Chivalry Reborn

Hey guys! Told you I wasn't dead! Anyway, here's the second out of (most likely) three parts of the valentine's Special. Once this is complete, I will make this whole thing one BIIIG chapter (because that's what it is) and I'll be back on track with the storyline.

So while this is being finished, please bear with me, and I'll slip in a side story of one of the ponies coming into Winston's house and learning of human society and technology.

Enjoy the selection

Valentine’s Day Special:

With Love and Infection

4:10 P.M. – In front of Carousel Boutique

Spike flicks his claws, looking around at the surrounding town as he stood in front of the boutique. His eyes drifted from one subject of sight to another, going from pony to pony as he waited for Rarity.

She had told Spike to wait outside of the shop for her while she tried to gather just what was happening in the boutique. Cheerilee was looking around at all of the wedding dresses franticly mumbling something about "Smoo bees," while Sweetie Belle was frantically shooting down each of her choices as he walked out the door. He wasn't sure just why Cheerilee was looking around for a dress like that, though. Spike had never heard about her so much as even talk to another pony romantically, so it didn't really make sense.

Spike sighed deeply watching another mare hum happily as she walked alongside a colt with a blushing smile. He looked down beside his feet at the bag he had brought along with him on this trip. He was so close to getting that question out to Rarity... If only they didn't barge in when they came in at time...then..

"Spike, darling. Thank you for being so patient."

Spike immediately brought his attention to his front to see the beauty of a unicorn walk out of the tailor shop.

"It's nothing, Rarity." Spike  waved off his patience. He'd jump into a pit if Rarity needed what was inside it.

She had polite and charming smile on as always, but it seemed something was off. Spike blinked with slight concern. What could have been wrong?

"Soooo, what's going on inside?" He inquired, as he leaned to the side to look around the seamstress pony to look inside the store.

She could see the teacher and student still looking through the wedding dresses, Sweetie constantly shaking her head no as Cheerliee was looking through them like a madpony. What in the world was going on here. This just didn't make sense.

"Oh, it's nothing really." Rarity chuckled lightly, trying to wave it off. "It's just that Miss Cheerliee seems to have a special somepony after all, and is planning to get married today."

She glanced back at the panicking two ponies inside her home. "As....surprising that is."

"And that's it?" Spike was certain it wasn't.

"Yes, indeed"

"No, I think there's something else."Spike retorted.

He could tell when Rarity or Twilight had something on their minds. For Rarity, it was this very faint twitch of the mouth. Usually she'd have that over something in terms of organization, cleanliness or style.

"Well," Rarity look to the side, sighing. "If you simply must to know everything, Sweetie told me to take the rest of the day off."  She huffed looking around at all the passer-bys.

"And this is a problem?" Spike just got a bit more confused. "That sounds like a good idea to me."

"She said I had was getting rings under my eyes, I looked so tired!" Rarity snipped as she troted over to a window to peer at her reflection. "She said I looked like a worn up wreck, I was working so hard! Oh, how could that be! I always try to look my best, even when I'm working. How could I get so careless that I stopped making sure everything was in order! Ooooh what a mistake-...."

Spike slowly drifted from listening to her and just started to daze into her majesty once again. Her hair bounced everytime she turned her head to look at her image, always keeping her lushious deep blue eyes sharp to notice almost any detail. Her pure white coat lightly glistened in the sunlight, as though she were an angel.

Even if she did look a little tired out, she looks like an absolute beauty queen. Spike slowly let out a dreamy sigh.

"-...let such a careless mistake happen again!" Rarity finished her speech, with a hoof up, making a promise to herself.

"Oh.." Spike snapped himself back to reality to nod his head. "Do your best, Miss Rarity." He slightly wanted to slap himself in the face to dazing out on her like this again. He always daydreamed when he's talking to her.

"In anycase,"  Rarity quickly changed the subject, lightly adjusting a curl in her mane so it was positioned just as she wanted, "I suppose I could go over to Fluttershy's house and have a nice chat with her. She could use the company"

"Ah..." Spike mood dimmed, as he shifted on his feet, looking down at his bag. He had one last chance to ask her before she went off for her own affairs. But what if it's just a waste? What if she just slaps the question aside and just walk away like it was nothing? He started to ball of his claws, letting them dig into his palm lightly. What if she just denies his feelings..?

"Spike?" Rarity was now in front of the little purple dragon, lightly worried own his sudden silence. "Is something wrong?

"....Uh.." Spike began. Do I just say that I want her to be my special somepony..?

"..." He rocked on his heels, trying to collect his thoughts.

Now that I think about, how's a dragon like me supposed to have a chance with such a diva pony like Rarity..? It's not like I can BE with her... He slowly began to frown, the more the chances of failure presented itself to him.

"Spike..?" Rarity now was bending her legs down to be level with Spike.

"Hm..? ah!" Spike looked up, a little surprised to see her so close. "Ye-yeah..?"

"Was there something you wanted to ask me inside the kitchen?"

Spike stood there staring at the unicorn for a moment. Does this mean I have a chance? His brow slowly furrowed, now determined to say what he's been trying to this whole time. There would be no point in not saying it and letting the chance slip by. He'd hate the fact he missed it if he did.

"Rarity." Spike spoke clearly and with a more volume in his voice.

Rarity just stood in attention, a faint look of surprise written on her face. "Yes, dear?"

"I know that chances are you'll find this silly to ask..." Spike searched for the right words, rubbing two claws together to think. "But I just can't help but just ask to get the satisfaction I tried."

Rarity's cheeks gained a slight hint or rose on them. This was the first time Spike seemed so...mature.

"So Rarity, I just wanted to ask..." Spike gulped down a huge knot in his throat. His palms were soaked and he could feel his face burn with growing shyness. Just spit it out already!

"Will you-...!"

4:04 P.M. - Ponyville Library

"-And then we made our way here, hoping you have somepony that could come fix and repair the damages." Baking Soda finished his explaination, sighing lightly as he shifted in his seat in the kitchen beside Shadow, who was listening to the conversation as he ran his hoof along the end of his glass of deep pink punch .

"Green eyes and orange hair....that sounds like Big Macintosh!" Rainbow Dash sat up in her seat, surprised to hear Big Mac of all ponies to go crashing through a wall.

"And the mare sounds like it's Cheerilee." Twilight added, looking to the side as she thought. "Since when did she get a coltfriend?"

"Since when did Big Mac get a marefriend!" Shadow countered, very apparently skeptical of the story. "Big Macintosh doesn't seem the kind of person to be in a relationship at all!"

Baking Soda simply sat back, simply waiting for the conversation to turn back towards the damaged building and what could be done for it.

He glanced around the table at the ponies, his eyes ultimately landing on a black horn on Shadow's head. You know, now that he looked at Shadow for a moment, he has a small horn on his forehead like Twilight. And was he a bit taller than normal? ....Who knows, maybe I never noticed. He continued to sit in his seat and listen.

"Neither is Cheerilee." Rainbow shook her head. "Heck, she never does anything that doesn't involve the kids."

"Yeah!" Pinkie popped from behind Dash out of seemingly nowhere. She bounced into the seat beside her spinning on the back legs giggling. "She's always reading, writing and planning out lessons and field trips for the colts and fillies. This is the first time I've ever heard of her being with a special somepony!"

"And now I really don't believe this, if Pinkie hasn't heard of this until now..." Shadow muttered, swishing his drink between his hooves. "Anyway, this Cheerilee is a teacher pony?"

"Yes." Twilight answered, walking towards the staircase toward her room. "I think Pony Joe is friends with a nearby construction company. Hopefully I can arrange for them to fix the damages."

"That would be great, Twilight." Baking smiled lightly as she trotted upstairs.

"In anycase,  what the hay were you and Twilight doing upstairs, anyway?" Rainbow started a new conversation, looking at Shadow with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, you know what...?" Shadow's eye cocked in slight annoyance, keeping his hoof around his glass. "Don't even try and take it the wrong way this time."

"Well it's kind of weird, you know!" Dash jabbed a hoof at the dark unicorn, glaring slightly.

"We're always studying and practicing magic, how is that weird!?" Shadow argued back.

"It's Heart and Hooves Day!" She snapped leaning over the table to yell in his face. "It's on days like this when normaly a mare and a stallion....just...ya know...." Her voice started to soften.

"What..?" Shadow pressed her to continue, too annoyed to notice the rainbow speedster was become more quiet. "Say it, already."

"You know..!" Rainbow waved her hoof at him, looking away.

"I can make a lot of guesses from that vague answer! Just tell me already, you blasted skittle horse!"

"A what kind of horse..?"

"JUST SHUT UP AND TELL ME!"

By this time, Soda was already drifting off into his thoughts. He had no point in this quarrel, so why even both listening? He was wondering just what to do now after this. He was on break until the wall in Sugarcube Corner was repaired along with the tables and chairs.

I guess I could go home and think of a new bread recipe to try out. I'm already nearby being at Twilight's house and all-

"Hey Baking Soda." A voice came from his side as a hoof tapped his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Hey!" He turned to see where the taps were coming from.

Shadow sat by him, looking at him as he adjusted his glasses. "Did you hear me?"

Baking shook his head lightly, blinking. "Sorry. No I didn't. What'd you say?"

Shadow huffed balancing the glass in the center of his hoof. "I asked for your opinion on the idea of studying on Valentine's day."

"You mean Hearts and Ho-"

"Same thing." He interrupted Soda's correction rudely, giving him a blank look.

"Fair enough..?" Soda backed up a little from him. He was kind of scary when he gave him a look like that.  "Well, honestly I don't think anypony would really bother spending a day like this studying. Esspecially between opposite genders."

Shadow just rolled his eyes, putting his glass to his lips and gulping down the rest of his drink and putting it back on the table. "Whatever. Nothing's going on and that's that." He covered his mouth as he lightly belched. "Whoa...excuse me."

Soda looked at the now empty glass. "What was that, anyway. Smelled kind of like roses."

Shadow thought for a moment. "Actually, I have no idea." He turned his head towards the blue pegasus. "Rainbow, do you know?"

Dash didn't hear him, however. She was staring down at her own glass, her eyes shining faintly with the reflections from the liquid. "..."

"....Rainbow?" Shadow nudged her shoulder firmly, making her rock and then immediately sit up at attention. "Don't zone out on me."

"What...? Huh?" Dash looked around, having a dazed expression on her face. Her eyes stopped on Shadow, furrowing her brow. "What now?"

"Do you know what's in these cups?" He asked her once more.

"Nope."

"Huh..." Shadow simply shrugged, sitting back upright again. "It was tasty though, so it must be a good recipe."

"Hm...?" Soda, kept his eyes trained on the third glass that rested where Twilight sat. I am kind of thirsty... What harm can a drink do? "Hey, can I have that third glass?"

Shadow stopped looking around the room, glancing over to the bread baker. "Hm? Yeah, I'm sure Twilight wouldn't mind." He then immediately went back to looking around. "Where the hell...?"

"What are you looking for?" Baking Soda looked at him in confusion, leaning and motioning to wrap his hoof around around the glass.

...And grabbed air.

He looked at the empty air he grabbed at. "Huh..?" The glass was just there. So where did it go?

"Ahhhhhhh~!" A bubbly voice breathed in refreshment as the glass Soda reached for returned to his view, now empty.

"That was just as you said, Shaddy!" Pinkie admitted in her normal cheery voice as she wiped her mouth. "That was really super yummy!"

"Pinkie.." Soda quietly intervened, waving the attention back to him. "That was mine."

Shadow simply had her hoof against her forehead from the sight.

"Hic...."

Soda blinked as Pink covered her mouth as she hiccuped. Did she drink too fast?

"...he...hehehehehehehe..."

....Pinkie was giggling a little more than usual.

"Uh...Pinkie..?" Dash raised an eyebrow at her friend, a tad worried now. "Are you feelin' okay?"

"Ehehehehe.....I'm...just....FIIIIIIINE~!" She leaned back in her seat, face tinted in a deeper shade of pink than normal.

"This stuff is alcoholic!?" Shadow looked up at the seemingly drunken party pony, eyes wide. "It certainly didn't TASTE like alochol!"

"Of course it isn't alcohol, Shaddy~" Pinkie bubbled, leaning over the table slowly, swaying to keep her balance.

"I-...ah...." She suddenly stopped in her tracks. Looking at Shadow with a slightly surprised look.

"....?" Shadow blinked confused a little annoyed at Pinkie. "What is it now...?"

"....." She didn't say anything. She just kept looking at him, slowly continuing to lean over the counter, standing in her chair.

Soda scooted back in his seat as Pinkie kept moving towards what seemed to him. What was she doing...? He felt his cheeks heat up slightly as she got closer. Stop getting closer, please...

Dash leaned back in her seat, watching Pinkie as she continue to move over the kitchen table. "What are you-..."

Boing

Th-thunk**

...Huh..?

Baking Soda slowly blinked, confused on what just happened. The blush on his cheeks softened slightly, slowly starting to turn his head to the left side.

"He-hey!" Shadow yelped, now on his back, his expression of shock now wider.

The blush on Soda's face quickly returned.

Pinkie only giggled. standing over the gray stallion. She had leaped over the counter, landing on Shadow and then proceeded to pin him on the ground as she looked down at him with a seemingly dazed smile and faint blush.

Dash's expression was a mixture of horror, rage, and major embarrassment. Her brows were furrowed, her face blushed deeply, and her cerise eyes lightly twitching in irritation.

"You know~...."  Pinkie started, her voice now...more mature. She slowly leaned down towards Shadow's face, her eyes peered onto him lovingly, never moving away from his deep brown ones.

"Pinkie..what the hell are you doing...?" Shadow's cheeks slightly reddened, trying his best to move away from the pink mare. "Stop it...!"

Pinkie got her face right in front of his as he finished, instantly making him close his mouth and try to move his head to the side. She gently held the sides of his face with her hooves gingerly, looking deeply into her eyes. "You have really shiny and pretty eyes..."

Soda simply sat there in stricken awe as Pinkie slowly start to move her lips ever closer to Shadow's, still looking into his eyes with affection.

"Smoopy-Poo~..."