“Stupid magic book.”
Spike was cleaning up the library in the morning, fighting the dust with a broom. It had taken half day for three alicorns to reverse Rarity’s dark magic and Twilight didn’t appreciate that at all. The fact that Spike had eaten an ancient magic book only worsened the bookworm’s mood. As a punishment, he had to clean the whole library, from the basement to the balcony on the top of the treehouse.
Spike had planned to go out for a picnic with Fluttershy on that beautiful summer day. Instead, he was venting his frustration by mocking his source of misery. “Who could’ve even written such a thing? It sounds ridiculous,” he said and danced around with theatrical motions, repeating the words:
From in the head to out in the world, every thought to action.
Hold close this book and through its spell you start a chain reaction.
Projecting forth whatever beauty you see,
Only when true words are spoken, you’ll finally be set free.
He ended with both of his claws risen. He shook his head. “What’s even the point of holding the book close?”
His stomach growled.
Spike glanced at his belly. “Huh? But I’ve had breakfast already.” It growled again. He shrugged. “I guess another breakfast won’t hurt.”
He walked into the kitchen and took two eggs from the fridge. After putting them on the table, Spike decided to start the fire. He grabbed a frying pan from the cupboard and put it on the cooking plate. He inhaled, and exhaled green fire under the pan.
His eyes went wide open when the fire didn’t stay under the pan. Instead, it swirled into the pan, then disappeared, leaving two fried eggs behind.
“What the?” Spike glanced back at the table, the eggs there still waiting to be broken. He nervously took a fried egg with his claw and took a small bite. “Mhmm, it tastes good! But how did I make it with my fire?”
An idea came into his mind. “I want lots of gems, right here.” He breathed fire on the floor.
“Wow!”
In front of him, a great pile of gems lay. His gems! He jumped into the tasty heap of sparkling jewels and pressed them one-by-one into his mouth.
After ten minutes, he felt he was so full that if he tried to push one more down his throat, he would vomit. He sighed in content, lying on the top of the hill. “Finally I get what I deserve. I can’t even count how many hours I’ve laboured for Rarity to barely get a gem or two. Now, it’s all mine!” He looked down.
Then he noticed that the pile had become smaller.
“What? Is somepony stealing my gems?!” He quickly rose up and jumped down to the floor.
To his horror, it was not the pile that had shrunk. He’d grown twice of his size. “Oh no! I can’t go greed spurt again!” He put his claws on his head and paced back and forth in the kitchen. “What do I do? What do I do? Last time, Rarity made me remember when…” He stopped. “Ah, got it! Generosity!” He grabbed a huge chunk of the pile and ran out of the library. He darted his eyes around, then spotted a familiar pegasus with grey coat and yellowish mane. “Derpy!”
Derpy waved at him as he was running to her. “Oh, hey Spike!” She frowned. “Are you getting bigger, or is it just my eyes?”
He dumped all the gems in front of her. “Here, take it, it’s yours, for free.”
The pegasus and the pile suddenly grew bigger.
“Whoa, I’m seeing weird things. Now you’re small again.” She looked at the gems with one eye. “Are you really giving all these to me?”
Spike sighed in relief. “Yeah, I…I don’t need them.” He felt his mouth water, but shook his head. He could make more for himself if he wanted to.
Derpy beamed at Spike with open mouth. “I can pay for Dinky’s schooling with all these! My little Muffin will become the biggest sorcerer in Canterlot!” She jumped on Spike and hugged him. “Thank you so much!”
“Okay, okay, you’re welcome, just let me go.”
“Oh, sorry.” She released him, then looked at the pile. “I wonder how I’m gonna bring all these home.”
Spike rolled his eyes and breathed fire under the gems. A cart appeared, the gems in it.
Derpy blinked a few times, her pupils jumping around. “Wow! Dragons can make carts from their mouths?”
Spike scratched his neck. “Uhm, not really. Actually, I don’t know how I did that either.”
Derpy chuckled. “It’s like yesterday, when Rarity did all that magic. Stuff appeared from nowhere. The poor princesses looked so exhausted when they finished undoing all that fancy.” She flew to the cart and hitched herself to it. “Thank you again!” She gave him one more smile, then pulled the cart away.
Spike stood there, shocked. “I… Rarity… That can’t be!” He ran back into the library, to the bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror. “I want a chair.” He breathed fire while watching his reflection nervously. His eyes flashed sickly green as the chair appeared. “But how? I’m not even a unicorn! I…”
Then he remembered. He had eaten the spell book! A dragon’s magic to breathe fire was in his belly. He had spoken the verse, while the book had been close. Really close. He was now infected with dark magic! “Twilight!” He ran around, searching the library for her. He checked upstairs. “Oh no, she went out for grocery shopping. I have to—”
The door opened, and Twilight walked in, levitating a few bags. “I’m back!”
Spike sprinted down the stairs. “Ah, thank goodness! Twilight, you gotta help me!”
She looked at him with surprised eyes. “Yes?”
“I…” He stopped. Did he really want Twilight to take away his ability? He could make a pile of gems with a thought for goodness sake! With these powers, he could even make something to impress Rarity. He could even... even ask her out for a date! “I found a huge pile of gems in the kitchen!”
“Oh, really?” Twilight asked in a suspicious tone.
“Yeah, check it out!” He pointed at the kitchen.
Twilight tilted an eyebrow, but went in to investigate. When she entered the kitchen, she gasped. “Where did all these come from?”
“I don’t know. I was just cleaning the library. Somepony must have left it here,” he said, eyeing the open library door.
“Spike, ponies don’t just leave huge piles of gems in the middle of someone’s kitchen. There must be some missing information here.”
He stepped towards the door. “I’ll go ask Rarity, maybe she knows something.”
Twilight looked at Spike. “Why Rarity?”
“Well, she works with gems. Gotta go, see ya later!” He sprinted out of the library, shutting the door behind him. He pressed his ear to the door and listened for a few more seconds if Twilight had decided to follow him, but she didn’t. “Phew, that was close.” He wiped his forehead. “Now, to Rarity.”
He walked through the streets of Ponyville. What should he give her? He looked at Roseluck’s stand. Maybe a flower? Nah, he didn’t need Inspiration Manifestation for that. He had to think bigger! His darting eyes stopped when he spotted the city on the mountains north from Ponyville. Rarity loved Canterlot. Sometimes Spike thought that the only reason she didn’t move to live there was because of her friends. Still, he could use Rarity’s yearning towards Canterlot as key to the mare’s heart. He nodded to himself and quickened his steps.
He arrived at the purple and blue building and peeked into the interiors through a window. Rarity was inside, busy with making some clothes. He quickly backed away from the window, took a deep breath, then exhaled over the grass next to the boutique.
His fire swirled and twisted as it began forming a huge object. He watched in awe as his idea manifested: a replica of Canterlot, made of crystal, as huge as the Carousel Boutique itself. It even had the waterfalls; their water collected into a plate at the bottom, flowing back into the sculpture through a pipe, probably sucked by some hidden engine.
For a few seconds, he just stared at it, then he shook his head and gave a deep sigh. “Okay, time for the harder part.” He walked to the door and knocked on it.
A sweet voice came from inside, “Coming!”
He heard her hoofsteps.
Getting louder.
She was almost at the door!
Spike’s little heart beat so fast that he thought it would jump out. “Relax, Spike. You can do it.”
The door opened. “Oh hello, Spike.”
He jumped into the air. “Oh… Hello… Khm.” He stopped panting and stood straight up. “Hello, my dear Rarity.” He bowed and pointed at the mini-city “I’ve brought you a gift.”
Rarity turned her head, then her jaw almost fell on the ground at the sight of the huge construct in front of her. She walked to it, with Spike behind. “Spike, this is gorgeous! And huge!” She touched it with a hoof and caressed it. “It’s pure crystal, a masterwork indeed. I...” She looked at him. “How did you have money for this?”
“Oh don’t worry. If you want to, I can make the castle even bigger!” For some reason, Rarity flinched when he said that. Anyways, step three. “And… well… I wondered if you would like to go on a date with me?” He looked away. He feared her rejection so much that it took him years to finally collect his courage to ask her out. He hoped that a gift as huge as this would be enough to convince her.
He felt Rarity put a hoof under his chin and slowly turn his face back to her. She was giving him a smile, full of caring. “Spike, why did you use Inspiration Manifestation?”
He blinked. “How did you know?”
She pulled back her hoof. “Darling, your eyes flashed green when you said you could make the castle even bigger, the same color my magic was when I was under its spell. And this…” She glanced back. “It’s impossible you had the money for such a marvelous sculpture. Even the materials to carve it would cost a fortune.”
Spike gazed at the ground. “I guess I’m busted then.” He plopped down on the grass.
“Why did you use it?”
“Because I’ve got nothing.” He looked up at her with glistening eyes. ”You are beautiful, kind and generous. You have your own house, your own business. You have so much and willing to give even more.” He hung his head. “While I… I’m just a librarian’s assistant in a house that’s is not even mine.”
Rarity raised his chin with a hoof. “You forgot the greatest treasure you have, Spike.”
He looked into her beautiful blue eyes. They showed no scolding, no regret, just pure kindness. “What do you mean?” he asked, almost whispering.
Rarity leaned in and kissed him on his cheek. “You. You’re the best thing that you can give. I’m so happy you finally gathered the courage to ask me out. You don’t need gifts; just be who you are, Spike. I would never want you to change.”
Spike felt his whole body rise up into the air as wind appeared from nowhere. His eyes opened unnaturally wide, and the whole world seemed for him to become green. Then the green manifested as a mist and flew away into the sky.
He felt disoriented as he descended back to the ground. “What happened?” When he regained his vision, he saw Rarity smiling at him.
“Next Tuesday, sunset. Do not be late; a lady doesn’t like to wait for her date.”
Spike gasped, “Of course! I’ll be there an hour before!”
Rarity kissed him again on the cheek. “Sunset is enough. Now, if you allow me, I have lot of work to do.” She walked back to the door. “See you later, Spikey Wikey.”
“See you later... Rarity.”
When Rarity closed the door behind her, Spike jumped higher he had ever done before, releasing a scream of joy that was heard even on the other side of Ponyville.
THE END
Author's Note
Special thanks to my copy-editors: bobdat and ping111.
