Chapter 3: Crazy Little Thing Called Love
“Really now? You got dirt on our lovable Big Macintosh, Spike?” Pokey also seemed to be very interested about the details.
“Well, don’t just tease us with it, Spike, tell us!” Caramel edged on.
“M-Maybe he sh-shouldn’t….” Big Mac spoke, worried of what the dragon might know about him.
“Ah, don’t worry, Big Mac, this isn’t about the stuffed doll,” Spike jested, causing Caramel and Pokey to laugh.
Big Mac looked down at his mug of cider, remembering the gathering they had a few months back when Spike asked him how Smarty Pants was enjoying his new home. He did get a lot of jokes and ridicule from them about still having Twilight Sparkle’s old doll, but he didn’t care. In fact, Big Mac still enjoyed playing with the doll every so often.
“So, what’s it about?” Caramel was persistent on learning something that would make Big Mac embarrassed.
“Just about Big Macintosh here and Twilight Sparkle have been spending quite a lot of time together. If you ask me, I think the two have a little thing between them,” Spike boasted his information to all at the table. The stallions all then looked to Big Mac, seeing him blushing slightly at the remark.
“Is there something between Twilight Sparkle and you, Big Mac?” Pokey asked, leaning forward for an answer.
“E-Eeyup….” he answered, flustered as he could be.
The table erupted in laughter.
“Oh, how the mighty have fallen!” Caramel loudly stated, “You can’t give me any junk about me and Applejack now! Ha ha!”
Pokey, on the other hoof, was more lenient with his friend, “Hey, congrats. I honestly think ya needed somepony special to even you out and that librarian is an excellent choice in my opinion.”
Shining Armor thought about it, “If I may say something.”
“Uh oh, Big Mac. Now you have to deal with the big brother problem,” Caramel harassed the red pony, “Welcome to my nightmare.”
The white stallion shook his head, “Actually, it isn’t like that. In fact, I think it’s kind of a good thing you and Twily have something going on.”
Spike giggled softly to himself, “Hee hee, Twily….”
“My sister is a bit of an egghead and lacks, well, common social skills,” Shining continued, “And I know it sounds odd, but I think it’s a good thing that she’s getting a bit out of her comfort zone and interacting with ponies in this fashion.”
“Really? Yer okay with it?” Big Mac was surprised.
“I won’t lie, I’m worried, but I trust her judgment. And from what I can tell about you, you seem like the noble gentlecolt of a stallion. Just try to keep her away from the books every so often,” Shining Armor finished with a little jest.
“Keep Twilight away from the books? Why don’t you just try to fly like a pegasus while you’re at it, Big Mac?” Spike laughed, which caused the others to join in.
“What about you, Spike?” Shining Armor asked, “Got any mare stories to share?”
The dragon was puzzled, “Huh?”
The other unicorn joined in, “Yeah, come on, Spike! You gotta have at least have some sort of crush on a filly or something!”
“What about Applebloom, Spike? You and her do play a lot around the farm. Well, so do you with the other two,” Caramel spoke.
“Um….well, it’s kind of a long story….” Spike reached for his drink to take a long sip.
“Not like we’re goin’ anywhere,” Big Mac took another drink of his cider.
“It’s kind of weird….” he made another excuse.
Pokey laughed, “Oh, and mine isn’t? Please, I thought Pinkie hated me because I ruined her parties, for crying out loud!”
“Come on, Spike. We’re all guys here. No judging here,” Shining Armor encouraged the little dragon.
With a sigh, he finally gave in, “Alright. A little while back, the Cutie Mark Crusaders kinda had an….argument over me. It kind of really messed things up.”
Big Mac was perplexed “Come again?”
“What do you mean, Spike?” Caramel asked.
Spike was hesitant to continue, but resumed, “Well, I found out that Applebloom liked me, which was weird to begin with. And then Sweetie Belle came out of nowhere with her feelings and totally made things weirder. The two of them fought over me, finally deciding that I would choose between them. And in my stupidity, I picked Scootaloo. I guess with her help though, we all got things all patched up. Things are still a little messed up, but we all agreed to all be friends first and whatever else later.”
“Ouch, that’s gotta sting,” Pokey remarked, taking a sip of his amaretto.
“Well, that explained the day Applebloom refused to come down from the clubhouse for dinner,” Big Mac stated.
Spike brought a claw up to his head and rested it there, “Yeah, I messed up big time.”
“But hey, it’s in the past, right?” Caramel tried to lighten the mood.
“He’s got a point there, squirt,” Shining stated, offering a smile.
Spike gave a small smile back, “Yeah, that’s true.”
Pokey decided to liven the mood up even more, “Though it seems we got to watch out. Looks like we got a filly-killer on our hooves, boys!”
All of the stallions shared in a laugh. Spike was sour at the remark for a moment, but then couldn’t help but join in the infectious laughter.
“In all fairness, Spike, you have to roll with what life deals with you sometimes,” Shining stated, “I can honestly tell you that love is….lack for a better word, weird.”
The other stallions nodded and agreed with the comment.
“And when it happens to you for the first time, you’ll never be ready for it,” the white unicorn added.
“Just liking and thinking about that special somepony will drive you crazy,” Caramel added.
“It’ll give you a hot and cold fever,” Pokey continued.
“Then leave ya in a cool sweat,” Big Mac finished.
Spike paused for a second as he thought about what they said, “Isn’t that a song?”
The five of them were paused in silence before they all erupted in laughter and their own words.
“All in all, Spike, that’s what you need to know. It’s strange thing, that crazy little thing called love,” Shining Armor summed up.
The dragon smiled, “Yeah, kind of experienced it first hand. But, thanks for your help guys.”
Pokey raised his glass up, “Of course! Who else are you going to turn to in this town of mares?”
The rest of the table also raised their glasses up for a toast of their group.