It was just a little after mid-morning, and if the spiral staircase that led to the tallest turret in the school of friendship could talk, it would have told you that this was its favorite time of the day; still nice and quiet, but with the advantage of having the warmth of the sun heating the outer brickwork. Few creatures passed this way, though it used to be fewer, the staircase would have lamented, if it was capable of such emotions. For reasons that would have been lost on it, a small group of Ponies had cause to visit the attic of the turret on an almost daily basis, so if it was capable of being disturbed, it would have been, at seven a.m. every morning. Now, however, all was still in the sleepy turret, the shafts of light from the slit windows beating down onto the grey stonework creating a warm atmosphere. The dust that was kicked up from the earlier disturbance was settling, and all was right in Equestria, at least as far as the staircase was concerned (if it were able, of course). Which made it all the more horrendous when the peace was abruptly shattered, when the door at the ground level was practically kicked off its hinges, and a lone pony stormed up the stairs.
‘For Celestia’s sake,’ the staircase would have thought. ‘Now what?’
Starlight Glimmer bound up the dusty steps two at a time, angrily ascending to the highest point. Her perturbation had been steadily growing all morning, and now that she had well and truly whipped herself into a frenzy, she felt like she was ready to put the head of the first Pony that looked at her funny through the nearest convenient wall.
Stupid trotting Princess stupid Twilight idiot Sparkle. Who did she think she was anyway? Aside from the ruler of Equestria, her mentor, the one responsible for giving her a second chance at a normal life, not to mention this job (which she loved) and a close personal friend. But aside from all of that, just where did she get off on telling her that she was in love with Trixie?
The very idea was laughable. Starlight snorted humorlessly, shielding her eyes with a hoof as she passed by one of the windows facing the sun. She could just as easily accuse Twilight of being in love with Applejack, or Pinkie Pie, Tartarus any of her friends that she had her frequent meet ups with.
Ok fine, she admitted it, she had the occasional naughty dream about the bombastic Unicorn, so what? It was just as she’d said to Twilight last night, it didn’t mean anything. Other than the headmare hadn’t been getting any lately, anyway. Starlight scowled at a nearby spider as she continued upwards.
And sure, typically the best part of her day was when that blue idiot stuck her head around her door and asked to hang out, or drink, or listen to her whine about her day, or any number of other activities. But that was completely normal, she was sure that Twilight (or anypony else, for that matter) would say the same about their friends.
And admittedly, Starlight found that on the occasions when Trixie went ahead of her on the stairs, she couldn’t help but check out her flank, just a little, as it bobbed away under that starry dress of hers. But that was perfectly normal too, she was an attractive mare, any Pony with eyes could see that. Starlight could be forgiven for taking the odd harmless peek.
And ok, fine, sure, whatever, sometimes, during the lonely late-working nights, maybe she did think about that caravan trip they took together all those years ago. They’d driven each other up the wall of course, and the whole trip had almost ended in disaster. But, she fantasized, if they could do it again, they could take some necessary precautions. Like, maybe, if they were to do it again of course, they could take along two pairs of hers & hers earplugs, to blot out both her own snoring and Trixie’s nocturnal performances. And they could take some actual money along with them this time, so they’re not having to scrape by, being forced to choose between an extra big bed for the night or a sandwich. And, speaking of beds, maybe instead of trying to squeeze two single hammocks into Trixie’s tiny caravan, they could instead fit it with one double, and then each night snuggle together in the warmth while the summer rain lashed upon...
Oh, Celestia damn it.
The sudden realization was enough to stop the headmare in her tracks. She paused at a convenient landing where sunlight spewed in from a traditional arrow-slot window. Starlight placed one of her forelegs against the grainy bricks and beat her head against it. She... she was...
She was in love with Trixie. The great and powerful moron. Ok, now Starlight was really annoyed.
It was one thing for Twilight to be poking her nose into her business, but to be poking her nose in and actually being right about it? That was unacceptable. She buried her face in her hooves and allowed herself a muffled scream before she continued her journey upward.
*******************************
“Did y’all hear somethin’?” Applebloom asked, cocking her head and straining her ears.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle paused their activities and followed suit. Scootaloo was lounging at her desk, her rear hooves propped upon the surface, a mug of black coffee at her elbow. She looked up from her sports magazine and looked uncertainly at her friend.
“No?” She replied. “Like what?”
“Ah don’t know. Sounded like somepony growlin’, or yellin’ or somethin’.”
Sweetie Belle continued her task of fishing her coffee whitener out of her drawer and smiled at her Apple friend.
“Are you starting to hear things?”
“Maybe,” Applebloom replied. “Wouldn’t be surprised if ah wuz, what with all this extra work.”
“Right, it’s your fieldtrip this week, isn’t it?” Scootaloo sipped her drink.
The top of the tallest turret, collectively nicknamed ‘the treehouse’ by the Crusaders, had been appropriated by the trio of friends shortly after they became permanent fixtures at the school of friendship. The staff room was nice and all, but they each found that they missed the cozy seclusion that they’d used to have when they were foals. So, the ‘treehouse’ was acquired. It was a circular room with a single window, into which the crusaders had crammed three desks and chairs. The eclectic decor of the room was a blending of their three personalities, with sports trophies and Rainbow dash posters mingling with music stands, potion bottles and plant-pots. Against the wall near the window they’d set up a miniature stove, which was more than likely a health and safety nightmare, however it provided the trio with warmth in the winter. Not to mention the coffee that ranked second only to oxygen in the list of their daily requirements. Applebloom rifled through a stack of papers that were arranged higgledy-piggledy on her desk and attempted to introduce some order to the chaos.
“Yeah,” she sighed. “Who’d’ve thought a simple trip to Sweet Apple Acres’d need so much dang paperwork?”
“Hey, it’s a dangerous place,” Scootaloo mocked. “If the school doesn’t cover its bases and some student takes an apple to the head then before you know it we’re getting sued into oblivion.”
Applebloom threw her friend a nettled look. She cocked her head slowly, from one side to the other, stretching and cracking her neck. Her crimson mane bobbed lightly with the movement, and the pink shawl with ceramic brooch that once belonged to her late cousin shifted around her neck.
“Just you wait,” she muttered. “You’ll get it ten times worse when you wanna take your pupils to Cloudsdale.”
Scootaloo grimaced at the thought. Sweetie Belle took a sip of her newly whitened drink and frowned, before rummaging in her drawer for some sugar.
“We need to request a refrigerator for up here.” She sighed. “I’m sick of this whitener.”
“Ah don’t think we wanna be drawing too much attention to the treehouse,” Applebloom cautioned. “Headmare Starlight seems like she’s turned a blind ah to us bein’ up here, but if we start askin’ for extra stuff, she might tell us to go back to the regular staff room.”
“Never!” Scootaloo scowled, once again peeking from the top of her mag. Her mane had lengthened since the days when they’d occupied an actual treehouse, but it was still arranged in the same spikey bob, suspiciously similar to the way her hero used to wear her mane.
“Hmm.” Sweetie Belle grunted thoughtfully. “Maybe we should just buy one ourselves.”
“Good luck getting the thing up here.” The husky-voiced Pegasus lamented.
Sweetie Belle reclined in her chair, following suit to her friend, laying her rear hooves on her desk. She plopped her coffee on a nearby convenient file box and shook her long purple and pink curls free of her withers.
“Well, maybe just a cool-box then.” She pondered. “Are you girls doing anything later?”
“Dance class,” Applebloom replied simply.
“I’m free,” Scootaloo shrugged. “What were-”
She was interrupted by a violent banging at the door. The wood practically bulged inwards at the impact of each one. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hastily dragged their hooves from their desks, the latter burying her reading material in her bottom drawer. The trio exchanged nervous glances.
“Come in?” Applebloom called, uncertainly. The door was flung open, and a panting and haggard looking Starlight Glimmer stood in the frame. She glanced around the girls darkly for a few seconds before she seemed to realize her threatening demeanor, and her expression softened.
“Headmare Starlight!” Applebloom greeted. “Can we help you with somethin?”
“I know this isn’t going to make me very popular around here,” the headmare began, “but I’m going to need to see all three of you in my office after classes today. Mandatory overtime.”
The Crusaders once again shot worried looks at each other.
“Are we in trouble?” Scootaloo questioned meekly.
“No, no,” Starlight waved a hoof in the air with a smile. Then her serious expression returned. “Why, what have you done?”
“Nothing!” Sweetie Belle protested. She briefly addressed her friends. “Nothing?”
“Nothing.” Scootaloo confirmed.
“Well, that’s alright then.” Starlight said. “I’ll explain everything later. I’m going to need you all to arrange subs for your classes for the foreseeable future though. I have a project that as of right now is going to be all of our top priorities.”
“Whut?” Applebloom protested. “Ah have the Sweet Apple Acres trip next week!”
Starlight allowed her eyes to close for a moment.
“Right. I’d forgotten about that. I’ll arrange for you to be free that day. We’ll work around it, I know how much time you’ve spent organizing it.”
Applebloom nodded, satisfied.
“So, what kind of project is this?” Sweetie Belle enquired.
Starlight silenced her with a raised hoof.
“Not here. Later. All I’ll say for now is that it’s something that’s right up you girls’ alley, and it comes from the top.”
“Tha’ top?” Applebloom gasped. “Whut...the school board?”
Starlight shook her head.
“Later.” She repeated.
A silence settled across the Ponies, the only sounds being the chirping of the birds outside.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to your morning preparations,” Starlight breezed. “I’ll see you all in my office later.”
With that, the headmare turned on her hooves, and closed the door lightly behind her. Her rapidly descending hoof-steps mingled with the birdsong but was nevertheless clearly audible in the stunned silence that was left in her wake.
********************************
‘Buddy, you’re gonna wanna be awake for this.’
‘Not now brain.’ Spike replied dreamily. ‘Sleeping.’
‘Ok, but you remember last night, right-’
‘What? No? Too tired. Whatever it is it can wait.’
‘Yeah, but seriously-’
‘Nope. I’ll wake up in a little while. Just let me hug this marshmallow a little longer.’
‘Whatever you say man.’
Spike sighed contentedly and gave the marshmallow a little squeeze. It was soft and warm and...huge? That was definitely odd. Had he fallen asleep in Sugar Cube Corner again? He cast his mind back, but the fog of sleep was preventing him from grasping anything solid. He did seem to recall that the previous evening had been pretty stressful though. That was probably why brain was so desperate for him to wake up, there was probably some job or something that he had to do. Well, until that happened naturally, it was just going to have to wait. In his half-asleep state, he obstinately refused to attempt to remember anything further. He was in bed with a humungous confection, that was enough for now. He stretched his legs a little and found that the sweetie stretched with him and let out a sleepy moan of its own. Well, that was certainly strange. For starters, why in the world had he taken a moving, talking, hot-chocolate topper to bed with him? He was once again tempted to try and remember, but he stopped himself. Only the waking world lay in that direction. He’d get to the bottom of this based solely on the information currently available to him, or his name wasn’t Spork the Dragon. Or something.
Now that he ran his hand over the surface of the object, it didn’t feel like a marshmallow should, it was ever so slightly fuzzy, not the dusty, spongey texture he’d have expected. His light touch elicited another grumble from the object, so he stopped. Well, what else did he have to go on? What were his olfactory senses telling him? He took a measured breath through his nose and carefully analyzed the results. It was a familiar, floral scent that he refused to place. Hmm. He supposed he could rule out the marshmallow theory, none of the evidence was adding up. Maybe it was simply that Rare-bear had somehow grown...to...
The memories of the previous evening suddenly and involuntarily flooded his mind. His eyes snapped open; his pupils dilated despite the sudden influx of light. His field of vision was filled with a glorious bouquet of purple curls, and Rarity’s butt was still pressed into him, his hand still resting on her tummy, her breathing causing his arm to rise and fall rhythmically.
‘I told you you’d want to know about this.’ brain taunted.
Spike’s face immediately sprang into a smile that was somewhere between happiness and terror. Now that the memories had half returned, he carefully reviewed the minutes of the previous evening. How, exactly, had he got here?
Met up with Rarity, check.
Drank Yak booze with Rarity, got it.
Walked Rarity back home, sure.
Saved Rarity from Diamond Dog muggers. Wait, what? Saved Rarity from Diamond Dog muggers? Oh, right, right.
Got Rarity back to her place safe and sound, cool.
Kissed Rarity.
Got invited...hold right the trot on. What was that last one? Spike manically sifted through mental notes.
He...he kissed...yeah, that definitely happened. The last of the memory puzzle pieces fell into place as his facial expression settled firmly in camp happiness. The dragon wriggled his body as much as he dared to into the warm fur of the sleeping Unicorn. Once again, she emitted a light peep, but stirred no further. As he enjoyed the feeling of her body against his, he was once again presented with a mild conundrum; what to do next.
‘Holy-moley. Now what’re we supposed to do?’
‘‘We?’’ brain taunted. ‘Well, well, look who suddenly needs my help. Sorry bucko, you’re on your own on this one.’
‘Oh come on, I need some suggestions.’
‘Forget it. I’m far too busy keeping body in check anyway.’
‘Body?’ Spike wondered. ‘Why, what’s he doing?’
‘You mean besides threatening to unleash an erection that’ll damn near fire her out of the bed and across the room? Not much.’
Spike fearfully glanced down. Mercifully, he was still wearing his spare pants. He let out a slow, silent breath of relief.
‘Oh. Well then. You keep on that.’
‘I will, thank you very much.’ brain retorted snippily.
Spike allowed his head to relax back into the pillow where his vision was once again filled with luscious purple mane. Various possibilities of courses of action played out within his mind, and after much pondering he finally selected an elegant choice; he’d pretend to be asleep. It was perfect. He could wait until she woke up, then let her actions dictate his next move. He grinned impishly to himself. His tactical reasoning was so good it was frightening.
In addition, it afforded him more of...well, this. He’d slept in worse places, that was for damn sure. Actually, that was a colossal understatement. Had he ever slept in a better place? His brain momentarily paused in its thankless duty of yanking back the Dragon’s snarling libido on its choke-chain to confirm that no, he hadn’t.
He snuggled down deeper. This had to happen again. He wasn’t letting go now. He thought back to his flight over to Yakyakistan and how he was finally ready to let go of the Rarity shaped torch he’d been carrying all these years. It seemed like the sensible thing to do at the time, given how it was so obvious that she was never going to see him that way. Now though...now that she’d kissed him, and allowed him to share her bed, her most intimate of places...well, there’d be no getting rid of him now. The poor mare would have to burn the boutique down to get him out. And even that was no guarantee.
His hand caressed her tummy in tiny circles as he doggedly fought against the urge to giggle. He lost track of how long he lay there, simply basking in the exquisite sensations that were running through his body. Finally though, as with all good things, Rarity shifted, blearily stepping out of the bed and trotting to the bathroom door. She slipped inside, and again Spike heard the sounds of running water. He shifted onto his back and placed his arms behind his head. There were no windows in Rarity’s back living quarters, and its diminutive size gave the Dragon reason to believe that it was a temporary set-up, just to tide the Unicorn over whilst the shop got on its feet, and she could pass on the management to somepony (or Yak) else. Nevertheless, given the huge glass window at the front of the store and the fact that the only thing separating this room from that one was a thin curtain, there was plenty of light to see by, orange-tinted though it was. It gave the room a cozy feel, one that the small size contributed to.
The Dragon sighed contentedly as the sounds of the Unicorn in the bathroom continued. Presently she emerged, and although the Dragon found that he was unable to eliminate the smile from his face, he closed his eyes quickly to at least give the vague illusion that he was still asleep. Rarity tip-hoofed to the bed and gently touched the Dragon’s arm.
“Spike?” She whispered.
The Dragon’s eyes blinked open, and he beamed up at the Unicorn. Her main and makeup were expertly applied, and she had a thin green scarf wrapped around her neck. A black fedora sat at a jaunty angle upon her head and under the brim her expression was one of mild concern. Spike’s smile drooled off his face as he realized that the fashionista looked ready to go out.
“Morning,” he mumbled, unsure of what to say.
It really didn’t help that he didn’t know where he stood with Rarity. Sure, she kissed him, but that could have just been a heat-of-the-moment type thing, a thank-you for protecting her. He realized with a jolt of fear that if he wanted to know the answers to these questions, he was going to have to actually ask them.
“Spikey sweetie,” Rarity spoke regretfully. Oh no. Here it came. “I hate to do this, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to get up. I’m heading to Canterlot today, and well...Twilight’s picking me up.”
Spike eyes widened.
“Twilight’s coming here?” He gasped, pulling the covers from his body.
“Yes,” Rarity repeated. “You didn’t think I was going to walk to Canterlot, did you?”
Spike leapt out of the bed and began swiftly straightening the covers while Rarity stared on in bemusement.
“I’d better...I mean, it’s not that I want to hide anything, or...” The Dragon awkwardly stumbled.
“But you’d prefer that this isn’t how she found out about us?” Rarity finished his thought for him.
Spike stopped what he was doing and looked over his shoulder at her.
“‘Us’?” He repeated, a sly smile playing about his lips. “There’s an ‘us’?”
Rarity scrunched her eyes closed and silently cursed herself for her poor choice of words.
“No,” She chuckled. “Not yet, anyway.”
Spike turned his body towards her properly, his back to her newly made bed.
“That implies that there’s a chance for there to be an ‘us’.”
Rarity felt her insides turn to goo at his earnest statement. How was it possible that he could be this effortlessly cute? Stifling a giggle, she closed the short gap between them and wrapped her forelegs around his chest. Gosh darn it, she had planned on playing things a little cooler this morning, but seeing him being so nakedly open was enough to sweep her away on the excitement of a new romance. She brought her face flirtatiously close to his.
“There’s always a chance darling,” she smiled. “But you’ll have to play your cards extremely well.”
“I will.” Spike breathed, deadly serious.
Rarity’s smile remained fixed in place, but her brow furrowed. Sweetheart though he may be, this Dragon had much to learn about flirting.
“Good to know,” she purred, allowing her gaze to slide over his muscular chest.
Her eyes lingered for a moment or two before she forced herself to snap out of it. Celestia knew it had been a while, but still...
“But Twilight will be here any minute,” she continued, “so unless you’ve got a particularly cast-iron excuse as to why you spent the night here...”
Spike’s eyes drifted towards her ceiling, inspiration failing to strike.
“I, um... could probably use a teleport back to Canterlot too, if I’m honest...” he mumbled, not relishing the thought of the flight back home.
“Well then, take a quick walk and come back in five minutes.” The Unicorn cooed. “I’m sure she won’t be too surprised to see you dropping in on me unannounced.”
“What makes you say that?” Spike replied, finally hitting the right amorous tone.
Rarity hugged him closer, pressing her belly against his chiseled abs.
“Darling,” she said simply, raising her hat and planting a tiny peck on his snout. “Please.”
“Yeah, fair enough.” He conceded.
“Once we’re back in Canterlot and I’ve had a quiet word with Twilight about our...situation, perhaps we could meet again? On a date, perchance?”
“Yes please.” Spike replied, softly but quickly.
There was the blunt honesty once again and this time Rarity couldn’t prevent a giggle from escaping her lips.
“Good then.” She tittered. “Well then, off you pop.”
Spike nodded, gathered his backpack, and turned to leave. He hesitated for a moment, before turning on his heel and pulled Rarity close to him, planting a kiss on the Unicorn’s lips. Rarity grunted lightly, a mixture of surprise and pleasure, before she melted into his arms. Then he broke the kiss off, gave her one last flash of his amazing green eyes and was gone. A barely audible click told her that he’d unlocked the front door to the shop, and a light tinkle from the bell sounded as the door closed behind him.
Rarity slowly lowered herself back onto all four hooves, her mind a churning soup of pleasure and doubt.
Oh dear. This was all getting a bit too real, wasn’t it? Just what had she gotten herself into? She mentally chided herself. Her best friend’s little brother, for Celestia’s sake. Was she really that hard up? But, she reminded herself, he was exquisitely dashing, attentive, honest almost to a fault and good looking. For a Dragon. She chewed her bottom lip, and silently performed a thought experiment. What if...what if the previous evening’s events had occurred in exactly the same way, except, except, that it wasn’t Spike who’d met her in that Yak dive? Let’s say it was a stallion, to pick a creature at random. Let’s say this place-holder stallion met her in much the same way, was perfectly charming and complimentary, and then let’s say it was he who bravely saved her from a Diamond Dog attack. Let’s also say that he was extremely good looking, several years her junior, and completely smitten with her, just for good measure. What then? Would she have ended up spending the night with this particular mystery colt?
‘That’s not even a question.’ She found her mind saying. ‘First date or not, I’d have ridden him hard enough to make the bed break.’
Holy mother of the sun. She placed a hoof on the mattress to steady herself before she gave up and simply crawled onto it, belly first. She felt the first twinges of excitement creep into her nethers as she contemplated the results of her musings. Well, that was that then. All in all, it actually turned out she’d been restrained with her interactions with the young Dragon. She had to speak with Twilight about this. She’d introduce some much-needed ice water to the fires of her passion. No doubt she’d point out some perfectly logical reason, one that she herself was simply blind to, for why this had to stop, and now. Thank goodness she was on her way.
The thought that the Princess was potentially only minutes away jolted her from the bed and sent her scurrying back into her bathroom. She needed another quick freshening up.
********************************
The still tranquility of the snowy mountainside was abruptly interrupted by a flash of purple light and a loud bang. The guard Yaks at the entrance to the village looked on in well disguised awe as the Alicorn dusted herself off with her wings and trotted over towards them. They held their stoic stances until she was almost on top of them, neither one daring to move a muscle. Ordinarily, once a creature was within earshot (as the Alicorn was now) one of them would have made enquiries about who they were and what their business in Yakyakistan was. Neither one of them could bring themselves to do this now though, such was the immense power radiating off the Alicorn. Besides, they both knew perfectly well who she was.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle, humbly requesting access to your beautiful village,” she stated formally, bowing low. There was a brief silence, which Twilight took to mean she was being sized up, but in reality it was just two guard-yaks being at a loss for words. Finally, the leftmost Yak spoke.
“Your Majesty most welcome,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. Unusually, given all her other interactions with Yaks, Twilight found that she had to strain her ears to hear him. “Might Yaks humbly ask purpose of visit?”
“I’m visiting a dear friend.” Twilight smiled sagely. “Miss Rarity. She’s living in your village temporarily while she sets up a store.”
Both Yaks nodded vigorously.
“Of course. Please give Miss Rarity Yak regards.”
With that, both of the guards stamped at the ground as Twilight passed by. She grinned, feeling a guilty pleasure at how starstruck the Yaks were. It was certainly a far cry from when Prince Rutherford and his entourage came to Ponyville and proceeded to kick the living snot out of everything.
As the Princess passed by, and the guards were sure she was out of earshot, the leftmost Yak turned to his colleague.
“Told you so.”
The Princess trotted down the cobbled street, rapidly approaching what appeared to be the huge remains of a bonfire. She could have simply teleported directly to Rarity’s shop of course, though to enter the village, the home of Prince Rutherford, without permission would be the height of rudeness. She lightly tapped her hoof to her chin in thought. Perhaps visiting the village without at least dropping in on the Prince would also be considered rude? She rolled the quandary around her mind for a few minutes. As she turned away from the bonfire and down a twisting back alley, she idly waved a hoof in the air. To Tartarus with it. She’d just send a fruit basket.
The air was still by the time that the Princess arrived at the latest location of Rarity 4 U. It wasn’t snowing, a fact that the Princess was grateful for, as she foolishly hadn’t bothered to don her winter clothes. She simply figured that she wouldn’t be outside for too long, and if she got really cold she could always cast a simple warming spell. She bounded up to the welcoming red door of the establishment and noted that the sign was still flipped in the closed position. Nevertheless, Twilight rapped lightly on the door. She assumed that her friend, knowing that she’d be heading to Canterlot today, had simply not bothered to open. To her surprise, she found that when she knocked, the door opened itself a crack, unlocked. Twilight frowned. That was unusual. She pushed the door open further, poking her head around the entrance.
“Rarity?” She called. “It’s Twilight. Sorry, the door was open, and-”
“Darling!” Rarity announced, emerging from a dark orange curtain at the back of the shop. She looked like her usual radiant self, if a little guilty, as though Twilight had just walked into the middle of...something. “Do come in out of the cold, dear.”
“Thank you,” Twilight replied, tapping the snow from her hooves before she stepped inside the shop. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”
“Not at all, darling!” Rarity replied, her voice slightly too loud and rehearsed. “I was just putting some final touches on some Yak pieces.”
“Oh?” Twilight exclaimed, looking around the room. She regarded the various Yak shaped mannequins. She was dimly aware that not one of them looked particularly finished. “How’s that going over here? Do you have a long list of Yak clients?”
“Hardly,” Rarity grumbled, magically levitating two hoofbags in front of her face and closely scrutinizing each one. “To tell you the truth, business has been pretty slow. It seems fashion ranks pretty low on the list of Yak priorities.”
“I see,” Twilight responded, lightly flapping her wings against her sides awkwardly. “I’m sorry.”
Rarity looked up from her accessory selection process. Twilight was looking slightly uncomfortable, unsure of what to say. Rarity smiled at her friend, somewhat touched that she felt her problems as acutely as this, more than she herself did, even.
“Phaa, it’s nothing to worry about, darling.” The Unicorn offered, waving her hoofbags in the air. “I just haven’t been able to get inside these Yak-mares heads yet. But I will.”
“If anypony can, it’s you.” Twilight brightened.
“You’re too kind. Now help me out with this.” Rarity hovered both the bags she was examining under the Princess’ nose. “Which of these do you think is more appropriate?”
Twilight’s eyes bounced between the two hoofbags. One was a white imitation-leather with silver piping, while the other was white imitation-leather with silver piping. The Princess gave up comparing the two and offered Rarity a blank stare, waiting for a punchline that never came. Rarity stared back expectantly.
“Rarity, these bags are identical.”
The pale Unicorn raised a hoof to her chest in mock outrage.
“They are not identical,” She responded indignantly. “This one is cream, while this one is quite obviously arctic silver.”
She levitated each one in turn as she spoke, highlighting the differences to the Princess. Twilight once again took a look between the two.
“Hmm,” She bluffed. “I think...I think I like the arctic silver one.”
“Really?” Rarity said, holding the bag on the left aloft. “You’re sure? It needs to be right for both the chilly weather here and clement Canterlot, after all.”
“Yep, that’s the one!” Twilight raised her head back up. She leveled a nervous smile at the designer. Suddenly the bell at the front of the store let out a little tinkle, and Spike stepped in. Twilight turned around to see who their visitor was, and as she did so Rarity took the opportunity to ditch both of the identical bags in a convenient drawer. Thank Celestia for that. Her little gambit wouldn’t have held forever, but she needed to delay Twilight just enough so that Spikey could make his entrance.
“Hello...Oh, hey Twilight! Fancy running into you here.” Spike said, completely unnaturally.
While Twilight was still turned away, Rarity clapped a hoof to her face.
“Spike!” Twilight exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
Spike lightly closed the door behind him and stood sheepishly in the main room of the store. His eyes drifted over the furniture and furnishings; anywhere but the Princess’ eyes.
“Well, I, uh, I handled that zoning dispute you gave me yesterday...I thought I’d drop in and say hello to Rarity before I left.”
The Dragon finally forced his eyes to the mares in the room, but only for the briefest of moments.
“Hey Rarity.” He added, idly toying with a ribbon hanging from one of the mannequins.
“Spike,” Rarity greeted him somewhat stiffly, a thin smile spreading over her lips.
It was only then that Twilight returned her attention to her Unicorn friend. She peered at Rarity through narrowed eyes. The seamstress did her best to appear nonchalant, brushing an imaginary fleck of dust from her forehoof. If the Princess suspected something, she said nothing.
“Well, you picked a bad time,” Twilight apologized, turning her attention back upon Spike. “I’m afraid I was just about to take Rarity back with me to Canterlot. We have our meet up with the girls today.”
“Oh, well, maybe I could tag along with you guys?” The Dragon asked hopefully. “I’m supposed to have another follow up meeting with the Yak trader, but it doesn’t have-”
“That’s a great idea,” Twilight cut him off. “And don’t worry about the follow up; I’ll have somepony else do it. I have a new job for you when we get back that’s going to be taking up most of your time for the foreseeable future.”
“Oh,” Spike replied, with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. “Goody.”
Rarity stifled a giggle at her purple (more than?) friend’s sarcastic remark and closed the gap between herself and Twilight.
“Are you ready then?” The Princess addressed Rarity. “You have the perfect hoofbag for the trip?”
“Hmm, on second thoughts hoofbags are out this season,” Rarity mused theatrically. “Probably better to just go without.”
Twilight failed to disguise an eyeroll.
“Spike, you ready?”
“Yep,” The Dragon replied amiably, stepping into what he knew was the proximity of Twilight’s teleportation capabilities.
Once Spike was close enough, Twilight raised her wings in preparation.
“Oh, wait, wait!” Rarity gasped.
This elicited not only another eyeroll from the ruler but an exhalation through pursed lips. Rarity dashed to the shop door, turned the lock, and returned to Twilight’s side with slightly reddened cheeks.
“Sorry.” She offered.
“Now is everypony ready?” Twilight asked, swinging a wide-eyed glance between her companions. Rarity and Spike nodded enthusiastically. Twilight raised her wings, there was a flash of purple light and a roar of magic, and suddenly they were in one of the dining rooms of Canterlot castle. It was far from the largest, but it was still extravagant enough, the usual Canterlotian decor of silk drapes and crystal finery very much in place. A circular table had been set with six places, in much the same way Twilight had the old map room set up back when they were all still living in ponyville.
“I’m sorry Spike, I didn’t think you’d be joining us.” Twilight fussed. “I can have an extra place added if you like?”
“No, that’s ok,” Spike smiled. “I think I’ll go take a shower.”
“Ok, before you do though, let me get your next job details for you.” Twilight said excitedly. “It’s a biggie.”
“Ok.” Spike sighed. “I’ll be in my room then.”
“Twilight,” Rarity piped up, causing Spike to pause on his trip out of the room. “Do you think we might have a chance to have a quick chat in private when you get back?”
The Dragon shot her a nervous smile which went thankfully unnoticed by Twilight.
“Er, yes of course.” Twilight replied, slightly taken aback by the intensity of the Unicorn’s gaze. “I’m expecting the rest of the girls soon, but we should have a little bit of time before they arrive.”
“Thank you,” Rarity sighed apprehensively, pulling a chair from the table and daintily sitting herself down.
“Just give me two minutes.” Twilight said with a fair amount of confusion, picking up on her friend’s body language. She turned to Spike, offered him a nod, and gestured to the doorway with an outstretched wing. Spike returned her nod, smiled, and the pair left Rarity alone with her thoughts.
*******************************
Spike stepped into his bedroom and allowed his battered rucksack to slump from his shoulder and fall to the floor. He paused to retrieve Rarebear from the pocket and placed her lovingly under the covers of his bed, her tiny head protruding from the top. Her button eyes regarded him darkly.
“Don’t give me that look.” He said defensively. “What was I supposed to do?”
The room wasn’t the most ostentatious in the castle, not by a country mile, but it was more than adequate as far as he was concerned. There was a simple wooden framed bed, underneath which were stored several dusty cardboard boxes stuffed with comic books, a chest of drawers that served the dual function as a storage space for his spare trousers and a dumping ground for various items such as action figures and other curios, a desk and chair that he rarely used and two doors; one a closet and the other a miniscule bathroom. He sighed contentedly before scratching his head and wondering what to do next. He did need a shower, but he supposed that there was little point in doing that before Twilight returned with his job. The way he was feeling, the thought of sitting still didn’t appeal in the slightest. He felt excited, wired, like there was electricity instead of blood coursing through his veins.
In a sudden flash of inspiration, he moved to his closet door and flung it open. There on a shelf, lurking in the gloom, there was a record player that he’d received one Hearthswarming from Twilight many years ago. With a grin he reached up and lifted it from its perch, before a gust of warm air from his lungs blasted multiple layers of dust away from the machine. Reaching up again, he grasped blindly for a handful of records, before carrying the whole lot over to his desk. Pulling the chair out of the way, he set the player down and began rifling through the titles. Ballads? No. Love songs? Bleh. Dragon rap? Maybe? Finally, he settled on a record bearing a picture of a Pegasus wearing gold shades and the title of ‘Unadulterated Funk’. Good enough. Easing the vinyl from its sleeve, he placed it carefully on the player, set the needle, and gave the machine a good few cranks, likely more than was strictly required. After a few moments of crackling silence, a heavy bassline filled the small room, and was soon joined by a magically augmented brass and string section as the swing music got into full...well, swing.
Frowning and bobbing his head in appreciation, the Dragon cranked the volume to an appropriately ear-bleeding level and began to shamelessly dance around the small room. He span on the spot, his claws clawing mercilessly at the shag carpet, leaned back as far as he was able before hoisting himself back up and threw some improvised body-popping movements. He spied the chair that he’d moved earlier facing him, so he dashed at it, stepping one foot on the seat and the other on the backrest before he tilted forward, riding the chair on its descent to the floor. He performed another spin on the spot and found that when his momentum stopped, he was facing his open doorway, a bemused looking Twilight Sparkle framed within it. Her mouth moved as if she was speaking, her eyebrow raised, but with the volume from Spike’s record player being what it was, her voice had no hope of penetrating the din. With a scowl and shake of her head, her horn glowed purple, and the noise of the music subsided to acceptable background levels.
“Hey Twilight,” The dragon grinned, not bothering to cease his gyrating.
“Spike.” Twilight responded suspiciously. “You’re in a good mood.”
It hadn’t been a question, but her tone suggested intrigue and implored Spike to elaborate.
“Just glad to be back home after a job well done is all.” He panted, dropping to the floor and attempting to do the worm with limited success.
“Yes, well...” Twilight started, levitating a couple of pieces of parchment above the Dragon. “Look, can you just stop for a second?”
The Alicorn lifted the needle from the record, killing the music altogether. Spike jumped up from the floor, standing to attention, but his devilish smile never left his lips. It was an expression that Twilight had seen for most of her life, and it could mean only one thing; this Dragon was up to something.
“Here’s what you need to know for this next job,” she stated, still eyeballing him questioningly.
Spike accepted the parchments and scanned them thoroughly, what little of them there was to scan. The first was just an equipment requisition form, while the other, where the actual job should have been, simply read:
Ponyville.
Defer to Headmare Starlight Glimmer for further instructions.
Spike instinctively checked the back for further clues but found none. He glanced back up to Twilight.
“That’s it?”
The Princess nodded.
“Yes. This is classified work, so I’d prefer there not to be too much of a paper trail. Starlight will fill you in on all the specifics when you arrive in Ponyville. You’ll be staying at the School of Friendship.”
Spike once again turned the paper over in his claws.
“Did you really need to write this down? You could have just told me.”
Twilight’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“W-well, you know I like a certain amount of formality with these matters...” She floundered.
“Waste of parchment, if you ask me.” Spike muttered under his breath.
“Be that as it may,” Twilight snarked, “I want that requisitions form back in my hooves by the end of the day, and I want you in Ponyville being briefed by Starlight ASAP.”
Spike looked her dead in the eye, catching her tone.
“Yes Ma’am.” He sighed.
Twilight nodded, satisfied.
“Thank you,” she said, her tone softening. “I’ll let you get back to...whatever this is.”
She gestured to the record player. Spike offered her a theatrical bow before she turned on her hooves, disappearing as quickly as she’d arrived. Spike allowed himself a few seconds of wondering what this new job entailed before he returned the needle to the record, cranked the volume back to maximum and continued his impromptu dance session. Deciding that his bedroom was too small to truly express himself, he found himself boogieing right out of the door Twilight had just gone through.
****************************
Rarity nervously poured herself a glass of water from a convenient pitcher that was on the table and levitated it to her lips taking a miniscule sip. Setting it back on the table, she idly prodded a silver fork so that it lay more perpendicular to the knife on the other side of the plate. In all things, propriety.
She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. Her stomach was in knots, and her traitorous body had coated her with a sheen of cold sweat. She was most certainly not looking forward to the conversation she was about to have. She heard a muffled sound that sounded like music coming from somewhere else in the castle. For a few moments it died down, only to return again with renewed intensity. Lightly tapping her foot, she glanced around the room, both eager for and dreading the return of the Princess in equal measures. The dining room was lined with various open archways to corridors that led off to other parts of the castle, giving the room a certain ‘open-air’ feel to it. She supposed that it was to allow various servants and staff to breeze into the room as required to tend to any whims that the Princess’ guests may have. The billowing purple drapes that hung alongside the colossal windows to the right of the table were adorned with caricatures of the four adult Princesses, and the white mare couldn’t help but allow her gaze to linger on the exquisite mastery of the craftsponyship. As her eyes traced the outline of the stitched Twilight Sparkle figure, her mind instantly returned to her unhappy task. With irritation her eyes switched to the window, taking in the infinity of blue skies punctuated with fluffy clouds. It was a stark and pleasing contrast from the perpetual grey that seemed to hang over Yakyakistan. She forced herself to attempt to relax. Twilight was an old friend, perhaps her best friend, one with whom she could talk about anything with, even acutely awkward topics such as this one. She just had to relax.
“Sorry about that,” Twilight said airily, trotting back into the room. Well, so much for relaxing.
She threw an uncertain glance over her withers back the way she’d come from, wondering just what was going on with Spike. Rarity looked up at her guiltily.
“You...you wanted to talk to me about something?” Twilight asked, taken aback by her friend’s reproachable body language. “Is everything alright?”
Rarity stood and diffidently paced up and down alongside the table. She removed her hat from her head and clutched it in front of herself with her magic. Finally, she turned to face Twilight.
“Darling...there’s no easy way of saying this, so I shall just have to say it,” the Unicorn clichéd, nervously twirling her hat in front of herself as though it were the steering wheel of a small yacht. “Last night, I... well, I’m afraid I rather...flirted with your brother. A little bit.”
Twilight’s jaw dropped in a silent gasp. She raised her hoof to her face as she gave her friend a wide eyed stare. Rarity’s eyes sank to the carpet. This was the reaction she’d dreaded.
“Rarity!” Twilight wheezed. “How could you?!”
“I know, I’m sorry!” The Unicorn pleaded. “It’s just we met last night, we had some drinks together, one thing led to another, he offered to walk me home, on the way he saved me from some Diamond Dog muggers...”
“Diamond Dogs?” Twilight repeated, allowing a sneer of confusion to overpower the outrage on her face. She shook her head clear of the feeling. They’d come back to that soon enough.
“Did anything else happen?” Twilight demanded angrily.
“Yes,” Rarity winced, her voice tiny and feeble. “We...kissed...”
“WHAT?!”
Rarity shrank away from her friend, her body language more resembling their mutual friend Fluttershy than her usual fabulous own.
“And then we shared a bed for the night...” Rarity said pathetically, still unable to look Twilight in the eye.
“But nothing happened!” She hastened to add. “Nothing apart from a tiny bit of cuddling, anyway.”
Twilight sank into a convenient chair, her hoof still pressed to her mouth. She slowly lowered it, her eyes fixed on her friend who was still squirming. A dreadful silence descended upon the room.
“Does Cadance know?” Twilight finally asked coldly.
Rarity was snapped from her guilty staring at the carpet, and she looked at Twilight in confusion.
“...no? I don’t think... Why would Princess Cadance-”
Then the bit dropped. Rarity erupted into a light fit of giggles as Twilight looked on with renewed fury.
“I don’t think this is anything to laugh about!” She nearly screamed.
“Twiliiight,” Rarity elongated, still suppressing laughter. “I’m not talking about Shining Armor. I’m talking about your other brother. Spike.”
A torrent of relief washed over the Princess.
“Ohhhhh,” She breathed, the anger leaving her body instantly and her expression softening. As the Unicorn’s mirth dissipated it was then her turn to look indignant.
“What type of homewrecker do you take me for?” She scowled.
“Oh...well, gee, Rarity, I’m sorry, it’s just you said ‘brother’ and my mind just went to...” She trailed off, somehow now on the defensive. She was actually pretty ashamed that Rarity had said the word ‘brother’ and it hadn’t even occurred to her that she might be talking about Spike.
“I’m sorry.” The Alicorn said finally.
“Hm.” Rarity tutted. Then she too allowed the irritation to seep from her body. “You’re...not upset then?”
Twilight met her gaze evenly.
“No!” She protested. “Why would I be?”
That, she realized, was another reason why her mind had been led in the direction of thinking that they were talking about Shining. Rarity’s accountable demeanor.
“Well, I don’t know?” Rarity moaned. “He’s your little brother, your little Spikey-wikey...”
“Nope, never called him that.” Twilight said as an aside.
“...and I thought that I was maybe crossing a line, I mean, I’m old enough to be his...” Rarity continued before trailing off again.
Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“...big sister?” The Unicorn finished uncertainly. Twilight rolled her eyes.
“I really don’t think that’s a problem.” The Alicorn stated, leaning forward in her chair.
“Well, what about the fact that he’s a Dragon and I’m a Unicorn, hmm?”
“Our old students Sandbar and Yona are married,” Twilight pointed out. “He’s a pony and she’s a Yak. Seems to work for them.”
“Oh, that’s different, Twilight.” Rarity dismissed.
“Why?”
“Well, they’re both...” Rarity started. She really was beginning to make a habit out of this trailing off business.
Once again Twilight shot her friend a pointed look.
“...quadrupeds.” Rarity finished feebly. This elicited yet another eye-roll from the Princess.
“I don’t think I, nor anycreature else for that matter, would have a problem if you and Spike wanted to...” Twilight paused, grasping for the right word. Rarity stared intensely.
“Date.” She landed on. “And frankly, I think you’re now just throwing obstacles in the way because you’re scared.”
“I am not!” Rarity pouted with faux outrage.
“Oh, so you would like to date Spike?”
“I... I’m not saying that either,” Rarity spoke diplomatically. “But let’s, for the sake of argument, say that I did...”
Twilight bit back a guffaw. She’d said both of those statements in the same breath.
“That would be okay?” She enquired timidly.
“Of course!” Twilight smiled. “It’s not as if anypony can tell you who you are and aren’t allowed to see.”
Rarity raised a hoof to her chin ponderously, as a second, albeit far less tense silence fell on the room. It hung for a good thirty seconds or so before Twilight shattered it.
“So, you and Spike, huh?” She grinned.
Rarity’s cheeks flushed.
“Yes, well.” She cleared her throat. “I’ll have you know that your little brother has become rather dashing in recent years.”
“You kissed him, huh?”
Rarity shot her friend an exasperated look.
“Yes, Twilight I did. Do you want all the sordid little details? How his tongue felt in my mouth?”
“Nope, no, no, no.” Twilight backpedaled faster than Rainbow Dash during cider season. “It certainly explains a thing or two around here though.”
“Oh?” Rarity replied, intrigued. “Like what?”
“Well for starters why I’ve got a Dragon dancing around the Royal Palace like he’s Fred-trotting-Astmare.”
As if to accentuate her point, a purple Dragon shaped silhouette just then moonwalked past one of the open doorways behind her. Rarity hid her laughter behind her hat. Twilight whipped her head around but missed the elusive drake. She returned her gaze to Rarity, through narrowed eyes. The Unicorn did her best to conceal her merriment, with little success. It was nice to know that her effect on stallions was not only still very much active, but also somehow managed to cross species lines. Once she was capable of speaking again, she sat down next to the Princess. Lightly touching her hoof to hers, she looked earnestly into the Alicorn’s eyes.
“Thank you, Twilight.” She said, beginning to wonder what she’d been so worried about.
“Think nothing of it,” The Princess replied with a smile. “Do...do you know what you want to do though?”
Rarity leaned back in her chair and sucked in air through her teeth. Her eyes regarded the exquisitely ornate ceiling as she returned her hat to her head.
“Wellll...” She started, “I have all but promised the little darling a date, so I suppose we shall just have to see where things go from there.”
Twilight nodded.
“If...” Twilight said tactfully, “If things don’t go well though, do you think you could maybe give me a heads up?”
In her mind, Twilight was already analyzing the potential fallout from Spike having his heart broken. That would not be a pleasant mess to have to clean up, especially if the Dragon was in the midst of one of the most important jobs the Alicorn had ever handed him.
“Of course, Darling.” Rarity replied. If she was in any way offended by Twilight’s implication, she made no sign of it.
Just then, a Unicorn stallion in a butler’s uniform appeared in the doorway. He stared disinterestedly over a pair of half-moon spectacles at the mares.
“Your highness,” he spoke formally, his voice deep and polished, “Mrs. Cheese-Pie, Miss Applejack and Miss Rainbow Dash have arrived. Shall I...?”
“Yes, please send them through, Crisp. Thank you.” Twilight replied, turning her head to address him.
“Very good, Ma’am.” Crisp replied. “The kitchen ponies have made some pastries in preparation for your guests. Would you like them sent up along with some light refreshments?”
“Yes please.”
Crisp bowed to the Princess, then to Rarity, and disappeared as rapidly as he’d arrived.
“Sometimes I confess I’m quite envious of you, Twilight.” Rarity smiled. Twilight rolled her eyes at her friend, with a smile of her own. Presently, they heard voices approaching the room, one high pitched and bubbly, one drawling and one husky, unmistakably the sounds of their friends. As they grew closer, Rarity whispered.
“Not a word about Spikey-wikey and myself.”
Twilight made a show of miming zipping her mouth shut. Just then Crisp Suit appeared in the doorway once again, stepping aside to allow Twilight’s guests to enter. Rainbow Dash strode proudly into the room, her short mane swept back over her head, wearing her Wonder Bolts bomber jacket.
“Miss Rainbow Dash.” Crisp announced unnecessarily.
“Heya guys,” Rainbow grinned, offering the seated mares a clumsy salute.
“Miss Applejack.” Crisp said as Applejack trotted in behind her marefriend. Her usual Stetson rode on the back of her head, and the shawl of her late Granny Smith was wrapped around her neck.
“Howdy y’all!”
“Mrs. Cheese-Pie.” Crisp said finally.
Pinkie Pie sauntered into the room. Her mane was decorated with what appeared to be sprinkles and confetti, and nestled therein were various toys and other mysterious objects. Unlike her friends, she took a moment to address the butler.
“Thanks, Crispy!” She beamed, using her bizarrely prehensile quiff to rummage around for something in the main body of her mane. At length she produced a lollipop, sans wrapper, and stuck the sticky treat to Crisp’s lapel.
“Something for yourself,” she winked conspiratorially.
Crisp suit made no indication of his feelings about having a possibly half-sucked sucker attached to his uniform, nor did he make any attempt to remove it.
“Appreciated as always, Mrs. Cheese-Pie.” He monotoned.
There was a good few minutes of greetings, hugs, fussing and recriminations for sticking candy to the help. Crisp assured the mares that he would return with refreshments shortly and took his leave. Once the friends were finished with their pleasantries, complementing each other’s outfits (mostly Rarity), complaining about the train ride (mostly Rainbow Dash), and impatiently demanding just where the cakes were (mostly Pinkie Pie), Applejack spoke up.
“Say, where’s Fluttershy?”
“I’m expecting her any minute,” Twilight replied. “She’s arriving by her...usual method.”
The Princess frowned, glancing to the side. Applejack nodded in understanding. As if on cue, a portal opened in the corner of the room, and a butter-colored Pegasus stepped through. A yellow-eyed head with mis-matched horns and a single large fang, attached to a snake-like neck followed through after her. Discord nuzzled at his beloved’s cheek, planted a kiss on the top of her head, before retracting back into the portal, where it closed behind him.
“Oh, I’m sorry I’m late,” Fluttershy blustered softly, making her way to the table, her long pink mane tied back in a ponytail.
“Not at all!” Twilight responded, privately overjoyed that Discord hadn’t lingered. “You’re right on time.”
Fluttershy took her seat at the table, and the pleasantries began anew. As promised, nary a few minutes went by before Crisp Suit returned, this time pushing an elegant service trolley piled high with all manner of sweet treats. The stallion wasted no time in dispensing various dishes to the ladies, including an extra-extra-large slice of cheesecake for Pinkie Pie. As her butler passed her by, Twilight took a moment to whisper in his ear.
“Could you please give us a few minutes, Crisp? I have something...sensitive I need to discuss with my friends.”
“Very good, Ma’am.” The Unicorn replied. He rapidly and efficiently delivered the rest of the requested confections to the table, before packing up his cart, and removing himself from the room.
“Hey! Where’s he going?” Pinkie piped up, her muzzle bearing the remains of her Manehatten cheesecake. “I wasn’t even near done with that trolley!”
“Sorry Pinkie,” Twilight blushed. “I’ll get him back here in a few minutes, there’s just something important I wanted to discuss with you girls first.”
The last of the idle chatter died down as her five friends looked at her inquisitively. In particular, Rarity placed her forelegs on the table and leaned forward, her remaining half of a strawberry tart forgotten. My my, it seemed that this particular gathering was shaping up to be just full of revelations. They waited for the Princess to speak, but she instead closed her eyes, her horn glowing a raspberry pink. As the spell pushed itself out of her horn, it ballooned out and within a few moments had engulfed the whole room, washing over the ponies and sticking to the walls, floor and ceiling with its warm hue. The five friends looked over their shoulders to discover that the room had now become a gently pulsating pink bubble.
“Whut tha’ hay?” Applejack murmured, prodding at the magic coating the floor with her hoof.
“It’s a simple warding spell,” Twilight announced. “It means we can talk without anypony overhearing. The walls have ears.”
“Huh? They do?” Pinkie craned her neck to look at the wall behind her. “Hey wall!”
“Pinkie...” Rainbow eyed the pink pony incredulously.
“Huh? What?” Pinkie turned back around from waving at the wall to get its attention. Then her eyes widened in realization.
“Oh, right!” She smiled slyly at Dash. “The ward-wotsit spell. Gotcha.”
Fluttershy tactfully cleared her throat, focusing the severely nonplussed Princess on her.
“Um, what was it that you wanted to talk to us about, Twilight?”
“Yeah, and how come it needs...this?” Rainbow chirped, waving a hoof at the walls.
Twilight took a deep breath, focusing her thoughts. She had wanted to keep this more under wraps than it was, but now that it seemed like the crusaders were directly involved in the project, it was her duty as Princess, neigh, as a friend to let the mares know.
“Everything I’m about to tell you is classified information. Pinkie, I’m going to need a Pinkie promise from you that you won’t breathe a word of the super-secret stuff I’m about to say to anycreature.”
The pink mare shrugged.
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” She recited cheerfully.
Twilight nodded. It was more than good enough for her.
“Regular promises from the rest of you will be fine.”
There was a chorus of affirmation from around the table, except for Fluttershy who timidly raised her hoof.
“Can I tell Discord?” she asked timidly. “He does so like to be kept updated-”
“NO!” Twilight snapped; a lot more harshly than she’d meant to. She took a moment to compose herself, while Fluttershy shrank back into her chair.
“No,” The Princess repeated, more softly. “I’m sorry Fluttershy, I didn’t mean to yell, but I’m setting a project in motion and it’s highly sensitive. It’s not that I don’t trust Discord-” Twilight could just see Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanging guarded glances at that statement out of the corner of her eye - “but I really don’t want him trying to help with it.”
“Oh, I see.” Fluttershy offered a weak smile. “I promise too then.”
“Thank you,” The Princess replied effusively, once again pausing to carefully consider her next words.
By this time Rarity was on the edge of her seat. Whatever this was it was growing more intriguing and juicy by the minute. Twilight continued.
“The project I’ve begun is one that I’m not sure any of you are going to like, but believe me when I say, I’ve put years of thought into it. This is something that I confess, has been clawing at me for some time now.”
Rarity’s lips parted slightly, as she started to see where the Princess was going.
“In a nutshell, it’s a rehabilitation project, and the subjects of the project are Cozy Glow, Former Queen Chrysalis and Lord Tirek.”
There was a chorus of gasps from around the table.
“WHAT?!” Rainbow exploded, slamming her hoof on the tabletop, making the crockery and Fluttershy jump. “Tell me this is a joke.”
“Now, now, sugar cube...” Applejack placed a hoof on her marefriend’s foreleg in an attempt to calm.
“It gets worse,” Twilight said evenly. “Starlight Glimmer is in charge of the operation, and I asked her to get me a list of ponies that would be working under her. The first three names she gave me were...” Twilight paused, faltering at the final hurdle.
“Were the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” She finished finally.
“WHAT?!” Now it was Applejack’s turn to slam the table, with both hooves this time. She reared onto her hindlegs and snorted angrily across the half-eaten pastries.
“Ain’t no way in Tartarus that mah little sister is workin’ to help those...those criminals!”
Twilight sat in her chair stiffly. Her expression was neither a frown nor a smile.
“I understand.” Twilight said neutrally. “I’ll tell Starlight she has to find somepony else.”
Applejack nodded fiercely as Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash.
“I take it you feel the same way about Scootaloo?”
“Well, yeah,” Rainbow huffed. “But it isn’t like I can tell her she can’t. I’m not her real sister, and if I tell her no, she’ll just do it anyway. It’ll be the Washouts all over again.”
“If you like, I’ll tell Starlight to strike her name off the list too. She’ll never know it came from you.” Twilight said.
Rainbow looked at the Princess, seeming to consider her offer, before shaking her head.
“No, no,” She grumbled. “I mean, what if the project goes off without a hitch, and the mean three get turned good, and all the ponies involved are heroes, and Scootaloo is, like super depressed or whatever because it could have been her, it should have been her, and it’s all my fault, only she doesn’t know that...” Rainbow trailed off.
“No.” She finished. “Nuts to that. Let ‘er do it.”
Applejack could only glare at her marefriend, before she turned to Rarity.
“Rarity?” She asked, still looming over the table. “Whadda y’all think about all this? It’s your sister too.”
Rarity ran her hoof through her mane. Just how did she feel about all this? She couldn’t say she was all that surprised that Starlight had selected the CMC’s for this particular assignment. It was after all their raison d’etre, was it not? And after all, Sweetie Belle was a grown mare. And would she, Rarity, herself have balked if the Princess had asked for help with something of this magnitude, back in the day? Tartarus, would she balk now? You could bet your flank not. She took a quick glance at the Princess and smiled. Twilight had been most gracious with her confession earlier. The least she could do would be to return the favor.
“I think Sweetie Belle is grown enough to make her own decisions.” She responded airily. “Besides, one assumes that Starlight has taken every precaution necessary to ensure the safety of everypony involved, hm?”
“I don’t have all the details yet, but she’s throwing together an action plan as we speak.” Twilight assured.
“There, you see?” The Unicorn turned to Applejack. The farmer’s ire seemed to be waning, and she slowly lowered her flank to her seat. Her glare, however, remained.
“And I also assume that you’ll be monitoring Starlight’s progress closely, ready to step in if needed?” Rarity continued, turning back to Twilight.
“Absolutely.” The Alicorn replied. “I’m assigning Spike to her for the duration to give me regular updates.
At this, Rarity did raise an eyebrow, but she said nothing. So, it wasn’t just her sister, but her maybe brand-new Dragon-colt-friend too? Marvelous. Her thoughts on the matter were cut short by Applejack.
“Well, that’s all well and good, but it don’t change tha’ fact that this is plum terrible idea!”
“I can see why you might think that.” Twilight said, as tactfully as she could.
“Whut in tarnation makes you think that they can even be reformed? After what they did?” Applejack spat. Rainbow nodded from her still slumped position in the chair but didn’t say anything.
“Nothing.” Twilight replied. “It’s not so much about reforming them, it’s more about giving them a chance. Starlight got hers. Discord got his. A few times, if the brutal truth is to be told. If they can’t or won’t do it, then they’ll be returned to stone.”
Applejack folded her forelegs and finally looked away.
“Applejack,” Twilight continued. “Cozy Glow is a foal. She should be the same age as your sister, but she isn’t, because she’s been stone for the last decade. Could you live with that? Could you live with leaving her to her fate without even trying?”
There was a pregnant pause.
“Ah...ah reckon not.” The orange mare finally conceded. Twilight nodded.
“Now you see why this is something that needs to be done. I’ve already waited far too long as it is. I want you to know, all of you, that you’re my best friends, and I respect all of you enough to tell you what’s going on. And Applejack, I respect your position on your sister, which is why I’ll be pulling her from the project.”
“Thank you.” Applejack replied, finally relenting her anger.
“I think it’s a noble idea.” Fluttershy squeaked. Twilight smiled warmly at her friend.
“Thank you, Fluttershy.”
Once again a ponderous silence descended over the table.
“Well,” Twilight said at length, “If nopony has any more thoughts on the matter, I can end the spell.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Mama needs cake!”
Twilight smiled and abruptly ended the spell. The glow that surrounded the room flickered and died, and Twilight sent a magical ping from her horn to let Crisp know that they were ready for round two of treats. Minutes later Crisp returned and furnished Pinkie Pie with a much-needed sugar boost. Conversation continued, albeit at a more subdued rate. Twilight silently kicked herself, she should have waited until the end of their get together, her revelation had created a black cloud that hung over table, particularly over Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s side. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. If only she had some juicy yet trivial gossip to impart.
‘Well,’ her mind spoke. ‘There’s always...’
Twilight blinked. She couldn’t. Could she? Maybe if she just kept the names out of it? That could work. At the next lull in the conversation, the Princess spoke up.
“Actually, now that I think of it, I do have a friendship problem that I could use you girl’s perspective on.”
“Oh?” Fluttershy responded. “What kind of friendship problem?”
“Well,” Twilight began, aware that all eyes had turned to her, even the huffy Applejack. “As you know, I watch over the dream realm now. The other day I’d arranged to meet a friend in her dreams to discuss something. Well, I should have looked before I leapt, so to speak, but I didn’t, and I ended up walking straight into a... naughty dream.”
Twilight’s face reddened at the memory. She was about to plough on, but she was interrupted.
“A naughty dream?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What, you mean like, somepony stealing or something?”
Applejack fixed her marefriend with a furrowed browed stare and held it for several seconds.
“What?” The former Wonder Bolt shrugged.
“No, ya dingbat!” Applejack chided. “She means one o’ them sexy dreams.”
“Oh. Ohhh!” Rainbow chuckled. “Twilight, seriously?”
“Y-yes...” The Alicorn replied, not meeting her friend’s gaze.
“Didya see much?” Rainbow pressed, leaning forward, suddenly interested.
“Oh my...” Fluttershy raised her hoof to her mouth, hiding her smile.
“No, I made myself known before it went too far,” Twilight murmured. “But that’s not the point!”
Rainbow blew a loud raspberry.
“Boring!”
“The point is,” Twilight laboriously plodded on, “is that the other mare in this dream was her best friend, so now I’m wondering if it’s indicative of some deeper feelings, or if it’s just ‘one of those things’, which it what she insists that it is.”
“Oh, oh, I know those types of dreams!” Pinkie raised her face from her third apple fritter. “They’re super-hot but also super confusing and then you wake up and your bed’s turned into a paddling pool-”
The other five mares shot Pinkie nauseated looks and an ‘Eww’ was heard from Rainbow Dash.
“What?” Pinkie protested. “C’mon, we’ve all been there.”
“Well, be that as it may,” Rarity interjected. “Twilight, do you know if this is a dream that Starlight has had about Trixie before?”
Everypony except for Twilight shot the Unicorn a confused glance.
“Well, she says it’s happened once or twice before, but-”
Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. Oh no.
“How did you know I was talking about Starlight and Trixie?!” The Alicorn demanded, creating a peal of laughter to erupt from the other five fillies. Even Applejack let out a few chuckles.
“Oh darling,” Rarity replied, wiping a tear from her eye. “Do give me a little credit. I am an accomplished amateur sleuth you know.”
Applejack offered the Unicorn a hoof bump, which she gladly accepted.
“No, seriously.” Twilight pressed. “How did you do that?”
“Well, if you insist I show my reasoning,” Rarity shook her mane behind her head, secretly delighted that she’d been handed an opportunity to show her reasoning. “You said that it was a ‘she’ who had this dream. It was possible you were talking about yourself, but given your body language, not likely. Additionally, if it had been about yourself, you probably wouldn’t have wanted to announce it to a group of friends. It would have been much more reasonable to assume that you’d have wanted to have that conversation one-on-one with a friend. So then, could it have been somepony in this room? Again, possible, but highly unlikely. You have far too much tact for that, darling. So, we’re looking for a mare, who isn’t in this room, but who is sufficiently close to you that you’d arrange to meet her in her dreams. Of course, you’re the Princess of Friendship, so that doesn’t necessarily narrow things down too much. However, you just told us that you’ve placed Starlight in a very important position. The type of position where it seems entirely plausible that you’d want to meet her in her dreams to discuss specifics. You also said that it was another mare in the dream, and who is Starlight’s best friend? Trixie.”
Rarity paused for dramatic effect.
“And then of course, there was the biggest clue of all.”
“Which was?” Twilight groaned.
“You just told me, darling.”
Twilight allowed her head to slump to the table as a series of whoops and giggles exploded around the table.
“Hoo-wee, well played Rarity.” Applejack sniggered.
“Sorry Twilight,” Fluttershy smiled, touching the Princess’ foreleg. “You have to admit, it is quite funny though.”
“Thanks Fluttershy,” Twilight frowned, raising her head from the table. “Alright, fine, you got me. Please don’t go blabbing this to anypony, I promised I wouldn’t tell.”
“Our lips are sealed, darling.” Rarity replied. “Right, girls?”
Everypony else around the table nodded, the remnants of hilarity still painted on their faces.
“So anyway, what do you girls think?” Twilight attempted to salvage the dignity. “Do you think it’s something more than friendship?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Rainbow said. “I always thought there was something going on between those two.”
“If only we had some sort of example to draw on,” Rarity mused, pointedly staring at Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Two ponies who were close friends, whose friendship eventually blossomed into something more.”
Twilight caught her look, and also turned her attention to the two mares.
“That’s right!” She gasped. “You two just announced you were dating a few years back, we never actually got to hear the story of how that happened!”
“Yes, AJ and RD are notoriously bad at sharing their feelings.” Rarity commented.
“You guys never asked!” Rainbow protested.
“Ah, I’m pretty sure we did,” Pinkie said mockingly. “You both were just always all like ‘We’re just dating now. Doesn’t matter how it happened.’”
“Yeah, well...” Rainbow faltered.
“Tell!” Pinkie near screamed with delight. “Tell tell tell tell tell tell tell tell!”
“Um, I wouldn’t mind hearing the story...” Fluttershy somehow managed to make her voice heard through Pinkie’s bouncing squeaks.
Rainbow Dash sighed and shrugged, before turning to her marefriend. Applejack took the Pegasus’ hoof in her own and smiled.
“Ah guess there ain’t no harm in it.”