Of Dragons and Mortals

Chapter 5: Taking Flight

“Wow…” Rainbow half-gasped. She extended her wings and flew over to Spike and Rarity, then proceeded to circle them. “You really kissed her stupid.”

Rarity managed a weak glare in her friend’s general direction. The athlete responded by poking her tongue out playfully.

“Spike, darling… You’re a size Large,” Rarity said. Her horn lit up, and a nearby closet opened, bringing out a hamper filled with carefully folded clothes. She reluctantly pulled out of Spike’s embrace and placed the hamper in his arms. “I’ll get you something properly tailored in a few days, when my schedule clears up. For now, however, this should work. Why don’t you go get dressed?”

“Or why don’t you stay not-dressed?” Rainbow Dash asked, suddenly hugging Spike from behind and nosing his neck. “I like this look on you.” Spike could swear the sentence was punctuated with a light, affectionate lick on his neck, but Rainbow distracted him before he could process it. “Also, kudos. It’s not even noon and you already kissed your dream girl…”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity cried out in a scandalized voice. “Let the poor boy get dressed!”

Still too weak in the knees to try to physically pry her athletic friend from her “perch” on Spike’s back, Rarity was relieved to see that Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and backed off. Spike, who was still mute from the kiss, retreated behind the screen.

“Sooo… How was it?” Rainbow teased her proper friend.

“A lady does not kiss and tell, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said. She stuck her muzzle in the air and walked into the kitchen. Rainbow followed.

“Aw, you don’t need to tell me. The look on your face says it all.”

Rarity faced one of her mirrors to find that she was still blushing. The lingering warmth in her body refused to fade, however, so she resolved to live with it for the moment.

It felt nice, after all.

“Oh does it now? And I suppose you didn’t enjoy ogling us in the slightest?” Rarity teased back, feigning indignation. “Honestly, Rainbow. I had never imagined you of all ponies to be such a shameless voyeur! And from the threshold of my own boutique, no less!”

“Wait… I was doing what now?” Rainbow paused, feeling deeply flustered. Her eyes flickered to the kitchen door, but Rarity gave her no chance to recompose herself as she slipped back into a slightly more serious mood.

“Why did you stay anyway?” Rarity asked. “Seriously, I mean.”

Rainbow blushed a bit and scuffed her hoof on the floor before answering.

“I thought I’d killed the mood already and you were going to chew me out. So I thought I might as well take it,” she admitted with a small smile. “But you pulled it off anyway. Nice save!” Rainbow hesitated a bit and squirmed. “And… I mean… Spike is… it was hot, okay?”

“Say no more, darling.” Rarity smiled. “I may have done the same in your position.”

“Thanks.”

“So what were you going to say when you stormed in here anyway?” Rarity asked as she began to pour some tea for herself and her friend.

“Hm? Oh, right.” Rainbow accepted a cup from the fashionista. “I was coming to tell you a bit of gossip: seems like our little dragon friend is suddenly all grown up and hot.”

“You don’t say?”

“Hey, I didn’t know he was with you! I heard he was in Sugarcube Corner. I was actually hoping to get you to go there with me,” Rainbow said. “And I thought that just once I’d got my hands on some gossip before you did.”

“You wanted me to accompany you?” Rarity asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. “Might I ask why?”

“Because…” Rainbow hesitated. “I dunno… I just wanted someone I could trust to back me up on this. And you’re good at... y’know, mushy stuff.”

“Mushy stuff?”

“Well yeah... you know…” Rainbow’s explanation descended to little more than unintelligible mumbles and a few nervous wing twitches.

“What was that, darling?”

“Lovey-dovey stuff…” Rainbow admitted, just barely above a whisper.

“Aaah… I had no idea you felt that way about our Spike,” Rarity cooed, supportively placing her hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“No wait! It’s not that,” Rainbow immediately protested. “Well… maybe it is that now, I guess.” She took a sip of her tea and made a show of savoring the taste in a poorly masked effort to buy herself some time to think. “It’s just… I spoke to some of the townsponies, and they kept saying that Spike had always been supportive and nice and reliable and stuff, and now that he was… well… grown up, they were seeing him in a different light.” She paused again to stare deeply into her mug. “Spike’s been our friend for years… I know what he’s like, but I never thought about him being anything more than that, or at least I didn’t think so. But listening to the way they were talking about Spike, I just… I needed to go see him. And I needed backup.”

“And now that you’ve seen him with your own two eyes?” Rarity asked, looking into those eyes. “Be honest. How do you feel?”

“Feel…? Look, Rares, I don’t–”

“Answer the question, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity interrupted, a stern tone in her voice.

Rainbow floundered for a moment.

“I feel… He’s always been such an awesome little guy, you know?” she answered, looking down into her cup of tea again. “He’s, nice, kind… he’s always there for me, for us… I like him, he’s one of my closest friends. Seeing him like this…” She closed her eyes. Revealing this much of herself, even to a close friend, was making her very uncomfortable, but Rainbow Dash was no coward, so she soldiered on for the sake of her friends. For Spike. And for herself. “He’s… my closest male friend. And I’m attracted to him. I’m thinking maybe I want something more than just friendship.”

A shudder went down Rainbow’s spine, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had stumbled into a mushy romance novel. But when she faced Rarity again, she was reassured to find compassion in her eyes.

“And as our closest male friend, who we all care about very deeply, he at least deserves a fair chance, correct?”

“Yeah...” Rainbow couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah! Exactly. I mean… Like I said, he’s always been an awesome little guy. If he’s going to be an awesome big guy too… Then...” She trailed off, a blush appearing on her face.

“Rainbow Dash, I’m surprised at you. I had no idea you were hiding such a hopeless romantic underneath your brash exterior.”

“Hey! And just what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?” Rainbow replied, narrowing her eyes at her unicorn friend.

“Oh nothing, absolutely nothing at all, darling.”

“Okay then…” A few moments of silence passed in which the two friends simply sipped their tea. Rainbow finally broke the silence. “So what’s up with Spike’s change, anyway? All I heard was that he ‘grew up’ and something about a ‘mental block’ or something?”

“Well, I’ll tell you what I know. Apparently, last night…”

Somehow, Spike managed to get dressed. How, the world may never know, as a good several minutes were lost in the pleasant haze he achieved after finally kissing the mare he had been dreaming about for years. Rainbow’s presence registered, as did her flirtatious remarks, though the blush they induced didn’t arrive until said minutes had passed. He managed to digest the athlete’s comments, and the heat from Rarity’s kiss began to fade.

The girls approved. All of the important mares he had met so far had been positive and affectionate. It was… it was beyond what he could have dreamed. Spike closed his eyes and sighed, images of life with those he loved flashing before his eyes as he stepped out from behind the screen.

A sudden gasp drew his attention. He looked over to see a gorgeous ivory-white mare with a curly pink and purple mane.

Sweetie Belle.

“Hi…” she managed.

“Hi…” Spike replied.

She had truly grown up from the small and cute child he had known years ago. Sweetie was wearing a casual sundress on her filled-out body, and used just the barest hints of makeup to highlight her beautiful face, as her sister had no doubt taught her. Not for the first time today, Spike’s breath was stolen away.

The feeling seemed to be mutual.

“Spike, you…” Sweetie Belle managed, slowly stepping closer to him. “You’re…” Her eyes trailed up his body and met his. An angelic smile bloomed on her face. “Oh…” she lamely finished. She placed her hand on his arm, gently stroking the strong muscles that she found there.

Spike stared back into her deep green eyes.

“I, um…” Sweetie began, a blush rising in her cheeks as she averted her eyes from Spike’s. “I was just heading out… to meet the girls…” She met his gaze again and blushed brightly. “I’ll… see you later?”

Spike nodded dumbly.

Sweetie Belle then surprised him by reaching up and pressing a tender kiss on the corner of his mouth before pulling back, blushing heavily. Without another word, she walked out. Her hips swayed alluringly as she walked, and Spike’s eyes couldn’t help but follow.

She glanced back once, gave the dragon another bright smile, and left the building.

The bell to the boutique chimed as she left.

“... And he showed me his wings just before you showed up. You know the rest,” Rarity finished.

“Woah, woah… He has wings? I wasn’t gonna say anything, but I didn’t see, or feel, any wings on him.”

“Oh, they’re…” Rarity paused, smiling impishly. “You know what, I’m not going to spoil it. Just ask him to show you his wings. I think he’ll need flying lessons…”

That caught Dash’s attention immediately.

“Sounds good to me!” she agreed, taking a rather unladylike swig of her tea. “So, he woke up at Twilight’s, spent some time in Sugarcube Corner and came here with Fluttershy. That means he’s met all the girls except…”

“Applejack. You read my mind, darling.” Rarity looked at the clock and frowned slightly. “We should also gather up the girls and talk this through, preferably this evening. However, I have a large order I need to get done today, so I will be busy for several hours. Could you maybe escort our gentledrake to meet with the fair maiden Applejack?” Rarity punctuated the sentence with an exaggerated flutter of her eyelashes.

Rainbow laughed.

“‘Fair maiden,’ huh? Sure, I’ll take him under my wing. I’m done with weather duty until nightfall anyway. I think I saw Big Mac manning the apple stall in the market today, but just in case, I’ll swing by to see if AJ’s there before heading out to Sweet Apple Acres. ”

The chime of the boutique’s entrance bell reminded the girls of reality, and Rarity got up with a small sigh.

work,” she said. She walked back into the main area of the boutique, and Rainbow followed.

The dragon of the hour was standing stiffly, almost as if in a fog, just staring at the door to the boutique. The sound of hooves on the floor snapped him out of it a little, and his attention shifted to the two mares.

“Hi, girls,” he muttered, his voice low and still filled with awe over the events of the past few minutes.

“Hah, so you can talk!” Rainbow teased, circling around Spike once more.

“We heard the bell,” Rarity interrupted before Rainbow could keep teasing. “Did someone enter?”

“No. Sweetie Belle left,” Spike said.

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. In doing so, he completely missed Rarity and Rainbow Dash glancing at each other, conflicted expressions on their faces. By the time Spike felt he could open his eyes again, the look had passed.

“Well, look at you!” Rarity exclaimed, walking over to him. “You really make those plain clothes work.”

Spike looked down at the humble blue button-up shirt and jeans he had chosen.

“Thanks,” he replied with a smile.

“Needs something…” Rainbow muttered. She flew up and landed in front of Spike, then opened the top two shirt-buttons and traced her index finger over the exposed scales. “Much better. You’ve gotta show your stuff, after all.”

“Uh… Thanks, Rainbow,” Spike said, smiling at her. “You sure you don’t just want to see more ‘skin’? Should I maybe open a few more?” Where this smooth confidence came from, Spike wasn’t sure, but the emotional high he had achieved from the unicorn sisters’ affection might have had something to do with it.

“Don’t tempt me; I was against this idea of ‘getting dressed’ from the start,” Rainbow said, a cheeky smile forming on her face. “But hey, let’s keep it like that, okay? Leaves something for the imagination to play with, eh?” She punctuated her statement with a playful shove to his chest that pushed her off the ground, and with a flutter of her wings, she started hovering.

“You have a point, Rainbow,” Rarity said as she walked up to inspect Spike more closely. “This does look just a little more alluring.” She fingered the collar of the shirt and straightened it properly, then met Spike’s eyes and smiled. “Much as I’d like to keep you here, I have work I must do. And you should introduce your new self to Applejack.”

“C’mon big guy!” Rainbow interrupted, standing by the door and gesturing enthusiastically over her shoulder. “Let’s head to the market!” Spike looked over to her, then glanced back to Rarity just in time to feel her lips land on the corner of his mouth.

The same place her sister had kissed mere moments ago.

With a gentle push and a happy wave from Rarity, Spike dazedly walked to the door. He practically crashed into Rainbow Dash, who put her arm around his shoulders and led him out.

Once they were outside, Rainbow looked over at him.

“Woah there, is it really that easy to daze ya, dragon boy?” she asked. “Let me try.”

Before Spike could react, Rainbow Dash leaned in and pressed her lips to Spike’s thus far unkissed cheek. The effect was immediate: he blushed and squirmed away. Rainbow grinned and stealthily looked around to make sure the townsponies had seen what she did. Her grin widened when she saw several nearby mares look over at them enviously.

Deciding to ignore the stares, Rainbow Dash directed her attention to Spike, who was still reeling from her show of affection.

“Yeah. It is that easy,” she teased. She flew a circle around him, chuckling raspily. She landed face-to-face with him. “So… Rarity said you have wings? Show me!”

“Uh…” Spike managed, still recovering from the sudden kiss. He looked around at the small crowd of ponies who were trying to look like they weren’t paying close attention. He hesitated, but Rarity’s words of praise rang out in his mind, and he decided to go for it. “Alright. Watch this.”

Spike closed his eyes and concentrated again. Like before, two bundles of purple energy gathered at his shoulder blades and burst out into purple, ethereal wings. He then opened his eyes and grinned at the open-mouthed expression of awe on Rainbow’s face (other bystanders were reacting too, but they weren’t important right then.) He placed his fists on his hips, thrust his chest out in a pose, and stretched his wings out to their limit before he spoke.

“Are you okay?” he asked, still grinning.

“Wooooah… Awesome!” she exclaimed, zipping around behind him. She ran her fingers through the ethereal energy, causing an interesting tingle in her fingers. “Can you fly with these bad boys?”

“I don’t know. They didn’t come with an instruction manual. Just an… instinct,” Spike replied, an unsure tone in his voice. “I think I can get airborne…”

“Well then, it’s Rainbow Dash to the rescue!” the athlete exclaimed. She zipped in front of him again, hovering just above the ground. “First off, take my hands.” Spike complied. “Now flap your wings and ascend with me. Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

Spike chose to trust Rainbow Dash, and began flapping his wings. He listened to her as she gave rapid-fire instructions, and finally, clutching Rainbow’s hands tightly, Spike’s feet left the ground.

A few more flaps of his wings, and Carousel Boutique seemed to shrink below him.

Rainbow Dash’s hands never strayed or loosened, holding on to Spike as the pair flew higher, until the lowest flying clouds passed by under them. Spike couldn’t decide where to look: down at the world below as he flew on his own wings for the first time, or at Rainbow who was leading him through this experience.

Their eyes met, and Rainbow smiled. This was her element. Here she was a princess.

“Can you walk on clouds?” she asked, her eyes straying to a fluffy, comfortable-looking cloud close by.

“I think so?” he answered. Another sudden flash of knowledge told him yes, but his inexperience gave him pause.

“Come on then!” Rainbow exclaimed, and she carefully guided Spike over to said cloud.

Rainbow Dash was carefully observing Spike as she led him and she was able to see a subtle purple glow briefly envelope him as they approached the cloud. Not willing to risk anything, she kept an extra hard grip on his hands as they approached the cloud.

Spike’s feet sank into the cloud... and sprung back up. Rainbow landed in front of him.

“I… I can walk on clouds,” Spike said, awe in his voice. “I can fly!”

Spike let go of Rainbow’s hands, but before the mare could react, she found herself pressed up against his strong chest with his powerful arms wrapped around her. She gasped, but wrapped her arms around his neck in turn and simply enjoyed the embrace.

Hugging a strong, kind and dependable stallion on a cloud floating above the world, Rainbow had a flashback to that totally silly and mushy romantic novel Rarity had dared her to read years ago. When Spike lifted her off her hooves and spun happily with her, without once breaking his embrace, she abandoned the fantasy and joined him, the sounds of their mirth spilling down to the ground, causing several passing townsponies to glance up curiously.

Once the initial rush died down, Spike placed Rainbow back on her hooves, but when he made to let her go, she tightened her grip around him. What she was going to say next was going to be hard for her, and she drew strength from the fact that Spike renewed his embrace.

“So-” She choked. This was all happening very fast, even for her. But they were in the sky, in what was essentially her home, and she knew she could trust him. This was the time. “So what happens now?”

“... We’re heading to Applejack’s, right?”

“I don’t mean that…” With a bit of pegasus magic, Rainbow made the cloud “stick” to her hooves. She flapped her wings, bringing them higher, away from any prying ears. “I mean… are you going to ride off into the sunset with Rarity, never looking back?”

Rainbow echoed the concerns of mares throughout the ages, worried that the stallion of their eye had a favorite, and no room in his heart for another. She loved all her friends, but Spike’s crush on Rarity was well known. Maybe Rarity was all he wanted? Maybe Rainbow had no chance from the start?

Spike smiled, and a small chuckle rumbled in his chest. Before Rainbow could call him out on laughing at her honest concern, he spoke up.

“Let me tell you a little something about me...” he said, pulling away a little to look her over before he met her eyes.

Rainbow Dash was built like a world-class athlete, which was unsurprising, since she was one. She was sleek all over, every little bit of her trim, with corded and carefully-toned muscles. There was not an ounce of excess fat to be found on her. Her breezy white t-shirt and loose-fitting grey shorts did little to hide the outline of her relatively small frame and modest breasts from his eyes. As he met her warm reddish-purple eyes, Spike couldn’t help but smile. She was absolutely beautiful.

“When I was little, I had a clear-cut dream,” he began. “Woo Rarity, marry her, live happily ever after. But it’s different now.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah… Because I’ve spent years in the company of the best, most beautiful girls in the world.” As he spoke, a deep blush spread across Rainbow’s face, as well as his own. “And I… I’ve fallen for them. Now I have a new dream.”

Rainbow looked into his eyes and saw the love burning there. Burning for her. She had to say something.

“Am I one of those girls?”

“Of course you are.”

“Good.”

No more needed to be said. On a cloud soaring above Ponyville, Rainbow Dash pulled Spike the dragon in for a kiss.

Author's Note

Edited by: Feo Takahari
TheDaringExplorer
Shanenator
danail24
Many thanks!
Edit: And Pearly (not on this site)

And here is my Christmas gift to you guys. Take good care of yourselves during the holidays, people!

Many thanks for your continued support and I hope you all enjoyed this latest foray into Of Dragons and Mortals.

See you next time!
Rakni

PS. I sneak-edited Chapter 4 two days ago. It's polished now and hopefully even better, but nothing crucial was changed so you do not have to go back and reread it unless you want to.