The rain was letting up by the time by the time Sweetie Belle and Spike made it back to the library, Rainbow Dash’s storm having done its job.
“…and then she got so mad about her sewing machine that she stepped on Opal, and she just started scratching Rarity’s hair like a mad cat! I had to go get Fluttershy to help pry her off!”
Spike laughed in uproar as he and Sweetie Belle sat on Twilight’s bed, having the chance to engage in a comfortable conversation for the first time in a while.
“You know, that reminds me of the time that— Hey, is something wrong, Sweetie?”
Sweetie was shielding her eyes with her hoof. “Nothing, it’s just… that sapphire is really bright from this angle.”
The ocean blue sapphire gleamed down upon the two lovers from its high shelf. Little Peewee was still asleep on top of it.
“Hey, Spike… I’ve been wanting to know something. Why did you put the sapphire up there?”
“Huh? Oh…” He looked up at the gem as he reflected. “Well, I couldn’t bring myself to eat it. So, I decided to keep it as a little trinket. I put it up on the shelf because it was somewhere where I could always look up at it without it being in the way.” He squinted his eyes as the glare cast on him now. “AAGH! Although… maybe I should move it somewhere else.”
Sweetie giggled. It’s these cute moments of his that I really like…
“Hang on a minute.” Spike turned back to her. “What do you mean, you’ve been wanting to know? When have you ever been in here and seen it up there?”
“Oh! Um, I…” She looked down in guilt, and sighed. “I take it you saw the blue roses outside…” Spike nodded. “I went up to your house the first day you were gone to give them to you, and I saw the sapphire when I went up to your bedroom, and the…”
“And the what?”
“And the… drawings of Rarity.”
Now it was Spike’s turn to look guilty. “Oh… yeah. I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle. It’s just, because up until I realized I loved you, I had a crush on Rarity, like you said.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“Hmm.”
“And she knows.”
“Wait, what?” Spike replied, hastily looking up. “She does?”
“Yeah. My sis knew that you had a crush on her too,” Sweetie affirmed. “Oh, yeah! She actually told me to tell you, that she’s really sorry things didn’t work out.”
“Eh… it’s okay,” said Spike, with a soft but remorseful smile. “Besides, I got someone better.” Sweetie’s cheeks blushed a deep shade of red.
“So… now I want to know something,” he continued. “How long?”
“How long what?”
“How long have you, you know…”
“Oh.” Sweetie closed her eyes, and smiled in remembrance. “It was that flower.”
“Huh? What flower?”
“Remember when you were picking up those blue roses for Fluttershy’s birthday, and then you bumped into me and spilled them all?” Spike nodded. “You had an extra flower then, and you gave it to me. And it was… really sweet. Ever since then, I kept thinking about you, and how sweet you are.”
Spike tried to hold back his chuckling. “Really? Just a simple flower? It didn’t really mean anything to me—”
“Well, it meant the whole world to me!” Sweetie snapped, clearly offended by Spike’s response.
“Whoa, sorry.”
She sighed. “It’s okay. But… that flower used to be the sweetest thing anyone had ever given me.”
“Used to be?” Spike repeated. “What’s the sweetest thing anyone’s given you now?”
“This.”
She gave Spike another soft kiss, one which made both of them blush. A short silence followed, which was finally broken when Spike made a loud sneeze.
“Oh, my goodness!” said Sweetie Belle. She levitated a box of tissues in front of Spike. “Here you go, Spike!”
“Thanks, I— Hey, I didn’t know you could do magic!”
“Huh?” She made a happy gasp then. Her horn was casting a cobalt blue glow, and so was the box of tissues that floated in front of them. “I did it! I finally did it! I was finally able to do something right with my horn! This is the best night ever!”
Wow, she’s so happy… and she’s so pretty when she’s this excited.
Spike smiled warmly as he blew his nose. Taking a moment to think however, he finally realized something.
“Hey… what will our friends think? About us?”
“Ohh…” Sweetie’s ears drooped. “Well, actually… I already kind of told Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.”
Spike’s eyes went wide. “You… you did?”
“I had to! I felt really guilty that I was slacking off during our Crusading and keeping my feelings a secret to them!” she asserted. “They’re my best friends, and I thought they should know the truth.”
Spike started to chuckle again. “Now what’s so funny?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s just, I just realized something else while you were talking.”
“What’s that?”
“Twilight’s going to be in for a really big surprise when she gets back home tomorrow morning.”
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today, I learned that as a friend, you may always want to support them and help them out when they’re in a real sticky jam, especially when it’s not strawberry-flavored. But you should never take complete control and try to force your friends into doing things that they’re not comfortable doing.
Two of my very best friends taught me this lesson! Ooh, I can’t tell you who they are, though! This time, it’s going to be a secret that I will keep through and through, and I will not let Spike and Sweetie Belle down!
Your friend,
Pinkie Pie
P.S. Can you tell Luna that I thought her moon was really pretty tonight? Thanks!
“And… there we go. All done!”
Rarity ceased holding out the scroll under Pinkie’s umbrella hat with her magic. “Very good, then. We can get Spike to send it to the princess in the morning.”
They were both walking back to their homes now. It was still raining, but nowhere near as heavily as before.
“Yeah… hey, where did Fluttershy go?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure,” said Rarity, looking all around her. “Was it just me, or did something seem a little… off about her? As in, did she seem upset about something to you?”
“Yeah, now that you mention it,” answered Pinkie.
“I wonder what has her so down.”
Fluttershy was behind them, watching them from a distance before she turned around and started to head back towards her cottage.
How hard can it be just to say four simple words? That’s all I have to say. Just four.
“I love you, Rarity.”
“Hey, girls!” a voice called from a distance.
“What in the world…?” Rarity responded.
“Oh my gosh! Twilight!” Pinkie shouted.
They looked ahead of them to see none other than Twilight Sparkle as she trotted over to the pair, her mane soaked from the rain.
“What a surprise!” said Rarity. “I thought you were still in Canterlot until tomorrow!”
“The Princess let me come home early,” said Twilight. “Actually, she seemed… kind of hasty about it, like she wanted me out of there as soon as possible. She even had some of her royal guards escort me to my train.”
She looked behind her towards the view of Canterlot in the horizon. Pinkie Pie and Rarity were drawn to it too, but something about the capital city seemed off.
“Hey, what’s that pink bubble over the city?” asked Pinkie, pointing off into the horizon.
“I’m not sure,” replied Twilight. “It got put up as soon as my train left.”
“That’s… most peculiar,” said Rarity. “So, how was Canterlot? You and Spike got to spend some time with your parents, I heard?”
“Mm-hmm. It was really exciting. Except earlier today, when they asked me if I was ‘excited’ for Shining Armor. Not sure what that was about. But other than that, yeah, it was really fun to see them again.”
“Ooh! Did you get to go to lots of fancy parties while you were there?” Pinkie asked excitedly. “What about Donut Joe? Did you tell him I said hi?”
“Well… no I didn’t go to that many parties. I did see Donut Joe though, and I did mention you to him, Pinkie.” She started to walk past them, much to their looks of concern. “Well, it was nice catching up with you two, but I should probably get home now and make sure Spike is alright.”
Rarity suddenly cut in front of her and blocked her path.
“Oh, but darling you simply mustn’t!”
“Huh? Why not?” she asked, tilting her head. “What’s going on, Rarity?”
“I absolutely insist that you stay at my house, Twilight!” said Rarity, forcefully turning her friend in the other direction. “You’ll catch a cold otherwise, and besides… let’s just say there’s a few things I need to tell you about.”
“Yeah! And don’t worry about Spike!” said Pinkie Pie. “We walked with him back home and he’s just peachy keen!”
“Um… I, okay,” said Twilight, admitting defeat. “Well, my bellhop’s delivering my bags to my library, so I guess I don’t need to stop at home… Alright, Rarity! It’s a sleepover!”
“Excellent!” Rarity responded. “You just go on ahead; I’ll catch up in a minute.”
“Okay. Good night, Rarity! Good night, Pinkie Pie!”
“Oh, hey Twilight!” called Pinkie suddenly.
“Yeah?” she asked, walking back over.
Pinkie took off her umbrella hat and handed it to Twilight.
“Here you go! That’ll keep your pretty little head all nice and dry!”
“Gee, thanks, Pinkie, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t want to see you getting all—”
“Oh, don’t worry about me!” She pulled out another umbrella hat and placed it on her head. “I’m all set! Besides, what are good friends for?” She then gave Twilight a soft kiss on the forehead, which made Twilight’s cheeks blush.
“Uh, okay. Well, t-thanks again, Pinkie! Good night!”
After she walked away, Rarity made a deep sigh while Pinkie Pie was bouncing in the air with glee.
“Oh, man! I’m getting so close to finally— Hey Rarity, what’s wrong?” asked Pinkie.
“Ohh… it’s nothing, really.”
“Tell me!”
“It’s just… I’m not sure what to think. I’m happy for Sweetie Belle and all. However… I’ve always dreamt about marrying the perfect stallion since I was a young foal, but now my younger sister has found her first concrete love before I have.”
“It’s okay, Rarity. I’m sure you’ll find your special somepony eventually!” She put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder to console her.
“I know… but it feels like there’s an increasing string of romances happening all around me,” she lamented. “And it’s simply driving me off the wall! If I have to see two more ponies finding love in Ponyville before I do, I’m going to just SNAP!”
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Ponyville, the proud brown-haired earth pony Caramel was once more walking down the meadow path, passing by Sweet Apple Acres.
But from behind a tree, unbeknownst to him, somepony was watching him walk past, from behind a freshly bucked apple tree.
C’mon now, AJ. You’re a big mare now. You can do this. It’s easy. Y’all just gotta go over there… and ask him. It’s so simple. Y’all can do this! Y’ALL CAN DO THIS!
OKAY, HERE AH GO!
“Hey, Caramel!”
“Huh?” he asked, whipping his head to the left, where Applejack bashfully emerged from behind the tree and began to walk over to the fence. “Oh, hey there, AJ. What’s hangin’?”
“Ah was… just, just wonderin’… Would you, um…”
Caramel waited for her to finish. “Yeah…?”
“Aw, heck with it! I really like you Caramel, okay? And ah’ve liked y’all for a really long time now! So, do y’all want to go out and get a bite to eat with me, sometime?”
“…Sure?”
~FIN~