Goldenrod looked herself over in her bedroom mirror. It was a big night for her and she wanted to look her best. She wore a sleek lavender dress that accentuated her magnificent curves. It was a little tight around the chest, but it was the nicest dress she could find that came close to fitting over her very large breasts. The dress buttoned up the front and the strain that her ample chest was putting on it was visible, but not so much so that it was distracting or embarrassing.
The rest of her outfit was made up of a pair of black sexy high heels, diamond earrings and the heart-shaped locket that Spike had given her for Hearth's Warming. She smiled, happy with her appearance. And then she went downstairs to wait for Spike.
Goldie was very excited because tonight, she was receiving a prestigious award for Excellence in Teaching and the committee was holding an entire gala in her honor. She couldn't help but feel incredibly humbled by the whole affair and of course, she wouldn't dream of accepting an award without her loving husband by her side.
Just then, Spike came downstairs wearing a fancy sky blue tuxedo, which Goldie found very attractive. He swaggered into the room and gave her a seductive grin. "Oh Spike, you look so handsome," she said.
"Thanks, but I could never look as drop-dead gorgeous as you," Spike replied, wrapping his arm around Goldie's shoulder and kissing her forehead. Suddenly, Goldie felt an itch in her nose and turned away to let out a sneeze. "Gesundheit," said Spike.
"Thanks," Goldie replied, giving a little sniff. "Well, shall we?"
"After you, m'lady."
When Goldie and Spike arrived at the gala, the entire ballroom was completely covered in the finest decor. All of Goldie's fellow teachers and friends were there, including the school principal. She and Spike went around the room saying hello to everyone as they all congratulated her.
Still, the entire time, she just couldn't seem to shake the odd smell that appeared to be following her around and making her nose itch like crazy. She hated that she had to keep scratching it in front of ponies and every now and then, when she let out the occasional sneeze, someone would ask her if she was alright. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm sure it's just something in the air," she would reply. Whatever this smell was, she was definitely allergic to it.
Eventually, the head of the Teaching Committee came up on stage to present the award, which was a framed certificate. After saying a few words of introduction, she was ready to get on with the main event.
"And now, without further ado, on behalf of the committee, it is my honor to present the Award for Excellence in Teaching to the mare of the hour, Mrs. Goldenrod!"
Everypony in the room applauded. Goldie hesitated, but Spike gestured for her to get up onstage, so she stepped up to the podium and accepted the award from the committee head. She turned to the audience and smiled as a camera flashed.
"Thank you. Thank you everyone. This is such a tremendous honor. Teaching is my life and to be recognized for doing something I love so much is… exhilarating," Goldie said, her heart welling up with emotions. "But I wouldn't be here without the support of so many ponies. My friends, my colleagues, my wonderful students and, of course, my incredible husband, Spike. Come on up here, Spike."
Amidst all the clapping and peer pressure, Spike did as he was told and joined his wife up on stage, taking his spot right by her side. Then Goldie started to notice that strange smell again, but she really didn't want to sneeze with everypony watching her, so she tried to hold it back, but the tickle in her nose just kept getting stronger. Pretty soon, her eyes started watering, which Spike took notice of.
"Goldie? Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just really, really happy right now," she answered, trying like crazy to hide her discomfort and keep up her smile.
Eventually, the tickling became too strong and she could not contain it any longer. She had to let it out.
"Ah… Ah… AH… ACHOOOO!"
When the sneeze came loose, so did something else. The force of the sneeze caused a button on the front of Goldie's dress to pop right off of her chest and go flying across the room. The button managed to hit an unfortunate waiter right in the eye, causing him to fall over backwards drop an entire tray of wine all over two ponies. The ponies were so humiliated that they screamed and ran into an older stallion, whose toupee came flying off his head and landed in somepony else's drink. When the pony sensed the hairpiece in his drink, he spit out the whine in disgust, accidentally spraying it all over the circuit breaker, which caused it to short circuit and catch fire, setting off the fire alarm and the sprinklers.
Everypony in the room panicked and scrambled to avoid getting too wet, forming a crowded mob as they all made for the exit at once, leaving their guest of honor feeling totally humiliated as she just stood on stage not caring about how wet she was getting.
After Goldie and Spike had come out of the bathroom after drying themselves off, they decided it was best to just head home. Goldie was too depressed to say a word while they were in the car. Her special evening had ended in complete disaster all because she couldn't hold in one little sneeze. Who knew how long it would take her to live this down? Spike saw how upset his wife was and tried to make her feel better.
"You shouldn't beat yourself up about this, honey," he said in a very soft voice. "It wasn't your fault. It could've happened to anybody. And you still got your award, right?"
Goldie appreciated his attempts to cheer her up, even if it only helped a little bit. "Yeah, I guess so," she admitted. "I just wish I knew what was making me sneeze the whole time. I kept smelling this weird scent that... now that I think about it... was a lot stronger when I was standing next to you."
As the realization dawned on Goldie, she turned to her husband who suddenly started to tense up as he bore a guilty expression on his face. "I.... might have an idea of what was making you sneeze," he said, his voice ripe with remorse.
"Go on," Goldie urged, arms folded as she eyed Spike with a mild glare.
"I was just trying out this new cologne I bought the other day. I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd be allergic to it. I'll get rid of it as soon as we get home."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I was kind of waiting for you to notice on your own and when I noticed you sniffling and sneezing all night, I guess I just... didn't put two and two together."
Goldie sighed and rubbed her forehead. She knew Spike was just trying to be supportive and try something new for her, but it didn't change what had happened. "Well, I don't smell it anymore. It must've washed off when the sprinklers came on."
"Thank goodness for that, huh?" Spike said, trying to lighten things up a bit. But his wife was still staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "Did I mention that I was really sorry? Can you find it in that gigantic heart of yours to forgive me?"
Goldie's face softened into a smile as she let out a light giggle. She couldn't stay mad at him and she knew it. "Of course I can. Come here." She reached up and gave him a sweet, soft kiss on the cheek as a sign of forgiveness. "But next time you buy a new cologne, we're doing an allergy test before you wear it in public."
"That's fair," Spike agreed
The two of them went home to enjoy the rest of their evening together. This night may have been an allergy-induced disaster, but at least it was behind them and they could now laugh about it. After all, making special hilarious memories with your loved ones is nothing to sneeze at.
Author's Note
Disclaimer: Goldenrod is based on a character originally created by artist Pia-Sama with an AU version imagined by Leviarex.
