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                      Sparity Forever                      
                    -by Drunk Ragdoll-                     
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           An Unexpected Visitor: Friend or Foe?           
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An Unexpected Visitor: Friend or Foe?
Editor’s Note: Thank you all, who have given me such positive feedback from Chapter 1! Being my first fic, and being out of practice in story writing for so long, I sure hadn’t expected it :flutteryay: I hope this chapter proves enjoyable as well, and as always, constructive criticism please!
Lastly, a huge thank you to ChainReaction, who continued to praise my work, leading me to work harder on writing this chapter, which is why it is up a day earlier than predicted. Check out his cool vampire fic Feral!
Four hours had passed since Pinkie and Spike had shown up at the Carousel Boutique, and the party pony’s latest work was truly a sight to behold. Streamers, balloons and confetti of all the basic colours of the rainbow were strewn about every possible surface of the boutique, and several plain white plastic tables Rarity had brought out were stacked like dragon jewel-mounds with cakes, cupcakes and pies of vibrant colours and various delicious flavours.  
The cakes and cupcakes were thickly layered with icings and small candy toppings, each one an artwork of baking genius, the first bite sure to explode in one’s mouth in a battle of the flavours. On one table stood a magnificent, multi-levelled structure of cylinder-shaped marzipan meringue cakes, each smaller in size and diameter as the mouth-watering tower of pure tastebud ecstasy inched closer toward the ceiling.
The atmosphere was abuzz as well; an oak and brass phonograph sat in the center of the room on a matching oak table specifically sized to hold only the phonograph itself, with the purple unicorn Twilight Sparkle furiously performing The Monkey to a modern rendition of “Ring-a-Ding Baby” a few feet away. A young redheaded yellow filly wearing a large bowtie in her mane stared in confusion at the device on the table, wondering how their friend Vinyl Scratch could possibly have modified such a machine so unrelated from her trademark turntable to play her ‘fresh beats’.
Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo sat hidden beneath one of the plastic tables, debating whether or not parasprite taming would earn them their much desired cutie marks. The pile of colourful cakes atop the table were quickly obliterated, icing splattered about the area, as Pinkie slammed her face down into them, collecting at least five cakes worth as her cheeks puffed like cushions fused to the side of her icing-covered face. A toothless baby alligator wearing a red and yellow polka-dot party hat brushed past Scootaloo’s hoof, shuffling its bloated green belly across the floor, and the two crusaders burst out laughing at the sight. The creature looked up and across the large room with its large, bulbous eyes, and finally locked his eyes on a zebra mare with a black and white striped mane, shaped in a mohalk.
Applejack stood by Rainbow Dash’s side, wrapped in her wing. Their chuckling was drowned by the raw, pulsing bass emanating from the phonograph as they conversed with Zecora, recounting the tale of their first kiss with matching blushes. Big Macintosh trotted by, carrying the sweet and gentle Fluttershy on his back as she nuzzled her face in the back of his mane, her hoofs wrapped around his muscular frame. The large red stallion lifted a delightfully apple-scented cupcake with green frosting up to her, balanced skilfully on the tip of his nose. Fluttershy snatched it in her teeth, giggling lightly as the two gazed adoringly into each other’s eyes briefly.
Yet almost the full duration of the party, Rarity had sat with Spike at the far wall away from the others, talking about simple things like their favourite places in Ponyville, their favourite restaurants, and of course, what they had been doing recently. The white unicorn found it comforting that her young gentledrake hung on every word she uttered, even commenting from time to time showing actual interest. She was both delighted and a little shocked to discover just how mature her little Spikey had shown in words, and began to realise that the apparent age difference was merely visual. This also worried her a little, though she assured herself that it would only pair well with his compassionate personality.
Spike suddenly felt an unsettling sensation in his stomach, followed immediately by a loud belch that forced itself violently from his throat, expelling sparkling green and purple flames. A rolled up, red-ribboned parchment sealed with a gold “C” signet fell to the floor, and the purple drake immediately took it over to Twilight. Ceasing her peppy dance, a purple glow from her horn shut off the phonograph as she read the scroll’s contents aloud to the crowd of ponies, attention focused solely on her.
”My faithful student Twilight Sparkle. I am writing to you with a request of dire urgency – many of my Pegasus scouts in the Everfree Forest region have reported sightings of the rogue wizard Phoenix, whom I assume you know favours destructive magics, particularly fire. Shining Armour, with the aid of his bride Cadance, has already set up and is maintaining a forcefield around Canterlot’s perimeter.
To my understanding, he has taught you this spell, and he claims you mastered the spell in mere days. As such, I request that you set up a forcefield around Ponyville, given its close proximity to the forest, as Luna and I will be occupied in focusing our magic to discern the location of the rogue.
Stay vigilant, my young pupil. This should be resolved within the next few days.”
“Ah don’t get it sugarcube,” remarked the orange farmer pony, “Word from Appleoosa is that this Phoenix feller done burned down a whole hive of Changelings.”
“Exactly; he’s very powerful. It’s quite obvious now that he’s headed in our direction, and we need to be prepared.” Twilight replied calmly.
“But that’s just it Twi, ain’t nopony ever actually heard of him harmin’ ponyfolk.”
“That’s true Applejack, but it’s not reason enough not to be cautious.” Applejack simply nodded; no sense in denying the princess’ suspicions.
“Uhm, if you don’t mind me asking…. why is he labelled as a ‘rogue’? I haven’t…. haven’t heard anything about where he came from.” Spoke the yellow Pegasus on Big Mac’s back, her flowing pink mane covering half her face.
“Rogue is his given name, but none know from whence he came. Perhaps you should leave him be, this is all recurrent of how you treated me?” rhymed the zebra alchemist. The room fell silent for a few moments as awkward glances and sheepish grins were exchanged, until Twilight finally spoke up.
“Yes, well despite all the evidence, Princess Celestia seems to believe Phoenix poses some threat, and I have no qualms about carrying out her request.”
Much to everypony’s surprise, the rogue wizard had showed up outside Ponyville before nightfall of that very day. Twilight had trotted off home and set up the forcefield while her friends spread the word, but only six hours had passed when Fluttershy, out in the yard feeding her chickens, spotted a tan colt, only slightly taller than her, with cerulean blue eyes and an unkempt golden mane emerge from within the dark khaki darkness of the Everfree forest. She didn’t believe this was Phoenix at first, due to his unassuming appearance, but now she had noticed his cutie mark – an orange phoenix with wings outstretched. Except she didn’t flee; rather, she approached the magenta forcefield between them, as he did the same. Only a few metres separating them, he smiled a little, which was strangely comforting to her.
“Uh, excuse me, but would you know where I might find Twilight Sparkle?” he spoke calmly, a whisper of nervousness in his voice due to the magical barrier barring his entry. Fluttershy was shocked by how different the unicorn colt seemed compared to rumours she had heard. His voice was a cross between that of Big Mac and Rainbow Dash, though still holding its own unique tone.
Fluttershy snapped out of her train of thought as she realised he had asked specifically for her friend. How did he know her? Had they met before, surely she would have introduced him to her friends. “Uhm,” she started, “how do you know her? Are…. Are you two friends?”
“Not personally, Fluttershy-” the yellow mare jumped a little.
“H-how do you know my name? Who…. Just who are you?”
“Please, calm down. It’s a complicated situation, but I must speak to Twilight as soon as she can spare the time.”
Fluttershy was unsure how to respond. He looked at her with eyes that clearly knew her well, and he talked in such a calm and assuring manner that seemed to be designed to trigger a palliative response from her specific personality.
“Uhm, just…. Just let me go fetch her, stay right here please.” She finally managed. The colt nodded and sat on the soft grass, closing his eyes in a meditative manner.
Fluttershy returned minutes later, followed not only by Twilight, but the rest of her closest friends as well. She floated over to the barrier as the others halted their casual trot immediately upon the sight of the colt sitting on the other side. “Uhm, mister Phoenix? Are you awake” she spoke softly. His eyelids quickly snapped open, and he stood up to greet them, but was quickly interjected by Twilight.
“Phoenix! Why are you here? What do you want?” Twilight seemed a mix of fearful and anxious.
“Miss Sparkle, I was hoping you could provide me with some means of entering Canterlot.” She was obviously shocked, but let him continue “There is a forcefield similar to this one preventing my entry, and there is nopony at the gates or within speaking distance for me to request entry.”
“Why do you want to get into Canterlot? Why haven’t the princesses been able to scry your location from such a close distance?”
“They’re searching for me?” he looked genuinely confused.
“Well of course, feats like incinerating an entire changeling hive are hard not to notice.”
“Then why do they have a forcefield up? Is there another changeling invasion?”
Rather than question him as to how he became aware of that event, a full two years behind them, she continued along his line of questions. “You…. don’t even know?”
“Know…. what?”
“That forcefield…. this forcefield, for that matter, were both erected to prevent your entry.”
“Why?”
“The princess considers you a threat.”
“But, I haven’t harmed anypony, only changelings.” Twilight remained silent, a little ashamed. Phoenix continued, “Do…. do you consider me a threat?”
Twilight lowered her head in shame, her ears drooping down “Well, not really…. I hadn’t expected you to be so friendly like this.”
He chuckled a little “Didn’t you learn not to judge others like that after you met Zecora?”
The purple pony jerked her head up, ears erect and eyes widened. “How…. How do you know about that? Who are you?”
“Look, I’m sorry, but can we discuss this in an audience with the princess? I don’t particularly want to have to explain it twice.”
Again with the tone; it was like he spoke in a manner that was intended to earn Twilight’s approval. She turned her head, receiving nods from all her friends. Phoenix looked over at Spike, who was holding Rarity’s hoof as he stood side-by-side with the white unicorn mare.
Smiling, he said warmly “I didn’t know you two were….” They both blushed and smiled sheepishly, breaking eye contact with the tan colt.
“Right…. well, I suppose I could send the princess a letter.” Twilight remarked. “Spike?”
As Celestia’s sun lowered behind the skyline, Luna’s full moon sneaked a thin sliver of luminescent silvery white upon the eastern horizon, beginning its ascent into the sky. The seven friends huddled comfortably on the couch in Fluttershy’s cottage, with Spike lying curled up on Rarity’s lap, the mare herself nuzzling his scaly cranium.
A blinding pale-yellow light appeared in the centre of the room, quickly growing larger and brighter until it dissipated, revealing Princess Celestia floating regally mid-air, now descending slowly to the ground as she retracted her large, magnificent white wings. Spike waking by a gentle nudge of Rarity’s hoof, he swiftly sat up, careful not to scratch his marefriend’s flawless coat with his claws. The princess promptly held up her hoof so as to gesture the seven friends before her not to bow, then proceeded rather seriously “Where’s Phoenix?”
“Outside the barrier near the chicken coops. He hasn’t moved from the spot since he emerged from the Everfree Forest and spoke with us.” Her faithful student responded. Celestia nodded, and they trotted out the back door toward the chicken coops. There, in the same spot as he had been for an hour now, sat the tan unicorn with the golden mane, eyes once again closed in a meditative manner.  
Gesturing for the others to stay back, she approached the barrier, and cast her eyes over Phoenix, examining his features and cutie mark.
“You’re Phoenix?” she spoke in a rather commanding voice.
“That’s what everyone has taken to calling me, your highness.” He replied in a servant-like tone, revealing his eyes as he stood up. She looked less serious now, but restrained from her usual gentleness as she continued.
“So why are you here in Ponyville, when supposedly you sought counsel with me?”
“I tried Canterlot, but the forcefield prevented my entry, and there was nopony within earshot to answer my call.”
“If that is true, why was I unable to discern your location with the combined magic of Luna and I?”
“I’m not a pony.” Everypony was shocked, but the princess showed no surprise.
“Hmm. So, what is your real name, and how did you enter our world?”
“My name is Flax, and I’m not entirely sure how I ended up here.”
“You were human, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s likely a minor concussion-induced amnesia, though I’m unsure as to how you are aware of being a human prior to your current form.” Celestia observed his cutie mark once more. “What I’m also curious about is how you got your cutie mark, Flax. Just how long have you been in Equestria?”
“About two or three weeks.” The princess’ eyes widened, and the others all gasped in unison.
“How did you get you cutie mark in such a short time?”
“I’ve known about your world for a long time before becoming like this.” Confidently replied the tan colt.
“Go on….”
“Well your highness, I don’t quite know how to say this….” He took a breath. “In my world, your world exists as an animated cartoon series viewable on television or via the internet.” Celestia remained unsurprised, while the others looked completely dumbfounded.
“And you were a ‘Brony’?”
“Yes, but how did you….”
“This is not the first time a human has arrived in Equestria as a pony.”
“Who were the others?”
“There was only one…. and unfortunately he was not one of your fandom. He showed violence and hatred towards everypony he came across. I followed rumours about an unusually violent pony claiming to be a human, and found him starting bar brawls in Appleloosa. Luckily, I did not need to resort to…. methods…. normally applied to prisoners, as he explained everything after he sobered up during the trip to Canterlot.”
“So you can send me back?”
“Of course. But the human’s description of your fandom leads me to believe that any of you ‘bronies’ would willingly give their life to live here.”
“Well of course, but….”
“You have friends back home, that you will miss dearly?”
“Exactly.”
Celestia giggled. “Perhaps one day we may invite them here.”
Phoenix raised an eyebrow slightly. “Are you…. asking me to stay here?”
“Well the way I see it Flax, if I were to send you back, you would regret it for the rest of your life.”
“So…. I can stay?”
She giggled again. “See, I knew you would prefer it here. Would you like me to set up a room for you at the castle-“
“Uh, thank you princess, but would it be alright if I could live in Ponyville?”
The others were beginning to smile; they felt they knew Phoenix somehow, because he sure knew them. They didn’t understand the whole human-to-pony transformation, and the subsequent arrival in Equestria, but he had proven a gentle creature, and would no doubt put himself forward to protect them should the need arise.  
“As you wish, though I must insist I take you to the castle to enlighten Luna and the guards of the situation…. and to talk a little more.” She looked over at Twilight. “Twilight, you may lower the barrier now, and don’t worry, I’ll send word around town that this was a false alarm.”
With a glow of her horn, Twilight released a purplish pulse of light that swiftly extended outwards, shattering the magical barrier like glass. Rarity was the first to speak as Celestia produced a pale yellow glow from her horn, causing her and Phoenix to vanish in a blinding light.  
“Well I suppose I should get back to the boutique; Sweetie Bell invited Scootaloo and Applebloom over for the night, and as usual, they’re creating quite a ruckus.”
“FRACKUS!!” Pinkie Pie yelled at the top of her lungs, hopping up and down with her usual huge grin.
“Yes, well….” Rarity raised an eyebrow at the pink party pony. “Good night darlings, I’m off.”
“Hey, Rarity?” interjected Spike as she was about to leave. “Did you want me to help?”
The white mare turned to face him and smiled. “Oh I couldn’t ask you to do that Spikey. Besides, you still need plenty of sleep.”
“Actually Rarity, Spike moved past that stage a couple months back.” Twilight cut in, “He’s still a baby dragon in terms of age, but he’s growing up, that’s for sure.” She gave a reassuring smile to Spike, and winked, nodding her head towards Rarity in an obvious gesture.
“Oh, why not then. Come on Spikey, we’d best get back before they knock over my ponyquins or make capes from my glitter cloth.”
“Man, I’m beat.” Remarked Rainbow Dash, “See you gals in the morning.” She trotted over to Applejack and planted a kiss on her cheek.
“More like midday, Dashie.” Commented the farmer pony, as they trotted off together.
Pinkie hopped up and down on the spot. “We’ll have a party for Phoen- er, I mean Flax, tomorrow arvo okay gals? Twilight, tell the princess to bring him over to Sugarcube Corner by then, okey doke?” The purple unicorn simply nodded, making a mental note to ask Spike to send the letter when he comes back from the boutique in the morning. Pinkie hopped off with Twilight following, and Fluttershy cheerfully floated off to bed.

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                  First Date's the Charm                   
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First Date's the Charm
Author’s Note: Thank you all for your wonderful input on chapters 1 and 2! Obviously, chapter 2 was met with some criticism due to my use of the human-to-pony cliché. I hereby apologize for that by juicing up this chapter a bit more; hope you enjoy it!
I must note, though, that Phoenix as an ex-human was a necessary addition to the story in order for chapters 4 and 5 to work. Nevertheless, I again apologize for the surprise change of the story’s direction.
Lastly, I would like to give a shout out to ChainReaction, a dedicated and supportive fan of my story since it first appeared here, and an amazing author as well. His interesting horror story "Feral" will also feature as the primary inspiration for the sequel to "Sparity Forever", yet to be named *wink*. Also, for the last section, I had inspiration from dlazarous’ "Curse of the Werepony" and Senorita~De~La~Nieve's "The Magic of Love"
Enough chit-chat, time is candy!
Warm sunlight poured through the fashonista’s bedroom through a thin sliver between the silk curtains, a white unicorn mare deep in her slumber. She mumbled in her sleep as she softly tossed and turned, a wide grin plastered over her face.
“….but of course, Twilight…. no no no, I insist I design your wedding dress…. darling, you mustn’t worry, it’s no trouble at all….”
Giggling could be heard from just outside the room, as the door creaked open ever so slightly.
“….no no, dear, it’s the least I can do, consider it your wedding gift….”
Sweetie Belle peered her head in the doorway, listening acutely to every word her sleeping sister mumbled.
“….oh Twilight, I promise this will be the most elegant dress you’ve ever seen…. I’ll give you a hint, I’m decorating it with….”
The pleasant, mouth-watering aroma of freshly-cooked pancakes and maple syrup wafted into the room, filling her nostrils.
“….pancakes?”
Sweetie fell back hard on her flank as she burst out laughing, which abruptly woke the slumbering Rarity, chortling as she did. Tossing her sleeping mask to the side, she made an attempt to clamber out of the clumped mess of bedsheets, ultimately entangling herself as she tumbled off the plush bed. This only amplified the young filly’s squeaky laughter, as she now lay on her back, flailing her hooves about the air.
Releasing herself from the tangled mess of silk sheets, the white mare was prepared to unleash her full wrath upon the laughing filly, until the delicious pancake scent passed through her nostrils once more, lifting her slightly off the floor as she floated out the door and down the stairs as if in a trance. She arrived at the bottom of the staircase to find the scent becoming more…. crispy, smoky.  
Snapped from her floating trance, Rarity trotted into the kitchen, only to discover Spike dressed in a knee-length white apron and chef’s hat, tipping a ceramic plate of black pancakes into a plastic garbage bag, his expressionless face suggesting no reaction to the event, as he continued back to the opposite counter, ready to give the pancakes another try.
“Spike, darling, would you like some help?” the purple drake flinched at the familiar voice, which had almost seemed a bellow in the relatively quiet kitchen.
Turning to face her hastily, he replied with a smile “Oh, um, good morning Rarity!” he looked over at the garbage bag, then slowly back to Rarity “I was, uh…. trying to make you breakfast in bed….” Spike lowered his head a little, eyes glancing at the immaculate tile floor as he rubbed the back of his head. The white mare trotted over with a gentle smile on her face and kissed him on the forehead. He immediately blushed at the event, eyes wide open and focused intently on her crystal blue eyes.
“My little Spikey-Wikey, you don’t need to trouble yourself with such a thing!” she suddenly realised that she hadn’t applied her makeup or fixed her currently scruffy mane and tail, but the thought provoked no visual reaction, as she had received no comment from Spike on the subject. She blushed a little at the realisation that her cute little gentledrake adored her regardless of her appearance. Rarity continued. “However, you may assist me if you wish. Just give me a few minutes to fix up my coiffeur, apply some eyeliner-“ her stomach grumbled loudly.
“You don’t need makeup to cook breakfast, gorgeous.” He giggled, receiving a warm smile from the red-faced Rarity.
“Ohhh Spikey-Wikey.” She wrapped her front hooves around the young dragon, squeezing him tightly. “Well I am rather hungry,” she released him from the hug and swung an apron over herself with her magic. “Let’s get started!”
After they had cleaned up, Spike hugged Rarity goodbye as he left for the library.
“Bye Spike-Wikey!” Sweetie Belle called in an imitation of her sister’s voice, chuckling.
Back at the library, Twilight finished writing her letter to Princess Celestia, requesting on behalf of Pinkie Pie that their newest resident be allowed a short visit to Ponyville for a welcome party. Rolling up the parchment and applying the seal, she placed it neatly on the edge of a large log table in the centre of the room. Her ears jerked upright as she heard a knock at the door. She happily trotted over and turned the handle, swinging it open to see Spike standing there, wearing a content smile.
“So, Spike….” the purple unicorn mare grinned widely. She was immediately wrapped in the drake’s short, scaly arms, and returned the gesture by wrapping him in her front hooves.
“Thanks for supporting me last night Twilight. I had a great time, and I got to spend a lot of it with Rarity, despite the newest destructive adventures of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” He released his grip.
“Aww, no problem Spike. She really seems to like you.” she giggled a little. “So…. Where are you thinking of taking her for your first date?”
“Oh, well, um…. I hadn’t actually given it much thought, ahehe.”
Twilight giggled again, knowing how busy one’s mind is when attempting to keep the Crusaders under control. “Well, let me help you come up with some ideas.” She tapped her hoof against her chin. “Hmm…. Well, I hear Golden Harvest now runs that fancy dinner restaurant a few doors down from Sugarcube Corner.”
“….do they serve sapphires?”
Twilight facehoofed. The conversation abruptly ended as another knock was heard at the door, though this time hasty and impatient. As Spike turned the handle, the door burst open, and Rainbow Dash whisked through the doorway, tackling Twilight to the floor.
“Twi, do you have the new Daring Do?!” eagerly blurted out the cyan blue Pegasus, her unique multi-coloured mane and tail flicking about enthusiastically. She quickly lowered herself to the ground as she spotted the young purple dragon as he closed the door, rubbing his face with one claw. “We-he-hell, how did ya go, big boy?” she grinned profusely.
Twilight interjected. “Got your book right here, Dash.” The Pegasus in question quickly spun around, and smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. “Try not to tackle me AGAIN next time.”
“Uh, ahehe, sure thing Twi.” She stretched her wings and hopped up into the air.
Twilight shifted a plain blue book with Daring’s profile on the cover off a nearby shelf and over to Dash with her magic.
“Hey, Dash?” asked Spike.
“What’s up, my dragon pal?”
“Seeing as how you and Applejack, uh….. well, what I was wondering was….”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “You need some first date advice, big boy?” Spike looked away from her, trying to hide his blushed cheeks. Flying around him and lifting his face up to hers with her hooves, she grinned. “Hey, look, it’s perfectly normal to be nervous.”
The purple drake interjected. “Actually, I’m not really all that nervous, oddly enough. The thing is, that, um….. I kinda haven’t got much of an idea what to do on the date. What to talk about, where to go, what to-“
“Hey, I suggested dinner at Golden Harvest’s place!” interrupted Twilight. Dash suddenly looked as though a light bulb had appeared above her head.
“Hey, I know!” she exclaimed. “Why don’t you double date with me and Applejack at the restaurant? We could give you a few tips here and there, and we’ll steer conversation the right way for ya at dinner!”
Spike’s ears perked up in excitement. “Hey, that’s perfect! Thanks Dash, you’re the best!” he gripped the Pegasus in a brief hug, then ran off out the door.
“That was really sweet, Dash.”
“Least I could do. You noticed how happy Rarity is around him?”
“Yeah, those two will be so cute together.”
Silence fell between the two, and seconds felt like minutes.
“Well, I guess I’ll see ya round, Twi.”
“Alright. See you later, Dash. Return the book by tomorrow, I’d like to read it myself, you know.”
Dash nodded, then closed the door behind her as she flew off. The purple mare stood there for a few more moments, then slowly wandered about the library.  
‘Come on Twilight, don’t start thinking about that. You know everypony around town; nopony is interested in you.’ she stopped for a moment, as the thought suddenly hit her. ‘Well, there is ONE pony you don’t know…. and he is rather handsome….’
Spike was only around the corner from Carousel Boutique now, and he felt overjoyed as his mind simulated the events of the night to come. ‘This will be perfect, Dash is a genius!’ Just as he was a few strides away from the door, it swung open, and Rarity came out from the vibrant interior, her eyes darting around the area until they met with the young dragon’s and threw a huge grin over her face.
“Spikey-Wikey! Perfect timing darling, I need to ask you something.”
“Sure, Rarity! What’s up?”
“Well as per our first date tonight, could we perhaps share dinner at Carrot Flambé, the new restaurant that opened last week.”
“Actually Rarity, that’s what I was hoping to ask you when I came here.” They chuckled in unison, but their eyes remained locked.
“Oh, well isn’t that the funniest thing, dearie? Great minds think alike, you know!” she continued to chuckle.
“Also, um, would it be okay if we double-dated with Rainbow Dash and Applejack?”
“Ooh, what a fine suggestion, Spikey! I haven’t spoken properly with them in ages…. Except for my birthday yesterday, of course, but it would have been rude to break up our lovely chat.” The drake smiled, and she continued “They’re such a charming couple, perhaps we could get some pointers, eh Spike?” she nudged him with a wink.
“Great! Well, I’ll see you tonight Rarity, I suppose you’re busy with work today.” He looked at her expectantly.
“Right you are, and don’t you ask to help, you’ve already helped me plenty by keeping a watch on Sweetie and her friends. “
“If you say so, milady.” He said with a regal voice, bowing. Rarity simply giggled at the gesture and trotted off with a wave of her hoof.
Orange-red hues radiated across the cloudless sky, and distant specks darted about the sky, gathering clouds of pure white and scattering them here and there. One speck left a faint rainbow trail as it curved around and plummeted towards the vast array of apple trees of Sweet Apple Acres. The object slowed considerably, then finally came to a complete halt as it landed on four hooves outside the large red barnhouse. Folding her wings in, Rainbow Dash knocked the door gleefully with a front hoof and straightened the lavish, multi-coloured dress she had outfitted herself in, matching her mane extravagantly. The large door creaked open, revealing Applejack in a similarly-styled dress, again matching her features elegantly.
“Well howdy there Dash.” She gave her a peck on the cheek. “T’was a mighty kind idea of yours here, real sweet of y’all.”
“Heh, no problem Applejack. Besides, you remember our first date?” they chuckled a little. “They’ll need all the help they can get.”
The two trotted off together, hoof in hoof, towards the restaurant they had all agreed upon earlier that day.  
Meanwhile, as Spike left the library, he fumbled with his black bow tie, dressed in a short, matching tuxedo, with a white inlay and crimson red trimmings. Happily jogging down the path, his mind turned to his date, and imagined her spending a full hour or two beforehand on her mane alone, which made him giggle silently to himself.  
Arriving at the restaurant, Spike was greeted by Rainbow Dash and Applejack, waiting outside hoof in hoof, and they both waved cheerfully as he approached.
“Wow, nice dresses you two!”
“Thanks!” replied Dash and Applejack in perfect unison, smiling and tilting their heads at precisely the same angle as well, as if they were one mare.
“I suppose Rarity’ll show up looking more dazzling than the stars themselves, as always.”
“Aww, now see here Spike, that’s exactly the kinda compliments you’ll be needin’ to give somepony like Rarity quite regularly; she’s a very emotional pony, and in secret she’s actually quite lackin’ in confidence.” Applejack gave a reassuring smile.
“Right into the advice, then?”
“Yer damn right, Spike mah friend.” She glanced at her marefriend, then back to the young dragon. “Ah know how ya feel, ya know. Ain’t no need ta be nervous; ah’m sure she’s just as nervous as you are right now, so it’s up ta you ta reassure her, make her comfortable.”
“Yeah, and if you can make her laugh, it’s a sure thing!” added Dash.
Applejack chuckled as she faced Dash. “Just not the way you did on our first date, sugarcube.”
“Hey, you told me the place was boring!”
“Yeah, but that don’t entitle ya’ll ta throw a blueberry pie at the waiter’s face!”
“It made you laugh, didn’t it?”
“S’pose it did, but don’t ya go doin’ it again, ya hear?” she couldn’t hide her smile, nor did she want to.
“WOAH!” exclaimed Spike as he spotted his date walking regally towards them. All jaws fell to the ground as Rarity approached, draped in the most stunning ensemble they had ever laid eyes upon, which had actually been her original design for Twilight’s birthday dress two years ago. The extravagant headdress design seems to flow gently in the light breeze of the night, gleaming with the same deep purple hue as her mane, and the long silky white and gold-trim garb flowed from her back and draped off her flank, hovering mere centimetres off the ground, layered with rows of glamorous peacock feathers.
https://camo.derpicdn.net/d6d7880f83a53a85cde2e49c131dbb6dd3a9e28a?url=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.wikia.com%2Fmlp%2Fimages%2Fd%2Fd6%2FRarity_original_dress_design_Twi_S2E9-W9.png
Rainbow Dash leaned over to Spike and whispered in his ear, nudging him. “Weren’t you supposed to be walking her here?”
“She wasn’t supposed to be ready for another half hour…. how did she create that in today alone? I never saw any sketches or fabric-lined ponyquins in the boutique this morning.”
Rarity interjected. “Now now, darlings, no need to comment on how astonishing I look; your expressions and lack of speech are praise enough.” And indeed they remained silent, casting their eyes over the astounding masterpiece she had fashioned.
She glanced over at her date, who was lost more in her eyes than the exquisite ensemble itself. Letting out a ladylike giggle, she trotted over and planted a kiss on his cheek, instantly turning it red.  
“Spike darling, I am ever so sorry for denying you the custom of walking me here, I was simply ready quite early, and rather famished if I do say so myself.”
The drake bowed to her, turning sideways as he did and arcing his arm in a gesture towards the door. “Mares first.”  
The elegant white unicorn stepped through the doorway, conscious of her headdress as it brushed the arched ceiling or the doorjamb. Rainbow Dash and Applejack followed suit, the latter wrapped in the Pegasus’ wing.
Spike had reserved a circular lounge table against the back window, and as expected, all attention within the restaurant was aimed at Rarity and her fabulous ensemble. A yellow-coated pony with a carrot-orange mane and green eyes trotted over, her cutie mark a bundle of three carrots.  
“Heya, gals and Spike! What can I getcha?”
“Howdy there, Harvest! I’ll have the apple pie and a chocolate milkshake.” Replied Applejack.
“Mmm, I’ll have the same!” added Dash.
“I’ll have the rainbow salad, thank you dear, and a glass of chardonnay.”
“Uhh, I guess I’ll just have some hay fries and a chardonnay as well.”
They all turned to the drake. “Spike darling, aren’t you still a little young for alcohol?”
“Alcohol doesn’t affect dragons like it does ponies.”
“Cool!” grinned Dash.
“And just how did you discover that in the first place?” Rarity winked, and Spike simply laughed with a sheepish grin. Laughter filled the table as what seemed like only a minute or two passed, as their meals arrived. Applejack and Rainbow Dash devoured their pies relentlessly in what might have seemed a race, while Rarity slowly munched away at her salad, taking ladylike sips of her chardonnay as she shared light conversation with her drake, giggling and chuckling at the occasional joke. None of them had noticed the young dragon ate his fries in a similar manner to his date, even sipping his wine as she did. The cyan pegasus and the farmer clinked their mugs together and locked eyes, indicating a drinking contest. Chugging their beverages, the white unicorn surprisingly cheered them on, as did half the restaurant.
“You folks all done?” asked Harvest, collecting their plates, glasses and mugs.
“Yes, thank you dear. That was absolutely delicious.” Smiled Rarity. Lifting her purse to the table with her magic, Spike raised his claw.
“It’s okay, I got this.” He smiled reassuringly.
“Now darling, I can’t let you do that.”
“Really, it’s okay, Princess Celestia increased the library’s stipend a few months back, and with Twilight often engrossed in her research, I earn quite a good wage simply cleaning and organising.”
“Are you truly sure? The boutique has had a good amount of business in the last week.”
“Yeah, it’s fine Rarity. Besides, I invited you, and it’s my pleasure.”
“Well, alright then, thank you very much Spikey-Wikey.” She reluctantly put her purse away.
“I got me and Applejack, Spike.” She smiled at her marefriend adoringly. “Thanks to her nagging me so much to help out around the farm, I’ve gotten less lazy, and the weather team promoted me.”
“Wow, that’s great, Dash!”
“Alrighty then, have a nice night you gals and, er, drake!” grinned Harvest, as they paid accordingly – plus a hearty tip – and left.
The four of them gathered in a group hug as they parted ways. “Thank ya kindly for allowin’ us ta come along!” Applejack beamed.
“Oh, it was our pleasure, darlings. We should really get together more often, say, the spa next week?” the white mare waved a hoof as they trotted off laughing. She looked at Spike. “I was serious, though.”
Spike chuckled and took her hoof in claw, leading her around the bend and down a brightly-illuminated pathway. Spotting Fluttershy’s cottage in the distance, she spoke up, a slightly confused look on her face. “Spike darling, where exactly are we going? Did you not say there was a lovely view in this area?”
“It’s just atop a hill between Sweet Apple Acres and Fluttershy’s cottage.” He replied reassuringly. She nodded with a smile, and they headed up a grassy incline, then down a short incline, behind a row of oak trees.  
“I hope this doesn’t ruin my dress.” Rarity thought to herself, scanning the area for patches of dirt, gravel or similar terrain. She let out a loud gasp as Spike motioned for her to stop, gesturing over to her left. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened as the majority of the Everfree forest lay out before them, allowing a clear view of many of its regions, with the exception of the swamp.
“Sp-Spikey…. it’s…. beautiful….” Taking in the awe-inspiring view, she looked between groups of trees to see their shadows dancing about the soft grass, flowing in the gentle breeze. As she looked up at the night sky, she was left speechless by the countless stars shimmering amongst the navy-black abyss, Luna’s magnificent full moon shining brightly in the centre of it all. Knees buckling, her legs gave way as she fell gently onto the cushiony grass, staring in awe at the perfect picture before her.
Levitating her young gentledrake over to her, she pulled him close to her and embraced him in a tender hug. Spike looked up to see her large, crystal blue eyes shimmering in the moonlight, as they stared back down into his. Placing one hoof behind his back, and another behind his head, she slowly pulled him closer, gazing deep into his emerald-green eyes. A light blush formed on her cheeks, giving her a warm sensation as she closed her eyes softly, as he did the same, and gently pulled him the final inches as she pressed her lips against his. Spike’s cheeks quickly went red as a shiver wriggled down his spine, and unintentionally, he slipped his tongue inside her mouth. Rarity felt a similar shiver down her spine, but found that she enjoyed the sensation, and returned the gesture, exploring the drake’s mouth with her tongue.
Moments felt like hours as they finally parted, eyes slowly reopening, still fixed upon each other’s. Both Spike and Rarity possessed deep red blushes on their faces, and they wrapped each other in their arms and hooves as they sat staring up at the sky. A bright speck of light suddenly appeared, which quickly sped across the navy black canvas and disappeared.  
Unbeknownst to the loving couple, Applejack had witnessed the entire scene a couple hundred metres away from her bedroom window on the second floor of the Sweet Apple Acres barnhouse.
“Awww, well ain’t that just the most gorgeous thing ya ever saw.” She said to herself.
“I know, right??” called her filly sister, waving her hoof from the adjacent window.
“APPLEBLOOM!” she darted back into house, giggling echoing throughout.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                           Envy                            
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Envy
Author’s Note: Usual message; thanks to all you readers out there, especially those who ‘like’ and ‘favourite’ this, and even more to those who ‘follow’ me. Extra, HUGE thanks to ChainReaction for STILL supporting me and providing inspiration, as well as giving me shout outs in his work and the regular praise he gives me. Help us get his amazing story ‘Feral’ featured!! It sure as hell deserves to be featured compared to some of those disgusting clopfics I’ve seen up there from time to time.
Anyway, constructive criticism, tips and advice for improving on my writing, suggesting possible techniques that would work well with this story, etc.
Oh, one last thing! Important! I was running seriously low on ideas for this chapter, AND I‘ve been absolutely swamped by tons of schoolwork this past week, so I apologize sincerely for the heavy lateness. The main thing I must confess, though, is that in this chapter, Phoenix’s role is noticeably larger than I originally anticipated, but I split the story in two so that Sparity can still have their cutesy-wutesy moments. Sorry about that, but really, it was necessary. Events are moving nicely, but the spotlight is quickly fading from Sparity, and although the next chapter will be full-on Sparity, it’s time to move things ahead in preparation for the sequel.
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” – Jimi Hendrix
“Uhm, Pinkie, why are we hiding?” whispered Fluttershy from behind a cupcake-filled glass counter. The pink party pony stretched her neck in a comically elongated fashion down from the ceiling above her, despite having taken refuge under a nearby plain wooden chair just prior to her question.
“Becaauuuuse, silly, parties are ALWAYS better when they’re a-“suddenly Pinkie retracted her neck and lifted the timid butter-yellow mare from below her. “SURPRISE!” Fluttershy jumped up in shock, managing to hold herself mid-air after quickly spreading her wings and gently flapping them just enough so as to hold her lightweight frame.
“Actually Pinkie, I think what Fluttershy meant is that he was only permitted to visit Ponyville because of this welcome party, so it won’t come as a surprise to him.” Explained the lavender unicorn, joining the two in the centre of the room. “Besides,” she continued, glancing out the window, hiding a silent smile “Spike and Rarity aren’t here yet. We should wait until they-“
Pinkie interrupted, thrusting her plot inches away from Twilight’s face, revealing a shaky pink tail, to which the purple mare gave a rather neutral stare, her eyes darting around the room in expectation of an impending object striking her head.
“Twitch-a-twitchatwitch!”
Several moments passed, but nothing fell as they had expected. All eyes were now aimed at Pinkie with the uniform single raised eyebrow and half-lowered eyelids.
“What? Don’t blame me, it’s twitch-a-twichin!”
As Twilight opened her mouth to speak, she was interrupted by a short, cyan blue flash of light, which quickly dissipated in a spherical fashion, revealing Spike and Rarity as they toppled onto her. Tumbling to the floor, they picked themselves up, Rarity wearing a sheepish grin as she giggled lightly in the lavender unicorn’s direction. Pinkie’s tail halted its twitching immediately, causing her to hop on the spot in a spring-like fashion, with a matching sound effect as she grinned jubilantly.  
“Ugh, please Rarity, remember what I taught you,” said Twilight, rubbing her left temple with her hoof. “You can’t just picture the destination, you must feel the ground you will walk on, the atmosphere you will enter. It is the precise details that pinpoint your destination.”
“Um, ahehe, of course dear.” She approached the young dragon, levitating him onto her back, and he nuzzled her neck gently, which made her giggle and blush lightly as she walked over to the purple mare. The white unicorn widened her eyes slightly as she inspected Twilight’s glistening coat and combed mane, which the lavender unicorn of course ignored, expecting her to be subconsciously thinking of ideas for some new design.
“Twilight, darling…. did you go to the spa this morning?” Rarity smirked.
“W-well, yes, but I, ah, just felt like treating myself a little.” She struggled to maintain eye contact, and the white mare leaned in close.
“Shhh…. I know what you’re doing, and it’s rather cute.” She whispered, as Twilight finally managed to lock eyes with her.
“Twilight’s got a cruuuush, Twilight’s got a cr-“the lavender mare quickly corked the loudmouth dragon’s mouth with her front hoof, silently thanking Celestia that he hadn’t risen above a whisper like them yet.
“Now Spikey-Wikey, it’s not nice to tease.” The white unicorn levitated her drakefriend to the floor and wrapped one hoof around his chest, pulling him close as she smiled with a light giggle. She smirked at Twilight. “So, Twilight….” She drew Spike inwards, their cheeks pressed against each other as if taking a cramped couple’s photo. “Is this what you’re hoping for?” the lavender unicorn’s eyes widened as Rarity wrapped her front hooves around the young dragon’s head and pressed her lips against his, pushing her face further into his as she held the passionate kiss for several seconds, releasing with a loud smooch that seized everypony’s attention. The purple mare stared with widened eyes, blushing heavily.  
The other couple present in the room unfortunately saw the affair as a competition.
Applejack directed her gaze sidewards over to her marefriend Rainbow Dash, simply receiving an adoring smile with a light blush. “Come on, sugarcube.” She leaned in, one hoof wrapped around Dash’s neck, and smacked her lips hard against hers, promptly poking her tongue inside to which Dash returned the gesture. After several seconds, they pulled apart slightly, and wrestled tongues for everypony to see. All eyes were wide open as they watched the event unblinking, except for Pinkie, who was simply chuckling with a huge grin.
Fluttershy was couching behind the counter, her face a deep red hue as Big Macintosh raced through her mind, his bulky frame slowly walking through the vast apple tree orchard of Sweet Apple Acres side-by-side with her, yellow-orange hues pouring across the sky as Celestia’s sun fell beyond the horizon. Rarity rolled her eyes and spoke up. “Alright you two, you’re taking it a little too far.” Dash has been placing gentle kisses on the farmer pony’s neck, as they ended their performance, Pinkie still chuckling.
“That was SOOOOO sweet you girls! You were like SMOOCH then you were like MMMHMMMM and thennnn, you were all like MWAH MWAH MWAH on Dashie’s neck!” the pink party pony was now hopping on the spot, oblivious to Twilight’s heavy blushing as the lavender unicorn lay on the floor, eyes darting about with a sheepish grin.
“Ahehe, we uh, kinda got a little carried away.” Chuckled Dash, scratching her mane with one hoof, a sheepish grin across her face as the same came upon her marefriend.
A firm knock on the door interrupted any event that might follow, and Twilight shot up onto her hooves, grinning happily despite the undeterred presence of her remaining blush. Said blush faded, to her joy, as she slowly opened the bakery door, greeted by a tan unicorn with an unkempt golden mane and a sunset-orange bird, wings outstretched, decorating his lightly toned flank. The lavender unicorn smiled, slightly sheepishly, as their eyes locked and he gave her a gentle, friendly smile.
Pinkie suddenly appeared behind the colt, sporting an unusual, purple contraction over her back with straps around her belly and neck, boasting several small cannons of similar colour and material. Just as he attempted to turn his head, each and every cannon lining the party pony’s contraption fired, releasing clouds of vibrant confetti as she bellowed with a happy tone.
“WELCOME WELCOME WECLOME, A FINE WELCOME TO YOU! WELCOME WEL-“She was cut off by none other than the tan unicorn himself, who tackled her in a fierce hug, grinning widely.
“I’VE ALWAYS WANTED A PINKIE WELCOME!” he exclaimed, chuckling as he stood over her, and strangely showing no irritation to her interruption, she burst out laughing, accidentally kicking the colt off of her in the process.
‘Hey! Colt means he’s really young!’
Err, what?
‘I saiiiiiid, colt means he’s really young! He’s a stallion, get it right mister narrator!’
Um…. noted, Pinkie. How in Faust’s name does she do that?
‘Silly narrator, your auntie Pinkie Pie has her ways.’
Pinkie, if you weren’t so adorable, I’d be yelling at you to get back in the story.
‘Aww, thanks mister!’
Pinkie.
‘Oh, right! Sorry!’
Anyway…. Falling to his rump, Phoenix cracked up in laughter with Pinkie, and the others couldn’t help but join in. Clambering to their hooves, the tan stallion and the pink party pony hopped in identical fashion on the spot, the latter giggling at the notion.
“Hehehe, you’re really fun!” chuckled Pinkie, as she suddenly gasped after jumping up, held midair by some unknown force. “Do you wanna come pranking with me someday?!”
He scratched the back of his mane. “Thanks Pinkie, but I’m not really much of a prankster.”
“Okey dokey loki!” she was surprised a little herself that this did not sadden her even the slightest. Once more, she disappeared suddenly, only to drop down from the ceiling within the bakery, the purple cannon contraption nowhere to be seen. “Come on, let’s get this party STARTED!”
As the party came to an end, seven friends waved to Pinkie as they cantered down the road, the bright sunlight turning an orange-red hue as it slowly dissipated into the horizon. Fluttershy trotted off jubilantly into a side road, waving to her friends as he made her way home. Before she left earshot, however, Rainbow Dash’s ears jerked up as she called out.  
“Fluttershy, don’t forget there’s a storm coming in soon!”
The butter-yellow mare cantered a bit closer so her timid voice could be heard. “Uhm, of course Rainbow, but why are you smiling like that?”
“Well….” she turned to Applejack and winked. “You gonna invite Big Mac over?”
Fluttershy was glad they couldn’t see her blush from that distance, hidden more so by the darkened atmosphere. “Uhm, well…. is that okay with you, Applejack?”
“Hehe, of course, sugarcube. I’ll tell em ta get his hiney over there right quick.” She chuckled in unison with her marefriend.
“Oh, um, only if he’s not busy…. I, uh, wouldn’t want to bother him.”
“Now what sorta chores might he be doin after dark?”
Fluttershy chuckled. “Oh, good point. But, if he wants to stay home, that’s fine too.”
“Hey babe, mind if I chill with you tonight?” asked Dash. The orange farmer pony simply nodded with a smile, as the cyan pegasus wrapped her in her wing, and they trotted off together. Dash whispered something in her marefriend’s ear as they disappeared into the distance, and Applejack pushed her jokingly.
Twilight shifted her attention to Phoenix. “So, you heading off to Canterlot?” there was a hint of sadness in her voice, but nopony noticed.
“Oh, um, well it appears I forgot to tell all of you at the party.” He chuckled with a sheepish smile.
“Tell us what, darling?” Rarity asked with a curious smile.
“The princesses let me off early. I’ve been given a room at the castle for the time being, but I’d like to move into Ponyville someday soon.”
Twilight’s ears perked up, and she struggled to contain her excess joy, as well as the light blush on her cheeks beginning to form as she spoke. “You could come over for a sleepover!”
“Really? Thanks Twilight, I’d love to.” he seemed oblivious to the increasingly obvious signs involved in her over-enthusiasm, but had actually noted such things, dismissing most of them as the joy she received in making new friends.
Spike nudged Rarity’s leg. “Now Spikey, I’d hate to impose.”
“Of course not, you should come too, Rarity!” the lavender unicorn happily replied.
Their conversation was abruptly by the distant rumble of thunder as dark clouds began to roll in, though nopony could see the pegasi responsible in the navy-black sky.
“O-on second thought, I think I shall keep an eye on the boutique.” Stuttered the marshmellow mare rather nervously. She smiled at her drakefriend. “Though I’d like some company, Sweetie’s staying with Scootaloo.”  
Spike smiled, receiving a nod from Twilight as he toddled off with the white unicorn. Phoenix looked over at the purple mare as they walked off together. “Where does Scootaloo actually live?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure.” She giggled a little at the realisation that they knew next to nothing about the orange pegasus filly. “I don’t even know who her parents are; I’ve only heard that Cheerilee is apparently her sister.”
“Really? Where did you hear that?”
“Pinkie told me. She said she saw it on something called ‘Memebase’, though she won’t tell me what that is.” She stopped for a moment. “Do you know?”
“Actually, yes. You ponies have the internet, right?”
“The what?”
The tan stallion sighed. “What about computers?”
“Umm….” The lavender unicorn wore a look of absolute confusion.
“Well, do you understand how the circuitry works in your house? Like the light switches and all?”
Twilight nodded unsurely.
“Great, let’s start from there.”
Rarity quickly shut the boutique door as Spike followed her in, wary of the impending storm as the light sprinkling outside swiftly grew into a heavy drizzle. The white unicorn trotted off upstairs, the young dragon following closely behind, as she entered her majestic bedroom and pulled shut a slightly ajar window. With a light from her horn, she magically shut her bedroom door as the purple drake entered, and he looked over with a raised eyebrow as he spotted his marefriend curled up on the bed, levitating two thick, large white sheets over herself.
“Don’t tell me you’re-“
“I just don’t like thunder, okay?!” Rarity’s voice was a half-shriek as she floated Spike into her embrace.
“Hey, no biggie, I wasn’t judging you.”
“Sorry, Spikey-Wikey.” She nuzzled the back of his head, and a distance rumble made her begin to shiver. Spike wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, and she closed her eyes, smiling as her shiver slowly died down. He took a long, gentle breath, closing his eyes as a grin overtook his face in reaction to the marshmellow mare’s delicious scent of strawberry cake frosting.
Rarity cracked one eye lightly open. “Spike, darling....”
“Yeah?”
“Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be leaving for a few days on a vacation hosted by Fancy Pants in Canterlot.”  
The young dragon’s ears perked up, as his eyes snapped open and he grinned widely. “That’s great! Congratulations Rarity, I hope you really enjoy it.” His eyes drooped a little, as did his smile. “I’ll miss you, though.... could I treat you to lunch tomorrow before you leave?”
Rarity giggled. “That’s nice of you, dear, but I was actually wondering.... would you like to come along with me?” Spike’s emerald-green eyes widened. “Fancy Pants has allowed plus ones, and in his last letter to me, he mentioned that he would very much like to meet you.”
“R-really?”
“Of course, darling! Besides, I made a smashing little tuxedo this morning for you, and it would be just perfect for such an occasion!”
More thunder rolled in, this time louder and clearly closer. The white unicorn let out a quiet whimper as she quivered momentarily, clutching her drakefriend tighter. The latter smiled adoringly, stroking her luxurious purple mane.
Creaking the sturdy wooden library door open, Twilight gestured Phoenix inside as she shut the door, noting the gentle rain outside quickly becoming a heavy downpour. The tan stallion slowly cantered around the room, reading the titles of the numerous books lining the many shelves carved into the walls themselves. He squinted at one book for a moment before continuing, ‘An Egghead’s Guide To Pickup Lines’. Chuckling silently, he followed the lavender unicorn upstairs as she levitated a mattress, pillow and two linen sheets – one rather thin, one thick and fluffy – a few feet from her night sky-print bed, against the opposite wall.
“Oh, what should we do first?” Twilight floated a book over to herself, and flipped through the pages. “Hmm.... well, we can’t do makeovers for obvious reasons.” She giggled at the image that appeared in her mind of Phoenix wearing a mud mask and cucumber slices over his eyes. The tan unicorn merely rolled his eyes, aware of what she had just imagined. “Ooh, how about s’mores?”
“You go right ahead if you’d like, but I’m still full of cake.”
She chuckled, realising that she too was quite full. “That’s okay, me too.” There was a brief silence between the two as she flipped through a few more pages. “Oh, I know!” she smirked a little. “Truth or dare!”
“Alright Twi, dare. Whatcha got?” he countered with a cocky tone.
“I dare you.... to touch your horn with your tongue!”
“No fair, that’s impossible!” he retorted after a brief few attempts.
“All right, fine.” she chortled. “I dare you to....” Twilight glanced around the room, and the deep rumble of thunder bellowed in the distance out the window. Finally, her eyes locked onto his mane, and she gave an evil smile. “....brush your mane!”  
Phoenix widened his eyes momentarily, then narrowed them in acceptance of the challenge. “Easy.” He levitated a brush off the lavender unicorn’s drawers, enveloped in an orange-red glow. With each stroke, his hair slowly began to flop downwards, leaving him with an end product after a mere minute similar to Pinkie’s ‘Pinkamena’ style, except shorter and of course golden in colour. Twilight burst into laughter, and the stallion proceeded to shake his head wildly, reforming its previous state.
Once the purple mare had calmed down enough, the tan unicorn continued. “Okay, you’re up Twi. Truth or dare?”  
“Truth.”
“Do you miss Smartypants?”
Twilight sighed a little, but kept her smile. “Yeah.... it’s nice to have someone to cuddle up to.” thunder roared in the clouds, louder this time, having begun its approach. “....especially on nights like these.” Her cheeks went red as she noticed Phoenix’s slightly blushed reaction. Nevertheless, she continued. “Truth or dare?”
“Another dare.”
“I dare you to-“ suddenly, a bolt of lightning violently struck the lightning rod of the large tree residence, the thunder that joined it shaking the very foundations of the house as it racked both of their bodies. “HOLD ME!!” she screamed, shuddering heavily. The lavender unicorn halted her shaking immediately as she realized her request, staring blankly at the tan stallion with wide eyes. In moments, she acquired a deep red blush.
Phoenix, mouth slightly ajar and eyes blinking wide, returned to a smile as he calmly trotted over to her and wrapped a hoof around her. His radiant body heat surged through his arm and into her body, and she remained wide-eyed as she chuckled sheepishly, returning the gesture with her own hoof.
“Uhm, uh....” was all Twilight could manage as she stared into the cerulean blue eyes looking back into hers. The tan unicorn managed to pull off an oblivious appearance, though it had little effect on her.
“Truth.... or dare?” he calmly spoke, maintaining eye contact as he failed to hold back a blush and grinned.
“A-another truth.”
“Why did you really invite me here, and why were you staring at me so much during the party?”
“Hey, you can only have one question!” she stammered. He leaned an inch closer to her face, still staring deeply into her magenta eyes, glistening in the moonlight from the window.
“Don’t they have the same answer?” he whispered into her ear, which only deepened her blush, and her lip began to quiver a little.
“I....I....” the purple mare paused for a moment, then leant her face into his as she pressed her lips against his, pushing ever so slightly against his face. Twilight closed her eyes dreamily, and Phoenix did the same. Holding the moment for several seconds, they released the kiss, pulling their lips apart slowly as they opened their eyes to stare into one another’s.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                         Vacation                          
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Vacation
Author’s Note: Same as always; thanks to everypony for the likes, favourites, comments and watches. This chapter is designed to uphold the story’s title, as the plot has transitioned rather roughly rather than smoothly (I’m still a noob, lol). Think of this as entirely Sparity focused; the majority of you read this story solely for the Sparity shipping, and having indulged myself in my own ideas and storyline, I have largely ignored the narrow area of interest involved in such cliché shipping.  
As always, I’d like to give a shoutout to ChainReaction and his horror/comedy/romance fic ‘Feral’, which has proven nothing less than a masterpiece and source for various forms of inspiration. The author’s modesty towards his work and his highly advanced literature skillset have allowed him to create wonders, and not only is every idea backed up with evidence down to the last detail, he has introduced user feedback – even the most unusual items – into the story itself (It takes a genius to pull off a character asking “Does the narwhal bacon at midnight?”).
“Over time, any sentence uttered long and loud enough becomes fixed. Becomes a truth. Provided, of course, you can outlast the dissent and silence your opponents. But should you succeed – and remove all challengers – then what remains is, by default, now true.” – Altair Ibn La-Ahad
CHOOO!
Spike and Rarity exited onto the polished stone walkway as the arched steel door slid shut behind them, the marshmallow unicorn carrying their luggage in a cyan blue aura with ease. Large wheels of thick steel gradually built up speed in their rotation as the pink carriage once more called CHOOOOO, the tune held longer the second time as it departed Canterlot Station.  
The young purple dragon inspected his emerald green spines, his scales buffered lightly with a floating silk handkerchief directed by the elegant white mare’s keen eyes, ensuring each individual scale not only clean, but reflective.
Rarity smiled as her drakefriend fidgeted with his lightly sparkling red cravat, and after exchanging gleeful nods, the two walked regally along a slightly curvaceous pathway, surrounded by small gardens of luscious green grass, trimmed expertly so as to align immaculately with adjacent pathways. A pair of pale grey stallions geared in glossy golden armour raised their chins upward and straightened their hooves as the couple passed, gripping their barbed silver spears valiantly beside their front hooves.
After several minutes, and several turns left, right and around bends in their path, the duo arrived outside a quaint little café, sporting a mere three small but lavish tables placed randomly yet spaciously about the open area between various multi-storey structures. A relatively small group of roughly ten to fifteen ponies were seated within the café itself, most notably Fancy Pants and his wife Fleur de Lis.
Turning his gaze towards the approaching guests, the regal blue-maned unicorn stallion widened his smile, still held in a rather posh state, as from the side, it always appeared as a gently wavy line upon his muzzle.
“Rarity, so glad you could join us!” his eyes repositioned their focus lower to the spotless maple flooring, inspecting a youthful purple drake with green spines and large, emerald eyes with slit pupils. “And this must be Spike, I presume?” stepping out from his seat, Fancy Pants advanced towards them, bowing to Rarity with one leg sliding behind the other in a formal greeting fashion. Lifting a hoof to the Spike, he held his chin up ever so slightly as he continued. “Wonderful to meet you, my good chap. You are a fascinating creature indeed, just as Rarity elucidated.”
The purple drake gave a quick glance at his marefriend with one eyebrow raised, obviously confused by the word ‘elucidated’. She grinned cutely, seemingly agreeing in some sort of telepathic communication. Nevertheless, he took the white stallion’s hoof in his corresponding claw and attempted his most gentledrakely hoofshake (err, claw-hoofshake?).
“I say, shall we be on our way then?” he turned his head to the other guests, and they immediately left their seats. “Righto then, this way.” Spike revealed a gold and ivory cane as he followed suit, eyes closed and chin up in a posh manner, forcing a chuckle from his marefriend. Rarity struck up simple, polite conversation with Fleur as the group made its way to an airy airship dock around a bend from the café, situated upon a large cliff midway down the side of a grand canyon, a sparkling blue river flowing at its depths along fields of luscious green grass into distant hills.
Boarding an enormous, lavish pale lavender air balloon, the group situated themselves randomly upon the main deck, whilst Fancy, Fleur, Spike and Rarity entered its main cabin, the latter couple staring in awe at the stylish decorations covering every wall and table within the spacious room.  
Glittery whites and golds were the central theme, being the sole colour of innumerable ribbons and banners lining the flawless lavender walls. The young dragon was suddenly reminded of the jewels he had gifted his marefriend on her birthday.
Walking regally with his cane, he approached the marshmallow unicorn. “Hey, Rarity,” she perked her ears up and turned to face her drakefriend with a warm smile. “What did you do with the diamonds I gave you?” he smiled sheepishly. “Just curious.”
“Well, darling, you of course remember my display podium? Where I often hold a small catwalk of sorts to present new sets of my designs?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m refurnishing it.” She winked.
“Cool! So, you gonna have them against the back wall, or in the centre of the floor or something?”
Rarity giggled. “No spoilers darling, give me the afternoon when we get back home and you may take a peek then.”
The white stallion with the blue mane pecked his wife on the cheek and gestured out toward the observation deck. “Would you care to join us, you two? The view is rather spectacular, if I do say so myself.”
Several hours passed as the enormous lavender balloon floated silently amongst the cloudless cyan blue sky, hundreds of metres above verdant green hills, craggy brown and grey stony slopes, thick khaki forests and later Fillydelphia as they approached the skies above Manehattan. Towering structures of concrete, steel and paned glass littered the area, fine grids of black asphalt roads criss-crossing within the city. The more pompous ponies among the airship’s deck pointed and chortled at numerous distant ponies hauling large wooden crates onto a colossal steel vessel, to which Fancy gave them pitiful glances.
Despite Spike’s notable growth in recent years, he remained quite short, and Rarity chuckled as he lifted himself up a little with the deck’s wooden sidebars to peer out at the immense city before them. Joining her drakefriend, the white mare levitated him onto her back and stared in awe as Celestia’s radiant yellow-orange sun lowered beyond the horizon, filling the cloudless sky with hue of slowly darkening orange.
As Manehattan faded into the distance, Fancy Pants nuzzled his wife as they entered the main cabin. “Everypony, may I have your attention?” as if on cue, all eyes were directed at him, conversations ceased as they listened respectfully. “It’s time for dinner, please take your seats.”
The marshmallow mare nuzzled the young dragon as he hopped off her back, giggling and blushing lightly as he took her hoof in claw and placed a gentle kiss on it, leading her into the cabin.
Darkness had shrouded the region as Luna’s crescent moon shone brightly in the centre of the still cloudless sky, innumerable distant stars sparkling like tiny diamonds. The soft tune of a cello sung aboard the observation deck, the source of the melody halting briefly as her ears perked up in reaction to the nearby sliding of a sturdy wooden door.  
A white unicorn mare with coils of purple hair cantered out onto the deck, her eyes now shifting to the pinewood-brown mare with a natural, flowing dark hazelnut mane.
“Couldn’t sleep, dear?”
Octavia simply nodded in response, returning to her cello. Just as Rarity made her way around the large central cabin to the opposite end of the deck, the cabin door once again slid open, and a young purple dragon with green spines and glimmering emerald eyes emerged into the moonlight, oblivious to the soothing music as he followed his marefriend intently.  
As he reached her, the white mare turned her head to face him. “Can’t sleep either, Spikey Wikey?”
“Nah. Must be the altitude.”
The marshmallow unicorn raised an eyebrow slightly. “You’re a dragon, Spikey; surely you’re naturally acquainted with heights.”
“Well,” he glanced at his shoulders, a slightly sad look on his face. “I haven’t been able to fly yet.”
Rarity facehoofed. “Sorry, Spikey, I cannot believe that passed my mind.” Finding herself slightly swaying with the gentle melody of cello after a long, silent moment, she noticed Spike doing the same. Giggling, she smirked at him. “Care to dance, my handsome little drake?”
His ears perked up. “Uh-uh, dancing is soooo girly, I-“he gulped as the white mare’s gaze took a more serious appearance. “Uh, I mean, um, I don’t know how to dance….” Smiling sheepishly, he twiddled his claws. Thankfully, she ignored his original comment with a smile.
“Well then, I simply must teach you.” her adoring smile became more gleeful as she extended a hoof. “Follow my lead, darling.”
The young dragon carefully reached out and grasped her hoof gently. Cautiously observing and replicating his marefriend, the marshmallow unicorn led the duo one step at a time, forward, backward, side…. After several minutes, Rarity hadn’t even noticed that they had created their own flow of movement from the gentle music singing softly through their bodies, straying from the proper methodology, forming a sort of back-and-forth mild push against each other, even incorporating gentle spins into their routine. Unintentionally, they began moving gradually faster, due to the pine-brown cellist at the opposite end of the deck taking notice of their dance and deciding to have a little fun.
Too lost in each other’s eyes to notice the now triple-speed tune, Rarity’s hoof took a wrong step seemingly of its own accord, sliding sidewards behind her drakefriend’s, and as she drew her opposite hoof back, the former hoof hooked Spike’s, and their opposing shift of body weight pulled them from their thoughts as they tumbled to the ground in a jumble of limbs. The melody disappeared completely as a mischievous Octavia quickly darted out of view, though the loving couple remained oblivious as they burst out in laughter, which died down after several long moments as their gaze remained focused on one another’s.
Each minute that passed felt like hours as they simply lay in a still-jumbled heap on the oak wood deck, exploring each other’s eyes as soft beams of moonlight poured over their faces. Both remained entirely speechless as they delved deeper into each other’s minds, little realising they were pulling closer and closer, until they felt a small tickle resulting from their noses touching ever so slightly. Hearts beating fast, in absolute unison, each felt as though they were floating amongst a sea of clouds, embracing the warm, gentle breaths escaping one another’s muzzles.
Shutting their heavy eyelids as their lips finally met, tingly sensations coursed throughout their bodies, tugging gently at their hearts like interwoven strings, and the two pulled in closer, the marshmallow unicorn letting out a quiet moan as she gently slipped her moist tongue into her drakefriend’s mouth, to which he returned the gesture. Inhaling slightly, the purple drake enjoyed the pleasant scent of lavender lemon his marefriend wore, deepening the passionate kiss as he wrestled her tongue with his own, pressing his lips slightly harder against hers.
Rarity’s knees weakened, buckling gently as she allowed herself to slump in her lover’s grasp. Releasing their caress, the duo returned to gazing deeply into the windows of their souls, Spike lightly touching his nose with his marefriend’s. The marshmallow unicorn gently raised a hoof up to stroke the drake’s smooth chin, as they lay silently for what seemed like hours as they slowly drifted off into peaceful slumber, wrapped in each other’s arms.
“I say, that’s one way to spend the night.”
A white unicorn mare with a coiled purple mane lay in a jumbled heap on the floor, hooves wrapped tightly around a young, purple-scaled dragon with green spines and emerald eyes with slit pupils. As she cracked her eyelids open, she let out a long yawn before nudging her drakefriend awake and clambering to her hooves. The regal white stallion flicked his wavy blue mane, eyeing the couple as they exchanged sheepish grins and awkward chuckles.
“Well then, did you two have an…. eventful evening?” Fancy hid his playful smirk expertly.
Spike scratched the back of his head as the couple began to chuckle, cheeks reddening.
“Well, in any case, the captain says we’ll be taking a large arc over the Crystal Mountains as we make the return trip. Care to join us for a quick breakfast before we reach the mountains for a view?”
“That sounds lovely, dear.” She looked over at her drakefriend. “Come along now, Spikey.” the marshmallow unicorn grasped his claw in her hoof as they walked down the deck and into the large cabin.
The couple gasped as they entered the room, staring in disbelief at what they saw, even more so as Fancy himself cantered over to the lavish tables and joined everypony else; the ‘high society’ of Canterlot sat at their elegant, elongated tables enjoying a hearty breakfast of…. pancakes. The white mare desperately attempted to hold back a fit of laughter, and the young dragon began to drool, licking his lips as he raced over to the nearest table to join in.
“Oh, why not.” Chortled Rarity, happily trotting over to join them.
Spike dragged himself out onto the observation deck, groaning as he held his bloated stomach in both claws, his marefriend chuckling by his side.  
“Errrgh…. so…. full….”  
“Darling, you weren’t forced to eat 40 pancakes.”
“Yeah, but they were soooooo good….”
Rarity continued to chuckle as she levitated the purple drake onto her back, beholding the vast mountain range stretched out before them, crystal blue hues glistening amongst the slopes. Capped with pure white snow, the rough line of grand mountains before them formed a barrier between luscious green, grassy hills and fields, and an enormous, barren landscape of dull-grey snow.  
The young dragon became oblivious to his belly ache as the spectacular view distracted him, and he cast his eyes far into the distance, spotting the tiny speck that was Canterlot.
The marshmallow unicorn spun her head round to see a pine-brown mare with a flowing hazelnut mane approaching. She smirked, swiftly striking up conversation. “Cute little trick you played last night, Octavia.”
“Well it worked, did it not?” she returned a smug grin.
“Hmm, yes, but perhaps you should save your creativity for that special somepony of yours”.
Octavia’s ears perked up and her pupils shrunk a little as she changed her tone to a whisper, flustering slightly. “Rarity please, that is to remain a secret!”
“Of course, dear.” She chuckled.
Spike walked over to his marefriend, nudging her shoulder lightly.
“Yes, Spikey Wikey?”
“Um…. do you wanna play some billiards in the cabin?”
Rarity chuckled in delight. “Of course, darling! Care to join us, Octavia?”
“Oh, no thank you. Do enjoy yourselves!”
The purple-scaled drake took her by the hoof and walked happily into the cabin, nuzzling her fur coat adoringly.
The enormous lavender airship was greeted by slightly cloudy skies, although the latter were a pure, fluffy white, indicating no rain or stormy weather forecast for their return. Approaching the grand cliffside adjacent to Canterlot, Fancy Pants gathered his wife and guests, leading them to the departure deck as the balloon gradually slowed to a halt in perfect position on the receiving dock.  
Rarity cantered off the airship in a regal manner, raising an eyebrow as she noticed her drakefriend walking in long-swaying steps, sporting a pair of black shades.
“Spike darling, wherever did you find those glasses?”
“I brought them along, but forgot about them until earlier this morning.” He struck a pose as he halted his steps, angled slightly sideways with arms crossed. He managed a chuckle from his marefriend, who gestured for him to follow her as they continued along the winding path into the city. Making their way through the streets, the group rendezvoused at the café they had met up at before setting out on their trip. Parting ways, Fancy and Fleur accompanied Spike and Rarity as they followed the polished stone pathways toward the train station.
The marshmallow unicorn levitated their items off their backs and neatly into the awaiting carriage as the high class couple waved goodbye. With a slow, loud CHOOOO, thick steel wheels began to rotate, and a column of grey smoke ascended from a small cylindrical pipe on the roof as its steel doors slid shut, the carriage now rolling smoothly along silver tracks, pushing the ivory spires of Canterlot into the distance.
“Well my darling Spikey, I wonder what’s been happening in our absence.” She pecked his cheek with her muzzle as they made their way to their seats.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                  EPILOGUE: Pinkie Crush                   
//-------------------------------------------------------//
EPILOGUE: Pinkie Crush
Author’s Note: Hopefully you guys read this, because this one’s a direct message to you all. I’m not at all oblivious to the fact that the majority of Sparity Forever’s content has not been entirely focused on the couple itself, but fixing such a large error would require nothing less than a complete rewrite of every chapter, and with the HSC nearby and my developing plans for this story’s sequel, that just won’t be possible.
This was my first fic, so not only am I inexperienced, I merely poured whatever felt right from my writer’s instinct into the story, and with sizeable loopholes and misleading content that I now regret (such as Phoenix’s pairing with Twilight – he wasn’t originally meant to resemble myself, and now here I am with a beautiful mare who so many others deserve), I am only able to use my mistakes, both large and minor, to produce a better result from the sequel.
This chapter is dedicated to my most supportive reader and PFF, who on the other hand, has created masterpieces of literature in his ongoing story, Feral. As such, this will take centre stage and Sparity will be shadowed entirely. Yes, I realise this is deviating from the focus, but this is the EPILOGUE; the link between Sparity and its sequel.
“Science adjusts its views based on what’s observed. Faith is the denial of observation so that belief can be preserved.” – Tim Minchin, ‘Storm’
Shortly after Spike and Rarity left for Canterlot….
POOF!
In a puff of sparkling purple and green magic, a roll of parchment bearing Celestia’s seal appeared mid-air in the librarian’s abode, as it dropped with a flutter onto the large log table in the centre of the room. A lavender unicorn mare with a pink-streaked dark purple mane and deep magenta eyes quickly snapped her head round at the object. A tan unicorn stallion with cyan blue eyes and an unkempt golden mane trotted down the stairs a few metres away, striking a warm smile as she did the same. With a silent nod from the mare as she skimmed through the letter, Phoenix cantered over to join her and read the letter.
‘My faithful student Twilight Sparkle,
I will be visiting you shortly, in regards to two matters; firstly, Luna and I have been unable to access the human world at all, which strikes me as deeply unusual. Secondly, Luna detected another unknown visitor and investigated personally, discovering the individual to be yet another human, this one claiming to be a friend of Phoenix’s. His name is Chain, and he is very….ecstatic about being in our world.
Celestia’
The tan stallion’s eyes widened as he looked over at the lavender mare, who simply nodded silently in return. Rolling up the note, they departed the library and made their way towards Town Hall. Each step felt like minutes as Phoenix struggled to recall how his friend could have appeared in Equestria as well…. come to think of it, he couldn’t recall anything that happened for what he believed might have been months before the incident.
They waited for several minutes after arriving at Town Hall, before a large white chariot embellished with gold lining, led by two almost identical white pegasi in matching golden armour, sped through the sky towards them. Slowing to a halt as it lowered softly to the ground, Twilight and Phoenix spotted the Princesses of the day and night depart the chariot, followed by a male pegasus similar in coat to Phoenix, but with jade green eyes, rectangular black glasses, a blonde-streaked, centre-parted short brown mane and a cutie mark depicting a conical glass measuring flask filled roughly halfway with a yellow acid-like liquid.  
He looked around half-cautiously, half-anxiously, until his eyes lit up as they locked onto the tan unicorn stallion standing before him, large grins forming as they approached one another and bumped a single hoof against the other’s, exclaiming ‘BROHOOF!’, laughing in the process.
Twilight raised an eyebrow at the sight, but smiled anyway as she approached Princess Celestia and nuzzled against her side. She quickly darted over to Princess Luna as she quickly noticed an irritated look on her face in reaction to receiving no greeting. The princess of the sun chuckled.
“Well, it doth seem thou art indeed previously acquainted, so thy words are true.” Remarked Luna at the unfamiliar greeting gesture.
Meanwhile, at Sugarcube Corner….
A hot-pink, cotton candy-like tail rustled, immediately grabbing the attention of its owner.
“Rustling? That’s never happened before….” Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin. “OOH, this will be fun! A new Pinkie sense! I wonder what it could mean….” The pink party pony trotted out the bakery door and started down the path towards Twilight’s house.
“Twilight will know what to do, she’s a smart pony!” she told herself as she hopped along, stopping suddenly at an intersection as she spotted a large chariot and several ponies gathered outside Town Hall.
“It’s great to see you, Phoenix!” exclaimed the pegasus stallion. He looked over at the princesses, then back to the tan unicorn. “Do you, uh, have any idea how we got here?”
Phoenix shrugged, and Chain dropped the topic without a thought. Instead, he turned his gaze to the lavender mare beside him, and his eyes widened a little. “Twilight Sparkle, as I live and breathe! It’s great to meet you!” he shook her hoof harshly.
“Uhh, likewise.” She smiled sheepishly, still not quite used to the idea that he too knew a great deal about her, and their world.
Celestia directed her focus behind the group as she smiled warmly. “Good day Pinkie Pie, and how are you this fine-“she was cut off as the pink party pony let out a large gasp, hovering mid-air.
“OMIGOSH NEW PONY NEW PONY NEW P-“ Pinkie interrupted herself as she dropped to the ground, mouth agape as her eyes locked with the pegasus staring back at her intently. He stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape, unblinking. There she was; Pinkie Pie, flesh and fur. Heart aflutter, a light sweat overtook his face as it quickly reddened. The pink earth pony finally let out a chuckle after several silent moments, hiding a light blush of her own.
Chain desperately fought the powerful urge to tackle her in a loving hug, his legs quivering slightly as mind battled muscle. Phoenix grinned at the sight, although Pinkie’s reaction was a surprise to him as well. Pinkie and Chain shook their heads violently in unison, snapping out of their trances. Luna and Celestia whispered to each other, and Twilight giggled as she finally picked up on the situation.
Interjecting onto what would have been several moments of awkward silence and exchanged glances, the tan unicorn spoke up. “So…. you gonna stay at the castle, or in town?”
“Oh, uh….” the pegasus rubbed his chin, glancing quickly at the princesses. “While the offer is greatly appreciated, perhaps I could, I dunno, stay in the Apple family barn, working for them?”
With that, Pinkie’s eyes burst wide as she gasped loudly once more. “I KNOW I KNOW YOU COULD STAY AT SUGARCUBE CORNER!!”
The princesses stared blankly, nodding in content with her suggestion. Twilight however, decided to be sceptical with details.  
“What about the Cake children?” the lavender mare inquired.
“Well, um….” the pink earth pony’s ears perked up shortly after relaxing slightly. “He can stay in my room! I’ll set up a mattress, and we can tell ghost stories and….” she began hopping on the spot, eyes happily shut, wearing a large grin. “we can have a CUPCAKE EATING CONTEST!”
“Erghh…. fifty…. fifty-three….” Groaned Chain, slouched in his seat at a rounded pin table within the Sugarcube Corner bakery, holding his bloated stomach with both hooves as his face slumped onto the table. Pinkie Pie bounced around the room, circling the table jubilantly as she chuckled at her opponent.
“Come on, silly! I’m still ahead by two hundred and seven!”
The pegasus raised his head to meet her gleeful gaze. “Honestly, Pinkie…. how do you eat so much and remain in such…. such great shape….?”
Failing to hide a light blush at the compliment, the pink party pony continued with her cheerful, energetic tone, responding with a mere shrug. Shortly after, a soft but easily noticeable bell chimed as a butter-yellow pegasus with a long, flowing pink mane entered, who quickly halted and lowered her head beneath her silken mane.
“Oh my, I’m sorry Pinkie, I didn’t know you had company…. maybe I’ll come back later-“
“FLUTTERSHY!” she bellowed, receiving a soft EEP! from the shy pegasus. “You have GOT to meet this new pony, he’s really fun!” turning her focus back to the stallion, she giggled as she looked back at Fluttershy. “Although he realllly can’t hold his cupcakes.”
Chuckling, the timid mare inspected the pegasus before her. She blinked at the sight of his cutie mark as she approached him.
“Uhm.... excuse me sir, but uh....” she failed to maintain eye contact as she looked around the bakery. “What did you, um.... what did you get your cutie mark for? It’s quite.... unusual.”
“Well, uh, to put it bluntly, I enjoy anything and everything related to chemistry, especially in the fields of medicine. I’ve been told I was born with a natural aptitude for it.”
Chain stuck his chest out and lifted his chin slightly as he spoke, attempting to imitate pride despite his inherent modesty and diffidence. The pink earth pony beside him rubbed her chin before her eyes burst wide in joy as she returned to hopping on the spot.
“Ooh, ooh, does that mean you can make cauldrons of funny-tasting soup like Zecora does?”
“Uh, not exactly....” he took no offense to such a generalization of his work, although clearly he appeared somewhat irritated. Nevertheless, he was reluctant to expand upon his explanation, as he saw such talk as boasting and kept it to himself, despite all his significant achievements and vast array of skill sets. The tan pegasus looked back at Fluttershy with a gentle smile. “Anyway, nice to meet you Fluttershy, I’m Chain Reaction.” Lowering his head slightly, he almost appeared to be bowing. She returned the gesture silently, turning to Pinkie.
“So, um, Pinkie, could I place an order for a carrot cake? Angel’s birthday is coming up soon, and he really liked a slice of carrot cake I gave him at tea today. But, um, do you think you could use less sugar? He had a major hype today, after which he collapsed on the couch and fell asleep. That is, um, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure! I’ll have it ready tomorrow morning. Mrs. Cake will be tending the store, you can pick it up from her.”
“Perfect, thanks Pinkie.” She turned to leave. “Bye Pinkie, bye Chain!”
The two ponies in question waved a hoof as the timid mare left, and Pinkie turned back to her new friend.
“I’d say you’re already part of the gang!” she paused for a moment as the pegasus smiled, then gasped loudly. “That means.... Do you wanna have a slumber party tonight??” Chain’s pupils shrunk a little, the pink mare’s tone gradually increasing in tempo. “I’ve never been to a slumber party but Twilight told me all about them but I wasn’t really listening to most of it BUUUUUT I do know that we get to tell spooky stories and play games and eat s’mores, and OOH that gives me an idea for a new recipe, like a chocolate-covered Graham cracker fortress with marshmallow meringue lining and-“she started to drool at the image she had just depicted.
“Uhm, yeah sure, why not.” The stallion grinned half-sheepishly, snapping her out of her trance before her drool could drip onto the bakery floor.
Chain cracked his eyelids open to the offending sunlight, sniffing softly as the scent of strawberry cotton candy entered his nostrils. Lifting his head, mane frizzled, he rubbed his eyes at the large, fluffy pink mess beside him, suddenly flinching as it gave a soft, sleepy sigh. Wriggling out from under the covers, the pegasus sat upright, scanning the pink-walled room he found himself in as he noticed that Pinkie's bed, sitting at the opposite side of the room, remained neat and tidy, devoid of the pink earth pony's form. Instead, he discovered the mare in question in a deep slumber beside him on the mattress she had laid out for him, curled up in a ball and resting against his body.
Although Chain very much enjoyed the warmth of her presence, his mind forced him from said feeling, pulling him off the alluringly comfortable mattress and setting him, still rather sleepily, onto his hooves. Cursing under his breath, he immediately tripped due to his own sluggish footing, tumbling to the ground and hence awakening the sleeping party pony. She immediately formed a deep red blush, fumbling backwards and out of the bed.
“I, uh.... something scared me during the night.” she chuckled sheepishly.
A loud CREAK sung from door, and a small cream-coated foal with a chestnut mane walked in. Pound Cake had grown exponentially in only two years, and was already on his hooves. To the irritation of his parents, his first word was “Pinkie”, which had brought a fountain of joyous tears to the bearer of the Element of Laughter. She looked down at the bug-eyed foal and instantly formed a huge grin as she scooped him up with her two front hooves and blew on his stomach, forcing great fits of laughter, which in turn provoked laughing at a similar level from Chain.
Trotting out the door and downstairs, the pegasus stumbled across a lavender unicorn with deep magenta eyes and a pink-streaked purple mane passionately kissing a tan unicorn with cerulean blue eyes and an unkempt, shaggy golden mane. He immediately halted partway down the staircase as the couple separated abruptly, eyes darting between one another and the pegasus staring at them. He continued down the stairs toward them, dropping the sight from his mind entirely.
Oddly enough, Twilight Sparkle gave a short smirk when Pinkie cantered down the stairs, and nudged the adoring stallion beside her, who winked at Chain as he approached the pink earth pony. The stallion stood watching with one eyebrow raised at the suspicious duo as the struck up conversation.
“Hiya Twilight, hiya Phoenix! What's up?” she greeted jubilantly.
“Mornin' Pinkie!” the tan unicorn responded quickly. “Twi and I are, uh, gonna grab some breakfast, did you two wanna come along?”
“Yeah, like a double da-” Phoenix nudged the lavender mare in interjection, who forced a fake grin in a cover-up attempt. Chain's eyes shrunk as a faded red formed on his cheeks, oblivious to the same appearance on the pink mare in question.
Pinkie merely performed a little hop. “Sure!” she turned to the silent pegasus. “C'mon, it'll be fun!”
Four jubilant ponies sat at a small, rounded white table adorned with a pale pink tablecloth, sized just enough so as to allow its corners to fall slightly off the edges. Each laid back slightly into their matching white aluminium chairs, which were a simple four-legged, circular seat style, with a decorative floral-themed backrest. Four silver platters lay upon the table, shimmering thin sheens of syrupy amber liquid adorning each, with the exception of the one in front of Pinkie, whose plate was sparkling clean. Instead, her face was dripping with the golden liquid, and as she stuck out her large tongue, it twirled in a circular motion for a single 360-degree swoop, leaving her face spotless.
“Twilight and Pinkie I spy, enjoying a sweet sugar high?” remarked a familiar grey-black zebra, approaching with a jovial look on her face. The group smiled warmly, and the lavender unicorn gestured toward Phoenix and Chain.
“Ah, two new friends I see, so tell me, who are thee?”
Pinkie quickly interrupted before the tan unicorn could attempt a response. “THIIIIS is Phoenix,” she arched her head comically toward him, managing an impressive but nonsensical 180-degree arc. “he's a unicorn that makes blue fire!!” Phoenix abruptly snapped his head toward the pink mare, knowing quite sure he had never shown anypony his de-carbonated fire spells yet. Settling on the cause of her awareness as simply being Pinkie Pie, he gave a wide smile to the zebra before them.
“That, I would be eager to see, and who is this fine steed?”
Repeating her prior tactic, Pinkie spoke up once more in place of the intended cream-tan pegasus. “Ooh ooh, this is Chain Reaction, he's a pegasus and does cool sciency stuff like making potions!” Chain showed no reaction (no pun intended), accustomed to her narrow generalization of his studies. However, Zecora's eyes lit up, and she quickly retrieved a jar-like vial of sparkling, fluorescent blue liquid from her saddlebag and placed it on the table.
Knowing the zebra alchemist would ask him to identify the liquid, he rubbed the back of his head. “Uhh, sorry, that's not really my field of study.... that's more in the herbalism and botany departments, and I mostly research-” he cut himself off to the smell invading his nostrils, a violent spiciness that could rival even rainbows, accompanied by an unusual sweetness. “Is that.... Trinidad Moruga Scorpion?”
“Correct indeed, my feathered friend, perhaps more knowledge you could spend?”
“I'm sorry, but like I said, that's not my area of study.” the zebra's ears lowered slightly. “However, it is quite an interesting field, and I'm intrigued as to where on Equestria you found Trinidad chillies.”
Zecora nodded with a smile, returning the vial to her saddlebag. “Stop by my abode sometime, the pleasure will be all mine. Canter through the Everfree, you're sure to find much glee.”
Chain nodded silently as she left, turning his gaze to three blank-faced ponies. “....what?”
As evening approached, Mr. and Mrs. Cake departed the dining table and entered the kitchen, waving off the pegasus' offer to assist in cleaning up, responding with a cheeky “You two have fun, now.”, promptly followed by a smirk and chuckling. Pinkie remained oblivious and trotted off upstairs, halted abruptly by Chain's call.
“Pinkie, wait.”
“What's up?”
“You remember that time you taught Applebloom how to make cupcakes?”
She turned to face him properly. “Yeah, why?” gasping loudly, she continued, hopping with joy. “DO YOU WANNA BAKE CUPCAKES?!”
“Buck yeah, is noon tomorrow okay?” he chuckled.
“EEEEEE!!” she screamed, as Cup Cake appeared in the doorway, a scolding stare fixed to the pink mare, which telepathically spoke “The foals are asleep!”. Pinkie gulped, grinning sheepishly. “Ahehe, sorry....”
She returned to her excited mood instantly as she continued up the staircase, eyes bursting open in a split second, causing her to flinch, as an idea formed in her head. She stopped momentarily to look down at the rather charming pegasus at the base of the stairs, who merely stared adoringly into her cyan blue eyes and smiled cheerfully.
'Cupcakes....' she thought to herself.
Chain awoke to open windows filled with glorious sunlight, the bakery below the floorboards bustling with friendly chatter. Stretching his mellow limbs to their limits, he yawned softly and climbed out from under the cozy blankets. Noticing the room devoid of his favourite party pony, he simply shrugged and made his way downstairs. Entering his field of vision were Carrot Cake and Mayor Mare, the two smiling warmly as they faced him. The grey-maned mare immediately greeted him.
“Ah, hello Mr Reaction, Mr. Cake here has told me all about you.” she extended her hoof towards him. “Pleased to meet you, I'm Mayor Mare.”
“Same to you, Miss Mayor.” he replied, shaking her hoof.
“Sorry to interrupt, but, uh, Pinkie's waiting for you in the kitchen.” Carrot Cake interjected.
Chain wore a look of confusion on his face. “Um.... what time is it?”
“11:50am”
The pegasus gasped. “Woah, I better get in there then, thanks!” he nodded to the Mayor before cantering into the kitchen. “Nice to meet you!”
In the kitchen, Pinkie was busy sticking her muzzle into various cabinets and cupboards, the counter tops littered with ceramic bowls, plastic measuring cups, cupcake mix sachets, sacks of flour & sugar, whisks, tubes of icing, silver spoons, slabs of butter and clear bags of white, dark & milk chocolate chips, and a carton of milk, all of varying shapes and sizes. Upon entering the soon-to-be carnage, Chain smiled warmly as the pink mare raised her head to greet him.
“Mornin', Chain! You ready for some serious cupcake carnage?” He nodded with an eager, cocky grin, as she breathed in deep, beginning to sing. “All you have to do is take a cup of flour, add it to the mix! Now just take a little something....” as the musical number progressed, the pegasus followed her lead as they prepared multiple batches of delicious cupcakes, and within a mere half an hour, they had twelve trays of the treats sitting in a few ovens situated randomly against the kitchen walls.
While they waited, Pinkie's ears perked up as she whisked away and returned in an instant, bearing a large, empty glass pitcher. Chain stared at it with a single eyebrow raised in curiosity and confusion, to which Pinkie quickly explained.
“Ooh, um, I was gonna test out a new recipe! Wanna help while the cupcakes are bakin'?
“Sure, what's the recipe?”
The pink mare grinned jubilantly. “Triple chocolate lemon marshmallow meringue milkshake with tiramisu wafers!!”
They licked their lips in unison, drooling slightly. Approaching the counters, the duo collected their materials and got to work on the milkshake. Chain jokingly placed a few wafers into Pinkie's mane when she wasn't looking, struggling to silence his chuckling whenever she turned her head, once more revealing the wafers lodged in her cotton candy mane. Midway during production, the pegasus momentarily portrayed a blank expression as he turned to the pink mare.
“Um, maybe we should've gotten a second pitcher earlier, we-”
“That's okay, we can just share!” she interjected, smilingly unusually adoringly, cheeks reddening ever so slightly.
As they completed the masterpiece, the duo carefully decorated it with whipped cream, grated milk chocolate and of course the remaining wafers, Chain retrieving the others from Pinkie's mane as she pondered where they had gone. Being a prankster herself, she laughed off the joke happily. Setting the pitcher on a prepared table nearby, the pegasus responded to the DING! of multiple oven timers and carefully retrieved one cupcake tray at a time with a pair of hoof mittens.
Chain and Pinkie nodded to each other with matching smirks as they divided the trays into two groups, separating to counter tops on either side of the kitchen as they competed in the art of cupcake decorating. There was a sensation in the room other than the invigoration of a challenge and the mouth-watering scent of freshly baked cupcakes, and the two ponies set about a secret task for the other; intricately detailed designs styled in a cutesy-wutesy theme, the main piece of each being a hot pink icing dotting in the shape of a heart. Both ponies, oblivious to the other's mirroring plans, were focused intently on their delectable artworks, adding a little something from within themselves that they kept from the other.
A decent twenty minutes passed, the two having spent half of which on their masterpieces alone. Covering said heartfelt artworks in a lace doily, acting as a makeshift veil, they presented their lavish creations to one another on a single, large ceramic white plate, stacking the cupcakes in a pyramid structure. Taking their seats at the table, they slid their plates to one another, chuckling at the gesture.
Several moments of silence followed as they remained fixated on each other's eyes, before they leaned their muzzles toward the exquisite chocolatey beverage in front of them. Straws in muzzles, they slowly drank the heavenly milkshake, eyes watering at the icy chocolate pleasure coursing down their throats, the sensation quickly dissipating throughout their bodies as it reached their bellies. Pulling away gently, each reached for a cupcake, chuckling at their complete unison in the timing of their actions. Retrieving a cupcake from the summit of each delicious pyramid, they removed the makeshift veils, jaws dropping as their eyes went wide at the marvels of true cupcake design they held in their hooves.
More so, the duo glanced briefly at each other as they inspected the heart-shaped patterns, fully aware of the symbolism involved. Hearts pounding, the pegasus and the earth pony gazed deep into each other's eyes. Pinkie saw two shimmering pools of jade, briefly scanning over his muscular build and well-combed mane, unable to hold back the deep red surmounting her cheeks as he stared back at her. Chain similarly gazed deep into two large, vivid rings of glistening cerulean blue, marvelling at her flawless pink coat, those slender curves and that wild mane all too reminiscent of cotton candy.
Very slowly pulling closer without even realising it, the two wrapped their forehooves around each other's necks as they pulled one another into a deep, passionate kiss. Pinkie let out a quiet, adorable moan, relaxing her shoulders as she forced herself closer, leaning bodily on top of the small table, trying desperately to bring the handsome pegasus closer. Chain took note of this as he too leaned onto the table, his chest now pressed against hers as he took the next move, tenderly slipping his tongue into her mouth. The pink mare let out another moan, this time held a moment longer as she returned the gesture passionately.
Lasting for what seemed like hours, the two swayed to and fro gently, tilting their heads slightly in what was turning into Ponyville's longest-held kiss, rivalling Applejack and Rainbow Dash's record sixteen minutes. As they finally pulled apart, their tongues were the last to part as their eyes cracked open gently, the two adoring ponies returning to their fixated gaze upon one another.
Passing by the kitchen window was a tan unicorn, possessing cyan blue eyes that glanced sideways into the bakery window, the curious stallion stopping briefly to smile warmly at the situation within. He returned to his casual trot through town, as a sudden jolt of pain coursed through his cranium, and an image flashed momentarily of a deep black scaled mask with blood red eyes, stunning him momentarily as his breathing rate increased dramatically, appearing as though he might have been out of breath from long-distance galloping.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                     BONUS: Foresight                      
//-------------------------------------------------------//
BONUS: Foresight
Author's Note: Heya guys and gals! Yes, I'm still dealing with a lot of shizzle right now, and yes I'll be VERY busy in the coming weeks due to the HSC. Sparity Forever's sixth chapter was dedicated to my intrinsically supportive PFF ChainReaction, and I've been putting what little time I have had into said chapter, which was entirely unrelated to Sparity itself, taking place during their vacation.
As such, I thought I'd fry my brain to come up with an interesting little piece in tribute to the canon ship, as obviously that is what you all want (derr lol, this is a Sparity fic).
Anyhoo, enjoy!
'Darkness, silence.... pure nothingness. Where am I? What's happening?'
'My legs feel.... warm. They're.... getting warmer? I can hear something, it's.... roaring? No.... I know this feeling.... this is the roar of surging fire.'
'Wait, FIRE?!'
Spike awoke rapidly at the thought of the approaching threat. Scrambling to his legs, he found he was.... stronger, somehow? More.... agile? He was unsure. The depths of the black void gave way to a blazing white light as the amethyst-scaled dragon regained his senses, eyes snapping open to yet another surprise. Blood surging throughout his body, he discovered a new set of limbs.... wide reach.... unusually flat?
He.... had wings!
Two large purple wings burst wide, spanning an impressive two metres in length each. Multitudes of thin red branches decorated sheets of fleshy membrane as the dragon began to heave them up and down, enjoying strong surges of warm air lift his weighty frame gradually, and after several short moments, he found himself detached from the ground's alluring tug, heaving his large wings faster and harder.
A deep, rumbling roar swiftly battered his ears as Spike was snapped back to reality, an intangible flaming projectile of sorts whisking just off his powerful spear-headed tail. Focusing on his vision once more, his draconic emerald eyes shrunk to pinpricks at the scene laid out before him.
The sky.... the sky stole his attention first. How could it not? Apart from multitudes of flaming orange meteors plummeting in various directions, the sky.... where was the sun? Or the moon? Or.... anything other than....that.  
What. The buck. Was THAT? The sky.... there was.... it looked like a black hole of sorts, but it just sat there, spiraling slowly.... a hole seemingly torn into the very fabric of time and space. What radiated from it was a nebula of blood-red aurora-like waves, dancing about what was once the beautiful sky of Equestria.
Spike stared in complete astonishment, jaw agape, but his wings remained determined to cleave gracefully through the air, ascending higher and higher as he miraculously avoided fireball after fireball. Several blank-minded minutes later, the dragon shook his head violently and piloted his own movements, banking a hard right in a well-rounded spiral back toward the ground, scanning the blazing, crumbling structures of Ponyville.
One word suddenly pierced his mind, one name echoing inside his skull, a slight pain ringing throughout his scaly body each time that single name bounced off the sides of his cranium.
'Rarity!'
Deep smog quickly thickened within the boutique, brightly illuminated externally by billowing orange flames, eating away at the plaster-wood walls. A large fireball slung from the sky at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash herself jealous, colliding with the building with such force it blew a hole through the ceiling, collapsing an oaken support pillar mere inches away from a duo of cowering, huddling ponies. One of them had a bruised and scarred marshmallow-white coat and a streaked, curly purple and pink mane, the other a matching white coat and a coiled, deep purple mane.
Jerking her head up to the opening, Rarity quickly identified a small clearing through the flames created by the fallen support, taking swift action by yanking her sister's hoof as they galloped along the makeshift pathway and out of the building. Darting across the seared soil, the marshmallow mare's irises danced about her eyes, shooting back and forth between impending fiery meteors. Sweetie Belle's eyes watered harshly, leaving a trail of tears in her trail, quickly evaporating as they hit the boiling earth.
A large purple blur whisked overhead, dragging a huge wave of air with it, sweeping the two fleeing ponies off their hooves and onto their flanks. Gasping as they gawked upward at the creature, their terrified faces were instantly filled with glee as a familiar dragon banked hard in a corkscrew, slowing to an abrupt halt and landing softly onto the ground mere metres in front of them.
“SPIKE!! YOU'RE OKAY!!” screamed the marshmallow unicorn, tears pouring down her face as she darted over to her drakefriend and nuzzled his soft neck as he lowered his head to greet her. Sweetie Belle immediately scrambled under his wing as Rarity planted a tender kiss upon Spike's scaly cheek.
“Rarity, what.... just what the buck is happening?!” his deep, rumbling voice sent vibrations through the ground and throughout her body.
“Oh dear, you didn't get knocked unconscious earlier, did you? I swear darling, there is just too much chaos going on, you.... you flew off to help, and I watched in absolute TERROR as you plummeted toward the ground shortly after one of those nasty fireballs hit you. I ran inside to get Sweetie, but we were trapped.”
“Help with.... what, exactly?” he raised an eyebrow.
The marshmallow mare gulped as she reluctantly pointed her shaky hoof toward the large.... hole.... in the sky, then directed the dragon's focus toward Canterlot. His pupils shrunk to pin pricks and his jaw dropped as his eyes seemed to be playing tricks on him.... a lightly pulsing sphere of murky, translucent black energy surrounded the grand city, the horrific sight sending a violent shiver racking down his spine as he realized that Twilight, the princesses, and the others were still in the castle, not to mention the countless guards and multitudes of citizens in the city.
Laying eyes upon the extravagant city, Spike spotted, even more horrifically, blue flames eating away at the ivory structures littering the immaculately constructed metropolis.
'Blue flames...' he thought, his eyes abruptly snapping wide open. 'Phoenix? It can't be....'

//-------------------------------------------------------//
        Short Chapter (Prelude to Spike's Birthday)        
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Short Chapter (Prelude to Spike's Birthday)
Phoenix, the mysterious tan-grey stallion from another realm, sat comfortably in a tall, burgundy leather armchair metres away from the delightfully warm flames flickering within an iron lantern hanging midway up against a large wall of built-in bookshelves. Bubbles gently rose out of a pipe he held rather posh-like in his muzzle, staring blankly ahead.  
Tranquility and silence were temporarily interrupted by the intrusion of a deep purple mare, who slowly cantered over to his position and in front of him, raising an eyebrow until the stallion's eyes awoke to meet hers.
"Sup, bright eyes?"
"Nixxy, what are you even doing...." her eyes briskly scanned over his ridiculous velvet evening coat. "with the pipe and all.... that?"
"Just chillin'."
"...."
"You haven't got anything better to do than pretend to be some wealthy Canterlot fancy-stallion?"
He shrugged.
"You know, we haven't really done much in the past...." Twilight cocked her head slightly in thought, squinting her eyes a little. "...three or four months, really."
"That's not exactly a bad thing. Besides, neither has the rest of Ponyville."
The booksmart mare huffed in reluctant agreement. "Spike's birthday is in a few days, have you got him a present yet, or are you procrastinating as usual?"
"Hey, you know my best ideas come at the last minute."
"True, but it's the formality that counts. It boosts his anticipation knowing you've got a gift hiding away somewhere, leaving him to guess its identity."
"...."
"What?"
"Oh, no no, sorry, just suddenly got sidetracked in thought."
"....You weren't thinking up weird pairings of ponies we know, were you?"
"....Guilty."
Twilight sighed. "....VinylTavia again?"
"Hey, it makes sense. Besides, I distinctly remember a friend of mine who outright hated modern music - especially dubstep, glitchstep, et cetera - and it turned out he secretly loved dubstep. Maybe Octavia is the same?"
"You remember friends secretly enjoying music they openly hate, yet you don't remember how in the hay you got here."
Phoenix shrugged. "What did the princess call it? Selective amnesia?"
She giggled softly. "Why did I ever let you in my house you crazy foal...."
He looked egotistical for a moment, but quickly slumped his head, eyes toward the floor. "Because I have nowhere else to go...."
The mare smiled affectionately and raised his chin with her hoof. "The princess offered a suite at the castle."
"I don't like the idea of living in such a huge, posh palace."
She pulled him into a warm, gentle hug. "And so now you live here with me, a glass half full of ego and half modesty."
He grinned happily as they broke the embrace. "Sitcom material?"
She rolled her eyes and shrugged. Motioning for him to follow, he quickly left the coat and pipe behind on the armchair and met her side as they walked across the room.
"I'll help you find something for Spike in the morning, alright?"
"Thanks, Twinkle. Nighty night."
Slipping beneath the comfy star-print sheets, Twilight shut her eyes, a smirk across her face. As Phoenix flopped onto his mattress on the floor beneath the raised platform on which Twilight's bed rested, he gently shut his eyes, letting out a happy sigh.  
Just before she turned out the lights with her magic, the purple mare lifted her head to face the stallion.  
"Oh, and I found you a job-"  
The stallion's eyes opened slightly.  
"-at Trixie's magic shop, that just opened up this morning."
His eyes shot open as he abruptly sat upright. "Wait wait WHAT?!"
"Goodnight, Nixxy." she said in a soft, calm voice, smiling deviously.
Phoenix sat silent and still on his mattress, eyes still wide, twitching.
"Shenanigans." mumbled Twilight.
"Humph, and you scolded me for using that phrase! Hypocrite."
She chuckled as the stallion slumped back onto the mattress.
Author's Note
Heya everypony, I'm back from that ridiculously long hiatus (unplanned, to be sure, hence none of my stuff being marked as such), and I hope you enjoy this mini chapter I wrote up while bored & irritated one night after my home internet network decided to play an aggravating little prank on me.  
This is merely a junction chapter in lieu of my unmarked hiatus, and hence the prelude to Spike's Birthday, which will be up by the end of this month.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                     Spike's Birthday                      
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Spike's Birthday
“Mmmm, quadruple choc chip, grated turquoise….” A young purple drake drooled in his prolonged sleep, emerald-green spines drooped against his scales. He lay curled up in a ball in a shallow, open basket-like bed within several layers of light cotton sheets, snoozing peacefully. The large tree husk room around him was impeccably clean; books had been individually dusted and reorganized in their shelves, the walls and floors polished, windows hoof-washed. Sound was devoid of the area though, something that was more than a rare occurrence in recent weeks.  
Spike woke suddenly as his delicious dairy dream was invaded by a stampede of cows, a recurring instance in his dreams that had resulted in an increased awareness and mild paranoia around Sweet Apple Acres. Shooting up into an upright sitting position, he panted heavily.
“Aw, not again. Dumb cows, not like I’m the only one gorging on their delicious ice cream.” He scratched his chin for an extended moment. “….why would they care, anyway? I've never seen a cow eating ice cream.”
“What the hay are you going on about….”
A cold shiver racked his spine. “Huh? Who said that?”
Several curtains around the room shook, alongside whispers and what was perhaps a soft thump. Several colourful ponies of various ages and genders jumped out from behind them, yelling ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPIKE!’ ….all except for one butter-yellow pegasus, who spoke the phrase at a regular volume whilst standing half-behind the curtains for the duration of the shout. A certain tan-grey stallion did a double-take at the purple mare beside him, wearing a bad poker face in lieu of her indistinct scolding stare.
“Wow, thanks guys!” Spike scanned the room for a moment, taking it all in. Of course, he was also looking for a certain somepony.
“My hooves are so sore….” whispered an agitated Rainbow Dash.
“Maybe y’all should spend more time runnin’ and less time flyin’….” Applejack whispered back.
“We were hiding there for two hours!”
“Ya know he loves his sleep, Dash.”
The rainbow-maned mare grumbled in response.
Spike wandered over to the staircase, only to be halted by a sudden explosion of confetti and streamers. A hot-pink mare with a mane not dissimilar to cotton candy fell from the ceiling and landed upside down, cushioned by her mane.
“Gah! What the hay?”
“Where ya goin’, silly? The fun’s all in this room!” she swiftly flipped onto her hooves and pulled a large, comical-fashion cannon out of her mane. “See? We brought the party to you!”
“Oh I’m not leaving, Pinkie, just wondering where Rarity is.”
“Oh she’ll be here shortly, she’s just prettying herself up with makeup and all that.”
“She doesn't have to do that, she’s gorgeous without it.”
The mare scruffed up his head spines. “You’re such a little sweetie, Spike. You know Rarity, though, she likes to get all dressed up for parties.”
“Thanks Pinkie.” He smiled heartily. “I’ll go hang out with everyone else until then, I guess.”
“Okie dokie lokie! Happy birthday! OH, and don’t forget your present!” she hurriedly sped off, then shot back into exactly the same spot not a moment later. She held a small, sky-blue box in spotted yellow and red wrapping.
“Gee, thanks! Can I open it right now?”
“Sure, it’s your birthday, silly!”
Hastily tearing through the wrapping paper, he lifted the cardboard box lid to find an inkwell container, bearing the image of a hollow tear-drop on its front in a dotted white line.
“Is this what I think it is?” he queried with a smirk.
“Yup! Invisible ink. Have fun!” she gave a sly smile and hoof-bumped his claw, then bounced off amongst the crowd of chatting ponies.
“Heya Spike, how ya feeling?” a coffee-tan pegasus approached.
“Great, thanks! How are you?”
“So you’re not still mad at those cows?” he snickered.
Spike rolled his eyes and sighed. “One point to you, Chain.”
Chain hoof-pumped in triumph.
“Hey, we’re still 35-18, bud.” The drake crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
The pegasus immediately paused, pupils shrunk. Rubbing the back of his head, he put on a bad poker face and chuckled nervously. Quickly thereafter, he shrugged it off and smiled warmly.
“Anyway, happy birthday buddy, here.” He passed Spike a flat, flexible package wrapped in diamond-print wrapping paper. This time, the item revealed a stately long white overcoat lined with purple silk, paired with a matching, elongated fedora sporting a vivid purple feather.
“Dear Faust, this is awesome!” he hugged Chain tightly for a brief moment before releasing his grip to marvel at the gift once more.
“You’re welcome, my scaly friend. Go forth and strut like Fancy Pants!”
“I will! Thanks!”
The party raged on for hours, the birthday drake almost feeling like he was in a pass-the-parcel game as his attention was directed back and forth between various ponies, each with unique and thoughtful presents to give. Applejack gave a jar of zap-apple jam, Fluttershy a white bunny costume, and Rainbow Dash a pair of novelty dragon wings, which Spike deadpanned at thinking it a joke, until she demonstrated that they were mechanized to fold and unfold via a latch where the wings joined on the back, which he could trigger with his tail. Surprise guests showed up, including Trixie, who was surprisingly content with street magician tricks, adding her own unique touch to the trade.
Rarity eventually arrived, three hours into the event. Jaws dropped as she entered the room, adorned with a long, gleaming white dress with delicate gold lines darting about in various directions on its surface. She wore almost as much makeup as back in the Best Young Flier competition, but she pulled it off remarkably well given her extensive knowledge and experience with the art. She had decided on a brilliant blue-violet eye shadow with plain black eyeliner, embellished by faint gold glitter. Her drakefriend almost collapsed upon laying eyes on her, which incited an adoring chuckle from the mare.
Later, music flooded the room as ponies danced freestyle to popular hits such as Pony Rock Anthem. Trixie gawked a little too long at Big Macintosh’s muscular form, prompting an irritated Fluttershy to stare her to the other end of the room. Applejack resorted to chasing her marefriend around the room after Dash’s constant tickling her with her tail pushed her nerves a bit far. Spike did indeed strut about the room at one point, forcing laughs all round. Halfway through the act, Rarity joined him, matching his strut with a graceful canter, creating a dazzling combo.
With the party at an end, guests departed and made their way home under the late afternoon sun, nearing dusk but allowing a few precious hours of warmth and light. Couples leaned against each other as they walked away, discussing their recollections amidst the haze of hard partying and unusually inebriating blueberry punch. Twilight succumbed to the nagging of both Spike and Rarity towards allowing the drake to spend what was left of the day at the fashonista’s house, and as they headed off, the couple just barely overheard the purple-coated mare make an ‘Uncle Spike’ joke in reference to Sweetie Belle.
Trixie left with a gleeful smile and wave, only to briefly turn to Phoenix and whisper “7am, sharp. Or you’re fired.” to which the stallion smiled nervously. The cerulean-coated mare trotted off happily, voicing “The Great and Apologetic Trixie loves her new job!” with a delightful tune.
Moments later, Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle came galloping toward the library abode, panting heavily and covered in dirt, manes and tails a mess. The two unicorns glanced at each other, then faced the fillies once more. It was a confusing sight, but nonetheless common as the trio of Veteran Crusaders still managed to get up to all kinds of shenanigans, earning their cutie marks merely serving as a reminder of all the adventures they had shared, both good and bad.
“Uh, girls? What’s up?” queried Twilight.
“No time…. gem hunting…. Diamond Dogs…. golem…. ran here…. “
“Gem hunting this time? Well then, what’s this about the Diamond Dogs? And a, uh, golem, did you say?”
The tan stallion rested his hoof on Applebloom’s shoulder, motioning them to take a breath. After several long moments, they calmed down and spoke, heavy worry evident in their voices.
“We, w-we went gem hunting, and the Diamond Dogs ambushed us when we were about to leave.” blurted Scootaloo.
“But they just stared at us with wide eyes, looking really scared, before they ran off.” Sweetie Belle added.
“And we turned around to see this HUUUGE rock monster- uh, golem,” Applebloom intoned, “that growled really scary-like, and tried to hit us, ‘cept we ducked and ran away. We tried to be brave, really, but that thing was ENORMOUS!”
The trio dived into the hooves of the two unicorns, to which the latter exchanged silent looks before nodding confidently. Simultaneously they announced “Don’t worry girls, we’ll sort this out.” before sprinting off.
Within the minute, they passed Spike and Rarity, and Twilight motioned for Phoenix to stop.
“Darlings, what’s the rush?”
“Rock golem in the gem fields. Spike, we need your help!” the purple mare exclaimed.
The drake stared blankly. “Me? How could I help?”
Twilight had already started off again, followed closely by Phoenix. “Bring your wing toys!”
“They’re not toy-“ he sighed, then turned to his marefriend, waiting expectantly.
“Oh go on, Spikey Wikey, surely Twilight has a plan.” She kissed him on the cheek, and removed his white overcoat and fedora with her magic, revealing the mechanized wings he was still wearing. “Smite that beast, my valiant knight!” she giggled as he darted off.
Surprisingly, the drake caught up to the duo of unicorns rather quickly. “So what’s the plan guys?”
“Spike, remember when I tried to develop an illusionary age spell?”
“Uhh, yeah, you combined a growth spell with a modified version of that wing spell you used on Rarity.” He paused for a moment, then gasped. “Oh, I get it! But are you sure you’re up for it? It took a while to cast last time.”
She nodded at Phoenix. “Oh, I’m ready, don’t you worry.”
Arriving at the vast, tapered plains between ochre-brown canyon-like cliffs, the trio scanned the area intuitively. After several minutes, Twilight cautiously nudged an ornate greyish stone atop a rock cairn with her hoof, which abruptly shot up several feet in the air, followed by similar rocks surrounding it. Within moments, spiraling, levitating stones had formed a semi-humanoid entity, with smaller, finer rocks making up a crude face of sorts, which quickly appeared to frown.
“Yikes!” the mare leaped backward, almost knocking over the tan-grey stallion.
“How original, it looks like a Storm Atronach….” he muttered.
“Spike, behind that shrub, quickly!” she exclaimed. “Phoenix, help me out here!”
The stallion swiftly engulfed her in an orange aura, and simultaneously conjured a matching translucent bubble shield around them. Spike ducked behind a nearby patch of foliage, dense enough to hide his anti-camouflage purple and green form. Twilight’s horn glowed brightly, before a flash of light momentarily stunned all in the area, revealing thereafter an enormous, terrifying Spike, with menacing serpentine eyes and elongated, glimmering spines running down his back. He stood on all fours, enjoying himself as he splayed out two massive reptilian wings.
The golem remained still, apart from the orbiting grey stones that formed the mythological creature. Releasing Twilight from the auburn glow, the two unicorns galloped over to Spike and hid behind him, unable to instinctively lay a hoof on his shoulder given his newfound stature. The dragon in question allowed a sly smile before releasing a deafening, ground-shaking roar, causing the golem to simply collapse into a pile of rubble.
Spike rapidly shrunk back down to drake size, his wings now returned to a mere contraption on his back. He showed no disappointment, having no interest in such a bestial form after his various experiences, both as a larger dragon, and among larger dragons. The trio cheered and shared a group high-five before slowly trotting off back toward Ponyville.
“Boss defeated, move on to stage three.” commented Phoenix. This prompted a laugh from Spike, but Twilight merely raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Author's Note
Welp, in Australia this is just over 12 hours late from the deadline I promised, but hey, I was drunk on chocolate yesterday. Don't look at me like that, it was Easter, and I bucking love chocolate.  
Finnnne, yeah I'm sorry. Won't happen again :)

//-------------------------------------------------------//
             Diamonds are a Mare's Best Friend             
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Diamonds are a Mare's Best Friend
Spike paced the massive log floor of the library, twiddling his claws and eyes darting about the room, unaware of whatever he might have been looking at due to his manic thoughts. How ironic, the thought suddenly passed into and out of his mind in a single, fleeting moment, that even surrounded by tomes filled with useful knowledge of all genre, that nothing could provide the answer he sought so desperately for.
Oblivious to the hours that had passed, Spike’s focus was jerked elsewhere as the clonk-clonk of a hoof knocking hastily at the door caused him to abruptly jump up, and by force of habit, his stubby legs sprinted wildly in mid-air, rocketing him over to the door. As his claw gripped and rotated the doorknob, the door swung open violently, slamming him pancake-style into the adjacent wall. Twilight Sparkle dashed across the room and seemingly flew upstairs in a purple blur, coming to a complete halt as she slammed onto her bed, the covers kicked up into the air as she did, now slowly and silently floating back down, covering her curled-up body in its entirety, leaving a shaking mound-structure on the bed.
Spike, picking himself up off the ground, let of a sigh as he shut the red candle-print door, drudging across the room and upstairs following Twilight’s trail, all the while wearing a frowned face that read ‘are you kidding me?’.  
Discovering the cowering egghead pony under her bed sheets, Spike approached the bed slowly, running an open-palmed claw over his forehead and nose.
“Ugh, what happened this time, Twi?” Spike drearily questioned the quivering form before him.
“R-R-Rarity,” she stuttered, “I th-think I may ha-have insulted one of h-her dr-dresses somehow-“
Spike cut her off “Again, Twi? Really?” Twilight attempted to speak, but was quickly denied her effort as Spike snapped “What happened last time? And what did I warn you? Never describe her dresses using fancy words that none of us have even heard of.” He was just about to continue as the cream-white unicorn in question battered the library door with ferocity not unlike that of Iron Will himself. They knew it was Rarity though – apart from the incident only minutes ago being taken to Twilight’s residence in an attempt to find sanctuary, the tell-tale sign that this was not in fact an enraged minotaur was the deafening, earth-shaking roars of the fashonista, bellowing throughout the library, occasionally finding the right pitch, volume and frequency to disassemble the carefully organized bookshelves that covered almost every wall space available throughout the residence.
As Celestia’s bright, vibrant sun threw an orange tinge over the horizon, gradually inching its way into the cloudless , cyan-blue sky, Spike jerked up in his bed to the sound of a rooster-imitation coming from outside. Kicking his bedsheets off of his tiny, scaly body, Spike clambered to his feet and peered out the oval-shaped window in time to see the culprit, Scootaloo, trotting off into the distance, chuckling. The small purple dragon couldn’t help but grin, now tiptoeing downstairs having noticed Twilight still fast asleep, her mane unkempt and bed sheets strewn about the bed, covering only her hind legs, and her face buried in her pillow. Obviously she had been worn out heavily by her wrestle with Rarity, after Spike had jokingly decided to pull the door open.
Slowly making his way downstairs as quietly as possible, Spike spotted clean, blue linen sheets folded up neatly on the couch; obviously Rarity was already awake, and as he waddled over to them, he found himself just in time to notice Rarity about to leave. The unicorn noticed Spike in return as she slung a small, jewel-embedded saddlebag over her back. With a warm smile, she motioned with her hoof for the dragon to follow her outside. Spike left the door slightly agape so as not to lock himself out.
In a half-whispering voice, the mare spoke. “Darling Spikey, please make sure Twilight receives my deepest apologies for last night’s unfortunate incident.” Spike nodded with an adoring grin, as Rarity lightly squeezed his cheeks with her front hooves, letting out a soft chuckle. Rarity spun round, and just as she was about to trot off, Spike found the courage to speak up.
“Hey, uh, Rarity…” the mare stopped abruptly, turning her body only halfway, so as to expect a quick word as she leaves. Looking directly into Spike’s eyes, the latter looked down at the ground in an attempt to hide his blushing, twiddling his claws.
“Yes, darling?”
Spike forced the words out, so as to not keep her standing there, silence between them. “I was wondering if…. If you would, um, let me come with you jewel-hunting today.”
“Well of course dearie,” Rarity spoke with her usual elegance and poise, “Who else would I have accompany me than the cutest little jewel-digger in Ponyville?” Rarity batted her eyelids, her figure now acting as an eclipse in its position anterior to the rising sun, orange-yellow light pouring around her edges, highlighting her slim physique and slender curves, those cyan-blue eyes shimmering like crystalline water, still fixated on the small dragon.
Spike, finding himself paralysed in what his large, green eyes perceived, snapped his mind into focus; not enough it seems, as what he believed was a simple chuckle and smile was in reality harsh blushing and a sheepish laugh. Rarity giggled at the sight, “Oh Spikey, your cheeks are turning the most delightful shade of red, it is most becoming.” The two waved goodbye, and after slowly shutting the door behind him so as not to awaken Twilight, the infatuated dragon stared affectionately out the window, watching the unicorn as she slowly disappeared from view.
Spike waddled cheerfully alongside Rarity, grinning widely. Celestia’s radiant sun hung in the western sky, casting thick shadows behind the two. Spike momentarily turned around to glance at his shadow, suddenly saddened by the reminder of his miniscule size. Slowing his walking pace, he dragged his feet and tail along the grass. Rarity had noticed, and looked down at the gloomy expression on the drake’s face.
“Spike dear, you mustn’t worry so much about your stature.” Spike briefly looked up at the white mare, then returned his eyes to the ground. “You are still a youngling Spike, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Rarity smiled at him, and his tail perked up. “Why, you are just adorable Spikey, and besides, other dragons are simply cruel and greedy. You however, are a true gentledrake.” Spike blushed lightly, smiling back at his heart’s desire.
Their jewel hunt bore much fruit; as Celestia began to lower the sun into the horizon, the two turned around and returned along the path they came, marked by the multitude of shallow dirt holes Spike had clawed out in order to seize their gleaming prizes. Rarity alone hauled three connected carts stacked with jewels, having refused all offers from Spike to help. Halfway home, however, Rarity felt a gentle tingling in her horn. Rarity stopped for a brief moment, then shrugged and continued on.
“Don’t you want me to dig that up for you, Rarity?” asked a somewhat puzzled Spike.
“No thank you darling, I have quite enough already. The Diamond Dogs will probably show up soon anyway.” Spike nodded. “You may take it home for yourself if you wish, though; after all, you worked extra hard today Spikey.” The young drake grinned, and toddled over to a small pile of dusty grey rocks she gestured towards. Clawing into the dirt, Spike’s emerald eyes widened, reflecting the faint light of what he gazed upon, staring in complete awe. Laying in the small pit he had created was a trio of azure-blue diamonds, clear as water and shaped like narrow kites. ‘They look exactly like Rarity’s cutie mark’ thought Spike, astonished by their flawlessness.
“Spike darling, whatever are you doing just standing back there?” Rarity snapped Spike out of his trance with her words; she was already a fair distance ahead, and Luna’s night had already darkened the area considerably. The purple drake scooped up the gems and hurried over to her. Rarity had already turned her head and continued trotting slowly along as Spike reached her, not noticing the stunning jewels he gripped in his claws. Spike concealed a gem behind his back with his tail, and held the other two against his chest, covered almost entirely by his arm. He couldn’t obscure them completely; they were rather large jewels, roughly twice the size of an outstretched claw. He didn’t need to, however, as the night obscured them from vision. ‘These will be perfect for her birthday next week.'
Rarity awoke to the chime of her doorbell, responding with a sleepy “The shop, *yawwnnn*…. doesn’t open for another hour. Please come back, *yawn* in a little while….” She rolled over in the regal, blue and gold-trim bed. Another chime sung through the boutique. Letting out a sigh, the white unicorn clambered gracefully out of the bed and donned a white silk garment, the inside lined with pink down. The bell chime rang once more as she descended the staircase and trotted half-hurriedly over to the door.  
Opening the letter hatch and peeping through, she was received by two large cerulean eyes right up against the door, and the immediate scream that followed “SURPRISE!!” the sheer pitch of which struck Rarity’s ears with such force that her eyes snapped shut as she jumped up in shock, letting out a surprisingly ladylike shriek. Rarity couldn’t help but reveal a smile as she stood back up on her hooves and opened the door for the giggling party pony.
“HAPPY BIRTHYDAY RARITY!!” exclaimed Pinkie.
Rarity held up her hoof then lowered it slightly, gesturing for her to lower her voice. “Yes thank you dear, but could you be a little bit more quiet please? Sweetie’s still asleep.” She heard laughter behind her, and grinned.
“Happy birthday sis!” Screeched the filly in question, jumping out from behind a nearby white-upholstered couch.
“Oh thank you Sweetie, darling.” Replied Rarity with a large smile across her face, ignoring the thought that she must have been hiding there awhile, and even now it was very early in the morning; the sun had just then beamed its orange-yellow glow in the distance, a spectacular sight which both Pinkie and her sister appeared oblivious to as they chuckled, wrapping their hooves around Rarity in a warm hug. Suddenly she noticed the tip of an emerald-green spine in the doorway. “I can see you there, Spikey Wikey.” She giggled, releasing herself softly from the hug.
“Happy birthday Rarity!” Spike had a large smile on his face, even larger than Pinkie’s. He held out his claws as he entered the boutique, revealing a white box with glittery purple wrapping, its colours an obvious reference to its recipient. Her eyes lit up at the sight of it, and she blushed.
“Oh my, you didn’t have to get me a gift Spikey, you needn’t spend all your allowance on such a lavish gift.”
“Well really, I only had to buy the box and its wrapping, I found this during our jewel hunt last week.” he admitted.
“Oh?” she continued to smile, her eyes shifting from the box to the young dragon. “Is that why you were so eager to come along?”
“Well uh, no actually,” Spike scratched the back of his head, lowering it and angling it away from her gaze to hide his red cheeks, “I wanted to come along anyway, I wasn’t purposefully looking for a gemstone for you, but I just happened across these ones and I felt they were meant to be with you.”
“Now dearie, your fire ruby last time was absolutely gorgeous, you didn’t have to go out of your way to find something else, I don’t know how any gemstone could be more beautiful- wait, did you say ‘these’? As in more than one?” Before Spike could answer, she continued, unwrapping the gift “Ohh Spikey, you really shouldn’t have- “ lifting the lid with her magic, her jaw dropped and her pupils enlarged to the edges of her iris. Staring down at the three flawless jewels, polished and set in black foam, she let out let out a shriek so loud it shattered the windows of the boutique, forcing Pinkie, Sweetie and Spike to crouch down, claws and hooves tightly covering their ears. Her mind racing, Rarity spat out half-words “Wh- How-, Sp- , B-“ shaking heavily, she seized Spike in a rib-crushing hug, jumping up and down in excitement and squealing with joy. The drake, unable to breathe, squirmed harshly to loosen her grip. Finally, she let go, hopping on the spot similar to Pinkie’s signature hop, tears flowing from her eyes and her huge toothy grin quivering.
Pinkie and Sweetie stood there silently, tears forming in their eyes as they stared in awe at the jewels. “S-S-Sp-Spike, y-you didn’t ha-hav- “ Spike lay his claw on her shoulder, gesturing her to breathe. Rarity forced a few quick, gulping breaths, then managed “S-Spike, I… I can’t accept this, this is just so-“ She noticed the white, gold-trimmed envelope within the box, “Rarity” written in gold cursive in the centre. The drake picked it up, running a claw over the edge, tearing it open. Rarity remained silent, still shaking, speechless as she gazed back down at the three gleaming diamonds. Spike handed her a card, and she calmly spoke “Spike, they’re just like my cutie mark!” Opening the card with her magic, Rarity began reading in a whisper: “Rarity, your artistic talents have brought a new level of beauty to Equestria, your kindness uplifted others from their sadness, and your generousity has not only been a shining example to others, it has saved Equestria from eternal chaos twice. As you give unto others, I give unto you this small gift, to show you just how amazing and special you are…. and to show you how much you mean to me” Rarity’s eyes widened as she read “The last time you searched for romance, what you saw deceived you. Prince Blueblood proved selfish and arrogant; your exact opposite. You have always called me ‘kind’ and ‘a true gentledrake’…. do you remember my last birthday, when we were falling from the sky? Do you remember what I confessed to you? At that moment, I did not fear for my own life…. only yours. That is why, Rarity, I ask….” Rarity’s heart skipped a beat “Will you go out with me?”
The white mare looked up at Spike, Pinkie and Sweetie merely staring at her in silence, Rarity now realising what she thought was whispering had been heard by all of them. She didn’t know how to respond, where to begin. Since the incident on his birthday, Rarity had grown fond of Spike…. she had even dreamed about him once; she deduced it to be a few years in the future, because spike was larger – roughly twice as tall as her – as well as possessing wings and walking on all fours. She would climb onto his back and grip the large, emerald spines as he spread his magnificent amethyst wings and took off into the glistening sunset. They would arrive atop the grand mountain sheltering Canterlot, Spike wrapping her in his wing beneath an oak tree as they gazed out at the sights that lay before them. Rarity rested her head against Spike’s chest, listening to his heart beat in unison with hers.
Rarity was faced with indecision as Spike looked at her expectantly, a comforting smile lessening the pressure a little. Pinkie donned a big grin, hopping up and down in anticipation, while Sweetie appeared a little teary-eyed, trying to hide a huge smile that was slowly taking over her face. She knew about Rarity’s dream; she had taken a peek in her diary a few nights prior, after searching through her nightstand for a nice fluffy coat because of the snowstorm outside.
Rarity, after a long silence, finally managed a soft “Spike…. I, I’m not sure, I….”
Spike’s smile started to fade, until Sweetie suddenly squeaked “OH COME ON!!”
“Now Sweetie, you must understand, this is a big decision, and…. and….” Rarity didn’t even know where she was going with this, then looked back at Spike to see he was looking down at the floor.
“But I thought you kinda liked him back,” Spike’s head jerked up, eyes wide open, and Rarity blushed furiously as she continued “after that dream and all-“ she slammed her hoof against her mouth, Rarity now realising she had broken into her deepest thoughts contained in the diary. She was about to fly off into a rage at her sister, wondering what else she may have read, when Pinkie burst out in laughter. Rarity’s face was blushing hard.  
A small claw gripped her hoof, and she looked down to see Spike’s large, emerald eyes staring deep into hers. She couldn’t deny it anyway; she liked him. This much she knew, and so finally, she placed her hoof on the young dragon’s blushing cheek and gently spoke “Yes, Spike. I would love to go out with you.”
Spike grinned widely, a tear in his eye, but whatever words he was about to utter were drowned by Pinkie, who immediately sprang up into the air, squealing with joy “Omigosh omigosh omigosh, now we’re gonna need a SECOND party to celebrate you two!” Rarity suddenly noticed Sweetie Bell hopping around the room wearing a huge smile, but glanced back at Spike as he held her hoof gently in both claws and kissed it softly. She blushed hard, giggling, then leaned in and returned the favour, planting a kiss on his cheek.