Sparity Shipping Mega Epic

by Mareity

– 13: Spike’s Lair –

After a brief transportation upon Rarity’s back to a desk and a supply of scrolls, Spike burned through his required messages in a matter of minutes, keeping things short and to the point as he’d mentioned. Rarity waited patiently by his side and, once he’d fulfilled his duties, popped him back onto herself and made her way down the lavishly-carpeted spiral staircase to the ground floor hallway in the west wing where his personal chambers were located. Neither of them spoke much en route, both feeling tuckered out as they were, Rarity keenly aware that Spike bore the worse of it between them. Resilient they may well be, but even dragons struggled with extreme cold, she knew, and as they bumpily approached the door she gave him a gentle nudge as she slowed to a stop.

‘Well, we’re back here, again,’ said Spike, scrambling off of Rarity’s back with his jacket arms tied around his waist, nearly falling off before landing on his feet and unlocking the door, ‘Thanks for the ride…’

Rarity craned her neck downwards towards him and smiled, hoping for a kiss or a rub on the cheek, but Spike just turned towards her once he’d pushed the door ajar and looked awkward, one eyebrow raised and slightly slack-jawed as his purple complexion turned amaranthine. ‘Uh…’

His awkwardness was infectious, and Rarity felt her face flush more than a little as she sat on the floor. ‘Um…’ she responded, similarly tongue-tied.

Her heartbeat became faster and that flush crept outwards, and she broke eye contact as she became positive that her snowdrop-white ears had thawed into a bright pink blossom. Eventually she broke the silence with a nervous chuckle and a quick groom of her mane. ‘Well… I suppose I should leave you in peace and return to whatever all-night antics the others are doubtless concocting, shouldn’t I…’ she said, looking back across her shoulder.

‘Don’t!’ Spike almost-whispered with palpable urgency, his flushed face persisting before speaking up somewhat. ‘I mean, if it’s alright with you, I don’t wanna be by myself after what happened…’

Rarity raised her head and looked back at him, her face still very pink and with a broad, loving smile. ‘Nor I without you, truthfully… after that incident I’d be happy to have a further heart-to-heart with you, if that’s acceptable to you, of course! I’d simply hate to intrude upon your bedchamber without your say-so…’

‘Uh, you’ve been inside my bedroom before, here and at the old castle, Rare. But I suppose inviting you in’s the gentledragonly thing to do...’ Spike grinned, not turning less red as he turned and bowed to her, speaking with an affectation that reflected Rarity’s as he looked upwards with an embarrassed grin, ‘My dearest, sweetest Rarity, I very much would appreciate your company during this troubled time. Pray, would such a beautiful, talented and kindly lady such as yourself deign to enter within this humble dragon’s, uh, lair? I would be truly honoured.’ He returned to his usual mode of speech as he added, ‘I haven’t cleaned up at all, though, so it’s kinda messy…’

Rarity giggled and extended a hoof, which Spike took in his claw before kissing it, his other behind his back. ‘Oh, you little flatterer, I’m sure it’s at least habitable… nevertheless, there’s nothing I’d rather do more than accept your humble request, my darling,’ she said, tipping her head to one side as her cheeks bunched. ‘Nothing at all.’

‘Heh, alright then… come on in,’ Spike said, gripping her hoof a little harder as he pushed the door fully open, then led her inside.

Almost. She stopped just before passing the threshold, and Spike jerked, nearly falling backwards from still holding her hoof. He turned to her and she lowered her face level with his, and whispered, ‘Hold on just two ticks, Spikey-Wikey… surely I needn’t say but I ought to be clear… no hanky-panky, I presume?’

‘The thought hadn’t crossed my mind, Rarity,’ Spike confirmed, mostly-truthfully, saluting with his free claw, ‘Just two good friends talking about stuff and keeping each other company. Let’s keep the door open, though, just in case.’

‘Good idea, darling,’ Rarity said with another chuckle, entering the room entirely and giving the door, which was slowly drifting back shut, a swift bump of her rump before levitating a nearby wooden chair by it, obstructing any further closure. ‘There’s nothing untoward about a little mutual support, but signalling the intended level of privacy is best, for certain. You never know what sort of ideas other ponies can possess themselves with, with just one sliver of the wider picture!’

Once they were both inside Spike let go of her hoof and flapped his wings, gaining a little air as he switched on a nearby desk lamp, sliding a drawer beneath it open as yellow light illuminated his room, bathing everything in cosy warmth.

Rarity had gained a quick peek of his bedroom before when he’d fetched the vase for her roses earlier, but hadn’t seen the interior of this room up close for some time, a short way away from Twilight’s as it was. The overall size of the area was roughly equivalent to any of the other rooms along this corridor including the guarded library room several doors down, but it had been partitioned into threes: a bathroom, the bedroom area they’d entered into, and, leading away from a wooden staircase placed against the left wall, a second storey that had seemingly been added to take advantage of the higher ceiling, granting its draconic inhabitant more floor space aloft as well as the ambience it afforded.

Two thick stone pillars similar to the ones in the mirror’s library pierced the ceiling, most likely reaching the room’s true apex, which would have betrayed the room’s refitting if Rarity’s practical eye hadn’t already measured it up as such. The courtyard window from up there allowed some natural light to filter through down the stairs alongside the orange and green of the stained glass window depicting Somnambula in the outside hallway, although it was rather dim without the lamp Spike had lit, now that Twilight’s normally-scheduled sun-lowering, uninterrupted by her injury, was beginning to proceed. Duskiness aside the room’s overall verticality was enough that the ceiling where they stood now wasn’t too low for comfort, although a few things, a few gem strings similar to the ones in Twilight’s room as well as other decorations Spike had acquired over time, draped down from the wooden rafters that Rarity mentally noted she’d rather not ding her horn upon. Not so much for the impact – if they started to jingle, who knew when they’d stop?

The first thing besides the room’s general architecture that grabbed Rarity’s attention was Spike’s bed itself, placed opposite the door and near the aforementioned staircase, close to the back wall. Spike slept in a large wicker basket containing a heap of unmade blue blankets and white cotton pillows atop an actual bed frame, something he’d become accustomed to over the years. One of the blankets spilled over the rim onto the floor, and Rarity noted that a facsimile of the butterfly-ribboned sleeping mask she often slept with had its elastic wrapped around one of the pillows.

Lining the walls next to the bed and beneath the stairs was a wardrobe with a hanger, upon which rested Spike’s nightshirt and cap, and some bookcases, not the grand things sweeping the perimeter of the other rooms this time but modest wooden ones with reams of disorganised tomes filled with notes, as well as three sealed longboxes Rarity suspected contained Spike’s comic book collection. A little look behind her indeed revealed a Power Ponies poster tacked to the wall, the Masked Matterhorn in a spacesuit looking extremely determined as she led her superheroic comrades to presumed victory against some sort of macrocosmic threat that resembled one of Discord’s lesser-mannered relatives. Whoever it was, he wielded a gauntlet studded with what corresponded, by colour at least, very much with the jewellery that Rarity and the other Elements of Harmony used to wear when it was similarly go-time. Other posters decorated the walls and pillars haphazardly, some of other entertainment franchises Rarity was less familiar with, a couple seemingly abstract art pieces of some kind and one or two reproductions of Equestrian paintings she was more familiar with, some she’d even seen in person at their respective galleries.

Besides that, closer to the door there was a sitting area with a gramophone and a table that accommodated a kettle and a mug, a small stack of books and a jar of gems, the floor beneath decorated with a teal shag rug. Much of the rest of the room’s floor was hard slab that was rough and cold beneath the soles of Rarity’s hooves, so she stepped upon the furry rug as she looked around some more. The writing desk covered with scrolls Spike currently hovered nearby was on the left side of the room with another shelf, this one containing a treasure trove of vinyl records as well as a few small statuettes of ponies and dragons on top, by the opposite wall. Above those was the single framed art piece in the room, a wide painted landscape of the burned hills, billowing clouds and smoky volcanoes of the Dragonlands that nonetheless had lush wildflowers she imagined were swaying in a breeze in its foreground. Finally, a basin, a stove with a saucepan, a cobblestone, currently unused fireplace with a metal smokestack and a stack of logs were respectively placed by one another to the shelf’s left, the first closest to the bathroom door.

‘Oh! You’ve remodelled!’ Rarity exclaimed aloud as she drank in her surroundings.

Spike flew onto the desk chair, popped a couple of incense sticks out of its drawer and, after a brief inspection, lit them with a spout of fire breath before fixing them into a shallow, oblong pot next to his ink and quill. ‘This’ll kill any room smells. Oh, wait… and I really oughta clear up this mess. Kind of a fire hazard with these burning,’ he said, gathering the mess of scrolls and bunging them in the drawer. That exposed the desk’s surface, revealing its age; there were some scorched spots on it from previous mishaps of the sort, as well as an ingrained ink splodge.

Rarity didn’t object to the fragrance, having caught a faint stinky-socks whiff alongside everything else as she’d entered, which seemed strange to her since she’d never once seen Spike wear socks. Instead she circled around to Spike’s other side to examine his actions, commenting, ‘I didn’t know you were, ah, into joss sticks, Spikey? The only pony I know personally who is, is Fluttershy’s friend from the Breezy Trail…’

‘You talking about Tree Hugger?’ Spike asked, to which Rarity nodded. ‘Eh, yeah… it’s a habit I picked up off of Gabby, actually. You gotta admit, it makes sense for a firelighter such as myself to dig ’em… they help me relax besides the scent, or, uh, because of it? I’m not real sure how it works, but I like ’em.’

She inhaled, finding the scent likewise pleasing. ‘Mmm… you know, it is quite comfy in here if you don’t mind my saying! Ah, what’s upstairs?’

‘I got the place remodelled a while back now. Begged Twilight to install the second floor better part of a year ago, because looking up at a high ceiling from bed gave me the creeps, plus it keeps the place warmer when the fireplace is burning,’ Spike said, ‘Which is for visitors’ benefit more than my own, actually. I’ve been using that floor to do, uh, stuff? Maybe I’ll show you later. It’s very disorganised up there right now though.’

‘You said that about this room and it’s only slightly cluttered, but in your own time, sweetheart, a lady shan’t pry,’ she said, ever the gracious guest, ‘Besides, I feel your little inner dwelling by itself has lots to offer.’

Spike stretched now that the incense was set up as he liked it. ‘Mmm, yeah, if you want some tea there’s water in the kettle, I was gonna make some for myself but I need a lie down,’ he said, flapping his wings towards his bed and untying the jacket around his waist, dumping it at its foot. Rarity watched with amusement as he hovered over the basket for a second, lining himself up before aggressively slam-dunk-faceplanting himself into it, then rolling around within the blankets like a pill bug and wrapping up warm. Once he was all rolled up he added, ‘I mean, I can make some… soon… but… ohh, ugh, oh boy… oh man, hello bed, hello basket, it’s been too long…’

She giggled as Spike closed his eyes and barely poked his forked tongue out of his smiling mouth, his visage suddenly the only part visible in the ball he’d amassed around himself. ‘Alright, you sweet little thing, you relax for a moment and I’ll set tea,’ she said, depositing her saddlebag by the desk he’d just been attending, ‘Ah, where do you keep your teabags? I’ll make two, that soup Fluttershy ordered was divine but a chaser would likewise hit the spot… chamomile for you, wasn’t it? I’ll take the same, I think!’

‘In the jar on the fireplace shelf, Rare, two bags if you don’t mind… and yes please, I’m gonna fall asleep without a big gulp of that,’ Spike mumbled, half-opening his eyes and watching as Rarity trotted over to that area, igniting the stove with a concentrated horn blast before levitating the kettle onto it, then locating two cups and the jar he’d mentioned.

She turned back to him. ‘Would you like the fireplace on while I’m boiling things up, darling? I couldn't help noticing there’s fresh wood in there! My hooves are somewhat chilly on this stone floor…’

‘Go for it, Rare. Whatever makes you feel comfortable,’ Spike answered, wriggling around in his ball of blankets to maximise his own comfort. She responded positively before she laid one more log on for good measure, then zapped it for several seconds until a “fwoosh” sounded, followed by merry burning.

He idly admired his special somepony as she worked, lying on his side as he was. As Rarity faced away while tending their beverages she presented an unintentional view of her back end, and he would be lying if he’d claimed he didn’t enjoy it. She swished her perfectly coiffed tail and he relished every little flick of her ears and shift of her fine shoulders, particularly liking when she reared on her hind legs, giving a full view of her back and haunches and stretching her triple-diamond cutie marks for a moment as she hummed to herself in her busyness, readying the bags in cups and tinking a precise measurement of sugar into her own.

The graceful way she moved as much as how she looked, each enhancing the other, made such mundane actions as brewing the tea look absolutely magical to Spike. Plus, he thought to himself, she was, uh, what was the word? Voluptuous. Curvaceous in a way dragons such as, say, Smolder or Ember seldom were, he couldn’t help judging her equine form against the serpentine standard of the dracaenae he knew. That back profile started slender but subtly muscular below her shoulders, trimmed off just slightly around the waist then returned with a rounded vengeance by the time a dragon’s discerning eye drew towards her hips. As much as Applejack jibed her from time to time regarding the sedentary nature of her stock-in-trade compared to kicking trees for a living, her strong definition betrayed that Rarity definitely kept fit and he very much appreciated that; while her figure was quite noticeable from the front, from this vantage point it was all the more obvious she was all lithe white curves all over in all the right places from horn to hoof with bouncy purple curls cascading down over her shoulders, and nothing about her would let him forget it.

He ceased his increasingly impure thoughts about her physicality as she turned back around, addressing him again with a sweet smile. ‘There we go, the kettle should whistle once it’s ready. Now then,’ she breathed, sitting in the bed next to his basket and placing a hoof upon his brow, then observing with a giggle, ‘Ooh, Spikey… oh, you look so snuggly in there! It’s cute… anyway, how are you feeling now, precious?’

‘Happy with you here,’ he murmured, mentally snipping out the last minute or so of his train of thought and snug as a bug in a rug, ‘But, uh, kinda troubled? Truth be told, I do not like the implications of what happened in the library. Why did that thing have my face? What did it mean when it said you have a “pleasing essence”? What in Tartarus was it?!’

Rarity shifted uncomfortably. ‘Nocreature knows what that awful Meus is, darling, and we’re all as at a loss as you are. If I may offer some conjecture – educated guesses, nothing more – the way it was initially a snowstorm that, ah, coalesced into one or more creatures like that… well, it didn’t really have your face. Didn’t you notice when more came out briefly that they looked like Twilight and Starlight? It was imitating you, and them, of that I’m sure. Likely it has no real face, nor the ability to make one of its own.’

Spike sat upright, still ensconced in his blankets. ‘Man, that’s weird, but it makes sense. What was the word it used… “aggrieved”? The common thread between me, Twi and Starlight there is that we all angered it one way or another by denying its entrance into the castle. The way it was talking, it holds grudges, and it’s probably got it in for the three of us after we directly interfered with it one way or another. And as for you…’

‘Hmm, yes, that… whatever the “essence” it spoke of was, my darling, it’s getting none of it from me if I can possibly help it, you can count on that!’ Rarity sniffed haughtily, ‘I’d be flattered by that in a strange way, if it hadn’t almost knocked me flat. You know, nopony’s commented on it but I was lucky not to sustain a nasty iceburn from that blow. I actually barely leapt away in time, though I didn’t stick the landing as gracefully as I’d prefer in the heat of the moment.’

‘Is that right?’ said Spike, popping his head out from the blankets, ‘I just saw it strike you, and… well, you weren’t wrong on the way to Twilight’s that I endangered myself unnecessarily, but when I saw it threaten you with my face, I… kinda took it personally. I mean, we’d just been fussing over, uh, “What If I Became A Monster” after I’d been lowkey stewing on that all week, and it was weirdly, uh, what was that word you used a while back, where something’s an outlet for emotions?’

‘Catharsis?’ Rarity stated, as a question.

‘Catharsis, right. It was weirdly cathartic to sock it in the face right then and there, I guess, even if it didn’t have all that much effect. I barely felt it freeze my fist; I was too mad to care.’

Rarity leaned over to Spike and gave him a poke on the snout. ‘You would have felt it rather severely if I hadn’t whipped out that crystal shield, Spikey… you would’ve been frozen into a block! You just about weathered it when Meus was a blizzard and we had no other option, but a concentrated blast of that stuff… oh, I shudder to think!’ Then she sniffed and blinked, and Spike saw worrywort tears well up in her eyes, ‘Oh, I don’t want to think about it… oh, now I’m thinking about it all the more and I simply can’t bear it…!’

She embraced the little bundle of bedclothing containing Spike, a lock of her curly mane falling over one eye as she gave it a squeeze and hiccuped into it, and he tried and failed to hug back. ‘Aw, Rarity, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, I wasn’t thinking straight… aw, please don’t cry. I’m fine, just, y’know, run down. I won’t do anything stupid like that again, if I can help it.’

Rarity squeaked sorrowfully in response, and Spike racked his brain for a moment for something that would make her feel better. ‘Uh, you know, I’ve only seen you do that once before. The shield, I mean… back when the so-called Legion of Doom attacked and Chrysalis tried to blast me back into the Pone Age. Do you keep that spell in reserve just for me?’ he smiled.

Rarity wiped her tears away and exhaled, reclining on the bed and resting her ear upon Spike, his ball her makeshift head pillow and an actual pillow clasped to her bosom as she calmly mused. ‘Well, since we’re still nominally on the subject of the magic mirror, it’s a trick I learned through Twilight’s correspondence with Sunset Shimmer… she’s kept me abreast through tidbits of what my human-world alter-ego gets up to once in a while, and she apparently devised something similar while harnessing her own powers from playing in their rock band over there. I thought it was a capital idea, so I practised it in my own time. You’re quite correct that the only times I’ve produced it in a crisis was then, and just now, to protect you…’

‘Either way, I feel kinda dumb now… all that “always your protector” stuff from before might just apply to you more than me, huh. Well, thanks for making sure we didn’t get brutally popsicled back there, Rarity,’ Spike said, a trace of dejection in his voice.

‘Aw, Spike… I recall, also, words to the effect of, ah, “so long as we have each other’s backs, anything is possible”, no? We prevailed, then as now, because we looked out for one another. I just got scared because you put yourself directly in harm’s way. You should look out for yourself, not just me. If something terrible happened to you on my behalf, I’d never forgive myself!’

‘Lesson learned, don’t worry. It wasn’t worth it, really, and I’m sorry if it scared you,’ said Spike, and just as he ended that thought the kettle started to whistle at a heightening pitch.

Rarity sat up from resting her head on him. ‘Apologise to future Spike when you really hurt yourself, not just to me… ah, it’s ready to tip out. Will you take your tea from inside those blankets too, or will you be joining me in the world of the living, sweetheart?’

‘Ugh, it’s just so comfortable in here I don’t wanna come back out so soon, Rare… but you know, maybe you can join me, after a fashion. There’s a bunch of linen in the wardrobe, if you’re feeling cold.’

‘Well, I had my scarf to keep me warm, before that horrid beast destroyed it…’ she sighed as she poured the steaming kettle water into the cups and stirred the teabag in each, ‘I might take you up on the offer, although a seat by the fire might fix me up just as well.’

‘Yeah, you liked that scarf… y’know, I can knit you a new one if you like.’

‘Pashmina’s not for beginners, Spikey, but I do appreciate the sentiment,’ Rarity laughed, bringing the cups back to the bed having discarded the bags in the basin, ‘Besides, I have several more back at the boutique! It’s just inconvenient since I didn’t think to bring a spare along. Anyway, here you go, precious-pants. Drink up, every drop!’ she beamed as he took one of the levitating cups into both claws.

She was about to take her first sip when she suddenly remembered something else tasty. ‘Oh! I almost forgot…’ she leaned over the foot of the bed and levitated another of the round smoky quartzes she’d given several of to the cadet in Twilight’s room not long ago out of her saddlebag, ‘Here, darling, something extra. They’re quite the delicacy, as you say!’

‘Aw yeah, there’s the good stuff… I won’t lie, I, uh, coveted those when you gave a bunch to Starboard Stern before. It was pretty obvious, huh? This’ll be perfect with tea.’

Rarity selected a large cushion, a sky blue one with golden tassels that may have originally belonged to her, to bed down upon and gave her chamomile brew a dainty sniff, then inhaled the broader incense scent around her before spreading out on the mattress a bit then taking a long sip. ‘Mmm, aromatherapy,’ she sighed once she’d swallowed, ‘You’re not wrong that this is making me feel rather… nice… mmm, Spikey, I already said you’d be good at the spa, didn’t I? Thinking upon it, they offer something similar to your sticks too.’

Spike also inhaled, through his nostrils and mouth, appreciating Rarity’s rosy perfume scent on top of everything else before biting a chunk from the first of the gemstones, chasing it down with a mouthful of his own cup. Rarity’s head jerked to attention as his lips met his mug, and she smiled at him. ‘So, how do those taste, my darling? Sate my curiosity,’ she inquired, her mane rolling back over her shoulders and her eyes still slightly watery from her outpouring a few minutes ago.

‘Cola and charcoal briquette taste, rough mouthfeel,’ Spike stated ponderously once he’d taken a gulp, and as Rarity raised a hoof to her mouth and chuckled he added, ‘Hey, you make a nice and sweet cup of tea, anycreature ever told you that?’

‘Yona does, all the time,’ Rarity rolled over and looked at Spike upside-down as her mane spilled onto the bedsheets, her cup casually floating nearby, ‘That sweet dear… sometimes I feel like she’s more appreciative than I deserve, the way she goes on. I couldn’t ask for a more attentive apprentice, though, she’s ever so good…’

‘She’s grateful that you gave her a chance doing something she loves even though she’s not a pony, and getting work as a non-pony in Ponyville can be tough. Even besides that, though, you deserve all of it, trust me…’ sighed Spike, putting his cup down after another mouthful before likewise rolling upside down so their eyes met. Now that Rarity had tangentially brought up the boutique he thought to ask, ‘Hey, quick thought. Does Yona or anycreature else feed Opal when you’re unexpectedly away from home for a while like this?’

‘Well, I usually plan ahead before Friendship Councils. It’s not unknown for some, ah, wacky circumstance to whisk all us girls off to some kind of adventure, big or small, I mean, you’d know as well as anycreature… anyway, Opal has a cat flap in the back door with one of those magnetic doodads on her collar, and I filled up her food and water bowls this morning to be on the safe side. Sweetie or Yona usually check in with her anyway, but dear Opal can look after herself for a day or two. Cats are rather independent creatures, after all.’

‘You say that, but I coulda written a scroll to–’ Spike started, then suddenly turned red for a second before bursting out of his blankets and turning his head away as he hacked up a scroll in a puff of green flame. ‘Ack! –one of them… speaking of which, here’s Sunburst’s answer fresh off the school burner. Says everything’s fine over there and Trixie can handle it, but Starlight needs to be back for their Saturday night meal at Kiss Corner with Maud and Mud Briar. Also that Trixie can’t, or, uh, won’t, foalsit that night as well as tonight, so they’ll need to arrange another babysitter. Well, them’s the breaks.’

‘The work-life balance can be tricky, but Starlight can figure something out, I’m sure,’ said Rarity, rolling over onto her stomach and looking up at Spike as he hovered, ‘Ah, do you need to take her that message straight away?’ she asked, tipping her head, making it clear that she’d rather he stuck around for the time being.

He looked at Rarity as she lay there, big eyes gazing at him with her tail jutting into the air and her chin nestling in her hooves, and grinned before sitting back down in his basket. ‘Nah, it’s not been so long… better to wait until I’ve accumulated a few more replies, then lug ’em all upstairs at once. Besides, I feel quite comfortable here right now.’

‘A little less so now you’re not wrapped up warm, though,’ observed Rarity, ‘Would you like me to gather those up for you again, darling?’

Spike clasped his teacup in both hands. ‘Mmm, not really. The tea’s having the desired effect and that quartz was great,’ he said, taking another slurp and downing the last drops, ‘I’ll be fine. Besides, it can’t be that much fun being in here while I just lie there, right?’

‘It’s quite alright, Spikey-Wikey, you plainly needed it. I’m just happy to spend some time alone with you,’ Rarity giggled, and Spike felt his heart flutter at those words as he blushed deeply again. ‘It’s just so lovely to take time to smell the roses, as they say, and relax and talk,’ she added, ‘We don’t need to be constantly “doing” to, ah, distract ourselves from simply “being”. I’m so happy just “being” with you…’

Spike felt tongue-tied for a moment, and he looked down, almost overwhelmed by the simple fact that Rarity, she for whom he had always pined for all these years, even during his years with Gabby, he admitted to himself, was in his bedroom, lying on his bed so casually, telling him how much she liked him. He’d replayed such scenarios in his head many times, and despite seeming like a simple desire it had felt such an insurmountable ask… but now it was happening. He considered pinching himself, after all their encounter with Meus felt like a weird nightmare in itself, and if it were, why wouldn’t this too be the idle fantasy of a dreaming mind?

Realising he was in danger of dissociating he decided to act, reaching out and touching Rarity, raking his clawtips on her extended foreleg, and she nearly spilled her remaining tea with surprise. ‘Spike?’ she gasped, uncertain of his next move.

He smiled, running his claws through the thin fur of her fetlocks. ‘Just making sure you’re real, that’s all. Oh, Rare, it is really nice, just hanging out, with… with my… with my Rarity.’

‘Oh, my favourite little dragon…’ Rarity breathed, smiling and showing off a full complement of facial dimples with a half-lidded expression. They looked at each other lovingly for a moment, then embraced, Spike wrapping his claws around Rarity’s neck and shoulders as she held him up, a hoof under his rump for support and the other caressing his back.

‘Aw, Spikey my darling… sometimes I do wonder what’s happening to me recently…’ she murmured, looking intensely into his eyes after a minute of heartfelt hugs, ‘Part of me feels like I’ve slowly surrendered myself to you, but if that’s the case it’s simply wonderful to be helplessly in your thrall… you know, I never felt like I had the time for pursuits such as, ah, this, these past years, regardless of my, um, romanticising nature it just seemed off the table for the most part, schoolfilly crushes on silly stallions aside… but this feels so different. I feel… it’s as if something had locked my heart away for a very long time without my realising, and now you’ve pried that lock open with one of your little claws and run away with it.’

Spike snuggled into Rarity’s chest, nuzzling into her chest fur as she spoke. ‘I feel something along the same lines, but it’s more like… now we’re together I wanna fly with you, to keep flying, over the horizon, to who-knows-where, forever, and it’s such an exciting feeling… oh, you’re such an amazing mare, Rarity, I want to keep up with you and your incredible… ness…’ He mentally followed that statement up with an internal slap to the forehead. That really wasn’t how that was supposed to come out. So much for keeping up, at least as far as breathless poeticism went.

But Rarity didn’t mind, simply giggling in response before sighing deeply. The pair of them slowly melted back down onto the bed, and Spike scooted off her chest, circling her head and looking down upon her with a big smile, leaning over from above. She sighed and closed her eyes and he held her head, reaching around her chin with one claw and caressing her right ear with the other, placing it between his thumb and forefingers, the former gently grooming the fluff at its base while the latter gave it a sweet little rubby scratch behind. She reached upwards and put her hooves and head around his shoulders as her mane fell back, and they stayed like that for a short while. Neither would argue otherwise that the best place in the world right now was right here, in one another’s arms, and that was worth any tribulation the world had to throw at them, be it monsters or anything more besides.

Spike gave her a gentle kiss on the horn and stroked back the strands of mane misbehaving over her forehead. ‘Feels like anytime something that looks like it’ll set us back it just makes us closer,’ he muttered as Rarity arched her back, opening her eyes and gazing at him with a look of abject happiness, ‘Think that’s a good sign?’

Rarity sighed, a heaving one that made her chest inflate then deflate for a few seconds. ‘I think my heart belongs to you now, for whatever that’s worth,’ she fawned with a bite of her lip and her hooves raised to her chest, ‘And that’s where it wishes to be, and where it belongs, nowhere else. Nothing can take that away from either of us, sweetheart.’

‘Nope,’ Spike agreed, ‘Nothing can. Whatever happens next, we’re in it together.’

Rarity rolled over onto her side and sighed slowly, again and again as Spike gave her shoulder a gentle kneading, and the line from her neck to her lower back some attention besides as she cast a critical eye at the bookshelves beneath the staircase and emptied out her teacup, then dropped it with a “tink” back onto its saucer. The room fell quiet, aside from her occasional sigh or yawn from her, and the crackle of the fireplace warming the room. They were both bathed in amber from the hallway window and the flicker of the burning logs, and it made Rarity feel so warm, inside as well as out. Spike’s lair, such as it was, felt such a far cry from being in Meus’ questionable company it was nothing less than utterly sublime.

She looked again to the shelves as she murmured with pleasure. Besides the dogeared Ogres & Oubliettes manuals and comic book boxes she’d seen upon entry some of the larger volumes stood out to her besides, and she idly browsed the spines with eyes half-open as Spike petted her. A series of high fantasy collections, each entitled “Burnferno and the–”, followed by a subtitle, sat there, at least a dozen individual squat titles set neatly in a row and numbered in ascending order along with an oval illustration of a musclebound, steel-blue warrior dragon with a loincloth and gritted teeth on their creased spines. Next to those, she saw a few hardcovers titled “Power Pony Omnibus” alongside a slimmer “Power Ponies II: Secrets of the Nega-Raptorians: The Musical: The Game: The Graphic Novel” volume that she supposed were compendia of stories from the long-running superhero series.

Rarity suddenly jolted up as something in particular caught her interest, and Spike withdrew his claws in alarm. ‘Ooh, Spike! I didn’t know you were interested in Brink Dessin! She was one of Manehattan’s greatest fashion illustrators once upon a time!’ She looked at him and saw she’d nearly bumped him back in her unwarned enthusiasm and cringed slightly, ‘Oh, sorry darling, I confess I was staring at your shelf over there with some idle curiosity, but, ah… may I peruse it? She was a true trailblazer, and even after all these years her work never fails to inspire me! I actually have this precise volume somewhere at the boutique but I forget where I’ve left it…’

‘Huh? Oh, sure, read anything you like on there, Rarity,’ said Spike, his voice still quiet and dreamy from the intimate moment they’d just shared as she hopped to the floor for a moment, ‘Uh, those unabridged Burnferno books can get a bit, uh, strong meat though? They’re by a dragon, for dragons, if you get me… well, by pony standards, Smolder says they’re schmaltzy baby bedtime stories compared to some of the stories dragons tell. Ponies read ’em and like ’em but Equestrian publishers tend to quietly edit out the, uh, uhh…’

She couldn’t help raising an eyebrow as she magiced “Brink Dessin: The Cutting Edge of the Manehattan Press” off the shelf. ‘Be honest, Spike… does this Burnferno fellow eat ponies?’

Spike inhaled through his teeth. ‘Once, during a banquet in the second book, but in the third book he becomes honour-bound into rescuing them from being eaten? The early stuff’s kind of unrefined but they, uh, find their voice after “Burnferno and the Knucker’s Pool”,’ he explained, ‘Anyway, yeah, your “Brink Dessin” there, that’s a book I randomly found and borrowed from one of the east wing’s arts libraries and haven’t returned yet… it’s probably overdue, actually. It reminded me of you when I browsed it, which is why I still have it, I guess.’

‘Aw, darling…’ Rarity brought the oversized book back to the bed and flipped it open on her lap to a random page, revealing a dazzling full-page spread of two young mares with bob-cuts in flouncy evening dresses and cloche hats, covered head to toe in costume jewellery and gemstone studs and holding drinks with umbrellas, surrounded by the hubbub of a well-to-do cocktail party while having a conversation. After drinking in the fine details of the intricate and vintage yet drop-dead fashionable illustration she cast her eye to the caption at the bottom, and snorted with amusement. ‘Haha! Oh, I’d forgotten how witty Brink could be at her height! “Alicorn tools”, indeed!’

Spike looked faintly confused as his eyes darted between the earth ponies on the page and the supposed punchline. ‘Uh, is that a joke? I’d say it was a kneeslapper but I don’t get it, sorry… that’s gotta be a Manehattan society-fashion thing that I, uh, don’t have the context for. Really nice drawing, though, I dig the hats. Hey, show me another one, could you?’

‘No, no, my apologies, Spikey, it’s somewhat involved in the mores of society and fashion of the time, now you mention it… these were printed in papers the better part of a century ago.’ She flicked through the pages before finding something she deemed less esoteric and said, ‘Ooh, here’s a famous one! Isn’t she fabulous?’

She laid it in front of Spike, who squinted at it for a moment as he soaked in the detail. This cartoon depicted a very cute, doe-eyed and correspondingly nervous-looking gold-yellow young unicorn filly with a butterfly caught in a net on her flank, wearing layer after layer of translucent, figure-hugging blue-green chiffon covered with ribbons at another high-society function attended by faceless socialites, along with a summer hat with white posies along the brim that was slightly too large for her brow. Her flowing pink mane poured from the hat down her shoulders and back, the tips crimped and frizzed as though they were water crashing into the fabric she wore. ‘They say Netty herself posed for this… one of Manehattan’s truest trendsetters in her time before she retired, too soon by all accounts!’

‘She looks like Fluttershy,’ Spike stated, pausing before observing, ‘She’s even got that look in her eye Fluttershy had those times you convinced her to model. It’s a beautiful drawing, but just looking at her I feel bad for her… I don’t suppose it’s really a mystery why she quit as you said. It’s pretty… evocative of feeling lonely in a crowd. Is that the joke?’

‘No, I don’t think humour is the intention this time, truly,’ Rarity sighed with a bittersweet smile, ‘More of a cry for help expressed through her artist friend, perhaps. Netty was utterly radiant in the limelight but they say she was rather highly-strung. She came to loathe the pressure the high life imposed upon her, and was far happier out of it, which, well, good for her. Nonetheless, it is a pity when somepony shines like that, twice as bright but half as long, but I suppose better that than never at all...’

Seeking yet another spread she leafed through the pages as the book floated in front of them before happening upon one of a besuited unicorn and an extremely curly-maned, refined pegasus, dancing cheek-to-cheek to a wax record in the garden behind their home as their pet, a purrsian housecat that embodied the concept of fluffiness, looked on. Despite the change of scenery it was every bit as ornate as the previous illustration, the craftsmareship of the flower bed and pear tree in the garden looking like they could have taken a day each to hone to perfection. ‘Ooh, this one is a little less sad. Could be us one day, don’t you think?’ Rarity chuckled, putting a hoof around Spike, jostling him playfully and giving him a squish of the cheek as she pressed him against hers.

‘Goals,’ drawled Spike, pressing back and tickling her ear with his frills, ‘You gotta have ’em…’

A few more seconds passed before Spike chanced a lingering smooch and a snouty nuzzle on Rarity’s cheek, and she recoiled with a grin as his lips parted with an obviously flirtatious lick of his forked tongue. She cast the book aside near the bed’s head and floated him softly but firmly onto her lap, a glint in her eyes as he looked up at her with an expression simultaneously smug and earnest. ‘All this constant touching and pecking at me as if I were your plaything, Spike… didn’t Twilight ever teach you that you may look at a lady, but you ought never to touch!? It’s high time I taught you a lesson myself! Oohohoho!’ she laughed, a cooing chuckle emanating from the back of her throat.

‘Oh, no! That’s– oh, ahahaha!! Stop! Don’t punish me! Noooo! Help!!’ Spike giggled, his claws raised in mock-refusal as Rarity put her hooves on his chest and belly, giving him a hearty rub as she grinned down at him with girlish mischief written all over her face, cross-legged on the cushion, her luscious locks falling over both their heads and tickling him as Spike squirmed. His serpentine body wriggled as he kicked his legs, and Rarity felt his soft underbelly, almost too warm against her soles, which danced all over as she tickled and stroked him in payback.

Despite herself, it was Rarity’s turn for thoughts of… well, not Spike’s physicality as such, he was sweet and roly-poly as ever, which was lovely in its own way but not in that way; giving him a tickle like this wasn’t unlike playing with Opal on the occasions she was feeling affectionate for her mistress. But she couldn’t shake certain thoughts… those Burnferno books on the shelf facing them, with the oiled, rather attractive dragon in varying states of adventure on the spines, had seeded certain thoughts in her mind. Was it her imagination, or did this idealised, power fantasy-oriented fictional barbarian, colour aside, look rather like Spike, at least where his crest and frills were concerned? As she rubbed Spike’s tummy and he guffawed on her lap her mind cast back to when she’d looked in the mirror, and seen those interdimensional Spikes that Twilight reckoned were visible due to interference from Meus’ attempts to enter the palace. She recalled the ones she’d seen in that glimpse that had seemed closer to what she desired than what she’d feared in that moment. Some of them had had an aspect of this one; the taut, sculpted musculature, the glistening scales, the heroism, perhaps, although she’d not had the pleasure of their acquaintance it wasn’t exactly difficult to imagine one or more of them as bold knights in shining armour.

With those thoughts intensifying and her hooves still on Spike, she quit her tickly massage – best to nip them in the bud somewhat before she became more aroused than the faint quiver she felt in her chest and belly already, given the circumstances. ‘Spikey-Wikey, I think we should ease off on this for the time being, lovely though it may be, I’m feeling a little…’ she breathed, swallowing her amorous feelings the best she could.

Spike obeyed, faintly disappointed. ‘Aw… like you don’t know where this’ll go unless we stop? Alright, I get it,’ he said not begrudgingly, slipping off her with a salute and noticing that she’d turned quite pink around the cheeks and ears again. ‘Say no more.’

‘To the contrary, actually…?’ Rarity uttered under her breath as she put her hooves on her burning cheeks, struggling to regain her composure. Spike climbed back into his basket, nestling on top of his scattered blankets this time.

Which was just as well, as a moment later two scrolls shunted out of his face in rapid succession, landing with a practised grab into his claw before he unfurled them to check the details. ‘Huh, two at once… Mrs. Cake and Starswirl both got back to us, looks like. Former says she understands Pinkie can’t cover Sugarcube Corner tomorrow and that these things happen, and also there's a laff-o-gram from Cheese Sandwich waiting for her; latter says he’ll make the trip here as soon as he’s completed The Trials of Erebrum, whatever that is, and however long that’ll take. He did not specify.’

‘My understanding is that Starswirl’s wanderings are not unlike those of our ex-princesses’, on a grander scale, is that correct? As Celestia and Luna have thrown themselves into experiencing the littler things their status denied them for a very long time, Starswirl wanders across modern Une, not simply Equestria, in the pursuit of learning as much as he can of magic, friendship and the intersection thereof. Whatever that is, I don’t doubt it’s related to that.’

‘That’s basically it, yeah, last I heard he was doing field study somewhere down south near the Kirin Grove, something to do with “psychological principles of acceptance of the dual self”, according to Twilight. Well, three down, three… no, four, Cadance hasn’t gotten back to me yet, to go. But Raven’ll respond in person, so practically it’s three…’

‘Hmm… I suppose Starswirl still has what happened with Stygian and the Pony of Shadows in mind, and the kirin know a thing or two about how negativity can spread like wildfire similar to that,’ Rarity pontificated, ‘Well, so Fluttershy and Applejack told me from their sojourn there, anyway. I’ve never met a kirin before myself.’

‘You may yet. Since they started talking again Twilight’s received some correspondence from their queen, Rain Shine. They still keep to themselves, but they’re thinking about trading with the world outside their forest.’

‘Is that so? Oh, I rather hope they come out of their shells like the yaks did… anyway, regarding your little library, darling,’ she added, levitating a comb and mirror from her saddlebag and seeing to her slightly messy mane as another brown gem also floated out and plopped into his grasp, ‘I know you know all about my own preference in pulp, but, hmm, regarding your own I’m thus far unacquainted with…’

‘Couldn’t help noticing you casting, uh, lingering gazes at “The Hotblooded Chronicles of Burnferno” after I mentioned ’em, Rare. Feeling curious about what a beefy barbarian dragon can do?’ Spike asked as he sat back up, giving his new gem a lick as he held it in one claw.

‘As a matter of fact, yes I am! Perhaps I’m just attracted to those wonderfully vivid cover paintings, but read one to me anyway, Spikey,’ she squealed, putting her accessories down and bouncing in excitement for a second, before bedding down on the cushion again and looking excited by the offer, ‘One of the, ah, less racy ones, perhaps, to ease me into things… but also something stirring!’

‘I know one you’ll like, a short one from the sixth volume… “Burnferno and the Purple Princess”,’ Spike said, reaching for a book and presenting its cover, a lurid painting depicting Burnferno in all his machismo alongside a lithe, viridian female dragon with a long, slender tail and radiant fire-orange eyes, sailing glistening blue high seas together upon what she supposed was an olden-times galleon, to her. ‘One of my favourites, actually. He teams up with this exotic lady dragon thief, Flameflower, and they steal a bunch of gems from Abyssinian pirates. There’s a bit of romance as well as swordfights and firebreathing, although they don’t stick together long after they get their treasure. Burnferno’s just too much of a love-’em-and-leave-’em anti-hero to be tied down by that sort of thing.’

‘Spoilers, Spikey! Ah, no matter… sounds like a swashbuckling adventure, if somewhat criminally transactional,’ Rarity sighed with amusement and a roll of her eyes, reclining on her side back on her cushion. ‘I suppose the protagonists of tales such as these have some arrested development issues as a necessity, such is the nature of pulp fiction. Heaven knows half of my Shadow Spade novels aggressively reset their status quo before the tale concludes…’ She put a hoof around Spike as he sat back against her and licked his fingertip before locating the story in question, prepared to recite a ripping yarn.

Spike munched on his gemstone as he pontificated over the tale. ‘Yeah, frankly it’s one of the less realistic things in this story. Flameflower, She-Vixen of the Occident is, uh, well, you can see she’s pretty from the cover, and she kicks tail besides… her betrayal comes out of nowhere like it was a last-minute change, probably demanded by the original publisher. She shows up more later on and there’s a bunch of spin-off stories starring her, actually. They had good chemistry together, Snap I. Hoard shoulda kept her on full-time, in this dragon’s opinion…’

‘My sweetheart, just read the story before you spoil the entire thing…’ Rarity was actually enjoying listening to Spike’s enthusiastic descriptions of this beguiling world of adventure, the picture he was painting was fascinating, but a second-hand account wasn’t ideal.

‘Right, right, ’scuse me,’ Spike polished off his quartz and wriggled again, making himself comfortable by Rarity’s side with the paperback in his lap as he began, putting on a portentous air as he narrated. ‘Ahem. “It is a matter most pleasing to dragons and thieves alike that many creatures keep their treasures close to claw, or paw, or hook for that matter…”’

Rarity closed her eyes and visualised the tale Spike spun, quietly assuring him when he protested that she was indeed listening, just resting her eyes. She listened quietly as he recited the intrigue of the early pages preceding Flameflower’s character reveal and Burnferno’s recalcitrant, entrance-via-captivity into the harbour town wherein they met and made their deal, before surging forwards into the ongoing struggles against Captain Ragamuffin and his scurvy crew. Spike’s storytelling was assured and bold and kept the attention, she felt, although she did need to interrupt him once to repeat a detail regarding Burnferno’s motivations toward the crystal ball Flameflower sought, the “Purple Princess” of the title.

Truthfully, she was beginning to nod off, not from disinterest but from the comfort washing over her from the soothing smells of Spike’s ungents and the sing-song, soporific sound of his voice, by the time he’d reached the scene where the stowaway dragons were found and a fire-versus-fireblade battle ensued. Spike likewise seemed to be dropping off too, his voice becoming more and more of a whisper, and it was entirely possible the tale would have gone unfinished notwithstanding a sudden intrusion.

Just as she was about to doze off entirely, a rapping nearby interrupted them both, and her ears pricked as Spike perked up. Starlight Glimmer stood at the open door, an orange aura upon her from the sunset haze pouring through the stained-glass window in the hallway.

‘Knock-knock. Hey, you two… this isn’t a bad time, is it?’ she asked, tipping her head. ‘My, it’s toasty-warm in here… Dragon Pit made it back upstairs with your roses and Pinkie’s cannon. Twilight’s wondering where you got to, Rarity, and, uh, sorry to bug you so soon but any word from Sunburst yet, Spike?’

Rarity likewise turned around and rubbed her eyes – while sure she’d only been dozing for a minute or two, she felt like she’d been sound asleep for hours. ‘Oh! Oh, yes, Starlight, we were just, ah, reading one of Spike’s action-adventure novellas…’

Spike cleared his throat again. ‘Hey, Starlight, come on in if you want… and yeah, we were just chilling out with a Burnferno story. Some vintage fashion cartoons besides… and yeah, actually, Sunburst replied already, said everything’s a-go but Trixie can’t foalsit tomorrow as well as tonight. Uh, the scroll’s on the desk with a few others for your personal perusal. We were gonna bring them back upstairs a bit later.’

Starlight trotted into the bedroom, narrowly avoiding a collision with a low-hanging gem string, and floated the relevant scroll over, unfurling it as she sat on the rug before grunting in slight annoyance. That done, she looked at the pair with faint frustration. ‘That’s unsurprising, but I guess I don’t blame her… honestly, I feel weird about it, sticking around for a slumber party, I mean. You guys are so much fun to hang out with but I feel like I’m staying out of obligation because I’m good with magic, and neglecting my obligations at home at the same time, being real? If everything’s alright by the morning I’m heading back on the first balloon tomorrow.’ She blushed and added, ‘Otherwise the guilt’ll eat at me. I hope that’s not offensive, I just, uh, I daren’t say that around any of the others. Definitely not Twilight, anyway.’

‘No, I get it, and I don’t think you’re being rude,’ said Spike, ‘Well, you might be if you just took off like that–’ he snapped his claws, ‘–first thing tomorrow. It’s not an easy situation, but I seriously doubt Twi would get mad if you stated that to her. With her all laid up like she is, I feel way better about things with you around, though.’

‘As do I, and Twilight would understand if you voiced your concerns if you’re bothered at all, surely… speaking for myself there aren’t words for how much I, ah, we, really, appreciate what you’re doing, Starlight, regardless of any further action. Without you in the library earlier we all could have easily been harmed! Destroyed! Obliterated! Scattered to the four winds!’ Rarity gasped as the thought ran away with her slightly, ‘Hopefully your magical talents won’t be required, but what if they are, darling?!’

‘No, sorry, it’s not that big of a deal, everypony understands, it’s just… I needed to vent a bit, but I’m glad you two’re, uh, thanks for the reassurance, it helps,’ said Starlight, trying to swallow her flusteredness with one hoof raised. She exhaled, before smiling at the paperback Spike was bookmarking with a digit. ‘I’m sweating small stuff a bit more than I need to, I guess. Hey, “Burnferno”… as in “The Hotblooded Chronicles of Burnferno”? I didn’t think those’d be your speed, Rarity. Figured you got your funsies from urbane noir and romance over, uh, primitivist adolescent dragon tales. I bet those are the uncensored versions, besides. Prime confiscation fodder at the school, at any rate… they can get pretty friendship-unfriendly!’

Spike cringed and blushed, feeling judged. ‘Quite so, and I believe they are, at that. I was feeling… inquisitive about Spikey’s own choice of fiction while spending quiet time in this lovely little lair of his, Starlight, that’s all,’ Rarity sniffed, her mane bouncing as she put her hoof on Spike’s shoulder, ‘And he’s a thoroughly absorbing reader, not to toot his horn too loudly, what I’ve heard so far was quite vivid as well as a fascinating change from my usual literature… there’s merit to it, for sure!’

‘Yeah, this isn’t the school, Starlight, and we were having fun with the story,’ Spike bristled, emboldened by Rarity’s backup before cooling off a bit. ‘Uh, I wasn’t done reading. Would you like to listen in on “Burnferno and the Purple Princess”? It’ll take fifteen minutes to finish up, tops. Then we can head back to the others if you like.’

‘Sorry, Spike, Rarity, I didn’t mean to be like that, and I’ve nothing against Burnferno stories… I probably shouldn’t rattle off school policy when I’m not actually at school but I get preoccupied by having the responsibility of, uh, moulding young minds constantly. By all means, sure, I’ll give it a listen if a mare of refined taste gives it two hooves up. What’s the story so far?’

Rarity smiled, then scooted off the bed and took a place on the rug by Starlight. Spike stayed on the bed, cross-legged with spread wings as he cracked the volume back open, leaning forward as he relished his newly-expanded audience and began a recap for Starlight’s benefit. ‘Eh, it’s fine. Well, when we left our heroes, the brave, mighty Burnferno and the cunning, lustrous Flameflower, they had just been discovered aboard the junker-galleon of the marauding Captain Ragamuffin and his crew of mangy, snaggletoothed feral pirate cats, their swords aflame and bloodlust in their eyes…’

–––✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*💎*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧–––

Once the tale was told and its dragon protagonists had parted ways on very mixed terms, Rarity, Starlight and Spike locked the room and returned aloft to Twilight’s quarters, rejoining their friends with messages, including a response from Granny Smith that nearly scorched the book, in tow. Fun and cheer and laughter were had by all for hours after that, but regarding everything that had happened earlier there remained nothing new to report, no return of Meus or any other mirror interloper that entire night, not that anycreature was desperate to see it again any time soon. As time wore on Rainbow Dash’s earlier promise of an all-nighter proved hollow, with everycreature present very ready for sleep well before midnight.

When the morning came Twilight’s condition had improved and her headache was gone, though she hadn’t yet become ready to shed the bandage on her wing. True to her word Starlight left earlier than the others after a slightly tearful farewell and a promise to attend another Friendship Council sometime, and the rest of the Ponyville residents chugged home together on the Friendship Express a few hours later, each promising a return in case mirror-related matters escalated unexpectedly. As things stood there wasn’t much else to be done but wait – in the meantime, life had to proceed as normal.

For her part, once home Rarity took some time to locate her own copy of that Brink Dessin art book, finding it beneath her four-poster bed. She made sure to put it on a prominent shelf in the workshop, intended as both reference and a talisman for artistic inspiration as she arranged Spike’s blue and purple roses with the appropriate drapes around the bronze ponequins and half-lidded front windows of the Carousel Boutique. There was nothing wrong with something eye-catching and magnificent to attract the customers, she reasoned, as well as a nice little thing to remind her of a nice little dragon, until next they met for their mining expedition.

–––✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*💎*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧–––

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great/cute chapter!