The familiar bell chimed out as Spike opened the door to his favorite restaurant in Ponyville. He stood to the side to allow Derp to enter before him.
“After you,” he said with an exaggerated bow.
Derpy giggled and nodded. “Hehe, thank you. How polite?”
As the two entered, the entire establishment seemed to have a different vibe than usual. At least to Spike, it did. As opposed to the usual feeling of familiarity and hunger he had when he walked in, he almost felt a bit of… nervousness?
“Ayy, Spike my boy!”
The dragon snapped out of his inner thought process by the booming voice of Curly Fry. “Oh, hey there, Curly!”
“Just you again, like usual?” The manager took but a moment to spot Derpy shuffling her hooves next to him. “Oh, wait a sec, here… Did you bring a date? Hey, now that’s what I’m talking about!”
Spike and Derpy both shared a mutual blush and the air seemed to get a lot heavier than it was a few seconds prior.
“Oh, we’re not…”
“Yeah, it’s not like…”
“Could it be…”
“It might be?”
“Haha, settle down, you two,” Curly said, belting out a laugh. “I’m just tugging your strings a bit. Why don’t you guys find a seat and I’ll be right with you.”
Spike let out a nervous cough and smiled at Derpy. “Right, uh, right this way.” He led her over to his favorite booth in the back corner of the store. They had a short, yet silent stroll over to the booth, Spike sitting on one side, Derpy on the other.
“What can I get you two to drink?” Curly asked from a few tables away.
“I’ll have the usual,” Spike said.
“And I guess I’ll have a root beer, if you have it,” Derpy said with a hint of shyness in her voice.
Curly Fry smiled. “Alright then, two root beers it’ll be.”
Spike and Derpy shared a quick chuckle before opening their menus. After a quick moment of hesitation, Spike broke any silence before it could begin.
“So, trust me, everything is good here. This place has the best food in town.” Spike glanced over his menu at Derpy, who had her eyes intently locked in to her menu.
“I can tell,” she said, peering over every option. “Everything sounds delicious. What should I get?” She popped her head up over her menu and looked at Spike. “I’m thinking about the hay burger, but that sounds a little too, oh, I don’t know, boring. Maybe the eggplant chimichanga?”
Spike rubbed his chin. “Well, I guess it depends on what you’re looking for. If you want something filling, I’d go with the stuffed bell peppers. They’ve got like, cheese, tomato and a bunch of other stuff in them. But, the eggplant chimichanga does sound pretty good. I haven’t tried it though, so I couldn’t tell you for sure.”
Derpy smiled. “Well, I guess that’s what I’m getting then. That way, you can try some of mine and then you’ll know if you like it or not.”
Spike nodded. “You’re smart. I like you even more, already.” He followed up with a quick laugh as their drinks were brought to them.
“Alright, two root beers for ya’,” Curly Fry said, sliding their drinks onto the table. “Now, are you guys ready to order or do ya need a few for minutes?”
“I think we’re ready,” Spike said, motioning to Derpy.
She smiled and pointed a hoof to her menu. “I’ll try the eggplant chimichanga. And can I get that with the sweet potato fries?”
“Absolutely,” Curly Fry said. “Good choice. What for you, Spike?”
Spike crossed his arms behind his head. “You know me, Curly. I’m a simple dragon. Get me the hayburger with some cheesy tots for the side. Same old, same old.”
The server nodded and collected both of their menus. “I’ll get those meals in right away for you. Now, uh, I’ll give you guys some space.” He sent a sly wink toward the dragon, causing him to respond with an eye roll and a light blush.
Derpy smiled. “Well, he sure seems nice.”
“Yeah, he’s a sweet guy,” Spike said back, trying to think of something to keep the conversation going.
But he had nothing.
A couple coughs and the occasional sniffle were the only things that interrupted the silence between them. Spike’s mind raced, trying to think of something, anything, to say to bring some life. He wasn’t sure why it was so hard considering they were just here as friends.
His heartbeat quickened for but a moment as he passed over the last thought in his head. Did he possibly… like her? No, of course not.
“So... “ Spike said, finally deciding to just wing it the best he could. “Have you ever wondered why they call it root beer?” Spike mentally facepalmed the moment those words left his lips.
Derpy, much to his surprise, perked up and intently glanced at her glass. “Would you believe I was thinking the same thing?”
Spike blinked a few times. “No, I wouldn’t. But that’s awesome! So, here’s my thoughts on the matter. To my knowledge, there’s no alcohol content in it, so it’s not a beer.” He eyed his fizzy beverage up and down. “And I don’t believe any particular root was used in its production either. It’s an enigma!”
Derpy nodded. “A mystery wrapped in a riddle. What is root beer?”
“A question that has baffled scientists for centuries.”
The two paused for a moment to look at each other. A brief calm swept over the table before they both burst into a fit of laughter. Spike banged his claw on the table a few times, trying to regain balance over himself whilst Derpy did the same. It lasted for only a short time, but as they wiped the tears from their eyes, nothing in the world seemed to be negative for the time.
“Oh, my gosh,” Spike choked out, his laughter finally starting to subside. “I’ve never met a pony who thought about stuff like that before. I brought up the subject to Twilight a ways back and she tossed me an encyclopedia.”
Derpy brought her hooves to her mouth and let out a small giggle. “That doesn’t surprise me, honestly.”
“Yeah, no joke, right?” Spike shook his head. “And then when I brought it up to Trixie, she went on some tirade about how one of her distant relatives was the actual creator of root beer and all other sodas. Also not surprising.”
Derpy let out a small chuckle before yet another brief silence overtook them. Although it wasn’t a date date, there was still the soft air of tension and awkwardness in the air anytime their lips stopped moving. Perhaps it was the setting or the fact they were alone eating their meal as opposed to it being a group event as planned, but both could feel a slightly stronger vibe than the prototypical ‘friend date’ would normally provide.
Spike cleared his throat and opened his mouth to attempt to break the tension once more, but instead got cut off by the blonde mare sitting across from him.
“So, Spike,” Derpy said, glancing up at him, tearing her eyes away from the table. “I’m sorry if I’ve seemed like, needy or something the past couple weeks.”
“Huh?” Spike asked, raising his brow. “What are you talking about?”
Derpy blushed and turned her eyes slightly downward. “Well, you’ve done a lot the past while. Especially for Dinky. It means a lot to her, and me, too. But, I can’t help but feel a bit guilty that you’re spending so much time for her. I imagine you’re pretty busy with royal stuff with Twilight and I don’t know it just feels wrong. Like you’re feeling obligated to help us out and stuff. I don’t know…”
Spike listened to her with his mouth slightly agape, unsure of how to even respond. Of all the possible conversational topics and things he expected to come out of her mouth, that was not one of them.
“Um, I, uh…” Spike continued to attempt to respond but failed.
Derpy let out a small sigh. “Oh, nevermind, it’s nothing. Just forget about it.”
Spike shook his head clear of the confusion and took a deep breath before addressing her. “Well, I uh, I’m not sure how to respond to that. But, I can tell you this.” Spike moved forward in his seat ever so slightly to get a firmer grasp on her attention. “I don’t feel obligated at all. I do stuff for the kids at the hospital because I want to. Never because I feel I have to, so don’t worry about that.”
Derpy silently nodded and forced a small grin.
“As to the other point,” Spike continued, “busy is a relative term.”
Derpy blinked a few times. “Huh?”
Spike slouched back in his chair. “Well, I think I’ve mentioned it before, but honestly, I don’t have a whole lot to do around the castle. I keep Twilight in check, help organize schedules, set up dates… that kind of thing. But as far as official duties go, I don’t have a whole lot on my plate.”
“But what about being the Ambassador of Friendship to the dragons? Is that still a thing?”
Spike chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so. But Ember and the dragons pretty much keep to themselves these days. I guess they’re trying to conquer some small dragon territory out there, so we don’t hear much from them at the moment. I maybe get a letter or something once a year, not much else.”
“Oh,” Derpy said. “That’s kinda sad.”
“No, that’s dragons,” Spike replied with a cool smile. “We’re not the most social of creatures, myself excluded, of course. But I’m a special breed of awesomeness.”
Derpy smiled. “I can’t really argue with that.”
Spike could feel his cheeks heat up a tad but he shook it off just as quickly. “Well, I guess I have to ask the obvious question. What exactly brought this line of thought on? Is everything alright?”
Derpy nodded. “Yeah, everything is okay.”
Spike was by no means an expert on pony psychology or emotional intelligence, but it didn’t take a trained professional to hear the sadness in her voice. “Are you sure? I mean, I know you don’t know me all that well, but I’m a good listener if nothing else.”
Derpy kept her eyes locked to the table for a few moments before she began to speak. “Well, nothing is wrong wrong, to be honest. I just, I guess I’m not used to having somepony be kind to me and Dinky like this. For the past few months, since things kinda went from bad to worse, I’ve just been kinda on my own the whole time. Having somepony else there helping and doing stuff for us… It’s strange, but it’s also really nice.” She gently reached a hoof across the table and placed it on Spike’s claw for a brief moment. “I appreciate it a lot. I just don’t feel like we did anything to deserve it.”
Spike could feel his claw shake ever so slightly with nervousness beneath her hoof before she pulled it away. “Heh, yeah, well… Don’t worry about it, alright? Nopony should feel like they have to earn kindness. At least that’s what I was always taught.”
Spike was about to continue but instead got caught off guard by the sultry aroma of two plates of food being set in front of them.
“Alright, you two,” Curly said. “Here’s your food for ‘ya. Eggplant chimichanga for the lovely lady and your usual burger and cheese tots for you, Spike.”
The two guests looked over their food with engrossed eyes.
“If you need anything else, feel free to give me a holler, alright?” Curly sent them a final wink and smile before trotting off back toward the counter.
“Oh my gosh,” Derpy said, glancing over the delicious plate of food before her. “This looks so good.”
Spike took a moment to eye her meal as well. “Wow, that does look good! Perfectly fried tortilla and they didn’t skimp on the portion inside, either.” Spike looked down at his food as well and couldn’t help but lick his lips.
Spike prepared to dive into his lunch but took a moment to pause before doing so. If Rarity had taught him anything about going on dates, friendly or not, it was that manners and politeness should always be at the forefront of thought and reign supreme. However, that train of thought and courtesy got tossed out the window by the sound of his newfound friend devouring her meal with little to no remorse.
Spike looked across the table and couldn’t help but be impressed at Derpy’s appetite. She had already finished a part of her chimichanga and about half of her sweet potato fries.
“Wow, I guess you were pretty hungry, huh?” Spike asked with a small grin.
Derpy paused for a moment before blushing and wiping her face off. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just haven’t eaten anything this good in a while. I guess instinct kinda took over, heh.”
Spike shook his head. “Oh, don’t worry, it’s fine. It’s kinda relaxing eating and not having to worry about every little detail of my mannerisms.” Spike followed up by taking a huge bite of his hayburger and grinned massively whilst doing so. “I’m pretty hungry, too.”
The two quietly enjoyed their meal for the next few minutes. The only sound that could be heard was chewing and the occasional slurp of root beer from their cups. Derpy allowed Spike to try her meal, much to his excitement, and Spike did the same for her, which she gladly accepted. It wasn’t a very vocal meal, but it was pleasant nonetheless. It felt natural.
As they finished up their eating, a soft, but warm lull held over the table. Neither of them really knew what to say next or what even to do. It was all Spike could do to try and redirect some life back into the date.
“Oh, man, that was good,” he said, rubbing his belly with a smile of immense satisfaction adorning his face. “Of course, it always is, here. How was yours?”
Derpy licked her lips and nodded quickly. “Oh my goodness. So good.”
“Glad to hear it,” Curly’s voice came from behind them. “If you’re done I’ll just gather your plates for you two.”
Spike nodded and the pony took their dirty dishes away.
“Are you covering this one, today, Spike?” he asked.
Spike nodded again. “Yes, sir. On the tab, as usual.”
Curly Fry nodded and whisked away the dirty dishes, leaving the friends alone once more.
“You have a tab here?” Derpy asked.
“Yeah,” Spike said. “I come here enough that I just ring up a bill and pay it at the end of the month. I guess it speaks to my bad eating habits, huh?”
“Maybe,” she replied, “but with how good everything was, I can’t blame you. I’d probably do the same thing.”
The two shared a quick laugh before it was Derpy’s turn to break the silence with a comment.
“Spike, I just wanna say thanks a lot for doing this.” Derpy smiled at him. She somewhat hid her mildly blushing face behind her mane.
“No problem,” Spike said. “It was just a meal. If you’re ever down again, there’s more where that came from.”
Derpy giggled. “I’d like that. I don’t get the chance to eat out too much, these days.”
Spike nodded. “I get ya. From what I could tell the few times we’ve crossed paths, you seem pretty busy.”
“No question there,” she responded. “Between working early in the morning to the afternoon, and then spending the nights with Dinky, I can’t remember the last time I had a day just for fun or to eat out. It was nice getting away for a bit.”
Spike could feel the softest of fluttering in his heart. He didn’t know why it was there, but he’d be lying if he said it didn’t feel nice. However, he couldn’t help but feel a tad sorry for her at the same time. Something about the somber tone in which she made the last statement tugged at his heartstrings a bit.
“I guess that makes sense,” he said. “Not having much time for yourself can’t be very fun, though.”
Derpy nodded but put on her best smile. “Yeah, but I’m sure things will get better soon. They always do. That’s what I’ve been taught most of my life.”
A spark lit in Spike’s brain. He had her alone, the conversation was heading in an appropriate direction… If he ever wanted to know about her parents, get an answer to his curiosity, now seemed like the ideal time to do so.
“So, Derpy, I have a question.” Spike traced a few circles on the table with his claw, trying to appear as natural as possible.
“Yeah?” she responded.
Spike cleared his throat a few times before speaking up. “Well, you’ve mentioned a couple times tonight how much effort you put into taking care of Dinky and having to work and all that. So, I was just kinda wondering where your guys’ parents are in all this?”
The dragon was greeted with nothing but silence from the mare across from him.
“I mean, wouldn’t things be a bit easier if they helped out? Or what’s going on there?”
Silence again.
Spike blinked a couple times, immediately regretting bringing it up. “Hey, uh, you there?”
Derpy shook her head and scooted her chair back. “I, um, I’m sorry, Spike. I have to go.” She got up from her chair and sped away, leaving Spike wide-eyed in his chair.
“Whoa, whoa, what happened?” Curly Fry trotted up to Spike’s table, eyeing the door that had just been slammed open to make way for the fleeing mare.
“I have no idea,” Spike said. “I think I made her mad.”
Curly Fry shook his head and patted the dragon on the shoulder. “A common occurrence for males these days. Don’t worry about it too much, boy. A mare’s emotions are complicated things. If somepony could ever figure them out, they’d make millions, trust me.”
Spike slouched back into his chair and let out a huff. “I guess.”
“How about some ice cream? On the house.”
Spike shook his head. “Thanks, but I’m probably gonna head home.” He got up from his seat and started walking toward the door. “So much for giving her a fun afternoon.”