Sparity Shipping Mega Epic

by Mareity

– 21: A Dragon and Pony Reunion –

‘Look over there! Isn’t that Rarity?!’ came an excited voice a way away from the café table where the pony in question was sitting. Her ear twitched involuntarily under her furry winter hat as she registered the comment while she sipped a cinnamon latté from a glass mug. Fifth time today, by her estimate; she wouldn’t even have minded if the observation had followed with an approach and a greeting, but as it was, she increasingly felt as if she were being treated like an exhibit as she waited.

She placed her mug on its saucer and dipped her rosy winter shades, peering over them in an effort to locate where it had come from, not that her previous ganders had been fruitful. ‘Yes, darling? Did somepony or somecreature say my name?’ she enquired aloud, sounding as cheerful as she could muster amidst the madding crowd.

A few seconds’ attentive anticipation gave way to her baseline irritation. ‘Of course not… I suppose tourist attractions make us all gawkers,’ she muttered as nopony became apparent.

Rarity had been waiting by the airship platform opposite Horseshoe Falls for a while now. Between the damp cold, the white chunder of rushing water and the chuntering of tourists, she was growing tired of waiting for a certain zeppelin that a scroll from a certain little dragon had assured her upon which he was due to arrive. Neighagra Falls was, as she’d just commented, a tourism hotspot, this time of year more than ever; ponies who would usually be attracted to Canterlot or Cloudsdale during the lighter seasons tended to polarise to warmer or cooler climes as winter settled in.

The Falls were accordingly just north enough for those seeking the best of the Crystal Mountains’ winter sports scene to do some sightseeing in-between ski and skate trips, not quite northern enough to encroach upon the Crystal Empire proper. From where she was sitting with her coffee and complimentary macaroons she had a fine view of the partially-frozen waterfalls off to the east, liberally powdered and crystalline around the edges, typical before Hearth’s Warming, before giving way to powerful rushing waters that never ceased.

Chilly as it was here, the sun shone merrily upon the rapids, and rainbows danced upon the waters as they roared away in the near distance. That was partially influenced by the literal rainbow waters upstream from the Rainbow Falls further east, and while those became diluted as they merged with other rivers, their sheen persisted.

The airship station where Rarity was resting her hooves for now was situated partway up the valley containing the falls, a bustling conurbation of wood cabin tourist entertainments, eateries and a few hotels around a wide parking area with exactly three towering passenger dirigibles of varying size – from smallest to largest pink, mint, lavender, the pink one with a balloon fashioned like an agitated swordfish, strangely enough – carved into a dark granite edifice. Its vista over the falls was its secondary purpose, but its primary attraction more than the vantage point it offered for safer landing away from the rapids. There was a trail down towards more buildings closer to Horseshoe Falls, of course, but the impact of that initial “wow” was priceless for local business.

Indeed, Rarity had breathed extensive words to that effect to herself as she’d landed via hot air balloon, a little over an hour ago. From there, once it became apparent through the mists, it was as if a flowing, marbled jewel had had a massive hole punched into it from orbit, but it was no less beautiful for that metaphor. Deep blue waters roared and foamed despite their frosty edges, almost vertiginous in the sudden verticality of the Falls themselves as they cascaded into the Shoulder Lake below.

Rarity was just musing on how the excitement was wearing off so soon for her now she was closer up with the falls before she heard a squabble of yelps, the unmistakable squeals of more than one filly approaching rapidly.

‘I told you it was her, Opal Fruits! You never believe me about this stuff!’ cried one.

‘Seeing’s believing, Toasty Socks. That’s her for sure! Tangled Weave, c’mon! Toasty’s not full of it after all!’

‘Rarity? Omigosh, she’s even prettier than in pictures! Rarity, I love you!!’ breathed a quieter third.

She’d barely stood before a whirlwind of prancing, swooping pegasus fillies surrounded her, plainly extremely happy to see her. She welcomed it; admirers who actually dared approach instead of gasping at her from the edge of her perception would doubtless stave off her burgeoning impatience for Spike’s arrival.

Completely unflapped by the girls whizzing around she took another magic sip of her latté and held onto her scarf before saying with a raised hoof, ‘Why, good afternoon to all of you, my little darlings! Do you have business with your old Rarity, now?’

The fillies collided with one another and stopped moving as she addressed them, a fluffy pile-up of feathers, winter jackets and hair on the gritted wooden deck – Rarity noted with amusement that these foals’ manes were in turn pink, mint and lavender, same as the airships nearby, though no swordfish this time – that soon peered up at her with three pairs of big eyes, mouths agape.

They didn’t speak further; Rarity was familiar with ponies becoming starstruck in her presence, and she recognized they were lost for words at this precise moment. In an effort to put them at ease, she patted the curl protruding from her hat and continued with a giggle, ‘My word, you’ve all gone quiet so soon! Do feel free to take a seat, little ones… whenever the three of you’re ready, we can talk about anything you wish.’

Then she noticed that none of the three had her cutie mark, which gave her pause. Rarity’s smile shrank a bit as she scanned the nearby stalls and cafés; fillies of their age at an attraction like this must surely be accompanied by an adult.

Sure enough, in the crowd she noticed a large, purple, bearded earth pony stallion wearing a white baseball cap and a t-shirt under a black, open winter fleece, both light garments daubed with a rainbow logo stating “🌈 DEEP DIVE AT THE FABLED FALLS OF EASTERN EQUESTRIA. I 💓 Neighagra Falls!”. He certainly looked concerned. ‘Girls? Girls?’ Rarity heard him call over the hubbub of the tourist traffic, ‘Not this again… where’d they dash off to this time?’

She glanced down at the young fillies, the pink-maned one of whom had risen to her hooves in the interim with a flutter of wings. A little closer up Rarity saw she had a face full of freckles that matched her plaited hair, although her fur and feathers were largely a lush gold. She looked into her eyes with a serious expression. ‘Forgive my asking, darlings, but is that stallion over there your–?’

The foal wore longstockings as well as a red padded jacket, Rarity saw as two flailed in front of her; one stripey, woolly one, none matching, on each leg that exposed the hoof but otherwise covered up past the knee. ‘Hi my name’s Toasty Socks and this is my big sister Opal Fruits and my little sister Tangled Weave and DADDY!!! We’re over here!!’ she blurted out before hovering upwards and waving frantically at the stallion.

With a sigh of relief the stallion snapped to attention, before trotting up to the table with patriarchal purpose. ‘Girls!’ he scolded with a furrowed brow as the lavender-maned one helped her little sister up, all three of them stepping in line and looking preemptively annoyed by his forthcoming lecture, ‘What have me and your mother said about flying off like that? Just because she’s stuck in the hotel today–’ he stopped himself and tipped his cap at Rarity, ‘Good day to you there, Rarity – as a matter of fact, all the more today since she can’t leave the hotel I need all three of you to stay close to me! I can’t get to places like she can to–’

He stopped again, wide-eyed this time as he registered Rarity’s presence properly, blushing and looking very awkward all of a sudden. ‘Oh. Madame Rarity. Um, hello.’

‘In the flesh,’ Rarity drawled, sitting back down, leaning forward in her seat and addressing the family as she batted her eyelashes, ‘Though just Rarity, Ms. Rarity if you must. Now, to whom do I owe this pleasure? Young Ms. Socks introduced herself and her sisters so quickly I’m unsure who’s who. Please, please, all of you be seated and we can have a civil conversation. I’m at a loose end right now whilst I wait upon a dear friend’s arrival, so it’s quite alright.’

‘A friend?!’ gasped Toasty Socks, ‘You’re not meeting Pinkie Pie, are you? She’s my favourite, after you of course!!’

‘Sweet Celestia, contain yourself for one darned second, Socks. I’m Opal Fruits,’ nodded the plum, lavender-haired pegasus in a husky voice slightly deeper than her father’s as she put a hoof on the table, ‘And these are my little sisters, Toasty Socks,’ she put her other hoof on the golden-furred pony’s head as she nodded to the messy-maned, cornflower-blue youngest, just about visible beneath a bobble hat and several layers of loose clothing, ‘And Tangled Weave. And this is our dad, Slip Slider. It’s a pleasure to meet you, uh, Mizz Rarity. Big fan. We all are, actually.’

Rarity took that compliment in stride, tossing her mane with a smile. ‘Well, I’m always open to my public… though I suspect I’m not the only fashionista you’ve encountered on your family sojourn, by the looks of it,’ she said, grinning at both Toasty Socks and Tangled Weave, whose ski jacket covered an incredibly shaggy mohair sweater that fit her like a tent, ‘By my guess you’ve passed by Hope Hollow recently, haven’t you?’

Tangled Weave retracted gently into her sweater, looking at Rarity with surprise. ‘Um, yes… how’d you tell?’

‘Duh, we’re wearing the stuff we bought there, T.W. Everypony knows Rarity’s got a sixth sense for this stuff!’ Toasty Socks chirruped, ‘There’s this knitwear pony up that way with a peg leg, not a pirate though or at least she didn’t talk like one, and a shop fulla clothes that are so warm, you wouldn’t believe it! It gets pretty cold in the Crystal Mountains and Mommy really liked ’em so we got some!’

Rarity and Opal Fruits both pursed their lips and looked at one another in silent agreement at Toasty Socks’ primary identifier of the pony she spoke of. ‘Oh, I know her. Kerfuffle and I have met a few times now. Lovely girl, nice hair, so talented,’ Rarity responded, ‘Woollens aren’t entirely my realm of expertise but as you say and display, Miss Socks, she makes the most exemplary longstockings! I suppose you were spoiled for choice, weren’t you darling?’

‘Understatement of the millennium,’ Slip Slider had taken the nearest chair from a vacant table while Rarity had conversed with his daughters, and he laughed before sighing, ‘Ah, coincidence is a funny thing. My gal, I mean these kids’ mom, name’a Spangles, well, like Toasty said, she really liked the socks. She’s wearing some of the rest of those mismatched darn things back in the hotel. Rotten luck she can’t be here right now, she’d fanfilly out as much as these ones seeing you.’

‘Oh? She’s unable to be out and about on a nice,’ Rarity caught a shiver in her muzzle as she rethought that sentiment, ‘Ah, a quite bracing day like today?’

‘Mom hurt herself,’ Tangled Weave said. Opal Fruits nodded with gravity.

‘True that, T.W.,’ said Slip Slider, ‘She bumped her wing kinda bad going down the falls in one’a them barrels yesterday. I did try to talk her out of it, but she’d been champing at the bit to do it and she insisted it was safe even after they made her sign some liability stuff… anyway, she’s huge on ya too. We wuz just out ourselves to buy some souvenirs and snacks for her. This was gonna be our last day before heading back north, but we might be setting off back to Baltimare instead if she doesn’t perk up soon.’

Rarity sat up straight as he explained that, taking another sip of coffee before frowning as she noticed a parallel to her own recent experiences away from Ponyville. ‘You don’t say? It sounds as though your trip may be due to end on quite the sour note, then. There could be something I can do about that, but, ooh…’

Rarity eyeballed the large clock on the station’s control tower to make sure she’d calculated the time this would take, making the call as she saw it hadn’t struck one yet. ‘Ah, immediate matters for one to attend trump those that one awaits. If the four of you don’t mind, I’ll just let the barista of this cafeteria know my whereabouts,’ she said, standing back up and looking at her unfinished latté, ‘The last thing I want right now is to let my temporary absence let my friend down after we’ve been separated for some time, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t give you all some of my time.’

‘Not sure I understand, Ms. Rarity. Where’ll you be going?’ Slip Slider asked, as his daughters all clamoured with a series of gasps; Toasty Socks the highest, Opal Fruits the lowest and Tangled Weave in the mid-register, but quietest as ever. They had a fairly good idea of what Rarity was about to suggest.

She turned to him and grinned, bowing just enough to point her horn right at his face. ‘Why, with you and your lovely fillies to see your darling wife, my dear sir, unless you have any objections? It sounds to me that she’s in dire need of a lifting of spirits for all your sakes, and… well, it seems somewhat of a no-brainer to me that an admirer of mine would appreciate a little visitation! What do you say? Not too much of an intrusion, I hope?’

Once the squeals of delight had subsided, Slip Slider exhaled as he got to grips with this reversal of fortune that had fallen into his lap. ‘I, uh, well, if that is alright with you, Rarity. I-I’m very aware you’re a busy mare. We, uh, won’t take too much of your time.’

‘Normally I’d say that’s nonsense, but I truly appreciate the sentiment, sweetheart,’ Rarity tipped her horn towards Slip Slider as she noticed him blush a little, ‘My rendez-vous with my little friend is very important to me, I shan’t pretend it isn’t. Now, do be patient, all of you! I’ll be back in two shakes of a foal’s tail!’

She stacked her drained glass mug and its saucer, then magiced the chair upon which she’d sat back under the table before trotting towards the café’s glass door. ‘R-right you are, Ms. Rarity,’ Opal Fruits said, pulling her sisters close to her again as her father hesitated in the same starstruck awkwardness that had hit his daughters not so long ago, ‘We can’t wait! Mom’s gonna go nuts!’

–––✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*💎*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧–––

Spike swooped and soared with a huge grin all over his face, relishing the feeling of the wind rushing through his frills as he flapped his outstretched wings, just once as he left the zeppelin he’d been riding far behind. There was a cold wind at his back as he flew, but wearing his jacket and the ground his destination it was just a matter of keeping course by steering himself, veering left or right with less flapping than one would expect. Below him a layer of pristine white clouds lay, the weather fine enough that their cover over Equestria lay broken enough for him to see the flowing opal of Neighagra Falls and its snowy surroundings, its glistening frosts and foam quite visible even from this high up.

Of course, its environs contained another, smaller but much more significant jewel, one he hadn’t seen for some time, and for whom the wrapped bouquet he clutched between his claws were destined. It had been slightly less than a moon since Spike had left Rarity and the Changeling Hive behind, but a necessary moon given what had happened there.

The intervening period he’d spent on the move along with his stay at the Crystal Empire had, while not solving all the problems, nevertheless given him some distance from things, and some much-needed kindness and understanding from his in-laws, the princess of love and her small but tight-knit family.

Over the past weeks Spike had come to regret vanishing from Rarity in the dead of night in the wake of the disastrous end of their Hive visit. They’d both struggled to cope with the situation, and even at the time of his departure he’d known it wasn’t her fault; he’d said as much to her in his parting letter, after all.

With a more rational head on his shoulders now he reasoned he could have just returned to Canterlot with Twilight, found a professional therapist there and spared Rarity the heartache she’d subtly but definitely communicated to him in their correspondence once or twice these past weeks, but he’d felt no other recourse at the time. On a purely selfish level he reasoned he could have, but then he never would have seen Seaddle’s Star Spire or the Galloping Gorge under his own steam, and truth be told, it had been great to visit his family up north without the usual accompanying imminent national crisis.

At any rate, he felt he was ready to return to his special somepony in a way he hadn’t been in the aftermath of Chitin’s attack on him, and so he made his descent.

They’d been in touch in the meantime, at least one letter sent each way, each day. Since that first proper exchange of messages after he’d touched down on Cadance’s doorstep, the more metaphorical door between them had remained open. Certain things still weighed upon him, but his decision to leap off the deck of the airship he’d been travelling south upon, entering the crystal-clear blue yonder with free abandon like this, full intent to land before her with a grand flourish to sweep her off her hooves at the forefront of his mind… well, the symbolism wasn’t lost on him.

Taking the plunge had been a thought he’d been brooding upon for a while, since before departing from the Crystal Palace a day ago. Cadance had suggested he make up his sudden leave of Rarity and this was how he intended to accomplish that, so he’d left the hand luggage he’d dragged via train up the Luna Coast at the palace, aside from his green scarf and the red, Carousel Boutique-exclusive pleather jacket from which his wings protruded – one of her boutique’s finest, of course – but he’d wrestled with the notion of actually taking that first step off.

It had taken a couple of stomach-churning minutes before he’d remembered his own observation to Rarity that day in Canterlot not all that long ago, that even as a winged creature it was worst when you looked straight down while standing on two legs; indeed, he’d gazed into the stratosphere as he’d leapt off, and he’d struggled with the massive vehicle’s slipstream in those critical first few seconds. Keeping pace, then allowing himself to fall while leaning away had helped detach from its orbit rather than take a slapping from its propulsive fins, thank Celestia, and once the wind had caught under his outstretched wings the fear had dissipated completely as he looked down upon Equestria, stretching from horizon to horizon.

He’d taken the last few minutes at a heightened level of knots as he’d mostly let gravity do its thing with minor adjustments to keep those pesky eddies rolling over the nearby mountains sending him off somewhere closer towards Cloudsdale. The opening in the roiling, fluffy clouds below him showed that he was closing in fast on the station where he knew Rarity awaited. Spike pointed himself upwards and flapped his wings to slow up somewhat. Less flying and more falling with grace, he snickered to himself as he held the bouquet closer to his chest.

He felt free, airborne like this, though he was glad he’d kept the scarf and jacket, chilly as it was this high up. He’d had worse, he mused, and accompanying that thought the little dragon took a second to make sure he hadn’t somehow lost possession of the black teardrop on the chain around his neck. The Safeshadow Amulet was indeed still there, resting upon his scarf’s knot. Although he hadn’t knowingly needed it so far, it was crystallised peace of mind.

Soaring further yet downwards, Spike took the occasion to do a vertical roll, followed by two beats of his wings as he did a loop-de-loop before another roll. Exhilarating, if a little nauseating, but it just seemed the right time for stunts, in his current situation, and in this current good mood! He just wished Rarity herself were around to see their perfect, ten out of ten execution.

As he passed below the clouds at last he beat his wings a few more times, a series of “whoomp”s slowing his descent as the rocky precipice of the airdock, its attendant landing areas, flourishing snowy pines and just as snowy pinewood buildings became more distinct above the enormous waterfalls they faced. Any ponies or other creatures down there were still too distant to see beyond multicoloured dots, but he could definitely see that there were three airships standing unused on the airfield; one lilac, one mint, one lavender. He recognized the one shaped like a fish as a military vehicle, inevitable given the guard presence one would expect of a place like this.

As Spike noticed the blinking beacon atop the wooden control tower and port building that separated the dock from the hotels and eateries it occurred to him to look upwards for a moment, to see if the zeppelin he himself was supposed to be arriving upon was visible, and he could, a blue and gold ovoid partly hidden by a cloud in the distance above as it slowly lowered. It was still distant enough that he would easily beat it to its destination by at least several minutes. Good, he thought. That was the whole point of this little winged diversion he’d embarked upon, to beat the traffic and tap Rarity on the shoulder, giving her a hug, these crystalline flowers and a big surprise he was sure she’d love.

He was closing in enough now that he could see individual ponies and other creatures – he was sure that was a hippogriff couple down there in skiwear excitedly snapping ponaroids of everything around them, and a family of yaks that nervous waiter was serving outside that Cloudsdalian pizzeria – taking their stays at the hotels and restaurants, trotting through the paved lanes and wood chipping paths between them.

A herd of woollen hats and fleece jackets congregated around the metal barrier separating the dirigible dock from the rest of the station. Tourists awaiting friends and loved ones, or just enjoying the scenery, gazed upwards in wonder at the airship, a few already cheering and waving in its general direction. Chances were good Rarity was among their number, Spike reasoned as he strained his wings to slow more from his descent, beating his wings as he hovered to a standstill. It wasn’t impossible that one or two denizens had spotted an unidentified purple object aloft, but Spike was unconcerned.

What did concern him was planting his feet back on terra firma safely, with the dock platform in imminent use and the pathways as crowded as they were. He took a moment to ponder that before spotting an appropriate roof where he could get his bearings. None of these buildings had flat roofs given the snows, the stuff’s nasty habit of accumulating meaning that there needed to be at least a little slant to avoid property damage. He sighted a wide, gently sloping one on what, upon his approach, Spike immediately identified by scent as a donut shop. Heck, he had some bits on him and flying had piqued his hunger, so that suited him.

At last he landed, accidentally plopping himself neatly into a little dragon-shaped hole in snow deeper than he’d anticipated and shaking a few icicles off the gables from which they hung. After a pause he burst back out, a snowball tumbling into its side-alley where he landed on tiptoes. Nocreature was nearby besides any smaller critters possibly lurking in the dumpster there, so Spike took a moment to shake it off both himself and his bouquet thoroughly while he was still undetected.

‘Brrrr,’ he shivered, whipping off his jacket and giving it an extra shake, admiring its golden shooting star as he brushed it clean before wriggling back into it, ‘Well, on the bright side, Spike, you stuck the landing after descending from a mile up. Not so many can say that. Well, besides a few pegasi,’ he chuckled.

He considered buying a donut box then and there, but with the airship impending he decided to prioritise Rarity first. Once he was good to go, Spike snuck out of the alley on foot before once more taking to the air as he searched for her in the crowd. A little upward thrust would make her easy to find, and he knew she’d be easily identifiable in that tall winter hat she’d informed him she’d be wearing when they’d last communicated, before she’d left Ponyville. Nothing since, unfortunately, as she’d been out of range of any dragonfire burners once she’d left central Equestria, but he had the utmost faith in her punctuality.

The hat, the hat… he was drawing a blank as he looked for any of her defining characteristics, though. At first he reasoned his difficulty was because the crowd felt much bigger to a little dragon up close, and he found himself squeezed higher closer to the gate as he was softly but firmly jostled between winter jackets. Minutes passed, and once or twice he was sure he’d found her, a snatch of lilting laughter, a glimpse of fine clothing or a flash of ivory fur and purple curls that, at second glance or prickling of his frills, most certainly wasn’t his Rarity.

His faith began to waver as he looked and looked. He clutched his bouquet as the airship loomed ever closer, the insistent back-and-forth hum of its flippers and its ornate immensity mirroring Spike’s mounting anxiety as he scanned overhead for a pony he should have no trouble finding; the crowd surely wasn’t that big? Where in Equestria was she? His searching became more frantic as he zipped this way and that. Fortunately remaining overhead meant that he wasn’t pushing anycreature in turn, but he was wearing himself out quickly. Lest he land on somepony’s head in exhaustion he eventually withdrew and landed where the crowd thinned.

Maybe she’d been distracted by something or somepony nearby, Spike rationalised, once he’d flexed his tired shoulders and retracted his aching wings. It wasn’t out of the question; a combination of being the element of generosity and having fans all around Equestria guaranteed its likelihood, and that went double when she was far away from her usual haunts and in territory where she was, true to her name, lesser-spotted.

He took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead with his free claw, about to mentally dumpster the grand entrance plan when he heard a baritone voice directed his way, just loud enough over the hubbub.

‘Hey, hey! You Spike the Dragon?’ it asked. He immediately looked to where it had come from and saw a young, brown unicorn stallion with a curly, fiery mane and a goatee to match who’d been clearing the dirty outside tables, wearing a coffee-stained white shirt and red-striped pinafore, gesturing towards him from the café across the street.

‘Uh, yeah?’ Spike replied in an effort to play it cool, zig-zagging through the hoof traffic to where the stallion was standing just by the outside tables, ‘Can I… help you?’

The stallion looked down the lane towards the airship, which was definitely closing in for its landing. ‘Yeah, she said you were a little purple guy. Your buddy Rarity was in here twenty minutes ago or so, said she was waiting for you to arrive on the Queen Parabola IV’s 13:21 but she needed to dash. Something about visiting a sick lady in one of the hotels, something else about how important it was that she come back before you landed. Funny thing though, it’s barely ten past one now, the four’s just approaching and you’re here now… uh, did you fly here?’ he finished with a smirking raise of one eyebrow.

‘Sure did. I just wanted to surprise her,’ Spike said, holding his bouquet awkwardly and spreading his wings, ‘It’s been a while since we’ve met up. Man, thanks for keeping an eye out for me, I was freaking out a little there.’

‘Could be trouble,’ the stallion said simply, before adding, ‘Jumping off an airship like that’s a daredevil move the guards around the station might not appreciate, but I won’t tell; AGAJ and all. Nopony ever looks up unless they’re gawking at the airships, anyway. And don’t worry about it, it’s the least I can do after she tipped me a diamond. Heck, even if she hadn’t a bit on her, she’s a nice lady. It really was no biggie.’

Spike wasn’t sure how he felt about the barista’s stated attitude towards guards, especially after spending so much time with Shining Armor the past few weeks, and he paused for a moment before letting it go. ‘…Yep, she sure is, no argument from this dragon,’ he said, ‘Hey, you guys sell donuts with that coffee? I burned a bunch of calories, what with being such a daredevil and all. And I probably should stay put ’til she’s back.’

The young barista was just about to answer when a very familiar voice trilled above the lower murmur of tourists. ‘Spikey? Spikey-Wikey, how are you, I– oh, Spikey-poo!’ it cracked.

Spike whipped his head around to where Rarity’s voice came, and there she stood, with her furry hat, tinted spectacles and furrier scarf she said she’d be wearing, and Spike’s heart soared at least as high as he had on his way back down to earth. He exhaled with a grin so wide it hurt before saying to the stallion, ‘Oh boy, there she is now! Hold that thought, I’ll be back. Rarity!!’

He gripped his bouquet in one fist as he flew, the soreness in his wings suddenly gone in his enthusiasm to be reunited with his special somepony at last. He did another midair spin in his joy, and Rarity likewise stirred from the standstill she’d reached in her surprise with a skip to a slow trot. Before long she hit a half-prance, half-canter slowed only from becoming a full-on gallop from fear of colliding with an unsuspecting pedestrian. ‘Spike!’ she cried, ‘Oh, you are a sight for sorry, sorry eyes, my darling!’

Spike flung himself in Rarity’s awaiting forelegs, and she happily reared to catch him, skidding backwards on the frosty ground on impact and spinning around twice on one back leg as if they were fully-fledged ice skaters. Once she’d stabilised from the initial collision she laughed, music to Spike’s ears as she caught him along with the bouquet he wielded.

By Celestia, she was so soft and sweet-smelling, was the first thing Spike thought as she embraced him, and he responded by putting his free arm around her shoulders as he stopped. Not unusually so, just the usual chest fur and flowery scent she always had, but it had been long enough that the impact had faded somewhat from his memory.

Once their momentum had slowed to a stop Rarity sat on the icy paving stones, not caring about the temperature as she gave her favourite little dragon a squeeze and a kiss on the crest of his head. ‘Sorry I’m late, sweetheart,’ she said, ‘My adoring public called and I simply had to answer.’

Spike pulled away. ‘Aw, Rare, it’s so good to see you… uh, you’re just in time, actually. The airship’s just landing,’ he gestured towards the near distance to where the undulating drone was becoming ever louder over the bustle, ‘I hopped off early trying to surprise you with these. Mistmane’s finest,’ he rustled the bouquet wrapper and presented its contents, all colours of the rainbow just like the light refracting from the waterfalls not so far away, to her, and her eyes widened as the facets of the iridescent carnations and orchids within gleamed in her irises.

He blushed and looked away as she stared at them, feeling faintly self-conscious at the all-encompassing, pillowy mare still softly squeezing him. ‘I really hope you like ’em. I know they’re not the usual stuff.’

Rarity stood and let go, then deposited Spike back on his feet, mainly due to her rapidly increasingly cold behind. ‘Mistmane does grow such magnificent flowers. They are very beautiful,’ she said, ‘Though I’ll need to be careful not to get poked when taking a sniff. Ah, I’m getting chilly already… we really should get away from the crowd and somewhere warmer while we catch up, don’t you think? And I rather hope you didn’t strain yourself doing anything reckless! We’ve talked about this!’

As she tutted and henpecked him verbally, Spike looked up at her with wide eyes and a cringe as if he were a puppy getting a telling-off. She responded with a big, blushing smile and a nudge of his snout with one hoof. Whatever disapproval she’d just expressed was surely superseded by pure and simple joy.

He couldn’t help grinning toothily at that. ‘Hardest part was taking off from high up, for a few reasons,’ he laughed, dusting himself off before taking her hoof in one claw, ‘But the skies were clear, my heart was pure and I had a pretty good idea of what I was doing. Hey, tell me about what kept you once we’re back at the café, why dontcha? Guy over there told me what was up after I spent a hot minute panicking about where you were at, and I’m hungry. My treat!’

‘That sounds divine, all the more so now you’ve arrived,’ Rarity beamed, taking the flowers and delicately levitating them into the right side of her saddlebag where they could still be seen, ‘But can we take a moment to appreciate the zeppelin’s arrival first? I was actually looking forward to seeing it land, even if it’s no longer strictly necessary. The view’s not so good from here, after all.’

‘Sure, but after spending getting pushed around for a while looking for you in the crowd, I don’t really wanna head back over there,’ said Spike, lightening up as he looked up and around for a moment, ‘But there’s still time and I’ve got a fun idea that’ll let us have our donuts and eat ’em, so to speak…’

Rarity held onto his claw as he took her back the way he’d come, a smile on her face and quietly curious what Spike meant. He pulled some bits out of a pocket with his free claw and called back to the barista, who had just taken an order from the hippogriff couple he’d seen upon his descent earlier, ‘Hey, café guy! About those donuts before, can we get a half-dozen with sprinkles and two hot cocoas to go?’

‘I assume you mean me,’ the barista said flatly, ‘Sure. Three bits’ll cover that.’

Without hesitation Spike crossed the barista’s hoof with five bits, and he added, ‘Sweet! Wait here a second.’

As the stallion turned tail and disappeared into the café, Spike turned back to Rarity, who shot him a half-lidded grin. ‘Happy early birthday, by the way, Spikey,’ she said, wrapping her hoof around his claw more tightly, ‘I haven’t forgotten! You’re not the only one who’s brought a lovely gift today.’

‘Oh yeah,’ Spike said after a pause, pressing claw against chin, ‘I… well, you’ve reminded me once or twice via scroll this past moon but I hadn’t… been thinking about it all that much, I guess. Jog my memory, how old will I be again?’

He guffawed after Rarity recoiled with an affronted pursing of her lips. ‘Kidding, kidding! I know I’ll be nineteen. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately. As well you know,’ his voice turned more serious.

She mellowed. ‘You silly thing,’ she said with a snort, guiding Spike to a seat. He stood on his with his claws on the table as she sat down on hers. ‘We may as well be seated while waiting, even if you’re… ah, what was it you were suggesting before, darling? Get the donuts, and then…?’

‘Ah, that’d be telling,’ Spike, said, stretching back as he looked upwards again for a moment, ‘I’ll show you soon enough. Let’s talk about you, Rare… how was the journey up here? Your own ride wasn’t late, was it? And that guy told me you’d been to see a sick lady, what was that all about exactly?’

Ostensibly this was small talk, but Spike almost tripped over himself, surprised by his own zeal to hear Rarity’s voice. It thrilled him to finally hear her after such a long absence, faintly weird as that was. Exchanging scrolls wasn’t an ideal substitute for Rarity in the flesh and fur, it turned out.

‘Ableh, um… well, I met a very nice father of three whose daughters and their mother think the world of me, to answer your last question, Spikey,’ Rarity answered, ‘Sock aficionados who’d come over from the mountains via Hope Hollow, as a matter of fact.’

Spike took a moment to register the place name’s significance, then his frills perked up. ‘Oh, you mean where that one knitting pegasus you talk about sometimes lives. “Conniption”, wasn't it?’

Rarity’s face turned pink as she just about stopped herself from squealing with laughter, which most certainly would have warranted attention she didn’t wish to welcome right now. ‘Her name is Kerfuffle, Spike! To hear them tell it, business is booming in her emerald neck of the woods, at any rate, and not just on account of her top-notch stockings. One of the girls wore three or four layers of her woollens, and they–’

‘Hey!’ Rarity’s hat nearly fell off as suddenly, the young stallion barista was back with two disposable cups and a bag containing Spike’s order, slightly breathless with a worried look, and Spike likewise almost fell off of his chair from the interruption behind him.

‘Heads up, you two. Somepony took notice of a certain purple unidentified flying object incoming to the Falls and alerted the authorities. There’s a guard just come knocking from the other entrance asking about it. I’d suggest you make yourself scarce before she comes looking out front, Spike. Here’s your stuff, by the way. Enjoy, guys.’

‘Understood, my good stallion, and thanks,’ Spike answered once he’d regained his composition, then hopped onto the table with both feet. ‘Rarity, grab those?’ he said, before taking her hooves in his claws once again and spreading his wings, ‘We’re going up in the world for a sec!’

Rarity did as Spike requested, surprised and faintly confused as a blue aura manifested around the goods. ‘We’re not going to fly away, are we, darling? Oh goodness, we are indeed– ahh!’

Spike made a concerted effort, beating his wings as hard as he could, grimacing as he lifted Rarity into the air, the donuts and drinks trailing by her side. Once the initial takeoff was underway he relaxed, but the exertion of this meant he needed to find higher ground quickly, not to mention Rarity was squirming and making squeaking sounds that suggested also that it would be inconsiderate to keep her hanging for long.

‘Precious-scales, where are we going?!’ she called once they’d cleared the roofs of the dock’s attractions, ‘Are you sure you can manage this, darling? I know you were– oh, my,’ she stopped herself as Spike looked for a good rooftop to land upon.

‘What is it, Rare?’ he prompted once he realized she'd quietened mid-sentence.

‘It’s coming in close now,’ Rarity said in a dreamy, controlled voice, looking towards the shadow overhead, ‘The Queen Parabola IV truly is as majestic as they say. Spikey, darling, set us down somewhere we can truly drink it in before it finally lands, could you?’

Spike was too focussed on the flight at claw to look up at where the sun was blotting out, but he didn’t doubt her observation; he’d seen the airship shortly before boarding it back at the Empire. ‘That’s the plan. One sec, I see a good spot where we won’t be noticed…’ Spike grunted before starting his descent to a wooden rooftop without so much snow on top, ‘Yep, we’ll be safe there. Get ready, Rare!’

Rarity let out a startled ‘Spike, wahh-hahh!! Be gentle, sweetheart!’ as Spike dropped with less air control than he’d intended at first. He held her hooves harder and with three rapid flaps he stabilised as he closed in on the roof in question, placing Rarity onto her back hooves on the gently sloping roof of a building just as the glint of silver guard armour caught the corner of his eye from the street they’d left behind.

He landed next to her, up to his waist in snow once more as Rarity staggered for a moment, one hoof on the smokestack protruding from the rooftop as she looked aloft and ensured their order arrived as safely as she had. It floated down slowly and, as Spike took the donuts and one cocoa into each claw as she took the other. ‘Oof, thanks Rarity. Sorry to be so abrupt, but that put that surprise plan I was hinting towards forward a bit,’ he said, peering back to the café, ‘Uh, maybe I should fess up to the guards here later, but I don’t wanna be separated from you after we just met back up?’

Rarity didn’t look back at him as she let go of the chimney, instead taking a seat, popping the lid off her cocoa cup, inhaling its chocolatey vapours and holding it in both hooves as her gaze stayed on the airship. ‘Think nothing of it, sweetheart. Ah, breathtaking…’ she uttered, pausing for a moment before shaking her mane and adding, ‘Yes, it would be such a shame to be parted so soon for a minor indiscretion, wouldn’t it. Look.’

She turned to him and smiled before taking a sip, and Spike at last saw the zeppelin over her shoulder and her saddlebag filled with flowers, vast and ornate against a blue, shimmering winter sky. He’d only seen its grandeur briefly at the station exiting the Crystal Empire where he’d been preoccupied with saying his farewells to his extended family, and had otherwise either been on it or flying away from it.

The Queen Parabola IV’s balloon had thick, ornate floral steel-blue streaks and thinner concentric golden bands all over contrasting with its fabric’s ice blue that shone in the sunlight. The main body of the ship that carried its passengers, colourful dozens of whom were waving back at the witnesses back on the ground, was painted gold, white and lime green, with a grey-irised eye on each side towards the ship’s fore. The utmost of the fore was adorned with a brilliant golden sun which certainly dazzled its beholders every bit as much as its designer had intended. Beneath all those were a series of undulating orange propulsive flippers, although they were slowing to a stop now it was landing.

He hopped over and parked his rump on the same roof log upon which Rarity sat. ‘It is beautiful, huh,’ he breathed, resisting the urge to shove a claw into the box he held, ‘I guess I didn’t appreciate it until you pointed it out.’

‘Simply a matter of keeping one’s eyes wide open to the beauty that surrounds us,’ Rarity said, ‘I’m very happy we can see it come in together like this.’

She fell quiet, and Spike didn’t much feel like speaking further, instead reflecting on those words. He inched closer to Rarity, leaning against her, and she leaned back. He partook of a donut as she continued to sip her cocoa, and it tasted just as good as he’d hoped.

The ship finally, serenely floated onto the granite airdock with a loud series of “whooooom!”s, a perfect landing. Spike and Rarity stayed there for a while after as its passengers disembarked, both still faintly chilly, but warmed by hot chocolate and one another’s company after so long. Chatter could commence later, but right now, simple presence was all either of them wanted.

–––✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*💎*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧–––

Author's Note:

Please enjoy my new chapter! It's not QUITE six months since the last one!!! 😬 It's good to be back though. I suspect the follow-up won't take a fraction as long

Comments

[Aadilmode]

Finally after a long wait. But I predicted it would take this long considering u wrote almost 7000 words for this chapter. Its pretty long so u took a long time to post it. So far Its still a masterpiece.

[Mareity]

11318995
No, no, please don't make excuses on my behalf; 7k words is actually a fairly small chapter for SSME! Check out the previous one, it's huge! I got bogged down in real life stuff and lost the inclination to write anything for a while, that's all. It sucks but it happens. I've been working on getting my creatuve groove back lately and it seems to be working, though!

[Magic135]

How sweet, I love happy reunions.