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"Fluttershy, I insist you come with us to lunch."
"Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude—"
"Don't be ridiculous, dear! You're more than welcome! Isn't she, Spike?"
Spike walked between the two mares on their way to Clementine's, sullenly kicking his feet a bit. It's not that he didn't like Fluttershy. It's that…well, this was the one time of the week he and Rarity got to be together.
"Of course," he said, straightening up so Fluttershy wouldn't notice his reluctance. "Come with us, Fluttershy! I hear there's a cauliflower soup special today."
"Oh, well…if you really want me to…" Fluttershy said.
The trio reached Clementine's, and Spike nodded to himself decisively. It was probably better this way, anyway. This was just a "friends" thing with Rarity. There was no reason another friend couldn't come along, and it would certainly serve as a reminder not to say anything to Rarity that he'd regret later.
They were seated indoors near the front window, and Rarity immediately beamed. "Oh, I'm so glad you could join us, Fluttershy!" she said. "I felt so awful that I dragged you to that castle just to have us all scared out of our wits all evening…"
"I wasn't scared," Spike said. "Speak for yourself."
The two mares looked at him, and he shrank back in his seat.
"Okay," he amended. "I wasn't scared for very long. And certainly not as much as you two were!"
"Admittedly, that night did lead to one of my less refined moments," Rarity said. The waiter came by and they ordered three cups of cauliflower soup. "But to be fair, it all worked out for the best."
"I was just relieved that Angel was okay," Fluttershy said. "He gave me such a fright!"
Spike snorted. "I don't think you had anything to worry about with that one," he said. "He was enjoying his time in the castle more than any of us."
"I'm so glad to hear that." Fluttershy smiled, missing Spike's tone entirely.
"Yes, well, I'm just glad I finally got started on that restoration project," Rarity said. "Did you see the state of those tapestries?"
Their food arrived just as Rarity shuddered in exaggerated horror. The waiter made a face, and stepped back. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.
"Wrong?" Rarity turned to him, blinking. "Of course not, darling. Thank you."
Spike noticed the waiter's face blush before he left. He narrowed his eyes at the stallion. Maybe they should change their weekly luncheons to somewhere other than Clementine's.
"It was awfully coincidental, though, that we should be there on the very same evening as you and Twilight." Rarity nodded in Spike's direction.
"And Rainbow Dash and Applejack, too," Fluttershy added.
Spike crossed his arms. That was odd. He hadn't thought of that. "Where did you hear about the tapestries falling apart, Rarity?" he asked. "Twilight and I were told to visit the castle by Princess Celestia."
"Well, it wasn't Princess Celestia that told me about them," Rarity said. "She certainly has her hoof in her fair share of our adventures, but I don't think she had anything to do with this one."
"Then where?" Spike asked.
"Honestly, it was just a series of rumors around town," Rarity said. She paused for a moment, clearly thinking back. "I was in Quills and Sofas the other day with Pinkie Pie, and overheard somepony talking about designs they'd like to see in the next sofa line. I couldn't help but listen in, of course. Pinkie suggested they do a party line, but I managed to dissuade them from that notion. Besides, they said they wanted a more antique feel. Then we got to talking about sources for inspiration, and the old castle came up, and somepony mentioned seeing some tapestries rotting away on the walls—"
"Somepony?" Spike interrupted. "Who?"
"Hmm." Rarity put a hoof to her mouth, musing on the situation. "Why, I suppose it must've been Pinkie Pie. She was the only one in the store other than myself that had been to the old castle. So perhaps we have her to thank?"
"Pinkie had been judging Applejack and Rainbow Dash's competition as well…" Fluttershy said, setting down her soup spoon. "Though, I guess we'll never know if she said anything about the castle to them."
"You could just ask me, silly!"
Spike spit out the soup he'd been just about to swallow as Pinkie Pie popped up in the fourth seat at their table.
"Pinkie!" Rarity exclaimed. Next to her, Fluttershy climbed back onto the seat she'd fallen off of at Pinkie's sudden appearance. "My, I didn't notice you come in!" Rarity continued. "When did you get here?"
The pink pony shrugged. "Oh, I was just walking by and heard you talking about parties and just had to see what you three were up to!" Pinkie scooted the basket of breadsticks towards her chair and helped herself.
"Parties…?" Rarity frowned. "When were we…?"
"Oh, and then you were talking about castles!" Pinkie's mouth was full as she spoke, and Spike winced as a few chunks of bread fell out. "And after that big party at the castle we had, I was hoping that maybe you were all planning on an after-party!"
"Well…we weren't," Spike said, setting his spoon down for good. He'd kind of lost his appetite. This week's lunch wasn't going at all how he'd planned.
"I think we've all had enough of that castle to last us for a lifetime," Fluttershy said quietly. "At least, I know I have."
"What are you talking about?" Pinkie gaped at her. "That castle was soooo much fun! It was like an ancient old secret amusement park! We have to go back and play more!"
"Perhaps we'll leave that up to you," Rarity said. "Not to say that we don't share your enthusiasm for the place, but…we don't."
"Aww, come on!" Pinkie looked around the table. "Nopony wants to go back? Spike, what about you? Would you come with me to explore the castle more?"
"I…uh…" Spike began. The restaurant atmosphere seemed way more overbearing, all of a sudden. The walls loomed, and the light from the window glinted sharply.
"You aren't scared, are you?" Pinkie asked.
The three mares stared at him expectantly.
Spike swallowed. How could he say no now? "Of course not. Sure, I'll go with you, Pinkie." He held a small hope that after his offer, Rarity would agree to join them, and she could see for herself just how brave of a dragon he was.
There was no such offer, though. Instead, Pinkie just leapt out of her seat, flipping the breadstick bowl as she jumped.
"YAY!"
.
.
.
And that's how, later that day, Spike ended up dangling from a chandelier, covered in star spiders, with a mouth full of carrots. Perhaps it was best that Rarity wasn't there to witness his bravery.