The next week was nothing but working and learning. Just as Rarity was spending all of her time locked away in her boutique, Spike was spending all of his time in Fluttershy's cottage learning the very trade the white unicorn was working in. Spike insisted on personally doing as much of the dress as possible, making the creation of it much slower than it would have been if Shy was working on it herself. She didn’t mind though. Fluttershy was patient and gentle with how she taught, the perfect teacher for the enthusiastic dragon.
Halfway through the next week, however, Fluttershy found herself with a bit of a predicament about her arrangement with Spike. He comes in to find her rubbing her front leg nervously and he looks at her with worry. “Fluttershy? What’s the matter?”
“Well, uh, Spike, we’ll have to cut our…you know, our time short today.” She says, looking at him all worried as Spike gets confused, “What? Why?”
“Well, today’s my usual spa day with Rarity. When she’s dealing with her Hearts and Hooves Day orders, she only takes one or two of the spa days to try relaxing. She really needs it.”
The dragon sighs as he nods, “Yeah, she does. I looked in on her while she was working yesterday and she…she wasn’t herself. The spa would be perfect….for…her…” The dragon trails off as he says that, starting to stare into the distance. The effect gets Fluttershy concerned and she scoots over to him, “Spike…?”
He suddenly smacks himself in the head, causing Shy to jump back with a yelp. “I’m so stupid! Why didn’t I think of that before?!” He shouts, suddenly extremely excited. Shy shakes herself of the shock and tilts her head in confusion, “think of what?”
“The Spa! Rarity’s always going to the spa! And almost every time she’s talking about it, she’s…she’s telling me that there’s some kind of service that she’s never got to try. Oh, but what was it?” He says, knocking his head a few times to try to remember.
Shy thinks a bit too, “Well, we always get the special service when she and I go, and the only option higher than that is the Premium Service. Neither of us could afford it, though.”
Spike grins, “But I might be able to! Thank you, Fluttershy, you’re a genius!” He starts running for the door before Shy calls out to him, “Wait, aren’t we going to sew today? I do have some time before I have to meet with Rarity.”
Rubbing his chin in thought, he shrugs, “Yeah, probably a good idea. I wouldn’t want Rarity catching me there anyway.”
Another hour or so was spent on sewing, though much of it is spent teaching Spike more sewing techniques. Eventually Shy looks at the time and then to Spike, “That’s enough. I need to go so I can be on time. No matter how busy she is, she always keeps to when we’re supposed to meet.”
Spike nods, “Okay. I have other things to set up for Hearts and Hooves day anyway, and not just the spa treatment. I’m telling you, Rarity’s going to love it this year.”
Fluttershy nods and goes to meet up with Rarity. Spike hangs out at the cottage, putting away the sewing material to give Shy and Rarity a head start. Eventually he grabs his backpack and heads into town and to the Ponyville Spa himself.
He wanders in with a soft jingling of the front door, the strong scent of various herbs and remedies hitting his senses. Just stepping into the place helped one’s body relax from the wonderful fumes. He shook his head and approached the front counter, being greeted by one of the spa twins.
“Oh, Mister Spike. It’s good to see you again. We can have the extra hot bath ready for you in no time if that’s what you are looking for.” Aloe says with a smile, her blue fur and pink mane thankfully distinguishing her from her sister.
Spike shakes his head, “No thanks, I’m here for something else. How much is your premium service?” He asks, wanting to get right to it.
“Premium? Oh dear, that one is quite expensive, and it takes such a long time to do. Are you sure you want it?”
He shakes his head again, “Oh, no, it’s not for me. I’m getting it…” He peeks around and leans over to Aloe, whispering it to her, “I’m getting it for Rarity on Hearts and Hooves Day.”
“Mister Spike! Such a gentlepony!” She says out, only to be shushed by the dragon, “Shhhh! I know she’s here and I don’t want her to know about it.”
Aloe giggles and smiles, “ohhh, a surprise. Well, after hearing how horrible her past couple Hearts and Hooves days have been, I’m sure she’ll really appreciate this…and appreciate you for giving it to her.” She gives him a little wink, causing the dragon’s cheeks to turn red.
“Heh, yeah, but I also don’t want her to know it’s from me. Can I get, like, a ticket or something for it that doesn’t have my name on it?”
The spa pony nods and rummages behind the desk. She pulls out a pink and blue card with the spa’s logo on it, writing something out as she speaks, “This voucher guarantees one Premium Service.” She finishes writing and smiles at him, “And since it’s for Rarity, I can give you her loyalty discount. Ten percent off! That’s still a good forty five bits. Do you have that kind of money?”
Spike gets a smirk on his face as he plops down a small bag of bits he got from his backpack, “Right here.”
Aloe takes the bag and puts it on a weight, grinning as she sees it matches, “Good.” She tosses the bag under the desk and grabs a sheet of paper as well, offering it and the voucher to Spike, “This is all that we do for the premium, in case you were curious.”
Spike takes the paper and starts reading through it. A particular item catches his eye, “You guys serve fruit during the service?”
“oh, yeah. Being stuck here for so long could make ponies quite hungry.”
The dragon thinks a bit with his claw on his chin, “Could you…substitute the fruit for something? Say, her favorite candy?”
Aloe thinks a little this time, “That...would depend on the candy.”
“Chocolate covered cherries?”
Aloe smiles, “oh, absolutely. You’d just need to get them to us and we’ll serve them instead of the fruit.”
Spike quickly thanks the spa pony and carefully puts the service voucher into his backpack. With that taken care of, he heads out the door and heads into Ponyville with yet more surprises to plan for Rarity.
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His first stop was Sugar Cube Corner, where he found the cake couple and Pinkie Pie filling and writing orders. He eventually manages to get Pinkie’s attention, “Woah, you’re busy aren’t you?”
The pink pony nods, “Oh yeah, it’s been a doozy here getting all the special somepony sweets and treats done. We’re making all the things that’ll last so we can focus on the ‘make now eat now’ stuffs later.”
The dragon thinks a bit, “Huh. That does make sense. Do you have any plans for Hearts and Hooves Day?”
Giving a big smile, Pinkie hands another customer a box of treats as she responds, “Oh boy, do I?! I got this big old party planned for all the ponies that don’t have dates! And Mr. and Mrs. Cake are having a night on their own planned, with them having dinner reservations and everything. So I get to spend the whole time looking after the babies!” She giggles, “It’s going to be so fun! I have all kinds of things in store for the ponies showing up!”
“Wait, don’t you have a special somepony?”
She shrugs a bit as she works on filling another order, “That depends. Since I know everything about everypony in Ponyville, you could say EVERYONE is my special somepony!” She sees the look on the dragon’s face, “Buuuut that’s not what you meant. No, I don’t have a date or anything. And it’s fine. I’m just happy knowing that Mr. and Mrs. Cake will be enjoying their Hearts and Hooves Day instead, and I know I’m not the only one since I got other ponies coming to my party! But enough about me. What about YOU? Do yooouuu have anything going on?”
Spike plays with his claws a bit as he nods, “Well, yeah, a lot, actually. See, I have a bunch of stuff planned for Rarity, and then I’m going to tak-“
“RARITY?! Spike, Rarity is the last pony that wants anything to do with Hearts and Hooves day.”
Spike sighs as he puts his clawed hand to his face, “Yes, Pinkie, I know-“
“No you don’t! Spike, listen, I tried getting Rarity a date one year and…well…it didn’t work out. Trust me, It’s best just to leave her alone on Hearts and Hooves Day.”
“It’s too late for that. I already got things set up, and I can’t back out now! Just tell me if you can make some chocolate covered cherries for her and I’ll be gone.” Spike says, folding his arms in front of his chest. Pinkie blinks at him, “Chocolate covered cherries? Well, we mostly do baked stuff but…if you’re sure…”
“Listen Pinkie,” the dragon puts his hand on her shoulder, “I’m going all out to give Rarity a good Hearts and Hooves day, and I know exactly what I’m doing. YOU have to trust ME with this, okay? Can you make them?”
Pinkie looks at him before giving a little smile, “Of course I can make them. Just…just make sure you know what you’re doing. She’s had enough bad experiences on Hearts and Hooves Day, okay? Just tell me when you’ll be getting them.”
“Actually, can you deliver them to the Ponyville Spa? They’ll know what to do with them.”
Pinkie tilts her head at him, “The spa? Why would I send them to the spa if…ohhhhhh…” She giggles and grins, “You ARE going all out with this, aren’t you? One box of chocolate covered cherries to be delivered to the spa by Hearts and Hooves Day. Got it.” She says as she writes it down. Then she looks over to see Spike pulling out some bits, “Uh, what are you doing?”
“I’m paying for the Cherries.”
Pinkie puts her hoof up, “No. Absolutely not. Knowing Rarity is going to have a good Hearts and Hooves Day for once is all the payment I need. Besides, we technically don’t sell this kind of stuff, so I can’t charge you anyway.”
Spike sighs, “Just take it, please.”
Pinkie looks at the bits he’s holding out and shrugs, “Okay.” She takes the bits and puts them away, “Anything else, Spike?”
Spike shakes his head, “Nope! I have one more thing to set up for Rarity. See you later, Pinkie.”
The pink pony waves goodbye to the dragon, letting him leave as she goes back to work herself.