The ruby-encrusted hilt of his sword clung lazily to his side. His armor glimmered in the sunlight giving him and almost angelic glow. He was a rider of sorts but no name could be attached to him; an unknown wanderer.
Below him was a dark chasm, filled with a terrible magic. He paused, for a brief moment, only to hear the screams that echoed through the valley; sending chills down his spine. What ever was down there was far more evil than he had first anticipated. There was no light and no way of telling what would await him when he descended. The Rider was going to have to take a leap of faith.
His horse gazed down into the trench below and shifted with unease. She could feel the dark forces that writhed beneath.
"Stay yourself, Twilight." He spoke gently while offering a comforting hand agains her flowing, purple mane. The Rider's calm, even tone had an immense soothing effect on his mount. Unfortunately, his peaceful demeanor proceeded him in this situation. He was many things; a great fighter, a noble and brave soldier but, most of all, he was careful. And this was careless to the point of self destruction. To say that this journey did not please him would have been a severe understatement.
He dismounted his horse flawlessly. Others have scoffed; claiming that this perfectionism had no place in the appearance of such danger. But this trait, however unnecessary, would forever be a part of him. Like his armor or the sword that rested inside of it's sheath
Spike lowered the quill from his parchment and checked over the last few paragraphs he had written. There were no obvious mistakes that he could make out right now but time would give him the distance he needed in order to perfect his writing. He placed the supplies under one of the loose floorboards by the bookshelves.
It was turning out to be a normal day for Spike. Three or four ponies had come in already to take out books and Twilight had busted down the door and grabbed a book while grumbling about rabbit-bat hybrids, but nothing to much out of the ordinary. A twinge of loneliness tugged at him. Sure, he had hobbies like reading or writing to keep him busy but the Library wasn't exactly a social hotspot.
He sighed to himself then picked up a book and began to read.
--O~O--
Today was a great day for flying or, in Rainbow Dash's case, crashing in the most painful and spectacular ways. Every time she tried to get some sort of arial headway, gravity would firmly deny her attempt. Also, the multitude of ponies that were obliviously occupying her designated landing space did not help her cause in any sort of form. Then again, that's probably why aerial stunts were often frowned upon in the Ponyville Marketplace. Especially when she did them.
Rainbow Dash finally decided against risking another trip to the hospital and landed. But the problem with landing was how fast the boredom sank in. One might say that she was bored in ten seconds flat; if that person also preferred regular facial beatings.
She spotted Twilight's Library down the street. Why not? She thought as she walked towards it. Behind her, every one in the Marketplace breathed a sigh of relief.
I wonder what Twi's up to, she thought, she's probably face-deep in a book or doing something science...-y. The activities that went on inside that hollowed-out tree were a mystery to Rainbow. It's not like she's cooped up in there making some sort of horrible machine that would turn everyone in Ponyville into mindless zombies- she wouldn't do that, Dash reasoned, or would she, she countered while she stared a The Library's door with suspicious appraisal. Whatever. She would either enter Twilight's Library as her best friend or Ponyville's next, greatest hero. Which was a win-win situation in Rainbow Dash's book.
--O~O--
In the background, the door opened. Spike placed his book down and lifted his head up, ready to meet whomever had entered the library. He recognized the multicolored mare immediately. "Oh, Hiya! Rainbow Dash," he said, "What are you doing here?"
Rainbow gave Spike a small, polite smile. "Hey Spike," she replied while gazing casually around the library, "Do you know where Twilight is?"
"Not offhand," he said, "but she did come by here earlier to grab a spell book." He added while recalling Twilight's displeased mood, "Though I'm pretty sure that she didn't want to be disturbed."
"Oh..."
Both of them glanced around the room, refusing to acknowledge the awkward situation. Silence seemed pretty intent on dominating the room, that is, until Rainbow happened to spot the book that rested on Spike's lap.
"Watcha' reading?" She asked while tilting her head to try and glimpse at the title.
"Just a book," Spike was quick to catch on, "one of my favorites, actually." He lifted up the cover so that Rainbow could get a better view of the title. "It's called Rings. It's an epic adventure about four friends who end up traveling around the world to destroy seven rings. I won't lie, the length is pretty daunting," he lifted up the book, showing the plethora of pages, "but once you actually get into it, you won't put it down."
"Do you think that I could borrow it?" She said. "I mean after you're done, that is."
"You could borrow it now, if you want." Spike handed the book to her, "I've already read it a couple of times, so it's not a problem for me."
"Cool!" Dash excitedly took the book and placed it under her wing. "I've been looking to start reading something else ever since the Daring Do series ended."
"Well we always have books here. I mean, that's the point of a library isn't it?" He joked. "But seriously, if your looking for something else to read, swing by here and I'll recommend some things." Spike added.
"Thanks." Rainbow Dash said. She began walking towards the door, a little bit happier than when she came in. "I better get home and start reading!" She said, exiting the library.
--O~O--
"Spike take a letter!" A disgruntled Twilight yelled into the library. One could tell by all the scratches, bruises, and bat-bites that she had on her that, clearly, today had not been a good day.
"What?" Spike said mindlessly, his face still stuck in the new book he was reading.
"Take. A. Letter." She repeated rather abrasively.
That tone had registered down in Spike's subconscious, it signaled that something was wrong. He looked up to see Twilight standing in the middle of the library, fuming in her disheveled stated. Knowing the big ball of anger that Twilight would become, he tried desperately to keep a straight face. "What happened to you, Twilight?" He managed to release before letting out an ill-timed snicker.
Twilight was definitely not amused. She gave Spike the darkest glare that she could muster which, unfortunately for Spike, seemed to compound the humor in this situation. "Spike," Twilight said through a series of his chuckles, "please take a letter or I will melt your face." She practically hissed.
"Wow, looks like someone needs an attitude improvement." He jabbed.
Twilight threw him another dirty look before practically shoving a scroll and a quill in his claws with her magic. "Now." She commanded.
"Fine, whatever." Spike replied, obviously unimpressed with Twilight's intimidation.
Dear Princess Celestia, He wrote instinctively while waiting for Twilight to begin talking. She soon did.
Today I have learned that Friendship is a powerful thing that can overcome almost every obstacle. Pretty standard stuff for a Friendship Report.
But today I also learned that being friends with someone does not give you the right to test Chimera Creation Spells on your friend's animals. Even if she's given her consent. Okaaaaay, maybe it's not the standard, run-of-the-mill Friendship report.
I've also learned that Chimeras, while a novel idea, are actually a terrible crime against nature. They're ruthless, brutal, and desperately violent. I would advise against anyone to utilize any spell that may involve these horrible demon spawns. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle.
"Okay, Spike, you can send it." Twilight said in a much calmer tone.
"No." Spike's reply was clear and simple. "Twilight, I'm not going to lie. This is less of a 'Friendship Lesson' and more of a 'Twilight-Sparkle-should-probably-not-use-magic-without-parental-consent Lesson'."
An ocean of emotions splashed across her face: rage, loathing, anger- actually it was really just synonyms for the word anger. Spike prepared himself for the worst. Thankfully though, Twilight's frenzy had sputtered out; she was just too tired to be angry anymore.
"Fine," she sighed "just leave it on the table, I'll think of something to send tomorrow."
"Will do!" Spike said, setting the letter and quill down. "How `bout I start on dinner!?" He offered.
For the first time today, Twilight smiled. "Yes. I would like that very much."
--O~O--
Dinner was pretty simple tonight. For twilight, the standard Daffodil and Daisy sandwich and for Spike, who really wasn't that hungry, a couple of gemstones. They ate a large portion of their meal in a peaceful silence until Spike finally spoke up.
"Rainbow Dash came in the library today." Spike said casually, while clearing the last gemstone from his plate, "She was looking for you."
Twilight looked up "Did she mention anything specific?" She asked, finishing her sandwich.
"No, not really." Spike replied, "She came in, we talked for a little bit, I let her borrow a book, and then she left. Nothing too unusual."
She nodded, "Well, I'll just have to see her tomorrow." She stated while she began to clear off the table.
"Actually Twi," Spike interrupted her cleaning, "you've had a long day. Let me take care of this. Go and get some rest."
"Thank you, Spike." She said gratefully before turning and heading up the stairs.
Spike began where Twilight left off. Whistling a tune while he worked. He couldn't place his claw on it, but today had been a pretty good day.
Rarity scrubbed down the table with furious intent. A rubber, yet still very fashionable, biohazard suit covered her delicate, white body and a fuming, purple bucket that was filled to the near brim with a mysterious solution sat by her side .
"Spike," she spoke, her voice muffled by the mask that came with very cumbersome suit, "be a dear and go get me some more bleach, please."
Spike gazed at the table, it had been an hour since Rarity had invited him inside and gave him the drink that he had promptly spilt on it. Rarity could only watch on in absolute terror as the horrific mix of herbal ingredients and saliva found their way onto her beautifully carved mahogany table. As soon as the liquid began it's assault on her furniture, she began to clean. Except, cleaning was not the right word to describe her actions; a more appropriate one would be Micro-biotic Genocide. To be honest, Spike was kind of impressed by the lengths Rarity went through to clean the mess, but he still couldn't comprehend how one could be so thorough.
"Spike?" Rarity spoke again which snapped Spike out of his daze. "Did you hear me?" She shot him a look that seemed to imply that the fate of the world was resting on the successful removal of this stain.
"Rarity," Spike began, trying to word this as nicely as he could, "I'm pretty sure that we've added enough bleach already." He paused, "Also, whatever you're using smells less like a cleaning solution and more like a War Crime," he joked.
"I really don't see any humor in all of this." Rarity scolded. He was pretty sure that she was giving him that adorable pout she would use whenever something displeased her but the mask she wore kept him from confirming it.
"I'm just saying that maybe you should consider stopping." Spike replied with a great deal of hope.
"But what of all the germs and bacteria!?" She asked desperately, unable to digest the simple task that Spike had asked of her.
Spiked sighed, "Trust me, you've killed them all." He looked and saw that Rarity was still giving the table a suspicious one over. "And, even if your chemical reign of terror left a single survivor, it is legitimately the loneliest life form on that table right now." He said lightly.
Rarity sighed and shook her head to clear some sort of misplaced idea that had lodged itself up there. "You're right," she finally relented. A blue, magic aura surrounded the bucket as she dumped her 'cleaning solution' outside of the nearest, open window. Spike had to forcibly ignore the fact that whatever was in her solution was now murdering the grass. "Better?" She asked rather pointedly.
"Much better." Spike gave her a grateful smile.
"Good." She said, rather pleased with herself. Her horn glowed, once again, as she removed the biohazard suit and it's mask from her form; revealing the Rarity that Spike knew and loved. "I'm glad that's taken care of." She opened a closet and neatly placed her suit in a box that was labeled 'CONTAMINATION CONTROL' in big, black letters. Finally, she turned back to Spike "Now, where were we?"
"Well, actually," Spike began "I was wondering if you wanted to do anything today?" He asked awkwardly.
Rarity's brightened considerably "Why Spike, I would love to."
"You would?" Now the over-all mood in the room brightened.
"Yes," Rarity confirmed "but I'm afraid we wouldn't have much time. I have an appointment that I need to attend in an hour or so. It is certainly not enough for a proper time out."
Spike watched helplessly as her words mercilessly killed his happy mood and spat on its grave.
"So how about we reschedule for tomorrow?" She asked.
"Sure!" Spike eagerly replied, he had no problem in compromising. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
Rarity beamed "I can't wait."
--O~O--
Twilight Sparkle stood over her writing desk, her mind fast at work. She was a mare on a mission. Albeit, a very unimportant mission- but a mission none-the-less! In the grasp of her horn's magic laid her quill and on the table in front of her was a piece of parchment. She knew the job that was ahead of her this morning and she knew that, despite the difficulties, it had to be done.
She would write this friendship lesson, even if it meant the death of her.
There was something in her eyes and in the way she wrote. One could compare it to the artists of old, who struggled endlessly to create their epic novels and poetic operas. If one also believed that novels, operas, and three-paragraph letters detailing obvious lessons in friendship were interchangeable.
A smile began to break out on her face, signaling that her work was completed. With a critical eye, she levitated the scroll up to her face and read the letter word for word.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I have learned a rather valuable lesson in friendship. Friendship is gift, one that should be enjoyed by everyone as it gives us many valuable things: joy, togetherness, even love.
But I have also learned the differences of receiving this gifts and taking advantage of a friend's giving nature. We often find ourselves complacent when such great things are bestowed upon us and we should look to our friends to guide us and show us the real powers of each bond we hold with them.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle.
A true masterpiece, indeed. Contented with her writings, Twilight placed her letter down of the table for Spike to send off later in the day. Today is definitely up to a better start, Twilight thought, still trying to repress the terrible hybrids that had ruined her previous day. She pulled out another scroll, a checklist, to see the things that she still needed to do.
Twilight's Checklist! 1. Rewrite friendship lesson (X) 2. Visit Rainbow Dash ( ) 3. Find other things to put on my checklist ( )
Well, I guess that means I should go see Rainbow, she thought, not wanting to question the all powerful scroll. Twilight put the checklist back in it's proper place and headed out of the library.
Now, If I were Rainbow Dash, were would I be? Twilight pondered. She decided to make Dash's house her first stop. But this was Rainbow Dash; she could be anywhere, doing anything.
--O~O--
Wow!
Just-
Wow!
I mean...
Wow!
There were times where Rainbow Dash could be described as a mare of elegant or, at least, coherent speaking; this was not one of those times. Her eyes sped over the last page of the novel multiple times, re-reading that last sentence.
Content with their adventure, the four friends rode off into the sunset, happily.
It was a perfect sentence that finished a perfect book. In all honesty, Rainbow had believed that this book would last her a while. She was only planning to use it every now and then to syphon off her boredom. But that changed as soon as she read the first chapter and the next one and the one after that. Soon enough, she had spent the whole night absorbed in this incredible literary world.
She was definitely glad that she had not been scheduled for work today. Her mind and body were fighting a losing battle to stay conscious; a battle, that she was finally willing to lose. It seemed like the bed had transformed into a nest of ultimate comfort. Today would have to wait; right now, it was sleep time...
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Or not.
--O~O--
Spike stood dejectedly in the Ponyville market place. He had no problem with rescheduling with Rarity for tomorrow. But doing things with Rarity had kind of been the whole focus for today and, now, he was just stuck with himself. And he knew, from personal experience, that he wasn't all that fun.
Sometimes, he envied Twi; if one of her friends had canceled on her, she still had other options. But Spike was really only friends with two people: Twilight and Rarity. Everyone else were more acquaintances than anything.
He was unsure how to feel about that. Should he hold resentment for his duties and The Library which had cut him off from most social interactions? Or for Twilight, who gave him these responsibilities? Or himself? There had been many opportunities for him to make friends, he had spent most of the day in a hot air balloon with Pinkie commentating on the Running of the leaves, he had also attended both the Gala and Shining Armor and Cadnece's wedding with all of Twilight's friends. Maybe that was the real problem, he had a lot of opportunities to improve his relationship with everyone, could it be that, maybe, he wasn't so keen to make any new friends?
Spike shook his head, this kind of introspective thinking was reserved for... not today. He made his way back to the library; at least there he could read or continue writing his novel. He opened the door, only to find Rainbow Dash and Twilight waiting for him.
"Hey Spike," Twilight said while she placed some items in her saddle bag, "I thought that you were hanging out with Rarity today?"
"She rescheduled." He admitted.
"Oh. Well Rainbow and I are going to head out and see if any of the girls would be interested in having a picnic." She replied, it was clear to Spike that sympathies were not on the top of her priorities right now.
He looked over to Rainbow Dash, who looked dead but somehow worse. "Hey Spike," she finally said through a fit of grogginess, "I finished it." Her faced cracked into a sleepy smile.
"Finished what?" Twilight asked, still packing things away in her bag. She looked over to Rainbow Dash, genuinely interested in the direction the conversation was taking.
"Really? The book was like, six or seven hundred pages." Spike replied, his emotions ranging from disbelief to impressed.
Books! Now, Twilight was definitely interested. "What book did you read!?" She asked excitedly; much like a young filly would ask for a toy or more dessert.
Rainbow carefully pulled out the book from underneath her wing and placed it on the table for Twilight to see. Twilight looked at the title and then back at Rainbow Dash, wearing a very puzzled look on her face.
"Rings? You read that? In one night?" She skeptically asked.
"Yeah"- Rainbow yawned- "I was going take my time reading it. But it was just so addicting!"
Twilight's mouth pursed into a firm line, "That's impossible, this book took me three weeks to read."
A smug grin crept across her face, "Maybe I'm just smarter than you." Rainbow bragged.
"That might be the most factually inaccurate statement that I have ever heard." Twilight deadpanned.
"That's debatable." Dash countered.
"No. No it isn't."
"So does that mean you're looking for something else to read?" Spike interrupted their pseudo-argument.
Rainbow nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you definitely have an awesome taste in books!" Somehow, talking of literature seemed to fill Rainbow with energy. "Maybe we can meet up tomorrow or something."
Spike raised an eyebrow; suddenly those thoughts of missed opportunities sped through his mind, "You mean, like a book club?"
Book Club! Every inch of Twilight's body froze. Ever since she came to Ponyville and defeated Nightmare Moon, Twilight dreamed of starting a book club with the residents of Ponyville. Oh, how she fantasized about reading about this classical novel and talking about that epic poem with other intelligent scholars. But alas, our Twilight was doomed to a lifetime of literary solitude. That is, until now. Sure Rainbow Dash and Spike may have not been ideal partners for discussion but they would do. Now, she had to figure out some way to subtly drop a casual hint that she might be interested.
"Well," Rainbow Dash began-
"CAN I JOIN!?" Twilight yelled.
Both Rainbow and Spike gave her identically similar strange looks.
"I mean, if it's okay with you guys." Twilight added in a much calmer tone.
"Sure," Rainbow replied, "how about we meet up tomorrow morning for our first 'official meet up'."
"Sounds pretty good to me." Spike said.
"Same here." Twilight agreed.
"So it's settled." Rainbow Dash said but, just then, another realization hit her, "Uh Twi, we should probably head out if we want any chance of catching the girls at a good time."
"That we should." Twilight said while grabbing her saddle bag and heading outside. "Look after the library Spike!" She called back.
"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Rainbow added before joining Twilight.
"See ya!" Spike said, waving after them. Once they were were out of sight, Spike headed back into the Library. The prospects for tomorrow looked promising, hopefully they would deliver. He stopped in front of one of the book shelves. Now, Spike thought to find a book that both Rainbow and Twilight would enjoy.
Rainbow straddled the podium, her wings flared in some sort of Pegasus gesture of dominance, as she looked out upon her audience. Sure the audience only consisted of Spike and Twilight but it technically still was an audience.
And technicalities were good enough for Rainbow Dash.
"Welcome to the new found Ponyville book club!" She exclaimed! Every inch of her body shrieked of enthusiasm which in turn reverberated throughout the Library. In the midst of her excitement, her wings absentmindedly pushed her into a static hover. Rainbow's face and arms both extended towards the heavens as she waited expectantly for the thunderous applause to pour down on her.
There was no applause, only unamused stares.
Twilight crossed her fore-hooves expectantly, "Are you done?"
Rainbow placed herself back on the ground and looked down at Twilight from her podium. "Not even close." She began pacing back and forth on the makeshift stage that she had created in the middle of the library. "Now, as the president of this book club I-"
Twilight raised her hoof. "Question?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"Who made you president?"
Dash's lip firmed into a tight line and she arched an eyebrow. "Do you not know how a Democracy works?" Rainbow Dash asked condescendingly.
Twilight reflected Dash's look. "Do you even know what a Democracy is?" she countered.
"Yeah." Rainbow nodded. "It's a word."
Had Twilight been capable of sucking in all of the oxygen from the library in one single frustrated sigh, she would have. But, then again, had she been able to create terrible seismic tremors with the intensity of her face-hoof, that would have also happened. The point was... hypotheticals do not make for good descriptors. "The entire crux of a democracy depends on an election having taken place," Twilight managed to get out through gritted teeth, "and last time I checked, we never had one."
"Yeah we did." Dash began pacing again. "It was at my house. At midnight. Clearly, you didn't value your democracy enough to vote." She grinned.
Unfortunately for Spike, he chose that moment to allow a fit of chuckles to break his composure. He felt his chair disappear from under him and, as his body came in contact with the cold, hard ground, he realized yet again why laughing at a unicorn was a bad idea. Twilight grinned at the fallen dragon as he lied limply on the floor, she took a quick mental picture and then resumed her focus on Rainbow.
"Like I was saying," Rainbow began, "I have a few rules to put in place in order to maintain the integrity of this club." Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed once again. "Rule number one: We do not talk about Book Club!" Dash bellowed, flaring her wings once again which emphasized each word.
Twilight groaned, "If we can't talk about our book club, then how do we get people to join?" Her annoyance was palpable, her right eye began to twitch ever so slightly.
"Rule two," Dash continued, "You do not talk about Book Club!"
Twilight's eyes widened into unbelievable ovals, strands of her hair began falling out of place. "You just repeated the first rule!" She yelled.
"Rule Three: There are no rules!"
"What!?"
Dash looked down at Twilight with amusement. She had never seen Twi get so flustered about literature before. Well, actually, she had but that doesn't mean she didn't enjoy making Twilight sweat a little; it was just some harmless fun. Twilight, on the other hand, didn't bode so well. Her once perfectly straightened mane had become a nightmare forest of knots, tangles and other equally horrific hair-related terrors. She was breathing very deeply, to the point where small clouds of mist were exiting out of her nostrils angrily. "Now, Twilight," Dash began "you should know better than to interrupt the person who was the stage."
Twilight made no hesitation to jump in. "Okay," she growled slightly, "first of all, you mentioned nothing about interruptions when you were talking. And secondly, that is not a stage, it is an old bookcase that you took from my basement and flung it up here. And also, why did you do that!?"
The silence was quiet. Like silence should be.
Rainbow gave an uneasy stare, her cheeks looked like someone performed a double homicide on her face. They were a telling color, they told of a pegasus who unintentionally drove their unicorn friend over the edge with one to many innocuous comments. "I- uh," Rainbow sputtered.
"You what!?" She hissed.
"I guess we should just end for today..." Rainbow asked hopefully, her voice stretching up into the higher octaves. "I gotta go!" She practically shouted before sprinting out the door faster than... well, a lot of things actually. Like a book, for instance, or a gentle breeze, or even a large glacier. The point is Dash was faster than a lot of things and she utilized her skills to effectively escape the situation.
"Well, I'm just going to go ahead and pronounce this book club a success." Spike said, his voice still muffled by the flooring.
"Don't you have a date with Rarity?" She barked.
"Well, first of all, it's not a date and secondly, I still need to get my suit from here." He replied while slowly moving up into a sitting position
Twilight paused momentarily before her horn lit up, she closed her eyes in concentration and only stopped when a loud pop was emitted from her horn. "Well," Twilight began, "now it seems that your suit is at the dry-cleaners." She gave Spike a mischievous smirk. "You should probably go get it."
--O~O--
Rainbow dash eyed the library hesitantly, her fore hoof was suspended in air as she internally debated making another step towards it. She knew that she would have to apologize eventually, but that didn't make the gigantic weight in her stomach any lighter. In all honesty she had no intention of making Twilight so angry but, sometimes, a simple joke can go to far.
"Don't go in there. At least, not right now." A familiar voice called out to Rainbow, effectively breaking her out of the trance she was in.
"Spike? What are you doing out here?" She asked.
"You don't honestly believe that I spend all of my time in the library do you?" He joked before shooting a dark glare back at his home. "And besides I have to go and get my suit." He mumbled before glancing back at Rainbow Dash. He arched his eyebrow. "I think the more important question is why are you still here?"
The question caught Rainbow Dash off guard she blinked vapidly for a moment. "I- uh," she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, "Do you think that Twilight's angry at me?"
"Yeah, probably," Spike practically blurted out without appealing to any sort of thought process, "A book club like this is kind of a big deal for her. Like, really big." He added.
Rainbow cringed. "Oh." She barley whispered.
"But she'll get over it eventually." Spike nodded enthusiastically. He glanced over at Rainbow and was surprised to find her not reciprocating his sentiments. Her ears were flat against her head and her mane seemed to sag to the ground. Spike was confused, why is she so upset, he thought to himself, as if the obvious situation was some great unsolved mystery. And then, like a stallion who stumbled into on coming traffic, something hit him. "Chocolates." He let out after a long pause to collect his thoughts.
Rainbow tilted her head. "Huh?"
"Go to Pinkie's bakery and ask for the 'Mint chocolate thingies'. They're my go to gift any time i need to apologize to Twilight for something." He nodded before breaking into a large, toothy grin. "And besides," he began, "she'll be less likely to send you of to some sort of horrific dimension if there was any chance of the chocolates going with you."
"She wouldn't really do that? Would she?" Rainbow asked nervously.
Spike gave her a look that seemed to neither confirm nor deny his previous statement.
"O-Okay, thanks for the advice. I think..." Rainbow paused. "I guess I owe you..."
Spike opened his mouth, ready to dismiss off Rainbow's offer, until another thought slid back into his mind. He had been interested in making new friends and now seemed as good a time as any; and what could possibly go wrong, he thought to himself. "Wanna hang out tomorrow?" Internally, he cringed. The way he worded it sounded awkward and very desperate. "And you could consider that as payback." He added quickly.
"Uh, sure." Rainbow replied, somewhat put off by his offer.
"Cool." Spike said, trying to salvage some sort of his suaveness.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow. I guess." Rainbow said before she opened her wings and flew away.
--O~O--
Rarity posed elegantly in front of a large, silver mirror. Her eyes meticulously scanned over every inch of her body searching for any blemishes that needed correction. A delicate, purple and gold dress clung to her form. Her hair had been set in beautiful curls that cascaded down either side of her face; framing it like a beautiful photograph. Except that she wasn't a photograph, she was a pony.
She always strived for perfection when it came to looks or appearance but, for some reason, that didn't seem to cut it today. It needed to be better than perfect, somehow. Rarity had no idea where these outlandish and impossible obsession came from and she didn't care, it felt right and that was all that mattered to Rarity. After what had seemed like an eternity, Rarity finished her self assessment and forced herself away from the mirror.
She walked over to her bed and glanced at the the last piece of her ensemble lying on top of the pink sheets. It was a gold necklace containing the fire ruby that Spike had given her on his birthday.
--O~O--
Spike stood anxiously at the door of Carrousel Boutique, staring down at the large door frame nervously. It was obvious how much the giant slab of petrified wood intimidated him which was odd because, well, it's a door. He slowly brought his claw up to the frame and pounded on the door three times.
"Coming!" he heard her beautiful, sing song voice echo throughout the boutique. He sighed, Rarity's voiced had always captivated him. It was her vocal chords were small bells that chimed golden melodies to beautiful songs that had been forgotten long ago.
Or she was just really good at speaking, take your pick.
The door opened and Rarity stepped out onto her porch. "Good evening, Spike." She gave him a small grin.
His eyes widened as she stepped into view. "Wow, uh, Rarity," Spike sputtered, "you look... Dressed."
Rarity's grin was quickly replaced with a frown. "Thanks?" She let out while giving Spike a very peculiar stare. Spike may not have shared Rarity's intense passion for clothing and all things fashion. But to say that Spike did not look handsome in his suit would have been a great understatement. The suit he wore seemed to be made for him, almost like a second skin. The crisp black fabric gave him a very sleek and sophisticated image. This was compounded by the spiraling, emerald pattern that was embedded in his jacket which matched his spines that jutted out from holes cut in the suit's back. She smiled, this suit was one of her proudest creations.
Deep down, her stomach emitted a faint rumble. It wasn't loud enough for Spike to hear, but prevalent enough to make Rarity embarrassed about the situation. "Well I'm famished." Rarity began, a subtle twinge of pink appearing on her cheeks, "Are you hungry?"
"Like the wolf."
Rarity did a double take. "Excuse me?"
Spike's eyes widened in terror and embarrassment at the realization over what he just said. "Nothing!" He practically shouted. "I mean nothing." Spike added in a more nonchalant way. He smiled and nodded awkwardly in order to drive the point home.
"That most definitely did not sound like nothing." She replied, a coy grin silently sweeping across her face.
"But I'd prefer it to be nothing," He paused. "Because the alternative is much more embarrassing." Spike said, smiling weakly.
There was a small pause before Rarity burst out into a fit of giggles. "Very well." She sighed lightly, "Do you have any preferences?" She asked.
Spike to a moment to think about the different restaurants that were available to him before he decided on the best possible option. "I think I know of a place." He smiled.
--O~O--
The door opened to a bar that could only be described as 'salty' and Spike and Rarity walked in. Being the attentive mare that she was, Rarity scanned the place thoroughly. In the middle of the worn down establishment were a couple of sporadically placed tables. Each individual table seemed to be take from some different bar and, even though tables are not known for displaying emotion, they all seemed to desperately want out of here. The tables were surrounded around an empty stage in front the rotting bar counter and, off to the side, a bright red phone-booth stood seemingly out of place.
A crusty barkeep stepped behind the counter, "Doughnut Boy? That you!?" His eyes lightened up.
"Cocktail, right?" Spike grinned.
"Yes siree!" Cocktail exclaimed jovially, "But you can call me," He paused, thinking carefully. "Cocktail. That is, until I can provide a more suitable nickname." He chuckled to himself before turning to Rarity. "Hey! I know you! You're that fashion gal who lives in that Car-U-sell!" Cocktail smiled emphatically.
"Charmed." Rarity said, offering hoof.
Cocktail took it up in his hoofs and kissed it gently before turning to Spike, "I didn't know you were good with da ladies." He said, winking at Spike.
Spike looked down at the ground, somewhat embarrassed - Rarity looked especially guilty. "I'm not - I mean, we're just friends..." He mumbled.
"Sure you are!" Cocktail laughed much to the dismay of Spike and Rarity, "And besides it's not like she's going to be disappointed by tonight." He added.
"What does he mean?" Rarity asked.
Spike turned to her. "There's something really cool that I want to show you." He began, "But you going to have follow some directions or else it won't work." Spike pointed to the phone booth. "I am going to get into that" he stated, "and I want you to wait here for thirty seconds. Then, I want you to enter it, pick up the receiver and say what is written on this." He finished, while he pulled out a small, neatly folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket and gave it to Rarity.
"Sure?" Rarity replied, somewhat skeptical about the whole thing.
Spike, confident in his direction giving ability stepped into phone booth and picked up the receiver, much like the directions he had given. Rarity gave him a queer look, in fact, she was just about to grab Spike and scold him for being so foolish when he vanished. Almost like a stage magician, but without the magic... So exactly like a stage magician. Shocked, Rarity quickly glanced over towards Cocktail, demanding some sort of explanation of what just happened. "Excuse me, what just happened!?" Apparently Rarity's pointed looks weren't doing a good enough job.
"I don't know." Cocktail grinned. "I guess you'll just have to find out for yourself."
Rarity gave an indignant 'humph' before she marched towards the phone booth and entered. She picked up the receiver and and unfolded the piece of paper that Spike had given her. Without really taking in what the words meant she spoke the words into the phone and hung up without giving it much thought. She stood there impatiently, not truly realizing the surprise that was in store tonight.
--O~O--
"Welcome, my lady, to the glass hotel."
Rarity stared, dumbfounded, at the manger before her. If Rarity's jaw could have dropped to the ground it would have probably broken her jawbone while also hyper-extending and tearing a great majority of her facial muscles. Meaning, she was very lucky that overly exaggerated facial expressions still applied to the laws of physics. "Thank you." she murmured.
"Do you like it?" Spike asked, flashing a broad, cocky smile.
"L-like it!?" Rarity was overcome with awe and wonder to utilize legitimate words. "I like it!"
The short elevator ride that had followed after Rarity spoke the phrase into the phone seemed like a jaunt into a different dimension. The once ancient, crumbling bar that she had occupied now transformed into a gaudy, magnificent ballroom. Wrapped in a layer of polished Yule marble, the ballroom gave a subtle glow that seemed to burn with the intensity of a thousand suns, while somehow still reserved enough to not be blinding. Occupying the majority of the room were dozens of crystal tables that were trimmed with golden designs along with several ivory chairs to seat hungry customers.
Rarity had been so immersed with the glorious aesthetics of this restaurant that she didn't not realized she had been seated until she felt herself resting on one of the chair's tasteful cushion. "Spike," Rarity gasped, "where did you find this!? You simply must tell!?"
"Do you want the long story or the short?" He replied.
"The short story will suffice, I think."
Spike leaned back in his chair, "Well, I found this place when I was searching through some of the library's old books. Apparently this was built sometime ago, as a tourist spot. And, well, as times went on, people forgot about it. That is, until Princess Celestia bought the restaurant and restored it to it's former glory. Apparently, she still dines here regularly but I've never seen her." Spike finished, cracking his knuckles for slight emphasis.
"You've been here before?" Rarity asked in awe.
"Well, yeah. I mean, I needed to make sure it was perfect for our... get together."
"Date." She corrected with graceful smile.
Spike's pupils became microscopic. "Date?" he whispered which was confirmed with a smug nod from Rarity. Now it was his turn to gasp in breathless wonder. His appearance for now was less of a dragon and more of a burning pyre, but he was really that Because there would be much more severe ramifications from being set aflame than simple embarrassment. "So what did we do now?" Spike proposed, bewildered by the entire situation.
