A Love as Rare as Dragonfire

by Alabenson

Preparing for a Declaration

“Hey, have any of you guys seen Moonwhisper? There’s something I’d really like to talk to him about.” As the two castle guards shook their heads, the Royal Advisor hurried down the hall to continue his search. While his frame hadn’t filled out yet, Spike’s latest growth spurt had left him tall enough to look Princess Celestia in the eye. The initial awkwardness that had come with the added height had been overcome relatively quickly, but Spike still couldn’t help feeling self-conscious about the way he towered over nearly everypony else. His recent discovery that he was, in fact, attracting stares from a good number of the ponies in Canterlot didn’t help matters, even if his newfound height wasn’t the precise reason for the attention.

“Excuse me, Spike, do you have a minute?” Spike paused in his tracks as he heard Raven Inkwell, the secretary Twilight had effectively inherited from Princess Celestia, call out to him. “I was hoping you could talk to Princess Twilight about her plans for this year’s annual Multinational Friendship Summit. Her last batch of notes made it sound like she wants to try coaxing a delegation from the centaur kingdom.” Raven followed this with a short, desperate laugh that wordlessly begged Spike to confirm that Twilight had been joking.

“No, Twilight’s really trying to reach out to the centaurs,” Spike confirmed, causing Raven’s ears to droop at the news. “I wouldn’t worry too much, though. From what Starswirl told us, Tirek wasn’t anything like the rest of the centaurs, and even his brother understood why we had to lock him up in Tartarus. Besides, there’s a pretty good chance they won’t come to the summit anyway, so it’s not really worth worrying about.”

“Right, we’re extending an invitation to the representatives of a nation we haven’t had regular contact with in over a thousand years while a petrified member of their royal family is sitting in one of our high-security vaults,” Raven replied, one of her eyes starting to twitch. “But, hey, it’s not like there’s going to be any really disruptive or aggressive creatures at the summit, right? You know, like yaks. Or griffons, or dragons, or THE SPIRIT OF CHAOS?”

“Listen, I get what you’re saying, but Twilight’s got this. She’s been dealing with other creatures for years, and nopony’s got a better handle on wrangling Discord then she does, except maybe Fluttershy. Although, if you’d like, I could talk to Moonwhisper for you about all this,” Spike added as an idea struck him.

“You would? Oh, thank Celestia!” Raven exclaimed.

“Sure, I actually need to talk with him about something else, anyway. You don’t happen to know where I could find him, do you?” Spike asked.

“Well, if he’s not with Princess Twilight or his office, then I’m not really sure where he’d be,” Raven replied. “Maybe you could try the kitchens or the dining hall? It is just about lunchtime.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea.” With that, Spike quickly sped off down the halls, leaving Raven to ponder if perhaps she should have gone into a more calming line of work. Such as cragadile wrangling.

*********

Moonwhisper held the tall glass in his magic as he disdainfully inspected the pale amber liquid within. “I still don’t understand why Twilight is so insistent I drink this. It’s not that it tastes bad, but its so cloyingly sweet…” Moonwhisper sighed before closing his eyes and gulping down the pineapple juice in one go. As he place the glass back onto the table, still wondering what nebulous ‘health benefits’ Twilight had been referring to, Moonwhisper suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of a dragon rushing into the room.

“Moonwhisper! There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you!” Spike said as he paused to try and catch his breath. “There’s something really important that I really need your advice about.”

“If the centaur’s actually do reply, just don’t bring up Tirek or magic theft in general and everything should be fine,” Moonwhisper said, not even bothering to look up from the rest of his lunch. “And, in the unlikely event they ask you anything about the location of Tirek’s petrified form, just say that you don’t know. Which, strictly speaking, would ben an entirely honest answer. Personally, I seriously doubt any of it’s going to be an issue. The intelligence we have on the centaurs generally suggests that most of them have either completely forgotten who Tirek is or consider him to be a complete embarrassment.”

“That’s all good to know, but that wasn’t actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” Spike said as he seated himself across from Moonwhisper. “It’s…well, you know how I was kind of paranoid that ponies were watching me right after my last growth spurt?”

“You did seem a little over anxious about that for the first few weeks, but I was under the impression you’d gotten over it,” Moonwhisper said.

“I’d kinda convinced myself that the whole thing was just in my head, but now I think I may have been half-right about it after all,” Spike replied.

“Only half-right? So, what exactly do you mean by that?” Moonwhisper asked, now giving Spike his full attention.

“Um, it turns out there were definitely ponies staring at me, just not for the reasons I thought. I overheard some of the maids talking, and it turns out…you’ve noticed how we’ve been getting a lot more tourists from the Crystal Empire lately, right?” Spike asked suddenly.

“Vaguely,” Moonwhisper replied. “I generally try to avoid having to interact with tourists unless I don’t have a choice in the matter. That said, I have spoken to a few of the palace guards who’ve made similar comments to that effect. Though, I’m not sure I see the connection between that and your recent bouts of self-consciousness. Are the new visitors some of your fans from the Empire?”

“Yeah, kind of,” Spike said as he started to blush. “It turns out there are a lot of mares in the Crystal Emplire who like me. I mean, really, like-like me…”

“And now that you’re old enough that pursuing you isn’t liable to get them thrown in a dungeon, they’ve decided to…what exactly? Hang around the public parts of the palace on the off chance they’ll have an opportunity to catch your attention? With all due respect, Spike, I don’t doubt that there’s probably a contingent of crystal mares, possibly even a sizeable contingent, who’ve developed infatuations with you as a result of your exploits. And there’s almost definitely a group of mares here in Canterlot who are attracted to your title and social standing. But, are you sure that there’s really certain that you really have so many admirers hanging around the palace that it’s making you self-conscious?” Moonwhisper asked.

“Maybe? I don’t know. That isn’t really the problem I need help with right now,” Spike said, frustration creeping into his voice. “The thing is, well, you know how I’ve always felt about Rarity, right?”

“Spike, I’m going to be blunt. I feel fairly certain that anypony who’s know you for any appreciable length of time is aware of your feelings towards Miss Rarity,” Moonwhisper replied. “Granted, you were a bit less…outward about it after your wings came in, but I’d still say anypony who paid the slightest bit of attention would be able to pick up on it.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think how I felt about her ever really changed,” Spike said. “Every time I see Rarity, I still feel like I’ve got butterflies in my stomach. I’ve got more control over it than I did when Twilight and I came to Ponyville, but…it’s still there, you know? And that’s the problem. Up until now, with the way things were, I’ve never really had to worry about what would happen if I felt that way about somepony else, too. I guess, the thing is, I had always thought Rarity would be the one to find somepony else, and that I’d have to learn to get over it. I never thought about what I would do if I found somepony else first.”

“Unless I’m mistaken, though, you haven’t actually found somepony else, at least not yet,” Moonwhisper replied.

“Yeah, I know, but what happens if I do?” Spike asked. “I can’t imagine just giving up on Rarity, but I can’t just keep pining for her for the rest of my life either.”

“Unfortunately, I really only see one solution to your dilemma, and I suspect you already know what it is,” Moonwhisper said, prompting Spike to bang his face down onto the table and let out an agonized groan. “You must have realized you’d need to talk to Rarity eventually, especially if you ever actually wanted things to progress at all. At least now you have some idea as to what you’d be able to do if she turns you down. And, there is always the possibility that Rarity might be inclined to return your feelings after all.”

“Okay, I know this is going to sound totally crazy, but somehow that’s almost scarier than getting turned down,” Spike admitted.

“Actually, I can understand exactly what you mean,” Moonwhisper replied. “You’ve put so much time and energy into thinking about what the aftermath of having Rarity say ‘no’ would be that the prospect of her saying ‘yes’ is a vast unknown.”

“That really makes sense to you?” Spike asked hopefully.

“Spike, you’re basically describing the position I’ve myself in at every stage of my relationship with Twilight. Which, I will point out, has worked out rather well,” Moonwhisper added encouragingly.

“Yeah, but…I don’t know if I’m really Rarity’s type, you know?” Spike said.

“Are you so sure about that? I hate to call her a social climber, but Rarity has always been somewhat status conscious, and you are the highest-ranking bachelor in Equestria at the moment. You would not believe how much I’ve had to listen to Blue Blood bemoan the fact that you’ve conclusively supplanted him in that regard,” Moonwhisper added with a snort.

“I still don’t see how you can stand that guy,” Spike said, to which Moonwhisper shrugged.

“Frankly, I think Blue Blood’s reputation is somewhat exaggerated. True, he’s a pompous, self-centered idiot. But that description could be accurately applied to half the ponies in Canterlot,” Moonwhisper said.

“Only half?” Spike teased.

“I’m being generous. My point is, while Blue Blood is an idiot, he at least isn’t a tribalist idiot, which automatically makes him more tolerable than any number of other so-called ‘nobles’ I’ve had to interact with. Also, you seem to be changing the subject, specifically the fact that your newfound status is liable to be something Rarity would be attracted to,” Moonwhisper said.

“I don’t think Rarity is going to suddenly like me just because Twilight made me her Royal Adviser. I mean, I’m basically just doing the same sort of stuff I’ve always done for her, just with an official title,” Spike protested.

“True, and I agree, Rarity isn’t going to fall for you solely because you have an official title. She’s likely to fall for you because you’re kind, dependable, demonstrably devoted to her and meet the general definition of the term ‘gentlecolt’ as I understand it. The fact that you’re effectively titled nobility is just icing on the cake,” Moonwhisper replied.

“Maybe you’re right,” Spike replied, finally starting to perk up a bit. “I might really have a chance after all. But then, how do I tell her how I feel?”

“Opening your mouth and talking to her would be the traditional method. Ideally in intelligible Ponish, given that I don’t know how multilingual either of you are,” Moonwhisper said wryly.

“Har har har. And for your information, I happen to speak Draconic as well as Ponish. Torch says I’m one of the only dragons my age who’s bothered to learn it,” Spiked added proudly.

“If I’m not mistaken, Draconic has over a hundred words for fire and none for friendship, so that may not be the best option for a declaration of love,” Moonwhisper replied. “To be serious for a moment, though, there’s no real need to overthink this. Just tell Rarity how you feel and get it out there, don’t worry about making a major production out of it or getting every detail perfect. And I am very much speaking from experience on this part, trust me.”

“Uh huh, right, sure,” Spike said absentmindedly. At that point, Spike was no longer listening to what Moonwhisper was saying, as he had much more important concerns on his mind. Specifically, how best to prepare the most dazzling, breathtaking, heart-capturing declaration of love Equestria had ever known. For Rarity, nothing less would suffice.

Comments

[jw278]

Nice chapter I liked the talk Spike had with Moonwhisper. Now i'm looking forward to when Spike & Rarity talk, ya know it's gonna go wrong at some point. I mean it's Spike But looking forward to the next chapter thanks for the update

[Hillbe]

I finally asked Rarity out in a date
Great she said yes didn't she?
maybe?
Wut!?
He had to peal her off like old flypaper, Of course she screamed "YES"
you...
Hello Twilight dear the moving truck's put back and the wedding starts in two minutes ... How do I look darlings
Discord you get back here!
It's a two for one special from Las Pegasus the guy sings really great too!