Den of the Dragon

Romancing the Apple

Needless to say, I had to take care of Spike's... excess after our shower. I did it the same way I had last time, and he was more than appreciative. I hopped out of the shower and he dried me off, payin' special attention to my mane and tail. If I had to guess, he'd probably had some experience doing this for Twilight. The drying, I mean. He didn't really need a towel on account of the fact that water just kinda rolls off scales. He was dry almost the moment he stepped out from beneath the runnin' water.

After I dried off, we were ready for some time on the town. I gotta admit, Spike's fingers were a lot better at putting in my hair ties than my hooves. It took a lot less time, too. Anyway, we left the house and set off into town. I had my heart (and stomach) set on a cucumber sandwich. If I recalled, Spike ate gems, so we'd have to stop by Twilight's to get him a few. I didn't mind.

The walk from my farm to the library wasn't a long one and before I knew it, we were outside Twi's house. Now, I had no way of knowing this, but apparently, Spike kept his gems buried in a bag outside. I thought that was kinda weird, but as he walked around to the backyard to dig them up, I figured out why. As I waited outside, I heard something... rhythmic. At first, I thought maybe it was... well, I don't know what I thought it was, but after a few breathless 'Oh Mac!'s I figured it out. I pulled my hat over my eyes and tried to cover my ears. I knew Mac and Twilight had been seein' each other, and I figured they were probably gettin'... physical with each other, but that didn't mean I needed confirmation.

Spike came around the corner and noticed my covered ears. It didn't take him long to figure out why I had plugged 'em. I tell ya what, I couldn't get away from that library fast enough. Not that I had much room ta judge them on their afternoon delight. Heck, at least they're the same species. While we walked, Spike draped a hand over my shoulders. He started softly scratching my back, and I almost had to stop in the middle of the street, it felt so good. It was nothin' unusual, though. Spike was seen with Twilight's friends often enough, and we all know how useful his fingers can be.

For scratching.

Anyway, I kept up my pace as I caught him grinnin' at me. He said he knew most ponies had trouble scratchin' their backs, and I was no different. Livin' with us pony folk had served him well. Once we got to the town square, we took a seat on a bench.

"Where do you want to eat?" he asked.

I shrugged. It honestly didn't much matter to me where we went. As long as we were in each others company, we coulda eaten on the moon! He asked me if there was anyplace I wanted to try. Truth be told, there was a tiny cafe (I think Rarity called it a bistro) that had just opened up. Only reason I knew about it was on account of Rarity goin' on about how good the hayseed salad had been. I pointed it out, and Spike got off the bench, squatting down in from of me.

When I asked him what he was doin' he told me to 'get on'. I threw my forelegs over his shoulders and I felt his arms wrap around my hind legs. It had been years since I had a piggyback ride! I rested my head on his shoulder as he walked. I couldn't deny that he'd grown into quite the imposin' figure since he'd shown up as a baby here with Twilight. Maybe I'm just a sucker for a pony (or dragon) with broad shoulders.

It was actually pretty interesting to get to see Ponyville the way Spike does. He's about a whole apple bucket taller than Macintosh, and only a few apples shy of bein' taller than Celestia herself. A'course, I knew he'd get bigger. Much bigger, in fact. To big to keep up this little game we've been playin' that's for sure. But for right now, I had a pretty good thing going.

We grabbed a table outside, Spike munchin' on his gems while I looked over the menu. A couple red flags popped up as I was looking for somethin' to eat. Half the menu was in some kinda foreign language, and there weren't any prices next to anything.

"Uh, Spike... Ah think we may want ta pick a different spot."

He raised an eyebrow, his cheeks full of emerald shards. "What for?"

"Well, it just looks kinda expensive here, is all—"

"Nah, don't worry about that." He waved a hand, fishing around for another gem with the other. "I've got you."

I asked him if he was sure, and he had to stifle a laugh. Once our waiter came to take our order, Spike dug around in his bag for a diamond about the size of my eye. He flipped it to the waiter and told him to keep the change! "Well aren't you a big shot," I teased.

He laughed. He told me he had tons more where that came from. He'd hunted down enough gems for Rarity that he knew exactly where all the best veins were located outside of town. As we sat and ate, I couldn't help but think about how different Spike is from the rest of Ponyville. Heck, the rest of Equestria!

I mean, it wouldn't make a difference if Spike were a pony or not... I don't think so, anyway. The more I ate my salad and the more he ate his gems, the more obvious our differences became. Sure, nopony gave him a cross look here, but this was Ponyville. His hometown and where he spent a good chunk of his life. Would the ponies of Manehattan be so accepting? Las Pegasus? Would ponies who've never interacted with a dragon before even give the two of them a chance? Or would they run away screaming to get their hayforks and torches?

Thinkin' about that only brought up somethin' I had yet to consider. Dragons can live for thousands of years. The oldest pony ever recorder was only two hundred eighty one when he died. I'd maybe get a fraction of his life to spend with him before my time would be up. Then what? Would he forget about me? Would I be a distant memory, if I was one at all?

The more I thought about the decisions I'd made in the past forty eight hours, the more I began to realize how stupid and impulsive I'd been. On top of that, how was I supposed to tell Twilight? Should I even tell her? I mean, it wasn't like we were dating or anything we were just... having sex with each other whenever the mood struck. I guess that doesn't sound as good as I thought it would.

Maybe I should just tell him that there's no way we can keep doin' this. That all of this is only temporary and soon, he'll forget all about me once he's found a girl-dragon to be with...

That's when it hit me.

... Or maybe I could do somethin'... unconventional.