Chapter 3- The Beautiful Night

As the rain continued to pour on outside the cozy violet tent, the unicorn and dragon sat down at a perfectly sized table with their dinner before them. Spike had made his specialty dessert, brimstone berry soufflé with a sprinkle of tiny diamonds for himself and crystal salt for Rarity. He had wondered at the sight of the oven that somehow managed to fit inside the tent without taking up huge amounts of space. When he asked about how it ever fit there in the first place, Rarity only smiled and said it was a secret, something about the tent being 'bigger on the inside', whatever that meant.

Spike made a mental note to ask Twilight about it later. For now, all the mysteries he felt compelled to ponder were eyes of sapphire and how they seemed to shine even in the dimly lit tent. His thoughts were interrupted by a polite cough.
Rarity broke the silence, setting down her levitating spoon. "So... I hear the mountains are lovely this time of year. Not much snow, the flowers are beginning to bloom, and of course, there's the big... expedition... tomorrow..." she trailed off. Spike had begun to absentmindedly stare again in her general direction.

Rarity looked behind her, starting to fidget under his steady gaze. "Umm... Spike, dear? What exactly are you looking at?"

"Huh?" Spike blinked slowly, in a dreamlike stupor. It took fully five seconds for him to realize he'd been caught staring. "I-I uh, was... Noticing that there was a speck of brimstone berry on your muzzle!" he cried with a pointed claw, fumbling for an excuse.
Luckily for him, Rarity was a pony who never settled for anything less than perfection when it came to appearances ("You never know when Photo Finish or Hoity Toity might drop in!" she was often heard saying.) and immediately excused herself from the table, using her telekinesis to carry a small hoof mirror out of sight. Rain continued to pelt the tent with a constant pitter patter.
Spike wiped a paw across his crest, visibly deflating. He felt a small pang of guilt for lying, especially to a mare. "I'm no Element of Honesty, that's for sure," he mumbled to himself,"but still, you gotta play it cool, Spike!"

"What was that, darling?" Rarity asked, confident that her complexion was once again flawless. She returned to the table, this time eating with much more care. The guilt welled up once more in the belly of the young drake.
"Oh, I said... Thread comes on a... spool, right?" Spike supplied weakly.
"Why yes, Spike. Indeed it does. Why do you ask?"

Lying to Rarity seemed to get easier by the minute, and the dragonling began to hate himself for it. Grimacing momentarily, he replied with a smile, "It's getting close to Twilight's birthday, and I wanted to... er, repair her Smarty Pants doll!" (He had completely forgotten the debacle now known in Ponyville as the 'Smarty Pants Incident', after Twilight had used the Want-It-Need-It spell to bewitch the entire town; the doll had mysteriously disappeared. Apparently this incident had slipped the young mare's mind as well.)

"Oh Spikey-Wikey, that's positively the sweetest thing I've ever heard of! If you need thread, I'd be more than willing to give you as much as you want," the Element of Generosity gushed. "We can start right after we finish this delicious soufflé!"

"Gee, thanks, Miss Rarity," Spike said with a yawn,"but I think I should get to bed. We have such a busy day ahead of us, after all." Outside, unnoticed by the occupants of the tent, the raindrops slowed their descent, becoming more gentle with each passing moment.

Rarity stifled her own little yawn with a dainty hoof and nodded. "I suppose I could do with a bit of beauty sleep myself," she mused,"a lady must always look her best, even when working." The pale unicorn mare circled the table to Spike, giving him a little peck on the check. "Goodnight, little Spike." With that, she started up the stairs to her room, leaving a love-struck dragon in the lower half of the tent.

He blinked dazedly, reveling in the kiss. The scent of honeysuckle was still lingering when he came to his senses again. He didn't want the moment to pass so soon, not yet. The dragon desperately sought to keep it alive.

"W-wait!" Spike managed to blurt. Rarity paused, one of her lovely limbs poised above a step, a quizzical look crossing her features. "Did...do you hear that? The rain-- it stopped!"

The mare's ears flicked as she listened. "Why yes, so it has!" A few seconds crawled by as she paitiently waited for a response. "What about it?"

"Well, I... I wanted to look at the stars, I hear they're real pretty out here," Spike stammered. "Woul-- would you like to look at the stars with me? I'd hate to be out there alone."

Rarity pondered for a moment why Spike should suddenly want to look at the stars when he was so tired. The realization dawned on her; what else could it be? The answer was obvious. "I know what you're up to, Spike!" she intoned.

The dragon paled, his pupils shrinking in terror of being found out. "Y-you do?" In his mind, he began to panic, frantically searching for a way to somehow get out of the situation with his dignity still intact.

"You can't hide it from me any longer," Rarity walked toward him in long, graceful strides, her eyes narrowing. "Admit it! You obviously miss Twilight Sparkle!"

Spike, who had been wincing, opened one eye, perplexed. "Huh? Oh! Oh yeah, I do miss Twilight. This is my first trip without her."

Rarity smiled gently, giving Spike a comforting hug. "Let's do a bit of stargazing before bedtime, shall we?" She led the way to the zippered tent flap, telekinetically opening it.

Spike followed, too tired and happy about spending alone time with Rarity to be worried about how far off the mark the young lady was. As he exited, staring at the myriad of constellations that Twilight had taught him, he felt that this night couldn't get anymore beautiful than having Rarity by his side.

Zip.

Author's Note

It's been forever! Tried writing this chapter at least four months ago, hit a roadblock, finished finals for spring, got a job, set a date for my wedding (12 days left and counting!), and wrote the other two-thirds in less than two hours. Please enjoy!