Chapter Seven

Garden Fever

It was early the next morning that Spike rose from his bed, refreshed due to a surprisingly pleasant dream he had had the night before. It had involved him, that lovely Maria, a bottle of fine wine and a secluded beach somewhere in the Mare-ibbean. Trixie and Meia had been there too, but after the wine was gone, things had seemed to go hazy: he had even forgotten what they had been wearing. Then again, he had never had wine before, so maybe that was why he had fogotten what they were wearing.

Stretching lazily, the young drake (drake being the correct term for a male dragon such as himself) grabbed some clothes off a dresser that were nice but wouldn’t be ruined if they got filthy: simple pants with a short sleeved collared shirt. Checking the clock on the wall, he saw it around 7:30, which meant he had almost three hours before he was going to meet Maria. Being a fastidious dragon, he went into the other room and took a shower, making sure to clean behind his spines and under the folds of his wings.

Freshly cleaned, he covered his entire body with a small and controlled burst of flames, effectively drying him off and giving his scales a gleam that could have passed for being polished. Dressing in the clothes, he checked the clock again: still two hours to kill after all his grooming. Deciding a walk was in order, he left the still-sleeping form of Meia in her own bed and set off through the castle, intent on learning more about this place. He brought along a small journal and the small camera he had purchased back in Equineland, just in case he came across anything interesting. In a place like this, that was bound to happen.

Well, the first thing he found was a room filled entirely with old armor and weapons, most likely relics or heirlooms of ancestors past. Walking around, he could hardly believe his luck: or Rainbow Dash’s, depending on who you would ask. Snapping pictures as he went, he paid special attention to some of the names on the plaques: Charlemane, Ferdinand, Joao, even more than he could name or even hope to pronounce correctly.

“It is rather fascinating, is it not?” a voice said. Spike turned around to see Carlos standing at the room’s entrance with a smile on his face. “Relics, much of it anyway: handed down by our ancestors and relatives throughout the centuries, even from the pre-classical pony period.” He walked past a set of halberds to stand by Spike, who had just snapped a photo of some ancient armor. The head crest filtered through where one’s mane would be, to make one seem even taller and more intimidating. The scales, rusted slightly from age despite the pristine conditions in which it was kept, were like the scales of a fish: overlapping steel plates that covered the vital areas. The chest had a thickened plate emblazoned with the silhouette of a unicorn’s head holding its horn high. The arm and leg guards were likened to a thick leather brace covered by a layer of metal, so as to ward off a sword blow. A small pair of gauntlets rested where the hands would have been, each finger crafted with metal-studded leather straps.

“This belonged to our family’s founding noble, General Almareconraddius Plainsci,” Carlos said, walking around the display. “He was a general in the Roamin Empire, and during its imperialist phase he conquered this area with much difficulty. Later, when the war had gone away and ponies settled here, he was appointed governor. He fell in love with the land he had fought so hard over, and ever since he set down our family’s roots here, we’ve stayed.” He was silent for a moment. "In case you were wondering, we adopted the name Del Rivioso many generations ago, as ponies didn't tend to associate Plainsci, or "plains", with the mountainous areas under our rule." Well, that was sort of a given: Spreign had highlands and lowlands, but very few areas of flat terrain.

"Amazing that you can trace your lineage so far back and with such clarity: not many archives in Canterlot have such fine detail of family trees," Spike said, looking around the room at the various other examples of a proud military tradition. “You must be proud of your ancestors, to remember them so well."

“Very much so,” Carlos replied, still gazing at the Roamin armor. “Sometimes I wonder how things would be different for us if he haddecided to go back to Roam or go on to a different theater of war. The choice to stay had been entirely his, and after all he and his fellow soldier ponies went through, none of them were likely ready for another fight or a new place to fight over. Many of the ponies you passed along the way here are descendants of his soldiers: consequently, we care for them better than many nobles might be inclined to. I only wonder if they know how their ancestors felt about this new land.”

“We all wonder things like that,” Spike said, coming back to the stallion’s side. “Might I ask you, what exactly were your plans for Maria before I came into the picture? If you don’t mind sharing with me the details?”

Carlos was silent for a few minutes before he said anything. “She was to be given off to the most eligible suitor who we could find. I know it may seem a tad barbaric to you, but in our country nobles and their heirs are literally sold off to the highest bidder, if only to make alliances that secure their future and that of their offspring. My younger brother was married off to a rather brutish mare who has him completely under her hoof, so much so that we rarely see each other any more. I shudder to think of some of the noble’s sons I know of that would have, or could have married Maria.”

“Why is that, sir?” Spike asked. He had a feeling it was a touchy subject, but if he was to marry this beautiful mare, he had to know everything. Damn, Twilight might have rubbed off on him more than he cared to admit: that inquisitive side was really shining through.

“Many of them are brutish, spoiled colts, little more than bullies in noble cloth,” Carlos said, pinching the brow of his nose in resignation and a bit of anger. “They would have crushed my daughter’s dreams, forcing her to bear their foals whether she loved them or not. It would have broken my daughter, my lovely Maria, to have to go through such torment, and through her pain, I myself would have been broken.”

He turned to the young drake. “That is why I expect you to care for her with every fiber of your being, Spike. You are different from them: you are noble, but without the trappings of being raised royal. You have a heart, a good one from what I've seen, and you know what it takes to make others happy over yourself. She will be your wife, one of them if I am correct to assume as much. I do not ask for you to show favoritism for her over any other you marry: I only ask you to love her.”

“I will do my best, sir,” Spike said, glancing at a clock: ten minutes to his time with Maria. “If you’ll excuse me, I must go: Maria and I are going on a tour of the gardens.”

Carlos smiled at this. “Excellent! But I must give you a heads-up: some of the plants in the garden are known for aphrodisiac pollen and petals. If you do go in there, avoid doing anything that could lead to something more, all right?”

Spike gulped as he nodded: he knew pheromones such as that had a much lesser effect on dragons, but Maria would be far more susceptible to their effects. He would have to tread lightly indeed if he was going to avoid a scandal: yeah, his future wife jumping him in a garden before they were even married could sully not only his reputation, but hers especially. Then again, the circles of nobility could like spin it around and say he forced himself on her like a brute.

Leaving Carlos alone in the armory, Spike hurried down the halls. Passing archways here and there, he ran past servants as his memory guided him to his destination: to the sun dial, passing the dolphin fountain on the way. Arriving with a minute to spare, he found Maria walking over as well, her dress from the night before replaced with some simpler clothes: a blouse and skirt, though her hat screamed fashion in ways identical to Rarity’s.

“Right on time,” she said with a smile, holding out her arm for Spike to take. Gladly intertwining his arm with hers, Spike led her through the garden, all the while listening to what she had to say.

“I must admit, Mr. Spike, you are a most punctual dragon,” Maria said as they walked. “Arriving what I can only assume was prior to our scheduled time: it puts you in a good light. Most ponies feel it is better to be fashionably late than to be on a time, a trait I find rather... distasteful.”

“Why thank you: I find it easier to be early than late,” Spike said, feeling his spirit lift at her compliment. His heart already knew what his mind had yet to conclude: Maria and he were meant to be together. The thing was, just how to make her his without descending into the cesspool that was royal politics would be a challenge indeed. “I must say that is a rather fashionable hat: pray tell, how did you come by it?”

“Oh, this old thing?” Maria asked, glancing up at the brow of said hat. “A gift from mother a few years ago: she had bought it in Paris during the coronation of the new king, Louis I believe. I never asked for one, but to show her that I can act with ‘grace and dignity’, I wear it anyway. The peacock feathers are a bit too, oh I don’t know, extravagant for my tastes.”

“Then what are your tastes?” Spike asked, truly curious. A noble finding the trapping of nobility to be rather excessive was truly a rare creature.

“Simplicity is elegance unto itself, Mr. Spike,” Maria said as they passed under a large vine-covered arch. "For me, the simpler something is, the more enjoyment one can have out of it."

“Please, just call me Spike,” the young dragon replied, reminding her of what they had discussed the night before.

“Oh, yes: Spike,” she said, as if testing the word on her tongue before continuing. “I prefer dresses that are simple, clean and not designed to make a stallion drool over himself like some household pet eyeing their food dish. I know I am close to adulthood if not already there, but I do not like it when complete strangers ogle me from a distance, or worse: up close. Even in a society where politics saturate everything, I still should like to think of myself as, well, myself. Do you understand?”

“All too much,” Spike said as they sat down on a limestone bench near a small pond covered with lily pads. “Back in Equestria, I’ve seen the royal hassles both princesses have had to go through with. High-class ponies trying to buy their way into lofty positions of power, the gross inconsiderateness of some royal relatives of the princesses, and worst of all, the division between public officials whenever a crisis rears its ugly head. its amazing that they can even run the country as well as they do sometimes.”

“It sounds as though you’ve seen quite a bit, Spike,” Maria said, putting both hands over his. “I overheard the servants saying you were on a journey of some kind. Just how far do you plan on traveling?”

“All around the world, health permitting,” Spike said, cracking a grin. “Both of the princesses sent me out with the barest of necessities, encouraging me to make my own path as I went along." He was silent for a moment, as if internally debating with himself. "I do hope this doesn’t seem too personal a question, Maria, but have you ever wondered what things were like outside of Spreign? As in, if you were to accompany someone you knew, would you see it: the world, that is?”

Maria’s mouth opened slightly, as if slack-jawed. Oh no: that was too forward, wasn't it. Spike opened his own mouth to apologize for such a question, but he was cut off by her answer.

“Yes, yes I would love to see more of the world,” she said, her smile returning along with a far-off and dreamy look in her eyes. A small gust of wind blew a few errant petals from a nearby potted plant in their direction. “I just don’t know if I could go without someone I knew. My sisters are too young, my brothers would like nothing more than to stay in Spreign, and mother and father have too much to do.”

“Well, things like that could easily be taken care of,” Spike said, remembering to gently squeeze her hand as a sign of reassurance.

Maria’s eyes zeroed in on Spike’s own. “Taken care of?” she asked, her voice sounding... different. “When you said with someone I knew... did you perhaps mean yourself?”

Uh oh: play it cool, play it cool. “Uh, possibly: only if you wish to infer it that way,” Spike said, trying to use courtly manners as a way of deflecting a possible confrontation. “I assume you didn’t mean me.”

“What if I did?” she asked leaning closer. Uh oh again: danger close, danger close. “What if the first one I thought of was you, Spike the handsome dragon? What if I wanted to travel all over the world with you?”

Abandon ship! All men to the life rafts! “Maria, are you feeling all right? You seem somewhat... dreamy,” Spike said, inching away slightly, only to have her scoot closer to him than before.

“Oh, that,” she giggled, absentmindedly flicking a few errant bits of her mane to the side. Wait, how had some of it fallen out of her hat without him noticing? “Maybe it’s because I’m with you, silly.”

Then Spike saw it: those few errant petals were lining the top of her hat. The color, a deep red, stood out glaringly against said hat. Carlos had warned him, but Maria had lead him the whole way through the gardens. Had she taken him to this spot on purpose? Had she-

His thoughts were cut off when she connected his lips with her own. By Celestia’s royal mane, her lips were softer than the silken bedsheets he had slept in the night before. Feeling his eyes roll into the back of his head just from the experience, a surprise came when her one hand grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him closer. She was putting so much heat, so much passion into the kiss: he had never felt anything like it before. Trixie had been good, but this: this was something found in romance novels. no, scratch that: this was something ponies in romance novels dreamed about, nevermind experienced.

Her one hand pulled his other hand up to her blouse, the fingers pushing his into the fabric. Oh Celestia, she was forcing him to feel her up. Feel her soft, firm breasts and luxurious olive pelt, one of his claws teasing a nipple ever so slightly...

Spike’s eyes snapped open just as his wings became rigid, as did something else. Flapping, his withdrew his hands from her as the wind rushed around them, sending the petals and the chemicals within them off down another path.

It was a few more glorious seconds of kissing before Maria's mind must have cleared. Maria’s eyes opened widely as she realized what she was doing, though her lips were still crushed against his. Without a sound she withdrew her lips from Spike’s, confusion written all over her face. “Wha-what just happened?” she asked.

“Petals from an aphrodisiac plant messed with your head,” Spike said, taking in a breath of air: he had forgotten how to breathe during the kiss. Just to be safe, he scooted back a bit farther, so as to not seem to invade her personal space. “You, uh... kinda tried to force yourself on me. Or force me onto you: I was a bit confused myself as to your intentions.”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry!” she said, burying her face in her hands. “I couldn’t help myself, you being such an attractive drake and all, and my terrible lonesomeness, and the stress from arguing with my mother. Oh, you must think me horrible, some overeager tart who-,”

Spike’s hand on her shoulder cut her off mid-sentence. “It is not your fault, Maria,” he said softly as she removed her hands from her face. “And no, I don’t think you some overeager... whatever you were going to say. Trust me when I say this: I forgive you for any transgression you think you may have visited upon me.”

Maria sniffed a little. “Was... was it all right? By your standards? Surely you’ve kissed many other mares by now.” Oh Celestia: she was thinking she had done a horrible job of kissing!

Spike thought back to the train ride: better not tell her about that. “Well, actually, I believe you’re only the second mare I’ve ever kissed.”

“R-really?” she asked, sounding a bit shocked. “But... but you’re so handsome! The mares should be throwing themselves at your feet!”

Again, not telling her about the train ride was a very good idea. “While I’ve been surrounded by mares my whole life, I never truly have had much experience with the fairer sex,” he replied. Much experience was right: that romp, or romps, with Trixie, hadn’t really expanded upon his interaction capabilities with mares, besides on how to please one.

They sat in silence for a moment, unsure of what else to say. “So... was it any good?” Maria asked quietly.

“Was what good?” Spike asked, nonplussed. Man, he really needed to learn to pay attention more.

“The... the kiss,” she said, her voice becoming almost a whisper.

“Well, yeah, actually,” Spike said. Her eyes seemed to light up as he went on. “To tell you the truth, and keeping this between us, I’ve never felt a kiss like that before. I’ve only read of a few kisses like that in all of the literature I’ve studied. You truly are a passionate pony, Miss Del Rivioso.”

She blushed, the redness visible through her pelt. “Why thank you, Spike the dragon,” she said, twirling an errant bit of her mane in one finger. “I must admit you yourself are quite the kisser too.”

A bell sounded in the castle, causing them both to jump. “Wow, it must be one o’clock already,” Maria said, leading Spike out of the garden. The saw the sun dial: yep, it was at one in the afternoon. They had been in that maze, talking and almost making out for three whole hours? Time sure flew when one was having... uh, fun.

“I must go,” Maria said, looking at Spike with a curious expression. “If you don’t mind me asking, could... could we kiss again? As a parting until next time?”

Inwardly, Spike knew he had stolen her heart. “Of course, my dear,” he replied, pulling her closer to him. Tentatively, she leaned up to kiss him, but this time he was not caught unawares. With a sudden surge of passion he didn’t know he had, he pulled her close to him, their bodies flush as he kissed her. His tongue dueled with hers, overwhelming her defenses as he ravished her mouth with skill and dexterity that surprised them both, especially him. Good lord, he was Casanova incarnate right there, and he didn't even know how he knew who that was.

Had his eyes been open, he would have seen her eyes roll into the back of her head, with one of her hooves rising up behind her like out of a fairy tale. Pulling away lest he let the kiss go too far, Spike was glad to see the young pony was blushing more furiously than before, her entire face almost red. With a hasty bow she bid him farewell, hurrying along the hallway. She had a spring in her step he had not seen before, and she almost bumped into a pillar, as if she were off somewhere else.

He had her: now it was time to reel her in. But first, he needed to find Carlos...

Well, finding the patron of the Del Rivioso family was easier than the young dragon had expected. The stallion was in his study, pouring over something that looked like financial reports while a few other stacks floated around him. He looked up as Spike stood at the entrance. “Come in Spike, come in!” he said, gesturing to a chair that magically pulled itself away from a wall. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Yes, yes indeed,” the young prince replied. “I do believe I have captured Maria’s heart, your lordship. I intend to marry her before I leave to continue my royal journey, but I lack the resources and help to make it happen.”

The colossal smile that graced Carlos’s face upon hearing the word "marriage" faltered slightly in confusion. “By whatever do you mean?”

“I was hoping to propose to her at a special gathering... a ball, if you will,” Spike said, fumbling over the word. He wasn’t worried about the dancing or her answer to his proposal: he could dance splendidly well and he knew she’d say yes. It was all about the timing: he was due to leave sooner than he had thought, what with the prospect of possibly being stuck here if the weather took a turn for the worst, as it was wont to do wherever he went, it seemed.

Carlos jumped up from behind his desk and ran over to Spike, who instinctively curled up to protect himself. However, he did not receive a beating, but was instead encased in a bone-crushing (for a normal pony) hug. “Oh Spike: that is a wonderful idea!” the stallion said, letting the poor dragon go before said dragon had to forcibly extricate himself from the situation. “Don’t you worry about a thing: the ball shall take place, let me see... three days from now, with the wedding two days after that, and then you and Maria (and your friend Meia, of course) will leave to continue your journey the day after that! It is perfect!”

Spike nodded in agreement, though the suddenness still overwhelmed him a little bit. That didn't exactly leave a lot of time for a honeymoon, but then again with all the presents Maria would likely be given, they'd need two or three carriages. “Mr. Del Rivioso, what should I do in the meantime? I-,”

He was cut off by the stallion. “Please, call me dad: you will be soon enough,” the unicorn said with a tear in his eye. “Oh, I must prepare everything!”

“I should help... ‘dad’,” Spike said, noticing the look of happiness when he said “dad”. “What can I do?”

“You prepare yourself to marry my daughter, young drake,” Carlos said, things floating around the room as his magic levels increased dramatically. “Leave everything else to me, and make sure to wear the clothes we’ll be sending you at the ball.”

Spike nodded, knowing the clothes would be tailor-made and likely very expensive. “Anything else?”

“Break the news to your Meia friend, but other than that, steel yourself for the moment when it all comes together,” the Spreignish stallion said, pumping a fist by his side with gusto. “This shall be the ball of the decade!”

Spike inwardly gulped: this was going to be one of the biggest event of someone’s life, but who’s: Maria’s, or his?

Author's Notes:

Well, soon we shall leave behind Spreign. Don't worry, all you thirsting for more clop: there shall be more soon! Oodles and oodles of it...