled uncomfortably.
‘Well, it’s not as if the dock is especially busy today, Spikey, and the skies were clear as, um, day when you flew in. I imagine the rules here are primarily in place to prevent accidents; simply imagine if a flock of pegasus tourists were to fly around willy-nilly, then suffer collisions with an airship during the rush hour!’ Rarity said before grimacing, ‘Oh, that would end with casualty at best. We’ll see, though. Whatever happens, you have my moral support, sweetheart, unless that counts as a privilege? If it puts you on the spot, as it were…’
Spike exhaled. ‘If you’re worried about getting overprotective again, don’t be, Rare. Honestly, I’m not sure if there was a right move to be made after the Hive incident. You know I don’t blame you for anything, I was just super shaken by it… though now you bring it up…’ He put a claw to his lip as he trailed off.
Rarity tipped her head, a loose curl spilling onto his crest. ‘Yes, darling?’
‘Ehh… maybe later. We just got back together and I don’t really want to get into my personal stuff so soon. Let’s scarf these down, clear things up with the guards, go see the Falls before nightfall, then check into the Mareiott. You know it gets dark early this time of year, this far north. I heard the hotels here are really nice and comfy to make up for it.’
‘A fine plan, provided you don’t get jailed,’ Rarity near-chuckled, before sobering up at the possibility he could, ‘One could say we’ve done little else but process our feelings in our little love letters to one another these past weeks, aside from perhaps describe our days’ highlights, so actually doing things alongside my favourite little dragon is very welcome. Ah, may I have a donut?’
‘I wasn’t planning on eating the whole box! Help yourself,’ Spike grinned, flipping the box’s lid.
Rarity floated one out, gave it two psychic taps to remove any loose sprinkles, then gave it a delicate “nom”. After a few chews her eyes lit up. ‘Ooh, delicious,’ she said once she’d swallowed her bite, before inspecting the remainder, ‘Strawberry. Ooh, and the dough’s all rainbow-coloured marbling beneath the icing! How fancy!’
‘Well, thank the café guy later, they were probably whatever came to hoof first since I didn’t specify. They’re real good though,’ Spike agreed.
Rarity’s cheeks bulged as she munched away at her treat, sprinkles lightly matting her lips and the fur around her mouth. As Spike silently watched with palpable appreciation, a loudspeaker nearby burst into life with an ascending chime followed by a breathy female voice, which mainly announced the approximate arrival of the next airship. He listened out in case the announcer mentioned any search for information regarding his recent indiscretion, relieved when no such thing came about.
Rarity too listened along, eyes wide with attention as she enjoyed her snack, and she polished the donut off shortly after the announcement had ended. ‘Well, it doesn’t seem as though you’re public enemy number one for whatever that’s worth, Spikey,’ she smiled before dabbing her mouth with her hoofkerchief, ‘Oh, I’m tempted to swipe another donut right out of that box, but I had macaroons with my latté earlier and it’s best not to pile on the calories more than I already have.’
‘Well, glad you like ’em,’ Spike said a bit absently before balancing the box on the roof’s gables, ‘You got space in your saddlebag for the rest? I’d like to get the guard thing done and dusted, then we can go to the Falls and catch up properly. Uh, I hope!’
‘Of course, sweetheart. Return us both back down to ground level and I’ll be right beside you,’ Rarity said, adjusting her winter shades and standing, before popping the bag opposite the one containing the crystal flowers and floating the remaining donuts inside, ‘Who knows, there may even be a Crystal Guard stationed here? That could facilitate things since they all love you so much over there.’
‘It could,’ Spike winced again, taking flight before gently taking Rarity’s hooves into his claws, ‘I’m not counting on special treatment, though!’
‘Humble as ever, darling. Well, let us be off!’ Rarity laughed.
–––✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*💎*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧–––
In the end, Spike was hit with a one-hundred bit fine in penalty by a surly pen-pushing pegasus for his unchecked dragonflight. He didn’t argue or complain, taking it on the chin like he’d said. He could afford it, but it reduced his plans to spoil Rarity somewhat.
‘It hardly matters, sweetheart. I’m not feeling much affinity with the souvenir clothing or what-have-you I’ve seen around here anyway,’ Rarity said when he disclosed that, ‘I came here to see you, Spikey-Wikey, first and foremost, and to that end you most generously paid for my travels up front. The Falls and its trappings are a pleasant bonus… but, ah, if you require some bits in return for the rest of your journey, I do have some with me.’
‘I’ll be fine, Rare. Just feel like I should make it up to you after leaving, that’s all. I won’t lie though, it felt great to have the wind under my wings like that,’ Spike grinned, ‘No regrets, or barely any, anyway. It, uh, probably costs the same as the fine for a pony to go parachuting, right?’
Rarity chuckled as she trotted, not dignifying that with a response beyond a pause and, ‘Well, if you do need the bits, simply ask, darling.’
The two of them had left the airdock shortly after visiting the guard station, Spike flying alongside Rarity as they took the upper cliffside trail from its edifice towards the winding paved path overlooking the mighty Falls themselves, close to where its everflowing waters crashed from the upper Horseshoe Lake into white noise and foams in the Shoulder Lake below.
Many tourists were sidling their way around the same way and Spike was sure he recognised a couple of ponies he’d seen on the airship before he’d leapt off, not wasting time since alighting the mass transit vehicle and making a beeline for the main event of their visit.
Rarity looked the little dragon by her side up and down, admiring his burnished scarlet attire, along with the golden comet on its back and the split seam that gave way to reveal the base of his tail. ‘I rather like the jacket, by the way,’ she said, feeling the need for small talk as Spike had fallen quiet, ‘I don’t remember styling that one for you. Is it one of Yona’s original designs or is my memory really that shot?’
‘Uh, you packed it with a half-dozen others before we arrived at the Hive, Rare, I took it when I left. Yeah, Yona had a big idea a while back and insisted, saying red and gold are good for dragons to wear. I wasn’t convinced at first, but… well, I wore this around Seaddle and Vanhoover while I was up that way, and I guess I am now, too.’
‘It’s warm, if nothing else,’ he elaborated, grabbing the collar in one claw and showing off the padded inside, the same gold as its rear emblazon, ‘She lined it with this stuff.’
Rarity raised an eyebrow. ‘Tsk, that girl… so that’s where all my golden satin went a couple of moons ago. She charged you, I presume?’
‘Of course, at our usual rate…’ Spike said, before pondering, ‘Uh, she’s not in trouble for that, is she?’
‘A little, Spike,’ Rarity couldn’t hide a steely edge to her tone, ‘We may need to have a small word once Hearth’s Warming is over about passing things like this by me if she’s going to use expensive materials, and that goes double if she’s selling to you at our agreed cut rate.’
She paused again, admiration plain in her eyes. ‘I… I’m inclined to forgive her, though, she did a bang-up job! You look rather dashing!’ she laughed, lightening up.
‘Thanks, Rare. I try to fill this stuff out the best I can,’ Spike flashed her a toothy grin as he rolled his shoulders, relishing its smooth sensation against his scales, ‘And I like to think I do the boutique’s output justice. So,’ he said after a short pause, ‘Speaking of my post-trauma tour of the Luna Coast, I believe we have some photographs to trade later, right?’
Rarity curled her lip, shooting Spike a momentary indignant glance. ‘Spike, that is a terrible way to refer to the first leg of your trip!’ she scolded.
Spike shrugged. ‘Eh, I’m just calling a spade a spade, Rare, and joking about what happened a bit takes the edge off… but you know what? You’re not really wrong. Cadance said I should rein in the gallows humour a bit a couple of times. Sorry.’
Rarity sighed before relenting, ‘Well, I would hope so, Spike. I understand, but… I just find it a little upsetting in and of myself. Not to diminish your ordeal, but your altercation with Chitin wasn’t exactly a fun time for me either, you do realise. Perhaps one day enough water will have run under the bridge, so to speak, but… well, we should concentrate on happier affairs for both our sakes.’
She stopped, scrunched her muzzle and shifted awkwardly on her hooves. ‘And I suppose, too, I’m not helping by harping on about this. So to actually answer your question… yes, we most certainly do have pictures to trade, as per both our requests. I took some ponaroids of our little gem, quite a few neatly arranged in a pouch somewhere in my bags. I can dig them out from under the flowers now, if you’d like?’
Spike peered ahead and frowned. ‘I’d love to show you my snaps and vice versa, Rare, but maybe not while we’re up close and personal with millions of tons of falling water and a sheer drop?’ he pondered.
Rarity’s eyes, heretofore mostly focussed upon fussing and fretting over Spike, snapped front. ‘Ah! Truer words seldom spoken, precious-scales. It wouldn’t do if they all flew overboard, after all? It can wait.’
The white noise of those waters was an increasing disruption to conversation the closer they got, but they weren’t so close just yet. In the middle-distance they could see a polished granite staircase carved into the rock that took sightseers up to the Horseshoe Lake’s level, but they appeared to have reached their destination for now as Rarity slowed to a stop, her eyes widening as she put her hooves on the railing.
Spike didn’t realise she’d stopped again at first; once he had, he somehow reversed a few wing flaps in fast-motion. ‘Uh, something caught your eye there, Rare?’ he asked once she was back in his vision.
‘It’s funny,’ she mused, raising her voice over the water, ‘I was enchanted by the Falls from a distance, but less so at the docks. Now we’re up close and personal, I’m feeling the magic all over again. It’s so… powerful.’
Spike flew on top of the railing, grabbing it in his claws as he dangled his feet over the edge. ‘I can feel it, too,’ he half-shouted back, ‘Helps that the sun’s already setting… it’s like that day in Canterlot after you’d come to my meeting with Smolder and Twi. Y’know, when we went to the cascades at the edge?’
‘Insofar as there was falling water in a waterfall, perhaps,’ Rarity said, ‘But that was a dappling brook compared to this! Goodness me, approaching it further is an intimidating prospect! There’s just so much in one place.’
Spike gave things a panoramic view and whistled. Rarity was right; the view from the dock and its surroundings was a pleasant enough backdrop, but from here the Falls, by turns concave and convex, curved almost as far as the eye could see towards a snowy, thick pine forest covering the mountainside at their far end, the noise and spray bolstered yet further by the occasional bump from rocks on the descent. It didn’t need much help with that as the waters gushed down towards the frothing, rippling white blooming outwards into the next great lake’s cerulean blue.
That furthermore didn’t take into account the rainbows that danced across them, emphasised by the yellowing sky. There was one enormous one that arched all the way from the icicles at the rim and a foamy, mossy plateau near the Falls’ centre. It was the green centre that caught Spike’s eye the most, luminous and definitely the broadest of its spectrum flanked by scarlet red and fiery sunset orange on the far side, and a rich, dark indigo blue with the thinnest violet border on the near. Its rays cast over the nearby environs just a little, bathing everything on the pathway with a kaleidoscope of subtle shifting colours.
Several more rainbow arches with a more even colour distribution shone between the clear spray, the ice and the blue-purple rocks that made their backdrop, once again granite that had weathered like this under the intense pressure of all this water over what must have been a hundred million years. While the path didn’t bring them so close as to get drenched by these heavy waters, they were certainly close enough to feel the constant impact in both their guts.
Spike glanced at Rarity, seeing as he’d suspected that her eyes were reflecting the rainbows she gazed upon. ‘No joke,’ he said, more quietly. ‘This thing is immense, huh?’
‘Excuse me? Speak up a little, darling, the roar of this place is rather loud!’ Rarity exclaimed, lifting one side of her furry hat and cupping a hoof to her ear towards Spike.
‘I said yeah, the waterfall is humongous!’ Spike yelled, causing Rarity’s hat to almost topple right into the churn. He swooped off the rail in an effort to stop her toppling backwards with equal force as she grabbed it, but she corrected herself just before bumping into a passing unicorn.
‘Spikey, too loud!’ she admonished as she reared before returning to her hooves, ‘Goodness, good thing that wasn’t the pictures. As you said before, um, it’s been quite some time since we’ve graced one another’s presence… let’s keep the chit-chat to your hotel room a little later. The noise is quite loud, true, but its vastness is so beautiful. Let’s take a few moments to smell the rainbows before we continue, shall we?’
‘Sure. I’ve always wanted to just see the sights here,’ Spike smiled as he sat back atop the rail, ‘I’ve never had the, uh, occasion.’ He gazed at the momentous gravitas of this, one of Equestria’s greatest natural features, taking in its beautiful fury.
As did Rarity, her wide eyes a little watery from the sheer size of it. After a few seconds, however, seeking a little comfort from the cold she approached behind him before wrapping her hooves around his waist, pulling her into her chest and resting her chin on his head. ‘Can you hear me well enough like this, darling?’ she asked.
Spike felt uncommonly rigid in Rarity’s forelegs, something he was immediately aware of but hoped she wouldn’t notice. At any rate, the way she spoke with him clasped to her chest meant he could feel every enunciation reverberate against his back, which was helping him relax regardless. ‘Uh, yeah? Loud and clear, Rarity. How about you?’
‘Yes, sweetheart, this is perfect. Ah, such a lovely sight this is, too… and so much the better to share it with my favourite little dragon,’ she fussed into his ear frills, ‘But didn’t you come here with Twilight and her family a few years ago? I thought you’d gone with them on that zeppelin trip they took that turned out to be some sort of princess chasers’ tourist trap arranged by that dreadful Iron Will, where Cadance and Twilight herself were the unwitting main attractions?’
‘Hm? No, I held down the fort while Twilight took that break,’ Spike said, surprisingly unresponsive to Rarity giving him a gentle squeeze, she thought, ‘I think they came over this way… oh, that’s right. Mom, uh, I mean, Twilight’s mom, uh, took one of those barrels over the Falls. I remember her telling me all about that the next time I was in Canterlot afterwards. Sounded like a good time.’
Rarity pursed her lips again. ‘I’m sure it’s exhilarating, presuming one doesn’t hit a snag on the way down. That’s the misfortune that befell that family I ran off to visit while you were looking for me earlier, you know. The matriarch of the bunch was a pegasus who’d sprained her wing inside the barrel she took off inside, and came out rather the worse for wear!’
‘You don’t say,’ Spike said flatly, looking up to the lip of Neighagra Falls and baulking at the thought of plummeting from way up there with no air control, ‘For a few dozen ponies to let themselves get tossed off there in the name of thrill-seeking, I’d’ve thought the guys and gals running that show would have safety on lockdown.’
‘Normally, yes,’ Rarity elaborated, ‘She said herself that she got unlucky. According to the guards who took the accident report afterwards it seems whichever attendant neglected to bind her wings to her body before shoving her off could be in big trouble for it, as a matter of fact; for issues of repute as much as getting a tourist hurt. I went with the rest of them to cheer her up, and I certainly turned all their frowns upside-down, at any rate. Her fillies were overjoyed simply to be in my presence, and their father wasn’t displeased by it either. She was every bit as excited to see me come into their hotel room with tea and gems and a spot of fashion blather.’
‘Heck, who wouldn’t be a hundred-percent stoked at that?!’ Spike joked, ‘So you were dashing around nobly, doing good deeds and healing the injured while I was recklessly breaking the law, huh? Figures!’
Rarity gave Spike’s head another nuzzle as she giggled in turn. ‘While you were soaring and swooping in the clear blue yonder like the magnificent, sweet serpent you are, Spikey-Wikey,’ she said, ‘If time had afforded I would have loved to have seen you show that side of yourself off for myself! I think it’s wonderful when you’re bold, the guards be darned.’
Spike slumped back into Rarity. ‘Yeah, I pulled off a sweet stunt or two, if I may say so myself. Being bold just cost me a hundred bits, though, don’t forget. I shouldn’t ignore the consequences of my actions just because I could get away with it without much trouble.’
‘Of course, of course, your commitment to being a law-abiding citizen hasn’t gone unnoticed by yours truly,’ Rarity sympathised, before holding him a little tighter and chuckling into his crest, ‘But I just want what’s best for you, and if you’re going out on a limb like that, well, I think it bodes well on a personal level!’
Then she wrapped herself around him more tightly, emitting a light squeal as she squirmed around him joyously. ‘Oh, you’re so warm and cuddly, my sweet little Spikey… I do apologise if I’m being clingy all over again but I’ve just missed you that much… mwah!’
Spike inhaled as she kissed his cheek, then relaxed. Being held like this was nice, but its unexpectedness had made him tense at first, not to mention it felt not a little like how she’d been straight after what had happened with Chitin – doubtless that was what she meant in her apology – but Rarity stating that her love for him wasn’t contingent on money or social standing felt…
Well, good wasn’t quite the right word. That suggested that he thought she was giving him the OK to push against such constraints, which he was fairly certain she wasn’t, nor did he have much desire to for a dozen reasons… but it was warm, fuzzy relief to know that her number one priority was his wellbeing. Moreover, he felt the same way right back, every bit as much.
He squirmed in Rarity’s grasp, loosening it before turning around and wrapping his arms around her shoulders, putting his head over her shoulder, his forked tongue barely poking through his grinning fangs. She squeaked with surprise as he brushed her mane and sequined scarf aside with a rake of his claws and took a daring smooch on her neck.
He didn’t hold back. It was nearly a bite, a suckle of her flesh which grazed the tips of his fangs against her skin before his lips parted with a gentle “smack”, his tongue tickling beneath her jaw for a half-second longer besides. ‘I’m ready to be clung to, Rare, don’t worry about it,’ he murmured.
Rarity inhaled loudly, her knees weakening a little at the sensation, but she continued to hold him steady. Her hooves stayed secure beneath his outstretched wings as his pointed tail dangled over the railing above the churning waters. ‘Aahhhn… ooh, that’s another bit of boldness I’ve missed, Spike… the kind where you make me feel this good,’ she crooned, licking her lips and closing her eyes for a moment as she snuggled him closely.
Then she opened them in alarm as she heard a snatch of indignation amidst the surrounding hubbub. ‘Ew, did that dragon just bite that pony over there?’ came a colt’s voice.
It was followed by another, older mare’s. ‘What dragon, Diz? I don’t see any dragons, and the Falls are the last place I’d expect one. Now, hurry up, my boy! We must reach the top before it starts to get dark! You’ll love the view!’
‘B-but, Mom! I think that was Rari–’ was the last thing Rarity heard before they faded into the background noise. Suddenly she stood upright once more, her sapphire eyes darting left and right as she bit her lip.
Just as Spike had finally started to chill out in Rarity’s hooves, she was the one who’d turned rigid now. He pulled away from her and shot her a regretful glance. ‘Oh, geez, I got carried away. Should we…?’
‘Me too, and I rather think we should,’ she replied, short of breath suddenly, ‘I… I’ve been so very pleased to see you that I forgot that we are in quite a public location… one where some eyes have been on me since I arrived, at that. Perhaps we should shuffle along before we attract more attention.’
Spike nodded seriously, then took to the air as Rarity let him go. ‘An apt reminder, however,’ she continued as she brushed off her outfit then stood on all fours, ‘Of when our petting got that little too heavy that morning on the crag near the Hive, shortly before things went a bit pearshaped. Now we’re back in Equestria proper, we really do need to consider the best way forward, practically speaking.’
‘We really do,’ Spike echoed, ‘Never had the chance after everything else that happened, but maybe not in public?’
Rarity blushed and adjusted her spectacles coquettishly. ‘Agreed, once we’re somewhere quieter we can mull over these things. I won’t lie, your absence made my heart grow fonder, but I suppose that’s still no reason to throw myself at your feet and demand, ah, belly-rubs!’
They side-glanced at one another, then shared a chortle at that thought. ‘Hah! That’s one way to put it, Rare,’ said Spike, ‘Y’know, on that note you’re not the only one I’ve been shooting scrolls with this past moon. Thorax has been very keen to put me at ease regarding Chitin, and he’s kept Cadance updated daily besides. Says she’s doing alright mentally, says she’s no longer swearing revenge at us or anything and understands that what she did was wrong, but he also says she’s never out of anybug’s sight.’
‘Goodness, that’s good to hear,’ said Rarity, leaning in on Spike slightly, ‘I knew the Hive was treating that dreadful occurrence with utmost seriousness, but I’d heard nothing about Chitin specifically since returning to Ponyville. The spectre of Chrysalis still hangs heavy over all of them, that much was clear during our visit, and they’ll do anything it takes to keep everybug moving forwards away from her, not back.’
Spike inhaled. ‘Yeah, none of the changelings want the risk of… what happened… happening again, and there’s been a concerted effort by everybug to support her recovery. Even the troupe’s getting in on it; Thorax wrote recently that Ocellus and Elytron are putting the finishing touches on a new production promoting awareness of changeling love sensitivity disorders. I’m glad.’
Rarity sniffed as she glanced overhead at the clear sky as they made their way towards a fork in the cliffside path, seeing another V-formation of white birds soaring overhead the same as Spike had seen on his way down. ‘Hmm. You know, I was wondering whether you’d be a mite paranoid about birds after your dreadful experience at Chitin’s hooves,’ she said slightly absently before pausing, ‘I suppose we’ve not broached the topic outright in those letters. I simply didn’t wish to force anything upon you. Um, unfortunate phrasing,’ she winced.
Spike winced back before offering a thin smile. ‘No, I appreciate that, Rare. Cadance and I spent some time processing it in the evenings between daytime patrols and afternoon childminding, it’s why I took an extra week’s stayover at her insistence. You already know, but she’s actually pretty well-versed in psychological healing – she says her empathetic talents just kind of led her there naturally, so she’s been a huge help too with the various mental, uh, “cognitive behavioural therapy” she calls them, exercises she tailored to my needs. She pinpointed the best approach straight away.’
‘You don’t say,’ Rarity smiled back, ‘No, Twilight and Luna both said as such to me independently of one another, the latter in that dream I told you all about, even, that they had faith in her ability to give you the right support. From the sounds of it, so did Shining and Flurry Heart!’
‘You got that right. Like I said, those patrols Shining took me on taught me a few things about myself, though I was more afraid I couldn’t handle the superpowered toddler, honestly. Turns out I can hold my own, uh, with occasional interventions early on…’
Rarity noticed Spike had a distressed, faraway look in his eyes as he said that, just for a second before snapping back to reality, shaking his head, and hovering on the spot as they met the road’s fork. ‘Hey, where should we go from here? Towards or away from the waterfall?’ he asked.
Rarity involuntarily crossed her hind legs as she considered her answer, looking at the signpost’s various arrows and symbols, among them a pictogram of an outhouse.
‘If it’s all the same to you, darling, I’d rather continue our line of conversation away from the Falls’ racket, and, ah,’ she said, slightly sheepishly, close to his ear, ‘I’ve drunk rather a few hot beverages over the past couple of hours in an effort to stay warm, if you understand me. Nature calls.’
Spike didn’t react beyond flatly stating, ‘Say no more, Rarity. I wasn’t wild about potentially getting hurled off the top of Neighagra Falls anyway, especially after what you told me about that pegasus lady.’
‘Most understandable. We can always return here a little later if we like. Somehow I doubt the water will go anywhere in the meantime!’ said Rarity, before turning and trotting up the slope, Spike accompanying.
As the pair retreated from the waterfall trail, Spike felt the strangest sensation of the world around them desaturating, and he stopped to blink halfway up. ‘Darling?’ Rarity inquired as she turned her neck behind her, ‘Are you quite alright?’
He screwed his eyes shut, rubbing them for a second before opening them again and looking into her sapphire eyes. ‘Hrnn… no, Rare, I’m fine. I think it’s just that the rainbow glow’s gone, so everything looked grey for a moment. Did you feel it?’
‘Slightly, I suppose. My winter spectacles are literally rose-tinted so that could conceivably have taken the edge off,’ she answered, before shifting on her hind legs and adding with a slightly halting voice, ‘Would… you like a little lift to the top of the slope… until your vision adjusts, Spikey-Wikey? I can oblige!’
Spike felt his pupils narrow back to normality, before running back to her. ‘Nah, I can see fine, Rare. Let’s keep going.’
And so they did, and once they’d reached Rarity’s needed destination she gave Spike a smooch on the cheek, one he noticed was definitely propelled by her sweet, hot breath. ‘Be back in two shakes of a tail, precious. Look after my bags in the meantime?’ she said, floating him her saddlebags.
‘Sure, Rare,’ Spike outstretched his claws to receive for temporary safekeeping, before noticing her forelegs and hooves were shivering, despite the warmth of her scarf and boots. ‘You know, you look cold. Maybe we should set off to the Mareiott a little sooner than I was gonna. You’ve been outside since you got off the balloon besides your bedside visit, right?’ he asked.
‘I, um, ah, no, I’m not cold at all!’ Rarity’s outburst surprised Spike a little, and he looked up at her to see her mane was indeed more than a little matted with sweat under her hat.
She flopped the bags open for a second and took out a smaller bag, adding, ‘Ah, I rather need to freshen up a little, however; chances are good there’s a mirror where I’ll be going and I may as well take advantage of that. Um, I shan’t be long!’
‘Gotcha. I won’t go far,’ Spike said with a quick salute.
Once she’d made off for an agreeable outhouse, Spike took the bags over both shoulders and wing-boosted himself on top of a nearby picnic table styled like an enormous flat, sepia mushroom. He sighed as he rested his palms on her bags and spread his wings, feeling a frisson in his shoulders as he looked around the frosty, grassy area. He kicked his heels against the table’s underside, observing a forested, half-wild area cleaved through by a wide pathway lined by a few nearby pony-drawn concession stalls where one could quench their thirst and quell their hunger. He could hear, though not see, at least one generator keeping a few of the stalls powered up, and some flues between them giving out thin billows of steam and smoke from all the beverages and bakeries they offered.
He considered the afternoon so far. So far, so good, he told himself, aside from that near-miss with Rarity’s hat almost plummeting into the Horseshoe Lake. And that other near-miss when he’d kissed her bare neck as amorously as he had – he really hadn’t meant to go in hard like that. While plainly she hadn’t disliked it, as she’d pointed out they needed to be as careful as ever in public. And then there was that other other near-miss that had just cost him a hundred bits, in the name of impressing her…
‘Geez, Spike. You’re just lucky Rarity’s so forgiving,’ he muttered to himself, before inhaling and closing his eyes for a second, realising what he was doing to himself by dwelling on all those near-misses. The cognitive therapy sessions he’d mentioned earlier had frequently touched upon such negative thought patterns, Cadance had been most persistent about shame spirals and how to turn them around.
So he shooed those gathering clouds away. ‘Eh, she loves my scales and tail… no point in worrying about the little stuff. Well, maybe if Twilight gets on my case about the fine later,’ he chuckled, ‘But that’s a bridge to cross if it comes up once I’m finally back home for Hearth’s Warming.’
Then he paused, pursing his lips for a moment. ‘Also, I’m talking to myself. First sign of insanity. Quit it, Spike.’
On that note he resolved to hush his tush, instead sitting quietly as he watched the world go by. It was less busy up here than by the Falls, but there was still a decent amount of hoof traffic, ponies in jackets and warm clothing with the occasional creature from outside Equestria. His thoughts soon drifted, however, to how he wouldn’t have minded one of those near-misses becoming, to borrow an O&O term, a critical miss.
He couldn’t help a smile from spreading across his face as he blushed, resting his elbows on the bags and gazing into space, considering all the naughty things he would not mind visiting upon Rarity with his claws and fangs. He’d put such things out of his mind during his time away from her, but since last night they’d been increasingly pervasive, and spending time in her company and physicality was once again a bittersweet pain. Yes, yes, they needed to keep up appearances, he was extremely aware of that, but a dragon could dream, and this dream was inching closer to reality.
She’d done her best to hide it after his kiss. Nevertheless Spike was becoming familiar with the little tells of Rarity’s arousal, even after being apart from her over the past moon, and it was plain that he’d switched it on with that. His grin shrank, but his blushing didn’t as he contemplated that further.
Knowing he had… the power, was that the right word, he thought? The forbidden capabilities to affect her in such a way, well, he’d known how great it had felt, but to paraphrase her, its return following his self-imposed absence had made it stronger. His mind wandered as he contemplated it further, all those little nips and scritches zoning in straight on her pleasure centres, potential intimacies he and Rarity were sure to share following an indeterminate future embiggenment on his part – of his entire person! he mentally added, as if somecreature were snooping into his brainwaves – and it felt good to let it.
Before long, though, a young filly’s high-pitched yelp from the crowds of tourists forced him back into the present. He swallowed, leaving those lascivious thoughts behind with slight guilt; Rarity wasn’t the only one who needed to keep herself safe right now despite intensifying feelings for her significant other, that was the whole crux of the complications between them to begin with.
Instead he pondered, far more innocently, whatever the early birthday present she’d said she’d brought along for their meeting could be, as well as the photographs she said she’d taken of their Fire Ruby. Chances were excellent that both of those things were in the bags he held at this very second, and he was eager to see both, but he wasn’t about to peek at the belongings she’d entrusted to him. Patience was a virtue, after all.
There was an exception to that which proved the rule, though; the donut box she’d been keeping safe on his behalf. After a moment’s further consideration he put a claw into the left saddlebag, making a concerted effort not to look inside as he dug out another of the strawberry donuts they’d enjoyed on that roof not so long ago. He slid it under his snout and, in an effort to distract himself from thinking further about taking Rarity’s stuff one way or another, gave it a sniff before sinking his fangs into its sprinkles and frosting. It had lost its freshness slightly, but it still smelled delicious.
Immediately he relished how the hard candied veneer gave way to yielding dough that flooded his mouth with strawberry scent and melted on his tongue after a few munches. She was right, he thought, these were top-notch pastries, although this time he hadn’t a cocoa to accompany it and that detracted from the experience a little.
‘Ungh! By Celestia, that’s so good!’ he couldn’t help exclaiming as his cheeks bulged, aware he was channelling his thoughts from a minute ago into the sensation before shutting the box and returning it to its designated satchel. ‘Better put the rest away, though. Man, is there anywhere I can grab something with actual nutritional value for lunch nearby, I wonder? I filled up on gems while I was riding the Q.P.4., but that was hours ago…’
Then he noticed a familiar, fancily-illustrated chalkboard advertising hot and cold drinks among the food carts, ornate lettering with a list of beverages against a delicate chalk depiction of a steaming coffee cup with a thin line of creamer being poured into it, making rippling patterns on its surface.
He hopped onto his feet and took a sniff of air, his tongue briefly playing across his lips as he caught an unmistakable whiff of berries and gemstones. Surely his favourite smoothie cart in Canterlot wasn’t all this way up north…?
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The lampposts were illuminating one after another as Rarity returned with very palpable relief to where she’d left Spike at the picnic table, finding that it had been occupied in his absence by a stallion-and-mare couple wrapped up in winter woollens and trapper hats who were sharing coffees and a romance of their own. While her inquiry to them about his whereabouts were met with a shrug and a shake of the head, it took an entire ten seconds to see him across the way by the food carts, saddlebags slung over his shoulders as he hovered nearby, chatting with whoever was currently preparing a set of three fruit teas and a platter of oatmeal cookies for three mares planted on the counter stools.
She wove herself through the cart’s patrons, approaching from its side, creeping past the chalkboard displaying the day’s specialties as she smirked to herself. Rarity cast Spike’s flapping wings and tail a half-lidded gaze, feeling quite spritely now she’d refreshed herself. Since Spike’s attention had gone elsewhere in her absence she was going to give him a quick surprise.
‘…So yeah, I’m hanging here for a couple days before heading further south. Gonna spend a few days in Fillydelphia to catch up with an old friend in the Dragontown there,’ Spike was explaining to a balding, moustachioed green earth pony wearing a pinstripe shirt and a vivid orange apron, ‘I should arrive on my birthday, as a matter of fact. It’ll be weird to spend it away from Twilight and Canterlot for the first time in forever but yannow, sometimes a dragon needs a change of scenery…’
The green pony looked directly at Rarity as she snuck up on her favourite little dragon, and she smiled mischievously and raised a hoof to her lips; a signal to keep quiet. Spike paused as he noticed the stallion’s attention fix upon the mare lurking behind him. ‘Uh, what’re you looking at, Melon Tang?’
‘I’m back, darling!’ she trilled before pouncing, now as before clutching Spike from behind, both hooves over his shoulders as she reeled him in.
‘Erk!’ he squeaked for a moment before Rarity, same as before, rested her chin on the crest of his head. He wriggled and looked up at her, his brow beetled and he glared at first, and for a second she wondered if she’d overstepped a boundary in her glee.
But then he grinned as he inhaled, a telltale purple curl caressing his cheek. ‘Oh, it’s just you. Melon Tang, I don’t believe you’ve met Rarity, the Rarity, but you probably know all about her from Peach Melba, right?’
She chuckled, then looked over her spectacles at the cart stall with wide eyes, realising it was one she recognised. ‘Oh, yes! I remember visiting this stall in Canterlot with Spikey here, and I most certainly remember that name as the young lady who served us smoothies!’ she exclaimed, before acknowledging Melon Tang directly, ‘Such a sunny young girl, that Peach Melba. Indeed she told us back then, well, somewhere among all the fanfilly gushing in my presence, that this was her father’s stall. I presume you are he, darling?’
‘Aye, that I am, and it’s grand to meet you in the flesh at last, Ms. Rarity. Spike’s correct that my wee lassie makes certain I never go long without hearing about your latest fashions especially after you signed that receipt,’ Melon Tang pointed over his shoulder at the framed scrip behind on the shelf holding various jars of fruits and beans.
He continued, ‘I’d be casually acquainted with all’a youse, you and those other Ponyville gels that is, shenanigans anyway, what with being close associates of the princess,’ he gestured forwards this time, down the trail they’d ascended in their search for toilets and towards the tumbling frosty heights of the Falls, still visible from up here, now floodlit in the half-light. ‘Yeh just missed Peach, actually. She’s just trotted off to see the sights and take a breather from brewin’ before it gets proper dark.’
‘Really? Bad timing, I guess. Could’ve been cool to bump into her, either down there or up here,’ Spike chortled, ‘Uh, how’s she doing with the hot stuff? Last time I checked in she was getting to be a real dab hoof with the gemstone smoothies. Cocoa and coffee’s new for you guys, right?’
‘Places and seasons change, lad, not many looking to drink a refreshing smoothie in this climate, y’know?,’ Melon Tang said as he tipped the final, mango fruit tea, ‘Oh, one moment, I need to serve. Here ye go, ladies, all ready. Ah, which is the raspberry? Memory serves me right, the blueberry was for the pink lass with the very curly mane…’
The mares giggled as Melon Tang appropriately distributed tea and cookies, Spike and Rarity observing, Rarity gently squishing Spike as Melon Tang shifted the charm into high gear for a moment before turning back to them and continued. ‘’Scuse me, botha youse. Anyway, I do know my Robustas from my Saddle Arabicas, and the smoothie fruits can be used in fruit tea. Adaptation is the name of the game!’
Rarity inhaled deeply, immediately finding the mixture of a few dozen coffees, fruits, spices and a sharp whiff of wheatgrass emanating from the stall’s interior rather heady, not unpleasant but nothing from which she could discern a single flavour. ‘Well, it smells as though you and Peach have been brewing plenty between you, at any rate,’ she said, glancing at the chattering ponies warming their hooves on their drinks, ‘Has business been good for you, on that matter? Ponies appear to be enjoying your wares.’
A yellow stallion approached the stand, and Melon Tang wiped the glass he’d been holding clean before placing it on the draining board behind him. ‘Aye, nearing the end of day and we’ve made a pretty penny, no doubt… ah, excuse me, I’d love to chat more but I have been left to serve alone, and customers will want the good stuff… can I help ye, sir?’
‘That’s alright, Melon Tang, we should let you get on with business,’ Spike said as Melon Tang jotted down an order, before looking up at Rarity, ‘Hey Rare, if you’re feeling up for it, why don’t we head back down and see if Peach Melba’s at the Falls?’
She returned his grin with an affectionate smile and a wink. ‘I feel like a million bits now, my darling, but no less cold. Why don’t we go find her, then make our way to the hotel for a little warmth and a proper dinner? I’ve not had a proper square meal all day; nothing but hot drinks and snacks since before taking the balloon over.’
She loosened the full-bodied hug she’d ensnared him within the past few minutes’ conversation, and he shrugged off the saddlebags. ‘Sounds like a plan to me. Hey, you can have these back now,’ he said, lowering himself into a stool as she took them.
Melon Tang was done taking the order, selecting the beans required as Spike turned to him and said, ‘We’ll be back, M.T.. Uh, I should ask, are you still serving the gem smoothies this far from home? I wouldn’t mind one…’
Spike expected the reply from the pony he knew found the gem smoothies to be a nuisance in preparation. ‘Ah, sorry. We left the gem grinder back yonder in Canterlot, laddie; didn’t foresee much call for it around a waterfall since, well, dragons don’t come round here often. I have a few agates in a jar I'll sell youse for two bits apiece, though?’
‘I will consider them as an add-in for something citrusy later,’ Spike answered, ‘Well, we’ll leave you to it, my good stallion. Let’s go see the waterfall before it gets really dark, Rarity!’
‘I can still see them in spite of the night, sweetheart, I think they’ve been lit up for the evening!’ Rarity said excitedly as they turned from the cart and weaved back through the thinning crowds, ‘Unlikely we’ll get more rainbows today, but no matter. Ah, would you prefer if I took you back down myself, Spikey-Wikey?’
Spike pondered her invitation for one entire second as he stepped back onto the main pathway. ‘You sure? You’re already carrying plenty, but I wouldn’t mind…’
She dipped her head close to his ear frills and whispered, blushing slightly, ‘I most certainly am sure, darling, that I want you to ride me. Understand?’
‘If you insist, Rare. I’ll probably keep you warm, anyway!’ said Spike, vaulting with a wing boost onto her back. He took care not to scratch his knee against the crystal flowers still protruding from one saddlebag.
She gasped as he landed and put his claws on her shoulders before straightening up. ‘An additional benefit. But besides that, you do feel good on top of me,’ she purred, looking back at him.
‘Calm down there, Rare. We are still surrounded by tourists,’ said Spike, realising that Rarity’s arousal from earlier was more controlled now than it had been in the aftermath of smooching her neck, but it hadn’t abated. Now as ever riding her was a safe way to be intimate, he figured, but he resolved not to get too clawsy, moving them firmly onto the back of her scarf. Just because he had the touch didn’t mean he should use it irresponsibly, after all.
She sighed, a plosive heave of self-admonishment with which Spike sympathised. ‘Hahh… right as always, precious-pants. Let us be on our way to rejoin their number and see the sights once more, find your young friend, and once we reach the hotel we can finally exchange pictures and suchlike.’
‘Sure. Let’s go,’ Spike replied. And with that she set off, her bumpy trot jostling Spike up and down as they returned to the icy Falls. It wasn’t just her; in this moment he felt it too, a piquant need to be closer to her like this that he’d been denying himself, and she had been just as much. He’d honestly missed riding Rarity this past moon or more… in the completely normal and socially acceptable way to which he was accustomed, he mentally added, as if somecreature were snooping into his brainwaves!
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