//------------------------------//
// Home for the Holidays 
// Story: Home for the Holidays 
// by Victoria_the_dragoness 
//------------------------------//

It was beginning to look like a delightful evening over the urban pony city of Ponyville. Rarity grinned as she stared out at the splendid sight from a window of Twilight’s castle. From without the crystal home, it seemed very much like the winter season. Snow was falling lazily from the sky, each snow flake carefully crafted by the pegasi of the Weather Factory in Cloudsdale. By now the fluffy white ice crystals were covering the ground and the houses and the trees in a gorgeous white powder, making the city seem all the more festive for the coming holidays.
“Put that one over here!” Rainbow Dash instructed, flying some ribbon over to the tree in the castle. The proper lady turned back around upon hearing the impatient pegasus shouting out commands, smiling with delight that she had come to this get-together.
Pinkie was hopping up and down in front of Twilight, holding out a porcelain decoration to hang on the tree as well. “Ooh ooh! This one will go great with the gold flower!”
“On it goes, Pinkie.” Smiling at the excitable pony’s behaviour, Twilight levitated the polar bear decoration onto the nine foot-tall tree. The six ponies and one dragon were in the Crystal Castle, placing all sorts of objects of nature on the pine tree. Rarity levitated another white flower up to the top of the tree, grinning with delight at how lovely it was looking.
“Oh, this was such a good idea, Twilight. I know that we will all be decorating our own trees back at our parent’s houses for the season, but because we were able to decorate this one together I am sure that we will not forget each other through the holiday.”
“You said it, Rarity. Ah know that Pinkie and ah will be celebrating together on the Rock Farm, but we’ll be sure to write each of ya plenty.”
“Right, Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie leaned into the cerulean pegasus accusingly.
She smiled back nervously. “I meant to.” Rarity recalled that when Rainbow Dash had gone to the Wonderbolts’ flight camp, Pinkie had stood at the mail box for several days waiting for a letter from the rainbow-maned pony. She didn’t even sleep during the whole ordeal, making her condition more severe. The poor dear looked dreadful.
“Hey, Spike, have you found the gold garlands yet?” Twilight asked from the door to the basement. Rarity turned to glance down the stairs for the conical green spines and purple scales of the dragon, interrupting her thoughts on the sad memory.
“Got them right here, Twilight!” Spike came up the stairs of the basement, carrying a long and fluffy gold garland. It was one of the final touches on the tree, Rarity recalled. She smiled at him as he attempted to deal with the decoration and keep his balance and not trip on a fallen piece.
Fluttershy flew up to the middle of the tree and hung a white porcelain owl on one of the more sturdy branches, landing and rushing over to help the dragon afterward. “Wow, Twilight. I had no idea that it would be quite so large. Do you need some help, Spike?”
In turn he shook his head, making the proper lady roll her eyes. Always so chivalrous. Never lets anypony help, even when he knows that he could use some. The timid pony in front of her nodded silently and backed off to allow Spike through. Before he could reach the tree however, he stepped on a loose end of the garland and tripped.
Thinking quickly, and without a moment to spare, Rarity caught the dragon in her magical grasp. The garland tumbled to the ground, but the fashionista was glad to have saved the more important creature instead. Still, being a fully grown dragon, he was not as light as he once was. Rarity didn’t want to support his weight for too long, or risk straining herself.
“Whoa, Rarity,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flying high at the top with a hoof full of decorations. “Nice catch.”
She heard the compliment, but Rarity was still concerned with the state of her favourite dragon. The seamstress set him down comfortably on his feet and trotted over to him. “Spike? Are you alright, dear?”
Spike scratched his neck and chuckled, blushing with embarrassment for tripping and nearly injuring himself. “Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks, Rarity.”
“Any time, dear.” She grinned back, happy to see that he was unharmed. Rarity magicked the garland between them and stepped toward the tree a little ways. “Now then, would you like to help me hang the garland on the tree, darling?”
“Sure,” he replied, smiling from ear to ear. The other mares stepped or flew aside to allow the two to complete the decorations on the tree. Rarity stood at the bottom and held the beginning of the garland, while Spike flew around the tree with the rest of the decoration. When he reached the top, and set the end down near the tip, they had created a fantastic whirl pattern that complimented the other decorations perfectly.
While the dragon landed, and all of the ponies ‘ooh’d and ‘ahh’d and cheered, Rarity made sure that the garland was placed correctly. She shuffled it along a little bit to make sure that it was not blocking any other decoration on the tree, but for the most part it was splendidly done.
“Way to go, Spike and Rarity,” the lavender alicorn complimented, opening one of the boxes from the basement of the castle and placing a red and white hat onto each of her friend’s heads.
Pinkie began hopping around excitedly, narrowly avoiding hitting Applejack in the process of her hyperactive outburst. “Whoa, there pony girl. Slow down. Ya’ll are gonna hurt somepony.”
“No way! I’m fine,” she exclaimed, not slowing her stride down. “Besides, I’m too excited for when we get back to the farm. My parents and sisters will be so happy to have you guys back again and we’ll have tons of candy and cake and punch and games and- and- oh, I can’t wait so much I can’t think of what else we’ll be able to do this year!”
The room erupted in laughter, Rarity finding Applejack’s and Pinkie’s family relationship quite amusing and adorable.
“Hey guys,” Twilight announced once the noise, and Pinkie, had calmed down some. She stood at the door to the kitchen, smiling brightly at the others in the room. “I think it’s time for some early Hearth’s Warming dinner. Spike made us enough food for us to bring leftovers to our families back home.”
The purple dragon blushed and rubbed his arm through all of the cries of ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re the best’ and other such compliments to the chef. Rarity herself took the time to give Spike a hug and a thank you, before joining the others in the kitchen. She didn’t miss the reddened cheeks of the dragon as she hugged him.
“Well?” cried Rainbow as they all sat at the table of food. “This food isn’t gonna eat itself, and I’m not gonna wait for you guys to start. Dig in!”
The meal was delicious. By the end of it Rarity could see that Twilight had been correct about how much food would be left over. By the time the dinner was done, it was late and the sun was quickly setting behind the horizon. The seven friends made their way back into the family room with the tree and began placing their presents, meant for each other, underneath it.
It was truly a splendid sight in the fashionista’s eyes. Something that she didn’t notice until she stood back to admire the tree, was that streamers and wreathes and more garland was hung all around the room. On each of the doors was a wreath and there were tons of bells and ribbons and tassels everywhere. It doesn’t take a genius to know who to thank for such wonderful additions, Rarity thought slyly.
She turned to the party pony, as did all of the other friends in the room. Pinkie was placing the final wreath above the fireplace of the room, looking back at them once she realized that they were all staring. “What?”
With that question in the air all of them once again chuckled in amusement at the exploits of the sporadic and excitable mare. “Thank you, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said, once the laughter had died down. “It looks even more like home with these touches that you added. I’m going to miss you.” She hugged the mare, and in turn Pinkie’s smile began to wobble with barely contained tears.
The others smiled sadly at the show, and made their way over to have their turns afterward. After they had gathered themselves again, the group decided to have a few card games to pass the time. Rarity and Spike sat next to one another, and Pinkie began to deal out the cards.
Just before she started explaining what game they were playing though, she paused. “Hey you two, look.” She pointed above the dragon and pony. Rarity gazed up at what the pony had seen and blushed when she understood. Mistletoe, she thought.
Rarity glanced over at Spike, and she saw that he was doing the same with her. He swiftly broke eye contact with the elegant mare and stared down at the cards that he had been dealt. “Uh…uh- well, what game d-did you have in…mind, Pinkie?”
The fashionista, still red in the face from the mistletoe, turned to face the others as well. They were all grinning madly at them, almost like they were urging the two of them on. Rarity focused on Pinkie, who was staring straight at her with a surprisingly subdued smile. She winked at her, and the proper lady only flushed further. You clever little pink menace.
She glanced back over at Spike, who was trying very hard to speak in coherent sentences; all while avoiding eye contact with her. Rarity grinned at his nervousness, leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on the dragon’s cheek.
He immediately froze, staring off at the wall with wreathes and ribbons. Rarity was still blushing wildly from kissing Spike, and from all of her friends seeing her do it. It was worth it to see his reaction. “Thank you, Spike, for such a lovely dinner earlier. You are a true gentledrake.”
“Uh- uh yeah…sure. Anything for- I mean, what I meant to say was-” He stopped, hearing his friends chuckling at his current situation. Spike at last made eye contact with Rarity, although he turned rather stiffly and rather slowly to the unicorn before trying to speak again. “You’re welcome, Rarity.”
She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks, locking eyes with the dragon. Rarity broke off suddenly, however, realizing that they were still with their friends. “There now. Now that that is done, we can continue with our card game. Pinkie, I believe that you were about to tell us what it is we’re playing?”
As the sun was setting, the seven friends stood at the front of the castle. They were about to say farewell to one another, leaving in different directions to their families. Rarity knew that Applejack and Pinkie were going to the same place, as were Spike and Twilight, but it was sad to see them go.
“I’ll miss…all of you guys,” Fluttershy said through sniffles. Rainbow Dash walked over and put a hoof around her back in comfort, something the timid pony seemed to need.
“We’ll miss you too, Fluttershy. And I guess I’ll miss all of you too…a little.” Rarity rolled her eyes at the cerulean mare, knowing that she really was going to miss each of her friends as well. Never was one to show her emotions, though.
Applejack stepped forward and removed her hat. “Yeah…like ah said, me and Pinkie’ll write as often as possible. I hope ya’ll have a happy holiday this year.” Twilight trotted up and hugged the cowpony, who returned the gesture.
“We sure will, right Spike?” She turned to the purple dragon, who was standing next to Rarity again.
He nodded his head. “You bet…and you do too, alright? I’m sure those Pies will have plenty of festivities for you to enjoy.”
The orange pony grinned and chuckled as Pinkie sauntered up beside her. “Ya’ll have no idea.”
Fluttershy trotted over next to give Rarity a hug, seeming to regain some of her composure from earlier. “And I’ll miss you, Rarity.”
“Yes, it will not be the same without all of you here with me.” She returned the hug, but quickly found all of her friends staring at her in confusion. The yellow mare removed herself from the embrace, appearing worried.
“Whaddya mean, Rarity?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
It is as good a time as any, I suppose. “Unfortunately, I will be staying here in Ponyville this year.”
“What?” Fluttershy cried, stepping back a few paces. “But then…what about your family? Are they coming down here?”
The elegant mare shook her head sullenly. “No. They were held up on their vacation…and they won’t be able to make it back until after the holidays are over. Poor Sweetie Belle, she was so looking forward to spending Hearth’s Warming Eve with me.”
“That’s awful!”
She nodded, lowering her head with grief. “Yes. I’m afraid that I’ll be alone for the holidays this year.”
“I’ll stay with you,” the dragon said from beside her. Rarity immediately stood up straight and stared into his eyes, seeing the determination and honesty within them.
“What? No!” she shook her head, possibly shouting too loudly. Spike flinched back at her outburst, and Rarity began to feel guilty. “I mean…I appreciate the offer, but you cannot simply stay here with me. You have always gone with Twilight for the holidays. I cannot take you away from that.”
“But I want to stay here. Everypony here will be going elsewhere for Hearth’s Warming, so it’ll just be you here. I can’t let that happen. Twilight has her family to spend the holidays with, but you don’t. I’ve made up my mind. It’s my decision.”
“But…But-”
“It’s alright, Rarity. He’s right. We do normally stick together during the holidays, but I can’t let you be alone during this time either. Spike’s old enough to make his decisions anyway, so I think you should just accept it.”
The proper lady was at a loss for words. She glanced from one face to the other, all seeming to understand that she needed to have Spike there to keep her company through the holidays. Can I really accept that? Yes, I know that he would do anything for me, but this seems like too much. After looking back into Spike’s eyes and seeing the sincerity in his proposal, Rarity allowed herself to sigh and concede. I will not forget this sacrifice anytime soon. “Very well. I suppose I cannot stop you from staying here anyway. As Twilight said, you are old enough to make your own decisions. Thank you, for taking my feelings into consideration.”
Spike smiled at that, making Rarity happy by being the one to give him that smile. “I’m happy to do it. You’re welcome, Rarity.”
“Well, it’s gettin’ late. Ah suppose we’d all best be off. Pinkie and me gotta train ta catch ta the Pie family rock farm.”
“Woohoo! It’s gonna be so much fun! We’ll play board games and hang streamers and eat rock soup and roll Holder’s Boulder down the hill at the farm and roll it back up and…” Pinkie’s voice faded into the night as the two ponies left the group, waving as they did so.
Rarity and the rest waved back politely, before Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash took off together. They said that they would depart shortly before reaching Cloudsdale. Soon it was just Rarity, Spike and Twilight left standing before Twilight’s castle.
“Well,” she said awkwardly, stepping up to the two of them standing beside one another. “I suppose that this is it for now, at least in terms of speaking in pony.” Twilight turned to Spike with apprehension on her face. “You’ll send letters, right?”
“Of course,” responded the dragon, stepping forward to hug the alicorn gently. She returned the hug in earnest, smiling shakily at Rarity. The seamstress trotted over and threw her hooves around Twilight as well. “We’ll be able to send them at the same time, right Rarity?”
“Absolutely, darling,” Rarity nodded, squeezing her two friends tightly in her grasp. “We’ll be sure to tell you about everything that we have done throughout the holidays.”
“Thanks, Rarity. Have a great Hearth’s Warming you two.” They separated and Rarity and Spike watched and waved as Twilight too left the group. Once it was quiet, and all of their other friends had left for their holiday plans, the proper lady turned to smile at Spike.
“Well,” she began, a little softer than she would have liked. “I suppose that we had best go to my boutique.”
Spike nodded back, a similar expression to hers on his own face. “Yeah.”
The trip to Carousel Boutique was one of relative silence. If not for the occasional rustling of the leaves of the trees and shrubs from the wind and the noises of animals flying or scurrying about, it would be quite a quiet walk. Rarity thought about how this arrangement would play out. The fashionista knew that she had a bed large enough for the dragon and the two of them could cook well, but she was still nervous. Why should I be though? He’s just a friend coming to stay with me through the holidays. Such a generous offer too.
Rarity glanced over to Spike briefly, smiling at him as he took notice. “So, Spike, I know that you have already done so much over at the castle, but do you think that you could help me set up my own tree for the holidays? My family and I would always decorate the tree together each year, but since I’m staying here this time…”
He nodded, returning her smile with ease. “Sure. I don’t mind. I’m happy to be of help to you, Rarity.”
“Oh nonsense,” she replied, waving a hoof. “You are always a help to me, just by being around. Still, I am thankful for the assistance. As I said before, you are quite the gentledrake.”
He blushed lightly and returned his gaze to their destination. Rarity did as well, though her thoughts were returning back to when she had kissed Spike’s cheek under the mistletoe. Her cheeks reddened again. I am absolutely certain that Pinkie Pie planted that mistletoe…but then…how could she have known that we would sit together? That thought was something Rarity continued to puzzle with in silence, until they arrived at the front door to her home.
The fashionista stepped forward and magicked her keys out to unlock the door. Rarity stepped in and held the door open with her magic for Spike to do the same. He thanked her and shut the door behind him as she trotted over to her family room.
“I have already set the tree up, Spike. I just need to decorate it is all.” She had already set out all of the decorations meant for the tree and for the house itself, having just enough time to do so before leaving for their get-together at the castle. Spike followed her in and marvelled at the size of the tree.
“Whoa. You really went all out, Rarity. It must be eleven feet-tall.”
“Eleven and a half, actually, but you guessed well enough. When my family and I spent Hearth’s Warming together, we would always have the largest tree for the celebration. I suppose I…just wanted to hold onto…one of our traditions.” She smiled half-heartedly at the dragon, hoping that he would not feel too terrible about her situation.
He seemed to understand that what she had said warranted no pity or sorrow from him, so instead Spike moved over to one of the boxes with decorations in them. The purple dragon still appeared sad about hearing her explanation. It made Rarity all the more sad and happy for having him here with her.  “So, what did you have in mind for decorating the tree this year?”
Rarity followed his movements and trotted over once he was in front of the tree. “I am glad that you asked, my dear. I was thinking red and gold this year, as it happens. Anything out of these boxes will do.”
The two began to work diligently, passing along little conversations here and there to keep from going silent again. Spike asked about how Rarity’s business was turning out, especially in Canterlot, and she had asked the dragon what he had been doing with Twilight at the castle. They kept their smiles throughout the process of trimming the tree and placing all manner of beautiful items onto it.
It was when Rarity picked up a group of mistletoe that she stopped decorating. She thought again about kissing Spike, though at this point and without all of her friends watching, Rarity wasn’t thinking about kissing him on the cheek. Her face was bright red upon thinking that, and she turned to see if Spike had noticed.
Still too busy with decorating, thankfully. She sighed, relieved that she hadn’t been caught; though as she thought more about the mistletoe, the more Rarity seemed to look at the dragon. He would fly up occasionally, to place a decoration or two at the very top of the tree. She saw his wing and arm muscles work as they carried him or a decoration up the tree, gulping as she stared once again at the plant in her magical grasp.
Her blush was threatening to consume her whole face as she continued to just stand there. Handsome, caring, generous and muscular, and oh so good at cooking… Rarity straightened up, growing confident in her decision. She dug in deep and she managed to control the heat on her face so as to be manageable. If you are going to do it, Rarity, just do it right now.
The unicorn took a few steps forward, keeping her sapphire eyes on the dragon before her: the one creature that was always there for her, and who had always had a special place in her heart. Rarity cleared her throat carefully, attempting to grab Spike’s attention and to clear away any possible obstructions that would prevent her from speaking clearly. It did the trick, at least on one count that she knew of.
Spike turned from his work of decorating the tree, setting down a red ribbon to face her. Before he could speak however, she opened her mouth. “Spike, I would just like to say how thankful I am that you would stay and keep me company over the holidays. It makes me so happy that I have somepony like you in my life.”
He blushed and waved a claw. “Ah, it was nothing. I couldn’t just leave and let you stay here all on your own. Besides, whether I’m here with you or with Twilight, it is like home. I don’t know who my dragon family is…but you guys are definitely my pony family, and that’s way better.”
“That is so sweet,” Rarity said touching a hoof to her heart. She kept the mistletoe levitated in her magical grasp, hidden from Spike’s sight behind her back. Though I am still aware that you would like to know about your parents. “I actually have a little thank you for helping me so often throughout the years, especially now. You’ve definitely earned it, my little Spikey-Wikey.”
The dragon rubbed at his scales from being called by her nickname for him. He always looked so cute when he did that, making her heart flutter in her chest. It had long since become something that Rarity had adored from Spike. It was a reaction that only she could receive from him, and that just made her heart flutter even more.
“Now before I give you my thank you, you have to close your eyes.” He appeared confused at that, but complied with what she asked of him. Always so quick to please. My Spikey-Wikey, you are just too much. She sauntered forward, magicking the mistletoe above both of their heads. Rarity stood in front of him, nearly touching his face with her own.
Being this close to him, she could feel the heat radiating off of him. It made Rarity giggle inwardly, thinking of all of those cold nights that she could spend with him. I wouldn’t ever be cold again. I just hope that…well…he will like this, just as much as I know I will. She swallowed hard one last time, feeling her cheeks heating up again. The fashionista couldn’t tell if the heat was from him or from what she was about to do. “Okay, Spike. You can open your eyes now.”
He did, and he froze instantly. She was staring at him, smiling and giving him a sultry gaze. Her cheeks were rosy and she was so near him. Spike looked at her for several seconds, frozen in place and blushing like mad. After a time, he seemed to notice Rarity’s horn glowing and looked up to find the mistletoe above their heads.
Spike gasped softly and returned his emerald eyes to her. Before he could say anything, Rarity leaned in the rest of the way, closed the distance between them to touch her lips to his, tenderly. She shut her eyes in bliss and concentrated on how good it felt to kiss Spike. Once the initial shock went away, the dragon leaned in as well, making the mare smile and blush further. They stayed like that for several seconds, Rarity truly enjoying having her lips pressed against his. She lost herself in the embrace, deepening the kiss ever so slightly.
It was magnificent.
After a few moments, the two parted, breathing heavily. The proper lady kept her eyes trained on him, feeling elated like never before. Finally, through all of these years of searching for somepony that she truly loved, she found her special somepony. Somedragon, Rarity thought with a smile and a blush.
Rarity stepped forward again, leaning into him and resting her head against his shoulder. She sighed in delight when she felt the dragon rest his neck on hers. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Spike.”