10 - Their Perfection
Time to suit up again,” Pinkie Pie told herself in the most serious of serious voices. She opened the window and began buckling into her changeling-style flight machine she had made some time ago. The engines on the back began to whir to life after the harness locked around her. Green lightning started to dance in her eyes.
Another serious voice shouted after the door to the room was thrown open. “Pinkie Pie! What did I tell you about operating heavy machinery in the hospital? Get back in that bed, young lady!” Nurse Redheart scolded with an exasperated frown.
“No worries, Nurse Cutie Mark Swap!” Pinkie Pie raised her head and looked proudly out the window at the sparkling winter sun. She took on the face of some battered veteran on the cover of a war hero movie. “It’s my sworn duty to protect Equestria and break fourth walls. I have to go out into that shiny bright horizon and create some chaos with the plot. After all, Discord was written out at the end of the last story, so I have to fill in!”
Before the confused mare could do anything more, Pinkie leaped out of the window. The nurse bolted to the opening and nearly fainted before Pinkie’s mechanical wings popped open and the engines raced to full power. The pink pony with the black power suit thundered away at lightning speed over Canterlot’s clear skies.
Nurse Redheart finally fell to the floor with a groan of exhaustion. Looking after the recovery of this pony had taken a toll on her sanity. She was supposed to be working in a hospital. Not a psychiatric ward.
“Last stop: Vanhoover!” the train assistant hollered through the cars. “Last stop: Vanhoover!”
Applejack kicked her saddlebags back up her spine and trotted out of the train. It had been a real treat to spend some days with her family again and it hadn’t been easy for them to get her back out. Sweet Apple Acres was her home and it was, in all her honesty, where she wanted to spend the rest of her life. Some ponies wanted more and more. She was satisfied with just that.
When she read the letter from Coloratura, she was happy for sure. They hadn’t written to each other in ages. She always liked the mare and thought it was a crime shame they fell out of touch. Still, it was unusual for her to be invited to some big concert in Vanhoover all of a sudden. She hadn’t yet convinced herself she wanted to see an old friend more than spend extra time with her family. The news from Flame Haze about the changelings near Vanhoover changed her mind.
If Equestria was in danger then she knew plum well she was going to do something about it. If an old friend was in danger then all the more so. She’d just have to get there and make sure that everything was alright – even if Twilight assured them that she would deal with the problem. Applejack was no pony to nap on the porch while everypony else did the work.
Stepping out onto the icy pavement of the modern train station, the orange mare made her way to the exit. It was a good thing she listened to Rarity’s advice to pack warm. It lingered in her mind even without a hivemind connection since it was advice given every time they had ever gone anywhere together….ever. Without the denim jacket and apple-patterned scarf she was wearing, she was certain she would have been frigid. Even the air had a dreary bite in it.
The train station exit revealed to her the beginnings of the big city. Vanhoover was no Manehatten but it was enormous nonetheless and nothing like good ol’ sleepy Ponyville. Ponies were everywhere, getting from one place to another. Cabs raced by and street vendors shouted out for attention. Applejack veered towards one that was selling hot pretzels. She had forgotten to ration a snack for the train ride and was starving. It didn’t look like ponies were fleeing a changeling attack, so she relaxed her tense stride.
“Ten bits!” the pretzel-selling mare answered after being asked for a regular salted.
“Ten?” Applejack frowned and rose a brow.
“No haggling,” the tan mare leaned against her cart. “Takes a lot to make and keep these babies warm ‘round here. City takes their share too. Lucky it ain’t twelve with the hikes they have planned.”
Applejack had taken a quick glance to some other vendors around and wasn’t seeing anything better. “Alright, alright,” she agreed and flipped some bits out of her bag.
The vendor gave her the pretzel and, to her credit, it was indeed hot and seemed fresh. “Hey, thanks, hun,” she gave a surprising appreciation to her customer. “I know you ain’t from ‘round here, but...”
Applejack looked down to her cowpony boots that were keeping her hooves warm and wondered how the mare could tell.
“...the ol’ council used to take words even from the tourists since we kind of need ‘em these days,” the oddly-accented mare continued. “I know it’s a bit of a favor to ask, but might you be able to help us out a bit and tell them to hold off those changes they’re thinkin’ of? I know over half the sellers five blocks ‘round and we could be in some real trouble, you know?”
Applejack swallowed a bite of her pretzel and asked. “Don’t they depend on taxin’ you? Why would they raise it just to run y’all out of business?”
“Beats me!” the mare blurted in a scoffing tone. “Only seems to care ‘bout gettin’ as much for themselves as fast as they can – no matter what happens to the city. Me and the others think maybe we can get enough ponies talkin’ some sense into ‘em. They didn’t used to be this way. Just can’t figure it. Oh! I’m sorry!”
“Hm?” Applejack rose a brow again while chewing another bite. She wanted to enjoy the snack before it got cold. The air was certainly chill enough to cool the pretzel fast.
“Didn’t give you my name. Hot Salt,” the tan mare held her hoof out over the cart.
Applejack shook it and swallowed again. “Applejack. Pleased to meet’cha, Hot Salt. I’m just here to check up on an ol’ friend, but I can stop by this council of yours as I go. Just point the way.”
Salt redirected her hoof with an explanation and the farmpony wasted not a second. She kept munching on her pretzel as she went, not even aware of the odd looks she occasionally got from the city ponies as she stopped and waited to cross streets. It took a couple blocks but the big city yielded to her the old stone building she had been told about. A wide series of steps led up to some doors that seemed too small when compared to the building-wide stairs.
At least it was warmer inside. Applejack adjusted to the change in temperature with a chill of her own running down her spine. It was also much quieter in here compared to the busy street outside. The door closed behind her and made the silence even more pronounced. The one thought Applejack had, however, was that the place could use better lighting. The large reception room was only dimly lit and was almost like a torch-lit cave even after coming in from overcast weather.
Applejack swallowed the last of her barely-still-warm pretzel and stepped up to the reception desk. “Uh, pardon me, but...”
“If you’re here about the so-called ‘hikes’ then you’ll have to come back tomorrow,” the reception stallion practically bit out. He looked ready to punch somepony. “The council has taken the rest of the day off.”
“Hmm,” Applejack hummed with an obvious look of suspicion. “Well maybe you can tell me-”
“Applejack?!” a sing-song voice called out from a doorway leading to one of the side rooms. The mare had a sparkly look around her cheeks and had a high ponytail of orchid gray and purple. On her flank was a rainbow of musical symbols around a star.
She looked so different that it took Applejack a second of confusion for her mind to catch up and place the cutie mark with the pony. “Rara?” she responded slowly and forgot about the receptionist behind her.
“AJ!” the singer raced to Applejack and hugged her tight. She wasn’t wearing any clothes, so Applejack assumed she had simply taken off her winter wear for the warmer indoors. Though in all honesty, Applejack still felt it wasn’t warm enough to remove her attire.
“Good seein’ you too, Rara,” Applejack smiled big and hugged back. “You’ve sure changed. All grown and I remember you with blue in your mane.”
“Oh,” Rara came back from the hug with a blush. “Just the show biz. My mane is the same if the dye hasn’t ruined its original color. So you got my letter?”
“Uh-huh,” Applejack nodded. “I was on my way to see you, actually. What are you doin’ here of all places?”
A flicker of panic formed in her eyes and was gone just as fast. “Oh, uh, just...had to talk to somepony about my concert tonight. The city has all kinds of regulations and requirements.”
Applejack half-frowned. “Well, I was here to talk about somethin’ like that but he said they were all out.”
Coloratura glanced at the receptionist that Applejack motioned back to. There was a pause and then she spoke again. “I think we were just talking to different ponies. I was with somepony not...on the council. Anyways, how about we get some lunch? I know it’s late but I haven’t had any yet.”
Applejack brightened at the other female’s cheery smile. “Well that pretzel sure only got me halfway. I could go for a hayburger. Sure sounds more pleasant than pushin’ for where who’s doin’ what.”
Figuring she’d save some grief by coming back tomorrow and spending time with Coloratura in the present, Applejack followed the mare back out of the city hall. She was focused on the voluminous and styled tail she was following and thus never saw the sneer the receptionist gave as they left.
“Spikey-wikey,” Rarity fanned herself with her delicate imported hoof fan. “You really do not need to warm up the room any further.”
Spike closed his mouth and thus killed the flames coming out of it. After getting a larger than usual fire going in the fireplace, he had used some of his own flames to heat the place. He did want the room to be comfortable rather than cold and Rarity had even requested as much. Perhaps he did too much.
“Oh, no worries,” the white mare insisted and pat at the bed she was laying on.
They were in her room again. It lacked the soft sleeping ring of their hive-connected chamber, but the bed was certainly comparable for comfort. The imitation fur top blanket was the highest quality in Equestria even though it had been sealed away with the rest of the Empire for over a thousand years. It was better than laying on a cloud.
Just as Spike was beginning to crawl up onto the heavenly bed with her, there was a thunderous knock on the door and it opened to reveal Sunburst. The newly-titled wizard looked even more frazzled than usual. There must have been a dozen scrolls floating around him in his magical grip. Spike squinted in confusion while Rarity huffed and splayed backwards in defeat. She was never going to get what she wanted.
“Your highnesses!” Sunburst blurted. “A thousand apologies but there is something going on with the Crystal Heart! You must come quick!”
Spike leaped off the bed while Rarity sat back up with furrowed brows. What could possibly be happening with the Heart? Cadance had imbued it with a powerful love magic before leaving and, anyways, it was powered by the crystal ponies themselves. She didn’t hesitate long before following both of the males out of the room and down to the base of the castle, snatching some warm clothing on the way.
It took a good minute due to the sheer size of the place but Rarity finally wound up behind Spike at the Crystal Castle’s courtyard base. She slipped his scarf around his neck to help keep him warm in the snow, but she caught her breath in awe as she came around his side and saw the Crystal Heart for herself.
The ancient relic was spinning where it normally did at the center of the castle’s underbelly. But it wasn’t a glassy blue anymore. It had taken on a vibrant pink that practically glowed from within and shone out of each facet upon the crystal surface. The light was pulsing and a soothing hum could be heard emanating from it. Snow that had drifted towards the platform under the heart was glistening and even melting.
Spike reached out and almost touched the Heart but did not do so fully. “It’s hot,” he commented with a curious tone. “Sunburst?”
The stallion spun more scrolls around him in open form. “It’s never done this before. Something is powering it far beyond it’s usual state. The crystal ponies...something has changed.”
“Is this a good thing?” Rarity held a hoof to her mouth.
“I’m not sure,” Sunburst replied honestly. “I think so. All of my research so far indicates that the sources that power the Heart are not capable of imbuing it beyond capacity. But I have come across this tome only yesterday.”
Spike grabbed the book that Sunburst floated over to him. It was open to a bookmarked page with strange drawings of the Heart. He read aloud. “Love that nourishes, those that feed, those that give, here find all they need.”
“A riddle?” Rarity asked and looked to the pages when Spike lowered it to show her. “A prophecy.”
She pressed her lips together as she tried understanding the strange drawings that surrounded the text. The Heart looked quite normal on one far side of the page but it was redrawn and morphed for each repetition until it reached the far side of the opposite page. Forms were around each iteration.
From left to right: normal Heart, glowing Heart with ponies prancing, pulsing Heart with ponies kissing, Heart with vines coming from it with ponies mingling with changelings, Heart in the center of some beehive-looking form with ponies and changelings in every variety of couple. There was even a pair of a changeling and pony holding a baby form together.
“Changelings?!” Rarity gasped. To her knowledge Chrysalis was the only one who was not an open enemy of Equestria and that was only because of the unique details of her salvation.
“Where did you get this tome?” Spike asked the wizard, who was closing his cloak tighter around him.
“The castle’s hidden private library. It would seem King Sombra had hidden away even more information on the Crystal Empire than we realized. None of the other books talk about these drawings, though.”
Rarity read the next line around the last depiction. “True the love, here foretold, coat and carapace, none withhold.”
Spike gave the book back to Sunburst. “I don’t get it. Does this mean that changelings had something to do with the Crystal Empire’s past?”
“That’s just it,” Sunburst adjusted his glasses and continued floating the many scrolls around him. “I can’t be certain but, given the information Queen Twilight shared with me, it’s obvious that King Sombra was heavily involved with changelings before his rule of the Empire. No author was put to quill for this tome but the style closely matches that of Sombra’s earlier writings. If it is, then this could be one of his visions – like the one about the princess on the horizon!”
Rarity frowned deeply at that. “But would that not decrease the reliability of the vision? After all, Sombra was entirely mad.”
“Still is,” Spike’s face took on the shadow of concern.
“The mental stability of the pony does come into consideration when questioning visions,” Sunburst agreed. “In any case, I thought it was critical you be made aware of this. If the writings are true then the Crystal Heart is safe and merely evolving into a more powerful state. Everything I know about it thus far indicates it is being strengthened by some kind of stimulus. I can keep you both up-to-date if anything happens.”
“Thank you, Sunburst,” Spike smiled and then turned to the comparatively small mare beside him. He saw her shiver from the rushed wrapping of her clothes that left her vulnerable to the chill. “We’d better get back inside where it’s warm.”
Rarity was no pony to object and followed her dragon in a hurry. When they reached the hallway several stories up that led into Rarity’s room, the dragon picked up the mare and carried her into her room on his two powerful rear legs. An “eep” escaped her lips – a sound she rarely voiced except upon unusual circumstance.
“Spikey?” Rarity asked as he closed the door behind them with his tail. She was at least pleased by the renewed warmth of the room. Too much given her garments but Spike was already setting her back down and taking off her clothes to hang on the appropriate hooks near the door. “Really, you could at least tell-”
As soon as her last remaining piece of attire was off, he picked her back up and carried her to her large queen-sized bed. He landed them both onto it with a gentle thud. The cozy feel of the plush blankets welcomed them back.
“Where were we?” Spike grinned with a smokey huff of his nostrils.
The movement of Spike’s very visible scale-covered muscles made Rarity’s heart pound in her chest. He might have been two or even three sizes as big as she was, but to Tartarus if that didn’t make her swoon at the power of his embrace and the feeling of being so physically surrounded by the sweetest, strongest, most loving-
“What about the Heart?” Rarity interrupted her own thoughts with a groan.
Spike shrugged and then traced a claw gently down her side as they both lay facing each other on the bed. “You heard Sunburst. It’s in good shape. There’s nothing we can do right now anyways and Twilight has us in silent mode for her mission. You did see what he scribbled on the bookmark right?”
“Of course,” Rarity sighed. “The color of the ink clashed terribly with the colored paper.”
Spike stifled a chuckle. “I meant what it said. He tested the exterior shield strength of the Heart. It’s more than tripled. Right now the Crystal Empire is safer than Princess Celestia’s private quarters used to be.”
“Oh good,” Rarity replied simply.
Spike was almost surprised at that. “So you won’t worry over it for the moment.”
“Of course not, darling,” the unicorn gave her best seductive gaze. “I never wanted to be bothered in the first place. It is so difficult for us to just get a moment to ourselves like this and so long as everything is alright...”
“Let’s enjoy it?” Spike finished with a gulp. He wanted for them to get closer and more intimate like this but it was more intimidating than it seemed in theory. She soothed him over their shared mind and brought them closer on the bed.
“Spikey-wikey,” Rarity began with a flutter of her eyes as she smoothly slid diagonally closer. She moved both nearer to his chest and then up so her face would be level with his. “Tell me, darling,” she locked her eyes half-lidded with his. Her face inched closer and closer still. Their noses nearly touched. “Exactly how long is that dragon tongue of yours?”
Spike took on the deep and fierce blush that Rarity had told him before was so becoming of him. But he wanted to answer in some way more meaningful than that so he decided to show her directly.
His naturally long dragon tongue slithered out, so much thicker than it was when he was in his baby form. Nearly as wide as a pony tongue, it shot out and zoomed down to Rarity’s rear hooves and then twisted back up and stopped in front of Rarity’s nuzzle with a slight downturn of a curl. The tip was almost hanging like a dog’s might but Rarity was wide-eyed when she looked down the length and back up. Her mouth hung open as well.
Somehow Spike managed to reverse it back into his mouth in a second without any drop of saliva spraying anywhere. “It’s about the same length it was before in proportion to my body,” the dragon shrugged. “I guess it’s always like that no matter how big I am.”
Rarity’s heart felt like it was going to burst right out of her chest, but she still managed to take Spike’s muzzle in her forehooves and peer deep into his eyes. “Spikey, I will be crystal clear with you. I am not entirely certain I wish to kiss you as a lady or have you kiss me as a dragon.”
Before Spike could understand her words, she took a deep breath and made her choice.
Their lips came together in a meeting nearly as hot as the dragon’s flame burning deep within his body. He knew Rarity’s lips would be warm, but they felt nearly as hot as his breath. Shock gave way to joy and then to fear. What if his flames came out into her mouth? But that fear left him quickly. He knew deep down it could never happen. Maybe he didn’t have facts to back it up like Twilight always insisted was necessary, but he knew it deep down in his soul. He would never hurt his mare.
Power began to surge through his body as he returned the kiss and their tongues met for the first time. The sound of Rarity’s happy moan turned Spike’s eyes to thin slits. His dragon greed was strong for her, but he did not grow any larger. Instead, the spines on his back glowed and expanded outwards. His arms quickly wrapped around the small mare’s body without him even thinking about doing so. He held her tight while his tail came up to curl along her spine and help hold her to him.
They held the kiss, both losing themselves in the drain of all worry and the gain of pure love.
This was their perfection.
The Crystal Heart pulsed stronger and brighter than ever before as tendrils of rainbow light began to reach out from it.
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The heart needs to be emptied of the love.this is where the the changelings are needed.
They can also breed with the crystal ponies since they are so isolated from the rest of the world. also to avoid incest from showing up
. But really spike and rarity should have at least told Twilight about what they found. Like really!! 
This big news that could change the Empire and y'all just leave it alone to go bang? Crazy horny teenagers these days.... 
Well the Heart is just begging to be drained now! It's practically a beacon! Wonder if it's possible to distribute that energy through the Link? Hmmm
Keep going! ;)
Hmm, interesting. And my heart stopped a bit at the very idea of a hybrid Cuteling and pony foal. So cute!
8123606
"should have told Twi..."
Interesting point there. Indeed they would have been able to if Twilight hadn't temporarily muted the hivemind between them and the rest for both their own privacy and her current plan for Sombra. Pretty important though...might have some significance real soon.
8128919 use my idea for breeding. And heart draining. Please I want to feel loved
Also it's by birthday today
8128926
But you are loved already! *hugs*
It's really your birthday?!
8129506 yeah. I'm 18 now
. And thanks for the hug
8129516
Wow! Well Happy Birthday!
Congrats on making it to 18!
8129626 now I can get the good stuff in a legal manner
8129632
Yes.
So pent up and needs release?
Oh the Heart as well
Discord would be proud of you.