Spike knocked softly on the door, standing as tall as he dared, which was taller than usual. He was a squire, he casually reminded himself. He had been tested against nobility, and had earned a real sword, even if it was still being forged. A real sword! He would be expected to use it, in combat. He was a warrior, not just a little kid. Not anymore.

"Come in," came a melodic female voice. "It's open, darling."

Spike grabbed the handle and threw open the door just hard enough for it to swing all the way without banging. "I come bearing good news for you, Lady Rarity."

Rarity tittered as he walked into view. "Well, somedragon's feeling especially playful today. Go on, tell me, what is the good news you've brought for me?" She had a gentle smile on her face, but she wasn't facing him, working on a sewing machine dutifully.

"I did battle with an old foe of yours," reported Spike with his head held up high. "Before an audience of dozens of guards and a foreign dignitary. I proved his better in sword use, three to one." Speaking of it was getting easier. He had done that, it was true, witnessed, and verified.

"An old friend of mine? That uses a sword?" Rarity let her machine slow down to a stop and turned her head to look at him with a quizzical expression. "I'm afraid you have me at a loss. Don't tell me Suri Polomare learned how to use a blade? How dreadful!"

"No! Not that," he quickly assured. "Prince Blueblood," he addended with a smile. "We did battle in an honorable spar and I put him in his place." He patted his practice blade lightly.

"Oh! That explains it far... wait." She stepped down from the stool in front of her machine, peering at Spike. "He actually knows how to do something other than being a stuck up little prissy boy?"

"He took great pride in his sword using ability." Spike made a motion of drawing his sword without actually drawing the sword. "But I proved the better. He yearns to win back the honor he lost, hungering for a rematch the instant the match was over."

"Look at you." She reached for his cheeks, cupping them in her hooves. "My brave little warrior. Aren't you just the cutest little thing?"

He brushed her hooves away, even if he kind of liked her contact. "I'm a squire," he announced with some force. "Tested and true. My blade is being forged for me, earned by my growth and ability. Soon enough I will be a knight, officially, and a noble in both deed and title."

Rarity blinked softly at Spike's rebuff. "Oh... I see..." She tilted her head a bit to the left, as if struggling to place the dragon before her. "Oh my... my my my... Little Spikey Wikey is growing up, and... so suddenly. I'm honestly unsure what to do with myself." She sat up on her haunches, looking him over. "Are you certain this is the path you desire?"

He was caught off guard by the question, one foot going back a little. "Huh? Of course! I mean, why wouldn't I be?" He patted his practice blade. "I've already been a warrior, fighting at your side. I'm just better at doing it now, both, you know, fighting wise and acting properly." He raised a hand to point at Twilight's castle, hidden as it was beyond a wall. "I'm just making what I do official, really. Laud's showing me how to do it right."

"Laud, yes..." She tapped her chin softly. "He really is a noble, is he not, arguably royalty, being wed to Twilight and all, and he knows how to act the part... And he's your mentor?"

"I'm his squire," he confirmed with a soft nod. "When I complete my training, then I will be a knight. Twilight and Celestia were both alright with the idea, so it'll be official!" He put his feet together, taking a more formal stance. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"No... I suppose you aren't..." She murmured something under her breath before shaking her head. "Oh dear... This does... force questions, does it not?"

"Mm?"

"You came here with questions on your lips, I feel certain. Go ahead, ask them." She rolled a hoof towards Spike. "I will not deny your answers. You've earned that much, dear." Her eyes were on him, watching him intently, her body tense with preparedness for what she seemed to be sure would follow.

"Lady Rarity," spoke Spike, dropping to a knee. "I would..." He hesitated just a moment, making sure he got it right. Just as Laud had told him! "I would like to court you. When I am officially a knight, if you would allow me the opportunity, I will make a play for your hoof. Though I know you are without a, uh, official title, I know the noble measure of your heart even if Equestria as a whole is, you know, blind."

Rarity's cheeks darkened. The words she had prepared failed her and she stuttered instead. His plea struck her speechless though she had thought she was prepared for it. "S-so sincere," she breathed out, tail giving a flick. Was this the same little toddling dragon she had so casually brushed aside for so many years? "I..." It was all so much, coming directly at her, without chicanery or deceptions. A knight had declared their interest in trying for her hoof. That knight happened to be her beloved little Spikey Wikey, who was at once declaring he was not so little anymore. He had more adult desires, and she was it.

'This is all so much," she confessed, her cheeks' darkness spreading out across her face. "Dear Spike... Dear dear Spike..." She had no room to casually ignore his romantic interests. She had to answer truthfully, one way or the other. He had approached directly and as an adult. He deserved a proper reply, for good or for ill. "Oh my..." She suddenly laughed. "Oh my... You've left me feeling as flustered as Fluttershy."

"I will honor and respect you, My Lady." He dipped his head a moment before rising up to his feet. "Allow me the chance, that's all that I ask. If I fail to win your hoof... then that will be that. I would hope we can remain friends, of course, but should you wish it, after... that... I will stop, you know, pursuing you romantically." It hurt to even admit that was a possibility, but he had to, as a knight. Chasing a lady that had outright refused him wasn't proper behavior. "May I have this chance?"

Rarity took a slow deep breath, trying to force herself to be calm. This had turned serious, deadly serious. "Oh dear Spike... I..." She suddenly drove a hoof down, clopping the floor. "Yes. Yes! Yes." She suddenly grabbed him in her magic, pulling him into her waiting arms to hug him tightly. "You'll have your chance. Once your training is complete, we will court. I promise nothing beyond that, you understand?"

"Y-yes!" he squeaked, his face as dark as her own in the embrace. "I'll do my best!"

He had fought his second true battle as a squire, and he decided it had been as decided a victory.

Laud nodded to the dignitary. "Mayor Mare, thank you for seeing me on such short notice."

"I appreciate you consulting me." She sat down lightly on her chair, looking at him across her desk. "So these visitors will come with trade in mind, is that correct?"

"Precisely so. The first, mine, came looking for resources and people. The second, the church, came chasing their convictions. These wish for money, pure and simple. They will gladly offer goods and services to line their pockets. Of them all, they are the most direct, but perhaps they can be just as dangerous."

"I should imagine," agreed Mayor Mare with a soft nod. "Now, the first thing that comes to mind is that what they think is harmless may be far from that, in the hooves of the untrained."

Laud allowed himself to look relieved, sighing. "We're of the same mind then. I feared you might not see it that way. It's not that I wish to hold back our ponies from learning and growing. They will be exposed to much of what they have to offer, but perhaps not all at once, and not without restriction."

Mayor Mare ducked down and came up with the book of Equestrian trade regulations. "Have you had a chance to read this?" When he nodded, she continued, "then you've seen that we concern ourselves with the safe handling of hazardous materials and try to ensure that ponies know how to handle what they've paid for." She tapped the book softly. "What we have are things so new that we have no laws for them yet."

"Yes, precisely that." He had an ally, a fact that put a smile on his face. "I would rather we avoid any sudden accidents that could harm or end one of our dear citizens. To begin with the obvious, there are precious few reasons to allow weapons to pass into pony hooves."

Mayor Mare raised a brow softly. "If the weapon can be used safely, and a pony uses it to hunt or protect themselves from monsters, why would we stop that? I admit more concern about power sources and exotic materials that could harm a pony without them ever realizing it was a danger."

Hunt? "Ponies hunt?"

"Of course." Mayor Mare tilted her head. "Though the eating of terrestrial meat is in the minority, leather is a valued commodity, and few are the animals that can produce it without being first hunted." She flashed a smile, showing her equine teeth. "Though I have tried it before. It isn't entirely unpalatable, but not my preference. Are there weapons unfit for this task?"

"Explosives," immediately replied Laud, surprised at the sudden erosion of the support he thought he had.

"Useful for demolitions, again provided the ponies know how to use it responsibly. I had hoped you and I could go over such details, so we can expand the trade guide." She tapped at the Equestrian trade book. "So ponies are better prepared for how to approach what they trade for."

He let out a little breath. "So you are against simply not allowing dangerous things to be traded?"

"I should imagine we will offer dangerous things of our own, but we will include proper handling instructions. My fear is that this will not be reciprocated." She sat up with a soft nodding. "Can you help? After all, that blade at your side is quite dangerous, but that hasn't stopped you from carrying it everywhere. In the hooves, or hands, of one trained to use it responsibly, it is a valuable tool, not something to be afraid of."

"This was... not how I envisioned this meeting going..." He sat up, hands laying on the desk. "But I will assist." If his wards were going to trade for dangerous things, at least knowing how not to destroy themselves with it was a step in the right direction. "Let's go over the most obviously dangerous things, but there are other things to concern ourselves with. Your bits are not the universal currency, which they will come with."

"I would hope they don't expect us to have them yet." Mayor Mare waved it away. "We will trade; barter. Perhaps they will pay some brave ponies with their currency, and those entrepid citizens will have currency to offer to the next traders that happen along." Her ears pricked. "Actually, I recall hearing the leader of the dragons flew off with a bulging bag of exactly those coins. We should get word to her. I imagine she would wish a chance to use them so soon after she got them."

Author's Notes:

Spike makes his move, and so does Laud. One of them succeeds! Which one it is may surprise you!

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