Only four days before Hearth's Warming, a certain tall, cut purple and green dragon was making his way through the Ponyville mall. He had just picked up the last gift on his list for his own very special somepony Goldenrod. It had practically cost him a small fortune, but to him, she was worth every single bit.

As he headed toward the exit, he passed by a booth where foals could take pictures with Santa Hooves. Right now, there was a little filly walking up to sit on his lap. Although, she looked like she wanted to make a run for it. When she took a seat on his lap, Santa Hooves (whose beard couldn't have been more obviously fake) laughed a great big hearty laugh and looked her dead in the eyes.

"Hello there! What's your name, little filly?!" he asked in a very deep, unnecessarily loud baritone.

Suddenly, the kid started screaming in terror and crying her eyes out. Spike shook his head and chuckled. He felt bad for the poor traumatized child, but also for the poor guy in in the costume. "That job must come with a huge paycheck to put up with that all day," he thought before moving on.

After he left the mall, Spike had to walk the rest of the way home. He lived in a suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of town and to get home, he had to pass right in front of the dark forest that neighbored it. Those woods always gave him a bit of the creeps, so he tried his best not to walk too close. However, today he was so busy looking at the woods that he didn't watch where he was going and accidentally slipped on a patch of ice on the sidewalk.

He was a little sore, but otherwise alright. But then he realized he had dropped the box with Goldenrod's gift down the hill that lead to the woods. Without hesitation, he slid down the hill nice and smoothly. But before he could reach the box, he heard a deep growling sound. And then, out of nowhere, a large and vicious manticore jumped out and blocked his path. Spike was scared. He started to back away slowly as his instincts told him to run. But then he saw the box again and realized that he just had to get it back. That present was for the love of his life and no overgrown pussycat was gonna steal it from him.

Spike made a run for the box, but the manticore tackled him and pinned him down. He felt the adrenaline rushing through his body as he punched the big cat in the face and it fell off of him. He reached for the box again, but it jumped on his back, digging its claws into his scales. He gasped in pain, but summoned enough strength to kick the manticore in the stomach. The beast roared in pain and raised its right paw to deliver a deadly blow. Spike gave another mighty backhand punch to its face before it had the chance. He shrieked as the claws in his back were pulled out and the creature rolled onto the ground.

Now that he was free, Spike quickly grabbed the box as the manticore picked itself up and prepared to pounce on him again. But before it could, Spike unleashed a burst of fire right at the beast's face and pushed it back. Its face completely scorched, the vanquished monster retreated back into the woods, knowing it had been beaten.

Spike managed to stand up as he watched his foe run away. "Yeah! That's right! Don't mess with a dragon, you little punk ass!" He shouted mockingly. He was banged up pretty rough, but it was nothing a few bandages couldn't fix. He opened the box to make sure his present was still okay and sure enough, it was just fine. Thank goodness. If anything had happened to it, he didn't know what he would've done. "All for you, babe," he said with a smile.

It was late in the evening on Hearth's Warming Day and Spike and Goldenrod were sitting together in her living room. She really hadn't skimped on the decorating. As an avid lover of the holiday, she had gone whole hog. There was tinsel and holly strung all over the walls. The floor was virtually invisible under all the fake snow. There were traces of red, white and green as far as the eye could see and of course, mistletoe hanging from every doorway. And that was just the inside of her house. The outside was so decked out in bright, flashing lights, it was a wonder how she never drained the whole neighborhood's power.

After having each spent the day with their respective families, both lovers were happy that it was now just the two of them for the rest of the night. They snuggled together on the couch embracing the warmth of each other's company.

"Say, I don't think I ever asked," Spike realized. "How did that class party of yours go last week?"

"It was fun," Goldenrod replied. "The kids all decorated cookies, wrote Hearth's Warming cards, we played some games and I'm pretty sure everyone was happy with their Secret Santa Hooves presents. I even decided to play a movie for them."

"Oh yeah? What was it?"

"Something about a kid who tries to help his dying sister get better by telling her a story about a magic snowpony."

"Really? That sounds kinda... lame."

"Yeah, but I figured they'd enjoy it."

"Fair enough."

"Oh hey, speaking of presents are you ready for yours?" Goldie said with a playful expression.

"Yeah. Totally," Spike responded joyfully.

"Okay. Close your eyes." Spike did what he was told. He closed his eyes and puckered his lips, preparing to receive his 'present.' "Here you go. You can look now," Goldie said. When he opened his eyes, she was handing him a real present with colorful paper and a bow. He was a little disappointed, but still happy. When he unwrapped it, he was even more excited about what was inside.

"Whoa! A limited edition Power Ponies comic #1?! This is priceless! How did you ever get one of these?"

"I went down to the store and.... let's just say I know how to haggle with comic collectors. Got him to lower the price like that," she explained with a snap of her fingers.

"Thank you so much, Goldie. I love it." Spike gave her a big hug before he turned a grabbed his present to her. "Now it's your turn."

When Goldie opened the box, her face immediately lit up. Inside was a golden heart-shaped locket with a big heart-shaped emerald on the front. Just like her eyes. It was so magnificent, she could hardly believe it.

"Oh Spike. It's... it's so beautiful," she said as her eyes started forming tears of joy.

"Check out the inside," Spike instructed. She opened the locket and inside, there was a picture of Spike on one side and on the other was an engraved message that read "To my beautiful golden goddess, you will always be my greatest treasure." Goldie couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She was so overcome that her face became absolutely soaked with happiness.

Spike grew worried. "Hey hey, what's wrong? You don't like it?" he asked.

Goldie spoke through her crying. "You are so.... oh come here, you!" She grabbed the dragon by surprise and pulled him in for a great big smooch. Pretty soon, his whole face was completely smothered in kisses. He was almost at a loss for words.

"Well... that was certainly... unexpected," he said with a dopey smile.

Goldenrod pulled herself together and dried away her tears. "I'm sorry. It's just that.... I love you so much. I mean this is just... this is the most incredible gift I've ever gotten. How did you even afford this?"

"I got the money from Fleur. I told her what I wanted to get you and she was more than happy to help. She didn't even ask me to pay her back. Said it was her gift to me for how 'amazingly' I've treated you. Her words, not mine."

Goldie chuckled. "Well she was right. You, Spike the dragon, are the most amazing boyfriend ever. I love it so much, I promise I'm gonna wear it on all of our dates from now on."

"Oh please. I'm not half as amazing as you." Spike gave her a kiss on the forehead and wrapped his arm around her.

Suddenly, Goldenrod stood up and pulled off her green over-shirt. Then she tossed it aside and began pulling off her other shirt. Even though he loved the view, Spike was very confused. "Uh, what's... what's going on?" he asked.

Goldie leaned over and gave him a very seductive look. "What do you think? Your gift was way better than mine and I can't have you making me look bad, so I think you've earned a very special bonus present. What do you say, big guy? You wanna go deck the halls together?"

One look at her gigantic breasts was all Spike needed to say yes. He pulled off his own shirt and followed her excitedly to the bedroom.

"Happy Hearth's Warming, my big fiery beast."

"Happy Hearth's Warming, my sexy golden goddess."

This was officially the greatest Hearth's Warming ever for both of them.

Author's Note

My latest commission for Leviarex. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.