Chapters LUNCH DATES
Rarity would like to make it perfectly clear that these aren’t “dates” in the romantic sense of the word. The word “date” can have so many meanings, after all.
Spike would like to make it clear that Rarity is beautiful and amazing and perfect. Did he mention beautiful? He just wants to make sure.
401/402
Today, they chose to eat inside the restaurant. After the adventures they’d just been through, Rarity had had quite enough of the outdoors, thank you very much. And since Spike wasn’t big on the outdoors either, eating inside suited him just fine.
It was a slow day at Clementine’s, so service was prompt, if a little on the dull side. After ordering some sandwiches, Spike noticed Rarity poking at her napkin with a hoof, rather than using her horn to levitate it.
“Still worried about the Everfree Forest messing with your unicorn magic?” Spike asked, setting down his iced tea. It was a wild guess, but something was clearly wrong with the mare. Her eyes lacked their usual luster.
Rarity pulled her hoof away from the napkin. “Oh that…yes, that was rather startling,” she replied. A faint smile danced at her face, but faded quickly into something far less happy. “I can’t say I’ve ever been that out of control with my magic since the day I earned my cutie mark.”
“Well, everything should be okay now,” Spike attempted to reassure her. They sat at a center table, not near any windows or anything interesting, for that matter, yet Rarity still stared off into space. Spike frowned. She must’ve been more shaken than she’d let on around their other friends. “The Tree of Harmony is safe, the forest went back to normal, and Discord doesn’t have any more of those creepy seed things. At least, I think he doesn’t.”
“Hmm, yes.” Rarity sighed. A waiter bustled by her, and she shrunk away a little.
Spike watched her carefully. “Is something else bothering you?” he asked.
Rarity sighed again, more dramatically this time. “Oh, Spike. Do you think I’m a terrible friend?” She looked at him from across the table with big eyes.
“What? No way!” Spike immediately exclaimed. “Absolutely not! What would make you think that?”
Rarity scrunched her mouth to one side, clearly not sharing Spike's opinion. She levitated her glass to take a sip of her lemon water, forcing her mouth to go back to a more lady-like position. Her voice dropped to almost a whisper after setting her glass down. “I just…I was rather attached to my Element of Harmony, I suppose. I miss it. Such a beautiful jewel…like nothing in my collection…and now…”
Spike stared. He didn’t have a response to this. What was he supposed to say?
“I must be a terrible friend,” Rarity continued. “I just want it back . Not to keep, really. Twilight can have it in her library like before. That was fine. I just want to know it’s there, waiting for me. It meant we were friends. Not that I don't think we aren't without them. I don't really need it to prove that. No. But...nevertheless...it meant I…” Her eyes dropped to the wooden tabletop. “It doesn’t matter. It’s gone now.”
The dragon fidgeted with his claws. “It’s not really gone, though,” Spike said. “I mean, it’s in that tree, right?”
Rarity just sipped her water again.
Spike’s shoulders slumped. He hated seeing Rarity sad. After a moment’s silence, their food arrived. They began to eat quietly.
“To be honest, I think having it meant more to me than just having a rare jewel or a symbol of friendship. The Element made me feel…like I was somepony . Somepony special,” Rarity mused, mid-sandwich. She dabbed her mouth with her napkin.
“You’re somepony special to me!” Spike wanted to blurt out.
But he didn’t.
“Hey,” he said instead, “Come on. That jewel didn’t make you the bearer of the Element of Generosity. That’s something you did yourself. And you’ll always have that title.” He wrapped his claws around his sandwich for another bite.
“Oh, Spike.” Rarity smiled at him. He beamed. He was lifting her mood.
“And hey, not having an Element’s not that bad,” Spike said. He was on a roll now. He could get her laughing, and it would make his stomach flip as it always did. “I’ve never had one, and frankly, it’s always been a relief. Not being super special isn’t a bad thing at all, trust me.”
But instead of laughing, Rarity frowned. Her eyebrows drew together and she glared at Spike. “Not special? Spike, don’t ever say that about yourself!”
Spike flinched backwards at the sudden sharpness in her tone.
“You might not bear an Element of Harmony, but you are very special! Why, if it weren’t for you, where would Twilight be? Where would the Crystal Empire be? Where would any of us be?”
Spike blinked. “You…think I’m special?”
“Why, of course!” Rarity exclaimed. “You’re my Spikey Wikey! The most special of all dragons!” She smiled at him again, and Spike glossed over the fact that he was the only dragon she really knew.
Rarity thought he was special.
Lunch had just gone from good to amazing.
“So I suppose I have no right to complain about my lack of Element around you, do I?” Rarity said after polishing off her sandwich. “With you never having one and all.”
“Nah, it’s fine,” Spike said. “It was a big deal for you. And now it’s changed and doesn’t feel the same. I’d probably be upset, too, if I was in your place.”
Rarity's smile stuck around, even as they paid their check. “I knew there was a reason we did lunch every week.” She winked at him. “You always know just what to say.”
Spike's face went red. His tongue felt thick in his mouth, but he squeaked out the words anyway: the words he always said at the end of these completely non-romantic, utterly platonic lunch dates...
“So…same time next week?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, darling.”
403
"Fluttershy, I insist you come with us to lunch."
"Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude—"
"Don't be ridiculous, dear! You're more than welcome! Isn't she, Spike?"
Spike walked between the two mares on their way to Clementine's, sullenly kicking his feet a bit. It's not that he didn't like Fluttershy. It's that…well, this was the one time of the week he and Rarity got to be together.
"Of course," he said, straightening up so Fluttershy wouldn't notice his reluctance. "Come with us, Fluttershy! I hear there's a cauliflower soup special today."
"Oh, well…if you really want me to…" Fluttershy said.
The trio reached Clementine's, and Spike nodded to himself decisively. It was probably better this way, anyway. This was just a "friends" thing with Rarity. There was no reason another friend couldn't come along, and it would certainly serve as a reminder not to say anything to Rarity that he'd regret later.
They were seated indoors near the front window, and Rarity immediately beamed. "Oh, I'm so glad you could join us, Fluttershy!" she said. "I felt so awful that I dragged you to that castle just to have us all scared out of our wits all evening…"
"I wasn't scared," Spike said. "Speak for yourself."
The two mares looked at him, and he shrank back in his seat.
"Okay," he amended. "I wasn't scared for very long. And certainly not as much as you two were!"
"Admittedly, that night did lead to one of my less refined moments," Rarity said. The waiter came by and they ordered three cups of cauliflower soup. "But to be fair, it all worked out for the best."
"I was just relieved that Angel was okay," Fluttershy said. "He gave me such a fright!"
Spike snorted. "I don't think you had anything to worry about with that one," he said. "He was enjoying his time in the castle more than any of us."
"I'm so glad to hear that." Fluttershy smiled, missing Spike's tone entirely.
"Yes, well, I'm just glad I finally got started on that restoration project," Rarity said. "Did you see the state of those tapestries?"
Their food arrived just as Rarity shuddered in exaggerated horror. The waiter made a face, and stepped back. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.
"Wrong?" Rarity turned to him, blinking. "Of course not, darling. Thank you."
Spike noticed the waiter's face blush before he left. He narrowed his eyes at the stallion. Maybe they should change their weekly luncheons to somewhere other than Clementine's.
"It was awfully coincidental, though, that we should be there on the very same evening as you and Twilight." Rarity nodded in Spike's direction.
"And Rainbow Dash and Applejack, too," Fluttershy added.
Spike crossed his arms. That was odd. He hadn't thought of that. "Where did you hear about the tapestries falling apart, Rarity?" he asked. "Twilight and I were told to visit the castle by Princess Celestia."
"Well, it wasn't Princess Celestia that told me about them," Rarity said. "She certainly has her hoof in her fair share of our adventures, but I don't think she had anything to do with this one."
"Then where?" Spike asked.
"Honestly, it was just a series of rumors around town," Rarity said. She paused for a moment, clearly thinking back. "I was in Quills and Sofas the other day with Pinkie Pie, and overheard somepony talking about designs they'd like to see in the next sofa line. I couldn't help but listen in, of course. Pinkie suggested they do a party line, but I managed to dissuade them from that notion. Besides, they said they wanted a more antique feel. Then we got to talking about sources for inspiration, and the old castle came up, and somepony mentioned seeing some tapestries rotting away on the walls—"
"Somepony?" Spike interrupted. "Who?"
"Hmm." Rarity put a hoof to her mouth, musing on the situation. "Why, I suppose it must've been Pinkie Pie. She was the only one in the store other than myself that had been to the old castle. So perhaps we have her to thank?"
"Pinkie had been judging Applejack and Rainbow Dash's competition as well…" Fluttershy said, setting down her soup spoon. "Though, I guess we'll never know if she said anything about the castle to them."
"You could just ask me, silly!"
Spike spit out the soup he'd been just about to swallow as Pinkie Pie popped up in the fourth seat at their table.
"Pinkie!" Rarity exclaimed. Next to her, Fluttershy climbed back onto the seat she'd fallen off of at Pinkie's sudden appearance. "My, I didn't notice you come in!" Rarity continued. "When did you get here?"
The pink pony shrugged. "Oh, I was just walking by and heard you talking about parties and just had to see what you three were up to!" Pinkie scooted the basket of breadsticks towards her chair and helped herself.
"Parties…?" Rarity frowned. "When were we…?"
"Oh, and then you were talking about castles!" Pinkie's mouth was full as she spoke, and Spike winced as a few chunks of bread fell out. "And after that big party at the castle we had, I was hoping that maybe you were all planning on an after-party!"
"Well…we weren't," Spike said, setting his spoon down for good. He'd kind of lost his appetite. This week's lunch wasn't going at all how he'd planned.
"I think we've all had enough of that castle to last us for a lifetime," Fluttershy said quietly. "At least, I know I have."
"What are you talking about?" Pinkie gaped at her. "That castle was soooo much fun! It was like an ancient old secret amusement park! We have to go back and play more!"
"Perhaps we'll leave that up to you," Rarity said. "Not to say that we don't share your enthusiasm for the place, but…we don't."
"Aww, come on!" Pinkie looked around the table. "Nopony wants to go back? Spike, what about you? Would you come with me to explore the castle more?"
"I…uh…" Spike began. The restaurant atmosphere seemed way more overbearing, all of a sudden. The walls loomed, and the light from the window glinted sharply.
"You aren't scared , are you?" Pinkie asked.
The three mares stared at him expectantly.
Spike swallowed. How could he say no now? "Of course not. Sure, I'll go with you, Pinkie." He held a small hope that after his offer, Rarity would agree to join them, and she could see for herself just how brave of a dragon he was.
There was no such offer, though. Instead, Pinkie just leapt out of her seat, flipping the breadstick bowl as she jumped.
"YAY! "
.
.
.
And that's how, later that day, Spike ended up dangling from a chandelier, covered in star spiders, with a mouth full of carrots. Perhaps it was best that Rarity wasn't there to witness his bravery.
404
"I wonder…" Rarity tapped her chin thoughtfully.
From the other side of the table, Spike picked up a couple more hay fries from his basket. "You wonder what?" he asked.
Rarity set down her fork that she'd been levitating. "Well, A.K. Yearling was able to turn her life escapades into quite a profit in those silly books she writes," she began. Spike noticed she'd lowered her voice—probably just in case anypony else in the restaurant was listening in. "Do you suppose anypony would ever read anything I might write about all of our adventures? You know, with the Elements of Harmony and all that. Just as a sort of side business to the shop, of course."
Spike polished off his hay fries and took a swig of water. "I don't know, Rarity," he said. "I think most ponies sort of know those stories already. You probably wouldn't get away with pretending they're all made up."
"Hmm, true," Rarity replied. "Perhaps as an actual auto-biography, then?" She paused to consider the notion for a moment, then she shook her head. "Oh, who am I kidding? I don't have time to do something like that. Writing takes ages, and then there's all that editing, and goodness knows how many hours could end up getting poured into a project that size."
Spike nodded, only half listening. He really liked the way Rarity's mane looked today. Not that it looked much different than normal, but it had a nice bounce to its curl going on ever since she'd shaken her head a moment ago.
"Hmm," Rarity continued, looking at him sharply. "Spike, what's Twilight got you doing lately?"
Yeah. Wow. Her mane was glorious. He wondered if she'd ever let him touch it.
"Spike?"
Spike dragged himself out of his daydream. "What? Oh. Right. Twilight…mostly just the usual. Cleaning, organizing…"
"Would you have time to take on a side project?" Rarity asked.
Spike blinked. "For you? Uh…yeah! Sure! Anything!"
Rarity sipped at her iced tea. After her sip, she opened her mouth to speak again, but instead of words coming out, her mouth just dangled open in shock. She stared out the window, and Spike turned to see what she was looking at.
It was Rainbow Dash.
The pegasus stood outside, just on the other side of the glass, with a massive grin on her face. As soon as Spike caught Rainbow Dash's eye, she waved maniacally at him like she'd been taking lessons from Pinkie Pie, then darted indoors, skidding around a very confused waiter and flying straight to their table.
"Guys! Guys! Guess what!"
"Why, Rainbow Dash, how…er…nice of you to drop by!" Rarity smiled, setting down her drink. "What's the occasion?"
Rainbow Dash pulled over a cushion and had a seat between the unicorn and the dragon, beaming at both of them. The waiter shot a glare over her way, and Spike tried to give him an apologetic wave.
"Daring Do—or, you know, A.K. Yearling, whatever she wants to go by—sent me an autographed adventuring hat!"
Dash's grin got even broader, if that was possible, and from behind her back she pulled out a beige hat just like Spike had seen on each of the covers of the books in Twilight's Daring Do collection.
She put it on. "You like? You like?" Dash turned back and forth to both Spike and Rarity, gesturing at the hat. "Pretty awesome, isn't it?"
"It's a lovely pith helmet, dear," Rarity said. "Perhaps a bit on the drab side for my tastes, but if it makes you happy, then you should be proud to wear it."
Spike nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. Very cool! Wish I had one."
Rainbow winked at him. "Eh, I know the author. I'll see what I can do for ya."
"Really?" It was Spike's turn to grin. But then Rainbow Dash stood up and took a step back. Behind her, the waiter had to sidestep to avoid getting run into.
"Hold on," she said, eyeing Spike and Rarity. "Were you two…having lunch together?"
Spike's smile faltered. Oh no.
"Why yes, we were," Rarity said, dabbing at her mouth with her napkin.
"Just you two?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Spike felt his face begin to blanch. Please don't go there, Rainbow Dash. Please…
"Yes, in fact, it is just the two of us." Rarity held her head a little loftier. "Spikey Wikey and I meet every week for lunch."
Rainbow Dash threw two hooves in front of her mouth, snickering. "Like…for a date? "
Spike gripped the table in case he lost consciousness. This couldn't end well. If Rarity became embarrassed about what they'd been doing…
But Rarity just stared pointedly at the pegasus. "I believe that's none of your business, Rainbow Dash. But if you must know, today Spike and I were meeting to discuss arrangements for a book."
"Oh really?" Rainbow Dash asked, flapping her wings to fly up and stare down at Rarity. "What book?"
Spike shakily grabbed for his glass of water, trying to take a calming sip.
"My autobiography." Rarity turned to look back at the trembling dragon. "We'd just agreed. Spike is going to ghost write it for me, aren't you, darling?"
Spike spit his water all over the table.
One of these days, he'd stop being surprised at how he always managed to get roped into these sorts of things.
405
Spike and Rarity's expressions couldn't be more different. Rarity hadn't stopped beaming since they'd sat down for lunch. Spike couldn't even bring himself to really look at her, or at the other two mares she'd brought along, for that matter.
"I'm just so proud, I can't stand it!" Rarity said. Her front hooves danced in the air as she reared back in her seat. "Sweetie Belle, a flag bearer at the Equestria Games!"
"Thanks for bein' such a great coach to them, Rainbow," Applejack said. "Apple Bloom hasn't stopped talkin' about the Games for a second. She's just so excited!"
"Yeah, well, those fillies deserved this chance," Rainbow Dash said, shoveling more hay fries into her mouth. "They seriously kicked flank with their performance."
"That they did," Rarity said. "Of course, they're going to need costumes for the actual ceremony. Something suitably symbolic…something with flair…"
Spike slumped a bit in his seat. He should be happy for the fillies. He really should. But once again, his lunch with Rarity was taken over by other ponies, and she seemed completely unfazed by this trend.
"I'll have to get started on the designs straight-away," the unicorn continued, setting her salad fork down. "Now, should it be three different designs, or all of the same?"
Before anypony could answer, Rarity continued.
"Oh, that's a silly question, the designs clearly should be different, but all run with a unifying theme to show how our differences unite us. Yes, of course. Now, as for a color scheme…obviously, something to complement the flag colors, but not take away from the focus on the flag itself...oh, I have so much prep to do! Goodness!"
"Uh, Rarity?" Spike tried to interrupt.
She continued to talk. "But can you just imagine it? My designs in the Equestria Games! Everypony who's anypony will be there, and think of the business—!"
"Rarity," Applejack said, much louder than Spike had. "We're celebratin' the fillies success, remember? Not yer own?"
Spike winced. That was more blunt than he was going to go for.
Rarity shrunk back in her seat a little, giving off a nervous laugh. "Ah…right. Sorry. I suppose I got carried away."
"Psh, don't worry about it." Rainbow waved a hoof in Rarity's direction. "Besides, as long as you make the costumes at literally the top-most level of awesomeness, I'm sure they'll come out okay enough."
"Er…thanks, Rainbow Dash," Rarity replied.
Applejack laughed. They all did. Except for him.
Spike swirled his straw in his drink. He was feeling like the one book that didn't quite fit on the shelf. Maybe he should just go.
Just then, Rainbow Dash grabbed him around the neck and pulled him towards her. "Spike here could even model for you! He's about the size of those three!"
Squished up against Rainbow Dash, Spike's face blanched. "I—no I'm not!" he protested, glancing up at Rarity.
She was laughing .
Spike wanted to shut his eyes and disappear.
"Rainbow, ah might not understand dresses and such as well as Rarity, but ah'm pretty sure a dragon won't work as a model for a school filly," Applejack interjected.
Spike turned to the farm pony to give her a grateful look, but then Applejack's grin turned sly.
"Though it would be stinkin' adorable." She winked.
That got Rainbow Dash laughing in addition to Rarity, and she slapped at Spike's shoulders with the hoof she held him with. Spike clutched his claws together, silently begging for them to stop.
"What a lovely idea!" Rarity commented, wiping at her eyes and giggling profusely. "Spike, the filly fashion model!"
"I—I'm not a school filly!" Spike protested.
They continued laughing.
"I'm not!" Spike said again, though nopony seemed to be paying him any actual attention. One last look at Rarity's mirthful face, and that was it.
He was done.
Spike forced his way out of Rainbow Dash's grip, stood up from his seat, and marched out of Clementine's.
Rarity's laughter faltered as she watched the dragon leave the restaurant.
Oh dear.
She went quiet, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash soon followed suit. It wasn't long before they were all sitting in an awkward silence. Around them, the rest of Clementine's patrons continued to eat, not seeming to have noticed anything dramatic at all.
"Do you suppose he was offended?" Applejack finally asked, just when the silence had reached a genuinely unbearable point.
Next to her, Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah…maybe just a little…"
Rarity narrowed her eyes, reaching a decision. She stood up, nearly toppling over her salad bowl in the process. "I'm going to go talk to him."
At her declaration, Rainbow flew out of her own seat. "We're coming too!" she exclaimed.
"No," Rarity said firmly. Then her eyes fell. "Not yet," she added, a little more quietly. "I feel like I should speak to him alone, at least at first."
Rainbow looked like she was about to protest, but Applejack cut her off. "We'll take care of the bill, Sugarcube," she said with a nod.
Rarity gave them both a small smile, and then left the restaurant.
The roads were damp from the morning's rain, but luckily finding Spike didn't take too long. He was just down the street a ways, sitting on a bench. He didn't say anything when Rarity sat down next to him, but he did turn his shoulders away from her, so he clearly recognized she was there.
Rarity grimaced. This was her mistake, and she had to fix it. "Spike, I'm sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable back at the restaurant," she apologized. Gently, she set a hoof on one of his shoulders, trying to get him to turn back to face her.
Instead, Spike just sighed and squeezed his arms around his chest. The cloudy skies above seemed to match his entire demeanor at the moment. "It's not that. Really."
Rarity's eyebrows drew together quizzically.
"I mean, yeah, you guys weren't being all that awesome to me," Spike continued. "But…it's more…"
He trailed off, and Rarity bit at her lower lip. The last time they'd made Spike feel ridiculous, he'd run away and joined a dragon migration. Had they somehow triggered another avalanche of insecurities again? Was he going to run off again?
But then he spoke again. "Rarity, I miss when our lunches really were just…our lunches," he said, finally turning to look at her.
Rarity blinked, a bit startled. "That's what this is about?" she asked, pulling her hoof back from him. "I…I thought…"
"No." Spike shook his head, turning all the way around on the bench to really face the unicorn. "That filly fashion model stuff was definitely insulting, too, but mostly…I guess I'm just upset that we never get to spend time together like we used to anymore. I miss that."
Rarity put her hooves to her mouth. "Oh, Spike, I'm so sorry! I hadn't even realized."
Spike scrunched up on the bench. "Yeah. I know you hadn't."
Ouch. Rarity winced a little.
"Spike," she said. "Next week, I promise. I promise it'll just be me and you again. I won't invite anypony else, and we'll just excuse ourselves if anypony tries to join in. How does that sound?"
Spike's eyes shimmered, looking up at her. "Really?"
Rarity smiled. She much preferred hopeful Spike to miserable Spike. "Yes. Really. Next week will just be the two of us. You have my word." She mimed jabbing a cupcake into her left eye.
Spike smiled back at her, and the sun poked out from behind the clouds.
Author's Note
Just managed to get this in under the wire! Episode 6 won't air for another hour and forty five minutes. Phew!
Also, this was clearly a slightly less comedic installment. But I felt it was more appropriate after last week's episode. I tried to run with the themes of bullying others (even accidentally) about their insecurities, and being loyal to your friends...especially when they're feeling troubled. No idea if I pulled it off, but there you have it. Thanks for reading!
