He had been at it all day.
It started in the morning when Applejack was bringing her supply of apples to the market. The farmer had been pulling her wagon into town when she had spotted Spike talking with none other than the Great and Powerful Trixie, who had parked her own wagon on the side of the path. She had watched curiously as Trixie and Spike unloaded a large crate before shaking hooves and parting ways. Applejack watched as Spike spread his wings and hauled the crate away before realising she had wasted quite a bit of time watching the odd encounter and resumed her journey into town.
Later Rarity spotted him conversing with the Mayor outside of town hall, the crate still with him. It confused the fashionista, as while Spike had been known to make the odd trip to Town Hall to get permits and documentation for Twilight’s experiments, she knew Spike had specifically asked Twilight for the day off today and shouldn’t have had any reason to speak with the mayor. But speaking with her he was, and Rarity became more confused as the Mayor’s secretary came out holding a form, which the dragon signed and returned. Finally with a smile and a wave, Spike took to the air again, the crate held firmly in his claws as he headed out towards the hillside that overlooked the town. When Rarity approached Mayor Mare about this, the earth pony just gave a giddy smile with a twinkle in her eye and said he had obtained a permit for a fireworks show that night. When pressed for more details, the Mayor simply told her she had sworn to keep his reasoning a secret, but that she would find out that night if she looked the sky.
Fluttershy and Twilight encountered him atop of the hillside as they returned from a survey of the local plants and animals in Froggy Bottom Bog. The ponies watched puzzled as the dragon looked over a map of the area with designated positions for something marked upon it. They were even more confused as he opened the crate and started planting sticks of fireworks in specific locations over the hillside. When the two asked him what he was up to, he just gave them a wink and told them to keep a lookout that night.
It was in the early afternoon when Pinkie encountered him as he arrived at Sugarcube corner. He asked if she could prepare him a large picnic basket for that evening as he had something special planned. Pinkie Pie had planned to ask him why he would need a picnic, when she recieved an odd twitch in her back before her back legs kicked out. Spike was confused but Pinkie Pie just gave him a sly smile and explained it was a very special Pinkie Sense, and that she wouldn’t say a word to anypony. Once he realised what she had figured out, he gave a blush and thank you before heading off to pick up some fresh apple cider from the Apple family.
Finally that evening, the last member of the group arrived after her Wonderbolt training. Rainbow had just landed in front of her cloud house when she noticed a note attached to the door stating:
Hi my Rainbow
Meet me up on the hillside over Ponyville. I've got a surprise for you.
And Cider.
So yeah, meet me when you read this.
Your Loving DrakeFriend Spike
Rainbow gave a smirk, unsure what Spike was up to, but excited to see what he had planned. With a flap of her wings she was airborn and on her way.
She found him waiting by a quilted rug with a picnic basket filled with sweets and a bottle of the Apple’s finest cider.
“This looks awesome Spike, but what’s the occasion?”
Spike just smiled and gave her a kiss before beckoning her to take a seat with him on the quilt.
“Something special, something that I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while. Of course something like this, for somepony as awesome as you deserves nothing short of a spectacular performance.”
With that the drake let loose a breath of fire over a long cord connected to his fireworks. As the emerald spark shots forth, Rainbow could take in over a dozen sets of fireworks planted over the hillside.
Settling herself next to her dragon, Rainbow watched as the first of the fireworks was set off. Shooting up into the sky, the little rocket exploded into a dazzling array of colours, followed by another and another. Soon the sky across Ponyville was set ablaze with lights covering every spectrum. There were explosions so blue they were almost white, burning red bursts that streaked through the night, sparks of sizzling yellow that flashed like lightening. Green embers and purple stars all scattering across the blackness of the night. It was the most beautiful sight Rainbow had seen. Then the final firework shot into the sky and she froze. Displayed in every colour of the rainbow, the sky was filled with a question.
RAINBOW DASH WILL YOU MARRY ME
She felt her dragon shift next to her and suddenly a diamond bracelet that sparkled with all the colours of her mane drifted in front of her.
“Told you I’d need a spectacular performance for this. You light up the sky for me everyday, so I figured that for something as special as this, I needed to do the same for you. So my beautiful Rainbow, what do you say?”
The Pegasus turned to him, tears in her eyes and the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face.
“After a performance like that, how could I say no.”
As the ponies of Ponyville cheered, Rainbow and Spike closed together for a kiss, letting the lights of the fireworks wash over them.