A Love as Rare as Dragonfire

Chapters

Sudden Realizations
Preparing for a Declaration
The 'Does He or Doesn't He' Dilemma
The Best Laid Plans
Confessions
A Minor Complication
A Moderately Awkward Dinner
Epilogue

Sudden Realizations

Although the monthly meetings of Princess Twilight’s Council of Friendship were some of the only times she and her friends were gathered together, they were far from the only times she saw her friends individually. Pinkie Pie, for example, visited Canterlot quite frequently in her capacity as the official Royal Party Planner, as did Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts new Royal Liaison. And while Fluttershy and Applejack didn’t have official business to take them to Canterlot, they still found excuses to visit often enough. Of all of Princess Twilight’s friends, however, the one who visited her the most was Rarity. In fact, it had increasingly seemed that, between her business and social connections, Rarity spent nearly as much time in Canterlot as she did in Ponyville. As a consequence of this, Rarity had taken responsibility for keeping the rest of her friend group up to date on the various goings on in Canterlot. In fact, it had become a habit for Twilight’s friends to gather together at Twilight’s former castle for lunch whenever Rarity returned from a trip to Canterlot so she could keep them all up to date.

“So, Rainbow Dash, how are things at Sweet Apple Acres?” Starlight Glimmer asked as she Rainbow Dash and Applejack waited for the others to arrive.

“It’s…fine,” Rainbow Dash replied through gritted teeth.

“Ah think RD’s been havin’ some trouble gettin’ used to gettin’ up when the rooster crows,” Applejack laughed, earning a dirty look from Rainbow Dash.

“I get up early enough when I’m staying at Wonderbolt HQ. Today was supposed to be my day off!” Rainbow Dash slumped back to the table. “Stupid feral windstorm blowing my house over Sweet Apple Acres.” Rainbow Dash continued to grumble to herself as the doors opened and Fluttershy trotted in, followed closely by a waddling Pinkie Pie. Pregnancy had left Pinkie Pie somewhat less mobile than usual, but she seemed no less cheerful.

“Sorry we’re a little late. I just haven’t been able to around as quickly, even since the mayor made me stop using my party cannon-powered pregnancy wagon,” Pinkie Pie said as she settled into her seat. “So, is everypony here?”

“Just about. We’re just waiting for Rarity to get here,” Starlight said. “Speaking of whom, has anypony else noticed that she’s been a little on edge these last few weeks?” Starlight’s question was met by a round of murmuring and nodding heads.

“Y’all reckon it could be nerves about her business? Ah remember her sayin’ she’s been lookin’ into openin’ a store up in Yakyakistan, and Ah can’t imagine that’s gonna be too calmin’ a project,” Applejack said.

“I don’t think that’d be it,” Fluttershy said. “Rarity hired Yona to help manage Carousel Boutique, and I’m pretty sure Yonas would also be able to help with a new shop in Yakyakistan, too.”

“So, Yona’s staying in Ponyville too, huh?” Rainbow Dash said. “I think that pretty makes that entire group, doesn’t it? Aside from Gallus, I mean, and he just moved to Canterlot with Moonwhisper and Twilight.” Any further idle conversation was abruptly put on hold as the doors suddenly swung open and Rarity marched into the room with a deadly serious expression on her face.

“Ladies,” Rarity began as she placed both front hooves on the table. “I’m afraid that there is a crisis brewing in Canterlot, one that threatens one of our dearest friends, and I shall require the aid of everypony present to deal with it.” Everypony at the table immediately sat up just a bit straighter at this proclamation.

“What’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Did some villains escape? Is a monster on the rampage? Is the next Daring Do book delayed?”

“Worse,” Rarity replied solemnly. “For you see, Canterlot is currently being invaded by a horde of, of, crystal hussies!” Rarity’s statement was met with nearly a full minute of quiet from the assembled ponies, the only sound being Pinkie Pie as she snacked on a tub of peanut butter and pickle ice cream. Eventually, Applejack was the first to break the silence.

“Beggin’ yer pardon, sugar, but Ah gotta ask. What?”

Rarity let out a sigh, as if she were expecting this response. “For sometime now, ever since Spikey-Wikey’s last birthday, in fact, I’ve noticed that Canterlot has been playing host to an ever-increasing number of crystal pony mares. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but then I started to notice that they all seemed to fit the same mold. Young, single, and spending an awful lot of time finding excuses to hang around the castle. And, admittedly, I didn’t see anything too out of the ordinary about this, either. There’s nothing really new about young mares trying to attract a well-shod stallion.” Rarity paused to take a deep breath before continuing. “But that was before I learned the truth about who exactly these, these, Jezebels were trying to seduce!”

“Aw hay, don’t tell me Twilight’s got a herd of wannabe homewreckers to worry about,” Applejack groaned.

“What? No no no, these strumpets aren’t trying to seduce Moonwhisper,” Rarity quickly corrected. “They’re trying to seduce Spike!” This revelation was met by another brief silence from Rarity’s friends.

“So?” Rainbow Dash eventually said. “I mean, didn’t Ember say that Spike was, you know, pretty much grown by dragon standards after his last growth spurt? I mean, he’s probably gonna get bigger, but-”

“What Rainbow Dash is tryin’ to say is Spike’s old enough to deal with that sort of thing on his own. And besides which, why the hay are y’all so riled up about it, anyway?” Applejack asked, earning an offended huff from Rarity.

“Of all the – our dear friend is in danger of being taken advantage of by some floozy who only cares about his renown and you want to know why I’m upset?” Rarity snapped.

“Alright, alright, Ah guess Ah can see yer point, don’t go gettin’ yer tail in a tangle,” Applejack said, which appeared to mollify Rarity somewhat. “That bein’ said, how the hay do y’all know the crystal mares are all after Spike like that, anyway? It doesn’t exactly sound like the sort of thing they’d be braggin’ about.”

“Yes, well, despite my suspicions on the matter, I didn’t actually have any proof until last night when I overheard a pair of them plotting inside my boutique. They were talking about how they wanted to be certain they would attract the attention of a ‘Brave and Glorious’ coltfriend and how wonderful it would be to be involved with somecreature of his status.”

“Okay, I’ll admit that does sound – actually, that doesn’t really sound that bad at all,” Starlight said. “I mean, maybe somepony like that wouldn’t be all that great for Spike, but it doesn’t really strike me as an actual emergency.”

“Yeah, isn’t this kinda like the time you freaked out because Spike started hanging out with Gabby instead spending all his time with you?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“What? No, this is nothing like that!” Rarity protested. “I admit I was a touch possessive of Spike back then, but this is different! I just can’t bear the thought of my Spikey-Wikey having his heart played with, and I’m certainly not going to sit around and do nothing when there’s nopony else that can help him.”

“What about Twilight?” Starlight asked in exasperated tone. “Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that his whole crystal mare business is really as big a deal as you say it is. Shouldn’t we make sure Twilight knows about his, then? I mean, she is Spike’s…surrogate big sister, I think? I was never totally clear on that. The point is, Twilight and Spike are family, so I’m pretty sure she’d want to know about…whatever this is.”

“Under normal circumstances Twilight would have absolutely been the first pony I’d have talked to about this. But I’m not sure I’d want to trouble her with something like this right now. The poor dear simply has enough on her plate as it is between running Equestria and trying for a foal with Moonwhisper,” Rarity said. The moment Rarity said this, the entire table erupted in excitement.

“Are y’all serious? Why the hay didn’t y’all lead with that in the first place?” Applejack said.

“Seriously,” Rainbow Dash added. “I mean, way to leave out the important news. So, Twilight and Moonwhisper are trying to have a foal, huh? What do you wanna bet that foal’s gonna be the biggest egghead the world’s ever seen?”

“Yeah, probably,” Starlight laughed. “Or, at least the most organized.”

“Now, be nice,” Fluttershy chided. “I’m sure Twilight and Moonwhisper are going to be wonderful parents.”

“Yeah, and I can’t wait to start setting up playdates for Cheesy Pie and…do you think Twilight and Moonwhisper have started thinking of names yet? Ooh, I know, we should start planning a foalshower!”

“Really, girls, I understand that you’re all excited about the news, but could we please focus on the more pressing matter?” Rarity said in a vain effort to regain control of the conversation. “We need to figure out what we’re going to do about –”

“Come on, Rarity, would you just give it a rest already?” Rainbow Dash said. “We get it, you’re jealous that Spike’s got a bunch of mares throwing themselves at him. You don’t need to make such a big deal about it.”

“Jealous?” Rarity replied indignantly. “You really think that the only reason I’m trying to protect my Spikey-Wikey is because I’m jealous?”

“To be fair, sugar cube, it wouldn’t be the first time y’all went a little nutty ‘cause somecreature got between y’all and Spike,” Applejack said.

“Yeah, I mean, to be honest, Rarity, you might want to tone down the possessiveness a bit. Otherwise, ponies might start to talk,” Starlight added.

“And just what exactly is that supposed to mean?” Rarity asked, narrowing her eyes at Starlight.

“Well…ponies might start gossiping that you’re acting like this because you’ve got a crush or something on Spike.”

“Of all the…” Rarity said. “Is that really what you think? That the only reason I’m concerned for my friend is that I have a crush on him? I mean, yes, Spike is a wonderful sweetheart, not to mention a true gentlecolt. He’s considerate, generous, easily one of the most caring…” Rarity’s voice trailed off as a look of dawning realization slowly settled across her features. “Oh my, I…oh dear. Ladies, if you’ll please excuse me, I…I have to go.” With that, Rarity stood up from the table and swiftly dashed out the door before any of her friends could say another word.

“Huh, Ah can’t say Ah saw that one comin’,” Applejack remarked mildly after a few moments of stunned silence passed.

“Not according to our pool you didn’t, anyway,” Pinkie Pie said as she flicked her tail, sending a large stack of papers onto the table, the top page declaring it the ‘Ponyville Rarity loves Spike/Rarity doesn’t love Spike betting pool’. “Let’s see, Starlight and Rainbow Dash did see that coming, along with Pristine Facets from the jewelry store, Cotton Yarn from the fabric store…”

“It does explain why Rarity’s so upset over the crystal mares in Canterlot, though,” Fluttershy said.

“…Aloe and Lotus from the Ponyville Day Spa, Lyra Heartstrings (not Bon Bon though, huh)…”

“So, what do you think Rarity’s gonna do now?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You think she’ll actually talk to Spike and tell him how she feels? Or is this gonna be one of those times where we have to go through a whole friendship problem thing?”

“…Sweetie Belle, Ocellus – wait, was it cheating to let a changeling make a bet on this?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“We agreed it was fine, though Ah’m startin’ to think Ah shoulda asked her before Ah put down those extra fifteen bits,” Applejack said. “So, what the hay do we do now?”

“At this point, I don’t think we really do anything,” Starlight said. “At least, not until Rarity decides what she’s going to do, anyway.”

*********

Preparing for a Declaration

“Hey, have any of you guys seen Moonwhisper? There’s something I’d really like to talk to him about.” As the two castle guards shook their heads, the Royal Advisor hurried down the hall to continue his search. While his frame hadn’t filled out yet, Spike’s latest growth spurt had left him tall enough to look Princess Celestia in the eye. The initial awkwardness that had come with the added height had been overcome relatively quickly, but Spike still couldn’t help feeling self-conscious about the way he towered over nearly everypony else. His recent discovery that he was, in fact, attracting stares from a good number of the ponies in Canterlot didn’t help matters, even if his newfound height wasn’t the precise reason for the attention.

“Excuse me, Spike, do you have a minute?” Spike paused in his tracks as he heard Raven Inkwell, the secretary Twilight had effectively inherited from Princess Celestia, call out to him. “I was hoping you could talk to Princess Twilight about her plans for this year’s annual Multinational Friendship Summit. Her last batch of notes made it sound like she wants to try coaxing a delegation from the centaur kingdom.” Raven followed this with a short, desperate laugh that wordlessly begged Spike to confirm that Twilight had been joking.

“No, Twilight’s really trying to reach out to the centaurs,” Spike confirmed, causing Raven’s ears to droop at the news. “I wouldn’t worry too much, though. From what Starswirl told us, Tirek wasn’t anything like the rest of the centaurs, and even his brother understood why we had to lock him up in Tartarus. Besides, there’s a pretty good chance they won’t come to the summit anyway, so it’s not really worth worrying about.”

“Right, we’re extending an invitation to the representatives of a nation we haven’t had regular contact with in over a thousand years while a petrified member of their royal family is sitting in one of our high-security vaults,” Raven replied, one of her eyes starting to twitch. “But, hey, it’s not like there’s going to be any really disruptive or aggressive creatures at the summit, right? You know, like yaks. Or griffons, or dragons, or THE SPIRIT OF CHAOS?”

“Listen, I get what you’re saying, but Twilight’s got this. She’s been dealing with other creatures for years, and nopony’s got a better handle on wrangling Discord then she does, except maybe Fluttershy. Although, if you’d like, I could talk to Moonwhisper for you about all this,” Spike added as an idea struck him.

“You would? Oh, thank Celestia!” Raven exclaimed.

“Sure, I actually need to talk with him about something else, anyway. You don’t happen to know where I could find him, do you?” Spike asked.

“Well, if he’s not with Princess Twilight or his office, then I’m not really sure where he’d be,” Raven replied. “Maybe you could try the kitchens or the dining hall? It is just about lunchtime.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea.” With that, Spike quickly sped off down the halls, leaving Raven to ponder if perhaps she should have gone into a more calming line of work. Such as cragadile wrangling.

*********

Moonwhisper held the tall glass in his magic as he disdainfully inspected the pale amber liquid within. “I still don’t understand why Twilight is so insistent I drink this. It’s not that it tastes bad, but its so cloyingly sweet…” Moonwhisper sighed before closing his eyes and gulping down the pineapple juice in one go. As he place the glass back onto the table, still wondering what nebulous ‘health benefits’ Twilight had been referring to, Moonwhisper suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of a dragon rushing into the room.

“Moonwhisper! There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you!” Spike said as he paused to try and catch his breath. “There’s something really important that I really need your advice about.”

“If the centaur’s actually do reply, just don’t bring up Tirek or magic theft in general and everything should be fine,” Moonwhisper said, not even bothering to look up from the rest of his lunch. “And, in the unlikely event they ask you anything about the location of Tirek’s petrified form, just say that you don’t know. Which, strictly speaking, would ben an entirely honest answer. Personally, I seriously doubt any of it’s going to be an issue. The intelligence we have on the centaurs generally suggests that most of them have either completely forgotten who Tirek is or consider him to be a complete embarrassment.”

“That’s all good to know, but that wasn’t actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” Spike said as he seated himself across from Moonwhisper. “It’s…well, you know how I was kind of paranoid that ponies were watching me right after my last growth spurt?”

“You did seem a little over anxious about that for the first few weeks, but I was under the impression you’d gotten over it,” Moonwhisper said.

“I’d kinda convinced myself that the whole thing was just in my head, but now I think I may have been half-right about it after all,” Spike replied.

“Only half-right? So, what exactly do you mean by that?” Moonwhisper asked, now giving Spike his full attention.

“Um, it turns out there were definitely ponies staring at me, just not for the reasons I thought. I overheard some of the maids talking, and it turns out…you’ve noticed how we’ve been getting a lot more tourists from the Crystal Empire lately, right?” Spike asked suddenly.

“Vaguely,” Moonwhisper replied. “I generally try to avoid having to interact with tourists unless I don’t have a choice in the matter. That said, I have spoken to a few of the palace guards who’ve made similar comments to that effect. Though, I’m not sure I see the connection between that and your recent bouts of self-consciousness. Are the new visitors some of your fans from the Empire?”

“Yeah, kind of,” Spike said as he started to blush. “It turns out there are a lot of mares in the Crystal Emplire who like me. I mean, really, like-like me…”

“And now that you’re old enough that pursuing you isn’t liable to get them thrown in a dungeon, they’ve decided to…what exactly? Hang around the public parts of the palace on the off chance they’ll have an opportunity to catch your attention? With all due respect, Spike, I don’t doubt that there’s probably a contingent of crystal mares, possibly even a sizeable contingent, who’ve developed infatuations with you as a result of your exploits. And there’s almost definitely a group of mares here in Canterlot who are attracted to your title and social standing. But, are you sure that there’s really certain that you really have so many admirers hanging around the palace that it’s making you self-conscious?” Moonwhisper asked.

“Maybe? I don’t know. That isn’t really the problem I need help with right now,” Spike said, frustration creeping into his voice. “The thing is, well, you know how I’ve always felt about Rarity, right?”

“Spike, I’m going to be blunt. I feel fairly certain that anypony who’s know you for any appreciable length of time is aware of your feelings towards Miss Rarity,” Moonwhisper replied. “Granted, you were a bit less…outward about it after your wings came in, but I’d still say anypony who paid the slightest bit of attention would be able to pick up on it.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think how I felt about her ever really changed,” Spike said. “Every time I see Rarity, I still feel like I’ve got butterflies in my stomach. I’ve got more control over it than I did when Twilight and I came to Ponyville, but…it’s still there, you know? And that’s the problem. Up until now, with the way things were, I’ve never really had to worry about what would happen if I felt that way about somepony else, too. I guess, the thing is, I had always thought Rarity would be the one to find somepony else, and that I’d have to learn to get over it. I never thought about what I would do if I found somepony else first.”

“Unless I’m mistaken, though, you haven’t actually found somepony else, at least not yet,” Moonwhisper replied.

“Yeah, I know, but what happens if I do?” Spike asked. “I can’t imagine just giving up on Rarity, but I can’t just keep pining for her for the rest of my life either.”

“Unfortunately, I really only see one solution to your dilemma, and I suspect you already know what it is,” Moonwhisper said, prompting Spike to bang his face down onto the table and let out an agonized groan. “You must have realized you’d need to talk to Rarity eventually, especially if you ever actually wanted things to progress at all. At least now you have some idea as to what you’d be able to do if she turns you down. And, there is always the possibility that Rarity might be inclined to return your feelings after all.”

“Okay, I know this is going to sound totally crazy, but somehow that’s almost scarier than getting turned down,” Spike admitted.

“Actually, I can understand exactly what you mean,” Moonwhisper replied. “You’ve put so much time and energy into thinking about what the aftermath of having Rarity say ‘no’ would be that the prospect of her saying ‘yes’ is a vast unknown.”

“That really makes sense to you?” Spike asked hopefully.

“Spike, you’re basically describing the position I’ve myself in at every stage of my relationship with Twilight. Which, I will point out, has worked out rather well,” Moonwhisper added encouragingly.

“Yeah, but…I don’t know if I’m really Rarity’s type, you know?” Spike said.

“Are you so sure about that? I hate to call her a social climber, but Rarity has always been somewhat status conscious, and you are the highest-ranking bachelor in Equestria at the moment. You would not believe how much I’ve had to listen to Blue Blood bemoan the fact that you’ve conclusively supplanted him in that regard,” Moonwhisper added with a snort.

“I still don’t see how you can stand that guy,” Spike said, to which Moonwhisper shrugged.

“Frankly, I think Blue Blood’s reputation is somewhat exaggerated. True, he’s a pompous, self-centered idiot. But that description could be accurately applied to half the ponies in Canterlot,” Moonwhisper said.

“Only half?” Spike teased.

“I’m being generous. My point is, while Blue Blood is an idiot, he at least isn’t a tribalist idiot, which automatically makes him more tolerable than any number of other so-called ‘nobles’ I’ve had to interact with. Also, you seem to be changing the subject, specifically the fact that your newfound status is liable to be something Rarity would be attracted to,” Moonwhisper said.

“I don’t think Rarity is going to suddenly like me just because Twilight made me her Royal Adviser. I mean, I’m basically just doing the same sort of stuff I’ve always done for her, just with an official title,” Spike protested.

“True, and I agree, Rarity isn’t going to fall for you solely because you have an official title. She’s likely to fall for you because you’re kind, dependable, demonstrably devoted to her and meet the general definition of the term ‘gentlecolt’ as I understand it. The fact that you’re effectively titled nobility is just icing on the cake,” Moonwhisper replied.

“Maybe you’re right,” Spike replied, finally starting to perk up a bit. “I might really have a chance after all. But then, how do I tell her how I feel?”

“Opening your mouth and talking to her would be the traditional method. Ideally in intelligible Ponish, given that I don’t know how multilingual either of you are,” Moonwhisper said wryly.

“Har har har. And for your information, I happen to speak Draconic as well as Ponish. Torch says I’m one of the only dragons my age who’s bothered to learn it,” Spiked added proudly.

“If I’m not mistaken, Draconic has over a hundred words for fire and none for friendship, so that may not be the best option for a declaration of love,” Moonwhisper replied. “To be serious for a moment, though, there’s no real need to overthink this. Just tell Rarity how you feel and get it out there, don’t worry about making a major production out of it or getting every detail perfect. And I am very much speaking from experience on this part, trust me.”

“Uh huh, right, sure,” Spike said absentmindedly. At that point, Spike was no longer listening to what Moonwhisper was saying, as he had much more important concerns on his mind. Specifically, how best to prepare the most dazzling, breathtaking, heart-capturing declaration of love Equestria had ever known. For Rarity, nothing less would suffice.

The 'Does He or Doesn't He' Dilemma

“So, what do you girls think Rarity wanted to talk to us about?” Pinkie Pie asked as she practically bounced in her seat. Sitting across from her at the café table were Applejack and Fluttershy, the former looking somewhat exasperated by Pinkie’s question.

“Ah’m gonna just go ahead and guess it might have a little somethin’ to do with the realization she had about her and Spike after kickin’ up that fuss last week,” Applejack replied.

“You really think so?” Pinkie asked. “Because Rarity hasn’t said anything about it to me all week. Although, come to think of it, that could be because I haven’t actually seen her all week. What do you think, Fluttershy?”

“I, well, I guess that could be why Rarity wants to talk with us, and she has been acting a little strange this week. A few days ago, Rarity and I had a spa day scheduled and she…said she wasn’t able to make it!” Fluttershy’s revelation triggered a horrified gasp from Pinkie Pie and an exasperated snort from Applejack.

“Rarity never misses a spa day! Not. Ever,” Pinkie said before narrowing her eyes. “Maybe that’s not Rarity at all, but instead she’s been kidnapped and replaced by some evil monster. Did Chrysalis have an evil twin that we didn’t know about? Or, I guess in her case it would be an eviler twin.”

“Pinkie, Ah can pretty much guarantee that Rarity has not been replaced by Chrysalis or her eviler twin,” Applejack said. “Rarity’s just havin’ some troubles sortin’ through what she’s realized about how she feels about Spike, that’s all. Trust me, Ah’ve known Rarity longer than any of y’all, and she’s got a process that’s almost as regular as Twilight’s used to be. Rarity just needs some time to get her dramain’ out of her system and then she’ll be ready to get down to business and deal with this.” As if on cue, it was at that moment that Rarity trotted into the café and made an immediate beeline for her friend’s table.

“Girls! Excellent, you’re all…well, most of you are here at any rate. Where are Rainbow Dash and Starlight?”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash said she was sorry she couldn’t make it, but she had a very important Wonderbolt practice that she had to go to,” Fluttershy explained.

“And Starlight’s busy with some business up at the school, so it’s just the three of us today,” Applejack added.

“I see. Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. In any event, I’m glad the three of you could still make it. I really do need to speak with you about certain…personal realizations I’ve had recently,” Rarity said.

“Y’all mean like the fact that y’ realized yer sweet on Spike now?” Applejack asked, earning an irritated glare from Rarity. “What? It ain’t like Spike’s the most embarrassin’ crush y’all’ve ever had or anythin’. Now that Ah think about it, Spike might actually be one of the more understandable ones. Anyway, the main question Ah’ve got now is when do y’all plan on tellin’ him how y’ feel?”

“That’s part of what I wanted to talk to you all about. This situation…it just has me completely frazzled. I know I’ve had my share of, let’s call them infatuations, in the past, but this is different. I’ve known Spike for so long, know him as well as I know any of you, and now that I realize how I feel about him it’s all I can think about…” Rarity buried her head in her hooves.

“Sounds like y’all’ve got it pretty bad,” Applejack said. “So, why don’t y’all just go up and tell Spike how y; feel? Seems simple enough to me.”

“I only it were,” Rarity groaned. “I know that’s what I should do, it’s just…I’m so nervous.”

“Nervous? About what?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Its just…what if Spike doesn’t feel the same way about me?” Rarity’s plaintive worry was met by near complete silence from her friends, save for the sound of Fluttershy’s hoof colliding with her face.

“Rarity,” Applejack finally said, breaking the awkward silence. “That there has gotta be the single most ridiculous thing Ah have ever heard anypony say, and Ah’ve known Pinkie Pie for years.”

“And I do say an awful lot of ridiculous stuff,” Pinkie added while nodding sagely.

“Mah point is, Spike has been head over claws fer y’all ever since he and Twilight first came to Ponyville, and it ain’t like he was ever all that subtle about it either. Y’all can’t honestly expect us to believe that y’all don’t already know how Spike feels about y’.”

“How he felt about me,” Rarity corrected Applejack. “True, Spike was rather obviously enamored with me when he was younger, but does he still feel that way now? What if it was all just some infatuation that he’s grown out of? What if he’s found somepony else already and I’m too late?”

“I’m pretty sure we’d know if Spike had found a special somepony,” Fluttershy said. “Knowing Spike, he’d probably tell Big Mac and Discord about it, and then we’d hear about it from them.”

“Mostly Discord, probably,” Applejack added. “Big Mac ain’t really the sort to gossip, but Discord couldn’t keep a secret if his life depended on it.” At first, Fluttershy, looked like she wanted to dispute this assessment, but she quickly slumped back in her seat in agreement.

“Alright, so perhaps Spike hasn’t found somepony else, at least not yet, but my point still stands. I have no way of knowing if Spike’s feelings for me are still the same,” Rarity said. “What need to do is –”

“Talk to Spike and actually ask him how he feels,” Applejack said, already suspecting she was wasting her breath.

“Don’t be ridiculous. What I need to do is figure out some way of getting Spike to say how he feels about me without him realizing I’m listening. The challenge, of course, will be to keep Spike from suspecting – Applejack, are you alright?” Applejack, who had banged her head down onto the table face-first, waved Rarity off.

“Don’t y’all worry about me none. Y’all go ahead with yer plottin’,” Applejack said, not bothering to lift her face off from the table.

“If only there were some way one of us could talk to Spike and get him to say how he really feels about you while you were hiding nearby,” Pinkie Pie mused. “Wait, there is a way! We could do the thing I just said!”

“I guess that could work,” Fluttershy replied. “And it wouldn’t really be like we’re tricking Spike, either, since he’d be talking directly to one of us. But, then who should be the one to talk to Spike? Applejack, what do you –” Before Fluttershy even finished her sentence, Applejack let out a pained groan that let everypony at the table know precisely where she stood on the plan.

“Ooh! Ooh! I could do it!” Pinkie Pie cried out as she leaned over the table as far as she could while waving one hoof in the air. Rarity stared at her friend for a few seconds as she considered her options.

“Fluttershy, darling, what about you? I know you and Spike have something of a rapport, perhaps you could…”

“Pick me! I’m in Canterlot all the time anyway, so Spike wouldn’t suspect a thing!” Pinkie Pie said as she continued to stretch her hoof up as far as it would go.

“Maybe I should ask Sweetie Belle for help with this,” Rarity said. “After all, she and her friends did help Big Mac and Sugar Belle with their romantic escapades.”

“Please let me help! Pretty pretty please with whipped cream and hot fudge and a cherry on top!” As Pinkie pleaded, she proceeded to give Rarity the saddest, puppy-dog-eyed expression she could, to which Rarity let out a defeated groan.

“Pinkie, would you like to be the one to talk to Spike, then?” Rarity asked as she did her best to keep her resignation from creeping into her voice.

For a brief moment, Pinkie Pie’s face lit up with a look of unbridled joy before she rested back into her seat with a sly expression. “I don’t know, I guess I could try talking to Spike. This is, if you really want me to.”

Rarity felt her eye start to twitch as she prepared to hammer out the details of the plan. “Not a single heroine in any romance novel I have ever read has ever had to endure something like this,” Rarity thought to herself.

*********

Meanwhile, in a dimension fifty-three degrees to the left of Equestria’s prior Thursday, a singular Spirit of Chaos listened intently to the plan unfolding at the table. “Can’t keep a secret if my life depends on it, can’t I? Well, we’ll see about that, won’t we Miss Big Mac’s overly judgy sibling. I was going to help Spike out with his little romantic predicament (admittedly so he’d need to devote less time to romantic misunderstandings and have more available for Ogres and Oubliettes), but now I think I’ll just sit back and watch the chaos. After all, when you collide all Spike’s planning with Pinkie Pie, what could go right?”

The Best Laid Plans

“Okay, so let’s go over the plan once more time. I’ll make sure Rarity gets sent an invitation for the Friendship Summit’s reception dinner. There won’t be anything suspicious about that, we invite her to most of the big receptions and stuff at the castle anyway and she almost always comes. Unless there’s a big fashion thing, anyway, and I already checked to make sure that won’t be a problem,” Spike added.

“Do you plan on inviting any of the other members of Princess Twilight’s Friendship Council as well to avoid rousing her suspicions?” Raven Inkwell asked.

“That’s…actually, that’s a pretty good idea. You’re sure you won’t mind the extra fuss? I know some of our friends can be –”

“Living avatars of unnecessary stress and chaos?” Raven suggested.

“In fairness, that’s mostly Discord, and he is the Spirit of Chaos, so it kinda comes with the territory,” Spike replied.

“Applejack and Rainbow Dash don’t seem to have met a social convention yet that one or both aren’t willing to ignore. Fluttershy is mostly fine, at least until animals get involved somehow, in which case all bets are off. And don’t even get me started on Pinkie Pie,” Raven added with a shudder. “I’m still not entirely convinced that mare isn’t really secretly a draconequus in disguise or something.”

“That would explain an awful lot,” Spike chuckled. “But wait, if everypony is that much of a pain for you to handle, then why—”

“At this point there isn’t really much that could happen that could make this summit any more stressful than it already is, and if things go sideways while Princess Twilight’s friends are in attendance then I’m less likely to be blamed for everything. So, go ahead, invite all of the princess’s friends. Invite Discord too, if you think it’ll help. Bring it on!” Raven added with a slightly maddened look in her eyes.

“Okay, maybe we should move on a bit tow what’ll happen once Rarity gets here,” Spike said as he cautiously backed away a little. “So, I figured I’d probably start by letting everything start normally—”

“HAH!” Raven laughed before quickly calming herself down. “I’m so sorry, it’s just…I’ve been under a lot of stress and—”

“I’m going to talk to Twilight about getting you some time off,” Spike said. “Maybe set up a spa day for you or something. Anyway, we can talk about that later. Getting back to the plan, once I’ve given Rarity a few minutes to settle in and mingle, I’m going to invite her into one of the side chambers. You’ve had it decorated the way I asked, right?”

“Yes. Honestly, though there wasn’t much to your instructions. I don’t really see what’s so special about those sparkly ribbons you wanted,” Raven replied.

“Yeah, I guess its one of those things that wouldn’t really make sense to anypony else. You see, when I first met Rarity, it was back when Princess Celestia sent Twilight and me to Ponyville to check on the Summer Sun Celebration. Rarity was in charge of the decorations, and…”

“And you’ve had that room decorated in the same style she was using back then,” Raven concluded.

“I want it to be a homage to the first time we met,” Spike said. “I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but I really want to show Rarity how much she’s meant to me and for how long.”

“I think it sounds sweet,” Raven assured him. “Well, alright, maybe it’s a little cheesy, but I imagine she’ll appreciate it. So, what’s you plan for what happens after you spill your heart out to her?”

“I…don’t really have one,” Spike said sheepishly. “To be honest, it’s been hard enough just to get up the nerve to actually plan this much. I guess my plan for what happens next would be to hear how Rarity feels about me and, I guess, talk to her about what we should do from there.”

Raven shrugged. “I’ll admit, its not the worst plan like that I’ve ever heard, though that’s a low bar to get over.”

“Blue Blood?” Spike asked knowingly.

“Not so much him as the romance novel addicts who think he’s going to sweep them off their hooves,” Raven snorted. “Prince Blue Blood’s too self-absorbed to even think about making an idiot of himself like that. Not that I’m suggesting you’re—” Raven quickly added before taking a moment to compose herself. “What I mean is that I’ve watched a lot of lovestruck mares and stallions build up fantasies about how their romance is going to set the heavens ablaze and then have everything fall apart once they actually have to talk with the other pony. What I’m saying is, that talking to Rarity is probably a good first step. So, now that that’s settled, maybe we should talk about the rest of the plans for the summit itself.”

*********

“Alright, Pinkie, let’s go over the plane one more time. You’ll tell Spike that you need to speak with him about this whole Friendship Summit business. Then, you’ll casually bring up the subject of, well, me, and Spike’s past feelings for me and try to coax him into admitting to you if he still feels the same way. Now, did you get all that?” Rarity asked, prompting Pinkie Pie to roll her eyes.

“Relax, Rarity, I’ve got this. It’s not like I’ve never done anything like this before, this’ll be just like the time I helped Maud figure out if Mudbriar preferred igneous or sedimentary rocks. It actually turns out he likes metamorphic,” Pinkie added in a conspiratorial whisper. “So, how are you going to listen in on me and Spike talking? Ooh, I know, you could disguise yourself as a maid and eavesdrop on our conversation before throwing yourself into Spike’s arms when he admits he still loves you.”

“Pinkie, I know you excel at it, but don’t be ridiculous,” Rarity replied. “I’ve actually enticed a little help from Starlight Glimmer for that. She found a spell that will let me enchant an object so I can hear whatever’s going on around it. So, all I have to do is use that spell on a small, tasteful accessory and you can wear it and I’ll hear everything without even needing to be in the castle.” As Rarity spoke, she levitated a small hairclip decorated with a jeweled cupcake out of her saddlebag and passed it to Pinkie Pie. “Here, just make sure you’re wearing this in your mane when you talk with Spike.”

“Ooh, how secret agent-y,” Pinkie Pie said as she clipped the accessory into her mane. “There’s no possible way this could go totally wrong and lead to some wacky misunderstanding or anything. Well, I’m off to go talk to Spike about party stuff and definitely not ask him about his secret feelings for you,” Pinkie Pie said while winking at Rarity.

“Remember, Pinkie, you need to be subtle when you talk to Spike so he doesn’t suspect anything,” Rarity pleaded with her friend.

“Don’t worry, Rarity, Spike won’t suspect a single thing.” For some odd reason, however, Pinkie’s assurance didn’t seem to calm Rarity’s nerves down in the slightest.

*********

“—and that should pretty much cover how we’ll handle the delegations from the Dragon lands and Yakyakistan,” Spike said. “We really shouldn’t need to worry about any of the other delegates, and honestly these days the yaks and dragons are lot easier to handle than they used to be. You should have been there when Prince Rutherford first visited Ponyville, now that was almost a complete disaster.”

“You know, for the sake of my developing ulcer, I get the impression it was probably for the best I wasn’t there,” Raven replied.

“Hey, it all worked out in the end. Admittedly, that was mainly thanks to Pinkie Pie showing up in the nick of time, but still,” Spike admitted, just as the doors to the ballroom suddenly swung open.

“Did I hear somepony say my name?” Raven winced just slightly as Pinkie Pie cheerfully bounced into the room. “So, are you two talking about the big party Twilight’s throwing for all the leaders of the other kingdoms?”

“If by ‘party’ you mean the Royal Friendship Summit, then yes, we were just finishing discussing the details,” Raven said dryly.

“Eh, summit, party, they’re basically the same thing, right?” Pinkie Pie said, causing Raven’s eye to start to twitch.

“No, I can assure you, Missus Pie, they are in fact two quite different things,” Raven insisted with all the conviction of somepony determined to fight a losing battle to the bitter end.

“It’s a thing where a whole bunch of creatures get together to talk and make friends and stuff. That sure sounds like a party to me,” Pinkie Pie retorted.

“You know what, Raven, why don’t you go check to see if Twilight needs an update on our plans for the summit and I’ll take care of this,” Spike quickly interjected.

“Yes, that sounds like an excellent idea,” an audibly relieved Raven said before quickly turning to leave. “Just let me know if you need any more accommodations for you special plan.”

“Ooh, a special plan? What’s that about?” Pinkie Pie asked eagerly, causing Spike to let out a nervous chuckle.

“Oh, nothing important, just a little something Raven’s been helping me set up – so anyway what’s up? I didn’t think you usually got involved with these Friendship Summits,” Spike said as he quickly changed the topic.

“Oh, you know,” Pinkie relied evasively. “Like I said earlier, I realized that these Friendship Summits are basically big parties, and you know how I never miss a party, hahahaha. Besides, I am the official Royal Party Planner, after all, so I do have a responsibility to make sure that everything here is up to PPFFS.”

“Up to what now?” Spike asked.

“Pinkie Pie Fun and Friendship Standards ™,” Pinkie Pie replied proudly. “Sans Smirk is helping me put together an official rulebook and everything.”

“Wasn’t he the pony who put out that book on being funny, what was it called?”

“The Complete Guide to Humor and its Practical Applications,” Pinkie Pie replied. “I helped Cheese and Sans with the research.”

“That…explains a lot, actually,” Spike replied as he recalled Twilight’s attempts to use humor to ease the formality of some of her stuffier royal duties. It hadn’t ended particularly well.

“Anyway, I mostly just wanted to check to see how everything’s going, see if you needed my help with anything, ask if you’re still in love with Rarity, that sort of thing,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Wait, what was that last bit?” Spike asked.

“To see if you needed my help with anything! You know me, have party cannon, will travel!” To emphasize her point, Pinkie Pie promptly pulled out her cannon and fired a charge of confetti and streamers into the air. What Pinkie Pie failed to notice, however, was that as the force of the blast knocked her back, it caused the hair clip she had been wearing to fly loose and go skittering under one of the tables.

“Okay, I think I get the point,” Spike said, chalking up whatever he thought he had heard to a combination of nerves and Pinkie being Pinkie. “I guess I could use your help with how we’re taking care of the delegates from Yakyakistan. I’m pretty sure we’ve got everything covered, but it never hurts to double check. Especially when you dealing with yaks.”

“Okie dokie lokie,” Pinkie Pie said as Spike led her out of the room. “Hey, do you know what all this kind of reminds me of? That time we all went to the Grand Galloping Gala for the first time. Remember that?”

“Eh, if I remember it correctly, I pretty much bailed on the whole thing once everypony ran off on their own and spent the night at Doughnut Joe’s,” Spike said. “Though, from what you guys told me, it sounded like I might have had the best time out of all of us.”

“Tell me about it, the Grand Galloping Gala got a lot more fun once Princess Celestia started inviting Discord.” As Pinkie Pie followed Spike out of the room, a pair of guards, a unicorn mare and a pegasus stallion, entered from another doorway.

“Hey, Silver Spur, who was that with the Royal Adviser? She looked kind of familiar, but I can’t remember where I might have seen her before,” the stallion asked.

“One, if you ever bothered to read the notices General Moonwhisper issues, then you’d know that was Pinkie Pie. She’s the official Royal Party Planner and part of Princess Twilight’s Council of Friendship. Seriously, Cloud Cover, how do you not know this by now? You’ve been stationed in Canterlot for three months already. And two, stop trying to change the subject, I asked you what you’re planning to do about Crème Éclair. That maid has been pining after you for weeks now, and you’ve pretty much been just stringing her along. Just tell her how you feel about her already and get it over with. Out of curiosity, just how do you feel about her, anyway?”

“Yeah, that’s the thing, I’m not really all that sure,” Cloud Cover replied. “I mean, when I arrived in Canterlot I was head over hooves for her. But now that I’ve gotten to know her a bit better, I’m not as sure anymore. Yeah, she’s gorgeous, but she’s such a drama queen I don’t know if I’d really want to deal with her.”

“Well, you should talk to her pretty soon and let her know,” Silver Spur said. “And when you do talk to her, make sure that you’re crystal clear about what you’re telling her. Take it from me, you do not want to have to deal with the drama you can get from romantic misunderstandings.”

*********

“Gah! Pinkie Pie! What are you thinking!” Rarity cried out from her Canterlot Boutique workroom. Listening to Pinkie Pie’s clumsy attempts to wheedle a confession out of Spike had been painful enough, but something about the way Pinkie’s party cannon interacted with the eavesdropping spell had left Rarity’s ears ringing. What was worse, as Rarity soon discovered, was that whatever happened had left her spell’s reception spotty and faint. “Wonderful, I can barely even hear them now. Although, I suppose that might for the best. If I had to keep listening to Pinkie trying to be subtle, I might wind up with another gray hair, and two manestyle emergencies in one month is quite enough – oh, I think I can hear something!” Focusing with all her might, Rarity was just able to pick up a pair of distorted voices through the spell.

“…when I arrived…was head over…for her. But now…not as sure anymore…such a drama…deal with that.”

Rarity felt her heart drop into her hooves as she listened to the fading voice at the other end of her spell. I was all over, her worst fears realized as she sat there helpless. Rarity scarcely even noticed the listening spell wink out as tears began to well up in her eyes and she felt a bout of uncontrollable sobbing come on.

“NO!” Rarity suddenly cried out with a fierceness that surprised even her. “I refuse to give up this easily! If Spikey-wikey doesn’t feel…that way about me anymore, then so be it. But, I want to hear him tell me that to my face. The Royal Friendship Summit is coming up soon, it shouldn’t be difficult to get myself invited, and Spike is certain to be there. I’ll find an opportunity to get him alone and face this head on if it’s the last thing I ever do!”

Confessions

Although the annual Friendship Summit held by Princess Twilight hadn’t quite achieved the same level of prestige held by the Grand Galloping Gala (at least according to the elite of Canterlot) it was still one of the most significant events of the year. In the weeks leading up to the event, the gossip mills of Canterlot were always abuzz regarding who Princess Twilight had chosen to extend invitations to, and by extension who the Princess viewed as ‘worthy’ of representing Equestria to the other species. At least, that’s what being invited meant according to those Canterlot nobles who were invited, anyway.

“To this day, I think Twilight should have just stayed in Ponyville,” Moonwhisper grumbled as he watched the guests line up to enter the castle and greet Twilight. “We could have set up court in her existing castle, the only practical advantage Canterlot has is that most of the bureaucracy is here, and Twilight doesn’t need physical proximity to that in order to run things.”

“I don’t know, I actually kind of like Canterlot,” Pharynx remarked with a smirk.

“Pharynx, the only reason you like Canterlot is because the population is large enough and self-centered enough that you can run infiltration exercises here with minimal hassle,” Moonwhisper said.

“That’s not true. I also like it because its got plenty of tunnels underneath the streets to sneak around in,” Pharynx replied, his smirk widening into a full-fledged grin. “Hey, how many changelings do you think we’ve got in Canterlot right now? Take a guess.”

“There are currently a total of seventeen changelings living in Canterlot who are actively posing as ponies. This includes two who are posing as members of the palace guard, and who rotate their identities on average every five and thirteen days respectively.” Pharynx stared at Moonwhisper in disbelief for a few moments before glancing away in annoyance.

“You’re no fun,” Pharynx grumbled.

“Fun or not, its my job to maintain Canterlot’s security, and part of that means keeping tabs on the local changeling population. It also means keeping tabs on any other potential sources of problems for the city,” Moonwhisper added pointedly as he turned to glance up at a seemingly empty patch of air.

“How in Equestria do you do that?” Discord asked as he stepped out from thin air.

“Trade secret. Now, what exactly do you think you’re doing here? These Friendship Summits may not be as formal as a traditional diplomatic gathering, but they’re still—” Moonwhisper was abruptly silenced as Discord pressed a claw to his lips.

“Don’t you worry, Twilight and Fluttershy have already asked me to refrain from applying my personal flair to these little parties. You have my word that I won’t make the summit any more chaotic than it’s already going to be.” Discord paused and pulled out a bucket of popcorn. “I’m mainly just here to enjoy the show.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but are you talking about Spike’s plans to talk to Rarity about his feelings for her?” Moonwhisper asked with a rapidly growing sense of dread.

“Is that what that is? I thought I smelled something tasty, I just figured that was from you and Twilight,” Pharynx said before noticing Moonwhisper glaring at him while Discord looked on in amusement. “What?”

“In any event, I wouldn’t expect the situation to descend into complete chaos. “Admittedly, from what I’ve picked up Spike didn’t pay much attention to my advice against making a big production of things, but I haven’t seen any red flags that things are about to go complete out of control, either.”

“Or, maybe you just haven’t been paying close enough attention,” Discord suggested. “I’d day more, but I’d hate to spoil the surprise. You’ll just have to wait and see how things play out for yourselves.” With that, Discord vanished in a flash, leaving Moonwhisper and Pharynx staring at a patch of empty air.

“Something tells me I should probably check on Spike before things get completely out of hoof. The last thing Twilight needs is for the summit to descend into complete pandemonium because of a love confession gone wrong.” Pharynx nodded and the two soldiers rushed off to head off the impending disaster.

Meanwhile, Discord watched with glee from his vantage point just to the right of Equestria’s normal reality. “Perfect. Nothing sends a situation into chaos quite like somepony stumbling in and trying to keep everything under control. Now all that’s left is to make sure our lead actress plays her part.”

*********

Rarity strode into Canterlot Castle with her head held high and a sway to her hindquarters, projecting confidence with just a hint of potential scandal. Everything about her appearance that evening, from her black dress to her manestyle to the gold and fire ruby necklace around her neck, had been carefully selected to project the exact message she wanted. As a result, Rarity could feel herself become the center of attention as she trotted through the castle hallways, conversations quieting as she passed and everycreature turning to stare. Truly, at that moment Rarity appeared to be the very embodiment of elegance, beauty and, most of all, self-assurance.

Which was good, because internally Rarity felt more anxious than she ever had before in her life. “Come on, Rarity, focus! You can do this. All you need to do is find Spike, get him somewhere quiet and out of the way and then demand he tell you to your face how he feels about you. Nice and simple. Now if only my heart would stop playing jump rope with my intestines,” Rarity paused to take a deep breath, which did absolutely nothing to calm her nerves.

“Well well well, somepony’s certainly ‘dressed to impress’, as I believe the saying goes.” Rarity barely suppressed a squeal of surprise as Discord’s voice echoed in her ear. Doing her best to appear unfazed, Rarity quickly glanced around for any sign of the draconequus, but she couldn’t see anything. “Really, Rarity, I’d think by now you’d know me well enough to know that just because you can’t see me doesn’t mean I’m not here.”

“What in Celestia’s name do you want?” Rarity hissed under her breath. “Do you have even the faintest notion of how important this night is going to be for me?”

“Of course I do! I’ll remind you that the dragon you’re planning on pouring your heart and soul out to just so happens to be a close, personal friend of mine,” Discord’s disembodied voice huffed.

“I suppose even Spikey-wikey can’t be entirely perfect,” Rarity muttered irritably before addressing her unseen annoyance. “Well, if you know how important this all is, then I don’t suppose you’d mind leaving me alone? This is going to be a very personal moment and I’d really rather not have an audience. Especially one containing a Spirit of Chaos.”

“Oh, of course I understand completely. I was just a little worried that you might get cold hooves, what with this being an encounter that could decide the course of the rest of your life. But, you wouldn’t let a little thing like that get under your skin, now would you?” Rarity could feel her eye start to twitch as Discord continued. “I don’t know how I could have been so inconsiderate. I’ll tell you what, why don’t I make certain that the two of you have all the privacy you need for your little meeting?”

“Fine, whatever, do what you want,” Rarity snapped. This response was met by silence, and once Rarity was certain that nocreature had overheard her talking to herself she quickly resumed her search for Spike. To Rarity’s surprise, her interaction with Discord had left her feeling far more focused, and she now moved through the crowds with a newfound sense of purpose. “Hmph, it seems telling off Discord was exactly what I needed,” Rarity thought to herself. “Perhaps Fluttershy’s right about Discord not being nearly as bad as his behavior and history would lead one to assume. Or, this could just be an unintended consequence of Discord’s efforts at being annoying. Probably the latter, now that I thing about it. No matter, though, I won’t allow whatever it is that Discord’s up to distract me. Tonight is too important!”

As Rarity marched off, Discord watched invisibly with an overly satisfied grin spread across his features. “And now, Rarity has expressly given me permission to make sure she and Spike have some alone time. Well, Fluttershy couldn’t possibly object to my helping a few friends find love, now could she? Especially not when one of them has practically begged me for my assistance.”

*********

“I have to admit, we sere somewhat surprised to receive Princess Twilight’s invitation to attend this summit,” the centaur ambassador, Nyak, remarked. “King Vorak had always been under the impression that Princess Celestia and the ponies of Equestria would rather have as little to do with us as possible. And, honestly, given the trouble some of our subjects have caused in the past we couldn’t really blame you if that was the case.”

“Yeah, well, Twilight understands that you can’t really judge a whole race just based on a few bad apples,” Spike replied. “I mean, just look at the changelings. Once we showed them that they didn’t need to follow Queen Chrysalis and steal other creatures’ love they all turned out to be pretty nice. Besides, Scorpan managed to make friends with Starswirl, and he wasn’t the easiest pony to make friends with back then.” As Spike spoke, his eyes darted about the ballroom as he looked for a potential escape route. Normally, Spike would have been more than happy to embrace his role as Twilight’s Royal Adviser and Chief Friendship Ambassador, but at that particular moment he had even more pressing concerns.

“Is there something wrong, your…grace?” Nyak asked, appearing as though he wasn’t entirely sure of the correct honorific.

“Just Spike is fine. And nothing’s wrong, I…just thought I saw King Thorax! I should probably go say hi to him.”

“Ah, of course. Do give his highness my regards,” Nyak replied as Spike backed away and tried to disappear into the crowd. This was a feat that quickly proved to be nearly impossible, however, owing to the fact that Spike was one of the only dragons in the room, not to mention towering head and shoulders above most of the guests. Luckily for Spike, however, a potential distraction / escape route soon presented itself.

“Oh, hey Spike! Man, I’m glad I found you. I always feel so awkward whenever I have to go to one of these big diplomatic things.” Spike spun around to see Thorax standing just to his right. “So, what are you up to? I’m guessing you’re busy schmoozing with the other delegates. I keep hearing that’s what I’m supposed to be doing at these things, but I’m not really sure what that means, exactly. I tried asking Discord once when he visited the hive, but he just covered me in green slime and I’m pretty sure that’s not actually it. I mean, I’d be fine if it was, that’s kind of something that changelings used to be really good at, but—”

“Thorax! I really need your help with something! Something incredibly important!” Spike interrupted before Thorax could continue any further.

“Of course! There isn’t a problem with the summit, is there?” Thorax asked.

“No, its nothing like that. This is more of a…personal thing. You see, I’m kind of planning on talking to Rarity tonight and telling her how I feel. About her,” Spike explained.

“Ooh, I was wondering what that was. I’ve been smelling some really potent romance brewing since I got here. Pharynx thought it might be Moonwhisper and Twilight, but from what I’ve heard what they’ve been getting up to would smell more like lust, which is a completely different thing. Pharynx would actually know that if he ever spent any time outside the hive, but he was always too much of a warrior-type to—”

“Thorax! Focus!” Spike said. “I have everything set up in one of the side halls that we’ve roped off, but I can even get near it without some ambassador or noble wanting to talk to me, let alone finding Rarity to get her there.”

“That does sound like a problem. So, what do you need me to do?” Thorax asked.

“Well, first, if you could walk with me while I head to the room where I have everything set up that would be a big help. If everycreature sees me with you, then they’ll probably think we’re talking about something important and they won’t try and drag me into something. Normally it wouldn’t bother me so much, but I really need to see this thing with Rarity through,” Spike added.

“Okay, that makes sense, I guess. But, how are you going to get Rarity to the room if you’re in there already?” Thorax asked. “I guess I could try getting her there once I’m done getting you past the crowds.”

“Really? That’d be great! Raven was supposed to help, but I think she had a nervous breakdown after Ember and Prince Rutherford had a yelling contest. Though, honestly, I don’t really see what the big deal was. They did it outside and Ember didn’t even set anything on fire this time.”

“Personally, if you ask me, I think they were being more than considerate,” an all too familiar disembodied voice commented. “Some creatures are just far too sensitive when it comes to dealing with a little chaos.”

“Discord, what are you doing here?” Spike groaned. “I thought you promised Twilight you weren’t going to cause any trouble at these summits.”

“And I’m not,” Discord replied. “I’ll have you know that I haven’t unleashed a single bit of magical chaos all day, and you can’t tell me there aren’t at least a few creatures here that deserve to have their outfits transformed into cheese.”

Spike looked like he was about to argue the point for several moments before letting out a defeated sigh. “I really wish I could disagree with you on that one. But, if you’re not here because you’re up to something, then why are you here? This really doesn’t seem like the sort of party you’d be interested in. You’re more jazz and swing dancing.”

“Ooh, you like swing dancing? You should visit the hive sometime for one of our monthly dance-offs,” Thorax exclaimed.

“You know, I may just take you up on that. In the meantime, though, I believe our dear friend needs our help with his planned romantic endeavor,” Discord said. Despite Discord being invisible, Spike could clearly picture the leering grin plastered across the draconequus’ features.

“Look, Discord, I appreciate the offer, but I’m pretty sure Thorax and I have this covered,” Spike replied. “Really, all I need to do is get to the room where I have everything set up and then wait for Rarity –”

“Done and done!” Discord exclaimed happily, and with the sound of a snap of his claws Spike vanished in a flash of light before reappearing in the room he had set aside for his confession.

“Discord! Actually, no, calm down, this is fine. I’m right where I wanted to be, so if this is the worst Discord gets tonight then I’ll take it as a –”

“Spike?” Freezing in place, Spike slowly turned around to see a somewhat bewildered-looking Rarity standing right behind him. “Spike, how did I – Discord,” Rarity said sourly, answering her own question before she even asked it. “Still, this might be for the best. There’s something that we need to talk about, something extremely important.”

“I know, I – wait, did Discord already tell you why I wanted to talk to you?” Spike asked.

“No, he did not,” Rarity replied. “Wait, why did you want to talk to me?”

“Well, its just that there’s something I really need to tell you. It’s something you probably already know, you’ve probably known it for a long time, to be honest, but…I need to say it out loud. Even if this changes things between us, I need to tell you and you deserve to hear me say it!” As Spike spoke, Rarity did her best to remain impassive, the hint of tears forming in her eyes the only clue to the emotions roiling just beneath the surface.

“Alright then, Spike,” Rarity began with a slight hitch in her voice. “I’m at least glad you agree I deserve for you to tell me this to my face. So, go on, tell me what you need to tell me.”

Spike closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Something was wrong, he knew Rarity well enough to tell she was upset about something, but he had no idea why. Suddenly, horror filled Spike’s mind as the obvious answer struck him like a thunderbolt; something about the way he had set everything up had offended Rarity somehow. It was what Moonwhisper had tried to warn Spike about earlier. By making a big production out of everything Spike had just proved himself to be nothing more than an immature adolescent who hadn’t given a moment’s thought to what Rarity would have wanted. Still, it was too late to take any of it back, all Spike could do was go forward and face his inevitable rejection with as much dignity as he could muster.

“Rarity, I…love you. I fell for you the moment I saw you, and ever since then those feelings have just gotten stronger. You’re beautiful, but also strong, caring, and the most selfless pony I’ve every known.” Spike paused for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts. “I get that you probably don’t feel the same way, and you’re probably upset at the way I’m dumping all this on you, but—” Whatever else Spike was about to say was quickly forgotten as Rarity launched herself through the air and caught Spike in a flying tackle, throwing her hooves around his neck and pressing her lips against his.

“Oh Spike…” Rarity said breathlessly as she finally broke off their kiss. “You really mean it? After all this time, you still feel that way about me?”

“I gwich hom?” Spike managed to blurt out, his expression displaying a completely lack of coherent thought.

“I can’t believe I thought for a moment that you had lost your feelings for me,” Rarity continued as she nuzzled Spike.

“What? Why would you think that?” Spike asked, his sudden alarm snapping him back to his senses.

“Er, no reason. I just let my imagination get the better of me, I suppose,” Rarity quickly replied with a nervous life, while making a mental note to apologize to Applejack for not listening to her yet again. “In the meantime, why don’t we head back to the reception, and we can talk about what all this is going to mean for us later tonight. You do still have your responsibilities as Twilight’s Royal Adviser, after all, and I have a reputation of my own to keep up as well. Dear Celestia, the gossip columns are going to have a field day when they find out about us. Perhaps we should give them something extra special to write about before the night is over,” Rarity added as she gave Spike a look that made him feel as though his scales were on fire. “For now, though, let’s just get back to the—” Rarity opened the doors leading out of the room, revealing an empty, black void where the castle was supposed to be. “Spike, darling, there seems to be a slight problem with our exit.”

“Why, what’s the – where’s the castle?” Even as Spike spoke, however, the answer to his question hit him like a lead weight. “DISCORD!”

A Minor Complication

“Well, in all fairness, tonight has still gone quite a bit better than I had expected it to,” Rarity said as she sat at a table and watched Spike pike his head out the ballroom doors into the void beyond. Upon hearing this, Spike promptly pulled his back with a look of concern.

“Are you serious? How bad did you think tonight was going to go?” Spike asked, mentally calculating how many impending diplomatic fiascos Rarity may have had prior knowledge of.

“Considering I arrived fully expecting to hear how you had fallen out of love with me, fairly badly,” Rarity replied before letting out a dreamy sigh. “After hearing you tell me you love me, I don’t think there’s anything even Discord could do to ruin this night.” No sooner did those words leave Rarity’s lips, however, than a look of sudden horror fell over her features as she realized that she may have a certain, mishappen eavesdropper. “That statement was not meant to be a challenge!”

“Why would you have thought…wait, was this one of those things where everypony could have avoided a whole lot of stress by just listening to Applejack?” Spike asked.

“Maybe?” Rarity said, her face flushing with embarrassment, before quickly changing the topic. “You know, I was thinking there’s something rather familiar about the décor in this room, but I can’t quite put my hoof on where I might have seen it before. Do you happen to recall who was responsible for the decorating here?”

“Actually, I was the one who directed everything in here, but the design itself kind of came from you,” Spike admitted. “I tried to have everything match up with how you decorated Ponyville Town Hall for the Summer Sun Celebration when Twilight and I first arrived. It’s supposed to be a tribute to when we first met. I know it’s kind of cheesy, but—” Spike abruptly found himself enveloped in a light blue aura as Rarity levitated him into an embrace.

“Oh, Spikey-wikey, that’s the most romantic thing anypony has ever done for me,” Rarity said. “I cannot believe you actually remembered how I was decorating back then.”

“It was one of those moments that I’ll never forget,” Spike said. As Spike moved in for a kiss, however, he was interrupted by the sound of somepony knocking on the door to the ballroom. “Oh, come on, really?”

“Don’t worry, we can always pick up where we left off later tonight,” Rarity consoled him. “In fact, I can assure you that I plan to do exactly that.” The tone Rarity used contained implications of what was to come that left Spike practically floating as he moved over to the door and opened it to reveal a grinning spirit of chaos.

“Hello, I do hope that I’m not interrupting anything,” Discord said, earning murderous glares from both Spike and Rarity.

“Discord…” Spike growled through tightly clenched teen. “Where are we and where is the rest of the castle?”

“Well, the rest of the castle is still in Canterlot. I certainly wasn’t going to do something to the entire castle, not after promising Fluttershy that I wouldn’t ruin any of Twilight’s little summits,” Discord replied as if offended by the insinuation. “As for where we are right now, why, we’re in the ballroom you had set aside for your romantic declaration to the fair Rarity. I figured that part would be obvious, but I understand romance does tend to make creatures a little softheaded sometimes. Congratulations to you both, by the way. I’ll admit part of me is a little disappointed there weren’t more wacky misunderstandings, but I can always find entertainment elsewhere.”

“I’m so relieved you’re able to keep yourself amused,” Rarity said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, could you please explain that!” As Rarity spoke, she pointed a hoof at the expanse of nothingness behind Discord.

“Oh, that? That’s nothing,” Discord replied dismissively, as if stating the painfully obvious.

Spike opened his mouth to object, only to silently close it again as he realized that Discord was technically correct, and that arguing the point would accomplish nothing (beyond providing Discord with a bit of entertainment). “Okay, we can see that it’s nothing. But, why is it nothing and not the rest of the castle?”

“Fine, if you’re going to take all the fun out of this, I moved the ballroom here so you and Rarity could have a bit of alone time while working out your whole…romance thing. I had assumed the two of you weren’t going to want to be bothered by any nosy diplomats or crystal mares or what have you.”

“That…actually, that was pretty considerate of you,” Spike admitted, albeit a tad reluctantly. “Now, could you please put the ballroom back where it’s supposed to go?”

“Ah, yes, about that. Well, I certainly would do that, but I’ve run into this one little, teeny tiny issue there…”

*********

“So, Discord did something to the ballroom Spike set up for his thing with Rarity, and now he can’t figure out how to undo it?” Thorax asked as he, Pharynx and Moonwhisper stood in front of what should have been the doors to the ballroom in question. “I’m not sure I understand, though, what exactly did Discord do to the ballroom?”

“See for yourself,” Moonwhisper grumbled as he threw open the doors. Beyond the doorway, instead of what should have been a small ballroom, there was only an iridescent haze, a sort of melding of a thick fog and the opaque sheen of a soap bubble.

“I don’t see what the big deal is, it looks like Discord just filled the place with sparkly clouds. But, if a bunch of fog is too scary for you ponies, then I’ll deal with this,” Pharynx said as he approached the doorway and pushed his head into the mist.

“Pharynx, wait, I don’t think that’s a very – oh, he never listens to me,” Thorax grumbled.

“Well, maybe if you ever said anything quick enough I might.” Thorax and Moonwhisper spun around to see Pharynx’s head seeming emerging from the wall directly opposite the doorway. “I guess I do have to admit, this is kind of weird,” Pharynx said as he watched himself shift his weight on his hooves. After another moment of two, Pharynx’s head retreated back into the wall as he pulled back from the doorway. Moonwhisper, meanwhile, approached the wall where Pharynx’s head had emerged and gave it a few cautious taps with his hoof before letting out an irritated snort.

“It’s some sort of one-way portal, which probably shouldn’t be possible, but that’s par for the course for Discord,” Moonwhisper said before letting out a deep sigh. “Of course Discord would cause an issue he can’t snap away during Twilight’s summit. I’d really prefer to avoid disrupting everything, especially with the centaurs here. Alright, for now I’ll have the hallway cordoned off and call it a maintenance issue. Then, if Discord hasn’t figured out a solution to this whole mess by the end of the summit I’ll ask Twilight to take a look and see what she can come up with.”

“So, you’re just going to leave Spike and Rarity in…wherever it is they are?” Thorax cried out.

“No, I’m going to have Discord work to fix the mess he mand until he either succeeds or somepony who has a vague idea as to what they’re doing can look at this. And, as there only five or so ponies in Equestria who even might meet that last criterion, only of whom is in Canterlot at the moment, we are somewhat at the mercy of said pony’s schedule. So, unless you happen to know of somepony else with a working knowledge of transdimensional magic who happens to be in Canterlot…” Thorax thought for a moment before shaking his head. “In which case we’re going to wait for Twilight to take care of her responsibilities to the rest of Equestria. Who know, in the meantime Discord might actually fix this on his own. It’s not as though he has anything else to worry about at the moment.”

*********

“WHEN I GET MY HOOVES ON YOU I’M GOING TO WRING YOUR MISERABLE NECK!”

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Rarity that angry about anything before,” Spike remarked mildly as he hovered in the air next to Discord, who was clinging to the ceiling for dear life. “Not even the time that critic from Manehatten called her dresses ‘gaudy dress-up costume pieces’.”

“Well, I’m glad that at least you don’t seem to be all that upset,” Discord said.

“Oh, I’m absolutely furious,” Spike replied mildly. “I just think Rarity’s angry enough for the both of us right now.”

“Spike, darling, would you be a dear and try prying Discord off the ceiling so I can throttle him?” Rarity asked sweetly, complete with a flutter of her eyelashes.

“Now hold on just a moment, I can understand that you’re both a touch peeved with me at the moment –”

“You’ve trapped the two of us in another dimension!” Rarity snapped.

“And I can understand why that might make you a wee bet testy. But, I just want to remind you that I’m the only one who can fix this whole debacle,” Discord said.

“Twilight,” came Rarity’s immediate reply.

“Actually, Rarity, I hate to admit it, but Discord does kind of have a point here. Twilight might be able to fix this, but she’s going to be tied up with the summit for Celestia knows how long,” Spike said. Rarity wordlessly opened and closed her mouth several times as she tried to think up a good argument to this before finally giving up and pouting in frustration.

“If its any consolation, you two do make an adorable couple,” Discord said, earning him glares from both Spike and Rarity. “Hmph, some creatures just can’t take a compliment. Anyway, if that’s how you’re going to be then I’ll just go to work someplace else and leave you to whatever romance you plan on getting up to, meeting each other’s parents and whatnot.” Discord made a gagging sound as he vanished from sight, leaving Spike and Rarity along with a pair of sudden, horrifying realizations.

“We’re going to have to talk to Twilight about this,” Spike groaned.

“I’m going to have to actually introduce you to my parents,” Rarity shivered before giving Spike a quizzical look. “What’s going to be so dreadful about telling Twilight about us? I have to imagine she’s known about your feelings for me for quite some time, and it won’t be as though she has any reason to find me objectionable.”

“Yeah, it’s just…well, you know how Twilight tends to get about things, especially things she doesn’t expect. And I’m pretty sure Twilight never really expected us to…actually be an ‘us’,” Spike said.

“Oh dear Celestia, you’re absolutely right, Twilight’s liable to go on a full Twilighting spree when she hears about us. Well, I imagine we should probably tell her as soon as possible. If I recall correctly, Twilight didn’t react particularly well to being surprised by Shining Armor’s surprise wedding invitation, and I doubt she’d handle the news about our relationship any better.” Rarity scrunched up her face in distaste. “And after that I’ll have the pleasure of telling my parents as well.” This time it was Spike’s turn to react with confusion.

“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned introducing me to your parents. I’m not sure I understand, what would be the big deal, I don’t think I’ve ever really talked to your parents but they seem nice enough,” Spike said.

“Oh, they are, and I’m certain they’ll absolutely adore you. It’s just they can be a bit…how do I put this delicately? I suspect we can look forward to a number of thinly veiled questions about when we can expect to get married and how many grandfoals they can look forward to. At least father’s questions will be thinly veiled, I imagine mother will likely just come out and ask us,” Rarity muttered.

“Married? Grandfoals? Um, isn’t it a little early for – I mean, we only just – I hadn’t even –” Hearing Rarity’s concerns regarding her parents had left Spike in a babbling stupor as his mind tried to process the potential implications and failed miserably.

Rarity let out a sigh at Spike’s sudden discombobulation “Spike, darling, I understand things are moving a touch fast at the moment, and it is a bit early to be worrying about starting a family. Perhaps for the moment we should focus on seeing if there’s anything we could possibly do to get out of this room.”

“Uh, right,” Spike said as he shook himself to try and clear his mind. “I’m not really sure there’s all that much that we could do, though. This sort of thing’s really more what Twilight’s good at dealing with. At least as long as she doesn’t have a meltdown dealing with Discord, anyway.”

“And as much as I know about fabric, the fabric of space-time is a bit outside my area of expertise as well,” Rarity admitted as she trotted over to Spike and sat down. “I suppose there isn’t much we can do other than wait for our friends to get us out of here, then. Still, at least we have each other. And time to think of how we’re going to tell our families about all this.”

A Moderately Awkward Dinner

“So…you and Spike? This is actually a thing that’s happening,” Twilight said as she, Moonwhisper, Spike and Rarity sat at one of the most awkward dinners any of them had ever experienced. Discord had mercifully figured out a way to undo his alterations to the dimensional geometry of the castle, but not before Twilight had caught wind of the incident. Twilight’s resulting demands for an explanation as to why Discord had felt the need to shunt the ballroom into another dimension had revealed Spike and Rarity’s new relationship. Amid the congratulations from Moonwhisper and Thorax, Twilight had taken the sudden news rather well.

Once she had regained the ability to speak in coherent sentences, anyway.

“Honestly, darling,” Rarity chided. “Is it really so shocking that Spikey-wikey and I are-”

“Yes, having one of my best friends dating my younger brother is exactly that shocking,” Twilight said. “It’s been weird enough dealing with the idea that Spike’s old enough to start dating and…other stuff, without having one of my friends involved.”

“I really think you’re making a bigger deal out of this than you need to, and I’m saying this as an older sister myself. Why, Sweetie Belle’s been at the age where colts are becoming a part of her life for some time now, and I’ve never let that bother me.” Rarity let out a slight giggle. “Actually, if I’m being completely honest, it’s made our conversations during our ‘Sister Spa Days’ much more interesting.”

“In fairness, Twilight hasn’t threatened anypony with bodily harm yet, so she’s at least dealing with the situation better than Shining Armor usually did,” Moonwhisper said mildly.

“Wait, did Shining Armor ever actually threaten you?” Twilight asked incredulously.

“Not exactly. Shining Armor did have an established habit of vehemently discouraging stallions he didn’t approve of, that is to say all of them, from pursuing you in a romantic sense. In my case, however, he acknowledged that doing so would have been less than conducive to his continued health and wellbeing.”

“In other words, you’d be able to beat him up if he actually started a fight,” Twilight said sardonically.

“That was one potential scenario. Alternatively, you might have expressed significant displeasure at him, and as I recall he was also somewhat concerned that Cadance might not have particularly approved of his behavior either,” Moonwhisper said. “That all said, I feel we may be drifting away from the topic at hoof, namely…” Moonwhisper gestured towards Spike and Rarity. “Putting the awkwardness of the situation aside for a moment, have you given any thought to how you’re going to handle things going forward. For example, I presume you’re going to be spending quite a bit more time in Canterlot going forward?”

“Oh my, yes. That’s actually something I’ve given quite a bit of thought to. I’m going to be moving here to Canterlot,” Rarity said matter of factly.

“Wait, you’re talking about moving to Canterlot already? Don’t you think you’re moving just a little fast?” Twilight asked in alarm.

“I can understand why you’d think that, but to be honest this is something I’ve been planning to do regardless,” Rarity explained. “You see, Canterlot Boutique has been taking up more and more of my time compared to my other stores, and with Yona moving to Ponyville my plan was to give her the job of running Carousel Boutique while I moved here to manage my Canterlot location full time. The fact that doing so is going to put me closer to my Spikey-wikey is just an added benefit.”

“Oh, I guess that makes – wait, Yona’s moving to Ponyville too?” Twilight asked.

“I can’t say I’m all that surprised. According to Galus, Yona’s relationship with Sandbar has been progressing fairly significantly. If anything, I’m a little more surprised Yona would be interested in managing a boutique. Admittedly I haven’t had the widest sample size, but my general impression is that pony fashion wouldn’t be something that would interest most yaks,” Moonwhisper said.

“Yona is hardly ‘most yaks’,” Rarity sniffed. “Though, in fairness, you’re not exactly wrong, either. As far as pony-style fashion goes, Yona is more of an exception than the standard in that respect. That isn’t to say yaks don’t have their own sense of fabulousness, of course, just that typical dress styles don’t have the same appeal for them. Adapting my designs to the Yakyakistan market has been one of the most invigorating challenges I’ve had in years.”

Twilight, meanwhile, let out a melancholy sigh. “It’s not that I’m not happy Yon’s able to do something she enjoys, but this means that all of the Friendship School’s first group of foreign students are staying in Equestria.”

“Well, you can hardly blame Gallus for not wanting to return to Griffonstone,” Moonwhisper interjected defensively.

“Where is Gallus, anyway?” Rarity asked. “I was under the impression he was living here in the castle, but I haven’t seen him in some time.”

“That’s because Gallus enlisted in the Guard,” Moonwhisper said as he puffed up with pride. “He still has a few more weeks of bootcamp, and then he’ll be attending the officer’s academy. I wrote his letter of recommendation myself.”

“I’m not saying I blame Gallus for wanting to stay in Equestria, or that any of the students wanted to,” Twilight said. “It’s just…I had hoped that after the students learned about friendship, they’d take what they learned back to their homes and then teach what they learned to the other creatures there. The way things are, we’re not really spreading friendship to new lands so much as concentrating it in Equestria.” Twilight let out another sigh before suddenly looking up as a realization struck her. “Wait, did you say something about Yona and Sandbar being in a relationship? When did that happen?”

“Darling, those two have been courting each other for almost their entire time at that school,” Rarity replied. “They really do make an absolutely adorable couple. You know, now that I think about it, perhaps I should talk to Yona about her relationship with Sandbar. After all, there aren’t that many creatures with experience dating outside their species, she might have some useful insights. Well, things to think about for later. In the meantime, I think I do have a few more pressing concerns.”

“Like what?” Spike asked.

“Well, for starters, I think we may to want to arrange some way of making our relationship public knowledge,” Rarity said. “Perhaps we could stage a nice photo of us locked in a passionate embrace for the local tabloids. A romance between the Royal Advisor and one of Equestria’s premier fashion designers? We’d be guaranteed to make the front page!”

“I don’t know, Rarity, are you sure about that? I mean, part of me does kind of want to shout about us from the rooftops, but I’m just thinking about how our other friends might feel about finding out about this from a tabloid.”

“Well of course we’ll talk to the ponies we care about personally, darling, but there’s so many ponies that we won’t be able to talk to that really should be informed about this. A certain population of crystal mares, for example,” Rarity practically growled under her breath.

“What was that?” Spike asked.

“Oh, I was just thinking out loud how the next ponies we should probably talk to are –” Rarity paused as a shudder ran down her spine. “My family. We’ll probably want to arrange a dinner with my parents in the next day or two. At least I should be able to count on Sweetie Belle being supportive.”

“I’d say so, especially considering she’s won about forty or so bits off your having stared a relationship,” Moonwhisper said, before realizing that everycreature present was suddenly staring at him intensely.

“And just what, precisely, do you mean by that?” Rarity asked with a distinct edge in his voice.

“There’s been a betting pool going on for some time as to whether or not the tow of you would start a relationship, and from what I understand Sweetie Belle put a fair number of bits on ‘yes’. Which would appear to have been the winning bet,” Moonwhisper added.

“I can’t believe my friends would do something like that,” Rarity wailed before thinking about it for a moment. “Well, maybe I can believe Rainbow Dash might, that mare has never been particularly bothered by propriety. And if Rainbow Dash got involved than Applejack would likely let herself get dragged into it as well. And once the two of them got started, Pinkie Pie would join in too…alright, I stand corrected. I can absolutely believe my friends would do something like that. Wait, if this was a wager, then wouldn’t that mean that somepony was betting against Spikey-wikey and I?”

“Presumably, though you’d have to talk to Pinkie Pie if you wanted the details, she was responsible for keeping track of everything. That said, given how Pinkie can be about keeping secrets…”

“I’d probably be happier not knowing the details there, anyway,” Rarity quickly concluded. “Besides, I think even I have enough drama to deal with at the moment as is.”

*********

Epilogue

A few days later at another royal table, Princess Cadance was enjoying her morning coffee alongside her husband and daughter. As Cadance watched Shining Armor attempt to convince Flurry Heart to eat something else besides her bowl of Discord-Os (Now containing a full daily dose of vitamin aardvark!), one of Cadance’s maids entered the room bearing the morning newspaper. Or, curiously, papers, as the maid had elected to present Cadance with a copy of The Canterlot Tattler, a notorious tabloid, in addition to the usual Equestria Times.

“Your highness,” Velvet Glove, the main in question, said with a curtsey. “I’m happy to report that Operation Emerald Vision has concluded with a complete success.” As Velvet Glove spoke, she gestured towards the tabloid’s front page, which bore a large picture of the Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious embracing the fashion icon Rarity in a passionate kiss.

“Wow, that was even easier than I expected,” Cadance said, sounding quite pleased with herself. “I’d figured I’d need to stir up at least a bit more drama before those two actually got together. I’m guessing a few of our operatives were looking forward to that part, too.”

“What’s that, sweetheart?” Shining Armor said as he temporarily abandoned his efforts to coax Flurry Heart to eat something that wasn’t 80% sugar (and 20% material not native to his universe).

“Oh, nothing. Just enjoying the satisfaction of a job well done,” Cadance replied as she set down the paper.

“Ew, is that Uncle Spike and Miss Rarity?” Flurry Heart said as she noticed the tabloid’s front page.

“Huh, those two actually got together? Way to go, Spike!” Shining Armor said before several things suddenly clicked into place in his mind. “Wait…Cadance, were you playing matchmaker with Twily’s friends? Again?”

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” Cadance said with feigned ignorance. “I would never meddle with any of Twilight’s friends’ relationships.”

“Uh huh. Does the phrase ‘Operation Cheesecake’ ring any bells? Or how about all the books on relationship advice that mysteriously got shipped to Discord’s home?”

“How did you even know about that?” Cadance exclaimed. “I mean…I have no idea what you’re talking about. Besides, I’d never have the time to set something like that up since none of the bookstores in the empire deliver to Discord’s dimension and setting up deliveries through a separate service is a complete hassle and I’m not helping my case, am I?”

“On the upside, you’re absolutely adorable when somepony catches you red-hoofed,” Shining Armor teased. “But, seriously, try to tone down the whole ‘ninja matchmaker’ thing. Twily’s friendship journal has a whole chapter on how that can go wrong.”

“I’d like to think I know at least a little more about matchmaking thana trio of fillies who hadn’t even gotten their Cutie Marks yet,” Cadance huffed. “But I guess if it makes you feel better then I guess I can leave the rest of Twilight’s friends alone.” Shining Armor gave a sigh of relief as he turned his attention back ot Flutter Heart, while Cadance leaned over to Velvet Glove. “Put Project Zap Apple on hold for now; we’ll refocus on Operation Over the Moon instead.”

*********