Chapter Two
The Party
“I think you overdid it with the scale polish, Twilight,” Spike muttered as he walked to the party, looking like his scales had just received a fresh coat of wax. He didn't mind smelling like lavender, but the belt sander had been a bit much; Twilight had always been too rough with it, and now, it seemed, some things never change.
“Come on, Spike, I think you’re exaggerating. I didn't use that much; just more than I did last time because, well, you're bigger is all.”
“Ponies can see their reflections in my ass,” the dragon said as they walked down the street. “That is not normal.”
“Spike, didn’t I ever teach you not to use words like that?”
“Twilight, I’ve heard both you and Rarity use those words plenty of times whenever one of you were talking about Prince Blueblood.” He'd also heard and learned many other words from them and the others, including some he had had to later look up in the dictionary.
“What? I always thought I was alone when I vented!” Twilight exclaimed, a blush quickly staining her cheeks. "All those times, I wasn't that loud, was I?"
“Twilight, I lived with you for years; you were never alone,” the dragon said. “And yes, you were always that loud, even when you were screaming into your pillow. Tell me, has anything changed with you? I’ll be asking the others the same at the party, but I wanted to hear from you first.”
“Well, since I’m technically a princess, I had to take over a lot of responsibilities that I didn’t have as just the Element of Magic,” she replied. “Firstly, dealing some of the rich and powerful ponies in Canterlot; instead of coming to Celestia and Luna, they’ve come to me with deals and possible investments. I’m not rich, remember; even with all the bits I make in my position, at the end of the day, I can’t just go throwing it all at the next big idea some pony has. I have to save it for a rainy day; invest it in things with small but sure returns, like farming and construction.”
“Construction?” Spike asked. He understood farming, seeing as a massive portion of Equestria’s population did nothing else but farm, but building stuff?
“Of course! Don’t you remember how many times things were destroyed or broken over the years? Your rampage, that Ursa Minor, the changeling invasion, the parasprites, etc; those events all cost bits to replace or fix, and as such, construction is a very good investment. There’s always a need for it anyway.”
“I guess I never thought about it like that,” he replied. “So, what part did you play in this whole “prepare for the worst” mood the kingdom’s in? Besides altering your brother’s shield spell a bit, I mean.”
“Well, with whatever bits I could spare, I invested in pegasus patrols along our borders, although the cloud forts they requested seemed a tad expensive at first,” the alicorn said. “While the Wonderbolts do only accept the cream of the crop for their ranks, they do dole out their members as the occasional flight instructor for training, and what with the sudden need for it, they’ve been busier than ever building up our air force. Not to mention how many of Celestia’s guards have been assigned to help train militias in many of the border cities and towns. If it wasn’t for our excellent trade and alliance treaties, the griffins and minotaurs might think we were preparing for a war.”
“Well, aren’t you? Preparing to defend yourself from a war, I mean,” Spike said as they finally arrived at Sugarcube Corner. As per usual with Pinkie Pie’s parties, there were streamers, balloons and confetti everywhere.
“Yes, but let’s not talk about that now; it’s party time,” Twilight said as her magic opened the door for them. Almost immediately, a party cannon went off, and out shot the same bright pink pony from before.
“Surprise!” she yelled, only this time many other voices accompanied her own. “Welcome back Spike!”
The fact that the noise of the party cannon had only caused Spike to dig his talons into the ground outside was a testament to how much he had been preparing for a possible party cannon greeting. Still, he managed to smile as he walked inside, Twilight following him as she soothed out her mane again. Pinkie was not so much random as she was unpredictable, or at least, most of the time; whenever it came to parties, she was indeed predictable. It was part of her talent, after all; hosting parties and generally making ponies feel better about themselves.
Inside of Sugarcube Corner... well, it was as festive as any one of Pinkie Pie’s parties could be. the smell of fresh-baked goods wafted out of the kitchen, and for the first time in years, Spike felt the pangs of hunger rumble through his stomach. Food of all kinds lined the cloth-covered tables, there was soft yet festive music playing in the background, and the place was packed with familiar faces of all kinds. There were some games being played off in a few corners, and everywhere ponies were eating, chatting, and generally already having a good time.
As Spike mingled and said hello to everypony for the first time in five years, he felt a nagging suspicion that he was forgetting something. There was something not here, something he had overlooked while he talking with everypony.
Oh well; he was sure it’d come back to him in a while. It was nice to catch up with everypony again and see what they had all been up to.
Rarity was still as beautiful as ever, and now ran a large fashion distribution line with her Canterlot partner, Coco Pommel. They had clothes of all kinds being sold in stores everywhere, from the fanciest and most expensive to the cheapest and downright plain. The fact that Rarity was making and selling plain clothes as often as she was fancy dresses absolutely blew Spike’s mind. It seemed she had finally came to understand that fancy or expensive didn’t always mean better, which the dragon was glad to hear. That, and she had also designed a few now-famous dress patterns based off of his scale patterns, something he had definitely not been expecting.
Applejack was still working on the farm with her brother, which had grown a bit larger in his five year absence. Now Applejack had a partner in farming, with some of the south fields being tended to by Carrot Top and her family. In fact, Applejack had really branched out in her overall number of different crops: beets, corn, wheat, asparagus and even barley. Still, apples were what she grew the most of, and to Spike’s surprise, Granny Smith was still alive and kicking. Maybe she was immortal or something? Nopony knew what eating zap apples for... however old she was, could do to one’s system.
Rainbow Dash was still as much the athlete as she ever was, although the fact she had been hired on to train other pegasi in patrolling around the countryside had become a never-ending source of pride. That, and the rave reviews she got from some magazines on her stellar aerial performances for several charity functions made her really happy, something Spike was happy for as well. Plus, she had been featured as a recurring character in several Daring Do novels, though the fact that her hero had included her had been more embarrassing for the cyan-colored pegasus than anything.
Pinkie Pie had been so busy making sure everything was right for the party that Spike barely even saw her for the first part of the party. After finally managing to corner her with a tray full of baked goods, Spike had been able to find out that Pinkie Pie no longer worked at Sugarcube Corner. No, now she was a partner to the business and was helping the Cakes raise their twins to eventually take over the business once they were old enough. She had also hired on Derpy as a delivery pony for their goods, which had greatly increased sales in the surrounding towns and villages. Derpy was paid a fair portion of the profits, along with a five pound blueberry muffin at the end of the month as a bonus.
Fluttershy was still taking care of animals, though she surprised Spike when she told him she had become an aunt the year before. Her older sister, a faraway pony by the name of Hoverfly, had given birth to a beautiful little filly whom she had named Flutter. Spike could tell the pegasus was really glad to see him, though the fact she was even more shy than usual went to show she still had that fear of dragons inside her. Plus, he was a good deal bigger than her now, and maybe she wasn’t seeing him as a baby anymore, but as an actual dragon. Still, he really enjoyed her hug; she always did give the best hugs.
With the party in full swing and Spike gorging himself on some sapphire cupcakes made especially for him, his mind kept wandering around, as did his eyes. Off in the corner, with several much younger colts and fillies, the infamous Cutie Mark Cursaders were eating cupcakes and drinking some lemonade. He had heard from several sources that the three had finally managed to find their own cutie marks, but still ran the small club they had founded in order to help others find their marks. From the number of young ponies talking with them, it would seem the idea of a club devoted to helping others find their special talent had really caught on, and according to Fluttershy, there were now chapters of the Cutie Mark Crusaders all over the country, from Los Pegasus to Manehattan to Baltimare and Cloudsdale.
Personally, Spike was glad that the trio had found their marks, and yet... there was something missing from this party. Something he should have been remembering for a while now, something just on the tip of his tongue...
There was a rather loud knock at the door. Several heads turned as Pinkie Pie opened, her customary greeting stopping halfway.
“Welcome to the... oh, hi Zecora! I see you were able to make it after all!”
“Yes, Miss Pie, I was glad my schedule could be cleared,” the zebra mare rhymed as she walked inside, looking around. “I am late, it seems; just as I feared.”
“Oh, don’t be silly, the party’s still going on and there’s still plenty of cake and ice cream and games and-,” Pinkie said, only for Twilight to shove a cupcake in her mouth to cease her chatter.
Spike and Zecora stared at one another, neither daring to say a thing as the zebra approached. The whole party seemed to slowly grind to a halt as everypony’s eyes focused on the zebra and the dragon’s wordless exchange. Spike had always known Zecora to be beautiful, but... the years had been very kind to her, kinder than he had thought. Her mane, usually so upright and tidy, fell down to her back in neat curls, and her tail had the same kind of styling. Her pelt was clean, much cleaner than when he had first met her, and her gait was relaxed, something he had not noticed until well after they had started dating. Her body... wow, the years really had been good to her. She was just as trim as she had been when he had gone to sleep, only... her rump was a little larger and her hips seemed a bit larger as well; had she been eating more? Had she also polished her rings? The rings around her leg and neck were much more shiny than when he last saw her; had she made herself up to look pretty all for him?
That thought made Spike feel all giddy inside. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, and neither could half of the party-goers, most of whom were thankfully mares. Unable to tear himself away from her gaze, feeling as though her eyes reaching into his own, Spike watched as Zecora drew closer, and closer, and closer...
SLAP
Spike reared back as the zebra’s hoof collided with his face, his sudden imbalance causing him to roll out of his seat and onto the floor. There was a collective intake of breath as the room fell dead silent; even the background music seemed to fade away into nothingness.
“What was that for?” Spike asked, rubbing his cheek.
“That, my dragon, was for the five year wait,” Zecora said, closing in on him. However, instead of striking him again, she leaped in and planted a great big kiss on his lips. Spike, surprised by this sudden shift in attitude, merely played along as best he could, kissing her back without trying to make it feel forced.
When they drew apart, the shock that had lined the faces of all the partygoers had transformed into either knowing smiles or confusion.
“And... and that?” Spike asked, out of breath. “What was that for?”
“That, my love, was for spiking my heart rate,” Zecora smiled, her breathing a bit rapid as well. “Too long I was without you, but no longer. Come, sit we me; we have many thoughts to ponder.”
Helping him to his feet, Spike and Zecora glanced over at the rest of the partygoers, who seemed intent, upon noticing their combined gaze, to start partying some more.
“So... five years,” Spike said as he and Zecora found a nice little corner all to themselves. “I can’t begin to say how much I’m sorry. I wish I had known just how long I was going to sleep. If I had, maybe I could have postponed it, or... or something.”
That sounded nowhere near as lame in his head than when he spoke it.
“It is fine that you could not control your sleep, but I must tell you, for many months alone I would weep. By myself in my hut I was, with your friends alone to see; without you, I felt as if I could no longer be happy.” Zecora was rather calm as she spoke, but her words carried with them a tone that she had indeed cried without Spike in her life. He really must have meant much to her, and although she wasn’t laying it on him as thick as she could have, Zecora was clearly trying to make Spike realize just how much he had messed up. Their whole relationship could be in jeopardy over this.
Spike felt so ashamed, even though he had had no control over just how long he would be asleep. “I wish I didn’t have to be like this; like a dragon sometimes,” he said softly. “I’d have been there with you; five years is quite some time in a pony’s life, while for me... it’s just another drop in the bucket that is life.” He paused. “Thank you, by the way, for the wildflowers; they were lovely outside my cave.”
Zecora shook her head and kissed him gently on the cheek where she had struck him; clearly she didn’t want Spike to apologize for his biology any more than she wanted him to feel like everything was his fault. “Ah, yes, I had hoped the flowers would be in bloom after the snow. After all, some gifts may die, and yet others can grow,” the zebra said, placing one of her hooves on Spike’s hands. “Your friends, they still do not know of that night; should we tell them, or will it give them a fright?”
“It’s all up to you whether or not they will find out; you’ve have five years to tell them, and I wasn’t in any condition to spill the beans. I’m okay with telling them if you are.”
“Yes, I believe it best that they know of our last night’s fun in the sack; excuse me, I’ll be right back.” With that, the zebra walked off and out the door, leaving Spike alone and a little embarrassed. Night in the sack? Was she that desperate for a rhyme that she had to include that? Or maybe that was all she could focus on? It’d been five years since they’d slept together; maybe she wanted some more dragon...
“Spike, mind telling me what that was all about?” Twilight asked, causing Spike to nearly shed his scales in fright.
“Twilight! How did you sneak up on me like that?” he asked, clutching his chest.
“I’ve been taking lessons from Pinkie Pie; you’d be amazed on how long you can be out of a rich pony’s meeting before somepony notices,” the purple alicorn said. “But that’s beside the point; is everything good between you and Zecora?”
“I... I think so. She just went to get something, though I have no idea what it is,” Spike said as the door to the bakery opened again. In walked Zecora, with a small saddlebag resting on her back. As she walked towards Spike, the dragon’s eyes zoomed in on the saddlebag; there was something moving in there...
“Spike, I have something for you,” the zebra said, stopping by the table and turning to the side. “I’m sure you’ll know in one, two-,”
“Three!” a voice said, and out from the saddlebag jumped a tiny filly, her short braided mane flopping behind her as she jumped up onto the table. “Whoops! Sorry,” she said with a sheepish smile, looking back at Zecora. “I was supposed to come out when you said ‘three’, wasn’t I?”
“It’s okay, Nella; tell the dragon here who you are,” Zecora said softly.
“Oh, right,” the little filly said, clearing her throat and standing straight up to look at the dragon before her. She didn't even seem afraid of Spike, which was rather confusing, as most ponies were scared of him when they first met him. “Hi! My name’s Nella, and this is my mommy, Zecora. How are you?” She even squeaked on the words “hi” and “you”, in so cute a voice that off in the distance, Sweetie Belle was having a small flashback to the days of her youth.
Spike didn’t reply at first; all he could do was look between the little filly on the table and Zecora. Beside him, Twilight had a mixture of confusion and adoration covering her face; little Nella was downright sweet, what with her big green eyes, her little black and white stripes, and her adorably short legs. She couldn’t have been more than four years old.
“Zecora?” Spike asked finally, looking closer at Nella as a sinking feeling filled his gut. “Is... it she-,”
“Yes, Spike,” the zebra said as her daughter started fidgeting on the table, obviously unsure why the dragon wasn’t talking to her. “This is Nella; our daughter.”
The party kept on going, as most of the ponies had decided to not watch the proceedings. However, one voice rose above the din, and it wasn’t Spike’s.
“Wait... what?” Twilight cried out.