The Meeting

“Thanks and have a wonderful day!” The unicorn stallion waved to Spike as he departed from the shop, his arms and laden with quills, ink, and parchment that Twilight had asked (read: begged) for him to pick up. She would have done it herself were it not for the fact that Princess Celestia had just assigned her an important project.

Enter Spike the Dragon.

Having been hatched by Twilight as part of her entrance exam, it had soon be decided that, once she was old enough and had been deemed able to handle the responsibility, she would begin raising him herself. That day had long since come and gone.

Which led them to now.

Spike, having finished all the errands that Twilight had asked him to run, paused as he spotted the large neon colored sign that was the most blatant indication of one of the best eateries in all of Canterlot: Donut Joe’s. He’d wondered for the briefest of seconds whether Twilight would admonish him for spending the leftover bits she’d given him on donuts.

If her previous track record is anything to go by, then donuts and coffee will probably help a lot. Spike thought as he pushed the glass door open and paused to hear the familiar sound of the bell, informing the proprietor that he had a new customer. The stallion grinned at the sight of one of his personal favorite customers laden with supplies. The two struck up a quick conversation as the tall pony filled the small dragon’s order.

“It was good talking with you Joe!” Spike waved as he hefted the boxes in his arms. Joe had offered him a bag, to which the small dragon eagerly accepted. Even for a dragon’s augmented physical strength, Spike could only carry those supplies for so long before he ended up crashing into something by mistake. Nonetheless, that was less of a problem now as he grinned at the lighter load.

With that, the two exchanged goodbyes and Spike was on his merry way.

Or he would have been had he not crashed into something not ten steps after he’d stepped out of the shop.

* * *

Rarity was not a happy filly.

That was a lie. She was a happy filly. After all, it had been something of a fantasy for her to come to Canterlot on vacation so imagine her surprise when her parents told her that they would be going on vacation to Canterlot of all places! It had really been a dream come true.

Unfortunately, that’s where it ended for as soon as they had gotten off the train, Rarity and her little sister, Sweetie Belle, had been separated from her parents thanks to the hustle and bustle that was the Canterlot train station.

It also didn’t help that they hadn’t decided where they were going to be staying while they toured Canterlot.

In summary, the two sisters were lost. Thankfully, Sweetie Belle happened to be asleep in a pouch that Rarity had been allowed to carry on her back. At first, it had seemed like a good idea but now that she was lost in an unfamiliar city with everypony too wrapped up in their own affairs to spare a glance at the lost filly and her baby sister, she was starting to regret that decision.

Lost in her thoughts, Rarity was hardly paying any attention to where she was trotting and ended up crashing into something that felt like cardboard.

* * *

“Ugh,” Spike grimaced as he sat up. He sighed at the sight of the rolls of parchment strewn all over the street and had made to collect them. It was here that he noticed the alabaster unicorn filly, staring at him curiously. He idly noticed her shining white coat and violet mane that reminded him vaguely of Twilight’s but without the pink stripe. The other major difference was how this filly’s mane was done in an elegant curl. The last thing he noticed were the three blue diamonds on her flank.

“Um… sorry,” said Spike sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. “I didn’t mean to crash into you like that.” He gestured to the parchment scattered across the sidewalk and explained that the parchment had impeded his vision.

“No, it’s also my fault,” Rarity admitted. “I had a lot on my mind and I guess I wasn’t watching where I was going.” Spike nodded sympathetically as he collected all the strewn parchment and quills with Rarity watching Spike in obvious fascination. She shook her head and with her magic, all of Spike’s possessions were back in his bags.

“I’m sorry if I sound crass but might I ask just what are you?” Rarity grimaced at how it sounded; she’d hoped that the wording hadn’t come off as rude. Thankfully, Spike hadn’t seemed to mind the question as she watched him puff out his chest a little bit.

“I’m a dragon!” he explained cheerfully. In retrospect, the scales and his general build had been a rather big hint toward his species. “My name’s Spike!” He held out a claw for her to shake, a bright and enthusiastic smile on his face.

His smile was infectious and Rarity found herself smiling and giggling a little bit as she placed a hoof in his claw and gave it a firm shake as was her intention as an aspiring lady of her station.

The two hadn’t needed to think to strike up a conversation. Spike learned that Rarity was an aspiring fashion designer that was visiting Canterlot on vacation with her family. She’d gone on to tell him more about herself. Her parents were both unicorns as was her sister. She’d even explained how she’d gotten her cutie mark when her magic had gone haywire after questioning whether her dream of being a fashion designer was dissolving in front of her eyes.

“Then my horn began to glow brightly and practically dragged me to this desolate place with this big rocky geode thing!” Rarity explained to a fascinated Spike as they continued their walk to nowhere in particular. “I got so mad that I ended up yelling at my horn! Why, I would have probably have been yelling at it all day were it not for this explosive rainbow ring breaking the rock in half, and you’ll never guess what was inside!” Rarity was grinning excitedly now. It was a nice feeling having somepony… or rather somedragon to talk to. Most ponies only saw her as a fashionista who’d much rather spend her time with her sewing machine and fabric rather than the lonely filly that had longed to have a friend. If it wasn’t already obvious, Rarity wasn’t exactly swimming in friends and practically dove at the chance to make friends with Spike.

Besides, it’s not everyday that a pony got to meet an honest to goodness dragon and live to tell the tale!

Back to Spike and Rarity...

“What was it!?” Spike asked eagerly.

“It was actually filled to the brim with all these beautiful multicolored gems!” Rarity gushed as her eyes shone with the memories of how she’d discovered her special talent. “Oh Spike, you should have seen them! The dresses I made with those gems were probably the best works I’d ever made!”

Spike had been salivating at the thought of those gems but restrained himself for Rarity’s sake. He didn’t want to scare her off, after all. He’d been struggling to make friends in Canterlot since his birth and ponies were only just starting to come around about his dragon lineage. In any case, she had then finished with how she remade the costumes for the play with the newly found gems and was proud to report how much more dazzling they appeared.

Spike wouldn’t have been surprised if those dresses ended up being the highlight of the show.

“So what’s your story Spike?” Rarity asked, genuinely curious. She’d never met a dragon before and wanted to get the chance to know her new friend better. Her unconcealed interest in him had caught the drake off guard. Most ponies were only interested in that he had no intention of setting their homes on fire or simply eating them outright.

But if she wanted to hear his story then who was he to try to dissuade her?

As they walked, Spike explained how he’d been hatched as a result of an entrance exam at Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

“Apparently Twilight’s magic had gone crazy during the examination and turned the examiners into plants, while also hatching my egg,” Spike explained. “Princess Celestia told me that I had grown to epic proportions and that once she’d managed to dispel the magic, she invited Twilight to be her personal protege at the school.”

“Her personal student…” said Rarity, genuinely impressed. “That’s impressive but what about you?” She wanted to get to know Spike as well as she could. While Twilight’s story was certainly fascinating and the idea of having ponies turning into plants was amusing to think about, that instance told her little of Spike’s character.

“Well…” Spike admitted that most of his time was spent in the care of Princess Celestia or one of the guards that had agreed to keep an eye on him while he explored Canterlot.

“So I guess that means you know your way around Canterlot then?” Rarity asked. At Spike’s nod, she asked, “Then I don’t suppose you might be willing to show me around some time. This is our first time here and I didn’t know about this trip until the night before.” She paused. “That is if, of course, you don’t have any prior commitments tomorrow.”

“Sure!” Spike agreed readily. As far as he knew, he didn’t have any prior commitments. If his memory served him correctly, Twilight would be in classes for vast majority of tomorrow along with some private lessons with the Princess that evening.

Besides, he was long overdue for some time off as it was.

“So you mean to tell me,” Rarity began as she recalled the conversation Spike had shared about his birth, “that you know Princess Celestia!?”

“Oh yeah,” Spike nodded proudly. “She and I go way back. Like me being born, way back. She took care of me when I was a hatchling until I was able to do stuff on my own.”

Rarity for her part was fascinated as he explained life within the castle. The way he’d described the castle was just like she’d imagined it: rich embroidery, guards in impressive looking armor everywhere, stained glass windows as far as the eye could see among the other glamorous things that awaited in the castle.

Rarity shook her head. She was getting ahead of herself again. She’d only just arrived in Canterlot and while she would have been thrilled at the prospect of meeting Princess Celestia in the flesh, there was still the issue of still needing to find her parents. Plus she still had her sister with her who’d been asleep through the whole interaction. When she explained her situation to Spike, he’d suggested that they go to the castle and ask a member of the staff for help.

It seems like my dream of seeing Canterlot Castle will finally come true! Rarity thought eagerly as she followed Spike into the castle.

…and almost immediately ran into Princess Celestia.

“Princess!” they both bowed to their sovereign. The alabaster alicorn smiled down at her subjects as they beamed up at her.

* * *

“I see, so that’s what has happened,” Princess Celestia sat across from Spike and Rarity after dropping off Twilight’s supplies to her quarters. “I’ll ask my guards to search for them. If you happen to have a picture of them, that would most certainly make things easier for them to track your parents down.”

Rarity nodded as she dug through her saddlebags. Sweetie Belle had been taken to one of the smaller rooms that had, at one point, been a nursery. Rarity had been assured that her little sister would be well taken care of in the meantime.

“I really appreciate your help, Princess,” Rarity smiled brightly.

“Of course,” Princess Celestia replied. “No filly should ever be separated from her parents. With my guards searching, I’m confident that we’ll be able to find them. But in the meantime,” she turned to Spike. “Would you like to show your friend around the castle? It would certainly give you both something to pass the time as Twilight is currently in class.”

“Of course, Princess!” Spike exclaimed, dragging Rarity by the hoof as a smiling Princess Celestia watched on.

* * *

“I always knew that the Royal Gardens were big, but I never would have guessed that they were this big!” Rarity gasped as she took in the vast expanse of flowers, finely trimmed hedges, and the legendary hedge maze. A little further away were the resident animals going about their business.

Their time had been spent simply playing together by exploring the maze. During their exploration, the pair had encountered a few of the animals that lived there. Rarity had marveled at their natural beauty while Spike waved enthusiastically at them.

From there, it had descended into madness. Granted, it was the good kind of madness that often comes when a filly and a young drake playing with animals and with each other.

* * *

The two had just finished a game of tag. Initially, it had been a simple game between the two of them but the resident animals had been intrigued by this curious behavior and decided to join in the fun. In the end, both collapsed on their backs as they managed to avoid the resident bear who’d been playfully chasing them. Rarity had been too busy riding the endorphin high from their games to care much about getting her mane and coat dirty.

“That,” Rarity began in between her bouts of laughter, “was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”

“Yeah, me too,” Spike quickly agreed. “I’m usually really busy with cooking or helping Twilight with her studies so when I get a day like this, I want to spend as much of it outside as I can.”

“I can certainly understand that,” Rarity nodded while frowning thoughtfully. “Why anypony would want to be inside on a beautiful day like today is beyond me, especially as we get closer to the Running of the Leaves.”

“Yeah! I mean, there’s so much to do!” Spike grinned.

“And so much inspiration to be drawn from the wonders of nature!” Rarity added eagerly as she pulled out a sketchbook from her saddlebags as a new idea for a dress struck her fancy. Spike, for his part, after running around and playing for the better part of the day, was perfectly content with simply relaxing with the soft grass acting as his cushion as he casually watched Rarity sketch.

As Rarity sketched her dress design, she’d found that instead of the dresses that she often spent her time making, it was a smart looking green button down shirt with a black suit jacket with matching top hat.

This looks like something that would fit Spike Rarity mused idly as she cast a sidelong look at the currently oblivious dragon who’d contented himself with staring idly up at the clouds. She had been cast out of her thoughts when Spike pointed to a cloud.

“That one looks like a fish,” Spike pointed to a particular cloud. Intrigued, Rarity laid next to him to get a better look at said cloud before frowning thoughtfully.

“It could also look like those trees that are in the Town Square during Hearth’s Warming,” Rarity pointed out. Spike tilted his head to the side frowned thoughtfully.

“I can see it,” Spike eventually conceded. “I think it’d be easier if there were some lights just like for Hearth’s Warming.”

“I suppose,” Rarity conceded, stifling a small bout of laughter.

The two lapsed into a peaceful silence as they contented themselves with watching the clouds. They would have continued their cloud watching game had they not heard the sound hooves approaching them.

The two sat up to find the guards mare stop short of their spot.

“Miss Rarity, I presume,” the young filly nodded brightly. “We’ve found your parents. They are currently waiting for you along with your sister at the castle entrance.”

Spike smiled as Rarity let out a cheer. The cheer was cut short when he pointed out that her mane and coat was riddled with grass stains and twigs and she was quite sweaty from the games they’d played. The alabaster unicorn panicked as she realized this before Spike pointed out that they could easily use one of the many washrooms to clean up.

After taking care of that, Spike led Rarity back to the stallion and the mare that were her parents with her little sister in tow.

“Thank goodness!” Her father, a burly stallion, exclaimed as he grabbed the elder unicorn filly in his hooves while their mother pulled Sweetie Belle from Rarity’s pouch. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you two!”

“It’s thanks to Spike that I was alright! He and I played together all day!” Rarity explained happily, gesturing to the small dragon who’d waved bashfully at the previously worried parents. He’d soon found himself the recipient of a seemingly endless stream of gratitude as they thanked him for keeping their daughters safe.

“If you hadn’t found them,” the mare began, shuddering at the possible alternatives. “I don’t even want to think of that!”

“It’s no big deal,” Spike replied bashfully in an attempt to stem the flow of gratitude. “I had fun getting to play with somepony and I got to make a friend too!” It was here that he remembered that while Rarity got cleaned up, he’d gone to his room to give something to his new friend.

“So Spike,” Rarity started, smiling at the small violet dragon bashfully. “Would you be willing to spend tomorrow with me tomorrow? Like I told you when we first met, we know next to nothing about Canterlot so you’d most certainly be helping us out in a big way.”

“Of course!” Spike replied brightly before remembering the item he’d gotten from his room.

Rarity watched in interest as he rummaged through his small bag before pulling out a well worn piece of paper and handing it to her. Curious, she took in her magical grasp before unfolding it. It was here that she realized what this was.

A map of Canterlot.

“I’ll meet you here tomorrow morning,” he pointed to the clearly marked Canterlot plaza. Rarity smiled widely as she delicately folded the map before carefully storing it away in her saddlebags before moving back to her parents’ who had been calling for her to hurry. They needed to get back to their hotel so that they could eat dinner.

“I’ll see you then,” Rarity called, waving at him as their carriage arrived to take them to the hotel.

“Bye Rarity!” Spike waved.

“Take care Spike!” Rarity waved as the carriage set off. Spike watched the carriage before it disappeared over the horizon along with the sun as it followed the carriage’s lead and descended over the horizon.

Author's Note

So ends the first chapter. This was an idea that I had pitched in a blog post and I finally got around to writing it. I thought it would be a nice change of pace to try something slightly different from trying to talking bad guys into submission.