A Rarity
By MidnightDancer
Apple Bloom, hooves shod in thick winter boots, trotted merrily down the lane from Sweet Apple Acres towards town. Snuggling deeper into her scarf, she let her eyes roam Ponyville. While the spring, summer, and fall were the busiest and arguably most fun times of year for the Apple family, winter held a special magic in Apple Bloom’s heart.
The town was coated with snow, as yet undisturbed at this early hour by any playing ponies, and gorgeous, clear icicles dangled from the bare trees as if they had swapped their gaudy fall dresses for icy, diamond finery. She let out a contented breath, smiling at the visible steam rising from it. It was quiet, peaceful, and the sun was only just starting its trek above the horizon.
Of course, Apple Bloom then found herself thrown backwards into the snow of the lane, the weight of her small unicorn friend deceptively higher than one would assume. While pondering how she had failed to notice Sweetie Belle’s imminent arrival, four orange hooves landed solidly around her head, sinking into the snow. Both new arrivals grinned, then took a deep breath and chorused, “Apple Bloom!”
Pushing her friend from her gently, Apple Bloom stood, twisting this way and that to brush the snow off the back of her jacket and shivering as some snuck down her neck. “What the hay, girls? I was enjoyin’ the sunrise.” The grins of the other two blew away the last of her grumpiness, and she beamed right back. “So, what’s goin’ on?”
Small wings buzzing, Scootaloo pointed towards Ponyville. “We’re going to meet Spike at the castle. He’s trying to find the best Hearth’s Warming present for Rarity,” Scootaloo stopped for a second to roll her eyes, “and he wants our help!” She struck a triumphant pose, ruined only by the fact that she was finally starting to shiver. “C’mon, let’s head over!”
Shrugging, Apple Bloom threw a hoof in the air, met by the other two in a three way hoof slap.
“Cutie Mark Crusaders Present Finders! Yaaaaay!”
With their trademark proclamation, the three galloped off towards town, cheerfully kicking up snow at each other and breaking the morning stillness with their shouts of glee. Their tiny bodies warmed up with each bound through the snow and each crunch of thin ice their hooves made, and they giggled all the way to the castle. Behind them, the once-pristine snow was marred by their passage; yet still, it seemed somehow no less beautiful for it.
Ten minutes later found the three little ponies plus one little dragon curled up before the hearth in the castle, after a decidedly grumpy Princess of Friendship let them know that they could stay, but they had to be quiet. Spike had hot cocoa waiting for all of them, and they huddled in a circle before the fireplace. For the first few moments, the only sound was the three fillies slurping at their cocoa and the dragon’s claws clicking nervously against his mug. Finally, Apple Bloom spoke up.
“So, what kinda present were you tryin’ to find for Rarity this year, Spike?” She nearly coughed up her cocoa at Spike’s sudden claw on her lip, his green serpentine eyes darting around.
“Shhh, not too loud. Twilight doesn’t like to encourage my… friendship with Rarity.”
“Right. The Princess of Friendship doesn’t encourage a friendship.” Sweetie Belle cocked an eyebrow at Spike. “Somehow, I can’t seem to buy that. Are you sure it’s not because you have a cru—” She was similarly cut off at the lips by a claw from Spike.
“Whatever the reason, the point is, we need to be quiet. Now, I want to find her the prettiest gemstone I can… she really liked the fire ruby, but I need to think bigger, and that big sculpture of different gems from The Grand Equestrian Pony Summit gave me an idea!” Seeing he had the girls’ attention, finally, he sat back. “You know how we seem to find all different gemstones all jumbled up in pockets underground?” At their answering nods, he grinned. “Well, maybe some of them fuse together down there! What better gift than a natural, flawless fusion of different parts that make up a beautiful whole?”
“Awww!” Chorused Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, while Scootaloo stuck to making a face, tongue sticking out.
Apple Bloom screwed up her face in thought. “But, hang on. It’s winter, Spike. The ground is freezin’ cold and darn near impossible to dig in.”
Scootaloo nodded slowly. “Hey… yeah! And if we’re looking for gems all fused together, they’d probably be buried really deep, where the internal temperature of the earth is high enough to cause that kind of fusion. And that’s not even touching the amount of pressure required!” As her three friends blinked at her in shock, Scootaloo ruffled her wings irritably. “What? Can’t a pony be interested in geology?”
Shaking his head, Spike sighed. “Right, but that’s here in Ponyville. But if we go further south, where it’s still nice and warm… and I do know at least one place that’s boiling hot even in the winter…”
A trio of gasps interrupted him, and Apple Bloom pushed forward, nose to nose with the dragon. “Y’all don’t mean across the sea where the dragons live, do ya? ‘Cause the first problem with that is that it’ll take ages to get there, and the second problem is that there are dragons there.”
Pushing back the earth filly’s nose with a claw, Spike chuckled. “No, no. I just mean the Badlands!”
Another trio of gasps erupted from the fillies, and Spike rolled his eyes. “Seriously, guys. It’s like a four hour train ride. We’ll get there by eleven, find some gems, hop back on the train, and we’ll be back by supper!” Noticing Sweetie Belle shaking her head, Spike groaned. “What is it?”
“The train only goes to Dodge Junction. It doesn’t go all the way to the Badlands! We’ll have to walk!” Sweetie Belle flung out her forelegs, cocoa sloshing onto a perturbed Apple Bloom. “We’re your friends, Spike, but I’m not sure any of us are up to walking for like an hour.”
Spike waved a claw dismissively. “We’ll hire a coach when we get there, it’ll be way faster. And before you ask, I’ve been saving my bits, so yes, we can afford this. And,” he continued, seeing Sweetie Belle’s mouth opening, “I already cleared all this with everypony’s parents and parental equivalents. You’re allowed to spend the whole day hanging out!”
There was a beat of silence.
“So you’re saying that my sister, and Apple Bloom’s sister, and Scootaloo’s parents… they’re all totally fine with you piling us on a train and going down to the Badlands to hunt for gems? All day?” Sweetie Belle’s eyebrow hiked higher than Spike thought should be physically possible, and he spread his claws out in innocent supplication.
“Okay, so maybe I left out some of the finer details. But permission is permission, am I right, girls?”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders groaned.
“Still can’t believe we’re doin’ this,” groused Apple Bloom, head resting on the windowsill of the train.
Spike flapped a claw in her direction. “Shh, you’ll wake them up!” Indeed, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle laid together on the train seat, the pegasus giving little snores now and again. Spike had thoughtfully wrapped the seat belts around them in case of a sudden stop. Spike spared the sleeping fillies a fond smile before turning back to his other, grumpier, friend. “I mean, if you didn’t want to come, you didn’t have to…”
Apple Bloom sighed, trying on a smile. “I know. An’ I’m happy to be out with y’all, havin’ adventures.”
“Then what’s wrong?” Spike hopped up beside her on the train seat, and she turned from the window finally, lopsided smile still in place.
“Nothin’. I don’t rightly know, to be honest.. And hey, even if Twilight don’t approve of you likin’ Rarity, I think it’s real sweet you’re goin’ out of your way to get her a nice gift.” She shed her jacket as the train car got warmer the further south they went, and stuffed it into her saddlebags.
Starry-eyed, Spike grinned. “Yeah, I really hope we find what we’re looking for! I bet she’ll love it!” Still, his little claws worried at each other as he rocked back and forth in his seat unconsciously. Apple Bloom’s forced smile was replaced with a genuine one as she set a hoof on his shoulder.
“Hey, it’s gonna be fine. Even if we don’t find exactly what you’re lookin’ for, I’m sure we’ll find her somethin’ nice. An’ I’m sure she’ll love it. Why, if’n a colt did half o’ what you’re willin’ to do for Rarity for me, I think I might stop believin’ in cooties.”
With that, the two friends shared a quiet laugh. The scenery whizzed by outside, turning less white and more brown and red as the train thundered down the tracks. Everypony was happy, and warm; and to Spike, that was all that mattered.
“C’mon, let’s try over here!”
Spike’s cry rang out across the quiet plains of the Badlands, and the three fillies trudged dutifully towards him. There was still a bite in the air, one that seemed to not bother Spike but set the fillies sighing with relief as it brushed their sweat-drenched coats. Fifty hooves away, their hired coachponies lounged and rested in the minimal shade provided by a looming boulder, passing a canteen between each other.
“I dunno, Spike. We’ve been digging for like, hours.” Scootaloo kicked the ground, wrinkling her nose at the featureless dirt. “We found a lot of cool stuff, just not exactly what you wanted. I bet she’d like that amethyst…” Indeed, all three fillies were laden heavily with gems, jewels, and in Scootaloo’s case, a random assortment of metal parts she thought might look cool on her scooter.
Spike shook his head, fiddling with the aforementioned oversized amethyst. “I mean, it’s pretty. But we can dig stuff like this up in Ponyville! I want to get her something special, and make the trip worth it.” With that, he gently placed the beautifully cut gem into his haversack, and set back to running on all fours across the warm dirt.
“I think there’s a pocket here!” The tired fillies trotted to him, all four friends kicking and digging at the dirt.
“Rarity is going to kill me…” whined Sweetie Belle, seeing her forelegs covered to the knee with dirt.
“Hush now, we’re all filthy. Let’s get to this gem!” Apple Bloom set to with the same vigor as Spike, the two friends digging harder and farther as the hole grew in size. Spike sat back, panting, and raised an eyebrow.
The hole was easily the depth of a grown pony’s foreleg now, but Spike had that itch in his head, that feeling that something wonderful awaited him. So he continued to dig, uncaring that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stayed at the rim of the hole, pushing dirt he flung up out of the way. Apple Bloom dug beside him, sharp farmer’s hooves making almost as much headway as his own sharp dragon claws.
The hole grew ever deeper as the sun reached its zenith, and Spike called for a halt. “Hang on. If we go much deeper, we’re not going to be able to climb out.” The filly and the dragon peered up at their friends, heads just poking over the rim of the hole.
“I dunno, do you really think there’s anything there? Maybe you should just come out.” Sweetie Belle proffered a hoof to assist their escape, but Spike shook his head stubbornly.
“Nah. Let’s just make an incline.” At Spike’s words, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle set to digging out a small ramp of dirt to allow the two to exit. And still, Spike and Apple Bloom dug.
One hour and several pony-lengths later, Spike let out a cry of triumph. Apple Bloom sat back, panting, but grinning at their find. There before them laid arguably the most beautiful gem any of them had ever seen.
It was circular, and indeed made up of several gems fused together. A pale topaz made up the curve closest to them, married to a deep blue sapphire around the left curve. To the right, a ruby twinkled, and at the top, a clear quartz finished the circle. Towards the center, the fusion of gems made up a beautiful spiral of color that set refracted light dancing around their dirt hole. Spike lifted the gem breathlessly. “This is… this is perfect.”
Almost reverently, Apple Bloom lifted a hoof to brush the dirt off the flat backside of it. “It really is! She’s gonna love it, Spike! Guess all this diggin’ was worth it.” She cast a glance upwards at the worried faces of her friends. “It’s alright, y’all! We got what we came for!”
Whoops of glee filled the air as the two friends emerged from the hole, scrabbling for purchase on the shifting dirt that made up the ramp. Panting, exhausted, and filthy, Spike cuddled the large fused gem to his chest for a moment before proudly holding it out for inspection. Dutiful ooohs and aaahs accompanied his display, and Sweetie Belle reached out with her fledgling magic to remove the rest of the dirt on it.
One gorgeous, sparkling gem, three filthy fillies, and one filthy dragon trudged back towards the carriage, hailing the amused coachponies. Their good-natured amusement turned to actual awe at the treasure the young drake was hauling, and Scootaloo happily gave them some extra gems from her own bags for waiting so long. Together, the four piled into the coach to the tune of Spike’s excited chatter about their perfect find.
Several hours later found Spike seated on the Apple family couch before a roaring blaze. Applejack, upon finding the four friends by chance coming off the train, had soundly chastised each of them before sending them one by one for baths. Spike fidgeted nervously, seated beside Apple Bloom. The two could hear hoofsteps upstairs and Applejack’s familiar drawl as she supervised Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in the bath.
Apple Bloom glanced at Spike, who was cradling the fused gemstone and staring at the floor, a troubled crease on his usually smooth brow. She leaned over, nudging him gently. “Hey, it’s alright. She’s not really all that mad, she was just worried when she saw us come back from Celestia knows where.” She smiled encouragingly, a smile that faltered when the little dragon shook his head.
“It’s not that. It’s… okay.” He glanced around, but with Big Mac out shoveling around the barn and Granny Smith snoozing upstairs, they were alone. “Alright. So… you girls came out and helped me today. You especially, with digging that hole with me and everything. I probably would have given up halfway if you weren’t helping!” He chuckled to himself, then sighed as he eyed the gemstone. “But the thing is, Apple Bloom, I started thinking on the way home. You know how adults act when a kid gives them a gift?”
Unsure where this was going, Apple Bloom nodded slowly. “‘O course. They smile an’ they say thank you and they keep it, usually.” She giggled, a memory flitting across her mind. “One time, I gave Applejack a little pony made outta apples I stuck on sticks! Daggone thing was the ugliest thing I ever made. The eyes I carved out went all brown n’ mushy, and it was honestly kinda gross, but she kept it for a day before she made it into apple pie for everypony.”
Spike nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! Exactly. They like whatever you can give them, because they know you’re not grown up and can’t afford a bunch of super useful or flashy things. I mean, it’d be different if I were grown, or Rarity’s b-boyfriend,” and here, the little drake’s voice caught, and he cleared his throat, “but I’m not. And I know she’d be happy with a drawing, or that amethyst Scootaloo found, or even the emerald I found. I could give her this,” he lifted the fused gem, admiring the firelight dancing off the facets, “but I know that doesn’t change that I’m just a kid and she’s a grown mare. I know she’d appreciate it, but…” He trailed off, looking desperately at Apple Bloom. “Am I making sense?”
Apple Bloom mulled over what he was saying in her head, giving careful thought as it was obviously quite important to the dragon. “I think I do. It’s not that you don’t want to give her something nice, it’s that this is very unique and special, and you don’t want to just get a pat on the head and a ‘thank you’ for it. You find it special, so you want her to think it’s exactly as special, but you don’t think she will.”
He nodded. “That’s pretty much it. I don’t want this to just be another thing she tosses on the pile of gifts from colts that like her, you know?”
Apple Bloom leaned back against the couch, watching the fire roaring up the chimney. “I get it. But you’re her friend, too. Aren’t you?”
Tilting his head this way and that, Spike finally nodded. “I guess. Sorta. But you can’t ever be friends with an adult the same way you are with kids your own age, you know? She’s not going to come to me with grown-up problems like colts, or… I dunno, property taxes or whatever. She’s kind to me, but it’s usually when she needs something.” He winced. “That sounded bad.”
“It’s alright, Spike, you’re allowed to feel however you feel.” Apple Bloom laid a comforting hoof on his shoulder, smiling encouragingly. “And I’m your friend too, an’ I’ll do my darndest to be around to listen when ya need it.”
“You really are, aren’t you?” A big, genuine smile burst across his face. “You girls came with me of your own free will. You didn’t get anything out of it. You came because it was an adventure, and because you wanted to help me.”
“Well, yeah.” Confused at Spike’s apparent mood swing, Apple Bloom sat up straighter on the lumpy couch. “I mean, I’ll be honest, none of us think it’s a really good idea for you to moon over Rarity, but we support you.”
Nodding enthusiastically, Spike grinned. “Yeah, I know. It’s a silly thing, but you can’t help who you like. But still…” He turned to face Apple Bloom fully, holding out the fused gemstone. “Here.”
Confused, Apple Bloom took it, eyes tracing the patterns of the colors before looking up at Spike again, brow furrowed. “What?”
“I want you to have it. You can share it with the others, too, if you want.”
Looking into Spike’s earnest, eager face, Apple Bloom blinked. “But… I mean, why? The whole point of this was for you to get something nice for Rarity.”
“Well, yeah, I know. But you guys are just as important to me. You’re there beside me, not above me.” He rubbed the back of his head with one hand, smiling sheepishly. “I’m not good at this stuff. But you, and Sweetie, and Scoots, you’re my truest friends. And you deserve something nice, too. Besides… it’s a nice way to remember the Hearth’s Warming Eve we took off and worried the fur off everypony’s hide, right?”
The giggles started small, but escalated until they were howling into each other’s arms as an unamused Applejack ushered the other two very damp fillies in front of the fire. Applejack tried her best to stay stoic and angry-looking, but soon had to join with a giggle of her own as she gently ushered Apple Bloom off to the bath. Regardless of the filly’s protestations of being a big filly now that could take her own baths, Applejack remained with her to make sure she washed behind her ears.
The gem stayed with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike, passing from one to the other, well into their old age. The four stayed fast friends throughout, always happy to swap stories of their childhood and young adulthood with each other. Though the grandfoals often thought the tales of their capers were a load of hooey, they still listened and enjoyed.
Apple Bloom, from hardy stock as she was, was eventually the last of the group, save for Spike, left. She knew her sunset was coming, so one winter’s day, she braved the frost and slippery rocks of the mountain outside of Ponyville to visit Spike’s cave. It was dark, and cold, but the snoozing dragon within was warm and inviting.
She rested her bones against her hibernating friend, knowing his centuries of sleep would outlast her. Carefully, she settled the fused gemstone, still as pristine as the day they dug it up together, right beneath his right claw. She placed a chaste, friendly kiss on the sleeping dragon’s cheek. “Bye now, Spike. Y’all be good, and look after the great-great-great-grandkids.”
And with that, she made her way back down, and home.
And when Spike awoke one Hearth’s Warming centuries later and saw the gem beneath him, his sadness was great, but the knowledge he was remembered even in his years of sleep was still greater. In that moment, he chuckled through his tears, and knew he made the right choice all those years ago. Princess Twilight, who had gone to his cave to leave his yearly Hearth’s Warming gift, was surprised to see him awake and even more surprised at his tears.
But she simply hugged him as best she could, and the two friends watched the sunrise together as they had done in centuries past.