It was a clear spring morning, only a few clouds in the sky. Rainbow liked to leave a few clouds up when she could for a comfortable place to nap. She had gotten up early to rip through the skies to get her job over with for the day before Twilight awoke. Celestia knows the mare doesn't know when it's just too late for more studying, so she usually ended up waking around noon. The pegasus had made sure that her librarian friend didn't have anything planned today, so that she wouldn't go to bed according to any schedule. Dash snickered as she slipped the envelope under the front door of the Library. Spike would be the one to get the letter for sure, all according to plan.
A bored sigh escaped me as I shelved The Advanced Chef's Guide to: Foreign Confectioneries back in its place. Bon Bon had come by early to drop it off shortly after I got up to open the Library. I guess there was some spicy mint or something the gryphons make that she wanted to bring over to Equestria. Mornings are always boring. Twilight doesn't usually get up till the sun is high, and if she does, then she leaves right after her 'morning' routine.
As I glanced down to the next book return, I heard a paper shuffling followed by a quick knock at the door. I couldn't help but sigh as I set the stack down. Did I forget to flip the sign to 'open' again? Ponies can just come in if they need; we're in business hours.
When I got to the door, I noticed a purple envelope in front of the door, like it was slipped under. Strange, Derpy always delivers the mail personally. As I picked the letter up, my nose screamed in joy. I knew that smell anywhere. It was mostly French vanilla with a highlight of lavender, the colors of the imagined ingredients matching to the same beautiful mare who uses the perfume. And it was just lovely, like who I knew it belonged to.
Rarity...
After allowing myself a blissful sigh, hugging the letter to my chest, I decided to see what the lovely Lady needed from me. With practiced ease, I made a clean cut across the top of the envelope with a claw. My hands shook from anticipation, and if I was completely honest with myself, a little bit of hope, as I extracted the letter like it was extremely delicate.
"Dearest Spike,"
D-dearest?
“Recently I find myself fawning over your image. Every other thought is about you. I see your smiling face in every stitch, in every flower, in every gem. I can’t stop thinking about how much I love you, Spike. You’ve been after me for so long, and while I never said it before, I now admit there was obviously something between us. More than we could even know. I want to explore what could be, Spike. I want to explore it with you.
And I know just where to start. When you find yourself ready, I’ll be waiting for my brave knight in shining armor at the Boutique. Just come in and land a big kiss right on my lips. It’ll be so awesome!
Love,
Rarity
P.S. Do it before lunch”
It was poorly written. But, I didn't care. When you're caught up in the moment, words don't come so easily, right? I think that's how it works. It definitely meant she was excited and a bit nervous, just like me. Of course. It made sense. It took me a few minutes of staring at the piece of paper to convince myself it was real before I ran for Rarity's place.
I burst through the front door of the Boutique out of breath. Rarity jumped with a yelp, startled out of her no-doubt engrossing project. As I leaned over panting for breath, I noticed a now-ruined bell roll across the floor in front of me.
Whoops. Guess I got a little too excited.
Rarity sighed while I continued to regain my breath. "Hello, Spike. I do hope you've good reason for surprising me like this? Just look at what you made me do to this dress!"
She held up a colorful slab of cloth for me to inspect. It took a few seconds for me to realize that it was a dress, torn completely through one side. I couldn't help but cringe. Rarity doesn't use cheap materials or quick fixes; I probably just cost her a lot of time and money.
"Aww jeez, I'm sorry Rarity! I just ran here as fast as I could when I read your letter."
Rarity raised an eyebrow and lowered the former garment. "My...letter?" Was she nervous about it? I guess if I was sending a letter like that, I would be too.
I smiled and nodded, trying to let her know it was okay. I took a discreet step towards the mare of my dreams. "Yeah! I'm really happy about what you said, Rarity."
With a nervous titter, she dropped the dress onto the table and stood. "I'm glad to hear you're in a good mood, but-"
She cut herself off when I finally reached her and threw my arms around the base of her neck. The best way to show one's love is contact, right? Of course it is. That's why couples are always so touchy-feely. And boy, it was making me happy just hugging her. And after a second, she hugged me back!
I'm a genius.
I leaned back out of the hug a little, starting into those beautiful sapphire eyes with a soft smile. She was blushing; clearly she was enjoying it too. Yeah, I'm smooth. She gave a flustered giggle as I came nose-to-nose with her. "Oh my, you seem to be in a very good mood. What has yo-mmhMMMHM!”
The ultimate expression of love, heralded by a light head and caressed by the heavy breath of one's partner: a kiss. My right claw was up where her head met her neck as I pulled her into me a little while I tried to win her over with my lips.
Sadly, 'twas not meant to last, as she roughly shoved me back onto my dock and stood over me with the most piercing glare I've ever seen her give. She was panting and blushing, but apparently not for the same reason I was. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, SPIKE?!"
I sat there in a daze, partly flustered from the kiss, partly surprised from being shoved over, and partly confused from the clashing signals. "I- I-...what?"
Oh boy, was she furious. "I! SAID! What makes you think you can just barge in here like that, invade my personal space, and then just- just- argh!” In a flash she picked up the remains of the dress I accidentally cause the ruin of with a hoof and whipped it at me. A little voice in the back of my head noted that she was hot when she was angry, but now was not a good time. "Get out!"
"Rarity, wait! What about your letter?!"
Her eyes narrowed, and immediately her panting ceased. Those diamonds turned to black pearls promising destruction if she didn't like what she was about to hear. "What is this letter, pray tell?"
I jumped up onto my feet, trying to regain some composure. I wasn't overly successful, given the twin gates of Tartarus staring me down. I took a breath to explain it all as fast as possible, in one go. “This morning, you slipped a letter under the Library door confessing your love for me, and you told me to come here as fast as I could. It even said to kiss you on the lips, and that you’d think it was awesome!”
Wait. I almost heard the both of our brains click with the sudden, retroactive realization of what I just said, having heard it out loud. We simply stared at each other for a couple agonizing seconds. Being the one in the wrong, I forced myself to speak first.
"You...you wouldn't use the word 'awesome'."
"I don't believe I would, Spike."
My heart fell a little at the next logical step. I didn't want to believe it, but like Twilight taught sometimes the truth isn't what we want it to be. "It was a prank, wasn't it?"
Her glare had washed off by now, instead taking on a look somewhere between regret and sorrow. I knew she was feeling sorry for me, but it was hard to pretend to be alright given the circumstances. "I'm afraid the two of us have been had, dear."
I sighed deeply, tears straining to leave my eyes. I looked down, unable to hold her gaze any longer. “I...I understand. I’m sorry, Rarity. Sorry for...” I didn't have to try to finish that sentence. I heard the soft sounds of hooves on carpet before being enveloped in a hug. A comforting embrace, nothing like what I apparently forced onto her before...
Oh Celestia, she wasn't flustered by some notion of bravado or charm! She was embarrassed for me making a mule out of myself! And I just saw what I wanted to see and forced myself onto her. I've been such an idiot. But yet, here she is still willing to forgive and comfort me even after I just wronged her. She really is beautiful, in body, heart, and soul...
“You don’t need to apologize, dear. I am the one who should be sorry that you were caught up in this mess. Could you ever forgive me?”
I felt my cheeks tighten in a forlorn smile, and I reached up and hugged her back, tucking my head into the crook of her chin. "Of course, Rarity. You know I'd do anything for you."
Just then, contrary to how the moment had been going, she chuckled darkly. "If that's so, then how would you like to help me get our revenge?"
I jerked back and looked up at her, surprised. She was wearing a slightly wolfish grin, clearly planning revenge. And boy, did I want to be part of making that dish. I returned the devilish grin.
“I’m telling you, Dash! I could get you any mare you wanted in this town!”
“And I’m telling you, Spike! You’re out of your mind!”
I scoffed as Pinkie trotted up to our table with a fresh tray of her delicious chocolate-chip cookies. "Bah! You're just jealous of my swag. Thanks, Pinkie." I took a cookie almost whole, savoring in the half-pools of that warm gooey goodness trapped by the flaky confines of baked excellence.
"No problem, Spike! What's this about swag?" Of course! Pinkie Pie is Ponyville's premier party pony, on top of knowing everypony. No doubt she's well-versed in the discipline of swagger and can back me up.
Dash chuckled and answered, “Spike here thinks he’s the bucking king of mares. Says he’ll play wingpony and get me a date. Maybe I don’t even like mares? Did you think of that?” Rrrrriiiiiiiight.
Pinkie giggled. “That’s silly, Dashie! Of course you do!" Thank you, Pinkie. "Anyway, what makes you think Spike couldn't do it?” Good to know this girl has my back. And if she thinks I can do it, there is certainly no better opinion. Other than my own, of course. Confidence is primary.
Dash groaned. “Seriously? Why are you on his side? He can’t even get the mare he’s been drooling over.” Gotcha!
I slammed my hands down onto the tabletop, inadvertently causing some surrounding customers to jump halfway out of their seats. I ignored them as I stood tall and proud on my chair. “In fact, I can! I bet you I could find Rarity right now and get a kiss!”
Dash stared at me with a grin and wet eyes for a second, before the laughter broke out of her. I was expecting her to laugh, of course, but it hurt a little at how hard she was laughing at me. Was I not good enough for her? No, focus! Self-evaluation later. After a while, she finally collected enough air to speak again. “Oh-heh heh- oh yeah? You said you wanna make a bet of that? Fine. When you get turned down-”
I narrowed my eyes. "If I get turned down."
She reiterated, continuing as if I hadn't said anything. “When you get turned down, you’re going to clean up my house and buy me breakfast, lunch, and dinner tomorrow.” So something I do every day as a job, and some bits?
“The stakes are a little higher than a tidy home and some food, Dash. This is love!”
The pegasus just rolled her eyes at me. “Whatever, dude. There’s still a bunch of those stupid tripwires from a prank left there, plus the usual mess. And for food, you read a lot; you should know how much pegasi have to eat.” I face-palmed. Of course! Pegasi, Rainbow Dash in particular, are constantly burning extra energy just using their wings. In her case, she’s probably ravenous with all her stunt flying. She’d eat a hole right through my savings.
"It's true," Pinkie pitched in, "Dashie here is one of our most frequent customers. She's gotta intake a lot of carbs to keep up her energy. Like me!" That's reassuring. It's almost surprising that Pinkie is aware of what's in all that sugar she inhales daily.
"Alright." I accepted. Dash hoof-pumped the air in obvious confidence of her victory. “And when Rarity swoons for me and lets me take hold of her in love’s embrace,” Dash made a gagging motion, “I get to set you up on a blind date.”
She scoffed at my end of the deal. "As if. Let's go, loverboy." We scarfed down the rest of the tray before making our way for the exit.
"Good luck you two!" Pinkie called as we passed through the doorway.
Dash was in position, crouched on a nearby roof. I could see the top half of her head poking over the side, peering down at me. She probably wanted to enjoy the show of me getting shot down, possibly slapped. I met her eyes and smirked confidently. She replied with a glower, but it didn't faze me.
It wasn't hard to find the fashionista, especially considering we had arranged where to meet up. She was sitting outside a nearby restaurant enjoying a salad. Of course she'd be eating something healthy; anything to maintain that figure. Rarity called out to me as I walked up to her. "Oh, hello dear! Is there something you needed?" When I got up to her table, she made a quick whisper. "Where's Rainbow?"
I gave a subtle flick of my head back towards the roof where the pegasus was hiding. Rarity herself aimed her head down at her salad while she speared some leaves on a fork, but I caught a quick glimpse she made behind me. Nice. To anyone far away, for instance a chromatic speedster snooping above and behind me, it looked like she was just maintaining eye contact to be sociable, but being both close to her and the expected object of her focus, I was able to catch the direction she was really looking. With the slight nod she gave following, I took it that she saw a certain flash of color.
With a smile that was skirting 'smirk' territory, she turned back up to me. "So, how are we going to do this, Spike?"
I gave a shrug. “There’s no way she can actually hear us from that distance, but I know she can see us. Just keep talking for a bit, maybe blush a little, and then we pretend to kiss.”
Rarity made a hurt expression, putting a hoof over her withers. "Are you conspiring against me now, too?"
I looked down at my claws, interlacing them with nervousness and a bit of shame. “I don’t want to force you into anything, Rarity. It just seemed like the reasonable thing that would happen if I wooed you.”
Rarity, true to the scenario, blushed. “You’re right, Spike. And I guess you were promised a kiss from me...”
I looked up, meeting her eyes. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I understand it wasn't you who wrote that letter. Besides, if I lose the bet, I don't really-"
She leaned in and put a hoof on my lips. Even contact with just this lowly part of her was enough to make me blush. "No, Spike. We need you to win that bet. If I may ask, what did Rainbow want for her supposed victory?"
I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "A house cleanup and a few meals."
She raised an eyebrow. "A...house cleanup? Oh!" She hugged me quickly after jumping in realization. "Oh dear. Not that I'll admit it to her, but I'm afraid I was the one who put those tripwires in. Now I'd be pulling you into a mess twice over. And that's not to mention Dash's eating habits." We shared a chuckle.
I pushed out of the embrace and looked her in the eyes. “Rarity, seriously, if you don-mMmhm...” Her last objection was by far the most potent.
Rainbow Dash was speechless. She followed the little drake, watching as he initiated conversation. The nearest hiding spot was a roof close by, but at that distance the only words she could make out was Rarity's greeting when she called out to him. Not wanting to give herself away, she settled for just watching the action. And right before her eyes, Rarity played hurt, then blushed, and finally, got all touchy-feely with him. She scoffed at that, of course, even though inwardly she knew she wouldn't mind something of the sort. Rarity seemed to shush him with a hoof, and Rainbow Dash was sure that the unicorn was about to let him down gently. At least until she leaned in and started making out with him right there. No way! He actually did it! she thought, Aww Tartarus, I lost the bet! Well, I guess maybe it won’t be so bad. He apparently knows what he’s doing...
My brain managed to finally stop short-circuiting when Rarity pulled back a while later. I knew I was blushing furiously, and I could see she was too. I couldn't help but wear a dopey smile, which made her giggle.
"W-wow....that was...and you used tongue..."
She laughed at my reaction. "Oh Spikey, you know how I simply adore the taste of chocolate!”
That night was perfectly clear weather. The air was a relaxing, middling temperature. Rainbow had made sure of it, given her plans for that night. She sat in Horte's Cuisine, a somewhat fancy restaurant (which, in a town like Ponyville, meant it was the fanciest) surrounded by ponies in dress clothes. Dash groaned. She hated fancy restaurants. She hated dressing up. Most of all, she hated waiting. She had been sitting at her table waiting for the date Spike set her up with for a whole five minutes already! It was torture.
“Uh....Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow’s head shot up in excitement, before she slammed it back down and groaned.
“Spike said he had set me up with a blind date here, and gave me this table number. But that’s silly! You couldn't possibly be...” She gulped.
Rainbow Dash pushed herself up out of her chair, nearly tripping over the hem of her dress getting up. “Sorry, Twilight. The whole blind date thing was part of a bet I lost. I figured he’d be a champ and actually do it for real, but I guess he’s just rubbing it in my face. And getting back at you for something.”
Twilight face-hoofed. “Is this seriously about that stupid prank war, too?! I was so excited, and now I find out it was just a huge set-up!”
Dash wrapped a wing around her shoulders. “Yeah. Although, to be fair, it started with a prank involving Spike and Rarity. I guess they got me back good, heh...”
Rarity and I didn't have to wait long. Right after Twilight left for the restaurant (which I think she never would have had I not pushed her out myself), I headed straight for Rarity's and we got to the road outside quick. Shortly after, Twilight and Dash exited, both looking pretty downcast. The two of us smirked at them as they approached, me with my arms crossed and Rarity looking down her nose at them.
Rainbow was the first to speak. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. You got me back good, Rarity.”
“Oh Rainbow, I can’t take all the credit. Dear Spike was the one who set you up in the first place; I just played my part.”
Dash chuckled. “Yeah, but you still took part. I guess that’s a point each to me and Rarity.” She looked down at the ground. “Unless Spike feels like I hurt him with that one. I figured it would stop at the first awkward situation, no hard feelings.”
Rarity chuckled, and leaned against me. “I doubt he does, dear.” I put my arm around Rarity, still smirking at Dash. Rainbow scowled, growled an "Aagh!" in frustration, and then took off into the night sky. Twilight turned back to us as we were laughing, dropping the embrace.
“So....are you two....actually.....?”
I smiled and shook my head. “No Twilight. We’re just good friends.”
Twilight scowled. “And I hope you have a good reason for pranking me like this, too?”
I chuckled. “Yeah. Getting back at you for teasing me about Rarity all the time. Seriously, I get it. It won’t work.”
Rarity hugged me, genuinely this time. “Though you are one of my dearest of friends, regardless.”
I smiled and returned the hug, whispering “I know,” before beginning the walk home with Twilight. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke again. “That was awfully mature of you, Spike.”
I shrugged. “Truth is, Rarity is a very busy mare, and species aside, I’m just not the stallion she needs yet.”
Twilight stopped, smiled and squeezed me in a tight hug. “I’m so proud of you.”
I snickered. “And I got to make out with her.”
Twilight pushed me away and I stumbled. “Aaand just like that the mood is gone! I didn't want to know!”
Author's Note
This story was supposed to just be a chapter in another story that I'm writing. And then it picked up a sort of sub-plot with Spike and Rarity, and sort-of Twilight. About halfway through I felt like this was more of a short story unto its own.
So here it is.
If you're wondering why Rarity put tripwires throughout Dash's house, it's because the two (along with Pinkie Pie) are engaged in a three-way prank war. Don't worry; that doesn't spoil anything.
