Continuity Disrupted

by Doug Graves

2 The Admirer

The small purple dragon hurries through the mostly deserted streets of Ponyville. This early in the morning most ponies are just working on getting their stalls and stores ready for the inevitable day-after-the-holiday rush. A few heads occasionally turn upwards, most peering up at the moon and its eerie blank look, the mare shaped blackness replaced by pure white.

Spike spots Rarity walking along, quickly catching up to her unhurried pace. "Hey, Rarity!" Spike yells, the unicorn turning to smile at him. "So," he huffs, catching his breath as she stops, "You said you have a gem collection?"

"Well, I don't know if collection is quite the right word," Rarity says with a measured grin, "I would classify it more as a stockpile. Probably not quite to hoard status, as it has been quite a while since I've gone on a lengthy expedition. I might have a few rare gems mixed in, but since I primarily use them on the dresses that I make I have little reason to keep them. My joy lies in finding the gems and their best composition, not in hoarding them." Rarity pauses for a split second, her smile pulling tight, "Not that, of course, there is anything wrong with hoarding! I myself engage in it from time to time!"

Spike looks over, a confused look on his face, "Um, why would you be concerned about hoarding?"

Rarity stammers, "Well, um, with you being a dragon and all, I thought you might take offense if I was to imply that there was something wrong with hoarding."

"Oh!" Spike grins, tapping on claw against his head, "Well, I really don't know much about dragon culture and all. I was hatched by Twilight, you see, and I've spent my whole life around ponies. I've only seen, um, one other dragon, and that was from a distance. And Twilight has some books on dragons, but they weren't very informative. So I don't know much about them."

Rarity nods along as the two arrive at the Carousel Boutique, the side door opening in a blue aura. Rarity softly calls to the dark kitchen, "Sweetie Belle?"

"I'm in my room!" comes the high pitched call, a light tap of hooves from above. The white unicorn filly appears at the top of the steps, grinning down at the pair. Two other fillies quickly join her, Scootaloo yawning while Apple Bloom looks to the kitchen. They chorus, "Hiya, Spike!" as Sweetie Belle continues, "Did you have a good time at the party?"

"I did!" Spike replies with a smile as Rarity goes to the kitchen, getting herself a glass of water and several plates of greens for the fillies. "That was my first time having that Fire Sauce, and it was really good!"

Sweetie Belle sticks her tongue out a little, "Eww, you liked that stuff? Well, I guess I can see it, you being a dragon and all. But it's way too hot!" Scootaloo perks up at the mention of hot things, though quick whispers back and forth with Apple Bloom leaves her disappointed. The three fillies trudge down the stairs, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo scrambling into the kitchen. Sweetie Belle moves over to Spike, glancing up and down his body.

Spike shakes his head, "Nuh-uh! I haven't found anything that's too hot for me! That Fire Sauce sure hit the spot, though; do you know where it came from?"

"Um, I'm not sure. Rarity, do you know?" Sweetie Belle asks, her eyes not leaving Spike. She waits outside while her sisters start chowing down on their breakfast.

"I believe it was a present to your sire, from somepony in Canterlot." Rarity shakes her head, "I tried a little of it, the mildest mix Doug made, and it was still far too spicy."

"Oh, that's too bad. More for me, then!" Spike grins, an awkward look around at the two unicorns and their forced smiles, grimaces poorly concealed. "Sooo..."

"That's pretty cool, I guess," Sweetie Belle says. "I saw at the party that you, um, use your claws to pick things up. Aren't you afraid about breaking whatever you're trying to grab?"

"Oh, these?" Spike says, flourishing his claws. "Nah. I have really good control. I write a lot of lists and such for Twilight, and those quills are pretty delicate. So I need a light touch, you know?"

Sweetie Belle playfully shakes her head, "I don't know if I'd like those claws on me. They look pretty dangerous!"

"Don't think you can hoof it?" Spike smirks, brandishing his claws, "We'll have to see about that!"

Sweetie Belle squeals as Spike lunges at her, his claws quickly finding her sides. She giggles as his claws lightly scratch at her coat, "Hey! That's tickles!"

"Oh really?" Spike grins as he continues running his claws through her white coat. He stumbles as Sweetie Belle pulls away from him, his momentarily loss of balance exacerbated by a quick hoof to his shin. He quickly finds himself on his belly, a hoof pinning him to the floor as Sweetie Belle smirks above him.

"Time for a taste of your own medicine!" she quips, her hooves pressing into his scales. Spike groans in pleasure, Sweetie Belle quickly growing frustrated at the dragon's response, yelling, "Hey! No fair! You're not supposed to be enjoying this!"

"Hey, what can I say," Spike says, relaxing as his limbs splay out from his body, "You're pushing in all the right places!" He moans as she lets up, "Hey, what gives? Why'd you stop?"

Sweetie Belle groans, glancing back at her flank, a long sigh of disappointment. "Well, I guess I'm not getting a massaging cutie mark."

Scootaloo remarks, "Well, I'd say you're in luck, 'cause it'd probably have been a dragon massaging cutie mark." Apple Bloom snickers along, Sweetie Belle rolling her eyes as she grabs her breakfast, quickly scarfing it down much to her dam's consternation.

"Hey! I would have liked that!" Spike says as he gets up, "I'd be all, like, 'don't worry, babe, I'll treat you right!'"

Apple Bloom pokes the blushing Sweetie Belle with a hoof, "Well, it's too bad you didn't get it then, right? Better luck next time!"

The three fillies giggle as Sweetie Belle fakes a yawn, "Well, um, I'm going to try to go back to bed. Try to get a quick nap in before we have to go to school. At least Miss Cheerilee is starting late today." She smirks, "I bet she knew she would be partying a little too much at Pinkie Pie's party, right?"

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity admonishes, a light glare at her filly, "You know better than to talk about your teacher like that."

"You're right, dam," Sweetie Belle says, a soft smile mollifying Rarity's wrath. "Anyway, good morning, Spike, and, um, good night!" Sweetie Belle grins, Spike returning a wave as the filly heads into the kitchen.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both pause as they follow their sister, "Nice seeing you, Spike!"

Spike waves at the two before looking at Rarity. The two stare at each other for several seconds before Spike hesitantly asks, "So, where do you keep your gems?" A hungry look appears in his eyes, "Twilight sometimes lets me have a bit of ruby as a snack, but she could really use more variety in the gems I have, you know?"

Rarity smiles, "Mm, I do find that making one design over and over can be very tedious. I imagine the same thing must be true of what kind of gems you eat!" She leads the way to her storeroom, revealing a large number of boxes. The walls are covered in shelves; nearly every one is neatly labeled, the containers designed to slide in and out. The clear glass makes it easy to see which bins are nearly full and which could use restocking. A few are already open; Rarity's horn flares, a few of the full bins opening while the nearly empty ones shut. "Hmm," she mutters, glancing over at Spike, "I am running a little low on some of my stocks. Nevertheless, you can pick, say, three different kinds."

Spike's eyes wander over the different boxes, past a heavily tinted pair of aviators, finally picking up a sapphire and considering. He puts it back, holding a small emerald and comparing it to a garnet. He pops the garnet into his mouth, smiling at the taste, while the emerald goes back into the box. He looks around, his eyes resting on a large blue crystal hanging on the wall. He points at it, asking, "What is that one? I don't know if I've seen it before."

"Oh, that?" Rarity briefly grimaces, inspecting the spear head. "I don't know if it has an official name; we just called it crystal. It surrounds the various essence golems that are found scattered around. We found a lot of it during our trip to the Badlands, far to the south. It's very sharp, do be careful. I've never really found a use for it, on account of how difficult and dangerous it is to work with."

Spike salivates as he stares, his claws opening and closing as if he is holding it already. "Can I try a piece? It looks really good! And I'm sure I'll be fine, my scales are really tough!"

Rarity pulls out another box, levitating a small piece. "Yes, I suppose. Let me know if is too sharp, the only thing I've been able to consistently do with them is grind them into dust and use it for a nice blue accent for some of my jewel insets. But even then I have to be extremely careful, as the tiny pieces are still quite dangerous. I can barely even round the sharpened edges off!"

Spike eagerly grabs the blue fragment, a short yelp as the sharp edge nicks one of his scales. He yelps, "Ow!" dropping the crystal and sucking on the light cut. Rarity drops down, concern on her face as she levitates away the offending piece. Spike grimaces, a brief grunt as he inspects his scales. He waves Rarity off, puffing up his chest as he says, "Don't worry about me! I'm fine!" though it is far too late to have any real impact. He backpedals as Rarity continues to look at him with concern, "I mean, I didn't expect it to be that sharp!"

"Oh, darling, will you be all right?" Rarity levitates over a paper towel, lightly tapping on the scale already beginning to heal. "Do you think it is safe to eat, if it cut your scales? What about your tummy?"

Spike laughs, his faked courage easily apparent, "Oh, it's nothing! I was just surprised, that's all!" He reaches for the crystal, "I'll show it who's boss!"

"Are you sure? I don't know if your teeth will grind it up for you; it'll still have some of those sharp edges!"

Rarity's worried look spurs Spike's bravado, "Oh, please! I got this, you don't need to worry about me!" He carefully snatches the crystal, chomping down on his new meal. "Hey! It tastes like garnet! That's amazing!"

"Really?" Rarity says, pulling over a small piece of crystal and inspecting it closely. "Fascinating. What does garnet taste like?"

"Oh, I really like it. One of my favorites. It's got a bit of a kick, more than a ruby. Not as much as a fire ruby, but I've only had one of those. They're pretty rare, but I ask Twilight to get me one any time I can." At Rarity's blank look Spike chuckles, rubbing the back of his head, "I... don't suppose you know what a ruby tastes like?"

Rarity shakes her head, "I... can't say that I've ever had the pleasure of sampling that particular gem."

"Yeah, I should have figured. Twilight doesn't eat many gems, either. I'd say ruby is like a mild spice. Pepper, whereas a fire ruby is more like that Fire Sauce."

"I suppose I'll have to take your word for it," Rarity says, a hint of a smile at watching the dragon deliberate on how to describe the gem's taste. A yawn escapes her mouth, a hoof quickly covering her faux pas. "I am sorry, dear, but I think I might follow Sweetie Belle's example. A brief nap before I open up shop. Was there anything else you would like?"

"Can I have another one of those crystals?" Spike says, eagerly glancing between the boxes.

"Certainly!" Rarity levitates another one down, a slightly uncoordinated walk to the door.

Spike carefully plucks the crystal fragment out of the air, popping it into his mouth. He chews a few times before gagging, his tongue sticking out of his mouth with small pieces on top. "Eww! It's tasteless, like that tofu Twilight had me try!"

Rarity raises an eyebrow, smirking as she says, "That probably means it's really good for you! I should give some to Twilight, so you can grow up big and strong!"

Spike sticks his tongue out, "Eww! No way! I'll stay a nice small dragon the rest of my long life, thank you very much!" He shakes his head, glancing back at the box of crystal shards, "But the taste! The other one was so good!"

"That is quite odd, I agree! They came from the same box and everything!" Rarity yawns again, "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't stay up so much two nights in a row. One all-nighter is quite enough for me, and naps are not a sufficient substitute for one's beauty sleep! I'm afraid it's going to do horrors to my complexion, not to mention my mane!" Rarity sighs, "I'm sorry, but we'll have to get to the bottom of this another night."

"Nuh-uh! You still look amazing!" Spike pauses briefly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head, "Um, I mean..."

Rarity laughs, "Oh, darling, I'll take that as the complement it was meant to be. I must be off, though, should I have any hope of keeping up at with work later today."

Spike nods, glowering at not getting a good third taste from the storeroom. He is a little tired, too; hopefully Rarity won't mind if he catches a few z's on one of the couches in the storeroom.

Comments

[Viper Pit]

This was nice

[badninja]

I wonder if Spike caught the fact that Rarity may have someone special in her life? Still this was a fun chapter!

[TyrTheTaur]

When will Spike realise that there's no point since Rarity has a partner and a filly

[Doug Graves]

9326525
9326568
He definitely realizes it, but that doesn't mean he isn't attracted to her, as any teenage guy can attest. 'Dude, your mom is hot' kind of thing. He won't actively pursue her (wrong fic for that) but it'll certainly slip out from time to time (again, not that kind of fic).

[chibilink]

Hmm interesting that the crystals had different tastes, perhaps they came from different golems and he got one of each? I wonder if it's going to be relevant in some capacity someday...