//------------------------------//
// Episode 28: Spike's Belle/Double Date 
// Story: EoH Evolution: Season 2 
// by Bahamut0 
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Hearts' Day. A holiday all about love and spending time with that special someone. Originally, Spike would've been feverishly thinking of ways to ask out Rarity or try to make her see him in a romantic light. But given the Nightmare Incident and how she and Inferno had started dating, Spike realized that it would be wrong of him to even consider pursuing Rarity. Another thing he had woken up to was the age gap between them. While not too sizeable, he was still a minor.

"Well, I'm glad that my crush didn't crush me in the process." Spike said with a sigh. "Back to my comic book." Spike had returned to reading the latest issue of the Legion of Harmony when he heard a knock on the door. "Hm? Weird. I don't think Twilight's expecting any guests today."

Spike opened the door, and was surprised by who had been knocking. "Oh. Sweetie Belle. What's up?" A joking smile spread across the drake's face. "Did Rarity send you out to get her a new romance novel?"

"Um, I'm actually here to drop something off." Sweetie Belle said with a blush. She then handed Spike a small chocolate bar with a heart-shaped card attached. "Okaygottagobye!"

Spike blinked in confusion. "O-kay. That was a thing." Spike took a look at the chocolate and the card. He quickly put two and two together. "Oh. Ooooh." He then took off screaming. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Spike made a break for where one of his guy friends was. Since Burst Stream was closest, he decided to head there. Spike banged on the door urgently! "Burst! Let me in! It's an emergency!" 

"SPIKE!" Burst threw the door open, and had his Duelist Arms drawn! "What's the problem?! Those mutant Changelings stirring up trouble again? Did Twilight try to understand Pinkie again?!"

"Uh, no?" Spike said nervously. Making sure to mind how he phrased his predicament since Burst was giving him a 'This better be a real problem' look. "You see, Sweetie Belle gave me a chocolate for today. You know, because it's Hearts' Day?" Spike then scratched his spines nervously. "And well, I think she kinda. . . likes me?"

Burst was completely silent for a few seconds before rushing Spike into his house and closing the door. He then clamped one of his hands on Spike's shoulder. "Tell me. What do you think brought this on?"

"Well, I think it was the whole 'Nightmarity Incident'." Spike replied. "When Rarity got manipulated, Sweetie Belle was pretty torn up about it. I couldn't stand to see her like that, so I decided to stay with her. Make her feel better. I guess that's because I was hurting pretty badly too at the time." Spike sighed. "Looking back at it, I'm kinda glad Inferno bonked me on the head. I've been getting close to Sweetie Belle because I've been hanging around her and her friends a lot."

The young drake then blushed as he thought of Rarity's little sister. "And. . . it kinda helps that she's super cute too."

Burst nodded. "Good. Good. Now we know the cause of the affection. But the question is: How do she make YOU feel?" Burst took a deep breath. "Listen carefully Spike. I'm kind of new to relationships myself. Celestia and I only started dating after me and the guys defeated the Nightmare Forces. But from what I do know? Make sure that you feel amazing when you're around her. Don't waste your time being with someone who you don't feel great around."

"Thanks Burst." Spike said with a smile. "That being said, I need to go find Sweetie Belle. There's some cupcakes at Sugar Cube Corner with our names on them!" But before he bolted out the door, Spike paused. "Say, speaking of you and Princess Celestia, did the two of you have anything planned for today?" Spike asked with a grin.

Burst Stream smiled. "You got me dude." He said as he threw his hands up. "Celestia asked me out to lunch today. She's got a little date planned with her niece and her niece's fiancé. The only other family of hers that I've met is Luna, so it'll be nice to get to know more of her relatives. Good luck to both of us!" The two date-bound guys fist bumped, and went their separate ways. 

Before leaving, Burst caught sight of Spike walking Sweetie Belle over to Sugar Cube Corner. The Element of Power couldn't help but smile as he watched the being he considered a little brother go on his first date. As much as I'd like to see Spike grow, I've got my own romantic engagement to attend. Burst teleported to Celestia's throne room. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting, gorgeous!"

"For you? I'd wait another one thousand years" Celestia said with a giggle and a loving smile. She'd opted for a more casual look. A simple yellow dress as opposed to her standard princess wear. She was going out on a date after all. "You know, this will be the first time I've ever shown off my boyfriend to someone besides Luna." The two then set off to meet Celestia's niece and her niece's fiancé.

Burst chuckled. "Oh? Sounds like you want to show how you've gotten a fairytale romance?" He then thought on what the remark he'd made. "But I guess you and I aren't the typical fairytale couple. I mean, when was the last time a dragon was the hero of a story?"

"There is one story like that." Celestia said with a smile. "It was one of my favorites when I was a girl. The Legend of the Dragon King." The solar princess' eyes lit up with wonder and fond memories. "Long ago, there was a dragon stronger than all others. He was smaller and more humanoid than most of the dragons, but he had great power within him. But that wasn't the only thing different about him. Where other dragons loved nothing more than to rampage and hoard, he had no greed impulse. In fact, he defended humans from dragons that decided to attack them. He fought to protect the weak, and destroyed many other monsters as well. Like a knight."

Celestia then looked Burst in the eyes. "In due time, he even challenged and defeated the great dragons at the time. Doing so earned him the respect of all dragon-kind. And so, he reigned as their first and only king. His name was Bahamut." She then smiled. "In some ways, you remind me of him. Always rushing off to fight evil and stand for those who couldn't fight for themselves. And you always use your power to do as much good as you can."

"Gee. Now I know where you got my pet name for me." Burst said with a slight blush. "Well every dragon needs his treasure, and a knight needs his princess." He then gazed into Celestia's violet eyes. "And I'm only looking at one who's both and a literal goddess to boot."

Celestia giggled at this. "I guess my niece is going to see just how hard she can ship the two of us." The sun goddess's eyes lit up in a sudden realization. "It didn't occur to me until now, but niece is about to have her own fairytale ending. She's a princess herself, and an Avatar like Luna and me."

"Really?" Burst asked in amazement. "Her name's Cadence, right? She must be pretty special if you decided to make her a princess. So what's she in charge of? You have the sun, and Luna has the moon, but what does she have?"

Celestia smiled fondly. "Cadence is the Princess of Love. It was her greatest talent. She always seemed to just ignite the spark of attraction between two people, and easily dispelled any arguments between a couple."

"So do you think she had anything to do with the two of us getting together?" Burst asked with a joking smile. "By the way, what did you mean when you said Cadence was having a fairytale ending?"

Celestia chuckled. "Oh, you'll find out as soon as you get her fiancé's name." Sure enough, the pair arrived at the restaurant their double date was to be held at. Burst then caught sight of Cadence and her fiancé. Cadence had light pink skin and wings, purple eyes, and her hair was a mix of magenta, cream, and purple. Her outfit consisted of golden shoes, a medium pink dress with a teal heart at the center. "Cadence! It's so good to see you again!"

"Hi auntie!" Cadence said with a smile as she hugged Celestia. "It's great that you and your special someone could meet me and Shining Armor today!"

Shining Armor? Burst thought to himself. He then remembered Celestia's earlier comment on how Cadence was having a fairytale ending. "Pfft! Oh Faust! Of course it's like a fairytale!" It was taking everything Burst had not to break into a fit of laughter. "She really has found her knight in Shining Armor!"

"Wouldn't be the worst joke somebody's made out of my name." Shining Armor said with a sigh. "So. You're the Element of Power. Burst Stream, right?" Burst nodded. Shining Armor smirked. "Gotta hand it to you. Not many of us mere mortals would have the guts to punch the spirit of chaos right in his face."

Burst shrugged. "I guess? Anyway, are you a Royal Guard or something? Because with a name like Shining Armor, there's not a whole lot of other jobs I can think of that would fit you."

"I'm the captain actually." Shining Armor said with an air of pride. "Princess Celestia picked me herself. I'm one of the youngest to ever hold that title."

Burst scratched his head. "Actually, you're not the youngest captain. My friend Steel Edge was the captain of the Elite Guard before he joined up with my team as the Element of Honor."

Shining Armor's jaw dropped. "Wow." He then snapped out of his shock as the two couples headed into the restaurant. "You know? I never really got the chance to thank you in person."

"Thank me for what?" Burst asked with a puzzled look on his face. 

Shining Armor pulled out a picture of him and Twilight with their parents. "For saving Twily when the Nightmare Forces got her and her friends. If you hadn't stepped in, I don't know what I would've done."

"Easy." Burst said with a smile. "You would've gathered the whole army, marched to the Nightmare Forces' lair, and raised Tartarus to save your sister. No need to thank me for something you would've been able to do yourself. But then again, all I basically did was deliver a single OP punch that obliterated Night Terror."

Shining Armor shrugged. "You're not wrong. How strong ARE you anyway?" Shining Armor gave Burst an overview. "You sure don't look like the typical hero. Not to sound like a jerk, but you don't look as muscular as me."

"Well, my dad's an Avatar like your wife-to-be and the princesses." Burst stated. "I don't need bulging muscles since my base physical and magical power's been above average since I was a kid thanks to me having Avatar blood in me. It's why I can pull off so many crazy feats. Couple that with me going through intensive training for seven years, and I easily outclass most people. The only instance I've ever gone all-out was against Night Terror. And since then, I've only gotten stronger."

Shining Armor gulped nervously. "Remind me to never get on your bad side." He then decided to change the topic. "Anyway, since Cadence is the Princess of Love, I should warn you she's quite the compulsive shipper."

"Hey!" Cadence interjected. "It comes with the job!" She then looked at Burst Stream. "By the way? I do ship you and Aunt Celestia hard."

Burst smiled. "So does that mean you also ship all of my friends who have love interests now?" He then got to speculating. "Come to think of it, did you have some hand in them all getting together?"

"I'm good. But just because I'm a love goddess doesn't mean I'm going to force a ship." Cadence said with a wink. "Even though today is technically supposed to be my holiday."

Celestia rolled her eyes lightly, and couldn't help but smile. "Are we going to spend the whole date talking about shipping on empty stomachs?" As soon as the couples placed their orders, Celestia raised her glass, and gave Burst a loving gaze. "Here's to finding our fairytale romances."

Cadence and Shining Armor smiled at each other. Their engagement rings proudly displayed. "We'll definitely drink to that."

Burst smiled at the moment, but was made aware of a very crucial fact. "Hey, Shining Armor? You DID let Twilight know you're getting married, right?" And Shining Armor immediately spat out his drink.