//------------------------------// // Two Many Daze Days // Story: Books // by All_Hail_The_Smooze //------------------------------// Rainbow straddled the podium, her wings flared in some sort of Pegasus gesture of dominance, as she looked out upon her audience. Sure the audience only consisted of Spike and Twilight but it technically still was an audience. And technicalities were good enough for Rainbow Dash. "Welcome to the new found Ponyville book club!" She exclaimed! Every inch of her body shrieked of enthusiasm which in turn reverberated throughout the Library. In the midst of her excitement, her wings absentmindedly pushed her into a static hover. Rainbow's face and arms both extended towards the heavens as she waited expectantly for the thunderous applause to pour down on her. There was no applause, only unamused stares. Twilight crossed her fore-hooves expectantly, "Are you done?" Rainbow placed herself back on the ground and looked down at Twilight from her podium. "Not even close." She began pacing back and forth on the makeshift stage that she had created in the middle of the library. "Now, as the president of this book club I-" Twilight raised her hoof. "Question?" "Yes, Twilight?" "Who made you president?" Dash's lip firmed into a tight line and she arched an eyebrow. "Do you not know how a Democracy works?" Rainbow Dash asked condescendingly. Twilight reflected Dash's look. "Do you even know what a Democracy is?" she countered. "Yeah." Rainbow nodded. "It's a word." Had Twilight been capable of sucking in all of the oxygen from the library in one single frustrated sigh, she would have. But, then again, had she been able to create terrible seismic tremors with the intensity of her face-hoof, that would have also happened. The point was... hypotheticals do not make for good descriptors. "The entire crux of a democracy depends on an election having taken place," Twilight managed to get out through gritted teeth, "and last time I checked, we never had one." "Yeah we did." Dash began pacing again. "It was at my house. At midnight. Clearly, you didn't value your democracy enough to vote." She grinned. Unfortunately for Spike, he chose that moment to allow a fit of chuckles to break his composure. He felt his chair disappear from under him and, as his body came in contact with the cold, hard ground, he realized yet again why laughing at a unicorn was a bad idea. Twilight grinned at the fallen dragon as he lied limply on the floor, she took a quick mental picture and then resumed her focus on Rainbow. "Like I was saying," Rainbow began, "I have a few rules to put in place in order to maintain the integrity of this club." Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed once again. "Rule number one: We do not talk about Book Club!" Dash bellowed, flaring her wings once again which emphasized each word. Twilight groaned, "If we can't talk about our book club, then how do we get people to join?" Her annoyance was palpable, her right eye began to twitch ever so slightly. "Rule two," Dash continued, "You do not talk about Book Club!" Twilight's eyes widened into unbelievable ovals, strands of her hair began falling out of place. "You just repeated the first rule!" She yelled. "Rule Three: There are no rules!" "What!?" Dash looked down at Twilight with amusement. She had never seen Twi get so flustered about literature before. Well, actually, she had but that doesn't mean she didn't enjoy making Twilight sweat a little; it was just some harmless fun. Twilight, on the other hand, didn't bode so well. Her once perfectly straightened mane had become a nightmare forest of knots, tangles and other equally horrific hair-related terrors. She was breathing very deeply, to the point where small clouds of mist were exiting out of her nostrils angrily. "Now, Twilight," Dash began "you should know better than to interrupt the person who was the stage." Twilight made no hesitation to jump in. "Okay," she growled slightly, "first of all, you mentioned nothing about interruptions when you were talking. And secondly, that is not a stage, it is an old bookcase that you took from my basement and flung it up here. And also, why did you do that!?" The silence was quiet. Like silence should be. Rainbow gave an uneasy stare, her cheeks looked like someone performed a double homicide on her face. They were a telling color, they told of a pegasus who unintentionally drove their unicorn friend over the edge with one to many innocuous comments. "I- uh," Rainbow sputtered. "You what!?" She hissed. "I guess we should just end for today..." Rainbow asked hopefully, her voice stretching up into the higher octaves. "I gotta go!" She practically shouted before sprinting out the door faster than... well, a lot of things actually. Like a book, for instance, or a gentle breeze, or even a large glacier. The point is Dash was faster than a lot of things and she utilized her skills to effectively escape the situation. "Well, I'm just going to go ahead and pronounce this book club a success." Spike said, his voice still muffled by the flooring. "Don't you have a date with Rarity?" She barked. "Well, first of all, it's not a date and secondly, I still need to get my suit from here." He replied while slowly moving up into a sitting position Twilight paused momentarily before her horn lit up, she closed her eyes in concentration and only stopped when a loud pop was emitted from her horn. "Well," Twilight began, "now it seems that your suit is at the dry-cleaners." She gave Spike a mischievous smirk. "You should probably go get it." --O~O-- Rainbow dash eyed the library hesitantly, her fore hoof was suspended in air as she internally debated making another step towards it. She knew that she would have to apologize eventually, but that didn't make the gigantic weight in her stomach any lighter. In all honesty she had no intention of making Twilight so angry but, sometimes, a simple joke can go to far. "Don't go in there. At least, not right now." A familiar voice called out to Rainbow, effectively breaking her out of the trance she was in. "Spike? What are you doing out here?" She asked. "You don't honestly believe that I spend all of my time in the library do you?" He joked before shooting a dark glare back at his home. "And besides I have to go and get my suit." He mumbled before glancing back at Rainbow Dash. He arched his eyebrow. "I think the more important question is why are you still here?" The question caught Rainbow Dash off guard she blinked vapidly for a moment. "I- uh," she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, "Do you think that Twilight's angry at me?" "Yeah, probably," Spike practically blurted out without appealing to any sort of thought process, "A book club like this is kind of a big deal for her. Like, really big." He added. Rainbow cringed. "Oh." She barley whispered. "But she'll get over it eventually." Spike nodded enthusiastically. He glanced over at Rainbow and was surprised to find her not reciprocating his sentiments. Her ears were flat against her head and her mane seemed to sag to the ground. Spike was confused, why is she so upset, he thought to himself, as if the obvious situation was some great unsolved mystery. And then, like a stallion who stumbled into on coming traffic, something hit him. "Chocolates." He let out after a long pause to collect his thoughts. Rainbow tilted her head. "Huh?" "Go to Pinkie's bakery and ask for the 'Mint chocolate thingies'. They're my go to gift any time i need to apologize to Twilight for something." He nodded before breaking into a large, toothy grin. "And besides," he began, "she'll be less likely to send you of to some sort of horrific dimension if there was any chance of the chocolates going with you." "She wouldn't really do that? Would she?" Rainbow asked nervously. Spike gave her a look that seemed to neither confirm nor deny his previous statement. "O-Okay, thanks for the advice. I think..." Rainbow paused. "I guess I owe you..." Spike opened his mouth, ready to dismiss off Rainbow's offer, until another thought slid back into his mind. He had been interested in making new friends and now seemed as good a time as any; and what could possibly go wrong, he thought to himself. "Wanna hang out tomorrow?" Internally, he cringed. The way he worded it sounded awkward and very desperate. "And you could consider that as payback." He added quickly. "Uh, sure." Rainbow replied, somewhat put off by his offer. "Cool." Spike said, trying to salvage some sort of his suaveness. "Yeah, see you tomorrow. I guess." Rainbow said before she opened her wings and flew away. --O~O-- Rarity posed elegantly in front of a large, silver mirror. Her eyes meticulously scanned over every inch of her body searching for any blemishes that needed correction. A delicate, purple and gold dress clung to her form. Her hair had been set in beautiful curls that cascaded down either side of her face; framing it like a beautiful photograph. Except that she wasn't a photograph, she was a pony. She always strived for perfection when it came to looks or appearance but, for some reason, that didn't seem to cut it today. It needed to be better than perfect, somehow. Rarity had no idea where these outlandish and impossible obsession came from and she didn't care, it felt right and that was all that mattered to Rarity. After what had seemed like an eternity, Rarity finished her self assessment and forced herself away from the mirror. She walked over to her bed and glanced at the the last piece of her ensemble lying on top of the pink sheets. It was a gold necklace containing the fire ruby that Spike had given her on his birthday. --O~O-- Spike stood anxiously at the door of Carrousel Boutique, staring down at the large door frame nervously. It was obvious how much the giant slab of petrified wood intimidated him which was odd because, well, it's a door. He slowly brought his claw up to the frame and pounded on the door three times. "Coming!" he heard her beautiful, sing song voice echo throughout the boutique. He sighed, Rarity's voiced had always captivated him. It was her vocal chords were small bells that chimed golden melodies to beautiful songs that had been forgotten long ago. Or she was just really good at speaking, take your pick. The door opened and Rarity stepped out onto her porch. "Good evening, Spike." She gave him a small grin. His eyes widened as she stepped into view. "Wow, uh, Rarity," Spike sputtered, "you look... Dressed." Rarity's grin was quickly replaced with a frown. "Thanks?" She let out while giving Spike a very peculiar stare. Spike may not have shared Rarity's intense passion for clothing and all things fashion. But to say that Spike did not look handsome in his suit would have been a great understatement. The suit he wore seemed to be made for him, almost like a second skin. The crisp black fabric gave him a very sleek and sophisticated image. This was compounded by the spiraling, emerald pattern that was embedded in his jacket which matched his spines that jutted out from holes cut in the suit's back. She smiled, this suit was one of her proudest creations. Deep down, her stomach emitted a faint rumble. It wasn't loud enough for Spike to hear, but prevalent enough to make Rarity embarrassed about the situation. "Well I'm famished." Rarity began, a subtle twinge of pink appearing on her cheeks, "Are you hungry?" "Like the wolf." Rarity did a double take. "Excuse me?" Spike's eyes widened in terror and embarrassment at the realization over what he just said. "Nothing!" He practically shouted. "I mean nothing." Spike added in a more nonchalant way. He smiled and nodded awkwardly in order to drive the point home. "That most definitely did not sound like nothing." She replied, a coy grin silently sweeping across her face. "But I'd prefer it to be nothing," He paused. "Because the alternative is much more embarrassing." Spike said, smiling weakly. There was a small pause before Rarity burst out into a fit of giggles. "Very well." She sighed lightly, "Do you have any preferences?" She asked. Spike to a moment to think about the different restaurants that were available to him before he decided on the best possible option. "I think I know of a place." He smiled. --O~O-- The door opened to a bar that could only be described as 'salty' and Spike and Rarity walked in. Being the attentive mare that she was, Rarity scanned the place thoroughly. In the middle of the worn down establishment were a couple of sporadically placed tables. Each individual table seemed to be take from some different bar and, even though tables are not known for displaying emotion, they all seemed to desperately want out of here. The tables were surrounded around an empty stage in front the rotting bar counter and, off to the side, a bright red phone-booth stood seemingly out of place. A crusty barkeep stepped behind the counter, "Doughnut Boy? That you!?" His eyes lightened up. "Cocktail, right?" Spike grinned. "Yes siree!" Cocktail exclaimed jovially, "But you can call me," He paused, thinking carefully. "Cocktail. That is, until I can provide a more suitable nickname." He chuckled to himself before turning to Rarity. "Hey! I know you! You're that fashion gal who lives in that Car-U-sell!" Cocktail smiled emphatically. "Charmed." Rarity said, offering hoof. Cocktail took it up in his hoofs and kissed it gently before turning to Spike, "I didn't know you were good with da ladies." He said, winking at Spike. Spike looked down at the ground, somewhat embarrassed - Rarity looked especially guilty. "I'm not - I mean, we're just friends..." He mumbled. "Sure you are!" Cocktail laughed much to the dismay of Spike and Rarity, "And besides it's not like she's going to be disappointed by tonight." He added. "What does he mean?" Rarity asked. Spike turned to her. "There's something really cool that I want to show you." He began, "But you going to have follow some directions or else it won't work." Spike pointed to the phone booth. "I am going to get into that" he stated, "and I want you to wait here for thirty seconds. Then, I want you to enter it, pick up the receiver and say what is written on this." He finished, while he pulled out a small, neatly folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket and gave it to Rarity. "Sure?" Rarity replied, somewhat skeptical about the whole thing. Spike, confident in his direction giving ability stepped into phone booth and picked up the receiver, much like the directions he had given. Rarity gave him a queer look, in fact, she was just about to grab Spike and scold him for being so foolish when he vanished. Almost like a stage magician, but without the magic... So exactly like a stage magician. Shocked, Rarity quickly glanced over towards Cocktail, demanding some sort of explanation of what just happened. "Excuse me, what just happened!?" Apparently Rarity's pointed looks weren't doing a good enough job. "I don't know." Cocktail grinned. "I guess you'll just have to find out for yourself." Rarity gave an indignant 'humph' before she marched towards the phone booth and entered. She picked up the receiver and and unfolded the piece of paper that Spike had given her. Without really taking in what the words meant she spoke the words into the phone and hung up without giving it much thought. She stood there impatiently, not truly realizing the surprise that was in store tonight. --O~O-- "Welcome, my lady, to the glass hotel." Rarity stared, dumbfounded, at the manger before her. If Rarity's jaw could have dropped to the ground it would have probably broken her jawbone while also hyper-extending and tearing a great majority of her facial muscles. Meaning, she was very lucky that overly exaggerated facial expressions still applied to the laws of physics. "Thank you." she murmured. "Do you like it?" Spike asked, flashing a broad, cocky smile. "L-like it!?" Rarity was overcome with awe and wonder to utilize legitimate words. "I like it!" The short elevator ride that had followed after Rarity spoke the phrase into the phone seemed like a jaunt into a different dimension. The once ancient, crumbling bar that she had occupied now transformed into a gaudy, magnificent ballroom. Wrapped in a layer of polished Yule marble, the ballroom gave a subtle glow that seemed to burn with the intensity of a thousand suns, while somehow still reserved enough to not be blinding. Occupying the majority of the room were dozens of crystal tables that were trimmed with golden designs along with several ivory chairs to seat hungry customers. Rarity had been so immersed with the glorious aesthetics of this restaurant that she didn't not realized she had been seated until she felt herself resting on one of the chair's tasteful cushion. "Spike," Rarity gasped, "where did you find this!? You simply must tell!?" "Do you want the long story or the short?" He replied. "The short story will suffice, I think." Spike leaned back in his chair, "Well, I found this place when I was searching through some of the library's old books. Apparently this was built sometime ago, as a tourist spot. And, well, as times went on, people forgot about it. That is, until Princess Celestia bought the restaurant and restored it to it's former glory. Apparently, she still dines here regularly but I've never seen her." Spike finished, cracking his knuckles for slight emphasis. "You've been here before?" Rarity asked in awe. "Well, yeah. I mean, I needed to make sure it was perfect for our... get together." "Date." She corrected with graceful smile. Spike's pupils became microscopic. "Date?" he whispered which was confirmed with a smug nod from Rarity. Now it was his turn to gasp in breathless wonder. His appearance for now was less of a dragon and more of a burning pyre, but he was really that Because there would be much more severe ramifications from being set aflame than simple embarrassment. "So what did we do now?" Spike proposed, bewildered by the entire situation. "It's simple," she began, "we enjoy the night." And enjoy the night, they did.