It was late in the morning. Twilight sat in her room enjoying a cup of hot tea adorned by a soft summer breeze. All was calm and quiet in the castle, only the occasional snore could be heard. Spike had slept in a nearby room for the night. Twilight remembered all that time ago he was sound asleep in his little basket ready to hop up and help out anypony in need of assistance, now he's reached adulthood. She wondered if he still had his old habits, he still slept like a rock, but he seems so different.
Finished with her tea she climbed off the bed and began making her way down the wide crystalline hallway. It had taken her some time to get used to her labyrinth of a castle, there are still some aspects that she still hasn't been able to adjust to. She was ripped from her thoughts by the sound of loud yet content snoring. Spike lay belly up lost in a world of dreams. Twilight watched with a loving smile taking notice of how every time he exhaled small puffs of smoke would float gently out of his nostrils. She looked over the unconscious dragon and found something startling.
He had dozens of scars and cuts riddling his stomach all miniscule compared to one large gash running from his chest down the length of his body. Twilight was about to examine th scars closer, but she was interrupted by the castle informing her that “Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, requests an audience”. That was one of the aspects that scared the stuffing out of her.
Twilight looked down to Spike making sure that he was still sound asleep. With one twitch of his back right leg she was sure that ‘Cas’ hadn't disturbed him. “Thank you, Cas. I'll be there shortly,” she whispered. With that she trotted out of the room stealing one last glance at his scars.
Rainbow Dash fiddled with her hooves as she waited for Twilight to come to the door. Then her nose began to tickle and itch. Checking her surroundings she lifted her hoof to her nose and began digging vigorously for the blockage of mucous. No more than a second later Twilight's castle door flew open.
“Good morning... Rainbow... Dash...” she looked at her with a blank face. Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly then removed her hoof from her nose pulling a long green strand of yuck with it. She whipped her hoof around violently trying to eject the sticky green blob.
“Hey Twilight,” she smiled nervously. Twilight blinked once then calmly asked “What brings you by?”
“Oh, uh, is Spike here?”
Twilight cocked her head slightly. “Yeah, he's here.”
“Can you go get him, he promised he'd fly with me today,” she added awkwardly.
“He was asleep, but it is about noon,” she paused for thought “I'll go wake him up, come on in.”
Rainbow Dash followed behind Twilight still trying to be rid of the nasty green goop on her hoof.
Spike, it's time to get up. It's nearly noon,” announced Twilight as she approached the spare room. Much to her surprise he had already woken up in the short time it took for her to get the door, or was is short? In a castle this size that's hard to tell. Anyway, he lay on his belly while holding his head high as if he were watching over some secret hoard.
“Oh, morning, Twilight,” he said in a deep relaxed voice. Twilight could feel the room vibrate as he spoke.
“Good morning, Spike. Did you sleep well?” she asked in a frazzled slur.
“Oh yeah, I slept like a bear through winter,” he noticed that Twilight seemed a little out of line. “Are you okay? Anything that you need me to do?”
N...no, not at the moment, but Rainbow Dash is here to see you.”
Spike's eyes brightened some. “Right, I almost forgot that she wanted me to show her some of my moves.” He rose to his claws and yawned revealing a mouthful of razor sharp teeth ready to rip something apart. Twilight couldn't help but stare at him in amazement. She knew that ponies reached adulthood rather quickly, but Spike was no taller than her the last time he was next to her. Now he's giving Celestia a run for her money. Delving deep into a cognitive state Twilight began to become more curious about dragons than she had ever been.
“Twilight, Twilight... Twilight!”
“Hm?” she said as she was snapped out of her ‘thinker’ state.
“I said that I'm leaving to go with Rainbow.”
“Oh, right. Go on and have fun.” She watched on until he disappeared around the corner. “I have some research to do...”
Spike walked calmly through town with an annoyed Rainbow Dash fuming with every step.
“Why are we still waking?” Rainbow Dash asked, impatience clear in her tone.
Spike lauded at his speedy companion. “Because I want to get to the fields outside of town,” he answered simply.
“But why are we walking? We could've been there in no time.”
Spike thought it over some then gave her the best answer he had. “Yeah, we could get there faster, but sometimes you have to slow down and enjoy the finer things in life.”
“Really?” Rainbow Dash snidely remarked.
“Well, not exactly. I don't want to draw anymore attention to myself...”
“Oh...”
“But let's not worry about that right now, besides I figure were far enough to take off now.” He spread his wings revealing the glistening emerald membranes hidden within. With one short sprint he took to the skies.
“Hey, wait for me!” Rainbow Dash shot after him.
Meanwhile Rarity was returning from a spa day with Fluttershy. Nothing felt better than having a relaxing stress free day with your friends. She then, began to wonder what everypony was up to. Applejack was most likely bucking apples, Pinkie could jump out on her at any moment, she had just seen Fluttershy, and Twilight would be buried in her books. The moment Twilight crossed her mind so did Spike.
She shivered just thinking about his name. Nothing was wrong with him it was just his outward appearance that she couldn't get over. Not that he was unattractive to be honest he is the most handsome dragon she's ever seen, given that she doesn't fraternize with any dragons. He just looked so... Ferocious and scary, now she started to sound like Fluttershy. Putting it aside she decided to go and visit her.
Rarity stood in front of the castle admiring the décor. It was the most beautiful crystal tree, much like the tree of harmony. She felt a little regret for not coming back to visit it. Lost in her thoughts she didn't notice a blue light cascading over her. “What is this?”
“Hello Rarity, bearer of the element of generosity, what brings you to the castle of friendship?”
Rarity was processing what had just happened. A building just greeted her. She shook her head then spoke. “H-hello I would like to see, Twilight... Sparkle?”
“Twilight Sparkle departed approximately fifteen minutes ago. I can leave her a message if you'd please.”
“No that won't be necessary.”
“Thank you for visiting.” Rarity began to make her way down the stairs thinking to herself. “Did I just talk to a building? That was very strange.” She decided to go home and relax for the rest of the day.
On her way home she took note of something purple zipping in between the surrounding foliage. Moving in to investigate closer she was pulled into the thorny mass. Twilight revealed herself by shushing Rarity with her hoof.
“Twilight, what on Earth are you do-”
“Shhh,”
She moved Twilight's hoof away from her mouth. “What are you doing?” she whispered.
“I'm watching Spike.”
“What, why are you watching him?”
“Because, seeing him again reminded me about how much we don't know about dragons.”
“So how about you ask him instead of spying on him!”
“Shh, he'll hear you.”
“Where is he?!” Rarity fumed.
“He's flying with Rainbow Dash.”
Rarity buried her face in her hooves. “If he's flying how would he see you in some random thicket?!”
“I don't know, it was a spur of the moment thing, that plus I don't have anything to do today...”
Rarity have her a sympathetic smile. “I was planning on going home and relaxing in bed, but I'll be glad to keep you company.”
“... Thank you.” Twilight clamored out of the bush and stretched some. Rarity tried to follow but her flank was too large to make it out.
“Oh, how embarrassing,” she thought as she struggled to break free of the bush's grasp.
“Twilight, I need some help,” she strained with a hoof held out. Twilight encased her in her magic and freed her with ease. “Thank you,” she picked twigs out of her hair with her own magic. “Now, let's go.” With that her and Twilight made their way to Rarity's home.
Twilight and Rarity sat in Rarity's room on her bed talking about now things and old. Like the time when Discord nearly ended their friendship and when Tirek nearly destroyed all of Equestria, one casualty being the Golden Oaks Library. Twilight had to take a moment for herself. And they even went as far back as when they first met. Twilight remarked on how from moment that Spike saw her he fell head over heels. They both laughed at the memory, Twilight more than Rarity. Twilight stopped, noticing that her friend had gone nearly silent. “What's the matter, I didn't say anything wrong did I?”
Rarity shook her head and smiled. “Not at all,I was just... Lost in the memory is all.”
“I know how you feel,” Twilight sighed. “Everything goes by so fast: first I meet you guys, then I'm a princess, now you're one of the largest fashion moguls in Equestria. All of us have found what we want to do with our lives...” she looked down to the floor. “It seems like only yesterday me and Spike we're studying to be the best students ever, now that I'm here... I don't know it feels... It feels like I've accomplished all that I have ever wanted to do.”
“And what all have you wanted to do?” Rarity questioned, voice barely above a whisper.
“Everything, don't you see? There is always something new to learn and to do. My whole life has been learning about our world, and with new things springing up every day I know that I'll be able to accomplish even more.”
Rarity let Twilight's speech resound through her mind. What all has she wanted to do? When she was younger all she wanted was to be the most famous designer in the land. Now that she did that, what else is there for her to do? Marriage was always on the table. Maybe she could settle down and start a family, yet that was the problem. Somehow somepony in her life set the standards that she looks for in a stallion, but who? The answer, though an obvious one, bothered her. She looked at Twilight who still looked on at the ground with a smile glued to her muzzle. “Twilight?” Twilight lifted her gaze from the carpet. “Do you have anypony special in your life?” Her eyes widened at the question. Looking for the right words, Twilight cleared her throat then spoke.
“No... Why do you ask?”
“I've been thinking about this for quite some time. I want to share my life with somepony, the right pony.”
Twilight began to feel uncomfortable. She darted her eyes at the door then back to Rarity then nodded in agreement. “Okay...”
“I was wondering, what if I we–”
“Let me stop you there Rarity, I'm glad to be your close friend, but I don't want to be that close.”
“What in Equestria are you talking about?!” Rarity spat in disgust.
“I thought that you were confessing to me!”
“What? No! I was going to ask about S–” she cut herself short. Stallions... I know that you read a lot, so I was wondering if you know what stallion looks for in a mare...”
Twilight laughed at her naive friend. “If I knew, I wouldn't be single.”
“I suppose,” Rarity chuckled.
“So, who are you crooning over?”
“Not so much as crooning, more as... Realization.”
“Hm, well wanna go see what Pinkie Pie is up to? I bet she's cooking up a batch of fresh cupcakes.”
“That sounds lovely.” Twilight made her way out of the room followed by Rarity. “Hold on, let me grab a few bits, just in case.” Using her magic to rummage through some drawers, she found something red glinting below fabrics and supplies. Once she lifted it tears began to well up in her eyes. The fire ruby that Spike had so selflessly given to her all those years ago was wasting away in a clustered drawer. She put it on and made her way out of her room.
High in the skies over Ponyville a duel of ‘whose tricks are better’ took place. Spike was in the lead with a maneuver he called ‘The Aerial Drill’. A maneuver where the victim is subject to a ninety degree fall accompanied by a clockwise spin clocked at over fifty rpm. He pulls out and seems to have no negative effects whatsoever. Now he's taunting Ponyville's resident Wonderbolt!
Now Rainbow Dash is up to bat. Wait, what's this? She's stopped beating her wings, and now she's letting gravity control the situation. She's flipping and spinning as if she were in a high dive contest. That appears to be what she's doing, and now she is in a nose dive heading directly towards the Earth. Here it comes, the inviting embrace of death as she nears the gro– Oh my Celestia! She is hovering with her face inches above the ground! I cannot believe it! She looked death in the face and said “buzz off, today is not the day!
“Okay, okay, stop showing of,” Spike said as he landed in front of her. She gave him a smug inverted smile before correcting herself with a fast outside loop.
“Come on,” she poked.
“What?”
“You know what.”
“Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about.” Rainbow Dash looked him directly in the eye.
“Heh, you know.” Spike looked away from her, but he could feel Rainbow's triumphant gaze burning a hole through the back of his neck.
“Fine,” he turned to her. “You are the best flyer in the whole world.”
“And?”
“I fly like a little colt in flight school his first year...”
“And?”
“I'm as big a egghead as Twilight...”
“And?”
“What more do you want?”
“I dunno, surprise me,” Rainbow Dash chuckled cockily. Spike laughed along with her.
“That all in giving you. Your ego might need to go on a diet soon,” he shot playfully. Rainbow laughed loudly at that last one.
“Wow,” she wiped away a tear. “I have never heard that one before.” Then her stomach started to growl loudly. “I'm starving, wanna go get something from Sugarcube Corner?” Spike lost his smile at the thought of being back there with everypony staring at him, silently judging. “What's wrong?” she asked, noticing his expression go sour. Spike put on a fake smile.
“Nothing, I think I'll go back to the castle...”
She landed in front of him. “What? Why?”
“I'm not all that hungry...”
“So? You can still come and hang out with me.”
“I... I just don't want to draw too much unwanted attention to myself. You saw how everypony acted when they saw me last night. I'm a big ferocious dragon amongst ponies. I don't fit in.” Spike hung his head low. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and brought him to eye level.
“Who gives a hay about what they think about you. All of your friends are glad that you are back, and of course they are going to stare. You're a big awesome dragon now, maybe they're jealous.” Spike's smile returned in full force. “Now let's go get some muffins, then we'll bug AJ for some cider,” she winked.
“Race you there!” Spike took to the sky in a hurry
“What! Hey, wait up!” Rainbow Dash followed quickly after.
In Sugarcube corner sat a cheery Twilight and a thoughtful Rarity. She stared blankly while fumbling with her necklace. She completely forgot about the trinket over the years, but she couldn't forget that day. It was absolutely terrifying seeing him rampaging through town stealing everything in sight. It wasn't his size or his anger that she feared, it was the thought of losing her little dragon to a mindless beast that truly terrified her. Now it felt like she had only he's all grown up.
“Rarity, are you okay?”
She looked to a sympathetic Twilight. She always had a way to break one's resolve with that innocent smile. With a sigh she answered. “I've been thinking about...”
“Thinking about what?”
Rarity fumbled with her necklace some more. “Should I tell her?” she thought. She took in a deep breath and steadied her nerves. “I've been thinking about Sp–”
“Spike?”
“I guess it was pretty obvious...”
“No, not that. Spike just showed up with Rainbow Dash.”
Indeed he did. She slowly spun around, and much to her surprise there he was. To Rarity Spike stood tall and strong in the doorway as if he'd vanquished hundreds of foes in a glorious battle. He looked absolutely divine, she thought. She longingly stared at the sun casting a bold shadow over his massive form.
“Over here guys!” Twilight yelled, thrashing her hoof about in the air. First Rainbow dash then Spike. As they made their way over to them Rarity tried her best to come up with a conversion topic that didn't focus on ‘big sexy dragon’. Oh goodness, she thought that she was losing her mind! Only yesterday she couldn't even look at the grotesque reptile now she's attracted to him. “I must be incredibly desperate...”
As they neared the table Rarity began to break out in a cold sweat. Something was making her feel nervous and it wasn't him. The necklace! She had just realized that she was wearing it. She couldn't take it off he'd see. The only thing to do now was hope that he wouldn't notice.
“Hey guys,” Rainbow Dash greeted as she took the seat next to Twilight. Spike took the seat next to Rarity, or more likely the ground next to Rarity. “Oh, of course he would sit next to me!” Rarity mentally fumed.
“So, what did you two do today?” Twilight asked innocently.
“We flew around some, enjoyed the view, and I kicked his butt!” Rainbow gloated. Spike rolled his eyes preparing to interrupt, but he thought it best to let her continue. “He thought he could get me with those fancy moves the griffons taught him.”
“That sounds pretty exciting actually,” Twilight jeered.
Spike watched as they sparked up their own conversation. One thing was off though, why was Rarity so quiet? She wasn't the type to keep silent for too long. Spike decided to investigate, cautiously.
“Hey, Rarity, are you okay?” he asked in a low soothing voice. She didn't want to answer, she was ready to sit silent and unmoving, but he looked so worried and innocent. She turned away from his piercing gaze. No, that wasn't the right thing to do, she could imagine the look on his face: betrayal, heartbreak, and sorrow.
She slowly turned back to him surprised to see that he still had that sympathetic look in his eyes. “You don't have to tell me if you don't want to,” he spoke softly. Bit she wanted to tell so bad, or did she? Her mind became more of a jungle of what ifs and maybe so's. Common sense and logic clashed with her old and new feelings for him. “I... Is that the fire ruby I gave you...?”
Rarity quickly dropped her head to the gemstone sitting on her neck. “Y-yes...”
“No, he saw it!”
“And you still wear it...?”
“I... Wear it... Occasionally...”
“Oh...”
Rarity picked up on the disappointment in his tone. “It's not like that! I don't wear it all the time because it's close... To me a... And I couldn't bear to lose it.”
Spike's lips played the biggest smile that Rarity had ever seen on any Equestrian creature. Something happened. All of the uncertainty, the anxiety, the second guessing was gone. She loves him, but one last scenario played through her head: for would she tell him? Maybe she ought to take a page out of his book and set up a date. No, that's too amateur. Or maybe tell him straight forward. That option could work, but not here in public.
“Spike, would you like to come over later? T-to help out with some things of course.”
“I would love to, when do you want me to come over?”
“Maybe,” she rolled her eyes thoughtfully. “Seven o'clock?”
Spike looked to Twilight only she wasn't there. Her and Rainbow Dash were no where to be found.
“Hmm, that's odd. Okay, I'll see you tonight, if Twilight let's me.”
“Oh, you shouldn't need to worry about that. You're an adult, right?”
Spike looked over himself. “This is as big as I'm going to get, given if I succumb to my greed.”
“Don't talk like that!” Rarity exclaimed, suppressing the bad points of the memory. “Promise me you'll never become that monster again,” she pouted playfully.
“I promise,” Spike chuckled. “I guess I'll go and see what the others are up too. Maybe I'll go see if Fluttershy can look at me without having a heart attack.” He stood and made his way towards the door. With one last look back at her he left with a smile. Rarity sat still, an involuntary smile playing her lips. Tonight she was going to ask him, no backing out, besides. How hard can it be?
“Hey, where's Spike?” Rainbow Dash asked, holding a bag in her hoof.
“He went to go check on Fluttershy,” Rarity responded happily.
“Oh well, more muffins for me.” Rainbow reached in her bag, pulled out a fresh blueberry muffin, and gulped it down in less than a second.
“He did?” Twilight added in.
“Yeah...”
“Are you feeling better, Rarity?”
“Never, better. Now girls if you'll excuse me I need to go home and... Spruce up a little.” She rose up from the table and trotted gaily away leaving Twilight confused and Rainbow Dash oblivious.