The Heat

“Um Rarity, are you sure you really need this many suitcases for a weekend trip?” Spike asked, dragging the 7th suitcase to the center of her boutique. Ever since Applejack stopped by a few hours ago, Rarity hadn’t stopped running around her store and packing suitcases. He was about to leave the suitcase where it stood but she flashed him a dazzling pearly white smile that made his legs feel like jello. He mustered up the strength to stack the 7th suitcase with the rest of her supplies.

“Why of course, my Spikey wikey!” Rarity gleefully exclaimed, “One must always be prepared for a trip to Canterlot. There are many many important ponies to meet and see and one must always be ready with the right outfit to make the best impression. For example, if we run into the Dutchess of Pinto Gardens, I distinctly remember that she has a fondness for gold and amber tones but shies away from the darker mauve colors while the Prince of Staffordshire actually prefers the mauve colors and is ambivalent about the gold but absolutely abhors anything in stripes.”

Rarity went on as Spike went and fetched the next suitcase. He hadn’t heard much of what Applejack had told Rarity as she spoke in whispers, but he did catch a few words. He was about to question Rarity when her voice rang over his thoughts.

“And I most certainly must have a perfect outfit if I happen to meet a special somepony on our little girls’ expedition.”

Spike felt a twinge of jealousy over Rarity’s comment but he attempted not to show it. Instead he focused his frustrations on lifting the next suitcase. “A special somepony huh? Like Prince Blueblood?” he teased.

Rarity made such a face. “Oh goodness no and don’t you dare say that odious pony’s name in my presence. Such an oaf. No manners on how to treat a real lady. No! My special somepony must be somepony who knows how to treat a pony right. Sweep her off her feet. Romance her. Perhaps some formal dancing training so if we were ever presented at the royal court, we could dance together.”

“I can dance,” Spike muttered, tossing the eighth suitcase into the pile.

“I’m sorry dear, what was that?” Rarity asked, glancing over at him while she was head deep in a shelf of linens.

“What are your plans?” he lied quickly.

“Oh, well Pinkie dear says she knows somepony who could get us tickets into one of the most exclusive Canterlots clubs. There’s a special performance there and tickets were sold out months ago but Pinkie seems to know everyone and she says she has a way for us to see it. Isn’t that excting?” Rarity paused and looked sadly at Spike, “Oh Spikey! Here I am talking about how we are going to have a fabulous time and it’s so rude of me to do this in front of you since it's a girls’ only type of thing.” Rarity trotted over and nuzzled his head affectionately. “I promise Spike if you take good care of my shop while I’m gone, you and I will go together to see the sights at Canterlot.” She winked at him. “And I’ll give you the biggest diamond you could munch on.”

Spike smiled goofily at Rarity’s touch and words. Lately, he had been finding it harder to keep away from her boutique but she didn’t seem to mind. She almost welcomed his help especially since it was dress-making season. Sometimes the mannequins were not sufficient to model the dresses she made and she would have him help dress her so she could see how they fit on real pony. Watching her slip in and out of outfits in front of him was starting to create a different type of feeling within him that he hadn’t felt until the last few weeks.

Twilight thought it might be puberty or something. Spike thought, She says I’m eating more than I normally do. And some days I’m more taller than normal. At the thought of Rarity undressing again, Spike blushed and decided to ask her about the previous conversation she had with Applejack.

“Rarity, what’s a heat?” He watched Rarity almost drop her pile of scarves but quickly recovered gracefully and without missing a beat.

“A heat, oh darling, you don’t need to worry about that. You’re a little too young for that.”

“No, I’m not. Twilight said I’m getting older. Please Rarity! Nobody else will share it with me,” Spike asked, appealing to her sense of generosity. Rarity bit her lip and sighed. Spike did a mental celebration.

“Oh very well darling. I suppose you’re right. You do seem more dashing than usual.” Rarity cleared her throat, “When a pony goes through heat, their body is trying to help them to find a special somepony. Heats only come during the warmer months and can be as often as once a month or as infrequent as once a year. If a mare finds a special somepony and cough cough cough mates cough cough then they start a family. cough cough. And that’s what a heat is! Does that make sense?”

"Um...I guess so?"

“Oh good. Now let us never speak of this again until you are older.” Rarity smiled nervously at him.

Spike considered the explanation and then a lightbulb hit him. “Wait, Rarity, do you have a heat?” Rarity glanced nervously around.

“Oh haha, Spike, that’s what I love about you. Always looking for knowledge. You take after Twilight Sparkle so much. She would be so proud of you.” Spike beamed in appreciation as Rarity magicked over the last suitcase. “Well I have kept you here awfully late, Spike. Please take this gem as token of my appreciation. I will see you soon.” Rarity ushered him out the door and placed in his dragon claw an opal.

“Cool!” Spike exclaimed, sucking on the gem as he walked his way back to Twilight’s new home. He stopped a few feet away. “Wait a minute. She never answered my question....”

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“Honey! I’m home!!” Discord hollered as he teleported into existence in front of Fluttershy’s house, “I just came by to wish you a bon voyage and-oh you’re not here.” Discord stood dejectedly in front of an empty house. The door had been closed up and the lights were off. He checked the time. 7am.

I wake up early and yet she still leaves earlier than me. Without even saying good bye. Discord thought glumly. He spotted a note on the door and he quickly opened it up.

Derpy - if you happen to stop by to bring me a package, could you return Twilight’s book for me? It is under the door mat.

Discord crumpled up the note and ate it in a single gulp before lifting up the door mat. He blinked in surprise. It was Twilight’s little science book on pony reproduction. He scooped it up and looked around. “Hmm, no Derpy in sight. I think I would be doing Fluttershy a huge favor if I returned this book for her” and maybe I’ll catch her before she can leave he thought giddily. He snapped his fingers and blinked out of existence.

⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽

Spike rolled down the grassy hill with Rarity in his arms. Despite the mud and dirt, her coat stayed impeccably shiny and clean. They landed at the bottom of the hill in each other’s arms.

“Oh Spikey wikey!” she cooed, “I never knew that you took formal dance lessons at the Canterlot ballroom!”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” Spike spoke in a much deeper voice, “I am handsome and strangely mysterious.”

“And the dozens of roses you left for me at my palace. Those were the most beautiful roses I ever saw!”

“Only the best for you.”

“Kiss me Spike,” Rarity gasped. Spike grinned and leaned forward to kiss her. He was about to make contact when the sound of glass shattering paused Rarity. “Oh, Spike you better wake up and check to see what that is?”

Wake up? Wait, no no no no no!

Spike sat up quickly in his bed with a frustrated groan. “I can’t keep having that dream!!” Spike moaned, sitting up quickly and walking to the sink to dunk his head in some cold water. He started to rinse his scales when he froze. “Broken glass?” He gritted his teeth, “An intruder!” Spike ran to get his gear.

⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽

“Oops. Well it wasn’t really good looking anyway,” Discord muttered as he knocked over another crystal stalagmite to the ground. He peered around in the darkness carefully. He hadn’t been to Twilight’s Palace since it was first created and was having some difficulty remembering where everything was. The fact that it was dark and his mind was distracted did not help.

He paused. “I have the strange feeling I’m being watched,” he observed. As if on cue, a heavy weight struck him from behind and knocked him to the ground.

“Take that! Take that! Get out of here you intruder!” a familiar voice yelled at him. Discord growled and with cat like reflexes turned around and lunged at his attacker.

His attacker was much smaller than him, although almost the size of a pony, but not quite. It had claws like him...and scales...purple scales. They grappled to the floor, locking their appendages around each other’s necks until they finally landed in a patch of light and could see each other. Discord coughed breathlessly, “Spike?!”

“Discord?!” Spike choked

“...Same team?!”

“...Same team!!”

The two members of the dragon family released their holds on each other and dusted themselves off. Discord observed Spike. “You look a bit bigger than I remember,” He observed, “Are you hitting puberty?”

Spike nodded. “Yeah, that’s what Twi thinks. I feel stronger too. Now what the heck are you doing here?” Spike demanded.

Discord huffed. “Well if you must know, I came here to return a book for my dear Fluttershy...And maybe see the girls off on their little...trip.” Discord did his best not to stick his tongue out at this. To his surprise, Spike stuck out his own tongue instead.

“Well you’re too late,” Spike grimaced, “The girls already left a while ago. Off to Canterlot to do cool things and maybe meet a few colts.” Discord’s smile froze.

Colts? Fluttershy is off to meet colts? He grinded his teeth. “I see,” he managed. Spike looked up at him suspiciously.

“So...I heard you and Fluttershy had something happen yesterday.” Spike ventured.

Discord swiveled in on Spike and almost shouted. “She was in her first heat! I thought it was consensual and now I can’t go on their trip!” Spike blinked.

“Wait, what?” Discord looked at him stunned and realized Spike looked awfully surprised. Spike coughed, “I thought you guys had an argument or something...but are you telling me that you had sex with Fluttershy??” Discord opened and closed his mouth mechanically and then scowled. “Wait, what do you mean you thought it was consensual?” Spike asked, carefully.

Discord facepalmed himself. Way to go Discord, corrupting the innocent minds of your friends’ assistants one day at a time. Way to earn back their trust and friendship. “Listen, I just want to return this book about pony heat stuff alright?”

To his surprise, Spike’s eyes almost bugged out of his skull at the mention of the book subject. “You have a book on this?? Give it to me!!” Discord was about to hand it over but paused and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“...What’s in it for me?” Discord craftily asked. Spike folded his arms.

“If you give me the book, I won’t tell anyone that you have a huge crush on Fluttershy!” Discord’s eyes widened and he choked on his own saliva.

“What? That’s preposterous. A Draconequus has far more important things to do than crush on a simple pony.” he attempted to boast. This comment seemed to agitate Spike.

“What’s wrong with a dragon crushing on a simple pony, huh?”

“I didn’t say anything about a dragon. I said a draconequus…” Discord paused and smirked at the now exposed Spike. “Well well. Looks like we both have our little secrets.” He extended his talon’s pinky finger toward Spike, “Let’s shake on it. I promise not to spread any false rumors of you slaving for the love of that generous pony and you will not malign my name with talks of a relationship with Fluttershy. We’ll promise this on our shared lineage of dragonhood.”

Spike eyed him carefully, smiled and pinky promised. “Deal. Now hand me the book.”

Discord shook his head. “I need to know where exactly the girls are going.” Spike sighed.

“Listen, they’re going to Canterlot alright? There’s some type of show that Pinkie got tickets for. I don’t really know much. They were all hush hush when they planned it. Now please don’t go wrecking anything because I’ll get in big trouble with Twilight if she finds out I told you anything.”

Discord harrumphed. “Well I suppose that will do.” He handed the book off to the eager dragon and he sat down in one of the crystal throne chairs. For a chair made out of crystal, it was surprisingly comfy. There was probably some form of magic involved to make it this soft. He thought about placing invisible whoopie cushions on each of them and set about doing it while he thought about his situation.

“I knew it was about sex!” he could hear Spike holler as he read the pages. Discord rolled his eyes, continued to conjure up cushions and contemplate bitterly. So my dear Fluttershy is heading to Canterlot. Lots of male ponies there. A good portion of them of noble birth and high rank. And attractive too. Much younger than an old goat like me.

“Ohhhh! So that’s what a Dirty Strawberry looks like!”

Discord clicked his talons on the armrest of his crystal chair. As much as I would like to go after her, I can’t afford to be seen...and unless I have a really good reason for going after them, I’m going to do more harm than good if I just show up when I’ve been told not to. I better just..

“DISCORD!!”

Discord blinked and turned toward a pale Spike. “What’s wrong?” he asked dismissively.

“Did you read the article about a mare’s first heat?” Discord shook his head and began to flick at his ears as Spike read aloud.

“When a mare first starts her cycle, she enters what is called “First Heat”. She is extremely receptive to members of the opposite sex and will often attract multiple males to her. Ultimately, she will only choose one to copulate with and potentially produce offspring with.”

Discord growled, “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Spike continued, “If a mare in First heat is housed or grouped with other females, her hormones will also trigger a heat in the females around her that will be as potent as a First Heat. It is recommended that a mare in First heat should avoid such close quarters such as trains, busy cities and theaters where ventilation is minimal and her ability to spread first heat will be the greatest.”

Discord blinked slowly as Spike’s words sunk in. “Wait...are you saying..?”

Spike brought both hands to his face and gasped, “Fluttershy is going to spread her heat to Rarity!!” Spike threw down the book dejectedly and raged, “And I won’t be there for it!!!” He looked at Discord, “WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING!”

Silence followed. The silence was broken when Discord snorted and burst into laughter. The tiny dragon stood there, almost turning red with rage at the older god’s mocking laughter. “That’s ALL you care about? I’m not breaking my promise just so you can get a chance to get in on an older female?”

Spike opened his mouth to shout back but paused. He returned back to his purple shade and a sinister smile encroached on his face. “I guess you’re right. Just imagine how popular Fluttershy is going to be when she meets a nice, handsome colt who isn’t thousands of years older than her.”

The laughter died in Discord’s throat and he opened and closed his mouth wordlessly. Spike chuckled and walked back toward his bed. “Heck, maybe she’ll meet somepony named Brock or something. And he’ll take care of animals in the royal gardens and she will go live with him in Canterlot. I do love Canterlot weddings-”

Spike’s antagonizing speech was cut short when he was spun around and came face to face with an absolutely livid Discord. Spike’s voice died in his throat and he stared back fearfully at the angry god. “Um, well maybe not exactly that..what I meant to say.”

“We’re. Going. To. Canterlot.”

It was Spike’s turn to blink now. “Um, what? But you just said…Twilight said..”

Discord released Spike and stood up, turning away from the stunned dragon and running his paw through mane that had become more askew than normal in the past five minutes. “See here. Yes Egghead did say I was not supposed to go after them. And I do intend to keep my promise. BUT!” he turned on Spike and made the dragon jump back in surprise. “That is the words of a level headed pony. And our friends are certainly no longer level headed!”

“They’re not?”

“No!”

Discord snapped his fingers and sported a white lab coat complete with glasses. Another snap conjured an old fashioned green chalkboard with wheels. Discord picked up a piece of chalk and began to draw. “Yes you see, my dear Spike. Heat can turn the most level headed pony into a sex crazed addict.”

“Fluttershy is a sex crazed addict?” Spike questioned.

Discord popped into existence right in front of Spike and shook him. “DO NOT CALL MY FLUTTERSHY A SEX CRAZED ADDICT!” He coughed and calmed down. “She is a special pony.” He vanished and reappeared back to the chalkboard and began to draw a pony. “As I was saying, heat can tamper with the mind and make it more suggestive to do things it would not normally do. Like choosing to mingle with other ponies when they have better individuals to hang and mingle with,” he grumbled, almost crumbling the chalk in his hand.

Spike thought about following up this random statement with a question but decided against it. He put his hand to his chin and feigned acknowledgment. “Ah, I see.”

This reaction apparently appeased Discord and he continued to draw his own pony. “So, the ponies mingle and the longer they are in contact with members of the opposite sex, they are more likely to pair off, male to female. Like always.”

“Um..” Discord paused and raised an eyebrow at Spike.

“What?”

“I don’t think all male and females ponies mix together,” Spike tried to suggest.

“I don’t follow.”

“Um, I think some female ponies might like...other female ponies. And some male ponies might like other male ponies.”

Discord blinked again. “Wait really?”

Spike nodded, “Yeah. Lyra and Bon Bon go on date nights every now and then. Twilight knows a few more couples. I’m sure there’s more.” Spike gasped and looked sadly up at Discord. “Are those ponies going to start liking members of the opposite gender because of heat?” The last thing I would want is for pony relationships to be ruined because of hormones Spike thought sadly.

Discord thought about this. The little dragon’s got a point. It wouldn’t make much sense if heat would make ponies in relationships seek out sexual gratification with a pony that wasn’t their partner. Any offspring resulting from that type of encounter probably wouldn’t be raised with nearly as much success as offspring resulting from a happy couple.

Discord tried to answer this carefully. “I don’t think heat will break apart a current relationship...regardless of the genders of the ponies. Heat is supposed to be make families, not break up families.” He lowered his voice, “Although it can certainly break relationships that haven’t started yet.”

“What?”

“Nothing. You’re distracting me...Stop it.” Discord cleared his throat. “Well our friends are single and currently unattached to a mate. And thus, their minds will be easily swayed by the effects of heat!” Discord popped into existence and grabbed Spike. “Because of this, we have to go to Canterlot!”

“We do?”

“Yes! It is our duty to our friends!” Discord eagerly insisted, squishing the tiny dragon to his chest. “We must make sure that they end up with the right mates!” Spike brightened up at the thought and smiled giddily.

“Yes, the right mates,” he wondered dreamily. Both males became lost in their thoughts for a moment, each dreaming about their own pony. Spike came to first and coughed awkwardly. “Um...Discord?”

“Yes my love?”

“What?!”

“Er, I mean, what?”

“Even if we do get to Canterlot in time, how are we going to help the girls without them noticing us?” Discord thoughtfully stroked his beard at the legitimate question. “I mean, we don’t exactly fit in with the rest of mainstream pony society. Don’t you have any disguises or something?”

“No…”

“Seriously? Don’t you have a plan?”

Discord smirked. “Frankly my dear, I never have a plan.” With one fell swoop, he scooped the smaller dragon in one hand and with a snap of his fingers, the two disappeared in a flash.