A gift! A Hearts and Hooves gift! [Invite-only]

[RCTwilightSparkle]

Twilight looked at Pinkie with a bit of a confused look on her face "Um... Pinkie? nightshade isn't the best idea for anypony" but at that point she doubted that her friend was even paying attention anymore. As Pinkie started singing, Twi just shook her head no in response to if she knew the song that Pinkie was talking about. However, at that point it was too late, and Pinkie was gone.

Twi looked over at Spike and nodded, now was their chance to slip off to the market without a crowd. Maybe since they were alone now they could do a little shopping without attracting attention.

The two of them started walking past all sorts of stalls, but nothing that struck Twilight as a good present for somepony like Rarity. As Spike walked in front of her she briefly considered picking him up to let him ride on her back, but maybe now wasn't the best time... she had called him the boss after all. "Well Spike, see anything you like?" She asked with a cheery smile.

[Halide]

Aaaaand there went Pinkie Pie, superflously energetic and wound like a steel spring. There were times Spike wondered if Pinkie had some sort of wind-up key that she kept at home, just to add to her incredible reserves of pure, unfiltered hyperactivity. That aside, her near-consistant stream of songs, jigs, dances, hops, bounces, ballads, boleros, operas, acts, plays, and other tomfoolery was second to a select few.

"Well Spike, see anything you like?"

"Umm..."

But! Observing Pinkie's unrelenting energy wasn't the point of this excursion - unless they could somehow give some of that energy to Rarity for her overnight work. The problem was that Ponyville produced, above all else, food and produce. This didn't make for a great selection of presents. Food doesn't exactly last or make memories, after all! Canterlot? Clothes, fabrics, magical artifacts, accessories, jewlery, music, theatre, sports. Here was... well, it was one of the few downsides of being in Ponyville!

"Well, that one tiara was nice! But... I'm not so sure. I guess a vase might work, but... you can't really give somepony an empty vase, and does Rarity even like flowers? ...Man, am I glad I didn't try to start shopping the day before."

Spike was, of course, babbling a bit. But, hey, the kid was nervous, cut him a break, yeah? Surely something good would come up! A little deus-ex machina here, a few shots of inspiration, it'd work. ...It, uh, would work, wouldn't it?

[Bramble Rose]

After Spike and Twilight had been wandering the market for a while, lost in simaultaneously too many and too few choices, Rainbow Dash came winging overhead, trying to find them. When she finally did spot them, her eyes lit up and she flared her wings to come in for a quick landing. "Hey, guys! I got it! Well, sorta."

Dash rolled her eyes. "She wouldn't tell me what she actually wanted, she just kept saying really useless things like, "It's gotta be from the heart," and "It has to mean something" and stuff like that. And then she just kept going on and on about that Ruby that Spike had given her, cause that's the best gift she'd ever received. But we kept talking about stuff till I finally got just the right idea!"

She leaned closer, dropping her voice as she glanced around conspiratorially.

"OK, so we gotta get her something pretty, right? The prettiest thing we can find, cause Rarity's all about the pretty stuff ... but Rarity makes all the prettiest things in town! So we can't get the prettiest stuff in town to give her cause she's already got it! But you know what gets her more excited than anything, and that's the ability to make pretty stuff! There's not a pony alive that can make something pretty enough to give to Rarity ... so the solution's in dying!"

She grinned proudly at this declaration. "See, Rarity's gotta make all those fabrics and stuff, to make her clothes so pretty! So I figure, we spread out and all grab some special sort of dye that only we can get! Like, I'll go up to Cloudsdale and get Rainbow Tiedye - it's this thing from when our parents were foals where the fabric would just keep changing colors through every color of the rainbow! Kinda cool, but fell out of fashion for a while. But I bet Rarity could figure out something cool to do with it! And I bet Fluttershy could talk the butterflies into giving her, I dunno... butterfly glitter or something. And Twilight must have some awesome stuff in those books of hers! Applejack, maybe she'd got some sort of Zap-Apple Dye or ... or secret family recipe or something. And Spike could grind up some gems to make gem-powder that she could use for really bright dyes... maybe ask Zecora if she's got any ideas, like, Poison Joke blue or something ... and I'm sure Pinkie Pie will come up with something totally random."

She kinda drained off, cause this was as far as her idea had gotten. "Sooooooooo ... anywaaaaaay ... ummmmmm ... yeah! So every time she uses these radical and awesome dyes to dye her fabric, she'll remember that Spike got them for her, and they represent all of their friends! So it'll be perfect!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking in her excitement!

[RCTwilightSparkle]

Twilight followed Spike through the market and listened to him talk to himself about what to do for the gift. Every little while she's try to make a comment such as "Well I think Rarity likes flowers... maybe... I've seen her smell flowers sometimes..." she kind of trailed off, knowing that Spike wasn't really paying much attention anyway. As the two of them looked through the market, Twi began to realize that this would be even more difficult than she suspected (and she had already suspected that it would be quite difficult).

Luckily, as things were starting to seem like they were going nowhere at all out of nowhere came Rainbow Dash! She wasted no time getting to what she had found out from Rarity herself. As Rainbow Dash explained her plan at a mile a minute Twi just stood there and nodded while occasionally looking down towards Spike to gauge his reaction. Once the plan was fully explained it sounded like an awesome idea! It also meant that Twilight got to do research, which always made any idea an awesome idea.

Once Dash finished explaining everything Twilight smiled and said "Dash this sounds perfect! have you told anybody else yet?". She paused and looked down at Spike "Well, what do you think, Spike? It sounds like a really thoughtful idea to me, and I'm sure it will be way more interesting than anything we could find here".

[SunsetSombra]

Spikes eyes widened a little upon hearing this rather interesting nugget of information - Rainbow had certainly helped acquire a very useable fact that would likely make this whole thing work better than the l'il dragon could ever have anticipated. Indeed, nothing was surer to win Rarity's thanks and affections faster than giving her something unique that she could use for some previously unthought-of limited edition fashion line or special custom orders for fancy clients with both bits to burn and the connections to make all of the fashionistas dreams come true.

He shakes off the small dreamstate that had almost washed over him, regretting not being able to indulge in the brief daydream of Rarity offering thanks and another hard-won kiss on the cheek that had just started to play in his mind like a cheap film projector, and clears his throat as firmly as a dragon of his stature could...which, given his age, size and current state of mind, sounded more like a low-pitched squeak.

"[colour=#008080] This sounds PERFECT[/colour]! " Spike comments, excitement raising his tone as he looked from Twilight to Rainbow, a small chuckle catching as he does.

" [colour=#008080]You guys are the best - Rarity'll be SURE to love the idea, it's just the right kinda thing a pony like her deserves[/colour]! "

Spike could scarcely believe the luck of something like this - the perfect professional present to award the most professional and perfect of ponies...it was a perfect match for Rarity, and something Spike knew he himself couldn't ever top in a million years..

" [colour=#008080]This is gonna be the best present Rarity's ever gotten - Geez, I really can't wait to see the look on her face when she gets it[/colour]! "

[Hippo]

[colour=#ff6600]Applejack was busy. Busy selling apples. Apples in every form, too! Apple fritters, apple pies, apple dumplings, apple on a stick, and several assortments of cider and juice. All of this was heavily garnished on her cart with large sweet smelling apples of all colors. Any and all colors, that is, since a batch of zap apples was available for purchase. They were one of the most expensive items she sold on a regular basis. But the price was fair and worth it, according to the demand of sales.

It was hard working at the market, just like any other day. But, Applejack couldn't help but noticed across the way Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Spike talking to each other, with what looked like them encouraging Spike on some matter. Applejack shouted with her booming country voice. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Hay guys! What brings y'all to the marketplace? You guys hungry for a treat? Ah bet ah got jus' what you need!"[/colour]

[colour=#ff6600]Looking more closely, Applejack could see Spike was a little influenced with emotion, almost as if he would just float away. Who'd a thought a wingless dragon could pull it off? [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Whatchya thinkin' about Spike? Why, you look as if you just won the gem lottery!"[/colour]

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash grinned eagerly, hearing Applejack's voice, and she flitted swiftly by to hover over her cart, shoving in front of everypony else and almost drooling on the wares. [colour=#800080]"Oooo, yeah!"[/colour] she exclaimed, and her stomach rumbled in agreement. [colour=#800080] "I'm starving! I'll have some apple fritters! Nono, I'll have some apple muffins! No, wait, how bout those apple dumplings? Or even better, a slice of apple bread with cream cheese! Aww, I can't decide!"[/colour]

She floated there, looking VERY SERIOUSLY at the cart, her forelegs crossed before her. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then nodded decisively. [colour=#800080]"OK. I'll take one slice of apple bread, a half-dozen fried apple-cinnamon donut holes, a side of apple slices with a bowl of caramel to dip them in, some cream cheese for the bread, and a bottle of apple juice. And an apple turnover."[/colour]

She smiled, then, and let out a sigh of relief as that difficult decision was taken care of. [colour=#800080]"Oh, and hi, AJ! Nice to see you! You wouldn't *believe* the day we've been having!"[/colour]

[RCTwilightSparkle]

[colour=#800080] Twilight watched Spike as his eyes lit up at Dash's suggestion. It really was the perfect gift for Rarity. It seemed like it would be complicated and a little tricky to pull off, but ultimately it would be possible. Also if everybody did manage to pull it off, it would be so exciting for Spike and for Rarity.

Before the group had much time to mull over what to do next, AJ spotted them from across the market. Twilight looked back at Spike's happy face and then trotted over to her friend's apple cart.

Twilight made sure to stand off to the side to avoid interrupting the long line of customers that Applejack had at her cart. "Hi Applejack!" she said cheerfully. "Ohh everything does look good, but it looks like you have your hooves a little full right now... " Twi's voice trailed off so that she could let AJ handle the rest of what was going on around her cart. [/colour]

[SunsetSombra]

Spike barely acknowledged applejack for a few moments as his mind flashed with all sorts of daydreamed thoughts about their objective - an almost palpable sense of excitement running through the dragon briefly before the realisation that Rainbow Dash was speaking about something, which snapped him back to the present...just about regaining his composure when the Multicolored mane pegasus finally stated her 'choice' of snacks. That pony sure knew how to pack away a few apple treats, but then again Spike couldn't blame her at all for being overzealous with her selection - Applejack was one of the finest bakers of apple products in Ponyville, second only to her own granny Smith. It was moments like this that were a bold reminder of that fact!

" [colour=#008080]Yeeesh, Rainbow - if you'd chosen any more, you'd put AJ outta stock...save some for the rest of us[/colour]! " Spike snerks, shaking his head a little as the pegasus's list of desired treats came to an end. He would have said something more, but the smell of the apple treats nearby overrode anything snarky that the dragon might have potentially had in mind, as he looks over at the cart for a moment. " [colour=#008080]Oh wow, this stuff smells great... [/colour]"

Consciously aware that he might have perhaps been potentially drooling just a little at the scent of such deliciousness, Spike pauses for thought and tries to decide what he himself might like from the stall, and realising that he just wasn't able to make that choice easily - it was all too good, and the poor dragon was left in a quandry.

" [colour=#008080]Geez, Applejack, this stuff is all so good - this might take a moment[/colour]! "

Giving one long '[colour=#008080]Hmmmmm[/colour]' of thought, his eyes glaze over a little as he looks up at the wares - this was a snack choice he was gonna take SERIOUSLY!

[Hippo]

[colour=#ff6600]As the rainbow-maned pegasus came up and started ordering her snack list, Applejack went to work in gathering these items, not missing a beat and able to keep up with her demands. Applejack wasn't sure if this snack list was her groceries for the week or something she was planning on munching for the rest of this afternoon. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Wow, Rainbow. You got quite the appetite." [/colour][colour=#ff6600]She put all the items in a large paper bag and set it on the edge of the table for Rainbow Dash to reach. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"That's eight and half bits. But I'll charge ya six bits. Friendly discount, heh. So what's this about yer day? What'd y'all do?"[/colour]

[colour=#ff6600]Applejack overheard Twilight express concern on her being able to handle a conversation while selling items. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Nonsense Twilight."[/colour][colour=#ff6600] Applejack said as she exchanged caramel apples with a customer for money. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "This is like a second nature to me."[/colour]

[colour=#ff6600]Spike with his natural boyish attitude expressed his jokes with Rainbow Dash about sharing food. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Heh. Don't worry, I got plenty to go around. In fact, Big Mac should be here any minute to deliver me more stuff to sell from the farm."[/colour][colour=#ff6600] Spike was trying to think of what to buy himself. Applejack wasn't even sure if he had any money. [/colour][colour=#ff0000]Did Spike get an allowance from Twilight? [/colour][colour=#ff6600], she thought.[/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Take yer time, Spike."[/colour]

[colour=#ff6600]Applejack looked up at Rainbow Dash and decided to tease a bit. Applejack hadn't known what her friends were up to, but she wasn't stupid. She knew well that Hearts and Hooves Day was right around the corner. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "So Rainbow. You gonna send any valentines to any stallions at the Wonderbolt Academy this year?"[/colour][colour=#ff6600] Applejack grinned and waggled her eyes as she joked.[/colour]

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash bristled a bit at the question ... [colour=#0000cd]"I don't send valentines!"[/colour] she protested! ...[colour=#0000cd] "Not since High School! Well ... OK, a few times in the Weather Academy. And a couple after that. But not for ages! I'm waaaaay past that fangirl stage, now that I'm practically a Wonderbolt myself! Just as soon as they realize they should ask me ..."[/colour] She grinned a bit, then, and tossed her six bits onto the counter.[colour=#0000cd] "Gotta get my energy from somewhere! And it's not *that* much. Not compared to a Pinkie Pie Party spread! As for today ... we were being sneaky!"[/colour]

She leaned closer to Appleajck and whispered to her, [colour=#0000cd]"We're finding out what Spike should get for Rarity! We're looking at dyes for her fabric... you got any Apple Family secret recipes for Zap Apple fabric dye? Or somethin' like that?"[/colour] She opened up her bag right there and pulled out a donut hole, tossing it high into the air and snatching it on the way back down with her teeth. *mmmmnnnom* [colour=#0000cd]"Oh, and I gotta get back soon to help Rarity with some stuff she needs help with ... better toss in a half-dozen of those fancy little-bitty apple tarts, too. They seem fancy enough for her."[/colour]

[RCTwilightSparkle]

[colour=#800080] Twilight watched as Applejack got Dash's order together at lightning speed, while handling other customers too! It had been a while since she'd seen AJ in action, and admittedly forgot how good her friend was at handling a crowded apple cart. Spike mulled over what he wanted, as usual the little dragon took forever when it came to food; not that Twi could blame him, AJ's snacks were the best in Ponyville. After another long hard stare at the apple cart, Twi finally came to a decision "Well while Spike figures out what he wants, I'd love an apple tart!" It was impossible to go wrong with anything that Applejack baked, but the tarts were always Twi's favorite.

As the little exchange about valentines took place between AJ and Dash, Twilight couldn't help but giggle a little. She wouldn't have been too surprised if Dash was still secretly sending valentines to Soarin. After Dash leaned in and revealed what was really going on today, Twilight nodded and waited for AJ's response.

[/colour]

[SunsetSombra]

Spike was lost in his daze of applebaked treats, barely hearing anything of the conversations taking place as he put all of his mental faculties into achieving the current task of deciding what he wanted to eat - well, most of them...since he was still thinking in the back of his mind about the idea of getting Rarity something so fabulous that she'd HAVE to lavish her attentions an' affections on him - yup, seemed to pretty much be the perfect plan!

"[colour=#800080]Well while Spike figures out what he wants, I'd love an apple tart![/colour]"

It was this sentence that shook him out of his mini reverie, and the dragon shakes his head to clear his head of the brief haze that had washed over him in his daze, deciding that now was probably just a good time to place an order...which he goes ahead and does quickly - he didn't wanna be the one to hold up the rest of the group, so he simply goes for the first couple of things that he enjoyed which came to mind at this particular moment!

"[colour=#008080] AJ, Couldya Gimme an Apple Fritter an' some applejuice if you have any, Please[/colour]? " He asked the orange pony with a small firm nod, seemingly having made his choice. Heck, he liked her fritters a whole bunch... and there weren't many juices in Ponyville better than Sweet Apple Acres own farm grown and made Apple Juice!

[Hippo]

[colour=#000000]Applejack rolled her eyes while Rainbow Dash used her pride to defend her image. Meanwhile, Applejack continued to serve customer ponies who would walk up and purchase their usuals. Applejack didn't even have to speak to them. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Whatever you say, Rainbow."[/colour][colour=#000000] Then, Rainbow leaned in and whispered to Applejack that they were trying to find a gift for Rarity from Spike. Applejack smiled at the thought, and then recollected the zap apple jam possibility. She whispered back, [/colour][colour=#ff0000]"Well, it is possible I suppose. We always hated it. Them zap apples stain like the dickens."[/colour][colour=#000000] Applejack stood straight up out of whisper mode. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "Sure, take these tarts to Rarity free of charge. I still owe her for watchin' Apple Bloom for me last week."

"Here, Twi. This one's on the house."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Spike seemed rather ansy. He seemed distracted by the food that was being passed around. He asked for a tart and juice. Applejack gave him a small plate with both items and then spoke out loud to Twilight. However, the topic of conversation was disguised to get Spike thinking about what he was doing. [/colour][colour=#ff0000] "So Twilight, I have this idea for a new product using our zap apples. It's called zap apple dye. It uses the vibrant colours of zap apples and enhances the mane colours when they are applied. Mares from all over would love it! Do you think this would be a good idea?"[/colour][colour=#000000] She spoke loud enough so that Spike could not help but overhear.[/colour]

​

[Bramble Rose]

Dash settled in to eat happily, feeling ever-so-content. Spike and Twilight both thought her idea was awesome! Which it was, of course. But it was awesome to know that THEY thought it was awesome, too! And if Twilight liked a gift idea that wasn't a book, it had to be extra-awesome! Applejack didn't sound quite so convinced, but Dash took what she could get. Not *all* ponies could recognize pure awesomeness when they saw it!

She tossed a apple-cinnamon donut hole into the air and snagged it on the way back down with her teeth, munching. Then she did it with two at once, making two quick bites to snag them out of the air. She spread the cream cheese over the slice of bread and ate it down in three quick bites, then washed it down with a long gulp of the apple juice. She followed that up with tossing the remaining three donut holes up into the air, then snagging one, two, three! of them out, though the last one was just barely caught between her teeth! She chewed, swallowed, smacked her lips, let out a satisfied *ahhhhh*, and then started dipping apple slices into the caramel, crunching on those a little bit slower than the rest. [colour=#0000ff] "Mmmmm... awesome as always, AJ! So I'll grab the rainbow tiedye on my next trip to Cloudsdale... or I'll just pop over in a jiff to grab it, soon. But if you guys don't need my sheer brilliance for anything else, I kinda promised Rarity I'd help her, so ..."[/colour] She let it hang, waiting to see what requests might pop out of the air.

​