The afternoon sun shone brightly upon the meadows on the outskirts of Ponyville, where Spike busied himself collecting Dragon Peppers for Twilight Sparkle's research. Bag in hand, his cat-like eyes locked onto a Dragon Pepper bush just ahead with plenty of ripe red pods ready for picking. He hurriedly plucked them off one by one by the stems, anxious to get back and be with his friends, especially Rarity. Sweet, beautiful Rarity. With those gorgeous blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds. Sweet, delicious diamonds. There wasn't a more beautiful pony in Ponyville. No, in all of Equestria!
Distracted as he was in his thoughts, Spike yelped in surprise as something slightly warm and damp pinched his arrow-tipped tail.
“Ow! What was that?”
Spike snapped around, but there was nopony there. After a shrug he went back to his picking, unaware of another creature’s presence on the other side of the bush. Something nipped at his tail again. He wheeled around, faster this time. The leaves of the bush danced, leaving Spike wondering if whoever was messing with him brushed against the leaves in retreat or jumped inside the bush to hide. Focusing, his eyes narrowed, Spike crept around to the other side of the bush. Still, there was nopony to be seen.
Spike scratched his chin in thought. There was only one pony in Equestria who could be that fast.
“Rainbow Dash?” Spike yelled. Only complete silence answered him. As the little dragon stood there, perplexed, something rammed his back hard enough to knock him face-first into the grass.
“Tag, you’re it!” Spike heard a female voice yell.
“Okay, Rainbow, you asked for it!” Spike shouted as he righted himself, making a mental note to slip a couple of these peppers in her food for revenge.
However, as Spike rolled over onto his rear, his spines drooped in shock and embarrassment when he saw a creature that made his every sense save for sight go numb—and he was sure that sense was fooling him. Standing before him was not Rainbow, but a cute dragon girl, about Spike's age if her size was any indication. Icy blue scales sparkled in the sunlight with beautiful blue eyes looking down at him. Pale blue hair, almost translucent, dropped down to the base of her neck.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said the pretty stranger. “I didn’t ram you too hard, did I?”
“N-n-n-n-not at a-a-a-a-a-all,” Spike answered, ignoring the pounding pain in his spine.
The she-dragon giggled and smiled down on him. “I’m Sapphire!” she said warmly. “What’s your name?”
Spike’s jaw hung open, frozen in place. Sapphire. It was the most beautiful name he’d ever heard in his young life.
“My name is… uh….” A silent struggle for the answer left Spike clamping his eyes shut in thought. Oh, come on, think! What is your name? Hello! Equestria to Spike!
“Spike?” he answered his thoughts out loud. Oh yeah, that's right. “My name’s Spike.”
Sapphire giggled a sweet little giggle that made Spike’s heart skip a beat. “Nice to meet you, Spike!” She offered a forepaw to help him stand up. Taking her paw into his own made every nerve in his body tingle. He was holding hands with the most beautiful dragoness he’d ever laid his eyes on. Of course, she was the first dragoness he’d ever laid eyes on, but he was still sure this particular one was exceptionally beautiful.
Spike stared at the paw that had just grasped Sapphire’s, making a silent vow that he’d never wash that paw again.
“Hey!” Sapphire’s voice pulled Spike from his trance-like stake. He looked back up at her to see her tilting her head, smiling. “Weren’t you ‘it’?”
“Huh?”
“Catch me if you can!” With that, Sapphire ran in the other direction, her blue hair flowing behind her.
Spike’s heart pounded like it was trying to crack his ribs. This friendly and pretty girl dragon was openly inviting him to play! For a moment he thought he was dreaming, but the throbbing pain in his back assured him he was very much awake.
What was there to lose? Spike chased after Sapphire, and for the first time noticed the big blue ribbon she wore on her tail. It made Spike think that Sapphire was on a level of beauty that rivaled even Rarity’s.
For the next hour the two young dragons chased each other around, wrestling, laughing and giggling as dragonlings do. Their romp made Spike forget all about his duties to Twilight until their games returned them back to the bush with the sack full of peppers still sitting there.
“Oh no!” Spike held his paw to his face. Judging from the position of the sun, he'd lost track of time. Twilight insisted on punctuality!
“What’s the matter, Spike?” Sapphire asked.
“I forgot all about Twilight! I’m sorry, Sapphire. I have to head home. She’s probably worried about me.”
Sapphire tilted her head, giving Spike a quizzical look. “Twilight? Who’s that?” She frowned, her eyes betraying a hint of sadness. “Is she your girlfriend?”
“Who, Twilight? No way!” Spike waved the idea away. “She’s a unicorn from Ponyville. I’m just her assistant. That’s why I was picking these peppers.”
Sapphire flashed a big, toothy smile. “So you don’t have a girlfriend, then?”
“U-u-um…” Spike stammered as his cheeks flared. If Sapphire had just given an open invitation, this was turning out to be the best day ever! “I don’t.”
“So…” Sapphire lowered her head bashfully, cupping her claws behind her back and twisting her foot into the ground. “Do you want to meet here again tomorrow?”
“Would I ever!”
The dragoness’ eyes seemed to light up as she giggled out loud. “Great! See you tomorrow!”
“You bet!”
“Okay, bye, Spike!”
“Bye, Sapphire!”
“Goodbye!”
“Goodbye to you, too!”
“See ya.”
“See ya.”
“Later!”
“Yup, later!”
Their exchange made the two dragons laugh. Sapphire turned her head shyly away from Spike.
“Okay,” Spike continued once he’d caught his breath. “I’m really leaving this time. See you tomorrow, Sapphire!” He then took off running in the direction of Ponyville.
“Bye, Spike!” Sapphire yelled to the running, shrinking form.
As hard as he fought it, Spike couldn’t stop smiling his entire run home. Sapphire was friendly, playful, beautiful. To have found another dragon his age in Equestria, and she was interested in him! Spike couldn’t believe his luck. Rarity hadn’t even come into his thoughts since he’d met his new friend.
Okay, Spike. Better take it down a notch. Spike forced himself to calm down as he reached the outskirts of Ponyville. He couldn’t afford to let Twilight find out about his new friend. If she did, she might think his sudden interest in Sapphire was nothing more than an excuse to avoid his chores, and what would that do to his reputation as her number one assistant?
A casual stroll took him through the village of ponies, all of them minding their own business and oblivious to the little dragon’s inward glee.
“I’m home!” Spike shouted as he stepped into the library.
Twilight busied herself with dusting off the shelves with a feather duster that hovered in midair from the violet unicorn’s magic. “Wow, Spike,” she answered as she glanced out the window, then back over her shoulder at him. “What took you so long? It’s almost sundown.”
The dragon fidgeted. “Well, uh, you know how rare these Dragon Peppers are. They only produce every few years. I wanted to make sure I picked enough.”
As Spike set the potato sack down on the floor, Twilight rested the duster on the top shelf and trotted over to get a look at the pickings. The sack was full almost to the top. “Spike, my goodness, this is more than enough. You’ve really outdone yourself this time!” Twilight gave him a gentle noogie of praise. “My number one assistant. I’ll start my research on them tomorrow. Why don’t you take the day off?”
Spike's eyes widened in sudden glee. “You mean it?”
“Absolutely, Spike. You earned it.”
No duties to Twilight, nothing planned for the day. He was completely free to meet Sapphire again! In his mind he did a fist pump as he jumped for joy. On the outside, he managed to remain cool and calm.
“Thanks, Twilight. You’re the best.” Spike couldn’t stop himself from embracing the unicorn. Twilight smiled and patted Spike on the back.